Magic Missile

When he ate the meat, Gauss was so moved he almost cried.

The aroma of meat filled his mouth, making the taste buds on his tongue and every cell in his body erupt in joyful cheers.

His body was satisfied!

Time flew by while enjoying the delicious food.

In the blink of an eye, he was full and satisfied.

Letting out a burp, Gauss's mind went completely blank.

"Sir, sir."

Just as he was about to fall asleep, a gentle, sweet voice called out to him.

He groggily opened his eyes.

"Please settle the bill, that will be 2 Silver Coins and 50 Copper Coins."

"Huh? How much?" Gauss, still a bit dazed, instinctively asked.

"2 Silver Coins and 50 Copper Coins," the beautiful waitress repeated politely.

"Is it that much?" Gauss wasn't trying to skip out on the bill; he was just genuinely wondering if he had that much money.

2 Silver Coins and 50 Copper Coins. Just a few days ago, he was shocked that Hailiel treated them and their four-person meal cost 3 Silver Coins and 40 Copper Coins.

And now they were telling him that what he ate alone was almost as much as what four people ate?

He was the extravagant one all along?

Hiss! A meal that cost 0.03 of an apartment. Gauss's heart bled.

"You can check, these are all the dishes you ordered," the waitress, still very cultured, handed him the menu.

"Fried Fish and Chips, Dried Ham Slices with Cheese, Thick-Cut High-Temperature Charcoal-Grilled Steak (seasoned with salt and olive oil), Borscht."

The menu listed the dishes he had ticked off himself, a dazzling array.

He remembered that he had ordered more dishes a few times during the meal because he wasn't full.

So he kept ordering more and more.

Silently adding up the amounts in his mind, Gauss helplessly found the total to be accurate.

He had indeed eaten a grand meal worth 2 Silver Coins and 50 Copper Coins.

The stack of used plates beside his table at that moment was also excellent proof.

Even after paying and walking out of the tavern, Gauss still felt the sting in his heart.

Increased income, upgraded consumption – this was perfectly reasonable, but this meal's upgrade was a bit too rapid.

"It was that inexplicably strong appetite that bewitched me earlier," he sighed.

But to be honest, apart from the slight heartache, he felt quite comfortable all over.

It was as if that large portion of meat he had just consumed had replenished some deficit caused by his body's development.

"Forget it, I'll just consider it an investment in myself. Investing in myself doesn't hurt, doesn't hurt."

Gauss convinced himself.

Current Cash: 28 Silver Coins 52 Copper Coins

Gauss silently calculated his savings.

He marveled at how this was human greed; as income increases, consumption also rises at an imperceptible rate.

This money looked like a lot, but in reality, it wouldn't last long.

Considering that it's hard to go from luxury to frugality, Gauss's desire to earn money increased.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

"Morning, Sophia," Gauss said as he walked downstairs, greeting Sophia, who was mopping the floor in the first-floor lobby.

"Morning, Little Gauss, would you like some breakfast?"

Hearing Gauss's voice, Sophia stopped her work and asked, leaning on her mop.

"Uh..."

Gauss's mind conjured images of the stale black bread and pickle soup he had almost choked on, then compared it to the grand meal he had yesterday.

Images flashed through his mind, a period of remembering past hardships and cherishing present comforts, and he realized he couldn't go back.

His stomach had been spoiled by fine food, or perhaps this was the price of becoming stronger?

"Heh heh. Sophia, maybe next time. I don't have much of an appetite today," Gauss said with an awkward smile and a wave of his hand.

Under Sophia's resentful gaze, Gauss quickly walked out of the inn.

Leaving Sophia behind, who began to doubt her own cooking skills, pondering silently.

Could it be that my cooking has seriously declined? But the other lodgers haven't given any feedback?

This is a question that will likely trouble her for some time.

The morning bell rang, and Grayrock Town was already awake.

Breakfast stalls were everywhere on the street.

Gauss spent 4 Copper Coins on two meat pies.

"Sorry, Sophia, but I'm a carnivore now."

The meager black bread and vegetable soup no longer provided the nutrients his body needed.

"I didn't expect a street stall's pie to be so delicious," Gauss chewed his food with gusto, his mouth full of flavor.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that it was the buff from the black bread he'd just recalled.

