Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy

The old woman's ability was definitely not some trickery to get a customer. It was a true Arcane Art, and Kyle had only noticed this when the woman started pulling out the tarot cards.

Nonetheless, he had no reason to interrupt since she wasn't doing anything harmful at all. Although he was curious, he decided to just let it go since Merlin had already warned him that participating in mortal matters would add more karma to him, and soon, the Will of the Realm might start pressuring him to ascend or leave this realm.

Of course, it was impossible to ascend now because of what the Timeless King had done to their realm, but nonetheless, he didn't want to affect the fate of the mortal realm too much, or he'd be the one to suffer.

'I'll just observe for now...'

For now, Kyle had no intention of knowing more about this woman and just watched Armin for now, the only living relative of the old man who had given him the Temporal Timepiece. As for the reason he was doing this, it was all to understand the Timepiece's true nature...

***

Nonetheless, Armin continued looking around the huge and lively city.

He could tell from the clothes of many people around that Arcanists from various factions were very common. It was indeed true that the Shadow Immortal's Domain doesn't discriminate to your Arcane Path.

It was completely different from other territories where certain practitioners had to hide themselves or they might get picked on.

Anyway, after passing countless enticing shops and stalls, Armin finally found himself in front of an elegant building with tall, arched windows and finely carved details across its stonework: the Silver Light Auction House.

It was the sign near the entrance that announced their promotion for the day-free appraisals for any items brought in.

"Perfect!" Armin muttered. He didn't expect that the Auction House would do such a promotion today.

He was actually unsure about the item in his possession since the appraisal value would depend on the items value.

If Timepiece was just a normal ornament, he wouldn't have to pay much. However, if this heirloom was actually a great Magic Artifact, then he wouldn't know if he could pay at all.

Thankfully, the Auction House's promotion came at the right time.

As he glanced at the entrance of the building, he saw that there was a line of around thirty people had already formed. All of them were clutching a bag or precious items or trinkets. Armin hesitated as he wasn't sure if this would take a long time. However, this promotion may no longer happen on the next day so he could only join the line.

'I just hope the appraisal won't take too much time...' He thought.

Since he had no idea how the process worked, he could only pray that he wouldn't stay here for now as he was already starting to get hungry.

He then pulled out his gold-plated pocket watch from his pouch, glancing down at the delicate engravings along its surface. Eustass informed the managers of the orphanage that it was an heirloom from his great-grandfather, and nothing much was mentioned about it.

He could only wonder if it held any significance beyond being a simple timepiece, but he'd never had the means to find out until now...

'I hope there's something to this...' He prayed silently. Since this world was filled with mysticism, there should be a high chance that this keepsake was unnatural. However, the fact that the volunteers, who were fourth-class Arcanists, failed to notice anything strange about it, made him feel down once again.

'Err... They're only fourth-class Arcanist... So if this is special, they might not notice it with their weak Arcane Energy...' Armin said to himself while waiting...

Then, as he waited, he overheard some of the conversations from others in line.

The person ahead of him, a middle-aged woman with a bundle of red and green feathers, was muttering excitedly to her friend. "They say if you get an item appraised here, you might even be able to sell it directly. I heard someone once found an ancient artifact in their attic!"

Behind him, a young man clutched a tarnished brooch, explaining to his partner, "If this is genuine Dark Spirit's remnants, we could afford a room at the finest inn in Clovis for a whole year with free meals!"

Armin listened to some more of these conversations, and all of them seemed to be sure that the items they were holding were of value.

Armin continued listening to similar conversations and even started learning a few more things about this auction house. Apparently, this place was actually owned by one of the Shadow Immortal's friends or maybe a subordinate. It means that they could trust their items to them, and they wouldn't get undervalued by the offers they might give.

As a twelve-year-old, he could only hope that his item wouldn't get stolen once he got it appraised, so hearing how trustworthy this place was made him heave a sigh of relief. Finally, Armin reached the front of the line and was greeted by an appraiser in dark green robes, his hands were adorned with various rings that shone faintly with enchantments. "And what do we have here?" the man asked, gesturing toward Armin's watch.

"It's just an old pocket watch, but it's an heirloom, so..." Armin replied, offering it with both hands. "I don't know much about it, but it's something from my ancestor..."

The appraiser took it gently, examining the engravings, the quality of the plating, and the intricate clockwork visible through the glass cover on the back.

'It seemed to have been repaired a few times... But let's see..." The appraiser muttered before his aura changed.

He seemed to have triggered a formation circle or perhaps started a ritual as he murmured an incantation.

Then, a soft glow emerged around the watch, casting faint symbols in the air that only he could read.

After a few moments, the appraiser's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he looked at Armin

with interest.

"This isn't just a watch..."