by Yoo Seong
“The tungsten mine rights for E-2038 has already been registered.”
The Council employee replied. Ferguson felt like the sky was falling down.
“N-no way! I had the exclusive investigation rights! The investigation period hasn’t ended yet so how can another pioneer register for the rights of the mine? Something must be wrong!”
“We received all the data required.”
“That is impossible! We have E-2038’s proprietary investigation survey!”
“But you didn’t submit the data first.”
“That……”
“Hyung-nim, perhaps?”
Then younger brother B interrupted with an uneasy tone.
“Perhaps the mercenaries registered it after being attacked by the space pirates. If the space pirates are with them……”
Ferguson felt cold as he heard those words. In fact, he had a few unanswered questions from this incident. The spaceship was moving hundreds of light years so it was almost impossible to interrupt it. He couldn’t understand how another agent could register the information for E-2038 in the meantime. It took Ferguson only 2 days to revive at a nearby hive and arrive in Elysium. Even if another pioneer knew the information about the tungsten mine, it would be impossible for them to scan the asteroid in only 2 days. Especially since Ferguson still had the exclusive investigation rights. Then he could only consider one answer.
‘One of the mercenaries I hired stashed the information!’
Then they had the space pirates interrupt Ferguson on the way to Elysium. While Ferguson had waited to resurrect, they had registered the details first. Ferguson shouted in a voice that seemed to spout fire.
“This is their ploy! It is all so that they could register the information for E-2038 first! They sold the information to the space pirates! Please cancel the registration!”
“The evidence?”
“Isn’t the fact that they don’t have the exclusive investigation rights evidence?”
“The agent who registered for E-2038 said that he bought the information from a sailor. Even if there are some doubts, the Council isn’t a law enforcement agency. You’re a pioneer should you should know it. Anything that happens in the space frontier is the liability of the party involved. It isn’t a problem even if they bought the information from space pirates. They might not have the exclusive investigation rights but they registered in the normal way. Therefore it isn’t possible to cancel it.”
He only received a cold reply. The cornered Ferguson immediately went to find the agent who registered for it. However the answer of the bar staff was no different from the Council employee. They paid 30,000 gold to a sailor in order to obtain the information about the underground resources. Then Ferguson looked around Elysium for the sailor who sold the information. However that sailor was involved with space pirates. A guy like that wouldn’t remain in Elysium. Ferguson also knew that much.
However he couldn’t give up. According to the information he found, the tungsten mine was worth 100,000 gold. Even if he gave a 50% share to investors, he would still secure an income of 50,000 gold. All that had flown away. It was similar to a winning lottery ticket being snatched on the way to claim it. How could he give up?
But he searched through Elysium for a fortnight but couldn’t find any traces of the sailor. That person had already run away. An endless universe stretched out in front of Elysium. It was impossible for Ferguson to find the sailor. He had to admit it.
“Hyung-nim, what will we do?”
Sibling A asked while crying. But Ferguson couldn’t think of a good idea.
“I don’t know.”
“Should we return to New World?”
“What? New World?”
“Yes, we might’ve suffered in New World but it wasn’t like this. And we still have a position there. We might’ve disposed of our assets to help in Galaxian but our characters still remain. So instead……”
“Idiot!”
Ferguson shouted with a frown. Sibling B’s cheeks turned red after Ferguson’s shout.
“Have you already forgotten? The reason why we left that place and entered the galaxy? That guy! It is because of that guy! We came here to show that guy. But now you want to go back? I won’t! I rather die in this universe then serve under him again!”
“But……”
“It’s impossible! I can’t endure it. If you want to go back then you can! You guys…..you two are my siblings! But I’m not going back! I’m going to stay here and succeed. And I’ll show that guy. What a great user I am!”
“Hyung-nim!”
Sibling B’s eyes were dyed red. Then Ferguson placed a hand on B’s shoulder and nodded.
“Let’s start again. It is still too early to give up. We might’ve lost E-2038 but we still have our spaceship and strongest equipment. My name is quite well known on the space frontier so I can find decent jobs. We will raise the necessary funds to enter the frontier again. We can do it!”
“Waaaaah! Hyung-nim!”
Tears poured out the swollen eyes of A and B as they hugged Ferguson. Ferguson also said with a teary expression
“Sob! Those bastards…..yes, I will start again. An opportunity will come if I don’t give up. That’s one thing I learnt from him. We can do anything he can. Because he isn’t here to bother us.”
Ferguson said firmly.
-A new message has arrived.
The Nymphe vibrated and a new message came up. A smile spread on Ferguson’s mouth as he confirmed the message.
“That opportunity might’ve come earlier than I thought.”
————————————————————————————–
Pepeng! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
-You have received enemy fire!
-You have received enemy fire!
The red message kept on continuously popping up.
“What is this? Such a thing……”
Ark looked out the window with confused eyes. A red substance welled up out of the ground like a mini volcano. Rays of light were being fired at the Silver Star from the crater of the volcano.
