Vol 8 Chapter 3

SPACE 3. Unconfirmed Field

‘Why did this happen……?’

Ark sighed and looked around. He had tried to use photon movement to escape. But like Tori said, if there wasn’t a perfect balance between systems when using photon movement then there could be an accident. Let alone speak about flying properly.

Ku ku ku ku….kwa kwang!

There was the sound of something breaking during the photon movement. The sound was of the gas overloading. Thus photon movement stopped. At the same time, gas and metal parts floated in the air. Ark was vertically dropping! The airship was turning into fine dust. It was thanks to Tori that the crisis was conquered.

“No! I’m Tori! I can’t die in a place like this!”

Tori screamed and ran around frantically banging on the dash. The airship managed to fly 20 more kilometres despite the metal parts falling off before crash landing.

‘It really isn’t easy to be idle in Galaxian.’

He knew from his previous encounters that Tori was skilled. Anyway, they didn’t manage to escape from Amara but they didn’t need to worry about the Katz and Kero. Photon movement might’ve stopped but it was triggered for a short while. They had probably flown thousands of kilometres. It would be difficult to chase after them with the state of the remaining airship. However the crucial thing was…..

Ark didn’t know where he was. The Nymphe grasped the GPS location from the federation’s satellites. But this was a planet on the space frontier. An artificial satellite from the federation couldn’t orbit around Amara. If he steadily explored an undeveloped planet then the Nymphe could update the region information and grasp the location but they had used photon movement. He didn’t know how far away they were from the mine. There was one method. It was to use the coordinates tracker mounted on the airship. However…..

“How about it?”

“How about it? What are you saying? What are your eyes like?”

“It looks quite serious?”

“That’s right you asshole!”

Tori snapped angrily at Ark. The airship that Ark and Tori had rode on…..pieces of metal were missing and it was pouring out smoke. The airship was battered by being hit by RPGs, scraping the bottom against the Kero and using photon movement. It was crumpled like a piece of paper. But the more serious problem was the interior.

“This is in a completely sad state! Do you know what I mean? The inner equipment is like a porridge! It is like all the parts have been put into a blender!”

“Why are you angry at me?”

“Then? Who should I be angry at?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“How can you say that? Dammit, if you hadn’t rode on the airship then I could’ve escaped without them noticing! Then the airship wouldn’t have been broken!”

“What about me?

“How should I know? You could go straight to hell!”

Tori spat on the ground and glared.

“You did it before! You always interfere! I could’ve gone unnoticed in the museum if it wasn’t for you! Then I was sent to Stael and suffered harassment from those damn cats! I started to look like this! Now you ruined my escape with the airship! Why are you like the mortal enemy that is always interfering with my life? Get out and die! No, just die right here!”

Ark also had a lot to say about these claims. The reason Ark needed to rob the museum in the first place was because of Tori. Thanks to that Ark was sent to the -50 degrees Beltana where he died from starvation several times. Ark wouldn’t have experienced all of that if it wasn’t for Tori. But Ark didn’t question it closely. There was no point in getting into an argument about it. Ark knew a more effective method than words.

“What? What do you mean? Don’t make up excuses! You’re not the one punched in the mouth!”

Tori grabbed his collar and flipped out.

“I’ve been thinking……”

Ark sighed and looked at Tori.

“Are you afraid of the Katz?”

“W-what? Why did you suddenly mention the Katz?”

“Scary. You’re scared of them. Didn’t you become this ugly because the Katz kept on harassing you? Of course you would be afraid when considering the natural relationship between a cat and a hamster.”

“So why are you suddenly talking about the Katz? You’re so weird! Do you want to die?”

“That’s not it. This is a very important issue.”

“Important issue?”

“I’m not scared of the Katz. I’m a man. A cat is just something for me to pet. Didn’t you see? I took care of so many Katz in the mine.”

“Y-yes? So what?”

“So I’ll make a diagram of the relationship between me, you and the Katz.”

