Jacob looked at the gnome, who was looking at him anxiously, "Tell me your name and your alchemy professing."
"It's Dilly, and I'm a Grandmaster Potion Alchemist," Dilly replied apprehensively.
Jacob didn't reply as he suddenly tapped over his wrist, and a projection appeared soon. He opened the guild leader interface, which he received with the badge.
"I want to send Grandmaster Potion Alchemist Dilly an official member invitation." Jacob coldly spoke, and his words shocked everyone.
White Sage's electric voice rang at this moment, "The invitation has been sent, and as long as Grandmaster Potion Alchemist Dilly completes a prerequisite, he will be able to become an official member successfully!"
The alchemy guild official member slot was not easy to earn as the alliance or the bank. Without skills, Jacob's invitation would be wasted the moment Dilly failed the prerequisite imposed by the Alchemy Guild.
This was also the reason why the alchemist guild had quite a few permanent members in the rare plains. Only invitations like bronze invitations were exempt from any prerequisites.
"Alright, Dilly, your information is really what I needed it to be. You have earned yourself one permanent member spot, and now it's up to you if you were able to pass the test by the guild or not." Jacob's impassive voice woke everyone from their stupor as they looked at Dilly in unison.
Dilly was also standing in a daze as if he was in a dream, and when the Star Watch on his wrist vibrated, he was snapped out of his stupor and quickly opened the mail in front of everyone.
They all saw Dilly really received a chance to become a permanent member as long as he completed the prerequisite and he could take this test within one year before this invitation expired.
"Thank you, Guild Leader!" Dilly quickly bowed in gratitude. He never thought Jacob would really give away a precious slot for a small piece of information.
This was also proof that Jacob wasn't lying, and he was a man of his word and really wasn't a selfish prick like Braylon.
"No, need. You've earned it." Jacob coolly stated, "Now, I'm giving you another chance to earn yourself another invitation which means even if you failed your test once, you could try again.
"Tell me if your contact can arrange a meeting with Dark Earl or his star ID or at least contact him to deliver my message. Naturally, I won't ask him to do it for free, 5,000 ZC if he can arrange a meeting or give me his star ID and 500 ZC if he can really deliver my message." Jacob declared tonelessly.
Jacob knew he needed to get hold of that enigmatic Dark Earl first if he wanted to inquire about the materials. He knew he couldn't enter the noble circle without being a dark baron, which would take too much time. He starts completely the Dark missions.
So, using Dilly's contact was the easy way, but it would be quite difficult even if the other party really accepted it. He might outright take his money in the sham of delivering his message and then just pretend to deliver his message.
He won't even know if he was telling the truth since afterward, it would be upon the Dark Earl to contact him, not the other way around. Jacob won't be able to blame the other party at all.
Still, he was just fishing, and if there wasn't anyway, Jacob didn't mind trying some other method.
Everyone looked at Dilly enviously. When Jacob offered him another slot, Dilly was so happy he almost jumped.
Still, he suppressed the urge in front of Jacob and quickly replied, "I will make contact with him today and report to you as soon as I get the answer!"
Jacob nodded and said, "Alright, it seems I need to stay for more days now."
Many alchemists' expressions changed when they heard his words, and it finally dawned upon them.
If Jacob wanted to contact Dark Earl, he needed to be in the dark city, so why the hell would he leave and hand over his position before he gets what he wants?
Many glanced at Dilly with unkind hidden gazes, but they knew it was now inevitable. If they were in his shoes, they would've done the same.
"Alright, you guys didn't need to be so disappointed. I'm staying didn't mean I'm going to stay indefinitely. I'll select a guild leader and vice guild leader in this test as promised, and they will hold the command after I'm done with the dark city." Jacob coolly declared as he could easily sense some guys' apprehensive heartbeats.
But he couldn't care less about those hidden snakes.
"Now, on the second task." Jacob changed the topic, which bought joy to many eyes as they were motivated to try their luck. Since Dilly can get a slot, they can as well.
Furthermore, the matters of the star ocean couldn't' be confirmed, so Jacob won't have to know about the authority of their information.
However, Jacob's next words through those guys from the sky to the shit pool, "Let's forget about the information on Star Ocean, I've acquired what I need, and I'm pretty sure you guys' information won't outmatch mine.
"So, let's start the test, shall we?" Jacob dismissively declared.
Despite wanting to question Jacob's integrity, they knew they would only make him unhappy or even offend him, and they didn't want to do it, especially since this test was more important.
Jacob then suddenly took something out of his pocket. It was a small diamond shape white gemstone.
"You guys should be familiar with this gemstone, am I right?" He questioned.
Everyone nodded without hesitation.
"Still, for the records, I'll explain briefly. This gem in my hand is a 1-Star Magic Gem which contains unrefined Mana equivalent to a 1-Star Mage (Basic Mage).
"But to refine one 1-Star Magic Gem, ten 1-Star Magic Cores are required, and most importantly, an alchemist needed to have very keen mastery over their refinement skills.
"Only Master Rank or above alchemists could refine a Magic Gem of 1-Star Rank, and the method to refine a magic gem is not a secret either since they could be used in numerous weapons or some mages can even absorb the magic powers contained in them to recover their magic power.
"But as an alchemist, we all know that there is a certain purity level of these magic gems, which showed by their transparency, and we also have a device to measure it. This pure white magic gem in my hand is refined by me, and its purity is 94% percent.
"However, I can only achieve this much purity on a 1-Star Magic Gem, and as I try to refine a higher rank magic gem, the purity would plummet greatly. And we should all know that an over 90% pure 1-Star magic gem contains more potent mana than a 1% pure 9-star magic gem.
"So, my test is simple. It is the test of your refinement skills since we all need them at our current levels. Especially at the Senior Grandmaster Rank. If you can refine a 1-Star Magic Gem with over 90% purity, you are qualified to become a Senior Grandmaster."
Jacob declared while scanning the dumbfounded crowd. This task was easy but as well as difficult if it wasn't properly done, and it all comes down to their focus and refinement skills.
Jacob then stated coldly, "Since it's a ranking test of a Grandmaster Rank Alchemist, you guys will only get one try, and you have 3 hours to complete it. The materials are under our workstations.
"Don't try anything funny since this test is being recorded by me, and the moment I spot something, I will be free to impose any punishment on you as your invigilator, even torture."
His icy cold words sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Now start!"