Chapter 60 - 58: Knowledge is Money

Chapter 60: Chapter 58: Knowledge is Money

Both Identification Scrolls and Identification Magic only work on items that possess a "Maker’s Mark."

Therefore, if an item wasn’t manufactured, or if its creator didn’t imbue it with any extra abilities beyond its basic function, then Identification Scrolls and Identification Magic will have no effect.

For example, common-grade equipment.

Or basic materials like gemstones, ores, herbs, and monster organs.

And this world is full of all sorts of strange and curious things.

So, when some extremely rare materials have been circulated many times, a situation might arise where the owner has no idea what it is.

That’s when "scholarly individuals" are needed.

Some help identify things for free, while others do it for a fee.

And of course, there are also swindlers.

It’s not unheard of for someone to insist a glass bead is the "eyeball of an Abyssal Demon."

After all, the customer has never seen a Demon’s eyeball.

"This is the Wood Heart of a Blood-crying Willow. It’s an excellent material for making Cursed Puppets or a Blood Magic Staff."

"This is a Void Crystal, a specialty of the Floating Islands. It can be inlaid into equipment to increase Spell Resistance."

"This should be a Shadow Snake’s shedding. Yes, that’s right, it’s a Shadow Snake’s shedding. If you look at it from this angle, you can see a rainbow-like sheen."

"It can be used to make a Disguise Mask, but it’s not useful for much else."

"This... uh, this is just an ordinary Silver Wine Flask."

"Hm? Hot water turns cold when you pour it in?"

"No, isn’t that normal?"

Ten minutes later, Lu Wei stared blankly at the bearded stall owner, feeling like there might be something wrong with the man’s intelligence.

But the latter shook his head and corrected him, "No, it turns cold in a very short amount of time. It seems to have some kind of cooling function."

"Is that so?"

Looking at the flat, silver flask in his hand, Lu Wei paused. "Exactly how short a time?"

"If you pour boiling water in, it’ll cool to room temperature in about a minute."

Big Beard added with a serious expression, "And that’s during the summer."

"One minute? That shouldn’t be possible..."

Lu Wei frowned and fell silent.

After all, Big Beard didn’t look like he was trying to give him a brain teaser.

And there was indeed no such description in the information given by Precise Identification.

It only said this was an ordinary, crudely made wine flask worth 2 Silver Coins.

’Is it because metal dissipates heat quickly?’

’But there’s no way it could cool boiling water to room temperature in just one minute.’

"I’m not sure about the specifics, but this is just an ordinary wine flask."

After a moment, Lu Wei couldn’t come up with an explanation, so he could only bite the bullet and insist, "I’m sure I’m not mistaken."

"Alright."

Big Beard’s reaction was somewhat unexpected. He didn’t say anything more, simply nodding and taking the wine flask back.

"In that case, please take a look at the last item."

"Uh, wait. You don’t suspect I made a mistake?"

"No, your judgment was accurate."

"Huh? Then the thing about the water turning cold..."

"I made it up. This is actually my own wine flask."

Big Beard replied with a hint of apology, "Your scholarship doesn’t seem to match your age, so I suspected you might be a swindler. I wanted to test you."

"But rest assured, the agreed-upon appraisal fee of 5 Silver Coins still stands."

"..."

’Damn it! He’s that cunning?!’

His mouth slightly agape, Lu Wei’s face was filled with astonishment.

After all, this Big Beard looked like the "stubbornly straightforward" type of honest person.

’Who would’ve thought he’d be so shrewd!’

’So you really can’t judge a book by its cover.’

’Merchants are all scoundrels.’

Lu Wei shook his head helplessly. "Alright, I can understand why you did it. After all, I don’t exactly look like a naturalist."

Big Beard asked curiously, "So where did you acquire so much knowledge?"

"Books. I’ve read at least a thousand books in my life, covering fields like astronomy, geography, history, alchemy, literature, and more."

"Is that so? That’s incredible."

"Of course it’s true. I never lie."

Lu Wei’s expression was calm because he wasn’t actually lying.

