Vol 13 Chapter 8

SPACE 8. Ark’s Worry

Syu syu syu syu!

S-20 located in Fargo Volcano.

A spaceship landed at the airfield behind the management office. It was a silver spaceship with a streamlined body and an upper eclipse part attached like the 2nd floor of a bus. It was the Silver Star that had been upgraded to the 4th grade battleship.

“Eh? Hyung-nim!”

A familiar voice was heard as soon as he got off the Silver Star. The person looking at Ark with wide eyes was Asuran. An unfamiliar spaceship had landed so he came out to receive the parking fees, only to become confused once Ark got off it.

“What happened? The original spaceship?”

“This is the Silver Star.”

“Huh? This is the Silver Star? But……”

“It just happened by chance. Well, just think of it as being remodelled.”

“Well, if you say so…although the previous shape…”

Asuran clicked his tongue with a regretful expression.

In fact, Ark agreed with him. Originally the Silver Star was a smooth and sleek looking spaceship. But after fusing with the Rama spaceship, the attached upper part gave it a dull appearance.

But the performance had definitely gone up. It looked dull but the speed and turning ability was faster. The machine guns had increased from 2 to 4 and the ability of the main gun, shield and armour had increased. However, the biggest outcome of this upgrade was information rather than the performance.

Other spaceships needed to be brought to professional remodelling companies for upgrading. Of course, Ark also knew that. But this time he discovered a new method of growing his ship. It was absorbing an abandoned ship with Shape Decomposition Fusion!

Of course, the materials of the abandoned spaceship needed to match with the Silver Star. The abandoned spaceships could be considered free money. There was also the disadvantage that it couldn’t be converted to his tastes like it could at the professional companies.

But he could save a significant amount of money by not needing to leave it to the professionals. Space Decomposition Fusion was a jackpot that could save him a huge amount of money!

‘There is no reason to dwell on the outward form.’

Then Asuran suddenly remembered something and spoke.

“I need to tell Ralph.”

“Have they cleared the dungeon yet?”

“Yes, they are still digging on the bottom floor. There are more collapsed areas compared to the upper and middle floors. Moreover, the Thanatos on this floor is more stronger than the ones on the upper floor. They look so terrible that I feel sorry for them. Your arrival will encourage them. If they hear that Hyung-nim is here then they’ll come running barefoot.”

It was to be expected.

Once again, Ark had rallied the members of the Royal Guards to clear out the dungeon in S-20. However, Ark took most of them with him when participating in the investigation team and the Charenjok was left in charge of the food factory.

Therefore the only personnel remaining in the dungeon was Ralph, Beleol, Reben and Konsed. The bottom floor was so wide that no users had finished exploring it before the dungeon collapsed. It was unreasonable to expect 4 people with shovels to clear it all.

“Of course I should see them…..”

Ark thought for a moment before nodding.

“Please call Hamad and your subordinates for the moment.”

“Hamad and my subordinates? I understand.”

Asuran was confused but didn’t question him as he ran into the management office. And he soon returned with Hamad and his subordinates.

“Ark, you’ve returned!”

“Have you been well in the meantime?”

“I’ve just been sitting here counting money. What about you? Fortunately you seem to have returned healthy. Did your work go well?”

“Yes, I just came back after finishing it.”

“Then why didn’t you come into the management office? I will report back to you.”

“There is something I’d like you to take care of before that.”

“Take care of?”

Hamad tilted his head and asked.

Ark set down a backpack overflowing with a huge amount of money. It wasn’t just Ark. Slayer, Leon, Melina, Rapid, Kaya’s group, Berad and the other members who participated in the investigation team also had full backpacks.

Swords, guns, RPGs, armour and various types of ammunition. Items poured out and formed a mountain of items on the ground! Hamad’s mouth gaped open at the sight.

“W-what’s all this?”

“We picked it up.”

“P-picked it up? Does that make sense?”

Hamad asked like it was nonsense. But it was true. Ark and his team had really picked up the items from the armoury. The original owners had died when the carrier exploded. Something ownerless was being picked up.

That wasn’t the only thing Ark collected on this trip.

“There is more in the Silver Star’s warehouse.”

“M-More?”

“Yes, it is mainly mechanical parts in the warehouse…..”

The Silver Star’s warehouse was filled with so many mechanical parts that there was no room. He had obtained those mechanical parts from E-2036. After getting rid of the Kraken, Ark and his team disassembled mechanical parts from the abandoned spaceships while Tori was repairing the Silver Star.

