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“It’s only been three days?”
Ark gazed at the flashing sign, his eyes alight. It marked three days since he had arrived in Nephalim, fallen prey to the hamster’s trickery, and been coerced into a sponsor contract that sold him to a mercenary troop.
‘At that moment, I had yearned to put a bullet in that hamster’s head…’
Now, his perspective had shifted. While his initial thought was that it resembled human trafficking, the Silver Hand proved to be a surprisingly excellent experience. Clem, despite his intimidating demeanor, was a friendly and kind NPC. His sole complaint was the meager salary, which was likely why Clem was so eager to hire a new worker. However, that particular dissatisfaction had been resolved by the recent incident.
“Hmm, it might be mere Debris, but you managed to defeat two of them by yourself. You may not possess the skill of an Attacker, but… had it not been for you, we would have lost all the parts we gathered in three days. You rectified our mistake, and for that, you deserve a reward. You will be an Attacker for the next hunt. Hey, Attackers! Do any of you object to this youngster joining your ranks?”
“No!”
“Very well. Then Ark shall be an Attacker in the next hunt!”
“Yay, yay! Yes!”
He had been promoted to an Attacker, a position Ark had ardently desired. While this brought him immense satisfaction, Heksu had grown rather grumpy. Attackers received double the salary of Scavengers—a 5% dividend. This meant he would receive 5% of the substantial quantity of metal components harvested from their pursuit hunts. Furthermore, he gained a tremendous amount of experience! Ark reaped even more benefits from the appearance of the Debris.
[A new skill (Common Occupation ☆) has been learned.]
[Close Marksmanship (User, Passive): An essential basic marksmanship technique in Galaxian.
Various guns can be utilized in Galaxian, including rocket launchers, long-range sniper rifles, shotguns, close-range assault rifles, SMGs (Sub Machine Guns), and portable handguns. Mastering the performance of a wide array of weapons to 100% significantly increases the probability of survival on the frontier.
Close Marksmanship had been registered as a skill after his intense battle with the Debris.
“Plus…”
Ark cast a warm glance towards his heavy bag. The Silver Hand had collected approximately 2,500 metal parts in just three days. As a Scavenger, Ark would have originally received only a 2% share, totaling 50 pieces. Yet, Ark’s bag now contained a staggering 550 metal parts! His achievement in single-handedly defeating the Debris had been recognized, earning him a 20% bonus in metal parts. It had been well worth the three days spent slogging through the swamp! Consequently, he no longer felt the urge to shoot Tori.
Of course, this didn’t mean Ark felt any gratitude. He believed the mercenary troop had achieved 100% of its results thanks to his own efforts. The hamster had simply sold him off with a smile. Moreover, Ark had been sweet-talked into a provisional contract worth 200 gold…
‘I might not want to shoot him, but I can certainly kick his fat stomach! Still, I can learn the hacking skill and then terminate the contract. Until then, I merely have to endure it. It won’t take long now that I’m an Attacker.’
Ark envisioned kicking the hamster as he stepped into Gear.
[Critical Hit! You have received a surprise attack!]
He felt a sudden impact to his side, and a red warning message flashed before his eyes.
“Huk! W-what is this?”
Ark clutched his bleeding side, his head snapping around in surprise. A group of men swarmed out of the junkyard, shoving Ark forcefully. He tumbled to the ground, then looked up in shock.
“Y-you…”
“Didn’t I tell you? I’ll make you regret it.”
“…… Mald!”
Ark glared at Mald. This was the same gangster who had confronted Ark in the plaza and subsequently been arrested by the androids. Mald brandished his dagger, drops of blood falling from its tip, and snarled.
“Bastard! Do you have any idea how long we’ve been searching for you?”
“Ugh, you… are you insane? This is a city. This…”
“City? Heh, do you truly believe I care about my reputation anymore? It makes no difference whether I become chaotic inside the city or out. It won’t change a thing. You gravely miscalculated if you thought I would leave you alone. I don’t care if I end up in prison, as long as I can kill you.”
“A visitor? Are you a visitor?”
Tori entered the junkyard, his eyes widening at the sight of Ark bleeding profusely.
“Eh? Ark? And… blood? What, what the hell?”
“You don’t know him?”
Mald’s gaze turned angrily towards Tori. Tori’s eyes darted wildly between Ark and Mald before he stammered.
“Oh, no! I-I don’t know! I don’t know him at all!”
