Chapter 22
The next morning.
My mind was busy turning over everything I needed to do for the siblings.
"I fed them and put them to sleep for now, but washing them and finding them clothes is the problem."
I checked the panel while sipping warm coffee in Car 1's cockpit.
Yesterday, in a pinch, I reclined the seats in Car 3 and used them as makeshift beds, but I couldn't keep putting them to sleep like that.
They urgently needed beds they could properly lie down and sleep in, along with clothes to change into.
"Beds were something I could buy with fuel, after all."
I opened the internal customization tab of the modification system and browsed the furniture I could place in Car 1.
After using a little fuel and a few low-grade mana stones, a cozy bunk bed with a soft mattress magically sprang up in an empty corner of Car 1.
"Good, their sleeping arrangements are taken care of. Next are clothes..."
I frowned as I rummaged through the system shop.
I could buy as many clothes as I wanted.
But all the clothes I bought came out in my size.
"I guess I'll have to look for them myself."
I gazed at the cityscape outside the window.
Even if not right now, I thought I should find the children's clothing section of a large supermarket or department store before the day was over.
"First, maybe I should test the kids' skills."
I stood up and headed for the storage area in Car 2.
Among the unopened treasure chests the drones had brought back, I picked up the three old wooden boxes left over as spares.
Just then, the door to Car 3 opened, and Jiwoo and Sua walked out with tousled hair, rubbing their eyes.
Their hair was messy, but perhaps because they'd washed properly and slept well the night before, they looked much neater than when I'd first met them.
"You're awake?"
"Yes... We slept really well. What is this..."
"Yeah, this is your bed. It's a bunk bed—is that okay?"
"Yes!"
Jiwoo walked around the bed in wonder.
"Ah, there's something I need you to do for a moment.
"Something to do?"
I placed the three old wooden boxes I'd brought side by side on the kitchen island.
"Jiwoo, could you try opening these boxes?"
"Do I just open them?"
"Yeah."
At my request, Jiwoo swallowed hard and approached the boxes.
The results were usually predictable whenever I opened these boxes.
Three or four food items—vegetables, canned tuna, and the like—and a few lowest-grade mana stones.
And very occasionally, if I was lucky, one special weapon or potion would be mixed in.
Since Jiwoo's skill was still only level 1, I wasn't expecting a tremendous difference right away.
I would have been grateful just to confirm a minor bonus, like getting one more mana stone than usual or food of slightly better quality.
"No need to be nervous."
"Y-yes...! I'll open it."
With small hands, Jiwoo undid the first box's old iron latch.
Click, creak.
The box opened, and a soft glow spilled out as its contents appeared.
Two cans of tuna, a bottle of water, and three lowest-grade mana stones.
"H-how is it?"
"Uh... Hmm, it's okay...?"
Jiwoo asked me, and I nodded.
In truth, it was an extremely average reward, hardly different from what I would have gotten by opening it myself.
It only increased the odds of something good appearing. That was what I had expected.
Jiwoo immediately opened the second box.
Creak.
The contents of the second box were similar as well.
One can of corn, two packs of jerky, and a rusty kitchen knife with a slightly chipped edge.
This looked like an item.
"Uh... Is this really a good one?"
"I-it is!"
This time, Jiwoo didn't seem entirely pleased with the result, either.
I gave Jiwoo a light pat on the shoulder.
Jiwoo squeezed their eyes shut and flung open the lid of the third and final box.
Fwoooosh-!
A cluster of light burst out of the box.
"Huh...?"
I froze in place.
Inside the box, after the light faded, there wasn't a single drab item or mana stone.
Instead, filling a third of the box were fresh vegetables carrying the earthy scent of having just been pulled from a field.
"W-what is this?"
As if unable to believe it, I picked up a leaf of lettuce.
Vegetables sometimes came out when I opened boxes too, but never enough to fill a third of one like this.
It was a new kind of reward I'd never seen before, though it was a little hard to call it a good one.
Was luck really that different?
"Nice. Jiwoo."
"Huh? It's only vegetables. Is that really good?"
"Of course."
I gave Jiwoo's bewildered shoulder a few light pats and praised them.
More important than the fact that a large quantity of vegetables had appeared was confirming that Jiwoo's ability applied to the gacha.
That meant Jiwoo's skill would probably apply not only to these boxes, but also to the random skill and item boxes sold in the vending machine.
"I need to save up some credits."
After confirming Jiwoo's Luck skill, I immediately moved on to the next step.
This time, it was time to verify seven-year-old Sua's skill, Dungeon Search.
"To check Sua's skill, I guess we'll have to go all the way to a dungeon entrance..."
I sat in the cockpit and turned the train toward Incheon Soraepogu Station.
Earlier, while skimming through information on an online forum, I had seen a post saying that a huge, ominous dungeon rift had appeared near the entrance to the Soraepogu fish market.
It said that even the Awakened who happened across it had not dared to enter, so there was no detailed information about it.
Rumble-rumble—!
As the train gradually neared its destination, I looked out the window and saw a huge dark-red rift among the fish market buildings reduced to bare skeletons.
"Wow... It really is huge."
It was on an entirely different scale from the dungeons I had cleared so far.
