Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena Pov.
I needed a wand.
It was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about returning to the magical world. I was a witch; I needed a wand, even though I hadn't used one in months.
The first thing that came to mind was simply to create a fake one that looked like my old wand or to project a copy with my Reality Marble before my mind quickly went to Cia, my wand.
I felt a pang of guilt when I thought about it; it was my wand, it IS my wand. It still is, but I set it aside the moment it became inconvenient to use, when I no longer needed it to perform magic and needed my hands free for other things like alchemy.
I take a deep breath. Cia should still be in the Vivarium; I had set aside a place for her, but really, it had been months since I had visited her.
My mind quickly drifted to Riveria's staff before I could even wince, and the pang of guilt intensified. Thinking about Cia simply because I needed a wand was one thing, but considering improving Cia to the level of Riveria's staff to make her 'useful' was quite another.
But when the thought entered my mind and refused to leave, I resigned myself to it with a sigh. I began to think quickly, trying to recall every wand, scepter, and magical staff I could remember.
To begin with, wands/scepters/staffs, primarily, were a means of channeling magic, so there was really no benefit to using them, and it would be the same if one could use magic without them, as had happened to me.
But there were cases where wands and other items were capable of enhancing magic, such as the staff of Riveria, which could amplify and enhance the effects of magic. I also had different types of them within my Reality Marble, which I had replicated from Orario.
And there were more, many more throughout the multiverse.
The first thing that came to mind was the Elder Wand, Dumbledore's wand, the rod of death; although it didn't grant a really strong or incredible boost, it was still a noticeable improvement.
Next came the Kaleidosticks from Fate; those things were incredibly powerful. The Kaleidosticks transformed their owners into magical girls and could provide them with unlimited magical energy, limited only by their magical circuitry.
Which… I wasn't sure how it would help me or whether it would work. I had exactly 27 magic circuits, all from the EMIYA template, and they were completely useless.
I didn't use them; I had no use for them. My magic, my demonic power, my Light, and any other power within me ran freely through my body, flowed in torrents, and moved with total freedom, without the real need to use the magic circuits.
To begin with, it was something inherent in wizards and witches; magic simply… flowed freely within the body. There were no magical pseudo-nerves for magic to be directed through, so a Kaleoidostick … I wouldn't know how it would interact with me.
Having an infinite source of magic and not really knowing if I'd be able to use it was almost pointless. I didn't know if I actually needed magic circuits to access that magic, or if having an unlimited source with only 27 circuits was enough. It was a complete waste.
But my mind quickly went to Illya's Noble Phantasm.
Quintett Feuer: Multi-instrumental Saturation Bombardment.
Now… that might have more uses… that Noble Phantasm turned the muscular, nervous, lymphatic systems, and blood vessels into pseudo-magical circuits, increasing magical production to completely ridiculous levels at the risk of her own life. It was so powerful that it could face the Enuma Elish of Gilgamesh.
That… might work. Although my magic and magical power flowed freely within my body, there was still an output limit, which was much less than the total amount of magic inside me. That… might actually be a good idea to consider buying it.
Especially since consuming gold or my Light would keep me alive for a long period of time, even though my body would literally become a conduit of pure magic. I need barely a few organs to try to keep myself alive, unlike Illya, who could only use it for an instant before it became dangerous.
A thought for later.
Leaving aside that noble Phantasm, there were still more magical conduits, or even objects that would serve to enhance magic.
Solo Leveling's Orb of Avarice, which practically doubled the magic damage dealt by the wielder, was a good start. While it could achieve the same effect with a Twice Critical, the orb was essentially a passive and permanent effect.
There were other items in various novels, manga, and anime that used a similar system to The Gamer. In fact, in the original The Gamer, if I remember correctly, there was the Staff of Hermes, which quadrupled spellcasting.
There were many more, most of them from video games, most of them increased affinity with certain magic or some rather esoteric and interesting effects, even some striking ones. Still, I would need several of them to create something that stands out.
