"Finally cleared up!" Gauss opened the window, looking at the bright sunshine outside with a smile curling at his lips.
A few days ago, after submitting their commission and each member receiving their share of the reward, the team had originally planned to take on another assignment in a couple days.
But unfortunately, several more days of heavy rain followed.
So their original arrangements had to be postponed.
Gauss couldn't shake the feeling there was something odd about this rain, but he had no leads.
"Could we already be in the rainy season?" he wondered as he walked down the street for the first time in days.
Having been cooped up in the inn all this time, he'd had nothing to do but practice with his rapier in his room or chat with Sophia downstairs to pass the time.
A few more days of this and he'd have started feeling completely rusty.
Now that the weather had finally cleared, naturally he wanted to stretch his legs.
The town streets were crowded with bustling pedestrians and wagon teams.
"Hey you lot! Move faster! Or get out of this gentleman's way!"
A tall, shirtless half-orc was roaring at some pedestrians walking side by side ahead.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Gauss turned to look.
He wasn't involved, just curious what was happening.
As the rumors said, half-orcs tended to be hot-tempered and aggressive.
This one was no exception - its eyes bulged like bronze bells, apparently furious that the pedestrians ahead were moving too slowly and blocking the way.
If ordinary civilians had been on the receiving end of that roar and seen his extraordinary size, they might have backed down to avoid trouble.
But the man in front didn't seem like someone to be trifled with.
Hearing the half-orc's road rage-fueled bellow, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Turning around, he flashed a deliberately provocative smile at the half-orc.
There was a huge disparity in their sizes - the human man stood about 1.7 meters while the half-orc was nearly 2 meters tall, like a solid wall.
Yet not a trace of fear showed on the man's face.
Already furious, the half-orc's face flushed crimson at the provocation, completely losing control of his temper.
A massive fist carrying powerful momentum swung straight for the man's face.
Nearby pedestrians scattered in alarm, keeping their distance from the two.
Unexpectedly, the half-orc's powerful punch was effortlessly caught by the man's seemingly ordinary hands.
The fist couldn't advance an inch against those palms.
The half-orc's eye twitched, its previously enraged expression suddenly twisting into an awkward smile.
"Sorry about that, frie—"
Before it could finish groveling, a lightning-fast knee strike slammed into its abdomen.
As the man retracted his leg, the half-orc collapsed to its knees, retching violently.
Watching from a distance, Gauss's expression turned serious.
That terrifying strength defying the size difference could only belong to a professional.
Gauss replayed that kick in his mind - it had been too fast for him to even see clearly.
Even without entering accelerated thinking mode, this was frightening enough.
Not being able to track muscle movements with the naked eye...
No wonder people said professionals were human weapons.
There truly was an insurmountable gap between ordinary people and them.
Even a half-orc with inherited bloodline strength couldn't withstand a casual kick.
An ordinary human would fare even worse.
At close range, could I react in time? The thought flashed through Gauss's mind.
He quickly arrived at the answer.
Even with accelerated thinking allowing him to perceive the attack trajectory, his body couldn't physically react fast enough.
At a certain distance, he might be able to launch a Magic Missile attack.
But Gauss worried that given the opponent's physical abilities, he might lose target lock during casting.
"I'm still too weak."
After feeling somewhat accomplished within the Night Owl Squad, Gauss once again recognized his true level.
Against a professional, he probably wasn't much different from an ordinary person.
The crowd dispersed, no longer spectating for fear of attracting trouble.
Gauss also turned away, quickening his pace.
It wasn't that he feared trouble like the others - he just felt an urgent need to grow stronger.
They should take on another commission soon.
After informing the receptionist he was looking for Levin, Gauss went upstairs to the tavern's second floor rooms.
Levin rented here long-term.
Soon a voice called from behind the door.
After the sound of a chair being dragged, Levin soon opened the door.
"Here about the commission? I was just about to go find you."
Levin stepped aside to let Gauss in.
Though not luxurious, his room was fully furnished.
He seemed to have been maintaining his weapons when Gauss arrived.
An oaken greatshield sat on the table alongside beeswax, resin, a bristle brush and small iron scraper.
"I planned to visit you today," Levin said as he resumed shield maintenance. "Wanted to say if it's still sunny tomorrow, we'll meet at the Adventurers Guild."
"Since you're here, saves me a trip."
Levin stretched, clearly restless after days of rain.
A professional's skills would degrade without practice - not that a few days would make a difference, but Levin still felt uneasy.
Like lying around was reducing his chances of advancing as a professional.
"Want me to notify the others?"
"No need, I'll go myself this afternoon. Good chance to get out."
Gauss stayed awhile longer, observing Levin's shield maintenance techniques.
With his excellent memory, he quickly memorized the simple upkeep steps before leaving satisfied.
Gauss geared up and left the inn.
The Adventurers Guild was packed as usual.
Even more commission notices than normal were pinned to the walls.
"What missions should we take this time?" Doyle rubbed his hands excitedly. "I feel my Cross Slash is about to reach full mastery. I can sense it."
"You kept saying that last year too," Meva deadpanned.
"This time it's different!"
"Hmm, that's exactly what you said last year too."
Many adventurers often had this illusion that their skills were about to reach full mastery and enter the guided path stage.
After all, without clear quantitative indicators, they could only rely on personal feeling.
But feelings changed with mood and subjective thoughts - highly misleading.
"Just stay grounded. Careful - I've heard of adventurers who kept hallucinating they were about to enter the path until they had mental breakdowns," Oliver added, patting Doyle's shoulder.
Gauss watched silently.
Once again feeling grateful his skill proficiency was visibly quantifiable - what an overpowered advantage.