Taking on Jobs

Keliqi is the president of the guild [Best Weapon Shop]. Unlike other guilds that hire someone to act as a receptionist, his guild's president himself acts as the receptionist.

The reason for this is that his group was merely using the name of a group; in reality, it was operating as an intermediary.

His guild members are all specially trained weapon makers, possessing skilled techniques and a good ability to craft products based on customer descriptions.

Thanks to his meticulous management of the guild, the entire guild became the largest weapon-making guild in the City of Apprentices three years ago, and also sold the most high-quality weapons.

When Fran glanced around outside and then came in, Keliqi recited as if reading from a template:

"Hello, you can take a look at those weapons on the wall. If you'd like to try them out, let me know so I can take them down... If you'd like to order weapons, come and register with me."

Although he had put up many signs in the store saying these words, not all customers read the signs, so he had to remind them every time a customer entered.

"I'm not here to buy anything, I'm here to join the club and do some work."

"You?"

Keliqi found it odd. It wasn't that women hadn't joined the club for commissions before, but almost all of them looked like men—broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. But Fran ...

He looked at Fran's slender figure, her pale and delicate arms, and the long robe that seemed incredibly large on her, making her look like a sixteen-year-old girl. She didn't look like a weapons craftsman at all...

"With your build, how could you possibly handle a weapon?! Never mind, do you have a letter of recommendation?"

Unlike Hall, who had accepted money before, he was straightforward and spoke his mind directly.

Although he didn't quite believe Fran was a weapons craftsman, he still asked if she had any letters of recommendation.

He had made up his mind that if she didn't have a letter of recommendation, he would kick her out immediately. He opened the weapons shop to make money, not to entertain little girls.

"Yes, this is a letter of recommendation from the Hall, the president of [Second Weapon Smith], who asked me to come here to take on commissions."

"Oh, it's Hall, the one who specializes in enchanting! No wonder you're so thin..."

He glanced at Fran again, then interrupted himself, "No wonder my ass!"

Even if he's skinny, he should at least be a bit stronger than a normal person. It's hard not to doubt his abilities if he looks like this.

However, now that he had the letter of recommendation, he naturally had to go through the proper procedures, so he called out:

"Bao'er, come down here, someone wants to give you a test."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a voice rang out.

"They've arrived."

After receiving a reply, he closed the door and said:

"Since you have the letter of recommendation, you know that my evaluation process is very strict. If you don't pass, I can't let you take on any jobs here."

"I know."

Seeing Fran's confident demeanor, Keliqi didn't say anything and led her to a room in the back.

Bao'er was already waiting inside. He tidied up the utensils on the table, turned around, and spoke:

"Very good, what are you going to assess...? Where are the people?"

Bao'er turned his head and looked around, but saw no one. He asked in confusion.

"I'm here."

Fran emerged from behind Keliqi, only to be met with Bao'er's stunned expression as he scratched his head.

"You..."

Keliqi leaned closer to Bao'er and said;

"This guy seems to be handling enchanting commissions. He's a bit thin, and he has a recommendation letter from the Enchanter's club."

Bao'er had the same question as Keliqi had: Could someone so small and thin really fight with weapons?

However, Keliqi's words were reasonable and well-founded; since everyone else had brought letters of recommendation, they should be tested, right?

If someone isn't competent, refusing their request is reasonable and justifiable. Otherwise, they might spread rumors about you, saying you didn't even conduct an assessment before kicking someone out, which would suggest that accepting the commission was based on nepotism.

In business, reputation is very important, so Bao'er decided to test it out first.

He asked:

"What kind of delegates are you planning to take on? We only need to test the types of delegates we're going to take on."

This is to save time, since everyone's time is precious; the time those Artisan spend testing could be enough for someone else to finish a job.

So they only test the content they want to accept the delegates for. If you want to accept other delegates, then you can test it again.

"Spell Ring"

Fran wanted to take on this commission. Enchanting someone else's sword was less profitable than completing a potion order. Potions were really expensive right now, and you could easily make money by making a few. Why bother with something as thankless as enchanting?

Her reason for doing this was naturally to steal other people's magic. It's normal to occasionally break a couple of "damage" while helping others.

At this point, she can use the worn-out Spell Ring to practice spells, and when they appear on her Panel, those are the spells she knows.

Bao'er's expression changed, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:

"This is something we find difficult to accept, and it's also difficult to verify your skills..."

Spell Ring are arguably the most high-end equipment. When you wear a Spell Ring, you can cast another spell immediately after casting one.

Furthermore, it can wear ten on its hands, serving as an armored warrior.

If it weren't for the fact that even casting spells from rings requires consuming some Mental Power, there would probably be five or six rings on the continent by now, and people would just unleash a spell on anyone they met.

Such business was still a bit too 'high-end' for their organization, which was known for selling high-end equipment; they had never done business like this before.

An ordinary Spell Ring, without any special attributes such as instant cast or enhanced spellcasting, can easily sell for ten Gold Coin.

The most expensive weapon they ever sold was a longsword made from the bone of a wyvern, which only sold for nineteen Gold Coin.

Orders that sell for ten Gold Coin are extremely rare for them; this kind of business is still too high-end.

Usually, only renowned masters and their disciples openly accept orders for Spell Ring; their small group doesn't get involved.

"I can pay for all the materials needed for the test, can I give it a try?"

Fran knew that the materials needed to craft just one Spell Ring would probably cost a Gold Coin, and if she didn't pay for the materials herself, the other party would definitely not let her try.

Keliqi leaned close to Bao'er and whispered a few words in his ear, and Bao'er's expression changed.

"We can let you give it a try, but let's make it clear first, we have no experience in operating this kind of Spell Ring business. We have the right to terminate the commission by giving you three days' notice."

"Can."

Fran accepted the commission without a second thought. For her, making Spell Ring for others was not important; what mattered was profiting from their spells. Even if she accepted the commission, she would lower the price to a level that barely covered her costs.