The treasure chest contained a set of black long-sleeved leather armor. The surface of the leather was smooth, with a slight sheen, and the material was soft. There were pockets on both sides of the chest, fastened with silver buttons.

Inside the leather collar was attached a dark gray hood.

Su Nuannuan scanned the leather armor with her watch and said, "First-tier, sixth-grade armor, Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor. Historical records show its basic attributes are an increase of 16 points in defense and 16 points in strength."

"Special effect: Ignores 7 points of penetration and reduces damage by 16%."

Hearing this string of attributes, everyone present was astounded.

"Wow, 16 points in strength? That's incredible!"

"So envious, getting such powerful equipment right at the start."

Xia Tao was also quite surprised, "It's actually Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor. The Black Rock Rhino was one of the elite bosses in the early areas. Back when we were pioneering, the legion spent a lot of effort to break its defense!"

"Its defense is famously strong. This leather armor must have also incorporated the power of the Black Rock Rhino's blood, providing as much as 16 points in strength."

"Not only does it increase strength, but it also boosts your defense and reduces damage, making it very comprehensive."

Xia Tao shook his head with a sigh, "The rewards from the Newcomer Trial can last a long time, and yours is a special-grade reward. If nothing unexpected happens, you can use this leather armor for at least three or four years!"

Su Nuannuan said, "It seems there are only ten sets of Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor in total. Many strong players in the War God Temple used to wear it during pioneering."

"Yes, although the Black Rock Rhino isn't considered a large boss, its defense is outstanding. Armor is all about defense, and Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor is indeed divine equipment for the early stages."

Hearing the others' praises, Yuan Zhu was overjoyed as he looked at the leather armor.

He immediately put on the leather armor. Once on, the armor emitted a faint black aura, which then seeped through Yuan Zhu's skin and into his body.

"Don't worry, this is the effect of the equipment merging with the body. We call it 'attribute fusion,' and it's also your Calling updating your body data," Xia Tao explained naturally.

With Xia Tao's explanation, Yuan Zhu finally felt relieved.

The black leather armor accentuated Yuan Zhu's strong upper body, and the attributes inherited from the equipment made him feel full of power.

"So cool!" Yuan Zhu caressed the leather on the chest of the armor, feeling the changes it brought to him.

Among veteran players of the Calling, there's a saying:

Survival is more important than hunting!

Yuan Zhu's equipment was precisely a defensive piece, greatly enhancing his survival chances in the Calling, making everyone envious.

"Kai, I told you, I'll have your back from now on!" Yuan Zhu boasted immediately.

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Jiang Kai rolled his eyes at him, "Can you take it off? You're wearing nothing underneath, just the leather armor and shorts, it feels weird."

With Jiang Kai's comment, everyone couldn't help but imagine Yuan Zhu with a whip and some candles...

Realizing something, Yuan Zhu quickly took off the Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor and said defiantly, "I'll wear it once I get some clothes!"

Yuan Zhu had shown off his equipment, and now Su Nuannuan opened her reward card.

Nuannuan's reward box was much smaller than Yuan Zhu's, fitting in her palm.

Inside was a green, droplet-shaped jade stone.

The stone was lustrous and transparent, with a water-like flow in the center.

"It's a treasure!" someone exclaimed, quickly gathering to look.

As soon as she saw the jade, Su Nuannuan knew what it was.

"Life Jade!" Xia Tao also recognized the jade stone, "Wow, girl, you're really lucky. This is a rare mineral, containing strong vitality. Wearing the Life Jade can enhance the effects of making and using medicines. Moreover, if you're in danger, breaking the jade and consuming the essence inside can bring you back from the brink of death!"

The extraordinary function of this treasure made others envious.

Su Nuannuan smiled slightly; she recognized this treasure even without Xia Tao's introduction.

The Life Jade is something even Barefoot Doctors covet.

She hadn't told others about her profession, so it seemed Lu Jun had specially applied for this reward for her.

Yuan Zhu and Nuannuan had both seen their rewards, and now all eyes were on Jiang Kai.

Ji Lixing smiled and said, "Jiang Kai, it's time for the big reveal. Hurry up, we're all waiting to see."

"It could be a high-level piece of armor or a defensive treasure like the Life Jade. After all, survival is the most important thing for newcomers," Deng Chang speculated.

Everyone else chimed in with their guesses.

Jiang Kai didn't hesitate and opened his reward card.

