Chapter Summaries

Gauss and his companions lured the Slimes out of the muddy ground by appearing weak, then revealed the full party and attacked. Leven’s charge scattered the horde, and the group began fighting the Slimes on solid ground.

• Gauss killed two more Slimes with Magic Missiles while Oliver and Meva’s arrows failed to hit their shifting cores.
• Leven, Doyle, and Daphne emerged from hiding, drawing the Slimes onto solid ground and forming up with Gauss, Oliver, and Meva.
• Leven and Doyle charged the horde, and Leven used Greatshield Charge to knock Slimes aside and break up their formation.
• Doyle killed a Slime with Cross Slash as Leven warned the party to block slime attacks, avoid being surrounded, and provide ranged support.
• Gauss followed Doyle toward a dazed Slime and prepared to attack its core as it shifted inside its body.

Gauss used his Slime Hunter intimidation to help the Night Owl Squad exterminate 25 slimes, then reflected on his growing strength and plans for handling groups of enemies. The chapter left him with several goals: reach 50 monster kills, improve his magic, and collect five kinds of low-level monsters.

• Gauss intimidated and killed a slime with his rapier, discovering how useful the brief paralysis was.
• The Night Owl Squad worked together to kill all 25 slimes, with Gauss defeating nine of them.
• Daphne treated the acid burns Leven and Doyle suffered during the battle.
• Meva calculated the commission reward, and Oliver and Meva gathered the slimes’ remains for recovery materials.
• Gauss noted that his kill count had reached 32 and Magic Missile Level 2 had progressed to 8/20.
• Gauss considered learning an area spell or improving his control of Magic Missile, while planning to reach 50 kills and collect five kinds of monsters.

On the return from Valencia Village, Gauss told his companions that he had been an ordinary farm boy before becoming an adventurer and had learned magic by chance. His rapid progress left the party discouraged, and a sudden storm delayed their return to Grayrock Town until late at night.

• Leven and the others asked Gauss about his life before adventuring, and he told them he had grown up as a farm boy and learned magic through a chance encounter.
• Gauss said he had reached his current level in about a year, prompting Doyle and the others to recognize how unusual his progress was.
• The party fell silent as Leven considered that Gauss was unlikely to join them permanently, though he hoped they could team up again.
• A sudden downpour hit the party near Grayrock Town, and they struggled through the muddy roads and helped push carts stuck in puddles.
• The party reached Grayrock Town late at night, postponed turning in the job until morning, and Gauss returned to the inn while the storm continued.

After recovering from the downpour, Gauss turned his attention to claiming his quest reward and advancing his monster-kill milestones. At the Adventurer's Guild, he asked Leven to seek out a quest involving a new kind of monster, while deciding to keep growing stronger before taking quests alone.

• Gauss noticed that his constitution had improved and that the Adventurer's Handbook recorded nine slimes killed, leaving him short of his monster-kill and new-species milestones.
• Gauss spoke with Sophia at the inn, then headed to the Adventurer's Guild to turn in the previous day's quest.
• Gauss found Leven at the Guild, and Leven explained that monsters often became more active after a downpour.
• Gauss asked Leven to look for a quest involving monsters other than goblins or slimes, and Leven agreed to keep an eye out.
• Gauss decided to prioritize safety and continue developing before attempting quests alone.

After the rain stopped, Gauss witnessed a professional effortlessly defeat a half-orc and realized how much stronger he needed to become. He met Leven to arrange the squad’s next commission, then joined the others at the Adventurer’s Guild, where they considered the available jobs.

• Gauss walked through town after the rain cleared and watched a professional catch a half-orc’s punch and knock him down with a swift knee strike.
• Gauss concluded that he could not keep up with the professional even using Mind Acceleration and resolved to get stronger.
• Gauss visited Leven, who said the squad would meet at the Adventurer’s Guild if the weather stayed clear, and Gauss learned how to maintain Leven’s Oak Greatshield.
• The next day, Gauss met Doyle, Meva, and Oliver at the Adventurer’s Guild to choose another commission.
• Doyle claimed he was close to mastering Cross Slash, while Meva and Oliver warned him that such feelings could be misleading.

Gauss and Leven's group reached the Ense River to hunt water ghouls, but villagers had driven most of them into hiding. The group accepted Harvey's offer of extra pay and prepared to search the area, while Leven remained uneasy.

• Gauss tracked the group's route on his mental map as they traveled to the Ense River to clear out about twenty water ghouls.
• The group found no ghouls at the docks and went to the Mermaid Tavern to ask about them.
• Harvey explained that drunken sailors had attacked the ghouls, killing two and scattering the rest, and offered the adventurers twenty extra silver coins to finish the job.
• Leven and the others discussed the reward and agreed to continue the mission, though Leven warned them to stay alert.
• Gauss checked his kill count and saw that he had killed 40 of the 50 monsters needed for his goal.

Gauss and the others set bait along the riverbank and waited for the water ghouls to emerge. Seventeen appeared, fewer than expected, and the chapter left the group wondering what had happened to the missing creatures.

