"Go tell the kitchen to hurry."
Seeing how fast Gauss was eating, the young maids hurried to apply some pressure to the cooks.
In truth, they'd already warned the kitchen ahead of time once they'd estimated Gauss was close to finishing his training—but no matter what they did, the cooking speed still couldn't keep up with the speed at which Gauss was devouring food.
They were all dying of curiosity: how could someone with a build that wasn't even particularly bulky fit that much food? It was as if his stomach contained some kind of miraculous extra-dimensional space.
Gauss felt the food entering his body, turning into a steady stream of warmth that replenished his slightly hollowed-out frame, and a satisfied smile crept onto his face.
Eating a lot was never a bad thing for an adventurer.
He'd never once heard of a famous adventurer being ruined by the cost of meals.
While waiting for the next dishes, he continued sensing the changes brought by this breakthrough.
On top of the total +7 to his attributes, he'd gained a new class specialty: "Turret Mage."
The effect was exactly what it sounded like.
When he stayed still—or moved only slowly—he could focus his mind to enhance the spells he cast. Range, power, cooldown, magical penetration, control… all of it would improve to a certain degree.
It sounded plain, and it even required him to slow down while casting—but realistically, this was how mages were meant to fight anyway.
And with his strong anti-interference, high resistance, solid defenses, plus teammates to cover him, entering "turret mode" didn't really come with major downsides.
If anything, he needed this specialty.
Against swarms of weak enemies, killing would become far less exhausting.
Right now, he could clearly feel it: just sitting still, his understanding of mana and spell models seemed to double.
Too bad this wasn't a place where he could test it. Otherwise, he'd already be itching to see what "Turret Mage" could really do.
And now that he'd reached Level 6, his mastery of spells—especially Level 1 and Level 2 spells—had climbed to an absurdly high level.
Gauss ate for over an hour.
"That's enough. I'm full."
He stopped the maid who was about to urge the kitchen again.
This was the biggest lunch he'd eaten in his entire life.
"Thanks for the hospitality."
"It's our duty, Sir Gauss. Are you leaving now?" the head maid asked as she saw him stand.
"Yes. And I've made you all keep me company for days."
Gauss stretched and loosened his limbs.
Beyond what the status panel could show, there were many gains that couldn't be quantified—subtle, almost mystical improvements.
He felt like his mind and body were simply better than before.
In his normal state, he now felt like he used to only feel at his peak—fully focused, perfectly tuned.
It was hard to describe. Just… good.
If his body was a piece of equipment, it wasn't only the hardware that got upgraded. The "software" had been updated too.
With the same stats, this body could now output 120%, even 150% of its strength.
In fact, he felt this "software-layer" upgrade mattered more than raw attributes—like having a permanent buff in his normal state.
No wonder most people couldn't beat opponents across tiers unless they were in his pre-breakthrough situation.
Under the respectful send-off of maids and guards, Gauss mounted his chocobo and left the hot spring estate.
He rode down the spotless inner-city road, drawing plenty of looks from passersby.
But he ignored the whispers and headed straight for the garden where Alia was cultivating.
He didn't know if she'd finished her breakthrough yet.
"Stop."
When he arrived, he pulled the reins and dismounted.
"Has Lady Alia finished her training?" he asked the guard who jogged over.
"Not yet, my lord."
Gauss nodded, waved off the guards, and walked into the grove alone.
His steps were light and slow—he didn't want to disturb her.
But given that Alia's last breakthrough had failed, he still wanted to see her situation with his own eyes, at least from a distance.
If anything went wrong again—two failures in a short time—she could suffer serious backlash.
That was how many professionals ended up stuck: accidents during breakthroughs, backlash, lingering injuries.
As he walked through the trees, he felt the vegetation brimming with life.
Looking down, he even saw fresh green sprouts pushing up through the soil—everything thriving as if it were spring.
But it was autumn, heading toward winter.
If the trees were some evergreen variety, fine—but these tender grass shoots were… strange.
Gauss's mouth curved slightly.
It was actually a good sign. It suggested Alia's breakthrough was going smoothly.
He concealed his aura.
A small white deer, nibbling on the tender grass, twitched an ear and lifted its head, alert toward a direction in the woods.
Gauss stepped out calmly.
The deer stamped once, ready to bolt.
Gauss simply motioned to it.
As if sensing the peacefulness in his heart, the deer relaxed again.
Gauss moved on.
That, too, was something he'd gained from reaching master-tier: his soul was stronger now, and he could subtly project emotion onto ordinary living creatures.
The deer had sensed the calm that couldn't be faked, and stopped running.
A little later, he heard the sound of running water.
By a stream, among several towering trees thick enough to take two or three people to hug, vines had wrapped around a floating "wood cocoon."
A human-sized cocoon, glowing with warm, clear moonlight—despite it being midday.
Gauss knew Alia was inside.
Is this how druids break through?
He didn't approach. He stopped at a distance and observed.
Then, using his sharp vision and careful assessment, he checked the surroundings to ensure nothing could harm Alia or interrupt her breakthrough.
Satisfied, he turned to leave.
But right as he did—
The moonlight around the cocoon suddenly surged to a peak.
Above it, space rippled like water.
