An Automation was stationed in the kitchen as a cook.

When Isolde and Leonel entered the kitchen, a collection of revolting smells assaulted their nostrils. The automation cook buzzed and whirred as it spun in place, preparing the meals of the monsters in the mansion.

The pots were full of unknown body parts and organs partially submerged in some purplish-greenish-dark fluid that was overflowing.

In exchange for candy points, the automation would cook a player a meal. However, it was limited to one meal per player. It could restore the player's HP and MP to full -- only if they manage to finish the meal.

There was an option to attack the automated cook, and it would earn them 500 candy points, but no one else would serve the meal until the automation was replaced.

"Want to eat one?" Isolde asked Leonel with great enthusiasm. She was teasing him, of course.

Leonel's nose wrinkled in disgust. "We don't have candy points, and even if I did, I would never buy that . . . that whatever that is."

Leonel face crumpled like he was going to puke. "Let's get out of here before I hurled my guts out."

The cook seemed to have heard Leonel and glared at the latter.

With a robotic voice, he shooed them away. "If you don't want my food, then go away. Stop messing around the kitchen."

Leonel and Isolde ignored the automation.

"Should we go to another room? There are neither treasures nor players here," Leonel said.

Just as he said that they heard a ruckus not far away, as well as screams and cries heading in their direction.

"Heh. Speaking of players. I think they're already here." Isolde readied her guns in each hand and grinned. "Let's finish this quickly and move to the next room."

Every room in the mansion was wide enough to accommodate fifty players all at once with enough area for maneuvers.

Even though there were originally hundreds of groups, the monsters in the forest were enough to significantly reduce their numbers before they could get inside the mansion.

Within seconds, two groups entered the kitchen. One group only had four players left, while the other had five. Upon sighting them, the players screamed.

"Monsters!"

"Damn! They're so many of them here!"

"Who cares? We need points! Get them!"

Isolde frowned. "Monsters? How rude?"

"They don't seem to recognize us as players anymore," Leonel said.

"Good." Isolde grinned. "We can kill them to our hearts' content."

The players hadn't even closed their distance from Leonel and Isolde when they burst into particles at Isolde's bullets.

"W-whatâ€"!"

"What kind of damage is that?!"

"It's those special types of monsters! Run away!"

The remaining players scrambled to get out of the kitchen.

"And where do you think you're going?" Leonel smashed his hammer against his shield, and it produced a loud echoing noise that stunned the players in a hundred-meter radius for ten seconds.

Like a flash, Isolde finished them off one by one.

"Sorry, we need you dead to clear our mission," Leonel said while praying with his hands. He was beginning to get the hang of this. If before he couldn't kill his fellow players, now he was showing no mercy.

It was brought about Ren and Isolde's influence. Mostly Isolde because he was spending more time with her now than Ren. And even more time in the future because Ren had Evie now.

Isolde hummed in delight. "That's already two groups in ten minutes. If this keeps up, we might clear our mission within an hour and we can explore the other servers."

"Egh . . ." Leonel's lower lip puckered out. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But he might not go to the others servers anymore.

One horror was enough for a lifetime!

The Automation cook berated them. "Get out. Get out. You're ruining my kitchen. This is no place to fight."

Like always, Leonel and Isolde ignored the automation and talked among themselves.

"Should we go to another area?" Isolde asked.

"Sure. Let's go."

When the two were about to get out of the kitchen, they were surprised to meet with another group who came rushing inside and blocked their way.

Isolde was surprised because it was her ex's, Sky's group that appeared.

"Ah, Skyâ€"!" Isolde was about to say his name when Sky screamed first.

"Monsters!"

Isolde didn't get to finish her sentence when Sky swung his sword in Isolde's way. Leonel was quick to push her to the side and raised his shield to meet the incoming attacks.

With his shield, Leonel then pushed them away, and the group of five players stumbled out of the kitchen.

"Don't just stand there. Finish them off," Leonel said to Isolde when the latter just stood there without blinking, seemingly shocked at the appearance of the unexpected group.

Isolde quickly aimed her gun and rained fire on the newly arrived players, but for some reason, the bullets were avoiding Sky, and this got Leonel annoyed for some reason.

If not for Leonel's intervention, Sky would have escaped.

Leonel finished him off with a fast swipe of his hammer that connected to the cute boy's baby face straight on.

As the man burst into particles with a constipated face and an angry gaze that was directed at Isolde and Leonel, the former didn't know what to feel.

Isolde was having mixed feelings as she watched her ex turn into nothing but tiny particles until he disappeared in thin air.

"What's that for?" Leonel asked, confused. "It's not like you to hesitate."

"Agh . . . Sorry . . ."

"Is it because that guy is your ex?" Leonel didn't know where he pulled the courage to ask that question, but he did. His voice wasn't accusing or angry or anything. It was plain sad that Isolde couldn't help but feel bad for reasons unknown.

"Kind of," she answered honestly.

"Do you still like him?" Leonel asked. He meant it as a roundabout question, but it came out as something else when his tone trembled.

He then turned around, back facing Isolde. For some reason, he couldn't look at her.

( . . . continuation on NOTES)

A/N (Doesn't consume coins)

Sorry for the one chapter a day, still a bit sick. I'm taking the remaining days of the month to rest.

We'll make it up to you dear readers next month �

After all, I planned to finish this book within this year to make way for a new novel by the time of WSA. So I have to up my chapter release.