Ark Volume 01 - Japtem

by Yoo Seong

  *You can bring out the true abilities from all types of tools.

  ‘Phew, it’s harder than I thought.’

  Ark’s face was full of sweat, but he was beaming with happiness.

  You receive as much reward as your suffering. There wasn’t any reason for him to complain.

  As hunting became faster, his mood surged to the peak. Coasting on that mood, Ark entered the deepest part of the forest, called the Shadow Forest.

  Among the areas around Jackson, this was the forest with the highest difficulty.

  Even from just its atmosphere, the Shadow Forest was different from other places. Within the darkness that made it difficult to distinguish the path in front of him, the sagging branches of old oaks were intertwined like a net, and there was a bizarre kind of plant blanketing the blackened, dead ground.

  The monsters that emerged were also grotesque.

  Rotting Wolves, Zombies, and Ghoul-like Undead monsters spawned. Even the weakest Rotting Wolf had a higher level than Ark. Even more so was the occasionally appearing level 50 medium boss monster, Reaper, which he wouldn’t even consider approaching.

  However, even the Undeads couldn’t make the high-spirited Ark afraid.

  No, Ark was able to truly really realize the meaning of the name Dark Walker only when he arrived at this rotting forest.

  As he entered the dark forest, a message window popped up soon afterwards.

  Dark Walker special effect: All abilities increased by 20% in the dark.

  Granted, the same effect applied at night as well. However, most of the monsters’ stats go up by 30 percent at night. Ultimately, the difference that Ark could actually feel was almost nonexistent. But right now, it was currently day time. Monster stats stayed the same, while Ark’s stats rose.

  Although Ark’s level was 26, he actually had the abilities of a level 30!

  Since all of his skills and stats were enhanced, the difference was enormous. Even late level 20s Rotting Wolves were no match for him.

  It was to the point that he didn’t have a whole lot of difficulty fighting Zombies and Ghouls in their early level 30s.

  On top of that, one of his profession techniques was ‘Hiding’. Although there wasn’t any effect when he was already discovered, but if he used it appropriately, he could leisurely rest in a place crawling with monsters.

  A profession which demonstrated its true ability in the dark, that’s what Dark Walker profession was. Because of the Dark Walker’s special ability, he was able to hunt monsters that Ark couldn’t normally defeat at his level.

  That wasn’t all. When a user defeats a monster 5 levels above theirs, additional experience is granted. With that, the experience that seemed to have stopped before he entered the forest was now surging up.

  ‘It also drops a lot of japtem, I’m really getting into hunting this Undead.’

  Ark was in high spirits.

  The Undead monster dropped quite a lot of items. Even so, for the most part they were lumps of rotted meat and the like, but occasionally it also dropped equipment like a dagger, gloves, or shoes.

  The japtem were neatly piling up in his bag. Granted, they were lousy items that would be difficult to sell for even a few coppers if he tried.

  However, Ark, who had eked out a living through part-time jobs, knew this. They say that many drops makes an ocean. If you gathered even a few coppers, it would eventually become silver and then gold.

  Ark personally equipped a few of them.

  Used Worn-out Shoes

  Armor Type

  Leather Shoes

  Defense

  5

  Durability

  5/5

  Weight

  8

  Usage Restriction

  None

  Shoes used by an Undead for his entire lifetime. The worn and faded leather emanates rotten smell. No matter how skilled a craftsman may be, they will not be able to repair this pairs of shoes to be worth wearing.

  Dirty Leather Hat

  Armor Type

  Leather Helmet

  Defense

  5

  Durability

  9/9

  Weight

  5

  Usage Restriction

  None

  A leather hat used by an Undead during his lifetime. It’s a hat that looks like it would struggle to block a raindrop, let alone a sword.

  Stat or appearance, they were too wretched for words. With the tattered shoes and hat on, at a distance who would have been mistaken for a beggar. In addition, the material was made out of leather, so the rotting smell was so bad, it paralyzed the sense of smell.

