Ark

Volume 16 4

ACT 4 Start of a Long Festival

“Surround the assault troops and attack!”

“Wah ah ah ah!”

Hundreds of Nakujuk rushed forward at the command. Swords, spears and arrows flew like a shower towards a huge presence shaped like a giant lion. The golden lion radiated an overwhelming presence which reached over dozens of metres and covered the Nakujuk.

Kuaaang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The golden lion roared and slammed its paw into the ground, causing the earth to tear and shake. Where the paw pressed against the ground, 10 Nakujuk were crushed instantly. It was an intense feeling of overwhelming power! But it couldn’t exert its full power thanks to the number of opponents. Despite being stepped on and crushed, the Nakujuk continued attacking. Some brave Nakujuk climbed the body of the golden lion and slashed it with their spears. The golden lion’s body was covered with a fur stronger than steel which functioned as its armour. The spears that hit only did 20~30 damage at most. However, there were hundreds of Nakujuk surrounding the lion. Even though each person only did 20~30 damage, it combined together to reach 5000~8000 damage. Thanks to that, the golden lion was in dreadful shape but it still hadn’t lost its fighting spirit.

“It really is a bastard. It has already been 30 minutes since the battle started. In the meantime, more than 300000 have been damaged......”

The man inside an armour with an eerie pattern embossed on it shook his head. Then an old man wearing a hood said.

“This is one of the guys who once drove back the forces of darkness. This much is natural.”

“The forces of darkness?”

“That’s right. Rather, it’s quite weak now compared to then. Maybe it’s because the dimension is different. You probably feel it too. Here mana recovers several times slower than on middle earth.”

“Come to think of it......”

He abruptly stopped and confirmed his mana. He had previously used 50% of his mana. Usually it would take 15~20 minutes tops to recover. But now he had only recovered up to 75%. His mana recovery was two times slower than when he was on middle earth.

“That is because your source of mana is far away. From the moment that monster was born, its existence had breathed in mana. Although it isn’t much, that lessening of mana density caused its power to weaken. If this was middle earth where the mana density is doubled then I wouldn’t have dared fight it using this number of Nakujuk. We’re fortunate.”

The old man raised his hood and laughed. The old man covered in wrinkles looked a hundred years old! The old man holding a stick of bones was the archbishop of the Asyeosu church, Maseutyu. And the knight wearing the black armour was Alan.

“Then it would be many times stronger in middle earth?”

Alan stared at the gold lion with surprised eyes after hearing Maseutyu’s explanation. Currently Alan was in the dimension called ‘Scale.’ Two months before Alan came to Scale, he had met Maseutyu and changed jobs to a Ruin Knight after swearing revenge on Ark. In the meantime, he had been improving his capabilities because he acknowledged that Ark was a powerful opponent. After learning the special skills of a Ruin Knight, his confidence had increased and then the Red Man appeared in front of Alan. Then the Red Man told Alan some amazing secrets about New World. After revealing the secrets, the Red Man had asked for Alan’s help. After thinking for a while, Alan had accepted. Although the Red Man’s ultimate goal was unknown, he decided to cooperate since Ark was their enemy. The Red Man’s first command was to make the ‘Scale’ dimension rise to middle earth. In order for Alan to achieve this, the Red Man created a ‘spatial-temporal’ tunnel to allow him to enter Scale.

Scale was originally an area which belong to middle earth. But when the Dark Lord triggered his final destruction magic, a number of areas controlled by the world trees sank. Just like Seutandal, if Scale’s world tree was resurrected then it could return to middle world. In other words, Alan had to resurrect Scale’s world tree! But Alan had bumped into a wall after he came to Scale.

‘I never thought it would be so difficult to cause a different dimension to rise......’

Alan hadn’t known this until he heard Maseutyu’s words, but Yggdrasil and Yuzuria were the weakest among the world trees. After the Dark Lord used his final destruction magic, their weaker magic meant that they received less damage and didn’t sink that far. However, there was still an undisclosed number of world trees. The deity who created the world was called the father and mother of the world. But when talking about the game settings, this was actually related to the episodes. The ‘Scale’ dimension occurred in a later episode than Seutandal so the degree of difficulty was higher. The monsters in Scale had an average level of 400. Although it was rare, some level 500 monsters was also visible. But the problem was not the monsters. The biggest obstacle to Alan’s resurrection of the world tree was the guardian of the world tree.

