Started with a 10,000x Multiplier in a Game World

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: A Quiet Corner

The blue exit portal deposited the squad of Dante directly into the central arrival plaza of Aethelgardia.

The transition was smooth and entirely lacked the jarring gravity shifts of the Abyss.

Dante stepped onto the pristine white marble.

He half-expected to be immediately swarmed by an army of glowing Celestial Guardians descending from the sky to execute Erebus.

He didn’t draw a weapon, but his Intuition stat was actively pinging the environment.

The capital city was quiet.

The massive golden sky was clear. The heavily armored NPC paladins patrolling the plaza didn’t break their synchronized marching routes.

They didn’t even look at the Half-Soul Celestial standing next to him.

"I thought you said the shiny men were waiting," Dante murmured and looked down at Erebus.

Erebus blinked her mismatched silver and crimson eyes. She tilted her head to look at the distant towering spires of the Royal Palace.

"They are," Erebus stated flatly.

"They are arguing. The loud ones want to burn the city to find me. The quiet ones say my cosmic weight is protected by the anomaly of the Master."

"So they are currently trapped in a bureaucratic stalemate," Dante concluded and relaxed slightly. "Good. That buys us time."

"Boss," Casanova sighed and leaned heavily against the base of the angel statue in the center of the plaza.

"Can we please go back to the Emporium now? I am emotionally exhausted."

"I watched a giant turn into a bigger giant, and then I watched a teenager eat half her own soul. I need a drink."

"Go," Dante ordered the squad.

"Take the loot to Sera. Nyx, log the dark magic scrolls we found in the Necropolis. I am not going back to the guildhall yet."

Lila frowned and adjusted the strap of her bag as Zephyr fluttered happily around her head.

"Where are you going? You have an inventory full of Celestial-tier drops from the Commander. You need an appraiser."

"I know," Dante said. He pulled his [Mantle of the Void-Dragon] tighter around his gold armor. "But Master Sun will not touch this gear."

"Why not?" Mei asked and casually spun her massive frying pan. "He appraised the Dark Demon stuff for free."

"Because Master Sun is a retired expert hiding from the system," Dante explained as he recalled the interaction in the shop.

"Celestial-tier items are inherently linked to the Divine Court. If Sun tries to decrypt the system locks on a Celestial weapon, the mana flare will likely alert the Orthodox remnants to his exact location."

"I am not going to burn an allied NPC just to check stats."

"So you are going to find a random player with a high-level appraisal skill?" Nyx asked skeptically.

"Dante, player appraisers usually cap out at Gold-tier. The system heavily restricts the leveling curve for non-combat classes."

"I will find someone," Dante assured her. "Just go."

The squad didn’t argue further.

They were exhausted from the back-to-back dungeon clears. They headed off toward the commercial district and were eager to see the newly established Astral Emporium.

Dante walked in the opposite direction.

He intentionally avoided the main thoroughfares and the bustling merchant plazas.

He knew Silas and Kaeleus had been forcefully ejected from the dungeon, and they were likely marching their furious humiliated armies back to the capital.

He didn’t want to get bogged down in a street fight while carrying unappraised Celestial gear.

He navigated the labyrinthine back alleys of Aethelgardia.

The capital wasn’t all gleaming white marble and gold trim.

The deeper he walked into the lower residential tiers, the more the pristine aesthetic faded.

The buildings here were older and constructed from gray stone and weathered wood.

The cobblestone streets were cracked, and the ambient lighting was significantly dimmer.

This was the slum district of the capital, where players who couldn’t afford the exorbitant rent of the inner city were forced to set up their operations.

Dante walked slowly, and his Intuition stat swept the area. He was looking for a specific type of magical signature.

As he turned a corner into a particularly narrow shadowy alleyway, he bumped into something small.

"Oof!"

A tiny figure stumbled backward and dropped a basket of basic low-tier crafting herbs onto the dirty cobblestones.

Dante stopped and looked down.

It was a little boy, maybe eight or nine years old.

He wore incredibly simple faded linen clothes that offered absolutely zero defensive stats. His player ID hovered above her head in faint unassuming white text.

[ID: Dave]

[Level: 5]

Level 5.

He shouldn’t even be in the capital city.

The spawn restrictions heavily deterred anyone under Level 40 from leaving the frontier Outposts.

"I am sorry, mister!" Dave squeaked. He frantically dropped to his knees to gather the scattered herbs. "I did not see you! Please do not be mad!"

Dante didn’t scold him.

He crouched down, his heavy dark purple armor clanking softly, and helped him pick up a handful of ’Silver-Leaf’ herbs.

They were virtually worthless and used primarily for crafting basic Novice-tier health potions.

"It is fine," Dante said and dropped the herbs back into her basket. "You should not be running around down here by yourself. The lower tiers are dangerous."

Dave looked up at him. His wide brown eyes stared at his glowing dark chest piece and the massive starry cloak.

He didn’t look terrified of his cosmic weight. He just looked incredibly amazed.

"You look like a superhero," Dave whispered. "Are you a paladin?"

"I am a Warrior," Dante corrected gently. He stood up. "Where are your parents?"

"My mom is working," Dave said. He pointed down the alleyway toward a small incredibly run-down stone building.