  Ark laughed exultantly nevertheless. Purchasing shoes and a hat that lacked defence from a shop would cost a wasteful 50 silvers, at the very least. It was better to hunt while smelling the rotten scent than to spend 50 silvers.

  On top of that, they even had defence, so nothing was left to desire.

  Ark was extremely pleased with the Shadow Forest.

  He received stat bonus and his experience went up quickly. Useful items sometimes dropped as well. Would there be another place as delightful as this one while playing the game? If he could, he wanted to hunt in the Shadow Forest for several days.

  However, a problem he hadn’t expected arose. What Ark had actually been worried about was the equipment’s durability.

  He hadn’t learned the repair skill yet, because he hadn’t felt the need for it.

  After finishing the quest in Jackson, if there was something Ark had earned, it was the right to utilize the Lord’s personal facilities. Among those was the Lord’s foremost Smithy. If he used that place, they repaired his equipment for half the price of normal Smithies.

  Since he’d been hunting around Jackson, there wasn’t a need to pay out expensive fee to learn the skill. That’s why Ark found it troublesome if the durability was suddenly exhausted in a hunting ground far away from Jackson.

  However, an even worse problem occurred in an element he’d truly never expected.

  It was food.

  Ark had prepared just 10 wheat breads when he left Jackson. Since he had Survival Cooking, he’d planned on acquiring ingredients here and there, making food, and eating. Although he was able to do that in the forest where he last hunted, the Shadow Forest was not an ordinary forest.

  Of course he saw tons of food ingredients in the Shadow Forest, but the forest was a place where Undead roamed around in broad daylight. He couldn’t find any normal looking food ingredients.

  The mushrooms or even the grass looked like eyeballs or intestines. Simply imagining how it would taste or feel to chew made him shudder. No, the taste was fine no matter how it was. The problem was that Ark wouldn’t know what kind of effect the cooking he learned would have, a characteristic of Survival Cooking.

  ‘That’s definitely dangerous. It has dangerous sign written on it.’

  Perhaps it was because the grade of the ingredient was too high, he couldn’t figure out its information with his beginner Ingredient Identification skill.

  But could he find out by just looking at the information?

  They didn’t have a skull mark, but they were food ingredients that devoted every fiber of their being to claim they were dangerous.

  Ark was able to hunt comfortably in the Shadow Forest thanks to his hiding ability. But if he made the wrong food, ate it, catches a Confusion hex and ran amok, he’d become an Undead’s meal right there and then. If it wasn’t a safe place, it was better not to make a new Survival Cooking meal.

  ‘I’m gonna go crazy. The wheat bread is already gone, and even my recovery rate has dropped by 50 percent. Eventually, there will be some penalty… Do I have to go all the way back to the village even if it takes 1~2 hours? Or should I put my life on the line and try making and eating it?’

  As Ark rummaged in his bag, an ingenious thought suddenly came to mind.

  ‘Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?’

  “Summon Demon, Neth
erworld’s Egg!”

  At Ark’s cry, the Egg Familiar appeared.

  It was the Familiar Ark hadn’t bothered with, because unlike the Skull and Bat, it was a good-for-nothing. Ark had thought there’d be no reason to summon it again, but the Familiar’s purpose had finally surfaced.

  Ark swallowed his saliva as he gazed at the Netherworld’s Egg.

  ‘Even if it’s a Familiar or whatever, in the end it’s only slightly larger than a normal egg. There’s no reason why it can’t be used as a food ingredient. Since it was said the Demonic beings also ate it frequently, and an ingredient is an ingredient. An egg will be better than those disgusting ingredients in the forest. And even if a Summon disappears, I can call it again. If it goes well, it might even become an ingredient I can use limitlessly. I’m sure of it, the Egg’s purpose was probably this from the start.’

