Chapter 43: Revolution (1)
Train City – Hell Train Conductor's Office
"…Wow."
That single word perfectly reflected the thoughts of Haegil, the Ranker assigned as this round's Hell Train Conductor. He was both shocked and confused.
"So this is what this thing is for."
In his hand was a black remote control — the device used to control Train City's Guardian. Turning the switch off makes the Guardian disappear instantly. Haegil had just used that remote to shut down the Mirotic Guardian.
Since Haegil had nothing to do until the Hell Train arrived, he had been enjoying his usual relaxed, carefree lifestyle. Up until an alert suddenly lit up on the monitoring screen.
– Warning! Code D-352 triggered! Conductor intervention required!
"What— What is this?! Pull up the screen!"
"…It's not a Ranker. It's a Regular?"
That's how it all began.
D-352 was a code triggered only when a Ranker suddenly invaded Train City and began causing chaos.
The defense system activated during such emergencies was the Mirotic Guardian.
Its fifth lance existed solely to fight Rankers. While the Guardian held off the invading Ranker, the Conductor was expected to resolve the crisis per protocol.
If the Conductor failed to manage the situation or the defense collapsed, the damage could be catastrophic. Worse, if a large number of Regulars were killed, the Conductor would be disciplined by the Administrator. Because of this, D-352 was the code Conductors monitored most carefully.
However—Rankers causing trouble in Train City was so rare it was practically nonexistent. So Haegil was leisurely lounging around when this emergency suddenly erupted.
When he rushed to check the feed, he saw not a Ranker — but a Regular fighting the Mirotic Guardian in "High-Ranker Mode." Which was insane.
So he hurriedly grabbed the remote and forcibly shut the Guardian down.
"…Did the Mirotic Guardian conclude that even the fourth lance couldn't handle him…? Hah."
For Regulars, the fourth lance was effectively the Guardian's final mode.
Even an entire team of A-rank Regulars couldn't handle it.
And yet… a D-rank Regular was fighting on equal footing?
Impossible—And yet, it happened.
According to the manual, if a Regular touches the Guardian and dies, the Conductor holds no responsibility.
The Mirotic Guardian is non-aggressive by default — if the Regular backs off, the Guardian will not pursue. A fool who keeps fighting until death has only himself to blame.
But the High-Ranker Program was different.
Once activated, the Guardian became a lethal weapon designed solely for extermination — switching from non-aggressive to fully aggressive.
And a Guardian in High-Ranker Mode killing a Regular was a crisis beyond unacceptable.
Which was why Haegil used the remote immediately.
"Even if he's from the Arie Family… This is the floor where bloodlines start losing their edge. Just what kind of monster wandered in here?"
If the fourth lance failed, the Guardian bugged out and switched to High-Ranker Mode — even against Regulars. Haegil decided he'd report this to the Workshop.
They paid handsomely for bug reports on their creations. His lips curled into a pleased grin.
....
"Hoaquin!"
"Haha… It hurts, but I'm fine."
Maschenny came running toward me in shock, so I spread both arms and shook them to show I was alright. Two lances had pierced me, but out of thirty? That wasn't much of a problem.
Looking toward the massive gate, I saw the Guardian had already been resummoned. But now, there was no overwhelming aura — he was using only a single lance again, like at the start. Someone must have toggled his power off and on… probably the Conductor.
Hwarang and Luf, who had just gotten their tickets, spotted me lying on the cracked floor and rushed over.
"What the? Why is he like this?"
Saying I picked a fight with a harmless robot, got smashed, and almost died…
That would be the truth, but—
"I picked a fight with a quiet robot without thinking and almost died."
Maschenny bluntly exposed the truth as she turned away coldly.
Hwarang and Luf's expressions grew more and more bewildered.
"…A robot?"
"Hyung… why would you attack someone—no, something that wasn't doing anything…? And you nearly died…"
Well… objectively, even I think it sounds stupid. I picked an unnecessary fight just to see all five lances. But I couldn't help it.
The moment the Guardian drew the fourth lance, I felt an instinctive certainty — he was the only opponent here who could let me unleash my full strength. I haven't fought seriously in ages. A target that doesn't take damage no matter how hard I hit? That meant I could swing without hesitation, pouring everything out.
Fighting Hwarang or Maschenny seriously was still different — fighting teammates never feels the same as fighting a true enemy.
