《Return of the Woodcutter》 Chapter 1 - Location Nowhere (part 1) Of all the people recorded in this book, he is known as the bravest. Unlike a few others, he began his ascension to power without actual cheats. Could he be considered a good man? Certainly not, during the first part of his life, at least. But a man isn''t born good, he bes good. Why do you think such a man is looking for redemption? People may think that his sin wasn''t that great. Others might¡ªlike he does¡ªdespise him for it. Ironically, this is also what drove him to be who he is today, to be known by many titles. Some of them are moderately famous such as "The ck Challenger," "Ax Leader," and "Miracle Maker." Others less famous like "Cheater," "Bolt Rider," or even one rarely used nowadays, "Father Killer." Amongst his many titles, one became a symbol of hope to his allies and a symbol of fear to his enemies. A symbol that has disappeared until now. No one knows where he is. But I believe he wille back. And when he does, those bastards who think him dead will tremble in fear like the cowards they are. Because if there is one event they dread yet think impossible, it is the Return of the Woodcutter. In the meantime, let me tell you of his beginning. Let me tell you of how an arrogant martial artist and alcoholic became a thoughtful woodcutter. Let me tell you of a legend untold. Extract from "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris", by Roan the Merchant. ____________________________________________________________________________________ In an empty grey boundless space, multiple shes of light appeared, materializing thousands of puzzled humans. Amidst all of them stood a strict-looking man with shoulder-length shriveled dark hair, old brown trousers, and a shabby red lumberjack shirt that had almost turned ck. It was barely holding back his burly build and beer belly. Aito Walker was confused. Hisst remaining memories were from visiting a local shop to buy his daily dose of alcohol before cking out. He had been waiting for his death since a doctor dered that he had only a few months to live at best, but didn''t expect it to strike when grocery shopping. He started to y with his long ck hair out of habit. Something he did when thinking deeply. So deeply, in fact, that he could remain oblivious to his surroundings if it wasn''t the focal point of his thoughts. ''Just where am I?'' From his height, he could see a crowd of unfamiliar faces. Men and women alike wore expressions of worry which were progressively shifting to fear. Confusion spread as people expressed their concern amongst themselves. The sound of it expanded, resounded, amplified in the wide space, adding difort to the already frightened people. Out of his reverie after processing his current situation, Aito frowned. All those voices annoyed him. Pissed, the muscles under his fat stiffened. Having lived in the woods of Lac Saint-Jean for three years made him particrly sensitive to loud noises. ''Stay calm.'' He thought. ''No points in panicking and making a fuss out of this. After all, I''m just dead.'' Aito smiled. Thanks to his best friend Jack, he had developed a sense of humor, albeit a peculiar one. But now it came in handy and eased the tension he felt. A white light shed out, illuminating the surroundings so brightly people had to cover their eyes in fear of going blind. A feminine figure walked out of the beam, dressed in a charming white robe, highlighting her perfect curves. Her hair, of sunlight color, reminded Aito of a peaceful summer. "Shall we brighten this ce up?" She said, before flicking her fingers, instantly turning the grey ce sparkling white. "Much better." She dered, smiling. "I am Filona, the Goddess of Love. I¡ª" "Are you the one who kidnapped us! Exin yourself!" Kai shouted amidst the anxiously silent people. Aitozily eyed the man. He recognized him. Kai Tsubame, the CEO of Tsubame Fishing International. The Japanese man was so famous that even a reclusive person like Aito had heard about him. Kai was known for owning sixty percent of Earth''s fishing industry. The fish on Earth was bing a scarcity, turning it into a luxury product. Kai''s previous sentence created a chained reaction from the already panicked crowd, rapidly spreading stress and fear like wildfire. A myriad ofints rained at goddess bearing a warm smile. Filona kept her divine countenance, as if deaf to all those rude remarks, then sped her fingers once again. The mortals'' lips glue together, rendering furtherints impossible to make. The cacophony ceased, restoring the silence a proper goddess was due to have upon talking to mere mortals. "Children, you have all died." Gloomy expressions could be read on the crowd''s faces. Aito looked down, his mind filled with regret. He smiled at the irony of it, recalling a quote from his father: "It is only when you lose something that you realize how important it was." Regret gnawed at his consciousness and quickly spread to his entire body. He clenched his fists and his palms shone white, trying to canalize his overflowing emotions of sorrow. However¡­ "But fear not," Filona dered. "We, the gods of Iris, have given you an opportunity to live once again. However, because of how costly a revival can be, you may still have some physical issues from your previous life. Keep in mind that we only fixed what was necessary for you to live once again. Still, you are breathing, so be grateful. In exchange, we only request that you lend us your strength to fight in a war that has been guing our world for far too long." A long-forgotten feeling sparked in Aito''s chest, eclipsing all the others: Hope. The hope for a second chance he had thought would nevere. The hope to... make amend to those who once considered him family. But he found it fishy. That "request" seemed more like an order to him. He didn''t need superhuman senses to recognize a scam when it was so apparent. To begin with, why should he care about a war that wasn''t his own? Also, who were the gods of Iris? What kind of war were they waging? How could a mere mortal help them? Questions he had no answers to piled up one after the other. "Of course. We will first have to put you through trials. And those of you who prove worthy will be granted powers beyond your imagination." Filona said, and flicked her fingers. Three portals appeared out of thin air. "You are free to choose your own trial. White for easy. Blue for normal. Red for hard. In those, you will have to survive for a certain length of time. You may also meet some monsters created from your world''s culture. That is all the briefing you will have. Further details can be discussed after the trials." She said with an angelic smile. "As of now, you have five minutes to decide." Fear and iprehension paralyzed the crowd. An ufortable silence loomed over them for a minute. As for Aito, he once again wrestled with his thoughts. "By the way, if you stay here after the countdown is over, you will face certain death." Filona dered. Then a clock appeared, counting down the remaining time. Aito had been so focused on his decision-making that, unknown to him, he missed Filona''sst sentence. ''Three portals. Three difficulties.'' He thought. ''The goddess seems benevolent, but her words show quite the contrary. Apparently, the gods could care little about our opinions. Even if it wasn''t formted this way, we are forced to do as they wish. Or¡­ am I overthinking this?'' Deep in his thoughts, Aito didn''t notice the crowd sprinting towards the portals. Most of them entered the white portal. Some of them choose the blue portal. By the time the clock disyed "1 minute" everyone was gone apart from three people. A ck-haired woman was standing in front of the red portal, wearing a ck secretary attire, her skirt clearly highlighting her curves. She''s slender fingers touched the weird ectosm substance the portal wasposed of, curious about how that worked. Behind her, a two-meter-tall, grey-haired man wearing a brown suit was ring at her. "Little sis, you aren''t thinking about picking this one, right?" Ogoro asked. "Yes, I am. You know why." She said before entering. Ogoro sighed. He turned around to take onest look at the white space, then saw a man standing there alone, touching his hair. Only thirty seconds remained. "Hey! Don''t stay here!" Ogoro shouted towards Aito. No response came. Ogoro shook his head before following his sister. 20 seconds. ''There are difficulties for a reason. Filona also said that gods would grant us powers if we prove worthy. In other words, if we pass their trials. Supposedly, the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. And since I might need powerter on¡­'' Aito thought, ''why is there a clock hung up in the air?'' 15 seconds. Filona stared at the human standing still in the middle of what used to be a popted area. His facial expression had no fear or anxiety. She found him amusing. "Is it bravery, madness or ignorance that drives you to stay?" Filona asked. Aito gazed at her. "What are you talking about?" 10 seconds. Filona shook her head and lost interest in the foolish mortal that was doomed to fall prey to that ind''s creature if he didn''t die to those monkeys beforehand. She was yet against witnessing mortals'' stupidity and also a waste of resources. Aito pieced the clues together and realized he had little time left to pick a portal. "Damn it!" he said, sprinting towards the red portal. 5 seconds. He stretched his hand and tried to reach the portal, but within an inch from it, a ck light appeared out of nowhere and devoured his existence. 0 seconds. "Ignorance it is then," Filona said. *** Aito dropped into sea water. The turquoise blue water underneath him reminded him of Bora Bora. A clear sky with barely any clouds on the horizon and a tropical ind made it seem like a veritable paradise where one would enjoy one''s holiday¡ªalbeit that the ind was one kilometer away from Aito. ''Where the fuck am I?'' He thought. A blue ethereal window appeared before him. [Wee to the tutorial''s ck trial] ______________________________________ [Quest received: A wet warm up] Objective: Swim to the ind Time limit: 15 minutes Reward: ess to status window Failure: Death ______________________________________ [Remaining time: 14 minutes and 59 seconds] With no time to think and his life on the line, Aito swam like a madman towards the ind. Each breath taken brought a small amount of seawater in his mouth, leaving a salty aftertaste. It reminded him of French Polynesia, where he had enjoyed spearfishing and surfing with his family and friends. Minus the enjoyable part, it matched his memories. Aito felt a strong current pulling him backward, signaling an iing wave. He swam even faster, arms and legs frically moved to propel him forward. Soon enough, the wave reached him. Aito gathered his strength and sped up once more. ''It''s been a while but I should still be able to do it.'' He body-surfed down the wave, using it as if it was a taxicab, and shortened the distance to his goal. After a short while, the current died down and so did the wave. Underwater, the countdown window was putting mental pressure on him. [Remaining time: 5 minutes] He clicked his tongue, wondering why that window wouldn''t leave him alone. As if the stress of dying wasn''t enough, Aito felt a painful stitch in the right side, going from the front of the chest to his back. ''Damn it, I should have quit alcohol sooner and do some cardio.'' Then he spotted another wave to his left, quickly swam towards it, and once again body-surfed. It actually started to be enjoyable for him. The wave led Aito to approximately one hundred meters from the coast. [Remaining time: 3 minutes] "Come on!" He said, encouraging himself. His muscles ached from the efforts, but also from theck of