Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 12

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – GooGooGaGa]

Chapter 12: Revenge (4)

[Understanding of Mana]

[Mana Circuit Theory]

[Fundamental Concepts of Magic]

I’ve been reading a total of three books so far.

Lately, as my understanding of [Mana Circuit Theory] deepens, I find myself reading faster.

“I’ve probably read about a third of it. Not bad.”

In my past life, I diligently acquired knowledge of ancient civilizations, their characteristics, famous artisans, and more.

However, my expertise didn’t extend to specialized subjects like mana circuits.

Fundamentally, the scope of studies like mana circuits, which are considered the foundation of ancient civilizations, was vast and incomprehensibly complex.

Even renowned scholars on Earth have been delving into it for decades and still haven’t fully grasped the theory.

Especially the circuit technology from the heyday of ancient magical civilizations, known as the B.C.D 3,000s and early 4,000s, is at a level so difficult to comprehend that I haven’t even attempted to delve into it.

‘It’s impossible to implement something that doesn’t even feel right.

With gates opening and wars starting with creatures from other dimensions, the pace of Earth’s advancement has become dazzlingly rapid, yet catching up with 5,000 years of history remains daunting.

“What should I use to lure the bastards…”

Right now, I have two artifacts in hand.

One is the [Faded Dimensional Dagger], and the other is a ring engraved with swirl patterns.

Both received from Junghyun, rated as E-grade items.

[Insight Activated.]

[Hyper-Sensory Cyclone]

A ring made of the rare magic ore Silver Knight, which can intervene in the user’s mind. Using multiple path magic techniques, it maximizes all the user’s senses, enhancing information processing speed and reflexes by utilizing high curvature and excellent fluidity. It is adorned with decorations in the shape of a cyclone on its surface.

∥B.CD 25th century

∥Hyper-Sensory Activation

This is precisely what I’ve been intending to retrieve from Kim Junghyun. The Hyper-Sensory Cyclone.

Originally stored as an E-grade artifact from my past life, it was later identified as an S-grade artifact, becoming his main equipment.

‘Although I feel sorry for taking it away, since you won’t uncover its true abilities until three years from now, I’ll just borrow it for the time being.’

I might be heavily relying on Kim Junghyun at the moment, but in return, I’ll provide the same level of assistance in the future.

Putting on the ring and channeling mana, the flow begins within the circuit.

[Insight Activated]

The sight of the circuits flowing within the small ring becomes vivid.

How mana flows, where it bends, rotates, and returns.

Dozens of flows intertwine, naturally weaving and creating new flows.

It felt as if nature itself had been molded within this small ring.

It’s unbelievably beautiful and grand, considering it was created by human power.

Without insight, I wouldn’t have known that all these individual flows were actually creating one massive current.

“Huh…!”

Instantly, the white ceiling turned yellow, and my vision blurred.

It was too much for me to understand at my current level.

As I try to comprehend something beyond my common knowledge, mana is swiftly drained away.

Desperately closing my eyes and releasing the insight, the dizziness fades.

“Phew…”

By the way, even though I knew a lot, I didn’t know the entire history of ancient civilizations accurately.

‘The technology clearly belongs to the 3,000s, but the style is reminiscent of the 1,000s.’

The whirl design of this pattern and the design of this mana circuit, which seems to embody nature, are representative features of the 1,000s.

However, in the aspect of the diverse flow of mana and the convergence of multiple directions to create new flows, it was undoubtedly a ring created in the 3,000s.

Moreover, the infinite spiral drawn within while the mana circuit operates.

The pattern of the Elanois, who led the ancient magical civilization, symbolizes the ones who guided this ring to be considered an artifact.

‘Not to mention, this Hyper-sensory Cyclone…’

I slowly channeled mana into the ring to activate it once more.

Click.

With an inaudible activation sound in my mind, I infused mana into the ring, and instantly, the mana spread throughout my body, expanding my senses.

Hwaahhhh-

My ears twitched. The sound of my heart beating, the sound of wind seeping through the window crevices, even the footsteps of people outside, all became vivid.

But that’s not all. The faint dust trembling on the desk, the gritty texture of the bedsheet brushing against my toes, the shallow smell of mildew entering my nose…

What surprised me the most was that the movement of mana through my body felt dozens of times slower and more intricate than before.

‘Huh, if it’s like this…’

I’ll be able to break up mana a bit more and move it with precision at the same time……!

Hwaak-

“Ugh!”

