Dungeon Raider System

Chapter 178 The third relic

When Tina Celes came back from the incursion she took part along with Uriel in the cathedral, the first thing she did was to inform her father about the existence of the underground structures called dungeons. She didn't know much about them, only what Uriel told them, but just the possibility of controlling an orichalcum vein was enough to pique Piero's interest.

He was a pragmatic man who didn't reach his position by luck, someone like him would never trust his daughter's words at face value no matter how much he loved her. Nevertheless, when the Mapple corporation got involved he knew there was money to be made in the Lost city and as one of the most important figures in the whole city he felt entitled to whatever riches could be acquired in its vicinity.

Needless to say, this included getting a share of the profit from the alleged dungeon beneath the Alamo, but things weren't so easy.

Although his company was the biggest in the city of New Texas, he lacked the manpower to oppose the Mapple corporation. Even if he was responsible for the manufacture of the most advanced weapons thanks to his partnership with the college, weapons alone weren't enough to get the job done.

The first thing he did was to seal the city so no one could exit, not even the Mapple corporation, under the guise of a threat to everyone's safety. Thankfully, he didn't have to lie about it because Jon's presence in the lost city caused a stir in the cryptids and they started to behave oddly in the surroundings of the city.

There were even many recounts of attacks to the wall, which was a rare occurrence.

Then, he did something most entrepreneurs would think twice before doing. He sought after the army's help in hopes of beating the Mapple corporation in acquiring the last relic needed to open the dungeon.

Of course he wasn't sure about its existence and for all he knew, even relics were only a rumor made up by one of Tina's classmates, Uriel. Still, even if there was no hard evidence to back up any of Tina's sayings, there were too many coincidences and the presence of the Mapple corporation was all the confirmation he needed to send people out on the mission to acquire the third relic.

They didn't know what it was, they didn't know how it looked like, but fortunately for Piero he had the assistance of the full college campus. There were several professionals in all sorts of fields but one stood out among them, it was Professor Pangiotis.

He was by far the most prominent authority in the field of anthropology and he was able to take a few educated guesses on what the artifact could be and where to find it.

After a week or so, the plan was already in motion and, at the same time Uriel was coming back from his incursion to Hunter's lane, a military detachment was sent out towards David Crockett's national forest in the northeast.

The group was comprised of over one hundred soldiers, all of them armed to the teeth with the latest weapon prototypes developed by the Celes company and the one leading the expedition was no one else but Colonel Ethan Windfire as he was the highest ranking officer in the city. Though the true reason for this was because of the good relationship the Jabobs and Celes families had.

"Father, the army just turned in their report." Tina handed her father a sealed envelope.

Piero Celes opened it and skimmed through the document without paying any heed to the heavy monetary costs and the even greater loss in 'human resources'.

"Father?" She asked. Whenever she spoke to Piero, her voice was always stern and composed, though she was anxious to hear the results.

"They found it." He said with a twisted smile. "We'll throw a celebration tonight, this is all thanks to you, dear." He handed the report back to her and gestured for her to leave the office.

To say Tina had a complicated family life would be an understatement.

She was always under the pressure to behave appropriately according to the Celes family and that meant she could never have a normal life, she could never let her true feelings leak out from her face but on that day, when she finally got to read the report her eyes widened and her face crumpled as silent tears began dripping on the paper.

Of all the soldiers that were sent to look for the relic no more thirty survived and that was counting those that came back crippled or disfigured. She was a hunter, and a heavenly rank at that, but the report filled her with dread.

There was mention of spiders with legs the size of trees, ominous creatures that lured soldiers into the darkness and all sorts of cryptids that would give people nightmares and yet, the most terrible monster on her eyes was her father that skimmed through the pages without showing a hint of emotion or compassion.

She knew her father's greed exceeded reason, but she never thought he could put so little value on human life. Now she couldn't stop repeating her father's claim that it was all 'thanks' to her and she wished she never told him anything.

"Tina, I'm so glad to see you." Ethan walked in, carrying a smile of a thousand credits. "Did your father tell you the good news?"

If her father was a monster on her eyes, the man in front of her couldn't even be called human. He was there, he saw the soldiers under his command fall like flies, he even used some of them as sacrificial pawns and yet he smiled like nothing happened.

"Yes, you accomplished your mission." Tina said with a plain face. She tried her best to muster a smile, but no matter her years of experience hiding her true feelings, the muscles on her face refused to obey.

"Oh, yes, that too, but I actually meant something different."

"What is it?" She asked, though she already had an idea. It was a thought that she put in the back of her mind and tried to avoid as much as possible, but she couldn't deny it anymore.

"After we explore the dungeon, we are going to get married. Aren't you happy?" Ethan's smile remained unchanged, though his eyes were similar to those of a predator eyeing her next meal and Tina began crying what she claimed afterwards were 'tears of joy'.