Ark

ACT 9 Start of the Real Battle

“Who is that person?”

“Looking at the attire doesn’t he seem to be a n.o.bleman?”

“I think I’ve seen those knights somewhere before.”

The users around the magic tower murmured. They were looking at the 10 knights who walked out of the magic tower. The leader of the knight procession wore shining armour. And at the centre of the group was a young man wearing white clothing who approached Ark. The first person to react to the young man’s appearance was the manager of the warrior’s guild branch. The branch manager confirmed the sentences inscribed on the youth’s clothing and moved back one step. He moved his clenched fist to his chest and shouted.

“Everyone line up, show respect to the Lord of Jackson!”

The NPCs from the merchant’s guild and the Magic Inst.i.tute also followed his example. Yes, the young man who appeared from the magic tower was Lord Jackson.

“L-Lord-nim?”

“Ark, it’s been a while.”

The Lord’s white cape fluttered as he ran up to Ark and grasped his hand.

“How long as it been?”

“Why is Lord-nim here……?”

Ark stuttered as he looked at Lord Jackson and the knights with confused eyes. Apart from the Lord, he was also acquaintances with all the knights. They were Cross and the knights who partic.i.p.ated in the Silvana siege. When they noticed Ark’s attention, they gave him a small smile and nodded. Why had they come all this way to Lancel village? The Lord who had become a dignified youth smiled and answered his question.

“Of course we came here because of you.”

“Me?”

The Lord tilted his head at Ark’s befuddlement.

“What’s with this reaction? You really don’t know anything about it?”

“Don’t know? What are you talking about?”

“Hah. Galen, what’s going on?”

‘Galen?’

Ark followed the Lord’s gaze. Then a person who had been hiding behind the knights awkwardly came forward. It was Galen who had disappeared after leaving the reconstruction project to Ark.

“Galen, why are you with the Lord……?”

Ark still couldn’t grasp the situation at all. It wasn’t just Ark. Standing near him were Bread, Sid and the three guilds. The village residents had also stopped their work and gathered around. Even the users gathered around the magic tower looked on with wondering expressions. Galen’s face looked slightly apologetic before he said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t tell him in case it couldn’t happen.”

“Hmm, so you really don’t know anything.

The Lord looked at Ark mischievously. After a brief moment, the Lord looked serious and said.

“Sir Ark, kneel and receive this Imperial Order from His Majesty the king!”

“Sir Ark? His Majesty’s Imperial Order?”

“Do as he says.”

Galen whispered in a low voice. Ark looked between Galen and the Lord before kneeling. Then the Lord pulled out a sword ornamented with Jewels before tapping it against Ark’s shoulder and speaking in a loud voice.

“I am the Lord of Jackson, Haverstein the 2nd and I hereby bestow upon Ark a knighthood on behalf of His Majesty, the King of Schudenberg. You will also gain the t.i.tle of Baronet and obtain the right to own a land. The Honourable Knight Ark has been granted the Lordship of Lancel village. Although there are some who opposed this decision, His Majesty the King of Schudenberg has decided. Then let all of these contents be applied to Sir Ark!”

‘Honourable Knight? Baronet? Lord?” Then perhaps……?’

Ark couldn’t believe his ears. All of a sudden he had become knighted, received a baronet and became the Lord of Lancel? What on earth was this? However, the Lord did not give him time to think. The young Lord pulled out a golden scroll, untied the silk ribbon and unrolled it.

“Sir Ark, receive the order from His Majesty.”

Ark received the scroll with a stupid face and stuttered.

“Baronet? Lord? What are you saying?”

After handing Ark the scroll, the young Lord immediately looked playful again. And he pointed to Galen and laughed.

“Ask your friend over here. He is the one who arranged everything.”

“Galen arranged this?”

“Yes, of course I helped a bit as well.”

“What does that mean…..?”

“Galen, everything is finished so shouldn’t you explain it now?”

“I understand.”

Galen laughed and approached Ark.

