Ark The Legend Vol 14 Chapter 9

s.p.a.ce 9: Trouble

s.p.a.cE 9. Trouble

S-20’s main office.

A weird creature lingered in front of it. The skin colour was constantly changing and 6 legs moved as it sighed.

-They should be coming back today….

-Elder-nim, calm down.

–Calm down? Yes, calm, calm down.

The weird creature nodded its head as it talked. And it took a deep breath and raised its head before suddenly spouting ink.

–Aaaaah! Calm, I can’t be calm! d.a.m.n, I can’t relax at a time like this!

–E-elder-nim! Spewing ink like this isn’t good for your health.

–Is my health that important? Haven’t I told you before? Aren’t our kin miserably slaving away at the frontier? They’re probably being kicked and whipped! The young children are being chained by collars and forced to be slaves! Tuntun, don’t you know about slavery? It is a miserable life. To think of our kin living such a life….

The weird creature sobbing was none other than Bak.u.m. He was the elder of the Charenjok who lived in S-20.

Bak.u.m had been exposed to news of other Charenjok when Hegel returned on the Silver Star alone. 100 octopuses were forced to be slaves and excavate the ruins. Bak.u.m felt like his heart was breaking.

As an octopus, he was once free. However, the refugees scattered across the universe were now living miserable lives as slaves.

This was hopeful news. Hegel mentioned that Ark didn’t condone the plight of the Charejok and was working to free them. He understood the pain of the Charenjok.

Ark might have a plan. Therefore Bak.u.m believed in him.

–And Ark will find the answer. As always…

Like a movie. Ark! Please save them.

But he couldn’t help feeling worried. Hegel carried out Ark’s instructions and took 50 octopuses therefore the worried Bak.u.m had been waiting for the Silver Star to return. However, there had been no news in the last two days.

Bak.u.m glanced up at the sky and sighed.

–Coming back today….

–Don’t worry too much. Has Ark ever let us down?

–Yes, that’s right. I believe in him. But…

Kwaaaaaaah!

Then there was a roaring sound from the sky. Bak.u.m and Tutun flinched and turned their eyes towards the clouds in the sky. There was an explosion of light and the silver battles.h.i.+p appeared!

–S-Silver Star! Elder-nim!

–Ohh! Ark! Ark had returned!

Bak.u.m and Tuntun burst out as they ran forward. It wasn’t just them. The octopuses working at the artificial lake also ran forward. The octopuses swarmed towards the place where the Silver Star was landing.

And a man appeared when the entrance opened.

–Ark!

The colour on Bak.u.m’s head indicated his nervousness as he shouted. Ark glanced at all the octopuses in the area and laughed.

“You are all here.”

–Yes, how did things go? The Charenjok?

“It went well. Every last one is here.”

Ark grinned and looked back at the Silver Star. Then a huge number of octopuses started pouring out of the Silver Star.

The first to come out were the original 50 octopuses from S-20. Then the other 100 octopuses followed them with wide eyes. They were Hakun and the octopuses who were slaves at the pyramid.

–I heard about this place from Ark….

–Ohh, look over there. Water. A lake!

–Can we really live freely in a place like this?

–I can’t believe it yet. This isn’t a dream?

–Eh? T-that is….!

The octopuses were buzzing noisily. Then Hakun who was looking around suddenly shouted. And he ran towards Bak.u.m and the octopuses swarming at the entrance.

–Elder Bak.u.m-nim! Ohh, it is elder Bak.u.m-nim!

–You are?

–Hakun! I met you once a long time ago.

–Hakun! Yes, I remember. It was before we became refugees. Yes, I saw you. Ah, how long has it been since then?

-Decades have pa.s.sed.  It is enough for me to be considered a young elder.

-Yes, indeed.

–Sob, to be able to meet Elder-nim again is really great….

–Don’t say anything. Judging by the cuts and wrinkles on your body, I already understand. You went through a lot of trouble. Well, it is good that you lived.

–Sob! Elder-nim!

Hakun embraced Bak.u.m with tears dripping down his face. In Ark’s point of view, it seemed like 2 octopuses were gathered in an area to fight….anyway, it was a touching scene. Octopuses that had suffered after becoming refugees suddenly met again. It was touching but….

