Ark the Legend 1-12

by Yoo Seong

  The formic acid has paralyzed your body for 10 seconds>

  “Keok! T-this….”

  It was the reason why the soldiers fell down! The Ant’s body generated formic acid which numbed Ark’s body. Meanwhile the Ants crossed over the corpses and started to cut Ark with their small molars. No, the moment they were about to!

  “Hyung-nim!”

  Basak cried out and plunged towards him. He raised his shield with both hands and shouted.

  “I won’t let one hair on Hyung-nim’s head be touched as long as I still live! Burning Shield!”

  Pepepepeng! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  A huge explosion occurred around the shield. The shells of the Ants surrounding him sizzled and they shrieked while running away. Ark learned this a while ago but Basak was the person who succeeded in obtaining the role of Guardian. That’s why Basak plunged in when Ark was in danger.

  Apart from various other shield skills, his guardian defense skill known as ‘Impregnable Wall’ had reached Lv. 5 Master. Basak interrupted the Ants’ offensive and prevented all attacks from hitting Ark with his shield.

  “Hyung-nim, are you okay?”

  ‘Damn, why couldn’t I meet this guy in the original world?’

  Basak was a NPC that only existed in this time zone. He was valuable but couldn’t come along when Ark left. But now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that. If he threw away this chance then it might not be possible to return to his original time. No, he didn’t know if he could get back the items and ship that he lost. Now he only needed to focus on remaining alive.

  “Thank you. I am fine.”

  Ark raised his body after the paralysis wore off. And he looked over the battlefield with Basak. The Ants were covering the environment in a sea of black but the troops were faring quite well. The reason why that was possible was surprisingly due to the nobles.

  “Come out, Shire!”

  “Rune Carving, Crest of Protection Om!”

  “Rune Carving, Crest of Grace Phantom Veil!”

  The nobles drew crests from light in the air! Once again, Ark’s Rune Carving was originally a technique of the Murat. The thing that Ark didn’t know was that only nobles could use the Shire. A Murat who could use Shire meant that they were a noble.

  Anyway, the nobles used Rune Carving!

  -Rune Carving: Om has been used.

 

  -Rune Carving: Phantom Veil has been used.

 

  Various messages rose as the nobles activated the skill and used buffs. The stats of Ark, Basak and the troops rose! The nobles also used runes that did wide area damage to the Ants as well as the Ikram rune to create hell hounds. However their technique had a higher rating than Ark’s so three or four hell hounds were created from each corpse.

  ‘I thought they were just nobles but…..’

  As expected from the Murat’s aristocracy. The higher position Murat could use stronger runes. Therefore there was one person with the strongest runes!

  “Rune Carving, Ankh!”

  A huge rune floated over Kuhwen’s head. It was the Ankh rune in the form of a cross shape!

  -Rune Carving: Ankh has been used.

 

  This was the rune used by Prince Kuhwen! This was the crucial reason why the soldiers could hold up against the human wave tactics of the Ants.

  But there was a fatal weakness to this skill. Recovery skills sharply increased the hostility of the monsters. The Ants that were attacking the soldiers shrieked and suddenly rushed towards Kuhwen.

  “The formation on the right side has collapsed!”

  “The Ants have entered the formation!”

  Ark flinched and turned around. He saw the Ants ignoring the soldiers and rushing towards Kuhwen.

  “Damn! That charge is dangerous! Basak, follow me!” Sonic Sword!”

  Ark pushed back the Ants and ran towards Kuhwen. But Ark could only travel a short distance before being blocked by another group of Ants. It was impossible…..

  “I won’t let you touch one hair on Kuhwen!”

  “We are here!”

  “Go! Ohhhhhh! Monkey Barrier!”

  Ferguson, A and B formed a barrier in front of Kuhwen. If he had to explain it, Tori and Ferguson’s party also had a critical role.

  Tori has no combat ability so he was given to Kuhwen. He might be XX but his appearance looked like a hamster. In addition to cats and dogs, it was a common species sold as pets. Therefore Kuhwen was quite satisfied with Tori.

