Ark Volume 14 Chapter 2

ACT 2 Change Profession Quest

[Important Translator’s Note:

So I’ve finally received confirmation in this chapter that Jewel was a male all along. Therefore I will keep his name as Jewel but will be referring to him as male starting from this chapter. Previous chapters will be edited to reflect this. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Another change I’ve made is set to set.]

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“Hey, Baekgu.”

“B-Baekgu? Who is that?”

Albert who was lying on the ground looked up and asked. Ark replied with a shrewd expression.

“That is your name from now on.”

“B-but I am called Albert…..”

“Ohh, you don’t like the name I gave you?”

Albert flinched and retreated as Ark’s face tightened. He was still trying to keep his rebellious spirit? It didn’t seem like it at the moment……with his ears and tail drooping while the body was trembling. Albert entreated in a quivering voice.

“Yes, I understand.” Call me Baekgu or whatever you want. I’ll come whenever you call……”

‘Hmm, seems like my discipline was effective.’

Ark nodded with a pleased face. In fact, there was a reason he had beaten up Albert so intensely. In order to raise a pet dog, the relations.h.i.+p between Master and servant had to be made clear from the beginning. If he went easy on a wild animal in the beginning then it would become more difficult to tame later on. Albert was a member of the wolf species. Ark had no guarantee that he wouldn’t become rebellious later on. That was also the reason why he changed Albert’s name into one commonly used for dogs. Now Albert would remember today’s pain every time he was called Baekgu.

“Okay Baekgu. I don’t need to say it again, but from today onwards you will be Buksil’s pet dog. Do you understand? You’re rank in the group is at the very bottom. Naturally Buksil and my summons are your superiors. Understood?”

“Buksil…….”

Albert, no Baekgu growled Buksil’s name in a low voice. Although he had submitted to Ark, Baekgu was still a member of the wolf species. It would be fine if he was serving Ark who was the descendant of Hero Maban, but being the subordinate of a pig injured his pride.

“What’s with that look? Do you have a complaint?”

“Ah, no it’s fine!”

However, he immediately became a pet dog again as soon as Ark frowned. Ark stroked Baekgu’s head a little bit before looking at Buksil.

“Okay, okay. That’s a good dog. Hey Buksil. Do you have a problem with your subordinate? You’ll take care of Baekgu from now on.”

“Huh? M-me?”

“Of course. You’re the one who wanted some help.”

Although Baekgu was a servant, it would still cost money to feed him. The reason Ark wanted Buksil to raise Baekgu was so that all the expenses would go to Buksil. Buksil felt like crying after having the food expenses of Baekgu shoved on him, but he didn’t dare complain after seeing Ark’s previous violence.

‘d.a.m.n, as expected I couldn’t oppose Ark-nim.’

In the end Buksil was just left with regrets. In order to change the atmosphere, Ark clapped his hands.

“Now, let’s start working earnestly!”

“Huh? Working? What do you have left to do?”

“Well, there is one more important thing.”

Ark nodded with a serious face.

‘Huhuhu, now comes the happy epilogue after the happy ending.’

Yes, the really important information in fairy tales wasn’t the body. The part that always wowed the readers was what came after the happy ending. Did the nice and hardworking protagonist become rich?

‘However, the world isn’t as insignificant as portrayed in the stories. In reality, the hero would die after suffering miserably.’

It wasn’t possible to end a story with this as it would crush a child’s hopes and dreams. In the end, the only thing that gave hopes and dreams to children was a capitalist ideology! That was what Ark believed. Therefore he sought as much compensation as possible without any hesitation.

“Baekgu, have you lived in this castle for a long time? Show me every corner of this castle.”

Of course, his intention wasn’t to look around a vampire’s castle. It was in order to recoup so of the expenses he wasted on making Racard evolve.

“This is a guest room.”

“Wait a minute. Ohh, there are quite a few decorations here?”

Ark made Baekgu go around and place a red tag on many items. Then Buksil would pack anything with the red tag into his bags. In fact, Ark had a good eye after working part time in an antique store. It helped him grasp which items were worth money. If Ark was alone then he would carefully choose the items worth the most money. But now there was Buksil. Buksil had emptied all his bags before leaving Seutandal. Furthermore, as an NPC Baekgu also had a small backpack.

‘I don’t need to worry about bag s.p.a.ce.’

So Ark attached the red tags to items that were even worth 1 copper. Therefore Ark even took the forks, plates and knives.

‘This is a lot more than I thought it would be.’

Ark was especially impressed with the warehouse. In Dark Earth, it was difficult to find items other than decor. He only knew this later, but the b.l.o.o.d.y didn’t use weapons or armours. The b.l.o.o.d.y was a monster that used their claws or thick leather as equipment. Therefore a b.l.o.o.d.y would also drop claws or leather when they died. However, there was a considerable number of Moon rocks and general items in the warehouse.

