Isaac beckoned, and the Magic Book, wreathed in starlight, flew to him. The twinkling stars surrounding it were the Power of Faith, born from the longing of the audience as they experienced the story.
Some longed to be the Prince, others Cinderella, and still others the Fairy Elf. There were even... some who longed to be the two stepsisters???
Isaac gave the bizarre Wish Star a surprised look and shook his head in resignation. 'It truly takes all kinds to make a world,' he thought.
Although a few of the Wish Stars were rather peculiar, the vast majority for the story of *Cinderella* were still focused on the Prince, Cinderella, and the Fairy Elf. Thus, the Magic Book's first Legend was based on these three!
Focusing on the Magic Book, Isaac saw three shining stars. These were the three Legends awaiting his activation: the High-Level Curse: Prince's Etiquette from the Prince, the Transformation Magic from Cinderella and the Fairy Elf, and the Fairy Elf Contract from the Fairy Elf.
Though there were three Legends, the Power of Faith currently collected from *Cinderella* was only enough to activate one. Still, it was a Legend, so its quality was guaranteed. It was a choice of one out of three, and any option would be impressive.
'The High-Level Curse only grants a person the etiquette and bearing of a prince, but as a High-Level Curse, if utilized properly, it could be used to create a second identity. At worst, I could use it to swindle some money when I'm short. It would probably be very effective, whether for duping royalty or noble ladies and princesses.'
'Plus, I have my Golden Finger. Stacking the two might produce some unexpected effects.'
'Transformation Magic is even more practical than the High-Level Curse. Initially, it can only transform things from the story, like the pumpkin carriage, the Princess Attire, and the Crystal Shoes. But Legends can grow, meaning it could transform more things in the future, making it highly practical.'
'As for the Fairy Elf Contract, that goes without saying. A Fairy Elf is a legendary creature in this world, rumored to bring incredible Blessings!'
'And even setting aside the mysterious Blessing, the mere existence of a Fairy Elf would make the second Legend redundant, since she also knows Transformation Magic.'
But after careful consideration, Isaac still chose Transformation Magic.
First, he was ravenously hungry for any and all Magic Knowledge.
From this Legend, he might be able to learn the principles of Transformation Magic and take his first steps into the field of Alchemy. This would, in turn, help him better complete his Deity research project.
And second...
From the information he'd gathered, beings like the Fairy Elf seemed to be related to the elf race among the Outer Gods. When Outer Gods were involved, one could never be too careful.
The moment Isaac made his decision, the specks of starlight surrounding the Magic Book shot inside it, flowing in wisps into the second shining Wish Star.
WHOOSH—
The Magic Book before Isaac flipped rapidly, line after line of Mysterious Magic Texts appearing on its pages. Knowledge of a spell surfaced in his mind—Transformation Magic.
Transformation Magic: Consumes a minuscule amount of Magic Power to drastically alter matter for a limited time. Currently transformable items: pumpkin carriage, Princess Attire, and Crystal Shoes.
'Just as I thought. Of the three transformable items, besides the pumpkin carriage which has some use, the other two are completely useless.'
'Still, it's not bad. The pumpkin carriage isn't an ordinary carriage; it's a Magic Carriage!'
'It can fly through the sky and sail the seas. It can do anything except for Earth Escape!'
'It's practical to the extreme!'
'And it's quite fast, too. An excellent mode of transport.'
And, just as he had learned beforehand, the Transformation Magic Legend could continue to grow. As the story of *Cinderella* spread, the magic would become stronger. This process required no effort on Isaac's part, nor would it consume any more Power of Faith.
Besides acquiring the Legend, there was another benefit. While the Power of Faith seemed to have been invested into the Legend, in reality, the Legend and Isaac were one and the same. Power absorbed by the Legend was power absorbed by Isaac. This influx of Power of Faith gave his Magic Power a considerable boost.
It increased by about a tenth. While that wasn't much, it was only the beginning. In the future, all Power of Faith would fuse directly with him, increasing his Magic Power reserves. Once the current well of Power of Faith was fully absorbed, his Magic Power would likely increase by about half—a very substantial amount.
At the same time, his Magic Power recovery rate also improved to a certain degree.
It was a comprehensive enhancement in every aspect!
The only downside was that due to the influx of the Power of Faith, his Magic Power activity level—which he had just managed to get down to eighty percent—shot straight up to one hundred!
To be precise, it was probably over one hundred, but unlike his Golden Finger, the display maxed out at one hundred percent; anything higher wouldn't be shown.
Clearly, his second advancement ritual would have to be delayed a while longer.
But it didn't matter. A Wizard's Level wasn't that important. A little delay was nothing.
Putting away the Magic Book, Isaac got up and headed to the adjacent spell practice area. The Magic Power activity level wasn't just some simple experience bar; it also represented a Wizard's control over their own Magic Power. The higher the activity, the worse the control.
And Magic Power control was one of a Wizard's core abilities. He needed to properly acclimate to such a sudden change, or it could easily cause problems in a real fight.
Just like that, after spending his gains, Isaac dove back into his research. Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent every moment studying Magic.
...
"AWOOO! AWOOO! AWOOO!!!"
「Three days later.」
Isaac, deep in his research, was jolted awake by a piercing magic alarm. He quickly tossed aside the chunk of meat in his hand and whistled. The Divine Species: Demon Rat, which had been drooling over a piece of Demonized Flesh, scurried to his side as he grabbed his Wizard Hat and rushed outside.
He recognized the alarm. It was the signal for a Black Orc invasion!
And a high-level one at that!
Stepping out of the Mage Tower, Isaac saw signal smoke rising in the direction of the fortress, and his brow furrowed even tighter.
He had spent the last few days cramming knowledge about the signals, so he could roughly understand them. This was the highest-level smoke alert, which meant the Black Orcs were already at the fortress gates!
They could attack at any moment!
But that was impossible!
'The fortress's regular patrols of the surrounding area are already quite strong. And now, with winter approaching, the patrol teams are expanded every year to guard against potential sneak attacks from the Black Orcs. How could they have let the Black Orcs sneak up to the walls undetected?'
'Unless...'
'There's a mole!'
Isaac took a deep breath. He casually tossed a small pumpkin from the wide sleeve of his Wizard Robe. A large cloud of purple smoke billowed out from the pumpkin. A moment later, a pumpkin carriage appeared before him, pulled by two Magic Spirit Horses with blue flames burning in their eyes.
He leaped aboard in a single bound. Then, with a light flick of the reins, the pumpkin carriage shot into the sky, flying straight for the fortress wall!