Soon, Charlie found a comprehensive equipment shop that specialized in manufacturing, selling, appraising, and enchanting items. This shop was part of the academy and had official backing, making it a trustworthy establishment among the points system suppliers.
The store showcased a variety of equipment through several glass display cases, and at the counter stood a tall young woman wearing a tight leather jacket that accentuated her ample figure, with a single spiked shoulder guard on one side. She wore rugged leather pants that hugged her curves, highlighting her long, beautiful legs, and completed the look with fingerless leather gloves, giving her a particularly competent and stylish appearance.
The store certainly had its own flair; even the sales assistant's outfit was quite distinctive. Charlie, accustomed to the standard robes worn at the academy, was taken aback by the sudden appearance of such a cool and fiery beauty.
Charlie took out the gemstone ring and said to the attractive sales assistant, "I'd like to appraise two pieces of equipment. If the price is right, I might consider selling them."
The young woman smiled warmly and asked, "You must be a first-year student, right?"
Surprised, Charlie responded, "Yes! How did you know?"
"The first-year activity season just ended, and many students have had significant harvests recently. Business for first-year apprentices has been particularly busy."
"Oh? Are they mostly selling equipment?" Charlie asked casually.
The young woman replied confidently, "No! Most are selling materials. You're the first to sell unidentified equipment. I guess you must have hunted a leader-level merman! The crafting ideas of merman artisans differ from ours, which is why appraisals are needed."
Charlie showed a surprised expression, "You can deduce so much information from just one sentence; that's impressive!"
"It's not difficult to guess. This ring carries the aura of deep-sea gemstones, and the pattern is the clan emblem of the Acalan mermen." The young woman smiled and continued, "There are only three new activity maps: Sogo Marshlands, the Dusk Woods, and the Scorched Wasteland. The Sogo Marshlands are rich in water and nature resources, the Dusk Woods are abundant in shadow resources, and the Scorched Wasteland mostly has various mineral resources. So, it's not hard to guess, right?"
"Oh!" Charlie looked incredulous, "Do those clumsy mermen really have different clans?"
The young woman said seriously, "There are at least a dozen merman clans on the Vagrant Continent. Just in the Sogo Marshlands, there are three clans: Acalan, Darkscale, and Bloodfin mermen. If you underestimate their intelligence, you'll regret it one day!"
"I've learned something new; thank you for your guidance."
The young woman smiled elegantly, "This ring looks quite valuable. You must be a big client. I'll go call the boss."
"Okay, that would be great."
Moments later, the young woman returned with a portly middle-aged man. Their close demeanor could easily lead to some improper assumptions.
Seeing Charlie's slightly ambiguous smile, the young woman grew a bit annoyed and shot him a glare, saying, "This is my dad!"
Charlie laughed awkwardly and quickly waved his hands, "Sorry, I was being impure."
The young woman huffed in discontent.
The middle-aged man spoke, "The appraisal fee will be determined after the appraisal is complete, as I'm unsure what materials will be needed. Generally speaking, for superior-grade equipment, the appraisal fee ranges from 100 to 200 gold coins. You should have a rough idea. If you agree, we can proceed. Also, if you plan to sell equipment here, we can reasonably reduce the appraisal fee."
Charlie nodded, "Sure, when can we start?"
The middle-aged man gestured, "Follow me!"
Charlie followed the middle-aged man up to the second floor of the shop, entering a somewhat cluttered room filled with various unusual materials and potions, resembling a workshop.
They both sat down at a workbench, while the young woman stood nearby, observing intently.
Charlie placed the ring on the table, "This is the first item."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, donning a monocle that instantly made him appear extremely focused. His concentration seemed to transfer to the young woman, whose wild demeanor suddenly became subdued, radiating an aura of intelligence. Watching the two fall into their own world, Charlie felt amused to be their audience.
Perhaps opportunities to appraise equipment were rare, the middle-aged man took on a teaching tone, continuously articulating his thought process and judgments, making the appraisal process quite detailed.
"When you have an unidentified piece of equipment, the first thing to do is to observe its markings. You should know which clan the equipment belongs to, right?"
The young woman replied, "The gemstone is deep-sea blue quartz, and the pattern is the emblem of the Acalan mermen. We can basically determine that it's the work of an Acalan merman craftsman."
"That judgment is correct, but it's too simple, isn't it?" The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses.
The young woman stuck out her tongue.
