"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?"
"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?"