“You found them!” Mary gushed as Oritha let Snowball down at last.
Unlike earlier, the white lamb was very docile in front of its owner. Zen could hardly believe this was the violent kid from earlier. Sasha and Damian were already making themselves comfortable in Mary’s home, playing with the other lambs in her front yard.Nuzzling into Mary’s palms, Snowball gave Zen a stinky side glance that quickly disappeared as soon as Mary told them dinner was ready. Trotting inside with a waggling tail, Snowball took the lead, and the other lambs followed it inside. Zen and Oritha followed them just as the sun disappeared in the distance.Inside, Mary’s cottage was as cosy as her personality. The steaming hot tray of food was set on the table, and Zen instantly recognised it by its smell.“Is that shepherd’s pie?” he asked with drool almost trickling down the side of his mouth. The smell alone was already enough to convince ZPing!Checking the system notification after he had taken his first bite of the delicious lasagne shepherd’s pie, Zen noticed he had successfully learned Mary’s recipe. However, it was a unique item.===Unique Recipe: Mary’s Shepherd’s PieDescription: Warms the body, heart and soul from within. Full of Mary’s affection.*Special effects:Cold immunity for 6 hoursMental attack resistance for 2 hoursNostalgia effect (decreases fighting will by 50%)===Cold immunity for six hours? Even if it were measured in the in-game time, this was huge! The gamer remained motionless as he read on. The other effect was also decent against mental debuffs. However, the player who consumed this item must deal with a critical drawback. Zen was not someone keen on fighting enemies head-on. That 50% decrease in fighting will barely affected him. However, for the combatants, it could be a huge drawback. Logically spe
The plan was simple. The one who boys would distract the black sheep owner when he went to the market for his morning grocery trip while the girls would sneak into his property to shear his sheep. Although they had no idea why the Shady Merchant wouldn’t obtain other types of wool, it was not unusual for the odd man to seek rarities that were difficult to procure.“If he refuses to comply, can I have permission to render him unconscious?” Damian asked, raising a very valid point. Shearing sheep might take some time, and there were only limited conversation cards they could use with a disgruntled and paranoid old shepherd.Although Zen was against the idea of harming the NPC, it was likely the most effective. However, most NPCs in the game were immune to attacks from players.“How do you intend to knock him out?” he asked.Sasha quickly offered some tips on how to knock out an old man immediately with a good neck slice.“Yo
“We’re going to tail him now,” Damian whispered to Zen once the old shepherd left his house for his daily grocery trip. The man wore a brown hat that bore many harsh weathers. “Good luck!”Waving to the cheerful cyborg who had gotten the easier part of the deal, Zen wondered how they should avoid those women in the courtyard. According to Sasha, they were constantly hovering around the black sheep.“They might actually be lambs,” the blonde sniper commented after a while. “I don’t think sheep drink milk. They should be eating grass.”Swooping down from the roof silently, Sasha hugged Zen from behind and carried them both back onto the roof so he could observe the situation by himself. Zen blushed in embarrassment at how easily a girl carried him. Although he was in the body of a teenager now, he still remembered being a grown man in his previous life.When they finally got onto the roof, Zen immedi
Finding a villager who was willing to talk about the obnoxious Raiden was hard. Eventually, the only one willing to share more with the party was the shepherd, who also worked as a part-time barmaid — Bo Peep.“Hm? Raiden?” she twirled her hair with a flirtatious wink. “Buy me a drink, and I’ll tell you. Otherwise, I don’t kiss and tell.”The builder brothers did not lie. Bo Peep was very attractive with her heavy petticoat and skirt riding up her curvy thighs. However, none of the boys were particularly charmed by her. Many regular bar patrons glared at them with envy, but none of those men could compare to the muscles on Oritha’s forearm. Hence, they remained sullenly silent in a corner.To buy a drink, they had to spend one credit. Thanks to the daily quest, it was not a hefty fee to spare. Zen wanted to buy the NPC a drink, but his party members had other ideas.“I’ve seen enough gold diggers like yo
Not wanting to admit it, Zen flopped onto the pasture spread eagle. He was too tired to think or talk or feel. However, Damian’s trash-talking skills were part of the reason they managed to arrive at their destination before sundown. Sasha scouted ahead and found a flock of sheep that belonged to a boy who seemed lonely. After confirming he was Raiden, they quickly met up with her.Ping!While Zen was still trying to refill the oxygen in his lungs, his party members had successfully completed the second main quest. They sheared the black sheep in Raiden’s flock and even offered help with the others.Happy to have company in a long while, Raiden smiled and talked for hours until it was evening. Then, as if reluctant to part with the company, he offered them a place to stay overnight.“It gets dangerous after dark,” he warned. “Why don’t all of you come with me and stay for the night?”Accepting his generous offer, the
“Now?” Sasha’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “But it’s dark out!”Hooting with laughter, Oritha shrugged. “You have wings. As long as your legs don’t touch the ground and the wolves don’t grow twenty meters tall, you’ll reach the village safely. Besides, you fly faster than Zen runs. You could probably deliver it by daybreak.”Looking at Oritha with disbelief, Sasha narrowed her eyes.“When have you been good at English?”Glancing back from the oven, Zen noticed Damian slowly trying to duck under the table when Oritha grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Knowing them, it was likely Damian’s idea. Oritha was a quick learner whenever it came to non-academic studies.“I repeated what he said,” she dragged the flailing cyborg back up the table with a wide grin. “Maybe you should go now. We have round two of dinner to start.”…Maybe all the A
Even with the howling of night hounds surrounding them, neither of the assassins broke a sweat. If Zen were around to see their unspoken teamwork, he would be utterly floored since he was incredibly amazed by the strange communication they used when defeating the orc general.Generally, assassins worked alone for missions. It was more effective to send a single assassin with the right skills for the mission. Sending more than one assassin would only increase the risk of an operation complication and alert people of multiple presences. Additionally, most families treated assassins as disposable tools. If an assassin failed a mission, they were ordered to take their lives or killed on the spot by the watcher of the famiglia if they attempted to run. Hence, raised weapons like the Death Princess seldom worked with others. If not for joining the academy and meeting Zen, she would likely forge ahead on a path alone to complete her mission.However, she was not the only kingmake
The night in the game on this stage lasted shorter than other stages. However, the mind reacted weirdly to seeing daylight, and Akiko began to lose track of time in reality. Her circadian rhythm told her she had been awake for almost a week now in the game when it had only been a few hours in reality. Glancing over to Liu Feng, who lived in a perpetual world of darkness, he did not seem to have any issues adapting to the different flows of time.“Is it day now?” the Seer asked his new companion after sensing lesser night hounds in the area.Akiko nodded. “Sasha delivered the letter. The main quest giver has changed. I think they will start completing the new main quest. Have you explored this forest to confirm the myth?”Shaking his head and flipping his long hair over his shoulder, Liu Feng wondered if he should braid his hair to make movement easier. Although he appreciated his long locks, a testament to his loyalty, the Seer found it i