Overpowered Wizard-Chapter B4 Ch48: Bro Energy

Fall was here. The trees were a riot of reds, oranges, and yellows. Two days had passed since the last Carrowmore Tournament, and Zarian was psyching himself up for the marathon to come.

He was standing on top of the central tower in the middle of the capital, and beneath him teemed the masses from nearly every corner of the world. Humans. Gnolls. Elves. And even a gnome or two. There were other races, such as the driders, who were having a rough go at adjusting.

Granted, most people around the world held great distrust and animosity toward driders. They earned it, in a way, but as per Zarian’s policy to welcome others who had the propensity to turn over a new leaf, he made it known that acts of hate crime wouldn’t be tolerated.

Well, the people working under him made it known. He was mostly a distant powerhouse these days.

“It feels like I’m not really a ruler, honestly, more of a big bomb everybody panders to,” Zarian said.

He hadn’t spent nearly enough time here to be considered the de facto ruler. The pure might of his magic and the reach of his bloodlines made most of this possible. It also helped that he made plenty of friends and did his best to help people who deserved to be helped. This all started with a bunch of orphans years ago.

Well, a few years to them was over three decades to Zarian now.

“I need to be careful of that in the future,” Zarian muttered. “Time dilation can really screw up the perspective.”

“If I were to count the years I’ve spent in time dilation, I would be considered far older than I already am.” Her voice had a pull on Zarian like gravitational well that was nearly inescapable. He smiled and turned to his lady, and she smiled back. “Hello, Zarian. It’s been too long.”

“It’s been about a week.”

“Yes, too long indeed.” She fell onto his chest playfully, and he held her like their life depended on it. “Well, at least you came back with gifts.”

“My hand is busy with you.”

“The gifts I speak of are of your feats. And not just Feats of Adventure. You’re the Last Carrowmore Tournament Winner. And Carrowmore is no more.” Her hands glided along his face, making his heart beat like a merry drum. “I suppose that’ll make for a fitting end here as you move on to bigger and better things.”

He knew what she was saying. They both knew. But the incoming time for his departure cooled his rising mood. Her smile became brittle on her face.

He changed subjects. “How did things go with your family?”

“Terrible. Who would’ve thought they’d complain so loudly about a mere case of generational infanticide? It took much of my Willpower to sit there and take that from them instead of scampering off. But it is done. The ties are cut fully. And I’ve left them with a few parting gifts that would make them feel better.”

Zarian gave her a look.

“I really mean parting gifts that are valuable, not any curses or hexes. That would be a waste of the curses and hexes.” Ruvaria rolled her eyes. She’d gotten far sassier the past thirty years. He liked it.

“Well, you can’t completely cut ties. You’re going to be ruling the entire world as empress while I’m gone.”

That was part of the plan. Ruvaria would stay behind and guard the home front. Foodie and Zarian and perhaps four more would head upward to reach Level 500.

Ruvaria wanted to stay on the sidelines, and they’d discussed this plenty enough where the debates and arguments had met their end back in the rainforest of Wonderland. It was still sad that they’d have to separate for longer, but Zarian didn’t let that show on his face.

“It won’t take long. A few years, give or take. Maybe even sooner.”

“Have you decided what you will do if Ariana cuts your time even shorter?” she asked.

“Then I’ll make the play that only I can make and hope for the best.”

That was it. There was no need for further words. They held each other and looked over the center of their empire. Nothing had sprung up this fast on Corma before. It wouldn’t have if it weren’t for the Floridians and all the help they’d received from the people they gathered together.

Once Foodie teleported in, they knew it was time to go. They didn’t bother with goodbyes, and Zarian held back the real gift he wanted to share with Ruvaria. But there were complications in his life that he needed to square away first. For now, Ruvaria saw them wormhole out, leaving her behind with their home. It would be safe in her hands as long as they could save the universe.

On the other side of the wormhole, Zarian and Foodie landed in a Super World of tundra, towers, and time. The two Darkruns felt the familiar sensation of time dilation, desyncing them from the rest of the cosmos, and placing their whereabouts at a faster speed. It felt like for every week that went on here, a day would go by outside of this world. With a deeper scan, Zarian found miniature time pockets that quickened time even further within special areas.

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The towers.

It wasn’t as substantial as Wonderland, but an increased factor by two or three could lead to some expedient growth. After some searching, Zarian found where his party had lodged themselves, and flew with Foodie in tow.

“You barely made much of an impression before leaving Ruvaria behind,” Zarian commented.

Foodie’s face was stony. Her ears, however, twitched downward slightly, giving away her guilt.

“She should be here instead of me,” she muttered. “She’s still stronger than me. Smarter than me, for sure.”

“She’s not,” Zarian pushed lightly. “If she were, she would do this herself. Sometimes, you can have all the power in the universe, and it won’t mean anything if you can’t use it right.”

Foodie gave him a long look. “You’re okay saying that about Ruvaria?”

“I’m talking about myself.”

