There was nothing to fear. Even if he died, it wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, Zen was confident that his new title would protect him from going bankrupt even if he had to revive a hundred times before killing this fat blob.
The gamer in him awakened and rose to the challenge after Zen discarded his cowardly civilian mindset. It was time for his superior gamer persona to take over.
In every monster within games, Zen understood that they were programmed with a behavioural pattern. The last time he encountered an area slime boss, he did not have the time to study the attack pattern.
Now, Zen looked back at the slime as he ran in circles around the willow trees by the pond. This area slime boss was chasing after him without much thought process. If it were a little wiser, it would stop chasing Zen in circles
Despite all the good boss drops, Zen still had no kills for normal green slimes. If they were alone, Zen could easily take them out. However, if they ganged on him in a group, he was still slightly afraid. His training in Claymore never taught him how to deal with multiple enemies at the same time. Zen found that it might be scarier to deal with many low levelled slimes at the same time than one area boss.His mind couldn’t analyse their movement patterns all at once, and Zen knew his clumsy body could not react fast enough to them even if this was a game. Except for moving around in the kitchen, Zen had very little coordination sense.Yet, here he was. The gamer looked at his quest and inventory tabs, wondering how he should approach this. Should he farm five normal slimes first and return to town to turn in his Slime Hunter quest to the shady merchant o
On his way back, Zen killed several more green slimes using his hit and run technique. He almost had a free trip back to the starter town when his health bar fell to an alarming five percent after one scuffle. It was unglamorous, and Zen felt ashamed of getting bullied so badly. Then again, he could not be blamed. Who could expect getting ganged upon by three consecutive waves of green slimes out in the open? Their respawn rate was too quick, and Zen barely got away from them.If he had to make a comparison, these slimes were almost as powerful as medium-sized dogs. Zen really was no match against those animals, and he groaned, feeling pain everywhere. Thankfully, this wasn’t real, or he would be bruising badly with some cracked bones as he bandaged himself.First aid was a handy skill to have, and Zen was thankful that he did not procrastinate to complet
Charlie and Remi replied at light speed. Zen was still crafting his advanced healing salve when they demanded to know his location.Unable to leave the chapel until he finished his task, Zen told them to meet him in the chapel of the very first spawn town. He was surprised to hear that they were both on the fifth floor but knowing they had two combat powerhouses in their party, it wasn’t very surprising. Party Freedom was a rather well-balanced mix of members who could cover each other’s blind spots, and Zen was tempted to ask if Jessica and Benjamin wanted to join too. However, he decided against it for now.After all, he still had yet to hear from the Seer about the new information he discovered about NPCs and side quests.Father Clarence was busy minding his own business when two newcomers visited his
“How long have you known about the existence of side quests?” Charlie threw his arm around Zen’s neck to wrestle him into a light chokehold position.It wasn’t very difficult for the Gambler to give the short gamer a noogie as payback for keeping all the good information to himself while everyone else fumbled like clueless bats in this virtual dungeon game.Zen apologised and begged for mercy when the taller teen offered no reprieve from the chokehold. It did not hurt as much, but it was definitely uncomfortable. Sadly, not even Remi pitied him. If anything, the insomniac might propose doing it himself to take out his obvious frustrations on Zen.Father Clarence gave out the quests like what Zen mentioned, and after receiving their first side quest, Charlie let Zen go.
Liu Feng and Akiko were tense. He had no idea what happened between them earlier, but Liu Feng’s general expression changed when he heard Zen.“There you are!” the Seer smiled gently and took a real look at Zen before reaching out to pat Zen’s head softly.“You’re a lot shorter than I thought you were now that I can see.”His statement made Zen freeze. “What do you mean?”Akiko tilted her head to one side. Didn’t Zen tell Liu Feng to make his area boss drop into an accessory because he knew what it could do?Liu Feng paused. His smile faltered. Many questions hovered in everyone’s minds. Misunderstanding deepened, and this time, there was no way for them to con
“Nobody can be certain of the truth from a watered-down source,” Zen told them. “I have reasons to believe that while the claims of the Gorski’s family’s children experimentation and torture are true, there is more than meets the eye.”Liu Feng and Akiko held their breaths as Zen explained his perspective. From analysis, the scientists from the Gorski family fit the criteria as curiosity-driven individuals with a desire to solve many of civilian’s problems. They were one of the Godfather’s most loyal supporters of wanting to do good as guardians of their territory. However, not many people believed them after the truth of their results were leaked.Even so, Zen’s theory was only a theory. Without concrete evidence to clean the Gorsi family’s crimes, knowing the truth was useless.
