Chapter 228: Appraisal Complete

Marcus’s Potion Making and Forging skills had already reached the Intermediate level. At this stage, crafting basic potions or forging low-level equipment barely granted any experience at all. It was practically a waste of time to keep making them. Monsters above level forty, however, would begin dropping intermediate recipes and blueprints, and once he managed to obtain those, he would finally be able to put his Intermediate crafting skills to proper use. More importantly, intermediate-grade items were where the real money began to flow.

Once the appraisal process was finished, Marcus eagerly began placing the various high-grade items into his backpack. His movements slowed when his eyes landed on the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat pet egg. The egg radiated a heavy, sinister aura, a creature aligned with both Dark and Negative energy. Its presence felt cold and faintly demonic even through the shell.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Could something like this influence the hatching of the Dark Violet Sky Dragon?

“Old man,” Marcus said, holding the egg out as he spoke, “I have a dark-attribute pet egg here. Do you think it could help hatch the dragon?”

The old man, who had only just calmed down moments earlier, did not even bother looking at the egg before erupting again.

“You brat, are you trying to kill me out of sheer stupidity?!” he snapped.

Marcus blinked, completely confused by the sudden outburst.

“Fusing two pet eggs together has an extremely low success rate,” the old man continued angrily. “And even if it works, there is a fifty percent chance it will produce a completely new hybrid pet. That means the original bloodline and abilities could be altered beyond recognition!”

His sharp gaze finally fell on Marcus.

“Stonehaven, if you ruin the bloodline of the Dark Violet Sky Dragon by doing something that reckless, I will not only take back the appraisal skill I granted you, I will personally make sure you lose several levels as punishment.”

Marcus felt wronged beyond words.

He had meant well. All he wanted was to hatch the divine dragon sooner. In fact, he had even been willing to sacrifice a Grade-8 pet like the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat if it meant speeding up the process. Yet instead of appreciation, he had been scolded like an idiot.

’So much for good intentions.’

Still, the thought of the dragon egg remaining dormant for years gnawed at him.

“Grandpa,” Marcus said after a moment, pulling the pet egg back and rummaging through his backpack. “Then what about this? Do you think this could help?”

He pulled out a sealed jar filled with clear water and placed it in front of the old man.

“What’s that?” the old man muttered impatiently. “If it’s something to drink, you can keep it. I’m not interested.”

Despite the complaint, he took the jar with clear reluctance. The moment his eyes scanned its properties, however, his entire expression froze.

“The Spring of Purity!” he exclaimed, sucking in a sharp breath. “One of the five legendary springs of the Dreamland Continent!”

The reaction alone made it clear that the answer was yes.

The old man’s gloomy mood instantly brightened. With a small gesture of his hand, the Dark Violet Sky Dragon egg floated up into the air. He began performing a complex technique, guiding the water from the jar as if it were alive and letting it pour gently across the surface of the egg.

The moment the water touched the shell, a violent reaction occurred.

A surge of black demonic energy burst from the egg, swirling outward like living smoke before instantly devouring the liquid. In the blink of an eye the water vanished completely, absorbed by the churning darkness. The black aura then receded, flowing smoothly back into the egg until everything returned to stillness.

The old man nodded slowly.

“The Spring of Purity contains extremely pure negative energy,” he explained. “It is also considered a sacred medicine capable of healing spiritual damage. While it isn’t a true dark-attribute treasure, it can dissolve the excess energy the dragon egg has accumulated over time. That process can accelerate the hatching somewhat.”

Then he sighed.

“Unfortunately, this is a weakened sample of the spring. Its effectiveness is greatly reduced.”

He handed the egg back. Marcus immediately checked its status.

Fifteen years remaining until hatching, the entire jar had only shortened the time by five years.

Even knowing the result, Marcus still felt a small sting in his chest.

“I have more,” he said, reluctantly. If it meant obtaining the legendary dragon sooner, he was willing to spend the treasure, even though the spring water in his bag had already become something almost impossible to replace.

The old man shook his head before Marcus could even take another jar out.

