Gamers of the Underworld

“What? My servant died? How did he die? Are there invaders?”

Sherlock had not expected that the Dungeon would be in trouble after he had only ventured out for a short while. He hurried back as Bru explained the situation to him.

There were no invaders. A gamer had committed suicide by smashing into walls.

Why did the Goblin from the otherworld commit suicide? Did he give them too much work? Sherlock did not understand as he was quite a benevolent Dungeon Lord. He tried his best to accomodate their strange requirements, but a Goblin had still committed suicide!

With regards to this incident, Bru explained, “The Goblin wanted to know how to revive after dying. As it was his first time in this world, he wanted to familiarize himself with the operations. After returning to the otherworld, he will make a Strategy Guide. That’s normal.”

Sherlock could not figure out how a suicide could be a good strategy, but he returned to the Dungeon quickly. He saw the gamers surrounding the dead gamer.

“Is NotWearingPants on a corpse run? Why hasn’t he revived after such a long time?

“Perhaps there are revival conditions to be met? This is a new game after all.”

“Perhaps there’s no way to revive after death. Start from scratch?”

“Is it the same design as ‘Divine Realm of Swords & Sabers’? The death penalty is too severe, so beginners beware. This game is too hardcore.”

“This game is indeed hardcore. The Virtual Reality mimics the reality to the core. Even if death is permanent, isn’t it normal?”

“Give way, the Devil Lord is back!”

“Wah! The Devil Lord is alarmed by a death? The game NPC’s interactivity is too real!”

These gamers not only surrounded the dead NotWearingPants, but they also discussed if and when he could revive. Sherlock’s return created a disturbance among the gamers. They quickly opened up a path for Sherlock to walk to the front of NotWearingPants.

Sherlock recognized the dead gamer. He had been the first Goblin to arrive at the Dungeon. His green name NotWearingPants floated above his head. He lay on the ground without any breath. The cause of death was evident from the cracked green skull—he had smashed his head on the wall.

There were ways to revive him. Sherlock had to venture to the Spirit World to redeem his Soul and it would take great effort to revive him. It would be easier to just recruit a new Goblin.

As Sherlock was about to give up on the Goblin and toss his corpse outside the Dungeon, Bru stopped him and said, “Wait for a while, Dungeon Lord. His soul has not returned to the Spirit World. His soul is in the Dungeon Core, Dungeon Lord.”

Sherlock focused his attention in the Dungeon Core and saw a clump of white stuff floating in the core. That was the Goblin’s soul! The soul was not interesting looking and Sherlock had no luck communicating with it.

“Did you retrieve his soul? Even if he was from the otherworld, his soul would have returned to the Spirit World after death. What capabilities do you have? Or, what capability does the Goblin have?”

Sherlock could not understand certain things. Though he could do the same thing, he had to retrieve his soul at the first instance of his death.

“During the summoning, I used a little technique. Our Spirit World will not detect nor retrieve their souls. I’m not sure if we can call them souls. I’m more inclined to call them awareness. After death, we only need to heal their bodies and then infuse them with their awareness. Then, they will be revived. If their bodies are completely destroyed, we have to send their awareness back and do a new summoning. In the otherworld, this process is called ‘Reconstructing Character’!” Bru explained.

“Is this a new feature of the Dungeon Core? I can’t find this feature in the operating manual.” As Bru was explaining, Sherlock was already checking his “Dungeon Operating Manual”, but he could not find the relevant sections.

“No, that’s my unique capability. I can fuse both Mana and technology together. Yes, technology is equivalent to the otherworld’s Mana that allows communication over great distances, let people without Mana fly up in the sky, and even allow one’s images and voice to transmit to billions of people in an instant!” Bru said with pride.

Sherlock was curious about the “technology” of the otherworld, but he did not look forward to it because he could achieve the same effect by using more Mana. From the behavior of the Goblins, he concluded that the otherworld was a mad world.

Sherlock did not probe further since Bru had already settled the problems. Normal people would be curious and shocked by resurrection, but to a great Devil like Sherlock, he had different ways to revive his servants. His methods were not as simple and fast as Bru’s.

It was simple to heal the Goblin’s body. Sherlock extended his hand and infused Mana into NotWearingPants’ corpse. The damaged green skull was healed, and Bru led the awareness into NotWearingPants’ body.

In the next moment, NotWearingPants inhaled deeply and sat up.

“Sh*t! He’s alive!”

“This game’s revival mechanism requires the Dungeon Lord to personally revive the dead subject?”

“I thought after death, the account could not be used anymore!”

“Brother, what’s your feeling after death? Did you have a corpse run?”

“Is it related to the severity of damage to the body? Our Dungeon Lord healed his corpse first, and then he was revived.”

Everyone surrounded NotWearingPants and discussed at length about his revival. Then, a Goblin shouted, “I’m going to try it!” He dashed boldly into Blacksmith Simba’s furnace and disappeared as expected.

