I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 321: Kill Count: 100,002

After finishing the instructions for his teammates, everyone began to move.After Serlandul finished applying buffs to the team, he naturally stayed in the rear to watch over Abby and York.

Although Abby was extremely curious about the battle Gauss and the others were about to begin, she also knew it wasn't a fight she could participate in.

Having only mastered the Light Cantrip, the best thing for her was to stay in the safe rear and not cause trouble for Gauss.

The rest of the group spread out across the wasteland, then gradually closed in like an invisible net.

A lone Gnoll spotted their traces early and tried to resist, but the Annihilation of Evil released by Aria quickly calmed them down.

The Gnolls could only instinctively move closer to the camp's direction, wanting to gather with their companions to resist.

The same was happening on Shadow and Albenia's side;they were herding the Gnolls towards the center.

The scene was like a pride of lions hunting on the grasslands. Of course, unlike a lion pride, Gauss, as the team's "leader," would also participate in this encirclement.

He casually released Magic Missiles to pick off those targets moving relatively fast while riding Dire Wolves.

"Dire Wolf*1 killed."

"Gnoll*1 killed."

"..."

Under the group's herding, the originally relatively scattered Gnolls gradually gathered together.

Gauss looked at the remaining Gnolls in the clearing.

"As expected, no juveniles again."

While the lack of juveniles was a significant benefit for him in accumulating monster kills, since juvenile monsters couldn't be counted, this was clearly an abnormal phenomenon.

Gnolls, like the vast majority of creatures, have various growth stages.

A healthy population would naturally have individuals of all ages: juvenile, adolescent, adult, prime, elderly...

Even for a species with an extremely fast growth cycle like Goblins, Gauss often encountered those little green rat-like juveniles during his daily hunts.

"Fireball!"

Although these thoughts crossed his mind, Gauss's actions were extremely decisive.

After having everyone who completed the herding work step back to a distance, a fully charged "Fireball" descended upon the Gnoll camp.

Fireball was perfectly suited for release in such open, flat terrain.

Moreover, the monsters often couldn't react in time.

Due to their habit of living in groups, these monsters would instinctively "huddle together" when facing danger, seeking their leader and following commands.

The "sanctuary" and "camp" they perceived as safest became the most open firing range under the rapid-cast Fireball that Gauss had mastered.

"BOOM!!!"

A shockwave surged.

Aria slightly narrowed her eyes.

A small mushroom cloud rose above the Gnoll camp.

Even the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.

"So strong..."

Although Abby was far away, the commotion from the Fireball was simply too great.

Even standing by the roadside, she still saw the fireball and thick smoke rising from the direction Gauss and the others had gone. The sheer power made her feel an uncontrollable yearning.

This was the second time she had seen this spell.

The last time was when Gauss rescued her from Witch Megan. In the end, Gauss released a Fireball that seemed like heavenly fire descending, destroying that place of sin.

It was also because of that day's experience that the Fireball spell left an extremely sacred impression in her heart.

Beautiful, powerful, a great magic capable of purifying the world's evils.

In the future... I must, I absolutely must master this spell that Teacher has mastered. She said to herself in her heart.

It was both aspiration and a form of encouragement for herself.

She had already asked Gauss about it. It was Fireball, a third-circle Evocation spell. Normally, at least a level 5 professional was required to master it.

But to release it as freely as Teacher, one often needed to be at least a level 6 or higher spellcaster.

That level was an unattainable dream for the vast majority of adventurers.

......

The effect of one Fireball was like a "desktop clearing master." In an instant, the tense situation that was about to erupt was resolved effortlessly.

The Gnolls were completely "calmed."

Looking at the now empty camp, Gauss didn't feel any particular regret.

Gnolls were a bunch of paupers to begin with;don't expect to squeeze much profit from these violent maniacs who couldn't even build decent camp structures.

This was also why he used Fireball to clear the area so decisively.

Casually picking off the last few Gnolls who survived the blast wave because they were positioned on the outskirts, and confirming there were no other escapees, the group quickly extinguished the fires and left the camp.

"BOOM!!!"

Another fireball rose over the wasteland.

Gauss paid attention to the changes in the kill count on the Monster Encyclopedia.

Finally...

