Ark Volume 20 Chapter 8

ACT 8 Eat until you throw up!

[TL Notes] I’ve made a small change to a previous chapter. So Gold Dream is one huge ship with 6 sails instead of six boats.

I also wanted to clarify something as I felt it wasn’t clearly explained. Sid was swallowed by the Leviathan along with Gold Dream so that’s why he had to contact Ark in reality instead of inside the game.

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“Puak!”

Ark spat out some seawater. Ark was currently inside the Leviathan.

“Being inside here feels dirty.”

Ark muttered as he looked around with an uncomfortable expression. Ark had entered a huge sea creature, Gallic, before. It wasn’t a good feeling but Leviathan felt even more unpleasant. The oesophagus had reddish black walls while the absurdly thick blood vessels had a black liquid like waste water flowing through it. But the thing that dampened Ark’s mood the most was the dirty smell. It was difficult to express in words but it smelt like a food rubbish bin in the middle of summer. However he had no time to think unpleasant thoughts. There were constant booms and the s.p.a.ce vibrated. It was the impact from Gallic and the merpeoples’ attacks. The intervals between the vibrations became shorter as the battle became more intense. It was troublesome for Ark because if Leviathan died then it would be difficult to find Gold Dream.

“d.a.m.n! I wanted to go straight to the stomach…….”

Ark had entered the oesophagus along with a lot of seawater. So Ark had thought he would be swept straight to the stomach along with the seawater. But Ark had become stuck in a mud puddle along the way.

“I’ve still gone quite far riding the seawater. There’s only a bit left until the stomach.”

Ark stepped out of the mud puddle continued. No, he was about to dive. Just as he stepped out of the mud puddle, the s.p.a.ce started to shake. Then the blood vessels entangled like a spider web pulsed and something floated in the black blood. It was a monster with sharp teeth and a long body, the Parasite. After discovering Ark, the Parasite tore through the blood vessel with its teeth and popped out. It wasn’t just one. 10 Parasites had popped out of the blood vessel!

“I didn’t expect to find them here.”

Ark hadn’t expected this situation when he entered Leviathan.

“Summon Demon, Razak. Summon Demon, Racard!”

His pets appeared on either side of Ark after he called them. Racard on his right, Razak on his left and Radun wrapped around his waist.

‘Hasn’t it been a while?’

Ark smiled as he looked at his summons. Summoning his pets wasn’t a new phenomenon. But during the last month he had been busy commanding users and NPCs, so it hadn’t really felt like he had been fighting with his pets.He only sent Razak to support the a.s.sault troops while Racard was used as a scout. Racard and Razak also held similar thoughts.

“Hmm, doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Razak laughed and nodded his head like he also agreed.

“Then shall we do this after such a long time? A-1 plan!”

Ark drew his sword and shouted. Racard and Razak split to the left and right and rushed at the Parasites. The A-1 plan was to attack the enemy from the front and sides! Unlike the past, his pets’ abilities to carry out the strategy had greatly improved. Racard had recently raised his stats to level 380 while Razak had also reached level 350. After so much combat training with Ark, they weren’t inferior to other users. Ark was the same as well. After training in Dragonian and the secret dungeon, Ark was now level 426. He had been so busy commanding the troops that he couldn’t really fight properly. So he felt lively at the long awaited chance to wield his sword. Besides, the 50% dark attribute bonus was also applied! Even if there was a 10% penalty from the demonic influence of the Leviathan, it didn’t really matter.

“Dark Dance, Dark Blade!”

Pepepepeng, pepepepeng!

Ark moved between the Parasites like a ghost and swung his sword. He didn’t have to worry with his summons there.

-Chiiiik!

The Parasites showed their poisonous fangs and rushed towards him.

Clack clack? Clack clack clack clack! Ttang kang!

Razak had swung his shield and blocked the Parasite before it attacked Ark. Meanwhile Racard flew over their heads and cursed, luring three or four Parasites. Ark attacked, Razak defended and Racard took care of crowd control. This was Ark’s true battle style. Then Radun suddenly dropped down from his waist. As soon as his body touched the ground, it became red hot as he crawled towards the Parasites. Then flames appeared around the Parasites and drained their health. It was the Fire Aura skill Radun received after digesting 50% of the Burning Heart of the Fire Draconian. The Parasites who were in a critical condition died after being hit by Fire Aura. Radun’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Ark after taking care of the Parasites. His look seemed to be asking Ark if he was useful.

