After showing his face so his teammates knew he was safe, Gauss continued observing the changes in his body.
This new talent—[Dragonseed]—was, to him, a genuine evolution of his life tier.
The biggest change was naturally his heart, now as resilient as a true dragon's, but his other organs had also been strengthened significantly.
Just standing there, he radiated a bloodline-born majesty—like a humanoid dragon exuding a suffocating, terrifying presence.
Gauss knew this was simply a "side effect" of the breakthrough—he hadn't fully adapted to the power of [Dragonseed] yet.
Given some time and effort, he would definitely be able to rein it in and release it at will.
Ignoring the abnormal aura leaking from him, he focused on the other changes.
His skin had become extraordinarily tough.
And with a single thought, a layer of tangible, semi-transparent dragon scales could rise from beneath his skin.
When he lightly ran a hand over them, he found that they weren't just harder than normal human skin—they also carried naturally stronger resistance to magic.
He retracted the scales. Internally, his organs and bones had become sturdier as well.
And beyond his organs, his blood seemed to have changed too.
He summoned the holy water and shaped it into a small blade, then pressed the pad of his finger against the tip.
As he applied more force, his skin finally split into a thin line.
Red blood slowly seeped out.
But on closer inspection, it wasn't purely crimson—it reflected a faint trace of gold.
Before he could study it further, the wound's flesh began to creep together, sealing shut. It was as if invisible thread rapidly stitched the cut skin closed.
In the blink of an eye, the surface was smooth and flawless again—no sign of injury left.
With his current regeneration, even a wound far worse than this would likely close instantly.
Only truly serious injuries would cause him any real trouble.
"So strong…"
"So this is the power of Dragonseed?"
Given Gauss's cautious nature, he rarely got hurt—but no one would refuse stronger survival tools.
A big reason monsters were often more frightening than human professionals was their innate monstrous physiques.
Most low-level human professionals lost most of their combat ability after taking a single blade.
Beasts weren't like that.
Their vitality was tougher. Unless you struck a lethal weak point, they could keep fighting. And some species with regeneration could practically ignore injuries entirely.
He had even heard of monsters whose vitality reached a level that could be described as "immortality."
Supposedly, the greatest human hero—the legendary Sword Saint—had slain "undying" creatures on the road to defeating the Demon King.
As for why something "undying" could still be killed, Gauss could only interpret it as "undying" relative to ordinary professionals.
Like the classic spear-and-shield problem: when the spear becomes stronger than the shield, even "absolute defense" breaks.
And now… he was beginning to gain a monster's constitution himself.
After resting for a few more hours, Gauss's party started the return trip.
…
Gauss drifted down from the red dragon's back.
This outing had taken several days—most of it spent on his talent advancement.
But none of the Red Dragon Company members seemed surprised by that "abnormal" time cost.
Or rather, in the minds of people like Torga and Ivan, this was the normal pace for handling a job—if anything, it was already fast.
"Captain, welcome back."
Ivan reeked of concentrated potion fumes, but his eyes stayed locked on Gauss—just like Alia and the others when they'd first seen him after his breakthrough.
Thump.
Ivan's heart began to race.
A dignified pressure washed over him, instantly tightening his entire body.
It was the oppression of a higher lifeform.
On the way back, Gauss had already been reining himself in, but it hadn't been long enough—there was still a trace leaking out.
"Are you okay?"
Only when Gauss spoke did Ivan seem to snap out of it, forcing an embarrassed smile.
He didn't know what had happened to the captain, but he could clearly feel it:
the captain had become stronger.
And that was good news for everyone in Red Dragon Company.
"Has anything happened these past few days?"
After being away for several days, Gauss still checked in with his "chief steward" about the state of the base.
Ivan clearly had things organized and reported the key updates from the days Gauss was gone.
First: to process the spoils from that earlier goblin nest—two thousand goblins—they had hired twenty more temporary workers.
Second: the two new shops on Featherquill Avenue had stabilized.
They weren't swamped, but traffic was solid—top tier for that street. At this rate, taking root in the commercial district shouldn't be a problem.
Gauss had confidence there.
After all, the two shops mainly sold weapons, armor, and potions produced in-house. Quality was steady, and customers who bought once were likely to become repeat customers.
That confidence was directed at his dwarf friends, at Albena, and at Ivan.
Even if the final products weren't forged or brewed by them personally, apprentices trained under them would still be better than most ordinary shops.
For adventurers, the quality of weapons, armor, and potions was literally their lifeline.
That was why Gauss had emphasized strict quality control from day one.
He didn't want someone dying because they bought subpar gear.
And more importantly, long-term customer trust mattered more than a quick profit.
…
For the next stretch, Gauss didn't plan to go out.
In his room, he stared at Any Door lv4 (1/100).
After relentless effort, his Any Door spell finally reached Level 4 proficiency.
Compared to lv3, the pre-cast time dropped again—from roughly one second to about 0.4–0.5 seconds.
That was now barely usable in real combat.
Aside from Any Door's progress, his internal mana had grown extremely active.
He wasn't unfamiliar with that sensation—he'd felt it repeatedly.
Almost every time before a level breakthrough, he experienced something like this.
Gauss felt the mana surging inside him and remained calm.
Before, he'd already felt he wasn't far from reaching Level 7.
