He glanced down; the crushed leaves on the ground and the footprints were quite fresh.
Alia nodded in understanding.
They’d run into other adventurers a few times yesterday and everyone had minded their own business, but when you bump into people unexpectedly, it’s best to keep your guard up until you know what’s what.
After all, you can’t be too careful around others.
Both of them slowed their pace a little.
Sure enough, not far ahead, voices drifted over, and Gauss even caught a faintly familiar scent.
They followed the sound and crept closer, peeking out from behind a building.
The voices came from in front of a three-story ruin, where two sides were facing off.
To be precise: four humans against one serpentfolk man.
The moment Gauss saw the snake-man’s figure, he knew where that familiar scent came from.
It was the same serpentfolk they’d seen at the inn two days ago, though unlike then, he now wore slightly scuffed protective soft armor and held a wooden staff—much more the look of an adventurer.
“Hand over that magic bracelet!” the burly human in front barked. “Our people found it first.”
“Sss—?” The male serpentfolk was unhurried, pulling back his lips in an unsettling smile. “I’m afraid not. I was the one who picked it up. As for your companion, he came later.”
“Don’t listen to his sophistry!”
“That monster’s just an earth priest. If you won’t hand it over, don’t blame us for taking it back by force.”
Hidden behind the building, Gauss and Alia exchanged a look.
What a coincidence—to stumble onto a loot-snatch in progress.
A “priest” is similar to a cleric or hierophant—strong in restoration, ally buffs, enemy debuffs, and other special tricks.
No wonder this four-man party—one two-star and three one-stars—dared take on a three-star: they’d probably figured out the serpentfolk’s class somehow.
But Gauss and Alia didn’t actually know what had happened, so they had no intention of jumping in.
And in any case, the dispute didn’t involve them.
The four quickly formed up; under a blessing from his teammates, the vanguard warrior charged.
The serpentfolk moved just as fast. As soon as he saw them commit, a pale violet energy rippled out before him, spreading to cover the whole party.
The mage who was about to cast suddenly sneezed; his mana lurched out of control, and the Grease he’d intended to fling forward slopped crookedly under the charging warrior’s feet instead.
The warrior skidded, all his focus forward; caught off guard, he slid several meters before managing, awkwardly, to steady himself.
“Wovin! What the hell are you doing?!”
Relying on a Level 2 fighter’s physique, he barely got upright, shouting without looking back. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
“Boss, sorry! That snake’s spell messed me up!” the mage named Wovin protested.
“Everybody be careful!”
Only then did the warrior notice a subtle malaise in his body—but his level advantage left him least affected. Clearly, the wily serpentfolk was aiming mainly at his teammates.
Taking advantage of their disarray, the serpentfolk calmly cast again.
A long whip flickering with eerie green light appeared in his hand.
Then he layered some kind of self-buff; his gold-scaled body snapped in a twist, nimbly avoiding the greased patch as he swept toward the party’s back line like a gold-and-green whirlwind.
The empowered whip cracked through the air; the three in the rear couldn’t dodge in time, and cries of pain followed one after another. Even through armor, the whip’s magic punched through to their bodies.
“What a strong cleric…”
Gauss clicked his tongue inwardly.
He could tell the serpentfolk wasn’t going for the kill—he was holding back. Even so, under siege from a whole party, he looked utterly at ease.
The three Level 1s, harried by some cantrip interference, were in a sorry state.
The sole one who could barely cope—the warrior—couldn’t catch that agile serpent shadow without his team’s support.
Level edge, spell edge, and racial physique, huh?
“You two back there! Fellow human adventurers—help us take down this snake monster! We’ll reward you handsomely afterward!”
One of the women suddenly shouted toward Gauss and Alia’s hiding spot.
Gauss was sure they hadn’t been seen, but her pinpoint call-out of their location and number wasn’t bluster.
He still had no intention of getting involved.
“This snake monster stole the treasure we found first! Once he’s done with us, he won’t spare you either!” the same adventurer called on.
Gauss remained impassive.
First, this had nothing to do with him. Second, though they kept calling the other a “snake monster,” the fact he could register as an adventurer meant his identity was law-abiding—he wasn’t an actual monster.
Finally, he didn’t know who had taken what from whom—but the one thing he could see was that even with the upper hand, the serpentfolk hadn’t gone for lethal blows.
When Gauss never answered and didn’t even show his face, the four realized help wasn’t coming. They traded glances.
“We’re pulling out!” the warrior decided on the spot.
They hadn’t expected the serpentfolk to be this capable. They’d underestimated him.
Seeing them slowly withdraw, the male serpentfolk didn’t press the attack; his serpent eyes tracked them until they vanished from sight.
Only then did he slowly turn toward Gauss’s direction, mouth curving, tongue flicking, showing a smile that mixed appraisal with a faint, curious goodwill.
“You two—fancy meeting you again,” rasped his voice.
Alia instinctively tugged Gauss’s sleeve.
“He probably scented us,” Gauss wasn’t surprised the serpentfolk could call out their presence.
Snakes can catch tiny scent particles in the air with their tongues to identify targets. Even in hiding, a familiar smell won’t slip past that sense.
“What a coincidence.” Gauss stepped out openly, but kept his distance.
“Thank you for your righteous restraint, sss—” The serpentfolk dismissed the conjured weapon; the whip’s green glow faded as he offered a solemn thanks.
“We didn’t do anything,” Gauss replied evenly.
“Sss! That was enough.” The serpentfolk nodded.
He felt a clear threat from Gauss; if the man had joined the siege, he’d have been in real trouble today.
He tossed a cloth-wrapped object to land at Gauss’s feet.
The cloth fell away to reveal an archaic-looking bracelet that radiated a magical aura.
Gauss raised a brow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Judging by what the four had shouted, this bracelet was likely the cause of their clash.
Handing it over so easily? Just because they hadn’t ganged up on him? Then why fight so hard for it a moment ago?
If it were him, he doubted he could hand a magic item over so crisply.
Sensing what Gauss was thinking, the serpentfolk spoke first:
“Sss— I refused just now because I wouldn’t let those unjust bandits succeed. As for this bracelet, it isn’t something I urgently need.”
“Entrusting it to you is fitting.”
Having given the gift, he twisted his body and slid away without fuss.
He did have another reason he didn’t say aloud:
Gauss was that rare kind of human who made him feel… a kinship.
“Sss! If fate allows—until next time!”