Zen was eating his dinner when the reply from his party members came. He changed into the new clothes Liu Feng prepared for him and had to fold the sleeves a little. The blind assassin told Zen to eat while he went to resolve some matters but refused to divulge details about his errand.
Zen didn’t really mind. He was surprisingly exhausted after the tickle torture session and needed some alone time to plan his itinerary. There was a lot to prepare before he started his journey on the second dungeon floor. According to Sasha, who was the first to reply, the second floor was a fungi forest of doom.
Specifically, there were mushroom monsters on the second dungeon floor equipped with the most annoying abilities.
“So the mushrooms can explode into a puff of spores that will give the player negative effects?&r
“Ready?” Zen asked over the alliance call.After receiving confirmation from everyone lying in wait, he pinched himself for good luck. The revised plan was simpler but riskier. Although it would work with Benjamin acting as the matador, Zen figured it would be better to have the Berserker act as a backup combatant to jump in only when Zen was in serious trouble.Conventional gaming logic would deem using the healer as the tank and the decoy a terrible idea. However, the party members in their composition had too many non-combatants. Apart from Benjamin holding the front line, everyone else was an easy one-hit kill. Zen was not a complete healer class. He was a jack of all trades, making him the only possible candidate to fill a secondary role for the mission.“Remember, the aim is not to kill. We need to retrieve the key first. Keep him in place, knock him down if we can and snatch that key. Cutting off his horn is more important than stabbing throug
After scouting the Minotaur’s patrol route, Charlie returned to the group with positive news.“I found him,” he grinned cheekily. “Are you ready, Matador?”Unamused, Zen wondered why everyone insisted on dressing him in blood-painted armour. The Minotaur had poor eyesight. He was almost as blind as Liu Feng was. Why on earth did Zen need to role-play with a monster?“Smile at the birdie!” Damian grinned and quickly took a screenshot to share it with the rest of the Godly Food Party members before Zen could protest. Jessica allowed herself a small smirk, and Benjamin chuckled at the gamer’s horrified expression.It did not take long for Party Freedom to become accustomed to adventuring at Zen’s pace. It was a little long-winded, but it was far from boring. If anything, the constant riffs and banters between Damian and Zen made great entertainment in the labyrinth’s doom and gloom. Whatever initial i
The dhampir worked quickly back at his cabin in the kitchen. Damian was allowed to hover near him because he was interested in the crafting process. Although the watcher did not tell him the recipe for the master magic candelabra, he showed the cyborg magician how his infamous watcher lantern was created.Mixing glowing wax with the royal jelly allowed the lamp to absorb mana from the labyrinth to glow eternally. As it did not emit mana, monsters will assume it was a natural source of light. More importantly. The flame that burned in the lantern could be used to relight the common wax candelabras that were put out by monster hoards rushing past it in the labyrinth.According to the watcher, he spotted three candelabras that needed relighting during his patrol. To make the errand easier for the adventurers, he included a more detailed map of the labyrinth, including positions of traps he planted for hunting monsters.“Remember to release the glow bees after you r
Of all the things Zen could expect from a game, he was not expecting a dhampir with a beekeeping hobby. What he thought were fireflies turned out to be glow bees. It was a great thing nobody attacked the insects. According to the watcher, cave bees did not hum or buzz. They were closer to scavengers who ate rotting meat and built their hives in rocks. Once attacked, the colony would swarm and exterminate the threat.“Unlike regular bees, they don’t make honey in their hives, although they build wax combs. After many generations of cross-breeding, the original hive of cave bees has now fully converted to glow bees. I harvest the wax and blood gel they store for food and candles.”Blood gel? Now that Zen thought about it, the dhampir had an unusually large amount of what he previously assumed were strawberry jam in jars on the shelves in the kitchen. The watcher was already eccentric, to begin with. The young chef did not want to judge a person by their pan
As the group approached the watcher’s hut, Zen took the lead. On closer inspection, the green glow had a yellowish tinge to it. It just wasn’t as visible in the distance. Smiling, he marched confidently towards it.“Is this a firefly?” Jessica blinked in surprise when they were within range. One of the green specs came up close enough for the adventurers to realise what it was.Chuckling from the front, Zen nodded. “I don’t think they’re poisonous, but don’t squish them. Firefly bugs have a liquid that can irritate the skin. That same liquid makes them glow, although I don’t know if the same logic applies here. Maybe they are poisonous bugs.”Somewhere from the darkness behind them, a voice spoke up.“These are guardians of the labyrinth. They are harmless.”Jumping, Charlie flew right into Remi, and the two non-combatants tumbled to the ground while the power couple readied for battle.
“Oh! Adventurers, what brings you here? This is a forbidden ground that guards a dangerous monster. Please turn back at once!” the old gatekeeper, who appeared half blind, spoke before Zen could offer a greeting.The NPC looked rather nervous, and Zen was immediately reminded of the Shady Merchant NPC when he was up to no good.“You seem a little troubled,” Zen smiled. “Is there something wrong?”Watching Zen interact with the NPC from behind, Party Freedom found his human-like interaction with unreal characters fascinating. Zen spoke to the NPC as if he were a real human, something nobody did. Damian, used to Zen’s method of coaxing more information from NPCs, stood back and told them to watch the master fisher in his element.At the mention of trouble, the old gatekeeper trembled. His eyes quivered as he looked around, licking his lips nervously.“Y-young man, you can’t say things like that. The King wi