Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

The black sun had appeared in the centre of the pentagram. The existences gathered around the black sun started warping. Their bodies burned up as the pentagram started collapsing.

  –For the sake of the clan!

  –In order to punish the immoral creatures in this star system!

  –Protect the body!

  When the black sun had decreased to half its size. The light from another planet suddenly disappeared. Amara’s collapsed caused a chain explosion along the other rays of light. The black sun started to disappear again.

  Ohhhh! Ohhhh! Ohhhh!

  Painful cries! The beings within the pentagram started screaming.

  –No! No! No!

  –Hundreds of years! I’ve been waiting hundreds of years…..

  –Wrong. Retreat. We’re being drawn in!

  The beings cried out and started scattering. At the same time, the entire pentagram collapsed and the black sun disappeared.

  ——————————————————————

  On the 3rd planet Kadanal in the Harmadon constellation.

  A man within a mine was looking up at the sky.

  “I somehow managed to prevent it in time.”

  It was a warrior with black hair and an eyepatch on one eye. At his side was a disk that had been broken in half. And hundreds of Kero corpses were scattered around him.

  “But the light from Amara seemed to have scattered before I broke the gate energy generator. It is impossible for the gate energy generator to just break……is there someone on Amara with the same purpose? There should be hardly anyone who knows about this. Well, things turned out easier than I thought so I have no complaints……”

  The warrior clicked his tongue and murmured.

  “Someone broke it before me so my pride is slightly injured.”

  “Amara isn’t that far from here so should I go visit it?”

  A huge figure in a hood asked as they approached.

  “Amara……”

  The warrior with black hair stared at Amara shining in the night sky for a while. However he shook his head and turned around.

  “It doesn’t matter. There is no guarantee I will meet them if I go now. If we have the same purpose then we’ll meet in the near future.”

  “That is an enjoyment for the future.”

  “That’s right.”

  The black haired warrior stretched and smiled.

  “Let’s return to Kwain. I should have a drink after using my power for so long.”

  “As expected from Captain! I’ve been waiting for that.”

  The huge figure replied with a thumbs up.

  Roaaaaar!

  A shadow appeared out of a sandstorm behind them. A large skeleton design was carved on the battleship.

  ——————————————————————

  -Your level has risen!

  Shortly after crushing the Kero with the airship. The message appeared with a cheerful melody. But Ark couldn’t afford to rejoice.

  “What, what the? What is this?”

  Ark thought he finally managed to escape once they emerged from the mine. But the height continued to increase no matter how much he yanked at the control lever. A red message appeared on the screen.

  -The ether fusion engine has received serious damage and the output is falling!

  <50%….45%…..40%…..>

  “What happened to cause this?”

  “You’re not in a position to say something like that!”

  Tori shouted from behind him.

  “What on earth is going through your mind? Where do you think the tank of the flying boat is? Of course it will break if you keep on scratching the bottom against the ground! It can’t fly 10 km in this state! What do you think would happen if we crash now? What will you do? You can’t do anything!”

  “You could at least help…..”

  “Get out of the way!”

  Tori pushed Ark away and sat in the cockpit. He manipulated the panel and one message flashed after the other.

  -The inspection program of the airship has been started.

  -Ether fusion engine recovery system-ERROR!

  -Flight control system-ERROR!

  -Anti-gravity gas control system-ERROR!

  Error messages continuously rose!

  “Ugh! Wrong! Nothing is working properly! We’re screwed!”

  Tori grabbed his hair and started screaming.

  -Photon movement engine-NORMAL.

  A blue message was sandwiched between the red messages. Ark grabbed Tori who had fallen into a state of panic and shouted.

  “There’s something left! Something is still working!”

  “What?”

  Tori’s face warped.

  “You ignorant bastard! Do you know what this is? It is the photon movement engine! It is a technique to switch from gas to photon movement. It is suicide to use photon movement when the shield, control system and even the balance system isn’t working!”

  “Then what will happen if this ship falls? Do you think you can still live?”

  “T-that….”

  “This is a plan of desperation! We have to be prepared for death!”

  Ark bit his lip before pressing the button for photon movement on the dashboard.

  “Huk! What did you do? I-I’m not prepared for death!”

  “It is too late. Be prepared.”

  Buuuuong!

  The airship shook violently as it was wrapped in light. Within a few minutes, it had decomposed into small particles and flew through the sky. The landscape couldn’t be seen while the airship was using photon movement. The feeling of moving through a pipe at a huge speed…..

  Ku ku ku ku….kwa kwang!

  The airship suddenly vibrated.

  Space 2

  Galaxian Now…..

  “How are you doing? I’m Lee Ji-un from the game exclusive news.”

  A young man bowed and began to talk.

  “The weather is becoming more and more hot. While the discomfort index is steadily rising with this heat wave, I have some news to tell you. If you listen to the game exclusive news then you’ll know I’m a fan. I have Jung Hye-sun here this week to help me talk about the game news.”

  “Hello. I’m Jung Hye-Sun.”

  A pretty, female celebrity smiled and answered.

  “This is the first time I’ve been on the game exclusive news but I’ll work hard.”