Except for one that did… one that caught my attention.
Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
It was a truly powerful object, powerful enough to approach the power level of a World Item in Overlord —objects that could unbalance the world, each possessing the power of an entire world. I was sure it was just filler text, except for the strongest of them, but the point is, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was ridiculously strong.
Not only did it greatly increase the parameters of someone like Momonga, who was already capable of truly impressive magical feats, but it also increased his affinity with the elements Sun, Moon, Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Time, thanks to the embedded gems it had. Each gem was capable of performing a unique ability and summoning a truly powerful monster.
In addition, it also had an automatic interception mode, in which it could act on its own to help its wielder by instinctively understanding their intentions.
But what really caught my attention was that it could enhance the user's racial abilities. That... I could really see the use for that, especially since I was now a huge combination of racial traits.
With the Six Eyes, during my mental escape, I was able to dissect all the necessary parts of the templates I had at the time. During my K-pop Demon Hunter performance, I was able to see different races, which I recorded.
I had performed the same process with the Six Eyes and finally placed them on my body.
In addition to those I already had from Orario, I had managed to copy the traits Sitri and Bael from Serafall and Sirzechs, respectively, as well as the fallen angel physiology of Azazel and Nekoshou from Koneko.
I had managed to place all the ones I already had available, along with the new ones, except for the fallen angels, the Prüfer, and the vampire version of Bella.
The first one was completely incompatible with devils; even with Akeno, a half-fallen angel reincarnated as a devil, it is almost impossible for me to place that template permanently.
Bella's vampire was more... complicated. Whatever Alucard was, he did something very strange to my soul, having the ability to store an unlimited number of souls. It was really weird, and I didn't want to get involved in it for now.
And the Prüfer unit was more complicated than I thought; I couldn't replace my organs since they were really necessary to make several templates, and somehow making spaces in them to place the internal components of an ExMachina unit was extremely complicated, so I was still designing what I really needed.
The analytical capabilities of the ExMachina were something I wanted; I had been able to test them, but thanks to that, I had been able to use the Six Eye almost to its limit without any repercussions.
So yes, I had several traits that would count as 'racial traits' and if the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was able to improve those traits… well, I really wanted to see how far something could be improved.
My affinity with magic was already high, as a devil, a descendant of Lucifer, and other things in between, I already had a high affinity with magic, but when we add the trait of the High Elves and the Renard from Danmachi, my affinity had increased enormously, the Nekoshou had increased my affinity to Senjutsu and Youjutsu and the slight increases of the others, I really wanted to see how far I could go.
I resisted the urge to immediately buy the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown before thinking about Cia. Again, I needed to figure out how to make her able to absorb and enhance herself with different magical items, and in a way that would permanently increase her abilities without the need to change form or anything else; otherwise, it would be the same as continuing to project weapons.
For example, Aria was a similar case; she was able to eat magical clothing and, to a certain degree, improve its durability.
Aria was particularly special; she was the Cloak of Death. I didn't know if she had truly belonged to death itself, but I was inclined to believe so. After all, I couldn't replicate her with my Reality Marble; I had the same problem as with the Divine Constructs.
So, as a Shroud of Death, it was special in its own right; the ability to eat and absorb things had somehow arisen from the interaction of my magic and the shroud, but I had no idea how it had happened; it simply existed. No matter how much I studied it, I couldn't find any answers to that.
Aria had even been able to absorb my La Verita cloak, which was entirely made of magic, and had eaten some enchanted fabrics to improve herself slightly. Still, she definitely hadn't been able to eat truly magical armor and clothing.
She had not been able to absorb dresses or armor like Riveria's magical attire or Bete's Flosvirt boots; she had not even been able to absorb a dress with a small magical boost that she had bought in Orario.
So yes, Aria was very limited, and it would also be good to find a way for her to improve herself; the ability to eat and improve herself with any clothing or armor would be quite good, especially those that could give me a boost.
