▪️PLAYERS UNDER SURVEILLANCE

Tomato led the exploration team of his guild, First Legion as they ventured deep along the rocky path leading to the depths of the underworld.

While walking, some players would also occasionally use their appraisal skills in order to identify newly discovered species, as they scrambled to collect detailed information about the underworld’s ecology.

They were doing this primarily because they had also taken up the sidequest [Monster Detection] which was a branching quest under the main questline of [Underworld Exploration]

The objective of this particular sidequest stated that players will needed to identify various species, including monsters, plants, and animals, for a total of 10 times in order to complete this quest.

And through this sidequest, the players had also finally managed to identify the giant ferns that preyed upon the small mouse-like monster from before. That particular carnivorous fern were actually called “Dark Purple Light Ferns” and were a type of magical plants that could prey on animals that entered their territory.

These ferns pose a significant threat to creatures below the Iron-rank but being magical plants, they also serve as excellent materials for magical purposes. However, the players’ current strength is still inadequate to overcome them, primarily due to being outnumbered.

However, they still kept an eye out and had plans to revisit the area after completing their exploration, intending to seek assistance from some NPCs.

In addition to [Monster Detection] there is also another sidequest called [Map Cartography] and this one is far more easier and simpler to do.

Whenever players pass through an area, a mini-map would then be activated, and the system will just automatically record their path. They only need to periodically use the skill [Scout] to scan the surrounding terrain and wait for it to be uploaded into the system.

As long as they are able to document a map encompassing an area equivalent to a radius of one kilometer, the completion of this sidequest is almost guaranteed.

At first glance, these two sidequests may initially appear rather simple, but they also demand quickness and accuracy.

Because once a player records and uploads a newly discovered species or map to the game system’s database, other players are now unable to perform the same recording anymore and thus must find new species and new areas instead.

This is Eve’s way of igniting the competitiveness amongst the players while also using them as reconnaissance in order to explore the underworld.

Even though she obtained some information about the underworld from the Spider Queen, Rose’s knowledge was rather limited and not as detailed or extensive compared to what the players had personally discovered.

Furthermore, this place is far from Eve’s main body and falls outside her jurisdiction. There is also a possibility that believers of other gods are currently present, which hinders her from freely using her divine power to scan the terrain. She fears that by doing so might alert the deities being worshipped by these creatures.

As a result, she now must rely upon the players since their consciousness are connected to Eve’s game system, and the information they gather is immediately transmitted to her and recorded into her own database.

Well… this method proves to be quite useful, and the players seem to thoroughly enjoy themselves while engaging in exploration. It’s a win-win situation, bringing joy to all parties involved.

However if they want to complete the main questline [Underworld Exploration] then they must accumulate and successfully complete a total of fifty sidequests!

Evé has calculated that, considering the maximum exploration distance currently available to the players, completing fifty [Map Cartography] sidequests would encompass all the areas reachable by players within the underworld…

However, completing fifty sidequests is not an easy task. This quantity cannot be achieved by just one or two people.

Hence, this is where the advantages of being part of a large guilds come into play—having greater numbers and larger teams!

In order to complete this questline, Tomato organized all the top players of his guild, First Legion, totaling over a hundred people. They synchronized all their schedules and deliberately selected a specific night on Earth to assemble and embark upon the exploration together as a full raid-party.¹

Tomato took the lead, guiding his guild members as they walked for approximately three kilometers, eventually bypassing the unsettling dark purple forest.

However, as they ventured further, Tomato’s inexplicable feeling grew increasingly intense. He constantly sensed a lurking presence in the darkness, as if they were being watched…

As First Legion’s highest-ranked player, he maintained unwavering faith in his sixth sense.

After a moment of hesitation, he turned to the hunter responsible for frontline reconnaissance in the team and asked, “Little Eight, have you detected any nearby creatures? I constantly have this feeling that we’re being watched.”

A hunter with the username with chinese characters “八霸” (Eight Overlord) on his head cast a few [Detection Spells] and said,

“Guildmaster, I have detected quite a lot of biological auras. It’s possible that some mobs have noticed us. However, it seems there aren’t any creatures with strong auras nearby, so I don’t think we need to worry.”

“Is that so…”

Tomato muttered.

After speaking, he then glanced at the username hovering above Little Eight’s head and inadvertently twitched his mouth, “By the way, I suggest you change your username. Otherwise, calling out to you always feels like we’re at a disadvantage…” ²

Eight Overlord: “……”

“Hahaha!”

The players burst into laughter after hearing it, and the team continued to advance in a cheerful manner after such lighthearted banter…

Once they had navigated past the dense groves of dark purple giant ferns, they finally came across an expansive mushroom forest that obstructed their way.

The smallest of these mushrooms stands three meters tall, exhibiting an eerie light blue color. The mushroom caps also shimmer with a deep radiance, rendering the surroundings exceptionally beautiful. Underneath the mushrooms lies a bed of soft darkened brown soil.

Upon their arrival, the players also noticed some monsters in the distance.

These creatures were small in size and can ran swiftly, darting between the mushrooms, all the while attentively observing the passing elves.

Unlike the monsters on the surface, they noticed that the majority of the underworld’s monsters are generally more dull in coloration, as if they want to blend in with the environment, and they tend to be more hideous in appearance as well.

Some players, driven by a sudden impulse, also ventured into the mushroom forest to hunt.

