Even though it’s called a break, there’s still a lot to do.
For professional adventurers, in a life full of crises, this kind of rest period is the golden time to digest gains, improve oneself, and prepare for the unexpected.
Gauss and Aaliyah are well aware of this.
Take Aaliyah, for example, she needs to learn the new spell Demon Fire, continue to master beast form, and build rapport with a few animal companions, training her skills in beast taming and natural knowledge. Over the next few days, she will need to immerse herself in the hotel room, meditation chamber, or the woods on the edge of town.
As for Gauss, he also has his own plans. He needs to practice new spells, continue studying the advanced casting techniques of Magic Missile, and go out to complete some assignments.
Yes, Gauss does not plan to stay near Forest Crown Town for a few days.
Instead, he intends to practice while taking up some small assignments in the vicinity.
This way, he can practice spells while having targets to work on, and at the same time accumulate some kill counts in the Monster Atlas.
It must be understood that dripping water wears through stone, not in a day. Accumulating the kill counts in the Atlas also requires little by little accumulation in daily life.
He let his mind sink into his consciousness to check his current progress.
His total monster kill count is now 3050, just under a thousand away from triggering the next stage of rewards.
The number of ordinary monsters in the Atlas has reached 39 species, 11 short of accumulating 50 species to draw new types of talents.
Apart from the most common of the bottom-tier monsters, the types of monsters in a region are limited, so the further one goes, the harder it becomes to collect new types.
Some monsters only inhabit special terrains. For example, fire elements, red ants that dwell in volcanic areas, or sandworms and scorpions in the desert. Gauss can’t possibly find traces of them near the Jade Forest.
That would be neither scientific nor magical.
Gauss browsed through the Monster Atlas, silently planning the next few days.
After roughly discussing with Aaliyah, he parted ways with her.
Gauss came alone to the Adventurer’s Guild hall, fixing his gaze on the bulletin board filled with scattered small assignments.
The fall of the 11th outpost under the jurisdiction of Forest Crown Town still affected this vibrant green town, with all sorts of tasks plastered all over the commission board.
"So many assignments."
"I heard that in the past two days in the Jade Forest, demons have started rampaging again. No one knows why, but many monsters have rushed out from the forest’s edge."
Beside Gauss, an adventurer grumbled to someone.
"Yesterday, our team completed an assignment and was attacked by a group of frantic kobolds on the way back. Fortunately, we were vigilant and didn’t get hurt."
"It’s really strange lately."
"I heard President Rich of Forest Crown Town hasn’t returned yet. Since the incident at the 11th outpost, he’s completely disappeared. I wonder if it’s because... "
"Luckily, Farlin sent many members of the Cavalry Corps over to garrison here; otherwise, I wouldn’t dare stay in this Forest Crown Town casually."
"The news I received seems to be that a big figure disappeared near the 11th outpost. That’s why Farlin sent so many people into the Jade Forest."
"Shh..."
Gauss listened to the adventurers around him without changing his expression.
He was also full of emotion inside.
Since President Rich hasn’t returned for such a long time, it’s likely something unexpected happened.
He realized even more deeply that being an adventurer is an extremely high-risk profession. Even someone like Rich, a master-level powerhouse, could face enemies and risks beyond his capabilities.
One must not become complacent as their level increases and their power grows, thinking they’re capable enough.
Keep a low profile and continue to grow.
He believes that with the Adventurer’s Handbook he possesses, he has infinite potential in the late-stage. Often, there’s no need to worry too much about immediate gains and losses.
Thinking of this, Gauss collected his thoughts and refocused on the bulletin board in front of him.
Better start by dealing with some small monsters.
His eyes roamed over various assignment sheets, automatically filtering out those that were farther away.
Even though they often have a higher price per job, Gauss didn’t bother to take another look.
After all, since he’s here taking ordinary assignments, will he really care about money? It’s more for the practice and ease of traveling to and from the town to prevent accidents.
Soon, a few assignment sheets caught his attention.
Clearing goblin groups lingering around the lumberyard on the western edge of Forest Crown Town, feral wild boars near the fields, and another batch of goblins occupying an abandoned village.
These three tasks are on the same route on the map.
The main goal is actually to kill some goblins. The feral wild boars are conveniently on the route between the two assignments, just perfect for some game hunting.
"These will do."
Gauss briskly picked up the three assignment sheets.
As he tore down the sheets, other adventurers also had an eye on the assignments he wanted to take, but Gauss beat them to it.
Just as one was about to grouse aloud, his companion noticed the three-star professional badge in front of Gauss and quickly covered the other’s mouth.
Gauss didn’t pause, turning and heading toward the front desk.
"Why did you stop me? That guy wasn’t playing by the rules at all. He already had other assignment sheets in his hands and kept taking them," the obstructed adventurer grumbled, frowning at his companion with dissatisfaction, "Can he finish all that?"
"That person just now was a professional."
"..."
The short words from his companion made him swallow all his complaints.