  The problem was Ferguson, A and B. Ferguson, A and B were fairly good users. When he met them instead of his team members, Ark wasn’t disappointed and was actually glad. They were stupid but had combat power so it was possible to use them. However there were two problems with this.

  The first was the nobles’ opposition. Ark was a person from the future but he still looked like Jed unlike Ferguson. Their original form also looked like a monkey so it was shocking. Therefore the nobles opposed giving weapons to an unknown alien species.

  And the second more decisive reason was…..

  ‘What? These guys?’

  Ark persuaded the nobles and managed to give Ferguson’s party weapons. Ark wouldn’t let them refuse their plan. He knew the proficiency of Ferguson, A and B.

  ‘They kept on pouring out bullets excessively against the Kero Clan on the grey planet. Their combat power was really large at the time so I didn’t argue against bringing them along. Yet the reason they seemed strong was due to their equipment.’

  The monkeys’ secret had become clear! The monkeys could fight but they relied on their weapons. They could demonstrate the power equivalent to high level guards. But their abilities now wasn’t enough to overcome the nobles’ opposition to enter the war. Ark gave them a different mission instead.

  “You guys don’t have to fight in the battle. You will have armour instead of weapon. Put on this armour and act as the shield for Prince Kuhwen.”

  “N–no weapons and just a shield?”

  “The shield is extra. There is no need for weapons. So just focus on defense.”

  “T-then are you telling us to sacrifice our bodies!”

  “That’s right.”

  Ark smiled and nodded.

  “I told you. Don’t you want to return to our original world? Prince Kuhwen is the core figure in this quest. It will be a problem if he dies. We absolutely must not let him die….you understand? If Kuhwen is damaged at all then after the battle you will receive one injury for each damage. Keep this in mind. I still haven’t forgotten about you misappropriating my funds or the anchor in my spaceship.”

  That’s why Ferguson bravely (?) stepped in front of the Ants. One hit from the Ants would deal with 150~200 damage. In other words, if Kuhwen was hit then Ferguson would receive 150~200 damage from Ark later.

  Snap!

  “Ugh! So painful!”

  “E-endure it! It is better to be hit by the Ants!”

  “Yes, I can’t be turned into a mosaic by Ark-nim again! Endure!”

  Ferguson, A and B bit their lips and endured the Ants. Please pay attention to the fact that Ferguson was calling Ark ‘Ark-nim’ now. They had been under Ark’s control in New World for two years. They won freedom and escaped only to be captured by Ark again once they entered the galaxy. They were like Son Goku in the palm of Buddha. When thinking back to the beginning, Ferguson’s problem was that they chose Son Goku’s species…..Anyway Ferguson, A and B once again became Ark’s slaves the moment they became mosaics.

  This was destiny! Destiny!

  ‘It isn’t possible! As long as we play a game, it is impossible to escape from this man’s hand!’

  And…..

  “Phew, good work.”

>   “Ah, no. It isn’t that hard!”

  “We are Ark-nim’s loyal monkeys!”

  “Please look favourably on us! If possible, forget about the old memories!”

  Ferguson, A and B raised bloody thumbs towards Ark. The monkeys were unfortunate but had to accept their destiny. Anyway, that wasn’t Ark’s business at the moment…..

  ‘The formation is getting worse.’

  Ark surveyed the battlefield and bit his lip.

  They were only able to stop the Ants with Kuhwen and the nobles’ support. After fighting for several hours, 10 guards had died and that left a heavy burden on the remaining soldiers.

  ‘But there is no room to give up. The only way is to endure. This circle formation is difficult for that. It will become disadvantageous over time as the soldiers fight without any breaks. We have to throw the weight on the side where the Ants are mostly coming from. The defense area will narrow and there will be some room for the soldiers to rest.’

  “Change the formation to two circles!”

