Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 581: Appraisal skill

Noah stared at the inventory screen, his eyes scanning through the organized categories of cores. Two hundred eighty-four category fours. A hundred fifty-six category threes. Forty-seven category twos. And sitting at the bottom, glowing faintly even through the digital display, three category five cores.

’All this wealth,’ Noah thought, ’and I have absolutely no idea what any of it actually does.’

The system listed them by category, which told him their general power level. But that was it. No descriptions of properties, no indication of elemental affinities, no explanation of what made a core from a fire-breathing drake different from one harvested from an ice-aspected wolf.

He’d been collecting these things for months, just absorbing cores automatically whenever he killed something, trusting that eventually they’d be useful. But now, faced with actually needing to combine materials intelligently, he realized how little he understood about what he’d accumulated.

’Great planning, Noah. Absolutely brilliant. Hoard hundreds of valuable resources without learning what they do.’

He focused on the category five cores specifically. Those were rare enough that they had to matter. Three of them, each one representing something genuinely dangerous that he’d managed to kill.

’Retrieve one category five core.’

The system responded immediately. Reality rippled slightly in front of him, and a crystallized sphere maybe the size of a baseball materialized in his hand. It was black, but not void-black. Different. The surface looked almost liquid, shifting and moving like oil despite being solid to the touch.

Noah recognized it. This was from the skinwalker he’d fought months ago, back during one of Eclipse’s early operations. The thing had been nightmare fuel—a black substance that could take over its victims, control them from the inside like some parasitic horror. Killing it had required a lot of tricks and making sure nothing remained that could regenerate.

He held the core carefully, studying it. The black surface continued its slow shifting motion, patterns forming and dissolving without any external stimulus.

’Okay,’ Noah thought. ’So if I’m supposed to combine this Blue Shell Crystal with compatible materials, and the system warned me to choose carefully, then there should be some kind of feedback. Some indication of whether this works or not.’

He mentally placed the skinwalker core next to the Blue Shell Crystal in his mind, trying to will the system to show him something. Compatibility rating. Success probability. Anything.

Nothing happened.

No notifications appeared. No helpful text explaining whether this combination would produce something useful or just waste both materials. The system remained silent, offering no guidance whatsoever.

"Are you serious?" Noah said aloud, his frustration bleeding into actual speech. "You tell me to pick suitable materials, warn me about compatibility, and then don’t tell me what combinations are good or not? What’s the point?"

He stood up from the bed, pacing his quarters. The skinwalker core felt heavy in his hand, not from physical weight but from potential value. Category five cores didn’t grow on trees. Using one for a failed experiment would be genuinely costly.

’There has to be a way to check this. Some system function I’m missing. The interface is based on leveling mechanics, which means there should be—’

[Alert: Void Store Access Available]

[Hidden Skill Detected: Blacksmith Appraisal]

[Cost: 10,000 Void Coins]

[Current Balance: 47,823 Void Coins]

Noah stopped pacing. ’Of course there’s a skill for this. Why would the system just give me useful information when it could charge me for it?’

He pulled up the skill description.

[Blacksmith Appraisal]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Effect: Allows user to preview potential forging outcomes by expending void coins and system resources]

[Mechanics: Higher clarity requires higher payment. Preview does NOT guarantee outcome - probability ranges will be displayed]

[Note: This skill analyzes material compatibility and projects likely results based on observable properties. Actual forging results may vary.]

[Purchase: Yes/No]

’Ten thousand coins,’ Noah thought, checking his balance again. ’I’ve got almost forty-eight thousand total, so this isn’t breaking the bank. And if it prevents me from wasting category five cores on garbage combinations, it pays for itself immediately.’

The math was simple. One category five core was worth tens of thousands of credits on the open market, possibly more depending on what beast it came from and what properties it held. Spending ten thousand void coins to avoid destroying one was just smart resource management.

’Purchase the skill.’

[Purchase Confirmed]

[-10,000 Void Coins]

[New Balance: 37,823 Void Coins]

[Skill Acquired: Blacksmith Appraisal]

[Skill Added to Interface]

The notification faded, and Noah felt something shift in his awareness. Not dramatic, just a new understanding settling into place. He knew how to activate the skill now, knew what it required, understood its limitations instinctively.

He looked down at the skinwalker core still in his hand. ’Appraise this. Show me what it can become.’

[Blacksmith Appraisal Activated]

[Analyzing: Category 5 Skinwalker Core + Blue Shell Crystal]

[Processing...]

[Void Energy Cost: 500]

[Analysis Complete]

Three images appeared in his vision, floating in the air in front of him like holographic projections. Each one showed a different piece of equipment, rendered in enough detail that he could make out textures and construction.

The first was a bracelet. Thin, almost delicate-looking, made from intertwined strands of black and blue material that seemed to pulse with internal light. It looked like jewelry more than combat equipment, something you’d wear to a formal event rather than into battle.

[Monarch’s Seal]

[Probability: 34%]

[Classification: Accessory - Utility Focus]

[Properties: Unknown - Forging Required to Reveal]

The second image showed a mask. Not a full helmet, just a half-mask that would cover the upper face, leaving the mouth and jaw exposed. The design was elegant, almost artistic, with the same black and blue color scheme. The eye holes were empty, but something about them suggested enhanced vision capabilities. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

[Oracle’s Veil]

[Probability: 41%]

[Classification: Accessory - Perception Focus]

[Properties: Unknown - Forging Required to Reveal]

The third was a gauntlet. Single piece, designed to cover one hand and forearm. More substantial than the bracelet, less coverage than the mask, but somehow looking more aggressive despite its relatively simple construction. The fingers showed articulated joints that suggested full mobility despite the armor.

