Gamers of the Underworld

Sherlock was still planning a comprehensive Mana System to make the gamers work diligently when the forum exploded with activity.

A novice gamer, LeatherBear, created a post.

[Sensational news! The Dragon and Dungeon are standard configurations! A Dragon was found while excavating the ruins!]

As for the other posts…

[The lousy game producers make updates secretly!] (Calling the post creator)

[Veteran Raintea discovered a new profession!] (Calling the post creator)

[Detailed methods on how to fawn on the Blacksmith.] (Calling the post creator)

Sherlock was going to read these posts later since he was curious what the silly gamers would write. He was surprised that a Dragon had appeared in the Dungeon.

Due to the appearance of the Dragon, he didn’t receive many replies. Everyone’s attention was focused on the Dragon.

The content of LeatherBear’s post was simple, it was just a blurred picture of the Dragon.

LeatherBear said that a few of the gamers were captured in the dark, black house and then thrown out soon after. They were puzzled as to what had happened. Some gamers stayed back to stand guard, while others went to get more gamers to observe.

Sherlock closed the pages of the forum and made use of the Dungeon Core to observe the gamers.

In the surveillance images, a group of Goblins were inside the dark Ancestral Ruins. They organized themselves into five orderly queues that passed through the entire Ancestral Ruins.

They walked consecutively towards the room. Veteran gamers were maintaining order at the sides of the queues.

“Those at the back, catch up. Go in five at a time. Don’t let too many go in at the same time. The floor’s not stable. If it collapses, it’ll be disastrous. Open your eyes widely once you’re inside. Whoever sees it will shout!” a fully armored Goblin with the words “Elite First Beta Gamer” above his head said to the queuing Goblins.

Inside the queues, there were gamers who shouted out.

“Make haste, make haste!”

“Why does it take so long just to see a Dragon? What the heck?”

“Are we still playing the game? I’ve waited in the queue for half an hour!”

“My kid’s finishing school. I have to go offline. Can I jump the queue?”

“What does the Dragon look like? Is it a five-clawed Dragon or one with two wings?”

“That’s so cool. Fancy discovering a Dragon. How many things did the lousy game producers update secretly in the game?”

“That’s hilarious. The announcement for Version 0.17 is coming out soon. I’ll bet 100 bronze coins.”

“Just take a glance and get a screen capture. Once you’re offline, take your time to examine the picture. Oh my God.”

“Selling equipment! Selling equipment!”

“Is anyone employing coolies? I’m selling my labor! I can excavate, carry bricks, and do all daily missions!”

“Dragon Raja Online Gaming is recruiting members!”

“Waaaah—!”

“D*mn! It’s you again! Stop yelling!”

The gamers were very excited. Sherlock adjusted the surveillance images to follow the gamers’ queue. He arrived quickly at the end of the queue.

In the room, there was a gaping hole that would allow six to seven Goblins to jump in. There were small holes by the sides, and the room looked wobbly.

Five gamers from the queues would jump into the gaping hole. After ten seconds, they would be thrown out.

The gamers continuously queued up and jumped inside just to have a glance at this fantastical creature.

“Have you seen the Dragon? Did you see it?”

When gamers were tossed back, the gamers at the side would question them.

“No! It’s dark. I was grabbed after a few seconds inside and then thrown back!”

“Is this a BUG?”

“Should be a BOSS or NPC that wasn’t installed properly?”

“Possible. This might be an air wall. You’ll get repulsed after ten seconds.”

“Gosh, this lousy game has an air wall?”

“This is a Dungeon. Expect the unexpected.”

Sherlock adjusted his view and went through the bashed hole into the dark basement.

A few gamers were thrown out, but they didn’t affect Sherlock’s surveillance.

Sherlock’s view advanced through the darkness until a claw appeared in his view and disrupted his surveillance.

“It’s really a Dragon. Lord Sherlock, by his looks, the Dragon isn’t old.”

Though it was pitch-black, Bru seemed to be able to see everything.

“Indeed. I feel a need to have a conversation with the Dragon.”

Sherlock stood up and made himself invisible. He arrived at the Ancient Ruins via the Rune Mana Formation.

He went through the Main Hall that was stacked with Magical Items. They were found by the gamers and submitted to Bru. Sherlock would take the items away when there weren’t many gamers around. The anti-Mana cloth used during this period could be wrapped around the Dungeon Core ten times.

