Ark

ACT 3 Caretaker of the People

“Are you ready?”

“Yes!”

Ronnie laughed and nodded his head.  Ark and Ronnie were headed towards Ciel. After crossing the shopping centre, Agathe was pacing in front of the Seirun workshop’s door.

“Well, have you finally come?”

“I was a bit late.”

“What’s this? Is that an explanation?”

Agathe shouted with a displeased expression.

“I told you it was urgent! If we don’t have the ingredients for one day then do you know how much damage the Seirun workshop will receive? A common person like you couldn’t possible imagine it! Damn, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted a foreigner. Anyway, that’s how it is.  Did you find the items?”

“I found them.”

“Then it is lucky. Give it to me quickly.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Ark scratched the back of his neck and murmured. Then Agathe’s face twisted up and he made a ridiculous expression.

“What? You don’t want to? What did you say?”

“You heard me.  I don’t want to.”

“What are you doing? Did you break your promise to come back within the time limit because of some unreasonable dislike? Ah, I see. Damn, as expected of a foreigner. I was too busy and just employed anyone but I made a big mistake.”

“Is it like that?”

Ark snorted and murmured, causing Agathe to wrinkle his nose like an orangutan and said.

“Now give me the box with the Seirun trademark stamped on it. Even if you are a foreigner in Bristania, you can’t just run around wildly! If you don’t take it out immediately then I’ll call the guards to grab you!”

“Guards….. That’s not a bad idea. Please do it.”

“What, what the?”

Agathe flinched at Ark’s retort and closed his mouth.  Then Ark grinned and muttered.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were calling the guards.”

“Yes. What are you thinking……?”

“Why? Do what you want and call them! Why aren’t you calling them? Is it a problem if the guards are called? It would be difficult if the guard checks the contents of the box…..”

“T-that’s impossible!”

“Ah, did I get a bullseye?”

Ark smirked and murmured. Then Agathe made a puzzled expression and his countenance changed.

“You, did you open the box?”

“Then?”

“That is an obvious violation of the contract!”

“Yes, I admit it. Alas, I have committed a serious sin. I broke a promise so I should be punished…… Therefore call the guards. Let’s call them in order to distinguish between right and wrong.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You think that you discovered a weakness just because you saw the contents of the box.  The contents are 100% safe and have no faults. We produce potions for the entire southern area of Bristania and even the royal family recognizes our goods…..”

“Shut up, you bastard.”

Ark used his specialty of changing completely by 180 degrees. Ark’s face seemed to turn demonic as curses emerged from his mouth. After experiencing a level 366 Intimidation, Agathe’s face turned as pale as a sheet. Ark stepped closer and growled.

“Okay, I admit it. I examined the contents.  The potions that Seirun makes is 100% safe. While it is safe for people who use it, it isn’t safe for the people who make the potion!”

Agathe was silenced Ark’s words. Yes, Ark had figured out the secret of Seirun workshop.

This was the information that Ark confirmed from the items in the box. The secret ingredient in the popular potions sold throughout the southern Bristania was the Karadaras Claw. Of course, Ark knew about the poisonous herb thanks to Food Worshipper.  Of course, the Karadaras claws within the potion were perfectly refined so they were completely safe. It was common knowledge that the production of canned goods got rid of a variety of toxic chemicals such as hydrochloric acid during the process. However, the labourers who handled the Karadaras claws weren’t completely safe.  Because of that, Ark was puzzled after he confirmed the poisonous herb. When investigating the cause of the mysterious disease, he thought it was because of an error in the manufacturing process.

But when he examined the contents, the mysterious illness wasn’t caused by a simple mistake. They were slowly poisoned by inhaling the toxins emitted by the Karadaras claw! As the owner of Seirun workshop, Agathe should know that. If there was a mistake in the herb combination process then it would obviously become poisoned! It was impossible not to know the poisonous plant was dangerous. However, the people who worked in the workshop were poisoned by the Karadaras claw. Even if the appropriate safety measures were taken, the residents of the slums should’ve at least be given antidotes so they wouldn’t suffer any pain. However, Agathe wasn’t visibly interested.

‘Does he not care if the residents of the slums are killed?’

