The Red Man

Kurururu!

There was a deafening honk.

Following Sarah, we reached the Brown rock area within 30 minutes.

Ark’s party reached the bottom of a waterfall pouring down from distant heights. It was an area of darkened stone around Giran; with such excessive heights that Ark had never even been there. They took a break to view the stunning scenery but some of the view was blocked by the ruins.

While Ark was looking around, Sarah pointed to one side. At the back of the falls was a small space that one person might be able to pass through.

When just looking at it straight on, the mist from the water makes the passage impossible to see.

Sarah thrust a hand in and showed that the space was larger than it seems. Inside the entrance a bunch of moss was attached to it.

[Unidentified thieves hideoutInside the Brown Rocky area are ruins that have been abandoned a long time ago.It looks like one of the places that are often abandoned. However, traces of people can be found at several different locations.This remains clear that a dangerous group are hiding somewhere within the ruins. If you are going to explore the ruins, proceed with extreme caution.]-You have found an undiscovered dungeon. As a new discover, you can gain an additional 700 experience and 30 Fame if you register in the Hall of Fame. Would you like to register?

Ark obviously refused registration and entered.

” This place was a hidden dungeon!’

He’s come to the front of the falls before but never found a dungeon.

It was hidden in a place that people wouldn’t have imagined.

Of course, this was not the only dungeon. So far, Ark has been in numerous areas with hidden dungeons.

‘When I first started the game, I would have missed them …….. ‘

When Ark first entered New World, he wasn’t interested in everything.

He would overlook a suspicious forest or rock. Even a waterfall suddenly appeared in a rocky area then he would’ve just ignored it.

It is a long game, if you only relied on information that was already discovered that you would be unable to proceed much further.

This was caused by the excessive need to level up.

”But in New World there is a lot of information that is yet unknown.

And that is what you have to figure out by yourself. In the future, I should pay more attention to my surroundings.’

Finishing his self-criticism, Ark turned to Sid and said.

“SId please set up camp here and wait patiently with Sarah.”

“Yes,”

Sid answered and pulled out firewood to create a campfire.

Then Sarah pulled Sid’s sleeves and asked.

-Sid-oppa is not fighting?

“Eh? I am a merchant…….. ”

-Being hit would hurt more ….

Sarah’s sneaked a glance at Sid and then looked down.

“Eueu……..Should have chosen a warrior. . .”

That struck a blow and Sid once again regretted his career choice.

Leaving the two behind, Ark entered the dungeon. The roaring of the waterfall shook the dungeon.

The noise of the waterfall was close enough that it created static around the ears. In addition, every step he took he could feel the tension!

Ark stealthily entered the mouth of the tunnel.

‘That reminds me. ‘

“Dedric, surveillance”.

“Roger, master”

Ark advanced carefully with Dedric ahead of him. However, the dungeon was smaller than he thought. One passage consisted of a circular shape. Besides, no matter how much he looked for a thief, he didn’t even see a mouse.

‘What the? Sarah saw the thieves drag her father here. What was going on? ‘

If so, only one answer remained, there was a secret passage somewhere.

Therefore Ark used the skill Eyes of the Cat to observe the area around him. And after a few moments, he found some bloodstains on the ground.

The blood stains were quite new…….

‘This is it! ‘

It was clear that Sarah’s father was dragged by the thieves and shed some blood.

This means that if he followed the blood trail then he will find the secret passage, Ark reasoned.

The blood stains were sparsely scattered at areas with dead ends.

They were kind enough to show where the secret passage was by splattering a few drops of blood on the walls.

”Is this where the switch is? ‘

Ark peered at the walls and the fall but no matter how meticulously he looked, he could not find the switch. 10 tedious minutes had passed when suddenly the familiar sounds of the waterfall changed.

Ark instinctively pressed his ear to the wall.

“It really……..is boring”

“How long ……this ……. wait?”

