Vol 3 Chapter 2 (2/2)
”Ark-nie”
”Ah Great work I'll be sure to find someone who knows the person and return it to them”
As Ark had instructed, the crew ave them to Ark It was a shame, but the monsters destroyed by the Spear of Thor did not drop any items
But the items the users had dropped far exceeded his expectations
'5 Interic Tool Box, and 2 equips!'
”Information Window!”
Gauntlets of Strength (Magic)
Armor Type
Steel Gloves
Defense
50
Durability
3/60
Weight
50
Usage Restriction
Level 60, Warrior
High-quality steel gauntlets sold in the Merchant City, Giran, and specialized stores Although they are h defense, so they are loved bythe iron, drops of Ogre's blood were added to give an effect adding to the wearer's Strength
Option: Strength +10
Norad Boots (Magic)
Armor Type
Leather Shoes
Defense
35
Durability
4/40
Weight
20
Usage Restriction
Level 65 or higher
Boots endary horse that only inhabits the northern region They are a the masterpiece armor series made by the famous armorago As fast as a gust of wind, the legendary horse's strength still re an increase to the wearer's movements
Options: Movement Speed +10, Evasion +5
Both items orth 60-70 thousand Won (~600-700) if placed on auction
'Let's put the gauntlets on auction right away and use the boots for now'
He didn't have any boots worth using besides the Sharkman's Shackles anyways Ark immediately used the Deluxe Tool Box to repair the boots, put theet to say a word to Jabel, as staring at him impassively
”I'll only use them until I can find the people they're related to We need all the help we can get to guide everyone safely to Jackson Castle, you see The deceased would definitely have wanted that as well”
”Ah, yes That's right,” Jabel replied with a doubtful expression However, the one protecting the that 40 players had run off to Jackson Castle without even thinking about searching for the crew, Jabel didn't raise any other objections to Ark's actions
”Now, since we searched the entire area, let us head to Jackson Castle” After feigning innocence, Ark led the crew through the Dark Fog
Once they reached a certain distance away froe, the number of monsters increased There were as few as 3-4 Shadows and as many as 30 of thee h they were similar to the Shadows in appearance, these er and had rock-like skinThey were a whopping level 90! However, they didn't pose much of a problem for Ark
'Hroup that left first must've suffered quite a bit'
Ark followed the trail left by the first group Thanks to the raid that had left first 30 o, ular intervals They were marks of battles between the raid and the monsters that had ambushed them
It was truly fortunate Thanks to their desperate fighting, Ark was able to pass by without even fighting a single group of h the bodies
”Snake, if you see any items I've missed, s them all”
Perhaps because the raid group had been continuously ambushed, but they hadn't picked up the ite an ite it, but it spat it back up with a painful face Then it hung its head
'Ah, that's right It said it was in metamorphosis?'
During metamorphosis, Snake couldn't s or spit out ite wrapped around Ark's waist That was probably the unexpectedSnake in such a limp state made him feel pity
”Snake, until I figure out a way to solve this, do you want to go back to the Underworld?”
Hiss, hiss!
Hearing this, Snake violently shook its head as it tightened its grip on his waist and rubbed its head on him
Well, Ark was no different from a parent to Snake Since it was in pain, it didn't want to be separated from him even more
”Okay, I understand Iton a bit let's find a way no matter what”
Once Ark used his Nursing skill with a syhter face
'At least the Nursing skill works Anyways, I feel sorry for Snake, but I can't leave this place for 9 days as long as I' in the event quest Haahh, it can't be helped 20 days in game time is almost a week in real life Fortunately, there's still some time to spare I'll steadily look for a way after finishi+ng the event quest'
Ark blew a sigh as he stroked Snake's head There was nothing more he could do for Snake Plus, this wasn't a situation where he could pay attention to Snake
Even though the raid group had passed through the area, there were still monsters left Therefore, Ark h there were still tihtWith the help of the crew members, 6 Shadoeren't very difficult opponents
”I will also help!”
”Let's get revenge for the Captain!”
If fighting broke out, the battle crew asked to Thehits froot injured He didn't recover nificant help because it had a continuous effect
”You're injured I will treat you”
”You don't have to go so far”
”No, you are fighting for our sakes, so I cannot leave your wounds unattended”
They repaid those who helped them no matter what Ark couldn't help but like NPCs because they were like this
After fighting around 15 battles, his EXP surged up Although he fought with the crew, Ark got all the EXP since e was from him Thanks to that, his EXP rose by 50 and he went up a level The raid group that went ahead must've also killed40 people, they probably didn't get as much as Ark
'The sky is dark! EXP and itee made for me!'
