Ark

ACT 9 Innocence Knight

“Mana Explosion! Magic Harmony! Go, Blizzard! Hellfire!”

Kwa kwa kwa bang.

When Jewel used the skills, fire and ice emerged from both hands.  The Nakujuk to one side were engulfed in ice while the other side was burnt by the flames. It was a display of high levelled magic that swirled around the area!

“Magic arrow, Arrow Shower!”

Duke also continuously shot magic arrows into the sky. The shower of arrows normally only seen in movies hit the Nakujuk surrounded by flames. Thanks to the strong wide area skills, the Nakujuk in that area quickly lost 50% of their health. Then the 6 warriors rushed forward swinging their swords.

“Heroic Strike!”

“Warrior’s Strength!”

The Nakujuk fell one after the other thanks to the wave of sword attacks. Indeed, the Hermes guild showed increased strength and organization. However, there were 200 opponents. Jewel and Duke, the two pioneers used their strongest skill’s and killed around 30 of the opponents, but the Nakujuk quickly filled the vacant spots.

“Kill them!”

“Death to the foreigners who dared to interfere with the sacred rituals.”

No matter how much they tried, the numbers did not decrease.

“Ugh………in a place like this……..”

“To die without resolving the guild’s feud……it is vexing!”

The shamans and clerics used recovery magic continuously and eventually ran out of mana. Eventually, 2 warriors were unable to cope with their wounds and collapsed. The remaining warriors decided to focus on attack and removed their shields but the situation was still the same.

“Feel the wrath of the darkness! Touch of Darkness!”

Then, a dark hand fell out of the sky onto one of the warriors. The warrior’s face drained like a mummy as he instantly lost all his health. Tamura who had been watching finally decided to use his magic. With the addition of Tamura’s magic, Jewel’s party started collapsing.

“Damn, I can’t die like this. Volcano!”

Jewel was persistent and used her most powerful spell. The earth cracked open and rocks shot out, striking the Nakujuk. Once again the Nakujuk suffered a devastating blow but Jewel’s mana became low. Meanwhile, Duke had been surrounded by the Nakujuk and eventually died.

“Ugh………..If only I had my Wind Spirit’s Boots………”

Anyway, he died with a lot of regrets.

“Duke-! Damn, Ark……..you, you bastard…….!”

“Jewel-nim, we’ve run out of mana…….”

“Hang in there, we can’t just die like this!”

“Kuaaaak!”

The gleam of the sword and blood! Cries and screams! The blazing fire magic! It was truly a bloody and spectacular battle.

“Lululala…….”

But Ark didn’t pay it that much attention. While everyone’s gaze was on the battlefield, Ark hummed and sang as he strolled among the carriages.

“Hey, who are you?”

One of the Nakujuk standing by the carriages lifted his sword. While the majority of the Nakujuk were fighting Jewel’s group, there were only 10 Nakujuk guarding the carriages.

“A warrior of justice, what else?”

Ark cheerfully swung Gwisal’s sword. And the fated reunion took place.

“The angle and situation looks good…….action!”

After Buksil gave the signal, Ark and Guran ran to the carriage.

“Lariette-nim!”

“Bona-nim!”

“Ark-nim!”

Lariette had been standing close to the bars and watching the battle.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll open it immediately.”

Ark unlocked the carriage using the key he found in Hagel Forest. Then Bona and the deceased trapped in the carriage came pouring out. Guran ran forward and hugged Bona tightly.

“Bona-nim!”

“G-Guran! Sob, Guran! I was scared.”

“I’m really sorry. I couldn’t protect you…….”

Yes, it was definitely a touching sight. But why didn’t he hear the sound of his quest completing?

Finally, Lariette left the carriage and approached Ark. She stared at him with mixed emotions before she blushed and started speaking.

“You’ve come. I knew you would.”

“Of course I came.”

Although more than half of his decision was because of the quest. However, Ark knew enough not to mention that in this situation. He was playing the role of a knight rescuing a princess from danger. Although he got goose bumps form the idea, the major projector was filming so he whole heartedly portrayed it.

