by Yoo Seong
This was the reason for the sudden armistice. If the galaxy was threatened then the galactic federation, Aschulat and Rama would all be affected. However both sides couldn’t overlook the issues between them. They decided to temporarily stop the war and agreed to figure out information about this event first.
“But how is it related to me?”
“This magic circle…..I don’t want to use that term but I have nothing else to call it. Anyway, the place where the magic circle was created was the Harmadon constellation. Red rays shot up from 5 planets in the constellation and formed the magic circle. How about it? Do you have an idea now?”
“The red light…..”
The memory naturally formed in his head. It was the disc in the mine that shot up the red light!
“You seem to remember. I received the report from Colonel Buldio and learnt about the situation. My guess is that the red light you and Ensign Irina witnessed was one of the ones that formed the magic circle. In other words, you guys are the only one I know who was in range to witness the magic circle being made. Oh and 1 hamster as well.”
Marquis Martin looked directly at Tori after his words ended. It was a look that asked if he knew anything else about the magic circle. But Tori shook his head.
“As expected the galactic federation, Rama and Aschulat are all interested in this phenomenon. I don’t know what the impact will be on the galaxy but I don’t want the Aschulat or Rama to figure out the information first. That’s why I was able to easily accept Buldio’s proposal regarding the hamster.”
“What do you mean?”
“The areas that changed due to the incident are all on the frontier. And the special treaty prohibits the military actions of all 3 forces in that region. Of course we can dispatch secret agents but the military can’t move. Therefore the Rama, Aschulat and federation have decided to mobilize agents. All agents belonging to the galactic federation will be requested to investigate the incident. Naturally that would include your agent Dark Eden.”
An information window popped up at Marquis Martin’s words.
-
You have listened Marquis Martin, a powerful noble of the federation explain about the incident that changed the galaxy. The changed occurred with the appearance of the magic circle that emitted a large amount of negative energy. The federation, Aschulat and Rama have felt the crisis and stop the war in the Bellin constellation to investigate. However, these changes occurred in the space frontier and all three powers are prohibited from interfering there due to the space treaty. That’s why they are mobilizing agents. The first pioneer to discover the facts behind this incident will have their reputation spread throughout the whole galaxy.
* Achievement Rate: 0/100%
Difficulty: A+
Pioneer quest. This was a main quest in Galaxian.
“Like I said, you are one of the few people who witnessed that scene. Ensign Irina is the personally assigned by the galactic federation for the same reason. The federation is an existence separate to the agent but you two can cooperate if the need arises. If the Katz who escaped from Stael are involved in the red light then this will be an extension of the mission to catch them. Therefore we need Tori on the mission even if it is under false pretences.”
This was the reason why Irina accepted the shortcut.
“But I’m now……”
“I know. The administrator of a new sector has a lot of work to do. I’m not telling you to fly back to Harmadon right away. My gut feeling says that this won’t have a simple solution. It is probably something that would require a lot of time. Ensign Irina will need to gather the federation agents so it doesn’t matter if you have a slow start. Because this is a request that can change the entire galaxy. It is more important to determine how to solve the problem rather than moving first.”
“Understood.”
“And……the other reason I wanted to talk to you was to give you a warning.”
Marquis Martin opened his mouth again.
“I told you this when giving you the rights to S-20. Currently my relationship with the Minister of Domestic Affairs Jyubel isn’t that good. Jyubel doesn’t like the fact that I gave S-20 to you. I’ve received information that he is secretly in contact with the Laius company regarding S-20.”
“Regarding S-20? Why?”
“I don’t know either. But originally the Laius company had permission to set up a research centre at Mt. Fargo. If Jyubel is contacting them regarding S-20 then it probably isn’t good for you.”
This was certainly unwelcome news. Now there was a twist in the sector that he tried so hard to grow! If a Marquis with the same power as Marquis Martin was involved then this situation was serious.
“If Laius and Jyubel join forces then it will be tough. There is no guarantee that will happen but it will be good if you are vigilant. If I learn anything else then I will inform you immediately. Because I’m also responsible for S-20.”
“Thank you.”
Ark bowed with a humble expression. The relationship with Marquis Martin hadn’t started off that great but he had been a strong supporter through many events.
“That is it from me. You can leave now.”
Ark exited the meeting room.
“Sob, Hyung-nim, thank you!”
Tori tearfully said as he also came out of the meeting room.
“Don’t be thankful. This is part of my contract with you. Do you understand? If you ever try anything……”
“T-that will never happen.”
“Okay. I’ll believe you. But this is your last chance.”
Ark was walking down the corridor with Tori when he stopped. Irina who he thought had left long ago was leaning against the wall. Ark was confused by the unexpected situation and asked.
“Irina-nim? Why are you still here?”
“I forgot something.”
“Forgot something?”
“……Thank you for rescuing me.”
Irina hesitated before saying in a small voice. Irina looked down with a bashful expression. His heart that was back to normal after the conversation with Marquis Martin started rising again.
