Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  The pioneer NPCs could also be resurrected like users. However, it was different when talking about non-pioneer NPCs. If they died it was the end. The subordinate he raised with hard work would be lost once they died. Two such employees were riding on the Silver Star.

  Tori and Ellain.

  ‘If we’re sucked into a black hole then it is over for Tori and Ellain. I will also lose the Silver Star.’

  Of course, the Silver Star was insured.

  However, he could only get back 80% of the price with the insurance. If a 10,000 gold spaceship was lost then he would only receive 8,000 gold compensation. The user would lose the remaining 2,000 gold.

  There was also the ship’s lost cargo, upgrades and additional equipment that wasn’t covered. Once someone lost a ship, there would be thousands of gold lost despite the insurance.

  ‘…..But if it is caused by a bug?’

  He could bring this situation to the publisher.

  It was Ark’s fault that he was sucked into the black hole but the current trouble was due to a bug. He might be able to recover the Silver Star as well as his team members. No, he would do it. Ark worked for a virtual reality game publisher so he knew the details. If he persisted tenaciously then he could receive compensation for the bug.

  “Yes! This is great! I will press this!”

  Ark had just made his decision.

  Buuuuong!

  Something was heard in the darkness. Ark flinched and raised his head. He had forgotten the current situation while lost in memories.

  Ark wasn’t the only one sucked in the black hole. Not only was there Hawk and Ferguson’s ship, there were the team members on his ship like Rapid, Kaya, Tori, Hegel etc. If the bug dropped Ark into this place then it was likely that the Silver Star and his team members were scattered around here somewhere.

  ‘If the other team members also bring up the bug then it will be easier to receive compensation.’

  “Hey! Anyone there? I am Ark.”

  He shouted with a loud voice.

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  Gunshots suddenly rang out! Three or four bullets went through his side and thighs.

  -You were shot in a defenceless state and suffered a critical blow!

  A red message popped up with the throbbing pain!

  “Ugh! What, what the?”

  Ark cried out at the unexpected circumstances and cried out. At the same time, an idea crossed his head.

  ‘I clearly said my name. My team wouldn’t shoot blindly away after hearing that. And I’m convinced this space was made by a bug so it can’t be monsters. The only person who might shoot me in this place…..’

  They were drawn into the black hole together. There were one among them who would shoot when hearing Ark’s name!

  “Hawk’s group! Is that you?”

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  Bullets came flying over again instead of a reply. In fact, he hadn’t expected an answer to his questions. It didn’t matter if they were Hawk or Hawk’s subordinates. The second shooting made it clear they had a partner. It wasn’t just one bastard. Projectiles were flying from three different directions!

  ‘I can’t just die in this bugged space!’

  Ark rolled his body and avoided the bullets. He automatically raised his body in an attack stance but just turned around in vain.

  He didn’t realize it until now but his body felt incredibly heavy when he moved. It felt like dozens of iron nuggets worth a few kilograms were hanging all over his body. Ark moved as slow as a slug for a few metres and was already breathing like he ran a marathon.

  ‘Huk! What, what the? This weight?’

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  But the opponents just mercilessly poured out bullets. Ark rolled on the ground again but avoiding all the bullets was impossible. Unless it was a critical hit, the damage from a bullet was less than that of a sword. That’s because by default, all armour in Galaxian had a bulletproof feature attached to them. However, that was when the armour was equipped. Unfortunately Ark was naked so he had X and XX parts exposed.

  -2,530….2,475…..2,383……

  He was being shot at from three directions so he quickly lost 1,000 health. That wasn’t the only damage. Without armour the bullets were three or four times stronger. It was enough to cause a tingling pain every time the bullet hit him. If the bullets hit a sensitive area like his neck or XX then he would scream!

  “Awook! Awook! Holy shit! Armour armament!”

  Ark immediately called his battle suit. But the expected battle suit didn’t come out.

