Ark

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Kim Hyun Woo lived the life of the wealthy thanks to his parents. But one day, he received a phone call informing him of a traffic accident which involved his parents. His father had died and his mother was hospitalized in critical condition. The normal life he once knew, collapsed…

They sold their house, cancelled various insurance plans, and moved to a one room apartment. And after a few years, Hyun Woo spends four to six hours tending to his mother and worked to pay for her medical bills.

One day, one of his Instructors recommended him for position in a company called Global Exos, who made an announcement of making history with the newest technological invention.

Associated Names
One entry per line
아크
Related Series
Ark The Legend (Sequel)
Recommendations
The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor (12)
Emperor of Solo Play (4)
Zhan Long (2)
Shura’s Wrath (2)
Ark The Legend (2)
Overgeared (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. The Blissful World Of VRMMORPGs
  2. game-affiliated novels
  3. second list cont,
  4. Good reads
  5. Game System / VRMMORPG Novels I have read

Latest Release

Date Group Release
07/19/13 Japtem v1c1
06/30/13 Japtem v1c0
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43 Reviews sorted by


Amplify
Amplify rated it
June 12, 2016
Status: v24c8
Before I go in depth; let me go ahead and say that Ark isn't really a bad novel and you could definitely do worse if you want to read a VRMMO novel, but you could also go read The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor (henceforth 'LMS') instead of this if you haven't done so yet.

Ark was written after LMS was and it shows, as the story reads as an LMS tribute at best and an LMS fanfic at worst. The names are all different, the basic ways the virtual world works are... more>> all different, but the structure and flow of the story, along with many of the characters and motivations almost all have obvious analogs with LMS, down to the MC being a less charismatic version of the LMS protagonist.

Ark does a couple of things right; a few of his plans contain some interesting strategical elements, and the sheer creative depths he goes to in order make a few more gold coins can be entertaining. Sadly, this comes at the cost of the plot running in 4 to 5 volume 'loops', as well as the story being shallow compared to LMS.
What do I mean about loops? Here's how roughly 4 volumes of Ark tend to go:
1: Ark gets an oddly specific or unusual skill, most likely from advancing his class quest storyline.
2: This new ability turns out to be useful to Ark, he uses it a lot and makes a good profit from it.
3: Crisis! Something happens and only somebody with the new ability Ark has can save the day!
3.5: If that doesn't work, miracle nursing is a get out of jail free card that will fix the situation every time.
4: The day is saved thanks to Ark, he then rips off as many people as he can, usually in an unkind way.
5: Ark finds he's relying too much on his new skill and it's getting his ass kicked by the new monster of the day, he goes back to his martial arts basics, practices a lot and vows never to overuse the previous skill again.
6: Return to step 1.

That's all the story is when you distill it down to the basic elements, it goes through the motions about five times and I was grinding my teeth a bit towards the end, then it rushes the introduction and beating of the final boss and everything else in a few short volumes; with the help of plenty of deus ex machina.

Honestly though, my biggest gripe with the series is that the world in LMS feels like a living, breathing, and organic world; rich detail is given about many aspects of it which in turn paint the image of a world of endless possibilities, where you can play for any reason and truly do whatever you like. Conversely, the world in Ark feels almost wooden and little is described that Ark is not about to experience first hand, giving the world of Ark an almost hollow feeling to it.
The protagonist of LMS exists for his world and he only adds to the depth of it, but the way the world of Ark is written makes it exist for him alone and that only detracts from it.

To repeat what I said at the start; this isn't a bad novel and if you're looking for more VRMMO novels to read then this is a decent choice, just do not expect it to be better than LMS as it will never be as good as it. <<less
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acoleman2
acoleman2 rated it
December 7, 2016
Status: Completed
First, this a 4 star novel, not a 5 star novel. However, because people are being really unfair with their ratings I decided to give it 5 to counter balance that. Everyone keeps comparing Ark to LMS. While they are similar, it is not more than Zhan Long is similar to LMS. The difference is Ark is more tolerable than Zhan Long. I'm not going to go on about why everyone is wrong. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Good translations, lots of chapters, and completed so you can... more>> binge it
2. Solid game elements and virtual world
3. MC embraces a more villainous role among players, but a well-liked role among NPCs, fun to have the duality.
4. Some character development for MC.