–Ark, I don’t know how to say thank you.

“This is something I should do as a friend of the Charenjok.”

–We need to thank you properly! My heart has calmed. I once again realized what a blessing it is to have you as a friend of the Charenjok. I won’t be able to return this favour for the rest of my lifetime! I need to do something to deserve having you as a friend. Now Ark, do you still have the token that is the symbol of the Charenjok’s friends.h.i.+p?

This was the real emotional part!

Once again, Ark had risked himself to free the octopuses who were slaves. The reward given by Bak.u.m!

The effect wasn’t enough to change a situation but the Charenjok’s token was definitely helpful. He had rescued 100 Charenjok, thus meeting the conditions to upgrade the token.

However, this didn’t proceed easily.

–Elder-nim, again?

The octopuses around Bak.u.m went crazy.

–That’s enough! Hasn’t Elder-nim already lost 2 legs? If you lose another leg then your health….when walking you won’t be able to maintain your centre of balance.

–Something else! Think about something else to give in return!

–Enough! Despite being refugees, we have never lost the pride of the Charenjok. It would be shameful for the Charenjok if we don’t return the favour! And what other way to we have to pay back his grace?This time Ark has rescued 100 people. Isn’t one leg worth 100 people being saved?

….Well, it was like this.

But Ark stayed out of it.

The octopus had to get rid of a part of its body. Of course, he was hoping for this but he didn’t want to ask for it. And there was no need to bother.

He had roughly sensed the atmosphere after the second leg. The octopuses would fuss but the token would eventually be upgraded. The formula was established so there was no need to fuss when it would end up in the desired direction. Ark kept plenty of s.p.a.ce between him and Bak.u.m.

“Tori, Milan, Hegel, move the borrowed weapons back to Hamad’s department store. I’ll be waiting at the office after it is cleaned up.”

Tori started to clean up the warehouse.

“Hmm, there will be less fish in the lake now. Should I widen the channel?”

He looked at the food factory and artificial lake.

-Wow! Wow! Wow!

The little octopuses played around.

During this time, the situation with Bak.u.m had been cleared up.

–Pant pant, Ark, I’m sorry for making you wait. Now hand over the Charenjok token.

The result was what he expected.

–Yes! Ohhhhhh! Haaayaahh!

Bak.u.m grinded his teeth together tightly after Ark handed him the Charenjok token. His head turned red as he bit his leg off. Then the leg started attaching to the Charenjok’s Token. And it stayed attached to the head of the token. It joined Bak.u.m’s other two legs to make it seem like a real octopus.

-A special feature has been added to the Charenjok’s Token!

Charenjok’s Token (Special) Lv: 3

Item Type:  Recovery, Secondary

The Charenjok’s Token was originally sold as a souvenir.

It is cute and could sometimes be used as a recovery item so a lot was sold to pioneers. But the Charenjok’s Token has a hidden secret. This secret can only be activated by the power of a Charenjok Elder. However the elder has to sacrifice a part of their body in order to awaken the power.

Not many Charenjok elders would be willing to sacrifice a part of their body unless they need to repay a pioneer. Therefore not many pioneers know about the true strength of the token.

1st Evolution (Growth): The acc.u.mulated experience can increase the effectiveness of the basic ability.

2nd Evolution (Ink Jet): The token has the ability to produce the ink naturally created by the Charenjok. When the ink jet hits the opponent’s face, it can cause the ‘blind’ state for 30 seconds. The Ink Jet can be fired 5 times and it requires 10 hours to recharge.

3rd Evolution (Octopus’s Blessing): The Charenjok’s body contained a high density of nutrients such as DHA and EPA and the token is able to inject these nutrients into the user in the form of a blessing. The infusion of nutrients is like drinking a nutritional drink and will become active in the user’s body over a period of time.

3rd evolution!

Despite the fact that he used it continually to gain experience, the token was still stuck at Lv. 3 but the leg had added a new skill. The name of the skill was Octopus’s Blessing!

‘I honestly didn’t expect much from the skill performance….’

He had obtained Ink Jet with the 2nd evolution. However, it had a short range and the drawback was that it might be aimed at the face to be triggered. It was hard to use without the element of surprise.

