Ark

ACT 1 Unfinished Quest

‘What is this? Magaro is a boss monster?’

Ark was unable to process the absurd sight in front of him. What type of 4D space was in that person’s body? How did the body of an old man suddenly become a 10 metre tall monster? Had the alchemist never heard of the law of conservation of mass? Ark was a modern man with common sense so he questioned it but Magaro was already talking.

“Huhuhu, I absolutely can’t lose. I can’t lose to anyone! All of this is mine. Only I can have it! I will kill everyone who tries to take it away from me!”

.....He couldn’t even try a conversation in this atmosphere. No, he had seen many boss monsters but this was the first time he dreaded looking at one.

It was like an experiment failed and he just stitched random monster parts to his body. Each eyeball rotated in a different direction. 10 different arms with colouring blisters covering it.....It was the first time he had seen such a scary monster. Ark wasn’t the only person to think so.

“Huk, w-what the hell?”

The cry emerged from around the corner when Magaro transformed. He turned his head and saw that the pig was sitting down on ground. Buksil had used ‘historical mission’ as an excuse to Lariette and followed Ark. He was about to use his ‘secret weapon’ when he saw Magaro and froze. Then Magaro’s eyes rolled around and focused on Buksil. Ark’s body instinctively moved.

“S-such......such a stupid bastard.....!”

Ark used ‘Sprint’ and collided with Buksil.

Geul-!

Buksil was thrown into the air. At the same time, Magaro’s arms moved in strange angles and attacked. Despite using his sword to block, Ark was pushed back a few metres. Sweat poured down his body at the fearsome monster’s fierce attack.

“Ah, Ark-nim? You rescued me....?”

“You stupid fool, you can’t die so selfishly!”

“Ark-nim!”

Buksil looked at Ark with tearful eyes. He had secretly followed Ark in order to use his ‘secret weapon’ and obtain Magaro’s legacy. That is, to strike him in the back..... But he felt strange once Ark used his body to prevent him from dying.

‘Ah, although Ark-nim is wicked, he truly regarded me as his colleague. Nevertheless, I....I....I was always aiming to stab Ark-nim in the back. Kuaak.....! I really am terrible. I’m not even human. I’m disqualified from being a human!’

But he was only impressed for a few seconds.

“I need you to pack all the items here before dying!”

‘This son of a bitch, am I just a bag?’

Buksil’s face wrinkled after Ark’s comment. Anyway, Ark raised his body and stared at Magaro. But there wasn’t fear or confusion on Ark’s face. It was like someone finding a ray of happiness in the midst of despair.

‘I don’t know how it happened......this is an opportunity. If I kill Magaro then Magaro’s ownership of the items would disappear. And I can obtain Magaro’s legacy!’

At first he was scared thanks to the horror like scene. But he couldn’t forget the hideous appearance in the face of money. Even if the girl who crawled out of the TV or a nine-tailed fox begged him or the person from Friday the 13th held a chainsaw and threatened him......he would welcome it anytime if they gave him more items. Thanks to that, Magaro now appeared like a roll of bank notes to Ark.

‘I’m going to kill you.’ And even ‘I will inherit the legacy.’ Those were the only words he cared about!

At the thought of money, Ark became cool-headed in the battle.

‘Gauging from the previous impact, he’s not an opponent to be trifled with. In addition, he probably has some special attacks while I’m fighting blindly. The first rule of victory is to fight in the most favourable conditions!’

“Why are you just sitting down stupidly? Follow me! Dedric, Razak, run!”

Ark grabbed Buksil by the collar and bolted.

“That dirty rat.....I will not miss it!”

Magaro cried and pursued them.

However, Ark used ‘Sprint’ to escape the pursuit.

“Ark-nim!”

Lariette had been sitting near the entrance of the cave with a worried face and stood up when she saw them. Then she screamed at the ugly form of Magaro chasing them.

“Kyaaak, that, that is.....?”

“I don’t have time to explain in detail. Please buff me!”

“Huh? Oh, yes! Warrior’s strength, Virtuous Vitality, Pure light!”

