"You can pick whichever one you want among these five unique skill orbs. I have long since hit my limit, so I only use them for bargaining at this point." Valerius said.
With the wave of his hand five golden orbs appeared on the table, a soft glow emanating from each one.
'To think he can pull out five of these like it is nothing. I suppose that is just a perk of being one of the adventurers guild's leaders.' Marcus thought while intently looking at the unique skill orbs.
Each one of these orbs was worth enough to allow anyone to live comfortably for their entire life and anyone that wanted to grow stronger coveted them.
"Mraz." Marcus said.
Nodding her head knowingly, Mrazivý's eyes turned golden, and her pupils became slits.
With a glance at each of the orbs her dragon eyes laid each of their properties bare before her.
"I will take this one." Mrazivý said, grabbing the one that interested her. They had already agreed that she would get the first pick.
Not showing any sign of hesitation, Mrazivý learned the skill within, and the lustrous golden orb turned pale and began to crumble into fine particles of dust.
"That certainly is an interesting trick you have there. If I am not mistaken, those were the fabled dragon eyes." Valerius said, extremely interested in the power that Mrazivý had just demonstrated.
Among all known appraisal abilities, dragon eyes were the strongest. Able to see even through unique skills such as Marcus' False Status. There was almost nothing that could hide from the ability given to one of the strongest beasts on Mirrion.
"Your assessment is correct. It is a power I inherited from an ancestor far down in my family line. I am not a dragon myself though." Mrazivý said.
She did not elaborate further, but Valerius now had a keen interest in Mrazivý far beyond just her strength.
Dragons rarely interacted with people, and when they did, it was often not peaceful.
Still, their ability to appraise most things with just a single look was a coveted power. Having someone capable of the feat was incredibly valuable.
'I hit the jackpot with these two. The other quadrant leaders will not be able to ridicule me for poor management just from bringing in someone with the dragon eyes ability. It was worth it to humble myself to them.' Valerius thought.
He was the most junior member of the leading figures within the guild and was put in charge of the weakest quadrant that the guild oversaw. There had been other joint missions where those that came from his northern quadrant were not in the same league as those representing the other quadrants. At times, his leadership had been called into question, and he had received no end of grief because of it.
However, that was all going to change soon. Not only had he brought Marcus and Mrazivý into the fold, but only a couple of years ago another talented individual had joined the guild within his sphere of influence.
"I would say that this one will be the best for you. The others are not particularly useful to you." Mrazivý said, picking up one of the orbs and handing it to Marcus.
After hearing an overview of what it did and receiving Mrazivý's positive assessment, Marcus learned the skill within. It was a type of power that Marcus had been lacking.
"Hm, so you choose Cursed Claw and Behemoth Charge. I suppose I should have expected you to take the best of those I was offering."
Of the skill orbs that Valerius had presented to them, those two were the strongest.
Mrazivý's Cursed Claw gave her five different cures at the tip of each of her fingers. All she had to do to inflict a target with one of these curses was to cut them with her claws. Giving her access to debilitating effects that would cripple anyone.
Marcus' Behemoth Charge on the other hand was just a powerful attack he could utilize once a day. It was not an especially intricate ability, but sometimes you simply needed to hit someone or something extremely hard.
"With that our agreement has been fulfilled. Now that you are both mithril ranks, I can give you both an official request to join the guild's upcoming expedition." Valerius said.
He then passed over another contract to them that would bind them to a vow of secrecy.
'Whatever they found must be pretty special to go through all this trouble.' Marcus thought as he signed the contract.
Mrazivý had already agreed to joining in on the expedition on the condition that her master would no longer be hunted by the guild. Naturally this meant that Marcus was going as well. Plus, it was sure to be interesting.
"Good, everything is order." Valerius once he had confirmed that the contracts were signed.
"Nearly eight months ago, a new island was discovered deep within the Usmar Ocean which lies several thousand kilometers southeast of here. And I do not mean that a previously undiscovered island was found. This land mass had not occupied this space in the ocean before. We have plenty of records of the area just having been open water. It is certainly a perplexing discovery."
Valerius went on to elaborate that the island itself was around a tenth the size of Borealia from the estimates measuring its perimeter.
"Other than a few meters of coastline, the entire island is covered in a perpetual fog that no skill, race ability, or item has been able to pierce. It is impossible to approach by flying and only those level eighty or lower can set foot on it. Even the leader of the guild tried to force his way in but was unable to. No matter how strong someone gets, it is impossible to go against the system's rules. Which is why we are gathering an elite team of individuals that are level eighty or lower to explore the island. We sent an initial scouting party to investigate the area, but they were quickly forced to flee after losing many members. All manner of powerful creatures inhabit the island. Hence why we need those that are far above average to have any hope of investigating this mysterious new land."