Steadfast Wizard: From Heart-Swapping Rat to Dimensional Demon God

Chapter 81 The History of Time, Kid!

Back in the room, Isaac took out the gleaming little magic lamp from his pocket. Perhaps because only Isaac had fought in this battle, Philo and the others did not discuss who should own the little magic lamp.

Of course, it's also possible that they haven't come to their senses yet —————

In any case, he should own this thing. After all, it's a bit complicated. You can't say it's unimportant because you can't participate in the Genie Lamp Trial without it, but you can also say it's important because the three of them are destined to each have one. It's just a matter of time.

So whether this thing is divided or not doesn't matter.

But when Isaac focused his attention on the little magic lamp in front of him, the information he gleaned made him frown.

The rules of the Genie's Lamp Trial were similar to those of the Holy Grail War he knew from his previous life: summon familiars, fight each other, and the survivors win rewards. The difference was that the Holy Grail War rewarded wishes, while the Genie's Lamp Trial rewarded various precious treasures or abilities.

It's relatively less free, but the rewards are more stable. Unlike the Holy Grail War, wishes might not come true, or the wish-granting machine itself might have problems.

This was the Genie's Lamp Trial that Isaac knew before, but after obtaining the small lamp, he gained a deeper understanding of the rules of the Genie's Lamp Trial.

The major changes are basically the same, with only minor differences. For example, the timing of summoning familiars will remain the same. Even if Isaac obtains the miniature lamp now, he will have to wait until all the miniature lamps appear for half a month before he can summon it. At that time, the Genie Lamp Trial will officially begin.

For example, because everyone has to compete for a spot in the Genie Lamp Trial, i.e., the Little Genie Lamp, the identities of all trial participants are transparent. This will lead to a massive free-for-all that ends the battle immediately!

For example, a wizard participating in the trial can only possess one familiar!

This was the worst news for Isaac, because in the wizarding power system, the term "familiar" is very broad. For example, Rat, who had signed a high-level magic contract with him, and Ruri, the demon god's familiar he created, are both familiars, just different types.

Unfortunately, the definition of a familiar in the Genie's Lamp Trial is the same as that of a wizard...

This is actually normal, since the Genie's Lamp Trial was originally a wizard's invention.

But this is not good for him!

It doesn't matter if we can't use a rat, since it's just a mascot anyway, but it's different with glass. Glass is very strong!

Instead of using glass, they summoned a familiar using a magic lamp...

This seems to be self-explanatory.

Ruri has very high base stats, and as a familiar of a demon god, she possesses two powers. Not to mention familiars, there are few creatures stronger than her. But wouldn't that be a bit of a waste?

Isaac continued reading, his brows slowly relaxing. Fortunately, without summoning a familiar using the magic lamp, he could obtain a treasure. If he won the trial, he could take the treasure with him in addition to the original rewards.

Needless to say, this is the best value for money item. But what kind of treasure will you get?

Isaac was starting to get excited.

After all, while Noble Phantasms can only unleash their full power when bound to another, this binding can be broken, so he can use them too!

Anyway, Ruri definitely wouldn't have any objections.

After playing with the magic lamp for a while, Isaac put it away, leaned back on the bed, and took out a magic book to study. He had originally planned to take advantage of the adventurers' activity during this time after stealing the magic lamp to go shopping and see if he could find anything interesting.

Given the current situation, there's no point in even thinking about it.

The following day at noon, Isaac and the others gathered again on the first floor of the Veterans' Tavern. This gathering was different from the previous ones. First of all, Philo and Angel looked at Isaac with more apprehension.

Especially Philo, who showed undisguised wariness the moment she entered!

In her eyes, Isaac was already on the verge of becoming a mad witch and could be devoured by the Outer Gods at any moment!

This also made her more cautious. Perhaps the method he suggested couldn't be used. It would be better to stick to honest trading. The risk of stealing the Outer God was still too high.

Of course, if there were stronger and more independent insurance policies, that would be a different story.

