Chapter 2: 2. I withdraw from the team.
Lia felt offended.
She gritted her teeth and said, "If you're unwilling, then don't come, Young Lady will find another Healer!"
After hearing Lia's words, Lin Da felt a complete chill in his heart, yet he also felt relieved.
Perhaps he had always been waiting for an opportunity like this, to give himself a reason to leave this suffocating place with perfect justification.
"What are you dazing off for? Remember to gather on time tomorrow, otherwise Young Lady will really find another Healer!"
Lia said irritably, then yawned, ready to return to her bedroom to rest.
"I'm leaving the team."
Lin Da suddenly declared.
"What?"
Lia's hand, reaching for the doorknob, froze.
She seemed to have completely not anticipated this turn of events.
A look of astonishment flickered in the girl's ruby-like large eyes, as if she couldn't comprehend what Lin Da was saying.
Lin Da stood up, towering over Lia, who was more than a head shorter, still with her mouth open and a somewhat vacant expression.
"There's no need to wait until tomorrow, you can now contact that Healer named Phyllis to join the Snow Goose Adventure Team."
Having said that, he grabbed a brown jacket, put it on, and headed for the door.
"Stop right there!"
As Lin Da stepped toward leaving the room, a piercing voice came from behind.
One could tell that Lia was shaken; otherwise, her voice wouldn't have sounded as shrill as a chicken being stepped on the neck.
Expecting to hear some words of retention, Lin Da paused his steps.
But what followed was a barrage of the girl's complaints and incomprehension.
"All I asked was for you to wake up a bit earlier tomorrow and go to the ninth floor together, and now you want to leave the team? Is it necessary?"
Lia's face turned red with anger, her chest heaving violently.
She really wished she could rush over and give Lin Da a harsh kick, then grab his ear and ask loudly once more: Do you even know what you're talking about?
The Snow Goose Adventure Team was initially established by three people, one of them being Lin Da. Lia had considered the possibility of anyone leaving the team, but she had never thought that Lin Da would be the one.
After all, even the name of the adventure team was something she came up with alongside Lin Da; how could anyone abandon their own team and choose to leave?
Lia took a deep breath, clenched her fists tightly, and with a voice that was cold and slow yet extremely firm, she said, "Lin Da, if you dare leave, don't ever come back."
"Mhm."
Lin Da nodded.
This casual 'mhm' made Lia's expression even uglier.
She said, "Young Lady will definitely recruit that Phyllis into the team by tomorrow."
"Whatever."
"There will be no place for you, you know?"
"Mhm."
Lin Da didn't bother with Lia, who stood with a foolish expression like a pillar in his own room.
If it had been Lia from three years earlier showing this kind of expression, Lin Da would have offered a few words of comfort, but now, he found he had neither the sentiment nor the inclination to do so; it was as though he was looking at a stranger, feeling completely indifferent.
Lin Da thought with self-mockery, he should never have accepted Lia's invitation to create the Snow Goose Adventure Team from the start.
Comrades for three years, and in the end, it amounted to nothing.
Thud, thud.
The sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed around the spacious villa, seeming somewhat cold and lonely.
Lin Da entered the living room.
"It's late at night, stop playing and go to bed."
"Still reading at this hour? It's bad for your skin."
As he passed through the living room, he noticed the other two Young Ladies of the team hadn't gone to sleep yet.
The former was a mature and seductive-looking Mage Miss from the Holy Light Church, Aiko, lounging on the sofa in a white dress that hugged her breathtaking curves, lazily flipping through a fashion magazine with the latest summer releases,
The latter was the undersized little tyke, Klrona, with pink twin tails, serving as a Heavy Armored Warrior, and playing Whack-a-Mole with a fiercely competitive expression on her face.
Lin Da had a rather good relationship with these two Young Ladies, certainly much better than with Bilya.
"So late, where are you going?" Aiko laid down her magazine and looked quizzically at Lin Da, tilting her head.
Klrona, on the other hand, acted as if Lin Da didn't exist, wishing he wouldn't come back for the night. A new board game had recently come out in the shops, and she planned to play all night long; Lin Da being home would definitely have something to say about it.
"Nothing much, just going out for a walk."
Lin Da smiled softly, not planning on telling the two about his resignation from the team.
He was really afraid they might show a sign of happiness, just Lia alone was enough to chill his heart.
"Oh, come back early," Aiko said, sensing something was a bit off in his expression, but didn't think much of it.
Both of them, including Klrona who was thoroughly enjoying her game of Whack-a-Mole, were unaware that this was Lin Da's last day with the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
Lin Da walked out of the villa and blended into the dark night outside.
