If my prediction is right, I should be able to appraise D-rank items… If Appraisal reaches level-10.

  His fingers tapped lightly against the desk as his thoughts ran in circles.

  I heard skills somewhat evolve once they reach level-10.

  That alone was enough to make his heart beat faster.

  “Upgrade Appraisal…” he muttered.

  A window appeared in front of him.

  --------------------------------------------------------------

  [Upgrade Available]

  [ LP Required to Level Up: 250]

  Would you like to upgrade ‘Appraisal’ to Lv. 10?

  [Yes] [No]

  ------------------------------------------------------------

  Jimin stared at the number.

  “Two hundred and fifty?”

  His brows frowned immediately.

  What the hell… Why is it so high? Don’t tell me all skill upgrades require this much LP… Or is it because it’s a level ten upgrade?

  He rubbed his face slowly and took a deep breath.

  Then, he checked his current LP.

  [Current LP: 1004]

  I’ve been saving LP to create Overtime…

  His jaw tightened slightly.

  But this is more important right now.

  The Rift training is on Sunday; I still have two days to create Overtime.

  This could change everything.

  “Alright…” he muttered.

  He straightened in his chair.

  With that, he decided to upgrade Appraisal to level 10.

  He murmured, “Yes.”

  Then, a notification popped up.

  -----------------------------------------------------------

  [‘Appraisal’ has reached Lv. 10]

  Total LP: 754

  -----------------------------------------------------------

  Jimin blinked.

  He immediately took a sword in his hand that he previously appraised to be D-rank and had put aside.

  “Let’s see now,” he murmured.

  He appraised it without wasting any time.

  An information window appeared right in front of him.

  —-------------------------------------------------

  Name: Jagged Bone Slasher

  Category: Weapon

  Type: Sword

  Rank: D

  Description: A broad blade fashioned from the sharpened mandible of a desert predator, reinforced with tightly wrapped paracord vines for a secure grip.

  Stats: STR +4, AGI +1

  Damage: 42–55

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Effect: Low chance of inflicting target with [Bleed]

  Durability: 73 / 110

  —-------------------------------------------------

  Jimin froze. For a second, he simply stared. Then-

  “Hell yeah…”

  A grin spread across his face before he could stop it.

  “Finally,” he said with his voice low but trembling with excitement. “A successful D-rank appraisal.”

  His heart pounded.

  Then, he proceeded to appraise all the items that he previously appraised to be D-rank and all the D-ranks & E-ranks he got later.

  He appraised a total of 19 items today.

  He had long surpassed the 100 appraisals limit and ended up appraising a total of 106 items.

  He let out a slow breath.

  “I really went past it.”

  After finishing his last appraisal, Jimin leaned back fully and closed his eyes for a moment.

  Finally done…

  A deep sense of relief washed over him, followed almost immediately by excitement.

  It’s time. Time to get my D-rank Appraiser license.

  Once everything was sorted and submitted, Jimin took his tablet and walked over to the supervisor’s office, where the supervisor Yun Young-chul was reviewing reports.

  Yun Young-chul’s door was half-open.

  Jimin knocked lightly.

  “Sir,” he said.

  Young-chul looked up from his monitor, glasses perched low on his nose. “Hmm? Done already?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You were nearing your hundredth appraisal, right? Did you succeed?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Jimin replied, unable to stop himself from smiling.

  Young-chul gestured toward the desk. “Let me see.”

  Jimin handed over the tablet.

  He took the tablet and started checking the entries.

  Suddenly, his eyes shot up.

  “D-rank appraisals!”

  He looked up sharply. “You managed to appraise D-rank items?”

  Jimin nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

  “And…” Young-chul’s eyes flicked back to the tablet. “One hundred and six successful appraisals on top of that?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  This time, Jimin didn’t bother hiding the grin.

  Young-chul leaned back slowly, letting out a long breath.

  “But…” he said, pausing deliberately.

  Jimin’s smile stiffened just a little.

  The supervisor cleared his throat.

  “... If this is true,” Young-chul continued, tone more serious now, “then you really are a talented guy.”