“Then get lost!”
“Yes! Yes! I’ll do that! So please, take care of this quickly!”
Tori spun around and quickly made his exit.
‘That damn bastard…!’
Ark glared at the retreating back of the hamster’s head.
“This is the perfect opportunity. We’ve been waiting for you in front of Nephalim’s gate, knowing you’d have no choice but to pass through it. And I finally spotted you near the gate a short while ago. But do you know why we followed you to this precise location? You haven’t registered with the fairy yet.”
Ark flinched at the end of Mald’s words. He had indeed returned to Nephalim but had not yet registered with the Fairy. Being in the city, he hadn’t felt the need to rush.
“You seem to have been hunting quite a bit while avoiding us. And you’ve consumed quite a lot of experience? Therefore, if you die before registering with the Fairy, you’ll be completely turned into jelly.”
It had been three days since he last encountered Mald and his gang. No, Ark had completely forgotten about Mald until this very moment. He had gained almost no experience while working as a Scavenger. While he had gained a level from defeating the Debris, it wasn’t a significant amount of experience. Dying then would have been acceptable…
“So we waited for a suitable opportunity in a deserted place. If you die here, you’ll be gone before the androids even arrive.”
Mald shook his dagger and advanced closer. His four henchmen also encircled Ark. Five thugs, armed with knives, were closing in! And Ark…
“Hah, you guys truly are tiresome. It doesn’t matter if it’s inside the city or out? You want to kill me? You seem to be using your heads a little bit. If you kill me, all five of you will become chaotic? Isn’t that common sense? Won’t you rot in a prison cell if you become chaotic? Yet it’s fine? That’s immense damage, no matter how you look at it.”
“Don’t be cocky. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten? I was locked up for two hours and wasted 30 gold already. No, I don’t care about money. You provoked the wrong opponent. Don’t think it will end with just one time. I will continue to kill you in the hunting grounds and the city until you quit the game.”
“Try it.”
Then, a voice filled with laughter echoed from behind him. Mald turned around, confusion clouding his face, which quickly paled.
“What, what the? These guys…”
“This punk lacks manners. Perhaps he needs to spend some time with adults.”
The person smoking a cigarette and speaking was Clem, the leader of the Silver Hand! Behind Clem stood fifteen individuals, their rifles aimed squarely at Mald’s gang. They were the very reason for Ark’s calm demeanor. Ark was still a member of the Silver Hand. The Silver Hand had only returned to Nephalim because their containers were filled after three days of hunting and they needed to replenish their supplies. While Clem had gone to visit the federation to collect the reward for hunting Nakuma, Ark had gone to Tori to learn the initial part of the hacking skill. Clem then headed to the junkyard to repair the broken container and procure additional supplies. Mald had truly picked the wrong day to mess with him.
“He is a member of our unit. I feel a particularly strong attachment to him.”
Clem exhaled smoke towards the bewildered Mald, then glanced at Ark.
“Hey squirt, did they attack first?”
“Yes.”
Ark chuckled and shrugged. Galaxian adhered to the same basic rules as other online games. In other words, if an opponent attacked first, one would not become chaotic for killing them in self-defense. The names of Mald and his gang had already turned grey after attacking Ark. Clem laughed and nodded.
“It is self-defense.”
*Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok!*
Simultaneously, the fifteen Attackers loaded their guns. A total of fifteen weapons. Despair flickered across the faces of Mald’s gang. And just as the fifteen guns were about to fire!
“Wait a minute.”
Ark, who had been contemplating for a moment, stood up, raising a hand. He approached Mald, who was now pale and sweating.
“To be honest, I don’t particularly care what happens to you. But I certainly don’t want you bothering me throughout my entire time playing Galaxian. So, how about we reconcile? Of course, it’s not just a simple reconciliation. Weren’t you eager for that toy before? Do you still want the toy?”
“That… yes.”
Ark’s eyes gleamed at Mald’s admission. However, he nodded as if oblivious and said.
“I don’t understand why you’d want such a toy, but I’ll give it to you at a cheap price. Will you promise to forget our bad relationship?”
“A cheap price… how much?”
“60 gold.”
“What? S-sixty gold? Are you making fun of me?”
“Eh? Didn’t I tell you before? The original price is 100 gold. I’ve already discounted 10 gold, and I’ll deduct another 30 gold because of your bail fee. Isn’t that a cheap price?”
