Chapter 131: Combat Power Assessment (2/3)

Knowing that a Cloistered Cleric can cast epic spells upon reaching the legendary level did not make Zhao Xu powerful in this moment. However, it did make one thing clear: only a legendary Cloistered Cleric can pass on this potent profession to others.

Much like how every cleric stands beneath the shadow of a deity, every Cloistered Cleric—even those who are "wild" and lack a patron—necessarily represents a past encounter with a legendary Cloistered Cleric, having witnessed the "Ancient Tablets" summoned through epic magic.

After Zhao Xu was promoted to a formal Cloistered Cleric, the moment he awoke the next day in the Obelisk, he already possessed Cloistered Cleric spell slots. Unlike standard clerics, Cloistered Clerics do not possess domain spell slots, but their total number of slots is substantial. Upon becoming a level 1 Cloistered Cleric, Zhao Xu gained three zero-level and three first-level spell slots from the class. Combined with his wizard and cleric spell slots, he effectively held ten zero-level and nine first-level slots. By utilizing the "Versatile Spellcaster" feat to merge zero-level slots into first-level ones, Zhao Xu could aggressively unleash fourteen first-level spells. Compared to current level 1 wizards, his endurance was increased five to seven-fold.

Zhao Xu had not prioritized raising his Knowledge (Arcana) skill over the past two days, so he had no use for the "Read Magic" spell, and his wizard and cleric spell slots remained largely untapped. Thus, he spent only an hour that morning preparing his Cloistered Cleric spells. Moving forward, his primary professional path would focus on the wizard class, with the secondary path dedicated to the Cloistered Cleric; he would likely remain a level 1 cleric for the rest of his life. Once he reached higher levels and those first-level cleric slots became insignificant, he would likely stop preparing cleric spells altogether, focusing only on his wizard and Cloistered Cleric slots. After all, he had already secured the core benefits of the monastic cleric: the powerful skill points, domains, turn undead ability, and spontaneous casting.

Thinking of how the mage Laine, already a high-level wizard, had to beg for that single cleric level, Zhao Xu realized that the prestige class Antinua had prepared for him was certainly not simple.

After acquiring his spells, Zhao Xu had originally planned to conduct a combat effectiveness test that morning in Antinua’s research facility within the Obelisk. Previously, after he became a formal wizard and cleric, Antinua had sent him out to gain experience, forcing him to test his spellcasting ability in practice. Now, however, he was forbidden from leaving Mystra until he reached level 5, and he was no longer the novice who needed Antinua to watch over him while he practiced by summoning skeletons. Naturally, Zhao Xu could go to the combat testing halls of the Floating City or the Obelisk, just like any other novice mage, to verify the power of his spells.

However, Antinua had not yet appeared that morning, and Zhao Xu did not dare to enter the testing room guarded by a legendary golem without permission. Itching for action, he checked a map of the Floating City and noticed that the combat testing hall for visiting mages was not far from the Obelisk. This time, he was much more cautious. He carefully checked the manual and saw that a test voucher was indeed required to enter the hall. Since every test consumed various materials and energy, the Floating City provided a quota of vouchers to every resident mage each month as a small perk. Even theoretical academic mages found such halls useful; often, rather than borrowing another mage’s lab to verify a minor theory, it was simpler to spend a voucher and test it in the hall. Antinua, however, had never considered the hall, as her own facilities were fully equipped. Naturally, she had never given Zhao Xu any vouchers.

As he pondered this, Zhao Xu recalled the lecture he had attended. Although he did not know why that ninth-level mage, Noki, had yielded to him, he had dutifully tucked away his mithral badge afterward. In his view, walking around with a badge that essentially said, "I'm a big deal, get out of my way," was quite foolish. Zhao Xu had no desire to exercise special privileges in the Floating City.

As it happened, after he had mentioned it to Antinua, all the lecture tickets were delivered to her office daily. Suddenly, he remembered the disintegration bin in the reception room, where unused tickets were discarded every day to be destroyed automatically. This implied that Antinua’s own epic-level combat test vouchers were also delivered regularly and tossed in.

Recalling that Antinua had him clear out a pile of items the day before, Zhao Xu hurried to the corner of the room to the disintegration bin. He opened the lid, and the spell-locking mechanism automatically disengaged, causing the magical bin to lose its power. Under normal circumstances, this bin could be activated to disintegrate all contents—a prohibitively expensive yet powerful paper shredder.

Looking at the pile of waste paper, Zhao Xu began to rummage through it. "Invitation to the Punk family banquet? That sounds familiar." He took a glance and tossed the invitation from the elite wizard family aside. "Association Internal Journal, Issue 1323, Security Level: Ninth-Ring Mage." What was this? He didn't even bother to look and tossed it into the corner.

