Gamers of the Underworld

536 Public Beta Version 1.0 Part One

Those nobles rode their horses and pursued to the edge of the forest. They didn’t find the gamers of Eternal Kingdom or the Victorians, but they found some clues.

There was a group of naked bandits lying in the wilderness.

They were recognized as bandits because they were on the fugitive list. They were lying on the ground and looked like they were killed not long ago. They had various wounds, burn marks, and weapon injuries.

There were signs of fighting everywhere. The experienced nobles could see that there was more than one Magician. Even a Grand Priest was present.

Which organization or country had such power to have so many Magicians and even a Grand Priest? They were definitely not citizens of the Empire. If the Magicians of the Empire were deployed, the nobles would definitely know.

The only explanation was the Victorians.

It was a small group with tens of people, but they had strong combat power. It wasn’t an easy task for the nobles.

...

The number of gamers had dwindled after fighting the bandits due to casualties. The bandits had numerical superiority, and their weapons weren’t inferior. Moreover, the bandits observed the gamers before attacking. There were less than 20 gamers now. Fortunately, the Little Fairy Princess wasn’t harmed, being very well protected during the battle.

After entering the forest, they were safe, just like the Little Fairy Princess had said. Many Fairies waited for them at the edge of the forest. When the Princess appeared, the Fairies cheered to welcome her back.

The eyes of the Princess were full of tears, while the gamers were touched and requested more rewards.

The Fairies were grateful to the gamers for rescuing the Princess. Though the Fairies were wary of the green-skinned Orcs, the Fairies gave them good food and ornaments that were tokens of friendship.

The gamers were brought to Yggdrasill, where they held a celebration. They danced, sang, and chatted happily. Though, one pair of eyes was extremely bright in the darkness.

It was a Human with green symbols above his head, who soon sat up in silence. Beside him were other gamers who were offline. The gamers that weren’t offline wandered around the treehouses, exploring the surroundings and taking pictures. They were going to upload the pictures to the discussion forum. After all, they might only get to see Yggdrasill once in a lifetime.

The Human stood up and hid his body in a gray Mana mist that obscured detection. He walked like the breeze, avoiding detection of an awake Fairy in front of him.

“Lord Sherlock, I didn’t expect you to stay hidden within these gamers for so many days. I’m full of admiration for you.”

Bru’s voice was heard in the Human’s mind. This Human was Sherlock in disguise.

Like always, Bru was fawning over Sherlock, so Sherlock wasn’t paying attention.

It was a rare chance to see Yggdrasill, so Sherlock wouldn’t gamble with the chance of connecting to it by assigning the task to the gamers. Sherlock wouldn’t feel at ease if he wasn’t present to perform the connection. It was about his future safety, after all. If tens of thousands of gamers were to use his Mana pool, Sherlock wouldn’t be able to take it.

Nobody discovered Sherlock. As a Devil, he could deceive the Fairies using the Masquerade Pearl. With the usage of Mana, he was able to hide his Devil’s scent so he could walk on Yggdrasill without any hindrance.

Sherlock’s goal was to connect Yggdrasill to the Dungeon Core, and now, Yggdrasill was right before him.

Sherlock moved his finger and said, “I haven’t done this for a long time. I’m feeling a bit rusty...”

“Lord Sherlock, I have another question for you.”

Bru said to Sherlock, “Do you intend to let the Little Fairy Princess stay here? You paid money for her.”

“Why not? She helped me connect Yggdrasill to the Dungeon Core. She’s my benefactor. Isn’t it good to let her return home?”

“Do you really think so? With your character, I don’t think it’s that simple. I’m sure you have some tricks up your sleeve. Why can’t you tell me?”

Sherlock shook his head and said, “Am I such a cruel Devil? Though I’m a Devil, I only manipulate creatures. I have never forced any creatures to do things against their will. With good endings, I will even feel happy. You have to believe me, Bru.”

