Ark-Volume 24 Chapter 4

ACT 4 Idea Maze (Ⅰ)

“Damn, is this the reason why there weren’t any demons around the dome?”

Ark muttered as he checked the information window. That’s right. This was why Maseutyu escaped into the dome after being chased by the attack squad. It was in order to trap them in this different dimension of space. And switch must’ve happened when the door to the dome was opened. That’s why the demons didn’t defend the dome. If Ark’s group was busy fighting the demons then they wouldn’t enter the dome so quickly. He would’ve been more cautious and checked for any traps. But when Ark arrived at the dome, thousands of demons were advancing from different directions. That’s why Ark urgently entered the dome and was caught by his ploy.

‘That means…… He intends to tie up our ankles until the Dark Lord is resurrected.’

The Idea Maze was complex and dangerous. He had thought there was 12 hours remaining but now the situation had changed. Like the name suggested, the area was a labyrinth. It wasn’t a jail with no exits. According to the laws of New World, there had to be an exit for the labyrinth but there was no guarantee that they could escape in 12 hours.

“We can’t delay here. Hurry and move ahead quickly!”

-Grrrrrrr.

Ark shouted in an urgent voice. Suddenly some black forms crawled from the space where the attack squad was. It was a monster which a large black figure and red eyes! There was an instant fishy smell as hundreds of animals appeared on all sides.

“These guys!”

Timosi grinded her teeth together after they appeared. The monsters that appeared in this space where the beasts who had previously attacked Alan. And they also annoyed the escaping Timosi and Avenger members for several days. After seeing the beasts, Timosi’s arms quickly moved at a quick speed.

“Matanyi Shooter no. 3, Devil’s Stabbing Arrow!”

Dozens of arrows flew across the space and exploded.

-Kuwaaaaaaaah!

Then the beasts simultaneously rushed towards the attack squad. Ark surveyed their movement and reflexively shouted.

“Warriors forward! Stop them with the counterattack formation!”

The warriors moved to their front with their swords and shields. In battle, warriors either used their shields to increase their defense by 50% while reducing their attack by 30% or vice versa. But warriors who reached a certain level could learn a special counterattack formation that allowed them to attack while defending. It was similar to Ark’s Riposte skill that required timing to be successful but once learnt then they could fight the enemies really quickly.

“Prepare for that attack and counterattack simultaneously!”

And the warriors and beasts collided!

Kwa kwa kwa kwa, kwa kwa kwa kwa!

There was a ringing sound and dozens of warriors flew back like they had been hit by a truck. The defense line instantly collapsed. The dozens of beasts came through the gaps.

“What, what the?”

Ark glanced at the scene with bewilderment. The attack squad members belonged to the Nagaran’s allied forces and were some of the best warriors in New World. They had an average level of 350~370 and they wore deluxe equipment, with one shield even costing 10 million won. There were various options and the defense of the equipment wasn’t a joke. Although their defense might be slightly lower because of the formation, why would a level 350 user with good equipment be blown away with one attack?

-Kuwaaaah!

Then one of the beasts shrieked and ran up to him when he was distracted. Ark reflexively turned his body and used Dark Strike. The attack precisely hit a weak spot. Usually an ordinary demon would wobble and take a few steps back. However, the beast just shook its head and swung its claws. Ark was hit in the shoulder and retreated from the unexpected counterattack.

“Ugh, this bastard……”

Ark immediately used Dark Dance to avoid the following attack and retreated. However, the beast caught up with Ark and swiped its claws again.

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

Then a bolt flew passed and hit the beast’s claw. Ark heard Timosi’s voice as he finally managed to escape from the beast.

“These guys aren’t common demons. They’re elite monsters!”

“What? You should’ve said that sooner!”

“I’m telling you now! Matanyi Shooter no. 3, Devil’s Stabbing Arrow!”

Timosi blindly fired at an animal and shouted.

‘These guys are elite demons?’