“Karakul used to collect some of these items from the coast.”

That was the b.l.o.o.d.y’s explanation.

‘Huhuhu, Karakul is making me happy even after he died.’

Naturally Ark packed all the items stored in the warehouse.

‘Sheesh, there are no magic items. But I should get 600~700 gold if I dispose of all these items. That barely covers the cost of one summoning port but the income was better than I expected.’

“Ohhhh, my castle…..my castle…..”

Racard whimpered with tears in his eyes. Who would come to the house of their summons and then deprive it of all the household furniture? The Wolrang watched Racard with pity and muttered.

“This is the descendant of Hero Maban that Elder-nim has been waiting for?”

“Isn’t he different from what we heard?”

“Well…..I haven’t met Hero Maban either……”

The elder scratched his head with an embarra.s.sed expression. Ark heard their voices but he wasn’t embarra.s.sed at all. He didn’t know what illusions the Wolrang possessed about Hero Maban but didn’t a legendary hero also need to eat? In order to kill the devil, travel expenses were necessary. And this was a game which reflected reality. When a hero enters a house and breaks the jars to look for treasure, why wouldn’t a NPC become angry? There was only one reason why they would tolerate it!

“Huhuhu, it’s okay because I am a hero.”

Yes, heroes with the occupation of a legendary hero would get a free pa.s.s. In addition, Ark had a urgent reason that matched a hero.

‘Even the descendant of a hero has to save for the rental cost!’

Of course, he had money from selling the items from Magaro’s Laboratory and his booming stores so he wasn’t worried about the rental cost. But his a.s.sets would reset back to ‘0’ once the house was paid off.

‘I have to continue saving even 1 copper.’

Wasn’t Ark the descendant of one of the most legendary heroes in the game? Yet he still couldn’t forget about the quest compensation. Therefore Ark finished going through the vampire castle and found the Wolrang elder.

“Elder-nim, soon you’ll be away from the rule of the vampires and can recover your lost glory.”

“Ah, it is all thanks to you. On behalf of the clan, thank you.”

“Yes, the Wolrang family can now regain their former glory.”

Ark smiled while muttering the same thing.

‘Why is he repeating it?’

Then the elder coughed like he remembered something and spoke.

“Cough, I remember that I still need to give you a reward. But as you know, we’ve lived under Karakul’s rule for 100 years so we don’t have that much. So will this item be okay?”

The elder reached into his backpack and pulled out shoes made from silver leather.

‘Ohh, it’s a rare item!’

Ark’s mouth opened absentmindedly. As expected when the quest difficulty was B+, he received a rare item.

‘Although why is it footwear of all things?’

It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. Currently Ark was wearing the ‘Wind Spirit’s Boots.’ When considering the level restriction, Wolf’s Feet had better defense and options. However, the additional effects weren’t that much larger than what he was currently wearing. Besides, the Wind Spirit’s Boots had the Slide skill attached so he could utilize it better.

‘The Wolf’s Feet has the skill Jump? I can jump up to 10 metres? It isn’t something that I can utilize in battle. The cool down time is also 5 minutes. Well, it’s not possible for me to use the Wind Spirit’s Boots forever but I don’t know if I should change it yet. I’ll decide once I try it out in battle.’

Therefore Ark switched footwear for the moment. Suddenly there was a dinging sound and the information window appeared.

‘Set item! If this happens then there is no choice.’

Although ‘Cat Paws’ was a rare item and Racc.o.o.n’s Pith had the transformation ability, its defense was a lot lower compared to armour around level 200~300. There was also the effect which ignored the underwater penalty but he hadn’t been near water for a while. So there was a lot of times when he wanted to buy new leather armour from the auction site. The reason he hadn’t changed the armour was because they were set items. He thought the set item bonus was too valuable to change.

‘However, as my level increased then the defense from changing armour was higher than the set bonus so I was quite worried……’

He never thought he would find a set item in a place like this. Thanks to that his strength, agility, stamina and defense had increased from 10 to 20 so there was no need to worry about changing armours for the moment.

‘Yes, this is the additional effect with only four items…….’

If he completed the set then he would probably receive a huge effect. However, finding the set item was more difficult than he thought. Every day thousands of people connected to the information site looking for information about set items. Although they found one or two directly, the remaining items were bought at auction. Therefore Ark had half given up.

‘Wait, haven’t I received all the set items from the beast species?’

In addition, the name of the set was Animal King! Then wouldn’t the remaining set item be related to a beast clan?

