It was late afternoon when I finally reached the city gates; thankfully, I had shaved off an entire day's travel time by flying most of the way. There wasn't any foot traffic leaving the city, and I was forced to join the line to await entry. When it was finally my turn, I approached the gate confidently.

"Do you have identification?" The guard on duty said as I approached.

"I do not. I hope to join the merchants guild." I replied.

The guard seemed to be waiting. "Sir? Do you have identification?" He asked again.

My confusion seemed to only fuel the guard's impatience. He was clearly losing his temper, and I could feel the tension in the air.

"Sir, if you're going to waste my time just staring at me, I'll kick you to the back of the line," he said, looking extremely unsatisfied.

I blinked in confusion a few times. The gears finally turned, and I suddenly realized my screwup. I was trying to talk to him telepathically! I had clearly spent far too much time with Trixie.

I faked clearing my throat. "Apologies. No, I do not have identification; I hoped to get one when I joined the Guild."

The guard frowned, shaking his head before grumbling. "Of course... No identification. Great..."

The guard fetched a clipboard and started writing down on it.

"Sylvester. Level twenty-five... Cryomancer?" He frowned. "Are you not with the Mages or Adventurers Guild?"

"No. I didn't feel the call to adventure, and I've never been to the capital to register with the Mages." I answered.

He nodded along, then stared at me intently; I had the vague sense he was using a skill on me. "Any known criminal record?"

"None."

After getting his confirmation, the guard visibly eased up and looked much more friendly. He finished writing something down and then held out his hand. "It's five silver for entry with no official identification. If you obtain one within two days, you can reclaim three from the guard post."

I pulled out a gold coin and handed it to him. He frowned, looking at the coin before letting out a sigh. "Let me guess, you don't have anything smaller?"

"Afraid not. I have some coppers and one silver." I replied, taking note of the coins I had taken from the adventurers. "But, how about this, you can keep the remainder if you'd be willing to escort me to the merchants guild? As both a thank you and an apology for taking up your time."

The guard looked shocked before giving an absolutely cheerful grin. "Gladly, sir. Are you willing to wait a bit for me to swap shifts?"

"Of course. Thank you for your valuable time." I said, giving a small, polite head bow. Sylvester was a refined gentleman after all, so said [Acting].

True to his word, it didn't take long for the guard to fetch me from waiting beyond the gate. He looked positively cheery, and it was shocking how one gold coin could change someone's personality so quickly.

While the Adventurer's Guild was built against the inner wall, the Merchant's was actually built into the wall. It was a massive building with ornate and colorful tilework on its rooftop. I had the vague sense that the building existed on both sides of the wall, likely a dedicated commoner and noble entrance.

I thanked the guard again, and he responded with a thump to his chest and a toothy smile. "No. Thank you, sir. If any guards give you trouble, tell them to call Aaron."

'So far so good.'

I entered the building and was shocked at the number of people inside and the wall of booths with employees lined up. Where the Adventurer's Guild entrance was a large open floor plan, this was a strictly organized waiting area. I watched as people waited in line for a booth with a staff member or pulled out a tag and entered through another doorway into an inner part of the building.

I patiently waited in line until I was finally beckoned towards an empty booth. The man looked to be in his late twenties and was dressed sharply; he would easily fit in as a wait staff member in an upper-class eatery.

"Evening, sir. My name is James; how may I assist you?" He asked routinely and politely.

"Pleasure to meet you, James. My name is Sylvester, and I was looking into mayhaps joining the Guild." I answered.

"As a crafter, reseller, or distributor?" He asked, and after brief glance continued, "If you're looking for mercenary work, this isn't the place."

"Crafter. I was also hoping to seek lessons in either Alchemy or Enchanting."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Yes, we do offer those services here. Crafter registration is ten silver. Alchemy lessons are one gold per week, reagents included, whereas Enchanting lessons are seventy silver." James began explaining. "However, those are the basic group lessons. If you wish to apprentice directly, the costs range from anywhere between ten and fifty times that amount depending on the level and availability of the master."

"Fascinating. Do you perhaps offer suggestions or advice? Both interest me, but I'm a little undecided between the two."

"We do, and we also offer aptitude tests. Can you tell me a bit about yourself, Sylvester? Your affinities and classes would be ideal in narrowing it down."

"Water and Ice are my affinities, with a higher purity on Ice. As for classes, I went from Mage to Sorcerer to Cryomancer." I answered.

"A rather typical progression into specialization, I see. Having Fire and Water would be the perfect combination for alchemists, especially if you have very good mana control. That's not to say the option is closed off for you; the lack can be readily overcome with magic tool use, and some actually prefer to use a tool than their own flames." James began explaining. "As for enchanting, purity is everything. Do you also have [Arcane Magic]?"

I paused for a moment before responding, "I do."

