# 035. The King’s Arrival (6)
“Is there any possibility that this itself is an illusion or some kind of spell?”
“It doesn’t seem like it, but I can’t be certain. For now, I can’t find anything strange. Well, I suppose that’s the strangest thing of all. A tropical rainforest spreading through Daejeon Station, and yet nothing seems unusual. By the way, Jaehee-ssi, you mentioned you’re a Whisperer? From a Whisperer’s perspective, is there anything strange?”
At Ji-su’s question, Jaehee hesitated before shaking his head.
Perhaps because he wasn’t really a Whisperer? Jaehee also couldn’t find anything strange about this space.
Daejeon Station was truly Daejeon Station, and the jungle sprawling here was a real jungle. Just in case, he examined plants like trees and grass, but couldn’t find anything unusual. If he had to point out something different from normal, it might be the constant tickling sensation at the tip of his nose. But that hardly seemed significant enough to call strange.
“I see. Then we have no choice. We’ll have to check suspicious things one by one. Let’s start with the train.”
Among the trains that appeared rusted and dilapidated as if decades had passed, only one train maintained its original form.
The three approached the front of the train, alert like porcupines with their quills raised. While it seemed odd that there was an intact train among rusty ones, one could also think that the other things were strange, and this one train was normal.
Park Yong-pil grabbed the closed train door and, with a grunt, ripped it open. He’d said his specialty was strength, and he certainly seemed to have plenty of it. Park entered the train first. After looking around for a while, he poked his head out and gestured that it was safe. Ji-su followed, and Jaehee was the last to step into the train.
Just before entering the train, he glanced around and saw a water deer standing on the tracks.
Jaehee stared at it in disbelief. Was it the same one that had been watching him earlier? With a jungle backdrop, wasn’t a water deer popping up a setting inconsistency? Was there some kind of water deer farm in this dungeon?
While Jaehee was lost in these idle thoughts, the water deer remained motionless, staring at him intently. It looked as if it had something to say. Jaehee, overcome by a strange feeling that was difficult to explain, stared back at the water deer.
“Achoo!”
Just then, the tip of his nose itched and he couldn’t help but sneeze. When he looked back at the tracks, the water deer had already disappeared. Jaehee rubbed his itchy nose with his hand, scanned the tracks where the water deer had been standing, and then entered the train.
“We’ll need to look more closely, but for now, I don’t see anything unusual.”
The inside of the train was in much better condition than expected. There wasn’t even much dirt, making it seem like it could depart at any moment. Just then, a bag placed on a seat caught his eye. The leather Boston bag looked as if someone had left in a hurry without taking it. When he opened it, he found simple clothes and toiletries. It was evidence that people had been on this train.
“Clearly there were people on this train. But what did they see that made them flee without even grabbing their bags?”
“Well, it’s a dungeon, so whatever appeared must have been horrific. Let’s check the other cars to see if there are any people or clues. There might be survivors, so let’s thoroughly check places like under the seats and bathrooms. I’ll go this way, and you two check the opposite direction. We’ll meet here again.”
Park Yong-pil’s words were in a blunt, commanding tone, but Jaehee nodded without objection. After being in a group with Kang Min-gyu, Park’s behavior didn’t bother him at all. At least Park was taking the lead and not saying anything unreasonable.
So Jaehee separated from Park and began examining the train with Ji-su. As they looked around slowly, they found that quite a lot of belongings had been left behind on the train. From bags to gaming devices and phones—seeing these made him feel somewhat heavy-hearted.
“There must be survivors, right…? Surely we haven’t arrived too late, with no one left alive…? Should we take photos first if we find survivors…?”
“Let’s assess the situation first and then decide. The camera the Management Bureau gave us doesn’t have much film. And there will be survivors. Two Awakened Ones entered before us, and we hurried here too. I’m not sure how big this jungle is, but it’s probably just too large for us to find them all.”
“You’re right. Ah, Jaehee-ssi, you’re probably younger than me, but you’re handling this better. I’m sorry I can’t act my age. I tend to think negatively when I’m anxious… Oh! Don’t take it the wrong way. I know your age from that article. You’re Shin Jaehee, right? The one who conquered the A-rank training dungeon…”
“Ah… yes, that’s right.”
