After reaching the eighth stage, Zen spotted the Shady Merchant in a familiar war outfit. However, unlike on floor three, they were not surrounded by castle walls. He looked more terrified than Zen remembered him to be.
As if spotting someone reliable from the new group of adventurers appearing from the portal, the Shady Merchant’s eyes lit up with delight as he waved at the new party. “Over here!” he called to Zen’s group. As the other members of his party headed straight for the Shady Merchant, Zen paused to study the new stage. It was odd. They were in the middle of a rocky mountain with no shelter in sight. The portal came out of a shallow rock crevice, and the Shady Merchant did not have any business in the Rocky Mountains. Why was he here? Most importantly, wasn’t the Shady Merchant a main quest-giving NPC? Why was he also dishing out side quests? Zen could not understand why the side quest only appeared on his log until he read the requirements. ===Monster evolution had always been a strange thing. Even though Zen was an avid gamer in his previous life as a young master, he only knew some basics. For example, a powerful goblin could evolve into a hobgoblin. Ugi, the Goblin Lord, was the final evolution a goblin could turn into. However, he had no idea how this ugly orc general could share Ugi’s bloodline. Apparently, they were cousins.“You slay Ugi! Urum slay you!”Ah, yes. How wonderful. Zen wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome at the cliff when he arrived, much less to be recognised as a cousin slayer. Maybe all green-skinned monsters shared a similar ancestry. Too bad. Zen would never know the truth. Dead orcs tell no tales.“Ugi was a good warrior,” Zen confirmed. “Shall I send you to him?”Angered, Urum brandished his scimitar. Unlike goblins, who preferred blunt weapons, the orcs were stronger and more human-like. They preferred blades that could cut th
Between Zen’s weakening finger grips and Urum’s confusion, the orc general’s confusion caved in first. Unwilling to believe the human had fallen off along with two of his bodyguards, he stepped across to see if the clumsy human had really died. The grumpy orc general kicked aside the two other bodyguards slain by Urum’s scimitar as some warning to the human who might be playing a prank on him.Zen almost jumped out of fright when the first high orc body flew down the cliff. The dead orc’s face passed Zen’s by inches, and it was a look that would give Zen nightmares tonight. However, when the second high orc was kicked off the cliff, Zen had to let go of one arm to prevent getting pushed off the ledge he was clinging to.“There you are! Urum knows sly human don’t die easily! Revenge for Ugi!”With his movement, the Chameleon skill was cancelled, revealing how Zen was clinging onto the side of the cliff, balancing on
“How was it?” Liu Feng asked when Zen finally returned to the starting entrance, where he remained waiting with the Shady Merchant.Grinning, Zen retrieved the special reward he had received after finishing his solo quest. Although Urum was tougher than Zen expected, with Liu Feng’s suggestion, he cleared the mission in one try.===Item: Orc Token (special)Description: Summon the ghost of Urum, the orc general who will lead his fallen army and attack any other boss monsters in boss dungeons.Cool down: 12 hour===After Liu Feng heard what the special reward was capable of, he wondered why an army was required.“It doesn’t sound like the vanguard team is enough to deal with whatever is ahead of us if we need an army,” the long-haired man commented. “The other farming parties might eventually have to join us in raids.”Agreeing, Zen sighed. The other non-combatants in the farming parties wo
Anyone who had seen Party Godly Food battling Urum in the orc army camp would think they’d been working together for many years. Once socially awkward, Zen thought they were now brilliant communicators. If anything, he felt like the alien. They were speaking the same language, but Zen could not understand a single thing as everyone spoke over each other. Yet, their efficiency as they eliminated monsters, filled in unexpected gaps and swapped positions during battle proved how effective this strange communication method was.“Two loose!” Sasha yelled over the call as she dumped another fire spell over a tent further from the boss’ tent.“Cover!” Damian countered immediately after hearing how Sasha could not keep all the orc warriors at bay. Switching his focus from providing the main fighters with additional buff effects and binding the boss, the cyborg cast two missile spells targeted at the loose targets.Zen watched how Urum turne
As Oritha, Sasha, and Damian joined them back at the final boss dungeon for the reward reveal, Zen wondered what it would drop. Unlike the special stage, the rewards should not be as good as the orc token.“It became easier than the first time we cleared it,” Sasha grinned at Oritha. “Do you think we’ve become stronger?”Shrugging, the giantess stretched and eyed Damian strangely. Unlike them, who had a head start with the dungeon, Damian only became acquainted with the game recently. How was he matching their pace? She expected him to miss a few when he was covering the west. However, the engineer had completely gotten used to becoming a magician. His ability to adapt spells to the situation made him a more proficient mage than Sasha or Akiko.“Is the boss not dead yet?” Oritha finally asked after a while. It had been a while since the boss was defeated. However, the portal to the ninth stage was still not available.
“Do you remember how you cleared this stage?” Zen asked Oritha after walking for what felt like an hour. The sun was moving very quickly, and evening was approaching.Grimacing, Oritha admitted how she cleared this stage with Sasha using brute force.“The Seer and Death Princess already knew where the boss was. We simply followed their directions and defeated a huge wolf that stood on two legs. It was too time-consuming to explore this stage, so none of us know what the main quest is like.”Ah, of course, they brute-forced this stage. Why would they follow the main quest? Zen should have known better than to ask. However, he was curious how the forerunners of this stage knew what to do. Akiko and Liu Feng should be the first people to clear this stage. Did they have more information?“I see something,” Damian squinted and zoomed in on the structure in the distance. “Is that a village?”It was too far for Zen or
Throughout the short night, the three pig brothers did not sleep. If anything, they talked with the travellers and provided them with plenty of useful information about this stage.According to Porky, the three brothers initially left to find employment in the big city. However, they were met with a lot of discrimination. Many employers had the stigma that pigs were lazy creatures and did not give them any chance. Unemployed and low on their savings, the three builder brothers decided it was too expensive to continue paying rent in the city. Hence, they used the last of their money to move into the countryside, intending to prove they had the skills to pay the bills. They bought materials for houses and started building them. However, it was a difficult process when a wolf kept terrorising them every month on the full moon.“We didn’t want our mother to worry,” Porky admitted. “After building the houses, we wanted to rent them out to others. However
Relaying what they learned from the three builder brothers, Zen informed them they would head into town first, where the missing sheep would most likely be.“I’ll look for the red-hooded girl and hunter in the forest,” he informed. “You should proceed to the town without me. Someone else should also find the Shady Merchant in case there are more hints.”Akiko quickly volunteered to return to the Shady Merchant. Sasha was more than happy to reunite with Zen’s party at the small village.In no time at all, the group of four reunited, and Zen waved to Sasha when he spotted her in the sky.“That was fast,” he commented. Those leathery dragon wings looked so cool!Sasha grinned. “I took the shortcut,” she shrugged. Unlike Oritha and her friends, she did not need to follow the winding path on the hills.So far, Liu Feng had no luck locating any forest dwellers. Akiko was still only halfwa