“Silver Star’s turret! Auto fire and attack that crater!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Energy shells were fired from the wings on both sides of the Silver Star. The crater melted as it was hit with dozens of shells. He didn’t know what it was but it wasn’t impervious to attacks. However there were approximately 100 red craters in the earth! The sky was literally covered with the lights that it fired. Furthermore the firepower of the lights wasn’t a joke. The durability of the Silver Star’s shield instantly went down to 50%. It wouldn’t take a long time for the Silver Star to be shot down. The problem wouldn’t be settled with destroying a few craters.
“Hyung-nim, landing is impossible in this state!”
“You idiot! I already know that!”
Ark shouted as he bit his lip.
‘Dammit, I was caught off guard. I wasn’t careful when entering the atmosphere!’
The situation was more serious than it seemed. A considerable amount of energy and momentum were required to head back into space after entering the atmosphere. They had entered the atmosphere immediately after warping so the Silver Star didn’t have a lot of power left. It would take some time for the fuel rods mounted on the Silver Star to recharge. However he wouldn’t be able to hold out until then.
‘I can use photon movement…..’
Photon movement was different from warp navigation. The ship seemed to disappear but it was actually moving at a rate close to the speed of light. And right now the sky was filled with light rays!
‘If I attempt photon movement then there is no guarantee how many light rays the ship will collide with. Furthermore the damage will be amplified if damage is received in that accelerated state. Ther
e is a possibility the ship will crash if hit by the ray. Then there is only one way left!’
“Tori, get out of the way! I will fly!”
Ark pushed Tori away and sat in the cockpit. Ark had immediately released the Chaff when the surprise attack first occurred. Chaff was a defense item to avoid the heat guided missiles. However the light showed no reaction to the Chaff.
‘It isn’t a guided missile!’
That was his only hope to get out of this situation.
‘If all of those rays were guided missiles then I would be lacking Chaff. But they aren’t missiles so I can avoid them. I can’t exist the atmosphere immediately but it is impossible for the craters to cover the entire planet. I need to avoid the lights and find an area without them!’
“Hold on tight! We’re descending!”
Ark shouted as he pulled the joystick. The Silver Star flew down towards the red ground. Large rays of light were being fired up. It would be suicide to cross the sky covered in that light. Thus flying low was the answer! If he stuck close to the ground then he would avoid hundreds of those lights. He flew down until the ship was only 10 metres from the ground.
“W-what is going on?”
A dreadful situation was developing outside the window. Something welled up from the red earth as soon as the Silver Star descended. It was a spider-like monster! It wasn’t just one. The area that the Silver Star was passing had so many crawling out that it was like the whole area was covered with them! And it entered the ground again once the Silver Star passed.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Then the ship shook again. A light ray had hit them when he had looked away for a moment.
“Hyung-nim!”
“Shut up! I need to concentrate!”
Ark shouted while grinding his teeth together.
‘I also played a flight simulation game in the past. There is no reason why I can’t avoid the light rays if they aren’t guided missiles!’
Ark hunched over the control level and focused his attention. He moved the Silver Star up and down, left and right as he kept on flying and avoiding the attacks. He flew by dozens of light rays. However Ark also had a limit.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!
-You have received enemy fire!
-You have received enemy fire!
The red warning message appeared on the monitor. There was no need to confirm it one by one. He already knew the shield didn’t have a lot of durability left. If he took his eyes off the radar for even a moment then he would be hit by a light. He focused every nerve of his body on flying.
“Hyung-nim, over there! A desert!”
A desert caught his eye. Ark noticed the desert wasn’t covered in the red substance.
‘There! I can survive if I reach that area!’
It was like Ark expected. He managed to escape the pouring lights by entering the desert. But he still couldn’t be relieved. The Silver Star’s shield only had 10% durability left. He had escaped from the crisis but Ark flew a few more kilometres just in case. He sighed with relief as he landed the Silver Star and checked it. Luckily there wasn’t any large damage. Several exterior walls were scorched and dented but the functionality wasn’t impacted.
“What was that?”
Tori asked. Ark also wanted to know the answer to that question.
“I don’t know either. But……”
It was clear this adventure wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. The pyramid was the symbol of the Murat. There was a 99% chance that Xanax had hidden a Divine Artefact here However, the Silver Star had landed hundreds of kilometres away from the pyramid. Meanwhile that land was covered in a red substance. It was filled with the craters that attacked the Silver Star.
‘Dammit, the pyramid had to be here of all places…..’
…..In fact, it was natural if he thought about it. This was a game. If dangers existed then it was created for users. There was no reason for an area that users would visit to be free of monsters. It meant there had to be a way to defeat it. Ark thought it as highly likely that the pyramid contained the key.
‘But I can’t enter that place even if the Silver Star’s shield recovers. Yet I can’t return to S-20 now. It can’t be helped. I need to learn the identity of the red substance first.’
