Chapter 117: Altar and Scales

Cold blood seeped into the scorched black earth beneath their feet.

Gauss stood firmly with one foot on the unmoving Giant Rat’s back. A glint of cold light flashed from the rapier in his hand as it once again pierced precisely through its chest.

He drew the sword and shook off the filthy blood.

His gaze swept across the messy battlefield.

Although the Adventurer’s Handbook would provide kill notifications, it was inevitable that he might overlook something during combat—some monsters might not be thoroughly dead.

So he had developed the habit of delivering finishing blows after the battle.

Occasionally triggering one or two extra kill notifications became a small bonus in the battlefield cleanup.

Arya and her Wolf Companion silently watched Gauss methodically finishing off the enemies.

She pulled out a strip of rough cloth and wiped away the sticky bloodstains on her cheek.

Recalling the brief yet intense battle earlier, she looked at Gauss with slightly different eyes.

That close-combat performance—more like a swordsman than a swordsman.

If she hadn’t seen him use spells earlier, she might have assumed her partner was a Warrior from the start.

"But… this Protective Spell really works well."

She subconsciously reached out and gently pressed the side of her waist over the sturdy Protective Leather Gear.

A Ratman’s long spear had indeed struck there earlier.

Though even without the preemptive Gauss Force Field he had cast, her armor alone would’ve been enough to block the attack, there was no way she’d come out of a battle like this without a scratch or a bruise.

"Actually, partnering with him… kind of feels nice..." This thought quietly floated into Arya’s mind.

Even though it was just a two-person Small Team, it felt easier than when she had joined four- or five-person teams in the past.

All she had to do was cast Control-type Skills, occasionally intercept the odd one that broke through the front line—everything else, Gauss would handle.

Whether it was precisely targeting distant archers with Magic Missile or charging into enemy ranks with his blade, his efficiency was jaw-dropping.

This didn’t feel like a newly promoted Bronze-rank Adventurer at all.

In fact, when she occasionally found a chance to help take down some monsters, Gauss would even remind her to stay back and focus on using Entangling Spell.

That composed thoughtfulness left her a bit at a loss.

What kind of Mage charges ahead like that?

She didn’t know whether this was a deliberate first-time display or simply his true nature.

But either way, Arya was indeed touched by Gauss’ "gentlemanly" demeanor.

He seemed like a teammate she could entrust her back to.

"Are those Ratmen too scared to come out now?"

Gauss delivered finishing blows to every Ratman and Giant Rat on the ground.

His eyes turned toward the abandoned chapel.

From start to finish, aside from the wiped-out cavalry unit and the archers on the roof who had been blasted into retreat by Magic Missile, no other Ratmen had come out of the chapel cellar to provide support.

As if they were ostriches burying their heads in the sand—as long as they didn’t come out, Gauss wouldn’t know they existed.

In truth—

He just wanted to rest a bit longer.

Still, they couldn’t rest too long. There was always the possibility of escape routes beneath the chapel.

"Arya, how are you holding up?"

"No problem, ready to go anytime." Arya composed herself, her voice firm.

Gauss could feel the Gauss Force Field still brimming with energy around her and nodded slightly.

He was actually doing fine too.

Despite how intense the earlier battle had seemed, not even the backup hidden energy in his Energy Storage Gland had been activated.

After all, it had only been a group of well-equipped Ratman cavalry—not enough to pose a real threat beyond some time and stamina consumption.

After a short rest, replenishing water and Dry Rations, he felt both stamina and magical energy slowly trickling back.

Only then did Gauss signal to Arya as they cautiously approached the decrepit, bone-grey abandoned chapel.

"Why are you walking so far ahead?"

Seeing Arya several steps ahead, Gauss couldn’t help but speak up.

"Can’t let you do all the work, can I?"

A subtle sense of guilt rose in Arya’s heart, as if she had been slacking off throughout the previous battle.

"Besides, we Druids are more suited to the front line than you Mages, right?"

Gauss was momentarily speechless.

Technically, she wasn’t wrong.

Though neither Druids nor Mages were true front-line tanks, Druids generally had better Perception and Constitution than Mages, making them more suitable as temporary frontliners.

But… that was ordinary Mages.

At least in this team, his "tankiness" was likely a tier above Arya’s.

As for her earlier claim that he had done everything—it was nonsense.

If not for her precise Entangling Spell repeatedly tripping up the charging Giant Rats and limiting the Ratman cavalry’s maneuverability, there’s no way he could have ended the fight so effortlessly.

Forget it. Gauss shook his head inwardly. Let her be.

A few steps of distance were still within controllable range.

