ACT 4 Alan’s Resurrection

“Indeed…..”

Ark stared at the ruins in front of him and sighed. Then Shambala and Lariette looked at him with doubtful eyes.

“What one earth? What are we doing here?”

“Did this use to be a village?”

“……Nuran village.”

Ark responded like he was thinking out loud. Ark had two purposes when he started this mission. The first one was to blow up the Black Obelisk Forest in order to help the Schudenberg army. The other reason was to visit a village related to the quest that was located on the other side of the Albana Mountains. That’s right. The destination of the quest was a village on the border of the Sinius Principality. It was the Lore quest he received after collecting 10 ☆’s. If he completed it then a big prize would be waiting! But after he arrived at the destination, the whole village along with the NPCs had disappeared. However, Ark didn’t look hopeless as he looked around the devastated village.

“It has been more than 10 days since the darkness started spreading……”

In fact, Ark had already guessed that it would reach here. The Sinius Principality was flooded with darkness and monsters had attacked every village and city. Only a few fortified cities managed to barely stop the monsters’ attacks. A small mountain village in the mountains wouldn’t be able to survive it. The destruction of Nuran village was expected. Yet the reason he came here was that this wasn’t the final destination of Ark’s quest.

‘In order to meet the prophet clan to complete the quest, I have to meet with some NPCs on the outside first. Since the prophets live in a hidden village.’

But detailed information about Nuran village was written on the information and it was even marked on the map of the Sinius Principality. In other words, the sequence was ‘Nuran village= Prophet Clan.’ Then the answer was that he could get information about the prophet clan from Nuran village.

‘I need to get information from Nuran village so there might be a way even if it is in ruins. There might even be NPCs who survived the attack from the monsters.’

It was the reason why Ark looked for this location despite his busy schedule. If the Schudenberg expedition moved on after capturing Pabiun Fortress then he would have to go with them. That meant this was his only chance to explore Nuran village. And Ark had 200 expert users as his subordinates. He could also have the users search for him. If there was a clue remaining then it wouldn’t be difficult to find.

‘Fortunately it hasn’t been a long time since the village was attacked.’

“Everybody concentrate! From now on everyone should search through the ruins.

This task is very important so notify me immediately if there are any survivors.”

The soldiers scattered at Ark’s order and looked through the rubble. Then Shambala looked at him with suspicious eyes.

“This task is very important? Really?”

“Are you questioning your leader?”

“Master!”

Ark had retorted in a sharp voice. Then Racard who had been scouting the area hurriedly flew back while shouting.

“What? Monsters?”

“N-no, a monster is a monster…… That guy! It’s him!”

“That guy? What do you mean?”

“A-A-A……”

Racard stuttered breathlessly. Then Shambala flinched and spat out a string of curses.

“Uh? Holy shit! Ark, we’re surrounded!”

“Surrounded? What…….”

Ark looked around with a confused expression. Hundreds of monsters were surrounding the ruins where the special forces were? Monsters with the body of a human and a lion and the head of a bull……there were 800 of the demonic monsters!

‘Damn! How did we get surrounded by so many monsters?’

Ark made a puzzled expression.

“I’m glad that I found you.”

Ark turned his head as he heard a voice from behind him.

Ttukuk, ttukuk…… Somebody slowly emerged from among the monsters. It was a knight wearing bony black armour while riding a skeletal horse. When the knight lifted his helmet, Ark and Shambala shouted at the same time.

“Alan!” “I’m also glad that you haven’t forgotten my name.”

Alan who was inside the black armour muttered.

‘What the hell? How did he appear in a place like this? Didn’t he quit the game? No, what’s with the monsters? Alan is travelling around with monsters? In addition, it looks like Alan is the one commanding them. A user is controlling that many monsters? Such a thing is impossible. Although it is impossible…….’

Ark looked at Alan and had a thought pop into his head.

‘Ah, is it that?’

Ark narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“This type of situation can’t be considered an error but it more like a type of bug in the system. Several users seem to be intentionally abusing this bug.”

