Vol 11 Chapter 5

SPACE 5. It came from Outer Space

“Captain-nim!”

The interstellar cargo ship Pelican. A sailor turned his head and shouted.

“The injection point is passing.”

“What cargo is being ejected?”

“D-1201! The cargo loaded from Tatuine!”

“D-1201…..!”

The corners of the captain’s eyes shook. A rumour had spread on the Pelican since it started sailing. It was about the cargo D-1201 that they picked up on Tatuine.

Handle with caution! A special security cargo!

These labels were stuck on the container. The captain of the interstellar ship specialized in transporting cargo.

There was a reason he had that background. The captain had grasped the situation the moment he saw the labels on the cargo. The cargo was probably involved with the galactic federation or the military. He didn’t know what the cargo was but it was better to just not be interested in it. However…..

Boom! Bak bak bak bak! Boom! Bak bak bak bak!

Noise started coming from the cargo container. Normally the only sounds that filled the warehouse was the cargo hitting the wall or nails scratching something.

Working in transportation didn’t have a lot of risks. They loaded and unloaded cargo and occasionally fought space pirates.  Therefore the transportation crew members were surprisingly weak to a situation like this.

“D-did you hear? The sound from the cargo bay?”

“Are aliens hiding in there?”

“No, I heard from the person in charge of the cargo bay that the sound is coming from inside a cargo.”

“What on earth are the contents? What is causing such sounds?”

“Damn, how would I know? Doesn’t this seem like the Horizon incident? Have you heard about Horizon? A cargo transport ship disappeared during a warp sail. They went missing for a few days and when they returned the entire crew were turned into mummies.”

“Why? Why?”

“Who knows. They’re all dead.”

The sailor looked around then added in a low voice.

“I heard there was a boom from one of the cargo before Horizon disappeared.”

An unidentified ghost story spread through the corridor like moisture!

“Captain-nim, perhaps the noise from Tatuine……”

“Don’t think about it! I have no interest!”

The captain shook his head.

“We’re not pioneers. It is useless to feel curiosity. We just need to deliver the cargo to the destination. We will pass by the coordinates on the way to the Haven planet, eject the cargo and it will be over. It is a maximum of two days. So it is futile to be interested!”

The captain thought to himself with a resolute expression.

‘Scary! Damn, so scary!’

In fact, the captain also couldn’t sleep because he visualized the ghost stories from the crew. But now his sleepless nights were over. The transportation area wasn’t part of the ship’s regular route so they would inject it into the cargo passage closest to the coordinates. And the Pelican finally arrived safely (?) at their destination. Nothing happened despite the noise but the Pelican’s crew considered it the adventure of a lifetime.

“Captain-nim, we did it!”

“It is still too early to tell. Our mission will only end after the cargo is ejected! Confirm the coordinates!”

“Coordinates are confirmed! Electromagnetic charging is complete! Captain-nim, the cargo is ready for ejection!”

The Pelican’s doors opened and a giant barrel soared out. Mounted on the barrel was the D-1201 cargo that caused an urban legend!

‘Goodbye now! That damn cargo!’

“Launch!”

Wiiiiing! Kwaaaah!

The container accelerated due to the electromagnetic power and crossed outer space. And it instantly turned when it reached a certain point.

————————————————————-

“Missing?”

Irina made a puzzled expression.

While the 2nd investigation team was looking at more than 20 planets, Irina had been researching the Kero with the 1st team. The hooded man, Katz and Kero were the ones who caused the red rays on Amara that created the magic circle in the Harmadon constellation. The hooded had died when Ark took the airship to escape!

‘The only remaining clues are the Katz and the Kero. But the Katz clan had been confined on Stael before joining them. They have something to do with the hooded man but there is no evidence they are part of Organization X. But the Kero clan are clearly Organization X’s operatives.  The Kero live on a frontier colony. Anyway, the Rama and Aschulat are monitoring my team so it is better to concentrate on the Kero.’

Those were Irina’s thoughts. And she went around the frontier to investigate. They got some clues about the Rama and Aschulat’s monitoring network and were able to escape it to come to Turan. However shocking news was waiting for her.

