Chapter 44: After the Storm
The next day.
When Gauss got up, he sneezed several times in a row, catching a slight cold.
Fortunately, his Constitution now surpassed that of ordinary people. If it were his sub-health state from his past life, he might already have a cold and fever.
"Phew—"
Gauss drank some water.
With a Constitution of 6 now, it’s hard for him to get sick under normal circumstances.
He glanced at the Life Magic Stone hanging around his neck.
Besides the previous Constitution point addition, this stone also played a significant role.
It subtly enhances Gauss’s Constitution as well, especially when combined with the point addition, it’s like adding fuel to the fire.
He stretched lazily.
Now his height has reached one meter eighty and won’t increase any more.
More important than the mere increase in height is that his physique has become much sturdier, at least he won’t be too tired after half a day’s journey now.
Moreover, after the end of a battle, the time needed for rest has shortened.
His sustained combat ability in fights has also become stronger.
All these are the benefits brought by enhanced Constitution.
In short, for all professions, whether Warrior, Ranger, or Caster, Constitution is a crucial physical attribute.
Sitting on the bed, he immersed himself in the consciousness in the Adventurer’s Handbook.
On the Monster Atlas detail page, the image of the second monster had already been lit up.
A green slime monster, with its racial name ’Slime’ written below, and the kill count of Slimes in the lower right corner - 9.
He still needed to kill 18 more of any monsters and encounter 3 new kinds of monsters.
Gauss thought for a bit and felt that the former would happen first.
However, compared to the uncertain strength and type of ability extraction, the attribute rewards provided by the total monster kills are more straightforward.
He decided not to hold too much expectation for the monster talent ability extraction for now, after all, the hint back then also indicated that weaker talent abilities have a higher probability of being extracted.
As the saying goes, expect less, and you won’t be disappointed. Lowering psychological expectations is a good way to increase happiness.
After organizing his thoughts, Gauss got up from the bed, dressed, and went downstairs.
This heavy rain came and went quickly.
Now the weather outside had cleared up.
In the lobby on the first floor of the inn, several pairs of unfamiliar tenants were having meals.
Gauss was used to this; the inn would occasionally have a batch of temporary tenants change.
Probably also noticing Gauss with his "elite" equipment and carrying weapons, looking very unapproachable.
Several tables of tenants dining and chatting quieted down unanimously.
Gauss noticed this point but paid no further attention, glanced once, and withdrew his gaze.
In this world, most ordinary people generally prefer not to provoke adventurers much.
On one hand, it’s because adventurers often carry more elite weapons and armor and can’t be beaten in conflicts.
On the other hand, it’s also because adventurers face the risks and pressures of commissions and monsters all year round, some of them have more irritable personalities, and they might explode at just a mere glance.
Although there are guards and a sheriff in town, they can’t quench a nearby thirst.
The best way is to have little dealings when nothing much is happening.
"Awake? The rain yesterday was heavy; you guys should have taken a day off before coming back." Sofia was tending to a potted plant she just placed on the counter.
"Couldn’t help it, the weather was good when we departed, and then it suddenly started raining on the road." Gauss shook his head.
Such sudden situations are impossible to predict in advance.
"What plant is this?" He looked at the herb plant on the counter.
"Rosemary, the inn has been a bit damp lately, so it’s placed here to suppress the odor and repel insects."
Gauss chuckled, feeling it probably won’t be much use.
After having a meal at the inn, he headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild.
This morning, the first thing he needed to do was submit yesterday’s task.
Walking down the street, he was in a good mood.
Although this was his third commission task, every time he submitted a task and received rewards, it felt as if he was relieved after submitting the final exam paper in his past life.
The other members of the Night Owl Squad had different residences, some renting a standalone house, and others having a long-term lease on the second floor of a tavern, so the arrival times varied.
When Gauss arrived, only Levin was there.
It seemed he was always the first to arrive at gatherings.
"Morning." They greeted each other.
The rain had made Levin a bit listless, but perhaps fearing an awkward silence, he perked up and started a sporadic chat with Gauss.
"Recently, there should be a significant increase in the number of monster commission tasks."
"Why?"
"After heavy rain clears, many monsters will come out to move around and become more active; it’s a pattern summarized by people."
"Should we speed up and do some commissions these days?" Gauss wasn’t asking without reason.
The more commissions available, the more good tasks they can choose from.
Adventurers must not blindly accept tasks. They need to weigh the task distance, the type of monsters to kill, whether enemies will damage their weapons, the remuneration, and the necessary preparation of healing and equipment, before taking on commissions.
If they randomly accept tasks and end up with troublesome ones, after all the effort, they might even have to pay out of pocket.
And this analysis work was always discussed and conducted by Levin with the others.
"Yeah, I have that idea, but it also depends on everyone’s physical state." Levin nodded.
"If possible, Captain Levin, next time while executing a task, see if you can also pick up some commissions involving other monsters." Gauss felt a bit embarrassed when bringing this up.
"Non-goblin, non-slime?" Levin, having had previous experience, asked with a smile.
"Yes."
"Alright, I’ll consider it next time we execute a task." Although Levin didn’t say it definitively, he was already thinking about which relatively suitable monster commissions to accept next.
Seeing Levin’s serious attitude, Gauss guessed that the next commission would probably involve killing new monsters, and sighed in relief.
He should quickly kill up to 50 monsters, and also see if he can extract the monster racial talent early.
He felt that after these two rewards, his personal strength should usher in a new round of enhancement.
He could then also consider taking on some small tasks alone.
He couldn’t always let the squad accommodate him.
Actually, he felt he might now be able to handle about 10 low-level monsters by himself, and the simplest commission task monster group sizes generally fall within this range.
However, he couldn’t completely guarantee that no unexpected situations would occur.
After all, during the recently concluded task, although he had killed nearly ten slimes, that was with teammates tanking damage at the front and drawing enemy fire, along with flanking long-range support.
If he faced opponents ten times his own number alone, the difficulty would indeed increase significantly.
Out of caution, he still wanted to steadily develop a bit more.
Rather than efficiency, what he needed to pay more attention to as someone destined to grow stronger continually, was his personal safety in the early stage when he hadn’t fully developed yet.
After all, the adventure commissions were not a game where one can resurrect after death; safety must be the priority.