Cons:
1. NPC interactions get annoying.
2. Repetition is the bread and butter of this author.
3. People never seem to learn to just not mess with the MC, and the villains are too s*upid.
4. Most other players are basically a nonfactor in the story, which is annoying if you like things like guilds and social interaction which are the hallmark of MMOs. Basically, this feels like someone is playing a VRRPG, rather than an MMO. The real world stuff is mostly s*upid. That being said, the game elements and quests and so on are key to these stories, and they're well done here. Combine that with the quality translations, the large number of chapters, and fact that the novel is completed and fully translated? This story gets a 4 star rating. Also, I dropped LMS, but didn't drop this. If that tells you anything. <<less
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Haruko
Haruko rated it
June 4, 2017
Status: v7c5
I just dont understand why some ppl give this novel poor ratings.

Sure yeah, Ark is similar to LMS but so is majority of the other works similar to something else, so there is no need to diss it because of it. And more importantly Ark is not a copy of lms and has its own plot and peronally I find it a lot more entartaining.

Sure, there is sometimes when character / plot irritates me but it is just a tiny part of the whole thing and sometimes those anoying parts... more>> are relevant for the bigger picture, so they are not a minus, at least in my opinion.

So give this novel a try and dont prejudge it because of dissing lms fans. <<less
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miles118
miles118 rated it
July 12, 2016
Status: --
I don't get all the reviews. Sure it is not as good as LMS, but it is still one of the best VRMMO novel out there. The MC is not that much OP compared to LMS and it is a good thing in my opinion. He uses all his items well and con everybody, so he is a very smart MC. Very underate MC. I rated it 5 because the novel doesn't deserve this grade. I still love LMS, but it is a good alternative.
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eseul
eseul rated it
April 21, 2017
Status: v1c0
I feel like you need to understand the Korean culture before you rave about claiming "plagiarism"! It happens with Kdrama, Kpop, fashion, EVERYTHING. When one thing gets popular the idea will wave over the whole industry where people will get inspired through it and add their own twist. I feel like this is the case with Ark vs Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. If you get to the nitty gritty details of the chapter, the way the author goes about the story is different. They are both virtual reality and they both... more>> make their money through the game so you can't help having the same elements. But, this story has original quest ideas and adventure plots. The author added enough of his own personality and I very much appreciate his work. <<less
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Ginvegan
Ginvegan rated it
April 10, 2017
Status: v8c9
I have only read 9 volumes, I'll probably finish it before next week. However, I felt compelled to write this review because of the bad ones. This novel is similar to LMS in the same way UFC is to boxing. There is a virtual reality game and the MC has struggled economically and uses the game to pay for life. That being said everything else is different, their reasons are different. Ark is applying for a job, the world is different, with dimensions, underwater worlds, and the Darkness. The Villains... more>> are extremely unlikable and unrelatable. The reviews for this story emphasize the similarities, but truth be told the world of Ark is a lot smaller and too different. And to those who claim Ark is a douche who doesn't care for anyone, why do you think he possesses Advanced Nursing and the many titles? This novel is not my favorite novel, however, I feel appalled at all the sh*t it gets because it has some similarities to LMS. <<less
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keima
keima rated it
May 1, 2017
Status: --
Very similar to LMS, but that's understandable since the LMS concept was popular of course there'll be a lot of other novels with similar genre, but even if ARK is similar to LMS it's still different in some ways I actually think there's SAO element in the novel. For me it's a good novel I love the plot development, the mysteries, the slow love development, the character development, and the idiot and absurd characters that made reading fun especially the familiars of the MC, very lovable! Made me want to... more>> get a snake xD <<less
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BorjGali
BorjGali rated it
March 19, 2017
Status: v6c3
I'll be frank, I really don't like this LN. In fact, I downright hate it. I couldn't even read a quarter of the story before I got fed up with it.

The reason I hate this LN so much is, when compared to the other Korean LN "The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor", they are, trope for trope, as identical as you can get without plagiarism suits happening. Ark's author would be the one getting sued. And LMS is better anyway.

Let me list the similarities (don't worry, no spoilers) :

The MCs of both... more>> stories are poor AF, for slightly different but ultimately irrelevant reasons. They both have cute little sisters, and an ailing parental figure (grandma and mom for LMS and Ark, respectively). They are both therefore jerks with gold hearts and are obsessed with caring for their families by auctioning items from a 'true' virtual reality game a la SAO (with fewer flaws) (not to say there are no flaws) (writers really can't do game design for some reason) for real-world cash.

Therefore, they are practically OCD when it comes to collecting japtem, aka. "20 bear asses".

Both LNs feature romantically hopeless martial artists that join the game to have enjoyable fights. Said martial artists were sought out by both MCs in order to improve the MCs' skills in-game via application of IRL techniques learned from said martial artists off-screen.

