Chapter Summaries

After Gauss returned to Lakeside Town and reclaimed the top ranking, he secluded himself in a wasteland to absorb Draconic and test its magical power. He upgraded Lesser Dragon Language to Intermediate Dragon Language, strengthening his spells, his command over elemental magic, and his soul.

• Gauss turned in his squad's commission, reclaimed the top ranking, and left the Adventurer's Guild with his companions.
• Gauss rode to an uninhabited wasteland, entered the borrowed Foldable House, and absorbed the knowledge of Draconic despite its overwhelming strain on his mind.
• Gauss used Draconic to cast a more efficient and controllable Light spell, then tested other spells and found that speaking words for elements could summon fire, water, and other basic effects by drawing on ambient magic.
• Gauss upgraded his White Quality Lesser Dragon Language Talent by spending a hundred Elite Points, and it became Blue Quality Intermediate Dragon Language.
• Gauss learned that Intermediate Dragon Language strengthened his Draconic speech, elemental magic, spell effectiveness, resistance to charm and fear, and the growth potential of his soul.

Gauss learned Intermediate Dragon Language, then returned to Lakeside Town and discovered that Herbert had been disqualified after the Guild invalidated his illegally earned points. Gauss remained first in the hunting contest, with no serious challenger left on the leaderboard.

• Gauss absorbed Intermediate Dragon Language, returned to Lakeside Town, and learned that Herbert had raised his score to 1,311 points.
• Gauss flew out with Hefis that night and discovered the dragonbeast's roars were meaningless to speakers of Dragon Language.
• Hefis remembered how its dragon mother had rejected and abandoned it after it failed to speak like a true dragon.
• Gauss returned to the Adventurer's Guild the next morning and found himself still in first place while Herbert's name had vanished from the leaderboard.
• A Guild staff member told Gauss that Herbert's points from the previous day had been invalidated for rule-breaking and that he had been disqualified.

Gauss widened his lead in the hunting competition and prepared to hunt kobolds and goblins while remaining skeptical about the legend of Blue Lake’s fairy. Shadow returned to Lakeside Town as a Level 6 professional, reunited with Gauss and the others, and joined their expedition.

• Gauss’s score rose to 1,688, leaving Koman far behind in second place, and Gauss planned to reach two thousand points.
• Gauss discussed the legend of Blue Lake’s fairy with Alya, then accepted a quest to hunt kobolds and nearby goblins.
• Shadow arrived in Lakeside Town and asked a gate soldier whether Gauss was there.
• Shadow met Gauss, Alya, Theron, and Albenna outside the Adventurer’s Guild, and they congratulated her on reaching Level 6.
• Gauss invited Shadow to rest while the others went on their commission, but Shadow chose to join them.

Gauss and his companions attacked a kobold lair after Shadow demonstrated her new shadow doubles, discovering that their kills seemed to count toward Gauss’s total. The group wiped out the kobolds and their enslaved goblins, and Gauss’s Draconic advanced to Elite.

• On the way to the kobold lair, Gauss taught Hefis Draconic while Alya caught Shadow up on the party’s events.
• Shadow revealed she could create two shadow doubles, sent them to scout, and reported the kobold lair’s defenses and its enslaved goblin tribe.
• Gauss and his companions entered the cavern and triggered an alarm; Shadow’s doubles killed kobolds, and Gauss received kill notifications for their kills.
• Gauss summoned Hefis, whose flames and the party’s attacks overwhelmed the kobolds and freed the enslaved goblins by killing them.
• Gauss’s Intermediate Draconic reached Elite, and the lair’s 284 kills raised his Monster Kill Count to 9,214.

Gauss’s squad returned to Lakeside Town after defeating kobolds, and Gauss learned several spells from their recovered spellbooks. He invited his teammates to a training session, where Alya began practicing Moonlight as Gauss considered how the squad’s kills might be shared with him.

• Hefis ate the processed monsters while Gauss examined Shadow’s shadows and learned that they could act on basic instincts and simple tasks.
• Gauss’s score rose to 2,104, and he recovered kobold spellbooks containing Stone Shape and Solidify, along with several cantrips.
• During the flight back to Lakeside Town, Gauss learned Ray of Frost, Electric Claw, and Acid Splash.
• Gauss invited Alya and the rest of the squad to practice spells with him in a shaded valley outside town, where they shared chilled sweet melons.
• Alya began training in Moonlight, and Gauss reflected on his teammates’ potential to help him share kills before telling Alya he had high hopes for her.

