Should I expose this scam? It was a question worth considering. First, I couldn’t judge based on subjective wishes; I had to analyze rationally what the designer of this task intended.

Nie Yan inadvertently glanced at his own status bar, where a new attribute had appeared: Councilor Karen's Recommendation.

Councilor Karen's Recommendation: With this recommendation, Respect in Hilderlocke City +30, duration 30 minutes.

Seeing this, Nie Yan felt relieved.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. With Councilor Karen’s recommendation, the status attribute would last for thirty minutes. During this time, his Respect in Hilderlocke City would reach 37, not inferior to that of an ordinary noble.

If he successfully triggered and completed this task, he might get some reward. If the task failed, as long as he left Hilderlocke City within thirty minutes, the problem shouldn't be too big.

Having made up his mind, Nie Yan walked towards Equipment Master Korsi.

If he rashly rushed up and told these nobles that Korsi was actually a liar, that would be too foolish. He would definitely be trampled to death by this group of stupid, arrogant nobles. He was human, not one of these NPCs whose programs had been set by the main brain.

"Respected Master Korsi, I was recommended here by Councilor Karen. He asked me to convey his sincere respect to you," Nie Yan said as he walked towards Korsi.

Hearing Nie Yan mention Councilor Karen's name, the nobles immediately dared not be presumptuous and whispered to each other. The councilor was an important political figure who controlled the local finances, military affairs, and public security, possessing absolute leadership in the city. At the very least, they had to be a duke or higher, while the nobles here were at most only counts.

Seeing Nie Yan approaching, they all silently retreated to the side.

Korsi's triangular eyes narrowed slightly, revealing an even more smug expression, and glanced at the many nobles present.

"Thank you for Councilor Karen's concern and love, Mr. Nie Yan. Would you like to try as well? There are twenty identical Arkas' Shining Gems here. As long as you find the real one, then this legendary equipment will be yours," Korsi said with a smile.

Nie Yan glanced at the twenty identical gems densely arranged on the table, as if they had been printed from the same mold, looking extremely dazzling.

"The master's craftsmanship is truly extraordinary," Nie Yan praised.

Korsi smiled slightly, revealing a hint of arrogance. He must have been very proud of his forgery skills.

"These rings look just like the real thing. But I think they have flaws, like ice next to crystal. You may not be able to tell the difference with your eyes, but under the sunlight, the ice will melt, while the crystal will still be dazzling." Nie Yan pondered, slowly leading Korsi into the linguistic trap he had set. NPCs were still NPCs; the main brain had set fixed personalities and ways of speaking for them. As long as you explored a little, you could know where their weaknesses were.

Nie Yan used words to provoke Korsi. Sure enough, Korsi's expression began to freeze, like a layer of frost.

"Mr. Nie Yan, then please tell me, which one of these twenty gems is the real one?" Korsi asked angrily, certain that Nie Yan could not find the real one.

"How about Korsi and I make a bet?"

"What bet?"

"I can easily find the real Arkas' Shining Gem from these twenty gems. If I lose, I will give this land deed to Master Korsi. But I need to carefully observe each gem to be sure," Nie Yan said. His purpose was only to expose the scam. Since Korsi was a liar, he didn't think Korsi would honor the bet.

"I agree to this bet. If I lose, I will give you gold coins of equal value, how about that?" Korsi said, a greedy look appearing in his eyes as he saw the land deed in Nie Yan's hand.

Nie Yan roughly figured out the main brain's setting for Korsi, and therefore had a clear idea in his mind. He set a trap for Korsi, and Korsi immediately jumped in foolishly.

"Respected Master Korsi, let me take a look at these Arkas' Shining Gems. I believe in your reputation. You won't interfere with me, will you?"

Korsi snorted coldly and retreated a distance.

The nobles stood about two yards away from the table, curiously watching Nie Yan, wondering how he would identify the real Arkas' Shining Gem.

Nie Yan was certain that he had grasped the key to the task. He picked up a gem and observed it, looking very serious.

"A clumsy work. Arkas' Shining Gem has a brilliant and pure light, but the light of this gem is turbid and dull. This is not a real Arkas' Shining Gem at all. Am I right, Master Korsi?" Nie Yan said to Korsi. He couldn't say much about gems either, but he still made up a passage of task language.

Korsi snorted coldly and turned his head away.

"Respected Master Korsi, I have learned to identify equipment attributes. Would you allow me to identify this Arkas' Shining Gem?" Nie Yan asked with a smile.

At this time, the many nobles at the side shouted out in a timely manner, strongly demanding that Nie Yan identify this Arkas' Shining Gem, which they didn't know was real or fake.

