Overpowered Wizard-Chapter Ch61: God Land

Jokes and out-of-pocket conversations aside, Zarian’s people entered a strange groove with the impending doom that was the brother-hunting Dragoness behind them.

Foara’s growth rate was no joke. Day by day, her power rose, and her ability to pull the crew away from Ariana’s reach eased the tension for Zarian and the others. They just had to make sure Foara was fed consistently, their appetite growing with their power.

Over time, the Floridians found worlds that would suffice for everyone’s growth. Sometimes they were Hero/Villain Worlds, with both ranks attending. Sometimes they were either Villain Worlds or Hero Worlds.

It mattered little what they were, because each one would get covered in godly Shadowfell Tears and be completely corrupted. Then a Corrupted God Ranker would appear to slow down the farming of the world for its experience and levels. Each of those fights required both Zarian and Foara before letting Hannah and Gilbert get what they needed.

Hannah’s advancement led to her becoming a System Grandarchitect, Villain Ranker. It suited her very well.

As for Gilbert, he became a Godsent Commander, Hero Ranker. Not a big difference from the one prior other than added power and authority.

Naomi’s was by far the most interesting. Mortal Daoist, Neutral Ranker.

She had gone back to the free for real sub-alignment and spent more time meditating than fighting. When she did fight, the battles ended fast, and she easily made up for her increased meditation time. It was a little hard on Zarian to see her meditating more, but he accepted it as something she had to do for her own growth.

Though he didn’t suffer alone.

One day, Naomi ended her discipleship with Foodie and became the only mortal on her own. Apparently, she needed the separation for her to find herself. Foara were distraught for months after that, the Foodie half especially. At the very least, they had Slim as their son and disciple to look over.

Other than the personal day-to-day stuff, the group tried their best to go after the worlds that were vacant of people and mostly set up as challenges, which most worlds were at this level. But they weren’t perfect. Lives were lost. Ariana was eating up a bunch as she chased. Zarian and the others hardened themselves against that reality and kept their eyes on the prize, God Rank.

But the way there took far longer than expected. It became apparent that grinding up to God Rank was a feat meant to take hundreds to even a few thousand years. Hannah calculated they would get there in a few more years.

Ariana couldn’t close the gap, but she stayed on them, never letting them settle down, at least with stopping their ship. Inside the vessel, they had different areas where they could relax, get away from the grind, and even submerge themselves in time dilation. In a few spots, a year outside was a decade inside.

They took turns on who went out to grind, who relaxed for a while, and who needed the fastest hyperbolic time section to work on their profile and powers.

They tried to pick up people and save them when possible, but they were either corrupted or they were too stuck in their hero and villain ways to keep the peace. A small population did learn to chill out and live in the vessel as a break from the madness outside. It helped that the Floridians could create life and mini worlds inside different sections of the vessel.

Zarian was walking through his favorite rainforest enclosure when he caught Slim following him.

“What’s up, kid?” Zarian asked.

The boy was ten now, if one counted from rebirth. He was still on the shorter side, and he was very weak, not even Level 25. He was the weakest person here, but he was by far the most fiercely defended. A foolish refugee had tried to kidnap him and … well … that guy got to meet both moms personally.

“I was watching Aunt Bianca when her eye twitched. I wanted to tell you,” he said.

Zarian walked with the kid instead of teleporting. Not even teleporting inside the vessel was safe. Refugees had gotten eaten by Ariana that way.

Leaving behind the rainforest section, he formed an easy-going panel of magic for them to stand on before flying them to the section holding the castle in the clouds. At the tallest tower, Slim lived in a large room next to their sleeping beauty. It was a picturesque and highly defensible place with deadly traps crafted by Hannah to keep Slim and Bianca safe.

They went inside Bianca’s room, and Zarian stopped a few paces away from the bed where Bianca sat on the edge. It had been years for him depending on if he was inside or out. He’d walked in here plenty of times hoping she would wake up. Seeing her awake now was shocking. But not as shocking as the beautiful thing her soul had become.

“Bianca, you’re a goddess,” Zarian said.

