Choo! Choo!
The steam locomotive departed from the station at the signal of the stationmaster. Its gear started turning and steam began coming out of its chimney.
Lucas, assuming the identity of a wandering merchant, was sitting in his Middle-Class carriage, where two other people were. His identity was a man with enough money, but know how hard money was to get so he would not splurge. He chose the middle class instead of the first class because of that.
The train was comprised of a locomotive and ten carriages in total. There were two First Class and Middle-Class Carriages and four Third Class carriages. There was a whole carriage for a restaurant separating the First and Middle-Class carriages, and an empty carriage for storage at the back.
There was a connecting corridor between each carriage that was spacious enough for people to hand around in case they felt tired of sitting down, and there was a big space where the toilet was located at the front of each carriage.
"Even the Middle-Class carriage is this comfortable, and it even has a roomette like the First Class. It's really worth the money to pay a little extra," he mumbled, which garnered the attention of the other two people.
"Excuse me-- was just talking to myself," he smiled politely.
Talking to himself was a habit he had picked up ever since he was transmigrated to this world. It got even worse after he killed his first human. It had been a way for him to cope with his situation and manage his mental sanity.
"It's understandable. My cousin also likes to talk to himself. He said it's for mental stimulation," the man sitting in front of him spoke.
He was a man in his late twenties, wearing a neat shirt and a pair of pants. The round glasses that he wore made him look like an academician.
"Are you by any chance going to Glassen as well?" he asked.
So he's going to Glassen. Is he perhaps a university professor? That city is famous for its numerous universities.
"Oh, excuse my rudeness. I'm Randolph, a professor... now. I am going to Glassen to start a new job," the man said again before Lucas could answer.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lucas, a merchant. I'm going to Lenster actually. The capital is better for mercantile business, after all," Lucas smiled and looked at the other man beside Randolph, "Are you traveling together?"
The two men walked into the roomette together, so he assumed they knew each other.
"A merchant? Wonderful! What do you mainly sell? I'm never good at sales. I feel bad for making people pay for things--that's how it's supposed to be, but that's just me, and yes, this is my colleague, Michal. We are starting the job together," Randolph introduced the other man warmly.
"Nice to meet you. We're new professors starting together," Michal smiled shortly. It was apparent that he was not as talkative as Randolph. The man continued leaning against the compartment door.
University professors. Might be a good identity to use. If only they were alone, I could simply read their memory. Shall I put one to sleep?
Lucas was pondering for a while.
"I sold textiles back in Denver, but I heard the clothing industry is blooming in Lenster, so I am jumping into the pool for that one," he answered.
Nah, it's too dangerous. They might be Unnaturals with defensive abilities. I'll just observe and copy the identity the good old way. This man Randolph seems easier to copy.
Lucas began observing the friendly and surprisingly talkative young man in front of him. His face was ordinary and easily forgotten, but he was emitting an aura of intelligence, so he should do well as a professor.
The man's blonde hair was combed neatly to the left, and the manner in which he sat was proper. He seemed to have been raised in a good family. Michal, on the other hand, looked more nonchalant. The man with dark brown hair seemed to be the type who did not really care what people thought of him.
His mannerism seems genuine, but someone like this is either real or hiding something. But this should be enough to copy him.
"Please excuse me a moment, I have something I need to finish," he said as an excuse.
"Sure, no problem! Sorry if I talk too much. Sometimes I do it without realizing," Randolph replied apologetically.
Taking out a notebook from his luggage, Lucas placed it in front of him, pretending to be reading something important while keeping the content invisible from the two men.
In reality, he was focusing hard and began 'absorbing' Randolph into his memory. He was like carving a statue of the man in his mind, chiseling every little detail into perfection. It took him almost five minutes of full concentration to copy the appearance of Randolph.
Finally, it's done. I have two more empty slots. Let's keep them for now just in case. Now I just need to know more about this Randolph, and first, his last name.
With that, Lucas began chatting with Randolph and occasionally, Michal jumped in as well.
He found out that the man's last name was Luden, and he lived in Steinburgh, a city in Taril. It was a very peaceful city with conservative people, which explained why the man so easily talked about himself with a stranger. Someone from a dangerous country like Mulch would be more guarded, exactly like Michal.
