by Yoo Seong
He rationalized everything.
“Anyway, I understand almost all the surrounding circumstances.”
Ark looked at his Nymphe’s screen. In fact, Ark couldn’t understand the situation that occurred just now. It was natural. He was suddenly attacked by androids at the bottom of the lake, sucked into a black hole and driven towards a huge propeller. It was difficult to understand something that happened so suddenly. But all his doubts were resolved the moment he saw Charem on his Nymphe screen. He slid the Wire Camera through a gap in the pipe and saw a panoramic view of the city. Charem was a city floating in the clouds and surrounded by a transparent blue sphere! Charem was an aerial city in the clouds.
“Yes, I was moved through a huge water tank. I thought it felt familiar and now I know. The water tank is a water facility. The black hole I was sucked into is a pipe that moves water from the northern lake to facilities in the city. The lobster androids that attacked me are the guards protecting the source of water.”
It was the reason the octopuses disappeared. The android lobsters were placed to protect the water source. The octopuses were probably caught the moment they entered. The octopuses bodies were then sucked into the filter tank, purified and turned into minerals for the drinking water. Anyway…..that was the dreadful secret of the prohibited area.
“What about the quest received from Bakum?”
The ending was slightly uncomfortable but weren’t the octopuses already dead? However, he couldn’t just say ‘this is the last of the missing octopuses’ and hand over some mineral water. Anyway, Bakum asked him to find what happened to the little octopuses and gave him compensation in advance so he should neatly clean up the quest.
“Above all……”
Ark opened the quest information window.
-The goal of the quest have been changed
You’ve received a secret mission from Marquis Martin and managed to sneak into Charem after a long investigation. But you can’t be relieved just yet. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that this is just the start of your mission and the real danger will begin now
Your job is to transmit Charem’s GPS information to the galactic federation. But Charem is a city that constantly moves so the correct GPS information can’t be acquired. So the GPS information needs to be continually transmitted from inside Charem. Like you’ve already heard, the many layers of the shield is hiding Charem from the federation’s monitoring. The only way to transmit the GPS information outside is to connect to Charem’s communication antenna in their central control tower
Difficulty: A
+ Sub Quest:
The quest was automatically updated once he confirmed it was Charem with the Wire Camera.
“The information window states that the real danger is beginning now. I have to locate Charem’s central control power. Entering a place like that and connecting to the tower won’t be easy. All the residents and guards here are enemies.”
This situation might be even more difficult! He couldn’t dwell on the fate of the octopuses.
“Okay, now the first thing I have to do is……”
Ark considered for a while before smiling.
“Of course it is shopping.”
He had planned that since receiving the quest. Once again, Charem wasn’t an ordinary city. Charem was a huge smuggling market! And the most important feature was that there was no tax. In other words, all the goods traded in Charem were duty free goods! There was a slight handling fee but it was cheaper than formally importing it. Smuggled goods that were more expensive than regular goods didn’t exist. Furthermore, the goods were prohibited items. It traded in smuggled goods from the federation, Aschulat and even the Rama. It was possible to save money and gain rare items on Charem.
Ark couldn’t overlook the chance to go shopping for such items.
“If Charem is helping the Rama then Marquis Martin will rally the federal army to arrest them. If I complete the quest then Charem will be out of business. So I should use this chance to shop before I begin the quest. And I have abundant money.”
Ark sent a warm look towards his heavy bag. He had tirelessly picked up items on Beltana and earned 17,400 gold! Ark monopolized all the money under the name of a business founding capital. Ark was prepared to pour all that money in if necessary. There was no reason to save money when buying an item that might give him more profit. This was the real reason why Ark postponed the Murat ruins expedition and accepted this quest.
“Huhuhu, this is clearly the revelation of heaven.”
He could smell money.
“I should go outside for the moment.”
Ark wiped up his saliva and crawled along the pipe. Ark had spent a fortnight living in the pipes on R-14. Ark was also blazing with the will to go shopping. Small and complicated pipes weren’t a problem for him. So he crawled through the pipe for 2 hours.
“An exit! Here is Charem!”
Finally he was able to go outside. And……
“What, what the? This?”
He witnessed an incomprehensible sight. Ark had seen Charem from inside the pipe. There were a huge variety of aliens and the atmosphere was like a huge shopping mall. But the place Ark arrived at had a completely different atmosphere. Not that many people were visible. He had deliberately chosen a deserted place and waited for night time where there would be fewer people. Yet he couldn’t find even a single trace of a person once he went outside. That wasn’t the only problem.
“It is like a war has occurred……”
He didn’t realize it at first because it was dark but the buildings weren’t normal. Some were crumbling down while other buildings had huge holes in the exterior walls. That wasn’t all. Some rubble were gathered and used to seal off certain paths.
Why? What was the reason?
‘No, this atmosphere is like they are preparing for a wall. But why? Who…..? Charem has certainly antagonized the federation. But the federation hasn’t found Charem yet. And it is also difficult for the federation to suddenly attack other alien species. If a foreign enemy attacks then the shield around the city can protect them.
