Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  Cheolkong! Pushu!

  Clem pulled out the bullet casing for his rifle and said.

  “This is called resistance. The original shield is a form of energy so projectile weapons won’t deal damage to it. The trajectory of the projectile will just bounce off the shield. On the other hand, it is weak to melee weapons like swords or maces. On the opposite side, the metal body of an android is strong against projectiles and is weak to bullets. Therefore pioneers must carry two types of weapons by default. Do you understand why you are still too early to be a warrior?”

  Ark now understood the situation. He thought the users carrying guns and swords in the city just wanted to look cool. Ark thought they were foolish at the time. In online games, weapon proficiency was just was important as levels. Therefore it was common to use on one weapon series. But users were already using two or three weapons from the beginning of the game so he though they didn’t know the basics of online gaming. However, Ark was the one who didn’t know the basics.

  “Do you understand why you’re a Scavenger?”

  Clem didn’t have anything more to say and turned his body.

  “W-wait a minute!”

  “What? You still have business left?”

  “Rather than business…..yes, it was my fault for not knowing basic things like that. But if I know the problem then I can resolve it! One more! Give me one more chance! I also have a gun! I will use ammunition now…..”

  Ark quickly took out a pistol from his bag. Ark had bought 17 weapons from R-14. He had sold 14 but of the 3 remaining, one of them was a gun. He held out a revolver!

  -Revolver

  Item Type: Gun Wearer Restriction: Level 10

  Attack: 10~15 Durability: 30/30

  Number of Ammunition: 6

  A commonly used handgun in the universe. Firearms are more advanced than swords but shields can block the bullets so it isn’t universally used. However, it is possible to penetrate a shield with steady long distance attacks so guns have been used more often in recent years. The revolver is a pistol made for beginners so the performance isn’t that good but the bullets are readily available and it is reliable.

  However, Clem still wasn’t impressed.

  “Pistol……and a handgun that you’ve never used before……”

  Clem scratched his head and sighed.

  “Now, this is your last chance. If you hit 2 out of 3 shots then I will place you as an Attacker.”

  It was an abrupt suggestion but Ark had already failed so he had no choice.

  ‘Well, I’ve seen a lot of shooting in movies and dramas.’

  He held a pose like the character of a movie and pulled the trigger. However……

  Tang-!

  -Your attack has failed!

  Tang-!

  -Your attack has failed!

  “Eh? Huh? What is this?

  Ark asked with a befuddled look. The distance was a mere 10 metres. Ark had clearly made sure the aim was correct before pulling the trigger. Yet the bullet flew to the wrong spot and hit the dirt. Then the watching Attackers giggled.

  “He is a Scavenger.”

  “Ah, no this isn’t…..”

  “Hey, squirt.”

  Clem blew out smoke from his cigarette and frowned at Ark.

  “Do you think a gun is so easily to handle that a child can use it? In fact, most people only have a 40% hit rate the first time they use a rifle. You are 10 years too early to use a pistol. And a guy who can’t even handle a gun can’t be an Attacker in Silver Hand. Do you understand? I already gave you two chances and you failed. Stop being a troublemaker, Scavenger.”

  Clem said bluntly before turning around.

  “The entertainment is over! All Scavengers pack the equipment for the Attackers. We are going Nakuma hunting!”

  “Yay yay! Yes!”

  The warriors raised their weapons and cheered. Ark was forced to become a Scavenger who searched through the mud for loot

  ———————————————————————————-

  “Dammit!”

  A man spat on the ground and cursed. Four guys in the vicinity ran up to him.

  “Hyung-nim, are you alright?”

  “Am I okay? Do you think I’ve broken something?”

  “No, that’s not it…..”

  “Damn, that bastard! I won’t let it go!”

  The man who cursed was the leader of the gang, Mald. Thanks to Ark’s trick with the assault, Mald was jailed for 2 hours before a bail of 30 gold was paid and he was released. Of course it was impossible for him to feel good. No, the situation was enough for him to stamp around angrily.

  “Look for him.”

  Mald growled towards his henchmen.