Sparks rose from Ark’s eyes as he had a crazy idea. This guy couldn’t be forgiven!

“You are misunderstanding something……”

Sweat dripped down Agathe’s face as he stuttered.

“W-what do you want? As expected, is it money? Okay, then I’ll do it. If you hold your tongue then I’ll give you 500 gold, no, 1000 gold. How about it? Huh? It is a huge amount that a commoner like you can’t never see in your entire life. Isn’t this the reason why you came? Just sit back, close your mouth and you’ll get 1000 gold.”

“I said shut up you bastard.”

Ark growled and Agathe flinched back, thinking that he was going to be hit. But Ark just sighed and shook his head.  In fact, the residents of the slums wanted to rush here to kill Agathe when they heard. The person who stopped it was Ark. Ark determined that it wouldn’t be useful for the residents to kill Agathe. So he persuaded the residents to allow him to go talk to Agathe.

“Okay I will not tell the guards.”

“R-Really?”

“Instead, there are three conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“The residents who suffered in the meantime should receive 1000 gold consolation money while the ones unjustly fired should be rehired at three times the salary. Of course, this is after the perfect safety precautions is taken, which is the first condition.”

This was one of the reasons why Ark stopped the poor residents. Although the residents of the slums were relieved of their pain thanks to Ark, their living situation had suffered thanks to the price of the medicine. Even if they recovered their health, there was no possibility of Agathe rehiring them. So he devised a way for the residents to live.

“W-what? What did you just say? If I pay that consolation money than the Seirun workshop will perish immediately!”

“Yes, that’s it. The circumstances don’t matter. When you think about it, the residents of the slums were going to die.”

“T-that……”

Agathe made a firm expression and shook his head.

“That condition is unacceptable! I can’t allow Seirun to perish!”

“Well, you control the entire southern region of Bristania so it is difficult to imagine that you can be ruined by just that.”

“What?”

“The Seirun workshop is important to Ciel so maybe I should tell the King of Bristania instead of the guards? What would happen to Seirun then?”

“You cheeky fellow. Do you think the King of Bristania will believe the words of a mere foreigner like you? No, do you think you can even appear in front of His Majesty?”

Agathe suddenly hit back strongly.  If the problem expanded then there was no guarantee of Seirun’s safety even if he had the King’s ear. Agathe would immediately receive punishment.  However, there were various high ranking officials in Ciel who were susceptible to bribes. It was possible for him to stop the words of the poor and a foreigner from reaching the King’s ear using his connections.

“Ark-nim has the qualifications!”

Suddenly someone’s voice was heard from inside the alley. Confusion spread across Agathe’s face who turned around.

“What the? What bastard, huck, you?”

“Yes. I am the branch manager of Ciel’s Magic Institute, Rabent.”

It was the magician in the Magic Institute that Ark met when he first came to Ciel who said he was a fan of Ark.   Rabent nodded towards Ark and began to talk again.

“Although I don’t know everything that is going on, Ark-nim is a member of the Magic Institute with a good standing.”

“M-member of the Magic Institute? The guy who looked for the transporter’s luggages?”

“Ark’s character is someone who can’t ignore it when he sees someone in trouble.”

Rabent said as he once again sent Ark a respectful look. He had completely misunderstood Ark.   After all…..

“It is his character that made him work at the slums. Before Ark-nim came here, he dropped by the Magic Institute and told me most of the circumstances. It is quite a serious act. If Agathe-nim refuses this request then Ark will use his qualification as a full member of the Magic Institute to draw attention to this matter.  Will Agathe-nim be okay if that happens? I’m talking about my Master. He does have some influence in Bristania.”

Agathe’s face turned white and terrified at the magician’s words.

“After hearing about the injustices of Seirun workshop, I’m honestly ashamed that the Magic Institute traded with you. I’m a mere branch manager so I can’t fathom how much anger my Master would feel.”

Fury flickered in Rabent’s eyes as he looked at Agathe with contempt.

“But if Agathe-nim accepts the polite request of Ark-nim who cares about the plight of the poor then I will bury this fact. I’ll speak clearly. This isn’t for Agathe-nim but because of my respect for Ark-nim who cares deeply about the poor.”

