Chapter 18: New Party Members
Li Xin nodded, agreeing with him.
"Yes, brother, they are expensive, but what should we do now? Don\'t we need a bigger party to take on the quest? Are we going to rent them tomorrow?" she inquired.
Now that their plan to buy a servant didn\'t work, they could still rent them.
"We can rent them, but we have to share the quest with them so they will also earn from it. Even though they can\'t disobey our commands, they don\'t have any obligations to protect us if we encounter a high-level danger that exceeds their ability; they will run, leaving us alone," he explained to her.
He didn\'t have any thoughts of renting a servant unless he could buy and make a contract with them.
They can rent a servant for a day or two, and it will be good, but in the long run, it wasn\'t.
Not to mention they might not be able to pay the cost for rent if they really shared the quest rewards.
While he can use ten times bonus to do it, but it will create suspicions of others and his ten-times bonus will be revealed.
So it was better to look for the party or recruit party members around their levels and level up with them.
"But it\'s really troublesome to form a party," he murmured, with a frown.
Even though he has a powerful ability, it didn\'t mean he is also powerful, not to mention that there were many high-level people here.
He can\'t trust everyone just because they passed the \'good person\' test.
"Anyway, let\'s not think too much. XinXin, how about strolling around the city," he suggested with a smile.
There is no use in worrying too much; he should enjoy the otherworldly city with her.
"Un," Li Xin nodded with smile, and strolled around the city with him.
After an hour, they both returned to the inn, closing the curtains on the day.
Next morning, after getting ready, they both headed towards the adventurer\'s guild, thinking what to do with the party.
After arriving inside the guild, Li Wei directly made his way towards the party member request board and searched if there were any suitable parties to join.
"Brother, are we going to join another party?" Li Xin asked when she saw him looking for party requests.
Li Wei nodded.
"Yes, we will first join a party around our level. That way, there will be no problem," he replied and continued to look for the request.
"There are no suitable requests," he muttered as he read them, but in the end, he couldn\'t find what he wanted.
He thought about giving up when a sudden voice called him.
"Umm, are you looking for a party to join?" a sweet voice sounded behind him.
"Huh?" Li Wei looked behind to find a catgirl similar to their age.
She possessed black hair and black eyes, with her fluffy ears and a long tail. She was wearing a warrior\'s attire for women suitable for her.
He soon shifted his attention to the other girl beside him, who was also around their age, an elf with beautiful green hair and eyes.
She too was wearing a normal warrior\'s attire for women with the elvish look.
"Are you asking me?" Li Wei asked, puzzled.
No matter what, he is a guy, and they were girls, more so, they were beautiful.
It is hard to imagine that they would ask him.
"Yes, we saw you were looking for the party request," the catgirl nodded hurriedly.
"Are you looking for a party?" she asked again.
"Hmm, yeah, I am looking for a party to join," Li Wei answered their question, looking at them with a puzzled expression.
The catgirl saw his puzzled expression and explained.
"We are also looking to join a party, but it isn\'t easy to find someone around our levels. That\'s why we wanted to ask if we can join your party," she asked, looking at him and Li Xin.
Li Wei felt a doubt about their request.
"Why me then? I am from another world, you know," he questioned further.
It was easy to notice that they were from another world because of their features. There was no way they wouldn\'t have noticed it.
"I know you are from another world, but you were able to enter the city without a problem, and even the receptionist, Sophia, recommended us to join your party," the cat girl explained, pointing at Sophia, who was waving at them with a smile.
Li Wei looked at Sophia with a difficult expression.
\'Just what is she planning? Anyway, it won\'t get me the answer, no matter how much I think,\' he thought and turned his attention towards the catgirl and elf.
"So it\'s her, but aren\'t you afraid she is a bad person?" he inquired. Thinking they are too naive.
The catgirl tilted her head cutely after hearing him.
"Don\'t you know that you have to sign a contract with the guild and go through many tests to work here? With this, it is impossible for her to be a bad person because she won\'t be able to recommend us to you with the contract holding her back," she replied with an explanation.
"So it is like this," Li Wei murmured with a stunned expression.
\'No wonder they aren\'t afraid of getting tricked,\' he thought, glancing at the catgirl and elf.
\'Well, as long as they don\'t have any motives, it\'s not a problem for them to join,\' he decided.
"I am Li Wei, and she is Li Xin. I welcome both of you to join our party," he agreed, introducing himself and Li Xin.
The catgirl saw him agreeing, and she too introduced themselves.
"I am Alice from the fairy race, and she is Elva, an elf. Thank you for letting us join your party," she expressed her thanks.
Li Wei nodded at them and opened his system panel.
"I will send you an invite to my party. Join it," he instructed, inviting both of them to his party with the party function.
They were around his level, so he wasn\'t worried much. But still, a question lingered through his mind.
\'They are both around our age, but their levels are too low. It shouldn\'t be like this, right?\' he wondered.
He wanted to ask why their levels were low, but he decided not to, as they were not that familiar, and it wouldn\'t be good if it turned out to be some tragic backstory.