  He stood up.

  “Go wait in the lobby,” he said. “I’ll contact you after the quality assurance team sends their assessment report.”

  Jimin blinked. Quality assurance team?

  Young-chul nodded. “I’ll send them an email to check yours as soon as possible. Your previous appraisals were all assessed to be authentic.”

  He met Jimin’s gaze. “Let’s see now.”

  “Okay, Sir. I’ll wait in the lobby.”

  Jimin bowed his head slightly and left the office.

  The moment the door closed behind him, Young-chul exhaled heavily and sank back into his chair.

  “He’s a talented kid…” he murmured.

  Then his expression tightened.

  “I just hope he isn’t faking.”

  —----

  Outside, Jimin walked toward the lobby.

  There was a quality assurance team?

  He frowned slightly.

  I always wondered how they checked for authenticity, he thought.

  “So that’s how…”

  Jimin reached the lobby and waited there.

  —------

  After around half an hour, Jimin finally got a call from Young-chul to meet him in his office.

  He stood up immediately and headed there.

  Jimin reached the office in moments.

  The moment he stepped inside, Young-chul looked up at him with an unmistakably proud expression.

  “Great job,” he said.

  Jimin’s breath caught.

  “All of the appraisals were authentic,” Young-chul continued. “Every single one.”

  Jimin’s eyes widened.

  “Now,” the supervisor said, standing up, “you are eligible to become not only a certified Appraiser, but also a D-rank Appraiser on top of that.”

  He extended a hand.

  “Congratulations.”

  Jimin bowed deeply.

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  Young-chul chuckled. “I knew you were a talented kid.”

  Then his tone turned formal again.

  “Now go to the Licensing Department on the fifth floor of the main building and visit the Registrar’s office there. You’ll get your license issued soon.”

  “Okay, Sir,” said Jimin as he left the office.

  He headed towards the licensing department.

  After reaching the licensing department, he found the registrar’s office.

  Inside, a middle-aged man sat at a desk. The door was already open.

  But Jimin still said, “May I come in?” .

  “Yes, come in,” said the Registrar.

  Jimin entered the room and sat down.

  “Your name?”

  “Sam Jimin,” Jimin said. “I’m here for my Appraiser license.”

  “Wait a moment.”

  The registrar said, “Wait a moment,” and started working on his computer.

  Within a minute, the registrar said,“Okay. I need some additional information about you. Please fill out this form.”

  He handed Jimin a tablet.

  “Okay.” Jimin took it, read it carefully, filled it out and finally returned it to the registrar.

  After checking the form, the registrar finally asked, “Do you want to become a Regular Appraiser or a Masked Appraiser?"

  Jimin stiffened slightly.

  Masked Appraiser? Again? Like that appraiser from that party…

  “Sir,” Jimin said carefully, “could you elaborate on the difference between the two? I’m not aware of the details.”

  The registrar leaned back.

  “Okay... A Regular Appraiser is the regular bunch you know. Their identity and information is open and they work openly in the outside world or here at the headquarters… They enjoy lower tax rates but the risk is also higher.”

  “What kind of risk?” Jimin asked.

  “You should be aware of it. Abduction, forced contracts, Blackmail, etc.”

  Jimin nodded slowly, “Yeah, I’m somewhat aware of that.”

  “That’s why we came up with the idea of the Masked Appraiser… You have to choose a professional title and a federation-issued mask. After that, it will become your sole identity and everything else will be marked as classified information.”

  He tapped the desk lightly.

  “The Federation will do its best to protect your real identity. You can still work independently in the outside world. The risk is significantly lower but you have to pay higher taxes and a fixed compensation fee of 12 million won per year.”

  That’s exactly what I need. I get to protect my identity, so there’s less chance of being exposed. Though, I need to pay a hefty sum annually. But it won’t matter when I start earning the real deal. I have decided.

  Jimin looked up and said,

  “I choose to be a Masked Appraiser.”

  Read Chapters (47 - 49) early on my patreon.

  Thank you everyone