In the lake, the dense thatch parted to reveal a large white bird, riding the wind and delicately hovering in front of Ivan. It was clear that this too was a summoned puppet creature.
The white feathers rather resembled the wing feathers of the magic pet, Lahr.
“Well then, let’s have a look and see what tricks you have up your sleeve,” Ivan said.
Seeing that Toyennes had only sent a living creature puppet, he didn’t hesitate, and immediately jumped onto the back of the big white bird, letting it carry him to meet Toyennes.
The white bird flapped its wings and flew toward the endless expanse of the lake.
After circling a few times with no intent to stop and no other souls in sight, Ivan was not in a hurry.
Sometime later, a two-headed monster snake appeared, its ugly form carrying a familiar essence. If it wasn’t Toyennes, then who could it be? From a scholar’s appearance to his current state, anyone could see his downfall.
One of the heads of the two-headed monster snake cried out, the breeze around them suddenly strengthened, carrying the big white bird to speed up its flight, and under the guidance of the two-headed snake, landed on a small island in the middle of the lake.
To call it an island was a bit of a misnomer since the total area was less than one hundred square meters, covered with flourishing weeds, barely noticeable in the vast lake.
Ivan saw Pearney lying in the midst of the grass.
Upon landing, he went over to check on her. Pearney was in a coma, but there was nothing else wrong with her body.
“Ivan, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my student. Why have you suddenly become mute?” the cold voice of Sorcerer Toyennes rang out.
“I don’t have a mentor like you, Sorcerer Toyennes. Let’s talk about the method you mentioned for completely resolving the curse. You passed the curse mark on to me before, and I have suffered quite a bit because of it.
Also because of you, I have not been spared from being targeted at the academy, especially by your former Hunting Team. Why don’t you go back and explain to them sometime that you are alive and well? There’s no need to lay the blame at my feet,” Ivan said, turning around, half in jest.
“Ha, you’re still as daring as ever. This time, I need your help. After this is done, not only will the curse be lifted, but I’ll also give you something to aid in the advancement of wizards.”
“Really?”
“Of course, you know I’m a man of principle,” Toyennes responded.
Hearing his words, Ivan was silent for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating something while internally he was full of scorn; this guy repeatedly broke the academy and wizards’ bottom line, yet shamelessly spoke of principles.
“Speak then, what do you want me to do?” Ivan asked.
“No need to hurry, I’ll tell you when we arrive at the place. But you weren’t honest; you brought others with you. That must be your current teacher then, no wonder you refuse to acknowledge me as your mentor,” Toyennes observed carelessly, with a slight laugh.
Ivan’s expression changed slightly.
“Drink this,” Toyennes said, flapping his wings, and from the side, a light blue potion flew to Ivan.
Ivan flipped open the cap and sniffed it. It was a potion infused with rich Water-type energy. Without asking further, he tilted his head back and drank it, soon feeling a marvelous change within his body.
“This is an Underwater Breathing Potion,”
Toyennes used his tail to scoop up Pearney, who was lying on the ground, and signaled Ivan to follow. Upon reaching the edge of the small island, Toyennes plunged into the murky lake waters.
Ivan frowned slightly, adjusted his gear a bit, and then followed into the water. Upon entering, he realized that he indeed did not need to hold his breath.
The lake water was murkier because of the dense floating debris near the surface. Deeper down, the water was clearer. He looked up and could see clusters of water plants’ roots, resembling another jungle.
Because it was night and underwater, visibility was limited. He could only follow close behind Toyennes to avoid getting lost.
From the sky, one might think Lake Nichols was a shallow body of water, but diving into its depths revealed a hidden world beneath. The topography and the submerged areas bore much similarity to the Ant Beings Tidal Flats, with a mud layer above and hidden waters below.
Pearney showed no signs of suffocation, suggesting she had been given an Underwater Breathing Potion ahead of time.
She woke up groggily to find herself in an unfamiliar place and became somewhat panicked. Just as she opened her mouth, she swallowed a mouthful of lake water.
“If you’re awake, then follow on your own. Let me warn you in advance not to do anything unnecessary,” Toyennes’s voice was not concerned, rather it carried a cold warning.
“This is under Lake Nichols. You must have taken an Underwater Breathing Potion, so keep your mouth closed, and you won’t have any trouble,” followed another familiar voice.
Then Pearney saw Ivan not far behind and calmed down, slowly floating to his side.
“Toyennes kidnapped me,” she blurted out before Ivan could even ask.
“I did warn you last time.”
“I can’t just stay inside the academy. I was just out on a mission, and Toyennes took advantage of the situation. The others with me on the mission must have also met with accidents,”
Thinking of her previous companions, Pearney’s expression darkened, and she asked, “What now?”
“We’ll take it one step at a time, and if necessary, we’ll fight him.”
“Alright, when the time comes, we’ll go for that bastard Toyennes,” Pearney said angrily, glaring ahead at the two-headed monster snake.
“Wait, don’t rush to act. Follow Toyennes first and see what he really wants to do. If the situation turns bad, then we’ll act. You don’t want to get knocked out again,” seeing her ready to react, Ivan quickly intervened.
