Seeing this scene.

Aria and Gauss nodded to each other.

Gauss waited briefly.

Aria needed some preparation time to cast Entangling Roots from a distance.

Fortunately, the seeds delivered earlier by the raven Eck had already been infused with natural energy by her in advance.

Even at this distance, she could still sense the natural energy within the seeds.

Only after confirming Aria was fully prepared did the two exchange glances, and Gauss took a deep breath.

Not out of nervousness, but anticipation.

Aria's oak staff lightly tapped the ground.

Vibrant natural energy flowed through the soil like ripples, spreading rapidly.

Soon, it reached the area where the seeds were planted.

"Buzz!"

Like a miracle of life, the previously unremarkable seeds immediately burst forth with intense green vitality, extending roots that anchored into the soil, greedily absorbing natural energy from the earth's veins. In the next moment, vine tendrils as thick as arms burst forth from their shells!

"Hiss!!!"

The vines slithered and coiled across the snow like awakened giants, instantly wrapping around a dozen Crowmen gathered around the campfire.

Some alert Crowmen had already stood up, scanning their surroundings uneasily.

But others who had been dozing remained unaware, opening their eyes in confusion to look at their companions.

What's happening?

The entangling vines gave them little time to react, quickly coiling around their bodies.

"Caw caw!" Unease spread among the Crowmen.

Their sharp claws continuously scratched at the vines binding them, only to be entangled by fresh tendrils that kept replenishing.

At this moment, Gauss emerged from the snow.

"Thud!"

His snow boots landed heavily, sending flakes flying.

His speed was slightly affected.

But fortunately, with Aria's Entangling Roots controlling them, the Crowmen couldn't break free in the short term.

He charged forward.

"Whoosh!"

With a swing of his arm, the prepared oil accurately splashed over the struggling Crowmen.

Then he quickly retrieved the Bone Staff from his Storage Bag.

Channeling mana from within, he concentrated it at the smooth tip of the Bone Staff.

A blazing red glow emerged, making the surrounding air feel several degrees hotter.

After taking a few more steps forward to confirm his range,

He gripped the staff with both hands, pushing forward with fingers splayed except for his thumbs.

"Burning Hands!"

Scarlet flames erupted from between his palms, the fan-shaped fire instantly expanding to engulf an area of about five to six square meters.

"BOOM!!!"

The flames ignited the highly flammable oil, exploding into a raging inferno that set both vines and firmly restrained Crowmen ablaze.

"Caw caw caw!"

The Crowmen in the flames shrieked miserably, their bodies writhing madly as feathers burned, turning them into struggling, wailing "firebirds."

The acrid stench of scorched feathers and burning flesh quickly filled the air.

In the distance, the raven Eck perched on Aria's shoulder involuntarily shrank its neck.

Its round eyes fixed intently on the Crowmen struggling in the fire, then it glanced uneasily at Gauss and let out a soft "Caw..."

Aria gently stroked its feathers, whispering reassurances.

"Crowmen killed*15"

Before long.

Prompt text flashed before Gauss's eyes.

The Crowmen ultimately couldn't withstand the combination of 1st-circle Entangling Roots, oil, and 1st-circle Burning Hands.

Truthfully, this combo was somewhat overkill, but the two mainly wanted to test its practical effectiveness.

In this battle, Gauss was particularly satisfied with Burning Hands' efficiency as an area-of-effect damage spell.

"Total monsters killed: 1326."

"First Crowmen kill, obtained title [Crowmen Hunter]. This title will improve as you kill more of this species."

"Current title effect: Intimidation. You exert slight intimidation against Crowmen and their evolved species, making enemies more prone to fear with slightly reduced stats."

Gauss quickly skimmed these unimportant notifications.

Finally!

Before long, the message he'd been waiting for appeared.

"Ordinary Monster Encyclopedia has reached 20 species: Goblins, Slime Slimes, Common Skeletons... Frost Snakes, Dire Wolves, Assassin Vines, Crowmen."

"Randomly selecting racial talent ability and adapting it to your constitution."

"......"

Perhaps because there were so many species.

This selection seemed to take longer than the first time.

"Boom!"

Gauss felt like he heard a low, muffled sound from the high, gloomy clouds overhead, but looking up, he only saw the thick lead-gray sky.

He lowered his gaze.

After this brief distraction.

The text before him finally showed results.

"Obtained ability from Goblin species: [Recessive Genes]."

"Being modified into racial talent [Reptilian] - White grade (upgradeable)."

Reptilian (Initial Stage): Without compromising your bloodline purity, you gain certain advantageous traits of reptilian creatures.

- Slight enhancement to physical and magical vitality.

- Improved skin toughness providing additional physical defense.

- Can actively consume stamina to accelerate wound healing and tissue regeneration.

- Greatly increased tolerance to extreme environments (high heat, humidity, severe cold).

- Improved limb coordination.

......

Note 1: [Reptilian] can level up by killing more Goblin hosts. Higher levels unlock more abilities.

Note 2: This talent's quality can evolve. Currently White grade. Can advance to Blue grade by collecting more Elite Monster Encyclopedia entries... Purple grade, Gold grade to be unlocked later.

"Next racial talent ability unlock requires 50 ordinary monster species in Monster Encyclopedia."

Goblins again?

Gauss was startled when he saw Goblins appear.

Was this really random?

Or was there some weighting based on quantity? He'd killed far more Goblins than any other ordinary monster.

Or was there some deeper, unknown reason? Some invisible hand of fate?

Statistically, the probability of repeating the same species twice was 1/5 multiplied by 1/20 - just 1%, hardly likely.

Gauss couldn't figure it out.

But.

Having the new talent come from Goblins was undoubtedly good for him.

It meant each Goblin he killed would contribute experience to both talents.

Continuing to read:

[Recessive Genes] - This made sense to him. Due to Goblins' mothers being particularly... "free-spirited,"

It was hard to say how many unexpressed recessive genes from various maternal lineages existed in their species.

Theoretically, their mothers could range from gray rabbits, lizards, and cattle to humans, orcs, and even up to lesser dragons or true dragons.

Though rationally, the latter possibilities were less probable.

But for the entire species, Goblins' potential genetic heritage was vast and chaotic.

So was this [Reptilian] talent derived from some unexpressed hybrid lineage between Goblins and lizards or similar creatures?

Effect-wise, the enhancements were significant. The two most crucial being:

- Slight enhancement to physical and magical vitality.

- Can actively consume stamina to accelerate wound healing and tissue regeneration.

He'd been envious of the regenerative abilities he'd seen from certain creatures in the micro-dungeon.

While he didn't obtain that exact ability this time, he'd gained some regenerative effects.

And it could evolve in quality? Blue, purple, gold...

To reach Blue grade, did he need to kill more types of elite monsters?

What form would [Reptilian] take after evolving?

"[Reptilian] talent adaptation in progress..."

The prompt interrupted Gauss's thoughts.

Then, a scorching heat flow erupted from deep within his body, surging through every limb and vessel!

Like countless invisible scalpels, it began performing deep-level optimization and reconstruction of his flesh, blood, and bones.