“Any other way? … … ….It’s an order………..While activities ………stay hidden…….. ”

“Che, …..They’re surprisingly cowardly… … …Why should we listen to them? ”

“He……..what skills do you have … … ….if you offend him… ….. ”

“And then ……..Here too … … ….Do you know ”

“Aaa………That man ………..we paid compensation … … … that……..words? ”

“Now you can harvest soon ………..If everything goes well … … ….get big profit … … … …. ”

“Huhuhu, indeed…..”

“Although … … …I heard rumours … … …Nowadays, the surrounding robbers ……..there is a hunter? ”

“Aaaa…….Heard … … …No party. .. ….it was said to be alone? ”

“A pretty strong guy … … … …looks like… ….It’s unrelated to us.. … … .. ”

“Damn ……..by such a person ……..and want … … … …I wish …….before I die of boredom ”

Because of the falls the sound was broken but information doesn’t really matter to me.

The important thing is that there are thieves inside the secret passage!

“Okay, Dedric, Skull, lurk back around the corner”

Ark commanded in a small voice and they moved to position. And attacked the wall with his sword.

A deafening bang, and the walls vibrated. He couldn’t even scratch the walls but that didn’t matter. Because he hadn’t even thought of trying to break the wall.

“Eh? What……..Sound? ”

“I heard outside … something collapsed……..did?”

“Damn …if entrance collapses ……annoying … … ”

“For the time being……I’ll go out”

With a mechanical sound, the wall pushed outwards and rose up.

‘What the? Everything’s fine? ”

“So what was that sound before?”

“Did the stone roll away from the falls or something?”

The 3 thieves appeared and looked around through the secret door.

Ark who had hidden himself using ‘stealth’ was watching from close by. He came out and quickly approached them, stabbing the thieves with the sword.

-Critical Hit! Backstab effect has increase damage by 200%. The thief will be stunned for 10 seconds.

The vitality of the thieves was reduced by 30% as the quickly hid himself again…

“What, what?”

“The enemy!”

Two thieves panicked and pulled out a sword However, Ark’s actions was several times faster.

“Snake, nerve paralysis poison!”

Snake had eaten a poisonous plant and spouted black venom.

The venom flew across the small space and hit the neck of the thieves. And the voice of the loudest thief suddenly stopped.

That tactic was one that they had used and successfully mastered on other thieves.

When using paralysis poison, you can attack the throat and paralyze the vocal cords. When that happens, if the enemy are not organized thieves then their communication will weaken.

“Now, Dedric, Skull! Plan B-1! ‘

Ark who was hidden in the corner called out a command.

While Ark took care of one enemy and drew their attention, the two pets began the operation, which had a 70-30 offense and defense ratio used to stop the enemy and blocking the enemy’s retreat was plan B-1D.

Additionally, the airborne ratio was 50:50 for plan B-2, 20:30 for B-3 and to stop attacking and stop the enemy from retreating was plan B-4. Through countless attacks against thieves, the experienced Dedric and Skull skillfully avoided the thieves’ attack.

Meanwhile, Ark violently attacked a thief who stumbled from the onslaught. Once the enemy’s organizational skills had been destroyed, they were no match for Ark.

Hunting a user that was a thief was far more difficult that fighting a group of thieves. Their level was 100!

On the other hand, he was only level 85 but the dungeon allowed limited room for the thieves to move. His 30% dark attribute bonus also guaranteed that his stats added up to around level 110. At the same time his skill proficiency increased by 30% and was surprisingly effective.

He also used his Eyes of the Cat skill to search for any weaknesses.

A kick quickly took care of the stumbling thief and attacked the throat of the middle bandit who had been hit with the paralysis poison to stop communication, causing him to fall into critical condition. Once he fell, the final thief opened his mouth and ran away.

Are they trying to request help?

‘Don’t miss? ‘

Ark turned and threw something at the legs running away.

Due to the poison the thief’s legs became paralyzed and he fell down.

