Vol 14 Chapter 5

s.p.a.ce 5: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

s.p.a.cE 5. 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Rattle.

The cafe doors opened and a young man entered. He stood at the entrance for a moment as he looked around at the tables.

He looked like a person meeting someone for the first time. But the person wasn’t hard to find. It was a weekday afternoon so there weren’t a lot of guests and the person looked exactly like he did in Galaxian.

The man headed towards him without hesitation.

“Valencia?”

Another young man looked back.

“Is that what you want me to call you? I…..”

“….Hawk.’

The man replied in a curt voice.

The young man sitting in the chair was the Galaxian user known as Valencia. And the person sitting on the other side was Hawk. In reality he wasn’t a special youth but in Galaxian he was a member of the Seven Swords.

These two people were sitting down facing each other in real life.

“Why did you request a meeting?”

“You don’t know? Don’t we have a common interest?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Have you abandoned getting revenge on Ark?”

Hawk spoke with a mild voice.

“I’ve had my subordinates track your behaviour. Ever since Ark defeated you on Impeltus, you’ve been wandering around catching monsters. You were hired as mercenaries a few times but other than that, you didn’t meet any other users. So I thought you were trying to forget about Ark in the game….”

Hawk’s eyes shifted towards the seat next to Valencia. A black uniform was placed next to Valencia. Hawk laughed and nodded.

“I’m relieved that you’re not someone like that.”

“Did you come just to say that?”

“I came to grasp your hand.”

Valencia started feeling unpleasant after hearing Hawk talk.

“Do you think I would come here knowing nothing? When you started the team quest, you clearly promised Ark to me on Tatuine. Yes, that promise was kept. But you also sold information to the party of the Red Slaughterer. That means you didn’t believe in me from the beginning. Yet now you came for my help?”

“Based on the result, my choice wasn’t wrong. Didn’t the Red Slaughterer appear after you were already defeated by Ark? Am I wrong?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, it isn’t a problem.”

Hawk said with a resolute expression.

“I clearly told you in Tatuine. I will ally with you and Jyubel. Then I will separate Ark from the investigation team. My position is that it doesn’t matter who accomplishes my goal. I just chose the path with the highest probability of success.”

“But you still failed.”

Valencia openly laughed.

“I heard about it. In the end, Ark managed to s.n.a.t.c.h the best achievements in the investigation team. Your pride must be injured. You were the leader and still lost despite deliberately sabotaging Ark. So aren’t you filled with fear? Have you become scared of Ark?”

“I won’t deny it.”

“What?”

“I misjudged Ark’s skills. As you know, I am one of the leading forces in Galaxian. So I submitted to some bleeding because I can shatter Ark at any time. But the problem isn’t that simple. Now I can admit that it wasn’t just due to luck that he obtained the top seat in New World.”

“What? What did you just say? The top seat in New World? Then he really is that….”

“You didn’t know?”

Valencia’s face became blank at Hawk’s question.

Valencia had a gaming background so of course he knew the name Ark. The gaming legend Ark who removed countless powerful enemies and dominated New World!

But the place where Valencia first met Ark was on Beltana. At that time, he had been the leader of the soldiers and Ark was just a prisoner. The prisoners were used as shields on the battlefield and starved to death if they couldn’t eat. How could he think that Ark was the legendary gamer Ark? Valencia hadn’t realized it at all.

“Is that true?” He really is that Ark?”

“It is true.”

Hawk replied in a confident voice.

“I knew it from the beginning. And I thought I watched him sufficiently. But there seems to be a gap in my mindset. I thought that he was just lucky in New World. No, I wanted to believe that was the accurate representation. But now I won’t make such a mistake. Now I won’t submit to some bleeding but will bet everything into smashing Ark.”

“So are you going to fight a war?”

“When the time comes.”

“It is not time yet?”

“Then do you know a clear way to defeat him? I will only fight when I can win.”

“Are you saying you have no confidence?”

“Even if I have confidence, there is no profit in fighting now.”

Hawk folded his arms as he sat deeply in the chair and talked in a low voice.

“Ark now has a home base in the territory of the Galactic Federation. In this situation, the only opportunity to strike is when Ark moves to the frontier. There is no meaning if I try to kill Ark and fail. Ark’s guard would just be up.”

