Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  A green Goblin with polished armor was laying down on a clean stone slab.

  He closed his eyes in serenity. The word “Peasant” was above his head.

  A few Goblins walked quickly past him.

  “Yesterday was tiring. It was tiresome to mentor the novices.”


  “Those silly dudes didn’t dare to touch the train after seeing the Beetlemon stomp Goblins to death. Hahaha.”


  “We don’t need to mentor the novices today. Let’s go to the Ancestral Ruins to carry bricks.”


  “Shall we exchange our mission loot for rewards? There are many foreign Second Beta Gamers. If they go in and take our loot away, we’ll lose big time.”


  “You’re right.”


  “Let’s ask Arthur and NotWearingPants and see what they say.”


  “I just got online. Let me do my Daily Mission of carrying bricks.”


  “Go ahead, but make haste.”


  The sound of a chatting group faded into the distance.

  Peasant, who was on the ground, opened his eyes abruptly. Then, he sat up noisily as his armor scraped together. The Kite Shield at his side was pushed away.

  Peasant looked at his surroundings. A few Goblins were searching the row of huge chests placed along a wall. They had the title “Elite First Beta Gamer” in their names.

  There were yelling and the noisy grinding of the rocks outside.

  The room was 200 square meters of empty space. It was surrounded by a half-built wall, and there was no ceiling.

  A water jar was placed at a corner. Peasant stood up and walked towards the water jar.

  The water in the jar was dark and dirty. Peasant didn’t mind. He scooped some water out to wash his face. Then, he went out with his dirty face.

  The spot without any wall was most likely the door.

  “Veteran!”


  Peasant was stopped by the call as he walked out. He saw three rather clean Goblins with the names, Dragonborn, TakeASpearHit, and SealHeadLingChong.

  The Goblin who called out was TakeASpearHit.

  Peasant braced his chest and asked confidently, “What’s up?”


  “Veteran! Bring us to visit the home of the Pioneer!” TakeASpearHit requested.

  “Home of the Pioneer?”


  Peasant was taken aback. SealHeadLingChong pointed at the signpost at the construction site and said, “This is the one. It’s written on the signpost.”


  The signboard had the words “Home of the Pioneer” on it.

  “Gosh, who installed this signpost? Hemp Rope Technology?” Peasant cursed and looked at the Second Beta Gamers. They were full of anticipation.

  “Follow me.”


  The three gamers followed Peasant and entered the only building that belonged to the gamers in the entirety of Eternal Kingdom.

  “This is the Level 1 Main Hall. That is the water jar for washing. The underground water well is at the flowerbed. If you stay away from Little Fairy, you won’t be spat at. That is the storage chest for everyone’s use. Once we complete the three higher levels and two basement levels, we’ll allocate single rooms, and each gamer will have a personal storage box. Those beds are stacked to save space. Once there’s sufficient space, we’ll use the beds. The stacked furniture was found by us. As space is limited, we’re not using them now.” Peasant completed his introduction.

  Dragonborn said, “That’s awesome……”


  Peasant was feeling very proud.

  “It’s alright. We’re now busy with the Instance Dungeon and have no time for our homes, otherwise, they would look more presentable. Do you know Specter College? That’s the Instance Dungeon with an ultra-high difficulty.”


  “Can we join?”


  “I’ve seen the veteran gamers challenging the Instance Dungeon on the forum, it’s awesome. Are the Skeletons getting more and more powerful?”


  The three of them surrounded Peasant and shouted, “Veteran!”


  Peasant was full of himself as he looked at the three gamers and said, “You haven’t fought the Underground Spiders, have you? I intend to raid the Ancestral Ruins for treasure today. Forget it, I’ll bring you to see the Underground Spiders.”


  Peasant led the three gamers proudly to the train……

  Hundreds of gamers gathered at the plaza of the Training Ground. The chattering voices were loud, and nobody could hear clearly within three meters.

  There was no chatting system in Eternal Kingdom. The activities such as socializing, transactions, and forming teams depended on shouting.

  “The Novice Skills Training Ground is full! Pleading the veterans to teach the novices how to fight! Paying 50 yuan per hour. Willing to pay first—!”


  “First Beta Gamer mentoring novices in beginner’s combat training! Two hundred bronze coins or 200 yuan per person! The session lasts until noon! Limited to ten novices only!”


  “Forming teams! Hunting Spiders! For First Beta Gamers only! Not for Second Beta Gamers!”


