In the 100,000th step:
Five days later, the last day of the trial arrived.
All of his wives had already passed the 1,000th step and were only waiting for the end of the trial.
Maximus became more leisurely as he talked to Lilith about what to do after the trial.
“Hey, where will you live after the trial?” Maximus asked Lilith as he played with her hair.
Lilith had already gotten used to Maximus’s playfulness, so she just rolled her eyes.
“My sister said to choose a place in the City of Arcana,” Lilith said after some thinking.
“Oh? It’s said to be in the center of the origin domain, the most impenetrable city in the world,” Maximus said, recalling some hearsay he had heard.
“Yes, my sister said that it’s very safe there. Even if the entire Arcane Continent gets destroyed, the City of Arcana will be scratch-free.”
“So awesome!” Maximus said looking at her to explain more.
“I don’t know, it’s what my sister said anyway,” Lilith said.
“Then let’s see each other at the City of Arcana,” Maximus said as he pinch her cheeks.
“Hmm.”
After a few hours, the trial ended and they were expelled from the virtual world.
…
In Silver City, at Maximus’s rented manor:
Maximus opened his eyes and looked at the others who were also slowly getting up.
Before he could say anything, his personal token vibrated.
[Congratulations on becoming an Official Student!!!
Credits: 1,000,000
3 months before the official student trial….]
“Credits?” Maximus murmured, clicking on it.
Credits are the official currency of the Origin Arcana Institute.
1 credit is equal to 1 high-grade magic crystal, which is equivalent to 10,000 low-grade magic crystals.
“How is your trial?” Maximus asked to see if there is a difference from the notification he received.
“We got 10,000 credits, but we can only access the building and can’t buy special resources”
“Oh? Fortunately, I’m already an official student.”
Although he still hadn’t passed the official student trial, climbing up to 100,000 on his first try made him an exception, and became an official student in advance.
One of the privileges of being an official student is that you can use your credits to buy anything.
…
A few days later, outside the City of Arcana:
“Is this the center of the origin domain?” Maximus said as he looked at the huge floating behemoth.
“Wow!”
They had just come out of the teleportation array, and seeing the City of Arcana for the first time was shocking.
If Silverleaf City is still in the category of land, then the City of Arcana is entirely made of Void Gold Metal.
It is the hardest and most versatile metal in the world.
Void Gold Metal is also 10 times more expensive than high-grade magic crystals of the same size.
So making a floating behemoth at such a size is unimaginable.
…
Inside the edge of the city, in one of the vacant lots:
“Is this the place that you chose?” Erica asked as she looked at the piece of land, 1,000 square meters in area.
“Yes, the land in the City of Arcana is expensive. Just staying here costs 10,000 credits per year,” Maximus said with heartache.
You know the prices in the Origin Domain are out of this world.
He nearly went bankrupt just renting a place for a month.
But using credits, you can get massive discounts that made it almost free.
The place they stayed in Silver City only cost 100 credits per year, compared to 100 million per month when he use magic crystal.
“Let’s go in,” Maximus said as he manipulated the array for them to enter.
“It’s bigger inside!” they exclaimed.
The place was a hundred times bigger inside.
“It looks like they use space wrap array,” Maximus said.
“But how do we live here?” Looking at the wasteland without any building in front, they couldn’t help but question.
“I nearly forgot.”
Maximus then took out the token as he gathered his wives and children to choose a design.
“Come here, help me choose a design.”
There were multiple options for designs, as the whole city is made of aggregate materials.
Molding buildings and landscapes is as easy as waving your hands.
“I want this one.”
They chose the design for their own room, leisure room, functional room, beast pet stables, garden design…
After a few hours of non-stop chatter, Maximus clicked “enter.”
Like a miracle, the dust-like particles gathered together, forming different materials and plants.
“So beautiful,” they murmured as they looked at the fairy-like atmosphere.
…
At the dinner table that night:
“How about we tour around the city tomorrow?” Maximus said.
“Alright, we also plan to go to the Celestial Ascent Path to train,” Erica said.
They didn’t want to get further and further away from their husband, so they needed to train rigorously.
“Hmm, do you want to come?” Maximus looked at his children and teased them.
“Yes!”
…
The next day, at the bay of the Elemental Pool:
“Wow, so sparkling!” Lyla said as she looked at the colorful pool.
