Dungeon Raider System

Uriel's Magnum revolver was powerful enough to kill entity rank cryptids, provided he channeled enough flux through the firearm at the moment of pulling the trigger. However, even when he spared little to no flux it should have been enough to pierce through metal like it was butter, unless it was reinforced alloy though even then it would have left a dent.

But the bullet that just went through the beast level cryptid didn't so much as leave a scratch mark in the metal floor and that could only mean bad news.

"If this isn't a dungeon, then..." Nika said.

"Yes, we are currently inside of a cryptid." Luna managed to stutter before the lights went out. It was only for a brief period like many times before, but numerous thoughts filled that gap in time making it feel like it lasted longer.

As the train slowed down and opened its doors a struggle was taking place inside Uriel's mind. As the leader of his hunting party he had the duty to choose the safest path that would lead them to the most rewarding outcome, but sometimes he also needed to do what was right even if it meant taking a risk.

"Let's go rescue those idiots." Uriel couldn't believe the words that just escaped his mouth and neither could his friends.

"Did you hit your head or something? The exit is right here, we can just up and leave now." Nika uttered. Suspecting she was dealing with a skinwalker, she handed Uriel a silver coin which he pocketed and didn't return.

"I'm being serious. If we leave those guys alone they'll get eaten by this cryptid train and it shouldn't be hard for us to save them." Uriel spoke solemnly.

"Our priority now is to inform the Cryptid hunting agency that this isn't actually a dungeon but a cryptid, so they won't send more hunters here. But that also won't stop hunters from coming, even if they knew the inside of this train is actually a cryptid's digestive system. As long as there is profit to be made they will still come." Luna explained.

"Why bother arguing? The doors are now closed." Nika snarled.

"Because, uhm... Uriel wants to rescue them and he's the boss." In Luna's mind it didn't matter if Uriel wanted to do the right thing or if he actually just wanted to stay for a bit longer to grab as many artifacts as he could. All she cared about was that the leader of her pack gave an order and she needed to follow it. It made things easier for her as making decisions was never her strong suit, but neither was Uriel's which became clear as soon as they started backtracking.

They went back through the same wagons they had previously visited, though they looked different. There was nothing out of place or unusual, just that they were different from when they visited them just a couple minutes ago.

Their first thought was that they had taken the wrong direction and Nika poked her head back into the previous wagon, finding out there were no seats which came as a surprise since they were just there.

"This is driving me nuts! Can you please explain what a cryptid train is?" Nika asked in confusion.

"Uhm, it's not cryptid train, but ghost train. However, I'm still unsure about the nature of this cryptid. We need to..."

"Gather more evidence." Nika heaved and completed the sentence.

Despite the obvious strange phenomenon that caused the change in the wagons, that didn't change the fact that they needed to continue moving across the train to find the hunting party they met before. And so they moved across the wagons, taking care not to rush things as there were cryptids present that could prove a threat for them despite their rank.

They encountered mostly common cryptids that could be seen anywhere, though Uriel did catch a glimpse of a pigmy that looked exactly the same as the ones he had seen before in Chichén Itzá. Unfortunately, before he could make sure it was the exact same kind Nika crushed it with a merciless downward kick that caused the flux orb to drop immediately.

About ten minutes into their search the lights dimmed once more and this time Uriel rushed into the middle of the cart they were in as a seemingly ordinary object drew his attention. Before picking it up, though, he made sure to inspect it closely.

It was a XVIII century silver fork that, albeit valuable, was in a pretty shabby condition that made it difficult for Uriel to determine where was it forged.

"This is odd... something like this shouldn't be anywhere near Spain." Uriel blurted out after giving up on studying the artifact and storing it in his museum to find out its origin.

"So? Maybe brought it along." Nika said dismissively.

"That is very unlikely, judging by the state of this item I'd think it was buried for a long time and it wasn't cleaned properly or suffer any human intervention after being deposited. The problem is, this is from America." Uriel's reasoning only made the puzzle more convoluted for him, though it actually answered Luna's questions.

She would have loved to provide an answer, but being excited and afraid in equal measure her already lacking communication skills blocked and she couldn't utter a single word. Instead of speaking, she simply darted away to find the endangered hunters before it was too late.

She nimbly moved across the wagons using the seats as footholds to boost her speed even further, which she was only able to do because of her minute size. One by one she move across the wagons and she came to a stop when she found the scent she had been following.

After having a hard time catching up to Luna who did the same a hunting hound would, he soon realized the reason she had stopped. There it was, the face of the leader of the hunting party that went by 'Gavilanes' was directly in front of them, only the man in question was nowhere to be seen.

"The collector, I thought those things were harmless." Uriel drew his dagger and readied to strike, but Luna stopped him.

"They are, it probably picked that face from a corpse." Luna shook her head and the cryptid took the chance to scurry away. The implication of what just transpired would have been heavy on the heart for most as it meant the entire hunting party had been wiped out by something, though none of them actually cared that much about the people.

"At least we tried." Uriel shrugged, though he did feel annoyed that he failed his albeit whimsical objective.

They calmly took a seat and waited for the 'train' to reach a station, only it was taking more time than it should have and their hearts began growing impatient.

"It's just as I feared, once this cryptid deems it has a worthy meal inside it won't let it go." Luna muttered.

"Are you saying we just got eaten!?" Nika gasped, though after all the excitement there was barely any shock left on her. Or so she thought, because Uriel's annoyance was starting to grow exponentially and that could only spell trouble. Had he been scared, it would have meant they were probably in a tough spot, but Nika trusted he could eventually find a solution.

After Chichén Itzá, though, Nika learned that the most dangerous emotion Uriel could possibly display was annoyance as it made him violent and reckless. She didn't know what would he do and had little time to react, but she held on to a grab rail with one hand and to Luna with the other right before summoned the Red thread of fate and jabbed it onto the floor causing an effect no one, not even Luna could have predicted.

The train shook for a second, then it violently shook up and down causing the hunters to rattle inside the train as though it was a maraca. Uriel held tightly to the dagger and refused to let go, even when a sudden movement caused the wagon to become vertical almost in ninety degrees.

The lights dimmed down for just a second and then became as bright as day. This was caused because now they were indeed out in the open and the sight of the megacity of Madrid was all they could see over the windows.

That too lasted for just a moment as the next thing they knew, they moved down like a rollercoaster at a speed not even their prowess as hunters was capable of resisting. Luna was particularly affected by the high gravity caused by the motion and she fainted for a couple seconds, or perhaps she just thought it was cozy and fell asleep like usual.

"What is this thing!?" Uriel snarled as he pulled back the dagger and poked holes at the wagon, allowing them to see the result of the train slithering its way across the streets like a serpent.

"It's the Culebre," Luna muttered and then continued in all seriousness. "I'm hungry."