by Yoo Seong
It was embarrassing just seeing it. But he could understand Milan’s attitude. Milan had been pardoned and left Beltana before Ark formed the Royal Guards. Therefore he didn’t know about the hostile relationship between Ark and Valencia. Milan only knew Valencia as the captain of the armoured platoon. Milan thought of Valencia as someone a mere prisoner couldn’t defeat. Milan had travelled together with Ark though the Outlands so he knew Ark was strong. He also knew that Ark was Beltana’s Hero. Yet he didn’t think that a prisoner like Ark could deal with Valencia. Milan had been on Beltana for longer than Ark so he was intimidated by the opponent called Valencia.
“Hyung-nim, Hyung-nim will apologize as well! Yes?”
“This bastard! What are you talking about? That isn’t the case at all. Besides……”
Ark pulled Milan’s collar and looked at Valencia.
“That guy won’t leave even if I apologize.”
“You understand.”
“Like I said, you will regret it.”
“Impertinent fellow!”
Valencia stepped forward with his beam sword. Ark also pulled out the Impact Sword and took one defiant step towards him. They both stepped forward until the gap narrowed.
“Sir Valencia!”
A loud voice cried out from behind. Valencia flinched and turned around with a frightened look. At that time, someone in a robe walked out from the crowd of bystanders. The face couldn’t be seen because of the hood but a blue light was shining inside. The man in the robe reached Valencia and murmured in a low voice.
“I told you to refrain from personal behaviour.”
“But……”
“The command is absolute.”
The robed man declared sharply. The surprising thing was Valencia’s reaction. He was still staring at Ark but he turned off the beam sword and placed it back on his waist.
‘Who is this guy? He looks like an NPC but why would Valencia obey like a puppy when the NPC speaks? What is their relationship?’
Then the robed man turned towards Ark.
“I’m sorry. Valencia is a member of my party. I don’t know what problems are between the two of you but can you leave it like this?”
“He is the one who started it first……”
Ark answered the robed man with a doubting expression. Milan quickly ran forward and lowered his head.
“Thank you! Thank you very much!”
Really, this brat……
“Then let’s put this in order. He won’t cause you trouble again.”
The robed man nodded and turned. Valencia stared at Ark but followed after the robed man.
‘I’m feeling somewhat uncomfortable……’
Ark looked at their retreating backs and frowned.
‘That robed man is suspicious but Valencia following him obediently is even more suspicious. Is he possibly participating in a quest with the robed man? No matter what, Valencia isn’t the type to retreat with a few words.’
There was something there. He had such an idea. Besides, the robed man said he wouldn’t cause trouble in the future but Ark didn’t believe that. Ark couldn’t believe the words of the robed man. And this was Valencia. Who knows when he would try to stab Ark in the back with the beam sword?
‘Despite that, why did we have to meet again?’
He had an ominous feeling that the path to finding the Murat ruins wouldn’t be smooth. But right now he had different worries.
“Sheesh, what the? Is that the end?”
“We were looking forward to a fight! What a waste of time.”
“That guy kept on cringing. If a battle started then the result will be clear.”
“Didn’t that guy just show his belly? I turned red just watching him.”
…….He was embarrassed.
————————————————————————————–
“How thoughtless.”
The robed man muttered in a low voice. Valencia sighed and nodded.
“I’m sorry. That guy just makes me so angry…..”
“Is it a grudge?”
“Yes, there were some incidents before.”
“That’s great.”
The man stopped moving. An eerie smile was revealed as the man pulled down his hood.
“All those blinded by greed who gathered here will die soon.”
Space 5
Mystery of the Stone Mountain
“Hyung-nim, think!”
“Pant pant pant, understood. Stop scolding me so much.”
“Ah, why are you annoyed?”
“Damn, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I’m just playing around. You didn’t know something like that?”
“Who? I knew it!”
A rough voice suddenly said. And Milan withdrew with surprise.
“Wah! What a surprise. Phew, your face really doesn’t make any sense.”
“Hey, what? What did you say? Do you think I’m doing this because I want to?”
Ark snapped angrily and scowled at Milan. Ark’s fact was completely different from a while ago. He had slit eyes, puffy cheeks and buckteeth! Naturally this wasn’t Ark’s original face. Once again, Ark was a celebrity. He appeared a few times on broadcast and he looked the same in New World so there were a lot of people who knew his face. When he created a character in Galaxian, he played around like a three year old using play dough. Ark’s face looked different because of the Hyde Helmet! The Hyde Helmet was a special helmet that could change the name and face that other players saw. Milan was looking at the ugly face that he created the first time he called himself Alan in Charem. In fact, Ark hadn’t been thinking about creating an ugly face. This was a face he made in a hurry. However once a name was registered to a face, it wasn’t possible to change it.
‘I don’t care what other people see when they look at me……’
The reason Ark was using the Hyde Helmet was due to the previous incident. He had encountered Valencia out of the blue and suddenly entered a battle. He was slightly embarrassed by Milan’s reaction but this situation meant Ark couldn’t pay a lot of attention to it. Wearing this meant that it was possible for Ark to avoid any fights. Yet his appearance made even Milan look slightly handsomer.