Ark squatted on the ground and used a small stone to draw.

Tori <Katz <Ark

“You are weaker than the Katz, the Katz are weaker than me. You are therefore weaker than me. So here is the question. Why are you bothering me so much?”

Ark said as he stood up.

“I’ve been wondering this since we met in the prison of the mine. I could only reach one conclusion.”

“The conclusion?”

“I have no reason to tolerate it.”

“Y-you have no reason to tolerate it? What are you saying? Your eyes…..they’re dangerous! The look in them is very dangerous! R-relax! I understand your words. Yes. I might’ve been a little pushy? Yes, I understand now. So decrease some of the power in your eyes. I think I made a mistake regarding the museum. No, I feel like I’ve made a huge mistake.”

“So there is no reason for me to tolerate it.”

Ark laughed brightly and raised his arm.

“Hyung-nim!”

Tori grabbed the hem of his pants and shouted. He had felt compassion when reunited with Tori because of his appearance. His fur had fallen out all over the place thanks to excessive stress and the previously chubby figure was so think that it exposed his ribs. Now Ark raised his arms for 20 minutes. Tori changed into a plump body like before. This remarkable transformation was due to Ark’s fists and feet. His body was beaten without a break for 20 minutes and became as plump as before. Ark’s fists also made a rare, blue coloured hamster. It was Ark’s amazing plastic surgery. But the real effect was on the inside not the outside.

“Hyung-nim, help me! I was temporarily insane from my stay on Stael!”

“Then the events of the museum?”

“I was too greedy and committed a sin!”

“The reason this airship broke?”

“I tried to run off without Hyung-nim. When thinking about it, I was clearly influenced by a devil! I was a crazy hamster!”

“Tell me your hopes for the future.”

“What hopes would a lowly hamster like me have? I just need to follow Hyung-nim. If Hyung-nim wants then this hamster will be reborn as a dog!”

Tori shed tears as he poured out self-criticism.

‘As expected from my education.’

It didn’t matter if this was the medieval times or the future. He realized the truth with his summons. When thinking about Ark’s experience, this guy still had a bit to go. Just one beating wouldn’t be effective against this guy. The effects of this mental training had a shelf life. He would become rude again once the bruises disappeared. Therefore he had to keep it up to increase the shelf life. But being too excessive would be like a poison. And right now Ark didn’t have the time to educate the hamster.

“You seem to regret it so shall I end it here today?”

“T-today?”

“You might need a refresher. So you can receive an education anytime.” Because I’m a person burning to educate people.”

“No! I’m fine! It will never happen!”

“It’s good to be prepared.”

Ark nodded with satisfaction. He sat down on the stairs at the entrance of the airship.

“So? What is the state of the airship now?”

“Yes! The most important thing is that the airship’s ether fusion engine is damaged. Fortunately there are several layers protecting the engine so the fusion energy device inside hasn’t malfunctioned. Next, the coordinates tracker and balance control system is damaged. According to the scanner, some parts are scattered around…..”

“Then tell me simply. Can it be repaired? Or not?”

Tori frowned at Ark’s question and replied.

“I might be able to repair it. But……”

“But?”

“The main system programs can be repaired by fixing or modifying the broken circuits. The problem is the parts that were damaged by the RPG. There is an emergency repair kit stored in the airship but the metal materials required to replace it is lacking.”

“So that’s why you landed.”

Ark finally understood the situation for the crash landing. Ark had attempted a crash landing when the metal pieces started falling off during the photon movement. But Tori ignored Ark’s attempts and flew it another 20 km before landing. The reason for this was because the scanner detected metal objects in the vicinity.

“If the required metal parts are repaired then you can fix it?”

“Yes, but it is just a first aid…..”

However flight would be possible. They could go to a city with a space terminal.

“Okay. Then it has been decided.”

Ark stood up and summed up the situation.

