Gauss saw that the staff member had no intention of continuing.
He did not press the matter.
At most, Koman had used some special means to obtain extra points, most likely involving some kind of direct transaction without personally taking part.
He guessed Koman had panicked because Gauss's points were rising too quickly. Since normal monster hunts could not catch up, Koman had resorted to special means.
As for why he was in such a hurry, it was either greed for the better reward that came with first place or a matter of pride.
Although the two had never met in person, they had been competing from afar. The town Koman was in, like Gauss's Lakeside Town, surely had many people watching him.
Gauss only hoped Koman would learn his lesson from this incident.
Being disqualified from this hunting competition was not the end of the world.
Besides, Koman might have fooled the Guild and everyone else, but he absolutely must not fool himself.
Losing the competition would at most cost him some face and a few rewards.
But if he misjudged his own strength, he might lose his life in the wilderness.
Every year, countless people died because they could not properly gauge their own abilities and recklessly confronted enemies beyond their capabilities.
That was what Gauss thought.
The staff finished the formalities.
The rankings updated again.
Gauss's score had reached 1,688.
He had gained more than three hundred additional points.
Meanwhile, Koman, who was still in second place beneath him, had only 991 points.
The gap was enormous—almost double. And that was despite Gauss having arrived several days late.
"He probably won't catch up."
Gauss withdrew his gaze from the rankings.
For one thing, as the competition entered its later stages, the participants' stamina would inevitably decline, lowering