  Ark grinned as he put the Netherworld’s Egg in the pot.

  “Huhuhu, an egg is a wealth of protein. A meal of enormous effect might even be born.”

  Then he added a little amount of normal food ingredients he had left and began to boil it.

  So how was it? Light spewed from the cooking, which wafted a really reasonable aroma. The message that the cooking had succeeded showed up. Now, all that was left was to taste it.

  “Ohhh, it succeeded. It succeeded — Boiled Egg!”

  Just as Ark reached out to raise the Egg while humming a tune, all the food inside the pot suddenly vanished. Soon afterward, a message window he’d never seen before popped up along with the gloomy laughter as background music.

  - You have completed Survival Cooking. However, ‘Netherworld’s Egg’ has absorbed all of it. There is no effect on Netherworld’s Egg. You have not grasped what kind of effect the cooking has.

  “Wha-what? Absorb?”

  Ark stared at the Egg with a dumbfounded expression.

  He needed a considerable amount of time before he was able to understand the situation.

  ‘The egg absorbed the cooking. Then, does that mean the Egg as a whole wasn’t used as a cooking ingredient? But absorbed? What the hell does that mean?’

  Ark, who had his head tilted sideways, suddenly raised his head.

  ‘What, in the end it means the Egg went and ate the cooking! If so…?’

  Ark’s line of vision shifted to the Skull.

  Ultimately, it meant that Familiars could also eat food! As soon as he realized that, yet another method flashed through his mind like lightning and surfaced. Ark quickly made a new meal.

  There was no need to agonize, either. Food ingredients were everywhere around him. He roughly gather food ingredients around him and dumped them inside the pot. After several failures, he completed a soup radiating a peculiar smell.

  Ark gestured to the Skull with tender eyes.

  “Here, Skull. Try eating this.”

  The Skull stared with sunken eyes and approached him with hesitation.

  After dunking itself into the soup, it jumped right out and collapsed.

  The Skull shot reproachful looks that said ‘why did you do something like this to me’ at him and slowly disappeared.

  - Nameless Dead Man’s Skull has received an intense shock. Damage 50!

  - Nameless Dead Man’s Skull has disappeared to the Netherworld. You can summon it again after 24 hours.

  - The food you made through Survival Cooking is ‘Soup of Horrifying Taste’. Just having a sip of it will deal an enormous shock with its incredibly repugnant taste. Wrap it up well and send it to a mean opponent as a present.

  “It was as I expected!”

  Ark nodded vigorously. Familiars could eat food after all. And after a Familiar of his had eaten the food he made, it was added to the Survival Cooking’s catalog. In other words, no matter who ate it, it was fine as long as Ark checked the cooking’s effect. There was no reason to test out its danger personally!

  How anxious he’d been until now every time he made a new meal…

  “Cooking has suddenly become enjoyable. After all, food has to be made for the sake of others.”

  Ark made food again as he hummed a tune.

  However, the Bat was not as loyal as the Skull. The Bat, which had witnessed the horrific scene of the Skull eating the food and falling over, was filled with fear and backed away furtively. Of course, Ark wasn’t one to let it off because of that.

  After grabbing the Bat and shoving it into the salad-filled pot, another message window popped up.

  The food you have made through Survival Cooking is Suspicious Herb Salad. It appears extremely suspicious, but it actually has the effect of recovering Stamina quickly. Recovery rate +50%. Restores up to 150 Health over 30 seconds.

  Ark immediately remade and ate food after confirming its effects.

  The Shadow Forest’s ratio of poisonous and edible food ingredients were half and half. The problem was that the poisonous ones’ toxicity was extremely powerful. There were a lot of foods that could send Ark off after one bite if he ate them thoughtlessly. However, Ark didn’t worry at all.

  He didn’t have to shoulder the danger.

  Ark, who’d found a method to figure out the effects of the food safely, had no reservations. He gathered all the ingredients he could see and made food without resting, as if he were possessed by the spirit of a head chef.

