"Now I need to hide my current level for a while…"
Eren muttered as he browsed through the trading section as he took the phone.
Since his profession was already registered with his account, equipment, artifacts, and skill scrolls suitable for the Shapeshifter profession were displayed at the top one by one.
There were many different types of robes with spirit cost reduction effects that allowed for longer transformation periods.
There were also Transformation Crystals that enabled a shapeshifter to gain a new transformation upon use.
However, each of the listed items cost at least 7 million Alliance Coins. Skill scrolls started at a minimum of 11 million, while even the cheapest Transformation Crystal exceeded 100 million.
Eren's focus shifted to more necessary items on the recommended list, potions and skill scrolls for common purposes unrelated to class or direct combat.
Without hesitation, Eren clicked the buy button on both the [Basic Appraisal] and [Basic Concealment] scrolls.
Each cost him 5 million.
His account balance was reduced to 43,015 Alliance Coins.
Eren selected the option to have the scrolls delivered directly to his Awakener storage account instead of his home address.
The estimated delivery time appeared on the screen: delivery would be completed within 10 minutes.
This was another advantage of opening an Awakener account quickly.
The majority of beginner recommendations were sold directly by the Association itself.
Since the scrolls he had just purchased were located in the same building he was currently in, the delivery process would be much faster.
Without waiting for the delivery notification, Eren stood up and returned to the registration counter where the girl had helped him open his Awakener account.
She immediately recognized him the moment her eyes landed on him.
"Is there any problem with the account you've received?" she asked politely.
"No, the account works fine… I'm here to get my skill-up quest…"
The girl stared at him with a blank expression before asking apologetically,
"Sorry, I must have misheard you. Could you please say that again?"
Eren smiled wearily at her response and shook his head.
"No, you didn't hear it wrong… I did say that I'm here for a skill-up quest."
The girl stared at him just like she had when he first asked her to register his details, her face devoid of thought, mixed with utter disbelief.
She clearly didn't believe him at first.
She pulled out the appraisal stone again to verify his status.
But the appraisal stone wouldn't reveal skill levels.
So she politely took his Awakener ID card and handed him a crystal orb about the size of his fist.
"You must use it right here, right now. Taking it with you without activating it is not allowed."
Eren nodded seriously.
He already knew how it worked, as he had studied everything about tier-ups and skill-ups during his two years in high school.
As Eren held the crystal orb in his hand, it brightened with a pale blue glow before shattering into countless tiny fragments before disappearing.
[System Gaya analyzing host…]
[Level of Host#88388195371 has not exceeded Level 10…]
[Active Skill: Moonborn Silver Wolf Transformation has reached MAX level…]
[Assigning befitting quest to Host#88388195371…]
[Quest: Clear any Level 10 Abyssal Dungeon solo on Hard difficulty or higher.]
[Reward: Evolve Moonborn Silver Wolf Transformation (Low-Level Divine Blood) → Crescent Fang Wolf Transformation (Mid-Level Divine Blood)]
[Additional Requirements for Evolution:
Moonlit Core Fragment ×3
Abyssal Essence Crystal ×10
Crescent Moon Grass ×20
Low-Grade Spirit Stone ×1000
10,000 Life Essence]
[Time Limit: 23:59:59]
"…You really maxed out your skill!" the girl behind the counter said, staring at him with wide eyes.
Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Eren stepped aside.
As he examined the quest details, his eyebrows twitched slightly.
"I have to solo a Hard-difficulty Abyssal Dungeon?"
"And within a single day?"
Eren had never heard of such an absurd requirement.
Even a tier-up quest for himself wouldn't be this difficult, at least, according to his calculations.
From the information he had gathered during his school days, most rare-grade profession holders received tier-up quests that required them to clear group dungeons.
Definitely not solo-clear requirements like the one he had just received.
Eren clenched his fists.
"It's a little difficult… but not impossible for the current me…"
He looked at his skill details one more time before muttering to himself,
"If my transformation skill had reached a higher tier, I could have used [Minor Lunar Benediction] to cure Father myself… Its current level is only Tier 1. It can't do anything against a Tier 3 curse…"
The sudden accident his father encountered had been completely beyond his expectations.
But it made him rethink his priorities.
"I need to increase my skill level as much as possible… Just in case…"
Ding!
A sudden notification on his phone snapped him out of his thoughts.
His scrolls had been delivered to his account.
He returned to the same massive stone slab and withdrew the scrolls.
Two scrolls materialized in the compartment below.
[Basic Appraisal Scroll]
Upon use, grants Basic Appraisal Lv.1.
Type: Active Skill
Spirit Cost: 1
Cooldown: 3 seconds
[Basic Concealment Scroll]
Upon use, grants Basic Concealment Lv.1.
Type: Active Skill
Spirit Cost: 1 per hour
Cooldown: None
Eren immediately used both scrolls on himself.
The scrolls turned into particles of light and flowed directly into the center of his forehead.
A cool sensation spread through his head.
He had gained two active skills: [Basic Appraisal Lv.1] and [Basic Concealment Lv.1].
"Both of these scrolls were necessary for me…"
Eren had been able to see the details of items and scrolls simply by holding them in his hands, but that wasn't because he could appraise them, it was because those items were designed that way.
Not everyone awakened with an appraisal skill, and purchasing one cost 5 millions.
Therefore, most items sold on the market were designed to display basic information to the holder.
But once Eren entered a dungeon, he would have to rely on himself to appraise item drops and determine their uses.
Hiring a professional appraiser would cost a large sum of money for long run.
Eren carefully read through the details of both skills and frowned slightly.
"[Basic Appraisal] and [Basic Concealment] only work on people at my level or below…?"
The skills seemed too weak in his eyes.
He needed a stronger concealment ability, something that would prevent his father's teammates from discovering his true level.
Fortunately, leveling up these skills required Life Essence, just like his transformation skill.
Eren immediately chose to level up [Basic Appraisal] first.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!...
He instantly spent 100 Life Essence for the first upgrade, 200 for the second, 300 for the third, each level requiring an additional 100 Life Essence, all the way up to Level 10.
[Basic Appraisal Lv.10: Allows the user to see full details of any entity or object within the same Tier.
Cost: 0.5 Spirit per target.
Cooldown: None.]
Just as it reached Level 10, [Basic Appraisal] underwent a significant improvement.
It was no longer limited to targets at the same level or below, it could now be used on any target within the same Tier as the user.
[Detected sufficient Life Essence to upgrade [Basic Appraisal] to [Intermediate Appraisal].
Would you like to spend 1000 Life Essence for the upgrade?
Yes / No]
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Eren continued the upgrade.
He needed a more powerful skill than the current one.
And he possessed an enormous amount of Life Essence, far more than he could reasonably use in a short period of time.
[You have upgraded [Basic Appraisal] to [Intermediate Appraisal].]
[Received bonus status: +10 Spirit.]
"…!"