Jaehee smiled a bit awkwardly. Ji-su, seemingly embarrassed about revealing her emotions to Jaehee, blushed and quickened her pace. Jaehee also didn’t say anything more and followed behind her, exploring the surroundings. It felt somewhat uncomfortable that someone recognized him.
The Polaroid camera provided by the Management Bureau for rescuing survivors was almost a cheat item in itself, but there was one small problem: it only had 12 frames of film. Of course, more film could be purchased from the Galaxy Shop, but since it was such an expensive item, even buying film wasn’t easy. So they needed to gather a certain number of survivors and take group photos to divide them efficiently.
As they walked along, exploring, Jaehee sneezed. Ji-su was startled by the loud noise and looked at him. Feeling embarrassed, Jaehee rubbed his nose and turned his head, but strangely, the tip of his nose continued to itch. Then, he detected a strange smell.
“Huh? Do you smell something strange?”
“A smell?”
Ji-su looked at him quizzically at his words. Jaehee sniffed, trying to identify the scent. It had been vague and difficult to describe just a moment ago, but now he was sure. A smell that hadn’t been there before was now present.
It wasn’t a bad smell. It was somewhat like mint. He had noticed this smell outside too, but with so many trees and the dense jungle-like forest, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. But once they entered the train, the smell became distinct.
Now that he was conscious of it, he thought that the tickling sensation at the tip of his nose and his frequent sneezing might also be due to this smell.
Jaehee frowned and sniffed repeatedly. The smell was quite strong. It seemed even stronger than when they were outside. Such an intense smell surely meant that the source was nearby. Though Ji-su was looking at him strangely, Jaehee ignored it and moved around, trying to locate the source of the smell. Just then, a rustling sound came from somewhere in the distance.
Jaehee’s eyes met Ji-su’s. She had heard it too. The two, tense with alertness, headed toward the source of the sound. The sound was coming from inside the train’s bathroom. They cautiously approached the bathroom. As they moved with silent footsteps, another rustling sound came from inside.
Jaehee glanced at Ji-su once, and then visualized a knife in his mind. Now he could easily materialize a knife without having to take it out of his inventory. He clenched his fist, firmly gripping the knife inside his hand. Whatever was inside, he was ready to swing the knife, holding it tightly and holding his breath. Ji-su had also drawn a weapon by then. Jaehee briefly exchanged a glance with Ji-su and opened the bathroom door.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Ack! W-what…”
It was a child. Jaehee barely stopped himself from swinging the knife.
“It’s a child.”
“Yes. Phew. What a relief.”
The child was looking up at Jaehee with eyes full of tears, as if frightened. The thought that he could have harmed the child made cold sweat run down his back. Looking to his side, Ji-su’s face had turned pale, indicating she had been quite startled as well.
“Why are you alone here? Do you know where the other adults might be?”
At Jaehee’s question, the child tightly closed his mouth. The child, who appeared to be about fourteen years old, looked disheveled as if he hadn’t bathed for days. As Jaehee slowly examined the child, he noticed a small cloth bag that the child was clutching tightly to his chest. The child noticed Jaehee’s gaze on his bag and hugged it even more tightly.
“What’s your name? I’m Shin Jaehee. That noona is Kim Ji-su.”
The child looked back and forth between Jaehee and Ji-su for a moment before answering in a small voice.
“Aram. Kim Aram.”
“Aram, I see. Have you seen any other adults around here? We’re a rescue team that came to save people, but we haven’t met anyone since we arrived.”
Aram once again said nothing, tightly closing his mouth. While his wariness was understandable, the situation made it frustrating. At that moment, the Status Window flashed in front of Jaehee’s eyes.
[Do you want to use the King’s Radiant Majesty skill?
All living beings feel a sense of closeness to the king.
Even wary opponents or animals will bow their heads when shown the king’s majesty!
Use it on those who are wary of you! It increases intimacy and likability, and there’s a certain probability of taming!
Effectiveness increases with repeated use.]
What’s this now?
