With the aggressive expansion of the reach of hyumankin, it was only natural for them toe across new species in space, with each species being different from the other not just in looks but also ability. Hyumankin had to constantly improve with every battle as the next opponent became stronger.
At a point, when the hyumankin had yet to reach its current peak, they were facing two species of simr strength as themselves. During that period, hyumankin was the closest it had been to bing extinct or being relegated to second ss citizens, apart from its inception era into interster travel. There was fear on alls and rumours of extinction spreading around.
The people were beginning to lose faith in the Federation Assembly, and even the Congress found it difficult to manage the problems in society, both economically and politically.
In the end, however, hyumankin had managed to turn things around and win the war, wiping out the two alien races that ganged up on them. This period marked the great ascension of the hyumankin to be one of the top races in the universe, expanding their rule, increasing their rule and gaining numerous resources.
And the key to this victory, was the vestige-smiths.
From then on, vestige-smiths were treated preferentially, and the Federation Assembly had even granted them many perks, building a grand school of vestige-smithing in the Pangaia sr system of the Arcadia star region.
The Arcadia star region was the centre of the hyumankin and the home of the Federation Assembly with only three sr systems. One of them serving as the location of every important administrative facility in the gxy, the home of the senators and supreme judges, and also the home of the founder of the Federation Assembly and de facto ruler of hyumankin; the ''Divine'' Gxy Protector [1].
The other was the headquarters of the military and the final one, Pangaia, was the ''open area'' as well as the wealthiest sr system in the entire gxy.
The fact that the vestige-smiths were given a grand school in one of the fours of the Pangaia sr system showed how much the Federation Assembly valued them. This was because not just anyone could erect a structure or even own a piece ofnd or building in any of the fours. This applied to the three sr systems of the Arcadia star region too [2].
After the vestige-smiths received such great honour, the majority of them decided to band together to form a union that could help protect their interests. The union wasn''t to be too tight as most vestige-smiths liked their freedom, hence the first vestige-smith league was formed, and it oversaw vestige-smiths on a grand level.
The Eretrean Vestige-smith League was but a much smaller version that copied the former. Even though it was a mere copy though, there were some connections between the two.
The Eretrean Vestige-smith League oversaw the vestige-smiths in Eretre but not in an official manner. It had no control over vestige-smiths in general, but protected the interests and safety of its members. In other words, if a member of the ESL was in trouble or in need of help, they can request aid from the league and would be provided such.
They also had a library filled with knowledge and experience of various vestige-smiths.
As the upation of vestige-smithing was somewhat closed off with each smith hiding away their precious knowledge and ster matrix inscription methods, it was difficult to move further or learn the trade without working under somebody. However, the library of the Eretrean Vestige-smith League was open to all members, and contained quite a few books about ster matrices and runes.
This, as well as a couple other fringe benefits, were what solidified Lucas'' decision to get registered. It would also be helpful in the long run and help him get a better idea of the vestige-smithing skill level.
. . .
Simr to the guard at the gate, the clerk at the counter was also an android. It was so realistic that if not for the absence of a life aura, it would have been difficult to differentiate. For a normal hyuman or human, they would fail to spot a difference, but a strong practitioner or one with a sensitive soul like Lucas would find it odd.
Having seen two androids taking up important roles, Lucas was a bit surprised, but he didn''t think too much; on the contrary, he felt this decision to be novel and it widened his understanding of the role of vestige-smiths in society.
Compared to the cksmiths in his first life or the engineers in his second life, vestige-smiths were ahead of the curve. The upation was like abination of the two, but more advanced thanks to the utilisation of ster matrices and special runes.
"Good day. How may I help you?" Thedy behind the counter asked with a smile on her face.
"I''d like to register as a member of the league." Lucas replied.
Thedy raised was a bit surprised as the feedback from the guard at the gate informed her that Lucas was a human. Based on the information in her database, 99.9% of humans couldn''t get past the hurdle of the Body Strengthening stage, which made it impossible for them to be vestige-smiths.
It was impossible to be a member of the Eretrean Vestige-smith League without being a vestige-smith. The only way for an exclusion to be made was for the applicant to be an exceptionally talented genius, showing significant potential of being a great vestige-smith even while being at the Body Strengthening stage.
Forget being such a genius, the idea was absurd because Lucas was a human.
"I''m sorry but, I can''t process your registration." Thedy apologetically said.
Lucas wasn''t startled by this and he had expected such to happen. What dumbfounded him however, was her attitude and reaction. If it were a hyuman in front of him, Lucas might have been thrown out from the building and given a restraining order.
''I guess androids are much nicer than people.''
Even though he appreciated the gesture, Lucas wasn''t going to give up so easily.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I''m guessing it''s because I''m human, right?"
Thedy wasn''t confounded by this as she already guessed that Lucas would know why. Even so, she was confused as to what he was attempting to do by stating this.
"While it''s true that I am a human, the Eretrean Vestige-smith League is open to all vestige-smiths even if they''re of a different species. On the official site, I saw some members of the Vara and Kerman races, so you can''t deny this."
Thedy nodded, "You''re right, but I have no intention of denying it either. However, we both know why they can make the cut and why you can''t."
"There''s an exceptional basis for entry and it requires one to take an exam. I would like to apply for it." Lucas replied.
Thedy behind the counter finally went speechless. She didn''t expect this to have be Lucas'' intention right from the start.
The Eretrean Vestige-smith League only epted vestige-smiths into their numbers, but there was an exception; one had to be a very talented genius with potential to be a vestige-smith who would then be rmended to apply for an examination by the league. If the examinee sessfully passed, they would be granted membership, albeit one with a lower tier due to their inadequacy.
"But to apply, you''ll need a rmendation from a-"
Thedy suddenly went quiet as she noticed a document being projected by Lucas''municator. It was a rmendation letter from a vestige-smith.
Naturally, Lucas didn''t contrive a phoney replica or something. He had asked Harry to get this for him in exchange for another favour. Luckily for Lucas, being the head of a frencing team, Harry had a widework and knew a bunch of people. After a little bit of convincingced with some bribes, he managed to acquire an original rmendation letter for Lucas.
There was nothing illegal or wrong about this as a vestige-smith rmendation letter had no real value except giving one an opportunity to take the exams. It was also somewhatmon for vestige-smiths to give out rmendation letters to people they felt had potential.
"I guess, you can apply." Thedy finally relented.
Lucas sighed with relief. If the androiddy didn''t relent and kept refusing to ept his application, there was nothing he could do. Even if Lucas tried to make some noise in the by giving them a bad review or reporting the league, no one would take him seriously.
A human iming to be a vestige-smith? No one would believe that was even possible. Even some of his customers still believed that Lucas could only perform maintenance and repairs on vestiges, while the standard and custom-made vestiges were done by an elusive in-house vestige-smith.
"I''ll send you a registration form which you''ll need to fill out. After that, you''ll have to wait for the next exam. It might take anywhere between two weeks to a month from now. It could even be shorter than that. Just be on the lookout and turn on your notifications for any mail from the league.
The exam would be at the head branch in the Central Prefecture district, so make your preparations before then."
"Alright." Lucas nodded.
"Wait, what?"