Ark-Volume 13 Chapter 9

ACT 9 Showdown, Vampire vs. Vampire?

“Are you ready?”

“Yes we are.

The elder of the Wolrang clan nodded at Ark’s question. In the dark forest before Karakul’s castle, 100 silver werewolves had gathered. They had necklaces with a Moon rock emitting a pale light around their neck which Ark had provided.

“The time limit in this area is 30 minutes.”

“We know.”

Although the Moon rock had the power to change them, the power of the Moon Piece was like a battery that was being drained by the Wolrang. Therefore there was a time limit on it. Ark had tested this before leaving. As a result, he determined that the Wolrang could only maintain their form for 30 minutes.

’30 minutes isn’t that much time. But wiping out all the enemies isn’t our purpose. I just need to reach Karakul within 30 minutes.’

“It won’t be an easy battle.”

“We’ve prepared ourselves. And we are ready to die. But…….”

The elder wiped the snot flowing from his nose and quickly asked.

“……Is ‘that’ really going to work?”

“Yes, trust me.”

Ark smiled and explained the plan.

“Apart from the elder and ten elite people selected, the remaining troops will disperse to important areas of the castle. However, you don’t need to be too unreasonable. Like I told you, defeating all the enemies isn’t our goal. If it seems dangerous then you can leave.”

“But if the strategy fails then won’t it be too dangerous for you will the escape route blocked?”

“I won’t consider retreating even if the strategy fails.”

“Yes, you really are a descendant of Hero Maban.”

Fighting spirit was ignited in the eyes of the Wolrang after Ark’s answer. If the Commander showed a resolution not to give up even in the face of death, naturally the morale of the soldiers would also increase.

“There’s no time left so let’s go.”

“Understood. Wolrang warriors, prepare to enter the battlefield! Grind you fangs. Sharpen your claws!”

“Ohhhhhh!”

The Wolrang raised their voices in unison.

“Radun, let’s go!”

Ssak ssak ssak! Pa pa pa pa!

Radun raised a cloud of dust as he ran towards the castle at Ark’s command. The 100 Wolrang followed with their silver mane fluttering behind them. The guards cried out in confusion as the Wolrang approached up the steep slope.

“Huk, t-those guys are……?”

“Are they the Bloody from another territory that is invading?”

“No, they are the Wolrang from the village near the coast. But shouldn’t their abilities be sealed? How did they transform themselves?”

“Hurry up! Tell the Earl! Everybody else stop them!”

A guard cast off his human skin and changed into a Bloody before shouting orders.

“It’s too late, Dark Blade!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Radun accelerated forward and crashed into the Bloody. At the same time, Ark jumped over the Bloody into the castle grounds and turned around to use Dark Blade. In an attack of this scale, a slowed reaction from a surprise attack could make a difference. The backstab dealt tremendous damage and the Bloody fell down. Ark kicked the Bloody’s face as it tried to get up before using XX Interceptor. The Bloody shrieked and cowered from the pain that it was feeling for the first time.

“Ugh, h-he……!”

Kuaah, kuaaang!

A Bloody brandished a spear and ran up to Ark. But the Wolrang surged forward several metres and attacked the Bloody. The Meow’s style of attack was to avoid the enemy’s attack with their quick movements then counterattacking in a vital spot. However, the Wolrang’s style was much simpler. They pushed forward with their strength and strong bodies before biting off the Bloody’s flesh with their fangs. The Bloody tried to counterattack with spears but the steel was no match against the Wolrang’s defense. Their strength and health was also one of the best among their profession. The Bloody were torn like rags under the attack of the Wolrang family.

Awooooo!

A howl emerged from the mouths of the Wolrang. In the past, the Wolrang had defeated the Bloody and drove Karakul into a corner.

“There is no time for howling!”

Ark ignored the Wolrang family who were caught in the atmosphere and continued his plan.

“It’s an invasion!”

When they entered the castle, the guards and employees immediately transformed into Bloody. It was enough to cause fear but Ark just ignored the scene. He had to reach Karakul on the 10th floor before the time limit of 30 minutes was over. There was no time to look at unnecessary things.

