The following days.
Gauss and Serlandul, having free time, took on several more tasks nearby involving hunting goblins and other minor monsters.
These commissions were relatively small in scale and the number of monsters was low. The only advantage was their proximity—right around Barry, not far at all—making them easy to handle.
Coincidentally, recently the Maze had attracted too much attention from adventurers. These commissions, which used to be regularly and quickly cleared, began to overflow.
As a result, many of Barry City’s militia reserves went out on sweep missions. Gauss, taking on ordinary tasks, could handle multiple at once as long as he didn’t delay his progress.
Although Gauss and Serlandul’s strength alone was limited, it was still a modest contribution to the peace and stability around Barry.
Through frequent cooperation, Gauss and Serlandul gained a deeper understanding of each other’s situations.
Especially Serlandul, who was constantly amazed in private by Gauss’s strength and diverse abilities.
When he thought Gauss was a mage skilled in casting spells with some ancient bloodline, the next task would reveal Gauss’s astonishing physical fitness and powerful protective magic.
Just as he silently added “physically tough” to his mental notes about the captain, Gauss then showed him solid swordsmanship, quick learning ability, and an astonishing appetite.These facts deepened Serlandul’s inherent perception of Gauss and also revealed another side that Gauss usually kept hidden.
Yes.
Specifically, Gauss’s astounding appetite.
Even Serlandul, who normally consumed more calories than average, had to admit Gauss’s hunger was truly impressive.
Especially during outdoor adventures and battles that drained physical energy, it was rare to see Gauss stop chewing for long.
Calling him a “big eater” was no exaggeration at all.
Since Gauss recovered, seeing him bored alone in his room, Serlandul almost daily dragged him to high-end restaurants or taverns to dine.
Coincidentally, they stayed in the same inn, arranged by Gauss. Serlandul didn’t know how Gauss persuaded the proprietress, whose face clearly showed reluctance.
To avoid disturbing other guests, Serlandul either stayed in his room or went out with Gauss, rarely resting in the inn’s public areas.
Thus, they ate together several times.
Serlandul couldn’t help but wonder how Gauss’s not exactly bulky frame could accommodate so much food and calories. Did he have a bigger stomach than others?
Or was it a major trait of natural-born strong individuals—that they could eat more?
Serlandul pulled back his thoughts, his surroundings filled with green wheat swaying in the wind.
The green waves rolled like a restless sea.
“Want some?” Gauss noticed Serlandul’s attention returning to the dried meat in his hand, mistakenly thinking he wanted some too.
“No thanks, Captain. Actually, you’re still hungry.”
Serlandul’s voice sounded in Gauss’s ear.
Although the frog jerky, frost snake meat, and lantern fruit were reserves prepared by Gauss and Weilan, Gauss was not stingy by nature.
So these delicacies were shared early with Serlandul.
Serlandul had tasted the rust frog jerky and lantern fruit; both were quite good and suited his taste.
As for why he hadn’t tried the frost snake meat—well... that was a bit hellish.
Still, despite the good flavors, eating them all the time could easily cause overeating.
Sliding along the road, Serlandul couldn’t help but glance sideways at Gauss.
He always felt their roles were reversed—Gauss was the one constantly moving and expending energy, while Serlandul sat leisurely on his mount, enjoying the scenery.
What was going on?
Gauss was unaware of Serlandul’s private thoughts.
He popped the jerky into his mouth and continued chewing.
At the same time, he took a small knife, dipped it in poison, and gently sawed at the [Gauss Field] protective shield.
Since he was idle, he might as well not waste time on the road.
It was a perfect opportunity to continue researching and training his core skill.
Recently, he finally found a way to further improve Gauss Field.
The method came from an old wizard’s notebook he purchased at the Spellcasters Association.
It cost him three contribution points.
Back then, the materials from that big hobgoblin, recycled by the Spellcasters Association, only exchanged for five contribution points.
Although Serlandul declined, Gauss insisted on splitting evenly. When he found he lacked enough points to buy the book, he awkwardly asked Serlandul for some and compensated him slightly with other loot.
Thinking of that wizard’s notebook, Gauss still felt he had hit the jackpot.
His intuition was reliable; among countless notes, he spotted this seemingly ordinary notebook immediately.
Wizards and mages, though both spellcasters, differed greatly.
In terms of power sources, wizards drew from more diverse origins, including but not limited to pacts with demons, devils, wild gods, or spirits; awakening ancestral witchcraft bloodlines; communicating with elemental energies in nature such as air, water, fire, and earth; channeling these forces to release unique magic, plus other unknown special methods.
