Gamers of the Underworld

Sherlock opened the letter.

“Respectable Lord Sherlock:

We followed your instructions and checked on Morgan’s finances for the last three months. The Dungeon that he bought is a Level 3 Dungeon close to Winterfell. He didn’t recruit any of the citizens from the purchased Dungeon. Instead, he dismissed them.

He also prepared 100,000 sets of equipment, 10 Magic Cannons, and various Mana Scrolls. We were fortunate enough to obtain some equipment and used a Magic Recorder to secretly take some pictures.”

Sherlock took out the pictures that depicted a Gnome holding a huge Helmet that was one-third the height of a Gnome. Besides the Helmet, there was a huge set of Armor, a massive Shield, and an outrageous Pike. However, they were too small for a Giant.

After all, a Giant was ten meters tall.

Sherlock continued reading the letter.

“According to my initial speculation, the equipment is for Ogres. We are still investigating the details.”

The letter was without any names. A strange symbol flashed before the letter incinerated by itself, leaving no ash.

“Lord Sherlock, this is getting serious. The 100,000 sets of equipment are for Ogres, and the citizens of the Dungeon were dismissed. Considering the close relationship between Andrew and the Ogres, Morgan may be in cahoots with them as well. Eternal Kingdom only has 5,000 gamers. To fight against 100,000 Ogres is a bit difficult…”

Bru said worriedly, “The only way out is to kidnap Nicholas and take control of Winterfell. Using the Winterfell Garrison Guard is our only hope. Once the Garrison Guards are all defeated, our gamers can occupy Winterfell. Remember to take over the Dungeon Core so that I can level up again. The Merchant Alliance won’t know what happened to Winterfell, and to stabilize the Northern Underworld, they will arrange for a new Dungeon Core, and we can hijack the Dungeon Core once again to form a positive loop!”

“Have you drank too much bloody chrysanthemum tea?” Sherlock asked with concern.

“No, Lord Sherlock. I have no idea how to defeat the 100,000 Ogres.”

Sherlock pondered before saying, “If their opponents are Orcs, then it’s possible.”

“Lord Sherlock’s intention is?”

“We commenced the Third Beta Testing some time ago. Due to other matters, we delayed the Orc profession. Isn’t it a good time to roll it out?”

Sherlock ordered Bru, “Assign the mission. All non-Goblin gamers with Weapon Level and Reputation Level 3 can accept a second profession change mission to become an Orc! The details are as follows…”

…

[Mission Title: Profession Change, Orc

Mission Description: You have proven your worth. Lord Sherlock will allow you to breakthrough by becoming an Orc.

Mission Objective: Work hard for 0/24 hours and submit 0/10 units of materials.

Mission Reward: You will become an Orc.]

All of the Houndhead Men and Gnomes received this mission.

The Mission Objective was negligible compared to the previous ones. The gamers were only required to work for 24 hours and submit Spider Legs and Spider Meat. They could easily obtain the materials from the marshes of the Marsh Inkspewers, the Spiders’ Lair, the Sighing Wilderness, and even outside the Winterfell Gates.

The most tedious item was the 24 hours of carrying bricks.

However, for the hardworking gamers, it was nothing.

It was only a single day! Work for it!

…

24 hours later.

“Don’t stop me, I can continue working…”

NotWearingPants was feeling dizzy. Even though he was in a game, he could feel the drowsiness. It was rare for him to work 24 hours carrying bricks.

NotWearingPants noticed that he had completed the mission in his Mission Panel, so he hurried over to the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

Eggface sat at a table in front of the entrance.

There was a long queue of about 100 gamers. Clearly, NotWearingPants wasn’t the first one to complete his Orc mission. Behind him, the queue was lengthening.

When it was NotWearingPants’ turn, Eggface asked without lifting his head, “Name?”

“NotWearingPants.”

“Hmm? This name sounds familiar,” Eggface muttered to himself before taking out a form.

“Copy this. There is a water tub for you to drown. There is also a rope there for you to hang. Lastly, there is a Sword for you to cut your throat. I suggest hanging as it’s cleaner.”

“Ah?” NotWearingPants was dumbstruck.

“What’s there to exclaim about? Next!” Eggface said as he pushed NotWearingPants to the side.

While the gamers were queuing up for an Orc change, Bru was expressing his doubts to Sherlock.

“Lord Sherlock! It’s time for us to fortify our Dungeon. Why are you making it hard for the Gnomes and Houndhead Men to change professions? Even if they become Orcs, they will work hard to carry bricks.”

“No, I didn’t create the tedious mission and the lengthy procedures such as copying the ‘100 rules of proper behavior of an Underworld citizen’ because I want them to do more work. It’s because…”

Sherlock rubbed his temple. In front of him was a large cup of bloody chrysanthemum tea.

“With that many Orc profession switches, my mental energy is diminishing rapidly, making me feel tired and weak. If I can prevent that, I’ll do so.”

“It’s tough on you, Lord Sherlock. I sympathize with your predicament.”

Sherlock asked, “Have you finished the calculation? How many gamers can become Orcs?”

“Lord Sherlock, there are 3,256 gamers who received the mission. Out of those, 1,000 gamers became Houndhead Men and Gnomes recently. A lot of gamers also ignored this Orc mission because the Houndhead Man has a greater Mana affinity, and they prefer the greater Mana capacity of a Houndhead Man to the beefy Orc.”

Sherlock felt disgusted as he said, “Tsk, do the gamers like Mana so much?”

“It seems like it.”

“Let’s put this aside. Is the Large Furnace mission ready?”

Bru replied, “All of the Blacksmiths are at Level 2. Those who can do forging have received the Blacksmith Profession mission. In the following days, they will only receive forging Daily Missions. To increase their motivation towards forging, I followed your instructions to reduce the prices of the raw materials by half. On top of that, using the Large Furnace doesn’t require a fee. New Orc equipment with Green Excellent quality will be forged by the gamers.”

Bru said, “For their services, there will be a fixed charge of 50 to 100 bronze coins according to the raw materials used and the quality of equipment. Simba will still be in charge of forging Blue Superior and better quality equipment. Also, two pieces of Legendary Equipment will be combined into one with compensation to solve the issue of the Orc’s size difference.”

“Hmm, very good. The equipment problem has to be resolved within three days. This mission will take precedence over the Daily Missions,” Sherlock ordered.

“I understand, Lord Sherlock.”

A letter came out from the Dungeon Core.

“Devil Management Committee No. 2589652 Document—Addressed to Lord Sherlock.”

“Seems like war is starting.”

Sherlock smiled as he picked up the document.

…

Yoda woke up early. He didn’t sleep well last night because the entire Dungeon was busy working through the night.

Who knew why they were working so hard.

Yoda cleaned himself, put on his clothes, ate his clay breakfast, and opened his door.

Lo and behold, why were there so many Orcs?