Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32 : Appraisal
Sal looked around the room, admiring the facilities of the space.
He suddenly wondered if the woman in the uniform knew that he could fill out the appraisal documents himself.
Did she intentionally make him ask for help to lower his status? Whatever it was, Sal thought the less he got entangled with the staff on this credit floor, the better.
He didn't have to wait long.
There was a knock on the door on the other side of the room, and Sal answered for them to come in.
Surprisingly, the first person to enter was a man in a uniform. His face lit up as soon as he saw Sal, and he stepped aside.
And behind him, the real customers entered.
In dealings at the Argento Auction House, Sal mostly encountered businessmen.
Agents, managers, sponsors—people like that came to collect items or entrust appraisals for their teams.
Many of them bought equipment out of vanity rather than for practical use.
Distinguishing such people was a skill in itself, and his father, Pietro, had advised him to always talk up the equipment's performance to make it seem flashy when dealing with such customers.
Scanning the people entering the room, Sal made an immediate judgment.
That method wouldn't work this time.
These were not people collecting items, but people who intended to use them.
"Are you serious? He's just a kid."
The man at the front said, looking back at the uniformed man.
More than the remark itself, Sal was curious about how the guide would react next.
If he asked to check the Silver Token again right here, it would severely undermine Sal's professionalism.
Conversely, if he stopped the guild member, it would be proof that this place truly trusted him.
In that fleeting moment, the guide hesitated briefly, then nodded and approached Sal.
"Excuse me, but would it be okay if I checked your token again?"
Sal raised one eyebrow and said.
"No. You already checked it before I entered."
Sal pointed chin toward the door.
"Go tell Vila. That entrusting this job to me was a mistake. Would you like to check it yourself?"
The guide froze on the spot.
Then he carefully turned his head and apologized to the guild member.
"I apologize for the confusion. We have already completed the identity verification."
The guild member smirked, looked Sal up and down once, and turned back to the guide.
"You heard him. Go ask Vila if this kid is really a big deal."
Although it was a joke, the guild member continued to pressure the staff member playfully, eventually waving his hand to dismiss him.
In the meantime, Sal began to examine the first guild member.
He was holding a long object wrapped in a thick blanket. He was tall and well-built, wearing what appeared to be custom-made metal breastplate.
There was some form of leather padding on his arms, which Sal guessed was for mobility and flexibility.
The helmet held in his other arm had a built-in targeting device attached, and with just this information, Sal surmised the possibility that he was a ranged combatant.
"You survived meeting Vila? You must be quite skilled."
The guild member burst into laughter and placed the blanket-wrapped equipment on the table.
Then he took a step back.
Sal felt from that action that they were people who observed basic etiquette.
Behind him, a woman wrapped in black leather from head to toe was staring piercingly at him.
Two belts crossing diagonally over her chest held throwing daggers neatly in place. When the woman unzipped her top slightly to reveal her figure, Sal hurriedly looked away.
Another guild member snorted.
"Trying to get a discount?"
The woman retorted with a playful grin.
"Just... thought it was a bit hot?"
Sal looked away and observed the remaining guild members.
He was here to work, not to joke around.
He didn't want to be disturbed, and she was a distraction.
He exhaled lightly and began to slowly unwrap the blanket.
It took three turns before the equipment inside was revealed, and Sal was momentarily speechless the moment he saw it.
It contained a sniper rifle he hadn't expected.
"This didn't drop from a dungeon."
Sal chuckled and began to slowly circle the sniper rifle.
"Is there any specific part you need checked?"
He turned his head to look at the sniper, but the Reavers guild member said nothing.
"That's for you to tell me, young friend."
At this, Sal activated his eyes in earnest.
Looking closely at the sniper rifle, several surprising pieces of information popped up at once.
He had appraised various equipment before, but now with the added ability of a Mythos Crafter, the aspect was completely different.
All the parts making up the sniper rifle appeared separated as if in an exploded view.
Some parts had fundamental flaws, but others felt surprisingly sophisticated.
There was also something unexpected.
Sal could not only recall the blueprint to craft this sniper rifle himself in his mind, but also see how the design could be improved.
Sal naturally thought of Jez's class.
