"What plundering? What little by little? If the ritual failed, then the trade definitely failed too. What are you talking about?"
"???" Isaac stared at Philo with a baffled look, asking in disbelief, "Don't tell me that with something as good as the Emperor's Order, all you did was straightforwardly trade with the Outer Gods. You didn't pull any little tricks behind the scenes?"
"???" Philo likewise stared at Isaac in utter confusion. "Wait, don't tell me you... did more than just trade with the Outer Gods?"
"What else would I do?" Isaac replied as though it were only natural. "I was already taking a shortcut, so of course I took the fastest one. Otherwise, why call it a shortcut?"
As he spoke, Isaac suddenly froze. Blinking, he asked in confusion, "Don't tell me... you guys don't do it that way?"
Philo was somewhat dumbfounded by that. "...As far as I know, all the Formal Wizards in the Mad Sorcerer Association only trade with the Outer Gods... We're not that crazy..."
Isaac: "..."
Were the mad sorcerers nowadays really this mediocre?
Isaac was rather stunned. He had always assumed the other mad sorcerers were like him—playing a game against the Outer Gods and using the Trade Ritual to steal Their power. Yet they were actually just... trading?
But after hearing Philo's words, Isaac found it even harder to understand.
"Wouldn't you be taking a loss that way...?"
Trading with the Outer Gods was dangerous in itself, and it could cost one's life. Using a trade as a cover to steal the Outer Gods' power could also cost one's life if it failed. Since death was on the table either way, why not take a gamble?
This was also the proper way to use the Outer God trade ritual recorded in