Chapter 132: Reunion with Marin

Gauss, Arya, and the gray wolf Ulfen walked through the desolate wilderness.

There were noticeably fewer pedestrians and carts than a few days ago, and the chill in the air grew stronger.

Both had good constitutions—especially Gauss. Aside from lacking the class bonus of a Warrior and corresponding powerful combat skills, his attributes might not even be inferior to some Tier 1 Warriors.

Because of this, he hadn’t fallen ill for quite a while, and his resistance to the cold far exceeded that of ordinary people.

"Two more missions completed." Arya crossed out an entry in her pocket notebook and exhaled a puff of white breath.

"Although it’s odd to still be doing these fragmented commissions after advancing to Bronze rank, the efficiency is actually pretty high," Gauss replied.

"I don't mind." Arya shrugged, then added teasingly, "But lately, someone’s started giving our team a nickname—‘Goblin Killer Squad’."

Gauss was momentarily speechless.

He admitted the frequency and number of goblins killed lately had risen significantly, but wasn’t that simply because most of the active monsters nearby were goblins?

With the weather turning cold, he didn’t want to travel far, so he began concentrating on sweeping through local minor commissions.

After applying at the guild, he received authorization to simultaneously execute two adjacent or same-route Normal Commissions.

This way, a single trip could complete two missions, often killing around thirty monsters, while the return time to Graystone Town was even shorter than most Entry-level missions.

In terms of efficiency, it wasn’t inferior to Tier 1 Entry-level Commissions, and the safety level was even higher.

Yet somehow, either someone noticed his commission pattern, or nearby villagers were so moved by a "big figure" like a Bronze Adventurer coming to help them, that they began spreading news of his "accomplishments".

After a few trips, the name "Goblin Killer" quietly began spreading around Graystone Town.

Now, many Bronze Professionals knew of someone at their level who was fanatically sweeping goblin Small Monsters—dubbed a "Mission Maniac".

Most Bronze Adventurers scoffed at this meager "scrap reward", having already completed their mission schedules and were conserving energy for the Winter Hunt. That left them with more time for gossip.

Thus, Gauss, who still competed with Low-level Adventurers in killing Small Monsters at this critical juncture, stood out even more.

"Let them talk. We’ll stay focused on training and growing stronger. Once our level is higher, those idle rumors should fade."

Gauss recalled something he’d heard in his past life.

When you succeed, you’ll find everyone around you is a good person.

Arya didn’t respond.

She didn’t share Gauss’ confidence—believing firmly she would ascend to a high-level Professional.

Although many had praised her talent, she felt she was nothing compared to true geniuses.

After offering a simple "comfort", Gauss looked at the Adventurer’s Handbook.

"Total Monsters Killed: 619."

Recently, he had gone out three times, completing six Normal Commissions, and killed 115 regular Small Monsters, the vast majority of which were goblins wandering the wilderness.

Unfortunately, the count was still quite far from a thousand. Judging from the pace, it seemed impossible to reach 1000 before the official start of the Winter Hunt.

The good news was that through multiple commissions, the skill 【Enhanced Jump】 had advanced to 1v3.

The activation speed had become faster, and each leap’s range had subtly increased by over ten centimeters.

Though it seemed minor, over a sustained dash, the accumulated increase in mobility was considerable.

Being able to run fast was always an advantage—whether chasing enemies or fleeing—it gave him more opportunities.

Mage Hand and Magic Missile were also close to leveling up.

The cold wind howled as the trio pressed forward with heads lowered.

As they neared Graystone Town, the number of travelers converging from various forked paths gradually increased.

Gauss swept his gaze over the crowd.

Suddenly, among a team of dust-covered, low-spirited adventurers, he caught sight of a familiar figure.

That freckled face.

Marin?

He narrowed his eyes.

Memory overlapped with reality. Yes—it was the same "surface friend" he had known while working at the blacksmith shop.

