Vol 4 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Bounty Hunter

Ark didn't have ion yet Even when he spread out the map and looked at it, it was al He had first coe shortcut, and after that he had lived holed up in the blind auction house Then, the event quest had started right afterwards, so he had no time to hunt That's why he stopped by a General Store before leaving Giran to buy soht a rounds, new info would be added automatically

Based on that inforrounds around Giran There were forest, plains, swaion, the ed from level 50-100 as well This was a perfect place for low leveled players to level up after leaving Jackson Territory

'Let's see The Old Forest where the Silver Arrow thief gang is'

When he checked the map, it was marked as a level 60-80 area

'It's a reasonable level'

Ark was currently level 78 He felt it was a bit easy, since he had hunted oals were infor anyway, the easier it was, the better

Arkthe road When he travelled on a paved road, an additional effect of +20 movement speed was added Therefore, he could minimize travel time Thanks to that, Ark reached his destination in just 30 minutes

Trees of enormous width were packed closely in the Old Forest, where the Silver Arrow thief gang was hiding

”It's meat! Fresh human meat!”

When he entered the forest, three Trolls appeared as if they had been waiting, Ark's eyes flashed

'This is good I wanted to try out the Deadly Poison skill before I encounter the thief gang'

”Grrrrrr, DIE!”

Claaang!

Shrieking, a Troll swung its club But, being in the early level 70s, the Troll was already no match for Ark

”Dedric, Skull Buy me some time”

”Huhuhu, playing with such a slow fellow is no problem”

Clack clack clack!

Dedric and Skull replied confidently as they attacked the Troll With that opening, Ark dodged the club with light footwork and fell back Then he fed Snake the ingredients he had confir the forest A short while afterwards, light blue fluid flowed out of Snake's fangs It was venom made with the Deadly Poison Production skill

Swish, ka-chink!

When he spread the venom on the blade, the blade's surface turned blue with an eerie sound effect

You have applied Neurotoxin (Beginner) to Lancel's Sword

If the eneion will be paralyzed for 5 seconds (5 uses)

”Dedric, Skull Distract the other guys now!”

Having applied the poison, Ark flexed hisout like an arrow

The Troll swung its club with a roar However, Ark had faced the irregular attacks of Shadows at Jackson not long ago He could dodge the incomparably slow Troll's attack with his eyes closed Ark twisted his head to dodge the club as he stabbed horizontally with his sword A Counter Attack burst out in that instant as the Troll swayed to one side

- The Troll's left leg has been paralyzed by Neurotoxin!

Paralyzed in one leg, the Troll retreated while li very pitifully But Ark wasn't one to spare a monster because it was pitiful He i Then, when he let loose a sidekick as he dodged the club, the Troll with both legs paralyzed flailed both its ar over It was in a perfectly defenseless state!

Double Critical Chance activated

”Dark Blade!”

After taking iht, the Troll disappeared

It was the sa Trolls The Troll's arm would droop limply if he struck it with his sword Occasionally, the spinal nerves were paralyzed when he dealt a critical hit to the body

Of course, the activation rate wasn't 100 Perhaps because it was Beginner Deadly Poison, the success rate was roughly 20 The rate was slightly higher than succeeding a kick with high difficulty

But there was a point that Ark hadn't thought of In the case of kicks, large ot status hexes But the poison activated at a pretty high rate even when facing large monsters In addition, it wasn't random like a kick; a specific status condition could be dealt by choice

This had a considerable effect Ark took down three Trolls in just 2 minutes

”Isn't this surprisingly useful?”

In battle, even a single second couldn't be ignored Especially when in a crisis, the few seconds it took to drink a potion could decide victory or defeat So if the enemy could be paralyzed for 5 seconds at a 20 chance, there was nothing more to say Moreover, an enemy could be paralyzed for a maximum of 15 seconds since it could be used five times

'I've always got the ingredients on hand, especially since I don't use poisonous ingredients that often In other words, I can use this whenever I need it!'

Having thought that far, Ark coot the likes of the frost attribute sword Unlike a sword that he would siot a better ite time once he learned it If it was a useful skill, then it could be better than a Rare item and wasn't bad at all

'This skill ht even be more useful than the Rare sword!'

Huredients around and tested theinner skill, he could only redients eak poison Most of the effects were just so-so, but there a few useful ones

Hesitation Poison, which reduced the enemy's movee every 10 seconds for one minute, and Vulnerability Poison, which reduced the enemy's defense by 20 for 10 seconds It was hard to expect absolute effects, but it was more or less fine to use them as support

However, it wasn't a skill he should recklessly overuse, because the effect didn't apply the same way to every e htly shorter as well But the Thorny Plant Poison that caused Bleeding actually raised activation rate and lengthened duration Whereas, if he used Acid Poison on a monster with the acid attribute, it would heal rather than dae

'In other words, it means I have to deter it!'

He would study the monster and attack it with astyle

If there was one drawback, it was that it had poor cost to product ratio There was a liredients, and there were ti He couldn't just e lie count would decrease whether it was blocked or wasted

'But that too is up to me There isn't a skill that reedy'

No technique is perfect For balance, of course they all had their oeaknesses Using that properly was the player's skill!

