by Yoo Seong
“I didn’t come here to buy something.”
“Eh? You didn’t come to buy something?”
Tori pulled his beard and clamoured.
“What? You’re just a spectator? Dammit, why are you peeking into someone’s factory if you don’t want to buy anything? Do you think this is a zoo? Don’t just assume that I’m a hamster! If you want to peek without buying anything then just go away. How annoying.”
“No, that’s not…..”
“What? I said that you’re annoying. Buy something or go away.”
The hamster’s attitude completely changed after discovering that Ark wasn’t a customer. Anyway, he had no intention of giving the recommendation letter to the hamster. However, he might be able to learn to hack from this guy. Ark moved closer and spoke in a low voice.
“I came here to obtain something.”
“Obtain something? Is that a joke? Didn’t you just say that you didn’t want to buy anything?”
“No, not an item but a technology.”
“Eh? Technology?”
“Yes, hacking techniques. Do you know someone who can teach a skill like that?”
“What, what the? Hacking?”
Tori looked at Ark with surprised eyes. His eyes became the size of baseballs before he suddenly grabbed Ark’s collar.
“How dare you ask me something like that? Don’t you know it is an illegal technology? Huh? What are you trying to do? Do you intend to close other people’s businesses? No, maybe that is your purpose? Where? What bastard sent you? No, it doesn’t matter if someone sent you. You stay here. I’m going to arrest you for interfering with my business!”
Tori started frantically manipulating his Nymphe. Ark was at a total loss as he starting calling the guards. He had been blinded by the fact that Tori was a hamster and never imagined he would cause an uproar like this.
‘Is hacking more of a crime then I thought?’
The situation was really difficult.
“P-please wait a minute!”
“Why should I wait? You’re screwed now!”
“No, that…..do you know someone called Cheksun?”
“Cheksun?”
Tori flinched and turned his head.
“Cheksun? Cheksun who works at R-14?”
“Yes, I came with an introduction from Cheksun-nim.”
“Really? You’re not lying? I’m not a naive hamster.”
Ah, he said he was a hamster with his own mouth. Didn’t he say not to assume that just now? No, now wasn’t the time to think about something like that. Ark took out Cheksun’s recommendation letter and handed it to the suspicious Tori. Tori blinked while reading the recommendation letter and hit Ark’s chest.
“Hey, young friend. If you had this then you should’ve shown it. I wouldn’t have doubted you.”
“Doubt?”
“I mean….just come in for the time being.”
Tori looked around and entered the ironworks. The interior was even more hopeless than the outside. Trash and old tools were scattered around and it honestly looked more like a junkyard than an ironworks.
‘Anyway, that has nothing to do with me. I have no intention of getting a job in a place like this.’
Tori sat down on a dusty chair and began to talk.
“I thought you belonged to the government.”
“Huh? Belong to the government?”
“Hihihihi, it makes sense. I make illegal equipment that the government forbids from being sold so sometimes they try to entrap me. White rice might be delicious but I don’t want to be locked behind bars for the rest of my life. I became upset because I thought your question about hacking was an entrapment.
“No, I……”
“That’s okay. I can trust you if Cheksun sent you.”
Tori stroked his beard and muttered.
“Hihihihi, it’s been a while since I heard the name Cheksun. I’ve been living buried in oil and iron but Cheksun won’t sent just anyone to me.”
Tori suddenly became lost in his memories. Tori then smiled and looked at Ark.
“Yes, did you ask Cheksun?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“What? Aren’t you looking for a hacking technician?”
“Yes, that’s right…..”
“What? Then you didn’t ask Cheksun about hacking?”
“No, I only found hacking necessary after I entered Nephalim and I had Cheksun’s recommendation so I decided to ask Tori-nim about it. But how is hacking related to Cheksun? Is Cheksun a hacking technician?”
“Cheksun? No. Me!”
Tori hit his chest and laughed.
“Hihihihi, I’m now the owner of the ironworks but I was once an excellent hacker.”
It was like an elite sounding voice. But that wasn’t important to Ark. The important thing was that the hamster was a hacker! Ark looked at him with an expectant look and asked.
“Can you teach me?”
“Of course.”
Tori nodded. He thought for a moment and made a big decision.
“Since you came with Cheksun’s recommendation, it will be 200 gold! Give me 200 gold! And I will thoroughly teach you the basics.”
“Huh? 200 gold?”
Of course Ark knew that he couldn’t learn the hacking technique for free. It was common sense that NPCs would require money to teach skills. Hacking was illegal so it was natural for it to be more expensive. However, he never imagined that it would need 200 gold. Of course, he knew that learning the skill would add tremendous value later on. A technique that cost 200 gold might give him 1,000 gold later on. But the problem was Ark’s wallet. He had 80 gold from selling the weapons from R-14. Mald stopped him from selling the remaining items but it would only add up to 100 gold. He was lacking 100 gold.
‘Damn, does that mean I can’t confirm the data on the memory chip until I collect another 100 gold?’
The thought of not being able to check the data made him more anxious. Now he didn’t even have the money to learn the hacking technique? Ark sighed at the thought.
