Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 18

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Chapter 18: Aura Stone (5)

“How many times have I come here this month alone…?”

‘Sunting’, the most famous private room in Gangnam. Although I had never spent money here before, the cost of renting a room here alone would easily exceed 100 million won.

“Allow me to guide you.”

Among them, the place reserved for today is the luxurious private room on the 28th floor, known to be particularly expensive.

As I opened the door and entered, the spacious floor-to-ceiling windows caught my eye first. The panoramic view of Seoul at a glance. I glanced at Park Man-deuk, who was dozing off at the table.

‘I’m a bit late.’

I hung up the phone and read Mana Wavelength and Substances for a while, until I received a text message from Kim Junghyun.

‘I’m a little sorry.’

I didn’t expect him to book a room and wait for me. He didn’t seem like that kind of person, but perhaps he was quicker to act than I thought.

“Chief.”

“Uh… uh?”

Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, he blankly looked this way.

“Oh, you’re here!”

“Yes.”

“Please, have a seat.”

Nodding my head, I sat down, cleared my throat and began to speak.

“The thing I mentioned earlier…”

It was an obvious story that he had to do because of orders from the higher-ups. That much was expected.

What’s important is what plan this person has brought.

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“The real-time tracking of Aura Stone must be done by our support bureau hunter using the machine that reads the corresponding mana waves. Since there are not many of these machines, there’s nothing we can do about it. However! We will fully support the necessary expenses for the facilities and appraisal. We will also instruct the hunters to hold positions nearby with tracking devices so as not to interfere with the appraisal.”

“Hmm… And?”

“If the appraisal succeeds as per the previous contract, we will raise the appraisal fee from 50 million won to 70 million won. Not only that, even if the appraisal fails, we will still pay the same amount.”

An appraisal fee of 70 million won. I calculated it as approximately 23.3 billion won, considering Aura Stone’s worth as 3% of the previously set appraisal.

Considering the national benefits or values Aura Stone would bring in the future, 23 billion won is far too low, but appraisers don’t see it that way.

It’s a special situation where the Korean branch is trying to produce results in a short period, so the appraisal fee is quite high, but in reality, 50 million won for appraising a mineral is outrageously high.

Moreover, offering the same appraisal fee even if the appraisal fails didn’t seem like something the higher-ups at Salvation would approve of.

‘Is this guy making this decision on his own? There’s no guarantee he’ll succeed, so he’s taking a gamble.

I read Park Man-deuk’s thoughts correctly.

“Let’s do it this way. If the appraisal succeeds, I won’t take any money, but if it fails, I won’t take a dime either.”

“… Wait a moment.”

Park Man-deuk scratches his head in confusion at my proposal.

‘100 million? That’s too much… Hmm. Is this right?’

I had to quickly sort out my thoughts.

‘I could pull all the budget and maybe make it work somehow. But if it fails, it’s really bad…’

Cold sweat broke out. This wasn’t just about failing to appraise. If the appraisal fails, it could lead to being investigated by the surveillance department.

Being dismissed from my position as a chief wasn’t just going to be a passing matter.

Should I gamble for bigger success, or just pass safely?

In the former case, if he succeeds, we’ll achieve great results, but if he fails, it won’t just end with losing face.

In the latter, the probability of failure is high and I might just be dismissed. But there wouldn’t be a search by the surveillance department either.

Having paced around near the window made of floor-to-ceiling glass, pondering, I finally returned to his seat after finishing his deliberation.

“Alright!”

“Great. Shall we now discuss unofficial support?”

“…Sure.”

I couldn’t hide my embarrassment at Woogil’s words, as if he knew what I was thinking.

For a moment, I wondered if the young man’s face was just a mask. If so, who could be behind it?

Could it be an old man in his seventies? Or perhaps a seasoned businessman in his middle age?

Among the figures I was considering, there was no young man in his early to mid-twenties.

“Ahem, this proposal is not so much based on my trust in you, but rather on Hunter Kim Junghyun… We will freely share the list of all unappraised items coming into Appraisal Department 2 from the Herta planet for the next three quarters.”

“…Yes?”

For the first time, Woogil was taken aback.

Sharing the list of unappraised items. This meant disclosing Salvation’s internal information to the outside world. The moment it’s caught, both Park Man-deuk and I could immediately become suspects and be captured by Salvation, potentially facing criminal charges.

“Just with that statement, you could lose your position, sir.”

“I’m aware. I’m taking a risk too. Anyway, if this mission fails, it’s all over for me.”

Park Man-deuk made a gesture as if jokingly drawing a line across his throat.

[Insight Activated.]

[Probability of truth: 97.6%]

It wasn’t a lie. That meant Park Man-deuk was also staking his life on this.

“I’ve been doing this for over ten years. I’ve appraised hundreds of items. And I’ve noticed something.”

“…What is it?”

“Among them, artifacts have a peculiar scent.”

“…A scent?”

“Yes, although some artifacts I couldn’t detect the scent of, all the special ones I found emitted the same scent. And I sense that scent in you, Mr. Woogil.”

I don’t think he actually smells it. It’s just a metaphor for uniqueness.

My eyes widened.

“Although I trust Hunter Kim Junghyun would never do this… I have a feeling that Mr. Kim Woogil might not refuse this proposal.”

“….”

“If you refuse, I’ll pretend this never happened. Even if you report me, I have nothing to say…”

He looked at me, raising the corner of his mouth.

