NOVEL NEXT Chapter 77: The Air Force
Riku looked at the interface that suddenly popped up.
[New Mission Available: Find your lost classmates and sister.]
[Rewards: 100,000SP & 45,000 XP & 2 Spin in Wheel of Fortune]
[Notice: the System has noticed the User was struggling. Therefore it has been decided that the System shall give the User 100 Skill Points!]
"Wait what?" Riku read the last holographic interface. What does the System mean by that? It saw him struggling? Of course everyone else is in this world. And it gave him 100 Skill Points.
Well, who is he to complain? The Skill Points were now in his inventory. What he should do is to utilize that.
He opened his Stats.
[User: Riku Hayashi
Level: 8
Experience Points: 32,588/52,435
SP Balance: 655,521
Armory Shop:
Wheel of Fortune
Skills:
[[Skill Points Available:100]
Weapons Handling: Lv. 3 (30/60 SP)
Melee Weapon Proficiency: Lv. 3 (30/60 SP)
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Lv. 3 (30/60 SP)
Stamina & Endurance: Lv. 3 (30/60 SP)
Scavenging: Lv. 1 (10/20 SP)
Tactical Awareness: Lv. 2 (20/30 SP)
Driving: Lv. 0 (0/10 SP)
Piloting: Lv. 0 (0/10 SP)
Maintenance & Engineering: Lv. 2 (20/30 SP)
Medical Knowledge: Lv. 1 (10/20 SP) ]
With 100 Skill Points available, Riku could invest it in attributes that he hasn't leveled yet. For example, Driving and Piloting. Though he knew how to drive thanks to his father, he wondered about its use.
Then he checked the Armory Shop and there he saw that some military hardware required a certain level of attributes to purchase it. For example, a helicopter would need a minimum of level 2 to fly a simple helicopter. But when it comes to attack helicopters or fighter aircraft, he needed four and above.
As for driving, it's the same concept with the piloting, instead of vehicles, it's military tanks, IFV, et cetera.
But before he could add Skill Points to his attributes, he must get out of the basement first. The supermarket was infested with zombies and most of the supplies that they had organised were now gone.
With that, Riku went upstairs and left through the back. He boarded the Rezvani and locked the door.
Riku leaned back into the battered seat, ribs throbbing, the Rezvani's cabin creaking faintly around him. He reopened the system and browsed the Armory Shop Aircraft Section.
[Armory Shop – Aircraft Section]
Category: Utility & Attack Helicopters
Note: Piloting Skill Lv. 2 minimum required for basic flight. Lv. 4 or higher required for advanced combat systems.
UH-60 Black Hawk – 70,000 SP
Utility Helicopter – Standard Military Transport
Crew: 2 pilots + up to 11 passengers
Speed: 183 mph (294 km/h)
Range: 360 miles (580 km)
Armament: Configurable with M240 7.62mm door guns or GAU-19 .50 cal machine guns
Role: Troop transport, medevac, supply runs
Durability: Medium – armored cockpit and fuel tanks.
Required Pilot Level: Level 2 and above.
AH-1Z Viper – 220,000 SP
Attack Helicopter – Modern Twin-Engine Gunship
Crew: 2 (pilot + gunner)
Speed: 255 mph (410 km/h)
Range: 370 miles (595 km)
Armament:
20mm M197 3-barrel rotary cannon
70mm Hydra rocket pods (up to 76 rockets)
AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles (air-to-air capability)
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (anti-armor/fortified targets)
Role: Close air support, anti-vehicle, suppression fire.
Durability: Heavy composite armor, crash-resistant structure.
Required Pilot Level: Level 4 and above.
AH-64 Apache – 450,000 SP
Heavy Attack Helicopter – Flagship Gunship
Crew: 2 (pilot + gunner)
Speed: 182 mph (293 km/h)
Range: 300 miles (480 km)
Armament:
30mm M230 Chain Gun (1,200 rounds)
Hydra 70mm rocket pods
AGM-114 Hellfire missile racks (up to 16)
Stinger/AIM-92 air-to-air missiles
Advanced Target Acquisition & Night Vision (TADS/PNVS)
Role: Anti-armor, anti-infantry, heavy close support
Durability: Reinforced armor plating, redundant systems, self-sealing fuel tanks
Required Pilot Level: Level 4 and above.
]
But why was he looking at the aircraft section?
