"Total monsters killed: 4450"

"4460"

"4475"

The numbers flickered wildly before Gauss’s eyes.

Gauss tirelessly tossed more incendiaries down through the fissure.

Aria, Serlandul, Shadow, the clay constructs, the pixies—everyone pitched in.

With the constant burning, the space below the rift had turned a fierce, bloody red;

thick black smoke poured up from it.

"Cough! Cough!"

The billowing smoke carried toxins, but luckily they had prepared tools to block the fumes in advance.

Flame and poisonous smoke in an enclosed space proved terrifyingly effective.

It was even more ferocious than conventional spells.

Even if surviving goblins briefly withstood the heat, the suffocating smoke that followed slowly sapped their strength, stole their breath, and finally choked them to death.

"Kill Goblin*1"

"Kill Elite Monster Hobgoblin*1"

A notification finally flashed before Gauss.

That meant elite monsters were starting to die in the furnace-like mountain chamber.

After the first one fell, a second, a third followed...

Later on, it no longer even popped up with ordinary goblin kill notifications.

Gauss understood why: ordinary goblins' vitality couldn’t withstand such prolonged roasting and had all perished.

But even without notifications, Gauss kept throwing in incendiaries.

Sure enough, after a while another notification appeared.

"Kill Elite Monster Goblin Wolf Cavalry*1"

He knew some elites were still clinging to life.

And from the viewpoint footage the clay micro-constructs had sent in earlier, there should still be two especially important goblins inside.

Until he saw the corresponding kill notices, he wasn’t going to stop.

"Cough. Cough."

Gauss noticed Aria and the others looked tired and spoke up.

"Let’s step back and rest a bit."

Even if they withdrew, as long as the clay constructs remained, the mechanical work would continue.

He only needed to climb up periodically to replenish their mana.

Unless a special notification appeared, he didn’t plan to stop.

He had to see the death messages for those two special goblins to feel secure.

Otherwise, the fire could not be allowed to pause for a single moment.

For a goblin tribe, a powerful goblin leader is the key to its survival, because the grunt goblins could always be recruited in large numbers.

The four clay goblins Gauss had split off performed clearly divided tasks and worked tirelessly.

Cutting trees, chopping firewood, hauling, coating with oil, lighting, tossing...

This process continued for more than half a day.

The long-burning flames produced towering black smoke so dense that the clear plume could be seen from far away.

Lawrence’s Camp

Captain Miller stood on the watchtower and stared at the thin black smoke curling from the distant mountain like a ribbon dancing in the air, lingering for a long time.

He muttered to himself.

"Could that be Gauss and the others?"

If he remembered correctly, that was the direction Gauss’s group had left toward.

He could only pin his hopes on them.

Perhaps the increased goblin activity nearby wouldn’t impact distant towns, but for this camp and the surrounding villages, both daily life and personal safety had been severely threatened.

If the goblin problem could be solved quickly, many people’s lives could return to normal.

Staring at the black plume, Miller couldn’t be certain;

it looked like some sort of mountain fire.

But for a fire to burn large and long in the moisture-rich, nature-magic-saturated Emerald Forest was itself very difficult.

"Kill Elite Monster Goblin Shaman*1"

...

"Kill Transcendent Monster Goblin Chieftain*1"

"Total monsters killed: 4995"

...

This blasting-and-burning operation had killed more than seven hundred goblins in total.

Gauss had lost count of how many times he had topped up mana for the clay constructs.

When a different notification finally popped up, Gauss exhaled with relief.

He had suspected the commanding goblin the constructs saw during scouting would be of a different kind.

Until he saw the notification indicating a new species had been killed, he had not dared lower his guard.

His caution proved correct.

That Goblin Chieftain’s vitality was tougher than he expected—despite taking the direct force of an alchemical bomb and enduring toxic smoke and extreme heat for so long, it had stubbornly held on.

Suddenly Gauss realized something.

He quickly reviewed the earlier notifications.

Transcendent monster!

He sucked in a breath.

So that boss inside had already reached Transcendent rank?

He had just killed a Transcendent monster by these means.

Fortunately...

From the start he hadn’t planned a frontal assault. After thorough reconnaissance and analyzing the terrain and available tools, he had chosen the most conservative attack strategy.

Otherwise, forget the common goblins deeper in the mountain caves—even just that Transcendent Goblin Chieftain alone could have caused huge trouble for the party.

In fact, that chieftain’s death felt somewhat unjust—its power had nowhere to be fully used, and it posed less of a threat to Gauss than the Goblin Bat Knight they faced that night.