”Okay, Snake I like it You did well”

Hiss hiss!

As Ark grinned for a change, the color returned to Snake's face Then Dedric grumbled with a very displeased expression ”Tsk, tsk, tsk!”

”What? Do you have a complaint?”

”No, I don't! What couished Snake when all I have is a talent for flying? I'll just quietly do some recon, jeez” Dedric sharply turned his head as he flapped away

At that sight, Ark held back a wry smile Dedric pretended not to be, but he really was very jealous

As Ark's party , at some point the monster spawns suddenly becae meant from experience He had entered a boundary where the ed But this time, it wasn't just a si's turf

'Co a human'

Not humanoid monsters, but real hu shouldn't be different, though once he thought of it like that, he started to feel pretty uncomfortable Actually, there was really no reason for him to be uneasy since he had already killed Leo and Andel before

'A thief gang isn't much different from monsters anyways'

Ark was thinking like that and ht he heard a sharp whistle A cri down, he saw a thick arrow quivering in his shoulder

- You have been ae Your shoulder has been wounded, so attack speed will be decreased by 10

”Hehehe, we've got good luck today A guest has crawled in with his own legs”

”It's been tough 'cause we haven't had profit for a while, we're grateful for this guest”

”Then we should entertain him”

”Kekeke, though of course, it's our way of entertaining”

'Dang is this the Silver Arrow thief gang?' Ark glanced around himself with shocked eyes

The tree branches were so dense that he couldn't see the sky He heard the voices of the thieves from somewhere up there And not just from one place, but all around they were already in place

He'd gotten so caught up in testing the Deadly Poison skill that he became careless

'Even so, to think they would go as far as to lie in ambush'

No, it was natural if he thought about it with co in nauard the area around their hideout But Ark hadn't thought that far since he had only thought of them as monsters In any case, Ark wasn't particularly worried even though the situation wasn't that good

'The Silver Arrow thief gang's difficulty was F Their average level is probably only in the 70s If it's only that level, there's no need to worry much'

”Dedric, second tree on the right!”

”Okay!”

As Ark pointed to one tree, Dedric answered excitedly as he flew off Then, with a ”bam” sound, one of the thieves screamed as he tumbled off the tree

”Aack, hat the hell? This bat is--?”

”Shut up, I am a noble of the Netherworld, Dedric-nim!”

”Plan A! Skull, let's go!”

Ark ran at the thief with Skull But just as he was about to swing his sword, four arrows shot at him from all directions Ark hastily turned his sword, but even with reflexes trained through Taekwondo, it was impossible to parry four arrows in an instant

”Argh!”

An arrow lodged into his abdoain

Hexed with 'Bleeding' and then 'Reduced Move, the thief that had fallen off hurriedly scrambled up the tree

”That bastard, isn't he co monsters?”

”Don't be caught off guard Seeing as he's holding on even after being hit by arrows, he's not an easy one”

”Let's get rid of that bat first!”

”Concentrate attack on the bat!”

”Dedric, dodge! Plan D!”

”Ah, alright! Ack, what the hell is this?”

At Ark's voice, Dedric hurriedly soared into the sky But before he could fly even a fewand flapped He had been caught by the crude trap of the entangled, dense branches above Ark's head

”Kikikik, idiot How e”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The thieves laughed as they launched their arrows Caught in the tree branches and rendered unable to move, Dedric was hit by three or four arrows in an instant and fell into critical condition Flying creatures were vulnerable to ranged attacks like arrows, so he took 30 additional dae

”Dammit, unsummon Dedric!”

Ark barely prevented Dedric fro him But then the situation became even more difficult All the attacks that had headed towards Dedric were concentrated on Ark Lacking a ranged attack skill, there was nothing Ark could do since they were shooting arrows froround as he blocked and dodged the arrows flying at him crazily from all over the place

However, it was impossible to avoid all the arrows He took one hit from every three to four shots, and his situation only worsened because he was hexed with Slow or Bleeding whenever he got hit

The thieves even acted cunningly

”I'm next!”

Hearing sound froed into his back

”The idiot looked back Kikik”

”What kind of dickhead would point out where each and every arroould fly from?”

”Hey, this time I'll attack Try and block this!”

”Shut up!”

'Do you think I'd fall for that one a second tiht, but when he didn't even turn his head, this ti a few attacks like that, red-hot anger surged in him

Who would have even thought of it? That he would take attacks while being teased by thief NPCs

'Argh, th-these bastards'

Ark ground his teeth But no a his teeth would improve the situation

Ark struck a tree with Dark Blade in rage He was trying to shake a thief loose fro a few e

'damn it, the hell am I supposed to do?'

He also tried to climb up a tree, but even that wasn't easy because of the thieves' arrow attacks He only ended up getting hit stupidly by a few arrows before retreating

Of course, Skull was no help at all There was no way Skull, who rolled along the ground, could crawl up a tree that even Ark couldn't clih the air in Ark's stead In the end, there was no difference whether Skull was there or not Maybe for that reason, the thieves paid no attention to Skull While Ark and Skull ran around in confusion like that, his Health was cut down bit by bit and he fell into critical condition

'No, I can't die against these guys!'

