Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 121 Welcome, The Dogs

There are 3 guilds in Amerka that could be considered to be able to contend with the rest of the world; Cerberus guild, Ages of Man, and Stoneheart.

Amongst the 3, Stoneheart is indisputably the strongest guild in Amerka and there was no contest at all regarding that as their very own guild master holds the spot for the No. 2 most powerful Explorer in the world, Esme Jordan.

The second one, undoubtedly, is the Ages of Man. Their guild boasts the most number of members, even having different sub-branches so that they would finely and smoothly run things despite them numbering more than a thousand members — they also beat Stoneheart in terms of the number of Noble Explorers they have, with Stoneheart only having 2, and the Ages of Man 5.

With the 5 they have, however, no one was capable enough to be considered in the Top 15 strongest Explorer in the world.

Cerberus holds the last spot, with their Vice Guildmaster, Adam Armstrong, holding the No. 10 spot. But with the addition of Sylas West, there were people that have been speculating that it would only be a matter of time until Cerberus overtakes Ages of Man… that is if Sylas West brings more benefit to their guild than trouble.

They have already been ostracized when they supported Sylas West while he was still in prison, and even more so when they invited him to their guild. But Cerberus did not have a stellar reputation from the start in the first place, as they were known for recruiting people that could be considered… mild-mannered.

For Cerberus, only strength mattered — and judging by the design of their bus, they did not shy away from that notion.

Everyone who was still on the Surface could not help but just stare at this flamboyant bus that might as well be an oversized rat rod. Painted in a flat black with a little bit of patina. And of course, the three giant dog heads adorning its hood.

The bus wasn't modern at all, and the smell of petrol and the thundering noise reverberating in the air as they approached the Hole cemented that.

"Wait… they are going to hit Wilder's Harem's bus!"

…And they did not seem to show any signs of stopping.

And as Rhys saw this, the only thing he could really do was let out a sigh before casually walking to the back of his bus and standing there; his eyes, just staring at the incoming vehicle of death.

One of the people from the other guilds was about to shout and tell him to get out of there, but they quickly remembered how Rhys just tanked a rhorni head-on without even sustaining any damage. And so, those who still have not dived down the Underworld all could not help but be excited as to what was about to happen.

And soon, the sound of wheels locking whistled in the air as the Cerberus bus finally hit its brakes. The onlookers either widened or squinted their eyes to witness what was about to happen, but alas — the bus fully stopped a meter before it could actually hit Rhys and the Wilder's Harem's bus.

The smoke they created, however, lingered on as the people inside the bus started stepping out.

"Ack, I couldn't even fall asleep because someone was snoring loudly!"

"Who's that? Not me, definitely."

"Of course, it's not you. You drove the bus, you stupid fuck. She was talking about Michael!"

"Jeez, relax. What's gotten into your knickers, mate? Wade here was just having a little joke. Ain't you, Wadey? Wadey…?"

10 men got off the bus of the Cerberus guild, with all of them just seemingly relaxed and not even acknowledging the presence of the other people around the Hole. Well, that is, until, the one who drove their bus, Wade, started to approach Rhys who was just about to walk away, blocking him between the two buses.

"Why did you do that? Did you really think I was going to hit your bus?" Wade said as he looked at Rhys, and as Wade was also as tall or maybe even taller than Rhys, he was slightly tiptoeing and raising his chin so that it might seem he was looking down on Rhys,

"Do you think I'm a bad driver or something?"

"...No," Rhys could not help but just blink a couple of times as he looked at Wade, thinking that his red hair was quite a fit for his… confronting personality, "I just bought this bus and did not want to take the risk, Sir."

"Sir? Do I look that old to you?" Wade's eyebrows began to lower, "And you did think I'm a bad driver."

"...You were going too fast."

"You think I don't know how strong the brakes are on my bus? I changed this beast's oil myself," Wade patted the front of their bus, "How about you? Ever changed the oil of that modern junk of yours?"

"...It's new," Rhys did not really know what this guy wanted with him. But he did not really need to speculate as all he needed to know was they were from the Cerberus guild. Rhys was actually quite surprised it took them this long to start messing with him ever since he provoked them.

"Oi, Wadey! Enough of that! We still need to have ourselves registered, ey!?"

"This is not over," Wade stared Rhys straight in the eyes before just very slowly backing away. If it wasn't for his other guildmates pulling him away, he would have probably walked back all the way to the Hole manager.

As for Rhys, he could really only just shrug before making his way to the Hole to follow Ayesha and the others… or so he thought.

He could not even take 3 steps before another person stepped out of the bus.

"...Rhys."

It was his sister; her orange hair, slightly being blown by the wind that suddenly breezed through the wasteland of the Danger Zone. There was a weird glint in Emilia's eyes that Rhys could not really discern what, but if one thing is true, is that her eyes seemed to want something from him.

…But Rhys did not want to have anything to do with his sister anymore.

"Rhys, wait!"

And as Rhys completely ignored Emilia and just started walking toward the Hole, Emilia quickly ran and blocked his path, even stretching her arms to the side as she looked Rhys in the eyes.

"Rhys, can we please… just talk?" Emilia breathed out, "For fuck's sake, you and I are adults now. Can't we just have a conversation, please?"

"...You're 16, Emi," Rhys could only sigh as he shook his head.

"17, it was my birthday last week," Emilia's voice turned meek as she looked down, "I… I sent you an invitation and—"

"And you have made your choice when you started dating the person who killed our mother."

"That's—he's changed. But please, just let me explain and maybe we can—"

"Oi, are you bothering our boss?"

And before Emilia could finish her words, all her guildmates started moving between them; obviously sizing up Rhys and trying to start something with him.

"Guys," Emilia could not help but groan as she started pushing the others away, "I'm talking to my brother, can you just—"

"That guy is your brother? What…? Plot twist."

"You stupid cunt, everyone knows they are siblings."

"Rhys!" Emilia quickly turned to look at where her guildmate was pointing, only to see Rhys already near the Hole.

"Both of us are busy with our lives, Emi," Rhys glanced back and smiled, "But, I'll see you around."

"Wait, brother!" Emilia shouted, "I'm just training these newbies, but maybe we can talk later!?"

"No," Rhys shook his head before just walking to the wall and letting himself fall; using his wind abilities as well as pushing himself down the wall to increase his speed. Shaking his head and making sure the violent wind hitting him on the face was washing away any thoughts he was having of reconciling with his sister.

Of course, he knew that her sister also went through a lot of trauma, perhaps maybe even more than him. But Emilia had the choice to move on from all of that, she was given a new life, new friends, a new name — and she chose to come crawling back. Rhys… Rhys did not really escape the hell he found himself in, and his only light in that hell was Emilia…

…but she chose to shut down that light.

"Is he really your brother? The two of you don't really look alike other than the fact that you're both lookers."

"...Where did they even find you guys?" Emilia could really only let out a loud sigh as she just walked toward the Hole, "Just prepare your things and follow me — and don't start any trouble or I will make sure none of you are staying in the guild after this."

And with those words, Emilia just dived down the Hole, not even waiting for her new guildmates.

"Well, you heard the woman…" Wade shrugged before standing in front of the other members of the Cerberus guild, "...But remember, you follow my orders."

"That's what we were hired for," one of the members shrugged, "But let me be clear, we just need to make it look like an accident, right?"

"Shouldn't be too hard…

…most of their people are Lowborns."

Unbeknownst to Emilia, however, the people she was with were not newbies at all--no. Aside from Wade, they were not a part of the Cerberus guild in the first place.