“Kekeke, attack! Sweep them away without leaving a single human behind!”

Once again, a group of monsters swarmed towards the back gate.

“It’s the enemy. Everyone prepare for battle!”

At Cross’ order, soldiers who had been taking breaks rose urgently. Then they clashed with countless metallic clanging noises!

As the young Lord had said, it was definitely not easy to defend the back gate.

A legion consisting of dozens of monsters came to attack the back gate at regular intervals. Though they weren’t at the level of the Sylphid Knights, the Guard demonstrated abilities matching players at level 80 or so. In addition, their equipment was considerable, so their attack and defense were also quite good. Alone, they could easily take down one or two Shadows, but there was a problem.

In terms of composition, battle ability, and strategy, the Guard was a long ways off from the Sylphid Knights.

First of all, the Guard’s composition wasn’t as good as that of the player raids. Unlike the player raids, which were evenly made of Warriors, Archers, Magicians, and Clerics, the guard force only had Warriors and Archers. Therefore, when the enemy was upon them and they didn’t even have a strategy, charging in while swinging their swords was the whole of it.

It was no wonder that there was a considerable loss of Health with each round of battle.

The second problem was, even though they had lost that much Health, there wasn’t a Cleric so there was no way to recover properly. Thanks to that, they had to apply first aid or eat food to recover Health after the fighting was over. There were many cases along the way where they had to fight a monster legion before they were done recovering. A battle with lacking skills took a long time, and since it took long, the guard force had to fight again before their Health was 100% recovered. They were caught in a vicious cycle. Still, they were able to endure thanks to the powerful equipment that had been bestowed upon the guard NPCs.

“This is a fight where everyone is holding on with their enormous defense and Health.”

But Ark wasn’t supported with as much defense and Health as the Guard. If he faced monsters by throwing himself into battle like they did, he would soon meet his end.

“Finishing off the weak monsters while the guards are protecting themselves with shields will be good.”

Ark faced the three or four Shadows that had lost most of their Health and had been pushed to the rear. However, even that required much caution. NPCs also leveled up when they accumulated EXP, and if their contribution went up, they advanced to a higher position in society. Of course they were greedy for EXP and contribution. Fortunately, they didn’t openly state their complaints since his intimacy with them was high, but they stared at him uncomfortably when he snatched monsters with rock bottom Health.

“My place with them will disappear if my intimacy with the guards falls.”

Ark felt the crisis of the situation and decided to abandon his blazing greed.

After several battles, he began to see a rough compromise.

When he picked off monsters with 50% Health left, the guards showed no obvious reactions.

“Hey Ark, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Rather, they occasionally even encouraged him.

“Alright, so they overlook this much! Now there’s no need to worry.”

Once he was certain of the limit, Ark began to move briskly. Ark’s sword cleaved the darkness like a flash.

The Shadows that had already lost half their Health were put down with three or four critical hits from Ark. Ark kicked wildly in all directions and let loose Dark Blade to exterminate the monsters.

There was no need to worry too much about his Health and Mana. After fighting until he fell into critical condition, he backed off when it grew dangerous and ate food. The trusty guards were holding up the front, so he could leave it to them and take a break. This was something he wouldn’t have been able to do if he had been fighting with players.

While fighting like that, a new message window appeared.

The skill ‘Indomitable Will’ has reached 100 points in skill proficiency and has increased to Intermediate.

Indomitable Will (Intermediate, Passive): Overcoming innumerable life and death situations have made your courage even more unwavering. The concentration ability that shines during a crisis has become one level stronger.

In a crisis, Critical Hit Chance will increase by 40% and Regeneration ability will increase by 10%.

Indomitable Will was the first skill Ark had learned.

Indomitable Will was a skill that only activated in critical condition. The skill had stopped growing because Ark grown to a point where he rarely reached critical condition. Even so, he couldn’t purposefully fall into critical condition to raise the skill since there was no knowing what kinds of situations would arise while hunting alone. However, it was a different situation when the guards were backing him up like now.

‘Indomitable Will finally reached Intermediate. Now is the chance to raise skills. Indomitable Body doesn’t have much left either, so I should use this opportunity to fall into critical condition more often. But if I’m going to approach the jaws of death, wouldn’t it be good to raise intimacy as well?’

