Chapter 32: End Of Activity And Sludge Monster?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Three days pa.s.sed by very quickly. As Sherlock had an agreement with Nicholas, the Merchant Band was not allowed to wander, interact with the Goblins or ask questions. The Merchant Band loaded up more than 5000 Magic Stones worth of Adamantine Ore on three carts while Nicholas was burdened with lots of unanswered questions. Sherlock gave him a warm farewell.
“Baron Nicholas, you will always be welcome at Eternal Kingdom. As long as you abide by our trading agreement, you’ll always be our guests.”
Sherlock accompanied them toward the exit to Winterfell.
The gathered gamers also gave their warm farewell.
“I hope that there will be more goods in the next round.”
“The Small Cloth Bags sold out in one day, and there were not enough Short Bows. I only got a Short Sword. Ehhh…”
“Those St.i.tches are so grotesque!”
“Three days is too short. Ten days is more reasonable.”
“Will this be a repeating event? Maybe once a month?”
The gamers were chatting excitedly. Nicholas was now more or less used to their “insane” behavior.
To Nicholas, the gamers were a bunch of nonsense-spouting creatures who slept readily on the ground. They were not fearful of superior creatures and were addicted to worthless metal coins. They were indeed insane.
This could be a special trait of such a superior Devil — the power to summon a group of insane Goblins to develop his Dungeon.
“I’m grateful to you for your hospitality. If you have time, do visit my Winterfell Manor when I am on break from my business trips,” Nicholas said earnestly.
“I’ll pay you a visit when I have time.” Sherlock smiled.
Nicholas took out a basic materials list, a card and a Teleport Scroll and handed them over to Sherlock.
“I’ll have to count on Lord Sherlock to deliver the basic materials to Winterfell. I just contacted my butler. He will be waiting at the Teleport Portal Reception Hall with his men. Just hand over the basic materials to him and he will complete the transportation.”
Sherlock was taken aback. He was puzzled by the 15 Magic Stones he had been given to arrange for his Goblins to help transport with the basic materials.
Sherlock had been thinking of how to transport the materials. Though there were a lot of materials, with the help of 50 gamers, his Devil Lord’s dominance, and the promise of rich rewards, he thought there would be no problem for the gamers to transport the basic materials.
Sherlock would have to work harder, like a teacher bringing the students out on a field trip. He recalled the fond memories in his school…
“The card…”
Sherlock looked at the card in his hand. On the card were the words “Gift Card”.
Nicholas smiled cordially and said, “The card is a small token of appreciation for Lord Sherlock’s hospitality. It is a 1000 Magic Stones gift card that can be used in any Merchant Alliance shop. It can be exchanged for 800 Magic Stones in other places.”
Sherlock understood Nicholas’ intentions but he felt embarra.s.sed. “Aiya, this might not be appropriate. If I keep it and others learn of it, I’ll have lots of explanations to do.”
Though he said that, his hand slipped the card into his pocket.
“I can understand Lord Sherlock’s concern. 1000 Magic Stones isn’t a lot. An afternoon tea can cost a few hundred Magic Stones. This is merely a small gift to friends. It’s not much. I’m honored to be friends with Lord Sherlock.”
Hearing Nicholas’ sincere words, Sherlock pocketed the 1000 Magic Stones pretentiously.
Nicholas left. The farewell shouts of the gamers rang behind him. “La.s.sie, come back again!”
The three day “Beta Testing Activity” was completed. The gamers had obtained items that were not available in Eternal Kingdom. Sherlock received 5000 Magic Stones and a 1000 Magic Stones gift card. He was well-off again.
Sherlock’s workload had been reduced significantly. Originally, he had intended to bring the Goblins like students on a field trip and have them carry the materials like hard laborers. Nicholas had solved the transportation problem by paying for the Teleport Portal.
After dispersing the gathered gamers who were keen for more cutscenes, Sherlock had Bru broadcast a “Maintenance Announcement” to shut down the Revival System for one to three hours. He was going to help Nicholas transport the large quant.i.ties of materials to Winterfell and hand them over to Nicholas’s butler. Next, he was going to Winterfell to buy the Rest Chambers’ beds and the Short Bow’s arrows.
The gamers had bartered with Nicholas for the Short Bows, but there had only been 30 complimentary arrows. There had also been no quivers, but fortunately, those who had managed to get the Short Bow were also able to get a Small Cloth Bag.
Sherlock had seen gamers complaining in the discussion forum about insufficient arrows. As a Dungeon Lord, he had to remedy and improve the situation.
After the Merchant Band had left, the s.p.a.ce intended for the gamers’ Rest Chambers could be excavated again. It was about 80% complete and would take another three days to entirely complete. With them, the gamers would be able to return to their Rest Chambers to go offline instead of lying down on the ground.
Sherlock had to do some planning to figure out how to encourage the gamers to go offline in the Rest Chambers. Twenty days had elapsed since the Beta Testing started. If Sherlock did not know how to direct the gamers, then he would be a lousy Dungeon Lord.
With Bru’s suggestion, it was not a huge problem. In Bru’s words, “If we include a housing system, the gamers’ happiness will skyrocket. They will be extremely excited about land and property. Even selling them a bed will have the same effect.”
Bru also made a maintenance announcement.
[The Revival System will be having a one to three hour maintenance, starting in half an hour. Lord Sherlock will leave the Dungeon. Please take care of yourself and avoid risks.]
“S*it! Why the maintenance?!”
“This is hilarious. Those gamers hunting for materials at the Spiders’ Lair entrance will explode with anger.”
“What the heck! Why isn’t there advance notice for maintenance? I’ve already formed an expedition to the Spiders’ Lair.
“What lousy planning! What a lousy company. Isn’t that awful?”
“D*mn, the forum will explode with posts tonight! There’s got to be better planning!”
[Gamers will receive 200 Reputation Points and 100 bronze coins as compensation.]
“Work, continue working. Hurry and carry the bricks.”
“Who’s selling Spider Silk? I need a bit more material to improve my equipment!”
“Who has a Short Bow? What’s the effect? Can I try it?”
“Quick, Moroes is starting the session!”
“It’s alright. I didn’t say anything.”
Sherlock was relieved when he saw the gamers full of enthusiasm and without any complaints.
Holding the Teleport Scroll, Sherlock went to the material storage location. He had restricted the area so that the gamers would not steal the materials.
Sherlock opened the Teleport Scroll and was bathed in magical light. He used his Mana to expand the radius to cover the piles of materials. Then, Sherlock vanished with the materials.
In the next instant, Sherlock arrived at the Winterfell Teleport Portal Reception Hall with the materials.
Sherlock used a large amount of Mana for the Teleport Scroll and had arrived at the cargo Teleport Portal Reception Hall.
Compared to the previous Reception Hall, the cargo hall was more rundown and more s.p.a.cious. The size of the portal was larger and s.p.a.ced further apart. The number of portals was significantly less.
This was the Winterfell Cargo Terminal.
A Gnome with gla.s.ses stood by the portal. He held a book as he looked at the Magical Scale that indicated the weight of the materials brought by Sherlock.
The Gnome gave a list and a form to Sherlock.
“According to the cargo weight, we’re collecting 10 Magic Stones for the processing fee. Here’s your invoice.”
Surprised, Sherlock looked at the invoice. It was his first time delivering goods to Winterfell and his first time encountering the processing fee.
“Please wait a while. Are you Lord Sherlock?”
As Sherlock was hesitating whether to pay or to keep the goods as his own, a jelly-like thing walked over.
It was a Sludge Monster in wet Tuxedo.