Ark The Legend - Volume 9 - Chapter 4

SPACE 4. After the Clean-up

‘This is Jyubel?’

Ark looked at the man sitting opposite him. He heard the name several times but this was the first time he saw him. Currently the federation council was divided into two big powers. One principle axis was belonged to Marquis Martin, aka the military factor. Marquis Martin who was in charge of the Domestic Affairs department was the head of the other one, aka the parliament faction. They were the heads of the two big factions! Ark naturally imagined a crafty aristocrat but Jyubel was actually quite young. He was in his late 30s or early 40s?

But that didn’t mean he was easy or soft. The fact that he reached this position at his age meant he was a noble Ark should be wary of. He wasn’t the only one Ark needed to be wary of. There was a middle aged man sitting next to Jyubel. According to Marquis Martin’s introduction, he was the vice president of the Laius company.

“Marquis Martin-nim must be quite leisurely now that there is a treaty in the Bellin constellation. You suddenly wanted to meet me and the Laius’ vice president.”

Jyubel was the first one to open his mouth. Marquis Martin replied with a light smile.

“That isn’t the case.”

“I’m pretty busy these days but I’m willing to talk if Marquis Martin-nim requires it. But the fact that you called the Laius company as well…..do you want something specifically?”

“It’s not something great. There’s just something interesting.”

“Something interesting?”

“Let’s start with the introduction. This young man is Ark. He is the one who received the titles of Beltana and Athamas’ Hero so you must’ve heard of him. Not long ago he became the administrator of S-20.”

“I’m curious about what the interesting thing you mention is.”

Jyubel didn’t even both looking at Ark. Ark felt like a dog being ignored but he didn’t pay attention to it. The reason for this meeting wasn’t to socialize. Marquis Martin laughed softly at Jyubel’s words and said.

“Like Marquis Jyubel-nim said, I’m quite idle these days. Therefore I decided to observe some military exercises. Just before I went out with the 1st special division for some training manoeuvres. While training, I passed by this friend’s sector and was exposed to an unexpected incident. I think Marquis Jyubel-nim and Vice President-nim will be interested in this incident.”

“I wonder why you think we would be interested.”

“You’ll understand once you see it. Ark, start.”

Ark nodded and touched his Nymphe. A 3D image then emerged before the eyes of the four people gathered.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

There was a continuous thumping sound. It was the sound of thousands of soldiers landing on Mt. Fargo! They were the elite warriors of the 1st special division. When they appeared the chaotic users paled with fear.

“How did they…..this……”

Bain’s reaction wasn’t that different from the chaotic users around him. They were about to kill all the pioneers in the sector when these soldiers had suddenly appeared. If was difficult for them to grasp the situation. Then one of the soldiers walked up to Ark.

“Are you the sector administrator?”

“Yes, I am Ark the administrator of S-20.”

“I’m the leader of the 1st special division, Croc. We were practicing some training manoeuvres when we witnessed this scene by chance.  Sectors aren’t under the jurisdiction of the special division but we can’t just enough this emergency. Can you tell me the details about the situation?”

“It is like you can see.”

Ark indicated towards Bain and the chaotic users.

“These armed bandits are on the verge of attacking the sector. As you can see, this is just a small sector so there isn’t a relay antenna to request help from the federation.”

“So these people are thieves.”

“Yes, please help us.”

Ark replied with a smile.

Their situation was cleaned up with those words.

“This is the 1st special division! It is an emergency! Stop the training and exterminate these thieves! Change the scope to criminal identification and handle these guys!”

Tutung! Tutung! Tutung!

After hearing Croc’s orders, the backpacks of thousands of soldiers opened and capsules soared out. They revolved in the air and the battle suits covered the bodies of the soldiers. The thousands of soldiers in battle suits rushed forward.

“Heok! They’re coming!”

“Dammit! How can we deal with these guys?”

“Shit! I shouldn’t have come to this place!”

