YM778.TV Chapter 57: Exam
"Oh, hey Erica! Good morning to you too." He greeted in return.
"You\'re well dressed, going somewhere?"
"Ah, yeah." Cedric smirked, "Going to visit the nearby Lifestyle Guild branch to get my certification and credentials."
"Oh!? You have a Profession Class? Can you tell me what it is?"
"I\'m a Scribe." He replied.
"Wow!" Erica looked impressed at least. "I heard that that\'s one of the more challenging professions. Good for you!"
"Oh, it\'s nothing." Cedric waved a hand in dismissal. "How about you? What are you up to today?"
"Nothing much, just tending to my lawn, giving it a last-minute trim cause lord knows that I won\'t be able to do this for a while." Erica sighed.
"Hmm? Why is that?"
"...business trip." Erica paused before replying. "I won\'t be home for...maybe a month or two? Who knows?"
Cedric blinked as he caught that lie. Well...it\'s more of a white lie, actually. One of the benefits of having superior senses than most is the ability to tell when somebody\'s lying to him, white lies included.
"I see. Must be troublesome, then." Cedric replied sympathetically. "Hey, if it\'s alright with you, I can look after your home while you\'re away."
Erica paused whatever she was doing to look at him with a hopeful gaze.
"Really? You\'d do that?"
"Yeah, no problem." Cedric replied, "I\'ll be home most of the time anyway and your house is just in front of mine. It\'s no sweat on my back. This way, you can focus on your job instead."
"Great! I\'m obviously okay with that! I\'ll pay you when I return, I promise!"
"Oh, there\'s no need to pay me. It\'s not like I\'ll do much anyway, aside from making sure that you have a home to return to."
"Really? You\'re okay with that?"
"Yeah...like I said, no sweat on my back." Cedric shrugged while grinning at her. He then looked at his watch and said: "Oh, look at the time. Well, I have to go now. See you later!"
"Right, don\'t let me keep you then! Drive safely!" Erica waved at him as he got into his car.
Yes, Cedric is now a car owner as well. Public transportation was quite far from this part of the city, and since he had the funds to buy a car, he decided to buy one for convenience.
Cedric set his GPS to the nearby Lifestyle Guild Branch. His purpose there was to officially register himself as a Scribe, getting his license and certifications as well.
While having a Professional Class and raising its level was enough for one to be recognized as part of the Lifestyle Guild, it\'s still advisable to officially register to the guild and fill out the paperwork. The additional credentials provide supporting documents for work and would make most professional endeavors smoother.
The drive from his home to the nearby guild branch took 20 minutes since the venue was located near the center of the city.
He passed through gates and numerous high-rise buildings as he drove there. Thanks to his evolved perception, he was able to admire the scenery within the city while driving.
The majority of the population could be seen roaming around here as this was the busiest part of the city. Thanks to his therapy sessions with Dr. Vega, Cedric was now fine mingling with the crowd. He\'s still not a big fan of it, but he could exist with it. He no longer feels like a stranger or an outsider whenever he\'s amongst them, so that\'s an improvement.
The Lifestyle Guild branch looked humble at first glance...
It was designed to look like a tavern from the old times. It\'s quirky, to say the least, and it does its job of attracting attention.
Initially, Cedric was puzzled by the place, thinking to himself: \'How can such a small accommodate that many people?\'
Well, that question was answered the moment he got inside. As it turns out, the place was bigger inside compared to its outside appearance.
\'Pocket Dimension, huh?\'
Cedric was no stranger to the term or the idea even though he doesn\'t understand how exactly it works just yet.
Superhumans of the upper tier do possess an absurd strength, some of them also have a deeper understanding of concepts. So much so that they can harness its strength and use it how they see fit.
Constructing a stable Pocket Dimension was something that Cedric himself would like to study. However, that is something for the future him to deal with. Right now, he had matters to attend to.
The interior design of the guild branch was also starkly different from what it looked like from the outside.
On the outside, the place looked like an ancient tavern but on the inside, it couldn\'t be more futuristic. All of the latest pieces of technology can be seen and used inside the place.
It was cool (metaphorically and literally with all puns intended) inside. It was surprising too since, like what was mentioned earlier, the interior of the place was bigger compared to what it looked like outside.
Cedric searched for a bit and found the reception area. Walking towards it, he took a breath and approached the lady sitting behind a desk for help.
"Hi! How can I help you today?" The lady at the reception welcomed him with a smile.
"Hi, I have a registration appointment for today under the name of Cedric Stormrider."
"I see. Let me check my list first for confirmation. It won\'t take long I promise." The lady then opened her database to search for details about Cedric\'s appointment.
A minute later, she got back to him and said: "Thank you for waiting! I confirmed your appointment with us. Sadly, your facilitator is still preoccupied with something. We do apologize for the delay, but if you can wait for at least five more minutes, he will be with you."
"I understand. I\'ll wait."
"Awesome! Please, take a sit in the waiting area. Feel free to help yourself with some snacks and refreshments too, if you feel like it. I\'ll call you when our staff is ready."
Cedric nodded to her. He turned around and went to the waiting area. While he\'s waiting, he decides to distract himself by refreshing his knowledge about Symbols and the responsibilities of a Scribe cause he knows that he will need it.
Time passed and before he knew it...
"Excuse me, Sir. Our staff is now ready to receive you."
Cedric looked up and saw the same lady standing near him. He nodded to her and dismissed the system windows he had brought up recently.
The lady then led him towards the place where his appointment would take place. When they got there, the lady told him to enter and didn\'t follow him inside.
Knocking (just in case) before entering the room, he saw that there were a few other people there as well. Scanning the room briefly, he assumed that he wasn\'t the only one who had an appointment for today. He\'s also not the last person to appear.
He sat on one of the chairs available and waited until something started. After five more minutes, a person suddenly appeared out of nowhere - a man who didn\'t come through the door. Cedric assumed that he teleported here. The others appeared to not sense the man\'s arrival, but he certainly did.
The same man then walked towards the podium at the far front of the room and gazed at the crowd. He saw the man sigh and clapped his hands to get everybody\'s attention.
"Right, it seems that everybody\'s here. If not, well I can only apologize since I won\'t wait anymore. Better luck next time I guess."
"Anyway! Welcome, everyone. My name is Chrome. I\'ll be facilitating your registration and examinations for today. If you succeed, you\'ll be officially recognized by the Lifestyle Guild as Professional Scribes. If you fail, you can always try again later."
Cedric could sense the shift amongst the crowd. He could tell that at least half of the people here didn\'t expect there to be an examination. He could even hear their murmurs clearly as if they were speaking right next to him.
"You\'re here so you might as well take the exam. Who knows? Maybe some of you would be lucky enough to pass. And it\'s not like you\'d lose your life by taking this exam. You won\'t get injured either. And if you fail?
So what? Like I said, you can try again next time. There are no trial limits either, so don\'t be nervous."
His words managed to calm down the participants. Cedric could tell that Chrome was used to this.
"When the exam starts, your access to the System will be heavily restricted. This is to prevent cheating. You will have an hour to answer the questionnaire as much as you can."
"The passing score is 725 Points. Pay attention to the instructions, that\'s all the hint I\'ll give you."
"That\'s pretty much it. So, ready or not folks! Your exam starts...now!"