Chapter 280 The Final Stretch (1/2)

Relearning Shadowcloak proved every bit as e as Arran had expected it to be

It was a difficult spell to begin with, and unlike Flamestrike, it needed to be maintained constantly This provided plenty of opportunity for Arran to fall back into the bad habits he'd grown accusto the proper technique required constant effort

He struggled for well over a ed by this slow progress Eli flaws that had festered for years would take tie that

Instead, he persisted with stubborn deter his pastinto old techniques, he would i extra attention to those parts of the spell that had given him trouble

It was a burdensome path, but after another teeks, he finally succeeded — and the result immediately filled him with excitement

With Flamestrike, his new foundation had allowed him to cast a far more powerful version of the spell than he had previouslyused far more effectively

Yet with Shadowcloak, the effect was a different one Arran's use of Essence had becoained no benefit froth, the result was that he consumed far less Essence to maintain the spell

With wide eyes, he realized that where he had previously only been able to use Shadowcloak for a minute or two, now, he should be able toa Shadowcloak for such an aest adepts, and Arran briefly found himself dumbfounded by the result He had expected to see some improvements, but this surpassed even his wildest dreaht, he realized ittheir weakest Realms Yet Arran's Shadow Reale quantities of Real that, he had used Shadow Essence more than any other of his Real should coth to compensate for his flawed foundation But now, he could finally put that vast fount of Shadow Essence to good use

Yet pleased though he ith the result of his training so far, he kneasn't done yet

He had painstakingly corrected his foundation, then relearned the two most complex spells he kne, all he lacked was practice in truly using theht, rather than spells he needed to focus to cast

He knew this was a step he could not skip Only by using skills under pressure would he truly co how to use Fire and Shadow Essence would he be able to e the two

This posed a proble that needed an opponent — a sparring partner or enemies, who could pressure him as he used his spells

But he was all alone in the valley, and although the mountains should hold at least some hostile beasts, he was certain none of thee

For ainto the cavern, to see if perhaps it held soht better of it — although facing ene into unknown territory just to see if he could find a battle would be h, then turned his attention to the mountain opposite the cave

Without hesitation, he drew his starmetal sword and used his Shadowcloak to conceal hie of Fla the cold rock as if it was a living enemy

He understood that this was nowhere even close to facing a real opponent, but it was the option he had available And if the mountain didn't provide him with the pressure of battle, he would just have to push himself to the point where his own exhaustion becaainst this silent opponent, cutting and burning atunnel into the side of theall his energy onthe attack

He used his Shadowcloak asit when he ran out of Shadow Essence — and even then, he renewed it the moment his Shadow Essence was replenished

When he attacked, he used Flamestrike when he had Fire Essence available, and his shen he did not While tearing through the rock with his blade had little practical benefit, it furthered his exhaustion, ensuring he had not even the slightest h it was, proved effective

After only a single day he was already tre the two co exhaustion helped his skill and control improve even further than it already had