  Ark commanded and the soldiers switched to a two circle formation. This formation changed from ○ to two rows of circles ◎ . There were limited troops to form two lines so the formation size was smaller but it allowed the soldiers inside the defense to rest for a short moment. Of course, the soldiers on the inside location weren’t just sitting back and relaxing.

  “Plasma shot!”

  Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

  There was a continuous flood of lights. They continuously swapped with the soldiers in the front and poured out plasma bullets. There was a harmony in the front with the soldiers who fought as they swapped back and rested while firing plasma bullets. The bodies of the Ants piled up like mountains after that tactic was used. And every corpse was converted into experience.

  -Your level has risen!

  Ark and the soldiers levelled up. But Ark didn’t even have room to confirm the messages. Like Basak said, the number of Ants in the Valley of Darkness was infinite. If they kill 10 then 10 would replace them, 100 then 100 would come back without any room to breathe. Their health was maintained thanks to Kuhwen but they were became really tired. Luckily the rotation period of Muratio Star was very short.

  They had been fighting the Ants for 6 hours.

  “L-Light!”

  “The suns are coming up!”

  “Ooh! For the honour of Ra, Shu and Tefnut!”

  The soldiers shouted with thrilled voices. The scene of the 3 suns floating above the brown mountains was reflected in their eyes. When the light hit them, the Ants screamed and scattered. And peace returned like a lie.

  “Suns…..!”

  Ark’s heart beat forcefully. The Murat were a species that spread to different civilizations over thousands of years. He thought it was amazing that such a species worshipped the suns as gods but now he saw why.

  But the damage received was so large that he couldn’t rejoice. Ark had ran around giving support for 6 hours but 3 guards and 14 soldiers died for a total of 17 casualties. Moreover, this was just the beginning of the Valley of Darkness.

  He now understood why the soldiers and nobles freaked out just hearing the name Valley of Darkness.

  ‘But if we change the path now then all the major cities of Muratio Star will be taken over before we reach Tri-Force. No matter how hard it is, we just have to overcome it. There is no other place to go but forward.’

  “Check your gear quickly!”

  Ark shouted to the soldiers that survived.

  “I know you’re tired from staying up all night and fighting. However when the sun is up is the only time for us to march. We can’t be ambushed by the Ants. So quickly put everything in order and march. Then you can have a break.”

  Ark encouraged the tired soldiers to advance immediately. This time the soldiers and nobles didn’t complain at all.

  Unlike when they were travelling through the leisurely desert but now they were facing the dreaded Ants with their survival at stake. That’s why they marched without any delay! March! March!

  They only rested for 1 hour around evening. When the sun set, the Ants’ assault would begin. They marched without a break during the day before facing the colony of Ants at night. Before night came, Ark would assemble the formation in a favourable terrain to face the Ants.

  And when day broke then they marched once again! March! March!

  Muratio Star had a day length of 12 hours so the soldiers looked like zombies after 2 days passed. However they never complained. It was inevitable if they wanted to live and Ark also showed his tenacity. Ark didn’t even take the 1 hour break.

  Naturally there was a reason for it. Once again, Muratio Star was the home for the Murat’s Elim. And Ark was travelling with the Elim’s spiritual mentor Tot. In the original world Xanax had disappeared so this was a great chance for Ark to learn some Elim skills.

  ‘If the quest proceeds then I can return to the original world but there is no guarantee it will succeed or fail. And if it is successful then I will have to leave this place. I don’t know if I can take items from here but there is a high probability that I can keep experience and skills. So I have to use this opportunity to learn. I can sleep at any time!’

  Ark started skill hunting after getting that idea. Of course he went to Tot first.

  “Never losing the will to learn even under these circumstances is indeed an attitude worthy of an Elim’s Heir. Okay. Originally more procedures were required but the situation being as it is, I am willing to teach the Elim’s techniques. Now, take a look!”

  Tot narrowed his eyes and stretched out his arm. And a stone in the area floated up into the air. The stone moved in circles as Tot moved his hands and laughed.

  “How about it? This is a power that has been transmitted through generations of the Elim, Psychokinesis. Isn’t it good?”

