Andaya had said that the Three Great Families were constantly squeezing the sorcerers of the academy to bolster their own clans.
Randall had said that the Three Great Families always acted in unison.
At this moment, Ivan had personally experienced it.
“Don’t our sorcerers believe in equivalent exchange and contracts? Could it be that I, having just become an official sorcerer not long ago, remembered it wrong?”
Victor emphasized, “The academy needs the Black Magic Wind Array.”
Ivan said calmly, “I can make it for the academy.”
Victor exuded an increasingly oppressive aura, appearing to coerce by power, “Can’t you contribute to the growth of Mongna Ant Land Cottage? Isn’t all your meditation method, spells, and knowledge from the academy?”
Ivan stood his ground, “Of course I can, but I need sufficient mental power potions, vaporization supplementary potions, and elementalized resources. I am willing to contribute to the academy, and I believe the academy would also want to see my growth, Deputy Deans and Chief Steward Watkin.”
Any bit of knowledge he had obtained from the academy had been acquired at a corresponding price and was bound by contracts; none of it could simply be taught to others privately.
The century-long contract alone was enough to explain everything.
When it came to him, they want to take away everything for nothing.
Frankly speaking, if he hadn’t known that the Three Great Families monopolized most of the academy’s benefits, he might have considered it, but as the three before him spoke with false propriety, seeking their own families’ interests, expecting his approval was delusional.
With one thing comes another, and he couldn’t afford to consider whether he would completely offend the Three Great Families.
As time ticked by, the office fell into an eerie silence, with only Victor’s aura spreading around, but it affected no one else.
Ivan acted as if he hadn’t noticed, as he was not going to give anything away for free.
“You are right. We sorcerers believe in equivalent exchange and cannot arbitrarily deprive the value brought by knowledge.”
“Thank you, Chief Steward Watkin, for understanding.”
“Sorcerer Ivan, you may go back first. Regarding the Black Magic Wind Array, we will inform you after discussing it with other chief stewards.”
“Then I shall take my leave now, Deputy Dean Lidia.”
Upon hearing Teresa’s words, Ivan nodded and left the office without looking back.
The remaining three did not look very good. They hadn’t expected that with all three high-ranking officials intervening, the other party would show no signs of yielding.
Ove said, “I told you earlier, it’s just a bit of resources, not that we can’t afford them. Just give him what he wants; there’s no need to be so unnecessarily malevolent.”
Victor said coldly, “Who would have known that someone who has just become a sorcerer would be so insensitive, just like some naturally rebellious individuals.” He had hoped to take advantage while the other party was not fully informed, but he had not expected to meet such a defiant person.
Ove shook her head, “It doesn’t matter what kind of person he is. As long as his contract is not dissolved, he must serve us. The more talented he is, the greater the value he brings us.”
Of course, they could sense the discontent beneath the academy, and being sorcerers themselves, they would also feel resentment if they were in the same situation.
But what could be done about it?
The situation demanded that the value they were supposed to create was indeed being created continuously. As long as they did not overtly oppose them, that was acceptable. As for those who dared to overstep, they had never been lenient.
Teresa expressed her agreement, “This Sorcerer Ivan indeed possesses quite a talent in enchantment, and he might bring us even more in the future. Keeping him is more beneficial than harmful.”
Ove said, “Let’s keep him constantly creating the Black Magic Wind Bundle Array. As long as we have enough time, figuring out how to produce it ourselves shouldn’t be difficult.”
“I agree.”
“And spare him this time.”
Upon the suggestion of Chief Steward Watkin from the Talent Nurturing Team, the three of them unanimously agreed, begrudgingly, seeing the benefits at stake, even the angry Victor refrained from further comment.
…
Time flew swiftly, and more than two years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the Twin Towers, Ivan came to his senses from meditation and spontaneously stretched.
“Life has been truly leisurely; no wonder Justine enjoys being a lazybones so much.”
He remembered the conflict with the three high-level members from the institution and was somewhat worried that they would set traps for him. Fortunately, the higher-ups passed new orders the next day, allowing him to create an unlimited number of Black Magic Wind Bundle Arrays for the academy.
Deputy Dean Teresa made an extra demand: he could not sell the array dais outside the academy, whether directly or indirectly.
After careful consideration, Ivan agreed to this somewhat impolite request. It was better than being forced to hand over the array diagram. If necessary, he could sign a personal use contract when trading within the academy.
From then on, his only task in the academy was to continually produce Black Magic Wind Arrays for the academy, continuously exchanging resources.
