Ark the Legend 1-12
Page 139
“I’m not uncomfortable. No, I want to hear more about exactly what happened. I’m interested in things like this.”
Anyone could tell that it was an awkward smile.
Space 6
Rakunka
Character Information Window
Name Ark (R-02788) Level 115
Species Human Occupation Elim’s Heir
Fame 11,230 Adventure 720
Health 2,900 (+90) Mental Power 250 (+340)
Mana 0 Force 1,825
Strength 280 (+38) Agility 345 (+41)
Stamina 465 (+18) Wisdom 40 (+13)
Intelligence 280 (+68) Luck 55 (+8)
* Title
Cleaning Foreman (Agility + 3)
Ignorant Destroyer (Wisdom -10, Strength +7, Stamina +7)
Beltana’s Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +3)
Athamas’ Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +5)
Mediator (Wisdom, Intelligence +15)
* Contribution: Galactic Federation 19,520, 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
“Hrmm……”
Ark scratched his head. When he returned to S-20 from Amara he had been level 107. But now he was level 115. He had gained 6 levels from the surrounding hunting ground as well as the chaotic users. It wasn’t necessary to talk about how profitable the chaotic hunting was. There was a 100% chance to get equipment. He also gained more experience than hunting monsters. He sold the spoils reaped from S-20 and gained 20 bonus stats as well. His fame and federation contribution also increased because he killed criminals. Except for the 1000 Adventure Points that he used to raise his agent rating, everything else had increased. And these changes would be a pleasure for any user.
But right now the details of the information window didn’t register in Ark’s eyes. It was because of yesterday. The date with Irina that he had been waiting for! Yesterday the two of them finally went on a date. The problem was that the result was ‘?’.
……The beginning was good. The appointments had overlapped so Irina ended up meeting the rehabilitation members but the atmosphere was more sociable than expected. The atmosphere was encouraging when they arrived at the Taek Mountain region. She had found out that he was the director of Global Exos and that he owned a piece of land. It was a strange conversation for men and women who haven’t met before to be having. And Irina was surprised but wasn’t offended. There was just one problem. Later talk emerged about the Taek real estate slump. Since then Irina had a determined, sometimes angry expression on her face.
‘I don’t know what that look means.’
It was a date yet talk about real estate problems emerged. A woman who understood the situation would feel bad about it. Ark thought that was the cause at first. However Irina wanted them to explain even more. She actively participated in talk of the cause of the real estate slump and the victims affected. But sometimes she would seem angry.
‘Perhaps Irina also bought land in the Taek Mountains?’
He contemplated that thought. However Irina didn’t seem to be aware of the situation until after they explained it. Plus Irina had to pay her mother’s hospital bills so Ark couldn’t imagine her having enough money to buy a piece of land.
‘I really don’t know. Why did Irina question the situation so much? And what is with the angry expression? Perhaps it is because of me? Maybe she was upset because of the damage I received? I’ll be glad if it is like that but……’
He couldn’t ask her. He asked if Irina was in a bad mood on the drive back and she just shook her head. There wasn’t lot of conversation on the way back to Seoul. He dropped Irina near her house and the date ended in a weird mood. Since then Ark had been worrying about it.
‘Should I call her?’
If he wanted the relationship to progress then he needed to freely call her. However he wouldn’t be able to get a sense if anything was wrong during the call. Eventually Ark sent a careful letter.
It was nice to meet you. I hope you are well. I’m sorry you had to meet the hyungs during our first date. I hope you didn’t feel discomfort etc…..
Ark wrote a lengthy letter and only received this message as a response.
-I’m sorry.
This was the reason for Ark’s ‘?’. He couldn’t understand the meaning of her apology. He wanted to confirm the meaning through a call or another letter. However Ark decided to wait. It would be difficult to discern hidden meaning in letters. It might be nothing but personal circumstances. Ark also knew that he was ignorant in matters of love.
‘We will meet again very soon anyway.’
Ark was part of the second task force to investigate the magic circle. And Irina was part of the first team so they would have to meet.
‘Yes, I can wait and ask the question then. I also have work to do. The remaining time until then is 3 days! Not including the time required to return to Istana, that is only 2 days! I have to finish this job and meet Irina again!’
“Tori, are we there yet?”
“We will exit warp space soon!”
Tori replied as he operated the dashboard. At the same time, a vortex of light was visible outside the window. It was the phenomenon caused when existing a multidimensional portal created by warp travel. There was a small vibration before the Silver Star exited near a planet that shone like jewels. An eye catching nebula was in front of Ark.
“This is……”
This nebula as why he quickly put the situation in S-20 to order and departed for space! Ark had received the
–A place where 5 planets become one light.
