I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 49: The Monster Under the Moonlight

Thanks to Doyle’s “courtesy,” Gauss took several quick steps forward.  

A cold gleam flashed!  

The rapier in his hand precisely stabbed through the chest of the already exhausted Water Ghost.  

“Pfft!”  

The slimy skin of the Water Ghost was ripped open with a large gash, and its foul-smelling blood continuously oozed out.  

Gauss decisively withdrew his sword and stepped back.  

As the last Water Ghost fell by Gauss’s hand, the words he had long awaited finally appeared again.  

“Water Ghost kill *1”  

“Total monster kills: 50”  

“Reward obtained: Level 1 Professional Skill Spell [Mage Armor]!”  

“Reward obtained: Agility +1”  

“Current Agility: 6”  

“Next stage: Total monster kills reach 100.”  

After the pleasing notification,  

Gauss trembled all over. In the blink of an eye, goosebumps rose on his skin.  

An invisible force seemed to flow through every nerve in his body. Subtle electric currents surged within, giving him an indescribably strange sensation.  

In just a few blinks, that magical power transformed his body.  

At the next moment, his will was also imprinted with an additional spell.  

“What’s wrong?”  

Doyle saw him standing there dumbfounded after killing the last Water Ghost and asked, confused.  

“N-no… nothing, just let me catch my breath first.” Gauss exhaled deeply and shook his head.  

Actually, he felt his body was in better condition than ever.  

First, the agility boost. Although it was only one point, unlike constitution, agility’s effect was more intuitive.  

After increasing from 5 to 6, he felt his overall coordination and bodily flexibility had become noticeably sharper.  

Using his previous life’s example, it was like playing a game with a fluctuating 100-200ms network delay, suddenly stabilizing to a steady 30-40ms delay.  

The two experiences were completely different.  

Of course, whether this comparison was appropriate was another matter. Since he had just finished the upgrade and his body condition had drastically changed, some psychological effects might be exaggerated or distorted. But overall, his control over his body had improved significantly.  

Moreover, this time he was rewarded with a new spell.  

A Level 1 spell: Mage Armor.  

Gauss sensed the new spell imprinted in his will and quickly understood its effect.  

Its specific function was to actively cast, consuming a certain amount of mana to form an invisible armor enveloping his entire body—equivalent to wearing a zero-weight invisible force field armor.  

This Mage Armor would not affect his movement speed or agility but could absorb damage for him when attacked.  

Feeling the effect of Mage Armor, Gauss’s heart couldn’t help but pound wildly.  

A very good spell.  

He admitted that right now, he might be a little fickle.  

Just like how after acquiring Magic Missile, the more destructive missiles had replaced Mage Hand’s position.  

At this moment, he suddenly felt that the originally perfect Magic Missile was no longer as appealing.  

Mage Armor, in his current mind, had risen to a level even more important than Magic Missile.  

He even began to debate whether to replace his core skill with this newly acquired spell.  

His intuition told him that practicing Mage Armor would probably be faster than Magic Missile.  

As an apprentice caster who was perhaps not so “fragile” but definitely not “tanky,” his biggest worry was always being attacked himself.  

No matter how strong his destructive power was, as long as he was still a mortal body, a stray arrow could end his life.  

And battlefield environments were often complex and ever-changing. Even with Gauss’s brain acceleration ability, he couldn’t guarantee 100% avoidance of attacks from other creatures.  

That was why he had insisted on teaming up with others lately; they could help share the enemy’s firepower, allowing him to focus less intensely.  

But now, with Mage Armor mastered, as long as he activated this spell during battle, and the enemy’s attacks didn’t exceed the armor’s damage absorption limit, he could be immune to some unexpected injuries.  

This would greatly increase his fault tolerance in combat.  

Of course, Gauss soon realized more information about Mage Armor in his mind.  

He still needed to be cautious and not get overconfident.  

Mage Armor was not a life-saving talisman. Once the damage it absorbed within a short period exceeded its limit, the armor would break. Moreover, it could not withstand all types of attacks, at least not yet.  

Also, limited by his current apprentice stage, this spell’s effect might not be as powerful as when used by a true professional.  

Further testing was needed for specific situations.  

But despite these issues, it was still a spell very suitable for him.  

Gauss gathered his thoughts, accepted the changes to his body, and refocused on reality.  

His earlier contemplation hadn’t taken long. After the battle ended, the others were busy regaining their strength.  

Daphne began checking the other team members, especially the three in the front line, focusing on limbs, waist, abdomen, and other vulnerable areas. After confirming no wounds remained, she breathed a sigh of relief.  

Although Water Ghosts were not strong fighters, they carried many bacteria.  

Some tiny unnoticed wounds, even without pain, could be more troublesome than obvious injuries because if ignored, they might develop into diseases or even cause death later.  

Meanwhile, the ranged supporters Meva and Oliver put on gloves and began harvesting the spoils as usual.  

Besides submitting the Water Ghosts’ left ears as proof for the quest, there were also useful materials from the Water Ghosts themselves to collect.  

So it was a big job.  

After Daphne finished checking Gauss, he went to help handle the post-battle results.  

Levin looked at his companions and breathed easier.  

The bad premonition in his mind seemed to have been just a false alarm. The Water Ghost kills had gone very smoothly.  

After a short rest, he also joined the others to handle the aftermath.  

Overall, the Water Ghost collection work was both painful and joyful.  

The Water Ghosts smelled terrible, and dealing with their corpses wasn’t pleasant, but considering every material was linked to silver coins, everyone found it worth the trouble.  

There is only one kind of suffering in the world: poverty.  

While everyone was busily working,  

Gauss suddenly felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably.  

At first, he didn’t pay attention, thinking his numbed sense of smell was acting up again, and the gray-green Water Ghost limbs nearby were stinking up his body.  

But soon, his cerebral cortex tingled sharply, like his body was instinctively warning him.  

He finally realized something and abruptly raised his head.  

He looked in a certain direction.  

Under the moonlight, on the river’s surface shimmering with pale silver light in the distance, a tall blue figure was walking along the riverbank.  

Was it a human? Or...  

No! It was a monster!!  

Squinting under the moonlight, Gauss finally saw the detailed appearance of the humanoid outline.  

Its shriveled skin was covered with blue spots, tightly clinging to the bones like a layer of dried leather. Parts of its skin surface were covered with dense scales.  

Most striking was its canine-like face. In its sunken eye sockets were a pair of crimson eyes burning like hot coals. Its snout protruded, filled with numerous sharp predator-like fangs.  

A huge, thick, snake-like tongue flicked constantly in the air.  

At the ends of its forelimbs were blade-sharp claws.  

It moved with a hunched back, like a bipedal canine creature, lightly but swiftly approaching the group.