“I’ll go around the area to look for metal parts. In the meantime please repair anything that you can. I won’t be far away so contact me immediately if something happens.”

Ark trusted the airship to Tori and started searching. The place where they force landed was a very peculiar place. There were high mounds and everything was grey. There was also a large number of trees in the surrounding area. No, he wasn’t certain if they were trees. It had the appearance of wood but the trees didn’t seem to be rooted. The texture also seemed like hardened plaster.

“This is neither stone nor earth…..”

Kang! Kang!

There was a sharp sound when he hit it with the shovel. Yet it was iron. It was fairly hard but the surface was still broken by the shovel. He finally learnt the identity of the strange material when he used Clairvoyance.

“Clairvoyance!”

Category: Fungus  Danger: –

Combat Power: –

A fungus with unique properties found in certain regions of the galaxy. Like the name, the iron mold is a fungus that grows on metal. The growth rate is slow but if left for a long time then the iron mold can grow like a huge mountain.

“This is a mold?”

The mold attached to metal and could proliferate endlessly. Once again he realized that earth’s common sense didn’t apply to the universe.

“Anyway, the presence of the fungus indicates that a large amount of metal is buried here!”

However he couldn’t just blindly look. The iron mold could be stuck on one small, piece of metal and multiply like a mountain. In order words, even if he dug out a whole mountain he might only find a small piece of metal. He would be digging forever!

“I knew it was smart to learn this.”

Ark had experienced a similar situation at Mt. Fargo. He had to search the mountain for the Murat ruins. At that time Ark had dug 100 holes but Milan significantly reduced the amount of work using the dowsing skill. It was an exploration skill to detect buried objects using two wires. Ark had a feeling at the time.

‘This is a good skill to combine with digging!’

Ark judged that after seeing it. While Ark was reconstructing S-20, he received Milan’s guidance and was finally able to learn dowsing.

Dowsing (User, Passive): a technique that uses wires to detect things buried underground. The scientific reasoning behind it isn’t understood but it has a high chance of success. The benefit of dowsing is that a special machine isn’t needed. Only a pair of rods is needed for exploration so the success depends on the experience and skill of the practitioner.

<There is a 30% chance of detecting unusual items buried in the ground up to a depth of 3 metres>

The beginner’s proficiency meant he had a 30% chance of success. He could only detect up to 3 metres. But that was just the beginning. He had practiced with the skill and could now detect metal pieces several metres deep.

“Okay, shall I begin?”

He took one step while holding the exploration rods…..

He concentrated and walked until the rods crossed to form a X. It tried it a few more times to increase the accuracy and to check if the rods reacted in the same spot.

“I got it! Here!”

Ark immediately took out his shovel. The iron mold was like hardened plaster. But Ark was a user who dug at -50 degrees frozen ground.

Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!

He dug without any hesitation. He dug approximately 1 metre until he heard the sound of the shovel hitting against iron.

“Eh? What the, this is?”

Ark’s eyes widened as he took off the surrounding iron mold. This was a place far away from any cities. The scanner of the airship detected some metal so he thought it was just buried iron ore. However, the metal buried under the mold was surprisingly 1 metre large. The exact purpose was unknown but it was obviously an artificially created machine part.

“Why are mechanical parts buried in a place like this?”

He had some questions but that only lasted a short while.

“This is amazing. If it is this size then I only need one piece to repair the ship. Besides, it is a machine part so it doesn’t need to be smelted like iron ore.”

Ark instantly embarked on the daunting task of pulling out the machine part. He shovelled at the iron mold on the surface and uncovered the rest of the metal piece.

“Pant pant pant, the size is really no joke. But if I draw it out then the rest will be simple. I can just roll it back to the airship……”

While Ark was taking a rest.

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

Suddenly there was gunshots under the hill.

He flinched and turned away from the iron mold growing like trees. It was coming from the place where the airship crashed. At the same time he heard Tori’s voice from the Nymphe.

–Hik! Hyung-nim, save me!