“1st unit, take care of the 1st floor!”

Ten of the Wolrang family spread out at Ark’s command. The Wolrang dashed over 10 metres and splattered flesh and blood everywhere. They’ve had their power and honour taken away for a long time so they attacked vengefully. But the advancing Ark and Wolrang family didn’t even turn their heads.

“That’s it, 2nd unit take care the 2nd floor!”

Once again, ten of the Wolrang split off and jumped around the area. Ark commanded 10 Wolrang to split off on each floor and just ran up the stairs without stopping. The number of Bloody doubled when he reached the 5th floor. It was to the extent that the unit made up of ten attackers couldn’t keep up. Although they were steadily going up, they lost 10 Wolrang on each floor so the Wolrang’s power gradually weakened. While going up the stairs and breaking through the Bloody, the Wolrang at the rear became a burden. Those who separated from their unit were torn to pieces. But there no time to worry about them. If they stopped for just a moment then they would be surrounded by Bloody.

Kuaaaang!

Nevertheless, weren’t they still the Wolrang family? Even when surrounded by the enemy, there was no Wolrang who asked for help. Instead they persisted in attacked the Bloody even with their dying breaths. Thanks to that, Ark managed to penetrate the steadily increasing Bloody and reached the 10th floor. But after passing the 9th floor, there was only 10 Wolrang left. On the other hand, close to 50 Bloody swarmed in the hallway.

“Those guys, they’ve reached here!”

“Block them! Make sure they don’t enter Earl Karakul’s room!”

“Ya, you beep-beep bastards!”

Ark used his advanced Intimidation skill. The gathered Bloody winced and stiffened.

“The goal is right before our eyes. Everyone have courage!”

He also used advanced Nursing to restore the energy of the tired Wolrang.

“Ohhhh, now’s the time! Show them the latent power of the Wolrang family!”

“Don’t fear death and just break through the enemy!”

“If we can’t move then just die with the Bloody! That is an honourable death!”

Ark and the Wolrang swung their swords and penetrated the Bloody. Blades came flying from everywhere! The Wolrang leading the charge became bloody in an instant. Then the Wolrang spread his arms and grabbed four or five Bloody before jumping through a window.

“We aren’t the vampire’s food! For the Wolrangggggg!”

“Truthseeker watch carefully, this is the Wolrang ahhhhhhhh!”

The situation became messy as other Wolrang followed suit to jump out the window. It was really a scene that couldn’t be seen without tears. Thanks to the suicide bombing of the Wolrang, the number of Bloody had instantly been reduced in half.

“Riposte!”

Meanwhile Ark took out the surrounding Bloody. He then just Sprint and dived like an arrow through the door. Ark rolled his body before standing up and looking around the room.

Palapalapala.

In a dark room lit by several candles, Karakul was just playing a pipe organ without any concern. Thanks to Ark and the Wolrang opening the door, even the Bloody looked at the scene with bemusement.

‘He truly is a vampire…….’

A curse naturally emerged.

“Karakul!”

Karakul stopped playing after Ark shouted angrily. He slowly got up and turned around before laughing while showing his fangs.

“Huhuhu, the guy making all the commotion is the food who escaped a while ago. Why have you returned without any fear? Aren’t these the dogs I trapped? Bah, and these pitiful creatures dare to show themselves after I spared their lives? As expected for wild dogs. If it wasn’t for Albert then I would’ve killed you all……”

Karakul looked around with relaxed eyes and walked forward.

“Do you think you will be able to kill me?”

“Let’s see? I won’t know until I try.”

“How impertinent, kill them all.”

As if it was too troublesome for Karakul, he refused and turned around. The Bloody who had been startled for a while once again raised their weapons.

“Karakul, are you running away?”

“What?”

Karakul frowned and turned around.

“Summon Demon, Dedric!”

“Ohh, Dark Dash!”

Dedric closed his eyes tightly and rushed towards Karakul. There was a sound like firewood cracking as Karakul stepped backwards.

“Ugh, what, what the, this guy?”

