"Haha! It worked!"
In the laboratory on the third floor of the Wizard Tower, Isaac excitedly stared at the Divine Species Demon Rat on the experimental table.
This experiment wasn't just about helping it form a Divine Art; it also incorporated some of Isaac's own conjectures about the Divinity Chapter.
It couldn't be helped. He would have preferred to use a ready-made solution, but as mentioned before, the original owner of this Witchcraft Manuscript wasn't very skilled. Although it was called the Divine Research Manual, it only really studied Divine Species.
Therefore, compared to the Anatomy Chapter, the Divinity Chapter was far less valuable. It was filled with a great deal of speculation and didn't even contain any corresponding Witchcraft.
Judging by the contents, it wasn't that the Witch had deleted anything. The reason was simple: while a Divine Species isn't a God, just a rather special type of Demon, not all Divine Species are weak. Some are incredibly powerful.
To gain a deeper understanding of the Divinity Network, dissecting only weak Divine Species wasn't enough. And one can imagine how credible a theory would be when it lacks a large amount of data.
However, it wasn't entirely worthless. At the very least, Isaac now understood the direction for his future efforts—Authority!
The next stage for a Divine Species lies in Authority, not Divine Arts.
Divine Arts are merely derivatives of Authority; the two are on completely different levels.
And Authority, in the Wizard system, was something only a High-level Mage could control!
This was also why Isaac was so excited!
Because, by leveraging the unique nature of the Divine Species, he, a mere Official Wizard, could catch a glimpse of the landscape of Authority!
The current Divine Species: Demon Rat possessed two abilities. The first was the Divine Skill: Blessing, and the second was—[Authority: Commanding Rat Swarm]!
Although it was a very weak Authority, the quality was undeniable. No matter how weak, it was still an Authority!
Based on the name alone, one might think [Commanding Rat Swarm] is similar to the Divine Skill: Commanding the Same Race, but the actual difference is quite significant.
[Commanding Rat Swarm], as an Authority, has a higher priority than Divine Arts and Witchcraft. Furthermore, using an Authority has virtually no cost.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK~" The Demon Rat, lying obediently in the middle of the Magic Array, tilted its head and looked at Isaac. It didn't quite understand why its master was so happy, but if its master was happy, then it was happy too.
The Demon Rat grinned, revealing a pair of clean, large front teeth. A hint of a smile appeared in its soy-bean-sized eyes.
Seeing this, Isaac became even happier.
A normal Demon Rat wouldn't possess such high intelligence. Forget Demon Rats; even a Dragon Lizard, which was far stronger, would struggle to have this level of intellect. This was a limitation imposed by the very nature of Demons.
And this was the fundamental difference between a Divine Species and a Demon. Under the influence of the Divinity Network, its brain would develop faster, and its learning capacity would be stronger.
After a long moment, Isaac slowly calmed down, stroking his chin as he studied the Demon Rat in the middle of the Magic Array.
He was contemplating the next phase of his Divine Research. This was currently the most promising research project he had.
Isaac had conducted other experiments, and most had been successful. But aside from Flesh Mimicry, the other research projects could only be considered normal progress updates; they wouldn't bring any significant improvement to his strength.
Of course, the same was originally true for his Divine Research.
However, in order to grant it an Authority, Isaac had tried to use his Golden Finger to make some slight improvements to the ritual during this experiment. He had made considerable gains in his understanding of rituals.
But it still didn't result in a major boost to his strength.
'So, should the next phase of research focus on converting this into actual strength?'
Isaac fell into deep thought.
Although the core of a Wizard's power lies in Knowledge, it wasn't good if that Knowledge couldn't be converted into strength. However, this would be difficult and would inevitably consume a lot of energy, slowing down his research progress.
Making the right trade-off was crucial.
A moment later, however, Isaac made his decision. He wouldn't rush to convert it; he would continue his research!
First, his current gains couldn't be converted into any particularly powerful Witchcraft. Second, he was in the fortress right now, so his personal safety was guaranteed. Unless he could advance to a High-level Mage in an extremely short time, there were taller people to hold up the sky if it fell—he didn't need to worry.
Third, he could find ways to improve his strength through Arcane Arts. Learning was much easier than creating.
At this thought, Isaac smiled and scratched the Demon Rat's chin, making it squint its eyes in comfort.
"RRRIP!"
The Demon Claw emerged from behind Isaac's head and rubbed against his cheek, somewhat discontentedly.
"Alright, alright, I'll pet you too~" Isaac reached out with a helpless expression and patted the ferocious Demon Claw.
"HSSS~" Having received Isaac's attention, the Demon Claw excitedly spread its five fingers, showing off to the Demon Rat.
Unfortunately, the Demon Claw's gesture was like winking at a blind man. Although the Demon Rat's intelligence had developed, it was still limited. It couldn't understand the Demon Claw's actions at all and just tilted its head in confusion, staring unblinkingly at the claw.
The Demon Claw: ...
Receiving no reaction, the Demon Claw felt bored. It lowered itself and dejectedly slipped back into the nape of Isaac's neck.
Isaac shook his head helplessly. After replicating the Divinity Network from the Demon Rat's body onto a roll of parchment, he was about to put the Demon Rat back in its cage when he noticed the intelligent light in its eyes. After a moment of thought, Isaac didn't put it back in the cage. Instead, he placed it on his shoulder and gently tapped its nose.
"From now on, you can live outside the cage."
The Demon Rat tilted its head ninety degrees, looking at Isaac in confusion. It didn't quite understand what he meant, but... 'it must be something good, right?'
At this thought, the Demon Rat grinned again.
Isaac, however, paid no more attention to the Demon Rat. He walked to his desk, organized the replicated parchments, then took out a list he had gotten from the Tower Spirit and began to consider how to enhance his Demon Claw.
Magic Pets were also a part of a Wizard's strength. They could assist or even replace a Wizard in casting spells. In a sense, a Magic Pet and its Wizard were a single entity, a bond that transcended any contract!
Many Wizards would even specifically enhance their Magic Pets, forging them into powerful combat assets.
And the Divine Hand was an extremely powerful type of combat Magic Pet.
However, the enhancement plans for a Divine Hand were all incredibly expensive. That was why he had only glanced at them once before and hadn't given them any more thought.
But things were different now. Although the family hadn't officially approved the Dragon Lizard breeding project yet, his big brother Caesar had already given Isaac five thousand Gold Coins from his own private stash for his Magic research!
Later, once the breeding project was approved, another ten thousand Gold Coins would be allocated to him from the territory's accounts for his experiments. It wasn't even out of the question that they would help him build a Mage Tower once the first batch of profits from the Dragon Lizards came in!
So now, he was rich!
Richer than he had ever been before!
So much money he couldn't possibly spend it all!