Ark hadn’t known it until now but only 20 users who received the title of ‘Magic Institute Member’ and no more than 500 NPCs. Therefore, the Master of the Magic Institute had a special interest and affection for those members. And this was the magic kingdom, where the Magic Institute’s influence was stronger than anywhere else.

‘Indeed, it is great that I know someone high ranking.’

Ark suddenly realized the importance of connections. Without even needing to go to the Master, Agathe completely gave up as soon as he heard Ark was a full member of the Magic Institute.

“Now, will you accept the conditions?”

Agathe started talking politely as he realized who was holding the sword. Ark gestured towards Rabent and thanked him for helping before continuing.

“What do you say? That is just the first condition.”

“Then what’s the second condition?”

“Pay me 2000 gold.”

“W-what?”

“That’s the fee and the costs of the ingredients for treating the residents of the slums.  I’ll tell you in advance, but don’t think about accusing me of anything. Frankly, I think I should get 10,000 gold for my efforts. But after consulting with Rabent, he told me that it really would be a problem if Seirun workshop collapses. Do you understand? This is the limit of what I know Seirun can pay.”

Ark replied with a wicked grin. No matter the situation, Ark still took any opportunity to do some business. He knew that Agathe would decisively refuse the initial 1000 gold. After twisting the sword in, Ark used the opportunity to get compensation for the poor as well as 2000 gold for himself.  He had originally decided on 1000 gold. However, Seirun really couldn’t be allowed to collapse so Ark managed to grasp the full range of Seirun’s assets from Rabent. When Ark presented the offer of 1000 gold for the poor and 2000 for Ark, he had taken into full account the maximum amount Seirun could afford. Since even his assets were identified, Agathe declared defeat while sweating.

“Fine. I’ll pay the compensation. But I can’t pay the money immediately or Seirun really will collapse. Shouldn’t you already know that if you grasped the full extent of my assets? I’ll divide the compensation into 3 and pay every two months. If you don’t accept that then I can’t do anything.”

Ark smiled at Agathe’s suggestion and nodded.

“That’s not a bad idea. Of course you will write a contract. If you don’t keep the agreement than the Magic Institute will seize Seirun and distribute its assets to the slum residents and me.”

“How cruel!”

“I don’t want to hear those words from you.”

Ark said with a smirk. After threatening Agathe, he received two contracts. One for Ark and one for the poor residents.

“Now, you should work diligently to pay off your debts.”

Ark shook the contract and laughed, causing Agathe to grind his teeth. Just as Ark was turning around, he hesitated and said.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you the third condition!”

“W-what? I don’t have anything else to give!”

“Why are you so startled? Don’t worry. I’m not asking for more money. Just to borrow your face.”

“Borrow my face?”

Agathe asked in a puzzled voice.  Ark lifted his finger and pulled Agathe’s face down. Once it reached a suitable height, he smiled and spoke to Ronnie.

“Ronnie it’s your turn.”

Ppak-!

“Ugh!”

Ronnie bent down ran into his face like a missile. Agathe fell to the ground with a bloody face. While Agathe rolled around holding his nose, Ark squatted down beside him and said.

“Is this really okay?”

Ronnie nodded with a stoic expression and replied.

“Yes.”

“Fine, if you are satisfied with that.”

Ark praised Ronnie and stroked his hair.

“Do you understand? Apart from your mother who almost died, none of the other residents were in a really severe state. Only your mother was in a serious situation. That is because she endured the symptoms and continued working even after being punished by the Karadaras claw. Even when is wasn’t possible to move, she clenched her teeth and endured it.”

Ark grabbed Ronnie’s shoulder tightly and emphasized his words.

“It was for you. So that you could be proud of her. And she is proud of you.”

“Ark hyung.”

Ronnie embraced Ark while crying.  Ark comforted Ronnie and returned to the slums. The slum residents passed the written contract among them before Tarun opened his mouth.

“How did this…..?”

“It’s not a big deal.  After visiting the Seirun workshop and telling them about your difficulties with the disease, Agathe willingly wrote the contract.”

