by Yoo Seong
Hamad and Bain expressed their concerns but Ark had already decided.
“It is valuable but I can do it. Right now it is the only way to obtain a large sum of money. And once development of the planet begins, there is no room to invest anywhere else. News that the Bellin Constellation war ending has spread so right now is the perfect time to sell the shares.”
“Yes but….”
“Won’t it still be insufficient to cover the planet development funds?”
He wasn’t selling the shares already invested but the right to invest. It was hard to obtain the right but a large sum of money was still required afterwards. Thousands of gold would be obtained at most. It was unfortunate but it was too difficult to prepare the planet development funds. How would he obtain that much money?
“Is there another way?”
But Hamad and Bain couldn’t think of any good ideas. Just as they were sighing heavily.
“I didn’t start a business with my own money but this is different….”
Hamad scratched his head and muttered.
He didn’t start a business with his own money. Ark had heard those words somewhere before. No matter how realistic it was, this was still a game. He couldn’t borrow money from the bank. And it wasn’t possible to borrow money from a user and no users had that type of money yet. Well, Hawk might have it but he definitely wouldn’t lend it to Ark.
Ark kept on thinking about it.
‘Eh? Wait? Borrow money? Then…..’
Then an ‘!’ popped into Ark’s head.
He found a way to prepare funds for planet development in a short amount of time.
————————————————————————–
“Investment fund?”
Rapid frowned and asked.
“You, do you know what you’re talking about?”
“I know. In simpler words, I’ll receive an investment. And if the business goes well, part of the proceeds will be returned to the investors. What’s wrong with that?”
Ark was reminded of this funding method.
Once again, Hawk had tens of thousands more gold than Ark. Of course, he was somewhere else. Hawk was the only one who accumulated such wealth. But if users believed in Ark and lent him money then couldn’t tens of thousands of gold be raised?
Ark changed his idea after thinking that.
‘Dozens of gold? Is there a user who will lend me that much?’
Naturally people would easily lend money to strangers. But it was different when talking about Ark.
Ark was the administrator of a growing sector so a written guarantee was attached. So it was easier for him to borrow dozens of gold. If he gathered 100 users then it would be thousands of gold! If 1,000 users were gathered then it would be tens of thousands of gold! And the money to develop a planet would be gathered.
However, it wasn’t possible to visit the users one by one to ask them. South Korea had an approximate population of 60 million people. If he received 10 won from everyone then it would be 600 million won. There was no way to visit 60 million people personally to receive 10 won.
So Ark thought about it.
‘I need to make them come to me.’
That was the reason Ark considered the investment fund. He was the administrator of S-20. And he had just received a planet. Ark was working to recruit investors for planet development. Thousands of users were already gathered in S-20 so if he received gold from them then it would be tens of thousands of gold! And his planet development problem would be settled quickly.
“How about it? Isn’t it clever? Huh?”
“I don’t care about that.”
Rapid looked at Ark with amazed eyes and said.
“Really, your ignorance is appalling. You seem to have heard about it on the news or something but do you think an investment fund is that easy? An investment fund isn’t as simple as you think. Do you know how difficult and demanding managing money is? If there is even an 0.1% error then a loss of thousands of gold would occur. You need to determine the terms and conditions of investing in the business and calculate the performance growth. In addition, you will be receiving dozens of gold of another’s money. Therefore transparency needs to be maintained….you, are you listening to me?”
“No.”
“What?”
“I don’t know any of that.”
Ark shook his head. And he looked at Rapid warmly before laughing.
“The one who will establish the investment fund and manage it will be you, not me.”
“….What did you say?”
“It is just like you said. I’m a guy who doesn’t know about any of that. I admit it. I don’t know anything. So I decided to entrust it to you. I saw it when I went to your house the other day.”
“You saw it? What?”
“Didn’t you graduate from K University with a major in business administration?”
That’s why Ark was convinced it would work.
Rapid’s words were true. Ark had no knowledge of anything related to investment funds. He thought of gathering investors but he had no idea of a system to manage it. And Ark couldn’t relax since the investment fund was attached to S-20.
So he started thinking. Someone who would know about it! And there was someone right next to him. A degree in business administration from K University!
Rapid was surprised by Ark’s words.
“How did you know?”
“Didn’t you display it in your living room? A graduation certificate for business administration from K University. Hey! If you graduated from K University then you should promote it. I never dreamed of even going to a school like K University. If one of my subordinates went to K University then I should make use of it. Right? So since you graduated from K University for business administration…..”
“Shut up!”
Rapid yelled angrily.
“Who cares if I graduated from K University for business administration? I’ll tell you in advance but you have the wrong idea! No, I can’t! Why should I deal with this?”
“So I’ll speak clearly as well.”
Ark said with a serious expression.
“Have you forgotten? I’m the boss. Shouldn’t you listen to me?”