That was the only information Ark had about the Divine Artefacts. The strange clue was probably a test itself. Naturally Ark regularly search through the information sites related to Galaxian. However he was unable to find the answer until……
“Isn’t that from the sailor’s song?”
The person who said this was Kaya. Once again, Ark had drawn a lot of users to S-20 for chaotic hunting. They were chaotic hunters. Among them were users were a high reputation and fame. Ark didn’t need to try and gain their attention. Ark was already a celebrity in Istana and the sector administrator so some of them came looking for Ark. It would be annoying if they wanted to duel like Kurakan but Ark had no reason to reject the users’ attention. The users that came to say hello included the tournament winner who used a spear called Sadain, the controller Park and the Esper Kaya.
‘I should ask them about it.’
He asked them about the phrase left by Xanax and immediately received an answer.
“The sailor’s song? What’s that?”
“It is a song that the crew of spaceships often sing. I remember the lyrics had something about five stars. Sadain, have you heard it?”
“Yes.”
Sadain nodded his head.
“What are the exact lyrics? I think it contained courage?”
“Memory….courage, dedication, desire and passion, the five stars that will guide you towards a dream.”
Controller Park interrupted with the information.
He was sitting cross legged on his dinosaur shaped autobot.
“The lyrics are about five stars that will lead to one light. The sailors sing this song because the five star
s often act as a lighthouse in the galaxy. The nebula gas that covers these five stars and radiates light is the largest and brightest in the galaxy. If joined up with the planet in the center called Rakunka then it will form a cross shape. If an NPC crew ever has their navigational system break down then they can use that cross as a guide.”
“Ah I was going to say the cross.”
Kaya nodded and sent a pouting look to Park.
“Sheesh, this guy is so smug despite never catching a monster himself…..”
“People who use guns and swords in the age of flying ships are idiots. And do you think it is easy to create and control autobots? You would never be able to do it.”
“Don’t play around. Have you forgotten what an Esper is? I can change your DNA and turn you into an amoeba.”
“My autobots would’ve killed you before that happened.”
“What? Do you want to try it?”
“When will chaotic hunting be finished?”
Sadain muttered with a tired expression as he watched the arguing Kaya and Park. The three users had known each other before. However they weren’t on good terms and kept on arguing every time they met. However they acknowledged each other’s skills and formed a party once they realized the chaotic users were organized. In this event they were the party that hunted the highest number of chaotic users. Anyway!
‘Oh my god! The answer to the clue was that simple!’
Ark felt like he had been hit in the head. In fact Ark had also heard the sailor’s song. Tori had often sung that song when repairing the Silver Star after they escaped from Amara. However his pitch and tempo were messed up so Ark didn’t think anything of the lyrics that came out of his mouth. But it was the clue to the whereabouts of the Divine Artefact!
‘The five star nebula gas that looks like a cross. It fit perfectly with the clue left behind by Xanax. It is there. The planets linking the cross up is the place Xanax was talking about!’
This was the reason he asked Marquis Martin for time. He couldn’t promise to come back in time to join the investigation team.
‘I want to find it before then if possible.’
He hurriedly cleaned up S-20 and sailed 20 hours towards the cross.
“It must be here!”
His guess turned into certainty. In the centre of the cross was a planet. The 5 planets connected by nebula gas that emitted blue light. The only thing visible from a distance was the light of the cross shape.
“Okay. Prepare to enter the planet!”
“But there are 5 of them. Which one should we enter?”
There was no need to worry about this.
-I will leave a mark for you in the deep centre.
This was the final part of the clue left by Xanax.
“Of course it will be the central planet.”
Ark smiled and replied. The red planet in the centre was larger than the other four. It might seem like a big ball but once he entered the planet then endless land stretched in front of him. However Xanax wrote that a marker was left for the successor.
‘The beginning of Xanax’ clue led to this planet. Then the marker shouldn’t be something small. If I pull the Silver Star back then I should be able to identify the marker. If I explore the planet then it shouldn’t take more than one day.’
No, it didn’t even take an hour. He entered the planet Rakunka in the centre. He used the Silver Star’s exploration equipment to scan the ground and discovered a triangular object covered in a red substance. It was a pyramid, the symbol of the Murat.
‘I discovered the right destination!’
“Tori, land the Silver Star next to that pyramid!”
“Understood!”
Tori replied vigorously and lowered the ship.
Pepeng! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
The ship suddenly shook and a red message flashed on the monitor.
-You have received enemy fire!
“E-enemy fire?”
“Hyung-nim, over there!”
Ark turned his head at Tori’s squeal and stiffened. Hundreds of unidentified lights were flying towards the Silver Star.
————————————————————————————–
The centre of the space frontier, Elysium.
