In the enchantment workshop, Ivan handed over the other Black Magic Wind Bundle Array dais to another sorcerer, a member of the Lidia family, who had always been the one to receive such arrays from Sorceress Mauline.
“Sorcerer Ivan,” she conveyed an order, “from now on, an array dais will be 300 credits.”
“Another price cut? What’s the reason?”
At her words, the expression in Ivan’s eyes chilled considerably.
This was something that improved one’s chances of a promotion. When he had sought out the Richie family where Auric was, they had presented him with a list; if he failed the promotion, he would have to work in apothecary and enchantment for the Richie family for twenty years, and that was only one of the conditions.
It illustrated just how costly resources for promotion were.
He traded with the Three Great Families at the highest rate of 800 credits per array dais; now it had dropped to 300 credits, which was the price of a recipe for an average quality 3rd Class Mental Power Potion. He had never seen such ruthless price undercutting.
“The quality of the array daises you produce is average and not conducive to long-distance transportation. Moreover, we’ve sold a significant number, and there aren’t as many people wanting to buy them as before, so we can only lower the price to sell,” explained Mauline with an expressionless face.
“What about the Advanced Enchantment Knowledge I applied for before?”
“It doesn’t meet the requirements. Apply again after you’ve been a sorcerer for thirty years.”
“Fine, I understand. Pass on a message for me: if the price drops again, I think there will be virtually no profit to speak of, and we’ll have no reason to continue trading.”
The two sorcerers stared each other down unwavering for a while, and Ivan left with a storm of anger.
“Next time? If there’s a next time, we won’t need you anymore.” Mauline did not take his final warning to heart.
After walking some distance from the enchantment workshop, Ivan quickly regained his composure. He was just posturing, after all; he didn’t care that much about the second-generation products of the Black Magic Wind Bundle Array.
However, the Advanced Enchantment Knowledge was indeed something he yearned for. It included the Transfer Sealing Runes he wanted, but, unfortunately, the people in charge had never allowed it. When he had negotiated the terms, they only uttered vague promises.
It turned out that they had never intended to keep those promises in the first place.
“With such a nasty attitude, it looks like they’re close to figuring it out on their own,” Ivan thought to himself.
Having left the enchantment workshop, Ivan made his way to the trading area and acquired a large amount of raw materials through exchange or purchase.
He needed to prepare some things, as he would soon be traveling to a special place to participate in an exploration event related to Insect Control Masters.
…
Half a month passed.
Ivan and his teacher, Sorcerer Randall, left the Mongna Ant Land Cottage and headed towards the plateau on the western side of Moon Pincer Peninsula.
The vast Moon Pincer Peninsula had a diverse geographic environment. Looking across the entire peninsula from east to west, the terrain steadily rose in elevation.
The east was a low-lying area near the sea; the middle comprised undulating hills; to the west was the plateau, which was at a higher altitude. Further west was the western barrier of the peninsula—Cloud Gazing Cliff.
The area beyond Cloud Gazing Cliff did not belong to the Moon Pincer Peninsula.
Thirteen official Sorcerers Academies were distributed across the peninsula; Flash Vortex Academy Alliance to the east, Half Moon Academy Alliance in the middle, and Highland Academy Alliance on the plateau to the west, which included five Sorcerers Academies.
This time, the master and disciple were headed to the high grounds of the plateau, the largest of the three regions, and one with a relatively more chaotic order.
They travelled swiftly at some points and slowly at others, it took them ten days to reach the vicinity of their destination.
“Let’s go—we’ll head to Descending Clouds City first. My friend might have already arrived. This is a grand gathering for us insect-control sorcerers; they couldn’t possibly not show up.”
Randall led Ivan to a city and prepared to enter it to gather information first.
Descending Clouds City, belonging to the ‘Ancient Tree Spine’ Academy of the Highland Alliance, is located on the borderlands of the territory.
As far as Ivan knew, the Ancient Tree Spine Academy was the most mysterious among the 13 academies. Their sorcerers dislike wandering outside, which leads many wandering sorcerers to prefer the Ancient Tree Spine’s domain.
This Descending Clouds City is somewhat special, as there is a peculiar secret realm nearby that opens automatically every ten years, drawing a large number of insect-control sorcerers.
Randall said that the royal jelly he had given earlier was found within this secret realm, which immediately piqued Ivan’s interest, so they came together to Descending Clouds City.
“Look, the clouds have fallen to the ground.”
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The Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly also followed along, and it was the Wind Moth that kept shouting in Ivan’s ear.
At that moment, the Wind Moth was only as long as two fingers, looking just like a large moth, fluttering closely beside Ivan. On the other side was the Scented Butterfly, which was about the same size.
The ability for the two insects to reduce their size was thanks to ‘Ode to Spring and Summer.’ The first level of this Meditation Method contains a spell called ‘Blood-Shape Transformation,’ which concerns changing one’s size.
When Ivan was exploring ‘Blood-Shape Transformation,’ he recorded some research notes on reducing size. Scented Butterfly read them and then deduced a spell applicable for itself, subsequently spending a long time teaching it to the Wind Moth.
Had the two insects not been able to shrink, Ivan definitely wouldn’t have brought them here.
“That’s quite normal. It’s common here for clouds to suddenly fall to the ground, which is why it’s named ‘Descending Clouds.'” Before Ivan could say anything, Randall explained.
“So that’s why. Do these clouds have any special properties?” the Scented Butterfly also asked.
“No, they are just ordinary clouds, tugged down by a force erupting from the ground. Don’t tell me you two fancy a taste. These have no flavor,” Randall patiently stated.
“Humph! That’s not it at all,” the Scented Butterfly was not pleased upon hearing this.
“Scented Butterfly, you must not be rude to Sorcerer Randall,” Ivan turned and instructed.
“Who said Scented Butterfly is greedy? I’m not greedy at all,” Scented Butterfly protested with hurt feelings. “I just wanted to study them. But if they’re just ordinary clouds, then never mind.”
“Haha, Ivan, don’t be too hard on them,” Randall chuckled, speaking up for Scented Butterfly. His affection for the now-intelligent insects was no less than the care he showed for the Silkworm Queen.
“Instructor, you’ll spoil them this way,” Ivan looked at him speechlessly, wondering what magic the instructor had that always made others forget his sorcerer’s authority.
Randall laughed it off, unconcerned.
“By the way, Instructor, what did you mean by the force erupting from the ground?” Ivan asked, reminded by his earlier remark and feeling a stir of curiosity.
“I don’t know myself, but that’s what everyone says. If you’re interested, you could investigate on your own,” Randall shook his head, not daring to make unfounded claims about something he hadn’t studied, lest he mislead his disciple.
On hearing this, Ivan decided to let it be.
Once inside Descending Clouds City, they headed to the street frequented by sorcerers and found that there were even more sorcerers present than they had expected. After exchanging glances, both felt something was amiss.
Not just in Mongna Ant Land Cottage, but throughout the entire Moon Pincer Peninsula, insect-control was a niche profession.
Because for official sorcerers, the combat power provided by insect swarms is always limited. It is a bother to raise a large number of insects when one could instead focus on learning a few more potent spells.
It was impossible for so many insect-control sorcerers to have suddenly emerged in such a short period.