Preparation and Deck

Although Ryan was a huge fan of powerful bald icons like Agent 47, Kratos, and Saitama in his past life, he was not about to let himself go bald.

To Ryan, this golden, sun-bright hair was the universe's compensation for his precarious hairline in his previous life; it was a treasure to be guarded. Even if being bald could somehow boost his power—which it didn't—Ryan would never become a brilliant, shiny-headed egg of a mage unless the price was simply too good to refuse.

I'm not one of those Red Wizards of Thay who are obsessed with magic to the point of madness, Ryan mused silently. I don't need tattoos, and I certainly need this beautiful head of hair. After all, in my past life, who could deny the popularity of the "Golden-Haired Kingdom"?

The thing he was most proud of in this life was his Charisma, which stood neck-and-neck with his soaring Intelligence. If he weren't so single-mindedly devoted to the wonders and truths of magic, he might have considered pursuing the broken class of Fate Sorcerer.

After carefully undoing all the precautionary measures he had prepared, Ryan calmed his excitement and suppressed the destructive urge to smash something now that his power had surged. He began a meticulous check of his physical condition.

Using magic to scan his body in detail, Ryan was astonished to find that his height had shot up once again. Already in a growth spurt, he had jumped from around 1.65 meters to 1.80 meters. His physique had also strengthened significantly; beneath his seemingly lean exterior, his muscles were well-defined and brimming with explosive power.

At the same time, the energy within the dragon blood had enhanced certain other aspects of his physiology, pushing him from a growth phase to an ultimate one. However, due to the difficulty of verification and a sense of embarrassment, Ryan did not record anything further regarding that particular development.

Ryan estimated that with his current strength, a full-force strike could easily cleave through three feet of solid marble. He nodded with satisfaction: "A perfect mage build is born."

After tidying up the room, sorting the remaining herbs and materials into his storage space, and disposing of the unconscious Goblin, he restored the laboratory to its original pristine state. Ryan then left the lab and headed straight for the association's testing chamber.

Following a detailed and comprehensive series of tests, Ryan walked out of the room feeling deeply satisfied. He felt the Dragon Blood Potion was worth every bit of the reward quota he had spent on it.

What delighted Ryan most was that this unfortunate Red Dragon had been an elder, possessing terrifying and formidable strength. It had acted with reckless abandon, but it had walked the night once too often and finally met its end.

While the dragon was busy with its daily "entertainment" of raiding merchant ships at sea, it had run into Alexander, who happened to be passing by to enjoy the scenery. The old man, annoyed at having his leisure time interrupted, had killed the beast in a fit of rage, skinned it, and harvested its materials. Its heart blood and hideous, ferocious head were then tucked away in his treasury.

Ryan had seen the head of the dragon, named "Dius," in the treasure room. Even in death, the ancient, noble, and violent creature still retained a daunting majesty and terror.

Ryan felt indifferent toward the tragic fate of Dius. After all, one man's hero is another man's villain, and Ryan wasn't about to sympathize with an evil, cruel, and wicked chromatic dragon. However, considering its heart blood had benefited the lucky Ryan—granting him the Red Dragon's spell-like ability, Fire Breath, on top of the standard attribute boosts—Ryan silently wished Dius a pleasant stay in Tiamat's divine realm.

Now, tempered by the arduous and grueling journey through the Everlasting Wasteland and bolstered by the Nether Scrolls and the Dragon Blood Potion, Ryan could be said to have been reborn. He estimated that his current self could take on two or three versions of himself from just before he left Silverymoon. In a mere three months, his combat power had skyrocketed like a rocket. His attribute list had become far more impressive:

[Ryan Chris

Constitution: 15

Strength: 14

Agility: 13

Intelligence: 18

Wisdom: 14

Charisma: 18

(Attributes are base stats, excluding equipment bonuses)

Spell Specialties

Spell Potency—Spell intensity checks are increased by one priority level.

Still Spell—After performing a standard spellcasting action, you can cast spells without consuming material components.

Persistent Spell—The effects of cast spells last longer than expected.

Rapid Memorization—Excellent memory and special factors allow you to memorize spell slots at high speed.

Personal Feats

Alchemy Bonus—Your proficient alchemy skills grant a +2 bonus when crafting magic items.

Lesser Fire Immunity—You are immune to burn damage from flames below 400 degrees.

Level

Wizard 7 / Arcanist 3 / Monk 1

Special [Planeswalker Apprentice]

Spell-like Abilities

Fire Breath—Incinerate everything in front of you with a powerful stream of scorching flame, 1/1 per day.

Spell List

...](To avoid padding the word count, the personal panel will only appear at the end of each volume unless necessary.)

It really is true that one makes faster progress by venturing out into the world. "A sharp sword is honed from the grindstone"—the ancients did not deceive me. No wonder my teacher had to kick me out of the mage tower. Ryan stared at the updated system screen, looking at his new specialties and magnificent attributes with a sigh.

Of course, Ryan also understood that most of this terrifying growth was due to the years of accumulated hard work he had put in at the mage tower. Although he hadn't experienced life-or-death battles in that ivory tower, he had spent sixteen years honestly preparing to face this dark and cruel world, adjusting both his techniques and his mindset.

Not to mention that his theoretical knowledge was more than enough to face any challenge; after all, Ryan had used the system to copy and store Yefalin's rare collection and the books from the Great Library of Silverymoon. Ryan could confidently claim that he could pass for a knowledgeable scholar in Faerûn, and he wouldn't be exposed even in front of those learned bookworms at Candlekeep.

