Now that he thought about it, the Thorn Behemoth in the distance wasn't actually low-intelligence.
During their initial confrontation, the monster had actively used its vine tails to intercept Magic Missiles, demonstrating powerful regenerative abilities while subtly hinting that destroying its tails caused no pain.
This successfully diverted Gauss's attention away from its tail.
If intentional, this could even be considered cunning.
However, despite discovering this suspected weakness, landing a hit still wasn't simple.
The lethal tail was perfectly hidden among numerous vine tails. Any approaching Magic Missiles were precisely intercepted and dispersed by other vines.
With Aria and Serlandul providing cover along with summoned creatures, Gauss managed to retreat some distance.
He quickly chewed food, feeling his Energy Storage Gland greedily converting nutrients into surging energy.
By the time he'd mostly recovered, the protective fields around Aria and Serlandul were dangerously weak. Only the strongest white spider remained of the four Sticky King Spiders - the three brown ones had been smashed and couldn't regenerate after exhausting their mana.
Gauss took a deep breath.His teammates had bought him enough time to recuperate.
"Aria, Serlandul, good work. Leave the rest to me," he said with steady confidence.
Hearing him speak, their tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.
Especially Serlandul. Despite being a level 3 professional with his race's exceptional mobility, facing such a behemoth even briefly required enduring considerable psychological pressure.
Of course, he fully understood the necessity of buying Gauss recovery time.
Gauss stepped forward.
As he walked, he activated Ghost Form.
"Waidai!"
With each step, his bones emitted faint cracking sounds as his stature grew several inches taller.
Simultaneously, familiar transformations occurred - his hair turned frost-white, sharp horns pierced through his forehead, and his skin lost all coloration.
Aria retreated while staring wide-eyed at Gauss's metamorphosis.
During their nighttime confrontation with the hyena squad, Gauss had transformed once before, but the darkness and distance made it far less clear than this close-up view.
Watching Gauss change at close range, a flash of astonishment crossed her eyes.
She'd seen half-orcs enter blood rage before, but compared to Gauss's current transformation, those were like comparing a small witch to a great sorcerer.
Even as someone with little expertise, she could clearly sense Gauss's dramatic shift in aura.
It made this daily companion seem suddenly unfamiliar, sending an inexplicable chill down her spine.
Possessing an eerie beauty while subtly terrifying...
The Gauss in Ghost Form wasted no time - every second now was precious.
With monstrous strength erupting from his legs, his body suddenly disappeared from sight.
The next instant, he appeared before the Thorn Behemoth.
"Boom!"
A vine tail carrying terrifying wind pressure came whipping down.
Gauss swayed slightly, dodging sideways with perfect timing.
The tail smashed down, shattering floor tiles instantly!
Seizing this opportunity, Gauss closed in on the behemoth's tail again.
He ignored its bloated main body.
Previous battles had proven attacking its torso meaningless.
Gauss suspected the massive plant body was just a decoy hiding its true form - that special tail.
Upon approaching the tail, the entire Thorn Behemoth entered unprecedented alertness. The tail instantly twisted away, trying to shake Gauss off.
Gauss clearly sensed the creature's sudden tension.
Getting serious now? He thought rapidly.
If the behemoth was fighting at full capacity now, it had only been at 30-40% before.
But too late!
Grasping his steel longsword, Gauss exploded forward, his monstrously powerful legs cracking the ground like spiderwebs.
Only a blurry afterimage remained.
In Ghost Form, speed and explosive power became his absolute advantages.
Unless their strength levels differed drastically, shaking him off would be extremely difficult.
Another thick vine tail came whistling through the air.
Gauss moved like smoke, nimbly dodging and weaving through the storm of vines, narrowly avoiding lethal strikes.
"Whoosh!"
With each dodge, his sword flashed out instantly.
The sturdy vine tails resisted momentarily before being cleanly severed under the enhanced sword's force.
Cutting through obstructing vines, Gauss pressed forward relentlessly.
Dodge! Slash! Target locked on the core!
After severing several attacking vines, that special tail was finally exposed before him.
Outwardly, it still looked identical to ordinary vines.
Though the Thorn Behemoth realized Gauss's intent and desperately evaded, Gauss was simply too fast.
In an instant, he was upon the special tail, raising his sword.
Other vines frantically attacked from all directions but were swiftly cut down.
"Crack!"
Gauss's steel longsword traced a pure white arc, slashing into the special tail with devastating force!
"Screeeech!!!"
As the blade bit in, an ear-piercing shriek of pain erupted.
Gauss frowned slightly - the shrill cry seemed to carry some mental attack, but his icy will suppressed it quickly.
He chopped mercilessly at the special tail again and again.
Dark green fluid gushed out like a severed artery.
On closer inspection, it resembled thick green blood more than plant sap.
The entire Thorn Behemoth collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The decoy body and other vines went limp, convulsing violently with each of Gauss's strikes.
As if unable to endure further, the special tail suddenly detached itself at the base, then the severed portion twitched violently.
"Pop!"
A slightly smaller, worm-like creature burst forth from the broken vine casing!
Gauss finally saw the impostor's true form.
Where it connected to the body were countless pale root-like nerves. Its head bore several quivering, tumor-like sensory organs. Numerous needle-sharp limbs were emerging through its skin.
It looked exactly like a terrifying, giant-sized maggot.
The moment it escaped, it scrambled away on those horrifyingly thin limbs in panic.
But Gauss had already switched to his White Wand.
"Magic Missile!"
Pale-blue missiles tore through the air, smashing into the fleeing parasite's back.
"Boom! Crash! Boom!"
The violent impacts blasted chunks of its carapace apart, spraying green fluid everywhere.
To Gauss's surprise, it survived five enhanced Magic Missiles.
Though its shell was shattered and body riddled with holes, it kept struggling forward on its needle limbs until blocked by the barrier.
Expressionless, Gauss continued firing blue missiles.
Only after 12-13 direct hits, when the creature's remains were nearly obliterated, did the kill confirmation finally sound in his mind.
"Elite monster Parasitic Arthropod slain."
"7th elite monster catalog unlocked."
New catalog entry - 10 elite points acquired.
Combined with the 10 points from killing the Hobgoblin, he now needed 30 more to advance his Reptilian race.
Confirming the threat eliminated, Gauss immediately canceled Ghost Form.
Power receded like a tide, overwhelming weakness flooding his body as his legs gave out.
Ready for this, Aria rushed over, steadying the exhausted Gauss and helping him sit while providing food and water.
Serlandul followed closely, chanting soothing divine spells as gentle white light enveloped Gauss to alleviate his fatigue.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
As the trio rested, their surroundings suddenly transformed.
The invisible barrier dissipated instantly as gates rumbled open. The spectral insectoid spectators rose together in frenzied cheers. Simultaneously, that peculiar informational chirping resonated throughout the arena.
[Warrior Trial completed. Distributing rewards]
In the distance, the Thorn Behemoth and Parasitic Arthropod's corpses began dissolving into wisps of black smoke.
Watching this, Gauss felt some regret - these were his trophies. Collected, they'd have made excellent magical materials.
But soon, something above the arena caught his attention.
Three softly glowing energy orbs descended slowly.
Were these the trial rewards mentioned in the chirping?
The orbs floated toward each of them.
The one approaching Gauss shone most brilliantly, significantly larger than the other two.
As if recognizing their owners, the orbs suddenly accelerated toward them before they could react.