Ark The Legend Vol 16 Chapter 1

s.p.a.cE 1. Jura.s.sic Park

Kung! Kung! Snap! Oduduk!

There was loud roar in the jungle engulfed in fog. The deafening roar occurred as the thick trees parted.

….Something huge was coming!

“Back off!”

Ark reflexively stood in front of Irina and shouted. And he turned in the direction that the roar was coming from. The branches in front of him were broken and something popped out.

‘Heok! W-what?’

Ark flinched and retreated.

The roars indicated that the ‘thing’ was still quite a distance away. But preparing for it to pop out was enough to make his heart pound. Furthermore, the size was enough to cause the earth to shake.

There seemed to be three of them and they were going to emerge from the vine covered branches. However, they were living things.

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

“Hiiik! Hiik! Hiik!”

The only evidence of their existence were loud screams. Ark was slightly panicked thanks to that but….

It was only for a moment. When looking at it, unexpected occurrences on adventures were common. And Ark wasn’t a beginner to be surprised by such things. This was a game set in the backdrop of s.p.a.ce!

‘I don’t know if they are monsters but….’

Ark raised his sword with a grin.

‘I will confirm the ident.i.ty after it is dead!’

“Equalizer!”

The white light rose in front of him. The white light then headed towards the bushes as some people burst out.

“Heok! Ark? N-no, Ark-nim!”

His name was heard in an unexpected situation. Ark hurriedly stopped his sword as he looked at them with confusion.

“What the, you guys?”

“Y-you finally came! I knew you would come!”

“….This voice is?”

“I thought I was going to die! Death!”

“Why are you here?”

Kukung! Chwajijijijijik!

Just when Ark was asking the question. A thundering noise was heard from the thick trees to the right. And the misty fog revealed a huge figure.

The first thing that caught his eye was the huge head towering 4~5 metres over the trees. There was a huge tail that was 10 metres long and the large body was held up by legs with overwhelming muscles. And the huge body was covered with a distinctive leather.

“Oh my G.o.d! That is….!”

Surprisingly, the thing that appeared in the woods was a dinosaur! Among them, it was the strongest predator known as the T-rex, Tyrannosaurus.

Why was a dinosaur that had become extinct on earth millions of years ago wandering around in a place like this?

‘Is this a lost world? Jura.s.sic Park?’ But he had no room to think about it. The huge eyes of the T-rex turned and its head lowered towards Irina.

Kukung!

There was a loud noise as the earth shook.

“Dammit! Irina-nim!”

“I-I’m fine!”

The answer was heard from a few metres away. He turned towards the voice and saw Irina leaning against a tree trunk with her swords crossed in a X in front of her.

Fortunately, her defensive posture managed to parry the attack. She still received damage but only 3% of her health was reduced. In reality, it would only be a light scratch.

But! Even so!

“That d.a.m.n lizard!”

The T-rex’s brutality (?) was enough to make Ark snap. It dared to give Ark’s girlfriend a wound? Ark stood in front of him! He couldn’t forgive it!

“Go to h.e.l.l!”

Ark growled out as he lifted his sword.

“Kafra Fencing 4th style, Piercing!”

He stomped his feet as his body turned into a ray of light and flew forward. And he crashed into the T-rex’s dirty jaw that injured Irina! The Equalizer drew blood from the T-rex’s jaw.

Kuwaaaah!

The T-rex stepped back from the pain. However, Ark’s lid had already been open so he showed no mercy.

“This was the mouth that injured Irina-nim? Huh? This mouth?”

Ark persistently held onto the T-rex’s jaw and poked it. It was turned into a rag as blood poured down the T-rex’s chin and its health steadily decreased.

Of course, the T-rex wasn’t just quietly letting him poke its chin. The 1 metre large claw and tail were brandished in a resistance attempt. A powerful attack with a large weigh behind it!

Kwa kwa kw.a.n.g! Kwajijijik!

The trees ended up being squashed. Any other user would become terrified. But right now the T-rex’s opponent was Ark. He didn’t care that he was fighting against a huge T-rex. Ark would show him what a man looked like!

“Break Kinesis!”

Ark’s eyes flashed as an explosion occurred in front of the T-rex’s eyes. Break Kinesis was an Elim technique that caused Force to explode! It could inflict direct damage on the enemy but the splash damage of the explosion could also cause indirect blows. The damage was minimal but it was different when Break Kinesis was used on the eyes.

Kuwaaaah!

The T-rex closed its eyes tightly. Ark lowered his knees and jumped up. And then he brandished the Equalizer as he fell towards its neck.

“Sonic Sword!”

The reason Ark focused on the T-rex’s lower jaw wasn’t just being it had injured Irina. Most animals, including reptiles were covered in a thick leather. On the other hand, the bottom portion of the jaw and the belly was covered in thin leather.

It was the same with the T-rex.

He could tell with a glance that the leather was thinner. In other words, it was a place where the outer defense was vulnerable. Ark had experienced countless battles so he instinctively grasped the weakness of the T-rex.