Seeing that he could not reverse the wishes of these nobles, Korsi could only remain silent.

Nie Yan cast Super Appraisal on the gem. A white light flashed, and he lowered his head to look at the gem's attributes.

Imitation Gem (Fake): No attributes.

Nie Yan gave the gem to one of the nobles, and the group of nobles began to pass it around.

"It's really fake."

"Amazing, it looks like the real thing. How did he see it?"

"Alright, let's continue." Nie Yan smiled slightly and picked up another gem from the table. He pretended to look at it and shook his head regretfully, "The edges have slight flaws. The Shining Gem is perfect. This kind of thing is simply blasphemy against the Shining Gem. This gem is also fake, isn't it, Master Korsi?"

At the urging of the nobles, Nie Yan cast Appraisal. It was still a fake gem.

Nie Yan continued to give the gem to the nobles to pass around. The nobles whispered among themselves.

One by one, the gems were identified. Nie Yan had already confirmed that none of the twenty gems on this table were real. In that case, he could just make up a reason and deny the gem in his hand.

There were fewer and fewer gems on the table... ten... eight... six... three...

All of them were fake gems!

There were two gems left. The nobles widened their eyes. The result was coming out soon. They became more and more nervous, staring intently at the gems on the table.

Nie Yan revealed a confident smile, picked up one of them, and looked at Korsi. His face was already livid with anger.

"There are some impurities in the center of this gem. Its material is not in the same class as the Shining Gem at all, so it is also fake!" Nie Yan said firmly, looking at Korsi.

Nie Yan picked up the gem and began to cast Appraisal on the gem.

The many nobles stared intently at Nie Yan's hand. This was already the nineteenth. If this gem was still fake, then the remaining one must be real?

A white light fell on the gem, refracting a colorful light.

But the result of the appraisal was undoubtedly that this gem was also fake.

The nobles let out low exclamations, expressing their deep admiration for Nie Yan.

Nie Yan picked up the last gem and looked at Korsi. At this time, Korsi's expression was a little flustered, and he gradually slipped towards the door.

"Respected Master Korsi, you wouldn't want to go back on your word, would you? Are you trying to run away?" Nie Yan said with a smile. Now he was the victor.

Korsi smiled awkwardly. At this time, all the nobles were staring at him, and he had no chance to slip away.

"Respected Master Korsi, there is only one gem left here. It should be real, right? But why is the workmanship of this gem so poor? I can be sure that it is also fake!" Nie Yan smiled and looked at Korsi, casting the Appraisal skill on the gem in his hand. A white light flashed, and the gem was identified. It was still a fake gem. Nie Yan looked at Korsi with a sneer and said, "So, Respected Master Korsi, you are a liar!"

System: You have identified twenty fake gems and obtained the skill Eye of Truth.

Nie Yan was stunned when he saw this system prompt, and couldn't help but be moved. It was actually the Eye of Truth skill!

Hearing Nie Yan's words, the nobles were stunned for a long time, seemingly unable to accept this reality.

At this time, Korsi and three other middle-aged men fled towards the door.

"Catch them, they are all liars!" Nie Yan pointed at Korsi and the other three middle-aged men.

The nobles were in an uproar and rushed forward, pressing Korsi and the other three middle-aged men to the ground.

"We want to hand this liar over to Councilor Karen for trial!"

"Yes, we want to punish these damned liars and get our money back!"

The nobles shouted and cursed, grabbing Korsi and the other three middle-aged men and heading towards the council hall.

Nie Yan thought for a moment and followed. Since the task had reached this point, he had exposed Korsi, and he would definitely get a reward from Councilor Karen. Karen had mentioned Equipment Master Korsi unintentionally, but he had unexpectedly discovered this task and exposed Korsi's scam.

A crowd of people angrily dragged Korsi to the council hall, while Nie Yan followed behind the crowd, walking slowly. What he cared about most was the Eye of Truth skill.

He looked at the attributes of the Eye of Truth.

Eye of Truth: After casting this skill, there is a certain chance to see through illusions and invisibility. The probability depends on the level difference between the two sides. Instant skill, skill cooldown time one hundred and twenty seconds.

When fighting against thieves of the same level, if Nie Yan cast the Eye of Truth skill, there was a 60% chance of seeing through the opponent's invisibility. Moreover, some monsters and players could cast illusion clones, which were very deceptive. Nie Yan also had a certain chance to destroy them.

This skill was extremely useful. Among the many auxiliary skills, it ranked in the top few. It could greatly restrain thief-type classes and was also very useful when doing tasks.