"Should I join the Ice Flower Adventure Team?"
Lin Da fell into deep thought.
Objectively speaking, the captain of Ice Flower was enthusiastic and highly capable, having led the team through eleven levels.
During the Attacker's conference, Lin Da had seen the members of Ice Flower a few times, and he could sense that their adventure team had a great atmosphere.
In comparison to the Snow Goose Adventure Team, it was like heaven and earth.
But.
Lin Da accessed his personal panel.
Beyond basic information, there was an option on the left called "Squad Module."
Clicking it would prompt: To unlock this template, you must form your own squad.
In the game Mystic Continent, the Squad Module provided many attribute bonuses, and lacking this module meant incomplete system functionality.
Moreover... Lin Da looked towards the towering lush tree in the distance.
The person who reached the top of the World Tree would receive the strongest Brave's Sword and a chance to make a wish to the World Tree Goddess.
The person who obtained the Brave's Sword was the team leader, and the person given the chance to make a wish was also the team leader.
To vanquish the Demon King, the Brave's Sword was indispensable.
Lacking the "Anti-Demon" trait, the game's difficulty would increase by tens of times.
Thinking this, Lin Da shook his head and declined politely, "Sorry, I plan to establish my own adventure team."
Isa frowned, thinking Lin Da was making excuses, "You think the salary from the Ice Flower Adventure Team is too low? What does Lia give you? I guarantee to increase it by twenty percent based on that."
Lia only gave junk, believing that a level 15 Healer didn't deserve good equipment.
Lin Da didn't have the heart to say it out loud, it was too shabby, and he feared being laughed at.
"It's not about the pay." Lin Da smiled, "I have certain reasons that I must create my own team, and besides... I've turned back to level 0, joining the Ice Flower Adventure Team would only hold them back."
"Ah, level 0?" Isa looked at Lin Da in surprise, "So that's it, no wonder you were kicked out by that Lia..."
Isa completely misunderstood.
She thought that Lin Da encountered an accident inside the World Tree, which was why Lia kicked him out of the team.
Lin Da didn't explain further, humbly stating, "That's how it is, thank you for your kindness."
While the invitation from the Ice Flower Adventure Team was tempting, Lin Da still wanted to create a team of his own.
After bidding goodbye to a regretful Isa, he hadn't walked far when Kafni curiously approached him.
"What's going on with the Snow Goose Adventure Team? Who is Lia? Why does your expression change whenever she's mentioned by Isa?"
"None of your business." Lin Da said irritably.
But Kafni didn't give up on getting to the bottom of things; she smelled a juicy story on Lin Da and was determined to get it clear.
"Aren't we partners in fighting the Demon King? What can't be shared?"
"Spill it, come on!"
"This Deity is asking you!"
The more Lin Da refused to talk, the more Kafni persisted.
Annoyed beyond tolerance, Lin Da finally briefly relayed the story about the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
A moment later.
"Ha? You're totally a lickspittle, right? Doing their laundry, cooking for them, even preparing strategies for free? Dogs aren't even as fawning as you!"
After hearing Lin Da's story, Kafni was dumbfounded.
She envisioned a troublesome trio and one man playing house.
Team leader Lia often clashed with other adventurers, rendering their lives unmanageable, all dependent on Lin Da's mediation.
The Mage Young Lady had leg issues that required daily massages.
The heavy armored warrior was just an immature brat who also had a foul mouth, loving to call Lin Da a "useless Small Fry Uncle."
If Lin Da didn't cook her specified meals three times a day, she would refuse to eat, forcing Lin Da to always give in to the kid.
I've seen good guys, but I've never seen anyone quite like Lin Da.
Serving dogs would be easier than serving that bunch of young ladies!
"Lickspittle, lickspittle hero, how did I choose someone like you to be a hero? Ah, I really want to switch to a hero that respects me, is strong, and isn't a lickspittle."
Kafni, with hands behind her back and chest out, glanced sideways at Lin Da's darkening face and taunted him with a hateful expression akin to that of a Female Lady.
"Shut up already, will you!"
Lin Da was somewhat annoyed, "You don't have OO, so of course you don't understand men's thoughts! Besides, when we first formed the team, Lia was normal, it was only after the team got famous that she began to change."
Kafni retorted unbowed:
"Who do you blame for me not having OO? By the way, I think the abnormal one is actually you, weren't you the one who spoiled them like that?
If someone cooked me meals every day for a year and then suddenly stopped one day, of course, I would curse them out.
Why would they stop now after having done it before?
They don't take you seriously, purely because you are too subservient!"
