Chapter 382: Riding on a Train, Choo, Choo! [First Draft] (Patreon)

<Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.

[Idol]: Lv. 7 -> Lv. 20 | Multiple reset accumulation finished | Prestige 5 Lv. 16

[Mage]: Lv. 12 -> Lv. 15 | Multiple reset accumulation finished | Prestige 5 Lv. 0

[Tyrant Hatchling]: Lv. 14 -> Lv. 15 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 3 Lv. 21>

<Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experienced accumulation and reward quality increased.

[Idol] Max level -> 25

[Mage] Max level -> 25

[Tyrant Hatchling] Max level -> 20>

<You may spend your prestige points when you are ready>

<Job evolution has begun for [Mage]. Please, choose from the below option to continue leveling your development Job. Your choice of Job evolution will affect your unique Job’s future evolution and your choice of prestige awards

[Fire Mage]>

<You have chosen [Fire Mage]. [Mage] will now evolve into [Fire Mage], resetting your level and prestige level. Prestige Points: 2, retained. Max level -> 10. Evolution bonuses given: [Mana] [Intelligence] [Wisdom]>

<Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.

[Fire Mage]: Lv. 0 -> Lv. 10 | Multiple reset accumulation finished | Prestige 3 Lv. 14>

<Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experienced accumulation and reward quality increased.

[Fire Mage] Max level -> 20>

<[Idol] Prestige spent. Benefit Slot, [Bardic Cadenza], Benefit Slot gained>

<[Fire Mage] Prestige spent. [Arcane Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1], 4 Prestige Points to [Magic Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1] -> [Magic Skills: Proficiency Lv. 5] gained>

<Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Lightning Magic Lv. 5] [White Flames Lv. 7] gained>

“This is your cabin. His and Her Majesty are in the cabin next to yours. Your friends and retainers will be situated in the car behind us. If you wish to check on your carriage, please, ask one of the staff. As such, please, enjoy your trip, Princess Fargryneill and Princess Hestia.” The suited dwarf bowed deeply before going into the car behind us, returning to work now that he was done with his explanation.

Sis and I eyed each other, shrugged and entered the cabin, only for us to nod at how impressive it was. The train was made for dwarves in mind, but our royal cabin was extremely spacious, to the point you could have six people inside and there would still be space to move around. There was a small table, a place for our belongings and luggage, and also two retractable beds!

Sis tested it out, turning the couch on the left side into a bed by extending it forward. She then rolled on it, spreading her limbs out to move them like a snow angel. Meanwhile, I went over to the table, inspecting the items on it. There was an obsidian glass bowl with some fruits and honey crackers, and also glass bottled drinks. From the look, and smell, of it, they were ale.

I then pushed the table and its contents to the side, creating more space, and stretched my arms out. The cabin was about two Hestias wide to the side and two and a half from front to back. The ceiling, however, was pretty small as Sis had to slouch her neck a bit to fit in. She was almost as tall as Saori and Yorshka, so taller people and races probably wouldn’t find this too comfortable.

I then sat down and clapped. “He’s gone, you can come out now!”

[“Master! Master’s sister!”] Rajah jumped out of my shadow and onto Neill who was caught off-guard. The bed rocked like crazy as Sis tried to gently push over Rajah, slightly annoyed at the big kitten.

“Dammit, this isn’t what I came here for!”

“Hahaha!” I really couldn’t help but laugh before picking Rajah up.

Since his evolution, Rajah had become too large to actually be a lap cat. He was a genuine monster tiger right now, with sharp claws, fur, and dangerous venom. Even if I wanted to, I could put him on my lap as he wouldn’t fit on it. As such, instead of a lap cat, he was now a lean-on cat.

I turned my couch into a bed and placed Rajah on it, happy he barely fit on it, before sitting down and leaning my body on his. While scratching his head and butt, I relaxed my arms, smiling as it felt like my head was resting on a soft pillow.

“Hehe, can’t believe that cat fits on the bed. Guess most of his bulk is the fur,” Neill let out a giggle as she watched me relax. She then tapped her growing horn, giving a short nod. “Pretty stark difference. When I last traveled on a train, I had to stay in the commons. No bed and you have to share it with three others.”

Trains, trains, trains; that was where Neill and I were currently inside. Two days had passed since we found the video recorder and had Grimnir kit his workshop out with a bunch of tools and such.

