Cultivation requires personal effort, of course, but sotis opportunity matters more.
Anyone who has been a professional knows that sotis you wake up one morning feeling clear-headed and refreshed, like your body and mind have been factory-reset and upgraded;
even the obscure knowledge from before suddenly becos simple and obvious, making cultivation twice as effective for half the effort.
This occasionally appearing state is called enlightennt or a breakthrough.
If luck is on your side it might happen once or twice in a few months, if not, you might never catch it in your lifeti.
Because of Gauss’s Enlightennt Technique, this rare, unrepeatable chance was turned into a normal perk for the team.
Aria ca out of her room yawning.
“Ha—”
“Up late last night?”
“Mm.”
Aria rubbed her eyes and nodded.
Thinking back to that breakthrough buff that lasted through the night still felt surreal to her now.
She had experienced monts of excellent condition before, but rarely had they sustained so long.
This was the first ti she had felt how addictive cultivation could be—despite body and mind feeling tired, she still didn’t want to stop.
“Try to restrain yourself next ti. If you want to learn spells, you can always co to .”
Gauss’s Enlightennt Technique had an endless refill.
So there was no need to rush.
“Heh heh.”
Aria understood that, but she really had lost control yesterday—she’d been carried away.
“Go catch up on sleep.”
“We won’t be going out this morning either.” Gauss gently pushed the exhausted-looking Aria back into her room.
Her imdiate priority was to crawl into bed and sleep hard.
“Sorry.”
Before closing the door, Aria put her palms together and apologized sincerely.
Gauss waved his hand.
Long periods of intense cultivation, whether ntal or physical, consu energy beyond what ordinary people can imagine.
From observation, Gauss realized his Enlightennt Technique had a flaw.
Its effects were just too good;
the fatigue and drain it caused far exceeded normal training.
Of those who trained yesterday, only Gauss and Hephaestus still maintained full energy the next day.
The others— even a warrior like Albenia—showed signs of lethargy to varying degrees.
Over the next two days, Gauss and his companions were kept busy.
Adventurer commissions, travel, skill practice…
In no ti it was the sixth day in Lakeside Town, which was also the tenth and final day of the Blue Lake Hunting Competition.
“Is today the cutoff for the competition tally?” Aria suddenly rembered this while standing in the open field.
“The numbers stop being counted at six this evening,” Serlandul added from beside her.
They had been quietly tracking changes on the leaderboard and related information;
he cared even more about it than Gauss himself.
“I checked at noon today. No one’s caught up with the captain. Captain’s score is 2666, and second place, Koman, still only has 1215.”
Gauss’s point accumulation had slowed over the last two days.
Mainly because others showed no sign of catching up, and the continuous hunting had greatly reduced the number of monsters around Lakeside Town, so Gauss’s rate of kills naturally declined as well.
Still, his slowdown was only relative to his previous rate;
compared to everyone else, Gauss still dominated, far ahead.
Unless soone could, from zero, amass more than 2666 points in the last three or four hours.
That possibility wasn’t impossible, but it was nearly non-existent.
From Aria’s perspective, she couldn’t imagine any monster capable of finishing that impossible task.
Even a Gauss from ten years in the future probably couldn’t do it.
After all, the monster population around the five towns was limited, and with ti constraints, even mid-level professionals wouldn’t manage.
At this mont Gauss was fighting one of Shadow’s clones, practicing his close combat while helping Shadow quickly familiarize herself with the newly acquired ability.
Several black shadows wrapped around Gauss’s ankles like a whirlwind.
The shadows split into countless black tendrils and crawled swiftly up his legs.
A cold sluggish sensation crawled upward from below, the shadows attempting to pin him in place.
Gauss glanced down cautiously.
Monstrous Strength exploded from his feet.
“Thud!”
A trendous force burst outward from the center of his soles, sending a shock through the ground.
“Crack!!”
The wrapping shadows around his ankles snapped inch by inch!
Her Shadow Bind worked well, but it wasn’t quite enough against Gauss;
with sufficient force he could use the instant explosive power to break free.
Gauss swung Windrunner, emitting a blade air that struck one of the shadows.
The shadow, sliced in half, instantly dispersed like lting snow into countless particles that rged back into the nearby Shadow’s body.
Gauss eyed the second shadow beginning to rge into the ground;
a Magic Missile shot from his hand, intercepting it before it fully rged and blowing it to dust.
“Not bad, but there’s room for improvent.”
He walked over to Shadow.
She was rubbing the side of her head.
The split-off shadow being “killed” hadn’t physically hard her, but because the feedback images made her feel uncomfortable—like she herself had been killed at that mont—she needed to adapt to that sensation.
“Shadow, your personal lee skills are lacking, which prevents your shadows from displaying their full strength. You should spend ti learning from Albenia.”
“I understand.”
Although her clone didn’t last long against Gauss, it had already perford admirably.
First, Gauss himself was powerful, and he’d known about their presence and fighting style in advance, so he’d been able to respond easily.
Other enemies who faced them for the first ti would be caught off guard, and even achieving fifty percent of their potential strength would be considered good.
“Aria, how’s your Moonlight Radiance practice?”
“I released it a few tis just now. I’m restoring natural energy now.” Aria explained quickly when she saw Gauss approaching.
She didn’t want Gauss to think she was slacking under a tree.
Her natural energy regenerates faster in a lively natural environnt.
“However, releasing Moonlight Radiance at noon is diocre. It should be more effective in shady spots.”
...
Ti flowed on slowly.
When Gauss and the others returned to Lakeside Town, the streets were noticeably fuller.
Adventurers from elsewhere were rushing back to the town to complete their final score registration.
Although who ranked first had been decided for a while, participants still hoped to finish with a respectable placent.
