Chapter 495 Auriel Silverheart

"Hello, just call me Xia Nan."

Seeing the half-elf appraiser take the initiative to greet him, Xia Nan maintained his politeness. Despite feeling a bit embarrassed at having his nickname called out in public, he stepped forward to shake the man's hand and introduce himself.

"I've heard a great deal about you," Auriel said with a gentle, polite smile. "Baron Farrow mentioned you at a banquet recently. He said you were a highly skilled adventurer with excellent professional ethics, and seeing you today, it's clear you truly are extraordinary."

"I simply completed the commission as expected. It's not as exaggerated as the baron makes it sound," Xia Nan said modestly.

Baron Farrow had actually played a significant role in helping his "Sea Fang" nickname spread so widely across Barracuda Bay.

After rescuing the baron's daughter, Lady Ellie, from the Horned Shark Gang, Xia Nan had earned the man's friendship. Officially, as a quest reward, the baron paid all expenses to remodel and overhaul Xia Nan's pirate ship, provided connections to numerous excellent shipwrights, and even offered to owe him a favor.

Behind the scenes, as the Charter Approval Officer of Barracuda Bay and a legitimate titled noble, Farrow frequently mentioned Xia Nan's name at social events. This ensured many upper-class figures with noble backgrounds knew a figure named "Sea Fang" had recently emerged.

As a result, despite being a professional adventurer who usually operated around the Three-Legged Sea Dog Tavern and Wave-Breaking Wharf, Xia Nan's fame in Barracuda Bay was actually highest in the White Cliff District out of the three city districts.

"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself." The half-elf stood straight, adjusting his collar, and spoke in a relatively solemn manner. "I am Auriel Silverheart. I used to run an auction house here in Barracuda Bay, but I am mostly retired now. I just enjoy collecting bizarre little trinkets."

Xia Nan's expression remained unchanged.

He had heard Auriel's name before.

Having been in Barracuda Bay for this long, he naturally knew of its prominent figures.

Auriel was one with a relatively good reputation. With his broad interests, auction house background, seasoned eye as an appraiser, and substantial wealth, adventurers who found decent loot on their quests often sold it to him for a handsome profit.

Xia Nan had thought about potentially cultivating this connection to make offloading loot easier. However, due to everything happening in Barracuda Bay, he had gradually pushed the idea to the back of his mind. He never expected to run into the man on an occasion like this.

As for Auriel, the numerous pieces of presumably enchanted Fine equipment on Xia Nan's person were already enough to pique his intense interest. Coupled with the recently circulating "Sea Fang" title, Auriel was eager to befriend him.

However, since they were in the Association's meeting room and his main objective for coming wasn't finished, they only exchanged a few pleasantries before Auriel returned to the operating table to continue his examination.

"Weren't you guys heading over to the Coral Reef? How come you're back so late? Did you catch a big fish?" the barbarian Aken asked casually from the side. His arms were crossed, the bulging muscles as hard and tight as rock.

"The haul was decent enough," Xia Nan nodded without a change in expression, recalling the giant grouper currently resting in the storage space of his [White Flask] pocket watch. "We just ran into an unexpected situation."

"Oh?" Lorraine, who had been focused on the appraiser, turned her head, her attention caught. "What happened? Was it adventurers from another team?"

"No, just a minor incident," Hein explained, shaking her head. "A few thugs from the Ebb Tide Gang were trying to catch fish over at the Coral Reef. They weren't very brave and ran off after a little scare. It wasn't any real trouble."

"The Ebb Tide Gang again!?" Aken reacted strongly to the familiar name, evidently still brooding over the halfling Alton getting surrounded at the pier.

His muscles twitched and bulged, and veins popped on his bald head beneath its flashy tattoos.

There was no doubt that if anyone were to egg him on even slightly right now, this barbarian—whose heart was perpetually filled with Rage—would grab his Anchor Greataxe and slaughter his way straight to the Ebb Tide Gang's hideout.

Everyone present knew his temper, so naturally, no one would deliberately provoke him at a time like this.

But...

"This Ebb Tide Gang has indeed been a bit too high-profile lately," Lorraine said. There was no particular expression on her face, but a hint of iciness seeped into her tone.

The Blade of Vengeance Squad had managed to forge such a reputation in the Southern Archipelagos partly by completing high-difficulty adventure quests, but also because of their uncompromising attitude toward outsiders.

Or rather, anyone with a degree of fame in these danger-filled waters couldn't possibly afford to show weakness.

The moment you showed even a shred of vulnerability, you would be targeted by greedy scum acting like hyenas, who would suck the marrow from your bones and wring you dry.

"I'll ask Hera about their background later. If the situation permits... we'll teach them a lesson."

While it was necessary to be tough, as the squad captain, Lorraine inevitably had to consider more angles than Aken and the rest.

After all, who knew if this newly emerged Ebb Tide Gang was the black glove of some big shot? Getting inexplicably dragged into a more dangerous whirlpool of conflict over a petty dispute would do more harm than good.

Xia Nan didn't join the conversation.

Although he stood by and listened, his attention was mostly focused on Auriel, who was appraising the operating table.

With his Attribute Panel, he was undoubtedly among the top appraisers in this world, at least when it came to equipment. Even bizarre special effects that were practically impossible to trigger under normal circumstances were laid bare on the panel.

On the other hand, he had to admit that this was indeed a shortcut.

He might be able to state the attributes and effects of a piece of equipment more clearly than an ordinary appraiser, but he lacked the countless days and nights of professional knowledge they had accumulated.

For the same piece of armor, it took Xia Nan less than a second to completely identify its specific effect modifiers. He could even use the "Introduction" section on the Attribute Panel to learn unknown secrets about the equipment.

But that was the extent of it.

Highly skilled and experienced appraisers could deduce the identity of the blacksmith, the specific origins of the crafting materials, which parts had flaws that could be improved upon, and what type of attacks might cause the most severe damage, all just from the details on the armor...

This accumulation of professional knowledge and experience was exactly what Xia Nan lacked.

So, he wanted to take this opportunity to carefully observe how a true senior appraiser examined an item.

He noticed that when the members of the Blade of Vengeance Squad mentioned the name "Ebb Tide Gang," Auriel's brow briefly furrowed before returning to normal a second later.

"Tap."

Curving his index finger, Auriel lightly tapped his knuckle against the marble surface of the operating table, producing a crisp sound.

His background as the young master of an auction house meant he had grown up surrounded by all sorts of bizarre objects. These past experiences had become invaluable assets for his current role as an appraiser.

Suddenly, as if Auriel had noticed something, he brought his fingers together into a flat palm and hovered his hand above the operating table.

His silver-gray eyes, a trait of his elven bloodline, closely watched his suspended right hand.

Under normal circumstances, unless they were a Class Holder with inhuman control over their muscles and bones, an ordinary person's hand would naturally tremble slightly when held out.

But now, Auriel sharply realized that his hovering hand seemed somewhat steadier than usual.

Standing to the side, he artificially controlled the variables, moving his hovering hand back and forth along the edge of the operating table.

Auriel didn't deliberately steady his arm muscles, yet he clearly noticed that when he moved his hand past the outer edge of the table, the tremors became more pronounced.

The half-elf nodded thoughtfully. Meanwhile, the repeated back-and-forth motions above the edge of the table made him aware of a deeper influence.

"Clack!"

He curled four fingers inward, extended his index finger, and dropped his right hand, his fingertip landing squarely on a blood-red vein on the table's surface.

After repeating the test several times, an intrigued expression appeared on Auriel's face.

"Very interesting," he suddenly said. "This marble table seems to possess an effect that improves arm muscle stability. At the same time, it provides a certain bonus to hand, eye, and mental coordination. It's incredibly suitable for performing delicate work on its surface."

Xia Nan marveled inwardly, impressed by the man's keen eye.

After all, less than ten minutes had passed since they walked into the meeting room.

