by Yoo Seong
“Nowadays there are a lot of people in the northern area so it is difficult to hunt.”
“I heard that a new dungeon was found in the wilderness a while ago.”
“It is still impossible. The monsters there have an average level of 40.”
He could collect information from the people gathered. Even if he was just sitting down, information about Nephalim would naturally enter his ears. There was no reason to wast 50 copper for the fee-based information services. This degree was common sense for Ark. Of course, most of the information didn’t have much significance for Ark yet. But sometimes useful information would be heard.
“Doesn’t this have slightly better performance than the weapons sold at the store?”
The beginner items from R-14 had slightly better performance than those sold at the frontier! Ark inwardly exclaimed after hearing that information.
‘Such a thing! If it is like that then I can increase the price to 30% and it will still sell!’
Ark realized his mistake and immediately corrected it.
“How much is this?”
“Ah, that? 6 gold and 50 silver.”
Ark cheekily raised the price by 10% right in front of people.
“Huh? Wasn’t it 6 gold just now?”
Of course he received some customer complaints. But Ark was shameless
“6 gold? You must’ve not heard properly. This is a business but I also have personal expenses.”
Even if it was only 10% more, that was still a profit. When he raised the price, some of the customers were offended and left but Ark was at the entrance of a populous plaza so it didn’t matter. Therefore he told 10 items during the 1 hour after he raised the price.
“Hey, get out of the way!”
A bunch of guys roughly approached and pushed people out of the way. There were four people pushing people out of the way of a man swinging his arms. He was obviously the boss of the group
They were wearing shiny armour and what looked like pretty high level equipment.
‘What the? No matter how I look, they don’t look like users with needing level 10 weapons.’
The group stared at Ark sitting on the ground. Then the boss’ forehead wrinkled and he began to talk.
“What are you doing here?”
“Huh?”
“I said what are you doing here?”
The fellow ended up mixing curses and crude language when talking. In addition, the character appearance was a deep blue man…..
Although Ark naturally became angry, right now he was a merchant. Ark displayed the patience of a merchant and answered.
“Can’t you see I’m running a business?”
“Who gave you permission?”
“Who gave me permission? That…..”
“This is out spot. Get lost.”
“Eh?”
Ark asked with a befuddled look. Then a henchman snapped in a rough voice.
“Didn’t you hear what hyung-nim said? Are you ears blocked? Get lost because this is out spot!”
“Haven’t you grasped the atmosphere yet? This is the spot where we’ve been trading for a few days. You stole it while we briefly stepped away. So disappear.”
“That….where does it say this is your spot? This is a place for a street stall. If you leave this place then it doesn’t belong to you anymore.”
“This guy isn’t afraid.”
The boss grinned and licked his lips.
“Would you like to quit the game today?”
Ark’s face was amazed at the threat. If they left a hunting ground or market spot empty then they couldn’t complain. That was the rule of online games. It was the same with Galaxian. That happened in R-14’s hunting grounds and it was the same for the street stalls here. They couldn’t claim a previous spot that they traded in.
‘But…….’
Sometimes there were people with no common sense. Although he had only been playing Galaxian for a short time, Ark had an online gaming career of 4 years. Ark had often encountered people like this in the previous game. They had higher levels than others or their guild had a lot of power so those people believed they could ignore the rules!
‘I thought it was strange that a good spot at the entrance was empty…..’
A vast majority of the users in the plaza knew about those guys and avoided the spot. They didn’t want to quarrel with the thugs.
‘Encountering fellows like this at the beginning of a new game.’
If this was the previous game then those guys would already be tattered. The future of those thugs would’ve disappeared. However, things were different now. It was obvious that the boss was higher levelled than Ark. He also had 4 henchmen! There was no way he could win if he fought against the group. Those guys were the type of hold grudges so they would chase after him like leeches.
‘It can’t be helped. Anyway, I only have 3 items left from R-14. These guys are running wild…..it might hurt my pride but the only way is to retreat. Damn! Those bastards. I’ll remember your faces and will make you regret this later.’
“Okay. I’ll leave.”
Ark endured his anger and started to pack up his stall. No, he tried to pack up his stall.
“Wait, who said you could just go? Didn’t I say it? This is our spot. You selfishly engaged in business here so now you have to pay a fee. Isn’t that right?”
“What? A fee?”
“Yes, a fee. I’ll overlook it for 10 gold.”
‘This bastard, he wants a cut of my profit?’
Ark started at the man with an absurd expression.
“Hey, there’s no need to be upset. If you don’t have any cash then you can pay with items. Let’s see…..these are level 10 weapons? Well, taking a couple of these prices should be enough. If you give us those two items then we’ll send you off politely. That…..”
Then man suddenly frowned while surveying the street stall. He looked at an item in the corner and asked.
“Where did you get that item?”
Ark’s eyes reflexively shifted towards that corner. The item the man pointed towards was a toy in the shape of an airplane. When Ark was on the verge of leaving R-14, the octopuses had given him a token and the baby octopuses also wanted to give him something. The items that the baby octopuses gave him were 100% japtem. But he didn’t want to throw them away so he had displayed them.
