บท 37: Trouble

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The class continued the tour and finished by the afternoon. They then went onto the nearby inn that was reserved for their use and spent the rest of their time doing whatever they wanted.

Many of Raven's classmates were talking about him and the situation that occured inside the Beast Domestication Center. Most of their discussions inside weren't really a secret to them since Raven allowed them to hear it. As for the other things, he made sure to isolate the sound so that only the three of them could hear it.

As Raven and his crew talked, none of them were aware of the things that's about to go down after they exited, except for Raven of course since he was the one who started it.

Speaking of which, Chief Director Maddock immediately moved as soon as the students were out. He, along with his most trusted aides, immediately scoured the whole center to look for the things that the suspicious people left. Unfortunately, even Maddock himself were stumped and can't point out exactly where the problem lies.

Feeling helpless, he sent someone to pass a message to Jackson which also contained an invitation for Raven himself.

Since the resting place of the students weren't really far from the center, the message was immediately received by Jackson, who suddenly showed up in front of Raven and his crew.

"What's up Sir Jackson? Anything I could help you?"

Jackson was honestly a little bummed about the way he talks so casually but didn't really voiced it out.

"I just have some questions for you about Hopper, mind if we talk in private for a moment?"

"Sure!" Raven nodded and faced his crew before leaving, he pointed on the floor and said: "I'll be out for a bit. Behave okay?"

He sounded like a parent to his friends which also didn't sit well to Jackson. That's because he didn't knew the underlying meaning to Raven's words, only his brothers could tell what he truly wanted to say, the girls might have a bit of an idea as well. As soon as they left, the atmosphere inside the room became a little strange.

"Something's up." Ellen immediately said. Anne and Luna immediately nodded and looked at the boys. Mark and Paul laughed wryly since this was a sign that the girls needed explanation.

"You saw him pointing on the floor before he left right?" Mark asked, the girls nodded, he then continued by saying: "That meant two things. One, he wants us to stay here and don't leave. Two, he wants us to remain alert. I think somethings about to go down and he doesn't want us to be in danger."

"That's a bit...disappointing. I thought that somehow we could help him out. I mean he helped us out a lot right? It doesn't sit well to me that we can't even be of assistance to him." Anne said in a downcast manner.

"Not only you…" Paul chimed in, "It doesn't sit well for all of us. But what can we do? I don't want to demoralize anyone but even if we team up against him he could probably defeat us with a handicap. It sucks that we can't help but I think will just get in his way if he brought us with him. The best thing to do is to do what he says."

No one said anything after that. All of them had many thoughts in their head but it won't help with their current situation.

They're not dense.

They knew that they're incredibly weak right now. What Paul said was accurate, they will just get in the way if he brought them along. From here on out, they could only hope that whatever he does, he will be safe.

***

"Young Friend Raven! I apologize for disturbing your rest but we really need your assistance here." Maddock immediately stepped forward and bowed to him. The people behind him were instantly flabbergasted by his actions…

A senior bowing to a junior? What in the world was happening right now?

Raven immediately raised his hand and said: "You don't have to do that Chief, it's my pleasure to assist in anyway possible."

This action left a positive impression to the adults, but their attention was suddenly caught by surprise when the chief suddenly reported everything that they did to the kid. Most of them were confused about the current situation but none voiced out any comments. Due to the amount of time that they worked with Maddock, they already knew his personality. He wasn't a reckless individual that would casually spit out secrets to someone he doesn't trust, there should be more story behind this.

"…so that lead us here. Honestly, none of the places we visited were touched so I don't have any idea where to look. I also got a reply from you father but he said that it will take a bit of time before his men arrive and I'm afraid we have little time here."

Raven thought for a bit, he then said: "I understand, let's skim through the area once more, I'll see what I could do."

Maddock nodded and immediately summoned some tamed beasts. They were Warhorses, a powerful breed that could rival a cheetah's speed and the stamina of a bull, a knights favorite mount. He gestured to Raven signalling to ride with him. Raven leapt and sat on the Warhorse in a stable position which awed many people, nevertheless this wasn't a time for this so the others gathered similar mounts and went to scour the center once more.

Unknown to anyone, Raven had the Divine Overseer's Eyes activated the whole time. Even though they were moving fast, he was still able to see everything in full detail. Raven asked questions from time to time to confirm where they were, although he didn't really need to since he already memorized this place like the back of his hand but he did so anyways to cover his ultimate secret.

While they were riding, Maddock saw that Raven was scribbling through the map as they passed through a place, he tried sneaking a glance to figure out what it was but he didn't have many chances.

"Alright, I have a clear idea of what's happening now, you could tell everyone to stop now Chief." Raven said. Maddock nodded and signalled the rest to stop.

They climbed down their horses and gathered up to a circle. Raven was sitting down with the unfolded map in front of him. He then started explaining things.

"No wonder you guys didn't have many success, their move was extremely discreet and dangerous." There was a heavy solemness behind his voice. But before he explained even further, he picked up a rock and threw it on a bush nearby.

When everyone was starting to wonder why he did that, they were immediately silenced by a fierce hissing sound that came from a bush. Vines started popping out and wriggling furiously. It looked like it was trying to grab whoever that disturbed it's rest.

Their eyes popped wide open but the unrest just began. The hissing went louder and on the surface of vines, sharp protrusions suddenly appeared like fangs and covered it's entire body.

"Flesh Eating Vines! Fuck you Black Curtain Guild!" Jackson exclaimed and cursed, even Hopper showed up and let out threatening roars towards the vines.

"Flesh Eating Vines, one of the most dangerous carnivorous plants that could only be seen on the wilderness outside of our kingdom. Since it's a plant, it has a natural camouflage specially when they are around bushes or tall patches of grass. It could produce at least 1000 vines that will restrain and has those sharp thorns that could shred even a crocodile's skin. It's lifespan is relatively short specially if they don't have a stable food source."

Raven's textbook explanation sent shivers to everyone's spine. This is just one of the things that existed outside of their home yet it is already this terrifying. But Raven still wasn't done with his exposition.

"Flesh Eating Vines always leave a seed after they die, if a blood was fed on to the seed, another one will grow. It needed at least two weeks for it's root to completely settle down and it usually does it during nighttime. Once it does, then the poor victims who were caught by it will never see the sun once again. It was clear that someone planted these things here, and by their placement, it seems that they're targeting the more aggressive beasts as food for the vine since it could tunnel underground. Once it attacks, the corpse of the beast will attract the ire of the pack and they will turn aggressive."

"If they are aggressive then it will prove difficult to tame them back down. But as the vine will constantly attack, it will put these packs on edge, pushing them to the point of rebelling and making chaos. And once the chaos ensues, then the center will be in danger."

"See this map? I've marked every single camp that had a Flesh Eating Vine within the vicinity. All in all, including the one before us right now, there is at least 17 camps that's in danger."

"Fuck!" Maddock could only smash in fist on the ground while his eyes emitted a thick killing intent. The one's behind them are shivering in fear and anger as well.