This villa was located in a luxury community in White Dove City, with wide and clean roads, and the deep night of summer was very quiet, with only scarce chirping of insects to be heard.
It was unlike the small shabby house they first rented in Sparrow District, where drunk adventurers often caused trouble nearby, creating a messy scene.
After three years of hard work, Lin Da and the others had bought this large villa in the pricey Inner City District, occupying nearly three hundred square meters of land.
The Snow Goose Adventure Team was wealthy and had gained enough fame to be known as a prominent team in White Dove City.
But Lin Da was becoming increasingly suffocated, having to face Lia's questioning every day.
'When will you be able to come up with the strategy?'
'I'm level 23 now, what about you?'
'There's no level 15 Healer in the first-class adventure teams in White Dove City, you know?'
And so on...
Before the team became famous, Lia was not like this.
Lin Da sighed.
Lia used to be down-to-earth and earnest, always full of energy and, because she was pretty, he was willing to create the Snow Goose Adventure Team with her.
But now, all Lia thought about was how to conquer the next level of the Mystic Realm, overtaking those established adventure teams and pressing them underfoot.
Lia, wielding a small whip, was crazily squeezing Lin Da like a donkey spinning a mill, never satisfied with his extensive late-night efforts, always thinking he was slacking, not working hard enough.
He was tired, and that was why he could only leave.
Lin Da put his hands in his pockets and looked lonesomely toward the north,
at that towering, verdant tree which still twinkled with magic light even in the darkness of night.
The World Tree Secret Realm.
Just like the game he had played in his previous life.
Inside the World Tree, there were fifty layers of Mystic Realms, each with different Secret Realm Guardians. Defeat these bosses and you would receive the rewards of the World Tree Goddess.
Various equipment, Skill Books, Gold Coins, Magic Potions... the rewards became richer the higher one went.
Like when the Snow Goose Adventure Team had recently conquered the eighth layer; the bounty from that venture was worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins, enough for an ordinary person to work from the Ancient Times until today.
Chapter 3: 3. Deity's Invitation
After leaving the Snow Goose Adventure Team, what next?
Lin Da gazed at the starry night sky, feeling a hint of bewilderment.
It was like a prisoner who had served three years and was finally released, holding freedom but clueless about what to do.
In the cool night breeze, he walked out of the affluent neighborhood.
Lin Da gradually made a decision.
He truly needed to continue being an adventurer.
With a plethora of strategies and clearance experiences in his mind, finding a few teammates who would follow orders, reaching the top floors might be uncertain, but making it to the thirtieth or fortieth floor was possible.
If his future team could surpass the Snow Goose Adventure Team in terms of floors—would Lia be so angry that she would bite him?
Lin Da had never held a grudge against her nor seen her defense break.
He found himself quite curious about it.
Ding-dong.
He heard a phantom sound.
An icon resembling an email popped up in the lower right of Lin Da's field of vision.
"Is this shabby system of mine starting up?"
Lin Da's eyes brightened, and his mood improved slightly.
During those three years, the system had remained gray and unresponsive to clicks; he had almost lost all hope in it.
Thinking of opening the email, a golden envelope popped up.
A line of text appeared before Lin Da:
Item: [Deity's Invitation]
Quality: Fantasy
Content: An invitation from the Divine Realm has been sent to you, do you accept?
Yes/No
Lin Da unhesitatingly chose 'Yes'.
The invitation's quality was Fantasy Grade—it would be too wasteful not to use it.
After clicking 'Yes', the invitation disappeared from the system interface, transforming into a golden light that enveloped Lin Da.
In the eerily quiet night, Lin Da's figure vanished from the spot.
The scenery in his field of vision changed.
Holding his slightly dizzy head, Lin Da looked around.
Darkness surrounded him, no stars or moon overhead.
It was as if he had entered a black sheet of paper.
In this eerie space, there was a stone chair placed directly in front of him.
A man sat regally atop it.
An authoritative voice came:
"Hero, you have finally arrived, I, the deity, have waited for you for millions of years!"
Hero?
Me?
Lin Da blinked in confusion.
So, after three years, the benefits of being a transgressor had finally come to fruition?
...
Meanwhile, at the Snow Goose Adventure Team's villa, in Lin Da's room.
Papers filled with various data were scattered all over the floor.
The water in the cup on the table had long since gone cold.
Lia stood there in a daze, her fiery red hair looking somewhat disheveled.
She had been standing with her back facing the room door for nearly half an hour, yet Lin Da had not returned.
A wave of panic rose in her heart.