“Hihihi, you seem panicked. You panicked. I guess so. Yes, didn’t you come from R-14? It is impossible for you to have 200 gold.”
‘What? That bastard, he said this knowing that I have no money?’
Ark angrily stared at Tori. But Tori just said with a smile.
“That was a joke just now. Normally it would be 200 gold but I can’t do that to someone who came with Cheksun’s recommendation letter. I’ll teach you the hacking technique for the moment.”
“R-really?”
“Of course it’s not for free.”
“Huh? But I don’t have 200 gold.”
“I know. So I’ll make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Clean-up. You need the hacking technology and I need resources to operate the ironworks. So I’ll teach you hacking if you gather resources for me. It was take around 20 attempts to successfully learn hacking so I’ll teach you every time you gather resources worth 10 gold. I don’t make this offer very often. I’m only offering you this support because you came with Cheksun’s recommendation letter. You can learn hacking and I can gather resources so isn’t it a good thing?”
‘Certainly…..’
Ark understood after hearing Tori’s explanation that hacking wasn’t an easy skill to successfully learn. It took a couple of attempts to master. Even if 200 gold was collected later, he needed to invest time in learning the skill. However, Tori’s system meant it was possible to save time. It also didn’t require money to leave his pocket. The proposition wasn’t bad from Ark’s viewpoint. No, it was a very good suggestion.
‘When thinking about it, I was able to get a lot of money from the paid hunting ground and the compensation for the repeatable quest led to Tori. So doesn’t the early mistake of breaking the dagger seem like a good thing now?’
The encounter with Mald had already been completely deleted from Ark’s head. Ark quickly nodded.
&nbs
p; “Yes, I will accept.”
“I’ve been feeling lonely so having a pupil doesn’t feel bad. But learning hacking isn’t easy. I’ll give you the basic hacking tools now but not everyone can become a hacker. The hacking tools is just a tool. There will be no effect if the person doesn’t know how to use it properly. So you will need to write your own hacking tools directly. Doing this is hard work and will require a lot of time so are you prepared for it?”
“Yes!”
“Okay. Then let’s begin.”
Tori stood up and lifted his Nymphe.
“Bring me your Nymphe. I will immediately transfer you the hacking tools.”
Tori touched his Nymphe to Ark’s and manipulated something.
-Tori has wirelessly connected to your Nymphe.
Are you sure you want to allow the wireless connection? Y/N
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
The data was uploaded onto his Nymphe and the information window appeared.
-The hacking tools have been downloaded onto your Nymphe.
-All data has been initialized by the hacking tools. If order to properly use the tools, you need to manually upgrade the user settings.
‘That’s it! I got the hacking tools!’
Hacking was a technique that was even hard to find information on. The hacking tool was the foundation of the techniques. It really was a scary feeling seeing everything work out. That was the problem. Things had worked out so well it was almost scary…..
Because Ark had forgotten an important fact. Ark realized it when he examined the information window that next appeared.
-You have completed the
-Congratulations!
Cheksun who is the manager of R-14’s facilities has sent a recommendation letter to Tori in Nephalim for a sponsorship offer. You have accepted Tori as a sponsor and entered into a contract with a small company.
This contract is a binding…..
Ark had received the
Ark was so caught up in learning the hacking skill that he forgot it was a quest. Tori talked about ‘support’ when making the proposition to Ark. This meant he had accepted a sponsor contract! The contract was concluded when the hacking tools were downloaded.
‘Oh my god! This is……’
Ark was discouraged by the shocking development.
“Then let’s start work.”
Tori laughed and continued.
“Ah, what good timing. In fact, I had needed someone to collect the metal parts. These days there are many pioneers but not a lot of them would want to make a contract like this. I’ve been worrying about the penalty if I don’t meet the due date but fortunately you’ve arrived. Thank you, thank you. Hihihihi!”
“Huh? Contract? Penalty? What……”
“Hey! Tori!”
Then he heard a voice from behind him. Ark felt breathless as his jaw dropped. A group of 10 people wearing primitive armour and holding strange looking rifles were heading towards them. The person who attracted Ark’s attention was the huge figure at the front of the group. His whole face was covered in hair so only the eyes and mouth was visible but he had a huge figure filled with muscles
The human-alien woolly person approached Tori with great joy.
“Oh! Clem, you came!”
“Hah, I don’t enjoy seeing a hamster greet me.”
“Hey, hey, don’t be like that. We’re in the same line of business after all.”
“A business partner…..but why did you call?”
“I told you the other day that I wanted to find a worker to help me. I’ve found him. Here!”
Tori laughed as he indicated towards Ark. The alien called Clem looked at Ark and said.
“Sheesh, what the? You want us to bring along a human who can’t even properly carry baggage?”
“You were the one who said humans weren’t that bad.”
“Well, I guess so. But did you make the contract properly? It would be troublesome if issues occur later.”
“Of course. He agreed to work hard until he collects metal parts worth 200 gold.”
“200 gold…..that condition will take quite a while so it is fine.”