“B-but…”
“Did you want a better price? There’s no benefit for me.”
Ark interrupted Mald’s words, retorting with an angry expression.
“This is the frontier. You can’t revive for free. Each revival will cost at least 20 gold. Five times means 100 gold. And can’t you see? You guys talked about revenge, but I’m a member of a mercenary troop. Do you truly think you can get revenge? In the end, you’ll just die an embarrassing death. Isn’t 60 gold a good price to clean up the bad feelings? You’ll also get the toy you desire.”
“T-that…”
Mald stammered, glaring at Ark.
But Ark knew. Mald had no choice but to accept. The man clearly understood that something valuable was hidden within the toy. If there was a chance to obtain it, he would accept. Besides, if he rejected, the death penalty alone would be 100 gold. He truly had no other option.
“O-okay. That should be sufficient.”
Mald finally nodded after a visible struggle. He handed over 60 gold for the toy and fled the junkyard. However, Mald was unaware of one crucial detail. Ark had already removed the memory chip from the toy. In the future, he might come after Ark again…
“Those stupid bastards.”
Ark laughed, clutching the 60 gold.
****
‘Ark…!’
A blond young man stared at the electric bulletin board with a complicated expression. The same message still floated across R-14’s electric bulletin board.
[Achievement: The first mission-related master of R-14 has been born.
It was the message that had caused chaos among the users of R-14. The name Ark had already become a legend among gamers. Thus, they speculated that the registered person was the same Ark. However, they ultimately concluded that it must be a different user. Ark, the formidable individual who reigned over New World and served as its advisor, would surely not play a competitor’s game.
However, the blonde youth knew better. He didn’t understand the reason, but the legendary gamer, Ark, had indeed come to Galaxian. And…
‘That is clearly Ark.’
The blond youth was certain. Ark had just begun, yet his name was already being announced in Galaxian. It might be a famous name, but no mere user would possess such inherent ability.
‘He… Ark… I must meet him.’
That was the very reason the young man had started Galaxian. And his heart began to pound when he saw Ark’s name on the bulletin board.
‘But…’
He stared at his body with a gloomy expression. In reality, his body lay disabled in a unit. However, a character in a virtual reality game moved according to brain waves. A disability in reality wouldn’t be a problem, or so he had thought. Yet, he had spent a year disabled, and even his mind had been affected. Having lived for over 20 years, it felt as though he was moving his arms and legs for the very first time. It had only been one year, but in that year, he had lost his natural movements. It took him several hours just to raise his body. Walking properly required multiple attempts. He was the son of a tycoon, possessed a handsome appearance, and an excellent education, accustomed to receiving envious and longing gazes. Yet, now other users frowned upon seeing him barely able to take a single step. And he was engulfed in despair.
“What? You can’t even use a knife?”
“Why are you standing like that?”
“Ah, really! What is that? At least speak when someone is talking to you.”
“Ah, it can’t be helped. Hey, get rid of this guy.”
There were still many users on R-14, so the farm areas were completely full. He had to wait several hours just to join a party. But his body couldn’t move properly, and he still struggled to speak. Consequently, he was always kicked out of parties.
He remained at level 1 despite several days passing.
‘As expected…’
The blond youth sighed and shook his head.
‘No! I can’t give up yet!’
He tried to raise his body once more. All of a sudden, a small alien approached him. The octopus ran a sucker down his shoulder and spoke with a deliberately calm expression.
– Young man, do you want to raise your level?
He was the main character of a rumor secretly spreading among the users of R-14! Burum, the president of the paid hunting ground.
****
“Captain-nim, there’s another one at your three o’clock.”
“The numbers?”
“Around ten of them.”
“That’s only enough for a snack.”
Clem extinguished his cigar and shouted, lifting his rifle.
“Okay. Now it’s time to finish this. Everybody! Let’s take care of these guys!”
The Attackers turned their bodies towards the direction Clem indicated. After a few minutes, several red lights appeared on the other side of the swamp. Approximately ten mechanical life forms were approaching. Various machine parts coalesced to form a new creature! The SOS signal that the Nakuma broadcasted had been amplified many times by the Silver Hand. Thus, the Nakuma approached from dozens of meters away!
“Murdock, now!”
*Tung! Tung! Tung! Pajijiji!*
A sphere buried in the mud emitted intense electromagnetic waves. Ark might wield a handgun, but the Silver Hand consisted of experienced warriors armed with rifles. It was natural that they could inflict damage on the Nakuma during a hunt. However, they struggled with the Nakuma’s shield. So, the Silver Hand employed an electromagnetic mine!
