Ark

ACT 7 Lancel Village

“Chief Kim, have you ever heard of a user called Ark?”

“Ark?”

Kim Gwon-tae asked puzzled.

“Who is that?”

“One of the candidates.”

“Let’s see? I’ve never heard that name? No matter how smart I am, I cannot remember the names of the 2000 candidates. But why? Did you find some useful information?”

“No. Someone just mentioned him. Did you ever look at his reports?”

That person who asked was Ho Myung-hwan from the planning department. Ho Myung-hwan had received the request a few days ago, when Kang Mi-su from the reception desk asked about Ark. He heard the information that Ark had showed a remarkable achievement in the event quest. However, that day was when the planning department was overturned. A new event quest in the Brandt Mountains was suddenly cancelled. Thanks to that he forgot for a while, until a chance meeting at lunchtime made him remember. Kim Gwon-tae looked at the monitor and spoke in a bored voice.

“Go and ask Cain-ssi in the reference room. Because Cain-ssi manages and prints out all the notable reports. If there’s anything valuable then it would be there.”

“I understand.”

Ho Myung-hwan went and visited the reference room. Cain who was in charge of the reference room was organizing the reports that had come in yesterday.

“Hey, Cain-ssi. It’s been a while. Have you received any reports from the user Ark?”

“Ark?”

Cain looked over the email list and nodded.

“Yes, it has come in.”

“Have you printed it?”

“Um…………this user is included in the automatic deletion group.”

“Automatic deletion?”

“Yes, the test reports have been coming in for a few months and apart from the top 20%, all the other reports are thrown away. Because it is difficult for Chief Kim and the boss to read all 2000 reports, some were excluded early on. So these days I don’t even print out the emails and just delete them immediately.”

“Why are we paying them a salary just to not read their reports?”

“Who knows with Section Chief Ha?”

“Anyway, are there any emails that haven’t been deleted yet?”

“You want me to take out a copy?”

“Yes, please give me a copy. As I have some spare time to read it.”

“There’s a reason why the deleted group isn’t seen……..”

Cain  murmured that it was useless while printing out a report. Upon receiving the report, Ho Myung-hwan realized why it was on the dropouts list.

‘What is this? A kid would be able to write better than this.’

Ark’s report was really messed up. The second problem was the content. There was no basis for creating the report. The report should be well organized so that the reader could understand the information straight away.  But instead of a neat summary, Ark’s report had jumbled sentences and context that made it difficult to understand what the contents were. It was reasonable. Although Ark fabricated his educational background, he was actually only a high school graduate. Since he tried to quit several times, he barely graduated. He had never seen how to write a report. So he just wrote everything he experienced freely, like a diary. But was that all? Since he played the game for an average of 17 hours, he had no time to write the reports so he wrote it while sleepy. Naturally, even an elementary school student’s writing on their homework would be better. On the other hand, Global Exos was a gathering of the elites. Ho Myung-hwan was a bright student who graduated from K university. Ark’s report was practically impossible for him to read. However, he pushed through it and read the first page. Ho Myung-hwan realized something when reading the report.

‘What is this? The user on the dropout list is level 127?’

The level was enough to make Ho Myung-hwan surprised for the first time. The current candidates in the top category were level 130. Even the famous Holy Knight Alan was level 138. But one of the dropouts was level 127? However, the level wasn’t the only thing in the report that made Ho Myung-hwan surprised. This time, the content of the report submitted by Ark was the match details in the Evil Silrion. More than 1,000 people participated in the tournament! Yet in the final match, he bet the pioneers and won the tournament. Like most of the planning office, Ho Myung-hwan was also a player in New World. Although he didn’t have time to go see the match in the Evil Silrion, he heard about how great it was through the newsletter that the Evil Silrion published. It was natural. Beating 1000 participants and the pioneers was a big issue. Ho Myung-hwan quickly found a video posted by a user on the Internet. Thousands of spectators cheered as a dark wolf from the wolf clan kicked a warrior in the chest! The fight scenes left a strong impression on Ho Myung-hwan’s heart.

‘Ark is the Dark Wolf from the rumours? Then how did he transform into a wolf?’

Ark’s wolf form stimulated Ho Myung-hwan’s curiosity. Since there was no reference to the Underground World in this report, there was no way for him to know the circumstances. Curiosity was something that could make people go crazy.

