Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: 2nd Phase?
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‘2nd phase?’
It was definitely the term used in games for when an enemy’s state changed. Whether it was their form, weapon, pattern, or abilities.
One thing was certain: it never meant they got weaker.
Whoosh!
A bright red glow appeared in the eye area of the armor, which had only reflected the empty black space before. The flickering crimson light seemed to embody the armor’s rage.
Boom!
The armor rolled forcefully across the floor and leaped high into the air. It then came crashing down, swinging the halberd in a massive arc.
KABOOM!
“Ugh!”
The entire lab shook with a deafening roar. The range of this floor-smashing attack was on another level compared to the previous one. He’d dodged in a hurry, but the shockwave still hit him hard.
Yuseong checked his status window. His HP had taken a hit.
‘The attack reaches this far?’
The time from jump to strike was incredibly short, and the shock spread across the whole area. Damage probably scaled with proximity to the armor. It might even apply paralysis.
The armor’s attacks grew ferocious.
It closed in on Yuseong, slamming the ground around him like a madman. The speed of its halberd swings increased, and its momentum turned even more savage.
It even withstood a bullet to the helmet.
“Tch!”
Yuseong couldn’t hold out forever and took hits to various parts of his body. It didn’t hurt. But the sensation of injury was unmistakable. A profoundly strange feeling.
This foe was leagues beyond any monster he’d faced so far.
Still, it wasn’t beyond his ability to handle.
Bang!
He fired both guns straight into the storm of wildly swinging halberds.
The armor, struck squarely on the helmet, staggered back a step. The halberd that had come right up to his neck fell away.
‘Buying a burst-fire gun the second I get out of here.’
Resolved to stop taking stun losses, Yuseong steeled himself.
Boom!
The armor leaped into the air again. Truly worthy of a bonus boss—same jump attack, but executed with endlessly varied flair.
And each jump packed devastating power. Dodging them properly was a challenge.
But Yuseong preferred these attacks.
Bang! Bang!
The bullets struck the helmet dead-on. The armor lurched wildly mid-air, its posture crumbling.
Thud!
It hit the ground back-first in a pathetic sprawl.
Stun in that state lasted a good while. Long enough to reload and fire one full gun.
As Yuseong hurried to reload one, the fallen armor stretched its hand skyward.
‘New pattern?’
Yuseong tensed, watching it warily.
But the feared attack never came. The armor writhed violently, hand outstretched. Moments later, its arm dropped limply.
“…Is it over?”
A habit ingrained in reality kept Yuseong from approaching carelessly. Only after the armor rusted over rapidly and crumbled did he relax.
‘I won!’
[Congratulations. You have defeated the Relic of the Hidden Sage.]
[Level up.]
[Teleporting back to your previous location in 10 minutes. Press ‘Move’ if you wish to teleport immediately.]
The system voice confirmed the battle’s end.
Yuseong let his arms hang limp and took a deep breath in and out. No easy fight, that.
‘But not all that tough either….’
He alternated between his status window and inventory.
Thanks to designated stats and potions, he had 84 HP left, and 12 bullets remaining. Even if the armor had rampaged more, he could’ve subdued it.
‘Good enough. Easy is easy.’
Some gamers thrived on difficulty, but Yuseong wasn’t one of them. Games were now purely a survival tool for him.
‘Loot the items first.’
How frustrating would it be to waste time and get teleported without grabbing them?
Like any monster, the Relic of the Hidden Sage left a bundle of items. Yuseong scooped them up, and they vanished into his inventory.
‘Money first!’
Money was the key to drastically improving his real-life situation. He opened his inventory and clenched his fist unconsciously upon checking his funds.
His gold had jumped by a whopping 1,000G.
‘1,000G buys how many black breads!’
Enough for 100 even in reality. Black bread x100.
“…Ha, haha! Uhahahahaha!”
Yuseong laughed maniacally. He couldn’t help it. To someone who’d subsisted on toxic beast meat, 100 black breads meant more than food.
How long since he’d laughed like this? Tears streamed as he kept going for a while.
“Whew!”
Regaining composure, Yuseong exhaled his lingering emotions and checked the other items.
Steel Ingot and Low-Grade Red Glowstone.
Descriptions indicated the ingot was a crafting material, and the glowstone for item enhancement.
Last was a weapon: a gun.
[Eonir Pistol]
A pistol forged from the tough iron ore of the Eonir region.
