Ark

ACT 6 The Carnival (ⅠⅠ)

“It is a haunted house this time?”

Ark’s veins popped out on his forehead as he glared at the eyeballs. The place that Buksil entered was a common site in amusement parks, the haunted house. It was a shabby building where adults could find enjoyment like a child for several minutes. Frankly, Ark couldn’t understand why people would pay money to enter a place like that.

‘Well, it does seem to be different from the haunted houses in reality…….’

Anyway, Ark stood in front of the haunted castle and realized that it was at a different level. Unlike the normal haunted houses that were in shabby buildings, it was a horror castle. It was a real house that had been remodelled. In addition, magic was a part of the daily life in New World. Just like the 300 km magic carriage, the experience of the horror castle would no doubt be beyond his expectations. That was exactly the problem.

‘Now’s not the time to be playing around!’

Was this that pig’s idea of escaping? First the 300 km per hour magic carriage, the duck boat floating on the lake, the theatre carriage and now a haunted house maze? Why did he keep running away to these sorts of places? Wasn’t that pig just playing around? Or maybe he just wanted Ark to suffer? ……He contemplated that thought.

“Turns out there aren’t that many places to hide here. Wait, what is this switch? Do not touch? Aha, this might be something to open the door. Eek, ugh!”

The eyeball suddenly burst out screaming. Ark asked with an urgent voice.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“S-something rolled over…… Uh, what’s this? It’s soft and squishy? Hik! It’s a thief!”

“Thief? Were you found by the thieves?”

“Hik, hik, the thing that fell was the head of a thief!”

“You stupid asshole! Are you playing around? Why would you touch a switch that says do not touch?”

“But, but…..”

“Dammit, just run away! I’ll enter immediately so just escape for the moment! Keep up the communication and tell me if there’s any unique terrain. Do you understand?”

“Okay! Hik! Baekgu, let’s go!”

‘Just hearing the situation through words is crazy.’

He complained as he looked at the eyeball shrieking. Ark could guess the current situation through the eyeball. But he didn’t know exactly where Buksil was or what kind of situation he was in so it was quite frustrating.

“Anyway, the situation is urgent. I have to hurry…..”

Ark started walking forward before he winced and stopped. A man and woman were in front of the Horror Castle staring at Ark. While Ark ad been thinking, Bread and Redian had caught up with him.

“Huhuhu. I didn’t understand at first but now I know better than to underestimate you and let you get away. I made sure to memorize your scent.”

Bread had used Beast Spirit Possession of the dog and used its sense of smell.

“Now, shall we play like a short time ago?”

“I won’t miss this time.”

Redian also muttered as she shot Ark a poisonous look.

‘That’s right. Damn, what are these guys?’

Ark really felt like his breath was being blocked. The opponent was the level 400 Beast Master Bread! Even if he was properly prepared for the battle, he couldn’t be assured against that opponent. Ark had also failed to recover the health that he lost in the previous battle. He had also only recovered 300 mana. In this state, there was a 100 in 100 chance he would lose.

‘There is no way to get away from them.’

Ark’s eyes moved towards Redian standing to one side. Both her hands currently contained magic ready to explode. Ark had fought against many magicians and knew what kind of skill it was. It was the assistive magic ‘Quick Spell.’ In order to do magic, a chant was needed to be memorized and recited before the magic would work. Usually magicians could only use one hand but Redian had magic on standby with both hands.

‘The Quick Spell will make her attacks faster. But……’

He didn’t know why but Bread was eager to fight against Ark in a 1-on-1 battle. If Bread’s purpose was just to step on Ark then he would’ve called the nearby Redian to help. And Redian always complained about Bread’s attitude.

“If Redian is preparing the ‘Quick Spell’ then there is a high possibility it is a movement restriction magic.’

Redian planned to tie Ark’s foot while Bread settled it. A magician who had the ability to move a pirate ship alone was now preparing a movement restriction spell with Quick Spell. It was also in both hands so she intended to tie his two feet.  It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he wouldn’t be able to avoid the magic.

‘Even without the magic, it is impossible to run away.’

Unfortunately, both of them were blocking the horror castle. There was no meaning in escaping and leaving Buksil alone. Of course, the result was the same even if he defeated Bread and Redian. It was a dilemma! While Ark was thinking, Bread approached with his bayonet.

“I’ll settle it this time.”