‘Why the sudden interest in a toy?’
Ark was thinking that when something interrupted him.
“No, that doesn’t matter. Come to think of it, 2 items for engaging in business here is a bit severe. Okay, I’ll be nice. If you give me that toy then I will let you leave.”
“Aigoo, Hyung-nim. Isn’t that too generous?”
“It can’t be helped. I can’t take money from a child. He is just a novice user.”
“Hey you! You got lucky today. Hyung-nim is being nice so give it quickly and disappear.”
‘That bastard really……’
Wasn’t this like an adult bullying a child? And this was a toy. He displayed it but he honestly didn’t think it would sell. He thought there was a possibility of chance of giving the japtem along with a weapon purchased. But the value of the toy wasn’t the problem for Ark. The stubbornness of these guys meant he was reaching the limit of his patience. He wanted to tear them apart. If those fellows wanted this item then he wouldn’t easily give it to them. Because those guys kept on threatening him. Ark replied in a low voice.
“Okay. You can have this if you want.”
“Good thinking.”
“For 90 gold.”
“What?”
“Just like you said. The rent is 10 gold? This toy was 100 gold. So I will give you this toy for 90 gold.”
“100 gold? For a toy like that?”
“Are you crazy?”
The henchmen shouted with displeased expressions. Then the boss lifted his arm and said.
“You….are you trying to trick me?”
“Of co
urse not.”
“Do you think we look easy?”
“No you don’t.”
The boss fell silent at Ark’s answer. He thought for a moment before saying with a smile.
“You have more guts then I thought. Okay. In fact, we were a bit harsh before so I’ll take responsibility. I apologize for offending you. I want to buy that toy for a fair value. And all the problems between us will be cleared up. So how much is it?”
“Didn’t I say? 100 gold. I can’t discount even 1 copper.”
The man glared at Ark and said.
“Then I have no choice but to take it.”
“Try it.”
Ark stepped in front of the toy. Meanwhile the henchmen took out their swords and guns and approached. Ark and the octopuses’ toys were surrounded by the thugs.
-Stop!
A mechanical sound rang out. Two androids were quickly approaching. The androids painted in red were in charge of policing Nephalim. The guard androids stood between Ark and the gang and said.
–Please stop. You are in a public place and any acts of violence are prohibited. If you don’t stop then you will be arrested under the federation’s 27th law. I’ll warn you once again. Immediately disarm and disband.
“Sheesh!”
The boss clicked his tongue with annoyance. He shot a glance towards Ark and muttered.
“Your life was saved.”
“Let’s see? I don’t know whether it was my life that was saved.”
“You won’t be able to get away with that sassy attitude in the future. You’re a user so you can’t just live in the city. If you hunt outside the city then you will regret your actions today.
“I’m so afraid. Am I going to cry?”
Ark retorted and the boss’ face became even colder. He stared at Ark and growled.
“My name is Mald. You better remember that.”
“I’ll remember it. My name is……”
Ark looked serious and took one step towards Mald. And smiled before cheekily saying.
“……It’s a secret. It would be better for you to forget it.”
“You bitch! Really!”
Mald angrily grabbed Ark’s collar. No, he was about to grab it.
“Ugh!”
Ark suddenly screamed and rolled on the ground. Mald stared in confusion as Ark started screaming towards the guards.
“S-save me! T-that guy! He hit me!”
“W-what nonsense is this? I didn’t…..
Mald tried to approach Ark. Then the two androids blocked his way.
–Please stop. You have ignore our warnings and caused an act of violence. You have been caught breaking the federation’s law. Please come with us. If you resist arrest then you will be charged with obstruction of justice.
“What are you talking about? When did I commit an act of violence? That bastard…..”
Mald tried to explain to the androids but they didn’t budge. Ark had cleverly provoked Mald and blocked the android’s view so they just saw Mald reaching towards Ark. Thus Mald was arrested for an act of violence.
–Are you resisting arrest?
“I didn’t touch that bastard…..”
–Under the federation’s 27th law, you are under arrest.
Pajijijik!
The androids stunned Mald without any notice. Mald convulsed and dropped to the ground and the androids pulled him across the plaza. The henchmen couldn’t do anything.
“H-Hyung-nim!”
“T-this….why the hell…..”
“This is all because of that bastard! Hey, where is he?”
“That bitch! We won’t let you go! We’ll turn him into rice cakes!”
The henchmen turned and looked for Ark. However……
“Heok! N-no! T-that bastard…..he disappeared!”
—————————————————————————————————————–
“Bah, those thugs!”
Ark spat on the ground and murmured.
“Do they think I’m stupid? Did he think I would tell him my personal details?”
Mald was dragged off by the guard androids while the henchmen were searching the plaza that Ark was already far away from. There was no way he would stay there for the henchmen to find him. Giggles started emerging once he was far away from the plaza.
“Heh, that stupid Mald. He was dragged off.”
