Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 92 I'll Let You Do It In The B-

"Hm."

Rhys no longer how many boulder cockaroaches he had stepped on, but it did not really matter since he was just now moving through the cave. His hand, juggling a somewhat white and cloudy crystal; he caught the crystal one last time, before placing it in the small sack that was now hanging around his utility belt.

It was Adamantine, crystals that form from the blood of the monsters of the Underworld — the clearer they are, the higher their grade. Rhys did not really know the specifics, but the adamantines are supposedly used in everything and everywhere; from creating weapons, powering machines, and enhancing one's abilities. Even his robotic leg is powered by it.

He was told to approach nearby Tech-Armor facilities to have the adamantine replaced every week or when it starts to weaken; but for some reason, Rhys's robotic limb never really showed any signs of weakening yet.

He asked Ayesha about it before, but she just told him not to ask too many questions and just consider himself to be lucky.

"Got one!"

"That's mine! You…"

Rhys glanced back at the voices behind him, only to see the silhouettes of the other explorers arguing and fighting with each other; their shadows, flickering as the glowsticks Rhys laid down started to fade.

Rhys did not heed them any mind, however, as he just continued to go through the cave; whether he was going deeper or not did not really matter — he just wanted to explore. The words that were echoing through the walls of the caves, withering away as Rhys disappeared further into the darkness.

"This…" Rhys could really only let out a sigh as he grabbed a flashlight from his utility belt, "...is boring."

And as he saw the cockaroaches once again avoiding the light, Rhys let out another sigh before attaching the light to his utility belt. He then stretched out his hand as threads began coming out of them.

"I call this…" Rhys whispered out as he tried his best to entertain himself, "...Web Hurricane."

And with those words, Rhys started swinging and whipping the threads from his hands while running forward; creating several claps of thunder that snapped through the cave as he practically mowed down all the cockaroaches in his path.

And with the storm, he caused over as soon as it arrived, he looked behind the wake of destruction he caused and whispered,

"...I want to go home."

Unbeknownst to Rhys, however, something has actually been watching him from the start.

***

"Sir!"

"...Sir? Did you just call him Sir?"

"None of your business. Welcome back from your first Exploration!"

And after a grueling and extremely anticlimactic first day as an actual Explorer, Rhys just found himself back home with a blank expression on his face. He did earn a lot of money; more money than most jobs could earn in that short span of time just from the sheer amount of adamantine he had gathered — and all of them were of the lowest grade too.

Suffice it to say, the bus manager was shocked how Rhys was able to get so many — but he did not let his shock get in the way of the fact that Rhys just earned them a lot of money. The bus manager did not even question him and just outright calculated everything and paid him his share with a smile on his face.

The bus manager wanted to get Rhys's contact number, but Rhys just stared blankly at him, making the bus manager just place a calling card in one of the pockets of Rhys's trusty utility belt.

And now, he just found himself back home with two beautiful ladies welcoming him back — even setting up his apartment and filling it with balloons as they shot a confetti cannon right on his face. Rhys did not even bother dodging anything and just went straight to his bed; pushing the balloons away as he let himself fall face-first on its soft confines.

Katarina and Lina could really only look at each other as they saw this, their eyes seemingly gleaming with concern. But after a few seconds… they just suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter.

"Was it… was it that bad? Are you…Pft!" Lina would have fallen to the floor laughing if it wasn't for Katarina being in the same state; the two holding each other up as they stared at Rhys.

"Oh, man…" Lina wiped the tear falling from her eye, "...I remember my first Exploration, I ended up just picking herbs and flowers — and I couldn't even sell half of them since half of them were actually just weeds!"

"Pft…" Katarina's humongous breasts bounced violently as she laughed; her shirt, almost unable to contain the mountains raging within them, "...I remember mine too. It felt so boring compared to all the grand stories you hear as a child."

"Right, we—Wait. I didn't know you were an Explorer?" Lina abruptly stopped laughing as she looked at Katarina, "I thought you were a doctor through and through?"

"I… I meant to say—Ah, Rhys! I got you something!" Katarina did not answer Lina's question as she just started digging through the balloons covering the entire floor; grabbing a small steel box and then just rushing to give it to Rhys,

"Open it!"

"..." Rhys glanced at the box and Katarina, before finally getting the strength to sit up from the bed.

"Ah, not fair! I didn't get a gift!" Lina also rushed to the bed, practically leaping as she swiftly landed behind Rhys and embraced him from behind, "What did you even get him?"

Lina was about to open the box, but Katarina quickly slapped her hand away and glared at her, "Why are you even on the bed? Get off!"

"I will have you know that this is my and Rhys's bed," Lina tightened her embrace on Rhys, burrowing her face on his back before looking at Katarina again, "If you're so jealous…

…then why don't you just sleep with us, Kat? That can be my gift."

"What… what are you even saying!?" Katarina quickly moved away from the bed; her eyebrows, slightly trembling as she didn't know whether to stare or glare, "Just open the gift, Rhys!"

"Thank you, Dr. Katarina," Rhys showed his gratitude even before opening the gift. And as he opened it, the contents inside immediately reflected all the light in his room, almost causing him and Lina to close their eyes,

"This is…"

"A set of scalpels," Katarina nodded to herself, "You seem to like my scalpel a lot, so I asked my blacksmith to make you your own set."

"...You have your own smith?" Lina squinted her eyes as she looked back and forth between the glimmering scalpels and Katarina, "You're starting to become very sus."

"Thank you, Doctor—"

"Please, stop calling me Doctor," Katarina let out a small groan as she sat on the bed, "Just call me Kat."

"...Hm," Rhys nodded as he closed the box and set it aside. He then turned to look at the table, finally noticing the cake peacefully resting on it, "You guys didn't really need to do all of this."

"But we—" And before Katarina could finish her words, rhythmic noises started to scream in the air as her phone rang. She quickly rejected the call and turned toward Rhys, "But we—"

[Kill, Kill!]

Before she could say anything, however, her phone rang again.

"...You should probably answer that," Lina slightly moved away, "...And you are the last person I thought would like Metal."

"I'll be just a sec," Katarina could really only let out a sigh as she walked away and answered the phone. And as soon as she was gone, Lina whispered into Rhys's ear.

"I lied, I actually have a gift for you…" She said as she very gently held Rhys's thigh, "...Once Kat is gone, I'll let you do it in the b—"

"What!? Which streamer!?"

And before Lina could say whatever it was she wanted to say, she and Rhys watched as Katarina started running across the small apartment; immediately turning on the 85" TV she bought for Rhys and quickly opening WeTube.

"..." Lina looked at Rhys for a few seconds, before getting off the bed and standing beside Katarina, "What's going on? Why did you—No! T… turn it off!"

"It will still be there even if I turn it off," Katarina's voice turned deep as she glanced back at Rhys, before very slowly moving to the side, "You…

…have to face this, Rhys."

Rhys wondered what Katarina was talking about as he got off the bed. But as soon as the TV started to reflect in his eyes, he found himself once again dropping onto the bed; his legs, losing all of their strength.

"That's…

…me?"