Leo was a little surprised. He had thought Maijessie would resist, that she would refuse to let outsiders join their party, but without realizing it his sister had really grown up. Forget it—teaming up with a woman never really put a man at much disadvantage.
Feeling content, Leo patted Maijessie on the head. At first she narrowed her eyes comfortably, but then realized someone was touching her and instantly jumped aside to avoid him.
At dawn, Leo stepped out of the tent for his morning exercise and saw his sister again sitting by the campfire, drenched in dew. He tossed her a fresh towel. "I'm going to train a round first. You clean up. Later let's go earlier—after leaving her waiting all night, I don't know if she'll still agree to team up."
"Alright, leave it to me."
Gotti was already waiting at the camp's gate. When she saw the two approach, she stood calmly for Leo's answer.
"Morning, Gotti. Let me be clear, every party needs its rules. This is the team contract we discussed last night—have a look. If you've no objections, sign it."
He handed her a golden magical parchment scroll.
Gotti accepted it and read carefully. The leader's line was already signed with Leo's name, and the member line bore Maijessie's.
Entry, withdrawal, and combat rules were very strict, while personal freedom during rest was wide, save for the clauses forbidding any harm to the party or its members, and forbidding leaks of party secrets.
Party dissolution condition: slay the Prime Evils of Hell, secure the defense of the world.
Seeing that, Gotti chuckled and shook her head. Until death, she was bound to their team.
"I agree. These terms are favorable to me. After all, I'm just level 1, with shabby gear, starting from scratch." She smiled, then signed her name neatly on the member line.
Leo glanced at the elegant script. "Welcome to the Guardian Squad. May we become comrades who guard each other's backs." A five-star chef in the team—what a blessing.
As they walked, Leo asked with a grin, "Alright, Gotti, could you introduce your character stats? We need a basic idea of our new teammate."
"Of course. I'm level 1. Strength 12, Dexterity 15, Vitality 10, Energy 58. Life 40, Stamina 74, Mana 58. My equipment is the most basic cloth armor. I've studied archery a little, so I use a short bow, but with my low base stats, accuracy is poor."
She was fully aware of her shortcomings, so her tone was serious for once, without her usual smile. Leo and Maijessie also briefly introduced themselves.
"Gotti, you and Maijessie will attack from the rear. Keep safe. And Maijessie, we're all teammates now, so look after her in battle."
"Understood, brother. I'll protect Sister Gotti," Maijessie replied earnestly.
Gotti gave Maijessie a small bow of thanks. "Thank you, Maijessie. I'll be careful and cooperate fully."
"Now that we're one team, mutual support is natural. Maijessie and I will handle the fighting. Gotti, you'll handle support and logistics. I'll keep the loot safe, and Maijessie will manage income records—remember to report earnings each night. We'll tally when we return to town."
The barrel law: the amount of water it holds depends not on the longest plank but the shortest. With a party bound by contract, there could be no weak link. Quietly, Leo opened his leader permissions and set all experience gain to Gotti.
The three followed the path forward and soon spotted two Fallen behind a small tree.
Leo and Maijessie immediately attacked one, while Gotti cleverly drew her bow to focus the same target. The other Fallen was tied up by Maijessie.
The Fallen were quick, reaching them in moments. Leo, without a word, switched to The Tooth and advanced.
Gotti was shocked. A legendary unique item—dark gold gear! What followed was even harder to believe: Leo's swings crushed, bled, knocked back, and stunned the monster. The Fallen first froze, then collapsed motionless on the ground.
White light flashed twice—she was already level 3? So much experience? She finally noticed the party log showing the experience distribution.
Leo moved on to the other Fallen, and a few strikes later it too dropped. Why "again"? Was this really the same "super Fallen" tavern adventurers bragged about—ferocious, tough, agile, a nightmare requiring an entire team to barely bring down one? Now they were like harmless little rabbits, sprawled helplessly.
Numb with shock, Gotti approached to clean up, using her skill on the first corpse. A sharp, dolphin-like note rang out; the Fallen's body squeezed out a gush of blood, and a Minor Mana Potion dropped.
Leo recognized it instantly. "Find Potion" skill. And it triggered on the first try—she must have great luck. Or someone cursed by the African Chief again.
Find Potion: search monster corpses for potions, 15% chance, costs 2 mana, no prerequisite skill.
Gotti moved to the other Fallen. Another dolphin note, another spray of blood, and this time a Minor Healing Potion dropped. Even her normally steady composure couldn't hide her delight.
Though blessed with strong spiritual talent, her natural shortcomings had brought her ridicule and disdain. These two little potions erased some of that weight. A tiny sense of achievement eased both her inferiority and the awkwardness of hogging all the experience.
Maijessie's smile bloomed like a flower. Giving Gotti all the exp was the right call—now she could produce the potions they lacked most.
Gotti pocketed the potions and gold, and the team pressed on. Soon they met two zombies.
Now level 5, Gotti's expression was blank as she used Find Potion on the "super zombies." This time she wasn't so lucky—nothing. After clearing the battlefield, they advanced again.
Before long, a reddish-skinned zombie appeared—a champion zombie. Gotti's face drained. Tales of champion monsters filled taverns: squads that met them ended with death or wounds, none ever escaped whole.
And yet—they had already begun attacking. Damn it, even I instinctively loosed an arrow! Today we die—we die—we die!
Wait—what? The champion's health plummeted, and in a flash of white light she was already level 6. The champion… was dead?
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