Chapter 520: The Correct Way to Use the Golden Finger

Chapter 520 -374: The Correct Way to Use the Golden Finger

After hearing what Philo said, Isaac sighed in regret. The method for awakening a Tier Five trait was simple enough. If he didn’t possess the Divine Spirit Book, he might have chosen it. But since he did…

‘I’ll have to give it some thought. After all, this is my precious personal property!’

A Tier Six Deity, no matter how weak, was extremely valuable—and that included the God of Mystery and Wisdom, who had once again fallen into a deep slumber.

One shouldn’t be fooled by His pathetic performance. In reality, wielding the Authorities of [Knowledge] and [Analysis], He was quite useful to a Wizard. During that brief glimpse in the Mysterious Void, Isaac had discovered a great deal of Forbidden Knowledge.

It was just that the Deity had cut His losses as decisively as a gecko shedding its tail, forcing Isaac to leave the Mysterious Void before he could retrieve much.

‘If I really want to awaken a trait, perhaps I should consider the Tier Four method, or even study the process a normal Mad Witch uses to awaken their traits and create a new method for myself.’

But regardless of the path he chose, it was certain that it couldn’t be accomplished in a short amount of time.

So, after noting down this information, Isaac didn’t devote too much energy to it. He briefly discussed a new research plan with Philo, leaving behind some of his early research ideas and reference materials he felt might be useful. Then, Isaac left the Little World with Angel.

“Why did you give him so much?” Angel asked Isaac curiously on their way back.

In her opinion, there was no need for Isaac to do so much. After all, in a sense, they were still enemies.

No matter how the future unfolded, the Solomon Kingdom could never go back to being a mere county of Terra, and Terra would never tolerate its former traitor, Solomon.

This was merely their current conflict. If one factored in their past grievances, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a blood feud.

The lack of retaliation before wasn’t a sign of magnanimity; they simply hadn’t been strong enough to win.

“Too much? I don’t think so.” Isaac smiled faintly, not taking her concern to heart. “I mainly wanted to verify a few things.”

“Did you get your answer?”

“More or less.” Isaac smiled mysteriously and said no more.

Since Isaac didn’t seem to want to elaborate, Angel didn’t press the issue.

Back in his territory, Isaac briefly summoned Smith and Lorna to explain Angel’s situation. He then had Angel accompany Lorna to the library.

‘I still have to try,’ he thought. ‘What if it works?’

‘What if Lorna actually becomes interested in research?’

After settling matters with them, Isaac focused on addressing some questions that had accumulated from the members of Mad Heart, offering them some guidance. He then headed to the Flesh Sect’s library to begin researching ritual knowledge. ℴℴ𝘮

The best method for handling the Tier Six [Analysis] Authority ultimately came down to a ritual. For one, it was a field he excelled in. For another, it was fitting; rituals were originally created to deal with problems far beyond one’s own Level.

A ritual is essentially a power amplifier. When one’s own abilities are insufficient, a ritual is the answer. This was the consensus among virtually all Casters.

「A week later.」

Isaac’s gaze slowly lifted from the Magic Book in his hands, a flash of joy in his eyes. ‘I’ve found it! The ritual to fuse the Tier Six Power Crystal Stone!’

Of course, that statement wasn’t entirely accurate.

To be precise, he had found a framework for the ritual’s design.

This was because at the Tier Four level, the vast majority of Ritual Effects were fixed and highly specific. If you changed the target, the Ritual Effect would be greatly diminished, or even rendered ineffective.

While this was partly due to the structural problems within Ritualism itself, it was more a consequence of the unique nature of Legendary Mages. Every Legendary Mage who reached Tier Four was special and one-of-a-kind, so their needs were naturally different.

Even when using the same material for the same purpose, their ultimate objectives would be completely different.

Therefore, it was impossible for Isaac to find a ready-made ritual for fusing a Power Crystal Stone. After all, Power Crystal Stones were rare to begin with, and even among Mad Witches, very few would trade with an Outer God for an Authority.

Especially one of such a high Level.

But all roads lead to Rome, and in the end, Isaac found a path to his solution: an Ascension Ceremony!

The Ascension Ceremony was a ritual for Becoming a God, developed by early Wizards who yearned for Divine Power. It was one of the few systematic, universal rituals in existence.

And among Ascension Ceremonies, the most common type was the ritual for fusing with a Divinity.

Although a Divinity was of a higher order than a Power Crystal Stone, they still had things in common. After all, a Divinity inherently contained a Deity’s Authority; it was just more numerous and complex than what was found in a simple Power Crystal Stone.

Thus, by studying the existing Ascension Ceremonies, a prototype for a ritual to fuse the Power Crystal Stone quickly took shape in Isaac’s mind. Given his mastery of Ritualism, perfecting it wouldn’t take much time.

It was just…

…he still hadn’t met certain prerequisites.

This [Analysis] Authority was Tier Six, after all. Even with a shortcut for the fusion, Isaac’s own “hardware” needed to be up to spec, or there would be even more severe consequences.

And this so-called “hardware” was, in fact, the strength of his body and soul.

This was a recurring problem for Isaac. His advancement had been so rapid that he often found his physical and spiritual strength lagging behind his new capabilities. A Wizard’s body and soul were strengthened by the momentary sublimation during promotion, but the daily nourishment from their own powerful Magic Power was an equally important—and time-consuming—part of the process.

And that nourishment required time.

Fortunately, this wasn’t a major issue. He didn’t even need to spend his own energy on research; he could simply purchase the relevant Magic Potions from the Truth Association. This could be done concurrently with the ritual’s design.

「Over the next few days.」

After placing a large order with the Truth Association, Isaac once again buried himself in the library. Before he could officially begin the design, he needed to continue his research. The more precedents he could find, the smoother the design process would be.

More importantly, his research was not aimless.

After memorizing the contents of the Magic Book in his hand, Isaac glanced at the list of required knowledge his Golden Finger had generated based on the ritual’s prototype. He then began searching for the next item on the list.

‘This is so much more efficient than pure research…’

‘This is the right way to use my Golden Finger!’

‘As for trading with an Outer God…’

‘That was just to take back what’s rightfully mine!’

Unfortunately, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Just as Isaac was immersed in an ocean of knowledge, a piece of bad news arrived—

There was a problem with the World Correction Ritual!