“Ha! I’m so afraid. Do you think such a threat will work on me?”
“No, aren’t you forgetting something?”
Ark said with a smile.
“The Red Slaughterer. No, don’t you want to fight Lucifer? You rushed out as soon as you saw him. The easiest way for you to fight Lucifer is to stick with me. You saw it. Lucifer gave up the antimatter to chase me. Even if I hold still, Lucifer is still the one chasing me. Do you think you’ll have a chance to meet Lucifer again in this wide galaxy if you’re not near me? And you don’t have a spaceship. Won’t you be in trouble if I don’t let you stay near me?”
“You bastard….”
Rapid glared at Ark with anger.
But Ark didn’t even blink and just laughed.
“Now now, calm down. Are you going to let me do that? Especially with the relationship between you and Lucifer? It is impossible. Are you okay with me doing that? And how are you going to beat Lucifer? Have you succeeded yet?”
“…….”
“No? No. How many times has Lucifer stepped on you? In order to defeat him, we have no choice but to raise our power. And the fastest way to increase our power is to develop a planet. In the end, developing a planet is the means to stopping Lucifer. Aren’t you the most qualified to do that?”
“…….”
“But I won’t just ask it of you. I’m not an impolite president. Giving something in return is my business philosophy. So I prepared something. Voila! How about it? Do you see? Do you see? It is no joke. Your magic pistol can’t even compare to this. It is a rare, rare. How about it? Do you want it? This is suitable for your specialty.”
Ark revealed a pistol while talking.
It was the ‘????’ pistol that the boss on the carrier
had dropped. Originally it was an unidentified item but Hegel had confirmed it during the warp journey!
-Devil Sealed Gun (Rare)
Item Type: Pistol Wearer Restriction: Level 100
Attack: 45~50 Durability: 120/120
Number of Ammunition: 15/15
A pistol with the traditional revolver form.
However, stories go that this pistol isn’t ordinary. The cylinder of the revolver is twice as large as a normal pistol and it has ancient characters inscribed on it. Allegedly, a devil is sealed in it with the ancient text. It is unknown if this legend is true but there is no denying the pistol has a special performance. This is the answer if a powerful pistol is desired. However, don’t use if you are scared of the devil’s curse.
It was a rare pistol. And among his team members, the only one who used a pistol was Rapid the Saint Gunner.
The team had rules for dividing up weapons beyond the magic rating. Ark shook it back and forth but it was obvious that the Devil Sealed Gun would belong to Rapid. Rapid had been on the Silver Star so he also knew that. Nevertheless, Ark was shamelessly saying those words.
“Yes, I’ll give it! Look at my generosity!”
But Rapid still stared at Ark silently. Then Ark sent him a suspicious glance and said.
“…..You, perhaps you have no confidence?”
“What?”
That was when Rapid reacted.
“That’s right. I don’t even know that you can do it. Designing an investment fund might not be your major. Then there might be another reason. Perhaps you entered K University through a different door? You have plenty of money. Did you also graduate due to money?”
“What?”
“Maybe the reason you’ve been refusing….”
“I’ll prove it, you bastard!”
Rapid grabbed the pistol. Then he shouted angrily at Ark.
“Okay. I’ve been tricked. I will design the investment fund for you. But that’s all I will do. I’ll give you the basic structure and you have to take care of the rest. Do you understand? If you go back on your word then I’ll turn your head into a bee’s nest with my gun!”
“Huhuhu! I believe in you! My brother!” (Note: ‘My Brother’ is said in fobby english)
“Shut up, you bastard!”
There was a string of curses.
Anyway, with that the ‘Ikyullos Development Investment Fund’ plan began.
Space 9
Untitled
still unreleased
Ark the Legend Setting Collection
The Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light years in size and consists of 500 billion planets. However, most of the planets are simple inert gas and rock chunks and have no species or civilization. It is only possible to extract resources and construct civilizations on 1/1 billionth of the planets. This is only a handful compared to the scale of the galaxy.
There are 3 powers that had possession of the planets. The humans located on the eastern part of the galaxy known as the galactic federation, the Rama who had colonies throughout the northern area and a coalition of 70 alien species in the south called the Aschulat.
And there is also the Space Council. The territory of the 3 powers is established through an agreement. Each power is still trying to break through to the unclaimed area known as the Galactic Halo (an area (16 million light years in size) and have proclaimed it as the space frontier. The Space Council is a committee that mediates any disputes that happens in the space frontier.
-Galactic Federation
In the 22nd century, Earth finally came to an end. Hundreds of years of environment damage has caused the Earth to start to collapse. Thus humans started dreaming of a new life in space. Space science technology exploded until a base was created on the moon. Humanity continued to grow until they reached a turning point on the 23rd century. So far technology like spatial jump and warp navigation only existed in the imagination.