A sudden rush of fatigue. It felt like my breath was being cut off. Dizziness engulfed my head, and my body stiffened.

After a few moments of waiting, my senses quickly adjusted.

Apparently, this Hyper-Sensory Cyclone requires quite an adjustment period to use.

Even in the initial state of receiving the first reward from [Understanding of Mana], if this is the extent, ordinary people would probably have been overwhelmed on their first attempt.

And I have a feeling.

This is why it became the main equipment of future Kim Junghyun.

H……

[Kim Junghyun]

Beep.

“Yes.”

– This is Kim Junghyun. I’ve had someone look into it, and Ellaris’s necklace was auctioned off for 6.2 million yuan.

“1.1 billion… It sold for more than I expected.”

– Yes, I’m not sure who bought it, but it seems that there was quite a fierce battle between two parties.

“I see. CEO Kang must be dying by now.”

– Hahaha. He probably has to return to Korea as soon as the auction ends due to his agreement with Wugil. He won’t have much time to redirect the funds.

“Yes. Still, he’s a thorough one, so even if not all, he’ll attempt some money laundering. That’s just about right.”

– Then I’ll get ready as well. See you later.

“Yes. See you later.”

Beep.

By now, that bastard is probably happily heading to the airport.

Little does he know what hell is about to unfold.

‘It won’t be long until I see the bastard crying and begging for help.’

I’m going to drag him down to the bottom.

And find out who else is connected to him while I’m at it.

***

“Mr. Kang, it’s been a while.”

I was dressed in luxurious high-end fashion, plopped down on the sofa and faced CEO Kang.

With a wry smile, Kang Chanwook bit his lip, looking at me adorned in extravagant luxury.

Seated beside him, Dr. Park wore an uneasy expression for some reason.

“Got rich, Woogil? Seems like you’ve got a lot of money. Sporting luxury brands you didn’t before.”

“Hahaha, that’s life for you. Well, let’s get the contract termination over with quickly.”

“Why not take it slow? Park here doesn’t have much time, so we need to appraise it quickly and go. Let’s start with the appraisal.”

“Alright. Fine.”

I pulled out an old dagger from my bag.

An ancient dagger engraved with ancient patterns and language.

Visibly worn out to the point of being unusable and corroded on the surface.

However, the patterns engraved on the guard and handle made the aged appearance appear elegant as an antique.

“Hmm… and this is supposed to be an A-grade estimated artifact?”

“Yes.”

“Let me take a look.”

Examining the dagger, checking even the mana projection equipment, but his expression didn’t easily change.

‘How would he do what even the Salvation Appraisal Department couldn’t do.’

Even holding onto it for a few days, what could he find out in such a short time? Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the N𝘰vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on G𝘰𝘰gle to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead, he seemed quite flustered.

After examining it for a while, he seemed to have finished the appraisal and set down the dagger.

“While it seems like a more detailed appraisal is needed, judging from the patterns engraved on the guard, this dagger was made in the early B.CD 4,000s. It seems to require interpretation of ancient language to use, but given its age and the sophisticated mana circuit, it’s expected to have the value of an artifact.”

“Oh? Really?”

Early B.CD 4,000s? What nonsense. He looks clueless.

Probably, he thinks the other party knows nothing about appraisals and is making up something plausible.

Of course, even if given time, he wouldn’t have the skill to appraise properly.

“Oh! I think the appraiser said something similar at the time.”

“He did, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

I had a hard time controlling my expression, barely holding back the laughter that threatened to spill out.

Observing my expression, CEO Kang furrowed his brows and glared at the appraiser.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I am.”

“I know how to use this.”

“What? Then why didn’t-”

Ignoring the appraiser’s sudden outburst of anger, I casually grabbed the dagger.

Ziiiiing—

As the dagger, gleaming with a blue light, pierced through the air and simultaneously split the space, revealing a pocket dimension.

Both men, with eyes wide as if their eyeballs were about to pop out, couldn’t close their mouths. It wasn’t surprising, considering I had seen Kim Junghyun’s reaction before.

“This is a pocket dimension key. It’s… uh, didn’t he say it was probably larger than this entire office?”

I closed the pocket dimension and placed the old dagger on the desk.

I couldn’t afford to reveal that the size of the pocket dimension was only as big as a backpack, so I quickly closed it.

“A p-pocket dimension? This rusty dagger?”

The appraiser stammered, even stumbling over his words. It seemed like lasers were about to shoot out of his eyes.

“H-how did… you do that?”