“Yes, you were excellent. As expected of out mascot Radun!”

Ssak ssak ssak, ssak ssak ssak ssak!

Radun waved his body with pleasure at Ark’s words. With the help of his summons, Ark managed to take care of the 10 Parasites within 3 minutes. But that was just the beginning of the Parasites’ attacks. After he finished taking care of the original Parasites that appeared, dozens of them once again popped out of the blood vessel. When he took care of those ones, more Parasites appeared. In addition, the Parasites inside Leviathan had special skills which the ones outside didn’t have. When they fell into a critical condition, they could bite the wall or the ground to recover. As the name suggested, they really were like parasites. If he gave them even a bit of s.p.a.ce then they would recover and counterattack.

‘A level 300 monster isn’t really a problem. But no matter how many of them I kill, they keep on appearing from the blood vessels. I have to stop them before Leviathan dies.’

Yes, the reason Ark entered Leviathan was to reclaim Gold Dream. He had approximately 25 minutes to rescue Gold Dream. 3 minutes had already pa.s.sed so he had approximately 22 minutes left.

‘I don’t have time to play around.’

“Radun, return. Razak, Racard, let’s breakthrough straight to the stomach!”

Ark opened his bag and shouted.

“Demonic Manifestations. Spear, spear, spear, mace, mace!”

When he used Demonic Manifestations the equipment sprang out of the bag. It then formed the shape of a mace. The mace then broke apart and was absorbed inside Ark and his summons.

It was the Power Charge that he discovered accidentally! 50% increase in a.s.sault speed and a chance to push enemies back by 5 metres seemed simple but it could wreck tremendous havoc. Ark had discovered this skill during the four days he took climbing back up the secret dungeon from the 60th floor.

“Let’s go!”

When Ark went rushing towards the stomach, the parasites instantly ran up to him. But Ark swung his sword and three or four Parasites were caught in an explosion and blown back. It was the same with Racard and Razak. The moment they used Shield Stroke or Dark Dash, the Parasites were blown away. It was no use no matter how many of them were camped in front. There was no way to stop Ark when a swing of the sword would just blow them away. But Power Charge had a side effect.

-Chiiiik!

-Chiiiik!

Dozens of Parasites were blown back every time he moved. But Ark had to keep moving forward with Power Charge, so the Parasites behind him could just get back up. Thus there were 150 Parasites chasing behind him. In addition, this place was inside Leviathan’s so there was no place to escape. Of course, Ark’s current level was 426. With the dark attribute bonus, he reached level 639. That was enough when fighting 150 level 300 monsters. But even if he was level 639, handling those many numbers was time consuming. It was too stressful for Ark who only had a time limit of 20 minutes left.

“But……”

After a short time he entered the vicinity of the stomach. Ark confirmed that no more Parasites appeared in front of him so he turned around. Meanwhile the number of Parasites had increased to 200. Seeing the gathering of 200 Parasites really caused goose b.u.mps to rise.

“Now it’s your turn. Summon Magura!”

Ark lifted his sword and yelled. One of the four Hearthstones on the sword emitted a black smoke. Just like a genie emerging from a lamp in a fairy tale, the smoke from the Hearthstones changed to a black dog. It was the summoning of the legendary devil Magura! In fact, a condition was required in order to summon Magura. It was only possible to summon Magura in a place filled with demonic energy. Leviathan was a demonic monster so naturally its interior was filled with abundant demonic energy.

-Ooooooh!

Magura who had escaped from the Hearthstone cried out. It was Magura’s wide area skill ‘Howling!’ The Parasites that were approaching were blown away.

“Now, shall I leave?”

In the meantime, Ark and his summons left. Magura who was confined to the Hearthstone had no memory. When he was summoned, he would attack indiscriminately regardless if it was Ark or a monster. Therefore Ark quickly ran away.

