At a little past eight in the evening, the Sparrow District on the city's edge had already fallen into silence, while the affluent White Dove District was still brightly lit.
The bustling shopping streets glowed with various magic lantern signs, and there were many stylishly dressed men and women. Occasionally, one could also see the unusual sight of beastmen and elf couples walking hand in hand.
Since a divine decree from the World Tree Goddess three hundred years earlier, the wars across the continent had ended, ushering in an era of peaceful coexistence among multiple races.
As indicated by the divine decree, the 'Demon King Satan,' sealed by the previous generation of heroes, was about to return from the Bottom of the Demon Realm. To select a new hero, the World Tree Goddess had placed the strongest weapon, "Hero's Sword", at the top level of the World Tree Secret Realm.
This further elevated the status of adventurers, and all intelligent beings living on the Mystic Continent aimed to reach the top of the World Tree and pull out the Hero's Sword.
At that moment, in a luxurious mansion in the Inner City District.
In a lavishly decorated living room, a young girl wearing a loose, orange long dress had fallen asleep on the couch.
Her red hair, as smooth as satin, spread out like a waterfall touching the floor.
Lia, having just come out of the bath, was relaxed and had planned to rest on the couch for a while but had unexpectedly drifted into deep sleep.
"—Without a doubt, the continent flourished because of the World Tree!"
Lia dreamt of ten years ago, hiding outside the windows of the Noble Academy, eavesdropping on a teacher's lecture.
"But what I need to clarify is, the World Tree we see is not its main trunk."
Is it not? Lia thought to herself.
She leaned in closer.
"The World Tree's roots spread across the continent. Those roots that break through the ground become smaller World Trees, which are what we see. Each World Tree has a different maximum number of levels, some only 5, some 20, but only the sacred World Tree in the center of the continent, in the Sanctuary, reaches the top level!"
"With each World Tree as a nucleus, the original adventurers gathered, multiplied, established villages, and as the population grew, these places gradually turned into towns and cities."
"That is the origin of our Red Heart City!"
"Do not dishonor the legacy of your city's founders. Strive to become adventurers, aiming to reach the top level of the World Tree!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh!"
The exhilarating shouts of children burst through the window.
The descendants of the founders are so great?
Beneath the window, Lia, dressed in grubby commoner's clothes, clutched her straight wooden stick tightly, her eyes filled with resentment for her own circumstances.
She thought, one day she would become a top-level adventurer, a person respected by all, not someone hiding under someone else's classroom to learn.
Time seemed to accelerate by tens of thousands of times, and after a dizzying spin, Lia realized she had left Red Heart City and arrived in a dirty, rundown rental in White Dove City.
A pitted redwood round table, and a persistent musty smell that never dissipated.
A bunch of people squeezed together, the air so thin it seemed one had to struggle with each breath.
Those poor memories prickled at Lia's nerves every time she recalled them.
"Please take everyone with you, without exception, and conquer the top level of the World Tree!"
The sudden sound of a familiar voice made Lia's eyelids twitch; she saw, not far in front of her, among five people gathered around the round table, a red-haired girl, noticeably younger than herself, suddenly stood up and bent over to plead with the Healer in their team.
Lia's face darkened instantly; why did it have to be that day?
She woke up from the nightmare.
Groggily sitting up from the couch, she touched her forehead, which was covered in sweat.
'Take everyone with you, without exception, and conquer the top level of the World Tree?'
How naive she had been back then, and Lin Da had actually agreed with a serious face.
Lia found it a bit funny, anyone in the adventure team knew that it was impossible not to have personnel changes when summiting the World Tree.
With a total of fifty layers in the Mystic Realm, each layer had several random maps, populated by various types of Guardians.
Relying on just a few fixed team members wasn't feasible to handle all the Guardians.
Personnel changes were too normal, the main members of the Snow Goose Adventure Team had not changed for three years, which in the eyes of other adventurers was "abnormal".
As the leader of the Snow Goose Adventure Team, Lia should have kicked out Lin Da, a 15th-level member, a long time ago, but out of old loyalty, she had kept him, paying him the salary of a main team member.
After returning from the World Tree, Lia thought about it all afternoon but still couldn't understand the reason Lin Da had quit the team.
She sulkily took out a bottle of juice from the refrigerator and began to sip from it with both hands held around it.
Lia recalled that before she had asked Lin Da to lead everyone to the top of the World Tree while in the rental house, Lin Da had been amazing, capable of guiding the team through higher levels with lower ranks.
But since she had asked him, although the team's level had already surpassed the recommended strategy level of the Adventurer's Guild, he still refused to progress, insisting that everyone master the level to handle all bosses without getting injured.
