Chapter 68: New Dungeon

James now had a goal. The guild had helped him with the flight, so James packed his things and ordered a taxi to the airport. Silas ran and stopped the taxi because he wanted to say something to James.

“James. As you may know, the world is rather in chaos right now. It would be better if you sleep in our headquarters.”

“Why not the hotel?”

“Well, the price could reach a thousand bucks a day. Well, you are free to do so if you wish. Nowadays, surviving companies offer their office as apartments for their employees as well.” Silas offered this because he also did not want to let James rent a house or apartment while guild houses they rented in California remained empty. If people knew about it, especially people like Douglas, they might flock to him to hire him. His ties with the guild are weak now.

“I see. I will consider it. Give me a call. I will drop my stuff there after I talk to that Mayor WP about which dungeon I should conquer next.” James said. He then urged the taxi to leave.

Silas sighed. As he returned to his impromptu office in Germany, Kouki and Sanders greeted him while chewing a kebab.

“I saw James riding a taxi. Where did he go? He also brought all of his stuff,” Kouki said.

“Yeah, I kinda get that you may not want to separate from your sword after that ordeal in the dungeon, but did he have to bring his leather bag too?”

“James is going home. He has reserved two dungeons from the list. He will be conquering them shortly. One is a dam, and the other is a warehouse.”

“Eh? It's only been three days. He already went to another dungeon?” Kouki said, flabbergasted.

“Well, apparently he owed the mayor a favor.” Silas looked away. “Anyway, we can’t rely on James for everything, can we? So, when will you guys depart?”

“The problem was resolved, right? The reactor is stable inside dungeons. There is nothing to worry about,” Kouki shrugged.

“Without the reactor, we might lose electricity, but we don’t have to rush things anymore, right?”

“Erm… I wish it was that easy… While the immediate problem goes away, I received reports that the grid has some deterioration. If no action is taken, a nuclear meltdown is almost certain.”

“What?” Kouki shrieked.

“Calm down. Let us get to the meeting room. This information should be classified,” Silas said while getting them all to the meeting room.

“So, what do you mean a meltdown is almost certain?”

“The deterioration was minimal, but it was certainly there. Do you know how nuclear power plants work?” Silas then began his lecture.

“First, the reactors produce heat, which is used to boil water, producing steam to power the turbines. Then, the electricity is transferred to a grid, where various control panels, transformers, and capacitors for safety are located. Then, some of the electricity is returned back to the reactors to power the pumps in the cooling tower.”

“So… do these pumps break?”

“If the pumps break, the nuclear reactor will SCRAM and shut down the reactor, using a separate emergency pump for cooling. The chance of the reactors succeeding in shutting down safely without human intervention is above 70%... not as high as I would like, considering the damage it may cause… However, if the water evaporates… then we are doomed.”

“Hm? There’s only one water pool?”

“There are five… but these reservoirs leak water vapor over time. Even the emergency reservoir loses 5% of its water on a monthly basis. That’s why we have multiple pumps running here and there. But the pumps to fill these reservoirs need to be turned on manually.” Silas frowned.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about, right? The reactors would probably run out of fuel by then.”

“Well, hopefully, that is the case… Leaving a nuclear power plant without supervision for a prolonged amount of time was never in the safety guidelines. There are many safety devices we could use to mitigate the disaster, but they all need human intervention. It is not automatic. We are not even sure if the computers will behave according to our prediction.”

“Great. We are not out of the woods yet,” Andre sighed.

“We will never be completely out of the woods unless a nuclear engineer goes into those reactors,” Silas said. The atmosphere tensed, and Kouki nodded.

“Well, I am going to arrange a dungeon raid two weeks from now. Will you guys come? It needs to be in Japan, though. I made a promise with the mayors there as well.”

“W-wait, you guys aren't coming with James? There are barely any survivors in California right now,” Silas asked.

“James doesn't need us, right? Besides, it would be shameful to rely on him for everything. I need to get stronger so that in the future, I will not be a deadweight to him,” Sanders said. Kouki nodded.

“I should bring more soldiers to help him.” Silas made another phone call. Little did he know it was useless. James did not intend to bring any friends. He wanted to challenge the dungeon alone. He wanted to monopolize the treasure chest.

James himself did not understand why he did this. Nevertheless, he was finally acknowledged. People finally thought he was worthy. He now believed that he was good for something. Right now, he felt like a dungeon expert. And so, with such determination, he went back to his hometown.

When James arrived at the US airport, he was picked up by one of the Guild’s agents.

“Greetings, Mr. James. Mayor Douglas has confirmed that you will be our ace to take back our lands.” One of the soldiers saluted.

