I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 271: 6,000 Kills

The captain of the guards was dazed for a long while.After regaining himself, he noticed Gauss staring at him.

“Thank you for saving us! My name is Jimmy. How should I address my benefactor?”

At the thought that without the man before him he and his companions might already be lying on the ground, a look of relief flashed across his eyes.

“Just call me Gauss.”

Gauss sensed the professional aura welling up from the other man and blinked.

This was the first time he had seen someone personally level up into a professional.

Judging by the man’s age, he wasn’t exactly very young—probably not the highest-talent type.

It seemed the goblins’ pressure had indeed been intense;under such crushing stress, the man had broken through in the moment.

“Gauss, how many more of them are there?”

Aria and the others caught up from behind him.

A few goblins who had fled in the chaos were rounded up by them.

Gauss swung a few swords and finished the goblins off with beheadings.

As the saying goes, no good deed is too small.

The captain of the guards looked at this scene curiously.

He seemed puzzled as to why his comrades had deliberately driven the goblins back to let Gauss deal with them.

Wasn’t that unnecessary?

With the combat power of this elite squad, any member could have cleared them at any time, right?

But he didn’t ask and just chalked it up to coincidence.

Serlandul silently moved around the group and began treating the guards’ wounds.

“So what brings you here?”

Gauss glanced at their outfits and asked with curiosity.

It was obvious these people were guards, but who was their employer?

When he had locked onto the scene from the sky earlier, if he remembered correctly, he had seen another figure there.

“We accepted a paid guard job to escort a mage and his grandson to Sena City.”

Mentioning this matter made Jimmy visibly annoyed.

“That old mage slipped away while my brothers and I were fighting for our lives.”

Because it was a private job, they had only been given part of the escort fee up front;the rest would only be paid upon arrival in Sena City. So technically, the employer had not only abandoned his comrades but intended to dodge payment.

“He was supposed to hold on a little longer so he could prepare a spell to help us.”

Captain Jimmy clenched his fist.

He swore that next time he met that wrinkled old face, he would punch it.

Thinking of that old mage and then of the handsome, helpful swordsman before him, Jimmy couldn’t help sighing.

“Mages are cunning.”

“It’s still warriors like you who are wholehearted.”

Though stereotypical, professions do shape people’s temperaments.

Gauss blinked a little awkwardly when he heard that.

“Brother Jimmy, actually, I’m a spellcaster too.”

“Huh?”

Jimmy cocked his head, looking puzzled as if he hadn’t heard him right.

A spellcaster?

Images of Gauss’s swift, wind-like movements earlier flashed through his mind.

How could that possibly be a spellcaster?

Still, after being jolted by that thought, he vaguely sensed something off about Gauss.

First was the way he had descended from the sky.

It’s not that warriors can’t fly—magic items, special skills, or talents can permit flight—but ordinary warriors generally don’t fly.

If he were a spellcaster, it made sense.

Secondly, the man wore robes.

Earlier Jimmy had assumed it was some personal taste.

“I only have a rough grasp of swordsmanship,” Gauss continued.

Although he had awakened a second profession as a swordsman, he didn’t plan to tell everyone.

Adventurers with two professions weren’t common;it was a special edge.

“Rough grasp, huh.”

Jimmy’s mouth twitched.

He suddenly felt weary.

Thinking that his years of close-combat training might still be less refined than a mage’s skill set left him with complicated feelings.

After a brief rest,

Serlandul finished treating the other guards.

Because Gauss had arrived in time, the goblins hadn’t managed to inflict any irreparable damage on this group whose defenses had been broken.

Some minor external injuries were not difficult for a level-4 priest to handle.

“So what will you do next?”

Gauss asked the guards who were lifting a wagon cover and calming the horses.

“I’m heading to Sena City!”

“That old man’s destination is there. I’m going to find him and get justice for my brothers!”

Normally, with experienced mercenaries like them taking point, the odds of defeating an enemy were decent if the other side intended to fight.

But the employer had chosen to deceive them, using them as bait while they bled, then disappeared without paying.

