Chapter 16 — Magical Engineering Shopping District

The interior of Re-Enew was just like an old shop selling antiques.

Old weapons that were unappraised, covered in dust, were hanging on the walls and in display cases,
and under them were rows of mannequins wearing protective equipment like rusty armor and panchos.

Walking to the end of the hall, one could see assessment rooms that were prepared to appraise the unappraised items,
and from those rooms, one could hear the small whirling sound of a motor running.

JaeHyun browsed through the brass-colored items that were piled according to their types and was locked in his thoughts for a moment.

‘When I came here before, I lost 8 million won before I decided to stop. I think.’

In the past, there was a time JaeHyun had squandered quite a bit of money at Re-Enew. He had almost lost everything because he had believed the words of a fellow raider who had luckily gotten a C-rank item.

‘Thinking about back then, my teeth are clattering.’

As a shiver ran down his spine, JaeHyun turned his gaze back to the items.

At that moment, a man who looked like the shop manager approached him.

“Hello. I am the manager of this Re-Enew, Park Jin-Cheol.”

With a salesperson’s smile, Park Jin-Cheol stood beside JaeHyun before he realized it. He continued while pointing at the piles of unappraised items.

“As you can see, this shop sells unappraised items. What do you think? Would you like to test your luck?”

JaeHyun replied indifferently to Park Jin-Cheol’s contrived words.

“If there are a lot of good items.”

“Of course. In this Magic Shopping District, there’s no other Unappraised Item shop that handles items as good as our 《 Re-Enew 》does.”

The shop manager Park Jin-Cheol answered with a bow at JaeHyun’s unenthusiastic words.

It was a weirdly sure and confident tone.

‘Such a green young kid coming in here all alone… he must be a young master from a rich family. I can’t lose this money bag.’

With an amiable smile on his face, Park Jin-Cheol rubbed his hands as he chased after JaeHyun. In 《 Re-Enew 》, a shop selling unappraised items, JaeHyun was an uncommonly young customer.

This place sold items that were not yet assessed through legal channels.

Mostly dealing with items excavated from ruins, seeing as how no one could know what kind of effect an item would have before appraisal, one could say that they were operating under the objective of gambling.

It was mostly partaken as a rebellious act by young masters from rich families or entertainment for those in high positions.

For ordinary people, there was no reason to come, and it was considered a place that they should not go. That was the kind of place this《 Re-Enew 》was.

But the reason JaeHyun entered this place was not just to gamble.

A moment ago, the system told him that his skill 《 Absolute Eye of God 》 had generated a low-level skill.

《 Detection 》.

According to the description by the Nornir System, this skill could check the rank and ability of an unappraised item without appraisal.

‘Although it’s worrying how the system’s message popped up at just the right timing……’

And looking back, since the change from the Aesir System to the Nornir System, things like this had happened fairly often.

The system gave advice when needed,
or just like now, a low-level skill was revealed.

Was it really just luck?

But he didn’t contemplate for a long time. JaeHyun needed to fight and win against a Night Shade in two months.

For now, he had to focus on becoming stronger. Pursuing an assured strategy for winning was the priority.

“I would like to look through the items by myself. Would that be alright?”

“Ack, did I make you uncomfortable? I apologize. Look as much as you want, and please tell me if you need anything.”

Scratching his head, Park Jin-Cheol slipped away. From now on, JaeHyun planned to actively look at the items while using his 《 Detection 》 skill.

“Then…”

一 Active Skill 《Detection》 has been activated.
Shwaaaa……

Concentrating for a moment on his eye and pouring in mana, items that looked like antiques in the pile started to shed their dirty appearance and revealed their true worth.

JaeHyun could only be surprised by the sight before his eyes. Like using a cheat key in a game, he started to see the ranks and descriptions of all the unappraised items.

‘2 C-ranks and 1 B-rank, was it?’

After browsing through all the items in Re-Enew, JaeHyun showed a bit of disappointment.

If he could gain an A-rank or even an S-rank item now, he could give a better showing in the battle against the Night Shade.

However, JaeHyun quickly accepted the facts.

‘But then again, the probability of finding an item over A-rank among unappraised items is in the decimals.’

It was like JaeHyun said. One could see a B-rank item after appraisal every once in a while, but it was a fact that it was almost impossible to find an item A-rank or above.

An S-rank item, with the exclusion of JaeHyun’s 《 Odin’s Lost Eye 》, had the highest ranking for an item, and its price was at least in the tens of billions. It could even go for hundreds of billions.