‘Ha.s.san from the Meow said that there were quite a few beast species apart from the mermaids and rac.o.o.ns. I’ll have to ask Yggdrasil if he knows the location of any other beast clans. Anyway, now I’ve found four items. There is a high likelihood that I’ll complete it!’

“Thank you. I will use it well.”

“I’m glad that you like it.”

The elder had been worried that Ark wouldn’t like the item. However, those feelings disappeared at the sight of the child like Ark. Ark fidgeted with the boots before he suddenly asked.

“What will the Wolrang do now?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“Will you leave the Dark Earth?”

“Of course. After a long time…..no, for some of the clan this is the first time they’ve transformed into their original form. This is the true form of the Wolrang. The Moon Piece also belongs to the descendant of Hero Maban. If we remain in Dark Earth then we’ll be forced into that miserable human form again.

The elder shook his head violently at the thought of living like they had previously.

“Luckily, the Dark Earth is no longer an isolated place so we can go to the outside world. Of course it won’t be that easy. There are many among the Wolrang who have not experience the outside world.”

“Then shall I introduce you to a suitable village?”

Ark asked with eager eyes.

“A suitable village?”

“Yes, there is a village that I know very well on the continent. It is originally a human village but now the racc.o.o.ns and Meow live there as well. If the Wolrang don’t know the continent then it will be a good place to live.”

Of course, the village Ark was talking about was Lancel. Not long ago, the Baran evacuated from Seutandal had sought refuge in Lancel and the quest had been completed. Unfortunately, some of the immigrants left and the achievement was stopped at 98%. If the Wolrang moved there than his quest would finally be completed. However, the elder shook his head after thinking for a moment.

“No, it is a good suggestion but I’ll have to decline.”

“Huh? How come?”

Ark became confused as he thought they would accept.

“The Wolrang is a beast clan descended from wolves. After being trapped here by Karakul for 100 years, we realized the type of life we desire. To dash freely in an unknown world is in our instincts. We want to run around the continent that our ancestors protected and revitalize those wild instincts.”

“That would be a problem!”

“Huh? What do you mean? Are you in trouble?”

“Ah, no, I mean….”

Ark scratched his head with an irritated expression before sighing.

‘d.a.m.n, what is this? If I can make the Wolrang migrate then wouldn’t be long quest end? No, I have to do whatever it takes to make them move. A quest is a quest, but I received a huge benefit when I made the Meow and racc.o.o.ns move to the village.’

If the number of beast species in Lancel village rose then Ark’s influence would also increase. But was that all? Once they moved to the village, he could use them or the Meow as troops. Wasn’t the Wolrang’s combat power a lot stronger than the Meow?

‘I need to convince them somehow….. But the Wolrang are wolves. Furthermore, they don’t desire anything except….wait…..honour?’

Ark thought for a while and came up with a plausible excuse. Ark summarized his idea in a firm voice.

“There is a reason for the Wolrang to go to the village. Although I haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to worry the Wolrang, the continent is not as peaceful as it used to be.”

“It’s not peaceful?”

“Yes, this is information I learned while followed Hero Maban’s footprints. Several hundred years ago, the Dark Lord was defeated thanks to the 7 heroes. Unfortunately, he hadn’t completely disappeared. The Dark Lord is still hiding somewhere and there are several wicked villains trying to resurrect the Dark Lord through evil schemes.”

“W-what? The Dark Lord?”

“That’s correct. It is the reason why I’ve been frantically looking for Hero Maban’s legacy. As a descendant of Hero Maban, my fate is to stop those trying to resurrect the Dark Lord. But it is impossible with the power of one person. This is still a secret……I’ve gathered several beast clans in Lancel village in case of a crisis. Won’t the warrior beast clan help the descendant of Hero Maban?”

“Ohhh, you really are Hero Maban’s descendant!”

The elder spoke in a voice filled with admiration at Ark’s words.

“Honestly, I thought you weren’t really reliable after seeing your actions after Karakul died but you truly are Hero Maban’s descendant. Yes, so you did have a deep meaning. If you weren’t resolute then it would be impossible to defeat evil. A true hero wouldn’t worry about what other people think.”

“Yes. I’ll put up with the reputation of a stingy person in order to make preparations to save the world…..ugh!”

Ark wiped at his tears with an angry expression. Although Buksil and Racard looked like they were going to throw up, the elder started patting Ark’s shoulder with sympathy.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. The road of a hero is very lonely.”

“You understand?”

“I know, I know. We fought in the frontlines against the darkness yet we ended up being captured by a vampire. Why wouldn’t we recognize your n.o.ble intentions?”

“Thank you. Then moving to the village……”

“Well, the Wolrang can’t really refuse if that is your intention. But after living peacefully in a village, will we truly be able to help like our ancestors? Honestly, our strength right now might be more of a hindrance than a help.”

“T-that……!”

