Chapter 52: On-Site Examination, Future Plans, and the Return Journey
Gauss listened to his companion’s mutterings without offering his own opinion.
At present, he wasn’t particularly short on money.
Of course, the more money one has, the better; no one ever complains about having too much money.
With money, he could buy better clothes, boots, weapons, or even hire someone for guidance and so on.
But for now, he could manage without it.
After all, one of his main goals for saving was to buy a Magic Wand, but that plan seemed to have stalled for now.
The White Bone Staff was indeed in his possession now and it was quite handy; it felt like it was naturally a part of him.
However, the problem was that even a Professional like the Half-Elf Andri hadn’t found a matching Staff Core for years, so Gauss doubted he could just buy one.
Moreover, the White Bone Staff was more than sufficient for him at the apprentice stage, even without a Staff Core.
Thus, he wasn’t in a hurry to complete the staff.
While eating heartily, Gauss began to think about his next steps and plans.
The total number of monster kills in the Monster Atlas had surpassed 50.
The next goal was 100 monster kills.
It sounded easy, but it would likely take some time.
If he could kill 10 monsters per task, it would take about 5 tasks.
Once he reached the hundred kills mark, he would get another improvement in his physical attributes as a guarantee.
And his current Attribute Panel was:
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Constitution: 6
Intelligence: 7
Perception: 5
Charm: 5
Compared to when he first crossed over, there had been significant changes; at least he wasn’t at a pathetic "Level 5 Trash" standard anymore.
His Intelligence, Constitution, and Agility had each increased by 1 point.
This also allowed him to move a step forward in terms of strength among Bottom Adventurers.
If he was able to master Magic Missile before, he was considered one of the more capable types among apprentices at that stage.
Now, after acquiring Mage Armor and making up for his obvious shortcoming, he had attributes beyond the ordinary in Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence.
Among Bottom Adventurers, those who could defeat him one-on-one were likely very few.
Most Caster Apprentices couldn’t master three types of Spells at a stretch. Moreover, he had three attributes beyond an ordinary person’s capability.
So after this task, his urgent priority when he returned was to train Mage Armor first.
The training of Mage Armor was temporarily elevated by Gauss to the highest priority.
You can only output if you’re alive.
He wasn’t even planning to undertake the next task until he had thoroughly mastered Mage Armor.
At least wait until Mage Armor’s proficiency reached Level 2, because Level 2 skills can be cast more fluently.
Once Mage Armor was well-trained, he would then consider taking on a new monster commission.
By collecting 5 types in the Monster Atlas, he could unlock the ability to extract monster talents.
He had already collected Goblin, Slime, Skeleton, and Water Ghost as four types of Ordinary Monsters.
Just one more, and he’d be able to extract a talent ability.
As for what specific ability he could extract, Gauss didn’t have much insight yet.
To be honest, these four types of monsters didn’t count as particularly powerful in terms of combat strength, with one almost considered the shame of monsters.
But the strength or weakness of an ability in combat isn’t necessarily the most important aspect. If he could extract something more suitable, like a passive effect or an ability to help him enhance daily training efficiency, that might be even better.
Finally, there was the choice of core skills.
Gauss sensed the three Spells imprinted deeply in his mind and began to feel conflicted again.
Mage’s Hand, Magic Missile, Mage Armor.
In fact, no matter which Spell he chose, each had its advantages and disadvantages.
Additionally, Gauss was confident that since he had the Adventurer’s Handbook, no matter which one he chose as a core skill, once they grew, they could become exceptionally powerful in the future.
Mage’s Hand was very versatile, Magic Missile had extremely strong offensive properties, and as for Mage Armor, it went without saying; no matter what stage he was in future, this Spell could guarantee his personal safety.
However, it was precisely the vast potential and adaptability that put him in an unavoidable position of choice difficulty right now.
"Forget it, I’ll think about it later. Regardless of what happens after I return, I need to focus on training Mage Armor first to enhance my self-protection capability." After pondering for a long time without results, Gauss decided not to be tangled anymore.
After the recent Ghoul incident, he placed more importance on his safety.
You never know what unknown enemies you’ll encounter when taking on low-level commissions.
Acquiring new abilities and digesting them promptly to transform into combat power was the best solution; one shouldn’t hastily rush into the next commission.
"When I get back to training, let’s see the specific progress of Mage Armor cultivation. If the progress is quick, I’ll list this life-saving method as a core skill. It should theoretically have a good training speed, mainly because Mage Armor can be practiced anytime, anywhere without being picky about the occasion."
Even the cautious Gauss was already leaning towards Mage Armor in his heart, but he still had to base his decision on progress in the end.
If Mage Armor’s cultivation progress was not on the upbeat and it was difficult to advance proficiency in the short term, Gauss wouldn’t spend too much time on it even though he liked it.
The choice would go to whichever of the two spells advanced quicker.
With breakfast over.
Gauss gained more clarity in his thoughts.
The members of the Night Owl Squad began cautiously walking towards last night’s riverbank.
On the riverbank in daylight, apart from fragments of flesh, stains of dried blood, and visceral intestines, the Ghoul was nowhere to be seen.
The bodies of those Water Ghosts were also gone.
Considering that the Ghoul wouldn’t have been able to eat so much "food" overnight, it was likely that it had taken them to its lair as a food reserve.
Not long after, Harvey also arrived with a few strong men beside the group.
Upon seeing the messy scene, Harvey, who originally had a few doubts in his heart, immediately dispelled them.
The numerous remains of corpses on the scene indicated that many Water Ghosts had indeed been slain here last night.
In the follow-up detailed inspection, those who came with Harvey found some residues uniquely belonging to the Ghoul in some seams and crevices.
Such as gray-white broken hairs similar to a hyena, claw marks left on the ground, and a semi-transparent film-like reticulated shedding.
These findings further evidenced that Levin’s group wasn’t lying.
There was no need to spend great efforts staging the scene after killing a lot of Water Ghosts.
Thus, Gauss and the others smoothly obtained a certificate document and began their journey away from the fishing village.
As for whether Harvey and other villagers would continue to issue tasks to the Adventurer’s Guild or hold onto a fluke mentality, it was their decision, and it no longer concerned Gauss and the others.
Walking on the way back.
The group wore smiles on their faces once more.
Harvey ultimately handed over the agreed extra reward of 20 Silver Coins to everyone.
In addition, the signed and stamped certificate by Harvey confirmed the kill quantity of 20 Water Ghosts, allowing them to claim another 20 Silver Coins upon returning to Gray Rock Town.
The Water Ghost materials could also be sold for a few Silver Coins presumably.
Adding all these together, each person received around 7 or 8 Silver Coins on average, which was a great bounty.
Gauss, similarly eager, couldn’t wait to get back to the safety of town, train his newly acquired Spells, and swiftly digest the improvements made during this mission.
Amid the anticipation of everyone, the silhouette of the gray-brown border town gradually appeared in sight.