oxygen. Sensing corals brush past his clothes, he felt lucky that any of those had yet to scratch or shred his skin. [Remaining time: 2 minutes] He finally entered shallow waters, stood up, and ran for the beach. There, he gasped for breath before quickly sensing the burning feeling from the sand''s umted sun''s heat. "Shit!" Aito ran under a palm tree and leaned against it when an ethereal window popped up. [Congrattion! You havepleted your warm-up!] "Congratte my ass!" He shouted at the system. How dared that thing say "congrattion" like it was some kind of surprise party when he had just risked his life? Even if it wasn''t that dangerous, it had been stressful. What if he hadn''t known how to swim? It would have led to his death. [ess to status window granted] ______________________________________ [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 180cm Weight: 110kg Emotional state: Angry ss: Lv0 (Undecided) Titles: ck Challenger [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Instinct (Potential to sense danger slightly before it happens. Activation is random.) - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - Mindless Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious) 2. Skills: None [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv1 - Stamina: Lv1 - Agility: Lv1 - Mana: Lv1 - Destiny: Lv1 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ______________________________________ "What is this?" Before he could read the status window, another notification appeared. BING! [Due to your performance, a bonus reward is granted] [ess to inventory granted] Inventory: - Bonus reward [Would you like to open it? Yes or No] Curious, Aito pressed "yes". [Scanning. Appropriate reward found. Materializing] An iron ax materialized in his right hand. Aito red at the familiar weapon. He had been a woodcutter for three years and swinging an ax all day long was one of his favorite hobbies. It had prevented him from entirely going out of shape, but he had had such an unhealthy lifestyle that he couldn''t get rid of the excessive fat and beer belly. Moreover, it had taken his mind off of a past he''d rather forget¡ªuntil now. He took a few swings and smiled as if he was meeting an old friend. But that smile didn''tst. BING! ______________________________________ [ck trial''s quest: Surpass your limits!] Quest: Survive three months on a deserted ind while repelling evol monkeys. Enemies: Evol monkeys are a species of monkeys created by the gods of Iris. They will adapt and/or evolve and/or increase in number with each passing week ording to the strength the challenger disys. The stronger the challenger is, the stronger the evol monkeys are. Difficulties: - First month: Easy to Normal - Second month: Normal to Hard - Third month: Hard to Hellish Rewards: - ess to the 2nd trial - Glory points ording to your performance - Tutorial points ording to your performance ______________________________________ Suddenly, four monkeys appeared in a beam of light behind him. They had brown furs and were fifty centimeters tall. Even if he was outnumbered, Aito felt like he could manage it against those small creatures. But stamina was the issue. He had not entirely recovered from the previous quest. Grabbing his newfound weapon with two hands, panting, he took a fighting stance and intently stared at his enemies. Chapter 2 - Location Nowhere (part 2) "Waaah!" Aito dashed towards the nearest monkey and swung his ax. The creature didn''t react in time to dodge the blow, and its brain matter spread on the sand. Leaving no time for his enemies to react, Aito grabbed another by the neck and squeezed. CRACK! He paused in surprise at how easily he had broken that monkey''s neck but was reminded of the danger by the furry feeling on his broad back. The monkey bit into Aito''s shoulder. A warm liquid ran down his white skin as a painful sensation seized him. He gritted his teeth and sped up backward, hitting a coconut tree. His enemy released its bite and uttered a painful cry. "Kyaaak!" Aito reached back, grabbed the evol monkey, and hurled it towards the other. BAM! Stunned by the impact, both creaturesid on the sand. Aito didn''t leave them any time to recover and rushed towards them before bringing down his ax. Monkey blood sshed and dyed the sand red. "Damn monkeys," Aito said, before sitting under a tree''s shadow. He let out a painful groan as he examined the bite mark on his shoulder. Blood was pouring out of the wound and needed to be treated immediately. With nothing else to clean it, Aito headed for the sea. ''Better that than nothing.'' He remembered that in French Polynesia it wasmon practice to dip a wound in seawater when injured on a beach. Apparently, it helps kill some bacteria that could infect the wound and thus speed up the healing process. However, it could also lead to infection. But it was a gamble he will take. Then Aito took off his shirt, revealing his perfectly round belly, and ripped a piece, which he used to bandage his shoulder. He tore another piece to cover his head in order to protect it from the sun and wore his now sleeveless shirt before taking a well-deserved break. If it wasn''t for the monkeys, quest,ck of amodation, the goddess, and the need to survive, that ind would have been a great ce for a holiday¡ªfor him at least. However, he currently needed to find food, water and build a shelter. *** In the gods'' council room, on the white side, seated at the four-colored round table on her white fluffy chair, Filona was watching Ogoro and She''s progression with keen interest. They had challenged the red portal. Only a few had picked that path before them, even less survived. Their trialprised surviving an undead apocalypse for two months. The siblings were currently hiding in a police station where they had found weapons to defend themselves. Thousands of zombies walked on the city''s streets, their sheer number proving to be impossible to handle for two normal humans. Fortunately, they were slow and could be avoided. From the ck side, Brutalina drew her ck wooden chair next to Filona, her long red hair tied in a ponytail twitched as if to manifest her interest. She bent forward, entuating her toned body curves, to look at what Filona was watching. "Ho, Red challengers? And two of them at that! Gahahaha! If they survive, I''ll im them!" Brutalina''s ample chest moved up and down with her ck leather armor, her guttural¡ªbut somewhat feminine¡ªvoice echoing in the four-colored room. The goddess of pain favored those who challenged adversity even more than other gods and was more willing to take those two under her wings. Filona clicked her tongue, "Hands off, you sadistic masochist! They will be archers under my church and not some unrefined muscle-brain warrior!" The two goddesses bickered amongst themselves in an unsightly manner, unbefitting of their statuses. Something they would only do when they are in a familiar environment where they can rx. In presence of mortals, they would always keep a divine demeanor¡ªwell, apart from a certain god. On the blue side, leaned against his blue leather armchair, Zalon pushed up his sses. The god of wisdom wore a long blue robe, showing his status as a former mage. "Fighting over them is useless. They may choose their own path. We might determine their sses ording to their performances and stats, but the choice is still theirs. Hum?" Zalon said when something caught his attention. "Filona, why is there a ck challenger?" Filona pushed Brutalina away before regaining her previously dignified attitude. "I''ve warned the candidates as we agreed upon, however, the foolish mortal stood still until the end." On the red side of the round table, lying in his red bed, the god of sloth, Belmand yawned, readjusted his red pajama and pillow beforefortably leaning against it. "So be it.*yawn* It''ll be entertaining to see him *yawn* lose his mind to that thing.*yawn* But if he survives¡­" Belmand said, before emitting snoring sounds. The three other gods shook their heads. *** Walking along the beach, Aito found a river flowing into the ocean and drank from it. He could not care less about bacteria at the moment, since he needed to ease his thirst. Aito knew it might cost himter on, but he seriously doubted he would die from it. He followed the river upstream, hoping it would bring him to a safe ce where he could build a shelter. It led him near the ind''s only mountain where the river seemed to flow from underneath it, which looked weird. Near it, he found a cave. It will be of great help since he wouldn''t need to waste stamina on building a shelter, though it was far from being a weing home. The inside was damp and gloomy. He walked deeper into the cave and, unable to peer into the pitch ckness, stopped. Aito decided to stay near the entrance. Who knew how deep that cave really was? His water and shelter problem solved, he now needed to arrange some food. His stomach sent him a reminder by letting out a loud rumble. Aito opened his inventory and took out the body of an evol monkey he had picked up before leaving the beach. Thankfully, he had learned to prepare the preys he hunted from time to time in Lac St Jean. Standing by the riverside, he first emptied the creature''s stomach with his ax and discarded its guts in the river. Then skinned it, but the de wasn''t made for that purpose and he damaged the hide. He ced the tattered hide in his inventory to dry itter on since it coulde in handy. Once done, he found a branch and skewered his soon-to-be dinner before realizing he had no fire. Aito never had learned to make one out of nothing. Movies depicted it as a simple task but¡­ he seriously doubted that it was the case. On the horizon, the sun moved down to progressively be reced by the night. "I have no time to try my hand at making a fire." Soon it would be nighttime, and moving in the dark was a bad idea. He wanted to fortify his shelter before that happened. Aito walked out of the cave to the nearest coconut tree and drew his ax. The ax''s de viciously bit into the wood, already reaching a quarter of the tree''s girth. With that single hit, he was now certain that his strength wasn''tparable to before. It took him only three other swings to bring down the tree. "Is that because of my strength stat? Interesting." He already had an impressive strength before, other woodcutters had been jealous of him because he could swiftly cut down a tree. Aito separated the coconut tree into five different parts and used them to cover the cave entrance. With his newfound strength, it had been easier than expected. Thest section had tree leaves and coconuts on it. He stored the coconuts in his inventory and brought the leaves inside the cave before closing the entrance behind him. He had made a crude fortification, but he judged it should be enough for the first day. Aito weaved the coconut tree leaves together, ced them on the rocky ground andid down on his improvised bed. "A bit itchy but it''s better than nothing." By then, the sky had already darkened. Aito peeled a coconut with his weapon before breaking the shell, drank the coconut water inside, and scrapped the meat to eat it. Coconut meat had been one of his favorite treats back in French Polynesia. Add to it some coconut water and it made for a delicious snack. He really didn''t want to eat evol monkey meat raw. Who knew what kind of germs lurked in that? Having eaten his fill of coconut meat, Aito ced his ax next to him and, tired from his first day on the ind, quickly shut his eyes. Hisst thoughts went to his current goal. ''I will find redemption, no matter the cost.'' As the tears ran down his cheeks, his consciousness quickly faded, soon to be reced by nothingness. *** The next morning, Aito woke up to find that his wound was healed. He formed two