After we solved Grimnir’s problem, we also made sure to check out Broggart’s other hideouts, making sure we didn’t leave anything important behind. Sadly, there wasn’t anything good, as the first hideout only hid the braille alphabet and the third only had a stash of money and smithing materials. Well, I guess the money was pretty nice, as it allowed us to pay some of the debts.

Since we had nothing else to do in Gazahan-Orn, and since Grimnir had no intentions of reconnecting with his clan, we decided to leave with the Ankoran King to his capital. It took the train two days to return to the hold. I wanted to travel with it, so we didn’t really have a choice but to wait.

Now, why did it take two days exactly? Well, according to Jadhund, there were only four operating trains—three were for traveling and one was purely for merchants and cargo transportation. According to protocol, royals were only allowed to ride on the original train, the one the Revolution Queen helped build but couldn’t finish before her death, while the other two travel-focused trains were mostly for the general populace and commuters.

Apparently, the original one wasn’t just the most efficient and fastest train they managed to make, but it also was runed to high-heavens, making it extremely safe to travel with. The reason why it was better than the newer models was due to the materials used for it. It was made after the War for the Faefolk, and as thanks for helping the elves out in the war effort, they were given the heart of a rank S fire drake from Kargryx to use as the train’s core. Some criminal executed by the Dragon Ruler of Fire, or something.

Due to my letter, High Queen Tragaya had to arrive in Gazahan-Orn urgently. Using her role as a wisewoman to investigate a problem, she broke protocol and rode on one of the newer models with her disguised husband. Now, though, we were riding on the real deal. The first of its kind.

Still weird, it took them over 200 years for four trains.

While I did complain a bit, it was exactly due to the death of Chihiro’s mortal form that caused this problem. She left at the most important stage, and while she left plans behind, without her leadership the politics of the guilds began to block proper progress. Aside from the railroad guild, plenty of others wanted to have a bigger part in the train’s creation, which caused undue strife between everybody.

Eventually, they did finish it, but there was also the problem of putting down the railroad itself. The Ankoran mountain ranges weren’t just humongous, but the inside and underground were even larger. Not to mention, small mining towns and holds were being created once per year or something. The train had to connect to most of them, meaning, the artificers and engineers had to plan the tracks and paths. It took years before it was finished, and even now, it was being updated almost monthly.

As such, it took some time for the next train to be made. This time, since they didn’t have a powerful engine, they had to start anew with a different source. These trains couldn’t be made with expensive rank B or higher monster materials, they had to be cheaper. No matter how rich the railroad guild was, they wanted to adhere with Chihiro’s wish to popularize train travel to the general populace.

As such, each new train would also be part of a new model. Improvements and other quality of life additions were added, as the dwarves’s pride forced them to always strive for innovations. That was all Jadhund told me, since he didn’t want to go into guild politics.

But, yeah, two days of waiting wasn’t too problematic since I used this time to grind a bit and do guild Quests. Leveled up my jobs and my skills, in addition, I also evolved [Mage] into [Fire Mage]. No new prestige benefits, but I got some stats and I also leveled up [Magic Skills: Proficiency] to Lv. 5. Made it easier to level up my [White Flames] and other similar skills.

“Away! Doors closing!” I heard the sound of the station’s announcer’s voice echoing through the metal megaphones. I opened the door and looked out of the window, smiling as the [Defensive Rune: Auracoil] barriers were appearing to block anybody from coming closer to the train.

I clapped my hands and wanted to open the window, but I was quickly reprimanded by one of the staff, informing me I should do it in my cabin. Once I returned and closed the door, I opened the window inside.

First, it was a clear view of the right platform of the station. You could see a few dwarven manatechnicians running around but that was about it. Similar to Estralia’s train station, this place felt more like “under construction.” There was no rush hour at all, since the trains didn’t come too often.

Hmm, nobody came, huh?

Jadhund and Rosserto were coming with us to the capital, since both had business there. I could guess with Jadhund, since he mentioned the railroad guild’s HQ would love to meet us otherworlders, while Rosserto had a concert there. As such, we had nobody else here who knew of us. Well, aside from the people from Grimnir’s clan.

Naturally, they weren’t on good terms, still. Especially now that the clan is in turmoil since Maagneil escaped from judgement and his son now had to inherit the position. There was also the whole hold king and people who attacked me situation, but that got handled pretty quickly. The prisoners were currently on the train, being guarded. They would face justice and their sentence in the capital.