Ark didn’t explain everything to the residents of the slums. Anyway, the poor would have to work for Seirun again if they wanted to make a living so it wouldn’t help if they knew everything about Agathe and became stubborn. After the whole incident was amicably resolved, the residents gathered around Ronnie.

“Meanwhile, I’m very sorry.”

“We acted like that around you without knowing the circumstances……”

“You don’t have to say anything.  I don’t expect you to forgive us.”

“It’s okay. My mother is healthy so that’s enough.”

Ronnie sniffled and replied in a cheerful voice. The watching Ark just laughed.

‘Yes, it is this boy.’

Ark couldn’t help laughing at his expression and nodded. In fact, Ark thought that Ronnie’s heart was too good after watching him with Agathe.  If Ark was in the same situation then he would’ve halfway killed him already.  However, Ark and Ronnie were different. The too mature child just head butted Agathe to relieve his anger and he easily forgave the residents of the slums who had bothered him. Ark was completely different.

‘Well, I got a share so this much is fine.’

Ark watched the residents of the slums and then stealthily withdrew. This time he started the work with really pure intentions. Although he extracted 2000 gold from Agathe, he had no intention of receiving anything from the poor residents. That’s why Ark sneaked out of the slums. After a while, Tarun looked around restlessly and ran up to Ark and grasped his hands.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“My business is already finished. I also have some other work to do…..”

“Why are you saying such upsetting things? Do you think we’re scum. You saved us. Not just from the sick but also from poverty. I realized a lot of things after seeing you. Treating the sick requires more than medical knowledge.  You really are a true caretaker!”

There was a lively sound effect and an information window he never even considered appeared.

‘Ha, this is also Nursing?’ Ark looked at the information window with amazement.

‘When I begged it didn’t appear but now it appear after the situation is over…… This system is really irritating.’

But it really was fortunate after he thought about it. If Miracle Nursing happened then Magaret might’ve been rescued more quickly. However, he wouldn’t have been able to help the other sick people. The slum residents would still be suffering and Ronnie would still be an outcast. Of course, Ark also wouldn’t have received the perk of 2000 gold.

“Ark hyung, the village uncles want to cook a meal for hyung.”

At that time, Ronnie came running.  Therefore, Ark missed the chance to disappear beautifully like the main character of a movie. Although they weren’t that well off, the slum residents wanted to thank their benefactor. They took out some beef jerky and a bottle of cheap booze. He was also surrounded by poor people who couldn’t wash properly.  But it wasn’t bad. No, he was in a very good mood as he watched the festivities.

“Isn’t this like a miracle? Being able to taste this beef jerky and drink alcohol is a miracle.”

The people around him laughed as Ark tried to eat the really chewy beef jerky.

‘Huhuhu, now my work in Ciel is ended.’

Ark walked to the centre of Ciel and laughed. While he helped Ronnie for other reasons, he also received significant benefits from it.

Putting aside the 2000 gold he would receive from Agathe, doing repeatable quests for 2 days only gave him 300 fame. But helping the slum residents for 1 day gave him 2100 fame! In addition, he did some repeatable quests to get information and received 40 fame. But was that all? It was slightly unexpected but Miracle Nursing occurred after everything was finished and he received an additional 400 fame.  That’s a total of 2,540 fame in just one day!

Thanks to that, Ark’s current fame was 8,565! Even if he learned the secret technique that cost 7000 fame, he would still have 1565 left! And Miracle Nursing also increased all his stats by 4. To receive this much rewards in a low level town! Whenever he received a title from Miracle Nursing, he always received a stat increase between 2~5. This time the bonus gained was 4 stats.  That meant the ‘Caretaker of the People’ title was hard to get.

‘Anyway, I’ve spent 3 days in Ciel. The immortality pill I entrusted to the Magic Institute has around seven hours remaining. I can learn the secret technique, test its function and then return to check the performance of the pill. Now, shall I go learn the skill?’

Ark headed towards the martial arts dojo with high hopes.

‘Eh? What is this?’

Ark walked the streets of Ciel with an embarrassed expression. The atmosphere in Ciel was now subtly different from when he disconnected at dawn. In particular, the common scene of villagers looking at him and then whispering caught his eye. Although he felt uncomfortable, Ark ignored this and headed towards the dojo. When Ark entered, the hobbit immediately came running.

