by Yoo Seong
–That’s right. It is a rare opportunity. Don’t pay attention to the loot and just hunt.
Ark sensed that Leon and Slayer were whispering to each other. Of course he couldn’t imagine the contents of their words.
–Is it impossible? If I enter the battle despite having muscle pain……’
Ark thought they were discussing about how to treat him and sighed before speaking.
“This muscle pain will last for another 40 minutes. I thought it would take more time to find a party after putting up the ad…..I had no intention of deliberately hiding this but if you’re annoyed then I will leave the party.”
“Ah, no it’s fine!”
Slayer and Leon shook their heads.
“Don’t misunderstand. We spoke without thinking after the battle. We have no complaints. Isn’t that right Leon?”
“Of course. We value our bonds above anything else. Once you join then we should finish it to the end! That’s our motto. We accepted Ark-nim into the party so we’ll shoulder the responsibility until the end. If we don’t do this then we won’t be able to sleep. We’ll be responsible!”
Leon said with looking at Melina.
“It isn’t necessary for you to worry. You don’t need to join in on the fights. Just stay behind and give support fire while protecting Melina.”
“Yes, because Melina-nim is invaluable.”
This time Slayer was the one who spoke while looking at Melina.
‘Ah! Some users are really considerate!’
Ark wasn’t naive. Ark noticed the atmosphere after hearing Leon and Slayer’s words. These guys were playing the game. Then a woman entered the party and they were pretending to be good. When considering those guys’ purpose, he really thought it was pitiful…..
‘It’s fine if I can support from behind.’
In fact, that had been the part he was most worried about. Unlike other users, Ark’s purpose was to find the Murat ruins. But if Ark and Milan participated in the battle then there would be no time to search. Furthermore, this was a dungeon so there were plenty of parties hunting. Therefore it would inevitably take a longer time to look around. However he couldn’t confess about the ruins.
‘I have to get Milan out of combat!’
This was the reason Ark was happy to give up Milan’s share of the loot. He was going to use a suitable excuse to leave Milan in the back so that he could search for the ruins. Now both of them were remaining in the rear so it was good. Judging by the atmosphere of the party, he didn’t need to worry about the loot even if he didn’t participate in the battle. There were no conditions better for Ark.
‘Then……’
“Thank you. In fact I’ve been worrying about being weak compared to my level but I’m touched by your compassion. It is shameless but please allow me to continue in the party. What about Melina-nim?”
“It also isn’t good if people keep on changing.”
Melina replied cutely. This was the answer that Slayer and Leon wanted to receive. Not surprisingly, the two men were happy to grab Ark’s hands after hearing Melina’s words.
“I agree! We will continue with these 5 people until the end!”
“Don’t worry about it! We will push you on!”
Thus Ark’s dungeon exploration begun. Slayer and Leon took care of the Thanatos every time it appeared. Ark and Milan just had to appear like they were shooting while looking around. And they still received experience and loot when the battle ended.
‘I have the perfect party right now…..’
There were only two parts that he was dissatisfied about.
“You bastard! You’re stronger than you look. But I’m the shield for my colleagues! I won’t allow you to take one step even if my entire body is shredded! Bring it on! Ack!”
“Ah! Slayer! Ack! You bastard, he is my friend! Wrathful Bullets!”
“Hut! T-these lights are….ohh! Every cell in my body is alive! Thank you Melina-nim! I will use this opportunity! I will be Melina-nim’s shield!”
“I will be Melina-nim’s bullets! Take this! Continuous Bullets!”
This was the first thing. The over compensatory actions and words every time they competed in a battle! He didn’t know if Melina was slow or pretending not to know but Ark could clearly see the two men’s hearts. But it was thanks to this that Ark could do nothing so he endured it. The second problem was Milan.
“Phew, he is quite useful.”
“I didn’t expect much from the support shooting but there were a lot of critical hits.”