Until now, I hadn't had the chance to acquire many samples of magical clothing. In the few worlds I've been to, only Danmachi had magical armor that Aria could eat.
The magical world had hardly any enchanted fabrics or fabrics with magic-resistant properties. The world of DxD was the same; magical armor or clothing didn't exist. The only similar items were some Sacred Gears, like the Balance Breaker from the Booster Gear, Divine Divide, or Regulus Nemea.
I quickly shook those thoughts from my mind and focused on what needed to be done. First, get Cia back, then everything else.
I sighed once more and left the mansion, heading towards the Vivarium. The Vivarium, which still resembled a slightly small glass greenhouse, intimidated me even though I had consistently improved the thing.
I really had to start recreating them in large quantities; the number of animals in there is getting out of hand, especially since we had added several monsters from the Orario Dungeon to get the necessary parts for the potions.
I entered the Vivarium, making sure to select the correct habitat before going in. Cia had settled into the forest habitat. I looked around to see the many green trees and a path in front of me. I could hear many animal noises around me; in fact, I could see some of them.
Birds and small animals simply continued moving around the forest. With my Six Eyes, I could see the larger ones in the distance, but I ignored them. I started walking toward where Cia had made her home. The path was paved, just as I remembered, although the plants kept growing taller, especially the flowers.
I ventured deeper into the woods, following the path, when I heard the high-pitched, playful buzzing of fairies. I continued walking, guided by the sound, and quickly found a small clearing in the forest where there were many beautiful flowers of all colors.
I could see a large number of fairies playing and fluttering around the place; the fairies were really colorful and pleasing to the eye, but they were really tiny, the largest being just over 10cm.
And among them I could see her, Cia, standing out like a sore thumb. Cia was not only twice as big as the other fairies, but she was the closest thing to a dark fairy that could possibly exist.
I looked at Cia, with dark blue hair, a black dress with pink details, black feather wings, and pink eyes. She looked exactly as I remembered.
I leaned against the nearby tree without making a sound and watched Cia play with the other fairies, laughing. I could feel the tension leaving my body as I watched her play. Not only the fairies, but even the birds and some small animals were playing with her. I watched her for several minutes before sighing with amusement and taking a step forward.
My movement caught the attention of all the animals, especially Cia. Her little eyes opened in surprise, her face lit up before she frowned and then began to glare at me and almost growl. Then she turned around, crossed her arms, and gave me her back.
I blinked and looked at my really expressive wand before letting out a small smile. That only made Cia glare at me over her shoulder.
"Hello, Cia." I said softly as I approached her. Cia just snorted and ignored me. I could see the other fairies position themselves in front of her as the rest launched an attack on me. I blinked as I watched a dozen fairies throwing punches that I could barely feel.
I could see Cia smiling smugly as she looked around, and I stifled a laugh.
"Okay, okay, I've come to apologize, please stop hitting me," I said playfully. The fairies stopped and frowned before turning to Cia. Cia had stopped and stared at me. Then she frowned even more before flying off in the opposite direction.
I quickly began to follow her.
I moved around the woods, following Cia as she fluttered about, until we reached what appeared to be her nest. It was a huge hollow tree filled with flowers, which she used as a bed. She fluttered over, sat on the flowers, and turned away, continuing to ignore me. I approached her.
"I'm sorry," I said directly, entirely honest. I could see Cia tremble slightly. "I'm sorry for abandoning you, I'm sorry for ignoring you, and I'm sorry for leaving you here alone," I said, completely remorseful.
Cia shuddered even more and remained still for a few seconds before glancing cautiously over her shoulder at me.
"I want to use you again, properly." I said directly as I extended my hand close to hers. Cia looked at me, her eyes wide, and almost seemed to move to place herself in my hand before stopping and looking at me suspiciously. I smiled gently at her. "I promise I won't abandon you and that I won't let you go again," I promised.
