Gauss was not the only one conflicted;

the others were quietly thinking as well.

Choosing spells was neither trivial nor monumental.

For one thing, he might not get such a complete list again later.

Many spells, even if you had the money, weren’t always immediately available.

Some spellbooks or skill tomes might be out of stock or rare—these things weren’t always on hand.

Besides, it was best to pick skills that fit you as much as possible.

Choosing skills wasn’t purely a financial decision;

time investment had to be considered too.

If you spent a lot of time only to find a skill didn’t suit you or your team, or you couldn’t learn it at all, you’d waste precious time and energy.

Gauss hesitated for a long time.

In the end he finished making his selections.

“My choices are…”

Adelle looked over.

“Fireball and Fly.”

Although many spells tempted him,

after long consideration he chose those two.

Fireball was famous—he’d often heard it mentioned even before officially becoming a professional mage.

A powerful offensive spell was never too many for him,

after all, his strength came from becoming stronger by killing monsters logged in the Monster Encyclopedia.

As for Fly, it was because of the deep impression left by the Goblin Bat Knight the last time.

That night, they had survived because Shadow had bought them time and they slaughtered the knight’s companions, scaring it off,

but behind that apparent glory lurked danger.

If the Goblin Bat Knight hadn’t backed down and had instead kept circling above them under cover of night, continuously harassing them with attacks, they would have had no real counter;

they might even have been pushed to the brink.

As levels rise, the enemies they encounter could grow stronger, and flying enemies might appear more often.

If others can fly and your side cannot, you’re naturally at a disadvantage, taking hits with no way to respond.

Most offensive spells have limited range.

Even if you can reach them, if the distance is too great enemies can dodge, or the power is drastically reduced.

Putting that aside, Fly also grants your team greater mobility.

If you can’t win, and the enemy cannot fly either, at least you gain another escape route.

Whether you can actually get away is another matter—Fly has speed and duration limits.

But first you have to solve whether you can fly at all before worrying if it’s fast enough.

He had considered Counterspell but gave up that option after thinking it through, because most of the threats he faced were monsters, and not all monsters use spells. Besides, his Gauss Field and spell-resistance talent gave him confidence against magical attacks.

“Are you sure about picking these two third-circle spells?” Adelle asked, pausing for a moment while her finger rested imperceptibly on Gauss’s three-star adventurer badge, giving him a subtle reminder.

Her implication was obvious: he was still not a level 5 spellcaster. Choosing two third-circle spells so decisively—wouldn’t they be useless for now? He could have chosen one second-circle and one third-circle to transition.

“Is it against the rules to choose two third-circle spells?” Gauss scratched his head.

“It’s not that,” Adelle shook her head.

These commission rewards had a nurturing nature to them;

since Gauss had completed the task exceptionally, the Adventurers Guild didn’t fuss over these trifling matters.

“That’s good,” Gauss breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he looked at the rest of the rewards list.

Besides two self-selected skills, each person had 100 points,

and beside other rewards were the corresponding redemption costs.

For example, a trained ordinary level-2 griffin mount required 80 points, not including griffin-exclusive equipment, which had to be purchased separately, and the feeding costs were significant.

Griffins were even more expensive than Gauss had imagined.

He really couldn’t afford one.

No wonder he rarely saw griffin mounts outside.

So far he’d only seen Eberhard of Grayrock Town with one on his emblem, and a few knights who came to Grayrock from the provincial capital during the New Year.

Either they relied on local Adventurers Guild leaders, or they were part of the guard force attached to powerful nobles.

Ordinary adventurers simply couldn’t sustain them—just like luxury cars in his previous life.

Gauss gave up on becoming a noble griffin rider for now.

Maybe in the future, there would be a chance.

His eyes lingered over the list again.

“Huh?”

He suddenly spotted a special magical item that made his eyes light up.

The list let you redeem Mana Clay!

Mana clay dropped by a level-3 elite Ochre Slime upon death.

Normal Ochre Slimes were level 2;

stronger ones tended to yield higher-quality materials.

Thirty points for 400 pounds of mana clay.

