Gauss met Aria on the second floor of the Adventurers Guild.
This druid young lady was the one who had returned with him from the Emerald Forest two weeks ago. At that time, she was accompanied by a majestic large wolf that helped carry his belongings for a while, since he didn’t yet have a Storage Bag.
Since then, they had kept in touch. Although not very close, they were at least acquaintances.
“Congratulations.” Aria’s gaze lingered on the brand-new bronze badge on Gauss’s chest, quietly admiring his rapid advancement.
Recalling her own experience, she had prepared thoroughly for every assessment task. Although she couldn’t remember exactly how long it took to complete three tasks, it was definitely longer than Gauss.
With the powerful animal companion bound by contract—the fierce large wolf—she was among the top new professional adventurers. For Gauss, as a spellcaster, to level up so efficiently proved that his strength was no joke.
That was also why, even after being let down by a white-haired mage teammate, when Gauss proposed to team up and give it a try, she didn’t refuse.
Moreover...
Aria’s eyes casually swept over Gauss’s face without leaving a trace.
His first impression was very comfortable. He didn’t look like the type to flee in the face of danger or abandon his teammates.So, she decided to give teaming up a shot.
If it didn’t work out, they could change teammates later.
Aria muttered to herself. She had high standards for teammates.
She also knew that this attitude probably made it hard to find a fixed team.
Many new professionals were quite self-centered, and finding a suitable partner to team with for some time wasn’t easy.
At least, Gauss gave her a good first impression.
“Have you already picked a task?”
“Yeah.” Aria nodded. “If you hadn’t contacted me, I probably would have been recruiting teammates temporarily in the task hall these days.”
“Can I see the commission contract?”
Aria handed over a piece of parchment with the task information written on it.
Gauss quickly skimmed through it.
The task objective was to eliminate a gang of ratmen nesting in an abandoned cellar, estimated to number over seventy.
Ratmen were cunning and greedy humanoid monsters, often accompanied by ordinary rats and oversized giant rats. They were jittery and lean, preferring light weapons and ambush tactics. Low-level ratmen tribes usually lived in the wild or around villages, stealing food and spreading disease. Higher-level ratman clans might infiltrate cities, build intelligence networks in the sewers, and even develop into massive underground cities. This mission was to clear out these pests disturbing a manor.
The total commission fee was seventy silver coins.
“Want to team up?” Aria asked.
She knew well that not all adventurers were willing to take on missions dealing with ratmen and giant rats. Given a choice, many would avoid it. It wasn’t because they were especially dangerous, but because exterminating ratmen yielded almost no profit, and there were no decent spoils to scavenge from them.
Moreover, most people instinctively disliked rats and similar creatures, as they spread disease and symbolized bad omens, which gradually led to this situation.
“No problem.”
Gauss agreed quickly and decisively, which did not surprise Aria.
From her experience, temporary teammates might agree but still show some reluctance, but Gauss seemed not to.
“I think this task is pretty good.” Gauss handed back the commission contract.
He wasn’t trying to please Aria; he genuinely thought the task was suitable.
First, he had never killed ratmen before, so this commission would help enrich his Monster Encyclopedia.
Second, the commission clearly mentioned that the ratmen numbered over seventy. For someone like him who prioritized experience farming, more small monsters meant better.
Also, those giant rats following the ratmen might count as a separate monster species?
If so, the experience gained from harvesting all at once would be even more considerable.
As for the average of one silver coin per monster commission fee, that was a fair market price.
Unless challenging higher-level elite monsters, commissions for low-level monsters were generally around this price.
They officially added Gauss’s information to this commission in the task hall.
“We need to prepare some supplies in advance to deal with the ratmen.” Aria suggested.
They headed toward the general store.
Although ratmen were weak in direct combat, they were not without threat to level 1 professionals.
The Adventurer’s Guide and Monster Compendium both recorded that any low-level monsters, once gathered in large enough numbers, could pose deadly risks.
Ratmen and their rodent minions mainly attacked with bites and claws, which carried many bacteria and viruses, so thorough protection was essential.
A full-body protective leather suit, with extra coverage on the neck, wrists, and ankles, was key.
“I have a protective spell that can effectively resist such physical attacks. Do you think you still need to buy protective clothing?” Gauss noticed Aria picking out leather armor and spoke up.
“Thanks for your kindness.” Aria shook her head. “Although your spell is powerful, battle situations change in an instant. There are always moments when you can’t cover me. I want to prepare one myself. It’s one more layer of protection and less trouble for you.”
