Ark-Volume 14 Chapter 8

ACT 8 Underground Crypt

“Ark-nim, right, right!”

The eyeballs floating in the sky screamed. Ark reflexively turned and saw the huge axe heading towards him.

“Heok, Jump!”

Ark used Wolf’s Feet to quickly move his body 10 metres. The axe blade lost its target and slammed several metres into the wall. If it hit his defense then he would’ve been split in half. But he could barely breathe a sigh of relief before he heard a terrible sound.

Cheolkodong, cheolkodong. Syusyusyusyusyu!

It was the mechanical sound of something operating! Hundreds of holes opened in the nearby wall and a shower of arrows shot out.

“Dark Dance!”

Ark continuously rotated his body and danced to avoid the arrows. No matter how much he used Dark Dance, he couldn’t avoid the damage of hundreds of flying arrows. Tutututung. Around 10 arrows stuck in his shoulders, chest and legs and he lost a lot of health. But his health being decreased wasn’t the problem.

The arrow Ark was hit with had a ‘blunt’ attribute. Thanks to his resilience stat, he only received 40 damage per shot. However, he had no resistance against ‘push’ so he was pushed back in rapid succession. Razak screamed as Ark was pushed back.

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

The place Ark was heading to was a pitfall filled with sharp blades. If Ark fell in then he would end up like a porcupine. The arrow trap and the other traps were all carefully calculated.

“Racard, Dark Dash!”

“I’m going. Ohhhhhhh!”

Racard’s body flew across the space and forcefully slammed into Ark. When hit by Dark Dash, Ark was instantly thrown several metres. Ark used Mind’s Eye but saw that he wasn’t out of the range of pitfalls yet. Then Razak plunged into the arrow trap. He blocked the arrows with his shield and jumped towards Ark. Ark was startled to see Razak and soon noticed his intentions.

“Well done, Razak. Sword transformation!”

Razak changed into the Saw Blade after Ark shouted and was caught. Ark changed him into the whip and wrapped it around a nearby pillar. Then Ark pulled himself towards the pillar using the whip. Fortunately he managed to avoid the trap but there weren’t any safe places. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Ark heard a mechanical sound and walls on either side started moving forwards.

‘There’s no place to avoid the trap on the left or the right. If that’s the case…..!’

After quickly judging the situation, Ark acted like a ninja and jumped between both walls to propel him to the top. Fortunately he managed to get away but he was still being threatened by traps.

‘Damn, where is it? Where on earth is it? I don’t have much health left now…….’

Ark moved his body and carefully looked around. Then he saw something glistening in the darkness. After avoiding the blades and concentrating his eyes, he saw a glass bead that was lodged inside a hole in the wall. Ark frowned as he confirmed it.

‘It is too far away. How am I going to get it when it is hidden in such a difficult place? The distance is too far. And it is so deeply lodged in the wall that my hand won’t reach it. What should I do? If I hesitate then the traps will just get worse……’

Ark contemplated for a moment before raising his head and shouting.

“Buksil, come here!”

“Huh? W-why?”

“Just come, this time it is an eyeball missile!”

When the eyeball approached him, Ark turned and did an overhead kick.

“Eeeeeek!”

The eyeball screamed as it flew forward. The goal was the hole in the wall. When Buksil impacted with it, the glass bead shook and fell. At the same time, the numerous blades, rocks and arrows flying towards Ark stopped. The message window he was waiting for then appeared.

Ark sighed and sat down.

“Phew, I thought I would really die this time.”

His whole body was drenched with sweat after running around without stopping for 10 minutes. Ark wiped off the sweat and murmured in an irate voice.

“Damn, what kind of dungeon is this?”

Yesterday Ark had entered the underground crypt. It wasn’t necessary to explain again but Ark had prepared thoroughly before entering the dungeon. He checked his equipment and ingredients and entered expected fierce battles. However, the underground crypt was different from what he imagined. It was a secret dungeon located in the City of the Dead. Ark was expecting sleeping corpses to jump up and attack him. But the corpses in this place hadn’t budged no matter where he moved to. Instead, Ark was attacked with a large numbers of traps just like an Indiana Jones movie. He couldn’t breathe without activating pitfalls and traps……! Ark wandered the border between life and death many times.