Ark eyed the beasts running wild around the area. Ark’s fighting style was to check the information and then decide on a counterattack. But they had suddenly been sucked into a strange space and then these beasts had appeared. Furthermore, he was irritated that he fell into Maseutyu’s trap and he couldn’t react as calmly as usual.

“We have to quickly move forward.”

Ark took a deep breath. The most important thing was to escape before the 12 hours was over. However, Rwigenberg’s shield was completely active again. It might not have the same power as before so the airships would be able to penetrate it with an all-out attack again but they were hindered by the demons. In the end, he could only rely on the 1,200 troops to stop the Dark Lord’s resurrection ceremony. If the attack squad hurried and were wiped out then everything would be over.

‘Let’s concentrate on the situation in front of me at the moment.’

“All warriors change to a defensive position and stop them from breaking into the camp! JusticeMan ajusshi, rehabilitation hyungnims, join up with the barrier. Explain their positions to the warriors. All priests concentrate on healing the warriors holding the barrier first!”

Ark shouted after calming his head. The warriors instantly spread out and formed a wall made of shields. The opponent was hundreds of elite monsters then the warriors in a defense position would still be blown away. That’s why Ark gathered the warriors in one place. He had connected the dozens of warriors into a circle. If the weight increased then they wouldn’t go flying easily. Ark had devised this method when dealing with the large monsters in the secret dungeon. Once the barrier was completed, it seemed like an iron wall was made using hundreds of shields.

Kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang!

When the beasts rushed to the barrier, 10 people rose with the strike. However, the warriors had their arms linked so they didn’t fly away.

“Okay, we’ve prevented the beasts from breaking into the camp.”

But he couldn’t be relieved just yet. The shields became dented every time the beasts rushed. The endurance of the shield was being steadily decreased. If this continued then the shield of the lead warriors would be destroyed in no time. Furthermore, the warriors were in a defense position so it wasn’t possible for them to counterattack. Ark had no intention of just watching that happen.

“Jjak-tung hyung, please grasp the information of these beasts!”

“U-understood.’Knowing onself and one’s opponent’!”

It was the special skill of the Guardian=Strategist that Jjak-tung changed to! The information about the black beasts appeared when Jjak-tung used the skill.

“Now I have some idea about them.”

Ark nodded after hearing the information from Jjak-tung. The reason why the beast wasn’t really affected by Ark’s Dark Strike was because of their resistance to weapons. And they caught up with Dark Dance because of the <Quick> effect, while the warriors were blown away because of the ‘Rush’ effect.

‘50% resistance to weapons, Rush, Quick and Confusion…… There are no abilities that are particularly threatening. The most difficult thing is the ‘Quick’ effect.

It was unnecessary to say how important speed was in close combat fighting. The warriors weren’t able to counterattack because they were overwhelmed by the speed.

‘First I have to seal their movements!’

Ark determined and instantly thought of a strategy.

“Magicians add magic to the archers’ arrows!”

The magicians chanted their spells and imbued the arrows with magic after hearing Ark’s command. Fire and ice covered the arrows and became magic arrows.

“Concentrate on attacking their legs!”

“Precision Shot!”

Syu syu syu syu, syu syu syu syuk!

Hundreds of magic flew through the air. They flew in a parabola over the warriors and struck the beasts’ leg. When hit by the arrows in a vital spot like that, the beasts were more likely to get abnormal statuses such as ‘blind’ or ‘blood vessel destruction.’ The abnormal status activated by the damage was the largest advantage of archers. Of course, hitting a vital spot on a battlefield wasn’t an easy task. The ability to hit the vital spots made archers one of the most desired professions in New World but it required a considerable level of archery skill. In fact, there were users over level 100 who never hit the vital spots. However, the attack squad members were some of the best in New World and had a hit rate of above 70%. Furthermore, their arrows were coated in magic so the resistance to weapons didn’t apply.

-Kuwaaaah!

The beasts stumbled as dozens of arrows were driven into their knees or calves. And more than half of them were ‘slowed.’

