Ark (Published Novel)

ACT 9: Rise, Rise 2nd Profession

Note: I’m going to change the chain skill ‘Dark Strike’ to ‘Dark Torrent.’ I had trouble translating this skill but there were two possible interpretations and I went with Dark Strike. However, that’s not possible anymorebecause there is another skill called Dark Strikeso I’m going to change it to Dark Torrent. However, I have no editor anymore so the changes will be slowly made.

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‘What is this?’

Ark stared at the hourglass. It was a boss monster.Of course he had hoped for equipment but all he got was a consumable.The Phantom Hourglass. It was an artifact with the power to control time. Although he was initially in an unbearable situation because of it, he discovered a lot of loopholes in its power after fighting Karma. In addition, Ark’s opponents were monsters. What use was there in ruining the armour or weapon of a monster?It was possible to use it to recycle junk items.

‘But there are only 5 uses.’

What kind of compensation was repairing 5 junk items for defeating a boss monster? Ark sighed with a depressed expression.

‘The boss was a little shabby……’

The compensation was also shabby.

‘Well, the artifact still has a unique ability so it might be useful. If I meet a strong boss then I can destroy its armour or weapon. Yes, there is no need to be disappointed. I didn’t enter looking for loot.’

Ark collected the Phantom Hourglass and then looked around. He had wandered around the entire crypt and even defeated the boss.The only thing left to do was look for clues about his profession change quest.While he was standing in front of the boss, Buksil’s eye approached and said.

“Ark-nim, it continues over on that side.”

His eyes confirmed that there was a small passage behind where he saw Karma for the first time.There was no reason to think about it.Ark entered the passage.He walked for approximately 50 metres. But why was a skeleton suddenly blocking the passage? There was still an enemy remaining after defeating the boss?Ark instantly prepared for battle after discovering the skeleton. But no matter how long he waited, the skeleton didn’t make any weird movements.

“This is just a statue?”

The eyeball muttered as it flew around.Just like the eyeball said, the skeleton was just a statue.The statue had numerous bruises on its surface and was standing in a defensive stance with its shield raised in front of it. It stopped people coming in from the outside……no, the skeleton actually blocked the passage. Although the passage behind it was seen, it wasn’t possible to get past the statue.

‘What the, this is? What should I do?’

Despite pushing or pulling, the statue would not budge.Although it didn’t look like metal, a metallic sound rang out when he tried to hit it with the sword.

‘Why is the statue in this place? Perhaps this is a clue for my profession quest?

There was no reason for a statue to be placed here. Ark meticulously looked over the statue. However, the only things visible on the surface of the statue were the bruises.

‘Is this statue really a clue towards my profession quest? Or is it just a statue that was trapped inside? I can’t enter because of the statue….ah, that’s right.’

“Buksil, go inside and confirm what is there.”

The statue blocked the narrow passage so well that even Racard who had changed into a bat couldn’t pass. However, there was enough space for one eyeball to get through.The eyeball became brave after Ark’s command and entered the gap. No, it tried to enter. Suddenly red flames rapidly emerged from the eyes of the statue and attacked Ark and the eyeball.

“Huk, what, what the? This guy…….was alive?”

Ark was totally caught off guard and tumbled to the ground as he received a critical hit. At the same time, something similar to iron powder fell from the surface of the statue. After it had all fallen off, the perfect form of the skeleton was revealed.Although its body only consisted of bone, the skeleton emitted a strong force that was completely different from other undead.The skeleton glared at Ark with red eyes and approached.

Clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Razak instantly stood in front of Ark and held up his shield.Kakakakak, sparks flew as iron met iron.But after a short moment, the skeleton pushed forward with his shield and created a shockwave that sent Razak flying.

“Razak! Damn, Racard quickly move him away!”

“U-understood. This way you stupid bones!”

Racard shouted towards the skeleton.The skeleton flinched and stopped running up to Razak. It looked at Razak and Racard dumbly then ran up to Ark and said (?).

