Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Ludeart, City of the Undead
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Chapter 148
The city where Yuseong was headed was a place called Ludeart.
The moment he stepped out of the workshop, he grimaced.
Yuseong loved the world of Ark, but this city held no appeal for him whatsoever.
Even though it was the middle of the day with the sun high in the sky, the surroundings were dimly shrouded in gloom. The city itself exuded a dank, oppressive atmosphere, and the NPCs wandering the streets wore lifeless expressions.
'No matter that undead monsters appear in this region, did they really have to design it like this?'
Yuseong grumbled inwardly.
On top of that, there were hardly any players around.
With its horrific-looking undead monsters, gloomy weather, NPCs, and overall vibe, players avoided coming here.
Of course, some players visited out of curiosity for the unique environment, but they never stayed long. They couldn't.
A quick visit to sightsee was one thing, but using it as a base for extended leveling? The environment alone felt like it would trigger depression.
And there wasn't any special merit to brave the atmosphere for. Experience, drop items, and money were all utterly mediocre.
It was so bad that not even guilds monopolized hunting grounds here.
Yuseong didn't want to come to a place like this either. The dreary, humid environment was plenty horrific compared to his real life.
But he had no choice because of the linked quest.
'No helping it.'
He wanted to complete the quest as quickly as possible and get out of this region.
But he couldn't start the quest right away. Just like before, Yuseong had arrived here at a level far below the average for the region's monsters. Forget progressing the quest—tackling nearby dungeons was dangerous.
Yuseong left the city. Sticky, filthy mud clung to his feet, dead trees obstructed his view. It was like they'd crammed in every element people hated.
The main monsters in the region were the undead, crowning it all off.
-Uuooohhh.
Unlike the intimidating roars of regular monsters, it sounded like phlegm rattling in a throat being forcibly squeezed.
It was the groan of a zombie prowling the dark plain.
Body Collector.
That was the zombie's name.
Long, filthy claws and rotten teeth on the verge of falling out. True to its name, it seemed pieced together from various human bodies—limbs, heads, and torsos of different shapes and sizes, all disgustingly mismatched.
Pus oozed from the seams of stitched, decaying flesh, and though the stench wasn't overpowering in the game, its presence still wrinkled the nose.
Yuseong kept his distance and drew his Feather Gale Rifle.
Bang!
Thud!
The bullet struck the zombie's face squarely. But it didn't die. No stun either.
'As expected, not enough firepower.'
This region was a level 70 hunting ground to begin with. Yuseong, who had just crossed level 57, was thoroughly outmatched here.
Plus, he'd sacrificed direct combat stats to boost his alchemy-related ones, making it worse.
'And the items are starting to fall behind.'
The gear Yuseong wore was Cooking Day's handiwork—top-tier for its level—but as his own level rose, it increasingly felt inadequate.
No wonder Cooking Day had recently messaged him directly to upgrade his gear.
'Still usable for now, though.'
Defying Cooking Day's nagging, Yuseong planned to stick with this set for the time being.
The environment was disadvantageous in many ways for Yuseong, but hostile settings like this were nothing new to him.
Yuseong ejected the magazine, which had only fired one shot, and loaded a new one. This one was filled with 'Explosive Rounds II,' crafted with his upgraded production skill.
-Grraaaahhh!
The attacked zombie charged toward Yuseong.
Its mismatched limbs made its gait unsteady to the extreme.
But it was fast.
Nothing like the sluggish zombies in people's imaginations. Despite starting from a safe distance, Yuseong wouldn't have much time to exploit that advantage.
He backpedaled to maintain distance while resuming fire.
Bang!
KABOOM!
The bullet hit, triggering an explosion. The blast's power and radius were greater than the original explosive rounds. And this time, he'd used Double Shot too. Naturally, the explosions were even larger and fiercer.
Undead were weak to fire, and Body Collectors were no exception.
-Uuooohhh!
But one Explosive Round II wasn't enough to silence it. Not that Yuseong ever expected victory in a single shot.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosive rounds struck the zombie repeatedly, detonating.
But it pushed through the fierce blasts and closed in on Yuseong. He slung the Feather Gale Rifle on his back and drew the Blue Revolver from its holster.
The Blue Revolver was loaded with 'Enhanced Rounds II.'
Rat-tat-tat-bang!
The rounds, which added 12 damage, poured into the zombie. Combined with Enhanced Bullet skill, the damage ramped up further.
The zombie's skin, already scorched red from the barrage of explosive rounds on the way here, was ruthlessly torn apart by the Enhanced Rounds II.
