There was only one house in this entire village that had many colourful tapestries hanging in the garden. Zen approached the cosy cottage confidently and knocked on the front door, preparing himself mentally to bring up the topic of buying cotton cloth for Father Clarence and a good reason he should have a discount for it.
When the door opened, a young lady with a scarf over her head appeared. She looked somewhat worried but managed a smile when she saw a guest.
“Hello! How can I help you?”
Zen expressed his concern at the maiden’s reddened eyes. “Are you alright?”
Annabel, the weaver, quickly wiped the sides of her eyes and shook her head. “It’s nothing. Was there something you needed from me? It’s a little too far out for
Zen was not a fool. He would not confront the green slimes head-on. With only a short sword to assist him, Zen had to be smart. First, he needed to find a safe place to hide in case things went south.If he only had to kill one green slime, Zen could do it easily by climbing onto a tree and pouncing on an unsuspecting slime. However, he was hunting a hundred slimes now. That trick would not work every time, and Zen would take too long to kill a hundred slimes. He needed something more efficient.The terrain that green slimes like to spawn at was to Zen’s natural disadvantage. The green slimes spawn in the meadows along the main road, obstructing villagers and merchants from using it.From observations, the green slimes would not spawn within two kilometres of the village. However, the protection area of the vi
There was nothing to fear. Even if he died, it wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, Zen was confident that his new title would protect him from going bankrupt even if he had to revive a hundred times before killing this fat blob.The gamer in him awakened and rose to the challenge after Zen discarded his cowardly civilian mindset. It was time for his superior gamer persona to take over.In every monster within games, Zen understood that they were programmed with a behavioural pattern. The last time he encountered an area slime boss, he did not have the time to study the attack pattern.Now, Zen looked back at the slime as he ran in circles around the willow trees by the pond. This area slime boss was chasing after him without much thought process. If it were a little wiser, it would stop chasing Zen in circles
Despite all the good boss drops, Zen still had no kills for normal green slimes. If they were alone, Zen could easily take them out. However, if they ganged on him in a group, he was still slightly afraid. His training in Claymore never taught him how to deal with multiple enemies at the same time. Zen found that it might be scarier to deal with many low levelled slimes at the same time than one area boss.His mind couldn’t analyse their movement patterns all at once, and Zen knew his clumsy body could not react fast enough to them even if this was a game. Except for moving around in the kitchen, Zen had very little coordination sense.Yet, here he was. The gamer looked at his quest and inventory tabs, wondering how he should approach this. Should he farm five normal slimes first and return to town to turn in his Slime Hunter quest to the shady merchant o
On his way back, Zen killed several more green slimes using his hit and run technique. He almost had a free trip back to the starter town when his health bar fell to an alarming five percent after one scuffle. It was unglamorous, and Zen felt ashamed of getting bullied so badly. Then again, he could not be blamed. Who could expect getting ganged upon by three consecutive waves of green slimes out in the open? Their respawn rate was too quick, and Zen barely got away from them.If he had to make a comparison, these slimes were almost as powerful as medium-sized dogs. Zen really was no match against those animals, and he groaned, feeling pain everywhere. Thankfully, this wasn’t real, or he would be bruising badly with some cracked bones as he bandaged himself.First aid was a handy skill to have, and Zen was thankful that he did not procrastinate to complet
Charlie and Remi replied at light speed. Zen was still crafting his advanced healing salve when they demanded to know his location.Unable to leave the chapel until he finished his task, Zen told them to meet him in the chapel of the very first spawn town. He was surprised to hear that they were both on the fifth floor but knowing they had two combat powerhouses in their party, it wasn’t very surprising. Party Freedom was a rather well-balanced mix of members who could cover each other’s blind spots, and Zen was tempted to ask if Jessica and Benjamin wanted to join too. However, he decided against it for now.After all, he still had yet to hear from the Seer about the new information he discovered about NPCs and side quests.Father Clarence was busy minding his own business when two newcomers visited his
“How long have you known about the existence of side quests?” Charlie threw his arm around Zen’s neck to wrestle him into a light chokehold position.It wasn’t very difficult for the Gambler to give the short gamer a noogie as payback for keeping all the good information to himself while everyone else fumbled like clueless bats in this virtual dungeon game.Zen apologised and begged for mercy when the taller teen offered no reprieve from the chokehold. It did not hurt as much, but it was definitely uncomfortable. Sadly, not even Remi pitied him. If anything, the insomniac might propose doing it himself to take out his obvious frustrations on Zen.Father Clarence gave out the quests like what Zen mentioned, and after receiving their first side quest, Charlie let Zen go.