The chaotic users rushed back and forth while screaming. However there was no option to surrender so they had no other choice. Even if they surrendered, they had to pay an enormous penalty and would be imprisoned. They decided it was better to fight. The chaotic users came to that realization and determinedly lifted their swords and guns……

Tutututu! Pepeng! Chwajijijijijik!

They were smashed. This battle wasn’t a fight in the first place. Usually in virtual reality games the NPCs had lower attack power than the users. However not all NPCs were the same. In RPGs weren’t there lords and kings? It was common sense for them to have strong guardsmen.

–The demon showed up! It is impossible with our power! Warrior-nim, help us!

They were talking to the guardsmen. The King would send his warriors to defeat the demon.

‘They need to have a lot of skills to take care of demons……’

Any user who played RPGs knew about this. It was inevitable in order to balance out the game. Of course, virtual reality games were more realistic than classic RPGs. If a user collected troops then they could even cause a coup d’état. In other words, there always needed to be a balance between users who steadily raised their levels and NPCs. In this world the strongest soldiers were aligned with the highest power! Now these soldiers were in S-20.

They were the guard division that defended the Emperor of the galactic federation. The strongest unit of the galactic federation! They were the strongest NPCs so users who had only been levelling for 5~6 months weren’t a match for them. It was the same for the chaotic users.

“How can we beat battle suits like that?”

“Those bastards aren’t getting damaged!”

“Hik! A particle gun! 50% of my health flew away at once!”

The chaotic users screamed. The pioneers at S-20 weren’t just watching either. Although some were gathered at S-20 to find gallstones, a vast majority of them were chaotic hunters. The pioneers couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Wow! Look at all the items falling!”

“It is like a lottery! Now isn’t the time to just be watching!”

“This is an opportunity! Use everything!”

The pioneers entered the battle as well! 2,000 pioneers had gathered at S-20 but some prominent users had arrived as chaotic hunters. Among them were users with a superior performance that Ark hadn’t expected.

“Thousand lights! Spear Smash!”

A user twisted a spear with rays of light on both sides. It was the user who reached the top 10 in the PVP arena tournament.

“Go! Sweep through them!”

Not far away Park was manipulating his Nymphe. He controlled the autobots. The dinosaur shaped one was a defensive autobot while the other one was used to attack. However the one who showed the most unique fighting style was the woman called Kaya.

“That damn bitch!”

“DNA transformation!”

“Huk! What, what the? My hair and body, why……Bark! Bark!”

Kaya launched something at a chaotic user and he turned into a puppy. He waves his tail and barked until he was stabbed to death with a rapier. It had been more than 5 months and they were using skills he had never seen before.

“Bring it on! This great Hoover will slaughter all of you!”

Well, there was one user who kept on bragging. Anyway, so many well-known users fighting in the same place was a truly spectacular sight! They weren’t organized like the special soldiers but their colourful technology cornered the chaotic users. And…..

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

Ark couldn’t be left behind.

Dozens of swords crossed the battlefield!

“Armour armament! Hyper Booster!”

The battle suit clad Ark flew around the chaotic users like a flash of light. The blue sword swept around in a geometric pattern. Three or four chaotic users fell at the same time.

“That person is Ark……”

Ark didn’t know the surrounding pioneers. But there was no one gathered in S-20 who didn’t know Ark. He was the sector manager but prior to that he had received the titles of Beltana and Athamas’ Hero! Any user on Istana would’ve heard of him at least once. And now Ark was unleashing flash sword techniques. He wasn’t doing this to show off.

‘If a chaotic user dies then they will unconditionally drop one equipment!’

Chaotic users wouldn’t wear cheap equipment. When he was hunting them in the dungeon, he gained at least a minimum of 100 gold from each equipment. Now there were 2,000 chaotic users in front of him. It was a money field! Moving gold!

“Shield Emission!”

Naturally Ark became stronger.

“Defense Break! Set Bullets Shooting!”

In this situation he was 150%, no 200% stronger.