That was undeniably devious.

If Gauss and the others hadn’t shown up,

they might now be inside a goblin’s stomach.

The angrier he thought about it, the more Jimmy felt he couldn’t swallow the rage.

Now that he had advanced into a professional warrior, though he hadn’t fully mastered professional-level powers, he still had enough confidence.

“Be careful then.”

Gauss pointed them the way.

They were headed in opposite directions;no sense of going the same route.

“Benefactor, this is our cash. It’s not much. Next time we meet, we’ll make it up to you. I’ll likely be stationed in Sena City from now on.”

At parting, Captain Jimmy seemed to remember something and pulled a small pouch from his clothing lining.

Inside were a dozen or so silver coins.

Not a fortune, but not nothing.

He and his brothers had invested most of their money in the carriage.

He also knew that this sum might feel almost insulting to a powerful “mage” like the man before him.

But he was broke for now.

Gauss looked at them, took a single silver coin from the pouch as a token.

“This is enough.” Gauss shook his head. “Consider it making a friend.”

Before Jimmy could say more, Gauss turned away.

“Drinks next time.”

He vaulted onto his mount and his figure disappeared down the road with a free, casual air.

Jimmy and his group followed the path Gauss had taken;the monsters along the way had already been mostly cleared, so there was no danger.

“Total monsters killed: 5999”

“Total monsters killed: 6000”

Gauss casually pinned a Slime to the ground.

His monster kill count finally reached 6000.

Between the major milestones of 4000 and 10000, the small node at 6000 kills lit up.

“Total monsters killed: 6000/6000”

“Reward earned: Professional Talent [Stable Spellcasting Master]”

The 6000-kill node didn’t grant spells or attribute points.

Instead, it awarded a professional talent.

Gauss read the talent’s description.

[Stable Spellcasting Master]: This talent makes your casting state more stable and less prone to interruption.

At best, it was a minor talent.

But Gauss was pleased.

A more stable casting state that’s harder to interrupt might not directly boost spell strength or give obvious numerical bonuses, yet this unassuming talent was crucial.

With it, when facing enemies who have countermeasures or spells to interrupt casting, he would be more at ease.

It also reduced the risk of “stalls” when using Fly midair.

And, can I…?

Thinking that, he decided to try it out.

“Wait a moment.”

Gauss told his companions, then rapidly cast Fly on himself.

The magic instantly enveloped his body.

He floated up from the Ostrich’s back,

quickly rising above the surrounding treetops.

“It does feel different.”

He couldn’t put it into words, but after obtaining [Stable Spellcasting Master], the sensation was peculiar.

In short, the steadiness this talent brought was different from a mere increase in Fly proficiency—it was an enhancement in another dimension.

So solid it was almost terrifying.

He gazed into the distance.

Then, in the next instant, his White Wand fired several Magic Missiles.

“Ziii! Ziii! Ziii!”

The Magic Missiles exploded in the nearby brush.

As expected... it worked!

The ability Gauss had been practicing—to cast while flying—had finally taken a crucial step forward with this talent.

He continued, trying to cast while moving on the fly.

Overall, there were no major problems.

However, as movement speed increased, casting became somewhat more strenuous.

Because while casting, he also had to stabilize Fly’s mana output—the concept was simple, but the fine, steady control of mana required was very demanding.

Reaching the degree of “do as you wish” wasn’t achievable by [Stable Spellcasting Master] alone;the other professional talent [Spell Mastery] also likely contributed significantly.

Gauss’s mouth curved slightly.

This breakthrough signified a new level of mobility as a mage.

It was like an airplane mounting a full weapons suite, becoming a true airborne cannon.

From now on, he could swiftly reposition with Fly while smoothly casting other spells to strike foes.

Especially against enemies with no anti-air capability, they would be left staring helplessly at the sky.

For example, the bovine monster they had recently faced.

If he had possessed aerial-casting ability then, he wouldn’t have needed to find a hill to land on—

he could have launched a Fireball right at its head.

