by Yoo Seong
This was the real purpose of the sale package. The packages sold like hot cakes. The 500 pioneers already in S-20 purchased the package immediately and the new users who arrived also bought it without any hesitation. It was rapid progress! S-20 quickly regained its previous energy. It wasn’t just S-20 that grew over time. The users who bought the lifetime pass killed the Thanatos in the upper layer!
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
Meanwhile 11 people were digging in the darkness.
“Pant pant pant, how many days have passed?”
“Damn, how would I know? I haven’t seen the sunlight you know.”
The Royal Guards had been digging for a fortnight now! However their state was actually better now than when they first came in. There was no choice. They had become accustomed to it. Eat breakfast, dig, eat lunch, dig, dig dig! They had spent the last fortnight only digging…..
-You have experienced the profound sense of ‘Dig’ and the skill proficiency has increased to Lv. 2!
This message appeared x11! Finally their Dig skill had increased! All members had reached intermediate level in Dig. This meant they could dig much faster while consuming less stamina.
“We don’t have to worry about dying anymore.”
“I agree. At first I thought it was worse than the Silver Hand’s training but now I’ve got used to it. It turns out I can adapt to digging.”
“Besides, digging isn’t as bad as I thought.”
“That’s right. Take a look at this. Do you see my muscles here? Huhuhu, isn’t it wonderful? These muscles are a result of the labour.”
They had time to chat while digging.
“Frankly, I was quite resentful when Hyung-nim first made us start digging. We had finally met after all that suffering and then he made us do this. But like Hyung-nim said, S-20 is our home now. If we don’t work then who will?”
“Yes, sometimes a leader needs to make harsh commands.”
“Our way of thinking was too short. We can’t compare Hyung-nim to the evil Silver Hand.”
They were still unaware. The Silver Hand were only following the training program Ark gave them. Anyway, their appreciation for Ark once again rose! Of course, this was due to Ark’s brainwashing of ‘S-20 and our future.’ At any rate, they continued working while having the wrong impression of Ark. Their growth wasn’t just in digging.
“That’s it! We’ve pierced through here as well!”
Kukung!
The members cleared out the dirt and revealed a cave. Then several pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness. They were the Thanatos that appeared in Mt. Fargo’s dungeon! The regeneration limit of the dungeon used to be 2~3 monsters at once. However as many as 5 were gathered. And the members were working in the intermediate layer. The Thanatos here were level 140~150.
“Sheesh, this place is also infested. They’re like cockroaches……”
But there was no tension in the faces of the Royal Guards. They had already swept the level 100 Thanatos in the upper level and came down to the middle. And they had spent 10 days in the intermediate level. Now they had no difficulty cleaning up the Thanatos. That’s because the crowd of Thanatos also raised their levels. And there were 11 of them. Now the Thanatos were just like cleaning up cockroaches!
“Let’s take care of them quickly and move to the next place.”
Mellin took out a machine gun while the other members armed themselves with hammers or swords.
“Electromagnetic Hammer!”
“Speaker!”
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
And they started earnestly eradicating the pests! The repetition of this situation meant the Royal Guards in their 60’s could reach level 70 within a fortnight.
-Mellin has acquired a Gallstone (Intermediate).
“Isn’t this good?”
Gallstones would also fall occasionally.
“Now we’re finished! Shall we go if we don’t want to be stuck in the dungeon forever?”
They once again took up their shovels and crossed the dungeon. Meanwhile a man was watching them with warm eyes.
“I don’t have to worry about them for the moment.”
It was Ark.
“The sector is rapidly growing and the members are working fine so I don’t need to meddle. I can concentrate on my own work.”
While all of this was going on, Ark hadn’t just been playing around. Ark focused on growing the sector, encouraging the Royal Guards in the dungeon, helping Shein with construction and managing the pioneers. However Ark had other challenges remaining. He spent all of his free time on the tasks he hadn’t completed yet.
“But in the meantime I’ve learnt quite a few things. This time…..!”
Ark clenched his fists and turned his body.
Susususu.
A blue light wound around his body. It started from the bottom and the swirling speed started to gradually increase as it reached the top of his head. Then it changed into an intense white light and was sucked into his head. That process repeated a few times until all of the blue light was converted to white. Finally the light surrounding his body was completely white.
-You have succeeded in the Elim’s Heart Force conversion!
Character Information
“That’s it!”
Ark shouted with flashing eyes. He had converted all his mental power and mana into force. He had been honing Elim’s Heart Force until he could switch all of his mana and mental power into force. Of course, this wasn’t Ark’s challenge. It was just the transition time into force. This was all preparation for his task.
–Are you ready now?
Ark heard a distant voice. The voice came from a sphere of light in the centre while stone statues were lined up on either side. This was the Elim’s Sanctuary that had been sealed off for hundreds of years. Ark looked at the light orb and nodded.
“Yes, I am ready.”
–Is this your fifth time?
“This is going to be the last.”
–I hope so as well. I don’t want to see the pathetic form of the successor I have been waiting hundreds of years for anymore. But I don’t want to see you die so you can call for help at any time.
