CH 176

The battle royale for the ark seemed like it wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

‘I’ll run out of energy if I keep chasing after them like this…’ Siegfried thought while chasing after the ark. He decided to hide behind the trees and catch his breath.

The Genesis Guild members fought, fought, and fought over the Ark of the Ancient God.

Siegfried felt that he could possibly die from either a stray arrow or from exhaustion if he kept running after the ark like he had been doing just now.

“Sniff! Sniff! Hey, owner punk! Why are you hiding here? Anyway, Hamchi finished picking up the items!” Hamchi said.

“Huff… Huff… Your Majesty… Can we please… slow down…? Huff Huff…!” Gringore begged for mercy.

The two of them seemed to have caught Siegfried’s scent and found him behind the trees.

“Shh!” Siegfried gestured for them to be quiet before saying, “Keep it down. I need to observe just what the hell is going on right now.”

He observed the entire battlefield after silencing Hamchi and Gringore.

The result was…

The Ark of the Ancient God containing the hidden class scroll changed hands thirty-one times within three hours.

“They’re all crazy… Hahaha… Hahaha…” Siegfried laughed in disbelief after witnessing the crazed mob fighting over the ark in the hidden class scroll.

“Greed is such a scary thing… kyu…”

“It feels like a bunch of zombies fighting over the living, Your Majesty.”

Even Hamchi and Gringore shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

The battle royale for the ark was fierce. Thirty-one people ended up dead, and the random items they dropped littered the ground.

“I probably would have done that as well,” Siegfried bitterly smiled after observing the insane fight. He was not wrong. Siegfried—no, Tae-Sung would have probably been worse than them.

However, he was now Siegfried, so the story was different now.

He could possibly become the most fearsome Adventurer on the continent if he managed to get a dual class of two hidden classes, but what mattered to him right now was making sure that the hidden class wouldn’t end up in the hands of the Genesis Guild; particularly, their guild master, Chae Hyung-Seok.

‘The best case scenario is me getting ownership of that ark… and the next best thing is making sure that it doesn’t fall in Chae Hyung-Seok’s hands. I’ll just have to bide my time and wait. I won’t stand a chance if I exhaust myself.’ 

Siegfried made a level-headed decision.

It was a decision he wouldn’t have made if he was still Tae-Sung.

‘They’re going to keep gathering, and more of them will definitely flock to the ark. I’ll wait until the very end and take it from right under their noses,’ Siegfried drew up his plans.

He looked at the giant hamster. “Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Do you have any nuts?”

“A lot…!”

“Take some out.”

“Kyu?”

“Just hurry up and take them out.”

Hamchi naturally reached for his pockets and took out a plastic bag filled with many different types of nuts.

Siegfried couldn’t help but feel that there was a human being hiding beneath the fur and that he would most likely find one if he skinned the giant hamster.

Anyway…

“Here you go, but what do you need it for?” Hamchi asked.

“What else?” Siegfried opened the bag of nuts and threw one into his mouth before saying, “I’m going to eat it.

“K-Kyu?!”

“Let’s sit back, relax, and eat some nuts while watching them fight to the death.”

“No…!”

“Why not?”

“That’s Hamchi’s nuts! Don’t eat Hamchi’s nuts, owner punk! Why are you stealing my nuts?!”

“Hey, why are you being so petty?”

“What do you mean petty?! Those are Hamchi’s nuts! Don’t touch my nuts!”

“Sheesh… I didn’t know you were so petty…”

All of a sudden, Gringore retrieved something and offered it up to Siegfried. “Would you like some, Your Majesty?”

“What’s that?” Siegfried asked.

“It is called popcorn, Your Majesty.”

“P-Popcorn?!”

“I love caramel popcorn, so I always keep some with me, Your Majesty.”

“Popcorn doesn't taste that good when they get soggy and soft…”

“It’s in a magical pouch, so it’s still crunchy. Please try it, Your Majesty.”

“Should I?” Siegfried took the bag of caramel popcorn and threw the bag of nuts back to the giant hamster.