That amount was 150 tons! However the room in the Silver Star’s warehouse had ran out. There was still wreckage remaining on E-2036 that he couldn’t pack. He also couldn’t finish searching all of the underground space.

‘There was no time then so I withdrew but….’

He would visit it again as soon as he had time. But now he still had things to put in order.

“Hamad-nim, please examine the metal parts in the Silver Star and give me a quote of the market price. Asuran, classify the type of items and machine parts with Hamad then transfer them to the management office’s warehouse.”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Let’s go!”

“I’ll be in the management office.”

“Huh? Ah, yes. I understand.”

Hamad nodded with a puzzled expression. Ark gave instructions to Tori, Milan and Hegel to inspect and repair the Silver Star and headed to the management office after parting from his team members. The time that he participated in the investigation team was 24 days!

However Ark had no time to take a break.

————————————————————————–

“Hyung-nim?”

People were running back and forth in the square. One man approached another sitting down at a fountain. The men examined each other before smiling.

“Myung-ryong.”

“When did you come in?”

“Just now. I deliberately timed it to coincide with you.”

“You did well. By the way, what name did you decide on?”

“Justiceman!”

The man folded his muscular arms and replied.

“Whether it is the future or middle ages, justice is a law necessary in the world! You?”

“I am Isyuram just like before. There is no reason to use a different name.”

Isyuram and Justiceman were Lee Myung-ryong and Gwon Hwa-rang. On the advice of Ark, Lee Myung-ryong and Gwon Hwa-rang decided to cooperate play the game in order to watch over the Lucifer Hunting team.

The two men were different from Ark and didn’t have a lot of game experience. They played New World for several years but that had a medieval backdrop while Galaxian was science fiction. The universe outside the window was strange and unfamiliar.

“Hyung-nim, did you see this? Everything is automatic! High-tech, high-tech!”

Lee Myung-ryong, no Isyuram spoke while fiddling with his Nymphe. Various information windows floated in front of him and the backpack opened and closed.

“This child. Is this the first time you’re playing? It might be high-tech but it is just like New World. They are all similar. But there is one thing that is different. Wearing this at my age. I am as good as naked. I’m really embarrassed…..”

“Ah, is that why you’ve been sitting down?”

“Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Not at all! What do I have to be embarrassed about? My body isn’t something to be embarrassed about. A sleek waist, thick muscles and wide shoulders. Isn’t my muscular body in the top 1%? It is a completely different dimension from Hyung-nim.”

Isyuram moved around carelessly. Justiceman spoke in a testy voice after  seeing Isyuram’s extreme ‘man power’ actions.

“Sit your muscular body down.”

And Justiceman turned away like he didn’t care.

“If you’re so proud then just dance here. I don’t have time to be embarrassed.  I’m going to go to the hunting ground and pick up some clothes.”

“Eh? Let’s go together!”

“Why, didn’t you say showing off your body doesn’t matter?”

“But how much more wonderful would it look wearing clothes? This body was originally built for fighting. In fact, can’t you say that it is a battle optimized for combat? Huhuhu! In New World I unexpectedly became a merchant but now I can show my performance as a warrior! I will be a warrior from the beginning. I started several months after the team but I will quickly catch up! Ah, where are you going?”

“You should’ve known before you came.”

Justiceman visited the centre of R-14 without any hesitation.

“These days, the space bugs are multiplying and making it difficult…..”

“Leave it to me! Taking care of the space bugs won’t be a problem!”

And they rushed off after receiving the space bug hunting quest!

“Wuhahaha! Come out monsters! This body will sweep you all up!”

They enthusiastically dived into the area containing the space bugs. And…..

“W-what is this?”

Two mouths gaped open. The space farm was swarming with people! And electric boards were floating above their heads!

-Looking for a party spot. Level 1.

-Unemployed person looking for a place. Level 2.

-Save me. My wife and children are starving. Level 1….

“W-what is this?”

“There are so many people! I thought there was a problem because there are too many space bugs!”

But they couldn’t even see any space bugs? The only thing visible were parties waiting for space bugs to resurrect.

“Hey, you there. Can you move back?”

“You can’t cut in. I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes.”

“It is the order of first arrival so move to the back.”

Justiceman and Isyuram had no choice but to join those looking for a party.

“Damn, what is this? Service has started for a few months so why are there still so many people?”

In fact, this was natural.

