I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 302: The Shadow Returns

Gauss saw that the staff member didn't intend to continue speaking.He didn't press further either.

At most, the other party had used some special methods to obtain additional points, and most likely involved some kind of direct transaction where they didn't personally participate.

Probably seeing his points rising too quickly, they got anxious. Since normal monster hunting couldn't catch up to him, they could only resort to special measures.

As for why they were anxious, either they coveted the better rewards for first place, or it was just a matter of pride.

Although the two hadn't met in reality, in this remote competition, the other party's town, like his Lakeside Town, definitely had many people watching him.

He just hoped the other party would learn a lesson from this incident.

Being disqualified from this hunting competition was just that—it wasn't the end of life.

Moreover, they might deceive the guild and others, but they shouldn't deceive themselves.

Losing a competition meant losing face at most, with fewer rewards.

But if they misjudged their own abilities, they could lose their lives out in the wild.

Every year, countless people died because they couldn't properly assess their own capabilities and recklessly faced enemies beyond their abilities,

Gauss thought to himself.

The staff member finished the procedures.

The rankings were updated again.

Gauss's points reached 1688.

Another three hundred plus points.

Meanwhile, the second place Koman below him still only had 991 points.

The gap was quite substantial, almost double, and this was despite Gauss arriving several days late.

"They probably won't chase anymore."

Gauss withdrew his gaze from the rankings.

On one hand, as the competition progressed, participants' energy would inevitably decline, reducing efficiency.

On the other hand, adventurers around the towns had been clearing out wild monsters extensively during this period, so monster density would decrease faster than normal, making it take longer to find suitable monsters later on.

Furthermore, the gap between Gauss and them was simply too large, easily discouraging any desire to challenge.

When the difference was small, people might grit their teeth and try to keep up if they saw hope, but with such a huge gap now, they might as well give up.

At most, they'd compete for second place.

But even that competition wasn't very cost-effective—second place only offered slightly more choices than third, while first place at least had the symbolic Lake God's Blessing.

Although based on past experience, it seemed like something useless, having it was still better than not.

Moreover, this Blue Lake did seem somewhat unusual—many residents living near the five towns actually worshipped the Blue Lake itself.

They believed the lake god could bring them weakness, bountiful harvests, and bad luck.

Legend had it that long, long ago, when the first pioneers set foot by Blue Lake's shore, their food supplies were nearly exhausted after their long journey.

While drinking water near the lake, they unfortunately dropped their last bit of dry provisions—black bread—into the water.

Just as they were starving and feeling desperate,

a fairy emitting soft moonlight appeared from the mist in the center of the lake, walking on the waves.

Before her floated three piles of food out of thin air.

On the left was a pile of soft, snow-white white bread that looked incredibly delicious.

In the middle was the plain black bread they had just dropped.

On the far right was a basket of fresh, juicy berries that looked sweet and succulent—a variety they had never seen before.

The fairy asked in an ethereal, compassionate voice, "Honest people, please tell me, did you drop this precious white bread, this ordinary black bread, or this basket of magical berries?"

The pioneers wanted to answer truthfully, but they were simply too hungry.

So they claimed all three were what they had dropped.

Surprisingly, the lake fairy showed no displeasure at their lie and actually gave them all the food.

Yes, the lake fairy was such a generous, loving deity that even when their ancestors deceived her, she was still willing to generously give gifts.

Thanks to this food and the fairy's blessing, the pioneers not only survived their crisis but also found fertile land near the lakeshore, establishing homes one after another.

Since then, the story of the generous lake fairy in Blue Lake had been passed down through generations.

"Lake God faith" gradually formed.

Now after every festival, residents from surrounding towns had the habit of throwing food into the lake, with black bread being the most common.

Partly because it was the cheapest, affordable to everyone, making it less painful to throw away, and partly hoping to recreate the classic story scene to see if they could actually summon the legendary lake fairy.

As for whether the lake fairy actually existed, opinions varied.

