Vol 2 Chapter 4 (2/2)

Whenever Dunphil's attack hit, Bat's heath fell by 10 Even so, Bat blindly pushed forward

As if Bat forgot all the fighting experience it had gained with Ark, it recklessly charged at Dunphil

”Bat, carefully lengthen the fight!”

They were underwater Dunphil doesn't get environ able to breath underwater and experienced any movement hindrance He can move naturally even underwater While on the other hand, Bat received underwater penalty and couldn't display the greatest advantage of a winged beast — e

It was a disadvantageous fight fro

If Bat had a slight chance of winning, it was to use its experience of underwater battle and drag the fight on But since Bat was only thinking about charging in and dealing daht

Bat didn't even pretended to have heard Ark's advice

”I'll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!”

”Kekeke, you dare to cohable!”

”KUAAAAAK!”

In the end, Bat's Health hit rock bottonawing at Dunphil's shoulder

”How insignificant The business is settled now, yeah?”

”Yes F—k off”

”If you're going tosomeone more commendable”

Dunphil disappeared while speaking with an arrogant expression In the end, the first fight ended in vain

'That Bat!'

Ark exploded in rage Dunphil's scurier was Bat Thoughtlessly rushi+ng in and tear? The fight was so absurd, it o hot What the hell had Bat learned while fighting alongside Ark until now?

Ark had returned to the city and spent 24 hours doing business

”Hey, Bat! The hell was THAT?” After resuated Bat with a stormy expression

But he couldn't keep speaking

Once it was suround its teeth

”WAAAAAH, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!”

”Huh? What? Are you putting on a show because I'ry?”

”Master, I beg you! Call that bastard again! I have to fight with him!”

”What the hell are you saying? Explain so I can understand!”

”That bastard… that bastard is the one who harassed me for over 10 years in the Netherworld”

”What?”

Bat ground its teeth as it spoke

Dunphil was a low-ranking noble in the Netherworld The arrogant and ill-tempered Dunphil harassed weak et was Bat

Bat, as born as a relative of the Vampire race, was constantly harassed by Dunphil In addition, he was ostracized by the other bats as per Dunphil's instructions In the end he was exiled from the race

'Now that I think about it, this guy'

Bat's original na Bat'

An explanation how Bat cae towards the world because it suffered harassment in the Netherworld; had been attached in its description

'In such a setting, it can't be helped for this rascal to fight Dunphil'

After thinking for a while, a wicked smile blossomed on Ark's lips

'It's a chance'

”I understand the situation, however I can't let you iht Dunphil”

”Ma-Master!”

”If you fight like the way you did the day before, no ainst hiain listen to er”

Bat was startled Getting stronger; in other words, it meant he had to eat food

However Bat grit its teeth and nodded ”I understand, if I can win against hi”

”Alright, and another thing, you can't fight like you did before He's stronger than you But not enough for you not to win From today onwards, I'll train you”

Ark did business during the day and started training Bat at night And when a new recipe came up, he immediately shoved it into Bat's mouth

Food ood effect Whenever it happened, Bat's stats went up

Bat's training was sparring with Ark

”Do it right! If you fight that way you can't win against Dunphil! Do you want to be beaten up again?”

”N-NO! I won't lose!”

Po!

The days of grueso continued

Unlike usual, although Bat got beaten up by Ark countless ti intense training for a few days, Ark called Dunphil out again and had them duel

Though Bat's stats had risen a few tih to oppose Dunphil yet But since Bat's skills had greatly improved over the last few days, a battle far more stable than before unfolded

”Huff huff huff, this, this much is far from it”

In the end it ended with Dunphil's victory again, but there wasn't as large of a ered in a way unfitting for his appearance

”It'll be harder next time”

”Hmph, even so, a bat is a bat”

Dunphil disappeared to the Netherworld as if it was running away

'damn, the problem is I have to wait 24 hours once it dies Next tiht when I am more confident he can win Until I can resu schedule'

Ark was busy doing business, raising his Fas

Ark accu business

But when there is a high tide there is also low tide

As time passed, even his lucrative business slowly died down His land ingredients ran out so he squeezed out dishes with seaweed as its redient the Merpeople were fa

The business of Magic Restoration also didn't gather customers easily after he repaired all the Guards' equip on, there was no reason for the durability to drop quickly

'For a business, it iswhen to start Well, it wasn't so anyway'

In the end, Ark ended his business in ten days

It was a business which earned hiret, but he couldn't pick a spot and live in Nodelesse Also, no e the It was a business he had to stop eventually

More than anything the reason Ark was able to leave the business without regret was because he already reached his initial goal Ark was already a celebrity a the Merpeople

Wherever he went, Merpeople recognized Ark and pretended to know him

When he was doing business, there were huge fans who ca out a piece of information wasn't even a problem

”Do you happen to know someone by the name of Christin?”

