by Yoo Seong
‘I can’t die like this!’
Ark took out his trump card. It was the STK-VII grenade with destructive power! He shed tears as he threw the remaining STK-VII towards the lobsters. However…..
‘I’m screwed!’
The lobsters only had their health reduced by 50%. He understood why the moment the STK-VII exploded. The problem was that Ark was fighting in a place 50 metres deep. Just like the power of the bullets were deduced by the water resistance, the same thing applied to the STK-VII. The STK-VII was used in vain. The tattered Ark had to clench his teeth and keep on fighting.
‘But! But I can’t just die like this!’
The odds weren’t in his favour. However he couldn’t just give up. If he gave up here then the results of the past 10 days would fly away. He would be resurrected back in Nabe and he didn’t have any STK-VII left.
‘Don’t make me laugh! All the levels that I gained!’
Ark glared at the lobsters. The last STK-VII was a dud. But that didn’t mean it was ineffective. The lobsters had lost 50% of their health. Therefore Ark attacked the lobsters until they had 20% health left.
‘There is only one way out! This is an opportunity! I can use 18 Barrage to escape from their siege.’ He would be affected by the buoyancy as soon as the battle suit was stripped off so he needed to escape as quickly as possible. If he reached the surface and got on the air board then he could escape them. This is the only way! Concentrate Ark! Let’s go!’
Ark prepared himself and was about to rush forward.
Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku!
The ground started shaking again and a roaring sound was heard.
‘Heok! W-what is this? Don’t tell me another lobster is appearing?’
Ark turned around with apprehension. Something unthinkable occurred. Until now the ground vibrated every time a lobster climbed out. But this time the lobster hid back underneath the ground?
‘What, what the? This is? They’re acting scared……’
Ark asked with a befuddled look.
Kuwaaaaaaaah!
A huge vortex started swirling in the water. The words of Bakum, the Charenjok elder appeared in his head.
‘Yes, that’s it! This is the whirlpool that Bakum mentioned would sometimes appear in the prohibited area. I don’t understand but the lobster knew this vortex was happening and hid in the ground. It is a great opportunity for me to get away! I can run away while these guys are hiding…..run away…..eh…..eh?’
Ark finally realized an important fact. Once again the size of the lobster was 5 metres. They were more than twice Ark’s size. Moreover, their true identity was an android. The interior of the lobster was filled with metal parts. If placed on a scale then the lobster would probably weigh hundreds of kilograms. Despite weighing hundreds of kilograms, the lobsters had hid in the ground to escape from the vortex. However, Ark was much lighter than them! Ark was caught by the swirl of water. He couldn’t do anything once he was caught. No matter how much he struggled, he just spun around like a cockroach caught in a toilet bowl. Ark realized some strange points while facing motion sickness. An ordinary vortex would normally be shaped like a pyramid. But the one Ark was caught in was different. It was a big circle focused on a particular spot. To his surprise, the centre of the vortex was……
‘W-what is that? A black ball? No, a hole? Why is there suddenly a hole in the lake?’
A huge black hole opened in the centre of the vortex. Ark and the lake’s water was being sucked into the hole at an incredible speed. No, it wasn’t just Ark. This was probably why he couldn’t find the bodies of the octopuses. And why none of them ever came back.
‘It can’t be! This can’t be!’
Ark struggled with a desperate feeling but it was impossible like he expected! Ark was drawn into the black hole. And……
“Heok! What the? What? What the?”
Ark looked around and screamed. He had just been drawn into the black hole thanks to the momentum of the water. And he rose to the surface of the water. However, the place that his eyes saw wasn’t the large northern lake. It was a pipe with extravagant size…..no, a pipe! Surprisingly it was a pipe dozens of metres long. Ark was dragged along the pipe by the current of water.
“What on earth is going on?” Where is this place? Why am I here?”
Ark was in a state of panic and turned his head like crazy. Suddenly he saw a dark object in the direction he was headed towards. It was an iron net. He didn’t know where this was but he could determine the purpose of the net right away. It was a net meant to catch fish. The purpose of the net was to filter the fish from the water. He didn’t know where this was! But he knew what would happen! If he was caught in the net then it wouldn’t be a good thing.
‘I have to pay attention! This isn’t the time to be discouraged!’
Ark took a deep breath and looked at the quickly approaching net. The moment the net approached!
“18 Barrage!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
At the same time, steam emerged from the shoulders of his battle suit. His arms moved like motors were attached to it and hit the metal net. One hit! Two hit! Three hits! Four hits! The top of the net was bombarded with his fists.
-The mana of the Hyper Drone has been exhausted.
The battle suit was recalled the moment he ripped a hole in the net.
“That’s it! I’ve escaped from the net!”
Ark cried out as he burst through the hole. But his cheer changed into a scream after 20 seconds.
Dudududu! Dudududu! Dudududu!
