Gamers of the Underworld

“He’s the Mercenary Captain, Black Cat Captain Polio, whom I mentioned to you before.”

Sherlock introduced Polio, who was on the table. Behind Sherlock were Brainiac and Eggface.

“Greetings, I’m Nobody Has This Name’s Captain, Black Kitten Polio, meow.”

The black kitten had a small waistcoat. It wasn’t known when he had prepared his waistcoat.

Nicholas glanced at Sherlock to ensure that he wasn’t being pranked, then shook Polio’s paw and said, “Greetings… Captain of Nobody Has This Name…”

Nicholas conveniently tried to forget the name. He could see the tough character of Polio, but the mercenary group’s name was strange.

“The name isn’t important. The important thing is that the mercenary group can help you retrieve your item and investigate the reason for the destruction of the Dungeon Core.”

Nicholas quickly explained, “No, no, no, Lord Sherlock, the Dungeon Core hasn’t been confirmed destroyed.”

“Oh, of course. This is a small probability. To increase the probability of success, I’m sending my best Lich, Brainiac, to be the technical advisor. My capable assistant, Master of the Dark Flames, Eggface, will be Polio’s Logistics Officer. Don’t worry, Nicholas, just wait for our good news.”

Nicholas took out his seal and imprinted it on the contract to employ Nobody Has This Name.

“I’m depending on you, Black Cat Captain!”

…

“Lava was spurting out of a distant Black Volcano like an abandoned red cauliflower…”

Patrick Star sat in a teahouse in a small town not far from the foot of the Black Volcano as he wrote the latest draft of his news article.

After reporting on the Dungeon War between Eternal Kingdom and Morgan, he had become the top reporter of the Winterfell press.

The most important thing was that Patrick Star understood the meaning of his life, which was to obtain the most unusual pieces of news.

Helping an old granny across the road, clearing the clogs in toilet bowls, the reared old chicken dying, and traffic jams weren’t news, not according to Patrick Star!

For example, Patrick Star wasn’t interested in reporting the news of not helping an old granny cross the road.

When he learned of Winterfell’s crisis from a secret channel—that Winterfell had a deal with a Northern Dukedom and the Merchant Band was annihilated at the Black Volcano due to some special reasons—he rushed over. Thanks to the advanced technology of the Teleport Portal, he only spent a day traveling from the edge of the Northern Underworld, Winterfell, to the middle of the Northern Underworld, the Black Volcano.

Over here, he received many pieces of news.

“Have you heard about it? The volcano is erupting these days. It’s scary. Who will excavate the clay to eat?”

“What? Who dares to excavate clay while it’s erupting? The clay is polluted by the volcano. Aren’t they afraid of death?”

“He’s thinking of ending his life. The last I heard, his wife had an affair with a Goblin.”

“Ai, he’s pitiful. He’s only known his wife for five years. If he dies, his eight-year-old child won’t have a dad.”

Similar conversations were heard in the teahouse.

While Patrick Star was writing his report, a Werewolf, who was the boss of the teahouse, wiped the bar counter. Then, he slung the towel over his shoulder and asked Patrick Star, “You aren’t here for a tour of the Black Volcano?”

“Hmm, how did you know?”

Patrick Star was wary. The Werewolf smiled and showed his sharp teeth. Then, he said, “It’s the volcano’s eruption period. Besides the suicidal and those looking for a free tour, nobody comes here. Their mental states are different from yours. I’ve worked here for tens of years, so there’s nothing here that escapes my eyes.”

“Really? Can I interview you? I’m a Winterfell reporter. This is my reporter pass.”

The eyes of Patrick Star lit up. He took out his employment pass for the Werewolf to take a look.

“Oh, a reporter! We welcome reporters,” the Werewolf exclaimed happily. He took out a wooden signboard with the words:

“Teahouse information outlet. Please feel free to ask questions at one Magic Stone per question.”

There was a line of fine print:

“I’m only providing information as a teahouse boss. I’m not an oracle.”

There was another line of even finer print:

“I may not be able to answer extremely hard questions.”

