by Yoo Seong
His words were true. The area to the north of Nabe was filled with level 60~70 monsters. He also needed to travel 1,000 km. On the other hand, Ark was level 52. Entering the northern area alone was a significant risk. Of course, Marquis Martin’s quest didn’t require him to catch monsters. It was a quest to find the hidden city of Charem and infiltrate it. The reason Ark was discussing monsters and levels……
‘Now take something out! Bring out an armour with large defense!’
Ark stared at Marquis Marin with that meaning in his eyes. Fortunately Marquis Martin wasn’t a stupid NPC and he understood Ark’s intention.
“Indeed…..”
A meaningful smile floated on Marquis Martin’s mouth.
“I understand what you’re saying. And I admit that I hadn’t thought of that point. Well, even if you can avoid them on the air board…..yes, I should reduce your burden. If you get in trouble and die then you won’t be able to reach Charem.”
“Huh? Then?”
Ark asked with eager eyes. Marquis Martin thought for a while before taking out a small, square case. Ark had expected an armour piece and disappointment appeared on his face. However he changed his mind once he saw the information window.
-STK-VII (×3)
Item Type: Special Grenade (Older Generation Relic)
A weapon where the development and production is prohibited so few exist. It is based on particle decomposition theory and is called the TK technique. The TK weapon decomposes the target and is a fearsome destructive technology able to evaporate the target. It is an unstoppable weapon with ultimate destructive power. The TK technology was used as a weapon in the 1st Space War and both the galactic federation and Rama suffered countless damage.
The scientists of both nations soon realized the danger of TK technology. The TK technology generated a type of black hole that distorted the area. When both nations signed the special treaty, one of the clauses was the prohibition of the TK technology. The STK-VII was something the galactic federation personalized before the treaty was signed. It is a hand grenade that will destroy all particles within 20 metres when thrown.
* Not for sale
A destructive weapon where the development and production were prohibited! Naturally Ark had no interest in the contents of the treaty. The important thing was the enormous destructive power of the hand grenade!
‘1,500 damage and defense is ignored……’
Ark was level 52 and his health was lower than 1,500. A level 100 magician with low health would die in one shot!
It was a destructive power that would throw off the balance of the game. This grenade meant that levels didn’t mean anything. The destructive power was so large that any further research into the grenade was different. It was a consumable supply but the grenades had a colossal value.
‘I really could get another item by acting like that! As expected.’
Ark drooled as he looked at the destructive grenades.
“This grenade isn’t a weapon that can be abused. I’m giving it to you because this is an important matter. But bear this in mind. You shouldn’t use it in cases where your identity might be revealed. If you are discovered using the STK-VII then even the galactic federation won’t be able to protect you. Do you understand why?”
It was a weapon banned by the special treaty. However, Ark now possessed the Hyde Helmet. If he used the Hyde Helmet then he didn’t need to worry about his character being revealed. Maybe these items were supposed to be a set from the beginning.
“Of course. Please don’t worry.
Ark smiled as he placed the STK-VII in his bag.
“You said that you are willing to risk your life for me. I’m also taking a risk by giving you the prohibited STK-VII. So I have two more conditions. The first is that you don’t abandon the mission no matter what. And the second is a personal favour.”
As expected, Marquis Martin wasn’t an easy NPC. He was a politician who would only give something if he received something else in return.
“The mission requested by the galactic federation is to install the GPS in Charem. Now I will tell you my personal favour. It is a favour but it might help you with your mission. In fact, I personally sent an intelligence agent to sneak into Charem a while ago. His name was Kara. But he cut off contact the moment Charem hid itself from the federation’s surveillance network. He is probably locked inside Charem and can’t get out. If your infiltration succeeds I want you to find Kara and give him this. Then he will help you.
Marquis Martin handed him a sealed black bag. When Ark received it, an information window popped up.
You have received a secret mission from Marquis Martin, an aristocrat of the galactic federation. The lawless city Charem has hidden itself in the area 1,000 km north of Nabe.
Charem has hidden its location using state of the art equipment and the galactic federation fears that it is communicating with their enemies the Rama. You have to sneak into Charem and sent the approximate GPS location to Marquis Martin.
Difficulty: A
+ Sub Quest:
-You have acquired the quest item ‘sealed bag.’
“This is just a precaution. I want you to have this as well.
Marquis Martin handed him a small capsule.
-You have acquired the ‘tiny bomb for suicide’ quest item.
“I wish you luck.”
Marquis Martin smiled and said
————————————————————————————————
“Ouch, damn! There isn’t anywhere on my body that doesn’t hurt.”
Ark rubbed his arms and legs. Ark had immediately started preparing after receiving the quest from Marquis Martin.
-TO: Milan Something came up and I can’t come for a while. I’ll finish it as quickly as possible so please gather information about the Murat and wait for me.
He first sent a mail to Milan.
