Chương 143: Chapter 138. Appraisal

Rayne genuinely froze for a second after seeing Mona standing behind the reception counter. Out of all the people he expected to encounter inside Valers, she had not even crossed his mind once. The two of them had only briefly spoken back in Bricksall, and after not finding her back there, Rayne honestly assumed he would never see her again. Still, now that he thought about it properly, he had heard she moved to the capital to stay with relatives. So perhaps it wasn't completely impossible.

Even then, the sight still surprised him, and apparently, he wasn't the only one caught off guard. The moment Mona fully recognized him, her eyes widened noticeably. For a second, she even rubbed one eye lightly as though checking whether she was imagining things. Rayne slowly walked toward the reception counter.

"Didn't expect to see you here," he admitted. Mona let out a small breath before shaking her head faintly.

"I should be the one saying that." Her expression softened slightly as she looked him over.

"Once I heard there were undead and necromancers in the plains, I honestly thought you wouldn't survive." Rayne gave a wry smile at that.

"That nearly turned true more times than I would've liked," he said.

"But apparently I have a talent for surviving things that should kill me. I even got a title for all the trouble." Mona blinked immediately.

"Really?" Rayne nodded once.

"Yeah. Got it after the campaign ended." Mona looked genuinely curious hearing that. Her mouth even opened slightly like she wanted to immediately ask what kind of title he had received, but held herself back. Rayne took the opportunity to properly look around the store. Shelves stretched across nearly every wall, filled with strange objects resting behind glass cases. Some items looked ordinary at first glance until closer inspection revealed glowing runes carved into them.

There were daggers with faint blue light pulsing along their edges, rings resting on black velvet cushions, and several staff leaning against one corner covered in tiny mana crystals. The weapon section to the left itself looked expensive enough to make him nervous about touching anything accidentally. A polished longsword hung on the wall with tiny inscriptions along the blade, while nearby rested a spear whose metal tip was frozen with ice.

There was also a faint scent of herbs, oil, and old paper lingering in the place. Eventually, Rayne looked back toward Mona.

"So you work here, I assume?" Mona nodded immediately.

"I live with my uncle now," she explained.

"He owns this place, so I help manage the sho—" Before she could finish speaking, a loud voice suddenly interrupted from deeper inside the building.

"Mona! Did someone finally come in to buy something or are you just flirting with someone again?" Both of them turned immediately. A large man stepped out from behind one of the shelves and started walking toward them. The first thing Rayne noticed was the man's shining bald head. The second was his short beard and extremely sharp eyes that immediately locked onto him the moment he approached the counter. He looked between Mona and Rayne once before clicking his tongue loudly.

"Is this another boy trying to hit on you," he asked bluntly, "or are you actually a customer?" The glare directed toward Rayne afterward made it clear the man already expected the first answer. Hence, Rayne immediately raised a hand slightly.

"Customer," he said quickly.

"I'm actually here to get something appraised." The bald man narrowed his eyes before looking Rayne up and down slowly.

"You don't exactly look like someone who can afford artifacts," he said flatly. Rayne winced slightly hearing that. Honestly, the man wasn't entirely wrong. Compared to most people who came here, his clothes probably looked painfully average. Maybe he really should have bought better clothing first. But before Rayne could say anything else though, Mona quickly stepped in.

"He's actually a soldier, uncle," she explained.

"I know him from Bricksall. He fought in the plains campaign and handled his own party there." The man's expression shifted slightly at that. This time, he looked at Rayne more carefully instead of dismissively.

"That true?" he asked. Rayne nodded once.

"Yes." Then he glanced around the mostly empty shop before adding, "I found an artifact in a dungeon and wanted to know what it does." The moment he mentioned a dungeon, the man's entire attitude visibly changed. His sharp eyes narrowed with immediate interest.

"Do you have the coin for an appraisal?" Rayne hesitated briefly before nodding again. The man instantly turned toward Mona.

"Watch the front," he ordered before pointing directly at Rayne.

"You. Come with me." Mona looked like she wanted to say something more, but Rayne simply gave her a small look before following after the man deeper into the shop. As they walked through the aisles, Rayne got an even better look at the sheer amount of items stored inside. Weapons filled entire sections of the walls. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Axes, swords, spears, daggers, shields, and bows rested neatly in rows.

Some looked ordinary while others clearly weren't. Armor sets stood displayed on metal mannequins nearby. Some were sleek and polished while others looked thick enough for someone to survive being crushed by a troll. There were also shelves packed with bottles and containers filled with liquids of different colors. Red, green, blue, black. Rayne honestly couldn't tell whether some of the larger potion containers were still usable or expired decades ago since they gave off a murky scent.

The deeper they moved into the building, the fewer the items on display became until eventually the man stopped before a smaller wooden door near the back. He pushed it open and stepped inside. Rayne followed after him. The room beyond was fairly small compared to the rest of the shop. A round table rested near the center along with two chairs facing each other. Shelves lined the walls holding books, scrolls, strange stones, and tools Rayne didn't recognize.

Taklu took a seat first before motioning toward the chair opposite him. Rayne sat down as well. For a few moments, the man simply studied him silently before finally speaking.

"Ten gold." Rayne blinked.

"What?"