‘It is a level 950 guardian monster, the Beast Dragon Baras!’

Although the name was Beast Dragon Baras, it took the shape of a golden lion. Even though he used 50 ?Penetration? scrolls, he barely found any information about it. But the Beast Dragon Baras was not a monster but a high ranking NPC. In other words, if Scale was recovered again then it would give quests to users instead of being an opponent. However, the NPCs reacted different to users depending on their alignment. Especially towards Alan who was a Ruin Knight.

-Foreigner, there is a dark smell coming from your body. There is an endless hatred towards the world within your body! I can’t allow a scoundrel like you with evil intentions to approach the world tree!

The Beast Dragon Baras became hostile as soon as he saw Alan. But Maseutyu knew the ‘secret of the world’ from the Red Man and already expected such a situation. When Alan had used the spatial-temporal tunnel to enter Scale, Maseutyu mobilized the Nakujuk who had sword allegiance to the Red Man. After the Beast Dragon saw through Alan’s identity, they attacked without hesitation.

-These guys.....!

Kwaaaaah-! While Alan was recalling the past, the Beast Dragon had opened some huge wings and flew away. It judged that there were too many Nakujuk and that a ground battle would be disadvantageous. But that was the moment Alan had been waiting for.

“Now! This is a chance for the strike force to stop his movements!”

Although shouted towards the demonic beasts hiding behind the steep mountain slope. Dozens of winged demonic beasts flew towards the Beast Dragon and threw a black net over it. Despite causing a storm and trying to move upwards, the Beast Dragon was immobile! It was tangled in the black net and fell to the ground.

<The net will last for 10 minutes and consume 100 mana every 10 seconds. Movement speed and attack speed reduced by 30%>

-Ugh, what, what the, this net is sucking my power......

When the Beast Dragon struggled and groaned, Maseutyu laughed and said.

“Huhuhuhu, have you already forgotten? Try to remember. We caught you hundreds of years ago using the ‘net of corruption.’ The curse magic weaved into the net was conceived during the 100 years of darkness.”

-Curse magic weaved into the net you made! Then you expected......!

“You’re still slow. Yes, the descendant of the great darkness.”

-Oh my god..... The cursed prophecy.....

The Beast Dragon stumbled and groaned like it had received an impact. But after a brief moment, the Beast Dragon raised its head violently and roared.

-No, that prophecy can never come true! Even if this is decided by fate, this Beast Dragon Baras won’t let it come true! The existence of the darkness will eat everything up! The dark forces will die in this place!

The Beast Dragon then opened its mouth, causing the surrounding air to swirl and be sucked in. Alan and Beseutyu were 100 metres away and they were still sucked in by the destructive force! It was the worst weapon the Beast Dragon could use. The Beast Dragon had the attribute of the forest and the earth, and its breath melted everything it touched. While an elite level 950 NPC used it, it was impossible for the level 300 Nakujuk to resist. In addition, the wide area effect spread over hundreds of metres so there was nowhere for the Nakujuk to run. However, Maseutyu’s eyes lit up with delight.

“Now, Alan! Do it!”

Alan rushed forward like an arrow and shot off a black ball. The black ball emitted a sinister aura as it flew forward. Then it was drawn forward by the vortex and entered the Beast Dragon’s mouth. The Beast Dragon flinched and stepped backwards, before he screamed painfully and rolled across the ground.

“Cough, t-this is..... Kuaaaak!

“Hahaha, you fool! Yes, this is the dark energy from the Devil’s Jewel. Do I need to explain what the Devil’s Jewel is? Your power will soon be used to solve the problems of the great darkness!”

Maseutyu shouted with an insane light in his eyes. The Devil’s Jewel was what Alan had used to build up his power in the hideout. When he drove it into the body of a specific monster, it had the effect of absorbing its power. Then the Ruin Knight was able to absorb the powers within the Devil’s Jewel.

