As Gilgamel made his way home, he deliberately passed by a bustling street filled with vendors and people coming in and out of their stalls.
Gilgamel often ventured into this area, drawn by the promise of unique discoveries. The vendors there peddled strange and unrecognizable things, each holding the potential for a thrilling find.
For some, buying unrecognizable items might be a risky move. However, for someone with appraisal skills like Gilgamel, even scrap metal can become as valuable as gold bullion.
Over the years, Gilgamel has gotten a good deal from this place at a low and affordable price.
The last time he came to this place a week ago, he stumbled upon a treasure, a rare and precious Seastone.
Mana is a form of energy that fuels the magical abilities of beings in this world. Seastone, a natural rock born in the deep ocean, has the unique ability to store mana at a specific capacity.
The value of Seastone can only be categorized based on its size, which means that the larger the size, the greater its capacity to store mana.
The Seastone that Gilgamel got was only the size of an adult's thumb. However, despite its small size, the mana capacity it could store was equivalent to the amount of mana the First Circle had.
Therefore, as soon as he got the Seastone, he immediately went to a craftsman to make a necklace. The craftsman carefully carved the Seastone, enhancing its natural beauty, and set it in a delicate silver frame, which he later called Tears of Sea, a name that reflected the Seastone's origin and its enchanting appearance.
However, although picking up some leaks had many advantages, Gilgamel only dared to come here sometimes. After all, doing appraisals also made him lose a lot of mana crystals.
A few moments later, Gilgamel stopped at a stall that sold fantasy beast organs. Among them, he spotted a black heart in a transparent bottle.
Gilgamel didn't hesitate to spend 20 mana crystals to appraise it.
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Name: The Heart of Demonic Wolf
Grade: Tier-1
Status: Edible
Description: Demonic Wolves are fantasy beasts with a dark attribute. When they die, the dark elements in their bodies coalesce in their hearts. Once their hearts leave their bodies, the scent can attract other fantasy beasts with dark attributes.
Effect: It can boost the strength of dark-attributed fantasy beasts.
Market Price: 100 mana crystals.
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Upon reading this information, Gilgamel immediately comes to a realization.
No wonder why Dodo was so eager to lead him to this place. Apparently, it smelled something beneficial to it.
With this Heart of Demonic Wolf, Dodo could reach level 8, exceeding its owner's level.
Although Gilgamel was pleased with this discovery, his expression remained neutral. He approached the merchant and said, "I want this one. How much?"
A round-faced man rubbed his hands together and said with a shrewd face, "Sir, you have a good eye. This heart came from a Demonic Wolf that was only halfway to a Tier-2 fantasy beast. It took me a lot of effort to-"
"How much?"
Gilgamel immediately interrupted the merchant. He already has the necessary information about the Heart of Demonic Wolf, and there is no need for further explanation.
The round-faced man retracted his words and carefully stated, "85 mana crystals," while raising his palm.
"I don't like odd numbers. Make it 100!" Gilgamel said as he casually handed over his bank card.
The round-faced man widened his eyes.
Is this a new routine?
Then he looked at the blue bank card that the buyer handed him, and a realization dawned upon him.
'Ah, a rich guy!' The round-faced man thought.
Never mind, it works in his favour anyway.
After obtaining the Heart of the Demonic Wolf, Gilgamel continued his adventure in search of hidden treasures.
Sure enough, an hour later, he stumbled upon another treasure that even the seller didn't recognize.
The unrecognizable item Gilgamel found this time was a golden feather.
The merchant considered the golden feather a treasure because it was indestructible, but otherwise, it was entirely useless.
Due to its unclear function, the merchant received unsatisfactory offers from several big stores he visited. As a result, the merchant decided to try his luck on the market, hoping to get a satisfactory price.
Fortunately, the merchant met a big spender like Gilgamel.
Although the merchant lost the chance to recognize the value of the item, he gained a lot of mana crystals from it.
Gilgamel held the golden feather as information appeared before him.
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Name: The Feather of Compass
Grade: Tier-2
Status: Usable
Description: The Golden Roosters are fantasy beasts with low intelligence and no offensive capabilities. However, there is a variant among them known as the Golden Rooster King. It has a passive ability that allows it to find a safe route when in a dangerous situation. Therefore, its feathers could be used as the main ingredient for making guiding magic items, such as the Feather of Compass.
Effect: This magic item can guide the user to a safe path.
Market Price: 600 mana crystals.
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"Ignorance is the greatest sin," Gilgamel muttered as his hand softly rubbed the Feather of Compass.
The merchant probably never thought that the golden feather he considered useless was actually a Tier-2 magic item with a very unique and rare use.
Additionally, Gilgamel only paid 100 mana crystals for it, which was far below the actual price that his appraisal skill estimated.
This time, Gilgamel really made a profit.
Then again, he didn't expect the Golden Rooster King's feathers to be that functional—no wonder this fantasy beast was almost driven to extinction.
Leaving aside variants such as the Golden Rooster King, a typical Golden Rooster's body is filled with treasures. Their meat is edible; their feathers can be used as quill pens, and their eggs are nutritious for maintaining good health. Long-term consumption can even extend life.
Gilgamel gathered his thoughts and placed the Feather of Compass into his storage item.
He and Dodo continued their adventure at the market, hoping to find more treasures. Unfortunately, his luck for today had run out. In the end, they could only return to the castle.
When Gilgamel reached the castle, he had already heard the news about the team formation for the First Trial.
He knew that Medelien was responsible, but he wasn't angry or upset. After all, this was all part of his plan.
When Gilgamel provided the information to Medelien, he had already anticipated that this would occur. After all, he was already very familiar with how loose Medelien's mouth was.
Gilgamel was not selfless, but he was a sentimental person.
Even though Gilgamel was not familiar with all the members of the Owl on the first floor, many of them were his acquaintances and close friends. They were more talented than him, but their hard work was no less than his.
Although Gilgamel couldn't directly help them with the trial, he at least provided them with hope.
As far as he knew, there was never a limit on how many members could pass the First Trial. Therefore, he hoped that the small piece of news he shared could help them pass the trial.
Once Gilgamel arrived at his residence, he promptly retrieved the Heart of Demonic Wolf from his item storage.
Dodo gazed eagerly at the Heart of Demonic Wolf as if it couldn't wait to devour it.
"Are you sure you can eat this?" Gilgamel asked Dodo, just to be sure.
There were numerous occasions where fantasy beasts died due to consuming food with energy beyond their control. Gilgamel naturally didn't want Dodo to end up in such misery.
"Woof!" Dodo responded by nodding his head while letting out his slobbering tongue.
Although the element of darkness contained within the Heart of Demonic Wolf was extremely rich, Dodo was confident that it could handle it.
"Alright then. I hope this Heart of Demonic Wolf can take you to level 8."
Gilgamel squatted down and gently rubbed Dodo's head while saying, "Tell me right away if you feel something wrong with your body, alright?"
"Woof!"
Dodo licked Gilgamel's cheek as if to say, "I understand," in response to his concerns.
There was no special ritual required to consume the Heart of the Demonic Wolf, so Gilgamel casually took it out of the bottle and fed it to Dodo's mouth.
Shortly after the Heart of the Demonic Wolf entered Dodo's stomach, drowsiness immediately overcame Dodo.
After watching Dodo fall asleep, Gilgamel carefully moved Dodo to its small bed.