“All magicians use wide area magic on the other side of the barrier!”

“Fire of anger from the bottom of hell, Hell Breath!”

“Earth Elemental, Air Elemental, Fire Elemental, Water Elemental. I call you under the command of the great god, be enthusiastic and run wild. Summon spirits!”

Kuwaaaaaaaah!

At that time, the area where the Evil Thoughts were gathered warped. The attack squad members used Willpower Exchange and 3~4 wide area magic was stacked up. Flames rose dozens of metres high from the ground while different elemental spirits appeared and attacked. Thanks to the archers’ Precise Shot, the demons were incapable of running away. Hundreds of Evils Thoughts lost their fighting spirit thanks to the magic and arrows!

“……..Descend to this earth, Great Mother of Creation!”

Then Lariette’s voice came from the rear. The Ark of Creation opened and a goddess appeared in the darkness.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa, kwa kwa kwa kwa!

Sanctuary spread light through the darkness and burned the demons. Meanwhile the soldiers wrapped in the explosion recovered their health.

“Now. Magicians, add magic to the warriors’ shields and swords!”

“Atmosphere of mana, become the sword and shield!”

The magicians chanted a spell and a flash appeared around the swords and shields. Ark’s eyes gleamed and he shouted.

“Now, switch to assault mode!”

“Uhwaaaaaah!”

Hundreds of warriors rushed with their magic swords. The soldiers turned into one solid mass and it seemed like they were a giant tank. The huge tank hit the demons already damaged by the magic arrows and Sanctuary. Black blood welled up like a water fountain. Thanks to the magic arrows, the Evil Thoughts already had their speed reduced. The archers continued to use Precise Shot to hit their eyes, arms and other vital spots to reduce the speed. Therefore the warriors were able to slaughter the Evil Thoughts.

‘Okay, now there is a chance to win. We just have to finish it!’

“Everybody enter the battle. Troops divide into units of 10 and attack the Evil Thoughts!”

The soldiers divided into groups of 10 and dispersed. This was a tactic that Ark frequently used in battle. Warrior, magician, priest, White Tiger clan……. Every group had a combination of those professions. In a large battle, the priests normally focused on the warriors while the archers attacked the monsters. The combination could make up for the weaknesses of each profession. Meanwhile Ark’s party was composed of Roco and the heroes’ descendants!

“Take this, Dark Strike!”

Ark moved like a ghost and attacked. Then a huge figure raised his greatsword and shouted.

“Beast Spirit Possession! Rise power of the bear! Rise power of the dog!”

The man who absorbed the shape of a bear and a dog was the Beast Master Bread! Bread slammed his shoulder and caused the Evil Thoughts to retreat. Then a blurry shape appeared behind the Evil Thoughts. While the Evil Thoughts were concentrated on Ark and Bread, Shambala had appeared behind them.

“……Eunsal!”

Shambala muttered and the side of the Evil Thought split open, causing a shower of black blood. The Evil Thoughts that became tattered from Ark, Bread and Shambala’s linked attack shrieked and frantically waved its claw.

“I’ll get revenge for Alan! Matanyi Shooter no. 1, Devil Penetrating Arrow!”

An arrow flew from Timosi and hit the shoulders of the Evil Thoughts. At the same time, the arms of the Evil Thoughts became limp. A number of Evil Thoughts burst into tears and angrily rushed towards Ark. Then Lariette’s voice came from the rear.

“Pure Shield!”

At that moment, a shield of light formed in front of Ark. Roco couldn’t ignore that Lariette helped Ark and raised her harp.

“Melody Rhapsody Impromptu. Sonata of Pain!”

Some powerful sound waves headed towards the beasts. Roco had intended to use the sound waves from her harp to attack the Evil Thoughts. However, the sound waves collided with Lariette’s shield of light and an unimaginable result was produced.

Kuoooooh!

