Chapter 40: The Federal Artisans Association

Early the next morning, Marcus summoned Leon and Danika to the director’s office.

After hearing Leon’s detailed account of the previous night’s events, the dark-skinned director of the Security Bureau furrowed his brows deeply. Like Danika, he did not believe the commander of the City Guard was the mastermind behind the scenes. That left only two possibilities: the director of the Finance Bureau or the City Lord himself. Marcus already had a rough idea of who it might be.

After a brief silence, he looked at the two of them and said, "I will go and discuss this with the commander of the City Guard. You two can stop investigating for now."

Hearing this, Leon immediately understood the situation; Marcus’s attitude was an answer in itself. He had no objections to these arrangements—he wasn't some crusader for justice, after all. If anything, Leon had always wanted to grind for experience points in peace, yet trouble always seemed to find him. He had considered resigning, but the condition for his status as an auxiliary citizen was that he work for the Security Bureau. He couldn't just bail after less than a month. If he did that, Leon suspected his status might revert back to that of a prisoner.

As they stepped out of the office, Leon glanced at Danika, who looked relieved, clearly happy to have some quiet time ahead. After a moment of thought, he said, "Captain, I’d like to take the day off to find a new place to live." Leon had no desire to keep living in a room with a gaping hole in the wall.

Danika granted his request readily. "Sure. If you find a good place, let me know."

After nodding at the tall woman, Leon left the Security Bureau. He had actually already scoped out a new place the night before—a detached residence not too far, but not too close to the bureau, complete with a basement. Leon was mainly interested in the basement, as it would be convenient for him to conduct some more private affairs. The monthly rent was two thousand Starlight Credits, which was quite expensive. However, the terms were only one month’s rent as a deposit, which was much better than the predatory landlords back before he transmigrated, who required three months' rent as a deposit and never returned it. For Leon, who had just received a large bonus, this was affordable, and he expected to have a new source of income once he became a Tier 1 Artisan.

After contacting the agent and inspecting the property to ensure everything was in order, he signed the contract.

Looking at the empty living room, Leon nodded with satisfaction. Regardless of anything else, he finally had a sense of belonging in this world, even if he didn't own the house.

'Alright, time to head to the Federal Artisan Association and see what that's all about.'

Leon wasn't just taking the day off to find a new home; his main goal was to visit the Federal Artisan Association. He had looked it up online the night before and finally realized why the name felt familiar. The association’s database was tied to the concept of "Artisans," and he must have seen it when he was searching for related information previously.

The association was not far from his new home, and it took him less than twenty minutes to reach his destination. As he walked into the lobby, a staff member with a sweet smile approached him. "Hello, sir. How may I help you today?"

"I’d like to register as a Tier 1 Artisan." Since he was already there, Leon was determined to see if he could become a certified Tier 1 Artisan. For a profession like an alchemist, working in total isolation would never get him very far.

Hearing this, the staff member’s eyes lit up, and she led him to the counter. "Sir, please fill out your basic information here."

The required information was minimal: his citizen ID number, whether he was a dedicated "Artisan" class, and which school of technology he had studied. When the staff member noticed that Leon had selected a non-Artisan class, her expression flickered for a moment, though her smile remained professional. It was not uncommon for people like Leon to attempt the Tier 1 assessment, but most were just testing the waters, and very few succeeded. However, the staff wouldn't treat them poorly—there was no need to offend a potential artisan over something so trivial.

Seeing that Leon had finished filling out the form, she maintained her standard smile and said, "Sir, the fee for the Tier 1 Artisan assessment is ten thousand Starlight Credits. How would you like to pay?"

Leon was no stranger to assessment fees, and he knew it was an effective way to filter out those who weren't serious. He paid the ten thousand credits through his wrist device without hesitation. Once the payment was processed, the staff member led him into a room containing a massive furnace.

"The assessment will be conducted by an official member of the association. Please wait here for a moment." With that, she bowed and exited the room.

Left alone, Leon began to look around. He noticed various metals placed in front of the furnace, along with an object that looked somewhat familiar. Just as he was about to step closer to examine it, a voice sounded from behind him.

"You’re the one here for the assessment?"

Leon turned to see a young man in a black robe looking him up and down. He nodded in response to the question.

The young man pointed to the materials in front of the furnace. "The first step of the assessment is simple. Identify these materials and tell me what they are." He then began operating a device in his hand, preparing to record Leon’s answers.

No condescension, no deliberate difficulty, just cold, mechanical efficiency. That was Leon’s first impression of the association.

He didn't hesitate and immediately utilized his [Basic Construction] skill to analyze the materials. The metals in front were nothing special—mostly iron and copper, mixed with small amounts of gold, silver, and the specialty Fire Crystals from Sector 9527.

Hearing Leon list the basic information of the metallic ores without the slightest hesitation, the young man nodded slightly. In his view, simply identifying common ores meant the candidate was already basically qualified. But it wasn't enough. The most important material was the final one.

On the other side, Leon had reached the material that had caught his eye. Soon, under the influence of [Basic Construction], a crude piece of information appeared on his interface:

[Unnamed Zerg Carapace: A zerg carapace synthesized based on dragon scales.]

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