[Electromagnetic Mine]
[Item Type: Mine (For Shield Removal)]
A type of mine that activates after being buried in the ground. The mine will emit powerful electromagnetic energy within a 10-meter radius, neutralizing shields for five minutes. An explosives expert with the necessary skill is required to operate the electromagnetic mine.
An electromagnetic field that neutralized shields for five minutes! When the electromagnetic mine activated, holes appeared in the Nakuma’s shields, causing them to melt away.
“Now, let’s finish this!”
*Tung-! Tung-! Tatatata! Tatatata!*
Rifles and machine guns blazed. The Nakuma responded, but they had already been caught by the Attackers’ initiative. Bullets flew everywhere, and two Nakuma began to collapse. The shootout continued for a few minutes.
“Captain-nim, two Nakuma are approaching from behind.”
“Sheesh, how annoying.”
When the Silver Hand amplified the SOS signal, the Nakuma didn’t always approach from a single, predictable direction. Nakuma typically communicated with 10 to 20 others through radio waves, but sometimes they would approach from an entirely different direction.
“Hey, squirt.”
Clem changed the magazine of his gun and turned.
“It is your turn. Two of them… can you handle it?”
“Of course.”
The man with black hair, who smiled confidently, was Ark! This was Ark’s designated role after becoming an Attacker.
Ark couldn’t manage long-distance shooting. He couldn’t even hit an empty can ten meters in front of him. That’s why Ark had taken over this special duty. The Nakuma approaching from a different area hadn’t been affected by the electromagnetic mine. So, Ark was in charge of taking care of them with close combat.
“I’ll leave the back to you.”
“I’ll take care of it quickly.”
At the same moment, Ark used Swamp Walking to traverse the area. He moved dozens of meters with Swamp Walking, and soon, two Nakuma entered his line of sight. He identified with his Infrared Scope that the Nakuma were level 25 and level 30. These were opponents he wouldn’t have been able to fight when he first joined the Silver Hand. But a fortnight had passed, and things had changed significantly.
“Shield!”
Ark blocked the incoming bullets with his shield and rapidly approached the Nakuma. Then, he attacked with his dagger! Sparks flew with every strike, and the Nakuma’s shield quickly shattered. The Nakuma’s Gatling gun then folded back, revealing a blade. Ark used his dagger to deliver an uppercut to its jaw and pressed his revolver against the spot.
*Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!*
[Headshot!]
[You have inflicted a serious blow, and the Nakuma will receive an additional 150% damage.]
Continuous shooting! Constant headshots! He had learned Close Marksmanship after the incident with the Debris. Ark had been steadily practicing his marksmanship since joining the Attackers, wasting hundreds of bullets in the process.
‘I don’t have any talent in shooting!’
It felt like a waste of time to train in something he had no natural aptitude for. Of course, without talent, he needed to find another way, or he was bound to perish. Marksmanship was an indispensable skill in Galaxian. And Ark had discovered an alternative method: Close Marksmanship!
‘This is the only way for me to compete with mechanical life forms!’
At first, that was his sole use for marksmanship. But his perspective shifted. Unlike regular marksmanship, close marksmanship could be utilized effectively in close combat, which was already Ark’s preferred fighting style. Once he got the knack for it, he began to exhibit power far beyond his initial expectations.
‘This realization alone is worth joining the Silver Hand!’
Over the past fortnight, Ark had practiced diligently and was now an expert in this fighting style. And he hadn’t just polished his combat skills. During that same fortnight, Ark had flown around more eagerly than anyone else, wielding his dagger and revolver. Thanks to his efforts…
[Character Information Window]
[Name: Ark (R-02788)]
[Level: 27]
[Species: Human]
[Occupation: Beginner Pioneer]
[Fame: 500]
[Health: 500 (+15)]
[Mental Power: 250]
[Strength: 75 (+3)]
[Agility: 115]
[Stamina: 95 (+3)]
[Wisdom: 15]
[Intelligence: 45]
[Luck: 15]
[* Title: Cleaning Foreman (Agility + 3)]
[* Sponsor: Tori Ironworks ‘Gear’ (Contract)]
[-Equipment Information-]
[Weapons:
[Equipment:
[Secondary Equipment:
The smell of blood over the past fortnight… no, it was the result of battles infused with the scent of oil. Thanks to the amplifier, the Silver Hand could hunt Nakuma for one to two hours without any breaks. Moreover, the Nakuma had a minimum level of 25. The level 16 Ark gained experience every time the Attackers fought, so he quickly reached level 27. That was 12 levels in just a fortnight. In addition, he was able to obtain some general leather equipment. Therefore, Ark could now easily fight against two level 30 Nakuma.
