Why are all your skill bars full of weird moves?

Zoe's soul drifted in from the entrance of the hall and finally stopped in front of Karl.

She squatted down, tilting her head to look at her father who was facing the floor tiles.

Fine cracks appeared on Karl's skin, and ash kept peeling off from the cracks.

Balk gripped the broken sword and instinctively took half a step forward.

"There's no need," Gauss raised his hand to stop him. "He's no longer a threat."

Balk opened his mouth, but said nothing more.

Zoe extended her translucent hand and hovered it over Karl's cheek.

"dad."

Karl rolled over, the cloudiness in his pupils fading.

"Zoe... Daddy can finally see you."

Carl's voice had completely changed. It was no longer the condescending mockery of before, but rather hoarse, weak, and trembling.

"Dad, you said you would come home and play with Zoe."

You're lying.

"……sorry."

Carl raised his hand, wanting to stroke his daughter's hair, but his fingers passed right through her translucent body.

His hand, which was hanging in the air, curled up, his expression a mixture of bitterness and helplessness.

"Your father has prevented your soul from resting in peace... I'm so sorry, Dad..."

Zoe just shook her head at those words, unaware that she was dead or what it meant to rest in peace.

Karl turned his gaze to Gauss a few steps away. In Gauss's eyes, which were gradually regaining their clarity, there was pain, weariness, and a certain urgency.

"Gauss..."

Don't expect me to show you any mercy.

"I don't need it, but there's something you must hear."

"explain."

"You killed me, and you did the right thing." Karl's voice trailed off. "But you don't understand, my very existence... is a lock."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Killing me, this demon, will unleash an even more terrifying devil."

Gauss stared at Carl's mutilated face, recalling the events of the past and the clues he had gathered.

I never imagined that this sentence would mean anything.

Could it be that the devil Carl was referring to was his own profession?

"so what?"

Karl reached into his waistband with his right hand, fumbled for a moment, and pulled a rhombus-shaped crystal from his pocket.

The crystal was entirely black, but its interior was filled with dark purple light patterns.

"You want to know the secrets of this town... and get the Veil's letter of recommendation..." Karl tossed the crystal toward Gauss. The small black object traced a brief arc in the air before being caught by Gauss with one hand.

"Then make your own choice."

Carl turned to face Zoe, who was squatting beside him, and his lips moved.

"Zoe, Dad... has to go out for a while."

He struggled to raise his arms, spreading his fingers, as if trying to embrace his daughter.

That action was so familiar, just like what every father does before putting his child to sleep.

But fingertips can pass through an illusory body, grasping only air.

He couldn't stop embracing her.

Zoe's face showed confusion, which quickly turned into displeasure, and she pouted.

"Bad dad, you're going to lie to Zoe again."

Karl's arm fell, slamming into the floor tiles. His knuckles were already becoming transparent, and ash spread from his torso to his limbs.

On his deathbed, he remained silent, only a slight smile playing on his lips.

There might be relief in the smile... or a trace of regret.

The wind cannot reach this underground palace, yet the ashes still scatter. Like the last few fallen leaves before winter, swept away by time.

When the ashes settled, only the greatsword remained on the ground.

Zoe's soul floated up and moved toward Gauss, tilting her head.

"Thank you, big brother, for helping Zoe find her father."

Gauss remained silent.

"Zoe is going home. Dad said he'll come looking for her."

The translucent figure drifted towards the entrance of the main hall, growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared into the darkness.

Come back home.

The seal on the third floor has been purified, and that oak door can no longer contain anything.

Zoe's soul will return to her little bed, continuing to hug her plush rabbit, waiting for someone who will never come back.

Gauss clenched the rhombus-shaped crystal in his palm and lowered his hand.

There are more important things to do right now.

He walked towards the spot where Karl had vanished and activated the Eye of Destiny.

【Embers】

Quality: Purple (Epic)

Type: Two-handed sword

Strength attribute: +2

Additional special effect: When worn by warriors and barbarians, increases the damage of [Whirlwind Slash] by 15%.

Two-handed sword, with increased damage from spinning slashes; this weapon has absolutely nothing to do with Gauss.

A wandering swordsman wielding two swords – you can imagine how ridiculous that scene would be.

Furthermore, Balk fought until his longsword broke, but he never retreated a single step.

I wonder how much it would hurt him to buy a new one.

"Balk, I think this sword suits you quite well."