‘In the beginning it was arrows and poison needles…….’

The further he went into the crypt, the more difficult the traps became. It he had been hit by the flying axe then he would’ve lost 50% of his health. But that was its charm. If he had been stuck between a wall when it appeared then it would’ve been instantaneous death! In other words, defense or attack was no help in this dungeon. It was thanks to his improvisation combined with his movements that he was still alive.

‘I never could’ve come this far if I hadn’t discovered the method to turn the traps off.’

Fortunately there was a way to disable the traps. Whenever a trap was triggered, there was always a glass bead in the area which functioned as the switch. Removing the glass bead would stop the operation of the traps. However, avoiding the relentless traps and finding the hidden bead wasn’t that easy. It was thanks to Buksil’s eyeballs that he managed to find the glass beads. Because Vampire’s Eye wasn’t affected by darkness, it could move freely through small holes to find the bead. Well, this time he had another use for it…….

“Ark-nim!”

The eyeball had become red after striking the glass bead and it flew angrily towards him. Ark pretended ignorance and said.

“Ah Buksil. Good work. I’m alive thanks to you.”

“Now you’re saying this? What were you thinking? This is my eyes, my eyes!”

“Then you should’ve found the glass bead more quickly. You found it too late so the traps became worse. Therefore it was inevitable. And isn’t it wonderful? Eyeball missile. Don’t you think it is an upgrade from the pig missile? Are you going to weaponize every part of your body? Buksil, the living weapon! How wonderful.”

“Eh? That is a little cool…..ah, no, what was it?”

The eyeball paused and murmured. The two eyes rubbed against each other and dust fell down. It was a really pitiful scene.

“Anyway, the traps have been turned off so shall we check the loot?”

Ark murmured and got up. The crypt didn’t have any monsters. However, there was a chance to collect items that could be called loot after the traps were switched off.

‘Let’s see, is there anything slightly useful this time?’

Ark approached the wall with an expectant look. Just like a medieval movie, a wall in the crypt was made like the honeycomb in a bee hive. And a corpse that looked like a mummy was enshrined in the wall. Ark collected the items present on the body.

‘Damn, another bad item?’

Ark sighed after he saw the information window. The crypt had a lot of weapons and defensive items buried. However, the performance of those items were so bad that it was no different from a pile of trash. Would he only be able to get the price of the scrap metal? Although it was an item that could still be used, he would only be able to get a few coppers for it. No, Ark couldn’t ignore a dropped item even if he would get no money for it. Racard looked at its appearance with an uncomfortable expression.

“Master, no matter how you look at it…….”

“Don’t tell me, I know.”

He knew what Racard was trying to say. He entered the underground crypt and suffered through the traps just for a few scrape items. Wasn’t this just grave robbing? His face turned red at the thought of Buksil filming it. However, Ark wasn’t going to give up any items. The world famous archaeologist Indiana Jones was also famous for being a grave robber. Well…..he had a wide viewpoint.

‘Yes, what is so bad about recycling items that the dead won’t use anyway? It is a time where there is a shortage of raw materials. Recycling will contribute to humans.’

That was how Ark mentally armed himself.

‘But the income compared to the amount of effort is really enough to cause tears. I can’t gain any levels because there are no monsters and all I can obtain is just a pile of junk? If it wasn’t for my class change quest then I would never bother with this dungeon……’

However, he wouldn’t let his heart make hasty decisions. It was an extremely difficult dungeon! If he made just one mistake then the traps scattered everywhere would kill him. In addition, this dungeon was the type where the traps would reset if he died and had to enter the dungeon again. If he had to break through the traps again from the beginning then he would go mad.

‘Anyway, I believe this is the last area based on what I recall from the map.

Ark collected all the items and opened his map. The topographic map of the complicated underground crypt was already almost cleared. When he looked using his cartography skills, the map completion rate was 95%. There was only 5% left to be completed. And Ark already knew where the remaining 5% was hidden. In fact, Ark initially had no intention of exploring the crypt to 100%. He had planned to use the shortest route to his destination. After going the wrong way a few times, Ark’s completion rate was 60% when he reached the destination. It was a huge door with a sentence written on it! It was obviously the final destination of the dungeon just by looking at it. But there was a problem he hadn’t expected…….the door was locked.

