Recaps

After killing fifty-two Corrosive Frogs, Gauss reached 9 Intelligence and experienced a sweeping improvement in his mental abilities and magic. He and Alya returned toward Grayrock Town after discussing buying mounts, and Gauss ended the night studying the Meditation Method to break through its final bottleneck.

• Gauss’s cumulative Monster Kill Count reached 1,000, raising his Intelligence to 9 and greatly improving his comprehension, magic control, and progress toward Level 2.
• Alya quietly gave Gauss space during his transformation, then finished processing the Corrosive Frogs’ tongues, meat, and skins with him.
• Gauss packed the frog meat into his Storage Bag and shared some raw meat with Ulfhen, then he and Alya spent the night in a nearby village before planning to return to Grayrock Town.
• Gauss and Alya agreed that buying mounts would improve their travel and carrying capacity, and Alya suggested visiting the trading market near Barry.
• Gauss thought of his former squad and their undelivered first-mission commission, then opened his Meditation Method book that night to try to overcome its final bottleneck.

Gauss learned the Meditation Method and spent the night cycling mana, increasing his reserves before setting out with Alya and Ulfhen for Grayrock Town. On the road, he offered to help Alya with Goodberry and considered her the first member of his future Monster Slayer Team.

• Gauss used his improved concentration to construct a meditative circuit and successfully guided mana into his Class Rank Cup.
• He continued meditating until dawn, increasing his mana but exhausting his mental energy enough to fall asleep.
• Alya woke Gauss, and he realized he had meditated through the night and needed to practice more carefully.
• Gauss, Alya, and Ulfhen set off for Grayrock Town carrying packs of Corrosive Frog meat.
• Gauss asked about Alya's Goodberry practice and offered to help her find a new perspective.
• Gauss reassured Alya about her talent and considered what other roles his future Monster Slayer Team would need.

Gauss and Alya sold their Corrosive Frog hides in Grayrock Town, then discussed the approaching Winter Hunt. Gauss decided to join the large-scale monster hunt, hoping to expand his Monster Codex and earn money.

• Gauss decided to buy warmer clothes as the weather turned cold, and Alya joined him for a busy day of errands.
• Alya negotiated the sale of the Corrosive Frog hides for 1 gold, 50 silver, and 60 copper, bringing the assignment's total earnings to 2 gold, 50 silver, and 70 copper.
• While they waited for a property broker, Alya explained that the annual Winter Hunt cleared monsters from the forest before winter and offered bounties and stipends to eligible adventurers.
• Gauss agreed to take part in the Winter Hunt after Alya explained that higher-ranked adventurers would handle the strongest threats.
• Gauss looked forward to hunting new monster types and raising his Common Monster Codex from its current 13 types.

Gauss settled into the two-story house he had bought, cleaned and repaired it with cantrips, and enjoyed his first night feeling at home. Later, Sophia gave him a mysterious package containing adventuring tools and a letter.

• Gauss finished his errands with Alya, bought a house, and signed the contract.
• Alya toured the house with Gauss, offered ideas for furnishing it, and then returned to her own home.
• Gauss used Prestidigitation, Wind Dance, and Mending to clean and repair the house, improving his proficiency in the spells.
• Gauss bathed in his newly cleaned home and felt calm about having a place of his own.
• Sophia handed Gauss a package delivered by a quiet girl in a black cloak, and he found adventuring mechanisms, dismantling tools, and a letter inside.

Gauss received a congratulatory letter and gift from his former Night Owl Squad, then attended a crowded guild meeting with Alya to learn about the Winter Hunt. Guildmaster Eberhard opened the meeting with a powerful aura that silenced the hall, leaving Gauss wary of his strength.

• Gauss read Meva's letter congratulating him on reaching Bronze Rank and carefully stored the letter and gift.
• Gauss reviewed his skills over breakfast with Alya and considered which ones to practice next.
• Gauss and Alya found the Adventurer's Guild's second floor packed with Bronze Adventurers gathering for a Winter Hunt information session.
• Alya explained that adventurers from inland regions came to the frontier each autumn to prepare for winter or test themselves.
• Eberhard introduced himself as the Grayrock Town Adventurer's Guild head and spread a powerful aura that silenced the meeting hall.
• Gauss sensed Eberhard's aura and wondered whether its influence on the attendees amounted to illegal magic.

