Gamers of the Underworld (Web Novel)
chapter-20

Moroes and the gamers were finding a place to secure the Spider. They bound the Spider with a few metal chains so that it could be used as a training tool. They heard a miner’s shout and ran over to see what had happened.

A gamer whose head was showing Peasant was holding a pickaxe in his hand as he looked excitedly at the rock wall. Behind the rock wall were a few excavated holes that showed faint golden glimmers.

It looked like glinting gold or something similar to that.

“What’s that? Gold ore?”

“I don’t know. I mined using my pickaxe and found this.” The Peasant gamer was not sure how to answer the rest. He raised his pickaxe, which was broken from the middle. It had been broken when he was hitting on the gold-colored ore. The Peasant gamer said, “This ore must be valuable! I only hit it twice and my pickaxe broke! Did I discover something valuable?”

“That’s possible. It’s very dense. It could be something valuable!”

“Call the Dungeon Lord to confirm. Could this be a new game item?”

As the gamers were busy chatting, Sherlock arrived, and the gamers gave way as they looked in anticipation at him. The Peasant gamer raised his pickaxe excitedly in anticipation of a reward, but Sherlock was having a heartache as he looked at the broken pickaxe that had cost him ten Magic Stones!

Simba was able to make pickaxe heads, so he could replace it. Sherlock decided to investigate what the gamer had discovered.

Sherlock dismissed the surrounding gamers so that they resumed their training and mining. He shouted for Simba to come and identify the unknown ore as it was better to let a professional handle it. Simba put aside his work and asked the gamers to clean the surrounding areas that were made of Diamond Seam. Then, he hit and hammered the gold-colored ore. He even licked it.

After checking for a long time, Simba said with confidence, “This is an Adamantine Ore! But it’s not very pure, so it will require refinement after excavation. It’s most suitable for making weapons, but it’s a waste to use it for weapons. Its Magic conductivity is very strong and it is commonly used for making Alchemy Platforms, Magical Items or Teleport Portal foundations.”

“Can this be sold?” Sherlock asked as he was concerned about profit.

“It can be sold, but the actual price depends on purity and market demand. An ore the size of a Goblin can fetch hundreds to thousands of Magic Stones. I’m not sure about the exact amount.” Simba was an expert Blacksmith, but he was not knowledgeable in the Adamantine market.

Sherlock nodded. Could the ore be mined? The Peasant gamer’s pickaxe had broken after two hits as the Adamantine Ore was harder than the Diamond Seam. Sherlock asked Simba who scratched his head.

Simba said, “The pickaxe made from Diamond Seam cannot be used to mine Adamantine Ore. A material harder than Adamantine is needed. I’ll write a letter back to the shop to check the cost.”

“Good. After checking the prices, get me ten pickaxes for mining Adamantine Ore. I can use the mined Adamantine Ore as collateral.” Sherlock was in need of money. He had thought that if Magic Stone Ores were discovered, it would help his financial situation. Instead, Adamantine Ore was discovered, which was not bad. Sherlock felt that Adamantine Ore would not be more valuable than Magic Stone Ore, but it was still better than nothing.

As for saving the Adamantine Ore for making Alchemy Platforms, Magical Items and Teleport Portal foundations, Sherlock was giving them a pass as he did not need them at the moment. He was unable to maintain a good supply of food, so he needed more Magic Stones. He was practical and also flexible.

It was a new generation. Even if it were the Underworld, it did not mean developing the Dungeon alone. Instead, there could be lots of interaction and business in a market economy! Merchants were forming groups to create neutral Dungeons. As a new generation Devil Lord, Sherlock could not afford to be behind the times.

Simba quickly went to write the letter which would be delivered quickly using Mana. After Simba completed his letter, he ignited the letter-sending Magic Powder and threw the letter into the Magic Fire that consumed it.

The letter was sent to Winterfell’s [Don’t have the most expensive stuff] Blacksmith Shop. He had to wait for a reply.

The gamers were curious about the newly discovered ore vein. Because they did not have suitable tools, they were unable to mine it. Some gamers tried to use their pickaxes to mine it but were stopped by Bru.

