Chapter 34

[Construction of the building ‘Abyss Lighthouse’ has been completed.]

After 7 days in game time, the construction of the long-awaited Abyss Lighthouse was finally completed.

The original estimated construction time was 10 days, but thanks to the users participating in the daily construction quest, it was shortened by 3 days.

[Hidden strategy conditions have been met.]

[The quest ‘Shadow of the Beach’ will disappear.]

[You have achieved the achievement ‘All Roads Lead to Rome’.]

[Level Up!]

Following the lighthouse completion notification, a quest disappearance notification popped up.

Quest disappearance!

This is the message that appears when you have already met the completion conditions of a quest that should have been completed beforehand!

Seeing that message after a long time, I smiled.

‘That Shadow of the Beach must have been the prerequisite quest for the Merfolk quest.’

With my long gaming experience, I could immediately tell that the quest called Shadow of the Beach was a prerequisite for the Merfolk quest.

Well, it wasn’t a very important fact now that the Abyss Lighthouse was built.

After hearing the notification, I opened the internal affairs management window and checked the status of the facilities in Lawless Port Granado.

‘The construction time of other facilities is also being shortened. This is a good phenomenon.’

I smiled as I saw the additional explanation that the construction time had been reduced.

The reduction in construction time wasn’t limited to the Abyss Lighthouse that had just been built.

Buildings with shorter scheduled times than the lighthouse, such as the City Hall, hotel, and casino, had already been completed.

Especially the Super Luxury Casino, which was full of gambling content, was attracting not only NPCs but also users.

As is well known, gambling has fascinated people throughout history.

Due to the magic of gambling, crowds of users and NPCs alike began to flock to the casino, and the gold they spent there went straight into my pocket.

It was truly a cash cow.

“If this continues, the Macau and Las Vegas of Ard World that Drakan-nim desires won’t be too far in the future.”

Shin Ha-yeon said this after seeing the casino’s operating results. The casino was operating successfully, and the image of Lawless Port Granado was gradually changing from a city of outlaws to a city of gambling and nightlife.

The influx of users, which was thought to be temporary due to the opening of the Black Magician class, was actually increasing even more steeply thanks to the casino.

As Shin Ha-yeon said, if things continued to go smoothly, Macau of Ard World would be within reach.

“You’re right. If only the Pirate Alliance were gone, it would be soon.”

The Pirate Alliance!

If it weren’t for their interference, Lawless Port Granado would prosper even more and become the Macau of Ard World!

Shin Ha-yeon smiled silently at my words, and I stood up.

“I heard the Abyss Lighthouse is finished.”

“Are you going to summon the Merfolk right away?”

“Yes.”

I answered Shin Ha-yeon’s question immediately.

The Abyss Lighthouse!

The fact that this building has a built-in function to summon the Merfolk had already been explained a long time ago in the countermeasure meeting along with the contents of the Divine Quest I received at the time.

In addition, just in case, we had already gathered enough information about the Merfolk and prepared for the underwater environment with underwater breathing items!

Now that we had made thorough preparations to the point where we could start the quest as soon as we summoned the Merfolk, all that remained was to start the quest.

I left my office in the City Hall and headed for the docks.

Perhaps because it was nighttime in the game, I saw the two moons shining brightly in the sky, the never-ending lights of the casino, and the people wandering the streets.

I passed them and walked straight to the lighthouse standing tall on the docks.

The Abyss Lighthouse!

Without hesitation, I entered the dark blue lighthouse standing tall against the backdrop of the brightly lit city and immediately climbed to the top.

The cold sea breeze and the dark blue horizon of the impressive night sea!

Looking out at the sea, I placed my hand on the crystal floating in the center of the top floor of the lighthouse.

[Would you like to use the special function ‘Abyss Light’? ]

“Use.”

The moment I answered the message that popped up as soon as I placed my hand on the crystal.

A gloomy blue light exploded from the crystal, illuminating the docks and the night sea.

Suddenly, an overwhelming light poured out, blinding me!

I closed my eyes at the light, and soon I began to hear the sound of the waves growing rough.

[The Abyss Light illuminates the sea.]

[The Merfolk who received the signal reveal themselves according to the ancient promise.]

[The Sea Devil smiles with satisfaction.]

[The Sea Devil sponsors you 1000 points.]

Notification windows popping up explosively!

I opened my eyes as I checked the messages.

Splash! Splash! Crash!

As soon as I opened my eyes, what I saw was the turbulent night sea and the unidentified giant shadow reflected below the surface.

Upon confirming the shadow, I immediately went down to the bottom of the lighthouse.

“What’s that?”

“Whoa! The waves are crazy!”

“Did you see the lighthouse shining? Wow, amazing.”

A large number of users were already gathered at the docks!

The eyes of the gathered users were fixed on the sea in front of the docks, which was churning as if a tsunami was about to hit.

Just then.

Finally, the sea parted, revealing a giant turtle shell.

“A turtle?”

“What is that?”

“Is it a monster?”

“Is it a new raid boss?”

“Uh, there’s someone on top of it? Is it an NPC?”

Users murmuring as they saw the black figure on top of the giant sea turtle shell!