If Lin Da had used his previous capabilities, they could have easily moved on, right?
The more Lia thought about it, the angrier she got.
"Is dinner not ready yet?"
Having finished her juice, she banged the table in frustration.
When no response came after waiting for a long while, it was the first time this had ever happened.
Lia was stunned for a moment, then looked around and realized that the living room was empty, just her alone.
Aiko and Klrona were probably in their rooms, Klyne and Oru, the couple, had bought a house in installments and didn't live here.
"Where's the food, the food!"
Lia bit her lip in frustration.
Normally at this time, Lin Da would have already prepared dinner, and all they had to do was eat, but Lin Da had suddenly left the team, and she hadn't had the time to hire a new cook.
With her stomach growling non-stop, Lia, full of resentment, went to the fridge to look for something to eat.
From the storage level equipped with a freezing array below, she dug out a few bags of dumplings.
"We'll just eat this tonight."
Lia saw the hand-written label on the packaging, which was pork and chive filling, and felt a bit calmed.
This strange delicacy, wrapped in dough, she often used as a midnight snack.
It's just that before, she only had to yell and someone would boil the dumplings; now, she had to cook them herself.
Lia found it quite fresh and entered the kitchen, full of zest, with the dumplings in hand.
It was her first time doing this, giving her the thrill of an adventurer entering a new Mystic Realm.
After some fiddling, she finally managed to light the stove; a pale blue flame rose up, next was to pour water into the pot... Although she had never seen Lin Da do it, she could guess how it was done.
After pouring in the water, Lia poured a big bag of dumplings into it with a splash.
This much was enough for three people to eat.
Lia tied on an apron, crossed her arms over her chest, and smugly imagined the scene where Aiko and Klrona would be in disbelief, praising her.
Gurgle, gurgle, not long after, the cold water heated up to boiling and started to bubble.
Lia stared with wide eyes in confusion. What happened? The dumplings had all burst open, and the filling was spilling everywhere!
"Aiko, Aiko, come here, there's a problem!"
Lia shouted as she clumsily tried to salvage the dumplings in the pot.
A while later, Aiko, with her face covered in cucumber slices, came downstairs from the second-floor bedroom in a huff.
Her wheelchair, a custom model from the Alchemist Guild powered by a Demon Core, had no trouble with stairs.
"What's wrong?" Aiko arrived at the kitchen.
"The dumplings' skins have all burst." Lia said in frustration, "Why must they give me such a hard time too!"
Aiko glanced at them and immediately understood the problem, somewhat speechless, "Did you boil them in cold water?"
Aside from fighting, the captain was truly useless at everything.
Aiko thought indignantly, even unable to cook properly, she really didn't know where Lia found the confidence to agree to Lin Da's departure from the team.
Fortunately, the girl wasn't stupid enough to throw the resignation letter directly at Lin Da. Until she formally cancels the contract at the Adventurer's Guild, Lin Da was still technically a member of the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
This was an opportunity to seize, and Aiko needed to take the chance to properly persuade Lin Da to stay.
Aiko pushed back her thoughts, looked up at Lia, and said with a pretended smile, "Of course they would burst, you have to use boiling water, don't you know even this?"
"I've never made dumplings before, how was I supposed to know that? What right do you have to criticize me?" Lia threw her spoon onto the stove and retorted forcefully.
Aiko grew even more frustrated to the point that she felt her patience was wearing thin.
It was always like this; nothing was ever Lia's fault. If a mistake was made, she always shifted the blame onto the team members.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing the veins jumping on her forehead, Aiko said through clenched teeth, "Go rest, throw these out, I'll make a new batch."
"That won't do, wasting food is not a good habit." Lia refused.
Aiko wanted to swear.
That was typical stingy adventurer logic, able to be swindled out of a hundred Gold Coins for gear but so frugal over small expenses like clothing and food, unwilling to lose even a single copper coin.
She forcibly contained her anger, ushered Lia into the living room, and dished out the dumplings to bring them to the table.
"Pig feed?" Klrona, who had been starving waiting at the table since she came down from the second floor, scratched her head in confusion at the sight of the ragged dumplings in the plate.
"I made them," Lia narrowed her eyes.
Klrona didn't dare to say another word.
With a pained expression, she swallowed a half-cooked dumpling and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Aiko, when is Lin Da coming back?"
In Klrona's eyes, the concept of Lin Da leaving the team wasn't quite clear.
It probably meant he would return by evening.
"Uh, well..." Aiko glanced at Lia.
Lia said nothing, furiously stuffing dumplings into her mouth as if trying to prove to the two of them that they were in fact edible.
"He'll be back tomorrow, right?" Klrona looked at Aiko hopefully.
"It'll take a few days, Lin Da went out to clear his head," Aiko said as she patted Klrona's head. While she spoke to Klrona, she cast a sidelong glance at Lia, clearly noticing that the moment Lin Da was mentioned, Lia's dumpling-packing hand stiffened unnaturally.
Aiko sneered inwardly.
She really didn't want to clean up after Lia.
But the Snow Goose Adventure Team indeed needed Lin Da, even if his level was a bit low. Having him at home developing strategies or cooking would be beneficial.
She needed to persuade Lin Da properly and convince him to come back as her own... oh no, that's not right, as a teammate.
A faint blush crept over Aiko's cheeks as she seemed to think about something.
All three of them were preoccupied, and silence ensued at the table, leaving only the sound of eating.
This quietness seemed to make Lia quite uncomfortable; her right foot kept tapping the ground beneath her, an irritating sound.
Aiko always had the feeling that it wouldn't be surprising if this powder keg exploded at any moment.
Why didn't she use her own skills to beg Lin Da to return?
She was only good at giving team members dirty looks, wasn't she?
Aiko couldn't take it anymore and coughed lightly, confronting the issue head-on, "I will find a chance to talk to Lin Da."
Lia, sipping her juice with her head lowered, did not respond, but the tip of her foot that had been tapping stopped.
Noticing this detail, Aiko's disdain for Lia was almost overflowing like a sea. She tried her best not to let this expression show on her face and said calmly, "I'll go ask him if he's realized his 'mistake'."
Before she had finished speaking, she heard Lia snort coldly.
"Anyway, I won't let him rejoin the team."
Aiko smiled, wanting to smack the bowl down on Lia's head.
'It's Aiko and the others who want you back. I didn't agree! If you really want to come back, then work hard and don't slack off!' Aiko could completely imagine the scene when Lin Da returned.
Thump thump thump!
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
All three turned to look.
Aiko thought to herself, "I'll go take a look."
What if it was Lin Da outside?
She couldn't let that little bitch Lia have alone time with Lin Da, not late at night with just the two of them, too dangerous.
Aiko opened the door, holding a sliver of hope as she stepped outside.
But it wasn't Lin Da.
A group of young men were gathered at the villa's entrance.
The leader was a neatly dressed, lean young man, with a band around his head that read 'Ice Flower Adventure Team Support Group Leader'.
Aiko's face twitched, these people, they're what you call 'homebodies', right? Ones who don't dare venture into the Mystic Realm, but idolize adventures so much that they make someone else's adventure team their spiritual pillar.
What disgusted her even more was that this group was the Support Group for the Ice Flower Adventure Team.
Ever since she heard that Isa had invited Lin Da to join the team, she hadn't felt good about Isa at all.
"This is the Snow Goose Adventure Team. Haven't you arrived at the wrong place?"
Aiko smiled warmly, like a mature big sister, perfectly concealing her true inner thoughts.
"So elegant! You truly deserve the title of 'Holy Mage' Aiko!"
"So gentle, we won't get scolded even for disturbing her in the middle of the night."
"From today on, Miss Aiko will be my second spiritual pillar."
The crowd cheered and hollered excitedly.
Aiko caressed her cheek, casually revealing a strand of snowy white at her shoulder, smiling radiantly, "So, why have you all come to the Snow Goose Adventure Team? Is there something you need, or are you lost?"
The group was so mesmerized they found their mouths going dry, but thankfully the leader Dawen was resolute, pinching his thigh hard as he said, "Actually, we're here to see Mr. Lin Da."
Lin Da?
Aiko's expression changed.
The matter of Lin Da leaving the team was currently only being whispered among a few adventurers; ordinary people like Dawen were still unaware.
She didn't mention the fact that Lin Da had left the team and asked indifferently, "What do you want with Lin Da?"
"It's like this..."
Dawen retold the events of the afternoon, when Lin Da had helped the Ice Flower Adventure Team out of a crisis, clearing the twelfth floor.
"We wanted to find Lin Da to thank him, to express our gratitude for his help with the Ice Flower Adventure Team!"
"Also, to warn Lin Da not to lay a hand on our Captain Isa!"
"Captain Isa belongs to our Support Group!"
Facing this group of nerds, seriously uttering revolting words, Aiko could barely keep the smile on her face from faltering.
Lin Da... he helped Isa clear the twelfth floor?
How could he do that, what right did he have?
Aiko felt a faint jealousy.
And it was lucky that it was her who came to the door; if it had been Lia, she probably would have had a stroke on the spot.
The Snow Goose Adventure Team struggled and fumbled through nine floors, yet once outside, a few sentences from Lin Da helped Ice Flower clear the twelfth.
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