Chapter 33: Gamers’ New Troubles
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Sludge Monster had a green body with translucent skin that showed the liquid and sticky mass inside.
He was an Underworld Sludge Monster, also known as a Slime.
The two names were used differently. Sludge Monster was the ugly and realistic version, while Slime was the cuter and more appealing one. The one in front of Sherlock wearing a wet Tuxedo could only be called a Sludge Monster.
“Excuse me. Are you Lord Sherlock, Dungeon Lord of Eternal Kingdom?” the Sludge Monster asked.
There were no noticeable eyes on the Sludge Monster, but it had a mouth-like opening.
“Are you Baron Nicholas’ butler? I’m handing the goods to you.”
Sherlock pointed to the pile of Spider Leg, Spider Silk, and other raw materials behind him, He handed the invoice to the Sludge Monster.
A tentacle-like hand appeared from the Sludge Monster and stuck itself carefully on the invoice without wetting Sherlock’s hand. The Sludge Monster said, “Lord Sherlock, thank you for making this trip. Baron Nicholas is grateful to you and would like to offer you a lifetime 20% discount at his shop.”
“What is your Baron’s shop selling?”
“Female accessories.”
Sherlock bade farewell to the hospitable butler and left the Cargo Terminal. He intended to buy some items.
The beds had to be purchased at the Carpenter Shop. Sherlock had 5000 Magic Stones and a gift card with 1000 Magic Stones. He was quite well-off now, so he could actually afford to take a look in almost all the shops.
Sherlock chose a Carpenter Shop called Only Have More Expensive Stuff and walked in.
The Carpenter Shop was filled with a weird rotting smell, and the walls were hanging with twisted logs that were dripping black goo. There was an unstrung wooden bow on the table. Within the shop, a Stone Golem was sitting on a chair doing the accounting. When someone entered the shop, the Stone Golem stood up and went forward.
“Welcome, welcome. What would you like to buy? Our new product Solidar, Star Fury, is a high quality imitation that is almost like the original!”
Sherlock found the words familiar, but he had not entered the shop before. He said to the shopkeeper, “I’m not looking for bows and arrows. I’m ordering 100 beds.”
The shopkeeper made a quick calculation and said, “1000 Magic Stones and free delivery.”
Sherlock felt that the price was acceptable. He was about to pay with his gift card when the Stone Golem said, “You look like a reputable Devil Lord. Are you buying new beds for your Dungeon? A lot of Dungeons are developing, and the demand for beds has spiked. It’s normal for the price to increase. No worries, I suggest that you buy less beds. We have a discount package suitable for your noble Dungeon Lord status. Please take a look!”
“Is it ‘A hundred years anniversary sale: only 800 Magic Stones for a new Carpenter Shop!’ promotion? Does it come with ten beds? And a Carpenter at 100 Magic Stones per month? Does the Carpenter know how to cook?” Sherlock asked as the Stone Golem took out a promotional flyer that said ‘A hundred years anniversary sale’. The Stone Golem was stunned.
“How, how did you know?”
Sherlock pondered. Rather than buying a hundred beds, it was better to buy a Carpenter Shop with a 200 Magic Stones discount. However, the Eternal Kingdom did not have any wood resources!
Even soil was scarce as the surroundings were made of Diamond Seam. After mining the hard, smelly and worthless Diamond Seam, a few pickaxes had been damaged.
Sherlock was not sure if he could discover forest resources within a year of mining. Eternal Kingdom was a desolate Dungeon with limited resources. Besides Diamond Seam, there was only Diamond Seam. The Dungeon was close to the Surface, so it was dangerous. The Dungeon Core had also been abandoned for many years, so Sherlock had been able to buy it at a low price.
Finishing the flowerbed and food storage and almost completing the gamers’ Rest Chambers within twenty days was beyond Sherlock’s expectations. Before buying the Dungeon, Sherlock had various hundred year plans.
What should I do? What should I choose?
“I’ll order a hundred beds and a Carpenter Shop package. I’ll recruit a gourmet Carpenter with excellent culinary skills.”
Previously, Sherlock had not had the luxury of choice due to poverty, but now all the options were available.
The shopkeeper was shocked by Sherlock’s decision. He had not expected the young Dungeon Lord to be that mature. He patted his chest and said, “Dungeon Lord, don’t worry. I’ll recruit the Carpenter with the best culinary skill!”
Sherlock was pleased and ordered 100 Magic Stones worth of arrows. He left his address so that the shopkeeper could arrange for the delivery of his purchases.
The shopkeeper would be paying for the transportation fees. Once the arrangements were finalized, the shopkeeper contacted his workers to prepare the goods.
Sherlock wanted to recruit a Carpenter because he wanted the Carpenter to replace Simba as the chef. Simba had to produce and improve equipment and prepare meals. It was a stressful job. With the harassment by the gamers, the number of Simba’s counseling sessions with Sherlock had been increasing steadily.
The gamers believed that Simba had a hidden mission and they wanted to obtain the best sword from him.
Simba was not one of the otherworld’s gamers. If the stress was too much and he was unhappy, he could leave. Sherlock had built close ties with Simba, and Simba had more or less gotten used to the gamers. If he left, the new Blacksmith perhaps would not be able to endure the gamers’ harassment.
Sherlock wanted to see if there were other things to purchase. Before he proceeded, he heard Bru’s helpless voice.
“Dungeon Lord, I think you should return to the Dungeon. The gamers have met with trouble.”
Sherlock had left the Dungeon with huge amounts of materials. The gamers were puzzled.
Why had Nicolas not left with the materials? Nicolas had handed a few items to Sherlie. What were those items? Where had Sherlie gone with the materials?
The questions made the gamers troubled, and they discussed them in the game and on the official forum. They concluded that it was a hidden plot!
It had already been verified that “Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom” had hidden plots. When the first expedition group had killed a Spider, they had unlocked a hidden plot. Arthur and NotWearingPants had gone to Winterfell with Sherlock.
NotWearingPants had posted on the discussion forum with pictures as proof.
Had someone unlocked a hidden plot? It was highly probable! Perhaps the maintenance of the Revival System was due to a hidden plot in which Sherlie brought gamers to complete the plot!
Who had unlocked the hidden plot?
As the gamers were puzzling over this, someone ran back and shouted, “There’s a BOSS in the Spiders’ Lair!”
Everyone ran over except for the small number of timid gamers and those who wanted to protect their own property.
The gamers ran to the Spiders’ Lair where the gamers had previously fought the monsters for materials. The location was occupied by weird-looking monsters.
Since the Revival System was under maintenance, there were only two gamers fighting monsters. They were Arthur and BurningChestHair, who were both hanging on a beam.
The group of monsters had large heads that looked like Hell Hounds. They had scaly skin that was a deep crimson color. The monsters were stronger than the gamers.
There was a prominent brute in the midst of the monsters. He was twice the size of other monsters and was wielding a large exaggerated hammer. His mouth showed a pair of long fangs, and he had a set of large shiny blue armor.
“Are those Houndhead Men?!” NotWearingPants identified the monsters.
The Houndhead Men discovered the Goblins and gathered around their leader in panic. The leader lifted his hammer and shouted strange commands. Then, those Houndhead Men charged towards the gamers…