The chances for a double critical hit activated immediately!

Even if he couldn’t see it the results were clear.

“Well, this was a fairly decent battle.”

When he checked only 30% of his health was shaved off.

But he would have to be careful because he wasn’t sure how many thieves were hiding. ”

Ark used Eyes of the Cat and activated ‘Stealth’ while hiding in the secret passageway.

There were also long tunnels that connected from the passage.

Within a few minutes some roads that lead back to a main square room appeared. The square was lined with balconies, each flanked by two thieves standing guard.

The square.

There was no way to avoid being seen from the balconies on both sides and it was impossible to get away undetected. However, that didn’t matter to Ark as he has the skill ‘stealth.’

‘The stairs to go up the balcony can’t be seen from here. Then are there more stairs to go up inside the balcony? I better find the stairs to go up where I can remain undetected. ‘

Ark silently crossed the square.

Although he had ‘Stealth’ activated, he was still quite nervous when he entered the vicinity of the guards. And just as he was about to cross the square, a situation that had never happened before occurred.

He happened to step on something on the ground.

-A trap has been triggered. Critical Hit! You have received 200 damage.

‘Bleed’ status. 10 hp will be consumed every 5 seconds for one minute.

He never expected traps.

So far he’s never fought against an opponent who used traps, but the problem was not the trap.

The attack had cause him to enter a battle state and the ‘Stealth’ ability was deactivated. At the moment, the eyes of every thief were concentrated on Ark.

“Intruder!”

“How did you get here?”

“Whatever it doesn’t matter! Kill him!”

Two people at a time deliberately lifted their bows, for a total of 4 people.

The arrows simultaneously flew from different directions. The situation was one where he couldn’t predict and avoid the arrows. However, Ark did not panic. He had experienced this with countless other bandit groups.

There was no reason to rush and get upset.

“Dedric, Skull! Plan B-4! ”

“The right wing. Ok!”

Crackle!

Dedric and Skull used all their evasive power to avoid the arrows and destroy two.

Then, Ark grasped his sword tightly and concentrated on the remaining arrows flying towards him. Just as the arrows were four feet away from him, he turned and swung his sword.

He pushed forward while simultaneously hitting the arrow with his sword… At the moment it struck, he managed to counter attack and successfully pulled off Riposte.

He managed to attack a thief faster than the arrows could be shot.

“Gwak, how, the arrow …!”

The thieves burst out a shocked cry.

After being backed into a corner by the Silver Arrow group, he relentlessly polished the activation rate of his Riposte skill. Thanks to this training, there was a 70% chance that Riposte would activate and parry the arrows.

Once the arrow had been deflected, Riposte was useful in dealing the first blow. If an arrow hits there is a high possibility that an abnormal status will be inflicted. And it’s the same for thieves too. If two thieves were hit with arrows, they might get paralysis or slow etc.

In other words, the robbers were also in danger of being hit by the arrows. There was also Dedric and Skull to decrease the burden on Ark.

For Ark, the limit of a flying arrow was two feet.

This was a small enough number that he could use Riposte. When Ark deflected as many as five arrows, the thief’s health was decreased by at least 40%. However, it was not a 100% chance.

If Riposte failed to activate then the penalty was numbness of the body.

When the arrow hits, his health was slowly decreased until it was almost 50%.

” There are four people left. In his state, the success rate of riposte was down. If this goes on for longer than I am at a disadvantage. ‘

Then, while he was flying around and evading arrows, Dedric noticed something and exclaimed.

“The switch is here!”

“Huh? That guy … … …!”

“Hihihi, he discovered the proper design. What is this? It’s like, what? ”

Clink, Kurururung!

With a smile, Dedric avoided the thieves and the arrows and took out the switch. With a sound, the balcony lowered to the ground like an elevator. The machine was built to act separately from the stairs.

“Well done Dedric!”

An eerie light shone in Ark’s eyes.

