I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 437: Summoning Order

"Total monsters killed: 70,005""Reward obtained: 5th-circle Necromancy spell Energy Drain."

Thanks to the diligent work of the Red Dragon Guild members, the kill count on Gauss's Monster Encyclopedia quickly surpassed 70,000. The moment it broke through, it also rewarded him with a new 5th-circle spell: Energy Drain.

The effect of Energy Drain is similar to an enhanced version of Vampiric Touch.

It can also attack targets within the spell's range through extended mana tendrils, dealing significant necrotic damage to them, and drain life energy from the target creature to return to the caster.

Gauss sensed the newly appeared spell model of Energy Drain deep within his consciousness.

Compared to Vampiric Touch, Energy Drain requires more mana to activate and generate the tendrils, but its range is farther, it can attack more targets simultaneously, and its efficiency at draining life energy is also higher.

Combined with Gauss's professional feat [Three-Phase Source], this is equivalent to the engine receiving a further upgrade. He becomes like a water pump, able to continuously drain life energy from other monsters at a faster rate, converting it into stamina and mana.

Therefore, Gauss was very satisfied with obtaining this spell.

After all, Vampiric Touch is only a 3rd-circle spell. Even using heightened spellcasting can enhance its effects, it's never as simple and brutal as a higher-level spell.

Of course, this doesn't mean Vampiric Touch, as a lower-tier alternative, has completely lost its usefulness.

It still has certain applicable scenarios. The advantage of Vampiric Touch is that it requires less mana to activate. In some small-scale, lightweight battles where you don't want to go through too much trouble, it can still come in handy.

Moreover, even if there truly was no chance to use it at all, Gauss wouldn't choose to deliberately forget it, erasing its spell model from the depths of his consciousness.

Because it's unnecessary. He still hasn't reached the upper limit of mental burden from learning too many spells.

Since keeping it doesn't impose any burden, he might as well leave it be. It can even serve as part of his magical foundation.

This concept of "foundation" may sound quite vague and ethereal, but it actually exists in reality.

Why do high-level spellcasters master unfamiliar low-level spells much faster than low-level spellcasters? Apart from mana and professional level, a large part of the reason lies in their magical foundation.

They have learned more magic, and the spell models in their minds are more diverse and complex. This all helps them utilize the knowledge and thinking in their minds to extrapolate and understand those brand-new magical concepts.

The reason Gauss's magical talent is so powerful is also because he has enough magic in his mind.

This is like a positive feedback loop.

Mastering enough magic means the magical knowledge base in the mind is large enough, and this "big data" can, in turn, feed back to accelerate learning more new magic. The efficiency of subsequently improving proficiency will also be higher.

Even for spatial magic, which is extremely difficult for ordinary people, Gauss's practice hasn't encountered any bottlenecks, breaking through quite smoothly.

Since it was a spell rewarded by the Bestiary, it didn't require extra effort to learn. Plus, Gauss had already completely mastered two 5th-circle spells and had sufficient understanding of the complexity of 5th-circle spells.

Therefore, his first casting of Energy Drain was very smooth. He just ran through the spell model of Energy Drain in his head a few times in advance. After a brief meditation, over a dozen ink-black energy tendrils spread out from under his feet.

The tendrils were vivid, very thick, and wriggled flexibly on the ground like those of a giant octopus.

However, compared to the Evocation school's Bigby's Hand, Gauss's tendrils were more energy-oriented in nature. So, using them like real tentacles for physical effects wasn't as good as Bigby's Hand.

In essence, although they appeared to have sufficient volume, their core function was still to inflict necrotic damage and drain life.

After practicing Energy Drain for a while, Gauss stopped.

He still had plenty of time to practice, but something interrupted him.

"You're saying, the Adventurers Guild headquarters in Barry has invited all the adventuring guilds to a meeting in the central city?"

"Yes, Guild Leader Gauss."

George Bell and the leaders of several other guilds nodded.

"Your guild should also have people out purchasing supplies. When they return, Guild Leader Gauss, you should also receive an invitation."

Gauss didn't have much reason to doubt the information shared by others.

They had no need to deceive him. Firstly, Barry was right next to the Maze, so verifying the truth of the information wouldn't take much time. Secondly, impersonating the Adventurers Guild to issue false information was a serious crime. Adventuring guilds that frequently dealt with the Adventurers Guild wouldn't do something so stupid. Otherwise, if Gauss reported them later, they'd be in big trouble.

