Dungeon Raider System

60  Mystical mayhem n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Uriel was completely dazzled by the ancient dagger he obtained and he intended to keep it at hand the whole trip back to camp. The thought of Nika reminding everyone about the clause that allowed him to claim artifacts for himself also lingered on his mind. Up to that point Uriel had assumed that Nika would only care for Mapple corp. and didn't expect her to openly back him up. It could be said that now he opened himself to trust her instead of just considering her an assistant, especially after hearing her say that she would even kill Mapple corp. employees if they attempted to harm him.

Lost in his thoughts, Uriel failed to notice a strange presence crawling its way from out of the bushes right next to him. It was a strange furry creature, with weird looking hands and an odd looking tail.

"Here, here, here" Uriel carelessly beckoned to the small animal with curiosity.

"What are you doing Mister Sage? That creature looks dangerous." The field medic who was friends with the engineer cautioned.

"Don't worry, I know this little fellow... it's called a... uh... trash panda!" Uriel attempted to remember its actual name, but since he grew up within city walls he wasn't familiar with animals at all and the first thing that came to mind was the name provided by Miss Dragonfang when they encountered a similar creature.

"Watch out!" Nika shouted, but Uriel couldn't react in time as the creature managed to land a bite on his leg. "That's not a racoon, it's a fricking Tejuino!" She cried as Uriel fell awkwardly on the ground as his leg started to feel numb, but the small creature was unable to continue its attack thanks to the bodyguards who shot at it heavy rounds from their high tech assault rifles.

"Calm down, everything's going to be fine, these things are poisonous but a single sting won't do much damage. Considering you're an evolved it'll probably last about half an hour." Said the medic after checking Uriel's wound.

"What's going on?" Nika was dumbfounded. "I thought cryptids weren't supposed to appear this close to the site!"

"Do you think it has something to do with the tomb we opened Mister Sage?" Flanagan asked as he helped the young student to stand up.

"I don't think so, there weren't any cryptids near the Cenote and our electronic devices were working just fine until a couple minutes ago." Nika replied in stead of Uriel who was struggling to remain on foot.

"It doesn't matter, we need to secure the POIs! We can't afford to lose any important data!" Despite the pain, Uriel limped towards the camp to save whatever artifacts and data just in case they could be attacked in the future.

Although they were relatively close, now they knew there could be enemies nearby they needed to remain on high alert. The previously safe road now threatened with numerous dangers from its bushy sides and narrow path and the group was forced to slow down due to Uriel's injury. Rustling sounds and powerful roars were hear at a distance, there was also the creaking wood and trampling noises, it was as if the whole jungle had suddenly come to life.

Luckily enough, they didn't encounter any more cryptids on their way back, but when they finally reached the settlement the sight in front of them was much worse than anticipated.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of human like small creatures, along with different kinds of cryptids laying waste to the camp and attacking people. Shots were being fired and traits were being activated all over, but the sheer amount of cryptids crowding the place was too much for the few combat able employees to cope with.

Without wasting a second, Nika jumped right into battle after making sure Uriel was safe and blinked from one shadow to the next making quick work of the weaker creatures. The true nature of her trait and the restrictions he had been warned about were still a mystery to Uriel, but when he saw Nika fight he was able to fully understand why was she held in such high regards in the Mapple corporation. Most hunters would carry heavy high tech weapons because cryptids were immune to regular firearms and even though Nika did carry a gun with her, she ended most creatures with her incredibly powerful kicks.

Flanagan didn't stay idle either, he placed his arms to the sides to activate his trait and an arch of electricity was drawn connecting his hands, he then ran forward using his trait as if it was a taser stunning creatures all over the place making it easier for the armed bodyguards to finish them off quickly.

Uriel, though, was hesitant to pull off his gun. He knew he would be able to help and, more than likely, save lives by shooting some cryptids down but there were a few possible drawbacks from doing this. Not only his trait would become known to everyone at the settlement, he would also be left with less bullets, if any at all.

It wasn't really worth it, at least not until his own life was at risk. Or that's what he thought until he witnessed a young woman being dropped to the ground by a huge feathered snake and his rationality gave way to a hot blooded response.

He didn't know what kind of cryptid it was, it somewhat resembled one of the gods portrayed in many Mayan sculptures, but it didn't matter. After taking aim to the snake's head, Uriel pressed the trigger and a bullet went through the skull of the creature and the snake fell limp on the ground.

'A human life is far more precious than any secret.' He silently pondered as his heartbeat slowed down to a steady pulse.

"You saved my life! Thank you so much!" The woman smiled brightly, but her smile was short lived as she was stabbed in the back by one of the pygmy cryptids.

"Why are you not helping!?" Uriel reprimanded his bodyguards who didn't lift a finger to help those in need, not even the young woman who despite Uriel's efforts had been attacked again. Without hesitation this time Uriel pulled the trigger, but the bullet missed.

"Your aim is shit! Use the dagger instead!" Nika shouted at a distance as she moved across the battlefield killing cryptids on her wake. Her combat ability and her awareness of the battle left a profound impression on Uriel. He had met strong people before, but more than that, he had met people with strong traits. The way she fought reminded him faintly of Medusa, who didn't necessarily possess a strong combat trait but she was hands down the strongest on his incursion party.

'Why am I thinking about her all of a sudden?' Uriel shook his head and got closer to the pygmy that was still attempting to kill the girl. While it was true that he had an orichalcum dagger, it didn't mean he knew how to fight with it, besides there was no need for that. Shooting a huge snake was far easier than aiming at a pygmy, but aim didn't matter if he was close enough. Magnum bullets were so destructive that after the point blank shot there wasn't much of the cryptid left and the flux orb appeared almost immediately. Uriel limped towards the woman who had just been stabbed and after confirming she wasn't in any life risk, he picked up the flux orb and crushed it absorbing its power.

[Flux orbs 2/10]