He felt sorry for Snake, but he felt like he could fly But his pleasurable hunting ended upon reaching Jackson Castle
Once they reached the castle gates, Jabel took Ark's hand with emotion
”We are truly thankful If it wasn't for Ark-niet your kindness Although we can only reward you with gratitude right noill notify the Magic Institute of your deed so that you can receive a just reward”
”I ah of course, I won't stop you if you say you'll report it to the Magic Institute”
The sub-quest 'Rescue the Silver Arrow's Crewmen' has been completed
You have safely brought the creho survived to Jackson Castle They will never forget your dedicated help The Magic Institute will also think highly of you for rescuing their precious staff
Reward: 100 Contribution Points for every rescued crew ic Institute
The contribution one gets for killing a Shadoas just 10 Saving 12 crew members, on the other hand, was 1,200 contribution points He received the saotten fro 120 Shadows He even obtained the items dropped by users
'Not bad, considering it's the first leg of the quest'
After sending off his Faate
The event quest starts now
'Is this really Jackson Castle?'
Jackson Castle looked totally different froo
Thanks to the monsters' attack, the castle walls were in ruins here and there, and destroyed hons of attack With the area surrounded by darkness, it was as dis at a ruin
'It's only been 2 days of in-game time since the attacks started and it's already this bad?'
Ark had fought alongside Jackson's Sylphid Knights before Though they weren't able to defeat the boss of the ancient ruins, Debra, they were the strongest NPCs Ark had h the Sylph Knights were fighting back, it
'Well, all three top guilds sent reinforcements, so the quest will be completed one way or another but more iic Institute? Or'
Ark sent the crew ate
Just then, he spied a group of users passing through the gate Ark began to approach the some information but then flinched as he stopped He quickly retreated and hid behind a wall
'How did that rascal?'
One of the players walking in the middle of 10 others-- he was one of the few users Ark knew of
It was Andel!
The bastard who tricked Ark, as then level 1, into losing 84 of his stats! Of course, he was caught by Ark afterwards, lost 128 of his stats, and flaked off An average person would have already given up on the gaame
'Just how did that bastard join the event quest?'
Even considering that he could get his equipment back with128 stats?
In addition, if he was able to participate in an event quest, it also et rid of his Chaotic state After Andel was caught by Ark, he realized how fearso the gaet rid of his Chaotic status
'It couldn't have been easy it seems he has suffered quite a lot all this while, hm?'
However, Ark's eyes did not show a hint of sympathy
Even though he had backed off after cutting 128 of Andel's stat points, it wasn't because Ark had forgiven him It was just that he couldn't waste any ht be a different if Andel just gave up on the ga to play, then he was still an enemy
His promise that he would kill until Andel's stats hit 0 if he showed up before Ark again were not eain in a different place, Ark would have reduced him to 0, as promised
'But the bastard isn't Chaotic now'
Ark h to become Chaotic in the middle of an event quest
'Plus, I can't even touch hiht now because he's with Bulma or other teammates No, it would be rather disruptive if he were to spoton, it'll be better to stay away'
Just when Ark was thinking that, someone from behind suddenly spoke to him
”Hey, were you the one who rescued the crew members?”
”Yes, it was I And you are?”
The reide in surprise
Surprisingly, Ray him accompanied by Soldiers He was the Alche a Crystal Golem to treat his son's illness
”Raymond?”
”Oh, so it was you! I ca over when I heard the name of Ark from the crew members”
”How did you?”
”I aht after you left, I surrendered myself to the Lord But when the Lord heardJackson And now, I've been te the volunteer troops Certainly, I'race, I ahten my shoulders and care for my son”
”That's good, I'lad” Ark smiled broadly as he held Raymond's hand Rays had worked out better than expected
Those who sin must be punished It was obvious, but sometimes there was room for sympathy Could anyone stone a person who committed murder in order to save his son? At the very least, a person who valued his family more than others wouldn't be able to throw the stones
Of course, Ark's affection towards Rayic Restoration' It was truly one of the skills he ood use of
”I feel like I have been relieved of some heavy burden thanks to your words My heart has been heavy every day because it didn't look like I was able to keep the promise I made with you”
”There's no need to think like that There is no rule that says onealone I think the Lord judged wisely as well”
”I've already heard about the relationshi+p between you and the Lord; even after Jackson was attacked, the Lord occasionally mentioned you No, this is no tilad to see you I'll take care of the registration process for the o visit the Lord”
”Alright”
Ark iuards
”What, who's that guy?”
”How is he going straight to the Lord's Castle right away?”
”Maybe he's a user with extreh Fame?”
The users whispered a VIP treatment as soon as he arrived at the castle
It was only natural that he drew their attention There were very few people who received such treatment froh Fame or people who had raised Inti a special quest Of course, Ark wasn't at all happy about their interest in hiht the eye of Andel
In any case, once Ark entered the Lord's castle, the young Lord's eyes became as wide as saucers
”You Ark! You're Ark!”