‘No, the transformation isn’t that important. If he was able to win the Evil Silrion with a partner, then isn’t it a big problem that he isn’t on the list? Why did Section Chief Ha refuse this user?’

He couldn’t understand a single thing with his common sense.

‘Anyway, I can’t just ignore the problem and move on!’

As a member of Global Exos and a user in New World……..

The achievements of this user couldn’t be buried like this. Ark’s fight scene was powerful enough to evoke a such of responsibility in him. However, since the section chief of the planning department Ha Myung-woo had placed Ark on the dropouts list, there was no way for him to recover the other reports.

‘I’ll watch a little more for the time being. If there is any noteworthy content then I will show Section Chief Ha before it’s too late.’

Ho Myung-hwan returned to the reference room and immediately asked.

“Cain-ssi, when this friend’s report comes in please send to me. I’ll manage it from now on. Ah, have you also heard of a candidate called Shambala?”

“Wait a minute. Ah, here it is. Shambala is also a dropout.”

“That friend as well? I understand. Then please give me his reports too.”

“You’re not  in charge?”

“No, the interest is just personal.”

“I understand.”

Ark’s employment activities was about to enter a new phase. He managed to avoid being eliminated or having his reports thrown in the shredder. But he would have to wait a little bit more to see if this was luck or misfortune.

“Almost there. We’ll see Lancel Village soon.”

Ark looked up and said.

It had been four days since they’ve left Selebrid with 300 thieves, and they had arrived two days earlier than expected. The reason was simple. They just had to walk in a straight line to reach Lancel from Selebrid. Of course, normal users wouldn’t even dare attempt this kind of trip. This was because the continent was complicated, with a mixture of low level and high level hunting grounds in the same area. However, there was 300 of them. What could possibly frighten them? Even if a large monster level 200 suddenly interrupted them, it would be no problem. No, the thieves would just pull out their knives while cheering wildly.

“That’s great. We’re tired of eating wheat bread!”

“Huhuhu, but isn’t it easy to cut 300 servings?”

“Ark-hyungnim can make his cooked beef!”

The 300 thieves swarmed around the meat. The meat from the level 200 Large Grizzly feed 300 people in no time. Even though the march was tough, cooking the meat from high level monsters caused his survival cooking skill to rapidly grow. But was that all? When 300 people searched a forest, it was easy to find ingredients. Thanks to that, quite a lot of ingredients from high level hunting grounds were gathered. However, the pleasant trip came to an end as they arrived at Lancel Village.

“Did you say this was the village?”

“Eh……….?”

Ark lifted his head and looked at the village in the distance. Lancel Village was not like Ark remembered. The size of the village had become quite different. There used to be 40 houses that had been abandoned but now there were more than 100 houses lined up. The outskirts of the village was also lined with a fence that surrounded everything. Well, he sent migrants here so of course it would be extended. However, what he couldn’t understand was the village’s atmosphere. The buildings in the town will full of individuality. Some houses were built on top of trees while others were tucked into the ground. With the brightly coloured paint, it looked like a town from a children’s storybook. He had travelled around New World and seen all sorts of villages, but it was the first time he had seen one like this.

‘Did I go the wrong way?’

Ark was stunned and opened the map window to confirm it. Then he checked that it was Lancel Village several times before he was certain.

“Hmm, somehow it feels like a pleasant village.”

“Yes, if possible I’d love to live in a place like this.”

Fortunately, JusticeMan and the thieves seemed to like the strange village. Ark was in the lead as they entered Lancel Village. There were NPCs around that Ark recognized. They were the Meow warriors wearing worker outfits as well as the raccoon clan, who were sprouting beards from the side of their nose. In addition, there were also cartographer Hansen’s companions that he had rescued from the thief lair.

“Oh, it is Ark! Ark!”

The first person (?) to run up was a Meow shaman.

“Hmm Hmm, am I right? Somehow you smell like Ark.”

Jana approached closely with her tail waving behind her.

“Ara? Why are you here?”

“I was bored by myself. And it is more relaxed here.”

“But you’re the Shaman. Shouldn’t you be keeping up the temple?”

“It does not matter. Well, it isn’t stolen…….”