Thinking this, Philo glanced at Angel, a hint of fervor flashing in her eyes.

Besides Philo and his two companions, another change was the atmosphere of the tavern. Compared to the liveliness of the previous gatherings, the tavern was now completely silent. Apart from them, the only person in the entire tavern was the owner, who was wiping glasses at the bar with a bitter face.

As a somewhat well-known pub, the day before yesterday, he was still hiring bartenders to do the job, while he himself was working as a bartender at home. Today, not only have all the bartenders quit their jobs, but the customers have also almost completely disappeared overnight!

Only Isaac remains!

The worst part is that he doesn't dare to close down!

Having to bite the bullet and open for business, and picking up my culinary skills again after years of neglect, is truly...

"Sigh~" The tavern owner sighed almost imperceptibly as he looked at the group of four who habitually sat in the corner.

Why did it happen so suddenly?

"Huh? The spot's secured? So suddenly?" Isaac was stunned by Philo's words. "What happened?"

"Because your spell yesterday was just too—" Philo's expression was somewhat complicated. She raised her hand to cover her mouth slightly, feeling a little nauseous just thinking about it. "Anyway, you scared them. The spots for the Genie Lamp Trial have been redistributed. The little genie lamps will appear at least twice more. If four or more appear, we can get one each time. If they only appear sporadically, the last two will be ours. The condition is that you are not allowed to make a move before the trial begins."

"This—" Upon hearing this, Isaac was stunned. This was something he hadn't expected. Could there really be such a good thing?

Philo wasn't surprised. In fact, after returning yesterday, she and Angel endured their discomfort and reviewed the situation, discovering that Isaac's move might not have been as powerful as it appeared.

Because yesterday's opponents were mostly adventurers with zero magic resistance, and the few magic network mages they dealt with also had extremely limited magic resistance.

Although magic network mages are spellcasters, they do not possess magical power within their bodies. They rely on something called the "magic network" to cast spells. This is something created by a legendary wizard, which allows mortals with no talent to safely master the ability to cast spells.

It was once very popular before the Arcanist class was introduced, but unfortunately, due to its extremely low skill ceiling, it eventually became an adventurer-only class, just like the Warrior.

It was from them that Philo and Angela lowered their guard against Isaac's spell somewhat, because although the magic network mages did not have magic power in their bodies, they had cast a few defensive spells, so they still barely had a human form.

Therefore, based on this, Philo and Angel made a bold assumption—if spell resistance is high enough,

Perhaps we can ignore this spell!

However, I was only slightly relieved, because who knows if Isaac has any other spells?

What was most frightening about the power he displayed yesterday was not his magic, but his strange mental state!

This guy is a mad witch!

It's still that mad witch who dared to steal things from the Outer Gods!

There aren't many people as crazy as him these days. Being cautious won't do any harm.

"Tsk~ There's such a good thing~" Isaac sighed. Sure enough, in this extraordinary world, power is everything!

"However, we don't intend to just wait here. No matter how many magic lamps descend, we will take action and get the goods first!" With that, Philo spread out a map and began to continue analyzing the situation in the town of Phyllis for Isaac and Angel.

Time passed slowly, and while Philo and Angel were busy, Isaac remained as leisurely as ever, spending his days either studying magic in his room or shopping in the streets.

Of course, he goes out less often these days. After all, when he does go out, everyone stares at him like he's a ghost. The first time he feels this way, it's quite exciting, but it gets annoying afterward.

And so, a week later, at night, two golden shooting stars streaked across the sky!

The magic lamp has returned once again!

"Two?" Standing by the window, watching the direction where the two shooting stars had fallen, Isaac's eyes narrowed slightly. This direction didn't seem to be within the designated area...

In other words... you have no affiliation?

"Mouse! Glass! Let's go!" With that thought in mind, Isaac immediately flipped over and jumped out, conjuring a pumpkin carriage in mid-air. After catching Mouse and Glass, he immediately flew towards the nearest spot where the magic lamp had landed!

An agreement?

