Dungeon Raider System

Dozens of companies, hundreds of zeppelins and thousands of people ranging from regular humans to holy rank hunters watched in stunned bewilderment how the ship they previously described as scrap metal incapable of taking flight went from being the last to depart to the first position. Had it been just a matter of speed it would have been an incredible feat, but their unconventional use of the plasma cannon recoil took it to a whole new level.

Needless to say, some of the most daring crews attempted to replicate it with varied results. One zeppelin was unfortunate enough to accidentally hit the one behind it due to poor aim, another ship's engine blew up as it couldn't handle full throttle and fire a plasma round at the same time and others simply overheated, though no one was able to obtain the same results or even gain any momentum. The closer they got was to gain a slight amount of speed at the cost of destabilizing their ship.

This was, of course, because they didn't have Bella to reduce air resistance that allowed the Pegasus to move unhindered by the wind currents. But even if they knew they could use a hunter with air manipulating traits it would have made no difference since they lacked the powerful engine boosted by entity level orbs, Phlox's kinetic booster trait and piloting skills, but more importantly, they also lacked Uriel's pettiness.

The ship to ship communications went crazy with some crews sending distress calls, others asking for information on what just happened and the rest commenting on how they just witnessed was physically impossible. That all lasted until someone pointed out the target of the 'toilet paper prank' was none other than Magellan's ship and silence was made as horror spread like wildfire.

The ship was a fast moving stylish exploration ship with the best equipment the Mapple corporation could buy, but so were many other ships flying around. The actual cause for their fright came not from the ship itself, but from their knowledge of who was the head archaeologist of their team.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Jon Hunter yawned as he walked into the ship's bridge scratching the back of his head. Anyone would have assumed he was just waking up, but the beer bottle in his hand told a different tale.

"It's nothing, Sir. Someone tried to run interference with us, but we're already on it." Said one of the officers.

"Is that... toilet paper? Hold my beer." Jon didn't wait for an answer, he also didn't give a warning before opening the emergency exit hatch in the ship's bridge causing several sheets of papers to swirl inside the room. After briefly standing up on the ship's hull and measuring the distance, he jumped the gap with such power it actually knocked the ship back.

That day Jon was in a mood, mostly because he was against the corp. sharing the locations of most dungeons with the archaeology community after they denied him the same information for years. But also because Walter scolded him for missing the conference he was supposed to give and forcing them to resort to Professor Friedrikssen to give the speech.

It was precisely because of his sour mood and his unhealthy relationship with alcohol he failed to recognize the ship he just landed onto and he walked in ready to give whoever just weaponized toilet paper a piece of his mind.

"Winnie!?" Jon said in a thin voice right before bursting his way into the ship.

"I'll bill you the repair costs." Uriel said in a monotone that would rival Luna's.

"Cheeky lad!" Jon went in for a hug that Uriel declined with a murderous glare.

"They started it." Medusa said as though she had just been caught in a childish mischief and not industrial sabotage.

"I should have known it had to be you guys," Jon shook his head, but the smile on his face refused to disappear. "it's Okay, just... try to keep it civil. There's a fine line between running interference and sabotage. The first one will get you a slap in the hand, the second will turn you into enemies."

"They're in the clear, it wasn't malicious." Declared the ranger woman with the electricity trait that unsurprisingly was named Electra. Jon took a pause to carefully study her security division uniform that gave her the authority to decide whether or not someone breached their contract or acted against the Mapple corporation's interests and totally not trying to gauge her level of attractiveness.

"If you say so." Jon proceeded to shrug and crouch in front of one of the consoles reaching for a beer he knew was there.

"That's my secret stash!" Nika gasped.

"If someone knows it's there, it's not secret anymore." Jon replied with a smile Nika wanted to destroy with a fist.

"Speaking of secrets... you're going to Rathcroghan too." Uriel didn't phrase it as a question because it wasn't one, yet Jon seemed surprised of his confidence.

"How did you know?" Jon gasped with a slack jaw. "there's hundreds of POIs in Ireland, there's no way you knew I was heading there."

"I didn't, but thanks for confirming it's the entrance to a dungeon." Uriel replied with a cocky grin seemingly stolen from Jon. "the only reason I knew you were headed over there is because we were headed over there and we're not slowing down for you to get back to your ship and I'm sure they're still sweeping toilet paper out of their hull."

"And that's why I like you kiddo." Jon laughed despite the obvious dig at his intelligence. It was unusual, but being outsmarted from time to time was an occupational hazard for him and he just retreated back to what he called 'his room' but was actually a random dormitory he claimed for himself.

The Dungeon Raiders had so much catching up to do and could hardly keep themselves from chatting and although Uriel also wanted to catch up, particularly with Medusa, his priority was their current mission.

After explaining to Luna the geographical location of the Rathcroghan and its historical significance, she rushed out to rummage through her papers to put together a semblance of a local bestiary that could prove to be useful.

Medusa continued drawing circles in the map they received with the dungeon locations, calculating their volume to sort them by size while at the same time making the calculations to speed up their navigation. All the while she directed meaningful gazes to Uriel from time to time hinting that she wanted some time alone to speak, but was ignored time and time again by him and not without reason.

Being able to read the ancient language gave him an edge over the rest archaeological expedition teams, just as the system that alerted him whenever he was near a dungeon. But Uriel knew full well that he was dealing with the top of the biggest corporation in the world and all it took for him to lose the advantage was to lose focus.

Thankfully, the rest of the Dungeon Raiders had their hands tied too due to being short staffed. Even flying in a straight line required a considerable workforce, especially since they were still making repairs on the go. Not to mention that whenever a beast level cryptid showed up it was an all hands on deck situation as they couldn't risk them calling for reinforcements.

The Pegasus soared the skies reflecting perfectly the crew that flew it. It looked battered, but got the job done to perfection at least until it reached the coasts of Ireland.

The landscape was magical, not in the supernatural sense of the word but rather in a breath taking beauty that would be engraved in the hearts of the poor souls that grew up knowing nothing but gray. Hills, sloped cliffs and terrible weather made it look as though the laws of physics conspired to create the geographical equivalent to an orchestra.

It was beautiful, but also a challenge for the crew as they soon learned that making repairs on the outer hull of the ship was not a great idea during a thunderstorm. As usual, the one drawing the short stick was none other than Lizzie Dragonfang who had to be carried away on a stretcher after receiving a bolt of lightning that would have killed a lesser hunter yet only caused her some frizz and a cranky attitude.

It was the fifth day after they took off from the Mapple corporation that they arrived in the vicinity of the Clava Cairs and although they did not find a dungeon guardian or any sort of cryptid, that day would remain on their memories as one of the scariest days of their lives as it turned out the ruins they were seeking were not ruins anymore.

Even Uriel flinched when he saw the towering monstrosity of a building that would cast a shadow on the tallest skyscraper of humanity, but only for a moment as the shock soon gave way to excitement and he uttered the following words that would be written in the annals of history.

"Ten credits says we find a dungeon there."