A torrential surge of magical energy seed to break through an invisible floodgate.
The long-accumulated mana flowed repeatedly, scouring the magical channels within his body.
The Mana Cup released a bright white radiance.
"Buzz!"
Centered around Gauss, a shockwave generated by magical fluctuations suddenly surged forth, flattening the grass blades and disturbing the flow of the previously calm, gently flowing stream, startling ripples across its surface.
This unusual commotion attracted the attention of Aria and Xisero, who were wading in the stream catching fish.
"What's happening with brother?"
Xisero's face was filled with confusion, the small white fish in her hand accidentally slipping back into the water.
"Let's move further away first." Aria's pupils slightly contracted, already able to guess what was happening. She pulled Xisero along, signaled to Ulfen and Eck, and moved a considerable distance away to avoid accidentally disturbing Gauss.
At the center of the magical vortex, Gauss's consciousness sea was violently trembling.
The Mana Cup, serving as his core of power, was undergoing earth-shaking changes. The cup walls expanded under the repeated washing of magical energy, gradually becoming more resilient.
Normally, for ordinary professionals, advancing from level 2 to level 3 wasn't so straightforward—it represented a significant minor threshold in itself.
But Gauss was different. Although he hadn't been at level 2 for very long, his accumulated experience wasn't weaker than those level 2 professionals who had remained at this stage for years. In fact, due to his attributes being far superior to others of the sa rank, he hardly felt any substantial resistance.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
The mana within the cup rotated, compressed, and purified, until finally a small droplet of liquid slowly took form within it.
The bottleneck of a level 2 Magician was shattered in an instant!
The torrent of mana within his body surged like boiling water within just a few breaths, simultaneously growing thicker and shimring with a profound glow.
Streams of information flashed rapidly across his cerebral cortex, and at a certain mont, all power converged into the Mana Cup.
All professional talents, spells, mana capacity, mana flow speed... everything was enhanced!
"Professional Level upgraded to: 3!"
Gauss's eyes brightened.
The various extraordinary phenona gradually subsided.
As the dust settled, it ultimately transford into a precipitation of substantial power that integrated into his body.
"Intelligence 1"
"Charisma 1"
"Agility 1"
Gauss felt the changes in his body as his attribute panel finally settled at:
Strength: 10
Agility: 8→9
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 12→13
Perception: 9(8)
Charisma: 9(8)→10(9)
His current panel looked quite impressive.
Gauss stared at his professional level 3, sowhat dazed.
He still rembered last winter during the Winter Hunt activity in the Erald Forest, when he encountered the Iron Arms team. Seeing level 3 swordsman Quick and level 3 warlock Sana, he had felt a hint of envy in his heart.
He never expected that after what seed like just a blink of ti,
he himself had beco a level 3 professional.
Reaching level 3 professional was a minor milestone achievent.
Because starting from level 3, most professions could begin mastering 2nd circle related skills.
This ant that level 3 professionals had completely moved beyond the novice professional stage,
becoming pillar combat forces in ordinary towns.
Recruiting team mbers would also beco relatively easier, allowing free selection among level 1 and 2 professionals, with most invitations being accepted.
Moreover, Gauss was no ordinary level 3 professional.
His combat prowess already far exceeded that of other professionals at the sa level;
even level 3 magical creatures wouldn't be his match.
Even against level 4 magical creatures, he could probably erge victorious.
As for level 5 magical creatures... well, that might be a bit challenging, but if the enemy were elite Goblin individuals, he might still stand a fighting chance.
Because his restraining relationship with the Goblin race was quite severe.
Aside from the damage increase from [Bane] and stamina recovery from [Bloodthirsty], he could also attempt to trigger low-probability critical hits through continuous attacks.
And once a critical hit was triggered, amplified by various buffs, even a level 5 elite Goblin would probably find it hard to withstand.
Of course, for safety's sake, Gauss wouldn't recklessly challenge level 5 magical creatures.
What he needed wasn't challenging high difficulties to break through himself, but rather steady, continuous progress, just as he had always maintained.
This was what they called... flowing water doesn't compete to be first, but rather strives for continuous, unending flow.
"Haha!"
Gauss stood by the stream, the breeze ruffling his hair as he couldn't help but chuckle softly, his laughter carrying the exhilaration of breaking through levels and the satisfaction of things settling into place.
Reaching level 3 made him feel more confident overall.
He beca even more certain of the path he wanted to take.
"Brother!" Xisero broke free from Aria's grip.
She bounded over happily like a lively little deer and threw herself into Gauss's arms.
