Chapter 25. Dungeon Double Booking (1)
"Hmm..."
My finger, scrolling up and down the screen, paused at the recommended posts. Several threads were praising me to the skies, expressing their gratitude. They had to be the people from the department store I'd safely escorted to the safe zone.
"Jeez, they've written this up like some hero saga..."
Embarrassed, I let out a small fake cough and stared at the screen. The comments were full of people marveling if a girl awakener using drones and a flail really existed, with endless curiosity about the train.
"...Seeing it in writing, it does sound like a weird combo."
I didn't crave the spotlight in the Survivor Gallery, but reading these heartfelt posts from people whose lives I'd saved didn't feel half bad.
"..."
Well, since it had come to this, I lightly tapped the recommend button at the bottom of the post. A small message popped up: 'Recommendation complete.'
"Oh, right."
I turned off my smartphone and stood up.
"Sua, Jiwoo."
I opened the door to car 2, shaking the department store shopping bags stuffed in both hands. I'd put the clothes that seemed good to wear right away into the bags separately from those in the suitcases. The kids, who had just woken up and were rubbing their eyes, fixed their gazes on the bags, their eyes widening into circles.
As I pulled out new clothes and shoes from the bags and laid them out, the kids let out small cheers.
"Whoa..."
Sua hugged the light pink dress to her chest. Even Jiwoo, who usually looked after his little sister, seemed satisfied gazing at the new sneakers.
"Sis, thank you!"
"You're welcome."
Seeing their innocent smiles as they touched the new clothes made sweeping the department store feel totally worth it.
"If the sizes don't fit, let me know. I grabbed plenty."
The kids were eager to try on every single item in the bags, so I stepped out to give them space. Back in car 1, I started checking the gallery's trends.
The board was still dominated by the department store rescue post with the most recommendations, but glancing at the general posts revealed other topics bubbling up.
"Hmm..."
My expression gradually hardened. Lately, the gallery trends had been getting uglier. It was good that more awakeners were figuring out how to fight monsters and that safe zones, big and small, were popping up.
But now humans were fighting tooth and nail over territory, food, and good bases.
In this lawless world, some humans were seizing the opportunity to openly pillage, assault, or worse.
I'd figured scum like that might show up eventually, but damn, they were here already.
"Way too soon..."
I'd thought it was still too early. With the gallery, the exchange, and safe zones emerging one by one, it didn't feel like full-blown apocalyptic despair yet. Unless the monsters got way stronger later...
I couldn't understand attacking fellow humans, but the survivors in the gallery explained it.
"...Maybe after seeing the recommendations, those scum will come after my train next?"
To those guys, rumors of my train would be a mouthwatering target.
I tensed up a bit, but then I shifted my thinking.
"Fine, come at me instead."
I coldly muttered while tapping the sturdy train walls with my finger.
Honestly, fighting humans still gave me pause. But if it came down to it, I wouldn't hesitate.
I checked the control panel. Satisfaction from safely transporting and caring for 14 passengers: 350 points. Time to check the special mods unlocked by satisfaction.
Two new mods this time. First, a blueprint added to the car 2 armory. Now I could craft bombs and traps myself. Second, an extra drone hangar mod that added mechanical arms to upgrade drones. Pay extra mana stones, and it could equip them with special functions.
Stroking my chin, I slowly scanned the list.
"Drones have been a huge help so far..."
Without hesitation, I selected the drone hangar upgrade. Mechanical arms sprouted next to the hangar.
"...Looks like I can only upgrade the recon drones for now."
I decided to start with the recon drones among the three, since they had the cheapest upgrade cost. As I paid the required lowest-grade mana stones, the pile in car 2 vanished in an instant.
100 lowest-grade mana stones—that was the cost.
Hiss—!
The upgrade began, and the arms whirred into action, deftly modifying the recon drone. It seemed startled at first but soon relaxed.
The armor covering the recon drone turned into sleeker matte black. No big visible changes otherwise.
Recon Drone
Silent Flight & Eavesdropping
Shoo—
The recon drone slowly exited the hangar. There was a faint noise, but compared to the old wasp-buzz, it was practically silent.
"No sound at all."
Beyond shared vision, it could now eavesdrop on audio too. A fitting upgrade for a recon drone.
I wondered what combat drones would get, but—
"80 low-grade mana stones..."
Long way off. Satisfied, I dusted my hands and sank back into the plush sofa in the car 1 cockpit.
Having checked posts earlier, now I switched to the trade tab.
"The bold ones..."
The bold, thick-text trades—likely from constellations—stood out from regular survivors' posts right from the vibe. No desperation; demands were precise, rewards jaw-droppingly good. But reading on, an eerie undercurrent in many.
And today's bold trades took that eeriness to extremes.
"What the hell is this..."
After the department store rescue, a message had popped up:
Benevolent Constellations Take Notice of the Train.
I should've realized then. If benevolent constellations existed, so did malevolent ones on the opposite side.
Proving it, pinned at the top of the board in thick red text: a trade post.
[Title: 2000 Credits for Eliminating Specific Awakener]
Target: Awakener Hwang Taeho, 40, Yeouido Safe Zone resident.
Reward: 2,000 Credits
Short and brutal. Amid pleas for supplies or escorts, the chilling title had racked up insane views. The comments were exploding.
Outrage and curses poured in. But I just clicked my tongue quietly at my phone screen.
Admin Signal had mentioned in an announcement before: even the gal lord couldn't delete or interfere with these bold posts or their authors.
Powerless to remove them, no matter how much they wanted to.
"...What?"
Frowning as I read comments, I scrolled further. Amid the outrage, sly alternative opinions peeked through.
Some were wavering at the reward. Mostly jokes, but a few seemed serious—
2,000 credits. Risking life against monsters nets maybe 10 per kill. Definitely big money.
But I resolutely looked away and scrolled past. Hoping no one blinded by credits would take the job, I searched for what I really wanted: trades offering skill level-up rewards.
I had a skill I desperately wanted to upgrade.
Gazing at Jiwoo, slowly walking car 2 in his new sneakers.
His Luck skill at level 1 had pulled veggies galore from boxes. What if I bumped it to 2 or 3 and opened skill boxes?
"Let's see... trades for skill level-ups..."
I glared at the screen, rapidly filtering posts. My finger stopped abruptly.
Reward: Skill Enhancement Scroll, mid-grade mana stones x50, etc.
A title gleaming in iridescent silver amid the red ones. Checking the rewards below, a satisfied smile spread across my face.
"Found it. My skill upgrade ticket."