Mages mainly enhanced themselves through meditation, studying magical runes, practicing spells, and understanding and building models.
In terms of power expression, wizards’ methods were more peculiar and relied heavily on special artifacts, items, curses, dark energy, and so on.
Thus, in the public mind, the dignified and orthodox mage was more like an academic scholar, kingdom advisor, researcher, or national border guardian.
Wizards, on the other hand, were often associated with reclusive forest curse casters, plague-spreading witches, monster companions, or dark lunatics who bred monsters for power.
This one-sided stereotype was unfair, but indeed, wizards’ research differed from orthodox mages.
For example, the owner of Gauss’s notebook was a secluded forest wizard who specialized in breeding and dissecting low-level monsters and researching why their hides provided far stronger protection than ordinary animal skins or even steel.
That wizard spent a tiny fraction of his life dissecting and studying monsters and rarely ventured into towns.
Before he died, his residence might have been discovered by passersby, allowing his various items, equipment, books, and notes to circulate in the world.
Gauss guessed that perhaps his sloppy handwriting, messy notes in the second half full of trivial and meaningless words, guesses, and frenzied emotional venting caused the notebook’s value to be overestimated.
If not for the detailed dissection and experimental records in the middle and a seemingly feasible training method, it might never have appeared on the Spellcasters Association’s shelves—perhaps relegated to propping up a corner of a roadside fly-specked tavern.
No wonder wizards were experts in poisons, curses, and bloodlines.
Inspired by the notebook, Gauss finally figured out how to enhance the [Gauss Field] further.
The notebook recorded a unique rune pattern.
The moment he first flipped through it, the rune pattern caught his eye.
After redeeming it, he realized it was indeed special.
When casting spells, he concentrated on imagining that unique pattern, which occasionally appeared as runes on the field’s surface.
If he then stimulated the field with various poisons, it could continuously improve its toxin recognition and resistance.
This method coincided with the principle behind some monsters’ tough skins. Some had incredibly high surface defense because they hid such special runes in their skin. The complex poisonous monster blood flowing within reacted with the runes, continuously stimulating the skin to toughen.
At the notebook’s end, the excited, mad wizard experimented successfully several times on animals, then began modifying his own body, aiming to create a new body magic.
However, the notebook had no further entries.
Judging by its market circulation, the wizard’s modification apparently failed.
Gauss had no intention of applying these dangerous runes to himself, but it was safer on the Gauss Field.
Moreover, he strongly suspected that others could hardly refine this mysterious monster rune in protective spells; otherwise, he wouldn’t be the one discovering this secret.
At this moment, Gauss kept cutting the protective spell layer with a blade stained by hobgoblin blood.
He sensed the runes flickering continuously as the Gauss Field quietly transformed.
Gauss knew everything was steadily improving.
If the Gauss Field had toxin resistance back then, when escaping the spider-demon nest on the Maze’s second floor, he wouldn’t have fainted and endangered himself.
In the future, he needed to collect more monster blood and toxins—natural materials to hone the protective field.
Casually chatting along the way, Gauss multitasked.
While training [Gauss Field] and snacking occasionally, he didn’t forget to scout the terrain, marking it on his mental map and chatting idly with Serlandul.
“I wonder how Aria’s side is going? Is it smooth?”
Gauss’s thoughts drifted to Aria.
Once she rejoined, their trio would be complete. Then they could enter the Maze again. With the powerful Serlandul and level 2 Aria, they would likely explore deeper, even catching up with the first wave’s progress.
Time passed quickly in the “busy” journey.
The ostrich’s steady steps stopped on the firm dirt road, raising a small cloud of dry dust.
Ahead was their destination: a modest village outside Barry City, nestled beside a vast green wheat field.
The village was small, visible in its entirety at a glance. Dozens of low buildings were scattered neatly, mostly built from logs and dried earth mixed together, with sturdy thatched roofs.
A simple fence made from sharpened stakes and thick vines encircled the village as basic defense.
Though not tall enough to stop large monsters, it could provide some protection and early warning against small goblins and goblin-like creatures.
At the village gate, two young adults guarded the entrance, holding crude long spears.
From a distance, they spotted Gauss riding the ostrich and Serlandul gliding alongside, their faces lit with excitement.
Even as Gauss slowly approached the gate, their expressions hadn’t faded, caught by Gauss’s gaze.
He felt a flicker of curiosity.