It could barely form three goblin-sized bodies, or one relatively large goblin.

Although the quantity wasn’t huge, higher-quality material meant greater strength.

If he could create a level-3 clay construct, imagine how troublesome that would be from the enemy’s perspective.

This was a creature without pain, unafraid of death, that could be revived simply by recharging mana—normal level-4 or even level-5 monsters wouldn’t want to face them.

It was a pity the amount was small.

But thinking that producing that many mana clay would require many Ochre Slimes, Gauss relaxed.

After all, not all monsters could produce materials of such quality.

He silently checked that item off.

Then he glanced at others.

He didn’t need a magic wand;

none of the wands he could access would be better than what he already had, and future availability wasn’t guaranteed.

Armor—especially full heavy plate—was also unnecessary.

When he’d been a low-tier adventurer he had envied full plate armor, thinking being an “iron can” felt safe since ordinary weapons couldn’t pierce it.

But after becoming a professional, he’d become disenchanted.

For now, he pursued mobility. Excessive armor would severely slow his movement and reduce combat effectiveness,

and for protection he already had sufficient defensive spells.

“Medium Storage Bag” redemption required 30 points. (Limit 1)

Capacity: about 10 cubic meters (non-rigid)

Weight limit: 7,000 pounds

Description: 1. This storage bag must not exceed the specified volume and weight limits;

overloading may damage the bag, so use it with caution.

2. Regardless of contents, the bag’s own weight remains constant at 10 pounds.

...

Gauss thought carefully.

He felt the medium storage bag was a good choice.

Compared to the small storage bag he owned, the medium bag’s volume was over six times greater and its weight capacity was fourteen times higher.

A large-space storage bag was a must at any time.

Even if he didn’t need it later, it would be easy to sell—this sort of item rarely depreciated much, unlike many things that became hard to resell and suffered deep discounts.

Besides, he really did need a bigger bag now.

The team still used small storage bags.

With his growing accumulation of clay constructs, the small bag’s space was seriously insufficient, causing him to cut back on essential supplies.

He was about to redeem nearly two hundred kilograms of clay now;

he already had several hundred kilograms, and in the foreseeable future that number would keep growing.

His storage needs would only increase.

After a moment’s thought, he firmly checked the medium storage bag option.

Three tons of carrying capacity—enough for a long time.

Forty points remained.

Gauss picked carefully and, considering his situation, completed his final choices.

A profession swordsmanship skillbook, plus a swordsman of level 5 or above to pass on the technique and provide instruction.

He felt his own attributes might already allow him to open a second profession;

he’d wondered why progress had stalled.

Maybe he lacked higher-level skills and a master teacher.

Although he thought his basics were solid, in reality he was still an amateur who had joined midstream.

He had only ever learned from an apprentice-level swordsman.

This lesson might be what pushed him past that barrier.

Aria and the others finished redeeming as well.

Aria exchanged for a special rare item—the Living Bag—spending a full 70 points.

That was her big-ticket purchase.

The Living Bag had an inner space, but unlike a storage bag, it could contain living beings.

Whether it was Gauss’s ostrich mount or her animal companions—Ulfen, Eck, Scale Powder Butterfly—if they consented, they could be placed inside.

The Living Bag could exchange air freely with the outside;

as long as it wasn’t for too long, staying inside posed no danger to life.

From then on, the team would no longer need to find a village or a safe spot to leave mounts when traveling.

Aria hoped the team could save some travel time.

Besides the Living Bag, Aria spent 30 points on a new druid oak staff,

since her current staff had been used for quite a while.

For spells, Aria didn’t aggressively pick two third-circle skills like Gauss.

She chose a second-circle attribute enhancement and a third-circle Plant Growth.

Another team member, Serlandul,

perhaps considering they were level 4, exchanged two third-circle divine spells like Gauss did,

but purely as preparation for level 5 rather than Gauss’s approach of immediately wielding higher-level skills.

Serlandul chose Create Provisions and Mass Healing Benediction.