It was not an item that could easily be gained from a shop like this with its unappraised items.

“Excuse me, this and this. And this one as well.”

Trying to keep the smile off his face, JaeHyun spoke in a calm voice. With a happy face, Park Jin-Cheol scanned the barcodes of the items JaeHyun had pointed at.

“Oh my. You really chose great items. You won’t regret a thing.”

“That would be great.”

When JaeHyun made idle remarks, Park Jin-Cheol raised his head with an expression showing he had caught a big fish.

‘I’ve caught a big fish. A rich 3rd-generation like this is usually a pushover that spends a lot.’

Park Jin-Cheol yelled in delight internally and asked JaeHyun, who was in front of him,

“Now… would you like to have the appraisal done here as well?”

“Yes, please.”

“Then three unappraised items are 9 million won plus the appraisal fee, so a total of 12 million won.”

“Please charge it to my card.”

After JaeHyun finished paying for everything, he followed Park Jin-Cheol to the assessment room.

Although it was a bit damp and dark in the assessment room, it was fully furnished. In an area with up-to-date machines, Park Jin-Cheol started to appraise JaeHyun’s items.

Whhhiiiiirrrrl…….

As the machine rotated, it made a motor sound. After Park Jin-Cheol put one item inside, he stepped back for a moment and spoke.

The process of appraisal was truthfully quite simple.

After placing the item in the machine, it was revitalized after using the spell 《 Appraisal 》 on the item. About five minutes was enough to appraise all three items.

A moment later, the anticipated 5 minutes passed and Park Jin-Cheol shouted in astonishment.

“Th-this!! How can this happen! 2 C-rank items and a B-rank item! Something like this might only occur every few years or so!”

“Ah. Is that so?”

After replying in a calm voice, he checked the items’ descriptions.

‘It’s exactly the same as what I saw with 《 Detection 》 a while ago. The skill’s effect is indisputable.’

JaeHyun smiled with satisfaction.

On the other hand, Park Jin-Cheol’s expression wasn’t that great. A young customer who had suddenly come in picked out 3 valuable items. It would be strange if he felt good.

“……you have a really good eye.”

Park Jin-Cheol said those words with a crumpled face.

‘Damn. It had to be a little brat who swept all the good items away.’

Although Park Jin-Cheol spoke flatteringly externally, his thoughts were totally different.

Already expecting the answer, JaeHyun was simply marveling over the power of the skill.

‘Is it because it is an EX-rank skill?’

Normally, the highest rank a skill could have was S. Above it were Unique Skills. However, JaeHyun knew of a rank above S-rank that rivaled Unique Skills.

Like the《 Universal Derivation 》 obtained after equipping 《 Odin’s Lost Eye 》
and the generated low-level skill 《 Detection 》.

All the skills related to the changed system could be classified as nonstandard skills considered EX-rank.

Each and every one of them were skills with powers that could break the balance.

And JaeHyun had several of these skills.

‘Anyone who found out would be shocked.’

There wasn’t a reason to tell anyone, but JaeHyun was a bit frightened regardless.

“He-Here they are. These items have all been appraised.”

Park Jin-Cheol seemed like he didn’t want to give JaeHyun the items. After receiving the items he bought, JaeHyun checked their information.

[Equipment Item]

Name: Probationary Valkyrie’s Earrings

Rating: C

Earrings meant for a probationary Valkyrie.

Magic: +10

Set Effect: 0/3

Passive Skill: Mana Plundering

*Set effect will be generated once worn with Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace and Probationary Valkyrie’s Ring.

[Equipment Item]

Name: Probationary Valkyrie’s Ring

Rating: C

A ring meant for a probationary Valkyrie.

Magic: +10

Set Effect: 0/3

Passive Skill: Mana Plundering

*Set effect will be generated once worn with Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace and Probationary Valkyrie’s Earrings.

[Equipment Item]

Name: Robe of Divinity

Rating: B

Robe made with fleece only cultivated in Alfheim. It has resistance against darkness and grants the wearer a blessing of light that increases the power of spells with the holy attribute.

Resistance (Darkness): 50

Holy Attribute: 100

After checking the information of all the items, a smile spread on JaeHyun’s face.

He had come to get a robe with resistance to darkness and almost went home after giving up, but finding one that could resist darkness and increase the power of the holy attribute was like icing on the cake.

