As Gauss finished speaking those calm words, the air suddenly fell into an eerie silence. The only sounds remaining were the howling wind and the faint crunching noises as Gauss leisurely chewed on his dried meat.

The warrior Blake at the front of the group exchanged glances with his companions. From an angle where Gauss couldn't see, a flash of ruthless determination passed through Blake's eyes. Giving his teammates an almost imperceptible nod, he turned back to Gauss, forcibly plastering a "sincere" smile on his face.

"Forget it, peace is precious! Pierre, don't mention the rewards anymore - first come first served. Since we didn't contribute any effort, let's just consider this making a new friend." Blake waved his hand with feigned magnanimity.

The man before them continued chewing his food unhurriedly, silently watching them the entire time with an indifferent expression. Blake took a deep breath, as if truly letting go of the conflict.

"We'll take our leave then."

The mage and priest in their group turned first, quickly retreating backward. The warrior and rogue followed as rear guard, slowly withdrawing. It seemed the two groups would part without incident.

However!

Just as the mage and priest had retreated some distance, Blake's seemingly retreating footstep suddenly twisted. The terrifying power he'd been storing erupted violently from his soles! His figure completed the turn in an instant before pouncing fiercely toward Gauss.

"Die!!!"

His greatsword swung high, the blade erupting with white light that carried both the warrior's fury and the viciousness of his sneak attack, descending straight toward Gauss's head!

This strike was fast! Ruthless! Deadly! Its sole purpose was to cleave the "unsuspecting" Gauss in half!

"CLANG——!!!"

A deafening metallic collision exploded forth, sparks flying everywhere.

The expected scene of blood and gore didn't materialize. Gauss didn't even blink.

Somehow, he now held a heavy black metal scepter in his hands! His wrists steady as iron, the scepter horizontally blocked the greatsword with perfect precision.

"Such strength!"

During their brief clash, warrior Blake felt the recoil force transmitted through his arms, his pupils contracting slightly. Gauss's physique wasn't as burly as his, yet now he found he held no significant advantage in strength!

And...

The stalemate lasted only an instant.

"Monstrous Strength!"

Gauss activated the new skill he'd been silently preparing. Over the past half-day, he'd been practicing this skill whenever possible. Though it still took time to activate after his initial training, he could now successfully use it.

In the next moment, a tremendous power surged from his limbs toward his arms. The arm holding the Unbreaking Scepter visibly thickened, muscles bulging before erupting with even greater force.

"BOOM!"

An even more formidable power poured forth from the scepter! Blake felt an irresistible force slam into him, his palms aching as he staggered back several steps before barely steadying himself.

The other three watched this scene with disbelief. This outcome completely defied expectations. In a pure contest of strength, Blake—their heavily armored warrior specialized in power—had actually lost?

As Gauss felt the tremendous power coursing through his arms, he gained new appreciation for the potency of the [Monstrous Strength] special skill he'd only acquired that morning.

As a level 1 Magician, even with naturally excellent strength attributes, he normally shouldn't be able to overpower a level 1 heavy warrior in melee combat. Yet with Monstrous Strength activated, he'd done exactly that—at least in terms of raw power.

His consciousness quickly returned to the battle at hand. Gauss's gaze swept over the wary four-person team before him. He'd known all along their talk of reconciliation was just a stalling tactic.

One immutable truth: never listen to what people say, watch what they do instead. That warrior had been smiling and pretending to make peace, yet his body remained tense the entire time, ready to explode into action at any moment. So Gauss had kept his guard up too.

Now his caution proved justified—no paranoid delusion after all. Keeping one hand behind his back, he signaled Aria to retreat and stay alert.

Facing him, Blake—now having completely dropped all pretense—shouted to his companions: "Take him down together!"

Though being repelled by Gauss had shaken Blake, he recovered quickly. On one hand, he told himself his earlier turn had compromised his stance and power generation. On the other, they still held numerical advantage, and their opponent had just finished a tough battle—they should have the stamina advantage.

Ganging up wasn't shameful! Losing was the real disgrace. All that mattered was victory!

With a loud shout, Blake mustered all his strength and charged Gauss again.

Simultaneously, the mage behind him waved his wand while forming seals with his other hand, hurling a ball of distorted energy that landed between the slowly retreating Aria—who was preparing to cast Entangling Roots from the rear—and Gauss.

"Hum!"

An invisible magical ripple spread outward!

"Sleep Hex!"

Strange magical waves washed over Gauss and Aria. Gauss shuddered as he blocked Blake's attack, but nothing happened to him next.

However, Ulfen the gray wolf that Aria had left by Gauss's side as support suddenly staggered. Its eyelids grew heavy, drooping as it whimpered softly, clearly fighting against sudden drowsiness.

Noticing this from the corner of his eye, Gauss quickly checked on Aria. As expected, she'd also been affected by the mysterious spell.

The weakened version of Gauss Field on her couldn't compare—Aria lacked Gauss's natural spell resistance talents, leaving her more vulnerable to magic. Despite her decent physical attributes, she couldn't avoid being briefly affected as the spell took hold.

Meanwhile, the rogue who'd been lurking in shadows near Gauss suddenly changed direction, launching a surprise attack toward Aria now that the spell had taken effect! His target had been Aria all along, which made Gauss frown despite his vigilance.

Though Aria also had a layer of Gauss Field, it had worn somewhat during the earlier battle. Gauss didn't want to gamble. His gaze turned sharp.

Using Monstrous Strength again, Gauss forced Blake back several steps. Seizing the opportunity, he flipped his wrist holding the scepter, pointing it toward the rogue's position as magical light instantly gathered. His body had recovered some mana during this time, and he still had reserves in his Energy Storage Gland yet untapped.

"Magic Missile!"

Three magic missiles shot forth in a triangular formation, perfectly blocking the rogue's forward path, flanking routes, and retreat path.

"He's actually a mage!!!"

Blake's jaw dropped in shock at this sight. This wasn't mere surprise—his entire four-person team were outsiders who'd only heard rumors about Gauss.

Moreover, what they'd personally witnessed earlier were all melee combat techniques, making it natural to assume Gauss was some balanced warrior type. Or rather, seeing Gauss now casting spells as smoothly as a mage was what truly defied expectations.

"So I've been trading blows with a spellcaster this whole time?"

Blake's mind reeled as he suddenly understood what had felt off about their earlier exchanges. A sense of foreboding rose in his chest.

Meanwhile, the already-launched magic missiles streaked forward with terrifying speed. The rogue Dylan, sprinting low to the ground, suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger press against him, a chill shooting up his spine.

Turning his head slightly, he saw a sight that made his heart race—three blue-glowing energy projectiles streaking toward his position at incredible speed. The pulsating magical aura seemed faster and deadlier than any similar spells he'd encountered before.

"Where did this spellcaster come from!?!"