"Rhys Wilder, please look here!"
"Mr. Wilder, care to comnt on sothing regarding the Sylas West incident!?"
"Are you secretly a Noble!?"
"So people are claiming your videos are fake. What do you have to…"
It was only his 2nd Exploration, and yet as his bus returned to the Station, it was imdiately bombarded and mobbed by dozens of people waving their microphones and caras. Rhys would have probably run away if this had happened just days ago, but now, even as the bright flashing lights drowned his eyes, he did not even waver for even a single second and just casually stepped down the bus.
And as he saw all the caras being pointed at him, Rhys felt a weird feeling growing from inside him — it was almost as if… he was actually starting to like the feeling of being in the center of it all. Of course, he wouldn't go as far as fully showing his face or acknowledge them by waving his hand, but he did not shy away from them at all.
"What the… how did these fuckers get inside the station!?"
And soon, guards started marching toward the crowd of people and started pushing them away.
"How many tis do we have to tell you that no dia is allowed inside the Bus Station!?"
The dia people tried to fight back, but all they could really do was be forcefully pushed away as the guards started summoning their shields to throw them away. Rhys was going to just quietly leave as it felt like he caused unnecessary, but the guard that was yelling earlier suddenly blocked his path.
"You," the old guard said while shaking his head, "Where do you think you're going?"
"I don't want to trouble all of you any more than I already have, Sir," Rhys quickly stood up straight as he addressed the old guard with respect, "I will leave while they are busy."
"Hm. People like you do not leave from the front entrance," the old guard once again shook his head, "You leave from the front, and a whole bunch of those assholes will start blocking the entrance. Co with ."
The old guard gestured to Rhys to follow him, and Rhys did so as the old guard led him to the back of the station where all the companies' drivers seem to be waiting and resting. None of them heed Rhys any mind, however, as they just seed… tired.
"What? You think only Lowborns like you have a hard life?" The old guard scoffed as soon as he saw Rhys's eyes slightly squint, "Everyone's suffering their own way, kid."
"...You are very lucky to call this suffering," Rhys breathed as he continued to follow the old guard.
"..." The old guard did not really say anything else and just led Rhys to a door and gestured to him to leave,
"Also, don't co back to this station. You will be disrupting the other Explorers who just want to earn a living."
"What…?" Rhys could not help but blink a couple of tis as he opened the door, "But this is the only Bus Station in the city. And this is only my 2nd Exploration."
"Kid…" The old guard sighed and shook his head, "You're banned."
"...Huh?"
"Even if you go to a Bus Station on the other side of the Danger Zone, they won't allow you in," the old guard lightly pushed Rhys out the door.
"Why?"
"You're famous."
"W—"
And without bothering to even explain anything, the old guard shut the door on him. Rhys could really only stare at this slightly rusty tal door for a few seconds, before just subconsciously scratching his head and backing away, realizing that he was in a slightly dim alleyway behind the station.
It was only his 2nd Exploration, 1st if he did not count the boulder cockaroaches… and yet here he was, in an alleyway behind the Bus Station never to be allowed in again.
"What… am I even going to do now?"
"I knew this was going to happen."
"!!!" Rhys quickly put up his guard as he heard a whisper coming from the darker shadows of the alleyway. And there, from beside a dumpster filled with trash, erged the guild master of the Laughing Bronze, Kenneth; his obviously expensive suit, filled with all sorts of dust and dirt.
"...How long have you been there?" Rhys lowered his guard as a banana peel very slowly slid from his shoulders as he started approaching him.
"Long enough to know that this was going to happen from the start," Kenneth let out a muffled chuckle as he wore a pair of sunglasses, even though they were already in a dark alleyway and the sun was about to set,
"A special person like you, Rhys Wilder, can not truly roam free. There will always be shackles chaining you down, held by people that want to drag you with them — especially you, a Lowborn that is stronger than Commoners, that can't happen in our society that is content with its archaic hierarchy. And… and…"
Rhys then watched as Kenneth subtly checked his phone; whispering and quietly rehearsing what he was going to say to him like he couldn't actually see him.
