In the Fog (4)

"...Then what about this student here? And the drone?"

"Ah... you came to rescue us..."

"Is this bastard really hallucinating? Why am I the only one—"

"Cough! Hack, urk...!"

As the fog finally cleared completely, the dozens of survivors collapsed on the floor unleashed the coughs they'd been holding back, vomiting out the murky fog that had filled their bodies. I waited until they calmed down and regained their breath.

A little while later, as color slowly returned to their pale faces, we finally exchanged introductions.

"Thank you so much for saving us. If I may ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ask...?"

"Uh... I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ChooChooPuffPuff, the one who got the message and came."

It wasn't the first time, but introducing myself by nickname was still embarrassing. People's eyes widened at my introduction. They must have seen my name pop up once or twice on the gallery, so their reactions were ones of wonder.

But it didn't seem like that was the only reason.

"She's really a student..."

"A drone with a gun on it for real?"

"So the train with the turret really exists?"

I could hear the whispers. They'd all probably doubted the eyewitness accounts, wondering if they were true. I got it. It was hard to imagine.

Fortunately, most of the regular survivors were unharmed. But dark worry still clouded their faces. It was because of the two awakeners who'd gone out ahead for rescue and gotten separated in the fog, as the man had mentioned.

"Will those two be okay too?"

"...They have combat skills, so... they must've beaten these things! Probably..."

'The monsters themselves aren't that strong, but the fog seems more effective than I thought...'

That was when it happened. In the air right in front of my eyes, a familiar message window—one I hadn't seen in quite a while—popped up one after another.

"...Suddenly?"

I was puzzled that the constellations were suddenly swarming their attention on me at this moment. It had been a while since they'd focused on me like this, even giving quests and such.

'It was like this with the poison fog too... Are they watching situations like this?'

Actually, it worked out perfectly. I had to rescue the awakeners wandering outside anyway, and leaving this foggy city alone would jeopardize safety around here too. It was a great chance to tackle both at once.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely find those awakeners."

As I gripped my spear tighter and declared it to the survivors, they looked a bit moved. Among them, the young man called Donghoon stepped forward from the group with an emotional expression.

"As expected...!"

He launched into a passionate speech.

"Everyone! We can't just sit here idly! Let's prepare a reward!"

"Right! Credits, maybe? Let's gather mana stones too!"

At Donghoon's enthusiastic words, the people's eyes lit up completely differently.

"...What?"

The man grimaced at the situation. They didn't seem like this normally.

"Looks like they haven't fully coughed out the fog yet... Well, whatever. I was gonna reward them anyway..."

Before I could say no, the survivors started pooling things together among themselves to prepare my reward. Even though it felt a bit like the fog's fault and gave me a twinge of guilt, I didn't stop them.

Gotta take what's coming.

"Alright, everyone lock the doors tight. I'll clean up quick and be back."

With their cheers behind me, I stepped out of the auditorium again, flanked by the combat drones and sniper drone on either side. The man would stay to guard the safe zone.

Whirrr—!

They say the first time's the hardest, but from the second it's easy. That proverb seemed to apply to my mechanical drones too. Now their skill was on par with a seasoned instructor's.

Bang—!

Whether they'd figured out the patterns or not, the drones would dart into the thick fog, and without fail, a few seconds later a gunshot rang out and the fog cleared.

At this rate, clearing all the fog wouldn't take long.

"Fighting well."

The combat drones' performance was especially dazzling. Ever since the upgrade, their flight speed was insanely fast, and they were using that mobility to dive into the fog and swiftly take out the will-o'-wisps.

Once the drones cleared the fog, it was my turn. Snake-headed monsters losing their cover in the clearing fog, panicking and revealing themselves.

Slash—!

"Kieeeek!"

Every time my spear sliced through the air, greenish-brown scales tore off and blood sprayed. The more familiar the spear felt in my hand, the easier these guys got to handle. Compared to the lizardmen I'd fought before, they were way too easy. Fast, sure, but their movements were simple.

...Of course, running into them in the fog would've been pretty dangerous.

"Good, this path's clear too."

I was repeating what was almost like factory work in hunting, passing through Paju Central Road and finally reaching near where my train was parked—that very moment.

"Now just clear the fog around here and—"

Whoosh—!

"Hm?"

From beyond the thick fog straight ahead, a crimson fireball-like lump hurtled straight toward my head.

'Ranged attack?'

I instinctively readjusted my spear grip and ducked my head low. It wasn't flying as fast as I'd thought. The fireball thing barely grazed my hair and slammed into the asphalt behind me.

And a beat later, I sensed something off.

'Fireball ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shape?'

Sizzle—!

Like spraying Raid or something—a nasty sound. From the red orb on the ground, fog exploded outward in all directions.

"Crazy, the fog...!"

I reflexively held my breath and leaped back to gain distance. But the suddenly bursting fog was a half-beat faster than my jump. It pierced the wet towel over my nose and mouth, flooding deep into my nostrils with its sickly sweet scent.

"Cough! Hack, ugh...!"

The instant I inhaled the fog, a dissonant haze dulled my mind.

'Ah.'

With that short sigh, my vision warped sharply. I looked at the drones one last time. There were several of them.

"G... get me out of the fog—"

Before I could finish, they seemed to approach and nod. Was that a hallucination too? Then I saw their claws rise, and my memory cut off.

The moment I'd inhaled the fog and my vision started warping bit by bit. I'd blacked out, and now I was coming to.

"Huh?"

But when I regained consciousness, the sight before my eyes was—black asphalt. My entire field of view was nothing but black asphalt.

Was I lying down? If so, shadows would've made it pitch black. Then a breeze brushed my cheek.

...It felt oddly like I was flying.

Wasn't what I drank dangerous?

"...What? I'm actually flying."

I really was flying through the sky. More precisely, I was dangling and being carried along.

I turned my head slightly to assess the situation, and a laugh burst out. The sniper drone and recon drone had gripped my shoulders tight with their mechanical arms from both sides, while the biggest combat drone supported my legs from below, slowly moving forward. Like a rabbit kidnapped by an eagle.

"...I'm fine now, I'm clear-headed. Put me down."

I said it because being carried lying down like this was scarier than I'd thought, but the three drones ignored my order silently and flew full speed toward the train. In crises directly tied to my safety, they were probably programmed to prioritize protection over commands.

Even as they flew toward the train, a familiar heavy roar echoed intermittently from far off.

Kaboom—!

'Huh? That's the turret sound. ...But the recon drone's on my shoulder right now?'

The question was answered the moment the train doors opened and the drones gently set me down on the floor of the cab in car 1.

"Sowon! Are you okay?!"

The second I was escorted inside, Haseon—who'd been sitting in the cab chair—rushed over to check on me. Her snow-white hair fluttered, and her clear eyes, full of worry, peered closely at my face.

'She's really pretty.'

I caught my breath for various reasons and said, "I'm fine. Thanks to the drones carrying me here..."

I hurriedly coughed and got up from my seat. Then I looked at the pilot's seat where Haseon had been sitting.

"By the way, that turret shot just now... was that you, Haseon?"

At my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question, she smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, yeah. I saw on the monitor the drones flying urgently with you... and it looked like monsters and fog were chasing from behind, so... just the ones following... a little?"

"...You okay?"

I was genuinely impressed. Aiming the turret wasn't easy for me. Plus, the monsters around here were especially fast, and she had all those phobias herself.

"Well, you see."

She blushed faintly on her white cheeks and answered shyly.

"Seeing it through the monitor... it felt just like playing a game. Not scary at all..."

"A game?"

"Yeah. Actually, before the apocalypse, I loved games as much as the gallery. I got into the gallery looking for game guides and coupon codes in the first place."

Hearing that, I turned my gaze to the laptop she'd set up. On closer look, it wasn't one of those thin, light MacBooks women usually like. It was a thick gaming laptop with a faint fan hum. And the mouse next to it was a lightweight one optimized for gamers.

"Isn't that... the mouse pro gamers use a lot?"

At my specific observation, Haseon's eyes widened like a rabbit's.

"Huh? How do you know that?!"

She suddenly pressed close to me.

"Right, most women wouldn't know this. You into games?"

Haseon continued, beaming happily.

"Ah..."

My words caught in my throat for a moment. She was spot on. No ordinary woman would recognize a mouse like that. No ordinary woman.

I forced down my fluster and plastered on an awkward smile.

"Hahaha, yeah. My... no, my cousin brother liked that stuff, so I picked up some over his shoulder. Yeah, haha."

Whether I was sweating bullets inside with my excuse or not, Haseon seemed thrilled to meet a woman she could talk to like this for the first time in ages. I calmed her down first, told her not to attack distant fog with the turret just in case, and resumed the search.

Soon, I'd cleared all the fog and rescued the two awakeners. They'd passed out inside the fog. Because they'd been fighting each other fiercely, the monsters hadn't dared attack recklessly and just waited for an opening around them—until I and the drones arrived and took care of them.

"...Should I call this fortunate..."

I brought the two awakeners—faces swollen from punches—back to the safe zone.