Lin Da frowned, "Your lack of OO is none of my business. You said earlier that a deity must fulfill the hero's wish when it's made, why would I make such a useless wish?
Moreover, I am not subservient; I just do what I need to do. I can't just let them starve, can I?"
"That's why I said you are a lickspittle!"
Kafni burst into laughter.
She thought becoming a lady was miserable enough, but Lin Da seemed to have it even worse.
The group that Lin Da called teammates didn't really consider him a teammate; they were just using him, knowing that if they pushed him, he would back down.
After backing down so many times, Lin Da got used to it and felt that doing those things was his duty and responsibility.
In other words, Lin Da got played!
A grand hero, and yet he couldn't figure this out!
Kafni conveniently addressed another of Lin Da's remarks: "What do you mean by saying I'm useless? If I had told you earlier that I need to fulfill the hero's wishes to the best of my ability, you, being a subservient type, would definitely wish for something even more absurd, like licking someone to gain favor or something, haha!"
"What? Don't underestimate others, you damn deity!"
Lin Da was completely infuriated, and the two of them started a big fight in the street.
Passers-by looked on in surprise at this odd pair.
A tall, dark-haired man angrily chasing after a gold-haired woman.
With an aura that seemed to say he wouldn't stop until he caught her and thrashed her thoroughly.
The latter was not afraid at all, standing at the edge of the fountain's pool, arms crossed, taunting the former: "Lickspittle, lickspittle hero!"
"Darn it!"
Lin Da almost burst his lungs from running, yet he couldn't catch up to the thief-profession Kafni.
He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and panted heavily.
Despite being tired, oddly enough, after all that frantic running, he felt somewhat refreshed as if he had vented all the frustration and gloom in his chest.
This made Lin Da recall the early days when the Snow Goose Adventure Team was first established, with members laughing and playfully chasing each other just like this.
Indeed, it was somewhat nostalgic.
Lin Da sighed softly.
Leaving the team he had helped to establish over three years, it definitely felt sad.
At that moment, he looked ahead at Kafni standing on the edge of the fountain, arms akimbo and a smug look on her face as her soft panda toy fluttered in the wind.
It felt like a return to the carefree days three years ago.
Level 0 Hero + Level 0 Deity, could only be considered the weakest among the weak, capable of slaying a Slime at best.
Lin Da, however, felt quite at ease, without a hint of pressure.
He pondered and gradually understood the real reason why he left the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
Being forced by Lia was only a secondary concern.
In fact, he had subconsciously realized that the current Snow Goose Adventure Team wasn't the one he wanted to stay in. Staying there would only lead him to constantly go against his true inner thoughts.
To form a team of his own, leisurely enjoying the scenery of the World Tree as they climbed upward.
To not abandon any member and stand together at the highest point of the Mystic Continent.
That was what Lin Da hoped for.
Although this might sound like a fool's dream, Lin Da knew the tactics to defeat every layer of Magical Creatures and could surpass the Secret Realm Guardian with the most minimal conditions.
Therefore, it was possible.
Having arrived in this game world, Lin Da met Lia and agreed with her perspective: "To clear the top level of the World Tree with everyone, leaving no one behind."
They created the Snow Goose Adventure Team because they shared the same goal and philosophy.
When the team's original intentions changed, naturally, he no longer had a reason to stay.
Now that he had left, he planned to rebuild a team, and he had to be serious about selecting its members.
Lin Da looked ahead.
The first member would, of course, be Kafni, who was bound to the Hero and would never betray him.
Looking up at the vast azure sky, Lin Da tucked his hands into his pockets, with a carefree and relaxed smile on his lips.
Everything was pretty good. Except for the pitiful seven copper coins left in his pocket.
Starting from scratch was not easy.
If 'she' were still here, it would be great. The team could be directly formed with one healer, one DPS, and one tank.
Lin Da stroked a beautifully crafted pocket watch, filled with countless emotions.
...
Meanwhile, on the ninth layer of the World Tree Secret Realm, the Twisted Forest.
The sky looked as if it was covered by a grey parchment, dulling the light.
Gnarled, withered trees reached out like hands extending from hell, grasping towards the sky.
"Yah! Ha!"
The red-haired girl clenched her greatsword with a grave expression, striking like a crimson meteor towards the Secret Realm Guardian that stood seven meters tall: a Level 23 'Giant Carnivorous Flower.'
The Giant Carnivorous Flower resembled a sunflower with a massive mouth full of serrated teeth at its center.
Thick drool flowed from its gaping maw, dripping onto the ground.
