Chapter 34: Senior, Please Wait

"Huh? There's such a good deal?"

Su Mubai’s eyes lit up at these words, and he nodded immediately. "I want to!"

As long as he learned the Appraisal skill, he could definitely appraise Epic-grade equipment directly after obtaining it for free. He would never have to beg others for help again.

"You can learn it, but you have to pay tuition." Huai Jian raised an eyebrow, looking at Su Mubai with a cryptic smile.

"How much?" Su Mubai looked at the 658 gold coins in his inventory, feeling a bit uncertain. It cost 100 gold coins just to appraise a single Dark Gold-grade item; how much would it cost to learn the skill itself?

Huai Jian slowly raised his hand and opened his palm.

"500?" Su Mubai asked tentatively, though he did not hold much hope.

Aside from their main class, players could have one sub-class, such as Blacksmith, Alchemist, or Tailor. Appraiser was also a sub-class, but it was a hidden one. He didn't think it would be that cheap, but he only had so much money in his bag; he couldn't afford any more.

To his surprise, Huai Jian nodded directly. "Yes, 500."

He then flipped his palm, revealing a gold coin engraved with ancient runes, and continued, "But not ordinary gold coins. I mean these—Ancient Gold Coins."

[Ancient Gold Coin]: The first batch of gold coins ever minted. They are no longer in circulation and have no practical value, but to collectors of ancient currency, their value far exceeds that of ordinary gold coins.

"Come find me once you’ve collected 500 Ancient Gold Coins, and I will teach you the Appraisal skill." Huai Jian turned to leave. "Don't bother me while I'm out gathering inspiration until you've found them."

[Notification: Huai Jian has added you as a friend.]
[You have accepted the hidden quest "Collect Ancient Gold Coins."]
[Quest Content: Collect 500 Ancient Gold Coins for Huai Jian.]
[Quest Reward: Obtain the sub-class skill "Primary Appraisal."]

A series of system notifications chimed, bringing Su Mubai back to his senses.

Ancient Gold Coins? Why did that sound so familiar?

He suddenly remembered something and opened his inventory, immediately spotting the archaic copper coin in the first slot.

[Ancient Copper Coin]: A copper coin no longer in circulation. Its value is unknown, but to collectors, it should be worth 10 copper coins.

What do you call this? "Searching high and low, only to find it without any effort!"

If a copper coin becomes an Ancient Copper Coin after being promoted, then a gold coin would naturally become an Ancient Gold Coin!

Watching Huai Jian’s retreating back, a flash of joy crossed Su Mubai's eyes. He quickly called out, "Senior, please wait."

At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.

[Cataclysm]!
[Target: The 500 gold coins in the inventory]
"Promote one rank."

[You have obtained 500 Ancient Gold Coins.]

The next moment, an Ancient Gold Coin identical to the one Huai Jian had shown him appeared in Su Mubai’s inventory, marked with an "x500" tag in the bottom right corner.

"What do you want now, kid? Do you really think..." Huai Jian turned around impatiently, but his words cut off abruptly.

In an instant, he arrived in front of Su Mubai, snatched the coins from his hands, and began to study them carefully.

"No way... you... I..."

After confirming they were all indeed Ancient Gold Coins, Huai Jian became incoherent. Painting and collecting ancient coins were his two greatest hobbies. While these weren't precious items, they were rare in quantity. How could this kid produce 500 of them all at once? And in a godforsaken place like the Novice Village, no less?

Su Mubai handed all 500 coins to Huai Jian and smiled slightly. "Senior, can you teach me the Appraisal skill now?"

Huai Jian tucked the coins away and looked at the young man in front of him carefully for the first time. He could understand how the kid might have obtained Epic-grade gear, but things like Ancient Gold Coins were definitely not something found in a Novice Village. Still, Huai Jian didn't ask where Su Mubai had gotten them; he just gave him a meaningful look.

"You really did give me a surprise, kid."

"Here you go."

[You have completed the hidden quest "Collect Ancient Gold Coins" and obtained the skill book "Primary Appraisal."]

This time, Huai Jian didn't linger. With a single step, he soared into the air, leaving behind only one sentence: "Kid, contact me when you have ten thousand Ancient Gold Coins. I’ll give you a surprise then, too."

[You have accepted the hidden quest "Collect Ancient Gold Coins 2."]
[Quest Content: Collect 10,000 Ancient Gold Coins for Huai Jian.]
[Quest Reward: Unknown.]

In the blink of an eye, Huai Jian’s figure disappeared from view. It was as if he had remembered something urgent, as he had even stopped gathering inspiration.

Looking at Huai Jian’s avatar in his friend list, Su Mubai smiled. I suppose this counts as building a connection with a local, right?

He had a faint feeling that Huai Jian was no simple person. Whether it was his ability to fly or his instant kill of a Skeleton Warrior with nearly 100,000 HP, it all proved that Huai Jian was incredibly powerful. How could someone like that be just a part-time appraiser in Novice Village No. 9527?

"I wonder when I'll have that kind of strength."

Laughing and shaking his head, Su Mubai picked up the [Primary Appraisal] skill book and focused his thoughts.

[Cataclysm]!
[Target: Primary Appraisal]
[Notification: Please select the promotion tier: Rank 1 / Rank 2 / Rank 3.]

Option 1: Promote to [Intermediate Appraisal], no cost.
Option 2: Ascend to [Advanced Appraisal], cost 50,000 gold coins.
Option 3: Cataclysm into [Master Appraisal], cost 500 years of lifespan.

"Promote one rank."

[You have obtained "Intermediate Appraisal."]
[Intermediate Appraisal]: Grants the sub-class "Intermediate Appraiser" upon learning.

After the promotion, the silver eye on the book looked significantly more complex. Su Mubai didn't hesitate and learned it immediately. The book turned into a silver light and merged into his brow.

[Congratulations on changing your hidden sub-class to "Intermediate Appraiser."]
[You have learned the new skill "Intermediate Appraisal."]

With the sub-class acquired, Su Mubai’s secondary panel opened.

[Sub-class Panel]
[Player: Bai Ye]
[Sub-class: Intermediate Appraiser]
[Skill: Intermediate Appraisal]
[Intermediate Appraisal]
0/10,000
(As skill proficiency increases, the success rate will improve slightly.)
Dark Gold-grade item success rate: 60%
Epic-grade item success rate: 10%
Cast time: 5 seconds, Cooldown: 60 seconds, Mana cost: 1,000 points.

Sub-class skills did not occupy a player's main skill slots. Su Mubai took out the [Robe of the Deceased's Whisper] and began the appraisal.

*Hum~*

A silver glow lit up his palm, slowly covering the robe. Five seconds later, the system notification rang.

[Notification: Appraisal failed.]

Failure was within his expectations. Su Mubai wasn't worried; he didn't need to do the work himself to level up anyway.

With Huai Jian gone, the green plains had completely become Su Mubai's backyard. His skeleton army continued to work within a 500-meter radius while Su Mubai sat back on the boulder. After waiting for a minute, he used the Appraisal skill on the [Robe of the Deceased's Whisper] once again.