"Thanks. How are you?" Gauss asked with concern.
Ying is now Level 5, and if he advances to Level 6, which is the Master phase, it seems there will be a qualitative change.
"It’ll probably take some more time." Ying shook his head.
"Well, keep it up." Gauss encouraged him a bit.
Actually, he felt there was something mysterious about Ying.
Or rather, having spent so many days together, he could vaguely sense that Ying’s understanding in certain areas didn’t quite match his Level 5 profession level.
Gauss turned to look at Aaliyah’s tent, which was on the other side.
It seemed very quiet over there.
We have to wait here for two more days.
Just as well, he could take some time to practice the 2nd-level Spell "Cloud of Daggers" he had just acquired not long ago.
As for the task of this trip, it has already been accomplished successfully.
Ever since a few days ago when they set the internal mountains on fire, burning all the goblins to death, they subsequently found the place where they trained their mounts in the vicinity and cleared it out as well before setting up camp here.
Thinking about the goblin expedition army that had been completely wiped out, Gauss fell into contemplation.
The day after the fire, they waited for the cave to cool down completely and the toxic gases to settle, and actually went in once to search.
It wasn’t for loot, because the prolonged burning had turned nearly all the spoils into ash.
Entering there was just to search for intelligence.
During the search, they discovered traces of iron ore excavation inside the cave, as well as some rudimentary smelting tools and a small amount of rough iron ingots that hadn’t been taken away yet.
Clearly, these goblins weren’t just here to plunder—it seemed they were trying to mine and utilize the mineral resources here.
Once they had iron, they could make weapons and armor, and arm more goblins.
He faintly sensed the aura of unrest.
However, for him, it was just the completion of a commission for the time being.
"After completing it, we can go to the Adventurer’s Guild in the nearby town to receive the reward."
"What should I claim this time?"
Gauss started to plan ahead.
Even now, the idea he had from the night he encountered the goblin bat knight hasn’t changed—to acquire some airborne capabilities.
This time, the reward from the Adventurer’s Guild commission would be generous, allowing us to carefully select and fill in the current gaps.
Gauss and the others stayed near the temporary camp for two more days.
In those two days, Gauss successfully started learning "Cloud of Daggers," advancing its proficiency to Level 2 (18/20), and was about to reach Level 3.
The progress couldn’t be considered slow.
As his level increased, his professional talents also subtly strengthened.
The two professional talents, Spell Mastery and Magic Resistance, differed from racial talents in that they could level up and develop in tandem with his Magic Power.
Spell Mastery inherently boosted his efficiency in learning magic, so he was only going to get faster at mastering spells.
If not for the "Cloud of Daggers" being a 2nd-level Spell and quite challenging, his proficiency would have progressed even more smoothly.
In the blink of an eye, the two days of cultivation temporarily ended.
Aaliyah came out of her tent, having finished her cultivation.
Perhaps the "experience" provided by this commission was ample, so this time she didn’t need to attune with nature; she naturally advanced within her tent.
As long as the improvement is significant, there’s no need for too much pretense.
After Aaliyah advanced to Level 3, the biggest change wasn’t with her, but with her animal companions.
Especially the Gray Wolf Ulfen, who had been with her the longest, showed the most change.
However, it’s no longer fitting to call Ulfen a gray wolf, as his fur had turned from gray to a silver-white sheen, looking quite majestic.
Furthermore, his body became more robust.
The muscles were well-defined and smooth, with claws that glinted slightly in the sunlight.
His wolf eyes, full of intelligence.
He proudly took a couple of steps forward, head held high.
However, when he came to Gauss, he conscientiously lowered his tail, softly whined twice, and gently rubbed his head against Gauss’s chest.
It seemed he had a mind of his own, and despite his rapid growth in strength, he hadn’t forgotten who the leader of the group was.
Gauss took out several large pieces of meat from the storage pouch to reward him, as both congratulations for his newfound strength.
The Raven Aik had grown slightly bigger, now larger than a hawk, and had begun to say some simple human words.
"Aik, Aik, reporting to you!"
"Stupid dog, Ulfen, caw, caw!"
Watching the agitated Ulfen jumping around and chasing the raven in the sky, Gauss patted his head.
Alright.
It can speak now, it’s gotten smarter, but that might not always be a good thing.
The little followers of Raven Aik had grown quickly and were now the size of adult crows.
Maybe because Aik raised them, the couple of crows listened to him quite well.
The scale powder butterflies hadn’t changed in appearance, but Gauss could sense a stronger magic power from them, so their abilities must have also improved.
"It’s great. They’ve all grown stronger." Gauss nodded at Aaliyah.
The Druid profession had the nice feature of animal companions growing stronger with the druid’s level-up.
"Hehehe. Can we head out now to claim our rewards?" Aaliyah’s first words made Gauss involuntarily smile.
It seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking about the commission rewards.
"Let’s first return the ballista to Lawrence Camp."
...
Lawrence Camp.
With the green goblins in the forest settled down, the entire camp restored its order.