My Joker System: From Low Mana Trash to the Mightiest Wizard!
Chapter 53: Artifact Grade

Chapter 53: Artifact Grade

Hal smiled in utter delight as he picked up the Prime Gar Feather Trinket and observed it up close, nodding repeatedly in satisfaction.

He still didn’t know what the accessory artifact’s effects were.

However, he would find out in a short while.

’But first...’

[Claim Reward - [Chaos’ Arcane Links (First Set)]? Yes/No]

Hal unhesitatingly pressed [Yes], enjoying the warm brain massage along with the comfortable flow of information, but this time, his heart began to race faster.

The knowledge about arcane links he was receiving could perhaps be considered revolutionary.

There was a new type of link introduced in this first set of Chaos’ Arcane Links called a masking link, which allowed him to prevent others from seeing the true set of arcane links used to make an artifact.

Hal was especially pleased with the introduction of this type of link because Chaos’ Arcane Links were inscribed using Chaos Karma instead of Mana essence.

The links were connected in a different way, resulting in far better effectiveness and efficiency, though instead of blue, they were silvery-vermillion.

For example, the simple four-link he used to create the trinket had an equivalent in the Chaos set, which resulted in a more stable and effective artifact.

His revolutionary method of inscription would make him a prime target for prying eyes and envious people without the masking links.

Furthermore, Hal was sure that regardless of whether as Joker or Hal, the aristocracy would make a move to abduct and torture him for information about his unusual inscription method if not for the new type of links.

The only drawback was that he had to double his inscription efforts, as he also needed to create fake inscriptions using the standard method and place them inside the masking links.

The hard part was that the inscriptions had to make sense.

Otherwise, anyone investigating artifacts made by "Joker" would immediately sense that something was amiss.

Hal was still extremely satisfied, though, despite the possible problems that might arise once "Joker" became more and more prominent.

After all, Joker wouldn’t just be an Arcanist, but also a mighty combat wizard.

He wouldn’t be as helpless as the others, though he still needed time to grow as both.

Hal took one deep breath to calm his excited heart.

’Let’s get this one appraised first...’

He had his whole future ahead of him, but Hal knew he shouldn’t rush things too much.

He would eventually get there.

Cleaning up after his mess, Hal left the room, checking out an hour earlier to the receptionist’s surprise.

He then left the establishment after handing over the mana-lock key.

There was the option of having the artifact appraised in the shop he was at.

However, he decided against it, as such shops could be pressured or perhaps were even owned by the aristocrats.

It would be better to have his Prime Gar Feather Trinket appraised at the Imperial Arcanist Guild, which was directly under the control of the Arcanum Imperium.

His personal information and appraisal transactions would be safe there.

Around twenty minutes later, he arrived at the Imperial Arcanist Guild’s Headquarters and queued up at the appraisal window with the least amount of people.

He waited for another quarter of an hour before entering the sound-isolated space right in front of the appraiser.

"Hello, I would like to have my trinket appraised, please."

Arcanists wearing masks were quite common, so the appraiser didn’t find Hal’s appearance odd.

The middle-aged man simply took the trinket and placed it on a small accessory artifact appraisal device that resembled a modern-day digital weighing scale.

The appraiser then pressed and pulled a rather confusing set of controls before an azure mana dome enveloped the Prime Gar Feather Trinket.

Mana-woven words floated just above the accessory, revealing the artifact’s bonuses:

Mana Affinity: +4%

Effectiveness of Wind Elemental Spells: +8%

Artifact Rarity: Common

Artifact Grade: Superior

Crafter: –

The appraiser’s brows rose slightly at the bonuses and the Artifact Grade of the Prime Gar Feather Trinket.

It was among the most common accessory-type artifacts, and the boosts it usually provided were rather mediocre, even when made by a Master Arcanist.

A superior-grade, common-tier artifact was quite uncommon.

However, that was that.

The appraiser didn’t find the trinket particularly impressive or noteworthy.

Hal himself was more surprised than the appraiser, not expecting his first crafted artifact to be of superior grade.

He could almost see silver and gold coins waving at him.

According to the Arcanist Professors at the Grand Magic Academy, there were six artifact rarity tiers applicable to recorded artifacts, and six grade tiers.

The rarity tiers were similar to those on his card draws, while the grade tiers were: Substandard, Standard, Superior, Mastercraft, Mythic, and Transcendent.

However, there were only a handful of recorded Transcendent-grade artifacts, all of which had been obtained from expeditions.

Mythic was the acknowledged peak grade that mere mortal hands could create.

Even the greatest Arcanist in the history of the Imperium, Aquila Veyrathis, also known as the "Archweaver," had only managed to craft Mythic-grade, Legendary-tier artifacts, mostly of the Weapon type, despite having access to all the apex materials and arcane cores he could ever need.

"Would you like an official effect card for this artifact?" the appraiser’s duck-like voice sounded, snapping Hal out of his thoughts.

"Uhh, no. I just wanted to know its effects, thank you."

He wouldn’t be selling the artifact anyway, so there was no need for proof of its effects.

"That would only be twenty copper coins, then."

After paying the fee and receiving his trinket, Hal placed it in his bag and changed in the Imperial Arcanist Guild’s changing room, which was designed to keep one’s disguise hidden.

Regardless of which room one entered, the exit would always be a different room through a basic spatial portal, preventing others from knowing which Arcanist was which.

Hal paid an additional five copper coins for this service.

With the jester mask back in his sack bag and his clothes changed into comfortable fitness attire, Hal lightly stretched before happily heading to the establishment’s exit.

He hadn’t worked out yet today, so that’s what he planned to do for the rest of the evening.

But a poster pasted on the bulletin board near the exit caught his attention:

==

Attention, Aspiring Arcanists!

Novice Arcanists aged 19 and below are invited to join the Manaforge Initiate Competition in Azmarin City.

Showcase your skills, craft powerful arcane artifacts, and prove your worth for valuable rewards.

Make a name for yourself in the Arcanum Imperium!

Registration will close at the seventeenth hour of the seventh day of the fourteenth month of the Arcane Age’s 3259th Year.

So what are you waiting for? Register at the Imperial Arcanist Guild today!

You will be informed if you are a seeded competitor immediately after registration.

If you are not:

Preliminaries will begin one week after the final day of registration at the Imperial Arcanist Guild Azmarin Headquarters.

The Main Event will take place three days after the preliminaries at the Azmarin Public Square.

Rewards:

Winner:

1× D-ranked Arcane Core

5× E-ranked Arcane Cores

10× F-ranked Arcane Cores

Novice Arcanist Toolset (Veyrathis Brand)

50 Silver Coins

–

Runner-up:

2× E-ranked Arcane Cores

7× F-ranked Arcane Cores

Novice Arcanist Toolset (Alteron Brand)

30 Silver Coins

–

Líetha Aeternus, Arcanum Imperium.

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