Slayer and Leon were talking about Milan. It was unnecessary to say but Ark’s power showed its strength in close combat. But it wasn’t possible to use the shotgun meant for close distances as rear support. Therefore Ark was forced to use the level 20 pistol Fading Steel. The attack power was trivial. Ark’s marksmanship skills were also bad.
Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!
Ark’s shots kept on missing. However Milan was using a machine gun. Furthermore, he was a treasure hunter that used long distance attacks so the NPC was better at rear support than Ark. Ark only dealt 2~3 percent damage while Milan dealt 10%! The problem wasn’t with Ark.
“Who on earth……”
It was the words he heard. The problem was Milan’s attitude.
“Hey, that won’t do at all. Although he is still my Hyung-nim.”
‘What? What did he say just then? That bastard!’
Milan’s eyes had been shining with respect for Ark when they arrived at Mt. Fargo. Then he met Valencia and was humiliated by Milan and the atmosphere slowly changed while they were digging at Mt. Fargo. And to receive more praise than Ark……
“Hyung-nim, please don’t pay any attention to it. Aren’t you my Hyung-nim? Hat hat hat!”
He started speaking informally to Ark. It was an inevitable result. The relationship between the NPC and user depending on their intimacy. And the NPC’s appreciation often changed depending on the evaluation of the surrounding users. The Royal Guards’ loyalty went up when Ark became Beltana’s hero while Milan’s decreased due to Leon and Slayer ignoring him. Ark once again realized an important fact.
‘I shouldn’t be blindly nice to the NPCs. Sometimes they will forget who their master is. Damn, you’ll see soon. I’ll show you once the ruins are found!’
But the main thing right now was finding the Murat ruins. Ark pushed his anger down and endured it. So the users and NPC continued to treat him badly while he continued the exploration. Ark then faced a difficulty he hadn’t considered.
‘Eh? This place is…..?’
Ark looked around puzzled before going up to Melina.
“Melina-nim, perhaps this place…..didn’t we pass this place a short time ago?”
“Huh? You didn’t know so far?”
“Don’t know?”
“We’ve been going around the same place for a while now. There are 9 entrances in Mt. Fargo but they’re all connected. Only the layers are different. There are 3 layers. We’re only going around the top. The passages here aren’t wide and are connected in a circle.”
“Do we have to go to the other caves to go to the lower floors of the dungeon?”
“That isn’t the case. Alan-nim, do you see that hole in the ground? That hole is connected to a lower floor of the dungeon. You can just jump down that hole.”
“Then why are we still going around the same place?”
“Huh? Oh, that…..”
Melina studied Ark’s face and hesitated. Then Slayer who had just taken care of a Thanatos returned.
“In fact, we thought about descending after forming a new party and practicing our connected attacks. The Thanatos underneath are level 150 but there are more gallstones and less competitors. If one more level 80 person was added to Melina-nim, Leon and me then we could try it.”
However the user had entered with a NPC. It meant they could only hunt the safe level 100 monsters.
‘Damn, I didn’t think that far!’
; Ark had been digging at Mt. Fargo so he knew everything was connected. Therefore he thought he could search through the entire dungeon. He didn’t’ know that the dungeon was divided into 3 layers.
‘We’ve returned to a place that we passed just a while ago. Then it will be meaningless if I spend a few more days here. In the end I’ll have to go downstairs……’
It was essential for Ark to descend. In fact, Ark’s muscle pain had already gone away for a while now. He was the level 80 user that Slayer and Leon were hoping for. No, he had confidence that he could win again Slayer or Leon in a 1 on 1 battle. However, Ark had already explored the ruins for 3 hours and packed a lot of free loot. How could he just say ‘I’m strong again! Let’s go down!’ to them all of a sudden? He would clearly incur some bad feelings. Ark’s thoughts starting turning over at a rapid speed in his head. He then raised his head and looked at Melina.
‘Melina is actually the one in charge of this party! Then……’
“I have to go to the bathroom for a while. Anyway, I’m not a big help so you guys can go first.”