“Alan, it’s time to stop that guy’s breath!”

At Maseutyu’s words, Alan took out his sword and started participating in the battle. When Alan appeared, the dark aura strengthened. It was the special effect of a Ruin Knight, ‘Ruin Spirit.’ Under the effect of Ruin Spirit, the eyes of the Nakujuk and demonic beasts turned mad. Thanks to Ruin Spirit, his troops only cared about death and destruction. It was a skill which increased attack and aggressiveness instead of defense! The Nakujuk and demonic beasts developed a murderous intent and ran enthusiastically up to the Beast Dragon.

-You! For the peace of mankind.....!

The Beast Dragon who only had 2% health left ran up to Alan. Alan was a villain who was threatening the peace of mankind after centuries.

“Berserk activate! Desire for Survival! Absolute Anger!”

Berserk was a skill which amplified hatred and increase attack by 5% for 20 minutes! Desire for Survival also increased defense by 50% for 20 minutes! Both of these weren’t a Ruin Knight’s skills. It was the skill option attached to the ‘Plated Gauntlets of Corrupted Hatred’ and ‘Steel Shield of Despair’ items that Ark sold him. Alan was also wearing the ‘Helmet of Hatred’ which reflected all attacks by 30% so he attacked recklessly. When the three options were activated, Alan was covered in a dark red special effect which rendered his body not visible. It was the set effect of equipping three items with hatred!

“......Three effects at the same time is not a joke.”

Alan looked with satisfaction at the effect of the overlapping skills. However, the opponent was an elite level 950 NPC! Just a swipe from the Beast Dragon’s claw decreased his health by 40%. However there were dozens of demonic monsters so his health recovered instantly using ‘Touch of Darkness.’ When Alan judged that the degree of damage and recovery was balanced than he approached the Beast Dragon and used various skills.

“The lesser demon skill ‘Disruption,’ sword skill ‘Frenzied Sword Dance’!”

He used all the skills he learn via the Devil’s Jewel without stopping. The hundreds of Nakujuk and demonic monsters continued the battle that had lasted for over 30 minutes, and the Beast Dragon’s 2% health gradually fell. After the Beast Dragon’s body was torn to pieces, Alan’s sword stole its last breath and it collapsed.

When the Beast Dragon collapsed, Alan gained 9 levels at once. It wasn’t only Alan. The cross signs appeared over the heads of the remaining Nakujuk and demonic beasts and they all gained 9 levels. The experience from the level 950 Beast Dragon NPC was enormous as it was enough to raise the level of all Nakujuk and demonic monsters who participated in the battle.

“Phew, he really is a strong bastard.”

Alan looked at his armour which became ragged after only a few minutes and sighed. But despite the difficulty, there was no other price. As well as experience, the Beast Dragon also dropped a few rare items. But first Maseutyu took out the Devil’s Jewel which had absorbed the power of the Beast Dragon.

“It was that difficult when it was already weak. This is just to resurrect the Scale world tree so the guardians in the future will be even more difficult. But you don’t have to worry. These guys are strong but you will also become stronger. Although the amount of power the Devil’s Jewel can absorb is limited, you will become much stronger with the essence of the guardian. This is the reason why he entrusted this to you.”

“......But will the other side be okay?”

Alan asked as he took the Devil’s Jewel. Maseutyu tilted his head to one side and asked.

“The other side?”

“The Red Man. We came with a large group of Nakujuk and somehow defeated the guardian but didn’t he go alone to a different dimension? Although there are a number of world trees, wouldn’t they all have guardians defending it?”

Maseutyu chuckled and answered Alan’s question.

“Heh, you don’t have to worry about him. Don’t you remember the prophecy the Beast Dragon previously spoke about? Before the Dark Lord fell, he left a cursed prophecy. And he is the ‘Executor’ who will carry out that prophecy! Of course his body is still incomplete but he has already gained the dark heritage, the aerial fortress Rwigenberg. No, I imagine that he could accomplish the goal even without the Rwigenberg.”