9 spaceships had been destroyed after only two days! One of them was the Silver Star. It was none other than Ark’s ship. The more puzzling thing was that two days had passed and Ark was still missing. The team units that had been killed by the Rama and the mysterious enemies had already revived in Turan. But so far there was no news about Ark.

“And his teammates are also missing?”

“A couple of team members revived in Turan.”

“What did they say?”

“They don’t know any details so they were killed in the middle of a battle.”

The person speaking was Hawk.

“So there is a possibility they are still alive……”

Hawk seemed to have expected Irina’s question and replied coldly.

“That might be true. But nothing will change even if they have survived.”

“What do you mean?”

“I said it clearly when everyone was assembled on Turan. I will only accept the teams that have proven their ability. But the fact that 9 ships were destroyed by unidentified enemies disappointed me. Surprise attacks are common on the space frontier. If they don’t have that type of crisis management skills then they’ve already failed.”

“You mean to discard them?”

“Discard? That is a fairly emotional term you’re using. I heard that Ensign Irina-nim is so cold that you could make an android cry.”

Hawk looked at her with interested eyes.

“I’m not saying that I want to abandon them. They have already lost their ships. Even with the insurance, it will take a considerable amount of time to buy back a ship. We have no time to wait until then.”

“Ark-nim’s death hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

“But he didn’t return on time. I gave all teams two days and those that went to planets even further away than Ark have returned. Even if he is still alive, Ark is already disqualified.”

“He is a pioneer that Marquis Martin considered exceptional.”

“All team members are the same.”

Hawk replied shortly.

“There are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if Ark has received Marquis Martin’s favour!”

And he turned his body so the wide cloak with the blue skull was shown. The embroidery gave off a vaguely menacing atmosphere.

“We don’t have a lot of time. If we don’t discard people then we can’t move forward. And the destination has already been set. We have to throw away our colleagues.”

Hawk strode to the doors that split apart. 11 people were in front of him. They were the teams who came back from the mission and surprise attacks alive. Hawk’s mouth rose as he saw them.

“Be prepared. Depart for the following destination.”

‘Why on earth hasn’t Ark-nim made any contact?’

A sigh flowed from Irina’s mouth.

————————————————————-

At that moment, Ark……

“Waaaaah! D-damage!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

……He wasn’t in a position to contact anyone.

–Hyung-nim, danger! Everyone take cover!

–Damn squid! Eat this!

Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!

Gunshots subsequently burst out through the darkness! A blue light also flashed between a huge shadow. It was a giant squid with a body size of 30~40 metres. It was the monster called Kraken that was the ancestor of the Squids. This guy didn’t just have a large body.

Titing! Titing! Titing!

The body was covered in an armour like epidermis so the bullets bounced off it! It was literally a squid wearing armour.

“Don’t shoot blindly! Focus and attack one point!”

–Even if you tell us to focus……

Buwaaaaang!

At that moment a huge, thick object fell towards the party. The huge objects falling was the Kraken’s legs! The body might be long but it had massive legs several metres in diameter.

–Dammit! These squid legs! Iron Wall!

Slayer raised his shield and shouted. But in the next moment, Slayer flew back dozens of metres into a wall. It was the same with the other team members. The Kraken swung its 10 legs crazily so it was hard for the party to defend, let alone attack.

Members who used firearms like Kurakan and Leon could only fire as they ran away. Therefore they couldn’t concentrate on hitting one point and the bullets just bounced off the Kraken’s armour. On the other hand, the Kraken’s tentacles went peng! Peng! Peng! Those who were hit would become rice cakes like Slayer who bravely confronted it.

-Kuuck…..damn…..

Slayer groaned and shook from the wall he flew into. Fortunately the actual damage wasn’t that large. The Kraken’s attack wasn’t weak. One leg contained the weight of the huge body that was several tons. The weight itself was a destructive power. It was impossible to be safe after being hit by that leg. However, this was space so it was weightless.

Ark’s party was deprived of their weight and floated dozens of metres in the air. It also meant that the impact would be as light as a feather so there wasn’t large damage. It was the principle behind why it was so hard to destroy an object floating in air.

‘But this weightlessness isn’t an advantage!’

It was the reason why this team members were wandering. Ark had obtained Spacewalk from cleaning the Silver Star so he had relatively free movements. However, this was the other team members first experience!

