laulau20

Chapter 74: Choosing Sides

Added 2025-04-25 04:48:49 +0000 UTC

“Hm… they are doing night raids now. They didn’t do that before.” James muttered as the Nirvok scouted the town at dusk.

James had barely enough sleep, and the rest of the warriors seemed to feel the same way. The Nirvok now seemed to have a sense of urgency that he couldn’t explain. He understood that they wanted to rebuild the great weapon again, but he wondered why they were so eager that they couldn’t even wait a day.

“We should attack tomorrow. The looters just got back from a very long journey, and we are all tired,” James said to the Nirvok leader. But the leader ignored him.

“We shall attack now!” the Nirvok leader declared. His words had a sense of finality that James gave up arguing against him. The first team had some rest, but the second team—the looters—had not slept yet. Nevertheless, it was not James’ problem. All James needed to do was to make sure that they delivered the cargo.

Just like the night before, the Nirvok crept upon the enemy’s bastion. After dispatching their night watch, the Nirvok leader went for the conspicuous warehouse. Then, he charged toward the warehouse with a yell, breaking the silent night.

Like poking a beehive, the town was startled awake. Alarm bells rang left and right as James dismounted again and slashed at the incoming defenders, while the Nirvok leader tried to load the ManaSteel into their raptors. Instead of four, they tried to load six of those beams into the raptors.

James had to carry two of those beams, and they darted off from the town. The raptors were noticeably slower due to the weight they had to carry. Alas, they succeeded, which made James wonder whether he was actually needed in this raid, as they seemed to fare well even without him.

“You, merc! You have a mana core, right? Charge these raptors,” the Nirvok commanded James. Some of the raptors had slowed down to a walking pace.

“Please?” James sarcastically answered. He was about to refuse them out of spite, only for the quest board to pop up before him.

[Quest: Charge Nirvok’s miniHuma
Reward: 500 coins]

As if the Nirvok knew James wouldn’t refuse, they lined up before him, expecting James to fill all of their raptors. James wondered where their arrogance came from. It was the system who paid him, not them.

Nevertheless, James had to. Without it, the quest would fail. Grumbling, James put his hand to the miniHuma one by one. As his mana was sucked out, the miniHuma was reinvigorated. Nevertheless, their speed had dropped to less than half due to the heavy load.

[Quest completed. You have received 500 coins. You have received a random armor chest. You have received a random weapon chest. You have leveled up to level 49. Your Attacker class has leveled up to level 26.]

It took way longer than necessary, but James managed to come back to the Nirvok camp. Just like in the previous floor, the Nirvok ignored him once he completed the mission.

[Random armor chest opened! You have obtained Mana Shot Ring.]

[Mana Shot Ring
An accessory worn by kings and queens of old as a distraction during their ambushes. The Mana Shot Ring will shoot a mana bullet at a target less than 20 meters away. The damage is not much, but the bright flash it produces often blinds the enemy for a moment.]

[Random weapon chest opened! You have obtained Remington 700 CDL. .223 Remington bullet added to the shop.]

[You have obtained a mount: Gallus Deinochorus.]

[The portal to the next floor will be opened shortly.]

“Oh! A hunting rifle!” James exclaimed when the system spawned the Remington rifle in his hand. The Remington came with a scope and a single bullet. When James checked, the bullet cost about the same as the .45-70 Government bullet he had for the Thompson that he gave Sanders before.

James was not a big fan of guns. In this world, where guns don't come with weapon skills, bows are preferable. However, this gun had a scope. With this rifle, James could snipe a target more than 500 meters away from him. Even without skills, guns certainly had their uses in this world of swords and magic.

The golden portal soon spawned away from the Nirvok camp, and a golden arrow appeared before James. James frowned at how the Nirvok fed an autonomous four-story building with their loot. The building had no windows or doors; it only had an arm with which it picked up the mana stone and ManaSteel and fed them inside an opening.

The whole thing gave him the creeps. It was as if the building was alive and the Nirvok were feeding and worshiping it.

James then touched the golden portal outside the Nirvok settlement, and soon, he was transported inside the usual waiting room. This time, something was different. Instead of the usual loading bar, the system now presented him a choice:

[The next floor has two clashing objectives. Which quest are you willing to accept?]

Quest one: Defend the Nirvorian Autonomous Huma Queen.
Reward: FGM-148 Javelin, floor completion

Quest two: Destroy the Nirvorian Autonomous Huma Queen.
Reward: Halberd of Yalaituh, floor completion

"What's an FGM Javelin? Is that a spear?" James asked.

[Information classified.]

"Haah…" James sighed. He knew about guns, he knew about rockets, but he wasn't so nerdy about it that he would know their names. He didn't know that the FGM-148 Javelin is a rocket launcher.

But that was not important. He didn't wish to support that purple monster with a slithering tongue even if he was paid extra. He hated them.

"I'm choosing the second quest. I'm gonna destroy those damn purple monsters," James declared.

