Start From Being An Appraiser
In a mysterious city where the sun never rises, the sky is perpetually bathed in the soft glow of a luminous moon and countless twinkling stars. The air, tinged with chill, wraps around you like a silken shroud, sending shivers down your spine. At the far western edge of the city stands a modest, unassuming building. It blends effortlessly into the surrounding structures—deliberately inconspicuous, yet subtly positioned to be noticed by passersby.
Inside, in a designated guest chamber, sat a sixteen-year-old youth with jet-black hair. One-third of his locks were intricately braided, the rest left in a spiky mess. Between his brows, a dark, diamond-shaped mark stood out, giving him an air of mystery.
His attire was far from ordinary. A crisp white tunic lay beneath a deep blue shirt trimmed with gold along the high collar. A crimson sash cinched the ensemble at the waist, while a sweeping navy-blue robe draped around him like a mantle of authority.
Across from him sat a middle-aged man in a worn, faded robe, nervously fidgeting as the youth examined a small purple plant.
"Sir, this is a Tier-0 elixir called the Lovia Flower," The young man explained coolly. He continued, "Its unique fragrance induces infatuation and thoughts of desire. It's not particularly rare, but not something you see every day either. If you sell it to a regular elixir shop, you'll get about 50 mana crystals. However, Love Love Paradise will pay 80."
The middle-aged man frowned, hesitating: "Where is... Love Love Paradise?"
The youth blinked, visibly stunned.
He doesn't know?
Love Love Paradise was one of the most famous establishments in the city—a brothel of renown that had expanded across multiple cities within the empire.
For a man of this age to be unaware of it was... questionable.
Was he living in a cave?
With barely concealed disbelief, the youth answered, "Walk south from here until you reach Magnolia Street. If you see a lot of middle-aged men loitering with guilty faces, you're in the right place."
A few moments later, after paying the appraisal fee, the man left the building. The young man exhaled and leaned back slightly. With that, his work for the day was done.
Not long after, he stepped outside.
Above him stretched the eternal night sky of Evernight City—a tapestry of stars and auroras glowing softly above the spires. Time felt suspended in this strange city, where the sun had never risen, as if the heavens had frozen in a single, endless night.
This young man's name was Gilgamel Shad.
He wasn't originally from this world.
Gilgamel had once lived a mundane life on Earth, an ordinary college student with no grand ambitions. His life ended abruptly in a tragic accident—he'd forgotten to turn off a gas stove.
The fire consumed everything.
And then... he woke up.
Born anew into a different world, Gilgamel had no memories of the transition. Just a newborn body and unfamiliar surroundings.
In this life, he was the illegitimate child of a noble, born to a servant mother.
Far from a life of luxury, he was subjected to neglect, bullying, and constant humiliation within the household.
He often went hungry, begging food from passing servants, and endured harassment from his half-siblings.
But Gilgamel was a transmigrator—he refused to accept such treatment lying down.
Had it not been for one particular reason, he might've run away the moment he could walk.
Miraculously, he endured twelve long years in that hell.
In his previous life, Gilgamel had grown up an orphan, scraping by to put himself through college. In this new life, he had no intention of remaining dependent on anyone—especially not on a family that treated him like garbage.
At age twelve, he left that house behind without a word.
Wandering from town to town, Gilgamel eventually found shelter with an elderly couple who ran a quaint little inn. They offered him food and work in exchange for chores—cleaning, serving, and errands.
For the first time in this life, he felt human again.
Six months later, a mysterious woman arrived at the inn—a self-proclaimed fortune teller.
She had no money for lodging, but offered to read the couple's fortunes as payment. Skeptical but kind, they let her stay.
Out of gratitude, the fortune teller insisted on reading Gilgamel's fate.
"The South," She said with a cryptic smile, "That's where your greatest opportunity lies. If you miss it, it'll never return."
Puzzled by the message, Gilgamel hesitated. But the elderly couple encouraged him, "You can always come back if you find nothing."
And so, Gilgamel left.
He journeyed south for seven days and nights. Eventually, he reached a vast, strange city—Evernight City, ruled by a powerful wizarding organization known as Owl.
Here, Gilgamel discovered something that changed his life: Magic was real.
In this world, those capable of manipulating mana were called wizards and witches. However, not everyone possessed the innate talent needed to harness magic. Fortunately, Gilgamel did.
His talent was classified as Chaos—one of the lowest-tier magic affinities, linked to the four basic elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. Though it allowed access to many elemental magics, it was notoriously slow to train and master.
Magic talents were categorized as:
Chaos: Broad but slow; linked to all basic elements.
Medium: Faster growth, fewer elemental affinities.
Advanced: Stronger connection to advanced elements like lightning, darkness, and ice.
Abstract: Extremely rare and powerful; capable of understanding and casting any spell.
Chaos talents were common—akin to weeds. But Gilgamel had something else: a secret power.
He called it his Goldfinger—a mysterious book embedded in his mind since he became a Novice Wizard.
The first ability it granted him was Appraisal: the power to identify the properties of any object at the cost of mana crystals, the higher the item's value, the greater the cost.
To capitalize on this ability, Gilgamel opened a small appraisal business within Evernight City. It gave him income, practice, and—most importantly—freedom.
Despite the Owl Organization's high standards, Gilgamel earned a place among them after impressing a senior member by chance. From there, he climbed steadily, eventually becoming a First Circle Wizard.
His journey had only just begun.
And in Evernight City, under the unchanging moonlit sky, fate stirred quietly—waiting for the day Gilgamel would rise to claim his destiny.