“Do as you please,”
Ivan was indifferent to this.
He had no desire to meet Earl Hobson, either. After witnessing the destuctive might on the island, his reverence for the power and authority wielded by nobles diminished, while his yearning and ambition for the power of sorcerers grew stronger.
Ignoring Pearney’s eager entreaties, Ivan insisted on returning home first.
In the Marichadon family, Peggy was pruning the low shrubbery in the courtyard when she heard a noise at the gate. She looked up to see a familiar figure standing there, blinking hard, thinking she had seen wrong.
Ivan, watching his sister’s stunned expression, smiled and waved.
“I’m back, Peggy.”
“Welcome back, Brother Ivan.”
Peggy, now certain she wasn’t mistaken, hastened to open the door. She stood in front of Ivan somewhat awkwardly, wanting to greet him more warmly but restrained by the decorum expected of a lady.
Ivan gently patted her head.
Seeing someone messing with a lady’s hair again, Peggy huffed and pummeled him with two light punches.
The reunion after more than two months was filled with an indescribable depth of sibling affection.
Only Peggy and Aunt Kasey were at home, Sean’s whereabouts unknown, and their father and Paul had taken the mercenaries on a mission and had not returned.
It was then that Ivan learned that Beaman had left home nearly a month ago to seek his fortune in the Capital City of the Aromatic Wheat Dukedom, ‘Fragrant Stalks City,’ hoping to secure a place in the reserve of the Glory Knights Order.
Peggy, who made a new discovery, couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Ivan, how did your hair grow so fast, and why is there so much blue in it?”
“You wouldn’t understand if I told you,”
Ivan said vaguely. Now his hair was mostly brown with hints of dark blue mixed in, longer than shoulder length and tied back with a string—an influence of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment.
“I wouldn’t have asked if you were going to talk like that,” Peggy didn’t trouble her brother further, instead turning her attention to his clothes, “That’s a sorcerer’s robe, isn’t it? I’ve heard about them.”
“This is a sorcerer apprentice’s robe.”
Peggy carefully pinched the fabric, somewhat disappointed, “It’s quite plain, doesn’t look mysterious at all.”
She always seemed so serious, but apparently, she was a curious little thing.
Ivan laughed and replied, “Like I said, you wouldn’t understand. It’s made from the softest skin of a sea beast called ‘Silver Bone Ray.’ Warm in winter, cool in summer, dust-repellant, breathable, and waterproof. Considered a rare treasure in the Aromatic Wheat Dukedom.”
Having satisfied her curiosity, he returned to his familiar room and went through his possessions. He found that the bubble leech he had imbued with the Spring Bud had turned into a mass of decayed flesh, dead beyond doubt.
“It’s indeed not so easy to cultivate.”
He sighed but hadn’t expected to succeed on the first attempt.
In the afternoon, Ivan left the city and went to the familiar cave beneath the cliffs.
When it came to insects, the most memorable for him was of course the potent toxin that had once caused him great suffering. Compared to before, his strength had undergone a monumental change.
Strength: 3.0, Agility: 3.5, Body Constitution: 4.7, Spirit: 3.6
During this time, under the influence of the Curse of Demon’s Resentment, his body constitution had inexplicably improved by 0.5 graduated degrees. Conversely, his agility had gradually decreased by 0.2 graduated degrees.
From a bodily attribute perspective, Bat’s Eyes was a Breathing Method that prioritized agility, followed by body constitution. The current changes left him somewhat anxious; he didn’t dare to practice the Breathing Method too much, let alone the Meditation Method that could accelerate the integration of the curse’s power.
Nonetheless, he could now perform an Intermediate Knight’s technique, covering his entire body with Combat Energy as if wearing a black body-hugging mesh.
A distinguishing technique of an Advanced Knight was to enwrap their weapon, such as a Longsword, with Combat Energy. This was something he had yet to accomplish.
“I want to see just what you all are made of.”