Some time ago, when he visited the shop, he heard that Marin had left, determined to become an adventurer.

So it seemed he had started accepting commissions?

Observing him and his teammates, Gauss noticed they didn’t appear very optimistic.

Besides their visibly low morale, their gear was also clearly damaged or missing in parts, with some minor cuts and bruises visible upon closer inspection.

As they neared, Gauss could clearly hear someone in the group—likely the "leader"—grumbling in a low voice.

"I told you not to force it! Look what happened—lost several weapons and the commission failed! Winter’s about to start, we might as well just disband this team!"

The team leader scratched his hair irritably and pointed at Marin. "And you, Marin! How many times have I told you—don’t panic! But what did you do? You shook like a leaf the moment the fighting started—tsk, you guys are the worst teammates I’ve ever had!"

The mood in the group plummeted further under the leader’s frustrated rant.

They all trudged on like lifeless husks.

Faced with such an awkward scene, Gauss hesitated about whether to greet them.

But the sheer presence of the gray wolf Ulfen walking ahead quickly drew attention from all the passersby—including that small team.

Instinctively, they looked over, and their gazes naturally shifted from the large wolf to the duo following behind.

Gauss and Marin’s eyes met unexpectedly.

Gauss could instantly sense that Marin recognized him—his eyes widened.

That resolved any hesitation.

"What a coincidence." Gauss offered an awkward smile. "So you’ve become an adventurer too, huh."

"Y-yeah…" Marin instinctively half-covered his face, rubbed his nose, and averted his gaze.

He had imagined many possible reunion scenarios, but all involved grand returns, riding a mount and dragging piles of spoils into the city.

But now? This was undoubtedly the last situation he wanted anyone to see.

He had just been scolded by the team leader and could hardly lift his head. Gauss had clearly heard everything.

And then…

Gauss now looked so tall—and had become extraordinarily handsome.

Not to mention his heroic bearing and finely equipped appearance—standing in sharp contrast to Marin’s tattered and defeated self.

He wished he could turn and run on the spot.

So humiliating!

He remembered it was precisely the sight of Gauss’ haul several months ago that ignited his own yearning to become an adventurer.

He eventually persuaded his parents to sponsor him, bought a Warrior sword skill, trained for a while, and finally registered as an adventurer.

He had imagined he would be like Gauss—earning silver coins quickly, upgrading gear, and shedding his low-tier status.

But reality had proven merciless.

His adventurer career had been riddled with hardship.

His first team dissolved after a casualty incident.

This second team now looked dangerously close to collapsing too.

Only after becoming an adventurer did he realize how far removed the life was from the exciting fantasy he had imagined.

They could only scramble for the simplest missions. Even when completed, the rewards divided among them amounted to little. Worse, if they failed, they received no commission and had to cover dry rations and supplies, even losing or damaging precious weapons or armor.

These were the risks all Low-level Adventurers had to bear. The mire of their current state easily dragged them into a vicious cycle—low commission success rate, no money earned, unable to repair, buy, or upgrade gear, resulting in weaker combat strength, further lowering mission completion rate, team disbandment, insufficient resume, leaving them to join even worse ragtag teams...

"I only found out you left when I last visited the blacksmith shop. I’d hoped to—" Gauss tried to ease the tension and talk about the past.

"Mm." Marin’s voice remained low.

Gauss lowered his gaze, his eyes lingering briefly on the other’s messy head.

"Hang in there. Let’s catch up another time." Sensing how dejected the other was, Gauss offered a polite farewell.

He and Arya picked up their pace, gradually disappearing from sight under the gaze of the crowd.

Once the two had completely vanished from view—

Marin’s teammates finally huddled closer.

"Marin, you know that guy?"

"W-we used to work at the blacksmith shop together… him? What’s the matter?" Gauss’ departure relaxed Marin slightly, but seeing his teammates' anxious expressions, his heart tensed again. He cautiously asked.

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