Triple Sorcerer! Blessed by Four Gods!

Charlotte Caradnay was a female Sorcerer of mysterious origins. Vangerdahast, Cormyr's former Royal Archmage, had brought her to Cormyr and raised her there.

Cormyr had once been home to several legendary figures. The most famous was its former king, Azoun IV. Working closely with the legendary archmage Vangerdahast, he had ushered in Cormyr's most glorious golden age.

But those days were gone. After the Time of Troubles and the Goblin War, Cormyr had only two legendary figures left: the old Mage Vangerdahast and Tessaeril Winter, lord of Morningstar Town. Vangerdahast was said to have been badly wounded in the Goblin War, leaving him far weaker than before. He had scarcely appeared in public for months, and word was that he might need a long time to recover.

Tessaeril Winter had not risen through the Purple Dragon Knights. She was a Mage who also trained as a warrior, and her strength was unremarkable by legendary standards. She worshipped Mielikki, goddess of the forests, and disliked receiving orders from the royal family beyond the duties she was obliged to perform.

Because of Tessaeril, Morningstar Town had become a sanctuary for Druids and Rangers. It housed the largest altar in Cormyr dedicated to the nature pantheon of Silvanus, the Father of Oaks.

The web novels Aaron had read loved to claim that "legends were as common as dogs and liches walked everywhere," as though any palm-sized spot on the map could yield hundreds or thousands of legendary figures.

But when Aaron looked into it, he found that wasn't how things worked.

Legendary figures were legendary precisely because their power could influence the future of an entire continent, even the multiverse. If people that powerful were everywhere, they could hardly be called legends.

So where had that saying come from?

Take a report Aaron had read before crossing over. It said China had 133,000 households with assets worth at least a hundred million yuan and 2,655 people with a net worth above one billion US dollars, surpassing the United States to rank first in the world.

Going by those numbers alone, at five people per household, that meant hundreds of thousands of people from billionaire households—and those were only the ones whose wealth was public. The 2,655 people worth over a billion US dollars could fill a large field, a dense sea of faces.

Apply that reasoning to the Realms, expand the scale across time and space, and didn't you get "legends as common as dogs and liches everywhere"?

In reality, though, how many billionaires did an ordinary person meet? Some people might never meet one in their entire lives.

The reasons were simple. First, ordinary people had no access to that level of society and no chance to interact with legendary figures. Second, many such figures deliberately kept themselves out of sight. They had neither the need nor the desire to deal with those of ordinary strength.

Why would there be so many legendary figures wandering the streets all day?

Alustriel and Laeral, the younger of the Seven Sisters of the North, appeared in public relatively often, but even they frequently traveled. The Simbul, queen of Aglarond, had vanished for so long on more than one occasion that her kingdom's council wondered whether she had died. Elminster's whereabouts were often a mystery as well. The odds of finding him in Shadowdale were next to zero.

In the Realms, a master-level powerhouse could already rule a region.

No one knew where the legendary Mage Vangerdahast had found Caradnay, why he had chosen her, or why he had taken her as his apprentice and named her the next Royal Archmage.

Likewise, having this young Sorcerer lady teach Aaron magic had been the Princess Regent's decision. Neither Lucian nor Aaron had any choice but to accept it.

"Mm, tell me about yourself? We're going to be teacher and student, after all. We can't stay strangers!" Hands on her hips, Charlotte Caradnay leaned her delicately pretty face close to Aaron's. Her figure was flawless. She circled him, the slim heels of her shoes tapping against the stone path as her pink hair swirled with her.

"My name is Aaron Sallyan. I'm from Suzail, and I'm a descendant of the Sallyan family." Aaron bowed.

"Sallyan? Oh! I know—the Sallyan family that lost its title and was exiled to the Great Swamp!" She lifted a hand clad in a long white lace glove and rested it lightly against her soft, rosy cheek. "Alusair told me about that. I thought I'd heard her wrong!"

"Yes, that Sallyan family." Aaron felt a little awkward. He coughed twice. "In any case, I'm honored to receive your guidance, Instructor Caradnay."

"Oh, you don't have to call me Instructor. I can't be much older than you, can I? I'm twenty-one!"

"I'm eighteen." She really isn't that much older than me, Aaron thought.

"Hmm... when Alusair said she wanted me to teach a Sorcerer, I wondered what you'd be like." Clearly excited, the young Sorcerer clasped her hands behind her back and paced around Aaron, sizing him up. "But I'm only three years older than you. From now on, just call me Charlotte!"

