Arnin replied to boy with a emotionless smile. He just wanted to sell the cultivation stones, and move on. Plus, he still had to relocate Vilis and Akig to the Alchemy Dimension.
The boy stood behind the counter, looking at Arnin dumbly. 'W-what? This kid made all of these? T-there is no way that is true.' The boy was in a complete shock. He was older than Arnin by a few years, however he was still only an Assistant Mark Master that wasn't even allowed to practice mark making.
"L-little kid, you must be joking. How could you cre--" Just as he was going to finish speaking, he saw an old man come down from the second floor. Arnin also looked over and when he saw the old man that he came, he couldn't help but frown. It was the same person that had placed something inside his body when he first came to the Mark Master department.
"What seems to be the problem here?" The old man looked at the boy behind the counter and asked.
"Manager, this boy is here to sell cultivation stones, however he is claiming them as his own. I am not sure what to do." The boy was somewhat panicked but he explained what happened.
The old man looked over at box filled with cultivation stones, and then back at Arnin. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, however this subtle movement would have shocked many teachers. The old man usually was calm and didn't show much of an expression in response to anything, so him raising his eyebrows meant that he really was surprised.
"Did you really make all of these?" The old man looked at Arnin and asked. He already knew that the answer would be yes, however he still wanted to confirm it for himself.
"Yes, I did, so can we move on? Just give me my points." Arnin was frowning as he spoke. He really just wanted the points. It wasn't hard to understand.
The old man nodded his head when he heard Arnin's words. He then sighed and began to look through the box. After a minute passed the old man was done inspecting, and looked towards the boy who stood beside him.
"Alright, give him a thousand academic points." The old man said his words calmly, however the boy was shocked.
'A thousand academic points? But these are worth eight hundred at most. Why is he giving so many?' The boy thought this, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to get on the bad side of the old man since he sort of ran the Mark Master department in a way. His decision was final and no one could say anything about it.
The boy quickly added one thousand academic points into Arnin's card. Arnin nodded his head, and walked away without saying anything more. He didn't know whether he got a large or small amount, however with one thousand academic points added into his card, it gave him a grand total of one thousand twenty three points. This was a hefty sum and Arnin felt that he could possibly buy many things with this. He might even be able to get himself some herbs for alchemy, or some good quality weapons.
Arnin walked out of the Mark Master department, and decided to head over to his house in the Moth residential area. He needed to move Akig and Vilis over to the alchemy department. This was something he would have done a while ago, but he had other pressing matters he needed to attend to.
After half an hour passed, Arnin finally reached his house. When he went inside, he saw a scene that dumbfounded him. Vilis, who was previously frightened of Akig, was purring on his lap. Not only that, but Vilis seemed to be a little bigger than usual. His overall size had increased and his power level was also a little higher. Arnin was shocked so he moved closer to see.
Suddenly, Akig, who was lying beside Vilis, woke up and saw Arnin walking over. "Arnin!" Arnin nodded towards the boy, and went over to begin inspecting Vilis's body.
A closer inspection gave Arnin results that he never expected. Inside Vilis' body, the power was somewhat chaotic. It seemed as though he was about to break through into Rank One - Heaven. This was equivalent to Essence Manifest - Heaven.
Arnin looked over to Akig questionably. "What happened? Why is Vilis about to break through?" He knew that the way beasts cultivated was different from humans. They would devour other objects, and take their energy from them. They could kill a living being and absorb their energy to break through, however there was another way the beasts were able to become stronger. Evolution!
"Well, we were walking around a forest, and ran into a two horned tiger. It had white fur that kind of looked like snow. Vilis attacked the beast, and began to eat it. Of course, I also… ate… some…" Akig spoke with some hesitation, however Arnin was shocked. Although many people did eat demonic beasts, they would first have to get rid of all the energy inside. The energy in a beast could cause damage to the human body and orb because of how different it was, but since Akig ate the beast with Vilis, that meant he was able to take in the energy with no issues.
Arnin thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that Vilis was most likely evolving and that he would not stop at just Rank One, rather there was a high chance that he would enter the Rank Two category. As for Akig, Arnin began to feel that he was becoming more and more mysterious.
"Akig, come here for a second. Let me check something." Arnin hadn't actually checked the condition inside Akig's body, and had only looked at his realm.
Beasts did not have orbs like humans, instead they had something called demon crystals inside their bodies. These demon crystals worked somewhat like a human's orb, but it also affected a beast's bloodline. This was the reason people used demon crystals to suppress or tame beasts, as a demon crystal that was on a much higher level than the beast itself would forcefully suppress its bloodline. Not only that, but a demon crystal was like a cultivation pill for beasts. It would help to strengthen their bloodline, possibly resulting in an evolution event.