”Christin you say…”

In the past there would've been i first, but this time the circumstances were different

The elderly Mer I can't tell if it's you, but actually, I don't know very much about a person named Christin either It's not just me There probably isn't a Merperson in Nodelesse who knows the details about him It's a name everyone knows, but nobody knoho exactly he was”

”I don't understand But then why does everyone get upset when I asked about him?”

”It's because we learned to act as such I only heard frorandfather's ti to your words and thinking back on it, I didn't hear e have to hate him”

He understood, why else would they be fish?

”Isn't there a way to find out?”

”Hmm…”

The old Merman contemplated for a while and answered as if he suddenly re

”Now that I think about it, there's a Crystal Pillar that records the history of the Merpeople in front of the Palace I think I've heard soh we don't knohat it says because it's written in a language forgotten long ago You who have many talents may be able to find a clue Go there and try”

”Thank you”

”But are you closing down the restaurant now?”

”Yes, I don't have any ingredients left”

”How unfortunate It washis mouth

Ark left the regular customer and headed directly to the Palace

”Hey, Ark What are you doing here?”

”I ca there was a marvelous Crystal Pillar in front of the Palace”

”There is It's quite a marvelous decoration”

”Could I come in and see it once?”

”Hm, that's a bit difficult”

”I wish to learn more about the Merpeople wholance at it and come out so please let me”

”Well, since it's your request and not someone else's, it can't be helped I understand, but you have to come out quick”

Since the inti speed

Once he entered the Palace, he saw a Crystal Pillar not far from the entrance

Bead-like writing was crah Crystal Pillar

'To progress with the quest do I need to decipher this?'

It hen Ark's hand touched the surface of the pillar Light suddenly poured out froes flashed in front of him

A beautiful Mer all of Nodelesse It was a Merth blond hair and sapphire blue eyes

She atching the back of a , perfectly reliable back, but at that uish Because the back couldn't become hers

The rew distant

The Mer farther away from the balcony

Tears distinctively appeared within the transparent ocean

Then the scene changed

The Mer the man's scent to her chest and left for somewhere The currents drawn by her beautiful tail conveyed keen sadness

Christin, Christin, I love you

Even if all the water in the ocean were to dry up, I'd still love you

Even if I have to bear the stabbing pain in my chest I'd still love you

I believe in your promise

As promised, I believe you will return and find me

Until then, I ait for you at the promised place

Please do not forget the words I whispered with you

If you want to see me, close both of your eyes

In a hidden place, I ait for the day I can be in your arms

Through the Knowledge of Ancient Relics, you have discovered the Crystal Pillar's hidden information

The yearning of a Mermaid for her lover is recorded inside the Crystal Pillar

For the lover ould find her someday, she carved this in ancient letters However, sadly, it seems like her love did not come to be

Knowledge of Ancients +5, Intelligence increased by 5, Luck increased by 2, Fame increased by 10

'So basically this is a love letter She wrote a very grandiose love letter'

CRAAAACK!

Then the ie disappeared

Suddenly, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the Crystal Pillar, and without ti down The Guards who gathered after hearing the commotion shouted with astonished expressions

”Th-The pillar!”

”It's hier who ran the restaurant broke the pillar!”

”You bastard, what have you done!”

Ark was stunned because he didn't knoas going on Fifteen guards surrounded him and pushed forith their raised Spears of coral

”You dare to intrude the castle and break the ruin!”

”N-no, I don't kno this happened either…”

”QUIET! Drag this Human away immediately!”

Ark suddenly had to spend a day in prison

After logging off for half a day and co back in, a Merman in scale armor appeared

”The Queen wants to see you Follow me”

Mered Ark to the throne room

Merpeople in noble attire were lined up in the ruby throne room At their center sat a beautiful fee of 30 Since she was decorated with jewels and wore a crown, it seemed she was the Queen of the Merpeople But her face was familiar

Ark easily understood the reason

'She looked similar to the Mermaid I saw in the Crystal Pillar'

The nobles of the Merpeople made a fuss when Ark entered

”For a stranger to sully the Palace ruins, it's unheard of”

”We must deal with him appropriately with severe punishment”

”But since there is no precedence…”

”The fact this stranger entered the Palace is alone enough to punish him”

”However, the Merpeople have always upheld fairness, so even if he had committed the crime, should we not assess the situation beforehand and ?”

