Gauss opened his eyes.
He felt a bit dizzy.
The blinding sunlight filled his vision, making him feel disoriented.
He raised his hand to block the sunlight.
"Where am I...?"
He looked around in confusion.
His brain felt like it was on the brink of blackout as if he had drunk too much.
But quickly, as he recalled the past events,
he began to piece together his memories bit by bit.
Right, I was exploring the maze earlier, and when I reached its edge, I encountered that fearsome Pale Guard.
Then I was chased all the way into its nest.
Next, I activated the "Teleportation Scroll."
The last memory he had was of the rapidly approaching, blade-like legs.
He touched his head and body.
Everything was intact; it seemed he had been successfully teleported away without being struck by that terrifying downward slash!
But how did I end up here?
The surroundings were clearly a carefully arranged inn room, with warm wooden floors and a soft bed.
The light blue curtains fluttered gently in the breeze.
A shaft of sunlight spilled into the room from outside the window.
He could faintly hear the bustling conversations of people on the street.
Have I returned to town?
However, soon he remembered a more pressing concern.
That was the reward for killing the fifth type of elite demon!
He opened the Adventurer’s Handbook.
While he was unconscious, the accumulated information all popped up at once.
"Currently killed 5 types of elite demons (5/5)"
"Elite Path Stage 2 successfully unlocked!"
"Reward obtained: Randomly draw one elite demon’s racial talent."
"Current Elite Monster Atlas Types: Mantis People, Half-Ogre, Golem, Treasure Chest Monster, Spider Ghost."
"Randomly drawing racial talent abilities, improving and adapting for constitution."
"..."
"Drew one ability from the demon [Spider Ghost], Thin Ancient Bloodline."
"Improving into, Racial Talent [Ghost Form] Blue Quality (Upgradeable)"
[Ghost Form] (Initial Level): On the premise of not affecting the purity of your main lineage, you will acquire a form from the distant mutant ghost bloodline.
Activating [Ghost Form] will temporarily change your appearance, targeting strength enhancements.
But in the state of form activation, the rate of various energy losses will accelerate, requiring careful control of usage duration; overuse can lead to exhaustion or even fainting.
Gauss finished reading the drawn talent.
In short, it granted him a special state, wherein his combat power might be boosted.
However, the specific areas and extent of enhancement might need firsthand experience to be understood.
Besides, it seemed that this state couldn’t be activated consistently; it had high potency and rapid consumption.
Overuse could risk fainting.
It seems if he were to use it for long periods, he would need trusted companions around.
In fact, character might be more important than strength.
Otherwise, even if the enemy were defeated, he would face various other risks and threats once he fainted.
In many temporary teams, comrades fighting side by side might at any time turn into adventurer’s spoils.
Gauss continued reading.
"Elite Path Stage 2 accomplished, unlocking Elite Path Stage 3: Hunter’s Path."
"Hunter’s Path, you will earn elite points by killing elite demons recorded or unrecorded in the atlas; elite points can upgrade white-quality talents (upgradeable) to blue quality (50 points) or enhance the level progress of blue-quality talents."
"Gain 10 elite points for each new atlas monster, and 1 point for defeating already recorded atlas monsters."
"For the next talent draw, the Elite Monster Atlas types must reach 20 (5/20)"
Gauss nodded in understanding after reading.
The 3rd stage was relatively long-term, lacking a fixed goal and being a continuous process.
As long as he accumulated the atlas and killed elite demons, he could continually earn elite points.
And these elite points could elevate talent quality; for instance, his [Crawling Race] talent required 50 elite points to upgrade from white quality to blue quality.
Those 50 elite points could be accrued by hunting five new elite demons or by defeating 50 elite demons from the existing atlas, or a mix of both.
Or used to upgrade talent levels.
In short, enhancing talent strength necessitated constant elite demon hunting, preferably unfamiliar species for efficiency, while also advancing towards the next talent draw; however, defeating known elite demons also granted continuous rewards.
As to choosing between elite and base monsters, there was no conflict.
An abundance of base monsters leads to the emergence of elite demons. Elite demons usually have many base monsters as subordinates, especially outdoors, where they often appear together.
Gauss organized his thoughts.
The sound of the door opening was heard.
Aaliyah walked in.
"You’re awake."
Seeing Gauss sitting on the bed brought her both relief and joy.
Although she knew Gauss’s body was unharmed and would recover once the toxins naturally faded, the past few days of waiting were still agonizing for her.