by Yoo Seong
“This engine has been enclosed in iron mold for hundreds of years. The inside has partially eroded and there are some major areas that don’t work properly. Some parts of the engine need repair.”
“So? Can you fix it?”
“It is possible with the emergency repair kit but the problem is that it will take some time.”
“How long will it take?”
“I think it should take at least one week.”
Tori hesitated before replying. He thought he had escaped from Amara and now he had to wait a week so it was frustrating. He had left a lot of work behind in S-20. He left Mellin and Hegel in charge but they weren’t professional NPCs so he couldn’t help worrying. But what could he do? He needed the Silver Star’s warp feature to return to Istana. Even if there was another way, he wouldn’t give up the Silver Star just for a faster trip.
‘This is the ship that I obtained for free.’
That was Ark’s main thought.
“It can’t be helped. Then do it meticulously. Should I do anything to help?”
“You can help.”
Tori replied like he had been waiting for the question.
“Actually, the more serious problem is the exterior of the ship. The iron mold is attached to external devices like the antenna and particle accelerator so it won’t work properly. I will repair the internal parts while Hyung-nim will remove the iron mold from the outer hull.”
“Outside? In space?”
“Hyung-nim just got this ship and now you can experience space personally.”
“Indeed.”
Ark accepted Tori’s suggestion. Of course, humans couldn’t enter the universe even with the body coating. There was no atmosphere or air in space. The temperature also decreased the further it was from a sun so outside was -270 degrees or absolute zero point. Therefore even pioneers who received a body coating needed to wear space suits!
-External Work Space Suit (Special)
Item Type: Special Overalls for Space
Sometimes problems will occur on a ship where working outside is required so a space suit should be worn. This space suit is made of a special synthetic fibre that forms a shield around the body to protect it from air pressure and temperature changes. It is also equipped with a small jet to allow you to deal with emergency situations. But in order to prevent space sickness, it’s recommended to work for 30 minutes and rest for 1 hour.
There were several space suits in the cabin of the Silver Star. But it wasn’t a large space suit like in the movies. The pioneers in this era all received body coatings so they didn’t need the huge space suit like previous generations. It felt like dressing in plastic clothes.
“Hah, isn’t this exciting?”
This was the first time Ark appreciated the universe. He felt a sense of weightlessness that he never encountered anywhere else. Stars continuously appeared around his arms and legs as he floated around. It literally felt like he was floating in the universe! However he didn’t come out here to play.
“This feeling is fun but it is actually hard to move.”
Ark muttered as he set one foot on the hull of the Silver Star. The weightlessness made it hard for him to move his legs. But Ark quickly solved the problem.
“Walking in space is like walking on earth when my balance is disturbed. Then it wasn’t necessary to keep his foot on the hull. I just need to distribute my weight.”
Ark already knew a method of walking like this. It was the Swamp Walking he learnt from the Charenjok!
Susususuk, susususuk.
As expected, his centre didn’t become unbalanced once he used Swamp Walking. It could be used on swamp, snow and now in space! The skill could be used in quite a few places. After a few hours, Ark got used to the movement and started cleaning in earnest.
“There really is a lot stuck on here.”
The ship had been closed in iron mold for hundreds of years. There were small and large chunks of iron mold attached to the hull. It might look like a daunting task for one week but…..Ark was an expert in this area.
“Now shall I get started? Facilities Maintenance!”
It was Facilities Maintenance that he learnt cleaning the pipes in R-14! The name was Facilities Maintenance but it involved scrubbing and cleaning skills. It was also Lv. 2! Ark took out a dust cloth and triggered the Lv. 2 Facilities Maintenance skill.
Susak susak, susak susak. Flash!
Light gleamed from the hull as iron mold was cleaned off it. It was like washing a new car. Once the iron mold was cleaned off, the ship became increasingly silver like its name.
“Yes, isn’t this more worthy of being my spacecraft?”
He had a lot left to do. But it wasn’t like there were no valuable parts. The Silver Star was already Ark’s. Ark took a rest for 1 hour after every 30 minutes. During that time he explored the Silver Star. The Silver Star was a 100 metres large battleship with the bridge, cockpit, engine room and 10 different rooms. However Ark could only check three places.
-Cabin-
A place where soldiers can take a rest.
If you relax in here than your health will recover 4 times faster. And if you rest for 6 hours then it is possible to get a buff effect. In addition, if you log out of the cabin then you can get a buff effect when you connect again.
-Warehouse-
This can hold a variety of weapons, ammo, supplies and loot obtained from space exploration.
-Infirmary-
A place to treat unexpected accidents or sailors injured in battle.
The universe contains numerous risks. Threats of an enemy or unknown diseases are some of those risks. The infirmary is necessary to cope with such problems. There is an x1.5 bonus when using recovery ampoules in here. You can also use the medical devices to figure out the cause and cure of unknown diseases.
Ark had confirmed these 3 rooms. 4 out of the remaining 7 were empty and the door for 3 wouldn’t open.
“I’m not sure why it is like this.”
