The temperature is just right, and bathing in it feels very comfortable.
He curiously glanced at Serdur not far away.
With its clothes off, it was completely bare, with a serpent tail for its lower body, but nothing else visible.
So is it like a snake, hidden within the body during non-special periods, invisible from the outside?
In this sense, isn’t Serdur’s gene, as a Half-Snake Man, closer to a snake than a human?
Interesting...
Perhaps because his gaze didn’t avert, Serdur quickly detected his attention.
It turned its head and looked at him puzzledly.
"Captain, is there something wrong?"
"No." Gauss smiled and shook his head.
Serdur glanced at him peculiarly, scratched its head, and continued cleaning its body.
Its body size is much larger than a normal human, requiring more area to be cleaned.
As Gauss wrapped a cloth around his waist and walked out of the lake, the first trace of golden sunlight had already climbed above the treetops.
Quite a busy night.
...
In the afternoon, Gauss got up from the tent.
After a nap, he was re-energized.
Ying rose early, and when Gauss came out of the tent, she was already sitting by the campfire, grilling meat skewers.
Wafts of smoke drifted up from the stand.
Gauss blinked and stared at her for a while.
Noticing Gauss getting up, Ying looked up and met his gaze.
Beneath her long, straight black hair, her appearance wasn’t particularly mature, even carried a bit of an indescribable innocence.
It was the first time Gauss paid attention to her looks.
He thought maybe it was the slightly chubby cheeks that brought this youthful feeling.
Her slightly elongated eyes were shaped similarly to a phoenix’s, narrow and raised, but her eyes were large.
The youthfulness from her chubby cheeks was well balanced by these beautiful yet seemingly difficult-to-get-along-with phoenix eyes.
The two stared at each other for quite a while.
After that, Ying seemed to hesitate for a moment before picking up a skewer of already cooked meat.
"Would you like some?"
"Thanks." Gauss took it graciously and sat opposite her.
He was indeed a bit hungry.
Even though he had eaten a lot before sleeping.
He slightly parted his lips, his teeth biting into the oily meat, drawing a whole piece into his mouth.
After thoroughly chewing, he swallowed.
"How is it?" Ying asked without looking his way.
Hmm?
Gauss raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.
He was surprised not by Ying’s words but by the fact that she asked for his opinion at all.
"Pretty good. Have you done this before?" Although surprised, Gauss gave a positive assessment.
"No, it’s my first time." Despite initiating the conversation, Ying’s words were still as minimal as possible.
"Well, you have quite the talent." Gauss nodded.
"Thank you."
Gauss glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
He felt that after the battle last night, Ying seemed to have changed slightly.
How should he put it? A bit more engaged, a willingness to initiate conversation.
Though she’s still not talkative.
However, appropriate communication is necessary; not everyone has keen Perception like him.
With too little communication and her cool appearance, it’s easy for people to misinterpret her as prideful.
The two quietly ate several skewers of grilled meat across the campfire.
Suddenly, Gauss spoke.
"If convenient, can I ask about your shadow transfer ability from last night?"
In fact, he had wanted to ask this question right after the battle ended last night.
But everyone was busy organizing the spoils, so he didn’t voice it.
Now, after waking from a sleep, his brain and body were calm.
He’s really curious.
That ability seemed scary strong to him.
And it was because of her that Gauss could fight with assurance.
Because he knew that even if a strong enemy appeared from the skies, Ying could quickly teleport him away before the crisis struck.
The speed of teleportation is so swift, it can avoid most attacks.
If not for Ying, the Goblin Bat Knight’s first sudden ambush should have been enough to break his shield.
Even seriously wounding him.
Though the Bat Knight’s attack frequency wasn’t high, the destructive power of its projectile attack was still extremely fearsome.
Without Ying last night, they couldn’t have resisted unscathed.
Gauss had to admit one thing: after this, he indeed considered recruiting her.
Clearly, all this time he mostly thought of her as just a temporary teammate, each not disturbing the other, collaborating to complete the task, and then parting ways.
But considering she’s already level 5, and even before their formal engagement, she still remained in a solitary state, it’s evident she isn’t fond of joining teams.
Otherwise, if she had any intention, a level 5 in a detection role wouldn’t still be without a fixed teammate.
In short, get to know her a bit more, perhaps?
Ying paused as she heard Gauss speak.
As if after pondering something, she nodded.
Her shadow beneath her feet quickly twisted and changed its form in Gauss’s sight.
Like a life form with its own vitality, constantly evolving shapes on the ground.
Finally, it solidified into a mature female outline, standing up and waving at Gauss.
"You can consciously control your shadow?" Gauss was not surprised.
Even if it wasn’t during last night’s battle, he had detected it earlier.
Ying possesses the ability to manipulate shadows.
Ying shook her head.
"It’s not just that, to be precise, my shadow has its own consciousness, I call her Shaheed."
Unconsciously, she spoke it out.
Once she finished, she was surprised herself.
She seemed to lack much caution faced with Gauss’s inquiry.
Despite her usual reluctance to reveal details to others.
"Shaheed?"
Gauss nodded thoughtfully.
It made sense that Ying’s shadow seemed much livelier earlier; seems it has its own consciousness.
"Apart from last night’s ability, I can enter a shadow state, and in this state, I can freely traverse between entities and launch attacks on enemies."
As if she had broken through a psychological barrier, Ying continued to explain.
Saying it, she demonstrated as well.
Her shadow quickly climbed over her figure, completely enshrouding her.
What appeared before Gauss was a flickering black image, seemingly without substance.
He was very intrigued.
"May I touch you?"
Although it sounded odd, he was really curious about Ying’s current state.
Faced with Gauss’s sudden request, Ying hesitated for a moment, then gently nodded her head.
The motion was so subtle that Gauss had to pay close attention to see it.
Once permitted, Gauss reached toward her waist.
Unsurprisingly, his fingers passed through her "body."
Those dense black particles parted before his skin.
He didn’t feel he touched anything.
Gauss withdrew his hand, the black particles restored to their original form.
Ying quickly ended this state.
"In this state without substance, yet able to attack, aren’t you invincible," Gauss marveled.
"Not entirely, when attacking, I revert to solid form," Ying paused. "Besides, some attacks can still harm me."
Gauss nodded.
Even so, the ability remains very strong.
After another moment.
Aaliyah, Serdur, and the four little goblins also came out of their respective tents.
"We’re about to officially search for the commission target next," Gauss announced.
Though unclear if last night’s goblins were from the Black Fang Expedition Force, Gauss’s purpose of staying nearby for clearing was achieved.
Not only achieving the goal of four thousand kills himself, but from last night’s battle, the surrounding Goblin Tribe was greatly damaged, like a broken backbone, unable to recover in short order.
"But last night’s goblin in the sky," Aaliyah hesitated. "We can’t threaten it."
Gauss nodded.
"So we need a large bed crossbow or catapult."