After leaving the team, the adventurer ladies regretted it deeply

The nearsighted rhinoceros charged forward only to discover upon approach that it was facing an elephant herd.

It left Kam completely dumbstruck.

Abner's expression remained calm, seemingly unaffected by the threat Kam posed.

His right hand reached for the long sword at his waist.

The sword resembled a katana, with a white hilt wrapped in spirals of black cloth.

It had no elaborate decorations, simple and efficient.

But the magic fluctuations emanating from the sword couldn't be ignored.

With such a powerhouse present, Lin Da hardly worried about being harmed by Kam.

A flash of cold light.

Kam's remaining left arm flew into the air.

With a thud, it landed on the ground like bulky trash.

Kam, having lost his balance, fell awkwardly.

There was no fear, shock, or anger on Kam's face.

He just stared blankly at his 'hands.'

"You've brought this upon yourself," Abner sheathed his sword, speaking indifferently.

Rhode closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

The reporters frenziedly snapped pictures of Kam, capturing this clownish spectacle.

Seated on the ground, Kam remained dazed for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Gone, my hand is gone, hahaha! My hand is gone, hahaha!"

Watching Kam, now driven mad, Lin Da felt no sympathy as he calmly approached and raised the Sword of Royalty.

"You lack martial honor, attacking me with an ultimate skill unawares. According to the 'Adventurer Law,' Article 61, I have the right to execute you."

"Wait, he's just a child—"

Rhode tried to argue.

Even if Kam was 46 years old, he was still immature.

How could you take such a person seriously?

However, Lin Da would not allow any more accidents to happen.

The Sword of Royalty made a clean, decisive cut.

Splurt!

Tomato juice-like blood sprayed out.

In the moment before death, Kam regained clarity and cried out in fear: "Big brother, save me!"

Alas, it was too late.

The moment Kam challenged Lin Da, his fate was sealed.

A once whole head rolled to a stop at Rhode's feet.

"He... was still... a child."

Rhode muttered to himself.

The burly man touched his smooth forehead, feeling helpless and heartbroken.

Even if Kam was a good-for-nothing, he was also the brother of his friend, Hulus.

Kam's death filled Rhode with surging anger.

But glancing at Abner, Rhode forcefully quenched his fury.

Lin Da killing Kam by his own hand marked the end of the duel.

The reporters snapped photos continuously.

Kam became the first Star Rank to be slain by an adventurer below level 30.

His attempt to ambush Lin Da with an ultimate skill was sheer humiliation.

Even with Kam dead, no one could accuse Lin Da of any crime.

"Let's go!" Rhode took a deep breath, picked up Kam's head and body, intending to leave.

"Wait."

Lin Da spoke, "Interfering in the arena, you nearly caused my death; this cannot be overlooked."

"'Nearly caused your death'? Nacho just glanced at you!" Rhode paused, then burst out in anger.

"How would you know if I wasn't scared to death, not being me?"

"The pressure from a level 33 Star Rank is too great for me."

"It may look like I'm fine, but I've lost half my life already!"

Lin Da pointed at Nacho, expressionless: "Having him lose half his life too, that seems fair, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Nacho, who had barely suppressed his internal injury, nearly relapsed.

Fair?

Absolutely ridiculous!

He had merely glared at Lin Da and was beaten severely by two of Lin Da's teammates.

Now Lin Da wanted half his life too.

"Just let him die and it'll all be over!"

"Not just that."

Nacho looked at Kam's corpse, feeling increasing chill in his heart.

Once Hulus gets out of prison, he definitely won't let him off lightly.

His future looked grim.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Rhode stood up.

"Lin Da, just say it, what kind of compensation do you want?" Rhode said coldly. Experience exclusive tales on empire

Lin Da thought for a moment and said, "I'm the victim here. It's only reasonable that you propose the compensation amount, isn't it?"

Rhode just wanted to quickly settle the matter.

After some argument, it was decided: Phantom would pay Lin Da one million Gold Coins in damages for emotional distress.

This amount was incredibly large. Phantom's annual income was about one million Gold Coins.

Not only had their vice-captain died, but they also had to compensate Lin Da with money.

Apart from the few slaves directly controlled by Hulus, the other team members, one by one, were so angry that their faces turned ashen.