“Dedric, Skull. There’s no need for you guys to participate in the battle. Patrol the area and assist any guards at risk!”

“Understood, Master.”

Ark had Dedric and Skull meticulously check the battle situation. Then he was able to quickly run in front of guards in critical condition who were in danger.

Just then, he glimpsed a guardsman who was under concentrated attack from monsters riding lizards, evolved versions of Shadows called Avengers.

“Kekeke, die. Human!”

“Stop, ACK!”

Ark’s Health plummeted from taking a critical hit by a lance.

“Oh, Ark!”

“Please go, I’ll take it from here!”

“Th-thank you.”

“Your opponent is me!”

“Kekeke, you took a hit for another, so is this the insignificant humans’ code of chivalry?”

The Avenger lunged in as it jabbered in a derisive voice.

“Dedric, now. Cover that guy’s eyes!”

Dedric flew in quickly and unfurled both his wings to cover the Avenger’s face. Then Ark grabbed and hurled Skull at the Avenger’s face, making it stagger and sway. At that moment, Ark leapt onto the charging lizard’s body and loosed a lethal move.

“Dark Blade!”

The Avenger took a considerable blow from the defense-ignoring attack and rolled off the lizard’s back. Ark showered the Avenger with kicks and sword attacks as it staggered to its feet!

Of course, since he had to raise his skill points for the Indomitable set, he didn’t forget to get hit a few times. Then, as soon as Indomitable Will and Body were activated, he immediately dealt a Dark Blade and ended the Avenger’s life.

– You have defeated Avenger and saved your teammate from a crisis. Contribution +20 (+10)

‘Added contribution points!’

He was granted bonus contribution points since he took down an enemy after taking a hit for the guardsman.

That wasn’t all. When he fought while saving guardsmen like that a few times, there was a change in the way the guardsmen looked at Ark. From simple familiarity to respect…

“Thank you, I survived thanks to you.”

“You are indeed Ark. I’ll be happy to die for your sake!”

As the knights grew to respect him more, Ark’s restrictions became less strict. They didn’t complain even when he snatched monsters with about 40% Health.

‘Is there still room to raise intimacy more with the guards?’ Ark’s eyes were shining.

Only then did he catch onto the rough sense of what he had to do.

When it became Ark’s time to rest, he made Survival Cooking food without sparing his ingredients. Health recovery was manifold faster than normal food, and it even granted additional effects!

“Ah, after eating this food, my fatigue seems to have somehow flown away.”

“Somehow, it makes me feel like I can run 100 meters in 10 seconds.”

“And the taste is delicious as well.”

After only eating dried rations for several days, the guards spoke up with energetic faces. Moreover, their stats increased and their recovery rate quickened, so it was easier for them to face the swarming monsters as well.

Next, Ark turned his eye on repair.

The guards had toolboxes, but they had to hammer away at their equipment for a long time to make repairs. But Ark’s Magic Restoration was instantaneous!

“Bring me all the broken equipment!”

Ark drank the Mana restoring Herb Tea during breaks and quickly repaired the guards’ equipment. The attack and defense of the soldiers’ equipments were exceptional, but they were all Common equips. As a result, the guards rejoiced when Ark repaired their equipment without penalties to the durability.

“Thank you, to think that repair would be done so quickly. Now fighting will be much easier.”

“Consider this as thanks. It’s easier thanks to you, so please take it.”

When he completed a set number of repairs, Cross even pulled out a spare tool box and gave it to him. Though they were just common tool boxes, each one was worth 10 Gold!

Was that all? His skills went up, and since he was contributing to the battle with food and repairs, he received additional contribution points. At the same time, his intimacy surged up, so when he dealt the last blow on monsters in critical condition or even snatched up items from a monster felled by another soldier, they didn’t gripe about it.

Once he got the ball rolling, it was smooth sailing from there. After repeatedly fighting in battles where he recklessly fell into critical condition, Indomitable Body soon became Intermediate. Both lndomitable Will and Body had only had 7 skill points left to fulfill, so it hadn’t taken much time.

