Dungeon Raider System
Chapter 657 - 657: Crockett's Legacy Part 2

Luna ran at breakneck speed to the golden city in the central island trying to follow his scent. Because of how fast he moved it was impossible for her to tell exactly where he was right now as his scent crossed the entire city in a seemingly random pattern.

Had Medusa been there she could have anticipated Uriel's location after noticing he followed a grid pattern, the same that was used in any archaeological dig site.

It was the most efficient way to make sure he didn't leave anything behind devised by an ancient mathematician called Hippodamus of Miletus and although Medusa ignored this fact, recognizing such patters was easy for the gifted top student of the engineering class.

It was precisely because of her grades and specialization, though, that she was needed the most inside the chamber to try and figure out the inner workings of the mechanism. On her side, Bella performed the important task of pressing a stone in a wall.

Instead of anticipating his movements, Luna followed the exact same path Uriel did which only ended in wasted time and stamina, causing the already tired Luna to feel pain all across her body. Shapeshifting into a werewolf might have given her an edge in both movement speed and in her tracking ability, but that would be an overexertion she couldn't possibly endure.

On any regular circumstance, she would be spent after shapeshifting into a werewolf. But if she was tired beforehand it would cause her so much pain she would only recover after days of bed rest, something she wanted to avoid at all costs since it would make her feel even more as a drag to his friends.

"Luna, you came back for me!" Nika extended her arms waiting for a hug that never came as Luna rushed past her and went straight to pull Uriel's sleeve.

"Not now, Luna, I'm busy." Uriel replied as he attempted to shake her off, though when he realized how tight her grip was on him he turned to her.

"I met my grampa." Luna reported.

"And?" Uriel lifted an eyebrow expecting her to continue.

"You want to meet him." Luna informed.

"Why would I want to meet anyone from your family?" Uriel was annoyed, yet he knew better than to disregard Luna when she was acting more weird than usual. He knew of her difficulty to communicate with words, which is why he paid more attention to her body language, but he wasn't the only one aware of this.

"Hang on one second. What is he like? Is he a werewolf like you?" Nika caressed the holster on her thigh, eager to jump into action.

"Mmm... yes and no. But that is... unimportant. He has the things, we need to go."

"The things... the things... do you mean the relics!?" Uriel gasped when Luna nodded.

The three relics of the dungeon were gone the minute they opened the dungeon, though Uriel knew for a fact they had to be somewhere since a single use key didn't make any sense. Especially since he knew that at least one group of men explored the dungeon a couple centuries before Uriel was even born.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Uriel dropped the golden vase he had in his hand like it was yesterday's trash and rushed in the same direction Luna came from.

"That is... uhm... not the way. I'm too tired to run, you will have to carry me." Luna extended her arms upwards and Uriel picked her up and put her on her shoulders with ease. Nika whose ankle remained injured did the same, receiving a mean glare from both Uriel and Luna.

"What? I can't walk either and you can carry me in your arms!" She exclaimed offended by how they looked at her.

"Hop inside my shadow, you moron," Uriel snarled giving Nika barely enough time to activate her trait before he jogged towards the direction Luna had pointed at, then awkwardly stopped at a small distance. "Luna?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you not wearing a bra?"

"Medusa's under armor keeps everything in place and it's comfy." She replied unblinkingly as a faint smile that could have passed as mischievous was pained on her face.

For some strange reason, the first time Luna crossed the bridge she was too enthralled in Atsa's stories and didn't pay any attention to the way leading back to the gate, though following his scent worked just as well.

Upon reaching their destination, Uriel needed but a glimpse at Bella still holding the circular stone embedded on the golden wall and the bright crimson glimmer leaked out of the gear room where Medusa studied it's inner working to understand the situation. Though the man Luna mentioned was nowhere to be seen, or so he though until he tripped on something and fell on the ground with Luna.

Being an ascended hunter and also a werewolf, she should have landed with the grace of a cat, though reality begged to differ.

"Owie." She said in a monotone after faceplanting like a sack of potatoes.

"What's up with this old geezer?" Standing up, dusting his clothes and asking that question at the same time, Uriel couldn't believe that after being trampled by two people the old man could remain asleep.

"He's just old." Luna pointing out the obvious didn't annoy Uriel nearly as much as the fact that the man wore all three relics at the same time. Uriel being Uriel, he decided since the man didn't wake up they were ripe for the taking.

"Finders keepers." He muttered to himself, though before he managed to lay a finger on the feathery head bonnet he received a powerful slap in the hand. It felt dry and bony, like he was hit by a skeleton, yet it carried the weight of a freight truck as it broke several bones.

"Who dares steal from those who sleep?" Atsa stood up and erected his back making him taller than Uriel. He emitted a powerful aura that made the very air Uriel breathed heavy and dense making it hard for him to breath. It was a burst of raw energy so powerful Uriel wouldn't have been surprised if he was sent to fly away, yet not a single hair on his head moved nor did it affect anyone but him.

"It's easier than stealing from people who's awake." Uriel shrugged, seemingly unaffected by the intensity of Atsa's power.

"How curious, my power does not affect you." Atsa asked with more curiosity than fear.

"It did affect me, I'm just used to worse." Uriel replied.

"Atsa, you said you hated hunters when you're a hunter yourself!" Bella pointed an accusatory finger at the man after sensing for a brief second a trace of his flux signature.

"Atsa? You're Navajo!" Uriel straightened up and said as he extended a hand towards the man without looking him in the eye in a polite gesture.

"Respectively, no, I am a doctor and yes, you can say I am a Navajo." With this confirmation, Uriel turned to growl at Bella.

"Quit pointing with your finger, it's considered rude in most cultures. Use your lips instead if you want to point at anything," Uriel then rummaged through his backpack and took out some cookware and a small outdoors kitchen, the same kind people used when camping in the old times.

"Do you really think this is the time for eating?" Bella snarled as her hand was getting stiff due to the constant pressure she exerted to keep the stone in place.

"I am not against it." Luna's stomach grumbled.

"Food!?" Nika crawled out of Uriel's shadow with sparkling eyes.

Uriel remained in silence as he took whatever food he could find from her combined supplies, though discarded anything that contained fish. Due to Hollywood's main produce being fish it comprised most of their supplies, yet the gesture was greatly appreciated by the old man.

"Thanks for your hospitality, young man, may I know your name?" Atsa asked before taking a serving.

"My name is Sage, May I call you Eagle?" Uriel asked taking care not to look him in the eye.

"How could I say no, when you are being so mindful of our costumes. Do you know the reason why we don't eat fish?"

"Is it because you believe that humans come from them?" It was Uriel's first opportunity to speak with a genuine Navajo. Not just that, a Navajo so old he might be considered an archaeology remain himself.

"That is what most people think, but it is not.

When the great flooding that cleansed all life happened we were resentful and we swore to never eat anything that thrived in the waters." Atsa's story was of great importance to history in general and to Uriel in particular since he suspected the one responsible for the deluge was no other than Water warlock, though the story was cut short when Medusa's voice came from inside the gear room.

"Are you guys eating without me!?"