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Chapter 29 - The Station
🕑 Added 2022-12-30 01:51:57 +0000 UTCLan held his hand in the furnace and watched as his fuel ticked down. He had killed so many worms that it was an insignificant change, and he wasn't worried about running out of fuel anytime soon.
After the first 1000 units of fuel disappeared into the train, the furnace started to glow, and a notification popped up.
1000 units of fuel deposited — 5000 are required to reach the station due to the added cargo.
1000/5000
However, This didn't worry Lan in the slightest, as he had over 30000 units of fuel to burn.
Each worm gave more as its levels increased and its core became more valuable. He had even killed a level 11 worm that had given him a whopping 400 fuel, so after mowing down hundreds of the Skoliki, he had more than enough to spare.
Fuel kept pouring from his hand into the furnace, and as the number rose, the train creaked and groaned to life. It slowly began inching down the track, and Lan couldn't help but look out the window.
On the opposite side of the ravine, his opponent's train was already well ahead of him and speeding up far quicker than he was.
'There must be some way to make it go faster,' He thought, concentrating on the hand in the furnace.
As if on cue, the furnace roared to life, and more and more fuel poured from Lan into it, stoking the flames that could not burn his hand.
The train's ancient iron wheels squealed, grinding against the rails in protest of the sudden jump in speed. Steam billowed from its black chimney stack as the train shuddered forward, straining to catch up to its distant counterpart.
Lan smiled, 'I see. The more I add, the faster it goes,'
5000/5000 Units reached, any additional units added will only affect the train's speed, not the distance it covers.
"Thanks for the clarification," Lan muttered, running to the door and jumping off the train. He was going to kill more Skoliki and then catch up to it further down the track. But The second his feet touched the ground. The train screeched to a halt.
Warning, the driver must be on the train while it is in motion!
"Shit," Lan cursed, jumping back on.
He tapped his foot impatiently on the metal floor, silently urging the train to go faster. Their speed was now on par with the leading train, but they weren't gaining. All he could do was watch it move ahead in the distance, unable to catch up.
Impatiently, Lan stuck his hand in the glowing furnace again, pumping another few thousand units of fuel into the bottomless pit that was the train's engine.
He smiled wolfishly as he suddenly sped up, finally starting to gain on the distant train.
He found it annoying that he couldn't do anything while the train was moving. For the past week, Lan had been incredibly active, so being forced to stare through a tiny window as a dark tunnel wall whizzed by was not much different to watching paint dry. It was equally as dull, anyway.
Lan passed the time by checking his profile, only now realising that he seemed to have levelled when fighting the worms. Their levels hadn't been high, but sheer quantity seemed to have done the job.
Name: Unknown
Title(s): [Punching Up] [Class Of Your Own] [Disciple of David][Epiphany(Temp)][Eutierria]
Age: 18
Race: Human - G
Class: Trochilus
Talent: Weapons are my Weapons – G, ********* - Unique
Health: 1404/1404
Mana: 840/840
Level: 15
Strength: 117
Dexterity: 98
Endurance: 79
Vitality: 44
Mind: 65
Intelligence: 84
Luck: 32
Free Points: None
Skills: [Strengthen – F][Mana String – B][Karmic Threads - ??][Boon of Trochilus - ??]
"Oh, it looks like Eutierria replaced all those other temporary titles," Lan noticed. He was actually kind of glad he didn't have as many titles to keep track of.
With nothing to do on the train but wait, he passed the time by wondering where exactly his stats came from.
He was stronger than ever, faster too. When he got cut, it healed far quicker, and even a blade would have trouble cutting his skin.
But how did that work?
Until then, he had never really thought about it, but where did he get those stat points? Where did they come from?
'Every time I level up, strength flows into me from... Somewhere. Is it the Bridge? But what could it possibly gain from handing out strength?' Lan wasn't sure, but he decided to keep an eye on it.
The next time he levelled up, he was going to pay close attention to the sensation when his stats increased. He would never miss a chance to learn more about how the Bridge worked.
Halfway to the station, his train had almost caught his opponent, and by the time he arrived at the magnificent white building, he had left the other train far behind.
Of course, this was at the cost of a lot of fuel, but he had plenty to spare.
The train has arrived at the station. Pay the toll to advance.
As he pulled into the station, a giant barrier was lowered across the track, settling in front of the train. It resembled the type of barrier found at a train crossing, and as Lan stared dully at it, he was starting to get fed up.
It had been days since he slept, and one thing after another was getting in his way.
'This better not take long,' He thought ominously.
When he clambered out of the train and jumped up onto the station platform, Lan was reminded of an airport that had been abandoned. The train station was too clean and empty to exist in the real world, and yet it did.
There was no graffiti, and it lacked that strange smell that never seemed to leave the subway. Somehow, the fact that there weren't any crying, lost children or sweaty businessmen running late to work made Lan uneasy. He felt as though he had stepped into a ghost town.
His footsteps echoed loudly on the pristine marble floor of the platform, the only sound for miles around.
In the centre of the platform, Lan noticed a small ticket booth where a bored woman sat aimlessly, spinning a pencil between her fingers.
