"Next stage: Accumulate a total of 1000 monster kills."
Gauss’s brain buzzed as if it were overclocked.
Like rusty gears lubricated with oil, stagnant strings recalibrated, his thoughts and spirit became increasingly fluid.
His consciousness felt as if it was being lifted by a gentle yet powerful force, temporarily freed from the shackles of his body, becoming a calm observer.
Watching the changes in his spirit, he felt the spiritual power in his brain and the magic power within him surging and fluctuating.
And when everything drew to a close.
His awareness returned to his body like a bird returning to its nest, gently settling deep inside.
He opened his eyes.
His eyes became incomparably bright, the spiritual power within almost spilling over. If an ordinary person were to meet his gaze right now, they’d likely be burned by its sharpness.
"Intelligence: 9!"
The cold number appeared in his mind, but it was far from enough to describe the changes in his spiritual world.
In fact, the increase in intelligence brought about an all-encompassing improvement.
His memory and logical abilities became more outstanding.
The obscure passages shrouded in mist that he studied in the night before now appeared vividly in his mind, resolving the barriers that had troubled him.
An unprecedented sense of enlightenment surged forth.
He felt an inexplicable confidence that if he just found a quiet place and took out the book again, he would surely grasp its essence.
After all, is meant as a cultivation technique for those entering the caster profession.
Other casters could master it through repeated study, transcription, or by accumulating time and memory. Gauss could naturally do it too; he just hadn’t had the book long enough to understand it deeply, and that’s why he was stuck on some difficult points.
But now, the simple principle that "strength leads to success" also applies on the spiritual level; his intelligence of 9 is incomparable to when it was 8.
The changes extend beyond just comprehension.
The magic power flowing within him, like a dredged river, operated more smoothly and freely.
The "Profession Tier Cup" floating deep in his consciousness emitted an unprecedented brilliant glow, with the runes on its walls circulating, and the details becoming clearer.
Gauss felt he had taken a significant step towards the profession level of lv2, although not much time had passed since he advanced to lv1.
He vaguely felt that his intelligence might have already surpassed the common limit for pureblood humans at the stage of a level 1 caster. This notable "long board" was currently and invisibly boosting the entire system’s growth.
Magic control, casting precision, profession strength, the upper limit of spells that can be learned, and even the efficiency of meditation practice... all seemed to be nourished and enhanced like saplings gaining extra nutrients!
Now, within level 1, he should be unrivaled, right?
Even those ferocious demons challenging level 1 couldn’t possibly defeat him in single combat.
He even began to speculate whether he had the capacity to contend with level 2 professionals or even higher-level ones?
Of course, this inflated thought just flashed through his mind.
Immediately, rationality regained the upper hand.
Steady growth, don’t rush!
Just like after he ascended to level 1, he still tirelessly "bullied" lesser demons to build strength. This safe and efficient growth path is indeed the correct rhythm for him to become stronger.
Not far away, Aaliyah keenly sensed the unusual changes in Gauss.
Though unable to feel the invisible transformation, the druid’s intuition told her that he was in a wondrous critical state, and it was best not to disturb him.
She silently gestured to the excited Gray Wolf Ulfen to keep silent, pulling it back a short distance away.
Then she turned, quietly beginning to harvest the spoils from the rusted frogs on the ground, the frog tongues as proof of the task, and the thigh meat that Gauss needed.
When Gauss gradually reined in his spirit, and his attention refocused on the real world, Aaliyah, who had been secretly observing him, finally approached.
Beside her was already a small pile of processed frog tongues and the pink frog meat wrapped in oilcloth.
"How do you... feel?"
She could feel that Gauss’s aura seemed even more condensed and profound, like a polished blade, its sharpness retracted yet more pronounced.
She had heard of professionals with extraordinary talent who could absorb nourishment in battle and convert it into nutrients for their growth and enhancement.
But it was her first time witnessing someone grow stronger directly in combat in reality.
He truly is a one-in-a-million genius.
"Thank you, I’m fine, it’s been a bit of a fruitful day." Gauss flashed an invigorated smile, noticing she had been busy for quite some time, and a hint of apology appeared on his face. "You’ve worked hard, leave the rest to me, okay? You should take a rest?"
