Recaps

After the Red Dragon Group sent supplies to Blackwater Town, Gauss learned more about the Evil God Vesperitilia and considered news of turmoil in the Borderlands and the still-undrawn Holy Sword. He decided to wait until reaching the Transcendent rank before traveling to Auridian to try for the sword.

• Gauss recalled how Fischer gained power from Vesperitilia and concluded that the Evil God could only act indirectly, though it had clearly targeted him.
• The Red Dragon Group sent supplies to Blackwater Town, sold and processed its spoils, and attracted prospective recruits after rumors spread that it had absorbed the Fang of the Azure Wolf.
• Gauss read the Kingdom Times and learned that an awakened mountain giant had caused destructive tremors across the Great Fang Plateau, while the Holy Sword remained undrawn.
• Gauss studied the route to Auridian and decided he would attempt to draw the Holy Sword only after advancing to the Transcendent rank.

Gauss returned to Black Tide, arranged supplies for the Red Dragon Group, and set out to attack a third Swamp Orc clan. Meanwhile, the Night Owl Squad was ambushed by Swamp Orcs after their mounts were sabotaged, and an unknown figure arrived to rescue them with a barrage of Magic Missiles.

• Gauss returned to the Red Dragon Group's base, where Ivan reported good sales and a new batch of magic clay, and Gauss explained that his Clay Magic could not be copied into a skill book.
• After resting and restocking at Black Tide, Gauss led the Red Dragon Group toward their third Swamp Orc clan target.
• Meva and the Night Owl Squad fled a growing horde of Swamp Orcs, escaped the marsh, and discovered that someone had cut their mounts' ropes and driven the animals away.
• Leven ordered the Night Owl Squad to keep running and fight as they went, while Meva suspected the Rogue party that had recently stolen Leven's ancient map.
• As the Swamp Orcs overwhelmed the Night Owl Squad, an unseen speaker addressed Leven and Meva, and a barrage of Magic Missiles tore through their pursuers.
• A blurry figure slowly appeared amid the brilliant flashes of the Magic Missiles.

Gauss rescued Leven, Meva, Sasha, and Elwin from the Swamp Orcs, then tracked down the Rogues who had tried to kill them. The Rogue leader Felix was seeking fragments of an ancestral treasure map when Gauss found him.

• Gauss destroyed the Swamp Orcs pursuing Leven and his companions, then cleaned their wounds and invited them to rest with the Red Dragon Group.
• Alya learned that gray-cloaked Rogues had taken Leven’s horses, and Meva identified them as the group that had been following them.
• Felix revealed that he had tried to use the Orcs to kill Leven and the others because they possessed a fragment of his family’s treasure map.
• Gauss decided to deal with the Rogues, tracked their footprints through the woods, and found them after Felix’s map fragment sensed another piece nearby.
• Felix recognized Gauss as the man who had rescued Leven and froze in fear when Gauss confronted him.

Gauss exposed Felix’s plot against Leven and the others, seized the fragments of a magical treasure map, and killed Felix and his subordinates despite Felix’s offer to help unlock the treasure. After returning the map to Leven’s group for safekeeping, Gauss led the Red Dragon Group into the swamp to attack the alerted Orc lair.

• Gauss discovered Felix’s lethal poison and used Hypnosis Spell to uncover the rogue squad’s plans to kill Leven and the others.
• Gauss found that Felix’s maps and his own map fragment belonged to a set, then learned that the fragments supposedly led to an ancestral treasure.
• Felix offered to help Gauss unlock the treasure if Gauss spared him, but Gauss killed Felix and his three subordinates and burned their bodies.
• Gauss returned to Leven and the others, explained why the Rogues had targeted them, and kept the treasure-map fragments after Leven agreed he should safeguard them.
• The next day, Gauss’s Red Dragon Group entered the swamp and took positions around the Orc lair, which had gone on alert after several teams disappeared.
• Gauss ordered the attack, and a blazing sun descended over the misty swamp.

Gauss and the Red Dragon Group destroyed the Swamp Orc nest, completing the group's three commissions and gathering rewards. After a week of travel, they returned to Falim, where Luna’s trusted aides welcomed them at the city gate.

• Gauss broke through the Swamp Orc nest’s magical miasma and killed its leaders and the orcs within his reach.
• The Red Dragon Group and Hefis attacked the nest’s outskirts while Gauss froze and slaughtered the remaining orcs.
• Gauss gained three Orc title ranks, spell proficiency, and the Blood Rage skill, then confirmed the Swamp Orcs had contributed 2,300 kills.
• Gauss collected spoils and led the weary Red Dragon Group back toward Falim after completing all three commissions.
• A week later, Gauss and Luna arrived at Falim, where Luna’s two trusted aides were waiting to greet them.