The Snow Goose Adventure Team had been battling on the ninth layer for over an hour, each team member bearing more or fewer signs of injury.
The newly joined Level 20 Healer, the blond young man Phyllis, was hectically casting Healing Arts, drenched in sweat.
That Lia, she was too reckless.
She alone had consumed nearly half of Phyllis's magic power.
If they continued fighting like this, it wouldn't be the Magical Creatures dying but his magic power that would run out first.
How did the previous Level 15 Healer, who had even less magic power than himself, manage to lead the Snow Goose Adventure Team up here?
Phyllis cursed inwardly.
Today was his first day on the job, and he had to perform well. He had no choice but to sip on Magic Potions while he healed, which was detrimental to his health.
"Strength Blessing!"
At that moment, Miss Aiko, the Mage from the Holy Light Church, raised her Magic Wand high.
Her golden hair fluttered, magnificent and noble, like the Goddess of the Sun.
Her Blessing of Strength buffed Lia, causing Lia's Fire Series Battle Qi to surge, with her speed also increasing by a measure.
"We can do this, everyone. Keep the faith!"
With Lin Da gone, Aiko, the oldest among them, took charge of command.
After swallowing a Mana Potion, Aiko thought to herself: They were in luck this time, randomly entering the Twisted Forest on the ninth layer, the Mystic Realm most suitable for the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
```
If the random draw had been the "Lava Cave," a Mystic Realm that severely suppressed Lia's Fire Fighting Qi, Aiko wouldn't have hesitated to use the "Town Portal Scroll" hidden in her pocket and leave Lia behind.
What a joke, she was only working for money, not blindly devoted to the team like someone else!
Moreover, since that person had already fled, Miss Aiko's already scarce loyalty diminished further.
In the perilous Mystic Realm, the minds of the six members of the group were all elsewhere.
Klrona treated battling Magical Creatures as if it were a game.
Phyllis hesitated over whether to drink the next Magic Potion, as the magic circuits within his body swelled with pain.
The honest couple, Kafni and Oru, prioritized survival; they hadn't finished paying off the mortgage on their White Dove City home yet.
The only one willing to fight desperately to clear the realm was alone.
"Healer, give me Healing Art!"
Lia wiped the sweat from her forehead and shouted loudly.
A beam of Holy Light fell upon her.
She felt her energy replenished, and even the faint internal pain she had been feeling began to heal.
Indeed, she was better than Bilinda, a graduate of Noble Academy!
Lia was certain of this and took a deep breath, clutching her greatsword, the "Flame Devourer," her gaze fixed intently on the Giant Carnivorous Flower.
The team operated like a well-oiled magical machine, with everyone performing their roles.
However, she always felt something was off, as if something wasn't quite right.
Even with a new and powerful Healer, she still felt restrained, unable to unleash her full potential.
No one told her which direction to attack, when to attack, or which part of the Magical Creatures to target.
Dealing with the Creatures' assaults was exhausting enough, but having to think of these tactics gave Lia a headache.
Thoughts didn't flow freely, and a feeling of suffocation remained stuck in her chest.
Lia remembered how she, the fool, had waited at the entrance of the World Tree Secret Realm during the day.
She had emphasized repeatedly the night before that they would enter the World Tree at dawn.
Lin Da had a good memory; there was no reason for him to forget.
"We must clear this beautifully, to show him that without him, the Snow Goose Adventure Team is even better than before!"
Lia bit down hard on her silver teeth.
At that moment,
"Captain, danger!"
Aiko's anxious voice jolted her.
Lia was startled.
For some reason, the Giant Carnivorous Flower had gone mad, pulling out thousands of roots from the ground, turning them into fierce whips launching an attack.
The roots swept over like a net of death.
Lia felt overwhelmed.
Retreat?
The moment the thought emerged, she seemed to hear someone's mocking laughter in her ear.
No, no need to retreat; just cut this thing down!
Lia steeled her resolve, clenched her teeth, and charged forward with her sword.
She was like a red fish weaving through the ocean, dodging the myriad of attacking roots with her exquisite movements.
Any Swordsman of the same level as Lia would have been astounded by her impressive skills.
This was Lia, known as "Bursting Flames," the top adventurer of the younger generation in White Dove City.
"She's crazy!"
But Aiko stomped her feet in frustration.
Lia's style of fighting was too risky; a single mistake would spell her doom.
And she was advancing too fast; her teammates couldn't keep up.
If Lin Da were there, he'd have commented: This is like a Rock Man using flash to charge at the top lane, while asking the mid lane Yaso why he didn't follow.
```
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