‘Anyway, the Parasite was only level 300 so I can’t get experience or loot even if they die. It is better to leave them to Magura.’

Therefore Ark escaped the parasites and rushed towards the stomach. Magura attacked everything around him for 5 minutes. It might not be enough to kill all of them but it should be sufficient to block the Parasites And Magura also continuously used Taunt thanks to his endless rage. So the Parasites naturally gathered around Magura and a fierce battle began.

-Kuaaaang!

Magura roared and attacked the Parasites. Magura was level 300. The Parasites were also level 300. But Magura was a level 300 elite monster. Magura wasn’t pushed at all by the 200 Parasites. Well, Ark had already escaped so he didn’t care whether Magura or the Parasites won……

Anyway, Ark left the Parasites to Magura and ran through the oesophagus. How much time pa.s.sed?

“Gold dream!”

Ark stopped moving and shouted. At the end of the cave was a huge underground lake. On the outskirts of the lake was the ship Gold Dream.

“……..d.a.m.n, that stupid Leviathan!”

Anger welled up at the sight of Gold Dream. Once again, this place was Leviathan’s stomach. And the underground lake was probably made of seawater and gastric juices. Gold Dream had been floating in the lake of gastric juices for three days in real time. It was impossible no matter how much money he spent on magic coating. The sails were full of small holes while the paint of the merchant ship was peeling.

‘I guess I have to pay for repairs.’

Ark sighed and mumbled. It was a new merchant ship and he already had to pay for repairs……well, it was 100 times better than buying a new boat.

‘By the way, those boats?’

Ark looked at the other boats on the underground lake. Gold Dream wasn’t the only ship inside Leviathan. There were an additional five ships scattered around. It was immediately obvious that the ships belong to Midus, the merchant’s guild. That’s right. It was transportation fleet that had disappeared near this area. The transportation fleet had also been swallowed by Leviathan.

‘Aha, I see. Is this why Leviathan didn’t swallow the armed fleet when it appeared?’

Ark struck his palm with his fist as he confirmed something and muttered. He finally understood why Leviathan didn’t appear when the armed fleet showed up. And also the reason why it didn’t swallow the battleships after it appeared. It was because of Gold Dream and the transportation fleet on the lake. Leviathan hadn’t digested the six ships yet so it didn’t want to swallow any more.

‘Anyway, let’s go look at Gold Dream for the moment.’

In addition to the ships, wine kegs and small planks were also floating on the underground lake. Ark stepped on the planks and kegs and climbed onto the deck of Gold Dream. It felt like he was standing on the deck of a ghost ship. The deck was corroded here and there while the sails and ropes were decaying. He also couldn’t find any of the NPCs he employed to manage Gold Dream. All he found was splatters of blood left on the deck. Perhaps they were attacked by the Parasites after being swallowed. He didn’t see the sailors on the other merchant ships so he a.s.sumed the same thing happened to them.

‘How on earth did Sid survive in this place?’

Ark felt doubtful after seeing the terrible sight. But the question was easily solved.

“Sid!”

Ark found Sid after entering the captain’s room. Something underneath the table moved. It was Sid. But Ark flinched as he moved closer and confirmed Sid’s appearance. Sid looked like someone who had encountered disaster in the Himalayas. Ark couldn’t even recognize him properly. He just trembled and clutched three scrolls tightly. The scroll was the reason why Sid could live.

“[Safe Travel] scroll……”

That’s right. Sid was able to survive in a place like that because of the scrolls. The [Safe Travel] scroll meant that monsters couldn’t attack for 2 hours. When the Parasites attacked, Sid quickly used the [Safe Travel] scroll and continued to renew it every two hours. But now he only had three scrolls remaining. He was afraid that the Parasites would catch him after the next six hours which was why he kept on trembling.

“Hey, Sid! Wake up!”

Ark tapped him and Sid opened his eyes with a dim expression.

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

Sid looked around stupidly for a while before shouting. He then hurriedly looked around and said.

“Huk! You’ve come. Have we already exited? Is this the outside?”

But then he belatedly confirmed that he was still in the stomach and Sid’s face stiffened. He weakly sat down and started shedding tears.

