Flesh Conversion

After finishing the story, Isaac put the Magic Book back into the Demonic Claw and dismissed it. He took out another rat and returned to the operating table, ready to continue his experiments.

The gestation of a fantasy legend took time, while the other two ways of increasing magic power required the corresponding magical rituals. They were not as simple as a fantasy legend, so for now, all he could do was improve Heart Replacement Surgery and Flesh Conversion as quickly as possible, building up some degree of combat strength.

Then he could visit the Cottage in the Woods and see what was really going on there.

Of course, now that the Hand of God had finished gestating, he could start learning arcane magic too. Legendary Wizards simply could not increase their magic power by studying and researching arcane magic; they could still cast it.

These days, many Legendary Wizards also studied arcane magic to round out their combat repertoires.

Still, Heart Replacement Surgery was definitely the most important thing...

Solozburg, night.

"*&...%...￥...&"

In the dim laboratory, Isaac wore a white lab coat and bloodstained white rubber gloves. He recited a tongue-twisting spell, streams of magic power spilling from his body and flowing into the rat on the operating table in strange patterns, speeding up its fusion with the newly transplanted heart.

"Sss... sss..."

In the laboratory lit by blue candle flames, faint sounds of tearing flesh could be heard from the rat on the operating table, accompanying Isaac's low chanting.

That was the sound of the rat's body being rapidly altered by the magic power pouring out of its heart.

Normally, the effects would never have appeared so quickly. For one thing, the heart needed time to integrate. For another, a demonic rat did not even qualify as a magical beast. Its heart contained very little magic power, nowhere near enough to produce immediate results.

Under the influence of Isaac's spell, however, the process had accelerated.

Soon, Isaac stopped chanting and frowned slightly at the hideous demonic rat on the operating table.

The operation had been a complete success. Both the heart transplant and the magical alteration of its flesh had gone smoothly.

But it was fucking useless, because demonic rats were weak. So weak that any adult with enough nerve could stomp one to death...

In terms of vitality, demonic rats were barely different from ordinary rats. Their combat strength was slightly higher, since magic power made them more bloodthirsty and aggressive, but their basic limitations were still there. There was only so much stronger they could get.

After pondering for a moment with a frown, Isaac locked up the demonic rat and returned to his desk to look through the spells for Heart Replacement Surgery.

Stacking spell effects without limit was his advantage, and he needed to make good use of it. Perhaps he could find some strengthening spells...

"Sigh..."

After a while, Isaac sighed and helplessly set down the parchment scroll. They were all basic spells, mostly healing spells at that, with none of the kind he needed...

This approach was a dead end.

Then... a different monster?

After considering it for a moment, Isaac sighed. That would not work.

Monster hearts were relatively valuable materials and were not easy to obtain.

At least, they were not easy for him to obtain right now, because not every monster had an organ like a heart...

"Hmm? No, I've been looking at this all wrong!" Suddenly, Isaac shook his head and walked over to the demonic rats. With a ripping sound, the hideous Demonic Claw emerged from the back of his head again.

He had nearly forgotten: Demonic Heart Transplant Surgery itself was not what mattered. What mattered was combining it with the Talent Wizardry, Flesh Conversion.

Granted, a powerful demonic heart could greatly strengthen a modified creature, but the magic power he expended when using his Talent Wizardry would increase accordingly.

From that perspective, perhaps he did not need to focus too much on individual strength. Demonic rats were weak, but weakness had its advantages. At the very least, converting demonic rats would not cost much. And although a single demonic rat was weak, if there were enough of them...

Their power would be nothing to scoff at!

Enough ants could bring down an elephant!

If he could summon a rat swarm, it would be hard to say which side was stronger. Never mind First Tier monsters—even among Second Tier monsters, few could ignore a rat swarm.

It was worth a try!

Of course, all of this depended on one condition—the cost of converting demonic rats had to be very low.

He walked over to the cage in the corner and observed them for a moment. Then two fingers of the Demonic Claw picked up a demonic rat and tossed it gently into the air. A mouth full of hideous, jagged teeth appeared in the claw's palm!

It swallowed the airborne demonic rat in one gulp!

In an instant, the demonic rat's anatomy appeared clearly in Isaac's mind!

Isaac stroked his chin thoughtfully. This... was something he had not expected...

Examining the demonic rat's anatomy in his mind, Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly. Flesh Conversion had far more astonishing potential than he had imagined. In that brief moment alone, three ways to optimize the demonic rat's body had already occurred to him!

"Hss... hoo..."

Isaac took two deep breaths to steady himself, then looked at the rat corpses in the corner. He had to take things one step at a time. First, he would test how much magic power converting a demonic rat consumed, then gradually refine the modifications.

Flesh Conversion had two activation requirements. Consuming a biological sample was mandatory, but a magic pet could consume it on Isaac's behalf. That was the original reason magic pets had been developed.

The casting requirements for many wizardry techniques were utterly disgusting. Swallowing live rats was nothing—some even required swallowing rotting corpses!

That made magic pets extremely important.

Besides the mandatory requirement of consuming a biological sample, Flesh Conversion had another requirement—an equivalent quantity of demonic flesh.

This casting requirement was not essential. Even without demonic flesh, he could create demonic rats using magic power, but the cost would be enormous. It was best to keep some demonic flesh on hand.

At Isaac's mental command, a strange blood-red beam shot from the Demonic Claw's index finger, striking a rat corpse in the trash can in the corner with pinpoint accuracy.

Then something miraculous happened. The rat corpse struck by the blood-red beam twitched slightly and came back to "life"!

"Oh... that little?" Sensing how much magic power he had consumed, Isaac was pleasantly surprised. At this cost, he could cast it hundreds of times in succession!

Of course, that assumed he had enough demonic flesh. If he formed them purely from magic power, he would run dry after a dozen or so demonic rats at most.

But that was no big deal. Demonic flesh was much easier to obtain than demonic hearts, and cheaper too!

He just did not know how long the demonic rats created through Flesh Conversion would last...

That was quite important. If they could last indefinitely, that would naturally be ideal. He could easily raise an enormous army of monsters, though the upkeep would be greater, since they would need to eat.

But if they only lasted for a limited time, that would be fine too. Although he could not build up troops in advance, he could make sweeping modifications to the demonic rats, using every possible means to strengthen their combat ability without worrying about their lifespans. They would die when the wizardry expired anyway.

In short, either way, this wizardry had tremendous potential!