‘I was worried for Hyung-nim and now his appearance is like this.’
But that idea didn’t continue for long.
“Hey, there’s that guy?”
“That’s right. He’s still hanging around?”
“Even if he didn’t want to be killed, isn’t it too much begging for his life? It would’ve been better to just die. If he is so afraid to die then why did he come into the Outlands?”
“Leave it. There might be some circumstances.”
He called his place a village but it was actually just a place where users and NPCs gathered. The stores of the NPCs lined up only reached several hundred metres. Rumours would spread through this place in an instant. And the original rumour wasn’t preserved but became ever more exaggerated. Now the rumour was that Ark grabbed the hem of Valencia’s pants and begged for his life while crying. He wasn’t a person that could endure this. That’s why Ark used the Hyde Helmet. He was embarrassed!
“But why did you act like that?”
“I was just worried about Hyung-nim……”
“Yes!”
Ark stabbed Milan’s chest with his fingers.
“Did you think I would be stepped on? I don’t like that thought.”
“But the opponent is Valencia of Beltana’s armoured platoon.”
“I told you. He is just a child.”
“But he isn’t weak.”
“Aha, you’re saying that I’m still weaker than someone from the federation even though I’m Beltana’s Hero?”
“No, I know that Hyung-nim has become stronger……”
“But I’ll be stepped on by Valencia?”
“That’s not what I mean. Why do you have to twist my words?”
“Sorry. Because I do
n’t like being called weak.”
Ark retorted in a testy tone. However Ark was petulant for another reason. If he thought about it from Milan’s viewpoint, Ark naturally wasn’t someone who could beat Valencia. Ark also wasn’t sure about the prospect of success. And Ark wasn’t a character who would dwell on other people’s words. Of course it wasn’t a comfortable feeling but if he paid attention to everything said about him then how could he live in this inhospitable world? Besides, he had used the Hyde Helmet just now. If he walked with Milan then he would be recognizable even if he hid his face…..he hadn’t hid his original face to hide from the unpleasant looks. Ark’s petulance started to rise after he arrived at Mt. Fargo.
———————————————————
A few hours ago.
“This is larger than I thought now that I’m standing underneath it.”
Ark muttered as he looked up at Mt. Fargo. It wasn’t pleasant encountering Valencia but Ark had come here to find the Murat ruins. However he felt a stifling atmosphere now that he was actually looking up at the big mountain. That only thing Ark knew was that the Murat ruins were somewhere in Mt. Fargo.
“If it hasn’t been found yet then the probability that it is hidden somewhere in a cave is high……”
His mind was in a hurry but he knew that limiting the search scope was dangerous. He couldn’t limit the search range in case he missed it so he had to check everywhere precisely. In other words, entering the cave before he searched outside the mountains might make him miss it.
“I also have the same idea.”
Milan nodded his head.
“I don’t see any suspicious areas just looking at it. But if it at a visible place on the mountain or inside the cave then it would already be found by other users. In other words, it is in a place not exposed to the outside. That means it is highly likely that it is buried somewhere.”
Fargo was a large mountain. It was well over 200 metres in height? However, the mountain was a mountain. It didn’t matter if he could find it by looking around but it was a serious problem if buried. They couldn’t just dig blindly. That was when Milan’s ability as a treasure hunter came in handy.
“Huhuhu, it is my turn.”
Milan smiled and took out an iron rod in the shape of an ‘L.’ This was the secret weapon of the treasure hunter Milan, dowsing!
-Dowsing (Special)
Item Type: For Searching (Related skill is necessary)
Sometimes a treasure hunter would face a situation where treasure is buried in an unknown location. Of course, such problems can be solved with advanced equipment but it isn’t always possible to carry that equipment around. However the ground can’t just be blinding dug at. Then something like dowsing rods will be needed.
The dowsing rod is the most affordable and easy to use exploratory device. If you grasp two iron rods in both hands and walk then it is okay. The iron rods will move and cross over when they find something. However, there is no scientific basis behind it.
* Accuracy will depend on the user’s skill proficiency.
It was a technique that sometimes appeared on TV.
‘But to use dowsing in the 24th century……’
There was no scientific evidence but it was better than blindly digging at the ground. When looking at it like that, Ark and Milan could be called a golden combination.
“I’m picking up something here!”
Milan’s dowsing rods had discovered something.
“Okay, get out of the way! Dadadadada!”
Ark grabbed his shovel and ran to the target spot. Mt. Fargo consisted mainly of rocks so digging wasn’t a problem for Ark whose skill had reached intermediate level. Small stones or large stones were split instantly. It was highly likely that something would emerge.
-Old Metal Utensils
Item Type: Antique
Metal utensils made from outdated technology. It is believed that Istana’s indigenous people used it long before humans came here. However more antiques are useless except for their looks.
Well, that is for most of them……
‘The accuracy of dowsing is quite high. This will greatly reduce the search time!’
