Death... and me

Chapter 4291: Spoiled

Kentucky and Celis would take a while to get to the ore deposit. On Rean’s side, however, things were playing pretty nicely for Araujo.

Samsani, the Array Master who was called to judge Araujo, looked at the Array that Araujo had just made. He couldn’t help but be impressed, especially after seeing the methods used by Araujo. "What happened to you? Where did you learn to use your energy in such a way? Both your energy and your equipment work so well that I thought I was seeing things."

Araujo was just as impressed with himself. The one he made to prove his level was an Elemental Alternating Array, which was definitely not an easy one. Today was the first time Araujo used his tools after Rean trained him without them. He never felt so good before. It was almost as if the tools were an extension of himself.

The tools of an Array master also use energy, be it Celestial or Godly. Araujo never thought much about it since the tools operated on their own as long as you added the energy. Today, he saw how wrong he was. His energy control was so much better that the tools themselves seemed completely different from those before. Yet, they were definitely the same ones.

Araujo looked at Samsani, finally answering the question. "Err... let’s say I went through a lot of pain to get to do this... literally..."

Samsani nodded slightly. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Array Masters as good as Araujo before. The more talented ones could do what Araujo did or even better. It’s just that Araujo’s profile showed what kind of Array Master he was until a week ago, and this kind of improvement seemed ridiculous.

Of course, Samsani knew Araujo wasn’t cheating. He accompanied the entire process very closely and was certain that it was Araujo’s own abilities. "Whatever training you are doing, you’d better continue it. In any case, I’ll send the report over. Expect your Guild ID as well as your normal ID to display you as a Level Two Array Master within an hour. That’s all for now."

Only at that moment did it dawn on Araujo. As Samsani walked out of the testing room, euphoria took over Araujo. "I... did... I did it... I DID IT!!!"

The old man jumped like a kid, laughing hysterically nonstop. Anyone who knew the short-fused Araujo would wonder if they were looking at the same person. Araujo didn’t care, though. That was his moment.

He kept his commemoration alone in the room for several minutes, and only after starting to run out of voice did he calm down a little. Finally, he looked at his Elemental Alternating Array, which was working just fine. He had never made a single Level Two Rune before, and yet, although he made a few mistakes and broke a few runes, he did manage to build this working array in the end.

Yet, he suddenly thought of Rean’s face. What followed wasn’t gratitude. Instead, it was the image of Rean’s reaction if he had been in this room...

"What kind of shit array is this? What with these fucking runes? Start again!" Araujo pretended to be Rean speaking.

Of course, Araujo couldn’t push himself to break his very first Level Two Array. He dismantled it carefully, putting it all in a safe corner of his Spatial Ring. Then, he began to think about his next steps. ’I should just ignore that tyrant and start offering my services as a Level Two Array Master...’

Araujo came out of the testing room, walking through the guild. He began to think about all the advantages he could gain with his new abilities. Level Two Array Masters aren’t that rare, but it doesn’t mean there are countless of them either. It is definitely many times easier to become an Aura God than a Level Two Array Master. Araujo was a great example of that.

’Hehehe...’ He couldn’t help but giggle, and it looked quite creepy. People even avoided him, wondering if he had some issues in the head. Everything was perfect, and he became slightly absent-minded. But then...

"Good, you’re back," said a voice Araujo now recognized way too well.

Araujo snapped out of his mind’s wonderland and saw none other than Rean in front of him. "W-What? What are you doing here?"

Rean looked at Araujo with a puzzled expression. Not only Rean, but also Dristan. Neither of them understood that question. "What are you talking about? We haven’t left this room at all since you left. Of course, we are still here."

"Ah!" Finally, Araujo noticed something. He was back in the Array Testing Room, where he received his training. No one brought him there. He truly walked back on his own, although his mind was somewhere else. It might be easy to say his subconscious brought him back instead. "R-Right..."

"Anyway," Rean continued. "Now that you have become a Level Two Array Master, we can start the real training. In the next two months, you two will become Array Masters worthy of building me an Airship... just barely. Now, let’s get back to work, volunteers."

Araujo sighed. Truth be told, he couldn’t be forced to work for Rean. He truly could walk out of the room right now, and there was nothing Rean could do about it. But then again, was it worth it? All he did he achieved in a single week. And now, Rean said that he will only become a real Array Master in two months, so how much does Rean have to teach them? ’Fuck it. It wouldn’t sit well with my conscience to go back on my word either.’

And so, their hellish training resumed, and Rean was even more ruthless than before. The degree of control and precision he was asking of the two could only be considered maniacal.

Poor Dristan and Araujo didn’t know it, but this wasn’t really Rean’s fault. Instead, it was because of someone else, someone called Zangeshu, Rean’s last disciple. That guy’s precision was above even Rean’s, so Rean got a little spoiled.