That was what he heard when he visited Global Exos not long ago. Users were exploiting the bug!

‘Then Alan is one of those users?’

If Alan was controlling the monsters than that explained their strategic movements at Pabiun Fortress. Then Alan led a squad of monsters and appeared here…….

“What business do you have with me?”

“What do you think?”

Alan asked as he stared at Ark. Although his voice was calm, anger was obvious in every line of his body. It was natural. Ark was the person who stepped on Alan in the past. It was a situation that couldn’t be helped but Alan received enormous damage from Ark. Silvana was taken away and his guild disbanded. He also became a criminal in the eyes of every user. He had been buried in New World. It was a grudge that was impossible to forget in 1 year.

‘It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re mortal enemies.

Neither one of us can endure each other.’ But Ark didn’t know the reason behind Alan’s biggest grudge against him.

“Ah, Alan-nim?”

Lariette who had been observing the atmosphere between the two people said carefully. At the same time, Alan shouted in a rough voice.

“Shut up!”

Lariette paled and retreated after hearing Alan’s shout. But Lariette wasn’t the only one surprised. Ark was also shocked by Alan’s violent reaction. Ark had thought that Alan and Lariette were still lovers. Thanks to the misunderstanding, they had intentionally avoided mentioned Alan’s name to each other. Despite examining his feelings for Lariette many times, he was still blocked by the presence of Alan. A meeting between Lariette and Alan had weighed on his mind. But that idea quickly shattered after Ark saw Alan’s reaction.

‘What the, this reaction is? Well, anyone would be angry if their girlfriend was with the enemy but isn’t this reaction too severe? Does that guy have an abnormal character? Or……”

Had he been misunderstanding the relationship between Lariette and Alan? It was the first time Ark had that thought in 1 year. But Ark had no more time to continue that thought.

“It’s starting now. Ark, Lariette and Shambala! I’ll make you realize what a big mistake you made antagonizing me. I’ll pay you back one hundred, no one thousand times!”

Alan stared at Lariette before raising his sword and shouting.

“Step on all of them! Don’t let even one person escape!”

Kuaaaa! Awooooo!

The hundreds of monsters yelled and rushed forward. Therefore Ark no longer had any time to think about various situations. Currently 800 monsters were surrounding them. There was a reason the special forces couldn’t die. Did they have to fight if the odds weren’t in their favour?

‘I have to find some way to escape!’

“Damn, defense formation!”

The users in the special forces were specially chosen from 30,000 troops. They were warriors with excellent levels and skills. Rather than falling into a panic, the soldiers neatly formed the defense formation at Ark’s command. The warriors used their large shields to form a circle with the archers and magicians in the middle. A perfect circular camp had been formed in seconds.

“Lariette-nim, your buffs!”

“Warrior’s Soul, Shining Sword, Light of Vitality!”

The set of three buffs were scattered around the circular camp. Thanks to the three buffs being piled off, the combat power of the soldiers increased by 20%. Just before the soldiers collided with the monsters, Ark threw the Saw blade and shouted.

“Summon Demon, Razak. Sword transformation release. Iron Fire Wall!”

Ttadak, ttadadadak, tadadak!

The Saw blade flew through the air and transformed into Razak.  Razak raised his shield as soon as he transformed. It was the Blazing Fire Draconian Shield.

Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Kwa kwa kwang, hwarrrruk!

Razak roared (?) and slammed the shield into the ground using his strength. Giant wings of fire opened on both sides of the shield like a Firebird. The wings fluttered and hit 100 monsters that approached. At the same time, the flames from the wings jumped to the monsters’ bodies. It was the special skill of the Blazing Fire Draconian Shield, Iron Fire Wall! The 100 monsters that blindly rushed in were enveloped in flames and became ‘stunned.’ It was a great opportunity! Ark’s eyes flashed and he shouted.

“Now! Archers and magicians, use your wide area skills!”