He felt concerned about attracting the attention of users and NPCs. However, there was no problem if he used the Hyde Helmet. There were many people in the shipping district but none of them were interested in Ark. Once again he thought that the Hyde Helmet was truly good. Anyway, all his preparations were finished……
“I’m departing! Let’s go Super Board!”
He got on the board that he already nicknamed and shouted.
Hwiiiiiii-! Kutang tang tang-!
Ark ran into the wall of a nearby store. The same situation repeated for a while. If he started the air board then it would start circling the same spot or it would go in an unexpected direction until he crashed into a wall!
“What, what the? Why is this so hard to operate?”
The air board was a ridiculously difficult vehicle to operate. By default, the air board was just a round disk floating in the air. There was no handle and the direction or speed depended on the weight. It a lot of weight was placed on the front the speed would increase and moving the weight from left to right affected the direction. But it was an incredibly sensitive sensor! If he flinched even a little bit to the back then it would stop! If his body shook then the air board would fluctuate. And the problem was that the air board didn’t have any safety equipment!
Tteok! Kung! Bam!
Every time the air board became unstable Ark would fall, crash into the wall or fl
ew 500 metres. But Ark was patient! He was obsessive! Ark fought with the device for 4 hours before finally accomplishing it.
Bbol bbol bbol bbol……Bbol bbol bbol bbol……
He could finally ride it at 20 km/hr. He was able to go out of the city and he wanted to go at the maximum speed to savour the freedom. But Ark was afraid of falling and had to go slowly. After a while, he started to learn tips to use the air board.
‘Yes, skiing. It is similar to skiing!’
Ark grasped the feeling and started to raise his speed little by little. He started at 20 km and increased to 30, 40, 50…..and finally 60 km! Turning was still difficult but it was possible for him to move at the maximum speed without falling.
“Oho! This feels different from what I thought……”
Ark had ridden a 300 km/hr bike on Beltana. Therefore he wasn’t interested in 60 km/hr but it felt different once he actually tried it out. It was smaller than a car but the bike was still a large machine. However, the air board was just one small disc. The experience of moving on the disc wasn’t inferior to going at 300 km/hr.
The landscape started catching his eye once his posture became stable. An endless grassland stretched out in front of him. Terraforming made it hard for monsters or plants belonging to the old environment to survive. So areas around the city had a lot of mechanical creatures and few monsters. Ark was already level 52 so he wasn’t interested in the Nakuma anymore. So he skipped it and immediately travelled 120 km away from the city! The grassland gradually changed to a red earth. He had reached the boundary between the terraformed land and the wastelands.
‘This border is where the real game begins!’
On Istana there were still numerous secrets and dangers that humanity hadn’t experienced yet
Ark could finally truly begin the game after four months. And finally he entered a place with dark red earth.
Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku!
The space started to vibrate as there was a roaring sound. The earth and sand flew and a huge object soared up. Ark lowered his speed as the air board became unstable and rolled onto the ground. The huge object that broke through the earth dropped towards Ark. Once again there was a roaring sound. Ark quickly rolled his body to avoid it and saw a 5 metre earthworm like monster.
-Hakerion-
Category: Space Monster
Danger: C
Combat Power: D
Hakerion is a monster commonly found on Istana. Pioneers who received the body coating and have suitable equipment can easily deal with it. However, it possesses the habit of hiding its body in the ground so beginner pioneers should pay attention.
* You can gain additional information if you face the same type of monster many times.
That was the information that appeared when he looked at the monster. When he received the Survivor coating, he had obtained the basic skill ‘Clairvoyance.’ It had the ability of an Infrared night vision scope and he could check the information about the monster that was stored in a database. Furthermore, if he faced the same monster many times then he could learn their special skills, hidden attributes and the loot normally dropped.
Grrrrrrr!
Green saliva dripped from the mouth of the Hakerion! It was a formidable monster that appeared wen Ark first stepped into the wastelands! It was a creepy looking monster.
“Yes, this is also part of the game.”
Ark grinned as he took out the Impact Blade.
Space 5
Hospital Incident
“Um…..um…..”
A middle aged man’s leg shook and trembled. He pinched his collar, twisted his plastic cup, pinched his collar, stood up while grabbing his hair, sigh and sat back down, bit his lips, twisted his plastic cup…..
“Father, please!”
“Ah? Uh? Me? Why? What?”
The middle age main raised his head like a surprised chicken and restlessly looked around
“Please sit down politely. Why are you so anxious? Please take a deep breath and calm down. Does Father also need to be examined? Calm your spirit.”
“What are you saying?”
The middle aged man snapped angrily. He snorted and hit his thick chest with his fist.
“Don’t you know me? I am Gwon Hwa-rang who was called invincible in the Gangnam area. My mind, body and indomitable spirit makes me healthier than anyone else.”
“The Gangnam area? Doesn’t that mean you’re not invincible in other areas? And if you lose your healthy body then you’ll be a corpse.”