“I would never leave Lariette-nim in a horrible place like this.”

And Lariette was suitably impressed.

“To go so far just for me……..!

“I have a lot of things I’d like to ask and also some things I want to inform you of, but the detailed talk will have to come later. Right now, my ‘friendly’ colleagues are taking care of them but I don’t know how long they’ll last. Guran, Buksil! Take Lariette and Bona to a safe place.”

“Yes, I understand.” Bona-nim, Lariette-nim. Follow me.”

Guran nodded and went up to the 2nd floor. However, Lariette just looked anxiously at Ark.

“Ark-nim isn’t coming?”

“I have work to do. How can I just run away leave that guy who tried to sacrifice Lariette, Bona and other innocents alone? Even if it ends in tragedy, I have to punish him.”

Ark lifted his sword and spoke in a determined voice. Bona was saved so there would be no problem with quest completion even if he ran away. But Ark couldn’t be satisfied with just completing the quest.

‘Are you crazy? How can I just leave without attempting to catch the boss? In addition, he is a boss monster where certain conditions have to be met for him to appear! He would likely drop more than one rare item. Even if I die, I’ll just revive in the Valley Town!’

That was Ark’s true purpose. But he couldn’t show his greed since people might end up watching the video. Lariette hesitated before making up her mind.

“Okay. Then I’m going to help as well.”

“Huh? Lariette-nim?”

“Yes, it’s a request. Please let me help Ark-nim.”

“…….I understand.” But please focus on supporting me from behind with your magic.”

He intended to use the ‘Flash’ technique like before.  However, the thought ‘I can’t put Lariette in danger’ was present in the back of his mind.

‘So far I’ve only troubled Ark-nim by helping Alan…….but he has been thinking well of me since the interview……! In addition, those colleagues sacrificed their lives for Ark-nim…….that is different from Alan, with Dawn Blade disbanding as soon as he was in a crisis. Ark-nim is just like I imagined!’

Lariette interpreted the situation in this wrong way thanks to her misunderstanding.

“As expected of Ark-nim…….”

“Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll be assisting Ark-nim from behind.”

Lariette blushed and shook her head. While the drama was occurring between Ark and Lariette, Jewel’s group was collapsing one by one. But they didn’t go down without a fight.

“These bastards, I have to kill as much of them as possible before dying!”

A recovery shaman and Jewel were the only ones remaining……..and in the last 1 minute, Jewel began to chant a desperate spell. The Nakujuk gathered around and Jewel completed the spell just as the shaman restored her health.

“Hahaha, this is a pioneer’s very last move, Self-destruct!”

Pepepepeng!

At that moment, Jewel’s body exploded. The Nakujuk in the surrounding area quickly lost all of their health. Even the boss Tamura was pushed back a few metres by the explosion. Indeed, the name of a pioneer wasn’t shamed by Jewel’s last action. However, Jewel’s fierce death was all in vain. If Jewel knew that Ark was aiming for this opportunity, the group probably wouldn’t have fought against the Nakujuk. However, the number of Nakujuk was too much and they couldn’t spot Ark among the crowd. Without knowing this face, Jewel just exploded and died……..

‘The Hermes guild’s party……..was more fantastic than I thought. Now it is possible to finish this!’

Ark used Eyes of the Cat to examine Tamura and the Nakujuk. The number of Nakujuk was reduced from 200 to 90. Jewel’s group took care of 110 people. Furthermore, the remaining 90 Nakujuk had approximately 30% of their health left thanks to the wide area magic.

‘This is indeed an experience field! I’ll thankfully accept all the experience left behind!’

“Elemental sword, Fire attribute!”

Ark used the most destruction attribute and applied it to Gwisal’s sword. While Ark was making preparations, Lariette also gave him some secondary protection.

“Sword Aura, Ghost Armour!”

The secondary magic boosted attack and defense!

“Lariette-nim, unleash a wide area magic on these guys!”