"Yes, Charlotte."

"Hehe! Starting today, I have an apprentice of my own! Stick with me and your big sister will look after you!" She held both fists to her chest, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "Mr. Lucian, and you there... thank you for bringing him."

"You're welcome, Ms. Caradnay. It was our duty. We'll leave Aaron in your care, then. Please see that he receives proper training." Seeing that she had accepted Aaron as her apprentice, Banneret Lucian prepared to leave with Disma.

"..." Disma straightened up from where he had been sitting on the ground. Aaron's senior couldn't help giving the young Sorcerer another look.

What a beautiful woman. No wonder Mannakorn Anaheim has tried everything he can to court her.

Hah. If that fellow found out the goddess of his dreams thought so highly of my junior, he'd probably burst a blood vessel.

Disma looked forward to that sight.

But the young Sorcerer clearly had no interest in Disma. She had not even looked him in the eye.

Hmph. These arrogant spellcasters won't have long to gloat.

Disma silently clenched his fists.

One day, everyone in the Realms will have to look up to me!

Meanwhile, among several flower beds, the young Sorcerer told Aaron to stand still. The rich scent of tulips wafting from her was intoxicating.

Aaron, too, carried a fresh citrus scent of orange and lemon, with a faint trace of rosemary.

Her long pink hair danced in the breeze as Charlotte Caradnay studied Aaron Sallyan. Interest shone in her sweet, bright-gold eyes.

She had no intention of teaching just anyone! She was a Sorcerer, and a proud one!

"Aaron, come here." The pink-haired young lady beckoned him closer.

"Yes." Aaron approached cautiously.

"A little closer!" Charlotte caught his sleeve and pulled him to within half a meter of her.

Her scent and the powerful magic radiating from her left Aaron momentarily dazed. He instinctively stepped back, but Charlotte still had hold of his sleeve, so he remained uncomfortably close. "Is something wrong?"

His new Sorcerer instructor was extraordinarily charming!

He was a Child of Chaos, blessed with Extraordinary Charisma!

With two such charismatic people this close, he instinctively wanted to draw nearer to his instructor. The impulse came from deep in his soul and subconscious mind.

"First, starting today, you're my apprentice!" She planted her hands proudly on her hips. "Now I need to test what kind of Sorcerer you are."

"How?" Aaron was curious about that himself.

"Here, hold out your hand like this!" Charlotte Caradnay blinked her bright-gold eyes. "Like this."

She extended a small hand wrapped in a long white lace glove, and a shining orb formed above her palm. "Come on, Aaron. Touch the orb with your finger and release just a little magic. Let's see what kind of Sorcerer you are."

"Like this?" Aaron touched the orb with a finger.

He released a little magic.

The orb changed at once. Within its glow, a mass of shifting flame churned and surged erratically. Its shape changed without cease, as did its colors.

"Oh? You're a Wild Magic Sorcerer!" She looked thoughtful, pressing a slender finger to her cheek as she studied Aaron's handsome, alluring face. "I thought you'd be a Draconic Sorcerer. Most Sorcerers in the Realms are!"

"Keep going, Aaron," Caradnay ordered. "I want another look, just to make sure."

Aaron said nothing and continued pouring in magic.

Sure enough, as he fed the orb more magic, it changed again.

The void of the cosmos appeared. Stars twinkled, and all was still. Only the galaxies continued their measured revolutions, telling of truths unchanged since antiquity. Within the sacred laws laid down by the ancient creators, time and space moved slowly on. An instant became eternity.

"...A Cosmic Sorcerer!" Her bright-gold eyes widened. She stared into the orb, carefully checking what she saw. "The sun, moon, and stars... the endless void... the great wheel of the cosmos?"

"A Dual Sorcerer... You're a Dual Sorcerer, just like me?!" she exclaimed. "I've never met anyone else who was a Dual Sorcerer!"

Just like her? Aaron frowned. So my instructor is a Dual Sorcerer too?

Interesting. Very interesting.

In that case, I'll show her something more impressive!

Aaron closed his eyes and increased the flow of magic.

The scene inside the little orb changed once more. After the erratically shifting flames and the great wheel turning amid stars and cosmic void, tiny sparks appeared at its center.

