“Sorcerer Christian, do you have any ideas or plans for reforming Mongna Ant Land Cottage as it stands today? If you do, you might need my power,” Ivan said, sensing his attitude and not wanting to beat around the bush any longer.
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“Oh, does Sorcerer Ivan also have ideas?” Christian countered.
“Of course I do. In any case, we cannot allow the Three Great Families to continue their wanton ways. However, I haven’t been a sorcerer for long and my understanding of the academy isn’t sufficient. Unless I can become a Level 2 Sorcerer, it’s hard for me to come up with a proper method,” Ivan stated frankly.
Nowadays, with the Star Moon Alliance stirring up trouble on Moon Pincer Peninsula, Mongna Ant Land Cottage is bound to be affected. It’s the perfect time to fish in troubled waters and, looking over the entire academy, only the Hunting Team can make these waters murkier.
After his experiences in the secret realm and the underground palace, Ivan had demonstrated his power. Seeing that Christian was attempting to win him over, he decided to lay his cards on the table.
His idea was simple: to have the Hunting Team take the lead while he contributed some of his own strength.
“My idea is simple, to destroy and then establish. We should eradicate those decadent elements,” Christian said, pausing for several seconds, but he did not reveal any specific plan.
“It seems you haven’t decided yet, no problem, I can wait. However, it’s best not to miss the current opportunity as it might be even more difficult to regain such a chance later on.” Seeing that he was reluctant to say more, Ivan didn’t press him. A few words were indeed not enough to persuade anyone.
“Sorcerer Ivan, what are you seeking?”
“To annul or alter that hundred-year contract, no longer trapped on Moon Pincer Peninsula, to comfortably pursue the path of a Level 2 Sorcerer.”
“Well said. After becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer, who doesn’t want to ascend to Level 2? Yet, the Three Great Families keep us confined to this resource-poor place,” Christian responded.
Unlike becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer, there is no estimated success rate for advancing to Level 2, nor are there commonly shared pathways or materials for promotion. It largely depends on the sorcerers’ own research and exploration.
Due to various factors, on Moon Pincer Peninsula, advancing to Level 2 Sorcerer is even more difficult than advancing to Level 1, resulting in very few Level 1 sorcerers making it to Level 2, and most of them are from prominent sorcerer families.
In the dimly lit underground palace, the two continued on.
Christian, holding a glazed mirror, continued to scan the surroundings, but still hadn’t found anything that might be hidden in a dark corner. After a long silence, he spoke:
“Do you know? The Twilight Stele is supposed to represent a special power—Shadow Power, which is a force from an alien plane.”
“Shadow Power? I’ve never heard of it,” Ivan responded, his interest piqued as he shook his head slightly.
“From what I know, our world once experienced a significant war with that alien plane, leaving residual energy in our world. Shadow Power is that bizarre petrifying force.”
From the sound of it, the Star Moon Alliance taking the Twilight Stele was in pursuit of Shadow Power.
“Are there other places on Moon Pincer Peninsula involved with Shadow Power?”
“I don’t know. That war is too distant from us, and the academies have always been secretive. Many things remain unknown,” Christian replied. “If the Star Moon Alliance is scheming for things left by the alien plane, it’s hard to predict whether it will be a curse or a blessing for the entire Moon Pincer Peninsula.”
“Not hiding it from you, the Star Moon Alliance has invited me before. They seem to have a distaste for those decadent families as well,” Ivan said thoughtfully.
“Did you agree to join?”
“No, I didn’t want to have another demanding contract on me,” Ivan promptly denied, and then he asked, “Sorcerer Christian, may I ask you a question about Night Forest?”
“Please do.”
“Seeing that you know quite a bit about Night Forest, do you know where their magic stone mine is?”
Upon hearing his question, Christian looked at him in surprise, wondering why he was inquiring about a depleted magic stone mine.
Ivan did not offer any further explanations.
If it were not for the constraints of the academy’s pact, he would have liked to target the Kanda magic stone mine to showcase the full prowess of his long-studied Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
The sudden demise of the Night Forest undoubtedly presented him with an opportunity.
“You could look around the Kilslogg Mountain Range, it should be nearby. With your abilities, it shouldn’t be hard to find,” Sorcerer Christian informed him, sharing a piece of information that wasn’t particularly valuable, yet Ivan wasn’t disappointed.
“Thank you for the information,” Ivan replied.
Ivan noted the name, intending to visit after finishing his current mission.
After a moment’s thought, he continued, “I suspect there are members of the Star Moon Alliance in our academy, but I do not know their intentions.”
“Who?” Christian understood his implication.
“Our current teammate, Wayne Steele.” Ivan reciprocated the information about Wayne without hesitation.
“Is that possible?”
“Nothing is impossible. I suspect he was their person since his apprentice stage, and using Wayne, they must have left something behind in the Flash Vortex Secret Realm. You might want to check it out.”
Seeing his firm belief, Christian had to reconsider Wayne’s identity. He believed Ivan would not speak without basis—a member of the Steele family turning traitor to the academy was indeed intriguing.
“Sorcerer Ivan, are you sure you’re not a member of the Star Moon Alliance?”
“Of course not. I swear by the Mother of Earth Core, I have never joined the Star Moon Alliance, nor will I ever join.”
Compared to the Five Leaves Spear, the Star Moon Alliance clearly lacked prospects; Ivan would be mad to consider joining them.
“Let’s form an alliance,” Christian decided it was time. He pulled out a piece of beast hide, his gaze intense as he looked at Ivan, “I was going to consider this for a long time before bringing it up, but you’ve changed my mind. My plans are on it.”
“Good.”
Ivan glanced at it, then hesitated not a moment longer to imprint it with his power and essence. The beast hide ignited, the text upon it flashing a blood-red glow. The light split in two, landing on each of them.
With the alliance formed, Christian let down his guard.
“Is this Ant Beings Sacred Altar real?” Ivan couldn’t help but ask, as the opponent’s plan involved something called the ‘Ant Beings Sacred Altar,’ which purportedly aided in becoming a Level 2 Sorcerer.
He held reservations about becoming a Level 2 Sorcerer but was prompted to form a swift alliance with Christian and follow his plan to locate the Ant Beings Sacred Altar upon thinking of the Ant Beings’ secret vault.
“Of course, the pact is already signed, there’s no need to deceive you about this,” Christian reflected, a hint of hatred flickering through his eyes.
Few people knew that in the recent several hundred years of history in Mongna Ant Land, there had actually been a vice dean from outside the Three Great Families, and he was Christian’s great-grandfather, Sorcerer Darwin.
However, Darwin served as vice dean for just over three years before dying under the conspiracies of the Three Great Families, his death shrouded in ambiguity.
At that time, under the extermination of the Three Great Families, his family was nearly slaughtered to the last, with only he and another relative surviving by chance. After enduring much hardship and disguising themselves, they eventually joined the Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
He certainly knew many secrets about the Mongna Ant Land Cottage.