She couldn't help but think, was Lin Da serious?
Had he decided to leave the team just because she had reprimanded him a few times?
Hearing Lin Da mention quitting the team, Lia was confused for a moment and felt some discomfort in her chest, nearly turning around to pull him back.
—Thankfully, she restrained herself.
Why should she bow down to that Lin Da? Clearly, it was Lin Da who couldn't keep up with the level, so why did it feel like she was the one in the wrong?
Besides, she hadn't planned on kicking Lin Da out; she only brought out Phyllis's resume to scare him, to make him agree to enter the ninth level tomorrow.
Was such a big reaction really necessary?
Lia looked at the scattered papers on the floor, casually picked one up, and only a moment later felt a headache coming on.
What were all these? Was Lin Da filling up her time with this stuff every day?
It was written with many things she couldn't understand—something about HP, MP, STR, T, aggro, phase two... and a mass of formulas that started to blur her vision after a while.
Lia slammed the door irritably as she walked into the living room.
"What's going on here, who has displeased our mighty team leader?"
Aiko was applying cucumber slices to her face and glanced over to see Lia with a stern face, looking like everyone owed her eight million Gold Coins.
It immediately filled the air with a heavy atmosphere.
Lia didn't speak, just sulkily sat on the couch and started flipping through a comic book of Klrona's, clearly distracted. Her eyes weren't even on the pages; she just kept turning them.
Aiko, recalling Lin Da's odd behavior just moments earlier, sensed something was amiss.
After a while, Lia finally spoke in a casual tone, "Lin Da is quitting the team."
"What?"
Aiko was stunned for a moment, nearly blurting out to ask what had happened in the room. But catching sight of Lia's dark expression, she forcefully swallowed her words.
As one of the veteran members of the Snow Goose Adventure Team, Aiko knew Lia's personality well: willful, hot-tempered. She somewhat understood what might have happened just by thinking a little.
Lia's poor attitude towards Lin Da wasn't new. Everyone thought Lin Da, with his high tolerance, wouldn't quit over such trivial matters.
"Lin Da is quitting? That's great!" Klrona, who was busy building a monster out of blocks, suddenly cheered.
She excitedly ran back to her room, grabbing a big box of board games with sparkling eyes, "Let's play this? Forget about that useless Small Fry Uncle Lin Da, it's better if he's gone!"
Seeing someone supporting her, Lia's mood eased quite a bit.
Apart from the Snow Goose Adventure Team, no other top-tier team would take a level 15 Healer like Lin Da.
Once that guy gets a taste of rejection outside, he will surely come crawling back.
Right... no need to worry.
Lia started laughing, sitting opposite Klrona, "What game is this? It looks fun."
"Brave Fight Against the Dragon, I'll be the Hero, and you're the Evil Dragon," Klrona excitedly held a Hero figurine and pushed the Dragon figurine towards Lia.
"Is it okay to just forget about Lin Da?" Aiko, dressed in a pristine white gown with her majestic blonde hair, hesitated a bit, "At least Lin Da has contributed to the team."
This complaint was soft, but Lia's ears were as sharp as a cat's.
Aiko highly suspected that Lia wasn't really playing the game with Klrona; she was just using her ears like radar, checking to see if anyone would blame her for driving Lin Da away.
"Hmph, Lin Da quitting the team? Just watch, in a few days, he'll come back begging me to take him back!"
Lia deliberately raised her voice to sound justified.
Aiko lowered her head to hide the smirk on her face, silently cursing Lia to the high heavens.
Dream on!
With his good-natured personality, he wouldn't leave unless pushed to the limit.
Usually, Aiko would indirectly tell Lia to tone it down, that Lin Da was already trying his best, that everyone should be understanding.
Otherwise, where would she find such a useful and fun toy if Lin Da were driven away?
His health was failing, yet Lin Da would wash her feet every night!
Looking down at the back of Lin Da's head, the way he diligently massaged her feet was just heavenly, both spiritually and physically.
Lin Da also cooked, strategized, and accepted the least amount of rewards among the main members.
Such a nice person wouldn't be found again.
Thus, Aiko harbored a great resentment towards Lia the Shar Pei.
But at that moment, Lia was laughing, feeling quite justified in her statement.
That cricket Lin Da would probably return by tomorrow night.
Lia picked up the chess piece, swiftly capturing several of Klrona's pawns.
"Ah, defeated!"
Klrona pouted, reluctantly suggesting, "Another round!"
"Sure, sure, I'll win no matter how many times we play," Lia flipped her fiery red hair, her face full of confidence.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
466 Power
stone 
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