Before coming here, Ivan had expected the Geocentric Lineage to have profound depths, but the scene before him still left him somewhat shaken. The sorcerer world, as it stood, lacked a true leading figure like this.
Stepping forward, he saluted those present as a courtesy before responding to Meg's remarks:
"The Azure Throne—we haven't seen each other in decades. I hadn't expected your strength to advance so quickly to this point. Truly admirable."
Once, when the two of them ventured into the third underground layer together, their strengths had been nearly equal. In terms of battle prowess, he had even been the superior one.
It had always been him leaving others in the dust. This was the first time he had been so thoroughly surpassed.
"I'm humbled. You should know that my current achievements are largely thanks to Mr. Clement's arrangements. However, my nature is dull, and even with that, I could not have achieved my current standing without great difficulty.