“Okay, good. You want to settle it. But can’t you just wait a bit? I really do have something incredibly important to do. It is a request.  Can’t you wait a few more days before settling this fight between us?”

Ark tried to appeal to the pair. Until now, he had never asked for anything from other people in New World. Ark was proud of that in his own way. But now wasn’t the time for his pride. Wouldn’t it be a problem if Isyuram couldn’t catch the wanted criminals? However, after the ferry Bread wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it again.

“This bastard, do you think I look funny? Do you think I’d be fooled twice?”

……Once again, this was why his normal behaviour was important.

“No, this time it really is urgent. If you would just listen to the circumstances……”

“No questions!”

Bread gripped his bayonet with both hands and approached Ark. Suddenly there was a noisy sound and dozens of people came running.

“Over there, it’s that person!”

“What, what the?”

Bread hesitated as the guards came running and stepped back. Even Bread wouldn’t dare swing his bayonet in front of dozens of guards. The incoming guards surrounded Ark.

“He fits the description. Yes, we need you to come with us.”

“W-what’s going on?”

Ark was at a loss from the situation and asked the guard.

“A report from the Festive Committee has come in just now. There has been several lawless behaviour in some of our facilities that interfered with sales. Your description was among the information.” While chasing after Buksil and the thieves, Ark’s description had been reported to the guards by the duck boat operator. With the festival being disrupted so much, it was natural for the garrison to be dispatched.

“But I wasn’t the one who broke the guard rail and seized the duck boats. I……”

“Yes, we’ll listen to the matter at the guard headquarters. Arrest him.”

Things had really gotten worse.

Aside from Bread and Redian, now he was even being hassled by the village guards? Of course, it was possible to get away from Bread and Redian if he was taken by the guards. Although Ark had caused various scenes of confusion, he hadn’t done any substantial property damage like the thieves. If the guards listened to the situation then it was likely he would be released with a light penalty or warning. But what if Buksil was caught by the thieves in the meantime.

‘I’m really going crazy……’

Then a question suddenly popped into Ark’s head.

‘Wait? Why are the guards only talking to me?’

Ark stared at Bread and Redian. Bread also appeared in the parade with Ark but the audience and director was satisfied so there shouldn’t be any complaints. Certainly, Bread hadn’t done anything at the festival for the guards to be interested in him. But the issue wasn’t the festival.

‘Bread and Redian were chaotic when I met them a few days ago!’

Yes, Bread and Redian were chaotic when they were leading the pirate fleet. In addition, it wasn’t a standard level of chaotic. In New World, chaotic users who committed a lot of crime would have their ID turn increasingly redder.  When Ark had met the two of them for the first time, their ID was so red it was almost black. Ark didn’t know it yet but the reason Redian and Bread have such high chaotic levels was because they broke into Haman fort and killed NPCs at the tourist information centre.  Killing NPCs stacked a few more chaotic value than killing users.

‘In addition, Bread was beating up that group of thieves just then. The thieves just then aren’t chaotic. But now their IDs……?’

It wasn’t necessary to confirm it with Eyes of the Cat. If the guards standing right next to them didn’t take an interest then that meant they had a normal status. How could the wander the village after they committed murder just a short while ago? Ark only knew of two different methods. One method was to use Shambala’s Death’s Agent. But that was a profession specific skill of the Saint Assassin. What would a regular player use?

‘That’s right, there is that!’

A smile formed on Ark’s mouth.

“It’s them. I unintentionally caused a commotion by chasing after them!”

“What?”

“They’re brutal criminals who killed a lot of people!”

Ark pointed to Bread and Redian as the guards turned their heads.

“But they weren’t in the reports……”

“It is a lie, please watch carefully!”

Ark quickly pulled out two scrolls and shouted.

“[Sword of Truth] activate! Target Redian and Bread!”

“Heok, t-that bastard…..!”

Bread and Redian freaked out and screamed as they saw the situation. When the necessary conditions were met, there was a 100% chance of the scroll hitting the target! When the scroll was triggered, two enormous swords appeared in the sky and hit the back of their head. When [Sword of Truth] was activated, Ark expected it to hit the target. Yes, the reason the chaotic Bread and Redian was able to walk around the village was thanks to the [Lie] scroll. [Sword of Truth] would only be triggered if the target users were under the effect of the [Lie] scroll! It was a scroll to release the effect of [Lie].

‘Huhuhu, it worked as expected.’