• Gauss, Meva, and the others found blood and a foul fishy smell at the reported fight site, then searched the riverbank for the water ghouls.
• Leven prepared two decaying rabbit carcasses as bait, and the group returned after several hours to set a trap and hide.
• After nightfall, a cautious water ghoul led its companions out of the river and toward the bait.
• Gauss counted seventeen water ghouls and wondered where the rest of the reported group had gone.

Gauss and his team trapped the water ghosts on the riverbank and slaughtered them, with Gauss using his new Water Ghost Hunter title to anticipate their attacks. After reaching 49 monster kills, Gauss asked Doyle to leave the final water ghost for him.

• Meva and Gauss triggered their traps, blocking the water ghosts’ escape route with a net and driving them into flames.
• Gauss killed the water ghost leader with Magic Missile, reaching 41 kills and earning the Water Ghost Hunter title.
• Gauss joined the team’s attack and used the title’s combat bonus to predict water ghosts’ moves as he killed them.
• Leven knocked several water ghosts down, giving Gauss openings to finish them off until his kill count reached 49.
• Gauss asked Doyle to let him kill the last water ghost, and Doyle stepped aside.

After Gauss killed the fiftieth Water Ghoul, he gained Agility and the Mage Armor spell, then helped his companions harvest the corpses. His warning instincts stirred as a blue, canine-faced monster approached across the river.

• Gauss killed the last Water Ghoul and received Mage Armor and one point of Agility for reaching a Monster Kill Count of 50.
• Gauss assessed Mage Armor's protective effects and considered replacing his Core Skill with it.
• Daphne checked the team for wounds while Meva, Oliver, Gauss, and Leven helped harvest the Water Ghouls.
• Gauss sensed danger and spotted a tall, blue, canine-faced monster crossing the river toward the group.

Gauss and his companions encountered a powerful ghoul while finishing their water-ghoul mission and chose to retreat rather than risk a fight. They returned to the village and entered the Mermaid Tavern to report the danger to Harvey, shocking the patrons with their grisly appearance.

• Gauss warned the group about a ghoul, and Meva and Doyle recognized the danger as it approached the water-ghoul corpses.
• The ghoul ordered the adventurers to leave, and Gauss led the party in a cautious retreat while it fed on the corpses.
• The group reached the village safely, and Leven decided they should tell Harvey about the ghoul and their incomplete contract.
• Gauss and his companions entered the Mermaid Tavern, where their bloody, foul-smelling appearance silenced the patrons.

The Night Owl Squad reported that a Ghoul was prowling near the village, and Harvey promised to investigate and seek a commission to deal with it. After a restful night at the tavern, Gauss noticed his improved agility, while the squad worried about their lost loot and uncertain pay.

• Gauss steadied the terrified drunk, and Harvey brought the Night Owl Squad into a private room to hear their report.
• Leven told Harvey that the squad had encountered a Ghoul and escaped, and Harvey said he would consult the other managers about posting a commission.
• Harvey promised to investigate the water ghoul extermination job and offered the squad baths and a place to stay for the night.
• Gauss woke refreshed and noticed that his improved agility made dressing and handling gear easier.
• The squad discussed their lost water ghoul materials and extra reward, while Leven said Harvey's sealed statement should secure their full base payment.

Gauss planned his next steps, prioritizing Mage Armor training and weighing which spell to make his Core Skill. After Harvey verified the evidence of the fight, the Night Owl Squad left the fishing village with their payment and headed back to Grayrock Town.

• Gauss set a goal of reaching one hundred monster kills and decided to master Mage Armor before accepting another commission.
• Gauss considered extracting a Talent ability after recording a fifth monster type and remained undecided about choosing a Core Skill.
• The Night Owl Squad returned to the riverbank, where Harvey and his men inspected the remains and found signs confirming the Ghoul's presence.
• Harvey gave the squad the promised twenty silver coins and signed a certificate confirming twenty water wraith kills.
• Gauss and the Night Owl Squad set off for Grayrock Town, anticipating their rewards and return to safety.

Outside Grayrock Town, Gauss practiced Mage Armor and successfully formed a protective force field around himself. After testing it with his dagger, he found it could block cuts but weakened with each attack, and he began testing its limits.

• Gauss reviewed his knowledge of Mage Armor and focused on casting the Abjuration spell.
• Gauss successfully cast Mage Armor, forming a force field that required only a little concentration to maintain.
• Gauss tested the force field with his dagger and found it prevented a cut to his fingertip.
• Gauss concluded that attacks weakened Mage Armor and decided he should still dodge whenever possible.
• Gauss cut his hand again to continue testing the spell's protective limits, and the force field blocked the blade.

Gauss rapidly improved his Mage Armor through repeated damage-resistance practice and concluded that training under a real threat was more effective than safe drills. He decided to keep advancing and set his next goal as obtaining a fifth type of Monster Codex.

• Gauss tested Mage Armor against increasingly forceful cuts until its protective field shattered, and gained proficiency from practicing and taking damage.
• Gauss repeatedly cast Mage Armor and tested it against daggers, rapiers, punches, wrestling, and falls, finding that it blocked physical damage until it broke.
• Over several days, Gauss raised Mage Armor to lv2 and hired a balding middle-aged laborer to attack the spell during practice.
• Gauss suspected that real combat produced the best training results and wondered whether the world’s rules pushed living beings toward danger and slaughter.
• Gauss resolved to keep moving forward and made obtaining the fifth type of Monster Codex his next goal.

