by Yoo Seong
“It’s lucky that lightning is only falling in one place.”
Melina said as she stroked her chest to calm down. Ark felt like he had been hit by a lightning bolt.
“What was that Melina-nim? What did you say just now?”
“Well, I didn’t say anything specific. Just that it’s lucky the lightning only falls in one place…..”
“Only one place? Is that true?”
“Yes, I am very scared of lightning. My head naturally turns every time the lightning strikes. But the lightning only strikes near the area where we first descended.”
“The place on the mountain where we descended?”
Ark turned his head at Melina’s answer. He felt a heavy pain in the back of his head the moment she confirmed his mental calculations.
“Oh my god! Why didn’t I notice until now?”
“What does that mean?”
“That…..no, I need to check it first! Everybody follow me!”
Ark who was a Myutal ran across the ground with sharp legs. After a few moments, Ark’s team arrived at the place where they first landed on Impeltus. Ark rushed to the spot he calculated and shouted.
“Shovel!”
The shovel sprang out of his backpack.
Ark grabbed the shovel from his bag and….tak! Tak! Grab…..tak! Tak! The Myutal Ark couldn’t grasp the shovel!
“Dammit! Royal Guards, dig!”
“Yes! Shovel!”
The Royal Guards cried out in unison and grabbed their shovels.
“Dig through the mountain!”
“Waaaaahhhhh!”
They shouted at Ark’s command and lowered their heads. The Royal Guards had spent one month digging in S-20! Thanks to that, all the members had Dig Lv. 2 while Milan and Ark had Dig Lv. 4! They had reached the stage of mastery. The standard of the member’s digging was like a large excavator! There was no difference between rocks and soil when digging.
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
“W-what are they doing? This is?”
“It is outrageous. Even my autobots that had been modified with excavators isn’t as fast as that!”
“What the hell were they fed?”
Slayer’s group were shocked at the Royal Guards’ digging skills. Meanwhile they just continued shovelling. And!
Jjang!
Suddenly there was the sound of iron!
“We’re being blocked! There is a metal wall in front of us!”
“Metal wall?”
“It’s over here as well!”
Slayer’s eyes concentrated on Ark.
“What? Did you know there would be a metal wall here?”
“Of course. Did you think they were just shovelling crazily?”
“No, that digging….they are digging because…..eh? Why are they digging?”
Slayer tilted his head with a stupid expression. Park was locked in thought for a moment before nodding.
“Aha! So it was like that.”
“What? You know something?’
“It is a simple matter. Originally lightning strikes the highest place. But the surrounding mountains are almost the same height. Ark’s subordinates had just dug a hole in a place that is lower than the surrounding mountains. Yet lightning keeps on striking here. Then there is only one answer. Lightning is attracted to metal. That’s why the Silver Star was hit by lightning. It was lower than the mountains but it contained metal. The element attracted lightning. But lightning continued falling here even when the Silver Star disappeared. In other words, that means there is metal here. No, if there is a metal wall then it must be the facility we’re looking for……”
“A lightning rod.”
Ark mentioned.
“If there are electronic equipment in the facility then lightning is a risk factor. It can influence electronic equipment even when the lightning doesn’t hit directly. Therefore a lightning rod needs to be installed in the facility. It will absorb all the lightning that falls near here. That’s why the lightning only falls in this spot. This entire place is probably acting like a lightning rod.”
“Ohh! Indeed!”
The Royal Guards interjected. Then Slayer looked at them with incredulous eyes.
“What? You guys didn’t know that? You didn’t know yet you were shovelling like crazy?”
“That’s……Hyung-nim commanded us……isn’t that right?”
“That’s right.”
The rest of the members nodded at Berad’s answer. Slayer was even more astounded by their answer!
“Okay. Now let’s dig around the walls. The entrance should be somewhere here.”
Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!
The digging continued for a long time at Ark’s command. They finally found the entrance of the facility buried in dirt and rocks. The entrance was blocked with a round metal plate like a bomb shelter! A message flashed once they pressed the lever type handle.
-This door is protected with a security device.
Enter the security code or use Invaders to hack and release the lock.
Attempt to hack? Y/N
Ohu!’
Ark’s eyes shone brightly. This message meant that hacking was possible at his level!
“Milan, remove the connector from my Nymphe and link it to the lock.”
Ark had changed into a Myutal so he couldn’t even remove the connector. But there was no problem for releasing the lock.
-The type of lock is ‘Rhythm Mania: Level 6.’
The DJ located in the bottom is your hacking program ‘Invaders.’ The locking mechanism is the device with the voice signal.
Invaders has to succeed in extracting the voice signal from the lock. The locking mechanism will be released when the speech signal is combined. The targets falling from above are the voice signals. You have to achieve a GOOD rating when matching the timing of the voice signals.
Now put your soul into it!
This mini game was a rhythm action! Unfortunately Ark turned into a Myutal so he couldn’t use his fingers. However there were 4 buttons to press and Ark had 7 legs.
Kok kok kok! Kok kok kok! Kok kok kok!