"Look at you." Aaliyah was about to habitually hold her forehead when she caught a glimpse of the dark red stains on her hands and helplessly put her hand down, but her tone carried an undeniable insistence. "Saying such things again, we are teammates after all."
Gauss chuckled at her words, said no more, and joined the ranks of harvesting.
After slaying demons, the complexity of battlefield cleanup often far exceeded the battle itself.
By the time the two finally processed the "spoils" from fifty-two rust frogs.
The sun was almost setting.
The afterglow of the sunset had already dyed the horizon a shade of orange.
This trip, Gauss gained over two hundred pounds of precious frog leg meat, and with the previous amount, the total approached four hundred pounds.
However, his storage pouch had a capacity limit of 500 pounds (about 227 kilograms). These meats, along with the existing items, clearly exceeded the limit.
But he was really reluctant to throw them away. This pile of frog meat had extremely high energy content, enough for him to consume for a long time.
Moreover, he always felt that it tasted more fragrant than regular meat, with a lingering taste.
After weighing his options, he chose to take out some of the parcels from his storage pouch and put all the giant frog meat in. As for the other luggage parcels he took out, he and Gray Wolf Ulfen would each share some of the burden.
For this, Gauss also rewarded Ulfen with a few pieces of raw meat.
That night, the two stayed at the nearest village.
Preparing to recharge their energy and return to Gray Rock Town the next day.
"Aaliyah." After dinner, Gauss raised a question he had been pondering for a long time. "Do you think... we should consider buying mounts?"
"I was just going to discuss this with you." Aaliyah felt that they were on the same wavelength. "We can ride with the caravan when we depart, but on the way back or for future tasks, we can’t always rely on meeting a team going the same way."
Gauss agreed wholeheartedly.
In the past, not buying mounts was due to being short on money, the time and effort needed to learn riding skills, and the worry that when acting alone, the mount might easily be lost or encounter danger after a battle.
But now, with Druid Aaliyah, who can communicate with animals, in the team, the difficulty of mastering riding skills would be greatly reduced. Although top mounts were still out of reach, they at least had options.
A reliable mount would be a qualitative leap for the load-bearing, mobility, and even the overall efficiency of the team.
Before finding a more magical means of transportation, it was undoubtedly the most realistic solution for low-level adventurers.
"There aren’t many options in Gray Rock Town." Aaliyah had obviously done her homework and analyzed seriously. "Common mount trades are done in Barry, where there’s a large trading market. If you’ve decided, afterwards we can find a chance to accept a commission near Barry’s direction, and visit there for selection after completing the task."
"Among the mounts, horses are the most common, ponies are suitable for forests, giant-hoofed goats can climb mountains and carry heavy loads, domesticated land lizards are drought-tolerant, and chocobos are fast... There are quite a few choices, but I didn’t specifically inquire about the prices."
Her giant wolf Ulfen, though strong, was not suited for carrying heavy loads for long distances due to its spine structure. Once or twice might be okay, but forcing it to act as a mount for the long term would only be a heavy burden.
As for using Druid abilities to tame one in the wild? That was also not a very realistic matter, as the Druid’s affinity with animals wasn’t an all-powerful control.
It was no easy task to make wild and unruly creatures willingly leave their homes and serve diligently as mounts long term.
Meanwhile,
Barry...
Hearing this familiar name, Gauss’s thoughts drifted involuntarily.
The first time he heard about Barry, he was just a complete rookie who hadn’t even completed a single task...
He even kept that first mission commission in his pocket that belonged to the whole team but had not been delivered yet.
How is everyone else doing?
Finishing the initial discussion about mounts, the two went to their respective rooms to rest.
Gauss lay on the hard wooden bed, but was not sleepy at all.
The excitement brought by breaking through in intelligence was still subtly active.
He got up and opened the window.
Silvery moonlight, like a veil, quietly flowed into the room, gently spreading over the table.
With the bright moonlight weaving with the flickering oil lamp light, they together illuminated the yellowish-brown ancient pages.
A rare opportunity.
He wanted to take advantage of the lively spiritual state after reaching 9 points in intelligence to conquer the final hurdle of the meditation method.
Once he masters meditation, the growth of his magic power would also have a more stable routine practice path.
More importantly, it was a crucial step to further upgrade his "Profession Tier Cup" and unlock deeper powers!