And the neck was one of the weakest areas!

Hwaaaaack!

The sword of light slashed the neck and blood rose. Ark attacked without a break that the T-rex couldn’t even resist. His attacks pushed back an opponent that was 10 times larger than him. A man giving a performance for his woman! Strong! And….

Snap!

At that moment, Ark fell down. And the T-rex’s teeth gripped onto one of his arms.

“Ah! A-Ark-nim!”

Irina cried out and hurriedly lifted her swords. However, the T-rex’s mouth closed before she could use her sword. Irina had a devastated expression.

“I am not your prey.”

A voice mixed with derision was then heard from the T-rex. The T-rex’s fangs had stopped a few centimetres away from Ark. No, it was lodged in a blue gla.s.s surrounding Ark.

The transparent gla.s.s was his Survivor skill, Mind s.h.i.+eld! The intermediate s.h.i.+eld reduced damage by 50~70%. It also stopped the T-rex from chewing through his body.

“I will let you know what happens when you pick up anything to eat.”

Ark grinned as he looked at the T-rex. A black light then emerged from the Equalizer.

“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”

Pepeng!

The light from the Equalizer poured out and dozens of swords flew around the T-rex. A black swirl with the T-rex inside!

There was no need to verify the message. The T-rex shed blood and staggered before collapsing like a broken doll. As it lost strength. Ark pushed off the T-rex and turned towards Irina.

“Are you alright?”

The tail had hit him a few times so several areas were throbbing with pain. The T-rex’s fangs had also slightly penetrated through the Mind s.h.i.+eld so blood was pouring down his forehead.

Ark put on a fake casual expression as he grinned fiercely.

…..There was a reason for it!

A man had to show a strong appearance. Why would he want her to worry about his wounds?

“Ark-nim….”

It wasn’t surprising that appreciation rose in Irina’s eyes.

‘Okay, this is it! I will go with this route!’

While Ark was busy thinking.

Kung! Kwajijijik! Kung! Kwajijijik! Kung! Kwajijijik!

There were uncontrollably noises from the surrounding environment. And shadows started to tower over the trees. Panic appeared on Ark and Irina’s faces at the same time.

“….There wasn’t just one?”

Heads of the T-rex rose above the trees! The T-rex surrounded Ark and Irina. The final number was 11! There was the sound of trees being crushed from all sides.

“Ark-nim, we can’t deal with that many! We should run before it is too late!”

Irina shouted with a desperate expression. Ark shook his head at her words.

The T-rex wasn’t an easy monster. There wasn’t 2~3 but 11. It wasn’t a time to look good in front of his girlfriend. He would just be miserably eaten by the T-rex.

However, Ark was unable to withdraw. It wasn’t due to showing a weak form in front of Irina but actually the Silver Star.

‘The Silver Star’s stealth has been turned off. The T-rex has already been gathered so the Silver Star is likely to be their target if I run away. The Silver Star will be defenseless against the giant monsters.’

“….It is like this.”

A thought suddenly popped up in his head. The reason why the Silver Star was in stealth mode in this place.

‘Was Rapid attacked by these guys shortly after he landed here? Rapid and the group could deal with them. But there is a risk that the Silver Star would be damaged. Maybe Rapid turned on the Silver Star’s stealth mode and lured them to another place.’

There was still a question remaining.

Rapid’s group had arrived here four days ago. They must still be alive or else the dead members would’ve revived at S-20. In other words, they had safely survived the T-rex’s raid. Nevertheless, he couldn’t understand why the Silver Star was left in such a dangerous place without any protectors.

However, he couldn’t answer those questions now.

The Silver Star’s stealth had been released. And like most skills, a certain amount of time was required before he could use stealth again. Anyway, if he retreated then he couldn’t guarantee the safety of his precious Silver Star.

Then there was only one way left!

“Armour armament!”

A flash of light appeared from Ark’s body. The light caused the s.p.a.ce to part and armour appeared. The texture of the armour was like the skin of an insect and it covered Ark.

It was Ark’s battle suit Hyper Drone! The carapace covered Ark clutched his sword and raised his head.

He couldn’t give up. He had no choice but to win the fight. He had spent many days and nights raising his level and polis.h.i.+ng his skills. And the only way to verify his performance was to fight.

“This welcome is a bit….”

His eyes inside the black helmet shone with a red light as he gazed at the group of T-rex. At the same time, heat started to emerge from Ark’s body.

“Come! I will teach you who the real predator is!”

————————————————————————–

Pajijiji! Pajijiji!

The forest was covered with a dense fog. Hajin was using tools to repair the damage on the upper deck caused by the huge swarm of bats. Something suddenly caught Camel’s eyes and he shouted.

“……!”

“Huh? What is it?”

“….Stop using that metal worker!”

The tool was turned off. But Camel’s voice wasn’t the only thing heard.

Kung! Kung! Kwajijijik! Kwajijijik!

Sounds were one after another from the other side of the fog. Hajin had been unable to hear the noise use to the metal worker so he turned to Camel with a confused expression.

