That evening, Sorcerer Randall returned to the Black Ant Tower, staggering. Upon seeing the person sitting in the living room, his bear-like burly figure stiffened abruptly.
“Ivan, you’re here,” he said as he walked in, his steps no longer unsteady.
“Mentor, I think we need to have a serious talk,” Ivan indicated for him to sit opposite himself.
“I’m sorry Ivan, for making you worry again,” Sorcerer Randall didn’t refuse,
compared to when he was at the Mongna Ant Land Cottage, his vitality was clearly down by more than a notch, and the aftereffects of deep insectification hadn’t completely vanished, causing irreversible damage to his appearance.
This also made him look even more disheveled.
Ivan took out a small glass bottle and placed it on the table, containing a jade-green potion. The stopper popped open automatically, releasing a rich essence of life.
“What is this?” Sorcerer Randall sniffed involuntarily, his expression lifted.
“Jade Sweet Juice, it can make up for some of the power lost by creatures like the Golden Beetle General and other Nine-Colored Bugs,” Ivan explained, which he had requested specifically from Chairman Narnya before leaving Vernon Millennium Archive.
Once, swamp ants and the Silkworm Queen had also used Jade Sweet Juice to replenish part of their lost essence.
“This—” Sorcerer Randall reached out, but then hesitated suddenly.
“Sorcerer Randall, I do not remember you being one to fuss over formalities, let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to healing the Golden Beetle General; in a few years, when we go to the Red Cloud Realm, the Nine-Colored Bugs will still be the same Nine-Colored Bugs, and perhaps they will have improved even further.”
Ivan reached out to stop Sorcerer Randall from saying more.
He remembered clearly when he first joined the Mongna Ant Land Cottage, Sorcerer Randall casually imparted to him the “Blackbeard Crown,” a secret Insect Control technique developed by Randall himself.
There was also the Bee Queen Honey from the Red Cloud Realm before Ivan’s promotion to official sorcerer, which at the time was of immeasurable value to him.
Compared to those matters, Jade Sweet Juice was trivial.
“Alright, I will brazenly accept it then.”
Seeing him agree, Sorcerer Randall picked up the glass bottle and quickly replaced the stopper.
“Mentor, I’ve checked for you, those aftereffects of insectification won’t affect your current training. After some adjustments, you should focus on the promotion to a Level 2 Sorcerer.
Don’t end up with your apprentice becoming a Level 3 Sorcerer while you’re still hovering at Level 1; that would truly be shameless,” Ivan continued.
Hearing this, Sorcerer Randall’s pupils dilated dramatically, and he looked at Ivan with some disbelief.
The aura emanating from his apprentice was undoubtedly profound, but it certainly wasn’t at the point of advancing to a Level 3 Sorcerer, was it? How many years have passed since they left the Mongna Ant Land Cottage?
“Is that true?”
“Of course.”
Ivan let a trace of his aura show, affecting Sorcerer Randall whose entire body suddenly felt heavier, and his Solidification Magic almost involuntarily activated.
“Ivan, I understand your point,” Sorcerer Randall regained his senses, his expression growing much graver.
Thinking about his apprentice’s rapid rise in strength while he, as a mentor, had declined so much, he felt deeply ashamed of the oath he took during his own initiation into witchcraft, ashamed of all those who cared for him.
“It’s good that you’ve realized that,” Ivan said, nodding in satisfaction, before continuing, “Regarding the issues with the Black Beard Chapter, I’ve found a suitable solution, although it needs further verification.
Soon, you will know that those issues aren’t really a big deal.
However, I must remind you, every sorcerer should have their own unique path; otherwise, your future is destined to be limited. Mentor, you should also consider the path you wish to take.”
Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire
His words were not without aim, though master and apprentice both controlled insects with one hand and worked with enchantments with the other, their focuses were quite different.
Sorcerer Randall’s skill in Enchantment Skill could only be described as second or third rate.
Even if he had handed the array diagram of the Blackbeard Sacrifice Cocoon to Sorcerer Randall, Randall wouldn’t have been able to comprehend what was covered within it, let alone set up the formation.
That’s just the way Enchantment Skill is, if you’re not up to standard, even hands-on teaching is futile.
“Alright, I will give this matter careful consideration.”
“And another thing—“
At this moment, their roles seemed to reverse, with Ivan becoming the mentor and Randall the apprentice, who could only listen.
In the sorcerer world, such situations were actually not uncommon, with the more proficient naturally leading the way.
After pacifying Randall, Ivan began to busy himself with his own affairs, preparing for his advancement to a Level 3 Sorcerer.
Not to mention anything else, just the Light of Wisdom alone, he needed to accumulate some in case of emergency, and the single Level 9 Light of Wisdom left on the Academic Prodigy panel was obviously insufficient.
Now, his main focus was to improve Level 4 Curse Skill, Level 6 Linguistics Skill, Level 8 Biology Expertise and Apothecary Skill, as well as Level 10 Runes Skill.
Although Runes Skill was already at Level 10 and required more Experience Points, his research into meditation runes during the study of new Meditation Methods had significantly boosted his Runes Skill Experience Points, and he wasn’t far from leveling up.
Apothecary Skill was also close to leveling up.
For Biology Expertise, he had obtained many strange creature carcasses from the Nine-Colored Pit, as well as the severed hand of a pseudo-lord and a dust python equivalent to a pseudo-lord.
After delving into research, it would certainly bring a lot of Experience Points to his Biology Expertise.
While Ivan was engrossed in various researches, someone traveled thousands of miles to Rapid Wood Tower.
“Solomon, what brings you here?” he asked in surprise at the sight of the visitor.
“I came to apologize, I was careless and let you suffer the difficulties imposed by some villains,” Solomon said with a handsome smile squeezing out of his face.
Busy as he was, and suddenly pulled away, he was naturally a bit upset.
“You’re not busy researching Frostflame Flower and made a special trip to East Capital just to apologize to me?” Ivan asked, confused, pointing first at Solomon, then at himself.
“That’s right, I’ve brought some people’s compensation with me,” Solomon said as he took out a treasure box.
“Was it necessary for you to make the trip?” Ivan was somewhat puzzled.
“The clan elders thought it was necessary,” Solomon explained with a bitter smile, then added, “You, you may not realize your own weight in the Enchanters Guild. Anyway, the Enchanters Guild put pressure on Enkate City over the incident and demanded an explanation.
The Belizi family couldn’t withstand the pressure and sent me over.
Well, I didn’t expect you had made it this far in the Enchanters Guild, quite impressive indeed.”
Listening to his somewhat remorseful words, Ivan inexplicably felt a dark thrill in his heart— the Enchanters Guild was really backing him up.
“Never mind the compensation for now, what about Dira? What punishment did she receive?”
“She was reprimanded by the higher-ups, her status in the family will definitely be affected, and this compensation, it came from her, including a personal letter of apology. That’s all she could do.
I also made a mistake, hence the special trip to East Capital to see you. So, how do you feel about this resolution?” Solomon briefly answered the question.
“Since you’ve come all the way here personally, what more can I say? The elders of your family are indeed somewhat cunning,” Ivan said, not wanting to push his luck.
He was someone who knew how to be grateful. Without even looking at the so-called compensation or the apology letter, he stated that the matter could be left in the past.