Ark Volume 01 - Japtem

by Yoo Seong

  “I’m sorry. I’m called a parent, but I’m just being baggage…"

  “I told you it’s not like that. It’s just that I’ve been playing around with my friends until late at night these days, so I kinda haven’t gotten enough sleep."

  “But if I wasn’t like this, right now even university….”

  “Mother.” Hyun Woo abruptly grasped his mother’s hand and smiled. “I’m really perfectly okay. Honestly, I like working a lot more than going to university. Work is fun, and my coworkers treat me well too. There are also people who always help me, too. There’s no reason for you to worry, Mother. Ah, there is one thing that’s difficult.”

  “What is it?"

  “That I can’t eat the mixed noodles (bibimgooksul)1 you make."

  “You little… Saying such pointless words…."

  “It’s the truth. That’s the only food I really want to eat. Although I tried to imitate it, the taste wasn’t right. So get better quickly and make it for me, please. Okay?"

  “Alright. Okay.”

  Hyun Woo shot a wink at her and chattered, and finally his mother laughed.

  Although he had integrity, his personality wasn’t charming. In the past, he wouldn’t have even been able to imagine saying words like these. But somewhere along the line, in a way that was strange to even him, these kinds of words slowly came out.

  This was also one of the effects of playing New World.

  ‘To think that I could use the experience from taking care of Granny Johansson like this.’

  When Hyun Woo had taken care of Johansson in Harun Village, there had been things he’d naturally learned.

  At first, it had just been a quest that he’d taken while crying to himself to get to the next one. As repeated the quest, he had realized something. The rewards correlated to how well Hyun Woo treated her—the better he did, the more the reward.

  The default reward was 1 Silver, but there were cases when he received more than that if he poured all his heart into nursing her. The time it took was the same anyways, so it was much better if he could receive 1 more Silver.

  After finding out about that, Hyun Woo was able to dive into the words and actions Johansson wanted in advance.

  What was fun was that his trained senses from the game could transfer to reality too. Although he couldn’t use the Nursing skill from the game to increase vigor and courage, just making his mother feel better was not a problem.

  It was a small, unnoticeable change, but it made his mother’s expression brighten.

  ‘Why wasn’t I able to do something this simple for her in the past?’ With that alone, Hyun Woo felt that playing New World was worth it.

  “Then I’ll stop by again the morning after tomorrow. I’ll leave the fruit here, so please eat them when you can.”

  Hyun Woo put down the fruit basket and energetically turned around. After hearing from the doctor that fruits would help with the treatment, Hyun Woo always bought her a fruit basket once a week. Though it was the Hyun Woo who couldn’t bear to buy himself one ramen, if it would help his mother recover, he would buy her her not just fruit, but wild ginseng2.

  Hyun Woo dragged his exhausted, sleep-deprived body to the Mart.

  After laboring for 6 hours a day while moving heavy crates here and there and stacking them, the monthly wage he received was 1,500,000 Won (USD$1,500). In addition, he earned 2,000,000 Won (USD$2,000) from working 3 part-time jobs, each one 3 hours long.

  Global Exos paid their employees 1,500,000 Won (USD$1,500) a month. The amount Hyun Woo earned by working 15 hours a day was 5,000,000 Won (USD$5,000) a month.

  With his income, he could barely cover his mother’s hospital fees and living expenses, the interest on loans, and since he needed to repay the payments for her to be discharged, no matter how much he tightened his belt, he lived a continuously suffocating life. So no matter how difficult it was or how much his body hurt, he could not stop working.

  Hyun Woo shook his head vigorously.

  ‘Mother is suffering many times more than I am. Yeah, I can’t say weak things and the like.’

  After finally finishing a bout of work, Hyun Woo squeezed in between some boxes and briefly closed his eyes.

  The reason why he was able to endure with 1 hour of sleep a day was that he slept while riding the subway, or he napped a little in his spare time at work. Of course, those sweet moments of respite were only possible thanks to his co-worker Hye Sun’s help….

