Dungeon Raider System

The ever shifting mist that had been clouding Uriel's senses and thoughts converged into the cave and seemed to disappear into a specific part of the wall as if it was being sucked into the rock face.

Without wasting any more time, Uriel walked towards the place where the thick mist was getting sucked into. He placed both hands in front of him trying to reach for the wall, but instead of the solid feeling a stone wall would provide, he sensed something similar to a membrane.

As soon as he crossed it, his vision became clear and there weren't any traces of the mist, however, his surroundings were nothing like they were before.

Just a second ago Uriel was inside a cave, now he found himself in a barren land with an endless horizon. The only light present came in the form of a red twilight drawn in the bottomless distance. Uriel turned around only to realize there was nothing behind him and it was impossible to come back. Whatever threshold he crossed had to be a one way entrance.

"A gateway!" He shouted carelessly. Without any means of going back, his life was as good as forfeited and the only reason he kept going forward was to satisfy his own curiosity.

He walked aimlessly in the dark for a while, fearing he might never escape from that inscrutable place. After a few minutes, though, fear gave way to a feeling of inner peace he never experienced before. The place was dark and silent, which made it the perfect place to concentrate on his thoughts. It didn't take him long to figure out the true purpose of the jeweled bracelet.

"I was wrong and so was Flanagan, those things don't protect the fountain of eternal youth. This place must be Xibalbá and they are its guardians." Not even the possibility of being stuck in the land of the gods where only the dead were allowed was enough to keep Uriel from getting excited in the face of an archaeological discovery.

All the myths that were deemed as nothing but the overactive imagination of people from old times were becoming more and more real by the minute as Uriel reflected on the mystical and religious implications the existence of such a place could reveal. "There's no mist anymore, there's nothing to go by.

I don't have anything to light my way but I have the feeling that, even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference. The path will be revealed... the path... revealed... it means it was hidden which is true, but what am I supposed to do now?" He thought back at the riddle but nothing made sense.

In the end, the answer came from an unexpected source as Uriel thought he felt something moving in the dark. He acted upon his first instinct and shot his rifle at the distant horizon. The alloy projectile whistled in the emptiness and bounced off on a nearby object.

In front of Uriel stood a tall door, too big to be meant for humans. Other than its disproportionate size there was nothing strange about the door, the strange thing was that there was nothing behind it. It stood on its own, there were no walls nearby, it was simply a door in the middle of nowhere.

Uriel attempted to push it open, then pull it, but it was obvious by its gargantuan size that no human being would be able to open it. He somewhat regretted not allocating stat points into his strength stat, but even if he had thrice his current strength level he doubted it would have been enough.

Reflecting on every possibility was the only thing Uriel could do. He couldn't understand the reason why he felt drawn towards the door ever since he felt it 'move' in the darkness. The feeling it gave off wasn't something pleasant, it was like being watched from behind, like a presence lurking in the shadows but he felt the compulsive need to open the seemingly useless door.

He tried kicking it, shooting at it, he even smeared some of his own blood on it but nothing seemed to work until an idea finally dawned on his mind.

"Maybe all it needs is energy!" He exclaimed as he took a tier three battery from his backpack.

Lighting bolts swung in the darkness spreading like tentacles coming from a deranged octopus, slowly but surely making their way towards the door. One, two, three full batteries were completely drained until the carvings on top of the door shone in a bright cyan light.

[Xibalbá]

Just that, nothing else. No explanation, no instruction, nothing. The door was activated but it remained closed. Uriel let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding as he attempted to pry the door open one more time.

The heavy, unmovable, door opened with the same ease as an office door only more silent as the impossibly large door didn't make a single sound. Light came off in a blinding flash and then settled revealing a different environment.

As soon as he set foot inside he knew he was inside the underground structure, the same one the Mapple corp. wanted to investigate and the cause to arrange the expedition. It took but a glance from Uriel to notice the resemblance with Mayan architecture.

It was a long hallway made entirely of stone with mysterious carvings on the floor that he couldn't decipher. Most of them were symbols he couldn't recognize, while others were simple enough like the figure of a person, animals or even vegetables and fruits but their purpose remained a mystery.

The whole place was illuminated, though no light sources were at sight. It was as if the stone itself emitted light, but at the same time, it didn't. It wasn't, by any means, a grandiose sight but for someone like Uriel it was the most incredible treasure he could ever dream of as he was now standing on a place lost in time.

Each stone brick, slab and pillar told a story and Uriel was more than eager to listen to it. For a minute he simply stood in silence taking in the mystical atmosphere that surrounded him.

The first human to set foot on that sacred place in over a thousand years wasn't a warrior like their creators intended, it wasn't a leader of humanity either. It was but a humble student with an insane obsession for ancient history. He didn't follow the path lead by the bracelet, he didn't overcome the trials in the warriors temple nor did he win a game of ball in the court.

Uriel's presence in the underground structure was as sacrilegious as the place he entered was sacred and, soon enough, he would pay the price for his intrusion.

[System notice] Title acquired: Dungeon Raider