Dark-red energy constantly poured out of the enormous opening, which looked to be well over three meters across.
"Jiwoo, make sure you lock the train door and stay inside. Sua, you and I are going out for a moment."
"Yes, Noona. Sua, be careful!"
"Unnie..."
"Don't worry. Unnie and the drones will protect you.
To prepare for any unforeseen situation, I gripped my spiked mace tightly and kept Sua close at my side.
"Keep watch around us."
Whirr— Click!
At my words, all three drones simultaneously deployed their weapons and formed a perfect escort formation.
I cautiously approached until I was right in front of the enormous rift.
As I drew near, I felt an inexplicable pressure, but Sua gazed at the wavering rift with curious eyes.
"Sua, think you can use your skill?"
"Yes... I'll try."
Sua stretched out her small hand toward the rift and called out.
"Search!"
Fwoooosh-!
Sua stared intently into empty space and began reading its contents aloud, clearly and carefully.
"Um... The dungeon's name is 'Lizardman's Settlement.' There are 34 monsters in total... Huh? It says there's one boss too... And the dungeon difficulty is... Intermediate."
"Oh..."
She was slow, but she succeeded in reading it properly.
I let out a small exclamation right there.
I had thought it was simply a skill that gave a rough indication of a dungeon's difficulty, but it had perfectly identified the dungeon's name, exact monster count, and even the number of bosses.
It was more efficient than having the drones scout it out.
"So it's an intermediate dungeon..."
I stroked my chin and murmured.
The dungeons I'd cleared so far had never displayed a difficulty rating, but judging by feel, they must have been low-grade or very low-grade.
If so, just how strong was a place the skill officially labeled intermediate?
"We've confirmed it for now. Sua, let's go back."
I stroked Sua's cheek and praised her, then hurriedly turned around and returned to the train.
I had the little siblings sit beside the cockpit in Car 1, where it was safe, then sent only the drones into the dungeon again.
I intended to test what standard the intermediate difficulty had been measured against, and how accurate Dungeon Search really was.
Once the drones entered the dungeon, the interior view of Lizardman's Settlement lit up on the cockpit monitor.
A damp, sticky-looking swamp stretched out before us.
In the swamp stood huts made of grass and pieces of wood, all of them looking alike.
And moving through the swamp were bipedal reptiles a little larger than humans, their blue scales flashing—lizardmen.
Unlike the monsters we'd encountered so far, they were properly equipped with armor, shields, and other gear.
"Hmm..."
They didn't look strong enough for an intermediate dungeon.
To be honest, the lizardmen themselves didn't look particularly strong, either.
"...Engage the lizardmen ahead."
Rat-a-tat-tat-!
As it always did, the combat drone at the front unleashed a merciless hail of machine-gun fire.
But in the next moment, my eyebrows twitched as I watched the monitor.
Clang! Bang! Fwoom-!
"...They're different."
That was firepower that would have made pincushions of all the monsters I'd encountered so far.
But the lizardmen let out sharp cries and simultaneously raised the thick log shields they held in one arm.
A few bullets did pierce the shields, but they weren't enough to inflict a fatal wound.
Their torsos were covered in unmistakable iron armor, rusty though it was.
Zziiing-!
The scout drone took advantage of the opening and fired a high-temperature laser pointer at their eyes, but the lizardmen simply closed their thick transparent eyelids and easily blocked the light.
Was that what enhanced reptilian eyelids looked like?
"Kieeeek-!!"
Before long, they began their counterattack.
The lizardmen moved in perfect coordination. Those in the back began scooping up swamp mud and hurling it at the drones, while those carrying spears started throwing them.
Whoosh-!
One spear skimmed past the combat drone's propeller.
If the drone had been even a little slower to veer aside, it would have been shot down then and there.
They were adapting to the drones' speed in real time.
"Sniper drone"
In the end, the sniper drone hovering overhead moved in.
Boom-!
The crack of the sniper rifle rang across the swamp, and against its penetrating power, neither iron armor nor shields were of any use.
Thud!
One of the lizardmen who had been leading the way and throwing spears pitched forward into the swamp with a gaping hole through its chest.
Only the sniper drone could inflict a truly effective hit on them.
However, the sniper drone took a long time to fire each shot.
If we kept fighting, there was a chance the lizardmen, growing accustomed to the drones' movements, would take them down.
"Everyone retreat. Come outside."
I ordered a retreat without hesitation.
I hadn't intended to clear this dungeon all the way through anyway.
If just four monsters were this strong, we didn't need to see the boss deeper inside to know it would be formidable.
With the drones' current firepower, we might be able to pick them off one by one with sniper fire, but handling a boss battle as well was close to impossible.
"Sua."
"Yes?"
After confirming that the drones had safely come out of the dungeon, I looked at Sua and swallowed nervously.
"Your skill helped a lot, Sua."
"Really?"
I nodded and brought up a map on the cockpit monitor.
If I made use of Sua and Jiwoo's abilities, it seemed the efficiency of clearing dungeons would increase dramatically.
'Now, while also getting clothes and shoes for the kids....'
I set a large department store as our first destination.
That was where I would find children's clothes and shoes—as well as the people who would become my very first real passengers.