After returning to Falim, Gauss began testing his growing mental telekinesis and Divine Sense while arranging the Fang of the Azure Wolf’s handover to the Red Dragon Group. The chapter ended with Gauss learning that Cicero had attacked students from House Xavier after they beat her friend Una, and leaving dinner to deal with the matter.

• Gauss arranged for the Night Owl Squad to stay at the Red Dragon Group’s base, then toured the Fang of the Azure Wolf headquarters as its new leader.
• Gauss demonstrated that his mental telekinesis could control needles with lethal force and explored its ability to enter and manipulate living creatures.
• Gauss tested Divine Sense across the base, and Luna, Alya, and Shadow faintly sensed its presence.
• At her academy, Cicero found that students were beating Una and knocked them down with her wooden sword, including a girl from House Xavier.
• After someone told Gauss what Cicero had done, he left dinner to handle the situation.

Gauss arrived at the academy after Cicero injured several students while defending a friend, and confronted Joanna Xavier, who demanded punishment for her daughter. Joanna was forced to apologize after her husband revealed that House Xavier would not protect her, and Gauss left with Cicero after warning him to keep her safe.

• Gauss learned that Cicero was unharmed and went with Ivan to the academy infirmary.
• Joanna Xavier demanded that Cicero be handed over, while the dean explained that Samantha and the other students were not seriously hurt.
• Gauss reassured Cicero, defended her for standing up for her friend, and threatened Joanna when she ordered her maids to break Cicero's hands.
• Joanna's husband arrived, slapped her, and ordered her to apologize to Gauss and Cicero or lose her family's support.
• Joanna apologized, and her husband offered compensation and promised that his daughter would leave the school.
• Gauss warned Joanna's husband not to let anything happen to Cicero, then went home with his sister.

Gauss reassured Cicero, settled House Xavier’s response to their recent conflict, and considered how to safely hunt his first Transcendent monster. He decided to hunt ordinary centaurs for practice and rode toward the Long Wind Prairie after hearing they had been sighted there.

• Gauss told Cicero he supported her choice to attend the academy and arranged for someone to protect her.
• Kiran Xavier assured Gauss that Joanna had been placed under house arrest and that House Xavier would prevent further trouble.
• Kiran ordered Joanna’s branch to keep its people in line and confined Joanna to her family estate for five years.
• Gauss postponed confronting the Transcendent centaur until he reached level eight and planned to strengthen his Centaur Hunter Talent by hunting ordinary centaurs.
• Gauss learned that centaurs had been seen on the Long Wind Prairie and rode west on Hefis to search for them.

Gauss rode Hefis across Long Wind Prairie and slaughtered a centaur tribe with Magic Missiles, then had Clay Goblins collect materials from the bodies. Seth and his adventuring party avoided Gauss and, after finding the aftermath of his hunt, left to seek centaurs elsewhere.

• Seth’s party abandoned its ambush after the centaurs escaped, then watched Gauss’s Red Dragon fly past and realized how overwhelming its presence was.
• Gauss and Hefis caught up with the centaur tribe, and Gauss killed the fleeing centaurs with Magic Missiles, including their leader.
• Gauss summoned Clay Goblins to finish off survivors and harvest materials while Hefis ate the centaurs; Gauss considered eating Hefis but changed his mind.
• Seth refused to approach Gauss and led his party away from the battlefield.
• After finding stripped monster corpses and a huge dragon footprint two days later, Seth concluded Gauss was sweeping the prairie and decided his party would leave and search elsewhere.

After ending his centaur hunt, Gauss learned that the Timbel Maze had reopened and led the Red Dragon Group to Vortex Town to register for an expedition. The group settled in for the night, and Gauss planned to use his Universal Key at the maze’s second-level green pavilion the next day.

• Gauss advanced his Centaur Hunter title to Centaur Slayer and left the Long Wind Prairie.
• Ivan showed Gauss news that the Timbel Maze had reopened, and Gauss agreed to take the Red Dragon Group there.
• Gauss read that the adolescent maze contained dangerous Maze Lords from the fourth underground level, whose summoned monsters intrigued him.
• Gauss led the Red Dragon Group’s convoy to Vortex Town, where they registered and rented three inns as their base.
• Gauss told the group to rest before the expedition and planned to test his Universal Key on the second level’s green pavilion.

