Isaac had only purchased two types of enhancement rituals for Harmon. In theory, there was no limit to the number of rituals a Magic Pet could undergo at each stage—as long as you had the money, you could add as many as you liked.

However, these rituals were subject to diminishing returns; the more you used, the less effective they became.

While using every available ritual wouldn’t render them completely ineffective, the cost-to-benefit ratio was extremely low. The subsequent improvements would be practically negligible.

Isaac didn’t act immediately. Instead, he first carefully studied the two rituals. ’He had a theory.’

According to the brief descriptions in the purchase catalog, Harmon could undergo one ritual three times and the other once at his current stage. The one usable three times was the Hand of the Demon Path, which could acquire Talent Witchcraft from certain Demons. The one usable once was the Hand of the Demon God, which could enhance his Mysterious Attribute at this stage.

’I want to see if my Golden Finger can remove the usage limits on these rituals,’ Isaac thought. ’The Hand of the Demon Path is one thing—gaining a few more low-level magic spells isn’t that significant since I can learn them myself. There’s no need to waste money on it. Still, every little bit counts.’

’The real game-changer would be removing the limit on the Hand of the Demon God. If I could infinitely enhance Harmon’s Mysterious Attribute... by the time I become a High-level Mage, just how powerful would Harmon get?’

This sly little thought was precisely why he had purchased the ritual in the first place.

Of course, even if it wasn’t possible, the ritual was still incredibly useful.

The Isaac of today was no longer the complete novice he’d been when he first became a Legendary Mage. He was now a rookie who had been a Wizard for nearly three months!

He had already gained a certain degree of understanding about Legendary Mages and Arcanists.

Although Arcanists seemed to have evolved from Legendary Mages, as if in succession, they had in fact embarked on a different path. They still pursued Knowledge and transformed it into power, but unlike Legendary Mages, they had abandoned one thing—the Mysterious!

They would publish the Knowledge they researched, making it known to more people. Then, by gathering geniuses together for discussion and exchange, they would develop even more profound Knowledge. They would repeat this process, step by step, approaching the Truth.

In this process, though they lost the power bestowed by the [Mysterious], they also received the gift of the [Truth]!

Their power, originating from the [Truth], was not in the least bit weakened by the dissipation of the [Mysterious].

But Legendary Mages were different. Though the source of their power was [Faith], not the [Mysterious], they were still influenced by it. Long ago, most Wizards conducted their research in isolation, maintaining their own unparalleled sense of mystery.

But as time went on, the era changed. Today, the vast majority of Witchcraft is no longer mysterious, nor is it exclusively held by any single individual—with the exception of High-level Curses.

Therefore, since the inherent mystery of Magic itself could no longer be relied upon, Legendary Mages developed another method to gain amplification from the [Mysterious]: transferring the [Mysterious] onto themselves!

The more of the [Mysterious] one possessed, the stronger the amplification for certain Magic.

Nowadays, there are even many High-level Magic spells that require a certain degree of personal mystery to learn.

Thus, for a Legendary Mage, increasing one’s Mysterious Attribute was something that could never be a bad investment.

...

"Sigh..."

After a moment, Isaac let out a heavy sigh. ’No good...’

It turned out his Golden Finger could only affect the success rate of the two rituals.

Through his research, Isaac discovered that the essence of these two rituals was simply to excavate the potential of the Divine Hand, just in different ways. This also explained the diminishing returns: the more rituals one performed, the less effective they were, because most of the potential had already been developed by the earlier ones.

With only so little potential remaining, there naturally wasn’t much left to develop.

But potential is the kind of thing you can always squeeze a little more out of. That’s why even using every single available ritual would still produce a minuscule effect.

However, not even the typical wealthy mage could afford such an operation, let alone a poor wretch like Isaac.

"Sigh... Time to get to work."

Shaking his head, Isaac stood up. With a slight bob of his head, he walked over to another area of the lab specifically designated for performing rituals. Harmon had already laid out all the necessary materials.

Even the catalysts for increasing the margin for error were ready.

The first ritual was the Hand of the Demon Path. Isaac had prepared two targets for Harmon: the Wind Blade of a Gale Demon Wolf, to augment his currently limited offensive capabilities, and the Illusion Pattern of an Illusory Butterfly, to add a control ability.

Furthermore, the Illusion Pattern could be enhanced by the [Mysterious], giving it great potential.

Isaac decided to hold off on the third target for now. There were surely more spells to acquire than just the ones currently available. Besides, setting up this ritual was relatively simple, and he only needed to make his choice before he advanced to the rank of Grand Wizard.

The catalyst for the Gale Demon Wolf ritual was simple, a classic case of fighting fire with fire. It required the Flesh Essence of a Gale Demon Wolf. Each portion increased the success rate by one percent, and since it was incredibly cheap and abundant in the fortress, it was the one thing they weren’t short on.

So Isaac didn’t hold back, directly cranking the success rate up to two hundred percent!

With all preparations complete, Isaac stood in the center of a wavy, circular Magic Array. All around him were arranged a variety of bizarre Magic Materials: bloody entrails, the dried, severed finger of a Demon Beast, broken scales, a jet-black, hand-shaped wooden carving, and more.

In the center of the Magic Array, directly before Isaac, rested the heart of a Gale Demon Wolf. Beneath the heart lay neat, square blocks of Flesh Essence.

A mysterious Spell issued from Isaac’s lips. A wave of mysterious Magic Power rippled out from him, and the materials on the Magic Array began to emit a faint glow. Wisps of shimmering Magic Power converged on the Demon Wolf heart before him. Under the influence of this special energy, mysterious blue patterns began to surface on the heart.

FWOOSH!

Harmon shot out from behind Isaac’s head, lunging impatiently toward the Demon Wolf heart. The jagged maw in its palm snapped open, swallowing the heart in a single gulp. It chewed twice, and crimson blood trickled from the corners of its "lips."

SLURP!

A long, purplish-black tongue shot out, licking clean all the blood that had trickled from its mouth. Then, the palm returned to its normal form.

But it was only the shape that had been restored. In reality, after Harmon swallowed the Demon Wolf heart, streams of blood-red Magic Power began to spread from its palm up Isaac’s entire arm. Everywhere the energy passed, the arm visibly grew more robust.

Soon, the fluctuations of Magic Power in the laboratory slowly subsided, and Isaac stopped his chanting. The corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile.

’Another ritual completed. I’ve gotten a little stronger again.’

"Harmon!"

After the ritual, Isaac pointed to a target already set up in the magic training area and gave a sharp cry. In response, Harmon’s index finger swiped through the air, and a Wind Blade shot out instantly, precisely slicing the target in two!

Wind Blade, acquired!