[Next Milestone: 1,000 Total Monster Kills.]
Gauss's mind buzzed as if it were running on overdrive.
It felt like rusty gears had just been oiled, like an out-of-tune string was finally being tuned—his thoughts and mental flow were becoming smoother and more precise.
It was as if his consciousness had been lifted from his body by a gentle yet immense force. Detached from the constraints of the flesh, he hovered like a calm observer—watching his own mental and magical power surge in waves.
Then, gradually—
His awareness returned, like a bird coming home to roost.
He opened his eyes.
They were brilliantly clear, overflowing with a vitality that almost seemed visible. If a normal person had looked into them at that moment, they might have flinched from the sharp intensity.
"Intelligence: 9."
The number echoed coldly in his mind, but it barely captured the actual transformation within.
That single point of Intelligence had brought a sweeping, comprehensive upgrade.
His memory and logical reasoning had clearly improved, aiding him in everything from learning new material to constructing spell models.
Just two nights ago, while struggling through The Meditation Manual, he had hit a wall with its dense, foggy wording. But now, those same passages were suddenly crystal clear in his mind. What was once a roadblock had now become an open path.
A sense of clarity and understanding like never before flowed through him.
He had a strange sense of certainty: if he picked up that book again right now, he could absolutely master its core teachings. After all, The Meditation Manual was written for beginner-ranked spellcasters like him.
Other mages might need to reread, recopy, or brute-force their way through it. But now that his foundational knowledge and intellect had caught up, Gauss could see the threads tying everything together.
That old saying, "strength makes even clumsy effort effective," applied here too—even in mental cultivation. With 9 INT, he was leagues ahead of his past self.
But it wasn't just in cognition that the change showed.
The magic coursing through his body now flowed more smoothly, like a river that had just been dredged.
The "Class Cup" floating in the depths of his awareness—his symbolic representation of professional advancement—now shone brighter than ever. Runes on its surface glowed, their outlines clearer than ever.
Gauss could feel it: he'd just taken a huge leap toward Level 2, and it hadn't even been that long since he hit Level 1.
And he suspected something else…
That his INT score may have already exceeded the theoretical cap for a pureblood human at Level 1.
This exceptionally long "stat bar" of his was quietly pulling up the rest of his system.
Spell control, casting precision, class strength, spell capacity, and even his meditation efficiency were all surging like a seedling suddenly blessed by rain and sunlight.
The surge in spiritual energy stirred something in him. He felt… unstoppable.
At Level 1, he probably had no equal anymore.
Even among Challenge Level 1 monsters, he was confident none could match him in a one-on-one fight.
He even began to wonder… could he already go toe-to-toe with a Level 2, or even someone higher?
Of course, that thought came and went quickly.
Reason reasserted itself.
Stay grounded. No unnecessary risks.
Just like how, even after becoming Level 1, he still methodically hunted low-tier monsters to build up strength.
That slow-but-steady growth path—that was the key to getting stronger the right way.
…
Not far off, Alia noticed something different about Gauss.
Though she couldn't sense the transformation itself, her druidic instincts told her: he was at a strange, powerful threshold.
She didn't disturb him.
She quietly signaled Ulfen to stay silent and led him away a few paces.
Then she turned and began harvesting the remaining spoils from the Rustfrogs—collecting tongues as proof of completion, and carefully cutting away the thigh meat Gauss would want.
Only after Gauss gradually pulled his focus back to reality did Alia return.
Beside her was a neat pile: bundled frog tongues, pink meat wrapped in oilcloth, and folded, cleaned frogskins.
"How do you feel?"
She could tell just from his aura—Gauss had become sharper, calmer. Like a sword that had been freshly honed.
She'd heard before that some rare talents could grow stronger through combat, turning battle itself into nourishment.
But this was her first time seeing it for real.
He really was one-in-a-million.
"Thanks. I'm good—definitely gained something from all this," Gauss smiled, energized. Then, noticing how long she'd been working, a trace of guilt crossed his face.
"You've been at it a while. Want me to finish up? Take a break?"
"You again," Alia raised a hand instinctively to pinch the bridge of her nose—then remembered it was stained with dried blood and lowered it. Her voice, however, was firm.
"Don't say stuff like that. We're teammates."
Gauss laughed, said no more, and got to work.
Cleaning up after a battle often took far longer than the fight itself.
By the time the two of them had processed all fifty-two Rustfrogs, the sun was setting.
The sky burned orange and gold.
Gauss had collected over 200 more pounds of high-calorie frog meat—nearly 400 pounds total when combined with the earlier haul.
Unfortunately, his storage bag had a 500-pound (227 kg) capacity. With the meat plus his existing inventory, he was over the limit.
But he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.
The meat was high in energy, extremely useful for him—and delicious.
So he unloaded some travel gear and had Ulfen carry part of the load, paying him with a few raw cuts of meat as incentive.
That night, they stayed at a nearby village to rest and recover before returning to Grayrock.
…
"Alia," Gauss said after dinner, "don't you think it's time we considered buying mounts?"
"Funny you say that—I was just about to bring it up."
"We've been lucky with caravan rides, but we can't rely on that forever."
Gauss agreed wholeheartedly.
They hadn't bought mounts before for three reasons: money, time to learn riding, and the difficulty of managing a mount during combat.
But now that they had Alia—a druid who could communicate with animals—training and handling would be much easier.
A proper mount would massively increase their carrying capacity, mobility, and overall expedition efficiency.
Until they found a better mode of transportation, this was the best solution.
"Grayrock doesn't have many options," Alia said, clearly having looked into it. "But if we're talking real mount markets, Barry City is the place to go. Biggest trading hub nearby."
"We can look for a quest near there and stop by after we finish."
She listed a few options:
Horses: Common and reliable
Ponies: Good in dense forests
Ironhoof Goats: Ideal for mountain terrain, strong haulers
Tamed Ground Lizards: Heat-resistant and hardy
Chocobo-like Striders, Mountain Sheep, Wild Oxen... plenty of choices
Ulfen, while powerful, wasn't built for carrying heavy loads long-distance. Forcing him to act as a mount would be a huge burden.
As for taming wild beasts on the road? Not realistic. Druidic affinity wasn't the same as mind control.
Convincing a wild creature to leave its home and carry you across the continent? Yeah—not easy.
…
Barry.
The name drifted through Gauss's thoughts.
When he first heard it, he was still a total rookie—hadn't even taken a single quest yet.
He still had the first-party's commission payment tucked away—never delivered.
What ever happened to the rest of them...?
They finished talking about mounts and headed to their rooms.
Gauss lay awake on a stiff wooden bed.
No drowsiness.
His new 9 INT was still buzzing in his veins.
He got up, opened the window.
The silver moonlight spilled across the room, washing the tabletop in soft light—intertwining with the flicker of the oil lamp.
Now was the perfect time.
He pulled out The Meditation Manual.
He would seize this moment—when his mind was most active—and break through the final wall.
If he could master meditation, he would gain a stable daily method to grow his mana pool.
More importantly—this was the key to upgrading his Class Cup again and unlocking even deeper power.