A New Goal Has Appeared!

"You... won't be taking any risks, will you?" Caesar asked worriedly.

After all, that was a legendary Demon God!

"It's fine. As long as the ritual doesn't fail, nothing will happen," Isaac said rather nonchalantly.

Caesar seemed about to say something else, but Sheryl interrupted him. "Third Brother is right. As long as the ritual succeeds, there won't be any danger. This is the power that Legendary Wizards rely on to survive."

But then she looked at Isaac again. "But that depends on the ritual succeeding! Maybe you got lucky this time, but I hope you won't become careless because of it. Outer Gods aren't that simple. Your success this time doesn't mean you'll keep succeeding in the future!"

Isaac nodded. Of course he knew that.

That was one of the reasons nobody in the Mad Wizard Society bothered with interpersonal relationships. Everyone lived one day at a time. Who knew when they might be gone? Making friends?

There was no need at all.

As for whether the Mad Wizard Society would stop after doing this once...

Isaac admitted that people like that existed, but there were definitely very few of them. These days, how many gambling addicts could actually quit?

If they could quit, could they still be called gambling addicts?

And honestly, the thrill of rapidly increasing one's strength was far greater than the thrill of winning money. How many people could resist that?

At any rate, Isaac couldn't.

He might have agreed readily just now, but he had not actually listened to a word of it. Because he wasn't a gambling addict. He was an investor!

And it was a guaranteed-profit investment!

What about Sheryl and the others?

They knew Isaac had not taken it in either, but it did not matter. They would have plenty of time to persuade him later. Slowly but surely.

After roughly discussing the details of the plan, they went their separate ways to handle their own affairs.

It was worth mentioning that after they separated, second brother Remington seemed to want to thank Isaac, but Isaac was busy returning to his experiments and ignored him.

And honestly, he did not have much goodwill toward his second brother anyway. For one thing, Isaac had a low tolerance for stupidity. In his eyes, competing with Caesar for the inheritance was an incredibly stupid thing to do!

Put it this way: when their father Gaia left the territory, Caesar could directly command the territory's army even without Gaia's written order!

Moreover, Caesar had handled his external connections very well. Whether nobles or adventurers, he had close friends everywhere. How were you supposed to compete with someone like that?

The man had been born to do that job!

Not to mention that in this world where extraordinary power reigned supreme, Caesar also possessed exceptional talent for cultivation.

The second reason was Remington's collusion with the Black Orcs.

That matter made Isaac look down on him somewhat.

Whether Remington had been used by the Black Orcs or had used them himself, Isaac considered it an extremely stupid thing to do. Not only was it like seeking a tiger's skin, but it also treated the people of the territory as if they were nothing!

A person like that was simply unfit to be a lord!

Still...

Dislike was one thing, but they were blood relatives after all. If he could plead for him, then he would plead for him.

But any further interaction was out of the question.

However, after parting with the others, Isaac did not immediately return to the Mage Tower. Instead, he found a suitable corner inside the fortress and began setting up the battlefield spell, Flesh Lair.

Although he carried one with him, it had already been placed inside the dimension. The dimension was not suitable for frequent use at this stage, so it was better to make a new one. Not only would it not cost much, but he could also get reimbursed for it!

Why not?

Very soon, a massive heart radiating a heavy stench of blood stood in one corner of the fortress. Bright red liquid slowly flowed outward from it, then rose into blood-colored mist after traveling a certain distance. Wrapped in the magic power in the air, it returned to the giant heart and became the scarlet glow within its blood vessels.

However, relying on the magic power in the air alone was not enough to rapidly produce troops. Thus, after absorbing sufficient magic power, the viscous blood flowing from the giant heart gradually increased. Before long, a huge pit appeared in the ground. The blood flowing from the giant heart filled it, turning it into a Blood Pool, while the lower half of the giant heart soaked within it and slowly pulsed.

"Gasp!!!"

The soldiers nearby watched Isaac chant beside the Blood Pool and suddenly drew in sharp breaths. The sight was simply too horrifying! Too villainous!

The instant the Flesh Lair fully took shape, a faint wave of magic power spread outward.

A flash of arcane radiance appeared beside Isaac, and Sheryl's figure emerged from it. She frowned and studied the Flesh Lair for a moment, but could not understand it.