The sparks were faint, almost invisible among the stars and the void. They were so small, yet so dazzling. As Aaron continued feeding the orb power, they grew brighter.

This was the power of rules, the power of law. That faint spark represented power from a higher dimension: a symbol of Deities, the source of their supremacy over mortals!

"A Divine Spark!" Charlotte could no longer contain her astonishment. "You're a Divine Soul Sorcerer, just like me!"

A Divine Soul Sorcerer? Charlotte is one too?

Before Aaron could say anything, instinct warned him of terrible danger closing in!

"Oh no! Let go, quick!" Charlotte reacted even faster than he did. The instant Aaron sensed the danger, she severed their connection and flung the orb away.

It exploded a short distance away, though not in any way a mortal would recognize as an explosion.

The orb hung above the flower bed. Space around it warped and collapsed rapidly toward its center. A mighty force tore mercilessly through the veil of "reality," revealing the domains of Chaos beyond.

For an instant, this world glimpsed another: a bizarre realm shrouded in pitch-black mist, radiant halos, and dreadful abysses. Billions of twisted creatures wailed in agony as the realm convulsed. The wild, rampaging energies promised limitless opportunity and devastation without end. Beside them, the beautiful field of flowers seemed no more than an illusion.

Something appeared within that howling world of darkness.

In a vast dark-green garden, a fat grandfatherly figure with two horns stood before a cauldron, tasting its delicious soup. He opened his mouth wide, and maggots slid from between his teeth and off his tongue.

At a grand purple banquet, hundreds of long chains in every color hung beneath an enormous goat's head, glittering enticingly. The deity raised a wineglass. The feast of depravity was not yet over.

Inside a deep-blue crystal cavern, a strange three-eyed bird breathed a stream of pink flame. Perhaps more than a million daemon scribes scribbled furiously, ready to record their master's interpretation of supreme destiny.

Finally, in a vast arena spewing lava, another frenzied slaughter was underway. Blood flowed, and heads littered the ground. A figure seated on a throne waited with satisfaction for the battle to end. The victor's reward would be beyond anything mortals could imagine.

Aaron stared unblinking into the domains of Chaos, awestruck and entranced by the universe's boundless mysteries.

This was Chaos.

How wondrous! How beautiful! How irresistible!

It was as if a breath of fresh air had finally entered a sealed basement. Aaron inhaled gently, breathed out, and opened his eyes again.

"Aaron!" Charlotte said angrily. "Didn't I tell you to use only a little power? If you increase your magic output like that, you'll attract some strange things!"

"Yes, my fault." Aaron's eyes flickered. He resumed his usual expression and scratched his head. "I got a little carried away."

"If you want to be my student, you have to listen to your instructor!" The young Sorcerer tapped him on the head with her palm. "Don't do that again. It's dangerous."

"Understood, Instructor."

"But still, heehee—a Triple Sorcerer! Interesting. Really interesting! You're both a Cosmic Sorcerer and a Divine Soul Sorcerer, so I can teach you properly!" Charlotte's moods were impossible to predict. What had just happened seemed to have stirred neither suspicion nor curiosity in her. "All right! Starting today, I'm your big sister!"

"?" Aaron's expression asked, Are you serious?

"When did you become my big sister?" the last Sallyan asked dryly.

"You're a Cosmic Sorcerer, and so am I. You're a Divine Soul Sorcerer, and so am I. I'm also three years older than you. Of course I'm your big sister!" she declared as though it were obvious. "Come on, let's go inside. Big sister is going to start teaching her little brother!"

"...You're not listening to me at all, are you?" Charlotte pulled Aaron toward the villa deep among the flower beds.

"I don't care. As your Sorcerer instructor, I order you to be my little brother from now on!" she said imperiously. "Good! My little brother's Sorcerer lessons begin today!"

"All right." Aaron let out a long breath.

Big sister, little sister, or mother—as long as she can teach me magic, she's a good instructor!

She doesn't seem to care about what she saw, Aaron thought. That's good. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time explaining it.

I just hope no one else saw.

Unfortunately, what people feared most often came to pass.

A War Wizard who happened to be passing by to report on training had seen the whole thing.

"That wasn't the power of any Deity. That was an ancient evil!" Crouched behind a hedge, he recalled what he had witnessed. "Yes. It had to be an ancient evil!"

"I have to report this to the Church of the Three Gods of Justice!"

"The last Sallyan... the offspring of an ancient evil!"