Is that a Wisp?

By the time morning arrived the very next day, Krune's body was aching all over as he received a thorough beating from Yusa yesterday. At first, he dodged her attacks since he couldn't understand why she attacked him out of nowhere. But then she looked at Supervisor Lu hatefully, making him feel a chill on his back as he understood what she wanted. In the end, he could only think, 'Krune, don't blame me. This was all your fault.'

He then released his spiritual energy and locked Krune in place. Lu Ganan was a 5th Stage Core Formation Realm cultivator, so Krune had no way to fight against him. After that, he became the target of Yusa's fury.

Krune felt wronged. He had bought them gifts, and in return, he got a beating instead. He was pretty sure that humans liked to give gifts to each other. Could it be that he was wrong?

It was only after Yusa vented her anger and left that Lu Ganan released Krune. Ao Sulian noticed that Krune was lost in a daze. He then came forward and started to explain why she had gotten angry. It was only after an entire hour of discussion that Krune finally understood a little more about the humans' habits, and he couldn't help but sigh as he said, "You humans are too complicated."

Ao Sulian sighed helplessly after hearing that. That was just common knowledge. It's just that this guy had never been out of the Katiu Forest before. Then again, he couldn't get angry at Krune. He understood that Krune really had good intentions. It's just that his common sense needed a little more polishing.

In fact, if it was a normal demon beast who had a gender before acquiring a human form, they would more or less understand those delicate topics. However, wisps had no gender before acquiring their human form, so they had no prior knowledge whatsoever about such situations. As mentioned before, a wisp's gender was decided by their personality, so Krune only turned into a man after he broke through the Foundation Establishment Realm and got his human form.

Don't misunderstand Krune's knowledge, though. Even before he obtained his human form, he knew about the reproductive acts of the other races and their gender differentiation. He lived in the Katiu Forest for four years, after all. The forest didn't have only demon beasts. It also had common animals that haven't cultivated yet. He had seen quite a few during their acts of procreation. It's just that he never gave a damn to them.

'I will just have to apologize next time I see Yusa.'

Krune started to think about the time he promised that he would marry Feifei. He always thought that marriage was basically about getting permission to have children. Though, it now seemed like there was more to that.

Krune shook his head and placed those thoughts at the back of his mind as he decided to leave.

He then went to the Alchemist Guild to take the comprehensive exam. After arriving there, he could see Casfer waiting for him.

"Is there anything you need?" Krune asked

Casfer then responded through Divine Sense, "Not really. I just wanted to see how you'll perform. You were able to control more than one element at the same time before you even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, so I'm just curious about the results now that you've reached it."

Krune nodded after hearing that. He was also curious about how good his control would be.

Inside the test room, there were quite a few people and demon beasts in human form waiting for the tests to start. It isn't as if one failed once that one couldn't try again since the higher one's realm was, the better one's control would become. Of course, each of the cultivation realms had a specified level of control required for it. If not, some Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would easily pass because of their cultivation realm, and that wasn't considered talent at all.

The exam soon started as the participants entered one by one. The test itself was very quick, though. There was a sensor machine that was capable of measuring the control exerted over the elements by the cultivators. They just need to put their hand in the sensor and use their spiritual energy to manipulate the elements. As to how they should do it? Well, that depended on the person. Every person had their own way of manipulating the elements the way they felt it to be better. The equipment only calculated how good it was.

On a big monitor at the front, the test results appeared one after another. The highest number possible was 3000, while the clearance mark was 1250. So far, over twenty cultivators had tried the test, but only two passed the element control test.

Krune's turn eventually arrived. When he was in front of the machine, he pondered as to how he should manipulate the elements. It was a hard question for him since he simply used his spiritual energy to manipulate the elements however he wished. He never thought of a better way to do that. He just willed it, and that was it. As long as he practiced, he could pretty much do anything with the elements in his control.

The examiner overseeing the test looked at Krune with a hint of confusion as he asked, "Why are you taking so long to start? Just go ahead and try in any way you like. The sensor will be able to analyze it not matter what you do."

Krune then sighed after hearing that. Since that was the case, then he won't think about it.

'The machine is going to calculate how good I am at manipulating elements. Does it mean that I'll be tested on every single one? No, that's not possible. If we go deep into this thought, there are some elements that people aren't good at, and they wouldn't use it during the test. Since that's the case, I will go with fire, wind, and water. Those are the ones I'm most familiar with after all.'