“Ah no, that……”
“Hyung-nim, I’ll go first.”
The astute Tori quickly escaped. This was something praiseworthy about him. But the atmosphere became more awkward once Tori left. Ark and Irina stood there awkwardly for a while without saying much.
“That reminds me, this is the second time I need to say thank you.”
“Huh? Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“Did you accept Marquis Martin’s quest to investigate the magic circle?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. I received it.”
“Indeed.”
And then silence again.
‘Damn! What is this? Stupid child, you normally talk so well so why can’t you speak now?’
Ark felt like cursing because of the awkward atmosphere.
“I will team up with Camel again to go to the space frontier. I’ll contact Marquis Martin who will pass onto you my information.”
Irina said before turning away.
“W-wait a minute!”
Ark raised his head and exclaimed. This opportunity wasn’t common. Ark had this thought and called out to her. But Ark’s mouth ended up stuttering his idea.
“T-there is…..would you like to eat dinner with me on the outside? No, that is…..it isn’t a selfish thing…..”
“Isn’t it?”
Irina paused and asked. Ark sighed as their eyes met and said.
“I’m sorry. I mean…..it is selfish.”
‘Stupid! A date will a girl out of your league……’
He started cursing himself in his head.
“I’ll get in touch.”
“Huh?”
Ark’s head shot up. And he asked with a stunned look.
“What did you say just now?”
“It is busy in game so it will be easier to meet on the outside. I’
ll get in touch with Ark-nim and will inform you of my schedule. We will make an appointment then.”
“R-really? Really?
“Colonel Buldio is waiting so I’ll go first.”
Irina smiled and tapped something into Ark’s Nymphe.
-Irina-nim’s recognition code (R-02007) has been stored in your Nymphe.
That message popped up! The recognition code was different from knowing the name. It meant they could whisper or if they were thousands of light years away then they could send mail. In other words, he could contact her with it!
‘It feels like I’ve crashed into something!’
Ark was unsteady after being given her number (?). However Ark’s good mood only lasted 1 minute before plummeting.
“Ah, you must be Ark-nim. I’ve followed Marquis Martin’s instructions and registered your spacecraft with the galactic federation. Now you can access any area under the jurisdiction of the federation. Here are the related documents. Ark-nim just needs to sign here.”
Bonan extended a form.
Ship Owner: Ark
Registered Ship: Medium- 3rd grade (Battleship)
Acquisition Tax: 500 gold
Environmental Charge: 100 gold
Registration Fee: 200 gold
Compulsory Insurance: 200 gold
━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━
* Total: 1,000 gold
That was the amount on the receipt. The total price was 1,000 gold!
–You should receive it. It will be needed soon.
Marquis Martin’s words when receiving the military scrip rang through his head.
Space 8
That Man
[TL Note] Hey guys, I made a slight change to chapter 6 of this volume. Tolbo has become ‘the bearded man’ and his actual name will be revealed later in this chapter.
————————————————
‘The government…..the government…..’
Ark grinded his teeth together.
‘That is committing robbery! Why is the acquisition tax 500 gold? How did the federation help me obtain the Silver Star? And the environmental charge is 100 gold? Is this a joke? What is compulsory insurance? Are there traffic accidents in space? And the registration fee? I have to pay 200 gold to register it? And the total price is 1,000 gold? This is robbery!’
His anger exploded the more he thought about it. The Silver Star was a ship that originally belonged to the Murat. Ark found it and Tori repaired it after a long fight with the Nakuma.
That role the federation played in helping Ark get the Silver Star was only 0.00001%. Then why! The federation was taking away 1,000 gold from him! It was absurd! An abuse of power! But Ark paid the 1,000 gold with the military scrip. A bad law was still a law. He couldn’t do anything because of this nonsense.
“I’m sorry but if your ship isn’t registered then you can’t enter Istana. You will have to leave the ship here and leave via the shuttle. A shuttle is available if you require it. Of course, there is also a fee for this.”
He had no choice but to pay!
‘If I buy a new ship then I would still need to pay a separate tax anyway. And the minimum price for a ship like this is 10,000 gold. 1,000 gold is profitable compared to that.’
He had no choice but to think like this! Therefore he gave Buldio’s military scrips and the registration was complete. Ark was able to leave the garrison headquarters once he officially gained possession of the Silver Star. And he finally plunged into Istana’s atmosphere!
“Hyung-nim, we will arrive at the destination soon!”
Tori said as he busily moved his hands. At the same time, outside the window the clouds parted and acres of forest stretched out. And there was Mt. Fargo! It was Ark’s sector S-20. Ark had finally returned to S-20……
“Eh?”
He was confused.
————————————————
“You have a little cold.”
The family doctor said as he used a medical device to examine him.
“I said this the other day but I agree with you playing a virtual reality game. A disabled person can experience many things that normally can’t and it eliminates a lot of mental stress. In fact, an experiment found that 70% of patients in similar situations who used a virtual reality game recovered a lot faster. But that is just a supportive therapy.”
