Chapter 78
"Yeouido has agreed to provide the resources we need here. It seems they want us to develop this into the second-largest safe zone outside Yeouido."
Once the barricade construction was more or less finished, I gathered everyone in the bank lobby and told them about the support plan I'd heard from Yeouido. Their faces immediately brightened.
"Support from Yeouido...?"
"All they want is for us to expand the safe zone like we did earlier and take in as many people as possible, right?"
"And to accept as many otherworldly races as possible too..."
"That's easy. ...Of course, only otherworldly races that are friendly toward humans, like the ones here now."
Everyone cheered and seemed to be in favor.
The burden wouldn't be too great, and we'd be receiving support.
But then, a young man cautiously raised his hand and offered his opinion.
"Um, but shouldn't we abandon the name Elf Town now? There aren't only elves here..."
"Now that you mention it, you're right."
"...But honestly, if we want to attract people, wouldn't Elf Town be the best name?"
"What?!"
The dwarf bristled, making everyone laugh.
Even so, everyone eventually nodded in agreement that we should change the name.
It did feel a little regrettable to put only one race's name on the sign when there were so many different races here now.
So everyone decided to come up with a new name for the safe zone.
Since we would be promoting the safe zone through the gallery and by various other means, everyone seemed to consider the name important.
"Wasn't this ultimately created by gallery users gathering together? What about Galleria or something...?"
"...It sounds kind of like a department store."
"Like we'd be selling luxury goods or something..."
The first candidate was rejected.
"Actually, since the Conductor will probably be the person who helps this safe zone grow the most... how about Station-Adjacent Safe Zone?"
"It sounds like a name real-estate agents would love..."
"It doesn't exactly grab me, though..."
Several other name candidates that were little different from the first were brought up as well.
After a series of names that made me wonder whether anyone was being serious, the lightest and easiest-to-understand name was ultimately chosen.
The name we settled on for the time being was the very straightforward and intuitive Otherworldly Race Town.
"So in the end, all that changed was Elf becoming Otherworldly Race."
"It hasn't changed much, so people should still recognize it easily, right?"
"And there might be even more otherworldly races in the future..."
Once the name was decided, we got back to the work we needed to do.
We had to check whether any monsters remained inside the buildings, whether any dungeons were hidden there, and whether any monsters had dropped treasure chests or useful items.
The inspection began.
Once the chaotic atmosphere had settled down somewhat, Haneul, who had a tattoo, approached me with a smartphone in hand.
"If you have a moment right now..."
The screen she held out displayed the Survivor Gallery.
When I scrolled down, the comments were filled with talk about our Otherworldly Race Town.
---
ㅇㅇ : Elf Town changed its name to Otherworldly Race Town?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Looks like there are dwarves and other races too, so I guess they shouldn't play favorites with elves.
Poison Toad : I saw the post earlier. Heard a goblin and a mimic were added too.
ㄴ Survivor Gallery User 12 : ? They count mimics as an otherworldly race too?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : You... are you saying mimics aren't an otherworldly race? You filthy speciesist bitch...
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Apologize.
ㄴ Survivor Gallery User 12 : No... that's not what I meant...
Pupil : There are elves and goblins in the same safe zone, right? Oho...
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Gallery users suddenly wanting to move safe zones, upvote lol.
ㄴ Pupil : Upvoted lol. I feel like observing them.
---
"Have you already written some kind of promotional post?"
"Yeah. I didn't know either, but someone from our side uploaded one."
Haneul smiled and turned off the smartphone screen.
She said that thanks to the promotional post, even more people wanted to come here.
I was a little puzzled.
"But weren't the gallery's reactions good last time too?"
It was surprising that no more survivors had come since then.
Even then, many people had reacted to the post about an elf living nearby and the feeling of occupying a bank without permission.
"Back then, we weren't living with otherworldly races, and some people were quietly saying that a safe zone with only nine people wasn't very reassuring."
But this time was different.
They had included the fact that Yeouido was providing support in the promotional post, along with the fact that otherworldly races like dwarves and elves lived together here, and that we'd expanded the safe zone with only this small number of people.
It was proof that the place was safe.
When I scrolled down, there were quite a few comments about safety in addition to the comments about the otherworldly races.
People were saying that at least we wouldn't have to worry about the place being destroyed by a dungeon break.
"I'm getting messages from people who genuinely want to come, but the problem is the distance. Nearby survivors might somehow risk their lives to make it here... but people isolated in the provinces..."
She was right.
No matter how much they wanted to come here, there were no survivors who could fight through the monsters and walk dozens of kilometers to reach us.
I looked at the train waiting on the tracks outside the window.
"Then I can bring them here."
"Huh? Um..."
"If they want to come but can't, I'll go pick them up."
It would help strengthen my train to take on plenty of passengers anyway, even if only for the sake of satisfactionㅡ
[The Hammer Warrior is pleased with your decision.]
