They quickened their pace once they cleared the village.
The goblin nest for this contract wasn’t exactly close to Stone Creek; it sat roughly between several villages. That was why the villagers pooled their money and asked the Adventurers’ Guild to handle it. Unfortunately the pot was small, so days had passed with no takers—until Gauss saw the posting.
They followed Stone...
“Finally back!”
Standing before Grayrock Town’s gate—nowhere near as grand as Barry’s—Gauss and the others let a faint sliver of relief slip into their voices.
They were used to the Forest Capital’s sky-piercing walls bristling with watchtowers and fortifications. By contrast, this two-to-three-meter-high parapet of rough-laid stone felt small—yet oddly dear and fa...
Only when their feet touched solid ground did their taut nerves begin to ease.
Behind them, the labyrinth’s vast, misshapen mouth loomed darker and more inscrutable in the night—and under the dread of the coming repulsion phase—like the gaping maw of some great beast crouched in wait.
From deep within, a dull thudding—like the earth’s own pulse—seemed to roll outward, ...
With the challenge trial over, everything fell silent. The raucous insectfolk phantoms vanished, and the air no longer thrummed with wing-buzz and chitter.
Only the three of them remained, standing in the middle of the empty, moss-stained ruins of an ancient arena. On the stone terraces around them you could still make out the scars of ages.
“Is that it?” Alia looked around, s...
A warm current poured into Gauss in an instant.
It wasn’t a scorching heat, but a perfectly measured, gentle, and mighty energy—like sinking into a hot spring.
An unprecedented comfort swept through him, especially in his mind. His thoughts sharpened; a quiet, strangely vital energy unfurled, nourishing his brain cells.
It felt as if his soul slipped free of his body an...
Thinking it over now, he realized the distant Briar Behemoth wasn’t actually stupid.
Right from their opening exchanges it had used its vine-tails to intercept magic missiles, showing off rapid regeneration while also hinting that smashing those tails didn’t cause it any pain.
Which, in turn, nudged Gauss to stop focusing on its tail.
If that was intentional, you could ...
Standing in the center of the arena, Gauss and the others suddenly felt the world around them shift.
A hard white spotlight dropped from overhead, flooding the middle of the ring with brilliance.
On the towering stands encircling them, tall insectfolk silhouettes flickered into view, and a tidal roar of cheers surged in from every direction.
For a heartbeat, their three-per...
The second haul of clay was just enough to shape a goblin at normal size.
Gauss and the others were rolling up their sleeves, ready to “fish” the burrowing worm up a third time the same way, when the unexpected happened.
No matter how Alia urged nature’s power—no matter how far that green gleam sank into the ley—the depths stayed dead and dull. Not a flutter in reply.
Gauss’s voice was almost swallowed by the rising rumble underfoot.
The flagstone path heaved like a living thing and shattered.
Something was waking beneath the earth.
He moved on instinct—snatching Alia mid-sentence, legs exploding with power as he vaulted them several meters away.
Off to the side, Serandur reacted just as fast. He hadn’t been standing on the ...
The moment Gauss dropped Ghoul Form, his thighs went weak— that surging power drained in an instant.
A hollow fatigue washed through his body.
“—huh—”
He let out a long breath.
After feeling that kind of strength, returning to normal took a moment to adjust to.
He pulled jerky and a lantern-fruit from his satchel and stuffed them into his mouth.
<...
By the campfire.
Before long, a large white mosquito took shape, lifelike and crisp.
The formless “mosquito spirits” around Gauss streamed in at the same time.
Its wings quivered; it drifted softly through the gloom.
Gauss blinked at how realistic the clay mosquito looked—unexpected.
Was it the “spirit” that made the sculpt so convincing?
Whic...
Gauss weighed the pros and cons, hesitated a moment, then decided.
“Let’s scout toward the hidden room first. Once we’ve got eyes on it, we’ll decide whether to go in.”
Compared to whatever payout a labyrinth “dark room” might hold, safety was the priority.
And for some reason, a faint unease had been nagging him—like his sixth sense was trying to tap him on...
That was the haul from last time they entered the labyrinth and killed that mud golem on the first level.
Aside from a bunch of mud, they’d also picked up a lump of white clay—magical-item grade.
And now he’d just obtained the Level 2 spell [Shaping Magic: Clay].
Honestly, Gauss was starting to think the panel’s rewards might not be random after all.
He pulle...
“I’ll check once more.”
“Meat, greens, fruit, ration bars…”
“Water filter, folding tent, thermal sleeping bags, cold box, med kit, night-vision draughts, gas test powder, whetstone…”
Before setting out, Alia was doing a final pass over gear and supplies.
“Alia, we’re good, right?” Gauss stood with hands on hips, a little helpless. “That’s ...
“Cough, cough!”
Gauss downed several strips of jerky in a row.
Only when warmth began to spread through him did he exhale in relief.
He finally had the space to think back on what had happened.
He shut his eyes, searching his memory.
