I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 435: Eden's Lair

Hephaestus's magic teaching didn't go as smoothly as Gauss had anticipated.Indeed, its magical talent was formidable.

Its speed in learning 1st circle spells was fast. With Gauss's instruction, it had only practiced a mere dozen or so times before successfully mastering Burning Hands.

Everything related to flames was like instinct to it.

However, when the spell was switched to the 2nd circle Scorching Orb, things didn't seem to go as smoothly.

Although Gauss himself had learned Scorching Orb from a spellbook, and because he didn't use it much in daily combat, its proficiency wasn't particularly high among his many spells, being only at a mere lv3 (39/50), in theory, that should be more than sufficient for teaching others.

In his judgment, a lv3 proficiency level had already reached a masterful degree, allowing stable spellcasting in most combat situations.

Facing the somewhat frustrated Hephaestus, Gauss spoke up to comfort it.

He guessed the reason, which probably had little to do with Hephaestus's magical talent, but was more likely because it had been exposed to magic for too short a time and its foundation was too weak.

So, it temporarily lacked sufficient foundational knowledge to cross the threshold of 2nd circle spells. The complexity of 2nd circle spells was indeed exponentially greater than that of 1st circle spells.

One could get a glimpse of this by looking at the corresponding groups of initial learners.

1st level spellcasters could begin learning 1st circle spells. Although spellcasters with professional levels were seen as noble mage lords and a mysterious group wielding arcane mana in the eyes of ordinary people, in Gauss's current view, they were just a bunch of newbies who had just stepped out of ignorance, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them laymen.

Don't expect most 1st level spellcasters to have a solid magical foundation.

As for 2nd circle spells, at least a 3rd level spellcaster was required to learn them, and even 4th, 5th level spellcasters frequently used 2nd circle spells.

Spellcasters of this level were often old hands who had been immersed in the professional-level magical world for ten, twenty years, or even longer.

Therefore, the various gaps between 1st and 2nd circle were not as trivial as the number simply increasing by one.

Hephaestus's strength during its Drake period was indeed powerful. With its dragon body, it had innate talent and was considered a capable fighter even among Commander-level Monsters, able to easily slaughter enemies that outnumbered it by hundreds or thousands.

Moreover, many low-level monsters would be intimidated by the dragon aura it emitted, likely unable to exert even half of their true strength.

With this ebb and flow, unless it encountered an "anomaly" like Gauss, Hephaestus would almost never meet an enemy capable of killing it between levels 6-10.

Logically speaking, this was already quite outstanding.

However, after witnessing the formidable combat power of the Slime King Eden, his own Red Drake Hephaestus seemed somewhat inadequate.

But if it merely continued to leverage the physical advantages of its dragon body, there would eventually be a limit, and this limit would come quickly.

Even among the Chromatic Dragon Breeds, with the Red Dragon having the strongest physique, its Drakes upon adulthood often could only barely possess the power to break through to the Transcendent level.

The reason was simple. A dragon's body was indeed robust, but this kind of physical growth itself also had its upper limit, caused by the rules of the real world.

If it couldn't master higher-level power, at best, it would only become a living target for others.

Furthermore, even those seemingly "saintly through flesh" powerhouses, whose manifestation might rely on brute strength, if one truly traced the origin of this brute strength, it might involve those energies within the body, perhaps sword qi, or maybe fighting spirit. In short, no matter what, it always had to combine with deeper-level energies.

The seemingly indestructible bodies of adult true dragons were also influenced by the daily accumulation and strengthening of mana within them.

Now, before Hephaestus fully gained intelligence, the mana within its body had also expanded considerably, and it was predictable that for a period in the future, its mana would begin to increase on a large scale.

It could be said that it was now a bona fide Mage.

The differences from other Mages might be the lack of a true name and that heritage stemming from bloodline. And this point, once it learned more magic on its own, would be hard to discern from external performance.

Therefore, seeing that it hadn't mastered 2nd circle magic for the time being, Gauss wasn't too anxious.

In his view, as long as he helped Hephaestus solidify its foundation and patiently waited for its mana to develop further, it should naturally master higher circle magic, especially those fire elemental spells.

"Alright, let's end today's teaching session here."

"Hephaestus, your mana is also running low. Take a rest for now."

Hephaestus's mana, although astonishingly large compared to ordinary 1st or 2nd level spellcasters, had only recently gained intelligence, and its mana was still awakening. So, after the previous round of practice, it was almost depleted.

Observing its physical condition, Gauss promptly stopped Hephaestus, which wanted to practice further.

It was probably the first time it had truly understood the wonders of mana, actually changing its usual somewhat lazy demeanor, showing a quite diligent attitude towards practice.

"Alright then."