The kobold Balk was wiping the dried blood from his chin with his sleeve when he heard this, and he was completely stunned.

"Wait, bro."

He staggered over and glanced at the cross-shaped greatsword, his pupils suddenly shrinking.

"This sword doesn't look cheap at all. You know the team rules: if you need a high-quality weapon, you have to pay the team at least 100 gold coins." Balk rubbed his hands together, his expression extremely conflicted. "I don't even have two gold coins on me. I simply can't afford something like this."

Gauss didn't reply, but simply turned around and looked in the direction of Mia and Ula.

There was no speaking, no hints, not even a superfluous expression.

But that quiet look in his eyes is enough.

Mia nodded first.

"Mr. Balk, you've paid so much, my opinion is that there's no need to pay the difference."

Ula brushed aside the stray hairs falling across her forehead, her tone returning to its usual arrogant manner.

"Once we leave here, don't go around saying that I, Ula, gave away equipment for free. If word gets out, I'll lose face at the academy."

Balk opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, unable to think of any words to deal with the situation.

He grew up in the lower echelons of adventurer guilds and had seen too many teams turn against each other over a piece of equipment.

Right now, a weapon in good condition, which is exactly what warriors need, would fetch at least 200 gold coins at the auction house.

But he had never encountered anything like what these people did in his more than twenty years of life.

But we also know who decided whether this weapon should stay or leave.

"...Thanks, Gauss." Balk took a deep breath, his voice rough. "Thank you all too."

At that moment, a muffled rumbling sound came from the throne.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw the stone of the throne crumble, debris flying everywhere, and a pillar about half a person's height rising from the crack.

Gauss walked over and found a groove at the top of the cylinder, the shape of which looked exactly like a rhombus crystal.

He didn't rush to put it in, but instead activated the Eye of Destiny to scan.

[The Judge's Perspective]

How to use: Insert the crystal into the corresponding base to access the Arbiter's memory fragments (only one person can pass at a time).

Note: Your choice will determine whether you receive the [Veil Recommendation Letter] and the latest combat skills.

Gauss gripped the crystal tightly, his breathing quickening.

Basic attacks are sufficient, but who would complain about having too many skills?

Moreover, the Night Watcher's combat skills are an indispensable piece of the puzzle on the path to job advancement.

Not to mention, the mining town is strange from beginning to end.

Now that we've come this far, no matter what's inside the prism, we must get our hands on the answers and the combat techniques.

Gauss turned to the three men and said:

"I need to go somewhere. You can wait here or go out first."

"But I suggest you don't rush back to town."

Balkben was stroking the greatsword as if it were his lover's beautiful legs when he heard Gauss's words and immediately came back to his senses.

"Brother, this godforsaken place only has one entrance, where else can you go?"

Gauss did not answer, but instead pressed the rhombus-shaped crystal into the groove at the top of the cylinder.

Click.

Dark purple light patterns emanated from the center of the groove, spreading wildly along the rune patterns to the entire cylinder, covering the gray surface of the stone with purple light.

The air behind the cylinder began to distort.

Unlike the red cracks in the magic circle on the third floor, this spatial tear was a pure blackish-purple, with tiny arcs of electricity crackling at its edges.

The interior is deep and bottomless, with only faint starlight.

"I have my own mission to accomplish."

Gauss had his back to the three people and was facing the portal.

Mia took two quick steps forward, her silver pendant swaying in front of her chest.

"Aren't we...aren't we teammates?"

"Whatever's inside, we can go together."

"Need not."

"I have to face this alone."

Ula was silent for a few seconds, then held the staff upright in front of him and tapped the ground with the base of the staff.

"We're waiting for you to come back."

She paused, then added.

"Don't die inside."

Gauss's lips twitched slightly, so slightly as to be almost imperceptible, before he stepped into the portal.

As the dark purple light engulfed Gauss's silhouette, the portal gradually closed under the watchful eyes of the three.

The main hall returned to silence.

Balk scratched the back of his head and muttered something.

"Just who is this guy...?"

Ula did not answer.

She remembered the name Karl had called out before he died.

The Watcher of the Eternal Night.

This title has never been recorded in any of the known texts of the entire continent of Vivana. And Gauss, a seemingly ordinary ranger, was singled out and identified by an elite monster.

She tightened her grip on her staff and silently lowered her head.

"Everyone..." Mia began hesitantly, "Should we... put those dead children down first?"

"I want to pray for them."