The Next Day
When Gauss woke up, he sneezed several tis in a row—clearly caught a bit of a chill.
Thankfully, with his above-average Constitution stat, it wasn’t anything serious. If it were his past self in his old, suboptimal health, he might’ve already been down with a fever.
“Whew...”
He drank a bit of water and rubbed his arms.
With a Constitution score of 6, his body was naturally resistant to illness.
His eyes drifted to the life mana stone hanging around his neck.
Besides the benefit from his last stat upgrade, the crystal itself had done a lot.
It steadily strengthened his body over ti—and combined with his boosted stats, the effect was even more significant.
He stretched.
His height had stabilized at 180 cm—not that the extra centiters mattered much. What really counted was how much sturdier he felt.
Now, a half-day of travel didn’t wear him out like it used to.
Post-battle recovery was faster.
His stamina during combat had improved too.
Just a few of the many upsides of increasing Constitution.
Across all classes—whether warrior, ranger, or caster—it was one of the most crucial attributes.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Gauss focused inward and pulled up his Adventurer’s Manual.
On the monster index page, the image of his second enemy had finally lit up: a green sli.
Beneath the icon, the label read "Sli", and in the corner, his kill count was noted: 9.
He still needed 18 more kills from any monster type—and 3 new monster species—to trigger his next reward.
Thinking it over, he figured the kill count would probably be the first to hit the goal.
Compared to the unclear benefits of unlocking a random racial trait, the flat attribute boost from the total kill count was more direct and reliable.
He decided not to get his hopes up too much about the random trait.
The prompt back then had said: “The weaker the trait, the more likely you’ll get it.”
Keeping expectations low was a great way to avoid disappointnt—and boost happiness.
After sorting out his thoughts, Gauss got dressed and headed downstairs.
The heavy rain from yesterday had passed as quickly as it ca.
Now, the sky was clear again.
On the first floor of the inn, a few unfamiliar guests were having breakfast.
Nothing unusual—travelers ca and went from this place all the ti.
Still, when so of the diners spotted Gauss—equipped in high-quality gear and visibly ard—their conversations quieted. A few even nodded toward him nervously.
Gauss noticed it, but didn’t care.
In this world, regular folks generally avoided picking fights with adventurers.
Part of it was practical: adventurers carried weapons, wore decent armor, and could be dangerous if provoked.
But more than that, they lived hard lives—facing death, danger, and stress from constant quests.
So were short-tempered. You might set one off just by looking at them wrong.
Even though towns had guards and watchn, help rarely ca fast enough.
Best to steer clear.
“Up already?”
Sophia was tending to a rosemary plant behind the counter.
“That rain was wild last night. You guys should’ve stayed put and co back today.”
“No choice. The weather was fine when we left... then it ca down out of nowhere.”
Gauss shook his head. There wasn’t much they could’ve done.
“What’s that plant for?” He glanced at the pot.
“Rosemary. The inn’s been damp lately—I’m hoping it helps with the sll and keeps bugs away.”
Gauss smiled.
Probably wouldn’t do much. But at least she was trying.
After breakfast, he made his way to the Adventurers’ Guild.
First order of the day: report the completed quest and collect the reward.
Even though this was only his third job, Gauss still felt a little thrill every ti he handed in a mission.
That sa feeling of relief he used to get after finishing the last exam in a school sester.
mbers of the Night Owl party lived in different parts of town.
So rented private houses, others stayed in taverns.
As usual, they arrived at the guild at different tis.
When Gauss showed up, Laevin was already there.
He always seed to be the first to arrive.
“Morning.”
They exchanged brief greetings.
Laevin looked a little worn from yesterday’s rain, but tried to stay cheerful—perhaps to avoid awkward silence.
“Monster requests should start spiking soon,” he ntioned casually.
“Why’s that?” Gauss asked.
“It’s a trend. After big storms, monsters tend to beco more active.”
“So we should take on more quests while the opportunities are there?” Gauss asked, already thinking ahead.
More monster activity ant more requests.
More requests ant more chances to pick missions that fit their strengths.
You couldn’t just blindly accept every commission that ca your way.
You had to consider the monster type, location, reward, cost of supplies and gear, and whether your weapons might get damaged in the process.
ss that up, and you could end up losing money on a job.
Laevin nodded. “That’s the idea. But it’ll depend on how everyone’s feeling.”
“If it’s possible, Captain Laevin,” Gauss said, trying not to sound pushy, “could we take a job that involves sothing other than goblins or slis?”
“Switching it up, huh?” Laevin chuckled. “Got it. I’ll look into it.”
He didn’t promise anything out loud—but ntally, he was already sorting through possible monster requests that might fit.
Gauss could tell from Laevin’s serious expression that he was taking the suggestion to heart.
That ant their next mission would probably involve a new monster type.
Good.
He needed to reach 50 total monster kills, and unlock a few more types to roll for that racial trait.
Either milestone could potentially boost his power significantly.
And once his strength leveled up enough, maybe he’d finally be ready to solo so beginner-level jobs.
He didn’t want to keep relying on the group for everything.
Honestly, he felt like he could already handle ten or so basic monsters on his own.
And most entry-level requests only involved that many, tops.
But still—he couldn’t be sure.
Even in their last mission, he’d killed nearly ten slis... but that was with a front line soaking up damage and ranged allies backing him up.
Going solo ant no backup.
He didn’t want to risk everything on a miscalculation.
Better to play it safe and keep training for a while longer.
This wasn’t a ga where he could respawn if he died.
In real life, one wrong move could be the end.
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