"Total monsters killed: 10036"

The total monster kill count surged past the critical point in one go.

Breaking through to a brand new stage.

A surging, intense energy flooded into Gauss's body.

After calming down, Gauss looked at the panel.

"Total monsters killed: 10036/10000, achieved 10000 kill milestone achievement."

"Rewards obtained: 3rd-circle spell [Sleet Storm], 3rd-circle spell [Vampiric Touch]"

"Rewards obtained: Strength+1, Agility+1, Constitution+1, Charisma+1"

"Rewards obtained: Blue-quality racial talent [Flight Instinct]"

"Next stage: Total monsters killed reaches 20000"

And just like before, there were several smaller reward nodes on the progress bar between 10,000 and 20,000.

Gauss reviewed all the rewards.

Perhaps because 10,000 kills was a milestone stage, the richness of this reward was unprecedented.

First, it rewarded two 3rd-circle spells, both with a certain degree of uniqueness as offensive spells.

Among them, Sleet Storm's effect was to create a bitterly cold, freezing weather condition through magic in a specified local area, aiming to weaken, hinder, and damage enemies.

Compared to the one-time Fireball, Sleet Storm, also a 3rd-circle spell, wasn't a spell pursuing instant high burst damage. It was more like a persistent area-of-effect skill, with its core value lying in altering the battlefield environment.

Any enemy within it would suffer a continuous cold debuff for the spell's duration. Additionally, individuals with relatively weaker Constitution would continuously take damage from the icy magical energy.

Simultaneously, fire magic effects within the area would also be suppressed, making it a decent restriction against enemies proficient in fire-based abilities.

Of course, it must be recognized that to fully utilize this spell's effects, the caster also needed to find the right timing and location for its release;otherwise, it could easily yield half the result for double the effort.

Furthermore, casting Sleet Storm required the caster to maintain concentration. When facing other pressures, there was a risk of having the spellcasting interrupted. However, this point should be relatively less of an issue for Gauss.

He had inherent concentration talents and equipment.

As for the other spell, [Vampiric Touch], Gauss was also familiar with it.

In fact, he had previously considered purchasing this spell, but unfortunately, none of the small towns he passed through along the way had this spellbook, as Vampiric Touch wasn't a very common spell.

It was extremely difficult to learn. Even spellcasters of sufficient level might get stuck at its learning threshold after obtaining the spellbook.

But now that the Encyclopedia rewarded this spell, it was even better, saving Gauss the process of learning it himself.

Since it was said this spell had an extremely high learning difficulty, there was a reason for it. Gauss wasn't a pretentious person;he was naturally willing to save some effort if he could.

Vampiric Touch could make Gauss's battlefield endurance much stronger.

Normally, this was a somewhat contradictory spell because, although it could steal an enemy's life energy, it required the caster to personally go to the front lines and engage in melee contact with the enemy.

And anyone who has been a mage probably knows that most mages are squishy. Sending a fragile spellcaster to the front lines to brawl with the enemy was tantamount to suicide.

"Good thing I'm not a squishy mage."

Gauss breathed a sigh of relief.

This melee touch attack spell, which dealt necrotic damage to enemies and stole life energy to heal the caster, was very suitable for Gauss.

He was precisely a battlemage who liked to dive into enemy formations.

The existence of Vampiric Touch could further enhance his survival and counterattack capabilities in prolonged battles and dangerous situations.

"What a pity..."

Gauss felt a slight regret in his heart.

He realized he lacked a means to convert between life energy, stamina, and mana.

Once he obtained this conversion mechanism, he would become terrifyingly strong.

Imagine this: he faced a vast army of Goblins stretching across mountains and fields. Vampiric Touch could continuously steal life energy from the Goblins.

And the title effect [Bloodthirsty] could also drain and restore stamina.

He could also quickly replenish mana and stamina by consuming magic stone fragments through his [Special Stomach] talent.

With numerous supply and endurance methods, he could continuously obtain replenishment of [Life Energy], [Stamina], and [Mana] from the external world. Once he broke through the barriers separating these three energies and formed the ability to freely convert between them, it would mean he possessed a massive, trinity fundamental energy reservoir.

At that point, if he was injured, he could convert excess stamina and mana for healing.

