New World, the continent where sunlight-like peace can be obtained through the blessings of God.

However, the trails left behind by history were carved with blood and violence.

There had been a turbulent period in the history of New World, so far past that no one could even recall.

Thousands of races broke off into various factions, creating endless wars. Blood was washed away with more blood, corpses were blanketed with more corpses. What ended this tumultuous era was not a force of righteousness. It was wickedly evil beyond compare.

The devil incarnate did not differentiate between races and attacked everyone. With immense strength, it dyed the continent in black blood.

All the races were like newborn babies before the devil incarnate. They stilled their breaths and trembled at the chaos and horror. It was the start of the so-called Dark Century.

But it is the law of the world that as the darkness deepens, a more brilliant light will arise. So when the devil incarnate's war situation reached its climax, there were those who broke free with light and rose.

The 7 heroes whose names were left in history's path.

3 of them were Human, and the others were Dwarf, Elf, Orc and the Beast hero they called Maban.

At the center of the continent, they formed a strong alliance. Then the sound of moaning changed to shouts of victory. One by one, as they carved the records of great wars the 7 heroes were finally able to defeat the devil incarnate.

With the disappearance of the devil incarnate, the 7 heroes spoke of what they desired amongst themselves.

"I desire spacious and fertile earth."

The three Human heroes received three kingdoms on New World.

"I desire a forest overflowing with life."

"For me a hot fire and rock's strength!"

"A damp bog and barren wilderness for me."

The Elf received rights to the forest, the Dwarf the underground, and the Orc the wasteland.

Their eyes looked toward Hero Maban.

Hero Maban spoke with a bitter smile.

"I wish to watch over the blood vow that you made in your hearts."

"That vow will be kept."

"Then that is enough."

Hero Maban spoke those words and disappeared.

The kingdoms the six heroes erected became the present New World. And for over 200 years, New World reached its Golden Age and prospered.

But this time was not only prosperous.

Following the flow of time, the pledge of friendship the six heroes had shared slowly but surely faded away. 200 years was plenty of time to forget the horror and honors of the past.

The vow splintered. And the crack was largely spreading in a way that anyone could see.

* * *

"Hm, this time should I try putting this one in?"

Ark pushed the herb he'd been holding into the pot.

Then the liquid within the pot turned reddish and shortly firmed up like pudding.

After staring at the pudding with a serious expression, he clenched his eyes shut and spooned in the pudding. The feeling of his weak stomach becoming completely full was accompanied by a surge of energy.

You have created Nutritious Jelly with Survival Cooking.Satiety has been filled to 100% and within 10 seconds 200 health will be restored.

For 10 minutes strength and stamina increase by 2. Wisdom and Intelligence are reduced by 2.

"Nice, it's a success this time."

Ark blew out a sigh of relief and stored the pudding in his bag.

After his departure from Harun Village, Ark had purposely left the road and diverged into the forest. After actually leaving the village, the users who went to Jackson Castle were mostly at about level 15.

Of course, if you just looked at his stats Ark was also in a state of being over level 10. Still, being at a lower level than others made him feel uneasy.

The level was an absolute number in the game. That his level was falling meant that he was that much weaker!

That's why he was in the process of completely wiping out any Wild Dogs and Wolves he saw as he cut through the forest. When he killed over two hundred Wild Dogs and Wolves like that, Ark reached level 16. Thanks to that, his sword and armor transformed to a ragged mess, which would crumble if he touched them.

'I should learn the Repair skill when I arrive at Jackson Castle.'

If the precious equipment he struggled to obtain had cracked, he wouldn't even be able to sleep for a few days.

Ark changed his equipment to leather clothing for the time being and and concentrated on gathering.

He intended to use this chance to raise his Survival Cooking level as well.

At first he thought about erasing the skill after seeing the creation of a ridiculous food and learning ordinary cooking, but hunting the demon mouse had enlightened him of the usefulness of Survival Cooking.

'I can use it whether it's poison or food.'

But even though he resolved himself and tried to raise it, it wasn't easy.