The last row of fine print was almost illegible:

“All explanation rights belong to the teahouse.”

Patrick Star paid one Magic Stone and asked in anticipation, “Two months ago, during the volcano’s dormant period, did a large Merchant Band come through here? What happened to them?”

“You have asked two questions.”

Patrick Star paid another Magic Stone. The boss put away the Magic Stone quickly and said, “For the first question, I don’t know. For the second question, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Patrick Star raised his voice and said, “Are you fooling me?”

The boss tapped on the wooden signboard.

Patrick Star paid a Magic Stone and asked, “Did you notice any suspicious creatures?”

The boss pointed at Patrick Star, who slapped the Werewolf’s finger furiously. He threw out another Magic Stone and asked, “What else do you know? Tell me all the juicy news!”

“A 5,000 member group is coming to our small town for a free tour. They booked a small piece of land outside the small town. They don’t intend to stay in our town. There will always be creatures who don’t like sleeping in houses. I can’t understand why they prefer to sleep in sleeping bags. They are climbing the Black Volcano. I think they are all going to die.”

The Werewolf intended to leave, but Patrick Star pulled him back and asked, “Wait, a 5,000 member tour group? Where did they come from?”

“From the famous Eternal Kingdom!”

…

The conflict between the Pioneer Alliance and Changan City escalated. They roped in other small Guilds as helpers. Almost all of the gamers of Eternal Kingdom were involved in this conflict.

Dragon Raja and the Meat Vegetable Rice Alliance Guilds were knee-deep in their own conflict and didn’t have the spare time to be involved in other Guild Wars. Dragon Raja and the Meat Vegetable Rice Alliance were on the side of the Pioneer Alliance. However, it was impossible for Dragon Raja and the Meat Vegetable Rice Alliance to form an alliance and help the Pioneer Alliance, so they decided not to get involved.

The conflict was reaching a boiling point. Besides the safety zone in the Dungeon, the Guild members were killing each other in other locations. The fiercest fighting took place outside the entrance of the Instance Dungeon.

The outpost at the crossroad intersection, as well as the Marsh Inkspewer Town, were safety zones.

At the entrance of the Specter College Instance Dungeon, both Guilds were involved in an epic battle.

Raintea was behind the team formation, continuously using her Healing Mana Skills to heal her team members.

“Raintea! Retreat! We can’t fend them off any longer!”

A group of gamers charged at Raintea and shouted, pulling Raintea to the entrance of the Instance Dungeon.

A few gamers pulled Raintea into the Instance Dungeon. As for the other gamers, they didn’t enter the Instance Dungeon because they perished outside.

The Pioneer Alliance couldn’t possibly win every engagement. Sometimes, their smaller groups would encounter larger enemy groups.

They escaped into the Instance Dungeon after gaining long periods of combat experience.

The loot of dead gamers could be exchanged by enemy gamers for rewards. They could also take one of the pieces of equipment for themselves. The only exceptions were the Purple and Orange Legendary equipment.

If the gamers were to perish in the Instance Dungeon, their equipment would appear in Eternal Kingdom the next day. The gamers only had to pay a small price to redeem the equipment.

Therefore, it was better to die in the Instance Dungeon!

Raintea and the other gamers put down their equipment neatly at the Instance Dungeon entrance. They then proceeded into the depths of the Instance Dungeon so that they could be killed by the monsters.

These incidences became more common, and the Specter College was troubled. The graduating students couldn’t graduate by winning against these suicidal gamers, as the invigilator would invalidate the win. In the end, the examination candidates had to retake the examination.

Though it wasn’t the first time Raintea had died, she was still apprehensive about dying. The game was too realistic, so it was normal for the timid Raintea to feel fearful.

The other gamers smiled happily while they perished.

In the blinking of an eye, Raintea had returned to Eternal Kingdom.

Their Guild members saw them appear at the Revival Point and asked them about the situation. Seeing their concern, Raintea smiled contentedly. They were surrounded by the enemy, then they died together. These were experiences that Raintea never had before.