His 7 legs moved like lightning on the Nymphe’s screen! Well, he had to strike a pose lying down in order to fully mobilize his 7 legs! He might look like a spider but it wasn’t a disadvantage at the moment!
-GOOD!
You have perfectly combined the voice signals and released the lock!
Unlocking!
Ark quickly turned his body over again. He pressed the lever down and the door slowly rotated open. A passage appeared on the other side and an information window flashed.
-You have found
++ Dungeon Information: Impeltus’ Laboratory ++
You have found a hidden, unidentified facility hidden on Impeltus while performing the investigation team’s mission. When the entrance is opened, the smell of sterile air and fungus is pushed out. It is clear that this place hasn’t been touched by people in a long time. But that doesn’t mean it has never been touched by the hands of humans. There is the distance sound of machines waking up from sleep! It will be good if they don’t see you as trespassers.
* Adventure Points +800
———————————————————————————–
The outskirts of the Igracia constellation.
One spaceship was floating in orbit around a huge, grey planet. All identifiable lights were hidden so only the silhouette of the ship was visible in the shadow of the planet. In the midst of that ship, someone opened their mouth.
“Why are we waiting in a place like this?”
“For contact.”
“Contact? By who?”
“Let’s see? Who is it? Well, let’s assume they’re a friend for the moment.”
The man sitting in the captain’s seat laughed and replied. Then the man who asked the question sighed and shook his head.
“That’s a problem. We didn’t
come here to relax. Did you forget the command received from our home country?”
“I didn’t forget.”
“You didn’t forget? What do you mean?”
“The reason I’m waiting here doesn’t differ that much from the mission received. No, in a sense it might be even more important.”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
“Keiko-nim!”
Then a soldier sitting down at the cockpit shouted.
“A signal is incoming.”
“Signal? Even our home country doesn’t know…..perhaps?”
“I’ve been waiting for this. Decode the signal received.”
The man sitting in the captain’s seat commanded. The communication soldier operated the dashboard and a message was shown on the monitor.
-O-5440 Impeltus
“Impeltus? That place……”
Keiko narrowed his eyes and muttered. He turned around like he was about to ask a question before closing his mouth. The man sitting in the captain’s seat seemed to have a flame aura burning around him after seeing the message. The flame aura combined with the red armour gave an illusion of a huge fireball. He said in a low voice.
“That planet is where Ark is.”
The man speaking was wearing red armour. He was given the nickname Red Slaughterer.
“Start the engine! Destination is O-5440, Impeltus!”
The voice resounded on board as the ship in the shadow of the planet woke up.
———————————————————————————–
Kuwaaaaaaaah!
A shriek rang out through the hallway. At the same time a fist cut through the wind. Ark listened and raised his left arm.
“Kuk! Baius Shield!”
Jjang!
Cracks spread like a spider web on the surface of the shield. It had the form of crystals but Baius was still an energy shield. The cracks on the shield disappeared. However that indicated the amount of damage that the shield received.
‘Damn, no matter how weak the shield is to melee attacks……’
When the shield recovered, it had lost 2,300 energy! This meant that more than one third of the shield’s energy was consumed. At this point it already wasn’t a matter of resistance. The enemy was just too strong. However the power wasn’t the only outrageous thing.
‘I’ve seen it a few times but it really doesn’t fit.’
Ark looked at the monster over the clear shield. The appearance…..it looked like mutilated bodies had been stitched back together into a monster wearing rags. These monsters had appeared in a secret laboratory. The name was Blunder The only thing he could confirm with Clairvoyance was its name. And detailed information wasn’t necessary. He had dealt with a few Blunder so he knew its characteristics. The size didn’t differ significantly from an average person and it didn’t have any special skills. It only attacked by swinging its arms randomly. But it wasn’t a monster that could be easily defeated. The first reason was its level!
‘Level 200?’
Right now Ark was level 120. However the Blunder in the research centre were level 200. It was similar to Ark fighting 1 on 1 with an intermediate boss. And 3~4 of these guys rushed at once. However Ark also wasn’t alone. In fact, this was the second difficult part.
‘Sheesh, its level is high and its body isn’t big!’
The Blunder was a similar size and shape to Ark. Therefore Ark couldn’t be given proper cover fire while facing the Blunder. If they blindly shot then Ark might be hit in the back of the head! But if Ark kept a distance then the Blunder would be exposed to the attacks from the rear support.
‘At any rate I’m quite lucky. I transformed while fighting the Halrosu and now turned back. What would’ve happened if I changed into a Myutal while facing this thing?’
While Ark was busy thinking…..
Kuwaaaaaaaah!
The Blunder once again threw its body and wielded its fist. His Baius shield had already less than half of its energy left! Ark abandoned the idea of blocking and retreated. The Blunder landed and once again rushed towards him. Just as its fist was about to be driven into Ark’s chest!
“Sonic Sword!”
It was hit from the side! The Blunder stumbled and retreated. There was no need to confirm the owner of the sword. Ark raised his thumb in the direction the sword came from and smiled.
