Chapter 49: Monster Under the Moonlight
Thanks to Doyle’s "courtesy," Gauss dashed forward.
A flash of cold light!
The rapier in his hand precisely pierced through the chest of the already exhausted Water Ghost.
"Pfft!"
The Water Ghost’s slimy skin was split open with a large gash, and foul-smelling blood gushed out continuously.
Gauss swiftly withdrew his sword and retreated.
With the fall of the last Water Ghost at Gauss’s hands, the long-awaited text finally appeared again.
"Water Ghost slain *1"
"Total monsters slain: 50"
"Reward received: 1st-level Spell[Mage Armor]!"
"Reward received: agility +1"
"Current agility: 6"
"Next stage: total monsters slain reaching 100."
After the pleasant notification.
Gauss shuddered, an electric feeling coursing through him, raising goosebumps all over.
An invisible force seemed to flow through every nerve in his body, with subtle currents surging, giving him an indescribable, wondrous sensation.
In just a few blinks, this magical force had transformed his physique.
At the next moment, an additional spell was etched into his consciousness.
"What’s wrong?"
Doyle saw him standing dazed after slaying the last Water Ghost and asked, puzzled.
"No... nothing, just let me catch my breath." Gauss exhaled deeply, shaking his head.
Actually, he felt his bodily condition was better than ever now.
Firstly, the agility upgrade, though only by 1 point, was more perceptible than Constitution.
After increasing from 5 to 6 points, he felt his body coordination and flexibility had become much more agile.
To use an analogy from his past life, it was like playing a game with fluctuating latency of one to two hundred, which suddenly dropped to a stable few dozen.
The two experiences were entirely different.
Of course, whether this analogy is appropriate is debatable; after all, he just completed the upgrade, and the sudden change in physical state might amplify some psychological experiences unrealistically. Nevertheless, he felt a significant improvement in his control over his body.
Also, he was awarded another spell this time.
1st Ring Spell[Mage Armor].
Sensing the newly added spell in his will, Gauss quickly understood its effect.
Specifically, upon active casting, it consumes a certain amount of magic power to form a layer of invisible armor around his body, akin to wearing a set of zero-weight invisible force field armor.
This layer of Mage Armor would not affect his movement speed and agility yet could absorb damage for him when attacked.
Feeling the effect of the Mage Armor, Gauss could not help his heart from racing.
An excellent spell.
He admitted, at this moment, he might be a bit fickle.
Just like after obtaining the Magic Missile, a stronger attack spell, it replaced the position of the Mage’s Hand.
Now, he suddenly felt that the once perfect Magic Missile didn’t seem so appealing.
In Gauss’s heart now, Mage Armor had ascended a level above Magic Missile in importance.
He even began considering whether to switch his core skill to this newly acquired spell.
His instinctive judgment was that practicing Mage Armor might be more efficient than Magic Missile.
As a student of the caster profession, which might not be too "fragile," yet definitely not "tough," his biggest worry was getting attacked.
No matter how strong his destructive power, as long as he remained mortal, a stray arrow could take his life.
Moreover, the battlefield environment is often complex and ever-changing. Even the cautious Gauss, with his accelerated brain capability, couldn’t guarantee avoiding all attacks from other creatures.
This was also why he insisted on teaming up in recent times; others could help spread the enemy’s firepower, allowing his focus to be slightly less tense.
But now, with the Mage Armor, as long as he activated this spell in battle, if the enemy’s attack did not exceed the Mage Armor’s damage absorption limit, some accidental injuries could be avoided.
This would significantly enhance his margin for error in battle.
Of course, with more information about Mage Armor quickly realized in his mind, Gauss also acknowledged that he still needed to remain cautious and not become overly confident.
Mage Armor was not a life-saving charm; once the enemy dealt damage exceeding its tolerance limit in a short time, it would break. Additionally, currently, the Mage Armor couldn’t withstand all types of attacks.
Also, limited to his current apprentice stage, the spell’s effect might not be as formidable as when a true professional uses it.
Specific future situations still require further testing.
However, even with these issues, it remained a well-suited spell for him.
Gauss collected his thoughts, having received the changes in his body, and returned his focus to reality.
The earlier contemplation did not take too long; the others, after ending the battle, were busy recovering their stamina.
Daphne started checking the other team members, especially the front line trio, concentrating on the limbs, waist, and abdomen, areas prone to attack, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming no wounds were left on their bodies.
Although Water Ghosts weren’t very powerful, they carried many pathogens.
And some unnoticed, even painless, minor injuries could be more troublesome than obvious wounds because if ignored, they might later develop into diseases or even cause death.
Meanwhile, Medvedeva and Oliver, providing ranged support, put on gloves and began collecting the spoils as usual.
Beyond the Water Ghost’s left ear, which serves as proof for mission submissions, some usable materials from the Water Ghosts also needed to be collected.
Thus, this task was extensive.
After being checked by Daphne, Gauss also went to help handle the post-battle yield.
Levin watched his companions and breathed a sigh of relief.
This time, the ominous feeling in his mind seemed to be just a baseless illusion, and the Water Ghost slaying appeared to go smoothly.
After a brief rest, he, too, joined the others in handling the post-battle affairs.
Overall, the collection work for the Water Ghosts was painful yet satisfying.
The Water Ghost’s stench was potent, and handling their corpses wasn’t a pleasant task, but considering that each material was tied to silver coins, everyone found it sweet despite the taste.
There is only one kind of hardship in the world, and that is poverty.
While everyone was busy working fervently.
Suddenly, Gauss felt his eyelids twitch intensely.
At first, he didn’t pay much attention, thinking it might be his olfaction, which was almost numbed, coming back into function, repulsed by the stench of the gray-green Water Ghost remains beside him.
But soon, his cortex was sharply tingling, as if his body instincts were alerting him.
He finally realized something, abruptly raising his head.
Looking in one direction.
Under the moonlight, across the shimmering silver river’s surface, a tall blue figure was moving along the riverbank.
Is it a human? Or...
No! It’s a monster!!
With the aid of the moonlight, Gauss squinted and finally made out the specific appearance of that humanoid silhouette.
Shriveled, blue-spotted skin clung tightly to skeletal structure, resembling tightly fitted dried leather, with certain skin areas covered by dense scales.
The most striking feature was its canine-like facial aspects, with hollow eye sockets housing a pair of fiery, coal-like red eyes; its snout was protruded, filled with predatory, dense sharp fangs, and the large, thick snake-like tongue flicked continuously in the air, with knife-like sharp claws at the end of its forelimbs.
Hunched over, it moved like a bipedal canine, nimble yet swiftly advancing towards them.