Lariette stacked three buffs on him. Virtuous Vitality increased his strength and stamina for 3 minutes and increased his health while Pure light improved his mana regeneration.....

While the Innocence Knight had less combat abilities than a Holy Knight, its buffs were stronger. Of course, the skill level was lower so it wasn’t as effective as Alan’s. But it was a hundred times better than nothing. Furthermore, Lariette’s buff affected all her allied so it applied to Buksil, Ark and his summons as well. The combat abilities of the whole party rose sharply.

‘That’s it.’

Ark stopped and turned around. Then he shouted while using Riposte against the approaching Magaro.

“A-1 plan. Dedric, Razak, take position on the right and left.”

“Understood!”

Clack clack clack clack, ttadadak!

“Lariette-nim, please attack him from behind. Virtuous Vitality is more concerned with attack than defense so we will concentrate on attacking from 4 directions.”

“Yes, I’ll try it!”

Lariette looked fearfully at Magaro but she wasn’t a child. In such a situation, it wasn’t possible to sit down and be scared.

“Buksil, retreat a safe distance!”

“Yes, let’s do it!”

Buksil answered boldly and ran away. While Ark attracted Magaro’s attention, Lariette and his summons got into their positions and surrounded him. Then Ark used his Elemental Sword Fire attribute, Dedric Dark Dash, Razak and Lariette Shield Stroke and attacked Magaro simultaneously.

“Kuaaak, these people.....!”

The attacks struck like a storm and instantly reduced Magaro’s health by 30%. Of course, Magaro wasn’t an insignificant opponent. He was level 500. The 10 arms also moved back and forth in a bizarre series of attacks. Perhaps Ark would’ve been struggling if he was alone. However, Ark wasn’t alone. He had been steadily feeding his pets food to raise their stats while Lariette had graduated with honours from Ark’s spartan training over the last 10 days.

‘Teaching is really rewarding.’

Ark smiled warmly at Lariette. Of course, looking from the viewpoint of the teacher there was still a lot more for her to learn. But it was still a rewarding experience since Lariette was useful now. The best advantage of an Innocence Knight was that they could use recovery magic while wearing heavy armour!

“Healing Touch!”

Lariette used healing magic regularly between attacking and defending. A warrior receiving recovery magic was the difference between life and death in a battle! Ark was able to concentrate freely on attacking without worrying about his health.

“These guys.....how dare these thieves.....I cannot forgive!”

Finally Magaro’s health was reduced to 50%. He once again received a critical hit from Gwisal’s sword and fell to one knee. At the same time Magaro’s body turned red.

‘Double critical chance! This is a chance!’

Ark rushed forward like a wolf. Something unthinkable occurred. The blisters on Magaro’s 10 arms moved and scattered. When it came back, he was holding potion bottles in each of his hands.

“You wanted my research materials? Huhuhu, okay, take it! This is the result of my research!”

Hwiririk, pepeng, pepeng, kukwakwakwang!

Magaro threw the 10 bottles onto the ground where multiple explosions took place.

Flames and poison gas, lightning and winds.....!

He received all sorts of attribute damage.

The bottles that Magaro threw were filled with explosive liquid of different attributes. Fortunately, Ark had some resistance to all the attributes thanks to the Mongoose immortality pill. But his fire resistance went down to -25% thanks to the use of Elemental Sword so he received 250 damage thanks to the additional damage. That was not the whole problem. Magaro swallowed a potion and his health increased. He also stored recovery potions.

“Kukuku, how is it? Stupid bastards.....this is the power of alchemy!”

Magaro went on a drinking spree of recovery potions.

“No, this son of a bitch......!”

Magaro transferred the recovery potions to two arms while throwing the explosive potions with the remaining arms.

“Huk, Radun, swallow the potion!”

Ssak ssak, ssak ssak ssak!

Radun shot out and swallowed the explosive potions at Ark’s command.

But no matter how it tried, Radun couldn’t swallow 8 potions at once. Radun could only swallow one while the seven remaining exploded.

