Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Entering Ark
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He brushed the thick layer of dirt off his clothes. A stain from somewhere caught his eye. He rubbed at it vigorously with his hand, but it wouldn’t come off. Irritated, he shook out his coat. The filthy garment flapped and swayed.
He stared at the door in front of him. A heavily rusted iron door, firmly locked. It had probably silently guarded whatever lay inside for a long time. Specifically, about a hundred years.
It was quite a long time, but the advanced technology of that civilization had been so remarkable that the iron door was still steadfastly fulfilling its role.
‘A civilization that’s already collapsed, leaving only ruins behind.’
But right now, he had no need for longing toward the golden age of that brilliant civilization or any bitter reminiscence of its fall. His interest lay solely in whatever useful items might be inside.
The place was in the basement of a building. Tucked away in a clever corner, even he—who was familiar with the area—hadn’t known of its existence until now.
His eyes gleamed. His heart pounded with anticipation.
‘What could be inside?’
He hoped for food or weapons. Mechanical devices like a Nano Machine or powered exoskeleton would be great too.
But he soon shook his head.
‘No. Don’t get your hopes up too much.’
Great expectations lead to great disappointments. He forcibly calmed his racing heart and gripped the door handle. There was no key. But that wasn’t a problem.
Crack!
The entire handle ripped free from the door. It was due to the superhuman strength of the powered exoskeleton he wore. He shoved his hand into the hole left by the torn handle and applied force again.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
The iron door crumpled, and the hinges screamed. The screws holding the hinges in place bounced across the floor.
Thud!
The mangled iron door was flung carelessly to the ground. He stepped inside.
The room appeared to be about 65㎡ in size. Various items were messily lined up along the walls. He felt disappointed. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like nothing more than a storage space for useless junk.
‘At least no food here.’
Still, he had to search. Who knew—maybe someone had stashed emergency rations amid the world’s collapse.
He began rummaging through the warehouse’s contents.
But all he saw were pieces of furniture on the verge of crumbling to dust. His face grew more and more contorted.
‘Hm?’
That was when something caught his eye.
‘This is…’
It wasn’t food or a weapon. But it was definitely something that piqued his interest.
‘A Virtual Reality Device.’
One of humanity’s main entertainments from the height of civilization’s prosperity. There was no doubt about it.
* * *
Rumble!
The door opened. A massive, heavy steel door that couldn’t be moved without a powered exoskeleton. But in this world, you couldn’t survive without defenses like this.
He firmly closed the door again, checked the locking mechanism, and set down the large pack on his back.
Clank! Clank!
The powered exoskeleton enveloping his body disengaged. It was an old model with no add-ons like protective gloves or shooting aids—just the bare frame—and it let out strained noises.
After stepping out of the powered exoskeleton, he dragged over a nearby cable and connected it.
‘How much battery power is left?’
With the world in ruins, there was no proper power generation setup. The only way he could get electricity now was from his worn-out solar generator.
‘…Only this much?’
It was low. Compared to before, the charge was noticeably less. Even if clear days had been rare lately, it shouldn’t have dropped this far.
The solar generator from the pre-collapse civilization was incredibly durable and produced substantial power even on cloudy days. As long as it held out in this damned world, it steadily churned out electricity.
If it wasn’t the weather, there was only one reason for the low charge.
‘The generator’s on its last legs.’
Or maybe the battery was failing too.
That meant the lifespan of the last civilization benefit he could enjoy was running out. His heart felt as heavy as if a stone had been placed on it.
‘I need to find a new one.’
But he’d already scavenged all usable items near his hideout. Discovering this underground warehouse had been a stroke of considerable luck.
To obtain new supplies, he’d have to venture farther out. And the farther he went, the greater the threats to his life.
‘First things first—time to eat.’
He pulled a chunk of raw meat from a corner. It was from a beast that lived in the wasteland.
The dark red meat was speckled with green spots. It looked like something you shouldn’t eat, freshness aside. But he shoved it into his mouth without cooking it.
Sizzle!
The meat was so tough it was like rubber. But he chewed away without complaint. Only after dozens of chews did it soften a bit.
He’d at least wanted to call it grilling, but any smell leaking out could alert the beasts outside to this place.
Gulp!
He swallowed the meat. Then tore into another piece. There was no pleasure in eating whatsoever. It was purely for survival.
Ouch!
Today was no different. His stomach rebelled. He grimaced and clutched his belly.
The Nano Machine stirred to stabilize his body. But it took time. The meat’s toxin was so potent that even the Nano Machine needed a while to neutralize it.
“Ugh!”
Pain never got easier, no matter how many times you endured it. He groaned. He wanted to hurl this accursed meat away right then, but it was all he had. No other choice.
Like fueling a machine, he force-fed himself the rest down his throat. The lingering grittiness in his mouth was unpleasant. He gulped down water as if to rinse it.
“Urgh!”
Another wave of stomach pain surged up. In this godforsaken world, even the water wasn’t any good.
After barely finishing the agonizing meal, he turned his gaze to the Virtual Reality Device he’d brought back.
‘What to do with this?’
It was the Virtual Reality Device he’d been so excited about. He’d brought it back without a second thought, but now, seeing the power situation, he wondered if he should even turn it on. Electricity was in short supply.
Cold logic said not to activate it. If at all, only after finding a new battery and generator.
‘But still…’
He hesitated and glanced at one wall. Neatly arranged on the old bookshelf were books packed tightly together. Volumes he’d collected by sweeping the area. Things he often used to kill time in his hideout.
He pulled out one book. Worn and frayed from the ravages of time, to the point where even reading it felt daunting. It contained faded photographs.
