Chapter 92
“Jiwoo, I need you to do me a favor.”
I handed Jiwoo the ten random skill boxes I had just drawn from the vending machine, filling his arms.
Jiwoo’s eyes lit up as he nodded, then found a spot in one corner of the train and began opening the boxes with a reverent expression.
Meanwhile, I opened the storage and took out the loot I had collected earlier—the red sword.
“Hmm...”
The sword’s red blade glowed ominously yet beautifully under the train’s interior lighting.
It was then.
Messages began pouring into the air in a frantic rush.
[The Constellation Red Dictator announces that they will give you a great reward if you return their weapon.]
“...Of all things, its name had to be Red Dictator?”
What an unsettling Constellation name.
I snorted and casually pushed the message window away into the air.
It had thrown its weight around before, and now that its item had been taken, it wanted to negotiate for its return?
As if.
Still, thanks to it, one thing had become certain.
‘If I make something with this as a material, something good should pop out.’
Seeing how desperately the Constellation wanted it back, it had to be no ordinary sword.
I tried appraising it as a test, but the appraisal only identified it as a special sword and displayed nothing else.
Even so, the Constellation’s reaction convinced me, and I carefully stored it in the deepest corner of the storage.
I’d use it someday.
Then I went to the cockpit and opened the train’s equipment tab.
“Looks like some new weapons have been added.”
I had been planning to add more weapons besides the grinder and turrets.
As I leveled up the train’s satisfaction and skills, I had become able to install weapons on the second car as well.
Since there were so many types of weapons, I began narrowing down the candidates one by one.
“First, if I narrow down the candidates...”
A weapon that was useful to me right now without consuming high-grade mana stones.
My gaze, scrolling down the list, stopped at two weapons.
A launcher and a ballista that looked like a giant crossbow.
After firing missiles, I was suddenly considering a launcher and a ballista. It felt like the tech tree was going backward, but...
Looking closer, these two weapons seemed to have the greatest potential for me.
For example, the current missile turrets were powerful, but their ammunition was fixed.
Launchers and ballistae, however, were weapons whose effects and abilities could vary endlessly depending on what I loaded into them.
That meant I could load bombs made in the arsenal—or even the Constellation’s sword I had just acquired—and fire them as ammunition.
If so, this side might actually have the higher ceiling.
“All right, ballista it is.”
I chose the ballista.
The launcher wasn’t bad either, but the golem could fulfill the launcher’s role to some extent.
[Using materials, a ballista will be crafted and installed on top of Car 2.]
As the message appeared on the panel, the train’s outer armor was reassembled with mechanical noises, and a massive steel crossbow—the ballista—revealed its imposing form.
Its appearance was more modern than I had expected.
Seeing it mounted on top of the train, its intimidating presence was no joke.
“Sis! I opened them all!”
Jiwoo, who had been sitting down beside the boxes, raised both hands and called out to me.
Ten empty boxes lay scattered around him.
“Oh, good work! ...Why do you look like that?”
Jiwoo was making a peculiar expression.
When I playfully asked why he was making that face, Jiwoo answered in a small voice.
“Well... one of them was really shiny this time, but... six of them didn’t shine...”
“Really? Let big sis take a look.”
Now that I referred to myself as his big sister so naturally, even I was surprised by it as I examined the skills.
As Jiwoo had said, about six of them were ordinary lifestyle skills.
Skills for checking calories or determining when crops were ready to harvest.
To be honest, they were fairly useless skills.
But the remaining four skill cards were quite good.
There was one Tough Physique skill that raised his overall physical abilities, along with two duplicate Strength skills.
Three skills that improved the physical abilities I had been lacking.
That alone was more than enough to satisfy me.
“This is...”
And then there was the last one.
A flashy hardcover book caught my eye.
[Composure - Nullifies mental attacks and status ailments.]
This one pleased me as well.
“What? They’re all fine.”
I smiled and ruffled Jiwoo’s hair.
I gave half of the six lifestyle skills to Ha-seon.
Since she had volunteered to take charge of the train’s indoor cultivation and food management, those lifestyle skills would help her.
When I absorbed all the remaining skills, a weighty power surged through my body, and my mind felt clearer at the same time.
“Now, shall we see what the new weapon can do?”
In a good mood, I headed for the arsenal.
Saving the other materials, I used the steel and sturdy wood piled up in storage to make a massive arrow.
This was possible because crafting the ballista had added a blueprint for ballista arrows to the arsenal.
Clunk!
A steel arrow more than a meter long was completed.
I went to the cockpit and designated it as the ballista’s arrow.
Creak-creak, click.
Along with the sound of the ballista’s enormous string being drawn back, the steel arrow that had vanished was suddenly pulled taut atop the ballista.
“Just the thing.”
I spotted a monster wandering through the nearby ruins.
It was a particularly large orc.
To aim, all I had to do was designate the target with the camera on the controls.
“Fire.”
I pressed the button.
KWAANG-!
Judging by the sound alone, it didn’t sound like an arrow being fired.
It was closer to the roar of a turret firing a cannon.
The steel arrow left the ballista and accelerated as it flew, moving so fast that it was difficult to follow its trajectory with the naked eye.