When Ark started, he had waiting 1 hour before joining a party. But this was quite frustrating to the inexperienced Justiceman and Isyuram. Furthermore, they didn’t log into the game as a hobby like other users. They need to keep an eye on the Lucifer Hunting team for the safety of the country.

In order to do this, they had to quickly catch up to the team’s level. But they never expected to hit a deadlock at level 1. Just as they were sighing heavily.

–It is difficult.

An alien navigated through the players and approached them.

–It is often like this. There are many people like you. Although you are full of will, there are no space bugs to catch. Yes, it is painful. But I might be able to help you….are you willing to listen?

The octopus speaking was from the Charenjok. It was Burum who was the manager of the paid hunting ground on R-14.

————————————————————————–

“Phew….”

There was a smile on Ark’s face.

Right now he was in his office that had a balcony overlooking S-20. He noticed it when landing the Silver Star but S-20 had really changed when looking down at it from the balcony.

Ark had been away for 24 days. In the meantime, S-20 had really experienced an amazing change. The basic form was significantly different.

A high-rise management office was situated at the entrance to the sector, the food production factory was located at the artificial lake while Hamad’s trailer truck was converted to a department store. When taking the central road that the department store was connected to, the Fairy, shopping district and the Mt. Fargo dungeon could be found.

This was the entire view of S-20. The place that had undergone the most changes while Ark was away was the shopping area. In the past, there were 15 large and small stores but now that had doubled. The type of items were diversified and there were specialty stores with medicines, special equipment or repairs.

There was no need to explain why the stores increased so much. It was due to supply and demand. The stores increased due to the growing population. The number of people had risen in the past 24 days.

Sector Code: S-20                    Sector Rating: Lv. 2

Sector Range: 2 kilometres around the entrance of Mt. Fargo.

Sector Manager: Ark (The Agent: Dark Eden)

Number of Stores: 27 (7: Duty-free shops, 20: 5% tax of the income)

Population: 5,790

Now the population of S-20 had increased to 6,000. And the rise in population led to a rise in income! This then corresponded to a rise in taxes for the various stores. In addition, there was the income from the food produced by the Charenjok!

The total funding for the current Agent: 7, 640 gold.

Regular income: Regular Income: Food production factory- daily average is 28 gold and 80 silver (net income of 8 gold 64 silver)

Regular income: Sector, taxes, and charges, Department store-1 average income approximately 620 gold (net income of about 150 gold)

* Regular expenditure:  Energy Shield Fence – 5 gold per day. Employee Salary- Formulated

Occasional Expenditure: Silver Star maintenance, various supplies given to employees.

Businesses currently being promoted: Current Projects: Mt. Fargo restoration work- expenses haven’t been settled yet.

Average monthly profit and loss……

When he checked, the regular income had also doubled. The repairs and mounting the anchor on the Silver Star while on E-2036 cost 1,000 gold and extra supples cost another 1,000 gold for a total of 2,000 gold spent. Since Ark had 50% of the shares, he only earnt 1,000 gold!

It grew faster than Ark expected. But that meant a lot of work. Ark admired S-20 for another moment before turning around and asking.

“Is there anything else?”

“It isn’t an urgent problem. There are plenty of people but sometimes they do strange things.”

Bain who was entrusted with managing the sector shrugged and replied.

“Strange?”

“It’s not a big deal. A bunch of guys gathered together at the top of Mt. Fargo with fires lit while chanting something….however, they never harmed anyone. They are just doing something strange.”

Odd people like that gathered when there was a lot of people. And if they didn’t cause problems then it didn’t have anything to do with him. No, meeting various users and NPCs was one of the charms of a sector.

“There are more urgent people.”

“People?”

“Yes, until now the sector had few facilities and a low population. With the facilities and population increasing, there is more to take care of. Asuran and his subordinates have been taking care of urgent problems but they are formal employees so their actions are limited. Furthermore, all employees were mobilized to clear the dungeon so the list of complaints hasn’t been touched.”

Bain sighed as he pointed to a pile of paperwork. Once again, managing a sector wasn’t that easy.

Operating and inspecting facilities needed to go through him. And one of the forms was for NPC complaints. If there was an urgent problem then the users needed to take care of it themselves. But they couldn’t handle NPCs personally. These issues were commissioned as quests for users to settle. And the administrator of the sector needed to approve such commissions.