Hephaestus unwillingly lowered its large head. The mana within its body was indeed almost gone.

A surging, intense hunger was emanating from its abdomen.

"Gauss, I'm hungry."

Although it had gained intelligence, the emotional intelligence it displayed in many situations was still close to that of a child. Its attitude towards Gauss was more like dependence on a parent than that of a partner.

Or perhaps, in its subconscious, the human Gauss had replaced the identity of the Red Dragon mother who had abandoned it outside the dragon nest when it was young.

This point became even more apparent after it gained intelligence.

"Then I'll have someone bring food over."

Gauss had already instructed the cooks in the team to prepare some roasted whole sheep and roasted mushroom creatures before starting to teach Hephaestus magic, making some exclusive food for Hephaestus.

Of course, the main ingredient was the latter, since it could be sourced locally within the Maze at any time.

After receiving Gauss's notification, dragon meals were quickly brought over on carts.

The bodies of the mushroom creatures had been baked until tender and juicy. The butter spread on the surface had penetrated deep into the fluffy mushroom fibers under high-temperature roasting, emitting a somewhat sweet aroma.

After the other members of the Red Dragon Guild left, watching Hephaestus open its massive maw to eat, Gauss also tore off some mushroom fibers with his hand and sent them into his mouth.

Perhaps the transformation of his body by the [Feast] racial talent was too successful, as he didn't feel any discomfort, only finding it more delicious than the vast majority of ordinary food.

Although it was vegetarian, the energy and satiety it provided were certainly no less than other monster flesh and blood.

This phenomenon was probably related to these mushroom fibers having been soaked in mana for a long time, altering their structure, coupled with the powerful decomposing ability of Gauss's digestive system taking effect.

Although not very hungry, Gauss still ate quite a bit.

Eden in the void, watching the man and dragon devouring their food, suddenly felt a bit envious.

It hadn't eaten proper food for a long time. After becoming a Slime, it didn't even need to eat much.

Its elementalized body allowed it to maintain the energy needed for bodily activities by exchanging air and absorbing natural mana from the environment.

"Is it delicious?" Eden watched eagerly, unable to resist asking.

It no longer had a physical body now, as it hadn't been resurrected yet. So, even though the sight of Gauss and Hephaestus eating had stirred up a gluttonous urge that had been absent for who knows how many years, it couldn't act on it. It could only watch Gauss open his mouth to eat, imagining the taste through the satisfied expression on his face.

"Not bad, probably more delicious than eating it raw."

"Then after I'm resurrected, I want to try it myself too." Eden still felt somewhat unwilling.

Hearing this, Gauss could only smile.

But he suddenly became very curious: do Slimes even have so-called taste perception?

However, he didn't specifically ask. He could wait until Eden was resurrected to find out.

The previous magic practice seemed to have consumed a lot. This time, Hephaestus's appetite was astonishingly large. The several carts of food originally brought over were all completely eaten by it, and it still looked unsatisfied, casting a gaze towards Gauss.

As the parent figure, Gauss could only ask the Red Dragon Guild cooks to work overtime. Fortunately, the main ingredient, the mushroom creatures, wasn't in short supply.

As for the cooking ingredients needed to feed Hephaestus, a considerable amount would indeed be used up. But considering that in the next few days, the Red Dragon Guild's own caravan would also go outside the Maze for supplies, there was no need to be so frugal; they could use more liberally.

This meal lasted a long time. During this period, curious members like Aria and Shadow also came over to observe.

Actually, they had noticed the commotion here as early as when Gauss was teaching Hephaestus, but thinking he was busy with serious business, they didn't come to disturb.

Hephaestus was still somewhat familiar with the other members of Gauss's party. During the meal, it even nodded and greeted them.

As for the other members, don't expect it to give any reaction.

Dragons were inherently proud creatures by nature, especially Red Dragons. Hephaestus was willing to accept Aria and the others only because they were Gauss's close teammates, so it extended its affection for Gauss to them.

Perhaps in its eyes, the other members of the Red Dragon Guild weren't much different from the goblin-like creature tribe servants it used to rule underground.

It would protect them in battle, firstly because of Gauss's orders, and secondly, just out of an instinctive reaction of a lord's consciousness, as servants were also a form of property.

They rested in place for a day.

The next day, Gauss's Red Dragon Guild officially embarked on the exploration of the fifth floor.

With Eden as the "guide," Gauss proceeded relatively smoothly on the fifth floor.

The first destination in their direction of travel was Eden's former lair.

Although it had been quite passive in the past, the mushroom creature leaders under its command would still regularly offer treasures to it, their Lord.

Some were mana fruits, which it ate as soon as they reached its hands.

Although it hadn't eaten carefully prepared food for a long time, it didn't refuse natural treasures like mana fruits or mana minerals.