‘Why are you thinking about so many things?’

Angry welled up inside Ark at the elder’s response.

‘But the elder isn’t wrong……it would be better for the Wolrang to become stronger. But my settlers quest….…wait……settlers…… Don’t I just have to increase the number of residents registered to Lancel village? Then perhaps…..?’

Ark thought for a moment before immediately talking.

“Elder-nim is correct. But won’t it be a problem if I can’t contact the Wolrang after they find their wild instincts? So how about we do this?”

“What is it?”

“I’ll take the Wolrang back to Lancel village for the moment. After you become a resident of Lancel village, you can travel the continent. If you do this, wouldn’t it be easier for me to find you if there is a situation?”

It was like a false address registration!

“That’s right. There is such that method. Indeed, we were born in the Dark Earth so we haven’t seen any other beast clans. We also know nothing about the continent. Okay, we’ll do as you say. We’ll become residents of Lancel village when we head to the continent.”

In the end, Ark received the elder’s permission. At the same time, an information window appeared in front of Ark.

‘I did it! Now it is like the quest has already finished!’

“Then we will go back. We need to be prepared to leave for the continent.”

The elder led the Wolrang and returned to the village near the coast. Meanwhile Racard started to organize the place. The first thing Racard did was gather all the b.l.o.o.d.y scattered in the castle and was inaugurated as the Lord. Although there were only 300~400 b.l.o.o.d.y in the castle, others were dispatched to prevent the intrusion of other vampires so he actually had 800 b.l.o.o.d.y.

‘With this many b.l.o.o.d.y, there should be no need to worry about other vampire’s invading.

In fact, that was the main thing Ark was worried about. Racard had defeated Karakul who monopolized this area of the Dark Earth. In reality, Racard didn’t have the ability to defeat other vampires.

If that fact was revealed then the other vampires wouldn’t leave Racard alone. After Ark left, if other vampires asked for a duel then Racard would be beaten to death. The only lucky thing was the rule set by the Lord. Before applying for a duel, the other vampire had to defeat all the b.l.o.o.d.y and make his way up to the castle. However, Karakul had 800 b.l.o.o.d.y! That was a lot more than the surrounding vampires had. In addition, Racard also had dozens of slave monsters. In fact, the most unexpected thing was the reaction of the slave monsters.

“We……will continue to work at the underground area……if possible….”

When the inauguration ended, Flip spoke as the representative of the slaves.

Ark had learnt this while he was a slave, but the slaves had been there for at least 10 years while some of them had been trapped for 20~3- years. After more than 10 years in prison, they were more afraid of the outside world than the jail. This applied to all the monsters. Anyway, this place was Dark Earth. If they went outside then it was likely that another vampire would capture them in order to suck their blood. Of course, Racard was a vampire so he also had a thirst for blood. But as Ark’s pet, most of his meals were taken outside. Therefore they thought that Racard was better than other vampires. Now that the Moon Piece was gone, no more Moon rocks would appear. But small miscellaneous items and jewel still appeared in the ground so there was no reason to stop the monsters.

‘Huhuhu, I might come back to the Dark Earth later. Then I’ll take all of the items that the monsters had gathered.’

“Okay, it’s fine if you truly want to work in this environment.”

“We will work harder from now on!”

“Ah…..Master, always doing as you please…..”

Racard complained while rolling his eyeb.a.l.l.s but he settled down after one stare.

Now there was only one minor thing left to do.

Ark moved the registration place of the summoning port while Racard sent for the three baby bat siblings who had been waiting at the old place.

“Wow, wow! This is now our Lord’s place?”

“Huhuhu, Karakul was nothing compared to our Lord.”

“But Karakul seemed to have a surprisingly frugal nature. The castle is so big and wonderful but it has no decor.”

“Yes, he was like that……”

Racard scowled at Ark before replying. However, it was impossible for the baby bats to understand the circ.u.mstances behind Racard’s voice.

“Hmm hmm, our Lord doesn’t have to worry anymore.”

“Yes, we’ll defend the castle even if our Lord is summoned outside.”

“Newbie, watch over our Lord well. You should serve him better in the future!”

“Lord, please take care!”

However, Ark was already ignoring the nonsense from the baby bats. Ark had finally taken out the Moon Piece.

‘Okay, shall I begin now that everything is settled?’

How long did it take him to find the Three Marvels? It had been 1 year since he received the Star Fragment in the underwater city! He had finally found the last piece of the Three Marvels. Extravagant bonuses and skills are always given whenever he found a new fragment. However, the Moon Piece was different. He would receive extra abilities but it was also an item closely related to the Dark Walker’s second cla.s.s change.

‘No, it is obvious. The Three Marvels is an item for the 2nd cla.s.s change!’

