Dungeon Raider System

It had been many centuries since the skinwalker had returned to her original form, in fact, she didn't remember what she did look like nor that she was a woman. The sight of her own body after so long was the most painful experience she ever endured and it caused it to fall on a frenzy.

She darted out of the room where Uriel and Charlie were and headed right back to the dungeon after grabbing a snack. She had been trapped for so long in the first world, formless and alone, she couldn't believe she was walking right back to that cursed place on her own volition.

But it was necessary for her survival, she needed to reach that place before she finished consuming the small portion of skin she got from Uriel or she would forget everything about him.

There was no way Uriel could have forged his memories, hence everything she saw had to be the truth, but that only made things worse.

On her true form she was as fast as the wind and as strong as a holy rank hunter, but even with all of her might she just wasn't equipped to kill Uriel and she needed to seek the help of someone who could, or else the young man would most likely destroy the dungeon.

Unfortunately for the foul creature, as she neared the dungeon entrance she realized it was guarded by the stone guardian, the living statue of a woman whose name was long forgotten but was now called the Lady of the Alamo.

There was no point in trying to speak to the lifeless statue, just as there was no point in trying to fight it.

With that in mind, the skinwalker carved a single word on the trunk of a tree that pointed directly towards the dungeon in hopes that it would eventually be read by whatever unspeakable horror climbed out of the dungeon.

'Croatoan'

****

Charlie froze at the sight of what lied in front of and started shivering uncontrollably. Her eyes flooded with tears as she saw what no human ever should, it was the scene of a massacre so vile it couldn't be put to words.

Uriel noticed the mental state of the usually jolly ranger and pulled her into his arms to take her away from there.

From the small glimpse he caught he realized the terrible fate that befell onto the pitiful people that broke the rules and even though he didn't know them, he too was shocked.

The sight of such carnage was able to slightly overcome whatever condition kept him from feeling emotions and managed to scratch the leftovers of his human heart, but he wished something like that didn't happen because he needed to be strong to comfort Charlie.

All of those body parts, the blood and entrails were like pieces of a puzzle that once was the full staff of the outpost and who knows how many students and hunters were also lured by the cryptid into its trap.

Uriel clung his fist and gritted his teeth, silently vowing to kill the cryptid responsible for that heinous crime, all the while Charlie cried all of her sadness and fears on Uriel's chest.

"I should have tried to kill it." Uriel muttered, still gritting his teeth but Charlie placed a hand on his cheek to make him look at her. In other circumstances, perhaps that gesture would have been interpreted as flirting and Uriel would have pulled away from her, but it was the best she could do to comfort him.

"Don't say things like that, that thing was clearly a horror rank cryptid and there's nothing you could have done to kill it. I'm the professor, I should have taken charge of the situation and maybe, well... maybe..."

Charlie broke down into tears not knowing what she was saying anymore. She crumbled down like a house of cards and Uriel remained by her side the whole time until the first beams of light hit the entrance.

Daytime revealed how many flux orbs had been left behind by the cryptids after vanishing, but that brought little comfort to both of them. Not even twice that amount of flux orbs would make them stronger or richer in a noticeable way and both of them would have rather saved the rangers from meeting such a fate.

It was the first time in months Uriel felt regret, but that feeling subsided as soon as he received the System message announcing he fulfilled the conditions and was awarded 750 trites. Greed lit on his eyes while still holding the sad mess that Charlie was now in his arms and he helped her stand up.@@novelbin@@

"We need to go back and inform everyone."

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"Please, don't... don't tell them I cried on you." She said as she wiped the snot and tears from Uriel's jacket.

"As long as you don't tell anyone about this." Uriel said as he went over to the place where he dropped Thunderbolt Iron after being zapped by it.

"Is that what you used to kill the rat things"

"Rat things, huh. At least now I know how to name them when Luna asks me."

"Luna, as in Moonlight? Do you know her?"

"Yes, she lives with me."

"So, you're familiar with the Dungeon Raiders?" Charlie asked one of the questions Uriel wanted to avoid the most, but he couldn't find it in whatever was left of his heart to lie to her any more than it was strictly necessary.

"Yes, I work for them." Still, a half truth was the most that he managed to say.

"Could you introduce me to them? I've asked the Lightbringer several times, but he always refuses saying he's a married man."

"Are you looking for a job or something?" Uriel lifted a brow.

"It's just that I really want to meet Raider, I've heard a lot of things about him and... well... You know, I wouldn't mind marrying someone like him." Charlie said blushingly as they set off on their way back to the city.