“Yes, we’ll be near here.”
“I’ve finished.”
Ark re-joined the party shortly afterwards. Slayer and Leon were in the midst of fighting a Thanatos.
Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark!
Suddenly there was the sound of a dog in the dungeon. The party reflexively turned as they heard a sound they never imagined. Surprisingly a dog with the head of a Thanatos was rushing towards them!
“What, what the? There was also a monster like this here?”
“Damn, something like this…..no! Melina-nim, it’s dangerous!”
Leon shouted as he hurriedly lifted his rail gun. The monster had ignored Slayer and Leon and was rushing towards Melina. Just as it was about to bite the neck of the confused Melina! A man shot towards her like lightning……
“Danger!”
Ark grabbed Melina’s body and rolled across the ground. And…..
“Ugh! So envious….ah, no! Well done Alan-nim! Nice! Now…..eh? W-wait a minute! There is……”
They fell into the hole that led to the intermediate layer.
Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark!
The monster dog also plunged into the hole after them.
—————————————————————
“Kyaaak!”
They fell for a long time through the hole. Then Melina screamed from the shock of the impact.
……He didn’t know why she screamed. Ark was the one that had hit the ground. But Melina didn’t understand his thoughts and looked up at the hole before bursting out in confusion.
“It’s a big deal! We fell into the intermediate layer!”
“And Melina-nim is lying on me.”
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
Melina hurriedly got up. Then she looked around and stuttered.
“A-Alan-nim, t-there…..a-a monster dog…..”
“Retreat! I’ll stop this guy!”
Ark stood in front of Melina holding his sword. The red eyes from the approaching monster was in front of him. The bizarre creature had the body of a dog and the head of a Thanatos. Thankfully Melina was too busy being scared that she didn’t realize something. The tail was shaking intensely!
‘Huhuhu, you cutie!’
A smile formed on Ark’s mouth. It was natural. Ark was the owner of the monster dog. While the part was busy, Ark had summoned a hell hound with the body of a Thanatos. This was the method Ark came up with to force the party down into the intermediate level.
‘Slayer and Leon will do anything to impress Melina. If Melina was forced into the intermediate layer then of course……’
“Melina-nim, just wait! We’re coming!”
‘…….The two of them are entering.’
Ark grinned as he looked at the hell hound.
‘That’s it! Stop now. You know what to do next?’
Ark conveyed through his eyes and the hell hound nodded before running away. Slayer, Leon and Milan fell from the top layer shortly afterwards.
“Melina-nim, are you hurt? Where is it?”
“It’s okay. The monster dog ran away. And Alan-nim protected me from the fall…..”
Melina blushed and replied. Slayer then sighed and looked up at the hole in the ceiling.
“But this is serious. We suddenly came down to the intermediate layer. Of all things…..”
Slayer looked at Ark with dissatisfied eyes. His expression seemed to indicate that he held Ark responsible.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve paid more attention……”
“No! It’s not Alan’s fault. He was just rescuing me. It is my fault!”
Slayer instantly shook his head forcefully at Melina’s words.
“It was a surprise and you didn’t do anything wrong! We’ll do as promised. We will go on together. Let’s not worry about the future.”
“That’s right! Alan-nim and Melina-nim, you don’t have to worry!”
“Please don’t worry. We promised to take responsibility no matter what. It’s fine if we die as long as Melina-nim and Alan-nim can get out safely!”
“Yes, just believe in us!”
‘Those fools.’
Ark inwardly laughed as he looked at the two of them. If Ark had fallen downstairs by himself then they probably would’ve made up an excuse to get rid of him. It would be different if Melina fell. But he couldn’t just push Melina into the hole. That’s why he used the hell hound to fix the situation. This was the result. The remaining members descended a layer like Ark intended. And there was one more problem to solve.
‘It should be back around now……’
Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark!