“Ohh, you have come. I’ve been waiting since I’ve heard the news.”

“The news?”

“You don’t know? You’re a celebrity in Ciel now. Didn’t you help the poor residents of the slums? Although everything is being kept secret, people know that the sickness was somehow related to Seirun workshop and you came and solved it.”

The hobbit approached and whispered.

“As a matter of fact, Agathe from the Seirun workshop is someone who blatantly shows off his wealth and looks down on people so nobody really likes him. So news as spread that you punished Agathe.”

‘Ah, then the residents…..’

Ark now knew why the Ciel residents were gawking at him. While Ark disconnected for 4 hours, that was 12 hours to an NPC.  Ciel was right next to the slums, so in that time rumours had spread and reached the ears of the hobbit who looked at Ark and said.

“My eyes were definitely correct. You are a good person who doesn’t permit injustice so you are qualified to learn the founder’s secret technique. Finally the founder’s secret technique can be passed on!”

The hobbit praised Ark and gave him a thumbs up. The unreserved compliments turned his face slightly red. Although he blabbed on about ‘legend….,’ Ark disregarded it as he focused on learning the secret technique.

‘Now I can finally learn it.’

Ark approached the statue with an expectant face.  Just like before, the statue rotated and a scroll appeared.  A message window appeared in his head when he picked up the scroll.

Did that question even need to be asked? How much trouble did he go through to learn this skill?

He accepted with a cheerful voice and the scroll unwound and rolled around Ark. At the same time, a three dimensional hobbit sitting cross legged appeared beside him. Then he murmured at an incredible fast pace like a tape had been forwarded x4. It was all to pass down the Entrusted volumes. After the simple even finished, the skill information window appeared.

‘Eh? What is this?’

Ark’s face distorted strangely at the information window. Ark had believed the skill would have extravagant destructive power after hearing the hobbit was legendary. But he didn’t see that when he read the skill information. Yet the specific attack and damage was determined by a lottery? In addition, the founder died because a bad result came out? Wasn’t this an unlucky secret technique? No, looking at the details it was different from kung fu. Ark thought it would be a martial arts technique thanks to the ‘Kwon’ character in the name. The ‘Kwon’ referred to a book, not a kung fu technique.

‘Did I go through all this effort to raise my fame just to learn a skill like this?’

His head turned white with anger.

“I thought he was a hero who used kung fu techniques?”

“Hero? What do you mean?”

The hobbit tilted his head to one side and asked with confusion.

“You’re the one who said it. Wasn’t the founder of the dojo a legendary kung fu master? Didn’t he defeat the devil with his kung fu?”

“What did you say? I never said that. I said that the founder was famous for his luck which could either have a good effect or be so unlucky that he was stabbed by the devil.”

“What? That’s not……”

Ark was about to shout when he flinched and shut his mouth.  Ark realised that he had been thinking about it the wrong way.  Although Ark was now accustomed to the Bristania language, when he met the hobbit the first time his degree of understanding was only at 10.  So he couldn’t understand the important parts and put together a scenario based on what he heard.

‘Oh my god, then…..’

That’s right.  This happened because of the language communication problem. As expected, he should’ve spent money when needed. If he had bought the dictionary which gave him 100% understanding of the Bristania language then this wouldn’t have happened. Although he had built up all that fame during the last two days, he blew it all on a secret technique like this.

‘Oooh, my 7000 fame!’

Ark shook his head.

‘No, it’s still too early to be disappointed. I can’t judge the skill from the information window as it did require 7000 fame to learn. The skill might turn out to be surprisingly useable.’

Ark considered this and exited the town.

Chweeek, chweeek! When he entered the surrounding forest, the Kobolds immediately flocked to him. They were level 200 kobold. They were a suitable opponent to test the power of the Entrusted Volumes skill.

“Okay, shall I begin? Entrusted Volumes!”

Ark ran up to the kobold and used the skill. Then there was an intense flash and something like a slot machine appeared. There were various icons drawn on the three divided slots. The icons slowly changed until with a tak, tak, tak, it stopped. Then a huge fanfare like sound effect was heard and the information window appeared.