So, with nobody saying goodbye to us, it did feel a bit lonely, but what could you do? Grimnir probably didn’t care anyways. So, I turned around to see the dragon-mouth styled train head. Once the announcer finished his announcement, the dragon head suddenly let out sprays of fire, lighting up the darkness of the tunnel. Its eyes glowed vermillion red as you could hear that iconic “choo choo” sound. Honestly, Chihiro knew how to make things stylish!

Without further ado, the train departed from the station on top of racketing metal rails and the sound of roaring fire. Nicknamed “Draco Skull,” it was a very fitting name for the first Peolyncian train.

“The normal trains would need a week or more, depending on the amount of stops, to go from the capital to the furthest point of the mountain range; straight into Carmaniate territory. Bit less, if you only want to reach the human Empire,” Neill informed me. “I heard this thing only needs four, and that is ‘cause it has terrible fuel efficiency. Very fast, but quite pricey.”

“Wouldn’t it work like any other train when it isn’t on a rush mission, though?” I questioned, to which Neill nodded.

“It’s just a nice tidbit I overheard once. I mean, as dragons, we can fly faster; you definitely with your scale-dust boosters. But you need to rest, while this thing only needs to refuel. It outright beats carriages, though. It wouldn’t surprise me for the Empire to have one of them already, considering how huge Folschreck is.”

Now that she mentioned it, what about the Empire? I knew it was probably the largest nation on the planet, even larger than Kargryx if you only counted the owned territory. Did they have to travel on the backs of gargoyles and use carriages like Artorias, Estralia, and Yeos? Maybe Jadhund had more information on that, but I wasn’t too worried about it.

Currently, what I did know was that the Empire used ships a lot. They got their naval design from the Caedhulens, after all, so it wouldn’t shock me if their marine travels were almost as fast as this train.

Due to the formation of the continent of Altrust, it was far faster to simply go through the ocean to reach the western part. If you wanted to avoid the sea, then the roundabout way was either travel with a carriage, or the more efficient method of the dwarf’s trains. Also, if they had any flying mount, they probably could fly over the ocean, too. Gargoyles couldn’t, since they would run out of mana during long travels.

Once the both of us began to settle down, enjoying snacks and drinks from my storage, a knock came from the door. We called them in, revealing it to be Haruka and Kyouya.

“Hey, Hestia-chan. Tasianna wanted you for the soil,” she informed me, prompting me to leave the cabin with Rajah. Haruka and Kyouya, on the other hand, were invited inside by Neill to inspect the cabin, which caught the two’s interest.

Jeez, what are you doing here if you’re just gonna relax. Hehe.

Neill had taken a break from her [Battle Frenzy] training a day ago. As she mentioned, she had isolated herself completely from everybody to finish the envy and pride part of the training. According to her, she managed to get through envy pretty fast, but had some trouble with pride, which forced her to come out.

Apparently, she didn’t have trouble with the mental imagery part of the training, but she had trouble controlling her powers in it. Essentially, she unlocked [Battle Frenzy (Major)], but could only use it for around a minute at best, before she would go berserk. As such, she called it a failure. Meaning, she would have to continue once she was ready.

In the meantime, she told me she wanted to continue my [Battle Frenzy] training. With Kramps not answering me, Mother still asleep, and Klea’Hatma, for some reason, inactive, she was the only one who could keep watch over me. I appreciated it … but also felt a bit pressured, since I still had my spells to finish.

There were three custom spells I prepared during the tournament part of my Elyonda visit. All spells were designed to cover up three of my weaknesses.

First, the fact I had to belch out lava breaths since I had no efficient way to create a lot of lava quickly for [Volcanic Blaze] to work. It was either use my Territory, melt everything with [Dreadflare Aura], or create a ton of corrosive fire. I could also learn a [Lava Magic] custom spell, but I wanted to customize mine for personal usage. Since I didn’t have [Lava Magic] anymore, I couldn’t create those sorta custom spells, so I had to rely on [Corrosive Fire].

Second, the fact I could not regenerate solar energy during the night, a storm, or some weird space-time trick, like with demonkin’s trap. This thought already occurred to me whenever I entered a dungeon, but it became even more prevalent after the Elyonda siege.

Third, was my melee capabilities, as I was shown how weak I was in that department when I fought Larent during the tournament. The fact he overpowered me wasn’t really an issue, since he was clearly stronger, but the problem was that I didn’t have many ways to get out of it outside of my usual [Dreadflare Aura] if I was in a pickle. It worked, yes, but what would happen if I fought somebody with high heat and fire resistance but was still strong in close-combat? What then?