“I don’t know where to begin….. Hmm, yes there is no need for a long explanation so I’ll just say it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while but I finally realized after the village was attacked. You have a large presence among the residents.”

Galen said as he looked at Ark.

“It is natural. From the beginning, this village also died out until you helped us. And all the residents have found a new home in Lancel because of you. In other words, Lancel couldn’t exist without you. That also applies to this attack. If you weren’t here then we would’ve been destroyed by the thieves.”

‘Well, he’s not wrong.’

Ark shamelessly agreed. But he pretended to be humble when about the situation.

“You’re overpraising me. Certainly the residents of Lancel were collected by me. But are they able to rest here in unity because of Galen ajusshi? The residents of Lancel village are also indebted to Galen ajusshi for opening your heart to them.”

“That’s not true. I just manage the place. If it wasn’t for your existence then the beast clans, the ex-thieves and the Baran would never be able to live in unity. I’ve realized this clearly after the attack from the bandit group. So I decided that it will be best to entrust Lancel village to you. After the battle was over, I gathered the residents and revealed my intention.”

Galen pulled out a thick roll of paper. The roll of paper was stamped with the soles of a cat and dog, the palm of the racc.o.o.ns, the signature of the people and so on. What was this? A cartoon? A code? A joke? Galen smiled at Ark’s doubtful look and said.

“This is the answer of the residents. They all signed that they are willing to entrust Lancel village to you.”

……The soles and palms of the beast clans were their signatures. It seemed to pour cold water upon the serious atmosphere but he felt a pain in his chest at the sight. Then all the residents gathered here already knew about it? And they signed that they wanted to leave Lancel village to Ark? When Ark looked around the ex-thieves, Meow, Wolrang, racc.o.o.ns and other residents scratched their heads with embarra.s.sment and avoided his gaze. Galen had gone away for a while because of him. After the Lancel defensive war finished, Galen immediately visited the Lord Jackson. Then he explained everything that occurred in the village to the Lord. The threat of Lance village closing, the movement of new settlers, making the village grow, the food crisis and finding the Sacred Soil and defending the village from thieves…… Then he showed the Lord the signatures of the residents who wanted Ark to be in charge of Lancel.

“This is a very fun talk.”

As one of Ark’s fans, the Lord Jackson happily accepted Galen’s request. Geographically Lancel belonged to the Jackson region, but since it was a pioneer village it wasn’t under the control of the Lord. And since it was a small village, it also didn’t need a Lord. But the words of the village residents changed that. How could he stop a free village from appointing a Lord? But Galen didn’t just want a Lord to be appointed, he wanted it to be acknowledged by the King. And to become an official lord, a n.o.ble rank was needed. So Galen had deliberately gone to Lord Jackson with the signatures. As an adoring fan of Ark, the Lord directly sent a letter to the King.

“His Majesty easily agreed. He hadn’t forgotten your achievement in bringing down Alan and the Ankh church. Of course, defeating the bandit group and having the signatures of the residents greatly helped.”

The young Lord placed his hand on Ark’s shoulder and said.

“Now, don’t you have an answer to give?”

“Huh?”

The young Lord pointed towards the gathered residents.

“You still haven’t given them an answer for their support. The King was the one who gave you a barony but they are the ones who appointed you as the Lord.”

Ark felt something warm in his chest at the young Lord’s words. It had been 1 year and 6 months since he first encountered Lancel village. In the meantime, Ark had experienced an amazing adventure while gathering the residents. That was why he built the memorial for the NPCs despite his money loving personality. Yes, it was already impossible to separate Ark from Lancel. Now Lancel had truly become Ark’s village. And he was chosen by the residents! Despite being NPCs in a game, Ark still recognized his feelings for them.

“……I accept the Lordship.”

Ark answered as he released the bottled up emotions. There was a ringing sound and the information window appeared.

Yes, the Lordship of Lancel village. It was the compensation for a quest which took 1 year and 6 months.

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

“Hooray Lord Ark!”

