Chapter 222: Resonance Relic

How to judge whether a piece of equipment is a magical item, or what kind of special effect it possesses.

The simplest method is naturally the 1st-ring divination ritual spell—"Identify."

As long as you touch it lightly, all information related to the usage, characteristics, and effects of this item, and even the remaining number of charges, will enter your mind like inherited memory.

But even if it is the most common and ordinary practical

The most basic requirement for casting "Identification" is that one must be a spellcaster.

And because of the scarcity caused by the high barrier to entry for spellcasters, it is destined that such low-level spells are difficult to benefit the vast majority of the bottom-tier commoners and low-level adventurers in this world.

As for magic scrolls containing "Identification"... let's just say that after seeing their exorbitant market price, anyone who can still treat them as a common means of identification must possess wealth that far exceeds that of an ordinary person.

It is true that the Adventurer Association is a super-giant organization with a sphere of influence spanning the entire continent, but it is impossible to equip every branch with a spellcaster who has mastered "Identification."

Not to mention whether there are truly enough spellcasters willing to give up their future career paths and the comfortable life of manors and castles to work shifts in an association often located in frontier towns where monsters gather.

The salary and compensation required each year alone would be an astronomical figure.

Furthermore, the Adventurer Association's own loose, free, and "platform-like" organizational nature makes it impossible to force its ordinary members to work for other adventurers.

Therefore, in many local Adventurer Association branches, especially relatively remote ones like Hegu Town, they are basically rarely equipped with full-time spellcasters who have mastered "Identification."

Instead, they use experienced and sharp-eyed ordinary appraisers as substitutes.

When Xia Nan, led by Moli, entered what was called the appraisal room on the second floor of the association, this was the gentleman he saw.

He looked to be of a certain age, with very obvious crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and loose wrinkles on his face. His graying short hair was neatly combed without a hint of messiness, and he wore silver-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Although he wore the uniform of an association staff member, in Xia Nan's perception, he did not seem to be a professional with any special abilities; he was just an ordinary person.

Yet, that scholarly, refined temperament, cultivated by extensive knowledge, formed a sharp contrast with the messy adventurers downstairs.

"This is our association's appraiser, Mr. 'Tang Si'." Moli opened the door for Xia Nan and introduced him softly.

At the same time, she explained the purpose of their visit to him.

"This is Mr. Xia Nan, who needs to provide services for consigning items."

"Hello!" Sitting behind a wooden desk, the appraiser Tang Si took the initiative to stand up and stepped forward a few paces to greet Xia Nan.

He did not feel contempt just because the other party was an ordinary person, nor did he feel superior because of his own status as a professional.

Xia Nan smiled and shook hands with him politely.

At the same time, he was secretly observing the layout of the appraisal room.

First, the most eye-catching thing was naturally the huge and sturdy long table in the center of the room, made of thick oak.

The middle of the tabletop was covered with durable leather, while the two sides were covered with thick felt and lead plates respectively, as if to cope with different types of items that might need to be placed on the table;

A shallow groove was chiseled along the edge to effectively prevent items from rolling off, and a large number of highly professional objects—multiple adjustable-height bench vises, fixing clamps, trays, scales, crucibles, mirrors—were neatly arranged all over the table.

A huge, bright window let the slightly dim light from outside into the room, and next to it stood a wooden bookshelf that almost filled the entire wall. Various books were arranged in an orderly manner according to their content, with no dust, clearly indicating they were frequently read.

Xia Nan swept his gaze over the bookshelf. Just from what he saw, the content included various armor styles, weapon designs, heraldry, textiles, regional style illustrated guides, historical biographies used for studying equipment evolution and identifying noble items, mineralogy and materials science...

It was less like an appraisal room and more like an office or a workshop.

For those bottom-tier adventurers from the countryside who had never even been to Niumu, the sight of the highly professional layout in the room alone would likely make them trust Tang Si as the association's appraiser implicitly.

Xia Nan had no particular change in expression on his face, but he had to admit that, combined with the environment inside the appraisal room, the first impression the man gave was that of a knowledgeable professional appraiser.