The shield of light vibrated and amplified the sound waves. The amplified shock wave reflected off the shield and light and shot forward. Then cracks appeared on the ground and a few Evil Thoughts flew 20 metres away. Lariette and Roco gaped with shock as an information window appeared in front of them.

Then there was a strange metal whine as Wormer raised a fist and shouted.

“This is a man’s romance! Armoured suit attachment complete!”

-Kuwaaaah!

Several beasts had run up to Wormer. He had expected Wormer to freak out and escape but he just smiled instead.

“Heh, you will be the first to die. Armoured suit engine open! Aim at the Evil Thoughts, launch!”

Tu tu tu tu, tu tu tu tu!

At that moment, the metal pieces fitted on Wormer’s chest opened. The gun carriage fired towards the Evil Thoughts. That’s right. It was a personal battle armour that Wormer and the engineers from the Magic Institute created.

“Hahaha, how do you like the taste of my genius armoured suit?”

The shells fired from the magic gun exploded. After a brief moment, the Evil Thoughts ran out from the detonation area. The power of the magic gun wasn’t enough to stop the elite demons.

“Wormer!”

Ark shouted as the Evil Thoughts ran forward. However there was still a smile on Wormer’s face.

“Huhuhu, do you think I didn’t expect this much? Magic engine open!”

There was a roaring sound from Wormer’s foot and he moved backwards. There was a small engine attached to the bottom of the foot that allowed him to move quickly.

“Hahaha, I’ll turn you into rags!”

Wormer slid freely around the ground and fired his guns. Wormer became a considerably strong warrior thanks to his armoured suit.

“Ark, the Evil Thoughts are surging!”

Ark had been stupidly watching Wormer when he heard Shambala’s voice in his ear. Ark gathered his spirit and shouted.

“Let’s go! Dark Strike!”

“Earth storm!”

“Torrential Sword!”

Ark, Bread and Shambala struck at the Evil Thoughts. The power of Ark and the heroes’ descendants was overwhelming.

‘Their skills are superior. Mine has also become much stronger after the heroes’ descendants are gathered!’

Ark realized it after battling with the party. In fact, Ark had also realized this in the past after fighting with Shambala. At that time, the Dark Walker and Saint Assassin had different skills and effects. But when they fought together, the two skills had a strange connection which made fighting together easy. He later learned that it was because Ark and Shambala were descendants of heroes that fought together. The Hero Christin and the Assassin Master Salrin had fought against the darkness together and developed skills in conjunction with each other. The rest of the heroes’ descendants were also like that. When they fought together, a connection was clearly shown. Despite Roco not being a hero’s descendant, she managed to trigger a cooperative skill with Lariette. Furthermore, Ark’s Eternal Soul automatically raised his attack by 40% when fighting against demons. Therefore Ark and his party left devastation in their wake on the battlefield. After 30 minutes, the number of Evil Thoughts had been reduced to dozens.

“We’re in the final stretches! Annihilate them!”

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

The attack squad cried out after hearing Ark’s words and raised their weapons.

———————————————————————————————————–

“We’ve exterminated the Evil Thoughts on the left side!”

“We’ve exterminated the Evil Thoughts on the right side!”

The attack squad covered in the blood and flesh of Evil Thoughts reported back.

“Good work. Recover your health and mana and check your equipment.”

Ark nodded and gave an order. After entering the labyrinth, they had already experienced 10 big battles. There was no time left. He couldn’t get any more reinforcements. If this was a regular battle then he would use scouts to avoid as much battles as possible. But the Evil Thoughts just suddenly appeared in this space. They showed up and surrounded the group on all side so there was no way to escape.

‘Yet I’ve already grasped the movements of the Evil Thoughts.’

In fact, in online games the monsters were toughest when fighting against them the first time. They didn’t understand the special characteristics of the opponent and the movement patterns so it wasn’t easy to respond. The Evil Thoughts were difficult to fight against when they first appeared. But after fighting against the Evil Thoughts 10 times, they had become completely accustomed to the attack pattern. Knowing the attack patterns meant he could predict their movements. The attack squad could now respond to any surprise attacks without panic. When the faced the Evil Thoughts the first time, it took 30 minutes to wipe them all out with 100 casualties. Now it only took 20 minutes and they received no damage.