A huge cheer rang out after Ark accepted the Lordship. The racc.o.o.ns popped up from the holes scattered around and cheered while the Meow ran along the overpa.s.ses and shouted. The Wolrang also shook their tails with wild enthusiasm. The ex-thieves raised their hands in the air and cheered. They were……now Ark’s residents.

“Congratulations.”

Then Gurana raised his hands over his head and lifted a finger. The dozens of magicians from the Magic Inst.i.tute launched fireworks towards the sky. The magic fireworks dyed the sky in flashy lights. Then the warrior’s guild raised their swords and shouted while the merchant’s guild rocked their carriages and partic.i.p.ated in the celebration. The three guilds started the inauguration celebration.

“I’m envious. I never received such enthusiastic cheers from my residents……”

The young Lord standing to one side grinned and muttered. Thus Ark became the Lord of Lancel village. Meanwhile the users just stared at Ark with confused expressions.

———————————————————————————————————–

“d.a.m.n!”

The curse was spat out in the dark and damp area. The person leaning on the cold stone walls and cursing was Jewel.

“That Ark……”

Jewel murmured in a scratchy voice. Jewel was currently locked up in the Jackson dungeons after being killed by the Lancel guards. It was natural since attacking a NPC village was a crime. The leader of the attack was also Jewel. As the ringleader of the thieves, he received an enormous penalty of 4 months in jail. Users organizing a group to attack NPC villages could greatly disrupt the game balance so it received a huge punishment. Of course, Jewel had been prepared to receive the penalty. However, the penalty for his failure didn’t end there. The most fatal problem was that Jewel’s face had been broadcasted nationwide through the TV. Thanks to that, Jewel’s face was now stamped as a villain in the minds of millions of New World users. It would be impossible to play without a mask after he was released from jail. As soon as he knew this fact, Jewel had called the station to protest. However, New World’s rule was ‘anything disadvantageous to a user who committed a crime, or a ‘chaotic’ user cannot be penalized.’ ThTherefore the broadcasting station had ignored his pleas. And there was no point since the video had already spread on the internet. But that wasn’t the end of Jewel’s unhappiness. Jewel, Duke and all the members stuck in jail had received a notice from Raiden stating a permanent ban. There was no need to explain the reason. If they accepted Jewel’s group back then the Hermes alliance would just be branded as a ‘villain’ group.

“Dammit! Even if I could I wouldn’t return to the guild now!”

Jewel punched the wall in anger. He ate and lived for the guild and now it resulted in eternal expulsion? So he felt anger at Ark and feelings of betrayal towards Raiden. Anyway, it was a fact that Jewel lost everything.

‘Ark isn’t an opponent that one person can deal with. The difference will become even larger while I’m trapped for 4 months. But now I’m even expelled from Hermes……the chance to get revenge on Ark won’t come any more. Even if being humiliated in this cell, wouldn’t it be better to quit the game?’

Jewel sighed at the thought.

“No. 5003, you have a visitor!”

The voice of the guard could be heard through the dark pa.s.sage.

“Visitor? Is it Raiden?’

Jewel raised his head. However the person who approached the cell window wasn’t Raiden. The warrior was wearing a brown robe over metal armour and once he pushed back the robe it was an unknown user. There was a metallic sound as he moved back the hood and laughed after seeing Jewel’s face.

“Is it because I saw you on TV? You look so familiar.”

“…..What the? Who are you? Did you come to see the face of a celebrity?”

“Hmm, you’re quite sensitive. It is reasonable.”

The man laughed and said.

“I came because I have a proposal.”

“Proposal?”

“I’ve already checked you out. Jewel, a magician from the Hermes alliance. But isn’t that old now? With this situation the Hermes alliance won’t accept you anymore. Am I wrong?”

“Did you come just to say that?”

“You……no, I came to scout you.”

“What? Scout?”

Jewel looked at the man with stupid eyes. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what on earth was he saying? He wanted to scout Jewel after his face had been broadcasted on TV nationwide? Was he crazy?

“What the h.e.l.l are you thinking?”

“Honestly, I have a lot of colleagues at your level. But I like your tenacity in chasing Ark that you even attacked a NPC village. I need colleagues like you who want to get revenge on Ark.”