“That just means you can’t damage Ark.”

“That’s right. There is a limit to the amount of forces I can bring into the Galactic Federation. It might be slow but Ark is bound to come out to the s.p.a.ce frontier sometime. In Galaxian, a person is bound to head towards the frontier once they raise their power. The game is about the s.p.a.ce frontier after all. So Ark’s base will move from the Galactic Federation towards the frontier.”

Then it would be war! However, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t strike Ark with a single blow! Hawk was going to bet everything on that war.

Naturally Hawk wouldn’t just sit back and wait until that time came. Hawk spoke like it was possible to win over Ark once the war started. He couldn’t wait for such an opportunity to come. The chance wouldn’t just come.

That was the reason Hawk visited Valencia.

“Until then I just need someone to watch Ark.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“I’m going to give you the necessary support.”

Valencia didn’t answer.

Like Hawk guessed, Valencia still hadn’t forgotten his grudge against Ark. There was no need to speak about the reason why. The important issue was the benefits. His pride had been hurt. No, his pride had already been crushed. He came because he couldn’t give him his obsession.

But Valencia also knew. No matter how many times he swung his sword or cleared the monsters, there was no bridging the gap between him and Ark as time pa.s.sed.

‘Especially if he is the Ark of New World….’

Right now he couldn’t single-handedly deal with Ark. Thus it was difficult for Valencia to shrug off Hawk’s temptation. But Valencia had no intention of being used as a tool and then thrown away. Hawk was hoping to be the one who killed Ark.

“I will end Ark with my own hands.”

“That is what I also wish for.”

A smile formed on Hawk’s face.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. I’m not asking you to hand Ark over to me. Nor am I saying that you will be my subordinate. It is good if you can bring down Ark. No, I will give you as much support as possible so you can defeat Ark. Everything you obtain in the process will be your share.”

“So what will you gain?”

“I can get many things. My talk will end here for the moment. Now it is your turn to answer. Valencia, will you accept my suggestion?”

“I don’t have anything to lose.”

“That is the key.”

Hawk replied with a smile. Valencia looked at Hawk for a moment before nodding.

“Okay. I will receive your support. Just once. But don’t expect too much. Like I said, I think I am just being used by you. And I have no intention of making the same mistakes. I will only fight Ark if I am sure I can win. I won’t move according to your will.”

“I picked the right person.”

Hawk nodded and said.

“I know you won’t blindly follow. There is no need to rush. No, you shouldn’t rush. First raise your power enough that you can at least inflict a mortal wound.”

“No, I will stop his breath.”

Valencia emphasized as he grabbed his uniform.

————————————————————————–

Kwa kwak! Kwa kwak! Kwa kwak!

A black form went flying and was driven into the rock. One man threw his body away from it. The black form with red eyes moved around the man. The one trying to veer away from the black form was Ark!

“Defense Break!”

Ark’s legs moved like lightning.

There was a ringing sound as he struck the defense pose and the black form stumbled back. The dent that Ark had made in the black shape was already gone. And a white light quickly emerged from his sword!

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword! Time!”

The light changed into swords that spread out like a fan. And the swords formed a vortex that fiercely rotated around Ark. This was a variant of the Galaxy Sword! The black shape in the area was instantly shredded and disappeared.

However, there wasn’t only one.

Wuuuuuu! Wuuuuuu!

The blank s.p.a.ce was filled with another black form like water collecting in a cup. Dozens of hooks flew towards him!

–Blast!

Basak’s- Bao- arms slammed into the ground. At the same time, sharp awls shot out from his head towards the black forms. The black forms were pushed back by the pressure. Ark ran between them.

“Basak, catch! I’m jumping off!”

Ark was grabbed by Basak who jumped down towards a large rock. 10 black forms shrieked and jumped down after him. And glanced around the ground with greasy eyes. Three or four spheres had fallen at their feet. They were grenades with the safety pins removed!

Pepepepeng! Pepepepeng! Pepepepeng!

There was an explosion and fire enveloped them. The black forms were shredded by the flames and heat. Ark then emerged from Basak’s arms where he had safely experienced the detonation and got on a disk. Ark had got on the air board, Super Board!

