On the forums, any thread posted by a beta tester generally racked up big reply and view counts — and if the content was directly tied to Dungeon: The Eternal Kingdom, those numbers went even higher. This 【OldMacDonald】 thread had a title that grabbed eyeballs all by itself: 【CBT1 PLAYER MEGA-LEAK! I Discovered a Shocking Secret Inside the Dungeon...】 Even Sharlock himself got puzzled — what earth-shattering secret of MY dungeon did you go and discover, exactly?
Sharlock clicked in, and the first thing at the top was a big image — a full-body shot of Goldmane the blacksmith, hammer in hand, shot from a dramatic low angle looking up. Clearly a posed pic.
【image】
Then came the body of OldMacDonald's post.
"Shiiiiit! I think I just accidentally discovered the next-phase hidden storyline in the Eternal Kingdom dungeon! Here's how it went down.
A few days back I was doing a mining quest for gold when I dug up a gold essence vein. Locke came over and paid me out — one silver coin (one silver = a thousand coppers, I got a little windfall!), a thousand rep, and a full weapon-and-armor set. Then... nothing else happened. The vein just sat there, and we can't mine it. At first I tried going at it with my new pickaxe, but the system wouldn't let me dig — every time I tried, it blocked me and popped a warning.
Obviously the vein's mining isn't unlocked yet — which means there HAS to be follow-up story coming! So I figured, maybe you need to finish some hidden quest to unlock the hidden storyline. I spent days experimenting, and I actually FOUND the hidden story!
Since it's an ore vein, I figured the blacksmith probably had something to do with it. So I started hanging around the smithy whenever I had nothing going on. Tried talking to Goldmane the blacksmith too — dude straight-up ignored me. BUT, one time I spotted a letter inside the smithy!
I'll just show you the letter's contents — I sneakily photographed it:
【Big brother, I went to apply for a job at another dungeon a while back — still waiting to hear back. I just got home yesterday and received your letter. Lord Sharlock really summoned a hundred goblins as his servants?! He must be a really wealthy Dungeon Lord! Could you put in a good word for me with Lord Sharlock next time? It'd be a dream to come work at the Eternal Kingdom like you. Oh, right — the owner of "None Pricier" says a caravan leaves Frostlake City tomorrow to deliver a batch of pickaxes to Lord Sharlock, passing through your area, so Mom made me lug a bunch of pastries along for you. Do be careful out there on your work trip! When your three-month contract is up, are you renewing? I'm so jealous you landed such a good job — but I'll keep at it! You keep at it too, big brother!】
Now you all should see it, right? A caravan is about to come to our Eternal Kingdom dungeon! Here's my thinking: this HAS to be the follow-up story for the gold essence vein! That batch of pickaxes is for mining gold essence ore!
And if a whole CARAVAN is coming, we might even get to do business with them! We could pick up quests, stockpile special items, trade for rare items! Just you wait — the caravan storyline is about to drop any day now! Everybody start stockpiling your coppers and materials and everything else — you might be able to trade them for something great!"
【VolcanoStickPoker: A caravan's coming? Sounds like another big update wave incoming!】
【YasuoMainsAreTrash: Nice, nice. When the time comes, can somebody write up a guide for everything the caravan trades? I wanna see!】
【DerpDerp: I wanna plaaaay!!!!!!!!】
【DutchStealsBaron: Whoa, Goldmane the blacksmith has a little brother and a mom? The NPC backstory in this game is TOO detailed. Wonder if we can visit Goldmane's house someday. Wait — Goldmane's only working at the Eternal Kingdom for three months? I actually really like this NPC!】 This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
The NovelPhoenix posting belongs to the author's publication; this page copied its chapter without approval, while readers there support the creator.
【RustyJohnson: Wait till open beta, when Goldmane's vaporized a few dozen of your weapons — see how much you like him then.】
【HearthstonePlayer: Lmao, a few dozen weapons? Amateur hour. The weapons I've destroyed in MapleStory is worth a used BMW by now!】
【FarewellToTheNorns: Okay, NOW I believe the guy above.】
...
The thread had been up for less than half an hour and was already dozens of pages long.
Skimming through the thread, Sharlock finally had the full picture. He remembered that on his second day after recruiting Goldmane the blacksmith, the smith had recommended his little brother to him. This letter had obviously been sent by that brother — Goldmane must have left it lying around the smithy, and OldMacDonald had spotted it.
Sharlock hadn't expected a mere caravan visit to make the players this happy. But that raised a problem.
