Flesh Conversion

After finishing the story, Isaac put the Spellbook back into the Demon Claw and dispelled it. He took out a new Rat, returned to the Operating Table, and prepared to continue the experiment.

Fantasy Legend needed time to develop, while the other two methods of increasing magical power required corresponding magical rituals. They were not as simple as Fantasy Legend, so for now, all he could do was raise Heart Replacement Surgery and Flesh Conversion as quickly as possible, building up a certain degree of combat power.

That way, he could go take a look at the Cabin in the Woods and find out what exactly was going on there~

Of course, now that Hand of God had finished developing, he could begin learning Arcana as well. Legendary Wizards simply could not increase their magical power through learning and researching Arcana, but they could still cast it.

Nowadays, many Legendary Wizards also studied Arcana to broaden their combat systems.

But the most important thing was still Heart Replacement Surgery...

Sorosburg, night.

"*&...%...￥...&"

In the dim laboratory, Isaac wore a white coat and bloodstained white rubber gloves. He chanted a tongue-twisting Magic Spell under his breath as streams of magical power overflowed from his body, merging into the Rat on the Operating Table in a bizarre manner and accelerating the fusion between it and its newly transplanted heart.

"Sss~ sss~"

Within the laboratory illuminated by blue candlelight, aside from Isaac's low chanting, faint sounds of flesh tearing could be heard from the Rat on the Operating Table.

It was the sound of the Rat's body being rapidly transformed by the magical power surging from its heart.

Normally, the effects would not have appeared so quickly. First, the heart needed time to fuse; second, a Demonic Rat did not even qualify as a magical beast. The magical power contained within its heart was extremely limited, so it would not produce any immediate effect.

But under the influence of Isaac's Magic Spell, the process had been accelerated.

Soon, Isaac stopped chanting and frowned slightly as he looked at the ferocious Demonic Rat on the Operating Table.

The surgery had been a complete success. Both the heart transplant and the magical transformation of the body had gone smoothly.

But it was useless, because the Demonic Rat was weak—so weak that any adult could stomp one to death with a single foot as long as they worked up the courage...

In terms of vitality, Demonic Rats were not much different from Common Rats. Their combat power was somewhat greater, however. Influenced by magical power, they became more bloodthirsty and aggressive, but their foundations were what they were. Their strength was limited.

After pondering for a moment, Isaac locked up the Demonic Rat and returned to his desk to review the Magic Spells for Heart Replacement Surgery.

His advantage was the ability to endlessly stack Magic Spell effects. He had to make good use of it. Maybe he could find a way to strengthen them...

"Ahh~"

After a long while, Isaac sighed and helplessly set down the Parchment Scroll in his hand. They were all basic Magic Spells, and almost all of them were healing spells. None were what he needed...

This path would not work.

Then, a different magical creature?

After thinking in silence for a moment, Isaac sighed. That would not work either.

Magical creature hearts were relatively valuable materials and not easy to obtain.

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

"Hmm? No, I was thinking about this the wrong way!" Isaac suddenly shook his head and rose to walk toward the Demonic Rat. With a tearing sound from the back of his head, the ferocious Demon Claw emerged once more.

He had nearly forgotten. Demonic Heart Transplant Surgery itself was not important. What mattered was combining it with the Innate Sorcery, Flesh Conversion.

Certainly, a powerful Demonized Heart could greatly strengthen the altered creature, but accordingly, the magical power he consumed when casting his Innate Sorcery would increase as well.

From that perspective, perhaps he did not need to place too much importance on individual strength. Demonic Rats might be weak, but weakness had its benefits. At the very least, converting Demonic Rats would not cost much, and while a single Demonic Rat was weak, if their numbers increased...

Their power would not be lacking!

Even ants could bite an elephant to death!

If he could summon a Rat Tide, then it would be hard to say who was stronger. Let alone First Order magical creatures, even among Second Order magical creatures, there were not many that could ignore a Rat Tide.

It was worth trying!

Of course, all of this had one prerequisite—the cost of converting Demonic Rats had to be low.

Walking over to the cage in the corner, Isaac observed it for a moment. Then, the two claws of the Demon Claw picked up a Demonic Rat and lightly tossed it upward. A mouth filled with savage serrated teeth appeared in the Demon Claw's palm!

It swallowed the airborne Demonic Rat in a single bite!

In an instant, the bodily structure of the Demonic Rat appeared clearly in Isaac's mind!

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

Feeling the Demonic Rat's bodily structure in his mind, Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly. The potential of Flesh Conversion was even more astonishing than he had imagined. In just this short time, three methods of optimizing the Demonic Rat's body structure had already appeared in his mind!

"Sss~ haa~"

Isaac took two deep breaths to calm himself, then looked toward the Rat Corpse in the corner. He had to take things one step at a time. First, he would test the cost of converting a Demonic Rat, then gradually optimize the Demonic Rat's alterations.

Flesh Conversion had two activation requirements. Consuming a biological sample was a necessary one, but his Magic Pet could consume it in Isaac's place. This was also the original purpose behind the development of Magic Pets.

The casting requirements of many spells were utterly disgusting. Forget swallowing live Rats—some required swallowing rotting corpses!

That was why Magic Pets were so important.

Aside from the necessary requirement of consuming a biological sample, Flesh Conversion needed another condition—an equal amount of Demonized Flesh.

This casting condition was not mandatory. Without Demonized Flesh, he could still use magical power to create Demonic Rats, but the consumption of magical power would be enormous. It was best to prepare some Demonized Flesh.

At Isaac's command, a bizarre blood-red ray shot from the index finger of the Demon Claw and struck the Rat Corpse in the trash can in the corner with perfect accuracy.

Then, something incredible happened. The Rat Corpse struck by the blood-red ray trembled slightly before "coming back to life"!

"Hmm... so little?" After sensing the magical power expenditure, Isaac was pleasantly surprised. At this rate of consumption, he could cast it several hundred times in a row!

Of course, that was assuming he had enough Demonized Flesh. If he relied solely on magical power to condense them, then at most a dozen or so Demonic Rats would drain him dry.

But that was nothing. Demonized Flesh was much easier to obtain than Demonized Hearts, and cheaper too!

The only question was how long the Demonic Rats created by Flesh Conversion could last...

That was quite important. If they could persist indefinitely, that would naturally be ideal. He could easily build a massive army of magical creatures, though the upkeep would be greater since they needed food.

But if they could only last for a period of time, that would be fine too. Though he would not be able to mass-produce troops, he could radically alter the Demonic Rats, using every means possible to strengthen their combat power without worrying about their lifespans. Once the spell's duration ended, they would die anyway.

In short, no matter which it was, this spell had tremendous potential!