Hidden Dangers in the Goblin Nest

[...]

The instant Isaac's hand touched the Spellbook, a stream of information swept through his mind. He now understood what "Mad Sorcerer Association" on the Spellbook's cover meant...

The Mad Sorcerer Association was a loose Sorcerer Organization—or, more precisely, an organization for sorcerer gatherings.

Only sorcerers who had successfully made a deal with an Extraterrestrial Being could join!

Whether they were like Isaac, who had seized a Dimension Shard from a Demon God, or had obtained magical knowledge—or even certain Aspects—through ordinary transactions, as long as the deal succeeded, they were still alive, and they retained their independence, they could join the Mad Sorcerer Association.

In other words, this was a sorcerer gathering made up of madmen!

Of course, they were geniuses as well.

The reason the Mad Sorcerer Association was called a sorcerer gathering rather than a Sorcerer Organization was, most importantly, that it had no mandatory rules. It merely provided a platform for mad sorcerers like Isaac to communicate.

The Mad Sorcerer Association held a Small Exchange Meet once a month and a large exchange meet once a year. Small Exchange Meets were attended by sorcerers of the same rank, who exchanged magical knowledge and pooled their wisdom. They could also conduct transactions there, whether in magical knowledge or magical materials.

The large exchange meet, on the other hand, involved all mad sorcerers regardless of strength, and was enormous in scale!

Aside from the large and small exchange meets, the mad sorcerers could also communicate in real time through the Spellbook, much like the chat groups from Isaac's past life. The difference was that this chat group had rank restrictions—one could only join a group chat corresponding to one's own rank.

Beyond that, the Mad Sorcerer Association would provide its members with absolutely nothing, be it magical knowledge or magical materials.

Which meant...

"Nothing but benefits?"

Isaac blinked. This seemed... like a good thing?

After thinking for a moment, Isaac picked up the Spellbook. He pondered briefly, then slowly opened it. No matter what, even if it was a trap, he had no power to resist right now. Better to accept it calmly and quietly build up his strength.

That way, even if it truly was some kind of trap, he could break ten thousand laws with sheer force!

The Spellbook looked thick, but it actually had only three pages. One page was a chat window, completely blank. The latest message was the notice of his joining. He had no idea whether past messages were invisible or whether it had always been this quiet.

Of the other two pages, one was a roster, while the other was a magic circle.

The roster recorded only Formal Wizards. Isaac gave it a rough look—there were thirty or forty people in total. It seemed there were more madmen in this world than he had imagined.

The magic circle, meanwhile, was a teleportation spell. On the first of every month, he could use it to teleport into a dimension and attend the exchange meet. At other times, he could also use the magic circle to project himself into that dimension for everyday communication.

"A name?" Feeling the information transmitted by the roster page, Isaac glanced over the others' names. After some thought, he gave up on doing anything fancy and chose a more formal name—Solomon!

The name also represented a small ambition of his. One day, just like Solomon from the myths and legends of his past life, he would become a magician who commanded Demon Gods!

Once Isaac carved down his name, the purple halo on the Spellbook flashed faintly before dimming.

There was still a week until the first, so Isaac merely gave the Spellbook a casual look before putting it away. He had nothing he wanted to discuss with the others for now. He would lurk for a while and observe the situation first.

"Ughhh~~~"

After putting away the Spellbook, Isaac stretched lazily and rose to leave the laboratory.

Breakfast first.

"Young Master Isaac, all Goblin Nests nearby have been located. This is the intelligence gathered over the past few days." Smith had been waiting outside early in the morning. The moment Isaac emerged, he reported in and handed several sheets of paper to him.

Isaac nodded. As he headed toward the dining hall, he read through the documents in his hand, his brow furrowing slightly.

This was the intelligence he had asked Smith to gather on the Goblin Nests. Isaac did not believe he was the only one who had thought of using Goblin Nests as resource points for continually producing Demonized Flesh.

Yet he had never heard of anything similar, so he had previously guessed that there had to be some hidden danger involved. It was only because he truly needed large amounts of Demonized Flesh that he had kept a few Goblin Nests.

And Smith's investigation had confirmed his suspicions. Goblin Nests could indeed continuously breed goblins, just like low-level monsters respawning in a game.

But even magic had to obey the law of conservation of energy!

There were three sources of magical power for a Goblin Nest to breed goblins. Two were locally sourced—the air and the earth. The last was rather mysterious, and was commonly believed to be the Dimensional World possessed by the Legendary Wizard who had created the goblins.

And the problem lay precisely with those three sources!

The first two went without saying. An excessive spread of goblins would inevitably cause the concentration of magical power in the air around them to decline, while nutrients in the earth would rapidly drain away. Given enough time, the place would surely turn into a wasteland!

The third source of magical power was no simple matter either. Though no one knew what place it was connected to, drawing magical power from there for too long would cause some bizarre Demonic Beasts to appear!

They were far more powerful than goblins!

"Tsk. Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch. End the goblin harvesting here. Don't leave a single Goblin Nest behind, but keep bringing their corpses back."

"Understood, Young Master Isaac." Smith nodded slightly, then took a letter from his robes and handed it to Isaac. "Young Master, this is a letter from Eldest Brother. Along with it came one thousand Gold Coins, a Wizard Manuscript, and one of Eldest Sister's Spellbooks."

"They know I've become a sorcerer?" Isaac raised his brow slightly as he accepted the letter and asked casually.

"Yes. The Shadow Guards likely saw us clearing out the goblins." Smith nodded.

This was, after all, the heartland of Solomon Territory. Not a hundred percent, perhaps, but they still held eighty percent control over it. Their actions could not possibly remain hidden—not that Isaac and the others had ever intended to conceal them.

Isaac smiled and opened the letter. As he read, his brow slowly creased, and he stopped. "Uncle Smith, are you familiar with the Black Orcs?"

"Black Orcs? Right... judging by the time, they should be arriving soon." At the words, Smith's brow drew tightly together. He said to Isaac, "I am. Black Orcs are a race from the Dark Land. They do not engage in production and live by hunting, so when autumn and winter arrive, they gather in large numbers to invade our territory and plunder food. Eldest Brother wants you to return and take shelter?"

"Yes. Eldest Brother wants me to stay at the fortress for a while. Starting next month, even the heartland will no longer be absolutely safe. But since I'm going, I can't just sit around doing nothing."

"Understood. I will organize the intelligence on the Black Orcs and deliver it to you as soon as possible." Smith bowed slightly, his eyes holding a trace of gratification as he looked at Isaac.