Chapter 48: Chapter 40: Reinforcements Arrive

I took a look at the stats for Wind Blade. Its overall damage was a little lower than Flaming Arrow, but its strength lay in its cutting power.

However, Wind Blade was Harmon’s own Witchcraft, meaning only Harmon could cast it. Isaac couldn’t use it until he learned the Magic himself. Conversely, Harmon could cast any Magic that Isaac learned.

It was worth noting that both methods consumed Isaac’s own Magic Power.

But this was a drawback of the Magic Pet discipline.

A Magic Pet is only regarded as a Wizard at certain times; it isn’t truly a Wizard.

This had little effect on combat prowess, however, as a Magic Pet would never disobey its master’s commands.

After a quick glance at Wind Blade’s stats, Isaac wasted no time and began preparing the next ritual. The core material for the Illusion Pattern was a pair of Illusory Butterfly wings. This was the most expensive material from an Illusory Butterfly, costing a full two hundred Gold Coins for a single pair!

This was because the wings were the only usable material on an Illusory Butterfly, and they couldn’t be damaged, or they would become useless.

Fortunately, Illusory Butterflies were Demons that could be bred in captivity; otherwise, their price would be even higher!

Compared to the core material, the ritual’s supplementary materials were far cheaper. It used pollen infused with Magic Power, with one gram increasing the fault tolerance rate by one percent, regardless of quality!

And for the lowest quality pollen, one Gold Coin could buy a whole kilogram!

When he saw the price, he suspected the stuff could be artificially produced. It was the only powdered Magic Material sold by the kilogram!

He bought half a kilogram without a second thought, using a portion of it to push the fault tolerance rate to two hundred percent.

Isaac was now quite experienced with these rituals. As long as they didn’t involve a High Position Existence and were just Ordinary Ritual Magic, a two hundred percent fault tolerance rate was more than enough.

Only when dealing with a High Position Existence was it necessary to stack the fault tolerance rate to the absolute maximum. This was because such entities would constantly try to trick you into making mistakes, steadily chipping away at your fault tolerance until the ritual failed. Then, they would claim your soul or force your Corruption into one of their hounds!

In those situations, a massive fault tolerance rate was essential to ensure the ritual’s intended outcome.

But for an Ordinary ritual that merely amplified a magical effect, it was overkill.

In the end, Isaac succeeded, just as expected. A series of strange, colorful patterns appeared on Harmon’s arm. When the Illusion Pattern was activated, these colored stripes would converge on its palm, forming a pattern that resembled an eye and unleashing a powerful illusory force.

After testing the Illusion Pattern’s Ability Value by using it to stun a Demon Wolf, Isaac proceeded with the Hand of the Demon God ritual. This too was a great success. Harmon’s Mysterious Attribute was enhanced to a certain degree, and the strength and power of its Demon Claw also saw a significant boost.

It could now lift two hundred kilograms!

Don’t underestimate this strength. It might seem much weaker than a Knight’s, but Harmon could fly!

This two-hundred-kilogram lifting capacity introduced countless variables into actual combat!

For example, Isaac could now stand in the palm of Harmon’s hand, and it could lift him, effectively allowing him to fly!

And at a decent speed, no less!

Beyond that, the increase to its Mysterious Attribute seemed to have brought about some other wondrous changes in Harmon, enhancing some of its original abilities. Unfortunately, after three rituals in a row, Harmon’s mind was a bit fried and needed time to recover.

Thus, after reluctantly indulging Isaac in testing a few tactical concepts (which really just involved being flown around in the palm of its Demon Claw), Harmon retreated into Isaac’s body and fell into a deep sleep.

As Harmon slept, Isaac could feel that the gains from these three rituals were only just beginning to manifest. Once Harmon awoke, its power was bound to increase even further!

But before that...

Isaac shook his head, walked back to his desk, and began to think about how to optimize his Talent Witchcraft: Flesh Transformation.

...

「On the third day of Harmon’s slumber.」 Isaac was comparing data on a panel to revise his new Magic optimization plan when suddenly, a ball of light materialized before him, flashing for attention.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. ’This is one of the fortress’s summons. Have the Black Orcs attacked?’

Grasping the ball of light and dispelling it, Isaac didn’t dare delay. As he headed out, he shed his white lab coat, donning a Wizard Robe and Wizard Hat. He casually tossed out a pumpkin and flew toward the castle in the center of the fortress aboard a pumpkin carriage.

Before he had even landed, Isaac peered out beyond the fortress. Seeing no signs of a gathering Black Orc army, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He was still not quite satisfied with his three great Demons; they needed more time to develop.

’Still, if the Black Orcs aren’t here, what’s the summons for?’

As the pumpkin carriage flew over the castle, Isaac saw several other carriages parked in front. An answer slowly formed in his mind: the other Lords had arrived.

As an old border Viscountcy—and one on the verge of being promoted—the Solomons Family naturally had many vassals. Some came from branches of the family that had split off, while others had been enfeoffed for meritorious service.

Most were Lords, with only a small portion being Barons.

Strictly speaking, these Lords weren’t considered true Nobility, but for the sake of social propriety, they were included in their ranks.

Of course, there were significant differences. First, a Lord didn’t have his own fiefdom. While he might be allocated some land upon being titled, he didn’t own it. He only held administrative rights and partial rights to taxation.

Second, a Lord could not possess his own army. Of course, this rule was no longer strictly enforced. Many Lords formed armies under the guise of a "Guard Team." As long as you weren’t too blatant about it, no one would make an issue of it.

So, strictly speaking, although Isaac held the title of Baron, his actual rights were only those of a Lord. This was mainly due to the territory’s current circumstances. After all, if he were truly granted a Baron’s fief, the promotion of the entire Solomon Territory would be further delayed.

’Fortunately, I don’t care about that. Governing a territory is too much trouble. It requires investment to develop, and I barely have enough Gold Coins for my own experiments!’

Not counting the Lords, there were a total of four landed Barons sworn to Solomon, and from the looks of it, all of them had come.

This was only natural. The Solomon Territory was on the border. If the fortress fell, they would be the next to suffer.

In fact, their fate would be even worse.

Gaia was a High-level Knight. Even if the fortress fell, he could protect the Solomon Clan. Once the dust settled, they would be severely weakened at worst, but they would still have a chance to rebuild.

But among the other four Barons, the strongest was merely a Great Knight, a far cry from a High-level Knight. When the Black Orc army arrived, they could only wait for death.

So, even if only for their own self-preservation, they had to come.

And that was without even mentioning that the Solomon Clan had ordered them to come!