After the battle ended, the mountain hollow returned to tranquility once more.

The thick scent of blood mixed with the heavy stench of urine hung heavily in the air. The morning sun's slanted rays shone into the hollow, casting several visible pillars of light. Dust particles, still unsettled from the intense battle moments before, floated up and down in the air, creating a scene that appeared serene and beautiful.

Lumberjack George, however, wasn't feeling nearly as calm. His temples throbbed violently while his excited heart raced at an accelerated pace.

Looking down at the ground, his vision was filled with glaring shades of green and red.

Goblin corpses lay scattered across the uneven terrain of the mountain hollow in various twisted and shattered postures. Some had shattered skulls, their brains splattered across gray-brown rocks like grotesque graffiti;

others had been gutted, their mutilated internal organs and intestines spilled out, attracting flies that had caught the scent from above;

most had their bodies bent at impossible angles, like dolls forcibly twisted by tremendous strength.

Thick, dark red blood soaked the earth, collecting in heart-pounding puddles in the low-lying areas.

As he shifted his feet, he suddenly stepped on a severed finger. The sensation of stepping on it instantly made goosebumps erupt all over his body. He shuddered violently and instinctively stepped back several paces.

Then came a "squelch" sound as he crushed an eyeball.

"Ah!"

George let out a short cry of shock, sharply lifting his foot as his body staggered uncontrollably for several steps.

The sensation under his foot—soft yet firm, then collapsing and bursting open—along with that faint yet unmistakably clear "squish" sound, these terrible sensory experiences kept cycling and amplifying in his mind.

He looked down to see a smear of sticky yellow-white mixture clinging to the edge of his worn-out shoe, with a thoroughly crushed eyeball tissue that was barely recognizable still stuck there.

Instantly, intense nausea surged from his stomach straight to his throat.

He turned sharply, supporting himself against the rough rock beside him as he dry-heaved violently.

Though his stomach churned violently, nothing came up except bitter bile that kept rising.

He gasped for air, trying to relax through breathing. But the pervasive blood scent only made him more dizzy.

His entire body trembled, not just from physiological nausea, but from a primal, instinctual fear and revulsion toward death and bodily destruction.

Hearing the commotion, Gauss turned to glance at the lumberjack.

He had anticipated this reaction, but since the other had insisted on coming along to see, it really couldn't be blamed on him.

Such bloody scenes were difficult for ordinary people to remain unaffected by, unless they were adventurers like himself who had long grown accustomed to it.

With an unchanged expression, he stepped across the ground and began harvesting the spoils of this expedition.

He focused on picking out relatively small but valuable iron implements.

As for goblin left ears—the commission proof—the clay creatures would handle that for him. Clay creatures were quite useful for simple, mechanical tasks.

Walking over to the Goblin Shaman's body.

Gauss thought for a moment, then took out an exquisite dagger and a burial shroud.

Crouching down, he pulled out the javelin that had pinned it to the rock wall, then used the dagger to precisely cut open its upper body. His gloved hands rummaged through its abdomen for a moment before finding a glowing tumor, which he cut out with the dagger and wrapped in a small burial shroud before storing it away.

That was the mana source possessed by monsters with spellcasting abilities.

Compared to Mages among humans, their use of mana was more crude, often spontaneously forming these cores filled with primitive mana within their bodies. Though rough, they weren't bad materials for certain research and specific spells.

The wooden staff that Gauss had collected was also a type of wood suitable for mana conduction.

And still...

Gauss's hands moved swiftly as he collected the spoils.

After completing all this, he stood up and scanned the land that had become even more chaotic due to the clay creatures collecting left ears. Confirming that no goblins had survived in any corner, he finally looked toward the lumberjack who had mostly calmed down but still trembled slightly.

"Forget all this. Go back and get a good night's sleep tonight." His voice seemed to carry a certain magic.

It gradually calmed the lumberjack George's mood, who had begun to feel some awe and fear toward him because of this bloody land.

"Okay."

The two returned to the lumber camp, where other workers curiously surrounded the "lucky" George, immediately asking about the situation.

"Back so soon? Did you find those goblins?"

George smiled awkwardly, glanced at Gauss, and seeing his calm expression that didn't seem like he would expose his shortcomings, finally relaxed.

