In the following days, Ivan found himself extraordinarily fulfilled and busy.
He needed to concoct potions, create magicalized items, enhance his Linguistics Skill, study anatomy, research the Insect Breathing Method, deduce the formulation of mid-grade Magic Stone Water, refine the Black Magic Hand, and explore the runes bundle array.
Especially for the latter tasks, he had to consume the Light of Wisdom for assistance.
Time flew by like a white steed flashing past a crack, and before he knew it, more than two months had silently passed.
“Finally, it’s done.”
In the dormitory apothecary lab, Ivan stared intently at the glass container in front of him, which contained a layer of crystal clear potion. The most striking feature was the ink-black clot in the middle of the liquid, resembling a black jellyfish that kept expanding and contracting.
The black jellyfish occasionally squirmed, assuming a ferocious posture with its tentacles resembling claws.
In his eyes, it appeared so lively and vivid, far from ordinary.
The difficulty of concocting this batch of mid-grade Magic Stone Water was extraordinary; for this, he successively consumed a second-class, a third-class, and a fifth-class Light of Wisdom, spending a great deal of time and valuable materials in the process.
A moment later, he consumed the first dose of mid-grade Magic Stone Water in his life.
“Damn thief, take my Black Magic Hand.”
Instantly, illusions filled the surroundings, with beasts sporting tusks and horns spewing fragrance as they charged at him.
Meeting his nemesis made Ivan’s eyes shine. His palm struck out, manifesting a miniature version of the Black Magic Hand, boldly scattering the black-robed figures around him and bringing him much satisfaction.
These were not the black-robed men from the Kanda magic stone mine but mere illusions triggered by the deep-seated resentments in the magic stones, far weaker than the former and unable to withstand his powerful palm.
Strength: 4.6, Agility: 6.3, Body Constitution: 5.5, Spirit: 11
As expected of the mid-grade Magic Stone Water, it boosted his spiritual power by 2.6 graduated degrees in one go, an effect far from what the old man at the sales booth had claimed to be average.
“There are still side effects, though.”
Ivan could clearly feel a peculiar Resistance in his body, resisting the intake of a second mental power potion. It would require some time to dissipate, which he estimated to be more than half a month.
This period was not too long; he had experienced similar drug Resistance when previously consuming Magic Crystal Water, although it wasn’t as pronounced then.
[Apothecary Skill Experience Point +900]
[Apothecary Skill: lv5 (1216/1500)]
Since the mid-grade Magic Stone Water was his original creation, different from the version available outside, it could be considered a new potion, thus earning him a substantial amount of experience points.
Concocting other potions in the past also brought him plenty of experience points, causing his Apothecary Skill to soar.
After a good rest, Ivan summarized his gains and losses, then began to concoct the second batch of mid-grade Magic Stone Water.
The primary ingredient of this potion was naturally the mid-grade magic stone, each concoction requiring four. The other materials were available for purchase in the market, with all the ingredients combined valued at over 500 magic stones—an amount that was certainly not cheap.
The only upside was that it didn’t require a massive expenditure of credits.
“Swish, swish.”
Under the flame’s heat, the inky potion, melted from the mid-grade magic stones within the glass container, began to revolt, stirring the contents like tumultuous waves.
If there were outsiders present, they would undoubtedly watch with bated breath.
Ivan remained calm and collected as he pointed a finger above the potion, creating a runes of mental power that settled atop the inky potion, causing its turbulent momentum to drop sharply by two notches, as if encountering its exact nemesis.
This too was derived from his insights into the Raw Stone Array Disc, which he named the ‘Shackling God Runes,’ intrinsically connected with the Black Magic Hand.
At this moment, he applied it to the concoction of mid-grade Magic Stone Water.
He was unaware, though, that skillful use of runes to assist potion making was a technique typically used by intermediate to advanced apothecaries, usually only manageable by official sorcerers.
[Apothecary Skill Experience Point +90]
[Apothecary Skill: lv5 (1306/1500)]
Half an hour later, the second batch of mid-grade Magic Stone Water did not disappoint him, concocted successfully.
He still didn’t stop there, ready to push on and concoct the third batch.
The fourth batch.
—
During this time, he also made considerable progress in his study of basic magic.
He had successively learned spells such as Plant Active Extraction, Secondary Energy Fireball, Frosty Air, Freezing Ice Arrow, Wooden Arrow Skill, Bright Light Skill, Dizziness Spell, Hand of Fatigue, Shadow Eye, Green Shadow Smoke, Acid Spray, Lightning Flash, Mud to Rock Transformation, and Scorching Touch.
As well as the corresponding Energy Particle Skill courses linked to each school of magic.
He was preparing to optimize spells and develop a tactical system suitable for himself.
[Energy Particle Skill: Lv3 (266/300)]
This caused his Energy Particle Skill experience to surge by over two hundred points, nearing the threshold to level 4.
However, it also resulted in significant consumption of credits. Including the 50 credits he earned by trading the ‘Green Tree Star’ to the enchantment workshop, he was now left with a total of 151 credits.
He didn’t take up any other enchantment tasks because they required leaving the academy, and he preferred not to depart for the time being, needing time to consolidate his skills, and his credits were sufficient for now.
Besides, his Biology Expertise rose to level 3.
His Linguistics Skill rose to level 3.
However, there was not much progress in comprehending the Great Knight or exploring the Insect Breathing Method.
