Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 635: Life in the fast lane Part 2
With Luna passed out, Medusa never got the confirmation that the Cryptid hunting agency received the information about the cryptids they gathered. Not just that, she also failed to mention said information came directly from the Dungeon Raiders company which meant that instead of being granted the right to skip the line of hunters waiting for a job, they had to remain at their position.
It was a first come first served basis and since they were the last to arrive, they were also the last to receive their assignment which also didn't fit Nika's plan to boost their company's reputation. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"What does it say?" Medusa asked once Nika received the assignment sheet.
"They're asking us to patrol the north slums, it's not even a bounty." Nika sighed.
"But according to Luna the slums is where the weakest cryptids dwell. How are we supposed to become famous if we only hunt beast rank cryptids?" Medusa asked, evidently annoyed by their mistreatment.
"It can't be helped," Nika shrugged then explained to prevent Medusa from storming inside the building. "Ours is a small company, we might be strong but we have yet to prove it."
"A small company? We just took down a horror level cryptid yesterday!" Miss Dragonfang stomped her feet.
"We?" Nika asked addressing a murderous glare to the former lieutenant who by that point was almost immune to Nika's threats.
"The company, I mean." Miss Dragonfang wasn't easily intimidated by her glare, but she knew better than to taunt Nika who outranked her in every possible way. Miss Dragonfang's mind drifted until her train of thought was cut short by Alioth walking outside the building with a still unconscious Luna on her arms.
"I'm sorry, she was affected by the new holy rank huntress flux signature." The clerk explained after delivering her to Nika who immediately noticed a shift in Luna's weight thanks to being the closest to her. It also wasn't easy to miss her bulging belly caused for overeating and her loud snoring.
Despite the obvious signs of overeating, Nika still thought her condition was caused by the foreign flux coursing through her veins.
Had it been anybody else, Nika might have awoken them with a couple slaps then a couple more after they were up just for good measure, but since it was her cute Luna she shook her with gentle care.
"Are you ok?" She asked with tenderness.
"It's post-prandial somnolence." Luna nodded slowly, her eyes open to a slit.
"Oh, no! Please not that! Is it curable!?" Without a hint of Luna's medical knowledge, Nika thought her self diagnosis to be nothing short of a death sentence.
"It's... uhm... after dinner dip." Luna had a tough time trying to remember the way people referred to the somnolence caused for eating too much.
"Stop playing you two! Some companies are already returning from their jobs, we need to get moving! Where's the witch?" Asked Medusa failing to isolate the sounds in the busy street.
"She's painting her nails or putting on make up, who cares? She can meet us there." Approaching their new car was all they needed for the doors to open. The luxurious vehicle was so advance it didn't even need a driver, yet Nika still took the driver seat. Medusa sat on the co pilot seat while Luna and Miss Dragonfang remained at the back seat.
Since they were used to being a four member unit and they were missing Uriel who was the combatant, they asked Miss Dragonfang to accompany them so they could use their same strategies. Bella was also supposed to join the hunt, but only to stand watch in case other hunters decided to get in their way or cryptids attempted to escape.
It was a role that fitted her well and allowed her to provide ranged support from a safe spot, though her wind barrier made her almost impervious to damage.
The Dungeon Raiders company possessed more heavenly rank than some companies ten times their size making the patrolling job hardly worth their time, but thanks to the information provided by Emma via their cellphones and Luna's vast knowledge about cryptids it wasn't long until they found their first enemy.
It was a small beast rank cryptid that roamed the alleys, its shape was that of a crow and the only way to tell them apart from a regular animal was the third eye in the top of its head. As long as the eye remained closed it was impossible to sense its energy signature making it impossible to identify.
Luna didn't know exactly what kind of cryptid it was, only that it was the one responsible for the uncanny feeling some people experienced when birds stared at them and the most likely source for 'ornithophobia'.
The party painted an odd picture of four ladies feeding the birds in the bad side of an already bad neighborhood, yet no one dared to cross their path due to them being hunters. The slum dwellers cowered in fear and kept their distance, not even daring to approach the luxurious car to avoid angering them.
Identifying the cryptids was a mammoth task, but they decided not to kill all the birds since animals were innocent, harmless creatures that were already striving to survive in a world that befell into chaos. In response, the birds thanked them with plenty of droppings which much to Nika's dismay fell on top of her new car.
"Not my Nikola!" She cried.
The next stop was supposed to be one of the north district's water treatment plants since according to Uriel it was easy to find cryptids dwelling inside its tanks, but on their way they spotted a woman walking with her daughter by the hand. In turn, the girl carried a small doll in a similar way, making them look like a cute family of three.
"Uhm... uhm..." Luna, who up until that point had kept her head outside the window to sniff the air, kicked Nika's seat to get her to stop the car, the sudden brake caused a screeching sound and called for the attention of the woman prompting her to run. Before Nika could even scold Luna for kicking the seat of her new car, Luna had already jumped outside and started chasing after the woman.
Miss Dragonfang thought it was funny how Luna seemed to act like a puppy sometimes, but decided not to mention anything when the cute figure of Luna started turning into her werewolf form.
"Stop! They'll think you're a cryptid!" Nika warned from inside the car, but Luna ignored and continued shifting as she awkwardly made her way towards the woman. She went from walking on her two legs, to using her arms as a crutch to enhance her speed until the shapeshifting finished and she was finally able to run in all fours.
Nika was supposed to be the faster of the four, but she wanted to save as much flux energy as she could since she would be unable to recharge it until Uriel returned. Miss Dragonfang instead had no qualms spending her flux signature in one go as long as it meant protecting an innocent passerby from Luna's lower instincts.
She didn't know if she mistook the woman for a cryptid, if the cute scene triggered her somehow or if she knew the woman from before. All Miss Dragonfang knew was that no matter the reason, Luna's werewolf form stood out too much and caused a chaos inside the city.
Just like they expected, people panicked as soon as they saw the hulking creature running in the streets challenging the cars with its incredible speed.
"In for a penny..." Miss Dragonfang sighed as she was forced to shapeshift too. Instead of following her through the street, Miss Dragonfang balanced her tail to take a high jump and gave chase walking through the walls just like a lizard would. Her iridescent scales glimmering as they caught the few rays of sunlight that reached the lower floors of the skyscrapper she used as a race track.
People in the vicinity watched in disbelief how two women had turned into beasts, then screamed in horror when the wolfish creature finally caught up to its prey and torn it to shreds.
The shrill sound of a girl screaming to the top of her lungs was then muffled by the low growls that seemed to come from hell itself and the doll Luna just torn to pieces reformed into a black creature that somehow stood taller than Luna in her werewolf form.
It was humanoid in shape, but there was nothing human in its features and it had long horns that protruded from the top of its head giving it the look of a demon.
"Fool! You interrupted my meal, It's only fair I eat you instead." The cryptid Luna identified as a puppeteer roared its challenge. They were unsightly creatures made of shadows that lurked inside children toys, hiding behind the innocent appearance of their vessels and preying on their victim's fear.
Luna managed to strike first and destroy the vessel in one go, she also managed to identify it as an entity rank cryptid since it was obviously smart enough to speak human language. Things would have been fine if not for one small detail, Luna didn't know how to kill it.