When Arnin looked inside Akig's body, he saw something extremely shocking. Akig did have an orb like a normal human, however a crystal was orbiting around it. Arnin was extremely shocked, and couldn't help but look at Akig once more.
'So, he does have a special power inside of him. It seems like he's related to beasts. Was one of his parents a beast?' Arnin couldn't help but question. It didn't look like Akig had a special body as Arnin thought initially, rather it seemed that he was a hybrid between a human and beast.
Arnin nodded his head. The demon crystal seemed like the only thing inside Akig's body that came from his beast parent or ancestor, which was why he did not have any beast parts on his body.
"Akig, let me ask you a question. Are one of your parents a beast?" Akig was stunned for a moment before his face became somewhat red.
"Arnin, we are friends so I will not say much, but do not insult my parents." Akig had some anger on his face, but it seemed like he was suppressing it. Arnin shook his head and asked once again.
"No one is insulting your parents. When I say beast, I mean like Vilis and his kind. Your body is different from others, so I have a feeling that one of your parents, or maybe one of your ancestors was a beast. Am I wrong?" When Akig heard Arnin, he calmed down and began to ponder. His eyes were closed as he thought about things related to his family.
"I am not certain, but I think I might have heard about one of my ancestors having a wife that was a tiger beast like Vilis. However, that is only a rumor. No one knows for sure." Akig spoke with some hesitation.
Arnin nodded his head and sat down quietly. He knew that the rumor was most likely true, or else Akig's body would not have a demon crystal that only beasts possessed. He then began to think about the cultivation path that Akig should take. Although he had an orb, it didn't seem like he had high talent due to that, rather his talent seemed to stem from the demon crystal.
'Maybe I should create a cultivation manual that supports both the demon crystal and the orb?' Arnin had this thought but he knew that it would be very difficult. A beast didn't use cultivation manuals since they devoured things to increase their power. Plus, Arnin needed to understand the elements that Akig would focus on, and this depended on what type of tiger beast his ancestor had mated with.
'Seems like I am going to need to pay a visit to Akig's hometown soon.' Arnin shook his head. He then pulled out a piece of paper, and began to scribble some words that were foreign to the people of Afloria. The language he used was that of the demon's, it was the language from his past demon clan.
Arnin finished making the contract and threw it towards Akig. "Sign the contract. Do not ask questions. If you want to become stronger, then sign it, however if you don't, then you can leave right now, and find a way to become stronger yourself." Arnin looked at Akig threateningly. He wasn't going to help him become stronger for free. If he was going to help him, he wanted some benefits as well, and that benefit would be Akig's loyalty towards him.
The contract that he gave to him was a servant contract that would bind his life to Arnin's. No harm would be done, however if the master were to die, the servant would too. It was a parasitic contract.
Akig hesitated for a moment before signing the contract with his name. Although he was extremely young, he wasn't dumb. He understood some things, and knew about how the real world worked. Some people could be trusted while others could not, however had faith in Arnin. He believed that Arnin would not harm him, which was why he signed the contract.
"Alright, now that we have finished that, let us head over to a new place I got. From now on, you will live there." Arnin said as he got up.
"What about Vilis? Isn't he coming as well?" Akig asked. He really liked Vilis, and had developed a good friendship with him when Arnin was gone.
"Don't worry. Vilis will join you right after he evolves. We can't disturb him right now, or else something might go wrong." Arnin headed towards the door. Akig followed after a little bit of hesitation.
Both boys headed towards the Alchemy building which held the dimension. Although Arnin was not allowed to bring others to the public area, Arnin had no other choice. He needed to get to his house and didn't know any other way.
Soon they arrived in front of the building and Arnin inserted his sphere into the hexagonal hole, which caused the doors to open. The same black wall appeared in front of him, however this time Arnin was the one leading.
When they entered the dimension, Akig was shocked. His mouth was open and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out.
"T-this place is amazing!" He couldn't help but exclaim somewhat loudly. People nearby looked over, and acted somewhat prideful before looking away. They assumed that Arnin and Akig were new Apprentice alchemists since they were so young.
Arnin walked over to the platform that would transport him to his house. "Akig, stay here and don't go anywhere. I am going to quickly go and purchase some items." Arnin needed to get himself a small cauldron that he could take around with him. The large one in the basement of his house was not something he could drag around in public as it was too eye catching and heavy.
Akig nodded his head, and sat down in the middle of the crowded platform. No one spoke to or disturbed Akig as he sat quietly. All the alchemists just minded their own business.
Arnin walked into the public area and began to look around. Other than a pill cauldron, he also needed herbs and seeds, and maybe even some gardening tools.
Arnin looked around and found many shops. Some were selling herbs and pills for points, while others were only looking to trade. Arnin entered the shops that would sell for points, and bought himself a bag of seeds. These seeds weren't of high-level herbs, rather they were just for low-level herbs. Arnin just needed to create Orange level pills, so he didn't need anything fancy or high leveled.