The opinion of the Merpeople nobles were split in two

Simply put, it was the opinion of the nobles who had been Ark's customers and those eren't It was probably because of theed the royal ruins wasn't executed immediately If he'd been forcefully deported, it would've been hopeless

'This was definitely so intimacy'

The Queen raised her hand to silence everyone and looked at Ark

”I understand because I heard the words of the nobles, but a stranger da the Palace ruins is unprecedented Of course it is an incident deserving of a heavy punishment However, I have found the residents of Nodelesse to have great confidence in you There are even volunteers ish to take up your defense It is not easy for a stranger to earn trust Therefore I will give you a chance to explain Nohy did you destroy the pillar?”

”I had no intention of destroying it I just wanted to know about the person named Christin and simply touched it with my hand, but it was destroyed on its own”

”Christin!”

The Merpeople nobles opened their eyes wide and looked at each other The Queen also gathered her brows in considerable surprise and asked back, ”Are you someone with relations to Christin?”

”I don't know”

”You said the name Christin yourself, but you don't know?”

”Yes, it's true I was searching for him, but it's hard to say I have relations with him Rather, I want to know more, since I left on a journey to find out who he is and what kind of relation he has with me, so I came all the way here But no one would tell me about Christin So I placed my last hopes and approached the pillar”

”Christin is a traitor who betrayed the trust of the Merpeople” A fire of rage burned in the Queen's eyes

”Traitor?”

”It seems you still need more explanation”

At Ark's response, the Queen sighed and continued, ”Christin was the man loved by the Queen who ruled the Merpeople before the start of the Dark Century During that ti conversations But then the Queen went out to the land, and she fell in love with a young man”

”The name of that person is?”

”Yes, it is Christin”

He heard about the Dark Century from the Meow It was the time when the powers of darkness had covered the world and thus was called the Dark Century Then the 7 Heroes appeared and finally, the days of light returned So if he was froure froo

”But Merpeople cannot live on land In the end, the Queen had to return to the sea, but she proave him the Compass of the Sea God as a token of her love”

”Compass of the Sea God?”

”Originally, Nodelesse was an illusory city that wandered the sea Even Merpeople had a hard tiain if they left the city However, the Coht towards Nodelesse so you wouldn't get lost It was the Queen's greatest treasure Giving hi hi, so he could come find her whenever he wanted”

'Is she talking about the Jeweled Hand Mirror?'

Ark followed the Hand Mirror's guidance and reached Nodelesse Since the name Christin is written on it, there is no doubt

”But did he not come find her?”

”No, he caer to the Merpeople, but we truly welcomed and accepted the man the Queen loved But his love didn't even last one year In the end he threay the Queen and returned to the land Can you iine? The sadness of a wo to?”

The Queen's voice became emotional

”The queen shut herself in her rooht in tears Then after , a great calamity befell upon Nodelesse”

”Calamity?”

”Since long, long ago, Nodelesse received the protection of an existence called Gallic, a great White Whale Gallic, who had shared a spiritual connection with the Queen for generations, is the uardian deity of the Merpeople But after the Queen disappeared, Gallic became uncontrollably vicious”

”Are you saying it was Christin's fault?”

”If it wasn't, then whose is it? The Queen cursed Christin, who threw her away It's certain her feelings and the weight of her curse o mad In the end, it was Christin's fault Nodelesse's lost its past glory”

”There is no way!” Ark spoke with a determined voice

The Queen's forehead scrunched at the unexpected objection ”What did you say?”

”I do not know the whole story However, I am certain the Queen did not hate or resent Christin Rather, she tried to understand why he had no choice but to leave The reason why she disappeared is probably connected to his departure as well”

”How could you, who didn't even knoho Christin was, know this?”

”It ritten on the Crystal Pillar”

The Merpeople nobles stirred with shocked expressions at Ark's reply

The Queen asked quickly with an expression of disbelief, ”Did you decipher theof the pillar?”

”That is correct”

”Lies, it's a lie!”

”Yes, he is just babbling because he wants to avoid punishment You mustn't be tricked”

The Merpeople nobles flailed as they shouted

”It is not a lie If you truly cannot believe it, I will show you the proof”

”Proof?”

”The Queen was in possession of the item Christin left behind It was an ireatly If we find the ites towards her and the reason why she disappeared”

”Didn't I say we don't knohere she disappeared to?”