Then even more moonlight poured down like a waterfall, streaming into the cocoon.
…Was she about to succeed?
Gauss hadn't expected his timing to be this perfect.
So he stayed, deciding to watch the ceremony finish. He was far enough away that he wouldn't interfere.
In the woods, sunlight quickly grew thin.
Gauss noticed it immediately.
The bright midday forest darkened in minutes, as if evening had fallen.
In its place rose an even stronger moonlight, carrying an aura of gentle mercy—holy, sacred.
Gauss blinked, and he thought he saw a hazy female silhouette appear behind the cocoon.
She spread her arms, as if cradling a child, and drew it into her embrace.
With a soft whoosh—
When the shadow touched the cocoon, it dissolved—almost as if it merged into it.
Gauss didn't know how, but he understood: the breakthrough was over.
After that "embrace," the moonlight receded, and sunlight returned to the grove.
Everything snapped back to normal.
Krrrk—krrrk—krrrk!
The green wood cocoon of woven vines cracked apart. Leaves and fragments rained down as a bare figure wrapped in silver moonlight drifted slowly out of the air.
She landed like a feather on the grass.
It was Alia.
The moonlight around her continued to draw back into her body as the ritual ended.
Around them, trees and shrubs swayed in the breeze, like they were welcoming her completion.
Gauss hesitated, then walked up.
He took a clean robe from his storage pouch and draped it over her.
Then he sat beside her, waiting for her to wake.
After successfully breaking through and changing class, Alia's looks had changed slightly too.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but her ears seemed slimmer and more pointed—almost elven.
And her features had become more refined.
Her cheeks were flawless, like perfect white jade.
He had a few guesses, but he didn't overthink it. Once she woke up, he'd just ask directly.
About half an hour passed.
Gauss was considering whether he should carry her somewhere else to rest when Alia's eyelids fluttered.
She opened her eyes.
Clear blue eyes—like lake water—met Gauss's gaze head-on.
"Gauss…"
"…Where am I?"
She looked dazed, like her brain hadn't fully rebooted after a long sleep.
She glanced down at the robe covering her, then at the unfamiliar grove around them.
"Put some clothes on first," Gauss said, patting a set of women's clothing beside her.
He kept spare clothing for everyone in his storage, but it would've been inappropriate to dress her himself.
Now that she was awake, he left it to her.
Gauss turned around.
Behind him, Alia's face instantly turned bright red.
Even her now-elflike ears flushed pink.
She bit her lip.
There were no outsiders here—just her and Gauss.
And the robe covering her… could only have been put on by him.
Which meant… he'd seen—
Alia covered her face with her hands.
After a few deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down.
It wasn't a big deal.
It wasn't some stranger…
It was Gauss.
After convincing herself, her heart stopped trying to escape her chest.
She hurriedly got dressed, then told Gauss he could turn around.
But from how stiff and awkward her movements were, she wasn't nearly as calm as she was pretending.
"Congrats," Gauss said, blinking, sincere in his praise.
Good things took time. And in his perception, Alia had undergone a complete transformation.
Her aura was nothing like before—like a chrysalis becoming a butterfly.
Or rather… this wasn't something "changing class" could fully explain.
"Alia," Gauss asked bluntly, "what's going on with your ears?"
They'd been teammates for a long time. If he had a question, he wasn't going to dance around it.
Hearing him ask, Alia finally pulled herself out of her flustered haze.
"This…"
"It has to do with my family."
She hesitated. She'd never talked much about her background.
Not because she didn't trust Gauss—she just found it hard to say out loud.
"My family has elven blood."
"Or… a very long time ago, we did."
Gauss didn't interrupt. He gestured for her to continue.
"Elven civilization used to rule this land. Back then, their fertility wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as it is now."
"My family was once one branch of the elves."
"But at some point, it was like the elves caught a disease… their fertility collapsed, and a lot of pure elven bloodlines slowly degenerated."
"My family was one of them. The elves were afraid of bloodline 'pollution,' so they expelled them from the homeland."
"And I'm the thinnest-blooded in my family—almost none left at all—so when I was little, I was sent out and raised by others."
Alia sounded calmer now, almost resigned.
She used to care deeply about her origins—she'd even been ashamed.
But after years of adventuring, she'd accepted what she lacked.
She just never expected her bloodline to "return."
The elven traits inside her, once dormant, had awakened again—something she'd once wanted more than anything.
She could feel it wasn't complete yet. It would grow stronger as she grew stronger, until she became a true pureblood elf again—possibly even something different from most elves.
"I accepted the guidance of the Moon Goddess and changed class into a Lunar Aspect Walker. That awakened my sleeping elven bloodline."
Gauss wasn't surprised.
He'd suspected it.
Alia's change was unexpected, but there had been signs: the strange recurring dreams, and the way she avoided talking about her background…
He just hadn't expected it to trace back to pureblood elves.
Pureblood elves were rare on this continent. Most lived in their own lands, apart from the world.
Even half-elves were uncommon.
And half-elves were nowhere near the same thing as a true pureblood.
Half-elves kept the pointed ears and beauty, but their elven blood was already thin enough that you could treat them as a distinct race.
~~~
You're Welcome and Thank you!