SORCERER: I WANT TO BE AN ACADEMIC PRODIGY

Chapter 463: Chapter 462: Hotter’s Request

Sky Flow Valley, many days had passed since the Star Realm Gate had closed.

As the Doradoli Chairman had said, Ivan discovered that his spiritual power had grown significantly more apparent in recent days, many times faster than the previous speed of crystal solidification.

After recognizing this phenomenon, he had simply dedicated most of his energy to nurturing the solidified crystals.

There were three witchcraft solidification crystals in his mental ocean, and the Heart of Earth, originally approaching mid-Level 3, soon crossed that threshold.

From there, the Heart of Fire reached late Level 3, and both the Heart of Wood and the Heart of Earth were at mid-Level 3, still rapidly strengthening.

Besides practicing, he hadn’t forgotten to pay attention to the changes in Sky Flow Valley. Currently, a portion of sorcerers had left, especially the arcane wizards, with the majority still remaining here to study every aspect of this activation of the Star Realm Gate.

…

In fact, he had only recently found out that, since the Star Realm Gate was an absolutely confidential event, being involved and not being involved were completely different scenarios.

Only after participating once did he qualify to have in-depth discussions on the relevant knowledge and came to know much more about the inside story.

Those few days, the reason they only saw seven Level 3 Sorcerers participate was not because the higher-level sorcerers were biased, but because the others were busy outside in special structures, managing equipment, recording data, and conducting unique experiments using the special environment.

The whole process felt to Ivan as though he was undertaking a space exploration.

Nelson and the others had actually tried their luck at the Star Realm Gate before, everyone usually only got one opportunity because refining spiritual powers too much could be counterproductive.

“The Star Realm River is truly unique. Just one exploration raised my Experience Points in the Study of Planes significantly,” Ivan mused, “Advancing from Level 8 to Level 9, and I’ve already gone through more than half of Level 9.”

“Thinking about it, the Star Realm is indeed the cradle for the mighty and a stage for the strong.”

A single exploration had left an extremely deep impression on Ivan, who would involuntarily recall the various experiences during his spare moments, filled with nostalgia and fascination.

This was a state he had never found himself in while traveling back and forth between places.

Frankly, it was a bit abnormal, probably a side effect of using the power of the Star Realm to refine his spiritual power.

“Ivan, I hope I’m not disturbing you?”

“Master Hotis, please come in.”

At that moment one day, a familiar voice rang in Ivan’s ears. Startled, he quickly went outside to greet the visitor, who turned out to be the last person he expected, Hotis.

“Master, if you have any orders, you could simply message me. There’s no need for you to come here in person.”

“You talk as if I can’t walk the distance, it’s just a few steps away, I just wanted to come and take a look myself.”

Hotis waved his hand nonchalantly and proceeded towards the interior of the Round Tower, his demeanor as if returning to his own home.

No matter how casual the other party might appear, he was an arcane wizard, and his strength and status were worlds apart from a Level 3 Sorcerer, so Ivan dared not presume anything otherwise.

However, Ivan’s mind was quickly spinning, pondering the reason for the sudden visit.

No matter how he thought about it, the visitor probably wasn’t just passing by to take a look.

He thought it over and over, and finally, his thoughts landed on a striking figure.

Considering the circumstances of their separation on that late-night, Tanaya must have had something to tell him. He had expected Tanaya to seek him out these past few days, but instead, Hotis had come.

“Let’s go take a look at your laboratory, you don’t mind, do you?”

“This way, please.”

Ivan had partitioned several laboratories within the interior of the Round Tower, really using only two or three of them frequently. He led Hotis around for a tour, receiving quite a few verbal compliments.

In the final laboratory, Hotis finally steered the conversation towards the main topic.

“Ivan, what do you think of Miss Tanaya?”

“Youthful and beautiful, a Heavenly Beauty. From her past messages, she could be considered the ‘Sorcerer Princess’ of the sorcerer world,” Ivan replied thoughtfully after hesitating for a few seconds.

This wasn’t just flattery; from what he understood, Tanaya was highly valued in the Fitzgerald family and had even caught the attention of the Level 5 Sorcerer, the ‘King of the Long Sky’.

Speaking of the King of the Long Sky, many felt he was the foremost sorcerer in the sorcerer world.

“Yes, Tanaya’s status is like a pearl in the palm of the entire sorcerer world.”

Hotis nodded with a melancholy expression, then sighed, “But such a Sorcerer Princess, because of my doing, has fallen to her current state.”

“Ah?”

Hearing this, Ivan looked at him in shock.

Wait, how was this related to Hotis?!

“Ah! I won’t hide it from you, it was primarily due to my negligence. I should never have invited her, then none of this would have happened.”

Hotis then recounted a past incident.