  …..He had already reached intermediate level in this skill.

  “What? You can use it already? No, didn’t you just recently become an Elim? Uhh, you really are fearful. You awakened the power of Force and Psychokinesis as soon as you became the Elim’s Heir! My eyes were definitely correct. I knew I detected a strong Force within you. It is like you are really destined to become an Elim.”

  He sat down in a parody of Yoda.

  “Isn’t there something else?”

  “Something else? What did you say?”

  “Doesn’t Tot-nim have any other technique?”

  “Then what about Elim’s Heart? That changes Mana into Force…..”

  “You also understand that?”

  “Uhh, you really are dreadful to realize such things alone. If you know that then I don’t have anything else to teach. I am the spiritual mentor so I only teach things regarding the mental area of Force. There is another teacher for sword techniques. Why else did I make you the Elim’s successor? You can visit the other mentors after the rebellion is stopped.”

  Tot said with a hurt expression. On the other hand, Ark’s expectant expression turned to disappointment.

  “Sheesh you brat, why are you looking like that?”

  Tot waved his hands with irritation. And the stone floating in the air shattered?

  “Eh? W-What is that? That occurrence just then?”

  “What? This? This….eh? You don’t know this? Hehehe! I see. You don’t know! Huhuhu, that’s right. It is impossible for someone who just became an Elim’s Heir to know everything. Phew. That’s lucky. No, that is different. Hrmm hrmm, good. If you really want to then I’ll teach you this technique.”

  Tot said with a mock serious expression. Since then, Ark didn’t sleep and learnt the new skill that Tot taught him. Day and night changed in the Valley of Darkness and he finally registered the skill after one revolution.

  -A new skill (Occupation Restricted ☆☆☆) has been learnt.

  Break Kinesis (Users, Active): You learnt the skill after travelling through time and space and meeting the Elim’s spiritual mentor Tot. Break Ki
nesis is a variation of Psychokinesis and deals damage to the target or enemy. Force is used to deal a cohesive blow to the target so the damage isn’t large but it is a technique with a high probability of hitting. This technique is only available for those who know Psychokinesis and needs to be learnt through a mentor.

 

  Force consumption: 70

  He was able to confirm the effect immediately.

  “Break Kinesis!”

  He used it on the Ants once they attacked and he lost his balance. When the skill was triggered, the Ant’s leg exploded and it stumbled. It was 1/10th of the damage dealt by a sword. It seemed very weak compared to the Force consumed but it was possible to activate just by looking at the target and could be used for surprise attacks.

  Ark’s skill hunting didn’t end there.

  “You want to learn some runes?”

  Kuhwen asked with a surprised expression.

  The rune itself was meaningless. The rune was just a vehicle to manifest the power of the Shire. And the Shire is something that only the Murat nobility could use. This power was passed down through their descendants. However, Ark had found a Pharaoh on Beltana and absorbed the Shire. And he had learnt the Ikram, Immortal and Kuon runes. In other words, he would have no trouble learning new runes!

  And the Murat nobles helped through Rune Carving. But the nobles didn’t have a good impression of Ark so he went to Kuhwen from the beginning.

  ‘Huhuhu, the rune Kuhwen used against the Ants are a lot stronger than the nobles. Isn’t it almost like a large recovery skill? It would be a perfect jackpot even if I only learn the rune to restore 1,000 health!’

  But Galaxian wasn’t that superficial of a game.

  “I don’t mean to be derogatory but it is already amazing that a human can use the Shire. It isn’t difficult to slowly teach the runes. It isn’t a secret if you know can use the Shire. I would like to give you all the runes if possible but the amount of Shire you have is too minimal. It is impossible for you to manifest the Shire with the rune that I use.”

  Kuhwen explained about the Shire and runes. Ark hadn’t paid attention so far but the Shire also had a numerical value like mana or mental power. It was decided by the number of times Shire had been absorbed and most nobles had absorbed it 20 times. Royalty like Kuhwen absorbed it 50 times!