"Prepare to die, Boshita!"
Leading his dinosaur squad proudly, Jose snuck along the coastline toward Boshita's base, determined to get his revenge.
A sinister smile spread across his face, fueled by visions of victory.
This time, he would redeem himself.
After a long journey, he finally reached his destination and prepared to attack.
"Wait... what's that?!"
Before he could even get close, the three Raptors patrolling near the camp spotted him immediately.
They abruptly turned their heads, and their small, sharp eyes locked onto Jose's direction. They let out piercing, low growls that sent chills down his spine.
Then, with a powerful kick of their hind legs, the three Raptors charged wildly toward him in perfect coordination.
In an instant, Jose recalled the traumatic experience of being torn apart at the start of the game. His face went pale as he recognized the three.
[Raptor] Level: 51 [Raptor] Level: 28 [Raptor] Level: 23
With a single coordinated rush, the three Raptors instantly scattered his formation.
Jose was horrified beyond words.
At the same time, the Dilophosaurus patrolling the camp also rushed in to join the fight eagerly.
Outnumbered and completely overwhelmed, he stood no chance whatsoever.
Still riding his Parasaur, he tried to counterattack desperately, but they were already too close. Before he could even draw his bow properly, the Raptors were already on him.
His newly tamed Dilophosaurus were torn apart within moments, their bodies vanishing into thin air. His Parasaur soon fell in battle as well, leaving him alone.
He tried to run away, but he was too slow and unable to widen the gap.
Before long, he was torn apart by a swarm of dinosaurs that showed no mercy.
"Damn it! I'll be back!"
[You were eliminated by a Raptor!]
The cold system notification rang in his ears as his vision faded to black.
His carefully planned ambush ended with him dying miserably in a Raptor's jaws, without even seeing Boshita's smug face.
Meanwhile, Boshita, who was mining iron on a mountain far from camp, saw the kill notification pop up.
He burst out laughing hysterically, the sound echoing through the valley.
Early levels were relatively easy to grind, and with the existence of explorer notes scattered across the map, even though he had also died many times while exploring dangerous areas, he was already over level 20.
The Smithy and Forge had both been unlocked, expanding his crafting options significantly.
Now, he was searching for iron ore, planning to craft metal equipment.
River stones occasionally yielded small amounts of metal during collection, but the quantity was far too little for his ambitions.
After searching around extensively, he discovered a small iron deposit at the top of a hill that looked promising.
Fortunately, he hadn't encountered any major danger along the way up.
Now dressed in a full set of hide armor, holding a bow and spear, and followed by a Parasaur serving as both mount and pack mule, he looked well-prepared for anything.
He had invested all his stat points into movement speed for better mobility, so his weight was practically nonexistent. Additionally, his inventory filled up easily with materials, and excess resources were stored on the Parasaur's saddle.
A Raptor spotted Boshita suddenly and immediately charged at him with fletched teeth.
But Boshita remained calm and collected. He pulled out a bola from his inventory.
Swinging it in circles above his head to build momentum, he hurled it at the Raptor with practiced ease.
Direct hit.
The Raptor's legs were entangled instantly, and it collapsed to the ground while struggling desperately against the restraints.
Against small dinosaurs like this, bolas were incredibly effective tools.
Boshita stepped forward confidently and executed a smooth spear combo, finishing it off efficiently, then harvested its materials with his stone axe.
[You obtained Raw Meat]
[You obtained Hide]
[You obtained Prime Meat]
Looking at the iron deposits scattered across the mountaintop, he grinned excitedly and started mining like an obsessed fool.
In a corner of the summit, he found an unexpected item that made his heart race. Another explorer note.
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
Beside the ruins, there were even some crystal nodes glittering in the sunlight.
Boshita remembered that crafting a spyglass required crystal as a component. He had already been wondering where to find it, and now he has just stumbled upon it by pure luck.
Overjoyed, he quickly gathered it before anything dangerous appeared.
[You obtained Crystal]
[You obtained Stone]
[You obtained Rare Mushrooms]
After stripping this place bare of its iron and crystal, he suddenly noticed the sky growing dark.
Boshita shuddered involuntarily and quickly mounted his Parasaur to leave immediately.
The forests of The Island at night were every player's nightmare, filled with unseen horrors and wretched Dinosaurs. He definitely didn't want to be out in the open during nightfall.
Clearly, he had learned his lesson the hard way through previous deaths.
Back at camp in safety, he placed the iron ore into the Forge to smelt it, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
With metal ingots, his equipment could finally be upgraded to the next tier.
