Take block printing and movable-type printing, for example. Are there any insurmountable difficulties in these two technologies?

Not at all, but their efficiency is worlds apart.

Overjoyed at having obtained the Secret Skill, Isaac immediately led Aein out of the laboratory.

"Come on, Aein. I’ll introduce you to our other companions."

"Chirp~"

After briefly introducing Aein to Smith and the others and adjusting the research schedule for the upcoming period, Isaac returned to the laboratory once more.

He couldn’t wait to try out his new Secret Skill!

’True Infinite Magic Power, here I come!’

Inside the laboratory, Isaac’s excitement quickly subsided. He stood in an open area of the lab, a target placed a short distance in front of him. Closing his eyes, he let his Magic Power flow slowly, causing specks of magical sparks to flash around him.

Normally, when a Secret Mage first learns a Secret Skill, they require external aids. This is because, in essence, the path of the Secret Mage is for those lacking innate talent, which is why they need to trade with Dimensional Demon Gods to obtain power.

Isaac’s situation, however, was different. He was already a Wizard, so he could simply use his own Magic Power.

As Isaac activated the Secret Skill, an infinitely large world appeared before his perception. Within this world churned a terrifying, boundless sea of blood and a silent void.

The moment he witnessed these sights, an emotion called fear began to spread within him, but he remained unaffected by this baseless feeling.

He was the master of this Dimension, after all, so he knew very well that it wasn’t infinitely large. The vast sea of blood was the Flesh Nest he had set up, and as for the silent void...

That was just because he hadn’t gotten around to putting anything in there yet.

Viewing his own Dimension World from such a tiny perspective gave Isaac a novel sensation, but he didn’t dwell on it for too long. He had business to attend to.

After sensing the Dimension World, the next step was to establish a connection with it by signing a contract—not with the master of the Dimension, but with the Dimension World itself.

It was worth noting that this contract actually came at no cost; it served purely as a legitimate channel for the Dimension World to transmit power.

It wasn’t that the Demon Gods were kind. In earlier years, Secret Mages also had to sign complex contracts, but after the emergence of the Demon Dominator school of Wizards, these complicated contracts vanished.

Although They were quite confident, who knew if some monster might suddenly appear one day and create a "Demon God Dominator" school?

Thus, the content of the Secret Mages’ contracts was simplified infinitely until, to this day, it has become a pure channel for power.

The contract process went very smoothly. After all, there was never much of a barrier to becoming a Secret Mage. Forging this contract required no permission from any Existence, and the Demon Gods were more than happy for you to use Their power—the more, the better.

At least, that’s how it is now!

So, Isaac completed the contract without much effort. With that, his training as a Secret Mage was officially complete!

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling the channel that now existed in the unseen void and the nearly infinite Magic Power on the other side. A smile he couldn’t suppress crept onto his lips.

’With this, I can start cultivating my own Secret Mages!’

’Even though I only have the simplest Secret Technique: Magic Beam available right now, it’s at least a start, isn’t it?’

Hooo~

Isaac let out a long breath and stretched his right hand toward the target in the distance. A crimson glow of Magic Power appeared at the tip of his index finger, and in an instant, a blood-red beam shot out from his fingertip!

ZING!

HISS!

The beam shot clean through the target, leaving a clear hole in the bullseye.

’The power is not bad. It can’t compare to a single Arcane Missile, but the casting time is much shorter. Plus, its power is related to how much Magic Power I invest. With enough Magic Power, this isn’t a Magic Beam, it’s a Magical Cannon!’

’But the Magic Power release efficiency still needs to be optimized...’

’And also...’

Isaac narrowed his eyes as he looked at the crimson Flame on his right hand. The Magic Power from his Dimension World seemed to possess a strong corrosive property, especially against creatures of flesh and blood. This trait seemed to be a legacy from the Master of Billions of Flesh.