Gauss led the Red Dragon Group into the Timbel Maze’s unusually dangerous second level, the Verdant World, to investigate its mysteries. He left the fixed entrance camp and led his people toward unexplored danger zones, hoping to find the green pavilion and settle his score with the Spider Demon.

• Gauss and his companions finished counting their people and supplies, then entered the maze beneath the Red Dragon banner.
• Gauss’s group crossed the first level and found the entrance to the second level, where adventurers warned of dangerous spider monsters and many chose a Guild-marked route to the third level.
• Gauss recalled that a Spider Demon had nearly killed him during his previous visit and suspected that the second level’s arena and sealed green pavilion concealed secrets.
• Gauss led the Red Dragon Group through the passage into the Verdant World and checked the new map after the maze’s recent changes.
• Gauss decided to search the second level’s danger zones for the green pavilion and the Spider Demon, and his group followed him.

Gauss led the Red Dragon Group through the maze’s second floor, where he hunted Spider Demons that had once nearly overwhelmed him and investigated their unusual uniform strength. As he continued deeper into the maze, his Ghost Transformation Talent reached Commander Grade, and he ordered the group to seal off a hall near an emerald pavilion.

• Gauss recognized the Spider Demons that had once driven him to despair and fought three of them while Alya and the others guarded the area.
• Gauss killed two Spider Demons, left one alive to study, then used Beast Tracking to hunt down nearby adults, juveniles, and eggs.
• Gauss wondered whether an ancient civilization had designed the Spider Demons and built the Timbel Maze.
• Gauss’s Monster Kill Count rose as he hunted through the maze, and his Second Order Ghost Transformation reached Commander Grade, letting him control its transformations more freely.
• Gauss reached a vast hall, ordered the Red Dragon Group to seal it off, and looked toward the emerald pavilion.

Gauss used the Universal Key to enter a hidden space beneath the Azure Green Pavilion, where he discovered a map of the maze and a token that tracked exploration and enabled escape. After returning safely to the Red Dragon Group, he used the map to plan a fast route deeper into the maze.

• Gauss used the Universal Key to open the pavilion, then sent Clay Spiders ahead before exploring the space beneath it with his teammates.
• Gauss found a Crystal Ball containing an updated map of the first five floors and an iron token that displayed an exploration percentage and hinted at a reward.
• Gauss approached the insect-person statue, received a message that his exploration progress was insufficient to claim a reward, and discovered black mist at the edge of the space.
• Gauss and his teammates found the stairs back had vanished, so he activated the token to teleport them out of the hidden space.
• Luna kept the Red Dragon Group calm while Gauss was gone, and he and his teammates reappeared safely above the pavilion's former location.
• Gauss used the Crystal Ball to plan a route toward the third floor and prepared to catch up with the leading adventurers.

Gauss led the Red Dragon Group from the second floor to the entrance of the fourth, where they camped for the night. Along the way, he defeated a Commander Grade Constructed Armor, and his growing mana and exploration percentage brought him close to a breakthrough.

• Gauss brought the Red Dragon Group onto the third floor, where other adventurers regarded the newcomers with caution and respect.
• Gauss led the group along the shortest route toward the fourth floor, prioritizing reaching its lord over exploring the third floor’s treasures.
• Gauss killed a Commander Grade Constructed Armor with Thousand Silk World Sever and collected its armor pieces after rescuing nearby adventurers from the fight.
• Gauss had Theron heal the injured adventurers’ ears and wounds, then continued toward the fourth-floor entrance.
• Gauss camped near the fourth-floor entrance and found that his mana was nearly sufficient for a breakthrough and his exploration percentage had risen to 4.89%.

Gauss brought the Red Dragon Group to the Fourth Floor, where he learned about the organized monster attacks and the dangers facing adventurers. He soon led his people out to find the floor’s Lord, while nearby leaders mistook his use of scouts and trap-clearing creatures for indifference to his members’ safety.

• Gauss arrived at the Fourth Floor and met George Bell, Melissa Dawson, and Liam as their groups finished repelling a monster attack.
• George Bell and the others told Gauss that monsters frequently raided camps on the Fourth Floor and that no party had reached the Fifth Floor.
• Gauss set out with the Red Dragon Group instead of resting or sending a separate scouting party, prompting Melissa Dawson and George Bell to call him cold-blooded.
• Gauss had Alya use crows to keep watch while tiny Clay Spiders scouted ahead and triggered traps before the group reached them.
• A red-haired Swordsman safely passed a deadly pit and felt grateful that the Red Dragon Group’s precautions had kept him alive.

