'What will it be this time?'
Anser reached out with his mind and touched the twenty-sided die. Fragments of memory surfaced one after another: Viheral's ruins, the death knight, the Artifact, divinity, Stoll's resurrection, Bane's Chosen...
A moment later, the memories faded away. The symbol transformed into a miniature campfire campsite, with several blurry figures gathered around it.
Ding—
[You have gained the Adventure Trait: Adventuring Party]
[Adventuring Party]: A life of danger and adventure has taught you that companions and followers are also a form of strength.
You can now establish an adventuring party centered around yourself, working together in good faith to overcome hardships.
You may proactively invite any creature to join the adventuring party. The creature must genuinely be willing to join and will receive a unique Adventuring Party Mark.
You may remove any member from the adventuring party at any time. However, party members cannot freely leave the adventuring party on their own.
Current Maximum Members: 9
The adventuring party possesses the following features:
[Character Sheet]: Every adventuring party member has an independent Character Sheet. As party leader, you can view them at any time and decide whether to make them accessible to their respective owners.
Party members gain experience through both training and combat, but their progress remains independent and cannot be shared.
When a member accumulates enough experience, you may determine when they level up and what abilities they acquire.
[Telepathy]: Party members can establish mental links through their Adventuring Party Marks, allowing real-time communication within a maximum range of one mile (1.6 kilometers).
[Party Storage]: A fragment of extradimensional space hidden within another plane. It measures forty feet by forty feet (12 meters by 12 meters). Living creatures cannot be stored inside. It can only be briefly opened through an Adventuring Party Mark.
[Adventure Log]: Records the significant activities of all party members, including location changes, various checks, combat, spellcasting, storage usage, and more.
...
'Interesting. This time it isn't a trait that directly boosts combat power.'
Anser was genuinely surprised.
All nine of his previous Adventure Traits had enhanced his personal strength. This one, however, was more of a support-oriented utility ability.
Even so, though [Adventuring Party] had arrived rather late, it made him particularly happy. This ability could help him build a powerful foundation of trusted people.
The most important feature was undoubtedly the Character Sheet.
It granted party members the ability to gain levels through combat and growth, helping them break through the limits of their natural talent and reach higher stages.
[Telepathy] and [Party Storage] were primarily support functions, but both were extremely useful.
Bags of Holding were common enough, but despite how powerful the die was, it had never come with a system inventory. Now that weakness had finally been addressed.
The Party Storage was shared among all members. Anyone in the party could access it.
Its ability to provide supplies across different regions made it far more convenient than a Teleportation Circle.
The storage space was neither too large nor too small—roughly the size of a house. It was best suited for storing high-value goods and emergency supplies.
As for [Adventure Log], there was nothing especially remarkable about it. It was already one of the die's inherent abilities.
Moreover, it only recorded key information. It couldn't monitor a member's thoughts, emotional state, or conversations, so it didn't really constitute an invasion of privacy.
Fortunately, it didn't.
If it could, Anser wasn't sure whether he would be able to resist looking.
Reading too much of other people's private information was the kind of thing that could easily develop into a voyeuristic habit. Maintaining a healthy mental state afterward would be difficult.
'I can't let them see their Character Sheets for now.'
Anser considered the matter carefully.
To natives of this world, a data panel would be far too difficult to understand. Worse, it might make them feel as though they were constantly being monitored and controlled, breeding suspicion.
As for the Adventure Log, that was even more something that couldn't be revealed.
'Who should I recruit into the adventuring party?'
The fey Nornoth and the pseudodragon Rex had special contractual relationships with him and therefore did not occupy party slots.
'I'll bring Bratt and Finn in first.'
The two had gone through life-and-death situations alongside Anser. Their bond was deep, and their forced withdrawal from the front lines had been a matter of circumstance rather than choice.
Since he had the opportunity, he still wanted to give the two of them a helping hand.
Training could also accumulate experience. Both men were still young, and they had every chance of reaching the pinnacle in the future—or even attaining legendary status.
