Ark

ACT 4 Buksil the House Pig?

“Character information window!”

RaceAlignmentGood +400LevelProfessionDark WalkerTitleCat Knight, Caretaker of the Abandoned, Jackson’s Hero, Great AdventurerManaStrengthStaminaIntelligenceFlexibilityAffectionSpecial stat: Knowledge of Ancient Relics138

Cat Paws (Gloves): Attack Speed +10%, Agility +15, Critical Hit +10%

Raccoons Pith (Helmet): Agility + 10, Wisdom + 10

*<King> Set effect: Strength + 10, Agility + 10, Stamina +10, Defense +20

Warrior’s Transcripts (Shoulder Blades): Strength + 3

Wind Spirit’s Boots (Shoes): Agility + 30, Movement Speed +30%, Attack Speed +10%, ‘Slide’ available

Galgashi’s Fur (Mantle): Cold resistance +100%, Agility +20, When health is less than 50%, ‘Magic Protection’ automatically activates.

Adelaine’s Necklace (Necklace): Defense + 40, Affection +10, ‘Blessing of the Sea’ available

Resurrecting Spirit (Ring): Strength + 5, Mana recovery + 5%

Rarukan’s Ring (Ring): Agility + 10, Attack Speed +10%, Critical Hit +8%, ‘Dark Protection’ available

Amulet of Vitality (Bracelet): Health + 50, Health recovers by 5 every 20 seconds

Gladiator’s Honour (Bracelet): Strength, Agility, Stamina +10, Fame +500, Sword-based Skill Growth +5%

* You have the ability to hide in the darkness (20 minutes duration. Cancelled when you get into combat)

* Resistance to Fear, Darkness, Blind, and Seduction spells is increased by 50%.

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

* Shock absorption is increased by 20%.

* Poison resistance has increased by 50%.

* 10% increased attack and defense

Ark had gained 7 levels after defeating Magaro and he gained 4 more on the way back to the village, raising his level to 280.

‘It is a lot better than hunting be myself.’

Ark nodded with a pleased face. He was quite satisfied with the current party. It wasn’t necessary to explain, but Ark had been sceptical of hunting in parties. The reason was very simple. Just like most online games, New World provided additional experience when hunting in parties. Depending on the number of people in the group, it could range from 100% to 400%. At first glance it seemed like a bonus, but it was a problem once he considered that the experience had to be shared by the party members. Let’s just say that a monster would give between 1,000-4,000 experience. When divided by 10 people, that was only 400 experience at most. Of course it was quicker and more sustainable than hunting alone.

That wasn’t the only disadvantage of hunting with a party. The biggest problem wasn’t when hunting but what happened after the monster was killed. Anyone with experience in online games knew that there were several types of item distribution. The most widely used approaches were the ‘Turn and Roll’ based methods. The ‘Turn’ method used rotated the members who would receive the item. And the ‘Roll’ method made players roll for the item if a magic or higher item dropped, with priority given to the related profession and the user who rolled the highest number would obtain the item. It was a system that seemed fair when looking at it. But the actual situation wasn’t that fair. After hunting so many monsters and clearing dungeons, the items that monsters dropped weren’t completely random. What he meant was.....for example, if he joined a party in order to clear the thieves in a mountain hideout. Thieves would mainly dropped weapons and armours for thieves.

So if a thief joined the party then they would end up monopolizing all the items. On the other hand, a different profession would only receive japtem. And they might even experience a loss since they had to buy potions and pay for repairs to their equipment. And those users would have no choice but to watch other people with the right profession take the items. A magic item dropping was better. If a rare item dropped and he was deprived of it, he would die from envy. The sound of rolling a 10 won coin in that situation was the most fearful thing Ark could imagine.

‘In that sense, this party is truly ideal.’

