“Sorry! I’m late!” Zen huffed when he arrived at the guild’s meeting. Akiko and Liu Feng were sipping tea, and Sasha shot him a glare. With two highly dangerous people sitting near her, she couldn’t leave the room to find Zen as what she wanted. Thankfully, nothing happened while he was in the kitchen.
It was almost time for tea by the time Zen arrived. Everyone else gathered in Akiko’s room was wondering who the important advisor was. The guild leader and vice guild leader refused to reveal his name or ranking. They simply told them that he was the best when it came to games and strategy. They wouldn’t be able to do without him, and the meeting was stalled.
Zen walked into the room to a very tense atmosphere in the air. Was lunch not good? Why did the guild members look so stiff? He checked the time. After taking a wrong turn in the upper ranked building, Zen was now ten minutes late. Thankfully, he had Akiko’s contact a
Continuing with the round of introductions, Zen got to know four more members. He counted twelve guild members, just right to launch a three-pronged attack on Carnage.“I was ranked #60. My mafia name is Gambler. Anything imbued with my luck becomes a weapon. I use mostly coins and playing cards.”The Gambler was a very sick looking teen who looked like he sold his soul instead of his luck for power. He would be clumsier than usual on some days, and Zen knew the reason behind it now. Yesterday, Zen caught him loitering outside the kitchen. The Gambler left eventually without saying anything, but his actions were highly suspicious. Yet, who would have anticipated their meeting in such an alliance?According to the memory cocktail, the Gambler didn’t do too much during the battle royale. He was mostly an observer and didn’t do much during the hunt. Sure, occasionally he would use the luck from dead people to trigger some in-game catastrophe
With the ball in his court, Zen decided to lay down some ground rules. The guild master and vice guild master would back his decisions as an advisor, giving him the confidence he needed to take the bull by its horns.“Here are two ways to win the Egg Hunt event,” Zen announced in a clear voice. He straightened his back and looked everyone in the eye. There was no sign of hesitance, and even Liu Feng was pleasantly surprised by his new confidence.“The details are not out, but I have reasons to believe that we’re dealing with a boss creature in the event. Our aim is to suffer zero casualties and collect information about Guild Carnage. Hence, Guild Survivors will adopt a “No Offense” strategy throughout the event.”His declaration left the new members speechless, but his friends were already expecting such a solution. Zen was way too soft-hearted for a mafia. He was the only one who didn’t take a single life in the
Barely! Zen didn’t know what Yelena and Bolt were thinking when he burst into the kitchen, panting. They agreed to meet at six, and thanks to the guild meeting, Zen was delayed. He had fifteen seconds to spare by the time he arrived. Nervously, he looked at the invigilators and only relaxed when Bolt gave him a thumbs up, flashing him a grin.Yelena huffed when Zen sagged in relief, trudging to the counter. No matter how Yelena looked at this candidate, he smelled like a civilian. Why was he selected as one of the true Godfather heirs? Unlike the other chosen candidates, Zen didn’t show any signs of blood awakening.Bolt knew what his young partner was thinking and grinned. Zen was truly a mystery. How did anyone grow up in a mafia family without knowing anything about the underworld? Moreover, he wasn’t part of any illegal experimentation or trained in any form of combat. What did his family think of his existence?“I want meatball
Yelena took a little longer to get online and log into her VR account. During that time, Bolt accepted Zen’s invitation and was waiting in his VR room.“The information cards for all the candidates are here,” Bolt passed a virtual notebook to Zen, who quickly compared his gathered data.There was some missing information from Bolt’s list, but Zen was thrilled to know more about the candidates he had no access to.“Is this allowed?” he asked cautiously. “Isn’t this considered cheating?”Bolt raised a brow. “Are there rules saying that a candidate cannot ask an invigilator for information?”Zen shook his head. The school rules didn’t mention anything about working with invigilators. It only said that invigilators shouldn’t be harmed. Was this a loophole? If anyone else knew about this, there would be a riot!Yelena was angry. It was evident from how she gave Bo
As lunch rolled by, Zen pushed the cart he borrowed from the storage to deliver the boxed lunches he prepared for his guild members. He couldn’t help but yawn as he approached Akiko’s room. His body felt rested, but his mind was exhausted.Yelena and Bolt’s enthusiasm last night kept him up till four in the morning when they discovered that he could learn at an incredible speed. The young commando changed her tune when Zen showed promise as a strategist. They discussed his strategy and contingency plans in more detail to fine-tune them. Thanks to them, Zen was feeling more confident about the strategy he would present today.Knock! Knock!“Come in,” Akiko said, and Zen entered using his back to push the door open so that he could pull in the cart with their boxed meals and drinks.The smell reached the tired guild members faster than Zen could tell them he brought food. Liu Feng was already standing behind him with an o
“Sorry I’m late! Did you wait long?”Although it was virtual reality, Liu Feng could tell that it was Zen. In fact, nobody else would have this much guts to run up to him without stating their business. Zen did sound a little out of breath, and the Seer wondered if the feeble boy was able to clear the first stage of the dungeon without anyone’s help. He was simply too weak.With a frown Liu Feng jumped off the tree he was sitting in and blew the slimes chasing Zen with a powerful whirlwind kick. The poor monsters flew away with high pitched cries, mimicking the sound of kittens whining, and Zen felt his heart clench in pity. They might be monsters, but Zen thought they were rather adorable when they weren’t hellbent on chasing him.Seeing how the immediate danger was over now that his protector was here, Zen collapsed onto the ground breathlessly. Who would have thought that the slimes would start chasing him the moment he left the
“Fifth time’s the charm,” Zen told himself and eyed the slimes gathered near the red fir tree.He didn’t know what slimes these were, but they were orange and made strange clinking noises when they bounced. Honestly, Zen only chose to test the different effects of herbs he gathered around the orange slimes because they bounced the slowest. It didn’t make the experience less terrifying, but Zen reassured himself that this was his highest chance at success.Zen tested the buttercup-looking flower, the white three-petaled flower and the droopy blue flower’s effects earlier. None of those worked, and he moved on to grass types. Thanks to his excellent observation skills, Zen gathered a total of thirteen plant types from that meadow.The long grass did nothing, so Zen decided to try the dewy grass. The grass fibre felt sticky in his hand, and Zen didn’t know what sort of effect this grass had. It should be a medicinal g
Zen blinked. Party Raid? Would that make the boss stronger or weaker?His question was soon answered when Liu Feng and Akiko struck the orange slime boss simultaneously. Sasha mirrored Zen’s shocked expression, full of disbelief as the orange blob exploded.“Isn’t this cheating?” Zen asked himself and watched as orange goo rained down upon him. Standing above everything were the two most powerful members of his party and guild.[Armoured Slime Boss has been defeated by Party “Godly Food”. Calculating contribution rates to distribute Area Boss rewards.]“Are you ok?” Akiko walked up to Zen, and Liu Feng touched the orange goo that fell onto his hair in curiosity.Zen felt embarrassed that he had to be helped up by a lady even though he was a man. Even Sasha ran over to them like she didn’t just almost die, and Zen wondered if the mafia heirs were incapable of feeling fear. None of his party membe