I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 91: Return

Gauss clenched his fists.

With every movement, strength and magical energy surged within his body. He felt that even if several of his former selves stood before him now, he would likely be able to defeat them with relative ease.

Back during his Apprentice stage, his combat power was already quite formidable.

For other ordinary Apprentices, the number they could face at once would be far fewer.

No wonder he had felt those Professionals in town were so terrifying back then.

Professionals possessed stronger physical attributes than Apprentices. Furthermore, the condensed Class Rank enhanced the essence of their power, enabling skills to manifest their intended effects more effectively.

In contrast, the skills mastered during the Apprentice stage were like neutered versions.

Professionals were a crushing superiority in both life tier and power essence when compared to Apprentices.

「Finally advanced to Professional.」

Gauss opened the window.

The outside clamor poured into the secret chamber—distinct layers of sound: wheels rolling over bluestone slabs, hawkers shouting, children playing...:...:

Looking at the lively scene on the street, his heart was filled with emotions.

It was a sudden enlightenment, a feeling of 「realizing the vastness of the world」.

To be honest, ever since transmigrating to this world, he had always carried a deep sense of unease, treading carefully with fear.

Only now, stepping formally into the Professional level, breaking away from the common masses, did he finally feel a nascent sense of control over his own destiny.

As a result, his heart felt calm.

Even his aura, without him realizing, had become more serene and composed.

After gazing at the street scene for a long while, he retracted his gaze.

He turned and went into the chamber’s bathroom to take a cold shower. After changing into fresh clean clothes—

He pushed open the heavy door of the secret chamber.

The staff member waiting outside was startled.

She had seen Gauss before.

But the Gauss before her now seemed like a different person altogether. His aura had transformed drastically, shedding the slight immaturity of a youth and becoming steady and restrained, with a calm and measured demeanor, like a piece of jade radiating inner brilliance.

「Mr. Gauss...:...You, you’ve successfully advanced?」 The staff member’s tone carried a hint of reverence.

「Yes.」 Gauss nodded, his smile calm.

The staff member’s expression became even more respectful.

「How long was I inside?」

「It’s been 5 days already.」

Five days? Gauss was slightly surprised.

No wonder he felt like waking from a long dream just now.

So he had been asleep for five full days—now it made sense.

「Is Lawrence in?」

「The Vice President is here. He even told me to notify him immediately once you came out.」 The staff member bowed and briskly walked toward Lawrence’s office.

Seeing her cautious demeanor, Gauss couldn’t help but shake his head.

He didn’t think too much about her drastic change in attitude.

After all, the status of a Professional was that prominent.

Even employees of a civilian organization understood well the power Professionals possessed.

These humans wielding great power had to be treated carefully, each and every one.

Because ordinary people could never know a Professional’s temperament. Though unlikely, offending one with a volatile nature might bring disaster upon themselves.

As Gauss pondered—

Hurried footsteps approached.

It was Lawrence.

The moment he saw Gauss, Lawrence’s pupils shrank sharply.

As an Apprentice Spellcaster, he could sense more than ordinary people. The overwhelming aura Gauss exuded was a spiritual pressure from higher to lower tier.

That superior aura made him visibly stiffen, instinctively tense.

The hand he had originally intended to raise and pat Gauss’s shoulder, after fidgeting with his sleeve, ultimately never lifted.

「Long time no see. I didn’t expect the training would last five days.」 Gauss broke the silence.

Seeing Gauss take the initiative to speak, Lawrence quietly relaxed a little.

「It wasn’t that long. Some Apprentices at this stage take weeks or even months—it’s perfectly normal.

You, you’re already fast, Gauss.」

「Is that so... Right, Lawrence, how much is the rental for this secret chamber? I’ll pay you.」 Gauss turned to glance at the chamber behind him.

「No need. It’s one of the benefits all members of our Mutual-aid Association enjoy—a public service. No charge.」 Lawrence shook his head repeatedly. 「Besides, we’re friends.」

「Alright, then if you ever need help, just say the word.」

Seeing this, Gauss knew he definitely wouldn’t accept the money, so he spoke plainly.