It was shortly after he advanced to becoming an arcane wizard, with his temperament at the time being extremely arrogant, even somewhat wild.

He had hosted a private banquet and invited the then-famous Tanaya.

Tanaya had honored him by attending, given that it was an arcane wizard’s banquet, she entered without any guards or excessive precautions. However, a major problem occurred during the event, and she was attacked and nearly killed.

As the host, his performance was very poor.

“Back then, I completely failed to demonstrate the responsibility expected of an arcane wizard, causing Tanaya to suffer greatly from the start, while I just stood by and watched.”

“I feel guilty towards her.”

Hotter didn’t tell Ivan that, in hindsight, he had been manipulated from the beginning. Someone used his identity to set a trap specifically targeting Tanaya.

The Fitzgerald family was somewhat careless and indeed fell for it.

Reflecting on it later, he realized he had behaved terribly both during and after the party, unworthy of an Arcane Wizard.

Whenever he thought about this, he felt utterly ashamed.

After hearing Hotter’s story, Ivan finally understood the painful secret behind it all, no wonder Hotter’s attitude towards Tanaya was extraordinary—it stemmed from guilt.

However, he didn’t know what comforting words to say.

“Ivan, if possible, for my sake, please try to help Tanaya,” Hotter asked after a pause.

“I—” Ivan had anticipated he would say this, yet he didn’t know how to respond.

From the information gathered by Morris, it was not hard to guess that Tanaya’s predicament was likely her arranged marriage. How could he help her? Helping her would mean offending both the Fitzgerald and the Gardner families.

His stature wasn’t robust enough to withstand the blows from two top families.

Otherwise, he would have been happy to do Hotter a favor, especially since the Chairman had taken good care of him in the past.

“If you could help Tanaya, this Arcane Wizard would be willing to be at your disposal once, fully committed to your cause, whether it involved delving into the underworld or venturing into the alien Star Realm skies; I will not break my word.”

Seeing Ivan’s distressed expression, Hotter quickly added.

Ivan could only offer a wry smile.

“Chairman, you must be aware of the problem Tanaya is facing, which revolves around her marriage. This involves both the Fitzgerald and Gardner families. How can I help?”

“You knew about it? It must be that Morris who let the news slip.”

Hotter immediately thought of someone and suddenly felt his fists clench.

“Actually, I think there’s a better choice than me,” Ivan quickly changed the topic, not wanting to trouble Morris and stared intensely at the Arcane Wizard before him.

Hotter understood his meaning and was temporarily speechless, finding the problem kicked back to him.

“Look, with your status, you are more than suitable for Tanaya, and with your history, it’s a match made in heaven,” Ivan continued assertively.

“Stop, stop, that’s impossible, I can’t be the one,” Hotter shuddered at the thought and hurriedly stopped him:

“To be honest, if I dared to do that, the King of the Long Sky would exile me to the alien realms, don’t bring it up again.”

“——”

Ivan didn’t know what to say again; it seemed there was much hidden about the party, and the Chairman had probably been scolded by the first among the sorcerers, leaving a profound impression.

“Alright, don’t think about it too much.”

“It’s the same condition, think it over when you get back, and help Tanaya if you can.”

Knowing his request was a tough ask, Hotter didn’t push further and left the Round Tower with a final word.

…

In another residence in Sky Flow Valley, much more exquisite compared to ordinary towers, was, indeed, Tanaya’s temporary home.

Inside one of the rooms, as the owner of the residence, Tanaya received urging from her family that cast a shadow over her heart.

“Tanaya, I hear the exploration of the Star Realm River is over, isn’t it time you obeyed and came back?”

“I will come back, but not just yet.”

“Why not?”

A vivid hologram stood not far from Tanaya, dressed as a noblewoman, speaking in a somewhat aggressive manner.

“I—met someone interesting, I want to communicate with him a bit longer,” Tanaya said after pondering for a moment.

“Tanaya, you are a clever wizard and should know your marriage is specially arranged by the family after weighing all aspects. I hope you don’t act too willfully or make up meaningless excuses because next time it won’t just be your mother talking to you.”

“I understand.”

“Be wise about it.”

The noblewoman emphasized solemnly, seeing her somber expression and said no more, severing the connection between them.

After the hologram disappeared, Tanaya walked out of the room dejectedly.

“How did it go, Lady Vicky?” Outside, Mara was waiting and quickly approached her as she came out.

“What else, urging us to return soon,” Tanaya shook her head helplessly.

“Then—” Mara’s expression darkened slightly.

“We must get him to agree; he alone has the qualifications and capacity,” Tanaya said firmly, grasping Mara’s hands and patting them, conveying determination.

Mara nodded silently, knowing well who Tanaya referred to.

At this point, that was the only option left, though not an ideal one.

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