His body, having just woken up, quickly regained vitality under the nourishment of the meat juices.

His plan for the morning was to practice Magic Missile.

Mage Hand would have to be put away for now, and its usage frequency reduced.

The one thing he feared most now was using Mage Hand too much. What if its proficiency reached the required level and triggered guidance for his class path?

If that happened, it would be a done deal. If Mage Hand, a 0-ring Cantrip, became his core skill, he would have no one to blame but himself.

Mage Hand Proficiency Lv2 (15/20). Since he didn't know if Lv3, Lv4, or even another level was the trigger, it was already a bit dangerous.

After breakfast, he started walking towards the town's exit.

There was naturally no place within the town for him to practice casting spells; he could only do it in the vast wilderness outside.

This wasn't something he was doing for the first time, of course.

In fact, many Adventurers had the habit of training here. The plains outside the town were large enough for them to practice without interfering with each other.

After walking a distance, he found an empty spot where no one was around.

Gauss began his formal training.

Closing his eyes to meditate, he searched for the feeling of successfully casting a spell last time.

It had been several days since he last successfully cast Magic Missile, and at that time, he had entered a state of intense focus.

Now that he was back in town and relaxed, it wasn't easy to find that casting feeling again.

"Magic Missile!"

A blue light appeared in Gauss's palm but quickly faded.

He wasn't too disappointed by this.

It was within his expectations; 1-ring spells were a bit more difficult.

However, based on his experience training Mage Hand, he shouldn't encounter too much trouble in the Lv1 stage as long as he was willing to invest time and effort.

After all, the spell was already etched into his consciousness. The Adventurer's Handbook had saved him a lot of time on learning and meditating to construct the model.

All he needed to do now was practice.

He would practice until the speed of proficiency growth slowed down, then he would make further plans.

"Magic Missile!"

"Magic Missile!"

Tired, he took a break.

"Magic Missile!"

"Magic Missile!"

After a round of practice, Gauss realized that this 1-ring spell was indeed different from a 0-ring Cantrip.

When he practiced Mage Hand a few days ago, even if he failed, there was no impact. But now, with Magic Missile, even if he didn't successfully cast it, trying too many times would still bring a sense of mental fatigue.

Fortunately, this fatigue wasn't intense.

Perhaps it was thanks to his extraordinary 7 points in the Spirit attribute.

He just needed to lie on the grass and bask in the sun for a while to rest.

Finally, through Gauss's patient practice, he rediscovered the feeling of casting a spell.

It was an indescribable moment, as if it came from inspiration.

As a light breeze brushed past, all his Mana was mobilized.

It quickly intertwined, gathered, and concentrated in his hand, continuously releasing strange fluctuations outward. At the same time, the surrounding natural magical energy was also drawn in, and finally, the Mana intertwined and solidified in his palm.

A Magic Missile condensed in his hand!

Magic Missile! Success again!

This time, there was no enemy charging at him, so he had enough time to observe the spell in his hand.

It was a crystal-clear spherical energy, encased in a pale white shell. The Mana inside surged rapidly, like countless tiny streams intertwining within.

This Magic Missile would not harm himself.

Moreover, faintly, he felt he could control the trajectory of this Magic Missile with his consciousness.

He focused his gaze and discovered that the Magic Missile in his palm had indeed shifted by the width of a fingernail.

It seemed he could truly control the Magic Missile with his will, but his proficiency was too low right now to do so at will.

His observation concluded, Gauss grabbed the Magic Missile and hurled it towards a distant, empty clearing.

The Magic Missile began to accelerate in a straight line the moment it left his hand!

The spell's effect caused it to reach its peak velocity in an extreme amount of time, leaving a brilliant blue halo in the air within his sight.

"BANG!!"

A roaring explosion sounded.

The Magic Missile detonated the instant it hit the ground.

The blue magical energy burst out like fireworks, and even in the daytime, one could still see beautiful magical manifestations.

After a long while, when the Mana aftershocks dissipated and the smoke cleared.

Where lush green grass once grew, only a shallow, spiderweb-like impact crater about tens of centimeters in diameter remained, with a fist-sized depression in the center.