‘Byong hammer? What is this?’

Ark looked at the information window with confusion. What kind of effect was it? Judging by the name along, he couldn’t get a sense of its effect. But he didn’t worry about it too much because he could soon know the effects. The skill was activated and the Gwisal’s sword turned into a huge hammer.

“Hik, t-this is!”

It wasn’t only the appearance that changed.

Byong byong byong byong!

Whenever a kobold was attacked by the Byong hammer, it would make a squeaky sound. It also only did 1 damage.

‘What, this absurd skill…… Who on earth would use such a skill?’

Ark started at the stupid hammer and muttered.  What use would a Byong hammer be against monsters brandishing a sword or mace? It was really lucky that they were level 200 kobolds. If his sword turned into a hammer against high level monsters than he would be beaten to death.

‘No, I still don’t know all the uses of Entrusted Volume. There might be another kind of special effect. Yes, since it depended on luck there could be a good or bad effect. Maybe the Byong Hammer is the worst effect.’

He wanted to believe that. But Ark made a hopeless face the next time he used Entrusted Volumes. When the Byong hammer effect faded, he used it once again and received the ‘Braggart’ effect. Ark thought that the ‘Braggart’ effect was finally the right one when he saw the effects.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

It happened every time he swung his sword. A huge flash and deafening cry would occur. It was an absurd special effect!

‘Ohh, the damage seems to be incredibly high! As expected, this Entrusted Volumes skill is amazing! Just by looking, my damage seems to have risen incredibly high!’

Whenever he swung it, his sword flashed and roared! Ark looked at his sword with a proud expression. However, Ark saw that the kobolds were still composed from his attacks. Although there were really spectacular special effects, the kobolds actually only received 1 damage. Yes, just like the name the special effects were just a bluff to scare off the opponent. The skills after that weren’t much different from Byong hammer or Braggart. They were special effects that had no use in battle! Of course, some of the special effects could be used.

For 3 minutes, ‘Goblin Punch’ had a 50% chance of causing ‘Push’ or ‘Stun.’ The ‘Vile Thief’ was an effect which made monsters drop 1 copper and other similar effects. However, it was a lottery so none of the effects had a 100% chance of appearing. There was only a 10% chance of getting a good effect. In the case of the Goblin Punch, monsters were only pushed back 1~2 metres and Stun only lasted for 1~2 seconds. In addition, the ‘Vile Thief’ skill only applied to monsters who had money. And even if he gathered 100 copper, wasn’t that only 1 silver? That wasn’t the entire problem. Entrusted Volumes was a skill that consumed health instead of mana. It consumed 500 health with each use! If he used it three or four times then he would lose 1500~2000 health. After testing it a few times, he only had 1000 health. He could use it for fun against the kobolds. However, against a high levelled monster who knew what losing 500 health would do?

“Oh my god! This is an event skill!”

That was Ark’s conclusion after using Entrusted Volumes. Just like a profession, there were two types of skills.  One was the typical production or combat related skill while the other was a unique skill created for events or fun. The Entrusted Volumes was the second type. Certainly Entrusted Volumes was quite an interesting skill. But that was it. It was interesting but no help in combat. Of course, there were helpful skills like Goblin Punch. However, the skill consumed so much of his health that it was not useable.

“What did I grind fame for……”

Ark almost collapsed with disappointment.  Anger welled up. But Ark didn’t consider one simple fact. Why the Entrusted Volumes skill was so shabby compared to the Ghost Knight Corps skill. If it required 1000 more fame to learn then was it just a simple event skill? Ark hadn’t discovered it yet but there was a secret hidden in the Entrusted Volumes skill! But Ark didn’t know that so he felt like crying.

Ddiririri ddiririri.

While Ark was busy being frustrated, he suddenly heard a familiar sound. It wasn’t a sound in the game. It was the telephone ringtone in reality.

“What, in the morning?”

Who would be calling my house in the morning? Ark was in a 100% upset mode so he petulantly disconnected from the unit.

“Hello.”

Ark said when there was suddenly a scream in his ear.

“Hyun-woo, there’s trouble.”