Vol 14 Chapter 3

SPACE 3. Door of the Dead

“You’re not owned by Berami?”

–Yes. We were caught by a pioneer with a much larger power than Berami. We left our home planet and lived as vagrants but our destiny was to become slaves. Then a fortnight ago, Berami visited and borrowed us to excavate these remains. We were once a species that lived opened but now that we’re meeting like this, it is so humiliating that I want to die….

The elder octopus Hakun said with a bitter expression. The circumstances of the octopuses was an important manner.

‘That Berami bastard, he had no intention of keeping his promise.’

It meant he couldn’t pass ownership of the slaves over to Ark. But Ark wasn’t angry.

‘That Berami bastard, he had no intention of keeping his promise.’ No, it was actually good.

Then he didn’t need to feel any remorse for his actions. Well, it wasn’t necessary to feel remorse for someone who snatched the ruins and resources from other people. Anyway, with this he had secured a just reason!

‘It is worrisome that there seems to be a big power behind Berami.’

Ark hadn’t expected that. Ark had only been thinking of Berami. No, he might seem like a soft touch but Berami had a plan to strike Ark in the back of the head. As a result, Berami was likely to cause some problems. And Ark already had powerful enemies in the Red Slaughterer and Hawk so he couldn’t afford to make a new enemy.

‘It will be better to make a few changes to the plan.’

But it didn’t make a difference to his final goal. The first was to find the Divine Artefact. And the second one was……

“I came here to look for something important. But I am a friend of the Charenjok. I have no intention of leaving you to be treated cruelly as slaves. I’ll definitely free all of you.”

He had thought about it since the time he became aware of the Charenjok. Of course, he didn’t really think of the octopuses like brothers. They are something that he could eat comfortably.

He wanted to rescue the octopuses for the compensation. Bakum would later upgrade the token and he could also make the Charenjok work at his food factory.

Of course, it was impossible for Hakun to understand this.

–Ohh! R-really?

“Yes, I need everyone’s help to do that.”

-Help! Of course we will help! No matter what it is!

“Then for the moment….”

Ark explained everything that the octopuses should do. Then Hakun scratched his head and asked.

–If we do that then we can really be freed?

“Of course, that alone won’t be enough. But I have my own ideas. It is hard to describe so just believe me for the moment.”

–Of course we will believe and follow you. But the Flies are watching us inside the pyramid. If we do as you say….

“There are more Flies in the pyramid?”

–Yes, there are 10 following us.

“Leave that to us.”

“If you tell us the location then we will make a video by the end of the day.”

Milan and Tori laughed after hearing Hakun’s words. Despite the problem of the Flies in the pyramid being solved, Hakun still continued with a worried expression.

–That’s not the only thing to be concerned about. So far, we’ve been removing the earth and sand from the pyramid but have only unearth 1~2 relics. Now that the earth removal operation is complete, we have to start the daunting task of finding the real relics. We’ve been digging in any suspicious places. But if we do as you say, it will be difficult to find the relics and won’t Berami will be suspicious?

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Ark smiled and opened his backpack.

And dozens of rusted and mechanical parts flowed out. They seemed to be items that had just been excavated. However, they were actually japtem that had been piled up in the Silver Star’s warehouse.

Milan was a Treasure Hunter so he managed to make the items seem like relics. In fact, the relics that Ark dug up and showed Berami actually belonged to that group as well.

Like he told Berami, Tori was an actual professor. He received the Professor title after the adventure on Muratio Star! But Tori’s specialty was engineering, not archaeology. He had no talent in looking at the ruins and determining where the relics were buried.

It was the same for Milan as well. It was true that Milan was a Treasure Hunter and possessed the Dowsing technology to find relics but it didn’t have a 100% accuracy. The reason Ark could find the item was because he had buried it in advance.

His strategy to plant 10 different relics and dig them up was all to lure Berami! Ark buried the japtem and then dug them up. He had changed dozens more japtem into relics for a situation like this.

“You should bring this to Berami in the meantime. Today just give him 1. If we slowly start increasing the numbers then Berami won’t be suspicious. This is enough to endure for 44 days.”

Once things started, Ark wouldn’t have any spare time.

‘Now it is a fight against time.’

He had to find the Divine Artefact before the exclusive grace period ended. He needed to find the clue that Xanax left here. That was what Ark needed to do now.

