Suddenly a sharp dagger passed next to his ears and produced sparks on the rocks. Ark flinched and when he turned around, some branches were shaking. The hazy shape moving looked like a 1900’s star craft vehicle moving in stealth mode. Then a mocking voice seemed to ring out though the whole forest.
“Go back. This is not a place where anyone can enter.”
It was a veiled threat on his life! But Ark just smiled and stepped forward.
“I’m Ark. I came because I have some business.”
“…..Ark?”
He heard the awestruck voice before there was a sudden moment of silence. Then the branches above him shook and a masked man dropped down. He looked at Ark for a while before running up and shaking his hand.
“It really is Ark-nim. How long has it been?”
“…..?”
“It’s me. I was number 358…..”
The masked man laughed after Ark stared at him with confusion. Now Ark could recall where he heard the voice of the masked man. It was the Dark Brothers assassin Ark and the rehabilitation members had rescued when he was attacked by rebels. After Ark confirmed it, number 359 stuck his chest out firmly and spoke in proudly.
“Hey, everybody came out and greet him. This is the Truthseeker I mentioned, Ark-nim!”
After his words, 10 other assassins appeared in the forest. In fact, Ark had been concerned after he found the passage to Salrin’s Towers was blocked off. However there seemed to be no need to worry based on the assassin’s attitude. After checking Ark’s status, the assassins were still friendly to him as shown when they kneeled down.
“We didn’t know you were coming. Please forgive our rudeness.”
After his name was revealed, the assassins treated him with a lot of respect. Meanwhile, number 358 manipulated the handle to open the passage and guided Ark in.
“Are they………?”
Ark asked after seeing the assassins close the passage from the outside. Their standard looked higher than the previous assassins. Number 358 took out a torch and then answered.
“Ah, Ark-nim wouldn’t have seen them. They are the members under my direct control.”
“Direct control?”
“Previously I told you I was called number 358 right? Look at this. I’m now number 206. After being promoted, I was given control over my own unit. It’s all thanks to Ark-nim.”
358…..no, number 206 pointed to a number written on his forehead. Probably the number stamped on the Dark Brothers was a sign indicated their name and job title. The lower the number meant a higher position. When number 206 fought while Salrin’s Towers was ran over by rebels, he helped Ark prevent the rebellion and was promoted.
“Congratulations.”
“No, compared to Ark-nim there is still a long way to go.”
Number 206 blushed and scratched his head. The assassin was surprisingly innocent.
“But it took a while to find you. Why did you close the previous passage?”
“Huh? Didn’t you get the message?”
“What message?”
Ark asked with confusion and number 206 tilted his head to the side before replying.
“We closed the previous passage right after Ark-nim left. I thought that Leader-nim would definitely contact you…..maybe he forgot because he’s too busy these days.”
‘What the? That Shambala……’
Ark became sullen at number 206’s words. Of course Ark didn’t receive a message from Shambala. It wasn’t that Shambala was too busy to get in touch, but that he probably did it intentionally. It was impossible to increase his intimacy with a NPC if Ark was there. Perhaps he was anxious Ark would increase his intimacy with Isabel when he had to leave Salrin’s Towers for a while.
‘That brat, don’t you trust you friend?’
But honestly Ark had no right to complain. In fact, his purpose in visiting Shambala and Isabel was to coax the Dark Brothers into a war. After he left here, Ark never bothered to contact Shambala either. He would be scrutinized too closely is Shambala accompanied him. Ark had been treated like a human for the first time by Shambala.
“By the way, you really are a descendant of the Truthseeker. We worked for a long time to hide that secret passage…..if there were more people like Ark-nim in the world then we would go out of business.”
Number 206 murmured as he opened another hidden door in the cave. The security was so much stricter than before that Ark asked in a doubtful voice.
“Why did you need to close the previous passage?”
“The surrounding area has become too noisy these days.”
Number 206 sighed and explained. The problem was Alan. Although Alan and Nabein’s revolt was suppressed thanks to Ark, Alan firmly grasped the location of Salrin’s Towers. Furthermore, Alan now held a grudge towards the Dark Brothers. The Dark Brothers couldn’t rule out the possibility that Alan had leaked their location to some government.
“If you look at the history, there have been a few nobles in the Schudenberg Kingdom who have been assassinated by the Dark Brothers. It they know the location of Salrin’s Towers then it will be a problem. In addition, the war between the Three Kingdoms has ended so there are a large number of soldiers sweeping the surrounding area for thieves.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Ark nodded and number 206 continued.
“Recently a lot of foreigners have also travelled in this area.”
That’s the nature of online games. Over time, there were bound to be a lot more high level users. New World had already been commercialized for 1 year, so most users would’ve already left the beginner regions like Jackson and were now concentrated in Selebrid.
“Then if the existing location is closed, how will you receive requests?”
Ark tilted his head to one side and asked. In New World, NPCs also had to eat to live. In other words, an assassin received assassination requests in order to earn money. But wouldn’t shutting down the existing meeting place interfere with the business? Wouldn’t they have to scatter hidden directions to another location? Of course, whether an assassin ate or not had nothing to do with Ark. So he just asked the question without thinking but it was a surprisingly serious concern. Number 206 replied in a careful tone which wavered for a moment.
“The requests……aren’t accepted anymore.”
“An assassination organization isn’t receiving assassination requests?”
“As you already know, the Dark Brothers organization is a descendant of an eastern race that lost its home and wandered around. Only a few of our ancestors survived by the time they reached this continent. That was when assassination became the Dark Brothers’ fate.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that story before.”
“But now our home isn’t lost anymore, it is this continent. Without anyplace to return to or any moral obligations, we’ve taken root in this continent. But if we stick to assassinations, after hundreds of years only the foreigners will be left.”
That’s why Isabel an elder of the Dark Brothers had been seeking an alternative method for a long time. And the catalyst for this was the appearance of the Deliverer Shambala. Isabel decided to place the fate of the Dark Brothers into Shambala’s hands. Shambala was looking for a way to end the dark history of the Dark Brothers in order to lead it into the sun. In order to do that, he judged that the bloody nature of the Dark Brothers should be erased.
“So now the Dark Brothers won’t take assassinations anymore?”
“But the elders are stubborn…..”
Number 206 let out a sigh.
“There’s a problem.”