Chapter 28: Underground

The spider-like creature being chased by the players was a "dreamweaver," a low-level monster. Despite appearing weak and easily beaten up by players wielding nothing but sticks and shovels, this creature was truly a monster.

Its seeming vulnerability stemmed from the fact that the greatest threat posed by the dreamweaver wasn't its physical attacks but the densely packed venomous spines on its thirteen tentacle legs. A mere slight touch from these tentacles, or even a tiny brush against the skin, would instantly inject the neurotoxin into any living organism.

Once afflicted by this sinister neurotoxin, even someone like Hal, who was built like a bull, would only last a few seconds before paralysis kicked in. Within half a minute, one's consciousness would blur, and the victim would enter a dreamlike state, unknowingly becoming a feast for the dreamweaver.

Stealthy and capable of moving across any terrain with ease, the dreamweaver, with its thirteen two-meter-long tentacles that formed an attack range without blind spots, was a predator among low-level monsters. Even normal close-combat experts like Hal Maxwell, Charlie Rex, or Finley would face a fierce battle if they went up against it.

Unfortunately, players, despite their crazed actions, incessant chatter, and lively movements, couldn't really be considered living creatures. No matter how much neurotoxin the dreamweaver injected into them, the venom would simply flow through their bone crevices.

With players immune to the deadliest poison, fast due to having 40% of a normal person's weight, it didn't take long for the group to catch up, considering that the dreamweaver was only skilled in stealth attacks and lacked agility.

Next, this unfortunate dreamweaver was subjected to the players' annoying tactics: throwing rocks and lumps of mud, grabbing its tentacles, and poking its vulnerable abdomen with broken sticks. This was a pitiful beating that exploited its weakness, leaving it lying defeated on the ground.

"This damn thing got me all dirty." Yang Ying, one of the main damage dealers, wasn't particularly thrilled as she brushed off the green residue on her beginner gear.

"I got quite a bit on me too, and it kinda stinks. I'll have to wash up when we get back." Tang Jia, another primary damage dealer, wrinkled her nose in disgust. "The really annoying aspect of this game is that the damned developers went crazy pursuing realism. We're playing a game, yet we have to do our own laundry. I've never seen anything quite like this."

Inside the town hall, Yang Qiu remained unperturbed while he listened to Tang Jia cursing the game developer.

She's blaming the design, what does it have to do with me as the developer?

"Where are we running to? Why is this tunnel so long?" The players who had just defeated the spider monster finally realized that something didn't add up. historical

"We've probably gone beyond the town's territory by now," Unceasing Entropy, who was lagging behind in the pursuit, said as she finally caught up with the others. "Since we encountered this monster, the interior of the tunnel has changed. The wooden supports have disappeared, and it's much more spacious. The walls seem to have been reinforced by some special means. It looks sturdier than the tunnels we've passed, which were likely dug by the townspeople themselves."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Tang Jia scratched her head and asked, while Study Obsessed and Yang Ying were equally confused.

Unceasing Entropy briefly reminisced about the short discussion with Blossoming Strokes and patiently explained, "What I mean is, ever since we encountered this tentacled spider, we have entered an underground passage that wasn't created by human hands. Considering we came across possibly Anna's corpse at the entrance of the cellar we entered, I think it's highly possible that the townspeople accidentally dug a passage leading to a monster's lair or its territory. This could have been the cause of the townspeople's annihilation or at least the reason for the loss of many of them."

The other three ladies shuddered.

Brother Lahong hadn't participated in their discussion. Instead, his attention was focused on the monster's body, and now, far from being scared, he turned over excitedly and exclaimed, "Hey hey, big discovery! This thing can be appraised using the 'Identify' skill!"

The four ladies were momentarily stunned, then respectively used "Identify."

[Dreamweaver]

[Lv1]

[Low-level monster, proficient in mental attacks. It injects neurotoxin into prey to induce paralysis, dazed consciousness, and a daydreaming state.]

[Possible drops: Dreamweaver Poison Sac, Dreamweaver Poison Bead, Magic Residue.]