Still... this chieftain should be one of the weakest Transcendent monsters.

Gauss had some self-awareness;

if it had been a truly mighty Transcendent, it would have been far thornier.

While he pondered, new text suddenly flashed before him.

"Congratulations. First-time kill of a Transcendent monster."

"Unlocking the Transcendent Path."

"Kill five species of Transcendent monsters (1/5). Reward: Random selection of one Transcendent monster racial talent."

Maybe because of the massive number of common and elite goblins killed this time, and even a Transcendent goblin, the notification lingered unusually long.

"Sufficient potential has been obtained from the talent source host goblin specimen."

"White-quality elite racial talent [Energy Storage Gland] is upgrading!"

"Congratulations, successfully upgraded to Transcendent."

"Current talent [Energy Storage Gland] can further evolve in quality. Spend 100 elite points to advance?"

Gauss glanced at his current 115 elite points, which had no pressing use for now.

He didn’t hesitate and chose Yes.

After a brief wait:

"White-quality talent [Energy Storage Gland] has successfully advanced to Blue-quality talent [Special Stomach]."

"[Special Stomach] retains the original talent’s effects and adds an extra effect: [Material Decomposition]. Your digestive system has undergone a special mutation;

digestion efficiency is greatly increased. Your 'stomach' can rapidly and highly efficiently break down food into basic energy and nutrients. Increases food utilization efficiency."

"Additionally, [Special Stomach]’s decomposition ability will allow you to process beyond ordinary food. You can, by consuming certain nonstandard materials (such as certain special meats, specific minerals, mana-rich plant roots, etc.), convert them into mana. Notice: Daily conversion amount is limited!! Use with caution to avoid bodily harm."

Advancing from white to blue quality and from elite to Transcendent rank combined to effect a qualitative change in his original Energy Storage Gland talent.

Gauss felt strange stirring inside his body;

wondrous phenomena were orderly unfolding within him.

After a while, when everything calmed down,

he finally exhaled and briefly analyzed the changes from this upgrade.

After evolving into Special Stomach, the same food now provided more energy, and digestion speed increased.

Additionally, he gained a precious ability: by eating certain special materials, he could quickly replenish mana. It sounded somewhat like an odd eating fetish, but if his physiology could handle it, the ability was powerful—mana could be restored quickly.

He paid little mind to the warning about side effects;

in urgent situations where mana was scarce, the trade-offs would be worth it.

"Sufficient potential has been obtained from the talent source host goblin specimen."

"Blue-quality elite racial talent [Sturdy Scale Bloodline] is upgrading!"

"Congratulations, successfully upgraded to Transcendent."

Besides the new Special Stomach talent, another racial talent obtained from goblins had also been upgraded.

Indeed, goblins were an inexhaustible treasure trove for him.

Gauss felt warmth coursing through his veins and couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly.

After reaching Transcendent rank, all enhancements from the Sturdy Scale Bloodline strengthened noticeably.

Gauss closed his eyes to savor the feeling.

First, the toughness of his energy scales increased significantly, and it would continue to improve with rising mana intensity.

Activating the bloodline’s dragon-claw manifested enhancements in strength and stamina.

Then came his eyes.

He felt he could perhaps maintain the golden iris state for long periods, but what use was that?

Gauss thought for a moment.

His eyes shifted from emerald to gold, and the pupils became a dignified vertical slit.

And he hadn’t even activated the Sturdy Scale Bloodline consciously.

However... his vision seemed sharper, his mind calmer—maybe there were other benefits too.

This partial activation of ocular ability seemed to cost minimal energy.

So was this a kind of buff that could be maintained in normal state?

If Sturdy Scale Bloodline evolved further from blue to purple quality, might the golden eyes gain even more powers?

Finishing the two racial talent upgrades, Gauss let out a long breath.

The gains went far beyond that.

He looked at the tangible depiction of his profession status within.

"About to level up!"

In fact, it wasn’t only him;

the others—though they hadn’t seen such dramatic gains—also shut their eyes and carefully felt the changes, expressions flitting across their faces.

The formerly gloomy sky parted and golden sunlight broke through the cloud gaps, a column of light striking the mountain crest.

What a satisfying harvest!

At the foot of the Heren Mountains, at an ordinary campsite

inside a tent.

Gauss sat upright on a blanket.

After several days of preparation, something inside him—his Mana Cup—had broken through a critical point and entered a whole new realm.

"Boom!"