hypotheses: either the coconut had a miraculous healing effect or the trial stage did it. Either way, he will be able to ascertain it in theing days. "Whatever, it''s not like a blue ethereal window will appear in front of me to give me the answer." BING! [Congrattion! Your wounds have been healed due to a good night''s sleep!] "Never mind what I said.." He chuckled. Chapter 3 - Location Nowhere (part 3) For the next six days, Aito fortified his base. He built multiple traps made of wood and coconut tree leaves, such as small pitfalls and snares. Evol monkeys appeared every day around the same time, meaning when the sun was at its zenith, which made it predictable enough for Aito to prepare for it. The challenge, however, didn''t lie in their attacks but hisck of fire. Aito had tried to make one like it was shown in movies and documentaries with two pieces of wood, but each time, he broke them with his current strength. Added to the equation was his craving for alcohol. Revival may have cured his liver cancer and reanimated his body, but apart from those, it left him as he was before. Which meant that the thirst was still there. By now, he would have already downed an entire bottle if it weren''t for theck of supply. Since he couldn''t quench his thirst, it led to alcohol withdrawal symptoms: headache, profuse perspiration, shakiness, fatigue, appetite loss, and difficulty thinking clearly. Alcohol had been an answer to the pain he felt from his memories of three years ago. However, now that his drug was gone, those same memories he had tried to forget came back to haunt him every day. He had to tire himself out to sleep at night. At first, Aito thought he would rapidly ovee this personal trial, but his frustration grew with each passing day as he failed to make a fire. Furthermore, his current diet had a serious drawback. Coconut was a naturalxative and taking a dump thrice a day annoyed him. But thanks to this diet and his loss of appetite, he had rapidly lost weight. His beer belly started to shrink and his muscles toned up. However, he grew tired of eating only coconut meat. So today, he was particrly set on making a fire. Aito sat in front of his cave. He settled the dry coconut fibers he had prepared previously on dry grass. Those fibers were highly mmable and should be able to rece tinder. Next, he took his fireboard, made of a tree trunk he had sun-dried for six days, cut a small V-shaped notch in the center, and ced small pieces of dried coconut fibers in it. Finally, he took his spindle stick, ced it in the notch, and rolled it back and forth with his shaky hands while praying. "Please ignite, please ignite, please ignite." At this point, he didn''t care if he seemed crazy when talking to himself. One week alone and theck of alcohol started to mess with his head. Sure, he had lived alone before, but at work, he also interacted with other woodcutters and his best friend, Jack. Now, however, no humans could socialize with him. He felt truly lonely for the first time in his life. "Please ignite, please ignite, please ignite." He continued to roll his spindle stick. Days of failure taught him the exact amount of strength to apply on the stick. Ironically, it had been a great way to familiarize himself with his strength. Aito''s eyes shone brighter than ever before when something he had been anticipating for what felt like an eternity happened. Smoke rose from the notch. ''Careful now. Don''t drop sweat on it.'' Aito stopped rolling and blew on it. He carefully transferred the amber to the stack of coconut fibers and blew once again. The ember quickly spread from fiber to fiber, igniting them. He delicately ced dried woods on it and, finally, made a fire. He towered over his creation, a sense of achievement running by his every muscle, bone, and organ before eventually reaching his brain. His joy overruled his ailments as he felt an uncontroble need to shout out his victory over nature to the world. Although there was no one here. "Ha¡­ haha¡­ hahaha! I made a fire! Did you see that you scammer of a goddess! I, Aito Walker, made a fire! Hahaha!" He said, thinking that the goddess might be watching him. At that moment. BING! [Congrattion! You made your first fire.] [A reward has been granted] Aito opened his inventory to find two flints. Annoyed, he wondered why it wasn''t sent to him beforehand. It surely would have prevented one week of frustration. Soon after, four evol monkeys appeared next to him. Aito''s ck eyebrow twitched. Was it some kind of coincidence or the goddess was truly watching him? Nevertheless, he smirked while eyeing the monkeys hungrily. "Come, let me invite you for lunch! On the menu, evol monkey ¨¤ broche!" Feeling Aito''s predatory re, an instinctual fear struck the monkeys. "Kyaaak?" *** Just before Aito made a fire. In the gods'' council room, the Four were still monitoring the trials. To their surprise, She and Ogoro were doing better than expected. They had established a secure perimeter around the police station while keeping a low profile to avoid attracting too many zombies'' attention. Filona and Brutalina were enthusiastically watching the red challengers, still bickering about who''s church they would join. Meanwhile, a bored Zalon monitored the White and Blue challengers. White challengers only had to survive for two months in a modern city by cooperating together with no monsters to watch out for. The challenge came from the limited resources avable to them, which caused discord because of the sheer number of challengers. The same applied to the Blue challengers apart from the fact that they needed to pay attention from time to time to some wandering goblin-like creatures that appeared once a week. As for Belmand, he was ''monitoring'' the ck challenger, if snoring could be called monitoring. It should have been Brutalina''s task, but the muscle head was too busy drooling on her future potential recruits. At some point, he opened his sleepy eyes and caught Aitoughing like a madman while insulting Filona. He couldn''t help but grin. "Ah¡­ typical reaction." *** Aito was resting under a tree''s shadow after eating his fill of monkey meat. It had been one of the most delicious meals he ever ate. He still remembered the juicy after-taste of well-cooked meat. The fat had melted in his mouth, giving him a sense of pure joy and well-neededfort. Who knew that a warm meal could be soforting? However, amidst this joyful moment, Aito noticed an irregrity. The monkeys had grown ten centimeters taller and their fangs seemed sharper. Thinking back to his current quest, the notification window did say they would evolve with each passing week. That worried him because if they grew this much in one week, he did not dare imagine what kind of trial awaited him after two months. And that was just the physical growth. If those creatures developed intelligence¡­ survival will be even more troublesome. "I need to prepare." First thing first, Aito had to familiarize himself with the ind''s geography. His gaze turned towards the mountain''s summit and, with a goal in mind, began his climb. One hourter, he finally reached the summit. The ascension had been quite likable and took off his mind of the loneliness. Mountain climbing wasn''t one of his hobby but his strength offset theck of experience. However, his stamina could use some improvement. From up there, he could see that the reef was unusually close to the ind. Waves made it difficult to reach the open sea and would push anybody towards the shore, so any idea of leaving was removed from his mind. His cave was located at the mountain''s foot. To its left, Aito discovered some sort of pond. Too small to call ake and too big to be a natural pool. Surrounding the pond were bamboos. Bamboos were flexible and durable, which made them great building materials. He could certainly make traps and furniture with those. Also, it wasn''t far from hisir. Aito could probably catch some fish there since, for some unknown reason, the river didn''t contain any kind of life form. He had looked for traces of fishes to no avail. Though he did notice that the further he went upstream, the colder the water got. He nned to investigate the peculiar phenomenonter on but, right now, he needed to tend to more urgent matters. On the opposite side of the mountain, a waterfall could be seen. It was probably where the river led up to. Which was weird in its own right since the river flowed down in the other direction. A sense of dread emanated from that ce. He didn''t know yet that it was his gift, Intuition, warning him of a potential danger lurking there. Aito decided to stay away from that ce, at least until he finished his preparation. Before leaving the mountain top, he sketched a crude map of the ind on a piece of wood he had brought with him. *** 2nd week of survival. Noticeable physical changes could be seen on Aito''s body. Due to the constant exposure to the sun, Aito''s skin tanned. He grew a small ck beard, and muscles finally started to show despite the remaining fat. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms finally disappeared entirely. However, loneliness and resurging memories lurked in the shadows of his mind, awaiting the opportune moment to strike. To chase away those taxing psychological issues, he constantly kept himself busy. Aito made stone tools to avoid using his iron ax. Its frequent usage started to dull the weapon''s edge and if he didn''t pay attention to it, the ax could be badly damaged or break. But for that, he needed ropes. Then he remembered the movie about a guy who survived on an uncharted ind for years. The main character had used straps of tree barks to make ropes. To Aito''s surprise, once dried, the tree barks weaved together, made for solid ropes. Furthermore, it was fairly easy to make. Using ropes, woods, and stones, Aito crafted a stone ax, knife, and other useful tools. It took him a while to figure this out and do it properly. Thanks to the bamboos, he could also experiment with building fish traps but failed miserably. Using those trials and failures, he kept away the loneliness that he knew would catch up sooner orter. 3rd week of survival. Evol monkeys grew taller and more aggressive. Gone were their passiveness. Now, they attacked Aito on sight with more vigor than before. But his traps proved effective when some of them fell prey to pitfalls and snares. He also built human-shaped bamboo dummies to the locations he frequently visited, named them after his best friend, Jack, and often talk to them. Theck of an answer was frustrating at first, but he quickly made up for it with¡­ imagination. 4th week of survival. Aito hadpletely limated himself to the ind''s geography and could, so to speak, walk around blindfolded, and still find his way home. Evol monkeys now no longer appeared at noon but at a random time once a day out of nowhere. The sh of light that summoned them was gone, making it trickier to detect their presence. Fortunately, they never attacked at night. In his growing madness, Aito built more traps, so many in fact that it became a danger to himself since he started to forget where he had ced them. Feeling stupid, he piled up rocks next to those he remembered the location to mark them down. *** ONE MONTH AFTER THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIALS. Bamboo neatly weaved together with ropes surrounded Aito''s cave entrance. Bamboo spikes directed outward were ced near the wall to deny entry to the evol monkeys. A hole in the structure formed an entrance that Aito blocked at night with logs. Aito stood outside the entrance, seated cross leg on the ground, while sewing monkey skin together using a sharp bone and improvised rope to make shoulder pads. Monkeys started to be an actual threat, and he realized soon enough that armor would help. His wounds could heal at night, but if he could prevent walking around all day covered with bleeding bite marks, he''d dly avoid that. Plus, he needed a new pair of clothes. His lumberjack shirt was shredded, revealing his now t belly. He had lost so much fat that he needed to use a belt he had crafted from monkey skin to tie his tattered trousers. Thus came the idea of using monkey skin to craft armor. He had previously dried them to toughen the hide. He weaved multipleyers of skin together to enhance the armor''s defensive abilities. With no previous sewing experience, the armor he crafted was a mess, but at least it offered some protection. Once the shoulder pads werepleted, he worked on making cuff bracelets. Last week, he had noticed that monkeys liked to target his wrists to make him drop his weapon. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence but quickly realize it was intentional. "Well, what do you think?" He said, showing his two pieces of crude monkey skin bracelets he had equipped to the bamboo Jack next to him. "Yeah, right? Ugly as Filona. But it should do the trick." The name Filona has be a word often used to define ugliness. With no actual target to his current misery, he held the goddess responsible for what was happening to him, which made Belmand who was monitoring himugh from time to time since Filona could be considered the incarnation of beauty itself. "I know, I know. The fish traps. Stop ordering me around like that, you know I don''t like it." With his cuff bracelets done, Aito headed towards the pond to check out the new fish traps. He was certain that this time he could catch one or two. Before leaving, he turned towards the bamboo dummy. "Won''t you walk there with me for a change?" He asked, staring at it with sorrow in his eyes. "Whatever, see you there Jack." However, before he could even take ten steps, four evol monkeys burst out from the woods. They were around one meter tall with lean and flexible muscles, but what stroke Aito the most were the stone weapons they held. Two of them were equipped with a knife, another held a spear, and thest one an ax. Aito frowned when he realized they had copied his tools. "Great, now they have weapons." Chapter 4 - Jack (part 1) Aito dodged aside, stepped on his enemy''s tail, and brutally sent it flying with a kick. A tingling feeling crept up his spine, as if to signal him of an imminent death threat. He rapidly turned and barely had time to see something that never happened before: the evol monkeys attacking simultaneously. He shifted his waist to avoid a spear thrust and luckily blocked a strike with his iron ax. However, he felt a stinging pain in his right lower rib. "Kyak! Kyak! Kyak!" The dagger monkey retreated backward and expressed his enthusiasm by puffing his chest as if to say "See? I did it!". His ''colleagues'' jovially replied in kind. ''Bastards,'' Aito thought, eyeing the dagger stuck in his lower rib. No medical knowledge was needed to guess that removing it will cause the blood to pour out and kill him in a matter of minutes. So he gritted his teeth through the pain and left it there. However, he needed to treat this wound, and fast. But first¡­ "I need to take care of those apes." He said with rising killing intent. Taking advantage of their diverted attention, Aito brought down his ax on the spear monkey before they regained their focus and split its skull in half, then grabbed the spear. It rmed the two remaining monkeys, who eyed Aito viciously before running, weapons in hand, towards him. He waited until they got close enough, aimed for the dagger monkey, and flung his ax. BAM! The dagger monkey violently hit the ground, never to move again. Before Aito''sst enemy could reach him, he quickly took a step back, grabbed the spear with two hands, and impaled the ax monkey. Panicked and choking on its own blood, the ax monkey frantically moved around, desperately wed air before drawing itsst breath. "Damn monkey," Aito said, dropping the weapon. With the adrenaline from the fight dying down, the pain from his gaping wound progressively amplified, and the fact that he might die struck him like a truck. The past month had rtively been easy to survive, and he had never sustained any kind of life-threatening injury. Now, however, was different. Aito assumed it would just get worse with each passing day, and that demoralized him. Added to it was one month of loneliness that had gnawed at his sanity, breaking down his mental defenses that¡­ finally¡­ crumbled. He felt weak, powerless, useless. A primal feeling seized him: FEAR. Fear of failing the trial. Fear of never going back to Earth. And most of all, the fear of being unable to atone for his sin. Paralyzed, his vital fluid dripping down his wound, he found himself thinking back to when he was a small, feeble boy in his room. Back then he had had a nightmare. Cold sweat had poured down his back, and, like now, fear overwhelmed him. Somehow, his father had sensed it, or he had kept an eye on him. He couldn''t recall. But what he did remember, however, was that his father had given him a hug filled with warmth and parental love before saying those words: "Fear defines your limits, but don''t let it define yourself. Because courage stems from fear, and in itys the potential to ovee your limits." A child couldn''t understand the meaning behind those words, but who could me him? It was lengthy and frankly boring. It was muchter on, that Aito figured out it meant to ovee oneself, to go beyond one''s own limits. "Don''t let it define yourself." He muttered, his courage slightly rising with each word spoken, gluing back his still fragile sanity. "Thanks, dad." Aito opened his inventory, took out dried coconut fibers, wood, two flints, and started a fire. Heid his ax on it and waited until it glowed red. Then, he ced a piece of wood in his mouth, bit hard, and with a swift motion removed the dagger to cauterize the wound. "Pssssssshhhh!" The acrid smell of charred human meat entered his nostrils. His skin and flesh burnt, bubbled, smoked. Like a gue, pain spread to his body, intensifying with each passing micro-second that felt like hours to him. The piece of wood cracked, hardly holding out against Aito''s gritting teeth. Fighting off the urge to faint with pure will, his mind repeatedly blurred before awakening again to a world of pain. Aito dropped the ax and sat to rest. He had never felt this kind of pain before and would prefer to receive ten punches on the ring than go through this again. But he had a feeling that this kind of situation will repeat itself more than once. He had underestimated evol monkeys too much. More variables added to the equation with the passing weeks. First, they no longer appeared in a sh of light and at noon. So it was more difficult to prepare. Soon, they might attack at night. Second, evol monkeys now used weapons, which increased the potential harm they could cause him. They were still clumsy at using those, but he expected their proficiency to snowball. Third, those creatures drastically grew stronger and smarter with each passing week. Furthermore, now that he thought about it, there was a barely noticeable increase in their intelligence each day. He noted that some of them started to avoid traps. Probably because of the marks he had ced. Though risky, he made a mental note to erase themter on. There might be other unpredictable variables. For example, where did those thingse from? He had explored the entire ind and found no traces of evol monkeys. Another variable could be the increase of attacks'' frequency. Or another species of monkey could be added to the fray. Or some sort of monkey army could attack him. Or¡ª "What''s that?" He said, smirking. "Not such a bad day after all." *** "Kyaak!" The monkey tried to free himself from the bamboo cage. Confused, he looked around to assert the situation and quickly understood what was happening. It was that damn man-thing that had sent him flying with a kick! There it was, looking at him from the outside. The monkey hated it; he didn''t know why, but he hated it, nheless. It was sitting crossed leg, gazing at him. Was it mocking him? Stupid man-thing. The monkey felt an urge to kill it. Yes, killing it would ease the hatred. "Kyaak!" He redoubled his effort to break down the cage, but it was too sturdy. However, he could see his attacks slightly weakened his prison. Given time, he could break out and kill the man-thing that humiliated him. Yes, yes, it was a good¡­ he heard his stomach rumble and so did the man-thing. Wait¡­ It was giggling! That fatty moving piece of meat was ridiculing him! How dared it! Then, something rmed the monkey. IT took out a piece of meat from thin air. What was that trick? He needed to learn it so that he could brag about it with hisrades. Then the man-thing started a fire. What kind of power was that? It could use stones to ignite wood? What if it used those stones on him? He dared not imagine the result. It then impaled the meat on a stick and hung it on top of the fire. NOOO! It was ruining the meat! The juicy, chewy, gummy, tasty, vourful meat! He will never forgive it for this sacrilege. Never! *** Aito skewered the monkey meat and cooked it on the fire. Monkeys were supposed to be herbivores, but he wondered if that creature would eat its own species. After all, it clearly didn''te from Earth. "So, what should I call you? I can''t keep calling you monkey, now, can''t I? How about¡­" Aito said, smiling. "Jack. Let''s go with that." Jack disapprovingly looked away. It stared at a tree, seemingly angry for some reason. "What''s the deal with you? Jack''s the name of my best friend. You should be honored. Hey! If you continue to ignore me, I won''t feed you." Jack was the monkey he had sent flying in his previous fight. He had found it unconscious and imprisoned it since it could prove useful to study Jack''s behavior. Which made him think about a certain guy¡­ "What was that Chinese guy''s quote again? Do you know it, Jack?" He said, while entirely aware of the futility of it. But for the first time in a month, he could finally talk to "a living being". So, right now, he didn''t care about how stupid that might look like to others. Not that there was anybody else on that ind. "I think it was something like ''know yourself, know your enemy and you will be victorious in a thousand battles.'' Hum¡­ it doesn''t sound right, but you got the meaning behind it." He said before something else drew his attention. The meat''s fat was dripping on the fire, evaporating as soon as it touched a me, its savory aroma spread in the air, tingling at Aito''s nostrils. He turned his gaze towards Jack that was still staring at the tree and smirked when he saw dribble pouring down its chin. He then cut a piece of meat, fixed it on a stick, and slowly brought it within Jack''s reach. After a few seconds, the monkey finally couldn''t hold it in anymore and snatched the meat. *** ''What a divine taste!'' The monkey was chewing on the meat, his eyes sparkling with delight and wonder. Each bite magnified the taste twofold, or so he thought. He had never eaten anything like that before. Or had he ever eaten anything? He had memories of eating, but it felt¡­ wrong¡­ false. Whatever, it didn''t matter. Right now, he wanted another piece of divine food. However, his pride forbade him from asking for more meat to that man-thing. The man-thing was smiling. It then cut down another piece of meat, and likest time, presented it to him. Was it thinking of corrupting him? Make him itsrade? Never! He will never betray his own. Although he had to admit that the food it provided was delicious.. Maybe if it became his personal chef, the monkey will acknowledge it as his subordinate, or so he thought while