Both LNs feature a certain merchant player that the MC shamelessly takes advantage of.

Each MC has a single, rich, as*hole antagonist that's basically the #1 account in the game before the MC comes around.

Within the game, both MCs get locked into shitty-looking 'hidden classes' early on. #badgamedesign

Both MCs have minions. Both MCs treat their minions abominably, yet somehow retain their loyalty. (But Ark's minions are #different)

Pretty girls in general (and one romantic-interest girl in particular) hang all over the MC for no apparent reason. (Ark does this in a much skeevier fashion than LMS) (which actually goes about it halfway decently and even builds up to it).

***

Quite a list.

Literally the only differences are in minor details, and even then LMS comes out on top.

LMS at least runs with the question of, "If you live in a world where combat proficiency is necessary, of what use are artistic professions?" Weed (the MC of LMS) gets forced into the artistic Sculptor class and becomes a boss anyway. On the other hand, the class Ark (the titular MC of Ark) is handed is just some ban*l assassin/beast tamer knockoff (which involves a rather s*upid name and backstory, to boot).

Even the game mechanics are virtually identical, to an inexcusable degree. The death penalty is slightly different between games, there's a differing random stat type or two, Ark uses single-use 'scrolls', the quest difficulties use ever so slightly different ranking systems and... that's it. That's all the differences. Ark just avoids gaining "Fame" stat where Weed actively increases his "Fame" stat, which in plot terms means literally nothing.

***

I mean, look at all this. What am I supposed to rate Ark as?? It really, really doesn't have any merits to call its' own. I won't be finishing the story; so, sorry. <<less
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UnknownReader27
UnknownReader27 rated it
July 20, 2019
Status: --
I think that the story was very good. But the personality and s*upidy of the MC ruined it for me. Why?

First, there was this beautiful woman that he met once, and he met her again ingame, but that time that woman was already in a team. And the team captain of that team was looking down on him. And when they met the second time ingame, the MC and the captain argue and this woman still follow the captain after that. But this s*upid MC feels like he was betrayed... more>> by this woman. Wtf? You only met thrice and you think that she would choose you over his captain that she always played along with? S*upid.

Second, there was this guild war something, and MCs opponent was this beautiful woman' group. Everything was going well already but because of the MCs s*upidity, they suffered a setback. Why? Its because when he was going to assassinate the captain of the opponent, that captain made the beautiful woman as a shield but this s*upid MC altered his attack because he did not want to hurt this lady. Wtf? So s*upid, if I was a teammate of this MC, then Im really going to beat the sh*t out of him. Fcking s*upid, they're in the guild war, and you didnt want to hurt her even if his your opponent. I guess that the author was a s*upid fan of a beautiful women thats why he made the MC like that. And after that, the MC did not move and he was the one who was bombarded by many attacks, and because of his s*upidity, their support sacrificed her own life to save him. And when he was saved, did you know what was in his mind? He's relieved that he didnot hurt that goddamn beautiful woman, and he's angry for that captain because of making that beautiful woman as his shield. And he was angry because they killed the support girl. Wtf? His s*upidity was the reason why that support died, and he did not even felt guilt only hatred for that captain. He was s*upid, of course the opponent will kill that support because they were enemy, they're not like you, a s*upid MC, that will not hurt an opponent because its your goddamn crush. Fck you MC, and fck you author for that. For me, this MC has no backbone, and he's like a perfect example of Hoes (crush that he only met a few times) before bros (loyal teammates or friends) and in fact for me, he betrayed his friends, he betrayed his friends effort and expectations just because of his crush thay he only met a few times. Fck, so s*upid and because the author was the one who designed this MC, I think he's also too.

Third, there was this one time that the MC was being blocked by a gangster or something that was hired to beat him up. But they did not know that the MC was practicing many martial arts. But do you know what this s*upid MC did? He was scared witless and ran like a madman, and when he was captured, he was beaten to a pulp but he did not even fight back. Fck you author, why did you even let him learn martial arts. So fcking s*upid, coward, no backbone, s*upid dog that chases bones (beautiful woman), petty, this is the MC of this novel, and I think that the author too. Hahahaha

There were many more s*upid moments of this MC but Im already fed up to mention more <<less
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Tully
Tully rated it
October 20, 2018
Status: Completed
First of all, one should notice that most of those who rated below 4 or 3 were not even able to read even half of the novel. Yes, they were only able to see the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately for many, this is complete already therefore, you can appreciate the plot development much better. It's worth it, I promise.