————————————————————————–

“The situation?”

“There is no change.”

A small tent at the barbed wire entrance surrounding the pyramid. Berami’s henchmen replied as they pointed to the images being transmitted by the Flies.

“But I really don’t know what that guy Ark is doing. He is only looking at the walls and then after a while, dropping to the ground to search.”

“It is normal.”

Berami laughed and replied.

“You can’t just dig blindly at an excavation site. A few lucky relics will be found but usually the really valuable ones are hidden. And only those that could unravel the secret of the ruins can find it. He is searching for clues to the secret of the pyramids.”

Berami also knew that much.

When he first entered, he had also searched around the pyramid like Ark. The internal structure was a complicated maze with murals occasionally drawn so there was clearly something there. He was convinced that the ancient species didn’t make a maze just for decoration. However, Berami had wandered around for a fortnight and couldn’t figure anything out.

So he had accepted Ark’s offer. He thought that a professional treasure hunter might be able to find it.

‘Asking for 80% of the profit is outrageous but….’

He didn’t trust Ark one bit. Yet unabashedly asking for such shares meant he had confidence in himself.

‘But he was too greedy. I am confident. No matter how many relics he finds, he won’t be able to take one of them.’

“Is it really okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The contract. If doesn’t matter if he doesn’t find anything but what if he finds relics worth thousands of gold? Couldn’t he raise objections with the Council and cause trouble for Hyung-nim?”

“Don’t worry. The problem is already finished after talking with him.”

Berami said with a smile.

“Ark doesn’t know anything. So you don’t have to worry and just keep an eye on Ark and the octopuses.”

Berami looked at the monitor.

‘Ark, I sympathize with you. You picked the wrong opponent this time.’

The screen showed Ark naively (?) investigating the ruins.

————————————————————————–

“Hrmm.”

A spacious hall in the centre of the pyramid. Ark sat down in the middle of the hall while locked in thoughts.

The Fly was flying above his head but he didn’t pay any attention to it. The Flies inside the pyramid were already dealt with due to Tori’s excellent hacking skills. No matter what the Fly recorded, only the previous footage of Ark would be broadcasted.

However…..

He had controlled the pyramid for one day. In the meantime, Ark’s actions weren’t that much different from the scene broadcasted. He walked around surveying the walls and floors looking for something. But so far he had failed to find any suspicious parts.

No, he had found it. It was the first day he came into the pyramid. Ark had wandered around to grasp the overall structure and felt an unidentified sense of deja vu. At first he didn’t know why he felt such deja vu. But after walking past a few passages, Ark was able to sense it.

‘Yes, these murals feel familiar!’

Most of the walls inside the pyramid were painted with Murat murals. Among them, the wall murals that repeated every time a passage branched caught his eyes. It was a mural of a Murat sitting down on a throne.

“Perhaps this is? Facilities Maintenance!”

Ark quickly pulled out a dust cloth. And Facilities Maintenance was triggered….Ark’s cleaning speed increased by 30% and the dirt on the murals were quickly removed. And a ‘!’ popped into his head the moment the murals became clear.

‘Indeed! As I expected! When looking at it with a glance, it seems similar but it is actually different. The mural is of a young man but there are a few wrinkles on his face. It is only a little but the Murat sitting on the throne is slightly older.’

Ark had seen such murals before. The first pyramid that he found in the depths of Beltana. He was trapped in an endless maze but managed to escape due to the differences in the murals.

‘If the same trick is used in this pyramid….’

Ark ran straight to the pyramid entrance. When he came to a  ‘┿’  and say the murals, he was convinced. A baby was drawn on one of the 4 thrones painted. Small letters were recorded on the mural when he wiped away the dirt.

–Life shall become your mentor. Only the chosen person can learn it.

‘I’ve found it! Indeed it is this!’

Ark’s heart rate quickly reached 180. There was no doubt about it. The method of escaping the labyrinth in the Beltana pyramid was following the mural from birth to death. The phrase also meant this.

In other words, if he followed the Pharaoh’s life then he could find something! Since then, Ark meticulously wiped the murals at each crossroad and followed the right mural. The time it took to clean the pyramid and for the Pharaoh to grow to a boy, youth, adult, middle aged and old man was 12 hours!

