Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 441: Hideaway

Uriel felt he was on the brink of a discovery when the wild girl pulled him inside the apartment and foiled it, but as much as he wanted to be angry at her, he couldn’t. Just looking at her face was enough tell how scared she was.

Not just that, by pulling him inside, she may have saved both their lives because the reason why Uriel was in a rush to learn how to conceal his energy was precisely to remain hidden from the threat coming their way.

That was all he was able to do, to hide and cross his fingers that the giant creature shows no interest on them. Fighting wasn’t even an option, a titan rank cryptid was beyond Uriel’s capabilities or anybody else’s for that matter. The closest thing he had ever seen was Cthulu, but it was trapped on the dungeon and he couldn’t even see him properly since it was underwater.

This was probably the sole reason why he survived the encounter, but even then, he wasn’t sure whether that cryptid was as massive as the one in front of him right now.

It was a quadruped, but that was the extent of the information he was able to gather from it because it was covered with the same mist that now filled the swamp and began pouring on the streets of the lost city. The closer that creature got to the city, the more Uriel thought he could almost see its face.

He even squinted his eyes in a futile attempt to see better, but then the girl hurried over and pulled his head towards her chest.

"Can you please let me go now?" Uriel’s muffled voice came from in between the safety of the wild girl’s bosom. Not only did she seemed completely unfazed by his request, she also refused to let go of him even when he tried to release himself.

At first, the thought that she was trying to do something dirty crossed his mind, but then he realized that just like people from ancient times, her actions were innocent. It just so happened that she didn’t mind nudity since she was probably by herself on the lost city for a long time. "Why are you doing this? Are you trying to keep me from looking at that thing?"

Only when Uriel closed his eyes did the girl let him go and Uriel confirmed his theory that looking directly at that thing was probably dangerous.

"Alright, It seems you saved my life on more than one occasion today, so I’ll treat you to something special." Uriel said as he browsed through his souvenir shop. Doing this while concealing his energy was actually easier than he expected and he felt he wouldn’t lose focus so easily now.

He thought that, perhaps, if he concealed his energy during battle he would finally be able to access his museum without needed to take his attention from the battlefield, but he needed to do some testing before trying it on a life or death situation.

Although the snacks on Uriel’s souvenir shop weren’t that varied, the girl seemed overjoyed when she received a couple chocolate bars, though the soda didn’t seem to impress her much. From this, Uriel gathered that she must have been familiar with them and it revealed something important.

"So, you’re not the wild girl of Catahoula after all. You’re just a survivor from the catastrophe that occured on this city. The only reason why you’re so weird is because you’ve been alone for too long." Uriel explained her, knowing his words had no meaning for her, but she still seemed to enjoy his voice and attempted to make conversaiton by repeating some of the words he said.

She spoke in a strange manner and would get the words wrong most of the time, but even if all she could do was to parrot his words, he still felt more accompanied. Although Uriel suspected it from the beginning, it was only when Medusa used her trait on him that he learned what were his biggest fears.

Back then, he saw pictures of the most traumatic moments of his life, when Water warlock ate his heart in front of him in the mystical realm. He also saw himself strapped to a hosptial bed while he was covered with bugs. Both those things would scare everyone, pain and death were two of the most scary things a human could possibly experience.

But what stuck the most after those revelations was actually when Uriel saw himself alone sitting on a pile of treasures and gold. That sight was enough to scar Uriel even though at the moment he didn’t know why it felt so wrong, but whenever he was alone his understanding became deeper.

He feared to be alone in the world. Without a family, his friends were all what was left in the world for him. It could be said they were his whole reason for existence. No matter how much power or riches he acquired, he would never had enough to be satisfied, but losing Sam taught him what truly mattered to him.

Thinking about this, Uriel steeled his resolve. If he was a warrior he might have jumped out the window to face the titan head on, but he wasn’t a warrior at all. In fact, he never cared for violence and his one dream had always been to explore the world and learn more about past civilizations. This time, not being a warrior was a fortunate thing, though.

Instead of heading into battle against an impossible enemy, Uriel sat on the couch trying to device a plan that lead him to the best possible scenario.

It wasn’t thrilling or epic, but it was the right thing to do.

The first thing he needed to figure out was the drop of water he saw when he focused on his own self. As much as he hated the influence Water warlock had on him, it also granted him power beyond measure and if there was at least a chance that a speck of his power remained inside of him he wanted to grasp it.

"At least some good may have come from all the bad things that happened to me during that time." He muttered before closing his eyes and disappearing back again into the mystical introspection of his true self. Now he didn’t need to worry about being interrupted by the wild girl since she was busy gobbling up all the snacks he gave her.

It took him a while, but once he succeeded many answers came to him. The shadow that represented Nika was doing fine, which led Uriel to believe that she was still alive and kicking. The bright light at the center was pretty much the same as before and then he focused on finding that small drop of water he saw before.

The understanding of its meaning came upon seeing it, but it wasn’t what Uriel expected.

"No luck it seems," He let out in a dejected sigh. "It’s not Water warlock, it’s just the waters I drank on Easter Island, the ones from Ahu Akivi."

Next, he needed to understand how big of a threat was the titan that neared the lost city. Of course a creature like that would be able to raze the city in a matter of minutes, but the question was if it would.

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

Cryptids, just like any other living creature, needed to feed in order to survive. A reature that size would probably be fine without eating for centuries, millenia even, but Uriel knew cryptids didn’t eat just to sustain themselves, but also to evolve.

"It can’t be a coincidence that thing is moving directly to Texas megacity and my gut is telling me that Sam is involved somehow. I need to get there before that thing does, but even if it seems to be moving slowly, that might be just because of its size. If I go out would I be able to outrun it?" Uriel’s face brightened with an idea. "That’s it! I can summon the jaguar spirit and...

crap, I don’t think I have enough flux energy to keep the summon active long enough."

The girl looked at him, her face smothered in chocolate and cookie crumbs and Uriel’s mood was immediately brightened by her sillyness. It was a brief moment, but all the weight of his endeavor was suddenly lifted and he decided to call it a night and get some rest.

Even Uriel knew that thinking was only helpful if taken into action, otherwise it would just be a waste of his precious time. He didn’t know anything about that cryptid, but if it remained active during the day, the city guards would see it coming from a distance and they would warn the rest to evacuate the citizens.

If, instead, the cryptid became inactive, Uriel would be able to continue his journey and hopefully, reach the megacity before too late.