Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
âWeâre forming the Spidersâ Lair expedition! Those with Short Swords, armor and shield, come forward! Those with three combat skills training sessions and were not harmed by the Spider, come forward! Those without experience will not be considered! Those who are going offline within twelve hours will be excluded!â
At the Dungeon Entrance, NotWearingPants shouted at the top of his voice. Arthur sat cross-legged on the ground while he sharpened his blade. At his side were BurningChestHair, Sakuranomiya Cat Demon and Sylvanas, who were the pioneer explorers. Besides the five of them, there were other gamers who made up the twenty Goblins in the contingent. They gathered and chatted in low voices about various strategies against the Spiders from the forum. They also double-checked their rations that they had bought from Simba.
With NotWearingPantsâ hollering, more gamers gathered forward. NotWearingPants shouted for ten minutes as he was waiting for the gamers who were finishing their training.
Sherlock noticed the gamersâ behavior. As this was not the first exploration of the Spidersâ Lair, it was not a concern. Sherlock was just curious if the third exploration would be successful.
The gamers finished forming their expedition group. With NotWearingPantsâ prompting and strict requirements, all the eligible gamers had reported in for the expedition. Arthur and the rest of the expedition group did not wait any further. The contingent of twenty Goblins set out towards the Spidersâ Lair.
Sherlock was at the Dungeon Core Main Hall observing the expedition group via the Dungeon Core. They followed the Dungeonâs tunnel towards the Spidersâ Lair. Sherlock had published the area map on the official website so they would not get lost. Moreover, there was only a single way to the lair. After walking for an hour, they had almost arrived at the Spidersâ Lair.
The gamers had been trained several times by Moroes. They were not very experienced in combat, but they were no longer novices. Most of them had participated in the second expedition that had ended in bloodshed. This time around, they were full of confidence.
Once the gamers arrived at the Spidersâ Lair entrance, they did not rush in like their second expedition. Instead, they fanned out and stayed hidden. NotWearingPants went out with his shield and Short Sword. He stood at the entrance and shouted, âWaaaa!â The nearby Spiders were alarmed, and four Spiders came charging at NotWearingPants.
After baiting the Spiders, he hurried back to the gamersâ ambush area. When the Underground Spiders came within range, they hollered and charged out at the Spiders.
The Spidersâ intellect was low so they did not detect the ambush. Moreover, it was only Goblins. They were not afraid even if they were outnumbered. The Spiders charged at the gamers.
âTank 1 ! Start pulling Aggro! Four Spiders are coming!â NotWearingPants ran back to the group while he shouted.
âTwo Tanks, pull Aggro. The rest can retreat. Donât go for damage. Spar for a while, then retreat!â Arthur also shouted. The gamer beside him held a shield and charged towards the nearest Spider. He slammed the Short Sword on his shield and shouted to attract the Spiderâs attention. The Spider lifted its leg to pierce his heart.
As the Spider charged by, Arthur dashed out with lightning speed from the side while holding his shield and a Short Sword. While the Spider was distracted, he slashed the Spiderâs stomach. Green blood spewed out all over his body. He jumped to one side to avoid more blood stains. The Spider twisted its head, but another gamer attracted its attention by banging his shield and waving his Short Sword menacingly. The Spider was not smart and only reacted to the nearest threat instead of the most dangerous one. The gamers made use of this to control the Spiderâs aggro. This technique was taught by Moroes.
The gamers were allocated tasks based on their agility, speed, attack strength and constitution. The twenty gamers isolated the four Spiders. They took turns to attack the Spiders while using the shield for protection and the Short Sword to inflict damage. Before long, the Spiders could not bear the siege and wanted to escape. When the gamers saw that the Spiders were escaping, they tried all sorts of methods to stop them as they had spent many hours training just to kill a Spider!
The gamersâ attacks became more frenzied. They were almost hurt by the Spiders several times. Fortunately, with the shieldâs protection, they were unharmed. A Spider fell to the ground, followed by a second and third Spider. The fourth Spider charged and sent a gamer who was trying to attract its aggro flying. Then, the Spider fled with its injuries.
Though a Spider escaped, the gamers were satisfied with the result. It was a tremendous improvement to go from being annihilated by the Spiders to besieging four Spiders and killing three. The Goblinsâ constitutions were not as good as the Spidersâ, but the Goblins were more agile and intelligent. As long as they controlled their fear and gained some experience and combat skills, with teamwork, it would not be hard for them to kill the Spiders.
Sherlock observed the gamers celebrating on the screen of the Dungeon Core. He had not expected the gamers to improve that fast. He had thought they would need at least a month of training to kill the Spiders. Their phenomenal performance was outside of Sherlockâs expectation.
The gamers surrounded the Spiders and started examining them. As Sherlock was going to take a closer look, Simba came in and started complaining about how the Goblins did not understand him. They were pestering him for equipment and did not give him time to rest. Even when he slept, the gamers would peep at him, leaving him unable to sleep.
Simba said, âThis bunch of imbecile fools think only they need sleep. Donât they realize that I need to sleep too? Instead, while Iâm sleeping, they pull my sleeping bag. I wish I could smash open their thick skulls to see whatâs inside!â
Simba had lots of grievances. He was extremely unhappy with the gamers and was almost on the verge of exploding. The other two âNPCsâ, the Fairy and Moroes, were also harassed by the gamers, but they did not dare to complain. The Fairy was a slave, while Moroes was in awe of Sherlock. He treated the Goblins as close servants of Sherlock. Even when he was awakened in the middle of his sleep by the Goblins, he did not make a fuss.
Sherlock listened to Simbaâs complaints while observing the dark rings underneath Simbaâs eyes. He had to make arrangements for private Rest Chambers for both Simba and Moroes. The other gamers would have to wait longer for their own!
Sherlock placated Simba and arranged for the construction of two private Rest Chambers. However, he didnât plan on constructing a private Rest Chamber for the little Fairy. He wasnât so empathetic as to build one for the little Fairy when she was unwilling to work. In any case, to Sherlock, the little Fairy probably would feel more comfortable staying in the field instead of a private Rest Chamber.
Though the two Rest Chambers were not huge projects, they could not be completed in an instant. With the help of Bru, Sherlock selected a few gamers with good construction skills to create two Rest Chambers. Sherlock awarded more bronze coins and Reputation Points for these missions so that the construction would be completed in the shortest time.
The selected gamers were very happy. One of the gamers said as he constructed the chamber, âThis Dungeonâs awesome. We can interact with the environment, and now even the Rest Chambers are built by us. Once the Blacksmithâs chamber is complete, Iâll try to enter through the windows. If the Blacksmith leaves things in the chamber, I might be able to get my hands on them!â
Simba threw his hammer at the gamer. However, the other gamers were all giving praisesâThe NPC interaction mechanism was awesome!
Time passed while Sherlock made housing arrangements for Simba and Moroes. As he was about to check on the expedition status, he heard a commotion coming from the entrance...