Yet this half-elf appraiser named Auriel Silverheart had managed to pinpoint more than half of the [Blood-Vein Rock Comprehensive Operating Table]'s special effects purely through his professional expertise.

Among them, "+3% Precision Operation Success Rate," "+15% Operator Arm Stability," and "+5% Hand-Eye Coordination" perfectly matched his description.

It was only because the appraisal time was short and the environment restricted. Otherwise, Auriel might have even found a way to detect the remaining two modifiers concerning the patient's blood loss and the surgical infection rate.

"Not bad, I'm quite interested in this item." Without intentionally hiding his intentions like a typical merchant haggling at a street stall, Auriel made his interest in the operating table very clear to Lorraine and the others. "Name your price. I'll take it."

On one side was a team of experienced professional adventurers, and on the other was a famous appraiser in town. Neither party consisted of naive rookies who could be easily swindled, so naturally, there wouldn't be any melodramatic scenarios of someone picking up a massive bargain like in a bard's tales.

"650 gold." Clearly prepared with a price for the operating table, Lorraine merely exchanged a few glances with her teammates before offering the figure they had already agreed upon.

'Not bad, it's within the normal range,' Xia Nan thought.

650 gold was roughly the price range between a top-tier white piece of equipment and an ordinary green piece. Based on the tier positioning of the operating table's effects displayed on the Attribute Panel, the price was quite fitting.

"500 gold." Naturally, Auriel wouldn't agree immediately. He might have deep pockets, but as a famous collector, he was still quite cautious when it came to transactions.

Haggling it down by 150 gold wasn't so much that he appeared insincere, and it left the other party a certain amount of room to counteroffer.

The two veterans didn't waste words, gradually narrowing the price gap through their back-and-forth exchanges.

In less than three minutes, they settled the price of the [Blood-Vein Rock Comprehensive Operating Table] at 600 gold.

Everyone was happy, and the transaction was completed smoothly.

"A pleasure doing business with you. I'll cover the handling fees," Auriel said, his expression relaxed and pleased as he claimed the exotic marble table.

On the other side, having secured another 600 gold in loot income for the team, Lorraine was in a good mood as well.

Aken even took the initiative to invite him to join them for drinks at the Three-Legged Sea Dog Tavern later.

"I'm truly sorry, but I have an appointment to meet someone this afternoon, and I might not be able to find the time tonight. Next time, if you have the chance to visit my home, I'll host you all." Auriel's tone was sincere. It didn't seem like empty politeness to decline the invitation; he genuinely had plans.

Since he put it that way, Aken didn't press the matter.

The group exchanged a few final pleasantries before the half-elf took his leave.

Before walking out of the meeting room, Auriel went out of his way to greet Xia Nan one more time. He left his address, saying that Xia Nan could contact him if he had any loot he wanted to offload in the future.

Recalling how the man's gaze had lingered on his various pieces of equipment when they first met, Xia Nan realized that his enchanted gear must have caught the half-elf's attention.

He pondered whether he should continue cultivating this connection.

"How about you? Are you heading back to the tavern? Let's talk," Lorraine said with pointed meaning, turning to look at the black-haired young man beside her.

Just a few days prior, Xia Nan had subtly revealed to her the contents of his conversation with Ellison, pointing out that he and Lorraine shared a common goal.

For the female captain to say this now, she clearly wanted to discuss some details regarding their cooperation.

Naturally, Xia Nan had no reason to refuse. Just as he was about to agree, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the meeting room.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Someone knocked on the door from the outside.

After receiving permission, the young Association staff member who had previously guided Hein and Xia Nan entered the meeting room. Under everyone's gazes, he walked straight up to Xia Nan.

"Mr. Xia Nan, there is a message from someone named 'Ellison'. He says the connection he previously intended to introduce to you is ready, and he is asking if you have time right now."

'Oh?' Xia Nan raised his eyebrows, seemingly having guessed something.

Hearing the name "Ellison," Lorraine's expression paused for a moment. She didn't say much, simply patting him on the shoulder.

"Go do your thing. As for the rest... we'll talk tonight when we're back at the tavern."