He let the awkward pause stand as they flew across the frozen landscape. They passed empty towers that punched up from the hard snow and into the thick cloud cover. It was a dark place, and the little sunlight that filtered through could only reach through thin layers in the clouds above. It looked like an expanded snow-globe, almost perfect with its passive hostility to all that was warm.

Then the peace was broken by a suddenly forming storm that came with a quirky time anomaly. Getting caught in its heavy drift would affect time in the reverse, slowing anything in the area. Zarian and Foodie flew through anyway because it was novel and a good practice for Foodie. She was still reliant on her eternal clothing and the time enchantments.

“Wallen?” he asked.

Foodie glared at him, brow furrowed with concentration while countering the slow effect. She was doing a good job of it.

“He still wants to date. He doesn’t mind an older me. I’m still me.” Foodie’s mouth twisted into a frown.

“And?”

“I didn’t break up with him.”

“Seriously?”

“We even kissed. It was different, but nice. I only broke a few ribs by accident. He’s good practice for when I need to handle mortals more gently.”

“You’re not joking. You’re actually serious.”

Foodie glared. “It’s cute.”

“What’s cute?”

“How weak he is. I used to hate it. I’ve been telling myself I still do. It’s only logical that I separate from him. Then I saw him face to face after so many years. Now I think it’s cute. He’s my little weak human bug. I guess I’ll keep him for now.”

Zarian dropped the subject. Clearly, godly goblin daughters were a different sort of trouble compared to the more human kind. He’d never had any human kids – that he could remember – so he didn’t have much of a reference point unless he counted the orphans. If those counted, then Zarian wasn’t sure what was normal or not.

Magical teenagers with too much power were weirdoes.

And Wallen was a bastard who got the last laugh, keeping his hooks in his dear goblin god-daughter after years of distance. How the hell did he pull that off?!

I should curse that geeky Casanova. If only a little.

Foodie frowned. “No, Father. Leave my little Wallen alone. I can sense you wishing him harm, and I won’t allow it!”

Zarian dropped his annoyance with Wallen. For now.

The journey around the world took longer than necessary. Zarian didn’t cut the time short because he wanted to make sure his friends were prepared.

If I’m to be honest, I’m the one who needs the time. It had been only months for them. About half a year or so. For Zarian, it had been over three decades.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous. I’m nervous, too.” Foodie’s face became tense with focus. There was a reason for that.

Zarian spent the rest of the trip brooding. His mind briefly touched on how the tournament ended with Para’s surprising and unexpected maneuvers. The Infinita System was fine for now, and the other systems were keeping their distance in fear of ultra parasitic infection. In a way, Para’s freewheeling actions were working out for the better, but that put the entire universe at risk, too.

Then the journey across the super world ended with a familiar man waiting at the mouth of a valley. He was sitting in a recliner while wearing thick pelts like a viking. He’d even grown out his beard fully, along with his hair, the aesthetic working for him as his blue eyes regarded the incoming Darkruns. Zarian and Foodie landed in the snow ten feet away from the seated man, and the valley’s sentinel rose to his full stature with an axe in hand.

He came marching forward with strong strides, his gait like that of a warrior on the verge of going berserk. With his free hand, he clapped it on Zarian’s shoulder where the arm was missing. Then, in a fraction of a second, the laws of the universe were unraveled. Permanent damage stopped being permanent, and Zarian’s arm grew anew with all the bone, muscle, tendons, and skin. He knew this would happen. It still affected him.

He had both arms again after thirty years of working with one. It was almost alien. He wasn’t sure what to do with the extra arm.

“It’s good to see you again, brother,” Gilbert clapped him on the same shoulder, the big man no longer mean-mugging.

“Is that it? It’s been forever, man, and all you have is a clap on the shoulder! Get over here!” Zarian wrapped the Rescue Ranger in a hug and swept him off his feet. Gilbert laughed the whole time before getting placed back down. “On your god, man, you have no idea how much I missed you.”

“It’s been hard, huh?”

“There’s been a definite lack of bro energy for sure.”

“Ha!” Gilbert clapped him hard on the back, and that actually stung a little. Zarian was far tougher than most for a caster, so it was impressive for Gilbert to affect him.

He didn’t let that raise his hopes. He’d brought the axe woman with him, and Foodie didn’t bother pretending she was anything but.

“That’s Foodie?” Gilbert gawked. “I’ll be damned, girl. You’ve grown up a lot for your age.”

“I’m also older than you now.”

“Say what now?”

Foodie pointed at Zarian. “He’s in his fifties. He’s old enough to be your father now.”

Gilbert did a double-take between the Darkruns. Then he shook his head and turned toward the valley’s entrance. “Nope. Nah. I’m not the one to take on all of this madness myself. Two Darkruns? With more of them running amok across the universe? We gotta go.”

“Go where?” Zarian knew the answer, but he enjoyed prompting the question as part of the bit.

“To see the rest of our merry gang of lunatics. They’re in the cabin’s kitchen. Maybe Foodie would soften that look on her face once she’s in familiar territory.”

“There’s a joke in there, Gilbert. I know what you are insinuating.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zarian. I’m a good Christian. We insinuate nothing other than what’s proper with the Lord.” Pause. “And what they’re doing is proper.”