’How should I put this... this trait has its pros and cons. The good thing is that offensive Secret Skills will deal extra damage to flesh-and-blood creatures. It also accelerates the death of the Secret Mage, allowing me to reclaim their power in a very short time to feed back into the Dimension World.’

The downside, however, was that the Secret Mages would die too quickly. After all, Isaac was planning to expand their numbers and use them to build his own intelligence network.

’Looks like this will only be a temporary solution...’

The Erosion of a Secret Mage by Dimensional Magic Power was irreversible and uncontrollable. Not even Isaac, the Master of Dimensions, could control it.

Fortunately, the Dimensional Magic Power originated from his Dimension World, and since that world belonged to Isaac, he himself would not be affected by the Erosion. This was consistent with his earlier speculation.

’So, I still need to figure out another way to build the intelligence network.’

’Even though I’ve reconciled with the Eldest Princess now and can’t freeload off her anymore, there will definitely be a use for it in the future. The path to becoming a Legendary Mage is destined to be eventful. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!’

After testing the power of his Secret Skill, Isaac gave a long stretch. Although he still needed to develop more Secret Skills in the future, that step would be much simpler. He just needed to slightly modify other Secret Skills to make them his own. The only exceptions were Secret Skills that borrowed the unique powers of other Dimensions, which couldn’t be adapted.

But even if he couldn’t make them his own, he could still study them for reference. He wouldn’t even need to worry about that himself; once he cultivated some Secret Mages, they would solve this problem on their own.

’So now, it’s time to see if High-level Curses can be stacked!’

With an expectant look on his face, Isaac walked up to two iron cages. Liu Li stood respectfully to the side. Inside each cage was a Dragon Lizard she had just delivered.

"Have the bloodline concentrations been tested and recorded?"

"They’ve been recorded. Neither of them reached one ten-thousandth."

Isaac nodded, unsurprised. If a Demon like the Dragon Lizard had a higher concentration of Dragon Blood, it wouldn’t be sold so cheaply.

"Transform into a noble swan from an ugly duckling!" Muttering the phrase softly, Isaac pointed at the Dragon Lizard on the left. A multicolored magical aura entered the Dragon Lizard’s body and then completely vanished. Nothing happened.

This was normal. For this High-level Curse to take effect, a certain amount of training was required. Although the bloodline could be developed even by lying around doing nothing, the efficiency certainly couldn’t compare to training.

Next, Isaac did the same to the one on the right, casting the High-level Curse. The difference was, he cast it ten times in a row!

"Tsk~ High-level Curses really are something else. There’s barely any cost?" After he was done, Isaac rolled his shoulders, a little surprised. Eleven consecutive Magic Spells, and the Magic Power consumed was only about the same as a single Arcane Missile...

For the current Isaac, this was practically no consumption at all!

’I wonder if it’s just my High-level Curse, or if all High-level Curses are like this...’

’If it’s the latter, then regardless of whether my Golden Finger can stack the effects of High-level Curses, they will be of considerable value to me—especially combat-type High-level Curses!’

But that was just a passing thought for Isaac. This kind of thing wasn’t easy to obtain. Currently, Isaac could only acquire them from a Legend, but a Legend itself was an extraordinary thing. To trade a Legend, which held infinite possibilities, for a High-level Curse felt like a bit of a loss. It was better to leave it to fate.

With a wave of his hand, Isaac had Liu Li take the Dragon Lizards away for training while he himself continued to ponder the matter of body modification.

’Demon Eye transplantation. The sooner, the better. There’s no need to get hung up on finding the most powerful Demon Eye. That’s a bottomless pit; there will always be a stronger one. Am I supposed to search forever?’

’Besides, powerful Demon Eyes aren’t that easy to get. In the end, a Demon Eye is just an interesting part of my Wizard System, not something to obsess over.’

’So, I’ve set a few preliminary targets for myself: the Demon’s Eye from the Demon Dominator school, the widely-known Petrifying Demon Eye, the most easily obtainable Freezing Demon Eye, and the Kaleidoscope Eye with its random abilities.’