Now that warp technology was developed, they could explore areas of the galaxy that had been limited before. Then the world governments consolidated into one power and was renamed the galactic federation. This was a very peculiar change to occur. The politics that had developed for hundreds of years reverted back to the caste system of royalty, aristocrats and commoners. Some anthropologists attribute this change to requiring a strong sense of leadership because of an unknown world.
The early galactic federation appointed a representative of each country to the royal family or aristocrats and humanity was transformed into one perfect force. Once they entered the galaxy, the aristocrat’s power started to strengthen even more during the war with the Rama that occurred for dozen of years. However, the federation still adhered to a democracy. In order for aristocrats to display their power in the political arena, they needed the support of the citizens.
Currently the federation occupies and controls all species in the east of the galaxy. Their sphere of influence is 270 planets surrounding Istana in the centre. However, 200 of them are to extract resources and if the protected planets were removed then only 40 of the planets were actually civilized.
The population is approximately 12 billion. 8 billion of them are humans. The rest consist of 20 alien species. When considering the amount of refugees flowing in, the actual estimated population is 16 billion. In addition to production, trade, research etc., the galactic federation has implemented a system to encourage many beginner pioneers.
-Rama
The home planet of the Rama consist of dense forest and swamps. On the other hand, the gravity is low so the flora and fauna have evolved to a huge size. The Rama is the size of a human so they are considered small mammals on that planet. However, they were able to overcome this difference with aggression and combat power. They started to spread to other planets but the aggression of the Rama didn’t disappear. After the mysterious destruction of the Murat, the Rama were like wolves released from chains.
But the organization of the human species and the alliance of the alien species called Aschulat cause the Rama to halt in its tracks. Although a special treaty was signed, the Rama is still aiming to conquer the galaxy. The Rama possesses a power structure similar to ancient Rome.
The Rama has a population of 8 billion, but only 2 billion of them are actually Rama. The remaining 6 million come from the colonies they absorbed. Unlike the federation, the Rama’s structure is completed focused around a King/Emperor. Around 300 planets are included in the Rama’s area of influence. The Rama are a warlike race and they had unparalleled combat power and physical abilities. On the other hand, they oppressed the other alien species as they expanded so their culture and commerce hasn’t developed. If a user is focused on combat abilities instead of a wide variety of content then they will choose this species.
-Aschulat
The existence of the Rama had a great impact on the birth of the Aschulat. Originally each species in the Aschulat possessed their own civilization. But the Rama started to explosively expand their power and invaded their territory. To combat this, 70 alien species joined together to create a coalition. An alien species that looks like ET called the Aschulat is the centre of this resistance.
However, in the early stages the Aschulat couldn’t perform its function properly. After the Rama were defeated, it emerged as a 3rd power among the two camps. The humans who advanced into the galaxy are the galactic federation. While the Rama were concerned with the federation, the Aschulat took advantage of it to advance into the galaxy. They then allied with the federation to corner the Rama and were able to end the 1st Galaxy War.
The political system is a democracy similar to present day earth.
70 species of aliens are gathered so there is a mix of culture and technology
taking advantage of the species’ different special abilities have been developed. 400 planets belong to this alliance and with a population of 20 billion, it is the largest among the 3 powers.
However, the combat ability is the weakest among the 3 powers. On the other hand, the mix of cultures means their science and technology is the most developed. Since science and technology is the most developed, it is a popular choice for users to pick after the galactic federation.
-Council
A council created to mediate the rights of the areas not in the influence of the 3 powers, which includes the Galactic Halo. The council is a hive matrix arranged through an employment agency called Elysium. However, the role of the council started to grow as the number of pioneers grew and more disputes occurred.
However, the treaty states that the council has no power over the areas controlled by the 3 powers.
Therefore, anything that applies to pioneers are recommendations not laws. They can’t be forced to follow it. However, there are around 1000 agents or enterprises that have joined the council. The four large companies of the galactic federation, the merchant alliance of the Aschulat and the mercenaries of the Rama have joined so the Council’s influence is absolute.
-Etc.
Colony: Pioneers can buy planets in the frontier and turn the place into their own territory. Most of them are planets where resources are extracted. Therefore a large number of them are for extracting resources and few planets are civilized.
Hive: An artificially created space station. Due to the special treaty, the 3 power can’t be involved with any hives in the frontier and it can only be owned by civilian businesses. Hives the size of a planet or a small spacecraft can exist. Fairy, Star Gates, shops and taverns can be established on large Hives. It is similar to a small territory in the universe.
Company: Private companies that don’t belong to the government of the 3 powers. The concept is similar to a guild but NPCs can be employed. The nature of the company depends on the CEO such as mercenaries, space resources, exploring ruins etc. The name also changed depending on the scale of the company. Those with less than 60 staff are called Agents, those with 60~120 are called a Company, 120~240 a High Company and those with more are called a Space Company. Of course, the companies can also give special quests depending on the nature and the scale.