บท 15: Plenty of Good People in Society
A moment later after getting in line...
"Hi guys. I'm Ms. Lee. I will be your instructor over the next week." A mid-aged lady introduced herself to the registrants.
By her side was a bodyguard holding a big briefcase. Behind her was a photographer holding a professional-looking camera.
All three of them wore blue dress shirts and blue pants. On their shirts, a globe icon was stitched by their chests.
"Let's go over the attendance first." The instructor looked down at her clipboard.
For some strange reason, this instructor reminded Jake of his kindergarten teacher.
Speaking in a slow but clear manner. Overall, the instructor presented herself with a patient and gentle demeanor.
Even if she said things like:
"Be nice to each other guys..." or
"Don't run around with scissors."
She'd still be perfectly in character.
"Jake Collins."
"Here." Jake nodded in response.
A moment after standing in thought, the attendance check was done.
After going over the instructions, the instructor group walked onto the stage.
A short briefing and some clapping...
"Tiffany Delaney!"
A round of applause.
Jake recognized this girl. They had just met yesterday.
Wearing an aloof (cold and distant) expression, Tiffany confidently walked up the stage.
During this time, the instructor lady had taken out a crystal orb from that big briefcase.
In a moment, they had set everything up.
Facing the camera, Tiffany Delaney held that crystal orb like a honey melon.
In a moment, that crystal orb started emitting a bright white glow.
Taking a closer look, a hill made of snow slowly formed.
Then a castle formed on that hill. Gradually, pine trees formed one after another. Then snowflakes...
The scenery became clearer and clearer by the moment. Details gradually formed over the crude surfaces.
With a white flash, the cameraman recorded this scene.
Finally, the scenery faded away into snow in a breeze. The light on the orb slowly dimmed.
"Type. Ice." Ms. Lee read off a tablet.
"Affinity potential. Iron tier - Mid level!"
Hearing this, the crowd fell silent for a moment.
On the stage, a faint smile appeared on Tiffany's proud expression.
'Oh. So that's why this girl is so confident.' Waiting at the entrance of the stage, Jake carelessly nodded and took a sip at his coffee.
True, if no miracle took place, this was the highest Tiffany could naturally reach. Though... there's always breakthrough solutions in the high-ranking realms. But the adventures would be unpredictable and dangerous.
On the other hand, given enough time, Tiffany could naturally reach this stage without external aid.
The question was how long would she take. One year? Ten years? Twenty years?
A loud and enthusiastic round of congratulatory applause broke off in the audience. One after another, the audience stood up. By the looks of it, the clapping would last a while.
After all, even an iron tier level potential was not common nowadays. With this formal confirmation, Tiffany definitely had a bright future ahead of her.
At the moment, how many iron tiers did North America have? Just a little under 5,000. Counting the unregistered folks, at most 5,500 max.
How many explorers were there? About 35% of the population had an explorer license. It's like a driver license nowadays.
Then, 1% of those registered explorers took this as their full time job. (The rest 99% were mostly curious tourists.) In other words, there were 1.75 million full-time explorers at the moment.
Among these 1.75 million explorers, only 5 thousand iron-ranks.
Having an iron tier potential meant that Tiffany could become that 0.3% some day. In the future, as long as she hadn't fallen, she'd definitely become a rising star.
"Mana reserve potential. Iron tier - Lower Level."
"Current Mana Control Level, outstanding!"
"Ms. Delaney, could we set up a time to have a discussion? You may be interested in the offer presented by H.U.G.S." The instructor lady offered.
H.U.G.S stood for Humanity United Governing System. This was basically an upgraded version of United Nations, formed around 2014. In general, this was the biggest Lawful - Good faction in the world.
Hearing this, the crowd looked at Tiffany in jealousy and admiration. H.U.G.S jobs were all very good in general.
Stable. High salary. Good benefits. Not that much stress. Naturally, there's few openings and a lot of applications.
"Not at the moment." Without any hesitation, Tiffany refused.
"For sure. If you are interested at any time, we are always open to you." Ms. Lee didn't seem offended by the rejection at all.
"Next up, we have Harry Winestone!"
Another round of applause as Tiffany Delaney walked down the stage.
The registrants quickly grouped up to meet Tiffany. They seemed rather enthusiastic to introduce themselves to this future star.
Jake didn't bother. As an iron-tier, he didn't need to suck up to a potential iron-tier.
Standing by himself, Jake looked like the odd one out.
During this time, the next registrant had already went up the stage.
Harry Winestone was a big dude in his mid-twenties. For some reason, he wore a black tight suit. His beer-belly overflowed a little.
Put on a black mask and he would look like one of those bank robbers... maybe. Either way, Jake couldn't see a superhero figure in this guy.
Holding the orb, a figure of black smoke formed. That figure made of black smoke performed some fancy martial arts moves with a dagger.
"Harry Winestone."
"Type: Dark"
"Affinity potential: unranked - high level."
"Mana reserve potential: unranked - mid level."
"Current Mana Control Level, Moderate."
Just like Tiffany Delaney, this guy received a chance to chat as well. The invite was not as sincere though.
"Jake Collins!"
It's now Jake's turn.
Looking at the camera, Jake held the crystal ball.
Wearing a blank expression, Jake nodded at the cameraman, signaling that he was ready for the photo now.
The camera man: ???
"Mr. Collins, remember to insert your mana into the crystal orb." Ms. Lee patiently instructed.
By the looks of it, she was ready to guide Jake step by step through the process.
"... I'm a detector class." Jake replied.
Yep, as a detector, none of those standards applied to Jake.
He was stuck at step one. Detectors didn't have any elemental affinities.
This was one of the fundamental reasons why detectors couldn't meditate to become stronger. None of the elemental mana energy in air were in their control. Detectors could 'see' everything, but couldn't absorb anything.
Hearing this, the audience started mumbling.
Ms. Lee blinked in thought for a moment. By the looks of it, she hadn't dealt with situations like this before.
After all, what kind of normal (sane) detectors would enter a magical realm voluntarily?
"Mr. Collins... Are you for sure you want to register as a full time explorer, and not as a tourist."
"Yep." Jake gave Ms. Lee an affirmative nod.
"If you are facing any trouble, we are here to help. Would you like to schedule a meeting with me sometimes?" The instructor asked with a soft voice.
Jake lightly sighed in his mind. This instructor was intruding into personal matters a little. But still, Jake felt a stream of warmth in his heart.
After all, she could just coldly go by the procedures. She didn't have to care about Jake's life or death. And there was nothing wrong with doing just that.
She didn't have to offer a 'helping hand' to Jake, or give Jake this extensive heads up.
What a nice lady...
'There's plenty of good people in society after all...'
For a moment, Jake thought of explaining his situation. However, that seemed too complicated.
He was not planning to join H.U.G.S anyways. He didn't need a stable job. The final goal was to get to the other side.
Also. From what he'd heard, the work environment for artisans in H.U.G.S was a little... complicated.
Also, even though H.U.G.S had a good reputation, a full demonstration of his capabilities to this instructor lady may lead to complications.
Nope. Not interested in getting involved in distracting matters at all.
In the end, explaining felt like too much trouble after all. So Jake chose not to.
Thinking this through, making a final decision, Jake nodded at himself.
"Don't worry." Jake replied with a genuinely appreciative smile. "I am fully aware of what I'm doing."
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