Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Ambush in Moros Canyon
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Chapter 104
Beauty Art picked up on something suspicious while passing through the canyon known as Moros.
'That’s...'
She was a necromancer. Because of that, she had no choice but to know necromancer skills inside and out.
'A zombie bird?'
They were the usual scouts necromancers sent out to survey the surroundings. Beauty Art frowned.
'A necromancer nearby.'
Of course, that wasn’t strange in itself. Necromancer wasn’t a popular class, but it wasn’t like gunner, where picking it got you labeled as some weirdo.
Still, maybe because of the Necronomicon copy, she felt an ominous premonition.
And unfortunately, her gut feeling hit the nail on the head.
“You’re here.”
Someone blocked her path. Their getup screamed necromancer—disgustingly so, to anyone who saw it. But the voice coming from under the robe was refreshingly clear, an utterly unbalanced contrast.
“Halloween Pumpkin.”
“Long time no see?”
As fellow necromancers, they knew each other. Not that they were on good terms. They weren’t particularly close, and with their guilds on bad footing, they shared a mild mutual dislike—nothing more.
But from today on, she had a strong feeling she’d start calling that Halloween Pumpkin “that damn pumpkin.”
“What do you want? Actually, on second thought, I’m not interested. Move aside. I’m busy.”
“Heading for the Necronomicon copy?”
“You know? Then make this quick and get out of my way.”
Beauty Art wasn’t surprised at all that he knew about the Necronomicon copy. Any necromancer in Ark who didn’t know about it right now didn’t deserve the class.
She wasn’t surprised, but her unease grew.
Halloween Pumpkin seemed to feel the same. He was nearly at the level cap, but she’d never heard rumors of him getting the Necronomicon copy.
Belonging to a massive guild like C.O.T.S, there was no way they’d stay quiet if he’d advanced. They’d have spread the word far and wide to boost the guild’s fame.
And now, the one who needed that copy most was blocking her path?
If you didn’t suspect his intentions, you were either brain-dead or an idiot—pick one.
Beauty Art was neither.
“Come on, let’s talk a bit more. I’ve got something important to say.”
“I don’t.”
“The Necronomicon copy. Hand it over to me.”
“......”
Beauty Art sighed. Her worst fears were confirmed.
“I’ll pay whatever you ask. You’ve gotta sell it to someone who knows its true value, right?”
“Last warning. Move.”
What nonsense was this clown spouting? No need to waste more words.
But as expected, Halloween Pumpkin didn’t budge.
“Ah, won’t give it up, huh? What a letdown. Now I’m feeling depressed.”
Disgustingly, he clutched his face with both hands and pretended to sob.
“No helping it. Guess I’ll get some comfort from a friend.”
Snap!
As Halloween Pumpkin snapped his fingers, the ground around him began to upheave. And what emerged were black arm bones.
His black skeletons, his minions, started crawling out from underground one by one.
“Stick around and cheer me up for a bit. We’re friends, right?”
“Piss off.”
Beauty Art summoned her own minions.
This was the canyon called Moros. They were still quite a ways from Sillaremit.
* * *
Yuseong and Western Flower spent the time together in Sillaremit, waiting for Beauty Art to arrive.
Their companionship—barely more than strangers—was oppressively awkward.
With no friendship or common ground, united only by the goal of passing the Necronomicon copy to Beauty Art, it was hardly surprising.
If one of them had been friendly like Cooking Day, it might’ve been different, but both were far from sociable types.
The silver lining was that neither seemed too bothered by the stifling awkwardness.
At first, each had tried forcing small talk, worried the other might be suffering from it while they themselves were fine.
But the problem was realizing through that talk that the other felt the same—no discomfort at all.
Naturally, their already sparse conversation dwindled even further.
They weren’t just standing around dumbly, though.
At Western Flower’s request, Yuseong took her to the Haunting Grounds of the Fallen Demon.
No matter how efficient the demon mobs were, at her level, the demon dungeon was no different from any other around here.
Catching these or those yielded the same pitiful 1 EXP each.
But the fact that it was the hunting ground where the Necronomicon copy had dropped piqued her interest.
“No boss, for real.”
With top-ranker Western Flower joining Yuseong—who could wipe the place solo—they reached the boss room at lightspeed.