swallowing the divine food. Chapter 5 - Jack (part 2) After his meal, tired and wounded, Aito avoided physical tasks. His wound had been cauterized, but any sudden movement could reopen it. So it was best to rest for now, instead of going walking around preparing traps and whatever nonsense he judged important to do. Aitoid on his sunbed next to his cave entrance, something he had crafted using bamboo. He thought that if he had to stay on that ind for three months, he might as well make itfy. After all,fort yed a huge part in his survival by decreasing the risk of a mental breakdown. There, under the shadow of a tree, Aito wondered, in between groans, how he could better prepare and realized that he didn''t fully take some variables into ount. First, his armor. In the previous fight, the monkeys had changed their target from wrists and shoulders to literally anywhere else on his body. Meaning he should craft body armor. The sooner, the better. Second, the inventory. Until now, he had taken it for a useful and all purposes infinite storage system. But he never experimented with the limits of it. Could it really store an infinite amount of items? Furthermore, the inventory could be a great support item during battles. With it, Aito could instantly summon any kind of item. And he was certain that monkeys would never be able to copy that. At least he hoped so. Third, armor might not be enough to protect him. Dodges were efficient, but if he was ganged up upon like in the previous fight unless he was as nimble as a cat, the only thing waiting for him was a cauterized wound or, worse, death. Aito struggled with this thought. How could he protect himself on top of wearing armor and stay mobile enough to attack? He wrestled with the problem while staring at a tree when¡­ "Hum¡­ that could work." *** During the meal, the man-thing had kept voicing out unknown noises to him. The monkey had been curious about the seemingly incessant stream ofplex sounds. Did it mean anything? Why couldn''t it stick to one sound like he did? It truly was a stupid moving meat thing. And the monkey hated stupid moving meat things. However, he did pick up a sound the man-thing kept repeating while staring at him, "Jack". What was that? Was it supposed to be him? Judging by how it reacted, that must have been the case. Jack¡­ he liked how that sounded. It was simple, neat and, most of all resembled "Kyaak". Yes, he decided to tolerate that sound and started to refer to himself as Jack. For once, Jack found that the man-thing wasn''t as stupid as it appeared since it could make up such a cool sound. Well¡­ it could also make divine food! Maybe it was a BIT smart. But not as smart as Jack! Because soon, he will be free and he was certain the man-thing wouldn''t see thating. *** The next day. [Congrattions! Your wounds have been partially healed due to sleep difficulty!] "Don''t congratte me for sleep difficulty!" Aito said, his dark-ringed eyes betraying hisck of sleep. Last night had been¡ªliterally¡ªone hell of a night. Pained by his wound, the Sandman couldn''t visit him on his bamboo bed. He could barely catch three or four hours of sleep before he woke up grumpily. At least it was still dark, which meant the monkeys shouldn''t attack him for now. He slowly got out of bed, ate a piece of dried meat for breakfast, walked out of his cave, and went to see Jack. Aito found the cage broken. It appeared that Jack had cut down the ropes tying the bamboo bars together and¡­ well¡­ fled. Aito quickly drew his iron ax and surveyed his surroundings. Surprisingly, he quickly found the object of his worries sleeping on a tree branch. He summoned a stone ax from his inventory and aimed, intending to shoot the monkey down. But¡­ dropped the weapon at thest second. Somehow, it felt wrong. Jack could have attacked him in his sleepst night, but it didn''t. He felt like he owed him at least a good night''s sleep. A thought bludgeoned, ''Maybe there is a way to coexist with that creature.'' It was probably the stupidest idea he ever had sinceing to this ind. Evol monkeys were his enemies. They had attacked him every day without rest. wing, biting, stabbing. He had had it all. But he did not hate them. They were the only living beings he had interacted with and, as na?ve as it sounded, Aito felt grateful for that. Another experiment of his came to mind. What if he could tame it? It wasn''t the original purpose, but it got him curious. After all, Jack''s aggressive behavior had lessened after the meal, and that gave him hope. Of course, he would still look out for an eventual attack from Jack. Having decided, Aito settled a piece of meat on the broken cage before striding away, a clear goal in mind. *** A few momentster, he had finally found what he was looking for, a tropical tree that bared his name. In the Polynesiannguage, "aito" had several meanings, including the name of this tree which tranted to "the iron tree". There were rumors that even a chainsaw could break before cutting it down. He delicately ced his hand on the brown bark, his eyes contemting the tree of his childhood memories. Aito remembered climbing the long branches of an iron tree, much like this one, to hide in its long stick-like leaves. At that time, he had been ying "hide and seek" with his family. His little sister, Haley, was hiding beneath him, behind the tree. He had thrown leaves at her, who responded with a scream, giving out her location. Shortly after, his father, Tevari, caught Haley, who pouted while mumbling, "it''s unfair." Tevari had quickly found him afterward because of his mischievousugh. Then came the delicious meal that his mother, Olivia, had prepared. Aito smiled tenderly at the fond memory. It felt¡­ so¡­ warm. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have a¡­ "Family¡­" He muttered, still unaware of the tears running down his cheeks. "Why¡­ did I have to ruin everything?" If only he had restrained himself. If only he had quit alcohol sooner. If only he had learned to control his rage sooner. If only... His insides boiled up with fury. Tears poured out, clogging his vision. Aito''s body trembled as he drew his ax, eager to unleash the raging storm building up inside it. ¡ªGift: Mindless Fury¡ª "WAAAAAH!" Pieces of barks flew by his face as he mindlessly butchered the tree. The ax de viciously bit into the wood, each consecutive strike decimating the iron tree''s remaining life span. However, to Aito, what he was bringing down wasn''t the tree. BAM! It was the suffering. BAM! The pain. BAM! The sorrow. BAM! And, the regret. BOOM! The earth shattered under the iron tree''s weight. Pebbles flew away, closely followed by clouds of dust. A storm still raged inside Aito''s body, but with nothing else to bring down, it brought him to his knees. He wed the earth, searching within it the salvation he so desperately needed but was denied. "I''m sorry, mom, Haley." He wailed, teardrops wetting the ground. "I''m so sorry¡­ dad." *** "WAAAAAH!" Jack jolted awake by the sound of what appeared like a cornered beast. His five senses rapidly sharpened, ready for any potential danger. What was happening? He jumped down, got on two feet, and turned his gaze towards the sound''s location. His nostrils, however, wondered in another direction. Jack walked to the cage, looked around to see if that wasn''t a trap, snatched the meat, and eagerly bit into it. What was that? It wasn''t bad but tasted different. A bit more chewy, salty, and¡­ dry? It wasn''t that bad that he would spit it out, but he''d rather eat divine food. Maybe the man-thing could give him more of it? Jack shook his head. No, today he would kill it. Yes, because¡­ because¡­ because he hated it. That''s it. The monkey headed towards the noise, thinking that he might find his personal che¡­ target there. On the way, he armed himself with a stone to use it against the man-thing. He nimbly jumped from tree to tree and quickly reached the man-thing''s location, but he didn''t find what he had expected. It was faced against the ground, crying andpletely defenseless. Jack''s eyes sparkled at the free kill. He sneaked his way to his target and soundlessly prepared to strike. But¡­ "I''m sorry¡­ I''m so sorry." Somehow, those sounds made him stop. Something tugged at his heartstrings. What¡­ was the meaning of those sounds? What power was that! Jack couldn''tprehend the situation, but he did know one thing, the man-thing was a pitiful moving piece of meat, and killing as it was now wouldn''t ease his hatred. It felt too easy. He needed a glorious victory! His pride didn''t allow him to step down to the level of backstabbing. Jack could kill it whenever he wanted, anyway. He was that strong! However, he decided to leave it alone for now and maybe eat one or two more divine food from the man-thing before killing it. Chapter 6 - Friend Or Foe? (part 1) Filona and Brutalina had been monitoring the Ryu siblings for a while now. They had to admit that only the word "extraordinary" could do justice to such promising red challengers. Only thest surviving ck challenger surpassed them in terms of potential, but that guy ended up going crazy because of the trial itself, resulting in his current whereabouts being unknown to this day. So the goddesses felt hope for Ogoro and She. What truly drew their attention at first was the difficulty. Red trials scaled to the challengers'' limits of what they could handle. For example, the goddesses had never seen a wave of two hundred zombies at the start of the second month for only two challengers. Even if those creatures were extremely slow and mindless, their sheer numbers made them a real threat. Those two were truly strong, but that was also the reason they couldn''t have handled the ck portal. Even gods would find it difficult after all because of the monkeys'' ability to equal or even surpass the challenger. Therefore, the stronger they were, the harder it was to survive that trial. Right now, the siblings were fighting off the second special zombie. A tall and thin creature that spitted acid. She saw iting from afar and shot three consecutive arrows at the monstrosity. "Ihaa! That''s my gal!" Brutalina said as her arms opened wide before being interrupted in their courses by a painful groan. "Hey! Look at where you spread your arms, you damn muscle-head! Also, don''t you see she''s using a bow? It''s like she was born to be one of my children. You can have the brother tho. I mean, look at that impressive swordsmanship, he fits you perfectly. And don''t you think you and him share something inmon?" Brutalina sent her sister a quizzical gaze. "What you mean?" "Well," she said, smirking. "From what I''ve seen so far, the sister is the brain. And that guy is a muscle head, almost following her every order, just like you do with Zalon. Aren''t you two alike? Hahaha!" "You bitch." Brutalina said, the bulging vein on her forehead clearly highlighting her current volcanic emotional state. "Hahahaha¡ª" sheughed, before being interrupted. "Ouch! Hey, stop pulling my beautiful hair! Stop, you crazy meathead!" Zalon sighed. Those two had not stopped their bickering since the start of the trials. Not that he could me them. The Four rarely had breaks from the War and monitoring the trials allowed them to loosen up for a bit. Of course, a part of their consciousness had to manage the War decisions, but their other part was monitoring the trials. Belmand was the sole exception. He had to split his consciousness in three because of another important task, thus leaving him extremely fatigued most of the time. ''I will leave them alone for now. They should make the most out of their break.'' He thought,pletely bored. In a way, he envied his two sisters. White and blue challengers weren''t that entertaining to watch, considering the same thing happens