Some of them were even preparing for battle, thinking it was some kind of event raid boss.

Tension filled the docks!

Through the crowd, the giant sea turtle quietly docked at the harbor, cutting through the water.

As the sea turtle approached the harbor, the figure on top of the turtle shell finally revealed itself.

As I expected, they were not human.

Merfolk!

As their appearance, a mixture of human and sea creature with impressive shimmering scales, was revealed under the moonlight, the users were truly astonished.

“Wow, is this for real?”

“What are they? Merfolk? I don’t think I saw them in the previous game.”

“What is it? What’s going on?”

This was the first time the Merfolk had appeared in both the previous game and Second!

Countless users flocked to the docks at the sight they had never seen before.

“I am Nereus! Prince of the Merfolk, and I have come here to fulfill the ancient promise, following the Abyss Light! The one who summoned me, step forward!”

Just then.

One of the Merfolk, holding a shimmering pearl staff and with golden scales, descended from the turtle’s back onto the docks and shouted in a booming voice.

I smiled at his words and took a ring out of my inventory and put it on.

[Ten Thousand Year Coral Ring]

[Grade: Hero]

[Category: Ring]

[Durability: 4000/4000]

[A ring made of ten thousand year old coral that grows in the deep sea. It holds a mysterious power, but you are not yet qualified to see it.]

[A ring imbued with the essence of ???.]

[True Name is sealed.]

[Item Effects]

[Underwater Breathing] [Underwater Conversation]

[Underwater Adaptability +100%]

[Water Resistance +80%]

[Ice Resistance +60%]

[All Stats +20]

A Hero grade item that Shin Ha-yeon bought for me at the auction house for my underwater expedition!

It was worth over 50 million won in real-world value, and just by looking at it, I felt like there would be additional quests or events once the seal was broken. As soon as I put on this ring, I felt energized.

[Ten Thousand Year Coral Ring equipped.]

Seeing the pleasant notification window, I started to push through the crowd.

“Drakan?”

“It’s Drakan.”

“Drakan’s over there!”

Some of the users spotted me and shouted, and soon the users’ eyes began to focus on me.

I was the user who was at the center of attention, having caused all sorts of issues from the tutorial to the Lawless Port Granado Recapture Battle, so it was natural for me to attract people’s attention.

I smiled leisurely and approached the Merfolk Prince Nereus.

The moment I faced Nereus.

He looked at me with a surprised expression and said.

“You are…… the Dark G*d’s contractor. Did you summon me?”

“Yes, I did.”

As soon as I finished, the murmuring of the users grew even louder.

The giant sea turtle that suddenly appeared in the waters off Lawless Port Granado and the Merfolk, appearing for the first time in the entire Ard Saga series!

They were surprised that I had created that historic moment.

“Merfolk Prince Nereus. Obey me according to the ancient alliance.”

I said, looking at the Merfolk Prince Nereus.

The ancient alliance!

The alliance mentioned in the Apostle’s Path quest, which was formed by the Black Ring Society and the Six Children of Darkness, was what I just told Nereus.

In order to revive the ancient alliance, it was necessary to subjugate the six races, including the Merfolk.

“The ancient alliance…… Yes. Indeed, the Merfolk followed it in the past. However, contractor, unfortunately, I cannot join the ancient alliance.”

After I finished speaking, Nereus replied in a regretful voice.

I was not surprised by Nereus’s answer at all.

The grade of the quest I was currently undertaking, ‘Apostle’s Path’, was Mythical!

A quest of a grade I had never seen before, even after experiencing all sorts of battles in the previous game!

It was almost impossible to easily complete even a part of a Mythical grade quest, the highest ranked among the 6 grades of Ard Saga quests, with just a few words, no matter how much I tried.

Moreover, the number of races I had to subjugate was six!

Even if I solved the Merfolk quest, there were five more tasks left, which was truly a scale befitting a Mythical grade quest.

Anyway, the existence of the Merfolk quest was once again confirmed through the quest disappearance message just now.

The important thing was not the existence of the quest, but its content.

‘Let’s hear what kind of quest it is.’

I thought to myself and listened to Nereus’s words.

“It is tradition for me, the first in line to the throne, to ascend to the throne of the Merfolk King, but due to the current crisis facing the kingdom, I am unable to do so.”

“Facing a crisis?”

To the extent that the prince cannot ascend to the throne?

“Only the Merfolk King, recognized by the eight Merfolk tribes, can lead the Merfolk and participate in the ancient alliance. However, I am only a prince.”

“Nereus. Tell me. What is this crisis that has befallen the kingdom?”

I asked to draw out the quest, and Nereus gritted his teeth, his eyes burning red with anger.

“The Mermaids! It’s them. They have brought crisis to our kingdom.”

The moment Nereus’s answer was heard, a video appeared before my eyes.

‘A cinematic video!’

The video, similar to the one that appeared when I received the Lawless Port Granado Recapture Quest, appeared once again.

I smiled as I watched the video.

I was looking forward to seeing what kind of quest would be given.

Now, it was time to watch the reason why Nereus could not ascend to the throne of the Merfolk King.