Ark

ACT 9 Legend of the Unicorn

“Is there really no way?”

“Of course not.”

The magician replied. For more than 10 minutes, the magician didn’t bother blinking. Ark looked at the bag lying on the table with pained eyes. It was the second material required for ‘Slime’s Immortality Pill.’ It was the ‘Corrupted Fairy Wings.’ After he had finished collecting all the teeth of the hook bat, he wandered around the Argus Mountains looking for the corrupted fairy wings. The Monster Book had written that they were very rarely found in the Argus Mountains. However, he couldn’t find it even after a few days. After going around hunting monsters for a few days, Ark accidentally discovered information about the corrupted fairy wings.

“The corrupted fairy wings? Let’s see? Well I don’t know what to say. Oh, you should go see the magician Madusein. He might know.”

“Madusein?”

“He is a magician that moved here before it became empty. He has a store that sells magic ingredients near the village entrance. The store is arranged in such a way that merchants have difficulty travelling there…..I can’t understand that friend at all.”

Galen had introduced him to the magic ingredients store. Madusein was a grey haired magician. He didn’t set up the store to make money, but as a quiet place to work when settlers came to Lancel Village. Anyway, he asked Madusein again who laughed and replied.

“It would just head towards the ground. It isn’t easy to obtain the corrupted fairy wings. Every few months, the fairies would have a ceremony where they shed their old bodies and changed into a new one. It is like a snake shedding its skin. Then wings that would fall out are known as the corrupted fairy wings.”

“Then it would just fall onto the ground?”

“That’s right. There are quite a few fairies alive in the Argus Mountains.”

“Thank you.”

Ark quickly gave a greeting as he was about to leave.

“Are you going to search the bare ground?”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever seen a fairy? You haven’t seen it? Don’t you find it strange that you’ve been living in the Argus Mountains and haven’t even caught a glimpse of one?”

“That’s right.”

Ark nodded with a confused expression. Come to think of it, there haven’t been many places in the Argus Mountains that he hadn’t explored. However, he never saw any corrupted fairy wings let alone a fairy. Madusein clicked his tongue and continued talking.

“The fairies are different. The fairy can travel between this dimension and other dimensions. It might not even exist in this world. Do you understand? Naturally if the skin falls, it would fall in the other dimension. You will require very special skills to obtain it. Just like me.”

Madusein rummaged through a shelf before putting one bag on the table. It was the ‘Corrupted Fairy Wings.’ His intention was to force Ark who had no ‘special skills’ to obtain it, to buy it from the store. Although he could wander around the mountains looking for it, it might be better to buy it off him. However, Ark became dizzy the moment he heard the price.

“3 gold each. You said you needed 100? Then that would be 300 gold.”

300 gold! The prize money from the Evil Silrion was only 100 gold and the amount of money he won betting was 100 gold. He had also obtained 100 gold from hunting in the Argus Mountains. It was as if Madusein intentionally named the price of his entire fortune, which made him angry. Then Ark spoke without considering.

“I’ll search for it using my own power.”

“Okay.”

Ark frantically wandered the Argus Mountains after that. But like Madusein said, ‘special skills’ were required. After a couple of days, Ark eventually found himself back in Madusein’s store. Even though he tried to decrease it by even 1 copper, Madusein didn’t budge.

“I heard that you didn’t run this business to make money?”

“It also isn’t good to suffer a loss in merchandise when running a business.”

As expected, it wasn’t easy talking to magicians. Besides, he wasn’t an original native like Galen and was an NPC that had only recently immigrated here. There was no intimacy with him. In the end, Ark had to purchase the ingredients while crying tears of blood.

‘Damn, it isn’t possible to give up after gathering all those fangs……’

After all the money he invested in the ‘Slime’s Immortality Pill,’ if the item wasn’t worth it then he would die. However, it also made him think again. The ingredients were worth 300 gold. Then of course the stuff would have value. With those expectations, he eventually decided to buy the item.

‘Yes, this is an investment. Anyway, once Sid organizes the items and returns I will have a lot of money again. It isn’t necessary to worry about 300 gold. In order to earn a lot of money, the investment amount has to be big too. It is common sense that a larger investment would mean more profit.’

Ark………if he didn’t think like that then he wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

‘Anyway, I have the corrupted fairy wings now…….there are only two ingredients left?’

“Information Window”

It took him six days to obtain the tooth of a hook bat. He wasted three days on the corrupted fairy wings and eventually had to spend 300 gold to buy it. The amount of time and money he spent into making this wasn’t a joke. But now it is almost up to the completed stage.

‘I can find the Mandragora herb as I wander the mountain……..’

