Chapter Sixty-One

Arnin finally got onto the first floor and headed towards the exit. Since he was now done creating his own cultivation manual, he could move onto creating cultivation stones. Then, he would be able to earn some academic points, and use them to buy what he needed.

He didn't go, and bid Surk farewell, rather he wanted to head straight to the Mark Master department. He walked out onto the large green field and headed towards the forest that would lead him to the academy. As he walked through the grass, Arnin noticed that there were many students cultivating on the ground. Some were sitting on the grass, other on the rocks, and there even a few sitting on tree branches. Arnin noticed that the further he got from the tower, the younger the students got. Most of the students sitting around the border or middle of the green field were the same age as Arnin, and their realms were still at Orb Birth - Earth.

Arnin understood that the kids here were more talented than the Butterfly students, however he didn't feel that the gap was that large. He felt that if Akig came and was able to use his full strength, then there was a high chance that he would be able to beat these students up. However, that was on the condition that he would be able to figure out Akig's special power or special body, if he had one.

Finally, he exited the training field and forest. It took approximately twenty minutes to finally reach the Mark Master department. There were many more people than the first time he was there, but that was to be expected. People wanted to buy cultivation stones as soon as possible.

Arnin headed towards the door that lead to the second floor and found that the person sitting behind the counter was not the same old man who had implanted a strange thing inside his body. This time, it was a young boy around the age of eleven. Arnin decided to ignore him and headed straight towards the second floor. When he got up there, he didn't stop and kept going until he finally reached the third floor.

When he got there, he found that there were about five people sitting on different tables. The floor was very large, so five people seemed to be almost nothing. Arnin understood that this was because becoming a Mark Master was very difficult. Not only would one have to be at Essence Manifest, but they would also have to have high control over Animus.

Alchemists didn't need to do this as Animus was not needed for Alchemy since the orb itself had the ability to control flames. Animus was more so related to Mark Making, and some other rare jobs.

The five people saw Arnin coming to the third floor and were somewhat surprised. However, they didn't say anything. Even if Arnin was new, everyone knew that the third floor was only for Mark Masters, so they didn't stop him.

Although the five didn't stop Arnin, that didn't mean that their hearts were calm. They were all around the ages of twenty and had dedicated a lot of their time to mark making, so seeing such a young Mark Master really hit them hard. They assumed that Arnin was an Assistant Mark Master, but even then, it took them until the ages of seven or more to become one. They shook their heads and tried not to compare themselves to Arnin.

If they knew that Arnin was not actually an assistant, but a Pink Level Mark Master, they might have actually fainted or gone into comas. One had to know that out of the five, only one was a Pink level Mark Master, and he was nearing the age of twenty-five. Plus, he barely made the cut.

Arnin slowly walked towards a table that had his name printed on. He noticed that out of all the tables, many had names and only a select few didn't.

He was happy to see that his working desk was in a corner, far away from others. This was something he liked. Arnin nodded his head and looked up. He found that there was a window on the top that was letting in a small amount of sunlight.

'So, this is how the Mark Master's will collect their solar essence? Seems a little too small." Arnin shook his head and decided to just go with it.

He remembered that the mark making manual said to circulate the cultivation manual one was using and then begin to draw. As one drew, they should try to absorb the solar essence at the same time. This will allow the cultivation stones to gain some of the solar essence needed, however Arnin decided not to follow the last step.

Why should he use the solar essence when his saber flames are much stronger? Arnin got in front of his desk and realized that it was too tall. He sighed at his small body and stood on top of his chair. He wasn't able to sit on it since that would make it harder to see.

Arnin stood on the chair and looked at the large table. He found that the table had many things other than his own name. There were some books, a box filled with empty cultivation stones, another box that had nothing inside, and there were even papers and pens.

Arnin looked at the set up and concluded that the papers and pens were for testing marks out, while the empty box was supposed to be filled with completed cultivation stones.

Arnin smiled and picked out a cultivation stone. He looked at it for a bit and began to draw the mark he knew about. His right hand's index finger pointed forward as a small blade appeared from the tip. Arnin began to circulate his cultivation and began to draw the mark. Arnin wasn't creating a cultivation stone just yet. He was just trying to familiarize himself with the method.

Arnin added in bits of the saber flames into the stone as he drew. A few minutes passed, and Arnin looked down. He found that a small pink mark had appeared. This showcased Arnin's rank as a Pink Mark Master, however he was a little surprised. He assumed that he could only make a pink mark using his unorthodox method, but to his surprise, he was still able to make one using the generic method.

'Maybe it's because of the strength of the saber flames, and the Demon Cultivation Manual being abnormal.' Arnin concluded that these two factor played a large role in the creation of the marks. Right now, he just needed to practice creating marks, and after that, he would begin to create the cultivation stones needed.

An hour passed and Arnin was finally able to familiarize himself with the technique. In front of him were about a dozen stones. Some of the stones had pink marks, while others were orange.

During his practice, Arnin found that he would occasionally stop circulating his essence, or would even lose control over his saber, however he was still able to create a mark. If others were to know Arnin's trials, they would have lost their minds. Normally when a person stopped circulating essence, their stones would burst apart, let alone create a mark. Even if someone would begin to lose their control over their drawing fingers, damage would be inflicted upon the stones, making them unusable, however Arnin was able to continue drawing under such conditions, and was even able to reach the Orange level. This was considered terrifying talent.

