Perhaps because there was no shelter behind him, or perhaps because he could feel the terrifying aura approaching from behind.
Theo's back instantly turned ice-cold, sweat soaking through his coarse linen clothes.
"Run!"
He struggled to move his trembling legs.
Stumbling and crawling, he fled towards the distance at a jog.
The tall monster behind him followed unhurriedly, keeping pace.
"Boom!"
From the corner of his eye, Theo saw the place he had just passed—where a large maul had smashed into the ground, sending dirt and grass flying, leaving a massive crater behind.
Theo's heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
If that had hit him, it would have turned him into a bloody pulp."Is this monster toying with me?" Listening to the footsteps closely following behind.
Theo felt utterly despondent. Though he recognized this fact, he had no choice but to play along with its "game," struggling desperately to escape the forest.
However, the pain from the wound under his ribs gradually slowed his running pace.
"Ah!"
Suddenly.
He felt a sharp pain in his thigh.
Looking down, he saw a shard of stone had somehow embedded itself into his flesh.
Waves of pain shot from the wound straight to his brain.
Every time he moved his leg, the sharp stone twisted in his flesh and nerves, sending excruciating agony through him.
He managed to take two more steps before the pain overwhelmed him, nearly causing him to faint, tears streaming down his face as he lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground.
He couldn't walk anymore.
Watching the towering, forest-green monster approach with its massive maul, its yellowed teeth bared in a mocking grin, Theo felt bitterness welling up inside him.
He slowly closed his eyes, the fear of death and pain wrapping around him like invisible tentacles.
The surroundings suddenly grew quiet.
One second...
Two seconds...
After what felt like an eternity, the expected agony of being smashed into paste never came.
Or... had he already died?
Uneasy, he opened his eyes.
What he saw left him utterly bewildered.
The once-ferocious, demonic green-skinned monster had suddenly frozen in place, its eyes fixed intently on something behind Theo.
Somehow, he could read deep wariness and... fear in the monster's human-like eyes.
What was happening?
Before he could ponder further.
A clear, bright laugh rang out from behind him.
"Serlandul, I win."
Theo turned his head with difficulty.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled light across the forest floor.
A handsome young man in black robes pushed aside the foliage, holding a flawless white staff as he approached calmly.
The tip of the staff shimmered with azure light, restrained yet ready, its energy firmly locked onto the towering monster in the distance.
The soft light bathed his figure, giving him an ethereal aura.
Beside the tall, black-robed youth, an even taller figure clad in leather armor slithered into view—a snake-person.
Its lower body was a thick serpent's tail, golden scales reflecting dazzling sunlight that made Theo squint.
Am I dreaming? Some final hallucination before death?
Even now, Theo couldn't tell if what he was seeing was reality or a dream.
"It's a hobgoblin. Been a while since I've seen one," the half-snake person replied in a raspy voice.
The two moved with effortless ease.
With each step they took forward, the hobgoblin took a step back.
Having reached the elite monster stage, this hobgoblin had shed the chaotic, savage mindset of its lesser kin.
It possessed some capacity for thought.
And what it sensed from the human and snake-person approaching was an intangible pressure.
Especially from the human—the moment it laid eyes on him, its legs felt as heavy as lead.
That not-particularly-tall frame seemed to grow larger and larger in its vision.
Faintly, it caught a whiff of something terrifying and utterly loathsome.
Around that human's body swirled the unwilling wails and curses of countless kin.
It was as if, on some fundamental level, this human was its natural predator.
Run! Run now!
Its brain screamed warnings, reminding it of when it had first encountered that terrifying gnoll in the forest.
Gauss stepped in front of the villager, ensuring his safety before turning to Serlandul.
"Serlandul, mind if I take this one?"
This hobgoblin posed little threat in Gauss's estimation, and it was also a new entry for his bestiary.
Given that elite goblins weren't encountered too frequently, he didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Common goblins were everywhere, but elite-tier ones? Not so much.
At least not near human kingdoms.
Some theorized this was because the goblins invading human territories were the "weaklings" driven out by their own kind—the true elites were usually gathered by higher-ranking monsters.
"Of course, Captain." Serlandul's lips curled slightly. He was curious to see Gauss in action.
His understanding of Gauss's capabilities had so far been limited to instinctive assessments—he could tell Gauss was dangerous, but how exactly he fought remained a mystery.
They really should have trained together these past few days, but Gauss had been recovering from injuries and there hadn't been a suitable venue, so it never happened.