Gauss learned the Winter Hunt’s rules and planned to target Elite Monsters to earn enough money for his debts and future needs. After rejecting a party’s invitation, he remained resolved to keep hunting goblins regardless of the rumors surrounding him.

• Shirley and the clerk explained the Winter Hunt’s schedule, stipends, monster bounties, and group tactics, and Gauss calculated how much he might earn by hunting Elite Monsters.
• Gauss and Alya discussed preparing for the hunt, including training their skills and having Alya seek a pact with a falcon for scouting.
• Gauss overheard adventurers calling him the “Goblin Slayer” and incorrectly claiming that most of his kills were goblins.
• Pat invited Gauss and Alya to join his party as its new Mage, but Gauss declined because he preferred hunting with Alya and Ulfhen.
• Gauss dismissed the rumors and resolved to keep hunting goblins as he grew stronger.

Gauss and Alya completed nearby quests while Gauss’s growing reputation as a “Goblin Slayer” spread around Grayrock Town. Near town, he reunited with Marlin, whose adventuring career had left him poorly equipped and on the verge of another party breakup.

• Gauss and Alya discussed their efficient quest routine and the nickname other adventurers had given their party.
• Gauss checked that his monster kill count had reached 619 and noted that Enhanced Leap had advanced to level 3.
• As Gauss, Alya, and Ulfhen approached Grayrock Town, Gauss recognized Marlin among a battered adventuring party whose leader was berating him.
• Gauss greeted Marlin, who admitted he had become an adventurer and felt embarrassed about his failures and damaged gear.
• Gauss encouraged Marlin to keep trying and left with Alya, after which Marlin’s tense teammates asked how he knew Gauss.

After learning Gauss had become a Bronze Adventurer, Marlin struggled with envy and his captain asked him to seek Gauss’s help. Gauss and Alya turned in their quests and collected supplies for the Winter Hunt, but the first snow fell early, leaving Gauss uneasy about the coming cold.

• Marlin’s party learned Gauss was a Bronze Adventurer, and the captain asked Marlin to have Gauss take them under his wing.
• Alya judged Marlin unsuited to adventuring, while Gauss said Marlin had to choose his own path.
• Gauss and Alya turned in their quests for thirty silver coins and noticed that few low-ranking adventurers remained in Grayrock Town.
• Gauss collected three varieties of frog jerky from the food workshop and stored the supplies for the Winter Hunt.
• The next morning, Gauss saw the first snow falling early and hurried to the inn, where Alya was already waiting.

After an early snowfall hinted that the Winter Hunt would begin ahead of schedule, Gauss and Alya trained and strengthened their abilities. Gauss improved Magic Missile and discovered that Alya’s Goodberry restored his mana efficiently, while Alya completed a pact with a raven that Gauss considered recruiting into a larger scouting network.

• Gauss and Alya noticed the early snow and stopped taking outdoor jobs after the Adventurer's Guild warned them to prepare for the Winter Hunt.
• Gauss raised Magic Missile to lv4, making it easier for him to lock onto both stationary and moving targets.
• Alya mastered Goodberry and completed a pact with a raven as her second new companion.
• Gauss ate one of Alya’s magic berries and found that his Energy Gland converted its energy into mana quickly.
• Gauss considered having the raven recruit wild ravens and crows to expand the group’s reconnaissance network.

Gauss and Alya joined the Adventurer's Guild's grand departure from Grayrock Town for a final purge of the forest monsters before winter. As the party set out to reassure the anxious townsfolk, Gauss waved to his friends from the Night Owl Squad and learned the spectacle might be intended to bolster the town's morale amid rumors of war.

• Gauss and the other adventurers gathered in Grayrock Town, where he noticed Guild head Eberhard and his impressive griffin mount.
• More than a hundred Bronze Adventurers, elite lower-ranked Adventurers, and supply wagons formed a procession as Gauss and Alya boarded a carriage with Ulfhen following.
• The townsfolk cheered the party as it rolled through the streets, and Gauss waved back to Leven, Doyle, Oliver, Daphne, and Meva outside a tavern.
• Alya told Gauss that previous departures had taken place outside town and suggested the Guild staged this one to give frightened residents confidence amid rumors of an approaching monster war.

