Compared to Birds of Prey, Party Oasis was a breeze to handle. Akiko felt it was due to the ranking of the members they were recruiting. Many of them had no useful offensive skills and were generally more amicable. Interestingly, the members recruited for Impenetrable Shield's party were mostly intelligent and educated in medical science.
“Heavens! Ryan? Is that you?” a bespectacled Asian named Bai Junze gasped after entering the guild meeting room.Stiffening, Impenetrable Shield shot the lanky martial artist a glare. He kept his real name and identity shrouded in mystery all this time. Unfortunately, he met an acquaintance, and Zen will learn of it now.“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to die,” Ryan snapped for the first time since joining Akiko’s guild. The androgynous male had long hair and a pretty face that would make some girls in Birds of Prey jealous.Laughing good-naturedly, Junze wrapped an arm around the pretty boKillian “Match” Von Brandt had a sour look as he arrived at the guild meeting room. The new candidates for his party hadn’t shown up yet, giving him an opportunity to confront the Death Princess.“Why did you choose to disband my party?” he tried to keep his tone in check, but the balling of his fists gave him away.Akiko wasn’t dumb. She noticed it. Oriole must have cried to him when her meeting was finished. It was why she arranged for Birds of Prey to be the first party that morning. Too bad she wasn’t able to get rid of that troublemaker. However, the other ladies in Birds of Prey would keep her in check now that she has renewed her contract. If Oriole renewed her contract, Killian would begrudgingly do the same.“For the greater benefit of the guild,” Akiko levelled him with an empty stare. “Did you think our strategies would always remain the same? You’ll be given two options during the meeting. Y
Exhausted, Akiko checked the time. Negotiating terms with Brunus was more tiring than fighting a hundred gunmen without weapons. With how many conditions Brunus wanted to change in his terms, the Death Princess eventually threw in the towel and contacted Liu Feng for help. Oritha bailed when she saw intellectual reinforcements, not that Akiko blamed her. Thankfully, things smoothed over as soon as Liu Feng showed his face. She had much to learn.“If these ants cause you problems, just crush them. I can’t believe you let them overwhelm you with empty barks,” Liu Feng clicked his tongue.Ashamed, Akiko said nothing. Originally, she wasn’t cut out for leading a guild. Like members of Camper, she was also a soloist. It was her first time working with others for an extended period. Two weeks into the academic life, she was already drowning. Was this the difference between an heir and a tool?When he heard no movement or answer from Akiko, Liu Feng r
After a chaotic breakfast and preparing lunch in advance, Zen met Damian at the entrance of the fifth floor. The cyborg completed all the important side quests and even discovered a few of his own, much to Zen’s amazement.“There’s a sub-class for inventors with Gilda,” he shared his new knowledge with the giddy gamer. “I don’t think there are chefs but the closest is an apothecarist. Nobody else has a secondary job but we can look into it together after the main quest-line.”Agreeing eagerly, Zen compared their notes and wondered how he should assign the new party-filling candidates roles using secondary job options. Before the boys could launch into a technical debate on which secondary class was more important for farming materials, he received a text from Liu Feng claiming he would be late. Oritha was catching up with Coral in the gym and wouldn’t join them. Sasha was the only one in their party available to boost them co
Returning to the third floor, where Zen spent the longest time at Stoneberry Keep, there was a strange nostalgia compared to his adventures on the first floor. This was the stage Zen conquered using wits and gaming loopholes. Every NPC here greeted Zen and hailed him as a hero now that the war with the goblins is over.“Welcome back, hero!” a gantry guard saluted. “Are you here to see the lord?”The goblin maniac? No way. Zen shook his head and returned the greeting, telling the NPC called Daniel to keep up the good work.Making a beeline to the shadiest parts of the small town within the castle wall, Zen spotted the rundown tavern reeked of cigars and beer. Boisterous shouts and laughter resounded from within as Zen stood outside. The side quest pointed him in the right direction, and it didn’t seem like Lorren intended to return to his priestly lifestyle and duties. Praying to the gaming gods, Zen hoped Lorren was sober enough to assist
