novelhk Chapter 310: Night of Blessing
Chapter 310: Night of Blessing
She felt that after Gauss put on this robe, it was as if he had become a completely different person.Although she had already thought the man before her was flawless in appearance on the way here, she now realized her previous assessment had been somewhat lacking.
It was the first time in her life she had encountered such a charismatic human.
Gauss shifted his attention away from the panel and only then noticed all three people in the reception hall were staring intently at him.
However, he didn't say anything about it.
"Can we go out now?"
"Of course." The staff member instantly snapped back to reality and quickly responded.
Under her guidance, Gauss began retracing their original route back.
On the return journey, Gauss took the opportunity to ask about the Lake God's Blessing.
Learning that the Lake God's Blessing ceremony wasn't ready yet and they needed to wait for the guild to notify them of the specific time, he didn't press further.
The two finally returned to the square.
"Thank you for your assistance."
"It was my honor."
Only when Gauss's figure disappeared at the end of the street did she feel a sudden emptiness in her heart, as if she had lost something.
...
"Gauss, is this the robe you exchanged for?" Aria circled around Gauss twice, studying him carefully for quite a while.
Although his companions had been observing him since Gauss became even more handsome, their reactions weren't as obvious as those in the reception hall.
On one hand, as adventurers, they naturally had much higher "resistance" to such things than ordinary people and weren't as easily "charmed," at most viewing his appearance with appreciation.
On the other hand, they had spent considerable time with Gauss and had developed some adaptability.
Of course, except for Albenia, whose reaction rivaled that of the reception staff - her cheeks were now flushed red and she seemed dazed.
"How is it?"
"So handsome." Aria nodded vigorously like a little squirrel.
This moon-white robe perfectly aligned with her aesthetic preferences.
"Can I try it on?" Seeing how good it looked on Gauss, she couldn't help but ask softly.
"Sure, I'll let you try it sometime."
Gauss wasn't that stingy.
Plus, it was an outer robe, not close-fitting clothing, so there was no inconvenience.
If she wanted to wear it, she could.
"Yay!"
Shadow blinked her bright large eyes as she looked at Gauss.
Serlandul, however, only felt that the draconic aura around Gauss was growing increasingly powerful.
He thought that if the captain appeared in his native tribe, many half-snake people might even bow down and worship him immediately.
The pressure the captain exerted on creatures with reptilian bloodlines was becoming stronger and stronger.
Fortunately, this aura could be consciously controlled, and since they were teammates, he wasn't subjected to any mental pressure - otherwise, staying near Gauss would likely severely diminish his capabilities.
It took Albenia quite some time to calm her pounding heart.
Too stimulating.
Being teammates with Lord Gauss placed too much strain on one's heart.
After composing herself, she finally returned her attention to the equipment itself and asked, swallowing hard.
Aside from handsome men, her second greatest passion was various types of equipment and curiosities.
"Lord Gauss, this should be an exceptional quality robe, right?"
Albenia truly lived up to being an expert;even without being able to use the Identify Spell like Gauss, she could still recognize the equipment's quality at first glance.
Gauss nodded.
"Very lucky - this was the only exceptional quality reward available."
"By the way, I also exchanged for a pot."
"A pot?"
Aria, who had been immersed in admiring the beautiful robe, couldn't help but feel curious when Gauss mentioned this.
Why exchange for a pot?
Wouldn't it be better to get some practical weapons or something similar?
"It's a magical pot that can cook magical cuisine. Not only can it process more diverse ingredients, but the food it produces also has special effects. It's a wonderful magical item."
"In the future when we're adventuring outdoors, we'll be able to eat delicious food too."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Aria glanced at him, then exchanged looks with the others - everything was understood without words.
So Gauss really was a foodie, wasn't he?
As the most senior member of the team, she knew best that Gauss had never abandoned his pursuit of finding unique ingredients to cook better food.
It's just that most of the monsters he usually killed were either Goblins or Goblin-like creatures, none of which were normal edible ingredients, so this interest had been put on hold.
But not long ago, after eating an extremely delicious, feast-like giant crab meal in Lakeside Town, the foodie worm inside him had been reawakened.