Ark smirked as Bread and Redian was hit by the [Sword of Truth]. In fact, Ark hadn’t gathered the scrolls intentionally. He hadn’t felt the need for it. But since he collected money from the repeatable quests in Ciel, he sometimes bought the scrolls in order to help Ronnie. [Sword of Truth] was one of those scrolls. Anyway, their IDs instantly turned red when hit by the [Sword of Truth]. Then the guards suddenly remembered something and shouted with surprise.

“Ah! That is…..?”

“I remember. They’re the leaders of the pirate party who made the ferry sink last time!”

“Now the pirates are trying to attack the festival, catch them!”

The guards shouted with indignation and rushed forward.

“God dammit, Quick Spell activate, Vortex trap!”

Redian activated the movement restriction magic with the Quick Spell she had prepared. An enormous gust of wind emerged from Redian and hit the guards running up to them.  It was the Vortex Trap which caused stiffness for 2 seconds and decreased movement speed by 50% for 30 seconds! But there were a huge number of guards deployed to protect the Bosaga festival. When the magic hit six guards, the remaining ones became even more resentful.

“Huk, t-those guys……!”

“They are resisting. Send a signal and gather the guards!”

One guard blew a whistle and other guards flocked from all directions. Bread glared at Ark as the situation deteriorated.

“That bastard……!”

“Idiot, now’s not the time for that! Let’s go!”

After Redian raised her voice angrily, they both ran away. No matter how strong Bread and Redian were, they couldn’t take care of all the guards. Redian once again used the prepared Quick Spell to activate Vortex Trap and hurriedly ran away. Ark smirked and laughed as he watched their retreating backs.

“Kukukuku, this is why you have to live a good life.”

“Hah? Master is saying that?”

“Shut up! I never committed brutal acts like that.”

Ark glared at Racard and declared sharply. Anyway, he managed to escape from Bread and Redian thanks to the guards. If the two of them with red IDs were caught then they would be eating beans with rice for a month.

“Would Bread and Redian be caught that easily?”

However, they couldn’t annoy Ark in Bosaga village anymore.

“Now those two are dealt with. I need to look for Buksil quickly!”

Ark ran towards the horror castle with Racard.

“Huhuhuhu, a stupid human has visited. Would you like to step foot into this castle of fear? If you have the courage than 50 silver……”

When he arrived in front of the horror castle, the NPC stretched out his hand. Ark threw the coin with an annoyed expression and ran into the horror castle.

Ohhhhhh, kya kya kya kya, kuoooooh!

When he entered the horror castle, a fearsome noise was instantly audible. It was crying, moaning and intimidating roar of ghosts and monsters! The acoustics truly created a scary atmosphere. But the problem wasn’t the noises.

“Damn, what is this?”

When he communicated through the eyeball earlier, he didn’t know where Buksil was. It was normal to make the haunted house slightly complicated.  Didn’t the words on the signpost also talk about a maze? But when he came in, he didn’t realize it would be this complicated. Dozens of paths in the maze spread out like a cobweb from the entrance. No matter how complicated the dungeon terrain was, it normally wasn’t a problem.  Thanks to the cartography skill which mapped out the terrain features of a dungeon, he never wandered a route twice. But this was a ride not a dungeon. The cartography skill wasn’t available. In addition, there weren’t any distinct geographic features to be marked.

“How can I find Buksil in here?”

“Waaahhh! Ark-nim, what are you doing? Please come soon. There are a lot of them in the area!”

The eyeball explained some rough features but it wasn’t any help. He didn’t know how to find the place. The horror castle also had so many footprints that he couldn’t use Radun’s Stalking. In the end, he had no choice but to go around and look for the place Buksil mentioned. Ark worried for a while before he said.

“It can’t be helped. It is better to split up and look for him than to stay together.”

“But Master, that guy is a skeleton.”

Racard muttered as he tapped Razak. Just like Razak said, this was a village. A skeleton wandering alone could cause problems.  But Ark just shook his head.

“This place is a haunted house. People who are disguised as monsters are intentionally scattered around so there won’t be an uproar if a skeleton is seen. But Razak has no way of making contact if Buksil is found so he’ll move with you. It isn’t necessary to say again but don’t let them catch Buksil. Once you’ve found him, do whatever it takes to protect him.”

“Okay. Hey, skeleton! Follow me.”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Ark and his summons split up and started looking for Buksil.

————————————————————————————————

“Over there!”

“I saw him run over there!”

