by Yoo Seong
“That’s what this is.”
A woman wearing a uniform lifted a thick stack of papers.
“It was easy for me to gather more data thanks to ‘that’ user.”
The woman speaking in an emotionless face was Irina
———————————————————
On Hanan, a planet in the Bellin constellation.
In contrast to Beltana, a large number of corpses on the battlefield belonged to the federation. A Rama warrior who was silently watching the battlefield asked.
“The front line on Beltana collapsed?”
“Yes, I heard they were attacked by the federation and were destroyed.”
“Weren’t two experimental Gigantic transmitted to Beltana? Was the Star Gate destroyed before the Gigantic was sent through?”
“The BK-III and BK-IV were sent through as scheduled.”
“Yet they were still destroyed?”
The Rama warrior turned around. However, his red eyes were curious rather than angry.
“Who? Who commanded the Beltana army?”
“His name is Valencia.”
“Valencia? I never heard of that name.”
“According to the information from our home planet, he is the leader of the 1st armoured platoon on Beltana. But the soldier announced as having the highest achievements is someone else.”
“The commander wasn’t the person who gained the most achievements?”
“Yes, the person’s name is Ark.”
“Ark!”
The Rama warrior twitched. Then a meaningful smile appeared on his face after thinking for a while.
“Ark……it isn’t impossible if it is that guy.”
“You know that name?”
“Of course. I know it. No, I can’t forget it.”
“But aren’t there many people with the same name?”
“Yes, there are many people with the same name. If you just mentioned the name Ark then I wouldn’t care. Because I’ve seen the name Ark many times when fighting against the federation. But if it is someone who gained the most achievements on the battlefield and defeated a Gigantic then it must be him. He has to be the real one.”
“Real? There are real and fake?”
“Let’s see?”
The Rama warrior murmured before turning around.
“Anyway, I don’t have time to worry about his movements.”
The Red Slaughter. It was the name he was called on Hanan
———————————————————
At the same time, in an underground plaza of the galactic federation building in Nephalim. There was a blue light as a user was transmitted through the Star Gate. The light disappeared and people flocked like vultures around the user.
“Please give us a short interview!”
“How does it feel becoming a person with the highest merit after being a prisoner? Can you fully explain the situation on the battlefield?”
“Did the Gigantic really appear on Beltana?”
“You defeated a Gigantic directly?”
“I heard you don’t have a sponsor yet. Scouting offers should be sent by the galactic federation and the 4 big businesses. Have you decided on one?”
The people swarming around the Star Gate were reporters. And the name of the returned soldier……
“Ark-nim, please tell me how you feel leaving as a prisoner and returning a hero!”
Ark, it was the name of the new hero.
TO BE CONTINUED
Ark
The Legend
(아크 더 레전드)
Volume 04
Yoo Seong
(유성)
Space 1
Hero Making
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Flashes continued going off without any breaks from the crowd. Two centuries ago, mankind had no choice but to enter space for their survival and faced a mighty enemy that they never imagined
They encountered an aggressive alien species called the Rama whose advanced science civilization and tough body were far beyond that of humans. A war started between the two species and humans inevitably suffered a crushing defeat. However, the genius scientist Lucian developed the body coating technology that allowed them to be a match for the Rama and joined hands with the alien species alliance called the Aschulat to counterattack. And after decades……
After the numerous heroes’ sacrifices, they were finally able to end the long war. But just because the war ended didn’t mean it was peaceful. They soon realized that the federation and Rama could never coexist and the two species were destined to be enemies. The trouble occurred in the Bellin constellation. For a long time it was barren but the next generation of technology meant that rare space resources were identified in the Bellin constellation. The federation and Rama wanted to monopolize those space resources so they gathered their military power and naturally broke the truce. This was the prelude to the 2nd Space War. However, the circumstances were different from the 1st Space War. Now the galactic federation were the ignorant species that had just arrived in the universe. But just before the conflict in Bellin started, the 3rd alien alliance Aschulat departed from the battlefield due to internal affairs. The federation who were planning to take over the Bellin constellation suffered a huge setback. And they continued losing on the battlefield! However, it wasn’t just the disadvantageous military situation that troubled the federation leaders.
–Is the galactic federation going to be okay?
–The Aschulat has left the field and the limitations of diplomacy are revealed!
–There is no alternative to war! This is a tragedy! What hope is there in this war?
–The war in the Bellin constellation clearly shows the incompetence of the federation army!
Every day the media poured criticisms on the galactic federation! Public opinion seemed to get worse every day! Everybody knew that the federation were being thrashed by the Rama. It was at that time that the federation received news about the victory on Beltana. The officials of the galactic federation who had been worrying about the press had a sudden thought.
