I Am Not A Goblin Slayer

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh quietly.

"Clang!"

In the battlefield, Gauss was leisurely walking.

With three pairs of legs, one pair of arm blades, and three in total, the spidery demons formed an impenetrable web of strikes.

But the water great sword in his hand could always effortlessly handle the strikes coming from all directions, as if he had countless eyes surrounding him.

Of course, this statement wasn’t entirely wrong.

Because under his powerful spirit vision, everything around him was revealed.

The seemingly swift strikes of the spidery demons felt slow and soft to his perception and intelligence, allowing him to handle them with ease.

Essentially, it was still the result of overwhelming strength.

However, compared to the last battle, the roles between strength and weakness had completely reversed.

Gauss suddenly found it quite meaningless.

These three adult spidery demons of Level 4 and 5 posed no threat to him.

So, he stopped holding back.

The strength in his hands and the speed under his feet began to fully manifest.

"Boom!"

Almost instantly.

A straight bloodstain appeared on the arms of the spidery demon.

"Splash!"

After milky white liquid surged out, the two slender yet strong arms fell to the ground.

Soon after, the three pairs of legs used for movement were also instantly dismantled, turning the spidery demon into a grotesque creature writhing its bulky body on the ground.

Before the other two spidery demons could react.

A bloodstain similarly appeared around their waists, causing their upper bodies to smoothly slide off and crash onto the ground.

"Squish!"

Gauss pierced through the lower abdomen area.

The two spidery demons died in an instant.

As for the last remaining spidery demon, it was kept alive to familiarize with the species, aiding the use of the [Biological Positioning Skill] to search for other spidery demon kin later.

The fight just now spared their lives not only out of nostalgia but also out of similar considerations.

Luna and the others who approached didn’t doubt his positioning explanation.

Only Aaliyah exchanged a glance with him, secretly winking.

Gauss simply smiled, without a response.

After becoming familiar with the spidery demons, using the [Biological Positioning Skill], Gauss soon found other spidery demon nests.

Among them, some were adults, while most were juveniles or even still in an egg-like state.

He showed no mercy, hunting them one by one.

The adult spidery demons were generally Level 4-5, without exception, neither exceeding this power nor including individuals weaker than Level 4.

Once the Biological Positioning Skill couldn’t capture any spidery demon’s presence in this short time frame, Gauss halted.

"What’s wrong?"

Aaliyah asked.

In her mind, Gauss was probably pursuing "revenge" now.

Based on her observations and combining Gauss’s behavior of hunting centaurs recently, she guessed that Gauss paid extra attention to species that once troubled him and his companions, explaining the current frenzy of hunting spidery demons.

"The surrounding spidery demons have been cleared."

Gauss retracted the Biological Positioning Skill.

Yet, his mind remained occupied with spidery demon information.

Despite possessing a purple-quality racial talent [Tier Two Ghost Transformation] from the spidery demons in his body, excluding the first thrilling chase, this was technically the first time he got to know the species.

He believed he knew demons well enough.

Yet, the spidery demons still veiled themselves in a mist.

Spidery demons were definitely not weak, even though they seemed powerless in his hands. But that was only because of his tremendous strength.

If Level 4-5 demons were outside, they could easily ravage a village quickly.

And with their agile movement and war-like weapon body structure, they are undoubtedly tricky individuals among their peers.

However, this isn’t the reason that attracts his thought.

More crucially, they seem too "standardized."

Normally, demon species rarely stabilize at a determined balance of strength like spidery demons.

Even the most ordinary goblins follow this pattern; he encountered goblins so weak that farmers could easily defeat them, yet he also faced strong ones capable of substantial destruction alone like goblin commanders.

The gap between them is cloud and mud alike, almost sounding like different species.

But such disparity is actually reasonable. Just like humans possess innate talent differences because of perception, physical talent, family background, experiences, etc.; some can become epic legends, while many are mere commoners, lacking similarity in strength phases among all humans.

"It’s as if they were specially designed as a species."

Gauss looked down at the still twitching remains of the spidery demon underfoot.

"Once developed to adulthood, they become soldiers with adequate combat power."

Yet these soldiers outmatch regular soldiers in strength significantly.

If they were indeed soldiers created by another civilization, then that civilization was incredibly mighty, and their enemies were also terrifying.

"Could it be you?"

Gauss thought of the shadows of insect men seen in the arena when first entering the maze.

They seemed a distant race, yet he found little useful information about them in historical records.

Before human civilization dominated the continent, the prior intelligent civilization was the Elf civilization, presumably even earlier?

If the spidery demon species was created by them, then isn’t this Timbel Maze and the array of labyrinths scattered throughout the continent perhaps the handiwork of that ancient civilization?

Gauss’s thoughts raced like electricity.

According to guild-released information, maze demons are hard to eradicate, even if emptied temporarily, soon they resurge mysteriously.

However, Gauss clearly didn’t have the time to wait on spot for the monsters to refresh.

With unfruitful deliberation, he led the group to the next "forbidden area."

His monster kill count rapidly escalated.

After all, the maze itself is a demonic playground, and besides spidery demons, numerous other monsters lurk within that seemingly peaceful greenery on the second floor.

"..."

"Monster Kill Total: 37771"

Asides from the increasing count in the bestiary, Gauss’s [Tier Two Ghost Transformation] level rose.

Racial talents are divided into quality and level.

To make an inappropriate comparison, talent quality is like spell circles, while talent level is akin to spell proficiency.

For a talent to become strong, both are indispensable.

Enhancing level requires killing host species of the racial talent source.

Previously, his ghost transformation talent could only advance from initial level to elite level by expending elite points.

Now, after entering the maze, by slaughtering numerous adult and juvenile or even egg-phase spidery demons, he gained abundant experience.

The progress bar for racial talent level noticeably climbed swiftly.

From the original 1/3 to 2/5, then 3/4...

Finally, [Tier Two Ghost Transformation] reached Commander Level like the other two goblin-related talents [Feast] and [Dragon Kind].

And the progress bar still wiggled forward a bit.

At once his control over the ghost transformation talent increased dramatically.

He could feel since upgrading to Commander Level, the ghost transformation talent became more nimble.

He could autonomously control the degree of transformation post-ghostification and switch freely between the first and second tiers.

Indeed, this ability matters, it’s not merely about being the strongest; sometimes, effortlessly controlling is more crucial.

He knew there wouldn’t be a scarce number of spidery demons throughout Timbel Maze.

Hopefully, in the maze, he can escalate this racial talent to higher levels.

After advancing for a bit more time on the second floor of the maze, he stopped, turning to look at the vast hall space.

In his viewing corner, the touch of verdant pavilion still quietly stood there.

"Block off this hall, don’t let outsiders enter."

Though most adventurers won’t stray from relatively safe routes, entering these perilous forbidden zones, precautions against curiosity-driven minor adventurers ensured Red Dragon Team made arrangements.

This is the advantage of team strategy.

A group of a hundred can firmly seal off a region, even if onlookers pass by intrigued, fearing adventure group prowess, they’ll wisely suppress probing intentions.