Gauss used his magic to help Alya study Moonlight's Radiance and then taught Hefis the Draconic word for fire. Hefis successfully formed fire with the word for the first time, leaving Gauss and their companions celebrating its breakthrough.

• Gauss cast Comprehend Languages on Alya, sharpening her thinking as she studied Moonlight's Radiance, and gave his other companions Gauss's Enlightenment.
• Gauss took Hefis aside and began teaching it basic Draconic elemental sounds, sensing that its growing magic and restrained physical strength could help it develop.
• After repeated practice, Hefis pronounced a Draconic syllable and formed a fireball that Gauss swatted aside.
• Gauss praised Hefis, whose pride and happiness grew as it felt Gauss's encouragement and acceptance.
• Hefis repeated the syllable and formed increasingly stable fireballs, while Gauss's teammates watched in surprise and delight.

Gauss and his companions awaited the end of the Blue Lake Hunting Competition, and Gauss won first place with 2,666 points. The group accepted Mayor Ansel’s invitation to the victory banquet and prepared to attend.

• Alya emerged exhausted after cultivating with Gauss’s Enlightenment spell, and Gauss sent her back to sleep while noting the spell’s draining side effects.
• Gauss trained with Shadow’s clones and advised Shadow to improve her melee skills with Albenna’s help.
• The competition’s rankings froze with Gauss in first place at 2,666 points, far ahead of Koman’s 1,215.
• Mayor Ansel congratulated Gauss and invited him and his teammates to the victory banquet; Gauss accepted.
• Gauss and his companions dressed for the banquet, and Gauss praised Alya’s pale-blue evening dress before turning to Albenna.

Gauss attended the Blue Lake Hunting Competition celebratory banquet with his teammates, where his arrival drew the attention of the town’s dignitaries and many women. After escaping upstairs to avoid the crowd, he heard a commotion below the balcony as someone tried to enter.

• Gauss complimented Albenna, Shadow, and Theron on their formal outfits before heading to the lakeside banquet hall with them.
• At the entrance, a butler welcomed Gauss and his teammates as special guests, while two noblewomen argued over their carriages and then tried to pursue him.
• The banquet guests applauded as Mayor Ansel introduced Gauss as the competition champion and praised his teammates.
• Gauss endured the guests’ attention until he slipped onto the second-floor balcony, where his companions teased him about the women crowding him.
• A commotion broke out below the balcony when someone was told they could not enter the celebratory banquet.

Gauss left Lakeside Town after winning the hunting competition and traveled to Fisherman's Song Town to claim his reward. The town welcomed him warmly, while Herbert was kept under house arrest by his father to prevent him from provoking Gauss.

• A man forced his way into the banquet seeking Hera, but she rejected him, kicked him, and claimed she had fallen in love with Lord Gauss.
• Gauss avoided the banquet guests, collected his farewells, and left Blue Lake Hall; the next day, he and his companions set out for Fisherman's Song Town.
• Gauss and his companions flew in stages for three days, clearing monster dens along the way, while Hefis learned the lightning and wind syllables and struggled with water.
• Gauss arrived in busy Fisherman's Song Town and was greeted by soldiers and applause; he learned that Herbert was the mayor's son and remained cautious about him.
• Herbert tried to leave his courtyard, but his father’s steward stopped him and warned that he would lose his family’s support; Herbert stayed inside, angry that Gauss had taken the hunting title.

Gauss arrived in Fisherman's Song Town and claimed his Blue Lake Hunting Competition prizes from the town’s secure vault. He chose a powerful Moonlight Robe and a Delicious Magic Pot, then left wearing the robe with boosted Intelligence and Charisma.

• Gauss and his party received a warm welcome in Fisherman's Song Town, and he postponed the mayor’s invitation to visit the Adventurer's Guild first.
• At the guild, Gauss was recognized as the competition champion and escorted to the vault, where he could choose two prizes ahead of the other contestants.
• Gauss used Identify to examine the prizes and selected the Purple Quality Moonlight Robe for its magical protections and spellcasting benefits.
• Gauss chose the Blue Quality Delicious Magic Pot as his second prize because it could improve meals and help restore energy.
• Gauss put on the Moonlight Robe and saw his Intelligence rise from 15 to 16 and his Charisma from 11 to 13, while his companions and the staff member reacted with surprise.