He went through the Labyrinth and arrived deep in the Ancient Ruins. He bypassed the gamers who were queuing up restlessly and gazed into the dark hole.

The gamers couldn’t feel it, but Sherlock could feel the aura of the Dragon.

Despite the overwhelming aura of the Dragon, the gamers looked like it was normal. Normal Underworld creatures and even high-level Undead creatures like Vampires would tremble at the aura.

“Seems like the creature that was troubling Lord Sherlock is actually a Dragon. Did Lord Sherlock discover that it was a Dragon? You were reluctant to enter and let the gamers enter instead?” Bru smiled as he asked.

“I didn’t know it was a Dragon. When the Dragon came out, only then did I know. The aura of a Dragon is hard to detect unless it’s in close proximity.” Sherlock shook his head as he jumped into the hole. At the same time, he exerted his dominant aura to prevent the gamers from leaping down. Then, he cast a simple silence and concealment spell to cover the entire hole.

The gamers outside gathered since they couldn’t understand why they weren’t able to get close to the hole. They guessed that perhaps the sexy CoderMonkey was hotfixing the BUG.

Sherlock disregarded what the gamers were saying. He merely gazed into the dark space.

“A Devil? Hahahaha…”

A loud, hoarse voice rang like drums in Sherlock’s ears. Sherlock covered his ears and said, “Dragon Speech Mana isn’t used like this.”

Sherlock stepped forward, and a ring appeared where his leather shoes were. It was like a pebble dropping into a pool of water and creating ripples.

He took a second step and new ripples formed at his feet.

With Sherlock’s stepping, the ripples emanated. The loud drum-like voice rang beside his ears.

“I didn’t expect to meet a Devil, especially a superior Devil. Are you stealing the treasures of Helling Dragon? You’ve overestimated your capability…”

The voice wasn’t a problem. As Sherlock’s Mana ripples emanated, the loud drum-like sounds became softer and more child-like.

“I am named the Dark Flaming Mana Lord, Dark Scorch Hot-Tempered Dragon, Guardian of Helling, Dragon of Eternal Seal, Master of Darkness and Harbinger of Hell. Leave my territory, naive Devil. You’ll be swallowed by my Dark Flames!”

If the voice wasn’t child-like, the words would be rather imposing. But with the young voice, the feeling was different.

“Is the young Underworld Dragon that immature? Or rather, times have changed. Is his behavior caused by the education received while he was young?” Bru asked as he tried to restrain his smile.

“No, at least the few Dragons that I have encountered were normal.” Sherlock shook his head and stopped walking. The ripples also faded.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Darkness faded from his location, and the original scene of the cave appeared. Before him was a Dragon.

Gray brick walls surrounded the empty room. The floor was removed, and a pit was excavated. The pit was full of items that shimmered, and a Black Dragon sat upon the shiny items.

Sherlock wasn’t afraid. He walked in front of the Dragon and felt the Dragon aura at close proximity.

The lizard skull was lifted high up. Dark scales overlapped and protected the body of the Black Dragon. Even the weakest part, the eyelids, were covered with thick scales. The spikes on his back formed along his spine, and his long tail curled at his front.

The 1.5-meter long Black Dragon had sharp teeth and was full of vigor.

The Dragon lifted his head with difficulty to see the face of the tall Lord Sherlock. The Dragon opened his mouth at Sherlock and revealed his two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Then, he let out a child-like roar.

“Ao—!”

Sherlock searched his clothes for a while and took out some credentials. It was his Archaeology credentials from Winterfell. He squatted down, held the credentials in front of the Dragon’s eye, and said, “I’m an employed Archaeologist from the Winterfell Merchant Alliance, Sherlock. These are my credentials. This is Ancient Ruins No. 85. You have trespassed into these ruins without approval and flouted the Underworld Ancient Ruins universal law. Who are your parents? I have to inform them.”

“Apologies, it’s my bad, Mr. Sherlock. Please don’t do that.”

The Black Dragon lowered his head like a kid who had done something wrong.

“What’s the meaning of Helling Dragon? Are you a descendant of the Ancient Empire of Helling?” Sherlock asked as he put away his credentials.

“No, the legend sounds cool, so I hope to be like them…”

The Black Dragon lifted his head and showed his innocent face.

“Can you let me go? I’m only a kid.”

“No, you’re under arrest,” the superior Devil said.