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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 126
Arran worked through the night, then into the next day, foregoing breaks and sleep as he absorbed Essence Crystals one after the other. With each new Essence Crystal, he could feel his affinity to Essence growing stronger — more and more, it felt like his Essence was part of him, rather than some alien substance he could only barely manipulate.After just a day, Arran had finished absorbing the Purified Essence of close to a hundred Essence Crystals, and the effect left him marveling at how much his control of Essence had improved.Previously, it had been like writing a letter while holding the pen with only his elbows, and looking back now, he was almost amazed that he had managed to succeed in casting spells at all.But now, things were completely different. He could feel that the Essence was truly his to control, to be used however he wanted, and the awkward clumsiness he had always felt while wielding magic was rapidly melting away.He finally began to understand the real differen
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 127
"I take it you found most of the ingredients you need?" Arran asked, continuing to absorb Purified Essence as he spoke."I did," Snowcloud replied. "Only the final five ingredients remain. Finding three of those will rely on luck, but for the other two, I know where to look.""So where are we going?" Arran asked. With how little he understood of alchemy and herbalism, there was no point in asking what the remaining ingredients were. He knew that even if Snowcloud told him, the names would mean absolutely nothing to him."The remains of the Eidaran Empire," Snowcloud answered. "About two months' travel northwest from here.""The Eidaran Empire?" Arran had never heard the name before, and the thought of there being other empires still felt odd to him. To his mind, there was only one true Empire."Until a few decades ago, it was one of the largest and most prosperous powers west of the border region," Snowcloud said. "Then, one day, it collapsed into civil war. All that's left now is cha
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 128
"We'll talk about the Essence Crystals later," Arran said. "First, let me take a look at that wound."Snowcloud nodded, wincing as she gazed down at the arrow sticking from her leg.As Arran inspected the wound, he saw that although the arrowhead was embedded deeply in Snowcloud's thigh, it did not look like it had struck the bone."I'm going to pull out the arrow," Arran said. "Are you ready?""Do it," she said, clenching her jaw.Carefully, Arran took the arrow firmly in his hand. Then, with a single quick movement, he pulled it from Snowcloud's leg.She cried out in pain for a moment, gasping as the sharp arrowhead sliced through her flesh once more on its way out."All done," Arran said. Then, he took a bottle of water from his void bag and carefully cleaned the wound. With the arrow gone, it didn't look nearly as bad — though it was deep and oozed blood, it seemed like a clean cut that should heal well enough."I'll take it from here," Snowcloud said, taking out a small flask fro
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 129
In the weeks following their departure from Goldhaven, Arran quickly discovered that training with Snowcloud was far more arduous than he had anticipated.Although they had done some training together before they visited Goldhaven, after the progress Arran had made with the Essence Crystals, it seemed that Snowcloud now thought he was ready for more rigorous instruction.They spent most of their days traveling, but even as they walked, Snowcloud made Arran practice his spellcasting with a constant slow barrage of attacks at whatever happened to be on the side of the road.Occasionally she would give him tips and pointers, but more often, she would scold him if he paused his practice for more than a few minutes.And sometimes, she would launch sudden attacks, giving Arran only a moment to defend himself with a Force Shield. The attacks were never strong enough to cause serious harm, but the burns and bruises they left were sufficiently painful to motivate him to learn quickly.The cons
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 130
"We could just go around the village," Arran said, looking at the smoke floating up into the sky. "Whatever happened to the village is long over, but those who did it might still be there."Even if he was curious to see what had happened to the village, perhaps the wiser choice would be to just avoid it altogether. It wasn't his first instinct, but then, his instincts rarely led him away from danger."We can't," Snowcloud replied with a small shake of her head. "If the village was attacked, we can get a sense of who's responsible." In a softer voice, she added, "And there might be people still alive.""All right," Arran said, not needing much convincing. "We can take a look, but give me a few moments to prepare first."Wary of going into danger unprepared, he changed into the black armored coat he got from Lord Sevaril and belted on his starmetal sword. With his Duskcloak within reach as well, he figured he would have a good chance of escaping even if there were a dozen strong mages i
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 131
They walked toward one of the small fires and sat down around it, the young woman taking a seat next to Stoneheart."How did you end up in such a state?" Snowcloud asked. "And where are your other recruits?"Stoneheart let out a pained sigh. "It all began after we left the Valley. Just a few days from the border, that venomous bitch Amaya—" He paused and shot a look at Snowcloud, seemingly worried that he had offended her."She deserves the title," Snowcloud said. "Continue.""She ambushed us when we had only barely left the Valley," Stoneheart said, his expression somber. "We didn't have a chance."Snowcloud raised an eyebrow. "You were defeated by Amaya? For all her cunning, I never figured her for much of a fighter. How did she manage that?""She wasn't alone," Stoneheart replied. "There were two other novices with her, both Waning Moon scum, along with their recruits. Against three mages and near a thousand skilled fighters, it was a miracle that any of us managed to escape.""You
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 132
Arran felt a moment of apprehension when Snowcloud asked him what to do. He was anything but a strategic genius or a seasoned commander, and he felt a moment of doubt at his ability.Yet after the series of disasters Stoneheart's group had suffered, it was clear that they could not be trusted to lead — perhaps they had learned from their defeats, but Arran wasn't willing to take that risk. Not when his life was at stake.Snowcloud, meanwhile, knew even less of tactics than Arran did. For all her power, she lacked experience in real battles. And, seemingly aware of her limitations, she had now put the burden on Arran.Arran clenched his teeth, suppressing his anxiety. Of all of them, he was probably the best choice to come up with a strategy — something that did not bode well for their chances."The clearing," he said, turning to Stoneheart. "Does it have any exits other than the valley?"Stoneheart shook his head. "The surrounding hills are too steep, and the woods too dense. Perhaps
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 133
Arran led Stoneheart several hundreds of paces into the valley, where he found a spot for the oversized novice to hide in. Within the dense thicket, the raiders shouldn't notice him even if they passed within a few feet."Remember," Arran said. "Don't attack until you hear the sounds of battle."He had already said it earlier, but repeating the command couldn't hurt. If Stoneheart attacked too soon, the whole plan would fall apart."Got it," Stoneheart said. "And good luck.""Same to you," Arran replied.He quickly headed back, seeking out a hidden position halfway between Stoneheart and the clearing at the end of the valley. Here, he would be able to see if the raiders paused to gather their numbers before they entered the clearing.If that happened, it would be a disaster. His only choice would be to wait for the entire group to begin their assault, then attack them from behind. There might still be a chance of victory even then, but he knew it would come at a heavy cost.As he wait