"She has a shop! She is the best appraiser in the whole city!"

Dante raised an eyebrow.

An appraiser operating out of a ruined building in the slums. It was exactly the kind of desperate off-the-grid setup he was looking for.

"Is she open?" Dante asked.

"Yes!" Dave beamed and picked up his basket. "Come on! I will show you!"

The little boy didn’t hesitate.

He grabbed the edge of the dark purple gauntlet of Dante with his tiny hand and practically dragged the towering anomaly down the dirty alleyway.

Dante didn’t resist. He let him lead him to the small stone building.

The wooden sign hanging above the door was faded and cracked. It simply read: [Appraisals].

Dave pushed the door open and skipped inside.

"Mom! I brought a customer!" Dave announced cheerfully.

The interior of the shop was incredibly sparse.

There were no glowing display cases, no magical braziers, and no luxurious mahogany counters like the establishment of Master Sun.

It was just a small dusty room with a simple wooden table and a single flickering candle.

Standing behind the table was a woman.

She looked exhausted.

She wore plain patched merchant robes, and her dark hair was tied back in a messy bun.

Dark circles lined her eyes. Her posture was slumped and weighed down by fatigue.

[ID: Clara]

[Level: 45]

[Class: Master Appraiser]

Level 45.

It was an incredibly high level for a non-combat class, implying she had spent thousands of hours meticulously grinding her crafting skills instead of fighting.

Clara looked up and offered a tired practiced smile.

"Welcome, Outworlder," Clara said, her voice soft and professional. "How can I help you?"

Her smile faltered slightly as Dante stepped fully into the dim light of the shop.

Her high-tier appraisal skills didn’t just read items. They read players.

She instantly registered the overwhelming crushing cosmic weight radiating from the dark armor and the [Mantle of the Void-Dragon].

She swallowed hard and took a slight step back from the table.

"You... you are heavily geared, sir," Clara stammered politely.

"I specialize in mid-tier gear decryption. If you are looking to appraise endgame artifacts, I recommend Master Sun in the commercial district. My mana pool is not..."

"Master Sun is unavailable," Dante interrupted smoothly and stepped up to the wooden table.

"And I do not want a high-profile merchant logging my inventory into the global API. I need discretion."

Clara looked nervously at Dave who was currently organizing his herbs in the corner of the room.

"I understand," Clara sighed and rested her hands on the table. "What do you need appraised?"

Dante opened his infinite inventory.

He didn’t pull out the basic Gold-tier drops or the Dark Demon crafting materials.

He reached past them and pulled out the massive intricate helmet forged from translucent galaxy-filled crystal that he had looted from the executed Void-Drake.

He placed the [Helm of the Void-Drake] onto the simple wooden table.

The moment the Celestial-tier artifact touched the wood, the ambient lighting in the dusty shop violently shifted.

The crystal helmet pulsed and cast deep swirling galaxies of void energy across the peeling wallpaper.

Clara gasped and physically recoiled from the table.

"By the system," Clara whispered, and her eyes were wide with absolute horror. "That is a Celestial-tier artifact. That is raw unmitigated divine code."

"Can you crack it?" Dante asked flatly.

"Sir, I am a Master Appraiser, not a Guardian," Clara panicked and shook her head rapidly.

"Decrypting a Celestial item requires a mana expenditure that could permanently shatter the neural link of my avatar. I cannot afford a True Death. I have my daughter to protect."

"Mom?" Dave asked. He looked up from his herbs and sensed the sudden tension in the room.

Dante looked at the terrified woman, then looked at the little boy in the corner.

He understood the desperation.

In the Zenith Protocol, non-combat players relied entirely on the economy to survive.

If they couldn’t pay their daily upkeep fees to the system, they were forcibly evicted into the hostile wilderness.

Clara was clearly struggling to keep her shop open. Risking a permanent death to appraise a single item was a terrible gamble.

"I can provide a buffer," Dante offered calmly.

He didn’t explain. He tapped his pet interface.

Aura materialized instantly. Her Grade 8 Mystic Sovereign form illuminated the dim shop with brilliant silver starlight.

Clara stared at the floating elegant woman in absolute awe.

"Aura," Dante commanded. "Shield her."

Aura chimed softly and raised her hand.

[Skill Activated: Ultimate Guardian Halo]

The invisible dome of pure starlight expanded and enveloped Clara.

"This aura provides a flat 60% reduction to all incoming damage, including systemic feedback," Dante explained to the stunned appraiser.

"And it grants massive passive health regeneration. It will completely mitigate the neural strain of the decryption process. You will not die."

Clara looked at the glowing buff icon on her system interface.

She could feel the overwhelming stabilizing warmth of the celestial magic flowing into her tired avatar.

"You... you would burn a high-tier cooldown just to appraise a helmet?" Clara asked, incredibly confused.

"I need the stats," Dante said simply. "Are we doing this, or do I need to find another shop?"

Clara took a deep steadying breath.

She looked at Dave, then looked back at the glowing crystal helmet on her table.

"I will do it," Clara said as her professional resolve returned.

She placed her hands firmly on either side of the Celestial artifact and began to channel her mana pool to initiate the highly dangerous decryption sequence.