Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  “Who are you?”

  “Me? I am this person.”

  Ark laughed and turned off the function of the Hyde Helmet. Valencia and his henchmen’s faces warped.

  “Ark! How did you get here?”

  “I’ll tell you. I was looking around the institute…..but why are you gathered in a place like this? Do you go far away to find a place to pee? I don’t think you have time to be playing around when we’re cut off from the federation. You were the armoured platoon leader on Beltana so you should know this.”

  “……Do you want to die?”

  “That’s not it. You should ask if I want to kill you. And the answer is yes.”

  Ark carelessly said towards Valencia.

  “There were a lot of people around at the time so I left it alone but it really makes me furious. Honestly, aren’t you someone who already lost to me? Why did I have to be shamed after that situation? So I was thinking. I should step on you in our next encounter. And here you are! Didn’t we meet?”

  “You dare speak like that……”

  Valencia’s face turned red and he took one step forward. Then the robed man sent him a look. The two henchmen also stepped forward next to Valencia. Ark’s lips curled up.

  “I see how it is. I was thinking you left too obediently at that time. You didn’t have any subordinates to help you. Fine, that is just like you. Even on Beltana you were also surrounded by your followers. Okay, I’ll jump forward even though I’m afraid. I’ll knock all of you down in the same way. Let’s jump hey”

  Valencia growled in a rough voice.

  “Belt, Seth, step aside!”

  ‘……Just as I thought.’

  Ark’s eyes narrowed and he inwardly laughed. Ark had met a lot of guys like Valencia in New World. They were arrogant and treated others badly. Their main feature was their ego. In order words, Ark could make them respond the way he wanted by scratching at their ego. The robed man then frowned and yelled.

  “Sir Valencia!”

  “This won’t take long.”

  “Of course. I would become embarrassing if I took a long time to defeat you!”

  “Impertinent fellow! I’ll tear you apart!”

  Valencia ran towards Ark while grabbing a rod from his waist. At the same time a blue ray rose from the rod. It was the beam sword common in SF movies. It had high attack power so it was a quite expensive item.

  ‘I’m a bit envious……’

  However Ark’s equipment also wasn’t inferior.

  “Impact Sword!”

  It was the Impact Sword he obtained from the pyramid! It was a level 40 sword but it was a unique sword with higher damage than Carmela’s sword. The disadvantage was that it was a two handed sword so Ark didn’t use it as often these days but he took it out for this situation. Currently he used the Fire Eagle often but Ark’s main strength was in martial arts. And the opponent was also attacking with a sword. There was no need to complicate the situation with guns.

  ‘A 1 on 1 battle with a sword…..I’m so thankful that tears are falling.’

  “Die!”

  Valencia brought down the beam sword and shouted. Ark blocked the beam sword and replied.

  “I don’t want to!”

  Pajijijik!

  Sparks flew as the two blades collided with each other. Valencia withdrew when Ark blocked his attack and took a deep breath before unleashing a series of quick attacks. It was to the extent that afterimages of dozens of blades formed!

  ‘Eh, eh, eh? This is?’

  Ark winced with a confused expression. Usually smug guys like Valencia were 90% empty. But Valencia turned out to be a surprisingly formidable opponent. He could sense it from the first strike. And the angle of the sword and the stance was remarkable. It was clear that he had experience with the Furthermore, the blade of the beam sword was made with light. Except for the rod, the remaining weight was 0. The sword was so light it was like his hands were empty. Naturally the speed of his sword swings would be incredibly fast. In addition, the light moved more freely then a normal sword so it could be moved at difficult angles.

  This was the reason why users were enthusiastic about lightsabers.

  ‘But……’

  Pajijijik! Kakakak!

  Ark brought down his sword with incredibly speed and Valencia jumped back with surprise. The sword barely passed by the tip of his nose.

  ‘Speed isn’t the one thing required to swing a sword.’