Kkukkukkukku, kkukwang, kwakwakwakwang!

It seemed like bombs were falling from the sky. Ark used ‘Dark Dance’ to avoid the blast range but it was impossible in a narrow cave. He barely managed to avoid everything and receive Lariette’s recovery magic. Then Magaro turned his eyes to Lariette.

“Bah! You dare.....botch my excellent work....!”

‘No, Lariette-nim is not at the level where she can avoid the explosive potions!’

Ark sprinted past Magaro to reach Lariette. Then he shouted while rotating his body.

“Lariette-nim! Raise your weapons!”

“Huh?”

Lariette automatically raised her weapons. At the same time, Ark ran up and hit her shield with Riposte.

“Kyaak!”

Lariette was pushed back 10 metres and fell. At the same time, an intense explosion took place in Ark’s vicinity. A message window appeared in front of Ark. He had lost 1,500 health from that attack.

“Oh Ark-nim! Healing Touch, Healing Touch!”

Lariette identified the situation and immediately healed him. However, Magaro’s damage was more than the amount she could recover. There was no chance to fight back properly. Even if he dealt a critical hit, Magaro would just restore his health using recovery potions. It was impossible for the minor attacks of his pets to deal any damage. He used the 10 different potions like water to deal damage.

‘Damn....how am I supposed to defeat him when he keeps throwing potions?’

With the potions exploding everywhere, his summons were already not following is commands.

“Ugh, fire, fire!”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

They just ran back and forth trying to save their lives. And the potions also exploded against the capsule walls which smashed everywhere. The sticky fluid inside the capsules and the monsters’ corpses scattered everywhere.

‘Dammit, is he just going to destroy everything?’

Then Ark had a sudden thought as the chimera bodies scattered.

‘Wait! He uses potions.....then.....?’

“Lariette, please escape outside while I distract this guy!”

“Huh? B-but.....!”

“I don’t have time to explain, quickly!”

Lariette hurriedly exited the cave at Ark’s words.

“Dedric, Razak, you guys leave the cave too!”

“What? Master! What are you talking about? We’ll die together!”

Clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Dedric and Razak shouted ridiculously. Normally he would be disgusted but it was very praiseworthy in this moment. However Ark had an idea. He explained it telepathically to Dedric who grinned and nodded.

“Indeed! Master’s shrewd plan has started again!”

“Stop talking nonsense.....get out quickly. I don’t have the time. I can only hold on for 10 minutes. If you don’t do as planned in 10 minutes then I will 100% die. Do you understand?”

“You don’t have to worry!”

Dedric and Razak bolted out of the cave while holding the parcel Ark gave them.

“Now, let’s see what 1-on-1 is like. You’ll win if you kill me within 10 minutes!”

“Huhuhu, how dare....!”

Magaro smirked and threw the bottles. Ark gave up on counterattacking and used a combination of Slide and Dark Dance to avoid the bottles. Then he ran out of the cave at a suitable time. He had lost an extra 20~30% of his health from the explosive potions.

”Sheesh, jumping into a dungeon blindly was a mistake.’

His dark attribute bonus was unconditionally applied inside the dungeon. There was no reason to wait until evening so he entered during the day. When he exited outside, his 40% attribute bonus was turned off.

‘But.....’

“Radun, give me 10 dark attribute magic ingredients!”

Ssak ssak ssak, ssak, ssak ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Radun spat out one magical ingredient after another. Ark put the ingredients into the lamp and fuel and pulled the lever. At the moment, the surrounding area darkened like a curtain was pulled around it.

A Dark attribute bonus (all stats + 40%) will be applied.

“Rarukan’s Ring, activate Dark Protection!”

When he lifted the ring and raised his voice, Ark was wrapped in a black aura. It was the option from Rarukan’s ring which raised his defense and magic resistance by 20%! Of course, this ‘Dark Protection’ could only be activated in the dark but that was no problem with the Dark Lamp. Ark used Slide and Dark Dance like crazy. The reason he exited the cave was because he couldn’t escape the range of the explosive potions inside the narrow cave. If he used the wide forest and two skills appropriately then Ark could minimize the damage. But it was raining and his clothes were wet. Ark’s health frantically decreased from the overflowing potions and he was soon in a critical condition. Thankfully, the Magic Protection from Galgashi’s Fur also activated and Magaro was frozen for a little bit.