“Why is my child questioning me so closely? The main point is that I’m healthy.”
“You look excessively healthy.”
Hyun-woo laughed and muttered. Anyone who say the man would think he wasn’t excessively healthy. His arms, chest and leg muscles were bulging through his jacket and jeans. His darkly tanned exposed skin really seemed like iron. With the exception of his face, it was hard to imagine looking at his body that he was 50 years old. The middle aged man was Gwon Hwa-rang.
This was a brief biography of Gwon Hwa-rang…..he graduated from the police academy with honours and became a greatly admired hot blooded detective until he retired due to a gun accident. Many years were spent in a gloomy mood until he married Hyun-woo’s mother! Now he was Hyun-woo’s stepfather. After spending so long in the hospital, Hyun-woo’s mother and Gwon Hwa-rang became interested in social movements and spend half a year helping in places like South Africa That’s why Gwon Hwa-rang’s skin was darkened.
The reason Gwon Hwa-rang was acting so strange was due to Hyun-woo’s mother. Hyun-woo had actually opposed his mother’s overseas relief efforts. He like helping people in difficult situations. Hyun-woo also experienced difficulties times so he made donations when he could. But the problem was his mother’s help. His mother had spent several years living in hospital so he was still worried about her health. However, his mother was very stubborn and he was forced to give in with some conditions. She had to come back at least 2 times a year to receive a comprehensive examination. That was the reason Gwon Hwa-rang and his mother returned home after 5 months. Then……
“Will it be okay? Huh? Hyun-woo, it’s not a big deal right?”
“Indeed.”
“I mean…..if something was wrong with Park So-mi…..really…..?”
“It’s going to be fine. Mother isn’t as weak as Father thinks. She had such a big accident where even the doctors gave up but his efforts helped her recover.”
“Yes, that’s right. She is strong. Park So-mi is strong. Yes, really.”
Gwon Hwa-rang nodded at his words. His mother had been burning up when Hyun-woo met them at Incheon Airport. And she had collapsed at the airport. This was the reason for Gwon Hwa-rang’s crazy actions. In fact, this was the good part. Hyun-woo had fallen into a state of panic when rushing to the hospital in the emergency vehicle. Then Hyun-woo realized something again.
‘Now I’m not the only one worrying about my mother……’
He felt like it was truly fortunate but he also somehow felt lonely. She was his mother but Hyun-woo felt like a father sending off his daughter.
‘But this isn’t what I’m talking about.’
Hyun-woo soothed Gwon Hwa-rang who had started crying.
‘It’s a fact that he is my father but this is the first time I truly felt it!’
That’s why he was able to appear calm. Hyun-woo’s thoughts were then interrupted.
“The family of patient Park So-mi, please come in.”
“Yes! We’re here!”
Hyun-woo and Gwon Hwa-rang jumped up. They felt anxious as the doctor kept on looking at a chart on the computer. After a moment the doctor smiled and began to talk.
“You don’t need to be worried.”
“S-she is okay? Are there any big problems?”
“Yes, the check-up revealed that there wasn’t any special problem.”
“Then why all of a sudden ….”
“The cause is due to fatigue. Her fati
gue has accumulated. And she seems to have received a lot of stress recently. Her built up stress and fatigue made her temporarily collapse but she should feel better after some rest.”
‘Stress……’
A sigh naturally emerged from Hyun-woo’s mouth. He could guess why his mother was so stressed. In all likelihood, it was 100% due to the real estate slump of the Taek Mountains property. Hyun-woo had received a shock when he heard that the price had fallen to 1/10th of the original. It was natural since his money was invested in that land. But he was more worried about his mother’s health. The person who bought the real estate through Yoo An-gook was his mother. His mother was thinking that she wasted the money her son had earned and the mistake had been eating at her. His mother would naturally feel a sense of responsibility so he was worried it would harm her health. The money was fine. Hyun-woo had gone through some ups and downs and now he was living well. However, he wouldn’t be able to bear it if his mother was back in the hospital. It wasn’t surprising that he was anxious after her collapse.
‘Fortunately there isn’t any big problem but……’
Once again anger welled up at Korea’s politicians. He hadn’t told Yoo An-gook, the rehabilitation hyung-nims, Gwon Hwa-rang or his mother but Hyun-woo already guessed the culprit of the real estate slump. It was probably Lucifer. It was highly possible that Lucifer was controlling the nuclear power plant near the Taek Mountains. He felt angry but he couldn’t blame the people selling the real estate. It was directed at the politicians who knew the information in advance. The politicians were the ones talking about being devoted to the common people while making their lives harder. But now wasn’t the time to think about that.
“What should we do now?”
“Stability is important for the moment. There are still a few tests left so she should stay in the hospital for a few days. And she needs some nutrients. Her age doesn’t mean she’ll have trouble in the early stages of pregnancy but it is better to be careful.”