  “Oppa, oppa!”

  At the sound of someone shaking him awake, Hyun Woo sluggishly opened his eyes.

  Hye Sun was shaking him with an anxious look on her face.

  “Huh? What’s going on? Did the wares come in?"

  “A call came in saying they’re coming in a little bit. The owner is gonna come down soon.”

  “Alright, I’d better wake up if I don’t want to be nagged at.” Hyun Woo muttered as he thoroughly stretched himself.

  Hye Sun asked with a worried look in her eyes. “Oppa, did you take on yet another part-time job?”

  “Huh? Nah. On the other hand I’ve dropped a few of ‘em."

  “Then why are you drowsing like this whenever you can these days?”

  “Yeah, that’s….” Hyun Woo scratched his head and made a sheepish look. “The truth is, lately I’ve been playing a game at home.”

  “Oppa plays games too?"

  “What’s this? In the past, there was a time when I played games like crazy. As soon as it was the weekend, if I clicked my mouse the night was spent, and if I drummed away at my keyboard it was already dawn. There are over 3~4 online games where I reached the max levels.”

  In those days, he really didn’t know how the days passed and was completely absorbed in the game. His parents were on the lenient side, so he didn’t even have any memories of getting scolded for playing games. But as his life started to turn upside down, everything else had become insignificant.

  No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on his game, the burdensome reality got in the way. There hadn’t been a game that engrossed him enough to let him forget reality.

  ‘I’ll probably never be able to comfortably play games again.’

  That’s what he had thought. But lately, those past sensations were reviving in Hyun Woo.

  He was so immersed in New World that he was able to forget his goal of playing the game to get employed by Global Exos. That’s why his sleeping time had steadily dropped, and he was so exhausted that he could say his body and mind were ‘running on empty fumes’.

  It was to the point that he’d completely blanked out on even the report– he remembered two days before the due date and hurriedly wrote one up and submitted it.

  Even so, the time he spent playing the game was truly enjoyable. And he wanted to go into the Global Exos that had created such a game. However, it was highly unlikely. Hyun Woo had learned less and had nothing compared to the other candidates. And he was definitely short on time.

  Although the competition ratio was 1 in 200, in reality Hyun Woo was up against 1900 people. He could only conclude that there was a greater chance of rejection than acceptance. That’s why Hyun Woo wanted to enjoy New World as much as he could. He had to return the 10,000,000 Won (USD$10,000) unit when the test was over.

  ‘If I return the unit, with my income, I probably won’t be able to play it again. Even for the sake of playing New World, I want to get accepted. No, I will. I have to believe that I can.’

  His apprehension from faking his resume still remained. But seeing as Global Exos hadn’t noticed all this time, could he somehow fool them to the very end? He wanted to believe that he could.

  As Hye Sun watched Hyun Woo lost in thought, her eyes suddenly widened.

  “Then what’s the game oppa’s been playing lately?"

  “Why are you asking that?"

  “Well, if it’s fun I want to try too."

  “You’ve played a game before?"

  “Of course."

 
“What was it?”

  “Mmm, well… what was it… the dancing one3…” Hye Sun mumbled with a frown.

  “This game is totally different game from those. And even if you know what it is, it’s too much for you to play."

  “Tch, what exactly is it to make you say that?"

  “It’s called New World, it came out recently.”

  “N-New World?” Hye Sun’s eyes got round.

  “You know it?"

  “Of course. That is… you’re right. I saw it in a newspaper once. But doesn’t it take a huge amount of money to play that game? ‘Cause of that unit or whatever.”

  “Somehow or another, I got to play it for free."

  “Somehow or another?"

  “I can’t really explain it to you in detail. Ah, I heard there are game rooms where units are installed nowadays. The fees are a little expensive, but if you have the chance, try it once. Just trying it once is going to be better than having me explain it a hundred times.”

  Then, a truck topped to the brim with wares entered the warehouse, and Hyun Woo quickly ran towards it with a loading cart.