However, metal armor required level fifty-plus to unlock, so he couldn't craft it just yet. For now, he made a metal spear and a metal sword that gleamed impressively.
For the next entire day, he focused on grinding levels and farming materials with dedication.
he wanted to unlock more blueprints as soon as possible to expand his capabilities.
"Boshita! Get your ass out here!!!"
In the distance, Jose charged in once again, riding a massive dinosaur that shook the ground.
"Hahaha! This time, you're done for!"
Beneath him was a Carnotaurus, sprinting straight toward the camp with thundering steps.
Each heavy step it took shook the ground beneath them.
Boshita was standing near the entrance, refueling the Forge with wood, when he saw Jose charging down the hillside dramatically.
Old enemies meeting always created tension.
Seeing Boshita at home and unaware, Jose was thrilled beyond measure.
With his powerful mount, he wouldn't even need to tear down the base to lure him out this time.
"Today, I'll rip you into pieces!!!"
But Boshita remained completely unfazed by the threat.
He silently pulled out his bola and began swinging it calmly.
"Hahaha! My dinosaur isn't afraid of bolas!"
Seeing Boshita attempting to control his mount with a bola, Jose burst into mocking laughter.
He had tested it himself thoroughly. The Carnotaurus's massive size made it immune to bolas.
He had found the Carnotaurus Saddle in a supply drop earlier and had gone through immense effort, even using several dinosaurs as bait, to capture this particular Carnotaurus.
Boshita's eyes filled with disdain for his ignorance.
So this is all you've got? You don't even understandthe basic mechanics.
"Bite him to death!!!"
Jose commanded.
The distance closed rapidly between them. Boshita just st and said nothing in response.
He continued swinging his arm steadily, building momentum, then released the bola at the perfect moment.
"It's useless, Boshita! Just accept your de-"
"Huh? Where are you throwing that?!"
The bola's trajectory wasn't aimed at the Carnotaurus at all.
It flew slightly upward instead.
Toward him.
Jose's mind short-circuited as he realized what Boshita was up to.
Sitting high on the Carnotaurus, he had made himself the perfect target.
The bola wrapped around him instantly with a satisfying thwack.
He was yanked off the saddle violently and slammed to the ground with a painful thud.
"Ah!"
"You bastard! Do you have no honour as a noble?!!"
Seeing the hit land perfectly, Boshita ignored the confused Carnotaurus and whistled sharply, commanding his dinosaurs to swarm it.
Then he quickly rushed toward Jose's helpless form.
With a sinister grin spreading across his face, he pulled out his metal spear.
"Honour as a noble? I'm not a noble in here, just an explorer trying to survive."
"Y-You... what are you doing?!"
"AHHH!"
The scream echoed through the forest and probably even reached the beach.
Beyond the two of them, countless other players were exploring the vast world of The Island with varying degrees of success.
Some unlucky souls encountered a Spinosaurus fishing by the river right when they spawned in, ending their adventure before it began.
Others ventured deep into the jungle recklessly and ran into the apex predator, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Its terrifying, tank-like body, massive eyes, and gaping jaws charging forward scared players out of their wits completely.
Some managed to tame a Pteranodon and, upon reaching level thirty-eight, immediately crafted a saddle.
For most beginners, this was their first flying mount.
They soared joyfully through the sky, wandering aimlessly toward the center of the map, into a towering redwood forest that took their breath.
But before they could explore more profoundly, tragedy struck most of them without warning. A Thylacoleo lurking on a tree trunk pounced down suddenly and dragged them off their mount mid-flight.
It could be said that players were suffering constantly, yet enjoying every moment of the challenge.
On the forums, posts about Ark were skyrocketing in number.
Some shared their miserable experiences with humor.
Some showed off their small bases proudly.
Others excitedly reported new discoveries to help the community.
[This Ichthyornis is disgusting! I just cooked a stack of meat, and it stole it the moment I turned around, damn it!]
[Guys, I found something huge! There's a cave in a valley filled with poisonous insects and spiders, all level 200+. Does anyone know what's inside?]
At this point, lucky players had already discovered cave locations through exploration.
The Island had ten Artifact caves, each housing an Artifact, which served as keys to unlock the Red, Green, and Blue Ark boss arenas.
[I saw a Raptor glowing with a red energy aura. Before I could react, I was dead on the spot.]
[The swamp creatures are so gross! Snakes, Kaprosuchus, all kinds of bugs, each worse than the last. I get nervous just seeing the swamp now.]