If he could create and sell blueprints of weapons appraised in this way separately, perhaps he could earn continuous profit by selling them to other Crafters.
Sal circled the sniper rifle one more time and smiled.
Name: Maslow's Sniper Rifle
Source: Crafted
Age: 28 Years
Rank: Rare (High)
Dimensions: 58 in | 24 lbs
Material: Gunmetal Alloy | Doom Pearl | Essence Steel | Essence Iron
Properties:
- Target Lock: Grants a chance to apply a target lock effect on the target.
- Headshot: Small chance to apply a critical hit on headshots.
- Stabilization: Nullifies some ranged penalties and slightly increases range.
- Lucky Bullet: 1 out of 3 bullets is enhanced with Essence, causing a critical hit effect.
Abilities: Target Lock | Headshot | Stabilization | Lucky Bullet
Power Source: External Essence
Evolution Potential: None
Quality: Low
Durability: 43%
Estimated Value: $65,000.00 ~ $110,000.00
"Are you by chance Maslow?"
Sal asked, and at those words, the sniper straightened his posture.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
Sal didn't answer and continued speaking while looking at the gun.
"This weapon has been remanufactured at least three times. The barrel was originally taken from an Epic rank weapon, and every third bullet is infused with a barrier, capable of piercing almost anything."
"The problem is, with this barrel, that effect should normally apply to every bullet. The scope is Uncommon rank, but the helmet's visor is probably compensating for that part."
Sal pointed to the helmet the guild member was holding.
Just as the guild member raised an eyebrow and was about to say something, Sal cut him off and continued.
"The pistol grip and trigger are also Uncommon. So there must be moments when the bullet doesn't fire even when you pull the trigger. Overall, there's absolutely no harmony between the parts, so the accuracy is bound to drop."
Sal circled the gun one more time and sighed.
"If you want to sell this, you'd be better off disassembling it by part and selling them separately. Or if you want to use it in a fight, you need to change the pistol grip, trigger, and firing mechanism entirely. The barrel and stock are fine, but to use this properly, you'll need to replace the scope with a better one too. Like I said, High Rare rank is likely the ceiling for this weapon."
When Sal looked up, complex emotions were crossing Maslow's face.
Usually, clients would argue about the authenticity of parts to raise the price or refute the claims at this point, but Maslow didn't.
"The barrier fires once every two shots. But how did you determine it fires every three?"
Sal pointed a finger towards his chest and said.
"The only variable is you. Are you perhaps injecting Essence yourself before loading the bullets?"
Maslow smiled.
"Well, something like that."
Then he nodded to the other guild members behind him with a satisfied smile.
Sal waited for the next appraisal item, but Maslow didn't seem finished yet.
He placed both hands on the table and looked back and forth between the sniper rifle and Sal.
"I took this to three different workshops, including this one. All three did a remanufacture for me. The barrel and stock were taken from my father's gun... but the scope, trigger mechanism, and grip are three new parts I replaced. are you saying they ruined it all?"
Sal nodded.
"If this was originally an Epic rank weapon, yes. They completely ruined it. Dropping from Epic to High Rare might not seem like a big difference... but this falls far short of its original level. Even a Mythos Crafter would find it hard to restore this to its former performance."
Sal made a serious face at the guild member and gestured for the next person to come forward.
Then the sniper raised his hand to stop his friend.
"Wait, Mythos Crafter? Does such a thing exist?"
Sal looked at him as if he were strange.
"Really? You haven't heard the rumors about him yet? The credit floor signed a contract with him earlier this week. He restored an Epic rank piece of equipment with his bare hands."
Seeing their eyebrows raise, Sal went a step further.
"I'm handling some of his equipment appraisals, and it's quite interesting. I thought he was just a Restorer, but he crafts Epic rank items himself too."
The sniper nodded at the woman sitting on the sofa, and she acted as if she understood immediately.
Leaving only a trail of black smoke, she disappeared from her seat in an instant.
Sal was about to continue speaking but felt his throat choke up for a moment as the guild member looked back at him.
"Mythos Crafter. I'll remember that name. Thanks. By the way, who are you?"