The only thing he could think of was an inner enemy!
‘Is it something like a riot or coup d’état?’
But Charem’s atmosphere hadn’t felt like this when looking at the city from the pipe. And a riot of coup d’état didn’t explain why there were no indications of people around.
‘It is clear that something has happened.’ I saw people from inside the pipe so the situation is only happening in certain areas. Then should I return to the pipe and look for a normal section of the city?’
Ark thought for a while before shaking his head.
‘No, it is too risky. If it is a huge event then the whole city might be changed. Whether it is a riot or external attack, the city’s security was higher than normal. If I step into a place filled with people then I might cause a ruckus. Yes, I should learn what happened here first.’
A person naturally appeared in his head when thinking about it. The intelligence agent Marquis Martin sent, Kara. He sneaked in Charem before it was closed off so he would know what happened. He had wanted to put off contacting Kara until he finished shopping but now he had no choice.
-You have sent a message to recognition code T-3012.
He sent a message to Kara’s recognition code that he received from Marquis Martin
Cheolpeok! Jiik….. Cheolpeok! Jiik…..
He suddenly heard the sound of something wet against the ground.
‘There is someone!’
He suddenly heard a sound from a place where there were no signs of people. Ar
k sharpened his nerves and looked around. Then he heard the same sound again. The sound was coming from the opposite corner!
“Stealth.”
Ark whispered and his body became transparent. The light refracted around his body was one of the Survivor coating skills, Stealth! Ark killed the sound of his footsteps while in Stealth mode and approached the source of the noise. The moment he protruded his head around the corner!
‘Huk! W-what the hell?’
A situation he couldn’t imagine was occurring in the alley. The first thing he saw was a corpse. There were three or four bodies on the round with their flesh torn out. And a strange monster with long skinny arms and legs like a mummified spider were biting away at the bodies. But Ark wasn’t surprised at the corpses or the monster. Galaxian was a game. It was a SF game. Therefore it would be okay even if a monster resembling Taekwon V showed up. Slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people with a nuclear bomb was also okay. The unidentified monster wasn’t an interest to him. But the circumstances were different because this was the middle of a city.
‘Why is there a monster in town? Does the situation in the city have something to do with these monsters? No, why would a monster in the first place……’
Ark couldn’t get a grasp of the situation. However, his worries didn’t continue for long.
Cheolpeok.
‘Eh? What is this? Blood?’
Ark had stepped on some weird blood gathered on the ground. The monster that was eating the corpse suddenly raised its head. Stealth was a skill that only showed its worth when the opponent didn’t know about Ark’s existence. If the opponent noticed Ark then the effect would disappear. The monster heard the noise he made and the transparent effect faded when it lifted its head.
“Dammit! Impact sword!”
Ark cursed and pulled out his sword.
Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!
The sound of gunshots shook the city at the same time. But the monster was already somewhere else. Ark had pulled the trigger of his sword but the monster had already attached itself to the wall and moved towards Ark. The spider attached to the wall moved with tremendous speed. The fangs gleaming with blood soon got close to him. It was the fangs that had been biting the corpses just now!
Snap!
Ark flinched as it headed towards his shoulder. Ark groaned and rolled across the ground. He raised his body and pulled the trigger again. No, he was about to pull it. However the monster was gone.
“What, what the? Where is that bastard?”
Kieeeeeeek!
Ark burst out with confusion and the monster on the opposite wall shrieked and rushed towards him. His chest was torn as blood splattered. The subsequent attack had claws scratching his side. It was a speed difficult to spot with his eyes! It also had high damage so his health decreased by 30% after a few attacks. However…..
“I got it!”
Ark exclaimed while laughing. At the same time, his arms grabbed the monster’s waist firmly. He lifted the waist and did a back drop! He threw it firmly to the ground.
“I’m sorry but my specialty is close combat fighting.”
Ark laughed as he looked at the monster splattered on the ground. That’s right. Ark’s combat style combined taekwondo and martial arts. But that wasn’t all. Gwon Hwa-rang introduced him to the famous police officer Lee Myung-ryong and he beat Ark down to make him stronger. Ark was dedicated himself to training to prove his Master’s faith. One part of being Lee Myung-ryong’s desciple was dauntlessness. He needed to become stronger if he wanted to survive with such a master. Therefore Ark definitely became stronger. By training in the police academy’s gym, he became well-rounded in boxing, judo and wrestling. It was part of the reason for the birth of New World’s strongest user. Anyway!
Ark’s nose bled until he got anaemia learning the techniques and they were now ingrained in his body. Ark used the gun but he couldn’t compete in a speed battle with it. He had reflexively become used to shooting a gun first. But the opponent was too fast to be pushed into close combat fighting.
‘A quick monster like that won’t be hit by my marksmanship. But that’s only if I can’t strike a direct blow. It won’t be necessary to use a gun. It is so fast that I can’t catch up but…..’
