Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 103 Rhys The Monster Magnet

"I don't really like this. I should have stayed home."

"...Don't tell me the strongest Commoner in the world is afraid of crowds?"

"No. I just hate people with no balls."

"...Why does every conversation with you lead to balls?"

Rhys, Ayesha, Katarina, and Lina were currently on their way to another city; with Rhys riding shotgun, and Ayesha and Lina in the backseat.

"I mean, look at this disgusting road."

Katarina was currently driving on the Skyway, a long stretch of elevated roads that connected one city to the next if they were near enough. Built between its foundations below was also a road, walled for protection against the Danger Zone; most people actually took the road beneath, as they did not want to pay the exorbitantly high toll fees of the Skyway.

"While we are fighting for our lives down there, you Surface people build ridiculous and unnecessary infrastructures up here," Ayesha scoffed as she looked at the scenery outside the window, "And why make a road this high? One tap on the foundations and you cut off the quickest access to the nearby city."

"..." Rhys subtly glanced at Ayesha as he heard that.

"Can't argue with that," Lina sighed, "I heard there were protests when this was being built. But that was before my time…

…maybe Kat knows?"

"I'm not that old!"

***

"That's it. The Domed City of Mankappan."

"The city with no balls."

"Can you stop it with the balls!?"

After a good hour of peacefully traversing across the Skyway, Rhys and the others were finally seeing their destination in the distance — the Domed City of Mankappan.

And as its name suggests, it was covered by a large glass dome, 10 meters thick. Braced and reinforced by metals from the Underworld, serving as its frame.

"Look at it," Ayesha lowered her window to lean her head out, "Just one look and you know the people living there have not even gotten their hands dirty even once. Are you sure we're getting what we need there, Doc?"

"Yes," Katarina nodded, "Everything we need to buy will be there."

"...Can't we just order online? That's the trend right now in the Surface, right?"

"...Are you a caveman?" Lina could not help but raise an eyebrow as she glanced at Ayesha, "Trading arms and weapons online is illegal. If you want state-of-the-art clothing and weapons, Mankappan is the way to go — it's not called the City of Explorers for nothing."

"Why do you guys even need weapons?" Ayesha sat back in her seat, "You're Explorers — use your abilities. Have you seen the Recruit fight?"

"Oh, I've seen him fight in more ways than one," Lina grinned, "Only Kat is left out."

"...Why even go there?" Katarina shook her head as she slowed down for the toll, "We're going to visit the Explorer Mall, they should have discounts right now."

"Pft, discounts," Ayesha scoffed, "You guys have fun…

…I'm not gonna buy anything."

***

"Recruit, look at this! What in the—Let's buy this! You get a pair too."

"...What happened to not buying anything?"

The group was now roaming around the so-called Explorer Mall, with Ayesha pushing 2 shopping carts that were already almost full in each hand.

"Are you not getting anything, Rhys?" Katarina placed some sort of empty vial in the cart, "We're… the only ones picking."

"Oh…" Rhys started to look around the almost endless rows of shelves, filled with all sorts of stuff that all just looked the same to him. The Explorer Mall truly had everything they needed; guns, swords, armor, state-of-the-art tech, potions, and everything else one could imagine — they were even selling all-terrain vehicles built for the Underworld.

It was practically a supermarket for Explorer goods,

"...If I see something I like."

"You don't need to worry about money, Rhys," Katarina sighed, "Just buy anything you like, I'll pay for it. But don't buy anything from the shelves, I know specialized shops that—"

"What!? Why didn't you say so?" Ayesha quickly let go of the cart she was pushing, "I almost bought inferior goods."

"...You're the one who started grabbing everything," Lina giggled, "We're not even in the mall yet, this is just general goods."

"Maybe you can finally buy something not to attract monsters, Recruit," Ayesha slapped Rhys's back, causing him to take a few steps forward.

"Attract… monsters?" Katarina raised an eyebrow, "What does she mean, Rhys?"

"It's nothing," Rhys just sighed and shook his head, "I'm… just known for being unlucky and always encountering monsters."

"Well, no. No, no," Ayesha clicked her tongue several times, "It happening three times is unlucky, Recruit. It happens to you every time without fail. Whether you're trekking, in the car, or just resting in camp, monsters always—What in the hot diggity dog is that!?"

