Blood of the Beast God

Chapter 07: A Great Harvest

“No weapon.”

“No… wait. There is a weapon.”

The chest creaked open, and Kaelen leaned in, eyes narrowing as he peered inside.

It was a big chest, plenty of space inside—enough to fit something bulky if the system had been generous. But it wasn’t. The interior looked almost hollow, barren, as if it had already been looted. Only three things lay at the bottom: a glove, a ring, and a thin little book.

Not exactly the kind of haul he’d been dreaming about.

The book was barely more than a pamphlet, less than a centimeter thick. The glove looked soft, delicate, and thin—when he picked it up, he could feel the smoothness under his fingers. Put all three items together, and the chest still looked embarrassingly empty.

The glove shimmered faintly, a gentle green glow that matched the chest itself. Kaelen recognized it instantly—green equipment. Decent, but nothing extraordinary.

Then the ring caught his eye, and all thoughts of the glove vanished.

It didn’t just shine. It blazed. A pale, misty blue radiance spilled out from it, drowning the glove’s green in a tide of light. The glow filled the chest, impossible to ignore.

No sword. No axe. Not even a dagger. But when his fingers brushed the glove, its attributes marked it as a weapon. That gave him pause. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Sure, a glove couldn’t match a blade in sheer damage, but it still counted. It would boost his attack, and right now, any edge mattered.

He slipped the ring onto his right hand, tugged the glove over his left. A sharp exhale escaped him. The glove was incomplete—just one piece, no pair.

The frustration came quickly. Why only half? Why not a proper weapon, or at least a full set of gauntlets? How had the system even decided this lonely glove deserved to be called a weapon?

He shoved the irritation aside and picked up the book. No hesitation—he absorbed it instantly.

The skill was Appraisal.

Kaelen almost laughed. In his old memories, Appraisal had been a throwaway ability, something every player started with, barely worth mentioning. It revealed monster stats, that was it. Nothing special. Naturally, he assumed it would be the same here.

But this wasn’t a game anymore. This was reality, and in reality, Appraisal wasn’t common at all. Few people had it.

And this version was stronger. It didn’t just peel back the stats of monsters. It could read professionals too, expose their secrets. Kaelen didn’t know that yet, but he’d learn.

For now, the book was done. His real treasures were the items. The glove was a solid green piece, but the ring—ah, the ring was something else entirely. A light-blue rarity. He was convinced that if he’d waited longer, the chest itself would have matured into a blue-grade chest. The ring was proof of that.

And its stats? Beautiful. Exactly what he needed. With this ring, he could stand toe-to-toe with an elite beast.

---

Healing Ring (Accessory)

Origin: Valley of Death

Rarity: Light Blue

Material: Oxidized Diamond

Weight: 0.3 kg

Requirements: None

Slot: Accessory

Energy: 100 points

Effect: Consume energy points to instantly restore health.

Limit: Healing per use capped at 50 HP.

Special: At dawn, energy automatically refills to full.

Appraisal: Strengthen further, and it may evolve into the legendary Ring of Healing.

---

Kaelen lingered over the chest one last time. As he gathered the loot, the lid shut with a dull thud. The glow winked out, leaving behind only a battered, lifeless box.

But it didn’t vanish like the usual chests.

This one remained. Empty now, yes, but given enough time, it would gather treasures again and shine green once more. A year? Ten? Maybe a hundred. No one could say.

The Healing Ring was worth every bit of its rarity. Its power was real, life-saving. To Kaelen, slipping it on was like gaining a second life.

He’d lost two points in attributes, leaving his health at sixty. But the ring could restore a full hundred. That wasn’t just one life—it was two.

A blessing in disguise. The chest hadn’t given him the blade he wanted, but it had given him something just as valuable: survival.

He sat down on the chest, pulled a strip of wolf meat from his pouch, and chewed it down in big bites. The sun was sliding west, shadows stretching long. Soon, night would come, and with it, the fight that could end him. He needed to be sharp. No excuses.

The meat was tough, dry, and unpleasant, but he forced it down like it was a feast. The truth? It was awful—fibrous, hard to chew, cold. If he’d had the choice, he’d have gone for rabbit meat instead, or cooked it over a fire. But between raw rabbit and tough but cooked wolf, wolf meat still won.

An hour later, his health was fully restored from the fight with the Fanged Rabbit. Candidate or not, barred from gaining experience or loot, he could still wear gear, still learn skills. In every way that mattered, he was close to being a professional.

He clenched his gloved fist, rose, and left the clearing. Step by careful step, he worked his way through the wilds, avoiding other monsters as he headed back toward the Beast God’s Blood pit.

This time, the journey was faster. Confidence drove him forward. What had taken him over an hour before now took only thirty-five minutes.

When he arrived, the massive wild boar was finally resting. No longer pacing, no longer swaying its hulking frame from side to side—it lay sprawled across the earth, unmoving.

Kaelen narrowed his eyes.

He raised his hand, focused, and cast his newest skill—Appraisal.