Vol 5 Chapter 3

s.p.a.cE 3. Unknown Enemy

“Pant pant pant, pant pant pant.”

Ark breathed roughly and looked around.

‘Has everything here been clean up? Pant pant, I really have no spirit left.’

The place illuminated with a swaying light was a scene of mess and confusion. There were shattered gla.s.s and various miscellaneous household goods scattered on the ground with random blood splatters around. This was the atmosphere inside the central control tower where a biohazard occurred and the Sufferers first appeared. Naturally the Sufferers here were like heaven and earth. A Sufferer would jump out every time he turned around or entered a room.

‘I thought it would be easier to fight in an area that wasn’t open like the city……’

In the city, he would end up surrounded by hundreds of Sufferers once the battle started. But this was a building with narrow pa.s.sages so it would be easier to take care of his opponent…..that thought was a mistake.

‘d.a.m.n, it really popped out of a cabinet.’

Ark muttered as he looked at the sharp teeth marks still on his shoulder. It was from a Sufferer he encountered when leaning against a cabinet. Suddenly the cabinet opened and a Sufferer bit his shoulder. Unlike the city, the Sufferers would really pop out of nowhere.

‘If I have to stay in a place like this for a few more days then I might have a nervous breakdown or a heart attack.’

It wasn’t just the cabinet. Under the desk, in a hallway where the lights weren’t turned on, on the ceiling…..the Sufferers would hide in every possible narrow or dark s.p.a.ce. So he couldn’t relax at all. He was always in a battle state when moving because he never knew when he would encounter a Sufferer. There were only 20~30 inside the tower compared to the 100 in the city but the mental and physical fatigue was many times more. But Ark was holding up well. No, to be exact the Phoenix squad was holding up well.

-The auditorium is clear.  All the Sufferers are destroyed.

–This hallway has been cleaned up.

Voices came from Nymphe network that the Phoenix members were connected to. The team members speaking were reporting after finishing a battle with the Sufferers. Then Ark and Clark who was on top of a broken desk also reported in.

“Yes, this places has also been neatly cleaned. Over.”

-Okay. Burn the bodies and gather in the auditorium for a break. We will rest and inspect the equipment before entering the next area. Anybody injured should seek treatment from the medics.

Puhwaaak!

Fire gushed out after Kalbern’s command. The members always cremated the bodies of the Sufferers after a battle ended. If they left the corpse then there was always a chance they would revive again. Ark stared blankly at the flames and muttered.

“It is still amazing every time I look at it.”

“What?”

Clark asked as he jumped down from the desk.

“Pureah using the flamethrower. The fire can move freely like a whip. It will only burn the target. If paper was next to the target then it won’t even move.”

“Eh? You still don’t know about it?”

“What?”

“I’ve spent most of my time with the members so I naturally thought you knew….. Originally Pureah isn’t his name.  It is the name of a species. The Pureah lived on a small planet in the Bellin constellation and they are born with the ability to control fire. Therefore the Pureah mostly specialize in Espers of fire. Even if other species receive the pyro kinesis coating, they will find it difficult to match the Pureah’s natural abilities. That guy isn’t an Esper but he has the skill to use a flamethrower.”

‘I thought the red head and eyebrows were strange…..’

Pureah also had a habit of laughing when using the flamethrower.  He was normally expressionless but he would become so animated when using a flamethrower on the Sufferers’ bodies. But to think there was a species with this ability in the galaxy. This was also critical information in Galaxian. There might be many times when his opponents were users or NPCs. Thus it was important to find out the characteristics of the opponent! It was like committing suicide if he fought a magician or warrior while ignorant of their characteristics. Especially in Galaxian where there was the different species and body coating. Sometimes the abilities given by the body coating would completely change depending on the species. Therefore he would prefer getting advanced information instead of walking blindly into a fight. The person who had more information would control the battle. Anyway, knowing oneself and the opponent was the key to victory. But it was still the 24th century where s.p.a.ce ships were flying around.

“Pureah has taken care of the bodies so let’s head to the auditorium.”

Clark said as he navigated between the household goods on the floor. Ark who was lost in thought suddenly shouted.

“No, I……”

“What? This time too?”

“Yes, don’t you know? I have to make a profit even if it is one copper.”

Ark smiled as he replied and Clark just shook his head.

“Hah, you’re just picking up junk so you can’t earn that much money. Aren’t you tired?”

“Team Chief-nim!”

One member attracted Clark’s attention.

“Why are you criticizing someone who is working hard? Alan…..Alan has a reason.”

“Ah, yes. I forgot. I’m sorry. I said some unnecessary words.”

Clark blushed and scratched his head with embarra.s.sment after the team member’s words. The reason for this situation…..since the game started, Ark wasn’t a character who would waste his time in vain. Even if he just finished a tough battle, Ark couldn’t just sit back and rest. Ark applied that same mindset when joining the Phoenix squad.