"You were glowing just now! So amazing!"
"Hey, brother, why do you sll so nice now?"
Gauss smiled and ruffled her hair.
Aria approached as well, her eyes sparkling with genuine joy.
"Congratulations, Gauss. Breaking through to level 3—how does it feel now?"
She understood very clearly the changes that had just occurred to Gauss.
After all, when Gauss said he would stay in the village for a couple of days, he had inford them about this matter.
However, she hadn't expected the breakthrough to co so quickly.
They had just brought his little sister to play in the stream, and in the ti it took to turn around, he had successfully broken through.
This speed even made her feel sowhat dazed.
After all, not to ntion breaking through from level 2 to level 3—a special stage—
even her own recent advancent from level 1 to level 2 had taken a full week.
And that was considered relatively fast.
From what she knew, so other professionals who progressed more slowly might spend weeks or even longer carefully preparing for such advancents.
After all, every level breakthrough represented a leap in life hierarchy.
It also ant that power, social status, and various other aspects would undergo earth-shaking changes.
"Very good. Now our team's activities and plans can be sowhat more relaxed." Gauss smiled slightly.
Unless they actively ventured deep into magical creature territories, the probability of encountering magical creatures beyond the elite stage during normal commission execution was relatively low.
Most were around levels 1-5.
And now he was confident that even in the worst case, he could cover their retreat and ensure his teammates' safe withdrawal.
This ant their team's exploration range could expand further, even to the point of actively seeking out elite magical creatures to hunt.
Of course, they couldn't neglect the lower-level monsters either.
After all, accumulating total kill counts still relied on these minor creatures for improvent.
There were still plenty of things to keep them busy—hunting elite monsters, collecting elite points, then advancing the [Reptilian] talent from white quality to blue quality.
Then continuing to develop clay magic.
Collecting more varieties of spiritual energy and enhancing it.
This magic's potential was far from exhausted.
Besides developing clay magic, he could also try to see if there were other 2nd circle spells suitable as supplents to his current combat capabilities.
From now on, he could self-study 2nd circle spells himself.
Then there was accumulating total monster kills to four thousand, with the common monster illustrated guide still missing over a dozen types to reach fifty varieties.
"Mm." Aria had no objections.
After upgrading to level 3, Gauss didn't continue his cultivation.
Instead, he joined Aria and the others in wading through the stream to catch fish.
His efficiency far surpassed theirs.
Even though he wasn't really serious about it, his various basic attributes that had already transcended ordinary humans still made it difficult for the small fish swiftly swimming in the stream to escape his grasp.
Before long, the fish basket was piled high with catches—
small fish, shrimp, freshwater crabs, shellfish...
Gauss couldn't help but recall mories of fishing in this shallow area in the past. Unfortunately, back then he didn't have such strong capabilities, otherwise he would never have returned empty-handed.
When they returned ho, Serlandul had also co back from gathering herbs in the wild and was applying dicine to Horst's ankle.
Noticing Gauss and the others returning, he looked up, his gaze lingering on Gauss for a mont.
Although two or three hours had passed, the changes in Gauss still hadn't dissipated.
Serlandul felt an even stronger sense of pressure from Gauss.
"Captain, you leveled up?"
"Yes." After an afternoon, Gauss had already settled his emotions.
While level 3 might be an unattainable dream for many adventurers, even for their entire lives, for him it was far from the end point.
Being happy for a while was enough;
then he needed to restrain emotions and focus his gaze further ahead.
"Congratulations."
The other family mbers didn't really notice anything, just smiling vaguely.
Of course, whether level 2 or level 3 made no difference to ordinary people—both were individuals not to be casually offended.
...
Over the next two days.
Gauss and his companions didn't leave the village.
During this ti, so villagers and even people from neighboring villages ca to visit, trying to build connections with him, hoping he would teach their children and guide them to beco adventurers.
But Gauss politely declined all such requests.
He had returned to visit family and rest, with neither obligation nor energy to teach others.
If any crisis threatened the village, he would certainly intervene, but teaching complete beginners was out of the question.
Such endeavors tended to be thankless tasks.
He knew other villagers only saw his current success and, feeling envious, thought that if he could do it, they could too.
But how many of those who beca adventurers actually managed to advance to professional level?
However, during these two days.
He did manage to accomplish so proper tasks.
Besides asking Serlandul to cure Horst's leg issues, restoring Horst's ability to walk briskly again, he also gave several apprentice-level skill books to his family.
On ordinary days, Hawk or rlyn, or even Horst and Rosa, could try practicing them when they had ti.