Gauss and the Red Dragon Group fought through the Fourth Floor’s magic frogs and drew the Maze Lord out of hiding. The Magic Frog Lord appeared just as Gauss prepared to attack, and a fireball immediately descended toward its head.

• Gauss and Alya encountered increasing numbers of magic frogs as they advanced toward the Fourth Floor’s Monster Lord, while Gauss’s kill count passed forty thousand.
• The Magic Frog Lord recognized that the Red Dragon Group was approaching and ordered monsters across the floor to migrate, prompting many adventurers to retreat to camp.
• Gauss’s team neared the lord’s location, and Gauss used Clay Magic and goblin spiritual essence to create a towering Goblin Clay Giant that charged into the monsters.
• Gauss sensed the area with his Crystal Ball, and the hidden Magic Frog Lord appeared before him.
• The Magic Frog Lord roared, and a blazing fireball fell toward its head.

Gauss fought the level 8 Magic Frog Lord, testing its combined spells and maze-enhanced regeneration while keeping it alive. He finally overwhelmed it with controlled Fireballs and a Holy Water-laced water prison, leaving the lord trapped between healing and injury.

• Gauss stunned the Magic Frog Lord with a Fireball while the Red Dragon Group held off the monster army nearby.
• The Magic Frog Lord attacked with combined fire-and-water steam, but Gauss Blinked behind it and a giant arrow coated with Holy Water pierced its forelimb.
• The wounded lord unleashed a barrage of combined spells and regenerated by discarding its infected limb, while Gauss recognized that its body was nearing its limits.
• Gauss trapped the Magic Frog Lord inside three controlled Fireballs, leaving it gravely wounded but alive.
• Gauss cast Water Manipulation and bound the lord in Holy Water-infused water dragons lined with blue-gold spikes, preventing it from moving or recovering.

Gauss and the Red Dragon Group held off the Magic Frog Lord’s endless monster summons while Gauss reached 50,000 kills and received powerful rewards. His new [Triune Source] feat let him convert stamina, magic, and vitality, and he unleashed his strength against the horde.

• Gauss joined the Red Dragon Group’s defense, precisely killing monsters while his companions fought alongside him and rested in shifts.
• Gauss’s Monster Kill Count reached 50,000, earning him [Bigby's Hand], [Dawn], [Triune Source], and increases to Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity.
• Gauss discovered that [Triune Source] let him freely convert between stamina, magic, and vitality, removing the separation between his three power sources.
• Gauss sensed that his combat strength might have reached the threshold of Level 12, but postponed a breakthrough because the battle continued.
• Gauss cast Vampiric Touch on the monster army, converting excess drained vitality into magic and replenishing himself with [Triune Source] and [Feast].
• Gauss charged through the horde, crushing monsters with bloody tentacles and terrifying even the monster minions.

Gauss led the Red Dragon Group through a brutal battle on the Timbel Maze’s Fourth Floor, killed the Magic Frog Lord, and claimed the floor-clearing rewards. With the area temporarily safe and experience overflowing, he prepared to break through to Level 8.

• Gauss’s slaughter and the Red Dragon Group’s cohesion formed a powerful team momentum that strengthened him as he fought the monster horde.
• Gauss endured the monsters’ magical volleys without injury and killed tens of thousands of creatures while the Magic Frog Lord summoned reinforcements.
• Gauss killed the exhausted Magic Frog Lord, gained 0.56% Divinity Factor, and obtained the Opening Stone to the Fifth Floor.
• Gauss opened the reward chest and collected several thousand gold coins, magic stones, and a Purple Quality Hand Crossbow.
• Gauss ordered the Red Dragon Group to gather valuable spoils, then patrolled the area and sat down to begin his Level 8 breakthrough.

While Gauss broke through to level 8 beside the Magic Frog Lord’s lair, Luna handled visits from adventurer groups that had witnessed his overwhelming power. Gauss completed his breakthrough safely, leaving the Red Dragon Group with a newly strengthened commander.