Well, given the nature of the people who took his little sister and his classmates and the ones who murdered his fellow survivors in the supermarket camp. He realized he couldn't take them all alone. Given they have a military background.
If he was going to rescue his little sister and his classmates, he needed a heavy firepower. And an attack helicopter can do that. The problem is that it requires two crew.
So he searched for more attack helicopters that work on 1 crew.
Mil Mi-24 "Hind" (Modified Single-Crew Variant) – 180,000 SP
Heavy Assault Gunship / Troop Transport
Crew: 1
Speed: 208 mph (335 km/h)
Range: 280 miles (450 km)
Armament:
YakB-12.7mm 4-barrel Gatling gun (750 rounds)
Rocket pods (80 × 57mm S-5 rockets or 40 × 80mm S-8 rockets)
AT-6 Spiral anti-tank missiles (up to 8)
Role: Gunship + light transport (can carry up to 6 troops if needed)
Durability: Extremely heavy armor, capable of withstanding small arms and light anti-air fire.
Required Pilot Level: 3 and above.
Ka-50 "Black Shark" – 250,000 SP
Single-Seat Attack Helicopter
Crew: 1 (designed for solo operation)
Speed: 196 mph (315 km/h)
Range: 350 miles (560 km)
Armament:
30mm Shipunov 2A42 cannon (460 rounds)
12 × Vikhr anti-tank missiles
Rocket pods (80mm or 122mm)
Igla-V air-to-air missiles (optional)
Role: Precision strike, anti-armor, close support.
Durability: Advanced composite armor, ejection seat for emergency.
Required Pilot Level: 4 and above.
Riku said. "Russian attack helicopter. Very well. It can be piloted by one person so I'll take that."
But he couldn't purchase it, he needed to add Skill Points to his Pilot attribute first.
"Alright… let's do this properly."
He dragged 60 points into Piloting. The bar pulsed with each addition—Lv. 0 to Lv. 1, Lv. 2, Lv. 3… until it finally settled at Lv. 4.
The moment it did, a surge hit him like an electric current. His mind split and reformed, raw knowledge pouring in—cockpit layouts, flight controls, startup sequences, the gut-deep instinct of how to bank, yaw, and hover. He gasped, clutching his ribs, sweat beading down his temple.
Images blurred in his mind: throttle inputs, HUD symbology, weapon systems arming in sequence. The System didn't just teach him—it rewired him.
[Piloting Skill – Lv. 4 Unlocked. Capable of flying and operating advanced helicopters and fixed-wing combat aircraft.]
Riku exhaled shakily, his heart pounding. "So that's what it feels like…"
Next, he added 10 points to Maintenance & Engineering. His head filled again, this time with blueprints, tool use, schematics. Field repairs, jury-rigged fixes, emergency patching of hydraulics and electronics.
[Maintenance & Engineering – Lv. 3 Unlocked. Capable of field-repairing vehicles, weapons, and basic aircraft systems.]
Then he slid 20 points into Scavenging. Instantly, his mind sharpened—routes through rubble, where loot would likely pile, how to quickly spot useful gear versus junk. It wasn't just luck anymore. It was instinct.
[Scavenging – Lv. 3 Unlocked. Increased yield from looting corpses, wrecks, and ruins. Higher chance of rare finds.]
Finally, he dropped 10 into Medical Knowledge. His pulse quickened as first-aid sequences, emergency surgery basics, and field medicine techniques filled his thoughts.
[Medical Knowledge – Lv. 2 Unlocked. Able to treat fractures, gunshot wounds, and infections with increased efficiency.]
When the haze cleared, Riku leaned back into the battered seat of the Rezvani, panting.
His Stats flickered anew:
[User: Riku Hayashi
Level: 8
Experience Points: 32,588/52,435
SP Balance: 655,521
Skills:
Weapons Handling: Lv. 3
Melee Weapon Proficiency: Lv. 3
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Lv. 3
Stamina & Endurance: Lv. 3
Scavenging: Lv. 3
Tactical Awareness: Lv. 2
Driving: Lv. 0
Piloting: Lv. 4
Maintenance & Engineering: Lv. 3
Medical Knowledge: Lv. 2]
He swiped back to the Armory Shop. The Ka-50 Black Shark hologram spun before him, its sleek body gleaming like a blade.
"Ka-50 Black Shark, I'll buy you!"