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”

Some aliens would turn into a giant monkey by looking at the moon but for Ark it was gold! Gold warmed his mind and body. And the ones that met Ark’s expectations the most in this battle were Mellin and Hegel. Mellin was an old NPC so his strength, stamina and agility were far below all the other members. Instead his wisdom and intelligence was high. Therefore Mellin’s training in the Silver Hand focused on handling explosives. By the end of the training he was an expert with explosives.

But explosives couldn’t be used that often in combat. It was hard for bombs to have a big effect in a 1-on-1 battle so it wasn’t used when dealing with monsters. A bomb only had an effect against lots of people. Like right now!

“I’ll show you what an old man can do!”

Kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwang!

Mellin ran around and caused explosions all over the square. The chaotic users were already damaged by the soldiers’ attacks so the bombs instantly killed a lot of them. The other pioneers noticed and started becoming more aggressive. This was a battle situation. However there were some disadvantages to this massacre.

“An equipment!”

“The first person who picks it up will be the owner!”

The chaotic users were dying and dropping all kinds of items! Everybody was striking recklessly so it was hard to tell who had the right to the loot. Therefore pioneers flocked like hyenas every time an item fell. This was where Hegel, the youngest of the Royal Guards showed his skill!

“Item detected!”

Hegel shouted as his eyes became even bigger. This was Hegel’s special ability to detect items that he learnt from Heksu of the Silver Hand! He had the ability to spot even a loose screw that had fallen from the body.

“……Collect the loot!”

Hegel flew to where the body of chaotic user was riddled with bullets. And while the body was falling……the pioneers hadn’t even noticed the loot had dropped before Hegel swept it up with swift hand movements. His speed at picking up items even surpassed Ark! That scene made his reassess the value of a Scavenger. Of course the other members weren’t just watching.

Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Pepeng!

They had navigated numerous battlefields under Ark’s leadership. Berad and Ralph were the main attackers while Cupa, Hedro, Reben and Konsed supported them with gunfire. Meanwhile Kalliben and Beleol acted as snipers.And leading them was Ark who was 200% stronger than usual!

“Dark Eden! Make the formation and burst into enemy lines! If you spot any hit by the special soldiers then take care of them! Mellin, Hegel, continue demonstrating the skills that the Silver Hand taught you! Pick up the items pouring out. Don’t worry about doing anything else. Look in every corner and collect everything you can! This is a chance to solve S-20’s economic problem!”

“Ohhhhhh!”

The Royal Guards cried out and continued moving through the battlefield. His overwhelming leadership and actions unintentionally branded the name ‘Ark’ on those watching. Anyway, it was a one-sided battle. There were 4,000 special division soldiers present in S-20. They alone would’ve already decided the chaotic users’ fates. When combined with the pioneers burning to make money, the 2,000 chaotic users didn’t stand a chance. They couldn’t even escape.

“Damn, I’m going to give up!”

“I’d rather run away since my odds of living will be higher!”

Some tried to escape in the chaos. However…..

Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

The shells dropped down from the airships. Any chaotic users that sneaked out of a certain range were turned to rags by the shells. Water was still flowing in the dungeon so they couldn’t hide there again. 20 minutes after it began, the sound of gunfire gradually stopped. Water also stopped pouring out. Finally all the chaotic users had been wiped out.

“T-this…..unbelievable……”

There was only 1 person from the other side still alive. The one surveying the corpses of the chaotic users was Bain. The only thing that differentiated friend from foe was the chaotic marker. Bain organized his situation but he hadn’t PKed anyone so his name was normal. Thanks to that he was able to survive……

“Now what shall I do with you?”

Ark grinned as he headed towards Bain. Bain stared at him with horrified eyes before shouting.

“I-I don’t know! I don’t have anything to do with these guys!”

“Do you think I will believe that?”

“I don’t know anything!”

“This bastard still hasn’t come to his senses!”

Berad threatened him with a hammer.

“What, what the? Were you about to hit me? I’m not the culprit! I’m a director of the Laius company! Are you going to kill me with the federation soldiers watching?”

