Chapter 522: Multiple Rituals — Three Wishes Fulfilled at Once

Chapter 522 -376: Multiple Rituals — Three Wishes Fulfilled at Once

Isaac was no stranger to the Abyss, whether from the muddled depictions in the fiction of his past life or the various schools of Magic in this one.

Especially the latter: the Demon Dominators.

At one point, Isaac had even studied it for a time. From his personal experience, the path was indeed powerful and held great potential. Although he ultimately didn’t continue down it for various reasons, the might of Demons was indisputable.

This made him quite curious about the Abyss—a great world within the Void that Legends claimed was in no way inferior to the Real World.

Unfortunately, the major Wizard Organizations had an explicit rule: while studying Demons was of no consequence, researching the Abyss required one to be at least Tier Four!

And now, it seemed, an opportunity had presented itself.

Seeing the interested look on Isaac’s face as he gazed at the entrance to the Abyss, Philo hesitated, words caught in her throat.

As a member of the Terra Royal Family, Philo was also prevented from studying the Abyss too deeply due to her own standing, but she was permitted to learn about it. She knew very well how terrifying the Abyss was!

Of course, she wasn’t worried for Isaac’s safety. She was worried that his research into this Abyssal entrance would interfere with the fusion of this Little World.

If it were to fail here, most of her preparatory work would be all for naught!

This was especially true for her three-in-one path. Although she couldn’t yet make good use of the Knight’s Dominion Faith, she had already collected it in advance. If the Little World’s fusion succeeded, she wouldn’t lose this Power of Faith, even if this land didn’t manifest within her domain.

But if the Little World’s fusion failed…

…then the Dominion Faith in her hands might even go rampant!

However, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She believed that the dangers of the Abyss were nothing to Isaac. People were different, and there was no guarantee he would listen to her.

“Don’t worry.” Isaac, who had been observing the temporary Abyssal entrance, glanced at Philo’s expression and waved his hand with a smile. “I’m not going to study it right now. This isn’t the right place for it, anyway. I’m just taking a look. I’ll move it somewhere else later.”

“Finally, don’t worry about the ritual. I already considered this possibility when designing it. I embedded a Realm Isolation Ritual and a Self-Optimization Ritual within the World Normalization Ritual. Unless a medium- or large-sized permanent Abyssal entrance appears, it won’t affect the ritual.”

He paused for a moment. While Philo was still reeling from shock, Isaac added, “Of course, that’s assuming you deal with any Demons that escape in a timely manner.”

Philo nodded numbly. Cleanup… yes, she’d done that… She had arrived the moment the Abyssal entrance appeared. The time was so short that only a dozen or so Little Inferior Demons had made it through. The other High Level Demons had all been summoned by the Contracted Demon. Even if she had been a little late in clearing them out, it wouldn’t have made much difference.

Of course, she had naturally done her utmost to eliminate those High Level Demons as well.

But…

“Can you really embed other rituals inside an ancient ritual on the same Level as the World Normalization Ritual?”

‘Is the gap between us really this huge?’ A bitter feeling welled up in Philo’s heart.

Nearby, Angel looked at Philo in confusion. Although she had begun her studies, it was clear she didn’t yet understand the gap being discussed. In her current understanding, Ritualism was a Skill that every Legendary Mage should excel at, since the promotion of a Legendary Mage was fundamentally tied to rituals.

But in reality, what Angel didn’t know was that this was only the case for Legendary Mages of Tier Three and below. Starting from Tier Four Miracle Mages, the situation became completely different!

This was because for rituals below Tier Four, the vast majority could acquire a [Concept] simply by combining the right materials. Only a very small number of Tier Three rituals required deeper manipulation of [Concepts].

But from Tier Four, things were different. While the materials for most rituals were fixed, if you weren’t proficient in manipulating [Concepts], you could only use them by rote, like following a manual for a tool. You wouldn’t be able to make any modifications based on the situation.

And this was after the difficulty had been lowered thanks to the appearance of Arcanists. Before Arcanists came along, there were no such convenient rituals. They were all fucking ancient rituals with vague requirements like ‘a suitable amount of materials,’ ‘a short while,’ and ‘move more naturally.’

As a result, even among Legendary Mages today, there were Wizards who were not proficient in rituals. After all, Ritualism above Tier Four required one to be proficient in both the study of [Concepts] and Ritualism, and for the vast majority of Wizards, the study of [Concepts] alone was enough to keep them busy for a lifetime.

And without a doubt, Philo belonged to this majority…

“Ancient rituals are very flexible,” Isaac replied casually to Philo’s doubt. He was about to launch into a detailed explanation to show off, but when he glimpsed her utterly lost expression, he sighed softly. “In short, you just need to know that I can do it, and that the World Normalization Ritual is far more stable than you can imagine.”

After speaking, Isaac fell silent for a moment, looking at the temporary Abyssal entrance before him. He then glanced at the even more silent Philo and recalled the urgent tone in her voice when she had messaged him. After a moment’s thought, he decided against studying it now. Instead, he casually set up a ritual, sealed the entrance, and prepared to pack it up to take back for research.

‘Philo’s so timid right now. Better not leave this thing here to scare her. The collapse of the Empire and the death of her Demigod father seem to have affected her greatly.’

‘Hmm, and my own genius might have something to do with it, too?’

Isaac glanced at Philo again, the slightly narcissistic thought crossing his mind.

After sealing the Abyssal entrance, Isaac dusted off his hands, casually picked up the still-unconscious Agares and the Contracted Demon, and said, “Alright, problem solved. We’ll head back now. Same as always, notify me immediately if any problems arise.”

He paused, then looked at Philo with profound meaning. “If you need your post relieved or have any other requests, that can be arranged. I’m preparing to build a Floating City, and I’m still quite short on funds.”

Without waiting for Philo to react, he left the world, taking Angel with him.

Philo froze for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. She didn’t quite understand Isaac’s meaning. The World Normalization Ritual was so important; how could she possibly leave this place?

‘To put it bluntly, staying in this Little World was far safer than staying in the Real World!’

‘Never mind the fact that the highest who could enter this world were Tier Four, the same as her. The mere existence of the World Normalization Ritual ensured she could summon Isaac and Angel at a moment’s notice, and the two of them were much stronger than her in a fight.’

In fact, this aligned with the Terra Royal Family’s advice for her. Her current research had already shown the potential for her to advance to Tier Five. She didn’t need to take any more risks; she just needed to focus on realizing that potential.

Unfortunately…

The idea was a sound one, but reality was harsh!

An unforeseen variable arrived all too soon!