"Appraiser"

Galaxy Center, Squat System, Forge-Ship.

The 12th month of the year 850.

After much effort, the Lord of the Forge enabled the Legion's Tech Sergeant to master the method of manufacturing the prototype armor designed by Primarch Vulkan in the 10th Sun Moon, and then focused more on identifying unknown items.

Rosicky Czech arrived at the first storage deck, which was about one-thirtieth empty, the result of his previous free time.

The Appraiser stepped toward a large bluestone slab placed against the wall; it was one of the largest items on the entire deck.

However, it occupies one of the smallest areas of space, and it was placed upright against the wall, leaning against the hard fortress wall.

The Squats seemed unconcerned about whether it would collapse and shatter due to the ship's tremors; although the Forge-Ship was a behemoth among their massive and heavy warships, it was not impossible.

Rosicky knew the reason; his god, his Primarch, had told him that the Squats' philosophy of survival was pragmatism.

He scanned the stone slab, which depicted a strange creature with Bat Wings larger than its body, its ears sticking out prominently.

The image depicted on the stone slab is of some kind of creature.

This bluestone slab is clearly just graffiti from some civilization according to the standards of the Squats, and is not valued by them.

Rosicky stared at the stone slab, thinking to himself.

If it's not some kind of fantastical creature, then it's a real creature.

Xenos never before discovered.

Rosicky noticed some unfamiliar, graphic-like hieroglyphs in the lower right corner of the bluestone slab.

The Appraiser stroked the stone slab, his eyes flashing with golden light. His Spirituality was rapidly depleting, while the hieroglyphs gradually became comprehensible.

[Lady Hera is a terrifying Chaos God; they first enslave every race they encounter, slowly Reaping every life.]

Rosicky lifted his hand from the stone slab and stared at the bat-like Xenos.

[Hraf? It seems to be a powerful, real-world Xenos, but I've never heard of it.]

As Rosicky pondered, the Mechanical Arm on his back pulled Data Slate from his Power Armor. He quickly recorded the information and wrote down the destination assignment column:

[Librarium]

The Appraiser took a short break, his eyes scanning the deck.

His gaze fell on a rod-shaped object that matched Astartes' height. Compared to the bluestone slab, the Squats had given it a fairly large space, and it lay flat on the weapon rack.

The "Appraiser" stepped forward and picked up the stick-shaped object.

His eyes lit up with golden light again; the "Appraiser" didn't need divination or prophecy, an image flashed through his mind.

Rosicky held the stick-shaped object in one hand, his fingers rapidly tapping on dozens of runes at one end.

The first thing he struck was the rune in his hand, face up, about two hand lengths from the end.

The second strike is a clockwise rotating rune, about a hand's length from the end.

Rosicky moved up and down, striking different sides of the stick in his hand as if striking randomly.

After striking fourteen runes in succession, the long staff in his hand glowed with a dazzling blue light.

At the same time, a spearhead suddenly thrust out from the other end, crackling with electricity.

Rosicky struck fourteen different runes on it again, and with a snap, the charging field disappeared, and the spear tip retracted.

The Mechanical Arm extended downwards in front of him, and his hand quickly entered information onto it.

[Power Lance: Originating from an unknown Xenos race, its size is suitable for use by Legion Warrior.]

Activate Runes:...

Turn off runes:...]

Rosicky marked the Power Lance with runes to facilitate subsequent testing by the Tech Sergeant who took over.

[Assignment destination: Armory.]

As he entered the information, he felt a slight dissolving sensation within his body.

[I'm just one step away from fully mastering the power of an "Appraiser," and today I should be able to become a true "Appraiser."]

As Rosicky pondered this, he put the weapon back on the weapon rack.

The Squats should have recognized it as a weapon, hence the larger space it occupied.

They may not have found a way to open it, or they may have, but it's not suitable for use as a weapon, so they left it here.

As Rosicky pondered, he walked toward the central area, where a pure white stone was placed within Stasis Field.

Compared to its size, it occupies countless times more space and is stored in Stasis Field, so it is clearly not an ordinary object.

After the Mechanical Arm behind Rosicky, modified with Leijin Alloy, released the Stasis Field, it grabbed the rock.

The Appraiser's left hand hovered above the stone, radiating Spirituality.

His golden eyes flickered, and at the same time he felt as if stars were shattering within his body.

I've become a true "Appraiser."

Rosicky put the white stone back in its original position, activated the Stasis Field, and quickly input information into the Data Slate.

[A certain type of energy stone that can be used as a driving force.]

Assignment destination: Second Forge Deck.

After using his Spirituality to examine more than a dozen items, the "Appraiser" went to the lower level to meet the Black Emperor.

"My lord, I found a picture on the bluestone slab and a race called the Hraf."

"Does this race actually exist?"

Nimrod nodded and said, "Lady Hera does exist; they are a race even more ancient than the Aeldari."

"Their mind control abilities far surpass those of the Osiris Mind-Seed."

"Lady Hera can exist simultaneously in both the Warp and the real world. As long as she can successfully find an initial host, a single individual can enslave an entire planet."

When Rosicky heard that Lady Hera truly existed, and that her history was even older than that of the Aeldari, he was slightly startled.

"Besides using her Psionic Energy to remotely manipulate, enslave, and exploit other races, Lady Hera is also exceptionally powerful in individual combat."

"Even ordinary Lady Hera possess individual combat strength exceeding that of ordinary Astartes, comparable to the Adeptus Custodes."

"The best among them are called the Primordial, who can rival the Primarch."

In Nimrod's memory, Lady Hera would fight against Angron and Sanguinius in turn.

[If it weren't for the Primordial' attempt to enslave Lion El'Jonson across countless light-years, and the Lion's exceptional talent in this regard, Lady Hera would have continued to pose a threat to the Imperium.]

Lion traced the trail back to Lady Hera's lair, and he led his men, using numerous forbidden weapons, to eliminate this enormous threat.

To eliminate this enormous threat, Lion even forwent the Ullanor Campaign, forgoing the opportunity to fight alongside the Old Man in Yellow, which directly resulted in him missing out on the position of Warmaster.

"Lady Hera is incredibly powerful," Rosicky exclaimed in amazement.

Nimrod slightly, guessing that Lady Hera was likely an ingredient for the potion.

[Hmm, perhaps I should head to the Ghoul Stars and get my hands on Lady Hera.]

While Nimrod was pondering, he observed Rosicky's aura.

He saw that Rosicky's aura was dark yellow, completely integrated.

"You have already mastered the power I bestowed upon you?"

Rosicky answered affirmatively, "Yes, my lord."

Nimrod pulled a Data Crystal from his armor and said, "My latest find here is the Standard Template Construct for Space Particle Excavator. Take a look at it first, and I will summon you later to bestow upon you new power."