Future Head?
Elder Ren was surprised, "I suppose we can put something together like that for you. Please wait a moment." he walked into another room on the right hand side of the main Hall.
Less than a minute later, Elder Ren came out followed by two young males about William's age. They were carrying different scrolls and some paintbrushes. They made trips back and forth from various rooms, gathering other unique items.
The number of people moving around also increased. Most of them were curious about the supposedly talented young man and the unusual testing strategy he requested. Even the Elder at the front counter, named Elder Klies, joined in.
William was told to enter the testing room, which now had the items from before laid out. Elder Ren asked him to sit down, then started explaining the rules of the Level 3 test while spectators filed into another room with a semi-transparent wall.
"You've already completed the initial test and met the requirements for Level 2, but this test requires something different. You will be asked to create your first Array using a method shown on the scroll before you. You may take a look now, but as soon as you do the test will begin. You have 30 minutes to make the Array functional."
William looked down at the scroll. Depicted were two Runes of Mana, a Rune of Suction, and two Runes of Strength in a clockwise fashion forming a circle. He had never seen the Array before, but William could infer that this was a Basic Mana Array, designed to draw in Mana from the surroundings.
He formed a Rune of Mana in an instant, surprising The onlookers who weren't familiar. The strings of light formed a simple structure in the same shape as the scroll showed.
"Such speed." someone awed. It was as if William wasn't a novice, but actually a trained professional with years of experience. No one understood why Will was just now taking the test.
A second Rune of Mana was formed, then the Rune of Suction. The remaining Strength Runes were also formed with no problem. William arranged the Runes as instructed by the scroll, then fed it some Mana to activate the Array.
Success!
Mana was neatly drawn in from the room. There wasn't much because of the small space, but Elder Ren could tell that it was created with no imperfections. "You've passed, congratulations on reaching Level 3. Would you like to continue?"
"Yes please." William nodded respectfully.
Elder Ren returned his nod and walked to the row of items placed on a nearby table. He picked up another scroll, a pen, and an empty scroll. He placed them in front of William.
"Your next task is to copy the Array on this scroll to another. Level 4 Array Members are often asked to share their less valuable methods with others as a learning experience, or to earn Contribution Points. In addition, you are required to make one improvement to the Array in order to pass. You have half an hour, begin."
This Array was more complex than the last, made of three Runes of Reflection, two Runes of Soul, and a Rune of Strength. It seemed to be an Array of Soul Seeking, which reflects the inner desires of the creator and manifests it into an illusion at the center of the Array.
William found many ways to improve the Array, but wasn't sure which one to use. "Will the Array be considered improved if I change some of the functions?"
"You can change any one of the functions, but it has to keep the rest." Elder Ren said.
William refocused on the Array. He decided it would be best to make the Array create an illusion of the desire of others, and not the creator. This would make it more effective in battle.
He swapped two Runes of Reflection to one Rune of Killing Intent and one Rune of Attraction. Then, William added two Runes of Strength and two Runes of Stability, one between each Rune of Strength, to ensure the Array was still functional. The Array now had nine Runes, which was much more difficult to control.
William drew out his version on the scroll in front. His Speed Talent allowed William's hand to move much faster, but it was difficult to control, so he used the Water Element to assist his hand movements.
Elder Ren saw William's creation, feeling the young man was much more talented than he thought. When he took the Level 4 test, Elder Ren had never thought of using Runes of Stability to improve a Basic level Array. A true genius.
William finished inscribing the scroll, then created the Array in a few minutes. The Array sprung to life and seemed to have no effect, so some onlookers thought William had failed.
William spoke up to the group, "Direct some killing intent at me."
One of the young men forced out some killing intent, and the Array instantly lit up. In the center of the room, there was now a beautiful half naked woman smiling at the young man and urging him to come closer. The man almost fell for the trap, but the others nearby prevented him from walking forward. He was very embarrassed and regretted being the first to test the Array.
Elder Ren felt a bit awkward but allowed William to pass the fourth test. "I'm going to award you 10 Contribution Points for your Array. Would you like to continue?"
"Absolutely." William was actually having some fun with this process of creating Arrays. He had learned many new ways to improve during or before a battle. The test also earned William some Contribution Points, the value of which was unclear at the moment but they couldn't be useless.
Elder Ren took the scrolls from William and replaced them with a single scroll. This time, William was asked to create an Intermediate Barrier Array.
The Array looked simple in practice, being just one Rune of Barrier and one Rune of Strength, but they were both Intermediate Runes. The spectators felt this might be the end of William's streak, as most Elders were only at Level 5 or 6. The Array Masters were experts in the 7th to 8th Level, while the Head Array Master was in the 9th Level.
He stared at the Runes for a moment, while information on how to improve the Array flowed like water. He didn't need any of this though, so he shut it out.
William held up a hand, forming four Basic Runes of Barrier. They mashed together like a sandwich, forming an Intermediate Rune in an instant.
"What?!?" even Elder Ren was dumbfounded. How can someone just smash together Basic Runes? They should have exploded by now, but they didn't! He didn't understand at all, but he couldn't interrupt the process.
The onlookers were chatting excitedly among themselves. Was this the emergence of a new Head Array Master?
William created an Intermediate Rune of Strength using the same method, then formed the Array of Barrier.
-Successfully formed your first Intermediate Array: +5 Potential Points
He had received a notification for the Basic Array as well, but didn't pay much attention as it was only a single Potential Point. He activated the Barrier, then Elder Ren tested its strength with an Earth Spike. The Array was able to hold until Elder Ren used an Earth Spike at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, which was amazing considering William didn't have any Cultivation.
Not that it mattered though among Array Masters. All they really needed was some Mana and plenty of time, and they would be able to do many things Cultivators could and couldn't do. Cultivation was less important unless one was creating a powerful Array and didn't have any Mana Stones to power it.