“Like me? Then……”

“Yes, I’ve also been insulted and beaten by Ark. Now my purpose in New World is to bring that guy to despair. Aren’t you the same? I’ve almost finished the preparations for my revenge against Ark. I a.s.sure you. If you join me then you’ll be able to achieve your purpose, there’s no doubt. How about it? Do you want to take revenge with me?”

Jewel closed his mouth and looked at the man for a while. His ident.i.ty was unknown. However, Jewel already had no place to return to. Yet there was a reason Jewel hadn’t quit the game yet. His pride wouldn’t let him quit the game when he hadn’t achieved his revenge against Ark yet. If there was a chance to get his revenge on Ark then he would even be willing to sign a contract with the devil. However……

“My punishment is 4 months. I’ll be no different from a low level user when released in 4 months.”

“Then I’ll break you out of jail.”

“What?”

Jewel’s eyes widened at the man’s answer. Then the man said.

“Why are you so startled? You’re the one who tried to annihilate a whole village.”

“That is a mountain village but this place is different. It is the territory of a Lord. For such a thing to be possible…..”

“Of course it is impossible if we attack this place like you did Lancel. But if it is just a jailbreak then it’s possible. My organization already possesses that type of power. If the jailbreak fails then your penalty will increase but you have nothing more to lose. How about it? Would you like to try?”

The man said as he tried to tempt Jewel. He was unsure but the man smelled somewhat dangerous. However, a drowning person had no choice but to grab the vine even if it had thorns on it.

“……Okay.”

The man’s lip curled up at Jewel’s answer. The man looked around for a bit before smiling pleasantly.

“Please wait. It will take a few days.”

“Wait, what is your name?”

The man who started walking away flinched and stopped. Then he lifted his hood back onto his head and said in a low voice.

“Andel, I am Andel.”

———————————————————————————————————–

“Phew, I’ve arranged a bit of it.”

Ark stretched his back and sighed. After becoming the Lord yesterday afternoon, everything had become hectic for Ark. After the celebration ceremony by the 3 guilds, Ark had been paraded around the village. Then the representatives of the residents gathered in the Town Hall and the celebration stretched on for 4 hours. But what really tired Ark out wasn’t the NPCs but the users. Ark had been really puzzled by the Lordship but the users watching had also been shocked. The users had often met the n.o.bility but they never heard of user becoming a Lord outside of Nagaran. In addition, it was incomprehensible to the users about how Ark had taken part in the defensive war. Although many users took part in the Lancel war, none of them had seen Ark (because he had changed into Dark Wolf) so Ark’s inauguration as the Lord was completed unexpected. So throughout the parade the users had followed along in a cloud of confusion and continued asking questions. Thus he had escaped to the Town Hall after the parade.

‘d.a.m.n, now both Dark Wolf and Ark had become famous so it will be difficult to distinguish between them. Should I transform myself into a form other than Dark Wolf when wandering around?’

He was seriously worried about it. Anyway, the young Lord returned to his territory after the celebration was finished. Sid and Bread also became completely drunk and only disconnected at dawn. However, it was just the start of all of Ark’s work.

‘d.a.m.n, I didn’t know the work of a Lord would be so complicated.’

Ark complained as he looked at a pile of papers. Building the branches for the 3 guilds, processing the budget, settling the minor complaints of the residents etc….. Despite being a small village with only 732 residents, the Lord still had a lot of work. Of course, this wasn’t the first time Ark had been a Lord. But he had always intended to sell Silvana to Raiden so he had no interest in it. He also had the highly competent secretary Berami. Of course, in Lancel village there was also Galen. And Galen would still be handling tasks in Lancel when Ark was away. But Lancel village was Ark’s territory. As the Lord, it was necessary to grasp the issues and learn how to process them.

‘Lancel village is different from the territories in Nagaran. This territory only belongs to me. Lancel village is like an extension of my body. If Lancel dies then I will die. If Lancel is well then I am well!’