Arya left her Wolf Companion outside the chapel to guard against any enemies circling around for a surprise attack.

The two of them worked together to push open the heavy, worm-eaten wooden door that had long rotted away.

As the door opened, a nauseating stench immediately assaulted their senses—beneath the intense stench of fermented Rat droppings were layers of wax from old candle drippings, the musty smell of damp stone, and the sour odor of rotting food.

The air was thick and heavy—so much so that even through the Gas Mask, they could feel the foul currents outside.

The stone pews on either side had long since crumbled into ruin, their chipped fragments and the ground coated in a dried grime that made faint "squelch" sounds when stepped on.

Inside the chapel, the lighting was dim. Only a few narrow beams of light managed to squeeze through the tall, slender window slits on either side, barely illuminating the interior.

The stained-glass windows that once depicted holy miracles had all shattered, leaving behind only empty voids.

Cold wind rushed in, stirring floating dust and Rat hairs, even tinting the once-clear light beams with filth.

In this Ratman lair, even the sunlight felt filthy.

Gauss stepped on the sticky, shell-like ground beneath his feet, unable to suppress a slight sense of nausea.

But he didn’t show it.

This was part of an Adventurer’s life.

Exploring monster lairs—be it abandoned buildings, deep underground caverns, or other dark corners—was never anything close to clean.

Therefore, anyone with a serious cleanliness obsession was doomed to be unfit for an Adventurer.

His gaze swiftly swept across the filthy hall and soon locked onto a stone stairwell on one side that seemed to lead deeper underground.

“Squeak squeak!”

Only a few frightened small rats scurried away in panic near the entrance.

The two of them approached the heavy wooden door.

At the moment, the door was firmly shut—pushing it yielded no response.

If this were a fully equipped standard Adventurer team, now would be the time for an experienced Rogue to step up and use lockpicking skills.

But neither of them was a Rogue.

So, the only option was...

“Please step aside.”

Gauss signaled to Arya.

“Alright.”

Arya took a few steps back, watching as Gauss pulled out a heavy Metal Scepter from his Small Storage Bag.

Was he going to use magic?

A guess rose in her heart.

Gauss took a deep breath and, under Arya’s widening gaze, gathered all his strength and swung the Metal Scepter down hard onto the center of the door panel.

“Boom!!!”

A deafening roar echoed throughout the empty chapel.

Wood chips flew!

The already aged and worn door groaned at the joints from the thunderous blow.

The entire door shook violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Gauss then gave the edge of the panel a hard kick.

“Thud!”

Unable to withstand the impact, the wooden door crashed inward, raising a cloud of choking dust.

“All done.” Gauss signaled to Arya, who had kept her distance, that she could come over now.

Wait a second, seriously...

This was how he solved it? Arya stood dumbfounded for a long moment before finally blurting out:

“You… really have some strength, huh?”

“Not bad. I’ve kept up with training,” Gauss replied casually.

Arya looked at the twisted, deformed, completely ruined door panel, then turned to the Metal Scepter in Gauss’ hand that clearly looked like a spellcasting implement—speechless for a moment.

So this was strength that could be gained just from training?

The longer she spent with Gauss, the more she felt he really didn’t seem like a Mage.

Gauss was unaware of Arya’s inner thoughts.

He looked into the passage, considered for a moment, then kicked a panicked little rat into the deep darkness of the staircase.

He listened closely. Aside from the scurrying sounds of the rat fleeing, there were no other movements below. Only then did he and Arya proceed cautiously into the deeper darkness.

“Light Spell!”

The tip of the Scepter instantly glowed with a gentle White Light, dispelling the inky black ahead.

Cold, solid stone walls revealed their outline under the light.

Gauss and Arya advanced cautiously.

To avoid triggering traps or mechanisms, he even activated Insight Technique and Mage Hand, carefully sweeping the path as they went.

But they were never attacked.

Only the air seemed to grow thicker, and the scent of blood began to creep into their noses.

“Careful.”

Stepping off the final stair, the cellar unfolded before Gauss.

This underground space was wider than expected, clearly enough to accommodate a large number of Ratmen—however—

The cellar was unusually empty at the moment.

Aside from dead rats on the floor, there were no other living beings.

Had they hidden? Or fled?

Gauss stepped onto a rat corpse, a sickening “splat” sounding underfoot, and continued cautiously forward.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in his mind.

Following his instincts, he abruptly looked up.

There, a few relatively slender Ratmen—whose claws shimmered with eerie green light—clung like bats to a huge, long-abandoned Metal Chandelier above.

The green glow in their claws had already taken shape.

“Yaa!”

Several large patches of deep green, viscous fluid emitting a pungent acidic stench rained down from above!