He then put his hands in the sensor and manipulated the elements to form different figures with each element. He then kept changing their forms, making him remember the time he did something similar in front of Feifei. Nevertheless, he forgot one thing, the fact that he was manipulating all three elements at the same time! When the examiner saw that, he almost fainted.

'Three elements! Three elements at once! This guy is clearly at the 2nd Stage of Foundation Establishment! How is he doing that?'

Of course, even if Krune was manipulating three elements at the same time, the sensor only calculated how good he was at controlling them. It didn't care whether he could control one or ten thousand at once, so it worked as it should. It's just that the test results...

People were looking at the results on the display when out of nowhere, someone called Krune jumped to the top of the list. Not only did he jump straight into first place, but his results were also outrageous! 2796 points! The max result possible was 3000 points, and Krune almost got it! They couldn't even compare with the results of the two who passed earlier since they only got 1317 and 1479 points each. It's slightly more than double the points needed for the passing mark!

Casfer looked at the results from a distance, and he couldn't help but feel sad. How good would it be if it was him who had such control over the elements? With that in mind, he let out a sigh and just left.

Krune looked at his results and let out a sigh of relief. He then looked at the examiner and asked, "This means that I passed the first test, right?"

The examiner nodded absent-mindedly. Krune then went out to take his study materials. Soon, they were transferred into his communicator so that he could access them any time he wanted. Krune couldn't help but praise this thing. This communicator was really convenient! As someone who lived in the middle of the forest for so long, this technological world was a sight to behold.

While Krune was heading back to his room in the Mercenary Guild to study, the Alchemist Guild was in chaos. Someone achieved 2796 points during the element control test, and not only that, he did it while controlling three elements at the same time! But when the guild administrators came out to check this new recruit, they found out that he had left already.

The guild supervisor, Go Gao, and the Four Star alchemist, Julies Rof, were discussing this issue in the main hall. Julies then looked at Go Gao and asked, "How could he have left? This result is unprecedented below the Core Formation Realm! He should have waited!"

Go Gao replied indignantly, "I don't know, but we have the details of the ID that was used to apply for the exam. Go take a look, and let's pay him a visit."

Julies nodded, saying in response, "That's the best we can do at the moment."

Julies then left to retrieve the information, and a few minutes later, she was back. She had a weird look on her face, though. Go Gao noticed that something was wrong and asked, "Is his identity sensitive?"

Julies nodded.

"I found out who he is. Do you remember the new rising star that appeared a week ago in the Mercenary Guild?"

Supervisor Go pondered a bit before answering.

"You mean that guy with rainbow hair who got a Four Star Badge while still at the Foundation Establishment Realm? Wait, you couldn't be saying-"

Julies then let out a sigh, responding, "Correct, this is him. It's just that when he came to take the exam, he was using a hat to cover his hair. It seems like he didn't want to attract attention."

Supervisor Go then felt gloomy. The Mercenary Guild wasn't any bit weaker than the Alchemist Guild. Not to mention that they made an exception and gave Krune a Four Star mercenary badge. It just went to show how much importance they put on him. Though, not long after, he said, "Let's wait a month. Since Krune came for the comprehensive exam, it means that he intends to become an alchemist as well. Did he retrieve the study material?"

Julies nodded in response, prompting Go Gao to continue, "It means that he should be back in at most a month for the practical exam. Make sure to pay attention to when he comes, and it's not because he has a month to study that it'll take him that long to come back. After he undergoes the practical examination, we can make a decision about this issue. If it turns out that all he has is good control over the elements but no talent for alchemy, then we will simply ignore those results. The Alchemist Guild needs alchemists, not element manipulators."

Julies agreed with Go Gao. They've seen people with great control over the elements before, after all. In the end, most of them didn't have the talent necessary for alchemy itself. It was better for them to wait and see what happens.

Julies then commented, "It seems that a One Star alchemist of our guild is his friend. Should we call him over?"

Supervisor Go shook his head.

"No, let it be. Since Krune left straight away, then it means that he doesn't want to be bothered. We shouldn't scare him away."

Julies didn't say anything else after that and just left.

---

Krune was back at the Mercenary Guild when he bumped at Yusa, who clearly still held a grudge against him.

"Ao Sulian already explained to me that those weren't good gifts to give to others, so I would like to apologize. I won't buy them again."

Yusa still gave him a cold glare, though.