"Hello?" He said, unsure if she was an enemy or part of the test. He didn't want to rush to kill her and then find out she was who he paid the toll to.
The woman jumped, suddenly dropping her pencil and looked up at him. She was wearing a tight blue blazer and had her dark hair tied in a bun.
"You're here quick," She blurted, bending down to pick up the pencil she had dropped.
Lan nodded, she didn't look like a monster, but he kept his distance from her all the same.
"And you are?" He asked cautiously.
"Doesn't matter who I am," The woman's voice came from below the booth window as she rummaged around for the pencil.
"Well, I would rather know who or what I am dealing with here," Lan pointed out.
She finally emerged from under the booth, triumphantly holding the pencil with her face flushed red. "Fair enough," She said, leaving the pencil in a holder by the window.
"My name doesn't matter, but I can tell you what I am."
Lan nodded eagerly, and she continued.
"I work for this station, or rather, I work for the Bridge... I don't get paid, of course." She sounded depressed about that last part, "My job here is to collect fares and distribute challenges to the opposing tracks,"
"Challenges?" Lan echoed, not liking the sound of where this was going.
"You are currently halfway to the throne room and far ahead of your rival. But collecting fuel is only part of this step. I'm sure you heard about the first Giant's traps from the introduction,"
Lan nodded, "I remember something like that, yeah,"
"Well, I have administrative control over all of them. For a certain price, I can activate traps to slow your opponent,"
Lan frowned, "But if I am already ahead, what's the point? Couldn't I just pay the fare and beat that guy to the finishing line?"
"Yeah..." The lady trailed off, looking kind of deflated.
"How much does the Fare cost?" Lan asked.
"10000 fuel," She said, looking kind of smug. As though expecting he couldn't pay that.
"Is that it?" Lan walked over to the booth with an air of careless opulence he had never possessed before. 'Is this what it's like to be wealthy?' He wondered.
The lady sighed, "You're not even going to attempt one of the challenges?" She asked hopefully, "It's really boring down here, and they are great fun to watch."
"Nah," Lan said dismissively. He didn't have time to mess about underground, "Why are you down here anyway? I didn't know people worked for the Bridge,"
The woman groaned, "I was created by it, so I kind of have to work here. But hopefully, if I perform well during this tutorial, I can get a promotion to the main structure as an administrator. Wouldn't that be something?"
"The Bridge can create living things?" Lan asked, taken aback.
"Yeah, although we aren't humans. In general, the Bridge constructs two types of creatures. Monsters and the Andrei. I am of that second type."
"But you look like a human to me," Lan pointed out. Everything about her seemed normal, and there was nothing that gave away her actual species.
She blushed as though flattered, "Oh, thanks, but we Andrei only look like humans. We weren't born, and we don't age. One day, whenever the Bridge needs us, it just drags us into being and poof, here I am,"
'The more I learn about the Bridge, the more questions I have,' Lan thought. He would have liked to stay and ask her more, but he had places to be and throne rooms to reach.
"Thanks for the help," he said, waving her goodbye.
"Hey! Are you seriously not going to challenge the other guy? Not even once?"
Lan shook his head before jumping off the platform and directly into the train's cabin. "Don't have time!" He yelled back, sticking his hand in the furnace again.
Fuel Required - 5000
0/5000
The number quickly shot up, and the train crept out of the station, chugging down the track ever so slowly.
Lan watched as the fuel filled up, and even when it was done, he didn't stop. He poured every last drop of fuel into the engine and sat back as the train tore down the track.
The woman returned to her seat glumly, hoping that the guy on the other side of the tracks would be more fun.
As the train ploughed deeper and deeper into the earth, Lan smiled. He hadn't been able to put as much fuel in as previously, but he was still going quick enough that if the other guy stopped to do a challenge, he would never be able to catch him.
'Although, to be fair, I have no idea how challenges work. If he does end up doing one, I wonder what trap it will activate.'
He sat with his back against one side of the cabin door and his legs wedged up against the other. Cool air rushed past the side of his head, blowing his lanky black hair out of his face.
It had been days since Lan showered, and his hair was starting to clump together in even thicker strands than usual. He had never been able to shower much before working at the hotel, but when he had stayed there, he had been forced to maintain a certain standard of cleanliness for the guests. Nobody wanted a bellhop that reeked of smoke and sweat. This meant that he had gotten into the habit of being clean over the years.
Thankfully, his ruined robe had been replaced after being seriously damaged, which helped his image somewhat. But the grime under his fingernails and dried blood at the ends of his hair left him looking like a wraith. An image he hadn't possessed for quite some time.
On earth, besides being feared, Pathfinders were seen as glamorous, almost celebrity-like. They were gods among men.
But Lan didn't remember them mentioning how disgustingly dirty he would get when he applied to one of the academies. 'They must have left that out of the brochure,' He supposed sardonically.
With his thoughts drifting and the cool wind blowing against his face, Lan was rocked by the steady rise and fall of the train into dreaded sleep. Where he could not run from the dreams that plagued him.