But complaints were different from quests. A user could reject a quest but the manager couldn’t reject complaints from a sector resident. And any delay in the solution would cause the residents’ loyalty to fall and they would leave the sector. Resolving complaints was one of the major tasks of a sector manager.

Until now it hadn’t been a problem. Most of the population were users so they couldn’t make complaints. However, the increasing population meant more NPCs. Currently S-20 had a 40% ratio of NPCs.

Then the complaints started to pile up.

A complaint from a merchant managing a medicine store.

The number of rats has gone out of control and he suffered large damage over a few days. Rat poison was scattered but the rats just became larger! The merchant has requested extermination from the sector administrator. If the rats aren’t killed then they will spread diseases. It is recommended to quickly take care of it for the hygiene of the sector.

Difficulty Level: ★     Reward: 3 gold

The plea of a merchant who carried baggage to the sector.

While travelling through a swamp, the truck was attacked by monsters. He came back later but the only thing remaining were traces of a monster pulling a truck. But the merchant doesn’t have the money to hire mercenaries. The merchant has commissioned the administrator to collect the truck and baggage. Securing a safe trade route is necessary for a sector. Take care of it quickly before bad rumours spread.

Difficulty Level: ★ ★ ★    Reward: 5% of the baggage found…..

The complaints were general things like this. The quests were low paying and could be rejected. However, it wasn’t good for the sector if the administrator ignored it.

Ark had taken most of the employees while the remaining ones were dealing with the dungeon so there wasn’t anyone to handle complaints. Asuran had a lot of employees but they weren’t employees so they couldn’t handle the complaints.

Bain asked nervously as he noticed Ark’s expression.

“So should we formally recruit Asuran’s subordinates?”

“I’m considering that.”

Ark couldn’t leave them alone forever. There were a few reasons why Asuran’s subordinates hadn’t formally become employees.

The first was level as Asuran was level 75. He hadn’t confirmed it yet but his subordinates probably had a lower level than Asuran. The Royal Guards were NPCs who had already reached level 80~90 so he was reluctant to employ people less than level 70.

‘Comparing them to the Royal Guards is somewhat….’

The second crucial reason was money.

It was okay with users like Kurakan and Rapid. However, NPC employees needed to be given a regular pay. Ark was already paying a salary to the Royal Guards, Hamad, Asuran, Tori, Jay, Bain, Ellain and Milan. He hadn’t seen a reason to recruit more employees and increase his expenses.

‘But I need people now. It hadn’t been urgent when Asuran’s subordinates arrived the first time but now things have changed. As the sector grows, there will be plenty of complaints. And complaints also give rewards. It isn’t a large amount of money but it can contribute to the staff salaries.’

Now was the suitable time to hire people. This was one of the reasons why most Agents steadily increased their employees. The president of an Agent had dozens of employees. When managing an Agent like that, it wasn’t possible to endure the monthly salary. It was normal to accept requests and have the employees move separately to gain income.

Quest commission → consider the degree of difficulty and allocate the suitable employee → success → income → repeat and thrive! Quest commission → consider the degree of difficulty and allocate the suitable employee → failure → deficit → repeat and close!

These were the two common operating mode of an Agent. Complaints was common quests for Agents managing a sector.

The president needed to be capable of distributing these tasks. He needed to have the ability to leave work for the employees who would complete the quests. The president of an Agent could gain money like this. Of course, if the employee failed, died and was restored by the Fairy then the president would suffer a deficit.

‘Anyway, if I employ Asuran’s men then the complaints will be completed and there won’t be a deficit. I gathered enough Adventure Points so raising the level of the Agent shouldn’t be a problem.’

Ark thought for a moment before nodding.

“I understand. I will soon take measures to solve these problems.”

“Thank you. Asuran is a kind man. He was inwardly worried that his subordinates wouldn’t be formally employed. It would be good if they could solve the complaints.”

Bain said with a happy expression.

“Then the problem of a manpower shortage has been resolved for the moment. The next problem is sector expansion. As you can see, S-20 has a population close to 6,000 people. If we build a few more facilities then it is possible to raise the sector rating and be promoted to a Town. And Galactic Federation offices can be attracted to a Town. Shouldn’t we gather a large amount of money in order to promote the sector to a Town?”

“No, that….”

Ark opened his mouth. Then Hamad came in and shouted with an excited expression.

“Ooh! Amazing! Amazing! Ark, I finished the market price confirmation of the items and mechanical parts you brought. Do you know how much it is? 3, 000 gold, yes 3,000 gold! If you sell it at retail price in a department store then you can get 2,500 gold at once!”

