Chapter 45: Platinum

Chapter 45: Platinum

William remembered what Jenny said before he left Thin Creek Village. He needed to take a Rankup test if he wanted to become a Platinum Rank Adventurer.

"If that's the case, can I request a Rankup to Platinum?"

Rui was a bit surprised, "You reached Gold Rank yesterday morning and you want to promote already? You do realize the difference in ranks is not small..right?"

"Yes I know, but I would still like to apply."

"Alright, I will call the instructor." Rui held up a communicator to her ear, then turned to the side and spoke a few words that William couldn't hear clearly.

He waited in the lobby for half an hour, until a middle-aged man with two massive greatswords on his back entered the room. William sensed a pressure equal to the guard Captains from the man.

The man didn't speak to William at all, but turned to Rui. "Is this the kid I'm supposed to evaluate? Looking at his arms, are you sure he can even hurt a Magical Beast?"

William was angered, "Hey guy, I'm stronger than I look!"

The man ignored him, much to William's annoyance.

Rui looked at both of them and sighed. Her gaze returned to the man "I don't know Vern, but he requested the test himself. He can't bother you again for a year if he fails."

Vern looked back at William and felt mocked, but this was his job. "Alright kid, let's get in the ring." he walked over to the Arena and entered through a set of doors on the side.

William followed without saying much. This guy is underestimating me, I'm much stronger than I was a few weeks ago.

"Lightning can move through water with the help of salt, which is what I made with the Earth Element. When your spell destroyed my barrier, I made all the salt that fell in the water move towards you, channeling the Lightning in your direction."

Vern understood most of William's explanation. he had never thought of using Magic this way. He thought for a moment on how to evaluate the kid. "Your strength and ability definitely qualify. I can safely say you qualify for Platinum Rank. With a bit more training, you may even qualify for Diamond Rank soon."

William thanked Vern and went to the receptionists to refresh his badge and accept the quests from earlier. They were a bit surprised to find that William had actually killed Vern in the Arena and felt more at ease for his trip to the Foam Desert.

William was in a hurry, so he didn't stick around for long. He followed the directions to the Foam Desert, which was a four-day trip by wagon. He was too cheap to rent anything, so William stocked up on supplies and prepared to walk using one of the main paths.

He felt this was a great chance to practice some movement techniques. He used the Wind Element for a few hours to gain a tailwind, falling occasionally. Once he had mastered this aspect, he added the Light Element.

The experience was a bit different than he expected. When Light Magic was used for speed, William could feel his body being pulled in a straight line, almost as if he had turned into a ray of sunlight with no choice but to move forward.

When turning, William needed to lower the intensity of the Light Element. He needed to remove its influence completely to make sharp turns.

When coupling the Light and Wind Elements together, William was able to turn his body and maintain his speed, albeit awkwardly.

He tested over the next few days with the other Elements, finding that the best combinations were using the Wind, Lightning, and Light Elements. With the effects of these spells, William could reach speeds at the Core Formation Realm even without the help of Arrays or his natural movement.

William was able to shorten the trip to three days while testing his Magic. The path continued through the Foam Desert, but William already sensed many Life signatures of beasts in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment Realms.

The desert completely filled William's vision, riddled with sand dunes and sparse cacti. There were unique rock formations that appeared from time to time, naturally colored in shades of red or brown.

"Let's get to work!" William climbed to the top of a sand dune near the main path and created a series of Barrier Arrays that covered a 25-meter area. In the center, William created an Advanced Concealment Array to hide his presence.

He realized he had forgotten to add a door, so William edited one of the Barrier Arrays to have a door that could only be opened by tapping the correct spot with Life Mana.