Dungeon Raider System

It was the usual morning in Hollywood megacity and people went about their days as usual. Although the city gates were closed, corporate drones still had to earn their daily bread in the cramped cubicles that were never touched by natural light ever since the day they were built. In the old times office workers had it rough, but at least they were allowed to return home after a long day of work.

Times had changed, though, and among humans there were some who stood above all others. People with extraordinary powers that allowed them to fight against evil cryptids that threatened humanity's very existence, people that were able to perform feats such as staying up for days without sleep and sometimes even weeks.

But despite their new found powers not all hunters were powerful or brave enough to face the hordes of dreadful creatures and the most unfortunate among them had no choice but to become what everyone knew as corporate drones.

People who spent so much time shut inside dark buildings they didn't need to have a home of their own and the only rare occasions they got to see the light of day was on their short breaks.

Becoming a corporate drone was a every hunter's worst nightmare since along with their powers, their need for food also increased to the point where working an honest work only served to submerge them even deeper in debts.

This depiction fitted Tucker perfectly.

Before becoming a hunter he was the typical nine to five employee, but after acquiring a useless trait he was forced to work so many extra hours he now lived in the office. Instead of earning money, he lost all his assets, his wife and now even his children didn't even bother picking up his calls.

The only silver lining was that after becoming a hunter his receding hairline became once more a flourishing mane, though its improvement was only aesthetic and served no purpose.

It could be said that his life was a life barely worth living as he now knew nothing than work to the point where he even considered quick exit out of the office, but all that changed a few months ago. There was a special moment of his day that filled his existence with joy, something that in the past was nothing but the chore of bringing coffee for his boss but now turned into his life purpose.

There she was, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, cute as a button and shy like a lily flower which, coincidentally, was also her name. Every day she had a smile reserved just for him and sometimes he could even swear a coquettish wink on top of that.

She was graceful in her movements, very efficient in her job and the kindest soul Tucker had ever met, yet for some reason she remained as a minimum wage employee in the bottom of a coffee chain.

She was the reason why Tucker decided to give life a second chance and he intended to do the same for her. There was only one small thing standing in the middle of Tucker and his dream wife.

"Welcome to Starborgs, how may I help you?" It was the usual monotone script that could be heard in any Starborgs around the world, but there was a hint of spite hiding behind this particular voice.

"How come you're still employed here after all the complaints about you?" Tucker grunted.

"How do you even know about them? Could it be because it was you who filled them in? Huh?" Sharp snarled as she leaned forward to prevent other customers from hearing.

"And what if I did?" He said with a smug grin while looking at the camera that was both his lifeline and also the reason why he had never attempted to 'rescue' Lily from her 'captor'.

"Just say what you want and piss off." Sharp was so annoyed her eye glimmered with flux for a glimpse of a second, which she immediately regretted. Needless to say, working at the Starborgs was just a facade, but Sharp's savings were already running low and she couldn't afford to spend any flux energy unless strictly necessary.

"Just the usual, but I want to make sure Lily is the one preparing my order. I don't want any spit from you in my coffee mug." Upon hearing her name, Lily's ears twitched and she pranced to the bar with her usual bubbly attitude. Her bountiful bosom jiggling her name tag around making Tucker's eyes move up and down in a trance. "How are you doing today, my lily flower?"

The woman didn't utter a single word, but she addressed the cutest smile at the man filling his existence with new life and giving him a much needed respite from his everyday work.

"Just make the damn coffee!" Sharp scolded, turning Lily's smile into a pout but that didn't make her any less thrilled to do her job.

In all the many Starborgs present in any city in the entire world, at that precise moment Lily was the only employee happy with her job and not without reason. To her, any interaction with other humans was a chance to learn and develop her social skills, not to mention that to her working wasn't boring in the slightest.

She remembered the faces of all her customers and how did they like their coffee, even those who like Tucker never left a tip. After spending most of her life completely alone in the vast humid hell of her ruinous city, scared for her life and eating whatever she could to survive, anything was an improvement.

It was supposed to be just another day of work, but thanks to Tucker things were different now.

"I'm absolutely sure now, her name is Sharp and she fits the description. When will I get my reward?" He spoke to the phone and after receiving a positive answer he shared the information of Sharp's whereabouts with the Dolminico loan shark who, by the way, was a literal shark man.

Tucker's life was finally on the right track and what started it was sheer luck. In order to 'rescue' Lily he had devised a plan to get her out of the Starborgs and the only way for a man like him to get enough money to see it through was to ask for a loan.

Banks were out of the question since he had no collateral, but loan sharks were open to make business with anyone since they had more than way of using people that failed to pay their debts.

Thankfully for Tucker, things went even better than he expected when he learned that the Dolminicos were looking for a woman who fitted the angry woman who always stood in his way and even offered money in return for any information that would lead to her capture.

He sat on the bench in front of the Starborgs to have a front row seat to the show that would soon take place. By the time the Dolminicos arrived Tucker's coffee had yet to become cold and a smirk grew wide on his face when even the criminal underworld boss, a woman he could only identify thanks to the many bodyguards surrounding her and her luxurious car, showed up.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" Sharp showed up in the front door wearing her work apron and wielding a needlessly long two handed sword with just one hand. Just this was enough to send shivers down Tucker's spine as he realized that Sharp wasn't just any refugee from the neighboring city but a hunter, one much stronger than him.

"I'm sorry to bother you Miss Sharp, but I'm afraid your cover is blown and you'll have to come with us."

"And why the fuck would I do something like that?" Sharp spat on the ground and tightened the grip of the sword she rightfully inherited from her friend Casius who fell on the line of duty.

Tucker's plan was to watch the scene at a distance and the outcome didn't matter to him as long as Sharp was out of the picture, but he couldn't miss the chance to earn some brownie points with the Dolminicos and maybe even increase his reward.

"You dare speak to the Dolminicos with that mouth!? You should learn your place." Tucker barked from behind the line of bodyguards like a dog behind a sturdy fence.

"So, you ratted me out, huh." Sharp's eyes brimmed with flux which startled the bodyguards for a second.

For the entire length of that second Tucker held a smile in his face, but instead of jumping at the huntress neck like he expected they all made way so Sharp could deal with the annoying snitch.

After just a swing of her blade Tucker's head was parted from his body and the last sight he ever saw in his life was Lily's ever smiling face, unfazed by the drops of blood staining her cute as a button face.