“Yes, Blades of wind, Tornado!”

Lariette’s wind blades swept past the Nakujuk clan. However, Lariette’s magic wasn’t as strong as Jewel’s. It only decreased the health of twenty Nakujuk by 5%.

“That is sufficient, let’s go!”

Ark shot forward along with the wind magic.

“You dare…………!”

Tamura swung his cane and approached. But Ark’s goal was not Tamura. Ark used Slide to avoid Tamura’s cane and then shouted.

“Demonic Opening, Flash!”

At the moment the sword, a ray of light instantaneously penetrated the Nakujuk. All enemies within a 20 metre radius were hit by Flash! The remaining 90 Nakujuk were closely bunched up behind Tamura. When Flash penetrated that group, a tremendous amount of blood appeared and the ninety Nakujuk all had their health decreased. Ark used Flash twice in succession and Lariette also used her magic, causing twenty Nakujuk to collapse. And when he used Flash again along with the flames, the remaining people died. Using the skill 3 times annihilated 90 people! In addition, he successfully used Drastic Measures forty times.

He gained 2 levels just by killing the henchmen.

“A-awesome! This is the first time I’ve seen such a scene!”

Buksil was recording from the 2nd floor and had his mouth hanging open. Lariette also looked at Ark with an enraptured expression. She was not the only one surprised. Tamura could not believe his eyes and he looked at the sea of blood.

“Ugh, this is unbelievable………!”

“Now, now it is your turn Tamura.”

Ark released Demonic Opening and turned around. Demonic Opening should only be used when dealing with something quickly. Using it for a long time was detrimental to his health.

“Damn you, I’ll crush your bones and eat your flesh!”

“How are you going to do that? Dedric, Deimos. It’s time for the main part!”

“Hehehe, I’ve been waiting for this!”

Clack clack clack clack!

Ark, Deimos and Dedric attacked Tamura from three different directions. When Tamura tried to chant a spell, Dedric clung to his face while Deimos stabbed him. Then Deimos bumped him sharply with the shield and the spell was released. At that moment………..!

“Radun, sword! Elemental Sword, Lightning!”

Ark used Elemental Sword and sparks gathered around the sword Radun gave him.

“Take this, Blade Storm!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

The sword was crushed and the pieces swirled intensely in the air. However, this wasn’t a simple Blade Storm. Since it temporarily took on the lightning attribute thanks to Elemental Sword, lightning flashed among the debris.

“Kuaaak, this bastard!”

Tamura screamed as sparks hit his body. Tamura was a level 500 boss. But monsters that were magicians had low defense. Thanks to the various wide area magic from Jewel’s group, his health had already decreased to 40%. He then lost a further 10% thanks to the damage from Blade Storm.

‘Okay, I can win!’

But he couldn’t relax just yet. A magician had low defense and attack speed. But the reason many users preferred magicians was because of their incredible magic, which could change the situation with one attack.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Tamura started using his magic and it wasn’t a joke. When the cursed black fog of the Necromancer spread, he received incredible dark attribute and deadly poison damage. However, Ark possessed 100% resistance to the dark and 50% resistance to poison. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that with his resistances, he was the natural enemy of dark magicians. But the black fog still dealt 300 damage. Also…….!

“Rise, Children of the darkness!”

Tamura spread out both arms and a dark aura emerged from them. Then the Nakujuk were resurrected as zombies. However, half of them were completely smashed or cut open by Ark. They only numbered 50 zombies. And they were revived with less than 50% of their health and stats.

“Damn, this is the special magic of the Necromancer? Flash!”

Ark used Flash and shattered the zombies. They only had 50% health, and the 50% of stats meant that their defense was incredibly low. Thanks to Flash, he severed them with one stroke and the zombies were converted to experience. However, Ark had 4,000 mana and it was running low because he used Flash continuously.

‘It will become more disadvantageous the longer it takes. I have to make a prompt decision!’

“Dedric, don’t stop disturbing him and prevent him from using magic!”

