The option from the Divine Hand appeared last night. The details weren't anything special, just a single piece of information: the Magic learned and used extensively during a period of heightened Magic Power would influence the inclination of his Talent Witchcraft.
This information was useless, as he had hardly any Witchcraft to choose from. Apart from the Demonized Heart Transplant Surgery and the Blood Essence Potion on his panel, he only had three basic Arcane Arts he'd collected before his family's inheritance was split: Arcane Shield, Arcane Teleportation, and Arcane Missile.
These three Arcane Arts were so comprehensive and practical that they were known as the "Three Foundational Arts," a set every Arcanist was expected to learn.
But Isaac had little interest in them, at least not at the moment.
The structure of Arcane Arts was very simple, being the product of optimization by countless Arcanists. While they were easy to learn, there was little room for further development or refinement.
This was also what set Arcanists and Wizards apart. Arcanists typically learned many Arcane Arts, gradually building their own Magic System from the simple to the complex.
Wizards, on the other hand, were different. Each Wizard obtained a unique Talent Spell and possessed a different [Legend]. Therefore, most Wizards would research Witchcraft centered around their own Talent Spell and [Legend], expanding it into a complete system.
Of course, there were also many Wizards like Isaac who simply used whatever was available.
When it came to Nurturing a Talent Spell, the choice between Arcane Arts and Witchcraft wasn't even a choice.
However, before heading to the laboratory, he needed to fill his stomach.
Upon arriving in the dining room, he found the maid had already prepared breakfast. On the long, rectangular table lay a few slices of white bread. Beside the bread was a small dish of blue jam, and then...
And then... that was it.
How should he put it... Although it looked rather plain, it was actually the best food he had here.
It wasn't that this was all the world had to offer. Thanks to Extraordinary Power, the cuisine in this world was no worse than in his previous life, especially for the Nobility. His own meal was so plain simply because he was poor.
Firstly, this was just a small country manor, not a prosperous place. Secondly, Isaac had only arrived a few days ago, so many of his things hadn't been delivered yet. And thirdly...
He had no money.
After the family's assets were divided, he had only received a total of five hundred Gold Coins. On top of that, his territory's annual net income was just a little over one hundred Gold Coins. That wasn't even enough to fund his Magic research without restriction, so how could he possibly have spare money for luxuries?
But it didn't matter. A breakfast of this quality wouldn't have been considered bad even in his previous life. Besides, Isaac's mind wasn't on food. He gave it a cursory glance, grabbed a piece of bread, hastily smeared it with jam, and turned to leave the dining room.
"Young Master Isaac..." Smith watched Isaac with a look of resignation. 'This is... he has absolutely no noble bearing at all...'
But he couldn't say anything. After all, Isaac was the nobleman, and he was just a butler—even if he was the butler who had watched Isaac grow up.
Isaac waved a hand dismissively, not caring in the slightest. 'Why did I rush to leave the main family estate in the first place? Wasn't it for freedom? If I had to follow the rules at home and still have to follow them out here, then what was the point of leaving?'
Munching on the bread, he headed for his laboratory. 'Magic! After all this time and effort, I can finally start learning Magic for real!'
A few moments later, Isaac was back near his bedroom. He pushed open an adjacent door and stepped inside.
The laboratory's layout wasn't complicated. In the center of the room was a simple operating table. A large, dark Crucible stood in one corner, while another corner held a bookshelf displaying a few manuscripts. Beside the bookshelf sat a clean, tidy desk.
The laboratory was spotless, without a single stain. That was to be expected—it would have been strange if it weren't. After all, he hadn't been able to perform Witchcraft before, so he'd had no reason to use this room.
Walking over to the bookshelf, Isaac took down a small booklet and sat at the desk to study it. Every now and then, he would open his panel to check his learning progress, looking for anything he might have missed.
Demonized Heart Transplant Surgery: Enhances the body by transplanting a heart imbued with Magic Power. Depending on the heart's quality, one might also gain control over Magic Power and special Magic.
He had chosen to learn this Witchcraft first because, despite his learning progress being only at 14%, it was ironically the Witchcraft he had studied the most.
This Witchcraft had two parts. The first was the purely technical procedure: replacing the heart. The second involved using Magic Spells to accelerate healing, counteract rejection, and harmonize the body with the new organ. The latter part was the most significant.
From Isaac's perspective as a former surgeon, the first part was crude to an extreme. 'This Witchcraft completely defiles the word surgery!'
A short while later, Isaac put down the booklet and nodded thoughtfully.
'Just as I suspected,' he thought. 'The Witchcraft itself isn't difficult. Whether or not it succeeds... depends heavily on luck...'
The initial procedure was simply too crude. While he hadn't been a cardiac surgeon in his previous life, he had still dabbled in the relevant knowledge.
Therefore, the procedural part wasn't important; it posed no difficulty for him. In fact, he could even make improvements to it. After all, heart transplant technology was highly advanced in his previous life. He knew the theory, even if he hadn't performed the operation himself.
Thus, for Isaac, the more important part was the magical component.
Compared to the crude instructions for the procedure, this section was far more detailed. It described all sorts of Magic Spells; there were even several different spells for achieving the same effect.
The manual stated that the body would develop a resistance to the power of a single, repeated Magic Spell. Therefore, after the transplant, one had to switch between different spells depending on the situation. This was the most difficult part of the entire procedure.