Chapter 9

Very quickly, the tavern was divided into two areas. The players gathered around the employer began to enthusiastically register their personal information and combat assessments. It seemed they were preparing to work hard under this generous employer. On the other side, a small group of players who did not intend to participate formed a cluster.

Barrett was clearly part of the latter group. He had no interest in the confident talk of some people about their underground world adventure. Not only was the information unreliable, but the current lineup was also far from reassuring.

"Why don't you give it a try, buddy?" The halfling rogue, who had been cleaning his tools, suddenly jumped onto Barrett's table, bending over to look into Barrett's eyes.

Barrett looked at the little guy in front of him with some boredom, though he wasn't sure of the other's actual age: "Why don't you go then!"

"Didn't you hear him clearly? He doesn't need a trap disarmer like me. In terms of combat power, how can a little guy like me compare to them?" The halfling rogue said, looking somewhat resentfully at the crowd on the other side.

Barrett countered with some disbelief: "As a bloodline successor, your..."

But before Barrett could finish his sentence, the halfling's hands covered his mouth: "Let's talk about this later. How about we find another place to chat?"

"Chat with you? Are you planning to go it alone? And why choose me?" Barrett turned his gaze to the nearby dwarf.

The halfling looked very serious: "That's right! Just me and Iron Anvil. As for why we chose you, from your appearance, you seem to be one of us! Shouldn't we make better use of this advantage?"

"That's a suggestion. Let's find a place to chat casually. If we agree..." Before he could finish, a voice came from behind Barrett: "Mind if I join you?"

This voice belonged to the paladin who had just asked the question. 'Why didn't he join that adventure team and come here instead?' The thought instantly appeared in the minds of the three.

Under the gaze of the two, the paladin's face turned red: "After they found out I was a paladin, they firmly refused me. To make up for the previous lack of notification, they gave me 10 credit points as compensation."

Well, this was what was known as professional discrimination—paladins were generally unpopular among players. Having a paladin in the team made many things inconvenient. Most players were lawless, and petty theft was as common as daily bread.

So, paladins usually had to take quests from their respective temples. After accumulating enough contributions, they could get letters of recommendation from their mentors to take other quests in the city. In many ways, paladins and ordinary players were like parallel lines, which was why they were called the closest to the native professions.

Of course, the abilities and benefits paladins gained at such a high cost were definitely not bad. The half-armor and weapon this paladin was wearing were provided by the temple. Just these items alone were enough to make most players drool in the early stages. Moreover, the rewards from the temple's church quests were not low, though the cycle was a bit long.

"Alright! A paladin is indeed a troublesome presence." The halfling shrugged, looking helpless, clearly caught in a dilemma.

In terms of strength, the guy in front of him should be good—not just because of his equipment, but also because a paladin who could leave the temple to act independently must have decent skills. It was a bit like a graduation exam. However, compared to the inconvenience of bringing him along, it was hard to say which was better.

Fortunately, the halfling was hesitating rather than outright refusing. Barrett immediately seized the opportunity: "I think having a paladin in the group isn't a bad choice. At least in dealing with the natives, a paladin has a significant advantage."

Of course, if someone outright refused, Barrett would have to be more cautious in the subsequent negotiations. Perhaps finding an excuse to leave would be the best choice—evil-aligned teammates were often more dangerous.

"Alright! We weren't planning to look for that kind of trouble anyway." The halfling finally reluctantly agreed.

"Beena, come over here!" The paladin turned and called out. Then Barrett saw the carefree girl with the dog walk over.

"Were you friends before?" The halfling's tone was somewhat teasing. The girl's previous behavior didn't seem like she was waiting for someone.

"No! We just became friends." The paladin scratched the back of his head, his fair face tinged with a blush.

The halfling rolled on the table in frustration: "Damn! I hate such life winners!"

The dwarf had to step in helplessly and pick up the little guy: "Alright, everyone, let's find another place to chat properly!"

