Dungeon Raider System

Chapter 65  Deathmatch

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Uriel asked Nika since the mist didn't allow them to see which way they were going.

"Just trust me, ok? I'm an experienced fighter and I can find my way around even in absolute darkness..." She said as she slowed down to avoid tripping on a stone slab. "See, I told you we'll be fine, we made it in no time." She continued after pointing towards the stone slab which was a sign they were at the outline of a structure.

"This can't be Kukulkan's pyramid, the only building with a stone slab flooring like this is the warriors temple. You just said you could find your way in darkness!" Uriel said as he walked towards a column to lean on and gather his breath. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Well, it's not dark, is it? this freaking mist... it's giving me the chills." She hugged herself.

"I get what you're saying, it's weird how it seems to shine and yet it's impossible to see past it."

"That's not it, I'm actually freezing!"

"You should have though about that before dressing like a pervert."

"A pervert? This is camo! It's a perfectly fine attire for war."

"You say that, but you're showing way too much skin, there's barely any clothes on you." Uriel muttered, a bit disgruntled after getting lost.

"I don't see you being helpful in any way, aren't you an archaeologist? How come you lost a pyramid that big!?"

"I'm a student, besides, it's not like I have a compass." He shrugged.

"Damn it, where's that idiot Flanagan when you need him?" Nika looked back at the way they came from, but she couldn't see that far or hear any noises.

"Wasn't he following us just now?"

"That imbecile must have gotten lost."

"Actually, we are the ones who got lost. Moreover, aren't you too harsh on your subordinates?" Uriel pointed out.

"And what if I am? The only reason they've survived for so long is because I'm strict." She sternly replied and then fell silent, probably thinking about how many of her subordinates had fallen that day.

Even though Uriel felt her attitude towards her subordinates was borderline abusive, he couldn't deny her reasoning. Being accustomed to a relatively safe environment in college had somewhat made him forget about the struggle to survive in the slums near the wall. A soft character did no favors to him when he was a child and he had to endure a lot of abuse.

'Insults are one thing, but at least she doesn't physically abuse them.'

Just as Uriel was thinking that, Nika continued leaving him a bit disappointed.

"I am so kicking his butt as soon as I see him again."

"Now that we're here we should probably go inside and explore this temple... we may not be able to find anything, but we won't waste much time investigating anyway."

Nika nodded and followed Uriel on his way to the ruinous temple. As they walked across the ruins, passing the columns at its feet, they noticed the reliefs portraying warriors in different poses, but there were no carvings that could be useful in any way but when they climbed up the staircase they noticed something strange.

"There's no mist!" Nika gasped. From her point of view, instead of a mist it looked more like a smoke carpet that covered the whole place at the same height.

"How can this be? everything was covered in mist just a second ago." Uriel then proceeded to walk down some steps realizing the mist was still there. "No, it's not that it disappeared, it seems it's only at a ground level."

"It's just like I feared then..." Nika muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't a natural phenomenon, this is either a trait or some cryptid's doing. Natural fog doesn't act that way, I know a person with a trait that allows her to do something similar." Although not entirely correct, her assumption wasn't far from the truth.

"You said it could be a trait, but who would use something so dangerous? This fog only made things more difficult for everyone." Just as Uriel finished speaking, he noticed Nika's expression. "What's the matter?" He then asked.

"Stand behind my back, there's something coming this way." She whispered and Uriel followed her command without delay. He was aware of the fact that heavenly rank people like Nika had really sharp senses.

Climbing up the stairs with difficulty, a small human-like figure appeared. It was a pygmy, one of the most common cryptids that were previously laying waste to the camp with only one slight difference, instead of a spear or a knife, this one only carried a small stick.

"I almost crapped my shorts for this thing!? This will be a nice opportunity, why don't you try fighting it with your fancy knife?" Nika laughed.

"Are you serious? it looks dangerous." Uriel replied, hesitant to get close to the cryptid in front of him, in spite of its small size, it was still ugly and ferocious.

"Says the man who didn't have trouble calling at a tejuino, those things are like honey badgers on steroids. Compared to that, this little fellow will cause you no problems."

Uriel grabbed the orichalcum dagger from his belt, his hands trembling both in excitement and fear, and he stepped in front of the staircase waiting for the pygmy to climb up. As soon as the creature reached the top Uriel clenched the dagger hilt tightly making a creaking sound.

The battle started with the cryptids swinging it's stick wildly at him but, thanks to his newly acquired speed he had no trouble dodging it. However, countering the attack proved to be too difficult thanks to the pygmy's small size. Kicking it would have been easier but sending it away would only be a waste of time.

Uriel made a few swings above the creature's head but the cryptid didn't even attempt to dodge as it realized none of those swings would land. Instead of dodging, it proceeded to repeatedly hit Uriel's legs with the stick.

"Ouch!" Uriel yelped in pain as he made his revolver appear out of thin air making Nika click her tongue in disapproval.

"That's no fun, this is supposed to be a fair fight." She reprimanded.

"Are you sure this is the right time for games?"

"Do you maybe prefer to practice against the bigger ones?" She made her point clear enough for Uriel to understand that even though it wasn't a fight for his life, it could still mean the difference between life and death later on when things became more difficult.

"Fine." He said as he got back into a fighting stance.

The small pygmy launched forward in a tackle, waving its small stick in the air with an angry frown, but Uriel parried the stick with the dagger and managed to land a clean stab on the creature's chest but...

"It's not working, it didn't pierce through!" He said as he pinned the pygmy to the ground with his blunt blade.

"That's odd... it should have worked, it's orichalcum after all... those kinds of weapons usually cut through beast and monster rank creatures like butter." She bit her nail as Uriel struggled to keep the creature down.

"It's going to escape, do something!" Uriel cried, but it was already too late.

Although the creature was small, it was still a monster rank cryptid and its strength was far superior than that of an evolved, it was at the same level of an ascended rank hunter, and Uriel was thrown away dropping the dagger in front of the cryptid.

For a second, the small pygmy stared at the dagger in confusion, then at its stick, and finally at the dagger again. Just as it was about to pick the dagger up its face froze in a terrified expression. Uriel didn't miss this chance to fire his magnum at point blank, erasing the pygmy from existence with a devastating shot, and picked up the flux orb soon after.

It wasn't the result any of them expected, but at least Uriel managed to get another orb and Nika got a good laugh at the scene.