Elysium was an artificial planet constructed in the early stages of the pioneering age and contains 70% of the galaxy’s businesses. However there was a separate reason why it was referred to as the core of the space frontier.
The Space Council. The Council was an institute founded by the companies in order to get rid of unnecessary damage from the competition between the 3 powers. Their members came from influential and active companies so its power was on par with the 3 powers! In fact, they could be called the government in the space frontier. Elysium that contained the Council naturally became the centre of the frontier and thousands of ships travelled through it a day.
In the Elysium Council’s Square.
“Sob sob sob sob!”
“Impossible! You can’t do this!”
“We’re screwed! This will turn us into beggars!”
Three men were in the OTL stance and shedding tears.
“Jackpot…..the jackpot was right in front of me……”
The men crying tears of blood were Ferguson and his younger brothers A and B. Not long ago Ferguson had appeared on the game exclusive news as the user ranked number 18. But Ferguson wasn’t satisfied. He needed to ride the momentum and enter the top 10! And he found a way.
‘The tungsten mine!’
They had found it by accident when anchored on an asteroid. Ferguson had explored the asteroid and discovered that it contained a large tungsten vein.
‘If I start development then I’ll be sitting on a money cushion!’
Ferguson sensed that this was the chance of a lifetime. The one who first discovered untapped natural resources would be the owner. They just needed to register with the Council and they could monopolize the mining rights for years. But it wasn’t enough to say that ‘here is some underground resources.’ They needed to accurately report the figures in order to apply with the Council. If they were other users then they would begin the investigation immediately.
‘But……’
Ferguson was prudent. He spend a considerable amount of time gathering information about the exact reserves of mineral resources. The area with the lode was infested with monster. It took a significant amount of time to handle the monsters as well as scan the lode. The thing he had to be most careful of were other pioneers, not monsters! He made sure to scan the surroundings when fighting the monsters. It was like advertising that there were good underground resources in the area. It wouldn’t matter if it was a large planet but this was an asteroid so there was a high chance of being spotted by pioneers and attacked. So Ferguson warped straight to Elysium!
-You have secured the exclusive investigation rights to asteroid E-2038.
He secured the exclusive investigation rights. He gained the right to investigate a certain area for a period of time. Of course it wasn’t for free. A considerable fee was required depending on the scope and duration. He paid 2,000 gold for it.
‘But that is chump change if I get my hands on the tungsten mine. Now I can investigate the asteroid for a week without any pioneer interfering. No one can disturb me! And if I register with the Council after securing the information then I’ll be rich!’
However it wasn’t that easy to investigate the reserves. Ferguson found the habitat of a giant monster called the Kraken while investigating the asteroid. The Kraken was a giant space monster that would attack ships that neared it. But Ferguson wouldn’t let the Kraken stop his plan for a rosy future. Ferguson hired dozens of mercenaries to
defeat the Kraken in a fierce battle and was able to complete the survey after defeating it.
“Now I just need to register it with the Council and it will be a happy ending!”
It was shortly afterwards that the problem occurred. While they were warping to Elysium. All of a sudden young brother A who was in charge of steering burst out with confusion.
“Hyung-nim, there is a distortion in our warp orbit! Space interference! Another ship is forcing its way through the warp trajectory that we set!”
“What? That’s a violation of the laws of sailing! Those dumb bastards……”
Ferguson was yelling when he flinched and closed his mouth.
Ku ku ku kung! Chwajijijik!
The area distorted and several spaceships appeared. He didn’t know their identity. However he knew what they were. It was a UFO without the mark of an agent or a recognition number! Those guys could only be one thing.
“S-space pirates!”
“Hyung-nim, they’ve started firing!”
Dozens of ray guns were firing at them. Once again, Ferguson was part of Galaxian’s top 50 rankings! That wasn’t possible with the users’ skills alone. This was the space frontier so the attack power of the ship was also important in case of situations like this. A large part of why Ferguson rose to rank 18 was due to his ship. However there were 4 pirate ships!
“It is impossible to deal with them no matter how much firepower we have! Use photon movement after escaping from warp space!”
“Impossible! We can’t outrun them!”
Pepepepeng!
In the end Ferguson’s ship was smashed by the space pirates. Fortunately Ferguson’s ship was insured. If the ship met with an unforeseen accident or assault then the information would immediately be sent to the insurance company. If he wasn’t doing anything illegal then he could receive compensation. However it wasn’t 100%. He could only get back 80% of the ship price. He also wouldn’t receive any compensation for the cargo loaded on the ship. The damage he incurred was 4,000 gold!
……Thus far it was okay.
‘I can recoup all this if I get my hands on the tungsten mine!’
He headed to Elysium as soon as he resurrected……