In the information revealed by Identify, the "possible drops" section displayed the words "Dreamweaver Poison Sac" in white font, indicating a common material, while "Dreamweaver Poison Bead" and "Magic Residue" were displayed in blue font, signifying that they were uncommon!

"A low-level monster that drops rare materials?!" Tang Jia, who had a strong addiction to gaming, became excited as well. "Is this a place for farming monsters? Have we found a grinding spot?!"

"Yes!" Brother Lahong, also a dedicated gamer, nodded vigorously. "The only way out of town, via the south, is blocked by that giant rat. The tunnel we just discovered is without a doubt the correct route to leave town and farm monsters!"

Without any hesitation, Tang Jia rushed forward with a rusty shovel in hand and joined Brother Lahong in digging through the monster's corpse. Indeed, they unearthed an organ from the creature's abdomen that resembled a pig's heart.

[Dreamweaver Poison Sac]

[A common monster poison sac that can be used for poison processing, an alchemical production. It can be turned over to Black Mage Yang for 20 reputation points.]

Without a second thought, Tang Jia handed the material to Unceasing Entropy. "Great, Qingyue. If we can gather more of this, you'll be able to accumulate enough reputation to change your job sooner."

"Yeah, if we get the chance, let's kill more of these creatures." Yang Ying finally understood why Tang Jia was so excited about finding a grinding spot and nodded happily in agreement.

Unceasing Entropy glanced at Brother Lahong and Study Obsessed. Seeing that they had no objections, she casually pocketed the poison sac. "Let's continue forward and explore. Since there are monsters appearing here, the end of the path is likely a farming spot that will be unlocked after we complete this quest. Perhaps there will be important quest information there."

In the town hall, Yang Qiu, who was monitoring the players, nodded with relief.

It seemed that as long as players were rewarded with numerical bonuses, they wouldn't particularly shirk from monsters with freaky appearances that attacked with nauseating tentacles and left them covered in toxic substances..

The player with the ID "Unceasing Entropy" was indeed clever enough to interpret the clues that had been deliberately left behind. The one who had dug this over 800-meter-long tunnel for the townspeople was none other than Yang Qiu.

By completing this tunnel, Yang Qiu had depleted his stock of magic powder.. Earth magic didn't consume much mana, but it did require a significant amount of magic powder.

However, this investment was worthwhile in order to provide players with a spot suitable for monster farming and to reap benefits for himself.

Yang Qiu had meticulously selected dreamweavers for players to grind. Apart from the fact that this monster was totally countered by the "Undead Calamity," its poison sacs, beads, and the "Magic Residue" formed from the monster's secretions were all popular and practical materials. Trading a bit of reputation with players for these items was well worth it!

If players didn't panic and immediately used the "Identify" when battling it, they would be able to see the red name floating above the creature's head, its level of 1, as well as a health bar..

Things are going smoothly here.. What about the other side? Yang Qiu mused.

Meanwhile, the team led by Blossoming Strokes exploring the other tunnel had spent a considerable amount of time maneuvering through the narrow passageway secured by wooden planks and beams. Eventually, they discovered a relatively spacious underground area about half the size of a basketball stadium.

This space was noticeably smaller and lower than the underground chamber where Lord Yang cultivated the Great Leaf Vines. It was clearly man-made and contained some supplies. Evidently, this place had once served as an underground shelter for the townspeople.

"All the stored supplies here have rotted." Jiang Wei snapped the top of a weathered wooden crate open, glanced at its contents, and covered it back. "It must have been a long time ago since people were last active here."

Blossoming Strokes rubbed her chin while saving the considerable amount of wooden crates and sacks in the corner. Pensively, she said, "The townspeople here belonged to a pioneer team led by General Charlotte. They were more united and had a stronger collective spirit than the residents of a typical small town. This conclusion is valid based on the accumulated supplies here. So why.. didn't any of these townspeople seek refuge in this underground shelter when danger struck?"

"Perhaps the danger came too suddenly, and the townspeople didn't have time to evacuate?" Qin Guan suggested after giving it some thought.