“Squeeee!”

Gauss reacted instantly, dodging to the side. Arya retreated at the same time.

But the cellar space was cramped and narrow—both of them were still splashed with a fair amount of corrosive acid.

The corrosive fluid made contact with the Gauss Force Field Gauss had preemptively cast, releasing tendrils of acrid white smoke.

Fortunately, protected by the Gauss Force Field, the two of them were unharmed.

“Magic Missile!” Gauss pointed his wand tip.

A single missile struck precisely at the corroded, fragile junction between the chandelier and the stone wall.

The Metal Chandelier, along with the Ratman spellcasters clinging to it, crashed hard to the ground.

Several Ratmen were thrown down in a disoriented heap.

Before they could recover, Gauss drew his rapier and executed each one of the fallen Ratmen.

"Total monsters killed: 411"

Apprentice-level Ratman Spellcasters?

Gauss was somewhat surprised.

Such a small Ratman clan had cavalry and apprentice-level spellcasters—how deep were their foundations?

Moreover, how did these Ratmen learn cantrips?

Did they study and self-learn through spellbooks? Or was it some innate awakening from their bloodline?

On both sides of the cellar passage were rows of pitch-black silent rooms.

Gauss’s Light Spell shone into them, and he finally spotted his targets inside the rooms—those short, ordinary Ratmen, their crimson eyes lighting up densely in the darkness.

"Swish swish swish!"

A barrage of arrows shot out from the room’s shadows like a sudden downpour.

Clang clang clang—arrows struck against Gauss and Arya’s bodies.

"Fall back and use Entangling Spell depending on the situation."

Gauss instructed Arya.

Then he retrieved a large bag of fire oil from his Small Storage Bag.

With a sudden burst of strength, he hurled it precisely into the room filled with Ratmen.

"Fire Bolt!"

A flaming bolt trailing orange light shot into the room and ignited the fire oil with a thunderous explosion.

"Boom boom boom!"

Flames erupted instantly.

Tongues of orange-red fire surged upward, turning the entire room into a sea of blazing inferno.

Many Rat shadows twisted and screamed within the flames.

A few Ratmen engulfed in flames tried to escape the room, only to be kicked back in by Gauss.

At the same time, the wand in his hand flared with light once more.

"Magic Missile!"

Several missiles howled into the firestorm, triggering even greater explosions amid the roar.

"Killed Ratman *1"

"Killed Ratman *1"

"Killed Ratman *1"

Text prompts flashed repeatedly before Gauss’s eyes.

These few spells were arguably the most efficient kill spells Gauss had ever used.

After the dust settled—

"Total monsters killed: 432"

Only 21? Gauss quickly did the math.

Although killing 21 Ratmen in such a simple attack was very satisfying result-wise—

15 Ratman Cavalry, 4 Apprentice-level Ratman Spellcasters, and 21 ordinary Ratmen—that totaled only 40.

What about the other Ratmen in the cellar lair?

He continued deeper down the passage, inspecting every empty or scorched room on either side one by one—but still found nothing.

Only silence, and the increasingly thick scent of blood and sour rot.

Finally, he reached the end of the passage.

Gauss’s gaze swept across the last and especially large room—it appeared to be a sunken, long-abandoned altar chamber.

And when he took in the scene within, a wave of physical revulsion rose within him.

What met the eye were bloated corpses of Ratmen, Giant Rats, and other indescribable human or animal forms, shattered viscera, decayed plant roots, and other refuse—soaked together like profaned sacrificial offerings in a bubbling, foul-smelling, dark green viscous pus.

The pus radiated an aura of death and foreboding.

At the edge of this defiled altar stood an unusually aged Ratman elder, silently watching.

Its murky Rat eyes pierced the darkness and stared at Gauss without emotion.

In the next moment, the Ratman elder’s dry lips moved, and it actually spoke in clear Common tongue:

"Lord Vispetilia is watching you."

As soon as the words fell, it showed not a hint of hesitation. With a fanatic piety, it leaned back and plunged its entire body into the churning pool of dark green pus.

Immediately afterward, the entire pool of filth—along with all the corpses and debris within—was swallowed up by an unseen, gaping maw, vanishing without a trace before the eyes of both.

In the center of the dried-up basin, only a palm-sized scale remained, rapidly fading to a pale white.

Gauss and Arya looked at each other.

Staring at the now utterly silent cellar that reeked only of scorched remains and stench, unease crept into their hearts.

What just happened?

Who was that Vispe-something guy?

And more importantly—for Adventurers like them, leaving aside the unknown—

Was the commission considered complete? Would they get paid?

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