Gauss waited in Fisherman's Song Town for the Lake God's Blessing ceremony while testing his new Magic Pot and Moonlight Robe. When the ceremony began beneath an unusually bright full moon, he and his companions arrived at the river's meeting point with Blue Lake, surrounded by believers and curious onlookers.

• Gauss returned to the square in his Moonlight Robe, and Alya admired it while Albenna recognized its exceptional quality.
• Gauss showed his companions the Magic Pot, which cooked magical dishes that quickly restored their energy, and Alya warned him not to cook goblins or Kobolds.
• During two days of waiting, Gauss met the mayor, declined time alone with the mayor's younger daughter, and discovered that the Moonlight Robe helped him cast Fireball more quickly and control its power.
• A guild staff member invited Gauss to receive the Lake God's Blessing that night at the meeting point of the Tarna River and Blue Lake.
• Gauss and his companions reached the ceremony as believers gathered by the lake, and the full moon shone unusually brightly over the water.

During the Blessing Ceremony, Gauss met Lake God Methra, who recognized ancient Watcher blood in him and discovered an evil mark placed by a servant of Lady Vesperitilia. Methra could not remove the mark, but concealed its aura with a special blessing and then asked Gauss for a favor.

• Mayor Helson invited Gauss to step forward for the full-moon Blessing Ceremony, and the Lake God appeared from the water before the stunned crowd.
• Lake God Methra introduced itself as the will of the lake and said Gauss’s ancient Watcher blood and tangled fate made an ordinary blessing ineffective.
• Methra revealed a dark green mark on Gauss and explained that a dying servant had bound him to its master, possibly Lady Vesperitilia.
• Gauss asked Methra to remove the mark, but Methra said it could only suppress the mark’s aura and protect him from its effects.
• Methra gave Gauss Origin Power that could form into any weapon and conceal the mark, then asked him for a favor.

After the Lake God Methra asked Gauss to investigate pollution at the source of the Tarna River, he accepted her commission and left Fisherman's Song Town with his companions. On the road north, he tested Methra's Water-formed Armament and discovered that it could absorb an attack and send its force back at the attacker.

• Methra asked Gauss to travel north to the snow mountain and investigate pollution in the Tarna River, promising him a Blessing Baptism if he resolved its source.
• Gauss accepted Methra's commission, then returned to shore and told the priest that the Lake God had gone to rest.
• Gauss told Alya and his companions about Methra's request and decided to leave Fisherman's Song Town the next morning.
• After Gauss departed, Town Chief Helson ordered a memorial tablet and established an annual Blessing Festival to commemorate the Lake God's descent.
• On the road north, Gauss transformed the Water-formed Armament into a shield and used it to absorb Alya's strike and fling her backward.
• Albenna brought out a huge Double-edged Axe and volunteered to test Gauss's shield.

Gauss tested the Water-formed Armament, discovered its remarkable defensive and offensive power, and reached Herbal Medicine Village with his companions. There, he met the grieving York, whose daughter Abby had gone missing, and left the village chief's account of the settlement's safety while quietly studying York.

• Gauss had Albenna strike his Water-formed Armament with her great axe, and the shield absorbed and deflected her powerful blow without breaking.
• Gauss transformed the Water-formed Armament into several weapons, tested its sword form, and used it to kill goblins, bringing his Monster Kill Count to 9,625.
• Gauss and his companions entered Herbal Medicine Village, where Gray and the other herb gatherers led them to the village chief.
• York rushed up to Gauss asking about his missing daughter Abby, and Gauss asked Theron to examine him.
• Chief Hodel told Gauss that the village used medicinal powder and local fighters to keep monsters away, then agreed to let the party stay.
• Theron found that York had suffered mental trauma and helped him fall asleep, while Gauss watched him and kept his suspicions to himself.

Gauss’s group investigated the strange Herbal Medicine Village, where the villagers seemed unusually healthy and well protected from monsters. Shadow discovered an old stone house deep in the forest, leaving the group with a possible lead on the village’s secrets.

• Gauss noticed that the village chief and villagers showed no interest in asking for help, and he sent Shadow to scout while the others investigated.
• Gauss observed that the villagers were unusually sharp and long-lived, and he saw a Mage training apprentices.
• Theron reported that York had been repeatedly given potent medicine and suspected the villagers were drugging him.
• Shadow confirmed that medicinal powder kept monsters and wild animals away from the village, then reported finding an old stone house in the forest.

