I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 370: The Leader's Proof

After confirming they had reached a safe location, Gauss once again focused his attention on the Adventurer's Manual."Reward obtained: 4th-circle Conjuration spell [Dimension Door], 3rd-circle Illusion spell [Fear]"

"Reward obtained: Agility +2, Perception +1, Charisma +1"

Strength: 15

Agility: 12-14

Constitution: 15

Intelligence: 17

Perception: 12-13

Charisma: 14(13) →14

"Reward obtained: 30 Commander Points."

"Obtained Professional Feat: Proof of Leadership."

"Next milestone: Total monsters killed reaches 30,000"

A series of prompts popped up before Gauss's eyes.

Then, waves of power surged throughout his entire body.

This was already who-knows-how-many times he had experienced this sudden "enhancement," so he was even somewhat accustomed to it. After briefly accepting the enhancement, he regained his clarity.

Two complex spell models appeared in his mind.

The larger one belonged to [Dimension Door].

To be honest, the moment he saw this spell's name, he couldn't help but think of the item with the same name from an animation in his previous life, so he initially felt a surge of excitement.

But after carefully sensing the spell model in his mind and understanding the spell's capabilities, his emotions cooled down somewhat.

In terms of function, the 4th-circle spell [Dimension Door] shared some similarities with that robotic cat's gadget—both could achieve spatial traversal effects.

[Dimension Door] could transport the caster, willing and unresisting creatures, and some items from their current location to another area.

Specifically, this place needed to be one that could be seen with the eyes or clearly imagined.

Moreover, there were quite a few limitations beyond that.

First was the mana consumption. After successfully using the spell, the amount of mana consumed was related to multiple factors.

One was distance. The farther the distance, the more mana consumed. But if the distance exceeded the upper limit of total mana, the spell would fail to cast.

Two was the number of living beings and items carried along. The more of them there were and the stronger their energy, the more mana would be required.

Three was whether the target location of the Dimension Door was located within a special environment. If there was some kind of magical barrier around, it would either fail or consume a large amount of mana.

And once the spell failed, both the caster and the creatures being transported together would suffer backlash force damage, and the spell would have no effect—they would remain in their original location.

But regardless, this was ultimately a spell involving space. The significance of spatial spells was different, and their learning difficulty was often higher.

Now, having mastered it through the Adventurer's Manual in this form, it truly saved Gauss a lot of research time. Moreover, if he mastered Dimension Door proficiently, he would have opportunities to learn other spatial-type spells later, and his learning speed would likely be much faster.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for practice.

In the flash of his thoughts, he looked at the second 3rd-circle spell, [Fear].

The effect of [Fear] was to create an illusion of what the target feared most in its mind. If successful, the target would fall into a state of terror, and its subsequent actions would be continuously affected.

Seeing this spell effect, Gauss felt even more convinced that the manual's rewards were not purely "random."

After all, just moments ago when facing that Goblin Chieftain, he was thinking about learning some methods to coordinate with the Awe effect of the title [Goblin Expert] to maximize the weakening of the target's strength.

And now, he was rewarded with [Fear].

[Fear] + the Awe effect of [Goblin Expert] + his high Intelligence attribute—with all these stacked together, he would become the nightmare of the vast majority of goblins.

Next was the increase in attribute points.

This time, the rewarded attributes were his weakest ones: Agility, Perception, and Charisma.

Especially Agility, which increased by a full 2 points at once.

Although the improvement in Agility and Perception wasn't as obvious as Intelligence, Constitution, and Strength, they were still very important in actual combat.

Especially in those split-second battles, where one could only rely on combat instinct and subconscious reactions, both closely related to Agility and Perception attributes.

Moreover, based on Gauss's own experience using spells, the higher the value of each attribute, the greater the probability of resisting enemy spell effects.

This was also why he was more stable at crushing weaker opponents than the vast majority of professionals at his level.

Some spells or skills hadn't even taken effect on him before being negated by his Magic Resistance, Gauss Barrier, and his well-rounded attributes with no shortcomings.

Other professionals at his level, however, had one or many defects to varying degrees.

For example, certain attributes were lower, making them vulnerable to specific magics and skills.

The improvement in the three attributes also made his perception of the surrounding world more acute. Time even seemed to slow down a bit.

Regarding Commander Points, he originally had 10, plus the 10 rewarded from killing that tree-dwelling species just now, and the 30 from the twenty-thousand kill reward, totaling 50.

Adding to the 20 Commander Points he had already invested into [Sturdy Scale Bloodline], if he invested all 50 he just accumulated, it would reach 70 Commander Points.

Back then, he spent 65 Commander Points to advance the blue-quality [Ghost Form] to the purple-quality [Second-Stage Ghostification].

But...

When he killed that Ogre Leader who launched the war against Grayrock Town, he absorbed part of the Ghost-transformation Bloodline from it, which should have saved some points.

