“What–what did you just say?”
“That Toyennes is still alive.”
For both of them, Toyennes was a nightmare and a shadow, a fact that was more evident in Pearney’s reaction.
Pearney took several deep breaths to calm the fluttering in her heart.
“Are you saying that he became a magic pet?”
“It’s very likely.”
“That’s just perfect, I’ll slaughter him if I run into him,” Pearney suddenly came to a realization, her complexion changing again, “Did you mean to say that the curse mark’s increase in power last month was because he was nearby?”
Ivan nodded solemnly.
The power of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment couldn’t increase without reason, and Toyennes was indeed capable of transmitting the power of the curse through the air to them, whether deliberately or not, since the curse marks on their arms were a secondary imprint of his.
“Damn bastard, how can he be so lucky to be alive,” Pearney cursed in annoyance.
Though she talked about slaughtering Toyennes, deep down she felt a strong apprehension.
No matter what Toyennes had become, he was a Level 1 Sorcerer, while they were merely sorcerer apprentices, and there was a fundamental difference in their strength.
Originally, Billerie was able to contend with Toyennes only because he appeared to have borrowed other powers, an irreversible change, and still, Toyennes managed to escape.
Upon hearing this news, Pearney lost her appetite completely.
“What are you doing in the Lierre Songster Sanctuary?” she asked, curious after a moment of silence.
“I’m here to pick something, Aqua Alva. Have you heard of it?” Ivan replied.
“You’re heading to that secret realm at the bottom of the sea? Damn, you’ve actually come this far.” The secret realm wasn’t far from the Lierre Songster Sanctuary, and of course, Pearney had heard of it; the things produced there could be used to refine Aqua Alva.
Those who went to that secret realm were usually at the limit of a 3rd Class apprentice, which meant Ivan was at the final step of the apprentice stage, and this gave her a sense of defeat.
“But don’t get too proud of yourself. I have 4th Class talent, and you have 3rd Class talent,” she reassured herself upon thinking of another issue, but then realized it was wrong to think this way, “Anyway, you need to think it over, think carefully before taking that step.”
“Of course, I’ve always been a cautious person,” Ivan responded.
Both saying the same, Ivan was even more aware of the difficulties of becoming a sorcerer due to the difference in talent, which only reinforced his resolution to become a sorcerer himself.
Soon after, the two of them left the restaurant and went their separate ways.
The next day.
Four ships from the four academies of the Flash Vortex Alliance departed from the harbor of Eolian Song City, heading toward the location of the secret realm.
Less than half an hour into the voyage, the ships began to slow down.
Upon the vast ocean, a solitary steeple stood out, and as the ships drew closer, it turned out to be a two-story round tower surrounded by nothing but sea.
“We’ve arrived.”
The ships approached the tower.
The steeple of the tower was not as tall as the ship, making it look so small and helpless being surrounded by the vessels.
Two on-duty sorcerers emerged from inside the tower and shouted at the people on the ships, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and come down.” It was no wonder he was a bit irritable having people looking down on him from above.
“Sorcerer Pense, you’re still as impatient as ever.”
Following the call of the sorcerers, everyone from the four teams disembarked and gathered around the tower, with the exception of those staying to guard the ships.
The tower, although seeming small, was indeed spacious enough to accommodate everyone.
Following Sorcerer Bernardson’s instructions, Ivan jumped down from the ship and stepped onto the surrounding stairs, which were immersed in the water. As his feet touched down, the sea water automatically parted, revealing the wet rock surface beneath.
For a 3rd Class apprentice, controlling such a ring of sea water was not difficult.
Sorcerer Pense said irritably, “Stuck in a place like this for half a year, with nothing to look forward to, it’s no wonder I’m impatient.”
“Soon enough, just complete a year and it’ll be someone else’s turn.”
The on-duty sorcerers came from two different academies; one from the Lierre Songster Sanctuary and Sorcerer Pense from the Rapid Flow Twin Towers Academy, as could be seen from the emblem on their robes.
Under the guidance of the two sorcerers, the group entered the tower to find that there was actually a third level below.
Proceeding to the third level, which was below the waterline, they followed a staircase down. This level had seamless walls fitted with bronze wall lamps emitting an orange glow.
The fourth level.
The fifth level.
The sixth level.
The further down they went, the more spacious the levels became, with the bottommost being the sixth level, with no more stairs descending.
Upon reaching the ground level, Ivan involuntarily shrank his neck from the cold; it was very chilly down there.
The cold emanated from a cylindrical column in the middle of the tower, which had a diameter of four to five meters and was made of some kind of composite metal. The surface featured chain-like runes, enclosing something unknown within.
“Wait here, don’t wander around or touch anything.”
Sorcerer Bernardson gave an instruction to the apprentices of Mongna Ant Land Cottage, then stepped forward a few paces to the central column, and took position with three other sorcerers from different academies, each standing in their respective direction, ready to cast a Secret Technique.
The four sorcerers nodded at each other and each touched a rune on the column in front of them.