Tori replied. However Ark could guess the reason. The reason why Ark hadn’t bought a ship wasn’t because of a lack of interest. There were many reasons but the largest one was money! As always, the problem was funding. A small ship usually cost 10,000 gold! Until recently Ark had been busy raising the agent registration fee. In fact, most of the current ships belonged to guilds who gathered their funds together. But Ark had been thinking about buying a ship one day. So he spent some time looking at ships and found that there were some facilities that couldn’t be used when the owner’s level was low.
‘Those are probably the rooms that won’t open.’
Of course this was just Ark’s guess. He had no intention of forcibly opening it. It might cause problems when there were already issues with the Silver Star. He had to be careful right now. He could try to force it open once he had safely returned to Istana. Anyway!
Ark found beneficial ways to spend his time. But that all changed once he spend 96 hours in space. At first he thought space was wonderful but now he felt motion sickness. Even more…..
Susak susak, susak susak.
Ark had spent 4 days cleaning. Work for 30 minutes, 1 hour break, 30 minutes working, 1 hour break……the work was boring now that he repeated it so many times. The problem was that he still had 3 days left to wait.
“I’d rather be doing something else, anything is good.”
It was right then.
Syuuuuuuu!
Suddenly he heard the sound of the wind in his ears. Complete silence. Normally the universe was completely silent. So Ark thought aloud in order to make noise. It really felt like he had lost his spirit while cleaning the iron mold. Then why was there suddenly a wind sound?
“Am I really hearing this?”
Ark looked around with a bewildere
d expression.
Tong-!
Something invisible hit Ark. The impact felt like a truck had crushed into him. Ark bounced back 100 metres before stopping. It was thanks to the wire attaching him to the Silver Star. But Ark couldn’t move one finger. An immense power kept on hitting Ark.
“Ugh, Tori! Tori! What is this? Answer me!”
-Hyung-nim, are you alright?
“Damn, do you think I’m okay? What is this?”
–It is probably the freezing cosmic wind.
“Cosmic wind?”
–Yes, there are times when an electromagnetic storm will rage in space. But don’t worry, it will sweep past. You’re attached to the wire so you just need to wait until the storm passes.
‘Damn, this guy’s mouth……’
He hadn’t experienced even 1 minute in this storm! There was a saying to be careful in space. Luckily the wire was attached or else he would be lost in space. But just before he sighed with relief.
Piping!
There was the sound of wire being released from its hole.
“U-unbelievable! T-the wire…..”
At the same time, Ark started to drift away from the Silver Star. He rotated uncontrollably like a broken kite as he was battered by the storm. This occurred for a bit before the storm vanished as suddenly as it appeared. However Ark was still rotating and drifting away.
Struggle, struggle.
The Silver Star was receding further into the distance. Ark sighed with relief. Fortunately he could still see the Silver Star. It was incredible far away but it wouldn’t be a problem if he turned in the right direction and used the space suit’s jet. Ark activated the jet device.
-There isn’t enough energy to operate the jet device!
“Dammit, there really are various problems.”
Ark muttered with an annoyed expression. Things always became twisted for him. But Ark still didn’t worry about it.
“Tori, reply. Tori, hey! What are you doing?”
That was when Ark became serious.
“Why aren’t you replying? Perhaps communication doesn’t work when I’m this far? This is serious. If Tori doesn’t know my position…..no! What will happen to the Silver Star if I die? Absolutely not! I can’t die in space. I need to find a way to return to the Silver Star!”
No matter how he struggled, he just ended up rotating in place. Then something popped into Ark’s head.
‘Yes, there is that!’
“Armour armament!”
Ark immediately pulled out his battle suit. He turned his body towards the Silver Star and shouted.
“Hyper Booster!”
It was the newly acquired skill that he received when his battle suit evolved! Jets appeared on the heels of his feet. Flames spewed out and Ark’s body shot forward like a projectile. It was an accelerating skill that allowed him to move 100 metres at 200 km/hr. In space there was no air resistance so he flew a few kilometres with just one use.
“Hyper Booster! Hyper Booster!”
Ark used the skill 10 times and managed to return to the Silver Star. And he grabbed the handle of the outside door.
-A new skill (☆) has been learnt.
Spacewalk (User, Active): Space is a completely different world from the planets you’ve experienced up to now. Strength and agility is important on planets but in space you need spatial perception and parallel abilities. This skill gives you the ability to take advantage of your power in space. Any outstanding warrior who doesn’t understand the nature of space won’t be able to exert any strength. A true pioneer needs to learn Spacewalk.
A skill appeared out of nowhere! However Ark couldn’t afford to look at the information window. His heart was still racing from the experience of being in space without any equipment. Fortunately he used the booster to come back but recalling the situation caused him to breathe faster with panic. He entered the Silver Star and sat down for a bit to alleviate that fear.
“Phew, that was like having acrophobia. If I couldn’t return then I might’ve become frightened of space.”
Ark wiped the sweat off his chest and head.
“Hihihihi, I’m finally free!”
He heard Tori’s laughter.