“Kuak, I made a mistake. We’re screwed!”

“What are you going on about?”

“What am I saying? Didn’t Ark-nim also get swallowed by the sea monster? I’ve been waiting for 3 horrible days for Ark-nim to rescue me, and now Ark-nim has been eaten as well……ohh, it’s over. I’ll be eaten by those worms!”

“What nonsense are you talking? Why will we be eaten by monsters?”

Sid lifted a tearful face at Ark’s words.

“We’ll either be digested or eaten by the monsters.”

“This is different. I came in on my own.”

“Came in on your own?”

“Yes, so that I can rescue Gold Dream.”

“Rescue Gold Dream?” Is there a way to get out of here?”

“Of course. Do you think I came in here to become excrement?”

“H-how?”

“That……”

Ark smiled and explained the method. Then he suddenly saw the merchant ships through the window. Ark had an uncomfortable feeling the moment he saw the ships.

‘What the? …..This feeling? I feel like I’ve forgotten something very important…….’

Ark frowned and remained locked in thought.

‘I see! That’s what I forgot!’

“Wait here a moment!”

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

Sid freaked out as Ark jumped off Gold Dream and headed towards the other ships.

‘According to the information obtained by the merchants’ guild, the ships that disappeared in these waters are carrying imports towards Bristania……’

Ark jumped onto the deck with a large smile on his face. Spices and silk, porcelain objects etc…..it was a huge amount of piled goods! That thought weighed on Ark’s mind.

‘This is equivalent to 15,000 gold!’

And there were 5 ships carrying such goods. That was equivalent to 75,000 gold. It was truly a treasure. Before entering Leviathan, Ark had already been equipped with a number of plans to rescue Gold Dream. But he didn’t know that the merchant’s fleet was a.s.sociated with Leviathan. Of course, Ark’s plan wouldn’t fail if the merchant ships were there. There was another reason why he felt uncomfortable when seeing the ships. No, to be exact it was the 75,000 gold worth of goods.

‘If my plan succeeds then I can also rescue the merchant ships from Leviathan.’

Therefore Ark would’ve recovered 75,000 gold worth of a.s.sets for the merchant’s guild. But there would be no profit for Ark if he did that. Of course, if he returned the missing fleet then his intimacy with the merchant’s guild would soar and the commission considered successful. However the fee was only 15 gold. Even if he received an additional 200% as the captain, it would only be 45 gold.

‘I found 75,000 gold and can only receive 45 gold?’

What on earth? Wasn’t it a very unpleasant feeling? Of course, Ark never expected to find the merchant’s fleet in the first place. But the sight made his heart ache. It would be regrettable if he had to politely return the goods to the merchant’s guild after seeing such a huge amount.

‘Moreover, there are no surviving sailors.’

Since Ark found the transportation fleet, he could lay claim to it. When stolen good were taken away by pirates and the pirate’s ship was wrecked at sea, the person who discovered or salvaged the ship would claim ownership of it. It was similar to how Seutandal seized the stolen goods from the lawless port. But now the situation was different. The armed fleet had been dispatched to recover the transportation fleet. Ark was also a member of that armed fleet. So Ark was currently contracted to return the recovered a.s.sets to the merchant’s guild. Even if Ark found the transportation fleet, the ownership would automatically shift to the merchant’s guild. He couldn’t think of a way to embezzle the goods.

“In the end, do I have to let go of that huge amount?”

Ark clicked his tongue and murmured with a regretful expression. All of a sudden he felt a flash of lightning in his head.

“Wait? Wouldn’t the transportation fleet be prepared for pirates? Then perhaps……?”

Ark started to search the ships for something. A satisfied smile spread on Ark’s face after he found what he was looking for.

“Huhuhu, the heavens are truly on my side.”

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“Attack its flank!”

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

While Ark was progression with his plan, the merpeople, Gallic and the two battleships had combined forces to attack Leviathan. While Gallic blocked the Leviathan’s movements, the merpeople combined to take care of the Parasites. Meanwhile, the two battleships kept a sufficient distance and supported them with cannon fire. Leviathan couldn’t endure against the combined forces. Blood streamed from its countless wounds as the Leviathan only had 4% health left. If the battle progressed like this then it would continue for only a few more minutes.

