[Combat Ended][You have unlocked Combat Specialty: Basic Unarmed Combat Lv. 1.][You have unlocked Combat Specialty: Basic Weaponry Lv. 1.]
He finally acquired combat specialties, though only the most basic Level 1 versions.
Gu Ning exhaled lightly. He still had a long way to go compared to the better-prepared trial challengers. Typically, they trained at least one combat specialty to Level 5—enough to be ready for advancement—before entering the Spirit Realm to begin their trial.
[Based on your Spirit stat, you have acquired partial data on the Plaguebearer.][Plaguebearer (Normal Lv. 1)][Race: Humanoid / Aberrant][Stats: Strength 6, Agility 5, Endurance 7, Spirit 3][Skills: Claw Strike, Undead Body, ???][Claw Strike: The Plaguebearer slashes at its enemies with sharp claws, dealing piercing damage and inflicting minor bleeding and corpse toxin effects.][Undead Body: Passive – The Plaguebearer's stiff body reduces movement speed by 2 (equivalent to 2 Agility points), increases base armor by +4 (equivalent to 4 Endurance points), and grants immunity to bleeding effects.]
Gu Ning suddenly understood—no wonder it had been such a tough fight. With 7 Endurance, the Plaguebearer had 70 HP. The passive +4 base armor from Undead Body meant it had a total of 11 armor, making it a minor tank.
Thankfully, Undead Body also reduced its movement speed by 2; otherwise, with 5 Agility, the Plaguebearer could've easily caught up to the injured Gu Ning. If he hadn't been able to keep some distance, luring the Plaguebearer into his trap would've been almost impossible.
A faintly translucent white treasure chest floated above the Plaguebearer's corpse.
"A loot chest!" Gu Ning was thrilled. In the Spirit Realm, loot chests dropping from monsters wasn't common.
The Plaguebearer hadn't been particularly difficult—clearly just a regular mob—yet it dropped a loot chest. His luck was excellent.
Gu Ning placed his hand on the chest and chose to open it directly.
Clink! A crisp sound of coins clashing rang out. With a flash of white light, six white cards appeared in two neat rows, hovering in front of Gu Ning with their backs facing him—the fronts remained hidden.
[You have gained 12 Psionic Points.][You have earned a loot card draw. Current draws available: 2.]
Here it came—the legendary card draw!
Gu Ning had seen some Awakened streamers drawing loot cards before, so he was quite familiar with the process. He circled halfway around to try and peek at the front of the cards, but found them shrouded in white mist—completely unreadable.
No wonder streamers never bothered to look at the front side of the cards before choosing.
Without hesitation, Gu Ning tapped the top row's far-left card.
Flash!Light flared as the card flipped, revealing an image of a short, thick club-like object.
[You have obtained Equipment: Polished Bone Mace.]
An equipment drop! And a relatively valuable weapon, too!
Gu Ning was overjoyed and immediately checked the equipment's stats.
[Polished Bone Mace (Sealed)][Quality: Normal (White)][Equipment Slot: One-Handed][Requirement: Base Strength 4][Stats: Attack Power 1–4][Passive Skill – Smooth: While using this weapon, attack speed +3 (equivalent to 3 Agility points).][Durability: 18/20][Description: A bone mace made from mutated remains of a Plaguebearer—sturdy and durable.]
Gu Ning felt his luck was truly good. Holding the bone mace by its end, he noted how smooth it felt—almost like ivory. The bony protrusion on the grip offered excellent anti-slip support, making it easy to handle.
[Notice: This equipment is currently sealed. To use it, you must unseal and establish psionic resonance.][Warning: Unsealing will bind the equipment to you, making it unusable by others.][Unseal now?]
Gu Ning chose "Yes" without hesitation. A flash of white light signaled the completion of the psionic resonance. When he held the mace now, it felt like a natural extension of his arm.
The second loot card revealed a blood sample.
[Mutated Plaguebearer Blood Sample: Unknown item. Please consult a relevant expert for identification.]
After drawing two cards, the remaining four white cards and the white treasure chest below dissolved into shimmering particles and vanished.
Gu Ning stood up and noticed an itching sensation in his chest. Looking down, he saw a bluish-purple swelling where the Plaguebearer had clawed him.
"The Plaguebearer's claws are venomous..." Gu Ning frowned. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped, his HP was slowly regenerating, and the wound wasn't affecting his movement.
He had to keep going—to find a settlement of native villagers or townsfolk. Perhaps he could find a cure there.
Splash—
The sound of water reached his ears. Gu Ning looked up to see a wide, dark river and perked up instantly.
"This is 17th-century Europe. Human settlements were built near rivers! Following it downstream will increase the chance of encountering locals."
Gu Ning oriented himself and began walking along the river, heading downstream.
After about an hour, the trees grew thicker, and between the plains and valleys he could see patches of desolate farmland—likely abandoned fields.
From a nearby valley mouth, the sounds of battle echoed faintly. Gu Ning paused, then quickly climbed the ridge and peeked over it, crouched low.
A dozen or so militiamen clad in crude leather armor were fighting with farm tools—manure forks, sickles, and the like.
Their opponents numbered four.
Three of them were Plaguebearers, similar in appearance to the one Gu Ning had fought before—staggering, filthy, and clad in tattered rags.