[Second quest has been chosen.]

White light enveloped James and he was soon transported into the wasteland. Huge camps filled with goblin soldiers and orcs rummaged about. Thousands of them were preparing to launch an attack against the Nirvok camp.

James looked around as soldiers brought firewood and cooked in this desolate place. He didn't realize that the Nirvok never had this problem.

“Hey, we meet again. Ready for the last march? This time, we shall finish those monsters for good,” the friendly orc general greeted him. He didn't even notice the raptor that killed his best goblin friend beside James. James sighed at the absurdity of this world.

“So, what is my work?” James asked.

“We kill the monster's central power point and those warmongering tribes will be gone for good.”

“I don't see any anti-tank gun. What if they brought a Huma?” James asked. Part of him was glad that he was on this side. Those Huma might be frightening, but as long as he had that anti-tank gun, a single shot to its stomach would finish a Huma.

“Umm… that gun was destroyed in the recent Huma attack and we have no more extras… Nah, I should not lie to you. The city council didn't allow us to bring it, saying that it will be better used to defend the city,” the orc general sighed. For some reason, they were not allowed to bring the gun. James’s anxiety spiked to the roof at once.

“What the fuck? That was so stupid!” James shouted. The orc general smiled sarcastically, silently agreeing with James.

“We should not need it. The enemy should not have any more of those metallic behemoths. The chance of the gun being destroyed was higher since their army will consist of most of the raptors. That's what they said,” he sighed.

James knew these Nirvok would have a Huma soon. He participated in the fucking raid to loot for the resources to build them. James regretted choosing this side immediately. He should have known better than to support a democratic crook. They only appeared nice on the surface!

“If those monsters have a Huma, we are screwed!” James said.

“Agreed. That's why we shall not give them any time to build any. We shall attack at dawn.”

James didn't wait. Even though he was tired, even though he had not gotten enough sleep since the raid on the previous floor, he drove his new mount toward the Nirvok encampment. He had to make sure that there was no Huma there.

Half an hour later, he had arrived. An armored orc that rode a horse was there at the top of a sandy hill in this grey, ashen world. From there, he could see the Nirvorian settlement.

James had not had the luxury to see it from afar, but now that he did, he could see the living mechanical buildings seemed to feed off one another. Four buildings merged into one complex; its mechanical arms put out parts after parts, forming a Huma. Mechanical tentacles seemed to spread from other buildings, welding joints and armor into the Huma.

“The Huma is already half complete…” James muttered. “We need to act soon.”

“It will be close, but we shall make it at dawn,” the scout reported.

“I’m not gonna watch here while they complete a Huma! You tell me how to destroy that building now and I will do it myself,” James roared. The system kindly gave him an answer.

[Once you have access to the control panel, you can use your keycard to initiate a self-destruct sequence.]

“I see.”

[However, the self-destruct sequence can be canceled if any Nirvok manages to get a hold of the control panel. If that happens, you will have to start over again.]

“Alright, I’m going,” James said.

“It is suicide! You can’t beat them on your own!”

“It is suicide if you let them finish that monster!” James roared.

Ignoring the scout, he rode his raptor toward the Nirvok camp. James had promised he would not listen to anyone’s bullshit ever again. This is his choice; he wanted to see it through. Whether he would die or not, that no longer mattered.

Everyone was looking for safety, that’s why they couldn’t evolve. James was like that. He took safe jobs, he took no risks. Eventually, he was phased out like a useless piece of trash. But now, he was different. James knew what he had to do, and now, he would do it.

Even if he was alone, he would assault the damn Nirvok. He would not let them build another one of those monsters. Whether James was smart or suicidal, only time will tell.

[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 49 (↑1)
Coins: 1100
Merit: 2

Stats:

STR: 155 (↑3)
DEX: 152 (↑2)
MAGIC: 110 (↑3)
MANA: 1040 (↑20)

Skills:

Novice Axe Mastery Level 5 (Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang)
Novice Sword Mastery Level 1 (Hurricane, Vorpal Lunge)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 8 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1

Magic:

Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar

Class:

Attacker (Level 26) (↑1)
(10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level)

Shop (Level 2):

Health Potion (100 Coins)
Hematonic Potion (50 Coins)
High Potion (300 Coins)
Antidote (50 Coins)
Sell Function / Repair Function
Bullets (10 Coins / Round)
Grenades (50 Coins / Piece)
Arrow (50 Coins / Dozen)
Metal Pocket Arrow (100 Coins / Dozen)

Unique Skill – Chimera Level 2:

Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Minotaur Leader’s Left Arm (STR +25%) (Left Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
Elite Nirvok’s Tongue (Two-Meter Appendage, Medium Paralysis Poison) (Tongue Slot)
Land Shark’s Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Kraken’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 5 meters, Negative Trait: STR -10%) (Extra Slot 3)
Mana Core (Wind Spells: Wind Gust, Wind Wall, Magic +20, Mana +300) (Extra Slot 4)