To make sure this Magic Frog Lord wouldn't stop summoning monster servants, Gauss would occasionally strike its vital points to keep it in pain. So even though his summons and companions were killing monsters in huge numbers, more and more were still pouring in from every direction.
Of course, Gauss wasn't putting all the pressure on his companions.
After confirming several times that the frog was completely trapped inside his water prison and couldn't move, he personally joined the battle as well.
The monsters rushing in were mostly from the magic frog species, along with a few other common monster types—all familiar old friends by now.
On the battlefield, one figure was flashing rapidly from place to place.
A female shield-bearer was knocked to the ground by a blast wave, and just as a goblin riding a hunting hound lunged in with its spear—
A sharp streak of sword light split both goblin and mount cleanly in half.
Blood burst through the air like fireworks.
"If you're hurt, fall back and get treated. Don't force it."
A calm voice sounded above the woman's head.
She wanted to say thank you, but that figure had already lightly tapped the ground and drifted more than ten meters away.
He looked like a perfectly precise killing machine, harvesting monster lives with an artistry that bordered on elegance.
And that really was the right word for it—art.
His movements were fast, clean, and exact, like a master sculptor displaying flawless craftsmanship.
Even the most experienced combat masters would struggle to find fault.
Every time he moved, it was as if he had already mapped the route in his head. Each step landed at exactly the right distance from a monster to launch an attack comfortably. Every swing of his blade struck exactly where each monster was weakest.
Goblin necks. Magic frog spinal centers. Heart areas on most monsters.
He knew monster anatomy and weak points so well that it had almost become instinct—almost like a Path.
More than forty thousand monster kills hadn't been for nothing. Honestly, even if someone suppressed Gauss's strength and mana down to the same level as other people, with this level of skill and experience, he would still kill monsters several times faster than other adventurers of the same rank.
Aside from his near-perfect close-range kills, his ranged attacks were mostly limited to simple spells like Flamebolt, Ray of Frost, and the Level 1 spell Magic Missile.
That was all about maximizing efficiency.
Especially Flamebolt and Magic Missile—those were the spells he knew best, so he could keep their cost at the ideal level and avoid the waste of blasting ants with cannons.
It wasn't that spells like Burning Hands, Fireball, or Ice Storm were bad.
It was just that when it came to cost-effectiveness, small-scale single-target attacks were better. And his companions were still fighting on the battlefield, so large-area attacks risked hitting them too.
On top of that, Magic Missile and Flamebolt could now be fired in multi-casts. Thanks to his Feast talent constantly digesting food into energy, he was basically maintaining a positive mana balance. In fact, he was even gradually recovering some of the mana he'd spent earlier.
And he wasn't the only one slaughtering monsters.
Other than the medical team led by Serandur in the rear, everyone else was fighting desperately too.
Luna's offensive magic was especially distinctive.
She conjured transparent floating bubbles that looked harmless, but the moment they touched a monster, they exploded with powerful shockwaves that shattered internal organs.
In terms of kill efficiency, she ranked just behind Gauss, Hephaestus, and the clay goblin giant.
A level 9 sorceress backed by enough frontline protection was an extremely dangerous battlefield asset.
Shadow and Alia were fighting together. Their coordination had reached a remarkably high level over time.
Alia's Moonlight Vines raced along the ground, coiling around monsters as they passed and binding them tightly. Then Shadow and her clones would dart in and kill the restrained targets. The silver wolf Ulfen and the raven Echo were also clearing enemies quickly wherever they fought.
As for Albena, she was fighting in her usual broad, savage style. Her massive axe, over two meters long, could kill most monsters in a single swing.
And beyond them, there were still Gauss's summons, Hephaestus, the dwarf squad led by Torga, Level 7 rogue Ethan, Level 6 knight Dante…
In sheer numbers, the enemy greatly outnumbered them.
But in terms of high-level combat power, the Red Dragon Company held an absolute advantage.
Gauss even started rotating some members back to the medical station so they could rest in shifts.
As for himself, at this intensity, he could probably keep going for a full day and night without much issue.
As time passed, more and more monsters fell onto the blood-soaked earth.
If someone had looked down from high above, they would have seen that the ground itself had darkened visibly under the saturation of blood, turning into something grim and horrifying.
And yet the Red Dragon Company's battle line still stood there like an unbreakable wall.
"Total Monster Kill: 42,115"
"Total Monster Kill: 43,533"
"Total Monster Kill: 45,778"
"Total Monster Kill: 49,116"
"…"
The kill count in Gauss's bestiary was rising at terrifying speed.
Finally, after he beheaded yet another goblin, the number crossed the threshold.
He flashed into the sky with Any Door and looked at the Adventurer's Manual.
"Total Monster Kill: 50,000 / 50,000. Milestone achieved."
"Reward Acquired: Level 5 Evocation spell [Bigby's Hand]"
"Reward Acquired: Level 5 Evocation spell [Dawn]"
"Reward Acquired: Class Specialty [Threefold Source Power]"
"Reward Acquired: Strength +1, Constitution +1, Dexterity +1"
Strength: 16 → 17
Dexterity: 15 → 16
Constitution: 16 → 17
Intelligence: 19
Perception: 16
Charisma: 16
Even Gauss was genuinely thrilled by the rewards from fifty thousand kills.
First, he had finally gotten Level 5 spells—and two of them at once.
A Level 5 spell was no small thing. Normally, those were spells that only Level 11 spellcasters could begin to learn, and they were notoriously difficult.
They were also extremely expensive. Any one of them would normally cost hundreds, if not thousands, of gold coins, which was why Gauss hadn't rushed to pursue them.
Now the Manual had directly awarded him two Level 5 spells, effectively handing him the key to that tier. In the future, with the experience these two gave him, he could try learning other Level 5 spells on his own.
