He gazed at the monitor where a man was running around on a snake shaped like a balloon. It was Ark riding on Burning Soul. The reunion between Ark and his three summons was being broadcasted on the internet and TV in real time. And the young man was watching the broadcast in hospital while undergoing rehabilitation.
âWhat the, that is?â
âHe is the legendary gamerâŚ..â
He could hear people who were watching on the monitor burst out laughing. Ark was called the legendary gamer. It was impossible to get that impression when watching the broadcasted scene. But the youth knew.
âThat is Ark!â
At first the young man had felt the same as other people. Ark looked simple with a few screws loose. However, Ark had risen to a seat that he couldnât reach. He wasnât simple. He might be hiding behind that simple appearance but he wasnât. Thatâs why the young man wanted to meet Ark. He couldnât surpa.s.s Ark. Why? He was superior in everything so why couldnât he surpa.s.s the simple Ark? In the meantime he had stood on top of a large number of people so why couldnât he overcome Ark?
âWhy? What am I lacking?â
He asked himself that question hundreds and thousands of times when he lay in a hospital room and couldnât even lift a finger. But he couldnât determine the answer. If the game characterâs abilities could be quantified in numbers then Arkâs would be a lot higher than the youthâs. Therefore he wanted the chance to ask. If he requested it of his father then it wouldnât be difficult to meet Ark. However he didnât want to show his current appearance to Ark. A man also had his own pride. If he was going to meet Ark in reality then he wanted to be standing on his own two feet. Even if he meet Ark in that state in reality, he wouldnât be able to get the answer he desired. Arkâs talent shone in a virtual reality game. This was the reason why the youth started playing Galaxian.
âButâŚâŚâ
There was an unforeseen difficulty. He committed a crime in order to personally meet Ark on a disputed planet! However he was sent to Hanan and encountered someone he couldnât face. It was a Rama user called the Red Slaughter.
âToday was the 5th timeâŚâŚâ
That was the number of times he encountered the Red Slaughter on Hanan. And the result was a total failure. He encountered him 5 times and experienced 5 defeats. Several factors affected the outcome of a battle in the game. Apart from level and equipment, Galaxian also had the battle suits. Before meeting the Red Slaughterer, he had experienced death many times.
âThe Red Slaughterer is different from other users.â
The Red Slaughterer never once used his battle suit when facing the youth. He didnât use anything except for the most basic skills. Yet the youth still wasnât a match for the Red Slaughterer. It wasnât a mere level difference. He was an experienced gamer so he could distinguish it with the first battle.
âStrong! This guy is strong! This is the power of the person, not the character!â
However, there was a separate reason the youth was interested in the Red Slaughter. After being killed by the Red Slaughter in combat a few times, he finally heard his words through the federationâs interpreter.
âUntil when do I have to face these trivial guys? Is Ark ready yet?
Since then the youthâs target was the Red Slaughterer. He didnât know who he was. Or why he wanted to fight against Ark. But here was another user eager to meet Ark. It was like saying the youth had no right to meet Ark. At that moment, the youth felt like he had to defeat the Red Slaughterer first before meeting Ark. And that was the reality. If he couldnât defeat the Red Slaughterer then Hanan had no chance. He wouldnât be able to return to Istana to meet Ark.
âI need to knock him down with my own hands. And Iâm going to meet Ark!â
âPant pant pant, Iâm going to do this!â
The young man gnashed his teeth and raised his body again. He had already been going through rehabilitation for an hour but there was no time to take a break. He needed to be strong. His abilities needed to be strong, not just his character. While the youth was undergoing his rehabilitationâŚ..
âYour son is really motivated today.â
âI was worried when he asked to play the virtual reality game but it seems I didnât need to.â
Ark said with a sigh. He was watching his appearance on the TV. He wasnât an entertainer so he wasnât entirely comfortable with it but he liked to catch his appearance on TV. Yet when he watched it he saw his pet bat hara.s.sing women, his skeleton being depressed and his snake was so fat that it had trouble flyingâŚâŚ
Therefore Ark had been humiliated in front of the whole nation. But Ha Myung-wooâs reaction was different.
âThatâs it, thatâs good. It was what I wanted. In fact, arenât there a lot of game broadcasts these days? They just show skills and hunting monsters. Therefore the public lost interest in those type of scenes. And isnât gag the trend these days? Look at how many people are watching it! It is a jackpot. It has only been a few hours and it has already crossed 3 million views. Those 3 million people are probably grabbing their stomachs while rolling with laughter. Congratulations. Until now there had been a lot of stories about bad encounters with you on the internet. After the broadcast, your image has changed to a funny kid. Isnât that image a lot better? Fortunately the number of connections also increased.â
âŚâŚOf course he wasnât happy at all.
