Gamers of the Underworld

Moroes felt that something was strange.

He had intended to prove his worth to Lord Sherlock so that he could stay in the Dungeon. To obtain Sherlock’s favor, he had selected ten excellent Goblins to help him capture a live Spider to be used as a training tool.

He had selected the ten Goblins to be his assistants, but they had become his stumbling block!

A Goblin whose head had the green words BurningChestHair charged out a hundred meters and stood on a high vantage point, surveying the environment anxiously.

Moroes had asked Sherlock regarding the green names above the Goblins’ head and he had replied casually, “That’s a method to increase their enthusiasm. Don’t you worry.”

Since the Dungeon Lord was not worried and the effect was created using Mana, Moroes did not pursue further.

“It’s safe in front. There’s no Underground Spiders!” The front scout BurningChestHair returned and said.

“Don’t put down your guard. There is no second chance if we die. If there’s danger and there are too many Spiders, we’ll run for our lives. Don’t hesitate!” NotWearingPants said grimly to his comrades.

Arthur was Moroes’ best trainee who could become a qualified warrior. He was looking grave and used his whetstone to sharpen his blade.

The other gamers were all alert and they formed a protective ring around Moroes. They were discussing in front of Moroes how they were going to capture the Spider. If there was danger, who would sacrifice to delay the Spiders so that others could escape…?

“Enough! If you think this is a sightseeing mission, you may go back now! The scout whistling in the front, are you trying to expose our location? The few of you who are surrounding me, if we find a target and I’m not able to capture it at the first instance, are you going to capture it?” Moroes was running out of patience. He shouted angrily at the Goblins who didn’t treat him as their Coach.

Was he not the main character for this mission? Should the Goblins not follow behind him warily in case they lost their lives? Though they were saying things like “Mission will fail if he dies”, Moroes could not see how the Goblins were afraid of death. Their gazes on him were also strange. Why were they worried that Moroes would die? Were the Goblins that sure they would not be the ones to perish?

Moroes felt that the Goblins had become the main characters and that his capabilities were under question. After venting his temper, the Goblins stopped chatting and followed his instructions to stay by his side. They advanced in their formation.

“This trainer NPC has got character. The AI is so awesome! It allowed the NPC to interact with us.”

“Hush, don’t let the trainer hear you. What if he sends you back and cancels your mission? You would have wasted your trip.”

“Would he cancel my mission because we chatted?”

“He might just do that. This game is very realistic. I’m not surprised anymore!”

The Goblins continued to whisper among themselves and Moroes was about to blow his top when Arthur said anxiously, “Shhh, keep quiet! There’s something!”

Everyone heard Arthur’s warning and became alert. Moroes half squatted and saw two Underground Spiders crawling out from a huge boulder at the lair’s entrance. The Spiders had discovered them.

“I’ll kill one! All of you distract the other Spider!” Moroes ordered the Goblins before charging towards the Spiders. NotWearingPants and the Goblins followed Moroes.

Moroes was swift as he leapt onto a Spider and slashed its eye and mandibles which spewed green blood. He did not hesitate.

As Moroes was about to slash the Spider again, the Spider lifted its two legs to attack him. Moroes was calm and focused. He wanted to dodge and give the Spider a fatal blow. As he was about to execute his move, NotWearingPants charged towards the Spider and the Spider Leg penetrated NotWearingPants’ stomach. The Spider lost its balance while Moroes was dazed. Was the Goblin tired of living?

Thanks to NotWearingPants’ heroic feat, Moroes capitalized on the opportunity and slit open the Spider’s belly while it was off-balance. The Spider made shrill screeching sounds before collapsing on the ground. NotWearingPants was dangling from its leg.

Moroes did not wait to find out if NotWearingPants was still alive. He dashed towards the other Spider. The Goblins had surrounded the Spider according to Moroes’ instructions. Using their newly learned fighting techniques, they attacked the Spider Legs and disabled two of its legs. They also tied the chain around the Spiders a few times. With Moroes’ help, the Spider’s legs were bound and it became immobile.

The mission was successful, but they had sacrificed a Goblin. Moroes felt that they had no choice. If that Goblin had listened to his orders and joined the other Goblins to corner the other Spider, the Goblin wouldn’t have died. Trapping the other spider was not an issue.

Moroes could not understand why the Goblin charged to his death. The only plausible reason was to protect Moroes, but the Goblin had only known Moroes for a day. Why would he do that for Moroes?

Moroes made sure the chain was properly secured before rushing over to NotWearingPants.

