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Ren signed the contract right away. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The terms were fair, and there was nothing to change, so he didn’t hesitate. If there’s one thing that’s different, though, it’s that originally, Ren was expecting the party’s help up to Stage 10. Dungeons beyond that would have to be renegotiated. But in the contract he signed, the party agreed up to stage 15, which is the farthest the party explored before they stopped because of the death of a member.

Ren didn’t refuse, obviously. He had grown somewhat comfortable with the Green Tea Party, so he wasn’t against being with them for a bit longer.

With the terms and agreement finalized, Ren officially joined the Green Tea Party as a member. He received his badge, an official one, that he must take good care of.

It’s made from the shavings of the archstones; it also allows parties to explore dungeons together. That’s why he cannot lose it. Ren kept it to his inventory for safekeeping.

With Ren officially joining the Green Tea Party, a few privileges were opened to him. One of these is that he could now receive free accommodation and room service at the Rosewater Inn.

Since it’s owned by the Green Tea Party and he’s a member, this was just normal. The rest of the compound also opened up for him, but he hasn’t got the time to explore just yet.

And most importantly, there will be actual progress from now on. And the party didn’t make him wait.

Today, they move to Stage 4. They agreed to start helping Ren clear stages 4 and 5 as soon as possible because he had already delayed it for a week.

"You know, I thought you’d choose something that offers you more protection than, well...leather."

That’s what Derek said when he saw Ren wearing his Lion King’s leather armor. They already knew that he couldn’t use weapons, so they thought that he’d choose something heavy and more solid for his gear.

"You wound me, Derek. It’s like you haven’t seen me fight at all." Ren almost rolled his eyes at this. "I’m not that fragile, you know."

"Besides, this is made from the skin of a Three-Headed Lion King. Noob gear can’t get any better than this."

"Truly!?" Derek’s eyebrow rose when Ren revealed the material.

Derek, of course, recognized the monster he’s talking about; that’s why he’s shocked. He didn’t expect that this shabby-looking armor would turn out to be made from precious material.

Ren also eyed Derek’s gear. He too was wearing mostly cloth and leather armor, but he does have decent protection on his joints and vulnerable areas. His pair of daggers was tucked into the sheath attached to his belt.

He looked light, swift, and agile. Perfect for his fighting style.

"Hey, sorry I’m a bit late. Wait, Kaycee and Jen are not here yet?"

Jules came out and approached them. But Ren didn’t have to look at his direction to know that he was coming. He heard him already.

The dude was wearing one of those large and bulky metal armors. It made him so much larger than normal. His shield was secured to his back, and his sword was placed in a sheath that hung on his belt.

He looked like a stereotypical tank from an RPG, not like a martial artist at all.

’That looks uncomfortable,’ Ren mused to himself after seeing Jules’ gear. ’But it somehow fits him. Maybe he’s used to it.’

"Hey, boys! Sorry we’re late. Let’s go and do this!"

Jen sounded spry and energetic at least. Her auburn hair was tied into a braid and pulled into a bun. She wore pieces of cloth armor mixed with hard metal pieces for protection. She wore a pair of white and red boots instead of her usual heels and pants instead of a skirt.

Kaycee’s gear looked pretty much the same, only with different colors. Her long black hair was tied into a high ponytail. She wears special goggles instead of her usual glasses, but they probably have the same function; it’s just that the goggles will stay on during combat, unlike her usual glasses.

Her bow was strapped to her back, and there were quivers hanging on her belt. They looked small, but that’s because they’re shrunken. She had to touch them to return them to their original size. They should also be weightless and carry more arrows than they appear.

They’re special quivers, if you will.

"Alright, let’s go. If we can, we should clear stages 4 and 5 today so that Ren could soon go to stages 9 and 10. After that, things are going to get a little more serious."

Actually, Ren was thinking that they should just focus on repeating stage 4 today. But Derek and Sir Justin seem to have other plans, so who was he to interfere?

Since every member was here, the team wasted no time and went to the dungeon gates.

On their way out, the staff and the patrons of the Rosewater Inn greeted them politely and wished them good luck. Obviously, their eyes went to Ren, whom most of them had never seen before, but the gazes didn’t last long.

Ren didn’t mind. He’s kind of used to people talking behind his back. It’s probably because of his tattoos anyway, which is nothing new.

Anyway, the team went into the dungeon gates and arrived at the Archstone Plaza in a blink of an eye.

They didn’t pause to admire the view whatsoever. They walked to the first archstone right away.

’Right, Derek’s got the Party Leader badge. It’s his intent that the archstone will prioritize, not mine or others,’ Ren reminded himself.

This was one of the things he’s going to get used to now that he’s in a party. He’s used to being independent, but he’s not working alone anymore. He had other things to consider now.

"Alright, guys. To stage 4, we go."

The others didn’t speak. They just waited until the archstone made the move. And they didn’t have to wait long.

After a blink, they were gone from the plaza and now into Stage 4.

Ren didn’t feel disoriented anymore from the sudden teleportation. He’s as calm as a still lake, completely unbothered.

He heard Jules inhaling deeply beside him and softly saying, "Ah, fresh air. I missed clean forest biomes."

"Same here," Jen chimed in; she looked calmed by the environment. "The goblin lairs are putrid and orc lairs are just plainly disgusting. If only all dungeon stages are in biomes like this, I’d be really happy."

Goblins and Orcs; she was talking about the creatures on stages 6 to 10 and 11 to 15, respectively.

Ren didn’t say anything. Instead, like Derek and Kaycee, he began surveying their immediate surroundings.

"Kaycee, how big is our work area?" Derek asked, which made Ren a little bit confused.

"About 50 kilometers, give or take," Kaycee replied succinctly, her eyes squinting behind the goggles. "We’re on the northeast side. No Elite Slime sightings just yet."

Ren’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

"You can see the whole map?" he asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

"Kind of," Kaycee admitted. "It’s a bloodline ability. It’s a pain to use though; also, my sight’s going to go bad for a minute or two after I use it."

’Bloodlines. Yeah, that makes sense,’ Ren thought to himself. Such a good ability shouldn’t be a technique that Bone Forging martial artists could just use because they want to. Sure, there seems to be a side effect, but it could be controlled safely.

"Cool." That’s all he said. He didn’t pry. He’d wait until Kaycee tells him herself. Otherwise, it’s none of his business.

"We’ll check again after 30 minutes," Derek declared. "For now, tools out, everybody. Let’s go looting."

Yeah, this is exactly what Ren would do if he were alone.

The terrain exploration could be skipped since Kaycee already scouted the whole area where they could move.

They have 50 kilometers of dungeon area they could work with. It’s around the same size as the one generated in Stage 3, but there were more slimes here.

No elites just yet, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t appear later. More slimes will spawn, and in this stage, an Elite Slime appearing is high. Even a Slime Lord would be possible.

As they moved out of their spawn point with their tools out, Ren took a moment to check the quest requirements to clear this dungeon stage.

[Kill 0/250 Ordinary Slimes]

[Kill 0/2 Elite Slime]

’It’s a quest requirement, so an Elite Slime will definitely spawn sooner or later,’ Ren mused to himself.

’Right, the requirements are also doubled because I’m here with a party.’

’If I went solo, the requirements would be 125 ordinary slimes and 1 elite slime kill to clear the dungeon.’

’The ordinary slime requirement is doable, but the Elite? I can’t guarantee a kill if I were solo.’

This was, in fact, the whole reason why Ren applied to join a party. It’s why he delayed his exploration for party tryouts, and luckily, he found one to join so soon, and it’s the first one too.

’My teammates look confident at least. I have a good feeling about this.’