Although it was called rest, there were still quite a few things to do.

For professional adventurers, during their perilous careers, these rest periods were golden opportunities to digest gains, improve themselves, and prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

Both Gauss and Aria understood this well.

Like Aria, she needed to learn the new spell Annihilation of Evil, continue practicing her beast forms, build rapport with several animal companions, and train her beast taming and nature knowledge skills. For the next few days, she would need to immerse herself in the inn room, meditation chamber, or the woods at the edge of town.

Yes, Gauss didn't plan to hole up near Lincrest Town for a few days.

Instead, he intended to practice while taking on some small commissions in the surrounding area.

This way, he could have practice targets while training his spells, and incidentally accumulate some Encyclopedia kill counts.

He focused his consciousness into his mind and checked his current progress.

His current total monster kill count was 3,050, less than a thousand away from triggering the next stage reward.

The number of ordinary monster encyclopedia entries had reached 39 types, still 11 types short of accumulating 50 types to draw a new talent.

Apart from the most common bottom-tier monsters, the variety of monsters in a region was limited, so the further one progressed, the more difficult it would become to collect new types.

Some monsters only inhabited special terrains. For example, fire elementals and red ants dwelling in volcanic areas, or sandworms and scorpions inhabiting deserts. Gauss couldn't possibly find their traces near the Emerald Forest.

That would be neither scientific nor magical.

Gauss browsed through the Monster Encyclopedia, silently planning his schedule for the next few days.

After briefly communicating with Aria, he parted ways with her.

The fall of Outpost 11, which Lincrest Town was responsible for, had still affected this vibrant emerald town. At this moment, various tasks of all sizes filled the commission bulletin board.

"So many commissions."

"I heard that in the Emerald Forest these past two days, monsters have started rampaging again. Don't know the reason, but many monsters have charged out from the forest edge."

An adventurer beside Gauss complained to someone.

"Yesterday, our team was attacked by a pack of frenzied goblin-like creatures on our way back after completing a commission. Luckily we were careful enough and didn't get injured."

"It's been so strange lately."

"I heard that Guild Leader Richie of Lincrest Town apparently still hasn't returned. Since the incident at Outpost 11, he's completely disappeared. Wonder if he's..."

"Fortunately, the provincial capital Falim sent quite a few cavalry regiment members to garrison here, otherwise I wouldn't dare stay in Lincrest Town casually."

"The news I received seems to be that some important figure went missing near Outpost 11, which is why Falim dispatched so many people into the Emerald Forest."

"Shh..."

Gauss listened to the surrounding adventurers' conversations with an unchanged expression.

He also felt quite emotional internally.

Since Guild Leader Richie hadn't returned for so long, it was likely he'd met with an accident.

He more deeply realized that adventuring was an extremely high-risk profession. Even someone like Richie, whose strength had reached the pinnacle of Master rank, could potentially face enemies and risks beyond his capabilities.

One must never become complacent just because their level increased and strength grew, thinking their abilities were sufficient.

Still need to continue playing it safe and developing.

He believed that with his Adventurer's Manual, he had infinite possibilities in the later stages. Often, there was no need to care too much about temporary gains and losses.

First, clear some small fries.

His gaze swept across various commission notices, automatically filtering out those that were relatively distant.

Even though they often had higher rates, Gauss didn't give them a second glance.

After all, if he was coming to take ordinary commissions, would he still care about money issues? It was more for practice convenience and easy round trips to town, preventing unexpected incidents.

Clearing the goblin tribe lingering at the lumber mill west of Lincrest Town, the enraged wild boars near farmland, and another group occupying an abandoned village.

Three tasks were along the way on the map.

The main purpose was actually to kill some goblins. The enraged wild boars were conveniently located between two commissions, perfect for hunting some game.

Gauss reached out and neatly took down three commission notices.

As he removed the notices, other adventurers had also taken a liking to the commissions he wanted to take, but Gauss had beaten them to it.

Just about to speak up, his companion saw the three-star professional badge in front of Gauss and quickly covered his mouth.

Gauss didn't linger, turning toward the front desk.

"Why'd you stop me? That guy broke the rules—he already had other commission notices in hand but still took more." The stopped adventenger complained full of resentment, frowning deeply, speaking dissatisfiedly to his companion. "Can he even complete them all, taking so many?"

"That person just now was a professional."

"..."

The few short words from his companion's mouth deflated all his resentment.

Well, that's that then.

But he still really wanted to complain in his heart—as a professional, coming to "steal business" from bottom-tier adventurers like them, wasn't he ashamed?