Finally, after sorting through seven or eight documents, he found his target. It wasn't that he had a keen eye; it was a thick stack of "Combat Test Vouchers." Apart from the label indicating they could be used for epic-level combat testing, there were no special markings. Zhao Xu didn't overthink it; he simply tore off the top one to put it to good use.

***

The combat testing hall was one of the largest buildings in the Floating City, standing only slightly shorter than the Obelisk. According to the manual, the hall had thirteen floors, each modified with spatial magic. The first through ninth floors were for the use of first- to ninth-ring mages, while the tenth through thirteenth floors were reserved for legendary mages.

Compared to the lecture halls, the combat testing hall drew more mages, the vast majority being novices. For these novice mages, with no major research projects to pursue, coming here to unleash their spells and see the effects was the only way to justify their years of hard work. However, novice mages had very limited spell slots, and most had to head home after firing off a few spells.

Looking at the crowd and the inspectors at the entrance, Zhao Xu felt a moment of vertigo. He almost thought he had arrived at a tourist attraction on Earth. It seemed that even here, some mages tried to cut corners, forcing the Floating City to implement such security measures.

Zhao Xu waited in line until he reached the front and handed his voucher to an attendant. The attendant’s expression changed the moment he took it, and then he glanced at Zhao Xu’s robes. He was indeed a first-ring mage. "Master Mage, please wait a moment. I must consult my supervisor." With that, the attendant ushered Zhao Xu to a waiting area in the corner and hurried toward the administrative offices.

Although Zhao Xu had left his badge behind today, he had specifically worn his first-ring mage robes so there would be no misunderstandings. But it seemed there might have been a misunderstanding after all.

Before long, a portly man who looked like an apprentice came scurrying over with the attendant. "Master, which area will you be needing to test?" the supervisor asked, lowering his voice in the corner, not even bothering with an introduction.

Zhao Xu saw the man’s respectful attitude and nodded, trying to maintain a friendly demeanor. He realized the man must be concerned about his connection to an epic mage, given that the voucher was for the epic-level testing area. He didn't think too much of it; he was just a regular first-ring mage.

Zhao Xu said directly, "I'll try them all." He was unfamiliar with the first-ring mage area, and saying "try them all" was like shopping—a way to tell the staff not to follow him.

"Very well, Master. Please, proceed through this passage," the supervisor said with a bow.

Zhao Xu nodded and walked toward the unmarked, empty passage. On the other side of the corner, the entrance to the first floor was still processing arrivals; only when someone left could someone else enter, ensuring there was sufficient room in the first-ring testing area.

As soon as Zhao Xu entered the passage, the apprentice-turned-supervisor ran back to his office and grabbed a "short-range speaking tube"—a new alchemical product of the Floating City—connecting it directly to the service hall on the 10th floor.

"Listan, quickly activate all testing instruments from the 10th to the 13th floor!" the supervisor gasped into the tube.

"Are you insane? Even a legendary mage wouldn't warrant this level of preparation," an agitated voice crackled through the tube.

"I checked the voucher number. It belongs to *that* young lady," the supervisor replied, knowing that was all that needed to be said. Everyone in the Floating City knew there was only one "young lady" of that stature.

Sure enough, Listan on the other end fell silent. He sounded incredulous: "That can't be right. Her own facilities are much more luxurious than ours. Why come here?"

"It’s not her, but one of her servants, I suspect. They’ve likely come to prepare the instruments for her. You know she doesn't like to wait; she might teleport here at any moment. Hurry up! You’ve been wanting to make her acquaintance for a long time, haven't you?" the supervisor urged nervously. "And he said he wanted to try everything, so open everything, do you understand?"

"Right, right, thank you for the reminder. I nearly made a grave mistake. I’ve been away from the pulse of the Floating City for too long. Don't worry, I’ll have it ready."

Listan usually managed the 10th through 13th floors, and even legendary mages wouldn't easily offend him. But at this moment, he was as excited as if he had been granted a new lease on life.

"Activate all blast test chambers, summoning restraint rooms, divination detection rooms, energy plane interfaces, alchemical workshops, and trap testing rooms on the 10th floor. Use the highest-level mode. Also, notify the ninth-ring mages to come and activate the testing equipment on the 11th through 13th floors," Listan commanded with vigor.

His closest subordinate frowned. "Sir, isn't the 10th floor enough? We’re activating the top three floors as well? The energy cost alone will run into the millions of gold coins."

"Do as I say. This is a supreme directive."