Gauss and Alya joined the Winter Hunt and received a patrol assignment deep in the Emerald Forest. As the hunt began, they searched for a monster group led by a Half-Ogre, using Alya’s raven Ike to locate it.

• Gauss and Alya reached the Emerald Forest camp with the Winter Hunt convoy and learned that Ike could fly in the snow.
• Eberhard distributed patrol maps to the squads, spoke briefly with Gauss, and assigned Squad 23 a deep patrol area.
• Gauss and Alya reviewed their route and prepared to hunt monsters on the outskirts while Eberhard and the Black Iron Adventurers targeted the Ogre Shaman.
• The next day, Gauss, Alya, and Ulfhen entered the forest to find a small monster group led by a Half-Ogre.
• Ike returned from scouting, and Alya used Animal Talk to communicate with him.

Gauss and Alya followed Aike’s intelligence to a monster camp and launched a surprise attack on its half-ogre leader, Goruk. Gauss killed Goruk with two volleys of Magic Missiles, unlocking the path of the elite.

• Aike reported a half-ogre camp near a water source and the traces of another tribe.
• Gauss, Alya, Aike, and Ulfhen reached the camp and spotted Goruk sleeping among the monsters.
• Gauss struck Goruk with three Magic Missiles, breaking its armor and opening a severe wound.
• Gauss rushed toward Goruk and fired three more Magic Missiles into its exposed wound.
• Goruk died after the attack destroyed its heart, and Gauss activated the second type of elite monster.

After unlocking the first stage of the Path of the Elite and killing a Half-Ogre leader, Gauss exploited the disorganized monster army to hunt Mosquito Bats and advance his Monster Codex. He was left picking off the fleeing fliers as the leaderless monsters scattered.

• Gauss received Monster Strength Transformation, learned the Stage 2 requirement, and acquired the Giant Hunter title after the Half-Ogre leader died.
• Gauss spotted Kobolds, Goblins, Dretches, and Mosquito Bats among the leaderless monsters and identified the two unfamiliar species.
• Gauss killed a Mosquito Bat with a down-ranked Magic Missile, raising his Common Monster Codex count to 14 and gaining the Precision title effect.
• Gauss used Precision and rapid Magic Missiles to shoot down more Mosquito Bats while dodging Goblins that rushed him.
• The scattered groups of low-level monsters began fleeing after losing their leader, while Gauss continued targeting the remaining Mosquito Bats.

Gauss, Alya, and Ulfhen cleared most of a large monster group, raising Gauss’s Monster Kill Count and adding a new Codex entry and title. After marking the battlefield for Guild collection, they rested and Gauss estimated the rewards at more than seven gold coins.

• Gauss killed a Dretch, recorded the fifteenth Common Monster Codex entry, and acquired the [Imp Hunter] title.
• Gauss used spells and his rapier to kill fleeing Dretches, Kobolds, and Goblins while Alya and Ulfhen hunted the stragglers.
• The group killed most of the monsters, but about twenty or thirty escaped into the forest, and Gauss’s Monster Kill Count reached 672.
• Gauss lit a green signal flare to mark the clearing complete, then rested and estimated the bounty and spoils would bring in more than seven gold coins.

Gauss and his team cleared a second monster stronghold, killing its Half-Ogre leader and raising his kill count to 739. With no large groups left in their assigned area, they prepared to expand into neighboring regions as Gauss neared the thousand-kill milestone.

• Gauss and Alya discussed the Ogre Shaman threat and learned that President Eberhard was a level-9 Magic Swordsman known as the Crimson Blade.
• Gauss, Alya, and Ulfhen followed Raven Ike to a second monster stronghold, where they found a vigilant Half-Ogre leader.
• Gauss attacked the Half-Ogre with Magic Missiles while Ulfhen distracted it, and Weak Point Strike helped him break its ribs and severely wound it.
• Gauss chased down and killed the Half-Ogre, then helped rout the remaining monsters, bringing his total kill count to 739.
• Alya reported that Raven Ike had found no more large monster groups in their assigned area, so Gauss planned to rest before moving into neighboring regions.

During the Winter Hunt, Gauss finished clearing a monster group and encountered a four-person adventurer team that accused him of stealing their territory. He refused their demand for half the spoils and told them to report him if they wished.