She’d gone through apotheosis. Her soul was no longer that of a mortal. She was a true goddess. Not an Ultra Goddess, no, but perhaps that made what she was unique among the crew. Foodie and Para had the weight of the Darkrun name. Slim was still too small and weak, but his path to godhood was set in stone. Other than the discipleship, Bianca didn’t have ultra advantages, just her natural talent and potential.

“Goddess, huh?” Bianca looked at her hands, turning them this way and that. Then she closed them into fists. “Si, this feels right. This is me. I’m … a goddess.”

Word got around. A celebration was held for Bianca’s reawakening and apotheosis at one of their taverns overlooking a colorful field. Bianca smiled while towering over everybody. She was standing close to eight feet tall, and godhood looked impressive on her – she was otherworldly and beautiful in a way that was transcendent.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She didn’t just glow; she made reality and mortals bend to her whim without even trying. It made the refugees fall over each other in her presence, but her close friends were old hands at this divine stuff, so they weren’t so affected, especially the Ultra Gods. Bianca was probably the third strongest, with Foara second and Zarian first.

Naomi’s power tier was a little bit of a mystery as of now

Later, they found a world for Bianca to show her stuff, and with only a little bit of power drawn from Zarian, she’d sliced apart the Corrupted God Ranker and the corrupted world mostly on her own. She hit the Level 400s and chose her next class.

Brilliant Hierophant, Hero Ranker.

“Seriously?” Hannah asked when everybody gathered up again at one of their taverns. “That’s, um, not something I would suspect you to choose.”

“You know how I always have a hunch or could see and feel in ways that’s special to me. I’m leaning in that direction more.” Bianca rubbed her hands together. “So, who’s ready to go to God Land?”

“Excuse me, my dear false-idol friend, but the highest of us are still in the Level 450s,” Gilbert grumbled. “We still have a long way to–”

Bianca reached down and touched the floor. “Zarian, Foara, please pull back your darkness. Hannah, prepare to patch in the coordinates I’m going to send you. I’ll move us all away from Ariana and chart the course to God Land. We’ll be there soon. Prepare yourselves.”

Before anyone could utter any further doubt, Zarian asked a simple question. “Has Bianca been wrong?”

They snapped into action. The refugees stayed out of the way. Slim waited in his most secured location. Zarian moved to stand outside on the ship as Bianca covered it in a soft glow and a few sparkling lights. The vessel turned in a new direction as Hannah followed Bianca’s guidance. Foara joined Zarian outside, the sisters ready for a fight.

They picked up speed and went faster and faster and faster some more. Space stretched into streaks of light like they were in a colorful tunnel. For a moment, Zarian swore he saw Ariana’s teeth flashing toward them, but they sped past the ghoulish image. Then they came to a sudden stop, and God Land finally appeared before them.

It was nothing like anyone had imagined. It was drenched in dark ichor. The most corruptive spills of Shadowfell Tears oozed over the entire world, a world that would’ve seen as the most massive thing to exist if Ariana wasn’t a thing.

Hannah stopped the vessel from moving for the first time in years. She didn’t dare go forward. Zarian scanned the way back and saw Ariana was far away, far enough to see at least the upper half of her body. The lower half and the tail faded into the far distance of the universe.

“I think I had it right,” Foara said. “Shadowfell lost her mind. And all the gods are corrupted.”

Zarian was lost for words until he saw a figure floating toward them. Everybody braced themselves for battle. But it was Zarian who nearly lost his cool first when he saw the creature for what it was.

Even when corrupted and turned into a gray, human-sized doll, there was no mistaking the vulpine smile on Sinfeast’s malicious face.

“My dear love, Zarian,” Sinfeast said. “Welcome home. Welcome to fun land! Come, come. Join all of us. Be like us. We’re all her toys now.”

“You still have your consciousness, huh?” Zarian growled.

“Oh, yes, very much so. My mistress likes it when I’m awake! It makes the games we play when she breaks me over and over and over again more authentic. I’m special! I help relieve her stress!” Sinfeast waggled his wooden eyebrows. “Wouldn’t it be nice once you become like me! Maybe we’ll have tea parties and be besties!”