The middle-aged man continued diligently, "The purpose of determining the origins of equipment is to help you find the corresponding knowledge system. It will reduce the scope of your appraisal and lower costs. We are very familiar with Acalan merman magic lines, so a simple identification spell will help us grasp its principles. If there are no special composite magic structures found, a simple activation will reveal its attribute secrets."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man released a strand of light blue energy that flowed into the ring. The light followed the miniature magical lines, and he closed his eyes to sense it...
After a moment, the middle-aged man opened his eyes and said, "The ring has several common magic lines: 'Surging Flow,' 'Elemental Enhancement,' and 'Restoration,' so the activation method is quite straightforward."
With that, he manipulated water elements to flow into the ring's magical lines, performing some subtle adjustments. The gemstone ring shimmered with a burst of blue light for a few moments before settling back to calmness.
The middle-aged man handed the ring to Charlie, "The appraisal is done; you can check the attributes!"
As Charlie took the ring, he marveled, "It seems that appraising a piece of equipment requires a vast knowledge base!"
"Of course; appraisal is an art."
Charlie nodded, focusing on the ring.
"'Acalan Surge Ring'Superior GradeEquipment Level: 51Equipment Requirement: Spirit 320Additional Magic Pool: 680Spirit +30Magic Recovery +2/minuteNature Element Affinity +5Water Element Affinity +8Additional Magic Lines: Surging Flow, Elemental Enhancement, RestorationEquipment Skill: 'Nature's Swiftness'—activates to make your nature spells instantaneous, usable twice per day.Deep-sea blue quartz shines with magnificent light under the wisdom of the Acalan merman craftsman."
It was the first piece of equipment Charlie had seen that had an "equipment requirement."
Looking at the various attributes, Charlie felt an exhilarating rush; it was indeed an incredibly desirable piece of equipment. Elemental affinity directly enhances spell effectiveness, and each increase would lead to significantly more powerful spells. Astonishingly, it offered both water and nature magic affinities.
There were almost no extraneous attributes; even the magic recovery was a cost-effective attribute, equivalent to maintaining one-third of the effects of a tranquil mind potion at all times.
The three magic lines granted this piece of equipment some magical effects, which amazed Charlie. He wished he could learn about magic lines sooner, but unfortunately, that was a topic for the following year.
"Excuse me, are you selling this equipment?" the young woman asked repeatedly.
Charlie came back to his senses, smiled awkwardly, and replied, "It's useful to me, so I won't sell it."
The middle-aged man added, "The appraisal fee is 120 gold coins."
The young woman exclaimed, "Dad, but we didn't use any auxiliary potions!"
"Knowledge comes at a price."
Charlie nodded, "That's true; knowledge is worth paying for!"
He readily pulled out a 200 gold coin note and handed it over, "May I ask a question? What does 'Equipment Level' mean? I have two other superior-grade pieces of equipment, but their attribute descriptions don't include this attribute."
The middle-aged man explained, "The concept of equipment level originated from the Arcane Circle. It's a way to assess the tier and effectiveness of equipment. You can think of it as a quantifiable value of equipment quality. If your equipment lacks this attribute, there may be two reasons:First, it's not a product from the Arcane Circle or its affiliated systems, as any product leaving the Arcane Circle or any created by Arcane Circle masters will estimate the equipment level based on a set measuring standard.Second, it has not met the standards for equipment rating.Theoretically, the higher the equipment level, the better its attributes; it may even have more reference value than the equipment grade assessment."
Charlie pressed further, "What do you mean?"
"In simple terms, the level of a top-tier item can potentially surpass that of a superior item, which is a bit awkward for grading equipment, isn't it? For those from the Arcane Circle, we never look at the grade of the equipment but rather its level, of course, excluding legendary items."
"Understood."
So, there were such deep implications behind this.
The middle-aged man pushed the gold coin note back, saying, "Let's wait until both pieces of equipment are appraised before discussing further!"
Charlie nodded and pulled out the Coral Crown.
The middle-aged man sighed, "So, the equipment of the merman lord has fallen into your hands!"
Charlie immediately grew alert and asked, "If you have something to say, please speak directly!"
The middle-aged man chuckled, "Don't be so agitated. I've only heard rumors about this; I have no issues with it. So, the Sea Lan Stone must be in your possession. I'm willing to offer 1,200 points to purchase it. If you're willing to sell it to me, I'll waive the appraisal fee for today. Think about it."
Charlie hesitated.
Seeing his indecision, the middle-aged man added, "You can always check the market at other shops to compare prices. I can assure you that my offer is quite sincere; unless someone is particularly desperate for that item, they might offer a higher price."
Charlie pondered, "Let's hold off for now. Please help me appraise this piece of equipment first, and then we can discuss it further."
"Sure."