At the entrance of the Twin Towers, a few sorcerers from the Hunting Team walked out.
“Dean Marichadon, please stay a moment, if you have any future orders, just send a Shadow Ant servant to inform me, and our Hunting Team will carry them out without any ambiguity.”
“I’ll remember that, Chief Steward Christian.”
That day, Christian visited with Andaya and Wolban, and with Ivan’s rise to a Level 2 Sorcerer, past grudges seemed as if they never existed, as both parties tacitly chose to ignore them.
Ivan was well aware that Christian’s visit was a declaration of his stance, or rather, a strategic alliance; from that point on, the Hunting Team could be counted as part of his domain.
In this regard, he had anticipated such a development, as after all, Christian is a smart man, and smart men do smart things.
With this, the academy’s internal power structure became much more stable, not dominated by the Three Great Families as it had been before, which had emboldened them to act without restraint.
“If one does not wish to stir up conflict within the academy, the current power structure is the best choice.”
Whether before he became a Level 2 Sorcerer or after, Ivan never intended to have a falling out with the Three Great Families. Naturally, the current situation was a result of negotiations with Monde Watkin.
Originally, Monde intended to abdicate in favor of someone else, giving up the position of Dean of the Mongna Ant Land Cottage. Whether his offer was sincere or not, Ivan did not accept but instead, after some negotiation, took on the role of the academy’s second dean.
In terms of power, he did not concede much to Monde.
In terms of residence, following Monde’s proposal, he could choose which to swap, or he could expand in any direction from the Twin Towers as a starting point. If space was insufficient, they could find a way to move other sorcerer towers.
In a nutshell, as a dean of the academy, his residence must not be too shabby, otherwise, it would be the Mongna Ant Land Cottage losing face and a laughing stock to others.
Ivan himself had no clear plans yet, and for now, the Twin Towers remained his dwelling.
Nowadays, Monde seemed like a leader nearing retirement, becoming very amenable. The only concern he had was the Shadow Ant servants; upon hearing Ivan’s instructions, he expressed with a wry smile that he did not know what to do.
“The Shadow Ant servants have infiltrated every aspect of the academy and have become an integral part of the Mongna Ant Land Cottage. It wouldn’t be easy to replace them in the short term; that’s something for Dean Watkin to figure out.”
“The century-long contract is finally dissolved, and now I can truly be considered free, not limited to staying within the bounds of the Moon Pincer Peninsula.”
After Ivan’s successful promotion to a Level 2 Sorcerer, without even asking, Monde used his authority as dean to annul the century-long contract they had originally signed, replacing it with a new dean contract that held no binding power.
After escaping the cage, he felt unprecedentedly light and free.
Strength: 14.9, Agility: 14.9, Body Constitution: 15.1, Spirit: 104.2
Ivan’s gaze flickered, and his attribute panel emerged clearly, thanks to the peculiar nature of the ‘Rebirth’ power, his body did not become weaker during the process of becoming a Level 2 Sorcerer, but instead, increased by approximately one graduated degree or so.
It was not hard to see that his body had now reached the peak of the Earth Knight stage.
The most significant change was, of course, in spiritual power, which leaped from 80 graduated degrees to cross a major threshold, rising to 104.2 graduated degrees, a total increase of 24.2 degrees.
Such a growth rate was undeniably substantial.
In contrast, it also led to a period of lethargy in spiritual power, which would last about one to two years, similar to the lull experienced after the promotion to Level 1.
“Theoretically speaking, a Level 2 Sorcerer can live up to four hundred years. A mere one or two years of lethargy is nothing; I am still very young.”
“Mastery breeds insight; strength and higher realms bring a deeper understanding of previously studied disciplines.”
Ivan’s attention shifted to the Academic Prodigy panel, where the status of each discipline was clearly laid out. Many subjects had risen in tandem with his power, each gaining some Experience Points.
Among them, [Meditation Skill] was upgraded to Level 6.
[Linguistics Skill] was upgraded to Level 4.
He naturally made gains, and thus his panel now had Light of Wisdom: one piece of Level 6 and two pieces of Level 8, Light of Great Wisdom: one piece of Level 4 and three pieces of Level 7, proving his foundation remained rich.
“Relative to strength and realm, a Level 4 discipline corresponds to Level 1 strength, and Level 7 corresponds to Level 2 strength. Only Level 8 Enchantment Skill, Runes Skill, Knight Breathing Skill, as well as Level 7 Apothecary Skill keep pace with the rhythm of my power; other disciplines are far behind, and there is a long way to go,” he reflected with a touch of emotion.
His thoughts inadvertently turned toward Solidification Magic.
The second Solidification Magic: Candle Flame Spell, a spell that produces a gray-green flame full of insect venom smoke, capable of burning anything alive, including lifeforce; Consumption: 5 graduated degrees of spiritual power and 5 graduated degrees of Mana; Casting time: in the blink of an eye.
From a human aesthetic perspective, the Candle Flame Spell was clearly not a force for good and should be considered amongst evil spells.
As a sorcerer, Ivan, of course, didn’t care about this.
What concerned him was the attack power of the Candle Flame Spell, which could easily reach around 50 graduated degrees with each strike and was equivalent to an instant cast, requiring extremely low consumption, only a third or even a quarter of a normal Level 2 Spell, undoubtedly increasing his battle capability by a large margin.
However, there was a downside to this spell; according to the records in “Black Beard Chapter,” Candle Flame Spell was unable to burn the lifeforce of most insects.
“The deeper I delve into the Black Beard Chapter, the more I perceive its oddities. I wonder what the fourth layer of the Meditation Method is like?”
At this thought, Ivan suddenly remembered something his mentor had mentioned: a specialized organization for Insect Control Masters existed elsewhere, which possessed the complete version of Black Beard Chapter, and he would definitely seek an opportunity to explore it in the future.
His Black Beard Chapter was sourced from the academy, consisting of only three layers.
The first layer was the basic section during the apprentice stage.
Continue your journey on empire
The second layer was named ‘Flower Breath’, accompanied by the spells Flower Tree Shield and Insect Silent Breath Skill.
The third layer was named ‘Candle Breath’, also with its corresponding spells: Candle Flame Spell and Insect Molting Skill.
Insect Molting Skill was a special healing spell, which needed to be used in conjunction with Candle Flame Spell by burning oneself with the flame to heal wounds and remove negative states.
This, too, was a spell with downsides; the healing process consumed one’s own lifeforce and increased insectification to a certain extent.
“‘Insectification’ is certainly an issue, but looking at the conditions of other Insect Control Masters, it seems not to be a significant problem,” Ivan pondered with some uncertainty.
Regardless, he would definitely learn Insect Molting Skill.
At this moment, two Solidification Magic models floated in Ivan’s mental ocean, like two crystal-clear crystals surrounded by an immense vaporous mental power.
The sizes of the two crystals appeared almost identical, yet there were essential differences. The Flower Tree Shield corresponding crystal was at the Level 1 Limit, with a pure defense of 50 graduated degrees.
The attack power of the Candle Flame Spell was also around 50 graduated degrees.
But while the former had reached the crystal’s upper limit, the latter was just beginning its journey, marking an essential difference between the two Solidification Magic models.