Gamers of the Underworld

Marco Polo talked incessantly. Before the gamers reacted, the door of the Dungeon Lord Main Hall was opened.

Sherlock walked out, followed by Eggface, who shut the door.

Sherlock was dressed in a noble’s long robe. After accepting the swearing of allegiance from the gamers, he was dressed like this.

“What is the commotion about, my citizens?”

Sherlock’s voice wasn’t loud, but the exertion of dominance made the gamers stay at a distance and become quiet.

The gamers entered the Plot Animation Mode.

Sherlock looked at the half-naked Marco Polo and walked towards him as he asked, “My servant, I sense a familiar Mana on your body. What did you encounter?”

Marco Polo felt his weight getting lighter before he was lifted up by Sherlock’s Mana, which seeped into his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Finally, there was a light beam from the sky, and a green figure appeared in the beam and repeated what he said to Marco Polo.

Sherlock looked grave as he put Marco Polo down. He said to the restrained gamers, “It’s Victoria City, they found us, and they’re building a new Stronghold!”

A clear crystal ball appeared in Sherlock’s hand, and the images on the crystal ball were projected in front of the gamers. It showed a group of gamers carrying bricks diligently at the Surface World city of Victoria. They were smiling merrily.

Sherlock said worriedly, “They have large numbers. If they establish a Stronghold and attack us, we won’t be able to defeat them. Warriors, we have to react! We must prepare beforehand as a vicious battle awaits us.”

After his speech, Sherlock returned to the Dungeon Lord Main Hall, and a mission notice appeared before the gamers.

For example, a mission appeared before SealHeadLingChong:

[Mission Title: Faction Conflict, Mining Ore

Mission Description: Our enemy is Victoria City. War requires a vast amount of weapons and armor. Use your knowledge to forge as many weapons and pieces of armor as possible. Eternal Kingdom needs you!

Mission Objective: Mine Diamond Seam (0/10)

Mine Rock Ore (0/10)

Mission Reward: After completion of the mission, you will receive 100 Reputation Points (Faction: Eternal Kingdom)]

Besides stone masonry, mining, and carrying ore, all other missions were preparations for war that included the accumulation of weapons, building materials, metal ores, gold, silver, and other miscellaneous items.

Though the gamers weren’t sure about the use of the Faction Reputation Points of Eternal Kingdom, from their experience, they could be exchanged for titles, battle emblems, rare rides, or pets.

The gamers would like to give the Hell Hound pets a pass as they were extremely ugly.

They started working hard to earn more Faction Reputation Points.

The same situation applied to Victoria, with the exception of the spokesman, who wasn’t Lilo but her first assistant, Big Boss Hamster.

“Citizens of Victoria City! I’m the first assistant of Duchess Lilo and am announcing the order of Duchess Lilo! To prepare for the Underworld threat, we have to make haste and build our Victoria City. We must prepare more resources to boost our war efforts!”

After the announcement, the gamers received missions to gather wood, special plants, and even fish.

Both the gamers of Eternal Kingdom and Victoria City were hard at work.

...

Arthur’s mission was to sort out the ores that were mined by the gamers. He was then to place them into a chest on top of a Beetlemon.

Eternal Kingdom received 10 Beetlemons after the first battle at Winterfell. They received even more after the second battle and from the compensation from the Hades Devil Kings. Altogether, Eternal Kingdom had more than a hundred Beetlemons, and every fifty gamers were allocated a single Beetlemon.

The gamers didn’t have a chance to ride the Beetlemons individually, as they were used as train rides to the Beginner’s Training Grounds, Spiders’ Lair, and the Marsh Inkspewer Town.

Now the Beetlemons were used to transport the materials and equipment accumulated by the gamers.

This required many days.

Arthur was mechanically transporting the ores to the chests on the Beetlemon. Opposite him was Dragonborn, who was also transporting rocks.

They received the same mission.

One of them was the most powerful First Beta Gamer, while the other one was the most lethal Second Beta Gamer. They fought before, so they knew each other. However, Dragonborn wasn’t as famous as Arthur.

“Er, how’s the recruitment of fresh blood to the Guild?”

Dragonborn felt he should say something, as he would prefer their relationship to be friendship instead of competition.

It was common for gamers to fight in Guild Wars, though some gamers preferred to make more friends.

Some gamers preferred PVE, some liked PVP, while others wanted PVX.

“Hmm, the chests are full,” Arthur said, looking distracted.

Dragonborn felt awkward. As he started the conversation, he had to continue. After pondering, he said, “Yes, I didn’t see Raintea. Is she a member of the Pioneer Alliance? Is she not feeling well? It was strange that she didn’t get online during the start of Third Beta Testing.”

Arthur was taken aback. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know. I wasn’t bothered.”

“Ah, I see...”

Dragonborn nodded. While he was thinking of what to say, TakeASpearHit dashed to him and shouted, “Gosh, did you take a look at the forum? The gamers at Victoria saw Veteran Raintea! It’s rumored that she has changed faction!”