  “Selling beginner’s standard equipment! There is equipment with and without improvement! Can pay with Renminbi or game currency! Rich novice gamers, look for me!”


  “Selling Bone Backpacks! One thousand Renminbi for one! First come, first serve!”


  “Selling creature parts! Selling creature parts!”


  “Waaaaaaa—!”


  “What! It’s you again!”


  The gamers were shouting while doing transactions or forming teams.

  Dragonborn and his companions followed behind Peasant. In front of Dragonborn were the fully armed Peasant, BurningChestHair, and Sylvanas.

  The Training Ground plaza was filled with Goblins who were wearing underpants. There were about 30 to 40 Goblins with armor.

  A male Goblin, SoftCandyGirl, who was wearing underpants and wielding a rock in his hand shouted in his firm male voice, “If the veterans don’t mentor us, we novices will form our own team! Those who are not fearful of death, bring your rocks!”


  Behind him stood an excited LeatherBear and FatHadesTiger, who were both wielding rocks. They were obviously a team.

  Surrounding them were a few Second Beta Gamers who were watching them intensely.

  Dragonborn and his companions followed Peasant’s group and walked over. BurningChestHair said softly, “Gosh, they don’t have any equipment. Are they on a suicide mission? Fighting the Spiders with rocks?”


  “If they bring along the equipment, won’t it be lost as well?”


  Peasant smiled and said, “I can’t stand it, hahaha. I remember the mass suicide that we had two months back.”


  The three veterans chatted merrily while the three novices whispered to each other.

  “That’s pretty strong. Isn’t that the Short Bow from the Merchant Band? Only ten in the game!”


  TakeASpearHit said with envy, “They are the Leader’s Helmet and Cramer’s Dagger. Both of them are Purple Legendary equipment. They are very rich!”


  SealHeadLingChong said, “The wealthiest is Veteran Arthur. He obtained three Purple pieces of equipment by paying 1,000,000 yuan. That’s super cool.”


  Dragonborn listened to both his companions and nodded as he followed their shoutings of “Veterans, Veterans.”


  The word he uttered most in the morning was “veterans.”


  The six of them walked through the Training Ground plaza and arrived at the Main Entrance of Eternal Kingdom.

  This was the only tunnel out of Eternal Kingdom.

  There were fewer gamers at the Main Entrance since most of the Second Beta Gamers were either carrying bricks or, if they were rich, buying equipment with purchased game currency and learning combat skills at the Training Ground.

  Or they would be at the Training Ground plaza negotiating a good bargain for the equipment. For a good price, the First Beta Gamers were willing to sell their stockpiled equipment.

  The Main Entrance was the way to the Spiders’ Lair, which looked dark and terrifying.

  Eternal Kingdom looked better since Bru provided lighting at many places. Of course, it couldn’t be compared to the simulated sunlight of Winterfell. But, when compared to the Underworld tunnels, Eternal Kingdom was much brighter.

  Dragonborn gazed at the huge and dark tunnel. TakeASpearHit shivered and looked at Peasant as he said, “Gosh, you veterans are awesome! During the First Beta Test, when there was no train, did you walk along the tunnel? That’s very brave!”


  Peasant puffed up his chest and said proudly, “It’s alright. We’re just a tad bit braver.”


  BurningChestHair smiled and said, “This is child’s play. You haven’t been to Specter College and the Spiders’ Lair. You’ll find the tunnels too mild.”


  “Let’s stop chatting. The train’s here,” Sylvanas said, and Dragonborn gazed into the dark tunnel.

  A huge Beetlemon was charging towards them. There were many green creatures sitting on the top shell of the Beetlemon. Occasionally, a few Goblins would fall off and vanish in the gray mist kicked up by the running Beetlemon.

  Within a few seconds, the rumbling sound of the Beetlemon running towards them was heard.

  Though it was the second time he saw the Beetlemon, Dragonborn’s hand started trembling with excitement……

  The tall and suave Devil Lord, the NPC Skeleton who could revive Goblins, the Blackiron Dwarves who served as Blacksmith and Chef, the Gnome Skills Trainer, Little Fairy who despised them, the large and strange Beetlemon, the mystical Dungeon, and the gigantic unknown Underworld……

  Only now could Dragonborn fully understand what the First Beta Gamers were saying on the discussion forum.

  [This is a game, but this is not a game. Welcome to Eternal Kingdom. Your second life starts now.]