2014-11-05, 15:41 | Link #1 |
I'm a sucker for Harem
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Ark [Light Novel]
Korean Light Novel Title.
I am completely shocked that something that is read by so many people here does not have a thread. For people who like 'Re:Monster', Arifureta, and Log Horizon. Title : Ark Available from BT - 3 Volumes complete 4th in progress - 24 Volumes Total Hyun-Woo is a boy living in the city of Seoul. Having to hold many part time jobs to pay for his apt and his mom's hospital treatment, he is offered a job applicant from his ex Sensei from college (That Hyun-Woo dropped out of ). After applying (he lied on his form that he was a college student) and being admitted as a 'Temporary Employee' for Global Exos Korea, his job is to play/test a new Virtual Reality Game. He's given a small stipend and a promise that out of the 2000 applicants, Global Exos would hire 10 of them as permanent employees after 1 year. Creating a character named Ark, Hyun-Woo finds a world as real as the real world and he gets immersed in playing the game. (No he isn't stuck in the game like other scenarios, he can quit at any time) What is Global Exos's true purpose in hiring Ark? What's the conditions to become one of the 10 permanent employees? How can Ark juggle gaming and pay for his rent? Will anything ever happen between him and the nice receptionist? (Haha) Spoiler for List of Characters in Order of Appearance(In Test):
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Last edited by Forbin; 2015-02-17 at 17:31. Reason: Got the volume count |
2014-11-05, 15:46 | Link #2 |
ecchi sage
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: moonlight kingdom
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Lol? Ark didnt had a tthread? Weird....
I like this novel much. Ark spartan way to tame his familiars is just funny, The only thing i dislike is so far i read there are not love or harem. Out of it, very interesting novel. Just are too little TL, only 3 vol. Going to the 4. The serie is rnded now with 20 vol. And i think there are sequel called ark legend... Go skull go... snake cacht all japtem...
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2014-11-05, 15:48 | Link #3 |
I'm a sucker for Harem
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Hmmm...not sure what to spoil here but I seen people post a 2nd post with spoilers
Spoiler for What's Exos's True Purpose:
Spoiler for How powerful is Ark:
Spoiler for How does Ark solve his money problems:
Spoiler for What makes this novel interesting:
Spoiler for Does he ever get with the receiptionist?:
Spoiler for Ok Tell me what Ark's true Power is:
Spoiler for Does he get the job?:
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2014-11-05, 17:43 | Link #5 | |
Otherworld Wanderer
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Internet Limbo
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Don't get me wrong, Ark is still pretty nice. I also do admit that battle where he teamed up with an Assassin was a pretty cool fight. I also like his fighting style of swordplay & kicks.
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2014-11-05, 20:02 | Link #7 | |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Haha surprising ^^
This is a really good novel. Very much like LMS but more down to earth. The MC is still a little cheat though which says much about LMS. Then again probably nobody would be interested in reading an MC who fails and gets scammed all the time. Quote:
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Last edited by nakie08; 2014-11-05 at 23:02. |
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2014-11-05, 21:11 | Link #8 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Quote:
Spoiler:
Compare this to Ark - Spoiler:
With Weed, you very soon start wanting somebody to teach him a lesson - with Ark, you want to cheer for him. Last edited by SinsI; 2014-11-05 at 21:30. |
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2014-11-05, 21:58 | Link #9 | |
Otherworld Wanderer
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Internet Limbo
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Everyone has their own opinion of course. Though I would like to add some stuff... Is he a "Marty Stu"? That's debatable, but all of his skills & know how is justified or given enough background. Like having prepared for a year solely for entering the game, from martial arts to knowledge & info about the game & anything in between that he might need, those who see him see & know him know how insanely "obsessed & driven" he is (And that's just in the 1st chapter). His cooking know how from his life taking care of his family, his long patience from working on mind numbing jobs, money making experience from his various down trodden child labor days. You'd also be surprised on just how a lot of 'well do' people can't even break an egg properly so cooking it is even beyond them (they exist, so does all those gamers who don't sleep for days). So all those cons you've listed really has been justified & has proper story backing by the author throughout the tale. He worked very hard for everything he has & can do, though it has twisted his personality. Also he has his own views on money so borrowing from those he knows is a big No for him. I do like both Weed & Ark. They are both clever & driven, knowing what they want & is willing to do what they must to achieve their goals. Although Ark is definitely more likable & relate-able (which to most are the biggest factors I guess) than Weed though, and I can see why some people get annoyed by him. So again, you don't like LMS & Weed? Oh well, too bad. No biggie. Ark is like that but just as fun (for me) so no body loses really.