  Ark had gone through training with Lee Myung-ryong who wanted to turn him into Superman! Not a lot of people knew this but he knew one of the best swordsmen in the country.

  -I’m opposed to the use of weapons but it isn’t a bad technique to learn. Those were his words.

  And he threw everything at Ark who was his student.

  ‘Valencia…..he seems to have learnt martial arts like kendo. That’s why he has confidence in his sword skills. Yes, it definitely isn’t normal. He clearly has some skills. But…..I shed twice the amount of blood when learning fencing!’

  Lee Myung-ryong’s acquaintances were as skilled as he was. They knew that person’s student wouldn’t die so easily. So they firmly beat him up. He didn’t die. He had to eat an iron pill because he would get nosebleeds every day. But he didn’t die. Ark realized it at that moment. He would do anything in order to live. And Ark was trained in swordplay. A sword to help him live!

  ‘My weight is different from yours.’

  It was actually different. It was a two handed sword against a lightsaber. There was a huge difference in speed but speed wasn’t that important. It was how and where he struck. One attack accomplished correctly was better than one hundred wasteful attacks. And a heavy sword wasn’t necessarily slow. If he used inertia then a heavy object could fall quicker. There were several core principles to using a sword.

  ‘Although he avoided it…..’

  Half of him made sure that it could be avoided. Ark was convinced that he could win in a sword battle. However, if it became too one-sided then Belt and Seth might interrupt.

  ‘I need to make it look like we’re on a similar level until Slayer arrives!’

  “Why? Are you scared? You definitely should be frightened.”

  Of course Ark didn’t forget to mix in some taunts as well.

  “Scared? I’m just playing around. You seem to be lasting well but how long can you hold up? I’ll smash you!”

  Valencia once again rushed forward and swung his lightsaber. Sparks kept on flying as the two swords collided. The speed of the defense and attack were hard to keep up with! There were hardly any changes from the beginning of the battle but their health started to decrease at a rapid pace. Skills started to become mixed with the sword so damage started occurring. But the game was still 50-50! Valencia had stronger sword related skills but Ark was overwhelming with his swordplay itself. Therefore both Ark and Valencia’s health fell to 50%.

  “W-what is this?”

  A baffled exclamation was heard from behind them. The people looking with confused eyes were Slayer, Leon, Melina and Milan.

  “What, what the? Why are they hitting each other in a place like this?”

  “Slayer-nim, Leon-nim, take care of that robed man! He is trying to blow up the panel supplying energy to the research centre’s shield! You have to stop him!”

  “Eek? T-this voice is Alan-nim?”

  “T-that person fighting over there is Alan-nim? But…..the face is normal!”

  “I don’t have time to explain in detail! If you don’t take care of him then the people inside the research centre will be completely wiped out!”

  “Ugh! This bastard, he was just buying time!”

  The robed man growled out. Then his red hands once again started creating a hole in the metal sphere.

  “T-this guy is doing something?”

  “Didn’t you hear Alan-nim’s words? We have to stop him!”

  “Y-yes! I don’t understand but let’s just go!”

  Slayer
and Leon instantly ran forward after hearing Melina’s angry words.

  “We won’t let you! Kill them!”

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  Belt and Seth took out their M-60’s and started shooting. Blood poured from Slayer and Leon’s body as they rushed forward.

  ……It was good up to there.

  The two of them had been awake for 30 hours! They had no motivation even while being fired upon with a shower of bullets. But the next moment! The situation immediately changed the moment a bullet hit Melina.

  “Ack!”

  “Ugh! Melina-nim! Blood! Blood!”

  “These scums dare hit her!”

  “Ohhhh! I’m going to kill you! Let’s go Leon! Steel Dash!”