Well…….whenever he sees the Meow, the word cat always enters his head. How indulgent are they that even their Shaman is just laying around eating? Jana forgot about the temple and displayed an interest in Ark. She shook her tail softly and twitched her nose, before suddenly rubbing against his body and making a sweet sound.

“Heung, have you changed and become even nicer since the last time I saw you? How is it? Is you answer to my offer from before still valid? After all this time you still don’t want to date me? I’ll treat you well. Because cats are kind.”

“What, what the?”

Roco jumped out with an uncomfortable look.

“What? What is with that attitude? Shaking your tail, don’t you feel any shame? No, what is your relationship with Ark oppa?”

“Ara? Who is this female? Ark, did you replace me with this new girl while we’re apart?”

“Eh………..so……..”

Ark had a bewildered expression as Jana rubbed against his body.

“Well, if you’re a man you should have one or two women. It’s okay. I understand. The Meow believe in polygamy.”

“P-polygamy? Am I crazy? What kind of era is this……..”

“Ah, it’s noisy, noisy. Ark shouldn’t have to put up with a sharp voice like that. I’ll show you the village.”

“Can’t you put his hand down?”

Roco shouted while pulling at his opposite arm. However, the unexpected ambush was suddenly stopped.

Slap, slap!

All of a sudden someone emerged from the crowd and pulled off the hands of the two girls. And then burrowed into Ark’s arms. It was Hanson’s daughter, Sarah. Ark was embarrassed by Sarah’s sudden behaviour. But Roco and Jana was even more embarrassed than Ark.

“What is this? Oppa?”

“Sarah, can you please get out of the way?”

The two women jumped as Sarah became frightened and dug even deeper.  In the end, Ark stood up and said.

“Stop. What am I, a celebrity? And Sarah is still a child. Come on Sarah.”

Ark wound up holding Sarah’s hand as he entered the village. However, Roco just looked.  When Ark selected Sarah as the winner, a small smile spread on her mouth! At that moment she felt a woman’s intuition. That young child was an enemy!

‘I was thinking too easily!’

In fact, Roco had a slightly relaxed mood so far. Because Ark had never shown any interest in women, it wasn’t necessary for her to be impatient. If she acted too quickly she might incite his hatred instead.  That was what she thought. Suddenly, two women appeared so her anxiety increased. Of course, Jana and Sarah were NPCs. However, if a man had women who looked like Japanese wooden dolls showing interest, it was female psychology to feel anxious.

‘Right, I can see that Ark oppa is a great guy. It is strange that he has had no girlfriends yet.’

Frankly, it wasn’t that strange. But everything was in the eye of the beholder.

‘Whether in reality or the game, I need to manage oppa strictly from now on.’

Roco made a serious resolution. And she caught up to Ark while having a desperate eye fight with Jana. But JusticeMan just laughed and murmured.

“Huhuhu, as expected, when competitors appear then love heats up.”

“Now we’ll be seeing even more.”

At that time, Hassan let out a huge laugh with her thick belly.

“Hahaha, it is indeed the Truthseeker. If you’re a descendant of Hero Maban then of course you’ll be popular with women.”

“You are?”

“I am the Meow elder, Hassan. I am the person who saw Ark’s potential with one look and entered him on the path of the Truthseeker. And who are you?”

“I am JusticeMan. Ark and I are very close. It is nice to meet you and I hope we become closer in the future.”

“Is that so? Mmmm, but have we met somewhere before? Somehow I feel like we’re really similar?”

“You too? I also feel that.”

“Huhuhu.”

“Huhuhuhu.”

JusticeMan and Hassan laughed together while covering their faces. Actually, their two faces were slightly similar. There are also people in the world who connect in such a way. Anyway, Ark finally arrived at the general store surrounded by the crowd. The temporary chief of Lancel Village was in charge of the store.

“Oh, Ark, it has been too long!”

Galen welcomed him with a wide smile.

“The town’s atmosphere has changed quite a lot.”

“Well, it is all because of you. The village has been safe thanks to the Meow warriors you sent. And using his knowledge of construction, Hansen has also helped rebuild the village. But the people you sent from the Brandt Mountains have really shined. They’re not very talkative but are excellent craftsmen. Thanks to them, the new houses built aren’t lacking and we are also able to begin trading. These days, immigrants have come because they’ve heard the news.”

“I’m glad.”

