Chapter 106 Rule Breaking

Although the mages picked up their pace, the increasingly heavy snowstorm finally brought them to a stop. Under Mage Roman's command, Shaoke and the others were forced to set up tents close together in a relatively recessed rock wall near the canyon to shelter from the wind and snow.

The mages' tents were placed innermost, with the warriors' tents pitched outside. Shaoke and Mage Roman, along with the others, laid down sufficient Alert Wards around the small campsite to protect against any sudden attacks.

Due to the lack of enough firewood, the mages had to endure waves of cold alongside the warriors. Shaoke curled up on the animal skins spread on the ground, holding the 'Spell Record' that documented Spellcasting Techniques, and pored over it by candlelight.

Just as he was engrossed in reading, Mage Roman suddenly pulled aside the flap of his tent. "Mage Xueye, may I come in?"

Seeing it was Mage Roman, Shaoke quickly gestured for her to enter. Since the tent wasn't tall, they didn't stand to greet each other formally.

Mage Roman smiled at Shaoke, lowered her head at the tent entrance to shake the snow off her long hair, then naturally removed her long leather boots, revealing her feet in white socks. She settled down opposite Shaoke and, after a quick look around the tent, saw the thick pile of animal skins stacked off to one side. She pulled them over to cover both their laps.

Shaoke carefully stowed the 'Spell Record' scroll, placing it into a nearby pouch. "Mage Roman, what brings you here?" He was somewhat puzzled as to why the female mage wasn't staying in her own tent but had come to his instead.

Mage Roman looked slightly awkward. "It's just too cold in the tent. Really, this isn't even the season for snow."

Watching Mage Roman complain with a pout, Shaoke could only smile along. "True!" After saying this, he lowered his head and fell silent.

Mage Roman grabbed a couple more animal skins to wrap herself up tightly for warmth, then turned to Shaoke. "Mage Xueye, go to my tent and get a barrel of wine. Hmm! It's on the writing desk."

It seemed the leaders there enjoyed certain privileges. *Sigh!* Shaoke could only sigh inwardly before following Mage Roman's instructions to go to her tent.

Since the mages' tents were right next to each other, Shaoke only had to walk a few steps to reach the female mage's tent. The furnishings inside were extremely simple, no different from his own, except for a small wine barrel placed on the writing desk in the center. The high-quality snowwood barrel told him immediately that it contained a fine wine.

After taking the wine barrel, Shaoke hesitated, then also gathered up the animal skins from Mage Roman's tent. Earlier, he had noticed the female mage's face was somewhat pale, and she was still shivering slightly even while curled up wrapped in skins. Therefore, he decided to bring them over for her.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a woman's suppressed moan coming from a nearby tent. Although the sound wasn't loud, to Shaoke it was clear and enticing.

"Damn it. Even in this situation, they can't forget their pleasures. No wonder they can never advance to Third Tier Mage." Shaoke listened for a moment, hearing the moans grow increasingly intense. Finally, he muttered jealously to himself, picked up the wine and furs, and returned to his own tent.

"Did you bring it?" Seeing that Shaoke had taken so long to return, Mage Roman knew he must have discovered something in her tent. A blush spread across her pale cheeks.

"I brought it." Shaoke took a deep breath, pushing the sounds from his mind. Then he poured a cup of wine for the female mage and handed it over. "Mage Roman, have a drink quickly! You don't look so good." After saying this, he placed the thick pile of animal skins beside Mage Roman, gesturing for her to use them.

Mage Roman nodded and smiled at Shaoke. "Thank you! You go ahead with your work. I'll rest here for a while." As she spoke, she took out an animal skin and handed it to Shaoke, indicating he should cover himself to reduce the intrusion of the cold air from outside.

Silence fell over the tent again. Shaoke took out his books and scrolls, placing them on the writing desk, and once again focused intently on reading. The female mage slowly sipped the fine wine, using it to warm herself up.

Outside, the wind and snow grew heavier. The tents on the outer edge were almost crushed by the accumulating snow. Fortunately, the warriors weren't afraid of the cold. They came out repeatedly to clear the ever-increasing snow, then gathered together, boasting and bragging to pass the time.

When Shaoke put down his book and rubbed his sore eyes, he noticed that Mage Roman opposite him had fallen asleep leaning against a pillow. Four or five thick animal skins were tightly wrapped around her, and her white long hair covered her face, so Shaoke couldn't tell if her complexion had improved.