Well I finished this already awhile back. I diligently waited for updates while it was still in progress. Now there's a Sequel called 'Ark The Legend'. I'm disappointed that a lot... more>> of people keep comparing this to LMS and Weed when they are clearly different. I'm a critical reader, I don't finish books based on character development, plot, etc. But I finished this book.

1. Good pacing. If you read stallion novels, you'd find out this novel is quite good--it doesnt rush. It allows for a normal pacing. The author knows how to prolong and shorten arcs. It's not perfect but it's better. I never liked fast-paced novels, with too OP characters. I'm a real novel reader, online and hardbound.

2. Ark has relatable motives. People in the comments under the chapters kept complaining about him being a scammer. At some point he is but this is not a transmigration novel to a game world. He's really playing a game. And Ark knows that. He emphisizes that to him playing is earning money for his family not leasurely like the others. You must read the novel in the context of the character, not yours.

3. The side characters are awesome. You'll see more of them in future chapters. But I really love the supporting line-up esp. His best bro hahah and let us not forget his pets. You'll be able to appreciate each of of their charms. And Ark treats them based on their character. If you think deep enough how to treat people, you'll understand why he responds harshly to one of his pets. That's why I really love the author, she seems well-read or someone with deep understanding of human nature.

4. Not much emphasis on romance. Which I think is good. Ark is very focused on his gameplay.

5. He's really hidden. Like I can't explain how awesome how he's truly hidden and how the reveal is so satisfying.

6. The antagonists aren't all disposable. You'll understand what I mean when you reach the end and read the Sequel.
Spoiler

Alan gets his bad ending in Ark but he shows up in the sequel. You'll see something surprising.

[collapse]

Well that's it. Just read level-headedly. Dont read on your own terms but based on the character's motives and personality. <<less
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DeDraNix
DeDraNix rated it
June 15, 2016
Status: --
Ark is like LMS, except very boring. The main character is weak as hell. I recommend LMS to anyone who wants to read Ark and advice not to read this.
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Kerbasi
Kerbasi rated it
March 13, 2016
Status: --
Since I was waiting for more LMS updates, I heard that Ark was similar in its aspects and decided to pick this up. As the other reviewers have said, LMS and Ark are pretty similar in a way. The main plots are similar, but the flow of the story is different. Although the novel was pretty good, I just didn't like the fact that Ark's enemies are just brainless and unreasonable. Their grudges are petty and that's what eggs them on to fight against Ark no matter what. They just... more>> want revenge and would do anything to get it, even using their wealth in RL to beat him up RL. In this aspect, LMS characters seem more mature.

Anyway, I stopped reading at volume 11. I just didn't feel like reading it anymore as it didn't really capture me. Maybe I'll pick it up again once summer break comes along, but for now, I really don't feel like continuing yet. <<less
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blackfeather
blackfeather rated it
June 30, 2017
Status: --
I will be clear. The beginning was not bad and I enjoyed it but it degenerates after a little time. Sincerely, I was pretty bored on the last books (like from volume 21) and only after a long time I managed to achieve the willpower to continue reading hoping (but not expecting, one of the reasons I stopped before) that the end was good. It wasnt. It is worse that all the previous story combined.

About the psychology of Ark I prefer him being rotten but...

... more>>
Spoiler

One thing I cannot stand up (and disafortunately, it happens a lot on a lot of stories) is the MC being s*upid, doing the less logical actions... and then all of that being distorted by the story to persuade us that his thinking is intelligent.

The villains are usually much more prepared and with greater planning but what does it matter on the face of ridiculously plot armor? The ending is horrible on that point. I was yawning all the time since Ark will win at the end even it doesnt make sense.

Let is see.

The villains prepare themselves during all the story. Ark and the others are on complete oblivion.

The villains have a lot of monsters under Demonic Influence Bonus with Alan guiding them. Obviously Ark should die since it is the logical result. But does he? No, of course. He gets help from Wormer (another boring and s*upid character that ignores all the game logic to allow Ark to cheat on the future) that coincidentally has a secret base where Alan and the others would not discover because you know... plot sake. Dont mention Alan not being able to kill Ark when the Ruin Knight is basically an OP class compared to Eternal Soul (and Ark's class is broken at the same time so imagine).

Then Ark exits his hiding spot and Alan corners them at the door of the secret base when they retreat. Ark escapes and traps Alan with Demonic Distortion (it is a little convenient but this is the only part I can accept up to now since it is pretty possible.)