Zarian unlocked Seventy-Five Percent Darkness and killed Sinfeast once and for all.

The beam, as big and as powerful as it was, seemed thin and small compared to God Land. Then there was the actual Star Core, which looked darker than it should be. That was the main power source of all of Infinita, and for it to be dim was bad news for the universe. It was the second most massive thing here.

Regardless of sizes, three quarters of his darkness was enough to annihilate one of the strongest Evil Gods.

“Are you okay?” Foara asked.

Zarian nodded. He needed that.

Down below, the dark clouds parted, and a section of God Land turned over into a hard landing strip. The corruption there was the thinnest. It was as clear an invitation as it got. Looking back, Zarian noted that Ariana was still far away.

“Wait here,” Zarian insisted. “I’m going ahead.”

“Not without me,” Bianca said, joining his side.

Foara looked between them and nodded. She backed off to guard the ship. Naomi was still meditating, so only Zarian and Bianca went forward, dropping upon the world.

“How does it feel?” Zarian asked.

“Cozy. Wonderful, really. It’s like I’ve been working without touch, taste, hearing, or sight. Until now. It’s like I can see all the colors. It’s like I can finally ride a bike without the training wheels and without falling over. It’s like I’m more of me than ever before.”

“I think I’m envious,” Zarian said. “I’ve been a depowered god for so long, I think no matter the loop, I carry that feeling of never achieving my true potential. But when I look at you, it’s like you’re constantly getting to enjoy new discoveries and power ups.”

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you…”

“Who knows? But yeah, sure, I’ll add that to my list of accomplishments. I’ve made a natural apotheosis happen for a mortal of mine.”

Bianca laughed as the two landed softly on the landing platform. Shadowfell corruption slathered over them like a thick, humid miasma. Ahead of them, corrupted gods stood attentively in a line. In front of that line was a familiar face.

Zarian nodded curtly. “Reiki.”

The spideress waved. “Zarian, Bianca, hello. I’ve come to guide you to the Adventurer Queen.”

Zarian and Bianca shared a look. They walked over as the line of corrupted gods stepped aside and let them through. Reiki was also corrupted, but she looked far better off than the others. She was also a God Ranker, but that was the least surprising part. She still seemed more like the standard drider, sharply dressed with six arms and eight eyes.

“The Adventurer Queen has deemed it of import that I’m both hers and myself. So yes, I’m corrupted, but I’m the most advanced form of it. I’m still myself while having all the benefits of being the dearest servant of milady.”

“How come nobody heard of Lucy becoming the Adventurer Queen?” Zarian asked.

Bianca answered the question. “She’s in control of the System. If she didn’t want us to know, she made it so. I’m assuming she forced herself onto the throne, correct?”

Reiki chuckled as they passed through a silent forest and next to still dark lakes. Everything was quiet and eerie.

“After the death of her friend, and after Zarian freed her from matrimony and gifted me over as tribute, this is the only path we could’ve treaded. She was quite a mess. She would’ve given herself over to Ariana as a meal without intervention. So, I’ve spent time talking her up. I’m her confidant in many things. This has lent me having special privileges.”

Reiki snapped her fingers. From all directions, more corrupted gods appeared. They surrounded Bianca and Zarian on all sides. Some were small, some were titanic, and all of them were powerful. They had the highest rank in the System and the power of an Ultra Goddess of Lucy’s caliber. They alone could doom the rest of the universe with enough time and savagery. They could certainly threaten Zarian and Bianca.

“Impressive, is it not?” Reiki asked.

Zarian waved it off. “Nice joke, but we need to hurry. I want Lucy’s help in stopping Ariana.”

“What makes you think I’m not betraying you? I am from Carrowmore. You know how we can be.”

He gave her a flat look. Bianca giggle-snorted.

Reiki rolled all of her eyes. She snapped her fingers again and shooed away the corrupted gods.

With a huff, she said, “Not all of them have suffered this fate. Lucy allowed a few to escape. Especially the ones who are considered friends of yours.”

Hisscreep, Serveserf, and Hopeland, I suppose. Good for them to get away from this mess. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

That also meant there was still something in Lucy for Zarian to talk to.