"Five severed fingers—got 'em. Black Wizard Robe and Wizard Hat—got 'em. Six White Feather Candles—got 'em. Three Beast Blood—got it. OK, that should be about everything."
In a gloomy basement, a boy in an oversized wizard's robe was bent over with his butt sticking up in the air, writing one strange, blood-red character after another on the floor by candlelight.
After a while, the boy stood up and looked at the hexagram made of blood-red characters on the floor. Transparent numbers floated above it. He nodded in satisfaction.
20%
That was the ritual's success rate. A little low, but no big deal. He wasn't finished yet. The boy continued working around the basement with his candle, arranging all sorts of miscellaneous objects in specific places. There was a hideous Devil Statue, a pitch-black skull, and black branches that looked like bone spikes...
They were all things that looked incredibly sinister. As the boy placed each item where it belonged, the number above the Blood-Colored Magic Circle slowly ticked upward.
At last, when the boy placed the six White Feather Candles at the six points of the Blood-Colored Magic Circle, the number settled at 200%!
"Now it's time to witness a miracle!"
The boy's lips curled slightly. He grabbed the Wizard Hat nearby and put it on, then knelt on one knee in the middle of the Blood-Colored Hexagram and began murmuring an obscure incantation.
"##%#=@*,--,#*=,#,..."
As the boy recited the incantation, gusts of cold wind suddenly swept through the sealed basement, blowing out the candle he'd been using for light.
Suddenly, under the cold wind's breath, the White Feather Candles lit with pea-sized green flames. Their ghastly green light fell on the boy, adding to his sinister air!
"Whoosh!"
Then the green flames suddenly swelled. The six tongues of fire intertwined in the air, forming the phantom of a hideous demon. The Demon looked at the boy kneeling on one knee, his features completely hidden beneath the brim of his Wizard Hat, and listened to him stumble over the incantation from time to time. The Demon's lips curled into a mocking smile.
The boy paid it no mind and continued reciting his somewhat error-riddled incantation.
There were two reasons he got the incantation wrong. First, it was too awkward, and he hadn't gotten used to it yet. Second, some of the incantation was wrong to begin with. That was a Demon's usual trick: if the ritual failed, the soul of the one conducting it would belong to the Demon.
The boy, however, wasn't particularly concerned. Even with all the mistakes in the incantation, the number indicating the success rate was still high in his eyes—158%!
Soon, when the number fell to 127%, he finished reciting the incantation, and the ritual was complete!
The Demon formed from green flames looked furious. It glared viciously at the boy, unable to understand why the ritual had succeeded!
It wanted to punish the boy, but it was only a projection. The boy's ritual not only lacked the power to let it do so, but was also of a low level. Otherwise, it could have bypassed the Magic Contract and attacked by force, letting the damn boy learn how wicked a Demon's heart could be!
Unfortunately... now it was the one tasting the wickedness of the human heart...
Though deeply unwilling, the Demon still obeyed the constraints of the contract, leaving behind a Seed of Power before vanishing from the chamber.
From beginning to end, the boy never revealed his face to the Demon.
With the Demon gone, the ritual was officially complete. But the most important step remained!
The boy slowly rose and shakily reached his right hand toward a green flame floating in the air. This was the Seed of Power left behind by the Demon, and the final step to becoming a Legendary Wizard!
He took a deep breath to steady himself, then seized it in his hand. In an instant, a mass of green flames burst out of it, then streamed into his body through his right hand and merged with his backbone. Specks of magical energy began emanating from within him.
He'd become a Legendary Wizard!
"It worked! Hahaha! It worked!"
The boy threw his head back and laughed, unable to contain his excitement!
The boy was named Isaac Solomon. He was a transmigrator who had inexplicably arrived in this world and become the son of a Viscount. Unfortunately, he hadn't just become someone's son—he'd also become someone's little brother.
He was the youngest in the House of Solomon, with two older brothers and an older sister above him. His Eldest Brother and Second Brother were both exceptional, so there was no chance the family estate would go to him. Still, being a wealthy gentleman wasn't so bad.
His life was certainly worse than it had been in his previous world, but at least he belonged to the upper class.
However, this world was no simple place!
It was a fantasy world!
A fantasy world with supernatural forces such as Wizards and Knights!
Isaac had no hope of inheriting the family estate, but he could at least try to gain Transcendent Power, right?
Otherwise, wouldn't his transmigration have been for nothing?
So Isaac, who had been frail and sickly since childhood, set his sights on becoming a Wizard, a supernatural profession that wielded magic!
In this world, there were three kinds of Wizards. The first were Truth Wizards, also called Arcanists. They understood Wizards much as Isaac did: they gained power through knowledge, and the path placed great demands on one's intelligence. The second kind were Witches. They were born with powerful magic and special spells, but the profession was limited to women, so it wasn't suitable for Isaac.
Fortunately, there was a third kind—Legendary Wizards. This kind of Wizard had no requirements for talent whatsoever. They gained the power to wield magic through rituals that called upon all kinds of unknown beings. Through specific rituals, they could also draw magic power and spells from legendary tales.
The only problem with this path was that most of the magic and magical power they acquired and improved had to come from magical rituals. And if a ritual failed...
At best, they would become a Demon and fall into Hell. At worst, a Demon would devour their entire soul!
Fortunately, as a transmigrator, Isaac had brought a little something from his old world. His "souvenir" was an ability that forcibly increased the odds of success. As long as the conditions were met, anything he did would succeed without fail.
Of course, it had to be something that could succeed in the first place.
This Wizard ritual was the only one he'd found with any chance of success, after spending three years choosing from all kinds of rituals.
Thinking about all the times he'd been cheated over the years, Isaac sighed heavily. Then he lifted his head and strode out of the basement. No matter how hard things had been before, that was all in the past. He'd finally made it through!
Once he got through the Apprentice Period, when the Seed of Power matured, he'd become a true Wizard!
Of course, even if he wasn't a true Wizard yet, he could already cast spells. He had magic power in his body, so he could try out that spell...
It was a good chance to test a theory, too. One book claimed that studying and practicing spells would also accelerate the growth of the Seed of Power and help him get through the Apprentice Period faster.
But the ritual mentioned in that book was wrong, so there was no telling whether the theory was true. Still, it was worth a try. He didn't have anything else to do anyway.
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