"Instead of levels they will come at you in waves. The more you defeat the higher your ranking and with every one hundred kills the better the rewards. Our current number one is your senior brother Long Kwang with five hundred kills." Beiling says with delight.
Beside her is an older young man who's in his early twenties, wearing the dark black robes of Dark Saber and three symbols adjourned on his back. His aura is oppressive as he looks over the crowd and locks his eyes on Yaoyang with a wicked smile. Yaoyang clenches his fists as Leiana places a hand over his wrist to calm him down
The thirty Dark Saber students were first up to set a standard. Tara sits in the center of the large platform, forming the sun and moon symbol with her hands. When she opens her eyes the next moment, she's in a white room. A low tier single Skin Igniting aurator stands before her with their sword at the ready. Tara summons Sun Claw and Moon Fang into her hands as an idea finds her.
"Wolyung, Oorun?" She calls out. Wordlessly, an amber lion and turquoise tiger cub step out on either side of her. They both yawn as if they're still tired, with Oorun rubbing against Tara's hand for pets. Tara scritches behind the Spark Lion's ear.
"Are you ready to begin?" Voices her opponent and Tara nods. The sword user rushes forward but Dal slashes out casually and the aurator's head rolls to the ground. Their entire body bursts into aural energy that flies into Tara. Two more Skin Igniting opponents appear, one behind her and one in front. Acting like bodyguards, her internal guardians don't let them through.
Wolyung and Oorun do most of the work for a while as Tara watches them fight. Oorun uses Ember Gather with every swipe of their claw and Wolyung uses Rain Scatter when she howls. All of this is done without a trace of aura. It's as if her own skills have been transferred to the two. Tara herself doesn't need to fight until they're surrounded by several Blood Directing low tiers.
Tara's aura blazes as she charges forward. The three of them cut through wave after wave. Oorun and Wolyung not only use Ember Gather and Rain Scatter but Sun Cleaver and Moon Piercer as well, beams of light firing from their bodies.
Tara and her beasts easily reach the two hundred mark which on the outside surprises the onlookers, Beiling especially.
The headmaster had bet Tara would only cross the first hundred. They make it to two hundred and fifty, fighting against high tier Bone Crystallization and low tier Vein Plating with six of the elements tied to their aura. Oorun has to start using Solar Recovery and Wolyung is through their third use of Lunar Stability.
Tara ends up in the rank 20 among the Dark Saber's instead of rank 30. She might have been higher but this time Long Kwang defeated seven hundred and fifty enemies. Tara is awarded the equal amount of contribution points and an extra free day for her victories as she steps down from the platform. Anybody of the lower ranks who had thought to cross her for a duel was slowly changing their mind.
With three hundred and fifty contribution points, Tara is able to buy enough supplies from the campus alchemist store for her very first pill from the ancient memories! Not waiting for others' results she dashes off to the marketplace. It was called the Sun Seed Pill. Made from orange hydrangeas, Scorch Wolf Tears, and the rare root of a Starry Willow, it was a body enhancing pill. The Sun Seed Pill is perfect for people who are about to cross over into the Bone Crystallization stage.
The harshest thing about crossing from Blood Directing into Bone Crystallization was metamorphosis of the bone structure. The process was extremely painful and if proper steps were not taken it could lead to damage to a person's internal organs. The Sun Seed pill offered a powerful protective coating during this change! With her points she could buy enough supplies for her two pills.
Tara has spent the last month with alchemist masters on her auxiliary days. Her understanding towards temperature handling, item refinement, powders, even the possibility of energies from the materials creating a pill spirit, has grown greatly.
Tara borrows a golden cauldron from the alchemist's center. In front of her are all the ingredients she needs, as well as a scroll paper.
After making the two pills, she would likely have some residual medicinal liquid left. Using the liquid as a base, she was going to make an inscription pattern with a rune at the center.
Inscription patterns could be used as seals, create barriers, even be used on something as small as pills. Tara knows how to draw them but hasn't put any into use.
There is a first time for everything as she carefully draws the pattern for "growth" before etching the word "double" in the ancient language at the center. Each letter goes overtop the previous one, creating a layered look that glows purple. Tara isn't entirely sure what outcome will be, but her two guardians are on the watch for anything unusual.
Tara takes the pill with a sip of water and immediately feels the contents explode within her body. A warm flicker of flame runs through her as a comfortable gel is coating her organs. With the inscription and rune in place, the medicine goes a step beyond in coating the pathways her blood travels, readying Tara for her future as a Vein Plating low tier. It will still take her time to even reach peak Blood Directing but the foundation has been laid down.