They could use the jet device to move but they weren’t skilled in moving freely in a combat situation. Being unable to move freely in battle was a deadly penalty!

‘Continuing to fight like this will be suicide!’

He confirmed that after 10 minutes of fighting. In the meantime, the Kraken’s health had only decreased by 15% at the most. On the other hand, the team’s health had been cut down by 40~50%. They couldn’t maintain their centre of balance and struggled to avoid the Kraken’s legs so the result was obvious.

‘There are two ways to deal with a high defense monster like the Kraken. The first way is to find a weakness or to pour out attacks that would overcome its defense.’

But even if he managed to find a weak point, they weren’t in a situation to attack a small gap. The remaining way was to pour out attacks to overcome the defense. The first method was better but it wasn’t easy with teammates unfamiliar with weightlessness.

‘The only way possible is to establish a terrain advantage. A place like the pipe where I lured the Squids to wipe them out with concentrated firepower. And there is an appropriate place here!’

Ark’s eyes looked towards the top of the Kraken! They were currently inside a hole in the surface of the asteroid.

‘If I trap it in this hole…..’

–Ark! Wake up! On the right!

The Nymphe vibrated and Rapid’s voice was heard. He flinched and turned to see a huge Kraken leg flying towards the ground. Ark lowered his upper body and glided along the ground. It was the method of applying Swamp Walking to the weightlessness!

Buwaaaaang!

The Kraken’s leg passed over his head!

“Attack him to give me some time!”

Ark operated the jet device and crossed the space. He reached the area where the Squids’ corpses were floating and a blue light flashed from his hand as he started carving complex characters in the air.

“Come out, Shire! Rune Carving, Ikram! Ikram! Ikram! Ikram!”

It was the Ikram rune he learnt from the pyramid! A blurry shape that looked like the ghost of Anubis rose in the air as soon as the character was carved. Then it was then sucked into the body of a Squid that had been turned into rags. A red shape then burst out from the Squid! It was a Hellhound with the head of a squid and the body of a dog.

‘Impossible…..’

A squid-headed dog. However there was no time to appreciate the new creature.

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

There was no time to rest as gunfire kept on going off. It was the sound of his teammates struggling one-sidedly against the Kraken.

“Bite!”

Ark quickly pulled out grenades and handed them to the Hellhounds. Once again, the Hellhounds were creatures born anew from flesh that Ark killed. The Hellhound inherited a portion of the sacrifice’s stats and characteristics. For example, the fish head that could swim freely in water or the dog’s keen sense of smell. And the head right now was a space squid!

“Go!”

Ark pulled the safety pins and shouted towards the Kraken. At that moment, 5 Hellhounds flew towards the Kraken like missiles. The head of the squid meant the Hellhounds had the Squid’s ability to quickly walk across space. And the moment a Hellhound collided with the Kraken!

Pepeng!

The grenade the Hellhound was biting self-destructed! The explosion caused the Kraken to stumbled and step back. But that was just the start. The other Hellhounds heading towards the Kraken hit the same area.

Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng!

There were explosions one after another! There was a hollow in the Kraken’s armour from where 5 grenades had burst and its health had noticeably declined. It still had a lot of health but this was the first attack that dealt a lot of damage so it turned its body towards Ark in fury.

“Now! Everybody climb up the hole!”

–Y-you?

“Follow me right now! Armour armament!”

The space distorted and his battle suit appeared at Ark’s cry. The moment the battle suit wrapped around Ark’s body.

“Armed Stealth!”

A intense light burst out in the darkness! At the same time, the Kraken screamed and struggled. It was natural. The Kraken probably hadn’t experienced light for a few hundred years so the light caused it intense pain! It was like sticking a needle in the eye. While the Kraken frantically swung its legs, Ark’s tem flew up the hole.

Kukung! Kuwaaaaaaaah!

When they had reached the middle part, there was a roar as the Kraken caught up. This part of the hole had a diameter of 10 metres so the Kraken’s appearance was like fear itself! It was like they were sandwiched between the Kraken and the rock wall as its tentacles got closer. No, the Kraken’s tentacles were heading towards Ark.

“Hyper Booster!”

