Start From Being An Appraiser

In a mysterious city where the sun never rises, the sky is perpetually veiled in the gentle glow of a luminous moon and a thousand blinking stars. Auroras ripple faintly through the darkness above, painting the heavens in surreal hues of violet and emerald. The air, crisp and cool, curls around the skin like a silken shroud, sending an involuntary shiver down the spine.

At the western edge of this city stood a modest, nondescript building. Its brick walls bore the soft patina of age, neither flashy nor decrepit. It was the kind of place the eye might skip over entirely… unless one knew what to look for.

Inside, tucked away in a quiet guest chamber lined with worn velvet curtains and the faint scent of dried herbs, sat a sixteen-year-old youth unlike any other.

His name was Gilgamel Shad.

He bore the look of someone important, even if he didn't wear it arrogantly. His black hair—thick and slightly unruly—framed a face sharpened by thought.

He wore a tailored three-piece suit in midnight blue, the fabric etched with faint starlike glimmers under the lamp's glow. A silver-chained brooch held his ceremonial robe in place, which was embroidered with celestial runes and the image of a distant castle—stitched in gold thread upon the hem like a fragment of a dream. His robe swept behind him like the mantle of a young aristocrat, though there was nothing princely in his demeanor—only the composed presence of someone used to working professionally.

Across from him sat a nervous, middle-aged man in a faded robe, wringing his hands as Gilgamel examined a small purple flower.

"Sir, this is a Tier-0 elixir called the Lovia Flower," Gilgamel said, his voice calm and assured: "Its scent induces infatuation and thoughts of desire. Not particularly rare, but not commonly harvested either. You could sell it to a regular elixir shop for about fifty mana crystals. But—"

He tapped the edge of the table lightly, "—Love Love Paradise will pay you eighty."

The man blinked in confusion, "Where... is Love Love Paradise?"

Gilgamel paused mid-breath, visibly stunned.

He doesn't know?

Love Love Paradise was practically a landmark—one of the most infamous brothels in Evernight City, with branches stretching across several cities within the empire.

For a man of his age to be unaware was... deeply suspicious.

"Walk south until you reach Magnolia Street," Gilgamel said, managing to keep his tone even: "If you see a bunch of middle-aged men pretending they're not lost, you're in the right place."

The man nodded awkwardly and, after placing the appropriate fee onto the table, left in a hurry.

As the door clicked shut, Gilgamel leaned back in his chair and exhaled. His work for the day was done.

He stood, gathering the pale mana crystals into a small pouch and slipping it into his inner robe pocket. The room fell silent again, save for the muffled noise of Evernight beyond the thick curtains.

He stepped outside shortly after.

Above him stretched the city's eternal night sky—a grand canopy of stars, moonlight, and flowing auroras that glowed gently above gothic spires and towers. Time in Evernight City moved differently. Not slower, not faster, but... suspended. Like a breath that never ended. As if the heavens themselves had chosen not to rotate.

Evernight City wasn't a place most people found by accident. It was a city for the forgotten, the dangerous, the exceptional.

And it was here that Gilgamel began his second life.

He hadn't been born here. Not truly.

Once, Gilgamel Shad had been an ordinary college student on Earth. No great achievements. No epic destiny. Just another quiet face in a crowd, juggling a part-time job at a ramen shop.

His death was mundane. Tragic, even pathetic.

He had forgotten to turn off the gas stove.

The fire consumed his apartment in a breath of heat and smoke. No last words. No second chances.

And then... he awoke.

He had no memory of the transition—just light, then darkness, then the cries of his newborn self in an unfamiliar world.

He was born again as the illegitimate child of a nobleman. His mother—a servant—died during childbirth, and Gilgamel grew up in the shadows of luxury he was forbidden to touch.

Neglect was his daily companion. Hunger is his constant shadow. His half-siblings treated him like trash. The household staff ignored his presence. The family name he bore meant nothing.

In his old world, he had no parents.

In this one, he wished he didn't.

But Gilgamel wasn't one to wallow in misery.

He was a transmigrator—someone gifted with memories of another life. That alone made him different.

Had it not been for one specific reason, he might have run away before he could even speak.

That reason came in the form of a mysterious book that appeared in his mind the moment he first touched mana—his Goldfinger.

It looked like an ancient tome with no title, no binding, and only a page.

The page granted him [Appraisal]—the ability to identify any object's properties in exchange for mana crystals. The more powerful the item, the more it costs.

To his disappointment, because he neither knows nor has what is called a "mana crystal", he can't use this ability at all.

At twelve, Gilgamel finally left the estate behind without a word. No one stopped him. No one cared.

He wandered from town to town for weeks, until he collapsed in front of a quiet countryside inn run by an elderly couple. They gave him food, a bed, and—after some hesitation—work.

For the first time in either life, he felt like a person.

He worked for six months, cleaning, cooking, and running errands. It wasn't glamorous, but it was real. It was honest.

Then, one rainy evening, a peculiar woman arrived at the inn. Draped in silks and shawls, she called herself a fortune teller. She had no coin, but offered to read the couple's futures in return for shelter.

The couple laughed—but accepted.

Out of gratitude, she insisted on reading Gilgamel's fate.

"The South," She said, narrowing her eyes, "That's where your greatest opportunity lies. Miss it, and it will never return."

Gilgamel hesitated.

Was it a scam?

A trap?

But the couple nudged him gently.

"If you find nothing, just come back."

And so, he set out.

He traveled south for seven days and nights, until at last, he crossed the shadowed threshold of Evernight City—a metropolis shrouded in magic, ruled by the wizarding order known as Owl.

Here, Gilgamel found the turning point of his new life.

Magic was real.

Not tricks or illusions, but true, tangible power drawn from mana that flowed invisibly through all things.

Wizards. Witches. Magical beasts. Spells. Potion, Magic items, etc.

The world was vast, strange, and full of mystery.

Most people couldn't harness mana without proper lineage or training. Fewer still could awaken a magic talent—a magical alignment that determined what kind of spells they could cast.

Gilgamel's magic talent was Chaos—the lowest tier. It connected him to the four basic elements—fire, water, wind, and earth—but it was the slowest to grow, and the weakest in direct power.

Magic talents were ranked as follows:

Chaos Talent – Broad, but slow and unfocused.

Medium Talent – Faster growth with limited elemental compatibility.

Advanced Talent – Stronger connection to high-tier elements like lightning, ice, and darkness.

Abstract Talent – Rare and legendary. Said to encompass all elements, including those forgotten by man.

Chaos Talents were like weeds—ubiquitous and unimpressive.

But Gilgamel had more than raw talent.

He had the Goldfinger.

The Appraisal skill it granted was more than just a tool—it was a weapon. With it, he could identify the properties, uses, and weaknesses of magic items, elixirs, and potions. And so, he did the unthinkable.

He opened a tiny appraisal business in the heart of Evernight City.

It wasn't much. A single room. A single desk. But it was his.

The business earned him money, reputation, and connections. It also gave him independence—a gift he'd never tasted before.

One day, by pure chance, he appraised an unknown treasure for a senior member of Owl.

Impressed by Gilgamel's knowledge and potential, the man sponsored his entry.

From there, Gilgamel began climbing.

He trained in secret, studied obsessively. Despite his Chaos Talent, he became a First Circle Wizard in record time.

Still, this was only the beginning.

In Evernight City, where the stars never fade and the moon never wanes, fate stirred quietly—awaiting the moment when Gilgamel Shad would rise not just as a survivor...

…but as a force the world could no longer ignore.