  “Hye-sun ssi is quite modest. Female artists in virtual reality games are quite rare but I heard that Hye-sun ssi is a pretty talented 1st generation gamer.”

  “Omo, you seem to be talking about my age.”

  “Ah…..yes, I’ll be careful in more words from now on.”

  The broadcast began with a light joke from the host. Lee Ji-un then skillfully changed the topic.

  “Anyway, I’m in a good mood now that I have the beautiful, young Jung Hye-sun here with me. I’m thankful that you chose to come on the game exclusive news. Hye-sun ssi, what is the first piece of news today?”

  “It is Galaxian.”

  “Isn’t this the SF fantasy game that has been causing a hot topic for a while?”

  “Yes. Today at 6 o’clock in the morning, Galaxian entered Episode II.”

  “That really is very hot news. But it feels a bit abrupt. Doesn’t a new episode mean the game system will change due to a large scale update? But information about Episode II was never released on the homepage of the publisher, Successful Future.”

  “Successful Future is a game company that traditionally advocates mysticism. In addition to providing game content, users could find hidden content or solutions. Successful Future has been like that since the founding of the company. We requested to interview them about Episode II many times but it was refused.”

  “That’s that mean no one knows any information about Episode II?”

  “Then it wouldn’t be called a scoop would it?”

  Jung Hye-sun replied with a smile. Her gaze tur
ned towards a large monitor in the back. The monitor showed man shining stars in the universe.

  “That screen is showing Galaxian right now. Unlike a typical fantasy game, the scale of a game with SF as the background is completely different. The appeal of Galaxian is its huge scale galactic adventures. But do you see that unusual pattern on the edge of the galaxy?”

  “Yes, there is speculation that it is associated with Episode II.”

  Jung Hye-sun answered as it zoomed in to the pattern of red light. The red lights from the planets connected to form a pentagram!

  “Just before this Episode II begun, this pattern was observed in the Harmadon constellation to the north of the constellation. You can’t tell when watching the screen but it is estimated to be tens of millions of kilometres large.”

  “Tens of millions of kilometres…..that is terrible.”What is it?”

  “Like I already mentioned, Successful Future won’t disclose any general information related to the game. But how could I be the host of the game exclusive news if I accept that answer? So I called some help. Park Eun-woo is currently working as a programmer for a famous game publisher and Kwak Kyung-in who is an active game reviewer for the SF and fantasy genres.

  “Oh, I’m sorry I only discovered your identities now.”

  Lee Ji-un made a light joke.

  “What do you two think it is?”

  “A secret weapon.”

  Park Eun-woo answered without thinking about it. Lee Ji-un had an exaggerated surprised expression on his face.

  “A secret weapon? That is a weapon?”

  “Yes, when Galaxian’s service first started the federation was in a conflict with the Rama. The setting is basically a space war between humans and aliens. However, the war between these two species is limited to the Bellin constellation at the moment. That area isn’t even 1/100 of the whole galaxy. And the amount of users participating in the war is 1/1000. This situation isn’t good for the publishers who put their efforts into making the battlefield.”

  “I guess.”

  Lee Ji-un spoke in a voice that encouraged Park Eun-woo.

  “That’s right. In order to gather a lot of users on the battlefield, they decided to use a secret weapon. Do you see the enormous size? If the weapon works properly then it will probably exert its power over the whole galaxy. The field that was confined to the Bellin constellation might expand throughout the whole galaxy. Even players who were indifferent to the war might have no choice but to get involved.”

  “But according to Jung Hye-sun ssi, that giant circle didn’t even last for 10 minutes. There are also no significant anomalies on the planets around it.”

  “That was just a trial run.”

  Par Eun-woo naturally replied. Then Kwak Kyung-in who had just been listening scratched his head and opened his mouth.

  “Can I say something?”

  “Oh, yes Kwak Kyung-in ssi. Please say it.”

  “I have a different conclusion from Park Eun-woo. Park Eun-woo must not know that much of the galaxy if he is claiming it is a secret weapon of the federation or the Rama. The federation, Rama and Aschulat have to keep their battlefields within a certain area due to the special treaty. It is impossible for them to produce a weapon that is millions of kilometres large.”

  “So you’re saying it isn’t a secret weapon? Secret weapon, don’t you know the meaning of the word secret?”

  “70% of the members in my cafe are Galaxian users.”

  Kwak Kyung-in interrupted Park Eun-woo and continued.

  “A majority of them have already gained a reputation in the frontier and several of them sailed on ships towards those planets when the incident occurred. But not one of those users insisted that it might be a weapon.”

  “Then what does Kwak Kyung-in ssi think it is?”

  “The 3rd race.”

  “The 3rd race?”

  “Yes. Apart from humans there are currently 24 species that can be selected in Galaxian. I think Episode II is the process to add a new species and area. The magic circle is a type of portal to allow that species to enter the galaxy.”

  “What basis do you have for that reasoning?”

  “Then is your insistence on a classified weapon well-founded?”

  “When looking at the game publisher’s position……”

  “Is Park Eun-woo involved in publishing Galaxian?”

  “Kwak Kyung-in also isn’t the game publisher.”