Moli consciously left the room and closed the door for the two of them.

Xia Nan sat across from the desk and first took the 【Tide-Calling Lure Rod】 out of the cotton cloth and placed it on the table.

Not wasting any time, he directly told the other party the information he saw on his attribute panel.

Like Ba En of Rock Hammer, the appraiser named "Tang Si" in front of him did not show the slightest hint of contempt after learning of the extremely harsh usage conditions of the stone spear.

He just meticulously and carefully examined the stone spear from the spearhead to the shaft end.

"It seems someone has already told you. Equipment with such special effects is indeed more suitable for consignment at the association."

His expression was solemn and serious, his gaze focused behind his lenses as he carefully examined the wave-like texture on the surface of the stone spear.

"After registration, all adventurers with needs will be able to see this piece of equipment. If there is an intention to purchase, they can also be contacted quickly to conduct a transaction."

As mentioned earlier, although "Identification" is convenient, the number of spellcasters is small and magic scrolls are expensive, so in the vast majority of cases, it is not used as the mainstream method of appraisal.

So, for the massive amount of magic items consigned to the association, how does the association itself guarantee their authenticity, and how should discrepancies between the specific effects and those stated before purchase be handled?

Perhaps on some levels, the Adventurer Association sometimes looks like a makeshift operation.

But at least in terms of consignment transactions, it does have a detailed and complete plan.

Like Xia Nan, in cases where the seller already knows the attribute effects of the equipment, they should describe the equipment attributes in detail when submitting it to the association, declare that the statement is true, and hand it over to the appraiser for a certain degree of inspection.

At the same time, the consignor needs to provide a credit guarantee as an association member, and some may even require joint signatures from senior members, assuming joint and several liability, or paying a high deposit.

And every once in a while, the association will conduct spot checks on items currently for sale internally. Once it is discovered that the item has deceptive, serious negative discrepancies with the consignor's description.

Or if a buyer claims that the purchased equipment attributes do not match, and after the association intervenes and uses resources to arbitrate, it is discovered that there was intentional deception (the appraisal fee is borne by the losing party).

Extremely severe punishments will be imposed on the consignor. Huge fines are just the most basic one, and it even includes measures such as expulsion from the association and being recorded on a blacklist, cooperation with local authorities to confiscate property, and being wanted for arrest.

This is to ensure the authority and stability of the association platform, allowing both buyers and sellers to trade on it with peace of mind without worrying about being scammed.

This is also the reason why the association platform, despite having the highest handling fees on the market, is still the first choice for many adventurers to recycle equipment.

And all of the above is just a small part of the association's consignment transaction system.

Other things like "Association Certified Master" certificates/badges composed of forging and enchantment masters, senior scholars, and legendary adventurers, third-party organization cooperation, truth contracts, internal credit ratings... all support it, making it the largest and most extensive professional trading platform on the Aifala Continent.

Of course, although "Identification" magic scrolls are expensive, the association definitely still has a lot of stock.

For high-level magic equipment where the specific attributes are uncertain and the quality level is high, and the handling fee alone already exceeds the price of the scroll, they naturally won't save money in this regard.

At the same time, it can also maintain good relations with adventurers who can produce equipment of this level, which is conducive to the stability and expansion of the force.

After Xia Nan fully explained the attributes of the 【Tide-Calling Lure Rod】, Tang Si checked it for another full thirty minutes.

Only then did he take off his silver-rimmed glasses, rub the bridge of his nose, and say:

"Regarding the origin of this stone spear, based on its stone material and forging craftsmanship, it should be from the Whale-kin Clan of the Black Reef Archipelago on the southern coast of the continent."

"It is undoubtedly a piece of magic equipment, but it also possesses a certain collection value, especially for nobles in inland desert regions like Kalinshan; many people are interested in items filled with such exotic styles."

"If you encounter such noble buyers, you can appropriately increase the price. After all, for them, there is no essential difference between one or two hundred gold coins and a few copper coins."