On the opposite side of the net was a propeller rotating at a quick speed. If he touched the propeller then he would be cut to pieces. Ahead of him a small Mouse fish had passed through the net and disappeared without a trace thanks to the propeller.
‘N-no! This can’t happen!’
Ark frantically looked around. His Clairvoyance skill allowed him to see in the darkness and he saw a ladder near the propeller. The ladder went to the upper portion of the pipe!
“That’s it! Wire Camera!”
Ark attached the Wire Camera to his Nymphe and threw it towards the ladder. If it was connected to his Nymphe then it would move in the direction he desired. Ark manipulated the Nymphe and the wire wound around the ladder. He pulled the wire and managed to grab the ladder.
“Pant pant pant! I’m alive!”
Ark climbed up a few metres and looked down. Thanks to the hole in the net, the Elephant fish was also sucked towards the propeller. And…..it was gone without a trace. Ark would’ve also been like that if it wasn’t for the Wire Camera. But it was still too early to be relieved. He still didn’t know where this place was.
“Anyway I need to climb out of this pipe and check.”
He raised his head and saw a manhole cover near the end of the ladder attached to the pipe wall
He climbed up the ladder and pushed it but it was locked. But the manhole wasn’t just locked with a simple key. It was the future and all locks were electronic.
“I’m thankful for this.”
He connected his Nymphe and a message popped up.
-This door is protected with a security device.
Enter the security code or use Invaders to hack and release the lock.
Attempt to hack? Y/N
His 4 star rated skill Hacking! Furthermore, this looked like a sewage treatment plant so the lock shouldn’t be that complicated. When he attempted hacking, the game to release the lock was Tetris.
-The current lock accessed is ‘Tetris: Level 1.’
The bricks falling from above are the lock’s intrusion prevention programs. Remove all the hacking prevention programs to release the lock.
Please don’t hesitate. If you can’t release this type of lock then you’re not worthy to be called a hacker!
It was only a level 1 lock. The Tetris with
an easy difficulty was quickly destroyed! But Ark didn’t lift the lid and exit yet. He said it a few times but Ark still didn’t know where this was. Therefore he didn’t know what was beyond the manhole cover. He couldn’t relax until he registered with the Fairy. His mistake was blindly entering the prohibited area. He had to be careful if he didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. Ark lifted the lid slightly and pushed the Wire Camera through. He had bought the Wire Camera for a use like this. It wasn’t a fishing rod or an escape rope! Anyway……
‘There seems to be no one around.’
A 1 metre pipe was shown on the screen of the Nymphe. Once Ark confirmed that no one was around, Ark lifted the manhole cover and climbed into the pipe. He skillfully scanned around with the Wire Camera and moved easily through the pipe thanks to his experience as a pipe cleaner on R-14. After a short time Ark was able to find a light in the pipe. The pipe became wider as he approached the light.
‘That’s great. I’ve been wondering if the pipe led outside……’
Ark pushed the Wire Camera through a gap. Then a scene he never imagined showed up on Ark’s Nymphe.
“What, what the? This place is? Why is there a place like this outside?”
The reason he was surprised was because the camera showed a huge city. There was a huge variety of buildings, people and alien cities moving around the city! When he turned his camera to the other side, an even more amazing scene appeared. The city outside the manhole was covered by a huge sphere. And outside the sphere was the sky! The city was floating in the sky with clouds underneath it.
“P-Perhaps…..?”
Ark stuttered with surprise. The landscape on his Nymphe screen changed to an information window.
-You have found the hidden city ‘Charem!’
-City Information: Charem-
You heard from Marquis Martin that Charem was located near the northern lake of Istana. But even Marquis Martin doesn’t know a lot of information about Charem. As Charem is officially a lawless smuggling city so communication with anything outside the shield is difficult. Although the correct GPS information was determined, the most crucial unknown fact is that Charem is an aerial city floating in the sky.
All smuggling organizations associated with Charem have to sign a confidentiality agreement and only one person has permission to access it. Only a small percentage of people have discovered this hidden city so you will receive some adventure points.
* Adventure Points +200
The city that shone in Ark’s Nymphe. The smuggling city wrapped in a veil of mystery was Charem.
TO BE CONTINUED
Ark
The Legend
(아크 더 레전드)
Volume 05
Yoo Seong
(유성)
Space 1
My name is Alan!
Tak tak tak, tak tak tak.
Footsteps moved quickly in the darkness. The soldiers quickly moved between the walls while holding rifles. The soldiers movements showed their training as they had no unnecessary movements. They moved 100 metres and gathered behind a thick bulkhead.
“B team, we’ve arrived in the strategy area.”
–Any enemy movement?
A mixed up voice was heard from the Nymphe. A blond soldier equipped with an infrared scope looked over the bulkhead and replied.
“So far I don’t see any strange movements.”
-Okay. Commence the work immediately. Finish the operation within 10 minutes and join us.
“Understood.”
The blond soldier answered and winked. The soldier who received the wink nodded and 3~4 soldiers put down a bag. A monitor the size of the palm of a hand spouted 4 spikes and fixed firmly to the ground while a bag full of mechanical parts were opened.
