402  401: Strange Sound (15th Bonus Chapter)

    As the sky above the desert darkened and a heavy downpour of rain fell on the desert, severe changes were beginning to occur to the desert, and to both Corey and Selene.

    Corey and Selene watched with wide eyes as the bodies of the aquatic stone beasts began to crack and peel apart. As the stones on the bodies of the aquatic stone beasts fell, the aquatic beasts began to move.

    The fishes flapped their tails repeatedly while their mouths opened and closed as if they were gasping for air.

    The octopi moved their tentacles in a haphazard manner while moving around in circles.

    The crabs snapped and opened their claws repeatedly.

    Both Corey and Selene saw this, and then they saw the aquatic beasts dive into the ground which had become mud due to the rain.

    To the shock and disbelief of Corey and Selene, they could see countless and numerous fishes, crabs, and various other aquatic beasts swimming in the mud beneath them like they were swimming in the sea.

    The sight of it was extremely disgusting and unnerving.

    Although the duo observed all of these, they had not stopped running for a single second, however, their speed had drastically reduced.

    "What in the world is this?! What is happening beneath us?! And WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS RAIN?!"

    Selene''s voice reverberated through the heavy rainfall, flowing into Corey who had decided to increase the effect of his Ears of Omniscience.

    He clearly heard Selene''s words and he was not surprised by the panic and fear her voice contained.

    He also was slightly worried. He looked up with cold and calculating eyes.

    ''This is a fucked up world. Why would I ever think that the rain would be normal rain?''

    From the very moment the first raindrop landed on the bodies of Corey and Selene, they knew that something was amiss with the rain, and it did not take long for them to know the strangeness of the rain.

    Every single raindrop that landed on their bodies felt like it was a truck that was landing on them and not a drop of water.

    The passive mana skin they had created around their bodies to protect themselves from the sun did not last more than five seconds before they shattered, causing both Corey and Selene to feel just how heavy the raindrops were.

    The sight of countless beasts swimming about in mud was spine-chilling and extremely disgusting even to Corey, and he could not help but wonder what their fate would have been if they had remained on the ground.

    ''Fortunately, I trusted my instincts and hypothesis.''

    Apart from the fact that fishes, octopi, sharks, and several other aquatic beasts were not meant to be swimming in mud, there were several other things Corey noticed as he observed the ground below them.

    ''First of all, they''re extremely aggressive. Their eyes are red and a lot of them are attacking one another, causing the ground to be filled with blood.''

    ''Most important of all, their power levels.'' Corey squinted his eyes, ''I couldn''t sense their power levels before, but now that I can sense their power levels.''

    Corey''s gaze moved from one aquatic beast to another, ''Most of what I can see have power levels that are similar to that of tier 2... Some have power levels of a tier 3.''

    Corey furrowed his brows slightly, ''But I can''t see any aquatic beast that has the power level of a tier 4 or above?''

    Despite not seeing any aquatic beast with a power level of a tier 4 or higher, Corey was 99% sure that there were aquatic beasts that were as strong as tier 4s or maybe even tier 5s.

    In a place that was as strange as this, there would only be tier 2s and tier 3s?

    That was not possible at all.

    ''Although, it''d actually be nice and surprising for once if there was no tier 4 or tier 5.''

    Corey thought with a wry smile, and then his gaze shifted to the mountain of metals in the distance. His brows furrowed with a tinge of worry and uncertainty in them.

    ''We''re still far away from the mountain. Would my mana reserves be able to hold out until we reach the mountain?''

    Corey knew that although his mana control, mana quantity, and mana quality were extremely high, his mana expenditure this time around was greater than his mana recovery, and he was worried that his mana would run out before they could reach the mountain of metals.

    He knew that if that happened, their fates would become much worse.

    He inhaled and exhaled deeply, and then his expression became one of conviction and calmness, ''I just have to make sure such a thing does not happen no matter what.''

    Just as Corey had this thought, his Ears of Omniscience picked up on a strange sound coming from the ground below them.