He waited for the right moment and used Hyper Booster! Ark’s body shot like a bullet out of the hole. His 10 teammates also gathered around the hole as they exited. And the Kraken was about to come out of the hole. Ark shouted as he flew towards his team.

“Now! Pour all your firepower towards that hole!”

This was Ark’s mission. It was an operation similar to luring the Squids into the pipe and killing them in droves! The Kraken was stuck in a narrow hole so it couldn’t freely move its legs. In addition, his team members didn’t need to worry about any leg damage and could focus on attacking.

–That’s right! This is like when we trapped the Squids in the pipe!

–Shoot! Smash it before it comes up!

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

Various skills and bullets were poured out!

A roaring sound and flames relentlessly soared from the hole. The Kraken moved its body and tried to swing 2~3 tentacles but it couldn’t exit the hole under the concentrated attacks. It was the same for the body.

“Fire Eagle P-40!”

His shotgun Fire Eagle that he used after a long time!

Ark helped maintain the pressure on the Kraken with his shotgun as they pushed it down. In addition, there was the buff from Kaya’s battle suit!

<The attack and defense of everybody in the party will increase by 15%>

Attack and defense increased by 15%!

The Kraken’s health quickly started going down under the team’s violent onslaught. On the other hand, the Kraken was trapped in the hole and couldn’t properly hit them.

‘That’s it! If it continues like this then it will be an easy win!’

When Ark was convinced of their victory.

Hwaaaaack!

A huge stream of liquid suddenly emerged from the hole. The identity of the yellow liquid was the acid poison the Squids’ squirted! But it was on a completely different scale when the Kraken used it. Several tons worth of yellow liquid shot out from the hole.

Chi chi chi chi!

When the liquid hit the team, smoke and a common message appeared.

<Durability of your armour has declined by 3% due to the acid poison>

–Wah! Poison!

–Avoid it! If it hits then it will melt your equipment!

The team members screamed and scattered all over the place.

“You fools! Don’t withdraw!”

Ark yelled in a desperate voice but it was already too late.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwang! Syu syu syu syu syu!

There was the sound of rocks being crushed and a huge shadow flew out of the hole. Ark looked up at the shadow with an upset expression. The Kraken was floating dozens of metres above with ten legs. The Kraken was less bulky than when they were fighting underground. Tons of liquid had been pumped out of the body so its speed increased as it shot out of the hole.

“D-dammit! This winning fight……”

Ark frowned as he looked up at the Kraken. Now it had less than 20% health left. However the odds couldn’t be guaranteed anymore once it left the hole. No, it was now unfavourable to Ark’s team.

They couldn’t fight the Kraken properly in the underground space but he was relaxed due to the Kraken’s space constraints. But now those space constraints had also disappeared.

The Kraken was now floating in space. The Kraken could now fly through the universe freely! Of course, the jet device meant the team could move around but it was like a person on a hang glider fighting against an eagle.

‘But I have no choice but to try it!’

Ark imagined the attacks and grabbed his lightsaber tightly. However the Kraken didn’t move. It just floated in the air and looking in a different direction.

–What? That guy?

–Where is it looking?

The nervous team muttered with confusion. Then Ark felt a sinister feeling as he followed the Kraken’s gaze.

‘The direction it is looking in…..Silver Star! Oh my god, the Silver Star is in that direction!’

He recalled the information window for the mini-sized Kraken, the Squids.

The Squids were monsters that devoured the ether fuel of a ship. If the Kraken had the same appetite as a Squid then the reason it stopped attacking and looked in the direction of the Silver Star was because it sensed ether.

It had found more coveted prey than Ark’s team.

‘If it moves to the Silver Star than this situation will become more complicated! The Silver Star has already suffered damage from the battle and the crash landing. In this state, if it is damaged even more than it might not recover. In the worst case…..no! Now, I have to end this here!’

“Attack! Don’t let its mind go someplace else!”

Ark shouted in an urgent voice.

The Kraken was the one who reacted to his voice first. It turned away from the Silver Star and its huge body fell towards the team like a thunderbolt. The team members raising their guns and swords screamed in unison.

–Wah! I-it is falling!

-A-avoid it!

Kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

It was followed by an explosion!

