Ark The Legend Vol 4 Chapter 3

s.p.a.cE 3. Incomplete Quest x3

‘I’ve received the body coating!’

He’ll explain it once again. Istana was the capital planet of the galactic federation. Some planets in the galaxy were frozen lumps, thousands of degrees hot or filled with deadly gas. Therefore those planets weren’t suitable to live on for humans. When looking at it from the galaxy’s perspective, humans were a fragile species. If the temperature changed even a little bit then they would die like the fragile flowers in greenhouses. This was why humans had to develop environmental modification techniques when settling on planets thousands of light years away from earth. This was Terraforming. However, even Istana that was considered the heart of the federation was only 10% terraformed. The remaining 90% was still like it had been for billions of years. Pioneers risked their lives in this unknown world. In order to adapt to the harsh s.p.a.ce environment, pioneers were given the privilege of combining their DNA with aliens to increase their bodies to the limit. They would only truly be called a pioneer once they received the body coating from Istana. Ark could now obtain that qualification.

‘I got 3 bonus skills!’

He obtained 3 different skills from the Survivor body coating. But there were too many ambiguous points for him to blindly rejoice. It was difficult to calculate how useful the skills would be in an actual fight by just reading the description. His shoulder shook from the urge to run outside and test the newly learnt skills. Any user would feel like that. However…..

“As I mentioned before, Beltana’s victory wasn’t achieved by myself. There was a commander who believe in me and colleagues who risked their lives fighting.  Even now a large number of federation soldiers are confronting the Rama. They are the people who deserve to be called true heroes.”

“I have a question!”

“I heard that you were the Rama’s prisoner in an interview the other day.”

“Did you encounter any harsh actions?”

“Harsh actions…..of course there were. It was only for a short time but I had to endure some difficult pain. But I think it was a valuable experience. Before entering that battlefield, I thought there might be a way to coexist with the Rama. I soon realized over time that the Rama isn’t a species were can coexist with. They don’t acknowledge us as a species. Therefore it isn’t an exaggeration to say the humanity is at stake with this war.”

“What do you think about the 3rd alien alliance, the Aschulat?”

“Currently the federation is having a hard fight in the Bellin constellation because the Aschulat didn’t keep their promise to help us and withdrew from the battlefield. Many people are blaming the galactic federation’s diplomatic power. What does Ark-nim think?”

“That…..”

“This isn’t a question that he can answer on the spot.”

A middle age man jumped in when Ark hesitated.

“There will soon be an official announcement from the galactic federation about that question.”

“Then we’ll ask other questions.”

“Ark-nim became a war hero after you were conscripted and sent to the disputed planet as a prisoner. But there are a lot of opinions that prisoners dispatched to the battlefield aren’t guaranteed the basic human rights. What do you think?”

“There will also be an official announcement about that issue.”

The man interrupting the reporters was Marquis Martin.

“As everybody knows, Ark has been touring around various cities. Moreover, Ark just returned from a fierce battlefield a while ago. Even a war hero won’t be able to withstand such an unreasonable schedule. So I would like to give him some rest. We wouldn’t want a war hero to die from overwork.”

Marquis Martin laughed and looked at Ark. But Ark’s mood was unpleasant.

‘He is as cunning as a racc.o.o.n. His mouth talks a great game.’

Ark bit his lip to stop himself from glaring at Marquis Martin. Once again, Ark only got the body coating four months after starting the game. Right now he wanted to test the bonus skills received. It was inevitably that he would want to go to the hunting ground. However, Ark couldn’t get near the hunting grounds despite returning from Beltana for several days. This was due to his deal with Marquis Martin.

“I will accept your conditions. For you and the prisoners who follow you. The Silver Hand won’t be punished for going AWOL and I promise that all of you will get the same compensation as regular troops. But I have one condition.”

“Condition?”

“Of course. Because a deal involves give or take.”

He won the war! What more did he want? He wanted to exclaim but he firmly resisted. If he made a high ranking NPC angry then he might not get the compensation.

“I want you to travel with me once we return to Istana for a few days.”

Ark listened with a half stunned and half worried expression.

“Huh? You want me to travel with you?”

“You are a hero. No, soon you will be made into a hero. It is a bit irregular but do you know what it means that a prisoner achieved such merits on the battlefield?”

Of course Ark was familiar with this. The Aschulat were absent from the battlefield so the federation struggled. The public supported them once the war started but started criticizing them once the situation deteriorated. A war hero was the best way to take care of this criticism. The public would be more interested in the war hero than the situation on the battlefield. The galactic federation didn’t care who it was. They just needed someone. They wanted Valencia who was a regular soldier but he stole Ark’s Carrier MR-II data and there was the gold corruption scandal. They couldn’t hid Ark’s success thanks to the videos uploaded onto the internet so Ark became Valencia’s replacement.
In other words, Ark became the galactic federation’s promotional hero. Marquis Martin knew this and clamoured.

“Yes, you are a promotional hero. And repet.i.tion is important in propaganda. One interview would have no meaning. Regular communication with the media is needed to turn around the public opinion. Anyway, you’ve suffered quite a bit on the battlefield for two months so you should rest.”

