ACT 1 Abyss

Gram, gram, mahogram!

Dudududu, dudududu!

A group of monsters ran across the swamp.Their overall appearance looked like a lizard. But it wasnt an ordinary lizard. It was a lizard double the size of a human and wearing armour with weapons.

A rush? Razak!

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Razak rushed forward at Arks command.He lifted his shield powerfully and slammed it into the ground while flames emerged from both sides of the shield. The flames formed into wings which the lizards ran into.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang, pepepepeng, hwarrrrruk!

With a tremendous roar, the lizards were engulfed in flames and stumbled. It was the special skill Iron Fire Wall from Razaks shield made from the skull of the Fire Draconian.Around 100 lizards were caught by the Iron Fire Wall and their rush was cancelled and they became stunned. It this state it was possible to counterattack and deal massive damage to them!However, Ark didnt dare counterattack.

Karak, maram! Gram, gram, mahogram!

A rough voice was audible from behind the lizards. Then the lizards wrapped in flames rushed again along with an extra 100 lizards.When the lizards approached with their swords brandished, Ark bit his lip and shouted.

Damn, its started again, Razak, fall back! Dark Eden, prepare your defense formation!

Defense formation!

100 warriors repeated the command.The ones at the front of the battle formation was the shield unit. They placed their shields down and lifted their spears at an angle. It was a formation designed to strike the enemy while defending against their charge.This defensive formation and the speed at which the warriors formed it was a result of their suffering in the secret dungeon.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa, kwa kwa kwa kwa!

There was a roaring sound as the lizards impacted with the defense troops.The defense formation was formed with 100 people. On the other hand, there were hundreds of lizards which rushed at it. Nevertheless, the defense formation didnt crumble. Most of the shock from the impact was absorbed into the shield and dispersed into the ground.The lizards who blindly rushed forward were also hit by the spears and fell down. While the defense of this formation was the best, it also had a fatal weakness.Since they required a sitting posture to prevent the enemys charge, they were almost defenceless after that. In addition, the size of the monsters was 2~3 metres.

If they attacked from above then there was no way for he shield troops to respond. As expected, when the rush was obstructed the lizards immediately lifted their weapons.If they took an attack in that position then the damage to the shield troops would be devastating.Of course, Ark wasnt the only one who realized this when looking at the situation.

Archers and magicians, stop those lizards!

Horizontal Fire, Precision Fire!

Ray of light which pierces the darkness, Ray!

A huge number of arrows and magic flew towards the lizards.The reason the warriors crouched down wasnt simple to raise their defense against the charge. It was to raise the attack of the archers and magicians.The magicians and archers played an important role in battle. Warriors could only attack when close to the enemy. In other words, it they attacked the enemy then the enemy could attack back. So for warriors a battle was like a war of attrition.

However, archers and magicians were different.They could attack enemies from a distance without receiving any damage at all. When fighting a huge enemy like a dragon, it was difficult for more than a few dozen warriors to attack one monster because of space limitations. However, hundreds or thousands of archers and magicians could concentrate their attacks on one enemy.There were no distance restrictions.So it was possible to reduce the enemy one at a time.Thus archers and magicians were an indispensable presence in fights. However, in practice the archers and magicians abilities were limited on a large scale.The reason was their allies who werent enemies.

Archers and magicians had low health so they couldnt be on the front lines. Their role was support at the back. In other words, there were always allied between them and the enemy.The attacks from magicians and archers flew in a parabola in order to hit the enemy. So there was always the chance of hitting their allies first.Thats why the archers and magicians were positioned so their curved attacks didnt hit their allies.To users in New World it was common sense.Naturally, Ark had also used that method until now. But he got to know the archers and magicians better after invading the secret dungeon and his thoughts had changed.

That method is too inefficient.

The reason Ark thought that was because of how archers and magicians used their skills.Archers and magicians had numerous skills and they were divided into two main types, a straight or curved attack.So if there wasnt an obstacle between the enemies then they could attack directly and if there was then they could use the curved attack. Of course, the horizontal attacks were more powerful.It was similar to when throwing a stone. One thrown in a straight line would be more powerful than one thrown in a curve.The damage and accuracy of a horizontal attack was 1.5 times better than a curved attack! In addition, there were several limitations to using a curved attack.When soloing the most effective skills for archers were Precision Fire, Rapid Fire, Piercing Shot etc. In the case of magicians, it was skills which had a short incantation speed and power like Ray etc.

But those skills were horizontal attacks and couldnt be utilized properly in a group battle. Of course, the wide area skills had a lot of power in a large scale battle but some of them had cool down time of 2~3 hours. When considering those points, the archers and magicians only showed 50% of their actual abilities on a large scale.

Is there a way for an archer and magician to wreak havoc in a group?

Ark had been thinking that since he started invading the secret dungeon.Then he found a surprisingly simple answer.It was the formation where the warriors crouched down and defended.When the warriors at the front crouched down, they exposed the enemies to the archers and magicians. All the obstacles blocking the archers and magicians had disappeared!The archers and magicians immediately changed the way they attacked and hurled horizontal attacks like a machine gun.The arrows and magic flew straight forward like a clothesline and wreaked havoc! Both the power and accuracy was incomparable to the curved attacks.

Kwa kwang, tu tu tu tung!

The precision shooting attacked the vital spots!The arrows accurately stuck from the joints of the lizards.Thanks to the arrows stuck in elbows and shoulders, the lizards couldnt attack without flinching. That was why he wasnt worried about the counterattack when the troops crouched down. When the magicians attack Ray hit the knees, the lizards immediately stumbled.Once the movements were disrupted, an ally would take care of the enemy.With this simple idea, the archers and magicians could use 100% of their abilities in a large scale battle.

Nows the time. Shield troops, push against those fellows and advance!

Ohhhhhh!

The warriors seemed to bounce up and brandished their shields simultaneously.There was a rough metallic sound and the lizards were pushed back.After they struck, the shield troops immediately sat down again and allowed the magic and arrows to fly.

Okay, it is a little hard but if we continue pushing like this..

Just as Ark was about to push against the lizards again.

Master, those lizards are preparing for a huge rush again!

Racards voice could be heard from above.

Gram, gram, mahogram!

At the same time, there was a loud roar from behind enemy lines.Then the lizards at the front split to the sides and 100 lizards rushed forward in a wedge formation.

Bah, it is impossible! Defend!

Once again the warriors used their shields and spears to build a barrier. Then just before the rushing lizards collided!

Karakin, baram, noramuda!

A commanding voice rang out and the rushing lizards simultaneously jumped like frogs. Arks heart also simultaneously jumped like a frog. Ark had used that tactic several times so the lizards had already found a countermeasure for it.Just jump over the warriors who were crouching and break through! Ark hadnt realized that the lizards would think like that and hurriedly shouted.

Archers and magicians, stop those lizards!

The arrows and magic blew into the crowd of jumping lizards.The lizards were almost defenceless when they jumped. Once intercepted by arrows and magic, those guys fell into the swamp. However, he hadnt expected the move so his reaction was delayed. Around half the lizards managed to break through.

T-this.is serious!

Panic spread on Arks face.Currently all the warriors in Dark Eden were posted at the front. Because the lizards had suddenly jumped over, they couldnt immediately respond to the situation. Moreover, the lizards still at the front started attacking. If they turned around to attack the lizards who intruded then they would be attacked by the enemy in front. Meanwhile, the dozens of lizards who intruded rushed at the magicians and archers.

Huck! S-scatter!

Keuahahak!

This intrusion and confused fighting was the situation magicians feared most! The magicians and archers who had lost their protective screens couldnt properly oppose the enemy. Furthermore, the lizards were mixed in with allies so they couldnt fire arrows and magic blindly.

Dammit, this is the worst situation!

Arks breath felt clogged as he heard screams from everywhere.Of course, only a few lizards had broken in so the magicians and archers could take care of them. But the warriors were tied up with the lizards so the magicians and archers received quite a lot of damage.

Yet it isnt possible to let the magicians and archers retreat.

If the magicians and archers retreated then the warriors would be left isolated with the lizards.The 100 soldiers would be surrounded by the lizards without any support. In that situation, the warriors would be wiped out within a few minutes.Wiped out!

Damn, if only I had more troops..

Ark muttered while biting his lips.In fact, Ark had known about the weak point when he made the warriors crouch down and form a defensive stance.When crouching, the switch between defense and offense was slow and there was a high chance of intrusion if the enemy was willing to take damage. However, no enemy had ever broken through until now.When facing hundreds of large monsters, if wasnt difficult to drive them off. But the defense formation he used now wasnt complete. The original formation Ark used was double the size with two layers. The warriors in front would prepare for a charge. And he arranged another unit of warriors 1 metre behind to defend against any intruding enemies.But the current defense formation only had one layer.Despite knowing the risks, he was forced to use it because of insufficient troops. Currently Dark Eden only had 300 people.

In this state where the troops arent replenished, isnt it impossible to capture the dungeon to the end?

A frustrated sigh emerged from Arks mouth.In this desperate situation, he recalled the hardships experienced over the past few days.

-

Kuaaaa!

A huge monster yanked its hair and screamed painfully. With a dark aura wrapped around numerous dead bodies like a veil, the one holding the wand commanding them was the dark conjurer Surka.He was a middle ranked level 650 boss who they met on the 50th floor of the secret dungeon. Just like the alias Dark Conjurer, Surka was a powerful middle ranked boss who could conjure hundreds of undead as his subordinates using dark magic.

But

Ark smiled and muttered.It had been 10 days since Ark started the dungeon.The number of monsters Dark Eden killed to get him numbered in the hundred thousand. All those monsters were experience for Dark Eden.It wasnt simply just raising their level.Of course, raising level was good but the even more important thing was gaining experience fighting against monsters.This was known as combat experience...Put simply, Arks dungeon invasion during the last 10 days could be classified as insanity.

An average of 4 hours sleep. Ark invested the remaining time into attacking the dungeon. He didnt just invest simply into capturing the dungeon, he invested terribly.Normally after an intense battle, most players would take a few hours break.Even if they were just lying down in the unit, a battle lasting several hours required high levels of concentration.But that common sense didnt apply to Ark.

All of the enemies have been finished.

Really? Then lets move to the next place right away!

Huh? Didnt the battle just end?

So what? Hasnt your health and mana already recovered?

That is true however

Then why do you want to rest?

Ark couldnt understand the users who wanted a break.In the secret dungeon, experience and loot were swarming everywhere. Since they troops travelled in a large crowd, the health and mana consumption wasnt large. In other words, there was a chance of gaining serious experience around the clock without any breaks.Honestly, even the time Ark took to sleep was valuable.

There are no limits on your stamina. Stop talking and move! Go, go!

It isnt our stamina but our hunger..

The users of Dark Eden muttered as Ark spouted some words from an 80s movie.When the atmosphere became like this, the rehabilitation members instantly interrupted.

Yes, its not like the monsters are running away.

Well, were not trying to be difficult.

Their talk is becoming concerning.

The rehabilitation members had already experienced hunting with Ark so they were already prepared to die before entering the secret dungeon. But they were finally couldnt endure suffering so much under a younger brother.Now that the users were expressing their dissatisfaction, they used that chance to try and convince Ark.

Why would you want to rest when you can raise your level? You can rest anytime but this is a big chance to gain a lot of levels! If other people hunt then youre hunting and if other people are resting then youre hunting. This is the secret to gaining more levels than other people! Isnt it like that?

No, what were saying is

The rehabilitation members sighed and opened their mouths again.

That is correct! These days people dont have any guts. Complaining after only hunting a few days..how can you defend the territory like this? Raise your spirits and become stronger. Advance, advance!

The person speaking was none other than Isyuram.As part of Isyurams police duties, there were many days without sleep due to undercover investigations, stake outs or emergency standby.So Arks reckless hunting was no problem for Isyuram. Besides, it was the first time he could hunt like normal users so he found it quite interesting.

Damn, are they even humans?

But the rehabilitation members didnt know Isyurams true identity so they didnt know why he was a monster like Ark.Anyway, Dark Eden continued hunting thanks to Isyurams enthusiastic support. There was another reason for Arks quick hunting speed. There was a deeper idea.

Capturing the secret dungeon isnt just to raise Dark Edens level. It is more important to ensure that Dark Eden gains battle experience.

Even if Dark Eden was an attack corps, the troops were used to playing alone.During the siege, they still hadnt been used to fighting in their units. They were able to win the siege thanks to Arks strategy but their organization ability couldnt be compared to the Hermes alliance. So it was imperative to raise Dark Edens ability to fight in units before the next siege. In order to increase that, comradery was necessary.

The monsters in the secret dungeon are elite creatures. But remembering battle tricks is different from fighting in an organized group. So their comradery needs to increase. That is the decisive difference between the Hermes alliance and Dark Eden.

The Hermes alliance had been created for two years.While there was a sense of solidarity from winning the siege, it wouldnt be enough against an establish guild alliance. If the alliances fighting were at a similar level, this would be the difference between victory and defeat.While the commander could give instructions to the units, it wasnt possible to direct each soldiers movements on the battlefield. So it was important for soldiers to move together on the field.Thanks to Arks relationship with his summons, he knew how important a sense of solidarity was on a battle.When Ark was executing an operation with his summons, the success rate was completely different when there was a sense of solidarity compared to when there wasnt. Ark had managed to instil an All for one, one for all mentality in his summons.

If I use conventional methods then it will be impossible to instil the same sense of comradery as the other guild alliances in just one month. But with this method it is possible.

After experiencing difficulties in a place like this, their comradery would become strong!In fact, the person who tipped him off to this approach was his passionate supporter Isyuram.The secret to developing solidarity was a method used in the army. Only a person who experienced it would understand. But that method often formed a closer relationship with someone in a month than with a person youve worked with for one year.

It was a sense of pride for overcoming difficult times together.

That was the reason Ark used an extreme situation to push the Dark Eden users. After overcoming difficulties together, the sense of accomplishment would change to solidarity between allies. So the soldiers came together just like a real battlefield.

However, Arks plan was a success in a slightly different way.

Damn, Ill never hunt with the leader again.

Quickly escape from the dungeon so we can leave the leaders grasp!

The soldiers of Dark Eden were all united in that goal.Everyone united to escape from Ark quickly..Anyway, one everyone united in one idea the soldiers immediately changed.

Huck! D-dangerous!

Avoid it, ugh!

A magician was hit by the sword of an undead and collapsed. The magician next to him killed the undead instead. It didnt matter if the undead had 100% health, it couldnt stand up to the organized attack from the magicians. It was because the intentions between colleagues had become mutual.Thanks to that, Dark Edens organizational abilities in a group became solidified with every day that passed.And they managed to advance to the 50th floor quicker than expected.The boss monster Surka which appeared on the 50th floor was even stronger than the previous bosses that they had met.But thanks to the rise in organizational ability and strategy execution, this boss felt like an easier opponent for Dark Eden.

No, to be exact the troops had found the previous bosses harder. Thanks to the rise in solidarity, the level 650 middle ranked boss wasnt an even opponent for Dark Eden anymore.While Surka summoned many undead and used various curse spells, his health reached rock bottom after 20 minutes of being surrounded by Dark Eden.

Kuaaaa!

Surkas health ran out and a piece of flesh fell off him. The rest of the skin collapsed to reveal thin bones.

-Your level has risen.

A wonderful message floated in front of him after Surka died.Ark also noticed cross marks above more than half of Dark Edens heads.

Huhuhu, experience really is rushing in from monsters in this place.

Ark giggled and opened his character information window.

Character NameArkRaceHumanAlignmentGood +500Nobility TitleBaronFame21,785 (+500)Level403ProfessionDarkSoulTitleCat Knight, Caretaker of the People, Jacksons Hero, Great Adventurer, Magic Institute Member, Seutandals HeroHealth7,625 (+475)Mana7,815(+225)Spiritual Power956Strength784 (+58)Agility1,029 (+90)Stamina1,269 (+45)Wisdom205 (+10)Intelligence1,417 (+5)Luck209 (+60)Flexibility268Art of Communication79Affection129 (+10)Resilience483Dark Fog74Special stat: Knowledge of Ancient Relics233* Equipment item effectsGuardian Armour of the Merpeople (Armour): Water Attribute Resistance +100%, Penalty based on water is nullified.

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

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

Wolfs Feet (Shoes): Agility + 40, Movement Speed +40%, Attack Speed +10%, Jump is available

*<Animal King> Set effect: Strength + 20, Agility + 20, Stamina +20, Defense +40

Promised Sword(Two-handed Sword): Strength +20, Stamina +10

Warriors Transcripts (Shoulder Blades): Strength + 3

Galgashis Fur (Mantle): Cold resistance + 100%, Agility +20, Magic Protection is automatically activated when health is less than 50%.

Adelaines Necklace (Necklace): Defense + 40, Affection +10, Blessing of the Sea available

Rarukans Ring (Ring): Agility + 10, Attack Speed +10%, Critical Hit +8%, Dark Protection available

Arks Ring (Ring): Strength + 5, Agility + 5, Stamina + 5, Wisdom + 5, Intelligence + 5, Sudden Increase in Power available

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

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