Taking this beginner-level quest was partly for warm-up purposes.
Serlandul assumed Gauss wanted to demonstrate his abilities, so he refrained from interfering, leaving the fight entirely to Gauss.
"But..."
His gaze shifted to the retreating hobgoblin.
What was this monster so afraid of?
He'd never seen a goblin react so extremely.
While confident in his superiority over the hobgoblin, this level of fear before any actual combat was unprecedented.
Gauss shrugged. It had been days since he'd had a proper fight.
He felt like his bones were gathering rust.
At least his first "job" after recovery was against comforting foes—goblins.
Familiar yet different, they made perfect training partners.
His eyes lingered on the hobgoblin for a moment.
It was slightly shorter than he'd imagined.
His very first mission had pitted him against a common goblin evolving into a hobgoblin, so he'd long been curious about them.
He still remembered that one had stood nearly two meters tall. Surprisingly, true hobgoblins weren't much taller.
But the power difference was vast—this one was far more robust than that early encounter.
With these thoughts, Gauss took a step forward.
"Magic Missile!"
Three azure orbs finally coalesced before the blue-glowing bone staff.
"Boom!"
The missiles tore through the air.
Once combat commenced, Gauss didn't hold back.
Though this was technically rehabilitation training, proper intensity was necessary for it to be effective.
The missiles shot forth from Gauss.
The resulting shockwave made his robes billow wildly.
Across from him, the wary hobgoblin raised the thick wooden shield clutched in its other hand.
"Crunch!"
A tremendous force transmitted through the shield into the hobgoblin's body.
It staggered back two steps, each footfall leaving deep imprints in the ground.
Then the second and third missiles struck the exact same spot in rapid succession.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Three Magic Missiles completely shattered the hobgoblin's multi-layered, lacquer-coated wooden shield.
Splinters and leather fragments scattered like shrapnel across the ground.
This was why Gauss hadn't acted rashly earlier—he'd locked onto the hobgoblin with his energy, gradually intensifying his aura to force it back.
Otherwise, while he and Serlandul would be fine, that villager might not have survived the aftermath.
The hobgoblin discarded the shattered shield handle. Its leather armor was now studded with wooden shards.
But after all those layers of defense, it had withstood Gauss's three Magic Missiles.
Behind them, Serlandul—who'd been quietly healing the injured villager—looked up at the commotion.
Damn, first attack and he already smashed the shield to pieces.
Keeping his healing magic flowing, Serlandul fixed his gaze on Gauss.
So this was the captain's strength?
Impressive!
Though just basic Magic Missiles, in Gauss's hands they packed far more destructive power than most mages could muster.
He hardly seemed like a mere level 2 professional.
But it wasn't over yet.
As Serlandul watched in amazement, white energy rapidly enveloped Gauss's body, his robes fluttering as his form underwent some transformation.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Gauss's height abruptly increased.
Small horns sprouted from his head as his hair lengthened into a snow-white cascade.
An icy, formidable aura radiated from his entire being.
Beside him, Theo—now recovering thanks to the healing magic—stared in shock at Gauss's transformed back.
And here he'd thought that handsome youth was just a normal human.
Was he the only human here?
Had he been rescued by two monsters?
The realization filled him with indescribably mixed emotions.
Activating [Ghost Form], Gauss felt his energy begin to drain but didn't waste time.
The next moment.
He pushed off with his toes, leaping forward.
His eyes locked onto the fleeing hobgoblin.
The pale figure flickered across the clearing, closing the distance between them visibly.
Azure light gathered at the tip of Gauss's staff once more.
But this time, it was laced with pale energy.
"Boom!"
Mid-sprint, he swung his staff forward.
The Magic Missile shot out faster than before, stretching into a thin blue beam across the air, pale energy crackling like lightning along its surface.
"BOOM!!!"
The Goblin Killer title's Bane effect activated.
Combined with [Ghost Form]'s pale energy enhancing the magic missile, this carefully prepared attack was devastating!
In an instant, it tore through the hobgoblin's back armor, then pierced clean through its torso like a beam sword.
Even rock-hard muscles meant nothing against this strangely empowered missile.
A gaping hole appeared in the hobgoblin's chest.
It managed a few more steps before staggering, swaying unsteadily, then collapsing heavily to the ground.
"Elite monster Hobgoblin ×1 slain."
Gauss successfully unlocked the sixth entry in his elite monster bestiary.