Clack clack, clack clack clack clack? Clack clack clack clack!

“Eh? What the? Master, wait a minute!”

Racard shouted with a surprised expression.

“What the? He’s trying to kill us.”

“This guy is asking if Master is the Truthseeker. If you are then he isn’t our enemy. He is the summon of Hero Maban.”

“W-what? Hero Maban’s summon?”

Ark stopped attacking and asked with confusion.

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

“He thinks we were rude for not recognizing a senior.”

Clack clack clack clack! Clack clack? Clack clack clack clack, ttadadak!

“Hehehe, rude? We are honourable pets fighting for our Master. There is no need for us to apologize.”

Racard looked between the two skeletons with no interest and interpreted.Well, Racard was the only one who understood the foreign language so it was good that he was there while the two skeletons were talking.Anyway, Ark looked at the skeleton and remembered the hints for his profession change quest.The person who has forgotten the time in the true darkness will welcome you.The true darkness meant the underground crypt.Hero Maban’s had slept for hundreds of years before Ark appeared in front of him so he had forgotten time.

‘All the hints for my quest have been solved. All that’s left is to change professions. Then wouldn’t the skeleton hold the key for my profession quest?’

Ark was thinking that when something interrupted him.Razak and the skeleton who had been talking suddenly tilted their head to one side and asked.

Clack clack clack? Clack clack clack clack?

“He asked if you’ve met someone else before meeting him?”

“Meet? Is he talking about Karma?”

“That’s right, Karma. He asked how did you do it?”

“I defeated him…… Uh, what? I didn’t defeat him?”

Ark asked in a concerned face as the skeleton shook his head. After thinking for a while, the skeleton shook it off and continued talking.

“He asked if you have the qualifications to prove that you are the descendant of Hero Maban.”

“This thing?”

Ark pulled out the Three Marvels that had been combined into one disc. The skeleton stared at the disc as he seemed lost in his memories.The atmosphere became heavy as Racard continued interpreting.

“It is a long story. But he will explain the reason why Hero Maban called you here.”

The skeleton guided Ark into the passage he had blocked.How long did he follow the skeleton?After 50 metres, a small space the size of a living room appeared. In the corner there was a pile of old ingredients covered in dust and a small spring flowed into a well on one side.The traces showed that someone who wasn’t an undead lived there.In the centre of the room there was someone sitting down cross-legged. The dead person just sat down in that position like he was a mummy.Who had lived and died in this place?In addition, why had he died in a lotus position like a monk?While Ark looked doubtful, the skeleton slowly approached and kneeled before the dead person before speaking.Whatever he said caused Racard to burst out screaming.

“Heeek! M-Master!”

“What the? What is it?” What did he say?”

“……This mummy is…..Hero Maban!”

“What?H-Hero Maban? This mummy?”

Ark looked at the mummy with a stunned expression.It was a name he had been hearing since he started the game, Hero Maban. One of the 7 heroes and the founder of Ark’s profession, Dark Walker.But none of the beast clans or even his lover Adelaine knew where he had died.He had turned into a mummy in the underground crypt…..!

“Why on earth? It is impossible for Hero Maban to have died locked in here…..”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack.

“Of course this is Hero Maban.”

Racard interpreted and the skeleton instantly sighed and sat down. Ark also sat down on the spot.

-Clack clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (I am Anguradon. The undead who protected Hero Maban.)

Racard sat down on Anguradon’s shoulder and simultaneously translated his words. Anguradon struggled with his explanation before talking again.

-Clack clack, clack clack clack? (Have you looked around the city above the underground crypt?)

“Yes….I had to find the clues for my profession change quest.”

-Ttadadak, clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (Then it will be easy to explain. That is the reason why the dying Hero Maban called the Truthseeker here.)

“Because of the city?”