Maseutyu’s eyes were filled with the light of respect. For the dark NPC to trust the Red Man, what was his true identity? Alan thought for a bit and asked again.

“Then why didn’t that person resurrect the other world tree?”

“Until now, he still hasn’t completely awakened his full abilities. There is also another reason. If he visited now than he could defeat the guardian and resurrect Scale’s world tree. But he previously needed the Sacred Branch in other to resurrect Seutandal’s world tree Yuzuria. And that was an artifact which sprouted from the world tree Yggdrasil. So he tried to revive Yuzuria, the most complicated one first.”

“But wasn’t Ark the one who resurrected it?”

“That’s because he made it happen.”

Alan’s forehead wrinkled at Maseutyu’s answer. Then Ark had just been used by the Red Man in that video? Complicated problems rose in Alan’s chest at the thought. Ark was Alan’s arch rival. He was an enemy that Alan would step on and make miserable one day! Ark’s misfortune made Alan happy. However, he felt something strange at the thought of Ark being used by the Red Man.

‘The person who will push Ark into despair is me. I don’t approve of others doing it!’

“Don’t worry. He knows about your goal. If you follow him than your goal will definitely come true.”

Maseutyu said after he guess Alan’s real intention.

“......What exactly is the purpose of the Red Man?”

Alan asked with an expression that indicated he couldn’t understand. He was someone who knew the unknown secrets of New World! At first, Alan had thought he was an employee of Global Exos like Ark. However, he had some misgivings about that thought. There were some level 700 monsters wandering around Scale. Meanwhile, the monsters in Seutandal were only level 300. And the current average level of users in New World was 250-300. When considering that point, it would take a long time for Scale to rise. It was a design of the game system since users wouldn’t be able to deal with monsters in Scale if it rose. In New World, <Episode III> was triggered when Seutandal rose so Scale was supposed to be a part of <Episode V~VI>. Even so, the Red Man was using a shortcut by rushing the resurrection of the world tree. What reason would an employee of Global Exos have to do such a thing? In addition, the NPCs would not just blindly follow anyone. However, Maseutyu’s answer was always evasive whenever Alan asked.

“You just have to follow him. If you are loyal to him then you will receive limitless glory that you can’t even imagine.”

‘It really doesn’t matter who he is.’

Alan nodded. Anyway, from the moment Alan changed into a Ruin Knight he forgot all thoughts about being an ordinary user. No, he didn’t want to go back even if he could. Alan had already seen a small part of the Red Man’s knowledge and abilities. According to Maseutyu, he would rise to the top spot of New World if he followed the Red Man. In addition, Alan’s goal wasn’t to play the game mediocrely. It was only to get revenge on Ark! The moment the task was completed, Alan could rise to the top and wait patiently to kill Ark.

‘The Red Man has that type of strength and power!’

“Ah, is the prepared work going well?”

Maseutyu seemed to suddenly remember something and asked.

“Yes, a friend of mine is getting things ready on middle earth.”

“I don’t want to meddle but that power will definitely be useful. A flimsy power is better than nothing.”

“I know.”

The work Alan was preparing was a guild called ‘Avenger’ that Andel was organizing. Currently, Andel had already organized over 500 top class users that were over level 300. Although Andel wasn’t over level 200, he was able to recruit that many users because of ‘money.’ Despite being a game, money still exerted an incredible power. Although Andel was pitiful and weak, he knew better than anyone how to use money. Alan became filled with self-confidence and Maseutyu nodded with a satisfied look.

“If you speak like that then I’ll believe you. But it will be a problem if you run out of funds. The items dropped from the Beast Dragon should help that.”

“Thank you.”

“Now we should depart. There are still plenty of mountains we have to go over in order to resurrect the world trees. Will you be slower than that person who was by himself?”

“I understand.”

Alan and Maseutyu ordered their troops and moved to the next place. However, it wasn’t the guardian that he would be meeting that was on Alan’s mind.

‘Just wait Ark! Your days are numbered! Scale will soon rise and the preparations to hold a festival for those who ignored me will begin. A festival of blood......!’

—————————————————————————————————-

Pang, pang, pang, pang!

