"Five severed fingers, check. Black Wizard Robe and Wizard Hat, check. Six sticks of White Feather Wax, check. Blood of the Three Beasts, check. Okay, that's about everything."
In a dark and gloomy basement, a young man in an oversized Wizard Robe was bent low over the floor, scribbling strange, bloody characters by the light of a candle in his hand.
A moment later, the young man stood up. He looked at the Hexagram pattern formed by the bloody characters on the ground, and at the transparent number floating above it, nodding in satisfaction.
20%
This was the ceremony's margin for error. A bit low, but not a big deal. He wasn't finished yet. The young man continued bustling about the basement, candle in hand, placing a pile of miscellaneous items in specific locations: a grotesque statue of a Demon, a pitch-black skullcap, dark branches resembling bone spurs...
They were all things that looked exceptionally sinister. As the young man placed each item in its designated spot, the number above the bloody Magic Array slowly ticked upward.
Finally, when the young man placed the last of the six sticks of White Feather Wax at the six points of the bloody Magic Array, the number above it settled—200%!
"And now, it's time to witness a Miracle!"
The corner of the young man's mouth quirked up slightly. He then pulled the nearby Wizard Hat over and put it on, knelt on one knee in the center of the bloody Hexagram, and began to softly chant an obscure Spell.
"##%#=@*, --, #*=, #, ...."
As the young man chanted the Spell, gusts of cold wind suddenly swept through the sealed basement, first blowing out the candle he was using for light.
Suddenly, fanned by the cold wind, the White Feather Wax sticks ignited with green flames the size of soybeans. The ghastly green candlelight illuminated the young man, further enhancing his sinister aura!
WHOOSH!
The green flames then suddenly swelled, the six columns of fire intertwining in midair to form the ghastly phantom of a Demon. The Demon looked down at the young man kneeling on one knee, his face completely obscured by the brim of his Wizard Hat. Listening to his occasionally fumbled Spell, the corner of its mouth quirked up in a mocking smile.
The young man paid it no mind, continuing to recite his somewhat flawed Spell.
The errors in the Spell were partly because it was too much of a tongue-twister and he wasn't particularly familiar with it, and partly because a portion of the Spell itself was intentionally wrong. This was a common trick used by Demons; if the ceremony failed, the soul of the one conducting it would belong to the Demon.
Yet the young man wasn't too concerned about this. Because even though the Spell had plenty of mistakes, in his eyes, the number representing the margin for error was still not low—158%!
Soon, when the number dropped to 127%, the recitation of the Spell was finished. The ceremony was complete!
The Demon formed from green flame had an incredibly ugly expression. It glared viciously at the young man, unable to comprehend why this ceremony... had succeeded!
It wanted to punish the young man, but it was merely a projection. The young man's ceremony not only lacked the power to enable such a thing, but it was also of a very low Level. Otherwise, it could have bypassed the Magic Contract and acted forcefully to teach this damned youth the meaning of a Demon's Heart's evil!
Unfortunately... now it was the one getting a taste of human treachery...
Though extremely unwilling, the Demon still abided by the constraints of the contract, leaving behind a small Power Seed before dissipating in the secret chamber.
From beginning to end, the young man never revealed his face to the Demon.
After the Demon vanished, the entire ceremony was declared complete. But the most important step was not yet finished!
The young man slowly rose and extended a trembling right hand toward the wisp of green flame floating in the air. This was the Power Seed left by the Demon, and also the final step to becoming a Legendary Mage!
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the young man seized it in his hand. Instantly, a massive amount of green flame erupted from it, then drilled up his right arm and into his body, merging with his spine. Speckles of Magic Power fluctuations began to radiate from within him.
A Legendary Mage, born!
"I did it! Hahaha~~ I did it!"
The young man threw his head back and laughed, unable to suppress his excitement!
The young man's name was Isaac Solomon. He was a transmigrator, having inexplicably crossed over into this world to become the son of a Viscount. Unfortunately, as a transmigrator, he not only had to be a son, but also a younger brother.
He was the youngest of the Solomons Family, with two older brothers and an older sister. His two brothers were both outstanding, so the family fortune would never pass to him. Of course, being a wealthy idler wasn't a bad fate either.
Although his life was certainly not as good as his previous one, he was at least a member of the upper class.
But this world was not simple!
This was a fantasy world!
A fantasy world with Wizards and Knights—with supernatural powers!
Isaac had no hope of inheriting the family fortune, but he had to get his hands on some Extraordinary Power, right?
Otherwise, wouldn't his transmigration have been for nothing?
Thus, Isaac, who had been frail and sickly since childhood, set his sights on the Wizard, an Extraordinary Profession that commanded Magic!
In this world, Wizards were divided into three categories. The first was the Truth Mage, also known as the Arcanist. They were similar to Isaac's own understanding of a Wizard: gaining power through Knowledge, with high intelligence requirements. The second was the Witch. They were born with immense Magic Power and special Magic, but this path was gender-restricted, so it was also unsuitable for Isaac.
Fortunately, there was a third type—the Legendary Mage. This type of Wizard had no prerequisite for aptitude. They gained the power to wield Magic through ceremonies dedicated to various unknown Existences. Through specific ceremonies, they could even draw Magic Power and Magic from legends and tales.
The only problem with this path was that acquiring and enhancing most Magic and Magic Power all depended on Magic Ceremonies. And if a Magic Ceremony failed...
In the best-case scenario, you would turn into a Demon and fall into Hell; in the worst-case, your soul would be devoured whole by a Demon!
Luckily, as a transmigrator, Isaac had brought a little "local specialty" with him from his old world. His "specialty" was an ability to forcibly increase probabilities. No matter what he did, as long as the conditions were met, success was 100% guaranteed for him.
Of course, the prerequisite was that success had to be possible in the first place.
Just like this Wizard ceremony, which was the only one with any possibility of success that he had managed to pick out after spending three years sifting through all sorts of rituals.
Thinking about all the times he'd been scammed over the past few years, Isaac heaved a heavy sigh. Then, he held his head high and strode out of the basement. 'No matter how difficult the past was, it's all in the past now. I've finally made it through!'
As long as he passed through the apprentice period of Nurturing the Power Seed, he would become a true Wizard!
Of course, even if he wasn't a true Wizard yet, he already possessed the ability for Casting. He had Magic Power in his body now. He could try that one Witchcraft...
'Perfect timing. I can also verify a theory while I'm at it.' A certain book claimed that the process of learning and practicing Witchcraft would also accelerate the Nurturing of the Power Seed, speeding up the transition through the apprentice period.
However, the ceremony mentioned in that book was incorrect, so it was hard to say whether this theory was valid. Still, it was worth a try. It wasn't like he had anything else to do right now.