Gamers of the Underworld

“Such… a thing happened…”

Professor Cabbage was horrified after looking at the images of the round Adamantine rock.

“Professor Bacon was possibly kidnapped, and Brainiac was also possibly kidnapped after discovering a few leads.”

“Like you saw, my employed Lich is involved. This is no longer just a matter of Specter College, it also concerns an employee of Eternal Kingdom.”

Professor Cabbage nodded and said, “I understand. Please follow me, I’ll take you to see the principal.”

…

In a medium-sized room, a cloaked Lich stood by the window. He was able to survey the entire Specter College.

It was a rest day for Specter College.

“Pom, pom, pom!”

Door knocks were heard outside.

The cloaked Lich turned his head and said, “Please enter.”

The door was opened. Professor Cabbage led Sherlock and his three pets into the room.

“Principal, this is a matter involving Professor Bacon. I feel I have to report to you on the latest information,” Professor Cabbage said frankly.

…

“Is it possible… that Professor Bacon is playing a prank on us?” the principal asked after watching the video shown by Sherlock.

Professor Cabbage wore an are-you-joking expression.

“Okay, I understand that the matter is serious and that we have to treat it seriously.”

The principal supported his chin and nodded as he said, “I noticed that Professor Bacon mentioned Specter College in the fantasy-scape. Did he leave any important leads in Specter College?”

“That’s what I thought. Can you take us to Professor Bacon’s room?” Sherlock said.

“Of course. Please follow me.”

…

As a single professor at Specter College, Professor Bacon stayed in the professor’s dormitory.

The dormitory was a single suite with a living room, bedroom, kitchen, washroom, and bathroom. Though it was small, it was well furnished.

“This is Professor Bacon’s room.”

When the dormitory supervisor opened Professor Bacon’s suite using the backup key, a stale, dusty stench that indicated long periods of non-inhabitation pervaded the air.

Compared to the strict Professor Bacon, his room was chaotic. It was as though a robber had just ransacked the place.

Professor Cabbage and the principal stood at the door and looked around.

“Ah, I told Professor Bacon to clean the suite. He wasn’t listening,” the principal said in embarrassment.

Professor Bacon was a member of the teaching staff at Specter College. As the principal, he was ashamed to let Sherlock witness the mess.

“It’s going to be difficult to find leads in such a mess.”

Professor Cabbage was critical in her comment, even with Professor Bacon missing.

“No, it’s not difficult.”

Sherlock went to a wall in Professor Bacon’s room. It was full of various messy pictures and newspaper cuttings.

“I see.”

…

The gamers of Victoria City finally set off. Lilo decided to copy Sherlock’s method. She arrived at the destination first before setting up a Rune Mana Teleport Portal. It was different from the traditional marching of an army.

The convoy consisted of only tens of carriages with 80 members and some materials used for setting up the Rune Mana Formation.

The leader was the Human, Count Lancelot, while Big Boss Hamster was in charge of setting up the Rune Mana Formation.

Big Boss was able to set up a Rune Mana Formation because Queen Lilo trained him overnight. Big Boss was sobbing and referring to his revision book during the journey. It was a worrying sight.

Big Boss was sobbing not because of the difficulty of setting up the Rune Mana Formation, but because it was his first time separating from his brothers since birth. The separation was like missing home.

Besides the worrying Lancelot and the sad Big Boss, the gamers were extremely happy. They were the vanguards for attacking the York Territory and could possibly defeat the Duke’s troops before the other gamers. Then, all of the equipment and horses would belong to them. The gamers felt thrilled by this thought.

There was a price. Lancelot said, “Our mission is to find a suitable location to build a reliable Stronghold. We may not be able to return for ten to twenty days. Please be mentally prepared!”

Did that mean that the gamers would be unable to do their Daily Missions during this period of time? They wouldn’t earn any Reputation Points and game coins.