When he thought about this, it felt like his affection towards Lancel had increase by around a million times. Besides, the profit earned from being the Lord was enormous.

“Character information window!”

Some new information caught his eyes when looking at the information window. Although he hadn’t been able to raise his level while defending Lancel, it was satisfying just seeing the Baronet status.Having a barony in New World wasn’t a small thing. After receiving the barony and the Lordship, he had gained +5 to all stats and 5,000 fame. Since he killed some chaotic users during the battle, he had gained 5,920 fame. And the unique thing was that he could get support from a village or city. Of course, he could only use it when completing quests given by NPCs with a peerage but being able to use regular troops was something other users couldn’t imagine.

‘In addition, being a Lord allows me to meet directly with the Lord of each territory.’

In other words, he had a chance to meet the rulers of each territory and receive a quest from them. If he received quests from NPCs in such high positions then the compensation would surely be good. Maybe the biggest benefit from the Lordship was the ability to directly meet with other Lords.

‘But that is not all of the benefits.’

It was possible to receive profit after becoming the Lord. But since there was various duties and responsibilities required, sometimes it could be a nuisance. But just like Silvana, he could receive a monthly salary. It was 3% of the proceeds from the territory. The current income from the territory was 7,950 gold every 10 days. Since his salary was 3%, he would receive 238 gold and 50 silver every 10 days. That was only 1/10th of Silvana’s monthly salary but he didn’t have to worry about sieges with Lancel. In other words, it was 100% pure profit! Every month he could receive more than 700 gold by completing just a few doc.u.ments. And if Lancel grew then his salary would also grow. It was a golden goose which would be coveted by any user!

‘Plus……’

Ark opened the relevant information window and smiled.

‘265 gold for every 0.1% and he had 9% shares!’

Ark’s eyes turned to gold as he checked the information window. Shortly after the battle the shares fell to 200 gold every 0.1%, but after the 3 guilds were attracted it soared up to 265 gold. Since he received 5% shares for becoming the Lord, his shares had jumped for free. When converted to gold, it was a huge amount worth 13,250 gold! But this compensation was a trap. He would be stripped of his Lordship if his shares fell below 5%! In other words, he couldn’t sell the 5% shares received with the Lordship. And he wouldn’t be given a salary if his shares were sold. In order words, he had to choose between having a steady salary or selling his shares for a lump sum.

‘But my a.s.sets are money. I don’t really need money urgently at the moment so there is no reason to sell it. Well, since it is like that……’

Just possessing the shares would bring in 700 gold every month. There was no reason to sell the shares. And he could use the Lordship if he urgently needed money. A special right of the Lord was to use his village a.s.sets as collateral for a loan. Of course, he had to pay 3% interest every 15 days and he would be deprived of the Lordship if he couldn’t pay it back within 45 days. But it had considerable merit if he needed some urgent money.

‘My current shares are 9% so I can safely use 4% to borrow money.’

Ark briefly closed his eyes and sank into his thoughts.

‘Now it isn’t an exaggeration to say that I’ve obtained a seat in New World. But……’

Just a few months ago he wouldn’t have been able to see this much money. Thanks to the equipment and insurance, he had received 9,450 gold from this battle. During the reconstruction plan, he had obtained 3,470 gold from the sales of the goods in his store. After Isyuram sold the stolen goods, he had also obtained 5,515 gold.

……A total of 18,435 gold!

“But……I don’t know how much more I need but it is still insufficient. If I mortgage my 4% shares then I can borrow 10,240 gold. That is 28,675 gold. It is all I can mobilize for the moment. I’ll bet all of this!”

Ark murmured in a low voice as he stared into the darkness. All that money was required for Ark’s plan. The letter Ark received earlier today had moved his plan into the execution stage.

From Shambala.

I’ve gathered the troops you requested.

I couldn’t mobilize as many of the Eastern Nation and Baran clan as you expected. After the lawless port was destroyed the Nakujuk have been invading more frequently, so we can’t remove a lot of the troops. So Isabel has decided to send 800 Eastern Nation members and 500 of the Baran warriors.

