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
When Akiko found the library, it was in such a terrible shape that he didn’t think that the Amazonian would still be around., However, she did find something else that was worth the trip. Black eggs! Already, the Death Princess could sense the hostility coming from the library that looked like its walls were barely holding together. If it wasn’t for the game logic to defy complete structural annihilation, the library would have been blown to smithereens. Capturing one was difficult. Zen might not be able to get more than five eggs even if Akiko was collecting them. Walking into the black egg lair was akin to running across a minefield. However, disarming the black eggs before they exploded was worse than running through a minefield. It was like running through a minefield with a bomb on her neck. Akiko’s training covered many things. Bomb diffusing was something she learned, but that was very different from diffusing an exploding egg. When in doubt, t
After receiving Oritha’s advice, Akiko studied the library. These black eggs had an explosive radius of five metres. It would not be difficult to avoid one explosion but the chain reaction of dodging them wrongly would be catastrophic even if the building was protected by game logic.This was a very tricky situation, so the Death Princess tried to enter the library as carefully as possible. The first step was alright. The eggs did not immediately explode when she stepped on the floor tile.Then, Akiko took a look at the black eggs trembling with anticipation. Some of them further in the back and upper floor of the library did not react, but those closest to her started to move. They slowly switched position and stilled as if waiting for her to take her next step.Akiko did not understand what this meant. Although they had Zen’s overview of the event situation and understood what must be done to win this game without having to kill anyone, this
Oritha did not give a fuck. Whatever her shitty guild and party members were telling her to do, she thought it was dumb. There was no need to run around killing people when they could win by securing the flags. That was the only reason she came to the library, even if she wasn’t a fan of books.Now that the Death Princess wanted to try, she would let her. Besides, these eggs were good. The rumours about Guild Survivor getting their hands on a very talented rookie who excelled in the kitchen made her envious. She had enough of these idiots in Guild Carnage. They don’t even feed her properly, and if it wasn’t for the agreement she had with Felix to support someone with true blood for future survival, she would have left.As the Amazonian made her way to the cafeteria base, she sensed bloodlust from her right and reacted swiftly.The collision made her growl. This opponent wasn’t easy to handle, and Oritha put some distance between them.
At the height of the event just ten minutes before the basilisk spawned, Guild Carnage received a very shocking announcement from the Amazonian.“What the fuck? That bitch!” Johan swore and threw a stick of dynamite that exploded in the distance. He was so mad that he couldn’t stop despite knowing that he was wasting valuable resources.Felix, who was crouching beside him in the laundromat, growled. “That glutton… she’s so dead the next time we see her.”That was a promise.Now that they did not have enough party members, Johan and Felix were no longer part of the Party Death. Thankfully, they still had more than five people, so Guild Carnage did not disband. However, things only started going south after Ortha’s departure.The initial plan to lay in an ambush while the Seer blindly chased after their trail was now disrupted when the other scrubs in their guild reported back that they were now
When Oritha parted with Liu Feng and told him where the two no good rats were hiding, the Seer quickly excused himself with an air of sharpness around him. Although the Amazonian knew that Johan and Felix were capable in battle, she still wondered how badly injured they would end up with the Seer motivated enough to want to smash their bones into powder.Either way, that was a show she could probably ask about or buy in the game highlights after the event ended. Now, the Amazonian had a mission to join the Godly Food party.Liu Feng did Oritha a favour by informing Zen about the unexpected guest. As long as he could feed her something nice, the Amazonian joining them would be a great addition of talent. Besides, he could not see anyone loyal to food as an enemy. In due time, Oritha would prove to be one of their strongest allies. The woman might not be the smartest but she was undoubtedly one of the strongest in combat. Not even he could win against her when it came to
There were only a few more minutes before the Basilisk spawned, but already, the partners in crime hiding it out in the laundromat received their second round of bad news.Party Undead was completely wiped out, and Guild Carnage was disbanded from the lack of members.“Fuck!” Johan hissed and was about to toss another stick of dynamite when Felix stopped him.“Get angry later,” he told the terrorist. “A monster has arrived. I’ll leave him to you.”Before the sneaky mafia leader could escape, Liu Feng sent him flying with an open palm strike from the left. Instead of entering through the door like a normal person, the Seer used stealth and shadow steps to confuse his enemies before launching a surprise attack.Johan cursed as he watched his partner get flung into a dryer. The metal dented, and even if Felix was sturdier than most people, he would have suffered a few cracked bones from that. The Seer’s
After conquering the dojo and successfully executing their revenge mission, Party Freedom received a message from the guild leader requesting for runners to help her collect black eggs. Naturally, they took as many bags as they could from the dojo storage and ran to the library as fast as they could.However, when it rains, it pours. Nobody expected the system announcement to inform them of the boss monster’s awakening in the games room. The spawning location was not far from the library. In fact, it was just downstairs. Talk about perfect timing…Akiko did not know what to do with these black eggs that wouldn’t break open even when dropped. They were as heavy as grenades and were a pain to carry. After activating that device, all the black eggs deactivated and were now free to carry away.She tried opening one, but it would not budge. These eggs were sturdy, and the Death Princess wondered if Zen would be able to manage if she was struggling
Zen looked at all his prepped ingredients. With so many people helping out in the kitchen, Zen wanted as few eyes as possible when he crafted his Rainbow Egg. Hence, he told those who were not in his party to go for egg runs.“From now on, any eggs you collect, you can submit. All the submission areas belong to Guild Survivor, except for the library where the basilisk is. Do your best to survive the purge. Help yourselves to any healing or stamina recovery egg dishes on the table.”The moment Zen told them the eggs were free to be distributed, there was a mad rush among the newly joined guild members. Some didn’t even look at Zen as they jostled for eggs while the more polite ones thanked the cook before leaving to secure points.Sasha took a mental note of the ones who were rude. They were going to remain as runners within the guild forever. Liu Feng would also be happy to know those names. They wouldn’t be invited to any guild meetings.
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