“This bastard!”

“Aren’t you going to hit me? Huhuhu! Of course not! I’m not a criminal! And of course the Laius company doesn’t know anything about this! Y-yes! They stormed into the research centre and threatened me. That’s it! I’m not saying anything else. Call me a lawyer! That is the law!”

“Damn that guy……”

The pioneers and special soldiers looked at him with outraged expressions. But like Bain said, he wasn’t chaotic. A general NPC couldn’t be convicted in a court of law if they weren’t chaotic. If someone tried to kill Bain then they would become chaotic.

“Damn, I can’t stand it! Hyung-nim, I have to kill him even if I become chaotic!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ark interrupted Berad and shook his head. He smiled and passed something to Bain.

“Yes, I understand what you’re saying. The law is the law. By the way, is that yours?”

“Eh? This is…..heok! T-this…..!”

Bain checked what Ark handed him and screamed. He was holding a grenade in his hands. The grenade had the safety pin removed. Bain freaked out and the grenade exploded near Ark.

“You asshole…..what are you doing?”

“Is this the time to be saying that?”

Ark smiled and lifted his arms.

“You hit my arm with the shrapnel from the grenade.”

He pointed to the blood on his wrists and said to Croc.

“As you can see he just threw a grenade at me. What would happen if I kill him now?”

“It would be self-defence.”

Croc grinned and replied. Under Galaxian law, he wouldn’t be penalized if the opponent struck first. They completely ignored the fact that Ark was the one who handed Bain the grenade. The fact that Bain’s name turned grey was evidence of that.

“Then I have no choice.”

Ark’s approached Bain with his lightsaber.

“T-this is ridiculous! It was your grenade! You tricked me! You all saw it! He is trying to kill me!”

But nobody responded. Ark kept on stepping forward. Bain winced and fell flat on the ground while shouting.

“S-save me! I’m not a pioneer! I really will die! Please spare my life! I just obeyed the orders from above! Really! I have evidence! I’ll tell you everything just don’t kill me! This…..”

Pajijijik!

There was a static noise and the 3D image disappeared. The atmosphere felt several times heavier than before. Jyubel and the Vice President’s faces looked like they were constipated. They kept an eye on the place where the video disappeared. Ark hit his Nymphe with a shifty expression.

“Eh? What is this? Wasn’t it a HD ultra-sharp image?”

“Huh! What happened to the data? I called some busy people here but I can’t even show them the most important part?”

Marquis Martin bowed to the two of them and said.

“I’m sorry. Please wait a moment and we’ll correct it immediately.”

“There is no need to go through all that trouble.”

“Don’t you want to see the more interesting parts?”

“No, right now it is sufficiently interesting.”

Marquis Jyubel said and nodded.

“I understand the reason why Marquis Martin called us. That is definitely a fascinating video.”

“So I was thinking about showing a few more people. On TV as well as being shown in the central parliament. This friend is in a difficult situation these days. The copyright income for this video should help him settle these funding problems. Well, that’s only if this friend manages to recover the data.”

“I said there is no need.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that is enough.”

Marquis Jyubel looked at Ark who was fiddling with his Nymphe. If he had a gun then a hole would’ve pierced Ark’s smiling face.

“It was an interesting video so I’m thankful. You seem to be in quite a difficult situation so I’ll give you a little help in return. I have a lot of power so I can be quite helpful. The Laius’ Vice President-nim also thinks the same thing. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes…..that seems to be the case.”

The Vice President responded with a rotten expression. Then Jyubel’s eyes shifted towards Marquis Martin.

“I promise. I will make you more profit. And I would also like to express my sincerity to Marquis Martin-nim……”

“We can talk about that later.”

“I think that would be great. Then we understand that the video won’t be screened. If you have no other requests then excuse me. I have to process the reward to give to that friend. Vice President-nim, let’s go.”

Jyubel stood up and the Vice President quickly followed. He grabbed the doorknob and was about to leave. Marquis Martin lifted his mug with a relaxed expression and said.