“How on earth am I going to open this?”

Ark was filled with anxiety. Suddenly the eyeball floating all over the place discovered something on the top of the opposite wall.

“Ark-nim, there is something recorded here.”

If you would like to meet the owner of this place then insert the tokens of courage and wisdom.

‘Tokens of courage and wisdom?’

Ark looked carefully at the iron door. Although thick dust was piled up, he carefully examined the formation carved into the wall. There were small holes forming a circle. Ark determined the size of the holes and immediately knew the meaning of the sentence.

‘That’s right. The token of courage and wisdom. Damn, does this mean I have to completely go around the dungeon?’

The tokens of courage and wisdom didn’t involve monsters. That’s right, it was to pass through all the traps in the dungeon. Only passing through the traps could he get the glass bead. The key to opening the iron door was the beads. Furthermore, there were thirty holes carved. In other words, he needed at least 30 beads. Ark only gathered the required number of beads after exploring 95% of the crypt. Well, thanks to that he became enough of an expert to rival Indiana Jones…….

“Now the final destination is close. Let’s go!”

Ark finished his maintenance and headed towards the iron door. Then he laid the glass beads in one by one.

Ku ku ku ku ku…..!

The iron door started vibrating as soon as he finished putting the beads in and the door slid to the side to reveal a hidden passage. It was a straight passage that headed downwards.

“Finally, I’ve reached the final stage of the profession quest.”

Ark jumped in with an expectant expression. How far did he go? He went all the way down until he suddenly heard a voice muttering.

“Damn it! That brat……how much longer…….will it hold out?”

‘Eh? That voice?’

Ark flinched and stopped moving before he used Eyes of the Cat. There was a wide space at the end of the passage and a dark shadow was wandering there. It looked like one of the dead but it was covered head and toe with what seemed to be black paint. It was to the extent that he couldn’t see through the black with Eyes of the Cat.

“There’s only the shell left…… I’ll kill it this time…..! When that is done…..I’ll become a complete existence……”

The black person muttered as he walked around before he suddenly flinched and turned his head. He became surprised as he saw Ark and confronted him.

“Yes, who are you?”

The person looked at Ark with uneasy eyes until he suddenly shouted like he remembered something.

“I see…… You covet that as well…… Foolish bastards……. Your vain greed……I won’t allow it!”

Sharp fangs suddenly sprang from his mouth and blade like claws from the hand. A red warning message flashed as the person attacked.

‘Boss monster? This crypt also has a boss monster?’

There were no monsters present so he hadn’t expected a boss. Ark was unprepared and hurriedly pulled out his sword to attack Karma. It was a crude attack so he hadn’t expected it to work. But Karma fell down from the hit and also lost 3% of his health.

‘What the? This guy?’

Ark looked at Karma struggling on the ground with astonishment. Shouldn’t the boss monster be incredibly strong?

‘That’s right, there were no monsters here so I had no idea of the level of difficulty in this dungeon. The difficulty of the traps is quite high but that has nothing to do with the level of dungeon. This isn’t this dungeon more reasonable than I expected?’

He confirmed that it was the right answer after checking Karma with Eyes of the Cat. Indeed, Ark was high level. He had reached level 339 after killing the zombies in the swamp. If he added the 50% dark attribute bonus then he was level 508. On the other hand, Karma was only level 450. Even though he was a boss monster, Ark had already overwhelmed it in stats. It wasn’t necessary for him to fight really seriously against it. Of course, bosses in New World possessed special skills so victory or defeat wasn’t just determined by level.

‘But what’s this? This uncomfortable feeling?’

Instead of feeling comfortable at the thought of an easy fight, he felt uneasy instead. If the boss was that weak then wouldn’t the loot be bad as well? But Ark clamped down on the uncomfortable feeling. Anyway, he hadn’t entered hoping for loot. Ark’s purpose was his profession change quest!

‘I’ll finish this quickly and complete my quest!’

“Dark blade!”

Ark ran up to Karma and stabbed him with his sword. Then Karma screamed and waved his hand.

“Hik, Time Acceleration!”

A suspicious gas had emerged from Karma’s hand. At that moment, a message window appeared saying that Gwisal’s durability had fallen?

‘Hik, w-what it this?’

Ark panicked and withdrew. Before coming here, he had carefully looked at Gwisal’s information window and the durability had dropped from 200 to 80. Ark avoided Karma’s ensuing attacks and used Magic Restoration continuously to repair Gwisal’s sword.

“What on earth is happening? I didn’t even touch the black person? What is this thing?’

Ark used Skill Penetration. It was urgent to examine what Karma had done.

‘What the? Time Tuner?’

Techniques which controlled the flow of time? Although it didn’t apply to Ark since he was alive, Time Rewind wasn’t something that he could take lightly. Ark turned pale with fear after reading the information window. Although it wasn’t necessary to explain, real physical laws applied to equipment in New World. If he didn’t use his sword over a certain amount of time then the durability would decline. Of course, it only decreased by 1 every month and repairing it would always return it to the original state. But if he left the equipment alone after a few years then the durability would fall and the item would break. Karma’s skill acted like that. When his sword entered the space, it was like time accelerated by a hundred times. In the end, it appeared like Ark had neglected his sword for a few years. The durability was decreased at a tremendous rate. If his response was a little bit late then his sword would’ve been destroyed. It wasn’t only his sword. Wouldn’t the effect also apply to his armour if it hit his body?

‘I have to fight against someone like this?’

He would’ve preferred to lose 1,000 health. If he died then he would just lost a few stats when resurrected. However, his items were unrecoverable if the durability reached 0. In addition, 70% of his equipment was rare or higher so it would cost 1 billion won buying new equipment. If that happened that Ark would become sick and collapse.

‘Close range fighting is dangerous. My pets are wearing equipment so it is also risky for them.’

“Razak and Racard, quickly retreat!”

Ark panicked and used Sprint to retreat.

“Huhuhu, where did your confidence go…..you cowardly bastard!”

When Ark retreated, Karma instantly used taunts to provoke him. However, Ark wasn’t the type to risk losing millions of won just because of a few taunts.

‘He’s provoking me so Time Tuner isn’t a long distance magic.’

While being chased by Karma, Ark started analyzing him. The radius of Karma’s skill was probably a few metres around him. If he didn’t approach then he wouldn’t have to worry about his equipment breaking. And Karma used skills like a magician so his defense and health were extremely low.

‘If I keep my distance while dealing strong damage then I might be able to fix this.’

“Radun, give me a sword! Blade Storm!”

Ark took out a sword and made it explode. It split into countless fragments and attacked Karma. But something astonishing happened in the next moment.

“Time Rewind!”

After Karma used his magic, the fragments combined back into a sword and weakly fell to the ground. Thanks to time rewinding, the sword had returned to its previous state before it exploded. It was an absurd defense. This also happened when he tried to shoot an arrow. When Karma rewound time, the arrow lost its acceleration and fell to the ground. Karma then rushed towards him.

“Hahaha! You greedy bastard…..I’ll strip you naked….. Time Acceleration!”

Damn, what is there? There’s no way to fight!’

Ark was like someone with his tail trapped. He was confident in a frontal confrontation. But if he fought within close range then time acceleration would be applied to his equipment. Even if he continuously used Magic Restoration, at least one or two of his equipment would be destroyed before he could repair them.

‘That absolutely can’t happen! The equipment I worked so hard to obtain…..!’

He couldn’t tolerate it, even if it meant he had to die.

‘Is there a way to block his skill?’

Ark worried for a while before a thought flashed through his head. Karma’s skills were Time Acceleration and Time Rewind. In other words, they were magic with completely opposite properties! What would happen if Time Rewind was applied to an area which already had Time Acceleration? Wouldn’t it be neutralized?

‘Yes, that’s it! That’s the only way.”

“Racard, take it off!”

“Eh?”

Racard’s eyes widened at Ark’s words.