“Well, there is still a long way to go before we can become the intermediary point between Giran and Jackson. I’m sorry but I’ll have to trouble you some more.”

It sounded like the <Find New Settlers> quest had been completed. Yet the quest achievement for Lancel Village was only 60%. The old depressed atmosphere had changed completed for it to be mistaken for other towns, and Galen can’t help but be satisfied. Therefore, customer satisfaction was at 100%. Ark thought for a moment before starting to talk.

“Today I came to ask for some help with a problem.”

“A problem? Are you talking about settlers?”

“Yes, I’ve brought 300 people who want to stay in this village.”

“300 people!”

Galen shouted with a bright look in his eyes.

“It must have been your plan to send people over slowly to tease me. Where do you gather so many people that want to immigrate here? There is nothing to discuss. Settlers are always welcome here.”

“But there is a little problem.”

Ark had a perplexed face and confessed the situation. The 300 settlers were in fact former thieves that still had the chaotic condition. Galen had a serious expression.

“………I understand the situation. Yes, Lancel village certainly need more settlers. But if those people……..you know that we are just beginning to build the pioneer village? Moreover, my dream is to create an intermediary point between Giran and Jackson. If there are 300 criminals, who would visit such a town? In addition, the villagers……..”

Ark had expected Galen’s reaction. That was the reason why Ark accompanied the thieves.

“Galen ajusshi.”

Ark opened his eyes and looked sadly at Galen.

“It really is a pity. Have you already lost the original intention?”

“Original intention?”

“That’s right. Wasn’t this village founded by the great leader Lancel? He once spent his dark days slaughtering people, but didn’t he change himself and decided to devote himself to the world by building this village.  He dedicated his whole life to the village. The truly free village that he dreamed about! I was truly impressed when ajusshi said that he would reconstruct that village. That was why I decided to help ajusshi out.”

“That, is that so……..”

“Yes! I admit it. The people I’ve brought are thieves. They stole the luggage of innocent people and sometimes even took lives. But!”

Ark pointed towards JusticeMan with a passionate voice.

“The thieves have met a wonderful leader just like Lancel and have decided to live new lives too. But the world just treated them coldly.  If they are treated coldly even here, what would Lancel think? If the people who have no place to go become thieves again, is that their fault? Can ajusshi really use Lancel’s name if you say things like that? They are just hoping for an opportunity. It was for opportunities like this that Lancel decided to build the village!”

“Guys, I am crying.”

“Ark-hyungnim…….!”

The impressed rehabilitation members and thieves had tears on the faces. The villagers looked at them with a little bit of compassion.

“Umm……..”

When the atmosphere became strange, Galen let out a pained groan. It was an emotional logic that couldn’t be rebutted. Ark noticed that Galen was shaken and quickly drove in a wedge.

“I’m not asking you to accept them as a part of the village immediately. They also know that they can’t be accepted right away. I’m just asking permission for them to be allowed near the village.”

“They’re not staying inside the village?”

“Yes, they said that they haven’t washed off their sins yet.  When you have a criminal as a resident, it would certainly cause trouble. Therefore they’ll work eagerly to become a new person and enter the village openly, they said. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Of course, it didn’t have anything to do with Lancel Village. Lancel Village still didn’t have any guards. However, it wasn’t possible to allow chaotic NPCs into Lancel Village that had just started trading. In order to avoid the Dark Brother, they had to make it difficult to track them. Therefore, the rehabilitated thieves would live in an area near the village. They would wait there until the NPC’s tendencies went back to neutral. However although he trusted the mental training, he didn’t know how fast it would take to return to normal. JusticeMan was trying to make the rehabilitated company do all the work. The thieves would learn to adapt to society by watching from the side. New World was started with an initial goal and the results were consistent. In the end, Ark managed to persuade Galen.

“I see. Then I agree to your proposal.”

With a ringing sound, two information windows appeared.

The thieves were not immediately added to the achievement for the finding settlers quest. The number would be added to the achievement once they returned to the neutral status. Then there was another message window.

He knew that the migration of the thieves meant that there would be a significant penalty. And the rehabilitated thieves were also unemployed. They were a blank slate that doesn’t know anything. However in New World, NPCs that can learn new skills could be an advantage.  The religious population could enlighten the thieves to create a priest. If the food situation was insufficient then they could learn to be farmers or cooks, or if the security was bad then they could train as guards. When he explained it to JusticeMan, he was surprised and jumped up excited.