With that, he walked towards the tavern's entrance.

Compared to the Sheep and Spices Tavern, the Hearth Inn where they were now was much quieter. Fortunately, everything here was well-organized, giving a sense of home. The dwarf uncle at the wooden counter by the stairs was counting the gold coins in the bag in front of him. He smiled and wiped each coin with a cloth, the Shining Left Face (a gold coin issued by the Church of Commerce and Wealth, and the most popular among the natives).

On the sooty wooden table in the inn, the group first talked about recent events. After the initial unfamiliarity faded, they began to get to the point.

"If we really form a team for adventures, we need to decide on the distribution method and each person's share beforehand! Otherwise, there will be trouble later," to everyone's surprise, the first to raise this issue was the girl named Beena.

According to her, as a good-looking but not just a pretty face, the number of people and teams who wanted to cooperate with her was not small. Unfortunately, the few adventures she had participated in always ended in disputes over distribution and team members turning against each other.

The halfling's expression was not good either: "Our previous team also disbanded because of this." The dwarf remained silent.

In the silence, Barrett tapped the table with his finger: "I don't think this is a big problem! If everyone wants to cooperate long-term, why not sign a formal cooperation agreement? I don't think this is a privilege of big bosses."

In the game "Diala Continent," forming a team was quite common. To complete quests and gain experience, players often had to form small teams or even larger groups. Currently, leveling up by killing monsters was a significant challenge for solo players.

First, the experience was low. Killing a low-level monster like a goblin only gave 2 to 3 experience points. That meant killing three to four hundred goblins to level up to level 2.

Second, the difficulty was high. A goblin's combat ability, especially in melee, was not much worse than a rogue's, let alone a non-combat class like a mage. With the scarcity of spell slots and the weak effects of early spells, most casting classes could not level up alone.

Worse still, goblins were incredibly poor. Unless you could raid a goblin nest, the idea of living off the spoils of battle was out of the question—the scraps of copper and iron you picked up wouldn't even cover the cost of repairing equipment and buying supplies.

As for other monsters, few could face them alone besides goblins. With severe death penalties, teaming up became a necessity.

However, typical small teams were quite loose, with no binding force, just temporary combinations for profit. This often led to problems.

As for non-combat quests in the city, not only were they difficult to obtain, but the experience points were also disheartening. In a month, Barrett had only managed to gain a double-digit amount of experience.

The halfling asked hesitantly: "For a long-term team, the general points required are not a small amount. This needs careful consideration. Can everyone introduce their specialties?"

Barrett countered: "Shouldn't the two who issued the invitation introduce themselves first?"

"Alright! I'll go first. You can call me Iron Anvil, a dwarf's exclusive warrior subclass, the Hammer of the Enemy." Saying this, Iron Anvil patted the hammer beside him.

"I'm a halfling rogue named Noodles. Okay! It's just a random name, don't take it seriously." Noodles emphasized, "Although my front-line combat ability isn't great, my lock-picking and trap-disarming skills are both at 8, and my hand skills are at 6."

Hearing this, Barrett didn't react, but the paladin and the huntress's expressions immediately changed. These two skills alone indicated that Noodles had agility and intelligence attributes of at least 14 points and seemed to have good equipment.

"It's my turn? My profession is a unique class from the Boleum region. Besides not being inferior to warriors in direct combat, I can also provide some healing abilities to myself and my teammates in battle." Barrett's words were not entirely honest; he didn't believe the other was revealing all his cards.

The fair-faced halfling came to his senses and straightened his hair: "I'm Mario, and you all know I'm a paladin. My unique background allows me to get some help from the temples of the Just Lord in various places."

Then the half-orc asked with a grin: "So, it's your turn, cute lady."

"Beena! I'm not quite sure what my class is. It seems to be a variant of the ranger class that allows for a powerful animal companion. This is my good friend, Little Tom." Saying this, the girl affectionately petted the large dog, which was as tall as a child.