The gorgeous fireworks exploded in the night sky. It was the height of summer and the beach town Bosaga was full of excitement about the start of the festival. Bosaga was a city adjacent to the Bristania harbour and there were no special monsters in the vicinity. Thanks to the wide sandy beach and stretches of ocean, there were tourists gathered from all over the place during summer. So Bosaga always held a festival for tourists during this season. When the festival was at its peak, Bosaga was a melting pot of excitement. Various flags of every country fluttered at appropriate distances. The acrobats and musicians marched down the street and showed their skills. Various rides and commotions were heard from the central plaza. It was some rides, street performances and colourful parades that were rarely seen in reality! Thanks to that, there was no place people could step in Bosaga without running into tourists.

Chweeeeak!

The festival was at its full peak in Bosaga. The fireworks flashed across the sky like meteors. Then a flash struck the soaring tower in the sky which belonged to the Magic Institute. The flash sparked and was drawn into the tower. The sparks were collected by an transmitter unit inside the tower and formed particles of light. The particles of light moved inside a glass tube and magic was sprinkled. Then like sand falling inside an hourglass, the particles of light gradually formed a person. The user wearing unusual leather armour was Ark.

“Welcome to the Bosaga Festival!”

As soon as Ark’s body was full restored, a group of people holding bouquets flocked around him. They were residents waiting to welcome tourists who used the Letter Movement. However, Ark just pushed past the people with a dreadful expression and ran into a corner.

“G-get out of the way! Ugh, eek!”

He leaned against the wall and vomited as it felt like his internal organs were being twisted.

‘Damn, I should’ve known considering it is the temporary Letter Movement......’

In order to get to Bosaga, Ark had to quickly move from the Ciel Magic Institute Branch to Bosaga’s. Since the Letter Movement system was mainly built on the west harbour, Bosaga village hadn’t had one. However, the Lord of Bosaga had asked for permission to temporarily install the Letter Movement for the duration of the festival. It wasn’t surprising that he felt like vomiting!

“It is ten times more awful than when I used the Letter Movement of Jackson! Urgh!”

It was just a temporary install. Therefore it 100% ignored the user’s comfort and safety! Thanks to that, Ark had to go back and forth between hell for over 5 minutes.

<The symptoms of dizziness and vomiting will continue for 30 minutes. Rest is recommended>

What a ridiculous situation.

‘I’m never using the Letter Movement system again!’

Yet he willing submitted to the risk because he had a reason to get to Bosaga quickly. Thanks to his method of using Letter Movement, he was able to arrive in Bosaga after only 5 minutes. After only vomiting gastric fluid, Ark shouted.

“Radun, give me Buksil’s eyeball!”

Ssak ssak, ssak ssak ssak ssak!

After Radun spat out the eyeball, Ark shouted at it.

“Buksil, can you hear me? Buksil, answer me!”

“Ya, eh? A-Ark-nim!”

After being shaken sharply a few times, the eyeball suddenly focused. The eyeball looked at Ark with a stupid expression and then started clamouring.

“Ark-nim is here...... Atch! R-right now.....ah!”

“I already know the situation! There’s no time to speak so just answer me! Where are you now?”

“I’m not sure. I’m too preoccupied......”

“Idiot, look around at the area. Isn’t there something that should be recognizable from a far place?”

Ark interrupted Buksil’s words and shouted. Yes, Ark had used the Letter Movement to quickly get to Bosaga because he knew the situation involving Buksil. Ark knew about the situation in Bosaga thanks to a phone call 10 minutes ago. The person who called in the morning was Lee Myung-ryong.

“It’s me Hyun-woo. The situation is urgent! I can’t speak for long because I had to sneak away from the unit to call you while playing New World!”

Lee Myung-ryong.....Isyuram quickly explained the situation. While explaining the infiltration investigation, Isyuram heard that Ark was in a south-western coastal city. Ark was supposed to make contact with Buksil soon and Buksil was supposed to move there.

‘I have to lead the thieves to another place.’

While thinking this, he remembered the flyer from the harbour and mentioned it to the thieves.

“I heard some rumours about the festival so I watch a video and accidently saw someone looking like a pig among the tourists!”

