Ximo and Xiliya soon arrived at a mid-sized auction house. According to Xiliya, it typically auctioned off spoils that adventurers had obtained during their quests, or magitools that mages had crafted themselves.
Xiliya’s point was that if Ximo wanted to experience an auction house, this was a decent choice—at least it was practical.
An auction was set to start in exactly half an hour. Ximo, who had never set foot in such a place in either of her lifetimes, could only wait obediently while Xiliya verified her funds and paid the entry fee, then followed her inside. While waiting in the hall, Ximo chatted idly with System.
“So, this ‘Eye of Discernment’ is a name you came up with yourself, right?”
“Ehehe,” System chuckled awkwardly. “After all, the core function is just me, as the system, checking the current plot progress. Analyzing objects is only a side ability, so…”
Ximo rolled her eyes. Eye of Discernment did sound a bit low-rent. She might as well name it herself.
“What if I rename it to something like Grand Illusory Dream Myriad Phenomena Frenzied Judgment Eye? Wouldn’t that sound more badass?”
“Darling, I feel like that might cause copyright issues… Maybe just drop it.”
Before System could finish, a figure suddenly darted out from around the corner of the corridor and collided squarely with Ximo.
Hiss, that hurt… Ximo clutched her throbbing forehead and looked up to see a girl mirroring her exact motion, glaring at her discontentedly.
“Can’t you watch where you’re going?”
Ximo hadn’t even said anything yet when the girl shot her a dirty look and hurried off.
Hey, she had been standing still the whole time, hadn’t she? Why was that person in such a rush?
Ximo didn’t dwell on the minor incident. As she watched the girl depart, she noticed something fall from her.
“Hey, you dropped something—”
But the girl apparently didn’t hear Ximo’s reminder and had no intention of turning back. She quickly rounded the corner and vanished from sight.
Ximo opened her mouth, then picked up the item herself. It was an exquisite card she’d never seen before—jet-black, polished smooth, with a texture similar to a magic crystal.
Just then, Xiliya finished with the procedures and returned to the hall. She immediately noticed the card in Ximo’s hand.
“You picked that up? Probably someone’s bank card dropped here,” Xiliya glanced at it. “We can hand it to the organizers after the auction. Let’s head in—the show’s about to start.”
So bank cards in this world looked like this… Ximo nodded without overthinking and followed Xiliya inside.
Heh heh heh, behold as this old timer uses her golden finger to snag undervalued treasures, play the pig to eat the tiger, and reclaim everything that belongs to her!
Ximo was full of heroic ambition, but only half an hour later, she changed her mind.
…
Half an hour later, as the host announced the next item up for auction, Ximo let out a massive yawn.
She truly hadn’t expected an auction to be this boring, and her ability hadn’t found any use at all.
It wasn’t until the auction began that she realized the host introduced every item in exhaustive detail. By the time they were done, where was she supposed to apply her skill?
Xiliya had been right—this auction mostly featured magic items. That Decayed Wooden Staff from before could have been sold here instead of at the Free Market. But Ximo wasn’t particularly interested in them. Xiliya, however, took a liking to a decently crafted staff and snagged it for 20 gold coins.
“Ximo, is there nothing you want to buy?”
Seeing the little maid beside her yawn hugely again, Xiliya spoke up. It seemed Ximo was bored.
Ximo shook her head. So much for any face-slapping reversal—she clearly wasn’t destined to be the protagonist of a power fantasy novel.
At that moment, the staff brought up the next item. The host announced in a booming voice: “This comes from an adventurer’s expedition. Starting bid… no restrictions. Free auction to whoever offers.”
This piqued the interest of the drowsy Ximo. Every previous item had a minimum starting bid, but this one had neither a starting price nor an introduction.
Curiosity drew Ximo’s close attention to the item on stage. It appeared to be… a crystal ball? But its surface wasn’t smooth—it was gray and murky, riddled with cracks and flaws. Faint magical runes seemed etched on it haphazardly, though it was too far for Ximo to make out.
Whispers rippled through the crowd. The host continued: “This item hails from a newly discovered ruin. The consigner braved great dangers to retrieve it from the ruin’s heart.”
“Our auction house’s appraisers believe this crystal ball is ancient, preserved at the ruin’s center, likely some long-lost advanced magitool.”
“However, neither the consigner nor our appraisers detected any formed magic circuits, meaning it could simply be junk—a very old piece of junk.”
Now Ximo understood the free bidding. The adventurer must have been frustrated: all that effort for a seemingly useless treasure… Wait, wasn’t this the perfect chance to use her new ability?
Ximo perked up and locked eyes on the item, activating her 【Eye of Discernment】. The next second, her eyes widened hugely.
No way—had she really become the treasure-appraisal protagonist?
Remembering the host’s words about no starting bid, Ximo realized this was a prime bargain opportunity!
She hurriedly tugged Xiliya’s arm. “Miss, Miss, I want to buy this one!”
“Huh? But it doesn’t seem useful, Ximo.”
In her previous life, Xiliya had been an excellent mage with her own judgment on magitools. This thing looked like junk without magic circuits. Even as an ancient collectible, it was too damaged.
“Trust me, Miss. As an assassin, I have a special item-identification ability.” Ximo said solemnly, spinning a straight-faced lie. “I call it… the Evil King True Eye!”