That was the reason why Ark had waited before pulling out the Moon Piece. He didn’t want to treat something so important as a ch.o.r.e. Ark took a deep breath and grabbed the Moon Piece firmly. There was a small vibration and the information window appeared.

“Oh, Gift of Darkness III!”

Ark was in such a good mood he felt like screaming. As expected, the Moon Piece gave a tremendous bonus. The one Ark hoped for the most was Gift of Darkness III.’ So far it had increased every time he found a fragment so he had been hoping for an upgrade this time. As expected, the Three Marvels didn’t disappoint him. Now his dark attribute bonus was 50% to all stats! If he was a level 300 Dark Walker then he would gain 150 levels if he fought in the darkness! It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Ark clung to the Three Marvels because of the Gift of Darkness. But that wasn’t all. The Star Piece gave him Blade Storm, he learnt Dark Dance from the Dark Piece and now it was possible to learn Moonlight Shadow from the Moon Piece.

‘The skill isn’t that bad.’

Ark nodded with a satisfied expression after reading the information window. Moonlight Shadow was a skill which created a dummy. Ark had no area of effect attacks so he had only been able to fight a lot of monsters because of his pets. However, it became quite difficult when the numbers exceeded 10. If he faced them one on one then it was easy to take care of 20~30 monsters but it was harder when he was surrounded.

“Then wouldn’t I be able to escape when the monsters’ attention is attracted to the dummy? Well, it only has 30% of my health so it would be smashed in an instant after being surrounded by enemies. But it should become useful when combined with Dark Dance.”

He was quite satisfied with the abilities received from the Moon Piece. There was just one problem.

“What the? Is that it?”

Ark muttered while staring blankly at the Moon Piece. Three Marvels…….the characters literally spelt our Three Marvellous Treasures. Therefore wasn’t it impossible for there to be four or five fragments? Then why hadn’t information about the profession change appeared yet?

“What is going on? Don’t tell me that the Three Marvels is unrelated to a cla.s.s change and this is the end?”

And, of course, the idea that the Three Marvels was related to the second cla.s.s change was only Ark’s guess. In fact none of the Meow, mermaids or racc.o.o.ns had spoken one word about a cla.s.s change. They only said that Hero Maban’s power was hidden in the Three Marvels.

“No. No way…..it is impossible. No, this must be it. Radun, spit out the other pieces of the Three Marvels!”

Ssak ssak? Ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Radun spat out the other two pieces at Ark’s command. It happened when Ark held all three pieces of the Three Marvels in his hand. An intense light emerged from the Three Marvels and the pieces combined into one. Thus the Three Marvels which had changed into one disc returned to Ark’s hand again.

‘This disc must be the original form of the Three Marvels.’

Then a dim light shot upwards from the centre of the disc. The light turned into a strange shape.

‘What the? This shape? Where have I seen it before before……?’

Ark went through his memories before he remembered. It was the ‘Magic Eye.’ Although it seemed strange at first, after adjusting his eyes the light actually looked like a 3D image where a strange figure was floating. Then the original disc contained information about Hero Maban’s legacy like he expected? Ark had an idea and changed his focus. Like he thought, three dimensional forms started appearing. However, the colours were so tangled up like in a colour blindness test that it was impossible to figure out what the shapes were.

‘d.a.m.n, what is this? How about I supposed to look at these forms…..ah!’

“Eyes of the Cat!”

Ark instantly used Eyes of the Cat. Yes, Hero Maban was a Meow. If he created something only the Truthseeker could skill then the key would lie with the Meow. It was the Meow technique related to the eyes!

The environment changed to green while the various colours mixed together to form vivid letters.

I am Hero Maban of the Meow clan.

A long time ago, I fought with my colleagues against the dark existence trying to destroy the world. And we defeated him……is what I want to say but it is not the truth.

The dark existence was a lot stronger than we thought so all that we could do was use all our power to seal it. Although it is frightening, we guessed that the dark existence would be resurrected one day.

That’s why I scattered the pieces of the Three Marvels all over the world.

For the person who found this…..you will have to face the fearful darkness and confront the harsh edge……but I will give you the power to face the darkness. Although I’m leaving this message, I realize that it is difficult to face the dark existence with your current strength.

Darkness is needed to confront the dark.

Rather than the darkness of anger and insanity, this is the true power of darkness….. But there isn’t that much time for me to explain your destiny. That’s why I entrusted my powers to a friend who will live for eternity.

You’ll understand why you have to go there when you meet him.

If you are ready to accept that destiny……

You will find power when you understand the meaning of true darkness.

After the message ended, the colours mixed together and a new message formed.

Heaven and earth, life and death, find the place where they are reversed and follow the hero’s star path.

