Chapter 41: Toward the Hell Train (3)
— Welcome to the 35th Floor. The main attractions of this floor are, of course, the Hell Train and Train City, where the Hell Train's first boarding station is located. First, the Hell Train is…
Inside the 35th Floor Gate, an automated broadcast explained the Hell Train.
According to the information, the Hell Train we needed would return here in a week.
Its first boarding station was Train City.
Meaning—we simply had to head there.
"Guys, let's go to Train City. I marked the coordinates on Hoaquin-hyung's Pocket."
"Alright."
Since I didn't know the geography of the 35th Floor either, we followed Luf—who had already studied the layout of this floor in advance—to Train City.
Naturally, we didn't walk there. We took my private floating ship.
And since it was mine, of course I was the one piloting it.
It's not like I spent that whole year on the 21st Floor doing nothing but eating and playing games.
Like a high schooler getting a driver's license after exams, I used my free time to earn a floating-ship piloting license.
"Do Arie people always ride floating ships shaped like swords?"
Hwarang looked around curiously at my sleek vessel, its blade-like silhouette unmistakable.
Well… maybe Arie clansmen would use something like this, but in my case, I just ordered it this way because I liked it.
Living as an Arie, you develop a fondness for swords.
"Haha, I don't think so. Otherwise the Khun family would ride floating ships shaped like spears."
Flinch.
Maschenny definitely twitched at that, but… let's ignore it.
And so, I piloted the ship for about ten hours straight.
Why is it taking this long?
I thought it would take a few hours at most. But no—this trip was easily a full day's journey.
The sky above had already darkened, lit only by scattered, star-like lights.
Yawning deeply, I told the others to sleep.
"Go rest, all of you. Looks like we've still got a few hours to go."
"Sorry, Hoaquin… I don't know how to pilot one of these."
Seeing how tired I looked, Hwarang scratched his head guiltily.
Yeah, I told him to study with me and get a license.
Unplanned breaks make people lazy.
"Haha, I'll lend you the book I studied with. Seriously, please learn it next time…"
I'm so sleepy. I'm dying…
"…Got it."
Hwarang still looked apologetic as he took Loop to the bedroom.
The only person left was Maschenny, sitting on the sofa.
"You're not sleeping?"
"Not really."
Wait—doesn't she have her own floating ship?
So she must have a license, right?
Hope bloomed in my chest.
"Come to think of it, Maschenny, don't you have a piloting license?"
"No."
…Why not??
Then why did she even buy a floating ship? What a waste of points.
She set down her high-caffeine coffee, responding with the obvious answer:
"I've never piloted one myself. Subordinates always did it for me."
Ah. Of course.
Such is the life of a princess.
Well, only in some ways. I know what being a Zahard Princess actually means, so I won't say anything stupid out loud.
Anyway, it couldn't be helped.
I'd have to keep piloting.
My greatest mistake was forgetting to add auto-navigation when customizing this thing.
Those Workshop engineers really didn't include it just because I didn't ask. Terrible customer service.
"Hey, I'm piloting this the whole way, so if I start dozing off, wake me up, okay? I even drank caffeine, so don't sleep—just shake my head or shock me or something. Ah, wait—don't shock me. Too many electronics in here."
"Just focus on piloting."
Yes, yes, your highness.
Drowsy piloting was dangerous, but at least Maschenny would wake me up if needed… so maybe it wasn't really drowsy piloting.
For now, I wasn't that sleepy yet.
For the next two hours, I pushed and pulled the controls, adjusted direction and altitude, repeating the same patterns like some kind of factory machine.
If I don't install auto-navigation next time, I'm not human.
Ah… I'm getting sleepy…
Maschenny will wake me up…
Since she was there, I didn't bother trying to fight the sleepiness myself. My eyelids grew heavy. My head bobbed up and down.
Anyone could tell I was falling asleep.
So why wasn't she waking me?
Barely holding on, I turned toward her.
"Maschenny, why aren't you—…oh."
Peaceful breathing.
Maschenny was already fast asleep on the sofa.
Even after drinking that caffeine.
She could've just given the coffee to me!
"Hah… I can't wake someone who's sleeping peacefully."
I pulled a few blankets out of my storage and covered her.
Well… at least the absurdity of it all woke me up a bit.
After slipping a pillow under her head, I returned to the controls.
Unbelievable.
The "greatest talent of the Arie direct line" reduced to piloting a floating ship while half-asleep.
Shinsu isn't helping either.
Too tired to think straight, I tried circulating shinsu to cleanse my body… but while it cleared physical fatigue, it didn't help with mental exhaustion at all.
I should invent something for that someday.
Maybe we should've just taken a normal Train City-bound train…
But no. I insisted we use the floating ship.