‘I’ve levelled a lot thanks to that but…….’

Ark sighed and looked at his character information window.

He had been level 492 when he entered the Idea Maze. He had gained 4 levels in here. It was a natural result so they killed thousands of elite monsters without any breaks. However Ark had a gloomy expression on his face.

‘There are still 1,000 soldiers left and it isn’t difficult dealing with the Evil Thoughts. But…….’

Ark’s purpose wasn’t to raise his level. It was to escape from the Idea Maze as soon as possible in order to stop the resurrection ceremony.

Ark confirmed the blinking warning message and sighed. They had already wasted 5 hours in the maze.

‘Damn, how the hell do I get out of this maze?”

Ark looked at the strange maze with pained eyes. This was actually the largest problem. The labyrinth was like a 3D puzzle and moving the wrong way meant that he could appear back at the beginning. Furthermore, there were hundreds of weird shapes in the background that spun around like a kaleidoscope that made it difficult to grasp the terrain of the dungeon. Therefore the attack squad had wandered for 5 hours and had returned to almost the beginning.

‘I can’t find the path even if I use the cartography skill.’

Even the cartography skill didn’t work in the Idea Maze. Of course, if he dispersed the troops to look for the exit then it was possible to save time. But he didn’t know when there would be a surprise attack and how many monsters there would be. If he spread his troops then it was possible that they would be wiped out. However, he couldn’t roam this 3D maze blindly.

‘This is a complete dilemma.’

Ark sighed and looked down at Burning Soul coiled around his waist. If he made Burning Soul transform then Ark might be able to find a path in the air. The Idea Maze wasn’t just a blank space. Various pillars and crystals in the air but it wasn’t to the extent that they couldn’t move through it. If he took Burning Soul around the labyrinth then wasn’t it possible to find the exit?

‘Yes, Burning Soul might be able to find the exit but that doesn’t mean we can make our way there.’

Yes, that was the reason why Ark hadn’t used that method. Once again this was a 3D maze with thousands of paths. Even if he found the exit, it might be impossible for Ark to find a path there. Furthermore, the labyrinth also had worm holes that would warp them to another area. There was no way to follow a straight path. The reason the attack squad had wandered around the same areas many time was because of the worm holes. Wormholes also existed in the sky so there was no guarantee that the members could move to the exit.

‘Damn, Maseutyu must be hiding somewhere and laughing.’

Anger welled up inside him at the thought.

‘I’ll smash him as soon as I find him after chasing……’

Ark was sighing when a though appeared in his mind.

‘Wait? Chasing? Then…..?’

“That’s right, there is that method!”

Ark thought for a while before standing up and shouting. The attack squad members just stared at Ark after he stood up and yelled. It was a look which showed their confusion. However, his gaze publicized that everything was fine. Ark smiled and looked at them before speaking.

“Everybody get up. Be prepared to get out of here.”

———————————————————————————————————–

“Only a bit more to go.”

Maseutyu murmured with excitement as he looked at a blood red iron door.

“In the next 4 hours….. After 4 hours the King of Darkness will descend down to this land! Then no one will be able to stop him. The Dark Lord who has been hiding and waiting for hundreds of years will return! Hahahaha……”

“We won’t let you!”

It was at that moment. Suddenly a ray flew through the darkness. Maseutyu hadn’t considered an attack and the ray hit his thigh. Maseutyu kneeled down and looked at the direction where the ray came from.

“T-these guys?”

Maseutyu stared with confusion. Hundreds of soldiers were approaching from the other side of the square. At the forefront of the soldiers were Ark, Shambala, Bread, Redian, Lariette, Timosi and Wormer, the descendants of the 7 heroes. That’s right. They were the elite members of the expedition force! Maseutyu stared at them with disbelief and stuttered.