Its energy-based liquid flowing body could digest most foreign objects, like a pro max version of an ordinary Slime's digestive ability.

Apart from the consumed supplies, it remembered there should still be some treasures left.

Many of these treasures were scavenged by the mushroom creature tribe within the fifth floor of the Maze.

As for why these treasures continuously appeared in the Maze, it also seemed related to the Maze's mechanisms.

Eden shared with Gauss.

It had been sucked into the Maze and fell into a long time suspension, only becoming active again recently when the Maze opened.

This experience also made it ponder the nature of the Maze a bit.

It speculated that the Maze was probably like a colander space hidden within the interlayer of the Prime Material Plane world.

This space had existed for a long time, and it would spontaneously suck in some monsters or valuable items from time to time, like a vessel executing a pre-set command.

Speaking of being trapped in the Maze, Eden's tone didn't hold much complaint. On the contrary, Gauss even heard a hint of relief in it.

Thinking carefully, strictly speaking, Eden being sucked into the Maze and having its time suspended might not be a bad thing.

If time had flowed normally until now, it would most likely have lost that part of its human consciousness and spiritual energy, completely influenced or even dominated by the instincts belonging to monsters.

Just like patients with incurable diseases in Gauss's previous life choosing cryogenic sleep.

Gauss continued to converse with Eden as they traveled.

The area of the fifth floor was truly not small.

Even with Eden itself leading the way, it took a considerable amount of time to reach its lair.

Of course, if Gauss were traveling alone, he could probably save a lot of time.

But considering there were many mushroom creature nests nearby, perfect for training troops, training Red Dragon Guild members and the newly magic-capable Hephaestus, and incidentally allowing himself to slack off a bit, he didn't specifically hurry.

Arriving at Eden's lair, there were no guards nearby.

The place presented a scene of being deserted.

"Looks like those mushroom creature guards you mentioned have all run off. They didn't run off with your treasure, did they?" Gauss joked.

Actually, even if they had run off with the treasure, he wasn't worried at all. At most, he'd deal with the monsters and the treasure together.

"Don't worry, I set up a restrictive magical formation at the entrance to my lair. Those mushroom creatures alone can't get in." Eden's voice sounded very confident. "Want to give it a try?"

Its application of mana was quite skilled.

The cave entrance was sealed by an incredibly sturdy deep blue mana formation, and the rock wall behind was also coated with equally solid energy. In other words, even if one bypassed the entrance and tried to tunnel through the mountain from elsewhere, they couldn't invade its lair.

Moreover, the mountain surrounding the cave seemed to have been specially reinforced with mana.

Gauss activated the "Dragon Breed" bloodline. Soon, the energy dragon claw with dragon scale patterns attached to his right arm as he clenched his fist.

"Boom!"

He activated Monstrous Strength, delivering a fierce punch onto the sapphire-like magical seal.

A powerful impact force was violently released from the tip of his dragon claw.

A visible white shockwave of air sprayed out in all directions from the point of impact.

"Crash!"

Cracks spread several meters across the ground beneath his feet.

This blow, enough to destroy a city wall, only left a crack on the magical seal, appearing only slightly damaged. More mana from other areas was continuously surging in to repair the damage from the strike. Before long, it finally returned to its original state.

Gauss wasn't surprised that his attack had limited effect.

This wasn't because Eden's strength or mana attainment was far above his, but because its magic formation was a mana system that could be refined over weeks, or even months, requiring a significant investment of time, effort, and mana.

Unless his strength could overpower Eden's, it was impossible to dismantle the magic formation it left behind in just a few strikes.

Seeing that even Gauss, whom it recognized, couldn't easily destroy the magical seal, Eden secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Gauss still looking eager to try, it quickly interrupted.

"Just walk forward. I left an access password."

If the formation was really broken by Gauss, it would be quite embarrassing, okay?

The password Eden mentioned was a mana fluctuation effect. After communicating with it, Gauss easily mimicked it with his own mana.

The next moment, the magical seal, which could withstand a barrage of attacks, quietly dissolved before Gauss's eyes, leaving an entrance large enough for one person to pass through.

Gauss walked inside.

"Your home is quite ordinary, but cleaner than I imagined." Gauss continued communicating with Eden in the mental channel.

"What do you take me for? And a body like mine, the Slime King, doesn't excrete like low-level Slimes do." Eden got a bit flustered, quickly refuting.

"And actually, low-level Slimes don't either. They just can't digest some things, so they squeeze out the indigestible parts from their bodies, along with foul-smelling digestive fluid attached, so it looks like they're excreting."

Eden offered a friendly explanation.

Although it had become a monster, it was cleaner than the vast majority of humans.

It didn't want Gauss to develop any unnecessary misunderstandings.