Ha, but Alan commands his friend servant to stop Ark with a bone dragon. The bone dragon is obviously OP and Ark will not win at all. But you know what? The bone dragon is commanded to protect the servant at all costs and Ark uses him as hostage. When the bone dragon's health is 20% the servant su*cides to free the bone dragon from Ark's control. Of course, dont question why that servant is so s*upid to not kill himself when the bone dragon's health is 90%. Dont question why they dont forcefully free the bone dragon from its constraints when its health falls without counterattacking. We are not supposed to question that.

Then Alan invades Shangri to get info about Silvana and all of that. But he doesnt have time to close all traces to avoid Ark's investigation on the future. Let is say for plot sake he couldnt.

Alan invades Silvana. A lot of days before Ark knows about it, nothing can stop our true hero... nothing but a s*upid teleporter of Wormer that lets Ark skip all the floors of the dungeon and arrive before him. Then they proceed to create a lot of traps (that they should not be able to make, because of dungeon 's rules or because there are not materials but whatever), a fortress... to stop Alan's goal.

Despite all of that, our hero goes over their cheats (using the brain, thing that Ark doesnt. Although I have to say I believe the author said previously you cannot be shallowed by monster... I have for all the sides) and gets into the hell river. He gets the X stone the evil guys wanted and sends it with the teleporter to the base (yup, Alan stole the original machine from Wormer, once more you show that you plan more than your nemesis), then they flood the river using the hell stone to destroy Silvana and they escape themselves with the teleporter. Or not... Because conveniently the teleporter didnt work. Ark uses this opportunity to try to get the hell stone to stop the flooding (another thing he should not be able to do because Alan destroyed the mechanism. Dont worry, Wormer will fix it. Alan and the others will not attack him... It would be too easy. But the system said you could not stop the flooding until it has been finished. f*ck the system!). Well, after a boring fight over the hell stone, of course, Ark gets it even if the villains have more members and he stops the flooding (the only thing I will say it is that he stops it when it is basically on the surface so I will accept it as the flooding being finished and ignore the system message).

It doesnt matter. Alan has got the heart and the flooding was only secondary. But then Alan goes to the base and complains to the dark bishop about the teleporter. He says he destroyed it because he cannot allow the base to be compromised. It is a little of a weak argument since the second teleportation will be inmediately after the first (to begin with, why could they not teleport with the heart at the same time), but I can understand it. Then he says he doesnt need Alan and kills him and other members. Then a necklace the bishop/red man give him activates and our hero's character info is erased.

Ok, this is so s*upid that you want to vomit.

  • Dont reduce your forces. Also, absolutely dont remove a Ruin Knight. We are talking about the most OP class we have ever seen (if we dont count Red Man, but that class is cheat god level)
  • If you need foreigners to sacrifice to the Dark Lord then sacrifice Ark and your enemies, or simply some bystanders on the road.
  • Ah, but I need to erase its information for them to count as sacrifices. And I only can erase with the necklace that only works on chaotic players. (yeah, pretty convenient that the only item you have to erase characters only works on your allied forces). Whatever, then hunt (I mean recruit) some less valuable chaotic players and sacrifice them instead of the helpful ones. Even if you have to kill the ones on the story you can agree with Alan beforehand and erase the disposable ones. Alan will not mind some of the worthless avengers. Or you can kill some of them with convenient accidents like it happened on Silvana. Anyway, dont go killing the clearly useful Ruin Knight. Kill any of the others.
  • On top of that, if you read the remaining story there is not mention about the Dark Lord actually needing sacrifices. Nothing at all. Only there for plot's sake. Bad, just bad.

Whatever, now that our hero is removed we would have to go back to Ark. Na, let is support Red Man (you could have given him a name). Once more, we have Red Man on the absolute advantage. He has his fortress, all the pieces, let is begin the Dark Lord's resurrection with overwhelming defenses.

Once more, Ark discovers it. How exciting (sarcasm). Once more, they dont have information at all about the place but miraculously the get the info. Ok, the expedition begins.

Then we have an overwhelming amount of monsters, cannons, etc... and a fortress with a cheating shield. The time is running out. But dont fear. Ark will destroy the cannons and the time will be corrected to give them more because if not the bad guys that actually have planned will win.