• Blake and his companions followed Direwolf tracks into the forest, where they found Gauss fighting monsters in a clearing.
• Dylan recognized Gauss as the Goblin Slayer, and his party suspected he had crossed into their territory to take their kills.
• Gauss killed the final Gray Mud Monster, reached a monster kill count of 801, and unlocked its entry in the Common Monster Codex.
• Gauss lit a green signal flare to mark the area cleared as the four adventurers confronted him and demanded half the spoils.
• Alya said Gauss had already cleared his own area, but the mage ignored her and pressed his accusation.
• Gauss refused to hand over any spoils and told the adventurers they could report him.

Gauss foiled Blake’s betrayal and used Monster Strength to overpower him, then revealed his magic abilities while protecting Alya from the team’s attack. He sent three Magic Missiles toward Dylan, leaving the Rogue facing an imminent threat.

• Blake pretended to make peace, then suddenly attacked Gauss with his greatsword.
• Gauss blocked the strike with the Indestructible Scepter and used Monster Strength to send Blake staggering backward.
• Blake ordered his companions to attack, and the Mage cast Sleep Spell on Gauss and Alya, leaving Ulfhen drowsy.
• Dylan took advantage of the spell to rush toward Alya, so Gauss drove Blake back and cast three Magic Missiles at him.
• Blake realized Gauss was a Spellcaster, while Dylan saw the missiles closing in and wondered where Gauss had come from.

Gauss killed Dylan, the Cleric, and the Mage while Alya helped him restrain their party. Blake surrendered and offered a treasure map to save his life, but Gauss had him bound and attacked, leaving Blake facing certain death.

• Dylan dodged Gauss's first Magic Missiles but died when Gauss struck him with another, breaking his arms and tearing open his chest.
• Blake struck Gauss with his greatsword, but Gauss's Protection Spell absorbed the blow, and Gauss rushed past him toward the Cleric and Mage.
• Alya used Entangling Spell to trip the fleeing Cleric and Mage, and Gauss killed them with Magic Missiles and a Fire Bolt.
• Blake dropped his sword, surrendered, and offered Gauss a treasure map in exchange for his life.
• Gauss and Alya bound Blake with vines despite his protests, and Gauss fired three Magic Missiles at him.

Gauss and Alya killed four adventurers who attacked them, collected their belongings, and returned to camp after the Winter Hunt. Eberhard reviewed a magical record of the fight and ordered it erased, planning to report that an ogre had killed the four adventurers.

• Gauss and Alya confirmed their attackers were dead, searched the bodies, and found coins, supplies, and a Small Storage Bag.
• Gauss claimed the Storage Bag by imprinting it with his mana, and the pair buried the bodies before heading to the meeting point.
• Gauss and Alya joined returning hunt parties and arrived at the campsite, where they bought food and settled in for the night.
• Eberhard reviewed a Retrace Stone recording of the attack, looting, and burial.
• Eberhard rejected a suggestion to warn Gauss, ordered the recording deleted, and directed his subordinate to blame the four adventurers' deaths on an ogre.

Gauss and Alya continued clearing monster dens during the Winter Hunt, while rumors blamed a Level 2 Pureblood Ogre for the team they had defeated. After reaching a den too dangerous to challenge, they tried to retreat, but a piercing cry and approaching footsteps interrupted them.

• Alya learned that other adventurers believed the missing four-person team had fallen to a Level 2 Pureblood Ogre, and Gauss and Alya let the rumor stand.
• Gauss and Alya cleared two monster dens, bringing Gauss's kill count to 922 and unlocking the Frost Snake entry in his Monster Codex.
• Gauss gathered Frost Snakes to try as food, while Alya explained that they might need to venture farther out to find other elite monsters.
• Raven Ike scouted several monster dens, and Gauss and Alya followed his directions to a large den led by a Pureblood Ogre.
• Gauss spotted the Pureblood Ogre, two Half-Ogres, an armored Jackal Warrior, and hundreds of other monsters, so he told Alya to retreat.
• A piercing cry rang out as hurried footsteps approached just after Gauss and Alya began to withdraw.

