Jien had to think a good long while and discuss a variety of potential options with the others to come up with a solid idea for how they would go about earning the needed Merits. It wasn't as easy as Jien had thought it would be at first. Of course there were plenty of ways to go about it if one were smart about it but not all of them were great at things that would allow them to build merits, not at this time anyway.
Julie was a great example. After her question it took them some time and research in the guide to find a few options. One option was charging to be a sparring partner. This would require her to make a name of herself but it wasn't impossible if she took her time and issued challenges to some of the tougher opponents of their current year. If she was able to defeat some of the low to mid tier second year students she could potentially charge a premium. This would be a tough road but Julie actually smiled at the very idea, her eyes practically glowing at the prospect of facing off against other strong opponents.
It was decided that Alys would be best suited to work as an assistant to those that maintained the various arms and armor the Academy had on hand. Being the daughter of a pair of bandits, who led a fairly profitable group be had learned the workings of cleaning and maintaining supplies to allow for resale. After all nobody wanted to buy battered and bloodied armor. Many could turn a blind eye regarding where an item came from as long as it was pristine.
In doing this she would also be able to get closer to those that not only maintained but supplied these materials, allowing her to learn more of the ins and outs. Perhaps by the time they had need of those types of supplies she would know how to help them through the process without any troubles. It was not uncommon to hear muttering among the older students about having difficulty requisitioning supplies for a variety of reasons.
They would need to check with Central Administration regarding the current pricing of different work stations like alchemy labs, smithies and formation rooms. Their plan was, that if the price of one room was less than enough to rent an alchemy lab they would rent one and use some of the herbs that Jien had brought along with him to concoct a number of supplies. They would then sell them to the Academy for more credits to buy some more materials. Jien and Olivia would share this responsibility.
According the the guide the supplies to create something would always be cheaper than the finished product if sold to the Academy. After all they were paying you for your work in reducing the work of their own professionals. That being said, the quality of the concoctions would reflect in what was earned, much like with any other type of sale.
Rosalind wanted to show off her family's skill in forging by purchasing material and one of the rentable smithies. While Jien agreed that this was to be the end result he stated that the salves would likely only be enough to rent the alchemy lab for a day or two at most. They could have sold the healing potion that was given to Andrew but after serious discussion decided to keep it in case of emergency. After all it wasn't every day such a well known alchemist gave away their concoction for free.
This left Bernard, Barret, Lesley and Robyn, none of which necessarily had strengths in any specific professions, at least not ones that were considered in the realm of creation. This however, did not mean that there weren't options available, they just were often less liked due to being more labor intensive. Despite this fact Robyn seemed fine with this result with a large smile on her face as she flexed her muscular arm as proof she was up for the challenge.
The same could be said for Lesley and Bernard, though they were less cheerful regarding the turn of events. They realized now that they had missed the best opportunity when they had turned down training in some of the more academic professions when they were younger, or even when they were training in the Warping Forest. Being a good hunter was great but here in the dessert there wasn't much to be hunted and there was not much in the way of agriculture either. Most of the supplies for the academy were received through Alruesta and its port.
Barret was the only one who was truly unfazed regarding the entirety of the discussion. After everyone else understood what they were planning to do they turned to the silent boy who took his time to speak, as if thinking his words over carefully. "According to the guide book you can apprentice with the Black Chain for Merits." These were his only words, refusing to speak on the topic further.
Jien's eyes seemed to fill with specks of gold as he once again delved into his collected knowledge. He had read the entire guide and recorded it but he did not recall a group known as Black Chain. Despite the oddity, when he focused on finding reference to them there was indeed such an organization in the guide book. The odd thing was that there was nothing other than a short footnote referencing the ability to apprentice with them for Merits and to speak with Central Administration for more details.
The topic was odd and nobody knew what to make of it but it was only later that night when he had finally settled in for the night that Jien recalled. The man who had brought Julie into the academy had a black chain across his chest. This thought led to one other instance, though he had only caught a short glimpse of it. The man that had been waiting for Professor Everhart also had such a chain.