Chapter Summaries

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.

Gauss and Alya tested a coordinated ambush, using Alya’s Entangling Spell and Gauss’s Fire Oil and Burning Hands to kill the Crowmen. The kill unlocked Gauss’s new racial Talent, Reptilian, and its integration began transforming his body.

• Alya used Nature’s Power to grow vines from prepared seeds and entangle the Crowmen around their campfire.
• Gauss coated the trapped Crowmen with Fire Oil and engulfed them in flames with Burning Hands, killing fifteen.
• Gauss received the Crow Hunter title and reached twenty types in his Common Monster Codex, triggering a racial Talent draw.
• The draw gave Gauss the Goblin ability Latent Gene, modified into the upgradeable Reptilian Talent.
• Gauss read that Reptilian enhanced his vitality, protection, healing, environmental resistance, and coordination before the system began integrating it into his body.

Gauss gained the Talent [Body Modification], which strengthened his body and increased his resistance to cold, then considered how he could further improve [Crawling Species]. After defeating a group of monsters, he and Alya collected their remains and stopped to eat behind a boulder.

• Gauss endured the intense heat as [Body Modification] transformed his skin, organs, muscles, and bones.
• Gauss discovered that his cold resistance, skin protection, coordination, and potential healing ability had improved.
• Gauss reasoned that [Crawling Species] could grow through killing goblins or advancing its quality, though he did not know how to improve its quality.
• Gauss told Alya to find shelter, eat, and then head back, and they gathered valuable parts from the crowfolk they had defeated.
• Gauss and Alya found shelter from the wind behind a massive boulder.

After Gauss and Alya returned from hunting, they found the Winter Hunt camp devastated by a Poison Wyvern attack. They learned that Guildmaster Eberhard was pursuing the wyvern into the forest, and Quek feared the attack signaled renewed turmoil in the Emerald Forest.

• Gauss and Alya discussed how monsters might survive the winter and the Green Dragon Queen’s influence over the Emerald Forest.
• Gauss and Alya returned to camp and found it corroded by poison, with many people unconscious or dead.
• Gauss and Alya asked Quek what had happened, and he said a Poison Wyvern had attacked the camp with its breath.
• Quek told Gauss and Alya that Guildmaster Eberhard had gone into the forest to fight the Poison Wyvern.
• Quek warned that the wyvern’s departure from the forest’s depths could mean years of turmoil in the Emerald Forest.

After the Poison Wyvern's attack killed and injured dozens, Eberhard led the shaken Winter Hunt party back to Grayrock Town and suspected the attack had been timed with inside knowledge. Gauss returned home with Alya, grateful to be safe, and fell into bed to sleep.

• Eberhard returned to camp, ordered the party to pack up, and privately admitted that his pursuit of the Poison Wyvern had failed.
• A subordinate reported that the attack had killed 63 people and injured 30, and Eberhard suspected the wyvern had received information or magical reconnaissance.
• Eberhard led the guarded caravan back to Grayrock Town without another attack and headed to the Adventurer's Guild to report the incident.
• Gauss and Alya returned to town, parted ways, and Gauss stopped to greet Sophia at the inn.
• Gauss cleaned his bed with Prestidigitation and lay down to sleep.

After the Winter Hunt rewards were settled, Gauss and Alya rested in Grayrock Town while he practiced Alarm and Burning Hands. On the final day of the year, Gauss left town to train in the snow and sensed that his Class Rank was close to advancing to Level 2.

• Gauss woke rested, fed Raven Ike, and visited Alya, where he discussed the Winter Hunt rewards and practiced Alarm with Ulfhen.
• Gauss and Alya stayed in Grayrock Town as out-of-town adventurers departed and residents prepared for the New Year.
• Alya told Gauss she had not visited her distant home in years, while Gauss considered visiting his own family next year.
• The Adventurer's Guild settled the Winter Hunt rewards, leaving Gauss with more than forty-three gold coins after he repaid his loan and sold their loot.
• Gauss left Grayrock Town to practice spells in the snow and sensed that the mana vessel marking his Class Rank was nearing Level 2.

