Chapter 81: Chapter 70: The Witch’s Banquet of Pleasure

"Aaaahhh~"

The next day, Isaac, who had stayed up all night studying Witchcraft, stretched languidly. He stood up from his chair and glanced at his status panel. The progress for the Witchcraft skill, Material Shield, was at sixty-three percent. A faint smile touched his lips. After a quick stretch, he closed his Magic Book and prepared to head out.

He planned to make a trip to the Tower of Truth to rent a laboratory. First, he needed to take care of his promotion ritual. Then, he would purchase some essential materials, such as Flesh Essence, more Flesh Essence, and... even more Flesh Essence.

After that, he could leave the Imperial Capital and head for the city where the Divine Lamp Grand Trial was being held.

Otherwise, staying in the Imperial Capital felt too constraining. A rented laboratory was, after all, not as secure as his own. When you’re out and about, you have to take precautions.

The laboratory in the Tower of Truth was rather crude. Of course, that had to do with the price Isaac was paying. The entire lab contained just one table, one magic alcohol lamp, a pile of beakers and test tubes, and nothing else. It was as basic as it gets.

It could only be used for brewing Magic Potions—and simple ones at that. It lacked the necessary equipment for anything more advanced.

After all, it was a one-Gold-Coin-per-hour lab. Its only commendable feature was that the Mage Tower’s defensive wards extended to this area, which was enough to conceal most normal magical fluctuations. It was perfect for him to conduct his promotion ritual.

The promotion ritual Isaac chose this time was still of the "Starry Sky and Mysterious" type. This was because the enhancement from each ritual was too slight; only by increasing the quantity could he hope to improve the quality.

This ritual, along with the Witch Tea Party, belonged to the Witch series. It wasn’t that Isaac had any strange preferences. It was mainly because the Witch series was the most classic type of "Starry Sky and Mysterious" promotion ritual. Furthermore, due to some... slightly private factors, the required materials were very reassuring in terms of both price and availability.

Joyful Banquet, a Tier One promotion ritual. Materials: thirty milligrams of mixed saliva from three Great Witches, one serving of cream cake with a bite taken out of it by a Witch, one pair each of white, black, and purple silk stockings worn by a Witch, ten strands of hair taken from a Witch’s lips, and one hundred thirty-eight bedsheets stained with a Witch’s sweat.

Compared to the Witch Tea Party, the materials were... on another level of weird.

Fortunately, this ’joy’ wasn’t *that* kind of ’joy.’ Otherwise, Isaac would have had to reconsider choosing this ritual for his promotion. After all, unlike a normal person, Isaac needed a huge number of ’cushions’ to ensure a high fault tolerance, which meant he had a massive demand for certain materials. ’If it really was *that* kind of joy... then I’d really be a pervert!’

’Although the seller probably already thinks I’m a pervert...’

’But thankfully, it wasn’t the same seller both times. The damage to my reputation is... relatively contained... right?’

’Thankfully, a Self-Legend required a preliminary ritual to set its general course. Otherwise, if some bizarre Legend were to emerge, that would be seriously fucked up...’

A moment later, Isaac glanced at the pile of bedsheets exuding a strange fragrance. The corner of his mouth twitched. He forced himself to calm down, stood before the Ritual Array, adjusted his Wizard Hat, and lowered his head to softly chant the Spell.

"WHOOSH~"

A faint breeze stirred within the small laboratory, making Isaac’s Wizard Robe sway gently. Suddenly, the white mist appeared again, quickly filling the entire lab. Its density rose rapidly until he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

Isaac stopped chanting, straightened up, and adjusted his Wizard Robe, preparing to step forward. But just then...

"Hm? Pervert!"

"Ptooey!"

...

"Huh?" Isaac froze. ’Was that my imagination?’ He thought he heard a voice dripping with utter disgust. Then, it felt as if several feet had kicked him in the butt all at once, sending him stumbling forward.

When Isaac straightened up, bewildered, he once again saw the sultry Witch from the last ritual—the one with the foreboding voice. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt her eyes, hidden beneath the brim of her hat, glance at the pile of bedsheets behind him in the lab...

"It’s you again, young one," her tone was as lazy as ever. "This time... it’s... a large number of... bedsheets? Interesting. Has your... luck... returned?"

"What luck?" Isaac asked, momentarily confused.

Isaac wasn’t surprised to see this Witch again. That was how the Witch series of rituals worked; the Witch in subsequent rituals would always be the one he met the first time. He also wasn’t worried that his use of a large quantity of a certain material would arouse suspicion.

This was because the rituals of Legendary Mages all had an idealistic quality. For the same ritual, different Legendary Mages would have their own interpretations and make their own modifications. Some were accustomed to changing the quantities, while others preferred to change the types of materials.

Therefore, his unusual behavior would, at most, slightly affect his reputation...

After all, such modifications were usually closely related to a Wizard’s personal... hobbies...

"It’s nothing. Eat this. Just like before, you’ll have... a little bit of bad luck... for a day." The buxom Witch didn’t answer Isaac, instead pushing the half-eaten cake on the white table toward him.

Hearing this, Isaac subconsciously glanced at the buxom Witch’s lips. ’Even though I know this cake isn’t real... well, a man can’t help but have some unrealistic fantasies...’

He only looked for a second before quickly averting his gaze and reaching for the cream cake on the table. ’Although the ritual won’t fail or have any serious backlash at this point, if she decides to extend the duration of my bad luck by another day, that would be rather unpleasant...’

’After all, having my toast fall on the floor eight times during breakfast was a truly awful experience!’

The cake wasn’t large, only about the size of his palm, so Isaac finished it in two or three bites. It melted in his mouth, transforming into streams of Mysterious Magic Power that flowed throughout his body, once again adding to his noble and Mysterious aura.

But most importantly, the moment the cake entered his mouth, his Magic Power began to rise steadily. By the time he had finished it completely, his Magic Power had increased by another one-fifth!

The proportion was a bit less than last time, but that was normal. After multiple enhancements, Isaac’s Magic Power was already quite considerable. There weren’t many Official Wizards who had more Magic Power than he did.

With just one more promotion ritual, he could become a Grand Wizard.

And that day was not far off!

Because on his status panel, under the Mana Fluctuation Period entry, it clearly displayed—68%!

This was thanks to writing his Self-Legend. And this was with only one volume written. If he had written three, he estimated he could have started preparing for his promotion to Grand Wizard in just a few days.

Of course, if he had written three, his Magic Power reserves wouldn’t be as large as they were now. You win some, you lose some. What suits you best is what’s truly best.

After he finished the cake, the white mist surged in again, filling his vision. Then it dispersed, and he found himself back in the laboratory. The ritual was officially over.