From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 663 Dual Paths

The reason why Ivy could suddenly transform into an even more eye-catching dragon lich at the moment of the commander's ascension in the spotlight was because he selected a powerful mythical feat, "Dual Paths," on his Grimoire of Destruction.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Dual Path]: Choose a Path (which cannot be the same as the Path you chose at Ascension) and gain all of its Tier 1 abilities. Whenever you gain a Path ability, you can choose from another Path to replace the current Path's ability, or spend a Mythic feat to choose an additional Path ability.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As the name suggests, after selecting the [Dual Path], Ivy's path to mythology has another possibility. However, the light and justice represented by the [Mythical Golden Dragon] are usually difficult to coexist with the darkness and death represented by the [Mythical Lich].

However, Avina's unique planar harmonic feat, "Harmonious Opposition," which he acquired from the world of Akavievo and the Stryhaven Magic Vortex, allows him to be under two opposing magical effects simultaneously without any hindrance.

Therefore, by combining the Mythical Golden Dragon and the Mythical Lich, he became the unique Mythical Dragon Lich. What's even better is that even in the form of the Dragon Lich, the Golden Dragon Breath that he gained as the Mythical Golden Dragon, which destroys non-living things, still works. Moreover, the corresponding Mastery of Golden Dragon Breath has an additional option, Annihilation Breath.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Annihilation Breath]: The breath deals additional eclipse damage to hostile living creatures, equal to the breath damage. This damage can be halved by a Fortitude saving throw. The DC is the same as the Reflect saving throw.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

With both [Annihilation Breath] and [Disintegration Breath] active, Ivy's Golden Dragon Breath will deal double damage to any enemy, regardless of the situation. If the enemy is a living being, it will suffer double the original Radiant damage plus double the Dark Corrosion damage. If the enemy is not a living being, it will suffer double the Radiant damage, or double the Radiant damage plus double the Force Field damage.

The only problem with [Golden Dragon Breath] now is its cooldown time, which is a full four rounds, or 24 seconds. However, as the Mythic tier increases, the cooldown time of [Golden Dragon Breath] will gradually decrease. At Mythic Tier 5, it will be shortened to once every two rounds, and at Mythic Tier 10, it will be shortened again, becoming a permanent ability that can be used every round.

Becoming a Mythical Dragon Lich is not just about the improvements in breath control for Ivy; the most crucial aspect is the mythical spellcasting ability of a lich.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Mythical Spellbook]: Obtain a spellbook containing unique dragon and lich spells. It can be combined with your existing arcane spellcaster class, adding an extra spellcaster level equal to the Mythical tier to your original spellcaster level. Additionally, based on the advancement in Mythical tier, you will gain new known spells.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A perfect, powerful, and highly versatile skill set.

Ivy's highest spellcaster level class is the [Supreme Warlock], which is equivalent to a Legendary level, with a total of 26 effective spellcaster levels. Of these, 20 are the Warlock's class level, 4 are the Legendary classes [Warden Seeker] and [Netheril Arcane Mage], and the other 2 are from the [Arcane Power] class ability of the Bard's advanced class [Arcane Follower].

Now, considering the Mythic-tier spellcaster level boost from the [Mythic Spellbook], Ivy's effective spellcaster level will reach a terrifying 29. When calculating spell penetration, this will be combined with the +6 from [Legendary Spell Penetration], resulting in a terrifying 35-level effective spell penetration. Even if a demon lord truly passes through the World's Lament to reach the Prime Material Plane, Ivy's spells are highly likely to penetrate their spell resistance.

In addition to the increase in spell penetration rating, the equivalent caster rating can also provide buffs to many spells.

Previously in Faerûn, perhaps because the magic network and the goddess of magic had been repeatedly harmed by ambitious individuals, the spellcasters of Faerûn were quite restricted under the deliberate control of the third-generation goddess of magic, Mystra.

Their inherent strength and skill were difficult to demonstrate in the spells they cast. Whether it was an archmage from Waterdeep or a self-taught henchman from a laundromat, the power of their fireballs wasn't significantly different when they didn't use Ascendant spellcasting. Even the spells Ivy was familiar with were heavily influenced by the Faerûn magic network, becoming much more mediocre.