"Excellent. One could say that is the minimum barrier to entry. Now, Ice is a rather rare affinity, and Water is always in demand. Water is life, as they say." James chuckled at his own joke. Then he paused as if remembering something. "Actually... I think I saw a request a few weeks ago mentioning Ice. Would you be willing to wait one moment?"

"Not at all. You've been most helpful, James."

He politely bowed and left the booth, heading towards an employee door in the back. I mentally sighed at my lack of foresight in doing some prior research. If I had known, I could have included Fire in my affinities to be perfect for Alchemy. Although then I'd be treading dangerously close to the same affinities as Syl. I could always learn with a tool and then, in private, use my own Fire. Or I could just learn Enchanting now and learn Alchemy later. I could even "level up" Sylvester and say I picked Fire for my twentieth-level ascension.

Eventually, James returned with a sheet of parchment and an excited smile on his face. "Thank you for waiting. A request was posted a few weeks ago from a prominent noble looking for the services of an enchanter specialized in Ice. When none met the criteria, the request was changed to include any promising apprentices with the required affinity. I believe the request is still unfulfilled, but it is old and could just be a clerical error. But if I'm correct, this could be an amazing opportunity for you. Would you be willing to wait until tomorrow after lunch to come back?"

I paused to think. I didn't need to rush to a decision; it wouldn't mean much, even if I wasted a day waiting. "Very well. I don't mind waiting till tomorrow, but do you mind giving some more detail?"

"Of course. I just didn't want to get your hopes up in case I was wrong." James said. "What was being offered was a fully paid apprenticeship under a master enchanter, with the only payment being the creation of two specific enchanted items upon reaching sufficient level."

"Quite frankly, that sounds amazing."

"Indeed. I'm unsure if you're aware, but a true master can assign you the [Apprentice] emblem, which boosts all learning rates under their direct tutelage. Depending on the master, the boosts can be unbelievably potent, and with how desperate and high profile this request was, I believe they might be pulling on the best of the best." James said excitedly.

"I honestly had no idea. Now you really have me hoping the clerks didn't mess up." I chuckled.

James scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I apologize; I probably said too much. If it makes you feel any better, I'd lose a huge signing bonus, so I'd share some of your pain."

"Well, that would certainly lighten the sting to know I'm not alone in cursing the lack of proper paperwork." I joked. "Can I at least register in the meantime, or should that wait until tomorrow?"

"We can proceed with the base registration for so long. Would you like to pay a gold to upgrade your guild tag for transactions?"

"Please do. And I'm assuming I can deposit my coin here?"

"Of course."

We proceeded with the required paperwork. Compared to the Adventurer's Guild, it was quite the process; after I paid my fee, I was given my new tag registered under Sylvester and my unique signature. I was a little worried about my previous registration, as Syl might have backfired at this point, but thankfully, nothing came up. I deposited eighty gold coins and kept the remainder for emergencies, including the ninety silver coins I received as change.

"Thank you very much for joining the Merchant's Guild, Sylvester. I hope tomorrow brings both of us good fortune."

"Thank you, James, you've been most helpful. One last thing, is there an inn you could recommend to me?"

"Of course, the one right across the street is affiliated with us, and you'll receive discounted rates. They are one of the few inns who regularly import and store frozen seafood, so you'd be in for a rare treat."

I thanked him again, wished him a pleasant evening, and looked forward to our meeting tomorrow.

Heading toward the inn, I was greeted by the friendly staff and swiped my new tag for payment. I mentally cheered at once again, not needing to worry about fiddling with coins and learning the price of things. The meal was indeed seafood, and I had the choice between fish or crab... Recalling Unc, I decided to try the former. Just in case the latter caused some divine punishment.

It was certainly tasty, a step up from the Adventurer's Inn, but still a downgrade compared to Moonsong or Trevor. I briefly considered if I should learn the cooking skill, but then realized I could probably just buy some tasty food and keep it in storage. Besides, as a slime, nothing was truly sweeter than eating a fresh new profile and earning vast quantities of slime mass. No, wait, correction. Nothing was truly sweeter than a fresh new slime core!

Within the privacy of my own room, I shifted myself and some cores over to Lightning. It took no effort to resume my progress toward combining [Conductive] and [Lightning Rod]. I had only briefly resumed the spell combination when I realized that I hadn't touched this since evolving, and now I would potentially see the benefit of my newly upgraded cores. Curious about their improvements, I gave them a direct order to help me combine the spells and found their unseen hands far more helpful and productive than normal.

'Was [Core Refinement] giving me that much of a boost? Or is this the teamwork capability mentioned in [Core Collective]?' I wondered.

Before my usual bedtime, I had a completed combined spell. I was exceptionally surprised; I had left it near completion before my forced evolution, but I thought I'd need at least another day or two before finalizing it. Unfortunately, I had nowhere to safely test the spell, so I'd have to keep it in my back pocket for now.

Satisfied with a well-done job, I returned everyone to an Ice alignment and called it a night. I was eager to see what tomorrow would bring.