by Yoo Seong
It was a treasure Hyun Woo cherished, but there wasn’t really any other item he could sell that was worth much money. Then, like fire, within a few minutes hundreds of bidders entered the bidding war. After an hour had passed, the price had soared to 400 million won (~4,000 USD).
It was equivalent to 2 months of Hyun Woo’s salary and a half a month of hospital fees.
It was mind-boggling.
‘Holy smokes, what have I been doing all this time?’
Even though it was Unique, it was limited to level 20 and even had a curse on it.
But 4 million won in just one hour! He hadn’t even imagined that a single item like that would rake in an enormous price like this.
However, Hyun Woo was unaware of a simple truth.
It was exactly because of Global Exos’ candidates. New World’s items were expensive to begin with, but it hadn’t been this much. But as the candidates shook the money bag, like a gust of wind, even the prices of low-level items had exploded several times their price within one month.
Andel was the same. You couldn’t drink recovery potions like water by making gold like normal. That ruthless power of luxury came from cash. In any case, to Hyun Woo, the entire situation felt like a light of salvation.
‘This is it. This is exactly it!’
The way to focus on only playing the game!
‘I can earn money from the game!’
After finally finding the method, he felt more furious that he hadn’t known until now.
At the end of the auction, the Blood-red Mantle of Dreams was sold for 4,500,000 won.
He also auctioned off Andel’s plated armor set because although the defense was good, there was too much of a penalty for users who weren’t Warriors. Even though it was normal armor, in the end it sold for 2,500,000 won.
Although he was regretful about selling them, he disregarded that after thinking of it as an investment.
If he could concentrate on the game all day, there was nothing to regret.
By selling the mantle and Andel’s armor, two months of hospital fees had already fallen into his hands. It was small, but it meant he could just play the game without thinking about anything else for two months. If he made money like this, he might even be able to buy a unit one day.
Even if he were to fail the test, if he can continue to play New World, he could earn money.
‘Alright, we’re gonna try this!’
For the first time, Hyun Woo had embarked on the path of a professional gamer.
The next day, 7,000,000 won (~$7,000) was deposited into his bank account.
As soon as Hyun Woo confirmed the balance in his account, he headed to the Mart. The owner poured curses on him for not showing up for a week. In the face of that, Hyun Woo politely handed his resignation over and fled the mart.
There hadn’t been anyone who’d been particularly friendly with Ark. He didn’t feel even a little wisp of something like regret.
If there was just one person that he regretted, it was his coworker Hye Sun. Hye Sun, who had never lost her smile although she faced difficult circumstances at home, like Hyun Woo. Even Hyun Woo, who’d never given much care to other people, thought affectionately of her as a little sister.
It was inadequate, but he wanted to personally explain his situation at least to her.
“It might be laughable that I’m quitting because of a game, but it’s something extremely important to me.”
“But this suddenly…”
Hye Sun made a tearful face.
“Don’t be too sad. My mother’s hospital is nearby, anyways. Whenever I come and go, I’ll come buy you a drink. And if anything happens, call me any time; whether it’s mice or whatever, I’ll come catch them for you right away.”
“Mice…” Hye Sun giggled as she muttered to herself, “Alright, that other thing… now anything is fine.”
Hye Sun looked aloof, as if she’d peeled away a layer of worry.
“By the way oppa, if it’s for the game, you’re always going to be in New World, right?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Well then, okay. I’ll see you in there.”
“What? You started playing New World? What’s your in game name?”
“It’s still a secret. I’ll come find you soon. Wherever you are,” Hye Sun replied with a beautiful smile.
« o »
“Huhuhuhu.”
A spooky laughter echoed in the Shadow Forest.
The person with a bat and a skull beside him, exuding an aura stained with greed was none other than Ark.
It was not the same Ark as yesterday. The determination to do his absolute utmost was alive in Ark’s face. It was a definite change. From today, Ark had been reborn as a professional gamer.
“Master, why are you acting like that? It’s frightening.”
Sensing Ark’s change, Bat became terrified and shivered.
“Shut up. You get ready too– from now on there’ll be no breaks. Bat, go scout the surroundings. Find a place where there’ll be a lot of gathered monsters.”
“I-I get it. Calm down.”
With his sword raised, Ark pounded through the Shadow Forest like a madman.
“Wait and see, Alan! One day I will make you fall on your knees right in front of me!”
The entire Shadow Forest heaved. In the past, he had fled if he thought it might be a large group, but now, he went around looking for places where the monsters gathered instead. And when he discovered one, his eyes flashed as he charged.
It wasn’t madness, but greed that soaked his sword as it slashed down helpless Zombies and Ghouls helplessly. That wasn’t all. He stripped away all the food ingredients he could call ingredients in the area to the point that the forest felt chilly.
‘I can’t afford to complain about my profession. Since I’ve already chosen it, I’ll become the best with this profession. And to become the best, I have to apply 100 percent of the profession’s special characteristic!”