However, in Grallion, magic and spells are almost unrestricted, and the difference in spellcaster strength and skill can be reflected in almost every spell.

A fireball cast by an archmage is naturally more powerful than a lower-level spell.
In addition, there are a number of spells that exhibit different effects depending on the caster's level.

For example, the most common first-circle Evocation spell, Magic Missile, can only be created by a level 1 caster, a newly minted apprentice mage, in Grallion, dealing a paltry single missile that inflicts 1d4+1 force field damage. However, if their spellcasting ability improves, they can add an extra missile for every two caster levels, until the total number of missiles reaches the maximum allowed by the first-circle spell model, which is five.

In Faerûn, the same spell, whether cast by a legendary spellcaster like Ivy or a newly learned apprentice, can only produce three missiles when using a first-level spell slot. In comparison, the lower limit is high while the upper limit is low.

This outcome was likely intentional on the part of the Goddess of Magic. For the sake of the Magic Network and the long-term existence of the Goddess of Magic, Mystra chose to restrict the abilities of high-level spellcasters at their source, thereby reducing their chances of survival.

However, judging from the current situation, Mystra's system has received very little positive feedback. After all, not long ago, Ivy had just used the Ness Brain created by the three gods of death, the crystallized power of Baal, and the Destruction Orb left by Karthus, the god of moments, to do something that even the Kingdom of Heaven had to quickly throw him out of.

Only after Ivy completed the time loop within himself did the supreme god Io finally turn a blind eye and let him in.

If this trend continues, it's probably not long before the next time the magic network is paralyzed and the goddess of magic is killed.

In addition to the spellcaster level increase brought by the Mythic Spellbook, the Mythic Dragon Lich also has other Tier 1 Mythic abilities.

As the Lord of Death and the Overlord of the Undead, the Lich naturally possesses the ability to create and summon the undead. In addition to summoning a massive horde of undead, Ivy can also use the power of death to enhance individual undead creatures, transforming them into mythical undead similar to Illinika's mythical companions.

If used properly, this ability can certainly shine. However, Ivy's second path will not automatically strengthen with the advancement of the mythological rank; it requires additional resources to enhance. Therefore, the potential for further growth of this path ability, which creates undead guards, is limited.

To address this issue, Ivy plans to select a range of superior materials to create Undead Guardians, thus mitigating the problem of insufficient growth potential.

Moreover, he already had a suitable target: in the shattered plane between the Abyss and the Prime Material Plane of Grallion, the skeletal and frost-king, the demon lord Hishad, possessed a fragmented soul and body perfectly suited to be reforged by Ivy into a powerful undead creature. However, the prerequisite was that Ivy completely digested the fragments of Hishad's soul, to prevent him from resurrecting using the undead body he created.

After that, the Mythical Dragon Lich also has a series of unique lich powers that can be selected when advancing to the Mythical tier. These lich powers are similar to the Golden Dragon's Dao abilities, all of which are things that balance strength and flavor.

The first-tier [Mythical Dragon Lich] has one chance to choose the Lich Power. Ivy only glanced at the entire entry before choosing [Deadly Magic] without any hesitation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Deadly Magic]: Up to three rounds per day, all spells cast by the Lich ignore spell resistance and spell immunity. Creatures affected by these spells are unable to cast spells for 1d3+1 rounds.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Alright, now Ivy is certain that even if the Demon Lord himself were here, he would still have a chance of winning.

Ignore spell resistance and spell immunity.

These few words possess immense power. Moreover, this ability takes effect on a round-by-round basis, meaning that multiple spells cast within a single round will be simultaneously affected by this ability.

Under normal circumstances, Ivy can use Reactive Casting to cast a seventh-level spell as a reaction action, followed by a standard action spell, and then a bonus action spell using the Metamagic feat Instant Cast. In this way, she can cast three spells under the influence of Fatal Magic in one round.

However, if he also edited a sixth-circle Evocation spell trigger for himself, setting the trigger condition to activate after [Reaction Casting] ends during the battle with the Demon Lord, then he could instantly cast four spells that ignore spell resistance and spell immunity in the first round of the battle with the Demon Lord.

