Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 325 A Completely Different World

"You really should have thrown me at least somewhere dry, President."

Rhys no longer had any idea how long he had been floating in the sea for. Probably more than an entire day's worth since he had already seen the two suns floating above the sky come back once. He could probably attempt to swim again, but what if he was just going farther and farther away from the nearest island?

But of course, that wasn't the main reason at all why he wasn't swimming — the main reason was that he saw an extremely large shadow move beneath him in the water when he started flapping around. He had already experienced almost being swallowed by a creature the size of an entire island once, he wasn't going to be doing that again and end up actually being swallowed this time.

He was in a completely different world — with absolutely no idea what sort of monsters awaited him. Why?

Just why did Joseph throw him to this place without even trying to orient him? He willingly accepted the mission — so, as someone who gave him the mission, Joseph should have at least given him some intel… or at least allowed him to bring Maria with him.

And with his thoughts once again filling his entire existence, the only thing Rhys could really do was let out a long and very deep sigh. But as he did so, however, he found himself descending down into the water…

…he couldn't even let out a sigh of relief at this point. And so, after several more minutes of thinking, he just closed his eyes and decided to relax.

A second.

A minute.

An hour. Rhys just once again let himself float aimlessly in the endless water. Fortunately for him, it did not take another hour before he heard murmurs entering his submerged ears — and before he could even open his eyes, he felt something hitting the top of his head.

"What the—"

"Ah, he's alive!"

"Quick! Get him out of the water, quick!"

And before Rhys could even scan or observe anything, he just felt himself being dragged up from the water.

"Why… why is he so heavy!? Father, he's… he's large! He's a giant!"

"Shut it, Boy! What sort of giant has beautiful hair like that!?"

Rhys then just allowed himself to roll over into what seemed like a wooden boat.

"Quick, Boy! Give him some water!? Why are you so useless!"

"..." Rhys then carefully sat up as he finally started looking around, only to see a somewhat skinny bearded man, and a boy — both of them just wearing loose and dirty garbs.

"Are you alright, Brother? We saw you floating out there, we thought you were proper dead, ey?" The bearded man approached Rhys while showing both his palms, "My name's Mikkos, and that little squirt there is also named Mikkos, after me. But you can just call him Mik. Boy! The water!"

"H… Here you go, Mister."

"...Thank you," Rhys just blinked a couple of times as he grabbed the water from the boy, who just quickly stepped back behind his father. Rhys did not really try to be shy or demure at all as he just quickly chugged the jug that they offered him.

"Are… you a warrior, Brother?" Mikkos squinted his eyes as he looked at Rhys from head to toe, "Those scars of yours, it would seem you've experienced countless battles. And that body of yours could only be forged in war."

"Scars…?" Rhys blinked a couple of times as he looked down, only to see his clothes completely tattered into pieces. Rhys really only sighed in response before shaking his head, "Can… you please tell me where we are, Sir?"

"Well, Sir…" Mikkos cleared his throat; his ears slightly raised as he was called sir, "...We are in the Acheron Sea."

"...Acheron sea?" Rhys looked around him. He truly is in another world — he doesn't recall any place like that.

"Yes — and following that trail will lead to the river."

Rhys looked to where Mikkos was pointing, but all he really sees is an endless view of the sea.

"What… year is it?" Rhys decided to ask.

"Year…? What are you talking about?"

"The date?"

"Oh…" Mikkos sighed while shaking his head, "You should have just asked, Brother. I believe it's… Boy! What is today!?"

"Th… We are in the Age of Aphrodite, Father," Mik flinched and stuttered as Mikkos screamed at him again, "12 days after the last full moon."

"Moon…" Rhys could really only sigh as he looked up — he saw the moon alright, it was hard not to since it was almost covering the entire sky.

"Where are you from, Brother?" Mikkos asked.

"...I'm from Amerka," Rhys answered.

