He followed the Hand Mirror's light for quite a while.

Ark's journey so far was a monotonous repetition of his daily routine.

The light of the Hand Mirror that functioned as a compass only came out at night.

Since he was following the light in a straight line, he ended up on a route consisting of mostly mountains. So when the light disappeared, he couldn't determine the direction and always wandered off.

Naturally, the method of following the Hand Mirror's light at night and wandering the area and hunting at day solidified.

The moment he entered Argue Mountains that surrounds Jackson's territory line, the higher level the monsters became.

The Magal Wolves possessed defensive powers incomparable to a regular Wolf, and the Bengal Tiger boasted of outrageous attack power with its knife-long fangs, constantly ambushing him.

However, Ark had raised his level to the limit in what was called the highest level dungeon in the Jackson area, the Shadow Forest.

There were no opponents dangerous enough for Ark, who had even hunted a Reaper.

The situation changed one week after the journey started; over two days had passed in real time.

The Magal Wolves' and Bengal Tigers' attacks gradually lessened.

Based on his experience, Ark knew what the change meant.

'Looks like I've passed the territory.'

Like people, what was called disposition also existed for monsters.

The disposition determined the friendship between monsters.

In other words, if similar small monsters were set to be hostile, they did not approach each other. If they were set as a natural enemies like the relationship between a mouse and a wolf, then fights between them would break out.

Thanks to this system being in place, a monster's domain was naturally made.

The fact that ambushes of the Magal Wolves and Bengal Tigers were decreasing meant the domain was changing.

'What kind of monster's domain is this?'

It'd be a sticky situation if he suddenly encountered a high-level monster.

"Bat, observe the surrounding carefully and inform me immediately if anything shows up."

"Got it, Master."

Ark utilized Bat to increase his vigilance thoroughly as he traversed the forest. Soon, he spotted a few monsters between the thick bushes.

'The face of a dog and a human's body, they're Gnolls!'

There were three of them, and they were drooling saliva while roasting a monster that looked like a Bengal Tiger under a fire. In other words, that meant they were strong enough to hunt a Bengal Tiger.

A Bengal Tiger wasn't an easy opponent either. If they were stronger than a Bengal Tiger, then they weren't opponents to thoughtlessly come at.

'What to do? Should I try fighting 'em?'

Ark was contemplating when one Gnoll suddenly raised its head and let out a cry.

"GRRRRR."

"It's a Human. I smell the scent of a Human!"

"Let's catch and eat it, Human meat is more delicious."

It was a mistake to hide with his back to the wind. The Gnolls with their sensitive sense of smell carried their clubs and approached while flaring their noses.

"Damn, no other choice. Skull, Bat. Assist me."

Ark swung his sword at a Gnoll as he leapt from the woods.

The Gnoll caught by the ambush received a critical hit and was thrown back.

"Eyes of the Cat!"

Ark's irises became awash in gold as the Gnoll's weak points and information were displayed.

'Level 45, many weak points too. At this level, I can somehow fight them.'

"Skull, Bat. We're concentrating our attack on one of 'em! Dark Blade!"

Ark loosed a concentrated attack on the Gnoll's weak point.

It was disadvantageous to be surrounded by three level 45 monsters. When fighting a group, it was important to focus the offensive power on one opponent first to reduce the number of enemies.

With Eyes of the Cat and Dark Blade as well as the addition of the Familiars' co-op bonus, the Gnoll's health decreased to 70 percent in an instant. But something strange happened.

The remaining Gnolls kept their distance even while their teammate was under attack. At that moment while Ark was thinking it was strange, the two Gnolls raised their bows.

'Archer!'

He had not tried fighting any monster using a bow until now.

Therefore, Ark had never even considered a countermeasure concerning a bow attack.

"Damn it! Bat, block it! If you can't block it, it's five times of food!"

"Waah, stop, you dog head!"

At Ark's threat, Bat struck the archer's face while screaming.

Its outstretched wings blocked its eyes, making the arrow fly off wildly. But the other Gnoll's loosed arrow sank into Ark's shoulder.

- You have been hit by a critical blow from a Gnoll's arrow! 250 damage. Movement speed reduced for 30 seconds.

