Zen blinked. Party Raid? Would that make the boss stronger or weaker?

His question was soon answered when Liu Feng and Akiko struck the orange slime boss simultaneously. Sasha mirrored Zen’s shocked expression, full of disbelief as the orange blob exploded.

“Isn’t this cheating?” Zen asked himself and watched as orange goo rained down upon him. Standing above everything were the two most powerful members of his party and guild.

[Armoured Slime Boss has been defeated by Party “Godly Food”. Calculating contribution rates to distribute Area Boss rewards.]

“Are you ok?” Akiko walked up to Zen, and Liu Feng touched the orange goo that fell onto his hair in curiosity.

Zen felt embarrassed that he had to be helped up by a lady even though he was a man. Even Sasha ran over to them like she didn’t just almost die, and Zen wondered if the mafia heirs were incapable of feeling fear. None of his party members froze up or hesitated in the face of adversity. Sasha didn’t even run when she understood how useless her shotgun was, and Zen didn’t know what to think about himself.

[Congratulations on defeating the Armoured Slime Boss! You received “Armoured Slime Boss Goo” as your reward.]

[Congratulations on being the first to discover the birthing requirements of Stage 1’s Area Boss! You are awarded the title “Slime Researcher”.]

[Congratulations on discovering the uses for different herbs! You have unlocked a unique skill, “Foraging Encyclopaedia”.]

[Congratulations on being the first party to succeed a Party Raid! Your party receives a special party skill, “Heavy Bounce”.]

As the notification spammed his vision, Zen couldn’t see the expressions on his party member’s face. Like him, the number of achievements and rewards they received shocked them.

Zen decided to check his status after receiving so many new rewards.

===

Name: Zen

Title:

Enemy of The Round Table

Description: You have offended the Round Table families by siding with the Godfather!

Effects: Fame +100. Special attention by the Godfather.

Slime Researcher

Description: Your dedication to learning about slimes gives you a better understanding of their weaknesses.

Effects: Ability to inspect slime-related monsters. Raises item drop chances to 100% when a slime is killed by one who equips this title.

Age: 15

Abilities: Gaming & Cooking

In-Game Abilities:

Foraging Encyclopaedia

Effects: Allows player to understand all plant life and uses in-game.

Credits: 1,500

Items:

Armoured Slime Boss Goo

Description: Can be used to make intermediate healing salve.

Rank: 100

Guild: Survivors [Role: Advisor]

Primary Party: Godly Food [Party leader]

Party Abilities:

Heavy Bounce

Effect: Debuffs enemy speed by 20% and increases party defence by 20%.

===

Zen looked at his new skills and ability. Immediately, he equipped his new title and told his party members what he could do.

“Really?” Sasha was impressed. “Help me inspect the drop I received!”

Zen took a look at the drop she received and grinned.

“Armoured Slime Boss Lungs. That is an excellent material for making an air rifle more powerful than the shotgun you have now.”

“Zen, check mine too,” the Death princess hurriedly insisted, and Zen inspected the Armoured Slime Boss Skin she received.

“It makes intermediate armour,” he told her, and the Death Princess studied the items in her hand. A good armour to clear the higher floors!

Liu Feng didn’t know what he was holding. He wanted till the girls weren’t paying attention to pass whatever it was to Zen.

“What are these? The system told me they were slime eyes. Are they really slime eyes? It feels closer to snooker balls.”

Zen looked at the glassy spheres in Liu Feng’s hands and swallowed. “Yes, they are slime eyes. Do you want me to inspect them?”

The Seer nodded, and Zen activated his new ability.

===

Item: Armoured Slime Boss Eyes

Effect: Can be crafted into a head accessory that allows permanent night vision. Negates all blindness effects and detects infrared light.

===

Zen didn’t know what to tell Liu Feng. The fact that the Seer was blind made this sound like a mean prank. It was sadder that the item could not be sold or transferred because of its grading.

“This is a special item that can be made into an accessory. It is of special rarity and binds to the user. You should use it to turn it into a hair accessory. It could help you in the dungeon that you’re currently struggling with.”

Zen’s vague answer made Liu Feng curious, but Zen wouldn’t tell him what it did no matter how he asked. Eventually, the Seer let the matter go. Perhaps Zen really didn’t know much about what it did either.

“I see. Thank you. Your guess about the boss monster dropping items multiple times is accurate. I will let Akiko know about it so that we can plan a good way to farm useful equipment for the other guild members. Strangely, the item drops from this Armoured Slime Boss is better than the boss of the dungeon. Do you know anything about it? Where did you find this area boss?”

Zen sighed. “I’ll explain tomorrow after the event,” he told Liu Feng. “We should sleep. The Egg Hunt can happen any moment, and making it through that event takes priority.”

The Seer sighed in understanding and told Zen to rest well before he logged out. Zen told Sasha and Akiko the same thing, and the girls logged out soon after, giving Zen enough time to return to his VR room. After what happened, Zen had a lot of thinking to do alone.

“Perhaps this VR game isn’t out to kill us all. There should be a way to clear the game without meaningless deaths.”

With that in mind, Zen pulled out his notebook and started scribbling.