The Kraken that was dozens of metres large hit the ground. And Ark and his team members……

-I-I lived!

Slayer gulped and stuttered. Slayer wasn’t the only one. Ark and his team members were all gathered around Slayer. They were able to survive the Kraken’s giant body thanks to Slayer and Sadain’s joint operation.

When the Kraken had fallen, Slayer had reflexively lifted his shield. However, the Kraken was a monster that weighted dozens of tons. Regardless of whether he was carrying a sword, his body would just be flattened like a mouse rolled over by a carriage. Slayer could withstand the tremendous weight due to the vertical spear under it. Just before the Kraken landed on the party, Sadain had placed his spear under the shield to create a type of pole.

The pole with Slayer’s shield formed a roof with a ‘△’ space underneath it. This allowed Ark’s team to withstand the Kraken’s weight. This was due to Slayer and Sadain’s experience. However their sighs of relief didn’t last long.

Jjajjak! Jjajjak! Jajajajak!

Cracks started to spread. The shield and spear was in a ‘丁’  That’s what is looked like. Now the Kraken weighing dozens of tons had fallen on the ‘丁’ so cracks started to spread as the ground became unstable and started crumbling.

-Hik! The land is giving way!

–Dammit! Avoid it! At this rate we’ll fall back into the hole with the rocks!

–Damn! How can we avoid it when being crushed by the giant squid?

The team members had taken refuge in a small space between the Kraken and the ground so they couldn’t escape! The hole finally started to collapse around the edges.

A tremendous amount of gravel, dirt and rocks started pouring down! The team tried to avoid the dirt and rocks. In the end, the team members fell down the hole with the dirt and rocks.

Ku ku ku ku! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Ku ku ku ku! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

‘No! I can’t fall……’

Ark desperately used the jet device to avoid the rocks. The Kraken’s body stopped blocking the hole. Once Ark’s team members fell, the Kraken had no interest in them anymore and flew off. Needless to say, it was flying off in the direction of the Silver Star!

‘If I’m stuck in the hole then the Silver Star will be hit! I have to stop that guy!’

However it wasn’t easy to avoid the dirt and rocks with just the jet device on his space suit. No, the rocks hit the jet device so it wouldn’t move properly.

‘This is bad! If the jet device doesn’t work properly……’

An idea then popped into Ark’s head.

“Yes, it is this! Come out, Super Board!”

The air board sprang out of his bag. Ark grabbed the air board with both hands as the house sized boulder fell towards him.

Ark concentrated his weight on one side as the air board rotated like a spin top and he moved to the side, avoiding the rock. He repeated that behaviour a few times until a large space without any rocks or dirt stretched out in front of him.

“Acceleration! Dash! ”

The moment Ark concentrated all his weight on the front of the air board! The air board quickly shot out of the hole. He floated 10 metres in the air and looked down to see his teammates buried in dirt and rocks.

“Hey, is everybody okay? Are you alive?”

–Ugh! I’m alive.

–The weightlessness means the damage from the rocks is limited.

–But we can’t move because we’re buried in dirt.

“Dammit!”

Ark shouted angrily.

“It can’t be helped. I have to block him alone.”

–What You bastard! Are you abandoning us? There’s 10 more minutes until we’ve spent an hour out here! We’ll get the space disease! You need to rescue us first!

Slayer snapped after hearing Ark’s voice first. He really couldn’t figure out the atmosphere.

“You idiot! Haven’t you grasped the situation yet? It is aiming for the Silver Star! If it reaches the Silver Star then everyone here will get space sickness!”

–Hik! That guy is heading towards the Silver Star?

–I know the situation. We’ll take care of ourselves so you go head and block it. We will escape from here as quickly as possible and join you.

Those were Rapid’s words. However Ark was already following behind the Kraken. Currently both of the Silver Star’s turrets were shattered. It couldn’t even fly let alone activate the shield. If the Kraken ate its energy then the Silver Star would just be a pile of junk. It would end up just like the abandoned airships.

“Don’t make me laugh! I managed to survive Valencia and the Red Slaughterer’s surprise attacks while protecting the Silver Star! It can’t be destroyed by this squid! I will use whatever method it takes to protect it!”

