Doctor Demon

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry for the slow updates! I got my second vaccine dose and have been ill ;-;

I'll give a mass release tomorrow <3

....

*In the Game*

"Oi Hamlet! Go faster would ya?" Doggy yelled.

"I will if you can just get off my back!"

"Are you kidding? What if I get hit by a bomb? I love my life too!"

"You're a demon and you can't die!"

"Well, it still hurts and I like to live a painless life, thank you very much."

Hamlet groaned. They were at the underground tunnel, slowly making their way towards the enemy's base camp. They heard the loud explosions above which caused the ground beneath them to shake roughly. Doggy was latched on to Hamlet's head, not letting go.

"Where's the enemy anyway?" Doggy asked. "I don't see anyone."

"You would if you go ahead on your own instead of sticking to me!" Hamlet said in annoyance. "Get off me!"

"No. I like it here."

Hamlet groaned and picked up his rifle, keeping an eye out for any enemies. Pink Thunder should be penetrating the enemy's base camp and once he reaches there, they should be able to use a cheat code to gain more levels. 

He was alert for any enemies who may appear. The tunnel was long and dark with a strange stench lingering in the air. There were no people in sight but enemies could come out and attack at any moment. Every step echoed throughout the long tunnel so he took off his shoes and tied them around his neck to avoid making any noise.

"This place gives me the chills!" Doggy claimed. "It's so creepy."

"Aren't you from Hell?" Hamlet frowned. "Isn't that place a thousand times worse?"

"This silence reminds me of Hell," Doggy muttered. Hamlet could not make heads nor tails of what he meant but judging from Doggy's voice, he assumed it was a sensitive topic for him. They ventured further into the tunnel, looking out for enemies.

Suddenly, they heard the shuffling of feet. Hamlet ducked behind a connecting tunnel, away from sight. 

"Who are they?" Doggy hissed. They peered from behind the tunnel to see a couple of other players who were from one of the enemy camps. They were casually walking around but their levels were on their heads. 

"Level 15?" Hamlet frowned. The guards were talking amongst themselves.

"Did you hear that the leader made a deal with the higher levels?" One of the guards was saying. "SJS' group."

SJS? SJS66? They listened in closer.

"That little git?" the other guard laughed. "He's all mighty on the web but I heard that in real life he's a loser! Lives in his mother's basement."

"Really? What a loser! Where does he live?"

"I don't know," the other guard replied. "He's got crazy security. Hard to tell where he lives. But I think our leader knows. They seem to be friends in real life."

The guards kept on chatting as they walked. Hamlet and Doggy waited until they were completely gone from sight before emerging out from their hiding spot.

"Did you hear that?" Hamlet asked. "Their leader might know where SJS66 is!"

"Lives in his mother's basement!" Doggy scoffed. "What an idiot."

"Let's follow them."

"Are you mad? What if we're attacked? We're still Level One players!"

"So what? I'm sure I can take out a lot of those idiots. Let's go!"

Despite Doggy's protests, Hamlet marched ahead, silently following the guards. They were up ahead, still talking. The guards did not seem to have noticed their presence as they made their way to the base.

"Well, I guess there's no enemies here," one of the guards said. "I don't see any."

"Yea-"

WHACK!

Hamlet and Doggy hit them on the head, causing both the guards to fall to the ground, unconscious. 

"I'll take one of their uniforms," Hamlet declared.

"Hey! What about me?" Doggy frowned. Hamlet looked at his tiny size.

"Do you think you'll fit into their uniforms?" he asked warily. Doggy pouted in a corner as Hamlet changed into one of the guard's uniforms. He took out a small gadget which all the players owned.

"Activate cheat code 15009," he instructed. The gadget froze for a second before coming to life.

"Cheat code activated," it declared. "You are now a level 15 player."

The number above him changed from Level 1 to Level 15.

"Woah!" Doggy gaped. "Can it do that?"

"Yep," Hamlet replied. "But each person can use it only three times. That too up to twenty levels. We gotta be very careful in using these."

Cookie had given them clear instructions. The gadgets in their hands were their lifelines and also their only way to communicate with each other. Each group had one but the other groups did not know what the gadgets did. The gadget given to their group showed them their inventory, their player locations and thanks to Cookie's tweaking, it can change their levels up to twenty levels. But the codes could be used only three times. Hamlet already used up his and he would have to be very careful in using his next turns.

"Let's go!" Doggy declared but Hamlet grabbed him and stuffed him in a bag.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? I'm an elite, ya know!"

"Shut it!" he hissed at Doggy. "I can't take you up there! You're still in level one. If the others see you, they'll attack us!"

"But this bag stinks!"

Hamlet rolled his eyes and began to climb out of the tunnel. Thankfully, Doggy had gone quiet inside the bag. 

Once he was outside the tunnel, Hamlet found himself in the middle of the base camp which was full of soldiers. In fact, there were too many soldiers. They were all lazing around or talking amongst themselves, unaware of Hamlet's existence. 

The place he was in looked more like a small town than army barracks. There were several shops with essential items, lined up on the sides. The shops were run by the players posing as army officers but some of the shops like grocery store and barber were run by AI. The guards were training or gossiping around a well situated in the heart of the town. There were too many people and it was impossible for four humans and a demon-dog to take them down.

He scanned the area, trying to read the situation.

"I'm guessing at least 500 soldiers," he muttered. "We'll need to take them out with tact, not by force."

He watched them, laughing and drinking. Several of them were around the well, dipping their cups into it and drinking the crystal clear water from it.

Bingo! Hamlet thought. The well!