The Mandragora was a herb only found in the Argus Mountains. In fact, he had also seen the Mandragora when he came to the Argus Mountains in the past. But he didn’t dare to even touch it. Just like the corrupted fairy wings, sometimes special herbs or ingredients required special skills in ingredient foraging. The Red Bee Honey was a high class ingredient where if you didn’t sprinkle it with the mushroom poison antidote first, picking it would be dangerous. The Mandragora was one of those special herbs. The roots of the Mandragora were in the shape of a person, and when it was pulled out from the ground it would let out a horrifying scream. It was a sound that would instantly kill any user or NPC with a 100% probability. When Ark was a beginner, he could only check the texture of the cold ground.

However, Ark soon found a solution. The copy of the ingredient sent by the Magic Institute had details about the scent of the Mandragora. Ark was not a dog. However, he had a number of summons that was like a dog. Ark instructed Deimos to look for the Mandragora from a distance away. As an undead, Deimos was immune to the instant death magic of other monsters! He pulled out the Mandragora without any concerns about its cry. However, he needed the Mandragora that had received light from the moon. Because it could only be picked at night, he was missing a few but that was easily solved with time.

‘The problem is this guy…….’

Ark breathed out a sigh as he read the recipe. The only thing left was the horn of a unicorn. It was in fact the biggest problem. Ark had tried to find the unicorn’s horn first. Because it was different from the other ingredients and only required one, he had tried to put it away quickly. The exact location of the unicorn was even recorded in the Monster Book. It was located at the Moonlight Pond in the northern part of the Argus Mountains. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t even find a trace of the unicorn’s shadow. After a couple of days, he had given up to go hook bat hunting. However, he could no longer put it off.

‘There should be a way to catch it somehow……..’

Ark lived in the area around the Moonlight Pond. But a unicorn still didn’t appear. A whole day passed.

‘Perhaps the Monster Book was wrong?’

What other reason was there for it not appearing. In the end, Ark was attempting to move his seat when the moon rose on the Moonlight Pond.

“Hihihihing!”

Suddenly a cry was heard from the Moonlight Pond. When he flinched and turned around, wasn’t that a white horse running around the pond?

‘It’s a unicorn!’

Ark immediately jumped into the Moonlight Pond. However, when he arrived he only saw the unicorn’s shadow as it ran away. Its caution was enormous. Since then, the same situation was repeated. Ark would hang around the Moonlight Pond until it showed up. Once he was behind it, its form would be seen in the distance. When he attempted to ambush it with his summons, the situation was the same. It was so wary that if there were any signs of a monster, it wouldn’t appear. And its speed was so quick that Dedric couldn’t even catch up with it while flying.

“Unbelievable.”

There was a tight knot in Ark’s stomach. These ingredients were so difficult to collect that sometimes he thought he would die! Now only the last ingredient was left. But if this pattern continued then there would be no way to obtain it. Even if he chased after it for one thousand years, he wouldn’t be able to catch it. After Ark spent one day on it, he eventually wandered back to Lancel Village. He had been hunting while waiting for the unicorn and had a pile of japtem built up.

“Ark-hyungnim, you’re back?”

When he entered the village, the guard NPCs greeted him happily. He knew those people. They were the thieves that had come with Ark. Among them were the thieves who had graduated from the Samcheong College of Education and lost the chaotic alignment. And they had specially trained in a career to help the village.

“Ark-hyungnim. A few days ago we took over the position of village guards with Big Hyung-nim’s permission.”

“Hello? I started working part-time at the general store today. This is the help out the livelihood of the training centre and ease Roco-nuna’s concerns a little bit.”

“I’m employed as the assistant to the carpenter. I’ll extend Hyung-nim’s house later.”

Whenever he visited the village, the thieves were report to him. Thanks to that Ark’s depressed mood became better. These thieves weren’t seeking a new life. The number of thieves that have entered Lancel Village was now 130 people.  The atmosphere of the village became lighter and they’re started to fix up the surrounding roads now that there are a lot of people to help. It was the development of a village. It would mean a direct profit for Ark.

‘Okay, okay. Work more diligently. Raise the real estate prices higher.’

Ark smiled warmly at the NPCs running around. The village should develop and become a larger scale. And gain more awareness. The rapid changes would affect the real estate market value. It was natural for prices of houses in liveable towns to rise. If Lancel Village was established as a place with good real estate then merchants would come running with money to buy the houses. Then Ark would sit down and earn money. That wasn’t the only advantage with houses. When the house had been empty for a while, sometimes he would come back to find items.