Teams still out gaining points had to finish registration before the cutoff ti.
“That must be Gauss, right?”
“Yes. His points are already near three thousand, right? What a monster.”
“If he hadn’t run out of opponents in the last few days, his score might have been even higher.”
The murmurs about him were more admiration than jealousy.
After several days of buildup, Gauss had beco one of the most talked-about figures in town, even across the Blue Lake region.
But his fa was temporary. Once the festival ended and he left, discussions about him would naturally die down, becoming the mory of a hot sumr for a few people.
They arrived at the Adventurers Guild Hall.
Although things seed settled and there was little chance of a last-second upset, at Aria’s suggestion the team went to the hall to await the final result.
Gauss also wanted to pick up a few cantrips.
The Adventurers Hall was nearly packed.
The second floor, where Gauss and company went, was still crowded but less so than the ground floor.
At the counter, adventurers queued in long lines to register their final points.
When they saw Gauss enter, people instinctively gave way.
This was a privilege that power and reputation brought;
no one demanded it, but people stepped aside anyway.
The town mayor and several officials were whispering by the leaderboard, visibly pleased.
Although Gauss wasn’t a local, as one of the Lakeside Town contestants, his victory would shine on the whole town.
A staff mber leaned over and quietly told them sothing, after which their gazes shifted to where Gauss stood.
They then slowly approached Gauss.
“You must be Gauss. Quite accomplished for your age. I’m Ansel, mayor of Lakeside Town.”
The balding mayor ca forward with a placating smile.
“Hello, Mayor Ansel.”
Gauss shook his hand lightly. He didn’t know exactly why the mayor had co over, but he offered the usual courtesy.
Ansel looked Gauss over.
“Mr. Gauss, you’ve done our town proud by taking the championship with such a margin. That’s extrely rare in the competition’s history!”
“You flatter , Mayor. The result hasn’t been officially announced yet.” Gauss never liked popping the champagne early.
“Modest.” Ansel paused, his gaze sweeping over Gauss’s companions.
“If any of you need anything while in Lakeside Town, please feel free to co to . We’ll do our best to help.”
“Also, would you all be available to attend a victory banquet tonight at the town hall?” Ansel offered at the right mont. “It’s to honor the competition’s winners, a little token of our appreciation. We hope you can attend.”
Gauss had instinctively wanted to decline;
he preferred relaxing with his teammates at the tavern rather than attending formal dinners.
But then he thought about the reward collection and paperwork that would follow. Maintaining a good relationship with the mayor and officials could make future procedures smoother.
So his words changed.
“Thank you for the generous invitation, Mayor. We’d be honored to attend the banquet.”
“Excellent.” Ansel’s smile grew wider. “The banquet starts at eight in the Blue Lake Hall at the town office. Many local dignitaries and notable adventurers will attend—mostly young people. You gentlen and ladies should et more friends.”
He ntally reminded himself to tell his daughter to dress up;
he wondered if the maid had ironed the cyan dress he specially ordered... Mayor Ansel indulged in small fantasies.
He glanced at Gauss’s companions and sighed inwardly.
Suddenly, his daughter seed less promising, at least to a hopeful father’s imagination.
Ansel made a few more small talk remarks.
During their conversation, a commotion suddenly rose from the center of the hall.
The leaderboard stone standing in the middle of the hall flared brightly;
with a crisp sound, every data point on the board frozen solid, no longer changing.
As everyone anticipated, Gauss sat atop the leaderboard with “2666” points, his na beginning to glow with golden light.
The Blue Lake Hunting Competition officially ended!
“Buzz!!!”
The hall erupted with louder chatter.
So cheered, so sighed.
“I declare—”
Mayor Ansel raised his voice to command the room, his face radiant.
“This Blue Lake Hunting Competition concludes successfully! The champion is—our very own Lakeside Town’s contestant, Gauss! Let us give our warst congratulations to him and to all adventurers who strove in this contest!”
Thunderous applause.
Gauss simply kept smiling, not showing much excitent.
Or rather, given his personality, there was little high excitent to express unless he had a strong desire to perform.
Gauss and his group lingered in the hall a little longer, then headed to the inn to freshen up before attending the banquet.
“Gauss, what should we wear to an occasion like that? I didn’t prepare any formalwear.” Aria leaned over and asked.
Albenia also looked a little awkward.
“Just wear normal clothes, tidy and neat. Don’t worry—the banquet honors us adventurers. Be comfortable.” Gauss shook his head when he saw them fretting.
His mind drifted to choosing his rewards.
As champion he could choose two items from the collection of curiosities first, and he would also receive the so-called Lake God’s Blessing.
His Empathy Bracelet had just gone inactive;
maybe he could pick a satisfying reward.
Night ca quickly.
Gauss changed into a white mage robe, otherwise dressed about the sa as usual.
Aria and the others, though they had outwardly agreed with Gauss, turned out very differently when it was ti to assemble.
Gauss discovered they had each dressed more beautifully than the next.
“You said you didn’t have a gown?” Gauss smiled, watching the bashful Aria.
“Just because I didn’t earlier doesn’t an I couldn’t buy one.”
“How... do I look?”
“You look lovely.” Gauss nodded gently.
Aria wore a light-blue evening dress that suited her cyan hair.
The fabric shimred faintly like moonlight, elegant yet retaining an adventurer’s crisp practicality.
At Gauss’s complint she blushed slightly and spun around shyly.
“Really? I... I rarely wear dresses like this.”
“Blue suits you.”
“Lord Gauss, how about my outfit?” Albenia’s sowhat solemn voice ca from beside Gauss.
Gauss turned to look and fell into brief silence.
How should he phrase his reply?
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