Chapter 238:【Appraisal】-san
「Are these the monsters from Livil Valley? 」
Khan, who was watching us, asked.
Retze and Khan are staying on the first floor of the rental house. Dean and Chris are working; they’re hunting monsters and spending the night in the forest to cool off after splurging in the fortress city. They apparently live by spending three days out of the house then they’ll come home to spend the next two days relaxing.
「I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s farther west than Es. 」
「That’s Livil. Land of the Black Rocks, right? 」
「Yup. 」
「Hey, that’s a totally different continent, you know. There’s no way I’d know that. 」
Retze commented. I thought he knew everything under the sun, but it turns out there are also things he doesn’t know.
「It’s a land that was formed from a volcanic eruption ages before my kingdom was established. Those are the vestiges of the sea monsters living at that time, if you go further from where these monsters live, you’ll find the coral monsters. Their magic stones are used in the weddings of the royal family. 」
「Heh~ 」
Looks like this is Khan’s area of expertise, huh.
「So, how to dismantle these? 」
Since those monsters look like corals, I’m thinking of handling them like how I’d do a real one. What I’m wondering about is these sea anemones!
「No idea. The venom is usually used in assassinations, that’s about it. 」
King-sama, your knowledge is biased.
「I have never seen these shells, but maybe they’re a subspecies of sea anemones? In that case their venom and stingers will fetch a hefty price. 」
Retze said while examining and turning the sea anemones on the table while wearing thick leather gloves.
「So it’s really for poison? 」
「You can use it for poison, but they can also be catalysts for making dyeing metals and making medicines — if they really are the same as sea anemones, that is. The stingers are useful in treating warts and tumors. 」
Whooaaa!!
「How about the dismantling? 」
「Do you have two empty bottles? 」
I handed Retze what he asked for.
Retze filled one bottle to the brim with brine, then he poured around 5mL into the other one.
He pulled the elliptical cnidocyte, then he gently pinched the approximately 5 cm long stinging filament that came wriggling out of it and dropped it into the brine.
The sting filament is just like its name — it looked like a thread with a sting needle on its tip. It stretched the moment he dropped it into the brine. Hmm, quite interesting.
「Hm. It’s the same as the sea anemones written in books, it really did stretch. 」
Retze brought the bottle with the filament up to eye level and peered at it.
Real sea anemones are tiny creatures, and their sting filaments are almost invisible to the naked eye. They’re probably this huge because they’re monsters, huh.
「Whoaa. 」
「Sorry to burst your bubble, but even if the dismantling method is the same, the effects can’t be guaranteed to be the same, alright? 」
Retze warned.
「Maybe it is better to leave the inspection and verification to the Pharmacist Guild. If the effects are different, they’ll probably carry out some experiments to check how it can be used. 」
「I see. So I’ll commission it to the Pharmacist Guild, huh. 」
I haven’t gone there ever since I’ve been making my own recovery potions.
「After all, we have to be cautious when it comes to the application of medicine and poison or else it’ll be dangerous. 」
Right.
「Is there no one with 【Appraisal】 in this era? 」
Khan asked. Uh, there’s one right here.
「There are folks who can Appraise something once they’ve acquired knowledge about the item, and then there are some who specialize in fire attribute things. As far as I know, the hero living during the Wind Era was the last one who could Appraise everything without any condition. 」
「So the protection of the spirits has weakened considerably in this era, huh. 」
「The spirits nowadays mostly group together with their kin, so they don’t lend their power to folks unless it’s their folks or turf. On the other hand, if a particular attribute sticks to you, you’re gonna stand out. 」
「I see, so 【Appraisal 】isn’t limited to an attribute, but it’s comprehensive, huh. 」
「Yeah, that’s because it involves various — hey, I was wondering why you’re quiet, but what an incredible face you’re making there. 」
I hastily averted my eyes at Retze’s words.
「… Do you have 【Appraisal】huh, Wild Hero? 」
Retze stared at me sharply.
「He doesn’t have to ask if he does have it, right? 」
Khan quipped to Retze while sipping his sake cup.
「…. 」
Retze kept on wordlessly staring at me despite Khan’s words.
「I just thought it’s convenient knowing which mushrooms are poisonous in the forest… 」
I lost against Retze’s glare and answered him.
「So you totally forgot to use it on anything other than food, huh? 」
「Yes. 」
I tried using it on the sea anemones now. I still got results even though it’s not really a food ingredient.
Oh, come to think of it, 【Appraisal】 did work on Cinca Grass; it showed me which ailments it is effective against, but it didn’t show how to use it though. The details only became refined once I learned compounding medicines in the Pharmacist Guild.
「Why don’t you prioritize Appraisal of monsters, huh? That concerns life and death, you know. 」
Khan seemed exasperated.
I can’t help it, I wished for 【Appraisal】because getting food had been a matter of life and death for me back then. If I only knew how to distinguish mushrooms, then I could’ve gotten more nourishment, and maybe even discovered other edible things. I was desperate, you know!
「Here, you check it. 」
Retze, who regained his composure, nudged the sea anemone.
「”The venomous part includes poison and its antidote, and it can also be used as a catalyst for dyeing metals in order to prevent rusting. The barb filaments can be utilized in poisoned needles as well as in medical needles. The shells enrich the soil.” 」
I recited the results of 【Appraisal】that appeared in my mind.
— Enrich the soil?
「… 」
Eh?
「Not sure why you look troubled, but it’s generally the same as the sea anemones of the oceans, huh. The ‘catalyst’ part can be useful for the smiths and metal engravers, but you can’t just sell it while it’s still a poison. You can sell it to the Pharmacist Guild. If you’re going to handle poison, be sure to have them teach you how to make antidote while at it, alright. 」
「Yes. 」
I obediently nodded to Retze.
Yeah, it’ll be troublesome if there’s no antidote and someone accidentally forgot and ends up touching it then putting their hands to their mouth. I do have 【Heal】, but 【Appraisal】gets an upgrade once I learned something new so let’s do as he said.
My abilities are 【Magical Talent】【Martial Arts Ability】【Manufacturing Ability】【Heal】【Complete Cookery】【Storage】【Teleport】【Search】【Appraisal】【Mental Resistance】【Languages】【Release】【Cut Ties】【Hero Slayer】.
I have never tried 【Hero Slayer】but the rest of my abilities are supported by the deities who protect me, and the surrounding spirits also assist me. Each one has their own strengths and weaknesses, but I’ve used them all.
Even the kin of the deities that previously existed also lend their hand to me. That’s why I felt a bit complicated when I heard that the kin spirits have their exclusive turfs. I’ve been contracting them without regard to who their kin is, after all.
Perhaps 【Release】is at work too?
Notes
T/N: That last sentence might be Jean thinking the spirits are being liberated from their ties to their kin, in case it’s not clear :).
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.