"It's snowing. How sudden." The two of them ate breakfast while discussing this unexpected early snowfall.

"In previous years, it never came this early, did it?"

"Indeed," Gauss nodded in agreement, though internally he didn't feel particularly strongly about it. While he had the original body's memories, not having personally experienced them himself made the difference quite noticeable.

But for Aria, who often traveled outdoors, this likely left a much deeper impression. "I have a feeling this year's Winter Hunt will probably start early," Aria continued. "We should prepare ourselves as soon as possible."

The light snowfall lasted only an hour or two before stopping. After the snow ceased, more people began appearing on the streets, with bronze-rank adventurers being particularly conspicuous. Clearly, Gauss and Aria weren't the only ones who realized this early snow might signal an advanced Winter Hunt.

Over the next few days, the two received notice from the Adventurers Guild and stopped taking outdoor missions. They took advantage of this time to focus entirely on training, hoping to improve their abilities before winter arrived.

Gauss poured all his energy into Magic Missile. Just days before, the spell had been only a few experience points away from leveling up. Although progress slowed after reaching level 3, through repeated casting and adjustments during intensive training, Gauss finally managed to fill the progress bar.

[1st-Circle Spell · Magic Missile Lv4 (1/100)]

The most noticeable change after upgrading from Lv3 to Lv4 was the significant improvement in target-locking speed! Previously, he had needed to focus intently before battle to lock onto enemies before successfully casting. Now, locking on had become much easier - with just slight mental concentration, he could smoothly anchor his target. His ability to lock onto moving targets had also improved considerably.

This was actually an extremely important upgrade. Though it might seem insignificant compared to power and projectile speed, target locking was the foundation for everything. Without this first step, successful spellcasting wouldn't be possible, let alone injuring or killing enemies. The most powerful spell would be useless if it couldn't hit its target.

Moreover, the higher the skill proficiency, the more Gauss could modify spell effects through extensive training. For example, his current goal of adding poison resistance to Gauss Field, or future attempts to increase the number of simultaneous missile launches, all required sufficient proficiency as a foundation. Higher proficiency meant deeper understanding of the spell's essence and greater room for customization - which was why many powerful mages or other professionals developed their own unique spell styles.

While Gauss trained diligently, Aria wasn't idle either - she too had made significant progress. First, she finally mastered the Divine Berry Spell, a divine spell she'd been practicing for some time but had been stuck at a crucial point. Fortunately, with Gauss's recent help, her progress had advanced rapidly.

Secondly, she had successfully contracted her seventh new avian companion - a raven. There were several reasons for choosing a raven over other birds of prey. Firstly, Grayrock Town's "pet market" wasn't as comprehensive as big cities', where any animal could be purchased readily. Secondly, compared to falcons, ravens were superior in intelligence and communication. With training, ravens could master simple human vocabulary - even someone like Gauss who couldn't understand animal language could receive accurate information.

Moreover, their abilities in map marking, warning signals, and identifying/reacting to forest anomalies far surpassed ordinary birds of prey. Additionally, ravens were more inconspicuous in urban settings. After being contracted, a raven could blend into wild crow populations or establish its own group, collecting and compiling information through communication with companions. This made them exceptionally qualified as intelligence-gathering "scouts."

Gauss and Aria, each having improved in their own ways, shared their achievements in an open area. Gauss accepted the "mana berry" Aria handed him, created through the Divine Berry Spell - a faintly glowing pale red fruit about the size of a fingertip.

"Want to try it?"

Gauss nodded and tossed the mana berry into his mouth. The moment it entered, the berry dissolved, its sweet juice flowing down his throat. Almost immediately, due to its magical properties, the berry's nourishing energy quickly spread throughout his body as an easily digestible pure energy.

Gauss's [Energy Storage Gland] talent immediately detected this energy. One naturally suited for absorption, the other naturally accelerating absorption - their combination was practically made in heaven. Soon, the mana Gauss had expended testing Magic Missile began recovering through the gland's conversion. Consuming mana berries bypassed the digestion process of regular food, going straight to absorption.

"Excellent," Gauss's eyes lit up. He had thought the berries created by the Divine Berry Spell might suit him, but hadn't expected such perfect compatibility. It was almost as if the spell had been tailor-made for him. This meant that in combat, as long as he had a supply of mana berries, he could replenish himself quickly.

"Aria, how many of these mana berries can you produce now?"

"Eight in a short time," Aria replied. "But I can make some in advance. However, mana berries don't store well - their magic dissipates and they spoil within 2-3 hours."

Gauss nodded. Having about a dozen for emergencies would be sufficient. He couldn't realistically treat mana berries as staple food anyway, especially since he still had frog jerky. Combining the two should provide excellent endurance. Besides, he couldn't treat Aria solely as a mana berry-producing machine - she needed to reserve her natural energy for casting other spells and divine magic.

After sampling the mana berry, Gauss turned his gaze to the raven playing in the air with the gray wolf Ur. The raven was larger than ordinary crows. Aria's raven was likely still in its adolescent stage, already about 50 centimeters long. Under normal development, ravens could grow to 60-70 centimeters with a wingspan of about 1.2 meters. With special breeding, they could become even larger. So while primarily positioned as intelligence-gathering scouts, they weren't weak in combat either.

As Gauss observed the raven, he felt intrigued. While appearing uniformly black at first glance, closer inspection revealed its feathers' tips shimmered with layered blue-black iridescence, like tempered metal. Its eyes were sharp, radiating intelligent spirit. Most striking were its beak and talons - the thick, obsidian-like beak resembled a curved hook, while its powerful claws were covered in scaly skin, sharp enough to tear through tough hide.

Could contracted ravens be used to recruit wild ravens and crows, expanding their own groups? That way, wherever Gauss's team went, an invisible network of crows could circle overhead, continuously providing intelligence. Gauss's mind raced with possibilities.

Aria had already called the raven over and introduced Gauss to her new companion. Being highly intelligent creatures, after receiving Aria's instructions, the raven sensibly showed affection toward its new master's ally, affectionately rubbing its head against Gauss's arm. Of course, Gauss's charm likely played a role too - this attribute wasn't only effective on humans but occasionally worked on neutral creatures as well.