The fusion of arcane runes had been progressing steadily without any noticeable impact on Wayne's daily life, to the point where he himself hadn't realised that the process was quietly reaching its conclusion.
In truth, he had always felt that some runes' abilities weren't as powerful as described in the records.
After all, in the realm of runes, these symbols were the very source of epochal upheavals.
Even the naming of this world derived from them—they were mystical treasures born alongside the world itself.
This was an advanced world frequented by demigods and quasi-deities; if runes possessed only meagre power, they would be unworthy of being called world treasures.
Especially that bald fellow, Ryze, who travelled the world collecting runes. Though he never utilised their power, after being eroded by the runic energy, he gained immortality and became terrifyingly powerful, ranking among the top three powerhouses on the continent.
It wasn't until the runes successfully fused into a pure, fundamental arcane rune that the full magnitude of their contained power finally blossomed.
Wayne's soul underwent sublimation, and before his eyes, the world revealed countless faint, barely perceptible threads weaving into a three-dimensional web enveloping heaven and earth—that was the network of rules.
By fully comprehending the operational principles of these 'threads', one would essentially unravel all the truths of existence.
Ordinary people could only grasp them gradually through insights into magic and supernatural forces, but Wayne, with his elevated aptitude, was now peeling back the world's underpants to freely explore, his head thrust inside.
The speed of comprehension was incomparably faster.
In an unnoticed corner, the values representing his various aptitudes on the system panel were quietly vanishing.
After this transformation, Wayne's aptitude had completely transcended this world's limitations, surpassing all wizards throughout history.
Simultaneously, the final lingering perplexities from his initial Dragon King inheritance were effortlessly resolved.
Previously, even with Ravenclaw's Diadem, studying these issues felt like a primary school student tackling calculus—progress was painstakingly slow.
But now, it had become as simple as arithmetic within nine, instantly comprehensible without needing excessive thought, as if it were inherently natural.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and countless stars shimmered across the firmament, casting down beams of starlight one after another.
Wayne's body instinctively levitated mid-air, receiving gifts from stars light-years away. His life essence continuously ascended, eventually breaking through the critical point and entering the Legend realm!
There weren't originally so many realms in the world, but as more people reached certain levels, realms were categorised.
And 'Legend' is the first major threshold for mortals ascending the divine staircase. As for the subsequent Demigod, though bearing the word 'god', they remain fundamentally human, merely possessing a trace of divinity.
Wayne didn't feel any earth-shattering increase in his magical power, which remained at ten Dumbledores, but its quality was now incomparable.
What once required ten parts of effort now needed only one, and he held absolute control over his magical power, no longer needing a wand to cast spells freely.
He extended a single finger, and the sea surface for dozens of kilometres before him automatically parted, opening up an abyss that grew from shallow to deep.
In the past, he would have needed to use his wand along with incantations, supplemented by the abilities of the Tidecaller, to achieve this level of large-scale manipulation.
But now, a single thought and a gesture were enough.
Landing back on the ground, Wayne looked at his glowing white skin and casually slapped a reef as large as a table, shattering it into pieces with a slap.
"This is what a true Legend really is..."
Having truly reached this realm, a sudden conjecture arose in Wayne's heart.
Perhaps, in this world and throughout history, he was the first wizard to truly reach the Legend realm.
Wayne wasn't denying the achievements and strength of the great founders and the wizards of ancient times; for example, the Ravenclaw's Diadem in his possession was undoubtedly a Legend artefact.
But they merely possessed Legend-level power in certain aspects due to their exceptional talent and the unique nature of this world's magic. In reality, even Slytherin would be injured if stabbed by ordinary swords, and would die if beheaded.
They were still mortal flesh and blood, subject to birth, ageing, sickness, and death—at most, they had longer lifespans, but they weren't fundamentally different from ordinary wizards.
Whereas in the legacy he had inherited, while Legends weren't immortal, they could easily live for seven or eight hundred years, and upon advancing to Demigod, one would never have to worry about lifespan again.
Let alone ordinary swords, even Goblin-made artefacts couldn't breach his current body's defences. Even Dumbledore's spells would pose no threat to him if he didn't set up any defences.
A higher realm suppressing a lower realm—it was as simple and brutal as that.
This was true all-round, flawless transcendence.
[Ding! Detected host's life level has undergone transformation. System upgrading.]
[Upgrade successful. Current version: Chaos Demon King 3.0. System shop unlocked, exchange function unlocked, methods to earn points expanded, reward tier cap increased, providing stronger support for the host's unrestrained demon king lifestyle.]
This was followed by a long list of update notes detailing the specific changes and explanations.
Wayne was surprised—not that the system had upgraded, but at the speed of the upgrade.
Last time, installing the 2.1 patch took him half a month, but this time the upgrade was completed almost instantly.
To this, the system provided a universal explanation—pre-download.
Where the hell did you download it from?
Wayne didn't dwell on it too much and began checking out what the updated shop was all about.
Ho-Oh, which had been keeping watch nearby, flew back at this point, landing beside Wayne and waiting quietly.
After about five minutes, he had finished reading the update notes—the main additions were the appearance of the shop and the points exchange function.
The points here didn't refer to the points Wayne usually earned; rather, after drawing cards, he could choose to keep the reward or exchange it for points.
