Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  “A war isn’t going on right now……”

  “I don’t think it is a war that caused the value of the land to fall.”

  Ma Chorung said. Then he shrugged when Hyun-woo and the other rehabilitation members looked at him.

  “That’s right. When we went to see the land the other day, wasn’t there a nuclear power plant in the vicinity? Isn’t that the first place North Korea would aim missiles if there is a war? Look at what happened with the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. If the land becomes soaked with radioactivity then it would become worthless.”

  “This bastard, are you joking?”

  The rehabilitation members glared at Ma Chorung. But Hyun-woo felt like he had been hit in the back of the head by a hammer.

  ‘A nuclear power plant…..there was a nuclear power plant in the vicinity of the Taek Mountain region? Then perhaps……’

  A name floated into Hyun-woo’s head.

  ……Lucifer! He was the strongest artificial intelligence created by the genius Park Woo-seong

  Once again, the reason Hyun-woo was struggling inside New World was because of Lucifer. Lucifer took advantage of his intelligence to take control of the nuclear power plant, causing the government to ask Hyun-woo to play Galaxian. Moon Ji-hun who was part of the emergency task force told Hyun-woo that Lucifer was threatening to blow up the nuclear power plant. If Hyun-woo played Galaxian then Lucifer would transfer control of the nuclear power plant back to the government.

  ‘Is that the reason?’

  This was the government. He was too naive when thinking like a gamer.

  ‘Lucifer isn’t stupid. If he transferred control of the nuclear power plant over to the government then his weapon to threaten them would disappear. And Lucifer also knew about the existence of Park Woo-seong. If the government used Park Woo-seong to build a firewall then it would become difficult for Lucifer. So he wouldn’t hand over the control without a safety device. No, the nuclear power plant might not be the only one Lucifer seized. He might’ve ceded control of one nuclear power plant as a condition to me joining Galaxian but it would be simple for him to take control of other nuclear power plants……’

  And what if the nuclear power plant chosen was the one in the Taek Mountains?

  ‘……All my questions are answered!’

  The people who bought the real estate were the politicians who received the information in advance. If they were politicians then they could easily obtain information about Lucifer and the nuclear power plants. Moon Ji-hun said it was a secret but that only applied to the ordinary residents of Korea. It didn’t apply to South Korea’s politicians. They could use that information to obtain more money. They joined hands to buy real estate and then sold it off in one stroke. This was a lucky secret unknown to ‘ordinary people.’

  ‘Those damn politicians!’

  Anger welled up in him at the thought. These were the politicians supposed to be devoted to their country and its people! He really wanted to curse them and his mouth hurt from holding them back

  Now wasn’t the time for it. The price had gone up considerably before that so selling it at 70% of the price wouldn’t give them any damage. But Hyun-Woo and the rehabilitation members were different. Thanks to the politicians selling the real estate, the price had fallen to 1/10th of its value. And even if he was willing to sell it at this price, there was no one who would buy it. Hyun-woo realized this and looked at Yoo An-gook.

  “Anyway, now we can’t even sell it at 1/10th of the price?”

  “That’s right. We need to watch a little bit more.”

  “Then I can only wait and watch. Please contact me if you find any other information.”

  Hyun-woo said in a blank voice and got up. Yoo An-gook’s eyes widened as he smoked his cigarette.

  “Eh? Where are you going?”

  “It’s not too late. I can’t just sit here.”

  “Yes, but…..”

  “I have some work to do today. Hyung-nims, I’m going to go. Ask me again after a few days.”

  “That brat, he still hasn’t changed. Yes, I’ll contact you if I find anything.”

  Kang Yoo-jin laughed and nodded. Hyun-woo murmured with an unpleasant expression after leaving the office.

  “In fact, I hadn’t really felt the threat of the nuclear power plant……”

  It wasn’t like he thought it was okay. However, Hyun-woo was an ordinary citizen so he couldn’t really fathom the threat of a national emergency. However, the threat started to become real after hearing about the real estate. He couldn’t say it wouldn’t affect him anymore. If there was an explosion then Hyun-woo and the rehabilitation member’s land would become radioactive. And all the money he collected for 4 years would fly away. Money was money but he also couldn’t imagine the impact his mother would receive.

  ‘Now I have to use every possible method to stop Lucifer.’

  It wasn’t for the nation. It was for his family and Hyung-nims. His determination was now very different.

  ‘Dammit, wake up! I can’t stay on Beltana forever!’

  An irritated Hyun-woo took the taxi and returned home. An idea suddenly occurred in his mind.

  ‘Is there a way to figure out if Lucifer took control of the nuclear power plant in the Taek Mountains?”

  —————————————————————————————————————

  “What is going on?”

  Inside a spacious and luxurious office. The man didn’t even turn his eyes at the question.

  “The real estate that my mother and I own was sold when we weren’t paying attention.”

  The man frowned as the voice continued. He sighed and pushed aside some documents before raising his head. A woman in her twenties was in front of him. She was wearing baggy jeans and a t-shirt. Her attire didn’t fit in with the luxurious atmosphere of the office but she wasn’t interested in minor problems like that. Her expressionless face that looked like a stone statue lessened her appeal. The man stared at her before asking.

