Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  “I-I will have to meet with the government…..”

  “It isn’t an unreasonable demand.”

  “W-What is it?”

  The eyes of the four men in the office focused on Hyun-woo. Moon Ji-hun was looking very anxious about what Hyun-woo would request. Hyun-woo looked around at them and laughed.

  “I won’t say it now. You also won’t be able to agree immediately so I’ll send a note with the last condition along with the contract.”

  “C-contract?”

  “Shouldn’t my conditions be clearly written on a contract?”

  Moon Ji-hun frowned at Hyun-woo’s words but he couldn’t say anything. The situation were clearly on Hyun-woo’s side. There was no need to worry about holding his tongue when the government was his opponent.

  ……Thus the negotiations finished. Hyun-woo then went on to ask something else.

  “Lucifer is an artificial intelligence but he vowed to become the best user in Galaxian. But Lucifer won’t hack the game in order to give him an advantage. If he wanted to do that then he wouldn’t have used this method in the first place. He won’t break Galaxian’s rules even if his defeat was assured. You can 100% trust that.”

  That was Park Woo-seong’s words. In fact, that was the part Hyun-woo was most worried about. Lucifer was an artificial intelligence that was able to seize the government’s internet network in a few hours. Galaxian’s firewalls wouldn’t pose an obstacle to him. But if Park Woo-seong said Lucifer wouldn’t use this power then Hyun-woo didn’t need to worry. Because he could easily get his revenge by exploding the nuclear power plant. Even so, Lucifer wanted to compete equally with the users. Pride was an essential part of the artificial intelligence.

  ‘It is annoying that he is a computer program. But my position is fortunate.’

  “It is a fact that Lucifer has the ability to hack Galaxian’s system. That means we also have to obey Galaxian’s rules while competing with Lucifer. Lucifer wouldn’t use this power for himself but if he sees us break the rules then he might. Lucifer will press the switch without hesitation if he sees even the slightest suspicious movement. Yes, Lucifer won’t blow up the nuclear power plants if I participate but he can still commit the act of terrorism if the government does something.”

  That’s why the government had to rely on gamers. Of course, the government wouldn’t just release their hold over the gamers. Then intended to make contact with the publishers of Galaxian to get a hint for the final goal. However, the publisher of Galaxian was a foreign company. Numerous problems could occur in other countries so they couldn’t just pay attention to one. And the problem was the final goal was connected to the life force of the game. They invested billions of money into the game so they wouldn’t give out that information so easily. Perhaps that was the reason why Lucifer chose Galaxian.

  ‘If the government hadn’t upgraded him……’

  Lucifer who was already cunning became even smarter.

  “Will Lucifer really play fairly?”

  “I guarantee it.”

  “Then I’ll do it.”

  Hyun-woo answered with a confident expression. Moon Ji-hun offered to make offer Ark government support but Hyun-woo declined. If he received help from the beginning then it would obviously be useful. But receiving their support was no different to be surveillance by the government. He had no intention of letting the government intervene with the way he played the game. He would settle it through the game system. Hyun-woo was the strongest person in New World. He later learned that other gamer that the government contacted also declined their offers of support. Even if the game was different, their pride as the strongest gamer was the same.

  Anyway, the meeting ended there. The next day, all of Hyun-woo’s conditions were accepted and the Galaxian unit was delivered. When considering the normal processing speed of a government agency, everything really was handled at the speed of light. There was no choice. Lucifer wouldn’t wait.

  “Is this the Galaxian unit?”

  The Galaxian unit wasn’t much different from New World’s. The operation method was also similar. The game company heavily advertised that Galaxian would open at 7 a.m. The unit finished setting up at 9 a.m. He had already received 2 hours damage. He was impatient just thinking about it.

  “Okay, shall I begin?”

  Hyun-woo lowered his body into the unit and was engulfed in darkness. An endless dark space like it was the edge of the universe stretched out before him. Then he heard a firm voice speak the ARS message.

  -You have started Galaxian. Please register the name of the user.

  “Ark!”

  Hyun-woo cried out without any hesitation. At the same time, there was an explosion of light and a new world unfolded in front of him. It was the return of the legendary gamer Ark.

  Space 2

  Galaxian

  Just a short note. I highly doubt that Weed will actually show up in this story since he does belong to a different author and story. The mention of Royal Road was probably just a cheeky reference.

  ———————

  “Hoo…..”

  Ark looked around with interested eyes. When he first started at virtual reality game, he had been surprised by the movements of his character. However Ark wasn’t a beginner anymore. Now Ark had spent almost every day in virtual reality. But New World was clearly different from Galaxian. It was the backdrop. Cosy villages, endless grasslands, magnificent forests……this was the landscape of New World. The landscape that now caught Ark’s eyes wasn’t familiar. Everything was metal! The metallic walls were divided vertically and horizontally while the wide windows showed endless stretches of the universe. Just like the name Galaxian, the background of this game was SF.

  “I can go into space!”

