Leo was somewhat surprised. He had thought Majesty might resist and refuse to let an outsider join the squad, but his sister had truly grown up without him even noticing. Regardless, teaming up with a woman meant a man wouldn't lose out much anyway.
Relieved, Leo rubbed Majesty's head. She squinted her eyes comfortably at first, but once she realized someone was actually touching her, she immediately jumped aside to dodge him.
In the early morning, Leo stepped out of his tent for his morning exercise. Seeing his sister sitting by the campfire again, drenched in dew, he tossed her another fresh towel. "I'm going for a workout. You pack things up. We should head over early; we left her hanging all night, so I'm not sure if she'll still agree to join."
"Alright, leave it to me," she replied.
Gerdie was already waiting at the encampment gates. Seeing the two of them approach, she waited calmly for Leo's answer.
"Morning, Gerdie. Just to be clear, a squad must have rules. This is the team contract we discussed last night. Take a look, and if you have no objections, sign it."
With that, Leo handed a golden magic parchment scroll to Gerdie.
Gerdie took the contract and read it seriously. Leo's name was already signed in the captain's slot, and Majesty's name was in the member slot.
The terms regarding joining, leaving, and combat requirements were very strict. However, management of personal actions during rest periods was quite relaxed; it only required that members not harm the squad or other members by any means, nor reveal the squad's secrets.
Squad Dissolution Clause: Upon the slaying of the Three Prime Evils of Hell and the stabilization of the world's defense.
Seeing the dissolution terms, Gerdie smiled and shook her head. She was essentially tied to this squad until death.
"I agree. These terms are very beneficial to me. After all, I'm only Level 1 with terrible gear; I'm starting from zero," Gerdie said with a smile and a nod. She then wrote her name in the member column with elegant handwriting.
Leo looked at the script on the contract. "Welcome to the Guardian Squad. I hope we can become comrades who watch each other's backs." A five-star team chef—delicious.
As they walked, Leo smiled and asked Gerdie, "So, Gerdie, can you introduce your character attributes to us? we need a basic understanding of you since you've just joined."
"Alright. I am currently Level 1. Strength 12, Dexterity 15, Vitality 10, Energy 58. Life 40, Stamina 74, Mana 58. My gear consists of basic cloth armor with the lowest requirements. Since I studied archery for a while, I chose a short bow as my weapon, but due to my low innate attributes, my accuracy is quite poor."
Gerdie knew she had serious flaws and was very earnest when introducing herself, rarely showing a smile. Leo and Majesty also briefly described their own situations.
"Gerdie, you'll attack from the back with Majesty later. Watch your safety. And Majesty, we're all teammates now; remember to look after Gerdie during combat."
"Alright, Brother. I'll protect Sister Gerdie," Majesty answered seriously.
Gerdie bowed slightly to Majesty to show her gratitude. "Thank you, little sister Majesty. I will be very careful and cooperate fully with you both."
"Now that we're a squad, we should help each other. Majesty and I will be mainly responsible for combat, while Gerdie, you handle support and logistics. I'll be in charge of keeping the loot, and Majesty, the task of accounting for our income is yours. Remember to report the earnings to the squad every night; for now, we'll settle the accounts every time we return to town."
The Law of the Minimum: The capacity of a barrel is not determined by its longest plank, but by its shortest. Since they had formed a squad and were bound by a contract, there could be no weak links. Leo silently opened the captain's permissions and assigned 100% of the experience to Gerdie.
The three of them continued exploring along the original path and soon found two Fallen behind a small tree.
Leo and Majesty immediately began attacking the lead Fallen. Gerdie was smart too; she immediately drew her short bow and followed up on the same target, while Majesty pinned down the remaining Fallen.
The Fallen was fast and reached them in no time. Without a word, Leo switched to The Gnasher and stepped forward.
Gerdie was shocked—an actual Unique item. What came next made her unable to believe her eyes. She watched as Leo attacked with both hands, triggering Crushing Blow, Open Wounds, Knockback, and Stun. The Fallen couldn't move at all at first, and then it simply lay on the ground, motionless.
Two consecutive flashes of white light—she was Level 3 already? Gerdie was stunned by how much experience she had gained, only then noticing the experience distribution notification in the squad log.
She watched as Leo moved toward the other Fallen. A few rounds later, it fell as well. Why did she find herself saying "as well"?
Was this the "Super Fallen" the class members at the tavern had bragged about? The ones that were supposed to be incredibly troublesome, strong, agile, and tough? The Fallen that a whole squad could brag about for half a day just for cornering one? Just like that, it turned into a cute little rabbit and lay dead on the ground!
Gerdie was numbed by the shock. She stepped up to use a skill to clear the battlefield. Walking to the first Fallen's corpse, she emitted a pleasant, dolphin-like sound. The Fallen's body seemed to be squeezed by a massive force, a large spray of blood erupted, and a Light Mana Potion dropped out.
Leo saw this and knew it was Find Potion. Getting loot on the first try... it seemed Gerdie had great luck. Resentment from the 'African' Chieftain +1.
> Find Potion: Search the corpse of a monster to see if a potion can be found. 15% chance. Mana cost: 2. No prerequisites.
>
Gerdie moved to the other Fallen. The dolphin sound rang out again. Along with the spray of blood, a Light Healing Potion dropped. Even with Gerdie's steady personality, she was now beaming with joy.
Despite her outstanding mental talent, her innate physical deficiencies had earned her many eye-rolls and ridicules. These two minor potions changed everything. This small sense of achievement diluted the slight inferiority in her heart and the awkwardness of hogging all the experience.
Majesty's face bloomed into a smile. Assigning 100% of the experience to Sister Gerdie was definitely the right choice. Now that she could produce the most desperately needed potions, hiring Gerdie was a smart move.
Gerdie picked up the potions and gold, and the team moved on. Soon, they encountered two more Zombies.
Now at Level 5, Gerdie's expression was wooden as she used Find Potion on the "Super Zombies." This time, her luck wasn't as good; no potions were found from either corpse. After clearing the battlefield, the squad moved forward.
Not long after, they encountered a reddish-skinned Zombie—clearly a Boss. Gerdie's face turned pale. She had heard too many stories in the tavern about the terrifying reputation of Boss monsters; squads that encountered them were either killed or crippled, and none returned unscathed.
Wait, they've already started attacking. Dammit, I attacked too out of reflex. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die today!
But what was happening? The Boss's health bar was plummeting. A flash of white light—Level 6. Why was the Boss dead "as well"?
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