If mana was depleted, he could continuously replenish it through Vampiric Touch and the Bloodthirsty effect.

If he couldn't swing his sword anymore, the other two energies could be converted for supply.

He would become an unstoppable perpetual motion machine.

The hypothetical scenario of being overwhelmed and killed by a massive horde of monsters, of ants biting an elephant to death, would no longer apply to him.

"Thump thump!"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel his heart race a little.

If he could truly unify these energies, wouldn't he be a real "monster" by then?

"Need to think about this carefully."

Gauss knew it might not be easy to achieve, but that still didn't stop him from striving for it as a goal.

Looking at the attribute points added.

This 10,000 kill reward also generously gave a full four attribute points.

They were Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Charisma.

The importance of Strength and Constitution naturally went without saying.

Strength could take his explosive power to the next level, and Constitution was crucial for the vast majority of professions.

Agility could enhance body coordination, aiding in close-quarters combat.

Charisma got another point added...

If Gauss remembered correctly, it had just been temporarily increased not long ago due to equipping the Moonlight Robe.

He looked at the attribute panel.

"Charisma: 13(11) ->13(12)"

Alright, there wasn't much change in the final numerical value. It was just that his personal Charisma base value, his true attribute, increased from 11 points to 12 points.

Strength: 12 ->13

Agility: 10 ->11

Constitution: 11 ->12

Intelligence: 16 (15)

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 13 (11) ->13 (12)

As for the last reward, the talent [Flight Instinct].

Gauss focused on the sensation.

It was already taking effect within his body.

Unlike the direct attribute bonuses.

This racial talent was exactly as its name implied.

It enhanced his flight-related abilities.

Including, but not limited to, reducing the mana cost of various flight-related spells, reducing wind resistance on his body surface, increasing maximum flight speed, and improving various combat adaptations in the sky.

[Fly] granted him the ability to fly through acquired learning, but Flight Instinct could transform this acquired ability into something akin to an innate ability and talent.

The moment he thought of Fly, Gauss suddenly felt an itch.

It was as if a pair of invisible, transparent wings had suddenly grown on his back, as if he was born to belong to the sky.

Gauss finished receiving this batch of rewards and let out a long exhale.

Quite a bountiful harvest.

Truly worthy of being the reward for ten thousand kills.

He shifted his attention back to the battlefield before him. The camp that had suffered the Fireball strike showed no signs of life.

That last Fireball had cleaned up very thoroughly.

Although the main objective of this operation had been achieved, namely gathering 10,000 monster kills, Gauss still had no intention of stopping.

Just as Gauss and his companions finished checking the scene, preparing to first regroup with Serlandul and the others, then head to the next Gnoll camp...

"RUMBLE!!!"

Following an earth-shattering explosion sound from the distance, the ground beneath their feet trembled.

"Gauss? Did you release another Fireball?" Aria turned her head in surprise to look at Gauss beside her.

"What do you think?"

Gauss shrugged helplessly.

Wasn't he right there with them?

He didn't have a clone ability to create another Gauss to release a Fireball.

"Could it be an earthquake?" Albenia murmured to herself.

"Sounds like an explosion. It should still be some distance from us," Gauss analyzed.

"Should we go investigate?" Shadow looked at Gauss.

"How about this? You all go regroup with Serlandul and the others. I'll use Fly to go check out the situation first," Gauss said after a moment of thought.

Actually, both Shadow and he had scouting abilities, and Shadow's was even more stealthy.

But his combat power was stronger, and the flight ability granted him a more flexible and varied escape route. Especially after obtaining the talent [Flight Instinct], his flight speed should increase quite a bit.

So he decided to go check it out himself.

After all, he hadn't forgotten that the Gnolls here were suspected to be involved with the power of the Demon Lord Yeenoghu.

"Should I still go with you?"

"I'll be back very soon," Gauss waved his hand.

"Then be extra careful."

Under the gaze of Aria and the others, his body levitated into the air.

Gauss quickly ascended to high altitude.

Putting on the Eagle Eye Monocle, his body shot towards the source of the explosion sound as if propelled by a powerful force.

He had a feeling that the explosion just now didn't sound like it was caused by magic. Upon careful consideration, it even felt somewhat familiar.

Like a method he had used once before.