It was precisely because of this that, after these encounters, his long-term accumulation finally bore fruit, leading to Ryan's terrifying surge in power. Unfortunately, such opportunities were rare, and in the future, Ryan would still need to follow a steady path, accumulating knowledge and experience to grow.

Of course, Ryan only dared to do this because he wasn't under Yefalin's watchful eye. If Yefalin knew that Ryan had used the precious heart blood of an elder Red Dragon just to enhance his melee capabilities, she would surely be furious, lamenting that her little sapling had grown crooked once again.

As the lamps were lit, a waxing moon hung in the ink-black sky, casting its cold radiance. The night in Waterdeep remained bustling and prosperous. Beneath the glitz and glamour of this glorious city, blood and filth intertwined, and wealth and profit flowed silently, attracting one ambitious and hopeful pilgrim after another.

Back in his familiar room, Ryan stood before a full-length mirror, a hint of arrogant pride blooming on his handsome face. He stared at the familiar figure in the mirror, his knuckles distinct and his long, powerful fingers retracting one by one. He clenched his fist tightly and shouted, "Bankai!" As the words fell, a grey-white mist billowed out, and Ryan arrived once again in his nascent Planeswalker Realm.

Ryan stood straight in the boundless, vast space, rubbing his small face with a bit of embarrassment. "That was so cringey. How did those tokusatsu actors in my past life manage to shout those chuunibyou lines with such emotion without laughing?"

Unlike the previous scene of a desolate, lonely plain and hill floating like an island in an empty, vast space, the Planeswalker Realm now held a touch of green. A lush forest leaned against the left side of the western plains, bringing vitality to the entire primordial, misty space.

In the vast high sky, meteors of various colors occasionally streaked and circled through the white mist. Ryan looked at the Planeswalker Realm, which was slowly becoming lively, and his heart was filled with gratification.

Beside a desolate plain, a lush, verdant forest with foliage dripping with vitality radiated rings of emerald light, the white and green hues clashing in a stark, clearly defined boundary.

This forest was the Land card Ryan had recently acquired:

[Maribo Forest

Type: Basic Forest

Effect: Generates 5 points of green mana daily.

"Emerald vitality is born here."]

After learning the importance of Land cards from the Planeswalker inheritance, Ryan had taken the time to visit his family's territory to attempt an acquisition. Although Ryan had not yet established a household of his own, as the most favored youngest son, his father, Count Chris, had doted on him greatly, preparing an estate for him early on and intending for Ryan to manage it and collect taxes once he came of age.

Unfortunately, Ryan's ambitions lay elsewhere; he was single-mindedly pursuing magic and his own empowerment. This did not, however, prevent him from using his status to forge a contract with the most fertile forest in the territory, successfully summoning his second Basic Land card.

Through the inheritance of Augustus, Ryan had already learned the growth methods and combat rules of Planeswalkers.

In the bottom right corner of a Planeswalker card lies a number. Unlike the stats used to measure the strength of creature cards, this number determines the potency of a Planeswalker's abilities. In Faerûn, a similar concept exists, though adventurers typically refer to it as "Challenge Rating."

"Challenge Rating" is often used by adventurers to gauge the difficulty of a quest or the lethality of a monster; for instance, a white dragon with a Challenge Rating of 10 implies that a standard party of four adventurers of the same level would require careful preparation and meticulous planning to have a chance at success.

Ryan's card number was "12." Of course, Planeswalker cards are not so simple; this number also dictates Ryan's Land limit, meaning he can only possess 12 Land cards at any given time. This successfully dispelled Ryan's notion of wandering the wilderness to claim every patch of uninhabited forest as a Land card. A perfectionist, Ryan preferred quality over quantity, believing that he would eventually draw legendary cards.

At the same time, "12" also determined the size of Ryan's hand. Ryan could hold a maximum of 6 cards drawn from the Planeswalker Realm at once; his Spark could currently only sustain the existence of this many cards, and any overflow would return to the Planeswalker Realm.

Furthermore, one-quarter of his level was the number of cards Ryan could draw each day. Ryan could draw 3 cards daily, adding them to his hand to be utilized when needed.

As for his ability, "Whenever Ryan casts a spell outside the Weave, the difficulty of the next spell is halved, and there is a chance to randomly cast a spell from the library that does not exceed Ryan's remaining level," Ryan affectionately dubbed it the Free-Cast Technique. This ability was also limited by his level, triggering at most twice a day, but Ryan was already quite satisfied. After all, getting something for free costs nothing—it was truly sweet.

Naturally, Ryan had not forgotten about his cards. He had not only successfully crafted summoning cards for the spells he had learned and thoroughly mastered, but he had also turned his staff into an Artifact card. Ryan tested it and found that not only could its weight be adjusted to his will (up to its maximum weight), but it was also more intuitive to use, feeling like an extension of his own body, as responsive as his own arm. Ryan was immensely satisfied with this.

Hovering above the two clearly demarcated Land cards, Ryan looked down at the Planeswalker Realm that was gradually growing, a smile appearing on his face. This magical realm, belonging solely to him, was the foundation upon which Ryan would establish his footing in Faerûn and across the infinite Multiverse.

As the full moon approached, Ryan had gradually made all the necessary preparations. Now, everything was ready; he only awaited the east wind.