At the instant the notification popped up.
Gauss keenly detected that a special kind of power had appeared in his body.
"You have obtained a fragment of Power of World Rules."
"Rule: Precision."
"Huh!?"
Only after the dust settled, when that mysterious power fully merged into Gauss’s body and he could see the specific details, did he unconsciously widen his eyes.
No wonder he was so shocked and jumpy.
The information displayed on it was simply overwhelming.
"Power of World Rules..."
Even though he wasn’t quite sure what this thing actually did, just hearing the name sounded extremely extraordinary.
Especially when he saw the two characters "Precision", he suddenly recalled the scene from just now when he was fighting the Kobolds, with those countless firebirds rushing at him like moths to a flame.
Originally, he had thought that was controlled by the Kobolds.
He had even been thinking that although the Kobold chief’s "delay" was rather high, being able to control so many fireballs attacking simultaneously was actually pretty decent.
But looking at it now, it’s very likely it had nothing to do with the Kobolds at all.
It should have been that golden candle, the power of that divine material that had now been absorbed by Gauss.
Looking at the Divine Factor that had already reached 2.65%, this ratio was still not high objectively speaking, but drawing a special power from it was still something to be happy about.
Moreover, if this really was a fragment of Rule Power, didn’t that mean that by collecting more fragments of the same type, this "Precision" Rule Power could be further strengthened?
And, were there perhaps many other kinds of Power of World Rules?
Could other creatures master them as well?
As he thought about this, his expression unconsciously grew serious.
Just like that seemingly ordinary old Kobold—after holding this fragment, it brutally borrowed its power and was able to erupt with strength far beyond its own.
If other humans or Demons were to master it, it would surely have an enhancing effect as well.
This Power of World Rules is simply too dangerous... Gauss felt that if necessary, he needed to collect more of it.
In his mind, the image of that Kobold chief’s final, completely burnt-out appearance resurfaced.
It seemed that driving the Power of World Rules also required paying a tremendous price; in less than a minute, it had completely drained the Life Force of a Level 8 Demon—this was extremely terrifying.
Or rather, that Kobold might not actually have been as old as it looked.
After all, it used the golden candle with such familiarity, so it had probably used it many times before, and the loss of Life Force would naturally accelerate its aging.
So, will I have to pay some price when I use that power?
Gauss thought of the most crucial point.
If his Life Force were to rapidly drain like that old Kobold’s, then he definitely wouldn’t use it.
If he burned away a fraction of his lifespan every time, then after just a few uses he’d be knocking himself out of the game.
If so, then no matter how powerful it was, it would be hollow.
Temporarily suppressing this concern in his heart, he decided to carefully test it later when he had free time.
For now, he still needed to handle the last finishing work.
His gaze swept toward those Kobolds.
...
"Total monsters killed: 30,922"
The battle was over.
Flames were still burning throughout the entire mine valley, but aside from the members of the Red Dragon Team, not a single other living creature could be seen.
"Cough, cough!"
A Red Dragon Team member who had just taken off his mask to drink water caught whiff of that lingering, pungent smell in the air; thinking that it might contain many toxic substances, he could only quickly grab his waterskin, take a few random gulps, and then hurriedly put his filter mask back on.
They looked at the valley around them, densely packed like a mass grave, and couldn’t help swallowing; their hearts were still shaken.
Originally they had thought that the number of Kobolds they killed while guarding the perimeter and cutting down the ones trying to escape was already huge, but only after entering the valley did they realize that the monsters dying by their hands were just a drop in the bucket.
"Commander Gauss is really too strong."
"With this many monsters, even if you tied them up and lined them up in front of me, I’d probably still fail to kill them all even if I hacked away until I collapsed."
"Heh! Of course. But hey, are you getting cocky? You even started comparing yourself to the commander."
"Who doesn’t have a dream?"
...
Ivan walked up to Gauss.
"Commander Gauss."
"Hmm?"
Gauss was in the middle of restoring his Magic Power.
He had also consumed a great deal of Magic Power just now.
Fortunately, the reserve of Power of Feast provided by the Feast Talent could refill his depleted Magic Power at once.
He effectively had three mana bars, which greatly enhanced his endurance.
In most cases, this total amount of Magic Power was more than enough.
But right now this was by no means a safe place; although he still had some Magic Power in his body, it was best to replenish it as soon as possible.
Hearing Ivan’s approach, he knew the man had come to report.
"Commander, there were a total of three members injured just now."
"Any casualties?"
"No deaths." Although he answered this way, there was still a hint of shame on Ivan’s face.
In his view, this counted as a dereliction of duty.
If it were any other adventure group, paying such a price to take down a nest of more than two thousand monsters would undoubtedly be an absolute major victory.
After all, for many adventure groups, ordinary members are just ’consumables’; only those veterans who survive several rounds of real combat and still remain in the team are considered their own people.
The rest—those who die in battle, or are seriously injured, or lose the ability to fight—will all be mercilessly cleared out of the ranks.