Villain Ch 76. Overcrowded Dungeon

The clock on the wall ticked past 06:00 PM when he finished his work, crafting the perfect story for his readers. A long exhale came out of his mouth as he leaned back in his chair and stretched his muscles, he felt a sense of satisfaction wash over him. He had just posted two new chapters of his latest novel, and he knew that his readers would be eagerly waiting for the next update.

These chapters had been something he had been preparing for days. Every word, every sentence, and every paragraph had been carefully crafted to perfection at least for him. He had edited and proofread, making sure that every detail was just right before he hit the publish button. It had become a habit, a part of his daily routine that he couldn't do without.

Looking at the window, he gazed out at the cityscape below. The bustling streets were alive with the sounds of honking horns and rushing feet. He loved the city, with all its noise and chaos. It was a place where anything could happen.

Allen's eyes drifted from the city view to the cup of tea on his desk. It was still half full. He realized he had been so engrossed in his writing that he had forgotten to drink it. He walked over to the cup and picked it up, feeling the bit of warmth still emanating from it. He drank it and slowly made his way to the kitchen, relishing in the feeling of the cool tiles under his bare feet.

As he approached the kitchen, he took in the scent of the fresh air freshener that still lingered in the air. He carefully placed the cup in the sink, watching as the remnants of the tea swirled down the drain. He ran the faucet and washed the cup, the sound of the water providing a calming backdrop to his thoughts in this empty apartment.

Returning to his seat, he noticed the notification icons on his laptop screen. He knew what it was and clicked. His screen changed. He scrolled down and read the comments at the bottom of his new chapters.

Tom_Bre : Seriously?! Another cliffhanger? Do you want to kill us, author?

Willy_Tex : I swear the author is sadistic. He simply loves to torture us *Cry*

While the other simply sent a GIF of a man holding his phone in anger. The text below the pic said 'I will find you and I will kill you.'

He knew those were jokes though and they weren't really mad at him. Except for the cliffhanger thing.

Quickly, he replied to their messages.

NotAGod: It's just a coincidence, guys *Innocent grin emoji*

Yeah, NotAGod was his pen name.

A reply came right after.

Willy_Tex : You said the same thing in the last chapter *Flat stare emoji*

'Opsss...' he thought. Since he couldn't say anything else, he decided to reply with another GIF of a nervous man sweating profusely and logged off, pretending that he had a life other than writing and the gym. Well, he was now.

Allen reached for his phone, eager to check his Discourd server. This was something he always did after posting his latest chapters. He knew that some of his readers preferred to leave comments and feedback on Discourd, rather than on the comment section of the website. But he found something else.

As he unlocked his phone, he was surprised to see that he had a flood of notifications from the group chat, as well as an email.

He hadn't noticed any of this before, as he always put on his headphones and blasted loud music whenever he wrote. It was his way of blocking out the distractions of the outside world, allowing him to fully immerse himself in the story he was writing. He would avoid checking his phone at all costs, knowing that it would only serve as a distraction.

With a sense of trepidation, Allen opened the chat app and scrolled through the messages. His frown deepened as he saw that most of them were talking about a sudden event that was going to be held at 8 o'clock. Some of the girls had even tagged him, urging him to check his email and respond as soon as possible. It seemed that the game developer needed a quick answer, and they were counting on Allen to come through.

Feeling curious and slightly uneasy, Allen decided to check his email. This was odd, as Kafra and the game developer had promised to send out an email at least 12 hours before the event. That way, everyone would have enough time to make a decision. Yet, this email had only just been sent an hour ago.

Allen's heart skipped a beat in excitement as he read the email. It was an invitation to participate in an urgent quest - something that he had never experienced before. The reason for the quest was stated clearly in the email: Ilude's Underwater Dungeon had become too crowded, with rooms 1 and 2, in particular, being the most problematic. The increase in player traffic during the night was causing a number of issues, and Kafra needed Allen's help to solve them.

Meanwhile, there were other dungeons in nearby cities that might be worth exploring. The city next to Ilude, Ront City, for example, had an underground dungeon that was actually located in the city's sewers. Most of the enemies there were worms, and bugs monsters â€" something that related to the sewer bugs. And yet, despite the good drops, players barely glanced at it. Similarly, there was a dungeon located in the Gorroc desert, only two maps away from Ilude town. The drops were good, and the monsters were mostly limited to a few types of ants and sand rats. The developers had deliberately made it this way so that low-level players could level up quickly. And yet, it was only Ilude's Underwater Dungeon that seemed to be overflowing with players.