NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 13 - Appraisal Requires 1000 Gold Coins?!
Chapter 13: Appraisal Requires 1000 Gold Coins?!
“What’s this? Did you get a rare piece of equipment?” Elder Xu chuckled as he asked.
Even though Ye Qiu was wearing a cloak, the village chief recognized him at a glance because hanging from Ye Qiu’s waist was a “Golden Pass.”
This item was one of a kind in Newbie Village 0001, non-tradable, non-giftable, and could not be dropped.
Ye Qiu nodded and pointed at the cloak on his head, saying, “Besides this cloak, I also have a treasure map that needs appraisal.”
“Oh?” Only now did Elder Xu turn his attention to the cloak Ye Qiu was wearing.
But the moment he got a good look, his expression changed drastically!
Originally seated, Elder Xu suddenly shot to his feet!
Then, his face showed utter shock as he stared at Ye Qiu’s cloak, stammering, “T-This is… the Coward’s Cloak?!”
Ye Qiu was delighted. “You recognize it? That’s the name, indeed! Can you appraise it?”
In his past life, he never obtained any high-level equipment.
He had never encountered an “unidentified” piece of gear before. He had only seen others showing off high-level, appraisal-needed gear on the forums.
Elder Xu took a deep breath, suppressing his shock.
After a long pause, he finally said, “I never expected you to obtain this item… You must be incredibly lucky. But as for appraising it. I can’t do it.”
“Huh?!” Ye Qiu was instantly disappointed.
Even Elder Xu couldn’t appraise it?
Then who in Novice Village could?
Everyone knew that village chiefs were the strongest figures in novice villages.
They had the greatest strength, the most profound abilities, and the highest authority.
That was why they were the guardians of the village, respected by all other NPCs.
So, if even Elder Xu couldn’t appraise it, that meant Ye Qiu had no choice but to wait until level 10 and travel to a major city to find a stronger NPC for the appraisal.
Fortunately, Elder Xu continued after a short pause, “While I personally cannot appraise it, I do have several ‘High-Level Appraisal Scrolls’ on hand. With these, the process will be easy.”
As he spoke, he had already taken out a scroll.
Ye Qiu immediately used Heavenly Eye to check its details.
[Item: High-Level Appraisal Scroll]
[Effect: Can appraise equipment or special items up to 10 levels above the user. (Excludes Legendary Equipment.)]
Below that, there was a price tag.
[—Sold by Newbie Village’s Elder Xu. Price: 1000 Gold.]
“A thousand gold?!” Ye Qiu quickly checked his inventory.
He barely had a dozen gold coins to his name.
This is daylight robbery!
In his past life, even a high-level blue-tier weapon only sold for a few dozen gold.
A purple rare-tier weapon was worth about a thousand gold at most.
And yet, a single appraisal scroll cost 1000 gold?!
Elder Xu cleared his throat and said, “That’s the pricing in Novice Village. If you think it’s too expensive, you can wait until level 10, travel to a major city, and find an appraiser there. The cost will be much lower.”
His expression clearly said: “Take it or leave it.”
Ye Qiu felt helpless.
Without another word, he turned and left.
Appraisal was a must. But first, He needed to make some money.
After Ye Qiu left, Elder Xu glanced at the sky and waved his hand. “It’s late. Everyone, come back tomorrow.”
After that, he turned and walked back into the village.
A magical barrier protected the entrance. Any player who tried to force their way in would die instantly.
“Damn it! I waited in line for five hours, and now you’re just telling me to leave?!”
“Why could that guy cut in line, but we have to wait?”
“Yeah, what gives?!”
“Why wasn’t that player kicked out? Why didn’t the system punish him? This is weird!”
“Could he not be a player? Maybe he’s an NPC?”
“Definitely an NPC!”
“Yeah, this game is way too fair for there to be favoritism!”
“Quick! Follow that NPC! He might have a quest!”
Many players started complaining.
When the topic shifted to Ye Qiu, a lot of them began speculating that he wasn’t actually a player.
After all, the game had just launched. Everyone started from the same point. There was no reason for any player to get special treatment!
Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had arrived near Tiger Mountain.
The Rare BOSS Deep Mountain Tiger Demon had already finished its rampage.
The sky had grown completely dark.
As a result, there were hardly any players left in the area.
However, Thousand Faces Gentleman was still there.
Beside him was his companion, Adorable Sunny.
The two of them were chatting.
“I just found out that Zhao Mingyuan’s group is already level 5!” Adorable Sunny said.
“What the hell?!” Hearing that, Thousand Faces Gentleman was furious, then let out a sigh. “If that damn BOSS hadn’t shown up, even if I hadn’t hit level 5, I wouldn’t have lost a level! Now the gap is just getting bigger!”
Adorable Sunny quickly comforted him. “Don’t be discouraged! I heard they’ve already spent millions on leveling up!”
Thousand Faces Gentleman was stunned. “Millions?! Why so much?”
He had recruited hundreds of players to power-level him, but he had only spent a few hundred thousand so far.
He already thought spending that much on the first day was insane.
But now, he realized, some people had gone even crazier.
Adorable Sunny explained, “Apparently, they found a new method involving NPCs. They’re using NPCs to help them level up.”
“Oh?” Thousand Faces Gentleman’s eyes lit up. “What method?”
Adorable Sunny shook her head in frustration. “I couldn’t find out… Their secrecy is airtight. But by tomorrow, someone will probably leak it.”
“Tomorrow…” Thousand Faces Gentleman sighed. “One step behind, and I’ll keep falling further. By tomorrow, the gap will only widen.”
He was already thinking about giving up.
But just then, a voice interrupted, “I know the method they’re using.”
Thousand Faces Gentleman and Adorable Sunny turned their heads.
They saw a figure — a player wearing a hooded cloak — slowly approaching.