“Tori, wait for me by the Silver Star.”
Just as Ark was saying this.
“Don’t move!”
Something sharp jabbed him in the back. Ark’s face warped strangely.
“What is this?”
Space 7
God’s Messenger
“Pioneer……”
The old man said with an unpleasant expression.
“It has been a long time since I’ve heard that word.”
Shortly after landing the Silver Star on Rakunka’s desert. Ark’s group had been surrounded by dozens of warriors before he could grasp the situation. The group were riding camels and pointed a sword at Ark. Ark recognized who they were with one glance. Some planets with undeveloped civilization still had savages as the natives of the planet. Rakunka was one such planet.
-Rakunka-
It is the centre planet in a cross constellation located in the eastern part of the galaxy. The planets forming the cross are surrounded with nebula gas that could be observed from anywhere in the galaxy.
Early on pioneers were fascinated by the light and visited Rakunka but only found a desert planet. They also didn’t find any prominent resources. In addition, the indigenous people called the Kusan clan declared that they wouldn’t join any of the 3 powers and would maintain their civilization. It was excluded from the airspace of the 3 powers so there isn’t much information about it.
Ark didn’t come here without any preparation. After meeting with Marquis Martin in Tatuine, he stopped by the library and looked up information about the cross constellation that Kaya and Park mentioned. That was why Ark became careless. The planet wasn’t worth being developed so it had become one of the worthless, marginalized planets in the galaxy. The indigenous population also turned away pioneers a long time ago so they were still like savages. Therefore Ark thought he didn’t need to bring the Royal Guards. There was still a lot of work to do in S-20 so he saw no reason to reduce the number of personnel. But the Silver Star had been attacked as soon as he arrived. He had barely escaped and now he was surrounded by the locals. It was indeed a series of unfortunate events……
‘They probably aren’t involved in the attack received by the red substance. Or else they would’ve attacked without any warning I need to converse with them to check it.’
Ark determined and surrendered. The indigenous people brought him to their chief, an old man called Barakin. But Barakin’s reaction wasn’t that favourable.
“Pioneer is a word unwelcome to us. We live peacefully for a long time when people who called themselves pioneers suddenly invaded our ancestral lands like a bunch of hyenas.
“They are no different from thieves!”
“They must be dealt with in accordance with the precepts!”
Barakin’s men murmured in rough voices. Then Barakin looked at Ark again.
“We don’t know anything about extra-terrestrial civilizations. But the pioneers haven’t come here for nearly 100 years. I don’t know what you expect but there is nothing here. We also don’t welcome pioneers. I’m giving you a chance so return to where you came from.”
“I can’t do that.”
“This isn’t a request.”
Barakin said with a threatening expression. It was a look that indicated he would use force if necessary.
“I don’t mean to refuse. You might’ve seen it but I was attacked by a bunch of unidentified lights when I first arrived. Therefore the ship I came on is damaged and will need time to repair.”
Of course it was a lie. It wa
s true that the Silver Star was damage but that was only the shield and the exterior wall. The damage wasn’t enough to stop the Silver Star from being able to fly. It was just a lie to buy time. The Kusan were an undeveloped species so Ark believed they wouldn’t know anything about the state of his spaceship. At least that’s what Ark thought……
“We’re not stupid.”
Barakin’s eyes narrowed with anger.
“It was a long time ago but a lot of pioneers congregated here. They left many machine parts behind. Do you think we have no idea about machines? We maintained this civilization for hundreds of years due to our respect for our ancestors, not because of a lack of knowledge. We might’ve stayed away from civilization but we know your words are a lie.”
Ark felt like he had been slapped. However he couldn’t say that it wasn’t a lie.
“Ah, no! That is……”
“There is no need to hear anymore!”
Barakin jumped up and shouted.
“If you’re lying then you must have some ulterior motives! I will say it once again. Leave here right now. If you refuse then you will die!”
“That damn pioneer!”
“Hik! Hyung-nim!”
Tori shrieked as the warriors pulled out their swords in unison.
“Hyung-nim, this is a really big deal. We should go back like the elder said. You know where the pyramid is so can’t you return later?”
‘This hamster didn’t notice……’
Wouldn’t leaving now just confirm that he was telling a lie? Despite Ark’s worries, that wasn’t the part that Barakin reacted to.
“The pyramid?”
Barakin looked at Ark and asked.
“Your purpose if the Murat temple?”
“M-Murat?”
“It is unmistakable.”
Barakin frowned at Ark’s question. It was then followed by anger. Clearly he was feeling some strong emotion.
“Yes, that was your purpose? Hah, I almost forgot. The type of people pioneers were. They selfishly came to this land and plundered the Murat temple for sacred relics. Hundreds of our ancestors died trying to stop the thieves! Now a greedy pioneer has once again come to rob the temple? If you don’t die then I won’t be able to face my ancestors! Kill them!”