‘Damn....It’s already been 15 minutes.....’

Ark glanced around but there was still no sign of Lariette of Dedric. Meanwhile, the flames decreased his health to 3%.

‘No, just a bit more!’

Ark watched the exploding potions with desperate eyes.

“That’s it Master! Go, Razak!”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

He heard the distant sound of Razak’s voice. It was at that time. The surrounding bushes shook and black shadows emerged. Then the explosive potions suddenly disappeared before his eyes.

“Huk! W-what.....yes, you guys are....Chimera!”

Yes, it was the rotten Bandit Foxes that emerged from the forest.

Ark had seen the stiff bodies of the Bandit Foxes when the capsules broke and devised this plan. The monsters wouldn’t come close to the cave thanks to the strange smells. But it was different when controlled by Razak’s Death’s Equations. He had used Buksil, Lariette, Dedric and Razak for this plan. Previously, he had hunted the Bandit Foxes using Nadingka’s fruit. He was worried that Lariette would be unable to capture the foxes but thankfully they managed to hunt the Bandit Foxes and turned them into zombies. Well, poor Razak’s ribs also decreased again.....his abilities had started to decrease after evolving. Anyway, thanks to that the battle changed completely. Ark placed Gwisal’s sword across his shoulder and laughed.

“Now, let’s see if you can throw those damn potions.”

“This ...This bastard ...!”

Magaro once again threw the explosive potions. But the Bandit Foxes just rushed forward and swallowed them. Ark faked being startled.

“Eh? Where is the bottle? Wow, weird?”

“This, those stupid bastards......don’t even know who their Master is....!”

Magaro was furious at the betrayal of the foxes that he had created. But it didn’t matter if he was their creator. The really important thing was how he raised them. Ark had raised Dedric and Razak from a useless bat and skull and Radun from an egg with affection.

“Are you finished? Now it’s my turn? Lariette-nim, recovery magic, please!”

“Yes, Healing Touch!”

Lariette belatedly used her recovery magic.

“Now, here I go. Demonic Opening!”

Kiyaaaaaak!

Ghostly wails emerged from Gwisal’s sword. Ark began to pound on Magaro with his sword. His health was sucked out. In an instant his health fell to 50% and Magaro retreated before pulling out a recovery potion. However, the recovery potion was a Bandit Fox’s favourite item. The foxes swarmed at the opportunity and swallowed the potion.

“This, these bastards......go away!”

“Where are you looking? Your opponent is me!”

Gwisal’s sword continuously found Magaro’s bare flesh. His remaining life instantly went down to 10%. Without the explosive potions, Magaro was just a big hulking monster. However, Ark didn’t deal a fatal blow and just gradually chipped away at his life. Once it reached 8%, Magaro tried to escape towards the cave.

“You’re trying to run away? I’m sorry but I can’t allow that. Go, Sprint!”

Ark shot forward and swung his sword downwards. At the same time, Magaro’s body fell apart and black blood poured out.

Thanks to drastic measures, a x1.4 experience was applied. Constant message windows appeared and he levelled up 7 times. In addition, the cross symbol appeared above Lariette’s and Buksil’s head. Despite the 100 level difference between them, they still gained 6~7 levels even with the experience penalty.

“That’s it! Success!”

But Ark was more interested in the items than the experience. Ark looked at the falling items.

A genius alchemist, Magaro created many amazing magic items after long years of studying.

He refined this powder from a mysterious fairy which allows him to move between dimensions. If an appropriate amount of this powder is used to draw a circle, you can create a dimensional gate between the Netherworld and Middle earth. The amount of people able to be moved will depend on the amount of powder and the magic circle, with a larger circle requiring more powder. However, the effect disappears if the magic circle is damaged.