He was just puzzled. Why was the Adventurers Guild of the Forest Capital inviting so many adventuring guilds?

In terms of identity, Gauss didn't have much connection with the Forest Capital, Barry. He wasn't a native, and his adventuring guild wasn't registered in Barry.

Could it be that something major is happening?

He instinctively felt this gathering might not have much to do with the Timberbell Maze.

Due to the Maze's restrictions, its influence was limited to adventurers below the Transcendent level. It might seem lively, but the underlying deep influence wasn't as great as the commotion it created.

Simply because the difference in combat power between Transcendent and below was far too vast.

This could be seen from how the leaders of other guilds in the Maze treated Gauss, their peer, with such respect. Although Gauss's Charisma attribute was outstanding, it wasn't to the extent of making other unfamiliar adventurers bow down immediately. The reason others were so convinced by him was precisely because he displayed combat power far exceeding others, at the Transcendent level.

Furthermore, the two top adventuring guilds in Barry City, the Golden Company and Thornheart, hadn't even sent members to explore the Timberbell Maze.

One could guess that, in the eyes of the big shots in Barry City, the current Timberbell might still be just small-scale activity, unless it contained more powerful monsters or anomalies inside.

If it's unrelated to the Maze, then what could it be about?

Gauss had a few vague guesses in his heart, but he didn't let his thoughts wander too much.

Like the leaders of other adventuring guilds, he also planned to attend this gathering meeting.

Although he wasn't an adventurer affiliated with the Forest Capital, he was, after all, operating on their turf. He still had to show some courtesy.

Coincidentally, these past few days, he had originally planned to slightly slow down the pace of advancing in the Maze. Now, going out for a trip could also be considered relaxing both body and mind.

Staying in a closed underground maze environment for a long time could easily make people sink into oppressive and distorted emotions they might not even be aware of.

Reportedly, a small number of people developed psychological problems because they hadn't left the Maze for too long, suffering from a psychological condition called Maze Dependency Syndrome. They clearly felt oppressed, but exhibited fear of leaving the Maze, aversion to natural sunlight environments, and other signs.

The influence of environment on people is omnipresent. While Gauss and the others had only stayed for a short period, still far, far from developing that psychological condition, since there was a suitable reason to leave for a while, that was also good.

Apart from Gauss, the first to know about this was undoubtedly Eden.

When it learned of this, it was already chattering excitedly within Gauss's mind.

If consciousness had a physical form, it would probably be dancing and bouncing around.

"Finally able to leave this damn Maze."

"Gauss, when are you setting off?"

It was evident that the mighty Demon King Seed, the Slime King Eden, was very excited about the prospect of leaving the Maze.

It had probably been looking forward to following Gauss to the outside world for a while. Seeing them all busy exploring the Maze these past few days, and Gauss, as the guild leader, couldn't just ditch his team members and wander outside alone, it tactfully hadn't made the request.

"We'll set off in a bit."

"I still need to announce it to the others."

Yes, Gauss planned to bring the other members of the Red Dragon Guild out as well.

On one hand, it was for safety and interpersonal considerations. On the other hand, this was also thanks to the team's small size and mobility, as well as his real-time grasp of the Maze map for the first five floors.

If it were a large team, they likely wouldn't choose a full withdrawal. Instead, they'd choose to station part of their manpower in the Maze. Otherwise, coming and going would be troublesome later.

When Gauss announced this good news, everyone in the Red Dragon Guild was very happy.

Having fought continuously for many days, many people were indeed somewhat tired. Being able to return to the city meant being able to relax, no longer having to worry anxiously about monster attacks on the camp.

They could also spend lavishly, take baths, drink alcohol, enjoy good food, satisfy physiological desires, and so on.

The reason they became adventurers, working themselves to the bone, apart from an instinctive desire to become stronger and control their own fate, was largely to earn more money. And earning money was to enjoy life, to indulge in services within the city that ordinary people couldn't afford to spend on.

"Then be quick about it. Pack up your belongings, and we'll prepare to set off."

While they were packing, many members of other adventuring guilds also began forming lines to go out. Of course, their proportion was much smaller compared to the Red Dragon Guild's full withdrawal.