Landscapes from a bygone era he’d never seen in his life, now gone forever. Imagining the beautiful scenery described in those books from photos was his greatest hobby.
‘If only I could experience it for real.’
All the Virtual Reality Devices he’d found so far had been broken, but this one looked perfect on the outside. Of course, the internals could be faulty. It might be an empty shell without software. But…
‘Just check once.’
Like a drug addict rationalizing a fix, he slowly approached the Virtual Reality Device.
A round shape, 1.5 meters wide and tall. Only the bottom was flat, designed to stand upright. He began setting up the device piece by piece.
His movements were practiced. In this world, handling machines was essential for survival, and he’d done this several times before. They’d all ended up useless because the devices themselves were busted, but still.
He connected the power and finished all the setup. Clutching his pounding heart, he pressed the power switch.
Whirr!
‘It works!’
The machine activated. It seemed to have game software inside too.
How long had it been since he’d felt this happy? He threw his hands up.
‘Let’s go in!’
He didn’t know what company made it or what game was loaded. But one thing was certain.
‘Any world has to be better than this one.’
With the battery issue, he couldn’t stay long. He hurried into the device.
* * *
A brief noise. Ringing in his ears. A flash. A sensation of his body floating. Clutching his anticipation, he peered ahead clearly. It was still before full startup—only thick darkness was visible.
‘Hm?’
He thought he heard something. Still nothing in front. Maybe an error? Fear gripped him. He focused on his ears.
[…connection successful. Per…plan…initiated…. Subject’s…vita…ls…..]
‘Damn, it better not be glitching!’
But his worries vanished the moment his vision normalized.
“……!”
Before he knew it, he was standing alone in an unfamiliar place, dressed in a plain white short-sleeved t-shirt and black shorts.
The moment he took in his surroundings, he froze. No words came out. Like he’d been struck by lightning, his whole body trembled.
A thrill raced through his nerves. Shock coursed through his veins. And an indescribable joy washed over him.
‘F-First things first.’
He dropped to his knees. Soft, loamy soil welcomed him. Not the blackened, lifeless dirt he’d seen up until now.
He recalled the phrase “worth its weight in gold” from a book he’d found. In a collapsed civilization where gold was worthless, it hadn’t resonated.
But for some reason, it was the first thought that came to mind now.
He stood and tilted his head back. A blue sky stretched above, dotted with white clouds. He inhaled deeply.
This air was worlds apart from the subtle stench and ominous acridness he was used to. He breathed as deeply as possible, savoring the delicious freshness.
After alternating between ground and sky for a while, he finally cast his gaze straight ahead.
‘The trees are green.’
He approached the nearest tree. It wasn’t dull gray-black, nor did it have black leaves. Every tree bore a massive profusion of leaves, swaying this way and that in the breeze.
‘This is…’
He edged closer to the tree step by step. Fortunately, it showed no sign of extending branches to attack. Nor did its trunk gape open like a maw to devour him.
It was just a tree. Uncontaminated. Unmutated.
He spread his arms wide and hugged it. The rough, cool texture of bark met his skin.
‘Amazing! Truly amazing!’
He pulled away from the tree and poked around here and there. Beautiful flowers blooming in the field, grass brimming with life. A green mountain visible in the distance. It was all exactly as he’d imagined from his tattered books.
[Hello, new Player. Welcome to Ark.]
A voice suddenly rang out. No new figure had appeared nearby.
‘System, huh.’
His heart raced. He was finally experiencing something he’d only read about in books. More than that, it was the first other voice he’d heard since his parents died—even if it was just programmed audio.
‘Ark, though?’
It definitely meant ark, like Noah’s. Probably the game’s name.
But that was as far as he paid attention to the explanation.
He ignored the system voice continuing on. He didn’t even glance at the semi-transparent window that popped up. He was utterly lost in the fantastical scenery before him.
After feasting his eyes for a long while, he moved to throw himself onto the green meadow ahead.
But his body wouldn’t move beyond a certain area. Only then did he reluctantly turn to the window.
『Would you like to proceed with the tutorial? Press ‘Yes’ to proceed, ‘No’ to skip.』
『Yes / No』
‘Tutorial, huh.’
He knew about it from books related to games. Back then, rare Virtual Reality Devices were like pheasants compared to chickens—he’d devoured every book on Virtual Reality games he could find.
‘It’s like practice to help players get used to the game.’
No longer as excited as before, he reached out to the semi-transparent window.
‘Better do it. Gotta figure out what this game is first.’
That way, he could enjoy the in-game scenery more easily.
He pressed ‘Yes’.
[You have selected to proceed with the tutorial. We will now begin the basic explanation for enjoying Ark.]
The text on the window changed.
[Here are your stats, Player. When you level up, you can allocate bonus stat points to desired stats. Stats can also be increased through other means, such as discovering new dungeons or completing quests.]
Lv 1 (Exp 0 / 10)
HP - 20 / MP - 0
Strength - 10
Vitality - 10
Agility - 10
Dexterity - 10
Intelligence - 10
Magic Power - 0
Luck - 10
Bonus Points: 0
※ Traits
Savior's Blessing: +30 to designated stat (can change once per day)
‘RPG…that’s what they called it? Seems like it.’
Confirming the game’s nature with his scant knowledge, he scratched his head while eyeing the semi-transparent window.
‘Are these numbers high? I’d know if I’d played before, but I only read books. Not even the games from those books. And what’s this trait?’
A cynical scoff escaped him involuntarily.
‘Savior, my ass.’
The word for messiah. In a ruined world where he lived like a bug, no term felt more meaningless or delusional.