“Would you… refuse?”

“I guess.”

Woogil thought.

What kind of expression am I making right now? What exactly is Park Man-deuk so sure of when looking at me like this?

I chuckled.

There’s a reason he got up there, even if he looks a bit clumsy.

Even if he seemed awkward somewhere, there must be a reason he had climbed up to that position.

He knows when to take a gamble. It doesn’t matter if it’s a logical decision or an instinctive feeling. All that matters is that it was right.

He saw it accurately. Despite pretending to be righteous all this time, I wasn’t as righteous a person as Kim Junghyun.

“Great.”

As long as it didn’t cause harm to society or cross a major ethical boundary, I had no qualms about engaging in illegal transactions for my goals.

“I thought you might.”

That was my way, and that’s how I had lived my life so far.

“I hope this evaluation of yours changes a bit, sir.”

“I hope so too.”

Park Man-deuk extended his hand.

“Perhaps we could become good partners. Different from Mr. Kim Junghyun.”

I shook his hand.

* * *

He neatly signed the non-disclosure agreement and returned home. The contract was for three weeks.

Within three weeks, Park Man-deuk had to finish appraising Aura Stone and report it to the higher-ups.

The sharing of the list of upcoming appraisal items is a secret treaty between me and Park Man-deup. The moment we get caught, it’s the end for both me and Park Man-deuk, no doubt.

‘Well, he did say there’s absolutely no chance of getting caught…’

But just in case, I should have at least one safety measure in place. Well, that’s something to think about if the appraisal succeeds.

‘Unappraised items… He’s more cunning than I thought.’

Even if I were to give the list of unappraised items to him, he would still have to wait for the items to be auctioned off at Salvation or negotiate with Salvation in advance to acquire them.

Rather than throwing the unappraised items at the auction house at a low price, he decided it was better to give a good appraiser like me the power to negotiate and find out the true value of the items.

‘That way, I can improve my performance, and they have nothing to lose by giving me the items they can’t appraise anyway.’

It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

I came up with the idea less than a few hours after abruptly ending the call.

Indeed, it was an exaggeration of the sentiment that Korea’s top talent was leaving.

‘Three weeks is enough time to study mana wavelengths.’

[Mana Wavelength and Substances]

By the time I’m done with this book, I won’t fail to see through the Aura Stone.

I immediately opened the book.

[Insight Activated.]

At the same time, the contents of the book began to be interpreted.

[Mana is a secretive energy transmitted to us from the other side. However, it is necessary to understand its characteristics and wave phenomena. Through this book, I will explore mana waves and their essence…]

The monotonous and tedious contents continued endlessly.

I had been staring at the book for hours. Opening and closing my eyes, eating, sleeping, I had stayed up almost every night for nearly two weeks.

Thunk.

I closed the book. When was the last time I studied so hard?

“Ugh…”

I slumped over as if I was fainting. When I opened my eyes again, it was dark outside.

“Hmm… Is it night?”

I’m disoriented. What time is it?

“7:30 p.m?”

Weeeeee–

That annoying sound… is it a mosquito?

The mana flowed quietly within my body. Slowly moving it to the tip of my index finger.

[mana is formed with specific frequencies and wavelengths, and it is also propagated in the form of waves.]

Recalling the explanation from the book, I combined the knowledge I had acquired from the book with my mana.

Expanding the mana to detect the specific vibrations produced by the mosquito, and aligning the frequency of the mana wave with the vibration frequency of the mosquito…

Weeeeee–

I felt it. Every subtle movement of the mosquito.

‘Here.’

Without even looking at the mosquito with my hand, I caught it.

There was a dead mosquito in my palm, along with blood.

Ting-.

“Ugh!”

As the rubber band that had been stretched taut snapped, the mana wave broke and a backlash surged.

Perhaps the mana was too weak. As soon as the output of the mana weakened, the mana wave broke down.

Once again, a hot liquid flowed down my chin.

Thunk. Thunk.

Hastily, I went to the bathroom to wipe away the nasal mucus, roughly stuffed tissues into my nostrils to block them, and then flopped onto the bed.

When I closed my eyes and opened them again, it was midnight. It felt like I had slept deeply for a while. Scratching my groggy head, I sat back at the desk.

Then, I took out the Aura Stone.

[Insight Activated.]

Though the mana was drained continuously, this time there was no interruption as before.

‘Finally…’ S~ᴇaʀᴄh the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As I read the description of the Aura Stone floating in the air, my phone rang.

[Director Park Man-deuk of Appraisal Department 2nd Division]

Beep.

– Appraiser Kim Woogil. This is Park Man-deuk.

“Yes.”

I answer in a deep voice, and a warm, tepid sound comes through the receiver.

– …Were you sleeping?

“Yes.”

– …When will you do the appraisal?

His anxiety was palpable in his voice. It was understandable. It had been over two weeks without any news.

– There was no news, so…

“Can I come now?”

– Now… Of course! Of course, you can!

“Then I’ll come now.”

– Understood. Then, we’ll prepare the relevant materials…

“It’s okay.”

– What? What do you mean it’s okay?

“I think I know roughly. I’ll give you an update after a quick check today.”

– …You think you know? About what?

“The Aura Stone.”

– …What?

Park Man-deuk was perplexed. Without bothering to respond to his exclamatory question, I hung up and walked out.

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Sᴇarch the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.