"Ten gold for one appraisal," the man repeated calmly. Rayne's eyes widened immediately.

"That's absurdly expensive." The man only smiled faintly at that.

"Do you know how much proper appraisals cost inside the Adventurer's Guild?" he asked.

"I'm already being generous." Rayne frowned deeply but stayed quiet as Taklu leaned back slightly in his chair before continuing.

"And if you came here instead of going through your superiors or the guild, then whatever artifact you have is probably something you don't want officially registered." His sharp eyes narrowed slightly.

"Which means you clearly need discretion more than cheap prices." Rayne stilled slightly after hearing Taklu's words. Honestly, the logic behind it made sense. Annoyingly enough, the bald man was completely right. Rayne didn't want even someone like Casper knowing about the bracelet yet, much less the Adventurer's Guild or the army itself. If he went through official appraisal channels, his name would immediately get attached to the item along with the fact that he was a Valerian soldier.

That alone could easily create problems later if the bracelet truly turned out to be important which was exactly why he had come here instead. Still, he hadn't expected Mona being here and accidentally revealing his identity. Not that he could really blame her. She had no idea of his circumstances. After a few moments of silence, Rayne finally spoke.

"Five gold." Taklu scoffed immediately like the number itself offended him.

"That's lower than what the guild would charge for a basic appraisal," the man replied.

"Nine gold." Rayne shook his head without hesitation.

"I won't go beyond six." Taklu immediately pointed toward the door.

"Then you can leave," he said flatly.

"Six gold barely covers the appraisal material themselves, much less my discretion." He leaned slightly back in his chair before continuing.

"Eight gold, and no one hears a single word about whatever item you brought in here." Rayne frowned deeply. It was still much more than he wanted to spend. Gold wasn't exactly easy to come by, even after the campaign rewards. Most of what he currently possessed had been due to Fredrick and he still had armour and weapons he wanted to buy, much less potions. But after a few seconds, he slowly pushed a hand into his robe and grabbed the pouch hidden underneath without taking it out fully.

Then he took a handful of them and placed it on the table. Taklu's eyes immediately followed each coin, and he narrowed his eyes.

"That's only seven." Rayne shrugged slightly.

"That's everything I currently have on me." He paused briefly before adding, "And honestly, your shop doesn't exactly look crowded with customers today. You should be happy with some money on an off day." Taklu glared at his words. For a brief second, the tension in the room thickened enough that Rayne instinctively became alert. His body tensed slightly as he watched the man carefully. If Taklu tried stealing the gold, he was confident in taking him out despite the size difference.

But after several long moments, the bald man merely clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Fine," he muttered.

"But only because Mona knows you." Without wasting another second, Taklu swept all seven gold coins into his hand before opening a small drawer built into the side of the table and dropping the coins inside. Then, from the very same drawer, he pulled out a thin sheet of shining paper. The material looked almost metallic. Its surface was covered in faint silver lines that shifted slightly whenever the paper moved. Taklu carefully placed it onto the table before speaking again.

"Take out the item, and just remember," he muttered, "the amount of information you receive depends entirely on the rarity and nature of the item itself, and if the appraisal turns out disappointing, you don't get to complain afterward."

"That's fine," Rayne replied, and reached into his pouch again before taking out the bracelet and placing it carefully onto the wooden table between them. Taklu immediately picked it up. He turned it slowly in his hands while studying the runes carved across its surface.

"Definitely looks like a dungeon artifact," he muttered quietly to himself. Then he placed the bracelet back down. Without another word, Taklu pushed the strange metallic paper directly over the artifact. Rayne frowned slightly, wanting to ask what exactly the man was doing, but before he could speak, the paper suddenly began glowing. A soft golden sheen spread across its surface, illuminating the small room in warm light, but it faded almost as quickly as it had appeared.

For a brief second, the room dimmed again before strange silver letters slowly began forming across the surface of the paper itself. Rayne immediately leaned forward slightly while Taklu grabbed the sheet and flattened it carefully against the table with both hands. Then the bald man let out a low whistle.

"Looks like you actually landed yourself something decent." Rayne's eyes looked over the appraisal paper.

Artifact Name: Disk bracelet Artifact Type: Utility Grade: Rare Status: Unbonded Description: A mana-based artifact capable of creating force disks within the air through mana infusion. The disks possess high durability and may be used as platforms, barriers, or kinetic projectiles depending on the user's mana control and output. Durability: Peak Condition Requirement: Artifact Bond Rayne read through the information carefully.

The artifact ranks were probably the same as class and potion ranks, hence he knew that the bracelet was far more ordinary. More importantly, the description itself sounded incredibly useful. If he could really use it to create a force disk, then there were numerous ways to make use of it. Offence, defence, even just letting it carry his weight—All of it moved through his mind one by one. But then his eyes stopped at the bottom of the parchment.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"What does this mean?" Rayne asked while pointing toward the requirement section.

"Artifact bond required?" Taklu barely glanced at the paper again before answering casually.

"Oh, that." The man leaned back slightly in his chair.

"It just means the artifact needs to be bonded to you before it properly works." Rayne frowned.

"Bonded how?" Taklu smiled faintly.

"With blood of course. You basically need to form a blood pact with it."

Read 50 chapters ahead Join the discord server HERE. pre order vol 1 here