61 Creating Cultivation Stones (1/2)
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 most simple 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.