Ether, known as the Fifth Element, exists within every soul, whether living or not.
Anser floated within the Ethereal Plane. He felt no pull of gravity and could move freely in any direction.
However, the omnipresent etheric energy was like compressed atmosphere, shrouding everything in a hazy mist. The increased resistance cut his movement speed to only half of what it would be on the Material Plane.
The good news was that flight still worked. Once he spread his dragon wings, his speed skyrocketed, far faster than slowly drifting through the void.
With a flap of his wings, he shot forward.
Then—
Bang.
He slammed straight into an invisible barrier.
"Uh..."
Taking a step back, he rubbed his aching nose bridge. After confirming his nose hadn't collapsed, he reached out and touched the invisible barrier overlapping the Black Tower.
"The Black Tower can block the Ethereal Plane?"
Or rather, perhaps the tower was surrounded by a layer of Wall of Force, preventing others from slipping into the tower through ethereal travel.
I wonder if other wizard towers have the same protection?
He decided to test it at the Magic Research Society when he had the chance.
After familiarizing himself with the ability, a thought crossed his mind. His body seemed to pass through an invisible, intangible membrane, and he abruptly reappeared inside his room.
So this is phase shifting. Pretty fun.
Opening his Character Sheet, he found a new entry under the supernatural abilities section:
Ethereal Jaunt: You gain an ethereal body and can freely enter and leave the Ethereal Plane.
The description was simple, yet the ability was even stronger than he had imagined.
There was no time limit whatsoever. He could remain in the Ethereal Plane for a day, a year, or even a lifetime. He could leave whenever he wished and return whenever he wished.
It felt as natural as breathing.
No—it was instinct.
The ability reminded him of a magical species native to the Ethereal Plane: phase spiders.
They lived along the Ethereal Border and attacked from unexpected angles by shifting between planes.
The spell Etherealness actually had a major drawback.
For example, if you moved into the interior of a mountain while in the Ethereal Plane and failed to escape before the spell ended, you'd be forced into solid stone and suffer terrifying force damage.
Ethereal Jaunt had no such concern whatsoever, and its field of vision was significantly larger.
What would happen if I enhanced it? Never mind. The later abilities are bound to become even stronger.
He still had one unused supernatural manifestation available for emergencies.
After leveling up, his Hit Points had reached 193, putting him fully on par with a true young gold dragon.
His Magic Power stood at 250.
The number felt a little awkward, but the total reserve was undeniably enormous.
Just like today's battle—ordinary spellcasters simply couldn't bombard their enemies and squander magical power the way he could.
If Mason had enough psionic energy, then no matter how powerful a Chosen was, he could eventually blast them to death with telekinetic bolts.
There was another way to increase his total Magic Power:
Raise his Wizard level.
With both Charisma and Intelligence at extraordinary levels, the increase in magical reserves would inevitably be substantial.
Next time.
His experience pool still contained 7,346 experience points, not enough to level up again.
In addition, the Adventuring Party had also improved.
The shared storage space had grown slightly larger, and the maximum party size had increased by one, reaching ten members.
Anser was somewhat surprised. He had expected the requirements to be far more demanding.
Maybe the real core lies in the changes to the dice.
Aside from that, there weren't many noticeable changes.
Still, leveling up itself was a form of growth, and that could not be overlooked.
Level represented the tier of one's life force. It carried numerous hidden bonuses and forms of suppression. The same spell cast by a legendary professional was completely different from the same spell cast by an ordinary one.
If Anser's level continued to rise, those Chosen would no longer be able to resist his spells so easily.
Finally, he began going through and appraising the loot inside the Avaricious Dragonhide Pouch one item at a time.
After a simple sorting process, Jiandar handed over the most valuable spoils to him.
Although Anser had killed the most enemies, the Magic Research Society had been the main force. They had tied down all of the high-level professionals and Chosen.
The Magic Research Society didn't make a fuss over the distribution, however. They only kept a batch of relatively intact weapons and armor, along with a small number of potions, intending to use them to support Delira and her sister so they could continue fighting the followers of Lolth.
The drow were not particularly wealthy, but their heritage ran deep, and they possessed a considerable number of magic items.
The most remarkable among them was the magical longsword wielded by the drider.
...
[Magic Item: Sword of Sharpness]
Category: Weapon
Rarity: Rare (Requires Attunement)
When you hit an object with this magic sword, the weapon's damage dice deal maximum damage.
When you hit a creature with this weapon, the target takes an additional 1–14 slashing damage and has a chance of losing a limb or another part of its body.
Additionally, you can cause the blade to emit bright light.
No wonder Valera didn't suspect anything after my duplicate was cut down. Anser ran his fingers along the blade, growing more satisfied the longer he examined it.
The Sword of Sharpness was a dark steel-blue color throughout. Straight and slender, it measured over a meter in length and about three fingers in width. Tiny, intricate magical runes covered the blade. Its design was simple and elegant, unmistakably elven in style.
The sword possessed no flashy abilities, yet it pushed sharpness to its absolute limit. Its destructive power was astonishing.
In theory, it could sever a dragon's head or cleave through a lich's body.
Requires attunement...
After some thought, he decided to temporarily abandon the True Sight Ring and attune to the Sword of Sharpness instead.
A Paladin's Detect Evil and Good and Divine Sense could partially replace true sight. And if an enemy hid in the Ethereal Plane, that wasn't a problem either—he could simply follow them in at any time.
Having made his decision, he slid the Sword of Sharpness back into its black alloy scabbard, laid it across his knees, and entered meditation.
...
The next morning, in the church dining hall.
"You're saying someone broke into your room?" Rand put down his bread, looking surprised.
"Someone damaged the door, but I happened to be out at the time, so I didn't see who it was," Anser explained casually.
He hadn't cast Arcane Lock the previous day. Partly because he was running low on Magic Power, and partly because he hadn't expected anyone to cause trouble right under a Paladin's nose.
"Did anything get stolen?" Rand asked, then immediately realized there was nothing valuable in the room besides a few pieces of furniture and some blankets.
"There's nothing worth stealing from you."
Anser took a sip of tea. Beneath the bitterness was a faint moldy taste.
His expression didn't change. He set down the cup, withdrew his hand, and decided not to touch it again.
Nearby, Valera kept her head down and chewed on her bread as though she hadn't heard the conversation at all.
Delira glanced at her younger sister and said with a teasing smile, "Maybe the thief wasn't there to steal anything."
"Then what could they have been after?" Zahir asked with a serious expression.
Anyone capable of slipping silently into a church was certainly no ordinary person. It might even have been a drow skilled in stealth.
Seeing this, Delira quickly changed the subject.
"This isn't a suitable place for us to stay. We're planning to leave."
"That makes sense," Zahir replied. "Where to?"
"The Wood of Sharp Teeth."
"A fitting choice."
Since the underground races had launched their invasion, relations between the surface races and the drow had deteriorated even further.
There was no way Delira and her group could establish themselves in human lands. Their only option was the sparsely inhabited Wood of Sharp Teeth. From there, they could also infiltrate the areas around Baldur's Gate whenever necessary and persuade other drow to defect.
The drow matron had lost a large number of elite followers. With the strength of Delira and her sister, they should be just barely capable of protecting themselves.