“But Ark-nim……?”

The Mermaid Queen murmured with a worried expression. Ark hadn’t returned from inside the Leviathan yet. If Leviathan died like this then Ark was bound to be in danger. Ark was certain to be somewhere in the oesophagus, stomach or other internal organs. If Leviathan died then they would shrivel up. Ark would be pushed by the internal organs shrinking and die. But they also couldn’t slow down their attacks until Ark returned. If Leviathan managed to run away then the situation would become more complicated. The Mermaid Queen was thinking that when something interrupted.

-Kuaaaah! Kua…..Kuaaak!

The Leviathan suddenly flinched. Then it suddenly gave a weird shriek. After a short time, it coughed and suddenly opened its mouth. And……

Chwaaaaaah, kwarururuk!

A huge amount of discharge flowed out of the Leviathan’s mouth. Leviathan’s vomit covered several kilometres of the sea.

“T-this d.a.m.n evil b.a.s.t.a.r.d…..”

The Mermaid Queen glared at the Leviathan after seeing the vomit covered waters. Then Leviathan vomited a few more times. The gastric juices flowed out like a waterfall and really made everyone fell like throwing up. Suddenly huge objects fell into the waters along with the gastric juices.

“W-what is going on?”

“A merchant ship!”

The armed crew watching from a far distance murmured with surprise. It wasn’t just one or two ships, but six. Then loud laughter was heard from one of the merchant ships.

“Hahaha, we’re out! It’s a success!”

“T-That person…….!”

“It is Ark-nim, the captain of the no. 8 battleship!”

A sailor confirmed after looking through a telescope. That’s right. The person who laughed from the merchant ships vomited out was Ark.

“Huhuhu, the effect is really no joke.”

Ark laughed as he looked at the nauseous Leviathan. Leviathan was still vomiting! In fact, this was the plan Ark used developed to rescue Gold Dream. Once again, Gold Dream would be buried at sea if Leviathan died. If he was still in the stomach then he would also die from the shrinking of the stomach and intestines.

‘I have to take it out while the monster is still alive…..it is impossible to make that guy spit it out. Then the only way is to make it vomit!’

He naturally thought of one type of food.

Ark made the food using Creative Cooking. While sailing, Ark who was inspired continually used Creative Cooking to make the Nausea Syrup. He had cooked 200 of the dishes. Ark had carried these foods while entering Leviathan. He threw all of it into the stomach. Yet there was an unexpected issue raised with this part.

‘Leviathan is far more enormous than I imagined. Furthermore, it has an extreme swallowing ability since it managed to swallow all those ships at once!’

Gold Dream and the transportation fleet also survived in the stomach for several days. Leviathan had indigestion after eating too ignorantly. Fortunately Gold Dream and the merchant ships were still safe but the indigestion was a problem. The Nausea Syrup won’t be able to show its true power.

‘Is there a way to make its stomach more active?’

Then Ark thought of his experiences in Gallic. When fighting with the boss Adelaine, he had used the strategy of luring her into the stomach and melting her with gastric fluid! The impact on the stomach had made the gastric juices overflow. Of course, if he used a similar method to irritate the stomach then Gold Dream and the transportation fleet would suffer a fatal blow. But wasn’t it better than being stuck in the stomach of the dying Leviathan?

“Yes, it’s a cannon! I can shake its stomach using the cannon!”

Ark went around with his summons and loaded all the cannons on Gold Dream. When he launched it, there was a loud roar and the stomach started becoming unstable. When the sh.e.l.ls. .h.i.t the stomach wall, an explosion occurred and a huge amount of gastric juices flowed out like a waterfall. When the concentration of gastric juices in the stomach increased, the floating kegs and planks started to melt. Gold Dream was also the same. Gold Dream had already been tattered after being left for three days so the high concentration of gastric juices started to melt the outer walls.

“Ah, Ark-nim!”

Sid looked uneasily at the exterior walls. But Ark wasn’t done yet.

‘I just have to hope the Nausea syrup shows an effect before Gold Dream melts……’

Kullong, kullong, kullong.

