Chapter 243 Effor (1/2)

Arran continued his studies well into the night, sloorking his way through the spells and seals the Matriarch had given hi so would siain the next day, likely in addition to whatever iive him next

Instead, he forced hi the spells and seals to the best of his ability and carefully recording his progress in the two eht progressed so did his weariness, but at no point did he consider giving up

Leaving would be easy enough, of course Brightblade had made it clear that if he failed to meet the Matriarch's demands, the woman would cast him aside without hesitation At that point, he would be able to return to the House of Swords to resu that to happen would rob hiot And if his own servants were desperate just to have capable instructors, how could he pass up the chance to learn from the Matriarch herself?

And so, he labored on, neither slacking nor coht yet fail him, but if he fell short, it wouldn't be for lack of effort

Still, ht advanced And the wearier he grew, the slower the work progressed

When he finally coht, with just a few o before dawn

He made his way back to his uards at the gate, their faces vaguely fareeted him, and if they felt any curiosity at his late return, their faces showed no sign of it

As he passed through the gate, he quickly decided against entering thea decent room would take half an hour — ti

Instead, he headed for the hot spring Just a few hours of sleep in there had felt like an entire night, and even if that was just his iladly settle for the illusion of rest right now

Before he entered the hot spring, however, he had a quick on meat, accompanied by several of the potions Snowcloud had left hiht do little for his weary mind, but they could help blunt any effects the lack of sleep would have on his body

When he slipped into the hot spring some minutes later, he was asleep in seconds

He awoke to the sound of Jovan's voice soan as Arran got out of the water

”I could drown,” Arran interrupted him ”I know What time is it?”

”Half an hour before dawn,” Jovan said ”Didn't knohether you needed waking, but I figured I'd better not take any chances”

”Thanks,” Arran said Then, after a yawn, he asked, ”Is there any breakfast?”

He was glad to hear that there was, and he soon discovered that his cooks had surpassed their efforts of the previous day This ti, enjoying the variety of dishes that had been prepared for him

Doran and Master Kallias arrived shortly before dawn, both of thes ide eyes as they entered the gardens

They eagerly accepted Arran's invitation for breakfast — there was ht another dozen people along — and as they tasted the food, Doran gave Arran an envious look

”Think the Matriarch needs any other apprentices?” he asked ”I could do with a place like this”

”You could try asking,” Arran replied ”Though I think you retful glance at the ed ”I suppose I never had an their training after finishi+ng breakfast, spending half their time on the Thousand Cuts and the other half on Arran's style Teaching it to the other tasn't just a way to repay the others helped hi passed quickly, and they ended their training half an hour before htest Rather, he found that the exercise reinvigorated him

”I have a favor to ask from the both of you,” he said as they finished their practice ”A big one”

”What is it?” Master Kallias asked

”My servants need training,” Arran explained ”And I would like to ask the both of you if you could spend the afternoon instructing thewidely

”As much as you want,” Arran replied

”Then I'm in”

Master Kallias, however, hesitated in answering Yet after a few ave Arran a short nod ”Since we'll be here toht at your residence Very well, I'll see what I can teach these servants of yours”