Chapter 1048 - 501: Group Pet

All in all, having nowhere else to go, Eden ultimately decided to stay by Gauss’s side. Compared to the Red Dragon Hephaestus, the Slime Eden possessed a huge advantage—its body was controllable. It could freely adjust its size. Right now, for instance, it had compressed itself to the size of an apple. This allowed it to follow Gauss anywhere, hiding inconspicuously in his hood, sleeves, or pockets.

Of course, even if it were discovered, no one would dare say anything given Gauss’s status. In fact, domesticated Demons were not uncommon. The mounts of various Knights were often powerful Demons. For example, Sabrina, who had recently joined the Red Dragon Team, rode an Earth Lizard—a type of giant lizard monster. Besides these Knight mounts, Casters would sometimes sign contracts with monsters to form partnerships. Not to mention Druids, who frequently chose docile, highly intelligent monsters as their animal companions in addition to ordinary beasts. The only reason someone might cast a second glance was probably because few people would ever take a Slime—a creature known for its low intelligence and ubiquitous presence—as a companion.

But Eden was no ordinary Slime. Gauss smiled faintly as he watched a curious Hephaestus hurry over and reach out a dragon claw to poke Eden, only to be bounced back by a burst of Magic Power. Despite being a Slime, Eden was vastly more powerful than Hephaestus. It simply had a good temper. If Hephaestus had provoked any other creature with that level of power, the Red Dragon would have inevitably been beaten to a pulp. In truth, even now, Gauss didn’t have a clear grasp of Eden’s true strength. He could vaguely sense that the Slime’s power was not as simple as what it had displayed in the Maze. Its death at his hands back then had felt more like a test born out of curiosity.

Despite the unexpected variables, since he was already here, Gauss quickly found a spot to continue practicing his Spells. Two days ago, he had just mastered his third 6th-tier Spell, [Wind Walk]. He wasn’t very proficient with it yet and needed more practice.

Gauss floated in the sky, enveloped in a layer of special airflow. This airflow had no Protective effect. It merely allowed the person enveloped within it to rise into the air while drastically reducing air resistance and other forces brought on by flight. This meant that even an ordinary person could withstand high-speed flight without their skin being torn apart by the knife-like headwind.

"Not bad!" Gauss exclaimed. With his physical constitution, he naturally didn’t have to worry about the damage caused by fierce winds. However, he was extremely satisfied with the airflow’s drag-reduction effect. His flight speed had increased by another margin. Speed played a massive role in combat; in a sense, it was even more important than brute physical strength.

Gauss soared freely and gracefully through the sky like a white falcon. Below, the soldiers patrolling the city walls raised their telescopes. Upon realizing it was his silhouette, they breathed a sigh of relief and curiously began tracking his movements. Gauss flew around for a while. Although he wasn’t flying at full strength, he estimated that [Wind Walk] boosted his flight speed by about twenty percent. Furthermore, the Physical Strength consumed during long-distance flights was drastically reduced.

After flying for quite some time, Gauss didn’t slowly descend until the sun had climbed to its peak. He activated the effect of [Heartstring]. The next moment, his consciousness seemed to perceive numerous other members of the Red Dragon Team through an invisible thread. Ever since acquiring the [Heartstring] Talent, he would casually activate this ability in his free time to check on the team’s activities.

Of course, this wasn’t voyeurism. The Perception granted by [Heartstring] was a non-visual, intuitive, and abstract awareness. Specifically, he couldn’t see a clear visual of what the members were doing at that exact moment, but he could vaguely sense their locations, statuses, and activities. Right now, through his Perception, he sensed that most members were gathered in the camp, though several squads were out on missions. One squad had even engaged in combat. He felt things out roughly and detected no overly urgent or anxious negative emotions from the members of that fighting squad. It seemed they were handling the battle with ease, so he chose not to intervene.

Meanwhile, an Adventurer Squad was battling a flock of Snake Chicken Beasts they had encountered head-on in the wilderness.

A Wanderer hiding in the shadows used the frontal suppression provided by the Warrior to suddenly leap onto the back of a Snake Chicken Beast, viciously plunging her dagger into its neck.

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!!!"

After landing the sneak attack, the Wanderer hastily leaped off the Snake Chicken Beast’s back. Before the monster, driven into a frenzy by the pain, could retaliate with its life on the line, she vanished from the spot. Eventually, this final Snake Chicken Beast quickly breathed its last.

"What’s wrong?" the Wanderer asked as she approached the Warrior, noticing his dazed expression.

"Didn’t you feel like your strength in combat somehow became greater?" he replied.

This was the first time this newly formed inner squad of the Red Dragon Team had ventured out on an adventure, which was why it took until today for his Detection of the changes in his body to occur. Prompted by his words, the Wanderer seemed to realize something as well. Her movements in combat appeared to have gained greater speed and agility, and dodging the monsters’ attacks felt much smoother, as if she were enveloped in a gentle breeze.

"How strange." The others all shared the same feeling. Suddenly, they recalled the extremely low casualty rate they had heard about before joining the Red Dragon Team. Realizing something in that instant, they exchanged a tacit, knowing glance.