Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  –You sneaked in safely.

  “Charem’s security system wasn’t maintained so it was easy. There were no problems reaching the highest level using my counterfeit ID. But……”

  –Are there other problems?

  “There isn’t anything here.”

  -That’s impossible. I received information that the merchant sold it directly to the Lord of Charem. Charem was sealed shortly after that. It was probably the cause of Charem’s situation. Charem’s situation is evidence that it was there.

  “Yes, that’s right. One of the researchers probably checked it secretly. But it has disappeared. No, it is broken to be precise.”

  The Nymphe was silent. Then he replied after a while.

  –It isn’t possible to break that with a bomb. This means someone broke the seal and got their hands on the contents. Can you guess who that person is?

  “Not one of the people seemed to have an opportunity. The other person is the mercenary Java dispatched to solve the problem.”

  –The name?

  “He is called Alan.”

  –Alan……

  The voice over the Nymphe murmured.

  –If he really broke the seal then he must already have one or more artefacts. A person has appeared who might cause significant setbacks to our plan. Good work. I will check on this Alan.

  “Thank you.”

  –And I got some new information. I sent you some pictures but it really is unbelievable. I’ll send you the GPS information so sneak out of Charem and head there. Keep this in mind. We have our duty as the representative of the Great God to bring true rest to the galaxy. The time won’t be far away.

  “Yes, the Great God willing.”

  “The Great God willing.”

  Space 3

  Mt. Fargo

  “Huhuhuhu.”

  Ark couldn’t stop laughing. He was rapidly crossing the Outlands on his air board. In fact, the reason Ark hadn’t taken the Charem-Nabe shuttle wasn’t just because of money. The airship flight time was much slower than the Star Gate’s spatial movement but it was cheaper. 1 copper was still a huge amount for Ark but……

  It had been over a fortnight since Ark received Milan’s notification that the slab was restored. If he considered that point then it might be easier to pay the price of the shuttle. Nevertheless, Ark had his own reasons for crossing the Outlands.

  ‘It is important to find the new Murat ruins but I should get a hang of what I already have.’

  It was the pyramid he obtained from Charem’s laboratory.

  ‘After listening to the video in the pyramid then I can obtain a new rune just like on Beltana.’

  However Ark still hadn’t released the pyramid. When he first got his hands on the pyramid, he hadn’t registered with the pyramid and couldn’t be assured that he would survive. And he had put it off until now because he needed to clean up the Sufferers incident, registering as an agent and establishing the food manufacturing plant. There was no reason to rush. He could obtain it at any time. Leaving something for later would make it tastier. If he could afford it then he would like to act slowly.

  ‘And nothing might happen even if the Shire appears. I didn’t know how to use the Ikram rune for a long time. Getting a skill I don’t know how to use will make me anxious. So I should check the skill in better conditions.’

  This was the reason he decided to walk. He intended to try out the new rune in the Outlands overflowing with monsters. While crossing the land on the air board, he opened the bottom of the pyramid and the light emerged.

  The mysterious power of the Murat, the Shire!

  “Come out Shire!”

  Ark had experienced it already so he touched it with his hand. And the moment his hand touched the Shire!

  -You have absorbed the photon life form ‘Shire!’

  The Shire are mysterious photon life forms and are some of the most mysterious creatures in the universe. According to old documents, they will condense over millions of years to form mana. The Murat have the ability to use the power of the Shire through ‘Rune’ characters.

  + You have absorbed the Shire and acquired a Rune.

  + You have acquired a Rune (Immortal) from the Murat memory contained.

  Up to here it was identical to the previous time. However there was a crucial difference between the old and new rune.

  -A new skill (Common Occupation ☆☆☆☆☆) has been learnt.

  Rune Carving- Immortal (User, Passive): the runes used by the Murat have the ability to extract the potential of the photon life form Shire. Therefore the Shire can store the memory of the runes. The Immortal rune is the symbol of Osiris who sought eternal life. Thus the Immortal Rune has imprinted the source of life on your body, mana. Those who already use mana will gain 100 mana while those that don’t will have 50 mana generated. And the maximum amount can rise every time you absorb new Shire.

  + 50 mana has been generated with the Immortal rune.

  + 25 additional mana has been gained for the Shire from the Ikram rune.

  “Eh?”

  Ark’s eyes looked shocked. The new rune was a passive skill! Ark hurriedly opened the character information window.

  Character Information Window

  Name Ark (R-02788) Level 79

  Species Human Occupation Pioneer

  Fame 5,820 Adventure 720

  Mana 75

  Health 1,850 (+90) Mental Power 1,000 (+75)

  Strength 180 (+23) Agility 245

  Stamina 335 (+18) Wisdom 20 (+5)

  Intelligence 160 (+15) Luck 35

  * Title

  Cleaning Foreman (Agility + 3)

  Ignorant Destroyer (Wisdom -10, Strength +7, Stamina +7)

  Beltana’s Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +3)

  Mediator (Wisdom, Intelligence +15)

  * Contribution: Galactic Federation 6,850, Aschulat 500

  * Affiliation: Dark Eden (CEO)

  *Body Coating: Survivor

  + Environmental adaptation increases by 50% due to the Survivor coating

  + The Survivor coating reduces the drop rate of Satiety by 30%

  + The Survivor coating will reduce fall damage by 50%

  +The ‘Clairvoyance’ effect of the Survivor coating is applied

  He had checked it once before leaving Charem so it wasn’t necessary to see most of it. The important thing was…..