  “He is still a beginner. He can’t leave Nephalim. So look for him using whatever method possible! If you can find him then just give up on the game!”

  “Huh? Yes! U-understood!”

  The henchmen scattered at Mald’s cruel words.

  ———————————————————————————-

  While Mald’s henchmen were searching through Nephalim.

  Pilpeok, pilpeok, pilpeok.

  Ark sighed as he searched through the mud.

  “It is disgraceful to be searching through the mud after arriving at the frontier.”

  Of course he wasn’t happy. No, the situation made him furious. Fortunately, Clem wasn’t a wicked employer like Tori. Clem’s primary source of income was the reward from the federation after disposing of the Nakuma. It was also possible to gain an income from the metal parts that the Nakuma dropped. So Clem distributed the income fairly equally based on the number of metal parts. But the problem was the number of Silver Hands. The Silver Hand consisted of 15 Attackers and 5 Scavengers. It was impossible to give a lot of metal parts when distributing it between 20 people

  Furthermore, he wasn’t just given the fee. Loot distribution was essentially based on contribution. Those with more contribution will be given more rewards. The Attackers risked their lives in battle so they obviously received more than the Scavengers. The basic outline was that the Attackers received 5% of the total loot while the Scavengers received 2~3%. If 100 parts were picked up then that was only 2~3 pieces.

  “But it isn’t a small number considering I get loot at the end of every battle.”

  Ark looked at the truck parked near him. The Silver Hand’s hunting method was pursuit. The Scavenger Heksu explained about the Silver Hand while they were collecting……

  “If the Nakuma is in a crisis then it will transmit radio waves to all colleagues in the area. If the Attackers are fighting the Nakuma then they will install a device to amplify the radio waves by a few hundred times. Then all Nakuma within a few kilometres will gather. Usually they hunt 200 in 1~2 hours? The Attackers will dispose of all Nakuma and then move on to the next hunting grounds.”

  Then the Scavenger would search the hunting ground and gather all loot in the trucks before riding it to follow the Attackers. Sometimes they obtained more than 100 loot form a hunting ground! They hunted without breaks so 2~3% wasn’t a small amount!

  ‘Experience……’

  Ark wouldn’t get any experience even if hundreds of Nakuma were killed. Furthermore, the loot he gathered by digging through the mud would enter the mouth of a hamster. Well, it was in order to learn a skill but he couldn’t help being mad. He also didn’t know when this would end if he only received 2~3% of the metal.

  ‘Dammit, a gun! If only I could use a gun properly!’

  Ark was confident in close combat. But marksmanship was indispensable when fighting against android type monsters! Ark couldn’t abandon his regret of not becoming an Attacker and sometimes practiced his marksmanship. It was to the extent that he got blisters on his fingers!

  However! However!

  Tang-!

  -Your attack has failed!

  Tang-!

  -Your attack has failed!

  Th
e shooting kept on failing!

  ‘As expected, I’m not talented in shooting.’

  Ark understood that this was an unexpected weakness for him.

  “Hey! Ark, until when are you going to keep on playing around? There is still a mountain of work to do. The Scavengers are a team. If you play around then everyone else will have more work. If I report it to Clem then he will decrease your share.”

  Heksu snapped at him. In the end, Ark had no choice but to reconsider is idea.

  ‘Galaxian is set in the future so there will be quite a few androids. The city guards are also androids. So it is imperative that I learn marksmanship….but I have to put it on hold for the moment. The urgent problem is learning the hacking skill and breaking the relationship with that damn hamster. So it is important that I gather metal parts worth 200 gold. I’m not an Attacker but 2~3% is still a lot of metal components.’

  When calculating the Silver Hand’s distribution system, 20% of the total income remains. This 20% was distributed according to performance. The Scavenger that worked hard and helped the Silver Hand then most would receive a special bonus.

  ‘If I can’t be an Attacker then I should aim for that bonus!’

  Their aim was to increase efficiency. Ark was also the same. His attitude changed 180 degrees now that he had a concrete goal.