Arnin used about twenty points to get himself at least a thousand seeds of various herbs. Seeds were much cheaper than herbs since the latter had already reached maturity, and could be used directly for pill making, while seeds needed to be grown, resulting in time being wasted.
Arnin was carrying the seeds around in a large bag that was tied onto his back. With his small body and the large bag, Arnin looked quite funny to others. He, of course, ignored their giggles and laughter. He needed to find himself a cauldron now that he got the seeds.
Arnin walked for ten minutes before finally reaching a place that sold cauldrons. "Hello there, little kid." An old man was sitting on a wooden chair as he looked at Arnin with a smile.
Arnin nodded his head towards the old man, and began to search for a cauldron that met his requirements. He needed the cauldron to have ten holes for the fire, and have enough space to hold at least fifty pills. Not only that, but the cauldron needed to be made from materials that were extremely fire resistant. Ordinary cauldrons were resistant enough to handle normal fire, however Arnin's fire was different. He had the Flames of Neutrality, so he needed a cauldron that was like Fasona's, very high leveled.
Arnin slowly looked through the shop, and began to walk in deeper, and as he did so, the prices also began to increase. The cauldrons he was looking at costed about sixty points. They were good, but they didn't meet Arnin's standard.
The old man watched Arnin look around, and couldn't help but smile and walk towards him. "Little kid, if you have a particular cauldron in mind, why don't you tell me? I can help you narrow down your search." Arnin thought for a moment and agreed. He began to explain the number of holes needed, the size of the cauldron, and also the level of resistance he required.
The old man stood in shock. He looked at Arnin weirdly before asking after some hesitation. "Little kid, which alchemist needs this cauldron? Although a big cauldron is common, ten holes are extremely hard to control. Even Purple Alchemists can barely control them. Would you mind telling me which alchemist needs this cauldron?" The old man spoke with reverence at the mention of a Purple Alchemist, which was likely because the Lepidoptera Academy only had a extremely small number of Purple Alchemists.
Arnin thought for a moment, and decided not to mention who the cauldron was for. It was better to remain a little mysterious, and hide some of his cards so that others would be caught off guard when he did reveal his skills.
"Sorry, I cannot mention his name." Arnin's reply caused the old man to sigh deeply before shaking his head bitterly.
"That is fine. People of such caliber usually do not like to be known and disturbed. This is normal." The old man looked at Arnin with a little more respect. Since Arnin was here to buy a cauldron for the 'Purple Alchemist,' that meant he had some sort of connection with him.
The old man gestured for Arnin to wait, before he quickly ran deep into the store. He came out a few minutes later with a red and black cauldron.
"Here you go. This cauldron meets the requirement, and is also very special. It is made from the bones of a fire phoenix, and was discovered around the borders of one of the mysterious continents." The man smiled, and handed Arnin the cauldron. He looked at it, and began to silently inspect it. He was satisfied, but felt that the price would be much higher then he could afford.
"Old man, I only have about a thousand points, so I don't think that would be enough." The old man was somewhat shocked. Usually a cauldron at the level Arnin described would go for tens of thousands of points.
The old man thought for a moment, before his eyes brightened. He nodded his head, and looked at Arnin. "Since you cannot use points, why don't we make a deal?" The old man said.
"Deal? What kind of deal?" Arnin was suspicious, and decided that if it was something too difficult, then he would just get the cauldron when he had the points for it.
The old man quickly ran to the table he was sitting by, and opened a hidden drawer that Arnin didn't even notice. He pulled out a sheet of paper and gave to Arnin.
"You can take this cauldron as a gift for that senior, however I hope that he could concoct this pill for me in return." Arnin looked at the pill, and was somewhat dumbfounded.
Purple Level Pill: Flame Suppressing Pill
Flame Suppressant Pill: A pill that can be taken to suppress flames of the Hell rank. Can also be used to tame flames of the Sky level.
Arnin was shocked at the description. He knew about the flames ranking system. They were ranked as Earth, Sky, Hell and Heaven.
There were about ten thousand Earth flames, a thousand Sky flames, a hundred Hell flames and only ten Heaven flames.
Inside each each category, they would be ranked based on their strengths and abilities. Most mortals could only use the Rank Ten Thousand Burning Earth Flame. It was the most simple of the all. It didn't do much damage to cultivators, and was really only used for bonfires, and possibly to boil water. It was the weakest of them all.
If this pill was able to suppress a Hell ranked flame, then its use was extremely high. "Alright, I will tell him about your request." Arnin nodded his head and quickly placed the formula inside his robe.
Arnin didn't even know the ranking for his Flames of Neutrality, but he felt that the original version of the Flames of Neutrality would be ranked as Heaven flames, however he felt that his version of the Flames of Neutrality were much stronger, and could place as peak level Heaven flames, or even higher.