âI wanted to look good!â
But who would believe him if he said that now? The appearance of the genie in Selebrid evoked admiration from the crowd but if he appeared again then they would probably start laughing.
âThis is the first time I feel more comfortable inside Galaxian than New World.â
Ark scratched his head and looked around. It was a place with large and small buildings filled with aliens. It was no different from other cities but just yesterday this city was under an unidentified biohazard attack that changed corpses into monsters. The cityâs name was Charem. And Ark was the one who settled Charemâs problem. Ark didnât rest in order to settle Charemâs problem but the last day was the most hectic. This was because there were a lot of things to clean up. If Ark tried to sum up all the work he had to do in one dayâŚâŚ
âWhat? This atmosphere?â
When Ark exited the power facility. Charem was wrapped in a lot of tension. Marquis Martin and the Aschulat amba.s.sador that looked like ET witnessed Ark fighting the Mumu and signed a tacit truce afterwards. Both sides penetrated Charemâs shield and took care of the remaining Sufferers. However the residents of Charem were still anxious. The atmosphere felt like the federation and Aschulat were able to start a war with Charem in the centre. Of course there was a reason for it.
âI know the situation now.â
Marquis Martin nodded. Ark had explained it after he exited the facility and joined the federation armyâs camp.
âThere is no doubt that it was a misunderstanding. But it isnât possible to remove the federation army now. The inner circ.u.mstances doesnât change the fact that Charem is an illegal city. The federation army has already burst into Charem so we canât pretend we donât know about it anymore. If we remove the troops then it will be like admitting that the federation endorses smuggling.â
âIs that why the Aschulat isnât leaving?â
âI guess so.â
Marquis Martin replied in a cold voice.
âBut we canât leave even if a war starts with the Aschulat.â
âHe really is playing around. Who do you think solved Charemâs problem?â
Ark was the one who settled it yet they are fighting amongst themselves. Ark was annoyed that the federation and Aschulat troops were fighting with each other after all his efforts. But that was a separate matter. He sent the GPS information to the federation so he had completed the <charem>quest. It didnât matter if a war started as long as he received the compensation. However, this wasnât the only quest that Ark received. There was the <operation>quest that he received after entering Charem. And Ark had to receive that quest reward from Lord Java. If a war started then he couldnât receive the compensation from Java. There were other reasons butâŚâŚ</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âAnyway, I have to somehow stop the war over Charem!â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âIâll be the mediator.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>Ark thought for a while before starting to talk.</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âYou will be the mediator? Do you think you can solve this problem?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âYes, I think it can be solved simply if Marquis-nim and the Aschulat amba.s.sador make some concessions.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âWhat do I need to concede?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âLeave Charem like it is.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âOf course there will be some conditions. This problem is because Charem occupies an area in the federationâs territory without permission and illegal smugglers can freely enter or leave. If the federation forcibly suppressed Charem then the Aschulat will become your enemy. Thereâs currently a war against the Rama so this would be a tremendous burden on the federation. Then Marquis Martin wonât be able to do anything.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âYouâre stating the obvious. I already understand the circ.u.mstances. Yet youâre still me to just withdraw?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âIs some moral justification necessary?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âSo?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âYou can withdraw if Charem isnât an illegal city anymore. So Charem will come into the open. The galactic federation will manage the city. Of course the Aschulat wonât just give up the rights to Charem. But couldnât the federation call it something like a special, autonomous trading region?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âYour words are quite cheeky for a mere pioneer.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>Marquis Martin sent Ark an unpleasant look and said.</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âIf thatâs the case then I can certainly withdraw the troops. However, that means the federation needs to yield to the Aschulat. Did you think I would accept such a proposal?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âIf they receive a gift then shouldnât we get something in return?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âI heard that the Aschulat removed their troops for no reason after the Rama war started. Marquis Martin can nominate a condition that they send troops into the battlefield.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âSending troops to the Bellin battlefieldsâŚâŚ!â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>Marquis Martin murmured with a surprised expression. He was locked in thought for a moment before asking.</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âDo you think the Aschulat amba.s.sador will accept such a request?â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>âHe will accept.â</operation></charem>
<charem><operation>Ark answered like there was no need to worry about it.</operation></charem>