every time. Amongst the white challengers, a few people would emerge as group leaders and monopolize the resources. The same could be said for blue challengers, apart from the fact that they had to deal with monsters once a week. Well, there was an interesting event that happened in the white trial but nothing to write History with. A challenger, going by the name of Kai Tsubame, had monopolized a great majority of the city''s resources and now reigned over the whole trial area like he was a king. Zalon thought he had the potential to be a leader-type figure in Iris. His shrewdness coulde in handy when dealing with the world''s other races. Especially those the gods couldn''t extend their influence to. Then, a sound he hardly ever heard interrupted Zalon''s boredom. "Hehehe¡­" The two goddesses stopped bickering and stared at the source of the noise. "Hehehe¡­" An awakened Belmand was giggling amidst his sheets and cushion. Brutalina sent a mental message to her two other siblings, asking what was the god of slothughing for, but received no reply. If something interesting was happening to the point of keeping the ever-sleeping god awake, she wanted¡­ no; she needed to know. After all, she had been originally tasked to monitor the ck challenger. "Brother, what''s thatugh for?" "Hehehe¡­ are you curious now, sister? Promise me you won''t take the monitoring rights from me and I''ll let you have a look." Brutalina nodded, and Belmand gestured for her toe closer. The two other gods, even if uninvited, quickly moved next to him. Belmand clicked his tongue at the unwanted guests but coped with it. Aito appeared on the ethereal screen, bashing an evol monkey with the reward Belmand had granted him previously and twisting around to give a warm wee to his other furry enemy. Filona''s white eyebrows lifted to manifest her surprise. Zalon neatly readjusted his sses, a glint of interest shing by his deep blue eyes. Brutalina¡­ "Barf! What''s so special about him? He can fight, I''ll give you that. But the Ryu siblings are three times if not five times the fighter he is." The god of sloth sighted before zooming in on a little "side-detail" she had missed. Brutalina noticed nothing at first, but her expression quickly shifted from bored to curious, then interested, and finally captivated by the never-before-seen event. "What the fuck? Give me back the controls right now!" "Bed Zone." WOOSH An invisible barrier pushed the three other gods back, leaving Belmand the only one in the red zone. He lightly dusted off his pajama and cushion even if there were no specks of dust in the room. Outside the barrier, Brutalina was madly punching the invisible wall. "Open, you damn bastard! Open it, I said!" The barrier being soundproof, Belmand couldn''t hear Brutalina''s curses, nor did he care. He summoned a cup of brum tea,y down on his bed, and took a sip. The liquid unaffected by gravity seeped down his throat as he let out a satisfied "Ah", obviously taunting his sister. Then he returned to watch his current favorite reality trial show starring Aito Walker with a rekindled interest. However, he still thought that the main character would die during the third month. So he wanted to enjoy every little bits of the show until then. *** AROUND TWO HOURS BEFORE DAWN. Jack had watched the man-thing, lighted by the moonlight, wet the earth for one hour and couldn''t understand why would it water a dead tree with its eyes for so long. What was the point? Although he did feel weird inside by watching it beingpletely defenseless. At some point, the man-thing calmed down and started cutting the fallen tree into round parts and sorted them by size. Once done, it took one of the biggest pieces and crudely carved it into a rounded shape. Jack giggled, mocking the man-thing''s clearck of carving skill, but he gave it an honorable mention for trying. Around an hourter, the man-thing had finished its nonsense activity. The final result was¡­ trash-looking at best. It had dug a small hole in one side of the piece of wood, big enough for one of his hands to fit in, but not as deep as to create a gap. What picked Jack''s interest was the small untouched area just on top of the hole that resembled a bridge. He thought it was dumb. If you dug a hole, you should finish it properly. However, the man-thing looked satisfied, at least as satisfied as a sad man-thing could be. It held the crafted item in his left hand and did some¡­ ridiculous moves Jack didn''t know the purpose of. But then the man-thing''s facial expression changed from satisfaction to¡­ dissatisfaction when a thing exactly like the one it had in hand, albeit better looking, appeared in his right hand. What sorcery was that for even the man-thing to have such a reaction? *** BING! [Congrattion! You have crafted your first wooden shield! A reward will be granted!] [Scanning the target. Proper reward found. Will you receive the reward? Yes or No?] Aito''s still puffy eyes stared at the notification window before he pushed "yes." Suddenly, a wooden Viking spiral shield appeared in his right hand. He red at the neatly crafted item''s brown and ck color. A long leather strap linked both of the shield''s extremity, making it possible to wear it on one''s back. He looked at both shields,paring the craftmanship, and sighed, bringing his shameful creation into the inventory before tossing his reward on his back, wondering how that reward system worked. At first, he had thought it was each time he created something, but the passing weeks proved otherwise. Now he had another far-fetched theory: Filona was monitoring him and would give rewards each time she was satisfied with his performance, or simply to mess with him. That was the only exnation he could think of at the moment since he wasn''t in the mood to ponder on it. "Why did I even cut down that tree?" He muttered grumpily, striding away towards the beach. *** The sun shyly showed itself on the horizon. Its first rays of light pierced through the morning clouds, dispersing the night''s veil and progressively awakening the ind from its slumber for the start of a brand new day. On the beach, seated on a huge rock protruding out of the sand, Aito watched the sunrise. He had never awakened in time to catch a glimpse of it, but since today he had, Aito felt like seeing dawn wouldn''t be such a bad idea. Now he wondered why he hadn''t done it before, as gentles sea breezes ran past his long ck hair and the warm touch from the still sleepy rays of sunlight brought him some well-neededfort. There was something special about the sun rising. Something unique. No matter how many you''ve seen before, each and every one of them will never be the same. However, it will always remain beautiful. He felt somewhat better after that as if the sun had chased away his worries like it did the darkness of the night. Truth be told, it was nothing profound or mind-blowing like some deep revtions or enlightenment that had temporarily quelled his grief. In fact, it was just the beauty of it. As simple as it sounded, it was just that, "beauty.." And that, to Aito, was enough for now. Chapter 7 - Friend Or Foe? (part 2) Aito liked that spot by the beach, even though the rock he sat on wasn''t thefiest of seats. After thirty minutes, his butt was already sore. Despite that fact, he decided toe here every morning. Having finally calmed his mind, he stood up, took ast look at the sun, and headed home, pondering about his next move. ''I''ll start by crafting aplete armor set. Shoulders and wrists are already done. It leaves me with chest, hands, legs, and head. Let''s start with chest armor. Last time it cost me dearly to leave my ribs unprotected. Head armor should be next, though¡­ I don''t really know how I''ll d¡ª'' A jolting feeling rmed him. His five senses heightened to their limits as he drew two stone axes. Soon after, he turned towards a nearby bush, hurled one of his axes. A piercing cry followed suite. "Kyaak!" Three evol monkeys jumped out of the nearby bushes and trees to surround him. He promptly equipped his shield and hid behind it to block iing attacks. Likest time, the monkeys attacked him simultaneously. However, Aito came prepared. Spear tip, dagger, and ax rebounded, throwing off bnce the evol monkeys. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Aito opened his guard, stepped forward, and disposed of two enemies. Thest one turned around and ran away. Aito took aim, threw his weapon, and¡­ missed. Pissed, he ran after the monkey. They had never run away before, so he did not consider that a possibility. Fortunately, it fell head-on into one of his pitfalls and instantly died from bamboo spikes piercing multiple parts of its body. Seeing this, Aito clicked his tongue at the waste of crafting materials and meat. He sighed before leaving the body where it was. If not "harvested", the corpse would disappear by itself after a day, anyway. He recovered the other corpses and headed back home, now confident that his shield would ease his burden for some time. However, he found new improvements he could work on. *** Aito spent the rest of this day outside his cave, crafting his armor set. By sunset, he had crafted a chest armor, and a helmet. The chest armorposed of his lumberjack shirt on which he sewed multipleyers of monkey hide. It truly looked horrible, but he couldn''t allow himself to care about appearances. Aito executed a few tests on it with stone daggers and it surprisingly withstood the attacks. Now, he would no longer need to care about a gaping wound in his ribs. However, he would still feel the impact. The armor only prevented piercing damages, not blunt ones. As for his helmet, if the body armor was considered horrible, it was beyond that. Aito had taken a coconut shell as a mold and used it to give the helmet its shape while sewing the skin. At first, it had looked like a mop head but with several trials and failures, the best he could craft was a bag-like helmet. "How''s that, Jack?" He said, showing his helmet to a bamboo stand. "Yeah, I know. But at least it offers protection against the sun and sharp tips." Aito continued to debate with the bamboo stand about the uses of his new helmet, before angrily striding away, shouting, "You''re just jealous!" Angry, he left a piece of meat for monkey-Jack and went to sleep. *** Jackid on a tree branch, chewing on divine food. Today had been most instructive for him. He had learned by watching the man-thing quickly beat the shit out of hisrades that it wasn''t as weak as Jack thought. Maybe it was a bit stronger than Jack was. Just a really, really, really tiny bit. So he decided not to risk a frontal attack and stick to his previous n. To hell with honor. Sneaky attacks were the way to victory! But first, he needed practice, since the man-thing proved to be a worthy foe, and Jack had found the perfect target. It was as ugly, tall, and useless as the man-thing. But most of all, he hated it more than the man-thing itself! His insides boiled with rage just thinking about that thief! He had heard the man-thing addressed the green bastard as "Jack." How dared it steal his sound! It was his and no one else''s! If that supposed "Jack" thought Jack would let this go, it didn''t know who it was dealing with. Jack dropped from its perch, drew his stone dagger he had looted from the unfortunate "pitfall fellow", and prowled towards his prey. Under the cover of darkness, Jack crawled on all four to the cave walls, repeatedly halting as to avoid drawing attention. His target within reach, Jack sharpened his senses. He simply couldn''t pass by such an opportunity. Focused and ready, he unleashed his fury. *** Aito woke up before dawn with the usual morning notification. Still sleepy, he walked out of hisir and, as per usual, greeted the Jack bamboo