Burp—
The red drake was a little overstuffed and flopped down to rest.
Gauss used the time to make a circuit of the area.
"Total Monster Kills: 7,545."
Roaming the wilds around Gold & Silver, both he and the red drake Hephaestus had racked up gains. Any monster that ran into this man-and-dragon duo ended up wiped clean—its spirit harvested by Gauss, its flesh the drake's dinner—leaving scarcely a trace they'd ever existed.
Gauss sometimes wondered: from a monster's point of view, was he any different from a "monster" himself?
But that's this world—no right or wrong, only sides. Your foe, my hero.
After circling the woods without finding more sign of monsters, he shook his head. There were plenty out here, sure, but not enough to survive Hephaestus' and his carpet search.
Every region has a carrying capacity for beasts and monsters. He'd already cleaned out most sizable bands near Gold & Silver—there'd be stragglers, the three- or five-strong groups that burrow into gullies and thickets; unless you're lucky, they're hard to flush.
Perhaps after he leaves, monsters from farther off will flood into this "low spot."
He tucked a few decent iron bits into his bag and walked back to where Hephaestus lay. He raised a hand and rubbed the drake's head.
Not yet full grown, Hephaestus' head-to-body ratio wasn't very even—in simple terms, it was a bit big. Gauss thumbed the two little bumps atop the skull.
"Starting to grow horns?"
Dragons usually have horns, but not always; drakes without horns are common. Among chromatics, horn shapes vary—reds tend to have huge, thick, most imposing horns; whites are small, like icicles. Horns are one way to read species and age.
So Hephaestus sprouting horns was a good sign—his body was moving into the next phase.
He patted the drake's head. Time to speed that growth up.
…
Gauss had underestimated how long Shadow's training would take. They'd lingered in Gold & Silver for days and she hadn't returned.
His two freshly bought Level 3 spells, Counterspell and Haste, had crept up to lv3 in proficiency. Albena had finished winding down her forge.
"Eeeek—"
Albena looked around the empty shop and felt a little hollow. Counting it up, she'd run this place over a year. Gold & Silver was backwater and quiet, but this small forge held a surprising number of her own memories.
Her palm brushed the stone worktable; she could still recall coming to town without much coin, chopping and grinding this slab out beyond the walls, then, to the shock of gate guards and passersby, hauling the thousand-pound table back on her own shoulders.
A smile tugged her mouth. Then there was the time thieves hit the forge; she put up a commission, found the culprit, and then, axe in hand, blocked the door to their den—tore apart one of the town's few gangs, recovered the stolen goods, and broke the crew for good. After that, the guild and locals respected—and even feared—her more. Business hadn't suffered; she sold not just arms but useful tools at fair prices.
Memories like that were many.
"Sigh…"
She swept the room; the old scenes rose up, bittersweet.
"Albena—need a hand?" Gauss' voice came from the door.
She turned to see Gauss, Alia, and Serandur step in. The wistfulness scattered like smoke.
Leaving Gold & Silver was just the start of a new road. She'd make new memories with her friends.
She smiled. "Sir Gauss, I'm packed—just this left."
A huge, tightly bound bundle leaned in the corner—rare ingots and core tools she couldn't bear to sell. The rest was gone.
They stepped into the street. Locals who'd been watching murmured:
"The Giant's Daughter is joining that party, looks like."
"They're leaving?"
"Ah—the best smith in town's been poached."
"I figured as much the day they came back from the kobolds."
"People like her don't stay in a small place like this."
"This town used to be wealthy, once."
"Ah… Gold & Silver's in decline."
The drawback of small towns showed starkly. Resources were thin—natural, animal, monster—and few adventurers stayed; even locals, once past novice, took their talent to richer cities. With adventurers scarce, smiths, apothecaries, merchants—those who follow them—grew scarce as well. The world moves for profit.
"Let's go," Gauss said softly to Albena.
"Okay."
She took one last look around and fell in beside them. They walked straight for the north gate.
Guildmaster Jon and a small group waited there. "Gauss, my boy—safe travels."
Gauss had told him yesterday they were leaving this morning—no surprise to see him.
"Thanks. When Shadow returns to find us, could you give her our route?"
"Leave it to me," Jon nodded.
"Then we're off."
They would continue north past Gold & Silver. Truth be told, even without Jon, Shadow knew their rough route; with her scouting, once she finished her seclusion she'd catch up fast.
Gauss swung onto his chocobo. A crowd had gathered to see them off. A handsome, cool-headed, powerful adventurer like him was a rare sight here—and they'd also removed a threat; goodwill was high.
"Goodbye!"