Ark received overwhelming support from the NPCs in Lancel Village. When Ark left the house empty, they would often give him gifts like these. The Meow would give leather from the monsters they hunted in the vicinity, the raccoons would leave crafts to decorate the house while sometimes Hanson would provide a map with a new area discovered. A lot of it didn’t cost a lot of money but they were all free items.  Ark wasn’t the type that would reject anything free.

‘Huhuhu, what gifts will there be this time?’

Ark excitedly went to his house.

“Oppa!”

Just as he entered the house, he heard Roco’s voice.

“Ara? Roco? How are you here?”

“I haven’t seen Oppa for a while so I stopped by for a moment. Oh, but what kind of house looks like this? The dust on the table…….ghosts would appear. So I decided to do a little bit of cleaning.

Roco held a broom while laughing. He remembered that every time he came home, it had been clean for some reason…….was she trying to take the role of a wife? It is definitely such a shape.

“But why do you look like that? The armour is shabby as well as your face, and did you wash at all?”

“Well it is in the game……..”

“Heung! It is obviously in reality as well. Haven’t you been playing the game for 20 hours every day? You’ve probably haven’t been washing and just eating noodles. Isn’t that right?”

She was completely correct. He played 20 hours a day. When he played for that long it was a pain to do anything else. When at home he would barely wash and he would often eat seaweed rolls in the game unit.

“I still go out for training.”

“That’s because the teacher is severe and you’ll receive hell for not going.”

“That’s it.”

“I don’t care whether it is a game or reality. It is a basic good etiquette to be clean. Other people manage to look good while in the game…….”

Roco continued muttering before closing her mouth. Then she looked around and quickly pulled Ark to the door.

“It is dangerous here for the moment so follow me.”

“What? Dangerous?”

“Shhh, Jana was sleeping on the neighbouring roof just now. And Sarah is helping her father map new areas but if she knows you’re back then it would be troublesome. So come with me quickly!”

Jana, Sarah and Roco were still having a war of nerves to try and maintain a grip on Ark. Anyway, Roco led Ark to a stream nearby.

“Take off your armour. I’ll wash it now. Whether it is a game or reality, a man should always be clean. Ah, and on the weekend I’ll bring a few dishes to the hospital. Unlike New World, you should take a break to eat properly.”

“…………..”

After receiving Roco’s embarrassing confession, they’re met a couple of times to eat and watch a movie. It was good up to there. Ark used playing the game as an excuse not to go out for too long. But the aftermath had led to a surprisingly serious situation. Roco had started acting like his wife. But compared to reality, it was much more serious in the game. Particularly in Lancel Village………maybe she became anxious because of Jana and Sarah actively expressing their affection. However, the bigger issue was that Ark didn’t hate her nagging. After his mother was hospitalized for a few years, there was no one around to nag him. He didn’t know it himself, but it was quite lonely. Therefore, Roco’s nagging sometimes felt quite lovely. And he gradually got used to it.

“Look. That’s a lot better.”

Roco was shaking off the moisture from the leather armour. Unlike reality, in New World there was no need to dry the leather armour. After the laundry was finished, the leather armour looked as good as new. Even if he repaired it using Magic Restoration, it wouldn’t get rid of the dirt. In addition, there was no need to reject the 5% increase in defense for 4 hours buff.

“Thank you.”

Ark wore the armour with an embarrassed expression.

“Oppa, how long will you stay in the village?”

“Why?”

“When you have time will you take a walk with me? I found a place that has a good view of this area. We haven’t been able to meet outside since Oppa has been busy hunting. So it would feel like a short date. Yes? When it comes to Oppa, we can just go to a nearby area and look around.”

Roco asked with eager and sparkling eyes. The landscape of New World was so beautiful that it couldn’t be compared to the real world. It was difficult to look at the mountains from a suburb in Seoul, but New World was different. There were jungles just like the Amazon and thick forests. There were places that haven’t been touched by human hands. The fact that there were monsters waiting also made it more fun for the users…….. If a suitable place was found, it wasn’t necessary to take an airplane and fly to a foreign country. Recently, there was the trend of lovers going on dates inside the game. New World was the best environment for lovers to date in. They didn’t need to go away. There were cities with theme parks and a medieval village in the background. There were strange food and no matter how much someone drank, they wouldn’t get a hangover. Dating in New World was so popular, that there were even websites on the Internet that specialized in it. If monsters showed up on the date, the lovers could show off in front of each other and gain a lot of attention. For Ark who lived in the game, Roco came up with this method of dating.

‘It’s not a bad idea to cool my head off a little bit.’

“Okay, I’ll have a quick look around.”

“Hohoho, then follow me. I’ll show you a wonderful place.”

Roco guided him to a place that Ark had visited already. However, it looked like an entirely different place once he saw it again.

Was this scenery always here?’

When he was hunting, he didn’t pay any attention to the scenery around him.