But he had no time to dwell on it, quickly deactivating [Ghost Form].
"Whew—"
Feeling his depleted stamina, he sighed in relief.
Indeed, when used sparingly like this, the results were good—allowing quick elimination of elite monsters.
That hobgoblin had probably been challenge rating 2.
Without [Ghost Form], given its toughness, the fight might have dragged on. But once activated, resistance became futile.
Of course, the ease of victory also owed much to the title's 20% bonus.
Secondary Core Spell Slot, Ghost Form, title effects—all stacking to enable this one-shot kill.
Turning his gaze from the fallen hobgoblin to his elite bestiary, he noted the new entry granted him 10 elite points.
40 more until [Reptilian] could advance from white to blue quality.
In the distance, Serlandul's serpentine pupils constricted.
He'd thought he held Gauss in high regard, but what he'd just witnessed made him realize he'd still underestimated his new captain.
This... was a level 2 professional?
How was he this strong?
Now he understood why Gauss had been so relaxed before the fight.
Could he himself have killed that hobgoblin so easily?
Serlandul shook his head.
Clearly not.
And that transformation just now—what was that?
When Gauss leisurely returned to them, he paid little mind to their stunned expressions.
He knew his Ghost Form was unusual.
But these were teammates—they'd find out eventually anyway.
Rather than hide it, he'd decided to use it openly, figuring such abilities required actual combat to master.
"Finished the healing already, Serlandul?"
He examined the villager, noting the wounds had closed with pink new flesh—much faster than expected.
"Yes, Captain. No aberrant energy contamination to deal with—simple healing," Serlandul replied.
Gauss nodded. Having a healer on the team was definitely useful.
Taking out some jerky, Gauss chewed quickly.
"You know the way back to the village?" he asked the now-healed villager.
"Y-yes, sir!" Theo gulped.
The image from before superimposed over the refined young man before him, leaving him mentally disoriented.
Hence the stutter.
But he wasn't ungrateful.
"Y-you can... can trust me! I-I won't tell anyone about... about you!"
He thought he'd stumbled upon some incredible secret,
hastily giving Gauss his word.
Gauss nearly facepalmed, both amused and exasperated.
Was his Ghost Form really that scary? It had terrified the poor guy.
As for keeping it secret? That hardly mattered.
This world was full of special abilities.
Take the most common example—half-orcs entering Bloodrage underwent physical changes: muscles swelling, height increasing, tusks and claws sharpening.
If anyone asked, he could easily pass off his transformation as primitive bloodline awakening.
Even certain spells could produce similar effects.
What the villager considered a huge secret was actually trivial.
But seeing his fearful state, Gauss didn't bother explaining further.
"Then you should head back now."
Though the leader was dead, he and Serlandul still had about a hundred more goblins to deal with.
Watching the villager scramble away, the two turned back toward the forest.
......
"Thank you, exalted ones!"
Gauss flicked his sword, shaking off the blood, then waved dismissively at the bowing villagers.
Their timely arrival, coupled with goblins' habit of capturing live prey for later consumption, meant few villagers had died—only two in the initial resistance.
"This should be the last batch of goblins."
Serlandul's forked tongue flicked the air as he murmured.
"Mm."
Gauss nodded, giving him a look of vague resignation.
"What is it, Captain?"
Serlandul had noticed Gauss's hesitant glances during the battle.
At the time, he'd assumed Gauss was assessing his skills, so he'd fought especially vigorously.
He wanted the captain to know that despite being a priest, his combat ability far exceeded ordinary clerics.
Only afterward did it dawn on him that might not have been the case.
"Nothing, never mind..." Gauss sighed.
"Total monsters slain: 1607"
Of the hundred-odd goblins, he'd only killed about seventy—Serlandul had taken care of the remaining forty.
He'd been too enthusiastic.
But considering this was their first collaboration, Gauss decided not to comment.
With time, Serlandul would learn the team's combat rhythm.
Besides.
"Racial Talent [Reptilian] is upgrading!"
"Congratulations! Upgraded to Elite tier."
His [Reptilian] talent had successfully advanced from initial to elite tier.
Feeling the surging power within, Gauss wasn't one to complain.
At least one objective of this outing had been achieved.
After a brief flash of text.
Subtle changes began occurring in Gauss's body...
Serlandul, who'd been resting, suddenly flicked his tongue, eyes fixed on Gauss.
Was it his imagination, or was something imperceptibly changing about Gauss? Even his scent was becoming... more pleasant.