Chapter 033: Big Shots

Although Wang Bo was more alert, he wasn't worried about dying here.

If it came to it, he could just sacrifice a few teammates.

Sacrifice parents, and your power knows no bounds.

Sacrifice teammates—it might not grant boundless power, but getting through this small dungeon shouldn't be a problem.

Wang Bo and his group moved through the dark cave; the team members rarely spoke, and when they did, it was only in hushed whispers. Apart from the sound of their own footsteps, there was almost no other noise.

The muffled thud of Gimli's dwarf boots, the light steps of Legolas, the nearly inaudible sounds of the hobbits, and Aragorn's slow, steady, long strides.

And of course, the footsteps of a large group of players, which were more chaotic.

When they stopped, there was no sound except for the occasional drip of water. But then Frodo suddenly spoke: "I hear something."

Gandalf turned to look at him. "What do you hear?"

Frodo said, "I hear a faint sound, like bare feet walking. It's never close enough or loud enough, but I'm sure it's been following us."

Gandalf nodded in understanding; he knew what that sound was.

The players also knew—it was the sound of goblins, or orcs, who had apparently been discovered by the monsters living here.

Gandalf didn't want to stay any longer and said loudly, "Everyone, hurry up and get out of here."

The players, without time to complain, quickened their pace. Soon, they left the sounds behind. After walking for a while, Frodo said, "I can't hear those sounds anymore."

Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We're safe for now. Let's rest a bit."

At that moment, the players received a notification that they were out of combat and could log off anytime.

Many players immediately logged off.

Gandalf wasn't too surprised to see the players leave, because he was just an NPC, not the real Gandalf.

Perhaps in his eyes, this was how players rested.

Asuna sat down beside Wang Bo and asked him for details about killing the Balrog. Wang Bo didn't hide anything and told Asuna that killing the Balrog hadn't been a fierce battle.

At that time, his strength had far surpassed the Balrog's; killing it was as easy as taking down a thug on the street—nothing worth mentioning.

Dr. Bravestone couldn't help but ask, "Was the world of The Lord of the Rings really created by Eru Ilúvatar?"

Wang Bo nodded and said, "That's right. Middle-earth was indeed created by Eru Ilúvatar. He is the God of that world, and he is terrifying."

Dr. Bravestone exclaimed in surprise, "You've seen Eru Ilúvatar?"

"I haven't seen Him in person, but I've seen Him act," Wang Bo said. "A traveler once entered Middle-earth—an evil god. He thought he could do whatever he wanted in that world, so he caused a huge mess. That angered Eru Ilúvatar, and that's when I saw Him act."

Wang Bo tried his best to describe the scene to everyone: "The sky split open, and two enormous fingers reached down from the rift."

"They were like pillars holding up the sky, so huge that the ten-thousand-meter-tall evil god was as insignificant as an ant before them. The two fingers pinched him to death effortlessly."

"I have no doubt that those two fingers could easily erase the Misty Mountains entirely, or even poke a massive hole through Middle-earth."

Everyone listened quietly to Wang Bo's account, involuntarily imagining the scene he described.

Yui Ikari said in a low voice, "That is indeed terrifying."

Asuna nodded.

Dr. Bravestone marveled, "Are all gods so powerful?"

Wang Bo shook his head and said, "There are differences among gods. Most gods are powerful, but not to that extent. Eru Ilúvatar is special because he is a single-universe-level god."

Asuna asked, "What does 'single-universe-level' mean?"

"It means a god who can create or destroy a universe. Of course, creating is harder than destroying, so Eru Ilúvatar is among the best even among single-universe-level gods."

Asuna couldn't help but turn to Lady Gremory. "Are you such a great god too?"

Lady Gremory shook her head and said, "I'm not that powerful. I can neither destroy nor create a universe. Of course, I can destroy a planet."

Asuna: ...

Did all big shots nowadays describe their power by destroying planets?

Can't mess with them, can't mess with them.

...

After a rest, the players logged back on one by one. When all the players had gathered, Gandalf stood up and announced that the rest was over and they should continue their journey.

Under his leadership, the Fellowship passed through the northern arch.

They found themselves in a wide corridor. As they continued forward, the faint light grew stronger, and they finally determined it was coming from a door on the right.

The tall door was half-open and could still be opened. Inside was a broad square room.

Although the light inside wasn't strong, after spending so long in darkness, it seemed dazzling. As they entered the room, they had to keep blinking.

Their footsteps stirred up a lot of dust on the floor, and at first, they couldn't see many of the things on the ground clearly.

The light in this hall came from an opening on the east side.

This opening slanted upward toward the sky, and through it, they could see a patch of blue sky. The light fell directly onto a stone table in the center of the hall.

It was made of a square stone pillar, about two feet high, with a large white stone slab on top.

It was a tombstone.

On it, in the languages of Men and Dwarves, was written: "Balin, son of Fundin, King of Moria."

When Gandalf read the inscription aloud, it was as if a mechanism had been triggered. The hall began to tremble, and one by one, spirits rose from the ground.

Undoubtedly, this was another change from the original storyline, a trap set by the designers to challenge the players.

Gandalf even said with great seriousness, "Be careful! Sauron has placed a curse here. The spirits of the Dwarves will become our greatest enemy."

The players found it both amusing and exasperating, but they all raised their weapons, aiming at the Dwarf spirits emerging from the ground.