Of course, it was decent for a secondary equipment but the utilization couldn’t help but fall below general skills. Therefore he didn’t have great expectations for the 3rd evolution. He just thought it would improve by a little bit. But the result was beyond imagination!

The ‘Octopus’s Blessing’ gave rich nutrients such as DHA and EPA to increase the effect of all stats by 10% for 30 minutes. It was a buff that could be applied to all situations! Furthermore, the percentage would rise with the level. If the level increased then the buff applied to his stats would be higher.

‘I never imagined that the skill would be at his level.’ If it upgrades a few more times then this would be a huge item!’

Ark swallowed his saliva and stared at Bak.u.m’s legs. Bak.u.m had 5 legs remaining after biting one off.  There was a chance to evolve 5 more times. Bak.u.m would just become a ball but….

–Huhuhu, don’t worry about me.

Bak.u.m said with a warm smile.

-I once had to give up everything. If I hadn’t met you in the northern lake then I would’ve died of old age. But now my body is filled with hope. I might have lost 3 legs but it is all for our saviour. I am proud of this. I am also willing to remove my remaining legs for the future of the Charenjok.

Bak.u.m promised to give future compensation.

‘I also haven’t brought the octopuses on R-14 yet.’

In fact, Ark had contemplated bringing them when he was on Inquiry. He thought about bringing Burum and the others on R-14. However, Ark decided to delay going to R-14.

There were two reasons for this. The first was that the Silver Star already contained 150 octopuses so there was no more room. He wouldn’t be able to bring even 1 octopus from R-14. The probability of only one octopus leg being used to upgrade was high.

‘There is no need to take a risk to bring them together.’

He would save the octopuses on R-14 for a future opportunity. Burum was in charge of at least 100 octopuses so he was sure to get another leg.

‘Okay.  One of those legs is reserved.’

Ark greedily looked at Bak.u.m’s legs.

–Hehehe, don’t be concerned. I’m fine.

Bak.u.m laughed with his 5 legs. Anyway….

————————————————————————–

“Is it not ready yet?”

The balcony of the Management Office.  Ark muttered while looking at the breathtaking view of S-20.

It had been five days since Ark left S-20 to find the 3rd Divine Artefact. So not much time had pa.s.sed. In addition, there were no significant changes in the sector because most funds were tied to the planet development issue. It wasn’t a surprise but Ark had been expecting one major change when he got back to S-20.

This was the Star Gate connecting S-20 and Ikyullos. He had hoped the Star Gate would be finished by the time he got back from Inquiry. But Marquis Martin hadn’t even started the construction for the Star Gate yet.

‘I didn’t think it would take that much time to obtain the budget….’

The Star Gate was a donation from Marquis Martin. He had promised to make some room for it in the Galactic Federation’s budget. If the construction was delayed then he could only think something detrimental had occurred.

But he didn’t feel uneasy.

‘The other person is Marquis Martin. It might be a little late but I’m sure the construction will proceed without any problems. I feel impatient but there is no need to rush. I still need time to gather the funds to develop the planet.’

Ark was prepared in his own way. The first method was the investment shares in Beltana and Charem. The auction had finished by the time he returned to S-20.

-The auction items have been sold.

<5% investment="" share="" in="" beltana:="" bid="" price="" of="" 750="" gold="">

<5% investment="" share="" in="" athamas:="" bid="" price="" of="" 800="" gold="">

<3% investment="" share="" in="" charem:="" bid="" price="" of="" 1,120="" gold="">

He earned 2,670 gold as a result. It was low for everything he suffered on Beltana, Athamas and Charem but he just needed to think of the investment stake as extra income. And it would only be a burden on him if he kept it.

He sold it for a reasonable price at the appropriate time.

‘These funds are necessary for the development of a new planet. And there are methods of earning money other than the investment shares.’

“Rapid?”

Ark turned and asked. Bain bowed and replied.

“Not long ago, there was a complaint about a group of thieves so he went to deal with it. But he should come back soon.”

“Then I’ll need to wait to discuss the funds with Rapid….”

Ark turned to Mellin.

“The s.p.a.ce food production factory?”