“T-this is ridiculous! This is the Idea Maze where no souls can escape from. But these humans in only 8 hours……”

“Are you wondering why? It is because you told us the way.”

“Me? That’s impossible……”

“Well, you left us clues that allowed this wonderful guy to track.

Ark smiled and patted Burning Soul coiled around his waist. Then Burning Soul rubbed against his hand with a happy expression. That’s right. Ark managed to find the exit to this annoying maze thanks to Burning Soul. Around 3 hours ago, Ark had been sitting around when he suddenly stood up and said that they would escape from the maze in a confident voice.

“What does that mean?”

“Didn’t you say there wasn’t a way to escape?”

“Aren’t we like this because we couldn’t find the exit?”

“……Are you feverish?”

Shambala, Bread, Redian and Lariette looked at him with perplexed eyes. Roco then interrupted with an angry voice.

“Ark oppa isn’t someone who will speak nonsense! If he says we’ll leave then we are leaving!”

As expected, Roco was the person who knew Ark best. That’s right. Ark was such a person. He was a man of action. Bread scratched his head after hearing Roco’s serious voice and asked.

“…….Do you really have a method?”

“Huhuhuhu.”

Ark just laughed instead of answering. Ark shouted towards Burning Soul wound around his waist.

“Burning Soul!”

Kurarara, kurarara?

Burning Soul looked up at him with wide eyes. Ark smiled and spoke to Burning Soul.

“Burning Soul, using Stalking to find all the footprints in this area!”

Kurarara, kurarara!

Burning Soul nodded and dropped down to the ground. His head moved along the ground as he flicked his tongue. After a while, a huge number of footprints appeared in front of Ark.

“Apply filter, delete the footprints of the demons!”

When Ark gave the command, all the footprints of the beasts disappeared.

“Apply filter, delete the footprint of the foreigners!”

This time the footprints of the attack squad disappeared. After all the footprints disappeared, only one set remained.

‘I found you Maseutyu!’

A satisfied smile appeared on Ark’s face after seeing the footprints. This was the method Ark devised to escape from the maze. It was thanks to Maseutyu that the attack squad members discovered the exit. He had run away and they had followed him. The place where he had escaped to was probably the exit.

‘In other words, that fellow is either waiting by the exit or had already escaped so we can follow his footprints out the exit!’

That’s how Ark thought about using Burning Soul’s Stalking. Burning Soul’s Stalking had already reached Master level so he gained the ability to filter out footprints. The search time had also extended by 50% and he could now follow the footsteps for 6 hours.

‘Maseutyu passed by 5 hours ago so I can still track him. If I remove the demons and the attack squad, the footprints belonging to the black magician chaotic NPC is obviously Maseutyu!’

It was a sure way to find the exit. There was no more time to hesitate.

“Everybody rise! From now on we will be marching towards the exit! Burning Soul, lead the way!”

Ark and the attack squad followed Maseutyu’s footsteps. So Maseutyu taught Ark the path.

‘If I didn’t use this method then we would’ve been wandering for a few days.’

Ark once again realized how complicated the Idea Maze was after following Maseutyu’s footprints. Maseutyu had used the shortest course to navigate the labyrinth. Yet it still took the attack squad 3 hours to reach this place. That’s because the path was still complicated. They had also been attacked by Evil Thoughts along the way so the attack squad had decreased by 800 people.

‘800 people were able to escape from the maze because of Burning Soul!’

Then Maseutyu glared and shouted.

“How dare you guys……”

“It is thanks to you that we got here. Why are you talking such nonsense?”

“……That’s far enough.”

Maseutyu’s face turned red after hearing Ark’s words. He frowned and stood up before yelling.

“Cheeky bastard, I’ll show you what true fear is!”

It was at that moment. Maseutyu’s body was surrounded by a red flash and his skin split open. Blackened mucus flowed out from the cracked skin. After a while, a spider like monster with two heads appeared. A red warning message appeared in front of Ark.