It was at that moment. The stomach started to twist and the gastric juices formed waves. It was the stomach just before vomiting would occur!

“That’s it! Sid, Razak, Racard, hold on tight!”

The gastric juices started to flow along the oesophagus at a tremendous pace. The effect of Nausea Syrup was activated and Leviathan began to vomit. The gastric juices flowed along the oesophagus like the rapids of a river. If he made a mistake and the already tattered Gold Dream ran into a wall then it would break.

“Okay, Demonic Manifestations!”

Ark used Physical Shield to regulate and protect the boat while Gold Dream flowed back up the oesophagus.

“It is visible! Everybody prepare for the impact!”

After a while, the black sea could be seen between the open mouth. And……

Weeeeeek! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

Gold Dream managed to escape from Leviathan after 3 days. The five merchant ships also followed.

“Ek! That is…..!”

“The transportation fleet that disappeared!”

“All five ships have appeared!”

The NPCs a.s.sociated with the merchant’s guild cheered as they saw the ships. But confusion spread on their faces in the next moment. The merchant ships fell to one side and started to sink.

“N-no!”

“The trade goods on the transportation ship……”

The NPCs rolled around the deck with despair. But what could they do about the sinking ships? Besides, the sinking ships weren’t valuable now.

“Ah, that monster is attacking Captain Ark!”

Leviathan shrieked and ran up to Gold Dream. It understood that he was the reason for it vomiting. Meanwhile, Gold Dream that had just exited was right in front of Leviathan. The masts were also broken so it couldn’t sail. But Leviathan couldn’t imagine it.

“Are you trying to eat my ship twice?”

Ark murmured with an expression full of confidence. He raised his finger before lowering it.

“This is the end. You stupid fish!”

Kwa kwa kwa kw.a.n.g, kwa kwa kwa kw.a.n.g!

At the same time, an amazing scene developed. Leviathan had been moving towards him. Yet Leviathan’s body suddenly exploded in various places. Gills, fins, tail, stomach……a blast occurred in all those areas and Leviathan instantly turned b.l.o.o.d.y.

-Grr…..grr…..grrrrr!

Leviathan let out a pained moan and wobbled. It had nearly reached Gold Dream. Suddenly an absurd ringing sound occurred in the vicinity of Leviathan’s head. Leviathan’s eyes trembled like it was having a spasm and it slowly sank under the water.

“The effect is amazing!”

Ark laughed and muttered. This was obviously Ark’s work. Ark had finally exited Leviathan but he hadn’t done it politely. Just before throwing the Nausea Syrup, Ark had considered a way to inflict damage. Then he recalled the scene where the Parasites moved along the blood vessels. Ark remembered that scene and piled up the bombs from the merchant ships into the blood vessels. He had adjusted the length of the fuse so that it would explode after Gold Dream escaped. The bombs had followed the blood vessels to areas such as the brain, lungs heart etc……so the explosions occurred all over the body. No matter how powerful the monster was, it wouldn’t be able to withstand that type of attack. What could survive gunpowder exploding at the heart or the brain? Therefore the Leviathan received tremendous damage and instantaneously died.

Bugul bugul, bugul bugul.

Leviathan’s mouth gaped open and it sank back into the black sea.

The welcome message windows appeared in rapid succession.

——————————————————————————————————————

“Hehehe, this is really great.”

Ark giggled as he shook a thick purse. Shortly after Leviathan died, Ark had returned to Reuben harbour with the armed fleet. He earned a total of 85 gold for the successful commission. It was considerable income for 5~6 hours of mercenary work. But Ark’s current purse held more than 300 gold. That money had come from the pockets of Admiral Wagner.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

Wagner had approached the instant he returned to the battleship after Leviathan died.

“Hmm hmm, the fact that you knocked down Leviathan……wasn’t it possible because of my instructions? You won’t be sorry if you do this favour for me.”