Surprisingly, there are also a lot of users who follow JusticeMan, Lariette and the rehabilitation group.

It is possible to send 2,000 troops from Seutandal. JusticeMan, Lariette and the rehabilitation hyung-nims will move to Nagaran with them.

That was the letter he received from Shambala who had left for Seutandal. Yes, Ark had originally thought of two ways to defend Lancel. One of them was to attract the 3 guilds and make any users lose their will to attack. The other method was a counterattack against Jewel’s group who won’t give up. That’s right, it was to destroy the Hermes alliance which was their main body. Of course, the reason Ark wanted to destroy the Hermes alliance wasn’t just to defend Lancel village.

‘Anyway, I have to take Silvana back for the sake of my ambition!’

Ark’s ambition! If he held the Lordship for both Lancel and Silvana then his monthly salary would be enormous. After from the monthly salary, he could also complete the triangular trade route between Lancel, Silvana and Seutandal. The profit would reach tens of thousands of gold in one month. Ark would become a game tyc.o.o.n! Ark would bet his entire fortune on that gamble.

‘The Hermes alliance is under enormous pressure thanks to the destruction of the lawless port. They also lost 500 people while trying to attack Lancel village this time. Including Jewel and Duke, more than half of them were trapped in jail. ‘Then now is the time to strike the Hermes alliance!’

Ark came to that conclusion shorted after the end of the Lancel war. Now was the chance when the opponent was weakened! But even if they were weakened, the Hermes alliance was still one of the 5 powers in Nagaran. According to the secret agent Sid who had been planted, the current Hermes alliance still had 5,000 people! Even if they received a huge damage to their funds, they could still hire mercenaries for sieges. This meant the opponents were more than 5,000 people. On the other hand, Ark could only mobilize 300 troops from Lancel.

‘It is imperative to gain more troops!’

While Bread and Sid had been sent to persuade the 3 guilds, Shambala and Redian to Seutandal and Bristania to gather troops. Shambala had managed to collect 2,000 people from Seutandal and the Eastern Nation while Redian had 1,000 applicants from Bristania. They were able to collect these users thanks to the influence of the TV broadcast. The fame of Shambala and Redian were no comparison to before.

‘So I presently have 3,300 troops. Yet that is still weaker than the Hermes alliance. I should collect some more troops from Giran and Selebrid. If I appear as Dark Wolf and say this battle will be broadcasted then I should gather 1,000 people with no trouble.’

Ark was convinced that he could gather more troops after the Lancel defensive war. But no matter how many troops he could gather, it wouldn’t be enough. If he used Dark Wolf’s fame and the TV broadcast then he could definitely lure in users. But while the Lancel defensive war had a cause, this battle was more Ark’s private matters. Since Jewel’s face had been shown, Ark could a.s.sociate him with Hermes but in the end the person occupying Silvana would be Ark. There weren’t many users who would want to enter a war like that for free. Even if he could gather some, they would just be low levelled. But high level users needed compensation to risk dropping equipment or the death penalty.

‘The counterattack for Lancel village was a surprise which is how I was able to succeed with low level users. But the siege was different from the Lancel defensive war. The users who enter the siege should have adequate levels and combat skills.’

That was why Ark needed money. In order to gain enough troops to match Hermes, he needed to use money.

‘I currently have 28,675 gold so 4,000 people will be my limit. If I don’t succeed in making Silvana fall with 4,000 people there I have no more chances!’

However, he now had no choice. If he missed the chance while the Hermes alliance was weakened then the chance to retake Silvana would disappear. Ark’s dream of a triangular trade route and a game tyc.o.o.n would vanish. He couldn’t miss this opportunity so Ark decided to gamble it all on this siege. If the gamble won then it would be a jackpot and if it didn’t……

‘It will be the end. I absolutely can’t let that happen!’

Ark stood up and looked out the window. It was window overlooking the north where Giran and Silvana lay. The place Ark would soon go to was there. It was the stage of the decisive battle with the Hermes alliance.

TO BE CONTINUED