Seeing the Academy mages, Arran froze in fear. He had dreaded this moment for months, and now, just when he thought he was finally safe, it had arrived.
"We need to warn Grandmaster Windsong!" Jiang Fei said, her voice hushed but filled with urgency.
"Follow me," Amar said. "I know a faster way to the monastery."
Without waiting for an answer, he started walking toward one of the side streets, with the other two following closely behind him. Arran desperately wanted to run, but he knew that doing so in sight of the Academy mages would draw their attention. And that, he knew, would bring disaster.
They turned a corner and, as if by unspoken agreement, all three of them immediately set off at a run. Amar was true to his word, and they reached the gates of the monastery in less than a third of the time it would have taken otherwise.
When they arrived, covered in sweat and panting fr
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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 19
When Arran saw the smoking wreck of the building he had been in only moments earlier, he was certain that Master Zhao had died.Yet in an instant more earsplitting blasts sounded, and although the smoke of the ruined building prevented Arran from seeing much, a sudden wave of fire shot out from amid the ruins, hitting another nearby building and sending scorched wreckage flying in all directions."We have to go!" Adept Kadir called out. "It isn't safe!"As if to illustrate his words, a bolt of lightning shot toward them from the smoke, striking a tree only a few dozen paces away. The tree instantly exploded with a thunderous crack, and torn shreds of wood went flying everywhere.Arran and the others immediately started to run, desperate to get away from the destruction behind them.They had run several hundreds of paces when a huge object crashed into the ground in front of them.
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"Brother Amar!"Arran knelt by his friend's motionless body. Now that the danger was gone, he immediately worried about Amar, who had been struck by an Academy mage's attack.To his relief, as he knelt he could hear Amar groan. He was in pain, but at least he had survived. Others, Arran knew, had not been as lucky.Amar opened his eyes. "Did I get him?" he immediately asked, though speaking the words took him some effort."You did," Arran said. No point in telling him right now that it had taken half a dozen initiates to bring down the Academy adept."Bastard broke my arm," Amar said. Cradling his limp right arm, he slowly sat up, wincing as he moved his injured body. "So did we win?" He looked toward the rest of the monastery grounds, and a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes.Arran nodded. "Master Fireheart defeated them."Followi
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"Is that a Realm Opening Pill?" Jiang Fei said, looking in wonder at the small black pill Master Zhao held in his hands.Arran frowned. Again, he found that she knew far more about the world of magic than he did."It is," Master Zhao replied."So that's how you did it!" Jiang Fei looked at Arran as if she had finally figured him out. "That's how you opened your Wind Realm so quickly!"Arran didn't correct her. Although he had not used a Realm Opening Pill for his Wind Realm, Jiang Fei did not know about his forbidden Realm.Looking somewhat smug, Jiang Fei turned her attention back to the pill. "Is it as painful as they say?" she asked, a hint of apprehension appearing in her voice."It's bad," Arran said honestly. "I passed out from the pain when I took it."Jiang Fei nodded thoughtfully. Then, she reached out to Master Zhao, who handed
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 23
"You're leaving tomorrow?!"Master Zhao nodded. "With the attention the battle at Windsong's monastery has drawn, it won't be long before the Academy sends new mages, stronger than the previous ones.""But can't we hide?" Arran asked. "After we fled Fulai City, we didn't see any signs of the Academy for half a year. Why can't we do the same again?""Because I killed over a dozen Academy mages," Master Zhao said plainly. "Before, they were just looking for an initiate with a forbidden Realm. Now, they're looking for someone who attacked the Academy."Arran frowned. "So there's no way for us to hide?""By myself, I can hide quite easily," Master Zhao said. "And even if they find me, I will have little difficulty escaping. But with you along, it will be far more difficult.""If they find us, can't you just fight them?" Arran asked. The battle at the monastery wa
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 24
Master Zhao was quiet, and Arran spent his time thinking about the journey that lay ahead of him.Just moments ago, he had believed that would learn magic with Master Zhao by his side to protect him from the Academy and any other dangers he might encounter.Now, he understood that the journey ahead would be far lonelier and more dangerous than he had previously imagined.He cast another glance at Jiang Fei. Her earlier spasms and convulsions had subsided, and now she looked peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping.Arran wondered whether she would join him on the journey to the Shadowflame Society. Master Zhao said he would invite her, but Arran doubted she would agree. She had joined them to become an apprentice to Master Zhao, after all. Now that the man was leaving, there was little reason for her to remain with Arran.As Arran gave the subject some thought, he wasn't entirely
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 25
"Can it do anything useful at all?"Jiang Fei looked at Arran with a look of frustration. She had spent much of the morning testing out her new Shadow Realm, but so far, the only thing she had accomplished was sending out a large blast of Shadow that merely disappeared the moment it touched the tree she had targeted."Nothing I've been able to accomplish," Arran answered honestly. "But Master Fireheart could use it to make himself disappear."He still called Master Zhao 'Fireheart' when speaking to Jiang Fei, although by now he was starting to doubt whether either identity was actually real."Disappear?" Jiang Fei knitted her brows. "So it's not completely useless, then…"They practiced as they walked, occasionally sending blasts of Shadow at the roadside, or trying to manipulate it into moving. Whatever they tried, however, none of it was useful in the least, and Arran fo
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 26
Although Jiang Fei had said Redwater wasn't much of a town, Arran still found himself impressed by the sight. It was several times as large as Riverbend, with numerous houses and stores, all featuring slanted black tile roofs.At first, he was confused by the town's name, but when he saw the reddish color of the river that ran through the town, he understood."It's iron," Jiang Fei explained. "There's iron in the hills between here and the mountains, and it turns the river red. Doesn't hurt the taste, though."Arran nodded, although he quietly resolved he would stick to drinking ale while he was in town. Not that that was much of a punishment, of course.As they searched for an inn, Jiang Fei made them stop several times to try the dumplings and steamed buns that were being sold by vendors on the side of the road."Try this one," she said, thrusting a steamed bun into his hands.