  “The mana stat was really created!”

  The mana stat was sitting in his character information window! Ark could now use mental power and mana. Mental power was the basic power that all users in the federation used. However some users didn’t stop there. Some users would receive magic when the received the body coating that was classified as the magician type. But in those cases mental power would disappear. Warriors used mental power while magicians used mana. This was common sense in Galaxian. However Ark had preserved the mental power stat when mana was added. This meant he was a warrior but he could learn skills associated with magicians! It meant he was a magic warrior in fantasy terms. Of course he wasn’t yet at the standard of a magic warrior. Usually magicians got 200~300 mana when they received the body coating. Depending on the bonuses added by intelligence and wisdom, they would get at least 500 mana to start with. Currently Ark only had 75 mana. It was only 25% of the mana that Espers stated off with.

  ‘But!’

  He still received it!

  “Now I don’t need to wear the battle suit to use the Ikram rune.

  The Ikram rune that summoned the hell hound! It was a fairly good 5 star skill but it hadn’t been really useful so far. That’s because the skill couldn’t be used unless he wore the battle suit. Now he didn’t need to wear the battle suit to summon the hell hound. Of course there were some restrictions. The Ikram rune consumed 10% of the battle suit’s mana when he used it. He could only summon a maximum of 9 hell hounds. The mana stat might be generated but he would only be able to summon 1 hell hound. Ark had only been l
ooking at the ‘%’ of the battle suit’s mana but the Ikram rune consumed 50 mana. Even if it was 1 hell hound, the utilization couldn’t be compared to before.

  “Besides, if I obtain more Shire then my mana will increase!”

  There was no reason to lament over having low mana. He was satisfied with the result.

  “Although this is kind of ambiguous…..”

  Ark eyed the memory chip. It was the memory chip that Jay said was safe to download. Of course Ark had already checked the contents of the memory chip. Ark had been more interested in the memory chip than the pyramid. It was because he expected to learn skills like Sonic Sword and Set Bullets Shooting. He had released the lock with hacking and downloaded the data to his Nymphe.

  -# Logbook 01~03 page has been downloaded.

  The previous memory chip contained the logbook 4~6 pages. If he looked at the page numbers then this was the first part of the previous logbook. But when he read it the contents seemed like it was the end.

  Logbook~01

  How long ago…..

  When I think back to the beginning, my journey began from a bitter betrayal. The fact that this betrayal came from someone of my blood made it a lot harder for me.

  Why…..

  It was a question that I asked countless times. But no one answered. Therefore I felt even more hurt and frustration when I thought of something. Is it possible that they did’t understand either? It was the first time I thought this. I’ve been wandering about this question for a long time.

  Right now a large number of disputes are spreading through the galaxy. I’ve thought about it and the dispute must’ve started somewhere. Teacher-nim always said it. Don’t believe your eyes and search for the truth. This is the mission entrusted to us . Teacher-nim’s words have been a big consolation for me.

  If the truth is different from what I though then I might be able to relieve this miserable feeling. But I was wrong. The truth I discovered was scarier than I imagined. Its true name caused huge despair. And I found myself in front of a door. Any souls who step close would be swallowed up in despair.

  But I can’t stop. I have to spread the truth to the large number of species in this universe. However, if I step foot in ‘that’ then there is almost no chances of coming back alive. I’m not afraid to die but I need to pass on the mission that I’ve inherited.

  That’s why I’m leaving this logbook. If anyone….even if it takes hundreds of years, I hope that an adventurer will find this. If someone sees these writings then I’ll tell you in advance.

  Discovering the truth will drop you into despair. Nevertheless…..if an adventurer who discovers this logbook has the courage to find the truth…..then you and I are tied by the same thread of fate that transcends space and time…..if you look for it then you will inevitably reach my hometown…..

  My experience and knowledge will be helpful to you at that time.

  Lock- -Lock

  This was the contents of pages 1~2. That was written in the first half of the logbook.

  ‘The truth discovered will cause despair? What does that mean?’

  Naturally he was curious. But nothing else about the ‘despair’ was written. And Ark wasn’t curious enough to be impatient. This was a game. How many users would read the contents of these pages? If a user was interested then they would eventually get some results. He just needed to wait. But the contents of the 3rd page were sealed. He couldn’t accept that so he opened it with hacking.

  ‘…..What is this?’

  An information window he never imagined had appeared in front of him.

 

  You have found an old logbook in the Charenjok’s toys that have been handed down.

  The contents written are obscure and difficult to understand. The only thing determined if that this is the last message of someone sailing on a journey to their death. And the contents were left in data form. But the data is locked by a mysterious force and you must satisfy certain conditions to get it. If you want the prophet’s experience and knowledge then you need to prove the four virtues necessary for a true adventurer.