Seeing her thoughtful approach, Gauss agreed it made sense and didn’t say more.
Although the upgraded core skill of Mage Armor, Gauss Field, was powerful, casting it on others required direct physical contact, making it less convenient than casting on himself.
Besides protective clothing, gas masks and filtration devices were also necessities.
Gauss Field was effective against physical and magical attacks but powerless against poisonous gases and miasma.
For this reason, Gauss himself also bought a set.
Then came flammable materials, purifying potions, basic medicines, rations, and drinking water.
Excluding personal protective gear, they split the cost of the basic supplies, averaging about six silver coins each.
With supplies ready, they each returned to make final preparations before departure.
Back at the inn, Gauss carefully checked his belongings to confirm all essentials were safely stored in his Storage Bag.
He gave himself a day off to completely relax.
The next morning.
“Be careful.” Sophia reminded him.
“Okay.” Gauss waved and left the inn.
He met Aria on the roadside of the main avenue in Grayrock Town.
This trip again followed the caravan, but Gauss’s identity had changed.
After leveling up to bronze rank, he no longer had to beg for a spot on the caravan; the caravan sought him out.
They could hitch a free ride and free meals. If the journey was long enough, the caravan even paid a security fee to the professional adventurers accompanying them.
Of course, as part of their reciprocal duties, they had to lend a hand in dealing with some not-too-difficult crises. These were unwritten rules.
“Two esteemed adventurers, this is the carriage prepared for you. It contains clean water and food. If you need anything else, please feel free to ask.”
The caravan steward respectfully led them to an empty carriage reserved for passengers.
The carriage had obviously been cleaned beforehand; the seats and armrests were very clean, and there was little odor.
Not bad.
Gauss was satisfied but couldn’t help but marvel.
This world was truly realistic. After leveling up to bronze rank, the treatment changed immediately. No money spent, but the service was better. They didn’t have to squeeze with cargo during travel.
These were genuine conveniences, and similar invisible benefits were everywhere.
The carriage rolled forward.
Gauss lifted the side tarp of the carriage, watching the scenery flow past.
At some point, Aria’s strong wolf silently followed alongside the carriage.
Aria leaned out, took a piece of raw meat prepared in advance from her pack, and accurately fed her companion.
Gauss used the travel time to continue studying the Meditation Method book.
The contents recorded in Meditation Method were vast and profound, not something to be learned and finished in just a few days.
The caravan briefly stopped once because it encountered several rookie bandits armed with pitchforks and sticks attempting to block the road and rob them.
However, Gauss and Aria did not need to intervene; the caravan guards quickly beat the bandits into retreat.
Taking advantage of the rest, Gauss seized the chance to ask his temporary teammate a question that had been lingering for a while.
“Aria, can I ask you something about druids?”
Druid apprentices were already scarce in town, and formal druids were even rarer.
Gauss’s past understanding of druids was limited to hearsay among the common folk.
“Sure, what do you want to know?” Aria, feeling bored, withdrew her gaze from outside the window.
“I heard before that druids revere nature and peace and dislike killing. Is that true?”
“No way.” Aria shook her head with a smile. “First of all, ‘druid’ is just a general term. Inside, there are many sects with different beliefs and core ideas. Simply put, they can be roughly divided into conservatives, radicals, and aberrants. Most druids belong to the conservative faction and indeed uphold the path of natural balance, but that doesn’t mean we reject killing.”
She paused and added, “In fact, many druids don’t oppose killing monsters. Because killing itself is a necessary means to maintain ecological balance.”
“Lower-level monsters like goblins, goblin-like creatures, and ratmen are born with some twisted evil tendencies and reproduce extremely fast. If left unchecked, their populations would rapidly explode, severely squeezing out the living space of normal life and eventually destroying the entire region’s ecological balance. Eliminating them is to protect a broader nature.”
“And before becoming druids, we are born human. We have likes and dislikes, and can’t and won’t shed the influence of our species identity.” Aria blinked.
“I understand.” Gauss felt a stone quietly drop from his heart.
He was well aware of his almost ‘exterminate all’ approach to monsters and, considering the rumors about druids, worried there might be a conflict with Aria’s philosophy, so he tested her first.
Now it seemed, at least for the moment, their goals did not conflict.
Aria cleared out the overpopulated low-level monsters to practice her sect’s doctrine of protecting natural balance.
Gauss sought to harvest as many monsters as possible for his compendium collection system.
Though their purposes differed, their paths could intersect here.