NOVEL WEB Chapter 165: Ka-ching!
A week passed.
Thankfully, the sleepover that had forced Hal to battle his inner demons didn't happen again, though he and Liora somehow hadn't crossed paths since either.
Hal didn't overthink things much, however, continuing to just focus on his goals.
The materials didn't flow as quickly as he'd hoped.
So, he ended up crafting only a total of thirty-two [Uncommon]-tier arcane artifacts.
Ten were of superior grade, while the remaining twenty-two were the highly coveted mastercraft grade.
It should be enough for the first batch.
In any case, Hal only needed to craft artifacts for five to seven hours a day, leaving him with plenty of time to fit in his physical workouts, tonic-enhanced mana meditation in a much-desired five-star meditation room, and complete a mission or two per day to steadily advance his wizard rank.
It was a pretty productive week for him.
'Time to deliver these bad boys,' Hal thought with a grin, carefully packing the goods into two plain, high-quality boxes he had purchased the day before—one considerably larger than the other—before storing them in the system's inventory.
Then, after taking one last look to ensure he looked good and presentable as a business partner, he left his dormitory with confident strides, his fantastic mood evident to the dormitory staff.
He reached the parking lot near the main gate of the academy around twenty minutes later and rode his motorcycle to Wanzin's Arcane Emporium.
Upon reaching the shop's parking lot, Hal parked his Pathblazer IV, removed his helmet, and proceeded inside.
He was immediately granted entry to the manager's office without even needing to ask.
It was clear that Maximus had already informed his staff ahead of time.
As the door creaked open, the expectant manager's head immediately turned toward him, the widest smile spreading across the middle-aged man's face.
"Sir Hal, we've been expecting you! I'm truly glad you showed up early. I just can't wait to see your products!" Maximus greeted with great enthusiasm.
He was practically beaming with delight.
The middle-aged, bespectacled manager was on edge today.
He had made a bold business move, reporting to the company's higher-ups that his first batch of Joker-brand shipments would arrive today, and announcing to the public through paid advertisements that, starting tomorrow, they would begin selling the much-coveted artifacts from the celebrated and extremely mysterious young arcanist.
If Hal hadn't shown up, he would have been in trouble, though he had never planned to blame the young man if things fell through.
Maximus was thankful to the gods that Hal had proven to be a reliable business partner.
This time, at least.
The manager's office had a spacious table in the middle.
They could use it to check out the first batch of Joker-brand artifacts.
Retrieving the box from his inventory, Hal placed it atop the table, while Maximus, standing beside him, was slightly taken aback by what he had just witnessed.
"S-Sir Hal, I apologize for my unprofessional curiosity, but did you just use the Item Box spell?"
Hal smiled in response, fully prepared for this very moment.
"Ahh, yes," he confirmed, lying outright. "If I'm to keep my identity, I need the spell, so I asked for help from my future master."
Maximus already knew from their previous conversation that Hal was about to become a Magna Prospect, so he fully believed the explanation.
The next moment, he shifted his attention back to the box as it was being opened, slowly nodding three times in acknowledgment.
It didn't take long for Hal to unpack everything, making Maximus' eyes glimmer in utter elation.
"Here. I've checked their qualities using the academy's slightly inaccurate appraisal devices. All of them are [Uncommon]-tier, with ten of superior grade and twenty-two of mastercraft grade. Please confirm using your more accurate appraisal tools. Also, I believe there's no need for me to shoulder the cost of the official artifact effect cards?"
"Absolutely no need, Sir Hal! Our company will gladly shoulder such miscellaneous expenses. Please wait a moment while I confirm their quality."
Hal was naturally satisfied.
He was the poorer party, so the few silver coins would actually matter more to him than such a renowned and established wizardry shop like Wanzin's Arcane Emporium. C-h^e-c*k^ My V-irt-ua.l^ L&i!b+r&ar-y E&m+p.i%r.e! (MV1LEM%P1$Y*R)$ for the l.a^t.e*s@t up^d&a*t!es..
