Gamers of the Underworld

“Wait, you said that you obtained Michelangelo’s relics and that one of the 72 Devil Gods, Polio, looked for you, but you only want to use the chance to make Magic Stones?” Lilo’s tone was raised higher.

“Don’t be mistaken, I’m not only thinking of making money. It’s not a good time to let Polio show himself since he has just escaped from prison. Besides, even though he treats me like his master, Michelangelo, I’m not really his master. Polio is a dangerous creature, so before we figure him out and learn to control him completely, it’s better to put him here to train the soldiers,” Sherlock said seriously. It didn’t seem like he was lying.

“If he didn’t have a physical body, how was he imprisoned?”

Lilo hit the nail on the head, but Sherlock quickly replied, “Mana Skills are developing at a rapid pace. Even souls can be pulled back from the Spirit World and placed into corpses.”

“What does he mean by being imprisoned for a thousand years and seeking doom?”

“Oh, that was Polio’s story. The citizens like this kind of story. As you know, adventure, Plot, and saving the world. A group of self-centered Humans who are just training will develop fatigue. If a Plot is included, the entertainment value will be doubled. I’m trying to improve their training efficiency.”

Lilo nodded at Sherlock’s explanation and said, “If that’s the case, carry out your plan. I’m going back to rest.”

Lilo stood up, looking tired as she said, “If you let them die so frequently, it’s not good for the health. Let’s go, Big Boss, Second Boss, Fat Otaku.”

Lilo left the room, and Big Boss and Second Boss followed behind as they dragged Fat Otaku, who was salivating while looking at the Ogre.

After Lilo and the Hamsters left, the bald and tattooed Ogre stood up again, saying in a low voice, “Master.”

“Let’s go through the subsequent Plot,” Sherlock looked at the Ogre and said.

…

Dragonborn led his Guild members deeper into the Ogre Fortress. There were other Victoria City gamers around them.

After the gamers entered the Ogre Fortress, they lost contact with Lilo and the three Hamsters, though none of the gamers saw the Plot Animation that made them lose contact.

A group of Ogres rushed out, their eyes shimmering with yellow light as they shouted and swung their weapons menacingly.

The Victoria City gamers retreated. Though they had casualties, it wasn’t serious. The Ogres seemed to be herding them towards a location rather than attacking them.

Dragonborn discovered that it was all because of the Plot!

When Dragonborn and the gamers retreated to a great hall, they saw a group of green-skinned creatures being herded here. They spoke in the Underworld common language.

“Gosh! Why are the silly dudes of Victoria City here?”

“What should we do? Should we attack the Ogres or kill the Victorians?”

“Of course we kill the Victorians! The Ogres can rot slowly, but the Victorian dogs have to die!”

“Waaaah—!”

The gamers of Victoria City couldn’t understand the gamers of Eternal Kingdom and vice versa. The Victoria City gamers spoke in the Surface World common language.

“Gosh! It’s Arthur! I saw Arthur!”

“We’re done for. We were having fun challenging the Instance Dungeon, so why did it become a Faction War?”

“Perhaps it’s a Plot requirement. Don’t panic, they don’t have health bars!”

“Waaaah—!”

The two factions clashed together. Their names were red, but they couldn’t attack each other as there were no health bars.

Though the gamers were agitated by the opposing faction, they were all surrounded. It looked like they would be killed unless there was a redeeming Plot.

The Ogres stopped their attacks, and Sherlock was covered in blood as he fought his way through them.

The gamers weren’t sure if Sherlock was injured, but his cloak was badly tattered. The gamers were very excited to see him.

“Sherlock, you can’t escape this time!”

Compared to Sherlock’s pathetic appearance, the bald and tattooed Ogre looked pristine.

Though the gamers would like to kill the Ogre leader, they were restrained. The gamers of both factions had entered Plot Animation mode.

“Your plan will never succeed. The warriors of Eternal Kingdom and Victoria City will stop you! And I…” Sherlock inhaled deeply, and his Mana built up rapidly as he said, “…will use all of my power to stop you!”

Sherlock said to the gamers behind him, “Warriors, take this opportunity to escape, and don’t sacrifice yourselves for nothing. As long as we’re alive, we’ll have a chance for revenge!”

It was obvious that the story had become a great escape.

Though there were many gamers, the Revival Point was quite a distance away. On top of that, the combat power of the gamers was far inferior to the Ogres. After all, even the elite gamers had only trained for a few months.

Their lack of combat power made it easy for the Ogres to herd the gamers in a certain direction. Sherlock led the way for the gamers, who had no choice but to follow him. When the gamers deviated from the path, they were cut down by the surrounding Ogres, who were coming in endless hordes.

The bald and tattooed Ogre was at the side, commanding them.

“Suppress them! Don’t let them escape!

“Kill all of them!

“Sherlock, you deserve to die! You can’t escape today!”

The Ogre leader merely shouted without doing anything like a big BOSS.

Sherlock led the gamers to the exit of the Ogre Fortress. After pushing back several waves of Ogres, he finally led the gamers to the outside of the Ogre Fortress. Just when they were about to flee, the bald and tattooed Ogre blocked their path.

“Your luck has run out, Sherlock. I will personally cut you into pieces!” the tattooed Ogre shouted in malice.

“Evil Polio! You will never succeed. I’ll stop you! The warriors will stop you!” Sherlock shouted, and blinding light erupted from his body. He charged towards Polio, who manifested a great deal of Mana and smashed his Mace at Sherlock.

Opposing Mana collided and gave off a huge explosion and other mystical lighting effects. There were explosions everywhere, leaving the gamers gaping in shock. They wanted to help Sherlock, but they had already entered Plot Animation mode.

In this battle, Sherlock finally gained the upper hand. In the final explosion, Polio’s body was covered in a bloody mosaic. He panted as he backed up while holding his Mace, then said to Sherlock, “Sherlock, you can’t win. I’ll definitely kill you next time!”

Polio and the surrounding Ogres retreated like a receding wave.

The gamers of Eternal Kingdom and Victoria City were bewildered.

“Warriors of Eternal Kingdom, the crisis is larger than I thought. The Void army is supporting the Ogres, and the source of the threat is getting closer. We have to make proper plans. Return to our outpost, I’ll wait for you there.

“And gamers of Victoria City. Your Duchess was almost killed by Polio and should have returned to Victoria City. Though we are of different factions, we have a common goal, to defeat the Ogres and the Void army. I have no power to ask you to fight. Go back to your Duchess, she will make the final decision…”

Sherlock walked slowly back to the Eternal Kingdom outpost.

The Plot ended, and the gamers of the two factions looked at each other. Some gamers tried to return to the Ogre Fortress, but they couldn’t. A notice appeared before them—[The Ogre Fortress will be opened soon. Please refer to the official discussion forum.]

There was going to be a new Battle Campaign Scenario at the Ogre Fortress. There could even be an Instance Dungeon! Since it was closed, there was no way to explore it.

Each faction would have their own Plots. The gamers of Eternal Kingdom had to return to their outpost and find Sherlock to continue the Plot, while the gamers of Victoria City had to find Duchess Lilo to continue the Plot.

The two factions discovered that they could attack each other after leaving the boundary of the Ogre Fortress…

In the wilderness, a large scale Faction War erupted!