So, while 70 Commander Points seemed more than 65, it likely still wouldn't be enough to successfully advance [Sturdy Scale Bloodline].

Sure enough, as he focused his spirit...

After the 50 Commander Points merged into the [Sturdy Scale Bloodline] talent, a scorching warm current surged through his body.

This warm current only lasted for a moment before gradually subsiding.

But Gauss could feel that the gap shouldn't be large anymore. Perhaps only the final few points were needed to make up the difference.

He took a deep breath.

[Sturdy Scale Bloodline] was still very handy for him. If [Sturdy Scale Bloodline] could also advance from blue quality to purple quality, it would be a significant boost to his overall strength.

Good things take time...

Gauss was very patient. Given his current approach of targeting large-scale monster nests, he could basically encounter Commander-level monsters each time. Perhaps in the next commission, or at most the one after, he could formally advance [Sturdy Scale Bloodline].

He looked at the final reward brought by the twenty-thousand kill milestone.

Professional Feat [Proof of Leadership]

For this feat to take effect, one needed to meet the requirement of having a base Charisma of 13 points or higher.

"Luckily, my Charisma is 14 points."

Slightly above the basic condition for the feat to activate.

Feat effect: You can actively activate this feat. After use, it has an inspiring effect on nearby team members. During subsequent battles for a period of time, their overall strength will be temporarily enhanced. (Note: The enhancement magnitude is related to the team members' own strength and personal qualities, as well as the feat owner's Charisma attribute. The higher the Charisma attribute, the greater the temporary strength increase for targets under the effect.)

Through proper management, the recognition your team members have for you will increase at a faster rate the longer they remain in the team.

"Oh?"

He hadn't paid much attention to this final reward of a professional feat.

He never expected it to provide an extra surprise.

This was different from the professional feats that had appeared before. It wasn't a feat that acted on Gauss himself, but was related to his team. It probably recognized his current identity as the Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Guild.

In short, it was similar to an amplification aura.

It could be actively activated before combat broke out to temporarily enhance teammates' strength.

And this enhancement magnitude was related not only to teammates' strength but also to his personal Charisma attribute.

From now on, the Charisma attribute, which was originally not very noticeable, had gained an additional function.

After all, he could share kill counts with several teammates in the team. What they killed, he killed. Temporarily enhancing their strength in battle meant he could harvest kill counts faster.

Moreover, this "team" should not be limited to Gauss's small squad. If nothing unexpected happened, other members of the Red Dragon Guild, as long as they were near him, could likely also enjoy the feat's effect.

Even if they didn't participate in combat, after receiving the enhancement, they could work faster.

And they would also more easily develop recognition for him as their leader. In gaming terms, it would be easier to gain subordinates' "loyalty."

Perhaps the existence of [Proof of Leadership] could also make Serlandul and Albenia gain the effect of sharing kill counts with him faster, just like Aria, Shadow, and Hephaestus.

After reviewing everything, overall, Gauss was very satisfied with the rewards from this twenty-thousand kill milestone.

He turned his gaze downward.

The battle was still ongoing.

"Total monsters killed: 20,091"

The time he spent receiving the rewards seemed long, but in reality, only about twenty seconds had passed.

During this time, Aria and Shadow had killed several dozen more goblins for him.

His boots pushed off the branch, and his body nimbly leaped through the air a few times before landing back inside the Tree-city.

Gauss immediately activated the effect of [Proof of Leadership].

Ripples seemed to stir in the air.

Whether it was Shadow maneuvering within the Tree-city or the trio of Aria killing their way in from outside, they all felt a powerful force suddenly descend upon their bodies.

At first, facing this sudden surge of power, they instinctively felt a pang of alarm.

But as they gradually sensed the familiar aura within it—an aura belonging to Gauss—they quickly relaxed, guessing that the change happening to them was probably related to Gauss.

Most likely, he had used some enhancement method again.

"Kill!"

Having lost their chieftain and already with low morale, the goblins naturally found it difficult to put up much resistance against this group of fierce enemies.

Gauss and Shadow were extremely fast, unleashing a bloody slaughter within their home base.

And outside, there were still Aria's trio, Gauss's clay construct squad, and the watchful Hephaestus.

For a time, this originally peaceful, tranquil home filled with stench that comforted the goblins instantly turned into a hell for them.

After the Agility and Perception bonuses, Gauss could simultaneously collect and process more information.

Fire Bolts and Magic Missiles poured down like a torrential rain, hitting the goblins who were like ants on a hot pan. And once they left the shade of the Tree-city and escaped to the open environment outside, they were greeted by extreme cold and frost. Cannonball-like hailstones rapidly devoured lives, but the more deadly element was actually the cold mana permeating the air everywhere.

That mana would enter their bodies through the respiratory tract, then freeze their throats and respiratory systems stiff in an extremely short time, ultimately killing them.