*Tong-! Tang-! Tang-! Bam! Chwajijijiji!*
“I have good eyes. I knew you would be a useful fellow.”
Clem watched Ark fighting the Nakuma with warm approval. The Attackers around him also nodded and commented.
“That’s right. At first, he didn’t understand Captain-nim and was just a newborn chick. Who would have expected that the newborn chick would gain such power over a fortnight?”
“It is because he was diligent.”
“Doesn’t he also clean our equipment when the battle ends and help the Scavengers as well? We’ve been hiring soldiers for many years, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone so diligent.”
Just as the Attackers remarked, Ark never rested after battles. When a battle concluded, he would utilize Facilities Maintenance to clean the Attackers’ equipment, and he would also return to the rear to collect loot with the Scavengers. There was no one who would dislike such a sincere person.
Consequently, Ark enjoyed immense popularity within the Silver Hand. This was the inevitable result of his tireless work and dedication to chores. However, Ark wasn’t popular simply because he was sincere. The primary reason Ark was working for the Silver Hand was to learn the hacking skill! To achieve this, it was essential that he accumulated 200 gold worth of metal parts. Of course, he received 5% of the metal parts as his share, but even so, it was still challenging to accrue 200 gold. That’s why Ark behaved with such diligence.
‘There is a 20% bonus!’
Once again, a portion of the budget was allocated for bonuses. Ark worked tirelessly, continuously earning an additional 1% bonus. As a result, Ark managed to consistently earn an average of a 15% bonus. Including his basic salary, this amounted to 20% of the total metal parts! Thus, his bag became thoroughly filled with valuable metal components.
‘If it wasn’t for Heksu, my target would still be distant. Damn that hamster bastard, daring to scam me into a sponsor contract and selling me off.’
The thought ignited his anger once more. Twelve days prior, Ark had gone to find Tori to settle the first amount of metal parts he had gathered. At that time, Ark’s bag was brimming with metal parts from the bonus he received for defeating the Debris. Moreover, Ark had just been promoted to an Attacker, so his spirits were high.
‘If this continues, I will get 200 gold quickly!’ he had thought…
“This is 60 kg? It’s two silver per kilogram, so that’s seven gold in total.”
Tori muttered as he weighed the metal parts on a scale.
“Eh? Seven gold?”
Was this the sound of bricks breaking his back? The metal parts he had scavenged from the Nakuma for three days were only worth seven gold? That meant he was earning a mere two gold and thirty silver each day. Then, wasn’t the bonus just 23 silver?
“N-no way! The parts I went through all that trouble to gather…”
“What? Do you think I’m cheating you?”
Tori retorted, turning his head.
“Then look for yourself! This is the current price for scrap metal as calculated by the federal government. Look! Look at it! Do you see? It is recorded that the price is two silver per kilogram! Ah, really! What are you thinking? Do you believe I’m trying to cheat you on the price?”
Tori thrust a document, stamped with the federation’s official mark, which displayed various quotes. Just as Tori stated, the market price was indeed two silver per kilogram.
‘If that is the market price, then I can’t say anything…’
Ark wasn’t gathering scrap metal to earn pocket money. Tori had promised to teach Ark the hacking skill only if he gathered scrap metal worth 10 gold at least 20 times. This meant he needed to accumulate 200 gold worth of scrap metal to learn hacking. If he only gathered seven gold in three days, it would take more than a month to earn 200 gold. It wouldn’t even be possible if he earned the bonus every time. If he only received the base salary of the Attackers, it would take four months.
‘This is ridiculous!’
Ark was filled with adrenaline as he calculated the result. But he couldn’t do anything, as it was the official market price. The moment Ark was about to give up!
“Wait a minute!”
The man appeared like a gust of wind…
“Hey Tori, I’ve been watching, and you truly are terrible!”
The man who rushed forward was the Scavenger Heksu. Tori flinched and shouted angrily upon seeing Heksu.
“What, what the? What do you mean? Why are you interrupting my business deal?”