Ark asked and Anguradon instantly looked upset. Anguradon’s subsequent explanation was startling.The original name for the City of the Dead was Oberium. Before the Dark Century occurred, it was a city in Seutandal ruled by a brave warrior. It was also the people of Oberium, who exchanged with the continent while the Nakujuk and Baran were still barbarians in the grassland. It was the reason why there were no records of them in the Baran clan’s history.When the Dark Century was at its peak, the kingdom with the strongest forces was Oberium. Compared to the continent, Oberium was invaded but such dark power that it had already become a ruin.

“But why is it like this now?”

-Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (It is because of the terrifying power of the Dark Lord who terrorized the world. It will be easier to watch it then listening to me explain.)

Then Anguradon took out a memory crystal present in the room. When Ark received the memory crystal, a panorama like picture appeared.

‘This is……?”

The landscape that appeared was somewhat familiar.Yes, it was looking down on Oberium the city of the dead.The landscape that appeared was from before Oberium had become a ruin. Just like Selebrid the capital city of Schudenberg, Oberium was a huge and gorgeous city. And thousands of Oberium’s soldiers wearing shiny armour in a square. The time period was near the end of the Dark Century. The assembled soldiers had gathered to help the 7 heroes fight against the Dark Lord.They geared up and confirmed their determination. Shortly before they headed to the continent, a dark shadow suddenly crept over their heads. Fear spread over their faces as the warriors raised their heads.Confusion also spread over Ark’s face.

‘T-that, the Rwigenberg!’

Yes, the huge skyray had appeared above the soldier’s heads! It was the aerial fortress Rwigenberg that the red man had seized and disappeared with previously.The warriors mobilized their magic and arrows and waged a war against the Rwigenberg.Then the Rwigenberg’s mouth opened and a black air current flowed out. The warriors enveloped by the black air current screamed and rolled on the ground. And…..the bodies of the warriors started changing slowly.

‘The dead? Doesn’t that look like the dead? Then the dead wandering around Seutandal……!’

Yes, the identities of the dead wandering Seutandal were the previous residents of Oberium. Here the video was lost as the memory crystal was broken.Unlike the current crystals, the ancient spells on the memory crystal shattered it once it was played once.Anguradon started talking again after the crystal broke.

-Ttadadadadak, clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (The magic you saw was the ultimate curse magic that the Dark Lord created near the end of the Dark Century. The Dark Lord aimed the results of his magical experiments towards Oberium which was the most threatening forces at the time. If he had completed the ultimate destructive magic then the world would’ve ceased to exist.)

Ark was reminded of words from the Wolrang elder.When the Dark Century was ending, the Dark Lord had sent his most powerful weapon the Rwigenberg to Seutandal. Ark had wandered ‘why?’ when he heard those words but now he knew the answer to those questions.It made no sense to send the most powerful weapon to attack the Baran clan when the Dark Lord was being threatened by the 7 heroes.But he understood after seeing the contents of the crystal.The Dark Lord had sent the Rwigenberg to stop Oberium from sending reinforcements. Oberium who had ruled Seutandal was completely destroyed and the residents turned into the dead. These dead people were different from the normal undead.

-Clack clack clack clack……clack clack clack. (Although Oberium’s sacrifice was painful, the 7 heroes were able to defeat the Dark Lord thanks to the absence of the Rwigenberg. But that didn’t mean the end of the Dark Century. The 7 heroes…..no, Hero Maban knew that.)

Anguradon looked at Hero Maban with melancholy eyes then continued.

-Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack. (While everyone was drunk on the joy of victory, Hero Maban was worried about the future. One day the Dark Lord would be resurrected. And if the Dark Lord is resurrected then the world will be threatened by the ultimate curse magic again.)

The magic that the Dark Lord had completed during the end of the Dark Century had only been used once against Seutandal. The continent had never directly experience the fear so they were unfamiliar with the magic. But Hero Maban knew that the Dark Lord would rise again and threaten the world with his magic.While the other heroes joyfully celebrated on the continent, Hero Maban looked for the door to this dimension by himself and found it. He used the knowledge he gained from fighting against the forces of darkness to study the curse magic.He also did it for Oberium who met a tragic fate right at the end…….But Hero Maban couldn’t solve the secret of the magic.

-Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack. (Hero Maban had no choice but to use his final method.)

Anguradon clenched his fists and looked at Hero Maban. A skeleton…..only bones remained so Anguradon couldn’t cry.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack. (It was to accept the curse magic into his body in order to find a technique to resist the magic.)

Ark finally knew the answer to all his questions after hearing Anguradon’s words. Yes, he finally realized how Hero Maban had died. He used his own life to figure out the secret to the magic.That was also the reason why he led Ark who was the Truthseeker here.He sacrificed his own life in order to convey the secret of the curse magic t the next generation. That was probably the reason why he hadn’t visited the mermaid queen Adelaine like he promised.Just as Ark was thinking this. Adelaine’s necklace that was on his chest started trembling.Ark grabbed the necklace and looked at Hero Maban’s remains.

‘What’s this? Why does it want me to go there?’

It was hundreds of years later yet the necklace was still filled with devotion for him. Why did he purposely cut himself off from the other heroes and his sweetheart? It was impossible for somebody sane to act like that.

Ark honestly couldn’t understand his behaviour.No, he didn’t want to understand. But he still managed to elicit true devotion from other people. Anguradon also displayed tremendous loyalty to Hero Maban by staying by his side and defending him for hundreds of years.

“Huk huk huk, he is a hero. This guy is a real hero. I’m fiercely impressed. But the descendant of that hero……”

Tears dripped from the eyeball before he looked at Ark.Hero Maban probably hadn’t imagined that his descendant would be like this. However, Anguradon didn’t know Ark’s character and just spoke in an excited voice.

-Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack! (I had been waiting for you. I verified the evidence of Hero Maban’s selection with my own eyes. Just like Hero Maban predicted, the Truthseeker has come and he can receive the secret of the curse magic.)

Anguradon stood up and approached Hero Maban.Then he stared at him with sad eyes before reaching towards the jaw and crushing it. Then the mummy remains turned into dust and two precious stones fell out.One was a shining gem that burned while the other black gem emitted a special aura. Anguradon extended the first shining stone to Ark.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (With this it is possible to receive some of the dark magic that Hero Maban left behind. He left some of his experience and power along with the knowledge of the curse he studied. Truthseeker, receive his legacy. Insert it into the Three Marvels and receive his power.)

‘Finally my second profession!’

Ark swallowed his saliva and received the gem.Although he had heard everything about the Dark Lord’s resurrection, Ark cared more about his second stage profession.When Ark’s trembling hands inserted the precious gem, a tremendous light was emitted from the Three Marvels disc and an information window appeared.

Was that even an impossible choice?

“Change! Change! Change!”

The light that was emitted by the disc was absorbed by Ark’s body.

‘Finally my second profession!’

Ark looked at the information window with an impressed face.While he was still reading the information, Anguradon handed him the black precious gem and spoke.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (Hero Maban who had sacrificed his life made preparations to pass on his knowledge. Come on, take this. Please accomplish Hero Maban’s last wish.)

“That…..is mine!”

Then a dark shadow abruptly flew from the passage towards the gem.Ark was completely caught off guard while his summons looked on with confusion. But is seemed like Anguradon had already expected as he turned his body and hit the dark spirit with his shield.

“Kuaaak….how…..?”

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack. (Did you think I’d never know your interior motive? If you had been destroyed then I would’ve died as well. My living existence is proof that you were alive.)

“So it was like that….?”

-Clack clack clack, ttadadadak, ttadak. (Yes, I just pretended that I didn’t know anything. It was in order to convey Hero Maban’s knowledge to the Truthseeker. But everything is over and I have no business anymore. I had been waiting for this day. There is no use trying to escape. You and I are one body. My duty is over so I have no lingering wish to remain in this world.)