[The Guardian of the Forest smiles.]
It was because, after the safe zone suddenly expanded, the Constellations had begun watching me.
It was also a chance to make a good impression on benevolent-aligned Constellations.
Butㅡ
'Do the other survivors not know?'
The Constellations were sending messages, but everyone else seemed perfectly calm.
Could it be that they were only talking to me?
Anyway, Haneul's eyes widened at my answer.
Haneul thanked me, then said she would write an additional announcement and asked another survivor to handle it.
Apparently, that survivor was responsible for posting on the gallery from here.
He chose Daegu as the destination—the place that had sent the most messages saying they wanted to come—and wrote a short, punchy post.
---
[Title: Recruiting people to join Otherworldly Race Town from Daegu Station.]
For Daegu survivors who want to join the Otherworldly Race Town safe zone but can't come because it's too far away.
Please gather near Daegu Station by noon tomorrow.
The deputy mod is coming to pick you up by train.
Stay hidden and wait inside the station. That's all.
[Comments]
Dongseongno Karaoke : Holy shit, you're really coming?
ㅇㅇ : Wow, fuck, holding out pays off.
ㅇㅇ : Give us a real-life review of the deputy mod and the train, please.
Armchair Wizard : Daegu bastards, escape quick lol. The monsters aren't the problem; it's Daegu in summer without air conditioning.
Survivor Gallery User : Fuck, I wanna ride the train and go see the elf too.
---
After checking the reactions as they came in, I let out a small laugh and stood up.
It was a post perfectly suited to the gallery.
"There are quite a few people waiting."
"Are you leaving right away?"
Haneul asked with concern, but I casually shrugged.
"I'll go ahead and deal with the monsters around the station... and if anyone gets there earlier, I was thinking I could pick them up in advance."
I called the golem and drones as I headed toward the train.
"Let's go, guys."
Whiiiiir—! Clack!
The golem and drones gathered all at once and surrounded me.
Listening to the survivors' awed voices, I returned to the train.
***
The train raced toward Daegu.
'...Now they're sending messages nonstop.'
Since the Constellations couldn't see inside the train, they usually lost interest once their brief moment of attention passed.
[The Hammer Warrior admires the train's exterior.]
[The Owner of the Broken Shield looks forward to the train's destination.]
The Constellations involved this time were very interested in me.
Was it because I had gathered several otherworldly races into one safe zone?
Or had I become famous in the meantime?
I didn't know the reason, but I decided to ignore it for now.
...Not that I had any way to answer them, anyway.
Leaning back comfortably in the cockpit, I sank into thought as I fiddled with the leather I'd received from the goblin.
With leather this tough and durable, I should be able to make some useful armor.
It was about time to replace my armor.
'Since I'm making a long-distance run... I should hunt a little too, stock up on mana stones, and gather monster loot to use in crafting armor.'
I planned to use the monster lure I'd newly upgraded.
I had been weighing the perfect time and place to test its ability to draw out more monsters.
Then it happened.
"Huh?"
Far away, suspicious figures came into view among the abandoned buildings lining the side of the tracks.
I zoomed in with the camera and saw an armed group that looked bad at a glance surrounding an ordinary family with a young child and threatening them roughly.
They were taking the family's bags and threatening them with weapons as well.
Kreeeeek—!
I immediately pulled the brake lever and brought the train to a rough stop on the track right beside them.
When the train stopped with a sudden roar, the group threatening the family jumped in surprise and raised their weapons.
I opened the hatch in the cockpit ceiling—the one I'd modified earlier—with a clunk and strode up onto the roof of the train.
"..."
"..."
A tense exchange of gazes passed between me looking down from the roof and the men below the tracks.
"W-what is that...?"
"...A train?"
"Why would a monster of a train like that appear in a place like this?"
They seemed completely overwhelmed—not by me, but by the train's appearance, which had transformed through its upgrades.
When I stared down at them coldly without saying a word, the man who looked like their leader swallowed nervously and slowly let go of the family's clothes.
It seemed the train and its turrets had intimidated them into backing down on their own.
"Come over here and get on."
When I gestured and opened the passenger-car door for them, the frightened family hesitated at first, then hurriedly grabbed their bags and child and ran inside.
The men clicked their tongues, unable to bring themselves to stop the family.
After confirming that the family had boarded safely, I asked them,
..."Do you live around here?"
"..."
In response to my question, they silently raised a hand and pointed toward a nearby location.
It was a fairly large factory complex only a few hundred meters from the tracks. That must have been those guys' lair.
The barricades weren't particularly well built.
"Hmm."
I shut the hatch and climbed back down into the cockpit.
I'd been wanting to check its performance, anyway.
I switched on the power to the newly installed lure from the cockpit console.
"...I have to test it."