William felt awkward when he realized his life nearly ended when touching the unstable space, but Array Master Fowley's words had him confused. "Is there something else you wanted to talk about, Sir?"
"How many Elements do you have, kid?" with Fowley's strength, it wasn't difficult to sense the Affinities of those he met.
Except William.
At first glance, William was a peasant through and through. He had the signature clothes, no Cultivation, and walked around as if everything was a new experience.
If one with strength similar to Fowley's took a second look, however, they might notice that William's body was actively attracting the Mana particles of many Elements. He didn't dare peek too much while in the Guild, but now only he and William were present.
Fowley could see a dense cloud of Fire Mana particles, accompanied by many particles of the Life Element. The more Fowley investigated, the more shocked he appeared. Amid the Fire Mana was a hint of the Earth, Wind, Ice, and Darkness Elements.
The particles were very chaotic, but Fowley could sense that there was at least one more Element present.
Seven Elements! William wasn't even a Cultivator yet! If he could progress further, William might become a powerhouse of the world. Fowley's expression changed many times in the span of a second, his thoughts moving at a rapid pace.
His expression of joy and hope turned to worry and despair as he realized William had too many Affinities. If someone else finds out, they might try to kill him or worse.
I can't let this happen!
William was still struck with shock after being seen through by the old Array Master. This was a bad idea, he might kill me now! Will wanted to escape, but where could he go? The entire room was sealed off, with not even a way to call for help.
"Young man, don't be worried. I have no plans to kill you or reveal your secret. Your Guild Master and I are good friends." the Array Master spoke in a hurry.
He continued, "You have an impressive Magic talent, but this is quite dangerous. Too many people will notice and take advantage of you."
William had already thought of this, but the Array Master seemed to have something else to say. "What should I do?"
"I also want to take advantage of you, but you need to survive first. I'll teach you a technique to better conceal your Mana signature. It's not foolproof, but it should lower your chances of being detected. I recommend you stay low-profile or join a Sect that can protect you."
William accepted Fowley's offer and proceeded to spend the next hour learning the concealment technique. The method taught William to actively repel the nearby Mana, effectively tricking Cultivators into underestimating his Affinity. With this, most Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators would think William was a talented Dual Manamatus, but nothing else.
-Developed a complex new spell: +5 Potential Points
-New Spell: Repel Mana
William didn't expect it would be so easy to detect someone's Mana signature. He was thankful the issue could be resolved with Fowley before he encountered any real trouble.
Fowley spoke up when they were finished. "We're all done here, but if you wish to learn Arrays you can visit the Array Hall anytime. You'll have to qualify the same as anyone else through a test, but once you succeed I can teach you a thing or two."
William was actually very interested in Arrays, which seemed to perform miracles. Arrays could revive the dead in the Guild Hall Arena, or open locked doors. With enough knowledge of Arrays, one could even open Space Rings. It was an invaluable skill.
"I don't know anything about Arrays Sir, how can I possibly pass a test?"
"It's much easier than you think. If you have any talent for Arrays, you will have no problem passing the test."
Talent? William was reminded of the talent shop function. "Thank you, Sir. I will return to the Array Hall tomorrow for the Space Ring. Are there any private training rooms around here?"
"Go to the hotel next door and they should be able to help you." Fowley replied while opening the Array for William to leave.
At the nearby hotel, William was currently crying inside. The cheapest training rooms were 1 Gold Coin per hour! He begrudgingly rented a standard training room for three hours at a price of 5 Gold Coins per hour. A necessary expense..
The standard training room held a benefit that the cheap ones did not, privacy. William planned to upgrade his talents and didn't want to draw any attention.
System, show me the Talent Shop.
———
TALENT SHOP:
-Random Talent: 15PP
-Random Magic Talent: 60PP
-Random Physical Talent: 10PP
-Random Weapon Talent: 10PP
———
He decided it would be good practice to always buy Magic Talents if possible when he used the shop, since that was his strongest Talent so far.
Purchase a Random Magic Talent.
--Talent Purchased: Water Affinity
-Water Element Acquired: +1 Potential Point
Purchase another Random Magic Talent.
--Talent Purchased: Plant Affinity
-Plant Element Acquired: +1 Potential Point
--Unlocked Title: +20 Potential Points
-Seven Colored Mage (Epic): You've acquired seven Common Elements. Spells are 10% more Mana Efficient.
Only two more to go before the next Title upgrade. It's time to improve my other talents. Using Magic was intoxicating, but William felt that more Affinities didn't necessarily improve his strength. What if he had to fight in close combat? What if the enemy was immune to Magic? There were too many ways to counter a Mage in a Cultivation world.
Purchase a Random Talent.
--Talent Purchased: Speed
-Unlocked first Physical Talent: +1 Potential Point
William felt he had become faster. Not just his running speed, but also how quickly he could swing his arm. He could even snap his fingers faster than before. He performed some tests, finding that his natural running speed was close to that of a Qi Refinement Realm Cultivator.
This is perfect for me! I don't even need the Wind Element if I can upgrade this enough! What would happen if the skill reached S Rank?
Continue! Purchase another Random Talent!
--Talent Purchased: Herb Gathering
A rush of knowledge was directly transmitted into William's brain. Information on different herbs, where they were found, and the methods to gather them instantly gave William a headache.
After the upgrade, William felt that harvesting Lifeshrooms and Goldilocks Leaves was the most simple thing that anyone could do in their sleep.
The effects of William's Herb Gathering title also went into effect. He felt the skill was as strong as E Rank before any upgrades.
System, show my Potential Points.
POTENTIAL POINTS: 111
I still have enough, perfect!
William looked through the System panel once more, then quickly made a decision.
System, I'd like to hatch an egg.
-Please select the egg you would like to hatch.
--Mythical Rat Snake: 100PP
-Detected only one egg is available for hatching, confirm? Yes/No
Yes.
———
--Hatching Process Initiated--
...
...
--Please wait...
———
The purple rock flew out from William's bag and hovered in the air. It spun slowly, glowing with a purple light. Energy was poured into the egg as nourishment, causing cracks to develop on the egg's exterior.
A hole was formed. William could see a small purple snake only a few inches long curled up inside that opened its eyes when it sensed his gaze. It blinked, then slithered through the hole in the egg, hovering in the air.
William held out his hand to catch the floating snake. It slithered along his hand and coiled itself around his middle finger like a ring.
-Egg Hatched: Mythical Rat Snake
-Hatched your first Companion Beast: +10PP
-Hatched your first Mythic Beast: +500PP