“How is it? Is it okay? All the rehabilitation brothers have come here before as well. Jjak-tung oppa even said that he would bring his girlfriend here again in the future. Ah, did you know that Jjak-tung oppa had a girlfriend? There is an 11 year age difference between them so I called him a cradle robber.”

Roco stood next to him and babbled in a pleasant voice. However, Ark was already trying to navigate the Andromeda. How could he catch a unicorn? Those were the only thoughts his head was full of.

‘………that damn horse, should I ask Roco to come and help me take care of it?’

That was the idea that Ark suddenly thought of. The beautiful scenery, woman and unicorn…….the combination reminded him of a fantasy movie he watched when he was a kid.

‘Wait? Unicorn? Wasn’t a unicorn a monster with one horn? And the unicorn I saw was a horse. Speaking of the unicorn…….?’

Ark quickly pulled out the Monster Book.

‘That’s right, as expected……..!’

Ark also remembered similar contents from the movie. The man in the movie sent his innocent daughter as bait to catch the unicorn. Then the unicorn went to sleep in the daughter’s lap and the man attacked it.  Of course that was the reason the unicorn didn’t appear for Ark. The unicorn would be wary of an alert man who didn’t even wash when he was dirty.

‘But an innocent maiden…..?’

According to the legend, it would appear at her foot? And there was such a woman right in front of Ark! Ark grasped Roco’s hand and asked.

“Roco! Can you help me out?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I need your assistance in catching a monster.”

Roco blushed under Ark’s attention and asked.

“Are you certain I can help?”

“Yes, your help is definitely necessary!”

“I understand.”

“However………”

Ark folded his arms and looked at Roco. When he thought about it, it probably wouldn’t be that simple to catch a unicorn. The woman who summoned the unicorn in the movie wasn’t simply a woman, but one with a lot of charms. Of course he didn’t mean Roco’s appearance. Objectively, Ark would score Roco 8 out of 10 points. Moreover, in New World people could slightly improve their beauty so a lot of them have good looks.

‘Plastic surgery in New World……..that is the problem…….’

The problem was that other female users possessed Roco’s beauty through this plastic surgery. In New World, performing artists were considered ordinary. He didn’t know what the monster was looking for but as the average appearance in New World was very high, there was no guarantee that it would be tempted. Roco was also lacking a fatal blow. Seduction! Unfortunately, Roco didn’t have that. However, Ark didn’t consider it impossible.

‘Then I guess I have to use that method.’

Ark checked a recipe and made a survival cooking dish.

The quiet lake shining in the moonlight. Low and gentle music echoed above the soft sound of the water. Sitting on the shore of the lake with a woman dressed in white playing a harp. It indeed looked like a picturesque and beautiful scene.  In addition, half of the fantastic atmosphere was due to make up and lighting while the other half was due to the Drink of Bewitchment.

‘Now, she is equipped with everything that a unicorn loves. Come out! You stupid horse!’

Ark was enthusiastically hiding on a hill not too far away. How much time had passed? 10 minutes, 20 minutes…….Roco and Ark were getting a little tired when something approached from the pond. It was a white horse with a sharp horn, the legendary unicorn! Roco jumped at the sudden appearance of the unicorn. Then she smiled gently and began to play the harp again.

‘Okay, good. Incite it just like that!’

Roco who received Ark’s support continued playing calmly. After a while, the vigilant unicorn narrowed the distance. Roco smiled and whispered in a sweet voice.

“Yes, be good. Come on. Aren’t you tired?”

The unicorn seemed to smile and rustled its tail straight away. Was it planning to lie down on Roco’s leg? Ark wondered if a creature that was wary of everything would suddenly change its mind just because of a woman. He wanted to throw away his patience and just run out straight away. But the unicorn was a clever guy. If it ran away while he was approaching it, there was a high chance that he wouldn’t be able to catch it again.

‘According to legend, the unicorn would go to sleep on the maiden’s lap where it would be cut down by hunters.’

As expected, the unicorn propped its chin on Roco’s knee and fell asleep while listening.

“Okay. Now. Deimos, Dedric. Gently approach at a crawl from three directions. Don’t move hastily until I give you a signal.”

“I understand. I don’t like that bastard.”

Clack clack…….

Deimos and Dedric also found the unicorn quite disagreeable. Anyway, Ark and his summons narrowed the distance from three directions. Just as they were a few metres away, the sound of broken leaves was heard from Deimos’ direction. The sound was like a small needle dropping. However, the unicorn stood up with its ears pricked.

‘Oh damn, why is that guy’s ears so sensitive?’

“Deimos, Dedric. Now!”

