Chapter 1035: Party Formation
Ling Zhan couldn't be bothered to even glance at Toad San's mocking words.
He had spent an entire afternoon researching the Citizen Qualification Trial Tournament—there was no way he didn't know about it.
It was precisely because he understood it that he chose to participate.
"Well then..."
"You're only level 210 right now. If you want to join the trial tournament, you'll need to increase your strength first."
"Come to Helen Town. I'll get you some dungeon tickets suitable for your level and help you form a party with other Professionals."
"Level up first."
Kuna softly suggested.
"Huh?"
Toad San was slightly stunned when he heard that.
Was the mayor's daughter overly sympathetic?
Or was she helping just because this human looked handsome?
Gotta say...
Even in the world of Professionals, appearance mattered.
At the very least, good looks left a great first impression.
Someone like Toad San, a frogman, was hard to like visually.
Ling Zhan pondered for a moment after hearing Kuna's suggestion.
Then he nodded and said, "Alright."
"In return, all dungeon loot after the run will go to you."
The earnings from a dungeon run were more than enough to cover a ticket.
Ling Zhan had always disliked owing people favors.
More importantly, he had just arrived and really needed to run dungeons to grow stronger.
Most high-quality dungeons with good rewards were inside the safe zone.
If you tried to level up just by killing monsters in the wild, who knows how long it would take.
The fastest way to level up was through dungeons.
Now that Kuna offered to help with the tickets, Ling Zhan was naturally willing—it would save him a lot of trouble.
As for the loot, Ling Zhan had no urgent need to upgrade his gear.
Unless something unexpected happened, his current gear could serve as upgrade templates and be worn for the long haul.
He just needed to enhance them later.
"We'll talk about loot later. Come with me..."
Kuna gently shook her head and led the way toward Helen Town.
Toad San looked on, eyes filled with envy and jealousy.
Damn!
He had never even set foot inside Helen Town's safe zone.
Yet this human kid, just level 210, was walking right in and even running dungeons afterward.
How could he not be jealous?
"Wait a second..."
"Didn't this guy offend Coste City's deputy lord and escape here?"
"In that case, I should report him."
Toad San thought viciously.
See?
This world never lacks people who bear ill will toward you.
Even if you never wronged them.
If they simply dislike you, they'll come after you.
......
......
The safe zone in Helen Town was actually quite large.
When Kuna brought Ling Zhan to the entrance of the safe zone...
The guards looked quite surprised.
But after Kuna exchanged a few words with them...
They let them through without issue.
Who didn't know Kuna was the mayor's precious daughter?
No one dared offend her.
So if she wanted to bring in a few people without identity passes, no one objected.
Along the way...
The residents observed Ling Zhan with curiosity, scrutiny, and surprise.
Most noticeably...
None of the residents or Professionals here were human.
All were from other races.
Just like the records stated.
Humans were declining.
Most stayed in the Oldlands.
The rest were basically slaves in the Newlands.
Though low in status, humans were still considered legal citizens.
But for someone like Ling Zhan who had just ascended, there were only three paths to an identity pass:
One: join the qualification trial.
Two: connections.
Three: return to the Oldlands.
But here's the problem...
Identity passes from the Oldlands were the lowest tier among legal citizens.
That's right.
Citizens had ranks too.
If your pass was from the Oldlands, you might even get rejected or expelled in large cities.
But if your pass came from winning the trial tournament, no Professional would dare look down on you.
At this moment...
These Professionals were eyeing Ling Zhan, clearly curious how someone without a pass could enter.
And curious about his background.
Kuna led Ling Zhan to a guest tavern.
Seeing that Kuna was the one speaking, the owner opened a room for Ling Zhan.
Kuna paid the fee herself.
"Wait here for me..."
"I'll go get your dungeon ticket and set up tomorrow's team."
Kuna told Ling Zhan.
Ling Zhan nodded and said, "You can have all the loot from tomorrow's dungeon."
"We'll talk about that tomorrow."
Kuna smiled casually.
In her heart, she probably thought that a level 210 human wouldn't bring in much loot even if they cleared the dungeon.
She was planning to bring a full party to run the dungeon anyway.
Ling Zhan would just tag along.
With that, she left.
Watching her leave, Ling Zhan remained calm and headed to the training ground behind the tavern to complete his daily system tasks.
The night passed quietly.
The next day.
At dawn, Ling Zhan had already completed his training, fully geared, waiting for Kuna to arrive.
At 9 AM, Kuna showed up with three teens who looked around fifteen or sixteen.
"Let me introduce you. These are the teammates I found yesterday."
"This one is Asude..."
Kuna began the introductions.
Three teens in total.
One was named Asude, another Sangui.
The girl was named 'Arya.'
All three were of the Forestling race.
The Forestlings looked no less attractive than Elves.
Many often mistook Forestlings for Elves.
But Forestlings were significantly shorter than Elves.
"So this is the Ascender you mentioned, Miss Kuna?"
"He is pretty handsome."
Arya giggled.
Kuna smiled.
But Asude and Sangui stared at Ling Zhan expressionlessly.
Then their eyes shifted to Yun Man, Meng Shuang, and Chang Yue.
These three girls were stunning—even with Forestling standards, they were flawless.
As for the guy...
Hmph!
Sure, he was good-looking, but nothing special.
"Alright, today we team up for a dungeon run."
"Make sure to support each other."
Kuna said seriously.
"Of course, absolutely!"
The three Forestlings nodded.
But then Asude added coldly,
"As long as this human doesn't drag us down, we'll clear it for sure."