“We have 10 minutes.”
“Yes, just give me a moment.”
The blond soldier leaned back against the bulkhead and searched his pockets. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette before suddenly turning his head like he remembered something.
“Hey, newbie. Do you want one?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“You should relax a little bit. You neck and back will become too stiff if you don’t relax. Didn’t I tell you? This is also a relaxing technique. It is good to be careful but you can’t show all your skills if you’re too tense. So rest when you can.”
“Yes.”
The person wearing a full helmet nodded. However the man still didn’t take his eyes off the other side of the bulkhead.
‘I’ve finally arrived.’
The environment was pitch black. Even without the infrared scope, the enemies swarming hundreds of metres from where the soldiers were gathered could clearly be seen. The shadows swarmed like a group of ants that they would soon fight.
‘How on earth……’
A complicated sigh flowed from the man’s mouth. No matter how thorough his plans, unpredictable actions could happen that would cause adverse situation. At least that was his experience. But this time he didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky. There was only one thing he was certain of! But whether it was lucky or unlucky, he had no choice anymore.
‘Yes, this is my mission now. So I need to concentrate on survival. I have no choice but to wait for a good opportunity. I have to breakthrough somehow to do that!’
The man made a firm resolution. Suddenly a blue light flashed from the dark side.
‘Eh? A light? Heok! D-don’t tell me……?’
It had only been 1 second since the man noticed the light. Then a streamlined object trailing smoke flew towards him! The blond man who was smoking noticed the smoke and cried out.
“It is dangerous! Rocket!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
There was an eardrum shaking roar. Flames swept past the top of the bulkhead and caused it to melt. Urgency appeared on the head of the blond soldier’s face that had been deeply tanned.
“Dammit, we were found?”
–B team! What is going on? Report on the situation!
“Those guys have detected us! We need support!”
–Damn, it can’t be helped. We’ll move there soon so endure for a little while.
“Understood!”
The blond soldier turned his body to the opposite side while answering vigorously. Black shadows were quickly climbing over the held melted bulkhead.
“Heok! T-this fast…..?”
“They’ve also appeared here! Several of them seem to have hidden around here!”
“Ugh, shoot! We must endure until the main forces get here!”
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
The blond soldier yelled with distress and fired over the bulkhead. But the enemies’ movements were faster. They avoided the bullets and ran along the bulkhead towards the blond soldier. Sharp fangs with a horrible smell were about to be driven in the blond soldier’s neck!
Snap!
There was a ring and the enemy flew sideways as it was hit. The soldier with the full helmet approached and asked.
“Are you alright?”
“N-newbie! Heok, it is dangerous!”
The blond soldier’s face turn pale white and he burst out screaming. Three shadows had appeared behind the rookie soldier. The man realized his situation thanks to the blond soldier’s reaction and turned. However, their movement was many times faster. The rookie couldn’t respond before they covered him. And the man was rolled to the other side.
“Dammit! Newbie! Answer me! Newbie! Ah…….”
The blond soldier cried out with a desperate tone.
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
There was a ringing sound and the head of a shadow on the man exploded. Half of the head flew away and the other two shadows bounced back from the shockwave. The newcomer in the centre slowly stood up. But he looked completely different from before. He was surrounded by an insect like armour. The black armour was the battle suit designed for space pioneering. And the man wearing the battle su
it……
The blond soldier laughed as he saw it.
“Alan…..this bastard, you surprised me!”
————————————————————
“Eh? What, what the?”
Ark was confused.
“What is going on?”
He couldn’t understand the sight unfolding before his eyes. It was evident that something was going on. And there was no doubt that Ark’s actions would have a profound impact. The problem was he wasn’t sure if it was good or not. But there was one thing he was sure about. Something…..there was something strange about the situation.
“No, it can’t be. It isn’t necessary to think of this as something bad. Yes, it’s been good so far. The results seem to be good. There is evidence that I’ve received quite a bit of good luck. Now let’s calm down and think. I might be able to find some clues from the beginning to understand the situation.”
Ark pushed down his confusion and recalled some memories. It was approximately 3 hours ago.
————————————————————
“Found it! I found it! I finally found it!”
Ark was lost in excitement. It was reasonable. He had travelled 100 km from Nabe towards the Nabe lake and searched for a while for Charem.
“I knew there was something when I heard about the prohibited area!”
He had sensed there was a relation after hearing Bakum’s words. But he never imagined the process he would go through to find Charem. He had encountered a group of androids and thought he was going to die! Then he was swept away by a vortex! Once caught in the current of water, he was drawn towards a large propeller and almost turned into mincemeat! It took more than 10 days to reach this point! The result was excellent! Ark wasn’t the type to dwell on the past.
“If my search wasn’t so precise then I wouldn’t have found the Charenjok. My 10 day search wasn’t useless. Yes, that’s right. It is natural.”