“There are few fish species so there is a limit on the development of new products. However, the factory is operating with no problems. These days, the number of fish are being reduced so there are times when the Charenjok have been required to leave the lake. The Charenjok are supplying fish in the day and night s.h.i.+fts but it is slowly reaching the limit. And now you have brought 100 more Charenjok.”

Once again, Ark hadn’t brought the octopuses from Inquiry just for the upgraded token. Ark had determined the situation occurring at the food production factory. The number of fish was decreasing so Bak.u.m was finding it hard to maintain the appropriate fish supply. The factory needed a steady workforce to operate.

Ark brought 100 octopuses to the food production factory to relieve labour shortages. However, there was a problem.

Mellin scratched his head and said.

“But 100 is too much. Considering the problem, 50 octopuses would be able to solve it. If we divide the earnings according to the contract then some Charenjok will be unemployed…..”

“I don’t think that will happen.”

Those who don’t work won’t eat. That was one of Ark’s rules. It was the same for the octopuses at the sector. Ark was also planning to migrate the octopuses on R-14 to S-20.

It meant the number of unemployed would increase further. Measures were necessary to stop this.

“We need a new business idea.”

“New business?”

“Yes, like Mellin-nim said, the fish in the lake is barely enough for the food production factory. So there is no use in buying another food maker.”

“That’s right.

“Besides, I will probably accept more Charenjok in the future. If so, the number of octopuses just playing around might reach 150. I think this is a good opportunity. Most of S-20’s current income relies on commerce. Commerce is profitable but it can fluctuate. So we might not to expand the primary industry in order to earn a stable income. Along with the future development of the planet, new businesses are required to increase the scale of S-20.”

“Certainly…..”

Mellin nodded his head.

“I understand. Then I will look for an appropriate business.”

Then a ‘;;’ floated above Mellin’s head. It indicated confusion. Finding a business for 150 octopuses to work wasn’t as easy as it seemed. But an answer hadn’t appeared yet.

And Ark had separate work to do.

“Hamad, what is the current status of S-20’s funding?”

“Well, the sector funds….”

Ark, Bain, Hamad and Mellin were having a sector management meeting. All of a sudden, the door burst open and someone ran in.

“Eh? Rapid!”

“Ark! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

The person who ran in was Rapid.

“Rapid, have you been well?”

Ark said with a smile. Then Rapid grabbed Ark’s collar and shook him.

“Have you been well? What is your mouth saying? What the h.e.l.l is manager of handling complaints? My head is already full from the investment fund so why are you giving me the t.i.tle? Am I your servant? Huh? Your servant?”

“Huh? Your head is full? I figured that you know about business since you graduated from K University.”

“Talking like that…..”

“And putting you in charge of the complaints couldn’t be helped. Do you know why? You are the only user apart from Kurakan. But you know Kurakan….he is a little annoying. You are the only person I can trust. Well, you’re right. You don’t need to do it! It doesn’t matter what happens to S-20 in the meantime! You are the only one I can entrust it to. The only rival that I recognize, Alan! That’s what you are! You can leave. But if you leave then who can I entrust the sector to?”

“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d keeps on speaking nonsense…..”

“I’m serious. Look, my eyes are filled with faith.”

“Dammit, I must be crazy. Why did I join an Agent like this….?”

Rapid retreated from the expression in Ark’s eyes. But his expression wasn’t angry. It was more disbelieving.

Ark laughed before looking back at Hamad.

“Use 2,500 gold of the sector funds to pay Tori.”

“2,500 gold? What is going on?”

“I found a blueprint in the ruins. The blueprint still isn’t identified but it was found in the Murat ruins.”

“One of the 4 species, the Murat?”

“Yes, it is an ancient civilization but they are a species with excellent science and technology. So the blueprint from the Murat ruins is worth studying. Tori and Jay needed a considerable amount of time to study it.”

“That is another matter….”

Hamad scratched his head and muttered.

“I normally wouldn’t mind but aren’t we already planning to develop the planet?”

“We don’t need to worry about the planet development funds because Rapid is taking care of it.”

“Don’t say that so easily! It isn’t that simple!”

Rapid snapped angrily at Ark’s words. Ark tilted his head to one side and asked.

“Why, you can’t do it?”

“What? By myself? Who are you talking to?”

“Have confidence in yourself. Haven’t you heard? Securing funds for the planet development isn’t a problem.”