The last enemy stood out—much larger and more muscular, with arms like gnarled tree trunks.
He was armored and helmeted, with a blood-red ring emblem on his chestplate. He wielded a massive, barbed iron hammer. A militia leader took a direct hit, vomited blood, and was sent flying—clearly gravely injured.
Despite their numbers, the militiamen were no match for the "Iron Hammer." After their leader was struck down, they began to retreat.
In the distance, hoofbeats rang out—a mounted knight was galloping toward the battle. His armor and tabard bore the same blood-red ring emblem.
"Damn... that Iron Hammer alone looks capable of wiping out all the militia—let alone with three Plaguebearers helping him. And that knight coming from afar… seems like he's with Iron Hammer?"
Just then, a prompt from the Spirit Realm will appeared:
[Main Quest I: The Choice][Objective: Help the Bloodring Warhammer Squad eliminate the Brandon Militia, or help the Brandon Militia eliminate the Bloodring Warhammer Squad.][Quest Difficulty: B][Time Limit: 12 hours][Reward: Join Bloodring Fortress / Join Brandon Territory][Failure Penalty: Exile. All psionic items gained in this realm, including equipment, tools, and psionic points, will be deleted.][Warning!! Failing the main quest will result in banishment into the Temporal Turbulence.][Trial task detected. If the main quest fails, the trial is considered failed. Penalty adjusted to Trial Failure: Expulsion. You will be returned to the real world. The difficulty of your next trial will increase by 30%, with no increase in rewards.][Choice countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7…]
The main quest had finally triggered!
Failing the main quest would result in being banished into the Temporal Turbulence?
Gu Ning had heard of it before—it was the stuff of nightmares for Awakened ones. Being banished there was practically a death sentence. He had no intention of being banished, not even just expelled back to the real world!
He forced himself to stay calm and began analyzing the quest.
Clearly, the "Iron Hammer" was part of the Bloodring Warhammer Squad—aligned with Bloodring Fortress. The dozen militiamen were with Brandon—aligned with Brandon Territory.
Gu Ning glanced at the approaching knight, replayed the quest details in his head, and made his decision before the countdown ended. He raised his bone mace and charged into battle, shouting:
"For Brandon!"
[Notice: You have chosen to assist the Brandon Militia in eliminating the Bloodring Warhammer Squad.][Your reputation with Brandon Territory +300. Current status: Friendly.][Your reputation with Bloodring Fortress -300. Current status: Hostile.]
That's right—Gu Ning chose to side with the seemingly weaker Brandon Militia and oppose the powerful Bloodring Warhammer Squad!
Before Gu Ning could reach the battlefield, the knight had already arrived.
His lance was raised high, charging with unstoppable momentum—And slammed straight into… the Bloodring Warhammer!
The Warhammer soldier was launched into the air and rolled across the ground like a kicked tin can.
He got up groggily, shaking his head, and roared at the knight, "Traitor!"
The knight ignored him, wheeled his horse around, and raised his lance for another charge.
Gu Ning smiled slightly.
The reason he sided with the Brandon Militia? He had calculated that the approaching knight must be an enemy of the Bloodring Warhammer!
It was simple. The quest was titled [The Choice]—implying a difficult decision. Only dilemmas justify that wording.
In other words, according to the Spirit Realm's judgment, choosing to help either side was equally difficult—no obvious best choice.
Supporting evidence: the quest's difficulty rating was B. On a scale of D, C, B, A, and S, B meant moderate difficulty.
If the newly arrived knight were on the same side as the Blood Ring Warhammer soldiers, then helping the Blood Ring side would be far too easy—there would be no need for Gu Ning's involvement at all. The Blood Ring side could crush the militia ten times over without breaking a sweat!
It wouldn't even require them to lift a finger. A mission where you just sit back and enjoy the outcome—does that deserve a B-level difficulty rating?
Therefore, the new knight must belong to the Brandon Territory faction. Only then would the difficulty be balanced—no matter which side you choose, it would still be B-level difficulty.
As for why the knight chose the Brandon side instead of the Blood Ring Fortress?
The reason is simple: it's because of that knight wearing Blood Ring armor. If someone dressed in Blood Ring gear is actually aligned with the Brandon faction, that kind of contradiction must hide a plot worth uncovering.
Although these thoughts seem lengthy, Gu Ning took less than 0.1 seconds to process them. He kept his attention focused on the battlefield.
During the knight's second charge, the distance was shorter and the acceleration slower.
The Blood Ring Warhammer soldier suddenly spun around, unleashing a whirlwind of steel! The force of the swing threw off the knight's aim—her lance missed its mark and she was caught in the steel whirlwind, knocked from her horse.
Only then did Gu Ning see clearly: the knight had a tall frame, solid and rounded thighs, and a steel chest plate that bulged outward—she was a female knight.
After hitting the ground, the female knight rolled and flipped back up with agility, narrowly dodging the Warhammer soldier's follow-up strike. She unstrapped the shield from her back, drew her rapier, and spun to thrust it toward her opponent's face.
Seeing two powerful native warriors clash, Gu Ning had no intention of interfering. His objective was simple: eliminate those three Plaguebearers first.