Blossoming Strokes shook her head. "Although we don't know exactly how many people were in this pioneer team, there are 123 wooden houses in this town, and 68 of them were specifically built with underground cellars for storing supplies. This indicates that the town had at least 68 households or more that needed to dig underground cellars to store surplus resources.

"It is rather difficult for something to simultaneously pose life-threatening threats to so many households and prevent all the townspeople from seeking refuge in the underground shelter in such a short period of time. Unless.."

"Unless the townsfolk themselves abandoned the underground shelter," Jiang Wei continued calmly.

"That's right. The underground shelter, or rather, all the underground spaces, must have made the townspeople feel even more threatened and terrified, leading to this strange phenomenon where they dare not enter underground." Blossoming Strokes nodded at Jiang Wei.

Give Me Medicine and Qin Guan silently stared at Jiang Wei.

Not just Unceasing Entropy.. but you are joining in as well?

Jiang Wei paid no attention to the men's petty jealousy and continued discussing with Blossoming Strokes, "But for the quest we need to complete, the protagonist 'Morris' is obviously an exception. His parchment, on which he seemingly scribbled in a flurry, was left on the staircase at the entrance. That can be interpreted as him reentering the underground passage, don't you think?"

The two continued to search throughout the shelter as they discussed, but unlike the others who rummaged randomly, they seemed to have a clear purpose, lingering only in certain key areas.

"I think so, too. The protagonist 'Morris' should be the last person among the townspeople to enter the underground passage. However, there is very little crucial information, so we can't determine the exact reason. We can only.. Ahhhh!" Blossoming Strokes pushed aside two stacked empty crates, only to be startled by the sight behind them.

Give Me Medicine and Qin Guan hurriedly rushed over with concern, and then also let out astonished exclamations.

The wall behind the crates had been hollowed out, creating a cavity the size of a suitcase.

Within the cavity was a contorted body.. that one could barely discern was a corpse of a man in a shirt, vest, and overalls.

Blossoming Strokes couldn't really handle scenes of horror and suspense and backtracked several times—being a skeleton and not being afraid of skeletons were totally two different things!

Qin Guan steeled himself and cautiously approached the male corpse to extract the crumpled parchment from its hand.

The handwriting on the parchment was extremely sloppy, completely different from the neatly written one found by Give Me Medicine, but at least it wasn't as messed up as the one found at the tunnel entrance. The partially formed font could still be deciphered, and the system managed to translate most of the contents:

"Dear Anna,

"I can't remember how many days I've been in Taranthan. Perhaps it's been two hundred, maybe three hundred days. I don't know anymore. (blurred handwriting)

(missing contents)

They all think I've gone mad, but I know I'm not crazy. (blurred handwriting) They are the ones who are definitely messed up, not me!

It all started when the farmer's son, Bierda, claimed to have heard distant yet distinct maniacal laughter. He claimed that the laughter seemed to come from the edge of the world yet, at the same time, from under his pillow.

I suspected Bierda had betrayed the Goddess of Prosperity, but he vehemently denied it. So I brought him back to my residence and insisted that he spend the night under my watchful eyes.

This devotee had turned heretic despite being blessed by the Goddess of Prosperity. In the dark night, there was maniacal laughter.. but this laughter didn't come from anyone but Bierda himself!

Bierda lost control before my eyes, laughing maniacally and attacking me. (blurred handwriting)

Everyone, including Yalyn who lives next door, denied hearing Bierda's terrifying laughter. They suspect that I killed Bierda out of personal grudges.

I didn't want to embarrass Yarlyn, so I resigned from my position as sheriff. But I absolutely didn't kill anyone for any dishonorable reasons. I'm all alone, but I hope to have your support.

Soon after, I also heard the laughter."

Qin Guan shivered and handed the letter to Blossoming Strokes.

Blossoming Strokes finished reading the contents of the letter, and though she knew it was just a game, she couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine. "Goodness, are the developers insane? Is this supposed to be a quest or a horror game? Are those who can't take horror not eligible to do quests?!"

In the town hall, Yang Qiu remained unperturbed despite being on the receiving end of this female player's berating.

She's cursing the developers, so what does that have to do with me, Lord of Taranthan and Black Mage, Yang?