Inside the bluish flames, yellow-green viscous blood sprayed from the charred wounds. The moment it touched fire, it ignited into a thick, choking green smoke.
Cracks in the shattered chitin spread rapidly under the heat, making brittle crackling sounds like glass under stress.
The once-impenetrable exoskeleton began to flake away, revealing thick, rope-like muscle tissue underneath. The spores clinging to the blue flames ate away at the exposed flesh, releasing a burnt, protein-heavy stench.
"Can we burn it to death?"
Gauss kept his eyes on the mantis engulfed in flame. Still no kill notification from the system. He turned to Edith, who was trembling nearby, and helped drag her farther away.
After confirming she wasn't hurt, he grabbed her dropped one-handed crossbow and a handful of scattered bolts.
Load. Aim. Fire.
He kept shooting, one bolt at a time, toward the burning mantis.
The others slowly gathered around but stayed cautious. Even though the thing looked wrecked—its compound eyes reduced to glittering shards thanks to the blast—none of them dared approach to finish it off.
They were all still shaken from the psychological trauma it had caused. Despite its injuries, it might still be capable of killing.
"Careful. It's not dead yet. Don't get close," Gauss warned.
This was one of the benefits of the game panel system: as long as the kill notification hadn't popped, the enemy was still alive. No risk of a fake death and last-second retaliation.
"Got it," the others responded, even more hesitant to approach.
As the tension eased slightly, they began to reflect on the fight. One thing became clear almost immediately—
If Gauss hadn't been here today, they probably wouldn't have made it out alive.
It wasn't about self-deprecation—it was the truth. The gap between them and the mantis was just that big.
This was the true horror of a monster with a challenge rating.
Frontline fighter trainees couldn't hold the creature. Rear-line casters and rangers couldn't get clean shots, and the mantis had speed and mobility that let it bypass the tanks entirely and go straight for the squishy targets.
If it hadn't focused on Gauss from the start...
Bianca wouldn't have been the only casualty.
The mention of Bianca brought a wave of grief. Lawrence especially couldn't bear to look at where her body lay. He didn't want to see the severed head.
Edith's face was pale. If Gauss hadn't stepped in when he did, she would've ended up the same way.
"!"
Thunk!
Gauss didn't know what the others were thinking. He'd become a cold, mechanical finisher.
The spore bomb had blown open the mantis's shell, and the blue flames gnawed into the cracks. Its flesh was now exposed.
Every bolt he fired pierced into its body.
Finally—
After one more shot from the crossbow, a translucent message flashed in front of his eyes:
[Thri-kreen Mantis Slain x1]
[Total monsters Kills: 179]
[Common Monsters: 178]
[Elite Monsters: 1]
[First Elite Monster Kill Reward: +1 Perception! Skill: Enhanced Leap!]
[Skill: Enhanced Leap – Temporarily boosts leg strength at the cost of stamina, allowing greater jump distance for mobility or terrain traversal.]
[New Title Earned: 'Mantis Hunter.' This title will upgrade as kills increase..]
[Current Title Effect: Armor Penetration – Slightly increases armor-breaking effectiveness against Slikrin Mantises and related species.]
The text kept flashing—it was a lot to process.
And then, a surge of clear, icy energy flooded Gauss's brain. It was oddly pleasant.
His senses sharpened. Colors became more vivid. Details more crisp. Even his hearing suddenly felt... unfiltered.
It was like the world had gone quiet. But not in a bad way—more like serene.
So this is what heightened Perception feels like?
He stood dazed for a while before finally adjusting.
He opened his status panel.
Name: Gauss
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Constitution: 6
intelligence: 7
Perception: 6
Charm: 6
His final stat gap was now closed.
"A low-budget hexagon build," he chuckled to himself. "Not bad."
Everything except his Intelligence was now a clean, even six. That symmetry felt good.
Next, he checked his skill progress.
Skills:
Level 0 Cantrip: Light Lv2 (7/20)
Level 0 Cantrip: Mage Hand Lv3 (27/50)
Level 1 Spell: Magic Missile Lv3 (17/50)
Level 1 Spell: Mage Armor Lv3 (48/50)
Swordsmanship Basics Lv2 (12/20)
Enhanced Leap Lv1 (1/10)
Traits: Quick Digestion, Magic Resistance
Most of his spells had leveled up. Magic Missile had gained four points, Mage Armor three, Light two, and Swordsmanship Basics two.
Plus, his new skill: [Enhanced Leap].
He now had a well-rounded toolkit: exploration utility, ranged damage, defensive buffs, melee basics, and movement tech.
Opening the second page of the Monster Index, he finally unlocked the Elite section.
A towering, deep-brown mantis filled the first entry.
Gauss focused on it—and a detailed profile card popped up.
…
Name: Thri-kreen Mantis
Challenge Rating: 1
Type: Humanoid (Insectoid subtype)
Size: Medium (1.8m–2.2m adult)
Habitat: Deserts, grasslands, open plains
Behavior: Solitary or in small hunting packs (2–3)
Lifespan: ~30 years (Does not sleep, shortens lifespan)
Traits: Color-shifting carapace, powerful jumpers, four-limb combatants, latent psionics (rare cases)
…
Gauss absorbed the info. This particular one must've been at the upper limit—probably around 2.2 meters tall.
It might've been an elite even among its own kind.
Exiting the Adventurer's Manual, Gauss's stomach growled.
Casting Magic Missile repeatedly had drained a lot of mana. His body wanted food.
"It's over. It's really dead," he muttered while munching on rations. The others were still on edge. He realized he'd forgotten to share the news.
"Oh thank god..." Lawrence collapsed on the floor, drenched in sweat.
The psychological pressure had been immense. For a squishy caster like him, one step too close to the mantis was basically a death sentence.
Except for Gauss. He'd taken it head-on. Tanked it. Hurt it. Finished it.
The difference in strength between Gauss and the others was now crystal clear. In lower-tier fights, everyone pulled their weight. But in high-stakes battles? Gauss was on another level.
"Is that... the exit?" Gauss spotted a sloped tunnel opening up on the side. It looked like the path back to the surface.
But they weren't ready to leave yet. There was still cleanup to do.
He walked over to the mantis corpse.
The spore flames had mostly died out, but the body was charred black.
"What a waste," he sighed.
If they'd taken it down clean, they could've salvaged a lot of valuable materials—its sturdy exoskeleton, scythe-like limbs, complex eyes.
But the explosion and fire had ruined most of it.
Then again... without the spores and flames, they might not have killed it at all. Risk reduction was worth the cost.
"Wait! Movement!"
Edith's shout snapped him out of his thoughts.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
He turned to look where she was pointing.
The floor shifted, rising into a massive platform.
Lawrence flinched at the noise, then exhaled in relief. "Scared the crap out of me… Oh—it's the reward chest."
Just like before—but bigger.
Everyone gathered around, curious.
Sitting quietly on a square pedestal was a staff over a meter long, jet-black and featureless. At the top, a dusty geostone quartz was embedded.
[Unbreaking Staff]
"As long as the spine of steel stands firm, so too shall the will of the bearer."