Indomitable Body (Intermediate, Passive): As a great warrior, countless wounds and agonies have made your body even stronger. Your increased defense will shine in a difficult situation.

In a crisis, defense and Critical Hit Evasion will increase by 40%, Regeneration ability will increase by 10%.

* As a set effect of Indomitable Will and Body, you have learned “Adrenaline.”

Adrenaline: A true Warrior will not feel fear in a critical situation. Rather, their intense excitement will release adrenaline and make them forget fear and fatigue. Now, when you face a crisis, adrenaline will be released and you will be able to bring out the most of your body’s ability.

In a crisis, +50% Immunity to Fear, Reaction Rate +20%.

‘I finally raised both of the Indomitables in the set to Intermediate!’

When he set a goal and aggressively pursued it, the skill growth was also fast.

The effect of Adrenaline was incredible. Once he fell into critical condition, all his senses sharpened, making him feel as if the enemy was Slowed. Naturally, it was much easier to avoid the enemy’s attacks. Also, his attack speed increased, letting him make six attacks in the time it had taken to make five. With the Indomitable series effects added on top of that, his fighting power skyrocketed. After about three or fours hours of fighting, he was even able to match his breathing with the guards.

“Everyone, be strong! Only we can defend Jackson Castle!”

“OOOHHH!”

The Nursing skill he occasionally used also had a great impact. Their spirits uplifted, the soldiers fought monsters even more powerfully.

In order to maximize hunting efficiency, Ark occasionally stepped out of battle to receive side quests from Raymond. Raymond, who was in charge of the volunteer troops, commissioned him small quests.

“It will be a great help in protecting the castle if you defeat about fifty Shadows.”

“Avengers are platoon leaders that lead the Shadows… if you defeat them, we’ll be able to shake their chain of command.”

“You’ve seen a Hipton before, right? They’re giant monsters holding hammers or iron bows. They say three or four Hiptons are advancing to attack the castle walls. Please stop them.”

The side quests had simple narratives, like the above. When he completed a quest, his EXP, contribution, and a value called operation performance evaluation went up. At first, he didn’t know what the operation evaluation value meant, but after completing about ten quests, he grasped the gist of it. He received harder quests with higher operation performance evaluation value.

However, players didn’t take quests despite knowing that they were available. Firstly, the rewarded EXP and contribution points were scanty, and in the raid, it was too eye-catching to go all the way to the front gate to receive a quest alone.

On the other hand, with the NPC guards, taking quests was quite favorable for Ark. Sometimes, they even put themselves in danger to help Ark complete a quest. Thanks to that, Ark was able complete quests much more easily and accumulate additional EXP and contribution.

‘The penalty for raising contribution points alone is gone. No, it’s actually a hundred times better than an average raid. Since more than anything, I can fully place my trust on the NPCs.’

Just 5 hours after Ark joined the guards, he leveled up 2 times.

Character Name

Ark

Race

Human

Alignment

Good +100

Fame

750

Level

71

Profession

Dark Walker

Title

Cat Knight, Soul Caretaker

Health

1,415

Mana

1,125 (+100)

Spiritual Power

100

Strength

178

Agility

218 (+17)

Stamina

268

Wisdom

27

Intelligence

216

Luck

43

Flexibility

17

Art of Communication

23

Affection

23

Special Stat: Knowledge of Ancient Relics

63

Equipment Effects

Black Bear Mouse Leather Armor: Agility 2, Frost Resistance +20

Cat Paws: Attack Speed +10%, Agility +15, Critical Hit Rate +10%

Crystal Golem’s Head: Mana +100

Norad Boots: Movement Speed +10%, Evasion +5%

* All abilities will increase by 30% in the dark.

* You have the ability to hide in the darkness (15 minutes duration. Cancelled when you get into combat).

* Resistance Fear, Darkness, Blind, and Seduction spells is increased by 50%.

* You can bring out the true abilities from all types of tools.

However, his time hunting with the guards reached a totally unexpected deadlock. After 6 hours, the guard commander, Cross, spoke with a fatigued face, “Today, we’ll head back in around now.”