• As Gauss entered seclusion, the Red Dragon Group harvested materials from the Magic Frog Lord and its followers while core members kept watch over him.
• Ethan told Luna that another group had arrived to visit Gauss, and Luna went to meet its scouts so they would not disturb his breakthrough.
• Colin and two scouts from the Wildfire Group explained that their leaders wanted battle information and offered assistance, wary of Gauss after seeing his power.
• Luna turned away further visitors over the following half-day, as adventurer groups approached cautiously and sought to establish contact with the Red Dragon Group.
• Gauss’s mana surged as his bottleneck shattered, and he opened his eyes after his Main Profession Magic User advanced to level 8.

After reaching Magic User Level 8, Gauss felt his attributes and charm increase, then watched over the Red Dragon Group as teammates began breakthroughs after the battle. He practiced his new 5th Ring Spells while guarding the camp and its spoils.

• Gauss advanced to Magic User Level 8, raising his Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma, and reflected on his growing charm and strength.
• Albenna tried to hug Gauss, but he escaped with Any Door, prompting Alya to warn him jokingly about powerful admirers.
• Gauss told his teammates to begin their breakthroughs and took responsibility for guarding the camp and collecting the battle spoils.
• Theron, Shadow, Albenna, Alya, Rick, Ivan, and several other Red Dragon Group members entered seclusion to break through.
• Gauss cleared the areas around the secluded teammates, left Clay Spiders to watch for danger, and began practicing Bigby's Hand and Dawn.

Gauss practiced Bigby's Hand and Dawn, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his 5th Ring spells to the Red Dragon Group and a distant party of adventurers. After testing both spells, he left the story with the approaching adventurers spotting him as the caster of Dawn.

• Gauss activated Bigby's Hand and formed a giant silver hand despite being only level 8 as a Spellcaster.
• Gauss tested Bigby's Hand's attack, control, and defensive forms while the Red Dragon Group watched in astonishment.
• Gauss practiced controlling Bigby's Hand, then flew farther away to cast his second 5th Ring spell, Dawn.
• Gauss used his White Wand to amplify Dawn, sending a pillar of light down onto an open patch of ground.
• A Giant Eagle and its riders were blinded by Dawn's distant flash, and an old Mage identified Gauss as the spellcaster.

Gauss welcomed the Sky Adventurer Group at the Red Dragon Group’s base and negotiated a deal for monster spoils. After selling them a section rich in Magic Frogs for eight hundred gold coins, he continued contracting with other adventurer groups as their leaders arrived.

• Gauss led the Sky Adventurer Group to the battlefield, where Hawkins and his companions saw the vast number of monster corpses the Red Dragon Group had defeated.
• Gauss ate Magic Frog Lord soup, which restored his strength and slightly increased his maximum magic power, while the guests declined to try the monster meat.
• Gauss showed the Sky Adventurer Group a map dividing the monster corpses into sections for possible contracts.
• Hawkins offered six hundred gold coins for a section containing more than three thousand Magic Frogs, but Gauss negotiated the price up to eight hundred gold coins.
• Hawkins paid Gauss, and other adventurer-group leaders arrived over the next day or two to arrange contracts with the Red Dragon Group.

The Red Dragon Group grew wealthy from selling monster materials while Gauss trained and guided his teammates through their breakthroughs. The chapter ended when a rumble sounded from the cave where Theron was secluded.

• Gauss earned nearly four thousand gold coins from the monster materials and resumed practicing magic.
• Albenna returned as a Level 8 Warrior with the Giant Transformation ability, Alya reached Level 6, and Shadow reached Level 7 with five shadow clones.
• Gauss checked on Theron, who remained curled up and nearly motionless during his unusual breakthrough.
• Gauss delayed plans to open the maze's Fifth Floor while the adventuring parties explored the Fourth Floor and recovered their purchased materials.
• Gauss gave members of the Red Dragon Group personal training advice, helping Holly cast Colorful Ball successfully.
• A rumble came from the place where Theron had gone into seclusion.

Theron survived a cave-in while attempting a breakthrough, but awakened a violent Snake King bloodline that briefly stripped him of reason. He and Gauss learned that the bloodline could threaten Theron and those around him, though his teammates promised to help keep him under control.

• Gauss found Theron buried beneath the collapsed cave and saw him emerge with a stronger, bestial form and crimson eyes.
• Theron attacked Gauss and tried to flee, but Gauss struck him down and called him back to his senses.
• Theron woke in the Red Dragon Group's medical tent and watched a Recording Stone showing his loss of control.
• Theron explained that the Snake King bloodline lay dormant in snake people and could turn its bearer into a destructive monster.
• Theron admitted that the bloodline had awakened in him, and Gauss and the others reassured him that they would help restrain him.