With little progress at the blacksmith, Zen left to check on Paul. However, the armourer wasn’t in his workshop. Hence, he decided to walk around town for a while to kill time. His crafting inventory was still hard at work when it gave Zen an idea.
Stopping outside the restaurant where Martha’s fruit stall initially was, Zen saw Chef Marvin standing around. The friendly chef waved to Zen and warmly welcomed him with a heavy back pat.“It’s good to see you again! Have you been eating well?”If Gilda were here, Zen would have been glared to death for ‘flirting’ with Marvin. Smiling awkwardly, Zen asked if he could borrow the kitchen to make some slime puddings.“Of course!” the cheerful NPC grinned and showed Zen the kitchen at the back of his restaurant. “Let me know if you need any help!”Dismissing the touchy-feely chef, Zen looked at the kitchen.Cooking on a real range was faster thanFollowing the weaver inside, Zen noticed a massive loom near the back of the house. Closer to the window where there was light, Zen spotted a desk with many needles, threads, and unfinished products.“Here, let me show you the different basic stitching styles,” Annabel introduced after ushering Zen to sit on a chair in her living room. The lady brought her sewing materials over and passed some to Zen, who held it with uncertainty.The weaver turned out to be a great teacher. She was patient and clear with her explanations, even going so far as to give a demonstration. Zen listened attentively and followed her example. He picked up a needle and chose a thread with a similar colour to the fabric he was using for stitching practice.Annabel threaded the needle fluidly and watched Zen struggle with his. The thread refused to go into the eye of the needle as it was too thin.After five attempts, Zen finally got a small part of his thread through the needle
After crafting enough Steel Silk armour for his party members, Zen sent it to them with a message asking them to meet him at the starter town after they logged in. Then, he logged out to prepare lunch.Zen spotted other students ordering instant noodles as he whipped up something quick for himself. There were more instant noodle flavours now than before, but Zen couldn’t overlook the importance of nutrition. Out of the kindness of his heart, he prepared extra toppings that would go well with the noodles while he cooked for his guild members.“Can I place orders for other instant and frozen food on top of the regular ingredients?” Zen asked the kitchen invigilator on duty.The gruff lady with many tattoos raised a brow.“Why not? Write them down, quantity and all. We’ll still have to wait for the next shipment. By the way, instant noodles have become quite the hit. It’s good for us because we don’t know how to cook. If you
Unlike the others, it was easy for Sasha to pick a weapon from the pile. There were many melee weapons but only one gun.“I’m ready!” she announced to Ben. Together, they headed outside with Zen in tow. The three assassins sorted through the rejected pile of weapons and leisurely played with a few. Zen and Sasha wouldn’t be back for a while, so they could take their time exploring the options.As they approached the testing ground, Zen recognised the firewood chopping area. Ben set up a small shooting range using smaller wood chips and drew a line on the ground about fifty steps away.“Try shooting the wood chips from this distance. We will slowly increase the distance to find your ideal range.”Fifty steps was quite the distance. They were no longer in the woodcutting area. Zen did not know if getting any further was wise but stood behind Sasha with Ben to observe.The wind blew gently, but Sasha had no hesitation. Even w
Following Oritha and Ben to the edge of the forest outside town, Zen wondered why NPCs could leave the starter town’s borders. There had never been such an instance in any of the games he had played previously. The Godfather’s dungeon took gaming to a whole new level.Watching silently, Zen learned more about the weight-lifting Amazonian. He thought she was a melee combat specialist with a secondary talent for archery. However, according to Oritha, it wasn’t the case.“I was trained in archery with my tribe before getting kidnapped to the assassin camp. I learned how to brawl there as it was the easiest way to defend myself from the other backstabbers. Pure strength was the best way to survive. I came out top because of it. The other girls learned poison, knife skills, flexibility and speed, but nothing compared to muscles.”Zen listened as Oritha shared more details about her days in the assassin camp. The kidnapped children learned all
“There’s no need to see your abilities,” Ben grunted. “Just tell me what you’re looking for.”Zen gaped when his fussy teacher did not ask questions or demand a demonstration. What was with the special treatment?Glad that the NPC wasn’t going to waste his time, Liu Feng got to the point.“Give me something that covers my hands. I hate the feeling of blood and decaying flesh on my hands. Something filth resistant would be the best.”Ben was usually a temperamental person. Zen panicked. What if his brother’s flippant attitude offended his teacher?To everyone’s surprise, Ben launched a belly-aching laugh. The blacksmith cackled with tears in his eyes and hooted a few times before calming down.Not long ago, Ben asked Zen how his older brother fought with tricky enemies. Now, he knew for certain. Liu Feng was that maniac who would wash his hands with holy water to punch a wraith. Yet, the p
“We’re back,” Sasha called out, returning with everyone else who had met up on the fifth floor after their material hunt. “What happened?”Zen looked like a dried sardine from behind the blacksmith’s counter. They were gone for a while, but it should not be long enough for Zen to be this worn out. What did he do?Funnily enough, the grumpy blacksmith whistled merrily as he stacked crates at the corner of the shop.“Don’t worry about him,” Ben chuckled. “He’s a spring chicken, so he’ll bounce back in no time. More importantly, do you have all the materials?”Apart from the demon lord’s horns, Ben received everything else. There was no reason to delay work, so he made Zen get to work immediately. He wasn’t paid for overtime.“Hey! Start working the bellows again if you want to learn how to repair your friend’s weapons!”Jolting back to life, Zen jum
Zen fired a message to his party members as soon as Sasha’s gun and Liu Feng’s gloves were ready. They seemed fairly busy, and he was curious about what they were doing.When they appeared at the starter town’s stage entrance to collect their items and restock on supplies, Zen could only wonder what kind of monster they were fighting.“We’re back,” Sasha laughed crazily. The peaceful music playing in the background was like heaven to her ears compared to the intense heat on the twentieth floor that reminded her of hell.“How’s the progress?” Zen asked while handing over the newly forged weapons. Under Ben’s instructions, his efforts paid off. These were the first partially player-crafted weapons in the dungeon, but Zen looked forward to making more in the future without his teacher screaming his ears off.Sasha inspected her new double-barrel sniper rifle and became instantly enamoured with it. Eagerly,
Plink!Ben’s jaw fell when Zen’s friends dropped the demon lord’s left and right horns on his shop counter. Zen left for a break not too long ago. How did this happen? Wasn’t it too fast? These adventurers weren’t even properly equipped!“You really did it!” Ben blinked in disbelief as they piled lamia scales and fairy wings beside the demon lord’s horns. Apart from Zen, none of the adventurers looked like they had just defeated a demon lord. If anything, they looked strangely refreshed compared to Zen, who was gaunt.“What are you waiting for?” the blacksmith regained his wits and snapped at his apprentice. “Start the bellows!”Activating his work mode, Zen carried the materials to the workshop and shovelled coal for the third time since the start of his dungeon dive. Or was it the fourth?In a few short hours, they had done so many new things that it was almost impossible for Zen to ke
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