It was an underground area with old coffins and tools everywhere. There was dozens of people running around and crying out in loud voices. Buksil had run around the maze avoiding the thieves for 10 minutes, and the 20 thieves had narrowly missed him because of the complicated maze. Just like Ark, the bandit group split up and started looking for Buksil. However, it wasn’t easy to find one person in a maze. Furthermore, there were traps laid out everywhere on the castle floor. The traps weren’t ones that would threaten lives but some of them stopped people from moving or were slides which moved them to lower floors, so it wasn’t easy to catch Buksil. However, Buksil was also worried about falling into the traps. He had been caught a few times by the traps.  He had also been pursued by NPCs disguised as monsters while wandering around lost. Therefore the thieves had caught up with Buksil and the siege was narrowing.

“He is definitely near here. You guys over here and you guys look over there!”

Buksil jumped every time he heard the voice of the thieves.

“Hik, there are thieves everywhere! I’m surrounded!”

“Master, there is a hole in that corner!”

At that moment Baekgu pointed at a corner and shouted. When he turned his head, there was a small hole between some gruesome torture tools. There were also some secret passages prepared in the horror castle for fun……it was also the only escape method for Buksil to survive. Buksil ran towards the hole without looking. Just as he was about to squeeze his abundant body in, a zombie suddenly fell out of the hole.

“Aaaagh!”

Buksil screamed and flopped down onto the ground. But the zombie just grinned and walked to the other side.

“Hihihi, it is another success. Now, who shall I tease next?”

Buksil trembled while Baekgu just sighed and muttered.

“Ah Master, it was just a fake monster.”

“I know, I know. But……”

Tears fell down Buksil’s face as he spoke. Of course Buksil knew that all the monsters were just NPCs dressed up and his safety was guaranteed. In addition, he had encountered all sorts of monsters while travelling with Ark. There was no reason to shrink in fear when he saw a monster. But knowing that and not being afraid was different. Didn’t people watch horror movies for the sensation of fear? In that unexpected situation, anyone would be surprised. Thus Buksil shed tears with every encounter in the game.

“Eh, this way!”

Then a few thieves shouted from the opposite corner.

“Hik, B-Baekgu!”

“Master, please hurry!”

Baekgu bit Buksil and dragged him through the hole.

“Damn, that bastard!”

The thieves cursed and tried to follow. Suddenly 10 black hands appeared and grabbed the thieves’ clothes. This was also one of the events of the horror castle. Thanks to these events, the thieves had ended up missing Buksil a few times. When the thieves shook off the hands and entered the hole, Buksil couldn’t be seen anymore.

“Dammit, we missed him again!”

“If only there wasn’t that NPC just now….. This place is really irritating!”

“But we’ve almost completed surrounded the area. We’ll catch that guy soon.”

“Yes, now it’s only a matter of time. And we’ve gone down this passage earlier. We’ll continue down this way while some of the guys will block the other side. No matter where he appears, we’ll catch him shortly.”

A thief kicked a coffin with an irritated expression as they ran down the passage. After a while, the coffin which the thief kicked opened and Buksil and Baekgu emerged.

“Huk huk huk, I’m alive!”

Sweat dripped down Buksil’s face as he murmured. Baekgu had learned too late that the hole was actually a trap. As soon as they passed through the hole, the trap had been triggered and shut the two of them in a big coffin. But it was because Buksil was trapped in the can that he was able to elude the thieves. Buksil sighed with relief before he suddenly made an angry expression.

“But what on earth did I do to those people?”

Buksil still didn’t know why the thieves were pursuing him so desperately. In fact, Buksil should be the angry one since he was attacked first in Seutandal. However, Buksil had a wide generosity and forgiven them. So why did these villains have a grudge against him?

“In the outside world, there are even more unscrupulous humans than Ark-nim.”

Buksil was tired by the persistence of the thieves and shook his head. Then Baekgu suddenly jerked with wariness and his eyes stared into the darkness. A man that was approaching from the other side flinched and stopped. After looking around for a moment, he approached Buksil and Baekgu. When Baekgu growled, he instantly stopped moving again.

“Wait, I’m not an enemy.”

“……?”

“Over there, is your name Buksil?”

The man surveyed the area like the main character of an intelligence movie and spoke in a low voice.

“I actually know Ark really well.”

“Ah, Ark-nim?”