Just as he thought about moving to go outside and check the situation, he suddenly felt two somewhat cool objects resting on his leg. For a moment, Shaoke didn't react. He casually reached out to feel them, and when he touched those two things, he couldn't help but smile wryly. He really couldn't understand why these female mages liked to put their feet on others?

After resting a bit longer, Shaoke carefully moved Mage Roman's feet aside, then tidied up and stepped out of the tent. The outside air immediately made Shaoke, who had been inside the tent for a long time, feel his muddled head clear up considerably. The sky outside had long since darkened.

Shaoke tightened his cloak forcefully, preventing the wind and snow from blowing into his collar. Icy snowflakes continuously struck his face, slightly lifting his long-suppressed spirits.

After standing outside for a long time, a thick layer of snow had accumulated on him. At this moment, Mage Roman, who had been sleeping soundly in Shaoke's tent, woke up at some point. "Mage Xueye, do you like the snow? Why not rest inside the tent? It's too cold outside."

Shaoke, who had been deep in thought, was suddenly startled by Mage Roman. He turned his head to look at the female mage standing behind him. "Just thinking about some things outside, clearing my mind." As he spoke, he shook his body, dislodging the snow. Fortunately, the cloak was inscribed with magic script, so the melted snow didn't soak through his clothes.

"Haha!" Mage Roman laughed. Under Shaoke's gaze, she stretched uninhibitedly, then moved her limbs. "Then you continue thinking here. I'm hungry and need to go back to eat something." Nodding at Shaoke, she turned and returned to her own tent.

Touching his own stomach, Shaoke didn't feel hungry, so he remained standing there, reminiscing about past events, sighing inwardly.

Not long after the female mage returned to her tent, she came out holding a small package, her small face flushed red. She stood beside Shaoke and said, "Come in! It's too cold over there. Let's eat together."

Shaoke was about to refuse, but before he could get the words out, the female mage turned and entered his tent, once again inviting Shaoke inside to share the meal.

Hard bread and cold cured meat—these two foods, without being heated or roasted, were eaten in small bites by the two mages. Afterwards, the female mage tidied up the utensils and retreated back to her original spot, wrapping herself in animal skins without moving. "Mage Xueye, I think I must sleep here tonight. Hmm! It might be warmer this way."

Looking at the now wide-awake and energetic Mage Roman, Shaoke could only nod in agreement. One reason was that she wouldn't disturb his studies; another was that he secretly hoped to get closer to this female mage.

After the female mage fell asleep leaning there again, Shaoke continued with his studies. Although he envied Mage Roman's leisurely lifestyle, he didn't dare to emulate her, because he wasn't a genius but an ordinary mage who relied on drugs to advance rapidly. He didn't want a moment of laziness to delay his time of promotion.

Within his Meditation space, both mental power and magical power had grown considerably under the influence of the large amounts of drugs he had taken recently. Moreover, under the effect of the two mutated diamond arrays, their purity hadn't decreased at all; instead, it had become even more refined than before.

After finishing his meditation, Shaoke once again inspected the magical power space that had been his primary focus lately. After careful probing, Shaoke discovered that the entire magical power space had grown slightly larger and become much sturdier compared to when he had just been promoted. Although it was still far inferior to the mental space, this discovery excited him greatly.

For all mages, after each promotion, the size of their mental space and magical power space became fixed. They could only rely on meditation to increase the sturdiness of the two spaces, not their size. However, under the influence of the silver light, not only had both spaces become much sturdier, but they had also expanded to varying degrees. This made Shaoke even more curious about the existence of that silver light.

Following routine, he finally checked the silver light on the array once more, but the result was still fruitless. He neither knew where this light emerged from nor what other uses it might have. Finally, after taking various auxiliary drugs again and waiting for the silver light to calm the spatial turbulence, Shaoke slowly fell asleep, harboring the thought of relying on drugs to enhance his strength.

In his deep sleep, he suddenly felt someone shaking him, and a hurried voice sounded in his ear: "Mage Xueye, wake up quickly! Those bastards from the Desasi Empire have attacked us."

Awakened by the familiar female voice, Shaoke saw Mage Roman's face full of panic and anger as she shook him. "Quick, wake the others. We must leave here. They've broken the rules this time."