laulau20

Chapter 69: Quest

Added 2025-04-10 03:21:50 +0000 UTC

James stalked the beast like a tiger. He knew the system didn’t lie. It shouldn’t give him an undefeatable quest. That quadrupedal robot was too big for James to handle, so the only way to actually defeat it was to sneak inside and stab its heart like a virus or bacteria.

The robotic rhino stopped. James had no idea how long he had been following it, for all he had were unchanging stars in the sky. It felt like he had been following it for hours, or even a day. But he didn't know.

Like a good dog, the robot sat down as its stomach opened from the port side, revealing dozens of purple humanoids wearing nothing but leather skirts. James was ready to take them on as he sped up to the walking rhino.

Nevertheless, he missed his chance as the purple men with robotic ostriches went off to the north.

[Quest! Save Bulion Village!
Objective: Save at least 50 people in Bulion Village.
Reward: 300 coins]

“Hm? Quest? That's never happened before.” James looked at the system notification.

[Information classified]

The system didn't answer James’s question.

“Is my mission to destroy that thing or is it to save some village?”

[Disabling the Huma should be your utmost priority. However, there will be an extra reward if this village is saved.]

“What’s in it for you? Is that village important?”

[Information classified]

“Well, I expected that answer.” James sighed. “I’m going to ignore that request.”

James did not want to get distracted. It was already difficult catching up with a rhino. This was a chance. James needed to hurry up and finish this dungeon. Exploring the floor could be done at a safer pace once the huge robotic monster was down.

So, James ran toward the rhino. There were four guards manning the door near its feet on the port side. After a golden meteor from his bow bored a hole into one of their skulls, he was now left with three humanoid monsters. James holstered his crossbow and unsheathed his axe and longsword. The lightning that coated them sparked and buzzed as he ran toward them. The monsters quickly took their stance. Unlike James, they worked as a team.

Golden flashes came from their spears as they leaped and dashed from James' flank. James’s sword skill, [Hurricane], met them head-on, sending two of them flying. Another purple man charged from the front—the golden meteor met James’s shield. He felt a prickly pain as the spear drew blood from his crab shell. The force of the impact knocked him back, and he fell on his butt.

The last purple man came. Knowing he would win, he prepared his spear skill. Nevertheless, James had him in sight. He unleashed his fire breath, cooking two of the purple raiders before him. James didn't waste any time—using his new sword skill, he got up and lunged to his left, bisecting a monster in two. The last raider shrieked. Its maw opened wide, and its pink tongue slithered out from its body.

A golden boomerang then came at its head. It didn’t bisect its head—it crushed it like a tomato. James then jogged toward the three-meter platform. The monster had conveniently left the hangar door open.

While most of the monsters had joined the raid, a lot of them stayed behind in the mobile base. Nevertheless, as expected from a novice dungeon, their power wasn't so overwhelming. Even if James was surrounded, his magic and weapon skills made quick work of them.

“Alright. Where is the main control room?” James asked after he cleared the hangar. The system gave its trademark [Information classified] answer. He ignored it as he found a door at the corner of the hangar. A notification from his Chimera skill alerted him to the parts he could have.

[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]

[Available Body Parts:]

Nirvok’s Tongue (Two-meter Appendage) (Tongue Slot)

“Why are you listing this to me?” James asked.

[It is better than your current tongue. Will you replace it?]

“Don’t I already have a tail that behaves the same?”

[That is correct. But that one is in an extra slot, while this one is in the tongue slot.]

“I see. But two meters is not a lot. And you can’t modify its place, right?”

[If you want to modify the place of installation, you have to turn it into an extra slot.]

James hesitated. It certainly was better than the normal tongue he had right now. Two meters might sound short, but it was enough to grab anything from his body—his crossbow, for example. Moreover, if he had two, he might even use it to fire the crossbow.

Alas, before he made his decision, the door opened thanks to its earlier screech. Three Nirvok, who had better arms, came out from the hatch. Their spears were not made of iron—they were enchanted, with flame wreathed around them.

James held his blade tight. Unlike the other Nirvok, these ones held their tongues out. The sharp, pinprick needle at the tip of their tongues didn't escape James' attention. Like a bull, James charged in as the golden arcs sparked from his axe.