Mana, as if long suppressed, suddenly spurted from the cup’s rim!!

Surging mana washed through his body.

It widened and enlarged the formerly fixed mana channels.

"Hum!"

A wind of energy rolled wildly beside Gauss as the raging mana triggered resonance with ambient natural mana.

Mana resonance, long and unceasing!

Outside the tent, Serlandul, who stood watch, felt the movement and tilted their head toward Gauss’s tent, a hint of joy on their face.

Has the captain finally finished upgrading?

This large operation had benefited Serlandul too, but because Serlandul had only recently advanced to Level 4, it still wasn’t enough to push to Level 5.

The same went for Shadow.

She was currently Level 5, stuck on the threshold of Master rank;

that step was tightly compressed.

Even without breaking through, she felt something loosen.

Aria, like Gauss, had triggered an upgrade—she had surged from Level 2 to Level 3.

After a long while, the energy waves from Gauss’s tent subsided.

His conscious sea calmed.

Deep within his awareness, the shiny Mana Cup spun and compressed mana;

part of the mana liquefied and formed.

The liquefied mana, which had originally occupied only a thin layer at the cup’s bottom, rose significantly to about one-quarter full.

At that moment, the bottleneck of a Level 3 Magician shattered with a roar.

Mana in his body ballooned in a few breaths and grew more robust.

All power converged into the Mana Cup, then flowed back to the whole body, strengthening Gauss’s overall combat power, mana intensity, total mana pool, professional talents, and so forth.

After a while Gauss opened his eyes.

A bright gleam flashed across them, then slowly settled back to normal.

"Professional level has increased to: 4!"

When the dust settled, the level-up notification popped up first in front of Gauss.

Finally, Level 4.

Gauss exhaled.

"Intelligence +1"

"Strength +1"

"Perception +1"

His attributes inside also correspondingly increased.

He looked at the status panel.

Strength: 10→11

Agility: 9

Constitution: 10

Intelligence: 13→14

Perception: 9(8)→10(9)

Charisma: 10(9)

This level-up brought decent attribute gains.

Besides the main Intelligence stat, it also added Strength and Perception.

Strength was a nice boost—odd to think of it for someone others see as a mage, but he knew Strength played a significant role in his overall power.

Perception reached 10 points, though that attribute currently benefited from the Empathy Bracelet’s equipment bonus.

Next time Perception and Charisma increase, there’ll be no numerical equipment offset;

they’ll simply rise to 10.

At that point, the Empathy Bracelet, apart from its active skill, won’t provide other attribute bonuses and could perhaps be passed to Aria if she needed it.

"After leveling to 4, my current strength..."

Gauss clenched his fist and felt the power in his body.

Level 5 professionals and Level 5 monsters certainly wouldn’t be his match, and Level 6 professionals would mostly lose out to him.

With no glaring weaknesses, a host of profession and racial talents, and two important goblin-linked racial talents further upgraded,

he was unsure about stronger Level 6 monsters—he hadn’t faced them directly—but he guessed the worst case would be being able to escape intact.

If the targeted monsters were goblin-type, it might even be easier.

So on paper he was a Level 4 elite professional, but in practice he exceeded Level 5 and could rival Level 6 combat capability.

"Phew—"

Once back in town, he could ask about Transcendent monsters and the Master stage specifics for professionals.

He remembered hearing something about a special change Master-stage professionals underwent.

Gauss climbed out of the tent and stretched.

Sunlight stabbed his eyes.

He squinted as the warm light poured over his face.

He felt unusually relaxed, with a sense of sudden clarity.

After all, breaking through toward the Level 6 combat tier, even if only enough to handle some situations, eased a lot of pressure.

At least he needn’t worry about suddenly encountering a Transcendent monster in the forest and plunging the team into crisis.

Serlandul twisted their torso and slid over.

"Captain, you advanced to Level 4?"

Their snake-like pupils fixed on Gauss’s body, and perceptive as they were, they could sense a much stronger oppressive presence than before.

It’s getting stronger, Captain.

Now Captain and I are both Level 4, but our strengths are incomparable.

Or rather, if a Level 3 captain’s power is terrifying, a Level 4 version of him would be even more horrific.

These days, peeking through the tent flap, Serlandul sometimes felt the being inside was not a human but a miniature dragon.

It made them feel close but also inevitably a little awed.

Still, when facing the captain directly, that oppressive aura inside the tent wasn’t present.

Serlandul reasoned it might be the captain’s temperament and appearance that softened his bloodline’s pressure— or because they were too familiar.