Sherlock felt a throbbing headache. He did not expect a second suicide that fast, and it even used the furnace too. To prevent mass suicide, Sherlock waved his hand and exerted his great Devil’s authority to command them to finish their tasks.

He managed to disperse the Goblins. As for that badly burnt Goblin, Bru managed to summon him from the otherworld after thirty minutes. When the Goblin returned, his appearance had changed, though he retained his original name. He had lost all his bronze coins. According to Bru, the Goblin had created a new account.

Sherlock developed a better understanding of the gamers’ weird behavior.

He had to refine the new area map, monster blueprints and the revision notes on the official website so he didn’t have time to supervise the Goblins. Their enthusiasm was not affected by his absence. He had to demarcate a large construction area and work objectives. Then, Bru would allocate the mining and carrying of ores tasks to these gamers.

Sherlock returned to the Magical Item, Computer, and entered his official Dungeon website. He followed Bru’s suggestions and used the otherworld’s tone and language habits to create a new announcement— [“Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom” Beta Testing in progress! Tomorrow, there will be a new area map for testing—Spider’s Lair!]

Sherlock felt that these announcements were like his Dungeon advertisements in the otherworld, and they increased his reputation. His Dungeon was going to be the greatest so garnering reputation was necessary!

The contents of the announcement were the map of the Spider’s Lair and the bestiary of the monsters that showed their introduction and capabilities.

For example:

[Monster Name: Underworld Spider

Monster Introduction: The most common underworld creature with low intellect and fear of light. It will proactively attack other creatures. Those who are weak and alone should run upon meeting one as the Spiders attack in groups!

Level: 0–5

Possible Loot: Spider Leg, Spider Meat, Spider Silk (Rare), and others.

Note: Most of the loot may be exchanged for coins at the Dungeon Core Main Hall.]

[Monster Name: Killer Vines

Monster Introduction: This sounds like a plant, but it is a creature that is disguised as vines. The Killer Vines often attack unsuspecting passers-by and are easily killed.

Level: 0–2

Possible Loot: Killer Vines skin, meat and others.

Note: Most of the loot may be exchanged for coins at the Dungeon Core Main Hall.]

Besides these common creatures, Sherlock arranged for a BOSS level creature.

[Monster Name: Spider Queen

Monster Introduction: The Queen of the Underworld Spiders horde. Usually, there is only one Queen in a horde. She is extremely territorial and will have a large number of Underworld Spiders for protection. Under normal circumstances, you are not able to see the Queen since you would be killed by hordes of Underworld Spiders before getting close to the Queen.

Level: BOSS

Possible Loot: Spider Leg, Spider Meat, Spider Silk (Rare), Spider Egg (Ultra Rare), Spider Queen’s Hair (Ultra Rare), and others.

Note: The Spider Queen’s Hair is one of the Mana ingredients that Dungeon Lord Sherlock is interested in. If you obtain it, you will gain advanced standing and Reputation Points with Dungeon Lord Sherlock.]

“Though I’m very interested in Spider Queen’s Hair because of its high value and its use for making powerful armor, why do I have to give them advanced standing and Reputation Points?” Sherlock could not resist asking this question.

“Because these otherworld gamers are different from the underworld creatures. They are extremely conscious of their existence and fame,” Bru said. “You are their Dungeon Lord. Giving them advanced standing and Reputation Points are ways to reinforce their existence and need for fame. It is also a way for them to show respect for you. Having lots of metal coins is also another way for the Goblins to have self-worth.”

Sherlock nodded. Lowly servants having to fawn and flatter their master to obtain attention and favor were also prevalent in the Underworld. However, it sounded like the Surface World’s human riders treated fame with more importance than their lives.

Sherlock checked carefully for mistakes after finishing the announcement contents. Then, he published it.

Sherlock looked at the time. Half a day had passed since he had summoned the Goblins. Outside the Dungeon Core Main Hall, most of the gamers were busy with work as they wanted to obtain more metal coins. Some gamers lay on the floor motionless. According to Bru, they were not dead. They were merely sleeping or had gone offline.

The Underworld did not have day or night. As a Dungeon Lord, Sherlock had a strong concept of time. Many Dungeons followed the Surface World with day and night shifts. Sherlock’s Dungeon had not reached the threshold where shifts were necessary. He was also not well off and had not reached that extravagant of a level.

As time passed, many Goblins rested or “went offline”. Because the resting rooms had not been constructed yet, they had to sleep on the ground. Once the Dungeon was fully furnished, there would be resting rooms so they would not have to sleep around the Dungeon.

Blacksmith Simba took out his own sleeping bag and found a quiet place to squirm into his sleeping bag. He used his hammer to chase away a few curious Goblins who wanted to watch him sleep. Sherlock did not care about his servants’ antics. He focused his attention on the official website. He wanted to study the reviews of the otherworld’s Goblins on his great Dungeon.

Soon, in the messy discussion forum, he found the most popular post with the largest number of replies—

[Beta Gamer’s great revelation: the most complete and cutting edge “Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom” Strategy Guide!]