Chapter 228: Chapter 183: High-level Mages Preparing to Flip the Table
When the Knight’s longsword was a mere 1.1 centimeters from Isaac, he was thrilled, as victory seemed to be beckoning.
However, after advancing another 0.1 centimeters, all that remained in his heart was terror!
He had discovered, to his horror, that no matter how much force he exerted—so much so that the sound of a gale howled in his ears—the distance between his sword tip and Isaac refused to change!
’What good is masterful Swordsmanship or immense power if you can’t even hit your opponent?’
This was the defensive Privilege Magic Isaac had developed: Desperate Rabbit!
Its inspiration came from the Limitless Curse Technique in the anime *Jujutsu Kaisen* from his past life. The theoretical basis was derived from the paradox proposed by the Ancient Greek scholar Zeno: a turtle is at point A, and a Rabbit is at point B. They both move forward. For the Rabbit to catch the turtle, it must first reach point A. But by then, the turtle has already reached point A1. The Rabbit must then advance to point A1, but by that time, the turtle has reached A2...
And so on. The distance between the Rabbit and the turtle would become infinitesimal, but the Rabbit could never, ever catch the turtle!
The logic of the theory is sound, but in reality, the Rabbit would obviously catch the turtle because it’s faster.
But that wasn’t the point. The point was that by analyzing this paradox, Isaac came to understand an Authority that had never been recorded before—[Positive Infinitesimal]!
The Existence of this [Positive Infinitesimal] was what allowed Isaac’s Privilege Magic, so similar to the Limitless Curse Technique, to actually function!
The vast majority of attacks are useless against this Privilege Magic. No matter how fast your attack, the distance between you and Isaac will only ever become infinitesimally small! This means your attacks can never actually reach him!
Naturally, they become useless.
To break this Privilege Magic, simply increasing one’s speed is not enough. Forget a power that merely approaches an Authority; even if you wielded a true Authority, you still couldn’t attack Isaac while he was under its protection.
The only way is to use a translocation-type Privilege Magic or Authority to bypass the [Infinitesimal] defense and attack Isaac directly.
But...
Even that alone isn’t enough. Even if one masters a translocation-type Privilege Magic, the [Infinitesimal] defense can’t be crossed so easily. Reaching this stage only means you have earned the qualification to formally contest Isaac. Whether you can actually break through depends on the progress both sides have made in their respective Authority Domains.
And on that point...
Isaac was extremely confident!
Unlike his other Privileged Magics, Isaac placed immense importance on this Defense Magic. ’After all, if this thing breaks, my life is forfeit.’ Therefore, he had spent a great deal of his energy on it over the past three months.
And with the help of [Analysis], his progress in researching this Privilege Magic was astonishing!
Simply put, he was just one step away from mastering the [Infinitesimal] Authority!
The only thing holding him back was his Level. Normally, only High-level Mages could obtain an Authority through research or study.
This meant that Isaac could stand there and tank the attacks of almost anyone below the rank of High-level Mage!
’Of course, I won’t be that arrogant. I’ll still dodge when I have to. Otherwise, what was the point of researching Electromagnetic Flow?’
In any case, after blocking the Knight’s attack, the corner of Isaac’s mouth curved upward. He raised his right hand, swung it down gently, and unleashed all the remaining Gravity from Heavy Pressure Hell!
And unlike the previous wide-area saturation, this time Isaac had located his specific targets. He divided the immense Gravity into twenty-three separate streams, pressing down on them all equally!
BOOM!
The Knight’s figure plummeted from the sky, smashing a large crater into the ground. Blood poured from all over his body!
One strike, and he was on the brink of death!
If even he—the one with the strongest physique—was in such a state, what chance did the others have?
Now, on the ground below, there were no human figures to be seen—only twenty-one piles of mangled flesh...
’Hm? Twenty-one?’
Isaac paused, scanning the ground carefully. His gaze finally fell upon the wreckage of several Magic Rings.
"Tsk." Isaac felt a headache coming on. ’Was that guy really so loaded? So many Magic Rings?’
Isaac then turned his gaze to the barely breathing Knight. He slowly descended, extended his index finger, and a brilliant gleam of Magic Power ignited at its tip.
"Bye-bye~"
PFFT!
A beam of Magic Power as thick as a finger shot out, instantly piercing the Knight’s skull. The man, who had been struggling to get back on his feet, collapsed to the ground again. This time, he wouldn’t be getting back up.
After collecting his spoils, Isaac departed in a gust of wind, flying toward the next location.
「Meanwhile」The crowd of Wizards outside the Itra Kingdom fell silent once again. They couldn’t see the specific details of the battle, but they could clearly see the front lines...
’How long has it even been?’
’Twenty-three Tier Two experts, with several at Tier Two Peak among them, and they’re just... gone?’
’He must be cheating!’
