Chapter 14
Car 2.
Near the armory lay materials that had just been brought in from the dungeon.
Spider venom fangs and the sickle-like teeth taken from the boss spider.
Furred legs, and low-grade mana stones.
"...Then let's get started on crafting."
I picked up the sickle-like teeth first.
They were hard but light—ideal material for a weapon.
I selected the dagger blueprint in the armory and asked it to craft them with the materials.
I even added mana stones, just like when I made the tooth mace.
The armory naturally began crafting with the materials.
Whirr—clang!
A sound like metal being shaved filled Car 2.
While the crafting was underway, I played with Marimo for the first time in a while.
It was nothing special, just lightly tapping Marimo's tank.
A little later, two daggers glowing a brilliant green were completed.
[Crafting Complete : Twin-Bladed Spider Daggers]
- Extremely light and excellent at cutting. Speed boost.
"Looks good."
Even to me, it seemed like a decent item.
The blades were razor-sharp, making my spine go cold just looking at them.
Next up was armor.
"Ugh..."
I carefully pinched one of the legs, which looked like it might twitch at any moment, between my index finger and thumb.
I didn't want to touch it.
Still, since it came from the boss, it would make excellent material.
Signal said they lacked strength like I did.
They needed armor that was light and easy to move in.
'Same for me.'
Using the spider silk I'd brought as material, I used a cloth-armor blueprint for something easy to move in.
[Crafting Complete : Spiderweb Robe]
- Features : Noise reduction. Fall impact reduction.
"And... I should have one for myself too."
Using the leftover spider silk and the monster materials I got through trading, I made armor meant just for me.
I needed something light and easy to move in as well.
"...How many extra materials can it take?"
As that thought crossed my mind, I decided to keep feeding the armory materials and mana stones until it refused.
Anyway, now that the Exchange existed, I had plenty of monster materials and mana stones.
'I shouldn't skimp on materials for armor either. As much as possible—'
My life was on the line, so the investment didn't feel wasteful.
Clatter, clatter, clunk.
As I dumped materials in like a madman, at some point the armory began refusing them on its own and started crafting the equipment.
Had I stuffed in about 50 mana stones and materials altogether?
[Crafting Complete : Chimera Coat]
- Features : Greatly increases physical defense. Strength increase, excellent durability, lightness, retains a scent, washable, beast fur won't stick to it.
"...There are some strange features mixed in too."
Was it because I had thrown the materials in haphazardly?
When I actually tried it on, it fit my body beautifully.
Looking in the mirror, I looked like a younger sister who had stolen her older sister's long coat.
...Who cares what it looks like if the functions are good?
"All right, time to prepare the delivery."
I packed up my own clothes, the dagger and robe for Signal, and a portable flashlight into a box.
Then I turned on my smartphone and contacted them.
Signal replied right away, as if they had been waiting.
Swoosh—
The items were sent through a crack in the void.
A little later, a message arrived.
[Thank you.]
[It's even better than I imagined.]
[I should be able to go out right away tonight.]
In response, I messaged them to be careful.
The reason I had hunted down that disgusting giant spider for materials wasn't just because of the credit exchange voucher.
"You have to live for us to live..."
The Gallery was that kind of skill.
Soon after, the crack I'd been waiting for opened.
Five sheets of paper fluttered down.
Five 100-credit exchange vouchers.
That was quite a large sum.
"All right, let's head out of Incheon today."
In my hand were the five $100 exchange vouchers I had received from Signal.
The vending machine I usually used didn't have enough stock to make hauling 500 credits there worthwhile.
I was curious about the refined mana stones and the Fireball that cost exactly 500 credits too, but—
I was also curious about the stock at other vending machines.
So I chose a location a user at the Exchange had tipped me off about a few days earlier.
[Seoul Guro Station, Line 1]
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
The train began running along the tracks with a heavy roar.
As I left Incheon, passed through Bucheon, and reached the border of Seoul, the view outside the window changed drastically.
Unlike Incheon, where only monsters were visible among half-collapsed buildings, there were many traces of people here.
The proportion of buildings that hadn't collapsed was also higher.
Screeeech—
As the train slowed and slowly revealed the scenery of Seoul, people passing near the tracks all turned their heads at once.
"Wh-what is that?"
"A train? A subway?"
"That ugly thing mounted on the front of the train—"
"Isn't that basically some kind of moving dungeon?"
The people stood there with their mouths hanging open, pointing.
My train apparently looked pretty threatening to them.
The body gliding along without a sound, plus the vicious spikes attached to the front.
It wasn't exactly a normal sight.
I sat in the driver's cab of Car 1, a can of coffee in one hand, and looked down at them.