When Gauss first heard this story, he found it rather hard to evaluate.

Shouldn't the proper procedure be to reward the honest and leave disappointed if someone lied? If the lake fairy existed, was she some naive, gullible deity?

And what was the point of throwing black bread into the lake? Wasn't that too utilitarian?

The most likely result was just feeding the fish and monsters in the lake, right?

Of course, you could think from another perspective—perhaps this lake god was buying loyalty with generosity. Food was precious to starving people, but meant nothing to her, while she could gain their faith in return.

Moreover, a generous deity was clearly more worthy of worship than a stingy, strict one.

In terms of results, the Lake God faith had indeed spread around Blue Lake.

However, there was another, more likely possibility.

That there was no so-called Lake God at all—the pioneers simply made up this story for themselves.

Storytelling was very important.

Because humans were naturally curious creatures.

Under the same environmental conditions, if one area had a suspected divine presence while another had no distinctive features, as a caravan, traveler, or adventurer, which would you prioritize? The answer was obvious.

People's arrival would bring prosperity.

As for townsfolk saying past champions received good luck after the Lake God's Blessing, Gauss wasn't surprised either.

Winning first place itself proved the person had real skills—at least they were absolutely top-tier in the five-town region.

How could such people have bad luck?

Or rather, even if they encountered misfortune, their excellent abilities would allow them to overcome it, perhaps even turning it into some kind of reward?

As for what happened when they left the five-town region and faced stronger opponents, that was information beyond what townsfolk could track.

"Gauss, looks like your first place is secure."

Aria commented while looking at the ranking changes.

"The competition isn't over yet." Gauss shook his head.

But Aria seemed to ignore his words, lost in her own imagination.

"Gauss, do you think there's really a fairy in the lake?"

"I wonder what the fairy looks like?"

"I've never seen a fairy before."

Seeing her murmuring to herself, Gauss found it somewhat amusing.

"Alright, if I win the championship, I'll check what she looks like for you."

Of course, he was just saying this casually to tease Aria.

Rationally, he remained skeptical about the lake fairy's existence.

Even riding his dragon around the area, he hadn't sensed any unusual aura near the lake. If there were truly benevolent supernatural beings—whether fairies or something else, or even greater spirits—they should have left clearer evidence, right?

After updating the rankings,

Gauss accepted another commission.

Although his biggest competitor had eliminated themselves, he didn't plan to change his strategy.

First push his points to two thousand, then see how others reacted before deciding whether to continue.

This time he didn't pick any special target—just a group of goblin-like creatures that happened to be perfect for enhancing his newly acquired draconic language talent.

With the drake Hephaestus around, goblin-like creatures became easy targets.

Moreover, where goblin-like creatures lived, there would likely be goblins nearby too.

They inhabited relatively resource-rich areas, being both neighbors and competitors, even preying on each other.

Who became the prey mainly depended on which group was stronger in that area—leader strength, population numbers, weapons and equipment, etc.

For Gauss, they were like inseparable rivals—since they were such good "brothers," of course he should send them off together.

That way when they stepped through hell's gate, they'd have company and wouldn't be too lonely.

Though, it was hard to say.

After all, he still absorbed spiritual energy from them.

Just as Gauss and his party accepted the commission and walked out of the Adventurers Guild under many respectful gazes.

At Lakeside Town's entrance,

a tall, slender woman shrouded in a black cloak was approaching the city gate with unnervingly precise steps.

She slightly raised her head, lowered her hood, and looked into the town with dark eyes.

"Excuse me, is this Lakeside Town?"

She turned to look at a soldier nearby.

"Y-yes."

Perhaps her aura was too strong—facing her inquiry, the normally articulate soldier guarding the gate briefly stammered.

"Thank you." The woman nodded silently, then added, "Is Gauss here?"

She asked almost instinctively, but when the soldier heard her question, his eyes suddenly lit up and he couldn't help puffing out his chest proudly.