“Understood. Wait you bastard! Dark Dash!”

“Deimos, constantly strike him with Shield Stroke!”

Clack clack clack clack, daeng!

“Ugh, these guys are so annoying……!”

The life of a magician was concentration. While it didn’t do that much damage, both Deimos’ and Dedric’s techniques induced stiffness. It was minor but those disturbances slowed down the rate of his magic spells. Lariette also used her magic attacks.

“Ark-nim. It’s dangerous. Thunderbolt!”

Lightning flew from Lariette’s fingertips towards Tamura’s nose.

Clack clack? Clack clack clack clack!

At that time, the wrong situation occurred. While Tamura stumbled, Deimos stook in front of Lariette and started talking to her. When Lariette became puzzled, Dedric translated for her.

“I can’t attack Tamura’s face?”

“What? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. Huk!”

Dedric shrugged before quickly avoiding Tamura’s attack. He couldn’t understand why Deimos said those words. But they had no time to worry about such a trivial matter when facing a boss.

‘It’s almost done!’

But Ark miscalculated. Tamura eventually fell into a critical condition.

“I can’t believe this. Losing to this guy…….no! I can’t die!”

Tamura rushed wildly towards Ark. Ark quickly used Slide and swung his sword. However, Ark wasn’t Tamura’s goal. He continued running forward and jumped into the pit of darkness. Then a massive black aura appeared from the pit.

“W-what is he doing……..?”

Did the boss monster commit suicide? Ark was devastated at the thought.

Ku-Kung!

Suddenly a black arm emerged from the pit. The wet hands soaked in sticky oil……..Tamura unexpectedly climbed up from the pit covered in a viscous black liquid. His red eyes turned towards Ark and he smiled. Dedric became freaked out and retreated.

“Hik, what is that?”

The protective coat protects Tamura by 500% while his abilities have increased by 100%. In addition, it invalidates the bonus damage of all skills. However, the demonic attribute is weak against weapons with the ability to exorcise evil spirits. These weapons will invalidate the special abilities of the protective coating.

<Demonic Attribute: According to legend, the demonic attribute was passed down by a malevolent deity.  The demonic attribute is the most predominant among all evil attributes>

‘Evil Spirit Fragments?’

‘Huhuhu, power…….the power of darkness……..ruin……..destroy everything…….everything…….destroy…….!”

Tamura murmured as he lifted both hands.

“I feel unpleasant. Dedric, Deimos. Plan A!”

“Yes Master!”

Clack clack clack clack!

Ark, Dedric and Deimos tackled Tamura. Even if his stats were at 100%, he only had 10% health left. If they concentrated their attacks then the fight would be over in 1 minute. At that time, Tamura turned and struck a carriage with his stick. Then the trapped deceased started pouring out. Tamura snatched up one of the deceased and swallowed it. Then, little by little, his health was restored.

<When swallowing and chewing and enemy, you can absorb some of their health>

‘What, what the?’

Ark burst out with surprise. Now the boss who he almost caught was slowly recovering? What kind of absurd situation was this? Ark panicked and immediately attacked, but Tamura just withdrew and swallowed the rest of the deceased. Once his health had been restored to 30%, Tamura smashed another wagon.

‘Oh my god…….what is this nonsense………!’

Ark’s face paled. Now he had no mana left. Ark’s health was also at 30%. The stats of the boss was 100% and now he was slowly recovering his health? In addition, he could continue restoring his health with the remaining carriages.

“Dark blade!”

Ark panicked and used Dark Blade, but Tamura’s health did not decrease at all. His demonic attribute overrode the additional damage of all his skills. Dark’s Blade biggest strength was that it ignored all defense, but that made no difference with Tamura.

‘If he manages to recover 100% health……..then it is the end. Somehow I must stop the recovery! But he doesn’t even blink at my attacks…….although attacks with the Holy attribute can damage it, only the shamans and temple priests can use that attribute…….damn!’

Ark starting losing his spirit and stared at Tamura devastated.