  Hye Sun watched Hyun Woo’s back and nodded her head as if she had made some kind of resolution.

  “He said it was New World, huh?”

  * * *

  1. Mixed noodles is Korean spicy noodles.

  2. Wild ginseng, sansam, is very rare and precious. It is prized for its medicinal properties and can easily reach $500 per pound.

  3. She is referring to DDR, Dance Dance Revolution, or something similar.

  VISCOUNT HAVERSTEIN'S REVENGE

  * * *

  New World, the continent where sunlight-like peace can be obtained through the blessings of God.

  However, the trails left behind by history were carved with blood and violence.

  There had been a turbulent period in the history of New World, so far past that no one could even recall.

  Thousands of races broke off into various factions, creating endless wars. Blood was washed away with more blood, corpses were blanketed with more corpses. What ended this tumultuous era was not a force of righteousness. It was wickedly evil beyond compare.

  The devil incarnate did not differentiate between races and attacked everyone. With immense strength, it dyed the continent in black blood.

  All the races were like newborn babies before the devil incarnate. They stilled their breaths and trembled at the chaos and horror. It was the start of the so-called Dark Century.

  But it is the law of the world that as the darkness deepens, a more brilliant light will arise. So when the devil incarnate’s war situation reached its climax, there were those who broke free with light and rose.

  The 7 heroes whose names were left in history’s path.

  3 of them were Human, and the others were Dwarf, Elf, Orc and the Beast hero they called Maban.

  At the center of the continent, they formed a strong alliance. Then the sound of moaning changed to shouts of victory. One by one, as they carved the records of great wars the 7 heroes were finally able to defeat the devil incarnate.

  With the disappearance of the devil incarnate, the 7 heroes spoke of what they desired amongst themselves.

  “I desire spacious and fertile earth.”

  The three Human heroes received three kingdoms on New World.

  “I desire a forest overflowing with life.”

  “For me a hot fire and rock’s strength!”

  “A damp bog and barren wilderness for me.”

  The Elf received rights to the forest, the Dwarf the underground, and the Orc the wasteland.

  Their eyes looked toward Hero Maban.

  Hero Maban spoke with a bitter smile.

  “I wish to watch over the blood vow that you made in your hearts.”

  “That vow will be kept.”

  “Then that is enough.”

  Hero Maban spoke those words and disappeared.

  The kingdoms the six heroes erected became the present New World. And for over 200 years, New World reached its Golden Age and prospered.

  But this time was not only prosperous.

  Following the flow of time, the pledge of friendship the six heroes had shared slowly but surely faded away. 200 years was plenty of time to forget the horror and honors of the past.

  The vow splintered. And the crack was largely spreading in a way that anyone could see.

  « o »

  “Hm, this time should I try putting this one in?”

  Ark pushed the herb he’d been holding into the pot.

  Then the liquid within the pot turned reddish and shortly firmed up like pudding.

  After staring at the pudding with a serious expression, he clenched his eyes shut and spooned in the pudding. The feeling of his weak stomach becoming completely full was accompanied by a surge of energy.

  You have created Nutritious Jelly with Survival Cooking.Satiety has been filled to 100% and within 10 seconds 200 health will be restored. For 10 minutes strength and stamina increase by 2. Wisdom and Intelligence are reduced by 2.

  “Nice, it’s a success this time.”

  Ark blew out a sigh of relief and stored the pudding in his bag.

  After his departure from Harun Village, Ark had purposely left the road and diverged into the forest. After actually leaving the village, the users who went to Jackson Castle were mostly at about level 15.

  Of course, if you just looked at his stats Ark was also in a state of being over level 10. Still, being at a lower level than others made him feel uneasy.

  The level was an absolute number in the game. That his level was falling meant that he was that much weaker!

  That’s why he was in the process of completely wiping out any Wild Dogs and Wolves he saw as he cut through the forest. When he killed over two hundred Wild Dogs and Wolves like that, Ark reached level 16. Thanks to that, his sword and armor transformed to a ragged mess, which would crumble if he touched them.