‘With this, the shopping trip is a success. Plus…’

Looking at the two C-rank items again, the corners of JaeHyun’s lips went up.

The two items were part of a set. Although each had a lower rank than 《 Robe of Divinity》, they had a set effect added to them.

‘《 Mana Plundering 》…… This much makes it a pretty useful skill.’

《 Mana Plundering 》 was a recovery skill that allowed its user to recover 1% of the mana they used as they fought. It was quite a great passive skill for a magician.

Especially for JaeHyun, who had skills like 《 Lightning Chain 》 and 《 Sacrifice 》 that consumed a lot of mana, the skill was like timely rain during a drought.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Yes. Thank you for your patronage.”

Park Jin-Cheol replied drily. JaeHyun quickly came out of Re-Enew and roamed around, looking for the remaining set item.

Now, he just needed to get 《 Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace 》 to complete the set.

Of course, it was a great item that would increase his mana simply by equipping it, but it was more part of a human’s mentality that wished to attain all three now that he already had two.

<After two hours>

JaeHyun started to look for the remaining necklace while combing through the whole Magic Shopping District for a long time.

Just as he was thinking of quitting out of exhaustion—
he heard loud voices soliciting people.

“Everyone! In a moment, the Magic Shopping District Auction will begin~
Those who wish to participate, please take a number and wait in the central square!”

“What is the list of items for this auction?”

“Ah, that’s… Dark Elf’s Helmet, Orc’s Iron Club, Goblin’s Dagger, and…… Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace.”

JaeHyun’s eyes widened at the last item he heard.

He was wondering where on earth the last item had gone, but it seemed that it got stuck in the auction.

JaeHyun chewed on his lips.

‘Since it’s an auction, it will easily go for over 10 million…’

He still had a bit of money in hand,
but one should be careful the more they have.

After thinking for a moment, JaeHyun turned around thinking it couldn’t be helped.

“It’s better to spend some money rather than getting killed by the Night Shade.”

It was a simple conclusion.

After receiving a number from the person advertising, he headed for the central square.

In a crowded place, rich-looking men and women were sitting in rows.

‘They all look like they’re swimming in money.’

While thinking so and watching as ordinary items were traded for hundreds of millions, JaeHyun sat up when he realized that it was almost his turn.

“Now then, we will start the auction for the 21st item, 《 Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace 》.”

“Here is the item you have bidded on.”

As JaeHyun got the item from the middleman, he had a slightly bitter expression.

“I succeeded in bidding for it somehow. But…”

If you had money, it wasn’t difficult to buy an item from an auction.

In addition, although it was a C-rank item, 《 Probationary Valkyrie’s Necklace 》 was exclusively for magicians. It would be different if one had the other two set items like JaeHyun, but there wasn’t a big merit to it otherwise.

Thanks to that, JaeHyun could buy the necklace at a price that wasn’t too high.

“Ha…… even so, it was still 15 million won. It was a bit wasteful.”

Of course, as mentioned before, it wasn’t expensive for a C-rank item. However, thinking about the two items he’d bought from Re-Enew for a total of 6 million won, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Why of all places did the remaining item have to be in an auction?

Either way, JaeHyun had succeeded in bidding and immediately equipped it. Then he opened the skill window.

[Passive Skill]

Name: Mana Plundering

Rank: B

Stat: –

Whenever dealing with an opponent, recover a maximum of 1% of mana.

“It’s also a useful skill when dealing with mobs. This much is satisfactory.”

JaeHyun nodded with a satisfied expression. He’d bought all the items he wanted, and he’d also received magic lessons from Kim YooJung and Yoo Sung-Eun.

Going forward, the speed of his growth would only increase.

At this speed, he could expect to get good results even against the Night Shade.

Ding.

<At that moment>
A message from Kim YooJung came.

<<Hey. Did you forget that we have class today? If you don’t want to get scolded by the teacher, come quickly.

<<Oh, right. Buy some ice cream when you come. Haagen Daz. Got it?

JaeHyun scratched his head while sighing.

This girl, should I just hit her once? Anger boiled up inside him, but there was nothing he could do.

Kim YooJung was a well-versed genius when it came to magic theory. To JaeHyun, who was in a hurry, it wasn’t easy to get such a great magic tutor on such short notice.

In the end, he went to a convenience store as he let out a huge sigh.

A moment later, he held a transparent bag containing ice cream and a few of Kim YooJung’s favorite snacks in his hand.