“What? Really?”

“There’s no doubt. It is impossible not to recognize the pig like fellow.”

So 30 of the thieves headed towards Bosaga at Isyuram’s words. Isyuram used various reasons to move the bandit group away from southwest region. Then.....Buksil unexpectedly showed up in Bosaga.

“Ohhh, it really is him! As expected from the friend of my heart!”

Garam cheered and praised him but Isyuram wasn’t happy. From then on, dozens of thieves started chasing Buksil. This was the reason why Ark submitted to motion sickness through Letter Movement.

‘Even though Teacher-nim has infiltrated them, he has no choice but to appear to be helpful. Fortunately Baekgu is there so Buksil won’t be caught easily, but they can’t possibly escape from dozens of thieves. After I help Buksil escape, I’ll have to protect the memory crystal.’

Just as Ark was thinking this, the eyeball’s scream was heard once again.

“Huk huk huk, there is a big ferris wheel near me! Hik!”

“Ferris wheel? I see it. I’ll move to that area soon so just hold on!”

“U-understood. Ack, Baekgu!”

The eyeball screamed non-stop so it was possible to imagine the situation. Ark ran away from the Magic Institute immediately. And.....he stopped and sucked in a deep breath.

“Huk, what it this?”

A sea of black could be seen in front of the Magic Institute. It was morning in reality but in New World it was night time. However, it didn’t simply look black. The only thing visible was the huge crowd present at the festival. He had heard about the Bosaga festival when leaving Ciel but it really transcended imagination. There were various rides in the central plaza, small street performances all over the place and tourists swarmed the taverns.

“Dammit, how will I find him in a place like this? Ah, is that the ferris wheel?”

He discovered the ride in the central plaza.

“This is no time to be stuck here, Dark Dance!”

Ark used Dark Dance to broke through the crowd like a ghost until he reached the central plaza. Bosaga was more like a city than a village. Fortunately, the central plaza wasn’t far from the Magic Institute and he reached the ferris wheel after 10 minutes of using Dark Dance. But the problem was after he arrived. There were even more crowds gathered around the ferris wheel. He had to find a him. But.....finding one person was like looking for a needle in a desert.

“Summon Demon, Dedric!”

“You called, Master?” Eh? A festival!”

Racard exclaimed with joy as he saw the dazzling sights.

“I didn’t call you here to play! Use satellite mode to look for Buksil!”

“Sheesh, so it’s like that..... I understand.”

Racard grunted and turned into a bat before trying to fly away. Racard was suddenly discovered by children and they swarmed around him and tugged at Racard.

“Aw, a bat!”

“It is a bat!”

“Hahaha, how marvellous. Bat, come over here!”

“Get away you rude things! I’m not a bat but a great vampire...... Ouch! Tickle, it tickles! Ugh, ouch! These damn kids..... Ouch!”

“Hahaha, this is great! If I press its stomach then it talks.”

“Fun, how fun! Let’s play with it!”

The children grabbed his wings and just laughed as Racard wriggled. Ark was impatient and was about to approach the children.

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

Then he heard Buksil’s voice again. It was a vivid voice coming from near him, not the eyeball. Ark hurriedly stopped and turned towards the voice. But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t find Buksil. Then he saw a big dog running and jumping among the rides. And a round object that resembled a balloon jumped up and waved its hand.

“Over here, here!”

‘What the? That guy.....?’

Ark stared at the round object with an astounded expression. The rounded balloon shaped person was Buksil. He was wearing polka dot clothes with a variety of ribbons hanging off him. In addition, he was wearing speckled makeup under his hat. It was the same costume that clowns wore. Buksil and Baekgu were wearing a couple clown look.

‘He seems to have gotten a bit heavier.’

While Ark have been suffering in Ciel, Buksil and Baekgu had been enjoying the festival. In order to protect Buksil, Ark had rushed and paid the expensive letter movement fee so he felt anger well up at the sight.

‘Damn, if it wasn’t for the memory crystal.....’

At that time, he saw mobs of thieves behind Buksil and Baekgu.

“Ah, Ark-nim, hik!”

