Chapter 73: Switching Sides

“We won!” The city cheered in joy. The general orc was bandaged, but from his liveliness, James didn’t think he would kick the bucket yet.

James smiled as he looked at the surroundings before preparing himself to head out to the next floor. The inhabitants had been ignoring him ever since the HUMA was destroyed. It was as if he was not even there.

James dismissed it as one of the quirks of the dungeon and moved to the portal. James looked at the destroyed mecha and scavenged it. Through the ruins, he spotted another locked chest. The locked chest could be opened with a keycard. Apparently that keycard was extremely important in this dungeon.

[You have found a spear.]

“That’s it? Was there anything special about it?”

[None. This is a beginner spear sometimes provided to survivors when they first go into a dungeon.]

“What the hell…” James said as he picked the spear. He would dump it at the guild’s office later. Even though it was a normal spear, it was a dungeon relic.

“Wait, I can upgrade it, just like my axe, right?”

[Yes. You can upgrade it into a lance and then enchant it with lightning attribute. Would you like to spend 500 coins to upgrade it?]

“Nah, I’m just asking. I don’t even have spear mastery.”

After he was done, he touched the portal. He had been doing this so many times now that he couldn’t even feel the vertigo caused by the transfer.

“The next one is the third floor, right?” James asked. The system confirmed it. From previous dungeons, James assumed the last floor was a free zone where his only job was to pick up the dungeon core. So, after this, he should only have one floor left.

After the loading screen had hit 100 percent, James was transported before a Nirvok. James was startled as heck and drew his axe in panic. The purple monster stared at him without care. James didn’t hesitate and swung his lightning axe at him. However, his axe bounced off the purple barrier that protected the Nirvok.

“What the heck?” James looked around in a daze. The dungeon was protecting the Nirvok? What is going on?

“So, are you willing to accept the quest?” the purple monster asked.

“Huh? What quest?”

“Two of our Huma have been destroyed, so we are short on manpower. If we do not succeed in the next looting, we are doomed.”

“So? That’s good if you guys are destroyed, right?” James didn’t care much about the fate of goblins and orcs in the previous city, and he cared even less about these Nirvok. No, James despised them. Nirvok lived by pillaging others, like marauding bands. They were bandits.

“If we succeed in the next raid, we will be able to build another Huma in the Forge. We can recover.” The purple demon continued. James had a bad feeling, and his fears were realized. The system had issued a quest to him.

[Quest: Help Nirvok with their raiding parties
Nirvok Raiders are threatened since their Huma was destroyed. Help them rebuild their Huma.
Objective: Loot at least forty mana stones and 150 ManaSteel.
Reward: Floor completion + Random weapon chest + Random armor chest + mini HUMA Galus Deinochorus]

“Shit!” James cursed. The Nirvok before him acted like an NPC and didn’t care for James’s behavior a single bit. He continued.

“You seem like a strong warrior. Please help us. The riders will go in one hour. If you agree, we shall provide you with one of our mounts.”

“Huh?” James was taken aback. He then summoned the quest board again, and indeed, there was a description about the mini Huma. Was the system talking about that raptor? I could ride one of those things?

“So, you will give it to me?” James’s hesitance quickly faded as he eyed the mechanical raptor greedily.

“Yes. If we succeed, this Mini Huma will be yours. You may borrow it for the time being.”

[The mini Huma, Galus Deinochorus, will only be registered to the system once the mission is complete. You cannot repair it beforehand. If it is destroyed or missing during the mission, the system will not repair or replace it.]

James hesitated. The shop didn’t only provide him with potions and upgrades, but it could also repair his weapons and armor if they were registered. It could also provide him with bullets and arrows. If this raptor was destroyed before it was registered into the system, then he wouldn’t be able to repair it. He would lose his only chance at getting a mount.

“Can I just run to chase them?” James said.

[The mini Huma can run at a speed of 80 km/hour. Your enhanced stats will only let you run at 40 km per hour for half an hour before needing to rest. The travel time between missions is 6 hours. It is recommended to use the mini Huma.]

The system gave him the cruel answer. James nodded and accepted the Huma.

“Alright. I will go,” James answered.

[Use the keycard to unlock the mini Huma and to lock it.]

James swiped the card in his inventory as instructed. The mini Huma revved to life and walked beside him. It was comical how this Huma could speed up to 80 km per hour despite being only around the size of an ostrich.

[The mini Huma could do a leap attack, bite and scratch attack only when they are ridden by a survivor. They will be immobilized otherwise. They require mana and magic to operate.]

