Reed followed Green Inks directions, going past 4 guards in front of the town lords estate, 2 more than he had seen before.

  He summarised what he had experienced in the shop.

  First and most importantly, he made the mistake of faking his status in such a class based society.

  And second, he had the stupidest, most arrogant, fictional protagonist idea ever and actually agreed to take a test, on a subject he had no knowledge about.

  Reed was so devastated at his hotblooded actions that his face reverted to expressionless as he walked.

  Still, he continued his summary.

  He had to become a genuine talisman master in 5 days.

  He had to visit the mangrove estate after the test— If he were still alive then.

  5 days…

  Reed entered the White Beard Pavilion.

  The pavilion was made of quality materials, but from the moment he stepped inside and didn’t hear the distinctive sound of a bell ringing, Reed felt the place was different.

  He only realised it now, but the air within the more luxurious structures seemed fresh, yet this place seemed especially fresh and cool.

  Despite being a two story building, there were no interior walls or a second floor, it looked more like a warehouse made of luxurious materials.

  Not far ahead of the entrance was a large desk, where an old man in white robes, covered in black ink sat, observing a piece of coarse paper covered in strange symbols.

  Reed paused for a moment, looked behind the desk to see there were hundreds of large pots, some leaking black ink and then looked back to the old man. The contrast with the other shops he’d entered so far was extreme.

  Should I find another place? Reed wondered, quietly taking a step back towards the door while the old man hadn’t seemed to notice him.

  “Young man.” Reed paused as the old man spoke, even his gray hair stained with splotches of ink.

  “Greetings.” Reed cautiously bowed and cupped his fist in one hand.

  “Are you a talisman or formation master?” They asked sternly, still without looking up. Reed’s eye twitched but he responded anyway.

  “Aspiring to be.”

  “Hmm, come, look at this and tell me if you see anything.”

  “...” Reed wished he had gotten out faster, but since Green Ink, who had appeared to have some standing had recommended this place, he obediently walked over and joined the old man in looking at the sprawled out piece of paper.

  Some time passed in silence.

  Reed had no clue what he was supposed to be looking for in the mess of faded ink, but he played along regardless before eventually asking.

  “Are you a talisman master, or a formation master?” He asked.

  “A long time ago.” The old man brought his hands above the desk, they were shaking violently, with scars marring them.

  “The previous town lord was a tyrant and had my hands cut when I refused to sell him talismans anymore.”

  “...My condolences.” Reed responded before the two went back to staring at the mess of ink in silence. Reed wondered if this was normal. But he was about as knowledgeable in the culture as a toddler, perhaps even less, so he continued the charade.

  “Hmf– I don’t need condolences. I got to kick that bastard across the city when the town inspector came around and removed him from power.”

  While the old man bragged about pushing the former lord into a pile of dung, Reed was deep in thought. I wonder, if he's a talisman master, conversing with him even without context could definitely help, even if it's just a bunch of scattered knowledge.

  After all, Reed had the ability of chaotic energy to fill in gaps in understanding.

  So, Reed drew one of the 8 wisps of chaotic energy.

  What do these ink stains mean? He asked in his mind.

  Deception… Array… Were the words that surfaced in response.

  “Deception… Array… Formation…?” Reed repeated, purposely adding the word formation.

  “Do you not know the difference?” The old man asked annoyedly.

  “Not quite.” Reed responded.

  “Hmpf. Then let me tell you.” The old man responded, Reed’s heart raced at his scheme succeeding.

  “Arrays are using written words and letters infused with qi to carry intentions. With enough qi, these intentions can become powerful forces that can affect the world. The more history tied to a language, the stronger its intention.” The old man began.

  “I see.”

  “Formations don’t use language, they use items and things with their own properties, strung together in order so their combined properties have a powerful force to affect the world.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you see any words here?” The old man asked.

  “Yes.” Though faded, Reed could clearly tell that something was written on the paper.

  “So do you think it's a deception array or a deception formation?”

  “...” Reed didn’t answer immediately. This was a great opportunity to get information from a former talisman master. He thought about the best thing to say to learn more and eventually settled on a philosophy on how to speak at this moment.