One particular player was a hunter with incredible speed. He easily caught up to a monster and killed it instantly. Subsequently, he discovered that these monsters lacked formidable strength which surprised him a little.

“Aren’t there supposed to be many monsters here in the underworld? I dunno but it feels rather… peaceful instead.”

He wondered aloud in a skeptical manner.

Just as he was finished speaking, the ground then suddenly shook, before a massive claw emerged underneath the spot where this player currently stood.

Amidst the horrified gaze of all the players, a grotesque, giant scorpion-like monster emerged from the ground and snapped this particular player in half with its pincers, scattering blood and innards before dragging the player’s disemboweled body back into the earth…

All of this happened in less than a few seconds.

And a little bit farther away, the same giant scorpions also appeared one after another, and there seemed to be nearly a hundred of them!

However, after realizing that their target had already been preyed upon by one of their companions, these giant scorpions quickly burrowed into the soil, restoring everything to its original state…

Meanwhile, several smaller monsters who had also seen the spectacle eagerly swarmed over, competing to devour the flesh and innards that the dead player had spilled down on the ground, quickly erasing all traces of it, and then resumed leisurely wandering through the mushroom forest…

As if… nothing had happened just now.

“What the hell!”

“What the hell!!”

The players who witnessed the events unfold in a matter of seconds were left dumbfounded.

Tomato’s expression shifted to a serious one, but suddenly his eyes sparkled with a bright realization.

“It’s not that there are no powerful monsters around, but rather they are hiding underground instead… Those weaker monsters may have been intentionally left by them as bait to attract prey!”

When that giant scorpion appeared, he quickly appraised it and determined that its strength was higher than that of an Iron-rank.

Considering the level of strength they possessed, if these creature were simply a mindless monster, then it wouldn’t be impossible for them to hunt down these mobs and exploit their weaknesses.

Taking a deep breath, Tomato exclaimed excitedly:

“Brothers, let’s get to work! Let’s lure out one or two of these mobs to test the waters first!”

One of their objectives in exploring the underworld was to find more monsters to level up themselves!

Not to mention, these giant scorpions are blocking their way!

Upon hearing the command of Tomato, the players belonging in First Legion immediately became excited and began to form various parties according to their usual battle formation when hunting monsters in the Elven Forest.

Firstly, the mages began chanting spells and released explosive magic in a corner of the area, aiming to aggro the monsters scattered around the vicinity.

Of course, these players were also prepared to run away at any given moment because sometimes they might not just aggro one mob but rather an entire group of them.

If such a situation were to occur, then it would turn into a competition to see who could run the fastest.

However, this time they were very lucky.

With just one Fireball spell, the ground was blasted into a big hole, instantly angering three giant scorpions.

As suspected, these mobs lacked sentience and relied solely upon their instincts. They immediately emerged from the ground, no longer concealing their forms, and launched an attack on the players…

Tomato eyes lit up as he shouted,

“We agrro’d three mobs! Divide into three teams, with each party battling one scorpions!”

“Tanks keep holding the aggro! Druids, prepare your healing! Melee players, engage in CQC and disrupt the enemy, while ranged players provide support for the DPS!” ³

“After one round, switch formation and shift into ranged burst attacks instead, with melee players providing backup for the snipers!”

“One round after another, let’s see which formation does more damage! Also mages… prioritize fire and light attributes spells!”

Having fought against monsters every day, the guild First Legion had gained a wealth of experience, especially in terms of multi-party raids. Although they had never encountered this scorpion-like mob before and were unfamiliar with its habits and combat mechanisms, they knew that by following their proven leveling routine in Elven Kingdom a few times, they would eventually find a solution, even if it meant losing a few lives along the way.

There are so many giant scorpions lurking here, enough for them to level up their entire group!

Soon, hundreds of First Legion members divided themselves into a raid-party consisting of three teams, with each team having 33 members being in six parties coordinating with one other.

They proceeded with their usual battle tactics and engaged in combat, with each team confronting one of the three scorpions…

While the players were engrossed in battle, a pair of piercing eyes emerged from a darkened cave along the rocky path, peering through a small hole in the wall.

There… seemed to be a narrow tunnel hidden there, with someone hiding inside, constantly spying on the players.

It was a small figure dressed in dark grayish clothes, watching the players who were excitedly battling the giant scorpions with surprise and astonishment in his eyes.

However, before long, the figure flickered and vanished.

The players engrossed in battle did not notice that someone had just been spying on them just now.

However, Evé, who was continuously switching between the perspectives of the players, noticed the presence of this figure spying on them.

“Was that… a Dark Dwarf just now?”

A hint of interest arose within her heart.

¹ Raid-Party – A gaming term wherein a group of people who attack a certain place or group. A Raid-Party is typically an assembly of many party coordinating as one big group.

² the chinese character ‘八霸’ also sounds like ‘爸爸’ baba which also means dad in chinese.

Disadvantage because of the usual family hierarchy (elders > juniors) and in china, seniority is an important factor. The joke’s context is that Tomato (which is the Guildmaster) is joking that it feels like him and the rest are in a lower hierarchical position (juniors) since they need to call Little Eight as ‘Dad/Baba.’

Of course the joke is delivered in a light-humored manner and not in a sarcastic way.

³ Gaming Terminology

▪️Tank – a tank is someone that draws attackers away from other players.

▪️Aggro – the triggering of an enemy attack or the state of being targeted by monsters.

▪️CQC – Abbreviation of close-quarters combat.

▪️DPS – a character capable of dealing massive damage.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep