When Gauss put on the robe and stepped into the hot spring, he immediately felt the effects of the place.
It was as if countless invisible, gentle hands were kneading his entire body.
If it weren’t for the maids waiting not far away, he might have instinctively let out a comfortable hum.
Oh...
"Hoo—"
He exhaled a long breath.
It’s indescribably comfortable.
He carefully sensed the changes in his body.
Every pore of his body seemed to gently open under the caress of the magic hot spring, then beneficial active substances from the spring water boldly flowed into his body through the pores and were quickly absorbed.
Along with that, the potions and magic stones he had Pleos procure before soaking in the hot spring also began to take effect.
Additionally, a life energy within him that had not been fully absorbed before was slowly releasing warmth.
Gauss knew what it was.
It should be the Life Repair Potion that Pleos had told him about, obtained from a mysterious Elf.
After Pleos assessed its effects, he, who had been away from the frontline adventurer profession for years, had no chance to use it.
It was used on him a few days ago.
Under the potion and the hot spring’s effects, Gauss’s originally fair skin slowly turned slightly red.
Wisps of white mist seeped into his pores and then exited his body again.
He was like a sponge constantly exchanging substances with the external environment, exchanging inside and outside, expelling impurities, absorbing beneficial substances.
This misty scene had a strange aesthetic.
The young maid nearby was already mesmerized, staring unblinkingly in the direction of the spring water.
It wasn’t until her slightly older sister next to her tugged at her sleeve that she snapped out of her idle fantasies.
They were all well-trained maids who wouldn’t make any unnecessary actions beyond their duties.
Unless Gauss showed signs of discomfort or he actively summoned them, they could only watch over him like trees, unable to make a sound, lest they disturb Gauss’s practice.
Gauss was unaware of what was happening outside.
In fact, he had now entered a super-focused state, and not to mention other people’s gazes, even if they were wailing and pulling at his ears, it would be hard to wake him from his state of concentration.
Hot, so hot...
As the energy accumulating inside him burned like a furnace, his body temperature began to rise rapidly.
If it were an ordinary person, at such an unusually high temperature, their brain and body organs might have already shown abnormalities, even starts to deteriorate and lose vitality, which is the inherent risk of a breakthrough—it is a reformation of the body, akin to a secondary molding of the originally natural organs.
But this abnormality was nothing to the superhuman Gauss.
Inside him, the Magic Cup and Soul Sword were already emitting brilliant light, especially the former, which, while shining brightly, also showed even clearer cracks on its surface.
And at a certain moment, the cup bearing much magic power shattered with a bang.
Then a multitude of energies inside his body rushed in one after another.
"Buzz—"
A clear wave spread out from him as the center.
The maids guarding nearby retreated a few steps.
The center of the hot spring emitted an intense and invisible pressure.
The air seemed to thin due to Gauss’s presence.
It was as if the being soaking in the spring water wasn’t a human but a terrifying beast that triggered an instinctive fear at the genetic level.
The maids squinted their eyes slightly with difficulty.
"Splashing—"
The still fairly calm hot spring started to appear as if it were boiling.
Bubbles continually leaped on the water’s surface.
If viewed from a bird’s-eye view over this luxurious estate, one would be amazed to find that the magic power condensed into tangible fog was spiraling towards Gauss at the center of the vortex.
The surrounding vegetation, adorning the environment, also made a rustling sound.
"What’s happening?"
More distant guards, feeling the wind suddenly picking up, turned to look towards the direction of the hot spring manor within the walls.
Wind is merely a most natural phenomenon.
But at this Green Hot Spring Manor, it is an extremely rare sight.
In fact, most guards during working hours never felt a distinct air current, as if the natural wind would instinctively restrain itself here.
Of course, this abnormal phenomenon is not natural; rather, a magic array that blocks wind and rain is set up outside the manor, with the purpose of protecting the users within the manor, preventing them from being disturbed externally during use.
Yet now, the wind rose from within the manor.
"Continue to guard carefully, don’t get distracted. I will go in and inquire about the situation."
After instructing others not to relax their vigilance, the guard captain quietly approached the front of the manor’s gate.
Of course, he was not permitted to enter it.
Instead, he communicated with a maid responsible for guarding, and after learning that the wind was caused by Gauss and not any external anomaly, he breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his post.
The Green Hot Spring Manor opens only a handful of times a year, often hosting the most esteemed guests of this city.
And this time, the guest being hosted required even more caution than others.
From the various activated magic arrays, it was evident that the manor’s security had been adjusted to the highest level.
So, it was no wonder he was so alarmed, as there was indeed no room for accidents.