Once I entered the Gate, it, as usual, closed itself, and the car selection panel was revealed. This time, three choices were available: ‘R’, ‘1’ and ‘2-trial’. As expected, the ‘1-trial’ turned to ‘1’ once I completed the challenge.

-Notification-

1000 train coins credited to Friedrich Mercer

Hmm, so this is how you get coins. I selected the 'Rest Train' and the door behind was closed, but the Gate didn't open. I was stuck in the gangway connection of the train.

-Notification-

You are in queue for the 7th car of the Rest Train, please wait.

It made sense; the first level had one entrance but many exits. Therefore, many people used the Gate at the same time in order to reach the same place.

The wooden wall split and finally opened after some very long minutes.

The Gate room was the same as a month ago, but now about three dozen people have filled the corridor up to the elevator chamber.

Two distinguished group were present: the one who completed the challenge and the one who barely survived it.

The latter were half dead, dirty, wounded, and starving. They were clearly lucky to have survived. And the people who completed the challenge—the strong ones—looked healthy and confident in themselves.

Like me, they used the month in isolation in order to become stronger.

The train didn't discriminate between the two groups; there was no need; the people would do it themselves. The strong one formed groups, while the weak ones begged for help. Luckily, this time I was part of the strong one.

Although I entered the level some time after everyone here, we finished about the same time; this meant the train counted days and not hours.

I could then always take my time before going in, but this was only true if the next car’s instance would be unique to myself.

A young boy, 17 at most, approached me. He was from one of the 'strong' groups.

"Hey, I am Pierre. I will keep it short. I saw your spirit, and it is obvious that you are akin to magic. Therefore, I would like to invite you into my group; we are mages who seek to create a strong association."

Wait, people could see the souls of others? I immediately closed my eyes, and I gazed at him.

His core was quite weaker than mine, but his spirit was quite bizarre, it was almost as if it had a ‘personality’ unlike mine which was pure energy.

"I am sorry, but I have to decline. I already have a companion waiting for me."

At least I wished so.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"No worries, but remember, once we meet in the 'Adventure Train', you will be our enemy."

The boy then turned his back and went back to his group; there were about six people. This wasn't my car anyway; I had no reason to doubt my safety here just yet.

I walked to the elevator, ignoring everyone. Right now, I couldn't fight. I awoke my magic just recently, and I had no offensive application to it yet.

In the capsule, I wondered if I could meditate to relieve some of the discomfort; definitely worth a try.

I set my destination to 'Market' and '1'. I closed my eyes and concentrated on myself. It didn't work; I felt like I was being thrown away in every direction, and my mind went blank until my arrival.

This time the market was full of people; they were looking at all sorts of things. I shivered. I had no desire to look for equipment in such a crowd.

I walked by the wall to the opposite side of the market, where a large sign saying ‘Food’ was displayed. I was happy nobody approached this time; I didn't want to make enemies in my home car.

The sounds of the crowd almost disappeared after I entered the food section; the train had great sound isolation.

The food section was of similar size to the market, but it was more organized. In the middle, there was a stand with anthropomorphic robots weaving trays.

On the walls, hundreds of different dishes were displayed next to their respective prices.

First thing, I looked around for Jinhyung; after a month in the wild, even he would've gotten hungry. He wasn't there either; for a moment, the idea of him not getting through the first level crossed my mind, what foolishness. He was by far stronger than me, and I was still alive.

Before looking for him, I decided to fill my stomach; even if I absorbed a lot of ambient energy, I didn't eat for a whole month. I became as light and thin as a spider web.

The menu had mundane dishes: steak, fries, everything found worldwide. But it also had some surprises, like Eintopf, a German stew I really liked.

I decided to take one bowl of it, fresh bread, and black tea with extra sugar. I walked toward the middle counter and told the automaton my order.

"Please wait by; it would be 15 coins."

15 coins for a full meal didn't seem so bad. I had 1000 coins, I could eat at least twice a day for a full month. A short time later, the robot came back with my order. I took my tray and sat down.

This place looked and smelled like a school cafeteria, but nobody talked; everyone was too concentrated on their food.

I took a sip of tea and ripped a bit of bread. The tea had a strong flavour, luckily the bitterness was counteracted by the sugar. The bread was soft, warm, and tasteful. Before complimenting the robots, I had to also taste the stew. The meat was tender, the vegetables were fresh and well-cooked, and the spices were masterfully mixed. Yes, those robots knew how to cook. I didn't want to rush, and I enjoyed each spoon.

I decided to keep half of the bread in reserve and stuffed it in my cloak. I even ordered another whole loaf while giving back my tray for an additional six coins.

Once again, I sneaked by the market to the elevators. I decided to rest today and look for Jinhyung at the market tomorrow, once people would mostly have finished with it and gone to the second car.

It was uncomfortable per usual, but I was getting more and more accustomed to the devilish elevators. The hallway of the lodging section was surprisingly empty, except for one detail.

A man sat by someone's cabin, my cabin. He was still far away, so I couldn't distinguish his traits, and his clothes were so dirty that I couldn't really recognize them either. I hoped when I passed by he wouldn't wake up and I could calmly rest.

When I got close enough to see his face, my heart dropped.

"Jinhyung?"

I was very scared of our encounter; would he kill me on sight? He wouldn't dare oppose the train's rule, right?

"I waited for you, bastard."

"Hey, wait, let's talk this out."

I could feel magic emanating from him even without closing my eyes. I bounced back and used my magic-increasing technique.

I had no idea how to fight, but it seemed I would learn soon, and having as much magic as possible before a fight appeared to me as a good idea.

He quickly stood up and gazed at me with tearing eyes. I could feel his sadness, but something more powerful was present: killing intent.

"You lied to me, Friedrich; you left me all alone."

I did, but he was clearly overreacting right now. We met for barely an hour and he was already so attached to me? He was so childish.

"Forgive me, Kim Jinhyung; I understand what I did. But let's not escalate this further; is there a way to fix what I did?"

Had he some trauma? I mean, being a martial arts freak isn't something normal people do, but still.

"Let's see,” he said in a breaking voice.

He drew his sword. The air grew heavy and the lights flickered. Sparks flew around his blade as he slowly approached.