  “How did you know?”

  “That estate is in my name and my mother’s. Isn’t it strange for me to not know?”

  “You don’t need to worry.”

  “It doesn’t seem like that. Almost all the land near it was sold at the same time. And the remaining land is worth 1/10th of its price so the people who own it must be shedding blood. I don’t know why such a thing happened but it is huge. Fortunately my mother and I seem to be quite lucky.”

  “If that is all you wanted to say then leave.”

  “I intend to do just that.”

  The woman turned around with a blank expression. The woman grabbed the door handle and paused for a bit before asking in a low voice.

  “Why are you my father?”

  The man frowned again. However, he soon returned to his original expression and replied.

  “I need to work.”

  “You do that.

  The woman left the room with the same expressionless look. However, many emotions came flowing onto her face as soon as the door was closed. Resentment, anger and helplessness……she panicked. She didn’t want to feel like that. So she ran away. She hid her real appearance and lived in a different place. In another world she named herself Irina.

  Space 4

  Waking Up! (Part: 1)

  “Eh?”

  He strained his eyes. It had been 16 hours since he entered hibernation state.

  ‘I sent the Carrier MR-II so now I just need to wait to be rescued.’

  He had sent a help request before entering the hibernation state. But he encountered a ridiculous situation in reality. The real estate where his entire fortune was invested had fallen to 1/10th of the price. If he couldn’t solve the crisis then the entire fortune he gathered for 4 years would fly away. He showed a calm appearance in front of his parents and Hyung-nims but inwardly he was feeling the complete opposite. However, there was still a solution.

  ‘The r
eason the land value fell is because Lucifer occupied the nuclear power plant……’

  Park Woo-seong said that Lucifer would definitely keep his promise. Ark also thought this

  Lucifer would keep his promise whether he won or lost. He wouldn’t randomly commit an act of terrorism. Ark was convinced of it like Park Woo-seong.

  ‘In the end, everything will be settled if I step on Lucifer in Galaxian.’

  The situation hadn’t changed but Ark’s mental attitude had. It wasn’t somebody else’s problem anymore. He couldn’t leisurely explore and relax. Lucifer was somewhere within Galaxian. Right now he couldn’t do anything about that. Yet he still connected to his unit as soon as he entered his house. He connected…..

  “Why am I in a place like this?”

  Ark looked around with confused eyes. It was a rusty square room. An iron grille was attacked to a small window on the rear wall and was also stuck on a small window in the iron door. His hands were also cuffed behind his back.

  “I…..I’m imprisoned? Why?”

  Ark couldn’t understand the situation at all. He had requested help yet he was in a jail when he woke up from the hibernation state?

  ‘Someone must’ve changed my location while I was sleeping…..did the rescue squad arrive? So why was he stuck in jail? Wait? Hasn’t it been a fortnight since I was stranded? Perhaps they’re treating me like a deserter after having no contact for a fortnight? Is that why I’m in jail? But that shouldn’t happen. I discovered the location of the Rama’s main base so why am I thrown in jail? This is ridiculous…..’

  Ark woke up and raised his body. He started tapping on the door and crying out in a loud voice.

  “Hey! Is there anyone out there? Hey! Where is this place? Why am I shut in here?”

  –He appears to have woken up.

  Then he heard someone’s voice from behind him. The face that appeared in the small window…….

  ‘What, what the? This guy……a Rama?’

  Ark winced and retreated. The person who appeared in the grate was a Rama with dark skin and pointy ears.

  ‘The Rama clan?’ Oh my god! T-then I was caught by the Rama while in hibernation mode?’

  Ark grasped the situation too late and fell into a state of panic. After he heard the voice, 2 Rama entered the jail. One Rama was a heavily armoured warrior while the other one was dressed lighter and had a backpack with a cross on the side. The Rama warrior sat down in front of Ark and began to talk.

  –You fell asleep and woke up in the jail. You must be puzzled. However, you won’t understand even if I explain it. I’ll explain the main subject simply. We brought you here instead of killing you because we wanted to ask you some questions.

  “…….”

  –It’s no use pretending not to understand.

  Ark’s heart dropped at the Rama warrior’s words.

  ‘What the? This bastard, how does he know I understand the Rama’s language?’

  The galactic federation and even the Royal Guards didn’t know that Ark understood the Rama’s language. So how could the Rama warrior know his secret? Did they do something while I was in hibernation mode? Ark thought suddenly. The Rama warrior laughed and tapped a machine like a hearing device in his hear.

  –This is a translator that specializes in the language of the galactic federation. I know that you are hearing the federation language. Of course, your words will also be translated into the Rama language. So there is no reason to waste time pretending you don’t understand.

  ‘……Luckily it wasn’t what I first thought.’

  It was fortunate but he still couldn’t be relieved. He was a prisoner of the enemy. It was impossible to think of that as a good thing.