Ark smiled warmly at Lariette and Buksil. Of course, in the beginning it was uncomfortable but now Lariette had eased into her role. And she accomplished her share alone as well. But was that all? Even though Buksil couldn’t help in combat, he was valuable for gathering ingredients. However, Ark’s favourite thing about this party was the substantial profit. While hunting in a party, Ark had to share the experience between the three of them. However, there was one loophole. The system to prevent low-levelled users from being power levelled. When there was a huge difference in levels in the party, most of the experience went to the highest levelled user. Currently Ark was approximately 100 levels higher than Lariette and Buksil. After they killed a monster, Ark got 50% of the experience. On the other hand, the party received an additional 100% experience. As a result, he received 50% of the 200% experience, which was a little bit more than when he hunted alone. * That contributed to why Ark gained 4 levels in three days. But was that all? They already agreed that Ark would get all the items obtained from hunting and harvesting. So items were more likely to drop in a party, Ark obtained more items than when he hunted alone.

‘Huhuhu, it can’t be better than this!’

Since the party depended on Ark, it could truly be called Ark’s party.

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

While Ark was thinking, Lariette and Buksil ran from the forest with a panicked expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“M-monster, the red monster!”

Buksil shouted with a stricken face.

“Red Monster?”

Ark was puzzled until Lariette added.

“The Nakujuk we saw in the Abyss of Despair.”

“Nakujuk! In this area?”

“Yes, we saw more than twenty of them.”

Ark was confused by time Lariette finished speaking. The Nakujuk clan lived beyond the northern mountains. According to Beseutyu, the terrain of the northern mountains was so difficult that the Nakujuk hardly ever came to the south. The group of Nakujuk he met in Hagel Forest passed with the help of the Deurakan.

‘At that time, they came to hunt for the deceased. But after I disposed of Tamura, what reason would they have to come to the south? In addition, there is a hostile relationship between the Nakujuk and the Baran clan. So why are they roaming so close to the village? ‘What on earth is going on?’

Ark was thinking that when something interrupted.

Grrrrrrr.

He heard a threatening beast’s cry from behind him. Ark and Lariette jumped and instinctively grabbed their swords. At the same time, a bush shook and an eerie dog with a red mane appeared. Ark’s forehead wrinkled when he saw its appearance.

‘Eh? Haven’t I seen this monster in the village’s kennels.....?’

The dog was the Hellhound that the Baran clan bred. The Hellhound Ark previously saw was black, so this one appeared red because it was tinged in blood. That wasn’t all. The faltering Hellhound was also carrying a boy with serious injuries on its back. Surprisingly the boy was....!

“B-Bona?”

Ark exclaimed once he belatedly figured out the boy’s identity. The boy flinched then he painfully lifted his head.

“Ah.....Ark hyung?”

“Yes, it’s me. What’s going on? How did you become like this?”

“Ah, Ark hyung......help! The village......Grandpa.....”

“Village? Grandfather? What the? What do you mean? What happened to the village?”

“H-help. Please help.....!”

Bona grasped Ark’s hands and mumbled before nodding off. At the same time, the Hellhound ran out of energy and collapsed. Ark approached quickly and examined Bona. Fortunately, the Hellhound and Bona were only unconscious because of their injuries.

“Ark-nim, what is going on....?”

Lariette asked in confusion. But Ark also didn’t know. The Nakujuk were also wondering around......clearly something strange had happened. He shouldn’t act recklessly before finding out the reasons. Ark organized his thoughts for a moment before saying.

“Hurry and clean up. We have to avoid them and find a safe place.”

————————————————————————————————–

‘Those bastards.....’

Ark hid behind a rock and looked down at the valley village.

Rattle, rattle.

The people in shackles were moving rocks or wood while gasping. All around them were supervisors monitoring them with whips. The scene happening in the village seemed like a medieval movie. The Baran clan were reduced to slavery while the Nakujuk were the supervisors.

“That guy, what are you doing?”

“Can you move faster?”

The Nakujuk shouted and used their whips. Then, a big bull carrying a big rock passed out. The bull was a monster called Bolkanasu trained to pull carts in the village.Not only the Baran clan members, but the monsters they trained were also being abused. When the Bolkanasu fell down, the Nakujuk ran towards it.

“How dare you fall down! Take this!”

“It is impossible. Hold on, please let it rest for a moment!”

A middle aged trainer appeared and fell to the ground begging. However, the Nakujuk just kicked him away and continue whipping the Bolkanasu. Then the trainer embraced the Bolkanasu.

“What? How dare this slave resist?.....Okay, I’ll let you taste it once!”

“Ugh, aaaaak, p-please....!”

The trainer’s back immediately became bloody as the whip tore it open. But the Nakujuk seemed encouraged by the screams and only whipped him harder, dealing deeper wounds. Just as the trainer reached a critical condition.

“Stop!”

A sharp voice was suddenly heard. Ark reflexively turned his head and flinched. The person approaching the Nakujuk was surprisingly Jewel.

‘It’s just like Bona said. But how on earth did those guys......?’

Ark swallowed his saliva and replayed a memory. About 30 minutes ago, Ark had avoided the Nakujuk in the forest and hid with Bona inside a small cave. In fact, Ark could actually handle 20 Nakujuk by himself. But after checking Bona’s injuries, he instinctively sensed that the situation was more complex than he thought. Ark’s judgment was correct. After Lariette used recovery magic for a while, Bona delivered some shocking words. The incident occurred a week ago which was two days in reality. The peaceful village was attacked by 400 Nakujuk. They occupied the village in an instant and drove the Baran clan to slavery.

Ark still couldn’t understand anything at this point. First of all, Beseutyu told him that the Nakujuk lived beyond the northern mountains. And the terrain was so steep and complicated that the Nakujuk couldn’t move through it. Although a small group could penetrate using the Draken, it was impossible to move a few hundred troops. That’s why the Nakujuk had never a threat to the Baran clan so far. But how did 400 troops suddenly climb over the northern mountains? Bona just shook his head.

“I don’t know. But Grandpa said that it obviously had something to do with them.”

“Them?”

“The foreigners that passed into the Netherworld along with Ark hyung.”

Ark became even more confused. The foreigners that came to the Netherworld with Ark. In other words, Jewel’s group dedicated to killing Ark. Then Jewel worked with the Nakujuk to attack the village? The Nakujuk was a species of monster in the Netherworld but it still had a chaotic alignment. But why did they ally with the monsters? How was that possible? And how did they manage to transport hundreds of Nakujuk across the northern mountains? There were numerous questions that popped into his head. But he didn’t know any of the answers. All he knew was that it was a complicated and twisted situation.

‘For users to ally with monsters in order to invade a NPC village......’

He never imagined that such a thing was possible. However, it wasn’t that impossible after working through it step by step. Of course, it would be absolutely impossible in middle earth. If a user did that then it would be impossible for the royal families of the Schudenberg, Sinius and Bristania kingdoms to just watch. The knights of the kingdom would be dispatched to smash them. But this was the Netherworld. While the Nakujuk had established a kingdom in the north, the south was filled with different communities and a major NPC force to protect the town didn’t exist.

‘Even so......’

Ark thought for a moment before moving onto the second question. It was clear that Jewel’s group allied with the Nakujuk to invade the village. The problem was why? He couldn’t think of a reason for why they would do that.

‘Even if Jewel noticed that Beseutyu tricked them, it’s still weird that they allied with the Nakujuk to attack the village. They came to the Netherworld in order to catch me. And they already know that I’ve left the village so why would they want to occupy it? And what reason would the Nakujuk have to occupy this small village?’

Ark considered all the possibilities. He came to the conclusion that there must be some benefit for Jewel and the Nakujuk. Let’s consider Jewel’s group first. Occupying a village had clear benefits. However, they would have to share the profits with the Nakujuk. In addition, this world relied on bartering so there was no money. All they could obtain was at most japtem. Would they provoke a hostile relationship with the Baran clan who lived in the south just for some japtem? There must be something more than profit. The same also applied to the Nakujuk. Although they had taken over the town, they clearly couldn’t go back and forth between the northern mountains yet. More than 400 troops would’ve come over if that was possible. It also wasn’t easy to plunder the loot and then send it back home. There was no reason for them to travel over the northern mountains just to occupy the village.