The situation became desperate.

The arrow decreased attack speed and increased chance of attack failure.

Moreover, just getting hit increased the chance of getting hit by a critical hit and catching an abnormal status like Slow or Bleed.

While Ark was staggering, a Gnoll's club came flying at him. His movements were slow and his body felt heavy, as if someone was holding onto it.

'Damn, if I get hit again in this condition, it'll be another critical hit...'

Clack clack clack!

Just then, Skull's eyes flashed as it tumbled under the approaching Gnoll's feet. The Gnoll who stepped on Skull, lost its balance and toppled down. At that moment, a red light poured from the Gnoll's whole body.

Simultaneously, a message window popped up with a cheerful tune.

After gaining 100 skill points, the skill Eyes of the Cat has leveled up to Intermediate.

Eyes of the Cat (Intermediate, Active): Eyes of the Cat has leveled up to Intermediate, you can grasp more information and weak points concerning the opponent.

As an Intermediate bonus, if you seize a golden opportunity, you can deal a double critical effect. For 3 minutes

+Night Vision.

+Life Detection

+Weakness Perception.

+Double Critical Chance. Mana Consumption : 70

*Double Critical : The opponent will fall into a completely defenseless state.

Depending on the situation and the enemy's reaction, a Double Critical Chance will be provided for roughly 1~3 seconds.

If Double Critical Chance is invoked, one attack can deal 2 times the critical damage.

'Double Critical Chance!'

The timing when the enemy went into a completely defenseless state, making its whole body turn into weak points!

Using Eyes of the Cat like crazy had paid off.

Ark's sword sank into the Gnoll's nape.

- You have landed a Double Critical hit. As a co-op bonus with Skull, 30% additional damage has been added.

With just one attack, the Gnoll's Health was decreased by over 20 percent. After a few more attacks, the Gnoll disappeared while screaming its death cry.

The situation changed completely once the Gnoll standing in front of him, blocking him had disappeared. There were two Gnolls left. One of them was being blocked by Bat.

'With my consciousness, I'll concentrate on one of them!'

Cliink-!

The reflexes he had sharpened and polished by diligently training Taekwondo shone brightly. Ark parried the flying arrow with his sword by calculating the timing.

Perhaps because he did not have a defense-related skill like Warriors did, but parry was not registered with perfect defense. However, New World was a world in which the same rules as reality were applied. The damage was reduced to less than half and a critical hit did not register.

'As long as a critical hit isn't invoked, something like an Archer isn't a match!''

Ark, whose Slow hex had dissipated, quickly advanced on the Archer.

It was common sense that a monster with long-ranged attack was possibly weak to melee attacks! The Gnoll who had shot arrows became feeble at Ark's attack and staggered.

Just then, he heard the sound of Bat caterwauling from the other side.

"Damned Master! Aren't you even paying attention to me?"

There was a limit when Bat was blocking a Gnoll Archer alone. With an arrow lodged in its head, Bat disappeared at the Gnoll Archer's feet.

- Familiar Hatred-bearing Bat has been forcefully recalled to the Netherworld. You have received 50% of the Familiar's Health as damage.

A tingly sensation like surging electricity flowed into Ark's body and he lost 100 Health.

At the unexpected damage, Ark was thrown into an extremely dangerous situation.

While he was battling against one Gnoll Archer, the other Gnoll freed from Bat's interference, shot an arrow towards Ark's back.

The state of abnormal vulnerability!

'I'll die if I get hit directly!'

Arc suddenly lift Skull.

A critical hit was dealt as the arrow penetrated its forehead, and Skull was forcefully recalled back to the Netherworld in just one blow.

His Health was once again decreased by about 100. But he would have died if the arrow had hit him.

"You swine! I'll make you pay as a revenge for Skull and Bat!"

Truthfully, he didn't have the right to utter such words.

In any case, Ark parried the Gnoll Archer's oncoming arrow and rushed in. At the end of a one minute desperate struggle, he toppled the last Gnoll Archer.

"Dark Blade!"

"Kuuuaak, Human... Just wait and see!"

With a dying scream, the Gnoll's body slowly faded away.

"Phew, I was somehow able to win."

