There wasn’t a lot to do after preparing lunch. Zen went around to deliver the food he had made and apologised for making everyone uncomfortable with his decision.
Needless to say, he received all sorts of reactions. Some tried to pry for more information and demanded a justification, while others refused to listen more until he changed his mind. Then there were the people who only shook their heads in resignation, leaving a terrible aftertaste in Zen’s mind.He knew he wouldn’t receive positive feedback after what he did. However, there was one person in this academy he did not wish to disappoint.Navigating his way around the unfamiliar parts of this academy, Zen eventually located the dojo. Even from outside, he could hear the casual sounds of destruction. The school was probably going to need a new dojo at the rate Liu Feng was pummelling everything into powder. Politely knocking twice out of courtesy, Zen waited. If Liu Feng did not rShuffling their roles, Zen took a back seat and tossed the halberd aside. Providing assistance as a cleric, he buffed his allies and healed the injuries for front liners. Jessica and Benjamin were doing amazing, and the weakened Minotaur’s health was slowly shaved to the final health bar when everyone received a disturbing notification from the game system.[Minotaur has gained poison resistance. All poison-inflicted damage will be weakened and no longer as effective.]Zen and Jessica clicked their tongue in unison. With the new resistance skill, using the Poison Mist would be useless. They lacked enough combat power to hold the weakened boss in place.“We need to finish this quickly,” Zen announced. “Phase three, now! Lure him to the corner and finish him off with the biggest firepower you have!”Quickly backing off, Jessica acted as a decoy to lead the Minotaur to the corner without any exits. It was supposedly where the portal to
“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.