[Tiger Might Headband (Rare)]

Back home, Su Ran did not open the treasure chest right away. Instead, he opened his personal terminal, logged onto the forum, and searched for information on [Crouching Tiger Slope (Easy)].

Sure enough, as a newly opened resource dungeon, it was already the subject of heated discussion about its treasure chest drops.

A pinned and featured guide post listed the wooden treasure chest drops compiled by players in detail, though it gave no specific probabilities.

Su Ran skimmed through it:

Common equipment: Tiger Hide Bracers, Bone Necklace, and so on. Highest drop rate.

Fine equipment: Tiger Strength Leather Armor, Tiger Fang Dagger, and so on. Moderate drop rate.

Consumables: Basic Healing Potion, Tiger Essence Blood (temporarily grants a small increase to strength), and so on.

Materials: High-quality tiger bones, intact tiger penises, and so on.

Special/rare items had an extremely low drop rate:

[Tiger Bone Wine (Rare)]: Permanently increases strength and constitution by 1 point each when consumed (effective only the first time).

[Tiger Might Headband (Rare)]: Attack +10 when equipped. Active skill: [Tiger Might Fear Spell] consumes mental power to unleash an intimidating roar in a cone-shaped area ahead.

Causes enemies with weak wills to briefly fall into fear, freeze, or flee (effect depends on the difference between both sides' spirit/will). Cooldown: 24 hours.

When Su Ran saw the descriptions of the last two rare items, his gaze could not help but freeze.

A permanent attribute increase!

Although it was only 1 point each in strength and constitution, less than the spirit granted by [Tear of Blood], there was no question how precious attribute points were.

The Tiger Bone Wine was probably worth no less than some rare green equipment.

The [Tiger Might Headband] was even more practical. The +10 attack was a tangible boost for magic-based classes, and the [Tiger Might Fear Spell] was an excellent crowd-control skill!

Although its cooldown was a full day, at a critical moment, whether interrupting an enemy's spellcasting, creating a chance to escape, or coordinating focused fire with teammates, it could turn the tide of battle.

For Su Ran, who currently lacked a powerful means of control, it was immensely appealing.

"Good stuff..." Su Ran murmured to himself, longing flashing in his eyes.

But he also understood what the forum's extremely low drop rate meant.

Even a hundred chests might not yield a single one.

The vast majority of Awakened ran this dungeon for the steady income from materials. Getting a rare item from a treasure chest was pure luck.

He committed the forum information to memory and closed the terminal.

Whether he could get one depended not only on luck, but even more on the causal connection behind his talent's second opening.

The first opening was ordinarily random, while the second might be related to his actions in the dungeon and his class.

He stopped dwelling on it, took out the wooden treasure chest he had brought back from [Crouching Tiger Slope], and set it on the table.

"First opening."

The lid opened.

Inside lay a smooth silver coin and a hardwood club about a meter and a half long. It was black all over, heavy in the hand, and fitted with copper bands at both ends.

[Hardwood Club (Fine)]

Strength +5%

Sturdy and durable, suitable for chopping and smashing.

It was a decent physical weapon. It was not much use to him as a Mage, but he could sell it for a few silver coins.

Together with the silver coin, it was an ordinary haul, in keeping with the common drops described on the forum.

Su Ran took out the silver coin and club and set them aside, then watched the wooden chest close and reset itself.

The crucial second opening.

He calmed himself, concentrated, and focused his attention entirely on the treasure chest.

The information he had just seen about [Tiger Bone Wine] and the [Tiger Might Headband] involuntarily surfaced in his mind, especially the effect of the fear spell attached to the headband...

"Second opening."

The lid opened at his command.

This time, there was no weapon or potion inside.

There was only a silver coin and one item.

A headband about two fingers wide, made from the tanned sinew of some unknown beast, with dark yellow and black stripes intertwined across it.

A smoothly polished tiger fang was set in the center of the headband, an amber glimmer seemingly sealed within it. The tip of the fang curved slightly upward, giving off a primitive, ferocious aura.

The headband itself was somewhat crude in workmanship, but it radiated a sense of power that could not be ignored.

Su Ran's heart skipped a beat. He reached out and carefully picked up the headband.

It had a slight weight to it, the beast sinew was tough, and the tiger fang was icy cold.

When his fingers touched the fang, he could clearly feel a restless yet majestic energy within it, as though it might let out the roar of the king of beasts at any moment.

Information flowed in:

[Tiger Might Headband (Rare)]...

It was exactly the rare item described on the forum!

Su Ran held the headband, feeling the fluctuations of power coming from it, and a wave of delight welled up in his heart.

Although the [Tiger Bone Wine] he wanted most had not appeared, the [Tiger Might Headband] was just as valuable!

The +10 attack aside, the [Tiger Might Fear Spell] was practically tailor-made for him!

His spirit attribute, as high as 16 points, was enough to ensure the greatest possible chance of the skill taking effect and the longest possible duration.

It undoubtedly gave him a crucial crowd-control trump card, making up for a Mage's early-game lack of hard control.

The second opening had indeed brought another pleasant surprise.

Although it was not directly linked to specific actions such as using Energy Missile to hit the tiger's nose in the dungeon or using a Berserk scroll,

it seemed to have produced some subtle resonance with his strong desire for a powerful rare item with crowd control.

He examined the headband carefully for a moment, then solemnly tied it around his forehead.

The headband automatically adjusted to the right fit, and the tiger fang rested just above the space between his brows.

A cool and majestic aura seeped in between his brows and resonated with his active mental power, yet caused him no discomfort at all.

He could feel that even his aura seemed to have grown a little more focused. At the same time, the method for activating the [Tiger Might Fear Spell] was clearly imprinted on his consciousness.

"Not bad." Su Ran nodded in satisfaction.

With that, his equipment had been strengthened once again.

The Mind-Calming Jade Pendant stabilized his mental power and accelerated its recovery; the Mana Ring expanded his maximum mana; the Tiger Might Headband provided extra attack and powerful crowd control.

Add to those his fine Cloth Robe and weapon, along with his stock of scrolls and potions... his overall strength

already far exceeded that of an ordinary Lv.4 professional and might even rival some Lv.5 professionals with ordinary equipment.

He glanced at the [Hardwood Club] and the silver coin on the table.

Next, it was time to dispose of the things he had no use for, then see if there was a guild suitable for him to join.

After some bargaining with the owner of the familiar material-buying shop in the Inner Ring District, Su Ran received his share of the proceeds.

Three largely intact high-quality tiger hides, some roughly processed hard tiger bones, and the choicest cuts of tiger meat along with some of the internal organs brought him a total of 25 silver coins.