“Business? You’re playing around. Isn’t this a scam? I can’t allow you to do that to Ark. Ark saved my life. I can’t just let my savior be cheated right in front of me!”
“S-scam?”
“Yes, Ark. You’re still inexperienced, so you don’t know, but not all the metal obtained from the Nakuma is the same. Some are plain metal, and some are special. The price will vary depending on the type of metal. It’s natural. Are gold and copper the same price? The Silver Hand settles the spoils depending on the price. Your bag is limited, so you were given some of the expensive metal. Yet the hamster indicated that it was just plain scrap metal.”
Heksu raised his arm and began classifying the metal parts Ark had laid out.
“Now, look here. This is a silver alloy worth 20 silver per kilogram. And this one is 50 silver per kilogram. This is a rare metal alloy and is one gold per kilogram.”
Heksu recalculated, and the final price came out to 25 gold!
‘That cheating hamster bastard!’
Ark glared at Tori. Tori then pouted, looking into the distance, and said.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I deceived you on purpose? I didn’t know either. How could it be? I’m getting old and forgetful; I even forget to eat some days.”
Tori feigned ignorance. Ark realized why Tori had asked him to pay in metal parts instead of money. When he first signed the contract, he thought 200 gold wouldn’t be that much because it was paid in installments. Yet the hamster was trying to cheat him to get more money. He had forgotten for a while, but this was indeed the hamster he wanted to drive a bullet into. But that would be after he learned the hacking skill.
‘Anyway, I have to be careful not to be exploited by this hamster.’
So Ark always brought Heksu when disposing of metal parts. It wasn’t easy, as Heksu was an NPC, but Ark had saved his life. Furthermore, Heksu was still actively trying to get Ark to become his successor.
“How is it? You can acquire abundant knowledge if you become a Scavenger.”
He tried to incite Ark with that, but…
Ark showed a level of concentration equivalent to students preparing for a law bar exam when it came to money!
‘I can receive Heksu’s help while I’m a part of the Silver Hand, but that has its limitations. Metal is a basic component of Galaxian. Other merchant NPCs might try to trick me like Tori, so I should learn metal classification.’
Therefore, Ark carefully watched the way Heksu classified the metals. By doing so, he would absorb the knowledge. First, it was possible to roughly classify the metal through color and texture. Aside from color and texture, there was also sound. Some metals made a ringing sound when tapped by a hammer. Ark absorbed that information into his head. The last time he was in the store, he tried to classify the metal by himself. He got roughly 70% correct. He then repeated it until the accuracy reached 100%!
[A new skill (Common Occupation ☆☆) has been learned.]
[Metallurgy (User, Passive): You can deeply observe the appearance of metal and determine its type. If you find a new lode containing metal, this skill will be very important. In addition, the probability of getting a better metal when defeating mechanical life forms will increase. If your knowledge deepens, it is possible to investigate the composition of metals and produce new alloys.
An unexpected skill was learned.
‘That… it isn’t a bad skill to avoid scams.’
He would have never been able to learn the skill if it hadn’t been for Tori. Of course, the idea of thanking the hamster never entered his mind. Anyway, the Metallurgy skill allowed him to classify metal composition. He was soon able to classify the metal parts dropped by the Nakuma.
“Scary talent! Genius, a genius. A Scavenger…”
Heksu once again lamented Ark’s talent. However, Heksu was forced to give up on making Ark his successor. The reason was…
*Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!*
The revolver shots rang across the swamp! The final resisting Nakuma collapsed. Clem clicked his tongue and turned towards Ark.
“…… Now it is the end. The chick who had difficulty is now gone.”
“Yes, you had some hard times.”
The other Attackers said with a glum expression. Ark put away his dagger and revolver and bowed.
“Yes, thank you for everything. I was able to grow up thanks to Captain-nim, Heksu-nim, and the Silver Hand.”
“This child, you’re making me cry.”
Clem nudged Ark’s shoulder and said. The Silver Hand was a hired mercenary troop tasked with hunting the Nakuma multiplying on Istana. They had been hunting the Nakuma around Nephalim for a fortnight now. They couldn’t continue hunting the Nakuma using the amplifier much longer. It was time to leave for another city.