“Yes, I can’t explain it in detail but I’m on your side. I came here to save you. There are a lot of guys in this area so try to avoid the place. Those fellows have split up ad are methodically narrowing the net. A few of them will soon come here. But I’ve grasped almost all of their movements so if you follow me then you can escape unharmed. I’ll give you the details after we escape. Follow me.”

“Wah, thank you!”

Buksil lowered his guard and was about to approach the man talking about Ark. Then Baekgu tensed and growled.

“Grrrrrr, Master! Do not be fooled. It is a trap!”

“What, what the?”

“I don’t smell Ark at all on this human. There are only the scents of the fellows chasing us. He is a part of their group. He can’t handle us alone so he is trying to lure us to the group!”

“Heok, it was like that? This bad person!”

Buksil cursed and stepped back. Then the man made an embarrassed face and tried to explain.

“Oh, no, that’s not it! Certainly I haven’t met Ark here……”

“See, he hasn’t met Ark!”

“Dammit, just listen to my story first! No, I don’t have time to explain. I’ll explain once we get out of here……”

“Don’t make me laugh! Do you think I will be fooled by such a lie?”

Buksil snorted and raised his voice. ……He wasn’t going to be fooled. Baekgu stepped in front of Buksil. Meanwhile, the man once again tried to approach Buksil as he shouted.

“There is no time! I’ll explain everything once we get out!”

“Master, please retreat!”

The Baekgu jumped up and grabbed the man’s neck. The man flinched and moved his upper body to avoid it, but his neck was still scratched and blood splattered.

“T-this…..!”

The man grabbed his neck and glared at Baekgu. The man…..is probably already known but he was Isyuram, also known as Lee Myung-ryong. Isyuram hadn’t expected Baekgu and Buksil’s reaction.

‘Why is this guy here?’

While Ark was wandering around the south west, Buksil had stayed in Bosaga causing the situation to be tangled after Isyuram lead the thieves there. Thus he desperately called Ark because he was afraid of Buksil being surrounded by the thieves.

‘I can’t let them catch Buksil!’

If that happened then the infiltration investigation wouldn’t be his concern. If he was with the thieves when they met Buksil then he couldn’t do anything. So Isyuram made an excuse and separated from the thieves. Then he mobilized his police knowledge and traced the bandit group’s tracks to find Buksil.

‘I’ve done it!’

Isyuram inwardly cheered as he saw Buksil. By identifying the thieves’ search route, he was able to determine an escape route for Buksil. Yet Isyuram hadn’t considered a flaw with his idea. It was good that he found Buksil but there was no way to prove that he knew Ark. He was undercover so there was no way to explain it.  Even if he explained, what guarantee was there that Buksil would believe him? Of course, the situation would be different if Isyuram and Buksil communicated with Ark through the eyeball. Because he could give his real name and receive confirmation. However Isyuram didn’t know about the strange skill.

“There are already a lot of them in this area. This passage will be swarmed pretty soon. If those guys find us then everything would be ruined! I don’t have time to persuade Buksil. There is only one way left!’

Isyuram clenched his teeth and stared at Baekgu. The important one to Isyuram was Buksil. Even if Buksil died here, there were thieves waiting at the resurrection place. If the thieves swarming the resurrection place got the memory crystal and moved then there was no chance of Ark reclaiming it. In the end, Isyuram was forced to take an extreme action.

‘Buksil is a merchant so he doesn’t have combat capabilities. The problem is Baekgu. If I take care of the dog than Buksil will have no choice but to go with me. After I meet Ark at a safe place and remove the understanding then he will hand over the memory crystal.’

Isyuram avoided Baekgu’s following attack and counterattacked with a shark kick. Then Buksil jumped with surprise and shouted.

“You’ve exposed your true colours you villain!”

Thanks to that, the misunderstanding deepened even further. But Isyuram didn’t have that many choices.

‘I have to handle that dog before the other guys come!’

Isyuram used some wonderful foot movements and started kicking Baekgu…..

Snap!

……Baekgu ran up to him at a tremendous pace and kicked his thigh. While playing the game, Isyuram hadn’t figured out that he was using an experimental unit with 100% pain sensitivity. When Baekgu injured his thigh and blood came pouring out, he really felt the acute pain. At the same time, an embarrassing message window rose.

“What, what the, this guy!”

Isyuram burst out with confusion as he stumbled. Isyuram didn’t have a skill or scroll to confirm the level of his opponent. In addition, he had never seen Baekgu fight the other thieves. He thought that the dog would be at a similar level to him. However, it couldn’t be compared to facing against the gnolls. Buksil made a gleeful expression and shouted.

