Perceiving the Dimension World is the most fundamental and crucial step for a Secret Mage. After all, if one can’t even perceive the Dimension World, how could they possibly borrow its power?

However, to say he couldn’t sense it wasn’t entirely accurate. More precisely, Isaac couldn’t sense his own Dimension World using the methods of a Secret Mage. Strictly speaking, what he currently possessed could only be called a Dimension Space at best.

Under normal circumstances, he had no problem sensing his own creation, but using a Secret Mage’s methods...

That was a bit of a problem...

Connecting to the Dimension World using a Secret Mage’s methods was the most basic requirement. It was tantamount to an official sanction, the only way to legitimately use the Dimension World’s Magic Power without being rejected by the Real World.

As it stood, Isaac saw two possible solutions. The first was to continue strengthening his Dimension World. After all, the Secret Skill he needed to create—a Magic Beam—was very simple. It was merely a release of Magic Power and didn’t involve the intrinsic Power Traits of the Dimension World itself.

’Though it’s not like my Dimension World has any of those yet...’

But that option was off the table for the foreseeable future. During this time, his White Whale Avatar had nearly eaten its way past the coastal regions, but the boost it provided to the Dimension World was minuscule. He couldn’t rely on it for strengthening. Moreover, he still hadn’t found a suitable Demon God ritual, so that idea was a non-starter for now.

The second approach was to refine the Secret Skill itself, increasing the precision of the technique he used to perceive the Dimension World. That way, he could sense it even in its weakened state.

This method, however, was also problematic. Isaac hadn’t been studying Secret Skills for long and was still just a beginner. Accomplishing this would be rather difficult.

But difficult was better than impossible. After all, if he could successfully develop this Secret Skill, the benefits would be significant—not just for him now, but also long after he grew stronger.

The greatest value of a Secret Skill, in truth, lay in its dissemination—in training one’s own Secret Mages and establishing a personal faction. Isaac didn’t covet their power, but they would serve as an excellent intelligence network.

Furthermore, the act of creating an Extraordinary System could be recorded in the three books of a Legendary Mage. It was a form of creating a Self-Legend, and a rather advanced one at that.

In fact, many of today’s Extraordinary Professions were originally created by Legendary Mages. On the stronger end of the spectrum were Magic Net Mages—it was said some had even become High-level Mages through this path. On the weaker end were Secret Swordsmen, who were merely Tier One Transcendents.

The Goblin Slayer’s Tier was actually even lower than that of a Secret Swordsman, but it was a different case entirely. Strictly speaking, the Goblin Slayer profession didn’t grant Extraordinary Power. For one, its strength was insufficient. For another, the power a Goblin Slayer acquired was a balanced self-enhancement, which could serve as a perfect foundation for various melee professions.

This was quite different from the Extraordinary path of a Warrior, which was distinct from that of a Knight.

This was understandable, as it came from the hands of the very Wizard who created goblins.

Therefore, if he could successfully create this Secret Skill, Isaac’s Self-Legend for his Grand Wizard stage would be secured. Otherwise, he would have to find a way to make something happen—something influential...

’Hmm? Don’t tell me my future self decides to wipe out the Terra Empire just for this reason?’

Isaac froze for a second before quickly shaking his head. He didn’t think he could be that foolish. No one ever said the Empire had only one Demigod. Just like in novels, many factions secretly had one or more incredibly powerful old ancestors hiding in the shadows.

It was just a fleeting thought, and Isaac quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. Having identified the core of his problem, he began to organize all his knowledge related to Secret Skills, compiling it into a single volume.

However, just as he was preparing to head to Lake Heart Island, he abruptly changed direction and went to the Flesh Sect instead.

He had almost forgotten—he was part of the research group now and could consult its internal archives for free. He decided he might as well look at the free resources first.

Passing through the rift, Isaac arrived directly inside the Floating City. He first made a quick stop to ask about the Secret Medicine lecture. It was the same as before—not everyone had arrived.

There was nothing to be done about it. While Wizards weren’t as oblivious to the passage of time as those who practiced Cultivation—who might enter seclusion for centuries or millennia—it was still quite common for many High Level Wizards to spend a month or two on a single experiment.

Even so, Isaac wasn’t going to wait for several months. He would give them two more weeks at most. If the lecture didn’t start by then, he would just research the drawbacks of the Dragon Transformation Secret Medicine on his own. It would be more troublesome, but he couldn’t wait forever. Besides, he needed multiple projects to keep his mind fresh.

Arriving at the library, Isaac found exactly what he needed, just as he’d expected. And there was a lot of it!

There were three books on the fundamental principles of Secret Skills alone, six research papers, and a whopping thirteen compendiums detailing specific Secret Skills!

Even though this was just the research group’s internal collection, its quality was anything but low.

This was to be expected. While Secret Skills were dangerous, the danger only manifested upon use. Otherwise, they were inert—completely different from the Magic Books, or Evil Scriptures, provided by the Outer Gods.

Once the danger was disregarded, Secret Skills offered nothing but benefits to a Wizard. After all, a Secret Skill was still a form of Magic, even if most of their effects were achieved by borrowing the power of a Demon God.

This didn’t mean they couldn’t provide valuable insights for a Wizard’s own research into Magic.

After making copies of all these books, Isaac returned directly to his laboratory and once again immersed himself in his research on Secret Skills.