"So, the adventure party you were in before was just an ordinary Rock-tier adventure party? Aren't those just bottom-tier grunts?"
After listening to Linda's explanation, Kafuni curled her lip and said with disdain.
Linda collected himself and said helplessly, "In White Dove City, a Rock-tier adventure party is already very strong. There are only about a dozen of them at most."
"Tsk, apart from Mythic-tier adventure parties, this Goddess doesn't look at anything else."
"With your attitude, even if you wanted to be a star slave for a Mythic-tier adventure party, they wouldn't want you. In the entire South Fire Empire, there is only one Mythic-tier adventure party!"
"S-Star slave? What do you take this Goddess for?"
Furious, Kafuni stood up, only to realize she was left in her underwear, and hastily squatted back down into the bushes.
Linda gave a cough and waved the ice-silk dress in his hand: "Now that the briefing on Mystic Realms is done, you hide here. I'll be right back."
"Hurry back!"
Kafuni looked around anxiously, terrified of being spotted by passersby.
"Sigh, I never thought it would only sell for 9 silver coins. Figures, it must be because you smell so bad that even the pawnshop owner didn't really want it."
The two walked toward the cheapest rental housing in the Sparrow District. Along the way, Linda complained somewhat.
Beside him, Kafuni had changed into a different outfit—a brown linen dress bought for 50 copper coins.
It had loose threads all over and a rough texture, and Kafuni felt like her skin was about to be chafed raw.
"You sold my things for 9 silver coins, yet you only deigned to spend 50 copper coins to buy me clothes?" Kafuni frowned and said with dissatisfaction, "Keep this up and I'm going to find another Hero!"
"Be my guest," Linda sneered. If she could swap him out, this creature would have done so long ago.
Left speechless, Kafuni burned with irritation, yet she could do nothing against Linda.
She couldn't beat him in a fight, and there was even a risk of getting stuffed.
She had no choice but to swallow her pride and endure.
"The clothes are awful, but the place we stay at should at least be luxurious, right?"
Kafuni extended a slender, snow-white index finger and said with a smile, "A detached luxury villa should be no problem, right?"
"What are you dreaming about? We only have 9 silver coins in total!" Linda rubbed his brow in distress.
As a Silver-tier magic city, White Dove City had a high cost of living, and renting an apartment strictly followed the standard three-month deposit plus one month's rent upfront.
Even in a poor place like the Sparrow District, the rent for a single month was at least 3 silver coins, plus a 3-month deposit.
That meant a total of 12 silver coins was required.
The currency system of the South Fire Empire: 1 gold coin = 10 silver coins = 1,000 copper coins.
The purchasing power of 1 gold coin was roughly equivalent to 1,000 yuan in Huaguo.
Looked at that way, a monthly rent of 3 silver coins didn't seem expensive.
The problem, however, was that Linda—a veteran employee who had worked miserably for three years in the Snow Goose Adventurer Party—had only 9 silver coins to his name, and even that came from selling Kafuni's belongings.
Three months' deposit plus one month's rent was nowhere near enough!
"Why don't you go to Bubbles Paradise to work as a miss— uh, pretend I didn't say that."
Seeing Kafuni prepare a murderously dangerous expression, Linda quickly cut himself off.
"As for Bubbles Paradise—"
"You want to be murdered by this Goddess in your sleep, is that it?"
"Cough, cough, cough. Just joking. Actually, I have another way."
Linda muttered to himself, "I guess we have to go to 'that place'. Everyone's an old acquaintance; paying a bit less deposit should be fine."
The two walked along the streets of the Sparrow District.
The roads here were narrow and filthy, flanked by low shophouses, with cheap linen clothes hung out to dry on rows of clotheslines.
At night, drunken adventurers could frequently be seen wandering the streets, leading to countless brawls and rather abysmal security.
Thank goodness it was dark and visibility was poor, preventing those drunkards from noticing that Kafuni was a busty beauty.
Passing by an Adventurers' Guild, the entrance was packed with a bustling, noisy crowd.
Just like watching a soccer match in groups during his past life, the Adventurers' Guild always gathered a crowd of energetic young people full of passion for adventure.
Linda glanced over in that direction.
He saw that the crystal screen embedded in the outer wall of the Adventurers' Guild was displaying the members of the Ice Flower Adventure Team.