“Though my feelings let me trust Lord Sherlock, my instincts are telling me that Lord Sherlock is deceiving me. Since you’re not telling me, I won’t ask anymore. You must have your plans. I shall wait for the Little Fairy Princess to return to our Dungeon. I’m already missing her.”

Bru laughed like a Devil before keeping quiet. Sherlock wasn’t bothered. He was at Yggdrasill’s tree branches, making Mana engravings, which vanished immediately after completion. Sherlock’s Mana infused slowly into the branches...

...

The Little Fairy had never been happier. As a Princess, she didn’t have a lot of privileges, not even staying in a Castle. Instead, she stayed in a treehouse like the other Fairies. Compared to the Castle and luxurious buildings, a treehouse was more suitable for a Fairy.

It was more comfortable than the treehouse in Eternal Kingdom. There were no dim caves, foul-smelling creatures, incessant problems, or the detestable Sherlock. This was Yggdrasill, which was filled with Mana and the invigorating life force. The Fairies who were wandering around the branches reminded her of her childhood. Most importantly, her good friend Raintea was beside her. Though Raintea hesitated to go through the Teleport Portal, the explosion pushed Raintea and the Little Fairy Princess into the portal.

The Little Fairy Princess was grateful to the Godly Kingdom attackers. Without their attack, things wouldn’t have been so smooth.

She thought life would continue perfectly, but she had to face a cruel fact.

The Victorians and the gamers of Eternal Kingdom didn’t belong in the Yggdrasill forest.

This was the territory of the Fairies. Though there were many scenic views, the mystical Yggdrasill, and the friendships of other Fairies, the gamers relied on the group and other community services. At the Fairies’ territory, the gamers couldn’t interact with other gamers. They had completed their mission, and they had to return home to claim the rewards. It was interesting to stay there, but they hadn’t completed Daily Missions for many days. They didn’t challenge the Instance Dungeons or browse the auctions and marketplaces either. While they were touring Yggdrasill, the other gamers were upgrading their equipment, challenging the Instance Dungeons, purchasing Mana Skills Books, learning new Mana Skills, and improving their capabilities.

They couldn’t leave their home cities forever, especially in the online game.

Finally, it was time for them to bid farewell. The game system provided them a chance to return at a suitable time.

The gamers of Victoria City and Eternal Kingdom received a special mission:

[Mission Title: End of the Strange Encounter Mission, Return to Home City

Mission Objective: Return to Eternal Kingdom or Victoria City to claim your rewards.

Mission Description: You have completed the Strange Encounter Mission. You can return to your home city to claim your rewards. To facilitate your return, we have backed up and preserved your equipment and belongings. When you kill yourself and return to the home city, you may claim your equipment and belongings from the Logistics Officer. There won’t be any penalty for death.

Mission Notes: You’ll only have a chance to kill yourself until tomorrow. You can choose to return back on foot, but it’ll be very dangerous. If you die in combat, your equipment and belongings will be lost. Please take note not to let any NPC witness your death.]

The Mission Description was very detailed. The gamers didn’t expect to receive such a good mission. They were prepared to return on a journey that would be fraught with danger, especially the gamers of Eternal Kingdom, as they didn’t belong to the Surface World. Their green skin would be enough reason for Humans to attack them. Previously, the soldiers of the Godly Kingdom were friends with the Victorians, and they had formed an alliance. However, with the appearance of the Underworld creatures, the soldiers of the Godly Kingdom attacked the Victorians.

The soldiers didn’t hesitate. It was as if the alliance with the Victorians was fake.

Arthur and his companions were prepared to kill themselves since the equipment and belongings were all backed up. They could simply reclaim their items from the Logistics Officer once they returned back.

That included Raintea.

Because she had formed a deep friendship with the Little Fairy Princess, to the point of them being best friends, Raintea couldn’t bear to leave her. However, the gamers didn’t belong to this world. To the gamers, the Little Fairy Princess was only an NPC. Though Raintea didn’t treat her like an NPC, she preferred to be together with the other gamers, such as Arthur, Peasant, and Sylvanas.