Look for the forgotten battlefield and let the scattered pieces of the moon from the top of the best seat lead you to the resting place.

The person who has forgotten the time in the true darkness will welcome you.

Then the writing changed again and a three dimensional map appeared. The recognizable terrain……it was a 3D image of Seutandal. One part of the map indicated the place where the first clue would be found. Surprisingly Ark knew the place that was indicated. It was the territory of the undead where the City of the Dead was located.

‘The last Three Marvels was in vampire territory and now I need to go to the land of the undead? Is this a coincidence? Or is it based on probabilities?’

No matter how realistic it was, New World is still a game. So the events that happened were arranged artificially. From his experience, unexpected incidents that took place in other games didn’t appear in New World. In order for an incident to spread, a certain event must have happened.

‘The reason Hero Maban’s legacy is hidden in the undead territory……what is it?’

Ark remained confused. Then there was a dinging sound and the quest information window appeared.

‘Quest to change profession!’

Finally, he received the quest to change to the Dark Walker’s second stage profession. Ark thought that he would change professions after finding the Three Marvels. He hadn’t expected to receive a cla.s.s change quest. He had already read all the notes regarding the quests that the people who had changed to their second profession posted. In fact, changing to the 2nd stage profession was a lot harder in New World compared to other online games because a prerequisite was required to trigger the quest. However, Ark had finally met the prerequisite and received the quest. The compensation for changing to his second profession would be huge!

‘It doesn’t matter if I change it today or tomorrow as long as it is resolved. Besides, I don’t understand the reason why it is in the undead territory.’

“Let’s go! Racard, Radun, Buksil and Baekgu.”

Ark set off at a lively pace. His next goal was Razak and his second stage profession!

——————————————————————————————————-

“d.a.m.n, nothing is going my way.”

Recently Jewel had become quite dissatisfied with his life. Jewel’s daily life had become really stressful after the failure of the Seutandal mission. If Jewel had managed to occupy Seutandal then the Hermes Guild would have enormous potential. And that huge mission had been appointed to a high ranking officer, Jewel. However, the results were different from the expected jackpot. Before the reinforcements that they spend 30 million on arrived, Jewel’s army had already been smashed to pieces. Who wouldn’t be mad after wasting 30 million won? But that wasn’t the only reason for Jewel’s anger. It had been over a month since Seutandal rose. But the Hermes guild was unable to enter Seutandal openly. Of course, the Hermes guild wasn’t officially banned from Seutandal. However, Haman fortress was the centre of Seutandal and it was currently in the control of the autonomous group led by JusticeMan and the Dark Brothers. They knew about the Hermes guild so it was difficult to step foot on Seutandal. Therefore the Hermes members had a lot of complaints. And their dissatisfaction was focused on Jewel who was in charge of the Seutandal mission. Therefore, Jewel status as the top 2 of the Hermes guild fell to the very bottom.

‘It’s all because of that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Ark!’

Jewel ground his teeth together and kicked a stone. Ark…..ah, why did someone so annoying exist in the world? It wasn’t necessary to explain the reason why. In the old days, Jewel had failed to win the Evil Silrion, the siege on Silvana failed and the conquest of Seutandal also failed because of Ark.

‘That’s not all. I broke up with my girlfriend a month ago, a lost my wallet a month ago and my mother started lecturing me yesterday. Everything is because of that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!’

Jewel paranoia had reached the stage where he might be recommended to undergo psychiatric treatment.

‘Anyway, I will never forgive him.’

Unfortunately, Jewel had no room for revenge at the moment. Although Nagaran had been quiet for a while because of the 5 coalitions, the clouds of war had started circling again. Thus Raiden had convened an emergency meeting of the alliances to deal with the situation. There was no room for Jewel to roam around looking for revenge.

‘In addition, I hate to admit it……’

He wasn’t a match for Ark anymore. In order to catch Ark, he needed a minimum of 10 people and a maximum of 15 people to do it. However, it was impossible for Jewel to take that many people away in this war situation. However……

‘While I’m stuck here, isn’t that Ark b.a.s.t.a.r.d carelessly running around?’

The thought was enough to make him bristle.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Jewel had been thinking furiously when something suddenly happened. A roaring sound echoed through the whole castle.

“What, what the? What is that?”

“Jewel-nim, it is serious!”

A guild member ran in and shouted at Jewel.

“There are people attacking the gate!”

“The gate? Somebody has invaded without declaring war?”

“No, there is only two people attacking.”

“Two? Only two people? Two people are attacking the gate? Then this sound is caused by only two people? Jeez, what are the guard NPCs doing?”

“I only heard the NPCs so I don’t know either.”

“…..What, what the, this is?”

