As they made their way to the capital of the Sixth Valley, Arran was surprised at how normal the Valley seemed.
He had somehow expected the Sixth Valley to be like a much larger version of Windsong's monastery, filled with nothing but mages who were constantly in training. But instead, what he found were endless fields with crops and cattle, littered with small farms, and the occasional village or town.
From what Arran had seen of the Valley so far, it might as well have been any random part of the Empire, with the only difference being the mountains he could see in the distance behind him.
Yet even those vanished into the distance as they traveled further from the valley's edges, until finally, only the thinness of the air was left to remind Arran that they were still in the mountains.
As they traveled, Snowcloud remained her quiet self. She seldom spoke, and when she did, it was about plants by the
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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 99
The man closely examined the mark on Arran's wrist, seeming to study every detail at length. Arran was already beginning to worry that something was wrong when the man finally nodded."From this day forth," the man said in a serious tone, "you will be unable to teach the True Path to those outside the Society, who haven't taken the Oath.""But I don't even know what the True Path is," Arran replied. "What if I talk about it unintentionally?""You don't need to worry about that," the man said, a practiced smile on his face. "The Oath will prevent you from discussing anything related to the True Path with outsiders, whether you intend to or not."Arran frowned. "What happens if I try to do it anyway?""You will find that you are unable to do so," the man replied. "Even Archmages are unable to break the Oath.""So that's it? I'm free to discuss other Society mat
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 100
Arran followed Snowcloud out of the inn, and in short order, they had left the city behind."How long can you run before you get tired?" she asked him."As long as I need to," Arran said. Although he had never tested the limits of his endurance, he knew that even running at a sprint for hours did not leave him noticeably tired."Then follow me," she said. In an instant, she dashed off along the road, her moonlit silhouette almost disappearing in the distance before Arran could even respond.Immediately, he followed, sprinting after her. He caught up a few moments later, then slowed his pace to match hers as he ran beside her."Why are we in such a hurry?" he asked.Although he did not know the reason, he would have been a fool not to understand that she was fleeing something. And anything that was cause enough for her to flee would certainly be a danger to hi
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 101
They ran until Arran lost track of the days and nights, crossing so many hills and forests that he thought they should be several hundreds of miles from the border, if not more.Snowcloud's potion kept them awake while they ran, but as the days progressed, it began to exact a toll well beyond its disgusting taste.As the days passed, Arran's coordination seemed to weaken gradually, and he would fall regularly, tripping over roots and rocks that he normally would have seen a hundred paces away. It seemed that although the potion kept him from feeling tired, it did little to cure the actual effects of his lack of sleep.In those rare moments when they weren't running, Arran's vision would sometimes randomly turn blurry, as if the world was still moving around him. Worse still was that at times, he would see shadowy figures at the edges of his vision that vanished the moment he tried to look at them.At
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 102
"The Shadowflame Society was founded thousands of years ago," Snowcloud began, "by a powerful mage known as the Saint of Shadows. He was the one who created the Society's secret teachings — the True Path — and armed with his techniques, his followers built the Shadowflame Society into a powerful sect, dedicated to advancing their knowledge of magic."At the time, there were many other such groups in the Empire. Although sometimes conflicts occurred between them, they mostly co-existed peacefully, and their power strengthened the Empire, allowing the Imperial Family to expand it until its borders stretched so far it would take years just to travel from one end of the Empire to the other."Among the sects, there was one that stood above the others. Known as the Radiant Society, it had techniques and spells that surpassed anything the other sects knew. When the Radiant Society announced that it would create an alliance to further th
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 103
The next day, Arran was all but recovered from the journey. Between his Body Refinement techniques and a good night's sleep, all that remained of the ordeal was a vague feeling of weariness, which he took to be an after-effect of Snowcloud's potion.That the potion had any after-effects at all came as a surprise — with his Essence-strengthened body, even most light injuries normally healed in a matter of hours. That the potion's harm lasted beyond that was worrying, and he resolved not to use it again unless he had no other choice.Snowcloud was already sitting at the cave's entrance, and as he sat down in front of her, she gave him an appraising look."You recovered quickly," she said. "Are you ready to begin?""Ready and impatient," he replied.She responded with a smile. "Let's get started then. The first thing I will have to do is teach you a decent Body Refinement tech
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 104
"I can learn how to create them?" Arran scratched his chin, already thinking of the possibilities. If he could create Essence Crystals himself, it was as good as having an unlimited supply of them."You can create Essence Crystals by purifying Essence," Snowcloud said. "It's not particularly difficult work, but it's extremely slow."Arran let out a sigh at this. He had known there would be a catch, but some part of him had still hoped against hope that things would be simple, just this once. But then, if becoming a powerful mage was simple, there would probably be more of them."When can I start learning it?" he asked. If it was going to be slow work, he'd best start as soon as he could."Now," Snowcloud said, then handed Arran a scroll. "This explains the process for purifying Essence. Study it well, and then you can start practicing."Arran worked his way through the scroll eag
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 105
"This is insane."Arran had already said it at least a dozen times, but he still hoped he could somehow change Snowcloud's mind."I'll only be gone for a month or two," Snowcloud said. "You'll be able to handle it.""What if I run into another novice? Or bandits? Or a rogue mage?" He only barely kept himself from screaming in frustration."You're over a hundred miles from the nearest village," she replied calmly. "There's almost no chance of meeting other people here.""Then what if I'm attacked by wild beasts, or monsters?""You will just have to kill them," she answered. "You're a mage. You can defend yourself.""But you blinded me!"That, of course, was the real problem.When Arran awoke that morning, Snowcloud had handed him a mug of herbal tea, telling him that drinking it would aid his Sense
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 106
"Who's there!" Arran called out.Although he knew the growl had not come from a human, perhaps the sound of his voice would drive off whatever creature was stalking him."If you come closer, I'll attack!" he yelled, giving his sword several swings to give some weight to the threat.Another growl sounded, this time from Arran's side. He quickly turned to face it, holding his sword in front of him as he prepared to be attacked.But no attack came. Instead, a few moments later yet another growl sounded, now further to his side. Again he turned, understanding that the creature was circling him, probably looking for an opening to attack.The realization caused him to feel some worry — if the creature was testing his defenses, it was no simple beast. Perhaps it might even be intelligent enough to figure out that he was blind.His Sense told him there was only