Following Fang Yuan's purchase of bags full of items, Master Hao, the artisan, was convinced that Fang Yuan was a brother of his caliber.
The two even became friends on social media... and for all of today's expenses, the other party gave Fang Yuan a discount.
"You're not a local from Donghua, are you?" Hao Feng asked with a smile, handing Fang Yuan a cup of hot milk tea.
"No, I'm studying in Magic City," Fang Yuan said.
"Oh, oh, a university student, no wonder you look so young. By the way, are you here in Donghua for sightseeing? If so, I can recommend a few must-visit places!" Hao Feng said with familiar ease.
"That's... unlikely to happen, I'm afraid. For the next few days, I have to participate in a professional assessment," Fang Yuan replied, taking a sip of his hot tea.
Master Hao seemed to have a fondness for starting his sentences with "Oh, oh," and upon hearing Fang Yuan's explanation, he subconsciously nodded and said:
"Oh, oh, so you're here to participate in the prof—" He suddenly paused while holding his milk tea, then raised his voice: "The Professional Trainer assessment?!"
Hao Feng looked at Fang Yuan, who was sipping tea, petting Eevee as if it were a cat… and fell silent.
He could only associate Fang Yuan with the young misses of wealthy families; he couldn't link him to the term "Professional Trainer" at all.
"Brother, you're not joking, right?" Hao Feng asked seriously.
"..." Fang Yuan remained silent.
"The second round... is it tomorrow or the day after?" Hao Feng asked again.
"Tomorrow afternoon..." Fang Yuan realized something was off.
Eevee also seemed to sense something and looked up.
"I have mine tomorrow afternoon too..." Hao Feng said a bit blankly. Could it be that Fang Yuan really was here for the Professional Trainer assessment?
But if he were here for that, why would he buy so many bizarre tools… It's not like he's gearing up for a game dungeon!
Fang Yuan and Eevee were even more speechless than him.
Fang Yuan's primary role as a Trainer and secondary role as a Researcher were already quite improbable.
The other's combination of Trainer and artisan seemed even less reliable.
Artisan... could be considered a type of researcher, right?
However, from the deep tone that followed, Fang Yuan started to feel that Hao Feng was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
"Is this your first time participating in a professional assessment?"
"Yeah."
"Do you need information?" Hao Feng whispered.
"Information?"
Fang Yuan murmured to himself, thinking about the information as if it were being sold like a shady deal.
"I've participated in the professional assessment four times and have many valuable experiences," Hao Feng said confidently.
Fang Yuan was taken aback... having participated in the assessment four times and planning to do so again this year should indicate that he had failed four times already, right? This guy really was unreliable...
...
After leaving the tool shop, Fang Yuan and his team headed straight to the Trainer Association to register due to the delay, without wandering around any further.
Then, for the entire afternoon, Fang Yuan researched the peculiar tools he bought from the tool shop.
At that moment, Dragonite was wearing the "Certificate of Kingship," swinging a sword handle up and down, looking somewhat excited.
The Certificate of Kingship was something Fang Yuan got from an auction at the Research Mansion, intended for later use in publishing a paper, but it was just lying around for now, so he decided to give it to Dragonite, who didn't yet have any Elf Tools, to play with.
It had to be said, Dragonite wearing the Certificate of Kingship, just like Dumb King, didn't have any kingly demeanor at all, still appearing quite naive.
"Boowoo~~" However, Dragonite felt pretty good about itself since putting on the Certificate of Kingship, especially after getting a sword handle in its hand, feeling even more like a regal knight, a good match for Milotic, and moreover, more like a leader than the chiefs of Dragon Island...
The sword handle in Dragonite's hand, also known as "Sharp Beak," was a modified version of the tool that enhances the power of Flying-type Moves. Its function was the same as "Sharp Beak," only its appearance was changed, hence a higher price, and carrying it was more cumbersome, probably only Fang Yuan would find it interesting enough to buy...
Dragonite had tried it out just now, this gadget indeed provided an extra boost to Flying-type Moves, and through this tool, it seemed there was a hidden feature, making it even easier to produce Fujin.
The tool was like an "Invisible Sword," capable of better harnessing a Pokemon's power to control the airflow and compress wind to form a sword of wind blades...
This was Fang Yuan's belated gift to Dragonite.
The rest of the tools, after being researched by Fang Yuan, were not immediately given to the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster and others.
They already had enough tools on them for now, Fang Yuan chose to directly send them back home, saving them as future rewards.
...
The next day, in the afternoon, approaching 13:00.
The second phase of the Professional Examination had started from the morning and was to continue until the following afternoon.
A total of four and a half days of examination, Fang Yuan was scheduled for the second half-day, which was this afternoon.
The examination venue was in a huge square building within the compound of the Trainer Association East China Branch. It looked like a conference hall inside but was eerily quiet.
When Fang Yuan entered, there were already about thirty people seated.
These individuals were generally around thirty years old, and young people in their early twenties were extremely rare. There were no significantly older candidates either. As Fang Yuan walked toward his seat, many people raised their heads to look at him, including a familiar face to Fang Yuan, Master Hao, an artisan.
On seeing Fang Yuan, Master Hao immediately waved. Fang Yuan thought about it and then sat down next to him.
Since no talking was allowed in the hall, Master Hao didn't dare to speak and instead pointed to his phone, indicating that Fang Yuan should check a message.
"The examiners this morning are a Master Level Trainer accompanied by six Professional Trainers; none are from the local trainers of the East China Region but have been called over from the North..."
"This afternoon, the Professional Examiners might change, but the lead examiner is likely to stay the same. In addition... this morning's examination mainly involved counter-typing battles to test the trainer's expertise in Moves. This afternoon might see changes or it might continue as before."
Master Hao sent a string of messages to Fang Yuan, giving him a heads-up that wasn't quite a heads-up. Fang Yuan took a careful look and replied with a thanks.
"Why are you so calm?" Master Hao felt a bit annoyed when he saw Fang Yuan sitting beside him as cool as a cucumber, like nothing was troubling him. It was his fifth time taking the Professional Examination, and he was still nervous, yet here was Fang Yuan, a trainer participating in the examination for the first time, completely unruffled...
Master Hao figured that Fang Yuan must be there just to experience the examination.
Of course, compared to trainers like Master Hao who had to "make up for the lack of strength with tools," Fang Yuan naturally had ample confidence to pass the examination...
As the hall filled with more people, a man in a suit carrying a microphone stepped onto the stage.
He looked over the examinees in the auditorium calmly and announced, "The examination will now begin. The trainers whose names are called, please proceed to the examination room at the back."