The surroundings darkened as the game adjusted the dungeon’s special conditions for Zen’s training. Within seconds, he skipped through the night and met Lorren again at the chapel, which was brighter, indicating it was late morning.“Healing arts of the church is similar to magic. However, unlike magic, which uses mana from within a mage that is replenished from mana in the atmosphere, healing arts require faith. The stronger your faith, the more powerful your healing arts. Of course, there are physical limitations to using it. You could easily exhaust yourself mentally as it requires intense focus.”According to the lengthy explanation monologue, Zen learned that healing arts could do almost anything. Of course, within the limitation of logic. Apart from healing illnesses and injuries, more advanced healing arts could reattach limbs that have not rotted and bring the dead back to life within five minutes of their death, provided the brain wasn&rsqu
Learning the basics of healing magic wasn’t difficult. Zen had a good grasp of anatomy from his time as a chef. Although animals and humans were different, the generic concept was similar. Magic was all about imagination, and healing arts was a type of magic that used faith instead of mana. Zen could understand why healing many people would take its toll on the healer. Mental stamina was something that drained faster than physical stamina for those who were unable to focus for an extended period. Thanks to his gamer lifestyle, Zen could hyper-focus and deal with more stress than ordinary people.“It’s similar to a rhythm game,” Zen noted after selecting the order of sparkling words during the chanting mini-game.Apart from memorising patient names, parts of the injury, and injury type, the healer had to react quickly. The healing magic’s success rate relied heavily on the healer’s ability to recall all details and select the correct opti
Thanking the goblin for suffering unjust pain for the sake of his education, Zen delivered the merciful killing blow. By the end of his lesson, the goblin looked more human than a monster, except for green skin and a goblin face.Lorren had to admit that Zen had more talent than the other adventurers looking at becoming a healer. Ordinarily, he would end the specialisation quest at healing wounds. Most healers were only required to heal party members during combat. The more talented few would learn to cast basic blessings to increase their party members’ base stats. However, it was a waste to let Zen go so quickly.“You have great talent,” Lorren mused. I don’t know if you’re interested in learning more. Most adventurers would consider this a useless skill because they have the blessing of God to return to life after dying in the line of duty. Revival magic is also risky to learn as it is a fine line away from necromancy. Resuscitation can onl
Returning with two baskets of stale bread and three water pitchers, Zen felt envious of Damian’s specialisation trials. Unlike him, the cyborg’s quest progressed smoothly without a single hitch. He had the cheating ability to access information from his digital database of a brain. Although Zen had cheats given to him by the God that revived him, it wasn’t the same.“You’re back,” Lorren said, eyeing the massive amount of food Zen had brought. Given the boy’s talent, he wouldn’t need to touch the second basket of bread to master the skill of blessing food.“The most important thing when giving a blessing is to have a clear intention. There cannot be a trace of doubt or hesitation in your intention to fully trust or support your allies when giving them the buff. It’s why only those with strong and unwavering faith can become healers.”Paying close attention, Zen observed how Lorren kept his eyes closed t
Collecting the rewards for successfully defeating John’s cousin, the party members of Godly Food jumped into the portal leading to the next floor. Zen knew that the dungeon had different themes on every ten floors. The tenth floor of each themed stage would be different from the other stages in difficulty. It was why the vanguard team struggled with the twentieth floor’s boss. In addition to the stage mechanic’s difference, the final boss was also tougher to deal with. If not for the monstrous capabilities of the combatants, Zen doubted they could breeze through the first ten floors as quickly as they did.Anticipating a village or town vibe similar to the other floors from before, Zen was stunned to find himself in a rocky cave full of darkness. It had ominous vibes, and only Liu Feng moved confidently in the darkness. Everyone else minimised exploring further without a light source.“We’ll log out here,” Akiko informed Damian. “Y
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