“T-this b.a.s.t.a.r.d….”

“I told you. I believe in you.”

Ark said as he looked at Rapid.

“Speaking of that…is there any problems with the investment fund? Is it going well?”

“It is all done!”

Rapid picked up a pile of doc.u.ments and shouted. Just glancing at it was enough to tell that the pile of doc.u.ments was at least 10 centimetres thick. It would take a few hours to read. A large amount of time would have been required to create such doc.u.ments.

But Ark didn’t even read it. He wouldn’t understand it even if he read it so he was going to leave it all to Rapid. Rapid would have the unenviable job while Ark just needed to receive his reports.

‘It is good to be the boss.’

“Then do you have everything required to implement this?”

Ark asked as he put aside the doc.u.ments and Rapid replied in a testy voice.

“Ignorant fellow, do you know what is required? The most important thing is still remaining. We need to inspect the planet. We need to grasp the products that will yield a profit.”

“So shall we put it off for now? Well done.”

“Well done?”

“Actually, I have a difficult problem.”

Ark had a reason for hurriedly organizing the sector problems. In fact, Ark’s Nymphe had received a mail while he was returning to S-20 on the Silver Star. Not long ago, Ark had received an official Agent request from the Silver Hand mercenary leader Clem.

–Ark!

This matter is urgent.

The scouts I sent to the dungeon in the Vesta region misjudged the situation. The monsters here are stronger than I thought. And they are also smarter.

We were stupid and they lured us deep into the dungeon. We were fortunate enough to find a safe place but we are isolated and will be eventually wiped out.

I hope you receive this mail because we are killed.

Your help is needed. I don’t know how long we can hold out.

Please. You are the only person I can trust.

Quickly….

Caller: Silver Hand mercenary leader Clem.

Clem’s SOS!

‘I didn’t take it seriously….’

The situation had progressed in an unforeseen direction.

It was fortunate that the employees he dispatched to help Clem were NPCs like Berad, Ralph, Kalliben, Carly, Beleol, Cupa, Hedro, Reben and Konsed who could revive after dying.

So he wouldn’t lost his employees even in the worst case situation. However, his relations.h.i.+p with the Silver Hand had reached a significant level and it would also cost a lot for the Royal Guards to revive with the Fairy.

‘The Royal Guards registered with the Fairy before leaving S-20. But the members hasn’t resurrected yet. At least there are no casualties among them yet. According to the contents of the letter, they have found a safe place to hide.’

It wasn’t a situation where he could act slowly. However, Ark couldn’t go there alone. If the Silver Hand needed to request help then the enemies must be strong.

“Bain, the mercenaries who partic.i.p.ated in the investigation team with me. Are Slayer, Sadain and Kaya still in S-20?”

“No, they dispersed after you left. They said they would return when the Star Gate is complete to look at the planet they invested in. Kaya actually left with Rapid to take care of the thieves but she stormed off cursing after they returned.”

“Eh?”

What does that mean? Ark stared at Rapid after hearing the unexpected report. Then Rapid shouted with a displeased expression.

“Do not say anything! I don’t know what happened!”

“What did you say?”

“Look with your own eyes, your eyes!”

“I am a man so I don’t understand Kaya….”

Anyway, it would be hard to recall Slayer, Leon, Melina, Sadain, Park and Kaya right away. But Ark wasn’t worried about it. There were still employees of Dark Eden remaining.

The first one was Rapid and….

————————————————————————–

‘This is due to my inexperience! ‘

Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

A cool stream of water poured to the lake below. A man was sitting on a rock being hit by the water.

The man was wearing a turban and light armour. His appearance had changed a lot but it was the strongest warrior of the Kusan clan on Rakunka, Ellain. But he had been depressed in the last few days.

The reason was due to Ark.

‘When I left Rakunka, I swore to always stay at Ark-nim’s side. But Ark had left him in this place. I still lack the skills to be Ark-nim’s subordinate!’

This troubled him deeply. Ellain believed that he had disappointed Ark. It was why Ellain wasn’t asked to accompany Ark. Ellain knew that the Messenger of G.o.d had tremendous power.

