Chapter 340: The Incomplete Arceus Statue

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"I'm not very knowledgeable about ancient artifacts, nor do I know how much this thing is worth. But you seem to know your way around these things. Why don't you appraise it for me? That way, I can set a fair price."

Hearing Sato say this, Gunala, who had been closely observing his every move, rolled her eyes before flashing him a charming smile.

"You must be joking. I'm no professional antiquities appraiser. I've just seen similar inscriptions and patterns on some ancient artifacts unearthed from ruins before, which is why I believe this spoon might be genuine. As for the price, it would be better if you, the seller, set it."

Underneath his mask, Sato's lips curled into a subtle smile. Without revealing any emotion, he kicked the ball of pricing back to Gunala.

A seller asking a buyer to name their own price was just a trick to rip them off. The moment Sato mentioned a number, the other party would surely multiply it five or six times—perhaps even tenfold.

He had just managed to buy several valuable items at a low price and had no intention of falling for such an obvious trap.

Gunala's smile instantly faded upon hearing this. She replaced it with a blank expression, staring at Sato with deep suspicion.

She knew very well whether this strange spoon was an ancient artifact. She wasn't lying earlier—it truly was something she had retrieved from the Ruins of Alph.

Two years ago, she and a group of companions had accidentally ventured deep into the ruins. In the end, she was the only one fortunate enough to come out alive.

To be precise, she had survived because she found this spoon. Following its guidance, she managed to evade the encirclement of countless unknown totems and escape from the depths of the Ruins of Alph.

Because of this, Gunala firmly believed that this spoon was an extraordinary relic and must be incredibly valuable.

After escaping the ruins, she initially thought she had stumbled upon a great fortune. However, reality soon shattered that illusion.

Ever since she left the ruins, the spoon had ceased to exhibit any supernatural effects. Even when she found herself in life-threatening situations, it never guided her the way it had inside the ruins.

As time passed, her initial excitement over the spoon gradually faded.

It wasn't until tonight, during Team Rocket's special auction event, that she considered selling it. Strapped for cash, she figured she could exchange it for something more useful.

Unfortunately, despite sitting on her stall for almost an entire day, the spoon had barely drawn any attention.

The harsh reality made Gunala start doubting its true value—after all, not all ancient artifacts were valuable.

At the moment, Sato was the only potential buyer who had shown interest in it. Gunala felt conflicted—she didn't want to sell it too cheaply, but she also feared that setting the price too high would scare him away.

Once again, information proved to be crucial.

Gunala wasn't from an extremely poor background, but she wasn't particularly well-off either—otherwise, she wouldn't have joined a ruin exploration party in the first place.

Because of her limited perspective, she had no real grasp of how much the spoon might be worth.

"Ten million PokeDollars. What do you think? If that's too much, I can go down to eight million."

After much hesitation, Gunala tentatively threw out a number.

"Five million PokeDollars. That's my final offer. To be honest, I have an interest in ancient scripts. There are a few inscriptions on this spoon that I've never seen before, and that's the only reason I'm considering buying it. I don't have any other use for it."

Even with the price already slashed significantly, Sato still shook his head. He placed the spoon back on the stall, stood up, and addressed Gunala.

A minute later, Sato was holding a bronze spoon covered in unknown inscriptions. After playing with it in his hands for a moment, he carefully stored it away.

However, he failed to notice that, just before he stowed it away, one of the inscriptions on the spoon briefly blurred and then transformed into a different symbol altogether.

Having secured the mysterious spoon, Sato moved on to the next stall that displayed a valuable ancient artifact—a statue, or more precisely, a headless stone sculpture.

This incomplete stone statue was about the size of a canned soda bottle. Judging by its shape and form, it was a model of Arceus, the Creator.

Using his system's identification function, Sato discovered that this statue had an extraordinary background—it was once blessed by Arceus itself.

Stone Statue Details:

Item: Incomplete Arceus Statue

Effect: Unknown

Description: This statue was personally sculpted by one of humanity's greatest artisans under the commission of Damos, dedicated to Arceus. According to legend, it once possessed incredible powers due to Arceus's blessing. However, in its current damaged state, it is nothing more than a broken relic. If the missing head could be recovered, perhaps a fraction of its power might be restored.

Sato was familiar with Damos—he was the ancient figure who had once saved Arceus.

This meant that the statue had endured countless years and held immense historical significance. Selling it for a high price wouldn't be an issue at all.

Although time had eroded some parts of the statue and its most critical piece—the head—had been deliberately destroyed, its craftsmanship was still exceptional.

The statue emitted an inexplicable aura of majesty, making those who gazed upon it instinctively feel the urge to kneel in reverence.

This alone was a testament to the sculptor's remarkable skill—managing to carve even a fraction of Arceus's divine presence into a mere statue.

And this was an incomplete one. Sato could only imagine how overwhelming the presence must have been when the statue was whole.

Unlike Gunala's overlooked spoon, this statue was clearly extraordinary at first glance. People constantly approached the stall to inquire about its price.

Strangely, no matter how high an offer was made, the stall's owner—a short and thin man—remained indifferent, as if he had no intention of selling at all.

After asking around, Sato learned the reason—the vendor wasn't interested in selling. His real goal was to find the missing head of the Arceus statue.

Examining the statue closely, Sato could tell that the head had indeed been deliberately removed. The break was unnaturally smooth, clear evidence that someone had intentionally cut it off.

"Who would be bold enough to do this?" Sato thought, staring at the incomplete sculpture.

"Even in its damaged state, the aura it exudes is enough to command respect. If the statue were whole, it might have truly possessed the power to make ordinary people and Pokémon kneel before it in reverence. Whoever dared to deface this must have had nerves of steel… or a death wish to oppose Arceus itself."