Arnin stopped practicing after he was able to get three pink marks in a row. He then pulled out a book that was neatly placed on his table, and looked at the title, 'Creating Cultivation Stones I' He flipped through the pages.

The book was somewhat thick, but nothing terrible, only around a hundred pages or so. Arnin quickly went through the begining information and found the simplest cultivation stone one could make. This cultivation stone would be the lowest level and required one to use worldly essence.

Arnin nodded, and found the marks needed and their orders. The shapes of the marks used were a language that Arnin was unable to understand, however after reading the description, he found that the collective marks meant 'neutral'. They allowed for anyone to absorb them, regardless of their cultivation method and element.

Arnin made sure to read every step, and completely memorized it after he read it a few more times. His eyes glinted as he grabbed an empty stone and began to draw. It was both easier, and harder than just placing down a single mark. It was easier because he didn't need to insert any of the saber flames, while it was harder because there were more marks.

Arnin worked slowly, and after doing it for about half an hour, he finally completed the mark. When he looked at it, he realized that it was orange, not pink. This disappointed him; however, he threw the cultivation stone into the empty box, and grabbed a new stone from the stone basket.

He thought that his skills would increase as he made progress and gained experience. Time slowly moved by at a snail's pace, however that slowness allowed Arnin to create tens of cultivation stones. Inside the previously empty box, one could find many cultivation stones. The stones that were on the lower levels had orange marks, however the ones on the top were all pink. This showed that Arnin's skills were increasing while he created the marks.

Arnin had a bright smile as he made a cultivation stone in under ten minutes, and then moved onto the next. He was extremely thrilled because he found that his skills with the saber was increasing as well as he made the cultivation stones. This was one of the goals Arnin had.

Soon, he found that he was able to make the neutral cultivation stones with ease, so he moved onto the next type. He flipped the page and found that it was a cultivation stone for the element of fire.

After reading the description, Arnin understood why his unorthodox method was so amazing, and why one needed to be at Essence Manifest to be a Mark Master.

A Mark Master would need to absorb essence into their body, and then separate it into the elements that they needed. They would then direct those elements onto their drawing pens or fingers, and they would add them into the stone.

Separating essence was a skill that people would only gain once they entered the Essence Manifest realm, however Arnin was still able to do it. He smiled before beginning the creation. The marks this time were different, and one needed to use solar essence, however Arnin didn't because he could just use his saber flames.

Just as Arnin was going to begin, he stopped. He thought about what would happen if he used the fire component from his Flames of Neutrality. Would the stone become stronger?

Arnin decided to try this method. He had relatively high control over his Flames of Neutrality, so he was able to bring it onto the blade quite easily.

Arnin circulated the essence in his body and began to draw. This time, the process was much easier than the first time he drew the neutral mark. Because of his experience, he was now able to create the mark quite easily.

Arnin then began to mass create the cultivation stones. Hours passed, and Arnin's box was now filled to the top and it wasn't able to hold anymore stones. Arnin wiped his head and was satisfied with his output of cultivation stones. Arnin didn't feel physically tired, but he did have a splitting headache.

'This must be related to the Animus usage. Seems like I used too much.' Arnin sighed but he was still happy with the result.

He immediately picked up the box and headed towards the first floor. One would need to hand in their created stones to the person behind the counter to retrieve their academic points. A Mark Master would usually have an assistant to these minor jobs, but Arnin's assistant, Kurse, was in bed, unable to do it. So, Arnin had to do this job himself.

As he walked towards the staircase, Arnin noticed that other than the previous five people, there about ten more people present, however, they were all teachers. Most of them were Butterfly teachers, but there was a rare Moth teacher also working here and there.

When they all saw the box in Arnin's hands, they couldn't help but take in a sharp breath of cold air, especially the five people who Arnin saw previously. They looked at Arnin as though they were looking at a monster.

'Did that create all of those stones himself? I don't see anyone else from where he came.' One of the five thought.

'This kid is a monster if he created those. What rank is he as a Mark Master.' Another one thought, but still didn't say anything. He had his own pride and wasn't willing to ask Anin for pointers or questions. He just kept doing his own work.

Arnin traveled down the stairs, and finally got to the first floor. He found that there were less people than before, and so he walked over to the counter. There wasn't a line since most people were still looking around, however they all noticed the box in Arnin's hands. When they saw the various cultivation stones, they also couldn't help but take in a deep breath.

'Which Mark Master created those?' One of them thought quietly. They didn't believe that it was Arnin because he was just too small, which made them all assume that it was someone else.

The person behind the counter saw Arnin coming and smiled, but his smile froze when he saw the things inside the box. His face became pale, and he showed a large amount of shock. 'Pink! Most of those are pink leveled cultivation stones.' He began to sweat a little. This sweat was not of fear, but of excitement. It was as if he was going to retrieve a large bucket of gold.

"Little kid, how may I help you?" The boy looked at Arnin and said.

"I want to sell these for academic points. How much will I get?" Arnin put the large box on the counter and took out his identity card.

When the person saw this, he felt somewhat bewildered. 'Why are you taking your card out? Shouldn't you give me the card of the Mark Master who created this?' He didn't say this directly, but instead questioned Arnin.

"Little kid, would you mind telling me who made all of these stones?" He asked with a smile.

"Sure. I did." Arnin replied with his own smile. The boy looked at Arnin with shock.