“This is my personal opinion but…..if it is slightly difficult to handle the important matter then you can use my subordinate.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Marquis Jyubel replied in a low voice before leaving the room. Ark stopped messing with his Nymphe and looked at Marquis Martin.

“Why did you talk about a difficult work?”

“You don’t need to worry about those words.”

Marquis Martin laughed and continued.

“Anyway, this is more than I expected.”

“It is all thanks to Marquis Martin-nim. But I’m also slightly astonished. I never imagined that the 1st special division would show up.”

“That is the only possible way without Jyubel interfering.”

In fact, that was something he had been most worried about. Ark had noticed Bain’s plan one day before the event. Ark immediately boarded the Silver Star and flew to Tatuine to meet with Marquis Martin. There was no meaning in evacuating the dungeon of pioneers. However that wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. If the chaotic users attacked then the population would decline again. Ark thought of the Water Cleaning strategy by connecting the lake to the underground tunnel but there was a significant risk with that.

‘Will that stop those guys?’

Of course, if they invading the sector then he could request help from the federation. But if he contacted them after the trouble happened then the sector had no choice but to receive damage. That’s why he requested Marquis Martin’s help in advance. But there was a problem. Marquis Martin was being monitored by Jyubel. The situation hadn’t happen yet so Marquis Martin had no justification to move troops to S-20 and Jyubel would notice. If Bain cancelled his plan then Marquis Martin would be the one embarrassed.

That’s why Marquis Martin thought of the 1st special division. Unlike other federation units, the 1st special division was stationed at Tatuine and could move straight away. Marquis Martin used the excuse of a training exercise to move the 1st special division. The success was shown on the video.

“But is this okay?”

“The fact that we didn’t reveal the video until the end?”

“No, I’m aware of the reasons for that.”

Ark had cut the video right after using the excuse of self-defence with Bain. Bain had confessed who was behind the incident. It was evidence that implicated Jyubel and the Vice President of Laius in this event. He knew that he might be thrown away after the work was finished so he secretly collected evidence. And it was all stored in Ark’s Nymphe. Despite that, there was a simple reason he stopped the video. The important thing was that Jyubel and the Vice President knew that they had evidence. There was no reason to reveal the details.

They knew there was evidence but they didn’t know the extent. That would pressure Jyubel and the Vice President even more. In addition, the two of them might become even more dangerous if they were cornered. So it was better to compromise at an appropriate level. Ark’s thoughts were the same as Marquis Martin’s in this regard.

“But they didn’t clearly promise anything.”

“It is enough.”

Marquis Martin laughed and continued.

“If they replied differently than they would be admitting to the crime. So they used the word reward. And you don’t need to worry about the size of the reward. The damage the Laius Vice President received from this event is difficult to predict. So obviously they will give you a satisfactory return. Of course, I’m also expecting some rewards.”

Marquis Martin’s careless words made Jyubel seem pitiful. Marquis Martin looked at Ark and said.

“There is another problem.”

“Another problem?”

“Like I mentioned before, the galaxy is investigating the magic circle. It is a disconcerting matter. As expected, the Aschulat and Rama investigated the matter. All 3 powers are organizing agents to investigate so the situation is heating up.”

That was something Ark expected. The same quest was given to all agents in the galaxy. If they completed that quest then the reward from their respective power would be staggering. Fierce competition was a natural process. Marquis Martin said the competition was heating up but it was no different from a war

‘Well I don’t care what those guys are doing but……’

He was worried about Irina. She was investigating something that other atrocious pioneers were. He couldn’t feel comfortable thinking of Irina being surrounded by enemies.

“The federation has decided to send a 2nd intelligence battalion to assist the first one. I would like you to join the team.”

In other words, Marquis Martin wanted to take the initiative. Ark had no intention of refusing.

“The problem is that place.”

