2022-09-22 13:10:37Arran opened his eyes slowly and stared at the white wooden ceiling above him. He wondered where he was and, more importantly, how he had come there.
When he tried to sit up and look around, he felt sharp stabs of pain in several parts of his body, and he realized he still had some injuries.
"Easy, young man," a woman's voice sounded from the back of the room. "You've only just returned from death's doorstep. It'll be a while before you're up again."
Hearing the voice, Arran ignoring the pain and forced himself to sit up. When he finally succeeded, he saw a small gray-haired woman sitting on a wooden chair in the back of the room.
"Not much for listening to advice, are you?" She sighed. "Very well then. I would have suggested you rest some more, but now that you're awake, there are some people who should know about it."
The woman stood up and walked out the door, leaving Arran be
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After Jiang Fei left the room, both Arran and Lord Jiang remained silent for a while, studying each other. Arran found that even though he had only just met the man, he already liked him.Unlike most of the mages he had met so far, Lord Jiang seemed open and straightforward, with little taste for secrets and deception."Are you the leader of the Jiang Clan?" Arran finally asked.Lord Jiang laughed. "I haven't held that title in a thousand years. These days, my only job is to prevent those Academy dogs from getting any ideas." He sighed in disgust. "They really have been getting too bold for their own good these past few centuries.""Are we safe from them here?" Arran asked. He understood that after the deaths of three powerful Academy mages, people would certainly come looking for those responsible."For now, you have nothing to fear from the Academy," Lord Jiang said. "They like
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 33
"It tastes like dead rat," Arran said, face twisted in disgust at the bitter taste of the potion.The gray-haired woman scowled. Arran had learned that her name was Doctor Zhang and that she was Lord Jiang's personal healer. Lord Jiang had put her in charge of treating Arran, but to Arran's dismay, her treatments mostly consisted of vile-tasting potions."You're a man. Act like one," she said bluntly.Arran sighed. The woman was right, of course — however foul-tasting her potions might be, he had to admit that they worked extremely well. Between her potions and the technique Lord Jiang had given him, it had taken him just a week to recover from most of his injuries. Without them, he thought, it would have taken months — if he would have recovered at all.He took a deep breath, then swallowed the potion. The taste made him gag, but he managed to keep it down."Good," D
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 34
Thud!Arran groaned as he opened his eyes. Through the window, he could see that the first light of dawn was only just starting to appear. Only half-awake, he dully wondered what had just interrupted his sleep.Thud! Thud!This time, he realized that the sound came from the door. Someone was knocking."Who is it?!" he called out."Time to get up!"Hearing that the voice was Lord Jiang's, Arran hurriedly got out of bed. It had been over two weeks since he had last seen any sign of his host, but after all the man had done for him, the last thing he wanted was to offend him.When he opened the door, he saw Lord Jiang standing outside, dressed in simple brown clothes. Once more he marveled at the sheer size of the man — he resembled a living mountain."Today, we begin your training," Lord Jiang said, smiling brightl
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 35
Arran found Jiang Fei in the flower patch next to her cottage, sitting on a small spot of grass and studying a thick book.She turned her head as she heard him approach, and when she saw him, a frown instantly appeared on her face."Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked. Raising an eyebrow, she added, "And why are your clothes wet?"Arran flushed with embarrassment. His training with Lord Jiang had left him soaked with sweat, and in his rush to tell Jiang Fei the news, he had not thought to change his clothes."I've been training with Lord Jiang," he said, deciding to divert her attention right away."You've been training? But you haven't fully recovered yet! You should be—" Suddenly, her face went pale. "You've been training with Uncle Bear?!"Arran nodded. "He's teaching me a Body Refinement technique."Jiang Fei looked like she ha
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 36
Arran looked at Jiang Fei. Her eyes were closed, and she sat on the grass with a look of utter concentration on her face.It had been nearly a week since Lord Jiang had given her the scroll containing the circulation technique, but so far, she had not yet succeeded in mastering it.At first, Arran had been somewhat relieved that she had trouble learning the technique. He had feared that with her skill in magic, she would surpass him in a matter of days. He knew it was petty, but still, it felt nice to be better at something than her for a change.Now, however, he was beginning to feel bad for her. She worked day and night, but somehow, the technique still eluded her. Apparently, magical talent alone was not enough to learn Body Refinement.Arran, on the other hand, had made great strides in mastering the circulation technique. Using it while running had been difficult at first, but with the instructi
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Arran and Jiang Fei followed behind Lord Jiang, and eventually, they reached a large wooden building that Arran had not seen before.Inside there was a large hall, and in the hall they found several long tables, all filled with various kinds of food. At a glance, Arran could see several racks of grilled ribs, roasted birds, large slabs of what looked like beef or venison, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables.Arran was puzzled when he realized that although the food looked like it had been prepared just a short while ago, there were no servants anywhere in sight."Did you have this prepared for today?" he asked."Of course," Lord Jiang said. "We have something to celebrate, after all.""But how did you know I would succeed today?" Jiang Fei asked.She looked as puzzled as Arran, as they both understood that preparations for the feast must have begun hours b
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 38
After Lord Jiang's feast, Arran noticed an immediate change in his abilities. Even without using the circulation technique, he could feel that he was stronger and faster than he used to be. The difference wasn't a small one, either — it was as if he had achieved the results of years of training in a single night.When he did use the technique, he found that it was easier to maintain and control than before. Using it still wasn't exactly simple, but as the weeks passed he progressed rapidly, learning to use the technique to increase his strength when needed.Although there were no more feasts like the first one, Lord Jiang served them rare medicinal foods every day, and Arran could feel that they were helping his body grow stronger. Sometimes, Doctor Zhang would bring Arran and Jiang Fei potions as well, and even if their taste was always vile, they seemed to further increase Arran's strength.A few weeks after the
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 39
"Is that what you're wearing?" Jiang Fei looked at Arran with a raised eyebrow."What's wrong with it?" Arran asked.He was wearing a simple brown linen robe, and although it was nothing like the crimson silk dress Jiang Fei was wearing, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. It was comfortable and clean, and it was something that would attract no unwanted attention."Nothing," Jiang Fei said with a frown, "if you're planning to spend the day on a farm."Arran sighed, then went back inside. Some moments later he emerged from the cottage once more, this time wearing a black silk robe with red embroidery. It was one of the finer robes Master Zhao had left him in the void bag, and wearing it made Arran feel like a monkey in a wedding dress."Much better," Jiang Fei said, smiling brightly. "Dressed like this, you could almost trick me into thinking you're handsome."
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True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
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"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.Part of him blamed Ston
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"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see
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In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
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Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
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The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
Chapter 150
Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part
Chapter 149
"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
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"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo
