ACT 7 Hunting the Dead

Hrmm.this is also useable.

Darkness began to spread in the forest.One wolf was shaking his tail and collecting fruits.A wolf with flowing black fur, it was Ark who had transformed into a wolf.Ark had arrived at Hagel Forest 1 hour after he left the village. The distance would only take Radun 20 minutes, but Ark walked there. That was because Radun wouldnt be able to carry Buksil and Sapjil as well.

Huhuhu, I can now relax and scrape as much items as I want.

For more than a fortnight, he had been worried about bag space and hadnt been able to pick up everything.Because of that, his stress had piled up. But now he didnt have to worry about his bag thanks to the pigs. No, he had to collect as much items as possible and kill them before finding Magaros laboratory.So Ark kept on singing as he scraped up items.He found various magic ingredients using Magic Detection in the forest and he couldnt just give it up.

Grrrrrrr!

Monsters also appeared in the dark forest.However, Ark would just neatly slice it up before piling the items in his bag.After passing through the ice caves and the wilderness, Ark had raised his stats and there was also the dark attribute bonus.the monsters in the vicinity werent capable of threatening Ark.Regardless of the level, but there werent a lot of people with Arks stats.Therefore he had an edge while hunting.Every time Arks bag became heavier, Buksils and Sapjils face became increasingly gloomy.Once Arks bags became full then they knew one of them would have to go and die. The two pigs trembled at the idea of becoming the wolfs lunch.

Now Ive collected most of the ingredients here so shall I earnestly begin the quest?

Ark cracked his furry hands and began to explore.But the forest was huge and it wasnt easy to find a clue. Then Radun who had been snooping around licked its tongue and pointed in one direction.At the same time, a message window appeared in front of Ark.

-Radun has used Stalking.Radun has found suspicious footprints leading into the forest.

When Radun used Stalking, the outline immediately became clear.

Footprints? Beseutyu only sent his grandson and assistant. Yet these footprints indicate at least 20 people. Did I find something unrelated to my quest? No, you never know so I should check it out anyway.

Ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Radun nodded proudly and indicated the front.The footprint tracks were headed in that direction.Ark followed Radun and tracked the prints deeper into the forest. How far did he go? He was walking along a wide road when he suddenly heard a feeble groan from ahead of him. When he approached, he saw that someone injured was leaning against a tree trunk.

Blue skin.a Myutal. Perhaps..?

Ark came closer and shook his shoulders.

Are you okay?

Ughw-who are you?

Im here at the request of Beseutyu who lives in the Valley Village.

B-Beseutyu..teacher sent you?

The person raised his head in pain and looked at Ark.

What on earth happened? Where is Beseutyus grandson?

Dammit.

Ark knew what he needed to do in this situation.Usually when he met injured NPCs during a quest, the NPCs health would not automatically recover. He had to use recovery potions or magic to heal them.The NPC might be holding a clue for the quest so he couldnt let him die.Ark felt like crying and handed him one of his Ummas Sap.After the person recovered their energy, he began to explain the whole story.

Thank you. Im called Guran and I work as an assistant for Beseutyu Teacher. I recently received Teachers request to investigate this forest. But suddenly I met the Nakujuk clan.

Nakujuk?

Theyre the Myutal that dominates the Northern region. Unlike us, theyre aggressive Myutal and wont hesitate to kill people. I dont understand why, but they have something to do with the disappearance of the dead that Teacher was investigating. I witnessed them putting the deceased onto a wagon with an iron window and leaving. Thenwhile I was looking for a way to inform Teacher, I ended up being attacked.

So what about Bona?

I dont know. After they hit me and I collapsed, they seemed to have dragged him somewhere. Ugh, I dont know what those guys are doing with Bona.

I have to hurry. Please guide me.

Guran became surprised at Arks words.

Youre going to help?

Why would I come here if I wasnt thinking of helping?

B-but those guys are the Nakujuk. There are also 20 of them. Even though Ive experienced all sorts of hardships, I was easily defeated by them. You dont know me yet youre still offering to help?

How can I let them go when they are capturing innocent people?

Guran looked at Ark with foolish eyes.He seemed quite impressed.Indeed, it was natural to be impressed with someone who suddenly appeared and offered to risk their life to help him. But Ark had no interest in Bonas life.He was willing to risk his life because of the quest. And the reason for the hurry in his voice.

Okay, the appearance of the hero who cant tolerate injustice. Ah, good. Now moving on to the next scene.

Buksil was standing behind the magic projector and gave a thumbs up. It was the excuse he used to follow Ark, but Buksil was actually filming. When Ark killed the monster, Buksil filmed it on the projector. Unlike a professional who needed to cut and edit, all he needed to do to film a dramatic scene was turn the projector on and off.

At first, Buksil was quite annoying.However, Ark came up with an idea after watching the recordings. It was the first time Ark had seen a scene of his gameplay. But the scene of a black wolf swinging his sword against a giant monster surrounded by trees looked quite cool.

Wouldnt it be the same with other people watching this scene?

Once he got the idea, Ark started to become greedy.Since he was transformed into Dark Wolf, his identity didnt matter. So he started putting on an act.Guran looked at Buksil and asked with a perplexed face.

Whats that?

Its nothing.

Ark smiled and shook his head.

Over there.

Guran hid in the bushes and pointed in front of him.After accompanying him for a few minutes, Ark was able to find the Nakujuk clan. Located inside the forest, a group of approximately 20 Nakujuk were gathered around a campfire.

Theyre not blue?

The Myutal had different skin colours according to their tribes, with the Nakujuk being red. And next to the carriage Guran mentioned was a cage. It was dark but he could clearly see the deceased souls that were trapped. Of course, he had no interest in the dead.He was there to rescue Beseutyus grandson, Bona.Guran looked at Ark with a worried expression.

It is impossible by yourself. Ill help as well.

No, arent you still recovering? Please leave it to me.

Ark shook his head with a confident expression.The level of the Nakujuk clan was between 290~300.Meanwhile, Ark had reached level 238 in the wilderness. With that dark attribute bonus, that was level 333.Now it was time for Ark to judge his combat power. Since he got quite a lot of stat bonuses, his abilities were higher compared to his level. And the darkness attribute bonus didnt simply raise his level. It also increased all his stats by 40%.That meant that the stat bonuses he received were also similarly applied. When considering users with 30~40 levels more than him, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that his combat power was a lot higher.

But I cant just blindly rush in.

Dedric, go lure five or six guys.

Understood, Master.

Dedric flew towards the Nakujuks campsite.Usually it wasnt easy for a monster to approach campsites.However, Dedric specialized in these sorts of things. And since he was always luring enemies during battle, he developed new professional skills.

-Your pet Dedric has learned a new skill.Taunt (Beginner, active): Rile up your opponents and induce a strong hostility in them towards you. The angrier you make your opponent, the longer the duration will last and there will be a wider range of effects.

<Range of 10 metres. Mana consumption: 30>