“Are you from the guild? Or are you from the government?”

“The guild is technically from the government, Mr. James. They are an organization created by the UN to combat this menace.” James nodded. He finally understood how Silas did all of that intelligence stuff.

“Tch. Governments and their spyware. I’m going to conquer the dungeon alone. I don’t need you guys weighing me down. Keep my stuff, alright?”

“Yes sir. We will keep your laptops, suits, and phones secure. When you are done, you may pick your stuff up here. Um… I have a message from Douglas. When can we expect you to finish the dungeon?”

“If I haven’t come out in three months, you may call Kouki and the others.” James said. The men in suits kindly guided him with a black limousine to his destination, the Saint Laurent Dam. Reporters crowded him when he came out of the airport; they even followed him all the way to the dam.

“Should we get rid of the crowd?”

“As long as they stand ten meters away from me, I don't mind those bugs.” James sighed. He didn't like reporters, and he refused to talk to them. But a part of him that starved for recognition and achievement was delighted when these reporters crowded him.

“Here is the dam we would like you to free, Mr. James. This dam produces electricity and water.” James didn't see a dam. The dam was behind a mountain, accessible only by the tunnel that lay before him. The dungeon had claimed it, preventing access to everyone. When he touched it, a window appeared before him.

[Dungeon name: CF1452
Dungeon level: novice
Survivor: 0/1
Would you like to enter? y/n]

“Hm… this dungeon must be done solo, huh?” James muttered. He stared at the dam for a while and checked his belongings again.

“Are we going?” Some soldiers arrived with a military jeep.

“No. This dungeon must be done solo. If I don't get back within three months, only someone like Kouki has the chance,” James said.

“I see.” The soldiers were crestfallen. James ignored them and answered yes to the system prompt. The system then sent him to white space.

After the loading screen, a barren rock and dark skies filled his view. The sun rose in the horizon; ashen land, with no greenery in sight, was strewn over.

“Where am I? Is this the moon?” James wobbled as he felt himself unsteady on his feet. The scenery, where the wind did not even blow, unnerved him. It was similar to that movie where some astronauts landed on the moon. However, there were no rockets in sight, only craters, valleys, and hills.

One thing that caught his attention was a giant robot in the distance.

[Warning! Cold damage received. You will get a frostbite stack every ten minutes.]

James winced at the system message as he felt a chill on his skin. This time, it was a lot milder than when he dived underwater. However, unlike before, this time, the atmosphere itself would grant him the debuff. He had no place to escape. An idea popped into his head when he realized he did have something to help with cold and hot weather.

“Damn! I should have used this on the second floor!” James donned the Cloak of Midnight that he got from completing the dungeon trial. He remembered having this because of his preparation just before entering this dungeon. Too bad he never thought of using a cloak when swimming. That second floor in Kouki's dungeon would have gone a lot easier if he did. As always, James was not the sharpest tool in the shed.

As if on cue, the massive robot stood up.

“Hell no,” James cursed as he saw the skyscraper-sized robot come toward him. “There is no way I could fight that.”

James quickly ran behind a rock as the robot stepped forth. Its foot alone was already three or five times taller than James. The enormous robot didn’t even look at James as it walked on its four legs, went past him, and into the distance. James was as insignificant as an ant to it. The system had merely teleported him into its path.

[Once you have disabled the Huma, the door to the next floor will open.]

“What’s a Huma?”

[That giant quadrupedal robot that went past you is called a Huma. It is an autonomous raiding colony that travels this barren land, bringing its scavenging parties to raid colonies.]

“How do I even catch up to it?” James asked. He was a bit weirded out by how talkative the system was right now, questioning himself whether it was a gimmick on this floor.

[Information classified.]

“Well. The moment I thought you would be helpful, that’s the moment you would betray me, huh?” James sighed. He then went on chasing the giant rhino-like robot on foot.

Thanks to his enhanced stats, he could catch up to the bipedal monster. He then used his crossbow, aiming at its joints. Golden meteor shot from his crossbow due to the power of his Quickshot. The arrow bounced harmlessly from the titan’s joint with a familiar purple flash, leaving James agape.

“I thought you said I must destroy it! How the fuck am I going to do that when it was protected by the system?” James complained to the system. Nevertheless, the system merely copied its previous answer and parsed it again to James.

[Once you have disabled the Huma, the door to the next floor will open. A Huma is an autonomous mining raiding colony. It often sends raiding parties to nearby villages to plunder them.]

“What the fuck does that even mean?” James was puzzled. Nevertheless, he stalked them, waiting for his chance.