‘I am very ashamed. The strongest warrior of the Kusan clan….it means nothing. Instead of helping Ark-nim, I am just a burden. I need to become stronger in order to truly serve Ark-nim. And now I am one step closer to completing Asuldan’s sword technique!’

It was the reason why Ellain was sitting there!

Training! Become a strong warrior! And become a true subordinate to Ark!

Over the last five days, Ellain had been training along at the waterfall.

‘Now all the preparations are over. This time….’

“Welcome to the alter ego!”

Ellain’s eyes flashed as he yelled. Ellain suddenly increased to 5 bodies that launched towards the waterfall. Ellain used the skill Welcome to the Alter Ego. But in the next moment, dozens of black lights burst from the swords of the alter egos and exploded on the waterfall.

An information window then appeared in front of Ellain.

-A new skill has been added to Welcome to the Alter Ego.

Phantom Rampage (Users, Active): Phantom Rampage is an extension of Welcome to the Alter Ego but the manifestation is completely different.

Welcome to the Alter Ego only creates alter egos but Phantom Rampage can deal damage to the enemy. If Phantom Rampage succeeds then the alter egos can attack a single enemy or separate to attack different enemies. The damage will correspond to 70% of the normal attack.

Mana consumption:  100

Chwaaaaah!

“I-It’s a success!”

Ellain looked up at the waterfall pouring down and shouted. Then an octopus rose out of the lake and said.

–Ellain-nim, Ark-nim is calling!

“Now, let’s see?”

Kurakan smiled and lifted a large object. Kurakan had recently realized something.

A long-awaited SF game. He would rather shoot a machine gun then use a common sword! This was why Kurakan chose a machine gun as his primary weapon. And he used unlimited bullets to show off his skills. But he realized something after meeting Ark and the high level NPCs.

‘Keuk! I’m no good in shooting!’

He only had a 20~30% hit rate despite pouring out gunfire. Kurakan originally though his weapon was a machine gun. But it wasn’t. Apart from Rapid’s unusual existence, other high level users also had a 60~70% hit rate when using machine gun.

When comparing the hit rate of the M-620 machine gun, his 30% rate was shameful compared to 60~70%.

‘My position….’

But it was too late to feel regret. He had only used a machine gun since starting the game. On Muratio Star, he had earned the profession ‘Heavy Gunner.’

Now he could use different weapons. Therefore the distressed Kurakan found an answer. The answer was the machine gun he was holding right now!

-M-620

A rare machine gun that fires 20 rounds per minute.

Additional Mounting: , , , …..

“This is the method!”

Kurakan found a way by modifying his gun! His shooting skill was insufficient so he used these devices to a.s.sist him. Thanks to that, the bulk had doubled! A machine gun with too many secondary devices!

“Now,  jet fire! My neo M-620!”

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

Bullets flew from M-620 as the trigger mechanism was pulled. Anyone hit by it would instantly turn to tatters! In the past, his aim was spread all over the place and there was unstable recoil so the hit rate couldn’t reach 60~70%.

“Wuhahaha! How about it? Now I can be an a.s.saulter!”

The satisfied Kurakan let out a burst of laughter. Then a member of the Belkin clan shouted from behind him.

“Hey! Kurakan, Ark hyung-him is looking for us!”

————————————————————————–

“Look at this.”

Deep in the dark somewhere. Someone laughed and rubbed their fingers on their skin. The black dust fell off and revealed immaculate flesh.

“Isn’t it unbelievably white? Huhuhu, we have turned completely white due to no exposure from the sun. If we spend more time here then we won’t need whitening cosmetics. My head now seems to be completely white. “No, it really is white. Huhuhu.”

“Kuack, stop.”

The person with him moaned. Then another man holding a shovel on the side laughed.

“Hyung-nim, look at this. Finally the count has reached 50,000. Isn’t it amazing? We dug so many times in one day. Each dig is worth 1 copper so we’ve already earned 5 gold. Hohoho, if this continues then won’t we be rich?”

“Ugh, I told you to stop!”

“Hyung-nim, I’m going to say this. I want to live happily. Something like this….”

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Please stop!”

The man shouted indignantly. He stared at the two others in front of him before suddenly crying and embracing them.

“Huhuhuhu! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! This is because Hyung was incompetent. Yes, it is all my fault. So stop. I’d rather you blame me. Release your spirit by d.a.m.ning me.”