“This should be the Elemental Pool, one of the wonders of the Origin Domain,”
Maximus said as he browsed through his personal token using official student privileges.
“Elemental Pool?” they asked.
“Initially, Tier 9 mana environment is already the limit that mana concentration can achieve.”
“However, Elemental Pool is a concentration of different elemental mana making its grade higher than pure mana.”
“Like the one in front, it’s the light elemental pool.”
“Oh, how about we take a dip?” Max asked, eager to bathe in such a pool.
“Then let’s see if we can get in…”
Maximus took them towards the reception.
“How do we get into one of the elemental pools?” Maximus asked as he presented his token.
The steward quickly took a look.
Seeing that Maximus is an official student he became more respectful.
“As an official student, you only need to pay 1 credit per day. For seekers, it’s 10 credits per day, and for outsiders, it’s originally prohibited,” the steward said knowingly as he saw that there are kids.
“But official students have special privileges to invite family members; this costs 1,000 credits per individual.” The steward said.
“Good, just deduct the credits for all of us,” Maximus said.
Maximus was already used to being extravagant, so he wasn’t daunted by the price, even knowing that credits are hard to get.
…
In the Chaos Elemental Pool:
The Chaos Elemental Pool is the center of the elemental pool.
“Huh…” Maximus was submerged in the pool, breathing peacefully.
The scene was relaxing, and bathing in the elemental pool was such an experience.
Maximus looked at his children as they swam and played.
“Come, chase me!” Max swam fast.
“Wait for us, brother Max!” San and Luke hurriedly chased after him.
“Don’t run too far!” Liam said, sounding like an old grandma while taking care of baby Neo.
“Invisible…” Nathan murmured as he slowly submerged.
“Sister, hold me, I want to be a mermaid,” Lyla urged Lily.
“No, you look like a duck,” Lily disagreed and floated away.
“Be a good girl, Serene and Cyra,” Lydia said as she petted the two babies.
“Ba, ba, ba,” they responded.
“So relaxing…” Angeline said, submerging her whole body.
“Do you miss people in Sunburnt Plateau?” Isabella said, joining them.
“Uh? Not much, as long as I’m with my husband, everything is home,” Irene said, looking at Maximus, who had his eyes closed.
“Now that we’re here, we should take this time to become stronger,” Rose said seriously.
…
A day later.
“How time has passed,” Maximus murmured as he saw his token blinking, telling them that they only had half an hour left in the Elemental Pool.
They had unknowingly spent a whole day in the pool.
Fortunately, it’s not like water; the elemental pool is made of elemental mana, which can improve your elemental affinity.
Even though his children were in it for a whole day, they were still energetic, as if they had taken a tonic.
“Let’s go!”
…
In the Arcana Library:
This is the collection of all the known knowledge that flows throughout the whole Etherium Realm.
It only has 10 floors, but its height and width are immeasurable to the naked eye.
After registering, using his official student status, he paid some credits and got in with everyone.
“So many books,” Liam said in marvel.
“Eh? Boring,” Max only sighed.
“Go to the entertainment section if you want to play,” Maximus said dotingly.
The books in the entertainment section were not only made of words but also contained images and videos.
“Let’s split up; we’ll meet here in a day.”
…
Maximus headed to the cultivation manual section. 𝓞𝒱𝐞xt.𝔠𝒪𝚖
Lately, he felt the weakness of his cultivation manual.
Whether it was the Divine Consciousness or the Divine Body, after he reached the Tier 3 realm, his progress slowed down.
He thought that it was only due to his poor aptitude and not enough mastery of the cultivation technique.
But even after spending Life points to upgrade his mastery to transcendent and using potential points to make his talent reach rank 6 Divine, progress was still slow.
However, with transcendent mastery through the technique, he still got some clue.
The cultivation manual that he bought was not in tune with the Etherium Realm.
The higher the realm, the slower the speed of his cultivation would be.
Looking at his system panel, he could only sigh at his slow progress.
[Maximus Shadowcrest.
Soul: Tier 3 Nascent Mage: Level 4
Body: Tier 4 Sky Knight: Level 1
Mana Amplitude: 187
Will: 275]
(1 mana amplitude/will is equal to that of a normal person.)