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2014-11-05, 22:35 | Link #10 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
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I can't remember a time when Weed was really in trouble. Real trouble like you'll feel bad for him or something. Weed IS Marty Stuish IMO.
Spoiler:
And those reasons for his strengths is what made it more unbelievable for me. They sounded like reasons the author made up on the spot. "And Weed countered him on the last moment by grabbing the arrow and threw it back at the opponent. Oh, he was able to because he was a ninja in the past" (note: Fanfic, didn't happen xp) Don't get me wrong, I love LMS. It's very satisfying to read about him kicking ass. I read up to volume 25 swimming through summaries and GTs. Back to Ark. Has anyone here read ahead of the current translations? Can you people spoil me on Spoiler:
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2014-11-05, 23:11 | Link #11 |
Member
Join Date: May 2011
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Weed is Gary Stu with plot armor thicker than nuclear reactor's wall.
For example when he invested his money into his own town his choice of invest was the same with another guild who own another town but the NPC magically didn't do as he was told to do (and only just this once too) and invest in Art instead so Weed reap benefit while other guild got f*^&ed from their choice, yeah right. There's no 'choice and consequence' at all. Whatever he did it'll always turn good for him. When he has to make party to tackle the quest he always tried to screw his party member and get all (or the best) the loots for himself and those ppl still willing to call him friend, believable.. right? He's no difference than those loan shark in the first Vol., heck I'll say he's worse. Ark is also greedy but he holds it in check just like when he help merchant friend of his. He makes it a win-win situation not I_win-screw_the_rest. That make Ark way way better than Weed in my book. |
2014-11-06, 01:35 | Link #12 |
Time Traveller
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Philippines
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This is awefully really similar to Legendary Moonlight sculpture
where (LMS - ARK) Real name: Hyun Lee - Hyun Woo Pets/familliars: Dark Knight - Skull >that evolves to skeleton warior (the undead familliar) Toori - Bat >that evovle into a young kid noble vampire (the vampire familliar) Cow(various name)/biryong/wyverns - Snake >evolve into a transformable monster that can be ride (the carrier familliar and the flyers) Settings: >poorfag >one famiily in hospital >has one old guy acquaintance that got connections with all sort of people, then persuaded to play the game >earns money by gaming >improving other stuff other than own fighting and level >gains secret job, that MC did not like and regret at first >has public icon as a rival and has a really dark attitude unknown to everyone and hates MC cuz stealing glory >MC legends only known to NPC and a mystery to players >dislike being known to players >money grubber (ark altho is only at some point) >VRMMO >The creator of game has objective, some sort of conspiracy >everything else that familliar in LMS to ark if you gonna differentiate the two my answer will be LMS is light hearted comedy kind of gary-stu, ARK is slightly darker version of LMS, and LMS has slow pacing in their arcs(by putting a lot of fillers) while ARK can do it in a volume or less. (just like dragon ball z and dragonball z kai) |
2014-11-06, 02:27 | Link #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
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Yeah I don't mind either of them, I enjoy both as I find them to be really fun to read. I'm a really big fan of LN's and media in general where the underdog's make something of themselves. Although if I had to choose between them I would choose LMS only because there are more volumes translated in English that I have read, on the other hand I have only read the translated parts of ARK and there is still a long way to go.
