My inventory is full of monster materials.

Bathed in sunlight, the pale blue goblin head exuded wisps of cold air.

[Dissection a great success! Obtained "fresh material"—the head of a wise Frost Goblin Shaman, retaining an additional special ability!]

[The Wise Frost Goblin Shaman's Head (White)]

Completeness: 100%

[Effect]: Intelligence +2, Ice Affinity +20%, "Eye of Surveillance Lv1 (Green)"

[Special]: Effect Fixed (0/5) - Requires sacrificing similar materials.

[The "Wise Frost Goblin Shaman Head (White)" has been detected. Do you want to equip it?]

Ice element affinity!

And magical skills!

If the situation weren't so inappropriate, Mark would really like to burst into laughter.

【equipment】

In an instant, Mark felt a refreshing coolness swirling around the top of his head, and his brain's thinking and memory were greatly expanded.

Meanwhile, in his perceived world, tiny blue-white particles floated in the surrounding air.

It seems that with just a little control, these particles can be guided by the mind.

Is this the ice element?

Immediately following this, a vast and profound memory flooded into the brain.

The memory describes how to use magic to divide a small part of one's own vision and then shape it into an invisible, persistent, and controllable observation unit independent of the body.

Mark didn't need to learn at all; all the steps, details, and key points were already deeply imprinted in his mind, as natural as an innate instinct.

"Eye of Surveillance Lv1 (Green)": Creates an invisible magical visual sensor that lasts for 6 hours.

A minute passed before Mark snapped out of his reverie.

Two or three probing gazes came intermittently from afar, making Mark feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Let's forget about the remaining body parts and get out of here quickly.

Mark removed the stone necklace from the goblin shaman's neck and turned to leave.

But Felix suddenly called out to him.

Hey! What's your name?

Mark paused for a moment, thought for a few seconds, and then turned around and called back.

"mark."

Felix then seized the opportunity and shouted.

"Mark, interested in joining our 'White Eagle'?"

"???"

Talia, Henry, and Emily all had a big question mark on their faces.

What kind of plot development is this?

Talia, being the most straightforward, immediately leaned close to Felix's ear and whispered something.

"What exactly do you want?"

Felix, however, said something pointed.

"Don't you think he's pretty strong?"

"That's not the issue."

Talia stomped her feet in anger.

Because she had been very dissatisfied with Mark's behavior.

Now Felix is ​​the one trying to recruit the other party.

Suddenly the captain was standing with the outsiders.

Talia felt both jealous and wronged that she had inexplicably become the villain.

Henry's decision to join the team was a matter of great interest to the entire team, so he had to participate in the discussion.

"Felix, why did you let an outsider get involved at this crucial moment?"

The unspoken rule among adventurers is to negotiate terms and form a party in safe areas such as guilds or towns.

Once they go outside, they rarely allow outsiders to join them.

Because there are many uncontrollable factors involved in doing so.

"Sigh~"

Felix sighed helplessly.

"Nathan and Lois are gone, and we are all injured to varying degrees. If we want to continue this mission, we must bring in new forces."

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone fell silent.

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely heavy.

In fact, they were all well aware of the team's current situation, but no one mentioned it.

However, Felix's next words shattered the team's last hope.

"If this mission fails, the compensation will include equipment losses and death benefits."

"Even if 'White Eagle' can return, it may face bankruptcy and dissolution."

The word "disband" struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.

Adventurers are inherently in a high-risk, high-reward profession.

A failed adventure often leads to the disintegration of the team.

Finally, Talia took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

"I'll listen to you."

Felix looked at Henry, who nodded in return.

Finally, the three of them looked at Emily together.

Emily was just a new, junior pastor who had never received so much attention before, so she blushed and nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice.

The whole team unanimously agreed.

Felix's smile became even more sincere.

"What do you think? We 'White Eagle' are one of the top bronze-level adventure teams in Pinewood Town, you know."

While the opposing team was discussing their strategy, Mark was also thinking about forming a team.

To be honest, he never imagined he would join an unfamiliar team in the middle of nowhere.

But then again.

That gray-haired young man who looked like the captain was quite moral.

When Mark intervened in the battle, instead of fleeing with his teammates, he led the team to join Mark in attacking the goblin horde.

When Mark snatched the prey, he wasn't angry; instead, he took the initiative to ease the tension between his teammates and the outsider.

Such a captain might not appear very assertive, but he will certainly be highly respected.

However, this is not enough for Mark to lower his guard.

In the wild, unfamiliar adventurers are more deadly than powerful monsters.

So Mark called out from afar.

How can you guarantee my safety?

Mark can guarantee it.

If the other party uses empty rhetoric, I will immediately turn around and run away.

But this question seems to have hit a nerve with someone.

"Hey, don't be ungrateful..."

Talia was furious and started yelling that she was going to go up and teach them a lesson.

Fortunately, Henry stopped the red-haired woman in time.

"Don't rush, let Felix handle the negotiations."

After hearing Mark's question, Felix sighed deeply, then fumbled for a yellowed parchment and his charcoal pencil inside his armor.

With a rustling sound.

Felix wrote something on the parchment.

Then, under Mark's watchful eye, Felix went to a relatively flat stone slab between the two of them, spread out the parchment, and weighed down the corners with pebbles to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

After doing all this, Felix got up and retreated step by step. Without saying anything more, he simply raised his uninjured right hand and made a peaceful "please" gesture.

Mark approached the stone slab with some skepticism, picked up the parchment, and glanced at it. There was only one sentence on it—

Felix Anderson, captain of the "White Eagle" adventure team, formally invites Lord Mark to join the adventure team and enjoy the rights and obligations of a full member.

It's a very concise and clear sentence, which seems to allow one to manipulate some textual loopholes.

But this is not possible.

Because in the very center of the parchment is a slanted scale-shaped coat of arms—the Seal of Justice.

Justina, the "Goddess of Justice" who represents fairness and justice, has a huge number of followers in the human kingdom.

When people need a contract with a certain degree of enforceability, they usually stamp the contract with the "seal of justice".

The moment the contract is made, both parties will receive the goddess's attention, and their fulfillment will be bound by divine power.

This process does not depend on either party's misinterpretation of the text, but purely on the goddess's subjective judgment.

Because this is impartiality, not fairness.

If one party breaches the contract, they will not only be punished by the goddess, but will also be branded with the "shame of betrayal" on their soul—their body will emit a foul black aura.

This essentially declares social death.

No one would be willing to make even a single copper coin's worth of deal with such a person.

Mark never expected that the other party would actually pull out a magical item in order to gain his trust.

There's no time to hesitate anymore.

Mark bit his thumb, squeezed out a drop of blood, and pressed it onto the parchment.

A golden, magnificent scale immediately appeared in my mind.

With a gentle tilt of the scales, the tilted lever returned to equilibrium.

The parchment in his hand burned to ashes.