Divine Beast Ascension

“Due to the recent disparity of non-ice cores in the region, we’re able to pay you full market value because we’ll still be able to make a profit,” explained the old man. “By chance, is there anything else you’d like appraised?”

Oli knew the old man was fishing for more and Oli was happy to give him more. Remembering Eeole’s words from before, Oli took a moment to act like he was thinking before taking out a pile of scrolls. “Here are some extra battle arts I have on hand. Of course, I already have copies made so I can part with at least this many.”

The appraiser nodded and smiled deeply. His eyes were filled with excitement as he bowed to Oli and moved the pile closer to himself. Battle arts and techniques were his favorite thing to appraise since it was a rare moment to inspect them without needing to pay for them. Though he would need to rely on memory if he wanted to try and train them, the man would at least know which scrolls to look out for and could possibly purchase them himself using his employee discount.

Before the man took his time inspecting the scrolls he asked, “By chance, is there anything else you wish to have appraised?”

“No. That will be all since they’re the most valuable things I own,” Oli replied, filling the man with even more anticipation.

“In that case, I’ll take my time with these in order to best evaluate their price. Battle arts are trickier to appraise, given how some scrolls of the same grade will still have a major difference in price depending on how practical and powerful they can be,” explained the man, giving himself a reason to use the rest of the time for scroll examination.

.....

But Oli didn’t mind. He just smiled and chuckled, “That makes sense. Then I’ll let you do your job and won’t get in your way. I just look forward to my earnings before my room rental expires.”

“I assure you, this is one of the more valuable appraisals I’ve done. You’ll be receiving great prices for all of these.”

“And what if I wish to auction some of these off instead?” asked Oli.

The man wasn’t fazed by the question and actually expected it. “Then we’ll remove them from the wholesale price we’re offering you and then sell the item, but Icicle Palace will take a seven percent sales fee from the auction’s final price.”

“Ahh. So I would have to bet on whether the item would truly sell well, or if it would be better to take the wholesale price,” Oli deduced, getting a nod from the man. “Then we’ll not auction anything from the cores or weapons. But I will want some battle arts auctioned off. I’m sure you’ll know exactly which ones when you get to them.”

Hearing that, the man sped up and hurried through all the mortal scrolls with ease. In actuality, the scrolls were some of the easiest to appraise since they were usually graded already. But finding the intricacies of the battle arts was crucial for auctions, in particular, because knowing those intricacies could allow certain battle arts to jump in price when presented correctly.

Then, the man suddenly stopped as he picked up a certain scroll. “You... You have a perennial grade battle art?!”

“Not just one. There should be two more in there,” Oli replied calmly, sending shivers of excitement down the appraiser’s back. “Sadly, they’re not compatible with my essence types, so they’re best used for selling and making me money.”

“These are the scrolls you wanted auctioned off, correct?” the man asked already knowing the answer.”

“Yes. And are there any elder grade arts that you believe will do well in the auction?” asked Oli.

Nodding, the man glanced at both the scrolls he had already checked and the pile yet to be appraised. “... Allow me to finish appraising these and I’ll inform you at the end. Given the appearance of perennial-grade arts, I’m glad you rented a room. That way you guarantee having at least a perennial appraiser.”

“I figured,” chuckled Oli.

The rest of the time passed in silence while the man carefully examined the perennial grade arts and revisited a few elder grade arts. In the end, the man made two piles. The largest scroll pile were those deemed worthy of wholesale. But the smaller pile was the one that the man was attentively staring at and was sure to make Oli the most money.

“Alright. I’ve finished. And don’t worry about the time.”

“Very well. What’s the final total, and what scrolls do you think are auction ready?” Oli asked anew.

The man took a deep breath but couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes. “For these thirty-four scrolls, given the variety of grades and practicality, we can offer you thirty thousand gold. That would bring your wholesale price to one hundred and seventy thousand gold.”

“I’ll take that price,” Oli agreed outright, not bothering to try and haggle over such a massive purchase.

“As for these six scrolls...” The man didn’t even pay attention to the wholesale goods anymore. His full attention was on those few scrolls. “If you’re willing to accept the price, Icicle Palace will purchase these three peak-elder scrolls for three thousand a piece. And the three perennial grade arts will each have their own price point. The early-perennial art can be purchased for nine thousand gold, the low-perennial art for ten thousand gold, and the high-perennial art for fifteen thousand gold.”

“... So Icicle Palace will offer an additional forty-three thousand for just these three scrolls?” Oli surmised.

“That’s correct.”

Oli nodded slowly and stroked the chin of the mask. “... Then that must mean they’ll sell pretty well in the auction, correct?”

The man agreed but added, “That’s true, they have a chance to sell great at the auction. But that would depend on how they’re auctioned off. There’s still a chance they’ll be overshadowed by the other items of the day, or won’t have enough potential buyers if you sell them all right away.”

“If you were in my shoes, what would you do?” Oli asked with a smirk under his mask.