Chapter 163: Chapter 138: Choice
TCH TCH TCH TCH~~~
SMACK!
Isaac was still making his tsking sounds when a clod of dirt smacked him on the head. The young woman sitting at the edge of the garden glared at him and snapped, "Are you trying to call a dog?"
"Hehe... Hey, Sister-in-law." Isaac grinned sheepishly, brushing off his pants as he got to his feet.
"Uncle!" the two boys shouted in unison.
The two little tykes, who were in the middle of a game of Knights, spotted Isaac and immediately dropped their wooden sticks to run toward him.
Isaac got along great with them. After all, he had been very frail before leaving home, unable to do much of anything, so he’d often just play make-believe with the children.
In fact, Isaac had taught them many of their games, and they were extremely fond of him.
Isaac patted both boys on the head, then looked toward his sister-in-law, Caesar’s wife, Sally Solomon.
"You should go get some rest," Isaac said with a smile. "I’ll play with them for a while."
Sally Solomon, born Sally Joseph, was the daughter of a Count. Her marriage to Isaac’s older brother, however, hadn’t been a political one. Her family’s Count was down on his luck—he’d lost his fief and now held the title in name only.
She and Isaac’s older brother, Caesar, had met while adventuring and had been through many life-or-death situations together. She had originally been a Witch, but unfortunately, to ensure the safe birth of her two boys, she had sought out a Witch from the Witch Country to seal her Magic and Magic Power. This had left her body exceptionally weak, only slightly stronger than Isaac himself used to be.
Sally didn’t stand on ceremony with Isaac. She simply nodded, then rose and departed with her maidservant.
Although Isaac’s status as a Mad Witch made people like Gaia wary of him, even causing them to keep their distance, Sally’s own identity as a Witch wasn’t much better.
So in her eyes, Isaac was still just her little brother-in-law.
Watching Sally’s receding figure, Isaac considered for a moment before abandoning the idea of restoring her power. ’It’s not my place to interfere,’ he thought, ’and they’d never entrust something like this to a Mad Witch anyway.’
’Besides, my sister just successfully promoted to Grand Arcanist. She has plenty of time to deal with it.’
Sally’s Magic and Magic Power could, of course, be restored. They had only been sealed, not removed. The problem was the immense difficulty. Even if the Witches from the Witch Country themselves were to handle it, the mortality rate would be extremely high.
The root of the problem lay in the very nature of a Witch’s power.
A Witch’s power stems from her bloodline, making them similar to the Bloodline Warlocks from the Wizard novels Isaac remembered from his past life. For a Witch, becoming stronger is simple: all she has to do is tap into the power of her bloodline.
This process can be both active and passive.
A Witch’s power grows as she does. This growth isn’t merely about aging; it also encompasses more abstract concepts like life experience and changes in identity.
And that is precisely the danger of such a seal. Nine out of ten Witches who undergo this procedure do so to bear children. For any woman, giving birth is an undeniably significant milestone of personal growth.
Her experience, mindset, and identity all undergo a massive transformation. When reflected in a Witch’s power, this translates to a tremendous boost.
Take his sister-in-law, Sally, for example. The moment her seal is broken, she will instantly become a High-level Witch!
But this is not a good thing. Right now, she is far too weak.
Once the Magic Power befitting a High-level Witch floods her body, there are only two possible outcomes: she either explodes, or the Magic Power warps her, causing a grotesque transformation into a monster driven by pure destructive instinct.
There is no third possibility.
After years of research, the Witch Country has only managed to devise a method of breaking the seal in stages to reduce the amount of Magic Power released at once. But Witches are not adept researchers. Their scientific aptitude is mostly limited to developing their own Magic, and many Witches lack even that level of skill.
As a result, the mortality rate for breaking the seal remains stubbornly high.
’But if a Grand Arcanist handles it, there shouldn’t be a problem... right?’
’A personalized solution should be possible, at least.’
Isaac had no real measure of a Grand Arcanist’s research capabilities, so he couldn’t be certain.
’But it doesn’t matter. If my sister can’t handle it when the time comes, I’ll just step in. The almighty Outer God will sort everything out!’
’A Witch’s power relies on Mystery even more than a Legendary Mage’s. And Mystery always yields to a greater Mystery!’
"Uncle?" The little boy on his left tugged on Isaac’s clothes, getting his attention.
"Alright, alright, here I come! Go hide! The evil Wizard is coming to get you!" Isaac raised his hands, a playfully vicious grin spreading across his face.
"Aah! Run away!"
...
Isaac ended up staying for the next few days. His sister’s Mage Tower wasn’t built at the castle, and due to his status as a Mad Witch, Isaac hadn’t been granted access to the castle’s Barrier, making it impossible for him to travel to and from his own territory via Phase Space.
While it wouldn’t take him long to run out of the castle and teleport from there, it was still a hassle.
Besides, Isaac didn’t have any pressing experiments at the moment. He hadn’t even begun cultivating the Demonized Flesh. As for optimizing the Dragon Transformation Secret Medicine, that would have to wait until after the meeting at the Sect. With so many experts in the research group working on it together, their progress would certainly be faster than anything Isaac could achieve alone.
Most of his other research projects could also be put on hold.
Besides, now that he had been promoted to Grand Wizard, Isaac had something far more important than research to focus on—body modification!