  –We recently had a small incident that occurred on the base. There’s also a few bikes and soldiers missing. It was difficult to trace it through the storm but we saw evidence of digging when we looked around. We missed the signs for a while…..but we eventually found you. We also saw the light signal from the enemy communication so don’t try to pretend it ’ s not you.

  Ark frowned after hearing those words. Leaving a trail of holes from digging was clearly Ark’s mistake. He could’ve died from starvation so he hadn’t been worried about leaving a trail. He soon realized his mistake and covered up the hole after that. He also applied the method of Swamp Walking to move on the snow without leaving footprints. However, he ruined that by sending a signal which emitted light. The Rama warrior laughed as he saw Ark’s confused face.

  –It is like I expected. You don’t have to pretend you don’t know. Let’s cut to the chase. Are you the one behind the missing soldiers?

  ‘Is he stupid?’

  Ark looked at the Rama warrior with amazed eyes. What crazy person would answer ‘yes’ in this situation? Ark held his tongue but the Rama warrior acted like it didn’t matter and continued.

  –If it was you then how did you manage to get past our defences and sneak into the base? Were you by yourself or did you attack with other colleagues? What about the main army? Do they already know the location of our base? Oh, and another thing. Does your GPS contain the coordinates of the federation’s main base? If you give me the answer then I’ll let you live. Because the chance to catch an enemy is rare.

  This guy was stupid as expected. Handing over the GPS information of the military strong hold was like helping the enemy. Naturally he would receive enormous penalties. The penalty would be to the extent that he couldn’t continue playing within the galactic federation. Of course, Ark hadn’t registered with the Fairy yet so he would lost 13 levels and a 5 star rated skill. If he was killed then everything would be lost. But that would be nothing compared to the penalty received if he helped the enemy. If he didn’t want to quit the game then obviously he couldn’t answer. So Ark said something to them. It was an answer that often appeared in movies.

  “Kill me.”

  It was regrettable that he would lose everything from the last fortnight but he had to survive. There was no choice now that he had become a prisoner. He would lose a lot of things but luckily he had sent the Carrier MR-II with the position of the Rama base. If the federation won the war with that information then he would still receive huge achievements.

  “I have to be satisfied with that much.’

  -I told you. This is a rare opportunity. Killing you is too easy.

  The Rama warrior smiled and got up.

  –You now understand what I need to know. If you want to tell me then you should say it.

  “Let’s see? I will tell you when the army comes.”

  -You’ll see soon. Hey, Relief.

  The Rama warrior shrugged and turned around. The Relief that the Rama warrior called pulled out a syringe from the backpack with a cross on it. Ark sensed something sinister as the syringe was plunged into him.

  -You have received a highly concentrated nutrients injection.

 

  ‘Eh? Nutrients injection? This guy, he is a medic?’

  There was also a job similar to a healer in Galaxian. Some possible different jobs were a cleric or a medic. The cleric used a type of recovery magic while the medic prepared supplies and dispensed drugs. There weren’t that many clerics in Galaxian at the moment but there were quite a few medics. The Rama warrior smiled and said.

  –I can’t let you die of starvation.

  “Isn’t that a waste? That injection, isn’t it expensive?”

  –It is worth it as long as I can figure out the base of the enemy.

  “It is futile if you want me to tell you.”

  –I said that you would see soon.

  The medic then pulled out another syringe. The Rama warrior shook his head when the medic tried to give the injection to Ark.

  –No, that’ll never work. He is a user. You won’t know but a user won ’ t be threatened by an injection like that. Instead…..yes, SMT-518 is good.

  -H
uh? But SMT-518 is……

  –My experience with users shows me that this is better than torture.

  –If you say so…..then I understand.

  The medic nodded and pulled out another syringe before sticking it in Ark.

  -The special bacteria SMT-518 has been injected.

 

  “A bacteria injection? What are you…..heok!”

  Ark was looking around doubtfully when he suddenly screamed. The moment it was injected, a frightful feeling spread from the tips of his hair to his toes……

  “I-it tickles! Ohit! Uk! Hak hak hak! Ack! I-I’m going crazy! W-what did you do? Ohit!”

  A ticklish sensation started to spread around his entire body. Now Ark could understand what the Rama warrior meant. At first he thought the medic was trying to give him a pain causing bacteria. However, a user were different from NPCs and the game unit was able to adjust the degree of pain

  He would only feel a slight sting like static electricity when being horrifically tortured. But other than pain, his other senses were 100%. The Rama warrior suspected Ark was a user after finding him in hibernation mode and ordered the SMT-518 injection. The itching sensation was even more horrible than pain. This was a type of pain that the unit’s control device couldn’t prevent. Besides, he was handcuffed so he couldn’t scratch no matter how much he itched. It was a situation where he wanted to run and jump around. Ark never imagined something like this even when he was New World’s advisor.

  “Ohit! T-this bastard! Hihihi, stop it!”

  –If you’re happy then I’m happy as well. Are you going to speak now?

  “Hak hak hak! H-how funny! Hik hik hik! Y-you bastard! Hihihi! I’ll never leave you alone!”

  –He hasn’t had enough fun yet. It’s okay. There is still a lot of time to change your mind.