Chapter 76
[New Race, Undead…… It’s Here!]
[ (Breaking News) Necromancer Unlocked.real]
[Did Dark Knight Unlock Appear?]
The unveiling of the new Undead race, the new Necromancer class, and the Dark Knight!
Especially the news of the Necromancer class unlock, a class that had been wished for release for ages and a traditionally popular class for over 20 years in not just the gaming industry but also fantasy novels, set the Ard World ablaze.
[Necromancer is here ZZZZ]
[I just got off work, can someone give me a three-line summary? Did a new class come out?]
[A new class did come out, but it seems you need to make a new Undead character since it’s race-specific for now]
[Nice, I’m going to play right now lol I crave a gangster necro]
[People are waiting in line at the Necromancer job change quest location, get in line]
[Necromancer or whatever, what are we going to do about the North? There’s a cold wave debuff now]
[North-stuck? ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Wear cold-resistant gear]
[Thanks to those Northern hicks, I’m enjoying the Undead ^^7]
[This comment cannot be read by Northern hicks ㅋㅋ]
Necromancer!
A class imbued with the romanticism of commanding an undead army!
With the news of the Necromancer unlock, the Ard Forum instantly became a chaotic mess, and even existing Northern users were deleting their characters and creating new ones as Necromancers just to play the class. The cold of the North was no longer a topic of conversation.
Although the Necromancer was immensely popular, the Dark Knight, which uses “Dark Aura” and resonates with the hearts of edgy gamers, and the new Undead race also garnered significant attention, and the result was immediately reflected in Skeletal Castle.
“Ah, excuse me, sir.”
“Does anyone know where to do the Necromancer job change quest?”
“Is this the city where I will begin my new life? The aura of death is thick here.”
Skeletal Castle!
The starting point for the Undead, located at the World’s End, was already overflowing with new Undead users, making it difficult to even set foot.
Especially the Skeletal Spire, where Arch Lich, who gives the Necromancer job change quest, resided, was packed with users lined up endlessly to receive the quest. Arch Lich had even allowed other Liches to distribute the job change quest as well.
Of course, when the Black Magician, Merfolk, or Pirate classes were released, new users flocked to Lawless Port Granado, the Great Atoll, or the Pirate Archipelago to choose those classes. However, the current situation was an incomparable population explosion!
It was proof of how many users had longed for the Necromancer class, and simultaneously, it was a moment where the number of users supporting Drakan increased.
▄ ▄ ▄
Lightwing Entertainment Building.
Verda’s face hardened as she checked the trends of public opinion on her laptop in the darkened, empty meeting room.
Changwang Rio!
Because of that idiot who cooked up a situation and served it on a silver platter to Drakan, public opinion had once again turned favorable towards Drakan.
This incident was nothing short of a shock to Verda, who had already been having a headache due to Drakan’s recent apology in the interview.
‘Nothing is going my way.’
Verda calmed her trembling hands and opened the plastic water bottle next to her laptop, gulping down the lukewarm water.
It didn’t soothe her burning insides, but it was still better than not drinking anything.
Eugene!
The one she loved so dearly seemed to firmly believe in Drakan’s change, but sadly, Verda couldn’t agree with Eugene’s opinion.
Drakan!
Perhaps she, who had faced him strategically in the battle for hegemony in Ard World, knew the kind of person he was better than even her beloved Eugene.
Drakan was extremely selfish and a cold-blooded person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
The reason why Drakan was showing altruistic behavior wasn’t because he had a sudden change of heart as Eugene believed, but rather, it was a highly calculated political act, which was the conclusion Verda had reached.
‘Eugene-nim. I wish you would be a little suspicious of Drakan.’
Verda sighed inwardly.
Eugene!
She knew very well that he believed in the good of humanity and was a person who treated everyone with kindness without hesitation.
It was only natural, as she herself had fallen for Eugene’s kind heart.
However, sometimes, even knowing his personality, there were times when Eugene’s actions made her feel frustrated, like she had eaten sweet potatoes without water in a row, and now was one of those times.
Drakan!
In Verda’s opinion, he had cunningly deceived almost everyone, and with that act, he had even deceived Eugene and ultimately used him.
After all, who would have expected that Drakan, known for his pride, would kneel during an interview broadcast!
Even she, the self-proclaimed brain of the Lightwing Guild, the one who prided herself on being the most cold-headed in the guild, hadn’t predicted that Drakan would take such a drastic action. She had even briefly wondered if he had truly changed after kneeling, so it was clear that everyone else had been completely fooled by Drakan’s performance.
‘Everyone is being deceived, I need to tell them……,’
Verda sighed inwardly.
Drakan!
The returned villain had become even more dangerous.
Unlike his past self, who was short-sighted and only pursued his own interests, he was now looking further ahead and acting altruistically, seemingly inefficiently, in order to sway public opinion.
Did the fishing boat broaden his perspective? Or was it defeat?
It was impossible to know.
Verda shook her head and reevaluated Drakan once again.
He had already been the most difficult opponent to face in the previous game.
The biggest reason why the Lightwing Guild was able to defeat Drakan was because his vision was extremely narrow, only capable of focusing on his own gains.
But the current Drakan was different.
He seemed to have overcome his weakness of having a narrow perspective, and if he were to rise to a position similar to the Lightwing Guild and engage in a power struggle once again, Verda saw the odds of winning that war as fifty-fifty.
It meant that the situation had become one where no one knew who would win.
And in order to prevent such a situation, his wings had to be clipped before he could fly again.
However, now was not the right time to launch a scheme.