<Netherworld=Magic gate between Middle earth>

Item type: Magic tools

User Restriction: Advanced alchemy skill

A set of tools made by the genius alchemist Magaro a long time ago. These specially created tools are made using special materials and techniques and allow a higher standard of work compared to the normal tools. In addition, the high quality tools means there is chance of creating a more powerful effect in products created. A skilled alchemist might be able to make an amazing discovery with these tools. Not that many great tools like these are easily available.

<Passive effects for owners: Wisdom +20, Intelligence +20, Luck +10>

<Special Option: Success rate of products produced +30% and probability of the best item being made +10%>

‘Alchemy tools?’

Magaro’s alchemy tool was a heavy bag filled with tools. Inside was filled with all sorts of equipment for experiments such as grinders or beakers. Alchemy was originally a profession that required a lot of money. The reason was that magic ingredients were expensive and the likelihood of failure was higher than blacksmithing or tailoring. Of course, if they kept on creating the same item then the proficiency would rise while the rate of failure would fall. Of course, they needed the related alchemy skills to create new prototypes. In that case, the failure rate was 3 times other professions. The failure rate was many times greater. So the items that alchemists needed most were ones that raised the success rate! A success rate of 30% was like creating an ‘A la carte’ dish with a 10% option attached. They were the coveted items that alchemists desired most.

‘I don’t know the prices of alchemist supplies......but this is worth at least tens of millions of won!’

Next was the dimensional movement object that he obtained. Fortunately he could now return to middle earth anytime.

‘But the quantity is limited so I have to use it sparingly. If the information is released to the public then a swarm of people will gather. I have to take advantage of all the experiences and items in the Netherworld first.’

“Now all that’s left is the lab.”

There was a slight problem but now Magaro was gone. The laboratory was in Ark’s possession. Ark returned to the laboratory. And he brought his hand to the bookcase to find the first quest item. In the past Magaro had appeared and now Buksil let out a wild burst of laughter.

“Huhuhuhu.”

Buksil pointed the magic projector towards Ark and said.

“That’s far enough Ark. Honestly, I wavered for a moment but you’ve disappointed me. So now I will say it without any problems. I’m sorry but the things here.....”

“What?”

Ark unconsciously turned his head. And.....his outstretched hands felt something strange. He had extended his hand to reach for a book. But his hand just passed through the bookcase like it was a mirage.

“Eh? What on earth.....?”

Ark reached out again dumbly. But his hands just passed through the bookcase no matter what he did. He tried to pick up other stuff but it was the same. Stacked up potions, books or scrolls......he couldn’t pick up anything.

“What the? What the hell is going on?”

Ark was perplexed and explored the laboratory. Then Lariette standing at the entrance lifted a think booklet and said.

“Ark-nim, I’m able to touch this book.”

Ark hurriedly ran and opened the booklet. The booklet.....no, to be precise it was Magaro’s diary. He had recorded the entire confusing solution down.

Page 157

It has been 30 years since I’ve come to the Netherworld.

But I still haven’t obtained the knowledge I desire.

No, I haven’t even figured out how to return to middle earth from the Netherworld.

What I want is just..... But I know I don’t have that much time left. But I can’t just die like this. What meaning will there be to my life if I just die without anything to show for it?

Page 328

I’ve finally made my decision after long years of struggling.

I am going to synthesize the materials here and evolve into a chimera.

It’s a forbidden technique that has been taboo to all alchemists for a long time! But this is not for my personal greed.

I’m now in the final stretch of my long research period. And I firmly believe that the topic I’ve dedicated my life to will change the world. I will do whatever it takes to complete my research.

Page 402

Fortunately, the first experiment seems to be successful.

I can finally feel some energy in my body which has been weakened for a long time. My spirit has cleared and I think I can bring an end to the research.

Page 420

There is something strange.

Sometimes I cannot repress my desires.

And it is difficult to remember the days.

Some side effects of the experiment?

I’m worried.

Page 459

Ah, what have I done?

Why does some of the laboratory ‘not exist in this world anymore? It is clearly the effect of an experiment.