Everything is on vain. The shield is impregnable. Let is smash Shangri vs it with energy that I didnt have but I get it because of plot. Even then it is not enough. The dark bishop reinforces the shield and there is not way to break through. Yup, the villains have won like it must be. Noooooooo! Of course, Isyuram (a forgettable side character) would have entered Rwibe (the fortress) previously, be trapped inside and exit hitting the ceiling with so much luck that he accomplishes it when the bishop is performing the ceremony to support the shield and hits him on the *censored* interrupting it and allowing Shangri to penetrate the shield. I have no words for such a beautiful and well thought writing.

After that, bla, bla, bla, they defeat the bishop easily and open the door to the ceremony (with the help of plot armor again) and get to see Red Man and Dark Lord Lucifer. Then Lucifer kill them with a AOE skill. Finally, justice has been served. THE END.

We would want to, but plot armor is not dead, you know. They revive because whatever and they attack again. And they deal damage that they should not be able to do to a lv 1500 elite boss (at this point of the story, I think all of you will be aware of it. THE LEVEL MEANS NOTHING ON THIS STORY). Then, Ark uses Entrusted volumes with the help of Curio. (Of course, Curio only gets the good effects with the blood sucking skill. I am almost 100 % the blood sucking skill can only get the skill, that is entrusted volumes and not the result but well, let is say it is like that even if it doesnt make sense at 100%.) and copies Lucifer AOE. (Then Curio should use the skill, but magically it is used by Ark. Again Curio was not affected by the AOE since it was unsummoned but then he could not copy it. Whatever, f*ck logic. Let is say since Curio is Ark's summon the skill is applied based on the master and the master is the one to apply it. What? It doesnt make sense? Well, you will see that the last 5 volumes are nonsense following nonsense so it is normal now). Well, to summarize, Ark kills Lucifer and the Red Man.

Yup, that Red Man. You know, he was lv999, like almost 500 levels higher than Ark. You will think he could kill Ark with a finger. Naaaaaaaa. I will repeat. Levels doesnt mean nothing, they are only numbers the author throws to our face. But, but... it is an automated programm. It doesnt matter a 200% increase on speed, Ark should not be able to be as fast as his. Dont worry about unnecessary things. Have you read the description of chakra wave? That is so OP that you want to cry. And it seems it is the class basic skill like Dark Strike is for Ark. So even if their stats were the same the difference between classes.... Two words, PLOT ARMOR.

Therefore, Ark wins. But then, Alan appears. He uses its default of logic abilities, kill all the expedition and proclaims himself Dark Lord. Ruin Knight addvances to the last class. Ruin Lord and he lives a fulfilling life with lots of money and influence after he blackmails Global Exos. Ark dies on poverty for challenging Alan and everyone is happy. Yup, final happy ending. HOORAY, EVIL TRIUMPHS!!!

[collapse]

xD, I guess I support Alan a little. Well, actually I think he has a lot of faults. The only thing is that between him and Ark and his team of s*upid plot team the answer is pretty clear. And I really hate the fact the author went with the common line of the rich, proud antagonist..., but that is not the character's fault but the creator's.

Spoiler

Alan, your brain is not as bad as Ark but dont let yourself be caught by Global Exos so easily (although I have to say Global Exos method was a little unreal)

Alan, you use the things and think ahead. That is pretty good. But you should not expose yourself so much to attacks, you should have acted behind the scenes.

Even if it didnt make sense for Red Man to betray you the way he did, it is true that he could have betrayed you when everything was done. You have to get something that puts you on a position he cannot have any other choice but to accept.

Sigh, at the end you didnt think as much as I would like you to. Although, a great part of them is consequence of Ark's plot armor so I guess it is not so bad.

[collapse]

Anyway, that is. If someone has actually read all the complaints, I have to congratulate you, xD. I didnt really think someone could stand it. Now, I guess you know the end is basically tr*sh.

I rated 2 because it has its good moments even if they are few. I dont think I will read the sequel since if I do that will mean I didnt have at all any other thing to read and I hope that case never happens, :P. <<less
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Sae
Sae rated it
November 16, 2016
Status: v12c6
5/10. Usually I would finish a completely translated novel in one go, but I managed to lose my interest and reading this became a chore until I can't take it anymore, and it upsets me because I'm not even halfway through. This novel is one of those that can be considered okay, but also somehow not okay because it's simply lacking. Starting out great and fresh and even endearing, but the story and characters gradually becomes jumbled and messy. There are too many aspects to focus on, that's where things... more>> get unmanageable and nothing ever shines in the story.

Let's not even mention the real world where MC plays 20 hours and practices martial arts for another several hours a day (and no you can't play this vr game while sleeping) ; where everyone around him, except for his mother in the hospital, is dragged into the game no matter their jobs, age, financial status, etc. In an unbelievable way. That's right, let's just try to ignore all that because this is gaming novel.

Now to the game. SO REAL it is a new world and a second life for everyone, I doubt the team creating this world could have done this in one life time, no wonder they all went a little wrong in their head. But it's still a game. No matter how real there should still be reminder of it being a game but the novel is losing it. All characters are shown to be invested in this game as if it's their main life. Skills, leveling, stat, all faded into the background while everything turns into endless power struggle. Game elements are less and less of a role. Tactics? Glossed over and called A-1, B-4, etc. But who knows what they look like.

The one thing responsible for this is MC. It's like a standard Korean comedy drama. Irl the game company has power and could easily find out his identity but kept being made to fail for dumb reasons. Side characters are given decent screen time but they gradually become revolving around him. The merchant "friend" for example, initially a good character, turn an annoying existence to meet hardship and cause troubles, then becomes expectant, reliant on MC and then completely be used by MC.

Now to MC himself. Idek.
He is smart, persistent and very focused on his goal which is great. Even if everything he needs is there to conveniently solve his problems, at least he shows clever grasping of opportunities and eloquent reasoning, planning as well as persuasion.

But he is also an immature double standard hypocrite. I don't mind reading a novel about a bad guy or even a hypocrite, as long as the novel is clear about it. But this one is not. Others used him, he cursed and hated and grudged, but he also used others. Alan is two faced and MC hated him for that, but MC has been acting two faced since the start of the game, say one thing but think another. Our MC is always raging and cursing too, so much maturity for someone who's supposed to have played lots of game and experienced lots of hardship in real life.

That aside, MC loves gaming, or so he should and we should get some joy reading about him playing, but he turned mad making money. Whatever he does, ultimately it's money money money. I don't blame him, he desperately needs money. But to use his mother's condition to keep increasing the money he needs skyhigh in the span of just 1 year, and then use his need for money into his motivation of playing the game is ruining the novel itself, because we all realize after all his mother is of no role for the novel but a reason to drive MC to play game, ugh (I think my mind is going circle, but tldr, that's just crappy). Now beside his greed and shameless scheming which were fun but got old fast, the story is heavy beyond necessary.

Plot? Plot holes? Loose logic? I can't even pay attention at this point. <<less
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Eriht
Eriht rated it
November 29, 2018
Status: v3
There was a boy. One day boy meet random girl in "waiting room" and exchanged basic greetings with her. For months they never saw themselves again, since they were complete strangers. They meet in game, told Hi. But girl was in party with best player who IGNORED our boy.

HOW COULD HE!!!

From now he was always comparing himself and desiring revenge. Also neither love or even friendship was involved but... HE WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR THIS

Spoiler

Also:

  • MC is greedy for money all the time - he will save even copper coin if he can.
    • (gold=1$, silver = cent so just imagine value of copper coin)
  • whole volume he worked hard all the time for contribution points - only to throw them away at the end...
    [collapse]
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Aeternelle
Aeternelle rated it
September 1, 2015
Status: --
Ark is an interesting read that'll keep you entertained for a while, but could shirk you off if you prefer substantial character development.

A lot of people will compare this novel to "The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor" based on these traits ... more>>
Spoiler

The MC Ark is greedy and hardly lets go of any loot. He doesn't trust users and usually butter-up NPCs for advantages and bargains. He controls two pets: An undead skeleton warrior and a vampire bat (almost Lord). He trains and is efficient in martial arts, giving him some advantages in fights. He has a cooking skill to help him boost his training and stats. Oh, a guild called "Hermes" hunts him down.

[collapse]
So yes, you could say he's similar to Weed in LMS, but that doesn't mean he's a copycat.

I think Ark is a lighter read than LMS. Everything is pretty simple to understand and its easy to follow Hyun Woo's (our MC IRL name) train of thoughts while he plays. Something I like in Ark is that his character is more compassionate towards the NPCs
Spoiler

ever since he developed the skill "Nursing". He always smells when something's wrong or he's going to lose money, but at least there's moments of compassion who gives him better rewards (or skills) because he heartfully felt the distress and worked hard for the NPCs in their dire needs. Sure, he's gonna press them for the money and the loot afterwards, but at least he did something worthy first that's not kill-fetch-get.

[collapse]
The combat system is fair, although as with all VRMMO's novel, our main character hardly ever loses. There's always something saving him at the last minute, an ingenious idea that gets the enemy down or a plot to have them lose face (and lots of gold). The story in itself is straight-forward: get the goods, make friends with NPCs (skills, items, minions), punish the offenders (and take their loot), save the world (but there better be a reward at the end). There's a hidden dungeon there, a highly rewarded chain-quest over here, a great deal to be made... A variety of adventures in a variety of settings set across 24 completely translated volumes of medieval-fantasy flavor. His game character levels quite nicely and he gets bonuses so you can always be sure he keeps his skills up-to-date. Although, I'd say his character leveling up and gaining new skills is the only thing that develops. Hyun Woo as a person never change; he is, however, more cunning in the last volumes of the series (or physically buffed 'cause of all the training at the gym heh).

A 'plus' for Ark over LMS is the character interaction between users. Over the course of the volumes, Hyun Woo gain allies and meets lots of people who contributes actively, so you can expect them coming back and provide usefulness and fun times. His ties with IRL people is more natural and less forced. Overall, I think Hyun Woo as Ark is simpler to relate to. Most of Ark's enemies though are always (if not almost) created through grudges. It seems like because of their arrogance and their treatment of others, they're just asking for a beat-down by Ark. They're baddies that need to be punished. Dot.

Don't let the 2 or 3 first translated volumes drive you off if you think the grammar and the quality is low. It improves significantly afterwards.

I definitely recommend reading this series, at least giving it a try. Anyone who enjoys MMORPGs, is on a spree of reading every VRMMO-related novels, likes a greedy MC (with no harems ! woah.), medieval-fantasy setting, powerful lead character with a touch of korean culture. <<less
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MyRAMEN
MyRAMEN rated it
October 19, 2020
Status: c3
There's a reason why v vrmmo novels are niche. They usually always are average or low quality writinf combined with massive filler using stats and skill explanations, usually also rewritten multiple times as an excuse. The same applies here, from what I'd seen so far it looks worse than some of the other vrmmo novels I tried. Likely only has a bigger fanbase due to it being one of the first posted on this site.
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CreamPuffDelights
CreamPuffDelights rated it
February 9, 2018
Status: --
There are good points about the story, and one of the best starts for sure. However, like most Korean VRMMO stories, the MC here is abit of an idiot. However, the one thing that felt the most bitter to me, was in chapter 3.

You know how these korean f*ckups like to stay "hidden" and refuse Fame and all that? This is something similar to that.

The entire time, MC has been holding a grudge and complaining about the main antagonist so far, Alan. Most of the gripe comes with the fact... more>> a girl that seems to like him, and he likes her, keeps on following jackass like a puppy. So MC keeps complaining and holding a grudge, saying he'll be even more famous, get even more money, be even richer.

So what happens in vol 3-4?

Massive global quest, with big ass world boss way above any individual's level. MC has a brain wave, blows up a lake to drown all the monsters, this debuffs the boss and MC literally solos the big ass boss, but because it was in muddy water, no one saw him. However, the system recognizes him, and asks if he would accept the honor.

f*ckup MC says no, loses the fame, the money AND the title that comes with it. Because he tied with jackass Alan, jackass sweeps all the rewards clean, while MC walks away like some lonely wanna be badass, saying that he has to let go of petty things like that.

Want to know what happens barely a few chapters later?

He's complaining, grumbling and acting a jilted wife about his money problems and acting like money grubber again while despising Alan for being who he is. Really? F*ck that's really annyoing. <<less
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chaosmagez
chaosmagez rated it
August 16, 2016
Status: v8c9
MC is still a complete dumbass. Is he brain damaged? How is someone so incapable of learning and cognitive functions even able to exist?

MCs merchant friend is an idiot, who like MC doesn't take caution even after being burned once before.

Antagonists are completely irrational. It makes it even worse that the MC is unable to deal with them decisively when they are so irrationally s*upid too.

I give up, the MC is too s*upid. The only reason he is even able to progress is with diamond plot armor. Too many s*upid... more>> moments overshadow the few decent ones. There are some side characters which have way better personalities than the MC which are the only redeeming features of this story. <<less
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legend143
legend143 rated it
January 22, 2016
Status: --
Just as many people already said Ark comes from almost the same premise as LMS but they went in two different directions. I have to admit that even though Ark is very well written it did not grab me as much as LMS did. It was a great read at the first few chapters but after a while I just lost interest. It does not mean that the story is bad it just did not take my attention that much. It is still a very solid story and many aspects... more>> that I love in a VR-game story was used here so I will still recommend it to those who are looking for that kind of a story. <<less
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