“W-What is that?”

“I don’t know if it is a problem but the sound is coming from Captain Irina-nim’s direction. But Captain-nim isn’t capable of making those type of sounds.”

“Then perhaps……?”

“I suppose we should go look.”

Camel nodded with a firm expression. And he shouted as he quickly pulled out a rifle.

“Even if she is a woman, Captain-nim is an elite warrior of the Galactic Federation. And she is with Ark-nim. I don’t think there is any need to worry but….that sound is bothering me. It is likely that they are being attacked by a monster with a significant size. Furthermore, there are several of them. Considering the huge swarm of bats, Ark and Irina-nim’s safety isn’t guaranteed. Hajin, hurry up. We need to move quickly to help both of them.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hajin put down the tools and jumped off the deck. And he rushed towards Camel while holding his machine gun. They rushed through dozens of metres covered in fog. The roars being heard in the fog became faster and more violent….

Pepeng! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

A huge object was rus.h.i.+ng towards both of them.

“Heok! What? Hajin, avoid it!”

Camel and Hajin flew to the left. The giant object broken the tree branches before stopping. Camel then raised his head with confusion.

“T-this?”

The object lying down in front of them was a dinosaur!

A 10 metre large dinosaur. Although it was surprising to see a T-rex in a place like this, the status of the T-rex was even more shocking. The body was tattered and mangled, the head crushed and the tongue stretched out.

Someone had murdered it!

‘Who the h.e.l.l did this?’

They could guess but….

Kwa kwak! Wiiiing!

At that moment, a huge shape appeared in the fog. Hajin saw a giant T-rex rus.h.i.+ng through the trees. And it swept its tail towards them! The T-rex’s tail could literally smash them.

“Ah! D-danger….!”

Camel reflexively exclaimed. Then dozens of strands of light shot out and wrapped around the T-rex’s neck.

In the next moment, something sprinted up towards the T-rex’s head. The crystal golem stood on the shoulder and fiercely struck the jaws. There was a sound as the T-rex’s head moved up, exposing the neck.

There was an ensuing flash of white light that horizontally split the T-rex’s neck, causing blood to gush out. The young man slipped because of the body and slid to the ground. However, the T-rex flinched and retreated backwards. It felt fear towards the presence using its body like a slide.

Overwhelming! The small presence that seemed to overwhelm the T-rex with his pressure. The T-rex was puzzled but Camel was also the same. Camel knew the ident.i.ty of the presence. He knew he was strong. However…..

“What it this about?”

Camel swallowed his saliva as he spoke.

“Ark……”

————————————————————————–

“18 Barrage!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

Steel fists moved at breakneck speed with the yell. It hit the leather covering the belly every time and pushed back the T-rex. The T-rex was 10 metres while Ark wearing the battle suit was only 2 metres. The size difference was 5 times!

A T-rex 5 times larger was pushed back with Ark’s fist. And once 18 Barrage finished, the belly area was battered and shedding blood. The T-rex fell and caused trees to be crushed with debris flying in every direction.

“Phew!”

Ark took a deep breath.

Heated air flew from his body like steam. It was like a nuclear fusion was taking place in Ark’s body as it seemed like flames would spew from his mouth. He had used a tremendous amount of energy in a short period of time.

‘But this isn’t an unpleasant feeling!’

His body was burning up but he actually felt like it was refres.h.i.+ng. It felt like he was throwing heave clothes off himself.

‘And after a long time, I can finally just focus on the battle.’

When he thought back, most of his battles had been in a team.

Of course, a team was helpful in many ways. The growth of an organization or Agent was important in Galaxian and developing it could be fun.

However, it was a hindrance to Ark’s individual ability growing. Teamwork was important in a group battle. No matter how well he battled alone, it could cause a team to lost their balance. Moreover, Ark was more focused on playing a leaders.h.i.+p role and focusing on maintaining the balance of the team.

He had suffered through many fierce battlefields. But Ark couldn’t exert 100% of his power in those fights. It was good since the result was their victory. Ark had been thinking that it was better to be safe than in danger. However, his thoughts were different when faced with a crisis.

‘Facing 11 T-rex at once! Dammit, I am scared! My breathing feels like it is blocked! But if I fail then they will turn the Silver Star into sc.r.a.p metal! Irina will also be in danger! Dammit! I really hate situations like this! I really hate….’

A thrilling feeling. It was like when he first started in New World.

He raised his level at night, had a b.l.o.o.d.y nose from raising his skills, gathered equipment and these efforts were seen in his character’s information window!

Showing 100% of his capability in his fight! Whether it ended in victory or defeat, Ark was oriented towards combat. And this was once such fight.

The reason why Ark was heating up! His warrior type gaming sense gained in New World had woken up. Of course, he would only be satisfied with the outcome if he won the battle. Fight and win at all cost. That premise lay underneath every battle.

‘Power!’

Ark showed his natural determination. That’s why he fully armed himself after the emergence of the T-rex.