Time flowed like water, and half a month had slipped away.
For the others at Mongna Ant Land Cottage, it was just another ordinary day. For Ivan and his two companions, it was a moment that had them on high alert.
“Ivan.”
“Ivan.”
“Ladies, with your husband here, you can both ease your minds.”
In the protection chamber of the Shadow Ant Fortress, Ivan walked in to find Justine and Pearney, who had arrived earlier; both women wore nervous expressions, which relaxed only when they saw him.
“That’s right, our power isn’t the same as before; I believe it’ll be easier to overcome, maybe even resolve all the issues at once,” Justine said, her eyes filled with hope.
“It’s not as easy as you make it sound. Remember Toyennes, that villain? He was a veteran Level 1 Sorcerer and he was tortured to near death, surviving only by the skin of his teeth,” Pearney countered, less optimistic.
“Hey! Whose side are you on?” Justine glared at her discontentedly. “I’ve noticed ever since you transferred to the academy, you’ve always been against me. Tell me! Are you trying to usurp my position as the legitimate wife?”
Half a year ago, thanks to Ivan’s mediation, the Lierre Songster Sanctuary gave face, allowing Pearney to smoothly transfer to Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
After joining the academy, Pearney moved directly into the Shadow Ant Fortress.
“Look at you, getting petty. I was merely speaking the truth,” Pearney retorted with a sideways glance.
“You never say anything good. Don’t you want to have a child for Ivan?” Justine muttered.
Upon hearing this, both women fell silent.
According to Toyennes, due to the influence of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, the three of them were unable to conceive naturally, only through mitotic splitting.
Justine and Pearney had been with him for so long without any sign of pregnancy, which seemed to prove the truth of those words.
At the women’s request, Ivan had specifically conducted research on it, which also subtly pointed to this conclusion.
This issue undoubtedly plagued Justine’s mind, with Pearney equally unable to let it go.
“Alright, enough of the sadness. We still have a long life ahead. Wanting children is not something we need to rush in the next two or three years. Better follow me first.”
Ivan waved his hand and began to manipulate the runes obelisk on one side, drawing on the power of the Ant Being barrier.
The two women exchanged glances, still weighed down with thoughts.
They knew well enough that once Ivan was past his period of spiritual power fatigue, he would likely leave the academy, leave Moon Pincer Peninsula, and who knows when he would return.
Of course, they would not drag their feet behind him.
As Ivan’s departure neared, the women’s desire to have children became more urgent, especially Justine who often mentioned “Mrs. Marichadon” in her conversations.
“Keep up.”
Ivan opened a portal, stepping through first, with the swamp ant and Silkworm Queen silently following.
Justine and Pearney hurriedly followed behind.
Then, the three arrived at the deeply hidden Ant Beings’ secret vault.
Ivan wanted to use the seclusion of the Ant Beings’ secret vault to try to isolate the curse mark’s power, but he anticipated the effort would likely be of little help.
“Is this where you broke through to become a Level 2 Sorcerer?” Pearney asked curiously, surveying the surroundings.
“Exactly, you can call it the ‘Ant Beings’ Secret Vault.’ It’s probably left by the Tidal Flats Ant Being. We need to stay here for a few days until the curse’s power transmission is over,” Ivan said.
Nowadays, the Ant Beings’ Secret Vault appeared empty; the remaining incomplete beast eggs had been handled by the swamp ant, extracting their blood essence to foster new ant sentinels.
“This place is great; it could serve as the Marichadon family’s secret chamber,” Justine commented seriously.
“Not quite suitable. The Ant Beings’ Secret Vault is actually part of the Ant Being Barrier; having it as a secret chamber could lead to easy tracking.” Ivan replied with a soft smile.
“What’s the harm? The Ant Being Barrier is under your control, essentially private property of the Marichadon family. No one should be able to barge in,” Justine said nonchalantly.
The trio chatted intermittently without much focus.
In recent days, Ivan had already sensed something, and the feeling was growing stronger. The major transfer of curse power was expected soon, though the exact day was unknown.
“It’s coming. Don’t panic when it happens, I’ve got everything under control.”
Two days later, in the afternoon, Ivan noticed some strange activities, just like before, leaving no trace. As expected, the Ant Beings’ secret vault offered no resistance.
At his warning, the trio each took their positions around the room, quietly waiting for the power to descend.
Soon, the curse marks on their arms began to heat up intensely, as an unnamed force stealthily emerged from the void and fed into each of their marks.
“As expected, it has accelerated and intensified since the last time, more than doubled.”
A shadow flickered through Ivan’s eyes.
He did not make any rash moves. Despite his significant growth, this method of interdimensional power transmission was still beyond his comprehension.
As his strength and knowledge had increased, he could feel even more the terror of the person behind all this.
This terror was immense, so much so that he dared not fight back.
Fortunately, he was now a Level 2 Sorcerer and a Flying Knight, and his endurance greatly surpassed that of the previous transfer. He was still far from reaching his limit.
Ivan glanced at the other two not far away; they were similarly unaffected, though their expressions were fraught with tension and unease, possibly fearing uncontrollable abnormalities in their bodies, fearing becoming hideous and mad.
“Are they your people?”
The voice emerged abruptly, causing Ivan’s body to tense, and he almost lashed out.
Out of nowhere, a green-skinned small deer stood beside him. The deer watched him with a gaze full of spiritual wisdom, seemingly waiting for his response, though its voice was rugged.
Ivan remembered clearly. The last time, he had seen a burly old man with green deer antlers, speaking in this very voice. The man had also said he would reward him well next time.
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It looked like it was coming to pass!
“Kid, I’m talking to you?” the small deer spoke, opening its mouth.
“They are my ladies,” Ivan said, feeling that any opposition would bring disaster. He suppressed the urge to resist and answered truthfully.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll accommodate you and lend you a hand. I’ll elevate your curse mark above theirs, so you can properly protect your ladies. You are quite intriguing. Grow quickly. I look forward to our next meeting, haha.”
As soon as these words fell, the green-skinned deer lightly bumped into him, transforming into an even deeper force that burrowed into his curse mark, followed by a massive amount of curse power.
In an instant, Ivan felt a burn deep in his soul, dulling his thoughts, and he broke out in a cold sweat, unable to help but groan in pain.
“Ivan, are you alright?”
“Ivan, talk to me.”
By the time he fully regained consciousness, Justine and Pearney were watching him worriedly at his side.
The two women had not seen any green-skinned deer and had no clue what had happened; they just heard Ivan cry out and saw him acting strangely.
“I’m fine,” Ivan instinctively said.
“But——” Justine was about to say something more, but Pearney quietly pulled her away.
Actually, Ivan’s condition was not good; his body was drenched in sweat, and his face was somewhat pale. For a Level 2 Sorcerer, this was indeed a rare occurrence and indicated a severe blow.
Both women saw this.
In contrast, the transfer of the curse power had not exceeded the endurance of Justine and Pearney; the old man’s interest in Ivan clearly exceeded that in the two women.
“Don’t worry, I really wasn’t hurt.”
Ivan circulated his mana, turning the sweat into mist that dissipated, and his complexion quickly recovered.
His reply wasn’t false. The problem was with the curse mark on his arm. Without even looking, he knew that the mark had undergone a change, probably elevating by one or two levels, though he wasn’t sure how far the secondary curse mark had advanced.