”There is no need to think hard about it If Gallic suddenly became violent after she disappeared, the answer is there Please tell me where Gallic is I will find the answer”

”So it can be thought of that way too I've also tried sending Soldiers to calm Gallic several times But Gallic is the Master of the Sea anders the ocean; a Warrior of the Merpeople cannot find Gallic The sole way to find Gallic is the Compass of the Sea God”

”Then it's all the o”

Ark pulled out the Jeweled Hand Mirror fro

The Queen's eyes widened to an unbelievable size

After staring blankly at the hand ed to staoodness… for the lost Compass of the Sea God to return after hundreds of years…”

Ark interrupted, not giving her a chance to speak

”I won't talk long forcannot be taken by anyone without the permission of the owner, yes? There is a reason why I must find out why the person named Christin left her So, please help me find Gallic”

”Perhaps… This may be the final chance Okay”

The Queen thought for a while and nodded

”If you look at the back of the Compass of the Sea God, jewels of three colors should be ee the jewels one space to the left, it will lead you to Gallic”

Thu-thu-thump, the quest information was updated at last

The quest has been updated

Entrance to the New World → Guardian Deity of the Merpeople, Gallic

You have found out Christin's past and the ancestral Mermaid Queen who disappeared are connected

By connecting the infor is related

It is certain the ancestral Queen has an item related to Christin In addition, her disappearance is likely connected to the Guardian Deity of the Merpeople, Gallic You h Gallic and recover the item You must also find a way to calm Gallic

The Couide you

Difficulty: E

”Huff huff, this whale, you wanna play with me?”

Ark spat out curses while clearing countless meters of Kelp forest

He had already been struggling in the sea for several days

Only when Ark went out of Nodelesse did he feel overwhel motivation

He was thinking of stabbing the great White Whale or whatever in one blow and thus ending the quest

Frohthouse to Nodelesse, and doing business to gather infor that time he was able to raise his level ather items For just one quest, he had invested tremendous amount of time

'It feels like it's co to an end now'

But after leaving the city, it wasn't as siht

Gallic wasn't far away froht frooal However, there was a proble because it was a living whale

”Did this guy run away again?”

He ran like no toht pointed to another direction before he knew it He had always been one step behind for several days

But when there is a will there is a way After struggling in the ocean for a few days, Ark finally found a way to catch up to the whale

It was the same current that swept him ahen he was on his way to Nodelesse

The currents entangled the area Gallic moved in like a spiderweb You could think of it like hundreds of quickly

'If I use this…!'

Ark removed the Sharkman's Shackles and threw himself into a nearby current Instantaneously, the landscape zipped by at a extreh speeds The coral reefs and schools of fishes swept past like the wind The beauty he hadn't seen while struggling within the by the current was yet another fascinating experience After ht shi+fted to the side

'Are you running away again? Not this time!'

Ark i next to hiht became thicker and then suddenly disappeared It wasn't because he'd lost him, but he had arrived at his destination

'It's around here somewhere'

Ark grasped his sword Suddenly, Bat said in voice tre with nervousness, ”Ma-master”

”I know Get ready It is nearby”

”N-No, that is not it There…”

Bat's voice trembled more and more

He turned his head to see as the

”What's wrong?”

”You don't see it? The ”

”What?”

It hen Ark turned his head to follow Bat's gaze

The vast background obstructing the view in front of him twitched as it moved An enormous amount of sand dust rose and clouded the water Within it, solossy moved

”May-maybe that is Gallic…?”

The round object of enormous size turned just then towards Ark!

What were as big as buildings were shockingly its eyes The enorround that had been its eyes slowly rose Bat, Skull, and Ark's eyes also looked up trying to follow it

He stopped to catch his breath

Calling it gigantic is nowhere enough to this overwhel creature

Ark had felt this feeling before when he was young It was the sa up at Mt Seorak or Mt Halla from the mountain base If there was a difference between the creature, a anism

'White Whale, Gallic!' His voice didn't come out

Ridiculous! No ?

Did he really have to fight soered person crushed the ant You couldn't call it a fight

Right now Ark was no different from an ant

The Sword in Ark's hand wouldn't even give the gigantic creature a stinging feeling In other words, it is like an ant losing all fear and biting a human

Kuohhh!

The White Whale opened itsa space like a tunnel with a 50-lane road Simultaneously an enormous pull sucked Ark in

”WAAAAAAAAH!” Ark screath

Then he ed by the White Whale