Fortunately, when Ivan was preparing the training room, he'd already taken his captain's bottomless appetite into account—so he'd stocked an absurd amount of food.
Gauss kept eating.
Even though the [Feast] talent seemed to let him extract energy from food more efficiently, this first meal after the evolution felt different.
Almost like his body was trying to "make up" everything it had been shorted before—swallowing the deficit along with the meal.
Gauss had no idea how long he ate before his hands finally slowed and stopped.
"Buuurp—"
After a satisfied belch, that terrifying hunger finally loosened its grip.
Appetite—really, the raw drive to survive—was always the most basic instinct of any living creature.
Now that he was full, Gauss felt intensely satisfied. Two charges of Feast Power had loaded in.
"Ah… that hit the spot."
He felt filled, in the best possible way—almost blissful.
And he couldn't tell if it was just his mood, but ever since [Feast] appeared, the pleasure that came with eating felt even stronger.
More than that… his body felt more complete.
Before he gained [Feast], if you compared him to a car, he was already a top-tier model—built to near perfection in everything except one thing.
Range.
Endurance.
Now [Feast] finally patched that last weakness.
Maybe now, running dual forms wouldn't burn him out so quickly.
Back when he stacked [Ghoul Form] with [Ironscale Bloodline], he could never hold it for long.
But after thinking it through, he shook his head again.
Hard to say.
Because sure, [Special Stomach] evolved into [Feast]—but [Ghoul Form] and [Ironscale Bloodline] had evolved too, into [Second-Stage Ghoulification] and [Dragonseed].
(TL/Changes: Second-Stage Ghoul Form -> Second-Stage Ghoulification.)
And honestly… he felt like switching on one form was already enough to be terrifying.
Some vague instinct warned him: the stronger different bloodlines became, the more they repelled each other—though stacking them would also produce an even bigger burst of power.
That was how the world worked.
The more abnormal something was, the more dangerous it became.
…
"You weren't there—you have no idea how insane it was!"
"I fought with the boss like it was nothing—one thousand gnolls, no fear, just slaughter…"
Dwarf Bruno's face was flushed. The more excited he got, the more he poured himself hard liquor.
Nearby, Torga was repairing her armor. Hearing her fiancé brag to the apprentices, she rolled her eyes so hard it was almost audible.
"Where was I again?" Bruno mumbled, clearly tipsy.
"Slaughter."
A calm voice spoke from behind.
"Yes! Slaughter! And then I swung my axe—"
"...Cough. Captain Gauss, when did you get here?" Torga hurriedly cut in.
Captain?
Bruno might've been drunk, but he wasn't gone. Or maybe he was enjoying being drunk on purpose, letting the alcohol do its thing.
Either way, that word was like a panic switch. His brain snapped awake.
He turned stiffly.
And there was Gauss, smiling.
Bruno scrambled to stand, panicked and clumsy—nearly face-planting off the chair. Gauss caught him with one hand, saving him from humiliating himself in front of the apprentices.
"C-Captain… heh…"
Realizing Gauss had heard every word of his bragging, Bruno's already-red cheeks turned into a full-on fire.
Because the truth was, he barely did anything in that fight.
Gauss saw his embarrassment, but he wasn't interested in exposing Bruno's "cool story" in front of the apprentices.
"I'm here to see Albena."
"Oh! The boss is inside!" Bruno pointed into the workshop, practically relieved.
The Red Dragon Company's "tall one" and "short ones" got along surprisingly well. Albena had giant blood, and the others were dwarves—historically, that should've been a hate match.
Giants had raided dwarf kingdoms for ages—stealing wealth, enslaving dwarves. Dwarves, in turn, treated killing giants as a badge of honor.
But… they hated giants, not humans with giant blood.
The dwarves understood that difference perfectly.
And honestly, Gauss probably helped too—this whole connection started when he and his team rescued Torga in the first place.
Besides, Albena spent the most time with the dwarves. They shared the forge, traded smithing tricks, and—unexpectedly—she liked drinking too.
After enough time, friendships formed fast.
Led by Bruno, Gauss found Albena hard at work.
She was forging a second set of mithril soft armor—this one for Shadow.
Clang!
Her hammer dropped with perfect precision onto the billet, and sparks burst like fireworks.
Gauss watched for a while.
When she finished a step and turned around, her mood visibly brightened the moment she saw him.
Every time she saw Gauss, it felt like her body started producing happiness hormones on its own.
If anything, it was getting worse with time.
He really was a dangerously charming man.
"Gauss, did you need something?"
"Yeah."
"I'm planning to go to the magic academy in the next couple of days. I heard their library has a lot of rare texts—do you want me to borrow anything for you, if I can?"
"If you can, that would be amazing!"
"Thank you, Gauss!"
Other than liking the captain, one of Albena's few real hobbies was smithing.
And the fact he remembered something like this—what did that mean?
He's thinking about me.
Albena felt so happy she could've floated.
The thought of new smithing knowledge was great, sure—but this made her even happier.
"Alright. I'll keep an eye out. If you have specific topics or books you want, tell me ahead of time."
Gauss saw her eyes shining and thought, Yeah… she really is the team's forge engine.
Even Bruno—dwarf through and through—couldn't match Albena's smithing skill.
After that, Gauss swung by Ivan as well.
Same question: did he want any books borrowed?
As the top magic academy in the provincial capital, its library was obviously no joke.
And Gauss's access level was "professor," meaning he could borrow books students couldn't even touch. That benefit might honestly be worth as much as the pay.
If there was wool to be sheared, he was going to shear it.
"By the way, Captain—these are the potions I finished. Since you're here, try them."