Ark grinded his teeth and made the air board accelerate. He flew at full speed and saw the Silver Star on the horizon after 1 minute. And the huge form of the Kraken was approaching the Silver Star.

–Hyung-nim! It is a monster! A monster is heading towards the Silver Star!

At the same time, Milan’s scream came through the Nymphe.

“I know! And….”

Ark looked at the upcoming Kraken and grabbed his lightsaber.

“……I am behind it! Khafra Fencing 3rd style, Galaxy Sword!”

Dozens of lightsabers flew out like a fan! The blue swords flew around the Kraken’s body and caused a chain explosion. The Kraken’s eyes moved from the Silver Star towards Ark. The ten tentacles flew towards him!

‘I’m the only one who can stop him now! If I don’t stop him then it will be the end for the Silver Star! I have to stop it! Pay attention! Pay attention! Pay attention! Concentrate Ark!’

Ark lay face down on the air board. There was no gravity or air resistance against his body so the air board accelerated further. The air board when he was in this position was surprisingly stable. There was no gravity so the air board could turn over 180 degrees..

Syu syu syu syu! Syu syu syu syu! Syu syu syu syu!

Left or right, turn! Up and down, turn! Ark flew like a swallow between the tentacles. And a flash of blue light followed his trajectory!

Wiing! Pajijiji! Wiing! Pajijiji!

-A-awesome!

–Fighting alone against that monster…..

Milan and Hegel spoke over the Nymphe. However Ark was the one most surprised. The Kraken was a titan class monster. It meant dozens of people and heavy weapons like tanks would need to be mobilized to fight it. Yet Ark alone was enough to push such a monster.

‘I should’ve fought on my air board.’

The reason he could do this was due to the air board. So far Ark hadn’t thought about using the air board in the universe. But when he actually tried it, the air board seemed to be an item made for the universe as its performance doubled.

Its ability wasn’t that big on a planet with gravity but this was outer space where there was no guarantee and it could fly freely like a spaceship. Of course, the prone position was embarrassing and it was difficult to steer but if he mastered it then it would truly be freedom! It gave him the strength for a fight against the flying Kraken. His concentration that had increased to its limit caused a miracle like battle scene.

However…..

‘This isn’t enough to push it!’

There was a crucial reason why Ark could attack the Kraken so one-sidedly! It was because the Kraken was ignoring Ark’s attacks. That’s right. Right now the Kraken wasn’t fighting Ark.

The Kraken was just flying towards its more coveted prey, the Silver Star. The tentacles swinging towards Ark was just like swatting an annoying mosquito. No, Ark’s presence was indeed like a mosquito for the Kraken.

It was an issue of firepower rather than skills. Ark, Slayer, Leon, Sadain etc., the attacks from the 10 people had been enough to slowly reduce the Kraken’s health. In other word, Ark could only cause 1/10th of the damage and his continuous attacks for 1 minute didn’t even shave away 5% of its health. It was like using a short dagger to stab an elephant. Such attacks were impossible to stop the elephant’s rush.

Despite Ark’s desperate attacks!

Kukung!

The Kraken eventually hovered over the Silver Star. The tentacles wrapped around the Silver Star. And a blue stream started flowing from the Silver Star towards its mouth.

–Hyung-nim, the Silver Star’s energy is being reduced at a fast rate!

Hegel’s scream was heard!

At the same time, the sight of the Kraken’s health recovering caught Ark’s eye. The Kraken was absorbing energy from the Silver Star and regaining its health.

“Eat this! Sonic Sword! Galaxy Sword! Shield Emission!”

The distressed Ark relentlessly threw attacks at the Kraken. But Ark’s attacks alone weren’t able to keep up with the Kraken’s recovery rate. Anyone who played a game would’ve experienced this at least once. The desperation of trying to deal damage faster than the boss monster can recover.

Ark felt like that right now. His Force skills were unable to keep up with the Kraken’s recovery rate. If this continued then it would be restored to 100% perfect health. Then it would be impossible to stop! Ark’s Silver Star would soon be shattered.

‘No! It can’t be! The Silver Star is the one thing I can’t lose! No, we won’t be able to escape from the asteroid even if the energy is the only thing absorbed! I have to prevent it from absorbing the energy! But attacking it from the outside isn’t keeping up with its recovery rate. Then…..’

