There was a huge commotion over in the cafeteria where Oriole and her party gathered. Even the Impenetrable Shield could not stop everyone. Negotiations broke down when the hungry mafia heirs and heiress understood the person they wished to see the most that morning wasn't coming.
"Boo! Who are you? Where's our cute chef? Call him out!"
Match growled lowly and shoved the boy who said that. "Watch it," he warned and ignited his hand on fire as a real threat. "That cute chef is Guild Survivor's advisor and a man under the Seer's protection. I may not be able to kill you here, but I can definitely do so in the event. Watch your tongue if you want to live."
The reminder that Zen was indeed under Liu Feng's protection made the crowd sombre. They were simply too used to that civilian behaviour by Zen that it slipped their mind. Most of them like Zen enough to not kill him in the event and let him go if they passed him by. Some even came here intending to offer Zen a p
The candidates were preoccupied when they found themselves getting pulled suddenly into the virtual game world.The sudden change in environment took many by surprise, and some felt sick. However, the mood changed almost at once when they realised the Egg Hunt had started. Forgetting their sickness, everyone launched into action, contacting their guild and party members. Others who worked alone started hunting eggs for points.There was no countdown for the event to begin, and some students fought each other. The bystanders left quickly, not wanting to get caught in the scuffles. Some were too afraid of leaving their spawn areas, while others were on the run as if they knew where they were heading.Zen was disoriented for a while as people ran and shouted everywhere. He was in an unfamiliar place, and while his mind understood where he was, his body still felt sick from the transfer. One moment he was falling off the roof, and the next moment, he was in the laun
Felix looked around carefully. Nothing seemed out of place, but his instincts smelled a rat, a very cornered and frightened rat. However, before his hunt could begin, the Hunter had to defend himself from a very violent assault as the door blasted open.Zen thought that Akiko was here, but the person was too tall to be her. Instead, he heard a man's voice and Zen rejoiced. His big brother was here!"Thank you for taking care of my man, but I'm not that generous to share him, so you'd need to leave."At first, Felix did not understand what the Seer was talking about. However, he recalled the strange news going around that the Seer picked up a stray puppy who made good food. Things clicked, and Felix laughed. The rat in the laundromat turned out to be the nerdy kid ranked dead last. No wonder Felix could not find them. They were good at hiding, just like how they hide in the opening ceremony.The dagger tore Liu Feng's sleeve, and Felix quickly flipped over
"What happened here?" Zen asked Sasha.The kitchen was so badly messed up, but there were still some things functioning when Zen checked. Thank goodness for that!Sasha sighed. "We were fighting some dude that had guns in his body. I don't know what kind of freak he was, but his family did a number on him. We fought him with guns, and I shot him in a place that created sparks, so he fled. I assume he wanted to capture this flag, but resistance is futile. AS long as those monsters within the higher ranks do not come, we can hold everyone else off with numbers."Zen studied the people gathered in the kitchen base. Most of them were newly joined group members, and without Liu Feng or Akiko, he had the next highest authority in the guild."Rookies," he addressed the anxious mafia heirs and heiresses. "I am Zen, Guild Survivor's advisor. Give me a brief report on the ground situation."Sasha stood behind Zen with her sniper rifle in her arms. The Russia
As Zen listened to Match explain how their party met Akiko on the way to the clock tower, the advisor found himself recalculating the odds. Johan was still very much a loose cannon, causing destruction and leaving trails of blood even if Akiko was hot on his tail. Liu Feng was still very occupied with tracking Felix down. Apparently, even Carnage's vice guild master had to be wary of the blind assassin. Once again, Zen was amazed by just how powerful Liu Feng was. "Report any sightings of eggs," Zen announced in the guild chat and waited. Their first delivery of eggs should not take too long to arrive. "Red eggs found in the shooting range," Tracer reported. "They run fast." "Blue eggs spotted in the garden," a new party responded, and Zero advised them to be wary of the egg's shell. It was poisoned, and honestly, someone with poison resistance like Akiko or Scorpion should go. However, they were both preoccupied. "We see some yellow eggs swimming in
