Whether it was the Ant Beings Sacred Altar or the Ant Beings’ secret vault, Ivan lacked the necessary knowledge. His previous decision to search was little more than a brute-force attempt, hoping to get lucky.
By contrast, it was not difficult to discern from Christian’s past words that he knew quite a bit about the Ant Beings Sacred Altar.
Ivan was content to assist from the sidelines, although the other party probably did not require his assistance.
He multitasked, focusing on exploring and pondering the issues with the Ant Being barrier while also paying attention to the covert movements of the other person, whose search was more targeted than his own.
“Hovering in this area all the time, could it be that the Ant Beings Sacred Altar is nearby? There must be something strange about this place.” Ivan suppressed the urge to intervene and devoted more attention to exploring the Ant Being barrier.
A few minutes later, the effect of the Light of Wisdom suddenly disappeared, but he did not lose the sense of that aura; the person was still searching tirelessly.
Soon, the three of them ended their day of exploration and left the Black Tower.
“Sorcerer Peller, Sorcerer Ivan, we only have two more days. Do you have any plans in mind? Should we discuss them?” Arian suggested as the two men hadn’t left yet.
“There’s only one steward position, there’s nothing to discuss.” Peller rejected the idea outright and hastily left.
“It seems Sorcerer Peller is well-prepared and doesn’t think we are qualified to discuss with him,” Arian said, not annoyed.
“Perhaps, after all, he has over two hundred years of enchantment experience, which is enough to surpass most Enchanters just by that alone,” Ivan casually mentioned.
“Haha, actually, I do too. See you tomorrow, then.”
Watching his aging figure walk away, Ivan recalled the personal information of the two men; Arian was indeed much younger than Peller.
From Peller, Ivan could even sense an air of decay, something that only comes with power and the body entering a period of decline when not many years are left in one’s lifespan.
Faced with two exceptionally experienced adversaries, Ivan felt not a twinge of hesitation. On one hand, he did not think he would fail to produce a repair plan, and on the other, he had not yet decided whether to get further involved in the barrier repair.
On the sixth day, the three of them arrived at the Black Tower as scheduled, to begin another round of exploration.
In the area from yesterday, Ivan once again sensed that familiar aura. The person had begun their exploration anew. He continued to multitask, lending a part of his energy to assist on the side, silently contributing.
“Well, well, it looks like they’ve found it.”
At one moment, Ivan noticed a stir from that direction and quickly followed deeper, without showing any sign of his presence.
After a dozen seconds, a new expanse revealed itself before his eyes—a grey, hazy small space. In the middle of the space was a golden-rimmed circular altar and nothing else.
“This place should still be part of the Ant Being barrier, its relationship with the Ant King Barrier Array seems to be—somewhat above it. I didn’t expect such a large space to be hidden within the Ant Being barrier.”
Ivan could also sense a not-so-weak sealing power around the space; he wondered whether it was meant to seal this space.
His gaze fell upon the circular altar, noticing clear runes lines carved into it, giving him a vaguely familiar feeling. Unfortunately, he had not truly entered the small space, so his perception was not sharp.
“This must be the Ant Beings Sacred Altar; Christian has finally achieved his wish.”
“If there’s one, there’s a second; just as the Ant Beings Sacred Altar can be hidden in an unknown space, the Ant Beings’ secret vault can also be concealed within another space, ultimately a part of the Ant Being barrier. With diligent searching, one can always find clues.”
While he felt happy for Christian, he also gained more confidence in his own search for the Ant Beings’ secret vault. After memorizing the location before him, he returned to the defensive array.
On the seventh day, which was the last Teresa gave them, Ivan decisively used a level seven Light of Great Wisdom, striving to find the Ant Beings’ secret vault in one go.
With tenfold enhanced intellect and spirituality, his thinking had transcended a boundary, as if he had become an omniscient and omnipotent deity.
As it turned out, he was not a deity, and omnipotence was merely an illusion.
“From the perspective of a runes sorcery array, the area of the defensive barrier is too large. This sort of clueless searching that relies on luck has nothing to do with intellect or spirituality.”
“Enough, I should study other problems instead and search for the vault bit by bit later on.”
After wasting two or three minutes, Ivan pinpointed the problem and decisively changed his strategy, beginning to ponder deeply on repairing the defensive barrier.
He knew in his heart that to search for the Ant Beings’ secret vault bit by bit, he had to get involved in the barrier repair, and coming up with an outstanding repair proposal was imperative.
That evening, the Black Tower slowly closed, sealing the core of protection within.
“A week has passed, and I’ll give you three more days,” Teresa instructed the three of them. “In three days, whether there’s a defensive barrier repair proposal or not, I hope you all come to the enchantment workshop to make things clear to everyone.”
“Ah, the time is too short,” Paitt sighed and shook his head.
“I also feel that—” Arian began to agree, but was interrupted.
“That’s no excuse, take care to manage yourselves,” Teresa said, wanting to add no more and turned to leave.
Ivan looked at the two old actors speechlessly, wondering if they weren’t afraid of angering the Vice Dean three days later with their pretenses in front of Teresa.
The three were not familiar with each other and were competitors; there was not much to say, so they each returned to their residences.
Not long after returning to the Twin Towers, Ivan contacted Christian, whose figure appeared in the Crystal Ball, clearly in a good mood.
“Sorcerer Ivan, has your research concluded?”
“It just ended, thank you for recommending me for the barrier repair.” Arian had mentioned this matter, and Ivan guessed it must have been Christian who recommended him since he had said something similar before.
“Not to mention our alliance, with your Enchantment expertise, you’re certainly expected to contribute to the academy,” Christian didn’t deny it, “This time it’s rather sudden, how ready are you? I might attend as well, as you know, I’ve always been optimistic about your potential to become a steward of the Enchantment Group.” Your journey continues with empire
“I’ll take your good word for it.”
“Haha, it seems you’re resolved to compete. I’ll be watching closely,” Christian said.
Until they ended the conversation, Christian didn’t mention finding the Ant Beings Sacred Altar, nor did Ivan bring up knowing about Christian’s discovery; everything was left unsaid.
Shortly after, Randall’s Secret Method Seal lit up, and Ivan casually activated it,
“Ivan, how do you plan to handle this? Teresa has issued the notice that in three days, we must go to the enchantment workshop, and I predict that members of the Enchantment Group will have to attend.”
“I’ll give it my all and aim to become a steward of the Enchantment Group,” Ivan replied.
“Hahaha, that’s my disciple Ivan keeping the spirit of Randall alive. If there’s anything you need support with, just say the word, I’ll bring Gina along to assist you,” Randall laughed.
As for his decision, Randall gave a double thumbs up in agreement. Although he might not become a steward of the Enchantment Group himself, if his disciple could achieve it, wouldn’t that prove his own capabilities even more?