Whether to step forward and expose this fraud was a matter worth considering. It shouldn’t be judged by subjective assumptions but rather analyzed rationally to understand the true intention of the task’s designer.
As Nie Yan casually glanced at his status bar, he noticed a new attribute had appeared: Recommendation of the Karon Regent.
Recommendation of the Karon Regent: While under this recommendation status, your Reputation in Hildilock City increases by 30, lasting for 30 minutes.
Seeing this, Nie Yan’s mind calmed down.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. He had the Recommendation of the Karon Regent, which would last for 30 minutes. During this time, his Reputation in Hildilock City would reach 37, already rivaling that of ordinary nobles.
If he successfully triggered and completed this task, he might receive some reward. If the task failed, as long as he left Hildilock City within 30 minutes, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Having made up his mind, Nie Yan walked toward the Equipment Master, Ke Xi.
It would be foolish to rush forward and accuse these nobles that Ke Xi was a fraud, as he would surely be crushed by these arrogant nobles. He was a human, not one of these NPCs programmed by the system.
“Respected Master Ke Xi, I was recommended here by Regent Karon, who asked me to convey his sincere regards to you,” Nie Yan said as he approached Ke Xi.
Hearing Nie Yan mention the Regent’s name, the nobles immediately stopped their chatter and began whispering among themselves. A Regent was a high-ranking official who controlled the city’s finances, military, and public security, holding absolute authority. At the very least, he would hold the title of Duke, while the nobles present were only Earls at most.
Seeing Nie Yan approach, they silently stepped aside.
Ke Xi’s triangular eyes narrowed further, revealing an even more conceited expression as he glanced at the gathered nobles.
“Thank you for Regent Karon’s care and favor. Mr. Nie Yan, would you like to try as well? Here are twenty identical Shining Gems of Arcas. If you can identify the real one, this legendary equipment will be yours,” Ke Xi said with a smile.
Nie Yan looked at the twenty identical gems neatly arranged on the table, all appearing dazzlingly radiant, as if they had been cast from the same mold.
“Master’s craftsmanship is indeed extraordinary,” Nie Yan praised.
Ke Xi smiled slightly, clearly proud of his own counterfeit skills.
“These gems look real, but I believe they have flaws. Just like placing ice next to crystal, the eye may not distinguish them, but under sunlight, the ice will melt while the crystal continues to shine,” Nie Yan carefully maneuvered, drawing Ke Xi into his verbal trap. NPCs were still NPCs; the system had assigned them fixed personalities and speaking styles. Once figured out, their weaknesses could easily be exploited.
Nie Yan subtly provoked Ke Xi, and indeed, Ke Xi’s expression began to freeze over, like a thin layer of frost.
“Mr. Nie Yan, then may I ask, among these twenty gems, which one is the real one?” Ke Xi asked angrily, confident that Nie Yan could not identify it.
“What if we make a wager, Master Ke Xi?”
“I can easily identify the real Shining Gem of Arcas among these twenty. If I lose, I will give you this land deed. However, I will need to examine each gem carefully to confirm,” Nie Yan said, his sole purpose being to expose the fraud. Since Ke Xi was a fraud, Nie Yan did not expect him to honor the bet.
“I accept this wager. If I lose, I will give you an equivalent amount of gold coins. How about that?” Ke Xi, seeing the land deed in Nie Yan’s hand, revealed a greedy expression.
Nie Yan had already figured out the system’s settings for Ke Xi, thus feeling confident. He set a trap for Ke Xi, who immediately and naively fell into it.
“Respected Master Ke Xi, may I now examine these Shining Gems of Arcas? I trust in your integrity; you won’t interfere with me, will you?”
Ke Xi snorted coldly and stepped back a distance.
The nobles gathered around the table at a distance of about two yards, curiously watching Nie Yan, eager to see how he would identify the real Shining Gem of Arcas.
Nie Yan was confident he had grasped the key to the task. He picked up a gem and began examining it, feigning seriousness.
“Poor craftsmanship! The Shining Gem of Arcas possesses a brilliant and pure glow, while this gem’s glow is murky and impure. This is clearly not the real Shining Gem of Arcas, right, Master Ke Xi?” Nie Yan looked toward Ke Xi. He couldn’t really tell much about gems, but he improvised a bit of task-related dialogue.
Ke Xi snorted again and turned his head away.
“Respected Master Ke Xi, I have studied equipment appraisal before. Would you allow me to appraise this Shining Gem of Arcas?” Nie Yan asked with a smile.
At this point, the gathered nobles loudly called out, strongly urging Nie Yan to appraise the unknown authenticity of the Shining Gem of Arcas.
