Chapter 129 Smooth Travels (1/2)

In the weeks following their departure fro with Snowcloud was far h they had done soether before they visited Goldhaven, after the progress Arran had made with the Essence Crystals, it seeorous instruction

They spent , but even as they walked, Snowcloudwith 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 so Arran only a moment to defend hi enough to cause serious harm, but the burns and bruises they left were sufficiently painful to motivate hi left Arran exhausted, but he could not deny the results Within days, his skill at casting spells began to show sns of improvement, and even if it wasn't ress

Moreover, with both his Sense and his control stronger than before, he found that the training also helped iic

Previously, he had slavishly followed his spell scrolls' instructions, weaving strands of Essence together in as close a copy of the originals as he could e Yet while simple imitation had allowed him to cast functional spells, it also liain a vague understanding of the principles behinde their effects

He was still far froic worked or altering his spells in any useful ways, but he could feel that he was finally on the right track

Even if further progress would be slow in co, it would come eventually

After several days of Arran practicing by hih, and fro against each other

While they had sparred before, Arran found that their mock battles were noholly different from before He understood that Snowcloud previously held back, but it quickly became clear that she had restrained herself far ht, she would combine various spells and techniques in different ways, each ti well beyond it

So hith he couldhis feet with chains of Air as he rushed toward her, or goading hiht back at hiy she used, each tiain and again

The endless losses ht have hurt his confidence, had it not been for the steady progress he was rew faster and his defenses stronger, and if actually defeating Snowcloud in a fair fight was still well beyond his reach, every day he found hies

”How do I compare to other novices?” Arran asked after the first week of training

At the question, a thoughtful expression appeared on Snowcloud's face, and she took soh to be a novice yet,” she finally said ”But with your power, you could easily defeat er ones?” Arran asked

Snowcloud shook her head resolutely ”You would lose They have been training like this since childhood, and with access to all the resources they needed”

Arran sighed Although the answer disappointed hiht occurred to hih to be a novice,” he said after aa novice only required learning a single spell?”

”Perhaps in the Empire,” Snowcloud replied with a dismissive smile ”In the Society, there are a handful of spells that qualify an initiate to become a novice, and each of those requires a level of skill that is currently beyond you”

Arran frowned, unhappy with the answer ”But you said I can defeat the weaker novices”