Randolph took a detour to Glassen to meet up with Michal in Mulch since they were both starting as new professors. The man did not give any more details about how they met, but Lucas didn't mind that since it was none of his business.
As they continued talking, the view outside gradually changed. Denver was mainly an industrial city, so the landscape outside was mostly barren land. Their destination, Ladenstein, was a country located in the south, and as the train headed southward, the barren land was slowly replaced with plantations.
It would take a little over a day for the train to arrive at its destination, so Lucas had a lot of time to get to know Randolph.
Knock Knock!
Suddenly, the door to their compartment was knocked, and from the small window, the men could see that the guest was someone in a uniform--most likely a train attendant.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I apologize for the interruption, but this is an emergency," the door was opened, and there was a male train attendant standing in the hallway.
Judging by their tone, something big must have happened.
"What is going on?" asked Randolph.
"Please don't worry, everything is under control. The middle and first-class carriages are experiencing technical difficulties, so for your safety, may I ask you to evacuate to the economy class for the time being?" the attendant tried to speak as politely and calmly as he could.
Technical difficulties? Something else must have happened. Hijacking? Lucas thought.
He didn't want to get involved in something dangerous and risk his new identity, so he complied with the attendant. If he had the chance, he would use another identity later to investigate, to appease his curiosity.
Grabbing his luggage tightly, he stood up and followed the attendants. His disassembled rifle was safely hidden in the secret compartment of his luggage, and he had discarded the violin case since it wouldn't match his current identity.
"Where should we go? And will it be safe in the economy class?" asked Randolph with worry in his tone.
"Don't worry, Sir. It is nothing dangerous, just technical difficulty, and our engineers are already on it. However, to prevent unexpected events, we need to evacuate everyone for now,"
"Will there be enough seats in the economy class?" Michal asked.
"Yes, sir. We have emptied a carriage for you and the original occupants have been moved to a different carriage."
These people handled things really professionally, Lucas complimented silently.
Besides them, the other passengers were also being escorted by train attendants, and a lot of them looked unhappy with the situation.
The train did not stop, and the people kept on walking to the back, where the economy class was located.
They arrived at an emptied carriage, and the economy class had an open carriage with rows of seats for two people on each side.
Skillfully, the attendants seated everyone and the seats were quickly filled. The remaining people were escorted into another carriage.
Some people were complaining and throwing a fit, especially those from the First Class. However, the attendants did not engage in a conversation with them and just quickly left.
"What kind of nonsense is this?! I paid a lot of money for this journey! I am not staying here!" a man said angrily.
"I will file a complaint to the train management! Those attendants need to be fired!" a woman spoke with entitlement in her tone.
However, in the end, they didn't do anything else and remained in their seats.
"What do you think happened?" a man in his late thirties who was now sitting next to Lucas asked.
"We don't know either. They just said it's a technical difficulty. Maybe a gas pipe or the air vent broke, which can be dangerous, so they evacuated everyone," Lucas replied calmly.
Randolph still looked a little confused, while Michal was as nonchalant as ever. He was enjoying his window seat and was busy looking at the scenery outside.
"I need to use the restroom, so if the attendant is looking for me, I'll be there," Lucas said suddenly.
He stood up, carrying the whole luggage with him. That was understandable that people would want to keep their belongings with them, so no one questioned his action.
The restroom was located in the connecting hallway between carriages, so Lucas quickly walked there and entered the empty room. After locking the door, he swiped his hand over his face and his appearance quickly changed.
His brown hair turned darker and darker until it became black. He also grew two centimeters taller and his features became sharper. He had turned into one of his secret identities: Vincent Patriarca.
Quickly, he unzipped his luggage and took out a gun from the secret compartment. The man concealed the gun under his coat and placed his luggage on the rack above.
"You will now be forgotten..." he chanted, and a mysterious haze began engulfing the luggage. Although it was still there, people would tend to forget it as if it was something unimportant.
"Too bad the toilet cannot be locked from outside," he complained, "And too bad I cannot use the enchantment on myself..."