The crowd’s gazes turned once more to the few High-level Mages on the platform. They knew life wasn’t fair, but this was just too much.
’If this continues, how are the other factions supposed to gain anything?’
This time, the High-level Mages didn’t remain silent, because Isaac’s actions were now affecting their own interests. Forget the leading Wizard; even Noel, the Black-robed Mage who belonged to the same Flesh Sect as Isaac, couldn’t help but frown and turn to Mensa.
Mensa rubbed his brow, looking vexed. "This matter... we have no grounds to interfere. Their actions are all within the established rules. If we want to stop them, we’d have to provide appropriate compensation. Otherwise, our Eldest Princess, who is so deeply favored by the Emperor, would be... displeased."
Hearing this, the other three fell silent, though they were all inwardly cursing Mensa for his shamelessness. ’To use the Emperor as a threat over a minor matter in the Itra Kingdom!’
’Shameless bastard!’
But... what could they do? It worked on them every time.
After a moment of silence, the leading Wizard said to Mensa, "In that case, the negotiations are up to you."
Mensa nodded resignedly. Yes, utterly resigned.
Mensa truly was at a loss. He knew Isaac was formidable, but he never expected him to be *this* formidable!
’He’s taking on everyone at once and still has the absolute upper hand. Damn it, is everyone else just useless?’
Of course, Mensa knew it wasn’t that the others were too weak, but that Isaac was just absurdly overpowered. Although this was merely a Tier Two battlefield, the Itra Kingdom possessed a great many treasures. The Transcendents it attracted were naturally no pushovers.
Still, the thought of having to negotiate with Isaac and Philo gave Mensa a pounding headache. ’What am I even supposed to say?’
’I knew about the plan to annex the Itra Kingdom, and I knew about Isaac’s sacrificial plan. But this current script... why is it so different from the one I was given?’
’Where’s the stalemate we were promised?’
’Where’s the endless army of Artificial Humans?’
’Why has it turned into a complete steamroll?’
*Sigh.* Despite his confusion, Mensa quickly dispatched a thought-form into the Itra Kingdom, materializing directly beside Isaac, who was currently speeding along, wrapped in a gale.
...
"Hm? Lord Mensa?" Isaac, who had been rushing onward, was startled by Mensa’s sudden appearance. He dispersed the gale and hovered in mid-air, first offering a respectful bow before asking, "Lord Mensa, what brings you here? I thought experts of Tier Three and above weren’t allowed to enter?"
"This is a thought-form, and the situation is special. I’ve come to you with an important matter," Mensa said, looking Isaac up and down. He was incredibly curious about what had happened to Isaac to cause such a dramatic leap in his power.
Unfortunately, Wizards were not like Knights; their progress wasn’t fully reflected in their physical bodies. While Legendary Mages underwent a stage of physical modification, it wasn’t a complete representation of a Wizard’s strength.
After all, a Wizard’s greatest asset was ultimately their Knowledge, and that was something one couldn’t perceive at a glance.
"A thought-form?" Isaac glanced at Mensa in surprise. He knew this Magic as well and had used it often recently to discuss battle plans with Philo, but...
’...is it supposed to be this realistic?’
But his attention quickly returned to Mensa’s words. He paused, then said, "Is there something else that required you to come in person?"
"Your battle plan..." Mensa’s brow furrowed as he asked curiously, "How are you advancing so quickly? Weren’t you supposed to take it slow and accumulate sacrifices?"
"Mm, the plan changed. Since you were outside, we couldn’t communicate with you in time. After discussing it with Princess Philo, we decided to modify the plan. We’ll now sweep through the entire Itra Kingdom as quickly as possible and seize the treasure that creates the Artificial Humans. Then we can produce them ourselves. No more need to play house with these people."
Mensa looked at the confident expression on Isaac’s face, feeling a mixture of resignation and shock.
He actually understood Isaac quite well. He had been quietly observing Isaac ever since the Divine Lamp Trial, so he knew that despite being a bold and reckless Mad Witch, at his core, Isaac was a very careful person. For him to devise such a plan, it could only mean...
"You’ve created a Privilege Magic?"
Isaac smiled slightly. He wasn’t surprised that Mensa had guessed. At his stage, only a Privilege Magic could grant such a rapid leap in strength. The physical modifications of a Legendary Mage were merely a required step on the Path of the Wizard for him now; they wouldn’t provide a significant boost to his power.
Even if all nine procedures were completed, it would be the same. The immense gulf between a Grand Wizard and a High-level Mage couldn’t be crossed with just a few procedures and a small boost in Magic Power.
Mensa stared at Isaac, once again feeling a pang of regret. ’Why doesn’t this kid have the Magic Power talent for an Arcanist? He’s such perfect material for one!’
Mensa sighed. "Your current progress is truly remarkable. But unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. You have to stop what you’re doing."
"Why?" Isaac’s brow furrowed.
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