  ‘I should learn the Repair skill when I arrive at Jackson Castle.’

  If the precious equipment he struggled to obtain had cracked, he wouldn’t even be able to sleep for a few days.

  Ark changed his equipment to leather clothing for the time being and and concentrated on gathering.

  He intended to use this chance to raise his Survival Cooking level as well.

  At first he thought about erasing the skill after seeing the creation of a ridiculous food and learning ordinary cooking, but hunting the demon mouse had enlightened him of the usefulness of Survival Cooking.

  ‘I can use it whether it’s poison or food.’

  But even though he resolved himself and tried to raise it, it wasn’t easy.

  Survival Cooking was not regular cooking. He couldn’t simply mix any ingredients he wanted to create results. When the combination didn’t match at all, with an explosion the ingredients would all go to waste.

  At last, after over one hundred attempts, Ark had successfully made 15 dishes, including Fragrant Poison Soup. Out of those the only ones worth using were Howling Seasoned Chili, Refreshing Herb Tea, and the recent success Nutritional Jelly.

  The Howling Seasoned Chilies was an enormously strong-tasting food that had the effect of temporarily increasing Strength by 10. But after that effect disappeared the user was plunged into a state of Confusion for several minutes, so it was an incomparably dangerous food. After eating this Ark had fought five Wolves and had almost died.

  The Refreshing Herb Tea was a tea that restored Mana. It was incredibly delicious, and Ark frequently made and drank it while on his journey.

  So as he did the things he’d been unable to do until now because he’d been fighting mice, his skill rose by a lot and he even earned 2 new skills.

  Passive SkillSword Mastery (Beginner:26/100) You do not receive weapon penalties even if you use a sword. Hand-to-hand Combat (Beginner:24/100) Whenever you fight bare-handed, your Attack Power, Accuracy, and Evasion are increased.

  Survival Cooking (Beginn
er:22/100) You can make unidentified dishes with ingredients obtained from nature.

  Undying Will (Beginner:27/100) When in critical condition, your Attack Power, Critical Hit Chance, and ability to recover are increased.

  Foraging (Beginner:29/100) Food ingredients from nature can be gathered.

  Active SkillNursing (Beginner:21/100) Gives hope, energy, and courage to patients. Mana consumption 10. Spirit of the Cat (Intermediate:103/300) Plants horror in mice and small monsters, sealing off their movements; Attack Power, Defense. and morale are sharply decreased. Mana consumption 100.

  Ingredient Identification (Beginner, Passive): Can confirm the basic effects of food ingredients that you obtain from the Foraging skill.Because your knowledge in food ingredients has risen, when you Forage you will no longer sustain damage from ingredients. Indomitable Body (Beginner, Passive): Even if you confront fairly dangerous situations, you are granted the fortitude to endure them.

  Your excellent Defense will shine more brightly in difficult situations.

  Emergency Defense, Evasion of Fatal Blows increased by 30%. Recovery ability increased by 5%.

  The Ingredient Identification seemed to be a skill that added to Survival Cooking. In any case, knowing whether the harvested ingredient was poisonous or not was a good thing. Because then he’d be able to decrease the probability of failure a little.

  The truly unexpected skill was Indomitable Body. After squeezing his eyes shut and eating every one hundred plus dish he’d made with Survival Cooking, the Indomitable Body skill had naturally formed. For that kind of a skill to form meant that Survival Cooking was really dangerous.

  Ark was satisfied with that much.

  “Now that the ingredients are all used up, shall I go?”

  Ark shouldered his bag and began to walk again.

  Though it was dawn in reality, in New World it was morning.

  As he hefted his bag and walked through the forest, a cool wind tickled his face. The smell of grass permeated his nostrils and washed clean his chest.

  Though he had thought and marveled about it many times, New World was beyond the classification of a normal game after all. As its name proclaimed, New World was literally a new world.