Clutching a torch in his hand, Ivan stepped toward the depths of the cave, heading towards the innermost part connected to the sea.
Approaching a closer look, the rotting shipwreck could no longer bear the weight and had collapsed, leaving only a large amount of broken planks and splintered columns piled up. On the wood, one could see black insect eggs embedded within, resembling little pellets.
He could be described as skilled and courageous, stepping lightly over to the side.
A mass of dark insects flew out, emerging all at once in a large swarm, buzzing resoundingly.
“So they are a kind of giant mosquito.”
This time, Ivan saw very clearly, the mosquitoes in front of him were different from ordinary ones, they should be called ‘midges,’ being three centimeters in size and adept at sucking the blood of living beings. They also carried venom potent enough to kill an ordinary person.
He reached out and swiped his hand over the long firebrand, flames leapt up, burning fiercely in an instant.
As the midges approached, he wielded the firebrand as both sword and shield, whirling it into an impenetrable net. The midges’ wings touched it and instantly caught fire, the sizzling of burning and the aroma of grilled meat were incessant.
With his current vision, reaction speed, and sensitivity to danger, combined with the skills of an Intermediate Knight, the swarm found it difficult to come within five feet of him.
What he once dreaded had now become prey he could easily kill.
After suffering heavy casualties, the midges finally grew fearful and abandoned their nest, dispersing like a cloud of black smoke.
“There are so many of them.”
Ivan took a glance at the black layer on the ground and then at the dense flying swarm, unable to help his astonishment at their prolific breeding abilities. He remembered clearly, there used to be far fewer of them.
Feeling like he had settled another score, he unapologetically began collecting the insect eggs and larvae; the larvae floated in the water nearby in a dense mass. He collected a jarful of each and another jar for the dozen or so adults he had snatched by hand earlier before turning to leave the cave.
The Marichadon family.
By mid-afternoon, Sean returned home in high spirits.
“Peggy, Peggy, listen to me, I have big news.”
“Sean! Who let you skip coming home at noon? Do you know who has come back?”
Upon hearing Peggy’s scolding, Sean instantly wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, thinking his father had returned and that he was in for it.
Peggy glared at him, “What’s that look for? Hurry and go see Brother Ivan.”
“Who?” Sean, startled, sprung up and rushed to another room, pushing the door open to see a long-haired figure in a strange robe, “Ah, who are you?”
“Sean, you’ve grown bolder.”
Ivan, having heard the commotion, approached within a few steps and gave his brother a knock on the head.
As the old saying goes, “strike while the brother is young.”
The force of it made Peggy, who followed behind, cringe in sympathy, secretly thinking it was a good hit.
Sean’s expression wilted for a moment before he began gesticulating excitedly, “You don’t know, I saw with my own eyes a powerful sorcerer catching a Silver Bone Ray with his bare hands, the one known as the ‘Silver Blade Ship Slayer.’ So long and so big, it was amazing.
Don’t disbelieve, that captured Silver Bone Ray is still on display in the government square, you can go see if you don’t believe me, I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it.”
Seeing his face filled with excitement and admiration, Ivan felt too embarrassed to tell his brother that he had caught it by chance, and catching it with bare hands was impossible.
“Ivan, someone from the City Lord’s Residence has come to invite you,” Aunt Kasey’s voice rang out.
Ivan came to the front yard and found a butler-like person, with two guards standing at the gate.
“Lord Marichadon, Earl Hobson and Miss Pearney invite you to a banquet tomorrow.”
Ivan received a gold-embossed invitation from the butler’s hand, indeed inviting him to the afternoon banquet the next day. He also noticed the two guards outside were surreptitiously sizing him up, a sense of inexplicable respect in their gaze.
Without much thought, Ivan casually accepted, “Okay, I will be there on time.”
After all, he and Pearney had shared adversity, and giving this face was due. The invitation also mentioned the possible attendance of two important personalities.