Sal extended his hand and took out the Silver Token Vila had given him from his pocket.
"I'm Salvatore Argento."
A look of recognition flashed across the guild member's face for a moment.
"You, you're the young master of the Argento Auction House."
Sal nodded and smiled.
"I want to be recognized for my own skills. If you have more equipment to appraise and the budget is okay, I can still work for a few more hours."
The guild member grabbed Sal's hand and shook it.
"You probably saw the engraving 'Maslow' on the gun, but everyone calls me Watcher. I've heard plenty of weirder nicknames than that."
In an instant, black smoke exploded, and the leather-clad rogue reappeared.
She was holding the guide from earlier, who looked terrified and extremely uncomfortable.
The rogue-like guild member released him as if tossing him aside and gestured toward Watcher.
"You handle him."
Sal cautiously took a step back.
The thought occurred to him that she might be a teleporter.
Watcher nodded and waved his hand over his shoulder.
"Blink, this is Sal. He's a trustworthy guy. At least compared to people who ignore him because he's young."
Blink tilted her head, looking at Sal, and narrowed her eyes as if Sal were an object for appraisal.
Between her black lipstick, the corners of her mouth slowly turned up into a smile.
"Nice to meet you. Here, appraise this."
Before Sal could react, Blink stood right in front of his eyes holding an ornately decorated dagger.
The dagger was held precariously just above her chest, near Sal's neck.
It was clearly an action intended for shock value, but Sal was mesmerized by the blade and couldn't take his eyes off it.
Blink glanced at Watcher and laughed.
"I can't tell if he's looking at my body or the knife right now?"
Watcher shrugged.
"Either way, seems like he has an eye for things."
Meanwhile, the guide seemed to have finally grasped the situation again, rolling his eyes around before finding his footing.
Being teleported by a guild member didn't seem like something he was used to.
It seemed Blink had given him a prior explanation, and the guide tried to speak about procedures and liability issues, but Watcher silenced him by raising a single hand.
"Anyway, that's all good, and I want a Mythos Crafter to take a look at this gun. Got it? Vila will cover the cost."
The administrative staff member nodded repeatedly, seemingly grateful, and hurriedly left the room.
Sal took the dagger from Blink and carefully turned it over in his hands.
Name: Siphon Blade
Source: Portal Relic
Age: [Unknown]
Rank: Epic (High)
Dimensions: Total Length 14 in | Blade 9.25 in, Hilt 4.75 in
Material: Vampire Blood | Fairy Ether | Hellfire Titanium
Properties:
- Absorption: The blade absorbs all possible Essence from both the target and the user.
- Vital Strike: Automatically targets the opponent's vital points.
- Serrated Edge: Inflicts severe additional damage if pulled out while embedded in the body.
- Slash: Pierces most defenses when used in a slashing motion.
Abilities: Absorption | Vital Strike | Serrated Edge | Slash
Power Source: Target's Essence
Evolution Potential: Yes | 58% to Legend Rank
Quality: Excellent
Durability: 85%
Estimated Value: $180,000.00 ~ $240,000.00
"This is a truly decent Epic rank weapon! It gets stronger the more Essence it absorbs."
Sal looked at Blink with an excited expression and smiled brightly.
"See this here? This line flowing along the blade—this is proof that it's absorbing Essence. Didn't you feel tired holding this all day?"
Sal shook his head side to side and returned the dagger to Blink.
She took it awkwardly, looking flustered.
"I was always a bit exhausted after a battle... you're saying it's because of this knife?"
Sal nodded.
He understood because he had a similar experience due to the shirt he had crafted before.
"It's an Essence glutton. If it were simply an artifact with high Essence consumption, I'd recommend engraving a self-recharging inscription, but doing that to this would completely ruin it. If you keep letting the absorbed Essence accumulate while fighting like you do now, it will evolve into a Legend rank! My guess is the transition point will come after just a few more months of fighting, so please show me later."
Blink looked at Sal with a face full of surprise, then smiled broadly and looked him up and down.
"How old are you, kid?"
"I'm not a kid. I'm an adult."
At that moment, Watcher spun around and pointed a finger at Blink.
"Don't you dare touch the Appraiser!"