"Will those man-eating monsters flood into Forest Crown Town?"
"Should we hide in another town to lay low for a while?"
"So many Adventurers can’t hold them off, what’s really happening..."
Gauss’ ears were filled with the discussions and uneasy conversations of the residents along the way, and he silently shook his head.
In this era, ordinary people are like duckweed in a storm, their fates often not in their own hands.
The threat of Demons, the fall of homes, disasters that can disrupt their peaceful lives at any moment must rely on the strong for defense.
Even the most basic intelligence they know is vague, like an illusion.
"Andri, are you coming with us?" Gauss looked at Andri in front of him.
There was a trace of exhaustion on her face at this moment.
Although she was powerful, she was a Mage after all, and didn’t possess the same stamina as a Warrior of the same level. After a night of hurrying on the road, she was somewhat tired.
"Mm." She nodded her head sleepily.
Gauss and his group quickly left the team.
They found an inn in Forest Crown Town to rest.
Andri went to her room to rest, and Gauss was feeling alright at this point.
Perhaps due to the recently acquired Racial Talent [Hardscale Bloodline], his body was still very energized.
Especially that mysterious giant egg lying dormant inside him, which showed signs of awakening after evolving from Crawler to Hardscale Bloodline.
He looked at his Attribute Panel.
On the way back, from last night till now, he always had no time to carefully analyze it. Now that he had finally returned to a safe town, he finally had the leisure to take a look.
Racial Talent: Blue Quality [Hardscale Bloodline] (Elite Level)
Without affecting the purity of your own bloodline, you will gain some of the advantageous traits of a dragon:
Upon activating Hardscale Bloodline, your defense and resilience are greatly enhanced, your Constitution and strength are temporarily increased significantly, and you have better adaptability to various complex environments.
Gain Hardscale Energy Shielding: Possesses good resistance to physical attacks and low-level elemental attacks. (Note: Able to combine with talent [Magic Resistance] and core skill [Gauss Force Field])
Advanced Dark Vision and Thermal Sensing: Your visual abilities will be enhanced, allowing you to perceive the flow of Magic Power to a certain extent.
Predator Instinct: You will have a powerful autonomous combat awareness of a predator, but it will also affect your mental state.
Regeneration Ability: Accelerates wound healing and enhances resistance to toxins and disease.
Dragon Might (Weak): The aura you emit can instinctively instill fear in various lower-class Demons (notably effective on goblins and Kobolds), possibly exerting a slight oppressive feeling on intelligent beings.
Dragon Claw Mimicry: You can condense a high-density energy dragon claw relying on [Gauss Force Field][Magic Resistance][Hardscale Shielding], with great destructive power.
Gauss quietly read the evolved Racial Talent.
His fingernail prodded his skin.
Even if the Hardscale Bloodline was not activated, he could feel the increased toughness of his skin.
He even suspected that now, even without any resistance, it would be difficult for an ordinary person with a metal weapon to break his non-vital parts.
And this is only at the level of Blue Quality...
Gauss pondered silently in his heart.
Blue Quality is not the endpoint of this talent.
Because after evolving from Crawler to Hardscale Bloodline, this Racial Talent still had the "upgradeable" tag written behind it.
This means it has the potential to climb to even higher qualities.
What will this talent evolve into when it reaches Purple Quality, Gold Quality or even higher qualities?
Sub-dragon? True dragon?
Gauss shook his head.
Based on the experience of this advancement, to further enhance the quality of [Hardscale Bloodline], it’s likely necessary to target Extraordinary Demons that even Master-class Professionals can handle.
But that is still too distant for him at the moment.
Besides, even the currently Blue Quality Hardscale Bloodline feels a bit beyond the level of control his current strength allows.
He now possesses two Blue Quality Racial Talents.
One is [Ghost Form], and the other is [Hardscale Bloodline].
Both have different side effects.
Ghost Form consumes too much, and its consumption can’t be controlled autonomously. He must handle enemies in a very short time.
While the latter seems to be influenced by something called the Predator Instinct when activated, making his mind more aggressive and invasive, and even for a brief moment, bestial instincts can overpower rational thought.
If the quality of Hardscale Bloodline is too high, exceeding the range his own attributes can bear, he is really worried that some troublesome things might happen.
So what needs to be done for now is to continue killing monsters, improving himself, and leveling up.
His fingertips tapped the table unconsciously, mulling over these thoughts.
After organizing his gains, he organized his thoughts and lay down on the bed to start resting.
Time flew to the next morning.
The morning air in Forest Crown Town carried a trace of coolness, but it was also fresher as a result, somewhat dispelling the fatigue and depression of the past days.
Gauss opened the window and saw more soldiers and cavalry patrolling the streets than usual. The atmosphere was a bit tense, obviously, the fall of the outpost had put this small town on alert.
"Morning."
Aaliyah and Serdur and others from the next room were already awake.
After a night’s good rest, everyone seemed well recovered.