Dante stepped out of the alleyway, completely unbothered by the fact that he had just casually deleted six players from the server.

The brief encounter with Yamato’s hit squad hadn’t even drained a single point of stamina, thanks to his [Chrono-Shift] talent.

He rejoined the flow of foot traffic on Ironhold’s main street. The city was steadily filling up.

Hundreds of players were pouring out of the arrival platforms, staring up at the towering steampunk architecture and chattering excitedly about the open world.

Dante ignored them, checking his digital map.

He was looking for ’Master Sun’s Antiquities’, the premier appraisal shop in Ironhold.

In the Zenith Protocol, high-tier loot dropped from bosses usually came in an ’Unidentified’ state.

The system hid the exact stats and passives behind a locked data layer to force players to engage with the game’s economy.

You couldn’t just equip a Mythic item and read its stats; you had to pay an NPC expert to crack the code.

He spotted the shop. It wasn’t a standard, open-air stall. It was a massive, heavily reinforced building made of polished black stone, guarded by two massive clockwork golems.

Dante walked up the stone steps and pushed the heavy wooden doors open.

The interior of the shop smelled intensely of old paper, ozone, and incense. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with glass display cases containing glowing weapons, strange artifacts, and heavily sealed scrolls.

Behind a massive, polished mahogany counter stood Master Sun.

The NPC didn’t look like a standard merchant. He was an elderly man, but he was built like a retired heavyweight boxer.

He wore a crisp, tailored suit of dark silk, and a monocle with a glowing blue lens rested over his right eye.

He was currently yelling at a terrified player holding a rusty iron dagger.

"I told you, Outworlder!" Master Sun boomed, his voice carrying a heavy, intimidating sound. "I do not waste my time appraising pig-iron garbage! If it does not glow, do not bring it into my shop! Get out!"

The player scrambled backward, dropping the dagger, and practically ran out the front doors.

Master Sun let out a disgusted sigh, adjusting his silk cuffs. He looked up, his glowing blue monocle locking onto Dante.

The NPC’s artificial expression instantly shifted from anger to intense, analytical scrutiny.

The monocle whirred softly, actively scanning the dark purple plating of the [Carapace of the Void-Devourer] and the pitch-black, starry fabric of the [Mantle of the Void-Dragon].

"Ah," Master Sun said, his voice dropping to a smooth, professional baritone. "Now that is an interesting aura.

Dark Demon forging, paired with a spatial distortion. You are carrying heavy cargo, Outworlder. Step forward."

Dante walked up to the mahogany counter. "I need some items cracked."

"You have come to the right place," Master Sun smiled, a sharp, predatory expression. "I am the only appraiser in the Veridian Alliance capable of decoding assets above the Gold tier without destroying them.

However, my expertise comes at a premium."

Master Sun reached under the counter and pulled out a small, ornate bronze sign. He placed it on the wood.

[Appraisal Fees]

[Bronze Tier: 100 Silver]

[Silver Tier: 500 Silver]

[Gold Tier: 5,000 Gold]

[Dark Demon / Divine Tier: 50,000 Gold]

[Mythic Tier: 500,000 Gold]

Dante stared at the sign.

"Half a million gold to identify one Mythic item?" Dante asked, his voice flat.

"The system encryption on cosmic-level assets is incredibly dense," Master Sun explained without a hint of apology.

"It requires a significant expenditure of my mana pool to safely decrypt. If you cannot afford the fee, I suggest you take your business to a lesser merchant who will likely melt your item into slag."

Dante had billions of Veridian credits in the real world, but his in-game currency was currently sitting at roughly sixty thousand gold coins, mostly looted from the massive pile in the Abyss.

He couldn’t afford to appraise the [Whisper of the Void] bow, let alone the rest of his high-tier gear.

"I’m a little short on raw gold," Dante admitted.

"Then we have nothing to discuss," Master Sun said dismissively, turning back to his ledger.

Dante didn’t move. His Intuition stat was pinging slightly, drawing his attention to a small, brightly colored spinning wheel sitting on the far edge of the counter.

It looked like a cheap carnival game, completely out of place in the high-end boutique.

"What’s that?" Dante asked, pointing at the wheel.

Master Sun glanced over. "A promotional mechanic. The system mandates that I offer a chance for lower-income Outworlders to utilize my services.

For ten silver coins, you may spin the wheel. It contains various discounts on my appraisal fees."

Dante looked at the wheel. It was divided into a hundred tiny slivers. Ninety-nine of the slivers were colored gray, labeled "0% Discount." A single, microscopic sliver of gold was labeled "10% Discount."

"A one percent chance to get ten percent off," Dante read the wheel. "You really hate your customers, don’t you?"

"I despise them," Master Sun agreed smoothly. "Would you like to spin? It is a tax on the desperate."

Dante reached into his inventory and pulled out a single silver coin. He tossed it onto the mahogany counter.

"I’ll take a spin," Dante said.

Master Sun rolled his eyes, taking the coin. "Very well. Proceed. Try not to break it."

Dante reached out and flicked the edge of the colorful wheel.

It spun rapidly, a blur of gray.