"Yes, it went smoothly. Nothing went wrong," Gauss didn’t show much excitement.

He had already been thrilled inside the tent;

that feeling had somewhat faded.

"Congratulations." Shadow leaned closer.

She curiously glanced at Gauss’s pupils.

His eyes had turned gold again—one moment emerald, the next gold. She found it intriguing.

Black seemed to be her consistent motif.

Her shadow-sourced ability was pure black;

her hair was jet black;

her pupils were jet black.

"Thanks. How about you?" Gauss asked.

Shadow was Level 5 now;

if she pushed to Level 6, the Master stage, there might be a qualitative change.

"Still needs time," Shadow shook her head.

"Keep it up," Gauss encouraged.

He actually found Shadow a bit mysterious.

After many days together, he sensed something about her cognition that didn’t quite match Level 5.

Gauss glanced at Aria’s tent across the way;

it looked calm over there.

They needed to stay another couple of days here.

It was a good time for him to practice the 2nd-circle spell he had recently acquired: Cloud of Daggers.

As for this mission, it was largely accomplished.

After burning the goblin nests inside the mountain days ago and finding where they trained their mounts, they had cleared that out as well and then set up camp here.

Thinking of the now-annihilated goblin expedition force put Gauss in thought.

The day after the fire, once the caves had cooled and the gas had settled, they had entered to search.

Not for loot—long-term burning had reduced almost all spoils to ash.

They searched for intelligence.

Inside the caves they found traces of iron mining, rudimentary smelting tools, and a small pile of rough iron ingots that hadn’t been transported away.

Clearly, these goblins weren’t just raiders;

they were attempting to exploit the mineral resources.

With iron, they could make weapons and armor and arm more goblins.

Gauss sensed a poise toward upheaval.

But for him it had been, for now, merely completing a commission.

"After finishing, we can go to the nearby town's Adventurers Guild to collect the reward."

"What to get?"

Gauss began to plan ahead.

He still hadn’t changed his mind since facing the Goblin Bat Knight that night: he wanted some anti-air capability.

The guild’s commission rewards would be generous;

he could pick carefully to fill his current weaknesses.

Gauss and the two others stayed by the temporary camp for two more days.

During those days, Gauss successfully learned Cloud of Daggers and advanced its proficiency to lv2 (18/20), nearly reaching lv3.

Progress moved quickly.

With his level-up, his professional talents also subtly strengthened.

Spell Mastery and Magic Resistance, unlike racial talents, scale with level and mana intensity.

Spell Mastery itself increases magic learning efficiency, so his speed of mastering spells would only accelerate.

Cloud of Daggers is a 2nd-circle spell and not easy to learn, or his proficiency would have progressed even more smoothly.

In a blink, the two days of practice were over.

Aria finished her "seclusion" and stepped out of her tent.

Perhaps the commission had provided so much "experience" that she didn’t need to meditate in her tent as before—she gained the boost naturally.

When a character advances enough, less ritual fluff is required.

After Aria rose to Level 3, the biggest changes weren’t in her but in her animal companions.

Most notably her longest-time partner, the gray wolf Ulfen, changed the most.

But calling it gray now seemed inaccurate;

its coat had turned pure silver-white, looking noble and majestic.

Its size had become more compact and muscled.

Muscle lines were now clear and smooth;

its claws gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

Its wolf eyes had taken on a more human understanding.

It raised its head, walked proudly a couple of paces.

But when it approached Gauss it behaved respectfully: tail tucked and it gave a low bark, then nuzzled his chest lightly.

It hadn’t forgotten who led this party despite its sudden leap in power.

Gauss took several large chunks of meat from his Storage Bag and rewarded it, also as a congratulatory gift for its growth.

Raven Eck had grown noticeably;

larger than a hawk now, and it had started to speak simple human words.

"Eck, Eck, reporting to you!"

"Stupid dog, Ulfen, caw caw!"

Seeing Ulfen hopping angrily and chasing the raven in the air, Gauss patted his head.

Well then.

It can speak and got smarter — not necessarily a bad thing.

Eck’s little crow followers developed fast and were now adult crow size.

Possibly because Eck raised them, a few crows listened well to it.

Scale Powder Butterfly showed no outward change, but Gauss felt stronger magic emanating from it;

its power had certainly increased.

"Not bad. Everyone’s grown stronger." Gauss smiled at Aria.

The Druid profession was pretty solid in this respect: animal companions strengthen as the Druid levels up.