Tara circulates her energies through her body to make sure everything is okay. Once she is certain there are no negative effects, Tara repeats the placement of both patterns onto the second pill. Once that was done, she rushed to find Niven at the Wind Saber quarters. A maid leads her to Niven, who's surprised to see her! As they were sharing experiences of the past month, Tara realizes she hasn't clued in the others on her new insights. Tara sends for her cousins.
Tara remembers the seals Shuyren had made for the soundproof barrier, tracing out the rune "silence" the air before activating it. Her white aura flushes through the phalto and silver room. As they wait Tara gives Niven the Sun Seed pill, certain that it will help her bodyguard.
When they all arrive she explains the two recovery methods to her cousins, Neijin especially excited to try the next Eight Swords of Death. He was just shy of 100 which would've been enough to allow him to change into a Dark Saber novice.
With her first inscription done well, Tara changes her auxiliary practice to inscription making so that way the next one is even better. With group practice canceled, she's excited to meet with Beiling for personal instruction.
"You did much better than I had expected!" Beiling praises as her student enters. "Today's lesson will be short since I wish to show you something. Consider today your extra free day you earned."
"What's today's lesson then?" Tara asks as she follows Beiling into a side room. It's filled with food pills, water skins, and other such supplies. Her teacher then pulls out a ring to show Tara an example of what she has planned. Tara's eyes go over the room in thought.
"You never know when adventure will strike, so it's best to be ready. Having a pack and spatial ring filled with supplies is important. Being prepared is also apart of being a aurator." This was one of the first things Beiling's own teachers taught her.
She watches carefully as Tara fills a small bag with supplies, one she can tie around her waist in such a way it can't be grabbed or lost. "Two cots?" She asks as Tara places a tent for two people into her spatial ring.
Tara smiles as she begins to fill the ring's space with food, water, and cooking supplies. "Well, if you never know when adventure will strike, then how can you know who you'll run into during travel?"
Beiling nods at this as Tara finishes up, leading her to a space hidden beneath her office. On the floor are inscription patterns but they're much too complicated for Tara to understand. Beiling gestures and Tara steps forward. Black light covers her and she feels a shift of movement when suddenly she's outside of Hufang gate entrance. Beiling follows behind.
"As part of your status as a Dark Saber, a special transportation inscription was connected between the academy and your home. However, only you can use it unless your other cousins can change their ranks. For now, go home and come back before night falls!"
Tara happily heads home, quickly hugging her teacher before going up the path. Many of her family who saw her were surprised!
Some even bowed to her which was weird but then she remembers she was in her Dark Saber robes! Next time, she'll come home wearing plainer clothes. Tara immediately heads to her mother's home. Zewan attacks on sight but Tara's too quick.
Her little sister was close to being a Skin Igniting low tier! Tara's welcomed by a crying Casian who has missed his eldest dearly while Di simply ruffles her head and tells her to not get full of herself.
After letting them in on what it was like at the martial academy, Tara is brought to Shuyren.
Both her mother and grandmother had figured out about the recovery methods on their own but were glad to have a written understanding. Before Tara returns to the academy, she gives the book on Elemental Manipulation back and entrusts recording it to Shuyren, handing off her translation of the ancient language.
Tara's second month passes by quickly. Her morning lectures over this next month have mostly focused on theories about energy circulation and cultivation. It's after this they finally begin to focus on the Body Altering stages again that Tara gives her full attention.
Bone Crystallization was considered the "longest mile" of the Body Altering stages. It took a long time to reform each part of a person's skeletal structure. Some people wouldn't have a complete transformation until low tier Marrow Sparking!
What caught Tara's attention was the idea of a perfect transformation. With the proper guidance and preparation, one could have what's considered a perfect breakthrough.
There were two things that designated a perfect breakthrough: first, the number of bones initially changed during the breakthrough and second, the quality of the crystalline appearance. The more range covered of one's bone structure when becoming a low tier Bone Crystallization signified how fast they'd complete the entire process.
This is further quickened by what quality the bones formed. The lowest quality was called diamond for its clear surface and how it refracted aural energy. Above that was ruby, sapphire, and the very rare zircon. Having brown zircon styled bones meant that a person could finish Bone Crystallization by the time they were a high tier Billowing Muscle!
With her use of Twin Sphere energy, having taken the Sun Seed Pill, and Beiling's recent teaching about aura control, Tara's certain she can at least have a sapphire structure. With this in mind, instead of visiting the martial skill library, Tara requests Beiling to oversee her first step onto the next stage. Beiling is surprised by this because Tara only just broke into Blood Directing but after a quick check, her pupil was more than prepared.
Beiling is ready to intervene if need be and her guardian spirits were willing to supercharge her recovery abilities. Tara sits in the middle of the training room next to Beiling's office, crossing her legs and forming the Twin Sphere seals in her hands.