Gauss visited Black Anvil Workshop and learned that Marlin had quit to become an adventurer, then joined the Night Owl Squad at the Adventurer's Guild. The squad noticed Gauss seemed stronger, and Leven considered that their paths might eventually separate.

• Gauss bought a shortsword at Black Anvil Workshop and learned from the new shopkeeper that Marlin had quit to become an adventurer.
• Gauss left without interrupting Gron and wished Marlin safety, reflecting that adventuring was riskier than blacksmithing.
• Gauss went to the Adventurer's Guild, intending to hunt a common monster to fill the final slot in his compendium.
• Leven gathered the rested Night Owl Squad, and Doyle stared at Gauss until Gauss joked that he liked women, prompting Doyle and Oliver to protest.
• Leven noticed Gauss had grown stronger and worried the squad might eventually have to part ways, then asked if Gauss wanted the same kind of job as before.

Gauss and his party accepted a quest to clear kobolds from an abandoned mine west of Grayrock Town. After scouting the tunnels, Gauss and Meva reported the kobolds’ numbers, weapons, traps, and the mine’s hazards, leaving the party prepared to plan their attack.

• Gauss noticed that more professional-rank adventurers had recently arrived at the Adventurer Hall.
• Leven, Daphne, Gauss, and their teammates chose a quest to clear about twenty kobolds from an abandoned mine.
• The party reached the mine, spotted fresh digging near its entrance, and rested before entering.
• Meva and Gauss cautiously scouted the mine, using deodorizing potion and Mage Hand to avoid detection and check for danger.
• Meva reported that the mine held around twenty adult kobolds and a few young ones, with traps, complicated tunnels, and hidden passages; she credited Gauss with much of the scouting.

Gauss led his group through the kobold tunnels and into their main chamber, where he surveyed the tribe and waited for his teammates to assemble. When two kobolds became suspicious, he launched a Magic Missile at them, beginning the attack.

• Gauss guided the group through the cramped tunnels while they avoided traps and passed the kobold mining area.
• Gauss crawled into the main chamber and counted nine adult kobolds and seven or eight pups, while the rest of the tribe worked elsewhere.
• The group quietly joined Gauss in the dim chamber as two kobolds preparing food noticed something and looked around.
• Gauss aimed his Bone Staff at the two kobolds and cast Magic Missile, lighting up the cavern and starting the battle.

Gauss gained the racial talent Rapid Digestion after killing kobolds and fought alongside his team as they cleared the cave. The party defeated an elderly kobold that breathed fire, while Gauss left open the possibility of a self-sustaining magical combat strategy.

• Gauss killed two kobolds, earning the Kobold Hunter title and increasing his monster kill count to 52.
• The Monster Codex reached five monster types and granted Gauss the goblin-derived racial talent Rapid Digestion, which improved stamina and magic recovery through eating.
• Gauss considered combining Rapid Digestion with Mage Armor to sustain repeated spellcasting, then set the plan aside for later.
• Gauss and his companions charged the gathered kobolds and quickly defeated the first wave.
• Gauss spotted an elderly kobold preparing to breathe fire, warned his companions, and used Mage Hand to clamp its snout shut during its next attack.
• The elderly kobold's fire erupted in its throat, killing it and knocking its head from the ledge.

Gauss and his companions killed the kobolds guarding an abandoned mine and the miners who rushed to defend their lair. Afterward, Gauss examined the fire-breathing old kobold’s corpse and asked Leven whether it had an official Challenge Level.

• After the old kobold died, Gauss and the others realized the remaining kobolds had lost their will to fight.
• Gauss killed the adult kobolds and hatchlings in the chamber, though the hatchlings did not increase his Monster Kill Count.
• Kobold miners rushed in from the excavation area, but Gauss and his companions killed them, raising his Monster Kill Count to 59.
• While Meva searched the kobolds’ collected junk, Gauss examined the old kobold’s corpse and noticed its neck scales had been darker than the others’.
• Leven said the old kobold’s body might be worth something, and Gauss asked whether it had an official Challenge Level.

After defeating the kobolds, Gauss and the Night Owl Squad returned to Grayrock Town, turned in their quest, and divided the reward. With their salvaged goods still to sell and everyone hungry, Gauss considered asking old friends for support so he could improve his Rapid Digestion.

• Leven explained that the elderly kobold had used a mutated organ to cast a fireball, and Gauss reflected on the need to prioritize survival.
• The squad checked the mine for survivors, gathered their loot, and emerged into the sunlight before heading toward Grayrock Town.
• The guards inspected their cart, and the Adventurer's Guild paid the squad twenty silver coins for the kobolds.
• Leven gave Gauss five silver coins for his contribution to the job, and Gauss accepted the larger share.
• Doyle urged the squad to sell their salvaged goods so they could eat, and Gauss worried that Rapid Digestion would leave him spending more on food.