Gamers of the Underworld (Web Novel)

While the gamers of Eternal Kingdom were diligently working, a shocking scheme was hatched in the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

Frangipani observed the surroundings. There were numerous dangers hidden in this small Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

For example, the metal can that was used by Eggface for drinking tea wasn’t placed properly on the shelf. It was placed close to the edge.

Frangipani believed that it was a trap. If he knocked hard against the tank to break it, the metal can would drop, and the noise would attract the attention of the gamers outside the Dungeon Lord Main Hall. Then they would capture him.

“Humph, such a cheapskate trap isn’t going to daunt me.”

Frangipani wasn’t bothered by this trap. He pushed out his head to knock against the glass tank that was bought by Sherlock from a shop. It wasn’t a sturdy tank, and it broke after Frangipani hit it.

Just as he expected, the metal can fell from his impact on the glass tank. However, Frangipani was prepared. He caught hold of the metal can using his mouth.

Good, he had neutralized the first trap.

Voices of the gamers came from outside.

“Did you hear that? I heard something break in the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.”

“I heard it too. Could there be a new Plot?”

Frangipani froze. He didn’t expect Sherlock to be so shrewd. Did he discover his plot to break the glass tank using his head? What a scary Devil!

Frangipani squatted on the spot and waited nervously. He imagined the gamers dashing in and capturing him for a reward from Lord Sherlock. He waited for a long time, but nothing happened. The gamers only chatted casually. They had no intention of investigating what happened in the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

What happened? Were the guys not coming to take a look?

The security in Eternal Kingdom was very lax.

Frangipani couldn’t believe he was defeated by such a pathetic bunch of creatures. Normal citizens of Eternal Kingdom weren’t allowed to enter the Dungeon Lord Main Hall, but if there were strange sounds coming from it, they should investigate.

Frangipani had completed his first step. Next was implementing the second step, fleeing from Eternal Kingdom.

He had already surveyed the possible routes and had come up with a detailed plan during the few times he was outside the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

He was going to flee along the base of the walls.

Frangipani was very confident in his plan. After all, his shell had the same color as the base of the wall. Moreover, the lighting of Eternal Kingdom was dim. If he escaped the Dungeon Lord Main Hall unnoticed and then followed along the base of the wall, he could escape via Entrance No. 1, which was the closest to the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

Frangipani contemplated his escape plan and inhaled deeply. After a time, he crawled at a tortoise’s pace to the door, then worked very hard to navigate along the base of the wall to Entrance No. 1. He made painful progress. How could a tortoise be as fast as a rabbit?

However, Frangipani wouldn’t give up. He had almost completed the greater half of his plan. The second part of his plan wasn’t difficult. As long as he persevered, he could escape this place. For the third step of killing Sherlock, he had to think it over properly, as it wouldn’t be that simple.

Even though he fought once with Lord Sherlock, he realized that the Devil was a frightening opponent.

Not to mention the metal can monster that blew him to bits. Fortunately, the metal can monster was destroyed.

He didn’t expect the times to have progressed so much.

Frangipani had no time to think. He crawled and advanced towards Entrance No. 1.

The busy gamers didn’t notice his presence.

Frangipani was about to succeed in fleeing when he heard someone shout, “Gosh, isn’t that Lord Sherlock’s new pet? Why is he here?”

“Capture him. It must be a Special Mission. Hand him over to Lord Sherlock. There might be a reward, like equipment or something.”

The gamers shouted excitedly when they discovered Frangipani.

Frangipani felt that something wasn’t right. He wanted to run and escape, but he was limited by his tortoise body. The gamers dashed towards him in a bid to capture him, but he had his wits about him.

Sherlock placed various restrictions and Rune Mana on him. After a few days of research, he felt that he was able to remove the Rune Mana. That was what he thought.

The tortoise looked constipated as it huffed and puffed. However, nothing happened.

“It must be sick or feeling unwell, so it came out,” a gamer commented when he saw the pain on Frangipani’s face.