Cia stared at me before letting out a small buzzing sound, and I chuckled.
" I also promise not to use any other wands, staffs, scepters, or any magical items used to channel magic. I can't give up swords and bladed weapons," I said playfully to Cia. Cia just snorted and let out an almost dismissive buzz at the mention of bladed weapons. I burst out laughing.
"Yes, I think so too," I told my wand. "So, what do you say? Will you let me wield you one more time?" I asked Cia with a smile. Cia looked at me for a few seconds before standing up and cautiously touching my finger.
I shuddered at the warm, comforting wave I felt when I touched Cia once more after who knows how many months. I could feel my magic react to Cia, and Cia reacted to it, fluttering happily before flying toward me and hugging my face.
"So, tell me, what do you think about becoming the strongest wand in existence?" I asked, my eyes sparkling. Cia pulled away, stared at me, then smiled almost wildly and nodded firmly. She began to fly, almost petulantly. I chuckled. "Very well, let's see," I said as I drew from The Company. Cia looked curious but did nothing to shield herself from the seal placed on her leg. She just looked at it curiously before shuddering slightly as the defenses and talents took effect.
I grabbed my phone and started checking it quickly.
Now, there are very few template options for what I was really trying to achieve. The first was to choose something similar to the Legendary Weapons system from The Rising of the Shield Hero. That system was arguably the broadest and most diverse form of evolution possible.
The ability to absorb objects and materials to unlock new forms of the weapon, each with its own set of skills, was simply ridiculous, especially when you could permanently unlock passive bonuses by using different types of weapons and stacking them.
That growth was practically infinite and could increase to a ridiculous level, especially with the ability to upgrade legendary weapons, and if somehow one could return to the Divine level as Naofumi achieved in the end.
The second option that occurred to me was to get something similar to Rimuru Tempest's Predator / Devour form from Tensura. There were also Predator's later evolutions, like Gluttony or Beelzebuth, but Devour should be the lowest evolution capable of achieving what I wanted.
It didn't need a high template; in fact, the smaller the template, the better. If it could be achieved at a T4 or T5, that would be ideal, since it was the initial base template. It would be very difficult to make a wand or cloak increase its level to perfectly develop a powerful ability otherwise.
But going back, Predator absorbed something into its body, analyzed it, and then completely mimicked it to use a power equal to, or even greater than, the original.
Along with that, I would have to add Shizu's Synthesis ability; that way, Cia could start combining any magical object she ate within herself and evolve infinitely. It was the fastest way.
The only problem was that I would need Wise One or Raphael to analyze the objects correctly, unless… I handled the analysis myself. My Reality Marble would be more than enough for most objects.
I only needed one ability to connect my wand to myself… to myself and… that was terribly easy. I blinked a few times. I had already done it with my The Light; I had torn a part of myself and placed it inside each Evil Piece, creating a permanent connection that allowed the constant flow of The Light so they could safely use it.
I didn't even hesitate when I grabbed Cia. I grabbed a piece of my soul, carefully separated it, and pushed it toward Cia and Aria. Both objects grasped them almost eagerly, becoming imbued with my soul and merging with it so fluidly that it was almost comical. Almost instantly, I felt a connection with both magical objects.
It was time for the next step, but first, I began to decant and burn gold inside me to heal and repair my soul and return it to its original form. It took several minutes, but finally my soul remained as impeccable as ever.
With that done, I went back to searching for the template, or rather, ordering the template. You could, to a certain extent, order any skill template you wanted, and what I wanted was actually quite easy. I quickly spoke to one of the Company employees about developing the skill, and I grimaced slightly before sighing with relief.
Template Stacking I [Ciara (Wand) has Assimilation (Revised: Magical Foci, Catalysts, and Amplifiers)] [-20]
Restricting the skill was the only reason it fell within a T4 tier, especially since it was just the raw skill; it didn't come with any visible instant upgrades. Otherwise, it would have been a much higher tier. That was good. I thought about it for a few seconds before buying a revised version for Aria.