Ark sank to the ground as he exhaled the breath he had been holding in.

Just then, his experience bar which had been stuck at 92% reached 100% in an instant, and with a cheerful tune and his level rose.

The Gnolls gave a lot of experience compared to their level. In addition, the Gnoll was a party monster. It wasn't an enemy that wandered alone. Exterminating a party monster that unleashed complementary co-op attacks added a 30% bonus to experience.

But he couldn't be thoughtlessly happy.

'Dammit, seems like it'll be difficult to continue hunting Gnolls since all my Familiars were forcefully recalled.'

About one or two Gnolls wasn't a match. The problem was Gnolls formed a party and fought in an organized manner.

Well, it wasn't really tremendous strategizing since they were just dog heads. At best, a Gnoll Archer would shoot arrows from afar while a Gnoll Warrior would block Ark, an incomparably simple strategy.

However, it was as effective as it was simple.

If he heedlessly fought alone, he would probably fall over after becoming a porcupine before he could take down a Gnoll Warrior.

Of course, there would be no problem at all if Ark formed a party.

But Ark, who was consumed by a deep-rooted distrust of users, wanted to avoid party hunting if possible.

And even if Ark wanted to, there wasn't a user who would come all the way to a remote area like this to help him, who was constantly moving because of a quest.

'It would be better to avoid the Gnolls until I can resummon my Familiars.'

He had to wait 24 hours or three days in game time before he could call forth his recalled Familiars.

For the first time since leaving Jackson, Ark turned back.

It was the first time both his Familiars were simultaneously forcefully recalled. He didn't know how useful and helpful his Familiars had been until they were gone.

Bat's scouting ability, and the ability to distract the enemies attention when there were several monsters around, in addition to the co-op bonus of the Familiars. Ark hadn't largely realized these effects. But now that they were gone, hunting was twice as hard. It also took a lot of time, so just defeating one Bengal Tiger consumed 3~4 minutes. Since it took double the time it took when he'd cleared them in 1~2 minutes, he actually felt his experience wasn't increasing.

But the truly puzzling thing was something else.

'Damn, why does hunting feel this boring now?'

Ark hunted without rest. When a monster appeared, he just took it down with his sword the way his body was familiar with. He picked up items and foraged food ingredients. Then he summoned Netherworld's Egg in his spare time and made it absorb food. Since there wasn't anything different from before, it wasn't exciting.

'I'm gonna go crazy.'

Ark let out a frustrating sigh.

Similar to NPCs, Familiars also had the ability to think for themselves.

Skull and Bat's reactions changed depending on Ark's attitude. For Skull, it was a Familiar with absolute obedience towards Ark, so its reaction didn't change significantly. However, for Bat, if Ark just pushed him around straight up with a heavy hand, it would sulk and there were times when it wouldn't talk for a while, and when a battle broke out, it would run away.

But then when he humored it a little, it soon honeyed him as if it would lick his boot. Sometimes it even pointed out things that Ark hadn't thought of.

'Why are NPCs so picky with their preferences?'

At first, he didn't like that he had to pay attention to each and every one of those points. Moreover, since it consumed Mana when a fight broke out, his usage of skill was limited. So sometimes, there were times when he wondered if he really needed to summon his Familiars.

But it seemed Ark had adapted to them before he realized it.

After his father passed away, he was too busy making a living so he'd never hung out with friends. That same nature applied even in New World. Moreover, because his experience in the beginning was nothing but betrayal, he was stained with a deep-rooted mistrust of users and he'd come to avoid users.

However, Ark was also human.

He'd gotten used to living alone, but it wasn't enjoyable. Even in New World, he'd sometimes felt loneliness while struggling and hunting for a few days in a dark forest. At some point, he stopped feeling lonely, which was after he had his Familiars around.

At the very least, it was evident that Skull, who showed absolute loyalty, and even Bat who constantly grumbled were on Ark's side.

Their existence moved for Ark without desiring any price in return.

They were beings Ark hadn't been able to find in reality or other games.

It was just that he hadn't felt it until now, but to Ark, the Familiars already weren't simply characters, but comrades he could trust.

'24 hours... is a long time.'

For the first time since starting the game, time felt long to him.