“The president brought back items and machine parts? What does that mean?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

Hamad laughed and explained, causing Bain’s mouth to drop open.

“You brought back that much loot from your trip? Oh, doesn’t that mean we don’t have to do any more waiting? The funds can be used to promote the sector to a Town….”

“There is something more urgent than a sector promotion right now.”

Ark said as he interrupted Bain. Hamad and Bain sent him a doubting look.

“What do you mean? Something urgent? Is there a problem?”

“It isn’t a problem but….”

Ark scratched his head and smiled before talking.

“In fact, I received a planet from the Emperor of the Galactic Federation.”

“…..Eh?”

“A planet, planet. It was something I received for accomplishing a large service for the Galactic Federation. The Emperor rewarded me with the title of a Viscount and the small planet Ikyullos.”

“V-Viscount? Oh my god, you became a noble?”

“Planet? A planet!”

Hamad and Bain ran around madly.

NPCs were more sensitive to status changes than users. It was natural since NPCs considered it reality and those with a low status couldn’t be promoted even if they had 1 million gold. If they completed the same quest, they wold receive less compensation. This was the reason why status was important to users.

On the other hand, if their status rose then other people’s impression of them would change. It was the same for Hamad and Bain. Once they heard that Ark was a noble, the light of respect flashed in their eyes.

“It is wonderful!” It’s really amazing! I knew President-nim would succeed!”

“Yes, now I have to talk in honorifics.”

“Of course, nobles are different from general citizens like us.”

“Hey! Sir Ark, so amazing!”

And they praised him while using honorifics. It was a situation where he once again realized the power of the aristocracy. Ark laughed as he felt good and said.

“You can talk to me comfortably like before. Anyway, that work is more urgent than a sector promotion. I have received a planet as a territory. The reward is beyond what I expected but there is no meaning in just having a planet. It needs to be developed properly. If it is developed properly then the profit will be incomparable to that of a sector. The problem is the necessary funds for the development. Marquis Martin promised to install a Star Gate that connects S-20 to Ikyullos but the funds for development is still required.”

“Yes, it will require an astronomical amount of money to develop a planet.”

“It definitely isn’t the time to pay attention to a sector promotion.”

Ark couldn’t be happy due to this.

He received a planet. It was a Lv. 3 planet with rich underground resources. If he developed it then Ark could secure an enormous profit that would give him more power to step forward in the galaxy. But he didn’t have enough money to proceed with developing the planet.

‘The quest reward was 5,000 gold. If I dispose of the loot then it would be 3,000 gold. Adding in the 7,500 sector assets then the total would be 15,500 gold. That definitely isn’t a small amount of money but….’

It was a colossal amount. But this time Ark needed to share the profit.

He promised Slayer, Kaya and the other mercenaries who participated 5% of the reward. 6 people was 30%. That was a loss of 1,500 gold. And 30~40% of the proceeds from the loot also needed to be shared with Slayer and the others. In the end, he would need to share 2,500 gold with Slayer and the others. And even if it was an investment, he couldn’t pour out all the funds for the sector.

Considering the present funds, he had 10,000 gold to pour into developing the planet. It was lacking since tens of thousands of gold was necessary for a planet development.

‘Well, if I collect it from the steadily growing sector….’

Ark’s mind thought furiously. Ark wasn’t the only one who received compensation in this quest.

It was only a small asteroid but Hawk could extract resources from it. Hawk already had several colonies where he extracted the resources and turned into Hives so he was ahead of Ark. It wasn’t easy to catch up with Hawk even if he developed the planet immediately. If he waited to gather the funds required then that difference would only grow.

‘I received a Galactic Federation planet but this was a special case. I need to plunge into the frontier if I want to continue to grow. It is the same with the Red Slaughterer. Another conflict with Hawk is inevitable. If I’m not prepared then I will be eaten by Hawk before I can take care of the Red Slaughterer.’

It was the reason why Ark’s heart was in a hurry.

“I understand. But the reality is that there is no way to obtain so much money.”

“What if you sell the investment shares?”

Ark looked up at Hamad’s question.

Ark had also thought about this on the way back to S-20. He had participated in the war in the Bellin Constellation and obtained 5% investment shares on Beltana. And he invested in Charem and received 3% shares. So far he hadn’t invested any extra money into those shares.

Therefore he could take this opportunity to sell them and convert them to cash.

