Sasha almost couldn’t keep up with the influx when the lunch hour rolled by. The poor Russian sniper didn’t know what to do and was often getting into Zen’s way around the kitchen. Naturally, Zen sent her out to deliver lunch to the guild while he served the lunch crowd who accepted his friend requests. Sasha didn’t leave immediately until Zen reassured her that he would see them in two hours.
“You better come! I will find you if you are late and you will cook me Borscht!”
Zen waved his spatula with a laugh and kept up with the orders. He was slightly worried about having Sasha carry all those bento boxes, but the sniper girl was stronger than she looked. She lifted the twelve bento boxes with ease and hurried out of the kitchen, evading the hungry crowd.
There were also several invigilators among those who accepted Zen’s friend request and placed their food orders. Their presence in the kitchen was the only reason why S
“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
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
As soon as Zen and Liu Feng departed, the remaining assassins pulled themselves together and got to work. Oritha opted to remain in the same room as the sleeping mother and daughter. However, Akiko went outside to share the information she learned last night about the stalker while patrolling the perimeter.“More brown hair?” Damian asked. “I could examine the cuticle to determine its genetic composition.”Handing the tuft of brown fur or hair over, Akiko also told Sasha the stalker’s route. Liu Feng only sensed the area where the unknown man was hiding last night. His lack of vision made him miss out on the obvious tracks. The stalker was not an expert. It must be how Han knew the foot size of Gabrielle’s secret admirer.Showing Sasha the tracks she found in the night, the Death Princess explained her hypothesis. The night hounds and wolves did not approach the house due to an invisible barrier.“It was as if they were t