Now I was completely broke. The cloak was... actually light?

It looked like it would weigh a ton, but once I put it on, I could move without any issues.

I didn't feel sweaty or hot whatsoever, it was very comfortable and felt like a membrane that isolated me from the dangers of the world.

Although I hoped it's lightness was due to magic and not to it not being thick enough.

"Waow, you look great. Well, not as good as me, but you wouldn't look out of place in a raid party."

"Raid party?"

"Never mind, haha, old world stuff."

I decided to forget this 'raid party' thing as I doubted it was something important. I used all of my coins and I had nothing to do here, it gave me a perfect reason to leave now.

"I will get going to the Gate, now that I have bought everything I needed."

"Oh, right, I should do the same. Wanna go together?"

I predicted he would try to follow me, but I had a plan on how to get away.

"Yeah, sure, let's go to the elevators."

Unlike last time, he couldn't keep his mouth shut and started talking.

"Hey Fred, do you wish to be here?"

"Huh, of course everyone at the station that wanted to, boarded the train."

"No, I meant, did you desire an ‘adventure’ or did you try to flee your old life?"

I never thought about it; I doubted a bit that I was fit to be an adventurer, but I liked to believe that this is what I longed for.

Of course I wanted a new life, I wanted worries, I wanted to suffer, wasn’t that what we call an ‘adventure’? Well, to be fair, I didn't really dove into the adventure, it was too early to tell just yet.

"Well, I am not sure yet,” I couldn’t lie, if he caught up but a faint doubt about my honesty, it would end quickly for me.

"It's OK; not everyone has the gift to be sure of what they want."

We arrived in the pneumatic elevator chamber, my chance to escape him was now.

"Well, see you at the Gate."

"See you too, Fred. Bye!"

Once my capsule was sealed, I felt the greatest relief in my life. I was finally isolated from this crazy maniac. I hated when people were overly friendly in order to trick you.

I turned the first handle to 'Gate' but then I changed the second one to '7'. We were from the same car, and he didn't specify in which car we should meet.

By default, he assumed we would go to the Gate of our car. This way, I could flee without him being able to do anything to stop me.

All of the sensations of the previous experiences flashed through my head. Yeah, there was nothing I could do about it; I had to get used to it.

Again, stuffed in a pitch darkness, crushed in every direction. Unlike the first time I had to travel between cars, the capsule stopped accelerating and the pressure disappeared for a bit.

This meant that for about a minute or so the elevator travelled in only one direction. I relaxed a bit.

Once I arrived and the front shield was unsealed, I got up, and to my own great surprise, I was way less dizzy than before.

Faint nausea and headaches remained, although nothing serious enough to take a break.

I anxiously looked around to see if somehow, by a miracle, he had followed me to the right car. Kim Jinhyung was fortunately nowhere to be seen.

"It's time to start my own story now!"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Luckily, nobody heard me screaming to myself. I wouldn't been able to avoid public embarrassment.

The Gate room, needless to say, was an odd place. It wasn't enormous; it was no bigger than an indoor gymnasium.

Unlike everything else on the train, it wasn't made from brass or even any metal. Everything beyond the elevator chamber consisted, or at the very least coated, in dark brown wood.

Even the smell was different; it was not the synthetic, mechanical, lifeless smell omnipresent in the train. It smelled like regular pine.

At first, I thought it came from the planks, but after a closer inspection, they appeared treated and odourless. I looked around; indeed, the only place the smell could be coming from was the Gate.

The Gate itself looked like a vintage gangway connection that gave onto a wall. Well, not exactly; it was at least three times as wide. I guessed it was to allow more people to pass through them.

Once I entered it, it closed behind me with a warm friction sound. The Ticket in my pocket felt a bit hot and a system panel appeared.

-Gate-

Current Car ‘R’

Destination:

-Select-

When I clicked on ‘select’, a long list ranging from ‘1’ to ‘100’ appeared. Every option but ‘1-trial’ were darkened, so this was what ‘Car Clearance’ meant.

I selected the available option and the door before immediately slid downwards.

A white, blinding light flowed from the opening. My eyes were at this time pretty used to the dimly lit on the Rest train; it took me at least half a minute to completely regain sight under daylight.

On its own, the sight was pretty mundane, but from the perspective of being inside a train, I couldn't fathom what I was seeing.

Open sky, coarse dirt, pines, and brushes everywhere. Yes, it was without a doubt a usual pine forest; it explained the odd pine smell earlier.

I didn't really understand what the angel meant by 'Snippets of History', until now.

Looking outside, still wisely staying inside the gateway, I noticed something odd.

There were absolutely no traces of people being there. Even if each car had its own entry point, at least a hundred people should have entered here.

I couldn't guess why it was, and after a while, I decided to exit the Gate.

Once outside, the gangway disappeared in a burst of light creating a cloud of dust. Shortly after I received a new notification.

-Car #1: The Pine Forest-

Challenge: survive consecutively for 720 hours.

Warning: until the completion of the challenge, this car is instanced.

Notice: An adventurer can summon a Gate inside any car of the Adventure Train.

The moment I closed the pop up, a new one appeared.

-Notification-

Every previous and future system notification would be stored in the ‘inbox’.

They even designed a guide? This was definitely more sophisticated than the customer experience of our world.

The car being instanced explained why the forest was still intact; I was the first human to appear here.

I was excited to walk unmapped paths and see unseen sights. Rare were those who could claim to have done something for the first time in the old world, but now everything would be novelty in this world.

When the dust from the Gate completely settled, a small paper bag was revealed.

I completely forgot about it, the starter pack. I quickly opened it, and some items fell out: An outdoor knife, a coil of rope, and last but not least, a compass. I stuffed everything in my cloak's pockets.

Well, I had some sort of weapon now, or more likely a tool, since I wouldn’t be fighting anyone anyway. Rope was always useful. I wasn't crafty, but I could try making a shelter or some tools.

To complete this trial, I only had to survive a month, which was easier said than done.

I haven't eaten or drunk since I embarked the train; my stomach was getting lighter and lighter. I could probably survive without food; it would be painful, but I wouldn't die.

The main issue would be water. It was well known that a human could survive for up to three days without drinking. I had to find a water source, or I would inevitably perish.

Since I haven’t heard any water nearby, I decided to head up north using the compass. The direction didn't really matter, but I had to be sure I wasn't walking in circles.

The weather wasn't really cold, I could sleep in my cloak for the time being. Making a shelter just yet wasn’t a priority, but once I found a water source, I could enjoy this sort of luxury.