Laboratory.
Ivan was flipping through the information about the Curse of Demon’s Resentment in the bookcase. Sorcerer Toyennes had not recorded how he was cursed; Ivan suspected that the source of the curse’s power was an even more powerful being, who was likewise transferring the curse’s power.
“You pass it to me, I pass it to him, should I also find a few people to pass it along?”
As the saying goes, the more you know, the more problems you have. He was really numb to it all.
According to Sorcerer Toyennes’s speculation, the power of the curse would be passed on endlessly; there would never be a day of relief for them.
Sorcerer Toyennes didn’t hide the fact that the Ode to Spring Trees was a medium, with two effects: a similar aura makes it easier for the curse’s power to transfer and enhances the integration of the curse’s power.
The latter was clear to see, and even Pearney and Billerie easily discovered the clues.
It was recorded that there are four forms of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, named after the four seasons.
The Spring Curse, the initial form of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, could make flesh and blood more vigorous; his body constitution’s growth stemmed from this. The Summer Curse, the second form of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, marked the beginning of aberrations and could separate out individual secondary curse marks, bestowing them upon creatures with a similar essence as oneself.
Toyennes used the Meditation Method as a medium to bestow the Summer Curse on others.
The Curse of Autumn results in a qualitative transformation of the body as the power of the curse inside increases; the Winter Curse represents withering, where lifeforce will dry up and die.
The key to survival was to reduce the power of the curse inside oneself, to prevent the Curse of Demon’s Resentment from entering the fourth stage.
“The third stage is probably also problematic.”
Ivan suddenly thought of Eckerz’s second head, that ferocious python head, which was probably a means to transfer the curse’s power, which was why he had been able to live until now.
Sorcerer Toyennes perhaps with some expectation, directly passed to Ivan the method to convert the Spring Curse into the Summer Curse, as well as the technique to strip away secondary curse marks from the Summer Curse, recorded on a page in the documents.
“If you’re capable, pass down the complete Meditation Method as well, and we can all develop into a new school.” Ivan mumbled internally. Toyennes had led him into a huge pit and expected him to drag more people down with him—truly harmful to others and detrimental to oneself.
He continued to read on and discovered an experimental plan of Toyennes’s, aimed at transferring the curse’s power.
The method was simple: control insect swarms, cultivate them, and transfer the curse onto the swarm.
Experimental conclusion: The life total of individual insects is low, and they grow slowly, incapable of withstanding the initial Spring Curse; experiment failed.
A term frequently appeared in the records—physical collapse; without exception, the infusing of the Spring Curse destabilized the insect bodies, shattering them in the midst of mutation.
Ivan read through the experimental data in one go and fell into a deep contemplation for a long time.
“No, the curse in my body has a fundamental difference from the one in Toyennes’s body. If we consider the curse borne by creatures of an alien world as the primary curse, then Toyennes’s curse is a secondary Curse of Demon’s Resentment, and the one inside me is a secondary of that secondary curse.
Insects might not withstand a secondary curse, but that doesn’t mean they can’t withstand a secondary of the secondary curse. This must be one of the reasons why Toyennes was so keen to leave behind the information.”
Despite it being something that Toyennes could benefit from after him, Ivan felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly when he thought about having to pay the price himself.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that Toyennes did not leave behind the spell to control the insects, nor did he explain how to establish a medium. If he wanted to continue down this path, he was missing several key factors.
“If only I could leave this island.”
Ivan sighed. On the island, he was constrained in every way, greatly increasing the difficulty of solving the problem.
The time had already reached the afternoon, well past midday, and he hadn’t eaten anything since the morning, yet he didn’t feel the slightest hunger. It was as if he had entered a state of fasting, wherein he appreciated the unique benefits of the nutrition potion.
“Sorcerer Toyennes asked me to tell you that once your spiritual power reaches 5 graduated degrees, he will teach you a second spell. Ivan, look how generous and fond of you Sorcerer Toyennes is. You must practice diligently and not let down Sorcerer Toyennes’s high regard for you.”
The little green winged snake burst into the laboratory, bringing new potion recipes and ingredients, as well as a message.
Upon hearing this, Ivan understood Toyennes’s intention: the second spell would definitely include a means to control insects, but he needed to intensify his practice with ‘Ode to Spring Trees’ and assimilate more of the curse’s power.
His current spiritual power was at 3.6 graduated degrees, still far from meeting Toyennes’s requirements.
‘Physical Strength Potion’
This was the recipe brought by the little green winged snake, a potion that could replenish one’s physical energy, seemingly of a higher caliber than the nutrition potion.
The little green winged snake continued, “Seeing as Sorcerer Toyennes still holds you in esteem, I’m not setting a time limit this time. You have enough materials to make 60 doses of Physical Strength Potion. If you fail to succeed even once, don’t expect me to provide you with any more ingredients. Understood?”
“Understood.”
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Ivan nodded. The condition wasn’t too harsh; he could spend more time figuring things out.
“Also, I forgot to ask you yesterday how many nutrition potions you made. You surely stashed some away. I’ll let yesterday’s issue go, but this time you must hand over seventy percent of the potions you concoct. Otherwise, if I find out, I’ll not give you any new passwords.”
“Fine.”
Since it wasn’t a mental potion, Ivan didn’t particularly care and didn’t haggle with the little green winged snake.
In the following days, he pondered Toyennes’s experimental data on insects while exploring various aspects of the Physical Strength Potion.
He had his servant Martin collect insects for him, and Martin was quick to act, gathering ants, cockroaches, fleas, and centipedes in abundance. Unfortunately, they were of little value to him, making him realize that this random method of searching was pointless.
He needed special insect species, not just any random bug.
At the same moment, the other apprentices were having a difficult time. The impact of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment persisted, causing various changes in their bodies and leaving the apprentices anxious.
In this regard, Ivan was in the same boat. Perhaps it was because he was of Knight Class with a strong constitution, the changes in his body had been minimal: occasional green hairs would appear amidst his hair, and his nails would grow long and need trimming daily.
He knew that in reality, everyone had yet to assimilate the curse’s power properly, and being under the influence of the Spring Curse, their bodies wouldn’t face problems for the time being.
But there was one exception: Thomson, with his 1st Class talent, had the weakest strength. It seemed his body was on the verge of collapse, and he might experience ‘body disintegration’ as recorded in the experimental data—similar to the dead insects.
In recent days, Ivan had tried to contact Pearney. Ever since Billerie’s attack on Sorcerer Toyennes, there had been no response from the Secret Method Seal Bead.
On the fifth day of studying the potion recipe, after failing 37 times, Ivan finally succeeded in concocting a Physical Strength Potion. The little green winged snake arrived unexpectedly, and Ivan thought it had monitoring devices in the laboratory. However, it had come for a different reason.
“Ivan, there’s good news.”
Ivan looked at it, appearing uninterested.
“Sorcerer Toyennes asked me to inquire if you want to learn a new spell, no need to wait until your spiritual power reaches 5 graduated degrees.”
Hearing this, Ivan didn’t feel joy but instead became wary. Toyennes believed in equivalent exchange and wouldn’t make a deal at a loss. There must be a catch this time.