The wide area skill did less damage than general skills but could attack all enemies in range. But the wide area skill couldn’t designate the target. So it could be used in the midst of confused fighting where friends and foes were mixed together. That’s why Ark lured the monsters first and then stunned them using the Iron Fire Wall.

“The dead sea, unleash the storm of your power…… Tornado!”

“Arrow shower!”

The wide area skills concentrated on the stunned monsters. Tornados tore through the area, hail poured down like a blizzard and there was a shower of arrows! Dozens of wide area skills were concentrated on one area. It was a death space! The monsters confined in that space lost 50% of their health instantly.

“Move to a battle formation and kill the monsters that already have their health decreased!”

“Ohhhhhh!”

The soldiers rushed at Ark’s command while maintaining the circular formation. Currently they were surrounded by 800 monsters. If they broke their formation in such a situation then the soldiers would probably be driven back into a defensive position. With the numbers overwhelming superior to them, it would certainly be instant defeat.

‘I should maintain a 7:3 ratio of defense and attack and reduce the number of enemies.’

But as expected, it was just a temporary solution. The special forces only had 200 people while the monsters were 4 times that with 800 of them.  Of course the special forces consisted of elite users with most of them over level 350. But the monsters Alan brought with him had an average level of 400. Furthermore, the demonic sphere of influence meant the special forces had their stats decreased by 20% and the monsters increased by 20%.

‘It is impossible to win in this state. Even if we can win, the special forces will be almost wiped out. But as long as one person has the Starlight Bomb, they can succeed in blowing up the 50 black obelisks. In that case, we just have to fight and look for an opportunity to run away. But the problem is……’

The soldiers had successfully taken care of the first wave of monsters. That……

“Ark, behind you!”

Then he heard Shambala’s voice. Ark flinched and turned around, seeing a sword aimed at his back. Alan had charge forward on his skeletal horse and swung his sword. Ark reflexively lifted his sword and blocked it. He hadn’t expected it and lost his balance, rolling across the snowfield. Then Alan’s sword fell vertically again. Ark tried to kick the ground to get up but his foot slipped on the ice and he fell again. The sword aimed towards the crown of Ark’s head. No, it was about to split him in half.

Syu syu syu syuk, ka ka ka kak, chaeng!

Three or four daggers flew through the space and hit the sword. The orbit of the sword was changed and it passed by Ark’s head. Alan tried to attack again when his first one failed but he moved back with an irritated look as daggers kept on flying at him. Ark finally got up and regained his posture. Then Shambala who had thrown the daggers appeared next to him.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten that your friends are here.”

“You’re a good friend so take as much as you want.”

“I have to respectfully decline.”

“Really?”

Ark smiled and looked at Alan.

‘This is a chance!’

Ark’s current goal was to minimize the loss of troops and to run away. And the biggest obstacle wasn’t the monsters but Alan. Currently Ark was in the complicated Pabiun Canyon. It would be easy to use the terrain to defeat the monsters following them. However it wouldn’t be that simple if the opponent was a user. A user wasn’t stupid so they wouldn’t be tricked easily. Moreover, the person commanding the monsters was Alan. If he ran away without a plan then it was possible the situation would worsen. Ark had to deal with Alan first before they could escape.

‘I was really concerned that Alan would hide in the rear behind all the monsters. Then it would be harder to find an opportunity to catch him. Yet he appeared right in front of me…….’

Perhaps it was because of his Alan’s grudge and pride.

‘Your grudge will be your fatal mistake!’

Ark quickly glanced at Shambala. Shambala lifted a corner of his mouth and nodded. Attack Alan using the pincer movement. That arrangement was decided with one look. Fair and square? There was no need for something like that. Whether it was reality or a game, he had to do whatever it took to win. How could he worry about fairness when he was close to bankruptcy? It was important to deal with Alan and escape here quickly.

“I’ll take the right side and you’ll take the left!”

Ark and Shambala rushed towards Alan from different sides. Alan turned his body without any hesitation towards Ark.