  Space! The ancestors of the past wanted to experience the future so they created machines that could endlessly explore the universe. Galaxian was a game focused on the future. It was entirely different from New World. The sight set his sleeping gamer’s blood boiling. That point was very important. If he wasn’t interested in the game then he would have problems with concentration.

  “I’m only level 1 so there is a long way to go before I can explore space……”

  The people who passed by seemed like they were in SF and they wore space suits that he had previously seen in SF movies. Ark was also the same. He was carrying a bag. The bag was made with a metal material and there was a device that looked like a smartphone on his wrist. A 3D image appeared from it. It welcomed him to Galaxian. It also gave simple information for new users.

  Currently it is the year 2357 and Earth has become barren 200 years ago thanks to environmental pollution. Therefore mankind turned to space to find a new sanctuary. But the universe wasn’t a hopeful place like humans thought. The universe had infinite resources and infinite dangers. There were numerous unknown monsters and alien species. They weren’t benevolent to humanity. Humanity suffered many setbacks but didn’t give up until they developed photon technology and technology to coat their body. This opened up a full-fledged space frontier. The pioneering age began as beginner pioneers took advantage to take their first steps into the universe. You have arrived at the federal R-14 space station orbiting Earth. This is the starting point of his space pioneering adventure. If you conquer a large number of trials while exploring the universe then you will leave your name behind in human space pioneering history. All the necessary information you need about Galaxian is attached to the terminal ‘Nymphe’ on your wrist.

  Nymphe was the name of the device. Nymphe was the device shaped as a smartphone. A few icons were floating in a liquid crystal like an application button. He clicked on the icon of a person and the image became 3D. It was Ark’s character information window that recorded down his information.

  Character information window

  Name Ark (R-02788) Level 1

  Species Human Occupation Beginner Pioneer

  Fame –

  Health 100 Men
tal Power 100

  Strength 15 Agility 15

  Stamina 15 Wisdom 15

  Intelligence 15 Luck 15

  The basics weren’t that different from other games. But Ark felt the difference was enormous. Ark had gained the master code and became a God in New World. Naturally all his stats were the best! This Ark would vomit blood if the Ark from New World even touched him. But all users in Galaxian started like that. The same applied to the AI Lucifer.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve felt this feeling.”

  Ark smirked and laughed. Lucifer would also be seeing the same information window somewhere else. The thought of Lucifer seeing such a poor information window was rather refreshing for Ark. It also meant he could enjoy his growth from now on.

  “Let’s see…..”

  Ark erased the 3D image and looked around. The backdrop might be the future but the basic information window wasn’t that basic from a fantasy game. Similar occupations such as warriors, archers and magicians existed in Galaxian. Their names were just slightly different. So they were known as superconducting sword or gun or psychic powers instead of swords, bows and magic. Of course, it would be different once the details were more known but the game just opened so there was insufficient information. But there was no reason to be concerned as he would gradually learn as time passed

  Level 1, level 1, level 1, all the users around him were level 1.

  ‘Is it in this area?’

  When he looked around, he instantly saw a place where many users were gathered. The man gathered in the centre with a black beard was wearing a blue suit instead of the normal users wearing red. It was obvious what users would think about after just starting a game. When he wandered into that area and spoke to him, the answer was like he expected.

  “You seem to be a novice based on the way you’re looking around. Is this your first time here?”

  “Yes, I arrived a short time ago.”

  “Then I’ll give you an introduction. I am Bhurad. I am in charge of R-14’s new pioneers training centre. Is there anything you didn’t understand?”

  The NPC with a black beard said. Just yesterday he had been playing New World so it was the first time he had met an NPC who wasn’t respectful to Ark in a long time. His prickly attitude felt refreshing. It was like a noble experiencing the lives of an ordinary person…..heh, what was that? Anyway, he was always friendly to NPCs. That was Ark’s default character.

  “Ah, Centre Manager-nim. I am Ark.”

  “Ark? Yes, Ark.”

  Bhurad laughed after hearing the name.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “No, it’s not a big deal. I’m too busy to give such a simple explanation. Recently beginner pioneers have started to gather at this space station like cockroaches. The R-14 has some facilities but it is too hard to accommodate everyone. But if I leave them alone then they’ll just become vagrants. That’s what I thought. These young people just came into the universe and don’t know anything about how it works. How is it? Is it a great idea?”

  Bhurad laughed and rattled on

  ……He was an overly outspoken NPC.

  “That is catching the space bugs.”

  “Space bugs? There are bugs at this space station?”

  “Before R-14 became frontier station like now, it was a space farm. We can obtain leather and meat from the space bugs so most of the space bugs have been genetically modified to propagate faster. But recently there have been a lot of youngsters so they are dying too soon. The chief of the space bug processing centre is also worried. However, it will be difficult to send the youngsters out into space without any preparation or gear.” Therefore please take care of it.”

  ……Even foreign workers were handled.

  Despite the grief of having too many users, there was no choice.

  “I’ll work hard.”

  “I thought you would. Anyway, this is a federal training centre so the federal government will pay for beginner pioneers to hunt 20 space bugs. If you bring a suitable amount of leather and meat then further fees will be calculated.”