“M-master, since when is that your hobby…..I’m a handsome boy but….in this situation……”

“What nonsense are you saying? You’re wearing rare equipment. You should take it off so it isn’t destroyed.”

“Ah, is that so? But why? Heok, don’t tell me you’re making me fight against another tough person?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect that from you.”

Ark snorted and murmured. Although Racard could fight Karma once he took off his equipment, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the boss on his own. No matter how weak, he was still a boss. Karma wasn’t so weak that Ark could defeat him without his equipment. So Ark wanted Racard to use Blood-sucking. It was in order to absorb a skill that would neutralize Karma’s.

“Got it? I’ll attract his attention while you suck out his skills. The skill I desire is Time Acceleration. Fill your two slots with Time Acceleration.”

There was a reason Ark wanted Time Acceleration. Karma didn’t know that Racard could absorb skills. If he knew that fact then he wouldn’t let Racard suck his blood easily. Then this was the only chance to use blood-sucking. So he had to defeat Karma with only two skills.

‘The skill that can deal the largest damage is Blade Storm. In addition, the attack damage is determined by the quality of the sword. My counterattack made him lose 3% health last time so two hits with Blade Storm should be enough.’

Then he would be in a critical condition. With less than 10% health, Ark could rush forward and attack while continuously using Magic Restoration. A magic sword was the best bet for this.

‘That guy stopped my attack with Time Rewind just now. Time Acceleration means that a lot of time can pass within a few seconds. I have to kill him before durability reached 0.’

That’s why Ark ordered the acquisition of Time Acceleration which is the opposite of Time Rewind.

“Okay, I don’t know if I could acquire it but I’ll try.”

Racard sneaked out of the combat zone and took off his tuxedo before approaching Karma. Meanwhile Ark shot arrows wildly and attracted Karma’s eyes.

“Take this you damn monster!”

“These attacks….are useless! Ah, ouch!”

Karma flinched and looked down at his foot. Racard had quickly bit the ankle and sucked the blood before running away.

“Damn, the taste is dirty. This isn’t blood…..it tastes like rotten soup……”

‘Okay, that’s one!’

Even though he complained, Racard managed to collect one skill.

“Jeez…..this mosquito like guy….!”

Karma rushed up to Racard angrily. However, Racard avoided the attack like he really was a mosquito. When Ark shot an arrow, Karma instantly turned back to him. Karma still didn’t know that Racard was absorbing his skills. Racard wasn’t dealing any damage to his health so he hadn’t considered it necessary to pay attention to Racard.

‘Now Racard! Time Acceleration!’

“Okay!”

Racard sucked on Karma’s neck like a mosquito at Ark’s command. After a few repetitions, Racard was once again able to absorb a skill. However Ark sighed after checking Racard’s information window. It wasn’t Time Acceleration that was absorbed but Time Rewind.

‘Damn, you’ll have to cancel it and suck again!’

“U-understood. Eh? B-but Master…..this is slightly strange.”

Racard who was running away from Karma suddenly frowned. In a short while, Racard suddenly screamed and rolled around on the ground.

“Aaaaak! M-Master. I-it hurts! It feels like I’m being eaten!”

“R-Racard, wake up! Razak, protect Racard!”

Ttadak, clack clack clack clack!

Razak who had retreated at Ark’s command ran towards Racard. But after his scream was heard, an information window appeared in front of Ark.

‘Skill synthesis?’

Ark’s mouth dropped as he read the information window. Wasn’t it like eating meat and spice separately, but then mixing it for delicious food? Combining Time Acceleration and Time Rewind created Absolute Time! The two effects mixed and created a skill that destroyed time magic. If he had sucked Time Acceleration twice then he never would’ve awakened the vampire’s abilities! If Absolute Time was able to destroy time magic then Karma wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

“Good! This is it!”

“Ugh, I didn’t know it would feel that bad. Please use it quickly. Ouch!”

Racard muttered as he still hadn’t adapted to the nausea from awakening his ability.

“Yes, very soon…..”

Ark immediately prepared a counterattack. Now it was possible to finish Karma off whenever he wanted. Before he had only thought about escaping but now he had a brilliant idea.