  In all Reed’s experience, specialists loved to talk about their profession when asked a question about it, to show off their knowledge. Instead of answering directly, he should keep the old man talking by asking a question instead. However, stupid questions could become annoying, so he needed to gather all his current knowledge to come up with a good question.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “I’m not sure. Could a piece of paper with an array be an object in a formation?” Reed asked.

  “Now you're getting it.” The old man seemed pleased.

  “So is this a deception array or a piece of a deception formation?” Reed continued.

  “Hehe. NOW, you're getting it. That bastard Green Ink looked at it and gave up immediately. This is an old scroll I happened across while traveling in my younger days.” The old man turned from the scroll for the first time, looking to the sky with a slight smile. “Ah, yes, those were the days.”

  The old man cleared his throat before locking eyes with Reed for a moment.

  “So, the platinum tael question is whether it's a piece or the whole. What do you think?”

  “...I’m unsure, I’m still inexperienced, could I hear your observations first?” Reed asked.

  The old man stroked his beard before looking back to the worn page.

  “Here and here. The ink trails off the page, as if connected to something else, but there's no tear, so it must have been connected to something else, no?” The old man pointed out, along with a few other things. “And yet.” He continued, pulling out another scroll from beneath the desk and laying it out.

  The new scroll was a replica of the worn out one, the old man pulled out a glowing blue powder from his sleeves, before sprinkling it across the copy.

  Suddenly, the black ink lit up, before the scroll disappeared.

  Not just the scroll.

  Reed’s eyes widened as he watched the whole desk disappear.

  “The scroll works entirely by itself as a deception array.” The old man continued as Reed starred dumbfoundedly, before reaching out.

  The air blurred as Reed touched the desk, revealing a piece of the desk, a scroll with glowing blue lines revealed as he traced his hands over.

  “Incredible… Can arrays only be used with paper and ink?” Reed asked.

  “I understand your confusion. Array masters are beyond rare. The control of qi it takes to form an array in midair is immense. But I assure you, it's possible without spirit paper and ink.” The old man explained. “What we call talisman arts is just array arts with ink and paper. Always remember that if you're aspiring to become a talisman master.”

  “... I can’t say if this is an array or part of a formation. My knowledge is lacking.”

  “Would I be agonising over this day and night if an amateur could answer so easily?” The old man scoffed with a sarcastic grin before picking up the replica scroll, revealing the desk once more and pulling out a single piece of paper, just a sixth of a page.

  Precut Talisman Paper. Reed remembered.

  Only a single character was messily written on the paper.

  “This is two characters from the scroll.” The old man continued before tearing the paper.

  “...” Reed was rendered speechless as the old man disappeared in front of his eyes.

  “Hmm… I see you're impressed. You should be. All the talismans out in the market that do this have 4 or 5 characters, this only has 2.” The old man slowly reappeared as he nodded to himself.

  “Now, do you think it's a piece or part of a whole?”

  “...May I ask a few more questions before I answer?” Reed asked cautiously, seeing the old man in a good mood.

  “Hmmm… Haha… Sure...”

  Reed suppressed his smile the best he could, bowing and cupping his fist in one hand before asking away.

  …

  Perhaps he had gotten too into it, Reed had gone stiff after realising the old man's expression had darkened a bit.

  “You have no idea what you're talking about. Do you?” The old man spoke unimpressed.

  “...I did only say ‘I was aspiring to be’ after all.” Reed responded, feeling butterflies in his stomach as he shamelessly justified himself.

  “Hmpf…. Shameless kid.” The old man snorted, shooing Reed off with one hand.

  Reed didn't move for a moment, tensing himself before he spoke. “...I originally came here to buy some ink.” Reed attempted a smile, by now he knew he needed special ink.

  “...” The old man looked at him displeased, but perhaps due to a lack of customers, Reed still managed to walk out with a jar of ink and some basic implements for 2 gold.

  Despite having been coldly dismissed, Reed was thankful for all the information he had obtained today, he bowed and cupped a fist in his hand before leaving.