“Hello, my companion and I are adventurers assigned this task. Please open the gate for us; here are our commission documents and…”
“Goblin Killer, sir, we’ve heard of you!”
“Hm?” Gauss glanced at the excited young villagers, feeling a black line run through his head.
That strange title appeared again!
Though confused, he was also somewhat curious.
If in a small place like Grayrock Town, where adventurers were few, being given such a title was understandable.
But here, near Barry City, in a remote little village, people recognized him?
No way.
Could it be Barry City already had a veteran “Goblin Killer,” and they mistook him?
Yes, very likely!
“Are you sure you have the right person?”
Taking the chance while they opened the gate, he asked his doubt.
“I just came near Barry not long ago.”
“No mistake, it’s you. The handsome mage in black robes with an ostrich and half-snake companion. No need to keep a low profile—we’ve all heard your title. By the way… your name is Gauss, right?”
Hearing the young villagers mention all matching traits, Gauss at first hoped it might be someone else.
Two identical team setups, though improbable, weren’t impossible. But when they said his name, his hope died.
Yes, it really was him.
When did he become so “famous”?
He had no idea.
“Yes, I am Gauss,” he said helplessly, nodding. “If it’s convenient, please tell me how you know me.”
“In the village tavern,” the two young villagers openly answered Gauss. “A few days ago, a passing caravan talked about your deeds.”
“Caravan? Where did they hear about me?”
“I don’t know. These small caravans often trade in villages and might have heard of you elsewhere.” The young men looked at Gauss with admiration. “They said wherever you go, the evil green-skinned little goblins have nowhere to hide and all die by your hand.”
Unlike in Grayrock Town, where other professionals teased and mocked Gauss, as an ordinary villager, the most common monster threat was goblins. They had little real sense of dragons, devils, giants, or those legendary creatures—they were too far removed from daily life.
But goblins were a real threat.
An adventurer who ignored the Maze full of precious treasures but tirelessly hunted goblins and goblin-like monsters threatening ordinary villages, no matter the scale, was truly inspiring.
Plus, having a half-snake teammate added more memorability and recognition to the team.
For a time, his fame quietly spread through the countryside outside Barry City.
Listening to the young villagers’ endless praise, Gauss vaguely sensed some hype was being stirred up.
Though he had taken many ordinary tasks recently, no one talked about him this grandly.
Not exploring the Maze was because he was waiting for Aria to return from her rest, right?
Afterward, their adventuring rhythm would likely be Maze—rest—commission—rest—Maze… a combination of dungeons and tasks.
He wouldn’t just become a specialist killer of small monsters.
Because the Maze was easier to gather treasures and special monster types.
Besides kill count, he also wanted to expand his monster encyclopedia by killing many new species.
Is someone flattering me? Building up my reputation? Who is it? What’s their purpose?
Gauss was somewhat puzzled.
And why the title “Goblin Killer”?
For now, without proof, it was just a vague suspicion, so after a brief struggle, he set it aside.
“Uncle, the Goblin Killer has arrived! Those monsters are doomed!”
“Oh wow, so this is the Goblin Killer, so handsome.”
Walking along the village dirt road, hearing the constant chatter, Gauss felt a little embarrassed.
But seeing their genuine eager expectation, he couldn’t ignore it.
Perhaps those seemingly trivial monsters were indeed a significant nuisance to many villagers.
To villagers, maybe the world didn’t need a dragon slayer, but it definitely needed a goblin bane!
After a moment’s hesitation, Gauss waved toward the crowd, returning their welcome.
“Captain, you really have fans,” Serlandul rarely admitted defeat.
“...”
Gauss fell silent.
He didn’t know what to say.
Though for now, compared to other level 2 professionals, he indeed had some “reputation,” good or bad. But it was limited to the surrounding villages. In Barry City, he was still an unknown ordinary adventurer.
Was this what being popular meant? He wasn’t sure.
He had the strange feeling that some weird force wanted to stick this title on him for no reason.
Though not hateful, the feeling was complicated.
This complexity wasn’t because of now—after all, a low-level professional having a “title” was no small achievement and showed some recognition.
But as someone with lofty ambitions and a clear understanding of his “talent,” Gauss didn’t believe he would remain a low-level professional his whole life.
He had a vague worry.
That was... would the title Goblin Killer haunt him like it did from Grayrock Town to Barry City?
“Damn it.”
Thinking of how other high-level adventurers boasted glorious titles worldwide while he appeared before thousands as the Goblin Killer, Gauss couldn’t help but gasp in dismay.