  The angry Slayer panted and charged. The bullets couldn’t do anything against the thick alloy his shield was made of. Slayer swung his mace and Belt and Seth were forced to put away the machine gun. Then the rays from Leon’s rail gun came from the back. Their combat power was no joke once Slayer and Leon fully decided to engage in battle. They were a charge type guardian and a specialist in firearms and they had selected their body coatings based on that. The two of them had always played together so it was like getting set of 2 people for the price of 1. The selected body coating complemented their strengths and weaknesses. Slayer and Leon were like 1+1=3. Then their power x2 once Melina joined! A healer was essential to any party so it was natural. Anyway, Melina was a woman who made their combat power climb sharply.

  “Ugh! What, what the? These guys…..”

  With Melina healing Slayer and the support from Leon and Milan, the situation quickly turned. And when it came to Ark……

  Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

  ‘Dammit, I shouldn’t have been so smug!’

  He cursed as he rolled away from the hail of bullets. It was when Slayer’s group appeared.

  “S-surely not…..”

  Valencia glared at Ark. At that moment Ark slid his blade down Valencia’s chest.

  “Impact Shot!”

  Bullets were fired from his sword handle. This was the double attack possible with his Impact Sword! Valencia never expected that attack and retreated. Ark raised his Impact Sword and laughed.

  “Did you see it? Yes, of course you did. Aren’t you thankful?”

  “You…..you….bastard…..”

  “You don’t have to be so impressed. Soon I will kill you.”

  Ark stepped towards Valencia. At that moment Valencia’s bag opened and a capsule popped out. It spun in the air before forming armour around Valencia. This was the federation’s battle suit!

  “What? I heard that was seized…..the beam sword to…..did you buy it with the money from prisoners on Beltana? But I also have something like that! Armour armament!”

  Armour also wound around Ark’s body at that moment. It was the battle suit that looked like a creature rather than a machine. Valencia murmured with a surprised expression.

  “The Rama clan’s……”

  “It is a long explanation. So just die.”

  If both sides were wearing battle suits then their power should be almost equal! Or so Ark thought. But the next moment small machine guns emerged from both of Valencia’s arms. And he had to run away escaping from the bullets. Valencia’s battle suit was specialized in swift assaults. It had the ability to catch up to Ark while he was dodging the bullets.

  ‘However, that guy’s health fell to 20% before he wore the battle suit so I can win if I use the shot gun. The problem is time!’

  Ark looked at the robed man. The Fire Eagle was meant for close combat. The damage would decrease the further the distance was. Therefore he needed a considerable amount of time to win with such a method. But that guy started to work again with Slayer’s appearance and he was already halfway through. In addition, Belt and Seth were also wearing their battle suits so it was more difficult for Slayer and Leon.

  ‘There is no point in defeating Valencia if I can’t stop that guy. I have to kill him as soon as possible. To do this I need to use my sword. Then there is only this method!’

  Ark raised his head and shouted.

  “Binding Sword!”

  A black vortex emerged from the end of sword.

  -Your attack has hit the target!

 

  The message appeared as soon as the vortex hit Valencia. Binding Sword was the skill to seal the enemy’s movements! In fact, this was a skill that hadn’t succeeded when he previously tried it. But this time Ark was successful. He had spent 20 hours in the dungeon. There were times when Ark needed to help Slayer without showing his strength. Therefore he used Binding Sword instead of Sonic Sword or Set Bullets Shooting. No, he used it as practice. Thanks to that he now learnt the timing and trick to it. The result was a success! Valencia was sealed!

  “It is finished!”

  “You fool!”

  Just as Ark was running forward with delight. Valencia raised his head and shouted.

  “Gas port open! Target is Ark! Numerous firing of multiple warheads! Go!”

  The battle suit around Valencia’s shoulders opened and 20 missiles came flying out. Each battle suit had a special skill attached to it. The special skill for Valencia’s battle suit was a multiple rocket launcher. It didn’t have homing capabilities but the hit rate was close to 100%!

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  Ark’s body was wrapped in a wave of heat.

  “Kukuku, how is it? A trump card is meant to be used at times like this!”

