A heavy sigh escaped his lips, laced with a potent mix of frustration and resignation, forcing himself to realize that getting mad wouldn't help this at all, choosing to instead focus on the stack of newly acquired appraisal skill books in front of him, the top one glowing faintly as he opened the top book. It seemed to shimmer and then disintegrate into a fine, sparkling dust that clung to his hand, taking note that this was probably how new skills were gained from books. A sharp, fleeting spike of pain lanced through his head but far less than what he had experienced earlier. Even so it was still enough to make him grit his teeth, waiting for the brief agony to subside before passing two over to Alice and Ash. Both girls winced and recoiled, a low groan escaping Ash's lips as the same brief, piercing discomfort hit them as the skill sank in.
"Okay, we've learned the damn skill," John snapped, rubbing his temples. The memory of Z's slick sales pitch and his own feeling of being outmaneuvered still raw. "Now, how do we use it?"
Z, ever the theatrical one, leaned against a shelf piled with various scrolls looked at them radiating pure confidence and smugness. "Well, my clearly jilted friend," they began, their tone dripping with exaggerated sympathy, "it's rather simple. You make a ring with your thumb and index finger, it doesn't matter which hand and then... you raise it to your eye and look at an object through it, like so." Z demonstrated, their eye peeking through the circle of their fingers, dramatically focusing on one of the masks they had on display.
The simplicity of the gesture surprised them all. Each of them quickly mimicked Z, eager to test their new ability. John peered through his makeshift lens at a nearby enchanted dagger. Alice focused on a shimmering potion bottle and Ash, with a furrowed brow, aimed at a rather dusty, unassuming shield to the side. There initial excitement quickly faded though, replaced by frowns of confusion. The information that appeared was sparse, vague and often incomplete—a flash of an object's name, perhaps a single, generic descriptor and nothing else. Furthermore, it seemed only items within arm's reach could be appraised, anything further and they could get no information at all, there description being nothing but a blur, devoid of insight.
"That's... it?" Alice asked, her voice tinged with disappointment. "I thought this was supposed to be amazing and usefull."
When they voiced their concerns, Z merely offered a bland, almost condescending look. "What did you expect?" they retorted, a hint of amusement in their eyes. "This is a cheap, watered-down skill, a shadow of the true 'Appraisal Class.' That class is highly sought after, let me tell you. The top appraisers on the rankings easily make millions because they can find any and every detail in anything they lock their eyes on! You should be happy it doesn't even cost you stamina or anything else to use. It needs a lot of practice to truly increase and get better and to use more tomes to try and push it further, not these though, these just unlock it, you would need some upgrade scrolls to push it further and well, upgrade it." They gestured dismissively with a clawed hand, as if to say, beggars can't be choosers.
Alice and Ash exchanged disheartened glances, already feeling irritation at of Z's trick. They'd hoped for something more instantaneous, or at the very least more powerful than this. But John felt differently. The notion of being "scammed" fueled something deeper within him – a stubborn refusal to just accept it. If practice was all it took, then practice he would. He ignored the girls' defeat and Z's smugness, a determined glint in his eye. He began to move, a silent resolve tightening his shoulders, knowing his class would all but ensure he would get the most out of this and easily turn the tables on her.
He started with the nearest object, then the next and the next. He moved around the shop like a man possessed, meticulously appraising every single item he could lay his eyes on. The dusty scrolls, the dented armor, the glittering trinkets – each received his focused attention. He appraised them, then re-appraised them, searching for any flicker of change. Before slowly noticing the change. The blurred lines of information began to sharpen, the short descriptions becoming far more detailed. Objects he had scanned moments before gave richer details.
The girls and Z stood to the side as they watched him bewildered. They couldn't fathom his sudden, obsessive behavior. At first, they wondered if he was looking for something specific? But when he denied that fact, he they began to wonder if the disappointment from the skills uselessness had pushed him over the edge into eccentric excitement. Alice, despite her confusion, felt an odd surge of pride in his tenacious spirit, holding back a small laugh upon realizing what he was actually doing, while Z merely shook their head, muttering a soft comment about "idiots" and seemingly feeling a pang of pity for John's apparent madness. They were entirely unaware that John's unique class or that the supposedly useless skill would entirely transform because of it. With each painstaking appraisal the skill soared, his proficiency rapidly approaching that of the second-best appraiser in his world.
A full five minutes later, he finally paused well letting out a faint hum of satisfaction. He turned to Z, curiosity sparking in his eyes as a thought struck him. "This skill… does it work on people?" he asked, expecting a flat negative.
Z's amused tone answered before any words. "Try it yourself my high spending customer. But don't be disappointed, now by the lack of information you might get." The implication was clear: without the proper class, it shouldn't work.