Perhaps this phenomenon is what took place in the Netherworld a long time ago. If so, I have gotten one step closer to the answer. But I don’t remember what I did.

Oh my god, now I can’t touch the documents with my many years of research on it....! All I can touch is my diary.

However, even what I wrote in the diary is unknown.

Who am I? Why am I here?

What happened to me?

I do not know .... I....I.....Tricked?

By whom....?

‘Then Magaro turned himself into a chimera?’

After that the genius alchemist just focused on his research......no, he directly wrote down the process. After remodelling his body, he experience short-term memory loss and dementia as a side effect. Even if he was smart didn’t mean his life was smooth-sailing. A message window appeared when Ark read the final part of the diary.

<Genius Alchemist’s Laboratory>=<Study the Mirage>

You’ve found the hidden laboratory by following in the footsteps of the Genius Alchemist. However, you could not touch anything in the laboratory despite all your efforts. Magaro has disappeared so you have no idea why this is happening. If you want to get your hands on Magaro’s research then you’ll have to figure it out on your own.

<Difficulty: ???>

‘Dammit....it wasn’t finished once I found the laboratory?’

Annoyance rose in his stomach. How much time had he invested to get here? Starting from the key in the Magic Institute to the arena and Salrin’s’ Towers, he obtained all the clues to enter the Netherworld. And he finally came to the Netherworld. After suffering and almost dying in the Abyss of Despair, he had finally figured out the location of the lab in the Netherworld. And now it was an ‘Updated’ rather than a ‘Complete?’ What kind of absurd situation was this?

‘So my great reward has just rolled away?’

It was to the extent that he wanted to give up the quest. But had he suffered so much just to give up now?

‘I can only touch this diary in the laboratory. But Magaro wrote in the diary that he didn’t know how to deal with the phenomenon that happened in the laboratory. Then I have to search elsewhere to figure out what happened here.....’

But Ark didn’t worry for that long.

Ark knew only one village in the Netherworld, the village in the valley. And didn’t it have the old man Beseutyu? His family business was to record everything that happened in the area so he might have some idea of this phenomenon.

‘The phrase in the diary ‘what happened in the Netherworld a long time ago’ seems to be a hint.

So Ark decided his next destination. He would revisit the valley village.

‘But before that......’

Ark summarized the situation and glanced at Buksil.

“Yes, what were you going to tell me? Please say it.”

“Huh? Oh, no.....that......”

Buksil rolled his eyes anxiously and said.

“As expected from Ark-nim. Hehehe, yes that’s what I wanted to say. I only survived because of Ark-nim and Lariette-nim.”

‘Hrm, what a sneaky guy. He’s definitely hiding something.’

Ark briefly glared at Buksil. Ark knew that there was something strange. Buksil was a merchant and had no chance of winning against Ark. Buksil probably knew this better than anyone else. But why would he risk death to follow Ark? Obviously there was something that Ark didn’t know. Something that made him think he could steal the legacy from Ark..... But what was it? A skill Ark didn’t know about? A scroll? An item?

‘If I hit him then I might be able to figure it out.....’

Anyway, there was still some time before he could obtain the legacy. And Buksil could still be used for a variety of things. The pig could be used for picking up ingredients, as a second bag, for money transactions when he needed it and to also finish filming the video. After calculating it in his head, Ark just nodded.

“I’m thankful that you’re admitting it.”

“Aigoo, what kind of.....it is natural.”

“Is that right?”

“Hehehe, of course.”

Buksil rolled around giggling and beat at his forehead with his feet. Lariette didn’t know the relationship between the two so was just confused.

“Now, let’s return to the village in the valley. I’ve already figured out the way so it shouldn’t take that long. Radun, can you carry 3 people?

Ssak ssak? Ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Radun answered positively. So Ark headed towards the valley village on Radun.

But Ark couldn’t imagine what lay ahead. While running towards the valley village, he never knew that this quest would not just affect the Netherworld, but the entirety of New World as well. And it would also have a huge impact on Ark’s adventure......