Eugene!
His attention was still focused on Drakan, Drakan was taking advantage of his goodwill, and public attention was not on him. Furthermore, it was extremely risky to proceed with a scheme at this point in time, especially since the Infinite Eugene Church’s clumsy scheme during the Merfolk quest had been exposed not too long ago.
But that didn’t mean that he could be left alone either.
After much deliberation, Verda finally made a decision and picked up her phone.
Ring ring ring ring ring.
The lonely ringing tone sounded mournfully in Verda’s ears.
▄ ▄ ▄
Southern Great Forest!
The largest forest in the world, occupying one-third of the southern region of Ard World.
The Great Forest was a field with many unexplored areas due to its sheer size, and it was also a demonic realm teeming with countless monsters.
And for users, a large number of monsters meant a lot of experience, items, and gold!
Moreover, unexplored areas meant that there were many undiscovered dungeons and regions. This meant that if done correctly, one could reap the benefits of various first-discovery bonuses. Ironically, this meant that even now, countless users were flocking to the Great Forest, hoping to get a bonus, just like the gold rush of the Wild West in history.
And to solve the Dark Elf quest, I, too, had to head to the Great Forest like them.
The problem was the quest strategy.
Should I go solo, or should I form a small elite party like the Undead quest, or should I form a large expedition?
After much deliberation over the strategy, I made a decision.
First, I would go in solo and scout the area, and then decide whether to add more members, such as a party or an expedition, based on the content of the follow-up quest.
And that was the reason why I was currently in the middle of the jungle with Shin Ha-yeon.
“It feels like we’re on a picnic since it’s just the two of us.”
Shin Ha-yeon!
She had requested to form a duo even though I said I would go solo. And I accepted her proposal without much thought.
Aside from the fact that she was my sponsor, she was someone who always pulled her weight.
I looked at Shin Ha-yeon, who was showing an unusually excited demeanor in the beautiful mountain, water, and air of the Great Forest, and said, sitting on a tree stump in the campsite we had prepared for camping.
“But isn’t an executive of a large corporation busy? Is it okay for you to be playing around like this?”
“It’s okay for now. Once I provide the vision, the lower-level staff will take care of the work anyway. Besides, there’s no one who opposes me in the company anymore, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Shin Ha-yeon replied with a bright smile, sitting next to me and looking at me.
No one to oppose her, she said such a chilling thing with a smiling face.
‘Did she say she turned her father into a figurehead?’
I looked at Shin Ha-yeon’s smiling face and recalled the story she had told me before.
She had said that after realizing that her father was behind the group executives who protested that the investment in me was inefficient compared to the results, she cut off all of her father’s close aides and made him a chairman in name only. Her face, which had spoken as if it were nothing, as if she were saying she had a sandwich for lunch yesterday, still lingered in my mind.
“And my vision is here, in Ard World. So, in a way, this adventure with Drakan-nim is also part of my work.”
As she said, Shin Ha-yeon’s vision was now in Ard World.
He who rules Ard World rules New Media!
Since she was acting with that kind of mindset, her words weren’t entirely wrong, and could even be considered extremely rational thinking.
I looked at Shin Ha-yeon without saying a word.
“By any chance…… Do you dislike me following you around?”
Shin Ha-yeon asked, sounding somewhat anxious.
I looked at her fidgeting fingers and answered.
“No. I don’t mind.”
“That’s a relief.”
Shin Ha-yeon finally looked relieved at my words of indifference.
It seemed like it had always been this way, but recently, Shin Ha-yeon had been showing quite a rich range of expressions and emotions in front of me.
Of course, it must have been goodwill stemming from a business relationship at first, but the more time we spent together, the more Shin Ha-yeon’s attitude deviated from a purely business relationship.
Someone who showed an excessively cold and rigid demeanor to others would only change like that in front of me.
Unlike Eugene, who was oblivious to the three beauties clearly showing their affection by hovering around him, I wasn’t so dull as to not notice the true intentions hidden behind those actions.
“Shin Ha-yeon.”
“Y-Yes?”
Shin Ha-yeon was visibly flustered when I called her by her name for the first time instead of using titles like “you,” “that side,” or “Director Shin.”
I looked at her and said.
“You and I are allies connected by business. We are in an agreement where I will take the hegemony of Ard World and revenge, and you will take the tangible and intangible added value derived from it, as well as the leadership in the New Media market that will unfold through Ard Saga Second and Ard Live.”
Business relationship!
Except for my parents, I had lived with this kind of relationship with most people in the world.
A relationship where we use each other based on mutual interests!
I was one of those who knew the bottom of this world very well.
To me, who had lived in an extremely poor family, who had done all sorts of things, legal or illegal, to earn money since middle school, who had boarded a fishing boat as if I were being sold off after incurring astronomical debt, the world was not a wonderland full of dreams and hopes, but a cold, cruel, and harsh dystopia.
I couldn’t believe and bet on vague values like trust, human goodwill, or love now.
Visible interests were more reassuring than invisible emotions.
So, I had to make it clear to her, who seemed to have just crossed the line.
“But, you are currently dancing on the edge of that line between public and private matters.”
Shin Ha-yeon’s eyes widened at my words.
“I’m not oblivious like someone else. And I don’t like those who can’t distinguish between public and private matters.”
I hate ambiguous relationships.
Especially if one party harbors unnecessary emotions, there’s a high chance that personal matters could be dragged into the public sphere and create a mess.
“So, I’d like you to answer me right here. How far are you going to go?”
Shin Ha-yeon smiled at my question.