“That will never happen.”
–I’ll believe it when I see it.
The light orb moved to the other end of the sanctuary. Then a passageway opened and two warriors appeared. This place was the successor’s training centre. Ark had actually known this place existed when he was flying back to Tatuine with Marquis Martin. After receiving the Athamas quest, he had opened Xanax’s ship log. Page 3 was sealed! The seal was released after he became Elim’s Heir but he hadn’t read it yet. He thought Xanax would’ve recorded the location of the Divine Artefacts or skills on it. Ark quickly opened the log book page on his Nymphe. But in contrast to what he expected, the information on page 3 was just a single line.
–Begin from the training centre.
He learnt the meaning of those words when he came back to the sanctuary.
–Training centre? Yes, that is here. That is the place where the Elim trained in the basics of swordplay. What? Xanax wrote that in his journal? Well, speaking of that…..I remember. Xanax entered the training centre the last time he came here. I thought he was just reminding himself of his original intention before leaving for a long trip. But he might’ve left something for his successor who would come one day. That means you can’t receive it until you pass the training centre.
Pass the training centre! This was cumbersome for Ark.
‘I have to pass this as well?’
Ark headed to the training centre straight away! And he had been on the verge of dying when he was warped away by the light orb. He challenged it 4 more times but it was a crushing defeat! It wasn’t a problem with his level. No, levels didn’t matter in the training centre.
-A mysterious power has triggered the balancing levels effect.
In addition, any weapon except for ‘Heir’s Sword’ can’t be used here>
Ark felt a sinking feeling at the message that appeared when he stepped into the training centre. Level equalization was fixed to level 50! The degree of difficulty would be the same even if he was level 999. That meant the user required combat skills in the training centre! It was more pitiable than that. Ark had confidence that he wouldn’t be pushed by normal users in a 1 on 1 fight. While his battle with Valencia was quite close, he had been pushed by the Red Slaughterer because of his level not his skills. Nevertheless, he lost 5 out of 5 times. He couldn’t even pass the place called the basic training centre. It was frustrating at first. However that idea soon changed.
‘I started regaining my combat sense from New World after fighting Valencia. But it isn’t like that. His senses felt even better after fighting the Red Slaughterer. That means my senses are still rusty and I haven’t regained everything. No, I can’t be satisfied if I couldn’t defeat the Red Slaughterer. I….need to become stronger than that!’
The devastating self-criticism! There was no future for those who don’t self-reflect. He started practicing the taekwondo exercises that he had been neglecting since New World. In the past he had no trouble kicking while standing on one foot but now he was unsteady. He once again realized how rusty he was. That was the problem. Ark had regained some of his previous combat senses. However, that feeling meant nothing if his body couldn’t follow along.
‘This is igniting the oil in my stomach!’
Fire burned inside Ark and he started exercising. He got up early at dawn to begin jogging and then started his taekwondo exercises. It also awoke the feeling of when he practiced swordplay in the past. The training affected the game. The hell training that the Royal Guards went through! Ark also started a training program for his body. So after a fortnight!
‘I can do it! No, I will do it!’
Ark lifted his blue lightsaber.
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
Three troopers emerged from the darkness. At the same time, bullets started to rain all over the place. The troopers were holograms but he still felt pain from the bullets and his health was still reduced. But it was the movement of the troopers that was more threatening. The 3 people moved in unison and cornered Ark. When he entered the first time, he had become riddled with bullets.
‘This time it will be different!’
Ark rotated his body like a spin top while swinging his sword. The sword sparkled and bullets scattered all over the place. It was Sword Defense that he learnt in Athamas! He used the special quality of the lightsaber to change the trajectory of the bullets. While dealing with the troopers in the training centre, he realized that Sword Defense wasn’t as simple as he thought. The orbit of a projectile could be changed! In other words…..
Ping! Ping! Ping!
A bullet that Ark deflected penetrated a trooper on the opposite side. It meant he could change the trajectory in the direction that he desired!
‘Sword Defense can be used for attack and defense!’
Ark narrowed the distance and attacked the trooper that had stumbled. The light carved over the body in a complex pattern and the trooper feel down.
“One down! Shield Emission!”
Ark shouted as he lifted the shield. Then the shield broke into pieces and attacked the troopers. The fallen trooper disappeared into particles of light. The situation turned from 3 against 1 to 2 against 1! The decreased number of bullets meant it was easier for him to move. He took care of the rest one by one until the two troopers had dissolved. But Ark didn’t lose his tension.
‘Now is the real start!’
When the troopers disappeared, 3 people holding lightsabers showed up. It was a mistake to think that opponents with a sword were easier than those with a gun. If those were real bullets then he would die but this was a game. It wouldn’t make a difference if they were level 100 unless they dealt a deadly blow. That’s why skill could overpower the troopers. Ark proved it with the troopers just now. It meant warriors were the next checkpoint.
Wiing! Wiing! Wiing!