“I just…”
“I went into the quicksand whirlpool, and then…”
“What happened next?”
He mut...
Gauss studied the spot for a long while and became certain the small clearing up ahead was the lowest point in the whole valley.
“Right there?”
Serandur followed Gauss’s pointing finger.
“Let’s back off a bit first.”
Knowing something was off, Gauss wasn’t about to stroll straight in. He pulled out a climbing kit, used Mage Hand to carry a rope up and a...
With mixed feelings, Gauss walked the country lane.
The gate guard led him straight to the village head’s house—standard procedure for village-side commissions.
After showing the way, the young man bowed and hurried back to the gate. Monsters seemed more active of late; even a small place like this was mustering able-bodied youths to form a standing militia against roving ban...
Over the next few days—
Gauss and Serandur, with time on their hands, picked up several more goblin- and small-monster-related commissions nearby.
They were small-scale commissions with few monsters; their only real merit was proximity.
All around Barry, not far at all—easy to handle.
By coincidence, with the labyrinth drawing so much attention, these routine cle...
Searing yet icy energy coursed swiftly through Gauss’s body, soaking every limb and bone in that strange, alien power.
First to change—again—was the toughness of his skin.
He could feel countless currents of energy pouring into the surface layer and fusing with that thin sheath, seeping into every cell, tissue, and pore.
His physical skin defense rose again, and he co...
It might have been the loss of cover behind him—or the killing aura rolling up from his rear.
Theo’s back went ice-cold; sweat soaked his rough linen shirt.
“Run!”
He forced his shaking, buckling legs to move, scrambling and stumbling into a ragged trot.
The towering monster behind him followed at an unhurried, silent pace.
Thump!
Out of the cor...
Hello Readers!
First of all, thank you for subscribing and joining my memberships. A simple thanks isn’t enough for the support you all have given me! It’s been a good month for me, and while checking the payout button on my page, I stumbled upon something...
Apparently, if you use iOS to make payments, the payment is held for up to 75 days before the creator (which is me) can...
Leaving Barry by the west gate, the massive walls dwindled behind them.
Gauss rode his chocobo, rising and falling with its stride, eyes full of the open, magnificent view.
Now he truly felt the joy of traveling on his own mount.
Compared to hitching a ride with a caravan, this was pure freedom.
Go where you want, leave when you want.
Should’ve bought one so...
Hailier circled Gauss twice, clicking her tongue inwardly in amazement.
It wasn’t that she’d never seen people change—but those were changes measured in years.
A cheerful childhood friend growing up to be reserved and subdued because of status gaps—she’d lived through that.
But that had taken a decade, and came during adolescence, when change is natural.
Ga...
Serandur hesitated a moment but ultimately kept his question to himself.
They weren’t true teammates yet; prying into someone’s strength was taboo.
But sitting and waiting was dull.
So the two of them strolled toward the entrance hall to pass the time while they waited for Alia outside.
The entrance hall offered free juice and mixed dried nuts; most spellcasters ...
Gauss had been braced to hear some other kind of request, and he’d steeled himself for it.
He hadn’t expected a question so… unrelated.
It had that simple yes-or-no, answer-or quality to it.
So for a moment he just stared.
Seeing him silent for so long, a flicker of disappointment crossed the serpentfolk’s face; he smoothed it over quickly and said, feigning ...
Gauss opened his eyes.
The dazzling sunlight made him reel.
He raised a hand by reflex to block it, mind a muddle.
“Where… am I…?”
His memory had a brief gap, like a blackout after drinking.
He stared around in confusion.
Then, as he quickly pieced things together, memories came back bit by bit.
Right—he’d been delving the labyrinth. ...
Gauss was now as far from the adult as the nest allowed—on the opposite side—putting the maximum distance between them. At the adult’s earlier movement speed, it wouldn’t be closing that gap quickly.
He steadied his breathing and gathered mana.
At last, the three smaller ones skimmed up to him, sliding into range.
Boom!
His focus narrowed.
Three Magic ...
Gauss’s memory was razor-sharp now.
He was certain the passage around him wasn’t the same as before.
For instance, that corner he’d just flashed past hadn’t existed on the way in.
The terrain had changed—without a sound?
What truly unsettled him was not knowing where Alia was now.
Had the two of them been separated in the labyrinth’s shifting?
<...
“Go!”
He shouted—and moved.
Almost simultaneously he unleashed Enhanced Leap and Brute Force. A surge of raw power flooded his body.
In an instant his frame—especially his legs—bulked out.
Supple muscle lines swelled and knotted like slabs of rock.
Thud!
With the double boost’s explosive force, his foot hammered the ground.
The reboun...
Gauss stared at the pallid figure before him—the very sight of it exuding invisible pressure—drew a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.
It was a monster he had never seen before.
He couldn’t even name it.
Color seemed to have been leeched from the space around it, leaving only a chilling white.
Broadly, its form was humanoid.
“Broadly” beca...