With Ivy's spellcaster level of 29, it goes without saying how terrifying he is, right?
Furthermore, the Sword Saint's class ability, "First Strike," will ensure that Ivy always gains the initiative in combat after reaching level 20. If she also uses "Spell Combat" simultaneously, she can even draw her Beastbite Sword and strike a few times between spellcasting sessions.

As for how to plan this crucial first encounter to inflict maximum damage on the Demon Lord, Ivy believes it's time to start planning now.

That concludes the main path abilities of the [Mythical Dragon Lich]. What remains are some additional advantages of becoming an undead creature, such as immunity to instant death, no lifespan limit, and no need for water or food. These abilities can all be seen as inferior substitutes for the Ivy divine creature template, and therefore do not require special introduction.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The city of Juanze remained in ruins after the great battle. Although the Valiant Vanguard had changed its appearance under the influence of Commander Ilinica, it still demonstrated its ability to block the demons' teleportation.

The Crusader troops stationed in the city shifted from holding their ground to taking the initiative, clearing out the cultists and demons involved in the city and restoring the long-lost order.

Building is always harder than destroying, let alone rebuilding order in a city that has been ruled by chaos for nearly a century.

The high-ranking officers of the Crusade, from top to bottom, hardly had time to close their eyes, so they all ended up with unsightly panda eyes.

However, Ivy, who possessed the energy of the dragon race, was not affected much.

Queen Godfrey of Montevideo, who had been lingering in the city of Glorious City for several days, finally received a letter from Nerozian and prepared to return to the capital to handle court affairs.

After the pre-departure meeting, Godfrey spoke to Ivy alone.

"I still can't believe it. Iomede's relic has been completely altered, becoming... like that." The joy after capturing the city of Favor had faded from the Queen's face. The situation facing the Holy Army remained dire. The Fifth Holy War had only just regained the front lines from a hundred years ago.

“How did she do that? Was this really Iomede’s instruction? Or was it some kind of omen? Coincidence? Or even a warning?” Godfrey shook her head, unable to hide her worry.

“The Holy War has never been solely the domain of Iomede. While her church has undoubtedly played a significant role, the contributions of the other Crusader gods cannot be denied,” Ivy reassured. “I believe it’s time to allow those who believe in other benevolent gods to play a greater role. We should organize a council of Crusader gods, ensuring the participation of every representative of faith who comes to the Holy War, uniting their secular power into one force until we conquer the World’s Lament and achieve the ultimate goal of the Holy War. Instead of watching these zealous people blindly rush to the World’s Lament, only to be defeated and even corrupted by demons and cultists.”

The Queen opened her mouth slightly, her face full of shock: "A rather bold suggestion... It's almost predictable that it will encounter considerable resistance... But if we can really do it, then the Crusaders will be invincible."

Godfrey took a deep breath and shook her head, saying, "However... I cannot guarantee or authorize you. This is something no secular ruler would want to see, even if I myself am Iomede's chosen one..."

Theocracy and monarchy have never been perfectly cooperative partners, and Ivy had long understood this, so she was not surprised by Godfrey's answer.

After a long pause, she said again, "Perhaps... I should ask the goddess for her opinion? If I gave her permission in my letter, it must be because the goddess herself spoke up... To be honest, she has many friends in heaven, and we received a lot of help in the previous holy war... But Desna... sigh..."

The Queen rose from her chair and said solemnly to Ivy, “This city belongs to the Crusaders, and it also belongs to the Commander and you. You must stop her from turning this city into a giant circus or opera house… At the very least, there can’t be circuses or operas performed every single day of the year, can there? This will definitely be a difficult task. In just these few days, my court has already received countless entry permits from Desna’s followers. Who knows how many of them are prepared to abide by Montevi’s laws and regulations?”

"Don't worry," Ivy said confidently, suppressing a laugh. "The main purpose of the City of Favor remains to fight against demons and the tragedy of the world. As for the artists' desire to perform and create, I've decided to use festivals to dissipate it. Carnival and Parade Day will initially be set up only once, but if the response is good, we can consider adding more. Of course, this will only be after they submit their applications. This kind of political maneuvering can also wear down some of their energy."

"Great, I knew you were the most reliable." Queen Godfrey finally smiled again.

(End of this chapter)