35 Saintly Smile

Walking up the stairs, Kurse felt like there was some invisible hand choking him. Arnin was fine a while ago, but the old man did something that pissed him off.

'Why am I being crapped on when it was that old man who did something? I need to find a way to renege this contract.' Kurse was in low spirits because of Arnin's attitude.

Finally, they made it to the third floor. Unlike the second floor, the third one had no bookshelves. There were some large tables and many stones and weapons. The stones were mostly clear of any marks, which was probably because they would be used for training, or they would be filled and sold.

"Arnin! You finally made it!" In front of them, a teacher came running with a wide smile. When Arnin saw him, his mood began to sink.

'Why is this guy always following me? I need to teach him a lesson soon!' The person running was none other than Xillar.

"What are you doing here?" Arnin knew that Xillar was not a Mark Master, so why was he at the department?

Kurse was astonished that Arnin showed no courtesy or any sort of respect for the teacher. Although he himself didn't know all of the teachers in the Moth group, he knew that each and every one of them was extremely powerful. They were on a completely different level than the Butterfly teachers.

"You are a really cold person, you know that? As a child, you should try and act a little more cute." Xillar awkwardly smiled at Arnin. He lifted his hand and scratched the side of his lip with his thumb before walking towards Arnin with a stone. The stone in his hand was one of the empty ones that needed to be filled.

"Whether I act like a child or not shouldn't concern you." Arnin harshly looked at Xillar before grabbing the stone out of his hand.

'This kid really is too much. He just grabbed the stone out of my hand without any warning. Whatever, it was meant for him either way.' Xillar couldn't help but feel that Arnin was a little too bold and direct. He didn't wait for anyone and did whatever he wanted.

"These stones are what Mark Masters use to practice and engrave with marks to sell. Since you will be working here from now on, let me explain some of the ins and outs." Xillar smiled before walking towards the tables. Arnin followed suit with Kurse behind him.

"Every Mark Master will get a personal table for their work and to practice. We can go pick one later on, so you don't have to worry about that." Arnin nodded his head and looked at the large table. It was made out of a pure white stone and had some books scattered here and there.

"Wait!" Just as Xillar was going to continue explaining, Arnin suddenly stopped him.

"What is it? Are you confused about something?" Xillar looked at Arnin with some confusion.

"I remember us having a deal about this whole thing. Do you remember what the deal was?" Arnin glared at Xillar, who was dumbfounded. Xillar then squinted his eyes and began to recall the whole scene.

'I will accept it, only if you provide me with the orthodox way of making marks.' Then it hit him. He was supposed to give Arnin a mark making manual that allowed him to go through the normal path.

"Yeah, I have it right here. I didn't forget, so no need to get so angry." Xillar laughed, before pulling a book out of his ring. Arnin noticed the ring and narrowed his eyes.

'Seems like this world has storage rings as well. However, I don't know how important they are or how hard they are to obtain, so I will figure that out later.' Arnin put the thought on the back of his mind. Storage rings were very handy, as they would be able to store many items, and sometimes even living creatures. In his past life, Arnin didn't carry around a storage ring. He had control over space, so he was able to store stuff in different locations, some even being black holes.

"Since you have it, give it to me. I don't care about all this other stuff. You can go and set everything up while I go and read this manual. Kurse, go follow him and make sure I get a quiet place." Arnin took the book and turned around. He headed back to the second floor, leaving the two people dumbfounded.

Xillar was a little shocked and somewhat displeased at Arnin's actions. He felt that Arnin was acting a little more aggressive than usual. In the past, he would call him 'Teacher Xillar' or at least 'Teacher', however, that wasn't the case anymore. He now referred to him as 'you'. Xillar looked at Arnin's back before turning and glancing at Kurse.

"Student, what is your relationship with Arnin?" Another thing that he couldn't understand was why Arnin was bossing this student around. From the robe, and even cultivation level, he could tell that Kurse was a talented Moth student, so why was Arnin able to do so?