Well, I was happy to announce that I did in fact cross off one of these problems. As in, number three as I realized something after Rajah evolved. Double elemental attacks, methods to reduce resistances or ignore them, and also a funny evolving cat. As in, Rajah was part of my powers since I was a pseudo-tamer, and he was slowly getting more and more Strength, similar to Saori.

There was always a dragon difference, but not if Rajah can get a good rank B. Just like Saori and me, Rajah was also a “young” monster. He would be blocked from evolving into a rank A until he got old enough, which meant a bonus boost in stats and also skill points. Not to mention how he had more free time than I did, since he was also a big reason why I could level up so much during the two day break. He was hunting like crazy when we went into the dungeon.

Meaning, with my improving glaivemanship and Rajah’s growth, melee was mostly handled. In addition, I also thought, why should I make three spells? Shouldn’t two be enough? After all, if an enemy was strong against my fire, then I just had to abuse [White Flames]’s and [Corrosive Fire]’s secondary element and effect better. My toxins could pierce resistances, as they could affect even fighters like Vifi’Yok. Not to mention, if my holy flames became stronger, then my enemies had to adapt to two elements to survive.

As such, I reduced my amount of spells to two. Less divided attention.

“Woah!” Just as I finished my thoughts, my [Detection Sensor] sounded a ping, prompting me to narrowly dodge walking into somebody.

“H-Hestia?!” A girl’s voice called out, which I realized was Ellaine’s. “… Daydreaming?”

“Y-yeah, sorry about that.” I scratched my neck in embarrassment, only to realize Tatsuya and Daichi were also behind her. “Oh! Are you guys going to the RV, too?”

“Yeah, we have to help Master after all!” Daichi confirmed, pounding his hand up in the air. “We still need to adjust the workshop. Don’t forget we’re only three people, so we somehow have to get everything rolling as such. No automation, but we have machinery now to reduce labor on certain tasks.”

“And I’m getting a new spear. Kyouya can rely on his unique skill for weapons and armor, but I need a weapon made for mine,” Tatsuya said, making sense since his [All-In] relied on his weapons being able to do the maximum possible damage.

Since our goals aligned, the four of us walked together.

As we walked through the train cars to the very back, we Earthlings found it quite particular how most of the front cars had cabins for sleeping and relaxation. The hallways were pretty small, barely wide enough for two dwarves to pass through. However, the moment we arrived at the “commons,” as Sis liked to call them, the cabins disappeared entirely.

Both sides of the train had multiple sets of four seats arranged together with a table to divide them. Dwarves occupied them, using the table to eat and drink with each other. Even if they were strangers, everybody was treating each other pretty well. There were, of course, some passengers who wanted quiet or were sleeping, so they used a rune attached to their seats to create a bubble to protect them from the rambunctious noise. Probably some sorta silence rune.

There was, of course, also a bar and dinner on the train. Well, it was more like a pub. Since we weren’t in a hurry and felt peckish, we did try the noodle soup they served there. It was as authentic as you could get to Japanese ramen in this world, only that it was “hardier” to fit the tastebuds of the dwarves. With the amount of toppings on it, it was great for a hard day of work for the calories, but my goodness, the calories!

Once we were done, we ventured with a train staff into the cargo cars. Even if this was a transport train, there were plenty of cargo stored here since you had royals and even merchants riding the train. A few of them were closed and shut cars, while others were open-air to make space. Our RV was loaded on one of the latters.

Once inside, Ellaine and the boys went to the subspace while I went up the stairs to our RV garden. Just as Tasianna and Haruka mentioned two days ago, the Luedbrumdar really did a bad one on our baby. We really had to renovate it.

There, I found another set of three people. This time, though, they were a bit more racially diverse.

“Ooooh, Princess!” The first to notice me was none other than the only other dragonkin I had met in my travels who was not dead or in our party already. His verdant-green scales and bull horns made him instantly recognizable, not to mention how much of a jock-like appearance he had.

“Hey, Cernust,” I greeted the bovine-disguised drake, waving as he rushed forward to bow before me. “Woah, come on, I told you it’s okay, right? Don’t worry about it and just treat me like ever.”

“… You say that after how your sister glared at me? I thought I was freezing up when I met Her Empress, but your sister is even frostier!” he blurted out, but that was an exaggeration!

