ACT 4 Land of the Dead

Pa pa pa pa, pa pa pa pa!

Radun shook his bum as he ran across the field. The weather was good and no troublesome monsters could be seen. However, Arks expression while riding Radun wasnt that bright.

Ugh..I still feel sick.

Ark frowned and shook his head.The effects of the nightmarish alcohol bombs caused by the jealousy of the rehabilitation members was still affecting him.In fact, Ark wasnt the type to become drunk easily.It was the first time the morning after had been a little difficult but it seemed tolerable after going for a light jog and sweating it off. Therefore Ark enthusiastically tried to start a new adventure.

Damn those dolphins!

The dolphins he summoned at the Dark Earth was the problem.He had already experienced it when heading to Dark Earth but riding the dolphins was the worst. Aside from that, it took an incredible amount of skill to stay on every time the waves surged.Every time that happened, Arks stomach which he barely soothed would jump upwards. Although he didnt get seasick, he had to endure the motion sickness from the dolphins. There was also the throbbing pain in his lower back.

No matter how free it is, Ill be worried if I have to ride the dolphins regularly.

So Ark showed his superhuman patience and endured for 4 hours.Of course, there was the possibility of a land route after he left Dark Earth.However, the land route was surrounded by mountains so it would take him many times longer to get back to Seutandal. He would rather suffer from motion sickness.

Anyway, Im also affected by the alcohol. If I go on a drinking spree with expensive alcohol then of course it wont be good for my body. Plus

His face became hot as he thought of the psychological warfare between Roco and Lariette. Ark wasnt stupid. At the time he had been puzzled, but he understood the situation after the alcohol wore off. It was caused by Rocos misunderstanding.

That Roco, what were you thinking.?

Ark mistakenly thought that Alan was Lariettes boyfriend. Although it would be difficult to understand when looking through Arks eyes, no men would look at it objectively.No, these days Ark unexpectedly thought of Alan as a decent guy. He never asked directly but Ark was under the impression that Alan was Lariettes boyfriend.Naturally Lariette would have a handsome boyfriend with lots of money.Why would she be interested in Ark?Roco hadnt known the situation and unreservedly exposed her jealousy. But Ark was really puzzled by the situation that unfolded from her jealousy.Just thinking about that incident caused his face to become hot.

I should avoid Roco and Lariette-nim for the moment.

He didnt have the courage to face them.

Uhh, I dont like it.

Then Racards voice was heard from Arks shoulder.

Huh? What?

I dont like seeing that pigs face. That stupid pig!

Racard stared at Buksil and murmured with dissatisfaction. Buksil turned his head and smirked at Racard. The reason Buksil was making that expression was because of his pet dog, Baekgu.

It is an really surprising combination.

In fact, Buksil had initially disliked it when Baekgu was made into his pet dog.Having a dog two times bigger than him?Even if he was tamed by violence, that was only relevant to Ark. He mightve sworn an oath of obedience to Buksil but it wasnt enforceable. Buksil wasnt assured by Arks words.No, it was a wolf and a pig. He was lucky if the wolf didnt eat him.However, Ark had a very strong reason for making Buksil Baekgus owner.

Now they Ive fulfilled his current wish for a subordinate, he wont ask for another one in the future. I can also reduce the money spent by 50% after giving Baekgu to Buksil.

Although they were travelling together again, Ark and Buksils relationship was different than before.Even thoughArk had previously been unpleasant to Buksil, this time it was necessary that he hire Buksil.It could be said that Buksil had been promoted from a slave to a free person. As the exclusive cameraman, Buksil had made a request.

I wont do any labour.

What does that mean? Im giving you a monthly salary.

Yes, obviously I would film the video if I receive a monthly salary. But I refuse to do any other type of labour. Youll have to pay me the same amount if you want other types of labour.

Buksils request was natural in a capitalistic society. Of course, Ark was angry about paying for a position he normally got for free but he had no choice.He could threaten him but he had no way of knowing if it would keep working. At the end of their negotiations, Ark and Buksil managed to agree on a reasonably price for Buksils work in gathering ingredients.Ark agreed to pay him 1~5 silvers within the normal asking price of the store for the ingredients after 30 days. That was an expense of approximately 1 gold per day in Arks budget.Of course he had to pay for the labour, but thinking about buying the ingredients that he previously got for free made him upset. But the ingredients that Buksil gathered were necessary.Ark had to feed Buksil, Racard and Radun who needed an enormous amount of food after transforming. Thanks to that, it was easy to start lacking ingredients. When that happened, Arks travel speed would decrease by half.

Isnt there a method in which I can save money?

Then Ark subsequently made Baekgu Buksils pet dog.

If youre my employee then why do I have to feed your pet for free?

That was the reason why Ark put Buksil in charge of the expenses for Baekgus meals. The situation had completely reversed.Ark charged 50 silver per day for Baekgus regular three meals. In other words, Buksil ended up only receiving 50 silver for gathering the ingredients. The meal expenses matched the price of Ark buying the ingredients.

I was tricked again. Damn, this is a lump not a pet dog!

It was natural that Buksil thought like that.But after travelling with Ark, Buksils thoughts changed by 180 degrees. In fact, Buksil had been most worried about whether Baekgu would listen to him. Unlike his worries, Baekgu obediently followed Buksils commands. He thought that Buksil was better than Ark who would randomly hit him. In addition, Baekgu was quite useful.As a Wolrang he had some degree of fighting ability so he could be used as Buksils bodyguard during fights. In addition, his keen sense of smell helped find ingredients. So even with Baekgus meal expenses settled, they found so many ingredients that they could receive 1 gold for it.But it was the riding function that was Buksils favourite. Just like Radun, Baekgu could be used as a mount.

Pa pa pa pat, pa pa pa pat!

Now Buksil could ride Baekgu instead of Radun.Ark hadnt expected it but having Baekgu as another mount was good. Thanks to Radun not having to carry Buksil, their travel speed became 30% faster.

The result of entrusting Baekgu to Buksil is quite good.

Thats strange? Buksil is a nice fellow? Why does anger well up whenever I see his face?

Racard tilted his head like he couldnt understand.He agreed. In fact, Ark also didnt like it. He couldnt understand why but it felt like Ark would be disadvantaged when Buksil was happy.

What are you doing right now?

Ark asked with uncomfortable eyes. Then Buksil laughed and raised the memory crystal.

Huhuhu, do you want to see?

The memory crystal? Is there something unusual about it?

Nothing like that. Just take a look at it.

Buksil activated the memory crystal and played the footage that was stored. The scene showed when they were riding the dolphins.

What is this?

Just wait and see. Oh, it starts now.

Ark turned his head at Buksils words but there was no special change.What was he meant to see?Ark made an uncertain expression until he noticed something strange. It wasnt necessary to say again, but Buksil took the video using the magic projector. Of course, most of the footage was taken from behind Ark. But this video was different.There were also situations where the scene was filmed from in front, behind or on his left and right.

How is it? Doesnt it feel completely different?

What on earth is going on? You were behind me when riding the dolphins.

I applied the Vampires Eye.

Vampires Eye?

It is the skill I learnt after Karakul sucked my blood.

Of course Ark also knew that.It was a skill which could use the eyeball to scout the area.

I dont understand what it has to do with filming the video?

I thought it was a skill that might be useful so Ive been testing its various uses. Then I accidently found a new use for it.

New use?

This is it.

When Buksil smiled and tapped the back of his head, one eyeball popped out. No matter how many times he saw it, it really was an uncomfortable scene.However, Buksil was already accustomed to it so it wasnt strange for him anymore. Then he took out a memory crystal the size of a finger and inserted it into the back of the eyeball.

Ugh, that was slightly painful. Anyway, now the eyeball will act like a magic projector and anything it sees will be preserved in the memory crystal. Huhuhu, isnt it awesome?

It was amazing. The idea of embedding the memory crystals on the eyeball was really great.Thanks to the Vampires Eye, the video filming ability was really amazing. Buksil popped out his remaining eyeball and embedded it with a crystal. Then the two eyeballs with crystals in them circled around Ark.When the eyeballs were collected and the video played, the scene which showed looked like it had been filmed from a helicopter.

So I can also edit the scenes taken earlier. Not only that. I can use the eyeballs to film battle situations taking place somewhere else at the same time to give a sense of urgency.

But how can you see when your eyes are removed?

The magic projector.

Buksil laughed and took out the magic projector.Then he extracted the plug and inserted it into the back of his head.

This allows me to see all the scenes shot.

With the magic projector attached to him, Buksil laughed as he spoke. The eyeballs floating on either side of him also seemed to laugh. However, Ark didnt feel like laughing.Not a cyborglittle by little he was becoming a strange monster.

It is wonderful.

Isnt it? Isnt it? Having my blood sucked turned out to be a benefit.

Baekgu snorted at Buksils exclamation.

Huhuhu, this will revolutionize game videos. The broadcasting stations will drool over this.

That was the reason for Buksils excessive excitement.Buksil had already earned a good amount of money from selling the rights to a game video. Although it was eventually discovered by Ark and they made a contract for him to receive 50% of the video income from now on.

Now the possibility of an exclusive contract with the broadcasting station isnt a dream. Ark-nim, please show me some good situations.

Buksil did a thumbs up and laughed.Buksil had been forcibly compelled to become Arks exclusive cameraman and he had been seriously worried about his future in Dark Earth. He had contemplated if he should continue travelling with Ark in New World.But after thinking about it, he realised that it wasnt so bad to stay with Ark. Anyway, he had raised his level quite a lot by conducting the sales for the items Ark sold. And he now received money for the ingredients he gathered and a pet that he normally wouldve never received.

Plus

In fact, Buksil had a simple dream.It was to become the cameraman of a broadcasting station.That was why Buksil had been carrying around an expensive magic projector which he used to shoot videos of Ark. And he was one step closer to his dream after seeing his video appear on the TV.

The broadcasting station is interested in videos of Ark. If I become his exclusive cameraman then my videos can appear on TV again.

In addition, he would receive 50% of all fees. It was an opportunity to earn money and accomplish his dreams! Although it was sometimes an unfair and regretful experience, Buksil was also a little thankful to Ark.Thanks to that idea, Buksil changed his mind and started to earnestly fulfil his obligations. But no matter how happy the pig was, the scene with the missing eyeballs still seemed like something from a horror movie.

The person appears satisfied by himself

Ark scratched his head and clicked his tongue.If the videos sold well then Ark also received something, so it was good. But why? Seeing extracted eyeballs with crystals embedded and a magic projector attached to the head of a pig like a cyborg made his eyes water.Racard looked at it with upset eyes and muttered.

MasterI cant stand looking at that guy.

Yes

-

-You have entered the Land of the Dead.

<Explorers Knowledge: Hidden area discovery bonus (Skill Points: 10)>

You have entered a special area and the environmental effect is applied.

<Natural resilience -50%, Fatigue increases 20% faster.If fatigue reaches 70%, you will be afflicted with loss of motivation to live and your attack, defense and movement speed will be decreasedby 50%. This will be cancelled when fatigue is relieved>