by Yoo Seong
This was one of the reasons why he tried to restore the relationship with Bhurad. This was the beginner area. The users were starting Galaxian for the first time so there would be some type of basic tutorial. This was a place where users would come and go like a tide so the
“I have no other work…..this place certainly isn’t lacking in manpower. Well, there are the maintenance jobs that most people shun in favour of catching the space bugs. That is…..”
Bhurad suddenly raised his head.
“Ah, that’s right. I recently talked to the manager of sector 7 who was complaining. He might have a job for you but…..”
“But?”
“Even if you work there all day, you’ll only receive a few copper coins. Is that still okay?”
If this continued then he would become homeless. This wasn’t a situation where he could choose between cold rice or hot rice.
“I’ll work hard.”
“Indeed, I’m sure you will. Then follow that passage and you will reach sector 7. Find someone called Cheksun and tell him that I sent you.”
“Thank you. I’ll work hard and will come back after preparing another dagger.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting……”
Bhurad muttered with a concerned look but Ark didn’t pay him any attention. Having work was better than leaving empty handed. Ark ran like the wind towards sector 7. R-14 was always lighted up and space was seen through the windows so it was hard to get a concept of time but it was actually evening now. So the users saturated R-14 increased even more and most of them were in the 1~5 sectors for the
“W-what’s all this?”
Ark looked around with wide eyes. The first thing he saw were pipes. The pipes were tangled like spider webs inside a huge forest like space. But the thing that stimulated Ark’s curiosity were the deep jellyfish like existences hanging around the pipes. No, they were NPCs who looked like deep black octopuses. One octopus was wandering around holding a bucket that contained various tools.
‘What are those octopuses? Are they livestock that are being raised here?’
“Who are you?”
Then he heard a rough voice from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a scowling man wearing overalls covered in oil. Although he had a bald head, he was still a human.
“Are you Cheksun?”
“So?”
“I am Ark. Bhurad told me that you had a job request.”
“A job request? Did you hear what you have to do?”
“I didn’t hear about it.”
“Sheesh!”
Cheksun clicked his tongue. He indicated towards the pipes and said.
“That right there is your work. Do you see the pipes? That is R-14’s air circulation device. All of the air in R-14 passes through that device. The job is to clean the pipes. You have to crawl inside the pipes, remove any impurities, tighten the gears and oil them. Can you do something like that?”
“I’ll work hard.”
“Everybody says that.”
Cheksun snorted.
“Many ignorant novices who had newly arrived at R-14 tried before you came. They all said they would work hard but then ended up leaving after 1 hour. Damn, there’s no one with guts these days.”
“I’m different.”
Ark replied in a firm voice. That’s right. Ark was different from those users. The users who first visited here probably thought there would be a hidden quest. So they accepted as soon as a quest was given but ended up giving up. However, Ark’s position was different from the users who only visited due to curiosity. He didn’t have a dagger like everyone else. After losing the dagger, he had been lost in despair and also ate his Space Food and drank his Purified Water. If he didn’t find a job then he might by the first user in Galaxian to die of starvation! He would do whatever it took. He had to gather enough money to buy a dagger.
“Just watch me. I won’t disappoint you.”
Ark replied in a disciplined voice. Cheksun just nodded with an expression that didn’t expect much.
“Then give it a try.”
-
This is maintenance work to clean R-14’s air circulation pipes. The air circulation system is an important facility that maintains R-14. It is notorious for being the worse working environment in R-14.
Difficulty: –
He finally received a quest. The newly born Ark started cleaning the pipes
——————————————————
“Phew!”
Ark wiped the sweat and raised his head. The previous black area was now polished beautifully. Watching the pipe turn out like that was refreshing……
The pipe used to be filled with dirt and had a bad smell but now it had become beautiful thanks to Ark. Ark felt refreshed but didn’t feel like wiping it again.
“Has it been a few days already? I’ve really gone around the place.”
The quest had no rank. Ark knew there was a difference in compensation. After receiving the quest from Cheksun, he could get a reward for it every time he cleaned a 200 metre long pipe. The time it took to crawl inside a narrow pipe and scrub it took around 30 minutes. It wasn’t a quest that took a long time but the problem was the reward!
“I worked for hard for 30 minutes and I can only receive 40 copper…..”
Despite being set in the future, Galaxian used copper, silver and gold coins as currency. It was unexpected but there was a reason for it. The future of humanity built a space colony and there weren’t only humans in the galaxy. Alien species and even robots existed. The bills humans used were just pieces of paper to them. The common currency in the universe was minerals such as gold, silver and copper. In other words, they used gold, silver and copper. No, that didn’t matter right now. Who cared if the money was in dollar, euro or yens?