“At one time I wanted to operate such facilities.”

Galen was also supportive once he decided to accept the request.

“Since you are going to become a part of the village one day, I can’t allow you to sleep on the streets.”

Galen asked for Hanson’s advice, who found an inconspicuous place not far from the village. And a group of raccoons built a simple housing structure. In addition, he gave them the necessary food needed for the rehabilitation process. JusticeMan and the rehabilitation members were the training supervisors of the facility. Therefore, the Samcheong College of Education was created in New World.

“Yesterday we were rubbish. We should repay the residents of Lancel Village as soon as possible and become people that can contribute to the village.”

“Yes!”

“Rotten spirit comes from the rotten flesh! From today onwards, we’ll take your body and spirit apart and rebuild you!”

From then on, JusticeMan trained the thieves day and night.  They ran up the mountains as stamina training and even joined the Meow in subjugating monsters. Sometimes they would visit the town where the raccoons taught them various disciplines. So after several days of training at the camp, the thieves started to gradually change.

JusticeMan’s education was certainly effective. Since the result of the training was shown with a number, JusticeMan became even more inspired. A positive result would cause a positive effect. The thieves became even more devoted to training and being polite to the residents. Thanks to that, the unity that had fallen 60% was recovering.

‘That’s it. For now I don’t have to worry about this place.”

With the training spot occupied, Ark could finally rest. When Ark entered the village from the training camp, Galen immediately approached.

“There is something I would like to show you.”

Galen took Ark to a home located in the centre of the village. It was a newly built cabin that still had the fresh smell of timber.

“What is this house? Why is it newly built?”

Galen grinned and replied.

“It is your house.”

“Yes?”

“It is something that I had actually thought of before. I asked you to find some settlers, yet I honestly didn’t have any big expectations. But you never forgot about it and sent me great residents. You might not think so, but the residents already think of you as a member of Lancel Village. Then of course you should have a home. Therefore, the other day we built you a house. No matter where the wind takes you, we hope you won’t forget about Lancel Village. Think of this as an intermediate compensation for your previous efforts.”

When Galen handed him the keys, an information window popped up.

Ark looked around the spacious room with a puzzled face. Of course he knew that users could own houses in New World. But it was tough to obtain a house whether in the game or in reality. If someone wanted to buy a house in a village, there would have to have enormous intimacy with the mayor or Lord of the village. In addition, if the fame was low then it wasn’t possible to buy a house even with high intimacy points. But was that all? A user could only qualify to buy a house after an enormous tax.  If there wasn’t a house for sale then they would have to wait  until one became available, and then it would be sold for a premium price. Eventually, the money spent on a house was more than 6000 gold! If it was a commercial development in a city or a mansion, then the house prices would increase exponentially. Still, there were quite a lot of houses sold in New World. A house would provide various buffs as well as item storage, and if additional safes was bought from a store then the storage would increase. Not paying money to rent a warehouse from the Merchant Guild was every merchants dream. It wasn’t strange if the speculative frenzy blew over. But he got such a house for free. Of course, it was a small village in the mountains but……..

In fact, Ark wasn’t very interested in a house. He felt like a house was unnecessary since he would always be hunting in new areas and didn’t want to travel back to the house. Then why did he feel a sense of affection for his house in Lancel Village?

‘The people seemed to have tied a weight to my neck with this house preparation.’

Although his rented room in reality was shabby, it was a place where he felt comfortable. His desire to complete Galen’s quest quickly rose.

”Even though people would murder for a house, I got one just like that. I got a house even though only half of the quest is completed……..Once the quest is complete then the reward is worth looking forward to!’

“Thank you. I will use it often.”

Ark thanked Galen.

‘That’s it. I was planning to concentrate on hunting in this area anyway.’

So for now, Ark was residing in his new home.

‘Levelling up is the most urgent business.’

While he was in the Evil Silrion, his skills gained lots of experience. But the experience was only half of the growth. This was a game no matter how outstanding the skills. In order to apply those skills to battle, it should be supported by his level. In fact, so far he had only chased after quests. It could be admitted that he had neglected to raise his levels in the early stages of the game. Although it was good to level up and quest, there was no guarantee that his quest wouldn’t lead him to an area out of his league. And one of the basics of online gaming was grinding!