Kurse's face became somewhat red with embarrassment. He coughed before speaking with some hesitation. "Today, Arnin dueled me and we had a bet. I lost the bet so I'm now his… *cough cough*... servant." Xillar's face became weird as he looked at Kurse.

"Well, we can't do anything about that right now, so as his servant, come and help me get his stuff sorted out." Xillar turned around and left a gaping Kurse.

'What kind of a teacher are you? I became a servant for a younger student and you don't even try to comfort me? If not comfort, you could at least give me some advice since you seem to know Arnin.' Kurse was dumbfounded by Xillar's indifference to his pain and suffering.

"Yes teacher! Arn-... Master said that he wants a quiet place for his table, so I was thinking of a corner table. Is that alright?" Kurse didn't want to screw this up, so he needed to get Arnin's Mark Master setup completed without a single error. He felt fear towards Arnin, which even he didn't understand the reason behind. Although Arnin had a sinister aura, he was still a child. However, Kurse couldn't help but still feel fear regardless of all of this.

"I was thinking the same thing That kid doesn't seem to be a social person and he is also somewhat… let's say aggressive. I can't have him starting fights in this place." Xillar still remembered when Arnin was ready to fight him over the small issue of becoming a guard. Although he knew that it was more so because of him not wanted to pledge his loyalty, Xillar felt that Arnin could have just told him.

Xillar shook his head and lead Kurse into a back room. When they both got inside the room, they saw a large stash of stones in one corner, while the other one had a bookshelf with thousands of books. Kurse was astonished that there were so many books in such a small room. In the middle, there was a table with a purple sphere.

"I am going to sign Arnin up for the most isolated table, just in case. I just can't have him…" Xillar didn't finish. He picked up the sphere and started to speak in a weird cryptic language. The sphere began to shine with a blinding purple light before suddenly dimming.

Kurse watched with great interest, and after the light vanished, he found that there was a small obsidian-like sphere in Xillar's hand.

"Teacher, what is that?" Kurse couldn't help but wonder. He had always been interested in mark making, but he never had the talent for it. He sadly had to forgo the idea of ever becoming a Mark Master, which made him fully concentrate on his cultivation.

"This is just Arnin's Mark Analyzer. It lists all of the marks he has drawn, the highest level of mark, and his identity. This can be used anywhere in Afloria, and it's kind of like a Mark Master's Identity Sphere. Right now, it is empty and we require Arnin's blood to complete the Identity Sphere." Xillar explained. He looked at the black sphere with envy. In the past he failed to become a Mark Master, which made him unable to possess such a sphere. Even now, he was unable to create marks.

"Arni- Master might be busy right now, so I think we should just go to the second floor and wait for him to finish. Teacher, I can take this to Master and have him complete it later. First, can you show me the table that he will be getting?" Kurse was still not completely use to calling someone 'Master', especially not a child like Arnin. Xillar noticed this, but decided to ignore it. It wasn't a big deal to him.

'Alright, let me show you where he will be staying. Oh, wait, take this." Xillar took out a small blade and handed it over to Kurse.

"What is this?" Kurse looked at the badge and saw what was written on it.

'Mark Master Assistant'

"This badge will allow you to assist Arnin in his mark making. Although you won't be making the marks, you will be able to observe him and even get some tips. Who knows, you might be able to become a Mark Master in the future." Xillar gently smiled towards Kurse. Although he was acting ignorant regarding the bet, he knew that a Moth student had great pride. The being forced to become a servant of some younger would be a great blow.

Kurse was astonished before he looked at Xillar with a grand smile. "Thank you, Teacher. This is a great gift; I will not let you down." Kurse bowed quickly, before shoving the badge into his robe.

Xillar smiled when he saw this. The Mark Master department was run by the students, however there were only a few who were able to make marks. Maybe even less than ten in the whole school. If Kurse was able to pick something up by watching Arnin, then that would be a great benefit to the academy.

"Don't worry about it, and just try your best. That's all we teachers want to see." Xillar waved his hand before leading Kurse out the room.