‘Wait, perhaps there might be a way to stop the recovery!’

“Please come to your senses. Even if you’re dead, your lives are still valuable to this world. Don’t let your existences be eaten by an evil demon. Oppose the devil with your willpower and protect yourselves!”

Ark used the power of Nursing.

Pepeng-!

“Kuaaak……!”

There was a white flash of light from Tamura’s mouth where he was chewing another deceased. Then instead of recovering his health, he received considerable damage and stumbled.

‘It is like I expected! I can use Nursing to stop his healing! No, I might even be able to defeat him!’

Tamura received damage after eating the deceased. This was due to the side effect of Ark’s Nursing. The additional effect of Nursing that Ark had forgotten about…….was the blessing. Blessings had a holy attribute. If he ate the dead who had a holy attribute, he would receive damage instead. They weren’t injured, so the deceased couldn’t receive the Nursing effect. However, Tamura had to chew on them in order to absorb life.  At that moment, the dead became injured. Ark aimed for that moment and used Nursing. While avoiding Tamura’s attacks, he concentrated on the movements of the deceased. And the moment Tamura tried to swallow a deceased, Ark would stop the recovery using Nursing and Tamura would receive damage. He managed to stop the healing using Nursing three or four times. When he used Nursing once again, an intense light appeared around Ark’s body instead.

Your sincerity in regards to the dead had surpassed the limits of space and species.

Life has no ranks. Whether they be the kings who rules a kingdom or the stray beggars who wander the streets, all life is precious. Many people, even priests don’t realize this fact. But you have taken care of countless lives and realized this truth. Although the deceased are just wandering around the Netherworld, it is still their lives.

Abandoned by everyone, you are the only one who did not forsake the deceased! You have become an inspiration through your achievements and have received a higher rank of caretaker.

* Due to the success of miracle nursing, all stats increase by 1.

* Affection increases by 10.

* Alignment towards Good increases by 50.

* The blessing effect is applied to all the deceased for 2 hours.

Your fame as a Caretaker has increased, so you will receive praises from many patients.

* As a title bonus all stats will increase by 2.

* Fame increases by 50.

‘This is truly a miracle!’

Due to the effects of Miracle Nursing, the blessing effect was applied to all the deceased. In other words, Tamura’s food has been poisoned. Thanks to that, Tamura’s recovery stopped at 50%. Although the recovery was stalled, the situation didn’t become better. Tamura’s demonic attribute was still nullifying his extra attacks and Ark had no more mana, so there was no way for him to attack.

“Ohhhh, this guy…….how dare you interfere with my meal……..!”

Tamura became furious at the interruption to his meal. Hundreds of black hands made of the vicious liquid formed around Tamura. Dozens of the deceased were suddenly caught by those hands. Then the deceased had all the health drained and they turned into ashes.

<When caught by the Hands of Death, they will lose 10 health every 1 second>

“Huk, what the? Slide! Deimos, Dedric! Avoid it!”

Ark shouted as he slid all over the place trying to avoid the hands. Fortunately Deimos and Dedric instinctively sensed the crisis and either dropped to the ground or flew in the sky to avoid the black hands. Thanks to that, only the deceased were turned to black powder. At that moment, something he never imagined happened. The place Lariette was standing was out of reach of the black hands. But when a black hand reached towards a certain deceased standing near her, she shrieked and plunged forward.

“N-no!”

“La-Lariette-nim?”

Ark lifted his head in surprise. Instead of the deceased, Lariette was being held by Tamura’s hands. Lariette’s health quickly began to drain out. And her health reached the bottom in a blink of an eye…….!

Suddenly there was a blinding glare of light. Ark frowned and stared at the strange sight. The dead person who had been saved by Lariette was suddenly surrounded by a beam of light. Then a knight holding a sword and shield emerged from the light. He shot towards Tamura like an arrow while holding his sword thrust in front of him.

Booom!

Tamura stumbled from the attack and became stunned. Then the knight appeared next to Ark holding Lariette.

‘What the? What the hell is going on?’ Who is this guy?’