When Ark raised his voice, Deimos and Dedric immediately rushed forward. The unicorn was surprised and tried to retreat. It alternated looking between Roco and Ark.

Were they working together? Its glowing eyes seemed to ask.

He was angry at the unicorn while Roco felt guilty and avoided its eyes while crying. It seemed to have felt betrayed. However, Ark wasn’t about to listen to the complaints of a monster.

“That’s it. Roco, just leave the rest to me.”

“O-oppa. Don’t be too hard on it.”

“Now, go! Dedric, Deimos! Plan A-2!”

“Okay!”

Clack clack clack! Clack clack clack!

Ark surrounded the unicorn and did a combination attack with his pets. The unicorn was surprised and tried to step back. And it made a weird cry while shaking its head, and a space immediately warped behind it. When the situation became worse, it tried to escape.

“Don’t miss, Dedric!”

“I understand, Dark Dash!”

Dedric flew like crazy and closed the gate. In the end, with its escape blocked, the unicorn changed to battle mode. It was a gentle monster so it was afraid, but Ark didn’t think it was gentle. It was a monster of fantasy after all.  Level 250. It wasn’t an opponent to be trifled with. In addition, the unicorn had speed that couldn’t be compared with other monsters.

“Purrruk!”

The unicorn rushed forward like a bull with its horn pointed forward. The speed of the rush was so quick that even Dedric who was a flying monster couldn’t follow it.

Kkakak!

Ark blocked it with his sword, but was pushed back a few metres thanks to the heavy force.

‘I thought once I drew it out it would be easy…….but isn’t it surprisingly strong?’

Ark pushed forward and corrected his posture. It was level 250, so he couldn’t afford to be careless. But after hunting in the Argus Mountains without any breaks, Ark was now level 151. In addition, the unicorn didn’t know that the moon was slowly rising in the sky. With the 40% dark attribute bonus, he was level 211! The stats of his summons had also steadily grown to level 90. Even if it wasn’t an easy win, there was no reason for him to lose. The unicorn again rushed forward with its horn.

‘If I pursue it with my eyes then it is already too late. The important thing is feeling!’

It was a word that stayed in his mind after coming home from training with Lee Myung-ryong. Ark caught the timing with his intuition and swung his sword.

Kkakakak, Teteng!

He managed to catch the tempo and blocked the hit. He used Riposte to break the collision and the unicorn was pushed back a few metres. The most important thing in battle has always been timing. He had to take the opportunity whenever there was a chance! He narrowed the distance and another chain skill burst from Ark’s sword.

“Dark Dance!”

The red footprints appeared in the darkness like a film. Ark moved his body quickly and followed along the tracks like a ghost. He had raised his ability in the Argus Mountains. He made sure to use his skills in every fight until he ran out of mana. Because the battles weren’t urgent, he could make a dish for recovery after every fight. Thanks to that, his proficiency in various skills had raised considerably. Since he became more proficient in Dark Dance, his percentage of completion significantly increased. His completion percentage was 80%, making his movements very complicated and it seemed like an illusion was created of his body. The unicorn swung his horn in every direction as it became confused. But Ark wasn’t hit by the blind attacks. He avoided all the attacks and returned it using Dark Blade. It was the chain skill of Dark Dance and Dark Blade! Liquid flowed from the body of the unicorn.

“Hahaha, die! I really hate smooth looking guys like you!”

Dedric who had a complex was working harder than usual. Tadadada……Clack clack clack! Deimos also had flames in his eyes as he laughed. Sometimes he was so concentrated on the attack that he ignored Ark’s instructions. He seemed to absolutely want the bone from the unicorn’s leg. Clearly…….the unicorn was strong. However Dedric was jealous while Deimos wanted the leg bone. And the unicorn wasn’t so strong that it could endure Ark’s attack who saw it as money.

After 5 minutes, the unicorn was in a critical condition.

After being hit by Ark’s Dark Blade, the unicorn staggered and collapsed sideways. The whole body became a deep red as there was a chance for a double critical hit. Ark wasn’t the type to miss the opportunity to kill it.

“Hahaha, finally!

Ark laughed as swung his sword downwards.

“O-oppa! No!”

Roco screamed and ran in front of Ark. Ark freaked out and hastily swung the sword so it hit the ground.

“Why, why would you do that? When I was about to strike the final blow and end it?”

“You don’t have to kill the unicorn?”

“What? What is that……it’s obvious why they’re called monsters. And there is a reason for me to kill the unicorn.”

“You’re not supposed to kill a unicorn! I can’t just watch this beautiful animal die. In addition, the unicorn believed in me.”

Roco shouted as she embraced the hurt unicorn. Ark was puzzled.