“Sheesh, wasn’t Ark more scary then this? I’ll show you true power. Arrow!”

Just as Shambala was about to drive his dagger into Alan.

Syu syu syu syuk, syu syu syu syuk!

Dozens of arrows suddenly shot towards Shambala. Shambala hurriedly twisted his dagger but one arrow still lodged in his shoulder. Shambala withdrew and glared at the space where the arrow was shot from.

“Stealth?”

While Shambala was glaring at that space, a woman appeared. The woman with black skin and pointy ears was a Dark Elf. Shambala pulled out the arrow in his shoulder and asked in a cold voice.

“What, you are?”

“What are you going to do? Ask for a date?”

“You think I want to date a girl like you who shots arrows randomly?”

“I’m glad, I also have no interest in weak guys.”

“I’m weak?”

Shambala curled his lip as he looked at the dark elf. No, the moment he looked he flew towards the Dark Elf like a projectile. It was Shambala’s high speed skill, Blink! Shambala swung his dagger with an exaggerated movement and the snow flew forward like a wave. It was a momentum which seemed to tear the sky apart. But the Dark Elf was already gone.

“Kalkalkal, a woman can run away like a wild boar!”

“Dammit. Torrential Sword!”

When he heard the Dark Elf’s voice from behind him, Shambala cursed and rotated his body while instantly using a skill. Hundreds of daggers sprung from a dark area and covered the entire space. The Dark Elf just used a fire arrow and snorted.

“Shall we see if quantity beats quality? Explosion Arrow!”

The arrow she fired exploded and the daggers caught by the shock wave fell to the ground. Shambala was also caught by the explosion. The Dark Elf shot an arrow that flew through the sky.

“Matanyi Shooter no. 1, Devil Penetrating Arrow!”

Beondduk!

The arrow flew at a speed that couldn’t be avoided. It was the light speed! Shambala couldn’t even move a finger as the arrow pierced his chest. No, it seemed to pierce him. Shambala’s body blurred and disappeared.

“What, what the? Alter ego?”

“The joke is over. You stupid woman!”

Shambala appeared behind the baffled Dark Elf. The surprised Dark Elf rolled along the ground and successively shot some arrows. Since she was rolling on the ground, the arrows flew in all directions and Shambala smirked.

“Heh, I never thought I would have to fight seriously against a woman……”

“Are you really qualified to say that? Matanyi Shooter no. 2, Devil’s Chasing Arrow!”

The Dark Elf shouted as she got up. Then the arrows flying all over the place turned around and headed towards Shambala like a guided missile.

“What, what the?”

Shambala hurriedly moved his body but the arrows followed him.

“Sun, Gae, Yeol, Seom!”

In the end, Shambala had to use 100% of his assassination footwork to outrun the arrows. From then on the real battle between Shambala and the Dark Elf began in earnest. However, the fight between the two of them was different from a fight between warriors. While a warrior’s fight was a battle of strength and stamina, the two of them used deception and agility to counterattack against each other. So it was difficult to anticipate who would win in the battle.

‘To be able to fight Shambala to this extent, who on earth is that Dark Elf?’

Ark stared with an open mouth at the fight between Shambala and the Dark Elf. Fights in New World were 60% level and 40% skills. Levels and abilities were important but the actual movement ability was also significant. Even Ark admitted that Shambala was an expert at kung fu. But the Dark Elf wasn’t pushed by Shambala’s movements.

“Where are you looking?”

At that time Alan charged towards him on the skeletal horse. His sword swept up from the ground! Ark hurriedly turned his body and defended. His whole body shook from the impact and he was pushed back several metres. The impact felt like he had been hit by a truck.

‘Ugh! What on earth, this impact is?’

