Chapter 54 The mystery of the clay figurine

54 The mystery of the clay figurine

"You are nothing but a glorified self proclaimed translator and there's nothing to translate in the platform of the great Jaguar!" Professor Schlieman said pushing Uriel back. If he wasn't an evolved he would have most likely dropped the clay figurine, but thankfully he managed to hold on to it. "You are not needed here! Now scram and let the professionals take care of everything and give me that before you break it." He said trying to take the clay figurine from Uriel's hands.

"I had it! who is in charge of this site? I need to have a word with them." Uriel asked Flanagan, but he didn't know the answer. While it was true that Uriel had been called by Mister Walter himself, Professor Schlieman had been in charge of the site ever since they arrived. The only high ranking Mapple corp. employee was Nika and she was nowhere to be seen.

'Great, just when I really need her she's gone.' Uriel sighed.

For so long Uriel had mixed in the crowd feeling he didn't belong anywhere, like he was walking in a dark alley and was able to see the city lights but not quite able to reach for them. Now that he had a taste of the perks of stepping into the spotlight he wasn't going to let anyone bully him, not anymore.

"I asked who's in charge of this site, do I really need to repeat myself?" Uriel raised his voice but professor Schlieman didn't seem to want to cooperate in the slightest and attempted to reach for the figurine again only to fall back on his butt when someone stepped out from the shadows.

"That would be you, Mister Sage. You've been appointed by Mister Walter Works himself as head archaeologist until further notice." Faithful to her style, Nika startled everyone present, everyone but Uriel who was now a bit used to her shenanigans and already expected her to appear from out of thin air.

"What took you so long?" He said in a whisper.

"I was finishing taking a bath, would you like to see some proof?" She whispered back with a devilish smile that Uriel ignored altogether.

"Call for every single archaeologist and research assistant on site please, I would like to put a theory to the test in front of everyone. Oh, and bring some essence orbs too!"

When Nika handed him the essence orbs he asked for, Uriel promptly crushed one right in front of the figurine. The previously dull clay-like figurine started shaking and several arcs of yellow electricity appeared on all four corners of the small platform, then a confused jaguar covered in flames appeared out of thin air.

"Don't shoot!" Uriel shouted, timely preventing the trigger happy Mapple corp. employees from attacking the cryptid in front of them. Before the cryptid could even understand what was going on, he was sucked into the figurine along with the strange energy.

The small figurine seemed to grow in size and then the clay cover peeled off revealing a golden jaguar in a different position than before. The small golden sculpture now portrayed a very confused Jaguar in the exact same position as the cryptid that briefly appeared in front of everyone.

All of those present, researchers and Mapple employees alike, were gaping at the sight. Even Nika was taken by surprise because no one really knew what to expect. She didn't stop mumbling 'witchcraft' during the whole process, crossing herself with a terrified expression on her face.

"Does this mean that the jaguar beast is now gone?" Nika finally managed to ask all covered in sweat.

"I guess, I don't know where it went but it shouldn't bother you guys anymore." Uriel smiled as he slid his sleeve across his forehead to wipe his own sweat off. He too didn't know exactly what was going to happen as the instructions on the clay figurine were difficult to read and most of the text had been lost to time.

"But... How did you know what was going to happen!?" Professor Friedriksen asked, still in a daze after the miracle performed in front of his eyes.

"Believe it or not, the clay figurine came with instructions. It said the Jaguar spirit was the guardian of the Kukulkan Pyramid, it also said more or less how to activate it."

Although it could be called a complete success, deep inside his mind Uriel regretted the fact that the essence orb he crushed to seal off the jaguar spirit didn't make him stronger. Still,the short demonstration managed to get everyone's attention and earn him the respect of their now 'peers'. He was also a lot more confident now in his ability to translate and maybe open the hidden passage towards the mysterious underground structure beneath their feet.