  “Ohohoho, should I also try putting rotted meat in there this time?”

  The Skull and Bat were hugging each other tightly as they trembled from the ever-changing approaching horror.

  Ark beamed as he said, “At least it’s better than your master, me, dying. Right?”

  But they were slaves to their wicked master, and had no place to run. The Skull and Bat were helplessly wandering between life and death. After a few hours, the Skull, which had a loyalty of 200, had a different light to its eyes when it looked at Ark. The Bat that had a low loyalty to begin with even attempted to escape.

  “Hmmm, even if you try to flee, you can’t hide. Cancel Summon. Resummon, Bat.”

  The Bat who had fled a significant distance disappeared and appeared in front of Ark’s nose.

  Ark glared at the squirming Bat as he scolded, “You cheeky rascal, this is your third time.”

  Ark mercilessly shoved the Bat into the pot.

  The firmly stuck and trembling Bat suddenly screamed.

  “UWAHH, PLEASE STOP, MASTER!”

  In the meantime, a message window came up.

  - As an effect of the mysterious food, the stats of ‘Hatred-bearing Bat’ have increased.

  Hatred-Bearing Bat

  Race

  Demonic

  Alignment

  Dark

  Class

  —

  Health

  50 (+5)

  Loyalty

  50

  Strength

  5 (+1)

  Agility

  10 (+1)

  Stamina

  10 (+1)

  Wisdom

  10 (+1)

  Intelligence

  10 (+2)

  Luck

  0

  * The ability to communicate with the Summoner through language has formed (Note, a food it has eaten once will not have an effect the second time. Only new foods stimulate a Familiar of the Netherworld and bring out its hidden power.)

  “Ara, what’s this? A Familiar’s stats can also increase through food?”

  Ark’s eyes widened.

  He hadn’t even thought that Familiars could grow.

  Granted, he could tell from reading the information window that it wasn’t that easy to fulfill the conditions. He had to make and find the right food for the Familiar among hundreds of meals. Plus, he could raise its stats through the same food just one time. If he wanted to raise its stats again, he had to find a new food.

  It was a dizzying task that used countless ingredients and an innumerable amount of labor. But even if it was impossible, the fact that a Familiar’s stats could be raised was the difference betwee
n heaven and earth.

  It was possible. That meant it was worth trying. More so if it weren’t just stats that rose, but new abilities that formed as well.

  “But for the first formed ability to be language capability… It wanted to communicate with me that much?”

  If monsters were similar to users, then they would also first learn the skill they needed most.

  Ark stared at the Bat with surprised eyes. The Bat was flapping as it gnashed its teeth.

  “What nonsense, master! Are you spewing such crap because you don’t know why I wanted to speak? Like master, we also feel taste and feel pain! I’d rather die than eat that horrible food!”

  “Are you defying your master right now?”

  “I-I’m not defying. I’m asserting my right!”

  “Do you think that way too, Skull?”

  As Ark turned his head a little, the Skull with a loyalty of 200 quickly shook its head.

  The Bat leapt up.

  “Thi-this traitor!”

  “If you keep squealing, I’ll expand your food intake by 2 times.”

  “He—heek!

  The Bat let loose a stifled cry and shut its mouth.

  To be fair, how terrible was eating the food that it even developed a speaking ability? As wicked as Ark was, when he saw this kind of response from the Familiar, he also felt a little sorry.

  “Alright, we’ll do it less often in the future.”

  “But doesn’t that mean we still have to eat?”

  “As your master, why would I be doing it with bad intentions? This is all for your own good. Don’t you also want to grow?”

  “Li—lies!”

  “I can’t lie,” Ark said confidently.

  ‘Huhuhu, do you think I’d give up on such a comfortable method? And since I’ve finally found a way to make you guys useful, too.’

  Now he had a definite reason to feed the Familiars the unidentified food.