Chapter 458 - 342: Two Things

Chapter 458: Chapter 342: Two Things

Two days later, Isaac returned to his domain with Smith and Lorna. The review of his research qualifications from the Witch Country would still take some time; after all, Isaac’s status as a Mad Witch was rather tricky.

However, Isaac didn’t remain idle while waiting for their reply. His trip to the Solomon Kingdom had filled some of the gaps in his intelligence, meaning many things no longer had to wait for the situation to become clear before starting.

Therefore, upon his return, Isaac did two things.

First, he declared war on Prince Norns, formally submitting an application to the Flesh Sect and the Truth Association. He would then use his full power to march straight into the heartland of the Terra Kingdom and, with absolute force, crush Prince Norns and Remington—that tragic couple.

Second, he summoned the high-ranking members of the Mad Heart Wizard Organization. This included two newly promoted Tier Three Mages and four Tier Two Grand Wizards.

The former had automatically gained high-ranking status upon their promotion to Tier Three. The latter were Grand Wizards who had joined when Isaac first founded the Mad Heart organization and possessed considerable talent.

Now, ten years had passed. Although they hadn’t managed to advance to Tier Three, they had essentially reached the peak of Tier Two. Promotion to Tier Three was just a matter of time and patient effort—the step of sublimating themselves into High-level Magical Creatures.

There was no need to question their research capabilities. They were at least qualified to participate in Isaac’s upcoming research.

...

In the conference room at the top of the Mad Heart Wizard Tower, seven Wizards sat on either side of a long table. On one side were four Tier Two Grand Wizards, and on the other were three Tier Three High-level Wizards, including Demon Eye Soron.

It was worth noting that although they were all Legendary Mages, the paths they walked were actually quite different.

On the right were the four Grand Wizards. Two of them followed the pure Wizard’s Path: one from the Shaping Faction, known for its firepower, and the other from the Traveler Faction, known for its creations. These two retained much of their human appearance.

From head to toe, only their ears and eyes showed a hint of some Exotic Race’s flair; on the whole, they were still human.

The other two, however, were vastly different. One belonged to the Transformation Magic Faction. Drawing upon the Mad Heart Wizard Organization’s vast stores of high-quality Dragon materials, he had mastered the Tier Three Flame Dragon Transformation and possessed extreme combat power!

The price, however, was that he no longer looked human. His entire body was covered in fine, red scales, with tyrannical Fire Magic Power flowing beneath them. Two horns grew skyward from his head, his dark gold vertical pupils radiated a faint Dragon Might, his mouth protruded slightly, and a pair of sharp dragon claws were hidden within his loose Wizard Robe. He had the distinct appearance of a Half-dragon Man.

The last Grand Wizard was a Magic Potion Mage from the Alchemy Faction—the most common Wizard’s Path, yet he was the least human-looking of them all!

Below the neck, although the guy had some messy assortment of scales, vines, and stones growing on him, his body was still recognizably human. But from the neck up...

In any case, Isaac would not call something that looked like a teapot a head...

But as bizarre as they looked, the three on the opposite side weren’t any better.

After advancing to Tier Three, as a High-level Mage’s life form undergoes a leap, they also gain a one-time opportunity to customize their appearance. The vast majority of Wizards choose to revert to their original human form.

These two were no exception.

Well, with the exception of Demon Eye Soron. His original appearance was that of a goblin, so there was no need to change back. Thus, he maintained his current form: a sinister Demon Eye floating within a black miasma of Magic Power.

As for the other two, one was an old crone with salt-and-pepper hair. Beneath her human exterior was a twisting ouroboros, constantly devouring and regenerating itself.

The other was a smiling young man whose human exterior was, in fact, still human.

However, the bottomless Evil Energy hidden beneath his skin also revealed his identity—a Demon Dominator!

This was an extremely terrifying faction of Wizards, and one that Isaac himself had once been interested in.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, he had never been able to set foot on that path.

And now, there was no longer any need.

Although each person present looked more villainous than the last, the atmosphere was unusually harmonious. This was not only because they had worked together for several years, but also because this meeting had been called by Isaac, a Tier Four Miracle Mage. They did not yet have the courage to challenge his authority.

"My apologies for keeping you all waiting."

Ripples in the Void appeared, and the figures of Isaac and Liu Li slowly materialized. He sat down at the head of the long table, placing the Divine Spirit Book in his right hand on the tabletop. Liu Li stood silently behind him.

On her shoulder, Shushu lay sprawled—a rare sight lately—gnawing on a Divine Fragment it clutched in its paws.

After sitting down, Isaac wasted no time on pleasantries. He waved his right hand, and Liu Li immediately delivered a file to each of them.

"Take a look. From now on, these will be our organization’s official research projects. In the future, these research tasks will be open to all Wizards of Mad Heart. As long as they pass an assessment, they can accept the corresponding task. The organization will provide the necessary research materials and funding. Of course, in return, the organization will take the lion’s share of any resulting achievements."

Isaac didn’t go into the specific details, but those weren’t important. All Wizard Organizations operated this way; they could just copy the standard procedures.

When he finished speaking, Isaac said no more, letting them read first.

What Isaac had given them were research tasks related to the three Extraordinary Paths: Bloodline Mage, Faith Wizard, and Divine Spirit Knight. Although these were all very basic research topics, this "basic" was only relative to Isaac. To them, especially the four Tier Two Wizards, the material was quite profound.

It would still take some time for them to get a general understanding.

As he waited, Isaac observed everyone’s reactions. The four Grand Wizards frowned slightly, but their expressions were otherwise normal. They only seemed troubled by the somewhat advanced nature of the research tasks. But the other two High-level Mages...

They seemed to have seen Isaac’s true purpose in all this...

The two of them just gave the documents a quick scan before exchanging a glance. The old crone then looked at Isaac and asked, somewhat perplexed, "Lord Isaac, is it really alright to entrust this kind of research to us?"

The crone’s words made the four on the other side of the table pause. They looked at Isaac, then back at the files in their hands, not quite understanding. ’It’s just research on Extraordinary Paths,’ they thought. ’What’s so strange about that?’

New Extraordinary Paths had always been a popular field of research among Wizards. The current prosperity of the Adventurer profession was a direct result of it.

However, they weren’t fools. From the expressions on the faces of the two opposite them and on Isaac’s, they could tell that this matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Exchanging a glance, they quickly put down their files and looked at Isaac in unison.