But something still urged him to try it, to push his potent Appraisal ability and so wasn't deterred by her teasing so he did exactly that. His gaze sharpened slightly as he turned to Alice. He formed the customary ring with his fingers, peered through it and focused on her intently. To his surprise and Z's utter shock It seemed to work. A detailed panel of information materialized before his eyes giving far more information that he had expected.
Name: Alice
Class: Cosplayer +1
Age: 26
Gender: Female (possibly able to change with persona of chosen costume. Untested)
Ranking: Meh, fun to check in on at times, spare
Race: Pure blooded human
God: @#$%&***
Nature: Broken, corrupted, currently held together if only barely by the existence of *****
Description: A girl who had a rough time with her parents, forced to be things she wasn't. She caught the attention of @#$%&***, who granted her the Cosplayer class. No more would she be forced into being things she wasn't, but instead granted the choice and ability to be whoever and whatever she wants.
It was definitely not what he expected, but far more than he had dared hope for, even with the odd, censored remarks and the unsettling "Broken" nature left him with more questions than answers but even so, a wave of empathy washed over him in regards to her, promising to try and do more for her as a deeper understanding and acknowledgement of Alice's quiet strength bubbled inside of him. Knowing it worked on people, he turned his gaze to Ash, hoping to uncover more about her and hopefully about her nature.
Name: Ashley (Ash)
Class: Phantasmal Reality
Age: 33 (Ability used to appear younger)
Gender: Female
Rank: Entertaining till she limited herself, soon lost the interest
Race: Pure blooded human
God: Aetherion Dreamweaver (Be glad they aren't hiding themselves)
Nature: Playful, quiet but broken, can't differentiate what is and is not real due to mental disorder
Description: An abused young woman. Her family, when she was young, would go out of their way to take their frustrations out upon her. To cope and escape, she mentally cut herself off by entering a fantasy world. When she grew older, she discovered manga and anime and turned to them to escape the pain brought upon her from the real world. She was taken out of that environment once it had been noted but the damage was too extensive resulting in her seeing fantasy worlds in the real world around her and losing her grip on reality. The god Aetherion Dreamweaver felt she would be entertaining and gave her more power than what was technically allowed for the level in hopes of seeing her destroy everything and herself as she lost control. However, they lost interest soon after seeing her control herself to a limited degree and place a limiter upon herself.
John couldn't help but frown. Once more it was far more information than he expected but yet he felt every detail was needed but felt it was a rather big violation of her privacy. The raw, unfiltered pain of Ash's past, laid bare before him seemed to stir a strange protectiveness within his heart when it came to her. He silently promised himself, then and there, that he would take better care of both her and Alice. They both deserved to finally be honestly happy, he knew it would be hard but he would do his best to provide them with what happiness he could.
Finally, his gaze settled on Z. The 'cheat' merchant. Figuring that if it worked on the two girls he might as well try it on the enigmatic shopkeeper with hopes of finding out something useful, perhaps even a weakness to leverage against them for more fair deals.
Name: Z (the amazing mega super ultra-awesome merchant Z (self-proclaimed)) real name Z*** Artrais
Class: Merchant (high chance of being labeled a Black merchant, cheat and scammer)
Age: 25
Gender: ***
Rank: ***
Race: *** cat ***
God: Plutus Swindelthane (This time the name is free but next time I will charge you to view it!)
Nature: Sneaky, playful, greedy, somewhat honest, lazy, cautious, loyal, but always honorable in regards to quality of products, half black hearted.
Description: A young *** who got roped into becoming a merchant, desiring to make their mark on the world by amassing riches to escape their fate. They may be new to the trade but through their sponsor has managed to get many goods on loan in exchange for a payment plan. They enjoy suckering people but always ensure that they never take it too far and keep to their own code of honor as a merchant, even with slightly looser morals than normal merchants, but at the same time they prove too be far more honest than other merchants in regards to the quality of there goods, but when money is involved they tend to do all they can to make a profit an all that they can out of any deal they make.
A slow smile spread across John's face, a glint of triumph in his eyes. The censored parts were intriguing, definitely implying something non-human, but the sheer wealth of information he did receive was priceless. He now held part of Z's name, their patron god and a detailed breakdown of their personality and motivations. This was leverage he could now use against them.
"I must say, little Z Artais, chosen of God Plutus," John began, his voice calm, almost conversational, but with an underlying edge of knowing amusement, "you really are quite the merchant. And even though you scammed me, that skill book was definitely more than worth it for what I'm getting out of it."
Z froze, their eyes widening in genuine, unadulterated shock. The smug aura vanishing from their posture, radiating pure disbelief. The power dynamics had now shifted in his favor. John's smile only grew at that, savoring the moment of triumph over Z. He had been cheated but he had just turned the tables in a spectacular fashion to pull his own over the merchant now.