When Tracer and Gambler arrived at the shooting range, they almost could not believe their eyes. They knew this event was going to be special, but the sight of a hundred red eggs running everywhere and even hopping on the fallen mafia heirs would make anyone pause. It was ridiculous!"Do we even need trash like them in the guild?" Tracer asked his partner, who hummed.The Gambler looked at the fallen mafia heirs. These people were definitely ranked higher than Tracer. Yet, they were getting looked down upon. On the other hand, Tracer admired Zen's ability to command the guild into action when they were so lost. Without Zen's initial strategy, there would be more casualties.Zen's gamer logic and strategy were good in coordinating for a campaign like this. However, Tracer knew that the important man could not oversee every other small battle. Not everyone in the guild was good at adapting to unusual circumstances. The yellow egg team managed somehow with Zen's pr
A hundred red eggs without feet were delivered swiftly, and Zen was impressed by Tracer and Gambler's teamwork. Putting them together was the right decision."While I'm at it, I would like to make a request to borrow Scorpion to collect the blue eggs. Most of the new recruits aren't very good at this egg hunt."Puzzled, Zen looked at Sasha. Wasn't the Scorpion following Team Freedom's leader? The Russian sniper explained the team's dynamic. Scorpion and Controlled Berserker couldn't be separated and acted as a pair no matter what happened. After Controlled Berserker was injured, the couple retreated to recover and stay out of danger."They're preparing for a rematch, but I need Scorpion's help to get the blue eggs. It might take you some time to handle the blue eggs and their poison, and we need time to search for the black eggs."Hearing how he had another reliable person doing egg runs, Zen agreed with Tracer's ideas. The man was a great tactician, and
When Tracer and Gambler arrived at the garden, they found the newly joined guild members struggling with getting close to the blue eggs. Honestly, they could not be blamed for incompetence. Even the Death Princess and Seer would struggle with this. The best person for the job had to be Scorpion. She was basically a body of walking poison and toxins. A small amount from these spiky eggs wouldn’t do much damage. It would be like picking cherries for her.“You’re not going to be helpful here,” Tracer told the party, attempting to poke at a poisoned spiky egg with his weapon. The egg simply remained unmoving and refused to be shoved into the empty flour sack.The teen looked offended at Tracer. Who was this newcomer who looked like he was going to die if the wind blew him a little too hard?Gambler looked at the four runts and sighed. “Go help those in the shooting range. Have you not heard? The healing and stamina buffs require eggs. T
When Party Freedom returned, they saw Party Prayer helping Zen in the kitchen. There were more eggs than they remembered, and Sasha burst through the door just after they settled Controlled Berserker on the floor.“Water eggs are here! I can’t find the black ones anywhere.”Zen thought about it. Why were there no explosive eggs? They hated crowds. If there was one building in the entire academy that did not permit crowding, where would that be?Suddenly, he had his answer. “Library. The black eggs might be in the library.”His answer started a chain reaction. When Sasha heard it, she looked at Party Freedom. Tracer sent the guild and vice guild masters messages about Zen’s guess on the elusive black egg’s location.Almost at once, the response came. Akiko said that she would handle it. On the other hand, Liu Feng said that he would return to base to check on the crafting progress. It was difficult, but he m
Liu Feng was not pleased to learn that Zen was already considering inviting another troublesome person into his circle after sparring with Akiko. Yet, he could not say he was surprised. In the brief weeks of meeting Zen, he had seen enough to know it would not be the last time either. From the get-go, even Liu Feng had been drawn to the young cook because of this attitude. It was both the young man’s charm and weakness.While the blind teen had enough respect for Chatura, a famous strategist, he hated dealing with snake-like personalities. They already had several ticking time bombs in the Godly Food Party, and the Lau Triad’s influence could only shield Zen from so much harm. Damian Gorski had provoked half the Round Table, and Zen had rejected everyone there. An omerta might be sacred, but it was not always upheld by both parties. There were many ways to cancel an omerta, usually involving the death of one party, and Liu Feng did not wish to crush his younger swor