Seeing from afar the Red Dragon Guild dismantling and packing all their tents onto carts, many members of other guilds who hadn't received approval to go out looked on with longing eyes, revealing heartfelt envy.

At this moment, the desire to join the Red Dragon Guild reached its peak.

And this wasn't a momentary impulse. Many members were already seriously pondering how to join the Red Dragon Guild.

However, wanting to leave their current team wasn't something that could be done overnight. Moreover, whether they could successfully join the Red Dragon Guild after leaving was also full of uncertainty.

Perhaps they should find someone to inquire about the Red Dragon Guild's entry standards in advance.

But even without asking around for information, they were very clear that the difficulty of joining the Red Dragon Guild now must be considerable.

Apart from the earliest batch of old members, the standards for subsequent recruitment would only keep increasing. Any adventurer with a bit of brains, after witnessing firsthand the strength of that Red Dragon Guild leader, would know that following him definitely had more prospects than staying in their current guild. And with more people wanting to join, the competition would surely be greater.

Many action-oriented adventuring guild leader teams chose to travel alongside Gauss when going out.

This made the action of exiting the Maze proceed even more smoothly.

4th floor, 3rd floor, 2nd floor...

The large force advanced through the maze floors rapidly and unimpeded.

Many adventurers who weren't qualified to receive inside information just watched in confusion at this large group of adventurers who clearly didn't look simple.

"Which adventuring guild is this?"

"I recognize them. The one with the red dragon banner seems to be the Red Dragon Guild. I heard they're currently the main force pushing through the Maze."

"Then why are they suddenly leaving the Maze?"

"Who knows?"

"There are so many people following behind them, with all sorts of banners. Could they be other guilds too?"

Regarding Gauss and the others' actions, clueless adventurers discussed it animatedly.

They could only guess that something must be happening. But with their intelligence network, they were far from able to collect the gathering notice currently only circulating among the leaders of adventuring guilds.

Perhaps it would take several more days for them to get some hearsay.

This was the reality of low-level adventurers.

They were like sheep in a pen, seemingly numerous, but often the last to know about most things, only able to follow the shepherd's guidance.

Returning to the Maze's 1st-floor area, traces of human activity became visibly more numerous.

This was the top floor of the Maze, also the floor with the highest number of active adventurers. Especially the first-floor hall had been transformed into a relatively commercially dense small town, with commercial activities like hawking visible everywhere.

The monsters around the perimeter of the hall space had been cleaned out completely.

Gauss and the others didn't linger much and soon walked up the stairs.

Finally, when the long-awaited warm sunlight shone upon them, Gauss and the others finally left the underground maze.

Gauss couldn't help but let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of being in a different world.

Although the mana concentration on the surface world wasn't as high as underground, it was more relaxing and comfortable. The whole person felt several pounds lighter, as if returning home after a business trip.

"Ah! Finally back."

"The sunlight is so bright."

"When I get back to the city, I'm definitely sleeping in for a whole day."

"..."

The reactions of the other members were more pronounced compared to Gauss, but what everyone unanimously displayed was physical and mental relaxation.

After all, this was the realm belonging to humans.

"Then we'll be going first. Guild Leader Gauss."

"Alright. See you at the meeting."

The leader teams of other adventuring guilds also bid farewell to Gauss one after another.

The meeting, of course, wouldn't be held today. A few days were left for the guilds. Many guilds were locals of Barry and had their own families in the city.

Now back on this land, some were already eager to return home.

Gauss chose to head for the nearest city gate.

As they traveled, their group attracted quite a bit of attention.

Unlike when they arrived, the Red Dragon Guild had now accumulated considerable fame within the adventurer circles of the Forest Capital.

Many people had learned about their dungeon conquest news from newspapers and heard about the formidable strength of their leader, Gauss.

Arriving at the city gate, unlike the first time he came to Barry with Aria, Gauss now looked at the towering city walls without that initial surge of excitement upon arriving at a fantastical metropolis.

Only Eden, who had been very excited the whole way, kept murmuring in his ear, "Barry, Barry..."

Even before it strayed into the Maze, when it survived as a Slime wandering freely in the wild, it rarely entered human settlements.

"Let's enter the city," Gauss said calmly.