  “I’m a user.”

  “Are you the only one playing the game? I’m also a user!”

  “What level are you?”

  “In the 90s!”

  “I pass level 130 not long ago.”

  Kwak Kyung-in laughed and added.

  “I’m the CEO of a company that owns 4 destroyer class ships and have 270 members. I can’t agree with Park Eun-woo’s earlier words that the new content is to expand the battlefield. Like Park Eun-woo said, the scale of the battlefield is only 1/100 of the galaxy. In my opinion, the battlefield is like a type of mini game. I don’t think anything of it other than teaching PVP tips to beginners. Most of the users are gathering in the space frontier that takes up 90% of the galaxy. The users there are the real survivors. Users who couldn’t leave Istana or the Bellin constellation isn’t seeing the real Galaxian.”

  “Are you saying I’m not really playing?”

  “I saying we’re seeing different worlds. Galaxian isn’t a small world like Park Eun-woo thinks.”

  “Those words are serious!”

  “Now now, Park Eun-woo ssi, Kwak Kyung-in ssi, please calm down.”

  Lee Ji-un quickly jumped in once the atmosphere dissolved.

  “It really is a hot war of words. This is evidence of Galaxian’s popularity.”

  “Yes, if Successful Future intended to cause shock with Episode II then they were successful. Right now the internet in the 12 countries that Galaxian is operating in is heating up. Anyway, I think we’ll have to watch the result a little bit more.”

  Jung Hye-sun and Lee Ji-un skillfully summed up the situation. Lee Ji-un nodded with a satisfied expression and continued.

  “Next up we will be talking about the users who have been showing a hot momentum in Galaxian. The popularity of Galaxian means there is a great interest in the users that are standing out. Hye-sun ssi, please explain a bit more.”

  “Yes.”

  Jung Hye-sin explained with a sassy expression.

  “The ranking in the game doesn’t distinguish between federation, Rama or Aschulat and is based on the user’s level, achievements, fame, recognition etc. Among the top 50 there are 21 Korea players included. That is amazing when considering that Galaxian has services in12 countries.”

  “It shows the strength of a country strong in gaming.”

  “But recently Europe and China who are traditionally strong in gaming have been rising with a terrifying momentum.”

  “I heard that the number of pro gamers in Europe and China are increasing. This is a result that reflects the trend.”

  “Yes, especially the European user called Masherion and the Chinese user called Ruchon who reached the top 30 in a week. Masherion was the winner of the power division in the world fighting action games tournament a few years ago. His experience means he has never been beaten in a 1 on 1 battle yet.”

  A user was displayed on the monitor while Jung Hye-sun was talking. He had a sleek body and was equipped with weapons that looked like knuckles.

  -Masherion-

  Ranking: 26 From: Galactic Federation

  Final confirmation of level: 124

  Uniqueness: Presumed to have received the fighter body coating. He has been undefeated in a 1 on 1 battle so far. He belongs to Laius, one of the 4 large companies in the federation.

  * This material is being broadcasted with the permission of the user.

  “We have no data on the previous career of the Chinese user Ruchon. There is no data on his combat abilities but he is the chairman of the
4 large companies in China and is using its capital to capture the space frontier. He is an ambitious person with dreams of making it to the top 10 rankings. Unlike Masherion, his fighting skills are unknown but he is a user people should pay attention to.”

  -Ruchon-

  Ranking: 22 From: Aschulat

  Final confirmation of level: 140

  Uniqueness: The Chairman of the 4 large businesses in China. Not much is known about Ruchon other than that.

  He doesn’t want to reveal his character to the public.

  “I’m amazed. I’m starting to feel like it’s real.”

  Lee Ji-un said with an amazed voice as he watched the materials on the monitor.

  “Galaxian has already started its service for 5 months.”

  “Are there any Korean users who entered the top 50 this week?”

  “Of course.”

  Two users appeared on the monitor. One was a user holding just a long sword while the other one carried a grenade language, a revolver, a launcher stinger and was wearing thick, heavy armour.

  -Arion-

  Ranking: 38 From: Rama

  Final confirmation of level: 121

  Uniqueness: Presumed to have received a physical type body coating. According to recent witness testimonies, he took out 10 level 100 monsters by himself. He also took out a pirate ship attacking him and is gaining a lot of awareness in the frontier. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

  -Ferguson-

  Ranking: 18 From: Galactic Federation

  Final confirmation of level: 121

  Uniqueness: CEO of a private business called Merchant’s Soul. A trooper wearing equipment that is estimated to be worth more than 10,000 gold. The terrible attack power of the superior equipment is designed to take out a large amount of monsters. His business is also actively exploring planets and trade.

  “There are formidable Korean users.”

  “This country isn’t known as being strong in gaming for nothing.”

  Jung Hye-sun replied with a smile.

  “But the 12 countries are all in one server so it kind of feels like a match against countries.”

  “Yes, the starting position is different in each country but they are all devoted to levelling themselves up and exploring the space frontier. The beginning stages of Galaxian don’t feel like much. People from different nations are gathering at the frontier so it is natural to feel like it has turned into a competition.”