He was worried about Irina and it was a main quest so Ark had to participate. He would also be backed by Marquis Martin. However there was no guarantee when this mission would end once he started. He still needed to clean up the remnants of Jyubel and Laius’ plan. Ark had to remain in S-20 until that was taken care of.

“I’m not telling you to go straight away.”

Marquis Martin also knew about it and nodded.

“Parliament will require a bit of time to determine the agents. The future results are unknown so all nobles are eager to get involved. So they are all eager to nominate their agents for the 2nd investigation unit. It should take at least a week to arrange. You have until then to finish all your preparations.”

‘A week……’

That wasn’t a lot of time. But he had no choice.

“Understood.”

“Then I’ll see you in one week.”

Marquis Martin laughed and lifted his teacup again.

“I want to finish this so you can leave first. Everything will probably be organized by the time you reach your sector. Because Jyubel doesn’t have a very laid back personality.”

——————————————————————————————————————–

Martin Marquis said.

“Ark, check this out!”

Mellin came rushing out as soon as Ark arrived in S-20.

“The auditor and a staff member of the Laius company just visited. And they gave me these forms. Look. Here. Now all our problems are resolved!”

Mellin extruded 2 pieces of paper with an excited expression.

This is a notification stating that the Laius company will be taking responsibility for all of S-20’s facilities.

Under the order of Marquis Martin, Minister of Domestic Affairs has ordered that the audit of S-20 has been tentatively postponed. And Laius will take care of S-20’s security, disaster prevention and sanitary facilities.

This was the document that the auditor brought.

S-20 has been chosen as a sector that will receive Laius’ support.

Laius often gives financial support to small or medium sized sectors that are struggling. Researchers had judged that S-20’s development is richer than other small sectors and will receive Laius’ support.

All privileges from Laius’ research centre will be rented to Administrator Ark-nim for an indefinite period. And any facilities demanded by the Domestic Affairs Department will be funded by the Laius company. Finally, the Laius company will pay for all damages caused by the stolen airship without going through the insurance company.

All of this support won’t have any conditions attached.

I hope for the continuous development of your sector.

This was the document an employee of the Laius company brought.

“They hope for continuous development of the sector……”

The Vice President probably wanted to add ‘ㅜ_ㅜ’ after it. Like Marquis Martin said, Jyubel’s processing speed was LTEx2. He pretended to be unconcerned in the meeting room but he had actually been uneasy about it. Yet the compensation was more than Ark expected. All of S-20’s problems would be settled in one shot and he would also obtain the funds from the Laius’ research centre. The paper also said it was an indefinite lease so it could last forever! It was like they handed over the research centre for nothing.

‘I wouldn’t have obtained this if I was too greedy.’

That’s why Marquis Martin hadn’t directly asked for compensation. Not stating anything specific meant he could get everything. Jyubel and the Vice President gave him as much privileges as possible. He wouldn’t have obtained this if he had been too greedy. Of course, Ark never would’ve done such a foolish thing. He had no intention of missing a chance like this. Luck and timing was also a skill!

‘This is perfect timing!’

That’s why Ark……

This message was sent to the sector administration department.

‘The research centre is mine but it is situated outside the sector. If thieves storm if then I can’t ask the federation for help. And I don’t have the troops to prevent a large scale raid. I can only rest assured if the research centre is included in the sector.’

This was the first reason. And the second reason was the security facilities. The equipment required for the <Audit Command> quest was already present in the research centre. If he expanded the sector then he also needs to expand the security facilities to match the larger territory. Ark had allocated funds for this but now he could leave it to the Laius company. There also weren’t a lot of casualties thanks to the special division soldiers. After the unprecedented battle of 2,000 chaotic users, the news spread and the population increased drastically as curious users visited the sector. Therefore Ark’s extension application was accepted.

Thanks to that, the sector became 1 km wider and the Laius company had to build a shield around it. The Vice President’s sentiment of ‘ㅜ_ㅜ’ probably changed to ‘ㅠ_ㅠ’. But the official documents had already been sent so it couldn’t be taken back even if he wanted to.

