"Isn't this just a waste of effort?"
Seeing this, Roy chuckled softly.
Melina was so focused on restoring it to sell a few more Magic Stones that she failed to realize the small, dull gray crystal the size of a peanut inside wasn't some discarded energy crystal but a valuable treasure of considerable worth.
The [Eye of Hermes] activated, revealing its true nature.
"This is the Aegis Stone, recorded in the 'Encyclopedia of Arcane Objects,' symbolizing shield and protection!"
Roy now understood what "Corresponding Ability Level +4" meant.
It meant he now possessed the item appraisal knowledge of a Great Wizard!
Various pieces of knowledge flowed into his mind as if he had always known them, naturally and effortlessly.
It felt innate.
This ability complemented his ability to see Magical Auras, with the only limitation being his apprentice-level Mental Strength, which was too weak. After just a short period of focused appraisal, he felt dizzy and fatigued.
Thus, he usually kept this ability turned off, only activating it when he encountered high-level items.
Roy held up the small, shield-shaped crystal with a flat, oval end, and its usage method surfaced in his mind.
"This thing can be used as the energy core for shield spells.
But it needs to be charged…
Isn't this perfect?
Life Energy can charge it. All I need to do is connect it with the Life Energy Crystal I found earlier…"
Immediately, numerous applications flooded Roy's mind.
Among them, a simple charging method stood out, and he could put it to use right away.
A sense of joy from stumbling upon a treasure filled his heart.
…
December 15th, the fourth day.
Roy found some scattered materials and a gray-black Ebony Staff.
With the [Eye of Hermes], he appraised it as a green-tier item, roughly level one in quality.
Roy already possessed the Levitating Magic Orb, which was of higher quality.
Moreover, the staff's effect was to speed up spellcasting and slightly increase spell potency.
He immediately thought of selling it to Balu.
"As an Elemental Warlock, he should like this staff…"
As expected, when Roy returned and showed the staff, Balu displayed great interest.
After some thought, Balu pulled out an item: "This is something I found today…"
Roy used the [Eye of Hermes] to examine it and was momentarily stunned.
It was a special cabinet measuring 223, occupying about 12 grid spaces, filled with a complete set of Alchemy tools.
It contained a series of instruments and vessels, all engraved with mysterious Runes, possessing self-cleaning, temperature control, rigid material, and other special properties of Magical Equipment.
The Magical Aura it emitted was a deep blue.
This was a level two item, a rare Magical Treasure!
"So, do you agree to the trade?"
Balu wasn't clueless; he knew this item was likely of higher quality than the Ebony Staff.
But he couldn't see its full value and prioritized immediate combat power over such tools.
"Deal."
Roy agreed without hesitation.
He was even worried Balu might change his mind.
Afterward, Roy and the others exchanged glances, inspecting each other's treasures, and once again brought out the old favorite, the Life Energy Crystal, which made Melina's eyes gleam with envy once more.
Unfortunately, no deal was made, and no more Inherent Essence was obtained.
Because neither she nor Olen and the others had gained any decent harvest.
Of course, it was also possible that they were hiding something.
Things one was satisfied with didn't necessarily have to be brought out, unlike Roy, who was always fishing for people.
Roy sighed to himself, "This is really strange, has my luck run out?"
Luck was something ethereal, and he didn't quite like such an explanation.
But it truly existed.
...
December 16th, entering the fifth day.
Roy felt a bit excited as he discovered that the second-grade Aegis Stone he had been tinkering with was finally fully charged.
After a brief check, the Life Energy Crystal had filled it with about 100 points of shield value, and there was still more than half of the energy left.
The Life Energy Crystal was alive; it could replenish its vitality through natural growth or sufficient Magic Stones.
So Roy temporarily left it alone and recalled the knowledge about the Aegis Stone.
"This shield value is a freely switchable spherical energy shield, capable of offsetting about 100 points of attack damage!"
For a long time, his biggest shortcoming had been defensive power, which was actually a common shortcoming among most apprentices.
Without time for various powerful Wizard Body Modifications and targeted strengthening training, many Wizardry spells could instantly kill them, presenting an overall high-attack, low-defense situation.
But with this Wizard-level protective measure, he could truly enter a stage of prolonged combat.
However, it seemed as if all the luck had been used up in the previous days, as there were no more discoveries throughout the entire day.
Roy had no choice but to return as usual.
Back at the camp, he once again saw Renien and others who had returned for rest and trade.
Seeing everyone with big and small bags, looking quite exhausted, Roy couldn't help but sigh, "It seems everyone is working hard!"
After chatting with them and using the [Eye of Hermes] to take a look, it was indeed hard to hold back.
"Why are you picking up all this junk?"
"Junk, what do you mean?" Renien and the others felt a pang of anxiety.
Roy said, "Don't you appraise the treasures you pick up? These are all low-quality miscellaneous items, not worth much!"
"Ah?" They were inexplicably shocked.
"Really? It can't be, can it?"
"I feel like some of these are quite good, look at this iron block, it contains a bit of magic."
They found it hard to believe that their carefully selected harvests were all low-quality miscellaneous items.
Renien was even more skeptical, "You're not deliberately deceiving us, are you?"
Roy couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Am I that kind of person?"
Renien didn't say much more, but his expression still showed doubt.
"Alright, alright, consider me meddling!"
Roy immediately realized he had said something he shouldn't have.
Previously, not having ventured with them, he was already not one of them.
Now saying this, it was inevitable to make people suspect whether he was using his knowledge and insight to deceive acquaintances.
...
December 17th, entering the sixth day.
After resting, Roy got up and looked around the public camp, only to find that Renien and the others had quietly left.
He could only shrug and prepare to seize the time to continue exploring.
After investigating in a chosen direction for a long time, there were no significant findings.
Just as they were feeling stuck, a dazzling orange Magical Aura shot up into the sky from the distance, like a bolt of lightning reversed, piercing the clouds!
Moments later, an astonishing aura swept across the hearts of everyone in the Small World like a wave of light.
Boom!
After a while, the thunder finally roared, shaking the surroundings.
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