Ark couldn’t get a grasp on the situation. Then, Lariette muttered with a pale face.

“Holy Knight……!”

“Holy Knight? What about a Holy Knight? Are you talking about Alan?”

Ark asked with a stupid face. However, the Knight just ignored Ark and spoke towards Lariette.

-Lady, with a pure heart like a white jade……I pay my respects to your heartfelt sacrifice.

The Knight bowed his head before continuing.

-I am known as the Holy Knight Ronian. After the person I was soul linked fell into darkness, I was corrupted and became a nameless dead wandering the Netherworld. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been a deceased lost in the darkness forever.

“I received a request from your squire. So…….”

– I know. Johnny……poor boy. It was because of Johnny’s request that you found me. And you were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep your promise with that child. I’ve regained my sense of self because of you. I was desperate to overcome the darkness. But I couldn’t win by myself……..

Ronian clenched his pendant with a pained expression and closed his eyes for a moment. But he soon opened them again and laughed.

-But you’ve allowed me to regain my hope after everything was lost.  My spirit could return slightly thanks to that man’s blessing. And you protected me with complete sincerity. By sacrificing yourself……..your beautiful heart was enough to completely awaken my spirit.  Now that I’ve regained my will, I’ll be able to return to heaven.

Ronian released the pendant before holding it out to Lariette.

-Beautiful maiden…….will you accept my legacy? If you accept then you be known as Holy Knight but will receive the title ‘Innocence Knight.’

If you accept Ronian’s offer then you will lose your previous profession and become an Innocence Knight. Innocence Knight is a women only profession in the Holy Knight series. An Innocence Knight has the same characteristics as a Holy Knight. However, the attack and defense applied to weapons and armour is weak. Instead, a lot more bonuses from Holy magic will be applied.

If you accept, your current profession ‘Magician’ will be automatically cancelled and all your skills and characteristics will be reset except for level and stats. Instead, Ronian’s special abilities will be added. 50% of your current skill points will be returned. You can invest the returned skill points in any skill to raise it.

Would you like to accept?

Lariette hesitated as she looked at the information window before nodding.

“………….I’ll change my profession.”

-It will be done!

Ronian scattered like a mist and merged with Lariette’s body.

“Ugh…….this guy……how dare he…….death…….!”

At that time, Tamura was finally able to move and rushed towards them. Lariette quickly looked through her skills list before instantly casting Holy magic.

“Pure Shield!”

A shield made of light formed in front of them. Boom. A violent impact shook the room. Of course, the hastily cast shield of light could not completely stop Tamura’s attack. But the amazing thing was Tamura’s reaction. Tamura received damage from the attack and wobbled.

‘Yes, his weak point is Holy magic!’

He had no interest in what went on between Ronian and Lariette.  The important thing was that Lariette could now damage Tamura.

“Lariette-nim, can you add Holy magic to my sword?”

“Ha, I think I can.”

Lariette looked through her skills list again. And she used her points to raise ‘Pure Sword’ to intermediate before walking towards Ark.

<Damage +15%, it will invalidate the protective dark attribute shield and additional damage +15%>

“Okay, Demonic Opening!”

Ark used Demonic Opening and struck Tamura.

Pepepepeng!

There was a crack in the black slime and Tamura stumbled. So far, no matter how much he stabbed, Tamura would not shed even one drop of blood or lose any health.

‘It works!’

Ark’s eyes brightened. Meanwhile, Lariette eagerly read through her skills and invested some points to make them intermediate.

“Pure Soul, Warrior’s Strength!”

Pure Shield was able to reflect any attacks with the dark attribute! Pure Soul raised the defense against dark attribute attacks by 30%! Warrior’s Strength increased health by 20%! The Innocence Knight could also overlap buffs 3 times like a Holy Knight. Lariette raised those skills to intermediate and continuously stacked them on Ark. Thankfully, he could now overcome Tamura’s demonic attribute. So after the battle continued for several minutes, the crack in the black slime widened further.  Then a red light blinked from inside. Eyes of the Cat had found Tamura’s underbelly. Ark instinctively realized what the symbol giving off the murderous intent was.