Or rather, she only understood part of it—the part that transformed flesh into demonic creatures, a relatively simple transmutation-type arcane art. But that was not the core of this spell.

The true core of the spell was that it could operate automatically. Though it could not nurture genuine life like the Goblin Lair, fully automated spell operation was still exquisitely ingenious.

Unfortunately, it contained a great deal of Outer God knowledge. Ordinary people simply could not decipher anything from it, let alone learn or make use of it.

Thus, after only a brief look, Sheryl turned to Isaac. "If you're done here, go see Father. He has something to tell you."

"Alright, I'll go now. This spell is basically set up. Next, we just need to put Demonic Creature Blood Meat into it. As for the demonic creatures we need to make... I don't have much combat experience. Give me two or three days, and I'll make a few samples for you to look at."

The Gale Wind Wolves and Demonic Wild Boars could fight on their own, but things had not reached that point yet. They could optimize them first.

Besides, this was one of the few opportunities he had to do research with public funds!

How could he give it up so easily?

Sheryl nodded slightly, then transformed into a streak of arcane radiance and vanished. Isaac watched enviously. Spatial teleportation—the standard skill of a proper mage.

It was incredibly practical!

Unfortunately, even the shortest-range Blink Spell could only be learned after reaching the Grand Wizard stage.

Still, perhaps he could try stealing some spatial authority?

Isaac stroked his chin. The idea seemed somewhat feasible and could be added to a backup plan. But that would have to wait until his research into authority had gone deeper.

Otherwise, his top priority was still obtaining resources that could promote the dimension's growth. That was currently the hardest thing for Isaac to acquire.

Up to this point, the dimension had not gained any growth in Isaac's hands at all!

Although Isaac did not expect to become a Dimension Demon God through this thing, that did not mean he had no need for it. At the very least, if the dimension grew somewhat, he could use it as spatial storage equipment. He also would not need to be so cautious when using Infinite Magic Power, constantly fearing that he might accidentally damage the newborn dimension.

Shaking his head, Isaac buried all those scattered thoughts deep inside. There was no use thinking so much now. Improving his strength came before everything else.

But before that, he had to go see Gaia.

He wanted to know why his family had such a strong objection to Mad Wizards. He had not known about it at all before!

"Knock, knock~"

"Come in."

Pushing open the door to the Lord's Mansion, Isaac found Gaia sitting behind his desk, focused on reading documents. When he saw Isaac enter, he placed the document in his hand on the table and pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Sit."

After speaking, he turned around, pulled a notebook from the bookshelf behind him, and handed it to Isaac.

Isaac curiously opened it and discovered that it seemed to record someone's activities.

"Father, what is this?"

"Do you know how your mother died?" Gaia did not answer Isaac's question and instead asked one of his own.

But that question seemed to be the answer...

Isaac frowned slightly. "Didn't Mother die from complications during childbirth when she gave birth to me?"

"She did indeed die from complications during childbirth. But do you think that, with our family's power, giving birth to a child could result in such complications? Even if there truly were complications, would we only be able to save one? You're a wizard now too. You should know that such problems aren't difficult for magic to solve." Gaia looked calmly at Isaac, his tone exceedingly composed.

Yet whenever his gaze fell upon the notebook in Isaac's hands, a trace of killing intent would occasionally flash through his eyes!

But out of instinct, he did not let Isaac notice it, even though Isaac no longer feared killing intent of that level.

Hearing that, Isaac silently flipped through the notebook in his hands, expressionless.

"Rip!"

However, Hamon emerging from the back of his head revealed that his heart was not as calm as he appeared.

"You've probably guessed it too. That's right, your mother did not die in an accident at all! A Mad Wizard placed a curse on her, causing her to die during childbirth. Even you nearly could not be saved. And though you were rescued, it left you weak for all these years."

As Isaac listened to Gaia, he continued flipping through the notebook. Soon, he reached the end.

Frowning slightly, Isaac asked, "You still haven't found him?"

"Unfortunately, no." Gaia shook his head. "I've been searching for him all these years, but his methods of concealment are extremely sophisticated. The notebook in your hands contains all the information we currently have."

