Gauss explained at length to make Albena understand that it was a skill, not some sort of bloodline.
Albena nodded.
It was unclear if she truly understood or still harbored doubts.
But in any case, this Chapter could be considered closed.
Gauss spent some effort to excavate the Vine Monster’s rhizome from deep underground.
Looking at the rhizome in his hand, which resembled a one-meter long ginseng, Gauss examined it and handed it to Aaliyah for research.
This was actually the true body of the Vine Monster.
The large trunks above the ground seemed imposing but were actually inconsequential.
Against an unbeatable opponent, the Vine Monster would feign death and then retract its Life Force into the rhizome, waiting for the enemy to leave before relocating to a safe place to feed and gather nutrients to rise again.
This is the survival instinct born from the natural evolution of the creature.
The mightier the creature, the more outstanding its survival capabilities tend to be.
Various elemental resistances, self-healing abilities, feigned death revival...
In short, they are armed to the teeth, making them extremely difficult to kill.
Gauss glanced at the Adventurer’s Handbook and then at the surrounding environment.
He temporarily shifted his focus and began collecting the material left by the Vine Monster’s body.
Besides the rhizome, those main stalks on the ground also held some value.
It can be said that the material produced by this single Vine Monster alone is worth at least above three hundred Gold Coins.
Aside from the complete materials, several kill notifications popped up in front of Gauss.
The clay creatures he had sent out had already cleared away the goblin and other monsters he had scouted earlier.
"Let’s leave this forest first."
Back near the temporary camp, less than two hours had passed since they left here.
Gauss informed his teammates and returned to the room of the folding house, then turned his attention to the Adventurer’s Handbook.
After adjusting his breathing, he invested the recently acquired 20 leadership points into the Racial Talent [Tough Scale Bloodline].
Unlike before, when he focused his mind on the entry [Tough Scale Bloodline] this time, it began to emit a dazzling light.
"The conditions required for advancing to a higher quality have been met. Would you like to advance the blue quality Racial Talent [Tough Scale Bloodline]?"
"Yes."
As the thought flashed through his mind.
The 20 leadership points were instantly consumed, flowing entirely into [Tough Scale Bloodline].
Almost in an instant.
An intense warm current erupted from deep within Gauss’s body.
"Here it comes!"
That primal, powerful, and ancient energy surged through his limbs and bones.
Within the span of a few breaths, his entire skin started changing from its fair hue to a flushed red, and the color was deepening swiftly.
"Hoo—"
His pores all over his body began to emit scorching steam.
The blood surged through his veins with multiple times the usual speed, putting his whole body into a hyper-fast operational state, attempting to dissipate the rapidly rising body temperature.
Although the scene seemed extremely terrifying, and even a regular person experiencing it for just a single second could sustain irreversible brain damage, Gauss himself felt no discomfort being in this abnormal state.
On the contrary, he even felt as though his body was undergoing a sublime transformation.
His mind and body both entered a euphoric state.
The air around him seemed to become heavier due to his presence.
"Boom! Boom boom!"
The turbulent heart contracted and expanded with stronger vigor under the encasement of resilient muscles, tightening, and then expanding.
But this process gradually slowed.
If someone were to record it, they would find that his heartbeat slowed dramatically from the initial 30-40 times per second to 10-20 times.
Of course, the speed of the heartbeat doesn’t explain much; it’s not strictly true that the slower the heartbeat, the stronger the body.
But this change represented the metamorphosis occurring inside Gauss’s body at the moment.
"Boom boom!"
Outside the room.
Although Gauss had already mentioned that he might experience a breakthrough, his concerned teammates still came to the room’s door.
They listened to the heartbeats resonating like drumbeats from inside, looking at each other in astonishment.
Such overwhelming presence! It was as if the person in the room wasn’t their teammate but a terrifying giant beast in slumber.
Could these thundering heartbeats really be produced by a human?
"Should be fine, right?"
Aaliyah looked worried, then glanced at Serdur beside her.
After almost every battle, for safety reasons, regardless of whether the team members were injured, Serdur would conduct medical checks.
After the recent battle with the Vine Monster, there were naturally no exceptions.
Serdur had given Gauss a particularly thorough examination.
Serdur understood the concern in Aaliyah’s eyes, but he could only shake his head helplessly.
"The captain’s physical condition was great earlier."
That’s the only answer he could provide.
In reality, the stronger the Professional, the more differences there are between their bodies and ordinary people, and many High Tier Professionals are more akin to what normal people would understand as monsters than humans.
And Gauss, undoubtedly, was a "monster among monsters."
Moreover... such intense...
Even through the door, Serdur could feel the powerful aura emanating from the room.
It was a strong suppression emanating from the bloodline, an upper-tier oppression on a lower-tier that made him feel the urge to bow down.
In contrast, Aaliyah, Ying, and Albena were less affected by this pressure.
"It might be related to the captain’s dragon lineage blood."