"Amerka…" Mikkos squinted, "...Afraid never heard of it before, Brother."

"I… figured that," Rhys breathed out while shaking his head and handing the jug back to Mikkos, "Thank you for the water again."

"You're very polite, Brother," Mikkos scoffed and shook his head, "My village's a day of sailing from here — do you want me to drop you anywhere on land?"

"No…" Rhys shook his head, "I wouldn't even know where to go if you dropped me off. I'll… just travel from your village and go from there."

"Huh… So, you're a man with a destination, Brother?" Mikkos stood up.

"No destination…" Rhys shook his head as he was slowly adapting the way the man spoke, "...Just a quest."

"A quest…" Mikkos let out a small but very deep sigh, "...Well, good for you, Brother. I abandoned my quest when this little runt was born. He—Boy! What are you doing touching that rope!?"

Rhys could really only smile and shake his head as he saw Mikkos screaming at his son again. But after that, the two remained quiet as Mikkos just continued to sail across the endless sea. Fortunately, the water was extremely calm — it has been ever since Rhys was just unceremoniously thrown here by Joseph.

Several hours have passed, and aside from Mik staring at him from time to time and seemingly wanting to talk to him, there wasn't really anything happening. From Rhys's estimate, Mik seemed to be about 12 years old, but it was hard to tell due to how skinny he was.

"Uhm…"

"Boy! What did I tell you!?"

Unfortunately for Mik, as soon as he seemed to have finally gathered the courage to speak to Rhys, his father once again screamed at him,

"Let the man have his peace!"

"It's… alright, Sir," Rhys could not help but just let out a sigh as he smiled at Mik, "Did you want to ask me something, Mik?"

"My father says you're not a giant…" Mik shyly asked, "...But if so, why are you so tall?"

"You're… father's right," Rhys breathed out, "I'm not a giant."

"Then are you a mighty warrior like what my father said!?"

"...No," Rhys shook his head before just glancing at Mikkos, who just smiled and nodded at him. Mikkos, as well as his son did not really have the colorful hair that Rhys was used to — they both had dark hair; not as dark as his, but dark.

"Then why are you covered in scars, and why do you have those muscles?"

"Boy!"

"I just want to ask him some questions, Father!" Mik turned around as he finally raised his voice, "We have several more hours ahead of us and—"

"Boy, watch out!"

And before Mik could finish his words, Mikkos suddenly rushed toward him as soon as he saw a large fish just suddenly shooting out of the water and flying toward him; its tail, just violently snapping in the air.

But before Mikkos could even take three steps, however, he felt the boat slightly bounce as Rhys was now suddenly standing in front of Mik; just casually blocking the large fish with his bare arms and then holding it by the tail — the fish was large, and Rhys had to slightly lift it up above his eye level so that it wouldn't flap around the ship.

"Are you okay, Kid?" Rhys glanced at Mik, whose butt was now resting on the floor of the boat.

"Y… yes," Mik nodded several times in shock.

"Hm," Rhys also nodded back. He was about to put the fish back into the water, but before he could do so, Mikkos grabbed his arm.

"Wait! Please, don't!" Mikkos breathed out a sigh of relief, "We could eat that at home, don't put it back — the gods have blessed us."

"...Alright," Rhys just nodded before he placed the fish on the floor, and before it could start flapping around violently again, he just tapped it on the head; killing it instantly.

"...You have the strength of the seas, Brother," Mikkos shook his head in awe, "And this fish, ha…

…at least the wife will not scream at me for going home empty-handed."

Hours then passed, and the moon that covered the entire sky once again lit up the seas with its gentle brilliance. The seas were quiet as they had always been, just letting the day pass without any more incident.

"We've arrived."

And very soon, Rhys could see an island in the distance, as well as the village where Mikkos lived. There were huts above the water; the boats, all wooden and lacking any sort of engine. It was very beautiful, extremely so…

…just proving that he truly was in a completely different world now.