CHAPTER 126: CRAFTING ARRAYS... LEARNING ABOUT ARRAYS!

The moment Kranos stepped into the courtyard behind the Array Elder, he was greeted by the low hum of spiritual energy humming through the air.

Thin, faintly glowing inscriptions lined the stone pillars and tiled floor, forming a complex formation beneath his feet.

The building itself was circular and open-roofed, allowing light from the amber sun to stream in like golden threads weaving across the arcane symbols.

Four disciples turned at once, their golden eyes landing on the human boy walking beside their master. Each pair held a different emotion—disdain, curiosity, amusement, and wariness.

The Array Elder who looked like a stern elf with long pale green hair tied behind his back and silver robes trimmed with glyphs, said nothing at first.

He walked forward to a low stone platform, where a large formation diagram was engraved. With a flick of his hand, the lines lit up in shimmering blue light.

"This," the elder began, his voice even and cool, "is the foundation of our Royal Elven Array Path. Before you are my personal disciples. From now on, you, too, Kranos, will be permitted to attend my lectures and participate in my array teachings, so long as you can keep up."

He turned his head slowly to regard Kranos. "I do not like to train slow learners, Nor do I cater to like training people of other races. I am only doing this for the the prince and princess, fail to grasp what I teach, and you will be dismissed from learning despite their help."

Kranos face held a slight frown but he soon bowed his head slightly. " I understand."

"Good."

The elder motioned to the others. "Introduce yourselves."

The tallest among them, with silver earrings and an air of superiority, stepped forward. "Luthen Oravale. I was already able to craft rank 2 arrays before I turned sixteen. I don’t expect a human to understand much of anything we do here."

Kranos smiled faintly but said nothing.

The next, a slender elf with short golden hair and analytical eyes, offered a respectful nod. "Seril. I look forward to observing your progress."

The third, a female elf with an emerald braid and mischievous smile, gave a lazy wave. "Maelis. Don’t expect us to go easy just because you’re new. This place isn’t a nursery."

The last student didn’t speak. He just stood silently with arms crossed as though he was uninterested in the introduction. His name, Kranos would later learn, was Ilven.

The elder gestured toward a bench piled with basic array scrolls. "You’ve claimed to have some foundation in arrays, let us put that to the test. Take one of those scrolls, the arrays of the Basic Elements, and replicate the array inscribed within. You have one hour."

Kranos moved toward the bench without a word. As he opened the scroll, lines of ancient elvish script and formation drawings danced across the surface. It was complex—perhaps overly so for a first trial.

Kranos studied what kind of array it was and soon noticed that it was a trap array based on Earth and Fire principles meant to trap demons.

It involved precise rune placement and near perfect mana synchronization. Fortunately, he had already learned to create his own time array core, so this complex process was nothing to him.

He sat cross-legged before a practice slate, his fingers steady as he retrieved a set of array tools from his time-space storage.

Holding the array pen and paper, he took a moment to adjust his state of mind to its peak. Mana flowed into his hand, and he began tracing an arc on the array paper.

Just as Kranos began drawing the rank 2 array, he noticed something strange... His mana flowed perfectly into the array pen and then to the array paper. There were barely any flaws.

He could also faintly see the image of the array he was drawing in his mind. Noticing some flaws and places where mana was insufficient, Kranos immediately corrected them.

The process went on for a few minutes, and soon he was finally done.

The paper glowed with a pale red and brown hue as the formation stabilized. A soft buzz filled the room as the array activated, and a flickering image of the trap appeared in mid-air... a perfect mimic of the demonstration in the scroll.

Gasps echoed softly around the courtyard.

Even the silent Ilven raised a brow.

The elder stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the formation. He reached out and tapped the outer ring of the array. The lines pulsed but did not distort. He noticed that there were no flaws with the arrays or ripples.

"Hmm. Interesting," the elder murmured.

Luthen scoffed, his voice edged with bitterness. "He had help. No way he just replicated that from a glance."

"That’s right," Maelis chimed in. "Maybe he memorized it before coming."

The elder held up a hand causing the disciples to fall silent.

"This formation is stable, efficient and precise," the elder said slowly. "There are signs of self-adjustments made mid-creation... which speaks of intuition while crafting arrays, not just plain memorization."

He turned back to Kranos, eyes narrowed. "You’ve clearly had experience. But you’re still far from mastering our methods. Don’t let this result make you arrogant."

"I understand," Kranos replied calmly.

Seril stepped forward, curiosity bright in his eyes. "What method did you use to correct your mana flow? That adjustment on the eastern anchor glyph was—"

"Enough," the elder interrupted. "Seril, don’t ask questions in front of others."

The young elf lowered his gaze, chastised.

The elder glanced at the sun’s position. "We’re done for today. Kranos, report here tomorrow morning. Bring your own array tools, I won’t tolerate freeloaders."

Kranos nodded.

As the disciples dispersed, Luthen shot him one last glare before turning away.

Kranos watched them leave, his mind already analyzing everything that had happened. He had shown some skill so he could get quick access to the array book.

As the courtyard emptied, the elder walked past Kranos and paused briefly.

"If you continue like this," the elf said quietly, "you may earn the right to learn from the main array book."

Then he walked away as soon as he was done speaking. Kranos smiled faintly at his words then walked back to his room to continue cultivating. He had to increase his strength as much as possible in a year’s time.

Soon he reached the familiar building and walked in, but just as he was about to start cultivating, he recalled something causing him to raise his brows slightly.