The former consumes energy to create clean food and drinking water sufficient to sustain a team;

the food tastes bland but is nutritious. Eating it can cure some illnesses and grant short-term immunity to most basic toxins and diseases.

His reason for choosing Create Provisions was obvious.

The captain eats a lot.

And he would probably eat even more in the future.

They had to prepare.

The food Create Provisions made wasn’t delicious, but when supplies were lacking you couldn’t be picky;

as long as there was something edible, that was fine.

The latter was an emergency mass heal that could restore multiple teammates simultaneously.

Aside from divine spells, Serlandul used his points to redeem a special wonder: the Fold House.

It looked like a knapsack of canvas size, but once activated and unfurled it could quickly generate a wide, sturdy magical house whose internal space expanded to comfortably accommodate the whole small team. It also had protective runes and detection runes.

It could effectively shield from wind and rain, warn and fend off low-level monsters or beasts, and maintain comfortable internal temperature and lodging conditions.

When folded back it returned to its original size.

However, in folded (inactive) form the Fold House could not carry living creatures.

This wonder was the most expensive redemption in their team;

the single item alone cost 100 points.

“Are you sure about redeeming that?” Gauss couldn’t help interjecting when he saw Serlandul checking the box.

That item would indeed help their team a lot—no more sleeping exposed to the elements while traveling.

A house felt different from a tent. The former created more comfortable rest conditions;

better rest meant the adventuring team would be in better physical and mental shape.

But even if the Fold House was good, it was ultimately a lifestyle wonder;

it could not increase Serlandul’s combat strength or survivability in battle.

“This is it. It suits our team well,” Serlandul nodded with satisfaction and didn’t regret his choice.

“All right then.” Since he had made up his mind, Gauss didn’t press further.

He felt a bit touched.

Even though his teammates were all support-oriented in the group, prioritizing the team like that was still admirable.

Gauss looked at Shadow last.

Unlike the others who happily finished their selections,

Shadow kept frowning, seeming to be deeply conflicted.

When the three of them stopped choosing, Shadow finally looked at Adelle and quietly asked,

“Can I think for two more days? I’ll come back in two days.”

Adelle hesitated a moment, glanced at the four of them as if she were understanding something, then nodded.

“All right, just don’t delay too long, please.”

Soon after, she put away the lists and fetched the items the three—Gauss and the others—had redeemed.

“Mr. Gauss, I’ve been free recently. If you want to learn that sword technique, you can come to the guild anytime. Tell any receptionist to let me know and I’ll come to instruct you.”

Just as she was about to leave the room, Adelle suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

“O-okay.” Gauss was startled for a moment, then answered.

He hadn’t expected the chosen instructor for that reward to be the receptionist who had been handling them—Adelle.

But recalling the fleeting sharp aura he’d sensed from her earlier, he wasn’t so surprised.

His impression had been correct;

Adelle was a professional of no low rank.

Gauss and the others left the VIP room.

After the commission ended and rewards were redeemed, one pressing question quickly stood before Gauss:

what to do about Shadow’s future with them.

Outside the Adventurers Guild,

Aria and Serlandul were still buoyed by the joy of their new acquisitions while Gauss mulled over the matter.

He looked at Shadow, who happened to be looking back.

He actually wanted to recruit Shadow, but he didn’t know what Shadow thought.

Before this informal commission, Shadow had been operating alone;

if it weren’t for being forced into this joint task by the Adventurers Guild, she would likely still be a lone wanderer in the wilds.

That alone revealed her attitude toward long-term teaming.

Also, Shadow had not exchanged rewards in front of the three earlier—maybe that was intentional?

After all, they were a temporary team;

perhaps she didn’t want them to know what she had redeemed or what skills she had taken.

Taking a deep breath, Gauss clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Let’s meet at a tavern tonight to celebrate the successful commission. There’s something I want to say.”

“Sure! I want a big meal,” Aria responded cheerfully, her face lighting up.

After so much busyness she was tired.

It was time to relax for a few days.

Shadow nodded in agreement.

The group found an inn around the Adventurers Guild and rented four rooms.

When night fell, after washing up and changing into casual clothes, the four met on the gradually lit street.