He coughed and it was obvious what he was proposing. Wagner’s reaction wasn’t that surprising. Wagner had been placed in charge of the new battleships that were collaboration between the Schudenberg kingdom and the merchant’s guild. But out of the eight battleships, six had been destroyed. Of course, it was just lucky that they managed to defeat Leviathan in the first place. Although the transportation fleet was discovered, none of the trade goods were reclaimed. After the merchant fleet sank, 20~50% of the goods were floating around in the sea. Fortunately, 40% of it was recovered. It wasn’t a bad outcome of the battle against Leviathan.

But the problem was Wagner’s disgraceful behaviour during the battle. Wagner didn’t know what to do about the disgraceful behaviour he showed during the battle. If it was reported to a higher ranking person then it was clear what would happen. So Wagner devised a plan to get some ‘achievements.’ In fact, the method used to knock down Leviathan wasn’t normal. It was thanks to Ark that they were successful. The merpeople helped because of Ark and he also discovered the transportation fleet. Yet now Wagner was saying that Ark’s behaviour was a result of his instructions? Wagner was trying to evade criticism and raise his fame?

‘This guy, is that how he raised his achievements so far?’

Ark looked at Wagner with a blank expression. But when he thought about it, it wasn’t a bad suggestion. Anyway, this was just a simple mercenary request. He wouldn’t receive that much additional compensation no matter his achievements. And he had no thoughts about becoming famous. Then it was better to get something out of it.

“I accept.”

After thinking for a bit, Ark readily accepted the suggestion. So Ark’s achievement was sold for 300 gold. That was a total of 385 gold obtained. And he gained 6 levels from killing Leviathan. The original number of people in the armed fleet was 1,500 people yet only 400 remained after the battle with Leviathan.

“Earning 6 levels and 385 gold isn’t a small amount for 6 hours of work.”

However, this was nothing compared to the real income that Ark obtained. After receiving the compensation from the merchant’s guild and withdrawing as a mercenary, Ark headed straight for the port. He walked along and explored the ships docked until he came across a familiar one. It was Gold Dream, the ship owned by Ark.

“You’ve arrived?”

Sid welcomed him after Ark boarded the deck. Ark looked around restlessly and whispered in a secretive voice.

“Well, did you check the price?”

“Yes, I’ve grasped the current market price.”

“How much?”

“42,800 gold.”

Ark smiled gleefully at Sid’s reply. Ark’s real income was the 42,800 gold that Sid mentioned. Where on earth did Ark obtain that type of income? The answer was simple. It was from the goods of the merchant ships that had sunk underwater. The transportation fleet had sunk as soon as it exited Leviathan. Thanks to that, the armed fleet was only able to recover 40% but the merchant’s guild thought that was lucky considering the situation.

………However, there was a secret hidden here.

‘Huhuhu, the operation was a success!’

In fact, the merchant ships were in better condition than Gold Dream when Ark arrived at Leviathan’s stomach. The performance of the ships was similar but the transportation fleet had been swallowed later. Even so, the transportation fleet sank….no, to be exact the merchant ships were forcibly sunk. It was Ark’s ploy. He had sent bombs into Leviathan. Before Ark took the transportation ship outside, he also left some bombs at the bottom of the merchant ships. The reason he did this was to s.n.a.t.c.h the trade goods.

‘If the transportation fleet remains intact then I won’t even receive 10 won.’

That would be Ark’s greatest regret. Although his main purpose was Gold Dream, he accepted the commission to save the transportation fleet and he wouldn’t even receive 10 won for it? However, the situation would be different if the transportation fleet sunk. If the ships sank then the merchant’s guild had no way to reclaim all the goods. Even in reality submarines couldn’t find everything floating within several hundred metres of the seabed. New World was still in the medieval ages so how could they possible recover all the goods? Yet Ark had a simple way to fix that problem.

‘The merpeople!’

That’s right. The merpeople would have no problem recovering the goods. After he rallied the merpeople, he managed to recover 60% of the trade goods. He also used Sid’s name to sell it to the merchant’s guild so he was technically faultless.

‘If the merpeople hadn’t appeared at that moment then I would’ve lost Gold Dream and the profit.’

There was a reason the merpeople had appeared. Before returning to Reuben, Ark had used the Mermaid Queen for the reason. Then the Mermaid Queen explained the reason why they appeared.

