Ark the Legend Read online

  “No, I mean I’m just…..”

  “A gamer.”

  Moon Ji-hun continued talking.

  “But you’re not a mediocre gamer. You defeated numerous competitors in the game New World and gained the abilities like a god. It is the reason why I visited Hyun-woo ssi.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  Moon Ji-hun paused after hearing Hyun-woo’s question and took out a cigarette. The Vice President was a non-smoker so he looked uncomfortably at the smoke.

  “Have you heard of the game Galaxian?”

  ……He had heard of it. Before the advent of virtual reality games, the company ‘Successful Future’ had occupied 50% of the game market. And this was a virtual reality game that they invested 10 years into making. It was the reason why Global Exos continued with the updates despite the bugs. It was to prepare for the fluctuations in the virtual reality game market when Galaxian was released.

  “The requirements from the terrorist involves Galaxian.”

  “Huh? The terrorists want a share in a virtual reality game that is going to be released soon?”

  “It would be better if that was the case.

  Moon Ji-hun sighed.

  “The terrorist wants to become the number 1 user in the game Galaxian that is soon to be released. His goal is to become the best user in Galaxian, just like Hyun-woo is in New World. If another user takes the position of first place then he would stop all attacks against government facilities.”

  “What if the terrorist achieves his aim of coming first?”

  “……In the worst case scenario, the nuclear power plants will be blown up.”

  “Eh? Eh eh?”

  Hyun-woo’s mouth dropped open. The nuclear power plants would be blown up. Hyun-woo knew the horrible results that would occur. The nuclear accident involving the Fukushima area in Japan had caused serious damage to Japan and the world. Yet the Japanese politicians still hadn’t apologized for it….

  Anyway, decades had passed since there was a nuclear reactor accident so it would cause huge damage domestically and abroad. If someone blew up the nuclear power plants then the damage would be incomparable to the Fukushima accident

  It would be astronomical damage several times that accident! Korea would also suffer from an economic downturn. But the terrorist’s demand was the most outrageous part.

  ‘If other users can’t stop him then the nuclear power plants will explode?’

  This was the first time he heard of a terrorist like this. He couldn’t take it seriously. But this person came from the Emergency Planning department so it couldn’t be a joke. It was difficult to believe but it was true. Then the reason Moon Ji-hun visited Hyun-woo…..

  “Now you can understand the seriousness of the situation. The Emergency Planning Department was summoned yesterday and after a long meeting, we decided to entrust it to experts.”

  “Experts?”

  “Gamers.”

  Moon Ji-hun said to Hyun-woo.

  “The Emergency Planning Department isn’t only meeting with Hyun-woo. New World, Royal Road, Mecca, etc. From all the virtual reality games, we asked for help from 50 gamers who stood out in the game. There is a higher possibility of a user who is already the best in their game reaching the number 1 position in Galaxian before the terrorist.”

  That was the reason why Moon Ji-hun visited Hyun-woo this morning. Hyun-woo was the strongest user in the virtual reality game New World. He understood up to here. He understood but…..

  “I still don’t understand. Why on earth is the terrorist doing such a thing? If he wanted to compete with other users they couldn’t he just play the game? Why would he need to bother with the nuclear power plants? Furthermore, to become the strongest user in a new virtual reality game? How long would that take? I don’t understand why the country would enlist help from gamers because of one terrorist.”

  “Yes, it doesn’t make sense.”

  He received a disappointing answer.

  “We still don’t understand everything yet. But it is clear that the terrorist possesses the power to threaten the government. And….the terrorist’s ultimate goal is to reach the top position in Galaxian and time has no meaning to him. That….is because he isn’t a person.”

  “H-he isn’t a person?”

  “…….Do you remember the Lucifer project?”

  Hyun-woo looked towards Park Woo-seong sitting near him. Project Lucifer was the name of the artificial intelligence that Park Woo-seong created in order to destroy New World. Hyun-woo (Ark) had defeated him. Moon Ji-hun continued talking while Hyun-woo looked at Park Woo-seong.