"Forget this," Kenneth then shook his head and sighed as he looked at Rhys in his covered eyes, "I am going to offer you the sa thing I have been offering you from the start…
…Join the Laughing Bronze, and I will make sure all your problems just wither away. You may not know who I am, but my guild is capable of getting you into any Hole you want. And honestly, you don't have any other options, your stint as a Free Explorer is gone as soon as it started."
"..." Rhys squinted his eyes as Kenneth once again stretched his hand toward him. This ti, however, Rhys was actually slightly considering it. And as soon as Kenneth saw the curious look on Rhys's face, he tried his best to hide the growing smile on his face as he laid the final nail on his offer that Rhys could not possibly resist.
"I can get you revenge too," Kenneth's voice lowered, "Sylas West. I can—"
And before Kenneth could finish his words, Rhys closed his hand and just started walking away without even saying a single word.
"W… wait!" Kenneth could really only chase after Rhys as he made his way out of the dark alleyway, "I'm serious, I can—"
"I do not need revenge, Sir," Rhys glanced back, "What I need is justice."
"Justice…? I can get you that too!" Kenneth chuckled nervously as he saw the look of disdain and disgust in Rhys's eyes, "I can get you that easier than revenge! My family has the best lawyers and we could open up—"
"No," Rhys shook his head, "It has to co from …
…it will only be fair if it is from ."
"What? Wait…
…just wait!"
***
"Ack, I knew this was going to happen the mont your channel started to trend like crazy."
"Can… they really do that? But most of the strears I have seen are Free Explorers."
"You garnered millions of views and it hasn't even been like 3 days since you created your Shudder and WeTube. You're… kinda not on the sa level as the others, Sir."
"Can you guys stop addressing yourselves as 'Sir' and 'Ma'am'? At least when I am here."
"...Then maybe you shouldn't be here?"
"You literally invited both of us for coffee."
"I was being nice."
In a cafe sowhere in the more crowded part of Old York City, Rhys, Lina, and Katarina once again found themselves casually relaxing at a table. And suffice it to say, they gathered even more attention than the last ti they were in the very sa spot before Rhys went into the Underworld Corps.
And it wasn't just simple attention. Rhys was glancing at the woman in the cafe, only to see all the 5 Hearts floating above their heads fluctuating for so reason. Co to think of it, he hasn't really used his main abilities for a while now — ever since he gained Ayesha's herculean strength. After all, what else could he actually wish for?
But seeing all the hearts inside this cafe fluctuating, Rhys could not help but feel sothing rising from inside him — a heavy weight pushing him; as if Eros himself was asking him to conquer all the hearts that his eyes could see…
…and perhaps he should? Just how much stronger could he actually beco if he converted all the hearts in this cafe into his?
Their abilities may not be as strong as Ayesha's, but it is the small things that add up.
"Rhys. Rhys, are you listening?"
"Hm…?"
"We lost you again there for a minute," Katarina could really only sigh as she found Rhys daydreaming again, sothing he actually hadn't done for quite a while, "Lina and I were discussing what you could do… and maybe, it's actually ti for you to join a guild."
"I can invite you to mine," Lina nodded, "It'll just be temporary, of course. Until you start getting—"
"No," Rhys shook his head.
"Okay… you didn't have to shut down that fast, Sir."
"I have actually already decided what my next step will be," Rhys shook his head as he looked at Lina and Katarina,
"I am going to create my own army."
"...Don't you an a guild?" Lina squinted her eyes.
"Right… yes," Rhys eyes slightly flinched as he let out a small but very deep breath, "Of course… of course."
"Well, that's a good plan, actually… but you need to at least be Level 3 Explorer for that."
"...Oh."
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