“E-E-Earl Karakul. A-according to the laws of the vampires, I challenge you to a duel!”

“What? Who are you?”

“I’m the one who inherited from Dunphil, Dedric!”

Dedric cried out. The die was cast.

“Stop!”

Karakul’s voice rang through the room. All the Bloody that were attacking the Wolrang in the castle stopped moving. Karakul lowered his hand and stared at Dedric. Anger turned his eyes a deep red.

“Dunphil…… The one who was scared of me and ran away……. His descendant would only be a low level vampire at most…… You dare…… Challenge me to a duel?”

“Ah, no. That……”

Dedric trembled as he closed his eyes before shouting.

“Y-y-yes!”

“Do you know what it means? The consciousness of the Lord supervises all vampire duels in Dark Earth. Even if you are recalled when defeated, you will still die afterwards. It means eternal annihilation.”

“I know, dammit! I know that!”

“Hahaha! You know? Yet you still dared challenge me?” Karakul suddenly shouted.

“So you think you can win against me!”

At the same time, all the windows in the room shook and broke. A large storm rolled around the room as Karakul approached Dedric.

“Okay, I have no interest in your small land but I’ll kill you.”

It was at that time. A bloody red circle around 10 metres in diameter was abruptly drawn around Karakul and Dedric. At the same time, an information window appeared in front of Ark.

‘That’s it, my plan has succeeded!’

Ark clenched his fist as he read the information window. If Dedric who had a territory challenged Karakul then he couldn’t refuse. That was why Ark broke through enemy lines to reach here. When receiving a duel application in Dark Earth, a vampire couldn’t refuse. And once the duel started, none of the vampire’s subordinates could fight. Although Ark and the Wolrang were slightly different, they could still be considered as Dedric’s subordinates. So there was no reason to fight a pointless battle.

“Summoning your pet to challenge me. You might use cheap tricks but I’ll make you regret it. I’ll kill him and then make you suffer.”

“We’ll see. Will it really be as easy as you expect?”

Ark picked his nose and murmured.

“You can only say that now.”

Karakul muttered in a low voice. He instantaneously disappeared and showed up behind Dedric.

“Hik, what, what the?”

Dedric freaked out and flew into the sky. But Karakul changed his arms into wings, caught up and kicked Dedric. Dedric quickly lost 30% of his health.

“Kukukuku, I thought there was something when you applied for a duel…… This is indeed a joke. Somebody with these capabilities has become an aristocrat. Human, you believed this guy could attack me?”

Dedric wasn’t even visible in Karakul’s eyes as he spoke to Ark. It was natural since Dedric wasn’t a match for Karakul. Currently Dedric’s capabilities was around level 220~230. After Ark had frantically fed him dishes for two days to prepare for the duel, his level only rose to this degree. However, Karakul was level 500. It was more than two times the difference. But the difference was even wider than that. The Dark Earth was a place created for vampires. Of course, the added bonuses for vampires were terrific. Ark hadn’t fully realized that part when making his plan. Compared to Karakul, Dedric wasn’t a pureblood vampire. Although he had evolved from a bat into a vampire, his quality was still weak so the stat bonus received was low. Therefore 30% of his health disappeared at once. Three or four shots will destroy him. With other monsters, Dedric could evade the attacks by flying but that was difficult with vampires. If he fought directly than Dedric would be smashed in 1 minute.

‘It is embarrassing to call Dedric a vampire. But he isn’t subjected to the same weaknesses as his vampire opponent. It is his strength!’

“Dedric, use your escaping skills and hold on!”

“Wahhhhh, save me!”

Even without Ark’s words, Dedric was already running away. Dedric who had gone through Ark’s hellish training was an expert at evasion. Thanks to that, Karakul was unable to catch him.

“Kukukuku! This is your strategy? Running away? But this is a duel. It’s not possible to run away after the duel begins.”

“It is also impossible for you to run away.”

“What the? Run away? Me?”

Karakul asked with an astounded expression.

“Now’s the time. Wolrang, get ready to support my preparations! Take out the support tools!”

