I entered the IFV, and it felt strange as I walked through the back ramp. From the outside, it looked cramped, but once inside, the space was surprisingly roomy. The legs had more room than I’d expected, like the dimensions inside and outside didn’t quite match.
It was as if I could fit two large beds side-by-side in here. Definitely not the kind of space where my knees would touch my comrades on the other side. And the entry to the commander’s and the driver’s hatch was a literal door.
I opened it and stepped into a small room, reminiscent of the one in the Abrams, complete with VR gear and controllers. But here’s the thing: when I opened the vehicle menu, the hatch automatically closed, and I couldn't help but laugh a little. The reason was kind of funny in its own way.
[Vehicle]
* 1992 4x4 Hilux
* No Armor
* No Weapon
* Puma IFV ◄XBOX► (Partial Auto-Aim: Disabled)
* 30mm AP All-Around Protection [AMAP-ES]
* Mine-Resistant Layer [AMAP-MN]
* MK-30-EF [30x173 mm] [ABM-AP/HEI/APFSDS]
* MG3-EF [7.62x51 mm NATO] [API/AP/HP]
* AMAP APS [Active Protection System]
* Equipment Upgrades: FLIR VII | MTU 899-A6 | Air-Conditioner | Comfort Package
Yes, I could switch the controls between XBOX, PC, Playstation, semi-realistic, and realistic. How the hell was this even possible? I cycled through each option, opening and closing the hatch. The workstation changed each time, from a PSVR setup to a literal PCVR gaming rig mouse-and-keyboard with the vehicle-style chair, and finally, the complex realistic Puma controls, just like the real thing with screens, tactical terminals, and other military controls.
I set it back to the controller setting, knowing that I was most familiar with that, and I jumped into the small space, wore the goggles, and grabbed the controller, and behold, the IFV showed me a third-person perspective.
I could switch up ammunition, vision(between normal, thermals black/white, and night vision), and the gun fired. It was amazing, I felt like having the firepower of the whole country at my fingertips. On the bottom left, as usual, there was the vehicle health in gear icon, accompanied by the ammunition left before it had to reload aka the cooldown.
[30mm Ammo: ABM-AP 300/300]
[Spike-LR: 4/4]
[MG3: 1,200/1,200]
“HEY, AIN! FORGOT TO TELL YOU, BUT THE RELOAD IN THAT THING TAKES 8 SECONDS. I SUGGEST YOU ALWAYS PRE-RELOAD YOUR GUNS! HAPPY HUNTING!” Wilhelm shouted.
The small figure gave a thumbs-up as I glanced around the world from inside my IFV. It was… amazing. I moved the vehicle with the joystick, following the action in the third person. I was already used to playing War Thunder on the XBOX, so the controls felt as natural as breathing. Heck, I could also change the camera.
I moved my IFV closer to the guild building. A small figure walked out of the entrance. I switched to my sight and zoomed in to 5x magnification. The face of the formally dressed goblin was hilarious. First, her mouth hung open in shock, then she just shook her head in disbelief.
I edged the vehicle closer and parked it, almost blocking the entrance. Eleanor gave me a look—one of someone too tired of someone else’s antics. Fair enough. I climbed out of the vehicle and walked over to her.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“HOLY SHIT, GIRL… I swear, Wilhelm should get a promotion from the Federation or something. That guy can sell a broken pen for a fortune,” Eleanor sighed, though I could tell she was secretly impressed with Wilhelm’s sales skills. “Come inside for more job stuff, as usual.”
“Sure thing.”
Eleanor moved back to the guild’s desk and I walked to the quest terminal, looking for something with a little bit more… spice. I had a thing with an autocannon right now, any job shouldn’t be hard, should it? I browsed through the menu, once again.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
[Kill The Attacking Drakes and Provide Medical Support To a Village: 800,000 UC]
[Rescue The Group of Doctors From a Monster Infested Village: 2,300,000 UC]
[Attack the Divinity’s Armored Vehicle Column: 2,500,000 UC]
[Bring an Intact Topol-M ICBM From The Union: 5,000,000,000 UC]
[Steal a B-20 “Raider” From The Federation: 2,500,000,000 UC]
[Support The Extermination of a Dragon’s Lair: 1,200,000 UC]
“Eh… why would you need an ICBM?” I asked.