“What? What’s going on?”

Ark jumped up and shouted.

“Who is attacking? The Kero clan?”

–No! These are……

Pepeng! Chwajijijijijik!

Sparks soared as there was an explosion at the bottom. Then Tori’s voice was lost from the Nymphe.

“Tori! Tori! Answer me! What’s going on? What people…..damn!”

Ark cursed and started running towards the airship. That airship was the only way for Ark to escape from Amara. It was the same for Tori. Ark was a warrior so he couldn’t repair the airship. If he lost the airship or Tori then he would be trapped here.

‘Dammit, I was careless. I shouldn’t have moved away from the airship!’

“Super board!”

The air board sprang out of his bag! Ark jumped on the air board and rushed at full speed. The branches of the iron mold trees grew in dense amounts so it was difficult to navigate.

“Heir’s Sword!”

Wiing! Wiing! Wiing!

The blue light flashed as the air board moved. The iron mold branches were broken every time. The blue light cut through the forest as he sprinted forward. Ark cut off the branches of the iron mold tree until he finally saw the airship. And he also saw the guys attacking the airship!

“T-those guys are?”

Ark burst out with confusion. The airship wasn’t being attacked by Kero like he expected.

The ones attacking were made out of metal and Ark never imagined he would see them in a place like this. A previous memory floated in Ark’s head.

“Nakuma!”

It was the Nakuma that he had found in Nephalim. Why were the Nakuma in a place like this? There was no room to talk about it. Once again, the Nakuma was a space creature formed out of metal parts. Metal was like food for the Nakuma. There was only one reason why they would flock to the airship. The airship was like a hug piece of meat for the Nakuma!

Ujik! Ujik! Kwadududuk!

The Nakuma flocking to the airship like hyenas as they ripped off metal parts. And there were 10 Nakuma! Fortunately Ark managed to get to the airship before all the meat was stripped off the bones.

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”

Dozens of swords spread out like a fan and pushed forward like a tidal wave. Sparks rose as the swords struck the Nakuma and the shield broke. Ark retreated on the air board after striking the Nakuma.

“Fire Eagle P-40!”

The Fire Eagle soared out from his bag. The nature of the game meant that guns dealt more damage to mechanical creatures than a lightsaber. Ark grabbed the Fire Eagle and aimed it at their heads.

“Set Bullets Shooting!”

Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!

The closer the distance, the more damage the shotgun did!

<You have inflicted a serious blow and the enemy will receive additional 150% damage>

He managed a head shot! The Nakuma’s head fell off and it received tremendous damage. If it was the Nakuma he had fought in Nephalim then it would already be turned into scrap metal. But the Nakuma right now were 2 times larger than the ones on Nephalim. The characteristics of the Nakuma was that it would level up the more metal it ate.

Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

The Nakuma fired its gatling gun even as it was hit in the head. But Ark also wasn’t the same Ark from Nephalim. Ark used the lightsaber to block the attacks and continuously pulled the trigger of the Fire Eagle.

Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng!

Metal parts fell out as the muzzle was fired at the Nakuma’s head. The mechanical parts dispersed and the Nakuma’s movements stopped for a while.

Kiiiiii! Kiiiiii!

-Hostile behaviour detected! Risk of death! Get rid of it!

Once one of its colleagues collapsed, the Nakuma eating at the airship turned back to Ark. Dozens of bullets started to rain all over the place. Some of the high level ones were also fitted with RPGs. However Ark wasn’t intimidated by bullets or shells anymore. The blue light of his sword swung down. The bullets heading towards Ark divided like the Red Sea. The electromagnetic properties of the lightsaber twisted the orbit of the bullets! Of course, there were a lot of bullets so several had no choice but to hit. But those bullets didn’t pierce through Ark.

“Mind Shield!”

<A shield with 350 durability has been generated around the body. The shield will reduce all damage by 40~60% until the durability falls to 0.