“Blessing of the sea!”

Adelaine’s Necklace increased his defense and mana.

‘Radun, Myutal’s Rapier!”

Ssak ssak ssak!

Ark grasped Myutal’s Rapier and made it crack with Blade Storm. There was a violent ringing sound as the sword cracked.

“Take this, Blade Storm!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

He shoved Myutal’s Rapier into the black aura just before it exploded. Then the black slime swelled up like a balloon. After a while, the black slime fell off Tamura’s body. When Tamura’s appearance was revealed, he looked like a skeleton with only bones left behind. Ark immediately drew Gwisal’s sword and attacked. When Drastic Measures was used, the head was cut off and fell to the ground.

Message windows continuously popped up. He quickly rose 9 levels!  It was thanks to the bonus experience applied from Drastic Measures.

“This, unbelievable……..darkness…….the power of the Lord of Darkness……”

Tamura’s head muttered as he died.

“The power to resurrect……when I obtain absolute power…….I will destroy the world with the power of the great darkness……he, he………he said………it was a lie……”

‘He?’

Ark was puzzled by the words. Then black beads emerged from Tamura’s mouth and rose towards the sky. Ark flinched and went to grab his sword bag……..

Biiiiiik-!

A black eagle flew down from the sky with a sharp sound. And it grabbed the beads before soaring into the sky again. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react.

“What, what the? That eagle?”

While the eagle soared to the top of the Abyss of Despair, Ark was able to spot one man at the top. The man was standing obscured by the moon. Although he couldn’t confirm any details of his shape, the red hair and white mask was unusually visible.

‘It can’t be…….the Red Man!’

The Red man that appeared in Yggdrasil’s video!

‘Then Tamura was referring to the Red Man before? If so…….the Red Man was even behind this situation? Then that bead must be a clue!’

Ark was about to jump up with he suddenly stopped.

‘Damn, there are items still here…….!’

There were items from the 200 Nakujuk scattered around the underground. In addition, he still hadn’t checked the items Tamura dropped! He couldn’t give up everything just to chase the Red Man. And even if he ran now, there was no way to catch up. The Red Man muttered something when the eagle approached before grasping a claw and flying into the sky.  And he soon disappeared into the darkness. Even Dedric wouldn’t be able to catch up with that speed! Ark and Lariette just stared with their mouths open. How much time had passed? Suddenly Lariette raised her head and embraced Ark.

“Kyaaa, we won! We defeated Tamura!”

At the same time, his thoughts about the Red Man flew towards Andromeda.

“La-Lariette-nim?”

When Ark spoke, Lariette blushed and moved her arms.

“I-I’m sorry. I was so excited……..”

“Ah, no. You can hold on…….”

“Huh?”

“No.”

Ark closed his mouth and shook his head. There was an awkward silence between the two of them. After a while……Lariette looked at Ark before saying.

“I…….I finished all my work here. But I don’t know how to return to our original world. After I entered, the gate disappeared.”

Ark seemed to have been expecting something else and replied with a disappointed face.

“I also haven’t found a way to return yet. The gate I entered was one-way. I’m sorry I can’t help.”

“No, it’s not that……can I stay with Ark until you find the gate?”

“Yes?”

Ark stared at Lariette with wide eyes. Continuing with Lariette. It was what he had been hoping for since the start of the game. In addition, he saw the value of having Lariette along after fighting this boss. But the idea of sharing items weighed heavily on his mind. A crush was a crush, but didn’t reality also matter? It was necessary to make the part clear. It would be a problem is he lost half of his income because of a crush.

“I’d love to have you help me. But before that, the items…….”

“I just want to accompany you for a while. I don’t care about anything else.”

Lariette had been accompanied by Alan from the beginning of the game and didn’t know the pain of starvation. So she didn’t really need items. Or maybe she thought Ark would give her any items with her specifications? If she thought so then she was wrong. Although he would concede japtem to some extent, he wouldn’t even concede valuable items to JusticeMan.