Ark bared his teeth and turned his head. Ark’s gaze had turned towards its mouth where it was sucking the energy!

‘I’ll shred your stomach!’

“Super Board! Dash!”

There was no reason to think about it. Ark rushed through the air on his air board the moment he made a decision. And he rushed into the stream of energy and surfed it down into the Kraken! He entered its mouth.

The Kraken was confused as he entered its mouth. But it quickly noticed the situation and acid started rising in its throat. The acidic solution rushed out of the throat like a wave!

“It is already too late! Armed Binding Sword!”

Chwa chwa chwa chwa! Chwa chwa chwa chwa!

Dozens of lights emerged from the battle suit! The lights ejected embedded into the ceiling of the mouth. Ark pulled it with his left arm and clung to the ceiling. The acid solution flooded out under his foot. Ark quickly glanced around while moving off the ceiling.

‘I entered! The exterior has a hard epidermis so attacking inside the stomach will naturally deal more damage. But the amount of time I can spent in the stomach is limited due to the acid solution. If I’m hit by the acid then only my bones would be left. So I need to find another place to deal a fatal blow! For example…..there!’

Ark’s gaze turned towards one area. A hole on the other that was approximately 1 metres in size and a blue colour!

‘That’s obviously the heart! Yes, the Kraken is still a creature no matter how large it is. I just need to smash the heart!’

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy….ack! W-what the?”

Ark was about to wield his sword when he suddenly burst out screaming. The Kraken was a titan class monster so it wasn’t that easy. The moment he tried to wield his sword in the oesophagus? The gastric tract? The muscles Ark was clinging to suddenly shrank and began to press against Ark. The pressure was so strong he could barely move one finger! At the same time, a yellow liquid started flowing from the lining!

<Durability of your armour has declined by 3% due to the acid poison>

<Durability of your armour has declined by 3% due to the acid poison>…..

The message continuously popped up!

‘Oh my god This bastard, it is trying to digest me!’

The red light continuously flashed without giving him time to think. The durability of his equipment would fly away as well as ‘death + Silver Star destruction.’

He would resurrect at the Fairy naked. But he couldn’t even move a finger let alone swing his sword thanks to the Kraken’s sphincter! He would become food in the stomach.

‘No! I can’t because the squid’s poo! Something……’

Then something popped into Ark’s head. Atmosphere would be like poison to the Squids so they wouldn’t be found on any planets. His Clairvoyance ability had identified the weakness of the Squids. The Kraken was a Squid that evolved so it should still have the same weaknesses. Then…..

“Jet device, maximum output! Use up the remaining oxygen!”

At the same time, a white gas emerged from the bottom of his space suit. The fuel used for the jet device was liquid oxygen. It used oxygen to get momentum. In other words, the spacesuit was now spurting oxygen. And oxygen was poison to a space monster like the Kraken!

Kuwaaaaaaaah!

The Kraken shrieked and started struggling. The pressure of the sphincter loosened and Ark was tossed side to side.

“Now! Hyper Booster!”

Flames spurted from the heels of his battle suit. He shot forward using Hyper Booster and quickly started moving towards the heart. And the moment he arrived in front of the heart!

“18 Barrage!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

His fists moved like a quick fire gun! Blue liquid poured from the heart with every hollow his fist caused. And with his fist hit it for the final time, the Kraken’s heart burst like a balloon. The giant squid wound around the Silver Star exploded and left Ark in the centre!

-Your level has risen!

-Your level has risen…..

The message flashed like crazy in front of him. The message appeared 9 times! It was increased by the maximum number of levels. The party members were 2 kilometres away and buried so Ark alone gobbled up the experience from a titan class monster.

That wasn’t all. It was a law that compensation would always follow hardship. Several items were scattered where the Kraken’s body was.

Item Type: Light Armour (Pants)   Wearer Restriction: Level 100

Defense: 60 Durability: 2580

Pants made from a light material that space pioneers used a long time ago. It seems to be the leather of a monster since scales are attached to it.

However, it is impossible to know what monster the leather came from. Outstanding pioneers can sense the unusual power in these pants but there is no clear understanding of it. Item Analysis will need to be used to determine what power is hidden in this equipment. It is best to experience everything!

