Appraisal Skill Learned

The old woman, eyes wide with disbelief, clutched the slip of paper in her hand and began to question her life.

Seizing this moment, the young man started to survey the appraisal shop, which had a distinctly ancient aura.

To his surprise, the shop wasn't filled with small appraisal tools or various magnifying glasses.

The most abundant items in this small space were books.

Behind the hunched old woman's seat was an entire bookshelf filled with ancient books.

A quick scan with the Eye of God told Xunsheng that these books covered everything from daily life, intricate operations, ancient to primeval scripts, modern muskets and firearms, to proper classical literature and art, traditional philosophy, and even improper topics like Profound Insight... cough, improper topics like The Three Little Pigs Love Riddles. It was truly comprehensive, a vast repository of knowledge.

He could also vaguely see piles of books stacked high in the shop's attic.

So, considering all this, did NPCs in this world really have to rely on accumulated knowledge to initially determine an item's origin when appraising something?

Seeing the old woman still muttering to herself in disbelief, Li Xunsheng asked softly.

"Did I pass?"

"Ah... you passed... but, how did you do it?"

With a final, confused glance at the golden slip of paper in her hand, the old woman's once hazy eyes were now crystal clear, though filled with many questions.

"How did you decipher the item's information without using the Appraisal Skill?"

The small piece of paper she had given him was merely a short story composed of various ancient scripts, along with a simple Obscuring Spell.

The usual appraisal method involved using eyesight and accumulated knowledge to discern the general content of the story, then using the Appraisal Skill to remove the obscuring effect, making it understandable to everyone.

But this young man before her had dispelled the obscuring effect with just a single glance...

This, this, this... it was utterly preposterous!

Even the Grand Ancestor reborn couldn't achieve this!

Although, when she was an apprentice, she had heard her master mention that exceptionally gifted individuals could break simple obscuring spells with just their eyesight, and that such people were the best inheritors of the Appraisal Skill.

However, such news had always been mere hearsay, passed down through generations, and no one had ever truly achieved it!

And now, such a monstrous talent had appeared right before her eyes!

"I... I just saw it... It's a small fable about Buying the Casket and Returning the Pearls."

Although, according to the information obtained from the Eye of God, the story seemed to use many strange, multicultural scripts.

But under the gaze of the Eye of God, all those flashy tricks were useless.

The story's content was transmitted clearly into Li Xunsheng's mind, so everything happened quite naturally...

"Alright... I understand."

The old woman, who had been spirited moments ago, suddenly deflated like a punctured ball, appearing listless, as if a traveler chasing a dream had just been told their dream was shattered.

"I will teach you the Appraisal Skill and tell you some common knowledge, but I cannot be your master."

[Congratulations, 'Inheritance of the Appraiser' completed. Reward obtained: Appraisal Skill]

A delicate blue book appeared in the old woman's hand and was passed to Li Xunsheng.

"What I want to say is, for ordinary appraisers, appraisal is never as simple as just casting a skill."

Even though it might be useless to say this to the monster before her, the old woman continued, as if complaining.

"To become a Master Appraiser, you must first be able to discern seventy to eighty percent of an item's information on your own. Only then is it possible to succeed when using the Appraisal Skill, and even then, you might not obtain complete information."

From her journey as an apprentice to today, she had read thousands of books!

And all her efforts were dedicated to minimizing the chance of failure when using the Appraisal Skill.

"The Appraisal Skill can only provide auxiliary effects, but the higher the proficiency, the stronger the auxiliary effect. For low-level items or equipment, advanced Appraisal Skills will almost never fail. So, for you, you just need to practice the Appraisal Skill more. Alright, that's all I have to say. You can leave now."

The old woman waved her hand, seeing him out, still completely bewildered.

Could it be that all outsiders possessed such talent? To appraise items with just a glance, without needing prior knowledge?

Hadn't all her previous efforts been in vain?

No, that couldn't be right. If that were the case, those previous outsiders wouldn't have come here with such shameless faces...

Was he the only monster?

Sigh... After all, there are differences between people...

Mysterious kicked out of the appraisal shop, Li Xunsheng, still confused, scratched his head and used the blue skill book in his hand.

[Congratulations, Skill: Appraisal Skill! Learned. Current Proficiency (Lv.1)]

[Success rate and Mana cost will fluctuate based on skill proficiency and the user's understanding of the required appraisal item. The amount of information obtained will also vary. Please take note.]

So... for him, who possessed the Eye of God, this meant a 100% success rate and obtaining all the information?

Even cross-leveling?

This cheat was truly unexpected...

"Li Xunsheng?"

Just as Xunsheng was wondering, a graceful figure stopped in front of him.

"Ah, Yi Qing, you're here."

Shaking his head, the young man, who decided he would interact more with this elder who taught the professor Appraisal Skill, turned his attention back to the girl in front of him.

Yi Qing was now clad in leather armor. Her right arm, which had been empty before, was now properly attached to her body on the right side. The exquisite leather armor clung to the girl's slender figure. Though she was a woman in her prime, her physique was so good it made Xunsheng's eyes a little dizzy...

Her delicate and coolly beautiful face was as calm as ever, with only her eyes, as brilliant as stars in the midnight sky, revealing a hint of confusion.

"You're here for an appraisal? She's very... expensive."

"No... actually, it's quite reasonable..."

Thinking of the sea of books behind the old woman, enough to fill a football stadium, Li Xunsheng felt that a one Gold Coin appraisal fee wasn't too expensive...

"But, did you get something appraised before?"

Yi Qing knew about this old woman's appraisal fees, which surprised Xunsheng quite a bit.

"Mm, but I didn't have money, so I went to the general store owner later."

Yi Qing crossed her arms and nodded.

"The general store owner also offers appraisal services? Is it cheap there?"

"No, one Silver Coin, but the Appraisal Skill was very poor, and it failed."

A few adorable worried lines appeared on Yi Qing's usually calm face, making Li Xunsheng burst into laughter.

So, this young lady thought the one Gold Coin appraisal fee was too expensive, and went to the general store owner, only to waste one Silver Coin? Hahaha...

"Fifty Copper Coins, here you go."

Seeing her companion laughing without restraint, Yi Qing's expression turned a bit colder, and her usually flat tone carried a slight dissatisfaction.

"Alright, alright, I'm not making fun of you. What is it you want to appraise? Let me see it."

After accepting Yi Qing's repayment, Li Xunsheng, who had just obtained the Appraisal Skill and wanted to try it out, made the suggestion