‘Wait? That fellow stops all flying attacks with Time Rewind. And Time Rewind returned the moment to hundreds of years ago. ‘Then perhaps……?’

“Radun, the Old Sword!”

Ssak ssak ssak, ssak ssak ssak ssak!

As soon as Radun gave him the sword, Ark threw it towards Karma.

“Bah…..Time Rewind!”

Karma judged that it was an attack and turned back time. Of course, the sword lost its energy and fell to the ground. But the sword which fell to the ground was different from before. The Old Sword he picked up in the crypt was literally an old sword. What would happen if it was hit with Time Rewind?

‘As expected!’

Ark quickly reclaimed the Old Sword and looked at the information window.

Ark was in such a good mood he felt like screaming. Yes, hundreds of years ago the sword was in its perfect state. But it had been buried in the ground for hundreds of years and couldn’t be used anymore. He had returned it when it was created for the first time. Ark intended to change all of the items he found in the crypt.

‘I found 30 items. I can change all of them into useful items!’

Ark hid his real intentions and muttered.

“Ugh, there is also a failure?”

“Hahaha! You fool…..Every attempt will be the same!”

“But there’s still a lot of weapons. You can’t stop everything. Take this!”

“You fool, didn’t I say that was useless? Time Rewind! Time Rewind!”

Karma was a guy whose primary nature was protecting himself. Then couldn’t Ark use that to change all the junk items to something new? Ark’s only worry was that Karma would notice and start to use Time Acceleration. It would be fine with normal equipment but if Time Acceleration was used on old items then they would turn to dust. However, Karma was tricked by Ark’s act and kept on using Time Rewind.

‘Hahaha, I’m sweeping in the money!’

Ark frantically threw the junk items.

“Take this, take this and this…..eh? This is?”

“Huk huk huk, already…..ran out of…..huk huk huk, of items.”

Karma muttered as he gasped and Ark clicked his tongue.

“Yes, everything is gone. Unfortunately.”

“Huhuhu! Huk huk huk, now it’s your turn…… Huk huk huk, the items you’re wearing…..huk huk huk, I’ll turn it to dust….. Huk huk huk, Time Acceleration!”

Karma made an elated expression and rushed forward. Then Ark laughed and muttered.

“Racard.”

“Ohhhhh, I’ve been waiting for this. Eeeeek! Absolute Time!”

Racard seemed like he was vomiting up the skill. There was a roaring sound and all the time magic used by Karma was destroyed.

“Huk, what, what the…..why…..?”

Karma burst out with confusion. He hit Ark’s armour with a disbelieving expression but there was no change in the armour. Karma realized that something was wrong and stuttered as he looked at Ark.

“W-wait a minute……. There is something wrong….. I’m just a little tired……”

“Ah, is that so?”

Ark smiled pleasantly at Karma and nodded. Next Ark continuously used Dark Blade. Karma was no problem now that he didn’t have his time magic. With Razak and Racard attacking as well, Karma fell into a critical condition within 2 minutes.

“Huk…..I can’t die….not like this!”

Karma stumbled and shouted when he had 5% health left. Instantly a weird black air current started forming around Karma’s body. Most of the bosses had a special skill they used when in critical condition. Karma’s final knockdown skill seemed to be something other than time magic. Ark had the thought too late and rushed forward with ‘Jump.’

“It’s too late, Dark Blade!”

Kwaaaaaaa, kwaaaaaa!

Then Karma’s body split in half and the black smoke went in all different directions.

‘Damn, did he finish the skill?’

Ark maintained a defensive stance. But the unexpected message windows appeared in front of him.

‘What the? Wasn’t Karma’s final skill completed? I didn’t feel an attack……’

Anyway, Karma died and his level rose. He felt dissatisfied but Karma died so he didn’t pay it any attention. He gained 5 levels after defeating Karma. In addition, he managed to transform 30 junk items into fine items.

“Huhuhu, he was a strange person to the end but it turned out okay.”

Ark carefully looked at the items that dropped onto the ground after Karma collapsed.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Short note regarding Racard’s synthesis skill. Nature= Time magic. Property= Accelerate or Rewind.