Gamers of the Underworld

[parial: I only fell into a daze in front of a Marsh Inkspewer’s home, and my Reputation Points were negative…]

[lYoungBamboo: I have prepared a set of decorations for my Darting Bird, such as a Guild War flag, specialized metal helmet, Breast Ram, and even a ball gag and eye patch…]

[RockCandyFruit: From deducting Reputation Points after failing to deducting Reputation Points regardless of whether one has failed?]

[SoftCandyGal: I intended to look for the Gnome gamers to bring me into the Instance Dungeon, and now you are increasing the difficulty? Why do I feel that you are trying to drive us to our graves? Despicable!]

[SecondBrushTip: Dragon? Where is the Huge Black Dragon?]

…

Sherlock finished reading most of the comments and browsed other topics like AmericanWildDog’s passive weapon Strategy Guide and StruggleWithPants’ post on his ambition to set up a food shop in Eternal Kingdom.

Sherlock stood up and went outside.

“Lord Sherlock?” Bru was puzzled.

“I’m making a trip. Shopping,” Sherlock replied simply.

…

“Da, da, da…”

A Hades Carriage wobbled as it moved off behind Sherlock. It left a trail of sparks.

The tall Devil had long riding boots, light gray riding pants, a deep blue tuxedo with golden seams, a classic black and white complementary shirt and waistcoat, and a deep blue bow tie.

That was Sherlock’s typical dressing style.

Sherlock lifted his tall hat and grasped an aged wooden cane whose handle was highly polished. He walked into the shop in front of him.

In the Don’t Have the Most Expensive Stuff Blacksmith Shop…

“Welcome, welcome. Our shop has the latest imitation… customer, have we met before?”

A Stone Golem was hitting something with his hammer. Then, he lifted his head and wanted to promote his items, but he squinted his eyes at Sherlock.

“We’ve done several transactions. I’d like to thank you for recommending me to the Merchant Alliance so that I had the chance to attend the Dungeon Lord Conference. I didn’t buy any stuff, though.”

The Stone Golem thought for a while and said, “Ah! Lord Sherlock of Eternal Kingdom? With your outfit… I almost couldn’t recognize you.” The Stone Golem felt he was impolite and quickly said, “I mean, you were dressed differently last time. Previously, you looked like an adventurer? Lord Sherlock, what do you need?”

“I have a blueprint of a large furnace. I hope you can help me build it. Please take a look at the blueprint.”

Sherlock took out a blueprint of a huge furnace with different openings and outlets for materials. It could support thousands of gamers who were forging at the same time.

It was separated into three portions, top, middle, and bottom. The height was a few hundred meters. It had a material inlet, Mana inlet, bypass, and cooling sections. It was a very large project.

“It’s… impressive.” The Stone Golem took the diagram and looked at it with astonishment. He asked, “Did you draw this diagram, Lord Sherlock?”

“No, I am not versed in this area. I got a friend from the forum to do that. It’s rather detailed.”

The Stone Golem nodded and said, “This will cost a good bit of Magic Stones. From the diagram, the creator is highly professional.”

“I didn’t spend any Magic Stones, I only gave him some benefits. How much will it cost to produce?” Sherlock asked.

“Hmm, the diagram looks okay. I’ll amend the constants a bit. The professional doesn’t understand the Magic Furnace very well, but it’s pretty close. I’ll have to calculate the cost. For such a large project, the construction will take more than a month. The price will be more than 500,000 Magic Stones,” the Stone Golem said.

“It’s not a problem if it can be solved with Magic Stones. After the calculation, contact me directly.”

The Stone Golem said, “Lord Sherlock, I have a suggestion. A few high-class Dungeons also constructed large furnaces, but they are more than a few hundred years old. Lord Sherlock’s Dungeon has just started developing. If the creature count is at the thousands, I suggest using distributed furnaces and employing five Blacksmiths. They’ll be able to satisfy the requirement.”

“No, it’s not equipment requirement.” Sherlock organized his thoughts and said, “Many creatures of my Dungeon are interested in Blacksmithing. A few distributed furnaces may not be sufficient. Moreover, my objective is not limited to the thousands of creatures in the Dungeon. After considering future needs, I feel that a large furnace is more suitable.”