If the arrow hadn’t been that large, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to track it.
Pshak-!
The instant the arrow struck the orc, it literally blew apart the entirety of the orc’s upper body.
Even then, the arrow didn’t stop.
After piercing through the orc, the steel arrow penetrated three old concrete building walls in succession before finally burying itself beneath the ground.
“...”
If missiles were area-of-effect attacks, the ballista had overwhelming single-shot power.
If I made the arrows properly, its firepower would become even greater.
That result was more than enough for a test.
“Drones, bring me some boxes from around the area.”
Whiiiiir-!
At my command, the drones left the train and scattered throughout the ruins.
I leaned comfortably back in the cockpit chair, took out my smartphone, and logged into the Survivor Gallery.
I was curious about what the atmosphere was like in the Constellation Gallery.
---
[Title: Hey, anyone see that incarnation get schooled by the mod just now?]
These days, that incarnation who’d been causing a scene by smashing vending machines picked a fight with the train’s mod and got hit by missiles, right?
That Constellation bastard who handed out holy relics to random people to make incarnations just to stir up trouble—the incarnation died, and the holy relic got stolen lol
[Comments]
Hammer Warrior: There was a moron like that?
Cyborg: Serves him right.
God of Alcohol and Music: The claw that came shooting out from under the train and stole the holy relic was fucking hilarious lol
Red Dictator: Can’t you all shut up?
ㄴ Spellcaster: LOL, the man himself has arrived LOL
---
“The mod, huh...”
I let out a hollow laugh.
The Constellations had completely adapted to this community now.
Being called a mod by a Constellation felt strange.
Judging by the reactions, quite a few Constellations seemed more satisfied than I had expected with what I’d done, so I probably wouldn’t have to worry as much about being dragged into some factional struggle.
“Then, high-grade mana stones.”
I switched over to the trade board.
My goal was to find and sweep up every request offering high-grade mana stones as rewards for track modification.
However, my brows narrowed slightly as I scrolled through the list.
[Looking for beastkin. One high-grade mana stone upon providing coordinates.]
[Urgently seeking a battle-hungry beastkin with a wolf or tiger base. Two high-grade mana stones.]
[Looking for beastkin capable of communicating in language. One high-grade mana stone upon confirmation.]
“Everyone’s looking for beastkin.”
Similar requests filled the page, and some had even been posted multiple times, as though the posters were competing with one another by raising their rewards.
Most of the people who had posted them were Constellations, their names displayed in bold.
“Just for providing their location, that’s several high-grade mana stones...”
I already knew that the Constellations were looking for incarnation candidates to suit their tastes, but I was curious why they were so fixated on beastkin among all the nonhuman races.
As it happened, it seemed that several Constellations had the same question as I did.
One Constellation posted a question on the Constellation board, and I could see the comments the other Constellations had left below it.
---
[Title: Why is everyone looking only for beastkin as incarnations? Aren’t humans or elves better?]
If you’re going to make an incarnation, wouldn’t humans who communicate well or elves with large mana pools be better?
[Comments]
Big Eater: Suppose you bestow a blessing that triples someone’s strength. Would you give it to a human, or to a naturally strong dwarf or beastkin?
ㄴ The Eye That Gazes Down Upon the World: And dwarves have egos that are too strong. But beastkin will obey loyally as long as you clearly imprint the hierarchy...
Polygamist: Elves do have large mana pools... Hmm...
---
“Ah...”
I roughly understood.
Powerful basic physical abilities that could maximize the efficiency of a blessing, along with loyalty that made them obey commands absolutely.
From the Constellations’ perspective, beastkin were easy to control while also offering reliable performance.
“...Should I search through a dungeon while I’m at it?”
Just as I had happened to rescue a goblin before, I hoped that perhaps I might get lucky and discover a beastkin this time as well.
“By the way, these drones have been gone farming forever. Why aren’t they back?”
People had said that the number of boxes was decreasing, and the drones were definitely taking longer to bring them back.
It was just then, while I was propping up my chin and grumbling.
Whiiiiir-!
A familiar motor noise came from far outside the window, and I saw the combat drone that had gone farming flying toward the train.
An old box was hanging from the drone’s pincers.
“Oh, there it is.”
But the moment the drone lowered its altitude to land, my eyes widened.
“What’s that?”
Something long and dark was precariously attached beneath the drone.
I couldn’t tell whether the drone had accidentally snagged it as well, or whether the lump had desperately clung to the drone’s leg.
“Hey! That’s mine! My box!”
Looking closely, I saw that it was tugging at the box while insisting that it was the owner.
Thump! Flop!
As the drone set the boxes down on the floor, the furry ball that had been clinging to one of them also rolled inelegantly onto the train floor.
Its clothes were caked with dirt, and although it had a human form, animal ears jutted up from its head, while a tail drooped limply behind it.
“Ow...”
Looking down at the beastkin’s ears, which seemed to be hurting from the fall, I muttered blankly.
“Found one...”
The beastkin that the Constellations had been searching for so desperately, offering high-grade mana stones as a reward, had delivered itself to my train.