Chapter Forty-Eight - File 284-A

Chapter Forty-Eight - File 284-A The assessment took three hours and ended up requiring some help from another member of the guild. I was getting looks. It turned out that it wasn't so much the items though, as the money I was throwing around. Oops? Oh well, it wasn't like I was going to pay, or keep this loop. Tellen eventually produced two papers of assessment, all official and stamped and worth a fair bit on their own. Like a certificate of authenticity next to a signature, basically. Item Assessment – File 284-A Object: Untranslated Grimoire (Black Leather Binding) Recovered From: Uncatalogued D-Rank portal Examiner: Assessor R. Tellen, Guild of Applied Thaumaturgy Summary: The object is a compact grimoire, bound in black leather with no exterior titling. Initial inspection reveals a faint latent enchantment tied to preservation. The pages remain supple and untarnished despite clear signs of age. The contents are penned in an unknown language with structural similarities to classical Latin, though preliminary ciphering efforts have produced inconsistent phonetic equivalences. Contained within are three full arcane constructs, each accompanied by complex glyphwork and sigil diagrams consistent with modern spell-carving theory. While the exact effects are unknown, power tracing suggests they are D-rank in magnitude. Possibly minor but complete spells, likely utility or support class in function. Likely along the Dark-Void spoke. No immediate dangers were identified during containment or examination, though ambient arcane residue implies prior usage. Item safe to handle. Recommendations: Translation should be prioritized. Even low-ranked spells of unknown provenance may reveal lost techniques or culturally unique metaphysics. If spell effects prove replicable, this volume could serve as a teaching artifact or blueprint for new spells. Estimated Item Value: $28,000–$35,000 USD (untranslated); potential increase pending successful decoding or replication of spells. Spell valuation impossible at this time. Signed, R. Tellen Assessment Division, Guild of Applied Thaumaturgy I read that over twice, putting what I could to memory. The price stuck out to me. That was... not chump change. Not insane, but like... hiring a team of D-rankers to clear a D-rank dungeon probably cost about that much, less, maybe. So this book alone would return a profit. And after talking to the expert in spell crafting that Tellen brought in, I discovered that spells were copyrighted and licensed. That database of cantrips probably cost Luna Corp a small fortune. Each one of Terry's copied spells probably cost as much as a top-shelf firearm, and that was for the first level ones. Higher level spells were more. Though some had become so popular that the cost went down and some spells had 'leaked' so anyone could learn them. New, novel spells were sometimes worth a lot, but selling them was a nightmare. The guild here did that, though, and they'd be interested in helping translate the new spells... for a certain percentage of the royalties. Like, a big percentage. Like... most. Still, 5% was... something? Whatever, if I was ever broke it was an option. Though not a quick one. The guild had other things they were working on, and it would be a low priority. Low enough that I might not see results this year. Next, the assessment on the sword, the thing I really cared about. Item Assessment – File 284-B Object: Enchanted European Smallsword, c.1600 Recovered From: Uncatalogued D-Rank portal Examiner: Assessor R. Tellen, Guild of Applied Thaumaturgy Summary: This is a well-preserved European smallsword with a design reminiscent of those dated to the early 17th to mid 18th century. It features a double-edged blade, full knuckle guard, and a blackened nut-wood grip, likely walnut, covered in blue leather. The accompanying sheath bears a minor preservation enchantment. More significant are the enchantments bound to the blade itself, several of which remain functionally active. Primary magical effects include: Leeching Cut – Cantrip. On contact, the blade draws a minor quantity of physical stamina or magical energy from the target. The effect is minimal. Pain Muddling – Cantrip. Strikes delivered with the blade partially dull the target's pain response. Loathing Attunement – Cantrip. Secondary enchantments embedded within the hilt strengthen when wielded in a state where they are actively empowered by Disgust or Loathing. Emotional linkage appears to marginally increase sharpness and durability. The blade is in pristine condition and exhibits no signs of corrosion. Edge enchantment is active but subtle, likely passive sharpening or structural reinforcement. The magical craftsmanship