To Raintea, the Fairies were just a bunch of digits.

This didn’t prevent Raintea from bidding the Little Fairy Princess farewell.

It was a touching and reluctant parting.

The Little Fairy Princess became teary. She knew that she couldn’t be together with Raintea, but she didn’t expect the day of their parting to be so soon.

The parting scene was recorded down by NotWearingPants and uploaded to the discussion forum. The scene caused the gamers to have an enthusiastic discussion. Many gamers were moved by the scene and felt that the NPC was too real. Besides the Little Fairy Princess, even the other NPCs in places like Winterfell were very real. A gamer gave an example of how he obtained a mission in Winterfell to help an old Orc granny. He would still visit the granny frequently.

The discussion forum was filled with gamers who were touched and in tears.

Many gamers and forum members asked customer service and the administrator to change the Plot so that Raintea and the Little Fairy Princess could return to Eternal Kingdom.

It was just a suggestion, as the Plot couldn’t be changed. The Little Fairy Princess had returned to Yggdrasill, so it was impossible for her to go back to the Dungeon. The Little Fairy Princess hated the Underworld creatures in Eternal Kingdom.

Raintea, Arthur, and their companions left Yggdrasill while the Little Fairy Princess stood on a branch. She didn’t meet Raintea for the final time, only gazing in Raintea’s direction as she recalled her darkest days, which she had spent with Raintea.

A teardrop fell from her eyes as she turned her head away and returned to the treehouse.

The bodyguard beside the Princess sighed as he looked at her. During the journey, he knew that the Princess was good friends with Raintea. However, he thought it was merely a friendship formed during difficult times. He didn’t expect the friendship to be so sincere and heavy. He had a new understanding of the Underworld creatures. They weren’t just bloodthirsty creatures, there were also some noble creatures. At the same time, there were vile Humans like the soldiers of the Godly Kingdom who attacked them.

It all required time to heal, and there was no better way. He couldn’t console the Princess. All he could do was keep the Princess company and heal the mental suffering that she endured in the past. He believed that as time passed, things would be better.

He hesitated, not following the Princess into the treehouse. It was his duty to protect the Princess, but he felt it was appropriate for him to give the Princess some personal space. She needed alone time to calm her thoughts and forget about the sad past.

He sighed and turned to leave. Before he left, there were Mana ripples coming out of the treehouse.

The Little Fairy Princess sat in her treehouse. In front of her was a Teleport Scroll that had the inscriptions of the Devil. It was a Teleport Scroll that a gamer had left for the Princess before leaving. The Teleport Scroll would teleport directly to Eternal Kingdom. The gamer gave the Teleport Scroll to the Princess so that she would visit them in Eternal Kingdom since the gamers couldn’t bear to part with her.

The Princess was disgusted when the gamer gave her the scroll, but she kept it out of goodwill. She thought she would never take out the scroll and use it to return to Eternal Kingdom. But when she knew that Raintea, Arthur, and their companions were leaving, the Little Fairy couldn’t help but take out the scroll.

The Princess placed the scroll before her. She recalled when she first arrived at the Dungeon a few months ago. A Devil called Sherlock let the Goblins build a bird nest as her bed. She recalled that she spat saliva at those terrifying Dungeon creatures. Then there was a Goblin called Raintea who worked hard at the flowerbed. It was as though those things happened yesterday. The memories were painful, and she didn’t want to recall them. But now, the memories were sweet like honey, including the Devil called Sherlock.

Besides intimidating her, Sherlock used Mana Negation on her and blackmailed her using Raintea. He was also cold towards her... Wait, Sherlock was indeed a vile creature.

The other Dungeon creatures were friendly to her. Even those green-skinned creatures didn’t do anything to her and called her their teacher. When she was teaching them Potion Concoction, the creatures would look at her with a thirst for knowledge. No matter how difficult the knowledge was, they would strive to remember it and practiced day and night. Who knew why they were so interested in Potion Concoction? They were a bunch of bloodthirsty Devils.