“But they could move on their own the last time I saw them!” James complained. He thought he would get an awesome game pet who would assist him in combat. But instead, he only got a motorcycle.

[With Huma, the mini Huma can be controlled remotely. However, since the assault was not accompanied by a Huma, your mini Huma will not be controlled. Moreover, since this mini Huma will be given to you, its transceiver will be cut off. It will not be able to be controlled remotely even if a Huma is nearby.]

“Damn…” James muttered.

“Will you need a charge? It will cost 250 Gald for each charge. No money? Then you can only ask someone that has a mana core, then,” the NPC Nirvok said. James shooed him away as he put his hand on its head. The head glowed for a bit, and he could feel his mana being sucked into the raptor. The NPC then left after informing James where he had to meet up with the rest of the raiders.

“Whoa!” James tried to ride the raptor. It was not like a horse or motorcycle. The ride felt bumpy. When the raptor trotted, James could feel his body being thrown left and right.

It took exactly one hour for James to reach the raiding party. By then, James was already familiarizing himself with the raptor, and now, it could hop over some obstacles and even gallop.

“We shall march! We shall plunder! We shall rebuild our home!” the leader of the Norvik said, and the team cheered. James rolled his eyes at his declaration. Nevertheless, he had to follow his instructions. The quest demanded it. If he did not, he would stay on this floor forever.

The group then began to march. The raptors galloped through the wasteland, and James followed behind them. After what seemed like forever going through the windless wasteland, James finally saw greenery far beyond. It was as if heaven was just at arm’s reach.

The army stopped moments away from the greenery. The two-dozen army was further split into two—one for combat and the other for transporting the loot. Of course, James was put in the advance team.

[Hint: The steel forge is located in the armory, while the mana stone is located in the warehouse. You must defeat the guards at both locations.]

“Yes, yes…” James said lazily. When the night came, the twelve vanguards rushed up toward the castle town. The mechanical raptor let out a weird clunking noise, but in the windy grassland? The sound was barely heard by the night watch.

Unlike in the previous floor, this time, the raptors climbed the wall slowly and quietly. James didn’t know how, but it seemed the team already knew where the warehouse and the armory were, as they immediately went towards them after dispatching the two night guards.

Golden meteors shot through the night and penetrated the orc that stood guard. James quickly reloaded and shot another arrow filled with poison from his fang. Other lightweight Nirvok quickly finished the poor orc guard off. Then, four of those Nirvok riders slammed the door open.

The raiders wreaked havoc inside, killing all goblin warehouse keepers. The warehouse was filled with lots of stuff—gold coins, food, and tools. But the one the Nirvok were after was the mana stone, and there was only a sack of it left.

“Bring this to the looting team,” the Nirvok leader gave the sack to a fellow Nirvok. Then, he shouted, “Continue! To the armory!”

James followed the raiders to the armory. As the alarm bells rang, more and more guards came out and engaged them. James couldn’t use his sword or axe skills while mounted, so he stayed further back and shot arrows instead. But his Nirvok comrades proved to be weaker than expected. Without a Huma, the raptors needed to be ridden at all times. If the rider dismounted, the raptors could only walk timidly if ordered.

James quickly dismounted. His life was more important than the cool raptor he was offered. He couldn’t fight well without his weapon skills. Once he reached the armory, he cleared the guards with a single breath. Fire raged through the street. The panicking orcs and goblins were soon cut down by James.

“Huh? How the fuck are we going to carry these? We need 150 of these?” James said as he saw a wide flange I-beam in the armory. The armory didn’t even have 150 of them, only fifty at most.

“Guard the door. We shall do the rest, mercs,” the Nirvok said.

“...” James glared at the Nirvok, but like a game’s NPC, they didn’t care a single bit about James and continued to load the steel beams into their raptors. Surprisingly, each of these raptors could carry up to four of those steel beams—two on each side.

James felt stupid for worrying whether he had reached the weight limit when he decided to load all of his backpack and armor into the raptor, apparently, he still had a lot of room to spare after seeing how those puurple demons loaded those heavy steel beams into metal raptors.

The Nirvok quickly departed. James knew the Nirvok needed more of that ManaSteel, so he knew he would be tasked with yet another raid.

“Good… Good! With this, our goal of reviving Huma will come to fruition! If we can destroy their mana furnace, we shall reclaim our home!” the Nirvok leader shouted as they camped a distance away from the city. James was rather impatient. Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do but wait.

When dawn arrived, the Nirvok soon marched to the second city.