[Reaper’s Grip]

[Probability: 25%]

[Classification: Accessory - Combat Focus]

[Properties: Unknown - Forging Required to Reveal]

Noah studied each option carefully, his mind working through implications.

’So the system’s giving me probabilities but not actual effects,’ he thought. ’Oracle’s Veil has the highest success chance at forty-one percent, but that still means I’ve got better odds of failure than success. Monarch’s Seal is thirty-four percent. Reaper’s Grip is only twenty-five, which makes it the least likely to work.’

He dismissed the images, letting them fade, then reactivated the appraisal. This time he tried different combinations, pulling up various cores from his storage and running them through the analysis.

A category four beast core with the Blue Shell Crystal showed different results—something called Stormweave Mantle that looked like a cloak, a belt named Thunderchain, and throwing weapons labeled as Bolt Shards. Probabilities ranged from fifteen to thirty-eight percent.

A category three frost wolf core produced even lower numbers. Twelve percent for the best option, which was some kind of bracer called Winter’s Edge.

’The higher category cores give better success rates,’ Noah reasoned, watching the percentages shift. ’Makes sense. More powerful materials produce more stable results. But even with a category five core, I’m still looking at less than fifty percent success rate for the best option.’

He sat back down on the bed, the skinwalker core still in his hand. His mind was running calculations, weighing risks against potential rewards.

’Monarch’s Seal and Oracle’s Veil both fall into utility rather than pure combat. I already have combat equipment—Excaliburn for offense, Knight’s Grace for defense, Void Striders for mobility. Adding another combat-focused piece would be redundant unless it does something completely different.’

Reaper’s Grip caught his attention despite its low probability. Twenty-five percent meant three out of four attempts would fail, which was terrible odds. But something about it appealed to him. Maybe because it was the underdog option, maybe because combat focus suggested it would complement his existing gear rather than overlap.

’But I don’t know what any of these actually do,’ Noah thought, frustration creeping back in. ’The appraisal shows me what I could make, gives me success rates, but doesn’t tell me if Monarch’s Seal grants invisibility or just makes my wrist glow pretty. Same with Oracle’s Veil and Reaper’s Grip. I’m gambling blind even with this skill active.’

He ran through more combinations, spending void energy freely now that he’d committed to the process. Different cores, different probability spreads, but always the same lack of concrete information about what the finished products would actually do.

A category five core from something called a berserk serpent—which he barely remembered killing—showed a ring option at fifty-three percent probability called Sovereign’s Mark. First time he’d seen anything break fifty percent, which made it statistically the safest choice.

But a ring? Noah already wore nothing in terms of jewelry. The idea of adding accessories to his combat loadout felt strange, though he recognized that was probably just bias. Rings could be powerful if they granted the right abilities. Invisibility, enhanced strength, elemental resistance, any number of useful effects.

’I’m thinking about this wrong,’ Noah realized, setting the skinwalker core aside. ’I’m trying to optimize without enough information. The appraisal skill shows me possibilities and probabilities, but I can’t make an informed decision about which path to take until I actually know what I need.’

He looked at his current equipment, really looked at it, analyzing what he had versus what he lacked.

Excaliburn gave him offense. The void edge cut through anything, the essence harvest sustained his energy during extended fights. That was covered.

Knight’s Grace provided defense. The void shell absorbed damage, the enhanced recovery kept his energy regenerating. Also covered.

Void Striders handled mobility. Mach two speed, gravity defiance, phantom decoys. Complete package for movement.

’So what do I actually need?’ Noah thought. ’What situations have I faced where my current equipment wasn’t enough?’

Kruel came to mind immediately. The four-horn Harbinger who’d torn through the eastern quadrant, who’d put Diana in a hospital bed, who’d made Lucas question whether fighting was even possible. Noah hadn’t been there, but the recordings were brutal. Pure overwhelming power that existing gear couldn’t counter.

’But more equipment doesn’t solve that problem,’ Noah thought honestly. ’Kruel is just stronger than me right now. A bracelet or mask or gauntlet isn’t going to bridge that gap unless it does something genuinely revolutionary.’

The skinwalker core sat on his bed where he’d set it down, still shifting and moving in its unsettling way. The Blue Shell Crystal remained in his void storage, waiting to be used.

Noah looked at the system interface still displaying various forging possibilities. Names like Monarch’s Seal, Oracle’s Veil, Reaper’s Grip, Sovereign’s Mark, Stormweave Mantle. All of them mysterious, all of them potentially powerful, all of them complete gambles.

’I’m tired,’ he realized. ’Been fighting all day, watched a Christmas celebration turn into a combat deployment. My brain isn’t working at full capacity right now.’

Making decisions about permanent equipment choices while exhausted seemed stupid. The kind of mistake that would haunt him later when he realized he’d wasted irreplaceable materials on something useless.

’Morning,’ Noah decided. ’I’ll look into this more in the morning. Run more appraisals, think through what I actually need versus what just seems cool. Maybe talk to Kelvin about material properties, see if his engineering knowledge can fill in gaps the system won’t explain.’

He returned the skinwalker core to his void storage, watching it vanish back into that pocket dimension where his accumulated wealth waited. The system interface minimized at his mental command, leaving him alone in his quarters with just his thoughts.

Outside his window, the city was dark except for emergency lighting and the soft glow of beast core technology keeping essential systems running. Snow was still falling, covering the damaged sectors in white that made everything look cleaner than it actually was.

’Tomorrow,’ Noah thought again, lying back on his bed. ’Figure this out tomorrow when I can think straight.’

He closed his eyes, letting exhaustion finally catch up to him, and within minutes he was asleep.