Aoko did not get up until noon the next day.
She rubbed her head, unsurprised that she had woken up so late. After all, she had exhausted so much energy last night, and she had drunk afterward.
She sat blankly on the bed for quite a while before suddenly remembering that she had not meditated yet today. She immediately leaped out of bed, quickly washed up, and changed clothes.
Sitting before her desk, Aoko picked up her fountain pen and refilled it with specially prepared ink. Then she opened her spellbook, immersed her thoughts within herself, and began communicating with the fragment of the Weave inside her.
The bizarre and dazzling sights within the Weave appeared before Aoko once again. She tightly maintained her sense of self and began examining what she had gained from defeating Rugger Beowulf this time.
First, she discovered that her wizard level had risen from level 9 to level 10.
Her Intelligence had increased by two points, rising from 22 to 24. For a human, Aoko's Intelligence had now reached a truly frightening level. Even among wizards, where monsters were everywhere, her Intelligence was exceptional.
Higher Intelligence meant a deeper connection to the Weave. Aoko gained one additional fourth-level spell slot and one additional fifth-level spell slot, increasing the number of scrolls she could prepare each day.
Through her deep connection with the Weave, she had also gained the qualification to learn a new feat.
Aoko had previously planned to advance into a metamagic spellcaster, but a metamagic feat had been the only obstacle in her way. So, among the many feats available, she chose Heighten Spell as her first metamagic feat.
As for why she had not chosen Quicken Spell? First, Quicken Spell required a spell slot four levels higher than the original spell's level. For Aoko, who could currently cast spells only up to fifth level, it was of little use. Second, as long as she prepared spell scrolls in advance, she could also cast spells quickly. Thus, at her current stage, Heighten Spell was more practical and flexible than metamagic feats such as Quicken Spell or Empower Spell.
A dizzying sensation accompanied the flood of knowledge into Aoko's mind. She realized that she had mastered all the knowledge related to the metamagic feat Heighten Spell. Acquiring that knowledge did not mean she could use it proficiently, but Aoko was confident that she could master this new ability in a short time and improve her combat power.
Aoko was thrilled by her brand-new feat. This clear sense of gaining something was far more satisfying than using tricks to beat up her sister's dog...
Besides that feat, Aoko also "fished out" two additional spells from the sea of the Weave: the fifth-level evocation spell Spherical Lightning, and the fifth-level transmutation spell Simbul's Spell Matrix.
The former was an unremarkable evocation spell that strengthened Aoko's artillery firepower. The latter looked useless at first glance, but it was a new thing with broad potential applications.
Judging from the spell's effects, the spell matrix created by this spell could store a spell of up to third level, then activate and cast it with nothing more than a hand gesture whenever needed.
What was this? This was a remote-controlled bomb! Stuff a Fireball into the spell matrix, hide somewhere far away and wait for someone to approach, then blow them into the sky with a single gesture. Was there anything more fun than that?
However, this spell also had a corresponding drawback. Activating the matrix with a gesture would injure the caster. Based on the knowledge Aoko had received, that injury would likely manifest in the real world as a loss of vitality.
That was a little awkward. Although Aoko's vitality was extremely strong, she instinctively disliked anything that weakened herself. For now, she could only set this double-edged spell aside and could not take it out for fun too often.
After confirming her spells, Aoko began the focus of today's meditation through her connection to the Weave: her prestige class.
She sank her consciousness deeper into the Weave, into the region she had previously been unable to reach no matter how she tried. Using the knowledge she had acquired about metamagic spellcasters, she synchronized herself with that portion of the Weave.
When Aoko had attempted this before, all she had received was a sense of rejection. This time, however, the Weave answered her with a deeper feeling of immersion.
As that immersion deepened, Aoko excitedly discovered that large amounts of abilities and knowledge she had previously been unable to obtain—or had never even discovered—were gradually flooding into her mind. At the same time, some mechanical presence seemed to ask what she was willing to abandon in exchange.
If possible, Aoko naturally did not want to exchange anything. But the answer she received from that irresistible will was that she had to do so to obtain the power of a metamagic spellcaster.
Aoko immediately understood. This was the consequence of the metamagic spellcaster's school specialization ability. She had to give up any one school other than divination and abjuration as her opposing school, losing the ability to learn and continue researching that school. (Spells she had already learned would not be affected; she simply could not learn new ones.)
After careful consideration, Aoko ultimately decided to give up the school of necromancy and make it her opposing school.
The moment she made her choice, Aoko immediately felt that the knowledge pouring into her consciousness and mind became greater and faster. It even seemed that something had changed in the body she still possessed in the real world...
When Aoko opened her eyes again, she found that her meditation had ended and she had withdrawn from her deep connection with the Weave.
She raised both hands and repeatedly clenched them, carefully feeling the power she had just gained. Joy immediately filled her.
In short, she had gone from an "ordinary" wizard to a metamagic spellcaster, gaining one metamagic spellcaster level.
If there had been a character sheet, Aoko's character level would have changed from Wizard (Level 10) to Wizard (Level 10) + Metamagic Spellcaster (Level 1), bringing her total character level to 11.
Unlike the rules for multiclassing, taking levels in another spellcasting class would not raise her highest caster level. However, after gaining a prestige class, her maximum arcane caster level stacked cumulatively.
In other words, Aoko had effectively gained two character levels in this single meditation. The improvement was enormous.
Aoko carefully sensed her changes, and the first thing she discovered was that she had gained a sixth-level spell slot!
But since Aoko currently had no knowledge of sixth-level spells, she could only wait until her next meditation to enter the Weave again and see whether she could fish out any sixth-level spells.