In addition, the effect of Backstab or Sudden Blow will be nullified by 100%>

The Mind Shield covered his entire body!

“Dammit! I can’t let the Nakuma eat the airship!”

Ark rushed through the hail of bullets while using Sword Defense. He then struck the Nakuma like a whirlwind. Sparks flew and pieces of the Nakuma’s shield scattered everywhere.

“Eat this if you want metal!”

Ark quickly loaded the Fire Eagle with Armour Piercing Bullets. He spun around like a spin top and fired everywhere. Fighting with the Nakuma was basically the same as the Kero. He needed to avoid the Nakuma’s gatling gun and close the distance. The lightsaber smashed the shield while the Armour Piercing Bullets turned it into junk metal! Sometimes they would shoot RPGs but Ark was actually thankful for that.

‘Sword Defense!’

A small bullet was difficult to catch the timing to deflect it. However, the larger shell was relatively slow so there was a high probably that he could direct the orbit in the direction he wanted. That direction was naturally the Nakuma!

Pepepepeng!

The RPG shell hit the Nakuma and it was turned into scrap metal. After going crazy for 10 minutes, the final Nakuma exploded into pieces and the battle ended. The battle was against 10 opponents so Ark was considerably injured. He only had 20% health left thanks to the gunshot wounds. However he couldn’t afford to take care of the wounds.

“Tori, where are you? Tori!”

“H-Hyung-nim!”

The answer came from under the airship. Tori then came rushing out of the airship with tears in his eyes.

“Woo! Hyung-nim, I thought I would die! I really thought I would die!”

Tori was making a fuss but there wasn’t a single injury on his body. He probably hid as soon as the Nakuma attacked the airship. Meanwhile Ark was bleeding heavily from the wounds he received from the Nakuma.

“You bastard!”

“Hik! I-I’m sorry.”

Tori protected his head as Ark raised his fist. Ark sighed at Tori’s reaction and dropped his fist. Tori looked really pitiful. If Tori hadn’t hid and was killed by the Nakuma then he wouldn’t be able to repair the airship. Right now Tori was just as important as the airship.

“No, well done. It would be more troublesome if you died.”

“Oh, thank you for realizing that.”

Tori answered as he stroked his chest. He didn’t show a trace of shame about his ego.

‘He really has a strong talent are surviving.’

A weak guy created his own techniques to survive. Anyway, he had dealt with all the Nakuma attacking the airship. But he looked at the bony skeleton of the airship left behind by the Nakuma and sighed. However there was no need to despair yet. The Nakuma hadn’t actually ate the metal parts. They just tore it and attached it to its body. If the Nakuma died then he could regain the metal parts and attach it back to the airship.

“The problem is the time it will take to gather them…..”

Ark sighed and muttered. Tori noticed Ark’s expression and opened his mouth.

“The truth is…..”

“What? What’s with this reaction? Don’t tell me you don’t think you can repair it?”

“T-that’s not it.” Just…..”

“Just?”

“The ones that Hyung-nim took care of aren’t the only Nakuma to attack the ship. There were a few more big ones. They ate the airship first. The other guys flocked only after they finished. The Nakuma that Hyung-nim defeated only ate some of it. The big ones ate the main systems and important engines. Even the emergency repair kit…..”

“What? T-then?”

“If you don’t regain all of that then repairing……”

Ttiring.

You’ve crash landed in an unknown area on the planet Amara.

But this isn’t a safe place.

The Nakuma attacked and stripped away a few key parts of the airship. Now you have two choices. Take a risk to chase the Nakuma and retrieve the parts or give up on the airship.

* Target: Parts Recovery 0/100%

Difficulty:  B

A quest was registered. It was a Selection Quest but Ark had no choice. Right now he didn’t know where he was. If he gave up on the airship then he would have to walk in an unknown direction to try and find a city.

“Dammit!”

“Hik! I-I’m sorry! I….I…..”