"Let me make this clear - I won't eat Goblins or Goblin-like creatures. Even with this magical pot to cook them, I won't eat them." Aria said warily.
Although currently these were mostly handled by the Drake Hephaestus, who knew if Gauss might have a sudden inspiration and want to try something new with his new tool?
"Um..."
"Say you don't have such thoughts, right?"
Gauss's hesitation gave Aria an inexplicably bad feeling.
"Don't worry, I'm definitely not interested in Goblins." Gauss said guiltily.
Goblin meat was foul-smelling, and they looked like ugly, deformed green-skinned humans.
But Goblin-like creatures were essentially closer to reptiles like lizards in bloodline.
He wasn't very interested in ordinary Goblin-like creatures, but if they encountered some special individuals in the future, they might taste uniquely flavorful like the previous giant crab leader?
From what he understood, powerful Goblin-like creature individuals gradually approached dragon-like forms in their life morphology.
So... he couldn't rule it out completely.
Aria scratched her head.
Considering they still needed to wait for notification about the Lake God's Blessing, Gauss and his party couldn't leave Fisherman's Song Town these two days.
Although according to past experience, this blessing ceremony seemed more like a formal coronation with little practical use -
just adding the title of Lake God's Favored.
But since they had worked hard to win the championship, Gauss didn't plan to waste this opportunity - if nothing else, it would be good to get a special title.
Although he thought the existence of a "Lake God" in the lake was unlikely, even just an increase in reputation was far from useless in the adventurer world.
During this waiting period, two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Because he needed to wait for the guild's notification, Gauss didn't go far and rested in town for two days.
During this time, he met with the local mayor.
The other was a quite scholarly-looking middle-aged man. Even though Gauss had taken the championship that should have belonged to his son Herbert, he showed no resentment - at least not visibly.
On the contrary, he praised Gauss extensively and even tried to arrange for Gauss to spend time alone with his youngest daughter, though Gauss politely declined.
After the polite refusal, the mayor only expressed regret and said Gauss was welcome to visit anytime during his stay in Fisherman's Song Town.
From his demeanor, it seemed he hadn't given up on the idea of becoming Gauss's father-in-law.
Aside from meeting with the local authority, Gauss also used this time to familiarize himself with the two magical items he had just obtained.
The magical pot's effects were better than he had imagined.
The food it cooked differed greatly from ordinary food made with the same methods, both in taste and appearance.
It was literally "glowing delicious food."
Natural mana would naturally integrate into the dishes during the cooking process, enhancing the flavor while making the ingredients emit beautiful luster.
Moreover, if the ingredients themselves contained considerable special energy, the magical pot could fully stimulate that internal energy from within, achieving even more nourishing effects.
Originally, Gauss's party had been busy traveling around, hunting monsters, practicing skills, consuming a large amount of energy, and were beginning to show signs of fatigue.
But thanks to the magical pot and the special magical cuisine it produced, in just two days, everyone's fatigue was swept away, and their energy became even more abundant and vigorous than before.
It was like being recharged, fully revived.
So, you really couldn't blame Gauss for gradually developing foodie tendencies.
Eating was crucially important for adventurers.
Even the most powerful adventurers couldn't do without food supplies.
Food provided the essential energy for activities - without sufficient logistical support, energy-consuming machines like professionals would lose their strength within days due to energy deficiency.
Moreover, delicious food provided physical pleasure, improving people's mood and condition, and this excellent state would clear minds and increase training efficiency.
As for the Moonlight Robe he was wearing, after becoming familiar with it, Gauss appreciated its effects even more and was beginning to feel somewhat dependent on it.
Aside from when he lent it to Aria to wear and during daily washing, it almost never left Gauss's body.
When wearing it, Gauss's mana became more active.
And because of its effects, Gauss discovered his Fireball had achieved a major breakthrough.
Simply put, he could now use Draconic Language chanting and breath casting to greatly reduce Fireball's long preparation time.
