Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 82 The Fog In Which The Monster Hides

"Everyone, just stay together. Hold each other's hands if you can!"

"I… I think something is biting my leg!"

"Sorry… that was my knife. I thought it was a tail."

"You stabbed my leg!?"

And as the fog very slowly started to veil the entire area, the aspiring Explorers once again all started to panic. It definitely did not help that Jay told all of them that there wasn't just one giant man-eating lizard, a whole family of them.

And so, right now, all of them were just waving their weapons at the slightest silhouette they saw. There were some trying to blow away the fog with their abilities, but even those with Wind Control found themselves completely defeated as the fog just almost instantly return… and even thicker.

"F… fuck staying together, you all can die hugging yourselves!"

Suffice it to say, as soon as the examinees started accidentally hitting each other, no one really listened to Jay's plan to stick together anymore as some of them started running in different directions.

"W… wait, don't run there! That's the Hole!"

"W… Help!"

No one really saw what was happening, but as soon as they heard someone's screams slowly fading away, the only thing that was left in people's minds was to get as far away from the Hole as possible; running in different directions away from the Hole, some even pushing each other.

"Wait, guys! Wait! Don't move! The Fog Kamelos is as blind as us in the fog, but it uses the vibration in the ground to—" Jay tried stopping everyone who was running past him, but he only found himself being pushed and caught by Jenny, who was just shaking her head and gesturing him to stop.

The fog got thicker and thicker, almost a complete anti-reflection of the thinning crowd. Jay could really only watch as their silhouettes disappear into the distance; the sound of water rippling everywhere, whispering in the air.

If there was perhaps a silver lining to this situation… it is that the Fog Kamelos and its palette would surely be after the ones who ran away.

However, for those who were watching on the Surface, there was no such silver lining at all.

"Don't run! Just wait for the fucking rescue team! Gods damn it!"

"Chill."

"What do you mean chill!? This is all your fault, Ms. Hannah! And the worst part of all of this is that I am the one going to take the blame since I am leading this exam!"

"That's why I'm chill."

And once again, as most of the staff and members of the Explorer Association were panicking as they all watched in horror as their aspiring Explorers started splitting up, Hannah was quite relaxed; her eyes, still just reflecting the monitor that had Rhys in view.

The people in the testing area might have limited vision in the fog, but the cameras could still see through them. Albeit also slightly hindered, but not enough to not be able to see what was going on.

And of course, Kenneth was also there, seemingly happy with what was going on for some reason Hannah could not really explain. And so, she could really only come up with one conclusion — Kenneth, the Guild Master of the Laughing Bronze, is a pervert.

"Fuck! They should have all stayed together! The deaths would have been minimal since the palette of kamelos would leave after they're done feeding…

…but now these stupid shits just ran to their deaths! That swamp itself is the most dangerous thing there! Look, look! One is already drowning in quicksand, and another is being strangled by veins because he's too stupid to stand up!"

"Zeus, they should just die now if they're going to die like that," Hannah just groaned.

"You're only saying that because you've never been in their position!"

"So, it's my fault that I've never wanted to be something as stupid as an Explorer?" Hannah rolled her eyes and waved her hand, "You all should just leave the Underworld alone. Th—Bring that monitor back up."

And before Hannah could unjustly reprimand the people around her, her eyebrows lowered as the monitor showing Rhys suddenly blacked out.

"W—we can't! We lost connection!"

"We lost another one!"

"We lost Camera 6 as well! Is the fog interfering with the signal!?"

"Stupid fuck, all our devices are wired."

"..." Hannah stood up from her seat as she watched as the monitors all turned black one by one. She was, however, quick to notice that all the monitors that were being cut off… were all near Rhys — with the first even being the camera closest to Rhys.

"Can you bring up the footage before this one was cut off?" Hannah pointed at the monitor directly pointed to Rhys, "We should—"

"We have no time for that." And all of a sudden, Kenneth suddenly lowered Hannah's hand, "We should focus on watching the other monitors, it will make it easier for the rescue team to search for the examinees if they know where they were last seen."

"You really should let go of my hand if you don't want it—"

"$1000," Kenneth completely ignored Hannah as he looked at all the people in the surveillance room, "I will give each person in this room $1000 for every aspiring explorer we save here today! Because they are our future, and we must do everything to save them."

"W—"

"Everyone, let's do our best!"

And suffice it to say, no one even listened to a single word Hannah was saying. In the eyes of money, even the danger of her wrath seemed to have become meaningless for them — and the only thing she could really do was stare at her reflection on the black screen.

"Rhys Wilder…

…why is Father so interested in you?"

***

"The fog's slightly clearing up."

Back in the Underworld, Jay was still being held by his sister. And as he said, the thick fog which quickly veiled the air around them left as quickly as it came, "...I heard the Fog Kamelos is also capable of controlling fog, but it's not really confi—Where's No. 120!?"

"He jumped."

"What…? Where?" While Jay was turning his head everywhere, Jenny was just looking at a single spot — the ground that Rhys was just standing on earlier. The ground in the swamp area was soft, for sure… but a single leap shouldn't be enough to make it look like it was carved off by an excavator.

"Jay," Jenny made sure not to let go of her brother, "Make sure not to get involved with that Lowborn."

"W—Don't call him that, that's offensive."

And while the siblings were talking to each other, the seemingly veteran group of examinees who suggested to sacrifice Rhys were currently, but softly walking around the thinning fog; their eyes all squinted as their eyes moved without pause to search for something.

"Jamal, you see the Lowborn anywhere?" One of them then turned toward the branch of the large tree near them. And there, two shadows were veiled in the fog.

"No. Ain't seeing anything soon from this damn fog. I see you, though."

"We see the two of you too."

"Aight. We—Hold up, what do you mean 'two'?"

"I mean we see you too."

"...What?" Jamal squinted his eyes as he saw 4 people waving at him, "You was smoking, Cuz'? There are only five of us, what you saying there—"

And as soon as the realization dawned on him, Jamal very slowly turned his head to the side…

…only to see a tall dark shadow slowly standing and towering over him; his silver eyes which were covered by his hair, almost glistening in the white veil.

"You were sent here to kill me…

…was it Sylas West?"