Tori screamed as Ark glared at him. Tori wrapped both arms around his head and asked in a troubled voice.

“W-what are you going to do?”

“Do you have to ask? Can you repair the airship in this situation? Then don’t I have to chase after them and bring back the parts?”

“W-what will I do when Hyung-nim is gone?”

“What else? You stay here with the airship…..”

Ark then thought of something and bit his lips. It wasn’t safe to leave the hamster with the airship like it was already demonstrated. Tori would most likely die if the Nakuma came back. If I leave the airship then it is like throwing a chunk of meat at the hyenas. Parts might disappear without a trace when he came back.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Ark sighed and pulled out a shovel.

“Now, take this.”

“Shovel? Why are you giving this to me…..heok! N-no way! Digging my own grave…..Hyung-nim, save me! I don’t want to die here! I’m willing to lick your shoes! Anything! As long as I don’t die……”

“What are you imagining? Am I part of the mafia? Or abnormal? Why would I want you to lick my shoes? Who is forcing you to dig a grave?”

“Eh? It isn’t like that?”

“In this situation I can’t leave the airship alone while looking for the parts. However I can’t bring it with me. So what are the other methods? The only way is to hide it.”

“Hide it? Burying the airship in the ground…..”

“You don’t want to? Then do you want to dig a grave?”

“Ah, no it’s fine!”

Tori started shovelling like crazy. This was the best way Ark could think of at the moment. Of course it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Even a small airship was 3 times the size of a bus. It would take a considerable amount of time to dig the ground enough to hide the airship. Luckily Ark knew that the Nakuma didn’t leave a certain area. In other words, the Nakuma who ate the main parts couldn’t have escaped far! So he could afford to hide the airship even if it took some time. Also, Ark first learnt the Dig skill when creating the tunnel to rob the museum. But Ark wasn’t the one who originally created the tunnel. Half of the tunnel had already been completed by the time Ark saw it. That tunnel was created by Tori! Tori was a hamster who specialized in digging.

“Tell me if you think it is tough. Then I will make a place for your grave.”

“Pant pant pant! No! It isn’t hard at all!”

The hamster really wanted to live.

Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa! Pa pa pa pa!

As expected, Tori started digging at a tremendous pace when a threat was added. Seeing Tori like that brought up memories of Nephalim. He had dug a tunnel for one week without seeing any sunlight. At that time, Tori had just thrown the shovel at Ark and watched him dig.

‘Yes, this is good.’

Ark nodded with a look of deep emotion.

‘I don’t have many fond memories of this guy. Therefore this is great. From now on I will pay back those memories!’

Ark wanted to record his grudge on Tori’s bones!

“Hey, are you slowing down? Do you want to stop?”

“Pant pant pant! No! I’ll work hard! So put that shotgun down! Sob, scary!”

Tori shouted as he desperately swung his shovel. Thanks to Tori’s tearful efforts, a pit large enough to cover the airship was created after 10 hours. Ark pushed the airship in and covered it with iron mold.

“That’s it. Now it is time to collect the parts.”

Ark turned around after covering the airship. It wasn’t hard to chase after the Nakuma. Unlike the swamp area of Nephalim, this place was made of iron mold. And the Nakuma were basically made of iron. Therefore their trail on the ground remained intact. He followed the trail for 10 minutes.

“There is a dungeon in a place like this.”

He managed to find a gap in between the hills. The walls and ceiling of the cave was covered in iron mold! An information window flashed once he stepped foot inside.

Many planets in the galaxy are filled with beautiful sights. But there are many hidden areas on those beautiful planets. Some planets hat look gorgeous are filled with toxic gases while some contain fearsome monsters.

You have found a dungeon made of iron mold on the planet called Amara. No signs of life can be detected. However you can see signs of non-biological creatures. These signs seem to warn you of danger. But there is no rewards without risk. In order to grow, a pioneer needs the courage and skill to face this danger.

* Adventure Points +600