“This is the last one!”

Ark ran forward with excitement. And…nothing happened.

He didn’t feel any signs that he had moved someplace else. The place he arrived at was a large hall in the centre of the pyramid. If he walked in a straight line from the pyramid entrance then he could’ve arrived in 1~2 minutes. The place where he first talked to the octopuses was this same hall. He had just been running around in circles and cleaning for 12 hours.

“W-what is this? Perhaps I went the wrong way?’

However, the result was the same when he tried again. He walked around the intricate passages and arrived at the hall. He tried it in the reverse order as well but the result was the same.

‘I checked it many times. The mural is clearly pointing to this place. Then the secret of the pyramid must be hidden here. But……’

Where should he search? Right now Ark was sitting in the hall doing nothing. He wiped the hall with a rag but couldn’t even see a common painting. There wasn’t even a place to sit down.

‘Am I mistaken? Are the murals in this pyramid insignificant? No, that is impossible. The mural at the first crossroad even had a message. If the murals have no meaning then such a message wouldn’t be recorded. Life is my mentor. It can’t be interpreted as anything other than the mural.’

However, the hall where he arrived didn’t have anything. He wandered around and sat for a few hours but couldn’t understand the result.

‘But there is definitely something. I have to find out what it is.’

And after a few hours. Then a question popped into Ark’s head.

‘Wait? Is that message recorded at the entrance really talking about the wall painting? Obviously the murals are the same as the pyramid on Beltana. So when I saw the murals, I judged that the message was talking about that. I thought ‘Life shall be your mentor’ was referring to the stages that the mural went through. Perhaps thinking like that was the problem?’

If he made a mistake from the beginning then of course the right answer wouldn’t emerge. Ark considered the problem from the beginning again.

‘First the murals. The words fit with the murals so following the age order fits. But no changes occurred after passing through the last checkpoint. It means the meaning isn’t that simple. Then the word mentor isn’t what I thought it meant. A mentor is someone who teaches something. Something….the length of the labyrinth….why bother making everything move in circles? But if it isn’t the length….eh?’

Ark’s head shot up.

“P-Perhaps?”

Ark started to draw a line in the ground. His fingers moved back and forth many times in the complicated pattern of the passages that he had memorized. From the pyramid entrance to the hall. He drew the route he took following the Pharaoh and made a bizarre shape. It was strange but it seemed to form a pattern!

Ark stood up and lifted his arms.

“Come out, Shire!”

Blue light formed at his fingertips! Ark moved his hand and started to carve a blue pattern in the air. The shape that Ark made was the complicated pattern that he had just drawn in the ground. He drew the path from the first Pharaoh to when he arrived at the hall.

Light spread across the square and an information window popped up.

Rune Carving: Hajaska (Users, Active): Hajaska is a Murat rune that reveals the truth. Long ago, the morale of those on Muratio Star was low due to Murat being possessed by evil. Then the Murat sages created a new rune to give the power to ‘see invisible things that don’t exist.’

That is the Hajaska rune.

Activating the Hajaska rune gives the power to see unseen things. Crude stealth technology and ancient magic can’t hide from the power of Hajaska.

<The user will gain the ability to see through everything for 1 hour. Mana consumption:  200>

‘As expected!’

The Pharaoh did show the path! But it wasn’t the length. The complex path formed a rune! The word mentor meant that he could learn a new rune. It also cleared up the next sentence.

Only the chosen person can learn it.

In other words, only someone with the Shire could learn it. Thus he mastered the Hajaska rune! The moment Ark looked around, it was like sand entered his eyes. Then a rune stamped on Ark’s eyes started to shine with a blue light. And Ark…..

“Heok! W-what is this?”

He moved backwards absent-mindedly. The large hall had contained nothing until now. Yet when he turned around with the Hajaska rune, there was a huge presence.

A human body with the head of a dog, the God of the Dead called Anubis. Anubis was approximately 10 metres high and the head almost reached the ceiling. Ark reflexively retreated at the sudden appearance of Anubis.

“Do I have to fight against that?”

Then Anubis kneeled down. And held a huge scale in one hand. Ark looked at Anubis with dumb surprise and saw letters written on its chest.

-You who have lived a long life, you’ve reached the door of truth.

Discard everything and receive your judgement. If you are a good person then you shall reach the truth.