  -Proof of Destiny: Obtain 2 logbooks (2/2)

  -Proof of Courage: Dispose of monsters higher level than your own (0/100)

  -Proof of Faith: Rescue your colleagues (0/200)

  -Proof of Eligibility: Finding a sanctuary (0/1)

  “Occupation quest?”

  Unlike other games, having an occupation wasn’t essential in Galaxian. Other games needed an occupation to receive skills other than the basics but this was taken care of with the body coating. Therefore an occupation was optional…..there was no insistence on picking one in the game. Of course, it might not be required but picking an occupation could give exclusive skills and bonuses. When considering the skill proficiency, it was good to select an occupation earlier. However there were no vocational schools in Galaxian. Unlike other games, Galaxian didn’t have occupation related NPCs in each major city. And there was no fixed level or method to receive an occupation. Just like Ark received Heksu’s ‘Scavenger’ or Marquis Martins ‘Private’ offer, they needed to find clues or the related NPCs to receive an occupation. In order words, all occupations were hidden!

  ‘……But.’

  They also varied greatly. All occupations might be hidden but the degree of difficulty differed. Occupations like Scavenger was something easily obtained while ‘Private’ from an NPC was a lot harder. The bonuses given would also change depending on the difficulty. In the end, even hidden occupations could be sorted into ratings. This was the reason Ark felt ambiguous. When he received the Scavenger or Private offer, he could guess the related skills and bonuses. However this was an occupation quest that he couldn’t figure out.

  ‘It is clearly a warrior affiliated occupation!’

  This was because he received the Sonic Sword and Set Bullets Shooting from the second part of the logbook.

  ‘And it isn’t an easy occupation to acquire. The other parts weren’t special but it isn’t easy to obtain 2 logbooks. When judging by that point, I have a considerable advantage because I already received the other logbook on R-14. Anyway, the conditions are surprisingly tricky so the occupation might be decent. Just because I accept the quest doesn’t mean I need to accept the occupation.’

  Ark accepted the quest.

  “By the way…..”

  Ark scratched his head and looked around.

  “Doesn’t this mean I didn’t have to take the air board across the Outlands?”

  Ark had decided to cross the Outlands in order to test the skills he would learn from the pyramid and logbook. But he learnt a passive skill from the pyramid and the logbook was an occupation quest.

  “Well, I can still use this situation to relieve stress.”

  Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku!

  Then an enormous monster rose from the ground. It was a Hakerion, the monster that Ark had first encountered when coming to the Outlands! He remembered that he had quite a hard time but…..

  Seokeok seokeok! Pepeng! Pepeng!

  Now there was no need to even get off the air board. A quick double attack shot out from the air board! And the Hakerion soon turned into minced meat. Once again it had been a fortnight since Ark left Nabe. His level and equipment were completely different from when he first entered the Outlands.

  “Come on, let’s go! Towards Nabe!”

  There were no difficult areas he couldn’t overcome.

  —————————————————————————————–

  Buzz.

  The Tatuine noble council. The federation’s nobles had gathered a while ago to hear some shocking news. They had lost Hanan! The planet in the Bellin constellation that had the most military support had collapsed. The council of nobles heard the terrible news and quickly panicked. Just as they were on the verge of mass hysteria, they heard good news that they never considered.

 
“Really?”

  “Yes, I met directly with the Aschulat ambassador and signed an agreement. The Aschulat home planet has already given their approval and is gathering the support army to send.”

  “This news is like having rain in a drought!”

  The Chairman spoke in an eager voice. However some nobles couldn’t hide their dissatisfied expression.

  “But acknowledging the existence of Charem is unacceptable. Right now the smuggling city is like a parasitic lump on the federation. Officially recognizing the city is like going against the legal system. Not to mention the damage that will be done to the merchant association. Who will shoulder the responsibility for that? I’ll tell you in advance but the Department of Domestic Affairs wouldn’t shoulder the responsibility!”

  The aristocrat who said this was Marquis Jyubel. He was the Minister of Domestic Affairs. Martin looked at Jyubel and nodded.

  “It is like Marquis Jyubel said. Although we were promised military support, it is difficult for the federation to recognize Charem’s existence. In addition, there is quite a bit of resistance from the merchant association. I realize that I’m responsible for this matter.”

  A smug smile spread on Jyubel’s face after hearing Martin’s answer. But that smile didn’t last for even 1 minute.

  “Naturally I should take all responsibility for those problems. Therefore I’ll be in charge of the management of Charem from now on.”

  “What? But that is a matter for the Domestic Affairs…..”

  “It is under the jurisdiction of the Domestic Affairs Department. However it is irresponsible of me to dump everything on the Domestic Affairs Department. Didn’t Marquis Jyubel also say that someone else should shoulder responsibility? Then the person who has to shoulder the responsibility should be me. I’m the one responsible for the problems with Charem so shouldn’t I take care of it?”

  “B-but…..”

  Jyubel stuttered with an upset expression. Naturally this wasn’t what Jyubel had been aiming for. He wanted to rebuke Martin while still getting his hands on Charem. Unlike other cities, Charem’s growth potential was high. Jyubel’s concern was that if Martin gained Charem then his power would also grow rapidly along with the city.