"Yes, Mr. Gauss, currently ranking in the Five-Town Joint Hunting Competition, is from our Lakeside Town."

To be precise, he was competing from Lakeside Town.

After all, Gauss had only arrived in Lakeside Town a few days ago and couldn't really be considered a townsman, but since the first town he set foot in was Lakeside Town and he registered here for the competition...

Luck was sometimes part of competing strength.

"Alright, I understand. Thank you." The woman remained brief with her words.

Before the soldier could continue his enthusiastic explanation, her figure had already quickly entered the town.

"Tom, did you let her through without checking?" Another soldier companion nearby asked.

"Ah!"

"Forget it, she's already inside." Glancing back, her steps weren't large but her movement speed was incredibly fast, as if shrinking the ground beneath her feet—they couldn't catch up even if they tried. "Besides, she might be looking for Mr. Gauss? We can't afford to offend such important people."

Shadow moved freely through the town.

She had already asked about the time and estimated that during this morning period, if Gauss and the others were in town, they would definitely be at the Adventurers Guild headquarters, so she headed straight there.

"Even commissions for goblin-like creatures and goblins have decreased around here—looks like the hunting competition is having an effect."

"Gauss, you must be responsible for quite a bit of this, right?"

"Hehe."

Just as Gauss and the others walked out chatting and laughing, they came face to face with the completely black-clad Shadow.

"Ah!!!"

Both parties stopped in their tracks simultaneously upon seeing each other.

"Shadow! Welcome back!" Aria quickly stepped forward and took Shadow's hand.

Last night the team had been discussing why Shadow's breakthrough was taking so long, curious about what stage she had reached, and today she appeared before them.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Shadow!"

"Thank you."

Serlandul and Albenia both congratulated her immediately.

The completely renewed aura around Shadow indicated she had crossed the important threshold from level 5 to level 6.

Master professionals possessed a certain mysterious field around them.

Different people had completely different fields, and it was precisely these fields that created a clear gap between them and level 5 professionals.

Moreover, master professionals had a more integrated presence—their attributes were harmonized more perfectly, allowing them to exert greater power.

Gauss silently observed Shadow for quite a while.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

"Welcome back, Shadow."

"Congratulations on successfully becoming a level 6 professional. You've changed so much."

Shadow's appearance had become strikingly beautiful.

If before she had a tall, youthful figure, now she had matured considerably, with her previously flat chest developing fullness, though her temperament hadn't changed much.

Did breaking through to master rank cause physical development too?

Gauss felt somewhat puzzled noticing this.

But since it involved personal privacy, he couldn't inquire further.

"Yes, I'm back."

"Long time no see, Gauss. You've changed quite a bit too." Shadow stared at Gauss for a long time before revealing a faint smile.

I've changed a lot?

Gauss looked down at his own body.

During Shadow's absence, he had indeed gained quite a lot too.

But his physique and appearance shouldn't have changed much.

He had only acquired breath spellcasting, obtained Elementary Draconic Language, gained +1 Charisma, and upgraded the Elementary Draconic Language talent to Intermediate Draconic Language.

If you really thought about it, there were some changes.

Probably because Aria and the others spent every day with him, so they didn't notice any obvious changes.

While Shadow had been away for a while and, returning to the team, saw him as completely renewed?

Was this the so-called "distance creates beauty"?

"Never mind." Gauss shook his head, not dwelling on it.

"We were just about to go out on a commission. Shadow, since you've traveled far, why don't you rest in town and wait for us to return?"

"No." Shadow smiled and shook her head. "I've been away long enough. I'll go with you."

Gauss glanced at her.

Since she insisted, he didn't try to persuade her further.

She was a level 6 professional now—not that fragile.

"Then let's go together."

His gaze withdrew from Shadow.

He always felt she had really changed dramatically—not just externally, but there was also an indescribable feeling about her.

She seemed somewhat more cheerful, and her words had increased too.

No wonder they said the master rank was a watershed moment.

Shadow's breakthrough changes were indeed substantial.