Yet, facing the cameras of the reporters, they had to speak gently and comfort Lin Da, wishing him a good rest and recovery.

In the afternoon, Lin Da and his team confidently walked out of the Amphitheater.

They headed to a nearby business, brandishing the damages paid by Phantom, and splurged on 1,000 Bronze Level Fruits of the World Tree.

As it happened, the Great Mystery Continent had recently opened its fifth layer, leading to a slight increase in the production of Bronze Tree fruit.

Furthermore, with Lin Da's honor as an adventurer, the business reduced their prices proactively, lowering them to 950,000 Gold Coins.

Effectively, Lin Da saved 50,000 Gold Coins and bought 1,000 Bronze Tree fruits.

True to its name, the tree that bore this fruit had leaves of a bronze-colored hue. Close-up, the fruit exuded a fragrant aroma and was infused with rich magic power fluctuations.

Overall, it looked a bit like an apple.

Lin Da distributed one to each team member, and they ate them as they rode in a carriage on their way back to the villa.

[System Prompt: Consuming a Bronze Level Fruit of the World Tree increases your experience by 1 point per second for 1,000 seconds.]

It seemed that one fruit could increase experience by 1,000 points.

Lin Da felt his stomach was still quite empty, so he took out a paper bag filled with Bronze Tree fruits from his Space Ring and continued to eat voraciously.

Not until the tenth fruit did he burp, feeling too full to eat anymore.

Lin Da glanced at his personal interface, where the experience point increase had jumped from 1 point per second to 10 points per second.

In other words, by eating the Fruits of the World Tree, he could gain an extra 10,000 experience points every day.

However, for ordinary adventurers, consuming the Fruits of the World Tree required cultivation for transformation, and the higher the level, the more difficult the transformation became.

If one kept relying on the Fruits of the World Tree to level up, they'd eventually hit a bottleneck that could permanently halt their progress.

The body would become dependent on the fruit, ruining an adventurer's career thereafter.

One could eat them, but not excessively.

Therefore, Lin Da only gave Monica and the others three each.

"Three team members, consuming nine Bronze Tree fruits a day, and I ten, will amount to 570 fruits a month... roughly 570,000 Gold Coins. Plus the team members' wages... Although they aren't asking for it, I still need to give what's due."

"Lulu is Star Rank, her base pay is 100,000 Gold Coins a month, Tasya isn't officially on the team, so she only gets maid-level wages, Monica 30,000 Gold Coins, Kafni 1,000 Gold Coins..."

"Then there's the villa's 'Magic Power Fee', heating, and all sorts of miscellaneous expenses, which add up to at least about 720,000 Gold Coins a month,"

Lin Da calculated his expenses on the carriage, looking somewhat troubled.

If it weren't for the million Gold Coins he got from Phantom, he really wouldn't have enough money.

Currently, he had 1.1 million Gold Coins left on his Savings Card.

After eating the Fruits of the World Tree in his hand, that money wouldn't last even two months!

"Master, is something troubling you?" Tasya noticed the difficulty on Lin Da's face and asked attentively.

The team members all looked over.

Lin Da hesitated.

Asking a maid who hadn't yet joined the team for a loan would hurt his image as a team leader.

Having been through owing wages with Lia, Lin Da knew all too well the importance of paying staff on time.

Even if they were his old team members.

But the money due had to be paid without cheating.

Luckily, there was enough for the next two months.

'If I can obtain that treasure on the tenth layer, making a few hundred million Gold, and level up a few times, there should be no problem.'

Lin Da mulled it over quietly.

He looked up at his team members and said with a smile, "Nothing much, everyone has absorbed the strength of the Bronze Tree fruit. Cultivate well and don't waste the fruit."

"Even a maid like me can enjoy your fruit?" Tasya asked shyly, holding a Fruit of the World Tree, hesitating to eat it.

"If I say eat, you eat. That's a benefit for the maid."

Lin Da took a World Tree fruit the size of a fist, shoved it into Tasya's mouth forcefully.

"Mmm, master, it's too big... cough, cough."

Tasya closed her eyes in embarrassment, bit into the fruit, and coughed repeatedly as she choked while swallowing.