[Ding, Player Alice and Player Elva has joined Order of the Abyss.]
"Order of the Abyss!" Elva, who hasn\'t said anything from the start, exclaimed after learning the name of the party, while Alice looked at him strangely.
Li Wei also noticed her gaze.
"Is there any problem?" he asked, to which both of them shook their heads.
He ignored them and checked their status through the party panel.
**CHARACTER PANEL/Start**
Name: Alice | Age: 18 | Race: Fairy
Class: 1. Assassin (E) 2. Gladiator (E) 3. Combat Healer (E)
Level: 11 | Title: Monster Killer
*STATUS*:
HP: 1600/1600
MP: 190/190
*ATTRIBUTES*:
Strength: 58 (15+) | Agility: 66 (6-)
Intelligence: 38 | Endurance: 30 (15+)
Medical Knowledge: 25
Spirit: 50 | Luck: 54
**Special Class skills:-
Level1: Assassination Techniques, Mastery of Weapons, Battlefield Resilience.
**Extra skills:- Language Mastery Max, Analyze Eye-5, Item box-5.
(Note: The item box from the extra skill only gets 0.5 cubic space per level unlike the mage item box that gets 1)
**Common Basic Skills (13) -
Level 5 : Heal, Stealth, Evasion, Dagger Proficiency, Slash, Guard, Footwork.
Level 1: Potion Brewing, Comforting Presence, Diagnostic Skill, Lockpicking, Trap Detection, Charge, Grappling, Deadly Strikes, Disguise, Unarmed Combat, Gladiator\'s Resolve, Healing Spells, Barrier Mastery
**EQUIPMENTS**:-
1. Normal Attire Set | Level: 10
Endurance: 5+ | Agility: 1-
2. Leather Armour | Level: 10
Endurance: 10+ | Agility: 3-
3. Dagger | Level: 10
Strength: 15+ | Agility: 2-
**CHARACTER PANEL/End**
**CHARACTER PANEL/Start**
Name: Elva | Age: 17 | Race: Elf
Class: 1. Elemental Archer (E) 2. Elemental Mage (E) 3. Jewel Crafter (E)
Level: 11 | Title: Monster Killer
*STATUS*:
HP: 2000/2000
MP: 375/300 (75+)
*ATTRIBUTES*:
Strength: 38 | Agility: 55 (6-)
Intelligence: 60 (15+) | Endurance: 28 (15+)
Spirit: 50 | Luck: 57
**Special Class skills:-
Level1: Elemental Arrows, Elemental Manipulation, Jewelcrafter\'s Legacy.
**Extra skills:- Language Mastery Max, Analyze Eye-5.
**Common Basic Skills (13) -
Level 5 : Fireball, Frost Nova, Arcane Sheild, Item box, Bow Proficiency, Eagle Eye, Rapid Shot, Aim and Precision, Basic Traps.
Level 1: Potion Brewing, Metalworking, Basic Enchantment, Armor Crafting, Weapon Forging, Tempering, Elemental Infusion, Archer\'s Mark, Elemental Absorption, Elemental Resistance, Gemstone Identification, Jewel Enhancement.
**EQUIPMENTS**:-
1. Normal Attire Set | Level: 10
Endurance: 5+ | Agility: 1-
2. Leather Armour | Level: 10
Endurance: 10+ | Agility: 3-
3. Bow | Level: 10
Intelligence: 15+ | Agility: 2-
**CHARACTER PANEL/End**
\'Damn, they bought all the skills they could have,\' Li Wei thought with a stunned expression as he saw their status.
\'Their attributes are also higher, maybe because they are from another race and living in the magical world,\' he pondered, thinking about their attributes.
After confirming their status he looked at Alice and Elva.
"Let\'s go, we are going to take a quest for the dungeon, " he declared heading towards the quest board with Li Xin, Alice and Elva following him.
"Sorry, I didn\'t ask for your opinion," he whispered to Li Xin with an apologetic expression.
He didn\'t ask her because she wasn\'t good with strangers, and he would end up deciding later.
He also agreed without her consent because both were girls, and it was clearly better than partying with some guys and making Li Xin uncomfortable.
"I don\'t care as long as I am with you," Li Xin replied with a smile.
She didn\'t care if he asked her or not; she would agree with whatever decision he made.
"Thank you for always supporting me," he whispered, ruffling her hair.
He really felt blessed to have a stepsister like her.
Watching him ruffle her hair, Li Xin smiled cutely, enjoying it.
Li Wei and Li Xin continue to walk and enjoyed themselves forgetting about the new party members.
As Elva and Alice followed behind them, they watched their interactions with dumbfounded expressions.
"Elva, they are lovers, right?" Alice whispered slowly.
"Yes, there is no doubt," Elva nodded and confirmed.
"Then will we be third wheels?" Alice asked with a worried expression.
"Probably not, as long as we give them their own space," Elva shook her head and continued their gossips on them until they reached the quest board.