Dungeon Raider System

Chapter 104 : Power of the pack part 1

"Please elaborate, Luna." Uriel prompted her to speak, as her slow manner of speech was starting to annoy him.

"Well, uhm... do you remember the dog that followed us last time when we were in the vehicle? Well, many hunters have reported that whoever spots that particular dog winds up dead. The dog itself doesn't kill anyone, but one way or another people die."

"So, whoever sees him dies?" Uriel asked.

"No, it's only the first one to see it." Luna explained.

"And then they die in unrelated ways? I don't think the dog has anything to do with it, it must be just superstition."

"The first one to see the black dog last time was... Atomic." Luna's words triggered various responses from the group, ranging from sadness to anger, but everyone seem to agree on one thing.

"That's the one, we're going to hunt it." Uriel voiced everyone's thoughts.

"We know more or less where to find it." Medusa added.

"Then it's settled."

The group started running in a different formation than before, now Medusa was the one leading the group following the tracks left by vehicles. This made their speed faster as there weren't any obstacles, but it also lead to the place where they last saw the cryptid they were looking for.

The farther the group got from the city, the scarcer the vegetation became until it eventually turned into a barren land. Now that Uriel was an ascended too he didn't lag behind and could keep up with the speed of his companions without issues.

Thanks to the continued race it didn't take long for the system to inform Uriel he had completed the 'level 1 physical training', something he had been expecting and he received another trite. At that point he had completed his training three times, meaning he had three coins which weren't enough to spend on anything, but Uriel was glad to receive the reward anyway.

"Horned rabbit at three O'clock." Sam announced, yet the only one to turn her head was Luna who couldn't resist the urge to gaze at the creature.

"I don't mean to scare you, Sam, but because of your trait you'll most likely be the one to spot the black dog. Aren't you afraid?." Medusa asked, concerned for her friend.

"Of course I am!" Sam cried. "But... I don't want to be scared anymore. I'm sick and tired of looking over my shoulder all the time, of my nightmares..."

Speaking while running wasn't easy, especially considering the speed they carried. This made Uriel wonder if the reason why the intermediate armor came with a voice enhancer was to facilitate communication while traveling. Though in reality, the reason why they possessed such feature was only to hide the sound of their voice and make their identification more difficult.

Hunters and soldiers alike were exposed to all sorts of dangers, but one of the worst possible ones was being targeted by other humans. Hence why soldiers, even corporals, had to remain anonymous during certain operations.

"There it is!" Sam exclaimed and everyone looked at the direction he was pointing at.

"I don't see it."

"Not the dog, the hill! That's the same hill where the dog was the first time." Sam pointed his finger towards a small hill, yet it was big enough to prevent him from seeing what lied behind it.

Finding that place was only the first step. Now they had to scout the place and make sure they didn't fall apart from each other as they didn't know how strong the black dog was. They headed towards the hill with careful steps, trying to not make a sound in order to pass unnoticed, but all their efforts were for naught as they started hearing howls coming from different directions.

Sam looked baffled as he didn't understand how come they were noticed before he spotted them, considering he had a trait related to his sight. Noticing Sam's expression Luna pointed towards her nose, letting him know the answer before the question even left his mouth.

Uriel didn't know how many dogs were loitering the small hill, but he could guess it had to be more than ten different ones because of the howling.

The first dog to appear came skirting the hill at full speed. Drool was already dripping from its maw as though dinner had been just served in front of it and all it had to do was to grab a plate and serve itself.

Reality differed quite a lot from that, as the outcome the big bad dog expected never came to happen. What happened instead was Medusa spinning in the air and crossing its nuzzle with a powerful kick that killed it instantly.

"Just as expected, beast rank creatures are not even a challenge." Medusa said after dusting her clothes and composing herself. Her relaxed demeanor made it seem as if killing a black dog in a single hit was easy, but actually most ascended couldn't do something like that until late in their hunting careers.

Possessing power and exerting it correctly were two different things and while Medusa wasn't actually that strong, she did possess incredible martial skills that made her movements as efficient as they were effective.

"That was incredible!" Sam exclaimed in admiration. Though it had always been clear to him that Medusa wasn't just a pretty face, he was certain she wasn't this strong last time. The reason for this improvement in her power wasn't related to a physical change, it was because now she was more accustomed to her ascended body and could move more fluently.

Following the steps of the dog that fell, the rest of the pack launched a joined attack trying to surround them. Realizing that, despite them being many, the threat they posed was minimal Uriel decided to save his bullets for later. He had learned the hard way the importance of having enough ammunition at all times, so he decided to let his friends do most of the fighting.