Gauss waved to Jon and the townsfolk, then, amid a chorus of blessings, pressed his heels and rode through the gate, the town's outline shrinking behind.
Clip-clop-clop—
The chocobo's hoofbeats were light and steady. Fields and trees took the place of houses; clean air rushed in, smelling of earth and green.
"Blue Lake isn't far—the view's supposed to be gorgeous. I wonder if it is," Alia said, riding alongside, voice full of anticipation. A big reason she chose this life was to see new sights—unlike townsfolk tethered to deeds and jobs and polite circles.
The stronger an adventurer, the wider the world they tread—towns, cities, provinces, kingdoms, even new continents.
Blue Lake was the first big landmark north of Gold & Silver—on the map, a massive lake ringed by dense villages and several prosperous towns.
"It is beautiful," Albena said. Blunt by nature, quick to feel and quick to forget—she'd already shrugged off her parting blues.
On a local's half-assurance, Alia's excitement grew.
They spent the next two days on the road. The air grew damper; they pushed through a dense, misty fir wood and the world opened.
A vast expanse of sapphire water—like a sea—flashed into view, as if a giant blue gem had been set into the land. The lake was glass-bright, sunlight scattering in ripples, but it wasn't only sun: tiny light-points glowed under the surface, a painterly, tranquil beauty as if the sky itself were held in the waters.
"Wow! It's gorgeous," Alia breathed. Two days' expectation hadn't been wasted—she felt even her breath lighten. As a druid, she loved places brimming with life.
"No wonder Gold & Silver withers…" Gauss shook his head, sighing. Given the choice, he'd live here among green hills and blue water—not in a dust bowl overmined to death. A land's vitality shows at a glance. This was the first truly rich region he'd seen since leaving Sennah.
While they drank in the view, a faint cry rode the wind to Gauss' ears.
"Something's up," he said quietly.
"Let's take a look," Alia nodded.
They rode toward the sound and quickly found it. By a reed-choked riverbank, a handful of young faces fought a pack of water ghouls. They looked even younger than Gauss' crew—fifteen or sixteen at most.
"Newbie adventurers," Alia blinked.
Two boys, two girls: a half-orc teen with a sword up front, a girl mage behind him waving a staff, a purple-haired archer loosing in a hurry, and a tall cleric laying healing light on the front line.
"No synergy at all," Albena observed. Plain as day—an absolute novice team, clumsy coordination, clearly just started. Under the ghouls' press they fumbled and were being driven toward the river.
"Rode—heal me!"
"Wait—wait!"
"Mira, you almost shot me!"
"Sorry!"
Panic laced their shouts. Unexpectedly, they were still holding—because their raw power outmatched the water ghouls'. Inexperience had them tripping over each other, making 1+1 less than 1.
Gauss shook his head. They had a high starting point—but panic and lack of teamwork smothered it.
"Do we jump in?" Serandur asked. Any one of them could delete those ghouls.
"Let's watch a bit," Gauss said. The rookies could still stand—and a "close call" like this is important for the green. People can't teach people what a situation can. One taste and they learn.
They sat quietly on the bank and watched the chaos. The fight stayed hair-raising but balanced—until…
A bigger, craftier ghoul lunged from the reeds, slipping past the half-orc and raking for the girl mage as she prepped a cantrip.
"Pelo—look out!"
Gauss finally moved. He shot into the air; a deep-red arrow knit itself in a blink.
Fwip!
In a heartbeat, the flaming shaft crossed forty meters and, an instant before the ghoul's claws would have closed on the girl, punched down through its chest.
Sssk—
He'd reined the fire in—no blast, just raw force, nailing it to the shallows.
Pelo shrieked, crumpling, warm foul blood spattering her face. Her friends saw her unharmed and exhaled—then gritted their teeth and went to work. Above, Gauss nodded. People change under pressure; seeing a monster nearly kill a friend bled out their nerves—their movements got sharper. Even the spooked mage scrambled up and tossed Acid Splash to help.
Rallied, the little party's true strength told; the water ghouls fell under sword, arrow, and magic.
Alia eyed Gauss drifting down and realized—he'd only killed one? Honestly, that wasn't very Gauss. She'd expected him to wipe them all. Everyone knew he had a "thing" about monster kills.
As if reading her thought, Gauss shook his head wryly. Was he some "will-die-if-I-don't-kill" type?
"I'm not so impatient I'll steal a newbie's monsters." Ten-odd ghouls were nothing to someone north of seven thousand kills. For a rookie party, it was a defining fight.
A gentleman loves profit, but takes it the right way—he wasn't about to cut in.