From elementary school to university, he had hundreds of textbooks alone, so there was nothing wrong with his statement.

"Knowledge is money. I’ve always believed that."

As Big Beard watched with a look of slight amazement, Lu Wei concluded with a smile and took the final item.

It was an irregular black object that resembled a gemstone.

It was called a "gemstone" because it possessed certain crystalline characteristics.

It was called "similar" because it also somewhat resembled a stone.

Most people who saw it would, at first glance, probably assume it was obsidian, which can enhance mental resistance.

But upon closer inspection, one would find its surface was much rougher than obsidian, and its density was also much greater.

And within the category of "black gemstones," obsidian was the only common type.

That’s why Big Beard had never been able to figure out what this thing was.

’Alright, let’s see what we have here.’

"Hmm, this one is quite rare..."

Just like before, Lu Wei first pretended to observe it for a while before using Precise Identification.

And then.

[Star Core]

[Species: Gemstone/Inlay]

[Level: Rare (Fragment)]

[Value: 22 gold and 3 silver]

[Introduction: A core fragment from an ancient meteorite. When inlaid, it can add the "Force Field" attribute to a weapon or piece of equipment.]

[Note: Hundreds of years ago, this meteorite turned a small town from three-dimensional to two-dimensional.]

...

...

’HOLY SHIT!!’

’A Rare Gemstone worth 22 gold coins!!!’

The moment the introduction appeared, Lu Wei couldn’t help but freeze for a second.

His heart immediately began to race.

Then he started frantically trying to figure out how he could make this "Star Core" his own.

Actually, of the four items he had just examined, the other three, besides the wine flask, were also quite valuable.

Precise Identification had even given the "Wood Heart of the Blood-crying Willow" an estimated value of 5 gold coins.

But considering such a high-level material would be hard to sell and that he had no use for it himself, Lu Wei’s greed hadn’t overcome his conscience.

Of course, the main reason was that he was afraid his plan would backfire—

not only would he fail to get a bargain, but he’d also lose the one-handed sword in the end.

But now...

’22 gold coins!!’

’Would I even be human if I didn’t take this gamble?!’

*Huuu...*

He quietly took a deep breath to calm himself down. Lu Wei put on a look of uncertainty while racking his brain, rapidly thinking up various excuses.

After all, this Big Beard wasn’t Bai Ya; he was an equally crafty merchant.

Therefore, he had to be extremely cautious to acquire the gemstone at a low price without arousing the man’s suspicion.

’But the problem is, the moment I offer to buy it, he’s bound to get suspicious, right?’

’Maybe I should use the old antique-hunting trick from my past life? Tell him this thing is worthless and ask him to throw it in as a freebie with the one-handed sword?’

’*Hiss*... that probably won’t work either...’

"..."

Time ticked by. Ideas appeared and were discarded in his mind one after another, and Lu Wei grew increasingly anxious.

Just then, the big-bearded man seemed to notice something was off and suddenly asked:

"That should be some kind of special gemstone, right?"

"Er, well..."

’Crap! He saw through me!’

Lu Wei’s heart tightened. He knew this was bad.

After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and decided to make a last-ditch effort.

"It is indeed a gemstone."

"If you want to know what it is, I can tell you as we agreed."

"However, since you bought it at the Black Market in Kalin Port, that means almost no one in Kalin Port knows its value."

"So if you want to sell it, you’ll have to go to a much bigger city."

"Alternatively, you could consider selling it directly to me."

"5 Gold Coins. That’s the highest price I can offer."

"The money or its name. You choose."

Looking at Big Beard, Lu Wei felt he truly couldn’t deceive him, so he had no choice but to risk it all like this.

Although he felt that as long as the man wasn’t an idiot, he would definitely not choose "the money."

’Damn it!’

’I’ve lost the biggest deal of my life!’

’If only I’d had a little more time!’

’Sigh, it’s my own fault for not managing my expression better...’

Sighing endlessly in his heart, Lu Wei had completely lost hope. Even the one-handed sword he was about to get couldn’t excite him anymore.

But who would have known that in the very next second...

"Alright. 5 Gold Coins. It’s a deal."