Putting aside Damian Gorski’s matter, for now, the trio finally cleared up all the bad air between them since morning.“You can have the one with higher efficiency,” Liu Feng tossed the advanced healing salve to Akiko. “I’ll be happy with the one my little brother made.”Zen blushed at how Liu Feng phrased things. Sometimes, he wondered if this long-haired older brother was conscious of what he was doing. If he was a lady, he would have fallen for Liu Feng.Akiko did not bother arguing. She might not need this now, but it was better than arguing with the Seer when he was feeling possessive. Zen was grabbed by the waist, and Liu Feng jumped down from the tree with the small gamer tucked neatly under one arm like an attempted kidnapping right before her eyes.
Unsurprisingly, Zen finished Father Clarence’s quest first. However, Remi and Charlie were still far from reaching their quota. Akiko and Liu Feng did not mind helping Zen to gather a few more slimes when the teen said he wanted to collect a few more green goo for salve crafting practice.More was better than less, and Remi decided he couldn’t go on anymore. For every five slimes he killed, there would only be one or two that dropped goo. Something was strange. Zen killed way lesser slimes than they did, leaving most of the slime horde to them, but he finished his quota first.As Remi and Charlie rested, the tactician observed Zen, who requested smaller groups of slime to be sent his way so that he could conserve his stamina. Swinging a short sword also took a lot of energy, even if his movements with the sword were getting better. He did not see hi
After entering the boss dungeon den, Zen shivered. It wasn’t similar to a wolf’s den. If anything, it appeared closer to an actual dungeon, as if someone had deliberately attempted to imprison the boss here. The stale smell of dogs and many broken chains of different sizes on the ground spoke volumes about John’s cousin.Unlike the short werewolf, who remained in his werewolf form constantly, the boss was a monster who could transform. Depending on the moon cycle, it could be a violent and bloodthirsty monster or a broken man who lived in constant fear and misery of his curse.“He changes according to the moon cycle once the rampage begins,” Akiko explained. “I took a while to figure out how to kill him, even on the first run. He’s immune to damage on a blood moon. We need to finish it as soon as possible.”With a full party participating in a boss battle, Zen had faith they could conclude it before even the blood moon p
Finally approaching the final boss’s cave, Zen wondered if the storyline would change because they had let Han murder John brutally. His body had been hacked into pieces and scattered around the rotting forest. The maggots would get to it soon and reduce it to bones. Yet, the cruel butchering session remained fresh in Zen’s mind.Everyone in the party knew that feeling all too well. Having lived in the underworld, they sympathised with Zen, who had lived like a civilian his whole life. Although not everyone participated directly in the act of murder, they knew what it meant to take a life. Even Damian had seen it happen. He knew how to interrogate for information and was quite adept at the craft when required.“Don’t think too much about it,” Liu Feng was the first to break the silence. “He wasn’t even real. This is a game designed by the Godfather to find the next successor. It’s just another test.”Even if it wer
Even after many years of not being on talking terms with the rest of the family, Hans fitted right in when delving blows at the cowardly werewolf. Mai ripped out chunks of flesh with her teeth, snarling at it the whole time while Laura expertly force-fed the werewolf with different herbs with particularly nasty effects.Even with regeneration abilities, John could not recover from herbs that tasted nasty, gave him muscle cramps or made him itch all over. Laura truly knew how to make someone suffer, and Zen watched with morbid fascination at their different uses. Her apothecary skills were no less effective than those of Herbologist Hernie.“Can you heal him again?” Damian asked. “Han needs another round. Mai roughed him up a little too good.”With a priest in the party who did not worship any known religion, the torture session became smoother and more effective. No apology from John would appease the family’s anger. Although Zen did not
After listening to the story about John, Laura’s expression hardened. “That son of a bitch!” she spat. “How dare he prey on my granddaughter! Where is he now?!” Slightly terrified by the murderous aura, Zen reported that Sasha and Damian had the werewolf at Gabrielle’s hut. Mai had been ripping him a new one each time he regenerated. The girls had been doing a great job of making him miserable. Han was already there. “I can’t believe I’m last at the party. That wolf deserves to die. Even death is too cheap a price to pay after what he did to my husband and son.” For once, Zen agreed. Even if John was merely a character in the game, he deserved death. The fact that the game administrators did not grant John invulnerable stats meant that it was possible to kill the cousin of the floor boss. While waiting for Laura to pack her ‘tools’ and herbal surprises, Zen approached Liu Feng and thanked him for accompanying them. In real time, it was already past regular l
