Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

"Can you cast it?" Lyle asked, raising a brow at the elderly lizardman priest before him.

The old Lizardfolk priest gave his head a slow shake. "No."

Lyle blinked. "No?"

"I can draw the magic circle for it," the priest clarified, his tone as flat as a mudflat.

Lyle's expression twitched.

"Then what are you waiting for? Get started," he said, face blank but tone tight.

He kept his voice as calm as possible, but the tightness around his jaw betrayed his growing impatience.

Of course. Just his luck. He finally stumbles on a potentially game-changing magical enhancement ritual - and the one lizardfolk who knows about it is essentially a glorified lizard with crayons.

Still, he remembered something important.

Back in the YGGDRASIL days, this kind of magic-enhancement spell didn't exist. Even Cocytus had looked surprised when the lizardfolk used it during the swamp campaign. That said enough about how unusual it was.

Upon receiving the command, the old priest immediately began shuffling around the room, gathering an odd assortment of magical materials- beast bones, thick blackish dyes, and other vaguely magical bits and bobs that looked like they were scavenged from a failed potions class.

Lyle stood back and gave the old lizard some room.

"What do you need for the ritual?" he asked, using the opportunity to gather information.

He did have one magical ritual scroll tucked away - something involving Druidic shapeshifting - but he'd never really studied ritual theory. Now seemed like a good time to learn.

As the old priest worked, Lyle asked questions and pieced together the structure behind the spell.

Magical rituals, as it turned out, varied widely. But two key elements were always critical: the magic circle itself, and the materials used to construct it.

For the "Magic Enhancement" ritual currently being drawn, the material requirements weren't too extreme. Anything with magical properties would do. The real limiter wasn't the materials, it was the magic itself. The ritual could bypass certain casting restrictions, but only within specific boundaries.

Time ticked on.

As the spell circle slowly took shape, Lyle frowned. The formation was far more complex than expected. Intricate glyphs twisted across the floor in loops and spirals. And the materials? They weren't exactly helping the ambiance. The stench of mixed blood, rot, and magical herbs was quickly filling the room again.

He briefly considered casting [Odorless] again, but decided against it. Last thing he needed was disrupting a delicate ritual because he couldn't handle a bit of swamp perfume.

"Unghhh…"

A soft groan interrupted his thoughts.

Lyle turned toward the doorway.

There, lying half-conscious and chewed up like a toy bone, was Sukyu Juju, the chieftain who had so valiantly tried and failed to kill him earlier.

Apparently, the hound guarding the door had dragged him back here rather than finishing him off. Not out of mercy, of course. Lyle just needed a tour guide through this scaly backwater.

Sukyu's reptilian eyes fluttered open, blinking against the sunlight trickling in through the hut's cracked roof. Disoriented for a moment, his gaze locked onto Lyle and filled with rage.

"You!"

With a roar, the chieftain sprang to his feet and charged.

Lyle didn't move.

Then, in a blink, he vanished - reappearing directly in front of the charging lizardman, so fast that Sukyu barely registered the shift.

"Huh?!"

Sukyu's pupils shrank.

Speed was supposed to be his edge. With classes like [Skirmisher] and [Light Cavalry], he was among the swiftest warriors of his tribe.

And yet this… this human spellcaster had just outpaced him without even chanting a spell.

Thud!

A whip-like roundhouse kick smashed into his chest.

Lyle didn't even use his full strength - but even held back, the blow cracked several ribs and sent Sukyu flying like a ragdoll, straight through the wooden doorway.

His limp body crashed into the hut opposite with a bang, leaving behind a lizard-shaped hole in the wall.

"Bring him back," Lyle ordered his barghest, deadpan.

With a quick bark and blur of motion, the hound darted off and returned moments later, casually dragging the unconscious chieftain back like a sack of potatoes.

Confirming that Skirmisher was still alive, Lyle lost all further interest in him and turned back to the ritual.

Nearly an hour and a half passed before the priest finally finished.

"So... now what?" Lyle asked, studying the glowing runes on the floor.

"Step into the circle," the priest instructed.

Lyle complied, standing at the center of the intricate magical array.

As he injected a small amount of mana into the formation, the entire circle lit up with a soft blue glow. The ritual had been activated.

According to the priest, the spell "Spell Ascension" would allow him to cast spells two tiers higher than his normal capabilities, as long as the ritual was completed successfully.

Interesting.

Lyle reviewed his caster levels mentally:

Magic Caster Branch:

Alchemist → Enchanter → Mage → Necromancer

Level: 40

Faith Caster Branch:

Cleric Initiate → Priest → Forest Priest → High Priest

Level: 40

Mind Arts Branch:

Wizard

Level: 10

Miscellaneous:

Shaman

Level: 10

Theoretically, at Level 40, he could cast up to 6th-tier spells.

Theoretically.

In practice? Very few casters in this world could actually use 6th-tier spells, those who could were monsters he'd rather not cross.

Some spells, like [Summon Angel], bypassed caster level and used player level instead. Those were exceptions.

"If this ritual lets me push two tiers higher... that means I could use 8th-tier spells."

Lyle arched a brow. That… was surprising. Even he hadn't expected the leap to be that steep.

Still, there were limitations. The old priest himself had never cast the spell, and didn't know all the caveats.

So he'd have to test it himself.

"Start small," Lyle muttered.

He didn't want to blow himself up on the first try.

"Fireball," he intoned.

He selected the 3rd-tier [Fireball] a spell he knew very well and had seen cast hundreds of times.

The moment the words left his mouth, the ritual flared briefly… then dimmed.

No spell.

"Hah. I knew it," Lyle said, actually relieved.

The system wasn't broken. The rules of tier-based casting hadn't been tossed out the window. Otherwise, the magic system of this world would've been meaningless.

He turned back to the priest.

"Give me everything you do know about this spell. Everything."

The old priest began mumbling again, and Lyle mentally sifted through the past, recalling the first time he'd seen the spell used - during the lizardfolk resistance, when the five tribal priests had performed a joint ritual and summoned a hybrid Wetland Elemental.

A thought struck him.

His eyes darted to the still-unconscious Sukyu.

"Well… let's test the healing version."

Lyle extended a hand, aiming at the battered chieftain.

"[Major Wound Recovery]," he said calmly.

The runes beneath him pulsed with brilliance.

This time, the magic circle didn't fade. It grew brighter, and in front of his palm, a secondary mini-circle formed in midair.

At that moment, he felt it, an intense pull from within.

His mana was draining fast.

[MP: 128 → 18]

A divine glow surged forward and enveloped Sukyu. The torn scales, shredded flesh, and gaping wounds began to knit back together. Within seconds, the worst of the injuries were mended.

The light faded.

Sukyu remained unconscious, but now he was mostly healed.

With the spell completed, the ritual circle began to disintegrate, the magic dissipating into the floorboards like mist.

Then - buzz!

A pulse vibrated across Lyle's status screen.

You have discovered 3rd-tier spell: [Major Wound Recovery]

Caster Requirement: Faith Branch (Level 12–21) - Condition Met. Learn Spell?

You have discovered Magic Skill: [Spell Ascension]

Class Requirement: Magic Caster - Condition Met. Learn Skill?

"Ah. Just as I thought," Lyle said with a satisfied grin.

He mentally confirmed both.

[Skill Points: 59 → 57]

New Skill: [Major Wound Recovery] (Tier 3)

MP Cost: 15

Effect: Restores 50 HP.

New Skill: [Magic Ascension]

MP Cost: 50

Effect: Allows casting of a spell one tier higher than user's current limit. (When used with special ritual, allows casting of two tiers higher. Mana cost doubles each time.)