During his time in Wormwood, Lawrence had run around helping him with many things. Without his support, advancing to Professional wouldn’t have gone as smoothly.

He was not someone who forgot favors.

「Look at you saying that. It’s not like I helped just for this...」 Lawrence grumbled, though his heart was blooming with joy.

In truth, he didn’t really need a promise from Gauss.

If anything came up, he’d still first turn to the Adventurer’s Guild, using money to resolve matters when possible.

But Gauss’s attitude gave him a sense of being valued.

A warm feeling inside.

This was a friendship with a genius Spellcaster.

Something money couldn’t buy.

「Let’s go eat first—Parker Tavern? Come on?」

 「Let’s go.」

Inside the gently swaying carriage compartment.

Gauss pulled back the canvas and glanced at the scenery outside the compartment.

Graystone Town had arrived.

When the carriage slowly came to a stop, he jumped out and followed the crowd to wait for the Town Guard at the gate to inspect them.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.

But this time, the inspection on him seemed faster than usual.

He pondered for a moment.

Logically speaking, ordinary Town Guards shouldn’t be able to tell his identity.

Over these past days, he had completely restrained his aura.

So perhaps it was the result of having 7 points in Charisma?

After all, humans were always visual and perceptive creatures.

A handsome, elegant young man and a fierce-looking brute—between the two, which one seemed more dangerous and in need of inspection was obvious at a glance.

So high Charisma did have its benefits.

Gauss walked into Graystone Town.

Graystone Town was the place where his journey as an Adventurer began. Even though he had now advanced to Professional, it was far from the end—just the beginning of a new chapter.

What awaited him in the future were countless exciting adventures and journeys.

Of course, most importantly, to be evaluated as a Bronze-rank Adventurer, he needed to return to the place where he had registered.

This identity badge recognized by the Adventurer’s Guild held significant weight.

On one hand, it was the most direct proof of Professional level. Just showing it would let even ordinary people know he was a Professional, saving a lot of trouble.

On the other hand, only after obtaining a Bronze-rank Adventurer Badge could he access a greater variety of missions.

And only then would the internal exchange store and benefits policy of the Adventurer’s Guild become available to him.

Gauss had no desire to play the underdog. He simply wanted to obtain an identity that matched his strength as soon as possible.

Besides, the missions accessible to ordinary low-level Adventurers were far too “simple and trivial.”

Though he might still take on these “simple” tasks briefly to update the Monster Encyclopedia, it didn’t mean he wasn’t curious about higher-level missions.

If he could accept a mission that required killing forty or fifty Goblins in one go, the efficiency would certainly be higher than doing it ten or twenty at a time.

Considering the amount of time wasted on travel, that too was a significant time cost.

After arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild in Graystone Town—

Gauss stood in the hall and looked around.

Among several counters, he spotted a familiar figure—Petra was on duty today.

Choosing her counter, he patiently queued up.

It wasn’t long before it was Gauss’s turn.

「Next.」

Gauss stepped forward.

Petra looked up and saw a young man with black hair and emerald eyes, strikingly handsome.

Unfamiliar yet familiar.

She paused for a moment before recognizing who he was.

With a trace of hesitation, she asked,

「Is that you, Gauss?」

「Long time no see, Petra.」

When she heard his reply, Petra let out a breath of relief. It had been quite a while since she last saw Gauss.

She had even started to worry something might have happened to him.

「It really has been a while.」

「I made a trip to Wormwood recently,」 Gauss said with a light smile.

Yet Petra increasingly felt something was off. Her golden eyes scanned Gauss up and down. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed in him.

It was as if... as if he had the presence of those Professionals she had encountered before.

But soon she laughed at her own unrealistic thought.

How could that be?

She was the one who handled Gauss’s Adventurer registration, so she had some understanding of his situation.

A newcomer who had only registered a few months ago, directly advancing to Professional? That was pure fantasy.

Even those genius Professionals in the Royal Capital with far superior resources and talent weren’t much faster than that, right?