"Prank Master..." Isaac looked at the title recorded in the notebook, and intense killing intent flashed through his eyes. This was the person who had harmed his birth mother in this life and nearly killed him as well...

Judging from the title, this might even have been nothing more than a prank to the other party!

"Could he have died in a transaction with an Outer God?" Isaac asked with some concern.

"No. He committed a crime just last year. He led rebels to overthrow the regime of a small country, then sacrificed the entire nation to an evil god! His methods were exceptionally cruel! Moreover, we had wizards from the Truth Association lock onto his life status. Once he dies, this sapphire will shatter as well."

As he spoke, Gaia took a sapphire from his clothes and showed it to Isaac.

Hearing that, a savage smile appeared on Isaac's lips as he said coldly, "That's wonderful! It would be far too easy for him if he died at the hands of an Outer God!"

Seeing Isaac's somewhat ferocious expression, Gaia frowned, put away the sapphire, and said earnestly, "I'm telling you this not because I want you to seek revenge. I'll handle revenge myself. I only hope that you won't let Outer Gods twist your will and won't become overly greedy for power!"

"Mm, I understand." Isaac nodded.

His answer came quickly. Gaia knew Isaac had not taken it to heart. After thinking it over, Gaia sighed. Blocking was worse than guiding. He understood Isaac—Isaac would never give up because of this.

So he said, "He is at least a High Wizard. With your current strength, even if you found him, it would be useless. You would only throw your life away for nothing."

Isaac nodded. He understood that. He would not let anger cloud his judgment. So many years had passed, yet neither his father nor his eldest brother and sister had managed to find the man. Either that meant he was exceptionally skilled at hiding, or he was exceptionally powerful—perhaps even stronger than a High Wizard!

It was even possible that he possessed both qualities...

But no matter which was the case, he was not someone Isaac could contend with right now. At present, the most important thing was to steadily accumulate strength.

And compared to his father and the others, Isaac had one enormous advantage—the Mad Wizard Society!

Since the other party was a Mad Wizard, there was a high chance he was part of it too. Even if he was not, Isaac could ask the people there to help him search.

But not now. As he had said before, Isaac was too weak.

"Ah~ Be careful. I don't even know whether telling you this was the right decision..." Gaia sighed as he watched Isaac lower his head to study the notebook.

From a rational standpoint, it would actually have been better to keep this from Isaac for now. Isaac was also a Mad Wizard and could easily go to extremes. If he truly did, the consequences would be unimaginable...

But not telling him was inappropriate as well.

After all, Isaac was already an adult. He had also become an extraordinary being through his own strength. He was no longer a child and had the right to know these things.

"You may go. From now on, the family will allocate three thousand Gold Coins each month for your spell research. If you need anything, just ask the family. Don't do dangerous things."

"Three thousand Gold Coins!" Isaac, who had been studying the notebook, abruptly raised his head upon hearing that number.

"I know it's a little low, but the family is facing some difficulties right now. Make do with it for now. Once we get through this, I'll raise it to five thousand."

"Five thousand!" Hearing that it could increase further, Isaac's eyes widened!

That was five thousand every month!

Was his family really that rich?

Isaac blinked. At that moment, he suddenly felt like someone who had lived in hardship for years only to discover that he was actually the child of a wealthy family...

Though to ordinary people, being born into nobility already made him part of the wealthy third generation. No, the wealthy fourth generation!

"I'll work hard!"

"...You may go." Seeing Isaac's earnest expression, Gaia finally realized that his earlier exclamation had been because Gaia was giving him too much...

"The family is wealthier than you think. You don't need to hold back so much." Gaia shook his head, somewhat speechless.

His three sons really were...

"Mm-hmm!" After nodding vigorously, Isaac left the room. Before long, he rode the Pumpkin Carriage back to the laboratory in the Mage Tower.

The instant he entered the laboratory, the smile on Isaac's face vanished. With a grim expression, he walked to the desk, picked up a notebook, and began reconsidering his path forward.

Although Isaac's original plans also included improving his strength, that had only been secondary—a means of self-defense. As for his future path, he had mainly intended to focus on research.

But now, it seemed he needed to make some slight changes...

Thanks to Luo Jinyang for the five hundred Qidian Coins donation!