Dungeon Raider System

Uriel was taken aback when he saw the current state of the ranger's headquarters. He expected to see the modern building realized in reinforced alloy and glass panes like most skyscrapers, but he found instead a rundown version of an apartment building instead. And if the building looked ruinous on the outside, the inside was even worse as it resembled the interior of the shabbiest cantina Uriel had ever seen. If anything, the only silver lining was that everyone wore cowboy hats which meant his Fedora did not stand out in the crowd.

"Times are hard for us rangers..." Charlie said in an apologetic tone.

"No kidding, but why is that?"

"Well, for one, no one but the sick and the dying wants to join us and the only reason they do it is because I can turn them into vampires." Charlie sighed.

"So, they willingly become cryptids to avoid death," Uriel nodded then followed with a question. "why the cowboy hats?"

"You'll find out soon enough, or maybe you won't, it's not like I care at this point. The only thing I'll ask of you is to get your people in line and do your job properly. If you do that, then maybe our situation might improve a little." Charlie said as she led Uriel to the desk where he reported in for duty using his old alias 'Magnum'.

"Another one of those?" Sighed the desk clerk, a woman who also wore a cowboy hat and leather clothes, though contrary to Charlie's revealing attire she was a modest person. "Where should I place him?"

"Just put him to work cases, I'll be at the office." Charlie disappeared inside the building without so much as winking or flirting with anyone, leaving Uriel in a daze for a few seconds. He did not know if he preferred the old Charlie, but seeing her act mature and do her job properly was somehow more uncanny than the fact that she was now a vampire.

As Uriel pondered about these thoughts he was taken to a small room filled with the strangest merchandise Uriel had ever laid eyes upon. There were Raider posters, figurines and even a perfectly accurate 3D print version of his jaguar.

"This is too much." Uriel mumbled incorrectly assuming Charlie had prepared the room for him in advance. He leaned closer to one of the figurines to see if they had captures his face, but much to his relief the red scarf covered his face and only left his eyes exposed.

"Don't you dare touch anything!" A young man pushed past Uriel and assumed a defensive posture in front of his treasures.

"Sure." Uriel shrugged and flinched.

"So you're my new partner," The young man let out as he inspected Uriel by taking several laps around him. "you're fit, that's good. I'm guessing you're a former combatant."

"That's correct, you could say I'm a veteran hunter." Uriel said as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"The name's Marlon, pleased to make your acquaintance. Now put down your stuff in that side of the room and make sure to order a bed online if you can afford one. They don't have the budget for that."

"That won't be a problem." Uriel chuckled and proceeded to turn his side of the room into a home for the rest of the day. He bought a bed and a few appliances because, although he did not have any intention to stay for long, he didn't want to spend any amount of time in a room that didn't provide the appropriate level of comfort.

He waited the entire day for something to do other than skim through his phone, but without any books time seemed to pass really slow. His furniture arrived and he had the time to get everything and then some more to spare, which left him wondering if the rangers were really so busy as Charlie said they were.

Every minute Uriel spent felt like time wasted and he couldn't even consider it a vacation since his friends were not with him, but facing something much similar to him. Everyone had been placed into similar accommodations, safe for Luna whom the rangers considered as a threat more than an asset which is why she asked her to remain in the Pegasus and help with the supply run along with the essential crew.

"Are you tired or something?" Asked Marlon when he noticed Uriel was hoping into bed.

"Not really, just bored." He replied.

"Then get ready. There's a missing case person in the slums we need to work right now." Marlon said.

"Nice one," Uriel laughed. "but no one cares about people disappearing in the slums."

"Did your momma dropped you on the floor when you were born? People who live in the slums are still people and they need us the same as everybody else. Now, you either come with me or say goodbye to the shiny badge that earns you free drinks at the pub." Marlon exited the room leaving Uriel no time to even answer.

Needless to say, as someone who lived in the slums for so long Uriel wasn't looking down on the people who lived there and his comment had a different meaning from what Marlon made of it. What Uriel actually meant was that it was a known fact that calling the rangers in the slums was a bad idea because they never showed and if they did, it mostly ended in a bloodbath where victims and felons would get wounded or worse.

Before long, Uriel found himself well on his way to the slums and it wasn't until they reached their destination that he realized that it was still dark outside and they had moved across the city in the middle of the curfew. It wasn't his first time and it didn't bother him in the slightest, which played a part in him not noticing, but he wondered if it was due to the rangers now being vampires that they worked at night where not even hunters would dare come out.

"Rangers, open up!" Marlon commanded after knocking on a door which then opened to a slit with the chain still inside the slider and only after the woman confirmed it was really a ranger the one knocking did she close the door and opened it in full.

"Thank you for coming, but my husband just texted me saying he was fine. He lost track of time at the bar down the corner and is spending the night there until curfew is over his battery died for a minute so he couldn't communicate."

"Alright Madame, it's not a problem," Marlon tipped his hat and waited for the door to shut before turning to Uriel. "you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Cryptid, probably an entity." Uriel nodded.

"Boy, is it sweet not working with a novice." Marlon patted Uriel on the shoulder and walked down the stairs, like any hunter would. Elevators in the slums were as reliable as electricity, which meant they were not reliable at all.

In the short time it took for the rangers to get to the apartment, speak to the lady and then head back outside, it had started raining. Not a casual rain that would just get things wet, but the kind of rain that looked like a curtain, felt like getting whipped on the face and sounded like a battlefield would making the perfect scenario for when they reached the bar.

Fittingly, they could sense the presence of a powerful cryptid in the vicinity. Marlon due to his senses as a vampire and Uriel due to his mystical sense which allowed him to feel the presence of any creature that exuded flux.

Usually, by the time Uriel could feel the presence of a cryptid it would have already been too late to help or save anyone since their presence remained hidden most of the time due to what was referred to as standby or ambush mode. However, in this particular case it seemed they were right in time as the lights flickered at the same time they stood in front of the neon sign.

"Should we get in now or wait until the thing shows up?" Asked Marlon as he turned to Uriel, noticing the magnum in his hand.

With a nod, both rangers walked into the bar, their silvery badges identifying them as keepers of peace, though despite their civic duty they were not met with happy smiles and pats on the shoulder, but with a rain of bullets.

"What the heck is going on?" Asked Marlon after taking cover by the wall, adjusting his hat that had a bullet hole the size of a 9mm bullet on the same spot where his skull had been pierced not ten seconds ago.

"Guess we got the wrong bar... or maybe the correct one!" Uriel blurted out with a smile in his face as he considered the possibility that the entire thing had been an ambush carefully planned by an intelligent cryptid.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Marlon stood up to face the barrage of bullets opening fire with two small revolvers at the same time, gunning down enemies without a care for getting shot, then Uriel joined in, though he turned a table to use for cover.