Jewel opened his mouth after running towards the gate. There really was only 2 people attacking the gate. It was a barbarian wearing leather armour and an elf magician wearing silver armour. However, their behaviour exceeded Jewel’s common sense. Even time the barbarian swung his weapon, the gate’s endurance would fall like it had been hit by a catapult. Of course, there were also guard NPCs near the gate. Although they didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the sieges, the guard NPCs were given along with the servants. And the guards’ mission was to prevent trespa.s.sers. However, the guards couldn’t get near the barbarian.

“Ah, it’s really annoying.”

The elf magician sitting behind the barbarian waved her hand while yawning. Every time she did that, the guards would be thrown back dozens of metres.

“Redian, don’t kill them. It will become annoying if we kill NPCs in Nagaran.”

“Why is this stone head giving me advice? I know already.”

“Well, you’re always so fickle.”

‘Oh my G.o.d, these people are…..!’

Jewel watched the two people conversing with wide eyes.

‘Why are those people here? No, now is not the time to be doing this.’

“W-wait a minute! Bread hyung-nim, Redian noona, please stop!”

“Huh? What the, that is?”

The barbarian stopped swinging his sword as Jewel came running. Yes, the barbarian warrior and elf magician was Bread and Redian. They were hiding after killing dozens of tourists in Seutandal.

“How does he know us?”

Bread scratched his head while Redian poked out her tongue and replied.

“Have you already forgotten? This is Jewel who followed us around for a while in the old days.”

“Ah ah, that’s right. That guy was here?”

“Well, originally he was quite close to Raiden.”

“Heh, his habit of following other people around hasn’t changed.”

While Bread and Redian were flirting, Jewel gasped and said.

“Hyung-nim, noona, long time no see. But what are you doing here? No, why are you attacking the gate? Are you in a bad mood or something?”

“No, well, it’s not really a bad mood……”

Bread scratched his head while Redian bluntly replied.

“The guards said we had to go through all these formalities to get permission to enter from the Hermes guild. We became annoyed so Bread decided to just knock.”

“K-knock? That was a knock?”

Jewel looked at the gate with a bemused look. Although the gates could endure the catapults for hours, it’s durability had already been decreased by 10%.

‘Dammit, repairing the gate is expensive…….’

Anger welled up inside Jewel but he didn’t dare show it to the two in front of him. But Redian and Bread had no interest anyway.

“You came out anyway. Where is Raiden? There is something we wanted to discuss with him.”

“He is the castle’s Lord. What did you need…..”

“Do you want us to explain it again to each of you?”

“Ah, no. Then follow me.”

Jewel flinched and guided them through the castle. Finally they entered the office where Raiden spoke in an annoyed tone.

“What the h.e.l.l Jewel? Why was it so noisy…….?”

“Yo Raiden. It’s been a while.”

Raiden raised his head with surprise at Bread’s voice.

“Bread? Redian? How are you? Have you made up your minds already?”

“Our minds? What are you talking about?”

“Ah I remember. He’s talking about how he asked us to join the guild.”

“What, he did?”

Bread replied in a confused tone before Redian spoke.

“I told you that we have no interest.

“I would give you guys the best treatment.”

“Shut up! Don’t say the same things several times. We’re not interested.”

Bread banged his bayonet into the ground and shouted.

“We wanted to talk to you about something. Didn’t you mention a guy to us?”

“A guy I mentioned?”

“You know, the fellow you wanted us to handle. That fellow who could turn himself into a black wolf. Do you know what that guy is now?”

“Black wolf……you mean Ark?”

Raiden stuttered after searching through his memory. After Jewel suffered from Ark’s attacks in Seutandal, Raiden judged that he had become too difficult for Jewel and Duke to handle. Therefore he had asked some people he was acquaintanced with to kill Ark. The people who he first contacted was Bread and Redian. However, both of them had been busy with Asyubell’s quest so they rejected it. Redian nodded at Raiden’s words.

“His name is Ark? That reminds me, I’ve heard that name mentioned a lot by the NPCs in Haman fortress.”

“But why do you want to find Ark?”

“It’ll take a while to explain.

Bread and Redian sighed before talking. After struggling with Asyubell’s quest for a few months, they had failed thanks to some tourists so they swore revenge. But no matter how hard they tried to collect information, n.o.body would tell them his name. That’s because Ark had firmly told the NPCs in Seutandal not to leak any information about him. It was only after the destroyed the sightseeing office in Haman fortress that they realized their target had already left Seutandal. Therefore they chased their target to the continent. However, the continent was huge compared to Seutandal so finding one user was like finding a needle in the desert.

“While wandering around, we saw the video about Seutandal on the TV.”

It was the video that Buksil had sold to the broadcasting station. The user who made Seutandal rise was a black wolf! They remembered Raiden’s commission after watching the video. Raiden smiled and nodded after their explanation.