The important thing was that he was being paid in copper, the currency with the lowest value. 100 copper was 1 silver, 100 silver was 1 gold. In other words, 1 gold was 10,000 copper. In the previous virtual reality game, 1 gold was traded in for 10,000 won so 40 copper was only 40 won….. That was the value in reality but 40 copper wasn’t a lot of money in Galaxian. Yet Ark still didn’t lose hope.
‘I can receive 40 copper for crawling inside the pipe, cleaning it, tightening and oiling. It certainly isn’t a lot of money compared to how much I got in New World. It is natural. But I have to do it. Is 40 copper really 40 won?’
If he completed the quest 10 times then he got 40 silver! Ark expected that he could get a weapon and raced to the central square. However, any hope of acquiring a weapon crumbled as he saw the daggers on the shelves.
-Modified Alloy Dagger
Item type: Dagger Wearer Restriction: –
Attack: 4-5 Durability: 25/25
A used dagger commonly found in space. It is an easy dagger to use outdoors. The federal government wants to encourage beginner pioneers so it is sold at a discount.
Beginner pioneer special discount price: 1 gold and 50 silver
It was the least expensive dagger and it was 1 gold 50 silver!…..That was also the special discount price. Ark dealt with hundreds of thousands of gold in New World but now 1 gold and 50 silver was an astrono
mical amount to him. 1 gold and 50 silver! 15,000 copper! He had to complete the pipe cleaning quest 375 times. That was cleaning 75 kilometres.
“No way! This isn’t work but exploitation!”
No wonder why the users who visited with curiously broke straight away. Earning 40 copper for every 200 metres? But Ark had no other choice. If he couldn’t even earn 10 copper then he would starve to death. Despite the exploitation of his hard labour, he couldn’t report Cheksun to the human labour services.
‘Those octopuses…..!’
Ark glared at the octopuses. Sector 7 was the first place he saw the octopuses. They were like octopuses. No, their appearances were 100% octopuses but they were actually an alien species called Charenjok. He asked Cheksun about them.
“Originally this didn’t need a lot of maintenance. It was fine when I first started. But a few years ago, the situation once the Charenjok refugees started flooding in. The Charenjok are stupid and don’t know what to do. Despite that, the galactic federation accepted them as refugees so we gave them the pipe cleaning job. We understood the circumstances and gave them enough for meals but that has placed a burden on the budget. So we have no choice but to cut the compensation for the job.”
The influx of foreign workers had caused the wages to fall. A problem in the 21st century was recreated in the 24th century.
“I was still hoping for…..”
He had actually expected something when accepting the
“Kkuluk, kkuluk.”
Sometimes an octopus would approach while he was resting. There was an odd sound and strange letters appeared from the Nymphe.
-Hey, young friend. Are you done over there?
It was the universal translator on the Nymphe that allowed him to understand the Charenjok.
“Yes, I’m done.”
–We’ve also finished over here. Then shall we take a break before moving on?
The elderly (maybe) Charenjok sat down next to Ark. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette butt and muttered.
–Hu, I long for the old days. The place we used to live was a beautiful castle on wide tidal flats. The times when I jumped into the tidal flats were the happiest moments of my life. If it wasn’t for the invasion of the Kakajok then I’ll still be living happily now. But that is now in the past. The planet was ravaged by the Kakajok so it isn’t inhabitable anymore. I just have to be thankful that I can live in a place like this.
-You have listened to the Charenjok’s bitter past.
The Charenjok would talk to him out of nowhere and their intimacy would increase. Of course, he wasn’t happy even if he became familiar with the octopuses. He didn’t care when he first started but Ark changed his mind after listening to the octopuses. Anyway, there were cleaning the pipes in the same place so it wasn’t bad to become more familiar with them. Most of the time they complained about their circumstances but they sometimes talked about interesting things.
-The currency used in the universe is gold, silver and copper…..
He already knew this.
–We once had a civilization that was ahead of Earth’s. We used to take spaceships to Earth for sightseeing. The Earthlings at the time though we were Martians?
The octopuses were the identity of the UFOs and aliens. He didn’t know why such aliens were cleaning pipes…..
–You’re in a place like this so you must also have some circumstances. But don’t be too disappointed. Life is long. You shouldn’t wallow in frustration for too long. If we try hard and don’t lose hope then someday we will surely meet a bright future.
The octopuses were mistaken.
‘No. Its not like that. The octopuses’ future is dark.’
Ark had completed Cheksun’s quest 70 times. The curious users only attempted a few times before quitting so Cheksun had derision for them. But he looked at Ark with different eyes since Ark completed it 70 times. According to Cheksun, the galactic federation were the ones who placed the Charenjok here. The octopuses’ fate was to crawl through the pipes generation after generation. The Charenjok were the main culprit for Ark’s low wage. He was poor. But there were other reasons.