While the duel was ongoing, the Wolrang surrounded the duel circle and simultaneously took something out. Karakul who had been watching suddenly shrieked and cowered.

“Heok, what, what the, that? This creepy feeling is…..!”

“Heh, you were born in Dark Earth so you wouldn’t know what this is. But your vampire instincts will still remember the shape. It is a cross.”

“C-cross?”

Karakul muttered in a confused voice. Yes, this was one of the support tools Ark had gathered by riding the dolphin back to Haman Fortress. Tazza used his ‘Cloning’ skill while Lariette had blessed it! Karakul was born in Dark Earth so he had never seen a cross, but he instinctively feared it and kept a wary eye on the Wolrang.

“Eh? What’s with that guy? What is he acting like this?”

Dedric tilted his head to one side after seeing Karakul tremble and retreat. Since he had evolved from a bat, Dedric’s vampire alignment was still low so he wasn’t affected by the crosses. However, Karakul had fallen into a state of panic and closed his eyes tightly.

“Ugh, you cowardly brat, this is a vampire’s sacred duel…….”

“Cowardly? What? Aren’t we just supporting?”

Ark shook the cross and laughed.

“Now, shall we start cheering actively? Play, play, Dedric!”

“Play, play, Dedric! Win, win, Dedric!”

Ark and the Wolrang opened their mouths and cheered. Then the room began to fill with a strange odour. The smell finally reached Karakul’s nose making him shriek.

“Eeeeeek, w-what the? What is this awful smell? My nose….. No, even my brain is paralyzed……!”

This was the second support tool used by Ark! He attacked using garlic. Garlic was like rat poison to vampires. Therefore Ark had selected an elite group of Wolrang and fed them garlic soup. That’s the reason why the elder had a runny nose before leaving. Of course there was a terrible garlic smell every time they talked so it was like a bio-chemical weapon. It was a double attack of crosses and garlic smell! Every time they cheered, Karakul received mental damage and staggered. He wasn’t even paying attention to the duel anymore as he closed his eyes and blocked his nose while rolling on the floor screaming.

“Hehehe, I don’t know what’s happening but this is a chance!”

A strong person is weak while a weak person is strong…… Dedric truly acted like a human! Dedric rushed towards Karakul.

“Huk, s-stop!”

“What…… Ack!”

When Dedric ran up, Karakul immediately lifted his head and swung his nails. Although his five senses were paralyzed by the cross and garlic attack, it still wasn’t difficult for Karakul to counter attack against Dedric. Dedric received a critical hit and 50% of his health disappeared. His remaining life instantly went down to 20%. Dedric flapped his wings like a hummingbird and escaped in a hurry.

“You idiot! I told you that you won’t win if you go near him!”

“B-but how will I win if I don’t attack?”

Dedric shouted angrily.

“Didn’t I tell you? All you have to do is run away. Let’s prepare for the 3rd stage!”

“Ohhhhhh!”

The Wolrang heard Ark’s order and took out mirrors.

“Radun, [Vision] scroll!”

Ssak ssak, ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Ark tore the scroll that Radun spat out and shouted.

“Activate scroll, Saint’s Brilliance!”

It was at that time. An intense flash of light emerged from the scroll. It was Lariette’s skill Saint’s Brilliance. Another name was ‘Light Emission.’ Although Saint’s Brilliance had no effect on normal monsters, it did lethal damage to the undead or those with dark attributes. It was even more effective against the vampires where sunlight was like rat poison to them. It would be best if Lariette performed the magic directly. However, the place was Dark Earth. Thanks to Dark Blood, all skills of a ‘light’ nature were blocked and the user would continuously receive damage. So Ark decided to use the [Vision] scroll that the Eastern Nation sold. Over the last two days, Ark bought many [Vision] scrolls and had Lariette fill it with her magic. But there was one problem. The vampire duel blocked all physical and magical interference. Saint’s Brilliance was regarded as a magical attack so of course it would be blocked by the wards. However, Ark was a genius at using cheap and unexpected tricks.

“3rd stage illumination support!”

Glitter, glitter, glitter, glitter-!

