Gamers of the Underworld

“Lord Sherlock, it’s time.”

“What? The surface adventurers are arriving? I haven’t finished constructing my treasure vault…”

Sherlock’s fingers clicked quickly, and the computer mouse was moved frantically.

“No, Lord Sherlock, I’m not referring to the game. It’s time for the equipment auction.”

Sherlock was shocked.

“What? A day has passed?”

Sherlock looked at the time, and Cramer’s loot had been exhibited for a day. It was almost twelve in the afternoon and time for the auction.

Sherlock didn’t expect time to pass that fast.

The gamers gathered outside the Dungeon Core Main Hall to await the start of the auction.

The bid prices wouldn’t be shouted by the gamers. Instead, Bru would become the bidding system and collect the gamers’ bids. Within ten minutes, the six loot items would be auctioned simultaneously to the highest bidders. The gamers gathered outside the Main Hall to see who was going to win the bids.

The attributes of Cramer’s loot were superior to the current Diamond Seam equipment, and the loot had legendary status and unique designs. It would be impressive to own the loot which could be Soulbound and insured!

The most important factor was that the loot was one of a kind, just like Cramer. There wouldn’t be a second Cramer in the Underworld.

In this auction, the gamers would expend their month’s earnings from doing missions and exchanging for materials. There would be a 30% tax, and the proceeds would be distributed according to individual contributions in defeating Cramer.

The contributions of the gamers were decided by Bru, and he would reward them accordingly. Hence Sherlock wouldn’t be involved.

With that many chatting gamers gathered outside the Main Hall, it was like a noisy market.

Though Mufasa had been in the Dungeon for two days, he still wasn’t used to the insane and incredible gamers.

“Cousin, why aren’t they working? Why are they chatting outside the Main Hall? Isn’t Lord Sherlock going to dismiss them?”

Mufasa held a soup ladle while Simba placed some clay in the soup pot. The food would be sold at a high price to the gamers after it was prepared.

“Lord Sherlock won’t dismiss them. Chatting while gathering is one of their past times. Remember, no matter what the Goblins do, don’t be surprised,” Blacksmith Simba said nonchalantly.

Mufasa needed more time to get used to Eternal Kingdom. Meanwhile, the auction had reached its climax.

There was only a minute left. The bids for the six items were about two hundred to four hundred bronze coins, and they came from some unknown gamers.

The gamers who wanted the items would only bid at the last moment.

When the countdown started, the bids of the six items jumped from hundreds to tens of thousands. Within thirty seconds, the bids of every item breached 20,000 bronze coins and continued to increase by the thousands.

In the last ten seconds, the bids of the items stabilized at around 30,000 bronze coins. In the last three seconds, the bids increased exponentially.

During the process, the gamers were shouting excitedly.

“Gosh! It’s breaking records!”

“What’s the deal? A piece of online game equipment is being sold for tens of thousands of Renminbi!”

“Did the rich gamers accumulate all the game coins?”

“If it’s that expensive with only a hundred Beta Gamers, what’s going to happen when it’s in Open Beta?”

“It’s a windfall. I’m going to set up a workplace to play the game and earn coins during the Open Beta. I’m not going to work anymore!”

While the gamers were chatting, the six items were sold at around 40,000 bronze coins.

The auction results were already known before the auction. In the hundred Beta Gamers, only five were contenders—Arthur, NotWearingPants, BurningChestHair, Sylvanas, and Sakuranomiya Cat Demon. They were the richest Beta Gamers, and they each obtained an item. The last item, the Breastplate, was bought by Arthur, who spent a total of close to 100,000 bronze coins.

The gamers were complaining about the generosity of the rich gamers and how they were blinded.

Under the envious gazes of the gamers, the rich gamers received their bid items. NotWearingPants immediately shouted, “Who wants Plate Leggings? Renminbi transaction!”

Tens of nearby gamers started bidding.

A new auction had started.

Sherlock didn’t bother with NotWearingPants and how he was going to profit from the auction. He didn’t care how rich the gamers were in the otherworld. He was pondering practical issues.

The total proceeds were about 60,000 bronze coins, and most of the bronze coins were inscribed with a 100 number, which indicated a worth of 100 bronze coins. The rest were silver coins.

The coins created a small hill in front of Sherlock, giving him a headache. There were only a hundred Goblins, and in less than a month, there were that many coins. In the future, there would be a Second Beta and Third Beta. According to Bru, eight billion gamers were waiting.

Not all eight billion gamers could come in, as the Dungeon Core’s infrastructure couldn’t cope with the capacity. The Dungeon Core had to level up to recruit more creatures. After adding more creatures, the metal coins usage would increase greatly.

It wasn’t like Sherlock couldn’t afford the metal coins, but he felt it was troublesome. Sherlock was going to use these coins to lure the Surface Adventurers and capture them for Magic Stones. If the gamers monopolized the coins, then his plan would be wrecked.

Sherlock looked at his Magic Stone Card and pondered.

“Bru, could you come up with a Banking System?”

“What?” Bru was surprised.

“Like the Magic Stone Card, money could be transferred during a transaction. The Magic Stones could then be withdrawn as required,” Sherlock said. “If the gamers carry the coins around, they will suffer great losses if they die. In the future, with tens of thousands of gamers, how many coins will I have to prepare?”

“Indeed, if we don’t solve this issue, then we’ll need a large warehouse to store these coins. The gamers have already accumulated that much wealth within a month. If the number of gamers increases, they will have even more wealth,” Bru said. “Lord Sherlock, though I have a heavy workload, I’ll work overtime to create this Banking System. I’ll need more Mana for support.”

Problems that could be solved with Mana weren’t problems. Bru made use of his time to create the Banking System. The earlier the Banking System was online, the better the gamers’ experience. The most important thing was to save money for Sherlock!

The coins for the hundred gamers cost him ten Magic Stones. If there were tens of thousands of gamers, how much would it cost?

The gamers gathered around the rich gamers and received the proceeds of the auction. Sherlock used most of his Mana to charge Bru so that he could develop the Banking System.

Sherlock then opened up his computer and muttered, “I’ll play for half an hour…”

…

The time for the Dungeon Lord Experience Sharing Conference had arrived. Within three days, Sherlock had been called to heal and revive the gamers. Some gamers also wanted to buy private land and beds.

The gamers didn’t relax after the auction. To be selected for the hidden mission, they did their missions diligently, hunting Spiders, exchanging materials, and earning Reputation Points. Casualties were unavoidable.

Sherlock was irritated by the interruptions as he was researching the “Dungeon” game.

Sherlock swore he wanted to find a Revival Magician, but later he decided not to. The salary was an issue, and he had to find a person he trusted. How could he spend the money just to play a game?

Sherlock was an ambitious Devil Lord. How could he neglect his goal for the game? What was the game? He didn’t like it.

“Lord Sherlock, it seems like you conquered the Dungeon. You did it twice?” Bru congratulated Sherlock.

“Hehe, it’s just a game. Have you selected the servants that will accompany me to the conference?” Sherlock sipped his thick tea gracefully and asked.

“They have been selected, Lord Sherlock,” Bru said. The three Goblins were waiting excitedly for Sherlock.

“We can set off now.”