Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 572: Did I miss something?

The short walk between Uriel's room and the ship's cafeteria could only be described as a walk of shame. All the crew members who saw him either deviated their gazes from him or scoffed behind his back, but as soon as Uriel walked past them their stares became so intense he could accurately pinpoint their locations thanks to his mystical sense.

"People are acting really weird today." Uriel muttered after taking a seat in front of the bar.

"Huh? I think I heard something, there must be an air current somewhere. Can you check if there's any breaches in the hull?" Nika pretended she didn't hear Uriel.

"That's impossible, I asked our engineers to perform a check first time in the morning." Medusa replied, stippling her fingers on a coffee mug.

"Hey, I'm right here. What is going on today?"

"Weird, It must be that nasty witch then. She's always hovering around like she owns the place. Someone should put her on her place, what do you think?" Nika still pretended not to hear Uriel, then grimaced at the sight of the barista serving Uriel his breakfast despite her strict orders.

"Thanks, do you know why they're all acting weird today?" Uriel asked the woman after receiving his bowl of cereal.

"They are currently mad at you because you slept with another woman. From what they said, I think they're jealous." The woman replied.

"Hey! This is betrayal! I ordered you not to serve him breakfast and you did it anyway, then went one step further and even vented our private conversation! This would be enough to get you fired, if not for us being short staffed." For a moment, Nika acted just like she used to do back when she was a Mapple employee in front of her staff.

"I don't have a problem following your orders, but Master commands are absolute." The woman who Uriel now recognized to be the maid he rescued from the Nosferatu's lair spoke with a stern expression on her face.

"Master? Don't tell me you're into bdsm stuff..." Nika gasped then became pensive.

"What is that?" Medusa tilted her head, yet no one answered her innocent question.

"She's the woman I released from the Nosferatu and for some reason she's been calling me that since then. I would have returned her to her family, but she doesn't remember anything about her past. I think she was under mind control for too long or something like that. Maybe I should ask Luna to check her out."

"Just like you asked her to check you out yesterday? I bet you guys played doctor until late night and that's why you woke up late today." Nika lifted an eyebrow.

"Enough with this, I got up late because Luna is a pain to sleep with and you know exactly why I can't... lose my virginity." Uriel started speaking angrily, but the more he spoke the thinner his voice became until it was little more than a whisper.

"You can't or you wont? You don't need to fall in love, maybe you could just relax and enjoy yourself a little. Loosen up, you're wasting your best years. You could be dating or just having fun, just don't rub it in Medusa's face. Unless that's what she wants." Nika finished with a giggle.

"Why are you always meddling in my business? Why can't you just accept my decision? Why do you feel the need to flirt with me on every occasion? There's plenty of guys waiting in line to get a date with you and you don't even give them the time of day."

"Do you think I'm throwing myself into the arms of the first guy I meet? You're not that handsome, you're not even a good person, your character is almost as shitty as your aim and you can't shut up for a minute when you're talking about boring stuff. Medusa thought you were just a nerd when she first met you and Luna... well, I don't know because she never told us." Nika shrugged her shoulders.

"Then why do you all keep pretending you like me? Why do you always try to seduce me? I'm sick and tired of your games." Uriel said this time without a trace of anger, but his voice came out dejected.

"We're not playing. We all like you despite your flaws because of your actions. You've saved us countless times and you're always there for us, even if it's with a grumpy face, even if sometimes you come out cold." Medusa tried to make things make sense to Uriel, but Nika knew the time had come for a more direct approach.

"Now that the cat is out of the bag, it's time to spell it out to you. We want to have sex with you." Nika said with a perfectly straight face, then continued. "At this point, we don't even care who do you choose as long as it's one of us and not that blonde bimbo witch or this... strange woman. That's why we're always trying to make a move on you, but you're too stuck up to notice."

"I don't notice!? I'm not blind, I'm not a priest either. Every time you get naked in front of me, each time you flirt with me my resolve weakens and the only thing that's kept me sane all this time is that I know if I fall to my desires, I'll never be able to return to Xibalbá."

"Would that be so bad?" Nika had the words at the ready and landed what she considered would be the finishing blow. "Whatever Water warlock did to you, we didn't like it one bit. You went from being the weird nerdy..."

"Booksmart." Medusa corrected Nika.

"Yes, that. You went from that, to a cold hearted power hungry bastard. Then look at what happened when Sam got possessed. Just thinking about what could you do if you ever get possessed again makes us scared, not to mention I don't want to ever be near that accursed place in Chichén Itzá."

"We figured that, if you did it with one of us you we'll keep you safe." Medusa was beet red.

The spoon filled with cold cereal Uriel was holding fell never reached his gaping mouth. After hearing the word sex Uriel's mind went into a daze and not much of what was said after stuck, but he got the general idea.

"So, you want to keep me away from that place and that's why you never leave me in peace?" Uriel stuttered.

"No, well, yes..." Medusa replied, still unsure of how she felt. "What I told you the other day is true, you can do whatever you want, but I was so angry when you Bella said she wanted to have children with you. I was so mad I thought I wasn't over you, but after speaking with the girls I realized it's not that.

It's that you were miserable our entire relationship and there was nothing I could do to make you happy. You didn't so much as touch me..."

"How do you think we would feel if after putting so much effort into seducing you, you then go and sleep with the first witch that comes? We would feel inferior, unwanted and most of all, betrayed." After a long silence Uriel finally reacted, though it wasn't exactly how they expected. They thought he would understand and albeit slim, there would be a chance for their wish to become true.

"And you're saying all of my troubles were for this!? Because you think I want to go back to Chichén Itzá to get Water warlock back!?" Uriel's burst of laughter was so loud it took the girls aback. It was supposed to be a serious conversation, an emotional one at that, not a standup comedy show.

"That's not the reason why you want to go back there?" Medusa tilted her head and Uriel only replied after the fit of laughter ended.

"I don't want to get possessed again. Even if Water warlock came back begging on his knees, I would send him away. With his blessing I became able to survive through anything and the power it gave me surpassed anything I've seen so far, I may never become as strong as I was during that time. To be honest, it was awesome... until it wasn't.

Dying is scary only until you realize there's far worse out there, falling forever, getting trapped forever, being tortured forever, you get the gist."

"Then... why are you so determined to go back that you won't even..." Nika hadn't considered those possibilities and couldn't fathom other reasons to go back to Chichén Itzá except for finding a way to get Water warlock back.

"I'm an archaeologist! That is what we do, learn about the past and hopefully make a better future. Picking up some treasures doesn't hurt, though." The conversation went through all the range of emotions known to men, but it ended on a joined chuckle when Luna entered the room and asked with a sleepy face.

"Did I miss something?"