He reflected Saint’s Brilliance off the mirrors that the Wolrang were holding and concentrated it on Karakul. Yes, he couldn’t use magic attacks but it was just reflected light once it bounced off the mirrors. Therefore the circle wouldn’t see it as magic and block it. In addition, ‘Holy Light’ was sufficient against vampires without anything else added to it.

“Aaaaack, h-hot! It is hot! Hot!”

The rays of light spun like a spider web inside the duelling circle. When Karakul was hit by the light, black smoke emerged from his body.

“What! What is this? It burns when it hits my flesh!”

Karakul couldn’t open his eyes so he didn’t know why his body was burning.

“Huhuhu, what is it? This is called the Holy Light.”

“W-what? Holy light? H-how….. Kuaaaak!”

Karakul changed into a bat and wildly flew around the duel circle. However, the Wolrang changed the angle of the mirror and pursued him. Thanks to the duel circle, Karakul couldn’t avoid it no matter how great his evasive skills. It was like Karakul was trapped in a 10 metre cylinder of light and his health quickly decreased. Karakul tried to turn into the size of a mouse but the Wolrang just aimed the mirror at the ground.

“Hahahah! Isn’t this exciting?”

Dedric, do you understand? You just have to run away no matter what. Never get close to him!”

Ark shouted as he continued to activate the scrolls.

“U-understood!”

“This cowardly bastard ….”

“Cowardly? What? What did I do? Did I shoot an arrow or use magic?”

Ark smirked and retorted impudently.

“Ugh, this is a sacred duel…… Kuak, hot…… Using a trick like this……! B-Bloody, kill those bastards!”

Karakul stomped his feet and frantically shouted. However, all battles were banned in this area until the duel was over. All the Bloody could do was stop the light with their bodies. However, the Wolrang just used their extraordinary jumping power and continued to reflect the light.

“Uhh! But this light…… Your summon will also be hit by the reflected light…… He will never avoid all of it…… His health is also low…… Even just a small graze…….”

Karakul moved closer to Dedric while he was talking and the light hit him. Dedric cowered and screamed.

“Aaaack, this…..! This light is…. This light is….. Ayu, sparkly. Aye Master, it is too dazzling.”

“W-what? How did this guy?”

Karakul flinched and Ark replied with a smirk.

“Huhuhu, I’m sorry but Dedric is a fake vampire.”

“Huk, a fake? D-don’t tell me…..?”

“I’m not joking. You still don’t understand? You misunderstood and Dedric isn’t actually Dunphil’s descendant. He was originally a bat.”

Of course Dedric weakened when hit by the light. But all it did was make him feel slightly ill and decreased his stats by 20%. It wasn’t the type of damage that Karakul received as a pureblood vampire. When Karakul was hit by the light, his stats were reduced by 50% and he received 30 damage every second. Thanks to Karakul being burned by the light, his health had lost 80% of his health.

“Ugh! At this rate….. I can’t lose to a bat….. Vampire Tempest!”

Like the majority of high level monsters, Karakul was hiding a trump card. Karakul spun his body like a spin top and a violent storm appeared inside the circle. His cloak also split into many blades and approached one by one.

“Oh, t-that guy…… Concentrate the light!”

Ark cried in a desperate voice as the Wolrang obeyed. However, the Bloody desperately blocked half the attack. If Dedric was hit by the storm of blades then their chance of defeating Karakul would disappear. Dedric’s current health was 20% after his rash actions. Karakul’s special move would kill him instantly.

“M-Master, please help!”

Dedric pressed against the boundary of the wards and looked at Ark with worry. Then Ark’s thoughts started to turn over in his head.

“Line up all the crosses in front of the mirror. It is a plan of desperation. Saint’s Brilliance!”

Ark tore open five [Vision] scrolls at once and shouted. At that moment, a brilliant light flooded the room. The only place the light didn’t strike was the circle boundary. However, the light that reflected off the mirrors penetrated the duel circle. No, it wasn’t just light. The light was shaped like a huge cross!

