Roadblock

Wearing a blank expression, Jake nodded at the cameraman.

"This is not a driver's license. You can smile Master Collins."

Jake put on a polite smile and nodded.

Snap!

The branch master did some operations on his tablet. "We have sent a digital copy of your license to your email."

The guildmaster waved at one of his bodyguards.

"A list of certified artisan privilege has been sent to you as well."

"Welcome to the artisan guild."

Yep. Only at this moment, Jake had fully became a member of the artisan guild.

To the artisan guild, certified artisans were like their blood-bond children.

Need resources? No problem! Just do some simple chores for us. Need a budget? Name a number! Just don't waste too much of it for entertainment. Need protection? Actually? We'll hire silver-tiers for you!

The artisan guild protected aspiring artisans as well. But the aspiring artisans were like the employees to the guild.

You want something from the guild? Alright. First ask yourself, what can you provide for the guild.

So yep. The relationship was something like that.

A bodyguard passed through the crowd. He came forward with a briefcase.

"As promised, we will provide the blueprints of advanced talismans for free." The branch master pressed his palm onto the briefcase. By the looks of it, this was a magical artifact as well.

During the wait, Jake took out his phone.

Apparently, there's free wifi here. Tsk... Noice.

Checking his email. Yep. There was his artisan card. ID: NA000327.

He'd just became the 327th formal member of the guild.

'Looks like I've climbed one step higher into the artisan hierarchy.'

'Given enough points, even climbing to the top doesn't seem that difficult.'

'Well. Understandable. The artisan career has only existed for about 5 years.'

'Whereas the knowledge from the system...' Jake squinted thinking of this.

"Ah. That took longer than expected." The branch master flipped open the briefcase.

"Here are the blueprints for the advanced talismans." The branch master handed over a stack of unfolded leather scrolls.

Jake took a look. There were 8 of them.

"Excuse me." Holding a hand, Nathaniel walked out. He looked rather concerned.

"According to the rules, the reward is the three level-one blueprints right?"

The branch master: ???

Of course the branch master knew the rules. However, he didn't mind selling a favor to Jake and the Iron Sparrow Guild either.

However... What?

Holding the stack of 8 scrolls, the branch master awkwardly froze up.

Wait... Why?

The branch master looked a little confused. He'd just arrived after all. Missed most of the show.

Jake took a look at Nathaniel. 'Oh? Not going to hide anymore? Blatantly showing your true face in the open now?'

About half of the people here glared at Nathaniel. The other half subtly moved towards Nathaniel, ready to protect their leader.

By the looks of it, a brawl was about to break out at any time.

"First of all. Erhm." Nathaniel cleared his throat.

Standing a little taller, this older son looked like he had nothing to hide. "Rules are rules. Rules are there for us to follow."

"I'm sure there is a reason for this rule."

"If I am correct, Level two talismans are more difficult to craft than level one talismans right?"

The branch master blinked a few times and nodded.

"So if master Collins cannot craft a level one talisman, then there is low success rate in crafting a level two talisman."

"Jumping right to level two would waste the materials."

"After we run out of materials, how long would the gathering process take?"

Nathaniel looked around.

Some of the crowd nodded in agreement.

"That's right. This is rather considerate of you Nathaniel."

"We would have a better chance at saving Badger this way."

"That's right. It's better to start with level one first."

Others didn't agree, but didn't know what to say either.

Jake squinted his eyes and took a cold glance at Nathaniel.

This guy was a roadblock to his profit again!

However...

Jake lightly shook his head. Jake could already see Nathaniel's tragic end.

'Last struggles huh...'

'The moment I create the cleanse talisman, the fate of this guy will be sealed.'

'Even if I can't make that happen.' Jake squinted. 'I wouldn't mind testing out my privileges as a certified artisan.'

After all, Jake was just an expl... just an artisan, not a saint.

Seeing no disagreements, the branch master dryly chuckled.

"Master Collins..." The branch master carefully asked for Jake's opinion.

Jake nodded. "It's fine. I'll take a look at the level one talismans first."

After all, Nathaniel was correct with his claims.

If Jake couldn't craft a level one talisman successfully, level two would also be impossible. Nothing wrong with this claim.

And the Artisan Guild did care about rules and public images a lot. Turning a blind eye was one thing. Continuing the underhanded dealings after being called out was another.

Jake still felt fed up though. Level 2 and Level 3 blueprints could be good references and good study materials.

"If you successfully craft one of these three talismans, you will be leveled up to level 2 certified artisan." The branch master apologetically nodded.

Jake nodded back and took over the three blueprints.

Level 1 Advanced Talismans: Agility, Invisibility, Barrier

Invisibility also had three levels. Level 1 hides the user from vision. Level 2 conceals scent as well. Level 3 conceals vision, scent, and sound.

Taking over the blueprints, Jake quickly scanned through them.

Lightly raising his brows, Jake subtly pursed his lips.

The crafting difficulty was much higher than expected. Even at 33.1% mastery, Jake still had little clue about the information on these blueprints.

If basic talismans were like light bulbs, then advanced talismans would be smart phones in comparison. The difficulty in construction was not even close.

Especially when the construction instructions here was way too broad.

Also, when creating complicated artifacts like this, atmosphere interference would play a bigger role.

'If I worked on this by myself, would I see any success in 10 years?' Jake took a deep breath.

'Looks like I'm not a genius after all.' Jake nodded at himself, accepting the situation.

Seeing Jake's reaction, the branch master warmly smiled. He could see himself in Jake reaction. Years ago, he probably had the same reaction.

"Do not worry Master Collins." The branch master said in a comforting voice. "Most artisans are still stuck with basic talismans."

"It's a feat to reach the certified level already."

"Among the certified artisans, there's only 57 people who made it to level 2."

"So most certified artisans are still stuck at level 1."

"Wait. How many people are at level 3?" Jake asked.

"None."

Jake: ???

"All level 3 artisans have been promoted to research artisans already."

In other words, they have moved onto the next tier in the hierarchy.

Research artisans!

Artisans at the very frontier of artifact crafting. These were the core members of the artisan guild.

"I see." Jake nodded at this information. 'In other words, if I can get to level 3, I'm almost guaranteed a core seat in the artisan guild.'

'The artisan guild should have a good load of materials right?'

Thinking of his critical collection quest and the philosopher stone, Jake squinted.

'The key to system level up might be at the artisan guild...'

(Reminder: In order to unlock the next system level, Jake must absorb a philosopher's stone.)