But even the slightest hesitation in front of the Great Judge will be considered a sin.

“This is clearly….”

Once again, Ark was a smart person.

Ark had become the Elim’s Heir through his brains. Ark was the Murat’s Elim. Then in the future, he would be exploring a lot of Murat ruins. Therefore it was helpful to discover more about the Murat. Ark started reading books about Egyptian myths and motifs.

Ark had seen a similar figure in a book.

“Door of the Dead!”

A guide to the afterlife. In the book, the scale was to judge where the dead would go after they died. Anubis’ scale also judged a person’s sin at the same time. A feather would be placed on the scale along with the dead person’s heart and if it weighted the same then they would safely go to the next world.

“Does this mean I have to place my heart on the scale?”

He had to throw away everything? No, this was a game so he might not die if his heart was taken out. Ark had died many times in Galaxian but he never saw his heart. It was natural. It would be creepy to see a real heart in the game.

“In the end, I need to put something different….”

He couldn’t think clearly.

‘No, I don’t need to have complicated thoughts. It didn’t say that it would examine whether I committed a crime or not. It would be easily solved with the game’s chaotic system. Then the answer was simple. “I have to go on the scale!”

Ark got on the scale.

Not surprisingly, the other side of the scale now showed a huge feather. As expected, the judgement started after getting on the scale. Ark was a user who lived sincerely (?) so he climbed on without hesitation.

Well, he had killed a few monsters and alien species. However he hadn’t done anything to turn chaotic.

Besides, he was also the Elim’s Heir!

Light swirled around Ark after he climbed onto the scale, causing an information window to pop up.

Ignorant Destroyer (Wisdom -10, Strength +7, Stamina +7)

Spatial Breakthrough (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +10)

Beltana’s Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +3)

Athamas’ Hero (Strength, Agility, Stamina, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck +5)

Mediator (Wisdom, Intelligence +15)

* Affiliation: Dark Eden (CEO)

+ Environmental adaptation increases by 50% due to the Survivor coating.

+ The Survivor coating reduces the drop rate of Satiety by 30%.

+ The Survivor coating will reduce fall damage by 50%.

+The ‘Clairvoyance’ effect of the Survivor coating is applied.

It wasn’t a window about his criminal record. Ark looked at the information window.

‘As expected, the answer was climbing on the scale. The fact that the character information window popped up meant it was the answer. The mystery of the pyramid is completed with this. I am certain that I will pass the judgement. Huhuhu, now whatever is hidden in the pyramid will be mine!’

Just as Ark was thinking this.

-You dare try to fool the eyes of a God!

An angry voice resounded through his head! A black form flew towards Ark from the sky. Ark flew backwards at the unexpected situation. At the same time, something hit his side and his health decreased by 300.

“Keuk! W-what is this?”

Ark rolled across the ground before getting up. And he saw a giant monster with red eyes. The body resembled a hippopotamus but the head had the shape of an alligator called the Amyut. But it was the situation that was making Ark confused.

“Why…..”

He was sure the correct answer was going on the scale. If it wasn’t the right answer then the character information window wouldn’t have shown up. And it was clear that Ark didn’t have a chaotic alignment. Yet why did a monster appeared out of the blue to attack?

“What? Did I make a mistake?”

It was clear that something was wrong but he couldn’t tell what it was. However, he no longer had time to think.

Kuwaaaah!

The Amyut opened its huge mouth and rushed forward.

“Damn! It can’t be helped. I can think about it after taking care of this thing!”

Ark pulled out his sword. A ray of white light appeared in the dark space. It was the lightsaber that the Murat Emperor Kuhwen gave him! Ark’s Equalizer drew complicated light patterns around the Amyut’s body.

‘There is only 1 monster!’

“I’ll dismantle you in an instant! Berserker!”

The white light around Ark and the lightsaber was amplified. This was the Equalizer’s option, Berserker! It consumed 1,000 Force but it increased the effectiveness of all skills by 50% for 10 minutes. He was able to immediately confirm the effect.

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”

When the skill was activated, the amplified swords flew out like a fan. And the light pierced through Amyut’s body.

“Ha! This is the taste of the skill.”

Wiing! Wiing! Buuuuong! Wiing!

