"That was undoubtedly the most interesting conversation I've ever had with someone." Within the corridors of Algerie Kingdom's Blacksmith Guild, a middle-aged man and a young man walked side by side with amicable expressions on their faces as the former looked to the man beside him before laughing. "You've definitely widened my horizons with that one."
"To be honest, even I was surprised when I first found out it was possible to do something like that. Of course, you doing it in front of me only made it all the more unbelievable." In response, the young man let out a peal of laughter, nodding in agreement as the two of them continued on with their conversation.
Eventually, the two of them had arrived at the main hall of the guild, prompting them to stop their conversation as Julian had a slightly dejected expression at the realization. "And we were just getting to the good part."
"We could still talk about it some other time, no?" Taking note of the slight disappointment hidden within Julian's words, Valyr had to agree, thinking to himself that his conversation with the man was probably the most in-depth conversation he had about blacksmithing so far in his current life. Through their conversation, his doubts regarding certain areas had been clarified, while some of the knowledge he already knew in the world of blacksmithing had been refined in greater detail.
Then again, Julian felt the same way towards the conversation he had with Valyr. After all, the latter had brought him a perspective towards blacksmithing that he did not think could be feasible in the first place, getting the feeling that implementing even some of the ideas he and Valyr had talked about during their conversation would enhance his crafts to a whole other level.
"That is true." Though Julian really wanted to continue his conversation with Valyr, he knew that the young man still had other things to do. Aside from that, there was the fact that he had promised a couple of things to him as well, such as the upgrade to Valyr's rank. "In any case, the sun is only a couple of hours away from setting, so I think let's get everything sorted before that happens."
"I would definitely appreciate that." In response, Valyr beamed a smile to the middle-aged man, causing the latter to let out a hearty chuckle as the two of them headed towards the counters made for official members of the guild. Unsurprisingly, with Julian making an appearance in the guild's main hall, everyone in that area stopped what they were doing as they watched the two make their way to one of the counters, only for them to see the two wait for their turn.
Of course, those ahead of them in the line they entered and knew of Julian's identity offered that the two of them could go ahead of them, while those who were oblivious to the identity of the Guildmaster of the Blacksmith Guild heard the slight panic in the others' tones and did the same thing as well.
Unfortunately, both Valyr and Julian declined their offers, instead deciding to continue where their conversation left off, utilizing strands of mana to form a line of communication between the two of them as they knew that the topic of their conversation would definitely have everyone in the hall listening to them, especially if they decided to just talk about it.
With that, everyone in the hall was left with no choice but to eventually return to what they were doing before the arrival of the two, though they still sneaked glances at the two from time to time, only to see that the two were deeply engrossed in their conversation. Nevertheless, the line continued to move forward, and eventually, it was Valyr and Julian's turn.
"We meet again." Noticing that they were now at the front, Valyr turned his head to look at the attendant, only to notice that he had lined up for the same attendant that informed him to meet Julian earlier. "Hopefully, there won't be a problem with claiming my Technology Points anymore?"
"T-There is none at all, sir." Naturally, with how the boss of the entire guild was standing before him, the attendant felt a level of nervousness he had never felt before as he tried his best to make sure that he wouldn't do anything that would infuriate the man beside Valyr. "G-Greetings to the Guildmaster."
"Loosen up, will you?" Noticing the immense nervousness the attendant felt towards his presence, Julian went ahead and retracted his aura as much as possible, even going so far as to remove any traces of the aura he passively emanated. "If it helps, we only need your help for a couple of things here and we'll leave."
"Give him your badge." As these words left Julian's mouth, Valyr nodded in response before giving his iron badge to the attendant, who received it with both hands. Continuing to hold the badge he had been given as he wondered what the badge for, the attendant eventually realized what the leader of the guild wanted him to do, placing the badge to the side before proceeding to bring up a thin tablet.
Slightly grinning at the attendant's quick wits, Julian briefly nodded before telling the attendant, "With the power vested in me as the Guildmaster of this branch of the Blacksmith Guild, I now hereby declare that the rank of this friend beside me shall be increased to Core Member."
"Oh, and also, give him the Technology Points that come with the rank."
"I-I'll try my best to process it as quickly as possible." Nodding in response, the attendant took in a deep breath to compose himself before proceeding to infuse a great amount of mana into the tablet he held, interacting with it for a bit before heading somewhere with Valyr's iron badge in tow. A minute or so later, the attendant returned in front of the two with a badge that was made out of more precious material, its surface engraved with an incredibly exquisite design in the form of stars.
"Here you go, sir." Extending his hands out towards Valyr, the attendant gave the young man his new badge, which the latter thanked the man for his efforts, only to receive it not long after. Unsurprisingly, at the very moment he had done so, a series of notification sounds went off in his mind as the two of them left the counter.
Ding!
[You have affiliated yourself with the 'Blacksmith Guild (Algerie Kingdom Branch, Veldanyr)'.]
[Your previous rank [Rank 1 — Member] has been improved to [Rank 2 — Core Member]. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.]
[You have received 1,000 Technology Points.]
Seeing the young man stare off into nothingness for a brief moment, a faint grin crept up onto Julian's lips as he wrapped his arms around the young man's shoulders, causing the latter to snap back to reality.
"So, shall we head to the teleportation constructs?"
"We could do that…"
"But how about we take a detour to where I'm staying first?"