  “I’ve received a notification from Clem that the battle is over. Now let’s go collect the loot!”

  The 5 Scavengers moved at Heksu’s order towards the battle location. When he arrived at the battlefield, hundreds of wreckage from the Nakuma was on the ground. But most of the metal parts were buried in mud that reached the ankles. This was the reason for the Scavengers. The metal parts buried in the mud weren’t easy to find. But the Attackers tirelessly hunted without any breaks and needed to move to the next area. The circumstances changed once Ark started earnestly working.

  “Swamp Walking!”

  Sasasasa! Sasasasa!

  He could easily walk through the swamp with Swamp Walking. Ark flew about the mud like an octopus and raked in the loot. Ark found 3~4 pieces in the time it took for the Scavengers to find 1. So the efficiency increased by a few times. That wasn’t all. The Scavenger’s job wasn’t just to find metal components. The Nakuma’s body were basically discarded machine parts. So it would turn black when buried in the mud for too long. So the Scavengers also had to wash the goods. This was an area where Ark’s skill shone.

  “Facilities Maintenance!”

  Buduk! Buduk! Buduk! Flash!

  Facilities Maintenance increased cleaning and oiling by 30%! He learnt the skill from cleaning kilometres of pipes on R-14. Therefore Ark managed to clean the loot a few times faster than the other Scavengers.

  ‘I hate to admit it……’

  It was sad but Ark’s skills were optimized for a Scavenger. Anyway, even Heksu was amazed by Ark’s incredible speed and he interjected.

  “Ohh! A-amazing!”

  Heksu was amazed by Ark’s hidden ability and grasped his hand before saying.

  “The movement that flies freely around the swamp! The cleaning skill that makes dirty metal components gleam! This is it! You’re the person I’ve been waiting for! How about it? Do you want to use this chance to become a professional Scavenger? I’ll make you my successor. The Scavenger is quite a deep world when you look closely. In fact, I was also an excellent pioneer before I became a Scavenger. When I was young I attended a school to fly around space as a pioneer. I will teach you all of my knowledge. Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste such amazing talents?”

  -Heksu, the leader of the Silver Hand Scavengers has offered to make you his successor.

  If you accept then you will change occupations to a ‘Scavenger.’

  Would you like to accept?

  An offer to become Heksu’s successor! Most users couldn’t choose a profession until they became level 30 and received a body coating. There was only a process to determine the basic tendencies, like a warrior or long-range attacker. Galaxian also didn’t have special training facilities to select an occupation. The only way to obtain an occupation was through specific events or conditions there were normally hidden classes in other games. Therefore most of the early stages of Galaxian could be described as the process of finding an occupation. However, there was no guarantee that an occupation would be discovered. There was no guarantee even if the user was level 100.

  ‘But the first occupation I found in Galaxian is related to cleaning……’

  Finding an occupation in Galaxian is as difficult as grabbing a star from the sky. But I don’t want an occupation following behind NPCs and picking up their loot!’

  “I don’t think that Scavenger is an occupation that can be ignored. However, I am a warrior like I said before. I’m thankful for Heksu-nim’s offer but I can’t accept as thanks to my inability to let go of my warrior state. One day I’ll become a fine warrior but I won’t forget and will come back to visit.”

  Ark left room to accept. He didn’t feel regret over refusing the Scavenger occupation. But Heksu was in charge of the Scavengers so it would be difficult if he started disliking Ark.

  “It can’t be helped. Yes, it is different from being able to do the job with a light heart.”

  Heksu clicked his tongue and nodded. However, he still didn’t give up. He continued to buzz around Ark and kept on creating chances for Ark to accept being his successor. Thanks to Heksu’s interest, Ark’s Swamp Walking and Facilities Maintenance reached intermediate level.

  “It is a waste to throw away talent despite the lingering attachment to a warrior……”

  Ark was inconvenienced by his interest. And he spent 3 days gathering loot and fending off Heksu’s courtship. Ark was mechanically searching the mud when he was faced with an unexpected incident. The incident started from a single cry of distress.