Urgency filled Ark's face

His opponents weren't ordinary monsters If he died at the hands of the thief NPCs, there was a 60 chance that he would drop an equipment item

'I' is the first priority!'

”Unsummon Skull!”

Ark returned Skull back to the Netherworld and began to flee

”You think we'd lose a fish that's already caught?”

The thieves were really not to be taken lightly They used the vines hanging everywhere in the forest to move from branch to branch like Tarzan as they shot arrows

Ark slipped between the trees while dodging the arrows, but in the end he took yet another arrow to his knee and collapsed

”Got him!”

”Finish it!”

'Arghh, da to die from level 70 thieves?'

Ark was grinding his teeth while watching the bandits approach when he suddenly spotted a fa towards It was a brown object that looked like a rugby ball hanging upside down on the tree branch Ark knehat that object was

They were honeybees that inhabited the forests of New World, a Red Bee beehive

In his beginner days of struggling in the Argus Mountains, there was a tiredient, honey, could be acquired from the Red Bee beehive and recklessly rushed in

'Good, with this it's all or nothing!'

”Summon Skull! In the end, I can only depend on you!”

Ark grabbed Skull and threw hiht line and hit the beehive Afterwards, the beehive shook greatly and then Red Bees began to pour out in droves Buzzing with aggressive cries, when the Red Bees poured out, the thieves' faces blanched

”shi+t, Red Bees!”

”R-run away! It's the end if you get caught!”

”Aaaaah!”

As the Red Bees rushed in, the thieves screamed as they fled in all directions One of theround Then the Red Bees swarmed in like clouds and lowered his Health to the bottom in an instant

In the meantime, Ark sent Skull back to the Netherworld and ran into the forest Belatedly discovering Ark, the Red Bees swarmed towards him

Ark had fallen into critical condition, so the Indomitable skill series and Adrenaline effects were activated Thanks to that, his movement speed had increased dramatically, but he couldn't lose the Red Bees coht behind him

'It was somewhere around here, wasn't it?'

Ark tore through the forest like crazy After a few minutes had passed like that, the forest suddenly disappeared and an expansive lake appeared It was a lake he had discovered not long after entering the Old Forest

'Alright, found it!'

Ark immediately jumped into the lake

”Whew !”

The Red BeesIf there hadn't been a lake nearby and if he hadn't had the Mermaid Scale, he would have died without a squeak

Firstly, Ark recovered his Health whilefood

”Dammit! That hurt, IT FRICKIN HURT! Those bastards! I won't forgive thee

Ark felt the same way

Thinking about the battle just now, he suddenly recalled an unpleasant ht when he'd entered elementary school Ark had been a very withdrawn child And at that age, there was always a brat who bullied such kids There were punks like that in Ark's class, too

The brats harassed Ark whenever they could Most of it was just hiding his shoes or eating his lunch, but there was one joke that ht of it now

It was a joke where 3-4 kids would steal his bag and pass it around, taunting him to take it back If he ran towards one kid it would be passed to another kid, and if he ran to get it once ain be passed Someone who hadn't experienced it wouldn't know the feeling

He had felt exactly that hen he was getting toyed with by the thief NPCs A truly inco!

'Those bastards I'll annihilate them no matter what it takes!'

Ark ground his teeth tightly with terrifying eyes At that sight, Dedric and Skull got scared and shrank away

”Hiik, hat's wrong? I did what you told me to do, Master!”

Cla-clack, clack clack clack!

”I know, don't throw a fit and be quiet!”

When Ark yelled at them, Dedric and Skull slinked away carefully and flattened themselves in a corner

He raised his temper at the Familiars, but Ark kneasn't their fault He wasn't generous enough to defend someone else's mistake, but he also wasn't as narrow-minded as to blame others for his mistakes He only had himself to blame for the insufferable humiliation from this battle

'I've got no excuse'

Actually, Ark had been a little conceited all this tiht eneher levels than him 5-10 levels was the usual, and soher than him In addition, he took down boss monsters that he shouldn't have been able to even touch at his level Moreover, he got 1st in contribution in the event quest at level 70

While doing all the things he wanted to do, Ark had forgotten the

It was nothing new, but in New World, level wasn't everything

The co the character was rown faster than others was because he had realized that early on and had refined and polished hi effort into alect that effort It wasn't that he didn't work hard to exercise Like before, he was still working out for two hours every day to the extent of gettingout how he could apply the results of the exercise to Ark He had also neglected research on ways to learn or use new skills Satisfied with his current self, he hadn't improved

'I was too easy-going Because the ht it would stay that way But is a gaht the same monsters forever'

There was an absolute, iames

The higher your level went, the harder the battles would become

If you leveled up, of course you would become that much more powerful But the h level were even stronger In addition, they would gain various characteristics,therew, you needed ame Of course, it didn'tnow, but

'If I'ame, I'll always need to be ahead of the others'

Ark was playing the ga Others invested money in order to play New World, but Ark had to do the opposite, make money off it

Wasn't it obvious that he had to be one step ahead of everyone?