"If I'm not mistaken, this person seems to be [Dragonkin Gauss]. I've heard he's quite strong even among Bronze-rank adventurers... By the way, he loves taking ordinary commissions, even earning another nickname because of it..." His companion looked at his teammate's obviously scared but still pretending to be tough appearance, utterly speechless, but still explained.

"What is it?"

"The famous Goblin Killer."

"Huh??"

Gauss faintly heard the whispers behind him and sighed with an unchanged expression.

He had already given up struggling.

He didn't understand.

Why did this nickname follow him like a shadow everywhere he went to a new area?

Goblin Killer, Imp Slayer, Green Skin Hunter...

Even though he had been given the title Dragonkin Gauss after his brilliant performance that night at Outpost 11, people still mentioned Goblin Killer when talking about him.

Could there really be some magical force at work?

Forget it, the commission is more important.

Goblins were indeed the best practice targets for him—plentiful numbers while also bringing more "benefits." He couldn't possibly avoid goblin commissions just to avoid suspicion.

Like before, the evil god aura was just an interlude in his adventuring career. Hunting goblins was the plain yet fulfilling main storyline.

He quickly walked to the front desk and handed the three commission notices to the receptionist lady handling the procedures.

This receptionist clearly also knew of Gauss's reputation. Seeing the commission notices he handed over.

The first page was for killing enraged wild boars, but beneath it seemed to hide two more pages. Lifting them revealed, as expected... two goblin extermination commissions.

Probably wanting to cover it up a bit.

Her gaze subtly moved between the enraged wild boars and the two goblin commissions below.

Thinking she had seen through Gauss's little scheme, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she struggled to maintain a professional tone: "Mr. Gauss, you're taking this enraged wild boar killing commission, along with two nearby goblin extermination tasks, correct?"

"Yes, thank you for your trouble." Gauss nodded, tone flat.

After all, he would absolutely complete these commissions quickly and well, much more reliable than assigning them to multiple bottom-tier adventurer teams.

The only issue was probably somewhat wasting this professional's strength.

After stamping and registration were completed, she handed them back to Gauss along with his identity badge.

"Wishing you success on your mission."

"Thank you."

Under the faint gazes behind him, Gauss turned and left the guild hall.

The sunlight was just right, filtering through sparse clouds to shower him with some warmth.

During travel, sitting on the bird's back, he took time to read the Heat Metal spellbook.

After reaching third level, reading these 2nd-circle spellbooks became much easier, far more relaxed than other 3rd-level spellcasters learning them.

On one hand, it was because his rank met requirements;

on the other hand, his attributes provided advantages, and he also had bonuses from various talents like Spell Mastery.

Knowledge quickly entered his mind in a crude manner.

The lumberjacks at the lumber mill saw his arrival and quickly went to meet him.

"Are you the adventurer who took our task?"

Initially, they had doubts seeing only one figure from afar, but as Gauss approached riding his Ostrich and they clearly saw his stature, their slight confusion quickly dissipated.

Gauss lightly sniffed the air's scent.

Apart from the woody fragrance emitted by timber and some decaying smells, he indeed also detected that familiar musky odor mixed within.

"Can someone guide me?"

Less than twenty goblins—for current Gauss, dealing with them was as simple as kicking a mad dog on the roadside.

"Me!"

"I'll guide!"

The lumberjacks living here were also happy to guide.

Mainly, the identity badge on Gauss's front gave them immense sense of security. If it had been an ordinary bottom-tier adventurer team, they would definitely keep their distance for safety concerns.

But professionals were different. Even ordinary people had heard of such individuals' strength, making them even somewhat eager to witness with their own eyes how he killed goblins. After all, close-range viewing of professional combat scenes was quite rare for them.

"Bullshit! I was the one who saw them when I came out to pee at night!"

"It was me—"

Gauss looked at the workers arguing fiercely over the spot, forehead involuntarily sprouting several black lines.

If one didn't know better, they'd think this was some coveted good assignment...

He raised his hand and designated the sturdy man who spoke first: "Please bring me to where they most frequently appear. No need to get too close—leave the rest to me."

Gauss dismounted from the Ostrich, handed the mount to the workers for safekeeping, then followed the man, walking silently.

Perhaps because it was his first time being so close to a professional, the man felt both excited and nervous while guiding, continuously chattering: "Sir, you must be careful. Those damned little green skins probably number quite a few. I got up at night a few days ago and accidentally saw them all carrying weapons, about nearly twenty, quite fierce. If not for that, we could've handled it ourselves."

This had already become his subconscious behavior, whether for commissions involving elite monsters or these ordinary ones.

His gaze wandered around the lumber mill's fence edges, soon spotting footprints slightly larger than palms. Several marks had been broken through the sturdy fence.

He analyzed that this goblin group was probably surveying and marking the surrounding environment, figuring out the lumber mill's worker numbers and whether there were livestock and tools for plundering inside, while searching for the fence's most vulnerable points.

