Arthur stood up from his seated position, not making a single groan has his joins clicked from their extended strain.
He had spent the better part of the night refining the Rank 1 Moonsword Fae, only refining two thirds of the Fae before running out of origin essence. Arthur had to use the remaining four origin essence stones in his possession in order to completely refine the Moonsword Fae leaving him with absolutely no origin essence stones for cultivation.
"The Clan gives out origin essence stones to the newly awakened Fae Masters every week. Other than that I could always ask Mother or Father for some more like I did in my previous life, but for the time being I won't. I need to rely on myself in this world in order to become "somebody". Just asking for money every time I go out, dulls my edge".
Arthur stretched his body a couple times, bending forward to reach his toes.
Mortal exercises wouldn't do much for a higher ranked Fae Master, but for the time being, they would do.
Other than the origin essence stones, which Arthur had run out of, he was also in possession of a small mortal fortune, which could purchase simple items, such as knives and food. Gaining a few hundred silver taels as a present from his elder siblings each year, paled in comparison to even a single origin essence stone.
But still, they had their uses.
Leaving the Clan Leaders residence, Arthur walked towards one of the vendors on the main stretch of Parachenko Village. Ordering himself some bread and a large bowl of soup, he readily ate the meal while watching the passing villagers.
Most of them didn't possess the Kovacs last name, and thus couldn't be classified as members of the Kovacs Clan, however, those few mortals to achieved some sort of merit for the Clan would be able to have their children undergo the talent awakening ceremony, and change their last name to Kovacs, becoming formal members of the Clan.
This was to prevent inbreeding, and to keep the mortal majority in check, so as to prevent rebelling and schemes against the Clan,
"Ah! Arthur! I didn't think you would be here this morning!".
Arthur turned his head, furrowing his brow for a moment before remembering this individuals voice.
"Andrea.... I didn't realise you frequented this place".
The girl who awakened a third-tier talent nodded vigorously, wearing a thick, brown coloured robe over her body. The morning was slightly cold, giving rise to countless white coloured breaths, giving the entire town a slightly shivering feeling.
Andrea gestured to the two people behind the counter.
"They're my parents. My Father found a wild Rank 2 Fae in Winter Rain Mountain and reported it to the Clan. He gained enough merits for me to undergo the talent awakening ceremony".
She smiled as she waved to her Father, whom seemed slightly worried as his gaze darted between his daughter and Arthur.
The fifteen year old sighed for a moment before eyeing Andrea and her parents.
"I thought you said your Mother was a Fae Master? So why did you need to-".
The girl froze for a moment before scratching the back of her head.
"Mother was actually from one of the travelling merchant groups who pass through Parachenko Village. Despite her being a Fae Master and my Father a mortal, the two fell in love, and eventually.... had me".
Arthur nodded understandingly.
HIs eyes darted to the rising sun above him before in the direction of the Lecture Hall.
Today was the day when the Clan would give out origin essence stones, so if there was any day that Arthur didn't want to miss, it would undoubtably be today.
Standing up and leaving a silver tael on the table Arthur nodded towards the shopkeepers.
"Oh Arthur! Wait up! I was hoping that the two of us could.... And he's already gone".
Andrea sighed for a moment slumping her shoulders as she felt her Mother's arm wrap around her shoulder.
Her Mother had a mischievous smile on her face causing her daughter to instantly go red in the cheeks.
Arthur, obviously didn't care about the interactions between mother and daughter, opting to focus his attention solely on the Crimson Seed Maple Tree from several days ago.
"After the Lecture today, I'll head straight towards the forest. Even if my efforts don't pay off, I still have the Moonsword Fae which I got last night from the Sleipnir....".
Arthur rubbed his brows.
Initially, using the Leaf Spirit Essence and the Crimson Seed Maple Tree, Arthur hoped to create a Leafsword Fae or at least a Leafwind Fae or some sort of Crimson Leaf Fae.
All of these Fae were offensive in nature, and would allow Arthur to attack his opponents head on.
Using a mortal material like the Crimson Seed Maple Tree, Arthur didn't expect much from the Fae, even if there was about a 70% chance of one forming.
If he used proper Rank 1 Fae materials, forget the Leafwind Fae, he might even create a Bloodleaf Fae, a top-tier Rank 1 Wood Attribute Fae.
Forget the Crimson Fae, and the Flamespike Fae, Arthur would be able to cut through that like butter!
Of course, such a powerful Fae would have a high origin essence expenditure, so Arthur would have to be careful when using such a Fae.
"The Moonsword Fae is good for now, and it's origin essence expenditure is less than that of the Leafsword Fae. Too bad I didn't find a Moonroot Fae. With it, my cultivation would far exceed that of all the other people at the same level".
The Moonroot Fae was a small Fae, with the appearance of a ginseng. Like the Water Leaf Tree, it didn't have any direct combat abilities but assisted in the Fae Masters cultivation.
Even though it paled in comparison to actual cultivation, the Moonroot Fae could absorb its Fae Masters origin essence and "poop" it out with a slightly better quality. The best thing about this was, was that once the Moonroot Fae had been refined, it passively increased one's cultivation constantly.
One didn't even need to cultivate, and the Moonroot Fae would do it for them.
It didn't match the speed of actual cultivation, but large Clans would general have multiple Moonroot Fae, or Fae with similar abilities, and give them out to a single person. They wouldn't be able to use other Fae during this time, but their cultivation would soar, even if they didn't do anything.
This was the advantage of being born into a large Clan.
"Of course, if I can get my hands on a Bloodessence Worm or even a Vitality Fae things would be just as good. But unfortunately, both of these Fae aren't native to this area, and even the resources to create them would be too expensive to purchase outright....".
Once Arthur gave the Water Leaf Fae a few weeks, he would be able to start selling the Spirit Water in regular quantities. The business with Robert regarding the Hidden Shadow Fae would get up and running soon, however both of these were relatively long term investments.
Arthur scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I can always sell another Fae Formula to another store and earn another set of revenue from them, but getting two Fae Formula so quickly would definitely attract attention from some people. All they would need to do is follow the money trail and find me".
Arthur knew that if anyone asked where he found the Formula, he would have to give an appropriate answer.
If they wanted to see it, naturally, he would just refuse.
But that would attract unwanted attention to him. And in the end, if one of the Elders wanted to see the "diary", they would definitely have means of getting it.
Even if that meant placing Arthur under watch.
And that.... was something he couldn't afford to let happen.
"I wouldn't be able to move around as freely. And proper Fae Masters with specialized Fae like tracking Fae and movement Fae would become involved. Even if I want plant a few "seeds" in Winter Rain Mountain, I wouldn't be able to reap the benefits without someone breathing down my neck".
That was why getting to Rank 2 as soon as possible was the most important thing for Arthur. Once he was a Rank 2 Fae Master, his abilities and freedoms would become much greater, even to the point where some of the Rank 3 Elders wouldn't be able to do anything.
Arthur sighed.
"At any rate, I should be able to take advantage of the first tournament the coming weeks. From now until then, nothing but martial arts training will take place, cementing a small foundation for future growth. All I need to do is lay low until then, and I should be able to take first place without even breaking a sweat".
He smiled.
Unfortunately.... things were never that easy.