A torrent of Magic, stronger and purer than before, surged out from the cup as if a dam had broken, instantly merging into the magical cycle that flowed throughout his body!
Boom!
Gauss felt his cerebral cortex start to tremble violently.
Streams of information continuously washed over his brain, and vaguely, it seemed as though a mysterious power gathered from all around and entered his body.
"Profession level increased to: 2"
Strange energy surged around him, stirring up an invisible wind out of nowhere.
His clothes were whipped by the wind, making a rustling sound.
The Magic within him became purer and purer in a very short time, as if the impurities were being filtered out each time it flowed through the goblet-like core.
The core skill, [Gauss Force Field], was also unconsciously activated, becoming visibly more condensed around him.
The outward to inward bursts of a wave layered upon each other, even temporarily distorting the light around him.
The wind gradually subsided, and when the circulation of energy calmed down, it eventually transformed into a powerful force, settling in his limbs and bones, and in the Magic circuits.
Gauss slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the changes brought about by the level-up within him.
"Intelligence +1"
"Agility +1"
"Perception +1"
——
Name: Gauss
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 10
Perception: 8
Charm: 7
After leveling up, his Intelligence Attribute directly broke through to 10 points!
In addition, two relatively weaker attributes also simultaneously enhanced.
However, improvement in attributes does not entirely reflect the overall transformation of his strength.
Viewing his body internally, the goblet-like energy, as an external representation of his Profession Tier, was once again completely consumed, shining even brighter, and conveying a greedy desire for progression, becoming more resilient and with doubled capacity.
Additionally, his Magic became more solid, roughly doubling in quantity.
Now, with a lift of his hand or foot, it seemed more effortless to resonate with the Magic elements in the natural environment.
This is actually quite important because the power of Magic depends not only on one’s own Magic but is also influenced by the omnipresent Natural Magic.
Furthermore, he could feel a significant increase in the load of spell models that his subconscious could carry.
This load does not seem to relate solely to the Intelligence Attribute.
When he previously increased his Intelligence from 8 to 9 through the 500 kills reward, he did not feel this obvious enhancement.
Therefore, it’s more like the alleviation of load brought by Profession Tier advancement, from level 1 to level 2.
This means that after reaching level 2, he can master more spells.
Gauss felt the enhancement in every aspect of himself, let out a long breath of white air, and couldn’t help but smile.
All the persistence, endless dull practice, monster slaying, had at this moment reaped the most abundant reward!
He is now a Level 2 Mage!
Feeling the power in himself, which is no longer the same as before, he developed a deeper understanding of Professional levels.
Why Level 2 Professionals can usually crush Level 1 Professionals.
Attributes are only one aspect.
More importantly, it is the transformation brought by the Profession Tier advancement itself.
The core is the leap of the Profession Tier itself, which is the unification and sublimation of a Professional’s comprehensive qualities, unlocking a higher ceiling and coordinating attributes and abilities, acting as the "central processor".
For example, even with 50 pounds of strength, a drunk person might not hit anything, meaning the force is equivalent to zero; and even if the force works, spreading one’s arms to push, clenching a fist to punch, or wielding a weapon to stab causes entirely different impacts, much like the difference between low and high Profession Tiers.
Therefore, except for a few outliers, most scenarios see high-tier Professionals easily suppressing those of lower tiers in specialized combat professions.
This feeling... really is wonderful.
He stuffed dried meat into his mouth and began packing his belongings.
In fact, upgrading from level 1 to level 2 is considered a minor improvement, while advancing from level 2 to level 3 marks a transitional enhancement.
But he was already satisfied, considering he had only recently upgraded to level 1.
This speed is quite fast, as some Professionals may struggle for half their lives without taking this step, whereas he did it in less than half a year!
Furthermore, Professionals who quickly advance from level 1 to level 2 often continue to progress at a rapid pace afterward.
"With my current strength, can I challenge a Level 3 Professional?" a thought flashed by.
Gauss began contemplating this inwardly, realizing that for ordinary people, there’s a significant gap between levels 2 and 3 that’s nearly insurmountable.
For example, a Caster’s 2nd-level Spell requires a level 3 Caster profession to master, and a level 3 Caster can even upgrade skills, marking a transformation-like enhancement.
But with so many abilities and talents he possesses, getting familiar with the upgraded abilities might just...
Gauss was quite curious about this as well.
But for now, it’s better to head back to the city.
With everything packed, Gauss turned and walked towards the warm lights of Gray Rock Town.
"Sir, ending work so early today?" the guard at the gate recognized him and saluted respectfully.
Their gaze swept over Gauss’s young, handsome face and finally landed on the bronze One-star badge glinting with a slight glow, unable to conceal their envy.
"Objective completed." Gauss nodded. "You’ve been working hard."
"Not at all, you’re the one who’s really been working hard. Let me wish you a happy festival in advance."
"Happy festival to you too." After exchanging wishes, Gauss passed through the gate and entered the town.
He didn’t find training difficult; after all, being able to continuously see his improvement, enjoying the positive feedback brought by getting stronger, this feeling was quite addictive, constantly motivating him to keep training and adventuring.
Conversely, for them, day after day, year after year, like screws rooted on the outskirts of Gray Rock Town, it must be tougher.
If nothing unexpected happens, their world is framed by these stone walls, seeing only this small frontier town’s low sky and the monotonous snowfields outside for their entire lives.
For decades, the vast and turbulent world is nothing but distant myths by a tavern’s hearth for them.
If he hadn’t seen hope, the former Gauss might have been able to endure, but now he couldn’t accept such a dull life.
Since arriving in this fantasy-colored Otherworld of swords and magic, he heard the true voice from deep within him, knowing what he truly desired.
That is, to travel!
Walking along the ever-extending footprints beneath his feet, to feel different winds, see diverse sceneries.
Crossing forests, polar regions, volcanoes, oceans...
To witness ancient tree spirits’ gnarled roots migrating beneath the moonlight, to explore the legendary frozen spires under auroras, to save cities besieged by beast tides, to become the hero sung in ballads.
In the truest sense, mastering the trajectory of his own life.
He saw his ambition serene yet fierce, and for this, he would keep moving, breaking through himself.