With that said, I have actually read some fan fictions of LMS that I find to be more enjoyable than both of these novels. Also I find Only Sense Online and Log Horizon to be more enjoyable than both. Just my 2 cents. Anyway back on topic, it is really shocking that this didn't have a thread. One thing that I find annoying about this novel is that there are way too many scumbags, so many people in this novel are just scum. I thought the scumbag quota for novels is capped at 3 but this seems to have shattered that with the level of scum. |
2014-11-06, 03:06 | Link #14 | |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Quote:
That's how online games often are in my experience, full of two faced scumbags waiting to scam you off of your hard earned gold. So whenever I play an MMO I usually do what Ark does, never trust anyone (except people I know IRL, then I can just trash his ass if he screws me over ^^)
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2014-11-06, 03:15 | Link #15 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
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@iLikePotatoes: I enjoy the fan fictions on Royal Road website too ^^ such as Seeker of Myth, Silent Wave, Tales of Adventure, Dragon's Road, and Chronicles of the Blade ^^ or some original stories like Don't fear the reaper, and Emperor Saga ^^ but the pain when you reach the lastest updates... >__<
On to the topic, for me, Ark's most enjoyable point is that the ones who apply martial arts into the game include not only MC, but also other people (the unique one, not mass-produced mobs like the SwordNoobs) ^^ As for LMS, I think that it makes sense since the guy is supposed to become the one and only emperor ^^ |
2014-11-06, 03:45 | Link #16 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Quote:
Weed doesn't want to "waste" money on bus fare? Please subtract an additional hour from his gaming time since he is using inefficient transportation method. He shops not in supermarket, but in ordinary market? That's another half an hour lost due to negotiating with each individual shopkeeper. Weed keeps hens and small garden? Cooks for the whole family? Cleans the whole house? You know the drill - if you try to live frugally, you pay for it with your time. Add his exercises, time to sleep - and it becomes obvious that his gaming time should be less than that of many, many other players. That's the thing I like about Ark - he is painfully aware that he cannot afford not to concentrate on his main priority, and even had to quit his part-time jobs not to be hopelessly left behind by other candidates. Last edited by SinsI; 2014-11-06 at 03:57. |
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2014-11-06, 13:16 | Link #17 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
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I enjoy LMS better than Ark. I don't mind OPness as seeing things done cleverly is way more interesting than having a down-to-earth character. Stealing kills yet never getting caught due to doing manual labor and being stealthy? Having people pay you for a quest and then basically do it for you? His preparations before fighting Lich Shire?
Weed works hard for everything and accomplish it with wit and humor. Even when he scams others, he does it without them noticing! I am fine with Weed not being 'schooled' as many others wish, he spent all his life being put down. My qualm with Ark is just that he is not personable, humorous or consistently clever. In volume 1 the only thing I can applaud him for his making the mice and wolves fight each other. Though using the canon on the lake was marvelous. He has small downs, but he then thinks something up to ROLFstomp it. I don't see how Ark is less of a Gary Stu. Ark is the story of someone currently facing difficulties. LMS is the story of someone who, through hard work, no longer has to worry about money yet is unable to be 'normal' due to his childhood. Edit: I quite enjoy Only Sense, it's really funny even though there's no way a MMO is full of combat junkies. If it is, why isn't her shop constantly running out of stock due to all the buffs she sells? I have a few emergency consumables that make sure to always have, it just doesn't make sense. Last edited by Altrelo; 2014-11-06 at 13:29. |
2014-11-06, 14:05 | Link #18 |
I'm a sucker for Harem
Join Date: Aug 2004
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When I was reading Ark I was reminded of all the things that went on in Everquest / World Of Warcraft.
KSing from a NPC at a certain level lowers your 'faction'. PVP dudes will backstab you the MOMENT a good drop happens. People who play 'Holy' characters tend to become 'Holier than Thou' types in a crisis. Training NPC Mobs onto other NPC mobs (Usually nerfed) Ebaying all your stuff. Training Faction to ridiculous levels (For Example, Dark Elves in the Light Elf Town) People who are helped by entire gangs of flunkies just to get the bragging rights. Ark reads like a history book to me.
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korean novel |
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