“Hey, I’m not going to eat your petty nuts. Take it.”

“Good to know! Kyu!” Hamchi retorted and hugged his two bags of nuts.

“Oh, by the way, Squire Gringore,” Siegfried said.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“I’m sorry, but I think you will have to run back to the kingdom for an errand.”

“The kingdom? But… I’m supposed to record everything Your Majesty does…”

“This is an important mission that could be extremely beneficial to our kingdom.”

“Is that ark really that amazing?”

“Yes.”

“Then—Your Majesty’s loyal subject—Gringore, shall accept Your Majesty’s command!”

“Thank you, Squire Gringore.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty…”

“You will just have to go back and relay everything I say word-for-word to Michele.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“So what you have to say it…” Siegfried whispered his message for Michele into Gringore’s ear.

***

Gringore had already departed for the Proatine Kingdom, but the battle royale for the Ark was still ongoing.

An hour, two hours, three hours, and eight hours…

Night had already fallen a long time ago, but the ark continued to change hands. It changed hands so many times that Siegfried had long lost track of how many people had laid their hands on the ark.

The fight continued even after the eleventh hour since Siegfried decided to take the back seat and just observe from behind the trees.

“Ack!”

One of the Genesis Guild members screamed and collapsed.

“Stubborn bastards…”

Another guild member grumbled and picked up the ark.

Shwiiiik… Kaboom!

A fireball flew from somewhere and charred the guild member picking up the ark.

Thud…! Boom!

The heavy ark fell to the ground once again.

“…!”

Five Adventurers jumped out from behind the trees, but they jumped and emerged at the same time, so they were now in a standoff against one another with the ark between them.

The five of them had been hiding behind the trees and had been biding their time, just like Siegfried. Of course, the difference between them and Siegfried was that they were far too impatient and ended up being in a five-way battle royale.

“D-Die!”

“You asshole!”

“Come here and die!”

“Fuck off!”

“That’s mine!”

They pounced on the ark and started beating each other up.

“Unbelievable…” A voice suddenly rang out, and it was obvious from the tone of voice that the speaker was mocking the Adventurers. You guys can’t play the game to save your lives, but you dare covet the hidden class?”

[vUltimate Headshotv]

[Type: Adventurer]

[Level: 245]

[Class: Shooting Star]

[Titles: The Man Who Had Shot a Star, Twinkle Twinkle, Veteran Marksman.]

The ID had an extremely strong Chuuni vibe to it, and it seemed that he was suffering from it as well.

However, the most important detail was his level.

Ultimate Headshot was an astounding Level 245 user, which meant that he was fifty levels above Siegfried, who was currently Level 195. Not to mention, he was much more powerful than the five Adventurers currently brawling for the ark.

A truly high-level Adventurer had finally appeared to put an end to the battle royale.

“Just die, all of you,” Ultimate Headshot said as mana emerged from both of his hands.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Ultimate Headshot displayed his prowess as a Shooting Star by unleashing a barrage of condensed mana toward the Adventurers. The mana pierced the Adventurers' heads, killing them instantly.

The whole scene looked as if there had been a shooting star on the ground, but the damage he had dealt was even more astonishing than the scene.

“Now listen up. I’m taking this with me, so anyone with a problem about that should speak up now,” Ultimate Headshot said.

After the overwhelming display of power just now, nobody dared to stand in front of him, and he leisurely walked toward the ark and flung it over one of his shoulders.

“I’m going to shoot a hole in the head of anyone who dares follow me,” he warned.

He then walked away, stepping over the dozens of random items and corpses.

Still, greed was a powerful motivator, and no one would be willing to watch someone else take what they believed belonged to them.

Ssreuk…! Ssreuk…! 

The bushes in the surroundings rustled as hordes of Adventurers started trailing Ultimate Headshot. Ultimate Headshot was strong, so nobody dared to oppose him openly, but there was no way they would simply going to let him go scot-free.

The Adventurers trailed Ultimate Headshot like a pack of hyenas stalking a lion walking away with its prey in its mouth.