‘Damn, I was careless. Wouldn’t Roco be fond of cute and beautiful things?’

He hadn’t thought that far. The unicorn was certainly beautiful. The shape was beautiful enough to fascinate other people. It wasn’t called a unicorn for nothing. The body glowed with a subtle white light. And the big dark eyes seemed to say ‘I’m very gentle.’ That was probably the reason why Roco was in an uproar. However, Ark couldn’t just let the unicorn go. But even if his partner was an NPC, he couldn’t just ignore her and stab the sword in. But the monster was an impudent fellow who made the maiden act strangely.

It was no good! He didn’t mind losing the items and experience the unicorn would drop. But the 1000 teeth from a hook bat. And the 100 corrupted fairy wings! He invested 300 gold into buying that. All that effort and investment would be wasted if he didn’t obtain the unicorn wings.

“………….do you understand? Only that, it isn’t possible for me to conceded because of that!”

“Then oppa can get the horn from it without killing it.”

Ugh, he had no words.

“I can, but…….”

“Then ask the unicorn. The unicorn is gentle. If you explain then it might give it to you.”

“It is a monster……..”

Ark couldn’t understand a thing. No, he didn’t want to understand. However, Ark had lost the chance for a critical hit.

‘Ugh, this, unbelievable……..!’

Ark had used the ‘Drink of Bewitchment’ to increase the charm by 300% to incite the unicorn not himself. Tears flowed down Roco’s face as she clasped her hand to her chest and begged Ark. She looked incredibly beautiful and he had the urge to listen to anything she wanted. It was probably 100% due to the effects of the drink but…..it was like he had swung an axe at his own foot.

“Ah, I understand so stop. If it obediently gives me the horn then I won’t kill it.”

Roco nodded and continued petting the unicorn as she said.

“I’m sorry about the violent handling. But you probably heard that he had a good reason. So do me a favour. Please give a bit of your horn to oppa.”

“Purrruk!”

When the unicorn sneaked a peak at Ark and snorted, he stared back.

‘That guy doesn’t have manners…….!’

Ark became angry and was about to say something when Roco opened her mouth again.

“Please do me a favour. If you are stubborn then I cannot stop oppa. Please help me so that this doesn’t become bad for you. I really don’t want to see you die and become leather.”

Roco told it in a sad voice as the unicorn became silent for a moment. How much time had passed? Suddenly the unicorn lowered its head and a crack appeared before a corner of the horn broke off. The unicorn looked at the broken corner with an unpleasant face before quickly pushing it towards Roco. Then it turned its eyes to Ark and snubbed him.

‘I’m not giving it because of you!’ it seemed to say.

“Oppa, is it okay now?”

“Sheesh, I guess I can’t kill it anymore.”

Then Dedric who was watching raised his voice angrily.

“No way! Why do we have to let a guy like that live? Master, where is the temper you showed when torturing me? You can just catch it and eat it!”

“What lousy things are you saying with that mouth?”

“Aaargh, let me go! This woman!”

Roco pulled Dedric’s mouth who quickly retreated.

“Well, disappear before I change my mind!”

Ark turned his head and didn’t even bother looking at the sight. He had got what he wanted in the end but he wasn’t satisfied with the circumstances. According to the data from the Monster Book, the treasure of the unicorn was the whole body. The leather could be used to make fairly good armour while the bones were materials for weapons. In addition, Deimos couldn’t even receive the leg bone that he wanted. Just having one would’ve increased his stats tremendously. With the unicorn’s speed, his agility would’ve gone up significantly. It was in his grasp only to have to let it go……..he felt like crying from regret. With Ark’s agreement, Roco used ‘Song of Recovery’ on the unicorn.

“You can go now. Don’t be fooled by bad girls like me and live well.”

However, the unicorn hesitated and just wandered around the area.

“Why is that guy hanging around and testing my patience?”

Dedric said while looking annoyed. Ark also didn’t look good. The ‘Drink of Bewitchment’ might still have an effect but was it enough for it to hang around a woman at the risk of dying? His bitterness was showing a little bit. While Ark, Dedric and Deimos, who hadn’t abandoned its regret for the bone, stared at it the unicorn seemed to have made a decision and came back. Then it kneeled before Roco and licked her hand.

“O-oppa!”

Roco was astonished and explained the information window to Ark. Ark couldn’t speak as he opened and closed his mouth absentmindedly.

“What, what the?”

It was like earning 1000 gold. And it was because of Roco. Furthermore, the additional effect was enormous. Among the horses being sold, the faster one was the Red Blood horse that only certain professions could use. It only increased movement speed by 500%. However, the unicorn was double that at 1000%!

