Chapter 1129
Shadow Stealth is technically a fifth-level spell, but in Byron's hands, it can unleash the power of a seventh-level spell—almost rivaling even the most extreme spells.
Extreme spells aren't simply about a higher rank; rather, they push a particular aspect of magic to its absolute limit.
Shadow Stealth itself offers no offensive or defensive capability; it merely allows a mage to walk hidden within shadows, evading detection by most probing spells.
They sneak all the way to a cavern deep within the camp, where Byron suddenly sees Leon opening a Plane Path…
As Leon steps into the Plane Path, it slowly closes behind him.
That’s precisely why, despite Byron's mediocre combat ability, Diras values him highly. Thanks to this skill, Byron has performed countless feats for the Shadow Tower, stealing both information and artifacts.
Damn, this is perfect! That bastard Matthew Merlin actually commands a Plane Path—wait, no, it’s a semi-dimensional Plane Path!
A gleam flickers in Byron's eyes as he leads the group, weaving through the gaps between alert arrays. Normally, this would be the riskiest spot—one wrong move and you’d trigger two arrays at once.
And Leon’s Mana Array, hailed as the strongest Arcane Sigil, owes its reputation to its formidable computational ability. It can adapt to nearly any spell, though it’s a shame it requires an absurd number of sigils…
Everything in this world casts a shadow. Ordinary Shadow Stealth only allows you to blend into the shadows of objects—mountains, forests, buildings, and the like.
But with Byron’s mastery, Shadow Stealth can even merge into the shadows of other things—like the shadows within alchemical arrays…
Those shadows, invisible to most people, are all mediums Byron can use for stealth…
Slipping along the camp’s edge, boosted by the Shadow Cloak, Byron’s Shadow Stealth is nearly perfect—no one notices a thing.
They sneak all the way to a cavern deep within the camp, where Byron suddenly sees Leon opening a Plane Path…
As Leon steps into the Plane Path, it slowly closes behind him.
But seeing this, Byron is overjoyed.
Damn, this is perfect! That bastard Matthew Merlin actually commands a Plane Path—wait, no, it’s a semi-dimensional Plane Path!
That lucky bastard inherited a semi-plane from a Sky Rank powerhouse—no wonder he knows so much.
But your luck ends here. You ran into me, Byron. If I didn’t know where your Plane Path opened, fine—but now that I’ve seen the exact location, it’s like you handed me the key to your front door!
Byron earned his reputation as the Shadow Tower’s master thief only in recent years. Back then, he was just a barely-qualified Titled Archmage, forced to delve into Shadow Stealth to scrape together resources.
Even before he became a mage, the guy was a thief. Out of resources? Simple—fall back on his old trade and keep stealing. And after becoming a mage, theft became even easier.
He was a natural fit for Shadow Stealth, advancing quickly. His chosen Arcane Sigil was the rare Plane Shadow, which had zero impact on combat ability…
Plane Shadow is an Arcane Sigil tailor-made for Shadow Stealth, constantly amplifying its power—pushing the spell’s abilities to the limit and even beyond.
No one knows who created Plane Shadow. Some say it was forged by the Lord of Shadows during the Age of Gods and Demons, and was even his innate sigil.
Despite its grand origins, over the years this sigil has become the lowest-ranked Arcane Sigil in the Shadow Tower.
If it weren’t specifically for shadow spells, the Shadow Tower wouldn’t even bother with such a weak sigil.
When choosing Arcane Sigils, most mages pick ones that boost combat—like the Endless Spring, which greatly accelerates mana recovery. For mages whose spells eat up tons of mana, that’s the best sigil.
Hand of Time shortens spell-casting time, which is also a huge help in battle. Mages who favor powerful but slow-casting spells pick Hand of Time to boost their combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.
And Leon’s Mana Array, hailed as the strongest Arcane Sigil, owes its reputation to its formidable computational ability. It can adapt to nearly any spell, though it’s a shame it requires an absurd number of sigils…
Trying to complete a Mana Array means wasting endless time gathering sigils. By the time you’re done, other mages may have already advanced to Titled Archmage, while the Mana Array user is still just a Grand Mage…
For ages, Mana Array was considered a failed sigil. Many mages died of old age before collecting enough sigils to finish it, squandering their talent.
By comparison, Plane Shadow is the worst kind of Arcane Sigil—not increasing mana, not shortening casting time, not even boosting spell power.
It’s got nothing—just a support sigil, and it’s not even as useful as the ones alchemist-specialists pick.
Alchemists who focus on potions might pick Flame Hand as their sigil. With it, they can control fire with near-perfect precision while brewing, never failing because of temperature.
Potion alchemists know the number one reason for failure is flame control—one tiny mistake and the fusion or extraction process falls apart.
With Flame Hand, that risk drops dramatically, and their success rate climbs…
Alchemists specializing in magical items pick Paladin’s Hammer—the best support sigil for crafting components. It helps them control every detail, purify materials, and fuse them flawlessly.
Forging magical items is all about details. In the heat of forging, details are hard to control—most failures or weakened items come down to missed details.
There are plenty of support sigils, and lots of people use them. Most support sigils even boost your combat power, too.
But Plane Shadow only enhances Shadow Stealth—nothing else. In the Shadow Tower, only the lowest-tier shadow mages are forced to pick it, usually scouts whose job is gathering intel.
These scouts have the highest mortality rate—every year, plenty of shadow mages get caught spying or stealing and end up beaten to death…
After all these years, Byron is the only one to actively choose Plane Shadow as his sigil…
And no one else in the past two or three millennia has mastered Shadow Stealth to this degree…
But Byron loves it. Ever since he picked Plane Shadow, his Shadow Stealth just kept growing stronger. Below Sky Rank, no one’s ever caught him—except once, when a Sky Rank powerhouse from the Shadow Tower personally intervened.
Since then, Byron's resources have far outstripped everyone else’s. In the Shadow Tower, the rule is: if you’re skilled enough, even stealing from a Sky Rank powerhouse is fair game.
As long as you don’t get caught red-handed, you could even admit to the theft afterward—no punishment, maybe even a reward.
Since Byron broke through to Titled Archmage, his Shadow Stealth jumped a whole level—no one’s caught him since. With all those resources, his strength soared, and he quickly reached fifth-level Titled Archmage.
But the real reason Byron started getting serious cultivation ties into a Shadow Tower secret—a mystery even the powers of Odin Kingdom still puzzle over.
At first, the conquest of the Blazeforge Realm had nothing to do with the Shadow Tower…
Officially, conquering Blazeforge Realm was for Odin Kingdom’s benefit. But anyone with half a brain knows it’s just every faction fighting for their own interests.
The bigger your territory, the more resources you get. Fewer people means more loot for each person.
As humans secured their foothold in Blazeforge Realm and the resources started flowing, the Shadow Tower got jealous.
But the coordinates of Blazeforge Realm are top secret for every faction. Not even the commanders stationed there know the exact coordinates.
They all enter Blazeforge Realm via Plane Paths opened by their own factions—the real coordinates are the deepest secret.
Anyone not in the know can only look on with envy, jealousy, and resentment…
The only faction to barge in out of nowhere was the Shadow Tower!
And the one who found the coordinates of Blazeforge Realm—was Byron!