Ark eventually accepted the offer. That’s why Ark said he was selling his body. At first he didn’t mind Marquis Martin’s offer. He had no room to rest while trying to obtain the Iridium and then he was chased by the Rama. In reality, he also needed to deal with his duties with Global Exos. But the main problem was the real estate land in the Taek Mountains.

‘Taking a couple of days off to act as the federation’s billboard might be nice. Doing some interviews for the compensation isn’t that bad.’

That was a mistake.

‘What? Did I really think I could relax?’

It had been a few days since he returned from Beltana. Ark was dragged to each broadcasting company to do dozens of boring interviews as well as government related events. Once again, Ark was the galactic federation’s promotional hero. Every time he did an interview, he was forced to praise the galactic federation. No, these things weren’t that bad. It was the parades that he couldn’t bear. He had the t.i.tle of ‘Beltana’s Hero’ and was forced to travel around to different cities. The curses from the users flowed every time……

Anyway, Marquis Martin’s words about a break were false. Once an interview ended, he would move on to another interview and another event. Since returning to Istana, his schedule was as murderous as an idol. The ch.o.r.es piled up and fatigue also piled up.

“He doesn’t want a war hero to die from overwork?”

Marquis Martin’s words were a joke. But Ark steadily a.s.similated to the schedule. The development of a country wasn’t infinite. Although he started this because of the contract with Marquis Martin, Ark also gained some things from it. The first thing was awareness!

“This interview is finished.”

Marquis Martin cleaned up the atmosphere and got up.

The message appeared on his Nymphe. If he partic.i.p.ated in interviews and events then his fame would increase.

He could also raise his contribution to the galactic federation by giving a speech. In fact, previously Ark had no interest in fame and contribution. Well, he had been a criminal so he didn’t need to worry about fame or contribution on the battlefield……

Anyway, gaining fame and contribution were an important part of Galaxian. High fame would increase the number of sponsor offers from bigger companies as well as more quests from regular NPCs. If the user managed a business then the fame would be applied to the business and various collateral effects could be applied. And federation contribution meant that he could get special questions from the government.

‘My first task is to buy an agent registration certificate so I can create a mercenary group!’

Gaining fame and contribution could help him achieve his goal. That was why Ark endured the murderous schedule silently. His fame had climbed to 2,700 after the last few days. And his galactic federation contribution was 3,300! It was a number that showed how difficult Marquis Martin’s schedule was. It wasn’t just the fame and contribution. If that was the only compensation then Ark couldn’t endure it. Ark also obtained a second income. It was that he could travel to each city for free.

The method of transportation in the future was the Star Gate. The Star Gate could move tens of thousands of lights years in an instant and not everyone could use it. The pioneer ID meant he could travel to the government’s authorized area in each city but it wasn’t available for a lot of 2nd cla.s.s citizens. Even 1st cla.s.s citizens needed to pay 30~100 gold to travel between other cities using the Star Gate. That’s the reason why after selecting a city on R-14, it wasn’t possible to move to other cities for a long time. If they couldn’t use the Star Gate then it required the user to walk hundreds or thousands of kilometres. But Ark was different.

“This is your schedule.”

Marquis Martin had handed him a piece of paper after reaching Nephalim. The name of every city on Istana was written on it.

“This is the order of the city you will be travelling.”

Ark’s promotional activities wasn’t just taking part in Nephalim. Marquis Martin had planned everything once the deal was made. As soon as the transaction was completed, a schedule involving the broadcasting stations of Istana’s 20 cities were set.

……If he worked as a manager then he would’ve been highly successful. Anyway, Ark was able to use the Star Gate for free due to the public relations activities. Of course, Marquis Martin’s schedule meant there was no time to go sightseeing. Sometimes he would take the Star Gate three times a day! n.o.body would envy that type of travelling. Then Ark had a thought that flashed through his head.

‘Yes, the quest!’

His Nymphe had 3 incomplete quests. Once again, Ark had originally gathered 15 prisoners on Beltana. At that time, the Royal Guards that Ark gathered by handing out food didn’t have any teamwork. In order to gain a sense of kins.h.i.+p, Ark had pardoned 5 prisoners. Two people repaid him by giving him the Withdrawal skill and a pistol. And the remaining 3 gave him quests.
It was a repayment quest where he would be given compensation if he visited them.

‘If I visit them then I can obtain something!’

The quest was like free food. The problem was that those prisoners were in different cities. Once again, on Istana even the closest cities were hundreds of kilometres away. It would take many days just walking on foot. Of course, he was a 1st cla.s.s citizen so he could move using the Star Gate. However, it cost 30~100 gold.

‘If the quest reward is below 30 gold……’

He would receive damage even if he completed the quest. The fee for the farthest city was 100 goal so even if he received 30 gold then he would have a loss of 70 gold. So he had placed the quests to the side in his Nymphe and postponed it.

‘But now I’m going around all the cities thanks to Marquis Martin. Julius, Sidellin and Tatuine are on the agenda.  I can go to the quest destinations for free. This is my chance. If I miss this opportunity then I don’t know when I’ll finish this quest.’

This was the reason why Ark didn’t complain and went around on the publicity campaign. Therefore he rearranged the tight schedule to give him time to clean up the quests in Julius, Sidellin and Tatuine. The first person he visited was Hamad.