“Bah! Baekgu is level 310! He can easily deal with one opponent!”

“L-level 310?”

Isyuram looked at Baekgu with shocked eyes. Isyuram had though Buksil had no combat capabilities because he was a merchant but Isyuram was also a merchant. While playing against the gnolls, he had polished off his combat techniques. However, this was also a game. In reality, the person’s knowledge and vision was needed for their combat capabilities. There were no such things like the strength or stamina stats. Moreover, Isyuram had the basic taekwondo but also some specially designed military martial arts to suppress violent organizations. But any criminals wouldn’t fail to recognize the special martial arts of the police agency. Therefore Isyuram avoided using those moves in a fight just in case the thieves recognized it. So Isyuram and Garam were at a similar level 230 when they first met. But no matter his superhuman fighting ability in reality, Isyuram was a level 230 merchant fighting against the level 310 Baekgu from the Wolrang clan.

“W-wait a minute! Time, time!”

Isyuram belatedly grasped the situation and asked for time. But there was no way it would be accepted.

“Bah! So you can call you colleagues? Baekgu, take care of him!”

“Yes, Master! Keuaaaaang!”

Baekgu sensed that Isyuram was weaker than him and started all out attacking.  Isyuram used 120% of his taekwondo skills to oppose him but it was ineffective. Levels had an absolute impact on the game. The difference between their attack, defense, strength, stamina and agility was like heaven and earth. In addition, Isyuram was a merchant while Baekgu was a beast warrior. Even if Isyuram hit the vital spots, he only dealt 50-80 damage to Baekgu at most. Meanwhile, one scratch from Baekgu took 300-400 of his health. The level difference was too big. Isyuram was bloody after just a few minutes.

‘Oh my god, one this hot summer day….. I’m being eaten by a dog……’

But that wasn’t all.

“Yes, yes! Bastard, you bastard!”

Buksil cursed and kicked Isyuram’s prone body. The pig had experienced so much misery that he had shed tears.

“Master, I can hear the footsteps of other people!”

Buksil stopped kicking after hearing Baekgu’s voice. He got on Baekgu’s back and they quickly ran away.

“I heard some sounds over here. Eh? This…..?”

After Buksil and Baekgu had disappeared around the corner for a while, the thieves finally appeared. They belatedly found Isyuram’s dead body.

“I-Isyuram!”

Garam held Isyuram’s body and screamed.

“Ugh, how did this happen…… Wait, the wounds look like he had been bitten by a dog….. Ugh. It was the puppy with that pig….. Damn, I told him not to go alone….. That guy who got involved in our business. Who is he?”

Garam turned his body and shouted.

“Will those guys who don’t trust Isyuram keep talking? Please speak. Can you still say that after seeing his body? How many times have I told you? This person will never betray us! This guy, this guy is…. He never complained even when you sent him doubtful looks. He ran after that guy for our sake and became so miserable……”

Garam could barely talk as he sobbed. Then the thieves nodded with solemn expressions.

“Uhh, he went this far for us.”

After he became dog food, the thieves now thought that Isyuram was reliable. Anyway, flames of anger ignited in Garam’s eyes as he held Isyuram’s corpse.

“Ughhh. How dare that hybrid dog and pig kill my friend? I absolutely won’t miss! This body is still warm so they couldn’t have escaped far. Catch them and make them pay the price! Tear them to pieces!”

‘…… Please endure it. Please miss for me.’

Isyuram sighed as he was forcibly shut down.

————————————————————————————————

“Geez, what are you doing? Quickly!”

“Huh? No, I mean……”

Racard hesitated and scratched his head. Racard who had changed into a boy released his breath as he saw four zombies.

‘Hah, what is this?’

After splitting up with Ark at the entrance of the castle, Racard started searching for Buksil with Razak. Then he found a similar room to what Buksil had described.

‘Huhuhu, I quite like this place?’

Racard was in the lowest floor of the horror castle where there were various coffins and torture tools scattered around. But that wasn’t the reason why Racard stopped moving. The zombies had suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Kuaaaaah! Eat everybody….. Eh?”

The zombies tilted their heads with confusion before one stepped in front. He stared at Racard and Razak before smiling.

“What the? Is this a company in the same line of business? Did you also receive an assignment in this area?”

‘Assignment?’

