Dungeon Break (1)
The author of the post displayed on the monitor screen was none other than Magic Girl, the gallery's infamous named user I'd actually run into once before. She'd earned her named status not for any particular reason, but purely because of her speech patterns. And it wasn't the positive kind of fame... people just kept griping that her way of talking was annoying as hell, and boom, named user.
'...She's definitely still the same in reality—'
Her distinctive speech style felt worlds away from that brutal, intimidating figure in real life, but it was as cutesy as ever.
I found a dungeon rift that's way bigger than usual and glowing a faint purple!
Out of curiosity, I peeked inside thinking I'd just take a quick look and leave, but oh boy? It opened up into this endlessly massive forest!
Ran into a ridiculously huge wild boar there, got super scared but grabbed my weapons and fought hard!
Then... an elf sis appeared and helped me out~! Pointy ears and suuuper pretty~!
But then she aimed her bow at me too, so I was like... what do I do? And just bolted out!
It had that vibe of some old blog post from the past. The reactions in the comments below were predictable as ever.
No one doubted the elf part or called it a lie—except for the other stuff. That set off Magic Girl, who fired back with a comment and an attached photo.
The attached photo showed exactly what she described: a massive rift glowing faint purple, nothing like your standard dungeon.
I'd seen something just like it before.
'Looks exactly like that lizardman dungeon.'
"Sowon-unnie. What do you think? Could there really be other races like elves?"
Ha-seon asked me with eyes full of curiosity and unease. I replied,
"We've got constellations and skills spitting out monsters... so why not elves?"
I said it lightly, but inwardly, another question bubbled up.
If they do exist, are they on our side?
According to Magic Girl's post, the elf had saved her... but other races in dungeons. If monsters broke out, could they come outside too?
'Guess I'll find out eventually.'
I tore my eyes from Ha-seon's monitor and headed to car 2.
Checking the warehouse stocks inside car 2, I noticed they'd piled up quite a bit. Especially steel and wood.
"...Ah."
Probably thanks to pulverizing that ridiculous barricade of street trees and wrecked cars from Suwon with the grinder. Nice haul.
On the flip side, the critically important mana stones and monster materials were running low lately.
"Hmm."
I alternated glances between the drones in car 2 and the clanking siege golem.
With this much firepower, they could probably handle a dungeon without me, right?
Perfect timing since we were short on stones and mats—time for a test run.
"Guess I should scout a dungeon."
We prepped to roll out. Mom and the kids exchanged goodbyes again.
"Mom! I'll visit again!"
"Yeah, listen to unnie!"
The train chugged back along the tracks. Our mission this time: automated dungeon farming.
Key was picking easy ones the drones and golem could steamroll solo. Didn't even need Sua's help for that.
Mid-grade and up stand out.
Like that lizardman dungeon before, or the one from the post earlier. Rift size and color were dead giveaways.
And my guess? The current drones and golem had enough oomph to clear anything lizardman-level or easier.
So skip those, deploy the bots—
"That dungeon looks good. Go for it."
Whirrr—!
Clank, clunk!
At my command, drones and golem hopped off the train and charged into the dungeon. Brisk and businesslike.
Minutes after they entered, sounds echoed from the cockpit.
Tatata-tang—!
Kaboom!
Seemed like a scrap inside, but in just ten-odd minutes, they clanked back loaded with loot.
I'd planned to check on Donggle quick then watch from the cockpit, but they'd already cleared it and grabbed the spoils.
We hit a few more the same way. Farmed not just mana stones but monster mats too, even snagged treasure chests sometimes.
Saving those for a big open later.
"Whoa! FlowerCrab brought back a ton again!"
Sua clapped and cheered; the golem shrugged proudly, its cannon-backed shell wiggling.
Hours of track-running and dungeon-clearing later, low- and mid-grade mana stones, hides, bones—all stocked up nicely.
"Materials are in. Time for upgrades then..."
I headed to the cockpit and tapped the panel. Convenience facilities this round—lots unlocked from satisfaction, and they fit the bill.
Plus, the lettuce and cherry tomato seeds in the planter I'd stuck in car 2's corner days ago were sprouting faster than expected.
'Artisan's Touch seems to apply to convenience stuff too.'
No reason to hold back. Make extras, test 'em out.
Adding extra restrooms.
Adding oven and ice purifier to kitchen setup.
Upgrading bathroom.
With four people now, extra restroom made sense. Added an oven to back up Ha-seon's cooking skill. And out of personal greed, ice purifier and bathroom upgrade.
"Oven looks pretty standard... gotta test it to know performance."
As I eyed the new appliances, Ha-seon, peering over, pointed at the ice purifier in wonder.
"Sowon-unnie, check this. Separate button for clear ice."
"Huh... what's that?"
Isn't ice supposed to be clear? I made a confused face, and Ha-seon explained she'd seen it on the gallery.
"Booze hounds love clear ice, apparently. No impurities so it melts slow and looks pretty. ...Dunno if it's true, I don't drink much either."
Ha-seon seemed as un-boozy as me. Our train fridge was stuffed with water and sodas; only booze was that one sketchy brown bottle with killer hangovers, tucked away for whatever.
Clear ice cocktails with that poison someday? ...Nah, probably not.
Bathroom upgrade was straightforward: spa tub added.
"Huh?"
Something felt off. Turned to see a window punched into the wall by the tub. Now you could soak and stargaze—or whatever.
Couldn't see in from outside, thankfully, but monsters in the view? Creepy.
"And this too..."
Not just convenience stuff. I modded the "Auto-Collector" too. Unlocked when I upgraded the front spikes to grinder recently.
Consuming mid-grade mana stone to add auto-collector function to train exterior.
Whirrr—
Clunk!
"...Quiet."
Unlike other mods, no train shake. Just a low rumble from underneath.
This collector vacuums up nearby mana stones, monster bits, useful junk—like a Roomba for apocalypse loot—straight to the warehouse.
"Phew..."
Collector mod done, I leaned back on the sofa for a breather. Fired up the gallery—Magic Girl's post had blown up.
Elf sighting straight-up ignited survivors' fantasies. Boards flooded with heated debates on ideal other races.
The beastkin fans were especially heated, infighting over details: human-like with just ears/tail? Nah, full fur coat mandatory. Even furries crawling out of the woodwork.
"..."
I pinched my forehead. As I checked the exchange one last time and went to close the laptop—
A bold trade post at the top.
From now on, first to discover other races and bring back clear pics gets my reward!
Might be dangerous, so be careful!
"...Constellations jumping on this bait too."
The words slipped out. I'd noticed their rewards shifting with gallery demand, but they were glued to it. Now fanning the flames themselves.
Users lit up too. What started as survivor jokes got doused in constellation fuel.
"...Gallery's in chaos. Everyone's heading out to hunt purple rifts."
Ha-seon, also on the gallery, looked worried at her screen.
"But it warned it's dangerous... no one's dumb enough, right."
"..."
Ha-seon stared at the post with clouded eyes.
Yeah, somehow... this wouldn't end as a joke.