Damage: 40
Durability: 9
Required Strength: 42
A massive upgrade from his current gun. For Yuseong, who’d planned to swap immediately, it was a windfall.
‘This’ll get me out of that damn single-shot hell.’
The Eonir Pistol was a revolver.
Clunky compared to magazine-fed pistols with quick swaps, but after clearing the prior fight with two break-action single-shots, Yuseong was grateful for it.
He ejected the cylinder. Six empty chambers stared back.
‘Compatible ammo? Or separate purchase?’
【By default, all Ark bullets are compatible with all guns. However, using overly powerful bullets in a low-level gun causes exponential recoil increase, drastic durability loss per shot, and potential gun destruction.】
‘Full of drawbacks.’
He’d picked up Ark’s stance on guns hanging around with various streamer NPCs.
‘Not all bad, though.’
Long range and high damage were merits as strong as the flaws. For Yuseong, who’d spent a lifetime with firearms for survival, no weapon was easier or more comfortable.
He loaded bullets into the cylinder’s holes. All six chambers filled.
Click!
He snapped it back in and spun it. When it stopped, he aimed forward and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The firing sound was worlds apart from his basic gun—satisfying.
Yuseong asked the strategy guide.
‘What about attention?’
He’d hunted the bonus boss for money and attention, hadn’t he? Money and items secured; attention remained.
【Your feat will spread to others soon, raising your attention. Discovering and defeating a new bonus boss guarantees interest.】
“I see.”
Yuseong opened his status window to check attention.
1,130.
Barely past 1,000, and already up 130. Rising fast, but 10,000 was still distant.
‘It’ll climb soon enough.’
The guide said so.
‘While it’s open, distribute stats.’
lv 12 (Exp 53 / 146)
HP - 84 / MP - 0
Strength - 12
Vitality - 46(+30)
Agility - 73
Dexterity - 10
Intelligence - 10
Magic Power - 0
Luck - 10
Bonus Points ? 21
※ Traits
Savior’s Blessing: Designated stat +30 (change once per day)
※ Attention ? 1,130
‘Gotta pump strength for the Eonir Pistol for a while.’
After allocating, Yuseong scanned the lab again.
‘Anything else useful here?’
【None.】
‘Books and research tools everywhere?’
【All just set dressing.】
‘Got it.’
No point lingering. Yuseong dropped it.
Ten minutes passed amid the fuss. Blue light swirled around him, enveloping and spinning.
Moments later, he vanished from the Hidden Sage’s lab.
* * *
Finding Ark discussions in global communities was a cinch.
As the most successful game and sport in history, every community had Ark fans aplenty.
Massive Ark-specific ones existed too, pumping out unimaginable daily info volumes.
Thus, most posts drowned in the flood, buried without trace.
The ones breaking through were usually famous streamers’ videos or new discoveries.
Impactful info typically came from high-level players in endgame zones.
But one event from Korea’s beginner area—the Blue Meadows Village outskirts, thought fully explored—was piercing the deluge.
It started with a video on Mityube, the world’s top video platform.
Among the daily upload tsunami, a fresh channel’s video drew no eyes.
Yet even those garnered minimal views. Viewers clicking casually were stunned by the content.
《New Bonus Boss Appears!》
The title hooked plenty.
「New bonus boss spotted near Blue Meadows Village. Called the Relic of the Hidden Sage.」
- For real?
└ Yeah, looks like a giant armored golem
└└ Ok, heading there now
└└└ lol what’re your stats? Challenge limit is lv10
└└└└ Sucks. If my level matched, I’d smash it
└└└└└ lmao
Some were just intrigued, others wanted details—and gawked at the Relic’s level.
- Boss is lv8? Lower than the Old Mansion owner. Made to be beaten?
└ Limit lv10, one challenge per player.
└└ Ah, damn! Where’s Utopia’s integrity?
In Ark, lower-level bonus bosses were tougher.
Lucky or networked players often leveraged in-game perks for superior stats and gear over peers.
Narrowing the gap with bonus bosses.
But low levels meant fewer such opportunities, forcing raw challenges without closing the gap.
Especially near starter villages, where the dynamic was extreme—pure player physicals had to bridge the class divide.
So folks fixated on spawns, not conquerors.
They assumed no clears.
That illusion shattered fast.
- But this boss got cleared. Discoverer killed it first try.
Shocking info.