  ‘Dammit! My battle suit is also gone? Indeed, it isn’t strange for my battle suit to disappear along with the other items but…..no, now isn’t the time to think about this. If I can’t use the battle suit then I really will die!’

  He didn’t know why his body suddenly felt so heavy. But there was one obvious thing. In this state he couldn’t move his body to avoid the projectiles! And he had no shields to stop the bullets!

  “Sword Defense!”

  Ark said as he readied his lightsaber. The blue light separated the darkness and bullets scattered everywhere. Sword Defense was the technique that used the electromagnetic energy of the lightsaber to deflect projectiles!

  ‘Most of my items disappeared but my skills are still intact.’

  However he couldn’t be relieved just yet. Sword Defense wasn’t enough to change the situation. Attacks were coming from three different directions while the range of Sword Defense was limited. If was difficult to stop the bullets with Sword Defense in the darkness.

  ‘If only it was possible to secure some sight.’

  His Survivor coating gave him the Clairvoyance ability that allowed him to see through the darkness. It allowed him to see 20 metres in the darkness. But right now Ark couldn’t see anything.

  In fact, that was the reason Ark first thought he was dead. He couldn’t even see the bottom when using Clairvoyance.

  He thought there had been a problem with his skills but Sword Defense worked properly. Yet the lightsaber was clearly visible to the enemy. He didn’t understand the reason but it meant that Clairvoyance was sealed. Thanks to that, Ark couldn’t even confirm the form of the opponent.

  ‘Dammit, if Clairvoyance doesn’t work then it will keep on staying dark. Is this an effect of the bugged space? Anyway, he was using Sword Defense but it was just like painting a target on him. But how can those guys see in order to fire…..?’

  Then something popped into his head.

  ‘Wait? They can see? Then those guys? Can I use this?’

  At first he thought the problem with Clairvoyance was due to the bug. But his other skills could be used normally. This meant the space itself might be impervious to Clairvoyance. It was likely that Ark couldn’t see even if he loaded an infrared scope.

  ‘I don’t know. Those guys only started to attack after I was here for a long time. Then those guys were in the same room but unaware of my presence. They started to attack after I talked. I called out for my team and they started shooting. There is a high possibility that their view is restricted like me. I have to check it first!’

  He thought up to there. Ark switched his lightsaber to OFF. Once the sword turned off, he felt pain as the bullet penetrated his body.

  ‘If I don’t prepare myself then I’ll die!’

  Ark stopped his moans of pain from emerging. He firmed up his mental strength and move his legs. The feet used Swamp Walking to move! There were two reasons why Ark used Swamp Walking.

  The first was to make it easier to walk with his increase weight and the second was to make no noise. If his feet glided on the ground then it wouldn’t make any sound.

  That was the reason to turn the lightsaber to OFF! He stopped any light and sound.

  ‘If those guys can figure out my location from any noise or the light from the lightsaber then…..’

  The sound of gunfire stopped. A smile
of satisfaction spread on Ark’s face. Once he stopped the lightsaber and any noise, the enemy immediately lost Ark’s location.

  It had become clear. The fact that they didn’t shoot meant they couldn’t hear Ark. But it still wasn’t a fair fight. Ark’s only weapon was a lightsaber while they used machine guns. And the advantages of machine guns…..

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  Shortly after it stopped, the shooting started again. But they weren’t fired directly at Ark. The projectiles were just blindly shot all over the place!

  The strong point of a machine gun was that it was capable of random firing. Even a blindly shot bullet would be able to deal 100% damage. However if he used Sword Defense then he would become a target again.

  At that moment, Ark stretched out his hands and fired a skill.

  ‘Take this! Psychokinesis! Psychokinesis!’

  After a while.

  Tak! Tak tak tak! Tak tak tak!

  The sound of something rolling could be heard a few metres away. Ark had fired Psychokinesis blindly until he heard a sound. At the same time, he headed towards the noise while bullets were fired. And dozens of bullets showered down on him! Ark’s body flew across the darkness. He glided forward towards the source of the noise.