Previously, Fireball wasn't used frequently - partly because its destructive power was too strong for ordinary situations, like using a cannon to kill mosquitoes, and partly because the preparation time was too long - in the time it took to prepare, he could have already dealt with many monsters through normal attacks.
But now, thanks to the Moonlight Robe and various other bonuses, he had finally fully mastered this high-power area attack spell.
Moreover, he could now reduce Fireball's power, bringing its destructive force to a relatively appropriate level.
A spell being too powerful wasn't always an advantage.
"Knock knock knock!"
Just as Gauss was considering the timing and wondering if he should go to the guild to check on the progress, someone knocked on his room door.
"Lord Gauss, this year's Lake God's Blessing ceremony has been prepared. Would you prefer to go receive the blessing tonight or tomorrow night?"
"Tonight."
Gauss didn't plan to delay any further.
"Understood. Please arrive at this location before the full moon tonight..." The staff member who came to notify him provided the specific address.
The marked location was at the junction of the Tarna River and Blue Lake, where local legends said the ancestors of local residents encountered the generous Lake God.
"Finally here?"
After seeing off the staff member, his companions gathered around with some anticipation.
Although they had eaten and drunk well these past two to three days, they were all somewhat curious about the legendary Lake God.
Stories of gods and spirits always sparked imagination.
"The elders in my hometown said that certain unique mountains and lakes might harbor ancient spirits. They might not be gods, but they possess great power and are moody. Treat them well, and you gain protection;anger them, and you invite disaster." Albenia shared.
She came from a special lineage with giant blood flowing through their veins.
"Spirits, huh..."
As the time for the Lake God's Blessing ceremony was finally confirmed, Fisherman's Song Town gradually became livelier.
"Boom boom boom!"
By the lakeside, from commoners to city dignitaries, everyone came to the shore, piously throwing previously prepared black bread and various other foods into the lake water.
Unfortunately, their Lake God didn't emerge from the water to answer their calls.
Of course, this didn't dampen some believers' enthusiasm.
Gauss discovered that, contrary to his initial expectations, the Blue Lake area indeed had a group of devoted followers.
They claimed to have seen the Lake God in dreams;some shared stories of falling into the lake and being lifted out by mysterious forces from the water;others told of miracles where poor people with serious illnesses who couldn't afford medicine recovered after drinking the lake water.
"I've seen the god!"
By the Blue Lake's shore, a poor person wearing coarse cloth declared with absolute certainty.
Seeing those people's firm expressions, Gauss became somewhat uncertain about whether there really was a "god" here.
But he wasn't surprised by the emergence of believers - not just in this world where great powers existed, but even in his previous world where miracles were scarce, weren't there still fanatical followers?
Worshipping natural environments like lakes was nothing - he had even heard of cultures that worshipped animals and, by extension, consumed animal feces and held feces festivals.
The sky gradually darkened.
Twilight descended, the time when demons emerge. Gauss and his party left the inn and leisurely made their way toward the designated location.
"Is that person Gauss?"
"No wonder he's about to receive the Lake God's Blessing."
"So envious - I wish I could gain the Lake God's favor too."
Some believers' envy was evident.
Other adventurers remained relatively calm.
Although some commoners firmly believed in the Lake God, according to past experience, this blessing ceremony probably wouldn't have any special occurrences.
The hunting competition wasn't being held for the first time - countless champions had been born up to today.
These included both locals and adventurers who came attracted by the fame, but regardless of their identity, none of these adventurers had managed to see the legendary Lake God during the so-called blessing ceremony.
They thought Gauss would be no exception.
Although he killed more monsters, was stronger, and was slightly more handsome, he wasn't fundamentally different from others - everyone had two eyes and one mouth.
"Seems like there are more people."
Amid the surrounding crowd, Gauss's team moved toward the blessing site. Serlandul particularly noticed the change in numbers.
"Probably residents from nearby towns and villages came to watch the spectacle?" Gauss didn't mind.
Night slowly fell.
The full moon hung high, pouring cold moonlight that illuminated the shallows where Blue Lake and the Tarna River met as bright as daylight.
Gauss looked up at the moon. Whether it was psychological or not, he felt tonight's moon was exceptionally round.