That wasn’t all. It was only trash but he had unearthed items that the indigenous people of Istana used. The odds that the Murat ruins were hidden somewhere became increasingly higher. His motivation also increased!
“Over here!”
“Get out of the way!”
Pa pa pa pa!
“There’s something here!”
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
“Here! Here! Here! Here too!”
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
So he ran around the mountain for several hours.
‘Pant pant pant, this is strange. This is strange no matter how I think about it!’
Ark and Milan panted. They had run around the mountain for several hours digging pits. It was serious. Sweat dripped down his face into his armour. However Milan’s skin was dry compared to Ark.
“Hyung-nim, isn’t the weather quite cold?”
He was talking nonsense. It was natural. Ark had been shovelling alone for a couple of hours. In the meantime Milan had just been running around with his dowsing rods. At first he didn’t realize it because he was so focused on the Murat but Milan wasn’t shedding even one drop of sweat.
“Hey you! Why aren’t you digging?”
“I’ve never done it.”
“Aren’t you a treasure hunter? How did you find anything in the meantime?”
“Of course I used the auto excavator. But I was caught sneaking on the territory of a noble and all my equipment except for the 3D restoration machine was confiscated before I was sent to Beltana. Ah, I still have these dowsing rods as well.”
Milan answered as he walked around with the dowsing rods. The dowsing rods that moved in Milan’s hands….
“If you don’t know then learn! You don’t have an auto excavator now so start learning how to dig!”
“Understood.”
Ark was his Hyung-nim so Milan took the shovel handed to him without any complaints. And that made Ark even angrier. That time when Ark was going pa pa pa pa! It was a cool sound when listening to it. However, Milan’s shovel went tick tick tick……
He didn’t drive in the shovel properly. Once again, Ark had dug a tunnel from Tori’s junkyard to the federal machine as well as the frozen ground on Beltana so his Dig skill had reached intermediate level. But Milan hadn’t formed the skill yet! Mt. Fargo was covered in rocks so the difficulty was too high for a beginner. It wasn’t good enough. The exploration had begun but there was no security that other users wouldn’t find the ruins. And hundreds of users were exploring Mt. Fargo and there was no guarantee he could find it. He needed to dig in order to find the ruins! It wasn’t the time to be playing around.
‘Dammit, I’m really suffering!’
“Just give it to me!”
In the end Ark couldn’t stand it anymore and took back the shovel. And once again dig! Dig! Dig!
‘Damn, wherever I go I can’t escape from digging.’
-‘Dig’ has gained 1 experience.
-‘Dig’ has gained 1 experience…..
The messages that appeared once in a while were the only consolation.
“Hyung-nim, there is a response here!”
“I know!”
Ark cursed and wielded the shovel.
———————————————————
“Eh? What’s this?”
“Why are there holes all over the mountain?”
“There weren’t any yesterday. What the hell happened?”
The users looked at Mt. Fargo and muttered noisily. The appearance of Mt. Fargo had changed in one day. Originally Mt. Fargo had several caves running through it. But that had increased to over 100 in just one day. Of course, the number of caves hadn’t increased. The new pits were only 1~2 metres at most. The new holes looked diff
erent. This phenomenon was so mysterious that it stimulated the users’ curiosity.
“UFO! A UFO must’ve made the holes!”
“Don’t be silly. Why would there be UFO’s in the space pioneering age?”
“It’s probably caused be the foundation sinking down. There aren’t a lot of mountains in this cave. Please players use their guns and explosives on monsters in the cave so it is naturally for sinkholes to happen.”
“Doesn’t that mean the caves might also collapse?”
“That’s not it.”
Just as the users were thinking anxiously. One person stepped forward and said.
“It is because of a person. I saw it yesterday. Someone was carrying a shovel and digging at the land.”
“What? Then that person dug all the holes? Why?”
“Isn’t it clear? He thinks the gallstones are buried in the ground and is going around randomly digging.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Yes, who would dig blindly even if items could be found? Besides, how can anyone create 100 holes in a day?”
“Isn’t that person really stupid?”
The users kept on buzzing noisily.
‘That stupid fellow is here!’
One user was angrily glaring at the back of their head. He was the one who dug holes in Mt. Fargo, Ark.
‘I have to find the ruins before others do!
This obsession was how he managed to dig 100 holes in one day. In fact, Ark hadn’t expected a lot. The ruins were very likely hidden somewhere in the cave. However, he couldn’t conclusively state that. The caves were also the aim of the users looking for gallstones. If the ruins hadn’t been found yet then he couldn’t ignore the possibility that it was hidden somewhere outside. Looking outside took less time than searching the complicated caves where monsters swarmed. Therefore he started his search outside first. But the result was a total failure. He spent one day digging and hadn’t found anything. Although that didn’t mean he got nothing.
-The rating of the skill ‘Dig (Common Occupation ☆) has increased!
Dig (Master, Active): you have become a master at techniques using the shovel. You have mastered that tricks that will allow you to easily dig through solid, frozen ground or stone gravel. The callouses on your palm also proves what a wonderful worker you are.