As Jiang Kai's box materialized, everyone fell silent.

His box was flat, about forty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide, with images of nine ghostly deities painted on it. Jiang Kai didn't recognize any of the deities.

In the center of the box, instead of the words "special-grade reward," it was engraved with "Nine Tribulations Chasing Death · First Tier"!

Perhaps this box wasn't originally intended as a Newcomer Trial reward...

Opening the box revealed nine small silver daggers arranged in a fan shape. To be precise, they were throwing knives, as they were more petite than daggers, each only four to five centimeters long, with handles thinner than those of typical daggers.

They seemed designed for "pinching" rather than "gripping."

A total of nine, each blade gleamed with a metallic sheen.

"Weapons?" Deng Chang said in surprise.

Among the three, only Jiang Kai received a weapon.

Ji Lixing frowned, "Weapons are generally more valuable than armor, but for us, armor seems more practical!"

"And they're throwing knives, not even mainstream weapons."

Yuan Zhu immediately asked Xia Tao, "Brother Xia, have you heard of this 'Nine Tribulations Chasing Death'?"

The well-informed Xia Tao thought for a moment and shook his head, "This... I've never heard of this weapon set, but it's strange to receive throwing knives. When you face those crazy wild bosses, you'll understand that throwing knives and hidden weapons don't deal as much damage as handheld weapons."

Nuannuan also checked with her watch but couldn't find any historical data for comparison!

Now, without a reference, the attributes of this weapon set were unknown.

It's undeniable that Jiang Kai's reward left everyone a bit disappointed.

Xia Tao thought for a moment and suddenly took out a card from his pocket, handing it to Jiang Kai, "I know you're eager. Here's a first-tier item appraisal card for you to check the attributes."

In the Calling, system prompts are rare. For equipment items, besides using a Data Watch to compare similar items for attribute appraisal, some "relics" in the Calling, system rewards, and wild treasures also contain appraisal cards.

These cards aren't exactly abundant, but they're not too difficult to acquire either. The selling price for a first-tier appraisal card is around 100 Star Coins or 1000 Alliance Coins.

"Thank you, Brother Xia. I'll repay you in the future," Jiang Kai said, immediately using the appraisal card.

The appraisal card emitted a faint light, transforming into a white mist that enveloped the nine throwing knives. After a moment, the mist dissipated, returning to its original form as a card.

Only now, the previously blank card had a few lines of text.

[Nine Tribulations Chasing Death, first-tier, fifth-grade weapon, 9 points of penetration, additionally increases the user's strength by 9 points and agility by 9 points.]

[Special effect: Each use of a Nine Tribulations Chasing Death increases critical hit rate by 10% and critical damage by 10%, up to a maximum of 90%. Upon a critical hit, the critical rate and damage are reset.]

[Each use of a Nine Tribulations Chasing Death reduces strength by 1 point and agility by 1 point.]

Seeing the attributes of Nine Tribulations Chasing Death, both Yuan Zhu and Su Nuannuan frowned.

In the Calling, first-tier, seventh-grade weapons already have equipment that increases critical hit rate, with top-grade ones reaching 10% and boosting critical damage by 50%.

With such equipment, on average, one in ten attacks would be a critical hit, with critical damage reaching three times the normal damage.

However, the first-tier, fifth-grade Nine Tribulations Chasing Death, despite its grand description, simply means the first knife has a 10% critical rate and 110% critical damage, the second knife has a 20% critical rate and 120% critical damage, continuing until the last knife, with a 90% critical rate and 190% critical damage.

If any knife in between lands a critical hit, the critical rate and damage must be recalculated from zero.

With good luck, nine Nine Tribulations Chasing Death knives might land three or four critical hits; with bad luck, perhaps only one.

But the problem is, handheld weapons can be used continuously, while Nine Tribulations Chasing Death, once thrown in battle, is hard to retrieve.

What's more frustrating is that each throw reduces the added attributes by 1 point.

Compared to Yuan Zhu's Black Rock Rhino Leather Armor and Su Nuannuan's Life Jade, Jiang Kai's reward should have been better, but now it seems Nine Tribulations Chasing Death is just average.

Perhaps even less valuable than their rewards.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward, as the highly anticipated Jiang Kai received the least practical reward.

However, among everyone, only Jiang Kai was deep in thought.

Wait, is there really such equipment?