Clem nodded and said towards one of his men.
“Hey, take this guy.”
And heavily armed warriors grabbed Ark’s left and right arms. Ark stared at Tori and Clem with a stunned expression and stuttered.
“Eh? Eh? W-wait a minute! What on earth is this? Where are you taking me?”
“Hey, Tori?”
When Clem frowned, Tori quickly approached Ark and said.
“What? What nonsense are you saying? Didn’t you make a contract to gather metal worth 200 gold in exchange for learning the skill? Why are you acting like this now?”
“No, I understand but these people……”
Ark stuttered with confusion before closing his mouth. An information window had floated from Tori’s Nymphe.
-Sponsor’s Technology Transfer Contract (Tori-Ark)
The sponsor Tori will teach Ark a technique if he gathers metal parts worth 200 gold. Tori will only pay for the metal parts and Ark will work with a contractor to gather the parts. If the contract is violated then the sponsorship between Ark and Tori will be destroyed and Ark will pay a penalty.
“This is the agreement.”
Tori said with a smile.
“Eh? But I’m gathering metal parts……”
“It is difficult for one person to gather metal parts. I even gave you a job with the suppliers who collect metal parts so why are you complaining?”
“Eh? Eh? Eh? W-wait a minute! Wait a minute!”
Ark screamed but the heavily armed warriors just dragged Ark away. Then Ark saw a shocking scene.
“Now I’ve given you a cheap worker like promised……”
“Okay. We will buy all the necessary supplies here while we’re in Nephalim. This time it should take 3 days so give me 10 repair tools and ammo.”
“Hihihihi, thank you! Thank you! I’ll load it up!”
Tori happily twisted his hands and jumped around. Ark realized it at that moment. There was a contract between Tori and Clem. Tori would introduce Clem to a worker in order to gain an exclusive supplies contract. That was why Tori accepted metal parts in exchange for the hacking skill! Now Ark…..
‘I……was sold?’
Nephalim was a minor city on Istana! There were thugs who monopolized trading spots and a hamster who scammed him.
“T-this is a scam! This contract is invalid!”
Ark cried out futilely.
Space 8
Scavenger
“Heh, something like that.”
Ark laughed and muttered. He felt like his brain was exploding when he first saw the sponsor agreement with Tori. What user would turn down the proposal of the galactic federation in order to make a contract with a junkyard? And his contractor was a wicked hamster who sold off his employees to other companies. It was outrageous. So he had yanked his hair and tried to get out of it. Ark had already put everything down. Anyway, there was no point regretting it since it had already happened. And Ark wasn’t the type to get lost in frustration or despair. When he looked at the past, he had countless numbers of hopeless situations. People who watched Ark called it luck but that was funny. Ark didn’t stand on a place higher than others because of luck. No, Ark was fortunate because of his hardships. Those tribulations were the driving force in making Ark strong.
‘It is the same this time.’
He had suffered when he was young. The game was the same. He had trouble in his early days as well.
‘Yes, I’ve made a mistake but this is still the beginning. Any mistakes would just be rudimentary mistakes. It was only novice level
damage. The damage isn’t worry really worrying about. I didn’t meticulously check the contract so I ended up bleeding.’
Of course, this mistake wasn’t that small. Sponsors had a great influence over the user’s game progress in Galaxian. Each sponsor had their own pros and cons but……
‘This is a junkyard! A junkyard!’
He had never intended to form a contract with a hamster operating a junkyard. Forming a sudden contract with the junkyard was enough for him to roll around the ground pulling his hair. Thus he had searched for ways out of the contract.
-Currently Ark-nim’s has signed a ‘provisional contract’ with Gear.
A user’s first formal agreement with a sponsor will be a ‘provisional contract.’ There is a probationary period and the amount of support received in the period is fairly restrictive. The user can terminate the contract during this period if the sponsor doesn’t agree with them.
In that case, the user has to return the 200 gold support they received to the sponsor.
A ‘provisional contract’ system! Ark was comfortable due to that. The publishers had placed that consideration for users like Ark who made a contract by mistake……he thought that but he was stuck because of the penalty. He had to return the sponsor’s support but that was 200 gold! Ark was level 15 so there was no way he had that amount of money. However, it was important that he still had room for choice. He could still look for other sponsors. Having information was the best way to play the game.
‘I can’t waste 200 gold when I can learn a necessary skill and will gain experience.’
The experience was useful.
‘Fortunately, I’ve already gained close to 100 gold. If I prepare another 100 gold then I can escape from the junkyard. Well, 100 gold seems like a lot but didn’t I gain 100 gold just from cleaning and killing space bugs at R-14? Yes, there is no point in paying the penalty.’
And he could even make money. If he thought about it, there wasn’t a big problem.
‘I’m doing this to learn the hacking skill. If I look at the situation then I was abandoned and sold. No, not sold. I’m able to gain the metal parts thanks to the separate contract between Tori and Clem. I just have to work hard and collect 200 gold worth of metal parts.’
Ark decided after organizing everything. And he surprisingly had a lot of interest in this job.