Chapter 9: 9. 'Bursting Flames' Lia

Level zero hero plus level zero deity, one could say it was the lowest of the low, sufficient only for cutting down slimes.

Lin Da, however, felt very relaxed with no pressure at all.

He pondered and gradually understood the real reason he had left the Snow Goose Adventure Team.

Being pressured by Lia was just secondary.

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 continually contradict his true inner desires.

To build a team of his own and slowly enjoy climbing up the World Tree while admiring its scenery.

To not abandon any member and stand shoulder to shoulder to reach the highest point of the Mystic Continent.

That was what Lin Da hoped for.

Even though it sounded a bit like a fool's dream, Lin Da knew the strategy to defeat every level of Magical Creatures and could overcome the Secret Realm Guardians with minimal conditions.

Therefore, it was possible.

Having come to this game world not without difficulty, Lin Da met Lia and agreed with her concept, "taking everyone with us, leaving no one behind to clear the top floor of the World Tree."

Having the same goals and principles, he then founded the Snow Goose Adventure Team with Lia.

As the team's original intention changed, he naturally had no reason to stay.

Having left now, he planned to build a new team, and he had to pick the members carefully.

Lin Da looked ahead.

The first member should rightfully be Kafni, who was bound to the hero and would never betray him.

Looking up at the vast azure sky, Lin Da put his hands in his pockets, a leisurely and relaxed smile playing on his lips.

Everything was pretty good. Except for the fact that his pockets held only a pitiable seven copper coins.

Leaving with only the clothes on his back was far from easy.

If "she" had still been around, the team—comprising a healer, a damage dealer, and a frontline—could have been directly formed.

Lin Da caressed an exquisite pocket watch, his heart filled with myriad emotions.

...

Meanwhile, in the ninth layer of the World Tree Secret Realm, the Twisted Forest.

The sky looked as if covered by a layer of gray waxed paper, the light dim.

The dry, twisted trees, as if hands stretching out from hell, clawed at the sky.

"Yah! Ha!" S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The red-haired girl, her expression intense, gripped her greatsword tightly, like a red comet, lunging at the Secret Realm Guardian seven meters tall, a level 23 'Giant Carnivorous Flower.'

The Giant Carnivorous Flower looked like a sunflower, with a big mouth split in the middle of its bloom, crowded with serrated teeth.

Thick drool dripped from the mouth, falling to the ground.

The Snow Goose Adventure Team had been battling on the ninth level for over an hour, each team member bearing various wounds.

The newly joined level 20 Healer, the blond youth Phyllis, was frantically casting Healing Arts, drenched in sweat.

That Lia, too reckless.

She alone had used up nearly half of Phyllis's magic power.

If they continued fighting like this, the Magical Creatures wouldn't be dead before his magic power was depleted.

How did that previous level 15 Healer, who had even less magic power than himself, manage to lead the Snow Goose Adventure Team up here?

Phyllis inwardly cursed.

Today being his first day on the job, he had to perform well, which meant drinking Magic Potion while simultaneously attacking, a huge strain on his body.

"Strength Blessing!"

At that moment, Miss Aiko, the Mage from the Holy Light Church, raised her Magic Wand high.

Her golden hair fluttered, illustrious and noble, like the sun goddess.

The Strength Blessing cast on Lia boosted her Fire Fighting Qi and speed by several degrees.

"We can do it, everyone needs to have faith!"

Without Lin Da, Aiko, the oldest among them, took charge.

Aiko drank a Mana Potion, thinking to herself: They were very lucky this time to have randomly reached the ninth layer, the Twisted Forest, which was most suited for the Snow Goose Adventure Team.

If randomly assigned to the "Lava Cave," a Mystic Realm that completely countered Lia's Fire Fighting Qi, Aiko would not hesitate to use the "Town Portal Scroll" hidden in her pocket and abandon Lia.

Just kidding, she was just a worker, not blindly devoted to the team like someone else!

Moreover, since that person had run away, Miss Aiko's already scant loyalty had decreased even further.

In the peril-filled Mystic Realm, the six members of the team each had different thoughts.

Klrona treated fighting Magical Creatures as a game,

Phyllis hesitated whether to drink another Mana Potion, feeling pain from the swollen magic circuits inside her body.

The honest couple, Klyne and Oru, prioritized staying alive since they hadn't finished paying off the mortgage on their house in White Dove City.

The only one willing to fight desperately to clear the realm was alone,

"Healer, cast Healing Art on me!"

Lia wiped the sweat from her forehead and shouted loudly.

A white light fell upon her,

Lia felt her strength surge and even the slight internal injuries healed.

She definitely was better than Lin Da, who came from Noble Academy!

Lia was sure in her heart. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the greatsword "Flame Devourer" in her hands and stared intently at the Giant Carnivorous Flower.

The team functioned like a well-oiled magic engine, everyone playing their part seamlessly,

But she always felt something was off, like something was not quite right.

Even with an amazing new Healer, she still felt restricted, unable to unleash her full strength.

No one told her in which direction to attack, when to attack, or which part of the Magical Creature to hit,

Dealing with the Magical Creatures' attacks was tiring enough, let alone thinking about these things, causing Lia's head to ache.

Her thoughts were not clear, and a stifled anger was pent up inside her chest, unable to escape.

Lia remembered how she had waited like a fool at the entrance to the World Tree Mystic Realm earlier that day.

She had emphasized repeatedly last night that she would enter the World Tree at dawn today,

Lin Da had a good memory; there was no reason for him to forget.

"I definitely need to clear this level impressively, to show him that, without his Snow Goose Adventure Team, we are even more formidable!"

Lia bit her silver teeth in anger.

Right at that moment,

"Captain, danger!"

Aiko's anxious voice snapped her out of it.

Lia jolted awake,

The Giant Carnivorous Flower, as if gone mad, pulled up thousands of roots from the ground, turning them into sharp whips to launch an attack,

Covering the sky, the roots attacked like a net of death.

Lia was somewhat at a loss,

Should she retreat?

As the thought arose, she seemed to hear someone's scoffing in her ear,

No, no need to retreat, just chop this thing down!

With determination in her heart, Lia clenched her teeth and charged forward with her sword.

She was like a red fish darting through the sea, skillfully dodging the torrent of roots with impeccable agility.

Any Swordsman of the same level as Lia would be astounded, completely in awe of her extraordinary skills,

This was "Bursting Flames" Lia, the top adventurer of the younger generation in White Dove City.

"Crazy!"

But Aiko stomped her feet in frustration,

Lia's style of fighting was too dangerous; one mistake and it would be over,

And she was charging too fast, her teammates simply couldn't keep up,

If Lin Da were here, he would probably say: It's like a Rock Man flashing up top to crash into someone, asking Yaso in mid why he didn't follow up.