Ark groaned as he barely maintained his balance. In fact, Ark had been contemptuous of Alan until now. When Ark met him for the first time, he felt like Alan was a wall which couldn’t be crossed. But after a lot of experiences, his skills had become equal to Alan’s. Then Alan lost everything and remained hidden in New World for a while. At this point Ark already thought that Alan wasn’t a worthy rival anymore. Even with Alan in front of him, Ark thought he could deal with him easily. However, it turned out that Alan was a tougher opponent than Ark thought. No, they were almost equal if he was judging by the impact he felt.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Their power being equal meant they had comparable stats. Ark’s current level was 432 and with the dark attribute bonus is was 648. Even if he hunted 24 hours for the last year, it was impossible for Alan to reach level 648.

‘How did he get this power? Damn, I’ll check his information window……’

Ark used Eyes of the Cat to determine Alan’s information. But the information window just blurred when he tried to look at it. The only time the information couldn’t be seen was when a scroll or a special skill like Shambala’s was used. It also happened when there was a difference of 100 levels. But he didn’t feel a lot of difference so it couldn’t be a special skill or scroll.

‘There can’t be a 100 level difference between me and that guy. Then did he receive stat bonuses like my dark attribute bonus?’

That’s right. Alan was able to show abilities equal to Ark because of a bonus. Alan’s bonus depended on his Hate stat.

t the height of your ruin, you didn’t stop hating your opponent. It is the most appropriate power for revenge.

This was the ability Alan received when he changed to a Ruin Knight. The Hate stat meant he received a 0.1% stat bonus for every chaotic point he gained. To put it simply, if he had 100 Hate and 100 Chaotic points then he would get 10 bonus stats. In fact, this stat wasn’t useful when it was first created. But Alan had commanded monsters and indiscriminately killed NPCs in the Sinius Principality so his chaotic value was in the tens of thousands. Therefore Alan had thousands of bonus stats applied.

“Sheesh! That skeletal horse is annoying.”

Ark spat on the ground and murmured. He didn’t understand the reason but their abilities were similar. Anyway, Ark had confidence that he could defeat Alan. Ark had experienced a lot in order to reach this level. Yet Ark was struggling because of the skeletal horse. The main method of attack for a cavalry soldier was to charge, attack and then retreat. It was very simple but different for an infantry soldier to counter. Besides, Alan was someone who had ridden horses from the beginning because it was stylish. He was accustomed to fighting on horseback.

‘First I have to draw him down from the horse.’

“Is that it?”

Alan laughed and rushed again. Ark raised his sword like a baseball player about to strike the ball and shouted.

“Summon release, Racard. Summon Demon, Racard!”

“Ack, what, what the?”

Racard who had been using satellite surveillance mode to report the movements of the monsters to Lariette was summoned in front of Ark. At the same time, Ark hit Racard sharply in the bum with his sword.

“Go, Bat Missile!”

“Kuaaaaack! What the, Master I will die!”

Racard screamed as he flew forward like a bullet. Ark had aimed at Alan’s face. However Alan just sneered and hit Racard with his arm, sending him flying.

‘Damn, is it a failure? Useless bat!’

Ark clicked his tongue and muttered. After suddenly being hit by the sword and then Alan, the sniffling Racard with a runny nose flew back towards Alan’s face. Alan reflexively closed his eyes.

“This is a chance!”

Ark wasn’t the type to miss this opportunity. The moment Alan’s eyes closed, Ark ran towards the skeletal horse. He stepped on the skeletal body and jumped up, slamming into Alan’s jaw with his knee.

“Cough!”

Alan’s head shot backwards as his jaw was hit and he fell off the horse. Ark aimed his sword at Alan’s chest while they were falling. Alan opened his eyes and shouted.

“Ugh, this bastard….. Evil Insight!”

Deep red rays shot from Alan’s eyes. Before Ark could react to the attack, the light had penetrated his shoulder.  At that moment, the landscape jumbled up and he suddenly became busy. Alan’s face seemed to multiply dozens of times and became distorted.

‘What, what the? What just happened?’

Ark wobbled backwards and used Skill Penetration.

Those fellows hide in the darkness and use Evil Insight to draw travellers into a world of hallucinations. While the travellers are caught by the hallucinations, they would be devoured by the Gore Knight.