Although his Fireball proficiency still needed work, at least he would have been spared the need to find a landing spot, which isn’t always available.

Moreover, not landing is generally safer.

Ordinary enemies would find it hard to reach him.

He understood now the feeling of that goblin bat knight attacking from the sky that night.

Standing on another’s head and raining attacks down—if the enemy lacks countermeasures, it’s deliciously oppressive.

However, after flying a while he calmed down and quickly landed back on the ground.

Being an “airborne cannon” felt great, but the consumption was impressive.

Casting while flying doesn’t cost mana in a simple additive way;it requires more.

Stabilizing two spells at once demanded extra energy.

Short bursts were fine, but long periods raised very high requirements for his total mana pool.

“That’s already trained?”

Aria watched him land on the bird and asked incredulously.

Gauss had told them before that mastering Fly and his next training goals.

As a fellow spellcaster, she wasn’t the one doing it but could grasp the difficulty.

Fly itself is hard;casting other spells while flying and keeping mana steady is even harder.

From her perspective, it seemed nearly impossible.

But Gauss wasn’t her;she wanted to believe he could do it.

Even if he was the genius she admired, she expected it would still take some time to practice.

How much time had actually passed?

She and Gauss spent nearly every day together.

She hadn’t seen him practicing much.

Except for nights when he left the village to clear nearby monsters—

could he have secretly been training on the side?

While we rest, Gauss was secretly working,

Aria sucked in a breath.

That was terrifying.

Someone with better talents than you who trains even harder.

“Yes, I spent quite a bit of time working it out.” Gauss nodded.

They were teammates;no need to hide such tactical changes—after all, they would all learn it eventually.

“Quite a bit, huh... you’re scary.” Aria shook her head.

Even counting the nights he snuck out to train, it hadn’t been that many days, objectively.

“Good thing we’re not strangers. If some wizards got wind of your progress, you might end up on a research table.”

She mockingly put on a spooky face to warn him.

“Aren’t there fewer evil wizards these days?” Gauss rolled his eyes at her.

Wizards, mages, and warlocks differ;wizards draw power from mixed, unpredictable sources and tend to be more experimental.

In a chaotic, ignorant past, some wizards even courted danger, capturing subjects for experiments in pursuit of research.

But after the Adventurers Guild was founded and grew stronger, it cracked down on rogue wizards who acted on whims.

Now, apart from listed, legal wizards on record with the Guild, wild wizards have dwindled.

Many legacies are controlled by the Guild.

Under the threat of monster nations, human and other ordered civilizations generally stand united against external threats, making these years a golden era for the development of adventurer civilization.

The number of adventurers has grown explosively.

“Let’s head to the next village.”

Having satisfied the 6000-kill goal and with 8000 still far off, Gauss stopped hunting every monster he saw and set off for the next destination.

Through the woods, the squad’s figures moved farther away as they chatted quietly.

In no time, Gauss and the others had been through three more villages.

“Safe travels, Lord Gauss!”

“Come back and play again.”

“Goodbye!!”

“I love you, Lord Gauss!”

Who was taking that chance to confess?

Gauss turned toward the crowd;he was a bit curious because the voice sounded hoarse.

But there were too many villagers.

He shook his head, pinched the bird’s belly, and urged the mount to catch up with his grinning teammates.

“Why not stay? Someone’s confessing to you—our captain is so popular.”

Gauss ignored Aria’s teasing aside, cleared his throat, and changed the subject.

“We’ve reached the fifth village. Our supplies are getting low;we need to go to the next town to resupply.”

After helping five villages, the four of them each felt subtle changes.

These villages, large and small, warm and wary, had treated them to all kinds of people.

Clearing threats, treating injuries, repairing houses, training militias...

Unconsciously, their squad had directly changed many people’s futures.

Some villagers healed from severe illness thanks to Serlandul, some learned combat techniques and set out to become adventurers.

Houses were rebuilt, fences rose stubbornly from the mud, forming solid defenses between monsters and humanity.