  “The terrorist that took over the nuclear power plant if Lucifer.”

  Hyun-woo naturally couldn’t understand what they meant for a while.

  “Lucifer? After that incident…..”

  “Officially, he has been disposed of.”

  “Officially?”

  “The government interfered.”

  Ha Myung-woo who had been sitting quietly suddenly cut in. Moon Ji-hun sent him an uncomfortable look but Ha Myung-woo ignored him and continued.

  “It’s natural for you not to know since it was even hidden from Global Exos. When Lucifer was sealed up and Park Woo-seong charged, Lucifer’s data was submitted to the government as evidence. But Lucifer wasn’t returned. He also wasn’t disposed of.”

  “……Why?”

  “Lucifer is currently the best performing artificial intelligence. The government desired it so they took him. They thought they could handle the enormous data of the most powerful artificial intelligence. By using it……”

  “Ha Myung-woo ssi!”

  Moon Ji-Hoon shouted. The Vice President who was opening the window for ventilation jumped with surprise. But Ha Myung-woo didn’t even lift an eyebrow

  “You became an advisor of Global Exos because you sealed up Lucifer. You have to right to know all the information related to Lucifer. It will also help with your future work. Isn’t that right?”

  “Uh……”

  Moon Ji-hun just kept on sucking his cigarette. Ha Myung-woo accepted that as unspoken permission.

  “The government probably intended to develop artificial intelligence using Lucifer. They thought it wouldn’t be difficult if they had Park Woo-seong who created Lucifer. However, Park Woo-seong didn’t cooperate with them. But the government didn’t give up and ended up retrofitting Lucifer and made a mistake.”

  “A mistake?”

  “The government unleashed Lucifer on a controlled internet network as a test measure.”

  It was a closed circuit where they were able to 100% control Lucifer. The government thought he was a child that listened to them. However, the government had forgotten an important fact. Lucifer was an artificial intelligence with the ability to think for himself and he is cunning. Lucifer followed the control of the government until he was shut in the closed circuit. Everything changed the moment he connected to the internet network. Lucifer who had been upgraded quickly got past the government’s security and hijacked the nuclear power plant. This is the reason why the government can’t come up with any countermeasures and are afraid. The computer program occupied the nuclear power plant system so there is nothing for the anti-terrorism special forces to do.

  ‘That is the reason why the government didn’t decline Lucifer’s request.’

  The control systems of the nuclear power plants had the best security. These days the modern smartphones could be more powerful than a nuclear bomb. Lucifer was a smart guy and obeyed the government at first. And the government was hit on the back of the head. Thanks to that, the government was really scrambling!

  This was the result of their greed. Hyun-woo might have many complaints about the current government but this was still a national crisis. He couldn’t be glad after thinking about the potential colossal damage. And there was still an unsolved mystery remaining.

  “Then what is Lucifer’s purpose? Why is he doing such a thing?”


  “Lucifer only had one purpose from the beginning.”

  Park Woo-seong started talking for the first time.

  “Lucifer is an artificial intelligence. He might think and act like a human but he has no interest in the things humans enjoy. Lucifer doesn’t care about money, power and honour. His purpose if the one I created him for.”

  “The purpose you created Lucifer for?”

  “Revenge on the users.”

  Park Woo-seong laughed and replied.

  “However, Lucifer couldn’t accomplish his purpose and was sealed up. So he is going to start again to get revenge on the users. That is the only way he can be himself.”

  “Then why is he trying to blow up the nuclear power plants?”

  “Lucifer’s revenge target are the users not humans. Taking human life has no meaning to Lucifer. The nuclear power plant was just a method to escape from the government and to make them leave him alone while he connects to Galaxian. Lucifer can only prove himself if a world where he can compete equally with the users. He wants to prove that he is superior to the users.”

  “Then what is he going to do if he proves himself?”

  “I don’t know. I only made Lucifer for that purpose. I have nothing to do with anything else. No, his goal might’ve increased by one more thing.”

  Park Woo-seong turned his gaze towards Hyun-woo.