“Come you zombie like guy, bring it on!”
Ark purposely provoked the monster. And it ran up trying to bite his shoulder.
“Yes, no matter how quick you are you still have to approach me when attacking!”
Ark grabbed the body and slammed it against the ground. But that wasn’t the end. He kept on kicking it when it was forced to the ground. Kick! Kick! The monster struggled to get up and punch! Punch! Punch! It tried to use its claws and stab! Stab! Stab! The monster wasn’t a match for Ark once he used martial arts. He was capable of having a martial arts career. And 100 damage, 200, 300…..the monster was battered after a 3 minute battle.
“Phew, that was more difficult than I thought.”
Ark also wasn’t in a normal state. He had been relentless bit and scratched and only had 30% health left. The opponent wasn’t easy to deal with.
“Now that I have time to speak…..what on earth is this guy?”
Ark breathed harshly as he looked down at the monster on the ground. Ark’s Clairvoyance skill gave him the ability to learn information about the monster. Therefore Ark immediately used the Clairvoyance but couldn’t learn any information.
-???? –
Type: ??? Danger: ???
Combat Power: ???
You are unable to identify the object.
It had questions marks like the android lobster he encountered. But the one collapsed on the ground wasn’t an android. It bled something like oil but it was unmistakeably a monster. That meant it was a monster not yet identified. It was incomprehensible to Ark.
“Why is an unidentified monster in a city and not the Outlands? How did a monster with no known information about it appear in a city floating thousands of metres in the air? And why is this city like this?”
He had several questions. And he still hadn’t received a reply from Kara.
“Damn, what is he doing? It can’t be helped. I don’t know anything about these monsters and it is too risky to move around. I’ll go back to the pipe for the moment and wait for Kara to contact me. I should search that guy first.”
Ark decided on the course he would take and approached the monster. Suddenly the dead monster started shaking?
“Heok! What, what the?”
Ark had no idea what was happening with the corpse and retreated. The stomach of the monster bloated like a balloon and split open. Then a few spider like insects crawled out? It was so creepy that Ark experienced goose bumps at the scene. But the more shocking scene occurred afterwards. Ark hesitated and withdrew while the spiders attached themselves to the corpses. The bones and limbs of the dead body doubled in length. It became thin and looked like a mummified spider. Surprisingly it turned into the monster that he had just killed. And…..it started producing two bodies.
“This, unbelievable…..how is this……?”
Ark stuttered with a pale face. It was a shocking scene! But that wasn’t the problem right now. Ark only had 30% health left after fighting the monster right now. But now 3 more had appeared.
‘A group! I can’t win like this!’
The monster’s fast speed also meant that it wouldn’t be easy to escape.
‘Dammit, I should’ve escaped as soon as I defeated one…..the odds aren’t in my favour even if I wear the battle suit. There is no other way. I have to run away. If I wear the battle shield and use Mind Shield then I might be able to hold on long enough to escape. I have to sneak away to the manhole.’
Ark was about to implement his plan to withdraw.
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
The monsters ran along the two side walls at a huge rate. Some also blocked the entrance of the alley.
‘Oh my god! My path has been blocked! At this rate……’
“Get down!”
A mysterious yell suddenly resounded through the alley. He reflexively turned around and saw a flash crossing the darkness. The identity was a rocket fired from a RPG. But where did it come from? Who? He had no room to consider these things. Ark had already experienced the power of the RPG on the battlefield. If he was directly hit then he would lost 50% health even when wearing the battle suit! If he was involved in the RPG explosion in this narrow alley then Ark who only had 30% health left would turn to ashes.
“Dammit! What on earth?”
Ark cursed as he ran inside the alley.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The ensuing explosion shook the area. The shock wave caused Ark to fly into a wall! His hair was burnt and he lost 10% health. Ark grabbed his head and cried out.
“Y-you…..”
Ark swallowed a moan and turned his head. Then he heard the same voice that yelled out before.
“A team, B team, now’s the time. Don’t let them rest and continue assaulting them!”
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
After the RPG attack there was a shower of bullets. The monsters were overwhelmed by the firepower and collapsed to the ground.
“The opponents are the Sufferers. C team, finish it!”
Hwaaaaack!
Flames engulfed the monsters that had fallen.The monsters wrapped in flames ran around screaming but their movements soon stopped and they turned in to ashes. After a while……A group of people approached through the smoke. They wore glossy armour while holding assault rifles and grenades. And some were equipped with RPGs or flamethrowers. While Ark stared at them with stupid eyes, the soldiers checked the perimeter before nodding and shouting.
“Clear! I’ve confirmed that they are all extinct!”
“Hey, are you alive?”
Then one of the guys walked up to Ark. He was a middle aged man holding a RPG.
“Y-you are……?”
“We are Charem’s special riot team Phoenix. I am the captain Kalbern.”
The middle aged Kalbern looked at Ark and laughed.
