Dungeon Raider System

"Have you heard the one about the laddest lad to ever live?" Asked a man holding a guitar in a pub usually frequented by soldiers. He was neatly shaven or maybe was incapable of growing a beard which made his face look fresh, his piercing eyes added to that feeling. He had a certain spark to him that people could only describe as him being very 'awake' and youthful. He also was handsome by anyone's standard and exuded a type of charisma that didn't relate to his energy signature, but for all his charms he was helpless against the grim mood at the pub.

"I'll pay you ten credits if you put that thing down and keep quiet." Said a soldier from the bar and another one joined in.

"I'll add ten credits if you also leave."

"I was not going to play anything or sing, just wanted to know if you heard his story, but now I'm curious about what happened to you guys." The man asked and the female soldier found it impossible to be rude to such a nice man.

"Sorry for going off at you, but we just had one of the worst incursions ever." The woman said, her eyes nailed to the wall.

"We're about to drink one shot per lost friend, so don't expect us to become any nicer later on." The other soldier said.

"Then maybe the story I bring to you will make you feel better."

"Don't fuck with us pal, we just told you we lost people and the things we saw... the things we saw." The soldier repeated the last part to himself then rushed a shot of alcohol to wash away the memories of the darkest night of his life.

Due to the pub being filled to the brim with soldiers, it took less than five seconds for the youthful man holding a guitar to be circled by men and women wearing their disheveled army uniforms and if that was not enough of a hint that they didn't want him there, then the tallest, meanest soldier present showing up directly to his face should have done the trick.

"Scram, let us grief in peace." Tate said with a no nonsense attitude.

"But this is the story of the laddest lad! The hunter who single handedly defended a city from a gigantic serpent!"

"I think I heard something about that, but I thought it was bullshit." The grieving female soldier said inwardly hoping she was wrong and the same feeling was shared by the rest of the soldiers. Humanity needed a win, even if it was distant, even if they could never confirm it.

"In a very distant land where the sun dries up the earth causing it to crack, where the entire commerce would close down at times due to people just not shopping at certain hours, a young man walked in with his group of friends..."

"I thought you said he defended the city by himself." Snarled a man from the audience.

"I did say that and here's how it went. This young boy came from foreign lands to the megacity in question and he showed up in his shiny armor and his faithful steed, a dagger as long as he can see and a..."

"Hold on, that doesn't sound very realistic." A soldier interrupted, then another butted in.

"Let him finish, I want to hear about the cryptid he killed."

"This particular serpent of chaos didn't start as such but was born as a mere snake, one that grew in power and cunning as it consumed its prey to eventually become one of the strongest of its kind. No one knew it, but it hid beneath the city and lured hunters towards its maw for who knows how long until it became unstoppable."

"If it was unstoppable, then how come..." Another soldier attempted to interject, but this time another soldier shut his mouth from behind.

"So this lad already suspected something funny to be going on in the lines of the metro, but he did not know the train with carts and all was not what it seemed."

"No way!" Several people gasped at the thought of a cryptid mimicking a train which seemingly pleased the storyteller who later introduced himself as Loxias.

The story went on about how Uriel attacked the cryptid from the inside causing it to exit its burrow in rage causing several reactions from the audience. Some judged him irresponsible while others considered he was doing what he needed to do to survive, yet the more Tate heard the more interested he became in the story as it sounded completely new yet oddly familiar, but the story was so engaging that other soldiers would prevent whenever someone tried to interrupt it again.

"I don't get why you said he's the laddest lad, sure, it was ballsy of him to attack it from within but that's something anyone would try to do if they were swallowed by a cryptid." Said a soldier when the story finished.

"Sure, but did I mention he not even once thought about running away?" Loxias said.

"And how do you know that?" The soldier pointedly ask.

"You know what, this reminds me of another one of his stories about the time he punched a god to its face, but my throat is sore from all this talking." Loxias coughed, prompting the soldiers to buy him a beer and pull out a chair for him.

The following stories were also about Uriel, but he didn't follow a chronological order and also put together events that happened in different places making people doubtful about them being true. However, to the grieving soldiers each one of Uriel's wins feel alike their own.

They went from mourning those who died, to celebrating the achievements of those who passed and before they noticed, Loxias was playing the guitar while telling the stories and people even clapped at the funny ones such as that time when Uriel had his hand stuck on a hole that ended up being filled with bugs and decided he would rather cut off his arm than getting stung.

Needless to say, the kind of dark sense of humor needed to find comedy in such events matched that of most of the crowd but not all, and Loxias soon made up for that by 'spilling the tea' about the laddest lad's supposed affairs with the younger sister of the renowned musician Allegro, the dangerous criminal underground boss, the beautiful and wealthy heir to the Mapple corporation, and others which of course made no sense.

"So this guy is a ranger, a soldier, an independent hunter, the boss of a company and also a student. He always goes deep into perilous places, kills the cryptid and gets the girl in the end. I'm not buying any of it." Scoffed a disbelieving soldier amidst the crowd.

"Don't be dumb, the laddest lad is a metaphore of all us hunters. He is every single one of us and no one in particular. These stories are meant to teach us something." Rebuked another soldier, then another joined the discussion.

"I Don't think That's the case. Those stories are filled with plot holes and are obviously made up, but they're entertaining and it helped cheer us up in the time we needed it the most. It's a job well one I would say... Where's the guy?" The soldiers looked everywhere trying to find the storyteller, but after drinking as much as he could get for free the man had disappeared from the pub.

"If you know all those stories, then I can only assume you are his friend." Tate who had been waiting to ambush Loxias said the moment he spotted him.

"Didn't you hear? It's not a real person." Loxias shrugged.

"That is what I thought too, but even though you exaggerated some things and left out some important details, I know him in person."

"You caught me," Loxias showed the palms of his hands. "But I just heard the stories, it's not like I know him in person."

"I just want to know if she's doing alright and if my sister is still with him," Tate uncrossed his arms and pulled a stack of credit bills. "It's all I have on me, please. 'I don't even ask you how do you know those things..."

"I don't need your money," Loxias directed a mean glare towards Tate, even though he only said it after grabbing the money and counting it. "But if the word of a stranger who likes to tell stories to get free drinks is good enough for you..."

"It is, it really is. I could have died two or three times today and our next incursion is going to be even more dangerous. Anything you say could help."

"He is currently in Europe, your sister is too but they are not currently close to each other."

"Are they safe?" Tate probed.

"Yes, they are perfectly safe and they will be fine." Loxias Apollo, the god of music, poetry and prophecy, lied.