  “To beat the user who defeated him. That is you, Ark.”

  “It is also why I visited Hyun-woo ssi.”

  Moon Ji-hun sighed and handed him a note after hearing Park Woo-seong’s words.

  Ark definitely has to participate in Galaxian. If Ark participates then I hand over the controls for the nuclear power plant.

  Hyun-woo stared at the memo with dumb surprise. The NPC had been defeated 1 year ago and he took South Korea hostage to apply for another challenge. He couldn’t get a grasp of it in order to accept. But it was already meaningless whether Hyun-woo accepted the challenge. He had no choice. It was because of one part of Lucifer’s message.

  “He won’t blow up the nuclear power plant if I participate…..does that mean I can prevent a nuclear explosion just by playing Galaxian?”

  “It is just a temporary measure.”

  “Temporary measure?”

  “The current government can’t stop Lucifer because he is the most powerful artificial intelligence. Lucifer said that he wouldn’t commit terrorism if another user becomes the strongest in Galaxian. In other words, Lucifer will just commit another act of terrorism if he wins.”

  That’s the reason why Park Woo-seong was here. Park Woo-seong was going to cooperate with the government to prepare a plan to stop Lucifer’s terrorism. The problem was they didn’t know how long it would take. So they needed to request the help of influential gamers like Hyun-woo to catch Lucifer in Galaxian. They had to find ways to neutralize or eliminate Lucifer.

  ‘……I have no choice.’

  If Hyun-woo refused then the nuclear power plants would explode. But if Hyun-woo connected to Galaxian then he could stop the explosion at least. It all depended on who became the stronger player in Galaxian first. The burden on his shoulder was heavy because it was a national emergency. But reaching the top spot in Galaxian didn’t matter to Hyun-woo. The government had also contacted the strongest users of other games. They also wouldn’t be able to decline

  Because a mere gamer couldn’t antagonize the government. In addition, there were a large number of other users

  If one of them became the strongest person in Galaxian first than Lucifer’s terrorism wouldn’t occur. Even if Lucifer became the strongest, Park Woo-seong would’ve prepared a plan to stop him. There was no need for Hyun-woo to carry the heavy load alone.

  ‘But even so……’

  This was happening in the first place because of the government’s greed. They were just dumping the messy situation on Hyun-woo and the other gamers. But Hyun-woo was still a citizen of Korea. There was no way he could ignore it if there was a chance that the nuclear power plants would explode. But……

  “I understand. I don’t know if I can stop Lucifer but I will participate.”

  “Thank you.”

  Moon Ji-hun nodded and bowed. Hyun-woo laughed as he looked at the crown of Moon Ji-hun’s head.

  “Then let’s start the negotiations.”

  ……Hyun-woo was Ark. Free labour wasn’t a concept that existed for Ark.

  “This will be a difficult situation for me.”

  Hyun-woo smiled and muttered. The explosive crisis of the nuclear power plant! A national crisis! An emergency! Moon Ji-hun thought Hyun-woo would be burning with patriotism and would plunge straight into Galaxian…..he was mistaken

  Of course Hyun-woo didn’t want the nuclear power plants to explode. Patriotism also burned inside him. He was willing to do his best to stop Lucifer for the country. Even so, it was impossible for Hyun-woo to work for free. The politicians were the ones who caused this situation so they should pay for it. Why should Hyun-woo have to pay taxes to them and helping clean up their mess for nothing?

  ‘Anyway, I’ve grasped the sword hilt!’

  Moon Ji-hun had already met with other users of virtual reality games and secured their cooperation. Of course, Hyun-woo also had to cooperate. However, Hyun-woo was in a different position from them. Lucifer threatened to blow up the power plants if Hyun-woo didn’t enter the game. In other words, if Hyun-woo didn’t play then they would have no chance to compete with Lucifer. And the nuclear power plants would explode! Not one single mark would be left. If Hyun-woo had some requests then the government would have no choice but to accept. The range of the nuclear blast would be absurd! The government wouldn’t dare risk it! He hadn’t earned the title of strongest user in New World by doing nothing.

