Reaching the outskirts of the city took way less than Uriel expected. He would have liked to study his new artifact more thoroughly, after all, a weapon like that was precisely what Uriel needed during an incursion. Nevertheless, visiting his mental museum not only took a lot of focus, it also left him completely unaware of his surroundings and he didn't want a misunderstanding like the one he just experienced to happen again.

The first buildings they encountered were all marked with spray paint and miss Dragonfang decided to ignore them. They were mostly small houses in ruins, though Uriel suspected they were like that even before the arrival of the cryptids.Being raised in the outskirts of lighthouse city, he had a clear picture of what poor neighborhoods looked like.

All that could be heard were their footsteps and the whistling wind giving the place the chilling aura of a forsaken place.

Despite possessing a trait that allowed him to see better than most people, Sam was even more scared than he was during his first incursion. His nickname, Lightbringer, was given to him after he managed to spot the titanic beast in the darkest of nights. Thanks to him, many lives were saved that day giving him an incredible boost in reputation. The nickname itself sounded cool and powerful, but he knew he was nothing but a college student with little to no training for battle.

Medusa, as always, seemed to be completely fearless as she kept walking with confident steps and a faint smile on the corner of her lips.

Luna's case was completely different, after speaking with her for a while, Uriel knew more or less how to read her usual poker face and he could tell that she was excited. So much so, her eyes almost glimmered.

Even Atomic, the student Uriel thought looked like a regular nerd, seemed to be unfazed by the possible danger that posed walking in a no mans land.

But all that changed once they reached the lost city's commercial district, when miss Dragonfang made a pause, causing everyone to become serious and focused, even the scared Sam.

There were lots of four story buildings, most of them having less than ten names written on their walls. After choosing a promising looking building, Phlox pointed her device directly at it. The first results seemed to please her, but she wasn't completely satisfied and took a lap around the whole ruinous building checking the device thoroughly, then she nodded at Miss Dragonfang.

"This is it, according to the results there's no strong crytids inside. You might find one or two small fries but you'll be able to take care of them easily." Said miss Dragonfang, yet the students remained stunned in front of the ominous looking building.

The weathered walls, broken windows and boarded door made it look like a place where only serial killers would dare enter.

"What are you guys waiting? chop! chop!" She said as she clapped her hands softly.

"Isn't it... kind of... dangerous?" Sam said, his lip twisted and his cheek twitched in anxiety, but the former lieutenant dismissed his worried look and waved her hand pointing at the entrance.

"Come on, wuss, we're wasting time." Medusa said grasping the piece of armor behind his neck and dragging him towards the building.

"No, but, seriously... This is too dangerous." Said Sam as he was being dragged away.

"Buildings that are sealed from the outside are usually safe, the only cryptids that could get in should be the stronger ones and there's no signs of any being nearby." Miss Dragonfang explained.

This time the one who opened the door was the geeky student, Atomic. The wooden board sealing the entrance from the outside creaked in a high pitch as the nails were dislodged from their nesting place and the door produced a cracking sound as the whole lock broke due to the immense pressure.

'This guy is a lot stronger than I thought.' Uriel reflected as he compared his own strength to that of the student he previously deemed as weak looking.

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Uriel followed the group closely from behind, excitement and fear coursing through his body in equal measure. The first few minutes they moved slowly, examining everything they could, trying to make the least amount of noise possible, but after a few minutes:

"Incoming!" Said Medusa as she dropped a bunch of scrap plastic from the third floor. Then Luna too dropped an old microwave and some tin cans too.

Uriel kept himself busy, gathering all sorts of items in hopes of finding an artifact, with no luck so far. He was certain that he would be able to store more pre apocalyptic artifacts on his museum, but apparently, one of the requirements was for the artifact to remain in good condition.

Every electronic device, home appliance and even furniture was either broken or weathered. Still, it was a nice experience working together with the rest of the group.

Without even realizing it, everyone assumed a different role: Atomic would bash the locked doors, Lightbringer would spot valuable items which Uriel then sorted, Medusa dropped them to the first floor and Luna would lastly carry everything outside.

"Look at that, they finally got the hang of it!" Phlox said a bit impressed by how hardworking the young students turned out to be.

"They grow so fast." Miss Dragonfang wiped a fake tear from her eye and feigned a snort.

"I can't believe this, I studied so hard and made so many sacrifices, only to become a glorified janitor, no offense Uriel." Sam said, realizing too late that Uriel could think his comment was an insult.

"None taken" Uriel shrugged as he was thinking almost the same thing as Sam.

"Time's up!" Miss Dragonfang clapped and the students lingered for a few seconds. There were still lots of valuables to be found, of money to be made, but the team leader wasn't joking around this time. "Hurry up, you idiots!"

Her shout echoed inside the building snapping the young students out of their reverie. The loud noise was sure to attract whatever creature currently lurking in there and they didn't want to risk becoming cryptid food.

With quick steps, they ran down to the exit of the building, leaving everything behind.

"What's wrong with you!?" Sam confronted miss Dragonfang.

"You should ask yourself that question, your team leader gave a command and you ignored it." She replied coldly.

"I get it but, is there a reason why we couldn't stay just a while longer?" Uriel asked, more curious than anything.

"You guys know the reason already. Most cryptids sleep during the day, but they are able to sense our energy signature and stronger cryptids will notice stronger energy sources so..." She lingered expecting someone from the group to continue her sentence.

"So, we need to move constantly to send off track whatever is following us and to avoid waking up the stronger ones." Luna said.

"Correct! now grab whatever you can and lets head over there." She pointed towards a random direction and they quickly did as she commanded.

As they made their way inside the city, they noticed the battle traces in the walls. There were bullet holes in some and stains on others. There were also black, carbonized stains on the ground.

Some buildings now were missing entire chunks of walls and, despite being a lot easier to get inside, miss Dragonfang didn't choose any building that seemed even remotely close to crumbling down.

By the second building they had gathered more than enough scrap for Phlox to use as ammunition. In fact, compressed plastic was so valuable now that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to assume that Phlox was carrying a small fortune on her back.

"If we're lucky enough and I don't have to fire a single shot, this alone could pay for this whole incursion." Phlox smiled.

"Then I guess it's time to head back, we'll take a different route so stay sharp Lightbringer."

Sam nodded at Miss Dragonfang and did his best to remain focused.

Unfortunately for the group, they entered one of those old neighborhoods with convoluted streets that led to nowhere without even realizing it. Only someone born and raised in there would have been able to reach their destination without making mistakes.

The group had only a general idea on where did they want to go, but no real clue on how to get there.

After what seemed like nothing but a normal turn to the right, they found themselves in the presence of the first cryptid after roaming the city for so long. It was a black dog, just like the one they spotted on their way to the city, but this looked more fierce and a lot less eerie than the one they saw before.

The creature was baring its fangs menacingly as it emitted a menacingly low growl, it was so close none but the former lieutenant had the time to react.

Miss Dragonfang kicked the ground swiftly and within the span of a second the dog's head dropped unceremoniously on the ground.

"See? those things are weak." She said walking back towards the stunned wannabe hunters. Everything happened so fast they didn't even have the time to be startled by the creature.

"That was incredible!" Medusa gasped and the rest of the group didn't miss the chance to celebrate the result.

When it became evident that they weren't going to keep walking, Sam finally asked.

"Shouldn't we go back? it's getting late."

"Pffft, yeah, and miss on the essence orb? no thanks. It may be a weakling, but those things are too valuable to leave behind." Phlox replied. "Besides, we still have a lot of time, it's not even noon yet."