Dungeon Raider System

The jaguar spirit caused an uproar once Uriel got to the northern city gate, one that Uriel rarely used, but what caused even more commotion was the arrival of the man riding it. He was dressed with a leather jacket, denim pants but what stood most about him was the fedora hat on his head and the scarf that covered his face.

"He's Raider! I told you he was real!" A hunter shouted as Uriel passed by the front guards without bothering to show his card.

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"That's a sweet ride!" A female huntress looked at the powerful cryptid Uriel was riding.

"I got to get me one of those."

"I don't see what's the big deal about it." Another hunter said as he attempted to get close to the jaguar spirit, receiving a low growl as a warning which almost made him piss his pants.

The gate was crowded as always and as the hunters gathered to greet Uriel and try to speak to him, it became almost impossible for Uriel to take another step further into the tunnel. The jaguar then roared and within seconds the way was clear again.

"Good boy." Uriel said as he patted the frightening creature in the head like it was a house cat.

Thankfully for Uriel, Sam knew he was on his way home and there was a car already waiting to pick him up. Uriel cancelled the summon and caught Emma in the same breath as he got inside the vehicle.

Upon reaching the Dungeon Raiders headquarters Uriel was greeted by a very relieved Medusa, but her joyful mood turned sour when she laid eyes on the girl he was carrying on his arms.

"I can't even..." Was all she said before storming back to the foundry.

It didn't take long for the rest of the members to gather on the first floor, where Medusa kept pretending to be busy while keeping an eye on the situation.

"Hey, stop pretending to be asleep." Uriel said as he dropped Emma on the floor.

"Ouch! Someone, help! He kidnapped me!" Emma shouted as soon as she hit the concrete floor, but she didn't get the response she expected.

"I must say, I didn't take you for that kind of guy." Sam said in mocked disappointment.

"Return that thing where you found it immediately." Luna scolded.

"Why go out for burgers when you have steak at home?" Nika chuckled.

Only then did Emma notice that she was surrounded by Miss Nika, the Lightbringer and a weird girl who presumably formed part of the newly founded Dungeon Raiders. All she knew about them was that it was a small company that somehow managed to work with the Mapple corporation and the Celes company as equal partners and that it was rumored they had something to do with Colonel Ethan's death.

"I'm sorry! Please, I won't say anything." Emma blurted out an unnecessary apology, yet instead of calming her down Uriel leaned closer to the scared student.

"I'll ask you some questions and whether you're among friends or enemies will depend on the answers you provide. What brought you here?"

"You brought me here! I don't want to have anything to do with your company, please just..."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. What brought you to this city?" Emma's eyes widened in shock as she realized that the reason why she was kidnapped was that her last name coincided with Uriel's.

"I... I came looking for my mom." She lowered her gaze with a pitiful look, yet Uriel kept pushing.

"Who is she? Do you have any siblings? What about an uncle?"@@novelbin@@

"No," Emma shook her head. "I only have my mom but she went missing about ten years ago when she came here with her sister."

"Keep going." Uriel hid his disappointment behind an icy glare and Emma continued.

"I come from Europe, you know, where the world government central is located. Things aren't that bad there, but I wanted to find my mom so I spent most of my family's fortune to come to this city, only to find out she never made it here and now I'm stuck in this place. Do you think that we might be related? That would be... impossible.

All of my family died during the arrival and if it wasn't for my mom's sister who acquired a trait, my mom would have died too."

"You are the first person I know of that has my same last name, not even my uncle has it. I don't know if it comes from my father's side or my mother's because I can barely remember them."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything. My family comes from Scotland and..." Emma was interrupted by Uriel who immediately turned to Luna.

"Luna, is the sage herb common in Scotland?"

"It is, especially the officinalis and the lavandulifolia." Luna nodded.

"You don't get it, I searched through the archives and there's no record of any Sage ever living in this city other than me which doesn't make any sense because my mom used to live here. You are the first clue that I have about my family."

"I don't get it, you said you have an uncle. Why don't you ask him about your family?"

"That is... complicated."

Uriel's friends knew what he meant by that. He had mentioned his abusive uncle a few times in the past and the atmosphere became grim. Sam, Luna and Nika placed their hands on Uriel's shoulder trying to comfort him, even Medusa abandoned her pretend work and hurried over to show her support.

The possibility of finding a living relative had sparked a glimmer of hope in Uriel, but in order to find the truth he would have to face the ghost of his past as a weak orphan living in the slums. It was an experience so bitter, so painful, he couldn't get himself to see his uncle even after acquiring a trait, but now he had no other choice.