Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 104 Black Skinhead

"...I got this."

"Rhys, we—"

"Let the Recruit do what he wants."

Both Lina and Katarina were about to follow Rhys as he leaped from the 2nd floor, but Ayesha quickly held both of them back. Lina did not really contest much, as she just sighed and took a step back… before grabbing her phone and recording whatever it was that was about to happen.

As for Katarina, the only thing she could really do was stare — truly hoping nothing bad happened to Rhys.

As for the sole focus of their eyes, Rhys was now standing along with the other Explorers who were waiting for the monsters to rain up from the Hole. He was initially going to dive down but opted not to do so as he would have a better audience here in the mall.

What he wanted was to gain influence, and people seeing him through their screens was not enough for that — he needed a live audience, and the Explorer Mall was giving him just that.

"Why don't you just vault the Hole!?"

"The monsters that have escaped their confinement are Threat Level 3! They will be able to survive the fall unscathed and will be able to dig through the sides!" The guards and staff of the mall were trying their best to calm and gather all the Explorers they could, but some of the Explorers were giving them a hard time.

"Then open the doors! We want to leave the mall before the monsters come!"

"I'm sorry! But we can't open the mall until all the monsters are cleared!"

"What the… I just wanted new shoes, and you give me monsters!?"

"You don't have the right to force us fight!"

Most of the Explorers were complaining, not caring that some of their fellow explorers were actually streaming and recording the situation — and that is including Rhys, whose viewers were currently turning crazy from the weird turn of events.

"3 minutes!" And as the guards yelled those words, most of the Explorers who were surrounding the Hole all ran away, leaving only those who were interested in actually fighting and protecting everyone.

"Look, it's him — Rhys Wilder."

"Who…?"

"What do you mean who!? Do you live in a cave!?"

And with their numbers dwindled, everyone could now see Rhys sticking out like a sore thumb; his height and disheveled black hair, causing him to stand out even further.

"That's a Lowborn… Is he like the janitor of the mall?"

"Shh! Stupid. If his fans hear you, you'll be canceled. Didn't you hear about Ezra Niller? He called him the D word and he was immediately canceled by Rhys's fans."

"...Who?"

"Now you're just trying to act cool."

"You're Rhys Wilder, right?" And as everyone was waiting for the monsters to arrive, one of the guards approached Rhys, "Is that your drone? Turn it off."

"...Why would I do that, Sir?" Rhys squinted his eyes.

"We can't have you recording any of this."

"I think it's already too late for that, Sir," Rhys turned to look at all the other Explorers who had their cameras out, "If you wanted to do damage control, you shouldn't have dug a Hole in the center of the city."

"...Damn it," the guard could really only click his tongue as he looked at all the cameras, "Just try not to die."

"What's the status below, Sir?"

The guard was about to step away, but Rhys suddenly asked him a question.

"...You really did serve in the military," the guard curiously stared at Rhys for a few seconds, before shaking his head and moving close to him, "The monsters that were being locked in confinement started acting wild an hour ago. The people down under managed to kill most of them, but they had to hide themselves when they were overwhelmed."

"...And now all the monsters that are left all dived into the Hole," Rhys sighed as he looked at the large Hole in front of him. They started going wild an hour ago? That… should be about the time that he and the others arrived at the mall.

He and Ayesha were just joking around about him being a monster magnet… but could it be there's actually some truth in that? After all, he also couldn't dismiss the fact that Arachnea actively came to find him.

…Then when a Hole opened up right inside Old York High, could it be possible that it was his fault?

"15 seconds!" The guard let out a roar as a shield made of ice materialized from his arm, "Get ready! We are detecting more than 50 hostiles, all Level 3!"

But as the monsters drew near, Rhys quickly shook his head off of the thoughts he was having, and focused on the Hole as the monsters' cries started seeping out from it. And soon, they arrived.

Bodies at least 3 meters long and 2 meters tall; their four legs, as thick as three trunks — the horns at the end of their snout, even thicker and almost as long as their bodies; their skin, even darker and shinier than Rhys's hair, impenetrable even against large rounds.

Black Rhornus, 10 of them.

"Loose!" The guard raised his hand, and as he did so, several drilling spikes suddenly shot out from the edges of the Hole.

"Hroon!" All the black rhorni roared in pain as the colossal drills slammed through their bodies. Slammed, as the drills were not actually able to penetrate through their hard flesh and thick skin, the only thing it did was blast and scatter them away to different sides of the mall's plaza.

"S…Shit!" The guard could really only hold his breath as all the spikes were rendered completely unusable; their tips, now jagged beyond repair, "T…Trigger the 2nd—!!!"

And before the head guard could finish his words, some sort of projectile suddenly flew straight toward his head — digging through his skull… but just for a single millimeter as it was caught by Rhys.

"Tell your men to set up a perimeter in the upper levels," Rhys ordered the head guard, "Secure the higher ground."

"Who are you to order…" The head guard quickly leaned his head back to look at the large green spike in Rhys's hand. He then quickly turned to look at the Hole, only to see several large lizards gliding out of it — their long tails, shooting out the green spikes toward everyone their sleepy and droopy eyes could see,

"...The Dragonarrows also escaped!? We need to alert the Rescue Team immediately and—"

And once again, the head guard's words were interrupted as he watched as one of the gliding dragonarrows was shot by their own spikes, pinning it to the wall. The head guard very slowly turned to look at where the spike came from, only to realize it was Rhys who threw the spike he just caught.

"Secure the higher ground," Rhys repeated his words, before suddenly flying away—no. He did not exactly fly, but the threads in his hand were attached to one of the black rhorni, which caused him to be instantly but casually flung away into the air. Rhys used his wind abilities to balance himself, however, blasting him toward the pillar and standing horizontally on it.

"Kh…" He gritted his teeth while pulling his hand, causing the black rhorni to be yanked from the ground. Rhys wasn't done, however, as he leaped away from the pillar, dragging the black rhornus that was still airborne… and using his own momentum to throw it straight toward the dragonarrows that were gliding around in circles — practically killing more than 5 of them in one move.

Rhys was still not done, however, as he blasted himself up again, spinning in the air as the black rhornus followed his momentum. And with a breath, he swung the black rhornus back into the Hole.

"Lowborn, watch out!"

As soon as Rhys landed on his feet again, a black rhornus was already heading toward him; its large and thick horn, threatening to make minced meat out of Rhys. Rhys, however, only looked at it and closed his fist.

He stared at the black rhornus stomping its way toward him, before gritting his teeth and smiling.

"Heh…" And with a small breath escaping his smile, Rhys rushed toward the black rhornus; his only fist, meeting the rushing rhino head-on.

"!!!"

The marbled floor beneath Rhys's feet instantly shattered as he was pushed back by the heavy rhornus — it did not last long, however, as the rhornus' legs just instantly went limp; its body, just dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

The remaining black rhorni that were running and rampaging around the mall all quickly halted their march as their black eyes turned to Rhys. And as monsters that were locked in cages for most of their lives, their instincts all activated at the same time…

…and they all just started diving back to the Underworld one by one.

"T… Secure the upper floors! Kill the remaining dragonarrows!" The head guard immediately ordered all of his men — and it wasn't only them, the other explorers that remained to fight also all climbed to the upper floor so that they could eradicate the monsters.

The dragonarrows were of Threat Level 3, not only due to their numbers and ability to strike at long distances, but they were also fast individually. But alas, they were in an Explorer Mall — with the other Explorers joining the fight, the dragonarrows were instantly overwhelmed and defeated.

But, suffice it to say…

…everyone knew who the actual reason was for this swift victory that could have claimed a lot of lives.

Everyone.