The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The E-Rank with a Seventy-Million-Won Dagger

A few days had passed since Ares returned to the academy.

Nothing particularly unusual had happened during that time.

He attended his classes, listened to the instructors, occasionally answered questions when he felt like it, and otherwise spent most of his free time doing whatever happened to interest him.

Eventually, however, it was time for him to leave again.

There was still plenty he wanted to investigate on Earth.

More importantly, there was something he had promised.

The three of them had been rather persistent about it.

Draven.

Cedric.

And Astra.

They had all been fascinated by the phone Ares had brought back with him, and after the argument over the device had ended with the discovery that it had simply run out of battery, Ares had casually promised to buy each of them their own iPad.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it.

Now that he was preparing to leave again, however, he realized there was one small problem.

He had no money on Earth.

Well, technically, he could create money through magic if he really wanted to, but that would be rather troublesome. If he suddenly started producing large amounts of currency with no legitimate source, it would inevitably attract unnecessary attention, especially in a world where he was already trying to understand how the modern economy worked.

So there was only one reasonable solution.

Ares needed something valuable enough to sell.

And fortunately, he knew exactly where to find it.

Draven’s treasury.

For Ares, however, opening it was little more complicated than opening a door.

Beyond it was a vast chamber filled with treasures collected over the years.

Weapons rested inside reinforced cases.

Ancient magical artifacts were arranged across several shelves.

Rare monster materials had been carefully preserved inside containers designed to prevent their mana from deteriorating.

There were also gemstones, precious metals, strange relics whose origins were unknown, and countless other objects that Ares had never bothered to examine properly.

Draven had accumulated an absurd amount of treasure.

Ares walked through the chamber while examining the contents.

"Hmm."

He stopped in front of a collection of gemstones.

Most were large enough to fit comfortably in the palm of a hand, while several others were considerably larger. Their surfaces contained traces of magical energy, and even without True Sight, it was obvious that they were valuable.

Ares picked up one of the smaller stones.

"This should be enough."

He placed it into a storage space.

Then he looked at the others.

"Actually..."

He picked up another.

"And this one."

Another disappeared into the storage space.

Ares continued walking.

A handful of valuable items would be more than enough to exchange for a considerable amount of money on Earth.

After several minutes, Ares had selected a small collection of gemstones, rare metals, and a few low-level magical artifacts that were valuable but not particularly valuable.

He looked at the items floating inside his storage space.

"That should do."

Then he remembered something else.

"Power banks."

Ares sighed.

He had nearly forgotten.

The entire reason for buying the iPads was so that Draven, Cedric, and Astra could actually use them for more than a few hours before the batteries died.

There was no electricity on the otherworld.

Which meant that simply giving them three devices wouldn’t solve the problem.

Ares needed enough power banks to keep them charged for a long time.

"A lot of them."

He thought about it for a moment.

"Actually, I’d better buy more than I think I’ll need."

Knowing Draven and the two, there was a very real possibility that they would somehow manage to drain an entire power bank in a single day.

-------

Ares returned to Earth in the afternoon.

After arriving, he didn’t waste any time.

There were several things he needed to buy, and the first of them was the promise he had made to Draven, Cedric, and Astra.

Three iPads.

And quite a few power banks.

Of course, buying modern electronics required money, and although Ares had taken several valuable items from Draven’s treasury before leaving, he still needed to convert those items into something that could actually be used in this world.

Fortunately, there was an easy solution.

Ares made his way toward the Awakener Equipment Shops in the city.

The moment Ares entered, the atmosphere immediately changed.

Several weapons were displayed behind reinforced glass, while shelves along the walls contained monster materials of various grades. There were also counters dedicated to appraisal, purchasing, repairs, and equipment sales, with several employees moving between them as customers came and went.

Ares walked toward the purchasing counter.

The man standing behind it looked to be in his late thirties, with neatly styled black hair and the practical appearance of someone who had spent years working around Awakeners. He glanced at Ares’s E-rank identification card when he approached, then gave him a polite smile.

"Welcome. Are you looking to sell some materials?"

"Yeah."

Ares reached into his storage space.

Then he placed a dagger on the counter.

The man’s expression immediately changed.

The dagger itself wasn’t particularly extravagant.

Its design was simple, with a dark metallic blade and a well-balanced handle that lacked the decorative details commonly found on expensive weapons.

But appearances were misleading.

The moment the shop employee picked it up, his expression became considerably more attentive.

He turned the dagger over in his hand.

"May I ask where you obtained this?"

"From my personal collection."

"Personal collection?"

The man looked at Ares’s identification card again.

Then back at the dagger.

"You own this?"

"Yes."