Putting on a smile again, he waved his hand with feigned nonchalance: "All taken care of, all taken care of. Mr. Gauss is truly amazing. Those green-skinned little devils weren't even worth a few glances before they were all cleaned up."

He deliberately omitted the bloody details and his own shameful reaction, only mentioning vague, seemingly impressive results.

The other workers exclaimed in amazement, looking at Gauss with eyes full of awe, but Gauss merely nodded slightly in response without any additional words.

Facing the foreman's invitation to stay for a simple meal, he waved his hand in refusal.

"I won't stay for food. I have some other commissions to attend to." He took the Ostrich's reins from the worker who had been watching it. "I've already marked the location of that goblin nest on the map. There are still some possibly useful supplies and spoils there. You can take people to collect them and handle the scene while you're at it. It's best to burn the bodies."

He had collected some slightly valuable spoils, but with such a large Monster Camp, he didn't have time nor need to take all the miscellaneous items, so he simply left them for the civilians living here.

He handed over the simple map parchment he had drawn on the return journey.

"No problem, leave it to us! Thank you so much, Mr. Gauss." The foreman quickly took it, patting his chest in assurance.

Gauss nodded, swung onto the Ostrich's back.

With a light flick of the reins, the Ostrich let out a clear cry and began moving with steady steps, carrying him away quickly from the lumber camp under the watchful eyes of many, heading toward the next commission location—farmland where violent wild boars had been spotted.

As soon as he left, the lumber camp workers eagerly sprang into action.

"Don't just stand there! Grab your tools, bring several sacks. Mr. Gauss left us some benefits—be quick with your hands and feet!"

"When we sell everything later, everyone can get a share of the money."

What Gauss considered not worth his attention was actually a significant profit for them.

...

Time quickly reached afternoon.

Gauss looked at the Clay Goblin before him that had just finished killing, nodding calmly.

The subsequent two ordinary commissions hadn't presented any out-of-the-ordinary situations, basically matching the descriptions in the commission details.

That violent wild boar was slightly larger than ordinary boars, but with sharp tusks, astonishing strength, and thick, rough skin—truly not something ordinary people could handle.

As for this group of goblins in the abandoned village, their numbers, equipment, and morale were all quite ordinary, without even a proper leader. Beyond the left ears, there were hardly any spoils worth collecting.

"Now this is more like it."

Gauss murmured to himself.

He beckoned the Clay Goblin to come before him.

The clay material for this goblin was purchased by him on the second floor of the Adventurers Guild. Overall, it was quite good, and after absorbing the spiritual energy from dozens of goblins and that Goblin Shaman, it had undergone some indescribable changes.

Its attack postures had become more flexible, unlike before when it was all brute force with insufficient technique.

"Pity there's still not enough clay quantity."

After the spiritual energy strengthened, the Clay Goblin's size that could perfectly carry and operate could continue to grow somewhat.

"I wonder if anyone has taken the commission I posted for clay-type magic items?"

Special magic item collection tasks like this weren't immediately accepted and completed upon posting.

Because these were threshold tasks involving specialized magic item collection, often only professionals could handle them. Compared to time-consuming and effort-intensive collection tasks with few clues, professionals preferred to take on stable extermination or protection commissions.

"Total monsters slain: 3103"

Having completed three commissions in half a day, Gauss felt his efficiency was quite good.

Many things were like this—once you became proficient, you could naturally master the techniques. Finding enemies, fighting, looting—the entire chain of events flowed smoothly like clouds and water.

"Time to return." Having completed the tasks, Gauss didn't linger excessively.

Returning to Lincrest Town, it was still afternoon.

He went straight to the Adventurers Guild without stopping to submit the tasks.

First, he reported the abnormal situation with the goblin commission around the first lumber camp to the Adventurers Guild.

Facing his feedback, the Lincrest Town Adventurers Guild appeared to take it very seriously. Soon the Receptionist invited the branch's senior director to interface with Gauss.

The senior director of Lincrest Town branch was an energetic elderly man. Some guild branches had these senior administrative positions responsible for assisting the president and vice president with their work.

The old man had graying temples but eyes as sharp as an eagle's. He wore a well-tailored guild uniform with a deer head brooch pinned to his chest, exuding an elegant demeanor.

He led Gauss to a quiet meeting room.

After a detailed discussion, the old man stood up and thanked him solemnly.

"Mr. Gauss, we greatly appreciate your timely feedback. This was a serious oversight in our work. I will report this abnormality to upper management. We will contact you regarding any specific follow-up developments."