Ivan overestimated his capabilities and underestimated the difficulty of creating a Breathing Method for an entire species, even the simplest and most basic one, even though the rapid wood silkworms possessed something similar to the Life Seed known as the Spring Bud within them.
This just proved the old saying: all beginnings are hard.
Fortunately, there was some progress in cultivating the rapid wood silkworms; he had specifically developed the Magic Stone Water potion for the rapid wood silkworms to use as food, which was more efficient and cost-effective than feeding them raw element stones.
More importantly, the Magic Stone Water was unanimously loved by the whole community of rapid wood silkworms.
Through the Ginger Summer Water, the rapid wood silkworms absorbed more of the curse power from the Curse of Demon’s Resentment.
If one disregarded that the Curse of Demon’s Resentment was, in fact, a curse, it was a kind of wonderful life energy; the rapid wood silkworms had become noticeably stronger than before, with improvements to individual lifeforce, strength, skin resilience, and elemental resistance.
Then, as the curse power in the curse mark on his arm became insufficient, the enhancement of the rapid wood silkworms came to an abrupt halt.
It was a situation that was both laughable and lamentable.
Nowadays, the curse mark of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment still existed on his arm, containing only a trivial amount of the cursed energy. Ivan had tried various methods to eliminate it, but to no avail, and he had no choice but to let it be.
Sometimes, Ivan wondered if Sorcerer Toyennes knew he had achieved such success using a discarded plan, he probably would be puzzled, unable to understand why he was outperformed by an apprentice; his expression would certainly be quite something to witness at that moment.
…
At the three-story round tower, Ivan came to visit his mentor Sorcerer Randall.
“Good morning, esteemed mentor.”
Now standing at 177cm tall, next to the bear-like stature of Randall, he still seemed like a child.
When they stood facing each other, Ivan always felt a sense of ‘looking up to a towering mountain,’ and it was only after sitting down that he felt somewhat better.
“Good morning to you too.” Randall glanced at him, paused slightly, then nodded in approval. “Ivan, you have improved your strength quite rapidly, which puts my mind at ease.”
Upon hearing this, Ivan had a bad premonition.
“Mentor, has something happened?”
“A few days ago, Mieyan got hurt during a mission, but it’s not a big deal.”
If Randall said it was not a big deal, then it certainly wasn’t.
However, he added, “Recently, this region has not been very peaceful. Be careful if you go out.”
“I understand.”
Actually, Ivan had also heard some things; there had been an unusually high number of apprentices dying in the last few months.
He had heard it from Carmel, who emphasized Wayne’s 5th Class talent; every mission he took part in would inevitably result in dead teammates. He had become a well-known ‘team-killer,’ but because of Wayne’s top-grade talent and background, no one dared to trouble him.
Randall shifted the conversation to another topic. “Tell me what you know about magic pets.”
What did this mean? Could there actually be some second-hand magic pets available?
Ivan was momentarily taken aback, pondered for a moment, and then spoke truthfully, “Magic pets are bound through a sorcery array, serving as a sorcerer’s steward and the best assistant for experiments, and are also the sorcerer’s second life. For apprentices, they also represent significant support.”
“Correct, a magic pet is like a second life for a sorcerer. When faced with irreparable damage, a sorcerer can preserve their life using their magic pet’s body. Remember Sorcerer Toyennes?”
“Mentor, you don’t mean—”
Upon hearing Randall’s words, Ivan couldn’t help but stand up.
Randall nodded slightly. “You’re thinking right; Sorcerer Toyennes is very likely still alive. The Policing Team and Hunting Team sorcerers have gone to search for him, and we should be getting news soon.”
That was truly terrible news.
Ivan’s face darkened rapidly, and he sat down, stunned.
As the teacher who had led him onto the path of sorcery, Ivan occasionally thought of Toyennes but never wished for him to be alive.
Putting other matters aside, just the Curse of Demon’s Resentment itself could be a big problem if Toyennes were close to being alive.
Ivan knew well that the rapid wood silkworm community had its limits of endurance, and he couldn’t bet that the silkworms’ capacity to bear the curse power would exceed Toyennes’s transmission of the curse power. Even if he were willing to take that risk, Toyennes wouldn’t allow it to happen as he wished.
If Toyennes noticed something was amiss, the consequences were unimaginable.
Randall continued, “Ivan, don’t worry. No matter the situation, you are now and will always be my apprentice, Randall. Nobody can change that, I guarantee it.”
Hearing Randall’s resounding words brought a slight sense of relief to Ivan’s heart.
Ivan sighed quietly to himself; the shadow Toyennes left on him was indeed not small.
“Mentor, where has Sorcerer Toyennes been spotted?”
“It seems to be on some island, quite far away anyway.”
The two talked for a while, and Ivan gradually calmed down.
He was no longer the person he was back on Lahr Island, and Toyennes was not the same Sorcerer Toyennes from before.
According to some sorcerers’ analyses, Toyennes currently only retained his magic pet’s body; he was barely clinging to life, in a terrible state; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed away from the academy for so long.
“Ivan, remember, if there’s a problem, come to me. Your mentor still has a few tricks up his sleeve.”
“I know, the academy’s number one Insect Control Master.”
“That’s right, the number one Insect Control Master, haha.”
Just before leaving, Randall emphasized once more, giving Ivan another dose of reassurance.
He wouldn’t allow such an outstanding disciple to be taken by anyone else, let alone by that terrible sorcerer who led people astray.