Ark Volume 2 Read online

  "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?"

  "I thought about it carefully, but I think we've fought with too much of a rule-of-thumb all this while. Which brought upon a problem the last time we fought against the Gnolls. So from now onwards, there's a need to refine our collaboration. It is to increase our survival rate as well."

  "Refining our collaboration? What do you mean, Master?"

  "So what I'm saying is we need to hypothesize several situations and plot our strategy beforehand. In battle, I can't afford to assess the situation and provide commands from one to ten, since there's no time."

  This was the conclusion Ark came up with after brooding over it for 24 hours.

  Ark planned strategies with several patterns oriented to situations beforehand. Then in battle, even if he didn't issue each and every command, Bat and Skull would be able to judge the situation in their own and move.

  It was a method inspired by an online FPS game.

  [T/N: First Person Shooter]

  "Yeah yeah, I got it. Master, you've gotten smarter." Bat babbled impertinent noises once again.

  Ark lightly ignored it and continued.

  "There'll be mistakes if it's too complicated from the beginning. So let's restrict it to four methods for now. First, the strategy of focusing the attack on the enemy I'm fighting is Plan A. While I'm fighting one guy, you guys will distract the others' attention, that's Plan B. When Skull is fighting with me, and Bat lures the other guys far away, it'll be Plan C. And the last, Plan D, is an emergency situation. Halt all operations and you guys evade the enemy's attacks while thinking of a way to survive. Did you understand it all?"

  "Got it. I like Plan D."

  Clack clack clack.

  Bat and Skull expressed interest as they nodded.

  "Now, then let's try practicing in an actual battle right away!"

  Ark immediately led the Familiars and began to hunt. In the beginning, their opponents were the low-difficulty Magal Wolves or Bengal Tigers.

  "Plan B!"

  As Ark yelled, Bat and Skull leapt out first and drew the monster's attention.

  In the meantime, Ark attacked a monster from behind and decreased the number. When there was one monster left, he shifted the strategy.

  "Plan A!"

  Bat and Skull, who had been fleeing here and there, suddenly attacked the monster.

  This method allowed him to quickly change commands, achieving the anticipated result.

  Of course, there were also a few mistakes since it was their first time trying out the formation. Sharp-witted Bat adapted quickly, but dull headed Skull's understanding fell short, so in some cases, where it was a beat slower were numerous. In addition, since their plans were too simple, there were also often situations where it was difficult for a Familiar to deal with.

  Each time it happened, he diligently forced punishment food into the Familiar's mouth.

  "It's a food experiment for the guy that doesn't do it properly!"

  "Aaack! I was wondering why Master became nicer somehow!"

  CLA-clack, CLA-cla-cla-clack!

  The Familiars became ghastly pale and went into critical condition a several times. However, since their max Health had increased quite a bit, they stayed alive. And although it was a rather low chance, they discovered growth foods which made Familiars' stats increase steadily.

  Ark also diligently taught the Familiars with patience. By adding several strategies or changing them in repeated actual battle training, these points were improved little by little.

  With their horror of the food, the Familiars desperately did their best to memorize and carry out the strategies. Since he used the Nursing skill appropriately, the effect was doubled. The fact that even non-combative skills could be used without limitation according to their methods of use was a charm of New World.

  In the meantime, Ark's skill at calling the Familiars also improved.

  "Plan D!"

  Even in battle, he quickly made a command while constantly checking the Familiars' Health. And when a Familiar was fleeing with all of its might while faced with a life threatening situation, he cancelled the summoning with stunning timing.

  If they were to be forcefully recalled, Ark would receive a 50 percent Health deduction of his Familiar's max Health, and it'll be impossible to resummon them for 24 hours. But if Ark cancelled the summoning, so no penalties were applied.

  On the other hand, once the target of a monster chasing a Familiar disappeared, the monster was stunned for a while.

  Whenever such situation happens, Ark's sword undoubtedly land a critical hit.

  Once the Familiars' survival rate increased, their dedication in battle flourished.

  "Master, in this case, how about cancelling the summoning after I rush in? And can't you immediately resummon again? You can also do that after you throw Skull; Master's spiritual power is always full anyways, so won't you be able to use it once in every battle?"

  Once in a while, Bat, who's Intelligence had risen quite a bit through food, would even suggest a strategy worth using.

  'This adorable rascal!'