[Paralysis poison, nullified]

Thankfully, James’ heart was a Golem Core. Mana prevented his blood from reacting to the poisons. James didn’t slow down as he cleaved an elite Nirvok with his axe. Despite their breastplate armor and helmets, it was powerless against a weapon skill.

With his sword at the ready, he slashed another Nirvok with his sword. Surprisingly, the purple knight held on with his spear. Another Nirvok circled around James, trying to take him from behind. James lashed out with his tail, using it as a fire whip.

A banter of axes and shields ensued between James and the Nirvok warrior before him. Weapon skills might be convenient, but they needed preparation. So, when already this close, sometimes, the best thing was the usual swing.

“Take this!” James unleashed his axe skill, V Slash. The elite Nirvok also unleashed his skill. Both knew that ordinary strikes would only be repelled by armor.

The elite monster was tough, even with James’ enhanced stats. Nevertheless, James still won the skill clash. When two golden meteors clashed, the elite monster was pushed back. Since James’s skill was a two-hit weapon skill, the second strike killed one of them, creating a deep gash from his shoulder to its stomach.

“Two down! One more to go!” James roared. He then looked toward the last monster. Knowing that he couldn't win, the monster ran while dropping his spear.

“...System, can I take the tongue now?” James asked.

[Congratulations. You have obtained 100 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to level 23. Would you like to modify your body? Y/n]

[Available body parts:
Elite Nirvok’s tongue (Two-meter appendage, medium paralysis poison) (tongue slot)]

“Yes.”

As always, the Chimera consumed the body of the Nirvok in motes of dark light. It had been quite some time since James had received new parts.

cough *

James gagged as he felt foreign matter under his tongue. When he stuck out his tongue, instead of stretching like it normally would, it rolled out for two meters. He then rolled the tongue back into his mouth.

“This is disgusting,” James muttered. He could still taste the sweet, syrupy flavor from his venom fang. That means this tongue still had a sense of taste. He couldn't imagine using this tongue to grab things from the ground. It felt unhygienic. Sure, he had the Goblin Stomach, which wouldn't even give him a cold even when he ate raw feces. It's a matter of feelings.

“Could I use the poison from the tongue on my arrow?” James asked. His fang had a life-leeching poison. If he combined that with his tongue, it meant he now had two types of poison.

[The poison skill from Nirvok could not be exposed to outside air. It must be injected directly.]

“Alright. As always, the world is harsh on me,” James sighed. He then walked to the hatch, chasing the cowardly Nirvok. It had been about three minutes. The Nirvok could very well be on the other side of the robot. Nevertheless, as long as James could destroy this robot, he wins.

After the hatch, James had to travel long corridors made with riveted steel plates. There were many doors on the sides, but James decided not to open them. He didn't feel safe rummaging through this moving dungeon without beating the boss first. The corridor branched into winding paths—some took him upstairs while some took him down, and some even had dead ends. At one of the dead ends, James found a treasure chest lying around.

James was focused on finding the boss or the heart of this robotic monster. But he wouldn't say no to the free treasure chest that he found by chance. Sanders wasn't here to check for traps, so he used his usual ritual to open the chest with his magic from afar. But the chest wouldn't open. When he came closer, he could see a slit that seemed like it would fit for swiping a card. The chests were evolving. Instead of the usual keys, it now needed a keycard.

“This chest needs an access card? This thing wasn't even electronic!” James sighed.

[There is a dynamo inside. You can turn on the lock after pulling the cord to power its internal dynamo.]

The system answered with a perfect retort. James did find the pull cord to power the dynamo; however, he didn't find any keycard. So, pulling the cord was useless.

“Let's just find the boss first.” James sighed as he glanced at his status while venturing through the robotic dinosaur.

[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 46
Coins: 350
Merit: 1

Stats:

STR: 147 (↑2)
DEX: 145 (↑3)
MAGIC: 101 (↑3)
MANA: 980 (↑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) (↑1)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1

Magic:

Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar

Class:

Attacker (Level 23) (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 Available

Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:

Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra 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)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
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)
Kraken’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 5 meters, Negative Trait: STR -10%) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Land Shark's Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)