Isaac prepared to visit the Cabin in the Woods and make his first official contact with the Wizarding World.
Although he was now an Official Wizard, in terms of sheer strength, he was actually weaker than ninety percent of them.
At the very least, he stood no chance against Smith.
A proper Official Wizard should be slightly stronger than a Same-tier Knight. Reality wasn't a game; there was no such thing as balance. The Wizard was simply an overpowered class.
This was a process most Legendary Mages had to go through. After all, unlike Arcanists who advanced step by step, their methods were certainly no match.
Ignoring the father and son who were still in a daze, Isaac left the dining room, first returning to his lab and bedroom. He grabbed a bottle of Magic Potion and three hundred Gold Coins before heading toward the Forest Land.
Silken threads of sunlight pierced through the leaves, dappling the ground with spots of light. Isaac, dressed in a loose gray Wizard Robe and a large hat, walked through the Forest Land with a look of amazement.
'It's so realistic!'
'Is this the power of a strong Wizard?'
The Forest Land had only just appeared, yet the ground was littered with dead leaves and withered branches, as if it had always been here. 'Incomprehensible...'
Filled with wonder, Isaac arrived at the center of the Forest Land. He saw a lake, a wooden boat, a log cabin, a Crucible, and an Old Witch stirring a red liquid in front of the Crucible.
Isaac stopped about ten meters from the Old Witch. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, tightly gripped the pockets within. The Demon Claw inside his body was ready to emerge at a moment's notice. If anything went wrong, the rat corpse hidden in his sleeve would instantly come to life!
However, the Old Witch merely glanced at him, chuckling softly as her eyes swept over his sleeves. "The Wizard Market is in the lake. Row the boat there yourself. You can post and accept quests in the cabin. Relax. The Cabin in the Woods is dedicated to training new Wizards. If I wanted to harm you, you'd have no way to resist."
After speaking, the Old Witch went back to stirring her Crucible. Isaac glanced over but quickly looked away. She wasn't brewing a Magic Potion, but simply maintaining the liquid inside. Still, even this kind of maintenance required materials—something only a wealthy Wizard would do.
Averting his gaze, Isaac thought for a moment and decided the Old Witch was right. He lowered his guard slightly and walked into the cabin first.
Pushing open the door, his eyes were met with scraps of paper plastered everywhere. A closer look revealed all kinds of quests: some seeking companions for adventures, some looking for research partners, some wanting to take on apprentices...
But most were buy-requests for a wide variety of materials and recruitment ads for Wizard Organizations.
Isaac had immense enthusiasm for the Wizarding World, so he didn't rush to leave the cabin. Instead, he began to read everything carefully.
After looking around, Isaac had gained a general understanding of Witchcraft Materials and Wizard Organizations.
First, the Witchcraft Materials were about what he had expected—all sorts of bizarre things, with no unified standard like the Arcanists had.
For example, materials from a rat included: droppings from a three-month-old rat, droppings from a rat that was six months and six days old, a white hair from a one-month-old, three-centimeter-long gray rat, the nail of an adult field mouse...
All sorts of strange materials with bizarre prerequisite requirements. For things like these, you had to post a quest to buy them. Who knew how long it would take to collect them yourself?
Of course, aside from these bizarre Witchcraft Materials, there were also standardized arcane materials. However, requests for these were rare, and even when they appeared, they were for extremely precious materials that couldn't be bought in ordinary shops.
The Wizard Organizations, however, surprised Isaac. The reason was simple: there were too many of them!
One had to understand that Legendary Mages weren't like Arcanists. As time went on, those extra-dimensional Existences would only become shrewder, and the success rate of promotion rituals would drop lower and lower. The legacy of Legendary Mages was becoming increasingly difficult to pass down. Under these circumstances, for so many Wizard Organizations to still appear was truly remarkable.
Moreover, this also pointed to one thing—the number of Legendary Mages might not be as small as Isaac had imagined.
Either there was a problem with the legacy he had received, and the actual situation for Legendary Mages wasn't that dire—with Arcanists being just a new school of Wizardry, not the mainstream—or this world was far larger than he could have ever imagined!
Just like in the map-changing progression novels from his previous life, this world had higher-level maps!
But either way, this was all just Isaac's speculation. He still knew too little. 'I really need to study more~'
After a moment of reflection, Isaac tugged on his Wizard Hat, turned, and left the cabin. He stepped onto the wooden boat by the lake. In an instant, a breeze stirred, and the boat beneath his feet began to move on its own, carrying him toward the center of the lake.
The Old Witch in front of the cabin was still stirring her Crucible, but her sidelong glance at Isaac held a hint of surprise. 'In this day and age, it's been a long time since such an audacious Legendary Mage has appeared. To think he actually managed to snatch a sliver of a Demon's origin...'
'This world... it seems quite interesting~'
Meanwhile, Isaac didn't notice the Old Witch's gaze. After stepping onto the boat, his attention had shifted completely.
As the small boat moved forward, a thick fog suddenly rose from the once-calm surface of the lake. In an instant, the surroundings turned into a vast expanse of white, and he could only see two or three meters ahead.
Isaac's brow furrowed. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, once again clutched his pockets. The Demon Claw at the back of his head was ready to appear at any moment.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. After the boat traveled through the white mist for a minute or two, the fog suddenly dispersed, and Isaac found himself before the port of a small town steeped in an ancient atmosphere!
Lake Town · No. 12465
Looking at the wooden sign on the port where the boat docked, which bore the place's name, Isaac raised an eyebrow slightly. 'This number... interesting.'
Isaac grew more certain of his suspicions. At the same time, a hint of excitement slowly bubbled up inside him. 'With my Golden Finger, it wouldn't be much fun if I cleared the game too quickly.'
Pushing aside his daydreams, Isaac stepped forward into the town, curiously observing his surroundings.
As he walked out of the port, a quaint street appeared before him. The street was paved with dark stone bricks, and a heavy, ancient aura washed over him. At the same time, a stream of information flowed into Isaac's mind along with it.
Isaac's expression flickered. It was a general introduction to Lake Town and a detailed description of the street in front of him!
According to the information, Lake Town was a place where all the Wizards in the current world could exchange information. Whether they were Witches, Legendary Mages, or even the Arcanists of the new era, as long as they were a sound Caster, they could come here to trade, no matter where they were, provided there was a Forest Land nearby!
Of course, you could only leave from the same place you entered. This place was solely for trading.
The amount of information was immense, but Isaac wasn't focused on it anymore. The top priority right now was to get stronger. Only by becoming strong would he be qualified to explore these secrets.
Therefore, what he cared about was the second piece of information—Magic Wand Path.