It seemed Pearney had been knocked out in the same manner before.
Under Ivan’s advice, Pearney refrained from attacking Toyennes right away.
Sorcerer Toyennes paid no heed to the actions of the two people behind him and briskly led the way forward.
Soon, they had left the lake behind and entered the Dark River that leads to other places. It was dusky and quiet all around, yet it didn’t affect Sorcerer Toyennes’s sense of direction.
A faint halo of light appeared ahead to the side, catching everyone’s eyes.
Ivan knew they must have arrived. It turned out that the so-called secret realm Sorcerer Toyennes had mentioned was near Lake Nichols. He wondered how Sorcerer Toyennes had discovered such a concealed entrance.
“Swish, swish, swish.”
Two people and a snake emerged from the water, finding themselves in an underground cavern.
The cavern wasn’t spacious, seeming to be formed by a collapsed mountainside. There were no mudflats by the river, only cleanly washed cobblestones that one could easily slip on if not careful.
The walls around were embedded with glowing glowstones, their light preventing the cavern from being too dim.
There was another passage leading deeper inside the cavern.
“Be careful.”
As soon as they stepped onto the shore, Pearney sharply sensed an eerie atmosphere that involuntarily tightened her body and mind.
There was something off about this place.
Ivan nodded slightly. He felt it even more deeply. If he listened closely, he could hear strange sounds, faint and sporadic singing coming from deep within the cavern, as if someone was chanting an ancient ballad.
This wretched place actually had something singing. If it were anyone else, their scalp would tingle listening to it, but fortunately, Ivan wasn’t just anyone.
“We’re here. Remember to obey orders once we proceed, or bear the consequences,” Sorcerer Toyennes turned his head and warned, his gaze intensifying as it fell on Pearney.
Hearing his words, Pearney was about to step forward and argue a few points, but Ivan promptly stopped her.
Turning back, Sorcerer Toyennes’s expression turned more solemn as he continued to lead them deeper into the cavern.
Ivan signaled Pearney with a glance, cautiously following on the damp ground, and Pearney had no choice but to follow suit.
“Is someone singing?” After moving forward a distance, Pearney heard the hint and couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
“I heard it too. It sounds like it’s praising some deity,” Ivan said, the ethereal female voice sounding especially pleasant while carrying a solemn and sacred undertone.
“Quiet.”
Dissatisfied with their whispering, Sorcerer Toyennes coldly scolded them.
The underground, cavern connected to cavern; after passing through a narrow passage, they reached another cavern where the chanting was even clearer, but it was in a language unknown to them.
“We’ve arrived.”
There was still a passage leading deeper ahead, but Sorcerer Toyennes had no plans to proceed further.
Sensing something, Pearney’s eyes brightened, and she couldn’t help but glance at Ivan.
This place was stranger than the outside.
Under the mysterious singing and atmosphere, Ivan also noticed that his spiritual power was slightly increasing, which was conducive to a sorcerer’s advancement.
Besides, the Curse of Demon’s Resentment on his arm showed an unusual reaction, causing a warm, tingling heat, different from when Sorcerer Toyennes transmitted curse power to them; it felt like being tickled from afar.
The energy within the curse mark did not increase.
Could it be that what Sorcerer Toyennes said about completely breaking the curse was true?
“Remember, do not heedlessly listen; you are not yet fit to covet this power.”
At that moment, Sorcerer Toyennes warned them again, his eyes revealing apprehension as he glanced at the deeper passageway.
If it weren’t for originally stumbling into this eerie place and causing a mutation in his arm, he would never have been taken advantage of by Billerie, the rebel, leading to his current plight.
Ivan tried to contact the outside world and found, as he suspected, that the connection was severely disrupted and now completely blocked.
As Sorcerer Toyennes had mentioned earlier, this time he hadn’t come to the meeting alone.
Randall was also uneasy and had followed to Lake Nichols, but neither master nor disciple expected Sorcerer Toyennes to take a water route and then arrive at this bizarre place.
…
Lake Nichols, Randall was riding on the back of a big golden beetle, flying back and forth over the surface of the lake, trying to find traces of his disciple, but unfortunately without any tangible results.
He didn’t know that his movements were being directly observed by another.
“Sorcerer Toyennes, this guy really has retained his small-town mindset all along, still wary of me,” said another.
“Oh well, being a responsible person, I definitely won’t let anyone interrupt your reunion with your apprentice,” he continued.
Ivan didn’t know, and neither did Sorcerer Toyennes, that they were not alone here; Sorcerer Jeeson, who had worked with Toyennes before, had also been asked to come. Seeing Randall scurry around aimlessly like a headless fly, Jeeson didn’t hurry to reveal himself; after all, Toyennes’s request was to not let anyone interfere.
Now, with the party not even findable, talk of interference was beside the point.
Jeeson also didn’t know that Randall had significant skills in concealing his presence, had already sensed the presence of the unfamiliar sorcerer, and was equally not rushing to take action.