Liu Feng and Akiko were tense. He had no idea what happened between them earlier, but Liu Feng’s general expression changed when he heard Zen.“There you are!” the Seer smiled gently and took a real look at Zen before reaching out to pat Zen’s head softly.“You’re a lot shorter than I thought you were now that I can see.”His statement made Zen freeze. “What do you mean?”Akiko tilted her head to one side. Didn’t Zen tell Liu Feng to make his area boss drop into an accessory because he knew what it could do?Liu Feng paused. His smile faltered. Many questions hovered in everyone’s minds. Misunderstanding deepened, and this time, there was no way for them to con
“Nobody can be certain of the truth from a watered-down source,” Zen told them. “I have reasons to believe that while the claims of the Gorski’s family’s children experimentation and torture are true, there is more than meets the eye.”Liu Feng and Akiko held their breaths as Zen explained his perspective. From analysis, the scientists from the Gorski family fit the criteria as curiosity-driven individuals with a desire to solve many of civilian’s problems. They were one of the Godfather’s most loyal supporters of wanting to do good as guardians of their territory. However, not many people believed them after the truth of their results were leaked.Even so, Zen’s theory was only a theory. Without concrete evidence to clean the Gorsi family’s crimes, knowing the truth was useless.
Meeting at the entrance of floor tenth’s labyrinth, Zen quickly checked on Party Freedom’s in-game gear. They were not the best, and it was surprising how they made it to floor fifteen using pure skills. Unlike Zen, who relied on many in-game mechanics to compensate for his lack of combat abilities, the others powered through using the polished skills gained from years of training. Compared to them, he felt like a fraud.“You’re going to all need better equipment,” Zen stated after a brief check. “I’ll send Tracer the list of crafting materials I need before logging out to prepare lunch. However, these gears will not get you to the hellish final boss on floor twenty.”Having seen what the demon lord could do, Zen wondered how the party of four climbed half of the labyrinth stage. It was like using a piece of rock to cut sushi.The Minotaur Boss’ loot was the best for crafting armour in preparation for clearing the
After confirming that Party Freedom was still stuck at floor fifteen, Zen confirmed that he would be better off making progress with them instead of slowing the vanguard team.When in doubt, keep to the left.” That was what I did when I cleared the labyrinth floors, including the tenth floor. Anything with a maze-like structure can be easily cleared if you follow a strict path.”…Nobody else spoke about the advice that Liu Feng gave. In theory, that was correct. However, it was easier said than done. Most people would turn back upon discovering a trap or an enemy. Not to mention, some paths might be blocked. What the Seer was telling them was to brute force their way through a maze. If he had a map and a destination, Zen had no doubt that his sworn brother would have broken down all the walls standing in his way to reach the final boss dungeon.“Oh, one more thing. That minotaur boss is actually blind. It makes sense because it has
By the time Zen’s morning alarm went off, the tissues stuffed in his nose had already fallen out during the night. Thankfully, they were not covered in booger or snot. More importantly, the ointment stopped stinking.Checking his ribs and stretching cautiously, Zen immediately noticed the lack of sharp pain in his sides when stretched. Traditional medicine was truly miraculous! At this rate, his fractured ribs might be fully healed in the next few days."You’re up,” Liu Feng noted after he left the bathroom.Last night’s sparring with Akiko loosened his stiff muscles from dungeon diving. The morning workout went smoothly, even if his hunt for Chatura made no progress. Hearing how quickly Zen was able to move, his ribs must be feeling better. The medicine his brother sent was expensive. Thankfully, it worked for civilians too.“Thank you for the ointment,” Zen beamed. “I should make a full recovery in a few days at 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