"Plop!"
A sticky, dark green creature hopped onto the path before Gauss, blocking his way.
Gauss halted and looked down, recognizing an old acquaintance.
Sli Slis—creatures not commonly seen near human settlents—appeared rather abundant in the Erald Forest.
One seed to pop up every now and then during his trek.
"Blurgh!"
Upon spotting Gauss, the Sli suddenly flattened its gelatinous body against the ground, then rebounded high into the air, attempting to land squarely on his head.
"Swish!"
Gauss drew his rapier, slicing a crescent arc before him, then nimbly backstepped twice.
"Splat!"
The airborne Sli was cleanly bisected through its core mid-leap.
Its entire body instantly dissolved into a puddle of foul-slling mucus, splattering across the ground before Gauss.
"Sli Sli killed: 1"
"Total monsters slain: 180"
Gauss collected the coagulated Sli Gel and stowed it in a side pouch of his backpack.
This was worth dozens of copper coins—enough for a al. No sense wasting it.
The monsters in the Erald Forest certainly seed enthusiastic.
Even a lone, lowly Sli had dared attack him outright.
Gauss raised an eyebrow.
The forest creatures appeared noticeably more aggressive than those outside.
Not that this was a bad thing. These bottom-tier mobs were just free experience points coming one by one.
He'd take all cors.
After swiftly dispatching the frenzied little Sli, Gauss consulted his map and continued along the forest trail.
The deeper he ventured, the denser the woodland beca.
Trees grew thicker and taller, with ancient trunks so massive two people couldn't encircle them.
This instinctively put Gauss on higher alert.
"Thunk!"
His blade suddenly speared into soft soil, pinning a wrist-thick serpent beneath.
Perhaps due to the forest's lack of human activity, wildlife flourished alongside monsters.
Throughout his journey, Gauss had spotted several rabbits, a wild boar, and a young spotted deer.
Since none showed hostile intent, he left them be—his objective was Goblins, not ga hunting.
By near noon, he found a small clearing where faint sunlight penetrated the canopy to rest temporarily.
Unpacking, he laid an insect-proof tarp on the ground before retrieving rations from his pack.
Sa old staples: jerky, bread, and potted at—all cold fare.
Starting a fire for cooking was too extravagant during serious business, and the aromas might attract unknown forest dwellers.
As he chewed, the food seed to transform into warming energy shortly after reaching his stomach.
After drinking so water and briefly reclining on the tarp—massaging his ankles and pack-strained shoulders—Gauss felt fully reinvigorated after the short break.
Rapid Digestion proved imnsely valuable during expeditions.
Thanks to this ability, Gauss fatigued far slower than typical adventurers.
Physical exhaustion severely impacted performance—not just for body-reliant Warriors, but even Mages struggled to cast effectively when drained.
"Probably 1-2 more hours to the mission location."
Just as Gauss unfolded his map to verify the distance—
Rustling ca from nearby shrubs, followed by a sharp whistling through air.
"Whoosh!"
Gauss grabbed the map and rolled aside, narrowly evading the thrown spear.
"Thock!"
The projectile pierced through his tarp into the earth.
Seeing his newly purchased tarp already damaged, Gauss frowned, then turned toward the spear's origin.
Several green-skinned creatures of innate wickedness erged from the bushes.
Their greedy eyes raked over Gauss as drool dripped uncontrollably from their mouths.
Recognizing the foes, Gauss's furrowed brow relaxed slightly—but only slightly.
Encountering Goblins pleased him;
damaging his gear did not.
"Five."
After a quick headcount, Gauss saw no need to waste ti.
He was no longer his forr self—dispatching five Goblins posed little challenge now.
The only question was which thod conserved ti and energy.
Noticing two spear-wielding Goblins winding up for another throw, Gauss snatched the Unbreaking Scepter leaning against his pack.
With a thought, mana from his Rank's chalice surged toward the wand.
"Magic Missile!"
After brief charging, two downgraded Magic Missiles streaked forth.
The projectiles tore through air before hamring into Goblin flesh with devastating impact.
"BANG!!!"
Following twin crisp detonations, the targeted Goblins were blasted ters backward by the concussive force.
Pigeon egg-sized holes in their chests gushed fragnted flesh and blood.
"Goblins killed: 2"
"Total monsters slain: 182"
Magic Missile's potency had increased since his promotion to Magician.
Feeling barely dented mana reserves, Gauss finally smiled.
These downgraded missiles actually exceeded his Apprentice-period full-power versions by 30%, and he could likely fire over twenty such shots now!
No more agonizing over mana depletion after a few spells like during apprenticeship.
Factoring in mid-combat replenishnt, he might push toward thirty casts while fighting.
Quite satisfying.
No more scrimping on spell usage.
Now he truly felt like a proper spellcaster.
The remaining three Goblins, thoroughly terrified by the missiles, scrambled away on all fours.
Gauss's gaze locked onto them.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Two more missiles precisely eliminated another pair.
After a breath's pause, fresh mana gathered at his wand's tip once more.
"THUD!"
The final missile hamred the last fleeing Goblin into the dirt.
"Goblins killed: 3"
"Total monsters slain: 185"
Surveying the fallen Goblins, Gauss noted how spells had annihilated five foes in re breaths—faster than swordplay.
Additionally, this thod kept him clean, avoiding the hassle of scrubbing off foul Goblin blood in the wilderness.
Perhaps he should incorporate more magic in future engagents.
With mana still ample, he pondered whether other newly promoted Mages or Warlocks could sustain such casting rates, and to what degree they differed.
Lacking contact with peers at his level, Gauss remained uncertain about other Rank 1 spellcasters' capabilities.
Having expended so mana, the recently rested Gauss had no choice but to consu more rations for replenishnt.
Only after full recovery did he repack and resu navigating by map.
The dense canopy often obscured the sun, making tikeeping difficult.
After roughly an hour's travel by his estimate, Gauss finally neared the mission site.
As usual upon reaching new locations, he ntally marked the spot on his cognitive map, labeling it "First Beginner-Level Task: Goblin Tribe."
After a brief respite, he stashed his pack in a concealed spot and traveled light to scout for the 50 adult Goblin settlent.
Soon, nurous footprints beca apparent in the soil.
A mid-sized Goblin tribe's activity radius could span kiloters, and Goblins lacked concealnt instincts, making tracking straightforward.
Trailing these signs, Gauss soon arrived at the tribe's encampnt—utterly different from the dozen-strong clusters he'd encountered before.
This settlent had developed proper scale.
Within a clearly cleared expanse stood a Goblin "village," encircled by haphazard stone walls sared with foul substances resembling dung or mud.
Beyond the low barrier, dense clusters of green-skinned figures milled about.
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