Lizardman (1)

"Ahem, ahem..."

As I cleared my throat and sidled up, the people glued to the photo scattered back from the train in surprise.

"Oh, sorry about that. We've never seen anything like this before, so we kinda got carried away..."

"Sorry for touching it..."

They scratched the backs of their heads sheepishly, mumbling apologies. The air hung thick with embarrassment, and I could sense the soldiers and civilians in regular clothes eyeing each other warily.

After a brief standoff, one of the soldiers stepped forward first.

"Um... have you decided to stay in the safe zone?"

His question was tentative. I tensed up inside, wondering if they were scheming to seize my train and force me to stay, and replied firmly.

"No. I'm not staying."

But contrary to my expectations, relief washed over their faces instead of disappointment or frustration.

"Ah, I see."

There was no hint of trying to hold me back.

"It'll be dangerous out there, though—are you sure you're oka—ah."

They trailed off with a cough after spotting the turret and spikes on the train. Guess they figure I don't need their worries.

Then they got to the point.

"Do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happen to know about the Survivor Gallery?"

"...Yes."

"If you have a nickname there, could we get it?"

"My nickname?"

"We'd like to occasionally request jobs through the gallery directly."

It seemed like they just wanted contact info. No harm in that. They'd already pinpointed who I was the moment they saw the train, and as long as the pay was right, I had no reason to turn down commissions.

I gave them my gallery nickname, and they jotted it down in their notebooks lightning-fast. As they turned away, I caught a snippet of their hushed muttering.

"Yup, it's her. ...Thank God she's not staying in our city."

"Tell me about it. If she sides with the awakeners..."

Their whispers confirmed what I'd suspected: factions in the Yeouido safe zone. Was that why they weren't pressing me to stay? Afraid I'd ally with the awakeners?

Once the satisfied soldiers stepped back, the plainclothes men who'd been waiting patiently approached next. Maybe because of the soldiers' muttering earlier, these two struck me less like civilians and more like awakeners.

"Hello. We're awakeners from the Yeouido safe zone."

"Hey, say 'Awakener Alliance.'"

"Oh..."

The spokesman greeted me lightly and introduced themselves politely, brushing off what seemed like a slip-up with coughs.

"To be honest, we were hoping you'd stay in the safe zone. Someone with that incredible train would be a huge asset."

"Ah, I prefer roaming freely outside."

He expressed regret at my firm refusal but didn't cling like a leech. Instead, he lowered his voice, his face turning deadly serious as he issued a warning.

"Can't force you, of course. But just one heads-up: try to avoid their commissions or trades if you can."

"You mean the soldiers?"

They glanced warily at the soldiers and whispered even quieter.

"We overheard by chance, but you know about the gallery. So, do you have a rough idea of the faction situation inside Yeouido?"

"Yeah, a bit."

I nodded, and he gave a bitter smile before continuing.

"We don't have major beef with the soldiers. They're just following orders, after all. Our real gripe is with the politicians pulling every dirty trick to cling to power even after the world went to hell."

His voice dripped with hostility. This guy seemed to have a story, and without me even asking, he spilled it out like he needed to vent his grievances.

"While we were out expanding the safe zone, rescuing more people, and scavenging food, those bastards were inside doling out what we brought back to win over the civilians. They painted us awakeners as dangerous to turn people against us. Just a friendly warning so you don't get tangled in their deals and end up screwed."

His voice had risen a notch, but he checked the soldiers and dialed it back. He clearly had more to say but held back given the circumstances.

"Still, they won't fixate on you right now. They're obsessed with hunting down another awakener lately..."

"Another awakener? Who?"

"The one... who created and maintains the gallery. They've been searching hard."

They're after Signal's identity. Yeah, from what I'd seen, that person was the most standout awakener by far.

I kept my face neutral and nodded.

"...Thanks for the warning."

I gave a quick thanks and turned to step onto the stairs of car 1's door. Even that simple motion of boarding drew stifled gasps of awe from behind.

"Whoa, it's opening..."

"Oh..."

Chiiiik— The door slid open, and just before it closed, a combat drone waiting inside car 2 peeked out, scanned the men outside, and ducked back in.

Their jaws dropped visibly through the window at the sight of the drone.

Vrooom— The train vibrated and glided smoothly out of Singil Station platform.

Looking down at the men gawking as we pulled away, I felt my shoulders lift with a smug satisfaction for some reason.

Not a bad feeling at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all.

Humming to myself, I left Seoul behind for some serious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠farming. My next stop: the dungeon near Sorae Port in Incheon, the Lizardman settlement.

Sua had scouted its interior with her exploration skill before. Back then, when my drones clashed with them, their gear and shields gave us a tough time. I'd ended up abandoning the raid—

But now, I had reliable backups. The new bomb and trap crafting in the armory, plus my fresh skill, Artisan's Touch.

If the recon and combat drones' firepower fell short, I'd fill the gap with brute-force traps and bombs. Repurpose the drones for planting traps and tossing explosives instead of direct attacks.

"...As a mid-grade dungeon, the drops should be better too."

If I could snag plenty of low-grade mana stones, I'd upgrade the combat drones next. The recon drone's camera lens kept staring jealously, grating on my nerves. I even felt a twinge of guilt.

I stood before the car 2 armory. The blueprints showed traps and bombs had flexible material requirements: any 5 mana stones and 5 monster drops, done. Perfect cost-efficiency for one-use consumables.

"Let's use what we've got first."

I opened my inventory, stuffing in lowest-grade mana stones and the paralyzing herbs I'd gathered for traps. Then I combined sharp teeth and claws from past kills for bombs.

"Begin crafting."

The armory's mechanical arms whirred to life with a racket. Just as the poison trap and bone bomb finished and dropped onto the workbench—

Fwaaah—! Red light burst out, enveloping the fresh trap and bomb.

"This... must be that skill."

Artisan's Touch auto-triggered, enhancing the items. One less worry.

Works fine even from the armory.

The red glow faded, revealing the results.

"Hmm..."

"Hard to tell without testing..."

I carefully set down 3 miasma traps and 3 bone bombs. This should give plenty of firepower.

"We've come this far already."

Soon, the train pulled up near Sorae Port. No raid yet—I had something to check first. I told the drones to skip the traps and bombs for now and just escort me.

"Be back soon."

I waved to Donggle and stepped outside, gripping my toothed flail tightly as I ventured nervously into the dungeon.

The swampy dungeon reeked of sticky humidity. As I cautiously navigated the puddles and mossy rocks—

"Shaaak—!"

A lizardman burst from the reeds, its head alone bigger than an adult man's. Bigger and more intimidating in person than on video. One hand clutched a crude but thick shield; the other, a spear of sharpened bone.

Just one... lucky.

No matter how good the traps and bombs, one core condition for clearing this dungeon remained.

Can I take a lizardman one-on-one?

If not, the boss was a pipe dream. Bosses were always way stronger than the mobs.

I gripped the flail handle with both hands.

"Grrruk!"

Our eyes met. It let out a guttural roar, shield forward, and charged.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As it closed in, the spear hidden behind the shield thrust out!

'Leap!'

The spear was faster than expected, so I didn't jump full force—just sidestepped lightly.

Squelch!

Dodged...!

Lucky break. The swampy ground sucked at my feet, letting me land without tumbling. As the spear tip grazed past, blue light flashed—counterattack condition met?—power surged through my muscles.

I twisted at the waist and swung the flail wildly at its shield.

"Hup!"

Whoosh—BOOM!

A deafening explosion rang in my skull. The lizardman instinctively raised its shield, but it was futile.

"Kr... ruk..."

The flail didn't just shatter the thick shield—it caved in the lizardman's beefy torso behind it. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crumpled without a proper scream.

"...Doable."

Clearing this looked possible.