Even if they couldn't advance to professional level, it would still strengthen their bodies and provide so self-defense capability.
Actually, so villages had wealthy families who could pool enough money to purchase apprentice-level skill books, but purchasing didn't guarantee learning.
Even if mastered, if the skills weren't refined, they still couldn't form effective combat capability, eventually deteriorating or being forgotten over ti.
Only a few individuals with both resources and talent, coupled with hard work, could polish their skills to proficiency and develop respectable combat capability.
And these people often wouldn't remain content in the village, developing aspirations to move to towns after reaching this stage. While refining their skills, they could also earn more commission than farming could provide, attempting to sprint toward professional level. Once they advanced to professional level, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
The young villager Gauss encountered during the Goblin tribe extermination a few days ago was exactly this situation.
Returning to his family,
Gauss also suggested relocating them to the city, but Horst and others declined.
The elderly didn't want to leave the place they'd lived for decades.
More importantly, here they could peacefully continue their familiar work—hunting, farming...
If they moved to town without any specialized skills, they would truly have to rely on Gauss for support.
Gauss thought about it but didn't press further.
On one hand, even if they moved to town, since he needed to go out on commissions, he actually wouldn't be in town most of the ti—
especially after advancing to level 3.
Their team might need to explore surrounding areas further, leaving no ti to look after family. It might be better for them to remain in Shixi Village.
As for safety considerations, although Grayrock Town had so wall protection, the town's population was complex with many powerful adventurers and professionals. Plus, the village's location north of town was closer to inland directions, possibly making it even safer.
"Well, mom, dad, big brother, sister-in-law, we'll be going now." Gauss packed his bags and waved.
"Keep this money safe. Don't hesitate to use it when needed for daily expenses. If there's an ergency, co find at my place in Grayrock Town. If I'm not there, try the nearby inn."
Gauss gave his family 3 gold coins along with several dozen smaller, more usable silver and copper coins.
It wasn't that he couldn't give more, but it was temporarily unnecessary.
Too much money might not necessarily be good for an ordinary family.
Besides, this amount was already enough for a rural family to live on for decades.
Even if sothing happened to him in the future, his family would have so security.
"This..." Horst didn't reach out to take it, his face full of sha.
"Little brother, you should take it back. This is too much—we don't need it." Big brother Hawk shook his head, speaking in a muffled voice. "Besides, you're an adventurer now, exactly when you need money for weapons, equipnt, and all that. We can't help you, but we certainly shouldn't hold you back."
Hawk's wife's lips moved as if she wanted to say sothing.
She had clearly seen that flash of gold among the coins in Gauss's hand!
The mont she saw it, her heart couldn't help but pound wildly in her chest.
But the words died on her lips, ultimately transforming into a silent sigh that she swallowed back.
Gauss shook his head and unceremoniously placed the money on the table.
"This money ans nothing to —it won't make a difference. Buy more food, eat well, practice skills diligently. I'll send more money back later."
He turned to leave.
Hawk wanted to pick up the coins and chase after Gauss to return them, but found that no matter how hard he tried, the coins seed firmly stuck to the table, unmoving.
Seeing Gauss almost out of the courtyard, he helplessly sighed and gave up on retrieving the money, quickly following him out.
"Be careful in all things, take care of your safety."
"Rember to eat on ti regularly."
"Brother, co back to play with more often!"
Listening to his family's farewells, Gauss mounted his Ostrich and waved again.
"I'll co back to visit when I have ti."
Watching Gauss's figure disappear at the road's end,
the family remained sowhat dazed for a long ti before finally closing the courtyard gate.
The coins lay quietly on the table.
Their family's life had completely changed because of Gauss's return.
From now on, they wouldn't need to worry about daily necessities.
In the village, no one would dare look down on or bully them anymore.
After all, most villagers couldn't withstand the wrath of a professional-level adventurer.
...
"Let's return to Grayrock Town first." Gauss announced.
There was still a commission to submit. Although it was just sothing they picked up along the way, they should still see it through properly.
"To upgrade to a 3-star team, we seem to be quite short on commission numbers." Aria said softly.
"Yes."
Gauss's team had always exceeded ordinary task requirents—the main shortfall was in the 3-star commission category.
To upgrade to a 3-star team, they needed to complete three 3-star commissions.
This ant facing elite magical creatures of at least challenge level 3.
Also, they needed to find ti to et with Sherry.
A few days ago when they accepted this Shixi Village commission, they encountered her on their way out.
At that ti, she had asked the team to find her after completing their commission.
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