While she was reminiscing, she discovered that staying in Eternal Kingdom wasn’t that bad. She remembered the benefits that Sherlock had given her and her unforgettable friendship with Raintea. The memories of Eternal Kingdom were stronger and clearer than the memories of Yggdrasill.

The Princess extended her hand and grasped the Teleport Scroll. She trembled as she struggled with her thoughts. In the end, she couldn’t resist tearing the scroll. With the rippling of Mana, a white Teleport Portal engulfed her.

The Princess vanished and left a subtle scent of Mana.

...

After many incidents, the gamers returned back to normal. It was the same for Frangipani.

As the highest-ranking commander of the Ancient Gods army, Frangipani was an arrogant Devil. After being kept as a pet of Lord Sherlock, Frangipani understood that his experience in the Ancient Gods army was nothing. Compared to this terrifying Devil, the Ancient Gods army and their behavior were like child’s play.

Who would have expected the terrifying Devil to send him to the Mana Device to go through nine years of compulsory education? Every day, he studied Sacred Light knowledge. That was incredibly cruel. Even the cruelest Devil of the Ancient Gods army would never compel an Underworld creature to learn Sacred Light knowledge. That was a blatant blasphemy of the Devil’s belief.

Lord Sherlock didn’t seem to have a baseline or the belief of a Devil. Frangipani yielded. If he didn’t yield, who knew if he would have to undergo another nine years of compulsory education. He didn’t want to do homework day and night. On the second day, he had to go to the classroom drowsily and was pulled up to the podium by the teacher. He had to recite English words, composition, ancient poetry, and other nonsense. Every time, without fail, he would be chosen to recite the materials.

What the heck...

That was in the past. Now, Frangipani didn’t want to be a troublemaker. He thought it was futile to escape. Frangipani wanted to be a loyal dog.

Lord Sherlock gave Frangipani a difficult mission—to pretend that he was escaping. Then he led the gamers through the Dark Portal and did very well in his mission. Then Lord Sherlock vanished. The creatures in the Dungeon didn’t see Lord Sherlock for a few days.

Frangipani was tempted. Perhaps it was a god sent opportunity to escape.

Suddenly, Lord Sherlock appeared again in the Dungeon. It was as though he had never left.

Ah, praise the great Lord Sherlock...

Frangipani trembled at his own thoughts.

“Ai, do you think that this tortoise contracted Moore Syndrome?”

While Frangipani was experiencing wild imaginations and showing a face full of admiration for Sherlock, Polio, who was sitting in a corner, commented softly to Phoenix.

“Don’t talk nonsense. That’s called Scoldmore Syndrome,” Phoenix said.

No matter what disease it was, Frangipani was the target of their jokes.

Sherlock wasn’t concerned with the feelings of Frangipani or the gossip of Phoenix and Polio. He had a lot of things to do after he returned to the Dungeon.

For example, he had to create the Open Beta announcement.

After Yggdrasill was connected to the Dungeon Core, Sherlock could announce the Open Beta, which was Version 1.0 of the game. The previous Mana shortage problem was solved by Yggdrasill. Though it wasn’t clear how many gamers Yggdrasill could support, Sherlock didn’t have to supply his Mana to the gamers to maintain their existence and Mana usage. There was no differentiation of Light or Dark Mana in the Mana pool of Yggdrasill, unlike the power of Sacred Light. The Mana of Yggdrasill was obtained from the world, so it had no attributes. It was the most suitable Mana source for the gamers.

Now he had to publish the new game version for the Public Beta. While Sherlock was preparing the content of the new version, the gamers shouted excitedly outside.

“Is that the Little Fairy Princess? Our Potion Concoction Instructor is back!”

“She’s back! Oh my god, didn’t we analyze that the Princess would never come back on the discussion forum?”

“If the analysis on the discussion forum was correct, then we’d have the Public Beta tonight. Do you believe that?”

“Gosh, take a look at the discussion forum! It’s the Public Beta!”