'Now I won't let the Familiars get forcefully recalled a second time.'

Ark thought earnestly of his Familiars at last.

"Damn it!"

* * *

24 hours finally passed.

As soon as it was summoned, Bat pointed at its forehead and threw a fit.

"Did you see? Did you SEE? I'm saying the arrow struck and it got stuck! Do you know how much it HURT?"

Ark was not surprised.

When a user received damage, they didn't feel the pain. Only a stinging sensation like a slight static shock. But NPCs were different. If they were cut with a knife, they would feel the pain of getting cut by a knife. So if they were hit by an arrow, they would feel the exact pain of getting hit by an arrow.

It was just a programming setting, but everything was real to an NPC.

"If you're the master, shouldn't you take care of your Familiars like a master? But we endured even your experiments of food since you're our master! But for you to use us as SHIELDS! Even if you're our master, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Skull! You say something too!"

Clack clack clack clack.

Skull clacked its teeth with a slightly sullen movement.

"You see! It's so bad that Skull is also acting this way, huh?"

"Alright, I understand. I'll be careful next time."

"Hmph, words like that... eh? What. What did you say?"

The snorting Bat flinched and stepped back. Then it stared at Ark with eyes filled with wariness.

"Ma-master, did you eat something bad? Why're you suddenly acting like this?"

"Like you said, I was a little extreme. I mean this as an apology."

Ark extended food that exuded an aromatic smell.

Then Bat went pale as it shortly made excuses with a servile voice.

"Ma-master. I, I was wrong. I just wanted Master to pay a little more attention to us, so... hehehe. Well, I'm not saying I'll disobey you, just that it's so. Now I don't have complaints. Really."

"Don't worry. Because this dish is a tasty one."

"Huh? Sniff sniff, isn't this is something we've eaten before?"

Bat tilted its head after flaring its nostrils. It had wondered whether Ark was beating in discipline with another dreadful body experiment after Ark pushed forward the food without warning. But after blindly smelling it, it was a food that had its effect confirmed not long ago. And it was made by liberally using precious ingredients, a valuable food that raised Health and Agility for one hour.

Familiars did feel hunger, and they possessed gluttony towards tasty foods. But its instinct to protect itself came before the food. Bat stared at Ark with suspicious eyes after gulping down its saliva.

"Thi-this doesn't have poison in it, right?"

"Shall I make you one with poison mixed in it?"

"Ack! N-no."

Bat quickly shook its head and shoved its head into the pot.

Next, Ark made the same food again and fed it to Skull as well.

During the time he was alone, Ark had keenly realized the preciousness of his Familiars.

Of course, he couldn't stop feeding them food, since he wanted his Familiars to grow. But he did think there was a need to converse in a friendly manner now and then. Like the carrot and the stick.

Ark's virtue allowed him to obtain unexpected information.

- The loyalty of the Familiars, who felt the sincere affection of their summoner, has increased by 1 each. Affection stat has increased by 1.

'So Loyalty can also increase!'

Even Ark was informed of the changes in his Familiar's loyalty.

Skull didn't change, but in Bat's case, if he shoveled food indiscriminately, its loyalty decreased a little. Every time that happened, it was a matter of fact that Bat didn't listen to him as much and complained more. Until now, it hadn't gone up even once.

'Looks like it was probably influenced by the newly formed Affection stat.'

Ark roughly understood the situation.

The Affection stat he'd earned from succeeding the miracle of Nursing!

Until now, Ark had no idea what the stat was used for. It didn't help at all when he raised his intimacy with the village NPCs. But he had unexpectedly learned its purpose.

That wasn't all. The proficiency of Survival Cooking went up by 1 each when a new type of dish was create, so it rose by 4.

Food made for other had to have meaning. Since he cooked it to show his apology and gratitude towards his Familiars, bonus proficiency had been applied.

'Attitude applies directly to the game.'

This simple fact, which he had forgotten for a long time, hit home anew.

"Huhuhu. Master. Looks like you've finally realized our value."

After being a little friendly with it, Bat soon became impudent. But Ark, who missed it for 24 hours, indulgently let it slide.

"That aside, there's something I want to say before we start battle again."

"What is it?"