‘This is a chance to turn the public opinion!’……they said
———————————————————————————————
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
There was a roaring sound and a red flash. The huge machine that dissolved in the red flash was the Gigantic. It was a machine with advanced weapons designed for slaughter and destruction on the battlefield. But the Devil of the Battlefield also had a weakness. It was the power reactor that was like the Gigantic’s heart. And the power reactor was involved in the huge explosion just now. The Gigantic’s powerful shield and armour couldn’t protect the power reactor. The nuclear fusion engine had exploded inside the Gigantic near the power reactor. In other words, a nuclear explosion had occurred inside the Gigantic. The explosion instantly vaporized the power reactor and the Gigantic collapsed from the inside. And a red flash soared up from the Gigantic’s body!
-The Gigantic has been destroyed and 15,000 victory points acquired!
“I-It’s a success!”
Ark ignored his seared face and shouted with glee. Needless to say, Ark was the one who contributed the most to blowing up the nuclear fusion engine. Of course, the Silver Hand and Royal Guards also gained some victory points but Ark was the one who actually dealt the critical hit!
He had dealt 50% of the damage to the Gigantic so he was given 15,000 victory points. That wasn’t all.
-Your level has risen!
-Your level has risen!
-Your level has risen……
It was the level up message! Valencia and the armoured platoon might’ve defeated their Gigantic but it had previously received the concentrated attack of the federation army. However, Ark was the one who penetrated the hole in the Gigantic’s leg and blew up the power reaction almost by himself. Of course Ark would receive more experience and victor
y points from it! He quickly gained 7 levels.
“Unbelievable! Really…….”
“He did it! Hyung-nim really defeated the Gigantic!”
“Oh my god! It’s a miracle! Hyung-nim caused a miracle!”
“Waaahhhhh! Hooray Hyung-nim!”
The Royal Guards cheered and flocked around Ark. A cross mark was also spinning above the head of the Royal Guards. The detachment had also contributed to Ark destroyed the Gigantic so their levels rose. If he was an ordinary user then he would be going on a wild rampage! Ark wasn’t an ordinary user.
“Wake up! This is not the time!”
Ark raised his head and exclaimed. The Royal Guards also lifted their heads.
“Hyung-nim is right! This war isn’t over yet!”
“There are still Rama remaining. We can’t feel relieved.”
“Let’s join forces with the federation army and clean them up!”
“That’s not it!”
“Huh? It’s not?”
The members looked doubtfully at Ark.
“You fools, don’t you know? The Fairy and Star Gate were destroyed earlier but this is the Rama base! Look around! Corpses of the Rama soldiers are interspersed among the wreckage. Do you know how many things will be among the rubble? The Rama are destroyed so they don’t have any owners. If we pick it up then it will belong to us!”
Ark looked around with gleaming eyes.
“This is an opportunity! Search! Put it in your bag as soon as you pick it up!”
The detachment was organized as they struggled to destroy the Rama’s Fairy and Star Gate. They were then chased by Gigantic and almost died many times. Yet the first thing that emerged from Ark’s mouth wasn’t a sigh of relief but it was about loot.
“What…..are you saying?”
Heksu was stricken. But it was the correct comment. The federation army under Haman’s command were cleaning up the Rama. As soon as that ended then hundreds of federation soldiers would be picking up loot. This was the only chance for the detachment to gather the items!
“Ark’s words are correct!”
As expected, it was Heksu who reacted first.
“Nobody can compete with the Scavengers of the Silver Hand in gathering loot! The Scavengers will split into 2 groups. The 1st group will focus on the items around the central base while the 2nd one will search around the Gigantic. Don’t forget. We are mercenaries so we don’t care about honour. We also fought so we should gain some spoils. Our fight hasn’t ended yet!”
“Waaahhhhhhhh!”
The detachment cried out at Heksu’s command and scattered all over the place. And while there were sporadic gunfire between the federation and the Rama……
“I’ve found a supplies warehouse in the central base!”
“Move the rubble and salvage the loot!”
“Ohh, there are a considerable amount of supplies left in the wreckage. Quite a lot of it can be used!”
“Just sweep up everything visible!”
“I found large amounts of recyclable materials and semiconductors in the wreckage of the Gigantic!”
“Pack! Pack! Pack! Pack it!”
The detachment gathered random loot. The battlefield was completely cleaned up after 1 hour. The federation army also started to gather loot after taking care of the Rama but the detachment had swept up most of it already. The detachment was the only ones who left the battlefield with full bags.
“That is sufficient payment for them. The federation has also struggled until now.”
Ark muttered with a virtuous heart. And he returned to the federation base with the army.
-Your current physical information has been registered to the Fairy.
He was finally able to register at the federation’s Fairy after a long journey. All the results Ark obtained in the last fortnight now truly belonged to him.
“The outcome is better than I hoped for.”
