I was traveling on foot.
During the evacuation, I had no choice but to use a vehicle si was a desperate escape.
But now?
That kind of recklessness had no p my pns.
Using a loud, ky vehicle in the wastend was like screaming to the monsters:
"I’m right here! e a me!"
And as expected, the refugees had been chased down.
Over a hundred vehicles had left os for Ark—
And only ours survived.
That fact aloold me how stupid it was.
Not to mention—
If things went south, it was impossible to properly hide or camoufge a vehicle.
No—
Legs were the best transport.
What do humao survive?
ClothingFoodShelterLuckily, I already had food and clothing.
That meant my top priority was a base of operations.
The first and most important factor?
Safety.
Even Ark wasn’t truly safe in this world.
But safety wasn’t enough.
I also needed water.
And water roblem.
I could carry food.
But water?
1 liter = 1 kilogram.
The minimum amount of water needed per day was 1 liter.
That meant even a week’s worth of water would weigh nearly 10kg.
‘Fet the weight—I don’t even have the space.’
My backpack was already full.
That meant my shelter had to be near a water source.
Or better yet—
Right o one.
And I knew only one pce that met all the ditions.
A volic mountain formed by the great catastrophe.
The reason Ark exists.
My destination.
There was a reason it was called a “Spirit Mountain.”
Toxic volic gases.Intense heat.Absurdly high Ether tratiohe most terrifying monsters avoided it.
And—
If I found the right spot, I could even access hot springs.
That meant a water source.
And possibly even… a luxury.
‘A hot bath in a survival game? Heh.’
More importantly—
It satisfied the two main requirements:
Safety and water.
Of course, there was a risk.
The Ether tration near Mount Noah was dangerously high.
But—
Where else could I find a better location?
Even Ark itself was built against the volo for this reason.
No monster dared to e close, and humans could survive if they mahe heat and gases.
Plus, voliergy provided a power source.
Sure, livio an active volo was risky.
But pared to everything else?
It was nothing.
That was why Ark’s zones were divided by their distance from Noah.
The closer a zone was to Mount Noah, the safer it was.
Naturally, the closest zone became Ark’s ter—White Line.
The safest frontline was Red Line.
The most dangerous?
Bck Lihe fallen front.
As the pyer, you started in Red Line and slowly progressed forward through the game.
[ARK ZONE SYSTEM]
White Line (???) (tral Ark)
Red Line (1–10 Stages) (Final Defensive Line – Safe Zone)
e Line (11–20 Stages) (Rear Frontline – Medium Risk)
Yellow Line (21–30 Stages) (Mid Frontline – Increased Risk)
Green Line (31–40 Stages) (Pre-Battlefront – High Risk)
Blue Line (41–50 Stages) (Advanced Frontline – Severe Risk)
Navy Line (51–60 Stages) (Frontline – War Zone)
Violet Line (61–70 Stages) (Mid Frontline – Heavy bat Zone)
Purple Line (71–80 Stages) (Pre-Final Front – Lethal Zone)
Rose Line (81–90 Stages) (Current Final Frontline – Near-Death Zone)
Bck Line (91–100 Stages) (Fallen Front – Lost Zone)
From the safest Red Line—
To the fallen Bck Line.
That was how The Defense progressed.
But now—
I had been forced out of that system.
No Ark soldier's path.
No pre-scripted campaign.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
I didn’t know.
All I knew—
Was that every attempt before this had failed.
If I had to take another route to clear The Defense…
I wasn’t losing anything.
‘We’ll see soon enough.’
For now—
I o eat.
I uned a Multi-Calorie Bar and took a bite.
‘…Ugh.’
They said it was chocote fvor.
But it tasted like a brick with a hint of cocoa powder.
Still, it was better than nothing.
At least it was nutritionally banced.
A few bites in, I already felt full.
I washed it down with some water and stored the rest.
Then, I turned my attention to my new gear.
Time to check what I’d be w with.
──────────────[Ark-15 Adaptive Rifle] [★★★(3-Star)]
—A standard-issue adaptive rifle used in Ark.
— switch between assault rifle, anti-materiel sniper, and shotgun modes.
《View Details》──────────────
Despite being a basic supply on, the Ark-15 Adaptive Rifle was the standard for Ark soldiers for a reason.
It had excellent performance, and with the right upgrades and izations, it could be ranked up to a 6-star on (★★★★★★).
‘Most importantly, it’s heat-resistant.’
For someone like me—
Who could fire limitless bullets—
There was er choice.
Now then… what else do I have?
──────────────[HE2050 Handgun] [★★★(3-Star)]
—A standard-issue Ark handgun.
—High firepower, strong recoil.
《View Details》──────────────
──────────────[Smel Machete-7] [★★(2-Star)]
—Model #7 machete crafted by Smel Workshop.
—Made of special alloy, resistant to rust and wear.
—A true masterpiece of a master craftsman.
《View Details》──────────────
──────────────[Level 3 Standard-Issue bat Armor] [★★★(3-Star)]
—A standard-issue Ark bat armor (Level 3).
《View Details》──────────────
‘Nice.’
As I was examining my new gear—
[Kyaooooooo!!!]
[Grrr! Grrr!]
A distant noise made me instinctively drop low.
I had chosen the safest route possible, but in this world, there was no such thing as a truly safe pce.
‘A pack of beasts.’
Most were 10th-css Beasts or Monstrosities, but I could spot a few 9th-css threats.
From a gnce—
There were hundreds.
And based on their dire, they weren’t heading toward Ark.
‘No cover around here… I’ll have to take a detour.’
Moving stealthily, I tinued on my path until—
The terrain started to ine.
The Red Line pins gave way to the rocky slopes of Mount Noah.
‘Almost there.’
Since I had started at Red Lihe closest zoo Noah, traveling on foot hadn’t taken too long.
Though…
Subjectively?
I felt like I was running te.
‘I wao reach before nightfall… guess that was wishful thinking.’
Darkness had already covered the nd.
Mount Noah was a lifeless, volic wastend.
Not a single bde of grass.
Just harsh, jagged terrain stretg far beyond sight.
But—
That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I already khe locations of a few water sources within the mountain.
All I o do—
Was climb.
But then—
[Grrrr…]
[Woof! Woof!]
Uninvited guests started to appear.
Even though most monsters avoided Noah, there were always exceptions.
To assume this pce was pletely safe would be a fatal mistake.
‘Hellhounds.’
The most on type of monster in Red Line.
And now—
A pack of them had surrounded me, their eyes glowing in the dark.
Uhe massive horde I had seen earlier—
This was a manageable group.
‘About… 30? No, 31.’
And then I noticed—
Bullet wounds.
Their scarred bodies told me why they were here.
‘Ah, I see.’
These were the same Hellhounds that had been chasing us earlier.
After the Skull Hound began mutating, these cowards had run away—
Right into Mount Noah.
‘And now we meet again.’
Was I afraid?
Of course not.
Because unlike before—
Now I was armed
【 Kill them all… 】
A voice echoed in my mind.
But this time—
It didn’t feel unpleasant.
“What a ce.”
I smirked.
Because I had the same thought.
—Click.
I gripped my Ark-15 rifle and flicked the mode selector.
"This time—"
A meical whirring echoed—
—Jiinnnng
—Click. Click. Click.
[Switg to Shotgun Mode.]
