Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 7

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Chapter 7: Appraiser (2)

Kim Junghyun, an awakened, S-Rank hunter for the Korean Branch of Salvation..

He is a well-known figure not only in Korea but around the world.

Most people who meet him usually feel nervous due to his fame.

However, I wasn’t nervous at all.

‘Who the hell is he?’

Wearing a white T-shirt with the neck stretched out, jeans with knee-highs, and a stained hoodie.

It was not the attire one would expect from someone meeting Kim Junghyun.

If it were other high-ranking hunters or executives of Salvation, they might have left already, claiming it lacks manners.

But the fact that I could appear in such a place in such attire itself was proof of my confidence.

Despite looking like he’s in his early to mid-20s, there’s a sense of ease.

The composure that only those who have directly achieved something can possess.

Plus, the character is willing to endure personal losses to save people. Isn’t he the epitome of a perfect human?

“Hunter Kim Junghyun?”

“Yes? What did you say?”

Kim Junghyun stared blankly at my face.

The scene he saw a while ago still vividly unfolded before his eyes.

It was even more surprising because he could not have imagined that the old dagger that Salvation’s appraisers judged to be E-class would cut through the air and open sub-space.

I sucked in a breath of air and spat out a curse word. My face turned red with embarrassment.

“Well…, it seems like more explanation is needed. Let me explain.”

Thinking that Kim Junghyun misunderstood, I began to explain about the old dagger.

“The pattern engraved on the guard of the dagger, this is the engraving method mainly used by craftsmen at the end of B.CD 4,000 years ago.”

B.CD (Before Cataclysm Day) refers to the time before the day when dimensions connected to Earth, mana flowed in, and awakened beings emerged.

In modern times, it was used as a term when referring to the era of the ancient magical civilization.

The day of the Great Cataclysm, July 1, 1999.

As gates emerged and dimensions opened, Earth had to become stronger to deal with monsters coming from other dimensions.

What made it possible was the remnants of the ancient magical civilization found in other dimensions.

Accepting the remnants of a civilization presumed to have perished along with its 5,000 years of history, Earth gradually developed magical engineering.

“As you know, from B.CD 1,000 to 5,000, referred to as the ancient magical civilization, the items made by craftsmen of that era are classified as general, artifacts, or relics. Everything else is just junk.”

On Earth, the ancient magical civilization was divided into five eras.

B.CD 1~1,000 years as B.CD 1,000 years, the genesis era of the ancient magical civilization.

B.CD 1,001~2,000 years as B.CD 2,000 years, the era of advancement of the ancient magical civilization.

B.CD 2,001~3,000 years as B.CD 3,000 years, the golden era of the ancient magical civilization.

B.CD 3,001~4,000 years as B.CD 4,000 years, the decline of the ancient magical civilization.

B.CD 4,001~5,000 years as B.CD 5,000 years, the extinction era of the ancient magical civilization.

The spatial dagger that I appraised now was a dagger made during the decline of the ancient magical civilization, B.CD 4,000 years.

“Yes, I know.”

“It was probably hard for even the Appraisal Department to recognize it. This pattern was used in the late B.CD 4,000 years when wars intensified, and you would need to have deciphered this pattern that directly expresses the declining magical civilization. To decipher it, you would probably need to be at least a senior manager in the Salvation Artifact Appraisal Department in China or the United States.”

Listening silently, Kim Junghyun wondered if he had heard correctly.

He said that he possessed the appraisal abilities of the artifact appraisal department heads of the Salvation branches in the United States and China.

“How do you know about such things, Mr. Woogil?”

“I’ve been interested in ancient civilizations since I was young. I’ve been studying and analyzing artifacts from all over the world.” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I see.”

Honestly, I didn’t believe it, but at the same time, I couldn’t disbelieve it either.

He couldn’t have known in advance about the dagger I had, and even if he had used magic to deceive me, I would’ve noticed.

‘He looks younger than me…’

If it were as simple as Woogil said, there wouldn’t be so many incompetent appraisers in this world.

“Moreover, towards the end of B.CD 4,000 years, as the ancient magical civilization was rapidly collapsing, they created this cipher by mixing their own methods. The ancient language written on this handle is the activation code. In fact, if you can only read this, you don’t need to interpret the patterns above, but… without knowing that it’s from the late B.CD 4,000 years ago, it wouldn’t have been easy to decode this cipher.”

“Wow…, that’s really impressive.”

It was sincere. Enough to pour out admiration continuously.

My head is spinning. Private Appraiser. Yes, such a profession exists. People who appraise items without a Class 1 Appraiser license.

But most of them just blabber nonsense. But this person…

“You asked me to become your broker? May I know the reason?”

“Yes, as Hunter Kim Junghyun said, I am an awakened individual, but I do not wish to join Salvation. I don’t trust them.”

Kim Junghyun nodded. It wasn’t difficult to understand my disbelief in them.

“Salvation may be a bit of an oppressive organization, but it’s not a place where they just torture Awakened people.”

Not everyone who awakens wants to become a hunter.

There are plenty of people who support them from behind and eventually end up going on missions to other dimensions.

As a result, there were quite a few who didn’t want to join Salvation in the first place.

But despite that, most awakened individuals around the world ultimately joined Salvation because it was the best place for them to grow.

As mana emerged on Earth and gates to other dimensions were opened, countries around the world quickly established new systems.

Thus was created the World Defense Organization, Salvation.

As soon as they established the system, they controlled and monopolized information about awakened individuals, causing them to voluntarily join Salvation.

