Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After Sherlock finished speaking, it became dead quiet.
Professor Bacon straightened his body. Then he folded his arms to support his chin and leaned on the sofa twice, making bone scraping sounds.
Sherlock was patient. He crossed his legs and sipped his thick, fragrant, and bloody chrysanthemum tea.
âYouâre saying...â
Professor Bacon stood up and paced in the room.
âYour Goblin friends are taking part in the graduation research? Apologies Lord Sherlock, perhaps youâve misunderstood my intention. I didnât make it clear. The capability of the combatants cannot be too strong or too weak. Iâm afraid the Goblins might not be up to the job. If the Goblins become the targets of the Liches, the college might prefer to set up more scarecrows instead.â
Professor Bacon had made his intentions clear, and he tried not to be offensive. If the creature sitting opposite wasnât a superior Devil drinking tea, Professor Bacon would have pointed at his nose and asked, âAre you treating me like a fool?â
âDonât be mistaken, Professor. My friends and I arenât looking down on the college, and we donât have the intention of fooling you. I know youâre prejudiced against Goblins, and I donât like them either, but my Goblin friends are different.â
Sherlock put down the cup of tea and clasped his hands at his knees before saying, âTo be exact, these Goblins are my Dungeonâs servants. Though they are servants, I treat them as friends. Their lifespans arenât long, their status in society isnât high, and they often die in accidents. However, they have ideals and goals, and their capabilities are strong. Though they canât be compared to the Gnomes and Orcs, they are able to handle the Spirit Legion conjured by the novice Liches. They are also resilient. They enjoy challenging themselves and doing the impossible. One hundred Magic Stones is more than enough for a Goblin, as his compensation is only 50 Magic Stones. They wonât have any complaints, even if thereâs a fatality. Also, nobody will complain and cause a negative public opinion since there is no Goblin Rights Protection Association.â
Professor Bacon thought for a while and said, âLord Sherlock would like to send your Goblins to be cannon fodders. You plan to charge 50 Magic Stones as their compensation while you take 50 Magic Stones as commission?â
âHow could I do that? Iâm not that kind of person. How would I appropriate 50 Magic Stones from the Goblins?â Sherlock said with integrity.
Though Lord Sherlock said it with integrity, without a contract, the Devilâs words werenât reliable.
Professor Bacon made a simple calculation. For a Dungeon Core to recruit a Goblin, only a signed contract was required. With the Dungeon Lordâs identity, he could deceive them into participating in the research without paying their salary. After they perished, 50 Magic Stones would be given as compensation. Meanwhile, Lord Sherlock could keep 50 Magic Stones. This would become an infinite money-making scheme!
The crux was whether the college was willing to accept the Goblins as the Lichesâ opponents.
The college was obviously not willing.
âLord Sherlock, as you know, I canât make a decision. Please go back and wait a while. Iâll convey your proposal to the college. If they are agreeable, Iâll inform you straight away,â Professor Bacon stood up and said.
âProfessor, I understand your predicament. If you donât try and dismiss my Goblin friends straight away, arenât you too dogmatic?â
Sherlock stood up and said, âSince you are here in Winterfell, it would be a pity if you leave. Why donât you give my Goblin friends a chance?â
âLord Sherlock, I would like to give your Goblin friends a chance, but the college has rules that I canât break.â Professor Bacon shook his ribs and sighed.
âProfessor Bacon, give my Goblin friends a chance, and you will have more time to stay in Winterfell for investigation. Youâre also giving the poor Winterfell female students a chance. I know of a place with many poor and beautiful female students...â
Sherlock didnât manage to finish his sentence before Professor Baconâs eyes lit up.
âWhere?â
Professor Bacon felt he was too rash and changed his tune.
âI mean, where is your Dungeon? Iâm willing to spend more time to investigate and see if your Goblin friends are as good in combat as you claimed.â
âOf course, the Eternal Kingdom welcomes your arrival. I have a small request,â Sherlock said.
âMy Goblin friends have a special trait. If you appear as a College Academic Deputy Director to investigate, it might not incite their fighting spirit. As you know, the minds of Goblins are hard to figure out. If I donât create a sense of mission in them, they might not be willing to participate in the graduation research.â
Professor Bacon tilted his emotionless skull face as Sherlock edged close to him and said, âIâll go back and think of a good solution while Professor Bacon focuses on helping the poor female students in Winterfell. Wait for my letter.â
...
The bright rays of the Teleport Portal illuminated the Dungeon Core Main Hall. The gamers, who were carrying bricks diligently, looked in the direction of the portal.
As Sherlock walked out, the gamers ran over to him. Some of them showed their coins excitedly while some injured gamers crawled or limped over.
âIâm buying land! Iâm buying land! I want to buy land!â
âBed! I want a bed!â
âMy leg was crushed by the ore! Help me heal my leg please, Sherlie. I canât mine for ore!â
âSh*t! Canât the system give a maintenance notice for the Revival System? When is our compensation given?â
The gamers shouted wildly. There were that many requests just from a hundred gamers. The group of Goblins looked like a hungry group of pets waiting for Sherlock to feed them.
Sherlock completed all their requests. He watched them leave before he went back to his work.
The gamers were no longer curious about Sherlock. Though a Devil Lord looked cool and awesome, after long periods of exposure, it was no longer exciting.
Who had the time to look at Sherlie? The time was better spent carrying bricks!
Is the equipment improved? Is the private land purchased? Is the bed purchased? All required money!
As for the compensation, it was Bru who managed it. To show that Eternal Kingdom was a professional game company, the compensation would be sent out the next day at six oâclock.
Sherlock browsed the forum with ease in the Dungeon Core Main Hall. He also had to think of the gamersâ Main Plot and background story.
The forum was filled with discussions about the background story of âDungeon: Eternal Kingdomâ, the relationship between Sherlie and the octopus Devil, the relationship between the Succubus and Sherlie, Baron Lassieâs warm attitude towards Sherlie, and other trivial content.
All these attracted the insane curiosity of the gamers. Though only fragments of information were presented to the gamers, they speculated that the game producers were planning a game with a massive world background. The factions included the various independent Dungeons and the Winterfell Merchant Alliance. The gamers speculated on the roles of these factions. Would they be against the gamers or allies of the gamers?
The speed of posts refreshing was fast. Pressing F5 would reveal an entirely new page.
Only NotWearingPantsâ detailed mission narration remained consistently on the first page, as the post was continuously being pushed to the top.
As Sherlock had already read the post, he wasnât interested in it.
He browsed other posts in the forum and noticed a post which was constantly being pushed to the top. The topic was:
[Regarding âDungeon: Eternal Kingdomâ, Speculation and Analysis of the first Instance Dungeon. Spider Queen? Octopus Devil? Or Lassie?]
âBru,â Sherlock shouted at Bru, who was busy coding, and asked, âWhat is an Instance Dungeon?â
âInstance Dungeon? Youâre asking about the online game Instance Dungeons? From a professional viewpoint, an Instance Dungeon is a place that provides generous equipment, items, and resources to gamers. Itâs different from normal game or scene areas. Iâll let you watch some videos. These are the videos on Instance Dungeons from âWorld of Warcraftâ. You may use it as research for your understanding.â
The screen before Sherlock showed various videos on Instance Dungeons...