Gamers of the Underworld

Brainiac deeply pondered about the Gates of Hell that had been shut.

The Gates of Hell was Lord Sherlock’s special method of opening the wall at the end of the tunnel. It created a tunnel that looked like mirrors. This name was given by the gamers.

They were unable to travel through the tunnel because the Gates of Hell disappeared soon after Sherlock vanished. The gates had become a huge wall again.

The disappearance of Lord Sherlock was related to the Gates of Hell.

Brainiac examined the statue and chest that opened the Gates of Hell for many days. He was sure there was no more Mana on them. Even the Runes had faded.

But it was hard to say because the statue didn’t have Runes or Mana previously. With Sherlock’s activation, the statue moved and chiseled through the wall, thus opening the Gates of Hell.

There wasn’t much time for Brainiac to ponder. The whistle-blowing gamers had led Andrew and the Winterfell residents here.

Because of the discussion forum, the encounters of the gamers weren’t kept confidential. Moreover, the gamers treated this as a Strange Encounter Mission. They were doing everything for the rewards. Andrew had given them enough benefits.

Andrew had the expression of “I’m doing it for the Merchant Alliance!”. He ordered his subordinates to transport the huge statue and the chest that had been used by Sherlock away. The reporters were busy snapping pictures of the scene.

Brainiac watched them leave without emotion. Only a group of Orcs and the adventurous gamers who were waiting for new Plots were left behind.

“What should I do?” Brainiac couldn’t help thinking about it.

…

Apple brought his Orcs back to their village. Though the village had lots of pits and looked very different, it was still their homeland.

Though Dungeon Lord Andrew invited them to Winterfell, they didn’t want to speak to him because he was the mastermind of the attacks.

Besides the reporters, who were anxious to make headlines, the Winterfell residents didn’t believe the news, or rather, they weren’t bothered.

Winterfell Dungeon Lord Andrew left with Michelangelo’s relic. This news spread like wildfire on the discussion forum, and the gamers expressed differing opinions.

One of the opinions was that the relic was the game’s Strange Encounter Mission. Though Andrew wasn’t an adorable or attractive character, he could be a future hero like the evil character Illidan Stormrage who later became the savior.

Other gamers admired the secret scheming behind the background that Andrew characterized. Some even explored the possibility of whistle-blowing and defecting to Andrew.

The popular opinion was to condemn the gamers who betrayed Eternal Kingdom and had no sense of shame. They were willing to betray Sherlie for a few benefits.

As the gamers obtained the latest news on the forum, Lilo also got a hold of the information while she was en route to the Orc village.

“After Sherlock disappeared, Dungeon Lord Andrew hijacked Michelangelo’s relic. Is that correct?”

At a makeshift camp in the wilderness, Lilo obtained updated news from the gamers.

“Yes, Andrew is despicable! We suggest turning around and raiding Winterfell. After that, we’ll kill and rob Andrew. Though Sherlie has left us forever, we can’t take this insult. We’ll support you as the new Dungeon Lord,” a Gnome, NotWearingPants, said seriously.

Lilo didn’t understand the words “NotWearingPants”, but she understood his words.

The gamers behind also nodded in agreement.

“Yes! It’s time we set up a new Battle Campaign Scenario. Let’s invade Winterfell. We raided a lot of loot the other time!”

“We have to attack Winterfell again!”

“Invade Winterfell and raid for loot!”

The Sludge Monster butler thought he had heard wrongly. The excited gamers were more interested in conquering Winterfell than Sherlock’s whereabouts and his safety.

Lilo wasn’t affected by the gamers. She paused for a while and said to the gamers, “Go, let’s go to your Dungeon.”

“Wait a minute, Miss Lilo. Aren’t we investigating the disappearance of Lord Sherlock? His disappearance wasn’t in Eternal Kingdom.”

Evelynn was worried when she saw Lilo boarding the Hades Carriage in a bid to go to Eternal Kingdom.

Lilo explained casually, “Perhaps you have only been with Sherlock for a short while, so you don’t understand him. My understanding tells me that though things look out of control, everything is pre-arranged by him. If the statue and chest were easily taken away, it means that they are useless and we don’t have to go there. Sherlock already knew what Michelangelo’s relic was. Perhaps his disappearance is also pre-planned.”

Evelynn was taken aback. She didn’t expect the aloof Lilo to have such trust in Sherlock. But she quickly asked, “Why didn’t Lord Sherlock inform us? Or make some arrangements?”

“I don’t know,” Lilo said directly.

“When he appears again, you can ask him yourself. Perhaps he wanted to create a chaotic situation. But now, we have to return to the Eternal Kingdom.”

“Wait, you said Sherlock will appear? Does Miss Lilo have a solution?” Eggface asked excitedly. He then muttered to himself, “That’s great. I’ll have unlimited bloody chrysanthemum tea and absolute freedom in playing computer games. I want a private suite with a personal computer that is full of good games…”

Eggface let his imagination run wild.

“Miss Lilo, do you really have a solution?” Evelynn asked in anticipation.

“No,” Lilo said simply.

“I’m thinking if he performs another disappearing act, I will extract his Dungeon Core and sell it to recoup my losses.”