Neill only smirked at him, calling him “interesting” since he was the first—actually second now that I thought about it, since the leviathan counted—true dragonkin I met. Obviously, a dragon princess a rank higher would probably intimidate the lower rank drake. She didn’t mean it, but poor Cernust couldn’t really do much with all the royals around him.

In any case, I didn’t bring him around to meet my family, I brought him to the RV since he and Rita were here to help Tasianna’s garden out. Ever since we separated from Grimnir’s group, Tasianna hadn’t been able to maintain the garden, the soil had degraded in what it used to be, since Tasianna tailored it to the plants she cultivated. With two plant experts ready to help, our plan was to optimize the garden even further, so we could build up our passive plant income.

It also hinged on the fact the plants love having dragon mana in their soil. Mana helped them grow faster, which was one of the reasons for our fast production speed. Too much mana could spawn monsters, and yes, it could happen right in our RV, while too little mana could even kill some plants. The Belzac herbs, one of our most profitable produce, required mana to grow, for example.

“We’ll also get Tasianna’s alchemy bench sorted out!” The dryad, Rita, stated with dazzling eyes before darting her head to Cernust. “Anyways, she’s right! We don’t have much time to do everything today. The crops in Elyonda need our attention after this!”

“Emperor’s horns, Rita, you just don’t change, huh? We have enough time on our hands.” Cernust shook his head in exasperation as he pulled up a bag of soil and showed it to me. “You can’t get anything better outside of maybe a dryad’s and treant’s grove. A forest drake’s home just is amazing for anything a plant wants. Absorbs water and nutrients better, and feeds it straight to a plant.”

“Oh!” I took it from it, before squinting my eyes at what was written on it. “‘Moreschi Forest Drake Soil’ … I see you are getting along well with your future parents-in-law. Severa mentioned you staying over there all the time.”

“Ahaha.” The bashful drake grinned, laughing his embarrassment away. “W-well, yeah, I guess. Well, since I've been around, I’ve been taking care of the soil, farms, and anything else earth and plant related. I guess Severa’s father appreciates me being an alchemist, too. Her parents are good people, albeit prejudiced against anything with a tail. Took a while to persuade them not to treat the beastmen immigrants too badly.”

The Moreschi family, a noble house in the Lecartiglio duchy. It had been a while since I first met Cernust and his, now fiancée, Severa Moreschi. Back then, I was helping her brother, Antonio, “rescue” his sister as she was allegedly kidnapped by Cernust. It already sounded weird, but once we resolved the misunderstanding, we got dragged into rescuing some adventurers from a grimgarian battalion.

Now, the two were to be married. I was a bit concerned since Cernust was a drake, so he would outlive her, but I guess love conquered all in this situation. In any case, he was extremely helpful since he was working like a gardener for everybody, and this was one of his ways to help us out.

“You shouldn’t disregard the soil making of the gnomes, though,” Tasianna argued against Cernust, mentioning something about ‘gnomes.’

When I asked her about them, she told me to activate [Mana Eyes] and look outside the RV’s window. When I did so, I couldn’t really see anything outside of some mana signals, but that was about it. When that didn’t get the point across, Tasianna had to explain to me gnomes were the names of lesser fae.

Similar to how spriggans were faefolk born inside forests, gnomes were those born inside mountains and underneath the earth. While far less mischievous and childish, they were also less talkative. In addition, they were also a boon for local soil or rocks since they try to make their homes more comfortable, enriching them.

When Cernust heard this, he waved his hands in denial, stating with pride how forest drakes could produce the best planting soil. Even normal earth drakes wouldn’t be able to beat him and his clan in that, something he swore on the name of Kurnistus, his ancestor. Well, I personally didn’t care where I got my soil, so I left the three to their squabble after I drenched the soil in my mana.

I then entered the subspace, looking into Grimnir’s smithy. Just like always, there was a small shop in front of it to serve as Grimnir’s way to work and make some money. We would reopen it soon, but first he had to finish the renovations in his workshop. The moment I entered it, though, I had to take a step back as flame roared, nearly hitting me.

“… Uhm, okay?” Slightly cautious. I entered the workshop again, this time I was greeted by the fervent laughter of a madman. To be specific, it was the crazy laughter of Grimnir.

“Gahahahaha! Burn that fuel!” he shouted before he snapped his head around. “Oooooh! Lass! Got that damn moldable metal from Broggi figured out! We’re ready to make some dragon armor!”

My mouth curved up.

Panzer über Feuerpanzer über Drachenpanzer, hehe. (Panzer(Armor) over [Panzer] over dragon scales.)