“They took control of the town and are making the monsters and uncles collect materials to create something. But Grandpa didn’t know what it was either.”

Bona also couldn’t answer this part.

‘Create something.... That must be their other purpose.’

Ark was thinking that when something interrupted. Bona shed tears and suddenly spoke.

“Ark hyung, please help us. If the villagers are harassed by the Nakujuk, they will die. They managed to escape with me but then Grandpa and Guran were recaptured.....”

After the village was attacked, there were a lot of Baran survivors. The reason was simple. Jewel’s group was just too strong. And there were also 400 Nakujuk combatants. With only 200 residents, the villagers couldn’t afford to fight back. In addition, they used the children as hostages as soon as they attacked. So the villagers didn’t dare resist and became prisoners. Guran and Beseutyu were trainers and they managed to use a Hellhound to escape with Bona. They planned to notify the other villages and ask for help. However, they were caught by the Nakujuk and only Bona barely escaped.

“Um.....”

Ark saw the bruises on Bona’s body and was speechless. Thanks to Lariette’s healing, Bona had recovered but there were still injuries on his body. He had received those wounds after being chased by the Nakujuk. He didn’t even know what happened to the village after it had been occupied. After thinking about that situation, something rose in Ark’s heart.

“How dare they do such things to a child.....son of a bitch!”

“Huh?”

Clack clack clack clack?

Dedric and Razak sent Ark a strange look.

“What? Why are looking at me like that?”

“No......Master talking like that......”

“What about it?”

“No, I was suddenly reminded of the past.”

Dedric said while shrugging. After all, Dedric was actually younger than Bona when he transformed into a boy. When the person who kept on beating Dedric up said those kind of words, who wouldn’t find it strange? Bona’s wounds were pretty average compared to how Dedric looked after Ark was finished with him. But was that all? Didn’t he also beat up a user like Buksil and exploit him? However, Ark was strict to some people while generous with others. He believed his actions to his pets were ‘raising them with love’ while Buksil was ‘give or take.’

“Those words......”

“Ah, I got it. I understand. I know Master is a ‘good’ person. We’re ‘really happy’ that we met such a good Master.”

Dedric insinuated sarcastically.

“This child really.....!”

“What? Do you intend to break me again? Fine, expose your true character. Buksil, you say something too.”

When he saw Ark’s furious expression, Dedric quickly ran away and Ark chased him.

“Ark-nim and Dedric should control yourselves. This isn’t the time to be playing around!”

Ark and Dedric stopped moving at Buksil’s shout.

“Hey, pig...?”

Dedric made a stupid expression and blinked several times. But Buksil just applied salve onto Bona’s wounds without turning his head and said.

“Bastards, to a child.....”

Buksil’s serious attitude felt out of place. Ark’s eyes asked ‘why is he acting like this? Did he eat something bad?’ A

nd Dedric replied silently ‘How should I know? Stupid Master!’

So what was Ark’s response?

‘Stupid Master? Do you believe I can’t do anything to you? You really want to die?’

He silently told Dedric......

“Buksil-nim is right. We can’t play around.”

When Lariette sighed, the quarrelling Ark and Dedric became embarrassed.

“Ark-nim, what do we do now?”

“Let’s see.”

Ark sighed and shook his head. His thoughts had been wondering thanks to his conversation with Dedric but this situation was serious. A major problem was that if he didn’t save Beseutyu, how would he discover any clues to complete the <Study the Mirage> quest?

‘Somehow I have to settle this problem.....’

“Lariette-nim should stay here with Buksil to continue treating Bona. I’ll take a quick look at the village. We’ll discuss any further problems after that. Dedric, you stay here and contact me if anything happens.”

So Ark headed to the village from the cave.

————————————————————————————————–

‘A user is better than NPCs.’

Ark hid behind the rock and laughed as Jewel approached the Nakujuk. Although they were enemies with Ark, at least Jewel’s group had a conscience. But Ark miscalculated. Jewel pulled the trainer’s face close and said.

