Gamers of the Underworld

The Eternal Kingdom’s “Chatting Plaza” moved from the Training Ground to the Main Hall outside the Merchant Band’s Rest Point entrance. Nicholas learned new things about the Goblins.

A nearby Goblin was eating Spider Meatballs while sitting down, and and other Goblin asked him, “Have you had your meal?”

“I haven’t eaten. I’ll be having my meal soon.”

“I’m forming an expedition group. Have your meal before coming. I’ll reserve one spot for you. The activity lasts only for three days, so we are going to adventure through the night.”

“Good.”

The Goblin who had just eaten the Spider Meatballs fell to the ground. He only took a second to fall asleep. Ten minutes later, he awakened. He shouted at a group of Goblins, “ChestHair! I’ve finished my meal!”

What was that? Insanity?

If Nicholas had not signed the agreement with Sherlock, he would have captured a Goblin to see what went wrong in his skull.

While Nicholas was troubled by the gamers’ weird behavior, Sherlock had finished editing the details of the Winterfell Merchant Band Activity Notice and published it in the official forum.

The official forum was abuzz with posts about the Winterfell Merchant Band. Most of the posts were speculations by non-Beta Gamers. The most popular posts were the two posts by NotWearingPants: [Pictures and explanation of Winterfell Merchant Band’s arrival] and [Detailed analysis of Winterfell Merchant Band Activity]

One of the posts had been published two hours ago around the time the Merchant Band had arrived. NotWearingPants wanted as much attention as possible, so he had published the post with many pictures at quickly as possible.

Because of the rush to post first, there were only pictures and a few words. However, the number of replies was overwhelming.

The second post had been published after Sherlock posted details in the public announcement. The replies were modest, but the post was pushed to the top and became extremely popular.

“Greetings! It’s me, NotWearingPants.

I previously published the Winterfell Merchant Band pictures. I am now adding:

(Pictures) …

We were shocked beyond description by the Winterfell Merchant Band. I wish that the game would upgrade sooner and release more races. Wah, those Stitches were grotesque. One of these days, I hope to play as one.

In this activity, we were shown several possible races and a new transportation mode: a weird four-legged beast with a long shell. This beast can squish gamers with its feet like the lift in Gloom City squishing people. This is not unusual as a wall can kill a suicide gamer. There is no reason why a huge beast cannot squish a Goblin.

Perhaps some of you might not know about the lift in Gloom City squishing people. You might want to search on Baidu.

In addition to the official details, I will do a detailed analysis according to my understanding.

First, the activity lasts for three days. The items that can be bartered for are Winter’s Sunhat, Goblin Tuxedo, Winterfell Diamond Seam Short Sword, Winterfell Short Bow, and Small Cloth Bag. I believe you have already seen the description of the items. Based on the required items, even if we hunt in the Spiders’ Lair for three days, we can’t possibly exchange for all the items.

The rich gamers should be able to grab all the items within three days. But do not worry. Though the quantity of the items is limited, there are not many rich gamers, so everyone will have a chance to exchange for an item or two.

I will arrange the items according to their descending prices.

Winterfell Short Bow > Small Cloth Bag = Winterfell Diamond Seam Short Sword > Winter’s Sunhat = Goblin Tuxedo

Winterfell Short Bow is currently the only long-range weapon in the game. Needless to say, it is extremely expensive. Within a hundred meters, a gamer would be able to kill an Underground Spider without any injury, but how the bow functions will depend on actual testing. Currently, nobody has exchanged for the bow. It is not easy to obtain 500 units of Spider Leg, meat, Dire Wolf Skin, Killer Vine Bark or 50 units of Spider Silk. However, this is the top item for rich gamers to purchase.

Next is the Small Cloth Bag that costs 100 units of basic materials or 10 units of Spider Silk. Hardworking gamers can exchange for one within two days even without spending money. As there are only twenty of them, normal gamers will need to make full use of their time.

I feel that the Winterfell Diamond Seam Short Sword is dispensable and pricey. As compared to its hiltless version, the Winterfell Short Sword has a damage of 0-15. The game combat system depends on the realistic combat situation and is too complex to be represented by numbers. After some testing, the effect of the sword depends on its wielder. It does not mean that a weapon with higher damage can be used to defeat a stronger opponent.

Equipment is only a factor in determining the result of a combat. When the opponent is of equal capability, only then does the equipment comes into effect.

The most important thing is the gamer’s combat skills. When thirty of us fully armed gamers explored the Spiders’ Lair, we were unable to kill a single Spider, but five experienced gamers with ten combat training sessions easily handled a Spider without casualties. This is the importance of combat skills and experience!

Of course, it does not mean that weapons are not important. An empty-handed gamer can never be compared to a well-armed gamer.

The game producer did not explain the combat and weapon systems. We had to do the exploration. This is a huge area that cannot be covered overnight. There were many unknowns waiting for us Beta Gamers to test and discover.

I know some gamers may find the combat system too complex to learn. As I have said, “Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom” for the past half month has been like a new life to me — a Sword and Magic Life!

The complex combat system is true to life. Rather than being too complex to learn, I am deeply addicted. I won’t go into the details. You will get to experience it in Open Beta.

The remaining Winter’s Sunhat and Goblin Tuxedo are ornamental equipment. To me, both the hat and coat are not convenient for carrying bricks and fighting Spiders. For pro-appearance gamers, they might be worthwhile to exchange, but for pro-fighting gamers, you may ignore them.

I will end the post here as I have to fight the Spiders. I have already exchanged for the Small Cloth Bag. My next target is the Short Bow!”

Sherlock finished reading NotWearingPants’ post. He did not expect the gamers to analyze every activity and every barter item. Did the gamers have a lot of free time?

This was one of the special traits of the gamers. They had done too many foolish things. What was one extra deed? The replies were interesting. Most of them were envious, jealous or angry. Some were about combat techniques and others were just squabbles.

[Leaking Rain Morakot: Are these pictures screenshots? I checked just now. This online game passed the censorship, and there is a registration number. I am curious how this game passed the checks ]

[Trust, Professional and Friendly: I feel that the Tuxedo looks pretty neat. From the pictures, the Goblin will look cool wearing it.]

[Raincoat Kitten: The Goblins are ugly. Does wearing the Tuxedo make any difference?]

[Lightning Dharma Tesla: Looking forward to the combat testing of the Short Bow. According to the game’s realism, unless the user has learned archery before, they have to learn how to use the bow before they will be able to hit anything.]

[Female Gnome Control: Thank you, OP. I look forward to your posts everyday. I’m dying from not being able to play “Dungeon: Eternal Kingdom”.]

[Non-existing: I know the logic. When is the Open Beta?]

…

Sherlock was reading everyone’s replies happily and was hitting the F5 button to refresh the page when he heard Bru say, “Lord Sherlock, sorry to bother you. Nicholas is coming your way.”

Sherlock was puzzled. Sherlock had an agreement with Nicholas. If there were no important matters, Nicholas had to stay within the restricted area. Even if he had questions, he had to hold back. Why was he looking for Sherlock?

While Sherlock was still bewildered, Nicholas appeared outside the Dungeon Core Main Hall.