  Bat's strategy was effective. Once a monster appeared, Ark grabbed and threw Skull at a weak point he'd perceived while using Eyes of the Cat. A critical hit through an unexpected ambush! Subsequently, Ark would rapidly cancelled the summoning before the monster attacked Skull. Then he resummoned again, and Skull would appear at Ark's side.

  "Groowl?"

  The monsters couldn't comprehend the situation and hesitated. Then when Plans C, B, and A unfurled one after another, it wasn't even necessary to use Plan D.

  Thanks to Ark and the Familiars' desperate effort, they clicked perfectly. After two days of hunting in such a matter, Ark gained a level, and he entered the do
main of the Gnolls again.

  "Groowl, it's a Human."

  "Impudent Human, you dare to enter our territory."

  "We're starting with Plan C!"

  Skull and Bat fanned out according to Ark's command.

  While the Familiars quickly circled the area and diverted the attention of the Gnoll Archers, Ark deployed Dark Blade and defeated a Gnoll Warrior. Then he cancelled Skull's summoning, who was in danger, while charging at the Gnoll Archer that Skull had been distracting at the same time. While he was attacking the Gnoll Archer, Bat flew low between the trees as it evaded arrows.

  Ark, who had gotten rid of even the Gnoll Archer by raining a stream of attacks against it, summoned Skull again as he changed the plan.

  "Plan A!"

  Ark and the two Familiars charged at the lone Gnoll Archer at the same time.

  The battle with the Gnolls, which he felt was difficult to handle before, ended so easily it was boring. The battles after that were the same.

  The Gnolls normally moved as groups of three or four, and some Gnolls led around Magal Wolves. Also, since these guys were on the intelligent side, they waited in ambush. They occasionally raided as well.

  In some cases, they would occasionally wound up in a situation where they had to fight as many as six monsters all at once.

  However, the Familiars' strategy execution ability had grown to equal even the Special Army the Republic of Korea boasted of.

  They weren't lacking even if you did call them the Special Familiar Army. Thanks to that, as they adjusted to the situation and their strategy played out, they were able to win without much difficulty.

  It was an effect for a dynamic tactic.

  After going around annihilating party monsters, his experience had increased as well. When he gained yet another level, Ark checked his information window.

  "Stat window!"

  Character Name

  Ark

  Race

  Human

  Alignment

  Good +50

  Fame

  480

  Level

  45

  Profession

  Dark Walker

  Title

  Cat Knight, Caretaker

  Health

  905

  Mana

  480 (+110)

  Spiritual Power

  100

  Strength

  146

  Agility

  186 (+17)

  Stamina

  156

  Wisdom

  25

  Intelligence

  91

  Luck

  36

  Flexibility

  10

  Affection

  11

  Art of Communication

  5

  Special Stat: Knowledge of Ancient Relics

  20

  Equipment Effects

  Sharply Shining Sword: Attack speed +5

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

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

  Crystal Golem's Helmet: Mana +100

  *All abilities are increased by 20% in the dark.

  * The ability to hide your body in the dark has formed (Duration time 10 minutes. Cancelled if you get into combat).

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

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

  Ark invested 30 of the 50 points he'd earned from gaining 5 levels into Intelligence. It was a stat he had barely distributed any points into because in the beginning there wasn't a need to use Mana. But as he used the Familiars, he realized the severity of his lack of Mana. Even though he raised his Mana by a lot, it was still merely 480. Even after getting the +100 Mana with the Crystal Golem's Head, it only amounted to 580.

  In addition, when battles broke out, one Familiar needed 1 Mana per second. So, 290 seconds. In conclusion, he could only endure for 5 minutes from when the battle broke out. Granted, a decent battle ended within 3 minutes.

  'But I'm not able to use other skills because of the Familiars.'

  To Ark, Eyes of the Cat and Dark Blade were absolutely necessary skills. But using Eyes of the Cat once was cost 50 Mana. Dark Blade consumed 100 Mana.

  Which meant it was too much to cast them a few times even with if he had full Mana. What was worse was, since he kept his Familiars summoned, there were many times when it was difficult to properly cast them one or two times. Because his skill usage was limited, it was a situation where his skill proficiency didn't increase properly either.

  That was why Ark had invested up to 30 stats in Intelligence.

  Furthermore, he didn't have thoughts of regret.

  'These praiseworthy rascals.'

  In Ark's eyes, as he gazed at his Familiars, possessed an affection that couldn't begin compare to the feelings he had about them a few days ago.

  He could feel the Familiar's growth firsthand.

