"What the hell?" Ray noticed the mutated creatures that were simply roaming around until now had suddenly turned their attention in one direction. Ray shifted his gaze in the direction where the monsters were staring at, and found a Dragontooth Lion slowly approaching the sinkhole.
"Why is it moving so slowly? And why the fuck is it acting as though it couldn't see the Black Bug mutants in front of it?" Ray mumbled to himself. The Dragontooth Lion was moving so slow, as though it was sleepwalking, and it was also moving in the direction of the Black bug mutants.
If this was a normal situation, then the Dragontooth Lion would've definitely tried to attack these creatures. But for some reason, it acted as though they weren't there.
What was going on?
Ray decided to observe some more. Perhaps he could find out what actually happened to the Dragontooth Lion in order for it to act this way.
GRRRRR!
The Black Bug mutants growled as they saw the Dragontooth Lion that was approaching them slowly, but they didn't rush in and attack the creature. Instead, they waited, staying right where they were, as the Dragontooth Lion slowly reduced the distance between them.
GRRRRRRAR!
As soon as the Dragontooth Lion was close to the sinkhole, the entire group of Black Bug mutants roared loudly in unison and leapt straight onto the monster. They sank their teeth and claws onto its body while attempting to drag it into the sinkhole.
GRAAAAAA!
The Dragontooth Lion that had been acting as though it was sleepwalking all this time, suddenly roared with energy and swung its body violently, attempting to shake the mutants off its back.
"So it does know how to attack." Ray was amused by the whole situation, as well as the immediate shift in behaviour shown by the Dragontooth Lion. The strange behaviour that it was showing all this time had now completely disappeared, with the Dragontooth Lion now reverting back to normal.
The Dragontooth Lion continued its attempt to ward off the Black bug mutants, but they were simply too much of them, and the giant monster was soon overcome by the sheer difference in numbers.
"Crazy…" Ray couldn't help but comment with a shocked expreton his face as he watched the Black bug mutants bite and rip the flesh off the Dragontooth Lion before pushing it down the sinkhole, and the creature disappeared from his sight.
"Is that what happened to the Dragontooth Lion that I'd fought?" Ray thought about the injured monster that he had defeated just before he came here. Perhaps it was somehow able to escape the clutches of these Black bug mutants and ran away. If that really was the case, then Ray couldn't help be impressed by the abilities of the creature he fought, even if its fate was to die fighting him.
"But these mutants…" Ray focused his attention on the mutants once again before continuing. ".... They might be a pain in the ass if not dealt with properly."
Although these creatures might seem less intimidating when compared to something like a Dragontooth Lion, they seem to mostly hunt in groups, which made it a tougher task to take them down.
"If only I could take them all on individually," Ray felt that he could defeat these monsters if he were to separate them one by one from the group and take them out one at a time. But Ray didn't have any ideas on how to isolate them one by one.
'If only I could figure out what made that Dragontooth Lion act so strange…' Ray wanted to know what caused the Dragontooth Lion to move towards the Black bug creatures as though it was being mind controlled.
Ray stayed on top of the hill for a few more seconds and observed the black bug mutants, hoping to find some sort of new information about them, but they soon returned inside the sinkhole.
"Should I follow them?" Ray felt a strong urge to head inside the giant sinkhole. But he also knew that the risk factor might also increase exponentially if he heads inside the sinkhole, which seemed like the nest for all those Black bug mutants. Heading into the lair of your enemies, especially when there's a chance that there might be more of them present inside the place, might be an idea which most people would describe as insane.
Ray thought about it, and after a few moments of contemplation, he got up and headed back to the sinkhole. After observing the surroundings and making sure that the area was clear, he stood right at the edge of the sinkhole, the interior of which appeared to stretch down to the centre of the earth.
"Exactly how long is this sinkhole?" Ray was genuinely curious, as he couldn't see the end of the hole. He knelt down next to the sinkhole and inspected the edges of the hole, rubbing his fingers across the dirt as he did so.
'The hole really does seem extremely symmetrical and almost perfect from a distance, as though it was made by machines…' Ray told himself as he raised his eyebrows. 'But if those Black bug mutants really did come out of this sinkhole, and their lair might be hidden underneath, then does this mean that the sinkhole was made by them?'
This was definitely a possibility. After all, some animals and insects definitely do make structures and nests that seem like they were made with machines. So there was definitely a chance that the sinkhole could've been made by the group of Black bug mutants.
Ray took one more peek inside the large sinkhole, but everything was pitch black. Ray tapped his chin with his finger, staring at the darkness with raised eyebrows, and he glanced at the wrist tracking watch.
[ Warning! Presence of multiple lifeforms detected 478 meters below from host's location. ]
'Well, they're still there.' Ray let out a sigh as he took a few steps back. 'I guess I'll hold off entering the sinkhole for now.'
And with that, he rushed back, moving through the dense jungle with incredible speed, and reached the cave where the portal was within a few seconds.
He turned to look in the direction of the sinkhole for a few seconds before entering the cave.
------------------
BZZZZZZ!
"Welcome back, Mr. Park." Ray was greeted with a warm smile from Miss Maria as he was transported back to the Dungeon Entrance building. "I hope you enjoyed your expedition."
"Well, it certainly was… intriguing." Ray thought for a second, contemplating his words before replying with a faint smile, and Miss Maria looked at him with a confused gaze. "Was there something wrong, sir?"
"No, no.. of course not, Miss Maria." Ray shook his head. If the sinkhole really was something that hadn't been detected yet by the Hunter Department, then he definitely wasn't planning on informing the Obsidian Hunter Guild about the discovery of it. Not yet, at least. Not until he's found out more information about it.
"Alright then, Mr. Park." Miss Maria nodded her head before pointing her finger at her watch and continued, "I think you should probably head out now."
"I'm sorry?" It was now Ray's turn to look at her with a confused expression. Miss Maria flashed a gentle smile before reminding him. "Didn't you say that you had an appointment? You'll be late if you waste any more time, sir."
"Oh, shit." Ray widened his eyes before staring at his watch, and then quickly began walking off to the entrance of the building. "Thanks, Miss Maria." Ray expressed his gratitude as he walked past her, and she waved her hands with a smile on her face. "Do come back, Mr. Park."
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Ray pulled out his phone and walked through the front door, calling Alyssa as he descended down the stairs.
"Hello?" Alyssa's voice was heard from the phone, indicating that she had answered his call, but before he could reply, Ray felt multiple presences near him, all of whom were emitting an intimidating aura in his direction, and he stopped walking, standing on the footpath without making any movements.
Ray turned around and looked behind him, and he saw three guys appearing from behind a car, heading in his direction. Ray's gaze then went to his sides, where he could also sense five men heading towards him.
"Look at you, walking all carefree. Did you think that I won't come back, looking for revenge, punk?" A familiar voice entered Ray's ears, and he turned his gaze in the direction where the voice had come from.
In front of him, a few metres away, stood Stephen Lee, the main leader of the bullies. He had a big smirk on his face, and behind him stood three men who were all emitting intimidating auras towards him.
"Time for my revenge, bitch!" Stephen Lee said with a sinister expression and snapped his fingers, and the three men behind him began walking, heading towards Ray.
"Hello? You there, babe?" Alyssa asked once again, and Ray replied, "Hey. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be late today. It seems that I have to take out some trash."