Wizard: Scamming a Demon God

"SQUISH~ SQUISH~"

Isaac squeezed the blood-red heart in his hand. It wasn’t even as big as his palm yet. The heart was springy, almost like rubber, though its shape was, as always, abstract.

Of course, its method of use was even more abstract. One had to eat the thing. And it couldn’t be eaten by a Magic Pet, because eating it was meant to connect to the Magic Power within one’s body. If a Magic Pet ate it, wouldn’t it connect to the pet instead?

’Of course, that’s not to say it wouldn’t work, but it wouldn’t be nearly as convenient. People usually just eat it themselves.’

After toying with it for a moment, Isaac casually tossed it onto a nearby table. For now, the Second Magic Power Source could only store Magic Power equivalent to six times his own. To any other Wizard, this amount of Magic Power would already be incredibly impressive.

After all, the Second Magic Power Source didn’t conflict with a Magic Seal. The two combined provided nearly ten times his base Magic Power. Furthermore, the Second Magic Power Source could be recharged through various methods, making it a top-tier Magic Item.

But for Isaac, this amount of Magic Power was a bit lacking. It was only enough to create a single Great Sword Ghost without consuming any casting materials...

But that was all it could do for now. The method to turn it into a Relic was simple: just complete the flawed Magic Circuit on its surface.

The greatest difference between Relics and ordinary Magic Items is the Magic Circuit.

Magic Circuits were a byproduct of research into the Divinity Network. The earliest Wizards had actually intended to create a God through this method. However, they ultimately discovered that while Magic Circuits could absorb the Power of Faith, their efficiency was abysmal compared to a Divinity Network. In the end, the project was abandoned.

It wasn’t until many years later that a Wizard unintentionally rediscovered Magic Circuits and combined them with Magic Items, giving birth to the brilliant technology of artificial Relics we have today!

And this presented Isaac with an opportunity!

The technology behind Magic Circuits was far more sophisticated than his own Divinity Network modification technique. Forget learning it—he wasn’t even qualified to be exposed to it. Even though one of the two Relics he possessed, All Things Severed, was an artificial one, he couldn’t use Analysis on it to glean any Knowledge about Magic Circuits.

But!

He knew how to modify the Divinity Network!

And he was very good at it!

Magic Circuits ultimately originated from the Divinity Network. Therefore, the method to complete the Magic Circuit on the Second Magic Power Source was quite simple.

Just like how Shushu powered up: by devouring Divinity!

You just had to toss a live Divine Spirit Rat into a Magic Cauldron, add cinnamon, star anise, scallions, ginger, and garlic. Then, for a touch of color, add a splash of dark soy sauce. Simmer this on high heat for three hours, then—TSSS—extract the most refined spoonful of broth and pour it over the blood-red heart. Let it sit for thirty minutes to fully absorb the energy.

Finally, repeat this process until the Magic Circuit is fully formed! 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Isaac hadn’t discovered this method himself; it was a concept proposed by the "original author." The difficulty was just too high for anyone to have ever attempted it.

After all, Divine Species in the wild are exceedingly rare and powerful. If someone actually encountered one, who would bear to slaughter it just to cultivate a Relic? ’Wouldn’t it be better to bind it as a Servant Demon?’

What’s more, a single Divine Species wasn’t nearly enough to form a complete Magic Circuit, which made the whole process seem even more pointless.

Only a person like Isaac had the resources to even consider it.

But there was no rush. The original author’s method was just a concept that had never been put into practice, resulting in a pitifully low success rate. While Isaac could use his Golden Finger to guarantee success, that would be a tremendous waste of resources. ’I should try to optimize the process first,’ he thought. Besides, the Second Magic Power Source needed to sit for a while before the broth could be applied.

So, for now...

Isaac walked over to a chair and sat down. He flipped open his Magic Book, accessed the Sect’s forum, and checked the help thread he had posted. ’So many days have passed. There should be some replies by now, right?’

For the past few days, he had been eating food either bought by Smith from a nearby town or concoctions he and Liu Li had attempted to make. How to put it... whether bought or homemade, the food was merely... edible.

Thus, the matter of finding a cook was becoming increasingly urgent.

SMACK!

A moment later, Isaac snapped his Magic Book shut. ’As expected, no matter the world, internet forums are always filled with trolls...’

There were plenty of suggestions, to be fair. They started out normal enough: hire a cook, find a brave one. But they quickly devolved into absurdity, ranging from ordering takeout to summoning edible Demons, from food storage tips to "100 Tricks for Saving Money," and from Magic Servants to Three-gendered Enchanting Demons...

The suggestions became more numerous and more abstract, revealing more and more of the posters’... kinks.

’I have no idea how much of that was real. If even half of it was true, then the Wizard profession is way too messed up. But there’s no way it’s all true... right?’

Shaking his head, Isaac sighed. It wasn’t a total loss, though. While the replies grew increasingly abstract, he had to admit, a few of them did appeal to his... ahem, that is, a few of them were actually reliable.

For example, ordering food. Not buying it from nearby towns like he was doing now, but ordering from within Lake Town or the Truth Association. Most Wizards were obsessed with their research, often spending weeks at a time in their labs. Their homes were usually saturated with residual Magic Power, making them unsuitable for Ordinary people.

While Magic existed to create bread and water, that stuff could only fill your stomach. The taste... was what it was.

Thus, the Otherworld’s version of food delivery was born, available in both Lake Town and the Truth Association. They didn’t just sell regular food, either; they sold Magic Food, which was top-tier in both taste and nutrition.

Of course, the price was top-tier as well.

Another example: while food created by Magic was hard to stomach, one could think outside the box and use Summoning Magic to bring food over from an Otherworld. All such food now came from the God of Delicious Food; it was delicious and even provided beneficial buffs. However, this Magic required a small offering of Faith, which would affect the quality of the summoned food—a detail Isaac found displeasing.

Yet another example mentioned a gourmet animal whose flesh, when cut off, would instantly transform into a cooked meal. There was a plant that could grow delicious bread and roasted meat, and a kettle that could pour out fresh milk...

The methods were diverse, but none matched Isaac’s initial idea: simply using Magic to create a Magic Servant that could cook. According to the forum, the Authority for that had been stripped away by the God of Delicious Food. Since it wasn’t considered a major issue, the Authority had remained with the God ever since.

After weighing his options, Isaac finally decided to look into the food delivery services. He would first check whether the Truth Association or Lake Town offered better value, and then pick one.

As for the other options... they were either too absurd or came with undesirable side effects. Not like delivery—its only drawback was the cost!

But as a newly-minted millionaire, that amount of money was small potatoes!