Cultivation depends a lot on personal effort, sure—but sometimes, chance is even more important.
Every veteran knows this: some mornings you wake up feeling unbelievably clear-headed, like your whole body's been hauled back to the factory and rebuilt. The things that used to be opaque suddenly make perfect sense, and training goes twice the distance for half the effort.
That fleeting state has many names—most people call it "a moment of enlightenment."
If you're lucky, you get it once or twice every few months. If you're not… you might go a whole life without ever touching it.
And thanks to Gauss' "Enlightenment Technique," that rare, once-in-a-blue-moon state had basically become a regular party buff for the team.
Alia staggered out of her room, yawning.
"Haaah—"
"Stayed up too late?" Gauss asked.
"Mm."
She rubbed her eyes and nodded.
Just thinking about that BUFF that had lasted all the way till late last night still felt unreal to her.
She'd had days in top form before, but never one that stayed that sharp for so long.
For the first time in her life, she'd discovered that training could be that addictive—her body and mind were exhausted, but she still didn't want to stop.
"Dial it back a bit next time. If you want to study spells, you can come find me anytime."
Gauss' Enlightenment was effectively infinite refills.
There was no need to rush everything in one go.
"Hehe…"
Alia understood that—she just hadn't controlled herself yesterday and gone a little feral.
"Go get some more sleep."
"We're not heading out this morning anyway." Gauss gently pushed the very-obviously-sleepy Alia back toward her room.
Her top priority now was diving back into bed.
"Sorry…"
She pressed her palms together apologetically before closing the door.
Gauss waved it off.
Long, high-intensity training—whether it's mental or physical—burns through energy at a rate most people can't even imagine.
And Gauss had come to realize one flaw in his "Enlightenment Technique" as well:
It worked too well.
The fatigue and drain it left behind were far greater than normal practice.
Out of everyone who'd trained yesterday, only Gauss and Hephaestus were still going strong the next day.
The rest—even warrior-class Albena—showed varying degrees of mental fatigue.
The next two days vanished into a blur of work.
Adventure contracts, travel, skill practice…
In a flash, it was already their sixth day in Lakeside Town—and the tenth day of the Blue Lake Hunting Festival.
The final day.
"Wait, isn't today the last day of the tournament?" Alia remembered suddenly, standing in the clearing.
"The scoring only stops at 6 p.m.," Seldon replied from the side.
He'd been quietly tracking the leaderboard and event info this whole time, more invested than Gauss himself.
"I checked again at noon. No one's caught up to the captain. He's sitting at 2666 points, and second place—Koman—is still stuck at 1215."
Gauss' point gains had slowed in the last two days.
Partly because no one was really chasing anymore, and partly because so many hunting parties had been sweeping the area that monsters around Lakeside were noticeably thinned out, which slowed everyone down.
"Slowed," here, only made sense relative to his own previous rate. Compared to everyone else, Gauss was still miles ahead.
Unless someone, starting now, could rack up more than 2666 points from zero in the last three or four hours.
Theoretically not impossible. Practically? Almost zero.
For Alia at least, no monster she could imagine could complete that kind of miracle.
Not even Gauss ten years from now, probably.
The number of monsters within the five-town radius was limited. With time capped as well, even sending in a double-digit-level master wouldn't help much.
Right now, Gauss was sparring with one of Shadow's clones, practicing his melee work and helping her get used to her new abilities.
Black shadows lashed up around his ankles.
They split into countless tendrils, slithering up his calves and thighs, trying to lock him in place with a chilling, numbing stiffness.
Gauss glanced down.
His feet exploded with power.
"Boom!"
A burst of force rippled out from his soles, tearing the ground open.
"Crack!!"
All the shadow-bonds around his ankles snapped apart like overtaut strings.
Shadow Bind was strong—but against Gauss, it still fell short. As long as his raw strength was high enough, he could muscle through the restraint with sheer explosive force.
He swung Zephyr, sending a clear arc of sword aura flashing out and slicing one of the shadow clones at the waist.
The clone shattered, dissolving into a swirl of black motes that flowed back into the real Shadow's body.
Gauss' magic missiles finished the second clone, blasting it apart just before it could fully retreat into the ground.
"Not bad. Still room to improve."
He walked back to the real Shadow.
She was gently rubbing the side of her head.
When a clone was "killed," it didn't harm her physically—but the feedback made it feel like she herself had been slain for a split second. It was deeply uncomfortable.
That, too, was something she needed to adapt to.
"Your hand-to-hand technique isn't strong enough. It's limiting how much your clones can do. You should probably bug Albena for some sparring time."
"…Got it."
Even if her clones hadn't lasted long against Gauss, they were already impressive.
Gauss was ridiculously strong to begin with, and he knew their style ahead of time. Of course he'd dismantle them easily.
If it had been anyone else seeing them for the first time, most would've been caught flat-footed. Getting half their normal performance out would already be good.
"Hey, how's Moonlight Glow coming along, Alia?" he called over.
"I fired it a few times already. I'm just restoring my nature energy now." Alia perked up, worried he'd think she was slacking off in the shade.