He didn’t ask any further questions.

Instead, the employee placed the dagger on a small appraisal platform.

A transparent panel of light appeared above it.

Several lines of information began forming across the surface as the device analyzed the weapon’s composition, mana conductivity, durability, and material quality.

The employee watched the readings carefully.

A faint expression of surprise appeared on his face.

"This is..."

He leaned closer to the display.

"The blade has been forged from high-grade monster steel, but that’s not the only thing."

He turned the dagger slightly.

"The mana conductivity is exceptionally high. The balance is also excellent, and there are almost no structural imperfections."

He looked toward Ares.

"Did you have this commissioned?"

"No."

"I see."

The employee returned his attention to the appraisal screen.

A few more calculations appeared.

Then the device produced a confirmation tone.

The employee’s expression became slightly complicated.

"Seventy million won."

Ares blinked.

"Seventy million?"

"Yes."

The employee nodded.

"I can offer seventy million won for it."

He seemed to realize that Ares was surprised and quickly explained.

"To be clear, that’s the purchasing price, not the expected retail price. If we were to sell this through the shop, it would probably be listed considerably higher after accounting for our margin, taxes, maintenance, and the fact that weapons of this quality are usually purchased by higher-ranked Awakeners."

Ares looked at the dagger.

He hadn’t expected that.

The weapon had been sitting inside Draven’s treasury among countless other items, and as far as Ares remembered, Draven had never considered it particularly special.

Apparently, his standards for ordinary weapons were somewhat unreasonable.

The employee glanced at Ares’s identification card again.

"You’re E-rank, correct?"

"Yes."

"That’s..."

He hesitated.

"It’s just unusual to see an E-rank Awakener carrying something of this quality."

"I happened to have it."

"I suppose that explains it."

The man didn’t press the matter.

He simply waited for Ares’s decision.

Ares considered the offer for a moment.

Seventy million won.

His expression remained calm, but internally, he was already doing the calculations.

That’s more than enough.

Three large iPads would cost him roughly six million won.

Even after buying several high-capacity power banks, some accessories, and a few other things he might find useful, he’d still have an enormous amount left over.

I really should have brought more things from Draven’s treasury.

He almost laughed at himself.

I was worried about taking too much.

Ares looked at the employee.

"I’ll sell it."

"Then it settled."

The man completed the transaction and transferred the money.

Ares checked the amount before putting his phone away.

The employee placed the dagger into a secure container.

"Is there anything else you’d like to sell?"

Ares thought about it.

"Actually, yes."

He reached into his storage space again.

This time, he placed a sword on the counter.

The employee’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Another weapon?"

"Yes."

The sword was far less impressive in appearance than the dagger.

Its design was simple, almost ordinary, and there were no elaborate engravings or precious stones decorating the hilt. However, the moment the employee picked it up, he immediately noticed the unusual material embedded within the blade.

He placed it on the appraisal platform.

The display appeared again.

The employee watched the results.

Then his eyes widened slightly.

"This is orc warrior tusk."

"That’s right."

"Orc Warrior material is considerably harder to process than ordinary orc materials."

He examined the sword more carefully.

"Interesting. Whoever forged this knew what they were doing."

Ares said nothing.

The employee continued checking the appraisal results.

The screen displayed the weapon’s durability, mana conductivity, structural integrity, and material composition.

The final valuation appeared.

The employee stared at it for a moment.

"Sixty million won."

Ares raised an eyebrow.

"That one too?"

"Yes."

The employee gave a small, almost amused sigh.

"Your sword may look ordinary, but the material alone makes it considerably more valuable than most weapons in this price range."

He looked toward Ares again.

"You really do have some unusual equipment for an E-rank Awakener."

Ares shrugged.

"I told you. I just happened to have them."

The employee gave him a skeptical look but decided not to question him further.

"I can purchase this for sixty million won."

"Alright."

The transaction was completed.

Ares now had a total of one hundred and thirty million won from two weapons.

He looked at the amount for a moment.

One hundred and thirty million.

He couldn’t help feeling that this was almost excessive for what he had intended to do.

Three iPads, a ridiculous number of power banks, clothes...

He paused.

I should probably buy clothes too.

The three at Starlight had nothing resembling modern clothing.

Draven would probably wear whatever was given to him without complaint, Cedric would at least try to make something presentable out of it, and Astra would probably be happy with almost anything.

Actually, I should buy several sets for each of them.

Ares looked toward the shop employee.

"That’s all for now."

"Understood."

The employee nodded politely.

"If you have any other materials or equipment you’d like appraised in the future, feel free to bring them here."

Ares gave a small nod.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

He turned and walked toward the entrance.

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