Dante didn’t care about the odds. The Zenith Protocol’s RNG mechanics were heavily regulated, designed to bleed players dry. The house always won.

But the house wasn’t playing against a normal player.

Dante had the [Zenith Incarnate] title equipped. He possessed ’Max Luck’. The title explicitly stated: *User will always receive the maximum possible roll on all RNG-based mechanics.*

The wheel began to slow down. The little plastic flapper ticked against the pegs.

*Tick... tick... tick...*

The wheel came to a complete stop.

The flapper rested perfectly in the exact dead center of the microscopic gold sliver.

[System Event: Promotional Wheel Spun.]

[Result: 10% Discount Token Acquired.]

Master Sun blinked. He looked at the wheel, then looked at Dante. "Beginner’s luck. A statistical outlier. Here is your token."

The NPC handed Dante a small wooden chip.

"I want to spin again," Dante said, tossing another silver coin onto the counter.

Master Sun frowned. "The tokens stack, Outworlder, but the odds do not change. You are wasting your currency."

"I like gambling," Dante smiled. He flicked the wheel again.

It spun, slowed down, and stopped.

Tick.

Right on the gold sliver.

[System Event: Promotional Wheel Spun.]

[Result: 10% Discount Token Acquired.]

Master Sun’s artificial eyes widened slightly. His hand hesitated before he handed Dante the second wooden chip.

"Another spin," Dante said, tossing a third silver coin down.

"This is highly irregular," Master Sun muttered, watching Dante flick the wheel.

The wheel stopped. Gold sliver.

"Again."

Gold sliver.

"Again."

Gold sliver.

Dante stood at the counter for two straight minutes, systematically dropping silver coins and flicking the wheel.

He didn’t miss. He never missed. The absolute, unyielding mathematical certainty of Max Luck forced the game’s engine to land on the 1% chance every single time.

Master Sun was sweating.

The dignified, heavyweight NPC was practically vibrating with barely contained fury. His glowing blue monocle was whirring aggressively, actively trying to scan Dante for cheating software or external exploits.

"This is impossible!" Master Sun finally snapped, slamming both hands onto the mahogany counter after Dante’s tenth successful spin.

"The algorithm is flawless! You are manipulating the engine!"

"I’m just a really lucky guy," Dante said, holding a stack of ten wooden chips. "Now, according to the system rules, these tokens stack, right?"

"They are additive, yes," Master Sun ground out through clenched teeth.

"Ten tokens at ten percent each," Dante did the math aloud, sliding the stack of wooden chips across the counter. "That’s a one hundred percent discount. You owe me a free appraisal, Master Sun."

The NPC looked like he was about to physically leap over the counter and strangle Dante.

"Fine," Master Sun hissed, snatching the wooden tokens. "One item. Free of charge. Hand it over and get out of my shop."

"Oh, I’m not done," Dante smiled warmly.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out ten more silver coins. He placed them in a neat row on the counter.

"I have a lot of items to appraise," Dante said, pointing at the wheel. "Let’s keep spinning."

For the next ten minutes, the premier appraisal shop of Ironhold devolved into a psychological hostage situation.

Dante didn’t stop. He spun the wheel thirty times. He secured thirty consecutive gold slivers, compiling three separate stacks of 100% discount tokens.

Master Sun looked like he was having a digital stroke. His silk suit was wrinkled, his monocle was sparking, and he was breathing heavily, staring at the colorful spinning wheel with absolute, unadulterated loathing.

"Stop," Master Sun wheezed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Stop spinning the wheel. Please."

"Are you refusing service to a paying customer?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am overriding the promotional mechanic," Master Sun stated, his voice completely stripped of its professional baritone. "I will appraise your items. All of them. For free. Just do not touch that wheel again."

"Deal," Dante agreed instantly.

He didn’t waste any time. He opened his infinite inventory and began pulling out the massive, glowing high-tier items he had vacuumed up during his speedrun of the Spire.

He placed them carefully on the mahogany counter.

The [Whisper of the Void] bow. The [Assassin’s Bane] dagger he had looted from the Sakura hit squad. A massive, glowing shield from the Golem room. The [Mantle of the Void-Dragon] cloak currently sitting on his shoulders.

Master Sun stared at the items piling up on his counter.

The NPC’s anger completely vanished, instantly replaced by sheer, unfiltered professional awe. He pulled a small, glowing jeweler’s loupe from his pocket and attached it to his monocle.

"By the core," Master Sun whispered, his hands trembling slightly as he hovered them over the [Whisper of the Void] bow.

"Mythic. Dark Demon. Divine. Where did you find these, Outworlder? The server cycle has barely begun."

"I had a productive morning," Dante said. "Crack them."

Master Sun nodded rapidly, completely forgetting his previous fury. He placed his hands flat on the counter and began channeling his mana pool, initiating the high-tier decryption process.

Dante leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.

He had successfully extorted the Outpost mentors, bullied the Spire’s system into giving him a Divine-tier scale, and now he had emotionally broken the premier appraiser of Ironhold into working for free.

His Charisma stat might be hidden, but his negotiation tactics were absolutely flawless.