Tang Si put his glasses back on, made a small joke with Xia Nan, and continued.

"In terms of selling price, I personally suggest that you 'negotiate in person' with the buyer. After all, equipment with such special effects is useless to many people and can only be treated as a collectible, but it has very high value in some fields. Even those powerhouses active in newspapers and epics might be interested."

"If you just set a relatively average price, it might cause you a significant loss."

Reasonable!

Xia Nan nodded secretly, agreeing with the other party's statement.

The audience for entertainment activities like fishing, let alone ordinary citizens, includes "Transcendence" and "Legendary" level professionals, and even some gods with leisure time.

What if this "nest-baiting artifact" rod of his happens to be favored by some big shot with not-so-exquisite skills?

At that time, not to mention how many gold coins it could sell for, it might even be possible to exchange it directly for a suitable combat technique from the other party.

Seeing Xia Nan agree, Tang Si took out a long box from under the desk and helped store the stone spear inside.

"After we finish in a moment, you will need to sign a few contracts with the association. After the transaction is completed, a certain percentage of the handling fee will be charged based on the total value."

"Moli will explain the details to you at that time."

Having resolved one task that needed to be handled, Xia Nan felt a sense of relief.

Then he took the broken yew staff out of his backpack.

"This staff comes from a Beastman suspected of being a Druid. I showed it to Ba En at the 'Rock Hammer' shop before I came, but he wasn't sure either, so he told me to send it to the association to take a look."

"I know Mr. Ba En; he is an excellent blacksmith." Hegu Town is not large, and famous figures like Rock Hammer are known to adventurers and people in related industries.

Hearing that even Ba En could not identify it, the rigorous appraiser in front of Xia Nan was clearly interested. He directly changed into a pair of uniquely styled glasses, carefully held the staff, and leaned his face in.

"Yew wood... 200 years of age..."

"Ordinary craftsmanship, this grinding technique... it's very common in the Pan Yun Province... the completion time shouldn't be too long ago... five years?"

"Wait, this is?"

Tang Si, who was in front, actually closed his eyes directly.

His fingers seemed to be stroking the staff, but his fingertips were about half a centimeter away from the staff, as if he were sensing some invisible thing on its surface.

This lasted for five minutes before he murmured and opened his eyes.

"It's it... there's no mistake."

"Resonance Relic!"

"Resonance Relic?" Hearing the unfamiliar term from the other party, Xia Nan frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

"A type of object with extremely special and rare properties."

Appraiser Tang Si held the staff, examined it seriously, and explained to Xia Nan.

"Simply put, it is an object that has undergone invisible changes due to being soaked in the strong emotions of its holder."

"The core driving force is strong, pure, and extreme emotions, including but not limited to: extreme love, deep despair, boiling anger, twisted fear, ecstasy, obsession, determination, extreme hatred..."

"This change has no requirements for the material of the object, and it is non-physical in nature, producing no changes to the material plane."

"It is precisely because of this characteristic that very few people are able to discover the existence of Resonance Relics."

"Just like this yew staff of yours, if you replaced it with a piece of clothing or a blood-stained stone, I don't think anyone would hold it in their hand and study it carefully for more than ten minutes to perceive how it differs from ordinary items."

"And as for the uses of this type of Resonance Relic..."

Tang Si pondered for a moment, as if recalling the knowledge in his mind.

"As a product of being soaked in strong emotions, it is often used in certain ancient rituals as the core for carrying curses; some spellcasters will also use it as a spellcasting material to enhance the effects of individual enchantment spells."

"I remember that a few niche professions similar to Mind Psions also require such items for job advancement, but there are few records in the association, and the relevant advancement paths have long been lost in history."

Speaking of this, Tang Si looked up at Xia Nan and suggested:

"If you want to consign it on the association platform, you may need to wait for a relatively long time, much longer than the previous stone spear, and you may not necessarily be able to obtain a sufficiently satisfactory return."

"But coincidentally, a few days ago, our branch received a commission, and this Resonance Relic in your hand happens to meet the task requirements."

"Perhaps..."

(End of chapter)