Western Flower, hoping to maybe encounter the boss that had dropped the Necronomicon copy, couldn’t hide her disappointment at the empty room.
“I told you.”
“I believed you. It’s just... seeing it with my own eyes makes the letdown hit harder.”
Still, it was the boss room of the one that spat out the Necronomicon copy. Western Flower searched every nook and cranny.
It seemed pointless, was pointless, and she knew it. But so what? She had nothing else to do around here anyway.
This was just killing time.
Yuseong had no complaints about Western Flower.
She had to stick around this area for a while anyway due to ad shoots. Protecting Yuseong was a pretty lucrative side gig.
And that wasn’t all.
“Still, since a Necronomicon copy came from here, it does feel a bit different from a regular boss room.”
[Does it? Looks the same to me.]
[Kick that guy. Western Flower-nim.]
[Just spam ㄹㅇ ㅋㅋ lol]
[Picking on Western Flower-nim’s words? Just roll with it.]
Yuseong eyed the constantly updating chat window with curiosity.
He’d heard something similar back when Naltorri taught him streaming basics. Viewers tended to mirror the streamer’s vibe.
By that logic, Western Flower’s viewers seemed like the super-loyal type.
'Or maybe just messing around?'
Looking closer, it felt more like they were playing a concept where they treated her every word as gospel—less blind faith, more fun.
Either way, it differed from the attitudes of Yuseong’s own stream viewers.
Upon entering the dungeon, Western Flower had asked Yuseong if she could stream. He’d agreed readily.
Some hogged efficient dungeons and banned recordings to keep control, but Yuseong wasn’t like that. He was already losing interest in this Fallen Demon haunt.
With Yuseong’s permission, Western Flower could film the famous Necronomicon-copy dungeon and rake in more donations.
For her, it was a side gig that paid off in every way.
But her good mood didn’t last.
“Beauty Art says she’s delayed.”
“Oh? By how much?”
“No idea.”
Yuseong looked at Western Flower.
She was frowning. Was something going wrong?
“What’s up?”
“There’s this guy called Halloween Pumpkin. C.O.T.S necromancer. Word is he’s blocking her way to Sillaremit.”
“C.O.T.S?”
A name he’d been hearing way too much lately. And always in the worst context.
“Them again?”
“Yeah, them again. Sounds like she’ll be tied up in Moros for a while.”
“Moros? Where’s that?”
“A canyon pretty far from here.”
Western Flower fell into thought.
She couldn’t stay here forever. Even if she’d been told she didn’t need to be at the front lines for a bit, dragging it out would make her antsy.
The original plan: protect Yuseong briefly, confirm Beauty Art handed over the Necronomicon copy, then head to Edwin for the ad shoot and rush to the front.
But now Beauty Art was stuck.
'The best option would be for me to transport the Necronomicon copy.'
She and Beauty Art were both heading to the front anyway.
The issue was that the Necronomicon copy wasn’t ordinary. And with trust still thin between her and Yuseong, it wasn’t something she could just take.
Same guild, sure, trading favors here and there—but that was it. This was barely their second meeting.
It’d be like handing billions in valuables to a company senior you’d seen twice.
How many people would do that?
'Not me.'
Western Flower declared inwardly.
Even if she had the Necronomicon copy and the perfect scenario arose to hand it to Yuseong, she’d never give it up.
Obviously, vice versa applied.
The rest of the guild felt the same.
That’s why Beauty Art had insisted on coming herself, even with Western Flower nearby.
Someone had suggested Western Flower buy it from Yuseong for the price, then resell to Beauty Art—but it got shot down.
Bringing in a third party risked drama.
For an item like the Necronomicon copy, a straight 1-on-1 buyer-seller deal was cleanest.
Plus, even if Yuseong trusted her enough to hand it over first for delivery to Beauty Art—which was unlikely—what if she lost it or got robbed? She didn’t want that responsibility.
'Could get accused of hijacking it.'
She knew her reputation well.
Money-grubbing bitch.
She didn’t deny it—she was. So she knew that label made people suspicious easily.
If something went wrong mid-handover, she’d be the prime suspect.
She had zero interest in risking that to play courier for the Necronomicon copy.