‘Why on earth are they doing this?’

Ark was shocked when he joined the Phoenix squad three days ago.

“You will partic.i.p.ate in battle so we will give you consumable supplies like bullets. But you’re not a formal member so distributing loot to you is difficult. We’re mercenaries and are partic.i.p.ating in this mission to make money. And the loot is an important source of revenue for mercenaries. You suddenly joined up so the members would be dissatisfied if I give loot to you.”

This was the condition Kalbern gave him when joining. It was to give up on the loot. Ark was depressed but the quest was more important than loot so he accepted. Therefore he never looked at the loot…..

The Phoenix defeated thousands of Sufferers a day so of course they would gain a huge amount of loot. But the members didn’t show any special interest. They would pick up the loot but there were a variety of j.a.ptem that they didn’t even look at.

“I won’t make money from a little thing like that even if I pick it up.”

“If we pick up things like that then we might run out of bag s.p.a.ce.”

This was the member’s replies. Their words weren’t wrong. Most of the loot from the Sufferers were useless compared to their levels. They were tattered old clothes, a few metal parts and j.a.ptem that would only be worth several coppers in stores. But copper was also money. If he gathered copper then it would turn into silver and then into gold! How could he simply leave money like that alone? So Ark rolled up his sleeves and came out. Ark didn’t rest while the other members who finished fighting were taking a break. He would search around the burnt bodies of the Sufferers and swept all up the items he found. But soon problems arose.

-There is no empty s.p.a.ce in the bag!

That was the scariest message to Ark! After Ark arrived at the northern lake, he had obtained various loot from hunting and fish from the lake. He couldn’t stop by a store before joining the Phoenix so it was a natural result when sc.r.a.ping up j.a.ptem. The method Ark came up with……

“Can I keep the loot I picked up in the Guardian?”

All the loot they gathered was stored in the tank. But the Guardian was different from the Silver Hand’s container truck. It was a cramped vehicle with almost no empty s.p.a.ce once the drivers and Kalbern boarded it. Of course Kalbern didn’t have a good response to his request.

“Why should I collect that trash?”

Then Ark murmured with a sad expression.

“Mother……”

That sentence settled everything.

“M-mother?” “That’s right. My mother……”

“Your mother?” “I’ve been going around without any rest because of my mother’s hospital expenses…….”

“We disliked it without even knowing……”

“I also have a mother at home. It’s been 10 years since I became a mercenary and left home. I didn’t want to hear her nagging so I didn’t contact her. I don’t know how my mother is living……”

“Ugh! Don’t speak like that! D-d.a.m.n! This is a runny nose! I’m not crying!”

“Captain-nim, you have to listen to his request! Yes? That guy’s mother……”

Ark’s ‘mother had just become pregnant.  I have to gain money for my younger sister.’ was what he tried to say.  But the Phoenix member’s imagination ran wild and they started misunderstanding.

“Y-yes. Then it can’t be helped.”

Kalbern blushed and nodded. If the situation was like this then Ark didn’t feel the need to remove the misunderstanding. It wasn’t a total lie. The Phoenix members just misunderstood. Anyway, now Ark could just the Guardian tank as well as the Phoenix members’ bags. If he piled up all the j.a.ptem in the Guardian then he could get at least 10 gold……

While Ark was busy thinking…..

“Hey, Alan!”

10 of the members waved their hand and approached.

“What, you guys? We’re supposed to be gathering at the auditorium so why are you here?”

“Did we come to see you?”

The members snorted at Clark and looked at Ark.

“Alan, are you picking up j.a.ptem? It isn’t necessary. We’ll collect everything. By the way, do you have any bag s.p.a.ce left? The Guardian can’t enter this place so you must have no bag s.p.a.ce left. So we dropped by pick it up for you.”

“Huh? No, that…..”

“You brat, we’ve got it. Aren’t we friends now? A fellow soldier’s mother is also our mother. We’ll pick it up from now on so please get some rest. You have to live so you can introduce us to your sick mother.”

A soldier laughed as he placed his arm over Ark’s shoulder. Thanks to Ark’s circ.u.mstances (?), he could rest while the Phoenix members picked up the j.a.ptem. Of course they would belong to Ark. There was even more.

“Hrmm, please use this medicine as well. I’m giving it to you.”

The members also gave him supplies as well as loot. Among them were equipment that he could use straight away.

-Pioneer’s Pants (Magic)

Item Type: Under Armour    Wearer Restriction: Level 50

Defense: 30 Durability: 42/70

Pants widely used among beginner pioneers. These pants are made from the leather of a monster so they are suitable for most environments. These deluxe leather pants will protect the lower body from various toxic substances in the Outlands. There are rumours that it also has an effect on increasing energy. This is a necessity!

<when>* You have gathered 2 items of the same series and the set effect has been applied.</when>

<when>+ Set Effect +</when>

<when>