  Wiiing!

  And the lightsaber switched ON!

  “The fight is now on! Khafra Fencing 3rd style, Galaxy Sword!”

  The light of the sword turned on and dozens of swords spread out like a fan. A chain explosion occurred in the darkness. Dozens of lights had spread out from one point! The storm of light revealed the shape of the enemy.

  ‘What, what the? This guy…..?’

  Confusion spread on Ark’s face. It wasn’t Hawk like he expected. These guys also weren’t Hawk’s subordinates.

  A monster with bandages wrapped around it and gun muzzles for hands appeared.

  But now wasn’t the time to be surprised.

  Kuwaaaah!

  The monster with an egg like head shrieked and swung its arms. And bullets were fired from its hands! But this situation was different from before. He was now in a close combat fight with it.

  “You’re screwed now that I can see you!”

  Wiing! Buuuuong! Wiing! Wiing!

  The blue light formed a complex pattern across the body of the mummy.

  Ark had many skills to deal with people using firearms including Sword Defense. In addition, he rushed in while the enemy was off guard so they were now in a close combat fight. He could deflect the trajectory of the bullets even when it was pouring right in front of me.

  In order words, he could redirect the enemy’s muzzle towards another direction. Of course, he couldn’t redirect all of the bullets……

  Ping! Ping! Ping!

  The bullets scattered but blood flowed from various places on his body. But they were just grazes.

  On the other hand, Ark’s sword was driven into the mummy’s vital spots without any errors. The explosion of light decreased its health and the mummy didn’t last for even 1 minute. And it broke down into small particles like sand and disappeared.

  ‘Eh? This feeling…..?’

  Ark’s forehead wrinkled. He felt a sense of deja vu as he saw the mummy disappear. But he couldn’t afford to think too deeply about it.

  There were still 2 mummies remaining in the darkness. Of course, those two hadn’t just been watching while Ark was fighting.

  While Ark was fighting in close combat with one mummy, he was also blocking the other two enemies from hitting any vital spots. After the mummy fell, he was exposed to the enemy’s gunfire but that was only for a short moment.

  ‘It is impossible with three but that changes when talking about two enemies.’

  “Sword Defense!”

  Ark rotated his body like a spin top and swung his sword. The bullets flew in the opposite direction back to the mummies. The bullets were reversed!

  When only two enemies were shooting, he could use Sword Defense to direct the trajectory of the bullets. It was a technique that he learnt after dying many times in the training centre!

  Kuaaah!

  The mummies shrieked and stumbled.

  “Take this! Sonic Sword!”

  At the same time, a blue vortex flew forward. The blue sword moved in a flashy pattern and the mummy’s body exploded. Now he only needed to dispose of one more mummy.

  He had dealt with the first two easily.

  Wiiing! Wiing! Buoong!

  His lightsaber turned the final mummy into small bandage pieces.

  “Phew, now that is taken care of.”

  Ark sighed and looked around.

  “What are earth are these guys? Why are there monsters in the bugged space that occurred when I fell in a black hole? I don’t have a Nymphe so I can’t communicate with my other team members…..it isn’t possible. If I can’t even use the battle suit then clearly I can complain to the publisher. But isn’t Galaxian’s publisher a foreign company? Do I have to file the complaint in English? No, first I should check if there is any loot. There is no guarantee that monsters in a bugged space will drop loot. It is ridiculous that loot would drop in a bugged space. The publishers wouldn’t put loot in an accidental place like this.’

  But he couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Ark lay face down on the ground and tried to find something. No, while he was trying to do that.

  Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku!

  Suddenly the space divided and split in half. At the same time, a man ran in and shouted while a bright light shone behind him.

  “Hyung-nim, where are you? Are you okay?”

  Space 2

  In Another Time

  “Eh……”

  Ark scratched his head.

  “Here….I mean….who are you?”

