Before Gauss could respond, the half-snake person swiftly disappeared from his sight.
Aria approached from the side, her gaze falling on the metal bracelet on the ground.
Its design was remarkably simple, devoid of any intricate decorations or carvings, bearing only a few severely worn geometric lines.
"That half-snake person was quite generous, just giving this to you?" Aria blinked, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Though this was good fortune... the equipment clearly wasn't cheap, and such casual gifting left her somewhat bewildered.
"I'm not sure what's going on either..." Gauss smiled wryly.
Out of caution, he didn't immediately pick it up, instead casting an Identify Spell on it first.
The bracelet began emitting an extremely faint blue glow in his vision. Though dim, this light differed from the sporadic blue dots occasionally seen among white-tier materials - its blue coverage was broader and more pure.
[Empathy Bracelet]
Grade: Rare Magical Item (Blue-tier)Description: A magical bracelet forged from an unknown dark gray alloy, a basic magical relic left behind by a lost civilization. Its functions are simple yet refined.
Basic Enchantment Effect 1: When worn on the wrist, it continuously emits a weak psychic energy field that gently stimulates and slightly enhances the wearer's perception. Adds a faint glow to peripheral vision, making the wearer more sensitive to environmental details, subtle movements, and potential dangers.
Basic Enchantment Effect 2: The gentle energy field it emits also possesses calming and harmonizing properties. Wearers unconsciously exhibit greater composure and approachability, making others more inclined to trust them and feel at ease.
"So it really is a relic from the lost civilization in this maze!"
After reading the effects, Gauss's lips curled slightly.
Judging from the faintest blue glow produced by the Identify Spell, it was likely an item that barely qualified as blue-tier, just surpassing white-tier quality.
This was his first blue-tier equipment!
Blue-tier and white-tier equipment were fundamentally different.
Just look at the two white-tier items he currently wore - neither the black mage robe nor the steel longsword had identified similar enchantment effects.
As for yesterday's harvests - the [Damaged Mud Statue Core] and [Demonic Soil] - they were purely materials, not finished equipment.
Generally, equipment of the same tier was more valuable than materials, as transforming materials into equipment required additional resources and multiple processes by alchemists, enchanters, and blacksmiths.
And this basic blue-tier item already had two enchantment effects.
After finishing the appraisal, Gauss picked up the bracelet.
It felt cool and hard to the touch, with moderate weight. When held, one could sense an extremely faint energy pulse flowing slowly like still water.
"Magical equipment?" Aria curiously leaned closer.
"Yes," Gauss nodded, sharing the Identify Spell results with her. "Want to try it?"
Aria immediately shook her head.
"It was clearly given to him - he should try first."
She had noticed the half-snake person had only addressed Gauss throughout their interaction.
Gauss stopped declining and slipped the ancient metal bracelet onto his right wrist.
The moment it passed over his hand, a cool energy current instantly coursed through his body.
Then his vision underwent subtle changes. Looking down at the ground, previously ordinary terrain now clearly revealed faint footprints and drag marks.
Likely remnants from the brief skirmish between the two groups earlier.
Was this its first enchantment effect?
Truly worthy of blue-tier equipment - extraordinary indeed.
This effect essentially layered a special "trace vision" over normal sight, making environmental clues impossible to hide - tremendously helpful for close-range reconnaissance.
As for the second effect...
Gauss turned to Aria.
"Do I look any different?"
"... " Aria glanced at him, then averted her eyes. "Well... you seem slightly more... pleasant to look at?"
"Great effect - even prettier." Gauss smiled and gave a thumbs up.
This discovery also sparked an idea.
"Perhaps this equipment could sell for more than its practical value?"
Across lifetimes, people's pursuit of "beauty" remained universal.
However, considering this was after all a rare blue-tier item - even a basic one worth dozens of gold coins - its premium potential was likely limited.
Keep or sell? Gauss couldn't immediately decide.
The two searched the village ruins further, ultimately only finding a few ancient silver coins wedged in haystack crevices - nothing else of value.
Thus, Gauss resumed today's main mission: hunting low-level monsters.
"Whoosh!"
A downgraded Magic Missile precisely pierced through a Gray Ooze, exploding it into sludge.
Simultaneously, text flashed before Gauss's eyes:
"Total Monster Kills: 1475"
"You have slain 50 Gray Oozes. Title [Gray Ooze Hunter] has upgraded to [Gray Ooze Slayer]."
Current Effect: Bane. Deals 20% additional damage against Gray Oozes.
Bonus Effect: Combo. After killing a Gray Ooze, chance to trigger a faster subsequent attack.
Gauss looked at the remains on the ground.
He now possessed "Slayer" titles for five monster types: Goblins, Rust Frogs, Goblin-like creatures, Slime Slimes, and now Gray Oozes.
Fifty kills might not seem many, but considering how infrequently some monsters appeared, reaching this number wasn't too easy.
Only common monsters could be quickly cleared.
Gray Oozes appeared relatively frequently in the maze, hence achieving the title upgrade within two days.
After clearing the temporary camp's surroundings, the two sat down to rest.
Hidden traps in the maze were unpredictable - while hunting, constant environmental vigilance was essential.
Fortunately, Gauss now wore that bracelet granting special perceptual vision. Throughout the day, it had helped detect many untriggered traps in advance.
The traps varied - there were flip boards that dropped victims into ten-meter-deep spike pits upon stepping; there were also triggered attack devices that shot crossbow bolts or flung stones...