Chapter 59 - 57: Appraisal Expert Lu Wei

Chapter 59: Chapter 57: Appraisal Expert Lu Wei

Finally!

This wasn’t easy at all!

Looking at the dark one-handed sword in his hand, Lu Wei felt like he could cry.

After wandering around for half the morning and listening to a dozen little stories, he had finally found a genuine article.

In the Octavia Kingdom, three types of steel were especially famous.

In third place was "Tessares Steel," the same material as Furen’s Longsword. Its incredible hardness and strength made it the pinnacle of non-magical weapons.

In second place was "Mola Crystal Steel."

While slightly less hard and strong than Tessares Steel, its excellent magic-conducting properties made it easy to etch Magic Circuits onto, which could in turn grant Equipment additional effects.

In a pinch, it could even be used as a Magic Staff.

It didn’t have the amplification abilities of a true staff, but it was, at the very least, a passable Casting Medium.

For this reason, many Low Level Mages would buy a Mola Crystal Steel Short Sword to use as a close-quarters weapon.

As for the obscenely wealthy High Level Mages...

Of course, they would spare no expense.

Their one and only choice was the number one ranked material: "Saracenic Steel," which possessed both incredible strength and supreme magic-conducting properties.

It was said that a Weapon forged primarily from this material, even the cheapest Dagger, would start at 10 Gold Coins.

And that was for an Ordinary piece of Equipment without any special properties.

This just went to show that even among Ordinary Equipment, there could be a world of difference.

"How much?"

Looking up at the burly, stubble-faced stall owner, Lu Wei struggled to keep a calm expression, wanting to see if he could snag a bargain.

Although his Precise Identification had revealed its properties, which proved the sword had already been appraised...

However, an appraisal only changed an item’s properties from "hidden" to "viewable"; it didn’t reveal information like the Equipment’s material, craftsmanship, or origin.

’So there was a chance...’

"4 Gold Coins."

The next second, the stall owner’s price shattered Lu Wei’s hopes.

Still, that didn’t diminish his resolve to acquire this Sword.

Considering his plan to eventually become a Mage, this Mola Crystal Steel One-handed Sword was the perfect weapon for him for the foreseeable future.

"That’s a bit too expensive."

’Since snagging a bargain was out of the question, he had no choice but to start haggling.’

Lu Wei shook his head, feigning displeasure. "A Weapon with a +2 Attribute bonus usually goes for around two Gold Coins."

"I know it’s Mola Crystal Steel, but its magic-conducting properties are useless for most people. Plus, it’s secondhand. A price below 3 Gold Coins would be more reasonable."

"Hm?"

The bearded owner was a bit surprised he had directly named the Mola Crystal Steel. "I’m surprised. You know your stuff."

"You flatter me. So, can you lower the price?"

"No."

"..."

’Then why the hell did you praise me?!’

Lu Wei’s expression froze. Resigned, he had no choice but to play his trump card.

Holding the sword and pretending to inspect it for a few more moments, he shook his head with feigned regret.

"If this were a true One-handed Sword, I could accept the price, even if it is a bit steep."

"Unfortunately, this Sword has a major problem."

"What do you mean? What’s wrong with it?"

The bearded owner’s brow furrowed instantly. "Explain yourself, or you’re insulting me!"

’Seriously? What are you yelling about?’

’Every merchant is a shark. Don’t act like you’re some kind of saint.’

Seeing the owner suddenly get so worked up, Lu Wei shot him a disdainful glance.

Then he calmly replied,

"This is a Re-cast Sword."

"What makes you say that?" The owner’s frown deepened.

"Look at the blade. It’s wider than a typical One-handed Sword."

Casually picking up a nearby Longsword, Lu Wei held it up for comparison. "Look, it’s nearly as wide as a Longsword."

"While Weapons forged by different smiths will naturally have slight variations, they’d never differ this much."

"A One-handed Sword is meant to be nimble and light, after all."

"A blade this wide would already hinder the user’s movements."

"Combine that with the size of the hilt, the integrity of the fuller, and the shape of the magical engravings... it’s obviously been modified from its original form during the re-casting!"

Pointing at the engravings on the blade, Lu Wei spoke with conviction, putting on the air of an undeniable expert.

In reality, though, he was just bullshitting about that last part.

After all, he didn’t know the first thing about forging. He only knew it was a Re-cast Sword because of Precise Identification, so he had to spout some nonsense to back up his claim.

But surprisingly, after listening, the bearded owner didn’t argue. Instead, he took the Sword and began to examine it closely.

His expression shifted from skepticism to surprise, and from surprise to admiration.

After a few minutes, he looked at Lu Wei and nodded earnestly.

"You’re right. This is indeed a Re-cast Sword."

"Yes, I’ve done extensive research on Equipment appraisal. My eyes don’t deceive me."

Lu Wei gave a slight, pretentious nod, overjoyed on the inside.

’After all, things were going according to plan. The guy was impressed with me, so naturally, the next step was for him to voluntarily lower the price.’

But in the next second, the bearded owner said something completely unexpected—

"But that doesn’t affect its Value."

???

"Why wouldn’t it?!"

Lu Wei was completely baffled. "It’s a Re-cast Sword!"

"But the material is still Mola Crystal Steel, and it’s still a One-handed Sword."

Big Beard’s expression was serious. "However, you taught me a trick for identifying Re-cast Swords. For that, I can knock a little off the price."

Lu Wei’s bafflement turned to joy. "Really? How much?"

Big Beard thought for a moment. "One Silver Coin."

Lu Wei’s joy turned back to bafflement. "Wait, are you kidding me?"

"I am not kidding."

The bearded owner shook his head. "I never haggle. I’m already making an exception for you."

"..."

’Wait, let me do the math.’

’Four Gold Coins, minus one Silver Coin... that’s 3 gold and 9 silver.’

’And right now I only have 2 gold and 6 silver...’

’It’s not enough!’

’Unless I sell that Gray Gemstone.’

’Should I just sell it?’

’I’ll just owe Furen and Bai Ya their share for now. They won’t mind anyway.’

’I can just pay them back later.’

’After all, an opportunity like this won’t come again. Who knows when I’ll find another Weapon so perfect for me.’

"Mister..."

Having made up his mind, Lu Wei decided to ask Big Beard to wait while he went to sell the gemstone and came back to buy the Sword.

But before he could say anything, Big Beard spoke first.

"However, if you’re willing to do me a favor, I can lower the price a bit more."

’Huh? Is this a side quest?’

Lu Wei immediately swallowed the words he was about to say and asked in delighted surprise, "What kind of favor? Delivering something? Finding something? Or maybe killing some goblins?"

"Why would I ask you to kill goblins?"

Big Beard looked baffled. "I just figured that since you’re so knowledgeable, perhaps you could help me take a look at a few things?"

"What kind of things?"

"They’re a few little trinkets I happened to buy at the Black Market in Kalin Port. I’ve shown them to a few people, but nobody knows what they are."

"I see..."

’This is right up my alley!’

Lu Wei instantly relaxed, but he put on a troubled expression. "If so many people couldn’t identify them, they must be extremely rare."

"And knowledge is money..."

"I understand."

Big Beard thought for a moment, then earnestly quoted a price.

"There are five items in total. I’ll pay you five Silver Coins for each one, which is roughly the cost of two Identification Scrolls."

"But you have to tell me the truth. Don’t try to cheat me, or I swear I won’t let you off easy."

"No problem!"

Lu Wei puffed out his chest confidently.

"Bring them out!"

"I’ll identify it for you crystal clear, even if it’s a chest wrap some village woman just took off!"