“Perhaps he wants to use the bathroom. Shall we relieve him of his constipation?”

“Better not. If you kill him, our hopes for the Special Mission will be dashed.”

“It’s hilarious, would the tortoise in a game be constipated? Who has a tortoise pet at home? Come and help!”

The gamers gathered like bees to honey before the tortoise. A gamer extended his hand in a bid to capture Frangipani, but Frangipani bit his hand.

Frangipani was surprised that the bitten hand didn’t retract. Instead, the gamer shouted, “This tortoise is mine! This tortoise is mine!”

After the gamer’s hand was bitten, another hand grasped Frangipani. The gamer holding the tortoise ran outside. Many gamers wanted to stop him and shouted after him.

“Sell the old turtle to me. Please, I’ll pay a high price.”

“How much are you selling it for? How about 10 Magic Stones? I can raise the price.”

“If only I grabbed with my hands first. It’s a pity that I’m so slow.”

Frangipani was being captured under the merciless gazes of the gamers who flooded to the Dungeon Lord Main Hall. However, there was nobody in the room.

As the gamers were about to look for Lord Sherlock, Brainiac appeared behind them.

“Lord Sherlock wants me to take the tortoise away,” Brainiac said to the gamers as he took out some powder from his pocket. The powder had an invisibility property and was an Alchemy product.

“This is your reward.”

Brainiac was familiar with the procedure for rewarding the gamers.

The eyes of the gamers lit up when they saw the never-before-seen reward. The gamer who caught the tortoise shouted, “Auction, I’m auctioning it. The mission reward is in Brainiac’s hand. I’m starting the bid at 10 Magic Stones!”

After a few rounds of bidding, Sylvanas obtained the tortoise.

Brainiac handed the Alchemy powder to Sylvanas and took the tortoise from her.

While the gamers were researching the use of the powder, Brainiac brought the tortoise to his Burial Hall.

“What are you doing?” the tortoise asked as he observed Brainiac warily. Brainiac was preparing devices and materials on the experiment platform.

“I’m preparing to experiment. Thank you. A primordial creature like you can’t be categorized as a Devil or other Underworld creature. I think you’re an alien creature or a creature from another world.”

Brainiac put numerous sharp incisors at the side as he said, “I’ll dissect you. It may be a bit painful, but I believe that a legendary figure like you won’t fear such pain.”

Brainiac spoke without emotion. Frangipani felt that Brainiac was taking revenge. Though Frangipani’s Plan A had failed, he had another perfect plan. Brainiac was going to listen to him.

As a commander of the Ancient Gods army, he could control all Specter creatures. All of the previous Liches were under him when the Ancient Gods conquered the world.

Though Frangipani’s ability to control Specters was restrained by Sherlock’s Mana, Frangipani believed he could overcome it and control Brainiac.

Frangipani focused his attention and tried to break free of Sherlock’s Mana.

The tortoise looked like it was constipated again as it hemmed and hawed. But nothing happened.

Brainiac frowned. He wasn’t bothered by the tortoise and continued his preparation for the subsequent experiments.

…

Sherlock was in Winterfell discussing matters with Dungeon Lord Nicholas.

He knew about Frangipani’s plan to escape, as Bru observed Frangipani’s actions in the Dungeon Lord Main Hall.

It was hard for a tortoise to escape Eternal Kingdom stealthily, especially when there were many gamers working in the Dungeon.

Sherlock wasn’t bothered by Frangipani. He let Brainiac handle the matter and allowed him to conduct experiments on Frangipani. Experiments were Brainiac’s motivation to stay in Eternal Kingdom.

Sherlock was meeting Nicholas because Nicholas had something to tell him.

“Lord Sherlock, this is an invitation from the headquarters of the Merchant Alliance. I know that you’re busy, but you have to take the time to participate in our event,” Nicholas said earnestly as he looked at Sherlock and passed an invitation card to Sherlock.

