Gauss felt an unprecedented surge of power throughout his body.
In the activated state of his hardened-scaled bloodline, it seemed that his physique had been enhanced in every aspect.
"Is this... the power of dragons?"
The words that just appeared flashed through Gauss’s mind.
Dragons are a rather broad term; in this world, they are not a singular creature but a vast and complex racial lineage.
At the top of this bloodline tree are, of course, the giant dragons, the so-called true dragons, who are the most powerful and relatively few in number.
Whether they are chromatic dragons, metallic dragons, or some other special dragon species, they all possess exceptionally high intelligence, long lifespans, and tremendous power.
As they age, their abilities grow stronger, and they receive marked improvements in size, strength, spellcasting ability, and armor, placing them at the top of the pyramid of races.
Beneath the true dragons are dragon beasts, sub-dragons, and various dragon-blooded creatures.
As Gauss knew, even among humans, there are bloodline inheritors like Half-Dragons, Dragonborn, or Dragon Vein Mages.
It seems that this racial talent of mine is also developing in this direction...
Having sensed the changes in his body, Gauss looked around.
The transformation had happened in an instant, and now the flames from the Burning Hand still blazed on the wall in front of him.
The air was filled with the peculiar savory aroma of scorched protein.
Especially the elite demon bear monstrosity in front of him, from which the meat aroma was particularly rich.
The bear monstrosity was first roasted by fire, then bombarded by several magic missiles, its meat dispersed into fist-sized chunks that exuded a perfectly blended scent of charred and enticing meat.
This smell crept into Gauss’s nostrils, making his throat involuntarily roll twice, and a primal and intense urge to feed rose in his belly.
His gaze was fixed intently on the pieces of meat on the ground.
It wasn’t until a violent explosion sounded in his ears that his thoughts were pulled away from it.
He shook his head forcefully, realizing his abnormal state.
Gauss, oh Gauss, now is not the time to think about eating.
Looking at his energy dragon claw and the surge of unique bloodline power within, he suddenly realized that the activated state of [Hardened-Scaled Bloodline] brought not just power, but even an instinct belonging to a strong predator lurking behind this power.
To put it simply, in this state, his brain seemed to be growing muscles.
Fortunately, his intelligence attribute was high enough, and after a brief distraction, his rationality quickly overpowered that beastly instinct.
"Roar!!"
A savage roar came from behind. Another bear monstrosity climbed the wall behind him, lunging at him from behind.
Its massive bear paw enveloped in energy, creating a vicious wind as it aimed a fierce strike at the back of Gauss’s head.
Don’t be fooled by its burly appearance; its eyes were quite keen, accurately capturing the moment Gauss was lost in thought.
However, it underestimated Gauss’s reaction speed and current combat instincts.
Before, Gauss would indeed have chosen to dodge, attacking after creating some distance from the bear monstrosity.
But at this moment, he had a new choice; the rushing power within him and the suppressed hunting desire by rationality made him subconsciously react in an entirely different way.
He didn’t even completely turn around, just quickly pushed off with his foot.
Boom!
The packed earth beneath his feet cracked, the powerful explosive force from [Hardened-Scaled Bloodline] propelling him to face the side with almost savage speed. The Gauss Force Field covered with dense energy scales, at this moment twisted into the form of a dragon claw, didn’t dodge or evade, directly confronting the bear monstrosity’s massive paw head-on.
Boom!
A thunderous dull sound echoed as if two heavy boulders had collided.
Gauss’s body didn’t move an inch; instead, the two to three-meter tall bear monstrosity let out a scream of pain. Its paw, strong enough to crush rocks, felt like it had struck a wall of solid steel, its arm bone numbing from the shock, causing it to stagger back several steps.
The originally rough and hard bear paw was even directly punctured, creating a large gash.
Blood dripped down from the dragon claw scales onto the ground.
"So my strength is really this formidable!" Gauss himself was quite surprised by this transformed defense and strength.
It’s important to note that he had not even fully unleashed his explosive power, given that it was a sneak attack.
He had only hastily responded with that subconscious battle instinct.
Was it because of the magic power enhancement?
Gauss sensed the continuously released magic effect from [Gauss Force Field], vaguely understanding something.
This power didn’t purely come from the explosive force of his muscles and bones but also because it was mixed with [Gauss Force Field], and combined with magic, further propelled this power.
In other words, his current state wasn’t purely physical technique but a prototype of something akin to magical physique technique.
His thoughts raced.
The bear monstrosity’s attack was interrupted, its enormous body now showing the disadvantage of its size, the recoil making it difficult to control its body, leaving a large opening.
While pondering, Gauss allowed his combat instincts to continue acting subconsciously.
He exploded with power beneath his feet, his body rushing forward in an instant, not giving the bear monstrosity the chance to readjust its stance.
In the bear monstrosity’s terrified gaze, his right hand shot out like lightning, with his fingers slightly bent, the claw-shaped fingertips gleaming with sharp edges.
"Screech!!!"
Gauss’s hand plunged directly into the bear monstrosity’s chest as if a trident pierced into a block of tofu effortlessly.