“Hey, Hamchi,” Siegfried called Hamchi.

The giant hamster woke up and rubbed his eyes before responding, “Kyu?”

“How many do you think there are? I mean those on the move right now.”

Hamchi’s ears stood upright before he replied, “Hmm… There are exactly forty-two of them.”

“What about those still hiding?”

“There are seven...”

Hamchi’s sharp senses picked up the presence of even those hiding.

“But why aren’t you moving, owner punk?” Hamchi asked.

“What can I do? I won’t be able to go far even if I get my hands on the ark,” Siegfried replied.

He decided to wait a bit longer.

Ssreuk…! Ssreuk…! Ssreuk…!

Five minutes since Ultimate Headshot disappeared, the Adventurers hiding in the bushes emerged one by one, which signaled the start of another battle royale. However, the battle royale this time wasn’t over the ark but over the random items on the ground.

‘One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven… it’s time.’ 

The last remaining Adventurer in hiding finally emerged.

Woooong!

Siegfried finally emerged from behind the threes as well, and he used Shadow Swamp and Blaze Field to ambush the seven Adventurers vying for the dropped items.

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: Your infamy did not rise because the opponents were engaged in PVP.]

[Alert: You have reached Level 196!]

Siegfried only managed to kill five out of the seven Adventurers because the other two died before he could kill them. However, he still managed to level up after killing only five of them.

“Hum~ Hum~” Siegfried hummed in joy as he picked up the more than fifty items on the ground after gaining a ton of Experience Points.

“Hey, owner punk… You seem to be getting eviler as time goes on…” Hamchi muttered under his breath.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Let’s hurry up and pick all these up.”

“Alright! Kyu!”

Siegfried and Hamchi were soon immersed in collecting the items on the ground.

***

It was great that Siegfried managed to freely loot the items that the Genesis Guild members had dropped upon their deaths, but there was one problem…

[Alert: You have obtained the item ‘Boots of Speed’!]

[Alert: You have obtained the item ‘Burning Blade’!]

[Alert: You have obtained the item ‘Knight’s Vow’!]

…omitted…

After picking up all the items on the ground, Siegfried obtained a new title.

[Alert: You have obtained the title ‘Vulture’!]

[Alert: Your new title has increased your Inventory capacity by 50kg!]

Of course, obtaining a new title had always been a good thing.

[Vulture]

[A title given to Adventurers who had looted five hundred items dropped by others upon death. (A vulture feeds on the carcasses of other animals, and they are known as the scavengers of the wild!)]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effect: +50 Inventory Capacity.]

The effect of the title was quite useful, but the problem was the title itself.

The title effect was useful, but the issue was with the title itself. Vultures had never had a good reputation because most people were bound to misunderstand the title.

Unfortunately, this could also be considered Siegfried reaping what he had sowed. He had obtained the title after getting too obsessed with looting items that the dead had left behind.

‘Ah… It was Seggs Stamina King last time, and now it’s Vulture?’ Siegfried despaired.

He was convinced he could no longer salvage his public image.

“Hey, owner punk? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Hamchi asked.

Siegfried wordlessly replied by shedding another tear.

***

[Alert: You have killed the 74th area’s boss monster, Saber Jaguar!]

[Alert: You have gained Return Stone after clearing three areas.]

Chae Hyung-Seok bulldozed through the dungeon without rest, hearing from Min-Woo that a hidden class scroll had appeared.

He was able to get his hands on a Return Stone in record time.

“Huh? Where are you going, hyung-nim?” asked one of the Genesis Guild executives in Chae Hyung-Seok’s party.

The executive’s question wasn’t strange because Chae Hyung-Seok seemed like he was in a hurry to go back as soon as he obtained the Return Stone.

“I have some urgent things to attend to at home. Great job, you guys,” Chae Hyung-Seok said before leaving Dimensional Rift: Chernoba and heading straight for the nearest War Gate.

There was no need to mention that his destination was the Ruin of Madness, and he was definitely planning on joining the battle royale for the Ark of the Ancient God.