What agreement?

Let's get our hands on it first!

Even if they only have one now, or even if they have three, they should still fight over it. Only the strong can make the rules!

If I can't use it myself, can't I sell it?

joke.

Therefore, Isaac did not hesitate at all and immediately rushed to the nearest landing point. On the way, he also met Angel and Philo and picked them up.

"What are you doing here?" Isaac asked curiously after picking them up.

"It's not that we're here, it's that we need to get into your car, so you'll have to pass through here," Angel said with a smile, touching the magic book on her lap. She didn't mind revealing some of her powers to Isaac first.

This is also the foundation for future cooperation.

"Hmm?" Isaac tilted his head in confusion. At first, he didn't quite understand what she meant, but he quickly realized it was her ability—the Book of Time!

Isaac's pupils contracted slightly as he stared at Angel in shock: "You manipulated my decision!?"

Shocked, Isaac felt an uncontrollable surge of murderous intent. This feeling of being silently manipulated was terrible!

"You misunderstood." Angel shook her head at Isaac's shock. This was why she wanted to demonstrate her abilities first. "It wasn't me who manipulated your decision. The Book of Time doesn't have that power. The future me simply set the past where Philo and I would meet you here. In order to achieve this past, the landing point of the Genie Lamp will change because the choice you made in the other timeline was to drive to the nearest landing point of the Genie Lamp."

Isaac frowned. "So, your timeline doesn't have the ability to manipulate the consciousness of others?"

"No, you're wrong again." Angel shook her head again. "My ability is to change the past. In order to change the past into the result I write, everything will change, whether it's human will or the rules of the world. It depends on what I want to change. I can only control the result, not the process."

Isaac's brow relaxed a little. He roughly understood that whether or not his will was manipulated or modified, it had no direct relationship with Angel. All of this was just to achieve the result she had modified.

In other words, the Book of Time is omnipotent, but at the same time, it can do nothing, because Angel cannot control this power that manipulates and alters everything.

Simply put, she can alter the past to make them appear on Isaac's pumpkin carriage, but she can't directly control Isaac to choose the nearest genie lamp landing point.

She could only make them appear on the pumpkin carriage, but could not directly change the landing point of the magic lamp.

"Hmm? No, perhaps it's not that we can't, but that we can't right now—" Isaac relaxed a little. If that's the case, then it's alright.

He gave Angel a deep look. As expected of the most mysterious power of time, it was indeed terrifying!

But at the same time, a question inevitably arises: with such powerful abilities, will Angel really be abandoned by her family?

You have to understand that she is the original witch, and her power will not go berserk like other witches. Although there will inevitably be some supernatural phenomena, this world is not the magic-free world of her previous life. The fact that her own child has some supernatural phenomena is a controllable supernatural phenomenon. She should be happy!

And even if things really got out of control and resulted in a tragic childhood, could she change the past?

Even if she is disappointed in her family and doesn't want to live with them anymore, what about her disabled legs?

You can't exactly say she likes sitting in a wheelchair, can you?

The more Isaac learned about Angel, the more questions he had.

And without a doubt, all of this is related to Princess Philo, and also to the ominous feeling in his heart.

Faced with Isaac's gaze, Angel simply returned an apologetic smile, seemingly somewhat embarrassed, but what she truly thought remained unknown.

Soon, the pumpkin carriage arrived nearby. Unfortunately, this time there was no chaos as before. It seemed that the magic lamp had just fallen at the feet of an adventurer team, so they picked it up, hid it, and ran away in different directions.

"Pfft~ It splits into four directions~" After receiving information from a trembling adventurer, Isaac waved him away, then looked at Filo, who was casting a locator, and asked, "How is it?"

"No." Philo stopped what she was doing and shook her head helplessly. "They sealed the magical energy of the lamp. They should have been prepared. Let's split up and search."

"Alright, one person on each side then." Isaac shrugged helplessly, and then the three of them split up.

However, I didn't pay too much attention to it, since it will appear again later, so there's no rush.