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

A huge explosion occurred in Karakul’s body. At the same time, Karakul’s Vampire Tempest skill was released. A clear cross pattern was burnt on the body with black smoke emerging from it. Was that all? Karakul received continuous damage from the light and rolled around on the ground.

“Now Dedric! Use your vampire skill Hammering!”

“Oh, take this!”

Dedric crashed into Karakul’s head like a big hammer. It was the trump card skill that too him 10 tries to suck from Bul-kkun, Hammering! It was a skill that took too much time in an actual battle but it dealt 400% damage. When hit by Hammering, there was a strange sound. The remaining 3% of his health disappeared and Karakul collapsed.

“U-unbelievable…… I was killed by a bat……”

When Karakul collapsed, message windows continuously appeared in front of Ark. He had gained 7 levels! Since his summon had killed the enemy, he still received the experience. So the amount of experience Dedric gained was also applied to Ark.

“Wahhhhhh! Karakul is defeated!”

The Wolrang cheered when Karakul died. The level 220~230 Dedric had defeated a level 500 vampire. Well, all Dedric did was deal the final blow……. But wasn’t the results important?

“Eh….. R-really…… I really won?”

Dedric made a perplexed expression before gripping his fist and shouting.

“Did you see? I really won? M-Master, I am the champion!”

Wasn’t this like a parody?

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter. Soon I can find the last Three Marvels and change to my second profession!’

How long had he waited for this moment? While the enchantment in the centre of the room slowly faded, an intense blast of wind entered through the window. Ark reflexively closed his eyes to stop the dust from entering.

“Huk, what, what the? What on earth…….?”

A strange existence floated in the space where the duel circle was. He wore a robe with complicated designs on it with the hood covering its face…….a dark aura appeared around the cloak while the huge black wings fluttered. The blood vanished from the Wolrang’s face when he appeared.

“T-the vampire referee……”

“Vampire referee?”

“He is under the direct control of the Lord and supervises all the duels between vampires.”

As expected from a high ranking vampire aristocrat, the referee exuded a tremendous aura. He was level 900! However Ark had heard that they weren’t involved in anything outside the castle. Except when a vampire was killed by other species……

‘Don’t tell me he thinks the duel wasn’t fair?’

Ark looked at the referee with a tense expression. However, the referee wasn’t interested in Ark and spoke to Dedric.

“Dedric…..”

“Huh? Yes!”

The normally mannerless Dedric had prostrated himself on the ground.

“You have defeated the vampire Karakul through a vampire duel.”

The referee looked at Ark and the Wolrang and a small smile appeared on his face.

“You seemed to have used a shortcut….. I judge that there were no actions which violated the Lord’s rules. According to the Great Vampire Lord’s laws, all of Earl Karakul’s assets will henceforth be yours. Dedric, I bestow the glory of victory on you in the name of the Lord.”

When the referee raised his hand, blue flames engulfed Karakul and something black appeared. The black heart flew towards Dedric who absorbed it.

At the same time, an information window appeared in front of Ark.

‘Evolution? Ohhh, what kind of luck is this?’

Ark’s mouth dropped absent-mindedly as he stared at the information window. Of course, he knew that Dedric would inherit all of Karakul’s possessions if he defeated him. However, Ark never imagined that it would make him evolve.

“Huh?”

Then the referee shook his head and looked at Ark.

“You…… Are the Master who summons Dedric?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Was there a problem? Ark quickly closed his mouth and answered. The referee murmured like he was thinking out loud.

“Until now there had been only one person who made a vampire his summon, Hero Maban…… Oh, is it like that? His descendant has appeared?”

It wasn’t a voice filled with hostility. No, somehow it was filled with longing……

“You know Hero Maban?”

Ark asked but the referee did not answer. He just started outside with vague eyes before suddenly asking a question.

“As the descendant of Hero Maban, you can choose the evolution. You already know this but even among the vampire clan, Karakul was someone born with rare power and talent. He is already dead but if you choose him during evolution then you’ll receive a powerful summon that Dedric can’t even be compared to. What personality will you choose to evolve?”