  'For these rascals as well, stats aren't simply all there is to their fighting power. It's certain that their battle ability changes based on their experience, just like users.'

  In New World, combat wasn't determined simply with stats.

  A user's experience and their way of thought, which couldn't be checked with numbers, were all reflected in battle.

  If you only looked at stats, Skull and Bat were still incomparably lousy. A win against one Wolf or the like wasn't guaranteed.

  But by accumulating combat experience along with Ark, they were showing ability beyond their numbers.

  They were becoming more and more dependable!

  'However, there's an ambiguous part of combat experience. The fluctuation based on the situation is serious, and to guarantee definite effect, it's best to raise their stats after all.'

  Therefore, Ark concentrated on ingredient gathering above hunting in order to execute Survival Cooking, the sole method for the Familiars' abilities. However, since the Familiars did their share, they became difficult.

  "Kekeke, how's that, Master? You survived because of me, right?"

  Clack clack clack clack.

  After Bat boasted, Skull didn't lose and claimed its share of the credit.

  This was exactly the problem. Bat and Skull's skills had recently grown remarkably, so there wasn't much of a justification to feed them food.

  It was certain that if he thoughtlessly fed them for growth and decreased their loyalty, Bat and Skull wouldn't help Ark desperately as they did now. Despite that, they couldn't grow if he didn't feed them food.

  Matching that balance unexpectedly gave him a headache.

  However, he needed the definite concept of reward and punishment. Especially in Bat's case. Oppressively pushing it yielded the opposite effect since its loyalty was low. It was a frustrating system, but in a way, it was also the reason why Ark had come to possess more attachment to the Familiars.

  "Hmph! Why aren't you speaking, Master? Are you at a loss for words?" Bat crossed its arms and boasted.

  "Don't be ridiculous. For something like just blocking eyes."

  "Who's the person who lived thanks to that?"

  "I could avoid that much even without you."

  "N-no way. Surely you're not thinking of being evasive like that while feeding that awful food?"

  "There are sometimes tasty ones too."

  "That's once every ten!" Bat lost its temper as it yelled.

  "Eh? You rebelled just now, right? Didn't you definitely rebel?"

  "N-no. I am a good Familiar!"

  "Shut up, offense taken. It's food for you."

  What the hell, it didn't matter if he made an excuse anyways.

  Before long, Bat ate a full-body paralysis food and was sprawled on the ground.

  Skull, who had avoided the body experiment thanks to Bat's sacrifice, rolled around happily on the ground.

  "You're... ch-cheap.... Master..."

  "I'm not doing th
is because I like it either. It's all for your sake", Ark equivocated while averting his gaze.

  Everything was satisfactory except one thing, there were still no changes found on the Netherworld's Egg. If the number of his Familiars increased, it would definitely be helpful.

  But every time he fed the Egg food, it repeatedly trembled as if it were vibrating and just went back to being still.

  "Just when is this guy even gonna hatch..." Ark muttered as he licked his lips.

  Seeing as it reacted every time he fed it food, it seemed something was definitely going to hatch. But even when Bat and Skull's stats rose several times, the egg was still an egg. Moreover, he couldn't check the food's effect if he fed it to the egg. Since there was a limit to the food ingredients, he felt regret when he fed the egg.

  "Well, it'll probably hatch sometime anyways."

  Honestly, he had half given up now.

  "More importantly, I should really try to find a village now."

  Ark picked up the paralyzed Bat and rose from his seat.

  After struggling for half a day while defeating Gnolls, he found the village.

  Situated at the foot of the mountain, it was a small, sparsely populated village. There were only about 40 houses. But since people didn't live in most of them, they were left there like haunted houses. He couldn't discern anything such as liveliness on the faces of the 1~2 residents he saw.

  Since it was a village situated too far from the city, he didn't see users either.

  Then again, if it wasn't Ark, who had traversed the mountain in a straight line while following the hand mirror's light, they wouldn't have even been able to find a mountain village like this. Perhaps because it was a village with a soon-to-be-ruined atmosphere, but even when he stood inside the village, his map wasn't even marked.

  "It's a place with a bad feeling somehow," Bat murmured with a discomfited voice from Ark's shoulder.

  "Keep your mouth shut."

  Whenever Ark went into a village, he lifted Skull and Bat onto his waist or shoulder so they appeared like accessories; because although they were Familiars. And since they were Undead and Demon in the first place, Ark's reputation could drop if the village NPCs found out.