In the Council Hall of Solomon Fortress, a half-gray-haired elder clad in heavy full plate armor watched Isaac with mixed emotions. Although she had received Caesar's letter long ago and even prepared a gift for him, actually seeing Isaac still stirred complicated feelings in her heart.
In all honesty, she did not want Isaac to become a wizard, especially a Legendary Wizard!
Her beloved wife had died in childbirth while delivering Isaac, cursed by a Legendary Wizard. That had also left Isaac's body terribly frail. Despite exhausting every means available, she had only managed to keep him alive, without being able to improve his condition any further.
Still, that had not mattered much. She had never expected anything of Isaac. As long as he could live out his life safely and peacefully, she would be satisfied.
Legendary Wizards were powerful indeed, but almost every step they took was like walking a tightrope. One careless move could doom them forever!
But now that Isaac had already become a Legendary Wizard, there was little she could say. Her child had made his choice, and as his father, all she could do was support him.
"Here. This is your gift for becoming a wizard. May you recover fully." The elder took a silver box from beside her and handed it to Isaac with a smile.
"Thank you, Father." Isaac raised his eyebrows slightly, stepped forward, and accepted the silver box. Opening it, he found a wand fifty centimeters long.
"Try it," the elder said with a smile.
Isaac nodded and took the wand out of the box. The instant he infused it with magic power, information about the wand appeared in his mind. This was... a Treasured Artifact?!
Isaac turned the blood-red wand over in his hands in astonishment. It was actually a Treasured Artifact?
Treasured Artifacts were an exceptionally special kind of Magic Item, distinguished by their incredible abilities and immense potential for growth.
There were two types of Treasured Artifacts. When a Legendary Wizard died, the Legend they possessed had a chance of condensing into an object. This object would possess all the abilities of that Legend and could even grow stronger as its new wielder did. The other type was an artificially created Treasured Artifact, made by fixing a particular spell onto a special material. Once successfully fixed, the spell could be cast instantly by consuming the wielder's magic power, and the artifact likewise possessed the potential to grow.
It was difficult to say which type was better. The former had greater potential and was naturally formed, while the latter was more practical but bore traces of its crafted nature, with its abilities largely fixed.
But either type was extremely precious!
After all, these were things that could truly be used for a lifetime!
After his brief astonishment, Isaac quickly composed himself. He stroked the wand and carefully sensed the three release spells emanating from within it once more.
"Summon a few rats."
Riiip!
Under the elder's astonished gaze, a hideous Demonic Claw emerged from the back of Isaac's head. The serrated maw in its palm roared at Little Mouse on Isaac's shoulder.
"Ah..." Seeing his father's stunned expression, Caesar could not help pressing a hand to his forehead. That feeling...
He understood it!
The first time he had seen Hamon emerge from the back of Isaac's head, he had nearly been scared half to death, especially since the entrance came with the sound of tearing flesh!
"Squeak, squeak..." Little Mouse rubbed its two little paws together, and a strange ripple spread outward.
"Hm? Authority?!" The elder's pupils suddenly narrowed into vertical slits as she stared fixedly at the mouse on Isaac's shoulder, a golden gleam flowing through her eyes.
"This is the result of Isaac's research, a Divine Species that has condensed an Authority. And Isaac raised this Divine Species himself, starting from nothing." Noticing the change in her father, Cheryl offered an explanation at just the right moment.
The elder nodded, and her pupils returned to normal. Notably, throughout the entire process, not the slightest trace of her aura escaped.
This was a habit she had developed since Isaac's birth. Back when his body was frail, he could not even withstand a breeze, much less her terrifying aura. In Isaac's presence, she had become accustomed to keeping her power and aura restrained at all times.
A moment later, seven rats scurried out of a corner and lined up in a neat row.
"Mm." Isaac nodded in satisfaction at the sight. Then he suddenly pointed the wand at three of the rats and called out, "Devour it! Silver Moon Vine!"
Boom!
Radiant magic power instantly gathered, and three vines shot from the wand's tip. They flew toward the three rats at tremendous speed and bound them. Then thorns sprouted along the vines and pierced the rats' bodies. An eerie green glow flashed, leaving nothing but piles of gray fur and withered bones.
"Hiss!"
Isaac sucked in a sharp breath. This Blue Silver Entanglement packed quite a punch!
Silver Moon Vine was the wand's name. At present, it possessed three spells, each corresponding to a different incantation: Devour it! Silver Moon Vine!, Strangle it! Silver Moon Vine!, and Bind it! Silver Moon Vine! These produced magical attacks, physical attacks, and control effects, respectively.
The vines' strength was determined by the wielder's maximum magic power, and they could attain that strength without requiring the wielder to pour in all their magic power.
Overall, it was extremely practical. Moreover, its spells were not immutable. As Isaac grew stronger, the wand's spells would become better suited to his system of magic.
That was because Silver Moon Vine was not an artificially created Treasured Artifact and possessed considerable potential for evolution.
However, to truly become Silver Moon Vine's master, he would still need to perform a ritual binding it to himself. Otherwise, he could only use these three basic abilities.
"You seem to like it. That's good." The elder smiled faintly.
"Yes. Thank you, Father." Isaac bowed slightly, then tactfully stepped aside. Next, it was his second brother's turn.
Sure enough, once Isaac stepped back, the elder turned her gaze toward his second brother, Remington.
Remington trembled slightly. He walked forward with his head lowered and silently knelt. From his father's gaze, he could tell that his plan had been completely exposed...
That made sense. Everything he currently possessed had been bestowed upon him by his father. She might allow him a few petty maneuvers, but there were certain things he absolutely could not touch.
Colluding with the enemy, for instance. Or... allowing goblins to run rampant...
The latter, especially, had directly endangered Isaac's safety. Although Smith's protection made it unlikely that anything would happen to him, unlikely was not the same as impossible!
Those two things were absolute taboos to his father!
Standing nearby, Caesar watched Remington kneeling on the floor, a flicker of heartache crossing his eyes. He wanted to step forward and plead on his behalf, but the moment he moved, a stern look from the elder forced him back.
At home, the elder's authority remained considerable. Even Isaac, her most favored child, did not dare speak casually when she was serious.
Even with all her aura restrained, there were some things she could not suppress. After all, the elder before them was the Empire Sword Saint known as the Mad Lion—Gaia Solomon!
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