“Hihihi, I did well to spend some time here. That Ark bastard. How long did you think I would be your slave? You might’ve forgotten but I’m a hamster who explored the universe before. That cosmic wind really had great timing. I disconnected the wire and removed the fuel for the jet device and now Ark is lost in space! Hihihihi, I don’t feel bad. This is his fault for annoying me. And he is a pioneer so dying isn’t a big deal.”
All his questions were answered in that moment. Why it took a week to repair the Silver Star, why the wire broke during the cosmic wind and why he couldn’t get a response from Tori.
“Tori, it’s me. Over.”
Ark changed the Nymphe to communication mode and said. Ark’s voice flowed from Tori’s Nymphe who giggled. He just whistled and laughed like he had no interest.
“Hihihihi, what a stupid guy. He still doesn’t understand the situation? It is no use calling me. Stop making noise and just die.”
–Are you still now answering me?
“Ha! He’s still trying to threaten me? With just words? Go to hell.”
-Let’s see, who will be the one who goes to hell?
“Eh? What? Is my Nymphe in transmission mode? How did he hear me?”
–Turn around and you’ll understand.
“What?”
Tori frowned and turned his head.And…..blood drained from his face as he stiffened.
–Now answer me. What should I do to you?
Ark spoke into his Nymphe from behind Tori.
————————————————————
“Now, let’s clean this up.”
Ark tinkered with his Nymphe and said.
“You will always obey me. Follow without me giving you a command. And execute my orders without any complaints. This isn’t by force but through the request of the applicant Tori. Is that right?”
Nod nod.
“What? You don’t agree with me words?”
Tori frantically spoke after seeing Ark’s frown.
“Ah, no. I agree with everything!”
“Was that so hard to say?”
“No.”
Tori robotically answered. Tori had used the cosmic wind to abandon Ark. That cunning fellow planned a coup and this was the price Tori received. Merciless violence for 5 hours! XX, OO, even △△……the violence was so dreadful it couldn’t be expressed in words and had to be covered by a mosaic.
‘I’m still not satisfied!’
Ark didn’t stop there. He had almost become lost in space and died. Furthermore, that guy had been planning to seize the Silver Star over the last few days. He didn’t know what that hamster would do in the future. Even beating him for 4 days and 3 nights would be insufficient. Because after that Tori had the excuse of distance. Tori still hadn’t completed his prison sentence on Stael. He would inevitably become a prisoner again if he returned to Istana with Ark. That’s why he tried to betray Ark.
……That was Tori’s explanation.
His explaining was to lessen the punishment but Ark found the reason convincing. Therefore he significantly cut the punishment to only 5 hours. Of course there were some conditions.
“I didn’t think of that problem. But you gave intelligence to Irina so you won’t be treated as a runaway. Well, that was the Katz’ trap. Irina-nim should explain the situation. Hopefully you might receive a probation. I’ll also use my connections to help. But you conspired to kill me and steal the Silver Star.”
“That….I…..please forgive me.”
“Okay. I’ll forget about the past few days. But you have two options. Either spend 10 years paying for your sins by obeying all my commands. Or pay for all your sins right now. The punishment for your sins…..I
’ll leave that to your imagination.”
Tori wasn’t worried. Because he didn’t need to imagine it.
“The first one! The first! I will listen to you!”
That was how they formed a contract.
It was recorded on the Nymphe that Tori voluntarily (?) formed a contract. Now the Silver Star just needed to be repaired so they could return to Istana.
“Tori, how much longer is needed for repairs?”
“12 hours…..”
“Make it 8 hours. Finish repairing it before then.”
“B-but…..”
“I will finish cleaning the external hull in 7~8 hours. If you can’t finish the repairs by then, it might be better to throw yourself out into space. Do you understand?”
Tori didn’t need to think about it. His mosaic body jumped up and ran to the engine room. When Ark finished cleaning in 8 hours, Tori were waiting for him.
“The repairs are finished!”
As expected, his work ethic changed once Ark used a different method. Ark took the captain seat on the bridge and gave the order.
“Okay. Start the Silver Star’s navigation device, the target is Istana. Depart!”
“Yes!”
Tori sat down in the cockpit and busily started using the dashboard. He finally pressed a red button and the Silver Star changed into a flash of light. Towards the centre of the galactic federation, Istana!
Space 7
Pioneer Quest
Kwajijiji! Kwajijiji!
Sparks occurred in outer space. The sparks started swirling and formed a ring. The space rippled and a spaceship emerged from the centre. The spaceship with a gleaming silver body was the Silver Star.
“Istana……”
Ark looked out the window at the giant planet below him. The planet was a mixture of green, brown and blue and it was humanity’s second home. It had been 24 hours since he warped from the Harmadon constellation. The Silver Star carried Ark and Tori thousands of light years and finally arrived at Istana.
‘That warp voyage wasn’t so bad.’
He had originally thought of warp travel like a Star Gate. However warp travel on a spaceship wasn’t so comfortable. Warp travel artificially created a wormhole to another dimension where the ship would travel faster. Unlike transport ships that had regular routes, it could be dangerous for a private ship to use warp. The wormhole could travel through the wrong place, the hull could be severely damaged by an electromagnetic cloud or in rare cases there might be monsters wandering. But this trip was relatively smooth.