The memory of the past two months passed through his head like a panorama. He had been forcibly sent to Beltana and had spent two months on it! He was starving to death on a -50 degrees planet until he started digging and organized the prisoners. However, these efforts made Valencia bully him. And a fortnight ago he had been left in a hostile area thanks to Valencia.
‘But I came back alive!’
He had felt real despair as he fell into a kilometres deep crevasse. Then he raided the Rama’s main base, blew up the Rama’s Fairy and Star Gate and destroyed the Gigantic. He gained 20,000 victory points! Combined with his previous achievements, he got a total of 22,320 points. There was no doubt that he gained the most achievements among the federation soldiers. In other words, he had monopolized the most achievements on the battlefield. Ark couldn’t hope for better results! However, the biggest thing he received from this war was something else.
‘Why is everything so complicated?’
In the meantime, Ark had been despondent about something. He had some good results from R-14 and Beltana but they weren’t all because of his hard work. He became a criminal after being tricked by the evil hamster and then bullied by Valencia. It wasn’t simply because of bad luck. Such problems occurred because of mistakes that Ark made.
‘Why did it turn out like this? I never would’ve made these mistakes before. Repeatedly making so many mistakes isn’t like me. I seem to have become completely stupid! I’m only in my 20’s so I can’t blame it on age……’
This had started after Ark began playing Galaxian. He had some misgivings that he wasn’t the same as before. However, this victory wiped away all his misgivings. He was able to gain achievements and results but the most important thing was regaining his mindset. He had overcome many desperate situations and managed to obtain the highest achievement points! It was possible to regain the Ark that he had long forgotten.
‘Yes, I am Ark. The legendary gamer Ark. That’s me!’
It was confidence.
‘So far has just been the rehearsal. The game is starting now. That Lucifer bastard, I’ll make him realize what a big mistake he made dragging me into this game. I’m Ark!’
Ark had recovered his confidence!
“Everybody freeze!”
A threatening voice shook the square. Ark and the detachment were then surrounded by dozens of soldiers.
“Eh? What, what the? Are you crazy? Why are you doing this?”
The members looked around with shocked expressions. The soldiers separated and a middle aged person with silver hair walked up. He was Haman, the leader of the Beltana garrison. Haman gazed at Ark before saying.
“Ark, you are arrested for deserting the army without authorization. And the 10 members of the prisoner unit. You will be arrested for disobeying orders and going missing during the operation. Disarm them!”
The detachment looked stunned at Haman’s words.
“What funny words are you saying?”
Clem leaped forward and shouted in a rough voice.
“Deserting the army without notice? Disobeyed commands? Commander Haman, are you going crazy? Ark…..”
“Shut up!”
Haman glared at Clem.
“Are you in the position to defend the prisoners right now? I know that the Silver Hand was the one who took the prisoner unit away from the operational area without permission. You might be a mercenary unit but on the battlefield you still need to take orders from the commander. The commander’s order is given priority above anything else. Martial law applied to all military soldiers. The federation isn’t an easy place where you can break these rules. Do you understand? The only reason I’m not arresting you right now is due to a request from the government. Well, the Silver Hand will still be punished.”
Haman snorted and turned around.
“Do you have anything to say?”
Until then, Ark had just been standing still like he was involved in this. He only raised hi
s head at Haman’s question. There was a pause as Ark looked at Haman before smiling and saying.
“Aren’t you going to regret this?”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Haman declared sharply.
“Arrest him.”
“You really will regret this……”
——————————————————————————————————————————
“Commander-nim!”
The door opened and a female officer stormed in. The person who breathed harshly after running in was Irina. Haman frowned at her sudden visit and raised his head.
“What is going on? I’m busy.”
“I just heard some soldiers say that Commander-nim arrested Ark.”
“I did. So?”
“I came to tell you that you made a mistake.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying. You should know the outline since you heard the soldiers talking. He failed to return to the barracks after the battle in area B-1. And he also didn’t return for over a fortnight. It is similar to a jailbreak so naturally he would be punished. That alone is enough to arrest him. He also made the mercenaries take away the prisoners without authorization. Yet you’re saying it is wrong to arrest him?”
“Did you read the report submitted by Peratul-nim?”
Irina narrowed her eyes and declared sharply.
“Ark hadn’t willingly deserted after the B-1 battle. He couldn’t join the main army and was left behind. While escaping the pursuing Rama and getting lost, he managed to discover the location of the Rama base and sent the information with a Carrier MR-II.”
“That information isn’t confirmed yet.”
“But if it is true then he isn’t guilty of desertion. Someone also intercepted the information on the Carrier MR-II. If that is true then Ark had no choice but to draw out the other prisoners. Because the suspected person who stole the information from the Carrier MR-II is the influential Valencia. If Valencia wanted to hide that he committed a crime…..”