Anguradon swung his sword at the black spirit which fell to the ground. Then the black aura flared and it escaped at an absurd speed outside.

“Kuaaaak! No. Like this……I can’t die…… If it’s like this…..I won’t die alone…… The seal has loosened…..I’ll drive this place to eternal ruin!”

-Clack! Clack clack clack clack! (Damn, did I miss?)

“What’s going on? Who is he?”

-Clack clack clack clack. (He is Karma.)

“Karma? But I already killed him……..”

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack, clack clack. (No, he did not die. He just pretended to die. The fact that I’m alive is the evidence. Because that fellow and I were born from one body.)

Anguradon suddenly revealed a new secret.Karma was Anguradon’s alter ego.After Hero Maban absorbed the curse magic, Anguradon had been watching over him for hundreds of years. Although Anguradon was an undead, he was still affected by the influence of the curse magic. Anguradon gradually started to covet the gem inserted into Hero Maban’s body.In order to escape the effect of the magic, Anguradon was forced to reassemble his body using the bones from the crypt. But the bones that Anguradon removed became another living existence. It was just a body with a dreadful desire for the precious gem.Karma. Yes, Karma was just like his name. In a previous life, he had fallen into sin and his body became corrupted. Karma was literally the desire that Anguradon had shed!Anyway, Anguradon turned himself into a statue at the entrance of the passage in order to block Karma.Karma’s main body had been destroyed so the only thing keeping him here after hundreds of years was Anguradon.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack! Ttadak! (We have to hurry.He’ll go on a desperate rampage after he failed to obtain the gem. That fellow has accumulated his magic for hundreds of years. If he goes outside in this situation then there is no telling what he will do. Ugh!)

Anguradon said in a desperate voice before he suddenly moaned and sat on the ground. His legs had weakened before it changed into powder and scattered.

“What happened?”

-Clack clack clack……clack clack clack…..clack clack clack clack! (He….the guy is disappeared. He also knows it. So he is creating explosions in the city. You have to stop him!)

Anguradon handed him the gem and said.

-Clack clack, clack clack clack! (Although it is vexing, I’m stuck here. I am near Hero Maban. Before it is too late…..stop that fellow from going to the outside!)

Ark still didn’t fully understand what was going on but he didn’t question it closely.Ark received the precious gem. Then the gem melted into a liquid and wound around his body.It changed into a tattoo with a geometrical design that wrapped around both arms until his shoulders.

The power of the precious gem has been absorbed into your body.

Hero Maban truly loved this world and researched ways to oppose the darkness that threatened it until his very last breath. Unfortunately, that power is still unfinished.

Furthermore, his successor to the Dark Soul profession is too immature to understand the necessary spiritual enlightenment.

Fortunately, Hero Maban had foreseen this. His successor’s indication of his enlightenment is in the form of a tattoo. When you have obtained sufficient knowledge and experience in the soul stone, the tattoo will expand. When all the powers are opened then you will gain the full ability to fight against the darkness.

‘Eternal soul? Then Eternal Soul is another power of a Dark Soul?’

Ark’s head became complicated as he read the information window.Ark had finally changed to his secondary profession after many twists and turns. But half of Hero Maban’s true strength lay in Eternal Soul. He had to find special enlightenment of clues and loosen 10 seals. Why did he feel like this was just the start?In fact, he hadn’t paid much attention to the curse magic that the Dark Lord used but that changed now that he had the tattoos.

‘Anyway, that means I can become stronger?’

Ark understood as much as he could and decided to move on.There was no time to think about the skills and abilities he got from his secondary profession. There was no guarantee what Karma would do outside.

-Clack clack clack clack, clack clack clack! (Hurry. You have to stop him before my body totally collapses!)

“Okay, let’s go!”

Ark used Sprint and ran outside.Just as he was about to be followed by Razak.