Gauss and Alya escaped the ogre encampment, raised a distress signal, and joined forces with Iron Arm to attack it. After agreeing on their targets and taking in two adventurers whose companions had been captured, the group prepared to assault the camp and rescue them.

• Gauss and Alya fled the monster encampment and lit a Level 3 distress flare from a safe distance.
• Alya recognized the arriving Iron Arm party, led by Quek, and Gauss described the monsters in the encampment.
• Quek agreed to attack with Gauss and Alya, and the two parties divided responsibility for the elite monsters and the remaining foes.
• Two Level 1 adventurers asked Iron Arm to rescue their captured companions, and Quek let them join the group.
• The eight adventurers approached the encampment, where Dorian scouted the area before they prepared to attack.

Gauss fought through the ogre camp alongside the Iron Arm team and reached the 1,000-monster kill milestone, gaining two spells and increases to Strength and Constitution. He tested his enhanced speed and swordsmanship, then wondered whether he could now kill a Level 1 Big Goblin in one strike.

• The Iron Arm team charged into the ogre camp while Gauss, Alya, Dorian, and Cathy’s Contracted Forest Python cleared monsters on their flank.
• Queq and his team defeated the nearby Elite Monsters, rescued the two captured adventurers, and prepared to face the Pureblood Ogre.
• Gauss alternated spells and rapier attacks as the battle intensified, raising his Sword Skill Basics proficiency to lv3 and his monster kill count toward 1,000.
• Gauss reached the 1,000-kill milestone and received Burning Hands, Alarm, and one point each to Strength and Constitution.
• Gauss felt his body grow stronger, swiftly cut down more monsters, and considered testing his improved swordsmanship against a Level 1 Big Goblin.

After the nearby monsters were cleared, Gauss rested with Alya and studied the two 1st Circle Spells he had received, considering whether practice might prepare him to advance to Level 2. Quek's team killed the ogre, and Gauss realized their female Sorcerer had been the team's strongest combatant.

• Gauss left the remaining monsters to the other Level 1 Class Rank professionals and watched Quek's Iron Arm team fight the ogre.
• Alya brought Gauss a Mana Berry, and the two rested rather than interfere with Quek's battle.
• Gauss studied [Alarm] and [Burning Hands], identifying the former as a practical watch spell and the latter as an area-of-effect attack worth practicing.
• Gauss considered whether studying the two spells could help him meet the requirements to advance to Level 2 and reflected on how Ascending Circle Spellcasting differed from Core Skills.
• Quek's team killed the ogre with an energy-field attack, and Gauss concluded that the female Sorcerer had dealt the most damage and was the team's true combat core.

After rescuing two captured adventurers, Gauss and Alya returned to camp, where Quek considered recruiting Gauss into the Iron Arm squad. Gauss celebrated reaching the Adventurer's Handbook's 1,000-kill milestone, ate Frost Snake meat with Alya, and practiced Alarm as he prepared for the Winter Hunt's next phase.

• Cathy healed the two captured adventurers, and Quek reintroduced himself to Gauss and praised his combat abilities.
• Quek privately told Sana he wanted to recruit Gauss, and Sana agreed that he seemed capable while warning that he might refuse.
• Gauss and Alya returned to camp, where Gauss was pleased to have reached the Adventurer's Handbook's 1,000-kill milestone.
• Gauss cooked Frost Snake meat, and he and Alya ate it before Alya shivered from the cold and returned to her tent.
• Gauss practiced Alarm and planned to collect the last three Common Monster Codex entries to unlock a new Talent before pursuing level 2.

Gauss and Alya followed Ike through the winter woods to find a raven-folk settlement, hoping to unlock the twentieth common monster entry before the Winter Hunt ended. They prepared to attack fifteen raven-folk, and Alya secretly planted seeds near their bonfire as the creatures watched Ike overhead.

• Gauss reviewed his monster records and learned that his total kill count had reached 1,311, with 19 common monster entries unlocked.
• Ike located the raven-folk settlement and guided Gauss and Alya through the snow toward it.
• Gauss spotted fifteen raven-folk gathered around a bonfire and planned to defeat them before returning to camp.
• Gauss and Alya agreed to follow their practiced combat routine, with Alya supporting him using Entangling Spell.
• Ike distracted the raven-folk overhead while several seeds mixed with bird droppings landed near their bonfire.