The group exchanged a few final pieces of information in low voices outside the cave, making one last check of their weapons and equipment before setting off.
Once everything was confirmed, they entered the cave one by one, maintaining formation.
Normally, the vanguard should be Laevin, the team's shieldbearer. But due to the narrow, dark, and winding nature of the mine tunnels, that responsibility fell to Gauss and Meva—the two who had scouted the cave earlier.
And sin...
2025-07-22 17:41:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
Adventurers' Guild Hall
While the others picked out a quest, Gauss let his eyes wander around the hall.
He could tell—there were definitely more people here lately. Lots of new faces.
And it wasn’t just the rookie adventurers. What really stood out was the increase in pros, the kind who had enough rank to access the second floor.
Was the spike in quests around Grayrock pulling adventurers in from elsewhere?
Not too surprising, really. Grayrock sat right ...
2025-07-21 17:48:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
The Black Anvil Forge.
Returning to a familiar place, Gauss stood in front of the shop, feeling nostalgic.
The last time he came here, he was still a complete newbie—someone who had just completed his first quest.
Back then, he knew nothing about the life of an adventurer, let alone the supernatural framework of this world.
But now, he was finally on the right path.
As he stepped into the smithy, to his surprise, the person he was expecting wasn’t there....
2025-07-21 17:48:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
Gauss focused his mind, sensing how much of his Mage Armor had just been depleted. With this test, he gained a deeper understanding.
This time, the damage to the protective field was noticeably worse than the first.
The key difference was that the first time, he had only made a small, careful cut on his fingertip. This time, he slashed about ten centimeters across the back of his hand—and with much more force.
Even with the same weapon, the area and force of impact clea...
2025-07-21 17:48:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
Outside Grayrock Town, on an open patch of land.
Gauss gripped his staff tightly and closed his eyes, focusing his mind.
He was attuning himself to the new spell imprinted in his will—Mage Armor.
One major benefit of spells rewarded through the Adventurer’s Manual was that, compared to regular apprentices, they skipped the long and painful initiation phase.
It felt more like reclaiming something he’d once known, rather than learning from scratch.
From ...
2025-07-21 17:47:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
Gauss listened to his companions rambling, but didn’t offer any comment.
Right now, he wasn’t particularly short on money.
Of course, money is always a good thing—nobody ever complains about having too much of it. With enough, he could buy better clothes, boots, weapons, or even hire someone to train him.
But for now, he could get by without it.
One of his original goals for saving up had been to buy a magic staff. But that plan seemed to have stalled.
2025-07-21 17:47:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
Near the doorway, the drunken man who had been dozing off suddenly sobered up. A chill ran down his spine in an instant. As fear took hold of his mind, the color drained from his face.
Gauss was still holding the man's wrist, not letting go.
He didn’t particularly hate the drunk—he was completely wasted after all. You couldn’t really expect anything rational from someone in that state.
The only reason Gauss hadn’t let go was because the guy had lost all strength i...
2025-07-21 17:46:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Watch out! A monster’s coming!”
The moment Gauss confirmed the approaching figure wasn’t human, he immediately shouted a warning to the others, who were still focused on looting the water ghoul corpses.
Meva was the second to spot it. After Gauss's alert, she quickly locked onto the figure approaching across the riverbank.
“A ghoul...? No—it’s stronger. That might be a ghast.”
The second she got a clear look, her calm heartbeat suddenly began to ra...
2025-07-20 19:43:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
Thanks to Doyle "yielding" the final blow, Gauss rushed forward in a few quick steps.
A flash of cold steel—
His rapier pierced straight through the chest of the already exhausted water ghoul.
Squish!
Its slimy skin split open with a sickening sound, foul-smelling blood gushing out.
Without hesitation, Gauss withdrew the blade and stepped back.
With that final kill, the system notifications he’d been waiting for finally appeared.
[Water Gho...
2025-07-20 19:43:37 +0000 UTC
View Post
Under the watchful eyes of the entire team, the main group of water ghouls finally reached the trap. A few of them eagerly pounced on the rotting bait.
With long, clawed fingers, they scraped up the soft, slimy, bloodied meat and shoved it into their mouths, growling softly as they ate—clearly enjoying it.
Watching the scene, Gauss felt a wave of nausea. Just the memory of the stench while setting the trap earlier had nearly made him gag.
Sure, water ghouls looked vague...