Sherlock walked out and said, “I’ll impose on you to do the calculations. Help me contact the best construction team. After a month, once my excavated Industrial Area is completed, the construction team may start the project.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Sherlock. I’ll make the necessary arrangements and inform you when it’s time to sign the contract.”

Sherlock left the Blacksmith Shop and went to the materials market to make purchases. As the gamers were about to begin fighting the Large Lizards, if they only depended on close combat, the 2,000 gamers wouldn’t be able to defeat the Large Lizards.

The difference in body anatomy wasn’t easily overcome by training. Though Short Bow Gamers didn’t receive favorable comments, Sherlock intended to develop the long-range combat capability of the gamers.

This was a rather important matter to Sherlock.

The most suitable weapon was the Crossbow! Considering their technical ability and gaming experience, Sherlock decided to equip the Dungeon with Crossbows. Of course, the gamers had to pay for them.

Though it was extravagant, for the diligent and cute Goblins, it was worthwhile to spend the money. Sherlock smiled gently at the thought.

“Boss, how much does it cost for the materials to produce 4,000 Crossbows?”

“Let me calculate. About 100,000 Magic Stones. We’ll give you 10,000 bolts as a gift.”

“How much does it cost for the materials to produce 4,000 Longbows?”

“About 30,000 Magic Stones. We’ll give you 10,000 arrows as a gift.”

“What about Short Bows?”

“You may like our promotional bundle of 2,000 Short Bows and 2,000 Longbows. The sale price for the materials is 10,000 Magic Stones. We’ll give you 5,000 arrows as a gift, and we’ll give you materials for 5,000 arrows.”

“Deal. Please send the goods to this Teleport Portal address. Please send the goods as soon as possible.”

It was a pity that he didn’t purchase the Crossbow. With the combination of Short Bows and Longbows, and with proper practice, Sherlock believed that the gamers could overcome their deficiency.

The long-range weapons weren’t a necessity compared to the large furnace.

Sherlock decided to put this matter aside and buy other stuff.

The Commerce Area had been excavated, but there were many areas of the Dungeon that required development.

After purchasing the required goods and making the necessary orders, Sherlock returned to the Winterfell VIP Teleport Main Hall. He met a familiar figure at the entrance of a cafe.

A Succubus dressed in a cleaner’s uniform stood aggrieved inside the cafe. A boss Slime stood akimbo as he scolded the cleaner while a group of spectators gathered to watch.

Sherlock knew that Succubus, she was Evelynn.

“It seems like the labor market is going from bad to worse. Such a young Succubus like Evelynn lost her job in a large organization, and she’s working as a cleaner?”

“Lord Sherlock, I feel we should use this chance to recruit her at a bargain. How about 80 Magic Stones per month?” Bru suggested.

Sherlock didn’t respond to Bru. He glanced at her a few times before turning his head to leave.

Eternal Kingdom developed at an orderly pace.

The gamers were like the Underworld’s model workers. They worked diligently to excavate new areas in the Commerce Area and construct the new Stronghold at the Marsh Inkspewer Town.

When the passersby were attacked by the Large Lizards, they contributed to the natural food-chain of the Underworld.

The veteran gamers, who were elite fighters, started reincarnating as Gnomes. They began hunting the Large Lizards. They also used traps and the scarce Bladder Bombs against the Large Lizards.

The two large Guilds continued their war. The areas outside the Dungeon had become their battleground. They also registered for new Guild wars.

The veteran gamers’ Guild was finally approved. Other gamers also gathered their Guild members and accumulated enough silver coins before submitting their Guild registration.

After a month of training, the Second Beta Gamers had attained the requirement for challenging the Instance Dungeon. They formed teams and started their first battles in the Instance Dungeon.

They experienced what was deemed as cruelty.

As for the candidates of Specter College, they had a golden period with high graduation rates. The candidates in this period were undoubtedly extremely lucky.

Only for a short period of time.

…

In the tunnel outside Winterfell, colorful flags were everywhere. Kindergarten students led by teachers with large golden chains, tattoos, permed punk hairstyles, and smoking metal sticks were standing by the sides to welcome a guest.

A large armored Beetlemon entered Winterfell as everybody cheered.

“Alexandria! You’re too cunning!”

“You’re hateful!”

“Cunning and scheming!”

“Praising the greedy Alexandria!”

The son of the Grand Duke, Alexandria, paid a visit to Winterfell.