Gauss and the Gauss Squad found the hidden stone house of a witch who planned to transfer her brain into Abby’s body. After the witch welcomed the adventurers inside and offered them water, Gauss sensed the trap and attacked her.

• A bandaged servant delivered Chloe’s letter to the witch, who burned it and prepared to transfer herself into the captive Abby the next day.
• The witch revealed that Abby was a blood relative with strong magical affinity and that repeated body transfers had caused her bodies to age prematurely.
• Shadow led Gauss and the Gauss Squad to the hidden stone house, where they detected someone inside and approached together.
• The witch disguised herself as a frail old woman, invited the squad in, and offered them water while Gauss studied the portraits and clutter.
• Gauss noticed Shadow moving toward his leg, shattered the water cup, and struck at the witch with Air Rip and Energy Dragon Scale.

Gauss and his companions fought an old witch and the cloth-wrapped monsters she summoned after Shadow uncovered a victim in her cellar. The witch’s soul attack failed against Gauss, leaving him poised to confront her at close range.

• Gauss struck off the old woman’s head, then used Dagger Cloud while his companions retreated and he broke through the house’s outer wall.
• The floor came alive and cloth-wrapped humanoid monsters emerged, so Gauss summoned Clay Creatures to help his companions fight them.
• The headless witch revealed herself with her face stripped to muscle and bone, while Gauss attacked from the air and tested the limits of her defenses.
• The witch grew obsessed with taking Gauss’s body and launched a powerful soul attack after closing in on him.
• Gauss resisted the soul attack, revealed that his punch had carried a hidden soul impact, and suggested that he and the witch talk.

Gauss defeated Witch Megan, rejected her offer of eternal life, and killed her despite Village Chief Hodel’s pleas. He planned to expose the village’s complicity and learned that Megan counted as a Commander Grade monster, bringing his progress toward the Path of the Commander to four out of five.

• Gauss overpowered Witch Megan with soul energy and repeatedly smashed her head until she begged for mercy.
• Megan offered to teach Gauss her brain-transfer method of eternal life, but he rejected her and revealed he knew the villagers had been following him.
• Village Chief Hodel and several villagers emerged from the woods and begged Gauss to spare Megan, explaining that she had protected their village in exchange for occasional victims.
• Gauss refused to accept the village’s sacrifice of an innocent girl and crushed Megan’s head, killing her.
• Gauss decided to inform the ordinary villagers and the Adventurer’s Guild about what had happened, and his Adventurer’s Handbook recorded Megan as a defeated Commander Grade monster.

Gauss rescued Abby from Witch Megan’s cellar, destroyed the experimental site, and exposed the witch’s centuries-long exploitation of Herbal Medicine Village. As the villagers confronted their past and faced life without the witch’s protection, Gauss prepared to leave with Abby and her father, York.

• Gauss and his companions found Abby imprisoned in an iron cage, freed her, recorded evidence of the experiments, and destroyed Witch Megan’s site.
• Gauss questioned Village Chief Hodel, learned how Witch Megan had controlled Herbal Medicine Village for centuries, and revealed the truth to the villagers using the Shadow Ball’s recordings.
• The villagers recognized missing relatives in the records and confronted Hodel and the elders, while Gauss asked David to protect the village and reported the case to the Adventurer’s Guild.
• Gauss took Abby and York with the party, and Theron treated them before explaining that Abby was recovering and York could regain his consciousness after the drugs wore off.

Gauss and his companions continued their journey with Abby and her father, while Alya told Gauss about a recurring dream of planting a tree beneath a vast moon. After goblins attacked, Gauss encouraged Abby to study magic and began teaching her as they traveled.

• Gauss cooked breakfast with the Magic Pot, and Abby tearfully thanked him for letting her share a meal with her recovering father, York.
• Gauss built a makeshift carriage for Abby and York, and Ulfhen pulled it as the group continued toward their destination.
• Alya told Gauss she had been having recurring dreams in which she planted and watered a seed beneath an enormous moon, and Gauss advised her to continue and seek an examination later.
• Gauss and Shadow's clone killed six goblins that attacked the group, and Gauss told Abby to be strong and not waste her magical Talent.
• Gauss gave Abby a Light spellbook and told her to begin learning magic while she rode beside York.