This behavioral pattern was very typical, indicating these goblins had already marked this lumber mill as their potential hunting ground. If not eliminated early, it could lead to more serious attack events later.

Without the lumberjack's introduction, Gauss had already seen numerous scattered footprints on the ground.

"These green-skinned beasts come near the lumber mill every night. We tried setting some simple traps on the road during daytime, but didn't gain anything. Even the traps were taken by those little green skins."

This was the biggest problem plaguing many ordinary people.

Goblins often emerged at night, while the vast majority of civilians in this era suffered from night blindness.

Not to mention, civilians had heavy production work during daytime. By night, they were exhausted, making it even more impossible to fight those day-sleeping, night-active imps.

While thinking this, Gauss's peripheral vision suddenly caught a figure peeking half its head from behind a thick tree trunk.

"Shh. I've already spotted them." Gauss reached out and stopped the still-talking worker.

"Ah?" The man was astonished by Gauss's sharp eyesight. Following Gauss's gaze, he indeed vaguely saw a small figure scrambling away behind a tree.

"Mm." Gauss nodded. "I know."

He had intentionally startled that scout goblin.

Beside his feet, a Clay Spider had already quietly scurried rapidly after it.

This was also part of the experience in clearing goblins—applying just the right amount of pressure on scouts.

He needed to let it know he had discovered it, yet not display overly oppressive strength. Otherwise, the other might panic and flee recklessly, forgetting to return to its nest.

"They won't run, don't worry." Gauss said unhurriedly. "Thanks for guiding, uncle. You can return now."

Gauss looked him in the eye.

After several seconds, he slowly nodded: "Fine to follow. Keep quiet. When near the goblin nest, stay by my side. Don't run around randomly."

They were all adults, responsible for their own actions. Besides, perhaps the other wanted to thoroughly check if the goblins were completely cleared.

Gauss felt the images transmitted back through the spiritual link from the Clay Spider, then stepped forward to follow.

Seeing this, the man also followed closely behind Gauss.

In the forest, a goblin scout nimbly moved rapidly through woodland covered with withered branches and dead leaves.

Above and behind it, a white Clay Spider also silently leaped continuously among branches, firmly locking onto the goblin scout.

After tracking for about ten-plus minutes, the goblin scout finally entered before a hidden mountain hollow.

Here lay scattered many enormous rocks that had collapsed at some unknown time, forming a natural complex terrain.

That goblin musky odor also became stronger, making perceptive Gauss involuntarily frown.

Behind a mountain hollow entrance half-concealed by vines and withered branches, came more chaotic and dense goblin screeches.

Clearly, the goblin scout had perfectly completed its mission, leading Gauss to their main base.

What was quite obvious to Gauss's eyes was hardly different from ordinary woods to them. This nest was so hidden that even with deliberate searching, expending massive manpower and resources would make it difficult to find.

Thinking this, he glanced at Gauss, feeling somewhat fortunate in his heart. Indeed, professional matters should be left to professionals.

This adventurer sir just strolled casually through the woods and pinpointed the nest's location. Though he didn't know exactly how it was done, he still felt admiration.

Gauss had already "seen" the internal situation in advance through the Clay Spider infiltrating the goblin nest.

He pursed his lips, somewhat concerned about this.

Of course, his concern wasn't about the surface fact of goblin numbers.

Forty goblins versus twenty made no difference to him—in fact, it was better, accelerating his kill count accumulation.

But... for an ordinary bottom-tier adventurer team, this difference was huge.

Forty goblins meant they had a relatively powerful leader, more organized social relationships and division of labor, and coordination that could unleash more than double the actual combat power.

Thus, a bottom-tier adventurer team that could originally defeat twenty goblins would likely suffer heavy losses facing doubled numbers, even meeting a complete wipeout ending.

Could it be that after the commission was posted, these goblins recruited large numbers of new members?

According to rumors he'd heard, behind the Adventurers Guild's massive machinery should exist some extremely grand prophecy magic machine and intelligence spell network system as support. That system could be viewed as a giant magical ritual—each branch would submit information to provincial headquarters upon receiving commission requests, borrowing prophecy and intelligence system power to verify accuracy.

"Mr. Gauss, now is..." Seeing Gauss remaining silent, the lumber mill worker felt inexplicably nervous.

Two other Clay Spiders brought a Clay Goblin quickly darting out from beside him.

This time, worker Uncle Tian saw clearly. His eyes widened enormously at the suddenly appearing "white monsters," legs subconsciously beginning to tremble.

Gauss waved his hand.

Under his control, three Clay Spiders blocked the goblin nest's other escape exit.