  Ark looked at the man in front of him with confusion. He had overcome some hopeless circumstances and was about to look for loot when the man jumped in. He hugged Ark and spat out saliva while clamouring away.

  “Wuhahaha! Hyung-nim, you’re safe! Well, I always believed in you! Has it been one or two days since I saw Hyung-nim? I never doubted that Hyung-nim would pass!”

  But Ark couldn’t help asking.

  “Who are you?”

  This was the first time he saw that person. The man was a huge 2 metres tall with black skin. Ark didn’t know anyone who looked like that. He was also wearing armour made of crystals and carrying a shield larger than his body. He had no memory of this guy so he didn’t understand how they could have a close brother like relationship. The man just laughed and spoke while grabbing Ark’s hand.

  “Hey, Hyung-nim is making such a silly joke…..”

  “I’m not joking?”

  “Hehehe, please stop. Does it make sense that Hyung-nim doesn’t recognize me? It has been 10 years since I left home with Hyung-nim so if you don’t recognize Basak then you must have dementia.”

  Basak?

  It had been 10 seconds since they’ve met, not 10 years.

  ‘What is this bastard? No matter how I look, he isn’t a user….is he crazy? A crazy NPC? Ha, it really is all over the place. First invisible people and now a crazy NPC has appeared? Is this the influence of the bug? Why did he have to deal with a crazy NPC after falling into a black hole? No, where on earth is this place? Is this space really a bug?’

  When he was within the darkness, Ark was 100% convinced that this was a bugged space. That’s because Ark had never experienced something like this. But after taking care of the mummy, the space started to shake and a wall opened.

  Currently Ark’s main role in New World was to take care of bugs. Humans couldn’t create a perfect game so naturally there would be errors. There were times when New World was updated and even more errors were caused. Over the past year, Ark had used the power of the master code to fix the bugs.

  Ark was suddenly in the darkness so he thought the situation was due to a bug. It reminded him of a bug and he couldn’t think of any other possibilities.
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  ‘But this distortion doesn’t seem like a bug even more.’

  Ark exiting the darkness, Ark realized he was in a cave on a stone mountain. And a desert stretched out endlessly in front of him. Everywhere was just a bleak landscape of sand.

  ‘Did I really come to this place due to a bug? Then the black hole? The Silver Star? And the other team members? I need an explanation if it isn’t a bug!’

  Ark was in large state of confusion. He couldn’t blindly think that the situation was due to a bug anymore.

  ‘I don’t know what is going on. If this isn’t due to a bug then the situation has become more serious. Apart from Slayer and Kaya’s group, the way to restore Tori, Ellain and the Silver Star will be lost. Before making a rash decision and filing a bug report, I should try to find out their whereabouts.’

  Just as Ark was thinking this.

  “Hyung-nim?”

  Basak saw Ark’s expression and asked.

  “What are you thinking about? Did you perhaps hit your head?”

  “No, that’s not it…..”

  His head hurt because of this crazy NPC. However, even a mad NPC might be helpful. Ark considered the atmosphere before talking to Basak.

  “I’m fine. By the way, have you seen any other people around here?”

  “Other people? You know that there is only Teacher-nim and I here.”

  “Teacher-nim?”

  “Well, you passed in the end.”

  Then another voice was heard from close by. Ark thought that Basak was the only one here so he flinched at the unexpected voice and turned his head. And his eyes widened with shock. Next to the 2 metre tall Basak- he might’ve even been there from the beginning, was an old man not even half the size. The old man’s green skin had so many wrinkles that it was difficult to guess the age. His huge eyes that occupied half his face could be seen when the old man looked up at Ark!

  ‘…..Yoda?’

  That was the only name he could think about. Yoda stroked his sparse beard and continued talking.

  “Huhuhu, I never had any doubts. My eyes didn’t lie when I saw the makings of a great warrior in you. I understood the moment I saw you at Minahem Shrine.”