"Maschenny, shouldn't you be taking my side here?"
"Shut up."
As a fellow battle junkie, her betrayal hurt.
Sniff.
After that drama, we grabbed some food at the buffet on the 3rd floor.
Meanwhile, the Hell Train-bound shuttle arrived, and countless Regulars began flooding into Train City.
"It's getting noisy already."
Those who got tickets, and those who didn't.
Conflicts began breaking out everywhere. Not wanting to stay in the chaos, we headed to our lodgings.
The rooms were divided by ticket number: ours were 25, 58, 19, and 23.
Lower numbers meant better accommodations — I thought about hunting for a single-digit room, but we didn't know who had which ticket, and wandering around randomly would waste time.
We wouldn't be staying long anyway — not even a week.
So we decided to stick with our assigned rooms.
Everyone split up.
My ticket number was 58, so my room was farther than the others. When I pulled out the ticket to unlock the door—
—killing intent surged around me.
"Haa…"
The closer we get to the Hell Train, the more everything becomes merit-based.
This kind of trouble was inevitable.
Regulars armed with various weapons surrounded me, eyes full of greed.
They were the ones who failed to get tickets — or ticket hunters.
"Hey, isn't that guy an Arie?"
"So what? Even a 10 Family kid dies if he's weak."
"On the Hell Train, bloodline means nothing. Only strength matters."
"Exactly. If we all attack together, even a 10 Family brat can't do anything."
"Remember that Ha Family idiot last time? He acted tough and still died."
Twenty Regulars glared at me as they prepared for battle.
Ignoring them, I turned my back, held my ticket like a keycard, and opened my room.
"He turned his back! Everyone attack!"
…Freeze.
Even after the Regular yelled, not a single person moved.
To be precise—none of them could move.
Because I had already placed all of them under Reverse-Flow Control.
I leisurely stepped into my room and closed the door as I spoke:
"That Ha Family guy died because he was trash."
Clack.
The door shut.
Only then were the Regulars able to move again—and the moment they could, they scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives.
Honestly, if they were strong, they would've had tickets already.
Seeing people with no skills group together and act bold doesn't stir any particular emotion in me.
After that, until the Hell Train arrived, various games for tickets or boarding passes were held in the 4th-floor arena. But since we already had our tickets and had zero interest, we ignored them completely.
Sometimes we went up to the 5th-floor observatory to enjoy the view.
Other than that, we stayed in our rooms, occasionally swatting away foolish Regulars who picked fights without knowing any better.
A week passed quickly.
....
A low rumble echoed from outside, like a train rolling across iron rails.
Moments later, the horn of the locomotive blared.
The Hell Train had arrived.
– The Hell Train has arrived. Repeating. The Hell Train has arrived. Ticket holders or Regulars with boarding passes who wish to board, please proceed to the Hell Train. The Hell Train is currently waiting behind the large gate on the 1st floor…
By now, more than a hundred people had gathered on the 1st floor.
Since we were already waiting near the front, we didn't need to push our way through—we stepped directly past the massive gate.
"Welcome! This round's first passengers of the Hell Train…Hooh?"
A Ranker floating in the air looked at me and smirked.
I didn't know him, so why was he reacting like that?
"In any case, you're the first passengers of this Hell Train! My name is Haegil, this round's Conductor. I'll get you to the last station quickly and safely, so just try not to die before then."
"Nice to meet you. And also—thank you for earlier."
"Hm? Earlier… Ah! So you did know?"
I gave a small nod and faint smile before leading Maschenny, Hwarang, and Luf as we stepped onto the Hell Train for the very first time.
....
"So this is the inside."
Maschenny glanced around at the Hell Train's interior.
From the outside, it looked like a massive train—
but inside, the space was far larger.
Some kind of compression technology, probably.
"Hoaquin-hyung, what should we do now?"
"Well… maybe look around a bit?"
That's what I said, but my objective was already set.
I needed to find the God of Guardians for my Revolution.
I had no idea how to meet him, but if I wandered enough, I would run into him eventually. And when that time came… I might have to tell my teammates that I'm not actually a Regular.
…No. They wouldn't believe me anyway, so what's the point?
First things first: find the God of Guardians.
If I encounter him, I plan to ask him to teach me the God-Slaying Techniques.
"Let's go."
What will I encounter on the path of Revolution?
With excitement bubbling inside me, I stepped forward.
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