Survival Cooking was not regular cooking. He couldn't simply mix any ingredients he wanted to create results. When the combination didn't match at all, with an explosion the ingredients would all go to waste.

At last, after over one hundred attempts, Ark had successfully made 15 dishes, including Fragrant Poison Soup. Out of those the only ones worth using were Howling Seasoned Chili, Refreshing Herb Tea, and the recent success Nutritional Jelly.

The Howling Seasoned Chilies was an enormously strong-tasting food that had the effect of temporarily increasing Strength by 10. But after that effect disappeared the user was plunged into a state of Confusion for several minutes, so it was an incomparably dangerous food. After eating this Ark had fought five Wolves and had almost died.

The Refreshing Herb Tea was a tea that restored Mana. It was incredibly delicious, and Ark frequently made and drank it while on his journey.

So as he did the things he'd been unable to do until now because he'd been fighting mice, his skill rose by a lot and he even earned 2 new skills.

Passive SkillSword Mastery (Beginner:26/100) You do not receive weapon penalties even if you use a sword.

Hand-to-hand Combat (Beginner:24/100) Whenever you fight bare-handed, your Attack Power, Accuracy, and Evasion are increased.

Survival Cooking (Beginner:22/100) You can make unidentified dishes with ingredients obtained from nature.

Indomitable Will (Beginner:27/100) When in critical condition, your Attack Power, Critical Hit Chance, and ability to recover are increased.

Foraging (Beginner:29/100) Food ingredients from nature can be gathered.

Active SkillNursing (Beginner:21/100) Gives hope, energy, and courage to patients. Mana consumption 10.

Spirit of the Cat (Intermediate:103/300) Plants horror in mice and small monsters, sealing off their movements; Attack Power, Defense. and morale are sharply decreased. Mana consumption 100.

Ingredient Identification (Beginner, Passive): Can confirm the basic effects of food ingredients that you obtain from the Foraging skill.Because your knowledge in food ingredients has risen, when you Forage you will no longer sustain damage from ingredients.

Indomitable Body (Beginner, Passive): Even if you confront fairly dangerous situations, you are granted the fortitude to endure them.

Your excellent Defense will shine more brightly in difficult situations.

Emergency Defense, Evasion of Fatal Blows increased by 30%. Recovery ability increased by 5%.

The Ingredient Identification seemed to be a skill that added to Survival Cooking. In any case, knowing whether the harvested ingredient was poisonous or not was a good thing. Because then he'd be able to decrease the probability of failure a little.

The truly unexpected skill was Indomitable Body. After squeezing his eyes shut and eating every one hundred plus dish he'd made with Survival Cooking, the Indomitable Body skill had naturally formed. For that kind of a skill to form meant that Survival Cooking was really dangerous.

Ark was satisfied with that much.

"Now that the ingredients are all used up, shall I go?"

Ark shouldered his bag and began to walk again.

Though it was dawn in reality, in New World it was morning.

As he hefted his bag and walked through the forest, a cool wind tickled his face. The smell of grass permeated his nostrils and washed clean his chest.

Though he had thought and marveled about it many times, New World was beyond the classification of a normal game after all. As its name proclaimed, New World was literally a new world.

But what Ark had experienced was still less than 1 out of 100 of New World.

Ark keenly realized this truth after he crossed a hill.

"Oh......!"

His exclamation naturally burst out.

Endless unfurled plains before a towering citadel city that rose into the sky. The truth that a building made of black stones could be so beautiful was simply shocking. But the Harun Village NPCs had said that Jackson Castle was not such a big city in New World.

'It's unbelievable, but that must mean that there are cities that are bigger and more awesome than this.'

After thinking that thought, his heart fluttered like a youth's.

Anyway, he'd finally parted from the beginner area and had arrived at the real meaning of a city.

When he went into the castle, it wasn't as beautiful as he'd thought from what he'd seen outside. But the castle was overflowing with vitality.