Ivan watched with fascination as the runes began to move with their fingers, which was essentially ‘touch screen’ technology, wasn’t it?
The four sorcerers manipulated the runes while mouthing secret incantations, causing a chain reaction of interconnected runes on the surface of the column. They began to spin like gears, and after a few seconds, a triangular panel fell from each direction of the column.
The panels were about thirty centimeters tall and just two centimeters thick, hovering directly in front of the sorcerers.
A gap formed where the panels had fallen, revealing the contents inside the column, a pillar crafted from ice crystals.
There was no mist of cold vapors, but those around could feel the chill emanating from it, a bone-piercing coldness.
“Make some room.”
Sorcerer Bernardson grabbed a triangular panel and turned around, indicating to the others not to stand behind the perimeter walls.
After the apprentices made room, he advanced with the triangle panel and gently pushed it against a certain spot on the perimeter wall, which also had rune patterns on it.
The wall began to contract towards its center, forming a window that was two meters in length and width. Beyond the window were the deep sea waters, blocked by a defensive membrane.
At that moment, the triangle panel split into multiple pieces, transforming into a larger piece in the middle surrounded by several smaller ones, all triangular in shape.
“Hold on to these.”
Following Sorcerer Bernardson’s wave, the larger middle triangle landed in his own hand, while the smaller triangles floated in front of each apprentice.
Like the others, Ivan caught a triangular piece about the size of half a palm, which had the number ’29’ on it, not knowing what it corresponded to.
“Be sure not to lose this, or be prepared to swim back from the sea.”
“I will share the method of harvesting water-scalding bubble fruit with each of you. Old rules apply: strictly confidential. And one last warning, the academy does not forbid fighting, just avoid causing death. I will be watching you all from here.”
Hearing Sorcerer Bernardson’s words, Ivan and the others unconsciously nodded their heads.
Subsequently, they signed a confidentiality contract and received all the information about the water-scalding bubble fruit, along with partial information about the secret realm.
Upon understanding the information about the secret realm, Ivan showed a look of surprise.
The secret realm was not in this place but somewhere beneath the ocean. The way to enter the secret realm was also quite inconceivable.
“Who wants to go first?”
“Sorcerer Bernardson, I’ll give it a try.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Wayne stepped forward and walked to the bottom of the window.
Bernardson indicated that he could proceed as he wished.
Wayne stared closely at the protective membrane separating the sea water for several seconds but couldn’t discern anything special.
“Heh heh, my colleagues, I shall take the lead.” Holding the triangular piece distributed earlier, he activated it, then took a leap forward, hurling himself into the protective membrane of the window and disappeared within.
In that instant, many saw clearly that the water outside the protective membrane was definitely real.
Where there’s one, there will be others. Following Wayne, one after another, the apprentices stepped forward and entered the secret realm through the window.
It was Ivan’s turn. He jumped from the ground, passing through the protective membrane to the outside of the circular tower. Just as he emerged, a strong pulling force grabbed him, pulling him outward at increasing speed, while a protective power formed a bubble around his body.
As he fully exited the window, the bubble completely detached itself from the protective membrane.
Encased in the bubble-like protective membrane, he actually couldn’t touch the sea water outside.
“Using the ocean current as a means of transportation, I wonder how the ancient sorcerers came up with such an idea,” Ivan mused, adjusting himself to sit down, allowing the bubble to carry him steadily forward.
In truth, it wasn’t the bubble-like protective membrane that was moving, but the columnar ocean current surrounding it.
Unfortunately, unable to see the scenery outside, he was not a traveling bard, or else he would certainly have composed a spontaneous poem.
After a few minutes, the bubble passed through a thick, moving protective membrane and the light above brightened significantly, revealing a vast open plain before his eyes. The plain’s most conspicuous feature was the striking steeples, easily counting in the hundreds.
The bubble had carried him to a high altitude, placed within a column of ocean current that flowed downwards. He followed the sinuous column downward, gradually approaching one of the steeples below.
Ivan could see that the ocean current column he rode connected to the top of that steeple, with its diameter narrowing as he descended.
“Time to head down.”
When he was less than ten meters from the ground, he activated another node on the triangle panel. The bubble shook violently, flinging him out of the ocean current column.
He fell from the air, landing lightly on the land below.
The ground was covered with crystals colored like grass, soft but durable, just above his knees. Looking around, he observed this ‘water scalding grass’ seemingly covering every inch of the area.
This space was inside the secret realm.
The secret realm was an exclusive resource cultivation space established by the academy. For example, the one situated in the middle of the ocean here could be used to grow water scalding grass in a special environment to cultivate a fruit known as ‘water scalding bubble fruit.’
Water scalding bubble fruit could be used as a primary material to concoct Aqua Alva.
The recipe for Aqua Alva was top-secret, impossible to inquire about, and until now, he only knew that water scalding bubble fruit was the main ingredient. He knew nothing else about it.
With his advancement as a sorcerer at stake, he wasn’t arrogant enough to attempt to deduce the formula on his own. That was not realistic, as he had only one chance to advance.