Wizard: Scamming a Demon God

Looking at the menu, Isaac let out a heavy sigh. This stuff was so damn good, and so damn expensive!

——

Secret-Recipe Deep Sea Feast: Permanently grants a slight increase to the Mysterious Attribute. 9,999 Gold Coins per serving.

Secret-Recipe Flame Combo: Permanently grants a slight increase to the Flame Attribute. 3,999 Gold Coins per serving.

Secret-Recipe Magic Power Burger: Permanently provides a small increase to Magic Power. 5,999 Gold Coins per serving.

Secret-Recipe Starry Sky Burger: Permanently grants a slight increase to the Starry Sky Attribute. 9,999 Gold Coins per serving.

Secret-Recipe Octopus Sashimi: Permanently provides a slight increase to cognitive speed. 99,999 Gold Coins per serving (Requires one-week advance reservation).

Deluxe Deep Sea Combo: Permanently grants Authority: Domination of Sea Water. 9,999,999 Gold Coins per serving (Requires one-year advance reservation and customer-provided materials).

Mind-Enhancing Roast: For three hours after consumption, temporarily increases cognitive speed, boosts inspiration, and grants a temporary +1 to Luck. 999 Gold Coins.

Charcoal-Grilled Steak: For three hours after consumption, increases physical strength by 0.1% and training efficiency by 10%. 999 Gold Coins.

...

——

’Magic Food can freaking do all this?’

Isaac blinked, his mind still a bit sluggish. ’So that’s why the God of Delicious Food suddenly, and for no apparent reason, revoked the authority of Magic Servants to create fine cuisine. Was he trying to prevent this?’

’No wonder no other Wizards went to stir up trouble. Who would dare? That would be like trying to cut off this Wizard’s source of income, wouldn’t it?’

’And a Wizard who can make food like this and sell it? You can bet he’s eaten it himself.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

’What a terrifying ability...’

For a moment, Isaac had the urge to rob the God of Delicious Food...

’Why did the God of Delicious Food have to be a True God?’

’So inconsiderate!’

Isaac glumly continued to read the menu. Aside from those mind-blowing magical dishes, there were also ordinary ones that were simply delicious. And they weren’t expensive, at least not compared to the Magic Food.

For the ordinary dishes, they offered a monthly subscription: one hundred Gold Coins per person. It included a choice of three items for breakfast, six for lunch, and nine for dinner—all prepared to royal standards.

It might be quite expensive for ordinary Nobility, but for Wizards, the price was reasonable. After all, they had a hard time hiring cooks.

At the very end of the menu, the restaurant had "thoughtfully" listed the Truth Association’s standard meal plan. It was also a monthly subscription, costing ninety Gold Coins a month—cheaper than this place. But, the Truth Association didn’t include shipping!

Unless your delivery address was a Truth Association Mage Tower or a major city with one of their branches, you had to pay for shipping!

’As for Truth Association branches...’

’There are two within the Solomon Territory. One is in Solomon City, the territory’s capital, and the other is at the fortress. My sister’s Mage Tower also counts as a branch—she’s a genius Arcanist, after all—but unfortunately, none of them are close by. I calculated the shipping fee... it would be about fifteen Gold Coins...’

’There’s also one in Lake Town, but delivering *out* of Lake Town costs a shipping fee, too. The same price.’

’Well, that settles it. I can’t be bothered to make another trip.’

So, Isaac decisively paid three hundred Gold Coins for one month’s service for the three of them. He still had to go to the Truth Association branch to subscribe to the newspaper anyway. If their pricing was really as this menu claimed, he would continue the subscription. If not...

...it would only cost a few dozen extra Gold Coins. No big deal.

It’s worth mentioning that when Isaac paid, he found out that in addition to forking over the money, he also had to register the type of Extraordinary Power for each person. This was because the meals weren’t truly ordinary food; they could fulfill the daily nutritional requirements of a Transcendent.

For Smith, this meant he could continue his training without having to consume Knight’s Secret Medicine, and the food was even slightly more effective. The same applied to Liu Li.

Isaac was the only one who got the short end of the stick. Since he wasn’t an Arcanist, he couldn’t use Meditation to increase his Spiritual Power and Magic Power. The food just made him feel more energetic.

Still, that was a good thing. Conducting experiments was draining.

All in all, it was certainly expensive, but it was definitely worth it!

’Damn, I’m really starting to like this God of Delicious Food!’

’Maybe I should find a way to turn him into an Outer God?’

Isaac shook his head. ’That’s a little too evil. I’ll think about it later...’

After paying and registering his ID number, Isaac left. An Alchemy Demonic Puppet would deliver the food from Lake Town later. ’The cost of using an Alchemy Demonic Puppet for delivery from Lake Town clearly isn’t high, so I have no idea why the Truth Association still insists on charging a shipping fee. Honestly...’

’What a garbage platform!’

A short while later, Isaac walked into the Lake Town branch of this so-called "garbage platform." He first took a look at the food delivery menu. As expected, the price for the basic meal plan was exactly what the restaurant’s menu had said. The only difference was the selection of High-level Magical Food; the dishes and ingredients were not the same.

But he wasn’t sure if it was because of his own Level or the branch’s Level, but the variety of High-level Magical Food was smaller here than at the restaurant.

It didn’t matter, though. He couldn’t afford any of it right now anyway.

So, Isaac subscribed to the newspaper and left. It wasn’t expensive—ten Gold Coins a month for three issues, with shipping included.

’Now that’s a fair deal...’

After leaving the branch, Isaac didn’t browse any further and left Lake Town directly. The Magic and materials he currently had were sufficient for now, so there was no rush.

The main reason was that he was running low on money...

After returning from the Imperial Capital, Isaac only had a little over four thousand Gold Coins. He’d originally thought that was a hefty sum, but now...

’Heh. It’s barely more than a year’s worth of food money.’

’I’d better hold off on spending until my first payment comes in.’

「Back at the castle」

Isaac summoned Smith and Liu Li, leading them to the laboratory to witness the moment their new partner would be reborn!

"The power of an Outer God... Isn’t that too dangerous for a Servant Demon?" In the lab, Smith frowned as he looked at the creature, Dragon Lizard No. 1, in its cage.

Although he was a Knight, Smith had been doing his homework lately in order to better serve Isaac. He had gained a basic understanding of certain principles, paying special attention to the differences between Servant Demons, Magic Pets, and Followers.

Of the three, Magic Pets and Followers were the most loyal—their loyalty was considered nigh-absolute. The "nigh" wasn’t due to any recorded cases of rebellion, but rather because Wizards were rigorous in their definitions and rarely used a word like "absolute."

The loyalty of a Servant Demon, by comparison...

...could only be described as a mixed bag.

The relationship between a Wizard and a Servant Demon was maintained by a Magic Contract, and the degree of control varied depending on its terms. But even with the highest-level Magic Contract, if a Servant Demon’s power grew too quickly, there was a significant chance it could break the contract—or even reverse it and dominate the Wizard!

"Don’t worry. This will strengthen the contract," Isaac said nonchalantly, giving the White Crystal Stone in his hand a little shake.

Since he was determined to conduct this experiment, he had naturally taken all of this into consideration. In addition to granting the Dragon Lizard the power of infinite growth, the White Crystal Stone would also strengthen the contractual bond between them.

’There’s still a chance of losing control,’ he thought, ’but what experiment doesn’t come with risks?’

’Besides, I can use my Golden Finger to regulate the strength of the contract. As long as I don’t sign too many Servant Demon contracts, the problem... won’t be a big one!’