Heavy Load's party had originally consisted of only four people. Adolf had joined later, and both sides were still getting along reasonably well as they adjusted to one another.
"Captain, we still haven't figured out this mage's background. Isn't inviting him to work with us so rashly a little too..."
"We need a mage." Heavy Load waved a hand. "The guy I originally invited changed his mind at the last minute. He doubled his asking price and demanded first pick of the equipment, too."
Adolf immediately frowned. "When did this happen?"
"Before you came to meet us." Heavy Load snorted. "That bastard was banking on us being unable to find another mage at short notice... I was originally going to have you fill the gap. A necromancer is still a mage."
Adolf said nothing to that. If necessary, he really would have had to fill in. Heavy Load hadn't deliberately concealed that from him, which was already decent enough... That was the trouble with small teams: they could find themselves short of a needed role at any moment, and having to pull double duty was common.
After a moment's thought, he said, "But we really don't know this Little Mage."
"How did you meet?"
Adolf briefly recounted what had happened at the building site—leaving out only the fact that he had used up one resurrection.
"Hmm... Little Mage really did show up at a suspiciously convenient moment." Heavy Load considered it. "My guess is he was waiting to swoop in and reap the rewards after you and that Kunlun cop fought it out! Solo players love ambushing people, stabbing them in the back, and looting corpses. They're parasites!"
Adolf nodded. "That's what I thought, too. I originally planned to lure him here, find out what he was made of, then..."