Sherlock awarded the Peasant gamer a suit of armor, a Short Sword, a silver coin and a thousand Reputation Points for discovering the Adamantine Ore.

The rewards looked bountiful, but they were of no value to Sherlock. The armor and Short Sword were of no value, and the bronze coins were like feces. As for Reputation, it was a laughing stock in the Underworld! If anyone discovered such ores in a Dungeon, they would be richly rewarded with Magic Stones.

Sherlock felt that he had gained a lot from recruiting the otherworld’s gamers as he had saved a lot of money!

Though Sherlock did not think the rewards were worth much, but to the gamers, the reward was shocking. It was the largest reward ever. The previous ten gamers who had helped Moroes capture the Spider had only obtained five hundred Reputation Points, a hundred bronze coins, a set of armor and a Short Sword. The Peasant gamer had been rewarded with twice the amount for discovering a new ore vein. It was like opening a treasure chest!

The gamers’ gazes were full of enthusiasm. These walls were not just a means of completing their ore mining mission. They were treasure chests! They could become the next Peasant by discovering new ore veins and getting rich rewards!

However, they could not mine as they liked since the missions were randomly allocated.

After discovering the Adamantine Ore, Sherlock had to plan more for the Dungeon. After adjusting his plan in the Dungeon Core Main Hall, Simba came in with a letter. The “Don’t have the most expensive stuff” Blacksmith Shop had replied.

“Respectable Lord Sherlock, I received the letter from Simba. I would like to congratulate you on your Adamantine Ore discovery. I won’t decline your request for ten pickaxes to mine Adamantine Ore as you are my most loyal customer! As the pickaxes need to be made of special material, they cannot be delivered via Teleport Portal. I have decided to let a Merchant Band passing by your Dungeon deliver the pickaxes. The Merchant Band is also interested in collaborating with you on the Adamantine Ore. Please have a good discussion with the merchants. Wishing you a happy life and a smooth sailing business—Regards from ‘Don’t have the most expensive stuff’ Blacksmith Shop’s employees!”

Sherlock knew what to do after reading the letter. Though he was unable to mine the ore immediately, it was still alright to wait for ten days. The Merchant Band seemed interested in collaboration, so Sherlock could save on transportation fees to Winterfell if he could do business with the merchants.

While Sherlock was waiting for the Merchant Band, the gamers were busy developing the Dungeon and improving their combat skills by going through Moroes’ rigorous training. After slogging for so many days, most of the gamers had a set of armor and a Short Sword. After making most of the tools, Simba started making shields. The shield’s price of 600 bronze coins was similar to the armor and sword. Bru completed the summary of the shield attributes.

[Diamond Shield (Ordinary White Equipment)

Defense: 8

Weight: 10

Durability: 10

Forger: Blacksmith Simba

Required Reputation: Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom Reputation Level 1 (Basic Level)

Dungeon Eternal Kingdom’s most commonly seen shield. Forged from Diamond Seam.]

When the gamers saw the new equipment, those with money bought the shield at the first instance. Those without money continued working on their missions. With Moroes as their Skills Trainer, the gamers’ combat skills improved by leaps and bounds. They could spar with the captured Spider effectively. Sherlock became busier as he had to heal and revive the gamers who were either injured or killed by the Spider. He could not browse the official website and the discussion forum in peace!

After Sherlock had set up the official website for the Beta Testing, the registered members had exceeded 100,000 in half a month. The number was still increasing daily.

Though there were only a hundred Beta Gamers, it did not dampen the other members’ enthusiasm in the discussion forum. They waited patiently for the Beta Testers to share their experience. Once a Beta Tester appeared on the forum, they would swarm and suck up to the Beta Tester.

One of the few topics of great interest was the story development of the mysterious Fairy NPC. The second was the aftermath of the Adamantine Ore discovery. The third was the most important concern that many members were curious about. It was the exploration of the Spiders’ Lair.

The Spiders’ Lair had been open for more than ten days. Within a week, the first team of five Goblins had been annihilated, while the second expedition of thirty Goblins had been badly beaten. With the arrival of Moroes, the Skills Trainer, the gamers had trained in combat skills for a few days. Twenty of the gamers were armed with armor, Short Sword and shield as they prepared for the third exploration of the Spiders’ Lair!