  “Heok! T-this….ugh!”

  ‘What? Did someone fall into the swamp?’

  Ark thought it wasn’t important. This was a swamp so some places reached his ankles while others were deeper. The appearance was difficult to tell so sometimes the Scavengers would fall in and struggle. That’s why the Scavengers never searched alone. Ark thought it was a commonplace occurrence and continued searching for metal parts. But the next moment!

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  ‘Shots fired!’

  Ark turned his head with surprise. He saw 3 Nakuma covered in mud and firing their Gatling guns? The Nakuma had appeared at a place that the Attackers had already hunted.

  “W-why is the Nakuma in a place like this…..?”

  “D-dammit! Debris!”

  Heksu screamed from far away. The Nakuma combined with machine parts to become a mechanical living being. If they weren’t completely destroyed then sometimes they would just behave like they were dead. Those guys would then act like magnets to attract nearby metal parts to restore themselves. They were called Debris

  ‘But Debris never occurred before?’

  The Attackers always searched around for Debris before moving on to the next hunting ground. Therefore Ark had heard about Debris from Heksu but never seen it. However, this time 3 Debris appeared.

  ‘They’ve been marching too unreasonably since yesterday.’

  The Silver Hand had been hunting the Nakuma in the swamp for three days. Therefore the container on the truck was filled with 95% metal. They wanted to reach the end so they moved faster. So unlike yesterday, Clem had started rushing the hunting. No matter how much they rushed, the Attackers still searched for Debris but they must’ve missed something…..

  ‘This isn’t the time for thinking!’

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  The three Debris enthusiastically fired their Gatling guns. The Scavengers had almost no combat power. They screamed as they were hit by the bullets.

  “Ugh! Send a request for the Attackers to return and hide behind the truck!”

  Heksu and the Scavengers hurled the metal parts a
nd ran behind the truck. Ark was the same. Ark was further away from the other Scavengers but he quickly headed towards the truck thanks to Swamp Walking.

  “Ark, faster! Hurry up! Ugh!”

  Heksu screamed and sat down. While he was gathering the Scavengers, Heksu had been hit by the bullets. Once Heksu collapsed, a Debris approached him with a blade.

  ‘…..Damn!’

  Ark rushed forward. Over the past 3 days, Heksu had properly trained Ark despite his nagging to become his successor. How could he just let a NPC like that be killed right in front of him? Ark turned and fired the revolver.

  Tang-!

  -Your attack has failed!

  The natural message stating that he failed had appeared. Ark couldn’t even hit a target 10 metres away let along the Debris that was dozens of metres away. However, that wasn’t the reason Ark fired the gun. It was to attract the Debris’ eyes. The Debris flinched when Ark fired. It subsequently fired at him.

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  “Shield!”

  The bullets hit Ark’s shield. Ark narrowed the distance using Swamp Walking and wielded his dagger.

  Snap!

  Sparks appeared as he hit rough iron. The Debris had been destroyed and revived so it didn’t have a shield. It also had 30% health left. But unlike the Nakuma Ark fought the other day, this one was level 30! It was 15 levels higher than Ark. Moreover, a melee weapon couldn’t damage a metal creature and it only lost 1% health.

  ‘I can’t beat this guy with a dagger!’

  Ark stepped on the Debris’ leg joint and jumped over.

  “Heksu, catch!”

  “A-Ark!”

  Heksu who was grabbing his bloody legs stretched out his arm with surprise. Ark grabbed that arm as he landed and shot forward like an arrow. This was the reason Ark intervened. It was to attract the Debris’ attention and then rescue Heksu! Ark pulled Heksu and ran forward as the Debris fired its Gatling gun.

  ‘It’s difficult to avoid the guns but…..’

  Ping-! Ping-! Ping-! Ping-!

  His Swamp Walking reached intermediate after spending three days in the swamp! Therefore his speed increased and his evasion reached 20%. Ark used evasion movements and avoided most of the bullets. Of course, he couldn’t avoid everything but only a few hit him before he hid behind the truck. The Scavengers gathered around as he arrived.