Duke Eldric had seen too much in his whole career and had long been immune to the mundane things of the world. There was hardly anything that could bring a surprise to him anymore.
However, when Ian showed his High Knight Realm, he was so shocked that his eyes went wide.
'How could it happen? This is simply impossible.'
Although he quickly calmed himself down externally, his inner self was in big turmoil.
He couldn't understand how his son, in the Tertiary Knight, could reach the High Knight Realm in just a week.
Moreover, the Veilstrider Knight Breathing Method was very different, and without the secret recipe, there was nothing you could do to increase your realm after the Tertiary Knight Realm.
However, his son suddenly condensed a life seed without his help inexplicably, so how could he not be surprised?
"See? I told you, I went there because I found some information about treasure.
I didn't enter the forbidden area; I just spent one day digesting the gain, and I broke through the High Knight Realm in one fell swoop."
Although the reason seemed far-fetched, it was indeed a good opportunity to show his true realm to his parents.
Moreover, if they knew his strength, they could be reassured when he went on the next expedition.
"Really? My son is so lucky that he is already so powerful."
Elara was simple-minded and didn't think there was anything wrong. She was just happy that her son had grown up and could better protect himself outside.
Duke Eldric, on the other hand, looked at the smug face of his son and didn't know what to say.
He just came close to his son, grabbed his arm, and sent a sliver of his life energy to check his body.
'It is indeed High Knight Realm. Although the Life Seed seemed shriveled, there is nothing wrong elsewhere.'
After checking and confirming with his own eyes, he was even more confused. He couldn't understand how Ian became the High Knight Realm without the secret recipe.
Ian didn't see the weirdness of his father and thought he was just surprised. So, he smiled and boasted without shame.
"Old man, I'm already in the same realm as you. Don't slack off; otherwise, your son will catch up with you in no time."
After hearing his son's snide remarks, Eldric finally came out of his thoughts and rolled his eyes.
'Forget it. It seems my son has matured and has many secrets.'
'Who doesn't have one?'
He smiled bitterly inside, didn't inquire any further, or even bothered to argue or scold Ian.
Instead, he sat down in his chair, made another cup of tea, took a sip, and began to lecture Ian seriously.
"I wasn't going to tell you about this first, as you have no intention of going anywhere and practicing before, but it is time you should know about our fief and empire."
When Ian heard his father's serious tone, he quickly straightened himself and listened carefully.
Eldric didn't make him wait and explained patiently.
"As you know, the continent we are on is called Gravethrone, and this Ashford Empire is one of the three empires on this land."
"Due to the war thousands of years ago, the mana in this continent is almost non-existent. That's why, besides some old fellows, there are no Wizards or anything related to Wizards on this continent."
Ian nodded in understanding.
After saying this, Duke Eldric became serious and spoke in a grave tone.
"But what people don't know is that Wizard power is unpredictable, and their methods are even more so. How could mere mana depletion on a small continent drive them away in despair?"
He said in disdain.
"The real reason why they never returned to this continent and went elsewhere was because of the three forbidden areas on this continent bordering three empires."
"Our Ashford Empire borders the Ashen Spires on the east, while the Velmoria Empire borders the Umbral Rift to the north. The remaining forbidden area, Whispering Expanse, is in the south bordering the Mistveil Empire, while only the west has access to the sea, leaving a way out but still extremely dangerous."
"These forbidden areas are called forbidden not because they are just dangerous, but because nobody who entered any one of those ever survived."
Ian raised his eyebrows and thought that maybe all of them had died inside. But the next words from his father made him extremely solemn.
"It is not that no one ever returned. Humans have always been filled with valor, exploration, and daring spirit. In the thousand-year history, many people entered, and few even returned."
At this time, Eldric's face became extremely grave.
"But even if someone returned from the forbidden area, they would still die shortly after from a strange curse."
"Their death is eerie, grotesque, and mysterious. And what is even scarier is that even the Wizards who returned from the forbidden area couldn't resist."
"What? Even Wizards couldn't survive?"
'How is that possible?'
Ian was full of surprise and doubt. After all, along with him, two others had returned unscathed from the forbidden area; Carl and Ruther.
Eldric just thought Ian was afraid and continued to explain.
"Yes, even Wizards. And from the information circulating around the continent, even the Arc-Wizards aren't immune."
"In fact, it was even worse for the stronger Wizards, as even if they weren't near these forbidden areas, they could be affected by the curse remotely. Failure of spells, deterioration of mana, and physical weakening to the untimely death, everything can happen."
"That's why they called it the Wizard Curse and left this continent altogether."
"Even Arc-Wizards aren't immune?"
Ian was genuinely shocked by this information because Arc-Wizards were those who were at least at the sixth ring.
'Then why can I go inside the Ashen Spires and not be affected? I even became a Wizard Apprentice.'
Ian thought in confusion and tried to recall the plot of Arcane Passage.
'Come to think of it, why didn't Ruther try to train Carl inside his ruin? After all, the resources inside were plenty for him to reach the first ring Wizard.'
He suddenly recalled a blind spot he had inadvertently ignored before, and cold sweat appeared on his back.
Ruther was a sixth-ring Wizard and could definitely use the resources inside his lair to train his disciples.
Now that he carefully recalled the plot, Carl became a Wizard Apprentice outside the forbidden area, not inside like him, even when he could. There was no mention of these things in the Arcane Passage at all.