Unable to resist the nobles’ insistence, Ke Xi could only remain silent.
Nie Yan cast the Super Appraisal skill on the gem. A white light flashed as he looked down at the gem’s attributes.
Counterfeit Gem (False): No attributes.
Nie Yan handed this gem to one of the nobles, who began passing it around.
“It’s indeed fake.”
“Amazing! It looked so real. How did he figure it out?”
“Alright, let’s continue.” Nie Yan smiled slightly and picked up another gem from the table, pretending to examine it carefully before shaking his head in feigned disappointment. “There are slight imperfections in the edges. The Shining Gem should be perfect. This piece is nothing short of a desecration of the Shining Gem. This gem is also fake, isn’t it, Master Ke Xi?”
Under the nobles’ urging, Nie Yan appraised the gem again, which turned out to be another counterfeit.
Nie Yan handed the gem to the nobles for further examination, and murmurs spread among them.
One by one, the gems were appraised. Nie Yan had already confirmed that all twenty gems on the table were fake. Therefore, he only needed to fabricate a reason to reject the gem in his hand.
The number of gems on the table dwindled: ten… eight… six… three…
All were counterfeit gems!
Only two gems remained. The nobles stared with wide eyes. The result was about to be revealed, and their tension increased, their eyes locked on the last two gems.
Nie Yan smiled confidently, picked up one gem, and looked at Ke Xi, whose face had already turned dark with rage.
“There are impurities in the center of this gem. Its material is nowhere near the quality of a real Shining Gem. Therefore, it’s also fake!” Nie Yan declared firmly, looking at Ke Xi.
Nie Yan picked up the gem and began appraising it.
The nobles stared intently at Nie Yan’s hands. This was already the nineteenth gem. If this one was still fake, then the last one must be the real one?
A beam of white light fell on the gem, refracting into a rainbow of colors.
However, the result was unquestionable. This gem was also fake.
The nobles let out low exclamations, expressing deep admiration for Nie Yan.
Nie Yan picked up the last gem and looked at Ke Xi. At this point, Ke Xi’s expression showed signs of panic, gradually edging toward the door.
“Respected Master Ke Xi, surely you wouldn’t want to renege on the bet. Are you trying to run away?” Nie Yan smiled. Now, he was the victor.
Ke Xi smiled awkwardly. At this moment, all the nobles were staring at him, leaving him no chance to escape.
“Respected Master Ke Xi, there’s only one gem left here. It should be the real one, right? However, why is the craftsmanship of this gem so poor? I can confidently say that it’s also fake!” Nie Yan smiled at Ke Xi, used the appraisal skill on the gem in his hand, and a beam of white light flashed, revealing the gem’s appraisal result. It was still a counterfeit.
Nie Yan smirked at Ke Xi and said, “Therefore, respected Master Ke Xi, you are a fraud!”
System: You have identified twenty counterfeit gems and have obtained the skill True Sight.
Nie Yan saw this system message and was momentarily stunned, his expression changing. It was actually the True Sight skill!
Upon hearing Nie Yan’s words, the nobles were momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to accept this reality.
At this moment, Ke Xi and another three middle-aged men fled toward the door.
“Stop them! They are all frauds!” Nie Yan pointed at Ke Xi and the other three middle-aged men.
The nobles surged forward, swarming over Ke Xi and the other three men, pinning them to the ground.
“We must hand these frauds over to the Regent for judgment!”
“Yes, we must punish these damned frauds and get our money back!”
The nobles shouted loudly, dragging Ke Xi and the other three men toward the Regent’s Hall.
Nie Yan thought for a moment and followed them. Since the task had reached this point and he had exposed Ke Xi, he was sure to receive a reward from Regent Karon. Nie Yan had never expected that the Equipment Master Ke Xi, casually mentioned by Karon, would lead him to discover this task and expose Ke Xi’s fraud.
A crowd of people, filled with anger, dragged Ke Xi toward the Regent’s Hall, while Nie Yan followed behind them slowly. What concerned him most was still the True Sight skill.
He checked the attributes of True Sight.
True Sight: After using this skill, there is a certain probability of seeing through illusions and invisibility. The probability is related to the level difference between the two parties. Instant cast skill with a cooldown time of 120 seconds.
Against thieves of the same level, if Nie Yan used the True Sight skill, there was a 60% chance of seeing through their invisibility. Additionally, some monsters and players could use illusion clones, which were highly deceptive, but Nie Yan also had a certain probability of breaking through them.
This skill was extremely useful and ranked among the top auxiliary skills. It could greatly counter thief-type professions and was also very useful in completing tasks.
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