The lightsabers headed towards him from three different directions! There were no gaps while they were attacking and they immediately changed to a defense stance afterwards. Therefore one technique was a must.
“Defense Break!”
A vortex poured out from Ark’s sword. The attackers quickly retreated in a defense posture but they collapsed the moment the vortex hit them. Defense Break was a technique to deal with the opponent’s defense stance! His sword penetrated their chest. Ark clung tenaciously to them like a wolf’s fang was in the enemy’s neck and the attacker eventually disassembled into particles of light. Once 1 person was dealt with, the remaining 2 became disorganized.
“Sonic Sword! Defense Break!”
Ark relentlessly attacked over and over again. The light continuously crossed through the darkness. The result was that the remaining 2 turned into particles of light. It had been 10 minutes since he entered the training centre. He was breathing harshly from not being able to rest. And……Ark finally reached the last checkpoint. Then 3 more warriors appeared from the light! They were fights holding a lightsaber in one hand and a gun in the other. Troopers had emerged at the 1st checkpoint. And warriors holding swords were at checkpoint 2. Now even more difficult warriors had appeared at the 3rd checkpoint. The fighters were difficult opponents.
Wiing! Tutung! Wiing! Tutung!
If he avoided the bullets then he was hit by the sword, if he avoided the sword then he was hit by a bullet! There was no time to think with the 3 fighters attacking.
‘No, I can’t think! From now on it is instinct! I have no choice but to believe in my instincts!’
Ark realized this after being defeated 3 times. He had to attack without thinking. If he started to think then he would respond too slowly. So he was better off not thinking. He entrusted his body to his senses.
‘There is no way back. If I can’t win then I’ll die.’
Ark ignited his fighting spirit after he was pushed into a tight corner. This was different from fear. It was a manifestation of his will! All the nerves in his body started to become extremely sensitive. He stopped thinking. There was no need to think. He had fought them 3 times already. His body knew what to do before his head. His body flowed naturally and his sword reached his destination. It was faster than he could think!
Jajang!
The sound was of sword hitting flesh. His sword had used the exact timing to hit the vital spot!
“Galaxy Sword!”
At the same time, Ark’s sword stretched out like a fan. And the fan of swords struck the fighters. Ark narrowed the distance and struck the shaken fighter. He used Defense Break, Sonic Sword and then Galaxy Sword! The fighter that was hit with the continuous attacks changed into light particles. The initiative had returned to Ark.
‘I see it! I can see the movement of the fighters!’
His confidence surged upwards! That confidence made Ark’s sword even sharper. He also had the timing of their gunfire. Ark’s body moved before they even pulled the trigger and the bullet missed him by a large margin. His lightsaber moved before the bullet even hit the wall on the other side. And finally!
-Critical hit!
Snap! Pajijijik!
The lightsaber penetrated the neck of the fighter and it disappeared.
“Pant pant pant! Pant pant pant!”
Ark breathed in harshly and flopped down. Sweat seemed to flow from all the pores in his body. However his mind was surprisingly clear.
“I-I did it! I finally passed the 3rd stage!”
Delight surged inside his body. It he passed easily then he wouldn’t feel the pleasure of winning. Ark could only celebrate such a victory after the darkness. Then a light soared up from a pyramid in the centre. Then a helmet
appeared from it! It looked like the helmet the Spartans would wear a long time ago.
“Don’t tell me this is…..?”
An information window popped up when Ark grabbed the helmet.
-Elim’s Helmet (Unique)
Item Type: Helmet Wearer Restriction: Elim’s Heir
Defense: 35 Durability: 100/100
A helmet handed down to the Elim.
The Elim were mighty presences with a strong mentality that wouldn’t yield to any temptation while protecting the galaxy. This helmet was created by the Murat using ancient techniques in order to raise the Elim’s mentality even more.
When wearing this helmet, you will gain strong resistance to evil powers and it will be easier to switch to force. In addition, this helmet is equipped with a vast database that can automatically record battle scenes for analysis.
Special Option (Battlefield Memory): When a battle is recorded on the helmet, you can return to that battle and fight it again.
A unique helmet! Immunity to mental energy +50%……he had never fought against an Esper properly but he was sure it would have a huge effect. Force recovery rate also increased by 50%. But the even more significant thing was that this helmet was left by Xanax for his successor.
“Then perhaps?”
Ark wore the helmet. A black fog appeared in front of him and hazy images were shown. The image stored in the helmet, probably by Xanax, was of many planets in a constant orbit. They weren’t really planets. The planet shaped objects were moving around according to Ark’s hand. This was Xanax’s power. But Ark felt like he was the one moving the objects. It was like invisible strings were attached from his fingers to the objects. The objects moved according to the movement of Ark’s hand. After a while.
-A new skill (Occupation Restricted ☆☆☆) has been learnt.
Psychokinesis (User, Active): You have gained the helmet left to you by Xanax after passing the training centre. After wearing Elim’s Helmet, you were able to catch a glimpse of Xanax’s power. One of the most basic uses of force is telekinesis techniques.