“……So that’s what happened.”

“Now it’s your turn. Do you know where he is?”

“I do not know the details. But I do know his approximate location. You said that you chased him to the continent? But he has already returned to Seutandal a fortnight ago.”

“What, what the? Are you sure about that information?”

“Yes, an informant in Haman Fortress confirmed his face.”

“Informant? You still play the game using such boring methods.”

“That is my style.”

Raiden grinned and replied. In fact, Raiden hadn’t completely abandoned Seutandal. Although the situation in Nagaran meant he had to withdraw for a while, he still maintained the alliance with the Nakujuk and was waiting for a chance. Even though the Baran clan was occupying Haman fortress, that situation could change at any time. Therefore Raiden had sneaked an information into Haman fortress and used the Nakujuk to disrupt their trade.

‘It is not too late yet. Even though the Baran is currently occupying Seutandal, the Nakujuk are still powerful. If I hinder their trade and increase the lawlessness around the harbour, there is a chance to reverse the situation. The problem is Ark. He might interfere again.’

Raiden was worried about Ark’s presence. Of course, Raiden didn’t think that Ark could challenge the entire Hermes Alliance. But Ark had a strange way of complicating the situation.

‘Anyway, I have to hide the information about Ark from the Hermes Alliance. But now that these two also have a grudge against Ark…..it is a chance.”

Raiden organized his thoughts and spoke again.

“Did you want to join forces?”

“What?”

“Presently Ark is somewhere in Seutandal. As you know, we also have a grudge against Ark. If you want then I will help you sneak into Seutandal. Don’t worry, no other conditions are required. All I want is for you to kill Ark. That’s all.”

“……..It is hard to know what you are thinking.”

“How about it? Will you accept?”

“Yes, although I don’t trust your intentions there is no need to waste your resources.”

“Okay, then I’ll message my lawless contacts.”

“Ah, okay, then we’ll be going.”

Bread and Redian headed back towards Seutandal. Jewel followed them to the gate and smiled at their backs.

“Huhuhu, now that Ark is ruined.”

“But even Jewel-nim and Duke-nim couldn’t deal with Ark. Would those two be able to handle him? Are the two of them that strong?”

A guild member watching from nearby asked with concern and Jewel laughed.

“Do you know about pioneers?”

“Yes, aren’t they users like Jewel-nim who partic.i.p.ated in the beta test? Thanks to the previous knowledge, they managed to raise their characters more quickly.”

“Yes, I’m a pioneer. But those two are on a different level. They are the last pioneers.”

“Last pioneers?”

“Huhuhu, it is a legend among pioneers.”

Jewel was like an old magician talking to his students about the past.

“A few months before the beta test ended, there was a public announcement and every user gathered on an island in Bristania. There was no time to gather information about levels or skills in PVP. After a few days of preparing their skills and equipment, a battle royale began.”

“Battle Royale?”

“Yes, an infinite killing compet.i.tion!”

Jewel said and laughed.

“Even the NPCs that the users saw were killed.”

The battle royale started one day before the beta test ended. Users who died couldn’t be resurrected for 24 hours so it was the end.

“It was a really intense contest. Over 1000 people were gathered on the island and started killing each other. No matter how hard me and Duke fought, we only managed to endure for 2 hours. Raiden hyung-nim lasted 7 hours. And the people who survived until the end of the beta test was only two people. They were Bread and Redian.”

“That’s why they are called the last pioneers……?”

“That’s right. That most surprising thing was that Redian and Bread weren’t teamed up at the time. The two people remaining simply couldn’t defeat each other. It lasted until the test finished. Well, now they seem quite friendly with each other.”

“Then it is possible to put an end to Ark.”

“An end? No, this is just the beginning.”

Jewel gave an evil grin and muttered. In fact, users could be killed several times in the game. That’s why Ark had built up a strong support base of users.

“I will tear down his support base.’

Jewel had realised that Ark had two support bases. One was the Baran clan in the Eastern Nation of Seutandal. The second was Lancel village in the Argus Mountains. During the decisive battle in Seutandal, the residents of Lancel village had appeared through the dimensional gate. After investigating the village, he saw that Ark had a store there.

‘The Hermes Alliance will eventually take back Seutandal. All that will remain is his support base in Lancel village and that will be settled once Nagaran quiets down.’

Jewel had been worried that Ark might interfere. However, Ark would be no problem if he had already been battered by Redian and Bread.

“Then I will deal the final blow to Ark! Hahaha, I can’t wait to see his expression when he encounters Bread and Redian and then when he loses his support base! I’ll make him regret messing with me, hahaha!”

Jewel laughed crazily as he looked at the sky. He was like the evil magicians who appeared in old stories.