“Is it okay? Isn’t that something you earned after experiencing a lot of difficulties?”

“Besides, right now Charem and Beltana had abundant resources. The war in the Bellin Constellation is over and real development will start so the investors start obtaining profit.”

Hamad and Bain expressed their concerns but Ark had already decided.

“It is valuable but I can do it. Right now it is the only way to obtain a large sum of money. And once development of the planet begins, there is no room to invest anywhere else. News that the Bellin Constellation war ending has spread so right now is the perfect time to sell the shares.”

“Yes but….”

“Won’t it still be insufficient to cover the planet development funds?”

He wasn’t selling the shares already invested but the right to invest. It was hard to obtain the right but a large sum of money was still required afterwards. Thousands of gold would be obtained at most. It was unfortunate but it was too difficult to prepare the planet development funds. How would he obtain that much money?

“Is there another way?”

But Hamad and Bain couldn’t think of any good ideas. Just as they were sighing heavily.

“I didn’t start a business with my own money but this is different….”

Hamad scratched his head and muttered.

He didn’t start a business with his own money. Ark had heard those words somewhere before. No matter how realistic it was, this was still a game. He couldn’t borrow money from the bank. And it wasn’t possible to borrow money from a user and no users had that type of money yet. Well, Hawk might have it but he definitely wouldn’t lend it to Ark.

Ark kept on thinking about it.

‘Eh? Wait? Borrow money? Then…..’

Then an ‘!’ popped into Ark’s head.

He found a way to prepare funds for planet development in a short amount of time.

————————————————————————–

“Investment fund?”

Rapid frowned and asked.

“You, do you know what you’re talking about?”

“I know. In simpler words, I’ll receive an investment. And if the business goes well, part of the proceeds will be returned to the investors. What’s wrong with that?”

Ark was reminded of this funding method.

Once again, Hawk had tens of thousands more gold than Ark. Of course, he was somewhere else. Hawk was the only one who accumulated such wealth. But if users believed in Ark and lent him money then couldn’t tens of thousands of gold be raised?

Ark changed his idea after thinking that.

‘Dozens of gold? Is there a user who will lend me that much?’

Naturally people would easily lend money to strangers. But it was different when talking about Ark.

Ark was the administrator of a growing sector so a written guarantee was attached. So it was easier for him to borrow dozens of gold. If he gathered 100 users then it would be thousands of gold! If 1,000 users were gathered then it would be tens of thousands of gold! And the money to develop a planet would be gathered.

However, it wasn’t possible to visit the users one by one to ask them. South Korea had an approximate population of 60 million people. If he received 10 won from everyone then it would be 600 million won. There was no way to visit 60 million people personally to receive 10 won.

So Ark thought about it.

‘I need to make them come to me.’

That was the reason Ark considered the investment fund. He was the administrator of S-20. And he had just received a planet. Ark was working to recruit investors for planet development. Thousands of users were already gathered in S-20 so if he received gold from them then it would be tens of thousands of gold! And his planet development problem would be settled quickly.

“How about it? Isn’t it clever? Huh?”

“I don’t care about that.”

Rapid looked at Ark with amazed eyes and said.

“Really, your ignorance is appalling. You seem to have heard about it on the news or something but do you think an investment fund is that easy? An investment fund isn’t as simple as you think. Do you know how difficult and demanding managing money is? If there is even an 0.1% error then a loss of thousands of gold would occur. You need to determine the terms and conditions of investing in the business and calculate the performance growth. In addition, you will be receiving dozens of gold of another’s money. Therefore transparency needs to be maintained….you, are you listening to me?”

“No.”

“What?”

“I don’t know any of that.”

Ark shook his head. And he looked at Rapid warmly before laughing.

“The one who will establish the investment fund and manage it will be you, not me.”

“….What did you say?”

“It is just like you said. I’m a guy who doesn’t know about any of that. I admit it. I don’t know anything. So I decided to entrust it to you. I saw it when I went to your house the other day.”

“You saw it? What?”

“Didn’t you graduate from K University with a major in business administration?”

That’s why Ark was convinced it would work.

Rapid’s words were true. Ark had no knowledge of anything related to investment funds. He thought of gathering investors but he had no idea of a system to manage it. And Ark couldn’t relax since the investment fund was attached to S-20.

So he started thinking. Someone who would know about it! And there was someone right next to him. A degree in business administration from K University!

