Since he was only joining as an associate member, Isaac easily gained admission to the Flesh and Blood Tower and received his newcomer benefit: the basic resources for breeding demonic creatures—Territory Magic: Beast Breeding Ground.
Territory magic was powerful but almost entirely inflexible. Its effects were usually formidable, far surpassing those of other spells at its level, but they only worked within a fixed area and could not be moved once set up.
The Beast Breeding Ground continually transformed its environment to suit the demonic creatures inside. The direction of its initial transformation was irreversible. It also increased the creatures' desire to reproduce and accelerated their growth.
The latter effect was especially impressive. The longer the territory magic remained active, the stronger it became, reducing growth time by up to a third!
And this was only the starter benefit for associate members!
"Tsk, tsk." Having glimpsed the tip of the Wizarding World's iceberg, Isaac shook his head in wonder and began checking which demonic creatures he could raise.
He opened the booklet the Flesh and Blood Tower's familiar had given him and read it carefully. Besides needing to choose cautiously, he also wanted to use this opportunity to learn a little about demonic creatures.
He lacked just about everything right now.
After a while, once he had roughly memorized all the demonic creatures in the booklet, Isaac settled on his targets: Dragon Lizards and Demon Rats.
The latter needed no explanation. Demon Rat—the name alone sounded powerful. Combined with his Talent Wizardry, it should produce good results. Even if transforming one required a lot of magic power, that was fine. He could transplant its heart into a Demonic Rat.
Not only would it greatly improve his combat strength, but the Flesh and Blood Tower also paid well for them.
As for Dragon Lizards...
The word "dragon" said it all.
Moreover, breeding Dragon Lizards was a project supported by the Flesh and Blood Tower. Although they were difficult to raise, the returns were substantial. A single Dragon Lizard that met their standards could be exchanged for any wizardry manuscript in the first-circle collection!
With Demon Rats, it would take a thousand just to scrape together enough for one manuscript.
But such generous returns naturally did not come easily. As that famous saying went: "So, Gul'dan, what is the price?"
They were hard to raise!
To qualify for purchase, a Dragon Lizard had to partially awaken the extremely faint giant dragon bloodline within its body, giving it a chance to become a true dragon-blooded demonic creature!
Ordinary breeding methods certainly would not meet this standard. Besides Territory Magic: Beast Breeding Ground, they needed quality food at every meal, along with potions and other supplements. Past data suggested that, under normal circumstances, it took three to five doses of Blood Essence Potion to partially awaken their giant dragon bloodline.
The cost was high.
But Isaac could still afford it!
So, after a little thought, he made his choice between Demon Rats and Dragon Lizards.
He wanted both!
First, he wanted to test whether his golden finger could affect a Dragon Lizard's bloodline awakening. Second, even if it could not, he could still force an awakening by pouring Blood Essence Potions into it!
After all, brewing a potion only cost him forty gold coins. That was not too expensive.
This was how to maximize his returns!
With his decision made, Isaac began placing his order. First came two Dragon Lizard hatchlings at ten gold coins each, then ten Demon Rats at one gold coin apiece, followed by feed. Both creatures were fairly easy to keep alive, provided they had enough demonic creature blood meat. Ten gold coins bought him three Demonic Wild Boar carcasses, enough to feed them for three to five days.
After some thought, however, Isaac added another three boars. He could gather the materials for the Wizardry Sublimation Ritual ahead of time and buy everything together.
After Isaac handed fifty gold coins to the Flesh and Blood Tower's familiar, it gave him a sheet of parchment. This was his transaction receipt, which he would need to collect his Dragon Lizards and Demon Rats when they arrived. The ones in Lake Town were display specimens and could not be taken out.
The boar carcasses were less troublesome. Six Demonic Wild Boars sounded like a lot, but after processing, they did not amount to much. One carriage could easily carry them all.
Driving the carriage, Isaac went to buy the remaining materials needed to set up the Beast Breeding Ground. Only then did he head to the harbor, load the boar meat onto the little boat piece by piece, and leave Lake Town.
Back in the woodland, Isaac finished unloading the boar meat and rolled his shoulders. He bowed slightly to the Old Witch, then picked up the magical materials and headed to the castle alone.
As for the boar meat?
Please. Isaac was, after all, a young nobleman! A member of the wicked landowning class!
Why would he need to do manual labor himself?
Night, in the basement.
Isaac stood before a Magic Array laden with demonic creature blood meat. Over his Wizard Robe, he wore a hemp garment drenched in goblin blood. The array contained all sorts of limbs: goblin limbs, rat limbs, and even human ones!
Of course, Isaac had bought that last portion in Lake Town.
The entire ritual site looked extremely bloody!
This was characteristic of the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood's rituals. The higher their level, the more sacrifices they required.