Even though it couldn’t be used on the battlefield, the movement speed was incredible. In addition, monsters couldn’t attack when riding a unicorn. But was that all? Wouldn’t there be no maintenance cost as it wasn’t an ordinary horse? Usually owning a horse was expensive since you had to buy deluxe oats and crops to feed it. If it is sick, then you would have to buy medicine to heal it and when you arrive at a village, you would have to put it in a stable. The cost of maintenance was the same as a decent car. But she got it all for free…….was there a vehicle without a high oil price these days?

Ark never even imagined that his ‘Drink of Bewitchment’ would give such a huge benefit.

“This bastard…….he was saved so why is he still hanging around?”

“Puruk, Pururuk!”

The unicorn couldn’t stand the nonsense and kept on snorting. Anyway, Roco liked the unicorn and immediately ran to it.

“Now it’s possible to meet with oppa anytime I want!”

“Puruk?”

The unicorn’s face suddenly looked like it was eating poo.

“Hyung-nim, I found it!”

The delinquent said with a glance. Then the big guy stood up and said.

“You’ve found him?”

“Yes, I’ve spent a few nights looking and finally found him.”

“Bring it here!”

The delinquent quickly handed him something. It was a report that had been stuck together with tape. The name of the man who accepted the report was Wang Ho. He was a person who would accept money for a contract to do bad things, and would inflict violence with a pleasant smile. It was to the extent that any delinquent would flee in the other direction when they ran into him. The one who hired Wang ho was someone who knew him from a while ago. He was hired to find out the personal information about the user Ark who participated in the entrance examination for Global Exos.

“It took a longer time than I thought.’

Global Exos was one of the world’s largest corporations. So well-secured that a delinquent like him couldn’t penetrate it. However, Wang Ho soon found an unusual resource. In Global Exos, the reports would go in the shredder after being reviewed. Wang ho had obtained the information by bribing the cleaning service employees and piecing the report together. Then he finally called his younger brother who started putting the reports together……and he finally found the information that he desired. After almost a month of searching, he had finally found a report with Ark’s name on it.

“Ark………Kukukuk, you’ve been hiding like a flea.”

However, there was no private data on the report. Instead, the only thing written was the email address. Wang Ho muttered and laughed.

“Well, once the email address is known then its game over. Good work.”

Wang Ho confirmed the email and immediately walked to the phone.

“Hey, how long would it take to figure out personal information from an email address?”

“It’ll take a couple of days if there is no trouble.”

“Okay, give me the email and I’ll call you when I have everything.

Wang Ho repeated the email with a satisfied smile.

“Now the only thing left is claiming the fee.”

It was a strange twist. In fact, Ark’s reports weren’t even printed for months. If that had continued, they wouldn’t have been able to discover any information about Ark. However, thanks to Ho Myung-hwan’s interest, the reports were printed again and shredded and eventually ended up in Wang Ho’s hands.

“Wow, look at this unicorn!”

The villagers rushed to the square. Roco had returned to Lancel Village riding the unicorn. The people watching were amazed as the unicorn proudly strutted along. The unicorn had almost died before being rescued was mentioned……..now it was accompanying Roco to the village. Of course, Ark had come around. He honestly didn’t want to ride the unicorn. After all, many problems occurred thanks to its personality. However the villagers were excited and gathered like a cloud.

“This, this is a Unicorn!”

It was at that time. Madusein protruded his head to see what was going on and ran out surprised. After admiring the unicorn with his eyes, he approached Ark.

“Don’t tell me you’ve managed to tame a unicorn?”

“Well, it wasn’t me that tamed it…….”

“Then the horns? Where is the unicorn horn?”

“I have it.”

“Will you sell me the horn?”

Madusein asked in a desperate tone.

“You might not know but the unicorn horn is an amazing magic ingredient. But it’s been called a fantasy ingredient because no one has managed to catch a unicorn. I’m prepared to pay a lot of money. 300 gold……..No, 500 gold. Just sell it to me!”

“It’s difficult. I also need to use the unicorn horn.”

When Ark gave a rough explanation, Madusein immediately looked grumpy. However, he sighed a few times before saying.

“So please sell the next horns to me. I’m asking you.”

“What are the next horns?”

“You don’t know?”

Madusein looked at Ark in surprise.

“The unicorn’s horns grow back over time once it is cut.”

“Yes?”

Roco was occupied with the unicorn while Ark’s eyes sparkled. Once it is cut, the horn grows back again! That means that over time, he could cut if off again. It also meant that he could receive 500 gold for the item multiple times. Of course the unicorn had sworn allegiance to Roco and probably wouldn’t be willing to give him its horns. However, Ark had ways around that. Sweet talk, intimidation, confinement, violence and so on………..If it was profit then Ark was willing to use any method.