The invitation card had the words “Merchant Alliance annual gala for collaborating merchants” on it.

Sherlock examined the invitation card. It had the format of a letter.

“Respectable Lord Sherlock:

We would like to earnestly invite you to join the Merchant Alliance’s annual gala for collaborating merchants. We hope that you’ll attend the event. Thank you very much.”

“But I’m not a merchant, can I take part in the event?” Sherlock asked as he placed the invitation card down and looked bewilderedly at Nicholas.

“Of course, this is the application that I submitted to the Merchant Alliance’s headquarters. I hope that Eternal Kingdom will be the strategic partner of Winterfell. Eternal Kingdom is a notable Dungeon in the Merchant Alliance’s headquarters,” Nicholas said to Sherlock.

“I understand. Since it’s your earnest invitation, I’ll gladly participate. Do I need a dance partner for this event?” Sherlock asked as he put away the invitation card.

“According to conventions, you have to bring a dance partner to the event. If you don’t have a suitable candidate, I can help you find one.”

Nicholas looked enthusiastic, but Sherlock didn’t accept his offer. He pondered and said, “I understand, I’ll bring a dance partner. I have a few options. I’m quite popular with females.”

Sherlock stood up and said to Nicholas, “I’ll make a move first. We’ll meet at the event.”

Nicholas stood up and bowed to Sherlock.

When Sherlock left Nicholas’ office, Bru said, “Lord Sherlock, since when were you popular with females? That’s not what you said previously.”

“I’m only worried that Nicholas will introduce some Vampires to me. I don’t have a good impression of Vampires,” Sherlock explained to Bru.

“Do you have a creature in mind to be your dance partner?”

“I have a dance partner in mind,” Sherlock said.

…

Dragonborn rode his horse and followed Hoodlum and his Guild members towards a high vantage point.

The two Guild’s members were going to capture the Wyvern.

Hoodlum had a bold plan.

“The first step is to bait the Wyvern. The second step is to use our custom-made net to capture the Wyvern. The third step is to make the Wyvern our ride. If that’s not possible, we’ll kill the Wyvern and exchange the carcass for money. That’s my plan,” Hoodlum said confidently.

Hoodlum’s confidence wasn’t misplaced. He had a detailed plan for baiting the Wyvern.

“I was a slave in the Duke of York’s Castle and made friends with many inmates. They had some special skills. One of them knew about Wyvern and told me that the Wyverns like a special kind of wood that can only be found in the Underworld.”

Hoodlum said, “When we were attacked by the Wyvern, the convoy was carrying that special wood. The convoys that were attacked confirmed that they were transporting the special wood. I don’t know where they obtained the Underworld wood. It could be a Strange Encounter for subsequent Plot developments.”

Dragonborn didn’t expect Hoodlum to share such important information with him.

This was a friendly gesture by Hoodlum. If the Surface World and the Underworld were going to have interactions, then it would be a huge Plot development. All of the gamers would be involved.

Hoodlum’s plan was to use the wood to bait the Wyvern. Whether the custom-made net was able to capture the Wyvern depended on luck. Since there was a mission to capture the Wyvern, it was highly possible. Hoodlum was going to try capturing the Wyvern. However, the Hoodlum Yoga Association wasn’t a large Guild. Dragonborn’s Guild was the only strong Guild that had good relations with the Hoodlum Yoga Association.

For the same reason, Dragonborn accepted Hoodlum’s invitation.

He couldn’t possibly decline Hoodlum’s friendly gesture.

They chose a nearby high vantage point to capture the Wyvern.

The special wood was already gathered at the area they would use for baiting the Wyvern. Dragonborn proceeded to the baiting location. When the Wyvern appeared, his Guild would be the main force for capturing it.

There was another team for baiting the Wyvern, whose task was to carry the wood to attract the Wyvern.

Dragonborn arrived at his designated spot. Before long, he heard the loud bellow of a beast.

The Wyvern had arrived.