Gauss practiced Burning Hands near Grayrock Town and raised the spell to level 3. As dusk fell, his Mana Cup began transforming, signaling that he was on the verge of breaking through to Level 2.

• Gauss practiced Burning Hands after removing Magic Missile from his [Sub Core Spell Slot], making his training more efficient.
• Gauss read about magic and battlefield spellcasting while the guards on Grayrock Town's wall discussed the failed Winter Hunt and watched him practice.
• Gauss continued practicing until Burning Hands reached lv3 and its spell model became more refined.
• Gauss sensed his Mana Cup begin to transform as its runes shone and its stored energy surged against an invisible barrier.

Gauss advanced to Class Rank 2, gaining stronger magic power and greater capacity for spells. He headed back to Grayrock Town to ask the Adventurer's Guild about advancing his rank, determined to keep traveling and take control of his life.

• Gauss's Class Rank rose to 2, increasing his attributes, magic power, and ability to bear spell models.
• Gauss reflected on how a higher Class Rank transformed a class holder's overall strength and wondered whether he could challenge a level 3 class holder.
• Gauss packed his belongings and walked toward Grayrock Town after deciding to check with the Adventurer's Guild about advancing his adventurer rank.
• A gate guard greeted Gauss and wished him a happy New Year, and Gauss returned the greeting as he entered town.
• Gauss considered the guards' confined lives and resolved to keep pursuing his ambition to travel and see the world.

Gauss passed the assessment to become a 2-Star professional adventurer, then visited the skill shop with Alya. He bought Identify and planned to focus on practicing his existing skills, leaving him with 32 gold coins.

• Gauss confirmed he had met the quest requirement for promotion and booked an assessment at the Adventurer's Guild.
• Alya waited outside the testing room, managed her disappointment at Gauss's progress, and congratulated him when he passed and became a 2-Star professional.
• Gauss and Alya went to the skill shop, where Alya planned to buy another cantrip and Gauss considered the available 1st Circle Spells.
• Gauss decided to practice Burning Hands and Monster Strength Transformation rather than buy more offensive spells or pursue a second class.
• Gauss bought Identify for 11 gold coins, leaving him with 32 gold coins.

Gauss and Alya spent their Winter Hunt earnings on practical magic items and prepared for the New Year while Gauss studied Identify and planned his next year of hunting. As snow deepened over Grayrock Town, enormous griffins descended into its central square.

• Alya bought Divine Guidance, and Gauss purchased a black Protective Mage Robe for seven gold coins.
• Alya bought Ulfhen a weight-reducing saddle, a Protective Shawl for Raven Ike, and a root-sensing Small Shovel.
• Gauss returned home, decorated his house, and studied the 1st Circle Spell Identify while planning to train and hunt goblins and Elite Monsters after the festivities.
• Heavy snow fell over Grayrock Town as several enormous griffins descended into the town square.

Gauss visited the Adventurer's Guild and Black Anvil Smithy, where he bought a Magic Item sword after using Identify to examine the weapons. He celebrated the Year-End Festival with Alya, Sophia, and Winnie, ending the chapter amid the town's festivities.

• Gauss saw several powerful griffins resting outside the Adventurer's Guild and went inside to return and borrow books.
• Gauss visited the Black Anvil Smithy, where Gron Bates recognized him as a Bronze Two-Star Adventurer and praised his progress.
• Gauss used Identify on Gron's swords and bought a Steel Single-Handed Sword that reduced air resistance when swung.
• The apprentice recognized Gauss as the former black-haired boy who had once worked at the smithy and hid outside after Gauss left.
• Gauss and Alya shared a Year-End Festival dinner, then joined Sophia and Winnie at the town square to toss coins into the bonfire and watch the performances.