The Serpentfolk didn't wait for Gauss to reply; his figure slipped away and vanished from sight.
Alia walked over, her gaze landing on the metal bracelet on the ground.
Its design was extremely simple—no ornate decorations or carvings—just a few badly worn geometric lines.
"That Serpentfolk was really generous—he just gave this to you?" Alia blinked, a little baffled.
It was good news, sure… but the piece screamed "expensive," and handing it over so casually was hard to wrap her head around. "I'm not sure what his deal is either…" Gauss smiled helplessly.
Out of caution, he didn't pick it up right away. He cast Identify on it first.
In his sight, a very faint blue halo rose off the bracelet. The glow was pale, but unlike the scattered blue flecks he'd seen in white-grade materials; this blue covered more of the piece and was purer in color.
[Horn Bangle]
Grade: Rare magic item (Blue)
Description: A magic bracelet forged from an unknown dark-gray alloy, a basic piece of arcana left behind by a lost civilization.
Simple and focused in function.
Base enchantment I: When worn on the wrist, it continuously emits a faint psychic field that gently stimulates and slightly raises the wearer's Perception. It adds a soft penumbra to the edges of one's vision, sharpening awareness of surroundings, subtle movements, and potential danger.
Base enchantment II: Its gentle field also soothes the mind and smooths one's aura. The wearer unconsciously projects greater composure and approachability, making others more inclined to feel trust and calm around them.
So it was a relic from the labyrinth's lost age!
Reading the effects, Gauss couldn't help a small smile. Judging by the very faint blue from Identify, it was barely over the line into blue grade—but still…
It was his first blue item!
Blue and white are a different league. His two white pieces—the black robe and the refined steel longsword—had no such enchantments. As for yesterday's finds, the Broken Mud Golem Core and Magic Soil were raw materials, not finished gear.
And this entry-level blue had two enchants.
Identify done, Gauss picked up the bracelet.
It felt cool and hard, nicely weighted; in his palm he could sense the faintest trickle of energy, like still water slowly flowing.
"Magic gear?" Alia leaned in, curious.
"Yeah," Gauss nodded, and told her the Identify result. "Want to try it?"
Alia shook her head at once.
"He gave it to you. You try first."
She'd noticed the Serpentfolk had addressed Gauss the whole time.
Gauss stopped demurring and slid the austere metal band onto his right wrist.
The instant it passed over his hand, a cool current of energy rushed through his body.
Then his vision subtly changed. Looking down, what had seemed like plain ground now clearly showed faint outlines of footprints and drag marks.
Likely traces from the skirmish just now.
So that was the first enchantment?
No wonder it's blue—very nice.
It effectively layered a special "trace-sight" over his normal vision, making little clues in the environment pop—hugely useful for close-range scouting.
As for the second effect—
Gauss looked over at Alia.
"Do I look any different?"
Alia glanced at him, then looked away. "Mm—maybe… a bit more… pleasant to look at?"
Gauss nodded and opened his status panel.
The other four stats were unchanged.
Only Perception and Charisma had shifted slightly.
Perception: 9 (8)
Charisma: 8 (7)
The values in parentheses were his baseline. So the bracelet was boosting those two?
To confirm, Gauss took it off—and sure enough, Perception and Charisma dropped back to 8 and 7.
Still, he could faintly tell that these gear-based bumps didn't feel as solid as true growth—there was a certain "hollowness" to them.
And the benefits likely mattered most when the base stat was low; for high-level folks—especially those already strong in these two—this boost would be marginal.
Gauss handed the bracelet to Alia to try.
When she put it on, her aura subtly changed, as if a soft glow ringed her; you couldn't help but feel more at ease around her.
So that's what a Charisma buff looks like up close, he thought, nodding.
"H-how is it? Do I look different?" Alia asked, mimicking his earlier question.
"Works great—looks even better," Gauss said with a thumbs-up.
That sparked a thought.
"Maybe this could sell for more than its practical value?"
Across worlds and lifetimes, people's pursuit of beauty is the same.
Still, since it was a rare blue item—worth dozens of gold at least—there wasn't tons of room for markup.
Use it or sell it? Gauss couldn't decide yet.
They searched the village ruins a bit more and pried a few old silver coins from a thatch seam, but found nothing else.
So Gauss went back to the day's main job: culling low-tier mobs.
Whump!
A low-power Magic Missile punched clean through a Gray Ooze and burst it into sludge.
Text flashed before Gauss's eyes:
"Total Monster Kills: 1,475."
[You have slain 50 Gray Oozes. The title 'Gray Oozes Hunter' has been upgraded to 'Gray Oozes Slayer'.]
[Current Title Effects: Bane – +20% damage against Gray Oozes.]
[Special Effect: Follow-Up – After killing a Gray Ooze, there is a chance your next attack triggers at increased speed.]
Gauss looked down at the remains.
He now had "Slayer"-tier titles for five species: Goblins, Rustfrogs, Kobolds, Slimes, and—newly—Gray Oozes.
Fifty doesn't sound like much, but many monsters don't show up that often; hitting that count isn't trivial.
Only the common ones rack up fast.
Gray Oozes weren't rare in the labyrinth, so they hit the threshold within a couple of days.
The two of them swept the area around their temporary camp and then sat down to rest.
Traps lurk everywhere in the labyrinth; while hunting, you have to stay wary of the environment.
Fortunately, Gauss was now wearing that bracelet with the special sensory overlay; all day it had helped him spot many untriggered traps in advance.
There were all sorts: drop-plates that sent you into a ten-meter spiked pit the moment you stepped on them; trigger rigs that fired bolts or hurled stones…