Maximus retrieved a manatech communicator from his pocket to call one of his staff members, instructing him to bring the appraisal device to the manager's office.
The sight of the communicator made Hal's eyes widen for a moment as he realized his oversight.
He could definitely afford at least two now, so why hadn't he bought one for his mom?
Hal silently vowed to buy them before his next visit to Bunroon Town.
Soon, the door opened, and a short man with a bob-cut hairstyle, noticeably large front teeth, and who appeared to be seven or eight years older than Hal entered, pushing a huge machine that resembled a furnace, with a blank holographic screen floating at the top.
Maximus tried hard to maintain composure, but his trembling hands gave him away.
He was both nervous and excited.
After the short employee left the room, the manager gently took one of the weapon-type artifacts—an ice-elemental staff.
"Well then, Sir Hal, I shall begin the appraisal."
Hal nodded without a hint of nervousness.
While it had been quite difficult to craft them during his first ten tries, the rest had been a breeze, so he felt confident in the quality of his artifacts.
Hal also hadn't forgotten to brand them with his alias, using a unique branding link he had derived from the Chaos set, which he had converted into conventional mana arcane links.
There should be very little discrepancy between these results and those from the academy's lower-quality appraisal devices.
With slightly shaky hands, Maximus placed the elemental staff into the furnace-like compartment at the center of the machine, prompting the appraisal device to scan the weapon-type artifact.
The results then appeared on the once-blank holographic screen:
==
Effectiveness of Ice Elemental Spells: + 14%
Mana regeneration + 15%
Artifact Rarity: Uncommon
Artifact Grade: Superior
Crafter: Joker
==
"S-Superior grade indeed!"
Maximus had initially found it difficult to believe Hal's claims, though he hadn't dared say so to the young man's face.
He had also desperately hoped the artifacts would have the effects Hal described, if only to avoid an awkward situation.
Thank the gods the first artifact delivered!
The manager quickly printed a receipt card for the ice elemental staff, removing the artifact the next moment, and replacing it with another.
The results were the same: uncommon-tier superior grade.
Maximus's heart raced faster, and his breathing grew heavier with each artifact matching the quality Hal had claimed.
Then, when he checked the first mastercraft-grade artifact, the manager's graceful exterior, which he had tried so hard to maintain, finally cracked.
He couldn't help but glance at the remaining artifacts.
If they were all truly of mastercraft grade...
Maximus could only shiver at the thought, realizing he might have struck not just gold, but diamond this time.
Who knew that the day he treated an unimpressive-looking brat with professional courtesy, just as his father had taught him, would turn out to be the moment that defined his life?
Thank the gods he had listened and taken the lesson to heart!
With trembling hands, Maximus repeated the process twenty-one more times, placing each artifact into the appraisal device's compartment, checking the results, and printing a receipt for each one to be exchanged later for an official card from the city hall's appraisers.
There had indeed been no inaccuracies in the academy's appraisal devices, and Joker's products were just as excellent as the young man had claimed.
Happy that this was the case, Hal smilingly asked:
"So, now that my products have proven their quality, how much would you buy them for? I'll trust Manager Maximus's prices without a second thought. After all, in this case, the consequences of dishonesty far outweigh the benefits."
Maximus understood that Hal was warning him: if he ever discovered he was being cheated, he would immediately switch business partners.
Of course, the manager had no such intentions.
The middle-aged man also believed Hal's words to be true.
"Naturally, Sir Hal! I've been an honest merchant since I was young, relying on my skills and the quality of the products I sell to make clean profits. You can count on me to give you a satisfactory price. Please wait a moment while I compute."
Maximus returned to his desk, pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer, and began scribbling computations, glancing back and forth between his manatech computer and the sheet.
Meanwhile, Hal sat on the plush sofa at one side of the manager's office, eager to see how much he would earn from the first batch of artifacts.
A few minutes later, Maximus approached him.
"Here, I've encircled the total amount of gold coins you would receive. Please confirm if this is satisfactory to you."
Hal had never looked at an encircled number faster in his life, doing his best to suppress a grin as he read the amount:
"Twenty gold coins and forty silver coins."