Advanced Talismans 

"As you wish Master Collins." The branch master gave a nod at his bodyguard.

That bodyguard brought a black luggage suitcase to the crafting station.

Opening that suitcase, it was 8 portions of crafting materials. 8 dark-green refined monster cores. 8 creamy-white casing materials.

The 16 orbs were enveloped by 3 layers of thick black foams.

"Master Collins, you may check over the materials now." The branch master weakly extended a hand.

"There is no problem." Jake nodded after a quick check.

"The rules are as follows. With the given materials, you are required to create each of the eight basic talismans."

"The exam will be terminated upon the first failure. Subpar talismans will be considered as failures."

"There will be no second chances."

"Would you like to commence this exam right now?"

Jake casually nodded. "Let's begin then."

Turn on the crafting station. Take out a monster core orb. Tap his pen onto that orb. Start the writing process.

Except this time, Jake went with the cursive writing style. A smooth and casual writing process. In some sense, it looked like performance art.

However, to the crowd, they saw Jake as carelessly doodling around.

Chatter quickly broke out from the silent crowd.

"Is master Collins too tired?" Someone whispered.

"Is he being serious?"

Some of the crowd faintly smiled seeing this.

"Ah. Master Collins has helped a lot already."

"We really shouldn't have pushed him this far."

"We should be grateful for master Collins' time."

"Nick is too inconsiderate. He shouldn't have brought master Collins over at midnight."

"Yeah. He should have let master Collins have a good night of sleep."

"I agree. Nick really messed up on this one."

Nathaniel Rogers looked at Jake with smiling eyes. A little surprised. A little happy.

To Nathaniel, Jake had clearly given up already. However, Jake still wanted to show an attitude that he tried his best.

"He's not even trying!" An explorer angrily grumbled.

Nick Rogers sighed in defeat.

There's no hope after all. Overhearing the chat, Nick reflected at what he's done.

Nick Rogers took a deep breath in dismay. Shivering a little, this young guildmaster stared at the ground in self-guilt.

Maybe he really did mess up.

Memories of his happy childhood flashed by his eyes. Yet, these scenes were fleeting away now.

The housekeeper glared at Jake in disbelief. He couldn't believe Jake's open 'betrayal.'

Kindness and generosity... doesn't pay back after all...

These outsiders of the trade didn't understand Jake's actions, but the branch master understood the situation!

Cursive Writing! A demonstration of the highest masteries!

Significantly lower mana cost! Faster creation! Also looks smoother and prettier.

To use this technique during this exam, what a show of confidence!

In less than 10 seconds, Jake had finished writing the runic character. As expected, this character self-folded into a chip.

The chip emitted a bright green glow. This was a high-quality healing talisman.

"What!"

"How!"

"Impossible!"

"He can succeed even being this careless?!" Nathaniel widened his eyes in disbelief.

Nick Rogers blinked a few times at the result in surprise. Some livelihood returned to his dead-eyed stare.

The housekeeper clenched his fists. He misunderstood Jake. He was wrong. Kindness really does pay back!

The branch master nodded at this result. This success already conveyed enough information about Jake's capabilities. The rest of the exam was pointless at this point.

Ignoring the stirred up crowd, Jake drew casing material onto this chip.

Unable to understand what they saw, the crowd gradually got louder,

Some even began to throw suspicious gazes at the branch master. If Jake could succeed that casually... Was talisman crafting really THAT difficult?

Maybe the difficulty in artifact crafting was a lie. Maybe this was a scheme of the artisan guild.

In the minds of this crowd, conspiracy theories popped up one after another.

Ignoring the chatting crowd, Jake moved on to the next talisman.

Grab a monster core orb.

'Which talisman should I make.' Jake looked up in thought.

The crowd quickly fell silent. They clearly misunderstood Jake's message.

At this pace, Jake was going to become a certified artisan in no time. The people here dared to accidentally mess with an aspiring artisan.

Yep. Key word. Accidentally. As in something that could be brushed by with a sincere excuse.

'Ah. Sorry. I thought you wouldn't have minded. I sincerely apologize.'

'I am so sorry for my rudeness. I was being inconsiderate.'

'I didn't expect that to be offensive to you. I was being overly concerned. Please forgive me.'

Accidentally. Not head-on in-your-face insults.

And that's towards aspiring artisans.

Big figures like certified artisan? Who'd dare to take a chance?

Jake wanted silence? Nobody here dared to stand out.

Seeing this result, Jake shrugged.

The chatter wasn't bothersome. But Jake was too lazy explain himself.

'Eh. I'll take it.'

Cursive writing style again. Nobody doubted Jake this time though.

Two minutes later, working in silence, Jake finished all eight talismans.

Grab the falling talisman. Turn off the crafting station. Jake nodded at the branch master.

The crowd exchanged glances. The atmosphere in this hall was a little strange.

For some reason, after seeing Jake's performance, becoming a certified artisan didn't look THAT hard?

For some strange reason, some felt that they could succeed as well. Even though they weren't detectors.

After all, it's just a basic talisman. How hard could it be?

Even though the branch master had anticipated this result, he still blinked a few times. He needed a moment to accept this result. Felt a little surreal to him.

Just this? The exam most artisans couldn't pass, got finished in 3 minutes?

How magical...

The branch master quickly regained his composure.

Putting on a wide smile, the branch master shot a glare at a cameraman behind him. "What are you waiting for."

"Ah. Master Collins. Congratulations for becoming the 327th certified artisan in North America!"

A round of gasps in disbelief echoed in this hall. There's only 327 people who can pass this exam?

Really? Didn't seem that difficult though.

"Thanks." Jake casually nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Jake's eyes focused.

The certification exam was just the appetizer to him. It's time for the real challenge.

Advanced talismans!