Ku ku ku kung! Ku ku ku kung! Pepeng!

The next day large scale construction began in the sector. Laius had completed a 10 storey research centre in 10 days. Once the large company started construction, a 2 metre high fence was quickly built around the sector and was equipped with automatic turrets and a high density shield generator. This meant all the security facilities had been completed! Disaster prevention facilities such as earthquake sensors were also installed. It wasn’t necessary to apply for sanitary facilities. As expected, the research centre already had most of the facilities. The time spent on construction was just 3 days!

-The <Audit Command> quest has been completed.

At the same time the quest was completed. The shops damaged by the airship crash were also repaired! In the meantime Ark also bought the Fairy and exclusive route. Ark was able to save that type of money because of the chaotic users. It was thanks to the chaotic battle. He took the initiative during the battle but Ark was still the sector manager. The rights of the soldiers who fought belonged to Ark. He took advantage of that and was able to obtain exclusive loot from the chaotic users.

Hegel’s skill also couldn’t be ignored. At the time 10,000 people had gathered so it was a confusing battle. Streams of water pouring out also made the items more difficult to find. However Hegel had received special training as a Scavenger from the NPC Heksu of the Silver Hand. Hegel’s distinctive large eyes didn’t miss a single item. Ark managed to collect 400 items! The value was worth 6,000 gold. Ark had already secure 5,000 gold but he used that money to buy the Fairy and exclusive route. But the biggest loot Ark got from this event…..

“Hello Ark-nim!”

Bain bowed so low his nose almost hit the ground.

“I’ve finished resetting all the data of the research centre and now Ark-nim is the top administrator. The research centre truly belongs to Ark-nim now!”

Bain exclaimed as he pointed to the research centre. The signpost in front of the research centre had already been changed to ‘Sector S-20’s Management Office.’

Ark grinned and nodded.

“Good work.”

“I don’t deserve those words! I tried to do such despicable things to Ark-nim yet you forgave me! In the future I will only be loyal to Ark-nim!”

There was a reason for Bain’s attitude. Marquis Martin, Ark, Jyubel and the Laius Vice President. The 4 people had commenced their talk shortly after the ‘chaotic attack.’ He didn’t hand Bain over to the courts. But Bain was scared of something else. Jyubel and the Vice President suffered a big loss and Bain was a weakness to them. Of course he would take the fall. Thus they fired Bain. He quickly grabbed an opportunity!

“I will obey everything you say! Just let me be your subordinate! Please! If Ark-nim doesn’t accept then I won’t live for long! The only person who can help me is Ark-nim! If you tell me to bark then I will bark!”

Bain was quick at judging the situation. His life would continuously by threatened by Jyubel and the Vice President. The only way he could survive was to cling tightly to Ark. Ark had a secret deal with Jyubel and the Vice President. They wouldn’t dare do anything if Bain was Ark’s subordinate. The proposition wasn’t bad for Ark.

‘The research centre is mine but I don’t know the facilities yet.’

The Laius Vice President hadn’t attached any documentation about the research centre. If Bain was there then he could use the centre’s capabilities at 100%. Bain was an incredible lifeline to Ark! He didn’t need to worry about betrayal.

“In addition, he was a direction of Laius. That means he is a NPC with the ability to manage.’

Originally Ark had left sector management to Mellin and Hegel. However he saw the situation after returning from Amara and determined that it was impossible to leave it to them. If it wasn’t for Rapid then the population would’ve plummeted drastically.

‘In that sense Rapid is the right person……’

However Rapid hadn’t come back despite a fortnight passing. Even if Rapid returned, he was still a user. He wouldn’t be able to stay at the sector all the time. But it was impossible for Ark to stay at S-20.

“Okay. I accept.”

“R-really? You really accept?”

“But if you even think of……”

“I will never! My allegiance will always be with you!”

Bain became an employee of Dark Eden. Bain wasn’t the only new increase to his employees.