“You shouldn’t excessively injure the valuable labour force. Let’s see, you said you both needed a break?”

“Yes, Yes. Please...... The Bolkanasu.....is at its limit.... Even a little bit is good....”

“Okay, it can’t be helped. The rest to your heart’s content.”

“Huh? R-really?”

“Of course. If you can.”

“Huh? What are you saying.....?”

“Hey, bring his child here.”

The Nakujuk brought a young boy in shackles. Jewel kicked the boy and waited.

“Huk, w-what is this.....?”

“Hahaha, didn’t I tell you? You can rest for one or even two days if you want. Instead, your son will take your spots.”

“Ack, Father!”

“S-stop! Please don’t. I’m going to work. So please stop....!”

The trainer screamed and grabbed Jewel’s pants, who then spat on him and muttered.

“Bah, how dare you ask for a break? If you act like this again then I won’t leave you son alone. Take his son away.”

“Huh? Yes!”

Even the Nakujuk was amazed at Jewel’s viciousness. However the other Hermes guild members just smirked and gave a thumbs up to Jewel.

“Oh Jewel, you really were a villain this time.”

“Huhuhu, I was still restraining myself.”

Ark was outraged while watching.

“A S (Sadist)? Did those guys open their eyes and became a S?’

Ark was not a messenger of justice. Ark was more irritated then sick whenever he saw news about people dying in terrorist attacks. But.....but this wasn’t right. Even if the people were NPCs, how could they behave like that with no hesitation? And to even laugh as the father and son were separated......

He wanted to run down there and punch them in the jaws. But the opponents were Jewel’s group and the 400 Nakujuk. In fact, the 400 Nakujuk weren’t a big problem. Ark had already killed more than 600 Nakujuk in the Abyss of Despair. Of course he couldn’t handle 400 at the same times, but if he planned it properly then he could kill 400 or 600 Nakujuk. But the problem was the combined power of the players and monsters coalition. It was impossible to use such plans against a user.

‘Unbelievable. It’ll be better if Jewel’s group wasn’t in the village......’

Ark was worried until he suddenly tilted his head to one side.

‘Wait, what on earth is Jewel’s purpose? Jewel and the Nakujuk wouldn’t be making them labour for no reason. So there must be some purpose....but what is it? Where are they moving stone and timber to? I suppose I’ll have to check it out.’

Ark walked along the outskirts of the village using ‘Shadow.’ After moving to the other side, he managed to see the problematic structure. It was a tower that was already 50% completed.

‘Eh? I’ve seen that structure somewhere before.....?’

Ark dug through his memories because there was a sudden flash. As expected, it was the tower in his memory. The tower seen at the Magic Institute in large cities on middle earth! Of course, it was a much smaller scale but the shape was approximately the same. An oddly shaped sphere was rotating with a hazy light around it at the top of the tower. Ark realised Jewel’s and the Nakujuk’s plot as soon as he saw the sphere.

‘That is the reception tower used for letter movement!’

That’s right. Jewel’s group was constructing a tower to receive letter movement. Letter movement was a spatial movement technique that the Magic Institute was still studying. It wasn’t something that users like Jewel’s group could make. Since their civilization was delayed, the Nakujuk wouldn’t have such knowledge either. So how the hell could they build a tower for letter movement? It was incomprehensible. But Ark could understand the reason for building it.

‘Oh my god, the Nakujuk are planning to conquer the Netherworld using the valley village as a base!’

Yes, that was the only reason he could think of. There was probably another reception tower in the Nakujuk’s kingdom. With the two reception towers, they wouldn’t have to march their troops through the northern mountains to reach the south. The Nakujuk could freely come to the south whenever they wanted. After occupying the valley village, they would spread through the south and the Baran clan wouldn’t be able to resist.

‘This problem might be worse than I thought.’

Ark’s face became serious. Jewel would never make the decision to ally with the Nakujuk alone. Raiden the leader of the Hermes Alliance would definitely be involved. It was a high possibility that they made a contract with the Nakujuk to conquer the Netherworld together. It would be impossible in middle-earth, but is such a thing was possible.....?