”Have you been well?”
”Haha, I can't really say that” The Lord sed his shoulders ”Anyway, you have come”
”How could I not co that Jackson Castle has met a crisis?”
”Yes, I believed you would surely come”
”However, the situation looks worse than what I heard”
”Indeed”
The Lord nodded with a heartbroken expression ”It is as you said The situation is very serious Since you have arrived, youthe airshi+p sent froht?”
”Yes, it was dangerous because ere intercepted during our journey, but I was somehow able to survive to Jackson Castle”
”I see, even after sufferingup on Jackson and co As your friend and as the Lord of Jackson Castle, I express o to the brave Warriors ere sacrificed while participating in the militia”
Co face to face with the Lord was co Lord's tone If a person did sorateful about, he expressed his heartfelt thanks, and he sincerely sympathized with those who perished It was such a natural response, but the sa players Maybe because this was a game, it was considered acceptable to not act earnest
But perhaps because Ark hadn't been able to experience ames, there were many times when NPCs felt like real people Was that why? Noasto NPCs than to users Unlike unpredictable users, conversation with NPCs unfurled in orderly fashi+ons At least he didn't need to worry about what to say to them
”Your words alone are surely enough to comfort the fallen, my Lord”
”That is all I can do In any case, the crash of your airshi+p is an incident that explains Jackson's current situation After all, eren't able to send out rescue parties despite knowing your airshi+p was intercepted Furthermore the airshi+p was not the only one that took a surprise attack”
”Not only the Silver Arrow?”
”As you likely know, all three great guilds couilds mobilized their most superior weapons However, they were all defeated one by one while on route like the airshi+p”
The young Lord began to explain the gist of the situation
The unidentified aro, which was 16 hours ago, last evening, in real ti as the army of darkness attacked Without any tie blow
”Many of the foreigners ere dedicated to hunting around Jackson Castle perished Still, the good thing was that the foreigners who survived coth with the Soldiers and finally blocked the attack Then, before ere coently sent an SOS froic Tower to Giran”
That was the nal Ark saw in Giran
The 3 great guilds all received requests for help They responded quickly and decided to send militia The first to arrive were the ones sent by the Merchant Guild The representatives of the Merchant Guild cut through the Jackson principality aboard the ironcladclose to Jackson Castle, they planned on beginning their large-scale landing operation
”So they failed”
”That's right, it seeic tower As soon as the Prize crossed into the Jackson principality boundaries, they were a the 100 militia on board, 60 or so were lost with Prize, and just this , some 40 survivors arrived”
As expected, not all who participated could reach Jackson Castle There was a trial prepared for each guild, and only those who passed could participate in the actual quest
The Merchant Guild and Magic Institute were both in Giran, so the level of the militia was similar That's why the number of survivors from the airshi+p was also similar to the number from Prize
”Then the Warrior Guild's militia must have also received a surprise attack”
”Yes, but fortunately, the Warrior guild did not receive h they were ao They say it's thanks to the faht, Alan, e've heard of several times even in Jackson Castle”
”Alan!”
Ark's felt like his mind was splashed with cold water
Alan His naettable in another sense than Andel's Ever since Ark met hi the game
He was the first to make Ark feel so frustrated He was also the one who had made Ark feel like Lariette had been snatched from him And he was the reason why he took the first step towards being a ga
'So that guy is also participating in this quest!'
He had encountered competition in an totally unexpected place
His feelings wereAlan's name He knew an opportunity like this would come one day, and as candidates of Global Exos, it was unavoidable anyways However, Ark was not yet ready to compete one on one with him
Not yet That's right, it wasn't time
If they met when he wasn't ready, it was very likely that Ark would just coer Ark's desire to win against hireater his frustration would be
”Besides, if Lariette is still with Alan”
More than anything, he didn't want to be huain in front of Lariette
As Ark's expression beca Lord asked with a quizzical voice, ”Do you know him?”
”Yes, a little”
”I see Then I'll continue what I was sayingRay the militia sent by the 3 Great Guilds to foruard the exterior Sir Alan has been put in charge of co them on the field”
”Entrusted to Alan?”
