The power exerted by the magic plate was only 65% of its original counterpart. Sidius was more than satisfied with this because converting other magic spells into magic plates would take longer since he wasn't familiar with them.
After cleaning up the mess in the bathroom, he realized that he hadn't expected to burn parts of the bathroom walls. Nonetheless, the magic plate turned out stronger than he had anticipated and water helped in minimizing the damage.
Once he made sure everything was cleaned well, he returned to his seat.
He planned to create several magic plates today until he was exhausted, and then rest for a bit. He was really tired from cracking his brains out doing trials and errors.
Finishing the last drawing points that would connect the magic circle on the eighth plate, he leaned back in his chair and lazily raised both his arms upward, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Yawn.
Sidius felt like sleeping but he slapped himself and stood up.
Tidying his things, Sidius grabbed the eight magic plates that he created. He's very pleased with what he invented.
He locked the door and ran towards the exit. Even at 7 pm, Immussilus City was still bustling, and there was a certain place where people were gathering.
Curiosity got the better of Sidius and he decided to check it out, convincing himself that it wouldn't hurt to take a look.
As he arrived at the scene, he saw large stones lined up on a big table. A person was hosting the event and the peoples' murmurs could be heard in the air.
"The person over there opened up an E rank artifact for only 500 credits. Lucky"
"Yeah I saw how they opened up the stone"
"I heared there's another who opened up a D rank artifact for 10000 credits"
"No way! That's a D rank artifact we're talking about!"
Sidius approached the event and blended into the crowd to observe. Rock Gambling—a game where one could earn a fortune instantly.
'No wonder there are so many people here,' he thought to himself.
With his vast experience from different mercenary missions, he carefully observed the winners and deduced that they were contracted gamblers. They were involved in the event to deceive people into believing that there were valuable artifacts hidden inside the stones.
'System, can my 'Inspect' skill work on an object?'
[Yes.]
'Alright, thank you my pet system.'
Glancing at the stones priced at 5000 credits and above lined up on the table, Sidius used his skill 'Inspect' to scan the stones. With it being an S rank skill, nothing could escape his eyes.
After scanning the stones, he felt disappointed.
'There really is nothing. Why did I even hope there were actual artifacts inside? I must have been influenced by these people,' he shaked his head before being tempted again to look.
'Let's try the lower priced stones. What if there's a genuine artifact among them? It wouldn't hurt to be sure.'
Turning to the lower priced stones, he used the skill again.
After probing for a while, he finally found an artifact.
[Eidos(G rank) - A growth type artifact. It is a weapon that grew in an essence of a magic world (currently in its fetus state).
Sidius' eyes widened in surprise when he saw that.
A growth-type artifact is rare even in high-rank dungeons but what surprised him even more was the other sentence in the description - it was a spirit artifact.
Spirit artifacts possessed souls and could become powerful beings when nurtured properly.
'How did such a precious spirit artifact end up here!?' he thought silently, feeling a resolute determination.
'I must have this artifact no matter what!'
The only problem is that the stones must be open up in the event, and if artifacts are found, the host can buy it if an agreement was reached.
'I have no choice, let's gamble then.'
Sidius marched to the table where the lower-priced stone was placed. There were fewer people around since lower-priced stones have no place in the eyes of rich.
He began to picked the stone with the artifact along with two other stones to lessen the suspicion. After that, he walked to the cutting table and paid the stones for 1500 star coins.
"Are you sure sir?" the person assigned to the cutting table asked.
"Yes, please open it."
"Right away, sir," he said while grabbing the stones and cut them immediately.
The first two stones were opened, but no artifacts were found. However, as the third stone was cracked open, a black irregular-shaped stone with a faint glimmer of light inside was revealed, radiating a G rank aura.
Sidius was quick to grabbed it, fearing that others might notice that it was a spirit artifact.
The host was shocked to see an artifact inside the stone.
'Hey hey, they told me there wouldn't be any artifacts in the stones! What's going on?' he thought before regaining his friendly composure.
"Sir, would you like to sell the artifact to the host for double the price?" the man who cut the stone asked.
"Not selling," Sidius firmly replied and walked away.
"Triple the price!"
Hearing the host's persistent attempts to buy the artifact, Sidius hurriedly left the scene, realizing that the man's insistence might lead to trouble.
As Sidius blended back into the crowd, he overheard faint murmurs.
"Did you see that? A G rank artifact was found in lower priced stones?"
"What's the big deal? It's just a G rank artifact, even a kid can destroy that trash object."
"But the host was willing to buy it for triple the price! And the man who opened it is not willing to sell it."
"Bah! Who cares! A G-rank artifact is still a G rank!"
Sidius couldn't help but smile at their comments.
'This trash artifact you belittled might one day come and take your soul,' he smirked before disappearing into the crowd.
After walking for several minutes, Sidius reached the train station to return to his apartment. Using his brain to its limits had exhausted him, but inspecting other chosens was enjoyable. He could see through their personalities and find his own trusted and powerful subordinates.
Soon, the train stopped at his usual destination. He walked wearily to his apartment, swiped his ID card, and locked the door behind him. After removing his shoes and uniform, he threw hinself onto the bed.
Taking the artifact he had found, he gazed at it affectionately. He had won the gamble.
"You are my first artifact, and I'll cherish you with all my heart," he whispered with a smile. Unknowingly, his hand dropped and his eyes shut, succumbing to exhaustion.