‘At present, there is no benefit to occupying a town in the Netherworld. But the Netherworld and middle earth is not completely disconnected. Although it would take some time, many users could enter with the passage I used.

So what if the Hermes Alliance decided to enter the Netherworld and conquer some towns? Clearly the Hermes Alliance would undergo an incredible growth in a short amount of time.

‘And all that power would be concentrated in Silvana.’

Ark knew about Nagaran’s current state through JusticeMan. The 5 alliances each occupying a castle had similar forces and held each other in check. If one of the alliances tried to grab more power than the other four alliances would ally together to stop them. But it was a different story if one alliance could hide the growth of its forces from the others. That was Raiden’s target. Hide in the Netherworld and conceal his strength. After raising it by a certain amount, return to Silvana and concentrate on conquering the rest of Nagaran. If the Hermes Alliance managed to take control of the Netherworld then that wouldn’t be a dream anymore. And the Hermes guild was his enemy so it was like a death sentence to Ark.

‘Oh my god, I wouldn’t be able to handle it alone!’

Ark’s face turned dark. If the Hermes guild had that kind of power then regaining Silvana was impossible for Ark. He would have to discard the secret tunnel in the dungeon and the two sets of books from the trading post. But was that all? The Hermes Alliance would spread throughout New World. They would have an influence in middle earth as well as the Netherworld. Ark would have no place to hide.

‘It’s the end if Jewel and the Nakujuk manage to conquer the Netherworld. I have to stop it somehow!’

But the opponent was the Hermes Alliance and the Nakujuk. The Hermes Alliance couldn’t leave Silvana empty so they couldn’t concentrate their energies on the Netherworld. But the Nakujuk had been aiming for the southern region for hundreds of years so they would use all their power. The Nakujuk were soldiers of a kingdom so they weren’t simple monsters. Didn’t that mean he would have to fight against a kingdom in the end?

‘This.....I can’t stop it..... I’m screwed.....’

Ark was feeling pessimistic. At that time, Bona’s words came to his head.

‘Wait? Didn’t Bona tell me Beseutyu wanted to escape to ask for help from the other Baran clans? That’s right, the Baran would definitely want to stop the Nakujuk from conquering the Netherworld. Although they are scattered, if the Baran knows about the situation then they might join forces to fight them.

Ark was thinking that when something interrupted. He suddenly heard Dedric’s desperate voice in his ear.

“M-master..... Nakujuk have detected the group.....hurry...... quickly......”

Since they were quite far apart, the communication wasn’t that great. However, he was able to understand the vague information. The Nakujuk chasing after Bona had probably discovered them. Ark felt his heart fall.

“Dammit. If Bona asks the other villages for help then it will be a big problem. Of course the Nakujuk wouldn’t easily give up on pursuing Bona. If I’d known in advance then I would’ve never left them......”

If Bona was captured by the Nakujuk then his one strand of hope would disappear. Ark hastily ran out of the village and shouted to Radun.

Ssak ssak? Ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Ark frantically rode Radun. Then he finally reached the forest near the hideout.

“Master.....this way..... Those guys are around.....be careful.”

Dedric’s voice was heard in the opposite direction of the hideout.

‘Fortunately they’re still not caught!’

Ark got off Radun, used ‘Shadow’ and followed the voice. He soon discovered Lariette and Bona hiding in some bushes on top of a hill.

“You’re safe.”

“Yes, but Buksil-nim is.....”

“Buksil?”

Ark noticed that Buksil wasn’t there. Then Lariette pointed down the hill with a dark look. Ark followed the finger with his eyes and frowned.

“That bastard.....!”

10 Nakujuk and one user were gathered in a group at the bottom of the hill. It was Duke! Duke had used his various tracking skills to supervise the search. And lying next to Duke was Buksil with half of his health already gone. His beaten face was swollen and bruised.

“What happened?”