"Hehe. Can we go collect the reward now?" Aria’s first question made Gauss grin.

He wasn’t the only one eyeing the commission reward.

"First, return the ballista to Lawrence’s Camp."

...

Lawrence’s Camp

With the green-skinned forest goblins pacified, order returned to the camp.

Hunters resumed hunting;

herbalists and miners returned to their tasks.

In the camp, a few idle adventurers were discussing the prolonged black smoke from recent days.

"Never expected that young man really did it."

"I heard Miller sent people to check. That kid’s a beast."

"Found the goblin lair and burned it for a whole day—didn’t let a single goblin escape."

"The cave literally became a furnace."

"Young blood with potential."

"I feel like it wasn’t just a day. It burned for a long while."

"Feels like he left for many days and didn’t come back. Maybe cleaning up the aftermath."

In the corner, a newly arrived bard quietly took notes.

"Heren Mountains—adventurer Gauss burns goblin nests for days and nights, the mountains turned to a furnace, thousands of goblins into ash, not a single survivor."

"The flames did not die;

the black pillar of smoke rose like a grim tower. Even at night, the mountain outlines glowed with subterranean fire. The goblins’ ghostly wails pierced the air, chilling the spine."

"To this day, the ground there remains searing like an anvil;

rocks turned to glass, vegetation dead, beasts avoiding the place. People have begun calling that mountain area the 'Gauss Furnace'."

The bard Matt finished the last line and paused.

He looked at his writing and pondered.

Okay, he had to admit he’d proportionally embellished a little.

But the main facts were accurate... right?

Whatever—who cares?

No one would care or know the exact number of goblins killed.

The “thousands of goblins” number came from his imagination. He had originally wanted to write tens of thousands, but considering Gauss’s adventurer rank, that lacked credibility, so he silently revised it down.

As he bent over his desk writing, a sudden commotion rose in the distance.

He turned toward the crowd.

A handsome young man strolled slowly through the camp gate.

Afternoon sunlight poured behind him, gilding his outline so that his features were hard to make out, but his silhouette looked tall and extraordinary.

Matt had heard of people having an aura of divinity;

he never understood it.

But this sudden scene made him tangibly feel what that meant.

Light falling on the man seemed to impart some ineffable sanctity.

He wore a cleaned but still slightly worn black mage’s robe—plain rather than flashy—but carried an air of calm composure.

The Lawrence’s Camp militiamen instinctively parted to either side, light following him;

their gazes mixed curiosity, reverence, and a faint, subtle tension as if silently honoring him.

Matt squinted, trying to see this newcomer’s face clearly.

When the young man stepped closer and left the direct glare, Matt finally made out his features.

It was indeed an extremely handsome face: high nose bridge, defined jawline. But most striking were his eyes.

They were... golden eyes.

Not the gaudy gold painted by noble dye, but a deeper, reserved gold as if molten metal slowly flowed within—upon close look, the pupils seemed to be vertical slits.

Matt felt his heart skip when the man’s gaze swept over him, as if being glanced at by a powerful predator.

His pen accidentally slipped and dropped on the table with a soft clack.

"Mr. Gauss, welcome back."

"Master Gauss, thank you for your hard work."

"So... this is Gauss."

Matt muttered.

His earlier writing had been professional embellishment, but when this man named Gauss simply stood quietly, he inspired trust and awe.

Matt had traveled far, seen many geniuses and heroes, but none had struck him like Gauss.

He was certain this wasn't mere recency effect.

His heart raced.

The first word that sprang to Matt’s mind was:

Wyrmling!

Even with a Level 3 adventurer badge on his chest and plain clothes, even with a fair face lacking weathered experience, Matt believed now that this Gauss was a wyrmling—hibernating, accumulating power, about to soar.

And he had opened those golden eyes.

Matt inhaled sharply as inspiration poured like a spring from his mind.

He didn’t rush forward like others but fumbled for a fresh sheet and began to write furiously.

Perhaps even dragons need heralds.

Gauss met his look for a moment and then lowered his gaze.

Seeing the townspeople’s enthusiasm, he felt once more the meaning of being an adventurer.

Though he had come merely to finish a commission, their efforts indeed brought real benefits to ordinary people around them and created a safer environment.

Beside him, a little girl who had accompanied her herbalist father offered him a handful of wildflowers from her basket.

"Big brother, this is for you."

"Thank you, I like it very much."

Gauss bent and accepted the flowers.

He brought them to his nose and sniffed.

The dew-kissed wildflowers gave off a fresh, delicate fragrance.