Racard thought for a while before he figured out the situation. Needless to say, but the zombies were disguised NPCs. They saw the skeletal Razak and misunderstood that he was another worker of the castle. Racard thought it was too troublesome to clarify so he nodded.

“Yes, so can we go now?”

Then the zombie said to Razak.

“But isn’t that really well made?”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

Razak became angry at the zombie’s words and expressed his dissatisfaction. The zombies were at a loss by Razak’s response.

“Huk, what the? This is really a skeleton?”

Then Racard interjected quickly.

“Oh, he is real. He is my familiar that I summoned.”

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack?

Racard whispered to Razak in a low voice.

“You fool, Master said not to cause an unnecessary disturbance.”

“Summon? Then you are a summoner?”

The zombies became their wariness as Racard nodded. The NPCs worked at the horror castle so they naturally had a fear of summoners. The residents wore monster makeup so they couldn’t tell the difference between real monsters.

“But isn’t this too extreme?”

“You look 10 years old yet you’re summoning a skeleton?”

“Aha, you must be someone young assigned here.”

“Your clothes look like you are disguising as a vampire but it is quite crude. Not only is such a little child assigned here but also his pet skeleton…..”

‘What the? Dressed as a vampire? Isn’t it different? And crude?’

They though a real vampire was disguised as a crude vampire? What were they saying? Racard glared angrily at their words.

“Aaaaack!”

He suddenly heard a scream from one side. The zombies exchanged glances and started laughing.

“Ohhh, a guest!”

“Huhuhu, that person has been screaming all night from our surprised appearances.”

“I really am thankful for such reactions. Teasing sincere guests is the most enjoyable part.”

“Now’s not the time to be doing this. One person in each location!”

The zombies voluntarily scattered and hid themselves. Then a zombie opened the lid of a coffin that it was hiding in and shouted.

“Ya! What are you guys doing?”

“Huh? No, we……”

“You two go to that place. Can’t you see that spacious coffin? It is a good place to hide and surprise guests. Huhuhu, it you take the guests off guard then they’ll be surprised. Try it a few times and it is surprisingly fun. You will be fine.”

The zombie insisted that Racard and Razak squeeze into the coffin.

“Hah, making a real vampire and undead do a part time job in a haunted house…..”

Razak sighed as he entered the coffin with Racard. Then Razak glanced at him with dissatisfied eyes and said.

Clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack!

“What the? Why are you blaming me? Master was the one who told us not to cause any difficulties. And if you were in this situation alone then you would already be dragged to the guards.”

Clack clack clack, ttadadak!

“Who? There is no other way. We have no choice but to go along with the zombies. Let’s just watch the situation for a little bit.”

“Hey, rookie! Why aren’t you staying quiet? Do you want to be paid?”

The zombie in the opposite coffin declared sharply towards Racard and Razak.

“……Yes, I’ll work hard. Ya! They said to be quiet!”

Racard shut his lips and pouted. How much time had passed? Then there was the sound of footsteps approaching before it ran around the corner.  The strategy was starting! As expected from the veteran zombies, they had exquisite timing as they emerged from the coffins.

“Hahaha, we’re going to eat everybody!”

As expected, the guests stopped as they saw the zombies. It was at that time. An arrow abruptly flew and pierced the thigh of one guest. The guests kneeled to one side and screamed with distress.

Bark-!

‘A bark? What the, this sound? Wait? This familiar sound…..?’

Racard who was still waiting peeked through a hole in the coffin. At the same time, confusion spread on Racard’s face. To his surprise, the one who collapsed from the arrow was Baekgu. When Baekgu fell down, the pig riding up fell off and rolled into a corner. It was Buksil. Then over ten thieves came running.

“We’ve finally caught that pig scum!”

“Huh? W-what is happening…..?”

The zombies were confused as some people appeared holding weapons. Then the thieves brandished their swords and shouted.

“It’s time for you to die!”

“Huck! Murder! There are murders at the horror castle!”

“Garam, we can’t leave these guys alone. It will be annoying if they report it to the guards. Kill them all!”

“Ah, that’s right. Catch them!”

Garam and the bandit group attacked the zombies with swords and arrows. They were just regular NPCs so they instantly collapsed as the thieves fired skills at them. After taking care of the zombies, the thieves cornered Buksil and Baekgu in a corner.

“Huhuhuhu, there is no place for you to run!”

‘M-Master, it is serious!’

Racard inwardly cried with distress as he watched the scene.