stand. "Good morn¡ª" He said, his sleepiness rapidly shifting to surprise. The standid in ruins at Aito''s feet. "Jack" resembled swiss cheese. It was riddled with holes on all sides. There were so many of them that the bamboo was unsalvageable. "Fuck." It couldn''t have been him since he was asleep and as far as he knew evol monkeys didn''t appear at night. That only left¡­ "Jack." He pulled out his iron ax from the inventory and ran towards Jack''s broken cage. Once there, he looked at the tree next to it and sure enough, the monkeyfortablyid on it, sleeping. Aito smile devilishly, well decided on avenging his fallen bamboo friend. He lifted his ax and took a wide swing. BAM! The tree shook under his inhuman strength as if it knew its life hade to an end. Jack jumped to its feet and turned towards Aito, its sleepy face still looking for an exnation of the current situation. BAM! "Why did you kill him? He has never wronged you before!" BAM! "Why?!" BOOM! The tree fell prey to his ax, hitting the ground with an incredulous-looking Jack still on its perch. The shock reached its brain, and it drew its dagger. "What? Wanna have a taste of my iron?" Aito said, equipping his shield. "Come,e!" Jack bared his teeth but didn''t attack. Aito wasn''t willing to bring things further than this either. Deep inside, he knew it wasn''t right to kill a living being over an inanimate object. But he had gotten ustomed to the bamboo stands, particrly the one at his cave entrance. The situation degraded to a standstill, with both of them staring daggers at each other amidst the rustling wind of the forest until the first rays of dawn showed up. "Tshh, no meat for you this morning." Aito clicked his tongue and turned to see the sun already shining on the horizon. "Shit, I missed the sunrise because of you." He stared at Jack for a while longer and, certain the creature wouldn''t backstab him, left, realizing he had just bickered with a monkey over a wrecked bamboo stand. *** Jack eyed the leaving man-thing viciously. He had thought it would never dare attack him first. It turned out he had been wrong. He wasn''t ready to face him yet. Last night, it took him too long to bring the impersonator down on its knees. It left him unsatisfied. He wanted to be faster and sneakier. He was convinced that a way to kill it in one strike existed. But what was it? If he discovered it, even the man-thing wouldn''t survive such a technique. Jack steeled his resolve and headed for his next target to sharpen his skill set. *** 3rd day of the week. Aito finally finished his armor set. He expectantly waited for a reward notification but was greatly disappointed and was now certain it only appeared on Filona''s whim. As usual, evol monkeys still attacked him once per day. However, with his new equipment, he could now repel them with ease. 4th day of the week. Aito trained his marksmanship by using a round wooden board from the iron tree he had cut down previously. Ax, dagger, and spear throw. Standing ten meters from the target, he used every weapon he had at his disposal. Surprisingly, with his new strength, it dealt devastating damage¡ªwhen Aito didn''t miss, that is. Even with no previous experience in javelin throw, he could throw a spear at a hundred-fifty meter away, the current world record being 98 meters. If he could improve his technique, Aito was certain to reach even further than that. Empowered by the idea of dealing with his enemies from a safe distance, he decided to train on a daily basis. 5th day of the week. Next on his training list came the shield. With no practice partner, he used a moving log tied to a tree branch like a pendulum with a rope. He would then push the log to give it momentum and block its course by using his poorly crafted creation to avoid damaging his Viking shield. That method was rough and unrefined, but no one could teach him about shield blocking on that forsaken ind. After one session, Aito could feel his sore muscles pleading for him to stop. Convinced by that result, he incorporated it into his daily routine, although it didn''t really prove anything. 6th day of the week. Aito found more wrecked bamboo stands than usual. Even if he had been repairing them each day, the "casualties" kept stacking up. Apparently, Jack had increased its efficiency in dealing with those. At first, it had angered him to the point that he hid the bamboo stands. Amidst bushes, in a tree, at the mountaintop, even underwater. Nothing worked. The monkey would eventually shred the hidden imaginary friends into fertilizers. After six days, Aito finally gave up on the idea of teaching Jack a lesson and simply stopped wasting his precious bamboo resources on repairing stands. And, still unaware of it, his delusion about an imaginary friend slowly faded away. Last day of the week. "Kyaak!" On the beach, a wounded evol monkey was running away from a furious Aito. "Come back, you coward!" Before the monkey got out of range he brought out a spear, took aim, and flung it toward his target to miss miserably. "Shit." The monkey escaped into the forest. Aito was unwilling to blindly chase it in there. His myriad of traps proved useful to deal with his enemies, but now that he had taken off the markers, even he had to watch out for them. Now he could only hope for the monkey to fall for one of his traps, or find it before it recovered. *** Perched on a tree branch, Jackughed his ass off at the man-thing''sck of intelligence. If it had been him, he would have chased after that monkey and swiftly dispatch him. Too bad he was one of Jack''srades, and Jack wouldn''t betray his own. Having learned what he could from that fight, he jumped away from tree to tree as to avoid the man-thing''s devilish machinations. Jack had seen days ago what they might do to him when one of hisrades fell prey to one of those. But unlike a certain dumb-moving piece of meat, Jack was smart so he could avoid them. A few minutester, he finally arrived at his resting ce, the cradle of his power and symbol of his absolute wit, The Broken Cage. From the day he had escaped, he felt an immense pride towering over one of his numerous victories against the man-things supernatural creation. He also couldn''t simply let go of such a ce. A ce where he had gained the mightiest and coolest sound ever, "Jack." However, right now, something was desecrating The Broken Cage. His woundedrade had found refuge in it and tainted the bamboo bars with blood. Sacrilege! On top of that, he was chewing on a divine food Jack had stored forter. Jack felt the happiest with a full stomach after dealing with an impersonator and no one ever dared to deny him this absolute pleasure. Not even the man-thing. Because the penalty for it was DEATH. On all four, Jack soundlessly dropped from his hiding ce and, dagger in hand prowled towards the wounded monkey who was enjoying what he should never have touched. Under the cover of bushes, the fallen tree, and tall grasses, Jack sneaked his way to hisrade¡­ no, to his prey. The poor bastard had no idea what came for him and happily swallowed the divine food. Even if Jack felt a wave of incredible anger build up inside him at the sight of it, he still maintained his countenance. Finally withing reach, his leg muscles tightened like a spring and with agility exceeding that of the man-thing, leaped to his target''s throat. "Kyaaak!" Blood poured out like a fountain from the monkey''s throat. But Jack was far from done. He frically stabbed him, leaving him with no chance of retaliation. Satisfied and covered in blood, Jack stopped to admire his glorious victory. However¡­ "Kyaaak!" An unbearable pain seized him as his memories distorted. Food, drinks, fights,ughter. Gone. His sense of camaraderie for his kin and hatred for the man-thing. All gone. Everything prior to his apparition on the ind vanished like it never existed. He didn''t feel like killing the man-thing anymore. Having lost his purpose, he stood daze and watched the life leaving what used to be one of hisrades. No, IT never was one of them. To begin with, Jack never hadrades. Everything he knew until this point was wrong. False. Incorrect. An utter lie. He suddenly felt angry and betrayed. Then, he remembered one single thing from his past. A voice in the void ordering him to kill the man-thing. Who was it? Who did this to him? Whoever it was, he will never forgive it. What he hated the most, after sacrileges, was being ordered around. And if that thing''s desire was to kill the man-thing, then¡­ Then Jack will deny its wish. Chapter 8 - Friend Or Foe? (part 3) The ind''s warm tropical air temperature slightly dropped as its sun slowly sunk into the ocean, falling asleep to await a new dawn. Itsst light passed by Aito''s face, who was standing outside his cave''s fortification, a torch made of a single piece of wood in one hand and his weapon in the other. He had been on his guard since the monkey escaped. Training and crafting had been put on hold because it could leave an opening for his enemy to exploit. But he considered it a real waste of time. The monkey had not appeared at all. Aito had been looking for it the whole day, to no avail. "Fuck¡­ I can''t sleep until that thing is found." He said his anger about to blow up. He then remembered that he had forgotten to feed a certain wrecker of bamboo stands and headed for Jack''s dwelling, still on the lookout for an eventual surprise attack. However, he did not expect to find what had troubled him until now, dead in a pool of its own coagted blood, riddled with holes. Aito brought his torch closer to examine the wounds. "It looks like a stabbing wound, but the flesh is shredded. The weapon wasn''t sharp enough to leave clean cuts." He said, piecing the clues together with a knowledge he had acquired after one month of bloodshed. Apart from him, only one other living being had a weapon on this ind. A weapon that could have made those kinds of wounds. But that was impossible. Jack never attacked other evol monkeys before. Aito had seen it observe him while he was fighting other groups of evol monkeys and Jack had always stayed on the sideline like a referee on a football field. Blue particles rising for the corpse took him out of his reverie. Since the grey space, he had been more aware of his surroundings while pondering, because of what it had cost him; a certain not so enjoyable holiday on a godforsaken ind. The corpse progressively disintegrated, morphing into small blue bubbles randomly spreading in the air. Aito had never observed this phenomenon before, or rather, never thought of observing a dead body until it disappeared. Curious, he tried to poke one bubble with his ax, but it passed through as if it did not exist in the material world. "What¡­ is this?" He said, his inquisitive face lit by the particles'' warm blue lights that basked the surrounding trees of its weird, yet unique hue. Aito stared at the phenomenon, at a loss to what to think of it, and simply appreciated its sight. Then the lights scattered to enter the earth, trees, bushes, and rocks, ending the show. Aito stood still, his torch asionally dimming with the passing cool winds of the night. For the first time since his arrival, he couldn''t find an exnation to¡­ well, something. It seemed so weird, so magical, so¡­ out of this world. But again, he wasn''t even on Earth, nor on that other world supposedly called Iris. He wasn''t even sure if he had been truly resurrected. Tired after going around all day to find a single monkey, Aito sighed, left a piece of meat for Jack, and headed back home. "At least I can sleep soundly now." *** Perched on a tree branch, Jack''s sleeping face frowned, sweat profusely erupting from his pores. His every muscle had ached all day long. The sore progressively increased to the point he