She just recovered faster surrounded by lush, living nature.
"Though… casting Moonlight Glow at noon isn't that impressive. It'll be better from darker spots."
"…"
Time drifted by.
By the time they returned to Lakeside Town, the streets were noticeably more crowded.
Adventurers from other towns were rushing back to update their scores before the deadline.
Even though everyone knew who the winner would be, almost every contestant wanted to nudge their final ranking a little higher.
If you'd signed up, you might as well cross the line in your best form.
Back in the Adventurers' Guild hub, they found the main hall packed almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
The guild's upper floor—where Gauss and his team usually went—wasn't as bad, but still far busier than usual.
Lines of adventurers snaked away from the registration counters.
When Gauss walked in, people naturally stepped aside on their own.
That's the kind of privilege strength and reputation bring. No one asked them to—folks just did it.
The town lord and several officials stood near the rankings monolith, talking in low voices, barely concealing their excitement.
Though Gauss wasn't technically a true local, as the contestant representing their town, his looming victory reflected on all of Lakeside.
A clerk hurried over to whisper something.
The lord and his cohort turned and headed toward Gauss.
"You must be Gauss, yes? Remarkable—truly remarkable. I'm Ansel, Lord of Lakeside Town."
The balding man smiled warmly.
"Sir Ansel. Hello."
Gauss shook his hand politely, still not entirely sure what the man wanted.
Ansel took his measure with an approving nod.
"Gauss, you've brought great honor to our town. Winning first place by such a margin—this is nearly unheard of in the tournament's history."
"You flatter me. The results aren't official yet," Gauss answered lightly. He wasn't the type to pop champagne at halftime.
"So modest." Ansel paused, eyeing the party behind him.
"If any of you need anything during your stay in Lakeside, come to me. We'll do everything we can to help."
"And, if you have some time tonight, would you do us the honor of attending a small celebratory banquet in the town hall?" he added. "It's for the top performers of the tournament—a small gesture of appreciation from Lakeside."
Gauss almost replied with a polite refusal. His instinct favored relaxing in a small tavern with his team over stiff formal events.
But he remembered there'd be reward selection and possible follow-up procedures. Having a good relationship with the lord and his officials could make that smoother.
So he changed it at the last second.
"We're honored to be invited."
"Wonderful!" Ansel's smile grew brighter. "The banquet will start at eight, in Blue Lake Hall at the town offices. Quite a few local notables, ladies, and outstanding adventurers will be there—a chance for you all to meet some new friends."
He couldn't help thinking of the instructions he'd given his daughter to dress her best. Had the maids remembered to steam that custom blue gown…?
Then he glanced at Gauss' teammates and sighed internally.
Armed with a father's harsh honesty, he had to admit his daughter probably didn't have much chance here.
After a bit more small talk, their conversation was cut short by a commotion in the middle of the hall.
The ranking stone in the center suddenly flared with light. With a chime, all the numbers froze.
As everyone expected, Gauss sat at the top with "2666" glowing golden beside his name.
The Blue Lake Hunting Festival had officially ended.
A wave of noise rolled through the hall.
Cheering, groans, laughs.
"I declare—"
Ansel raised his voice at just the right moment, drawing all eyes to him, beaming proudly.
"This year's Blue Lake Hunting Festival has successfully concluded! Our champion is—Lakeside's own Gauss! Let's congratulate him, and all the adventurers who fought so hard, with the loudest applause we can muster!"
Thunderous clapping.
Gauss simply smiled and accepted it, far from overexcited.
In his position, it was hard to genuinely feel a thrill over something like this—unless he was acting.
After lingering a bit longer, he and his team headed back to the inn to wash up and get ready for the banquet.
"Gauss, what do we even wear to something like that? I don't have any formal dresses," Alia asked, leaning in.
Albena looked a bit awkward too.
"Just normal clothes. Clean and tidy. Don't worry—we're the stars of the night. Just wear what you're comfortable in." Gauss shook his head, amused at their nervousness.
His mind had already wandered to the reward selection.
As champion, he'd get first pick of the magical items—two pieces, supposedly—and the so-called "Blessing of the Lake God." on top.
His Horn Bangle had just gone dead. Maybe he'd find something interesting to replace it.
Evening came.
Gauss pulled on a white mage's robe—not all that different from usual, really.
His group, on the other hand, had taken "just dress normally" and thrown it clean out the window.
When everyone regrouped, he realized each of them had pulled out their best.
"You said you didn't have a dress," Gauss teased, glancing at a fidgety Alia.
"I didn't then. That doesn't mean I couldn't go get one."
"So? How… how is it?" she asked nervously.
"It looks good," he said simply, nodding.
Alia wore a sky-blue evening gown. It matched her azure hair perfectly.
The fabric's faint shimmer flowed like moonlight—elegant, but still sharp enough to feel like an adventurer's.
Flushed at his praise, she spun in a small circle.
"Really? I… I don't wear skirts much…"
"Blue suits you."
"Gauss… what about me?" Albena asked, her deep voice rumbling at his side.
Gauss turned to look at her—and fell silent for a moment.
How was he supposed to even begin describing that?
~~~
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