Template Stacking I [Arianell Has Assimilation (Revised: Enchanted/Magical Armor, Garments, and Vestments)] [-40]
I could feel both objects change almost completely when they joined my Reality Marble; almost without permission, my Reality Marble began to move and rearrange itself.
My eyes opened wide as I looked at my Reality Marble. The stars and weapons on the various wands, staffs, and other related items inside me practically began to move around where the connection with Cia originated. At the same time, everything with magical or enchanted clothing and armor did the same in the direction of Aria.
Each of my projections was quickly absorbed by Cia and Aria's Assimilation, immediately skipping all the steps. Assimilation didn't need to analyze any of the objects in my Reality Marble; they could already access everything that a given projection was, everything that comprised it, from its creation, the composition of metals, its crafting, the years of accumulated experience—they had the highest possible level of analysis.
There was only a small deviation that prevented them from being perfect replicas, but that didn't matter; the projections were absorbed by Aria and Cia, who quickly adapted and grew thanks to Assimilation.
I had still been touching Cia, so I could feel the powerful impulse I felt when I held Cia in my fingers. I hadn't yet been in the magical world, but I had seen the wands of Lucius, Narcissa, and Bella; I had been able to project them into my Reality Marble. Each one had its own strengths, things it excelled at, and now I could feel them in Cia at the same time as my original wand of Hawthorn and dragon fiber.
Then I added all the staves and several I had seen in Orario; it wasn't a linear or exponential growth. Magna Alf was practically the best in my collection, and all the power I now felt in Cia practically came from there; the others seemed like redundancies that barely improved on Cia.
But putting that aside, she had also absorbed several Sacred Gears, Black Merlin, and Big Leaguer, the weapons of Liver and Champ from Akame Ga Kill. The first was the ring that controlled liquids such as water and blood, and the second were the six elemental orbs with different effects.
Somehow, they had counted as Catalysts and were assimilated; I could feel the ability to control those elements with ease while holding Cia.
And she wasn't the only one; Aria had also absorbed a large amount of clothing and armor from my inventory. Flosvirt had been the first; I could feel its effects on my boots right now, but it had also absorbed Perfector, Stylish's gloves that increased hand speed.
Apparently, the effects of each thing absorbed had to stay in the place they belonged; I couldn't push the magical absorption effects of Flosvirt all over my clothes, just as I can't push the effects of Perfector to places other than my hands.
I wanted the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown immediately; really, I would first have to take stock of everything each one had absorbed and get used to them before buying more things.
I sighed wearily before smiling slightly and looking at Cia, who had a huge smile on her face.
I laughed, gently stroking my wand as I smiled. I stood up, and Cia easily perched on my head and snuggled into my hair.
I started walking away from Cia's nest before stopping when a small burnt patch on the ground caught my eye. I looked closely, only to freeze when I saw small, unfinished statues of myself. I could easily identify myself since they were really detailed, but the strange thing was that around them were more than a dozen pieces of burnt and shattered wood that I could barely make out.
I blinked several times, heard Cia's evil laughter above my head, and turned my head. Yes… I deserved it.
…perhaps it was a bad idea to give so much power to a resentful wand.
Author's Notes: Cia is back! And this time, it's here to stay! Maybe… anyway! This came about from a comment someone made asking about Cia, and it ended up mentioning the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which is a truly powerful staff.
Cia, who was primarily created to absorb various magical items as mentioned in the chapter, simply couldn't fit into my writing at the time. So, I took advantage of the return to the magical world and the need for a wand to bring her back stronger than ever. Now let's see what comes of this.
By the way, should I really make it a Legendary Weapon like the weapons in The Rising of the Shield Hero? I have my doubts about whether I can write a functional Gamer system for the wand, but it would be really interesting to write one… I'll think about it carefully.