“You’ve become my subordinate but I can’t guarantee your safety. You understand how powerful the opponents are right? So I am giving you a bodyguard for the moment. Kurakan, you stay here with Bain for a while.”

“I understand Hyung-nim.”

Kurakan tapped Bain’s shoulder with a smile.

“Huhuhu. There is no need to worry. Other than Ark hyung-nim, I have never lost to another pioneer. No one will touch you with me here. Hyung-nim, then I have become Hyung-nim’s subordinate?”

“Well you played your role well.”

He used Kurakan’s body to lure the chaotic hunters. And Ark had been thinking about accepting Kurakan. Kurakan was an idiot but Ark spent quite a bit of time watching him. His skills might be a disadvantage but he never gave up and was extremely loyal to Ark. It wasn’t common for a user to keep his promise of doing 100 hours of community service. Therefore he was a reliable user.

Adventure points were required to raise the level of his agent. Ark had already collected the necessary Adventure points. It was the same for S-20.

“How about it? Do you like it?”

Bain asked nervously as he noticed Ark’s expression. Bain had guided them around and Ark was now standing on a balcony.

‘This is my entire sector?’

The balcony overlooked the entire sector! The sector was twice its previous size and was wrapped in a blue shield. The extension meant Mt. Fargo was no fully owned by Ark with a lot of pioneers hunting there. The shops damaged from the airship crash were repaired and the Fairy and exclusive route attracted more pioneers.

That wasn’t all.

A large artificial lake was next to the research centre. The lake was filled with dozens of fish that the octopuses could catch. They were the workers from Charem’s food factory. Once the situation in S-20 was clean up, Ark had moved the Charenjok and space food manufacturing to S-20. When Ark first came there was only one signpost in the sector. Now it had all the essential facilities, an artificial lake and a research centre.

So he levelled up! S-20 was finally able to grow to a small sector with a Lv. 2 rating. New employees meant he had to relocate his other staff. Once Bain took over sector managed, he entrusted the food manufacturing plant to Mellin. Jay and Tori returned to their primary occupations as engineers and oversaw the related tasks of the research centre. The Royal Guards were appointed as formal sector guards.

‘I’d like to watch the situation of the sector a bit more……’

He had to meet Marquis Martin in one week. And it took 3 days to clean-up S-20. There was still 4 days left but Ark had something he needed to do.

‘Four days isn’t an abundant amount of time I can leave the rest of the sector to the staff and go complete my business.”

Ark’s mission. It was an adventure to an unknown world.

——————————————————————————————————————–

“Dammit!”

Rapid sighed with misery. His cold had worsened and he needed to be taken to the hospital. However the thing that made it difficult was Rapid’s father. His father had stopped Rapid’s connection to Galaxian when he became sick. This was the reason why Rapid failed for log in for a fortnight. But Rapid desperately persuaded his father and he could return to Galaxian. And once again to S-20……

“Did something happen in the meantime?”

The sector was completely changed from what he remembered. What happened while he was away? It wasn’t difficult to figure out. He also knew the pioneers in the sector so he could easily here the matter. That’s why Rapid was upset. He wanted to meet Ark. He wanted to check the answer. He wanted to know. Why could he never win over Ark? What was the difference between him and me?

‘I wonder.’

He wanted to meet Ark again. In the past Rapid tried everything he could to defeat Ark but it didn’t work so he wanted to ask in S-20. Naturally he knew what was required to grow a sector. The crisis could only be solved with money. However Ark didn’t spend any money. He had found ways to resolve the funding issue while still obtaining something from poor users. The process was more important than the results. But Rapid had spent that time in a hospital bed. The problem was…….

“He left last night.”

“Left? To where?”

“He didn’t tell me.”

He took several subordinates with him so I don’t know when he will come back. It was great that Rapid managed to return.

‘Now what do I do?’

Rapid was signing with disappointment when a message appeared.

The Nymphe vibrated and a new message came up. His forehead frowned as he confirmed the message without thinking.

“What the? Why all of a sudden……?”