Thanks to Doyle "yielding" the final blow, Gauss rushed forward in a few quick steps.
A flash of cold steel—
His rapier pierced straight through the chest of the already exhausted water ghoul.
Its slimy skin split open with a sickening sound, foul-smelling blood gushing out.
Without hesitation, Gauss withdrew the blade and stepped back.
With that final kill, the system notifications he'd been waiting for finally appeared.
[Water Ghoul Slain ×1]
[Total Monster Kills: 50]
[Reward Unlocked: Level 1 Spell – Mage Armor]
[Reward Unlocked: +1 Agility]
[Next Milestone: 100 Total Monster Kills]
The message faded, and Gauss felt a jolt ripple through his body. A tingle raced across his nerves—like tiny electric sparks crawling under his skin. It was a strange but invigorating sensation.
In the span of a few blinks, that power had reshaped his body.
And the next moment, a new spell had etched itself into his consciousness.
Doyle noticed Gauss had frozen after landing the final blow and called out in confusion.
"N-Nothing. Just… give me a second," Gauss exhaled deeply and shook his head.
In truth, he felt amazing.
The +1 Agility boost may seem small, but unlike Constitution, Agility had an immediate and obvious impact.
Going from 5 to 6 made him feel more fluid, more in sync with his movements. If he had to compare it, it was like switching from a laggy 200ms ping to a smooth, low-latency 30ms in a game.
The difference was night and day.
Of course, maybe that's just the adrenaline talking—but either way, his ability to control his body had definitely leveled up.
And now, he had a new spell:
Level 1 Spell – Mage Armor.
As he mentally examined the details, the spell's function became clear. Upon casting, it would form a protective force field around his body—a kind of zero-weight invisible armor.
It wouldn't slow him down at all, but it would absorb damage. Exactly the kind of utility he needed.
Gauss's heart thumped with excitement.
This spell is amazing.
He had to admit it—he was already falling in love with this new ability.
It was just like back when he got Magic Missile—which had quickly replaced Mage Hand as his go-to attack. Now, Mage Armor might take the crown.
In fact, he was even debating whether to make it his new core skill.
Based on gut feeling, Mage Armor seemed easier to train and level up compared to Magic Missile too.
As a mage apprentice—someone who wasn't exactly squishy but definitely not tanky—his biggest concern was getting hit.
All the firepower in the world meant nothing if a stray arrow or bite took him out.
And the battlefield was unpredictable.
Even with his mental overclock, Gauss knew he couldn't dodge everything.
That's why he'd been relying on his party—to soak up aggro while he racked up kills from a safe distance.
But now, with Mage Armor, even if he did get hit, there was a solid chance the damage would be negated.
It would massively increase his survivability.
That said, as the spell's details finished downloading into his mind, Gauss reminded himself not to get cocky.
Mage Armor wasn't some cheat code. If the incoming damage exceeded its protection limit, the shield would shatter. Plus, it couldn't block every type of attack.
And since he was still an apprentice, the version he had probably wasn't as powerful as what a full-fledged caster could conjure.
Still—it was absolutely perfect for his current stage.
Reeling his thoughts back in, Gauss looked around.
His moment of reflection hadn't taken long. The others were just wrapping up and catching their breath.
Daphne was already moving through the party, doing quick checks for injuries—especially for the frontliners.
She was thorough—inspecting limbs, joints, torsos. Even tiny scratches could be dangerous, given the bacteria water ghouls carried.
Those overlooked, painless cuts could fester into infections—or worse.
Meanwhile, Meva and Oliver were already hard at work collecting loot.
In addition to the left ears used for bounty verification, certain ghoul body parts were also valuable for crafting poisons and potions.
When Daphne finished checking Gauss, he headed over to help with cleanup.
Laevin finally relaxed a bit. So far, it looked like his earlier gut feeling had been a false alarm. Everything had gone smoothly.
They rested briefly, then resumed gathering.
All in all, the process was gross but worthwhile.
Ghouls reeked. Their corpses were disgusting to handle—but when you remembered that each piece was basically money, it was worth it.
There's only one kind of pain worse than physical suffering—being broke.
Just as the group was busy with post-battle cleanup...
Gauss's eye suddenly started twitching like crazy.
At first, he thought it was from the overwhelming stench. Maybe the putrid ghoul flesh was finally getting to him.
But then a prickling sensation crawled across his scalp. His instincts screamed.
He abruptly looked up.
Under the moonlight, across the glimmering silver surface of the river, a tall, hulking blue figure was silently walking along the riverbank.
No—something's off. That's not human. It's a monster!
Squinting through the dim light, Gauss finally got a clear look.
Its skin was stretched tightly over its bones, covered in patches of scales and bluish-black spots—like a dried-out leather hide.
Its face resembled some sort of canine predator—sunken eye sockets glowing red like burning coals, a snout full of jagged teeth, and a long, muscular tongue flailing in the air like a snake.
Its front limbs ended in long, curved claws that looked like serrated blades.
It hunched as it walked—like a bipedal beast moving with quiet, unnatural grace.
And it was heading straight for them. Fast.