2025-07-20 19:43:10 +0000 UTC
View Post
After confirming they’d continue with the mission, the group grabbed a quick meal at the tavern and took a short break. Once the sun wasn’t so harsh, they headed to the riverbank to start looking for clues.
The afternoon sunlight danced across the water, casting a warm golden shimmer across the rippling surface. A gentle breeze rolled in, rustling the multicolored water grasses along the bank.
For a moment, as they took in the breathtaking scenery, the group fell silent—al...
2025-07-20 19:42:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Are we almost there?”
“Should be. Let me check.”
Under the blazing noon sun, a few figures trudged down an endless dirt path, trailing behind an old draft horse pulling a cart.
As he walked, Gauss kept scanning the area—not to admire the view, but to check against the mental map in his head.
Wherever he had traveled before, the map would light up the surrounding area. Whenever he passed a notable landmark or some kind of distinct terrain, he’d subconsc...
2025-07-20 19:42:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Finally cleared up!”
Gauss opened the window and looked outside, smiling as the sunlight streamed in.
A few days ago, after the team turned in their last quest and got paid, they had planned to pick up a new commission two days later.
But the weather had other plans—several straight days of rain pushed everything back.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something odd about the rain... but he had no real leads.
“Could it be the start of t...
2025-07-20 19:41:56 +0000 UTC
View Post
The Next Day
When Gauss woke up, he sneezed several times in a row—clearly caught a bit of a chill.
Thankfully, with his above-average Constitution stat, it wasn’t anything serious. If it were his past self in his old, suboptimal health, he might’ve already been down with a fever.
“Whew...”
He drank a bit of water and rubbed his arms.
With a Constitution score of 6, his body was naturally resistant to illness.
His eyes drifted to the life ma...
2025-07-19 17:56:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
After resting and regaining their strength, the group made their way back to Valencia Village.
They reported the successful elimination of the slimes to the village chief and showed him some fresh slime gel core as proof. Then, after a brief lunch break at the local inn, they packed up and departed from the quiet, slightly run-down village.
“There really aren’t many people in that village,” someone commented along the way.
“Yeah, aside from the tavern and inn fill...
2025-07-19 17:56:20 +0000 UTC
View Post
Gauss was already preparing to test out the stun effect from his newly earned title, [Slime Hunter].
A special ability like this, tailored specifically against slimes, was practically made for this moment. If he wasn’t going to use it now, when would he?
Drawing his rapier, he stared down the slime in front of him.
As soon as he willed it, the title’s stun effect came to him like instinct. Within moments, he knew exactly how to activate it.
He narrowed his eyes...
2025-07-19 17:55:56 +0000 UTC
View Post
The sudden ambush shattered the peace of the slime colony in an instant.
“Blorp! Blorp!”
The startled, panicked slimes erupted into chaos, bouncing wildly around the muddy clearing. Every time their gelatinous bodies slammed into the ground, it made a squelching "blorp"—like someone squeezing wet rubber.
The whole area looked like a boiling swamp, the slimes agitated and feeding off each other’s panic. Round, glossy black eyes scanned frantically for the attackers...
2025-07-19 17:55:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
After spending the night at a cheap inn in Valencia Village, the party gathered the next morning at the village entrance with all their gear ready.
Valencia was a small, sparsely populated village. Aside from running a modest orchard, its main role was serving as a pit stop for passing merchant and cargo caravans. According to the village chief, most of the younger folks had already moved to Grayrock Town—or even farther, to the city of Barry—for work and a better life.
“T...
2025-07-19 17:55:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
Under the sword-shield-staff banner flapping in the wind—
After some time apart, the Night Owl party was back together again.
Compared to the dirt-covered, dead-tired crew that finished the last mission, everyone now looked totally refreshed. A few days off had clearly done wonders for morale.
“Morning, Gauss,” Doyle greeted him with a wave, showing off a fresh new haircut.
“Morning,” Gauss replied, nodding.
At first, Doyle had seemed quiet and sto...
2025-07-19 17:54:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
"Ow—"
Don’t be fooled by Andeni’s small frame—those punches to Gauss’s waist landed hard. He sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot up his side. His Mage Hand spell almost fizzled on the spot.
“Oh—sorry, sorry!”
Realizing she got a little too excited, Andeni licked her lips and gave an awkward grin.
“It’s fine,” Gauss said after a few deep breaths. Once the sting faded, he managed to speak again.
Still, his opinion of Andeni shifted a bit. S...
