When all dogs were finally slain, which was easy with the death of the alpha, the families gathered round, to check who needed the HP potions as well as discuss the battle against the dog pack and its effects. Mateo was obviously the first to get the HP potion, three of them in fact, since excluding some minor cuts and bruises the others got, he was the only one who lost blood.
After feeling a relieving sensation on his chest area, Mateo removed all clothes and armour covering his chest, allowing him to see how his skin was regenerating in real time. Wiping his chest with a wet towel, he went to join the others who had gathered around their late helper.
In the centre of the circle of 9 people, Mateo included stood a tall attractive specimen of a man. With a lean build, fox eyes and faint scales travelling down his neck, Leone had become even more appealing, as seen by the thirsty look in Ayleen's eyes.
Not one for awkward silence, Mateo voluntarily dispelled the tension by asking the question on everyone's mind, just with a different phrasing. "Leone. F*ck man, is that really you. What the bloody hell was in that potion and can I have some of it.". Ignoring the glares he was receiving, Mateo kept asking questions, garnishing them with obscenities sprayed from his uncultured mouth.
Scratching the back of his head shyly, Leone said, "The potion I took is the lesser racial change potion, and as you can tell, it changes your race to the one that fits you best."
"Oh okay, I see. But one question though, what the f*ck are you and why did you wait until the last moment to transform. Bro, I got injured, using my body to protect you while watching you transform is one of the dumbest sh*t I've ever done, and I sure as hell ain't doing that again." Mateo questioned unaware of the slipper slowly being removed by Maria from her supplies bag.
Saving Mateo by repositioning him, Leone explained his reason for the delay. "To begin with, the potion requires a few drops of the user's blood, and since I am not a masochist nor am I cell dead, I chose the dungeon run as the time to do so. After all, I expected to receive a cut or two, which when accompanied by the adrenaline of deadly matches would take my mind of any pain to be felt. The second reason, hmm how do I put it gently. Screw this. The second reason I did it later was because of a warning the potion came with. It stated that the potion had a mortality rate of 50% which is quite high, but it is still better than facing that alpha. As for what I am, during my brief moment of transforming, I got flooded with information about my new race which is human nguruvilu hybrid. A nguruvilu is the hybrid of a snake and fox and I think it was chosen as my race due to my ingenious mind."
"Ha. Ingenious my ass. What you are is an opportunist with senses attuned to pick up signals of distress and turn them into opportunities."
Feigning shock and surprise, Leone fluff-slapped Mateo with his fluffy tail, a new feature as a result of his race which would contribute to increasing his cult of fan girls.
A bit more banter ensued before everyone separated, still staying in each other's reach while resting to get their stamina back. Checking through their stats tab, it came as no surprise when everyone had levelled up once, except Mateo and Leone who were at level 3 because of their kills and battle with the alpha. Mateo invested both stat points into ENDURANCE, fearing that another hit might finish the job next time. The rest also added their single stat point into whichever area they thought best, all except Leone who didn't even have the option to choose.
Feeling rested enough, everyone entered into formation with Mateo and Leone as vanguard, Mr. Daniel and Julian as flanks, and finally Wilson and Carmen at the rear, with young Ayleen and the mothers in the middle.
Walking for a while, they eventually reached the forest, only to find the young, sick, old and pregnant slime dogs roaming about in groups. As usual, the maternal instincts of Maria, Angel and Isabella came into play as they tried to prevent the puppies and pregnant dogs' death, only to receive growls and failed attacks as thanks
Laughing, they decided to spare the infants and pregnant, killing only the sick and aged who would be useless in the defence of the dungeon. The journey came to an end when the group found the blue stone like object that was the dungeon core. Mateo approached the core with an outstretched hand and watched as it floated slowly until it landed gently in his open palm.
The others watched everything happen, right up to the moment Mateo jerked back violently and fell, clutching his head while letting out a guttural scream from the depths of his soul. Unknown to them was the cause of his pain.
Mateo lay on the fall spasming and screaming due to the inhuman amount of pain he was feeling. Finally feeling the pain personally, Mateo felt that the authors and Mangakas had not described the pain well enough. What he was feeling was as a result of connecting to the dungeon on a deeper level. He now knew every beast's name, age, rank, gender and even when they were expecting to deliver.
He also learnt one more thing about how dungeons are formed. According to the new info, a new dungeon is formed either when a planet is destroyed or loses three Interplanetary Battles in a row. There was a lot more information he wasn't able to absorb because he passed out, but when he woke up, he found himself laying down on his bed with dozens of pain relief ointments and pills on his bedside drawer, which he was thankful for. Taking a bath and applying the ointments on his sore body, he took his phone after turning the TV on to serve as background noise only to see the most shocking headline.