Krune then pondered a bit and remembered something. He then took out 50 low-quality Rank Three Spirit Stones and said, "These are yours if you let it go."

Yusa's eyes slightly trembled, but she still didn't relent. With that, Krune took out an extra 50 spirit stones.

Yusa looked happier, but at the same time, she once more didn't say anything.

Krune then gritted his teeth and took 100 more spirit stones. He now had 200 low-quality Rank Three Spirit Stones in front of him.

"200! That's my limit. If you don't let it go, then forget it!"

Yusa finally showed a bright smile as she responded, "Oh brother, look at you. There's no need for that! I know you had good intentions when you bought those gifts for me! Your sister here will accept them as a token of your sincerity. Let's look after each other in the future."

She then placed the spirit stones in her spatial ring and left while Krune was left behind, feeling like crying again.

'Forget it. It was my fault for not having done better research on it. I will just consider it another unlucky day. Fortunately, I didn't use the sex shop guy's advice.'

Krune then went back to his room, which had things scattered everywhere. He had spent quite some time over the equipment of the human world, trying to understand how they work. All for the sake of knowledge! Although he obviously couldn't make the electronics himself, he at least now understood how and why they worked. Of course, he wasn't planning to delve further into these things. He just wanted to be able to use them efficiently.

He then sat down on his bed and opened the study files from the alchemist guild. He had to memorize all the data, which basically showed all the medicinal herbs available for new alchemists and their properties. Although these were only the herbs for One Star alchemists, the list was enormous! Fortunately, Krune was a wisp! Wisps were innately intelligent, let alone him who had his soul tempered several times and was already at the Foundation Establishment Realm. It was way too easy! Krune only had to read it once, and if he wanted to, he wouldn't forget them anymore.

Night came, and Krune stopped his studies. He had already memorized over half of the herbs. Nevertheless, nighttime was for cultivation. He wouldn't forget who he was. Time was what Krune needed most at the moment, so he couldn't stop cultivating no matter what.

Morning eventually came as Krune finished his cultivation. At least he didn't need to sleep, so it saved a lot of time for him.

'At the rate it's going, it'll take me around three months to reinforce my planet foundation enough for me to attack the 3rd Stage. I need to find a way to make it go faster.'

He then remembered that the Mercenary Guild had a lot of items available for sale. After he arrived at the salesroom and opened the list of items available, he found what he was looking for.

'Five Elements Liquid, capable of helping with reinforcing foundations. By consuming it, the speed that one's foundation reinforcement is accelerated by 20% to 30% for around 8 days.'

'Price: 900 Rank Two middle-quality spirit stones.'

Krune was ecstatic to see this as it was exactly the type of item he needed. He then took his Mercenary Badge out and tried to buy it, but soon, a message appeared on the screen.

'User doesn't have the necessary ranking points for the purchase. Please put in more effort during your missions and come back to try again.'

Krune was taken aback. He then looked at the bottom. Sure enough, a specific number of ranking points were necessary to unlock the item for sale.

Earth Rank Points Necessary: Not available

Sky Rank Points Necessary: 1200

Heaven Rank Points Necessary: 190

Krune was sad to see that.

'Seems like that just lazily cultivating won't work.'

He then video called Yusa and Ao through the communicator and asked, "I want to buy an item from the mercenary store, but I don't have the necessary ranking points. Are you interested in doing a mission to get some points?"

Ao was the first to reply. "It's good that you mentioned that! I'm at the peak of the 3rd Stage, and I want to buy a Three Stars Spiritual Explosion Pill from the Mercenary Guild to help with my breakthrough. I went to the Alchemist Guild, but the price they were asking was too high. It's cheaper to get it from the Mercenary Guild since they also have alchemists that are part of the guild. I need 650 Ranking points."

Yusa was the next one to talk. "I don't have anything I need at the moment, but those points will definitely come in handy in the future. It will also put us on the ranking system, which might bring good jobs for us later. If we don't complete at least one mission, our team name won't appear on the list."

Krune nodded. He didn't want to catch more attention. Fortunately, the ranking system allowed for the names of team members to be hidden. He then thought about something and asked, "By the way, what's our team name on the ranking system?"

Krune saw Yusa flash a bright smile on the other side of the video call, immediately getting a foreboding feeling. Yusa then said, "You will love it! Since you're the strongest member of our group, I decided to register us as..."

"The Rainbow Team."