Steadying himself, Isaac knelt on one knee before the Magic Array, cupped his hands before his chest, and lowered his head with his eyes closed. He murmured the tongue-twisting incantation. A blood-reeking wind suddenly swept through, and with a whoomp, the assorted limbs on the array burst into flames!
At the same time, the demonic flesh arranged around him suddenly dissolved into streams of green smoke. They gathered within the Magic Array, forming a phantom of green flames.
Although Isaac kept his head lowered throughout, the image of the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood still appeared in his mind. It was a ball of flesh!
A ball of flesh covered in all manner of limbs and organs!
This made Isaac even more wary. He focused on the probability displayed by his golden finger. The demon god was far more terrifying than he had imagined. It looked like he would have to adjust his plan.
"Watching" the number in his mind shift constantly with his ritual objectives, Isaac lowered his demands slightly, keeping it at five hundred percent. He would be able to seize a little less, but that was fine. Safety came first. There would be other opportunities.
The tangled thoughts in Isaac's mind came together in a flash, and his demeanor grew a little more reverent.
"A Legendary Wizard? You really are interesting creatures~ Human~ Speak your wish! Whatever it may be~ I can grant it!"
"O supreme Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood, it is an honor to meet you. My wish is simple. I hope you will help me optimize this spell according to the improvements recorded here."
"Heh heh~ Is that all? Are you certain?"
"O supreme Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood, I am certain."
"You are lying. You Legendary Wizards are all lunatics. You must have something else in mind. Say it all at once."
Isaac was somewhat surprised that the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood still had not acted. But he suppressed his curiosity and did not rashly raise his head to look at the god. If he wanted to drag this out, so be it. Isaac's real plan was proceeding smoothly anyway.
"Watching" the success rate in his mind slowly fall, Isaac's lips curved slightly.
The two remained at an impasse for a while. In the end, the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood gave in first. A ray of light shot from the phantom into the notebook Isaac offered, and a thick, evil aura began to coil around it.
Had Isaac opened the notebook at that moment, he would have discovered its writing twisting and distorting!
It was forming an entirely new spell!
"Whoosh."
Before long, the notebook floating in the air completed its final revision, transforming from an ordinary notebook containing wizardry into an evil Magic Book.
The bearer of this Magic Book could directly activate the spell recorded inside without fulfilling any casting requirements.
The price, however, was that they had to feed it flesh and blood regularly as sacrifices to the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood.
Of course, that was only a cover.
The true purpose was for the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood to slowly establish a connection to this world through those sacrifices, until he could finally descend upon it!
Then devour everything!
Demon gods were hardly benevolent beings.
As the Magic Book slowly settled onto the floor, the probability in Isaac's mind fell from one thousand percent to five hundred percent. At this point, Isaac knew it was time to stop.
Without hesitation, he ended the ritual, sending away the utterly bewildered Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood.
Are Legendary Wizards nowadays this generous? He only used a tiny fraction of the ritual's power. All that fuss just to modify one spell?
Is this what Legendary Wizards of the new era are like?
If so, then...
"Bastard!!! Wretched insect! I will kill you!!!!"
Boom!
Within an unknown dimension, countless crimson eyes abruptly opened, filled with raging fury. Violent magic power poured unchecked into the unknown void, and countless masses of indescribably grotesque flesh sprouted from it!
After withdrawing his avatar, he finally learned what that Legendary Wizard had been after—his Flesh Dimension!
Only a tiny piece had been cut away. To him, it was insignificant, something he could recover with a nap. But the loss of power was a minor matter!
The loss of dignity was not!
A mere Formal Wizard had actually dared to attack him?
And succeeded!
If that fellow dared to rob his Flesh Dimension as a Formal Wizard, he could not imagine how arrogant he would become once he grew stronger!
However...
In his towering fury, the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood could do little beyond being furious. After venting his magic power for a while, he cast a resentful glance toward Isaac's world, then silently closed his eyes.
That world...
I can't afford to provoke it...
Sending an avatar to stir up trouble is one thing. Going there in person is another...
Surely I shouldn't throw my life away over my dignity?
Meanwhile, back in the basement, the first thing Isaac did after ending the ritual was destroy its setup, lest the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood fly into a humiliated rage and use it to come after him.
He could not leave even the slightest risk!
Only after finishing all this did Isaac happily pick up the Magic Book from the floor. Instead of opening it immediately, however, he closed his eyes. Following the sensation deep within his soul, his mental power entered a void.
An utterly empty void measuring roughly one hundred cubic meters.
This was his greatest gain from the ritual—the Flesh Dimension!
A dimension was a special kind of parallel world. Such worlds contained no life and were usually the dwelling places of demon gods, as well as the source of their power.
Different dimensions possessed different laws.
It was precisely through their dimensions that demon gods possessed nearly limitless magic power and vitality!
And this void was the dimension Isaac had stolen from the Lord of Billions of Flesh and Blood!
Or rather, a Dimensional Seed.
Before you continue