In a gray, hazy Void, dozens, even hundreds, of pure white stone pillars floated up and down.
When Isaac opened his eyes, he found himself on one of these pillars. He tapped the stone pillar beneath his feet lightly but couldn't identify the material.
Looking around, he saw figures standing on the other pillars as well. Like him, they were all clad in Wizard Robes of various colors and wore large Wizard Hats, their faces obscured.
However, as the distance closed, their faces became visible.
After all, while those present might have had powerful methods and a bit more nerve, they were still within the realm of Official Wizards. Their Wizard Robes had limited enhancements, offering only a slight concealing effect. At the very least, it wasn't enough to hide their identities from each other.
Not that there was any need to hide. The Mad Witches came from all corners of the world, perhaps not even from the same one. There was no need to conceal their identities.
After a quick scan, Isaac felt a bit disappointed. Not many people had come. The Mad Witch Association had a total of forty-three Official Wizards, but only thirteen had shown up. The number was far too small.
Official Wizards didn't have many good things to begin with. With so few people, what was the point of trading?
As for exchanging Witchcraft?
'We're all just scrubs.' What they needed now wasn't discussion, but exchange.
They needed to exchange their respective Witchcraft to build up their foundations and speed up the cooldown of their Mana boiling period.
But if it came to exchanging Witchcraft...
Isaac doubted it would be easy. Witchcraft wasn't like Arcane Art, which was concise and broken down into individual Magic spells.
Witchcraft usually came with a large amount of research data, like the Demonized Heart Transplant Surgery or Totem Refining.
As a result, few Wizards would learn a wide variety of Witchcraft. They usually specialized in a related field, constantly optimizing the Witchcraft they were good at. Isaac's Flesh Nest was one such example—though, of course, that was a shortcut achieved by borrowing the Great Power of a Demon God. Normally, it would require slow and steady research.
So, whether or not one could actually trade for Witchcraft depended on meeting a Mad Witch with a similar field of research.
All things considered, it was no wonder so few people attended these small exchange meetings. They just didn't hold much appeal. No value meant no attendees, and no attendees meant no value...
'A classic vicious cycle...'
While Isaac was lost in thought, the thirteen occupied stone pillars slowly moved to form a circle.
Isaac gave them a cursory glance. Most were quite young, around seventeen or eighteen, the standard template for a genius. Of course, there was no telling how many would survive in the end. After all, Outer Gods were not so easily trifled with.
"Ahem." A young man in a black robe gave a light cough, and the stone pillar beneath his feet floated to the center. "Everyone, it's been a while. You all know the rules, so I won't waste your time."
As he spoke, the youth glanced at Isaac with a hint of expectation in his eyes. He hadn't managed to trade for any Witchcraft in the last two meetings, and his research progress had slowed down. Now that there was a newcomer, he was naturally hopeful.
However, he didn't say much to Isaac, not even introducing himself by name.
It was the same old story: while the Mad Witches were geniuses, they were also madmen. Outer Gods were not easy to deal with. Any one of them could be devoured by an Outer God due to greed at any moment. There was no point in building connections for now.
So, he got straight to the point. "I specialize in Black Magic. I have five types of Black Magic: Ghostly Life-Seeking Curse, Life Absorption, Blood Curse Slaying, the Flying Head Technique, and the High-Level Curse: Flesh Mutation. I'm looking to trade for other Black Magic, or a direct-damage High-Level Curse."
'Huh?' Isaac looked at the black-robed youth in surprise. 'Specializes in Black Magic... and even has a High-Level Curse... Truly worthy of the Mad Witch Association. But...'
"How about I trade biological modification-type Witchcraft for your Black Magic?" Isaac asked when no one else spoke up.
He was very interested in both the Black Magic and the High-Level Curse. He definitely couldn't afford the High-Level Curse, and even if he could, he might not make the trade. Direct-damage High-Level Curses were the most valuable and were usually kept for personal use, rarely offered for exchange.
The Black Magic, however, was something he wanted to try for.
Black Magic was a type of Witchcraft specializing in combat. As long as it could kill the enemy, the means didn't matter. It was a relatively rare form of Witchcraft.
Unfortunately...
The black-robed youth looked at Isaac with regret, shook his head, and refused.
There was no helping it. Biological modification was a rather complex school of Witchcraft, requiring a vast amount of related Knowledge and experimental data. This kind of research, which demanded patience and time, didn't suit him.
After refusing Isaac, the black-robed youth sighed when no one else spoke up and retreated to his original position.
This was how the small exchange meetings went. Whether you could get what you needed was all down to luck.
Following the black-robed youth, another eight people went up. Much of the Witchcraft they offered for exchange interested Isaac, but unfortunately, he couldn't trade for a single one...
Because no one was interested in his Witchcraft...
They didn't even wait for him to list what he had. The mere mention of "biological modification" made them shy away.
"...I'm looking to trade for Witchcraft of the Demonic Puppet Class. No biological modification types!"
Isaac: "..."
His options completely cut off, Isaac felt a little helpless. He hadn't expected medicine to be so difficult even in another world. 'Could it be that in this world, advising someone to study medicine would also get you struck by lightning?'
Isaac had no way of knowing. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset. It didn't matter if no one wanted to trade. He could just treat this as a learning experience. Just knowing the names of so many types of Witchcraft was worth it. It wasn't a wasted trip.