Emrys is famous at Midnight City School; almost every student there knows him.
Why?
It's because he used to be a genius. His rise was rapid, but his fall was even quicker. He ascended to the Sixth Order Soul Apprentice within a few months, becoming the first Soul Apprentice to reach that level in Midnight City Academy's history. However, his ascent halted there. Over the next year and a half, he only managed to advance one more order, reaching the Seventh Order of Soul Apprentice. Most notably, he failed to awaken his Soul Mark.
Many mocked him, while others expressed sympathy.
However, just yesterday, during the first battle against a Soul Beast, Emrys displayed the strength of a Ninth Order Soul Apprentice, greatly shocking Rohan. At first, Rohan couldn't believe his eyes, but the truth was right in front of him. It was undeniable that Emrys was now a Ninth Order Soul Apprentice.
"How did you do it? It's only been a week, and in this incredibly short period, you've advanced by two Orders."
When Rohan asked, Emrys smiled and told him that it wasn't much. This progress occurred solely because he had awakened his Soul Mark.
Rohan was initially confused, but then a sudden realization struck him. He couldn't help but feel happy for Emrys. Emrys had finally succeeded in awakening his Soul Mark. In other words, he was no longer bound by the restriction that would have kept him trapped in the Soul Apprentice Realm for his entire life, preventing him from becoming a Soul Master.
Rohan inquired again about his Soul Mark, to which Emrys smiled mysteriously and simply stated that his Soul Mark belonged to the Space category, indicating it was a Spatial-attributed Soul Mark.
Rohan did not ask anymore. Everyone's Soul Mark is their privacy and a kind of secret. Rohan had also not told anyone about his Soul Mark. Everyone only knows that he has a Water-attributed Soul Mark. That's all.
As for why Cairo's Soul Mark, Intel Scout, is known to others, it's because he has already registered his name with the Federation and become a member.
The Federation is a giant tree with hundreds of branches. Some branches are forces affiliated to the Federation and some branches are subsidiaries of the Federation itself, established in several big cities throughout the entire Infinite Soul Star.
Cairo, due to his specialty, was able to successfully become a member of the Federation.
Why would he fear others when the Federation is there to protect him?
Rohan was able to recruit him this time because Rohan and Cairo already knew each other.
Among the party of three, Rohan and Cairo were Elementary Bronze Soul Masters. Emrys was the weakest in the group, however, when he utilized 'Node Shift' to land the final blow to an Elementary Bronze Soul Beast yesterday, Rohan and Cairo realized that they could not underestimate Emrys. It seems Emrys's Soul Mark was not simple, and it must be of a high-grade Soul Mark.
Rohan smiled silently in his heart. As expected of a genius. Emrys used to be a prodigy, and it seems that after awakening his Soul Mark, his talent has returned.
"I want to break through before investigating. It'll not take long. Wait for me!"
However, today, when Emrys told Rohan that he would break through first, Rohan could not smile anymore. It is not because he was suddenly jealous of Emrys's talent.
No, he was simply stunned.
How long has it been?
Only nine days!
Today marks the tenth day since the school announced the holiday. In just these ten days, not only has Emrys awakened his Soul Mark and advanced to Ninth Order Soul Apprentice, but he now actually desires to break through again and become a Bronze Soul Master.
Is this normal?
Cairo doesn't know much about Emrys, so he doesn't show any expression, but Rohan's reaction is different. Ultimately, he had to swallow the fact that Emrys was no longer just a genius, he was simply a monster in terms of talent.
Emrys entered the small space under the roots of a giant tree to break through. In order not to disturb him and protect him from outside dangers, Rohan and Cairo climbed the giant tree to keep an eye on the surroundings.
Screach~
About an hour later, the cry of a bird echoed in the forest. This cry was so loud that it caused Rohan and Cairo to tightly close their ears with their hands.
It was not just them, this cry seemed to have stirred a commotion to within ten miles of land. Soul Beasts, no matter how strong they were, all felt a suppression on their bloodline. It was such a sensation that they felt breathing had become difficult. They could not help but prostrate, lying face-downward in submission and despair.
This oppressive sensation was something that only Soul Beasts experienced. Rohan and Cairo remained unaware of such phenomena, however, what they experienced was not less than that of Soul Beasts. Their Soul Force became chaotic for a short period and they almost coughed out blood.
Fortunately, that cry of the bird did not appear again. Otherwise, they might have lost control of their Soul Force completely.
Both of them hurriedly utilized the power of their Soul Mark to still the chaotic Soul Force.
Luckily, other than Rohan, Cairo, and Soul Beasts, no one was within these ten miles of land. Otherwise, they would have definitely wondered what happened and might have started looking for the source of the commotion. At that time, it would have brought them a lot of trouble to deal with.
Inside the small cave, the shadow of a huge blue bird floated above Emrys's head.
It was the Void Bird; the previous cry belonged to this bird.
The Void Bird transformed into a wave of bluish energy and entered Emrys's body. Shortly after, Emrys opened his silver eyes, which briefly flashed with sparks. He then gazed at the seed in his hand. With just a slight force, the seed crumbled into thin particles of powder, as if its essence had been completely extracted, leaving nothing but a withered shell.
No wonder it crumbled into powder!
Emrys threw the powder and observed his body, a proud smile forming on his face.
"I have finally become a Soul Master!"