This higher benchmark is, in fact, the Tiefling Paladin, Pleos.
He possesses the power to swiftly kill Cecilia in a normal state.
This means that if Gauss were to fight him now, even with his full strength, he might still lose to Pleos.
And once his brief burst of power wanes, Pleos could easily kill him.
"Phew—"
Gauss let out a long breath.
After organizing his thoughts, he gained some understanding of his current strength stage.
This process is actually very important.
Only by knowing his own capabilities can he avoid enemies he cannot possibly defeat in advance.
He needs to "bully the weak" to gain access to greater power.
Once he becomes stronger, he can elevate the baseline of the "weak" and bully a new batch of enemies.
"Now, most 6-10 level Commander level monsters shouldn't be my match."
Gauss believed he could take on higher-level commissions.