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Arnin was sitting by the bookshelves once again. The other students saw him, but they decided to ignore him. The previous senior also saw Arnin, however last time Arnin was being rude, so he decided not to interact with him. No one noticed Arnin go up to the third level. The stairs that went up and down were connected, plus they were blocked by a curtain, so no one would know which way a person went.

Arnin was happy to see that no one was going to bother him, so he quickly opened up the manual. The mark making manual was very thin, having only five pages. Arnin was able to quickly read through it and engrave the details into his mind.

The manual talked about a completely different way of making marks. It was very simple and even somewhat disappointing to Arnin. When he first went through the trial, he assumed that the solar essence must be used directly, but that wasn't the case. The manual stated that a person could draw the mark with their own essence and then let it absorb the solar essence. Although this method was smart, it would not allow a mark to be made out of the solar essence. There would only be a small portion of solar essence inside the mark.

Arnin kept scanning through what he read and found out how one would go through with this. While the creator made the mark, they would have to circulate their cultivation, which would allow the mark to absorb the solar essence, similar to how one would absorb the worldly essence, but there was still something that confused him. A normal cultivator is only able to absorb the worldly essence, so how would one allow solar essence to be absorbed?

As he continued to contemplate, Arnin couldn't help but feel that the orthodox method was lacking. If one wanted to cultivate with the stones that had the mark, they would be absorbing the essence of the Mark Master as well, which would bring about impurities.

"This is such a stupid manual. I might as well practice my own method. What a let down." Arnin sighed before getting up from the ground. He stretched his small body before walking towards the staircase. The book was in his left hand, not covered by anything.

The senior looked at the departing Arnin once more and noticed that he had a book in his hand. His eyes narrowed as he tried to read the title of the cover. Mark Making Manual.

His eyes immediately widened and his mouth opened up. He began to tremble slightly as his steps became unstable. Everyone saw this and couldn't help but look at the senior with worry.

"Torne? What happened?" The others walked over and looked at the trembling senior.

"Look at what that kid is holding." Torne calmed himself down and began to walk towards Arnin. Everyone else looked at the book in Arnin's hand before they also began to tremble. Torne quickly approached Arnin with a bright smile.

"Hey kid, where did you get that manual?" Torne spoke with a little more caution and respect this time. He wanted to seem polite and favourable so that Arnin would possibly let him see the book.

"This is something that you don't have." Arnin looked at Torne nonchalantly before continuing towards the stairs. Torne felt bewildered and clenched his fists with some anger.

'I am being kind and polite to you, but you keep showing me the same attitude. You are looking to be beaten up.' Although Torne thought this, he didn't show any ill intent on his face.

"Kid, I know that I don't have that, but I was hoping that you could allow me to get a glimpse of that book." Torne became even more respectful in his way of speaking. He really stooped down to a boot licking attitude. (Author's note: The 'Kid' Torne keeps using is not an arrogant one. It is a more formal or respectful use. At least his tone is.)

Torne wasn't a Mark Master, but he had always wanted to become one. He was just a Mark Master assistant, so he was only able to help the Mark Masters with collecting and selling stones. Since he had never gotten to see a mark making manual before, he felt jittery when saw one in Arnin's hand.

"You want to see this book?" Arnin looked at Torne once more and couldn't help but smile.

"Of course! It is a dream of mine to be a Mark Master, so I would love to see the manual. Would you be kind enough to let me see it?" Torne spoke gently but he began to move forward, indicating that he would take it. Arnin smiled even more brightly, which boosted Torne's confidence.

"If you really want to see my manual, I don't mind letting you. Not only that, but I can even give this to you." Arnin smiled like a saint when he looked at Torne. This made Torne even more happy.

'Seems like this kid isn't that bad. Is he actually going to give the book to me? That's great.'

Torne was already in front of Arnin, and he slowly reached for the book. Arnin looked at his face with a smile. Just as Torne was about to finally touch the book, Arnin's smile vanished and he swung his empty hand towards Torne's cheek.

*SLAP*