“H-Hyung-nim….”

“Huk! Sob sob sob. Hyung-nim!”

In the end, tears poured out the eyes of the two other men. They were Ferguson and his brothers A and B. After losing their s.h.i.+p on the quest and being caught by Ark, they were forced to go to S-20.

And after five days in the dungeon. Sleeping, eating, shovelling, shovelling, shovelling, eating, sleeping, shovelling, shovelling….

Their head and skin turned white from digging in the dark cave and their spirits became crazy. Despite that, they hadn’t forgotten.

‘This is due to Ark. Ark is our natural enemy. Even if he wasn’t the Ark of New World, we shouldn’t have been involved with any user with that name. But it is too late. Ark already has our phone number and address.’

They had spent several years in New World being frightened of Ark. And they were still afraid now that Ark had their phone number and address.

‘However, I am still a user who once ranked 19th. Ah, those days are really like a dream. Now that we’ve been caught twice by Ark, there is no way to come back. That Ark b.a.s.t.a.r.d from New World has caught us. Now I don’t know when we will see the sun again. No, that can’t be! It doesn’t matter to me but I can’t stand to see them look so pitiful. I will grab Ark’s leg and beg him to save both of them!’

Ark was against him. Ferguson made that choice for A and B. This was the only hope that Ferguson had devised. Ferguson, A and B were digging while the Belkin that brought them there ran in and shouted.

“Hey! Job workers, Ark hyung-nim is calling you!”

————————————————————————–

“Well….”

S-20’s main office.

Ark glanced at the people gathered around the Silver Star. Rapid, Ellain, Kurakan, Ferguson, A and B. And Asuran. They were the employees with power still remaining in Dark Eden.

It wasn’t a large number but the Royal Guards had already been dispatched. And there was no need to talk about Rapid’s capabilities.

And Ellain. Although he was a NPC that wouldn’t resurrect using a Fairy, he was a warrior stronger than Ark. There was also an ‘!’ mark on his head indicated that he had learnt a new skill.

Kurakan was holding a drastically revamped machine gun in front of Ark.

Ferguson, A and B weren’t employees but they were Ark’s slaves. However, they were on a different level from the octopuses. Ark obtained a slave that had once reached the 18th rank among users. Although their firepower depended on the equipment. Tori was going to stay in S-20 to research the blueprint but Milan and Hegel were ready to steer the Silver Star.

And…..

Character Information Window Name Ark (R-02788) Level 153 Species Human Occupation Elim’s Heir Fame 24,730  Adventure 2,040 Health 3,600 (+575) Mental Power  825 (+490) Mana 0 Force 3,040 Strength 385 (+80) Agility 415 (+128) Stamina 605 (+105) Wisdom 40 (+23) Intelligence 395 (+98) Luck 45 (+18) Leaders.h.i.+p 10     * t.i.tle

Ignorant Destroyer (Wisdom -10, Strength +7, Stamina +7)

Spatial Breakthrough (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +10)

Beltana’s Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +3)

Athamas’ Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +5)

Mediator (Wisdom, Intelligence +15)

* Set Item Effect (Strength, Agility, Stamina +10. Defense +20)

* Contribution: Galactic Federation 27,520,  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.

Ark!

Nine people were organized to rescue the Silver Hand.

“There is no time. We will depart straight away! Everybody board the Silver Star.”

They were already trapped. It wasn’t considered dangerous yet but the situation might deteriorate. The crew climbed aboard the Silver Star.

Suddenly the clouds in the skies about S-20 spread out. And there was a ring of light before an airs.h.i.+p appeared. A moderately famous person was on-board that airs.h.i.+p. The s.h.i.+p that emerged….

“This? It is clearly Marquis Martin….”

The airs.h.i.+p had the private flag of Marquis Martin. Not surprisingly, Marquis Martin was on the airs.h.i.+p.

“Marquis-nim is here?”

“Ah, I just finished some work. Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, there is a small problem. Did something happen? Coming here yourself….”

“That……”

Marquis Martin frowned.

And he hesitated for a moment before sighing and speaking.

“I don’t know what is going on but there is a place you need to go with me first.”

TO BE CONTINUED