-Clack clack…..clack clack. (The Truthseeker’s summon…..wait a minute)

Razak stopped and turned around.Anguradon looked at him before taking one bone from his ribs.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack! Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack. (This is the token of friendship I received from Hero Maban when we made the contract for the first time. I’ve kept it all my life. Although I’ve changed my body after it became corrupted, this part has stayed the same for hundreds of years. Hero Maban gave his knowledge to your Master so I wanted to give this to you.)

Anguradon passed him the rib bone and sighed.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack, ttadadak. (I can see the anguish in your eyes. In the past you lost the person who you’ve sworn allegiance to and now you have a new Master. I know. I’ve also had the same doubt after I evolved as an undead.)

Razak shook slightly at Anguradon’s words. In fact, Razak had been anguished for a long time.The only memory Razak had was of ‘loyalty.’ But when he was revived as an undead, the place he woke up was a dungeon. He had no doubts while he was a skull, but his intelligence increased after he evolved and he became confused about his identity.Anguradon who had lived for hundreds of years had seen through Razak’s anguish.

-Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack! (But you don’t have to hesitate even if you don’t know the past. You’re not living in the past anymore. You exist in the presence and have received a new name with a new master.Your faith is the only truth. Go, serve your master!)

Anguradon finished talking and lay on the ground.Every time he moved a bone had disappeared and it was already difficult for him to hold on. But Anguradon wasn’t even paying attention to his broken body and kept moving.He was heading towards the place where Hero Maban’s remains was scattered. Anguradon had lost both arms and legs before he reached his Master’s corpse and muttered in a hoarse voice.

-Ttadadadak, ttadadadak, clack clack clack clack……(Ohhhh, Master…..now…..now I can go to your side. I’ve waited for hundreds of years. I will hear the words ‘you did well’ from you….this moment…..this moment……)

Anguradon’s eyes became cloudy as he slowly disappeared.His body turned into powder which piled on top of Hero Maban’s remains. Razak silently looked at them and kneeled down.Then he disassembled a rib bone and inserted the one received from Anguradon.

Kwaaaaaaa, kwaaaaaa!

“What, what the? What is Karma doing?”

Ark looked around with a bemused expression after exiting the crypt. It was the City of the Dead. No, Oberium was embroiled in a storm. The enormous storm emitted a black aura.But there were no tremors in the earth. The storm only affected the dead present in Oberium.

“Kuaaaaak!”

One of the dead screamed with pain and rolled across the ground as he was wrapped in a black aura. After a short time, the body of the dead swelled like balloon.A white gas also rose from the body of the dead. It looked like the person was becoming a transparent gas. Yes, it was the soul of the residents of Oberium that had been stuck in the flesh of the dead for hundreds of years.The soul appeared grey when it emerged from the body and soon became a part of the storm.

‘Are the souls being swallowed by the darkness to strengthen it?’

“Aaaaaak, help me!”

The other dead were terrified and ran all over the place. They couldn’t grasp the situation but instinctively sensed the danger.

‘What am I going to do?’

He couldn’t just do nothing.Karma was definitely the one who caused this curse.Although the identity of the sphere wasn’t confirmed yet, Ark instinctively knew. The huge black sphere in the centre of Oberium became increasingly bigger as it swallowed more souls. Ark couldn’t imagine the damage that would occur once it reached its limit. It was his hunch.But he couldn’t think of what he should do.

‘Do I have to attack that black sphere?’

Ark was thinking that when something interrupted him.Ttadadadak!He abruptly heard a sound from behind him.It was Razak who had finally exited the crypt after being delayed by Anguradon. But as soon as Razak came outside to Oberium, he screamed and rolled on the ground. Ark realized that the situation was more serious than he thought.

“T-this!”

He had carelessly forgotten about it.Razak was an undead living in Oberium.If the dead was affected then wouldn’t Razak be affected as well? And in the end the dead were swallowed by the black air current. What if Razak faced the same situation……?

“Damn, it can’t be.

Curses emerged from Ark’s mouth.

TO BE CONTINUED