Now, after [Ironscale Bloodline] advanced into [Dragonseed] and strengthened him again, the "cup is full" feeling became even more obvious.
"Help me notify the others. I may need to be away from the base for a few days," Gauss told Ivan.
Ivan was already used to Gauss appearing and vanishing on a whim.
Before leaving, Gauss also informed a few teammates that he was likely about to break through.
He refused their offers to accompany him and went to the Adventurers' Guild to rent a high-grade cultivation chamber.
He wasn't going to break through at the base.
At lower levels it might've been fine, but as he rose, he needed to be more careful.
He had too many secrets—and more importantly, he was dangerous to ordinary people.
Normally he could control his strength and keep his presence from harming the city.
But during a breakthrough transition, he couldn't guarantee what might leak out.
Better safe than sorry.
"This is your room."
The receptionist led him to the cultivation chamber door.
Masters like Gauss got fifteen days of free use per year; after that, it cost eight gold per day.
"Mr. Regan, your room is next door."
Gauss nodded to the elderly spellcaster next to him, Regan.
The old man was a regular renter—Gauss had chatted with him briefly earlier.
Regan rented at least a hundred days every year.
The rent alone was an absurd fortune for most people.
Which was exactly why powerful mages often seemed wealthy: it was hard for the poor to become truly strong mages.
Gauss entered his chamber.
The rune-etched stone door closed, and the world fell silent.
He placed ten mid-grade mana stones into a small array. Soon the room filled with thick, gentle mana.
He had also prepared food, water, and mana fruits.
Compared to the jump from level 5 to 6, going from 6 to 7 wasn't a major tier break—so it should be easier.
Once everything was ready, Gauss sat cross-legged in the center of the room on a cushion, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
The moment he stopped suppressing the "urge" to break through, all the mana in his body surged into frenzy.
Boom!
Like a dam bursting, mana roared through him.
Hummm…
Deep in his consciousness, that flawless, artlike cup-body blazed with radiant light.
Mana, condensed almost into a "liquid," rippled like water.
And from it poured an immense tide of power that began circulating through his body along a fixed route.
Each full cycle made the mana's presence a little stronger.
One rotation… two…
Gauss's awareness sank deeper.
His Moonlight Robe fluttered wildly in the windless chamber.
Somehow, his semi-transparent dragon scales awakened too, clinging tightly to his skin.
The floating mana mist in the room drifted closer and was greedily absorbed.
When the mist thinned, the array reactivated, consuming energy from the mana stones and producing more.
Over and over.
Until the first mid-grade stone was drained dry.
Then the second. The third…
Time passed in this monotonous cultivation.
…
Meanwhile, far away near the outer edge of the Jade Forest—
A small figure, not even reaching an adult human's waist, stood before the forest and took a deep breath.
Ahead was the Jade Forest—something she had stared at countless times.
But never had it felt this oppressive.
It was as if it weren't a forest at all, but a deep abyssal maw ready to swallow her whole.
"I should rest first."
The halfling Andeni swallowed hard.
She had prepared herself—mentally and materially.
But now that the day had truly arrived, she realized she could still feel fear.
Or perhaps it was that strange mix of tension and excitement that comes before a journey.
She was already in her fifties.
For a halfling—longer-lived than humans—that wasn't young.
And she wasn't like the sheltered folk back home, hiding in quiet, safe places.
She had traveled widely, seen much, and her nerve was stronger than most.
"I'll be fine…"
"Haa…"
Sitting on a boulder, she repeatedly took out staff after staff from her storage pouch, stroked them, put them away, then pulled out another.
As if by doing so, she could draw some unknown courage from the collection.
Eventually she stopped.
Then sighed.
A pity the one staff she loved most wasn't here.
The staff that had never truly belonged to her.
"Maybe it's better. In my hands it was just a useless stick—at least now it has an owner who can bring out its power."
When she thought of that boy, her mind drifted.
After parting ways at Lincrown Town, she never saw Gauss again.
A few days ago she even returned to Grayrock Town, but he'd already been gone for some time.
Now, thinking of that strange bone staff, she couldn't help thinking of him again.
But could anyone blame her?
Every spellcaster wanted a powerful staff. She had given it away; thinking about it wasn't a crime.
She believed she had acted perfectly.
"Mm. Halflings as generous as me are rare."
Though it hadn't been her intention, there was one thing she had lied to Gauss about.
That bone staff hadn't been something she "picked up in a cave."
In truth, an old gentleman had entrusted it to her.
Back then, she had been very young, still living among her people.
He called it "safekeeping," but when she asked who would retrieve it and when, he only smiled and shook his head.
He never gave her an answer—only told her she could do whatever she wished with it.
Even if she said she would keep it, throw it away, or hand it to some random traveler, the old man said he would accept it.
At first, she thought it was just an excuse for a gift.
But decades passed, and she finally realized the staff truly wasn't meant for her.
But how could he know I would meet the right person?
Was he somehow able to predict that Gauss would cross paths with her in Grayrock Town thirty years later?
The thought was absurd. Andeni shook her head.
That was more than three decades, full of countless variables—something not even an all-knowing god could guarantee.
"It's time."
After the scattered thoughts, her mood finally settled.
She glanced one last time toward the direction of the town, as if making a decision.
Then she hopped down from the rock and looked south.
In the next instant, as [Andeni's Invisible Phantom] activated, her body vanished without a trace.