After finishing his dinner, Zen sipped on the weird concoction called tea from a heavy stainless steel tool holder sterilised in isopropyl alcohol. The cyborg offered to distil and mix some of his alcohol supply into the tea for a ‘better flavour,’ and Zen smartly declined. He did not have a mechanical gut that could be replaced easily. It was best to stick to conventional instant tea in unconventional cups, even if Damian stuck two very different flavours of instant tea in one cup.Although Damian had overheard the conversation in the kitchen, Zen still told him what he knew from Bolt and asked if Damian had a way to verify the information. Due to the many rumours floating around Chatura, it was difficult to know the kind of person she was. It was obvious who spread those rumours.Within thirty minutes, Damian uncovered a lot more than Zen thought was possible. Then again, he should probably not be surprised that the Gorski had such an extensive information ne
Sneaking dinner back to the room, Zen thanked Bolt and Yelena for updating him about the new faction. Although neither invigilator liked the strategist, Chatura was a very powerful person whom Zen found intriguing.Unfortunately, Liu Feng and Akiko were out. They said they would be sparring in the training ground and were not back yet. Sasha and Oritha were still in the gym, making Damian Zen’s only option to discuss this new situation with them.Deciding to take a quick shower, Zen sent Damian a text and asked if he could come over to discuss something confidential in thirty minutes with his dinner. The cyborg took a while to reply, but Zen smiled when he received an affirmation in the middle of his shower.Thirty minutes later, Zen knocked on Damian’s door, freshly showered and with a packed dinner in his other hand. There was nobody in the corridor, so Zen relaxed.Damian opened the door within seconds and welcomed Zen in.“Pardon the me
When Bolt returned with the first aid kit, he was largely relieved to see how Yelena was taking care of Zen. Taking over, he checked on the burn injury that had greatly reduced thanks to the ice cream tub, although the same could not be said of the melting liquid inside.“That might have to go back into the freezer for now,” he gently told Yelena, who agreed.Now that the actual adult was back, Yelena threw the explanation to Bolt. She hated the woman Chatura. There was no way she wanted to explain all the complicated history to Zen when she could barely speak English. Besides, between the two of them, Bolt was supposed to be the smarter one.“Oh, Chatura. Yes… it’s a complicated story,” Bolt frowned. “There are so many rumours and versions about what happened to her before she had been turned into an invigilator here. I’ve never personally met her or talked to her in my time here. However, I don’t think we have a
After spending most of the day in the virtual world, the rest of Party Godly Food excused themselves to hit the gym and stretch their muscles. Damian returned to finish compiling the game guide while Zen worked on preparing dinner. Yelena and Bolt were present, so there was no need for anyone else to keep him company. Not to mention, the kitchen hands were very helpful. Most of the ingredients Zen needed were already prepared. The dirty dishes from the last meal were washed meticulously and left to dry on the counter.“Did you find anything new in the dive this time?” Bolt asked while Zen mixed his seasoning.Zen wanted to make something simple for dinner as they had a heavy tea. Fried rice and some soup will do. There was more than enough for everyone later.“There were new things,” Zen admitted, reluctant to reveal too much information about the new features and unique split-path quests he and Damian had discovered. “However
Collecting the rewards for successfully defeating John’s cousin, the party members of Godly Food jumped into the portal leading to the next floor. Zen knew that the dungeon had different themes on every ten floors. The tenth floor of each themed stage would be different from the other stages in difficulty. It was why the vanguard team struggled with the twentieth floor’s boss. In addition to the stage mechanic’s difference, the final boss was also tougher to deal with. If not for the monstrous capabilities of the combatants, Zen doubted they could breeze through the first ten floors as quickly as they did.Anticipating a village or town vibe similar to the other floors from before, Zen was stunned to find himself in a rocky cave full of darkness. It had ominous vibes, and only Liu Feng moved confidently in the darkness. Everyone else minimised exploring further without a light source.“We’ll log out here,” Akiko informed Damian. “Y
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