NotWearingPants was still alive, but the Spider Leg had penetrated his stomach. The huge impact had tore through the armor. The armor was not able to deflect the immense penetrative power of the Spider Leg.

Fresh blood spilled onto the ground. NotWearingPants did not say a word. He held the Spider Leg with one hand while he hacked the Spider Leg with the other hand. With his violent movements, more fresh blood dripped from his mouth. Moroes knew that he was trying to hack off the Spider Leg to save himself. What a strong-willed Goblin with an equally strong survival instinct!

Moroes was full of admiration for NotWearingPants, but he was bewildered by his suicidal move. With NotWearingPants’ superb willpower, he was considered a qualified warrior. No! An excellent warrior!

An excellent warrior should not have to suffer in his death!

“Brother, I don’t know why you protected me. I’ll always remember you.” Moroes looked at NotWearingPants who was busy hacking and sighed. He took out his green blood-stained Short Sword while grabbing NotWearingPants’ shoulders. He got ready to slit NotWearingPants’ throat to relieve him of his pain.

“Wait, what are you doing?” NotWearingPants was surprised that the new trainer NPC would talk to him out of the blue. Could there be a special mission? He saw the new trainer NPC going for his throat with the Short Sword and he immediately grabbed the blade with his hand. Bravo, his palm was injured before he was going to die.

“You are a brave warrior. I’m giving you a death worthy of a brave warrior. Be on your way. May you rest well in the Spirit World!” Moroes said sadly as he pushed NotWearingPants’ hand away. He put the blade on NotWearingPants’ throat and said, “Shh, don’t say a word. It’s going to be fast…”

“Wait! I still have hope! Arthur! ChestHair! Help me!” NotWearingPants shouted loudly.

Arthur and BurningChestHair rushed over and NotWearingPants said, “Help me out! I’m stuck with this Spider Leg. Why is this NPC trying to kill me? What the heck? Is this a new game setting? When I’m seriously wounded, is this considered death?” NotWearingPants said as Arthur and BurningChestHair came over. They were not sure what was going on, but they were prepared to cut off the Spider Leg.

Moroes was astonished. Why was the Goblin not in pain?! Especially when such a large Spider leg penetrated his stomach and made a mess of his intestines. Even if he did not die, he should have been screaming in pain. If he was lucky, he would pass out and die unconscious. If he was unlucky, he had to suffer hours of pain. Obviously, he belonged to the unlucky category! Moroes was trying to ease his pain, but NotWearingPants was resistant. Shouldn’t NotWearingPants be grabbing Moroes’ hand and saying, “Thank you, Teacher!” or something similar?

While Moroes was in a daze, Arthur and BurningChestHair had cut off the Spider’s leg. They helped NotWearingPants up. He tried to walk, but his injury was too serious. He had shut off the pain sensation so it was not painful, but his legs wobbled.

They had to carry him.

NotWearingPants felt he could be saved and wanted to persist. Moroes gave up giving him an honorable death. He was puzzled why NotWearingPants was not feeling pain and rationalized that NotWearingPants had strong willpower.

The following events made Moroes more shocked and puzzled.

Not only was NotWearingPants nonchalant about death, even the other Goblins were not concerned about his life and death as they made merry.

“NotWearingPants, you’re awesome. We were caught off guard, but you charged out and blocked the blow.”

“Yes, yes, if you hadn’t blocked that blow, our mission would have failed!”

“Awesome!”

Everyone were heaping praises onto NotWearingPants. Nobody mentioned Moroes’ bravery. Moroes could not comprehend why it turned out this way. Should they not be surrounding him and discussing his bravery?

They were joking with NotWearingPants, and he was also cracking jokes as though the Spider Leg was not impaled in his stomach. Even when his face was getting pale and the blood dripped along the way, he was happily chatting. There was no sadness or depression of an impending death!

They dragged the bound Underground Spider and carried NotWearingPants. They smiled as they marched back. As they were about to reach the Dungeon Entrance, NotWearingPants stopped breathing…

Moroes closed his eyes as he prayed silently for this brave Goblin that he had only known for a day. If he had been in the Gladiator Arena, he would have been a Gladiator star.

Moroes felt that he had to console the other Goblins. He said with sorrow, “Everyone, though NotWearingPants has left us, don’t be sad. Let us pray for him silently.”

“Coach, stop praying. The Dungeon’s just ahead. I’m having my meal before going offline!” BurningChestHair said in a hurry.