Dedric looked at Ark with a slightly worried expression. Thanks to his previous behaviour, Dedric was worried about the evolution. But Ark wasn’t worried.

Stats? Future skills? Of course it was important.

However, Ark’s thoughts about his summons weren’t as simple as that. He was even more certain after spending several days without his summons. If Dedric’s personality disappeared then it would be better not to evolve him.

“Dedric.”

Ark answered without any hesitation and the corner of the referee’s lips turned up. It was an expression where he was unsure if the referee was smiling or frowning. When there was silence for a while, Ark once again opened his mouth. Then abruptly the body of the referee turned into hundreds of bats and flew out the window.

“My duty here is over. Choose as you will!”

Ark sighed and relaxed. It was fortunate that the referee hadn’t seen any problems with the duel. Then he proceeded with the evolution and Dedric was wrapped in a red light. Just like when he turned from a bat into a vampire, the dark energy was the only visible change.

———————————————————————————————————–

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The place where there was a huge magic circle shook with a roaring sound. At the same time, half of the demons within collapsed. A knight wearing black armour and holding a blood stained bayonet raised his head. Then he pulled out a jewel the size of a fist from his bag. A sinister aura that was difficult to describe surrounded it. The knight looked around and soaked the jewel in a pool of blood. Then a black message window appeared.

“It’s over.”

The knight murmured quietly. It was at that time. Suddenly the space behind him distorted and an old man appeared.

“Congratulations, you’ve finally become strong enough to completely conquer the lesser demons.”

“It took a lot more time than I thought.”

“Of course. The lesser demon is a much stronger opponent than the demons you’ve fought so far. Naturally it would be difficult to defeat them the first few times. But now you’ve acquired the abilities of the lesser demons so you are finally a proper Ruin Knight.”

Ruin Knight! That’s right. The knight in the black armour was Alan. Alan had obtained the ‘Hatred’ stat after being defeated by Ark and changed professions to a Ruin Knight. Afterwards, Maseutyu had brought him to high level hunting grounds to learn the Ruin Knight related skills. A Ruin Knight had to collect the essences of demons! One of the abilities of a Ruin Knight was to absorb the ability of the corresponding monster using the Devil’s Jewel. So far, Alan had absorbed 20 different skills. All the high levelled demons he absorbed from had unique and powerful skills.

‘A Ruin Knight is a stronger profession than I thought. According to the skills absorbed and my level, my damage completely exceeds that of a Holy Knight.’

Of course, raising a Ruin Knight wasn’t as easy as it sounded. He had spent the last few months just hunting monsters that had passed through the wards.

“How long am I going to be doing this?”

“You don’t want to become strong?”

“I do but……”

“Huhuhu, don’t worry. The training is over.”

Maseutyu laughed. Then the space warped again and someone entered the wards. Surprisingly, the person who appeared was a user with red hair wearing a white mask. Maseutyu instantly spoke in an enthusiastic voice when the person appeared.

“This person is the implementer of the true history, the master of true darkness.”

“You are the Ruin Knight?”

“Who are you?”

“Like you heard, I am the one implementing the true history. My task is to rectify the wrong history. Your strength will support me. It is possible right now. Once I tell you about something interesting then you’ll me more involved. No, there is no doubt about it.”

‘Something I’ll be interested in? Is he talking about the company’s entrance examination?’

Of course, the reason Alan started the game was to join Global Exos. However that was a few months ago. Now his only purpose in playing the game was to get vengeance on Ark. He wouldn’t have endured the last few months if it wasn’t for the thoughts of vengeance.

“But I…..”

“Your first task involves Seutandal which has re-joined middle earth. Almost all the preparations are finished. How about it? Will the Ruin Knight appear in that world?”

Alan flinched and looked at the Red Man. Alan had also seen the video of Ark posted on the official site.

‘If Ark can I do then I can as well. Although I would like to find Ark straight away, that would be too boring. Okay, let’s challenge Ark. I’ll use the system to send him an official challenge. Just wait Ark!’

“Good, then follow me.”

An eerie grey light crept into his helmet.

TO BE CONTINUED