Now when it came to writing someone off as a beginner from the people there were users at level 50~60, and the streets that couldn't be compared to the ones in Harun Village were chock full of crowds. The reason was that there were numerous unexplored dungeons left in the area around Jackson Castle.

"For those who'd enjoy warmth and coziness, please come to Hades Guild."

"If you're a valiant warrior who wants to experience the battlefield, to Black Axe Guild!"

"The best priced rods, selling at the minimum price! 'Tis Nook's Stall."

"Those who need a mercenary, please contact me."

He heard shouts from every direction. The bulletin boards laid on every street corner publicized guilds and shops, and the boards were pasted full of flyers for getting parties.

With stalls covered with items strewn about on the ground it wasn't even easy for people to walk. Having spent over twenty days in the carefree and quiet Harun Village, Ark had unintentionally become a hick and could not adapt easily.

Besides the unexplored dungeons, what made Jackson Castle this bustling was that the NPCs related to job changing and the NPCs associated with guilds were all gathered here.

The guilds were an extremely important element in the game.

If many beginners gathered they could even gain more information, and they were very helpful when trying to accomplish difficult requests. That's why every guild representative's eyes were lit up in order to procure even just one more high-level user. But Ark had no thoughts of joining a guild.

The first reason was his deep-rooted mistrust of users. The second was that even if he sometimes forgot, his motivation for playing the game was different from other users. To Ark, New World wasn't simply a game, but an employment exam. It'd be tough to needlessly join a guild and waste time doing useless things.

What Ark was interested in was the job change possible from level 15.

It was the biggest reason why users flocked to Jackson Castle after reaching level 15.

In New World, there were twelve broad classes of jobs.

Warrior, Archer, Magician, Thief, Priest and so on... and if you went into details there were several branches included in each class of job. So one would do up to 2 or 3 job changes.

"Stat."

Character Name

Ark

Race

Human

Alignment

None

Fame

150

Level

16

Profession

None

Title

Mouse Hunter

Health

360

Mana

100

Strength

67

Agilitiy

77 (+2)

Stamina

67

Wisdom

16

Intelligence

17

Luck

17

Equipment Effects

Sharply Shining Sword: Attack speed +5

Black Bear Mouse Leather Armor: Agility +2, Cold Resistance +20

Though they were meager stats, if meager at all, but considering that he was level 16, they were at a decent level.

If you just looked at his stats, his wisdom and intelligence were too low for him to choose a profession in the magic division. The jobs that matched him were combat-related; up until now Ark had mostly done combat, so he'd unconsciously poured all his stats in Strength, Agility, and Stamina.

'Should I just use this chance to job change to a Warrior?'

Even if they were the same level 15, the difference between a character that had job changed and one that hadn't was enormous.

If he changes profession, he would learn new skills that were particular to the job, and a lot of bonus stats would be added. In addition, if he did the job change quest, he would acquire the matching branch of that Profession.

It was truly like turning over a new leaf!

But Ark shook his head.

'I don't even know the job characteristics properly yet...'

Ark hadn't seen any scenes of job-changed users fighting yet.

Although he could basically see the characteristics of the classified jobs just by looking at their names, there were slight differences between each game.

What skills would form, what skills he couldn't learn if he job changed, he had to meticulously consider them and make a decision. It wasn't a matter he could just choose based on his mood without personally experiencing them.

'In New World, Ark is my one and only alter ego. I've gotta choose carefully.'

If it was another game he could job change and if he didn't like it he could just raise a new one. But there was only one chance to choose in New World. There could be no limit to his cautiousness.

'Okay, for now I'll hunt with Jackson Castle as my base and watch job-changed users. 'Cause right now I've got other things to do too.'

Ark opened his bag and looked over the slate with an affectionate glance.

It was the Mysterious Slate that the demon mouse had watched over. When Ark looked at the slate, he sank into a feeling of delight. Ark had earned many benefits simply from the journey to find this slate.

He'd earned 12 bonus stats, and he'd learned Survival Cooking for free. On top of that, he'd earned 2 of the enchanted equips that were difficult to see at his level. It was enjoyable to simply entertain the thoughts of what other benefits this linked quest might bring him.