Studying advanced herbalism from Laura took more time than Zen expected. Thankfully, the game had a way of providing cheats for him. Instead of cramming all the knowledge into his head that would give him a splitting migraine, it provided a useful guidebook that would prompt him on what a particular herb does upon location and what combinations he could use it for with other known herbs. The problem was, to truly master this skill, he had to pass the final test. Laura’s pop quiz only had ten questions. However, there was a timer. While Zen could attempt it infinitely, there were thousands of herb combinations to remember. Not having any formal education in either of his past lives, the young chef faltered. “You may use anything in this cottage as a reference for your test,” Laura smirked. “All the best. I hope you won’t disappoint me.” Stressing over the best method to find what he needed, Zen tested a few things. Firstly, when Laura said that the new skill would inst
While the other party members gathered the family members for a reunion, Zen and Liu Feng finally found Laura’s cottage after taking a wrong turn. Funnily enough, it was the Seer who pointed out how they had been going in a circle before Zen realised he had misinterpreted the map. Knocking on the cottage door, Zen waited with his sworn brother. From inside, he could hear someone coughing badly. “Who is it?” the cranky old lady hacked as she cracked open the door. Instead of seeing her sloppy son or nosy granddaughter, Laura saw a cute priest and a handsome, long-haired warrior. The new adventurers surprised her. Were they lost in the forest? “What do you want?” she asked briefly before launching into a new coughing fit. It was a particularly nasty cold that had persisted for a week now without any signs of recovery. Despite all the herbal medicine she made, Laura did not see any signs of improvement. Perhaps she was getting on in age. Smiling, Zen show
It was a shame Zen was not with them. Sasha would have gone for a few more rounds, using the cowardly werewolf as a punching bag after Zen healed him. The more they dug information out from the pervert, the worse Sasha’s temper was. Damian did not stop her. The draconian needed somewhere to vent her anger, and it was best for it not to come his way. In truth, the cyborg felt a little sorry for Gabrielle, even if she were just a fictional character created for this virtual dungeon game. The cowardly cousin of the floor boss was no different from lowly thugs borrowing the influence of their powerful relatives to cause mayhem. Whimpering in fear and pain with his tail tucked in between his legs, the werewolf defect who could not transform into a human no matter the moon cycle kept a close eye on Sasha. Under the watch of the merciless draconian female, there was nowhere for him to run. He told them what they wanted to know and was alive for now. Given how tightly they w
Using hand gestures, Sasha signalled the countdown and Damian prepared his stunning spells silently. They only had one chance to catch the secret admirer off guard. Whatever he was doing was disgusting enough. Han wasn’t lying about the obsession. The stalker werewolf was plucking flower petals and chanting Gabrielle’s name to see if she would love him back. Each time the flower petals ended on a no, he would crush the flower, stomp on it and pick a new one, confessing his disturbing love to her before plucking off the petals of a new flower.“Oh, Gabrielle! What sweet rosy cheeks you have, all the better for me to bite into them when they are ripe! They were pink when you were a babe. They were red when you had a fever. I wonder if they’d bleed if I bit them… would you cry in pain and fear? It makes me so excited to think about it! Just wait a little more, my angel. You’d soon be an adult, and we could finally be together!”Disgu
As soon as Zen and Liu Feng departed, the remaining assassins pulled themselves together and got to work. Oritha opted to remain in the same room as the sleeping mother and daughter. However, Akiko went outside to share the information she learned last night about the stalker while patrolling the perimeter.“More brown hair?” Damian asked. “I could examine the cuticle to determine its genetic composition.”Handing the tuft of brown fur or hair over, Akiko also told Sasha the stalker’s route. Liu Feng only sensed the area where the unknown man was hiding last night. His lack of vision made him miss out on the obvious tracks. The stalker was not an expert. It must be how Han knew the foot size of Gabrielle’s secret admirer.Showing Sasha the tracks she found in the night, the Death Princess explained her hypothesis. The night hounds and wolves did not approach the house due to an invisible barrier.“It was as if they were t