Thanks to the tinting, the inside didn't seem visible from the outside at all.
They could only see their own frightened faces reflected in the black-tinted glass.
"Since this is Seoul, there are quite a lot of people near the tracks."
I sipped my coffee and scanned the people outside the window.
They weren't ordinary survivors.
Blue jeans and hoodies, or tracksuits caked in dirt.
They were dressed in very modern clothes, but in their hands and on their backs were things that didn't suit them at all.
Double-headed axes with razor-sharp blades, longswords that gave off an ominous feeling, and daggers at their waists.
'Awakened?'
They looked like people who'd gotten plenty of monster blood on them—people with real combat experience.
So that's how they got those weapons.
Ordinary people would have been too busy running away, but those people, though wary, had greed or curiosity in their eyes.
Maybe they were even doing the math, thinking they'd strike it rich if they robbed my train.
Rumble—
I deliberately ignored the gazes of the gathered Awakened and drove the train deeper in.
If I mixed with them, it was obvious only annoying things would happen.
My only target was the vending machine.
The train stopped in front of an apartment complex a little beyond the station, where people couldn't easily see it.
"Drones, check the surroundings."
I checked the area through the footage the drone showed me.
Fortunately, there were neither monsters nor people.
I straightened my clothes and stood up.
"Cover the area around me."
Hiss—bang!
With a heavy mechanical sound, the door opened, and I stepped outside with two drones in tow.
It felt like I had become the protagonist of a sci-fi movie.
That reassuring feeling.
'I have plenty of mana stones too, so should I upgrade the drone hangar?'
After spending the credits, it seemed about time to upgrade the train.
As I walked while thinking that, 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 Incheon's vending machine had been golden, this one gave off a faint platinum sheen.
"I wonder if prices are a little different in Seoul?"
With anticipation, I scanned the display shelves.
[Invisibility Potion (20 sec)] - $150
[Titanium Alloy Shield] - $300
"As expected, the items are different."
A short-lasting invisibility potion and a sturdy-looking shield.
They were all tempting items, but what stole my attention was the box in the center of the vending machine, shining most brilliantly.
[Random Skill Box]
- Price: $400
- It may contain a skill that changes your fate. No duds!
"...Four hundred credits?"
I swallowed hard.
The money I had on me was 500 credits.
I could afford one.
"No, that's a little expensive..."
Reason sent up a warning.
This gacha was a bit pricey.
It was nice that, unlike the last no-dud skill pull with the underwater-breathing squid, it guaranteed a skill—but—
"There will definitely be skills that are practically duds..."
After agonizing over it, I decided.
"Ha, just once?"
As if bewitched, I pulled the credit exchange vouchers Signal had given me out of my pocket.
My hands were shaking.
[$100. $200. $400.]
The vouchers worked, just as expected.
Each time I inserted one of the papers, the credits went up.
The vending machine hummed as it glowed.
[Would you like to purchase? (Y/N)]
"...Yes."
I shut my eyes tight and slammed the [Y] button.
Clunk!
With a heavy sound, a luxurious purple box dropped from the vending machine outlet.
A single box about the size of my fist remained in my hands.
"Please... please let it be something useful...!"
I tried to open the box with trembling hands.
It was right at the moment I carefully placed my hand on the purple box lid.
Step, step.
Irregular footsteps came from far away.
The combat drone floating in the air immediately turned its muzzle that way, and I reflexively tightened my grip on the mace handle slung over my shoulder.
A woman walked out of the darkness.
She gave off an aura that was obviously anything but ordinary.
Tattoos wrapped from the back of her neck down to her wrists, and she held a vicious saw-bladed machete in her hand.
Leather jacket and combat boots—she looked exactly like a raider from a Mad Max-style apocalypse movie.
'Ha... no way...'
I tensed up and swallowed dryly.
I had checked beforehand for the sake of this kind of situation, making sure there was no one around before I got off.
'If it comes to that, I'll stall her with the drones and escape with the leap skill.'
Running the scenario in my head, I waited for whatever she would say.
The woman stopped five meters in front of me.
She looked back and forth between the purple box in my hand and the drones floating beside me, then casually lowered the hand holding the saw-bladed machete.
"Hey."
A low, husky voice for a woman.
I tensed my legs, ready to run.
"Are you... lost?"
"...Huh?"
A dazed question slipped out of my mouth.
"No, I mean, these days a woman walking around outside alone... What are those drones? They've got toy-looking things attached to them."
"...Huh?"
Her gaze was full only of concern and pity.
I slowly thought over my own appearance again.
"Ah."
Only then did I understand the situation.
It finally clicked.