Ark did not rest even for just a minute.
If he rested for a moment to recover his Health, he immediately made Survival Cooking and shoveled food into his Familiars.
“Sa-save us! PLEASE STOP!”
The Bat and Skull exploded with screams, but Ark had no mercy. That was because raising his Familars’ stats meant Ark would become stronger.
Whenever he acquired an equipment drop from a monster, he would repair it continuously with restore magic until the durability dropped to 1. In order to save even a penny, it was necessary to increase his restore magic early on. It was the same for other skills as well.
No matter which skill it was, if he just raised it, he would either become stronger or it would cost him less money.
There was a reason to raise it with his life on the line.
“Give me your experience! Give me your money! Give me your items!”
At Ark’s frenzied hunting, Undead monsters and the like now furtively avoided him. While his motivation overflowed at even the sight of an Undead’s head, right as he was on the brink of exploding in anger, Ark detected an incredibly dangerous opponent.
A few days after starting to hunt like this, a formidable monster showed up at last. The medium boss that emerged if you slayed a certain number of Undead monsters, the Reaper. A Reaper with a blurred figure approached him cloaked in a black robe as it swung its enormous scythe.
“How dare you make a ruckus in my territory!”
A low cry shook the Shadow Forest.
A truly terrifying sight. However, it only appeared as a lump of experience in Ark’s eyes.
Ark’s level had already become 39 though hunting in the Shadow Forest. With his 20 percent ability bonus in the dark applied, he was no different from a player in the late 40s.
He had raised his skills dramatically, so Sword-Hand Combat had also reached Intermediate.
Even if the Reaper was a level 50 monster, there was no reason to fear it.
“I don’t have time to ch
at. Come at me!”
“Kukuku. To come at the chief gatekeeper of the spirit world for a human subject, you childish rotten bastard!”
The Reaper rushed towards Ark as it swung its scythe.
Ark quickly dove within melee range as he loosed Dark Blade.
As a BOOM sound echoed, the Reaper wobbled as it stepped back.
The Bat and Skull rammed the Reaper on both sides at the same time.
The Bat and Skull were both desperate. That was because the amount of food they had to eat would depend on the result at the end of the battle.
“Kwak, these little…!”
While the Reaper was still wobbly, Ark used Cat’s Eyes.
The Reaper’s Health appeared above its head as red points were drawn here and there on its body. They were weaknesses perceived through Cat’s Eyes.
Ba-ba-ba-bang!
As he ravaged the red points, the Reaper’s health dropped noticeably.
Once its Health was cut to half, a black aura erupted from the Reaper’s body.
“Feel the fear of death!”
Bat and Skull, who were swept by the aura of horror, convulsed and stiffened.
The Reaper swung its scythe at Ark as if to end him with one stroke. But the scythe was blocked by the sword Ark swung and bounced off.
The Reaper’s eyes were stained with disbelief.
“H-how can this be? A human was able to overcome his fear of death?”
“I’m more afraid of poverty than death!”
Ark pushed forward coldly as he swung his sword.
Dark Walkers had a 50% resistance to Fear. That went up another 20% in the dark. If it wasn’t a Fear used by a monster with a huge level difference, there was almost no possibility of him getting hexed by it.
After Ark resisted the Fear, the Reaper cringed even more. After that, Ark had full control of the battle.
As his Sword-Hand Combat attacks fell like a max-output storm on the Reaper, it quickly dropped into critical condition.
The Reaper couldn’t take it anymore and attempted to flee despite the humiliation.
“Argh! Ju-just wait and see!”
“You think I’d let you go?! Dark Blade!”
Ark narrowed the distance in a single breath and loosed Dark Blade on the Reaper’s back, which was rife with red spots.
His mana was increased by 100 because of the Crystal Golem Head he was equipping. Thanks to that, he could cast Dark Blade three times even after using Cat’s Eyes.
One, two, three!
Critical hits exploded in quick succession. The Reaper’s Health hit the bottom at last, and it screamed with a burst of charcoal miasma. Then the body appeared to slowly dim, then suddenly disappeared with an intense explosion.
“KUAAAK! FOR THI-THIS BODY TO BE DEFEATED BY THE LIKES OF A HUMAN…!”
Ark had no interest in something like the Reaper’s dying words.
The only thing that held Ark’s interest was the large scythe the Reaper had dropped.
“Information window!”
Reaper’s Scythe (Magic)
Weapon Type
Scythe
(Modified. For some reason, there was no information window for this scythe.)
Attack Damage
15~20
Durability
50/50
Weight
45
Usage Restriction
Warrior Profession, Level 38
An eerie scythe carried around by the gatekeeper of the spirit world, the Reaper. The Reaper has mowed down many lives with this scythe and dragged them off to the spirit world. The dead will feel fear just by looking at it.