"And once confirmed, according to procedure, we will provide compensation of 10 gold coins."

Gauss nodded.

This was indeed no small problem. Though he had handled it with ease, that was because his strength far exceeded that of low-level adventurers.

This was an ordinary commission. He didn't dare imagine what losses a 3-4 person team might suffer if they received such a commission and, due to the enclosed terrain, failed to conduct proper reconnaissance or conducted it improperly.

Low-level adventurers didn't possess the rich and varied reconnaissance methods that professionals did. Often, even if they had the awareness, they might not be able to conduct accurate reconnaissance.

He had come to provide feedback not for the compensation money—though having it was certainly better than not, since he had expended extra effort—but more because he hoped the Adventurers Guild could quickly identify the problem and reduce such incidents in the future.

His very first commission in life had involved erroneous intelligence, resulting in heavy losses for the temporary team, which ultimately fell apart because of it.

Having been through the storm himself, he wanted to hold an umbrella for others.

But 10 gold coins... He couldn't help but recall the compensation after his first commission, which had been around ten silver coins at the time. Now it was directly a hundred times more.

Was it because of different status?

Thinking this, he shook his head, sighing inwardly.

After submitting the feedback and collecting rewards for the three commissions, Gauss went to the second floor. Scanning through the commission notices on the bulletin board, he quickly found the one he had posted.

The paper was still posted there. After checking with the receptionist, he confirmed that indeed no one had accepted it yet.

"Mr. Gauss, these types of material collection tasks often require some luck and time."

Gauss nodded. The commission had only been posted for a couple of days, and he hadn't expected quick results anyway, just habitually checking daily for updates.

"If you're in a hurry, you could try your luck at this folk market." The receptionist kindly reminded him.

"Thank you." Gauss inquired with him about it, confirmed the specific location, then left the Adventurers Guild.

Returning to the inn.

After settling the Ostrich in the small shed behind the inn and adding food and water.

After washing up himself, he changed into casual clothes and headed toward the market the receptionist had mentioned.

Even without considering purchasing quality clay, he could sell that Goblin Shaman tumor at some alchemy material shops.

Reporting, washing up, resting—after this series of activities, the sky had already darkened.

Along the streets, windproof lamps and oil lamps were lit one after another, fixed on wooden poles or extending from shop eaves, spreading circles of dim yet warm light.

These lights weren't strong, barely dispelling the darkness close to the streets. Moths and phototropic insects fluttered tirelessly around these light clusters.

Townspeople who had worked all day and adventurers who had completed commissions formed the main flow of nighttime pedestrians, talking in small groups as they headed toward taverns, residences, or still-open shops.

With clear purpose, Gauss passed through the somewhat noisy streets, heading toward the northeast corner of town.

As he progressed, the bustle of the main road was gradually replaced by a different atmosphere.

Arriving at his destination, Gauss stood at the alley entrance, looking inside.

The lights here were more dense, though not the warm dim yellow, but rather various colored lanterns, flickering candlelight, and the distinctive faint blue and orange-yellow glow from alchemical furnaces in street-side shops, all interweaving together.

The colorful lights made this area appear bizarre and fantastical.

The air was also filled with completely different complex scents—strong herbal smells, pungent chemical reagent odors, and faint traces of residual mana energy.

This was Lincrest Town's informal "market," a spontaneous trading area formed by alchemy apprentices, material merchants, independent artisans, professionals, and all sorts of speculators.

Just as Gauss paused to observe, a commotion suddenly erupted before him.

"Stop right there!"

"Help catch her! She stole from us!"

A figure entirely shrouded in black robes leaped down lightly from a third-floor balcony not far away, briefly meeting Gauss's gaze mid-air.

After landing steadily, she continued without pause, swiftly passing by him.

Gauss turned to watch her rapidly retreating figure, slightly frowning.

"Feels like..."

After a moment, several men came panting out of the alley.

"Where is she? Where'd she go?" A man with a rough, meaty face at the front growled loudly, his eyes scanning the sparse pedestrians around before finally landing on Gauss, who stood tall at the alley entrance with a presence clearly different from ordinary people.

"Hey! You!" The man pointed rudely at Gauss. "Weren't you supposed to help stop her just now?"

"Oh?" Gauss raised an eyebrow.