Even now, although quite a bit of information has been revealed to the public, compared to the information Salvation possesses, it’s laughable.

Moreover, with scammers rampant in the market and so much misinformation circulating, most awakened individuals eventually had no choice but to turn to Salvation.

‘Some even choose to hide in remote areas. But Mr. Woogil doesn’t seem like that kind of person.’

Kim Junghyun felt regretful.

If a person with such abilities were to join Salvation and fight for Earth, how much better would it be?

As a representative awakened individual of Korea and an appraiser, if he were to join, it would elevate the status of the country and save countless people.

But he couldn’t force it.

“I trust my judgment. So please tell me. Will you help?”

“I will help. Especially for someone like Mr. Mr. Woogil.”

Even if he didn’t actively participate in external affairs, Mr. Woogil was a proactive person when it came to helping others.

Moreover, leaving such abilities idle would be a great loss on a national scale.

“If Mr. Woogil’s abilities are used for the world, Earth’s power will undoubtedly be much stronger than it is now.”

“You will receive a fair reward.”

“Of course.”

Various items were already listed in Kim Junghyun’s mind.

The items brought over from other dimensions are not just one or two. Most of them are treated as trash and stored away in warehouses.

However, if those items were appraised and their abilities properly unlocked, Earth’s power would increase several times over.

A clear example of this is the dagger Mr. Woogil discovered that opens up that subspace.

‘The ability to open subspaces is truly important. Mr. Woogil said that there isn’t much of it, but it’s around A-grade, right?’

If that’s accurate, the value of that dagger alone would easily surpass billions.

Even a dagger worth only tens of thousands of won becomes an artifact worth over a billion through appraisal. So, how much should be paid to the appraiser who appraised it?

Generally, appraisal fees range from tens to hundreds of thousands. Even that old dagger received an E grade through appraisal.

Of course, even though it received a result of ‘Unappraisable’, considering that, the appraiser at the time said it probably had the potential of at least C rank.

‘It’s not based on equipment or any data. Moreover, it was only a moment.’

Another shocking thing was that the appraisal was finished as soon as he saw the item.

Usually, even for artifacts, it takes from a few hours to over a week for appraisal.

But this man finished appraising an A grade artifact in just over 10 seconds.

It means his mind is already packed with a vast amount of information.

‘The ripple effect is no joke.’

If this were to go out, people would probably flock to Mr. Woogil to get appraised not only in Korea but around the world.

Of course, if he makes a mistake in appraisal, everything would disappear like foam, but I didn’t think that was the case with Mr. Woogil.

The more he thought about it, the more serious he became.

This wasn’t something to be taken lightly as just brokering.

“I’m really sorry, but could you appraise more items? I’ll pay a fair price.”

“Alright. From now on, I’ll consider this an official request.”

“Yes.”

I had already anticipated talking with Kim Junghyun would lead to this situation.

And how should I act from now on.

“I set the appraised value of the item. The appraisal fee is 3% of the appraised value. For units with an appraised value of 10 million won or less, the basic appraisal fee is 300,000 won.”

It was an appraisal fee that couldn’t be considered for private appraisers.

Most existing private appraisers mostly didn’t even receive 1%, and for units valued at less than 10 million won, they barely received even 100,000 won.

“And if the appraised item is judged as an artifact, the appraisal fee will be adjusted to 4%, and if it’s judged as a relic, the appraisal fee will be adjusted to 5%. Do you agree?”

This was almost a treatment exceeding what world-class appraisers received, but I was confident.

‘Today, I became more certain.’

With Insight, I could make more accurate appraisals than any other appraiser.

Finding out the exact year of manufacture of the old dagger earlier, and reading ancient languages, were all thanks to the ability of Insight.

While my knowledge of the craftsmen of that era was my own, if I didn’t know what era it was to begin with, I wouldn’t have been able to say that.

“……Alright.”

The appraisal fee was more expensive than expected, but the level of ability I’ve just shown, Kim Junghyun was willing to pay that amount.

No, even if he had the money to begin with, getting an appraisal from an appraiser of this level wasn’t easy.

Kim Junghyun, who was about to take out an item from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, lost in thought.

‘Right, if it’s Mr. Woogil, maybe….’

Originally, he was going to give me a potion or the vest he was wearing, but he changed his mind.

The bracelet he’s currently wearing. He decided to entrust me with the appraisal of this bracelet that’s been bothering him.

“Here it is.”

In the end, Kim Junghyun took off his bracelet and handed it to me.

It was a bracelet with three rings overlapping each other.

My expression became serious as I took it.

“What… is there a problem?”

“Oh, no, no.”

I shook my head and carefully examined the bracelet.

“May I try wearing it for a moment?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Kim Junghyun readily agreed. If anything, the anticipation grew even more now that I was going to try it on.

I tried my best to ignore the uncomfortable stares and channeled mana into the bracelet.

‘I’m not an expert in mana circuits, but I’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge.’

This is why an appraiser needs to awaken. It’s because they can directly activate artifacts and items using mana.

There’s a distinct difference between projecting mana using advanced equipment and directly sending mana to confirm.

I nervously sent mana along the mana circuit.

Whoo-

One of the rings began to glow, and at the same time, Kim Junghyun’s eyes widened.

Whoo-

Another ring started to emit light. Kim Junghyun’s eyes widened.

Whoo-

As the third ring began to glow, Kim Junghyun, who looked as if his jaw would drop, muttered a quiet curse under his breath.

“This… is fucking insane….”

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

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