“Huh? Did you get that request? Weird… that’s supposed to be something a higher-level mercenary would usually get. Whatever, you probably need to penetrate deep into the Union’s territory anyway, something you are impossible to do at the moment,” Eleanor added.
“Ok…”
“Kid, high-level contractors steal ICBM like candy, and yes, I once stole an ICBM myself, but we never did it again, the risk is too great, and usually, whoever bought it, usually bought it for shit-and-giggles,” Eleanor commented.
“Alright… that’s scary.”
“I think Wilhelm sold it,” Eleanor added.
“Really?” I asked, in disbelief.
“Girl, if you want a three billion-dollar mech aka a steel frame, Wilhelm is your guy,” Eleanor further commented.
“Alright,” I answered, already understanding what Eleanor meant. Wilhelm had everything was her point.
After all was said and done, I felt that the mission in which I had to rescue a group of doctors from a monster-infested village sounded enticing. Still, the Drake mission, despite its small payout, might prove to be a better way to prove the worth of my IFV.
The armored vehicle destruction was too much of a gamble. Sure, I had an ATGM that could attack at a range of beyond four kilometers, but it was still a gamble. So, in conclusion, it was better to do the Drake mission.
[Kill The Attacking Drakes and Provide Medical Support To a Village: 800,000 UC]
* Bring medical supplies from the guild master
* Defend the village from drakes’ attack
* Heal any injured person
* Heal any person with an illness
* Finish up the guild master’s special request
* Deliver the medical supplies
“Hmm, good choice,” Eleanor added.
“Why?” I turned my head toward her.
“Well, my little sister’s there. She’s... diabetic, and she’s just old enough to receive an artificial pancreas,” Eleanor explained.
“I see,” I said, walking to the counter.
Eleanor then put a red duffle bag on the counter. Then followed by a metallic box that was marked as sterile. There was a “DO NOT OPEN” text right on top of it, I assumed, it was the artificial pancreas. Well, I wouldn’t be able to install that, that was for sure.
“I am supposed to pick this up and deliver this to the village, but well, circumstances arose. The village is 120 kilometers south of here, I mark the coordinate on the map, after you clear the area from drakes, I’ll drop a surgeon on top of you, alongside a medical team,” Eleanor added.
“Sounds simple,” I said.
“I hope it is as simple as it could be, I don’t think the villagers are any good at fighting,” Eleanor added.
“Are you talking about a goblin village?”
“My village? Yes. They aren’t as modernized as previously expected,” Eleanor sighed. “Ah well, that’s a remote village not directly under the Federation’s supervision anyway. I’ll put the coordinate on your map, good luck, sweet angel.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I put the duffle bag into my inventory alongside the metal box. It didn’t feel any heavy at all when I put it inside of the inventory. Eleanor again thanked me for taking the request and I exited the guild building and entered my IFV.
Then, as I entered the IFV, suddenly, I saw Wilhelm running out of the depot. Wilhelm appeared, carrying a stack of paperwork in one hand and a headset in the other. “Hey! AIN! Get that thing out of the way! We’ve got a mission briefing in five!”
I quickly entered the hatch and moved the IFV out of the way. Well, it was not every day you’d see Wilhelm in such a hurry. I drove the IFV away from the base, and the weapons on the IFV became available to fire. It wouldn’t hurt to fire it somewhere, right?
I spotted a slime out in the open, lazily bobbing along the grassland. Even while the vehicle was in motion, the target tracking system was surprisingly smooth. The autocannon’s turret moved autonomously, zeroing in on the slime with pinpoint accuracy. I pressed a button on the console, and a burst of 30mm rounds erupted from the gun.
The shells exploded mid-air, a stream of rapid-fire filling the air. The slime didn’t stand a chance. The blast from the airburst munition obliterated it in an instant, leaving nothing but a scorched patch of earth where it once was.
“Alright, this is going to be a cakewalk,” I muttered, a grin spreading across my face as I watched the remains of the slime smoldering in the grass.