  Valencia laughed as he looked at the rising smoke. Ark only had 20% health left. It was because he wanted to buy time until Slayer arrived. Of course, that would be enough if Ark fought directly but he was hit by multiple rockets. The damage would build up and multiple! If it was that much than Ark would be turned into powder. However…..

  “Not yet.”

  Ark’s voice was heard from the smoke. The smoke cleared and a transparent sphere could be seen around Ark. It was Mind Shield that reduced 40~60% of all damage. As soon as Valencia fired the rockets he had reflexively produced a shield with 300 durability. Therefore he still had 10% health left!

  “It is only called a trump card if you’re the last one to use it. 18 Barrage!”

  Ark rushed like a bullet as his shield broke and shouted. At that moment the shoulder area of his Hyper Drone emitted steam. And both arms shot forward at a dazzling speed.

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  His fists left sharp marks on Valencia’s chest. And 18 marks were engraved!

  -The Hyper Drone’s mana has been exhausted.

 

  The Hyper Drone disappeared. And…..

  “Cough!”

  A fountain of blood shot up and Valencia collapsed. Ark felt refreshed as he cleaned up the grudge from Beltana. But Ark didn’t have time to gloat over Valencia collapsing.

  “You gloomy looking guy! Now it is your turn!”

  Ark turned towards the robed man and exclaimed.

  “That dumb child, Valencia didn’t listen to my advice in the end…..”

  “Hey, move away from the panel if you don’t want to die!”

  “Heh, ignorant bastards. Do you think you can interfere with the cause of God?”

  “I guess words won’t work.”

  In fact he knew this from the beginning. Ark grabbed his sword and ran towards the robed man. The man took out his arm that was melting the partition and drew a complicated patter in the air. The next moment there were flames emerging from his eyes, mouth and ears! Any experienced user would sense it in this moment. It was dangerous!

  “R-retreat! Everybody back off!”

  “Ohh! For the purpose of the Great God!”

  The robed man shouted in a voice filled with insanity.

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  An explosion shook the area.


  Space 8

  Land where the sun sets and sun rises

  ‘Huhuhu, keep on making noise.’

  Bain smiled wickedly. The pioneers in the vicinity were yelling wildly but it wouldn’t change anything. Once again, he was in an unbearable situation until today. He had convinced the Laius company to establish a research centre at Mt. Fargo despite them being sceptical. But he couldn’t find any signs of a lode despite searching.

  ‘If I can’t achieve any results then I might lose my job!’

  Responsibility →Dismissal → Poverty→ Homeless→ Desperation→ Death!

  The route for a gloomy life replayed through his head. And suddenly space pirates struck. This was a chance he could take advantage of!

  ‘So far the project has failed and the company has received huge damages. But this will change if I handle this crisis. Istana never had space pirates of this scale attack before. Of course it would be an issue. And I’m in the centre of this issue! I can gather assets from the pioneers in exchange for my protection. If I do this then I can make up for the project’s failure. Of course I will also make a profit.’

  He charged a fee for the pioneers to use the facility. 50 gold per person. There were 150 people so that would be 7,500 gold. When compared to the cost of establishing the research institute, it was an amount that could save him.

  ‘If I take advantage of this then I won’t be fired from the company!’

  Issue→ Transfer→ Success→ Treated well→ Family harmony→ Happy in his old age.

  A route for a happy future rose in his head.

  ‘Huhuhu, they might make noise but they will be forced to accept in the end. The pioneers have to pay 50 gold to resurrect at the Fairy. If they pay 50 gold then they don’t have to die. The answer is obvious. So don’t hold back your money! Pay money to be protected by the research centre! For my promotion!’

  While Bain was busy thinking.

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  A huge amount of fire burst from the rear of the research centre. Bain turned around with surprise and the blood drained from his face. The institute’s shield had disappeared along with the explosion.

  “S-shield…..!”