※ Item effect is still undisclosed.

<Item Analysis Lv. 2 required>

‘Ohu! An unidentified item?’

Ark’s eyes came alive. An unidentified item meant it definitely came with an attached option. It was at least a magic item. The unusual thing about Galaxian was that unidentified items could still be used.

However, only the base stats of the item would be applied. If he didn’t have Item Analysis, steadily using the item would reveal some of its hidden performances. Strength + 1, Defense +1 , Stamina +1 after a fixed period of time and Defense +1 again after a certain amount of time passed. Therefore there was no need to waste money on Item Analysis……

The problem was time. A significant amount of time would be required to reveal all of an item’s options. If they levelled up fast and found an unidentified item in the early stages of the game then they wouldn’t need to waste money on identification. However Ark didn’t need to worry about that. Hegel was a professional Scavenger who had experience in this field!

‘I just need to get this to Hegel.’

The next thing that caught his eye was a glowing flesh and something that looked like a hammer.

Kraken’s Cell Tissue (Rare)

Item Type: Study Material

The cell tissue found from the corpse of the rare space monster the Kraken. Space monsters often develop special abilities in order to adapt to harsh environments. If the tissue cells of this monster is studied then a variety of information can be obtained. In some cases an unexpected use might be found.

However, this requires research skills.

Item Type: Two-handed Hammer   Wearer Restriction: Level 80

Attack:  35~70 Durability: 32100

The hammer is a strong destructive weapon that has been used for thousands of years. However, use of it gradually disappeared until boosters were attached to maximize speed and damage and it started to regain the prestige of the past. The biggest advantage of the hammer is that it is easy to attach a variety of secondary equipment. A number of modifications have been invented for the hammer included EMPS generators or hammers specifically designed to destroy shields and block bullets.

The Destruction Hammer will cause an explosion the moment it hits the enemy.

<Strength +15, Stamina +20>

* Special Option (Aesthetics of Destruction): When activated, all enemies hit by the enemy will suffer an additional 10~20 explosive damage for 1 minute.

Cool down time: 2 hours

Rare cell tissue and a rare hammer! He also found three general long swords, daggers and guns. The monster had dropped 6 pieces of loot. As expected, the loot coincided with the difficulty of hunting a titan class monster.

“But what is this?”

Ark who was packing the loot looked at a large object placed on the Silver Star. It was a long, black pouch like item approximately 5~6 metres. It looked like food waste but a blue gas was pouring from it unlike other organs.

‘This is similar to the blue gas that the Kraken absorbed earlier from the Silver Star……’

Ark touched it and an information window surfaced.

The Kraken absorbs energy and stores it long term. This Kraken has lived for hundreds of years so it has stored a significant amount of ether in its body. In the universe, energy equalled money. Ether is a very expensive energy used in all spaceships so some pioneers deliberately hunt the Kraken for its energy storage.

* The energy storage has been damaged and ether is leaking.

98,000…..97,000…..96,000……

“Heok! T-this is an energy storage?”

Ark burst out with confusion as he read the information window.

In fact, Ark wasn’t pleased even when he got rid of the Kraken. Currently the Silver Star was on Asteroid E-2036 because of a problem with the fuel rods. He had prepared counter measures but Ark still needed 2 fuel rods. But the Kraken’s attack had absorbed the ether in the remaining two fuel rods.

There were two ruptured fuel rods and two empty fuel rods so ‘2-2=0.’ In the end, the situation was the same as before. Of course, there were ways to solve it but they required too much time and money. Yet there was a lump of ether in front of him! The problem was that the ether was quickly reducing.

“Dammit! I wouldn’t have broken the inside so much if I knew the Kraken had something like this! No, now it not the time! Milan, Hegel, quickly take out the fuel rods on the ship! This is money! We can’t lost even one more bit of energy! Hurry!”

Ark shouted loudly.

Syuuuuuu, pepepepeng!

All of a sudden, something fell from outer space at a huge rate and landed a few hundred feet away from the Silver Star. A small container box was unexpectedly lodged in the ground of the asteroid.

Handle with caution! A special security cargo!

These phrases were attached to the container.