The appraiser desperately checked the dagger, but couldn’t find a way to open the pocket dimension.

Normally, you would need a trigger to open a pocket dimension, but having analyzed the internal mana circuit, I could directly activate it by channeling mana.

“It’s a secret.”

“But knowing that would help us appraise and sell more accurately, wouldn’t it? Selling something like this at its proper value is difficult without connections.”

The greed in the bastard’s eyes. I chuckled at the sight.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Let’s handle the contract termination first, and then I’ll tell you.”

“Huh. If you come out like that, I can’t be nice either.”

“What? Are you threatening me now? Fine! Let’s just do the contract termination according to the law.”

As if having enough money to enter such a lawsuit, I grabbed the dagger.

However, three bulky men blocked my path.

“If you’re leaving, drop that.”

“Are you out of your mind? This is registered with the management office.”

“Ownership isn’t absolute. For example, if I have the right to seize your property for your mountain of debt, then that becomes mine too.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ll report this.”

“Go ahead.”

The bastard leisurely stood up from the sofa, chuckling. Then, he approached and leaned in, his face close.

“Go ahead. Report it.”

“Do you think I can’t?”

“Check the contract if you doubt. Your debt to me exceeds 200 million.”

“…Are you fucking crazy? I owe over 200 million in debt that I didn’t even know about?”

The lackey turned on the tablet screen and showed me the support history and the interest incurred as a result.

228.56 million won. With a principal of 10 million won, the interest is over 200 million. Although I knew, seeing it now made me laugh in disbelief.

The interest rate exceeds 2,000%.

When I looked at the principal amount, I realized that everything I had done to treat the injuries in the field was actually treated as debt, and the same was true for other supplies.

“This is ridiculous.”

“Sounds unreasonable, doesn’t it? Want to report it? Do you think those guys will listen to you? It’s not for nothing that I have connections. They’ll all just ignore you. Do you think it’s possible?”

“Isn’t this too much? How much did I even earn working here?”

I shouted, filled with grievances from my past life. Seeing me like that, the bastard chuckled.

“That’s your problem.”

“…Please just take a look.”

“Stop begging now. Just because some loser got lucky and got an artifact doesn’t mean you can act like this.”

As he sat back on the sofa, he clapped his hands, and one of his goons approached, handing him a new stack of papers.

“It’s a contract for transferring ownership of the artifact. Sign this. Then, I’ll reduce your contract period and forgive about 90% of the debt.”

“…How much is that artifact worth? And you’re not even canceling the contract completely, just reducing it?”

“What are you talking about? The value of the artifact depends on the seller’s feelings. It hasn’t been accurately appraised yet, right? It’s just an estimated A-grade. Who knows if it’ll become B-grade or C-grade? Maybe it’s not even an artifact? Hahaha.”

As if he had a steel plate on his face, he shamelessly spoke.

“Don’t be so hard on me.”

“You might not know because you’re young, but this world is where an A-grade can become a C-grade, and a C-grade can become an A-grade. That’s how the upper class operates. Got it?”

“….”

Bringing back items from the last Sector E collection day and running the business in this way until now, I wondered if he had more power than I thought…

‘If he’s being this brazen, he must have quite a bit of influence.’

This was unexpected information. It seemed worth looking into.

“How high up are your connections?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Tsk, it didn’t work.

“Get me that.”

At the bastard’s command, one of the goons took the dagger from my hand and handed it to him.

He took it cautiously, as if handling a precious treasure. I sighed with exasperation.

“Ha, that should be enough. Come in.”

The bastard frowned at those words. His face seemed to say, ‘What the hell is going on?’

Yes, that suspicion was probably correct.

*Kwaang!!*

The iron door swung open roughly, and Kim Junghyun and men in black suits poured in.

“What, what’s going on?”

A black-haired man with a full-back walked up to the bastard, showing his inspection badge from his pocket.

“I’m Oh Geomsu, the Head of the Salvation Korean Branch Awakened Management Division Inspection Team. You are under arrest on charges of unfair contracts, illegal fund management, appraisal fraud, and more.”

“What nonsense is this?!”

The bastard’s face contorted in a fit of rage.

“And this office will be subject to inspection and seizure as of now, so we ask for your cooperation.”

“You son of a bitch!! Kim Woogil, you piece of…”

“You son of a bitch. You should have behaved better.”

My mockery made the bastard’s veins bulge on his forehead as if they were about to burst.

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – GooGooGaGa]

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