Options: 150% attack power against Undead, Ghost-type enemies. Fixed chance to induce Fear
It was a weapon two times stronger than the Sharply Shining Sword that Ark used.
Even considering that it was a two-handed weapon, it was a weapon with a considerably high attack damage.
The options were good too since there were many occasions where one had to fight Undead when they were under level 40. Although Ark couldn’t use it because it was a Warrior-use weapon, he still made a satisfied smile.
‘It’ll sell for a nice price since there are a lot of Warrior users.’
The Reaper was a monster with an atrocious item drop-rate. Even this much could be called a bonanza.
From 80% experience, he immediately went up a level after killing the Reaper.
‘Finally level 40! I have achieved my goal in the Shadow Forest!’
Ark urgently opened his status window to distribute his stats.
Character Name
Ark
Race
Human
Alignment
Good +50
Fame
480
Level
40
Profession
Dark Walker
Title
Cat Knight, Caretaker
Health
905
Mana
300 (+110)
Spiritual Power
100
Strength
136
Agility
186(+17)
Stamina
156
Wisdom
25
Intelligence
61
Luck
36
Flexibility
10
Art of Communication
5
Affection
10
Special Stat: Knowledge of Ancient Relics
10
Equipment Effects
Sharply Shining Sword: Attack speed +5
Black Bear Mouse Leather Armor: Agility +2, Cold Resistance +20
Cat Paws: Attack speed +10%, Agility +15, Critical Hit Rate +10%
Crystal Golem’s Helmet: Mana +100
All abilities are increased by 20% in the dark.
The ability to hide your body in the dark has formed (Duration time 10 minutes. Cancelled if you get into combat).
Resistance to Fear, Darkness, Blind, and Charm spells is increased by 50%.
You can bring out the true abilities from all types of tools.
Passive Skills
Sword-Hand Combat (Intermediate:113/300): Polishes Hand-to-Hand Combat and Sword Mastery to increase overall fighting power.
Survival Cooking (Beginner: 92/100) Makes unidentified dishes with ingredients obtained from nature.
Undying Will (Beginner: 68/100) When in critical condition, Attack Power, Critical Hit Chance, and Recovery Speed are increased.
Indomitable Body (Beginner: 61/100) When in critical condition, Defense, Critical Hit Evasion, and Recovery Speed are increased.
Foraging (Beginner: 82/100) Food ingredients from nature can be gathered.
Ingredient Identification (Beginner: 71/100) Confirms effect of ingredient
Riding (Beginner: 3/100) Can handle a horse more skillfully with greater skill level.
Active Skills
Nursing (Intermediate: 149/300) Gives hope, energy, and courage to patients.
Mana consumption: 10
Spirit of the Cat (Advanced: 374/500) Plants fear in mice and other small monsters, sealing off their movements; their Attack Power, Defense, and Morale are sharply decreased.
Mana consumption: 120
Eyes of the Cat (Beginner: 88/100) Penetrates the enemy with a sharp gaze.
Mana consumption: 50
Restore Magic (Beginner: 59/100) Restore an item to its original state.
Mana consumption: 10
Profession Only Skills
Dark Blade (Beginner:42/100) Deals a one-hit blow to the enemy’s weak point.
Mana consumption: 100
Summon Demon (Beginner:24/100) Summons up to three demons from the Netherworld.
Mana consumption: 100
With determination, his skill development also quickened enormously.
If he put every ounce of his energy into each and every sword stri
ke when he used Sword-Hand Combat and preciously devoted his entire soul to Foraging, even if he used them the same number of times, his skill proficiency growth doubled in speed.
This was a fact he’d realized while nursing Viscount Haverstein. However, Ark had not utilized this knowledge properly until now.
You didn’t just do one thing in the game. Hunting, foraging, resting, cooking, trading, etc.. the work to be done was as high as a mountain. It wasn’t easy to put his heart and soul into every single one of those actions, especially for Ark, who played the game while reducing sleeping time.
But now, the situation was different.
Ark had now become someone who makes a livelihood by being a gamer.
‘New World is the only way to live! I must get stronger if only to survive!’
It seemed like his stats and skills reflected the last few intense days.
Plus, a few of his skills were on the brink of rising from Beginner to Intermediate. Until those skills all became Intermediate, Ark would swiftly develop them once again. In addition, his Familiars’ stats had also gone up a few times, so now they were quite useful.
‘Now, if I just raise my level once or twice and my skills also go up, I can hunt level 50 monsters with little trouble.’
However, Ark still felt he was lacking something.
Although he’d already killed the level 50 monster Reaper without much difficulty, that was only possible because he received the bonus from the dark. Honestly, it was still too much to fight level 50s. There.. utilized all sorts of skills.
‘That’s right, I shouldn’t be satisfied with just this. I still have a long way to go to catch up to Alan.’
Global Exos’ employment test and item hunting to make money. These two were his greatest objectives in playing New World. And catching up to Alan became one of Ark’s goals to achieve.