“The devil Leviathan was a sea monster that roamed around during the Dark Century and corrupted the waters. At that time, the merpeople sacrificed a lot of people in order to defeat the devil. Recently we’ve heard news that the devil was resurrected. So we instantly stopped out travels and returned. Then we heard Ark using the Flute of the Merpeople. We instinctively sensed that Ark had something to do with the Leviathan and hurriedly rushed towards your location.”

It was the good think about having high intimacy with NPCs. Who would’ve imagined that it would’ve helped in the middle of the sea? Well, it all worked out with a bit of luck. The Mermaid Queen also readily agreed when Ark asked her to recover the goods from the ships.

‘Of course I also have to give a fee to the merpeople……’

The problem was settled surprisingly easily.

“Several thousand years ago, Leviathan devoured numerous guardians of the sea in order to raise its abilities. The sea snake attached to it was actually one of the guardians of the west sea.”

The Mermaid Queen proposed. The Leviathan was a devil that had the ability to absorb the powers of other beings. Depending on the type of power it absorbed, it also appeared in the form of a huge turtle, shark or even sea dragon.

“So the flesh of the Leviathan will contain the absorbed powers. It doesn’t matter to other races but the merpeople can process Leviathan’s body to make wonderful equipment. If Ark-nim allows us possession of the body then we will happily help recover the goods.”

“I understand.”

Ark replied without even thinking about it. Honestly, the flesh of the Leviathan was a great ingredient but Ark couldn’t claim ownership of its body which stretched over several kilometres. In addition, Leviathan’s body had sunk to the bottom of the sea so only the merpeople could harvest it. He thought it was worth trading the Leviathan’s body for the trade goods. So Ark was able to request the merpeoples’ help in exchange for Leviathan. But he didn’t get all the money. He spent 16,000 gold to repair Gold Dream.

‘If I take 16,000 gold from 43,800 then my final profit will be 26,800 gold.’

He had managed to embezzle 26,800 gold after just a few hours work. In addition, a lot of armed fleet members died so he managed to obtain most of the loot from Leviathan.

It was a unique shield resembling Leviathan! The leather 500 shield only had 400 defense but its options were no joke. Strength +50, Stamina +30 and a 50% reduction in underwater penalty! But the real value of this shield was the special option. It was able to use Leviathan’s special skill the Water Pressure Gun. Of course, it wasn’t on the same level as the Water Pressure Gun Leviathan used. If Leviathan’s was like a laser, the Water Pressure Guns stored in the shield was more like arrows. Furthermore, it dealt 1~500 damage.

It also possessed a little of the ‘Cutting’ attribute that Leviathan’s Water Pressure Gun had. When 10 people were standing in a line, it was able to deal 1~200 damage. Furthermore, the Water Pressure Gun from Leviathan’s Shield didn’t have a cool down time and it didn’t consume any mana. This type of long range attack was very useful in battle so any warrior would desire this shield. Leviathan also dropped an additional two magic items. But the standard meant he would only receive 50 gold for it.

‘The problem is…..’

Ark looked at a few fist sized black beads.

‘What is this?’

Ark scratched his head as he looked at the black beads. The Parasite’s Eggs Sacs were discovered while Ark was searching in the vicinity of Leviathan’s body. There were thousands of small eggs inside one egg sac. Thousands of Parasites would probably hatch from one egg sac. Although he collected it, he didn’t know what it could be used for. What could hatching Parasites be used for?

‘But it might be useful in the future. Even dog poo can be used as a medicine.’

So Ark collected the Egg Sacs and placed it inside his bag.

‘Where should I go now?’

There were no sailors on Gold Dream so Sid had to stay in Reuben Harbour for a while. There was no reason for Ark to stay inside the harbour so he left. But he struggled with deciding where to go.

“Excuse me.”

Suddenly some men in formal clothes approached. Ark turned to them and they asked.

“Are you Baron Ark-nim?”

“Who are you?”

“We are messengers dispatched by the kingdom. We went to Silvana first but quickly rushed here after we discovered your location. Please receive this.”

A messenger extended a sealed letter.

“All the n.o.bility in Schudenberg Kingdom is being summoned? What on earth?”

Ark scanned the letter with a perplexed expression.