“Huh? What do you mean?

“Since they’ve charged in for awhile, the monsters will be quiet for a bit. And the guards are all tired. If we don’t get proper rest, we won’t be able to endure tomorrow’s battle.”

It was a problem of fatigue. The concept of time was different for NPCs. For a player, a full day was 8 hours in real time. A player could push themselves to stay up a few nights and wage battle. So when there was a lull in monster attacks, players went out looking for monsters to hunt.

However, 6 hours to a player was 18 hours to an NPC. In addition, unlike users, NPCs felt fatigue and the pain of being injured realistically. Even if they recovered their Health with food or potions, their fatigue did not also disappear.

“With the situation as it is, we won’t be able to get sufficient rest, but since we’ve passed one round of the enemy’s attacks now, we’ll be able to rest until dawn. Since you have also pushed yourself quite hard, you should at least get a bit of shut eye.”

“… I understand.”

Those words were like pouring cold water over his rising spirits.

However, even Ark couldn’t impose a tighter schedule on the guards.

‘So that means for every 6 hours, I have to fight alone for 2 hours.’

But the monsters that attacked the walls came in legions. They were difficult opponents for Ark to deal with alone. Even so, he couldn’t ask to squeeze in with the attack raid for just two hours.

‘What to do? If I play around for 2 hours for every 6 hours, I’ll be doing nothing for 6 hours every day. The others will be staying up all night to hunt, so the gap will just grow larger…’

Having headed in with the guards for replanning, Ark blew out a sigh. ‘And to think that Snake’s inability to eat items would be this critical.’

Since he was fighting at Jackson Castle, he had thought he’d be able to keep selling his loot. But there was a variable that he hadn’t even imagined. It was that all the NPC shops had closed shop when Jackson Castle was attacked. Necessities could be bought through the quartermaster inside the castle, but the sale of loot was impossible.

The event quest had just begun. However, Ark’s bag was already 80% full.

Since there was no knowing what kind of item would drop and when, he was now unable to blindly grab items except for ones that stacked.

‘To think that I’ve fallen into situation where I can’t grab everything in front of my eyes…’

They were japtem worth a dozen coppers and a few silvers at best, but collecting small change eventually leads to quite a sum. Since he couldn’t take money that was on the ground, he was likely to go crazy and tear his hair out.

That wasn’t the only problem.

Hiss, hiss…

Having entered metamorphosis, Snake was gradually weakening and was spitting out an item from its belly at regular intervals. Since all the items Snake had been storing were useful, depending on the item, there were times when he left items that he’d obtained or picked them up. Ark really felt like his skin was being peeled away with each item he had to leave behind.

‘I can’t blame Snake since it ate the Fruit of Basium by my mistake…’

Seeing Snake throw up yet another item with a grueling expression, Ark could only sigh. Now that he knew that Snake was throwing up items at regular intervals, he could no longer unsummon it. If Snake vomitted all the precious items in the Netherworld, there’d be no way to retrieve them.

At the very least, Snake was able to regain its strength a little when Ark occasionally used Nursing, which fortunately decreased the vomiting. Of course, Ark had mulled over many ways to end Snake’s process of metamorphosis. However, there was nothing in particular that came to mind.

Thinking he might know, Ark asked the Alchemist Raymond, who was rich in knowledge concerning magic ingredients. However, Raymond shook his head.

“Even I have heard of the Fruit of Basium. However, the Fruit of Basium is processed in a special manner to make magic medicine or is used as a catalyst. I’ve never heard of a living creature that has eaten it directly, so it’s hard to say. I’m sorry I’m not of much help.”

“It’s alright.”

He was aware that this was not something that could be solved so easily. With a sour face, Ark shook his head and turned around.

Then, Raymond asked cautiously, “Ark, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Actually… having heard that you were here, there’s a fellow who says he absolutely must see you.”

Embarrassed, Raymond gestured towards a boy lingering around the doorway. It was a familiar face. As Ark looked towards him, Raymond explained, “This is my rascal you saved, my son. Which reminds me, I haven’t even introduced him to you. This is Tom.”

“Ah!” Only then did Ark remember the boy.