Aaliyah, standing idly by with a broom, clad in a clean apron and complete with hood and gloves, looked on with a hint of envy and muttered to herself, "I wish I could learn some Magic Tricks."
"Even if you mastered them, they wouldn’t be as effective as when the captain uses them," Serdur mercilessly shattered her illusion.
The same magic can have vastly different effects in the hands of different Casters.
In his view, Gauss was an absolute magic prodigy. Whether it was a simple Trick or a more complex Spell, he could wield them all effectively, and the casting effect of almost every spell was superior to that of ordinary people.
This is an extremely rare talent. In all his adventurous journeys, he had never encountered anyone who could come close to Gauss’s talent.
And Aaliyah? Perhaps she had a small talent in certain specialized Spell castings, but compared to Gauss’s all-around mastery, she was still lacking.
"..."
Aaliyah glanced at him.
Alright.
She knew the Half-Snake Man was speaking the truth, but why did it feel so unpleasant coming from his mouth?
Hmph hmph...
...
The next day.
Gauss stretched lazily and sat up from bed.
Last night, on the first evening back in Gray Rock Town, he booked a private room at Firefly Kitchen and invited some acquaintances for dinner.
Unfortunately, very few people came in the end.
Andri had vanished off somewhere to "fool around" and was not at the Thorny Hut.
Boss Gron from Black Anvil Workshop politely declined the dinner invitation after thanking him.
The Night Owl Squad seemed to be out on a mission.
In the end, the only ones who came were the innkeeper Sofia, the staff member Winnie, and the Adventurer’s Guild receptionist Petra, who was on break, along with the three members of Gauss’s team.
Looking out the window, the sun was already directly overhead.
He had a very restful sleep.
As the saying goes, a gold nest or a silver nest isn’t as good as your own doghouse. Although his house wasn’t big, it was comfortable enough to live in.
After freshening up and having breakfast, the trio regrouped and headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild.
Even though this return to Gray Rock Town was somewhat of a holiday, they couldn’t just lounge around.
Having not hunted any Demons for many days, they needed to take on a commission to get their skills back in shape.
The Adventurer’s Guild was just as crowded as ever.
Adventurers, specifically those with professional ranks, headed to Barry to explore the labyrinth. Most Bottom Adventurers preferred to continue taking on commissions in their familiar local areas.
Venturing to a new place, especially transitioning from a small town to a big city, posed significant challenges for many.
These challenges came from psychological barriers, financial pressures, personal planning, etc.
When Gauss’s team entered the first floor, the noise in the hall dropped by several decibels.
Most people were either subtly observing them from a distance or discreetly watching with side glances.
It wasn’t just the aura of the trio that drew attention, but more so the striking presence of the Half-Snake Man, Serdur.
Compared to the common mixed-blood races in town, like Half-Beastmen, Dwarves, Half-Elves, and even Half-Elves, the return rate of Half-Snake Men was much higher.
The large snake tail that occupied most of his body was simply too conspicuous.
This led to many instinctively gripping their weapons when the group entered the Adventurer’s Guild hall.
If it weren’t for the presence of Gauss and Aaliyah beside Serdur, people might have assumed a Demon was invading the guild hall.
Gauss glanced at him and, noticing that while Serdur’s expression hadn’t changed, his body had slightly tensed, deliberately teased him.
"Serdur, see how cool we look, becoming the center of attention wherever we go."
Serdur’s tense snake tail relaxed a little, and he pulled a barely noticeable smile at the corner of his mouth, self-deprecatingly speaking in a raspy voice, "I’m used to it."
"Nah, they were obviously staring at me," Gauss said with a grin. "Being handsome often comes with its troubles."
With that playful banter, Serdur felt a bit better.
The trio slowly approached the counter.
Soon, Petra led them to the VIP room.
Only after Gauss and the others disappeared did the hall regain its noisy atmosphere.
"That Snake-man was really scary just now."
"I almost thought a monster had come in, haha."
"Better not say that where people can hear, or you’ll be in trouble."
"Honestly... Don’t you think having a Snake-man as a teammate is pretty cool?"
...
"Gauss, the usual?" Petra took out the Task Crystal Stone. "But the basic missions related to goblins aren’t very close."
As the first receptionist Gauss interacted with and the one he was closest to, she was well aware of what commissions Gauss favored.
"Yes," Gauss nodded. "Let’s skip the basic missions this time and start with some regular ones to get back in practice."
He didn’t reach for the Task Crystal Stone.
Petra paused for a moment, noting the adventurer rank badges on Gauss, Aaliyah, and Serdur for a few seconds.
It’s really just getting back in practice...
Sympathizing for a second with the goblin group soon to face this professional squad, she quickly turned back to the room and returned with a pile of commission orders.
There were quite a few regular goblin missions, laid out impressively on the table.