Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 643: The Quill tells a story

Everyone became silent as the reunion between the young archaeologist and the old librarian turned from a moving moment filled with emotion into a tense atmosphere that seemingly brew a thousand storms within everyone's core.

Xavier Scofield had just admitted to using Uriel as live bait to catch Lightbringer. Medusa didn't know if she was angrier by the old man's manipulative behavior or the fact that she was hunting Sam like a dog, but before she could put a word in Uriel started chuckling.

"I sort of guessed it when I saw your uniform. When I first heard you were a holy rank hunter I had trouble reconciling the picture of the nice and friendly librarian with that of a powerful hunter, but a soldier..."

"Are you kidding? Dad has always been a soldier, if anything, I'm amazed he worked as a librarian." Miss Dragonfang refuted.

"Your dad? Nice one Lizzy, but no one's buying it." Nika merrily patted Miss Dragonfang's back, stopping only once she realized no one was laughing.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Uriel looked at Miss Dragonfang with a questioning look.

"What? You thought Dragonfang was a last name? It's my hunter's nickname. One of the first things I taught you was to keep your identity a secret from everyone for safety, I'm so disappointed in my pupil," Miss Dragonfang waved her finger in front of Uriel's nose like she was scolding an unruly kid. She then adjusted her clothes and introduced herself like she was meeting everyone for the first time.

"My name is Elizabeth Scofield and my trait is to shapeshift."

"I would understand if you were a holy rank hunter appointed to defend a city, but why didn't you participate on incursions if you're sided up with the army?" Uriel asked.

"Because he's an old weasel, of course." Jon scoffed earning the glares of Mister Scofield, Miss Dragonfang and Uriel alike.

"I don't intervene unless it's strictly necessary, like when you went inside the dungeon with that common thief." Mister Scofield didn't have to point his finger to let everyone know he was speaking about Jon, but for some reason he couldn't fathom he felt as alluded.

"There's so many questions I want to ask you, but perhaps we should move this conversation to the meeting room." Uriel spoke when he realized the cafeteria was packed with people. The employees he didn't mind, but Jon and Seiren were an entirely different matter since they belonged to the Mapple corporation.

"Unfortunately, my story is quite long and I don't have the time to repeat it. I trust that what I am about to say will remain inside this walls." Mister Scofield's eyes glinted for a second as he gazed at those present, making everyone flinch as though he pierced through their souls. Except for Miss Dragonfang who asked the maid for hot chocolate and made herself comfortable in a chair.

"The reason why I don't intervene in lowly quarrels or most matters and why I became a librarian are one and the same. It's because of my trait."

"Are you sure you want to speak about it in the open?" Uriel tilted his head, knowing that revealing the nature of one's trait was the same as revealing a weak spot, though his concern was dismissed with a hearty chuckle from the old librarian.

"Don't worry about me, young bookworm. My trait is simple and weak, yet at the same time it holds bottomless power. I was a foot soldier guarding a post in the middle of nowhere with too much time in his hands.

Losing track of time was easy when times went by one after the other, I had no duties other than remain at my post and the only ties with civilization I had was a small radio device that didn't work most of the time. I don't know when it happened, why it happened or if it happened at all. The arrival is still a mystery to me as it must be to you, but one fateful night changed my life forever.

"It was right after sunset, the time when the desert goes from burning your skin to chilling your bones in a matter of minutes.

There had been nothing of note in the entire day and there was no evidence that the night would go any different, but something in the whistle of the wind made my skin crawl and I felt the urgency to speak to another human being, to know I wasn't alone in the world like it seemed.

It came as no surprise when the old radio device stopped working since it was equipment from a war long forgotten, the only kind of equipment they would spare for such an outer military post that guarded nothing. There were no military bases, no vehicle bays, it wasn't even on any land on dispute. To this day I still don't know why they sent me there.

"I didn't think much when no one replied, but the nagging sensation I had on the back of my head became a sudden burst of paranoia. I couldn't keep myself from thinking I was in mortal danger and I needed to speak with someone, anyone. I ran into the desert without a sense of direction, I just wanted to get away from that old post.

Then silly old me thought they might think I defected from the army and that my time in the post might have been nearing its end, so I backtracked my steps and tried to return to the post. Little did I know my rotation in the outpost had long ended and the only reason no one came pick me up was because in my absence, the world as I knew it had ended.

"By now you may have guessed the world ending, the nearest army base destroyed and the junk of a radio device I had at my disposal were not the only reasons why the radio device stopped working. Back then I had only my instincts to guide me and the gut feeling became so powerful my mind was sent into disarray when the flashlight in my hand suddenly stopped working.

I was lost in the middle of the night without any means to communicate with another human being, a light source, firewood or water. And then it hit me, I was going to die. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

"I found some sense of peace in the quiet of the desert and inwardly thanked the absence of the usual yapping of the coyotes and the unsettling noises I heard every night. Oddly enough, the same things that brought me peace are now considered signs of danger in the wilderness. I don't know what got me into grabbing my rifle, but I tightened the grip and held it blindly in the dark.

Afraid and cornered by figments of my imagination I opened fire just to break the night's silent darkness. Each shot fired illuminated the desert, but not just that, somehow I hit it."

"Hit what!?" Medusa asked, her jaw clattering in fear as she could relate better than anyone present with the dark ambiance of Mister's Scofield's tale due to her blindfold.

"I wish I know. To this day I have no clue what it was. All I can say is I emptied all the mags I carried and by the time I finished firing there was nothing left of the creature but a small glass bead.

Suddenly, the coldness of the desert felt welcoming instead of hostile and although I couldn't see the in the dark, the location of the outpost became as clear as day to me thanks to a sharpened sense of direction. I also experienced some physical changes, though I wouldn't notice for a long time.

"Just like you, young bookworm, I had no clue what did my trait do. Not because it was rare but because I didn't even know traits existed. With nothing to do, I didn't even notice any improvement in my physical prowess. It was only thanks to an old tradition where soldiers would leave behind the books they brought with them that I learned I had a trait.

"Like I mentioned before, I had more time than I knew what to do with and I started reading out of boredom. However, after killing whatever creature that chased after me in the night reading turned into a different experience. My mind doesn't just process the words, it draws power from the fantastic stories making me stronger the more I read."

"All this just to tell us your origin story like you're the main character of a superhero movie that's going to save the world? I've been hunting crypids from the moment they showed up while you've been sitting in your ass all day reading!" Jon scoffed.

"You're mistaken and while I can't blame you for being ignorant I am responsible for teaching you. You're but a hound that follows the scent of the prey wherever the Mapple corporation points your nose at. We're way past the point where we can save the world, Jon, the only thing we can do is build an ark."