A muffled scream was heard as Ark pulled his dagger from the thief standing in front of him. And the NPC archers were no match for a dagger wielding Ark.

Ark immediately finished the four archers on the ground.

‘Hyuu…….Nevertheless the party quest was quite difficult.

The thieves were high level and had the geographical advantage. If it hadn’t been for his experience hunting bandit groups, Ark would have probably been the one lying on the ground.

‘Maybe it was fortunate that I discovered this place late. ‘

Ark used food to restore his health and Mana to 100% before moving to the stairs.

He walked more cautiously than the first time he entered.

” I never thought there would be traps in the cave’

The biggest problem is that it is a trap.

Fortunately the damage done by the trap was minimal. However, he cannot guarantee that the next trap he encounters would be at the same level. Even just an alarm ringing through the cave could cause serious problems.

However, even if Ark found a trap it would be difficult to deactivate it.

The trap-related skills belong to professions like Archers or Explorers who search through ruins.

In New World, it was impossible to get everything for free. However, for those who don’t have the required professions the success rate is less than 10%. Therefore the party shape for dungeons requires the right combination of professions.

‘What if? He couldn’t avoid the traps …….. ‘

Ark began to get worried.

It was then that Skull came forward and stumbled on an idea.

Skull had complete loyalty!

But when Snake evolved, Skull was utilized less. Skull was only used when Ark picked him up to throw or biting ankles.

Although he had a lot of stamina and strength due to food, he had no arms and legs to attack.

Because of that, in recent times Skull had become quite depressed.

Skull could not recognize the expression on his master’s face.

Ark thought that this was really a difficult situation.

“What happened to Skull?”

Crackle!

Skull was bravely prepared and rolled stumbling forward. He rolled forward a few feet until there was a snapping sound and a rain of arrows shot from the walls.

However, the people who installed the traps never would have thought that a skull would be the one activating it.

Of course the arrows were aimed at a human height and shape.

“Yes! There is that method!!”

Crackle! Crackle!

The skull proudly stumbled forwards.

“Okay, Skull. You will put out the traps. ”

After that, Skull always rolled 10 meters in front of him to check for traps.

Of course, arrows shot out or a sword was swung and there was even items falling from the sky. However, Skull had high stamina and survived all the traps. In addition, Ark did not have to worry about an alarm when a trap was triggered.

Even if a number of traps were triggered, he did not enter a battle state.

Therefore, he used ‘Stealth’ and just hid from any thieves. On the other hand, Skull could simply be unsummoned to deceive the thieves.

‘What the? Why did the traps activate? ”

“There’s no one around?”

“Damn, did a rodent touch it or something?”

The thieves floated around the perimeter for several minutes before returning to their positions. Therefore, Ark found a way to cope with similar dungeons.

The dungeon has a relatively simple structure.

A long passage with open up to a large room with archers. There were also 3-4 thieves waiting in the room.

The large room had various combinations of thieves, but Ark had already figured out the combinations. He properly activated the machine then went on and defeated the enemies.

He passed through 10 or more room.

Then unusually the normal long passage ended before two huge doors.

‘This is the boss’s room? ‘

It was different from the traps. He knew that if he opened the doors then enemies would appear.

Ark checked his equipment and carefully opened the door.

Although the sound of the waterfall echoed loudly in the dungeon, the creaking sound of the unusually large doors opening was clearly audible.

“What the hell!”

A sharp sound was heard from the side where a variety of tools were scattered.

The first thing he saw was the black robe covering the body. However, it was not a human NPC or a humanoid monster…the face that was revealed between the hood was surprisingly that of a reptile.

At the same time, a warning message flashed before his eyes.

-The Boss monster ‘ Mysterious Conjurer Kirk’ has appeared.

The yellow eyes like a snake rolled around and stared at Ark.

“You are the bounty hunter? No, you shouldn’t have taken the reward…..Well it doesn’t matter. Anyone that comes here won’t be allows to leave alive!