“We were hiding in a cave when the Nakujuk suddenly appeared. Fortunately Dedric and I managed to stop the Nakujuk’s attacks and ran away. But then that guy called Duke suddenly appeared. Dedric and I was no match for his strength...... We were almost caught when Buksil who had been watching suddenly blocked him and allowed us to escape. But we would’ve been surrounded if we ran off so we just hid here.”

Lariette explained. Ark had seen dozens of Nakujuk in the forest when coming here and Lariette didn’t have a stealth skill like him.

‘But even so.....’

It was surprising that Buksil threw his body to save them.

“This bastard, why won’t you hurry up and talk?”

Duke was kicking Buksil at the bottom of the hill. Buksil screamed like a child and rolled around on the ground.

“D-damn.....I already told you that Lariette-nim and Bona have left the forest!”

“Bah, don’t make me laugh. The forest is already surrounded. They wouldn’t have been able to leave without getting captured. Obviously they’re hiding somewhere around here. Foolish bastard.”

Duke pulled out a scroll and showed it to him. Buksil turned pale with terror after seeing the scroll.

The [Track] scroll.....that’s right. It was a scroll that could determine the relative position of the target within a 1km distance.

“Now do you understand? They will be caught anyway. But I don’t want to know about a girl and a child. Do you think I’ve forgotten? You.....were with that Ark bastard before!”

“Ah, Ark-nim isn’t here!”

“I know that. I’ve already tried to use the [Track] scroll on Ark. But how can it find here when the Netherworld is so big? Tell me, where is that bastard Ark hiding?”

“D-dunno, I don’t know!”

“Do you really want to die?”

Duke raised his hand and a Nakujuk immediately lifted its sword. But he changed his mind with a light laugh and said.

“Okay, then let’s make a deal. In fact, killing you won’t do me any good. I’ll let you live if you tell me where Ark is. There is no point in being loyal to Ark. That guy is a despicable and vicious bastard......”

“I know, I know! I know a 100 times better than you do. Ark is a gruelling task master and a really stingy man. He is a wicked person who uses violence after a meal and secretly poisons you. I have no intention of protecting such a person!”

‘T-that bastard is seriously backstabbing me.....!’

Ark’s face warped as Buksil’s words rang through the forest. But Duke was delighted and nodded.

“Oh, I understand. Then have you agreed to the deal?”

“But, but.....”

Buksil suddenly tackled Duke and punched him.

“Aish, he’s not vicious like you guys! He’s not unscrupulous enough to whip a child! Take this....you damn bastard!”

“T-this bastard...!”

Buksil had used to element of surprise to land a hit on Duke. But the fists of a merchant only dealt 1% damage..... When Duke kicked him, Buksil instantly rolled across the ground. The normal Buksil would’ve moaned and acted like he was dying. However, today Buksil was different. Instead of crying, he just got back up and rushed towards Duke.

‘Son of a bitch...!’

Ark clenched his teeth together tightly. He looked like a messy pig covered in tears and not but that didn’t matter. Ark was just grateful that Duke’s attention was focused on him.

But.....but......why was his anger rising? Why? He had no loyalty towards the pig.....

“Aish, kill you! I’m going to kill you. You son of a bitch!”

“Are you crazy? Okay, if you really want to.......”

Duke cursed and got out his bow.

Then an arrow flew towards Buksil’s neck!

Jjeok-!

Duke’s jaw went back 90 degrees. Duke received massive damage and fell down. A man wearing a thick cloak stood in front of Buksil. Ark! Yes, Ark had jumped down the hill and kicked Duke’s chin.

“You.....this bastard.....!”

He glared at Ark. Ark smirked and murmured.

“Hey, Duke. Who told you to hit this guy?”

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

Buksil looked at Ark with tearful eyes.

But his joyful expression disappeared at Ark’s next words.

“This guy might look like this.....but he’s not a wild boar.”

“Eh? Wild boar?”

“This guy is a house pig that I’ve been raising!”

‘What is this? I don’t understand.....was I considered a house pig that could be eaten at any time?’

Buksil became seriously worried about his identity.

———————————————————————————————————–

[Translator’s: The raws were missing the stats for resilience and affection so I just used their previous values but they’ve probably increased.]

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