2022-10-02 13:05:53At the end of the hallway, Arran found a great hall, circular and about a hundred paces across, with a domed ceiling that hung at least sixty feet from the ground.
The hall was completely empty, as bare as the cells had been, but on its side, Arran could see five large doors.
The doors superficially resembled those that barred the cells in the hallway, but these were twenty feet high and half as wide, each barred with a dozen steel beams that were held in place by large steel locks.
At once, Arran understood that behind these doors also lay prison cells, but that they were made to hold prisoners far more powerful than those he had seen in the regular cells.
He headed to one of the doors, intent on opening it. If the prisoners here were stronger, perhaps they would be of use when he tried to escape the dungeon.
While the locks on the cells in the hallway had been easy to break, he
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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 60
As Arran hurried up the stairs, climbing three steps at a time, he heard the mages he had freed following behind. He paid them little heed. What mattered now was what lay ahead of him.The staircase seemed to go on forever, steeply winding upward, and after some time Arran began to wonder just how far below the ground he was. Although he couldn't be sure, it seemed like he had already climbed half a mile upward, and still the stairs continued.Had his body not been strengthened through Body Refinement, he would have long been out of breath by now, but as it was, he did not even break a sweat.Now, he understood why no one had come after he used a vast amount of Essence to escape his cell. Half a mile underground, it would simply have been impossible to sense for those above.The escaped mages were still behind him, and although he heard some panting by now, he marveled at their endurance. In their cu
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 61
After bursting out the door, Arran found himself in what looked to be a large, walled courtyard. Although there were clear signs of battle in the form of bodies and damaged buildings, there weren't any enemies present as far as Arran could tell.Without having to face the attack he had been expecting, Arran almost felt lost as he headed into the courtyard to take a better look at the surroundings. There was no trace of any living Academy guards, and the gate in the wall had been twisted into a ruined mess by some frighteningly strong force.While he remained watchful, it seemed as if the four prisoners from the most heavily locked cells had completely wiped out their enemies.Behind him, he could hear the freed prisoners flooding into the courtyard, their voices low but excited. Some sounded fearful and others eager, but none of them sounded the least bit calm.There were well over a hundred now, and
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 62
Arran followed the short woman as she led him back inside the prison building, a long line of escaped prisoners trailing behind them.Some of the prisoners looked unhappy with the sudden change in plans, and Arran couldn't blame them — after the conditions they had to endure within the walls of this building, it was only natural that they had little interest in going back.A handful of them actually didn't follow the group back inside, instead running out of the gate and leaving the walled area behind.Their screams only lasted some moments, but that was enough to tell the other prisoners what was waiting for them outside the walls. No others left after that.Understanding that beyond the courtyard lay only death and that the courtyard itself offered little protection, the remaining prisoners hurried back inside.With a thought, Arran directed the bushy-bearded mage from th
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 63
"Watch out!" Arran yelled.Windsong barely dodged the fireball, but the prisoner behind him wasn't as lucky. Before the man had time to look shocked, he was dead, a head-sized hole burned through his chest.Arran rushed toward the Academy mage who had launched the attack, a terrifyingly strong fighter with a hard face and snow-white hair. And, if Arran was right, one of the few Grandmasters who still fought on the side of the Academy at the prison.Their initial attack had been unexpectedly successful. Before the Academy could mount a defense, Arran, Windsong, and the prisoners who accompanied them had overrun the guards' quarters, taking down hundreds of unprepared enemies while losing less than two dozen of their own.Without delay they had forged ahead to the officers' quarters, attacking with enough fury that it seemed as if they really were intent on finding and fighting the enemy commanders.
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 64
The hall had exploded into chaos the moment the Academy mages and guards attacked, and for a time, all Arran could do was desperately dodge the mages' attacks while fighting off the guards.That he still remained standing was only because the Academy mages seemed hesitant to kill their own, allowing him to use the guards to block them from attacking.Yet while Arran was barely holding on, the other prisoners weren't faring as well. Within minutes half of them lay dead, and more fell by the second, with both the guards' weapons and the mages' Essence attacks cutting them down mercilessly.Seeing that the situation had turned desperate, Arran knew he had to use the last of the raw Essence within his body. There was only enough left for a few more attacks, but there was no point in saving it now.Arran rushed forward, ducking behind a small cluster of guards to avoid a burst of Fire that lashed his way
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 65
Arran awoke in a small but clean bedroom, lying in a bed so hard it almost seemed like its owner had wanted to prove his toughness even when sleeping.The room was furnished with simple but well-made furniture, and several ink drawings of battle scenes decorated the walls. At a glance, Arran thought it should be one of the commanders' quarters.The first thing he did after waking was to examine his body, and when he did, he saw that it was covered in bruises. And not just that — with every breath he took he felt sharp stabs of pain in his chest. From this, he knew that at least some of his ribs had to be bruised or even broken.His left shoulder and arm were covered in bandages, and when he looked underneath them, he found several deep wounds, still open even if they weren't bleeding anymore.Moving his left arm was extremely painful, but he felt some relief at this — the mere fact that h
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 66
Three months had passed since Arran escaped from the prison, and by now, he had recovered almost completely.Although he would sometimes still feel pangs of pain if he moved too quickly, he knew that for some time already, he had been well enough to travel.That he remained here was in part because he wanted to recover fully before braving the dangers of the road, but mostly, he was reluctant to abandon the peace and safety of the stronghold.After the stronghold had fallen to the prisoners, surprisingly little had happened.Arran had been unconscious during the final battle for the stronghold, and after he came to, it had taken some weeks before he had been able to leave his bed.When he finally got the chance to explore the stronghold, he found it almost shockingly normal. Instead of the castle he had imagined, the stronghold was more like a small town, albeit an unusually well
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 67
After leaving the stronghold, Arran traveled in secret.Although the Academy wouldn't be looking for him just yet, he knew it was only a matter of time until they came after him. To avoid leaving a trail for them to follow, he made it a point to avoid villages and even roads.Instead, he moved through the wilderness, doing all he could to avoid other travelers. The fewer people who saw him, the fewer ways the Academy would have to find him.The journey was lonely, but not uncomfortable. His void bags contained all the supplies he needed, as well as a large tent to protect him during cold and rainy nights.He didn't know exactly where he was going, but that didn't bother him — as long as he kept moving west, he would eventually reach his destination.The Shadowflame Society controlled the western border of the Empire, and from what others had told him, he knew the entire bor
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Chapter 156
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
Chapter 155
"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
Chapter 154
"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
Chapter 153
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
Chapter 152
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
Chapter 151
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
Chapter 148
"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