“I had wanted to continue with you, but…”
Ark also found his time with them valuable. He had gained a wealth of experience from hunting with the Silver Hand, and he had received a considerable income. However, his situation differed from other users. No matter how much experience and loot, he couldn’t simply continue hunting the Nakuma indefinitely. No, even if he wanted to, Ark had a contract with Tori, not the Silver Hand. He was presently a ‘hired staff.’
“It can’t be helped. You will do well wherever you go. But come find us at any time if you want work. You are already part of our family. If you encounter any difficulties, we will help you.”
Clem manipulated the Nymphe, and an information window appeared.
[The GPS has been given the tracking information of the mercenary troop, Silver Hand.]
[If you enter this GPS data, you will be able to determine the location of the Silver Hand’s truck.]
“Thank you. I’ll definitely visit you sometime.”
Ark finally parted ways with the Silver Hand after hunting together for a fortnight. He confirmed that the Silver Hand truck had moved to another city before returning to the junkyard. Ark still had work to do, despite parting from the Silver Hand. He could finally learn the hacking skill after two weeks of effort.
‘So far, I’ve done it nineteen times, so this is the last one!’
Tori, despite his earlier deceit, had kept his promise. He had shown Ark hacking techniques every time Ark delivered specific amounts of gold. There were two important processes in learning hacking. One was to extract the OS of the machine parts that the Nakuma dropped to create a hacking program. Ark would then combine these sources to produce a complete hacking program. Over the past fortnight, Ark had extracted nineteen different OS sources. He had finally obtained 200 gold worth of metal parts and was now going to complete the twentieth and final step. However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
“Phew! Staring at this for a while gives me nausea. But now, it’s almost finished!”
Ark glared at the monitor after returning to the junkyard.
-akqlkd# dlakdi# doqmalkdc-33458# do-342kdkcnq#…
Wild, jumbled characters scrolled across the monitor. This was the OS source derived from the mechanical parts that the Nakuma dropped. In fact, Ark had felt his spirit fly away the first time he saw this screen. Creating an OS program in the game didn’t require professional knowledge. The complicated technology would proceed automatically, Ark had initially thought. However, he was 50% correct and 50% wrong. This game certainly didn’t require specialized knowledge. Instead, Galaxian demanded a patient heart! The monitor displayed complex characters, but they held no inherent meaning. Some paragraphs simply consisted of the letters A, B, C, D. The problem was that they weren’t in order. So, it would be D, A, C, B. To produce a hacking program, he had to rearrange the jumbled order into the correct sequence.
‘It didn’t seem like a big deal at first…’
When Tori first taught him, he only had to fix three paragraphs. He only had to change the order a few times, and the correct answer would appear. However, with each repetition, the number of paragraphs increased, until the last attempt presented thirty paragraphs. He had to change the order of thirty paragraphs and test each permutation! It was the first time he had ever undertaken such tedious work. But Ark was patient!
[Error!]
[Error…]
It took him ten hours! The error messages seemed to continue indefinitely.
[The program operation was a success!]
[20 different OS have been successfully combined with the source program and uploaded to the system.]
[The hacking program ‘Invader Ver 1.0’ has been uploaded to the Nymph.]
[Special data has been uploaded to the Nymph, and a new skill (Common Occupation ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆) has been learned.]
[Hacking (User, Active): You have received the guidance of the hacker Tori and created your own hacking program. It will be able to connect to various electronic devices in Galaxian and unlock them. However, if you excessively use the hacking program, you might be caught by the federation and arrested for illegal hacking.]
‘A four-star rated skill!’
Ark’s mouth gaped open. The stars indicated the degree of difficulty in learning a skill. Things like Dagger Mastery and Close Marksmanship only had one star, while skills like Metallurgy had two stars.
Three stars indicated a special technique learned from an NPC, so more stars inherently meant a more difficult skill to acquire. Four stars was almost the highest rating! He had collected scrap iron for half a month, and this was the culmination of his efforts. His suffering had been rewarded with the hacking skill…
‘I can examine it immediately!’
Ark pulled out the memory chip. It was the very memory chip he had found in the toy received from the baby octopuses. He had gone through all this trouble to unlock its data. Ark looked half anxious and half expectant as he connected the toy to the Nymphe. The automatic lock message appeared just as before.
[This memory chip is protected with a security device.]
[Enter the security code or use Invaders to hack and release the lock.]
[Attempt to hack? Y/N]
“Okay, start!”
TO BE CONTINUED
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Oh No, The Girl I Possessed Has Come Knocking On my Door!! Click here to discover the next big twist!
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