Most of the gamers were unwilling to be the vanguards and waste ten to twenty days. However, there were some gamers who volunteered.

Lancelot selected 80 gamers with the best discipline. The other ill-disciplined gamers were excluded since they could cause the death of other gamers. It was safer to build a Stronghold and the Rune Mana Formation before letting them come over for the battle.

Lancelot had given up hope of making the gamers behave like normal troops.

The carriage convoy made its way on a plain outside the Moonlight Forest. On the first carriage was Count Lancelot’s wife. He was the man who claimed to be the successor to the York Territory that was shot by Softie’s arrow.

His name was Guinevere.

“Is Guinevere a man or a woman?” On a quivering carriage behind the first carriage, TakeASpearHit was befuddled as he looked at his companion.

“Ah? Why did you ask such a question?” SealHeadLingChong looked blankly at TakeASpearHit.

“He’s a man. The Elf NPC confirmed that he’s a man, and the gamers who took care of him also said that he’s a man,” a gamer said.

“We didn’t confirm his gender, and his name is Guinevere. Isn’t this the name of the wife of Arthur? That is a female name, and he’s married to Lancelot.”

Softie was on the same carriage, and she gave her opinion. She suddenly recalled something and clapped her hands as she said, “Yes, is this a preparation for the future marriage system? A lot of online games have marriage systems. Maybe ‘Dungeon’ will have one too.”

“The marriage of a Gnome and an Orc? I can imagine the beautiful image,” TakeASpearHit said, and all of the gamers on the carriage broke into laughter. They were in a good mood.

The carriage in front suddenly stopped. Dragonborn saw Lancelot, Big Boss, and Guinevere leap off the first carriage. The other gamers also got off their carriages.

“What’s the situation?”

TakeASpearHit was taken aback. Nobody knew what was happening. After they got off the carriage, they walked forward and saw a burnt land before the convoy. There were fragments of metal and wood and cooked fowl on the ground. However, there was no smoke, so they had been burnt quite a while ago.

The grotesque thing was that besides the animals, there were humanoid creatures being burnt.

There were a few dispirited Humans sitting on the ground nearby, and there were a few severely burnt Humans.

It looked as though their convoy was attacked by rockets.

There were no rockets in the game, only Magic Cannons, which didn’t have the devastating power of rockets.

If they were attacked by Magic Cannons, they wouldn’t leave any corpses or carcasses.

Lancelot surveyed the burnt land. He was in disbelief. What had happened?

Those Humans sitting down noticed the Victorians, and a few of them stood up and walked towards them.

“Are you from Goldshire Town? Where is my son? Didn’t he come with you?”

A man whose beard was burnt in half looked over with hope.

“Apologies, we’re…”

Lancelot was about to inform them of his identity, but the gamers had already started shouting.

“That’s right, we’re from Goldshire Town!”

“Do you have any missions for us?”

“If you have missions, assign them to us. We’ll complete the missions for you!”

“That’s right. Absolutely!”

“We’re not from Goldshire Town. We’re from Victoria City!”

“Are you silly? Why are you soliciting for missions? Aren’t you from Victoria City? It’s only right to answer honestly!”

Those Humans who had just gone through a calamity were dumbfounded by the gamers’ conversation. But Lancelot quickly answered, “Apologies, we’re not from Goldshire Town, we’re from Victoria City. What happened here? Who attacked you?”

Lancelot asked these questions to determine if there was any nearby danger. If his convoy encountered the same situation, he would be embarrassed. Though the gamers could revive, he and Guinevere could not.

Lancelot wasn’t willing to admit it, but he had the intention to protect Guinevere. Just a little.

“It was a Wyvern! We encountered the attack of a Wyvern! That evil Wyvern glided down and breathed fire! He treated us as his prey!”

“My family was burnt to death by that evil creature!”

“We have to take revenge!”

They started to wail in pain. Even the happy-go-lucky gamers were saddened by their plight.

It was such a calamity.

