Before the Dark River, Justine and Pearney waited and waited until the figure they had been longing for finally appeared.
“Ivan, you came out!”
“The curse mark is completely sealed, no need to worry about the next five years, and there’s a great chance of blessing in disguise.”
Ivan knew what the two were worried about. He pulled up his sleeve to show them, revealing that the originally terrifying mark had now transformed into a blue butterfly pattern, exuding a sense of early spring.
The so-called ‘Early Spring’ state had fundamentally transformed the power of the curse into a vigorous force.
He could truly sense that this force had become beneficial and harmless, but as for what benefits it brought, he needed to go back and explore slowly.
“She—”
The others could also perceive the change in the curse mark; it was indeed different. Pearney glanced deep into the cave, hesitant to speak.
“A very powerful being; we made a centennial pact. With my rate of growth, in a hundred years, the scene will surely be different.” Ivan wasn’t prepared to disclose specific details to the few, as more words would be useless.
“Mhm, definitely.” In their eyes, he was someone capable of creating miracles, and they didn’t doubt the pace at which his strength would grow.
Upon hearing that it was a matter a century away, the two sighed in relief.
Suddenly, Justine thought of something, and her eyebrows and eyes showed a mix of shyness and joy.
“Ivan, I know you will leave Moon Pincer Peninsula, could you delay leaving by half a year?” She composed herself and spoke with a solemn expression.
“No problem.”
Seeing the hope in her eyes, Ivan hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
Before long, the group emerged from Lake Nichols, returning to Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
At Shadow Ant Fortress, Ivan couldn’t wait to begin various tests. The test results pleasantly surprised him—the power within the curse mark had become greatly effective in healing, making regrowing limbs no longer a concern.
The only downside was that the total amount of power was limited; using a bit meant losing a bit.
“The blessing of the gods must be a kind of special innate spell, perhaps involving Level 4 power or higher, truly extraordinary.”
Thinking of Mavis saying it was her first time granting a blessing in that way, Ivan unknowingly smiled, always feeling that this female deity was somewhat naive in some aspects.
From her words, she seemed to be a being who had emerged from nature itself, starkly different from humans, with no family ties and naturally less rich in emotional experiences than humans.
“No contract was even signed; should I call it naïve, or confident enough?”
In fact, he and Mavis had only reached a verbal agreement, and he only realized this after stepping out of the cave, particularly speechless at that moment.
However, Ivan didn’t intend to break the agreement.
As Mavis said, he would eventually need to visit that Fairy World, ideally before the goddess’s blessing faded. Otherwise, when the century was up and the curse mark was unsealed, he would certainly face a thunderous blow from the deer antler man.
That would undoubtedly be a terrifying presence.
Before that, all he could do was continually pursue higher levels of strength and meet Mavis again to counter the deer antler man.
“Ivan, it’s gotten dark; it’s time to rest.”
“Coming.”
Upon Justine’s reminder, Ivan realized it was already deep into the night. Although he could go ten or fifteen days without rest now, there was no need to be so busy.
Upon entering the bedroom, Ivan was surprised to find Pearney there as well.
“What is this?”
“You are a Level 2 Sorcerer, so to prevent you from abusing your power and status to bully others, Justine and I have formed an alliance, is that not allowed?” Pearney glared as she spoke irritably.
“If the two ladies are so reasonable, I, of course, am delighted,” Ivan said with a smile as he walked over and tenderly embraced the delicate figures in his arms.
He somewhat knew what was on their minds—the Curse of Demon’s Resentment had been lifted, and while he was still here, both wanted a child, so they were pressed for time.
The night wind suddenly rose and stirred the waters of the twin pools.
…
Half a year later, Ivan left the Mongna Ant Land Cottage silently, ready to embark on a long journey.
“Everything that needed arranging is taken care of. It’s time to explore a broader world. Chanay Continent, here I come, Ivan Marichadon.”
After walking a distance, he looked back toward the somewhat messy earthen ramparts below and memorized the sight, knowing there was no defined return date this time.
His return might be in two years, perhaps five or ten years, or even longer.
He had made some arrangements for those he cared about.
He left quite a few Ant Guards, with some stationed at the Shadow Ant Fortress and others positioned at Shadow Lake—a considerable force that could be summoned when necessary.
Additionally, both Justine and Pearney had Level 2 creatures for protection. Their own abilities were not weak either, and in a place like Moon Pincer Peninsula, there were rare threats to their lives, and they could retreat smoothly if necessary.
Regrettably, despite working hard for half a year, so far, neither Justine nor Pearney showed signs of pregnancy. This was a common occurrence; the higher the level of the beings, the harder it was to reproduce, consistent with Danaila’s natural law.
A few days ago, Ivan had done something sensational that boosted his reputation at the Mongna Ant Land Cottage to its peak.
At his strong urging, Dean Watkin had compromised, and the sorcerer contract was amended.
The original contract term was a whole hundred years, but it was changed to thirty years after the amendment. However, there was an additional requirement: within the duration of the contract, the sorcerer was to cultivate a new official sorcerer for the academy.
If this was not achieved, the term would extend to fifty years. After fifty years, they would regain their freedom and could choose to leave the Moon Pincer Peninsula.
Upon the release of the academy’s announcement, the sorcerers were overjoyed, particularly those who had already met the conditions, such as Randall and Christian, who could now do things they previously couldn’t due to contractual restrictions.
This significant change was something the sorcerers could deduce without inquiry—surely pushed by Dean Marichadon—and they were grateful from the bottom of their hearts.
“Ivan, when might we reach Chanay Continent?” Silkworm Queen habitually circled his shoulder, asking curiously.
“It’s quite far. We must pass through the Half Moon Alliance, Highland Alliance, cross the Cloud Gazing Cliff, and skirt around the chaotic Blood Plains to reach the thriving Chanay Continent,” Ivan replied casually.
This time, he brought quite a few belongings, thanks to Silkworm Queen’s space worm nest.
Over the past six months, Silkworm Queen had grown in strength to the peak of Level 3 creatures, expanding the space worm nest inside her to 5,000 cubic feet, more than enough for carrying things.
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With the space worm nest, the entire family of rapid wood silkworms under Silkworm Queen’s command came along.
Silkworm Queen’s own spatial abilities had also enhanced, primarily reflected in her increased flight speed.
Ivan benefited as well; through research on the space worm nest and Shadow Lake, his control over space energy and space runes had improved significantly.
He had initially planned to create a defensive shield based on the Ant King Barrier Array, which he had now completed and further evolved into the “Ant King Sky Shield.”
The shield, a high-level magicalized item, combined space energy and space runes, with powers far beyond those of standard high-level defensive shields.
Moreover, Energy Particle Skill broke its shackles and was upgraded to a Level 7 discipline.
Now, Ivan’s Academic Prodigy panel displayed Light of Wisdom: three Level 6 items, two Level 8 items, one Level 9 item; Light of Great Wisdom: one Level 4 item, five Level 7 items.
With such a foundation, he felt confident in addressing most problems and further fueled his anticipation for Chanay Continent.