“Let’s penetrate a way through! Sonic Sword!”

-Ohhhhhh! Blast!

He used the Super Board to zoom through the rocky zone. The shape of the 10 black forms flew everywhere like they were bowling b.a.l.l.s. Ark accelerated through them with Super Board. And he removed the safety pins with his mouth and dropped the grenade one by one.

Pepepepeng! Pepepepeng! Pepepepeng!

A trail of explosions followed the Super Board! The black forms were involved in the explosions one after another. After a while, 30 black shapes had disappeared but Ark didn’t relax. There were still many of them remaining in the neighbourhood.

But the problem was that they weren’t visible.

‘d.a.m.n, there will definitely be a trap.’

Right now the black forms were gathering around Ark. They were the ident.i.ty of the bizarre monsters that appeared in the darkness. Ark hadn’t imagined that he would receive a surprise attack from the monsters so suddenly. Naturally he was surprised but he felt relieved after fighting them once.

There were many of them called Dreg but their level was at least 70~80. They were half Ark’s level so he didn’t need to exert himself. Of course, the battle was one-sided. It was possible to slaughter most of them. However, it didn’t take long to discover that the situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed. They came non-stop no matter how many were killed.

Infinite proliferation! That was the scary part. They came constantly pouring like ants towards honey. There were two ways to deal with b.a.s.t.a.r.ds like this. Fight until death or….

Tong!

The Super Board suddenly stopped. One of the Dregs had grabbed the Super Board with a hook. Ark and Basak flew forward due to the sudden stop. Ark quickly got up and swung the Equalizer.

Wiing! Wiing! Buuuuong! Wiing!

The white light cut off the black hook. However, it was impossible for Ark to cut all the hooks heading towards him. Several hooks scratched his body and sucked out his health. The monsters’ attacks only dealt 60~70 damage but the combined attacks rapidly reduced his health.

‘Only a bit more to go. Just a little bit more! More….’

He shouldn’t be having miscellaneous thoughts while surrounded by enemies. The only thought in his head should be survival! He just needed the will to live.

Ark penetrated through the siege with Basak and ran towards some hard rocks. And stuck his back to the wall and swung his sword relentlessly. A large number of Dregs died as Ark became covered with wounds. While he was in a trance from the fierce battle.

-Hyung-nim, it has come!

Ark then noticed something. And a light of hope filled Ark’s eyes as he lifted his head. A wave of light was quickly approaching the village! The planet had rotated and the light of dawn had come. This was the only way he could survive!

Wuuuuuu! Wuuuuuu!

The Dreg shrieked as the light approached and dispersed in every direction. However, they couldn’t avoid the light. In the end, they were engulfed in light and disappeared like sand. Hundreds of Dregs disappeared in a matter of seconds. Ark flopped down on the ground as he took a break.

“Pant pant pant! I also survived this time!”

This time too!

That’s right. This wasn’t the first time Ark fought with the Dregs. Ark was slaughtering the slimes for the quest with Basak when the surprise attack happened. Ark had been on the verge of death many times. He managed to survive and steadily raised his level and gained items.

‘It is fortunate that I packed generous supplies before leaving the Silver Star.’

Ark had packed many things before signing a contract with Berami. If he hadn’t prepared recovery ampoules and grenades then the Dregs would’ve already killed him. It once again highlighted how important preparation was. And he discovered this planet wasn’t as safe as he thought.

‘But……’

Ark’s spirit wasn’t normal.

‘I’ve already earned 260 Soul from the part time job. I can’t give up now. Based on my experience, the planet’s rotation period was 3 hours and 30 minutes. Day and night changed every 1 hour and 45 minutes. And at night the Dregs came out. Soul City is a place that exists in the daytime.’

After daylight came back. Soul City was reappear once he used Hajaska. There was on strange point. Once they appeared again, the store owner and farm owner didn’t recognize Ark. However, the orbs were still being sold at the store.

So Ark thought about it.

‘Now I’ve gotten the hang of butchering the slimes so I can gather the remaining 240 Souls in 1 hour. That leaves 45 minutes before it becomes night. It is enough time to obtain the key from the village!’

And he started butchering the slimes again. As expected, Ark was able to make 500 Souls after 1 hour.

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