Ayesha's eyes widened in shock and raised her voice as soon as they stepped out of the general goods market. How could they not, when a Hole was now reflecting her eyes?

A Hole right in the center of the mall.

It wasn't only her, even Rhys could not help but blinked a couple of times as he saw this. The view almost seemed surreal.

The center of the mall looked like a plaza, with escalators on the side to access the upper floors and other shops. Palm trees to decorate the surroundings.

No one was even guarding the Hole, and people were just either casually walking around it, or just outright diving in it.

"Why is something like that inside the mall?" Ayesha did not know whether to smile or not, "You Surface people are crazy."

"Can you stop calling us Surface people?" Lina sighed, "The mall dug that Hole so that their customers could test whatever they bought in this place."

"...You mean they dug the Hole themselves? Yup, insane," Ayesha breathed out and shook her head, "I was wrong, these people have balls."

"There are monsters down there?" Rhys asked.

"Some questions are better left unanswered," Lina started pushing the three as she stepped forward,

"Enough staring, it's time to shop!"

Suffice it to say, Rhys found himself being dragged by the three. He did not even need to buy anything, as they were practically picking for him.

In fact, Rhys actually found himself almost completely idle ever since Ayesha joined the fray; with the three women doing everything for him, mostly Lina and Katarina. He did not need to do anything in the house, and now that he was thinking about it…

…he hasn't paid for anything.

"Uh, guys…" And as the three were busy arguing what armor would fit Rhys, he took a step back and gently pushed all the armor they were trying on him away,

"...I am really grateful for all of this, but I'm starting to feel like a child. You don't need to buy me all these things."

"Stop being a pussy, Recruit," Ayesha gave the thick metal armor she was holding to the salesperson next to her, almost causing his arm to brake from how heavy the equipment was, "And besides, I'm not the one buying this for you — I don't have money."

"...But you already bought us something," Rhys turned to look at the large box sitting at the entrance.

"Oh, I swiped the Doc's card for that."

"Wait, what?" Katarina almost dropped the hide armor she was holding as she heard Ayesha's words, "What do you mean you swiped my card…?"

"I swiped your card," Ayesha shrugged, "The scrawny girl with a big butt also did the same."

"What!?" Katarina quickly turned to look at Lina, who instantly avoided her eyes.

"I… I used all my savings when I bought the apartment next to Rhys," Lina forced out a chuckle, "I… I'll pay you back, I promise."

"Do the two of you think I have infinite money or something!? And Ayesha, you're the Commander of the Underworld Corps!"

"I'm… 7 billion in debt."

"...What? How is that even—"

[!!!]

Unfortunately for Katarina, her plea was completely interrupted as a loud horn started to reverberate through the entire store.

"I didn't steal anything yet!" Ayesha quickly raised both her hands up as the horn continued to bombard their ears.

"...Yet?" Katarina squinted her eyes at Ayesha, before turning her attention outside the store, "It's not you. Something is probably happening outside."

"It's a Monster Storm! We need to close shop!" The salesperson started running around the store, grabbing everything they scattered, and started hiding them back on the shelves, "Are you people going to stay here or what!?"

"A monster storm…?" Lina quickly rushed out of the store, "Right when we are here!? How does that even happen?"

"Welp," Ayesha shrugged as she followed Lina out; her eyes, looking at all the Explorers that were gathering around the Hole like ants, "I did tell you Surface dwellers about Rhys and his capacity to attract monsters. I'm sure that's not related at all."

"Ssh," Katarina gestured to Ayesha to keep quiet, "Don't let anyone hear you. They might think you're actually not joking."

"I'm not, though," Ayesha glanced at Rhys, who was the last to exit the shop, "The Recruit really is a monster magnet. Probably shouldn't let my old man know."

"Hm…" Rhys squinted his eyes as he looked at the Hole, "...If there's a monster storm, what do you think happened to all the Explorers that were down there?"

"Good question, Recruit," Ayesha crossed her arms as she stared at the Hole and chuckled, "You think they're all dead? Guess they bought the wrong things."

"...The three of you get to safety," Rhys then grabbed his drone camera from his trusty utility belt,

"I got this."