-Kraaaah!
The zombie didn't sit idle. It flailed its arms wildly, trying to claw Yuseong. Fast, with complex patterns, and mismatched arms making its attacks tricky.
Especially when it lunged to embrace him and bite—that chilled even Yuseong. The damage would be far worse than scratches. He desperately avoided that pattern.
Thud!
In the end, as always, Yuseong stood victorious.
After the intense fight, he wanted a brief breather. But there was no time to rest.
-Uuooohhh!
-U... uu... uooohhh...!
Nearby monsters had noticed the battle and were rushing toward him. They were still distant, but dawdling here would lead to encirclement and forced teleport back to the city.
Yuseong hurriedly drew his Feather Gale Rifle, slotted in a magazine with Freezing Rounds II, and fired at the zombies.
As ice bound their movements, he quickly looted the drops from the fallen monster and withdrew.
If he hunted in level-appropriate zones, he wouldn't need to fight this hard.
But the level-up chime right after killing the zombie reminded him why he endured this grueling hunt.
* * *
Yuseong steadily leveled up by hunting field monsters. Once he reached a level where he could roam freely in the general field, he began seriously searching for undiscovered dungeons.
The higher the region's appropriate level, the more undiscovered dungeons there were. Fewer players meant lower chances of them being found.
It was good news for Yuseong.
This region, especially shunned by players, had an even higher ratio of undiscovered dungeons.
But the linked quest he needed to play was in the region's most famous hunting ground.
The underground of Ludeart Lord's Castle.
'Fortunately, it's not monopolized, and hardly any people go there.'
In that sense, the gloomy environment helped.
But he still couldn't tackle it right away.
The Ludeart Lord's Castle Underground Dungeon was one of the higher-tier dungeons in the region. His level was still insufficient.
'We'll take it step by step.'
The quest wasn't going anywhere.
* * *
Yuseong streamed even in Ludeart. Viewers who learned he was there expressed their disgust as expected.
[Whoa, scary. Ludeart.]
[No wonder the vibe felt so brutal.]
That disgust peaked when Yuseong started hunting.
[Check out that zombie visual.]
[Horror movies can't even compete.]
Surprisingly, viewer numbers didn't drop.
People couldn't explore dark buildings alone but loved horror movies. Similarly, they hated going to Ludeart themselves but were curious about it.
Thanks to that, Yuseong's viewers even ticked up slightly. Good news.
How long had he been hunting like that?
Finally, Yuseong entered the Ludeart Lord's Castle Underground Dungeon.
[Atmosphere is insane.]
[Ugh, they'd have to pay me to go in there.]
Viewers flooded the chat with fear. The dungeon's appearance warranted it.
Long corridors lined on both sides with countless iron-barred cells. Straight out of a picture of a prison.
But that alone wouldn't scare people.
The cells were horrific. Walls painted blood-red instead of paint were tame; skulls littering the floor were better.
Like some grotesque human-body interior design contest, the corpses in various twisted death poses had the power to make even the stout-hearted back away.
"By lore, this is the underground prison of the Lord's Castle, and the Ludeart family that owned it were notoriously cruel for generations. So many people were tortured to death here."
Lately, Yuseong explained lore for new regions or dungeons to his viewers.
Many Ark players ignored detailed lore, so his explanations got good feedback.
The source was, naturally, the strategy guide.
"Centuries of accumulated grudges eventually spawned undead here. At first, they mobilized the army to wipe them out, but they kept coming. Even purification rituals by priests failed against the overwhelming resentment.
Worse, the undead grew stronger. The lord feared the castle, even the whole city, might fall to them. Then he came up with a solution."
The straight corridor ended, revealing a massive labyrinth before Yuseong's eyes.
"Turn the prison into a giant maze to keep the undead wandering endlessly."
[That's the lore?]
[Ark has all sorts of fun settings if you look closely.]
Yuseong drew and gripped the Blue Revolver. Normally, he'd start with the Feather Gale Rifle from range, but here, the pistol was better.
Yuseong delved properly into the dungeon.
The path was quite narrow. Four adults side by side would fill it.
" Mess up here, and you'd get sandwiched front and back—perfect for dying."
[Isn't this bad for you, Yuseong?]
[Hard to dodge like usual, right?]
Viewers who knew his style—evade attacks while landing heavy hits with high-damage pistol—worried.
"No choice. If it's disadvantageous, we fight accordingly. Still, definitely not ideal for combat."
Saying that, Yuseong turned the corner.
And encountered the first monster. He raised his gun.