Iris needed to be brought in as well. She was currently stuck at level 16, and this might be an opportunity to help her advance.
Then there were the tiefling Makaria and the bearded Adolf. Both were level 10 adventurers. If they could break into the higher tiers, their strength would undoubtedly increase dramatically.
Adding in Giant Tail the lizardfolk and Captain Salian, both of whom were firmly on his side, that left two remaining slots.
'Osborn takes one. Brunhilde and Stoll are still too new, so they're out for now. Kaleno has helped me tremendously. As for Lin Qiancheng... I'll observe him a little longer.'
Anser sorted through the candidates one by one and gradually clarified his plan.
While he was thinking, Brunhilde had already finished explaining the situation in Rock of Bral and was discussing possible responses with Iris.
"Do we really need to get deeply involved in this?" Stoll suddenly interjected. "If we offend either side, the business plan you proposed earlier won't be possible."
"We absolutely do!" Brunhilde shot back immediately, her eyes flashing. "After that battle, we've already offended the Second Prince beyond reconciliation. If we suddenly back down now, we'll only earn the Church's displeasure as well. That would be incredibly foolish."
In truth, she simply wanted the Chosen of the evil god dead.
But she didn't say that outright. Instead, she framed the issue from the perspective of the Union's interests.
"That battle was just a coincidence. Deliberately hunting him down is a completely different matter. If you do that, you'll provoke the Rock of Bral royal family and Bane's church into a frenzy of retaliation. Have you considered the consequences?
With just the few of us, can we really withstand that?" Stoll suppressed his irritation and explained patiently.
He admitted that he could be reckless at times, but he also knew how to judge a situation.
Hunting down a Chosen was sheer madness.
The retaliation of an entire church was enough to make anyone shudder.
"I'm a Chosen too!"
"That's... not the same thing, is it?"
"You—"
Brunhilde stared at Stoll, her expression as cold as ice.
"Enough. It's late. Everyone should get some rest." Iris rose to her feet and tugged lightly on Anser's arm.
Anser took her hand and left.
Since everyone disagreed, it was best to cool off and think things through.
Brunhilde and Stoll followed them out of the secret vault as well, keeping a considerable distance from each other.
The steward was still waiting outside. Seeing them emerge, he quickly ordered servants to attend to their accommodations.
Anser dismissed the servants.
After returning to the bedroom, he teleported with Iris to the top floor of the Black Tower.
The place was both secure and secluded.
At the very least, they didn't need to worry about eavesdroppers or surprise attacks.
Iris slipped off her shoes and stockings and stretched out on a reclining chair, looking utterly relaxed.
"Anser, what do you think?"
"The Chosen of evil gods are notoriously vindictive. Burying our heads in the sand isn't an option."
Anser needed to race against disaster itself, growing strong enough to protect himself before the situation spiraled out of control.
The retaliation of an evil cult was certainly terrifying.
But evil cults had plenty of enemies as well.
This wasn't the time to sit on the fence.
Choosing a side was inevitable.
Otherwise, once one side emerged victorious, people like them would be among the first to be purged.
"This is a gamble." Iris's gaze grew distant. "I want to move Fort Jacqueline to White Stone Island and prepare a backup plan."
"Of course."
Anser crouched beside her, studying her smooth, flawless face from close range.
"I've established a party. Its members can coordinate through magical marks, and there's also a shared storage space..."
Iris didn't quite follow.
Tilting her head, she looked at him in confusion.
"I know. You mentioned that before when talking to that tiefling. Do you want me to join too?"
"It's not quite the same thing. This party can help you improve faster. You can think of it as me sharing part of my talent with you."
Anser simplified the rules as much as possible, explaining them in terms that every member could understand.
He fully intended for everyone to know that their smooth advancement was thanks to him.
And he intended to accept their gratitude and respect without the slightest guilt.
Doing good deeds anonymously?
That would just be foolish.