2025-07-18 17:35:34 +0000 UTC
View Post
Gauss didn’t have to wait long.
Andeni returned to the main hall, her arms full of staff-like objects.
“Good thing I have a habit of hoarding old stuff. Can’t believe I didn’t lose track of these,” she said proudly, placing the staves on the table and standing with her hands on her hips.
Gauss looked down at her.
He knew she was probably old enough to be his mom—or even his grandma—but given her petite stature, she still looked more like a mature chil...
2025-07-18 17:35:14 +0000 UTC
View Post
"So, Gauss, what brings you to me today?"
"Don’t tell me… you're here to buy a magic wand?"
Andeni had clearly noticed how Gauss had been eyeing the wand rack ever since he walked in—with that unmistakable expression of longing all over his face.
"Uh, senior… could I ask how much they cost?" Gauss asked cautiously.
He deliberately called her “senior” because, in his mind, anyone who owned a collection like this definitely wasn’t some regular shopkeepe...
2025-07-18 17:34:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Burp—
Gauss stepped out of the inn, full and satisfied.
Once again, he confirmed it: the terrible taste of the previous meals really hadn’t been Sophia’s fault.
I mean, seriously—how do you make cheap black bread taste good when you’re working without proper ingredients or seasoning?
Probably only possible with some kind of spell that literally makes food delicious.
…Wait, is that kind of magic even a thing in this world?
Even though other...
2025-07-18 17:34:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
Not much could be done about it.
Goblin gear—especially from small settlements like this—was always in rough shape.
Gauss didn’t know why this particular group of goblins had taken over the ruins, but most goblins preferred to live in caves or swamps. Damp, underground environments were just in their nature.
Unfortunately, those same environments were the perfect conditions for rust. With no anti-rust oils or maintenance materials, the metal weapons goblins used wer...
2025-07-18 17:34:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
The battle broke out fast.
At the front of the formation, Laevin raised his shield and let out a powerful shout, charging toward the goblin formation.
Despite his bulky frame, he was surprisingly fast—white air trails even streamed off the edges of his oak shield.
He looked like a fully revved freight truck as he barreled straight into the goblins.
Behind and to the sides of him, Doyle, Gauss, and Daphne all followed closely.
Boom!
Laevin’s full-s...
2025-07-18 17:33:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hidden in the brush, Gauss had already quietly activated Mage Hand.
Because of concerns about scent detection, the rest of the party had hidden further away.
Only Gauss remained within ten meters of the bait due to the range limitation of his spell.
Fortunately, Meva had helped him find a hiding spot and masked his scent, so the six goblins now drawing near hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
When they reached the wounded hare, one of the goblins cautiously tossed a...
2025-07-17 19:44:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
From beneath her cloak, Meva stepped lightly out from the shadows of the trees and silently returned to the group.
She barely made a sound.
"What did you find?"
The Night Owl party turned to her.
"Here."
Meva pulled a sheet of yellowed parchment from her cloak and laid it flat on a rock in the center of the group.
Simple sketches and markings covered the surface—hand-drawn notes and symbols used to convey her findings.
This was the benefit of...
2025-07-17 19:44:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
After Gauss finished showing his skills—especially Magic Missile—the team’s attitude toward him shifted subtly but noticeably.
Though no one said anything directly, there was a clear change in how they looked at him. Their gazes now carried a bit more weight, more respect.
The following rounds of individual demonstrations and team drills saw everyone putting in extra effort.
It was as if Gauss had set a high bar, and now everyone was determined not to fall behind or...
2025-07-17 19:43:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
The joint training session began, naturally, with Gauss.
Everyone turned their attention to him.
“The spell I’m about to demonstrate is Mage Hand.”
“Mage Hand.”
As he spoke, Gauss smoothly activated the spell with a practiced mental cue.
A shimmering ripple of magic gathered before him, forming an invisible hand of pure energy.
While most of the team couldn’t clearly see the spell’s manifestation, aside from Daphne the cleric, they all s...
2025-07-17 19:42:56 +0000 UTC
View Post
Seeing how well-geared the rest of the team was, Gauss couldn’t help but breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
Good thing he upgraded his armor—otherwise, he would’ve looked like he didn’t belong in the same group. Even now, he was still clearly the most “budget” member of the party.
Fortunately, no one made a big deal about it. Most just gave him a glance and looked away. Whether that was because they didn’t care, didn’t rate him at all, or were just being polite—it...
2025-07-17 19:41:25 +0000 UTC
View Post
