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
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