The two of them fell backward, but in the last moment, Brand raised his head and managed to catch a glimpse of a golden figure disappearing behind the rocks. His quick reaction was the only reason he could see where the attack came from at all.
"Who——!" Brand instinctively pushed himself up to chase after the figure, but as soon as he pressed down with his hand, he felt a soft, yielding sensation. He froze for a moment before his brain processed what had happened, and he was completely blank.
He turned his head around and saw, as expected, his hand had landed in a place it definitely shouldn’t be — right on the girl’s chest. Freya was completely stunned, her light brown eyes wide as she stared at him, unable to find words.
But the future Valkyrie finally came to her senses. She shoved Brand away forcefully, quickly got up, and looked down in silence.
Brand also reacted, awkwardly getting to his feet and pretending to look in the direction the golden figure had retreated — but of course, there was nothing there now.
"I’m sorry, um..." He fumbled for the right words for a long time and could only squeeze out a dry apology.
"Anyway, who was that earlier?" Freya’s face was as red as a tomato, and she kept her head low.
"I don’t know. I saw a golden figure, but that’s not what an elf looks like. It’s more likely a summoned creature." Talking about his area of expertise made Brand’s thoughts clearer.
"Are you... are you hurt?" The girl’s voice was as small as a mosquito.
Brand glanced at her and shook his head. He specifically looked around for the golden arrow from earlier but only found a deep hole in the side of a rock.
Brand frowned at the small hole. That was the effect of an advanced weapon. But at least he could confirm what he saw wasn’t an illusion. Judging by the speed of the figure, it seemed to be less powerful than Albton, which made him relax a bit. As long as they stayed vigilant, they shouldn’t encounter too much trouble.
His battle with Albton had already made him aware of his own strength. If he gave his all, he could just about reach Silver Level, and enemies below that level didn’t scare him much anymore.
After inspecting the battlefield, Brand gave Freya a signal to stay alert before he gripped his Elf Sword and headed inside.
He remembered the golden figure had escaped through a crevice to the north. That direction led to the entrance of the Crossroads of Destiny. Could it have come from there? He had never heard of anyone getting ambushed in-game.
Soon, he saw the iron box behind the rock — it was set on a white stone platform, as if someone had placed it there on purpose. If one had power beyond the gold level, they could destroy the box, but it wouldn’t matter, as it would regenerate the following night.
Brand looked around. He didn’t trust his memory anymore. The appearance of the golden figure had already altered some of his predetermined notions. There were not only creatures here, but they also seemed hostile.
After ensuring there were no enemies, he opened the box. But as soon as it was open, he was stunned.
Besides a stone tablet, there was also a pair of earrings inside the box.
Brand hesitated. He feared there might be a magic trap on the box, although there hadn’t been one in the game. Still, it was better to be cautious. He had a simple test method: he moved his Elf Sword close. Often, magic items had some basic protective wards. He just needed to see if there was any reaction.
This method wasn’t foolproof, but it was better than nothing.
Brand quickly got his result — no reaction.
Only then did he pick up the earrings and glance at them briefly before quickly dropping them back as if they burned him: "Endless Ice Earrings, Intelligence +2, Willpower +1." Brand couldn’t help but groan, holding his head as intense pain shot through him like a thousand needles piercing his skull.
"Brand?" Freya was startled and quickly ran over to support him.
"I’m fine, be careful of our surroundings." Brand clutched the iron box with one hand, gasping for air, while cursing the person who placed the earrings there in his mind. He knew exactly what was wrong. It wasn’t a trap; it was just that the magic rebound due to his insufficient power. The biggest issue was this earring was at least gear for Level 95. What on earth was it doing here?
His first thought was that he was hallucinating, but then he ruled that out. Buqi was still a newbie area, encounters rarely exceeded Level 50, and this earring was far beyond that level — it was closer to Level 70.
So when Brand used his willpower to probe the earring, the strong magic rebound caused a momentary blank in his thoughts.
Such a powerful magic item appearing in this low-level area.
Logically, this mistake wouldn’t appear in the game.
While there might be some changes in this world, Brand found it hard to believe it would contradict the game’s settings so fundamentally. Waiting for the headache to subside, he understood another issue:
What if this Land of Saint’s Relics was designed for NPCs to complete?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, the valley itself was discovered shortly after the game began, roughly two months after the end of the first Black Rose War. If it was empty back then, the designers likely never intended for players to get involved in this plot.
Brand couldn’t help but stare at the earrings, his heart pounding. A hidden quest over Level 60? Should he exploit this unexpected opportunity or retreat immediately?
The risk was unimaginably high, but so were the potential rewards. Brand had only completed three hidden quests above Level 60 in his previous lifetime, earning a Fantasy Weapon once, an Intermediate Skill another time, and a fortune of nearly a billion Thor.
These three quests had propelled him into the ranks of high-level players.
But how significant was the risk? At Level 60, the power scale far surpassed golden power, and even the elements had advanced by more than ten levels. Facing an average Level 60 monster, he’d probably be killed with a single glance.
Brand’s hand hovered over the iron box, his thoughts in turmoil. He wavered, unable to decide.
Another critical issue was that within the next three months, everything in this valley might disappear. If he gave up this adventure today, he might never have the chance again. This dilemma lingered in his mind like a sinister specter, repeatedly urging him to take the risk.
The young man took a deep breath and turned to look at Freya.
"Brand?" Freya noticed the peculiar look in his eyes and asked cautiously.
"If I choose to go on this adventure, will you come with me?" Brand’s voice was a bit hoarse.
"I might, but I don’t want you to take the risk, Brand," Freya after thinking for a moment.
Brand hesitated briefly, then nodded, and exhaled deeply.
————————————————————————————
(PS: Over 5200 words, making up for yesterday.)(To be continued. For more details, please log in at www.qidian.com, where you’ll find more Chapters and support the author and legitimate reading!)