‘Yes, she’s changed her profession from a magician to a knight. She’s been wearing magician equipment until now so I’ll give her some knight items from the japtem.”

Anyway, now there was no reason to refuse Lariette’s request.

“I understand. I accept.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be organizing my skills for a while. Since my skills have changed, I need to perform some maintenance.”

Ark nodded and Lariette went up to where Bona was waiting. Ark felt something strange because of her attitude but shook his head.

‘She’s probably relieved not to be wandering the Netherworld alone.’

But now wasn’t the time to be concerned about her inner thoughts.

‘Tamura’s items!’

The rewards after so much suffering!

“Okay, Radun. Look around and swallow the japtem.”

Ssak ssak ssak!

Ark released Radun and approached Tamura.

The essence of a Necromancer who inhabited the Abyss of Despair.

*The information regarding the monster’s essence has been grasped using the excellent intuition of an advanced Survival Cooking chef.

This essence belongs to Tamura, a Necromancer of the Nakujuk clan who ruled the Abyss of Despair. The culmination of his power resides in this crystal that contains a mysterious knowledge. After completing the immortality pill, you will be able to acquire some of the knowledge.

<Monster Essence Rating: A>

“Huk, an A rank essence…….!”

Ark felt breathless as his jaw dropped. This was the second time he found an essence in the Netherworld. And this time it was an A rank essence! As an A rank essence, it should have a stronger effect than Slime’s Immortality Pill. The bonus would be unimaginable.

‘Is this the effect of Drastic Measures? Or do essences have a higher probability of dropping in the Netherworld?’

Well, it doesn’t matter why it appeared. Ark made himself calm down and confirmed the next item.

Weapon type: Staff

Attack: 35~40

Durability: 55/90

Weight: 40

User restriction: Level 200 or more Necromancer

The Necromancer Tamura’s staff. An evil artifact made by extracting the bones from a large number of bodies. Powerful death magic is imbued in this weapon.

<Option: Mental Power +30, Intelligence +20, Health +200, Necromancer’s skills +10%>]

<Special Option: The Necromancer only skill ‘Power of Death’ is applied. ‘Power of Death’ gives a bonus 30% to the stats of all summoned undead creatures>

Ark’s eyes widened after he saw the item. It was also an amazing item. Most rare items had a skill attached as an option, but it was hardly ever a passive option. The effect increased the abilities of the summons by 30%! Plus there was the general passive option of increasing all necromancer’s skills by 10%. It was an item that every necromancer would want to get their hands on.

Since it took a lot for necromancers to summon, they would offer a lot of money to buy this item. Any user who raised their character over level 200 would have the kind of money to buy this item for an expensive price!

The Netherworld was an unexplored area where only 10 people have come. Most of the monsters and bosses killed by Ark would’ve died for the first time. Therefore, the probability of monsters dropping their best items was quite high. With the use of Drastic Measures, the Netherworld had become a gold mine for Ark.

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack!

Then, he heard Deimos approach the place where Tamura’s head fell.  Ark became shocked when he turned around and saw what was happening. A horrific scene was unfolding in front of Ark. Deimos had been ripping the flesh off Tamura’s head. Deimos had revealed a skull in an instant and cradled it with a warm look on his face. Then he placed Tamura’s skull with the rest of his skeleton. A blue flame appeared in the eyes while red sparks started spreading on the new skeleton.

‘W-what is going on? Oh my god……Is this the reason Deimos didn’t want us to attack Tamura’s head…….?’

He coveted Tamura’s skull? Although he knew Deimos had a ‘bone collecting’ hobby, but to even change his head? It was a bizarre sight. But Ark hadn’t assessed the situation correctly. Deimos intention wasn’t simply to change the bones.

The new skeleton merged with Deimos as he was engulfed in a red glow. A message window immediately appeared next to Ark.

TO BE CONTINUED

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.