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
From floor five to floor nine, Zen discovered many changing elements in the virtual world. The dungeon mechanics became more complex as they climbed the floors. It was difficult to believe that until floor ten, they were still in the tutorial stages.Damian’s game guide from floor five was very different from Zen’s version. The cyborg logged every single type of equipment and monster as an encyclopaedia page, including replicated screenshot images. He rated them according to their value, usage, frequency of occurrence, something Zen had not considered, and prices. The floor map was also marked to indicate where they could commonly be located, along with an estimated loot drop guide. Compared to Zen’s walkthrough guide, Damian created a very different and detailed directory.Although their styles were very different, Zen teared up with gratefulness for the guide Damian put together. If Zen excelled at game progression strategy, Damian’s information w
Liu Feng was not pleased to learn that Zen was already considering inviting another troublesome person into his circle after sparring with Akiko. Yet, he could not say he was surprised. In the brief weeks of meeting Zen, he had seen enough to know it would not be the last time either. From the get-go, even Liu Feng had been drawn to the young cook because of this attitude. It was both the young man’s charm and weakness.While the blind teen had enough respect for Chatura, a famous strategist, he hated dealing with snake-like personalities. They already had several ticking time bombs in the Godly Food Party, and the Lau Triad’s influence could only shield Zen from so much harm. Damian Gorski had provoked half the Round Table, and Zen had rejected everyone there. An omerta might be sacred, but it was not always upheld by both parties. There were many ways to cancel an omerta, usually involving the death of one party, and Liu Feng did not wish to crush his younger swor
After finishing his dinner, Zen sipped on the weird concoction called tea from a heavy stainless steel tool holder sterilised in isopropyl alcohol. The cyborg offered to distil and mix some of his alcohol supply into the tea for a ‘better flavour,’ and Zen smartly declined. He did not have a mechanical gut that could be replaced easily. It was best to stick to conventional instant tea in unconventional cups, even if Damian stuck two very different flavours of instant tea in one cup.Although Damian had overheard the conversation in the kitchen, Zen still told him what he knew from Bolt and asked if Damian had a way to verify the information. Due to the many rumours floating around Chatura, it was difficult to know the kind of person she was. It was obvious who spread those rumours.Within thirty minutes, Damian uncovered a lot more than Zen thought was possible. Then again, he should probably not be surprised that the Gorski had such an extensive information ne
Sneaking dinner back to the room, Zen thanked Bolt and Yelena for updating him about the new faction. Although neither invigilator liked the strategist, Chatura was a very powerful person whom Zen found intriguing.Unfortunately, Liu Feng and Akiko were out. They said they would be sparring in the training ground and were not back yet. Sasha and Oritha were still in the gym, making Damian Zen’s only option to discuss this new situation with them.Deciding to take a quick shower, Zen sent Damian a text and asked if he could come over to discuss something confidential in thirty minutes with his dinner. The cyborg took a while to reply, but Zen smiled when he received an affirmation in the middle of his shower.Thirty minutes later, Zen knocked on Damian’s door, freshly showered and with a packed dinner in his other hand. There was nobody in the corridor, so Zen relaxed.Damian opened the door within seconds and welcomed Zen in.“Pardon the me
When Bolt returned with the first aid kit, he was largely relieved to see how Yelena was taking care of Zen. Taking over, he checked on the burn injury that had greatly reduced thanks to the ice cream tub, although the same could not be said of the melting liquid inside.“That might have to go back into the freezer for now,” he gently told Yelena, who agreed.Now that the actual adult was back, Yelena threw the explanation to Bolt. She hated the woman Chatura. There was no way she wanted to explain all the complicated history to Zen when she could barely speak English. Besides, between the two of them, Bolt was supposed to be the smarter one.“Oh, Chatura. Yes… it’s a complicated story,” Bolt frowned. “There are so many rumours and versions about what happened to her before she had been turned into an invigilator here. I’ve never personally met her or talked to her in my time here. However, I don’t think we have a
After spending most of the day in the virtual world, the rest of Party Godly Food excused themselves to hit the gym and stretch their muscles. Damian returned to finish compiling the game guide while Zen worked on preparing dinner. Yelena and Bolt were present, so there was no need for anyone else to keep him company. Not to mention, the kitchen hands were very helpful. Most of the ingredients Zen needed were already prepared. The dirty dishes from the last meal were washed meticulously and left to dry on the counter.“Did you find anything new in the dive this time?” Bolt asked while Zen mixed his seasoning.Zen wanted to make something simple for dinner as they had a heavy tea. Fried rice and some soup will do. There was more than enough for everyone later.“There were new things,” Zen admitted, reluctant to reveal too much information about the new features and unique split-path quests he and Damian had discovered. “However
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