His knowledge of formation was first tested by the formation management department. When he had passed the test and proved that he was reliable, he was then given tools to do his job.
The most important tool to inspect formations is still the divine sense. Without it, one would have to rely on their eyes to examine the conditions of formation engravings. That just won't cut it.
Even if the accuracy of the eyes is ignored, the eyes can only see 2-dimensional layers. The eyes can only see the surface of objects. The eyes can't see other information such as texture, temperature, energy level, energy quantity, energy flow, and so on and so forth.
A classic handicap of the eyes is their inability to see formations stacked on top of each other. This is why someone who uses their eyes to examine an object like the sect ID card would believe that they could replicate the ID card when, in actual fact, all they are seeing is one layer of the ID card.
It is only with the divine sense that one can see the independent operation of each layer of formations and the interaction operations between each layer of formations of the ID card and other more sophisticated formations.
So the divine sense is the best tool to inspect formations. The more powerful the divine sense, the better it is. as a tool for this job.
But the divine sense is not the only tool needed to inspect formations. A permission slip is also an important tool. There is also basic knowledge of the formation, its structure, and its mechanism of operation.
Despite how great a divine sense is, it can fail to properly inspect the conditions of a formation if that information is hostile or programmed to hide its true mechanism of operation from prying eyes.
In the case of a hostile formation, contact with a divine sense could cause the formation to enter an alert state and begin attacking the source of the formation. In order to prevent this, one would need a permission slip to prevent the formation from turning hostile and attacking.
The permission slip is also useful in making the hidden portions of a formation show themselves. So without a permission slip, the job of inspecting a formation can increase in difficulty by up to tenfold.
Then there is also the basic knowledge of the formation. This is necessary because even if the divine sense is all-powerful and the formation being inspected is not hostile or hiding parts of itself, the inspector still needs to know what they are looking at and how it works to figure out what's wrong with the formation.
This basic knowledge of the formation is the description of the formation and the schematic for the formation. With it, even a layman with a rudimentary understanding of formations will have an easier time seeing what's wrong in the operation of a formation.
The formation will also be easier to break for whoever possesses the basic information of the formation. This is why no one is allowed to inspect the barrier protecting the sect and other important formations in the sect.
Arthur's most important goal for taking this mission was getting the basic knowledge of the formation. With this knowledge and enough expertise, he could build the formation on his own.
So he was very satisfied to get the basic knowledge of the formations. But there was one more reward that he got to find out about. This was the knowledge of formation treasures.
When he was studying formations in the lecture halls of the outer sect, he had learned that formations were used for two things. One was to enhance the innate attributes and properties of an item or object.
The second use of formations was to enchant an object by adding a property to the object that it didn't possess before. But little was said about converting array information into treasures themselves.
The process of converting formations into objects and treasures is technically still a process of enchantment. But he wasn't taught how to convert formations into treasures because it was the domain of talisman creation.
Talismans are a classic case of converting formations into treasures. The same material is converted into various items capable of different things solely because of the different formations engraved on them.
But while talismans were consumable creations, formation treasures were reusable creations. Another difference between formation treasures and talismans, aside from their durability, was that formation treasures could have more than one function.
One example of a formation treasure was a ball that, if activated, would form a barrier around an area that can suppress an enemy's power, attack them, and even prevent them from escaping.
Usually formations that are capable of doing this need time to set up. They are cumbersome to set up and require the placement of various parts before they are ready for activation. This was why formations couldn't be used in combat despite how powerful they could be.
But a certain genius of formation established the school of formation treasures. He had called everyone else who needed time and a lot of parts to set up formations idiots.
Then this genius had proceeded to prove his words by condensing all the parts and processes of a formation onto a single item that could be activated with a thought and could be activated instantly.
This was how formation treasures came about. So this field of formations wasn't well known. If Arthur hadn't decided to help the sect out in maintaining their formations, he might have never come in contact with formation treasures.
This was why he was engrossed in his work when the assessment of his killing mission came in. He was trying to soak up as much knowledge as he could from the memory crystal that he was given about formations.
There were other things to learn in the memory crystal, but it was the information about formation treasures that attracted his attention the most.