Then the sound of a dog was once again heard from the opposite side. Slayer and Leon reflexively turned and their faces stiffened. It wasn’t because the monster dog was running towards the group. The problem was the huge shadow coming behind it! It was a Thanatos two times larger than the one upstairs.
“T-that damn dog pulled a Thanatos?”
“Oh my god! Level 150! It isn’t someone we can take care of with our current power!”
“But this is a dead end. There is nowhere to run away!”
“Ugh, damn! Leon, take care of that dog!”
Tututung! Tututung!
Leon’s rail gun subsequently shot out rays of light. The hell hound was created with a level 100 Thanatos so its stats were relatively high. However, it had been chased by a Thanatos so it only took a few shots from the rail gun to melt away. Now the only problem was the Thanatos! After the hell hound died, the Thanatos immediately headed towards the group.
“Should we take out our battle suits?”
“No. We’ve fallen into the intermediate level so we’ll encounter many of these guys no matter how careful we are. It will be hopeless if we can’t even take care of one. So we should use the battle suit sparingly. Let’s just take care of this one! Melina-nim, Milan, cover us!”
Slayer shouted as he took out a shield. They never mentioned Ark’s name even in this situation. It was because he didn’t use his power from the beginning. It was natural when considering what happened up to now……
‘I’m different now!’
Slayer used his shield to block the Thanatos’ sharp claws. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that a level 100 and a level 150 monster were completely different. It was two times larger and had twice as much power. The shield that stopped hundreds of attacks in the upper layer was pushed back.
“Slayer! Dammit, Continuous Shooting!”
Tututung! Tututung!
Rays poured out from Leon’s rail gun. Fortunately Slayer avoided being damaged by the Thanatos but the situation had changed. Close combat was possible because of Slayer. So far he had executed the tank role but he couldn’t receive the attacks of the level 150 Thanatos by himself. Melina poured her recovery skills like a waterfall but it wasn’t possible to catch up to the speed that his health f
ell. In the end Slayer’s health fell to 30%. Slayer murmured feebly.
“I made a mistake.”
‘…….Now!’
Ark flew towards the Thanatos. He stood in front of the wobbly Slayer and blocked the attack.
Snap!
His bones shook from the tremendous impact.
“Alan-nim?”
Slayer looked at Ark with a puzzled expression. Ark stumbled back and said with a smile.
“Ugh, I’m fine. Slayer-nim, this isn’t the time to give up. I’m also here so let’s fight together. This is a chance to show your true worth to Melina. A man won’t give up!”
“Ah! T-that’s right! I see!”
Slayer became fired up and raised his shield. Slayer was actually thinking differently. He only pretended to become fired up so he could show a nice, final impression to Melina. But the situation was different once the battle began again. The attacks of the Thanatos became weaker. Even if the attack had the same power as before, there were more chances to counterattack. Slayer’s health that was on 30% no longer fell. Melina’s recovery skills hadn’t become stronger so it meant the damage received was reduced. And…..
“Slayer-nim, Leon-nim, now!”
“Ohhhh! Acceleration Iron!”
“Super magnetic shot!”
There were loud cries as the mace and rail gun bullets hit. The Thanatos’ health reached the bottom and it collapsed.
“Kyaak! We did it! Awesome!”
Melina jumped and cheered. But Slayer and Leon looked sombre.
“Alan-nim, for a while…..”
Melina studied Slayer’s face and approached.
“What happened?”
‘It’s come.’
They were able to win this battle thanks to Ark. That didn’t mean that Ark took care of it alone. What Ark did was interrupt the Thanatos’ attack rhythm. He focused his attacks on the joints of the leg. It was an advanced technique so Melina and Milan hadn’t noticed. However Slayer and Leon had combat experience so they noticed it straight away. And they felt a surge of betrayal!
“Have you been tricking us?”
“I said it at the beginning. It will be hard for me to fight properly for a while because of muscle pain.”
“I’ve never heard of that state before!”