–Haha, I listed some unnecessary complaints again.
The octopus put out the cigarette and twisted its body. Then Ark felt a scathing pain in his fingertip.
“Ouch! Again…..”
-Your skin has been torn by a sharp metal inside the polluted pipe.
Sometimes he received such injuries when crawling through the pipes. The pipe cleaning was a repeatable quest so it was also possible to save mileage. If he saved mileage then it was possible to receive bonus rewards. However, sometimes he would be careless and would receive injuries. Therefore Ark didn’t want to waste 5 hours again if he used mileage. However, that instantly changed after he became familiar with the octopuses.
-Oh, be careful…..
The Charenjok laid its hand on Ark’s injury. The scar instantly went away and the tetanus was treated. The octopuses had the ability to treat injuries. That wasn’t all. They had the boy of an octopus which was an animal that could fit into small holes. The Charenjok resembled an octopus and could easily crawl through the narrow pipes. They took care of his tetanus and the narrow pipes. So the Charenjok was a species optimized for pipe cleaning. The galactic federation hadn’t placed them here for no reason. Despite that…..they were still poor octopuses.
‘But I’m not worried about the octopuses.’
Ark sighed and stared at the endless pipes. He had completed 70 quests in two days. He still needed to complete it 300 more times to buy a dagger. That required at least a fortnight. When he first received the quest, Ark thought it was a consideration from the game publishers for users who broke their daggers. After seeing the endless pipes, it felt like the publisher was saying ‘Huhuhu, these stupid children.’
‘The government brought me in to stop Lucifer yet I’m stuck cleaning pipes for a fortnight instead of raising my level…..’
He really couldn’t laugh about it. If he thought about it, he made huge mistakes when first starting New World and ended up killing rats for a fortnight. But at least he learnt battle skills then. Now he was just wiping the pipes instead of fighting.
‘Should I stop here?’
He sometimes had that idea. It had only been opened for 2 days but Galaxian was already popular so gold was already being sold in the auction site. And Ark wasn’t poor after playing New World. No, to be honest he was rich! Even if the market price was expensive, he could afford to buy 1 gold and 50 silver. However Ark shook his head.
‘No, I can’t do that!’
Games were a place to earn money, not use it. And Ark was a gamer. His pride wouldn’t allow him to go against his values to buy gold. No, it wasn’t just his pride. Ark had received an invitation from the country so he couldn’t give up so early in the game. Ark used his pride to place a padlock on the idea. Ark rose to the strongest spot in New World because of his skills. It was desperation. He was able to catch mice for a fortnight because of desperation. Right now Ark wasn’t desperate. His stomach was full so Ark couldn’t fell desperate.
‘It isn’t difficult to buy gold to escape from this. But there is no way to regain all that time. This is all my money in Galaxian. If I can’t earn money in Galaxian then Ark won’t be reborn. Yes, this isn’t just a job to collect money. This is a process to regain my spirit and b
e reborn!’
In virtual reality games, the user’s attitude was the most important. That was the process Ark used to become the strongest person in New World. If he continued for a fortnight then his mental state would be solidified.
‘This is the best thing for a hungry spirit!’
The change in thought instantly showed in his behaviour. Until now, he had entrusted the worse areas to the Charenjok who were optimized to clean pipes. It was natural. Thus he had just been swinging around with a dust cloth.
‘Well, it is natural not to feel motivated when working for such a low wage……’
However, now Ark was different. Now the 40 copper reward didn’t matter. The pipe cleaning was ego training for Ark. Cleaning the pipes was the optimal environment to train his pride. Ark’s desire to go level up was suppressed. Ark became motivated to clean the wipes the octopuses had been working on. The hustle and bustle around him that made it hard to concentrate was appropriate to train his mental state. Therefore Ark cleaned every corner of the pipe and didn’t allow one stain. He didn’t even condone loose screws. He tightened and oiled it quickly and accurately! His breath felt clogged after crawling into the narrow pipes but Ark shook it off and continued cleaning. He was like a person born for that purpose! That tenacity continued for 4 days.
Boduk boduk, boduk boduk……flash!
The pipe sparkled after using the power of his whole body! An unexpected information window then appeared from the Nymphe.
-A new skill (Common Occupation ☆) has been learnt.
Facilities Maintenance (User, Passive): You learnt this skill after putting all your concentration into maintaining the facilities. It isn’t useful for combat but it will be helpful for quests where labour is required. Now the amount of dirt wiped, the tightening of screws or nuts and oiling has increased by 30%.
“S-skill?”
Ark’s eyes widened as he looked at the information window.