”He is a Holy Knight recognized by the Cathedral It should coarnered”
This hy users were obsessed with Fame
If your Fah, then you didn't really have to bother with raising Intimacy With Fame alone, you received VIP treatment no matter where you went, and there were cases where NPCs went looking for you after hearing rumors to request quests In addition, you could also be personally bestowed a title frouilds or royalty Whether you had it or not, it was an absolutely necessary value for Knights, Merchants, and professions like Scholar alike in progressing through the game
The main characteristic of Ark's chosen hidden profession, Dark Walker, was the dark attribute bonus Meanwhile, Alan's ht were Faith and Fainal character, Alan was a faithful, sacred Knight in the ga the same quest as other people, Alan received bonus Faith and Fame
Faith showed its pohen dealing with ht to be entrusted an advantageous role when a big event like this occurred
'If he's registered as a coet more contribution points and experience points as a bonus damn, does that mean it'll be hard to win more contribution points than Alan in this quest?'
This was a fact Ark had learned recently learned, but the path of darkness the Dark Walker tread was the opposite of Alan's-- Ark suffered a Fame penalty It was intended to balance his profession
However, Ark was able to obtain almost as much Fame as other users thanks to successful
'There's no point in thinking of such things now All I have to do is raise my Dark Walker my oay Just as our chosen paths are different, there s I can do that Alan can't'
”Sir Alan failed the Taresha Labyrinth expedition twice, so his Fareat as before, but there was still no one in the volunteer troops who canas hard as we expected”
'So he failed that ti to the Taresha Labyrinth!'
Ark was able to receive unexpected infor Lord
If so, then Alan wouldn't have been able to raise his level and Faood news, but Alan would be desperate toat this quest alone, he couldn't say it was really good news
”Well, Sir Alan's situation aside, this is the current line of defense After conferring with Sir Alan, we put the volunteer troops in the defense line”
The young Lord called attention to hi at a map of the Jackson principality
Alan split the volunteer troops into 3 groups He assigned group 1 to the front gate, where the enemy attacks were the fiercest Group 1 was likely the one Alan was personally leading Groups 2 and 3 were placed on the sides to assist group 1
'With this placeet the most contribution'
Was that all? Giving and denying contribution points to each group or user all depended on Alan's whi to be hio of the event quest with his high Fame
'Alan'
While participating in the quest, Ark had never even hoped to take the top spot But after finding out there was no chance at all, he lost all motivation What's more, to think his opponent was Alan
Besides the volunteer troops, a group called theThe militia was comprised of users ere in Jackson at the ti Lord and not from the 3 Great Guilds But since they were all low level, they were being used as reserve troops
”The assignment of the volunteers has been entrusted to Sir Alan, but you are an exception Speak if there's a group you desire I will confer with Sir Alan to roup you want”
Ark briefly looked at the map and pondered
Considering EXP and contribution points, group 1 was the best But the coroup 1 was Alan; even if Ark couldn't obtain a decent reward, he couldn't find it in himself to take orders from Alan
Groups 2 and 3 were also in a similar situation, as they were also under Alan's direct coned to the front lines, it would be difficult to gain the contribution he needed if he wasn't put in an attack squad Further what the outcome would be
Whichever he chose, neither were desirable
'Is there a way I can raiseindependently?'
After thinking a while, Ark asked the young Lord, ”Where are the castle troops fighting?”
”The Sylphid Knights left the defense of the front gate to the volunteer troops and are out blockading the ene the eneuards are guarding the back gate”
'That's it!' Ark's eyes flashed
Jackson's soldiers were NPCs If he were to fight alongside them, he wouldn't need to worry about Andel or other users He also wouldn't have to worry about being sandwiched in the ain EXP and contribution points
Regretfully, the scenario of hunting with the Sylphid Knights was not to be Well, if the powerful Sylphid Knights participated in the defense line, there would be a probleuards were also NPCs that Ark was very familiar with
”I would like to guard the back gate along with the Jackson guards”
”You will?”
”Yes, as you probably know, I am well acquainted with the Jackson Soldiers Rather than ers, I would be uards hom I have shared my heart”
”But The back gate they are currently guarding is not a very safe place The number of eneate, where uards left Couarded by about 140 volunteer troops, the back gate is erous”
”My Lord” Ark gazed at the young Lord with blazing eye and spoke forcefully ”Jackson Castle is a second home to me In addition, you called me a friend, my Lord How can I desire safety when Jackson Castle is in the erous, then that is fine Even if I were to perish while guarding it, that is what I desire I beg you, please let me do so”
”Ark, you're really!” The young Lord struggled with his emotions
Even the guard captain, Cross, as listening in from the side was overcome with emotion
”Milord, I also ask this favor If the righteous foreigner Ark as acknowledged by the late lord were to help, it would raise the rant this request I will swear to protect him from harm”
”Fine, although a foreigner participating in the guard force is unprecedented, Ark fought the devil with the Sylphid Knights before And if it's you, who loves Jackson ht to do so Sir Cross, Ark is my friend I leave him to you”
”Yes, sir”
As Cross firepopped up
- Art of Communication has risen by 5