"Is it convenient?" Naturally, Gauss wouldn’t stubbornly refuse such convenience, so he politely asked back.
"It’s no trouble at all, just some information." Quik gave a hearty smile. "We’re all adventurers from Gray Rock Town, we should help each other."
"Thank you, then let me treat you to this meal."
Gauss waved his hand grandly, called the waiter back, and continued to order dishes.
On the other side of the table, Cathy and Dorian, who had remained silent, exchanged glances.
They had a curious feeling.
They kept feeling that the captain’s attitude towards Gauss had grown much friendlier this time.
It even seemed... if they had to say it, there was a hint of flattery?
But how could that be?
Despite Quik’s usually earnest demeanor, as teammates, they actually knew that in their captain’s heart there was always a measure for people, to put it plainly, a bit snobbish.
It just wasn’t apparent in his words and expressions.
After a round of roasted meat.
The group shared a lot of information about the maze.
Including some hidden chambers, changes in maze pathways, and special monsters not found outside.
After dinner, the two teams parted ways, agreeing to set off together again the next morning.
Walking away, the Level 3 Swordsman Quik and Level 3 Sorcerer Sanna fell into silence simultaneously.
"Did you feel it?"
"Yes."
"It’s really scary. Clearly, the last time we met, which was when we arrived with the caravan, he wasn’t this strong."
"Maybe in a while, he’ll be a Level 3 Mage." Sorcerer Sanna sighed.
At the dinner table just now, she hadn’t spoken at all, feeling a vague threat from Gauss, which killed her appetite.
Level 3 Mage? Really?
Level 2 Ranger Dorian listened to their conversation, his mind flashing back to the scene of first meeting Gauss in the forest.
At that time, he was quite proud of his Level 2 profession, facing Gauss, who was still a Level 1 newbie.
Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the other had left him far behind.
Is this what a genius is?
...
A night of silence.
The next day.
The two teams met at the agreed spot.
Overnight.
Gauss noticed that the others kept smiling at him frequently.
Clearly, he was the one who benefited from their information, but now it seemed the other way around.
He was puzzled but didn’t say anything.
"Shall we go?"
Last night, he was also practicing Clay Magic in the rented inn.
His current proficiency had reached lv1 (6/10), and he felt he might be able to raise this 2nd Ring spell to level 2 today.
Unlike other spells, level 1 Clay Magic couldn’t be used in combat yet.
It might require level 2 before he could imbue it with vitality and create simple clay creatures.
But since Quik and the others were still around, he was a bit cautious and didn’t continue practicing the spell while riding.
Fortunately, the process wasn’t too long.
Knowing the approximate position, the two teams didn’t take much time to reach the current entrance to the second level.
"Luckily, the location from the intel hasn’t changed." Quik breathed a sigh of relief seeing this.
At least they didn’t bring everyone here for nothing.
Following the entrance passage, the group continued deeper into the maze.
As the light ahead brightened, they walked out of the passage.
Re-entering the verdant world.
"We’re back on the second level of the maze."
"Then we’ll take our leave first." Quik and his team didn’t plan to continue moving with Gauss and the others.
Sharing information was already selling a small favor; continuing together wouldn’t be good.
After all, they were two separate teams, and later encounters with monsters, interests, and loot would complicate matters.
"Alright, be safe exploring."
"You too."
Watching the four figures disappear into a thicket.
Half-Snake Man Serdur shook his head.
He didn’t quite like that Swordsman, as he gave off a slick feeling, so he hadn’t really spoken to him since last night.
He also knew this was a flaw in his personality; it was hard for him to engage with people he didn’t like.
Like when he interacted with Gauss, he had a lot to say. Actually, he could also exchange a few words with Aaliyah, though he was still getting familiar with her.
Serdur flicked out his snake tongue and, after confirming the Iron Arm Squad had gone far, spoke to Gauss.
"Gauss, last time while exploring the second level of the maze, I found a hidden chamber." He lowered his raspy voice. "I was alone at the time, so for safety, I didn’t go in."
"Do you want to check it out?"
"A hidden chamber?" Gauss pondered.
Based on the current public intel, hidden chambers in the maze often housed creatures more advanced than the maze creatures on that floor, making the rewards more generous.