‘This is unexpected information!’

Ark grinned widely and looked at the unicorn. He no longer thought that the unicorn looked hateful.

“Unicorn, don’t make me hurt you. If you would like to eat then listen to my words.”

“Pururuk?”

Ark turned around and looked intimately at the unicorn while it stared at him with suspicious eyes. However, after a while…….

“Okay, you can go now. Thanks for the ride.”

Roco gave the unicorn a kiss before returned to the steed exchange system. After flirting with the unicorn, Roco disconnected as she had to go to her part time job.

After organizing things, Ark returned to his cabin.

“Stat Window!”

 He had spent 20 days in the Argus Mountains. All his hard work was rewarded. Now he was over the level 150 restriction on Magaro’s quest. But was that all? Although it was a laborious process, he now had all the ingredients necessary to complete the ‘Slime’s Immortality Pill.’ He still hadn’t found the location of the ‘Sacred Soil,’ but it knew that it wasn’t possible to look for it immediately.

 “Now, let’s get started?”

Ark opened the personal safe that was in the cabin. He had kept the tooth of a hook bat, the Mandragora and the corrupted fairy wings in the safe. He took all the ingredients out and piled it on the table. Ark looked at the ingredients with warm eyes and took out his pot. Now, it was time to create a survival cooking dish!

“20 days and 300 gold went into this. It better not be some medium item!”

Ark prayed as he began to put the ingredients in one by one. First, he put in the Slime’s Essence which melted to a shining liquid in an instant. After he added the rest of the ingredients, the liquid started shining even more intensely as it simmered. After he finally added the unicorn horn, five colourful halos rose from the liquid and a message window appeared.

“What the? It could also fail? After all that trouble?”

Ark looked in astonishment at the information window.  He had though all the trouble was finished, but now it was different.

“Damn, if I do it this way then it’ll be done by tomorrow……..Even though I haven’t slept for 30 hours, I have to stare at this pot for 2 hours? In addition, it would take 72 hours to finish?”

However, he had already started to boil the ingredients.  Now he had to stare at the pot for 2 hours if he wanted to create the Slime’s Immortality Pill. Ark stared at the pot with bloodshot eyes. And if he saw even a slight dullness in the shine then he would shake the pot uncontrollably.  The results of his hard work so far depended on the next 2 hours!

“Even if I have to bit my tongue, I will create the best Immortality Pill!”

The Cathedral dungeons in Selebrid.

In the dark and drab atmosphere, a hobbit was sitting in jail with a soulless expression. It was Sid, Ark’s sales agent. He was unexpectedly sitting inside a jail underneath the cathedral. Of course, the reason he had a soulless expression was because Sid had left the unit in reality. Once users were stuck in jail, there was nothing for them to do. However, users had to be confined in jail for a certain number of days before they could disconnect. Sid also left the unit connected while he did other things. How much time had passed? Suddenly the cage was opened and a guard entered.

“Number 1590, Nein. You’ve received permission to leave.

“Whew, I’m lucky.”

The merchant who was sitting near Sid let out a sigh of relief. And after a moment in the prison, Sid trembled and blinked. Nein stopped and smiled at Sid.

“Ah, Sid-nim. You came back. Although we’ve only spent 2 days together, I would’ve been sorry to leave without saying goodbye…..”

“You’re going out?”

“Yes, yesterday I called a friend to bail me out. He arrived just now. Wasn’t Sid-nim sentenced to life imprisonment? It might be hard but I hope the misunderstanding is resolved.

Sid blinked his eyes as he suddenly remembered something.

“Come to think of it.  Are you going to travel near Jackson?”

“Yes, because I was stuck in jail the schedule is a little late, but I will drop in there once.

“Is it possible for you to drop by a small village called Lancel Village while you’re there?”

“Lancel?”

“Yes, there is a person that I know there. That person doesn’t know that I’m stuck in jail. So can you drop by while in Jackson and let him know my situation.”

“But the schedule is tight…….”

“Please, I’m begging you. I don’t know his phone number. The moment I leave I’ll deposit 30 gold into your account at the Merchant’s Guild. I’ll give you my phone number. If you check your phone now then you can confirm that it is me called you.”

Sid begged with tears in his eyes. Once he was stuck in prison then his entire luggage was temporarily confiscated. Nein thought for a while before nodding. 30 gold for a quick stop on the way to Jackson. It was a decent compensation. He didn’t have to worry about fraud since he had Sid’s phone number.

“Yes, I understand.”

Nein noticed the guards gesturing him to leave so Sid immediately gave him a message.

“Ark is definitely in Lancel Village. Please tell him about my situation.”

TO BE CONTINUED