“Nice assist!”
“It is thanks to the direct teachings from Messenger-nim. The effect is almost guaranteed.”
Ellain also gave a thumbs up. Ellain had vomited while sailing on the Silver Star and had to lie down in the infirmary. That’s why he was dubbed the vomit man. He still had the motion sickness even when landing on Impeltus so his skills couldn’t be demonstrated. He also didn’t have a body coating and needed to use life support equipment. However that changed once they entered the research centre. The research centre had an oxygen supply so Ellain could take off the life support system and fight. It was to the extent that he covered for Ark while fighting the Blunder.
“Hey! Watch out!”
“Don’t worry about it! Welcome to alter ego! ”
Ellain turned at Ark’s shout and 5 Ellain’s spread all over the place. Then he swung his swords towards the Blunder’s back.
“Hot Air Sword!”
Flames shot out from the sword! The Blunder screamed as its body shook. As expected from a level 150 warrior! His skills were on a different dimension from the other NPCs. Ellain and Berad were taking care of another Blunder while giving support to Ark. Then the Blunder that had been pushed by Ellain once again approached Ark.
“I can’t look worse than my subordinates.”
Kuwaaaaaaaah!
“Welcome to the alter ego!”
The next moment Ark also split into 5 bodies. While the Blunder’s fist hit blank air, he ran behind its back.
“Of course the President has to be different from his subordinates!”
Wiing! Buuuuong! Wiing! Wiing!
The flash of light continuously hit the Blunder! Ellain had only managed to deal one blow to the Blunder before it turned around but Ark’s lightsaber trajectory continuously hit the Blunder. A complex pattern like a tattoo was created over the Blunder. And once the Blunder completely turned around!
“Ink Jet!”
Puaaaah!
A black liquid was sprayed from Ark’s head. Ink Jet was the new feature that had been added to the Charenjok’s Token through Bakum’s sacrifice!
-The Blunder has been blinded!
The octopus that was stuck to his head restored his head as well as blinded the Blunder.
“Binding Sword!”
It was the onslaught of continuous attacks! A collar formed around the blinded Blunder. Once again, Binding Sword was a technique with an extremely low success rate. The success rate after increased thanks to his repetitive practice but it was still only at 50%. However Ink Jet changed the situation by 180 degrees. Ink Jet caused a state of blindness so the success probability increased by leaps and bounds. Of course this wasn’t easy but the combo had a success rate of 90%! It could be called Blinding Chain!
-Your attack has hit the target!
The Blunder was completely bound after being blinded.
In addition, he consistently used Binding Sword so it had reached Lv. 2! Thanks to that the duration increased from 3 seconds to 4 seconds. 4 seconds was a long time in a fight. Especially when there was a bunch of people there.
“Now! Focus your fire!”
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
Ark turned back and shouted. Dozens of bullets started pouring out in the narrow corridor. Milan and the Royal Guards who had been waiting behind fired their bullets. His presence had been insignificant so far but Kurakan had also accompanied them. Just like Kaya, Slayer and the other members who participated on th
e team, Kurakan was a name that was quite well known on Istana. So Kurakan thought. He had to properly show his skills to them! But Kurakan had terrible shooting skills. In the meantime he had been bragging about how invincible he was. No, in fact he knew. Kurakan was the type to persistently challenge a user until they got tired of dealing with him and just gave up. When fighting he just blindly fired his machine gun until the opponent died. So it was impossible for him to have any shooting skills.
Still, a machine gun dealt a lot more damage than small firearms. Its attack power and speed were high but the hit rate was only 50%. If it was a quick monster like the Halrosu then he couldn’t hit them. So Kurakan thought again. He became embarrassed at the thought of being buried among the NPCs! However that changed once they entered the research centre. The research centre had narrow passages. If there were no special obstacles in the way then he could just shoot blindly. Especially when Ark had blocked the Blunder’s movement with Binding Sword!
“Hahaha! The time has come for me to show my skills! This is the M-620 that launches special ceramic bullets with 20 shots per minute! This is a machine gun!”
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
Kurakan held the blazing machine gun with both hands! His gun dealt reckless damage. Thanks to the research centre, Kurakan could become a powerhouse for the first time. Kalliben also aimed for the vital spots while the troopers used their firearms!
-Rune Carving: Kuon has been used.
This was the effort of the Kuon rune! The Blunder lost 30% health in only 4 seconds. Ark also did a series of back attacks! And the shooting of the Royal Guards continued! Shoot! Shoot! In the end the level 200 Blunder couldn’t endure anymore. The other Blunder couldn’t last either once Ark started helping Ellain and Berad.
-Your level has risen!
That message appeared once they took care of 2 Blunder.
‘Oho! Finally! It is troublesome to take care of but the experience is good.’
He might have a lot of complaints but Ark actually liked the Blunder. Beating a level 200 monster gave him huge amounts of experience. They had caught 30 monsters during the 3 levels spent in the research centre yet he already levelled up. Naturally experience wasn’t the only thing it gave.