Strength: 9.5, Agility: 10.3, Body Constitution: 9.7, Spirit: 31.4
Over more than two years, his strengths had improved a notch. He had recently consumed a vaporization supplementary potion, which allowed his spiritual power to break through the threshold, transitioning from an invisible force to a transparent gaseous state.
Currently, his spiritual power had fully vaporized, entering the second phase of Level 1 Sorcerer cultivation—the vaporization stage.
In terms of Combat Energy, he had reached the pinnacle of Great Knight and was only one threshold away from becoming an Earth Knight among the Legendary Knights. He needed to comprehend the earth’s Breathing Skill to advance.
However, he still had no clue.
It is worth mentioning that, on the Academic Prodigy panel, the “Knight Breathing Skill” had become a Level 7 subject, unsurprisingly earning a Small Light of Wisdom and a Level 7 Light of Great Wisdom.
A Level 7 subject required three thousand experience points to advance, a full thousand more than Level 6.
Additionally, “Runes Skill” had become a Level 6 subject, and the experience points of other subjects had also grown considerably.
“All’s still good.”
Ivan’s gaze flickered, and the panel disappeared.
Thinking of something, he took out a scroll from his pocket, undid the Transfer Sealing Runes on it, and a section of green deer antler emerged.
Calculating the time that had passed, it had already reached the three-year period mentioned by Toyennes. If his words were true, the power of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment would surge in the coming days.
For some reason, his sense of foreboding was extremely strong today, making it hard for him to calm his heart.
Would it come?
Ivan didn’t know, but he had already made preparations to cope.
That night.
Lying in bed, Ivan suddenly opened his eyes. He rolled up the sleeves of his sorcerer robe, revealing the pattern of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment on his arm.
“It’s not an illusion, there really is some indescribable fluctuation brewing.”
“Ah! It seems Toyennes was telling the truth.”
He keenly sensed the curse mark, trying to find the cause of the fluctuations from the surroundings, but he didn’t find any trace. This could only mean one thing: the manner of the fluctuations was beyond his comprehension.
“What’s wrong?”
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Justine, awakened by him, looked at him somewhat groggily.
Last enrollment period, Justine truly joined the Mongna Ant Land Cottage and, according to her wishes, had become an apprentice under Randall, making them fellow apprentices.
After this period of practice, she had become a 3rd Class apprentice. Her progress was not very fast, but for someone with 2nd Class talent, it was quite good.
“Do you remember what I told you? The curse power is coming,” Ivan said gravely.
“Ah!” Justine’s face changed drastically, her eyes clearly flashing with fear, “Ivan, you also have to remember what you promised me.”
“I’ve said it before, with me here, everything will be fine,” Ivan said with an indisputable tone.
Hearing his authoritative words, Justine felt a lot more reassured.
Soon after, the two came to the silkworm house where the rapid wood silkworms resided. By now, the number of rapid wood silkworms had grown by more than double.
In a short while, the curse mark on his arm began to heat up, an inexplicable power emerged from the void, precisely entering into the curse mark.
“Oh, Sorcerer Ivan, it’s getting hot,” said the Wind Moth in a slightly surprised tone. It was the only one among the rapid wood silkworms that carried the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, transferred in the past to deal with Toyennes.
According to the theory of secondary curse marks, the curse mark on its body should be one level lower than the two of them.
As for the other rapid wood silkworms, they had all fused the curse power through the Ginger Summer Water, insufficient to form a mark.
“Stay calm. Let me know if your body can’t handle it, the same goes for you, Justine.” Ivan still could not detect any traces. The power came in an especially bizarre manner.
From his feeling, the power was still relatively mild at the moment.
Upon comparison, indeed, the Wind Moth received much less curse power.
Time ticked by, and the transmission speed of the curse power began to increase, making the expressions of the two humans and one moth much more solemn.
“Ugh.”
Justine’s face changed erratically. Just as she was about to say something, a chain landed next to the curse mark on her arm.
This was the ‘Summer God Chain’ cast by Ivan.
Immediately, it greatly reduced Justine’s pressure, and she couldn’t help but look at Ivan worriedly.
Ivan, however, didn’t feel anything amiss; the original energy in his curse mark had long been cleared, and there was still a distance to reach the new capacity limit.
In a while, the transmission of curse power began to weaken.
“It’s over.”
Justine sighed softly but saw that the person beside her looked somewhat distressed.
Suddenly, Ivan’s vision blurred and he vaguely saw a burly old man with green deer antlers on his head, sitting on the ground in a carefree manner, looking at him appreciatively:
“Not bad, not bad, I’ll definitely reward you well next time.”