White card: one point, Blue card: three points, Purple card: ten points, Gold card: two hundred points, Diamond card: one thousand points, Red card: ten thousand points.
And these points could be used to directly exchange for specified rewards in the shop.
Of course, the mall did not contain all corresponding tiered goods from all realms and worlds. Only when Wayne had drawn related items would some associated products appear inside, with the highest tier only reaching pseudo-divine grade.
For example, his rune talents—other rune series had all appeared, ranging from the cheapest supply item (Biscuit Delivery) costing only five hundred points to the highest two-thousand-point Conqueror series, all available.
The Dragon King's inheritance also required twenty thousand points to exchange for one percent.
That meant full exchange required 1.98 million points—just hearing it made one dizzy.
Furthermore, because he had drawn the floating city construction method and a low-grade version of the Mythallar, the Arcane category appeared in the mall. Not only were there all sorts of bizarre spells, but even the highest secret of the Netheril Empire—the Nether Scrolls—was available.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the complete version but only parts.
[Nether Scrolls (1/99). The first sixty-six pages cost one thousand points per page; the last thirty-three pages cost ten thousand points per page. After full exchange, automatic synthesis occurs, tier ascending to Divine grade.]
This price...
If all ninety-nine pages were exchanged, it would require four hundred thousand points. Even among Divine artefacts, this would be considered an extremely precious treasure.
Moreover, he was a wizard.
As long as he could possess the Nether Scrolls, he could build an Arcane Empire that wouldn't even regard ordinary deities as worthy of attention.
After coveting it for a while, Wayne closed the system interface.
His mall points were still zero. Seeing so many good things he couldn't afford was frustrating, so out of sight, out of mind.
But the mall's appearance was indeed a good thing.
Long ago, purple and below-tier rewards had become useless to Wayne. He couldn't be bothered looking at them each time—materials were stored away, and spell cards had long reached their limit. Whether fused or not, he couldn't feel any difference.
Meanwhile, higher-tier rewards were too broad in scope. Sometimes the rewards drawn were actually useless to him.
For example, the previous Ascension Disc and Ascension Rite—if given a choice, he would rather exchange them for rewards that directly enhanced his power.
He roughly calculated that, based on previous standards, he could obtain about fifteen or sixteen purple cards and thirty or forty blue cards per hundred draws.
If golden rewards weren't good, they could be exchanged for points—roughly three to five hundred mall points, equivalent to doubling the rate of obtaining Legend-tier rewards. They could also be used to exchange for some urgently needed precious materials.
Such material exchanges had no premium—one hundred grams of Sands of Time only required ten points, which he could afford.
As for obtaining draw points, the system listed many new channels. Actually, he didn't need to deliberately focus on them—just do what he wanted, and he would naturally gain more points.
Perhaps this was the true essence of being a Chaos Demon King. If constrained by the system everywhere, it wouldn't be called Chaos Demon King.
"Let's go, Ho-Oh." Wayne patted the bird's head, smiling. "We shouldn't make Hermione and the others worry."
After speaking, he took a step forward and vanished from the island. Only after he left did the separated sea surface slowly close up, as if nothing had happened.
...
Hogwarts.
Wayne abruptly appeared in a third-floor corridor. Since it was class time, he didn't alert anyone.
Having broken through to Legend, even without relying on Ho-Oh's power, he could now come and go freely within Hogwarts, and Apparition magic no longer imposed any restrictions on him.
After class, Wayne found Hermione.
Seeing him appear completely unharmed, Hermione first breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn't help but take two steps back, looking at him with some fear.
Wayne also became aware of the issue with himself. Having just broken through to Legend, the magnetic field of a higher life form was naturally radiating outwards, making anyone who saw him fearful.
The fact that Hermione only retreated two steps was actually quite good - within ten meters of them, there weren't any other students or teachers.
"Wayne, what exactly happened to you?" the young witch asked worriedly, then couldn't resist adding curiously, "Did you get some whitening treatment? Why has your skin changed so much?"
"It's nothing, it's a good thing. It'll be fine once I get used to it in a couple of days."
It was difficult to explain in just a few words, so he could only be vague.
"Then come find me again in a couple of days." The young witch shook her head like a rattle drum. "I feel uncomfortable just having you stand near me."
"Alright then," Wayne said helplessly. "Tell Cho and Astoria that I'm going to research how to control this. Oh, and tell Nagini too that I won't be coming to this week's open day."
Seeing Hermione nod, the young man's figure flickered, and he returned to the suitcase world.
He truly needed time to adapt to his current situation and to familiarise himself with the numerous abilities that had transformed after reaching Legend.
Although the runes had merged, their inherent power hadn't dissipated. Instead, it had been greatly enhanced and undergone marvellous changes.
He could also begin researching the next stage of the Dragon King's inheritance.
He said it would be two days, but Wayne ended up disappearing for a full week.
Inside the suitcase, Wayne slowly opened his eyes. In that instant, countless runes flashed by, leaving behind only a mysterious radiance that captivated the soul.
"I've more or less found my footing now. With my current strength, I should finally be able to get some clear answers, right?"
Wayne murmured to himself, his robes transforming into casual short-sleeved clothes.
Although he could travel on his own, he had grown accustomed to Ho-Oh's assistance. Stepping into the flames, he reappeared at the periphery of a pyramid.