is consistent with upper E and lower D-tier items. Did you know this story is from novelhall? Read the official version for free and support the author. Recommendations: Recommended for field deployment with compatible wielders or further study. Estimated Item Value: $12,000–$15,000 USD. Signed, R. Tellen Assessment Division, Guild of Applied Thaumaturgy As it turned out, the sword wasn't all that impressive. Not to the guild, at least. I was plenty impressed. Three enchantments on one weapon was pretty rare. The fact that all three were 'cantrip' level removed some of the lustre, but I didn't mind. If I wanted a normal sword to be as good as this one, I'd need to learn, carve, and cast three cantrips simultaneously to make it work, and there was no guarantee that they'd be as strong. So yeah, I was happy with it. The loathing attunement thing was a little strange, but I already had to focus a bit on getting an emotion in that ballpark for See Darkness. Well... no, for that spell, I needed 'boredom' which I think was an emotion that just came naturally to me. The sword required disgust, but that was just a skip away. Anyway, I had a cool magic sword, it wasn't cursed, and it wasn't worth so much that I'd be plagued by the temptation to sell it for a heap of cash. Ten-plus grand was great money, but I could live without. I Reloaded then... just went to work normally. Today was another training day, which was nice. I got to work a few minutes early, chatted with Dharti for a while about my progress with Soothe Minor Pain, then we joined the others in the gym. Natalie was there, and she seemed happy to see me, which was always reciprocated. Lady had guns and permission to throw me onto the floor and pin me there. D-ranked training sessions went on for longer and were a bit more extreme than those we had as E-rankers. There was a lot more hands-on sparring, and Dharti could heal anything that broke or bled, though she'd pull out the 'disappointed mom' routine if she needed to use her magic to heal any boo-boos. Not that it was that wild. The training was still formal, with Natalie watching over the sparring and giving pointers. There wasn't a specific school of martial arts that was taught, instead we started with something like boxing in a ring where I discovered that literally everyone in Squad B was faster than me and could punch harder, and then we did Jiu-jitsu and some grappling, where I spent most of my time getting my face rubbed into the mat. It was... good training, actually. Near the end, Natalie told us to hit the machines, lift some weights, and do some cardio, but she also remained for anyone who wanted some one-on-one. I did, a lot. I asked her for some guidance in sword-fighting, and she obliged, getting out some practice blades and showing me some basic stances and movements. I Reloaded the entire day and ran it through twice more. I... wasn't sure if I was much better the third time around. Maybe I spent less time on the ground, but a bit of experience could only go so far to make up for the difference in musculature and years of training. Probably got a lot more out of that one day's looped training than a week's worth of self-guided practice, though, so I wouldn't complain. The training in the final loop, the one I intended to keep, ended with some stretches and small talk. That's when Eldur dropped a cool tid-bit. We were hitting up a portal tomorrow. Another E-rank, this one yet another repeat portal. The others groaned on learning about it, but all I discovered was that I'd need to be wearing a respirator for this one. That wasn't a good sign, but the grumbling wasn't horror, just good-natured complaining, so I took it in stride. I rode the bus home, happy that they had showers at work because I felt physically and mentally drained. I didn't even loop once I got home. I just watched cat videos online, played with Mister Couchtop, ate something that was microwavable, then crashed for the night. I was entirely unable to sleep, because why would life be so easy? So, instead, I lay in bed and watched more crap. The Punk Pop Lady Killers, one of my favourite all-female punk bands, were in Fortress ENE for a tour and most of the tickets were sold out already. Bloody Violet was here, and that caused a stir with the paparazzi, and that one CEO who died was in the news too, some calling it an assassination attempt while others said it was just bad luck. I'd have to figure that all out eventually, but for now, I needed sleep. Maybe I could learn a 'go the fuck to sleep' cantrip? One more day gone, but it wasn't a day without any progress. I was getting stronger, slowly but surely, and tomorrow would be one more portal closer to a level where I could force some change. ***