Chapter 218: Chapter 173: Authority? Authority
"Esteemed Master of the Eternal Secret Star, I am eternally grateful for your generosity. Humbled, I dare not ask for eternal life or Forbidden Knowledge. I only ask that you grant me the ability to activate Demonic Puppets," Isaac said, bowing with apparent reverence.
"?" The Master of the Eternal Secret Star was a bit baffled by Isaac’s rather subservient attitude. ’Are all Mad Witches this pathetic now?’
Although It couldn’t figure out what was going on with Isaac, the Master of the Eternal Secret Star was still happy to grant Isaac’s request. After all, the offerings he provided were indeed plentiful—a full ten times the amount for a ritual of this scale!
’So many offerings for such a simple power? Even if I don’t play any tricks, I’m making a killing, aren’t I?’
"Granted... you bastard!" Just as the Master of the Eternal Secret Star was gleefully granting Isaac the power of Activation through the ritual, Isaac, on the other side of the Endless Void, began to make his move!
Naturally, this could not be hidden from the Master of the Eternal Secret Star, which is why It let out such a furious roar.
However, to Its surprise, It was actually at a disadvantage in this struggle!
But an Outer God was an Outer God, after all. In an instant, It understood the root cause—the excessive offerings!
At first, It had been puzzled as to why this Wizard would provide ten times the required offerings for the ritual. It had thought It had encountered a rare Believer among Wizards, but as it turned out...
’It was all so he could steal something from me!’
’And my most precious possession at that!’
’That was my most important secret!’
’Such insolence toward a God!’
...
「A few breaths earlier.」
「In the Mysterious Void.」
Isaac’s eyes widened as he stared at the "Sun" in the sky, simply because it was something that shouldn’t be here!
Although Outer Gods were Gods, they were not omniscient and omnipotent. They were merely beings who had walked a certain path to its absolute limit. They could do many things and possess many things, but there were also many things they could not do and many things they could not possess.
Take the Master of the Eternal Secret Star, for example. As a Mechanical Outer God, Its combat power and methods were among the strongest of the Outer Gods, not even losing out to an old-school Demon God like the Master of Billions of Flesh. But no matter how strong It was, It could never possess an Authority. This was determined by its very life form!
But now, the information radiating from the giant "Sun" above the Mysterious Void clearly told Isaac that this was an Authority!
He didn’t know what kind of Authority it was yet, but that wasn’t important. Because no matter what kind of Authority it was, he was going to take it!
’To hell with the plan! To hell with Forbidden Knowledge!’
’An Authority that allows a Mechanical Outer God to break the limitations of its life form has to be something incredible!’
’If you’re going to take a shortcut, you take the fastest one. If you’re going to grab something, you grab the best there is!’
So, the moment he realized what it was, Isaac didn’t hesitate for an instant. He ignored the other myriad stars in the Void and directed the Ritual Power toward the largest "Sun" in the sky!
Of course, Isaac knew that obtaining the Authority didn’t mean he would also get the technique the Master of the Eternal Secret Star had used to overcome the limits of its life form. However, among all Outer Gods, the Mechanical ones possessed the most Forbidden Knowledge. Finding the one piece he needed amidst such a vast collection would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Besides, even if he obtained the technique, he might not be able to use it with his current level of power. It was better to just acquire the Authority directly. After all, any Authority that It would go to such great lengths to obtain had to be extraordinary!
’First, I’ll obtain the effect. In the future, I might be able to reverse-engineer the cause myself!’
However, this action immediately alerted the Master of the Eternal Secret Star to his presence. According to the original plan, he was supposed to have acted stealthily and avoided discovery for as long as possible to maximize his gains.
After all, It possessed a vast amount of Forbidden Knowledge. As long as his moves were small, he wouldn’t attract Its attention.
But the Authority was different. Not only was it one of a kind, but it was also the Master of the Eternal Secret Star’s secret. Therefore, the moment Isaac made his move, he was discovered.
’But it doesn’t matter. So what if I was discovered? I, Isaac, am acting openly and honorably. This is just stuff scattered around the Mysterious Void that no "one" wants. Finders keepers!’
He immediately began using the Ritual Power to contend with the Master of the Eternal Secret Star. Visibly, under the Master’s interference, the speed at which Isaac’s Ritual Power caused the Erosion of the "Sun" slowed abruptly.
But no matter how slow it became, the Erosion continued, which meant Isaac had the upper hand in his struggle against the Master of the Eternal Secret Star!
A mortal having the upper hand in a struggle against a Deity might sound unbelievable, but it was actually perfectly normal.
Firstly, within a Tier Two ritual, the Master of the Eternal Secret Star was constrained by both the Gate of Legends and the ritual itself, so the power It could exert was very limited.
Secondly, Isaac had used his Golden Finger to gain ten times the Ritual Power of a normal Tier Two ritual, far exceeding the power that the Master of the Eternal Secret Star could bring to bear.
Thus, it was only natural for him to have the advantage.
The Master of the Eternal Secret Star naturally realized this as well. It knew that things couldn’t go on like this; otherwise, Its losses would be too great. ’I don’t know what’s up with this damned thief, but he can somehow use this much Ritual Power. A direct confrontation is out of the question!’
’Of course, I still have to keep up the direct confrontation. Otherwise, without my interference, Isaac would steal my Authority at an incredible speed.’
So It divided Its focus. On one hand, It tried to stop the damned thief from snatching Its Authority, while on the other, It hurried to complete Isaac’s ritual request—to grant him the power of Animating Dead Objects.
This made It feel incredibly aggrieved. ’I’m being robbed, and I still have to grant his wish? What the actual fuck...’
’Fuck!’
But granting power was the most complex type of wish. Even a simple, ordinary power required a significant amount of time. This was because it was different from the power They granted to Their Believers; under the purview of Legend, the power They bestowed had to be free of contamination and without any backdoors...
But over countless eons, the power of the Outer Gods had developed the property of Erosion, and leaving backdoors had become second nature to Them. To suddenly have to do a good deed felt... unnatural.
’But I have to do it, no matter how slow it is. Otherwise, that damned thief will steal way too much!’
Time ticked by. Despite the interference from the Master of the Eternal Secret Star, Isaac’s Erosion of the Authority continued methodically, but the progress was far from ideal. After all, the Master of the Eternal Secret Star was no pushover.
The bestowal of the power of Animating Dead Objects, however, was proceeding smoothly. He could clearly feel a special power being nurtured within his body, but it still needed some time to fully form.
However, even though there was still some room to maneuver, Isaac was already preparing to pull back. The risk level was approaching five hundred percent, about to cross the safety threshold he had set for himself.
Besides, while the progress of the Erosion wasn’t ideal due to the Master of the Eternal Secret Star’s interference, the portion he’d secured was already enough to form an Authority. That was sufficient.
’It doesn’t matter if it’s a little weak. There’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway.’
Having made his decision, Isaac decisively withdrew from the Mysterious Void, taking the scavenged piece of Authority with him. He left behind a completely dumbfounded Master of the Eternal Secret Star...
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