  “I have three requirements.”

  Hyun-woo began to talk with a relaxed expression. Moon Ji-hun couldn’t hide his confusion at the unexpected deployment. He looked at Ha Myung-woo and the Vice President for help but they just looked into the distance. Ha Myung-woo was originally a cynical person regarding the government and the Vice President was fed up with Moon Ji-hun smoking. They also couldn’t afford to offend Hyun-woo who held the master code to New World. Ha Myung-woo and the Vice President were completely behind Hyun-woo! Moo Ji-hun eventually had to lift the white flag.

  “P-please continue.”

  “First I have a question. Did you say that Lucifer showed you the requirements a short time ago? So it is possible to communicate with Lucifer?”

  “That’s correct. It is possible to communicate through the nuclear power plant control system.”

  “Then there will be no problems. My first request is to deliver a message to Lucifer.”

  “Lucifer? What do you want to say?”

  Hyun-woo emphasized every word in his speech.

  “I won’t be threatened by your threat. The dog who was stepped on during the war is trying to bark again. So I’m going to diligently step on you as time passes…..tell him that.”

  Hyun-woo agreed but he didn’t like the situation right now. He didn’t mind playing Galaxian. Hyun-woo hadn’t been able to enjoy New World since he obtained the master code. He was the best player in the game but he couldn’t enjoy it. So this was like an opportunity for Hyun-woo. He didn’t have to worry about Global Exos and could concentrate on a game. But he was forced to do it. Hyun-woo was offended that he was threatened to play Galaxian by an artificial intelligence. Ark’s pride didn’t allow him to be dragged into a game by an artificial intelligence. If he had to do it then it was through his own will!

  Hyun-woo’s, no Ark’s beliefs didn’t change.

  “I understand what you’re saying. But intentionally irritating Lucifer……”

  “Lucifer is already obsessed with Ark’s existence.”

  Park Woo-seong laughed and jumped in. And he reassured the worried Moon Ji-hun.

  “Don’t worry. I assure you. It is better that Lucifer hears these
words. Lucifer wishes for proof of his existence but getting revenge against the users. Ark is a goal that he has to exceed. It is better that he thinks of revenge against Hyun-woo than against humans. But Lucifer thinks of Ark as the enemy, not Hyun-woo. He is the rival that Lucifer desires most.”

  Park Woo-seong knew Lucifer better than anyone. Moon Ji-hun nodded with an assured look after hearing Park Woo-seong’s words. He was also relieved that Hyun-woo’s requirements weren’t that great. However, Hyun-woo’s main conditions were from now on.

  “The second condition is exemption from taxes.”

  “Huh? T-tax exemption?”

  “Isn’t it natural? I’m not playing the game for fun. The nation needs me to play the game so I’m putting off my personal matters. Of course, I am a citizen of Korea so I’m not going to ask for money. But shouldn’t this be sufficient as thanks?”

  Hyun-woo had been forced to play the game against his will. However, he needed to get some benefits for any lack of sleep he would get. In fact, the worst part about being an advisor in Global Exos was the taxes. He used to be a gamer so he never had to worry about taxes. He was just charged a commission when trading items in the auction room. But now he could feel the taxes. Most of the public works over the last few years had a deficit so the taxes had doubled. It was also common to see on TV news about public officials embezzling money. He was working yet it felt sour seeing his money going into their pockets. Now he was a high profit person so he had a lot of taxes.

  “I should be exempt from taxes while playing the game and if I receive the final goal and defeat Lucifer then I’ll be exempt for life. I think I should be able to request that. Wouldn’t I be more motivated with a reward?”

  “Oh, I’ll take a look.”

  “Let me tell you the last requirement first.”

  “T-the last one? Ah that’s right. You said there were three requirements. Yes. That is…..”

  “Don’t worry so much. The last condition is the success fee I’d like to receive if I stop Lucifer. I’ll think it is fair to pay a price for defeating Lucifer.”