Rapid was surprised by Ark’s words.

“How did you know?”

“Didn’t you display it in your living room? A graduation certificate for business administration from K University. Hey! If you graduated from K University then you should promote it. I never dreamed of even going to a school like K University. If one of my subordinates went to K University then I should make use of it.  Right? So since you graduated from K University for business administration…..”

“Shut up!”

Rapid yelled angrily.

“Who cares if I graduated from K University for business administration? I’ll tell you in advance but you have the wrong idea! No, I can’t! Why should I deal with this?”

“So I’ll speak clearly as well.”

Ark said with a serious expression.

“Have you forgotten? I’m the boss. Shouldn’t you listen to me?”

“Ha! I’m so afraid. Do you think such a threat will work on me?”

“No, aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ark said with a smile.

“The Red Slaughterer. No, don’t you want to fight Lucifer? You rushed out as soon as you saw him. The easiest way for you to fight Lucifer is to stick with me. You saw it. Lucifer gave up the antimatter to chase me. Even if I hold still, Lucifer is still the one chasing me. Do you think you’ll have a chance to meet Lucifer again in this wide galaxy if you’re not near me? And you don’t have a spaceship. Won’t you be in trouble if I don’t let you stay near me?”

“You bastard….”

Rapid glared at Ark with anger.

But Ark didn’t even blink and just laughed.

“Now now, calm down. Are you going to let me do that?  Especially with the relationship between you and Lucifer? It is impossible. Are you okay with me doing that? And how are you going to beat Lucifer? Have you succeeded yet?”

“…….”

“No? No. How many times has Lucifer stepped on you? In order to defeat him, we have no choice but to raise our power. And the fastest way to increase our power is to develop a planet. In the end, developing a planet is the means to stopping Lucifer. Aren’t you the most qualified to do that?”

“…….”

“But I won’t just ask it of you. I’m not an impolite president. Giving something in return is my business philosophy. So I prepared something. Voila! How about it? Do you see? Do you see? It is no joke. Your magic pistol can’t even compare to this. It is a rare, rare. How about it? Do you want it? This is suitable for your specialty.”

Ark revealed a pistol while talking.

It was the ‘????’ pistol that the boss on the carrier had dropped. Originally it was an unidentified item but Hegel had confirmed it during the warp journey!

Item Type:  Pistol Wearer Restriction: Level 100

Attack:  45~50 Durability:  120/120

Number of Ammunition:  15/15

A pistol with the traditional revolver form.

However, stories go that this pistol isn’t ordinary. The cylinder of the revolver is twice as large as a normal pistol and it has ancient characters inscribed on it. Allegedly, a devil is sealed in it with the ancient text. It is unknown if this legend is true but there is no denying the pistol has a special performance. This is the answer if a powerful pistol is desired. However, don’t use if you are scared of the devil’s curse.

<Agility +14, Firing Speed +10%>

<Special Option (Curse Bullet): All bullets have a 3% chance of activating a curse after hitting the enemy. The curse will cause a drastic decline in various resistances and defence>

It was a rare pistol. And among his team members, the only one who used a pistol was Rapid the Saint Gunner.

The team had rules for dividing up weapons beyond the magic rating. Ark shook it back and forth but it was obvious that the Devil Sealed Gun would belong to Rapid. Rapid had been on the Silver Star so he also knew that. Nevertheless, Ark was shamelessly saying those words.

“Yes, I’ll give it! Look at my generosity!”

But Rapid still stared at Ark silently. Then Ark sent him a suspicious glance and said.

“…..You, perhaps you have no confidence?”

“What?”

That was when Rapid reacted.

“That’s right. I don’t even know that you can do it. Designing an investment fund might not be your major. Then there might be another reason. Perhaps you entered K University through a different door? You have plenty of money. Did you also graduate due to money?”

“What?”

“Maybe the reason you’ve been refusing….”

“I’ll prove it, you bastard!”

Rapid grabbed the pistol. Then he shouted angrily at Ark.

“Okay. I’ve been tricked. I will design the investment fund for you. But that’s all I will do. I’ll give you the basic structure and you have to take care of the rest. Do you understand? If you go back on your word then I’ll turn your head into a bee’s nest with my gun!”

“Huhuhu! I believe in you! My brother!” (Note: ‘My Brother’ is said in fobby english)

“Shut up, you bastard!”

There was a string of curses.

Anyway, with that the ‘Ikyullos Development Investment Fund’ plan began.