“We’re back,” Sasha called out, returning with everyone else who had met up on the fifth floor after their material hunt. “What happened?”
Zen looked like a dried sardine from behind the blacksmith’s counter. They were gone for a while, but it should not be long enough for Zen to be this worn out. What did he do?Funnily enough, the grumpy blacksmith whistled merrily as he stacked crates at the corner of the shop.“Don’t worry about him,” Ben chuckled. “He’s a spring chicken, so he’ll bounce back in no time. More importantly, do you have all the materials?”Apart from the demon lord’s horns, Ben received everything else. There was no reason to delay work, so he made Zen get to work immediately. He wasn’t paid for overtime.“Hey! Start working the bellows again if you want to learn how to repair your friend’s weapons!”Jolting back to life, Zen jumZen fired a message to his party members as soon as Sasha’s gun and Liu Feng’s gloves were ready. They seemed fairly busy, and he was curious about what they were doing.When they appeared at the starter town’s stage entrance to collect their items and restock on supplies, Zen could only wonder what kind of monster they were fighting.“We’re back,” Sasha laughed crazily. The peaceful music playing in the background was like heaven to her ears compared to the intense heat on the twentieth floor that reminded her of hell.“How’s the progress?” Zen asked while handing over the newly forged weapons. Under Ben’s instructions, his efforts paid off. These were the first partially player-crafted weapons in the dungeon, but Zen looked forward to making more in the future without his teacher screaming his ears off.Sasha inspected her new double-barrel sniper rifle and became instantly enamoured with it. Eagerly,
Plink!Ben’s jaw fell when Zen’s friends dropped the demon lord’s left and right horns on his shop counter. Zen left for a break not too long ago. How did this happen? Wasn’t it too fast? These adventurers weren’t even properly equipped!“You really did it!” Ben blinked in disbelief as they piled lamia scales and fairy wings beside the demon lord’s horns. Apart from Zen, none of the adventurers looked like they had just defeated a demon lord. If anything, they looked strangely refreshed compared to Zen, who was gaunt.“What are you waiting for?” the blacksmith regained his wits and snapped at his apprentice. “Start the bellows!”Activating his work mode, Zen carried the materials to the workshop and shovelled coal for the third time since the start of his dungeon dive. Or was it the fourth?In a few short hours, they had done so many new things that it was almost impossible for Zen to ke
Despite everyone’s lack of excitement for clearing the twentieth floor, Zen took it upon himself to create something special as a celebration. He cooked dinner as usual and prepared desserts his party members would enjoy.“I see you’re at it again,” Bolt chuckled. It was his turn to be on kitchen duty, and Zen cooked the invigilator a beef lasagne with extra cheese.“The guild is making great progress,” Zen smiled. He felt more relaxed with an invigilator he knew on duty. “Yelena stopped by earlier. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”The afro man sighed. “We’re busy preparing for the new event. Are you really going to free Gorski?”Zen pursed his lips. This again? Yelena talked with him earlier about it. However, the two invigilators had the right to worry. One of them had even pledged his life to Zen. If Zen betrayed his promise and used the freedom card on himself, Bolt would probably hav
Zen was tipsy. It was a miracle how he stumbled back to the room and logged into the game. Thankfully, alcohol did not carry over to virtual reality. Besides, his role was the easiest. All he had to do was solve riddles and sit tight for the rest of the round. His crafting queue remained busy, and Sasha was the most desperate raid member. She desperately needed the gold ammo and called dibs on Toad S. Tool every round.Everyone else took this opportunity to test their new weapon combos. The Steel Silk armour made everyone speedier. There were good and bad effects of additional speed. The more skilful assassins took to it like fish in water, while the less agile assassins resembled clumsy cats.“Dammit!” Sasha complained as they got onto the lift. “I keep sliding too far with the additional speed!”Oritha grunted. Her attempts at using the boomerang did not go too well either. It kept getting stuck in the walls. Narrow spaces were not great for
“What is the most important skill a hunter must know to be successful?”Zen blinked. Yelena and Bolt responded to his message so quickly that he had no time to prepare anything.The two invigilators set a timing so rushed that Zen could only slap some sandwiches together and cling-wrap them for his party members before hopping into the virtual world. His physical stomach must be growling in protest now, but Zen was more worried about the pop quiz the Russian ECHO member had for him.Thinking hard, Zen wondered if they had the same idea as him. The treasure hunt was a massacre fair for Felix and Johan. Zen might not be their direct target, but he wanted to avoid them at all costs. Not to mention, Liu Feng promised to guard Damian for him. Everyone would be busy during the event, so he had to learn to care for himself.“Stealth?” he asked.Surprised that Zen got it correct on his first attempt, Yelena blinked and gaped until Bolt cleare
Zen wasn’t a duck. Correction, he wasn’t just a duck. Yelena had never seen a bigger idiot in her life, mostly because stupid people were dead. It was difficult to believe Zen was the same genius who survived the entrance ceremony without combat skills.When she told him not to show his back, the idiot walked along walls crawling sideways like a crab. Then, she shot him and scolded him for that. The young chef evolved from criticism and took things literally, jumping from spot to spot to make it difficult for her to shoot him. That was a terrible decision because it wore his stamina out. Even if Yelena missed a few shots, she eventually nailed him in the nuts. That was a terrible experience.What the heck was wrong with this kid’s brain?Staring at Zen in the game lobby, Bolt and Yelena studied their problematic student. Even the informant had no idea how to deal with Zen. Their most promising Godfather candidate was full of impressive ideas that wer
Tired but happy, Zen was finally allowed to leave the paint gun arena and prepare lunch. Bolt and Yelena wanted to hold a face-to-face debrief, so the young chef logged out to meet them in the kitchen.When he arrived at the kitchen, the invigilators weren’t the only ones waiting for him.“Lunch requests?” Zen asked, tying his apron before hungry assassins surrounded him.“Wanton noodles.”“Steak!”“Waffles and fried chicken!”“Double cheeseburger and nuggets.”“Saba fish, miso soup and rice.”“Beef stroganoff!”Flooded with lunch requests, Zen busied away while his party members and invigilators watched him. Thanks to their impressive aura, nobody else dared to enter the kitchen.Exchanging information about the event with Zen’s party members, Bolt also shared with them about the special stealth training.“Huh? You mean h
Liu Feng’s training game of choice? Prop Hunt.It was vastly different from paint gun fights but ten times scarier. The rules of this game were simple. Zen had to hide in plain sight or camouflaged as an item in the hiding grounds. After a minute, Liu Feng would seek for him, and he had five tries to get it right.Also, in the virtual world, Liu Feng was a murderer. Prop hunt was a horror game that allowed players to be the monster seeker who killed shape-shifting humans to win the game. Humans were naturally disadvantaged. Hence, they played in a team of four against a seeker.Zen’s team members were created by artificial intelligence and were not very good at their jobs. To avoid getting captured by Liu Feng, hiders had to fix machines to distract Liu Feng or run for their lives. However, they kept getting caught from their ruckus not even five minutes into the game. Zen was always the last one left.Unable to fix any machines because the blind man