Meanwhile, the Clay Goblin swaggered toward the entrance concealed by vines and miscellaneous branches.

Light immediately poured into the hollow through the suddenly widened entrance.

The goblin tribe that had received the scout's message was preparing weapons. Hearing the noise, they turned heads vigilantly toward the entrance.

"!!"

Seeing that variant strong goblin—identical except for being more solid, muscular, pure white in color—many green-skinned imps fell into deep confusion.

The two closest even actively approached it two steps.

"BANG!!!"

Before they could react, the white goblin pushed off with its feet, figure rapidly charging forward. A palm carrying tearing sounds fiercely slapped a goblin's head.

The unfortunate negotiating goblin's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, red and white matter splattering everywhere.

The other goblin didn't escape unscathed either. The white goblin, after smashing the head, had already firmly seized its throat with another hand like iron pliers, lifting the constantly kicking creature mid-air. With a crack, its head tilted at an unnatural angle, body going limp as it fell to the ground.

Instantly killing two goblins in seconds!

This sudden kin slaughter and terrifying power stunned all hollow goblins. Air fell into brief silence.

"Gah!!!"

"Yaya!!!"

Some goblins feared this mysterious kin's terrifying power, subconsciously retreating. Others who reacted picked up weapons, vigilantly watching the white goblin—especially one noticeably smaller-sized goblin shaman wearing relatively tidy robes, who roared in fury while waving its wooden staff, calming tribesmen while signaling underlings to surround this "alien."

"Oowahwahwah!!!"

Goblins holding melee weapons charged the white goblin in formation, while others with bows climbed onto hollow platforms on both sides, drawing bows aiming at the white goblin.

Facing this massive charge, the white goblin remained extremely calm. It only possessed basic combat intelligence and absolute obedience to Gauss. Beyond that, richer emotions like fear, fervor, sorrow didn't exist.

Though its size wasn't impressive, that was due to clay volume limitations. But in terms of strength, it could already defeat most 1st-level monsters.

Moreover, it feared no injury, felt no pain, didn't even have biological survival instincts—truly a cold-blooded, ruthless killer in every sense.

It bent down, picked up a dropped weapon, then actively moved toward the goblins. Its clay nature fused with steel, becoming extremely sturdy when mana activated, with strength far surpassing ordinary goblins. Charging into goblin formations was like a tiger among sheep—each attack instantly created chaos and casualties.

One side alone, the other massive in numbers, but results became completely one-sided after first contact.

Arm limbs, heads, viscous blood, calves—under that not particularly tall yet brutally cruel white figure's slaughter, they fell everywhere.

Behind him, the lumberjack was dumbfounded.

He couldn't help rubbing his eyes, almost thinking he saw wrong.

Though Gauss had explained in advance, witnessing one "goblin" madly slaughtering other goblins was too shocking and eerie for an ordinary civilian.

The Clay Goblin—this tireless, painless killing machine—rampaged through goblin crowds. Goblins' hard-gathered courage instantly melted before absolute power disparity.

The only somewhat combative will came from the goblin shaman at the group's rear, but its situation wasn't much better.

Whenever it tried raising its wooden staff—whether casting spells or strengthening companions—before formal chanting, with mana just beginning to flow, a perfectly timed Magic Missile would strike nearby ground, precisely interrupting its spellcasting, forcing it to scramble to dodge.

Mana turbulence even backlashed its body, making it shriek angrily yet helplessly.

He calmly held his magic wand, practicing heightened spellcasting while monitoring that goblin shaman, incidentally preventing it from strengthening other goblins and delaying the Clay Goblin's killing speed.

Goblin numbers in the mountain hollow decreased at astonishing speed.

Cries, screams gradually became sparse.

Finally, when the Clay Goblin used its fist covered in sticky, foul blood to punch a continuously kowtowing, begging goblin's chest cavity inward, the entire hollow quieted.

All goblins were dead—including those goblin pups, whose deaths were most miserable. The Clay Goblin, to save time, practically crushed them one by one underfoot.

The last goblin shaman fearfully leaned against the rock wall. Facing the approaching Clay Goblin, it rapidly spoke some language Gauss couldn't understand.

Unfortunately, the Clay Goblin never responded to its communication.

Next moment, it forcefully threw the spear in its hand.

The spear tore through air, ultimately precisely piercing the goblin shaman's chest, pinning it against the mountain.

Gauss watched the kill notification, raised an eyebrow. It actually was a new elite monster type.

Now reconsidering, probably its specialty was strengthening other individuals, thus never manifesting before death.

However, its death wasn't without value.

He walked into the hollow, feeling the overwhelming numerous goblin spiritual energies—especially the goblin shaman's cluster—a slight smile appearing on his face.