"Raider broadcast?"
Linda stopped in his tracks, slightly surprised.
So-called raider broadcasts used a magical creature known as a Sensor Ladybug to transmit live footage of a Mystic Realm raid onto pre-set crystal screens, achieving a streaming-like effect.
Linda frowned. Back when he was in the Snow Goose Adventurer Party, Leia had also considered starting a raider broadcast, but he had firmly vetoed it.
The pros and cons of such a practice were extremely obvious.
The upside was that a raider broadcast could provide a massive boost in popularity to the collaborating Adventurers' Guild, and the imperial government would also grant team subsidies; furthermore, it showcased the team's strengths and raised their fame.
At the same time, however, it exposed the team's tactics and weaknesses.
Competition among adventure parties on this continent was fierce, and conflicts frequently broke out in public Great Mystic Realms.
Snatching equipment, snatching World Bosses, and seizing various magical resources.
Once your weaknesses were grasped by opponents, it was equivalent to fighting stark naked.
Normally, unless a team was severely short on cash, they would not choose to start a raider broadcast—it was a truly desperate move.
Was Captain Isha acting too impulsively?
She looked rather mature on the surface, but was she actually hot-headed like Leia?
Pulling his thoughts back, Linda looked at the image on the crystal screen.
The Ice Flower Adventure Team was raiding the twelfth floor, having randomly drawn the [Silent Rock Cave], a vast, gloomy underground cavern.
Every floor of the World Tree Secret Realm contained multiple maps, and adventurers entered one at random.
The boss weaknesses and resistances varied across each map, making it a severe test of a team's comprehensive capabilities.
Teams with narrow specializations rarely went far.
"Level 25, Armored Turtle-Snake, Earth attribute, excels in defense, with HP in the highest tier among bosses of the same level."
"The Ice Flower Adventure Team has no Greatsword-class output; this is going to be very tricky."
Linda took one look and deduced the outcome.
Even if Ice Flower managed to clear it, the price paid would be exceptionally heavy.
Yet the scene unfolding on the screen was even worse than Linda had anticipated.
All six members of Ice Flower were exhausted from the prolonged, grueling battle. The Heavy Armor Warrior in the vanguard had sustained severe injuries, and Isha, serving as the main damage dealer, was likewise drenched in sweat, her hands trembling continuously as she gripped her single-edged crystal sword, clearly lacking the strength to hold it steady.
The watching adventurers couldn't help but sweat for the Ice Flower Adventure Team.
As an exceptionally pretty silver-haired Swordsman captain, Isha was extremely popular among adventurers, and no one wanted to see this young girl perish in the World Tree.
"Hang in there, Ice Flower Adventure Team! Don't give up! You can do it!"
"The Armored Turtle-Snake is just too hard to fight! Last month, the Fierce Tiger Adventure Party from the neighboring city slipped up on this very floor and got completely wiped out!"
"The Ice Flower Adventure Team rushing into the twelfth floor is a bit reckless."
One adventurer after another approached the crystal screen, placing energy crystals dropped from monsters—[Magic Cores]—into the slot of a stone platform.
They watched as a stream of light flashed and the magic core vanished as if sacrificed; immediately afterward, the words they had spoken transformed into a line of floating text that appeared on the crystal screen.
Every time Linda saw this sight, it gave him a headache. That's right, it was 'live streaming', and by tipping magic cores, one could send 'bullet comments' called 'Advice' to the Ice Flower Adventure Team!
The vanished magic cores were sacrificed to the Goddess of the World Tree, which was the [World Will] of this realm.
The sacrificed magic cores had a minimum requirement of Level 5. Upon receiving the magic cores, the Goddess of the World Tree would convert the adventurers' words into text and transmit them onto the belly of the Sensor Ladybug. The belly of this magical creature was square-shaped, resembling a small screen.
As long as the members of Ice Flower picked it up to look, they could find those pieces of advice right on it.
Yet at this moment, the Ice Flower Adventure Team had fallen into crisis and clearly had no time to look at the Sensor Ladybug.
On the crystal screen, the massive Armored Turtle-Snake rampaged wildly, sending rubble tumbling through the cavern as two Heavy Armor Warriors were sent flying directly while vomiting blood.