“I know.”
“Then you’ll also know that fatigue still builds up in your body despite playing the virtual reality game. I heard that you’ve been sleeping in your capsule for the past few days but that isn’t always good. You have a fever so you should rest for a few days and take your medicine.
“Yes……”
The young man answered feebly. He didn’t have to hear the doctor’s diagnosis to know that his physical condition wasn’t good. His head and the muscles of his body felt heavy. He couldn’t think. The last few days he spent sleeping in the game was to blame. And it was all for one reason. In order to meet Ark.
‘I wonder when I can meet him?’
The young man muttered as he looked up at the ceiling. Questions ran through his head. He still couldn’t find the answer to why he wanted to meet Ark. He knew it wasn’t logical but the young man wasn’t going to give up on finding Ark. What type of existence was the user Ark to him? He wouldn’t know the answer if he couldn’t meet Ark. After a few attempts, he finally arrived in Ark’s sector S-20. But he still couldn’t be relieved. He had missed Ark so many times it felt like someone was interfering with him. There was no guarantee this interference wouldn’t be repeated. Those misgivings didn’t allow the young man to rest.
‘ I won’t repeatedly make the same mistakes.’
The young man painfully raised his body and entered the capsule. He started the capsule and his consciousness was sent back to Galaxian.
————————————————
Syu syu syu syu!
At the square to the rear of S-20’s main office. An airship caused a storm as it landed among a few other airships. A boy with grey skin and big eyes ran over.
“Welcome to S-20 where you can rest, hunt or have a large selection of items! Please think carefully. It wouldn’t be wise to leave such an expensive spacecraft in a place where monsters or thieves can attack it. But you can be relieved if you leave it at the airfield in this sector! S-20 will manage it safely. Short term parking is 50 silver a day. Long term is 4 gold for 10 days. Instead, if you park in the sector then you will only need to pay 1 sector fee for 3 people. How many days are you going to be here?”
“There is an airfield here?”
One person stepped out of the ship. The body’s big eyes became even larger as he saw the person’s face.
“H-Hyung-nim!”
That boy was Hegel. The one he was looking at was Ark.
“Why is Hyung-nim in that ship…..?”
“I obtained it.”
“Huh? You obtained it? That means this is Hyung-nim’s ship?”
“Yes.”
Hegel’s mouth widened at the ensuing answer. A general airship cost thousands of gold. A spacecraft would be a minimum of 10,000 gold. He had left for a while and brought home a spacecraft. The stunned Hegel couldn’t understand the situation. However it was the same for Ark.
‘Is this really S-20?’
Ark looked around with confusion. S-20 had been similar to a wasteland when Ark left for Amara. Shein and Kuma had created a barrier to indicate it was a sector while there were some facilities and merchant trailers inside. It also only had a population of 600 people. The sector was generally empty because most people were in the dungeon. It was embarrassing to even call it a sector. He had been worrying about that part on his way back. Ark had spent 10 days away from S-20.
‘Damn, I thought I would be gone for 3 days at most but it ended up taking a ridiculous 10 days. S-20 is a new sector. It the administrator i
s away for 10 days then it is impossible for the sector to operate properly.’
No matter how smart Mellin and Hegel were, in the end they were just NPCs. They had less flexibility to deal with unexpected situations than a user. Moreover, their training had been focused on battle so they had no knowledge about managing a sector.
‘It will be lucky if they manage to maintain the status quo.’
However it was different from his expectations. Ark could see that there were at least 1,000 people just flying over S-20. There must be at least 2,000 when considering the people in the dungeon. It had increased by 3~4 times when Ark was gone. Of course, this was due to Slayer, Leon and Melina raising awareness with their promotions. Ark was more amazed by the shape of the sector than the population. All types of stores formed a grid at the sector entrance! A special fence to indicate the way to Mt. Fargo was created with guide posts everywhere. They even utilized an empty piece of land as an airfield!
‘This is similar to the blueprint of the sector that I envisioned!’
Naturally the facilities were still small. However S-20’s current structure was almost the same as what Ark would’ve created. It felt like they’ve read Ark’s ideas and implemented it. While Ark was busy thinking.
“But who is this with you……?”
Hegel asked as Tori got off behind Ark.
“Oh, this guy is Tori. He will eat rice from the same pot as us from now on.”
“The same pot? Then he is a new employee?”
“Yes, please educate him well as his senior.”
“Ohh! Indeed. You’re called Tori? Let’s get along well.”
Hegel’s eyes shone like lanterns as he held out his hand. Then Tori slapped Hegel’s hand and declared sharply.
“What? Tori? Why are you speaking informally? I am……”
“You’re what? So? What were you going to say?”
Ark interrupted and asked. Tori flinched and started babbling.
“Ah, no. If you’re Hyung-nim’s follower then you’re my Hyung-nim too!”
“And? Your position in my agent?”
“I’m the youngest member!”