‘I have to reach level 150 to continue Magaro’s quest. I have a house. In the meantime, I should hunt around here and raise my levels and skills!’

Of course, he wasn’t planning to hunt blindly. Even if he was heading towards bare ground, Ark had no intention of leaving empty handed.

‘Now I have to accomplish two tasks.’

The first was looking for a ‘Sacred Soil.’ When he arrived in Lancel Village, Ark received an unexpected call. Popo who had barely spoken in the meantime, vibrated and began to talk. No, to be more precise it was Popo’s mother, Yggdrasil from the Underground World talking.

-Ark, I guess it’s time.

“Yes? What do you mean?”

-Popo is in the seed state. The seeds should be planted in the ground at some point and grow branches. Because Popo wanted to see the world with you, I protected him with my own power but I can’t do that forever.”

It was the reason that Popo had become silent a while ago. Ark felt a sense of remorse as he listened to Popo’s words.

“I have to plant Popo in a specific place?”

-Yes, because he is my alter ego he needs to grow some buds. If you plant him anywhere, he would absorb all the power from the earth and the area would become a wasteland.

“Then where should I plant him?”

I know through Popo that you two are in the Argus Mountains. The land forces that have strong presences like the Argus Mountains would have sacred soil from ancient times. The soil will provide Yggdrasil with the strength to grow. Please look for the Sacred Soil for Popo.

‘It is better to hunt when there is a definite goal.’

Ark willingly accepted the quest. It was a chance for him to explore the mountains.  Once Ark accepted the quest, he took out a thick book and laid it out on the table. It was a copy of the Monster Book and Plant Encyclopedia that he requested from Shannen when he received the quest. Before he left Selebrid, he had dropped in at the Magic Institute to leave a note for Sid and copied the book. But it was not for free. The production cost of copying was 30 gold, but Ark paid for it with faded tears. Because he judged that it was worth it.

“Now, let’s see………Recipe information!”

It was a recipe that he had accidentally discovered while using survival cooking. After looking though the information listed in the Monster Book and Plant Encyclopedia, he determined that most of the ingredients were available in the Argus Mountains. Another reason why Ark went to Lancel Village was to gather the ingredients. Because he had to explore every corner of the Argus Mountains anyway, Ark accepted the <Sacred Soil> quest.

‘Levelling up and questing, while finding everything for the Slime Inner Edge recipe!’

“Let’s see. The ingredient that I need most at the moment is the ‘Tooth of a Hook Bat’ and ‘The Roots of a Mandragora that has received moonlight’. This says that many hook bats are inhabiting a cave at the base of the Argus Mountains to the east.  And the Mandragora………it was distributed all over the Argus Mountains. ‘Because it’ll take a lot of time, I should move to the east while looking for it.”

Ark decided to head straight to the hunting grounds. It was because it was tough staying in the same village with Roco, Jana and Sarah. Anyway, it was time for special hunting. Searching for ingredients and levelling up while questing! It had been a long time since Ark didn’t have to worry about any unnecessary things and just concentrate on hunting. As expected, the true charm of online gaming was hunting!

‘Relax the mind while keeping the arm comfortable!’

“Master, we can hunt comfortably without worrisome thoughts for a long time!”

Clack clack clack! Clack clack clack!

Since they haven’t been able to hunt for a long time, Deimos and Dedric also felt quite cheerful. This feeling. With his summons by his sides, Ark was dedicated to hunting in this area. It was Ark’s game style, the Dark Walker. The Argus Mountains was a huge area between Jackson and Giran. There were a lot of virgin territories that users haven’t explored yet. Since monsters of various levels were mixed together, it wasn’t an easy area for a beginner to carelessly hunt in. In addition, as their levels increased then users would’ve already left Giran for Selebrid. There was no reason to go into the Argus Mountains to search for high level monsters. However, with the Monster Book then Ark was able to find the necessary prey.

“Woooooo!”

When he entered the eastern mountains, a crowd of steel maned beasts welcomed him. They were recorded in the Monster Book as level 100 monsters.

“They are suitable prey to hunt. Now, go! Dedric, Deimos!”

“Hahaha! It has been a long time, you dog head!”

Clack clack clack!

As his two summons went forward, Ark drew his sword and rushed after them. It was the sound that signalled grinding had started.