“This…” Big Boss nodded. He was about to order everyone to board the carriages when loud sounds were heard from a distance.

A group of Humans armed with various weapons were approaching them, a few of them even riding horses. When they discovered the convoy, they made haste.

The bearded man who was talking with the gamers ran excitedly over as he shouted, “Son! Son!”

Those Humans must be from Goldshire Town.

“Prepare for battle!” someone shouted, which caused the gamers to immediately unsheath their weapons. Lancelot almost pulled out his weapon instinctively, but he stopped himself and shouted to the gamers behind, “Put away your weapons. They’re not bandits! They’re not bandits!”

There weren’t many gamers, so the convoy was disguised as a Merchant Band to sneak into the York Territory before setting up a Stronghold. This was because Queen Lilo wanted to declare war based on succession rights and not launch an invasion. As long as they occupied the York Castle, the war would be over. However, from the viewpoint of succession law, many things weren’t in their favor.

Lancelot glared at the gamers, but they were excited over the horses and equipment. They hesitated about whether to put away their weapons.

Guinevere came forward and said to everyone, “Believe me, everyone. I know the mayor of Goldshire Town. He took care of me when I was down and out. He wasn’t on the side of the evil Duke of York. He’s not our enemy, but our possible ally.”

The gamers were still hesitating when Dragonborn said, “Put away your weapons. There might be further Plot developments.”

Hoodlum waved his hand and said, “Put away your weapons. They don’t have quality equipment. There’s no need to fight.”

The other Guild leaders also said similar stuff, and the gamers put away their weapons.

The chatting didn’t diminish. As there were only 80 gamers, the chaotic nature of the gamers wasn’t prominent.

Lancelot and Guinevere were relieved to see the gamers put away their weapons. Big Boss frowned during the journey. He was annoyed by the delay in the journey.

The group of Humans approached the gamers. The leader was a Horseman, and from his armor, he looked like a warrior.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

As there weren’t many Victorians and there were no archers, the residents of Goldshire Town weren’t wary. They ran over as a large group and stood before Dragonborn and the gamers. The leader surveyed the surroundings and questioned them.

“Uncle mayor!”

Guinevere pulled off his hood, his feminine face almost in tears. The Horseman dismounted and ran forward in disbelief, saying, “Guinevere? I was worried about you. I thought you were killed by the Victorian barbarians. That’s great! Thank the Holy Lord!”

The warrior hugged Guinevere tightly, unaware of Lancelot staring with his large eyes.

When the mayor mentioned the Victorian barbarians, Guinevere was embarrassed. He pushed off his uncle mayor and pointed at the gamers behind him.

“They are residents of Victoria City.”

“Swoosh!”

The mayor pulled out his weapon and pushed Guinevere behind his back. He looked warily at the empty space around as though he expected an ambush.

The gamers were excited to see the NPC brandishing his weapon. If a fight ensued, then the gamers couldn’t be blamed for not holding back.

The armed residents of Goldshire Town, who were behind the mayor, became wary. Before they started fighting, Guinevere came forward and said, “Uncle, this isn’t what you think. The Victorians aren’t barbarians. They are helping me to fight against the Duke of York! They’ll help me regain my Dukedom and territory!”

The mayor hesitated for a moment. He looked at the relaxed gamers and put away his weapon. Then, he looked at Guinevere and said, “Nobody can defeat the Duke of York, not even the Victorians who defeated the golden-haired George. The next attack from the Duke will be more intense. You’re meeting your doom. Listen to me, Guinevere, and leave for the Empire. You can have an ordinary life there.”

Guinevere lowered his head and didn’t respond. The mayor sighed and said, “I know that I can’t convince you.”

He walked two steps and approached the survivors while speaking to Lancelot and the gamers, “Apologies, Victorians. If you’re going somewhere, leave immediately. There’s a Wyvern, and it’s not safe anywhere. May the Holy Lord bless you all.”