“Using it again right now won’t do anything,” he said. “Think of it like medicine. It needs to be taken according to a proper course of treatment. The egg needs time to absorb and stabilize the effects. You’ll have to wait at least a year before using the spring water again, otherwise it will be wasted.”

Marcus could only sigh.

It seemed the Dark Violet Sky Dragon would have to continue sleeping for a long time yet.

“Stone,” the old man said thoughtfully after a moment, studying him with renewed curiosity, “you actually managed to obtain water from one of the five legendary springs. I honestly have no idea how you managed to get past that monstrous Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight guarding the Mist Veil Palace.”

He shook his head slowly.

“If you had simply placed the dragon egg directly into the spring itself while you were there, you might have been able to draw on the full power of the spring and hatch it on the spot.”

Marcus froze.

’That had been an option?’

The spring had been right in front of him the entire time, yet the idea had never crossed his mind.

The realization left him speechless. This game was ridiculous.

Dominion truly operated on an entirely different level. The world allowed possibilities far beyond what most players even thought to attempt. It was not that the game restricted what could be done. The real limitation was the player’s imagination.

Marcus made a mental note of it.

From now on, he would need to think more creatively and constantly look for unconventional ways to approach situations. Innovation mattered not only in the real world, but here in Dominion as well.

“Stone,” the old man said again, his tone suddenly serious, “if you can hatch the Dark Violet Sky Dragon within two years, I will raise your Appraisal skill to Intermediate.”

He paused for emphasis.

“If you manage it within one year, I will raise it directly to Advanced.”

Marcus waved a hand dismissively.

Yes, yes, he understood. The old man was anxious about the dragon’s hatching, but Marcus was hardly less eager himself.

After receiving several more stern reminders, Marcus finally left the appraisal shop together with the two women and headed toward the Old Vine Auction House. Old Vine had sent him a private message while he was exploring the Mist Veil Palace, and Marcus still needed to find out what the man wanted.

Anya and Chloe had both reached level twenty as well, which made this a perfect opportunity to upgrade their equipment. Higher-level gear not only provided better attributes but was also far more elaborate and visually striking. Outfitting them properly would only highlight their already remarkable presence.

Although both women wore masks that concealed their beautiful faces, their graceful figures and refined auras made them impossible to ignore. As the three of them walked down the street, countless players glanced their way. Many slowed their steps, whispering or sighing softly, convinced that the two mysterious masked women must be stunning beauties.

And there Marcus was, a tall and imposing knight walking between them, chatting and laughing as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The looks of envy from passing men were almost tangible.

By the time they reached the Old Vine Auction House, the three were still joking casually.

The auction house was thriving.

Its reputation had reached an all-time high, and business was booming. Calling it profitable barely scratched the surface. It had become an absolute gold mine.

With more than three hundred million players active in Dominion, the daily volume of transactions passing through the system was staggering. Even a veteran merchant like Old Vine would never have believed just how vast and profitable a virtual market could become if he had not experienced it himself.

And now, his auction house controlled a significant portion of that market.

The building itself had expanded to nearly three times its original size. The new renovations were lavish and imposing, giving the entire establishment the atmosphere of a grand commercial palace. Without the versatile NPC clerks provided by the system to manage the constant flow of customers, Old Vine would have been buried under the workload long ago.

“Old Vine,” Marcus called out after spotting him near one of the counters, finishing a transaction with several players.

“Stone!” Old Vine immediately walked over once he saw him. “I was just looking for you. I sent you a message earlier, but the system said you were in the middle of a quest and couldn’t be contacted.”

“Yeah, I just got back,” Marcus replied. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing too serious,” Old Vine said. “Most players are hovering around level twenty-five now, and the demand for level twenty-five gear is climbing fast. The top elite players are already pushing level twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and some of them have started asking about level thirty equipment.”

He leaned a little closer, lowering his voice slightly.

“I was thinking about holding a special auction to sell the fifty-five pieces of Blue-grade equipment you have stored here, the ones ranging from level twenty-five to thirty. I wanted to give you a heads-up first and hear what you think.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep