Chapter 14
Car 2.
Near the armory, materials freshly brought back from the dungeon were lying in a pile.
A spider's venomous fangs and the sickle-like teeth dropped by the boss spider.
Hairy legs and low-grade mana stones.
"...Then, shall we start crafting?"
I picked up the sickle-like teeth first.
They were hard but light, making them ideal material for a weapon.
I selected the dagger blueprint in the armory, inserted the materials, and asked it to craft them.
Just as when I made the tooth mace, I added mana stones as well.
The armory began crafting automatically using the materials.
Whirr- clang!
A sound like metal being cut filled Car 2.
While the crafting was underway, I played with Marimo for the first time in a while.
There wasn't much to it; I just tapped lightly on Marimo's aquarium.
A little while later, two daggers glowing with a brilliant green light were complete.
[Craft Complete : Twin-Blade Spider Daggers]
- Extremely light with excellent cutting power. Speed enhancement.
"Looks good."
Even I had to admit they were decent weapons.
Their edges were razor-sharp, and just looking at them sent a chill down my spine.
Next came the armor.
"Ugh..."
I gingerly picked up one of the legs between my index finger and thumb, as if it might start writhing at any moment.
I didn't want to touch it.
But since it had come from the boss, it should make excellent material.
Signal had said that, like me, they lacked physical strength.
They needed armor that was light and offered good mobility.
'Same goes for me.'
Using the spiderwebs I'd brought back as materials, I used the blueprint for cloth armor designed for ease of movement.
[Craft Complete : Spiderweb Robe]
- Features : Noise reduction. Reduced impact from falls.
"And... I need one too."
Using the leftover spiderwebs and monster materials I'd received through trades, I made armor for myself as well.
Lightness and ease of movement were my priorities too.
"...How many additional materials can I add?"
Since I was curious, I decided to keep adding materials and mana stones until the armory refused them.
Besides, thanks to the Exchange appearing, I had plenty of monster materials and mana stones.
'It would be silly to skimp on materials for armor. As much as possible—'
With my life on the line, investing in it didn't feel wasteful.
Clatter, clatter, tap.
As I fed it materials without thinking, the armory eventually began refusing them on its own and started crafting the equipment.
Had I added about fifty mana stones and materials in total?
[Craft Complete : Chimera Coat]
- Features : Greatly increased physical defense. Increased strength, excellent durability, lightweight, retains fragrance, washable, animal fur does not stick to it.
"...Some weird functions got mixed in too."
Maybe it was because I'd thrown in the materials indiscriminately.
When I actually put it on, it fit snugly against my body and felt fantastic.
Looking in the mirror, I looked like a younger sister who had stolen her older sister's long coat.
...Who cares about appearances? The functions are great.
"Good, time to prepare the shipment."
I gathered my clothes and carefully packed Signal's daggers, robe, and portable flashlight into a box.
Then I turned on my smartphone and contacted Signal.
Signal happened to reply immediately.
Whoosh-
The items were sent through a rift in the air.
A little while later, a message arrived.
[Thank you.]
[The performance is beyond anything I expected.]
[I should be able to go out tonight right away.]
In response, I sent Signal a message telling them to be careful.
The reason I'd gone as far as hunting those hideous giant spiders for materials wasn't simply the credit exchange vouchers.
"If you live, we live..."
That was the kind of skill Gallery was.
Soon afterward, the rift I'd been waiting for opened.
Five sheets of paper fluttered down.
Five 100-credit exchange vouchers.
It was a sizable sum.
"All right, let's get out of Incheon today."
I held five $100 credit exchange vouchers from Signal in my hand.
The vending machine I usually visited had disappointing stock for a purchase of $500.
I was curious about the thing called a refined mana stone and the Fireball that cost exactly 500 credits, but—
I was also curious about what the other vending machines stocked.
So I chose the coordinates a user had quietly tipped me about while receiving medicine from the Exchange a few days ago.
[Seoul Guro Station, Line 1]
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
The train began rolling along the tracks with a heavy rumble.
After leaving Incheon and passing through Bucheon, the scenery outside the window changed noticeably as we reached Seoul's border.
Unlike Incheon, where monsters were all I could see among half-collapsed buildings, this place showed plenty of signs of human habitation.
There was also a higher proportion of buildings that hadn't collapsed.
Screeeech-
The train was slowing down, gradually revealing Seoul's scenery, when—
The people passing near the tracks all turned their heads at once.
"Wh... what's that?"
"A train? A subway?"
"That hideous thing attached to the front—"
"Isn't that actually a moving dungeon?"
People stood there with their mouths hanging open, pointing at the train.
My train seemed quite threatening to them.
The car body glided along without a sound, with vicious spikes attached to the front.
It certainly wasn't a normal sight.
I sat in Car 1's cockpit, looking down at them with a canned coffee in one hand.
Thanks to the tinting, it seemed impossible to see inside from outside.
All they could see was their own frightened faces reflected in the black-tinted windows.
"There are quite a few people near the tracks, maybe because this is Seoul."
I sipped my coffee and surveyed the people outside the window.
They weren't ordinary survivors.
Jeans and hoodies—or dirt-caked tracksuits.
Their clothing was thoroughly modern, but the things in their hands or on their backs didn't fit at all.
A blue-edged two-handed axe, a longsword that radiated an ominous feeling, and daggers hanging from their waists.
'Are they Awakened?'
They also looked like people with practical experience who had gotten a fair amount of monster blood on them.
That must have been how they'd obtained such equipment.
An ordinary person would have been too busy running away, but even though these people were wary, their eyes held greed and curiosity.
They might even be calculating how much they could make by robbing my train.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
I deliberately ignored the gazes of the gathered Awakened and drove the train farther in.
Mixing with them would obviously only lead to trouble.
My sole objective was the vending machine.
The train stopped a little farther past the station, in front of an apartment complex and out of sight of the people there.
"Drones, check the surroundings."
I checked the area through the footage displayed by the drones.
Fortunately, there were no monsters or people around.
I straightened my clothes and stood up.
"Cover me."
Hiss- bang!
With a heavy mechanical noise, the doors opened, and I stepped outside with two drones accompanying me.
It felt like I had become the protagonist of a science-fiction movie.
What a reassuring feeling.
'I have plenty of mana stones. Should I upgrade the drone hangar?'
Once I spent the credits, it seemed like it would soon be time to strengthen the train too.
As I walked, I spotted a vending machine inside the apartment complex.
The vending machine in front of me was a little different from the one in Incheon.
If the Incheon vending machine had been gold, this one had a subtle platinum sheen.
"I wonder if prices are different in Seoul?"
With a sense of anticipation, I scanned the shelves.
[Invisibility Potion (20 seconds)] - $150
[Titanium Alloy Shield] - $300
"As expected, the items are different."
A potion that made you invisible, if only briefly, and a sturdy-looking shield.
Every item looked tempting, but what stole my attention was the box shining most brilliantly in the very center of the vending machine.
[Random Skill Box]
- Price: $400
- There might be a skill inside that will change your fate. No duds!
"...Four hundred credits?"
I swallowed hard.
I had 500 credits on hand.
I could afford one.
"No, that's a little expensive..."
My common sense sent out a warning.
This gacha was pretty expensive.
Last time, it had been nice to be guaranteed a skill with no duds, like Underwater-Breathing Squid, but—
"There have to be skills that are practically duds..."
After agonizing over it, I made my decision.
"Ah, just once?"
As if possessed, I pulled the credit exchange vouchers Signal had given me from my pocket.
My hands were trembling.
[$100. $200. $400.]
The vouchers worked just as expected.
The credit total rose every time I inserted a sheet of paper.
The vending machine hummed and began to glow.
[Would you like to purchase? (Y/N)]
"...Yes."
I squeezed my eyes shut and slammed the [Y] button.
Clunk-!
With a heavy sound, a luxurious purple box dropped from the vending machine's dispenser.
A fist-sized box now rested in my hand.
"Please... please let it be something useful...!"
With trembling hands, I tried to open the box's lid.
It was at that very moment, when I carefully placed my hand on the lid of the purple box.
Step, step.
Irregular footsteps echoed from far away.
The combat drone hovering in the air immediately turned its gun barrel in that direction, and I reflexively gripped the handle of the mace slung over my shoulder.
A woman walked out of the darkness.
At a glance, she had an extraordinary presence.
Tattoos wound from the nape of her neck down to her wrists, and she held a vicious saw-bladed machete in one hand.
With a leather jacket and combat boots, she looked exactly like a raider from an apocalyptic movie like Mad Max.
'Ha... no way...'
I swallowed nervously, on high alert.
I'd checked that there was no one around before getting off precisely because I was afraid of a situation like this.
'If things go south, I'll use the drones to buy time and escape with the Leap skill.'
I ran through simulations in my head and waited to hear what she would say.
The woman stopped five meters in front of me.
She alternated her gaze between the purple box in my hands and the drones floating beside me, then casually lowered the hand holding the saw-bladed machete.
"Hey."
Her voice was low and husky, especially for a woman.
I tensed my legs, ready to run.
"By any chance... are you lost?"
"...Huh?"
A dumbfounded question burst from my mouth in reply.
"No, it's just that I saw a woman walking around outside alone in this day and age... What are these drones? They've got toys attached to them."
"...Huh?"
Her eyes held nothing but concern and pity.
I slowly reconsidered what I looked like.
"Ah."
Only then did I understand what was happening.