‘The thieves! To hold a sword so openly in a village......’

Usually taking out swords in a village would be punished by the guards. Even if there weren’t guards present, the eyes of users and NPCs would be concentrated on them. But there were people dressed up and running round holding toy knives in the festival. So there wasn’t anybody who thought that the thieves were strange for holding swords. The thieves were even holding masks. If nobody died from a battle then the guards wouldn’t move.

‘Dammit, this is bad.’

Ark broke through the crowd and ran towards Buksil.

“M-Master, what are you doing? Ouch, these damn guys...... Ouch!”

Racard who was caught by the children screamed from behind him and Ark didn’t have time to worry about that. By overusing Dark Dance, he was able to penetrate the crowd and got near Buksil. Meanwhile, Buksil and Baekgu ran between people while sweating. They were chased by the bandit group.

“Okay, I can reach them before the thieves catch up. Summon Demon, Razak!”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

“Take the defense position and prepare for the enemy’s attack!”

Ark spread a safety net and made a defense camp with Razak. Now the top priority was to help Buksil escape. Even if he joined Buksil, it would be difficult to escape when surrounded by dozens of thieves. Especially with the enormous crowds gathered in the vicinity. Until Ark, the thieves wouldn’t care about other users and NPCs and would attack without care. Fighting a battle in a place like this would be absolutely disadvantageous. That was the reason why Ark created a safety net where only three people could pass. Ark would block the entrance after Buksil and Baekgu arrived. Although there were 30 thieves, only 2~3 people could enter through the entrance. If he used the terrain then he might be able to be time for Buksil to escape to a safe place. Even if the guards would move when the battle fully began, it would be difficult with the thieves chasing directly. Ark planned a strategy and raised his voice.

“Buksil, over here! You have to come over here!”

“Yes. U-understood. Baekgu!”

At Buksil’s order, Baekgu leaped over some obstacles and run towards Ark.

‘That’s it! There’s enough time to get that back from Buksil.....’

Ark took out his sword and watched as Buksil and Baekgu arrived.

“Ark-nim, I’m saved...... Huh? Huh huh huh huh? Waaaaaahhhhhhh!”

“Huk, Master!”

Buksil who had been running with tears in his eyes when he suddenly dangled from something. Had the thieves caught up to him? Buksil shrank with fear and struggled. Baekgu realised too late and hit the emergency brakes before running back to Baekgu. Then Buksil was dragged sideways as the thing he was stuck to moved at an extraordinary speed.

“What, what the?”

Ark and the chasing thieves just stared simultaneously with a dumb expression. They were looking at a small wagon moving along the rails spread all around Bosaga at a tremendous rate. What on earth was this? Ark looked around with confusion until he saw a big sign.

An ambitious ride prepared by the Bosaga festival committ

Able to travel at 300 kilometres per hour thanks to the magical engine, it is Bosaga’s state of the art magic carriage racing! With 100% safety equipment, it is possible to enjoy the exhilarating sense of speed!

<Fee to ride: 1 gold>

* Because the vehicle is moving at 300 kilometres per hour, it is dangerous to go on the rail.

It was the information on the sign next to the safety net. Buksil’s clothes had been caught on the carriage and he disappeared as it moved. In addition, the place Buksil was caught was the rear of the magic carriages.

Therefore Baekgu and Buksil had become a part of the ride and moved along the rails at 300 kilometres per hour.

“Aaaaaaaah, sssssave meeeeeee!”

“Masterrrrrrrr!”

“Dammit, we had almost caught up!”

“We can’t miss him, get out of the way!”

The thieves who had just missed Buksil and pushed users out of the way before taking a magic carriage. When a coin was inserted into the slow, they started to chase after Buksil at an extravagant speed.

“Dammit! Razak, transform!”

It wasn’t possible for Ark to just stay there. After Razak transformed into a blade, he pushed people out of the way and took the available magic carriage. The people waiting in line cursed but he had no time to pay attention to public morals. After inserting 1 gold, the carriage rumbled and departed.

Pepepepeng, pepepepeng!

Fireworks were still displayed in the night sky.