Ark’s sword moved in an endless trajectory. Black liquid spurted out every time the light touched the Amyut. Of course, the enemy didn’t receive the attack politely. It bit down with its large mouth and slashed with its claws. Each scrape reduced health by 300~400. His health had decreased by 2,000 before he knew it. However, the opponent was Ark.

“Welcome to the alter ego!”

The moment the Amyut rushed. Ark created some alter egos. The Berserker effect was added so he made 6 clones instead of 4. Including his original body, there was a total of 7 people spread out in the hall. The monster couldn’t see through the alter egos. When the Amyut bit a clone, another moved behind its back!

Ark’s sword continuously flew like a later.

<The enemy will receive x2 the damage>…..

That message popped up!

The Amyut that was already in a critical condition had its health fall to the bottom. The torn up body exploded and then disappeared.

“Phew, that was a tough monster…..”

Ark sighed and murmured. Then the black aura scattered around the hall started bunching up again. And an Amyut started to be created like an invisible hand was modelling it. It wasn’t just one. The black aura formed two Amyut!

“T-this is?”

Kwaaaaa! Kwaaaaa!

Before he could grasp the situation, the 2 of them rushed up at the same time. He reflexively used the alter egos but his thigh was still injured. But he couldn’t afford to take care of the wound. If he avoided the offensive of one monster then the other one would attack.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

The sound that emerged from the Amyut’s mouth caused Ark’s ears to ring.

‘Dammit! What is this? This guy was already hard to kill and now they increased to 2? Even if I kill these guys, what guarantee is there that this would end?’

It might increase to 4 monsters instead. And when 4 was killed, 8, 16 and then 32….well, he would probably die when facing 8 of them anyway! If the situation proceeded like this then he wouldn’t be able to win.

The best thing to do was to run away! In fact, he had tried that already. However, all the passages were blocked when Ark tried to run away. It wasn’t possible to escape.

‘Judging by the situation, there is only one way to escape from here. Pass Anubis’s judgement. If I didn’t pass the judgement then I would be killed by the Amyuts. But I’ve already failed. I need to figure out why I failed when he got on the scales. Then in the end, I have to fight until I die.’

Meanwhile a fang was driven into his shoulder and he received damage. He had been concentrating on defence and avoidance but Ark couldn’t avoid all the attacks. Sprinkle. No, the 300~400 damage piled up and he had already fallen into a critical condition.

However Ark didn’t give up.

‘Dammit! I can’t die in a place like this! There must be another way. Something….’

Ark suddenly raised his head.

‘Wait? That reminds me, Anubis didn’t talk about rejection. He said I cheated God. I could accept that if I got on the scale while wearing the Hyde Helmet. But there is no reason for me to be rejected. Then there is something that caused it to think I was being deceitful.’

He didn’t want to admit it! Rapid’s words about Ark becoming smarter in a crisis seemed to be true. When he was on the verge of dying, his head became cleared and more far reaching. Ark recalled the words written on Anubis’s chest.

–Discard everything and receive your judgement.

“The meaning of those words….?”

Ark raised his head and murmured. He only had 600 health left! And 2 Amyut were heading towards him! He had no time to confirm the answer.

‘If this isn’t the answer then I will die!”

“Welcome to the alter ego!”

Ark dived between the Amyut and activated the skill.

However, the effect of Berserker had been released so only 4 clones were created. It was impossible to get through the Amyuts’ siege with just 4 alter egos. The fangs of the 2 Amyuts hit Ark’s thigh. His health was sucked out.

“Ugh! Damn! But not yet! Ankh!”

A light emerged from Ark’s body and a message popped up.

<2,000 health has been restored>

The dignified appeared of a Divine Artefact! It was a skill that restored 2,000 health. 2,000 health was insignificant in this situation but it allowed him to get past the Amyuts.

And he jumped on the scales without hesitation. But like before, the scale didn’t move. It was natural since there was no change from earlier. The Amyuts were now running up to the scale.

‘If this isn’t the answer then it will 100% cause my death!’

And the moment the Amyuts jumped towards him! Ark closed his eyes, bit his lips and exclaimed.

“Take off all my equipment! Automatic storage!”

Wiiing! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok!

The equipment covering Ark’s body were simultaneously removed. Then a wire popped out from his backpack and wound around the equipment.

Clack! Clack!

The mouths of the Amyuts closed.