And neither of these two spells was ordinary.
Bigby's Hand allowed him to create a massive magical hand and wield it freely as a devastating force of destruction. In Gauss's understanding, it was like an absurdly upgraded version of Mage Hand.
The second spell, Dawn, was a light-based spell. More precisely, it created a pillar of blazing sunlight descending from above. Any enemy caught inside would suffer massive radiant damage.
These two offensive spells drastically raised Gauss's damage ceiling, letting him face stronger monsters with even more confidence.
Most of the time, he spent his efforts killing weaker enemies in bulk, but powerful attack spells were the kind of thing he didn't always need to use—yet absolutely needed to have.
Beyond the Level 5 spells, his Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity had all increased by one, making his "all-rounder" build even more ridiculous. The Adventurer's Manual's extra stat boosts meant he had no real weak point in any attribute, which was one of the biggest reasons he could fight alone, endure endlessly, and keep going so much longer than normal people.
But the thing that thrilled him most wasn't the Level 5 spells, and it wasn't the stats either.
It was the seemingly minor class specialty: Threefold Source Power.
He felt the powerful energy surging through his body like tides and instantly understood what it did.
It was the "conversion power" he had been wanting for a very long time.
Threefold Source Power gave him the ability to freely convert between three completely different forms of power: stamina, mana, and life force.
Joy burst across his face.
Because he knew at once that the last obvious weakness he had on paper had finally been erased.
The value of Threefold Source Power was far beyond what those Level 5 spells or stat boosts could match. It would elevate his combat power dramatically.
He already had plenty of recovery methods. Through Feast, he could restore stamina and mana by eating. Through certain spells and title effects, he could steal life force from monsters. But until now, all three of those powers had existed separately.
Now that giant web of abilities had finally been unified by Threefold Source Power.
That meant when he needed to, he could become an inexhaustible physical monster. Or in the next instant, he could turn into a living artillery battery with surging mana and a vastly improved recovery rate. Or he could become a creature with absurd durability and life force.
Honestly, feeling the trident-like light pulsing inside his body, even he thought that if he had to fight someone like himself, it would be utterly hopeless.
He clearly sensed the three distinct powers inside him.
Mana was the greatest in quantity. Next came stamina. Then life force.
Stamina was slightly less than mana, about three-quarters as much, while life force was roughly half the size of his mana reserve. Altogether, the ratio felt like 4:3:2.
After fully absorbing the rewards, Gauss's body crackled like thunder. Since he was high enough in the sky, only he could hear it.
But the aura around him became vastly more oppressive.
If before he had merely possessed the power to kill the transcendent Dragon Priestess Cecilia, now he could kill her with ease.
Maybe I've already touched the threshold of Level 12 battle power?
Since he had never fought a true Level 12 creature, he couldn't judge exactly where he stood. The dead transcendent dragon priestess was still the closest benchmark he had.
Inside him, the magical cup that formed the source of his power had begun to shine intensely, already brimming past its limit.
That meant his Magiccaster experience had hit its cap for the current level. He was full to the point of overflowing.
But after glancing below, he knew this wasn't the right moment to break through.
Below, as his attention shifted back toward the battlefield, the entire atmosphere seemed to grow heavier.
Especially the monsters he looked at directly—their movements all stiffened, and the Red Dragon Company members fighting them instantly seized the opening and killed them.
Taking advantage of that moment, some of Gauss's people looked up.
Their commander stood in the sky, and the oppressive presence around him was even more terrifying than before.
"The commander got stronger again?"
Some of them were astonished.
Normally, the higher a professional rose, the harder it became to break through further. Being stuck at the same level of combat strength for months or even years was common.
But that iron law seemed not to apply to their commander at all.
He was already far stronger than them, yet still advanced faster too.
Even Luna was stunned. She could feel a lethally oppressive power from Gauss now, as though he could kill her with a single thought. Before, his pressure had been immense too—but not this outrageous.
Did he just have an epiphany? Break through in battle? Or had he been hiding some of his strength all along?
She kept thinking, shocked all the while. No matter which it was, it only made their commander seem more unfathomable.
Only Gauss's oldest teammates from the First Squad took it in stride.
This wasn't the first time they'd seen something like this. Their captain's absurd talent for randomly "breaking through" at the strangest moments was already familiar territory.
"Heightened Vampiric Touch!"
With a flash, Gauss reappeared in the middle of the monster horde.
Dark crimson tendrils like the tentacles of a giant octopus came crashing down.
Boom!
Dozens of monsters were instantly crushed into pulp, and streams of crimson life energy flowed out through the blood, racing into the magic tendrils around Gauss and then into his body.
After feeling it, Gauss's eyes lit up.
Since he was still in perfect condition, the excess life energy drained by Vampiric Touch naturally converted into mana.
And on top of that, Feast was still continuously digesting the mana stones he had eaten, steadily releasing more magic power.
Too much mana. He literally couldn't burn through it fast enough.
Maybe after going back, I should look for another spell.
If he remembered correctly, there was also a Level 5 spell called Enervation, which similarly drained life force from targets—but as a Level 5 spell, it would be far stronger and more efficient.
For now, though, the heightened version of Vampiric Touch would do.
With the support of that draining spell, Threefold Source Power, and Feast, he could essentially sustain the spell at zero net cost. In densely packed enemy zones, it might even result in him gaining more mana the longer he used it.
And so, free of all concern over resource management, Gauss exploded into action in his peak state.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He tore through the monster horde like a tentacled beast, smashing anything he passed into blood and sludge.
The sheer brutality of it made even the monsters—who had been fanatically loyal a moment earlier—feel terror in their bones.
The monster in a monster's eyes had arrived.