  ??????????????

  Originally, Reed was wondering how to get his foot in the door, but thanks to the old man at the ink shop, White Beard Pavilion, he had found his starting points.

  Language and arrays. With those two words in mind, searching for knowledge becomes far easier.

  After returning to the slightly more crowded areas, Reed found a three story building made of black wood with whitewashed walls and light yellow glazed tiles labelled, Sunny Scroll Pavilion.

  Looking at the other book and scroll stores around, Sunny scroll pavilion was the only one with more than 2 floors, so Reed entered confidently, the large open entrance proving more inviting. There were two people with swords seated to the side of the open entrance, but they seemed absorbed in The dice rolling around on the floor.

  A clerk behind a counter bowed the moment Reed entered. “Welcome to Sunny Scroll pavilion, sir.”

  Reed recalled what he had seen, the clerk was dressed in ordinary gray robes, while he was dressed in gold embroidered red. In this situation, he didn’t need to bow, so he nodded to the clerk before continuing inside, quickly disappearing into rows of wooden shelves, stacked with scrolls and books. Fresh air and freshly cut timber mixed with the slight smell of ink while the noise from outside seemed to be completely isolated and muffled despite the open front.

  After searching for a time, there was nothing specifically on talisman, but it had plenty of language and arrays. Matching up some language books to the array books and scrolls, Reed realised most arrays were based on the so-called ‘primordial language.’

  …

  “Hmm…” Reed pulled another book from the shelf, adding it to the pile in his hands. ‘Intricacies of primordial language.’ It was titled.

  “How much for all of these?” Reed asked at the counter, gently dumping the pile of books and scrolls onto the wooden counter.

  “...” The clerk looked blankly, before grabbing one of the books, checking its title and then pulling out another book where he checked the price.

  “6 silver to borrow for a month…” The clerk checked each book and scroll.

  Reed’s total came to 165 silver. He pulled out two gold coins.

  “35 silver change. One moment, sir.” The clerk spoke politely, before ducking beneath the counter.

  Reed heard some metal clicking and scrapping before the clerk reemerged, holding out a bag presumably filled with silver.

  Reed took the bag and checked it, pulling out and counting the coins. However, he saw the clerk suddenly go pale.

  “...” Reed slowed for a moment, but after counting out the change, there was only 30 silver.

  Before Reed could say anything, the clerk suddenly jumped over the counter and smashed his head on the floor.

  “I apologize! I apologize sir! I admit my sin! Please forgive me!” The clerk yelled, still smashing his head against the floor while pushing 5 silver in front of him.

  “!?” Reed widened his eyes while taking a step back.

  What the hell!? He thought. Was this really a mistake that serious?

  Reed looked outside. Some people had noticed the commotion and so had the two who had appeared to be guards for the place.

  “Tch, look at this bastard, short changing cause he doesn’t think anyone rich will check.” One of the two guards said.

  “Shouldn’t we speak up for them?” The other guard asked.

  “Look at that guy, golden embroidery, paying in gold coins. Do you wanna get on his bad side?”

  “Ughh… Still… He might not be that important?”

  “If he comes back later with some merchant goons to beat you up, or some noble private soldiers, I won’t save you!”

  “...”

  “Just shut up and pretend you don’t see anything.”

  Reed heard the two’s conversation a bit behind him.

  Through the guards conversation, Reed realized why he had received strange looks whenever he checked his change. Because of what he wore, they thought he was rich and didn’t expect him to actually check.

  In this culture where he had been subtly tested but never confronted. The smallest actions sent messages. Leading a person to a more expensive shop than normal to see if they could afford it…

  Reed focused on the clerk now shivering on their knees in front of him.

  The clerk braced themselves.

  Reed just wanted to return to Middle Bridge inn.

  Taking a deep breath, Reed decided to simply not say anything. He swept up the five silver and added them to the 30 silver pouch before turning and leaving with the books he’d borrowed.

  The crowd parted before him.

  “Lucky bastard. I would have beaten him up for trying to shortchange me.” Reed heard the guards continue chatting as he left.