Chapter 48: The Big Brother in the Team
In everyone’s unwavering gaze, the bulk of the Water Wraiths finally arrived near the trap, and the nearest ones began impatiently scrambling for the rotten corpses on the ground.
Their slender, clawed fingers clawed at the soft, gooey, bloodied flesh and brought it to their mouths.
They ate while emitting low growls, looking as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Gauss felt physiologically disgusted at the sight, especially recalling the powerful stench he had smelled from afar while setting the trap—he was even on the verge of vomiting.
Although they looked somewhat human, in habits and nature, Water Wraiths were completely different creatures from humans.
Seeing them treating those corpses, fouler than excrement, as delicacies made Gauss resolutely reject any folk rumor that Water Wraiths originated from drowned humans.
He believed they must be thoroughly and completely severed from that myth.
When the Water Wraiths were feasting and their guard dropped, Meiva began signaling to Gauss.
Seeing her gestures, Gauss immediately returned a signal.
It was their prearranged cue, meaning it was time to spring the net.
Gauss then cast Mage Hand.
At the movement of his mind, an invisible phantom hand materialized a few meters in front of him.
The Mage Hand floated outward and triggered the previously arranged mechanism.
“Shu!”
In the next moment, a large net sprang up from the ground, cutting off the Wraiths’ retreat route back to the river.
At the same time, Meiva triggered her trap.
Since the riverbank was open and sparse, many traps couldn’t be set there, so Meiva used the Water Wraiths’ fear of fire to arrange a fire trap.
“Cha!”
A flaming arrow landed precisely among dried reeds soaked in oil and pine resin.
“Boom!!!”
Almost instantly, massive tongues of fire rose around the arrow.
The nearest Wraiths were engulfed by the flames, collapsing to the ground, rolling frantically as they emitted harsh, hoarse roars.
“Yah!!!”
The Water Wraiths not reached by the flames panicked and instinctively tried to flee back to the water—but their retreat was cut off.
Though the net wasn’t especially sturdy, it held them back for a moment.
On either side of the enclosure, the party lay in wait.
The squad formed a pincer and surrounded the bulk of the Wraiths.
“Don’t let any of them escape!”
Water Wraiths on land weren’t especially tough foes, but if they returned to the water, they’d hold the terrain advantage, and that would be much more troublesome.
Levin, Gauss, and the others stepped forward.
Capture the leader to catch the rest.
Gauss looked at the small Wraith leader who was still barking orders, and immediately swung his staff.
Mana surged rapidly through the staff.
A cerulean orb of energy coalesced before him.
He focused his intent on targeting that lead Wraith; in the next moment, at the thought, the Magic Missile shot forth like an arrow released from a bow.
“Magic Missile!”
The lead Wraith saw the flicker of light and tried instinctively to dodge.
But the speed of a Tier 1 Magic Missile was no match for a mere Water Wraith.
“Bang!”
The Magic Missile struck precisely at its rotten, soft neck; with a burst of arcane energy, the neck was blasted apart, cleanly separating the head from the body!
“Thud!”
The head hit the ground and rolled far away.
"Water Wraith *1 killed."
"Total monsters killed: 41."
"Title earned: [Water Wraith Hunter]. This title will level up as you kill more of this race!"
"Current title effect: Dancer. In battles against Water Wraiths, it becomes easier to predict their next move and react in advance. Current bonus: 10%."
Having successfully killed a Water Wraith, Gauss unlocked his fourth entry in the Monster Encyclopedia and earned the hunter title specific to Water Wraiths.
Judging by the effect of the title, it seemed to enhance his predictive reactions during combat with Water Wraiths.
Combined with his accelerated brain state, ordinary Water Wraiths would likely find it very difficult to land a hit on him.
Gauss stowed away his staff, drew his rapier, grabbed his round shield, and charged forward with Levin.
The reason he had only used Magic Missile once and stopped was because Levin had secretly told him something during dinner.
At that time, Gauss had privately asked Levin to help him create more kill opportunities tonight.
Levin had agreed and shared his own uneasy premonition in the process.
Though Gauss wasn't sure how reliable Levin’s instincts were, he decided to conserve some of his mana just in case something unexpected occurred.
In fact, if it weren’t for the tactical benefit of killing the Wraith leader first to throw the others into leaderless confusion, he wouldn’t have used even that one Magic Missile.
"Kill them all!"
Doyle excitedly charged in at the front.
Gauss’s speed was no slower.
With his brain once again entering accelerated mode, the world around him began to slow down.
And this time, unlike before, he felt much more at ease facing the Water Wraiths.
It was as if he were an expert who had studied them for years—just a glance was enough for him to predict their next move.
The Dancer effect was reassuring.
Gauss rushed to a Water Wraith, raising his small round shield.
The shield appeared directly in the Wraith’s slashing path, blocking it steadily in advance.
"Thud!"
The wooden shield gave off a dull thump as it blocked the strike.
A flash of cold light!
Without pause, Gauss, who had just taken the Wraith’s claw hit, drove his rapier forward like a venomous snake, piercing directly toward the Wraith’s heart.
Its gray-green slimy skin burst like a punctured balloon the moment the tip made contact, splitting instantly.
The weak, soggy muscle tissue inside was also thoroughly pierced by the blade.
The rapier drilled a bloody hole, twisted, and withdrew.
With the momentum, the small round shield swatted the now-limp Water Wraith away.
The entire process flowed smoothly like a practiced dance!
"Water Wraith *1 killed."
"Total monsters killed: 42."
Only 8 left!
"Gauss, over here!" Levin suddenly called out from the distance.
Gauss looked over and saw that Levin was indeed doing as they had planned earlier.
He had used his skill to knock several Wraiths flying at once, creating kill opportunities for Gauss.
Silently grateful, Gauss didn’t waste Levin’s effort.
With a gust at his feet, he charged in with rapier in hand, executing each Water Wraith that was struggling to rise from the ground.
His rapier was like a scythe in the hands of death, reaping one life after another with every flicker.
"Water Wraith *1 killed."
"Water Wraith *1 killed."
...
Stabs, slashes, shield strikes, sinister arrows tearing through the night sky...
After being ambushed by traps and then losing their small leader, the Water Wraiths kept falling one by one in the team's massacre.
"Total monsters killed: 49."
Seeing that only one kill remained, Gauss looked around at the battlefield, now littered with corpses.
Scanning the area, he spotted the last Water Wraith being dealt with by Doyle.
"Doyle, leave the last one to me!"
Gauss didn’t want to leave this special opportunity for the next quest, and his tone grew urgent.
Just as Doyle was about to leap forward for a strike, he paused for a moment after hearing Gauss, sighed, and stepped back a few paces.
Without turning around, he kept his eyes on the Wraith and waved his hand, signaling that he would leave this one to Gauss.
He had no choice—after all, Gauss was the big brother in the team now.
Faced with the overwhelming tide, even the proud Doyle had to lower his head.