Sharlock hadn't originally given the caravan's arrival much thought. In his original plan, at most the caravan would show up, he'd have the players mine the gold essence vein, trade the ore to the caravan for magic stones, browse for anything worth buying, keep digging if he wanted something, and then he and the caravan would go their separate ways.
But judging by the players' attitude on the official site, the moment the caravan arrived they'd absolutely swarm it in a frenzy. All the questions that would bubble up — "Why won't the caravan take coppers?" "Where are WE supposed to get magic stones?" — would land on him to explain. How was he supposed to explain all that to these otherworld players? Just thinking about it gave Sharlock a headache.
Then there was the caravan side of it: these goblins were players from another world, and Sharlock didn't want that getting out just yet. But if the players went waving metal currency at the caravan and saying weird stuff, it was bound to catch the caravan members' attention — and then the players' secret might well be blown.
Clearly, some serious planning was in order. He couldn't let things get too complicated — that would be terrible for his dungeon's development.
Sharlock closed the forums, folded his arms, and thought. An idea came quickly, and he summoned "Bru" to hash out the plan — after all, "Bru" understood the other world's culture far better.
Bru listened quietly as Sharlock laid it all out, then pondered a moment and said:
"Your Lordship's meaning is to treat this caravan's visit to the dungeon as a game event — with Your Lordship picking out some not-too-expensive items, in large enough quantities, to serve as rewards, and letting the players trade resources like spider legs, spider silk, spider meat, or pelts and other produce from subterranean creatures to the caravan in exchange for those rewards?" The source of this chapter is g.com.
"Exactly, that's the plan. Rather than letting the players approach the caravan directly, I'd rather reach the caravan first, set prices on everything the players can trade for, and let them exchange materials for goods. Straight barter skips the magic-stone step entirely — and spares us the caravan wondering why my dungeon runs on metal currency as legal tender."
Sharlock nodded and said:
"We can write up this event and publish it on the official site — that'll keep the players' behavior in line. As long as they've got quests to do and reward targets to chase, they're happy campers."
"Come to think of it, it really is a workable plan. Your Lordship only needs to settle exchange rates with the caravan and remind them not to conduct any other dealings with the players — especially the gold essence vein, which must only be traded by Your Lordship yourself, or someone you designate." Bru still seemed a touch uneasy, and added as much.
"No need to worry on that front. Caravans dealing with dungeons run on strict principles — they will absolutely never trade with anyone but the Dungeon Lord or his appointed agent. Servants especially. It prevents dungeon folk from stealing treasures and materials to fence for magic stones."
The moment Sharlock finished, Bru followed up:
"Understood. Then we'll proceed as Lord Sharlock wishes. When the caravan gets close, I'll notify Your Lordship in advance. One caution: don't pick anything too expensive for the players to trade for. The caravan won't stay long, and if the goods are too pricey, there's simply no way the players could gather enough basic materials within a few days. Set an impossible goal and the players will get salty — and next thing you know it's 'goddamn devs' all over again. Besides, the caravan's cargo capacity is limited. Too many spider legs and spider meat, and they may not be willing to take it all."
Sharlock nodded. Bru had a point — the caravan's cargo capacity was a real constraint. They couldn't take unlimited amounts of basic materials either. The specifics would have to be negotiated in person once the caravan arrived.
With the plan settled, Sharlock — with Bru's help — got to work drafting a new announcement on the official site:
【Dungeon: The Eternal Kingdom — CBT1 Event Preview: The Frostlake City Caravan!】
【Dear players! Dungeon: The Eternal Kingdom's CBT1 has now been running smoothly for half a month! Over the course of the beta we have gradually opened up gameplay, functional NPCs, new systems, new zones, gear enhancement, and more — and tested game content including equipment, character fatigue, death penalties, combat, and so on. By all indications, player response to Dungeon: The Eternal Kingdom has been extremely enthusiastic. The entire dev team staff extends its thanks and delight — thank you for affirming our hard work!
And now, we proudly present a CBT1 event preview! The Frostlake City Caravan!
That's right — a caravan from the mysterious neutral city of Frostlake City, arriving at our dungeon in the near future for a stay of several days! During their stay, we will be opening an all-new event item exchange service, the first of its kind. For the exact items available for exchange, the announcements published on the official site will be the authoritative source. Please stay tuned, and... stock up on your wrist braces!】
Sharlock gave the event preview a full front-to-back check, confirmed it was error-free, and sent it out.