 

  The R-14 space station is a gateway to the universe and the crew member Bhurad has given you a job for a vagrant. This work if to catch the space bugs in sectors 1~5. Not a lot of compensation can be given to beginner pioneers but it will help them quickly adapt to life in the universe. If you gather a certain amount of leather and meat then it is possible to receive bonus compensation.

  * Target: Hunt 20 space bugs or gather 30 leather or meat from the space bugs.

  Difficulty: G

  The quest was registered on the Nymphe.

  “If you’ve decided then it is better to hurry. A lot of people have arrived so you’ll have many competitors. I don’t think there are a lot of people in district 2 so it is better to start there. However, keep this in mind. You can abandon the job but you won’t receive the compensation. If you die then you also won’t be given the rewards.”

  Bhurad said and waved his hand. It was his first time but it wasn’t difficult to find the 2nd district. There were many monitors on the walls and ceilings that indicated a new area or had various advertisements. Ark followed the monitors towards the 2nd district while looking at his belongings through the Nymphe. His belongings appeared as icons on the screen.

  -, <10 Purified Water>, <10 Space Food>

  It was just like the character information window. He clicked on the dagger icon and a rough iron dagger soared from his backpack. If he hovered the item over the icon then it would be automatically stored. He finally arrived at the big gate that was the entrance to the 2nd district. Ark took out his dagger and entered.

  “Now, shall I begin?’

  And…..his mouth gaped opened. He saw an astounding scene after entering the 2nd district. It was a huge forest! He never imagined seeing such a landscape on a space station. But Ark wasn’t startled because of the forest. In a SF movie, he sometimes saw large space crafts flying towards botanical gardens to gather ingredients. When he thought about it, the space bugs were just like cattle. It was natural to make an environment to raise the cattle. The problem was the crowd in the forest

  …..Users!

  Bhurad said this was a place that raised space bugs. Looking at the scene now, it was like the users were being raised instead of the bugs. Users holding daggers swarmed over the forest like ants. The original space bugs couldn’t be seen. No, they were seen. Sometimes big insects that looked like slugs crawled out from the ground. But Ark could barely seem them before they were swarmed by players.

  “A space bug!”

  Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok!

  The daggers continued to fall! The space bug quickly melted! It was like a group of piranhas gathering around 1 small fish.

  “Damn! That’s right, Galaxian is a game that opened today…..”

  Galaxian was a game that users had been interested in for several years. It was to the extent that hundreds of thousands of units were sold throughout the world before the game opened. In other words, hundreds of thousands of users were flocking to the starting area at the same time. Of course, R-14 wasn’t the only beginner area. There were dozens of terrestrial orbiting space stations that were the starting points for users. When combined with other races, hundreds of starting spots existed. At the same time, there were still thousands of people logging in and heading towards the hunting grounds so it wasn’t a pleasant environment to hunt in.

  “I have to catch 20 space bugs in a space like this?”

  At this rate, he didn’t even know if he could see 20.

  “Yet I have no choice.”

  Ark sighed and entered the farm with a dagger. There were no space bugs left when he looked around restlessly.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Huh? Me?”

  When he turned around, 5 people were approaching him.

  “Are you just trying to catch the space bugs like that?”
>
  “What are you doing? Don’t you see that we’ve occupied this spot?”

  “Spot?”

  “Ah, really…..is this your first time in an online game?”

  First time? Was this a joke? Wasn’t he New World’s Ark? Ark, don’t they know? The words bubbled up in his throat but he pushed it down. Ark might’ve been a legendary gamer but right now he was level 1. If he showed off for no reason then he would just incur their ill feelings.

  “This isn’t my first time.”

  “Yet you don’t know that this place is occupied? There are a lot of people gathered in this hunting ground so the person who occupies the spot first gets the right to it. If other people strike the monster first even though the spot is occupied then we won’t hesitate to PK. Does that make sense now?”

  …….Ark was stunned senseless. So far Ark had never played a game that just opened. He always started a few months later. Therefore he never experienced fighting over a hunting ground. It had also been 4 years since he started New World so he was generally hunting in remote places alone. Ark had often heard of occupying a spot on online gaming sites but he had never experienced it.

  “However, I can’t see any empty spots?”

  “Do you see the people unable to hunt?”

  “They’re all people waiting for a spot to open.”

  “What if there is an empty spot?”

  The group pointed towards the users gathered restlessly at the entrance. Then all of a sudden, the ground shook and a giant slug climbed through the ground. The group pushed Ark away and rushed to the slug.

  “Get out of the way!”

  Ark had no choice but to look around as they hit the bug. He felt a sinking feeling. However, he couldn’t question it. Ark didn’t understand it but he thought it was wrong. He really wanted to hunt the bugs but he would end up being PKed.

  “Hunting in a party isn’t my style……”

  Once again, Ark wasn’t a user that liked parties. He didn’t want to worry about maintaining the relationship as well as dividing the items. A deep rooted distrust of users had been lodged in his head from his early days in New World. He was a user who didn’t really know how to hunt in parties! That had been Ark’s cardinal rule during the past few years he was playing virtual reality games.