'For that I'll have to meet Viscount Haverstein first.'

Ark went and found the Lord's castle with hurried steps.

"What do you need?"

As he'd been wandering about as a hillbilly wrapped in some kind of animal leather, the guard glared at him.

Well, it was a virtual reality game, so he'd expected that response.

"I have come to meet Viscount Haverstein-nim."

"What? You mean the Lord?"

"Yes, if you show him this he will probably meet with me."

Ark pulled out the parchment he'd discovered in the cave.

The guard shot him a doubtful glance and went into the castle. After about 10 minutes had passed, he ran back outside along with a man. He was a middle-aged knight with a bushy bearded face. Seeing as he was wearing modest chain mail, it looked like he wasn't Viscount Haverstein.

The middle-aged knight introduced himself as Cross, the General of Defense in charge of the castle's guards. Once Ark also introduced himself simply, Cross asked with an urgent voice.

"Alright, Ark. Were you the one who discovered this parchment?"

"Yes."

"Did you by any chance discover some strange item near the place where the parchment was?"

"I discovered it."

Ark quickly took out the slate from his bag and showed it to Cross.

Cross blew out the breath he'd been holding.

"I don't know whether I should call this the guidance of God, or the devil's prank."

"What do you mean?"

"That slate is an item Viscount Haverstein-nim has been searching for a long time. However, none of the people he sent to find the slate have returned."

"What is this slate for?"

"I don't know the details either. I only know that it's connected to the ruins that were discovered near this territory. As the years passed and its whereabouts couldn't be found, Viscount Haverstein gave up on the slate in the end. And then he struck off for the ruins while leading the Slyphid Knights. But for the slate to appear after the Viscount left..."

Cross clasped Ark's hand tightly and requested.

"If it's okay, can't you personally deliver the slate to the Viscount? If you hurry and follow him now, you might be able to catch the Viscount before he arrives at the ruins."

At the same time, the quest name was updated to 'Secret of the Slate = Secret of the Slate II'. The content was about meeting Haverstein, who had left for the ruins that held a connection to the slate.

'Wahahaha, this is it. I've been waiting for something like this.'

As a spark fizzed into Ark's mind, the formula of 'quest + dungeon = huge treasure' arose.

There was no reason to hesitate. Ark quickly nodded. Cross gave him a horse and 2 soldiers.

No matter how busy he was, he had to take care of some business before he left. Ark found the blacksmith, had all his equipment repaired, and mounted the horse. But it was impossible for Ark, who organized a mart warehouse in reality, to have ever ridden a horse.

"Eehuk, eeeeeuhhh!"

Thinking since it's a game, it should work out somehow, was a mistake.

Before he was able to go a few kilometers he rolled and fell off the horse five times. He paled beside the soldiers, who held the reins of Ark's horse for him.

"Put your strength in your thighs and lay flat on the back of your horse. We shall guide the horse."

* * *

"Can't, can't we rest a little before we go?"

"If we were to follow and catch the Viscount before he arrives at the ruins, there is not a moment to be lost. Giddy up!"

'Damn it, I'm sayin' I'll DIE before we arrive!'

Though his stomach churned, there was nothing good about (antagonizing) the NPCs who were affiliated with the lord's castle.

Despite that, for the sake of the new skill he had learned, he had to endure.

- Riding skill has risen by 3. Horse riding is a little bit easier.

The Riding skill that formed when he was about to hurl (went up by 3 when the urge to spring away penetrated his lower back and he desperately restrained himself.) After that Ark was able to straighten his back and hold the reins himself. And so after a day and a night of spurring the horses on like crazy, the hazy shape of the ruins appeared.

Thankfully it seemed like they weren't late, as the sight of the Slyphid Knights gathered at the ruin entrance came into view.

Ark and the soldiers he'd come together with got off their horses and ran over.

"My Lord, we found the slate!"

"What?"

The person who turned his head was a noble of approximately sixty years of age.