Ivan immediately handed over the results of his latest batch.
"What are these?" Gauss looked at the "medicines."
"This is Concentrated Energy Paste—an extremely condensed energy block. Tastes awful, like chewing wax, but it's excellent portable rations."
"The green one is Focus Recovery Tonic. It eases mental fatigue and temporarily boosts concentration and casting stability."
"And this yellow-brown one is what I want to push as a higher-end product later—Stonehide Draught. It gives your skin a rock-like sheen and hardness, massively boosting physical defense. Side effect: you'll feel heavier, and your speed drops. It should work well for Levels 1–5."
"But… it probably won't do much for you, Captain."
"Oh?"
Gauss nodded.
He didn't even plan to take it back—he'd just test it now.
And with [Feast], anything he "ingested" would be optimized. Potions counted as food in a sense, right?
He popped the stopper and drank the Stonehide Draught.
A faint bitterness spread across his tongue.
Then he felt it—fast.
"Buzz."
His pale skin quickly yellowed, then hardened and dried.
Of course, it was controllable. He could tell it was rock-aspected energy layered over his skin, and he could purge it easily with mana, Dragonseed power, or ghoul-energy.
He was letting it run its course on purpose.
In moments, his entire body felt like carved stone.
The strangest part was that he could still move normally.
"Thud."
He tapped himself with a finger. The feedback was hard and cold—like knocking on rock.
The protection was solid—better than many armors. Most Level 4–5 adventurers would struggle to break it.
"Captain… may I feel it directly?"
Ivan adjusted his glasses, puzzled.
As the brewer, he knew the theory well.
And every potion shared one rule: the stronger the target, the weaker the effect—unless the potion itself was high-tier.
Yet on Gauss, the effect looked too good.
He'd expected Stonehide to barely register.
"Go ahead."
Ivan murmured thanks and carefully put hands on Gauss's arm.
First impression: so hard.
Way harder than expected.
Was Stonehide really this effective?
Even Ivan was confused now, scratching his head.
The potion theory he'd learned… didn't seem to apply cleanly to his captain.
"What's wrong?" Gauss asked with a grin.
"Nothing, just…"
"…the effect's a bit too good?"
Ivan couldn't figure it out.
Gauss silently nodded.
So [Feast] really did amplify potion effects too.
In a way, this body was becoming a "drug/potion god-tier chassis."
He finished off the Energy Paste and Focus Tonic Ivan gave him.
Stonehide, though? He didn't need it. The rock skin helped elite casters sometimes, but for him it was basically a toy.
His Omni-Armor, Dragonseed scales, and Second-Stage Ghoulification armor all outclassed it—and none of them came with the "heavier, slower" drawback.
That was the curse of being strong.
Even "potion builds" had a higher entry barrier for him—because normal buffs often couldn't match his baseline kit.
Still, the Energy Paste and Focus Tonic were genuinely useful, especially the latter. Great for studying magic, practice sessions, and meditation.
A little is still meat, even if it's a mosquito.
He didn't have any "purist" mindset about training. Everything in the world was a tool.
And with [Feast], he could purge residue and cut toxin risk to almost nothing.
Potions were at least edible by normal standards—unlike mana crystals, which he'd eaten plenty of.
Walking outside, he casually tossed another block of Energy Paste into his mouth.
As advertised: tasteless, dry, chalky—but decent energy density.
A fingertip-sized chunk could fuel an adult for a full day of hard labor—and that was without [Feast]. With Feast, the usable energy would multiply.
"Good stuff."
Gauss looked satisfied.
"But Ivan should keep iterating. More energy. Better taste…"
Version I, II, III—he could keep optimizing it.
The next day, after giving advance notice, Gauss and Alia took a carriage to the Karksa Magic Academy.
Since he was officially on staff now, the carriage wasn't stopped at the gate. It rolled straight into the estate-like grounds and didn't stop until it reached the teaching buildings.
A teacher was already waiting, along with several students.
"Professor Gauss, Instructor Alia—welcome to Karksa Magic Academy. I'm Evelyn. I'll be your assistant instructor today."
A woman in a deep-blue robe with thin-framed glasses bowed gracefully—elegant, professional.
The academy clearly took Gauss's first "class" seriously. Worried he lacked formal teaching experience, they assigned a full faculty member to assist.
And the fact she knew Alia's name was thanks to the staff Gauss had sent ahead to coordinate.
"Instructor… heehee." Alia chuckled, clearly enjoying being called that, even if it was just politeness.
"What's the schedule today?" Gauss asked.
"Please follow me. The students who registered are already waiting on the practice grounds."
…
On the open training field, students in neat uniforms whispered excitedly.
"Is Professor Gauss here yet?"
"I missed his last lecture because of class. Hill—was he really as handsome as you said?"
"Trust me."
"What's he teaching today?"
Some students were thrilled—especially those who'd heard his first talk.
Others were skeptical, having only heard rumors.
They could accept that he was more talented, but would one class really be as "life-changing" as people claimed?
They shook their heads—especially when they saw some girls who clearly came more for the face than the lesson.
At the very back stood two students with resigned expressions, each wearing a three-star badge—meaning they'd reached Level 3 casting while still enrolled. True prodigies.
"I was in the middle of studying alchemy… but my instructor insisted I come."
"Same."
They didn't believe a "hotshot genius" could teach anything meaningful in a single session. They'd met stronger casters before.
Personal power and teaching skill weren't the same thing—sometimes brilliant freaks made terrible teachers, because what was "obvious" to them was impossible for ordinary people.
But their instructor pushed hard, so they came—just to show face.
They exchanged a look, each seeing the other's helplessness.
…