Fortunately, everyone in the team had the blessing of the wind and snow, granting them extremely high immunity to cold damage. So compared to those goblins, they didn't suffer much friendly fire.

This encirclement and massacre process lasted about ten minutes.

When Gauss put away the Godwater in his hand, there were no more standing green-skinned imps visible around. As far as the eye could see, corpses littered the ground.

Of course, he wasn't sure if any goblins had escaped as stragglers.

After all, a full two thousand goblins were simply too many. Even he found it hard to keep track of everything.

At least for now, according to Locate Creature, there were no goblins nearby.

"Total monsters killed: 21,991"

The number of goblins killed this time was approximately two thousand two hundred.

Gauss dispelled various spell effects.

After he withdrew his magic, the dark clouds in the sky quickly dissipated.

The air temperature gradually rose.

Although Ice Storm could alter the climate within a certain range, as a 4th-circle spell, it also had its limits. After being dispelled, it couldn't have a long-term impact on the environment.

However, it was said that a few high-level powerful spells, even after being dispelled, left magical effects that were difficult to eliminate in a short time unless intervened upon manually.

"Whew—"

Landul found a relatively clean platform and sat down to rest.

After the effect of that enhanced strength faded, fatigue surged out like a tide.

The same was true for the others.

She quickly distributed some mana olives to her companions.

Gauss's condition was the best among everyone.

Thanks to the Bloodthirsty effect, he had consumed quite a bit of mana, but his physical stamina was still very abundant.

Looking at everyone's slightly pale faces, it seemed this kind of enhancement wasn't without cost.

There were some side effects, but fortunately, they weren't severe.

Recalling his teammates' combat scenes just now, he gained more understanding of the enhancement effect of [Proof of Leadership].

Aria was only level 4, but because the Moon Phase Walker profession was powerful and she likely had divine blessings, her combat power was stronger than the vast majority of level 5 spellcasters.

And after the enhancement from Proof of Leadership, Gauss even felt her attack power had crossed the level 6 threshold.

The range and intensity of the Moonlight Radiance she released earlier had doubled, stronger than the effects of most level 5 spellcasters using 3rd-circle spells. Of course, the level 5 spellcasters mentioned here didn't include him.

As for Shadow, since she wasn't a spellcaster, Gauss couldn't judge the enhancement magnitude through magical fluctuations, but her burst movement speed had increased by at least 50%.

Everyone had seen a significant improvement.

And it was very long-lasting, continuing until the battle ended and he actively dispelled the feat effect.

Compared to the enhancement effect, this slight exhaustion now was obviously insignificant.

He looked at Serlandul, who was casting Mass Healing Word.

Besides healing injuries, Mass Healing Word could also remove some negative effects brought by physical fatigue.

The severity of the side effects was also related to the "activity level" of teammates during the activation period.

As the team medic, Serlandul hadn't fully immersed herself in killing enemies earlier, so her energy consumption wasn't high, and thus her side effects were much smaller.

"You all rest well. I'll bring the other members in to loot the spoils."

Gauss glanced at everyone, then used Fly to fly towards the forest's edge.

At the temporary camp.

The members of the Red Dragon Guild gathered around the Silver Wolf Ulfen had varied expressions.

The explosions that erupted deep in the forest just now were clearly audible even from their location.

"What exactly is happening in the forest?"

"Can the Guild Leader and the other adults win?"

"Have faith in the Guild Leader."

No one could clearly explain the situation in the forest.

But everyone knew that if Gauss and the others encountered misfortune in the forest, they themselves likely wouldn't fare well either.

That was a full two thousand goblins. Even sending just one-tenth could overwhelm them.

Their safety was now tightly linked to the Guild Leader and the others in the forest—they were grasshoppers on the same string.

"Whoosh—"

Those who were constantly watching the forest direction heard a sound of something cutting through the air.

They stared intently in the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, a blinding silver light entered their eyes.

Before they could react, Gauss had already descended from above their heads.

"It's the Guild Leader!"

"The Guild Leader is back!"

Noticing the smile on Gauss's face, the members immediately burst into excited cheers, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted.

For some reason, they felt this young Guild Leader now possessed a special charm he didn't have before.

"Ahem."

After his light cough, the noisy crowd quickly quieted down.

"The battle is won. Next, follow me into the monster nest to prepare for looting the spoils."

"Whoa!!"

Hearing Gauss declare victory, the Red Dragon Guild members' moods immediately soared like a rollercoaster, each letting out celebratory cheers.

Perhaps they hadn't expected Gauss and the others to end a large-scale battle in such a short time.

Although they didn't know how Gauss managed it, they instinctively chose to believe the young Guild Leader's words.

Seeing the slight fanatical emotion flashing in the members' eyes, Gauss knew it was likely the other passive effect of [Proof of Leadership] taking effect.

As a leader, what could be more inspiring and loyalty-gaining than achieving victory?