Regret washed over me as I forced myself to stay alert.
I wanted to open a window and scream into the wind, but everyone was asleep.
I was going crazy.
After what felt like one of the hardest ordeals I'd faced in the last six years, dawn finally approached.
The darkness faded, and a pale morning light crept in.
And fiiinally—I saw the silhouette of Train City in the distance.
"Huaaaam~~… Ah!"
A yawn behind me, followed by a startled gasp.
Someone had woken up.
"You slept really well."
"Ah—no, I… um…"
Maschenny flailed, visibly flustered under my exhausted glare.
It had been a while since I'd seen her make that face, and I couldn't help but smile.
Smirk.
"Haha… it's fine. You woke up earlier than the others, so I'll let it slide. It was tough fighting sleep alone, though."
At my last sentence, Maschenny lowered her head, mumbling faintly.
So she did feel a little guilty. Good enough.
While she whispered a small "sorry," Luf stumbled out of the bedroom.
"Mnnya… Huh?! Hyung! You haven't slept at all??"
"Yeah. Train City's further than I thought."
"Ah man… I feel bad now…"
"It's fine. This is punishment for insisting on using the floating ship."
Then Hwarang came out rubbing his eyes, saw my face, and froze.
Cue the same conversation all over again.
Maschenny apologized.
Luf apologized.
Hwarang apologized.
All I wanted was a convenient ride to Train City, and somehow everyone ended up apologizing to me.
Feeling awkward, I quickly changed the subject.
"Really, guys, it's fine. We're already at Train City. Look."
Everyone turned their heads at the same time.
While they were apologizing, I had kept piloting, and now the silhouette of Train City—previously a faint blur—was becoming clearer.
Finally, after twelve straight hours of piloting, the end was in sight.
"I'll set the landing point around… there."
Ten minutes later, we entered Train City and completed our landing.
Rather than a "city," it felt more like a massive multi-purpose complex filled with various facilities.
There were people around, but not many—probably because there were still days left before the Hell Train's arrival.
"Alright then, let's split up and look for tickets."
Hwarang said, flames flickering in his hand as he scanned the area.
He wasn't wrong.
Despite everything we had accomplished… we didn't have the most important thing: tickets.
Normally, you board the Train City line train and fight through the ticket scramble on board.
But we flew here by floating ship instead.
Meaning—we never had a chance to obtain tickets legitimately.
So the plan was simple: find current Regulars who had tickets and take them.
It was unfortunate for the Regulars who fought tooth-and-nail to get their tickets, but what were we supposed to do?
Board the Train City line train just to massacre everyone?
This was the peaceful option, relatively speaking.
"Yeah. We only need one each, so there's no need to take more than we need."
Agreeing with Hwarang, I headed toward the first floor.
Though we said we'd "split up," the first floor wasn't big enough for that, and naturally the group split into two pairs:
Hwarang with Luf, and me with Maschenny.
"Oh, there's someone."
He had two tickets—clearly a ticket hunter.
Perfect.
No need to search for multiple people.
"Maschenny, wait here."
We're Ten Great Family direct lines and a Princess of Zahard.
Jumping a lone Regular 2-on-1 felt… unsporting.
So I approached him politely—at first.
Then he responded rudely, so I responded accordingly.
"Maschenny, I got us a ticket!"
I smiled brightly.
Maschenny responded coldly.
"If you were going to kill him anyway, then why did you tell me to stay here?"
Look—I approached politely.
He was rude.
So I treated him accordingly.
This was probably around the stage where natural talent stops carrying people, and the weak get bold.
"Well… whatever. Let's go meet up with Hwarang and Luf. Actually—never mind. We've got time to kill, so want to go to the restaurant on the third floor?"
After swinging my sword once, my sleepiness was gone.
Mental fatigue makes me sleepy, but once the drowsiness passes, I stop feeling tired altogether.
A strange disconnection between mind and body.
"Do what you want."
Her indifferent response followed me as we started toward the stairs—when I noticed something massive.
Not the door itself—but the thing standing in front of the door.
I've definitely seen that in the webtoon… what was its name…?
Whatever the name, it was one of those insanely strong Guardians.
If my memory was correct, it guarded that door until the Hell Train arrived, and normal attacks didn't work on it.
Maschenny seemed bored anyway.
Why not have some fun?
Just until Hwarang and Luf arrive.
It's not every day you find a punching bag like this.
Feeling the itch to move my body, a grin spread across my face.
"Maschenny, want to warm up a little?"
"Huh?"
She blinked at me in confusion.
Perfect.
Time to wake up properly.
Without further discussion, I infused my sword with white shinsu—and swung it straight at the Guardian.
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