The sight released all of the stress that was piled up. However, he couldn’t be careless. In fact, Ark hadn’t wanted to concede when Mald’s gang first confronted him. Nephalim was a city so not even those mindless thugs would dare PK. There was just one problem. Those guys were vindictive so they would search for him outside the side to PK.
‘While my style isn’t to avoid a fight…..’
He could only afford to do such a thing when he had a lot of skills.
‘Right now I’ve only just finished the beginner tutorial. There is no way I can leave the area of Nephalim. In such a situation, having a high level gang searching for me will by annoying. If those guys decided to disrupt my actions then I won’t even be able to leave the city.’
So he endured it. But eventually he exploded.
‘Those gangsters, their personality rubbed me the wrong way…..’
The situation Ark was most worried about had occurred. The combination of ‘being uncomfortable + insecurity + annoyance’ had flowed out. But he didn’t really regret it. He was forced to concede his spot thanks to their threats. Yet they said he stole their spot? They even threatened to make him quit the game!
‘Yes, the damage has already been done so there is no point worrying about it. There is no guarantee that these guys will retaliate and they can’t play the game 24 hours a day. For the moment I just have to be careful when going outside. They will eventually forget about me……’
But Ark wouldn’t forget about his grudge.
‘They’re high levelled so they will eventually leave Nephalim. I’ll continue playing. They’ll see who I am in the future. Mald and his 4 henchmen…..I’ll be sure to remember their faces. Even if it takes 1 year or 2 years, I’ll make sure they regret it.’
Until then he had to avoid being noticed by those guys. Ark happily dreamed of his revenge.
“By the way…..”
After a while, Ark looked at the item in his hand. It was the toy airplane that Mald wanted. At first, he thought Mald was just crazy but he started thinking after leaving the plaza.
‘He was requesting 10 gold. It is weird that he suddenly switched to the toy. Desiring weapons is normal. So why did he want a toy that can’t be sold?’
It was a question that made Ark uncomfortable. He was able to find an answer after sneaking out of the plaza.
“It is impossible for a guy like that to want a worthless item. Then the answer is simple. He thinks the toy is worth more than 10 gold. There’s no doubt about it. He isn’t a novice. He also asked me where I got this toy. Then there must be something I don’t know hidden in this toy. Something worth at least 10 gold!’
Ark had the idea and sat near a fountain before examining the toy carefully. It was just a toy when glancing at it. Therefore he hadn’t looked over it after the baby octopuses gave it to him. Now that he had the idea ‘there must be something,’ he examined every inch of it. It was more sophisticated then it first appeared. It was unthinkable that something this sophisticated could be made by the baby octopuses.
‘Come to think of it…..’
Once he started questioning it, there was no limit to all his doubts. Ark didn’t know where the octopuses had got the toy from. From then on, Ark became perfectly immersed in the toy. He shook it back and forth and folded up the tail wing. Ark’s heart rate then soared as he discovered a vertical line.
‘It moves! There is definitely something there!’
Ark was convinced. The shape was that of a type of switch. Once the tail wing was folded up, the other attachments started moving.
&nbs
p; ‘The moving parts were the tail and the wings as well as the 5 antennas. But there is no change after they’ve all been operated. The parts must be manipulated in a certain order in order to discover what is hidden in the toy.’
Inspiration starting shining….
He examined the parts without any rest for 1 hour. Click. The bottom part of the toy suddenly opened and a USB like memory chip fell out. Then an information window appeared from the Nymphe.
-Undisclosed Memory Chip.
There are different memory chips with various types of information in Galaxian. These memory chips will connect to the Nymphe and hidden information can be confirmed.
“As expected, there is something!”
Ark cheered and connected the memory chip to the Nymphe with a sense of expectation.
-The memory chip is protected and you can’t access the data. A security code must be entered into the Nymphe before the lock will be released.
That was the sound of all his expectations deflating.
“I have to enter a security code? What is it saying all of a sudden?”
It was normal for the key to be hidden near the problem in a key.
‘But I checked the toy precisely for 1 hour and couldn’t find any hints. Then the only thing I can think of is that the NPC who gave me this toy has the clue.’
Ark was filled with regret at the thought.
‘There’s no doubt about it. The baby octopuses who gave me the toy must have a hint about the security code! But I can’t return to R-14. In the end, is there no way to get that hint? Dammit, why didn’t I carefully examine the toy when I received it?’
Ark sighed and shook his head. Ark had spent a fortnight in R-14 raising his level and earning money. It was a training process to recover his original mindset. He cleaned the pipes 300 times and hunted the space bugs 200 times for a total of 500 completed quests! He thought he had recovered his original mindset after reaching an end to those repeatable quests.
‘But I’m still not there yet. I should’ve checked the unusual item before other users paid attention to it. I still haven’t regained all of my spirit.’
However, there was no reason to give up on obtaining the data. It was hard to get the security code but there must be more than one way to obtain the data. Mald wanted the toy so he must have a way to obtain the data without knowing the security code.