couldn''t move any longer. Pain gnawed him to the bone, but despite that, he slept. As if forced into some kind of self-preservation system against the unbearable pain. Taking advantage of their host''s currentatose state, the body''s every cell moved at incredible speed. Building new muscles, bones, and nervous systems. Discarding the old and useless cells to improve the body''s overall performance. Slowly but surely, Jack''s body was ongoing evolution. *** Blood covering the floor. "LeT ## #### ##." Bruises on his face. "YoUr ###." Bottle of alcohol in hand. "YoUr #########." Broken skull. "I ### ##### ### ### ########## ### ####." *** Aito jolted awake, gasping for breath, and drenched in sweat. Panicked, he drew his weapon. "Who''s there!?" He searched in front of him. Darkness. "Show yourself!" Behind him. Darkness. "I said, show yourself!" Right and left. Darkness. Feeling insecure, he stood up from his bamboo bed, opened the inventory, and the basic materials to build a fire. "Hurry." He quickly organized the dry sticks in a pyramidal way. "Hurry." ced coconut fibers inside the pyramid. "Hurry." Grabbed his flints and lit the fibers. ''Quickly, quickly.'' He thought, blowing on the ambers. The heat spread to the fibers then sticks. Surrounding darkness progressively dispersed by the fire''s orange light that suddenly turned cial blue. Aito tried to move, but his body refused to obey. His breath became visible to the naked eye as the air turned cold. Paralyzed, he could only gather his courage when a freezing hand grabbed him by the shoulder. "CoMe tO mE, AiTo WaLkEr." *** Aito was shocked awake and, this time immediately rushed out of his cave. The outside was still dark as he passed the fortifications. He kept running until he reached the beach. Only then did he dare to slow down. "What¡­ what¡­" He said, panting. "What the¡­ fuck was that!?" Out of breath, he walked towards his rock protruding out of the sand, sat on it, and attempted to regain his calm while still on the lookout for a potential supernatural phenomenon. His mind was in shamble. That, whatever it was, could be just a dream. A very bad dream. The thing in there had yed with images of his past. It could have been a manifestation of his regrets, but¡­ that blue fire. The freezing hand. The chilly air. And that venomous, deformed, rock voice. "It felt so real. So fucking damn real." He couldn''t be sure of what he had seen. But one thing was certain, he was scared but also pissed. Every time he finished a preparation to counteract a new danger, another unpredictable event happens, leaving him no time for a break. It felt like the trial was spitting on his hard work, or p his face telling him that what he did was a just waste of time. That he should just let himself die and end the suffering. Inside him, anger overwhelmed the fear and soon proved to be impossible to contain. "Fucking ind!" He shouted, in need to vent out his frustration. "Fucking goddess! Fucking monkeys! Fucking¡­" He paused, realizing he didn''t know how to address the thing that had appeared in his dream. "Fuck you, whatever you are!" He said, his anger slightly subsiding. Then he thought about the thing''sst sentence. It wanted him toe to it, which meant that it had to be somewhere on that ind. But he had visited every corner of it and never found anythi¡ª A realization washed over him like a bucket of cold water when he remembered two ces he hadn''t visited yet. One of them being his cave''s depth. *** Aito watched the dawn to calm his agitated spirit. It was clear to him now that if he wanted to survive the three months, he couldn''t take the risk to stay in the cave. Whatever that thing was, Aito dreaded it. If it was powerful enough to invade his dreams, he dared not imagine what it could do physically. But abandoning his cave would leave him with no shelter. He could still build a new one, but it will take some time. Time he could spend training. His predicament quickly cleared when he decided to make the shelter his priority. With nowhere to actually sleep and rest in with a minimum of fortification, he was certain to die sooner rather thanter. With a goal in mind, he stood up and headed back to the cave. There, he found an evol monkey standing on all four in front of the entrance as if it was waiting for him. It looked¡­ different from normal ones. It was shorter, with leaner toned and dynamic muscles that seemed to hide explosive strength. Its brown fur hid strands of ck hairs, indicating that it was slowly changing. Aito felt a sense of familiarity with the monkey. When his gaze shifted to the stone dagger it had in hand, something clicked like thest piece of a puzzle had been found. "Jack?" Aito said, drawing his ax in case of an eventual attack. "Is that you?" Before he could get an answer, stepping soundsing from three different directions alerted him. He equipped his shield, turned around to face the threat, while slowly retreating to the cave entrance. Five evol monkeys started to encircle him. Aito quickly noticed three differences. Obviously, they increased in number and size, but the most rming was the appearance of a monkey with bigger features. It was taller, more muscr, held an iron ax, and most importantly, it appeared to be their leader. ''Really?'' He thought when finally realizing it was the start of a new week. ''First a nightmare, then Jac¡ª'' Aito quickly nced back¡ªremembering that there was a potential enemy behind him¡ªto find nothing. The monkey was gone. A monkey shout brought his attention back to the front. "Wooo!" The leader stood on two legs, hit his muscr chest to show his status, beforeunching an assault. Aito picked a spear from his inventory, aimed at the leader, intending to bring it down as soon as possible for obvious reasons, and flung it with all his strength. The projectile violently pierced the air, causing whistles, and struck true. BAM! "Woah!" The leader screamed in pain from the wound on his left shoulder, then grabbed the spear and pulled it to take out the stone tip. But Aito wasn''t stupid enough to wait for it to recover and sent yet another spear. This time, however, it deviated from the intended trajectory to strike a monkey in the chest. BAM! The force of the impact sent it flying two meters backward. Aito clicked his tongue, taking a mental note to focus on spear throwing the next time he trains marksmanship. By the time he took out another spear, he felt a draft to his right. He red sideways to see a spear lodged in the earth. ''Are you kidding me?'' Aito shifted his attention towards the leader and could swear the creature was smirking. He then threw a new projectile and didn''t wait to see the results to flee behind his defenses. Judging by theck of a screaming sound, it probably missed. More agile, the monkeys were quickly closing on him. Aito pulled out a stone ax from his inventory andunched it at the nearest one. BAM! The stone ax bit into its left shoulder shredded the bone and cut off its arm. The monkey fell from the pain, grabbing its gaping wound while shrieking. Aito finally reached the bamboo wall''s entrance, turned around, blockaded it with his shield just in time to deflect an ax strike. He quickly followed by a shield bash and a deadly diagonal sh. He kicked the beheaded corpse aside to free his vision, then turned towards the remaining monkey and gave him a warm wee ''Where is the big one?'' He thought, dislodging his ax from the monkey''s skull. He quickly found his answer right where he had been standing before the attack. The leader was lying in its own blood with a slit throat. On top of its corpse sat, bloodied stone dagger in hand, the small monkey from before. Puzzled, Aito carefully walked towards his mysterious helper. The monkey eyed him warily but showed no sign of aggression. He slowly ced his ax on the ground, opened his inventory, and he took out a piece of roasted meat. The monkey''s eyes shone like the brightest stars. It snatched the meat and happily chewed on the food. Aito smiled, recognizing the familiar voracious appetite. "So¡­ we are buddy now, Jack?" Jack paused, looked at him, and stuck out his tongue. Aito chuckled, brought out another piece of meat as a bonus reward, and tossed it to Jack. "Thanks for the help." Chapter 9 - Friend Or Foe (part 4) BOOM! Aito brought down his twentieth tree of the day. After cutting off the branches, he tied it with a long rope to pull the tree to his new shelter area, located midway in between the cave and the beach. Soaked in sweat, he settled the tree on the pile of woods he nned on using to build his spike walls just at the foot of his defensive ones. Three-meter walls built with thick woods surrounded in a semi-circle shape, his new dwelling by the riverside. He passed by the entrance and headed for the river. There, he sat and soaked his feet in freshwater. The temperature was perfectpared to the one next to his cave. Neither cold nor warm. Aito wouldn''t admit it, but it was one of the main reasons he had chosen this spot. The other one was to halve the time required to build his new shelter. He intended to cover his back with the riverside and his front with defensive walls. A mountain or cliff side could have done the trick, but he feared the monkey''s agility would allow them to climb rocky walls and bypass his defenses. Of course, the same applied to his defensive structures. However, he had stockpiled wood with the intention to counteract that by using spikes. Moreover, the riverside could be used as an escape path in case of absolute urgency. "Yeah, it''s not a bad ce to build." He said, watching Jack in the river who was swimming towards him. ''Hum? Ah, shit¡­ don''t tell me monkeys know how to swim. That''s a possibility, a certainty even since Jack can.'' Aito thought. ''But a safe ce on this ind doesn''t exist, anyway. I''ve got nothing to lose staying here. Also, swimming monkeys make perfect targets for spear throwing.'' A wet Jack waddled to him on his two feet and extended his hand, palm wide open. "Glutton," Aito said, tossing him a piece of roasted meat. These past three days had been more enjoyable than usual. Surprisingly, Jack had stuck to him, even helped him build. The monkey proved to be smarter than Aito thought. It rapidly learned to use tools like an ax to cut down a tree. Although it took Jack a while because of his small size and strength, the monkey still managed to perform the task. When it wasn''t helping, it found high ground and scouted the surroundings for potential attacks. Once spotted, he would signal iing enemies with a "Kyaak." It made Aito''s life easier since he didn''t have to be on guard as much as he used to. Aito had been wary of the monkey at first but came to realize that Jack wanted to help him for some unknown reason. That much was clear to him. He was certain, however, that Jack didn''t consider him a friend or an enemy, more like a neutral party. When Aito had tried to touch Jack, the monkey showed his dagger in response, clearly implying for him to stay back. Since then, Aito avoided any kind of physical contact with his new partner. "Kyaak!" Jack "said," standing on two legs as it gazed at the camp''s entrance. It dropped the piece of meat, ran for the walls, used its agile limbs to climb on top, and scanned the area. Alerted, Aito made for the entrance in a record time. Barricading the gap with his shield, he peered into the distance. Five monkeys appeared out of the woods, but no signs of a leader-type. Those big apes'' appearances seemed asional. Aito didn''t meet any of those since the first encounter. He looked towards Jack''s previous location, only to see that it had disappeared, then turned back his attention to the furious-looking monkeys rushing in his direction. He moved back his right leg to gain stability, brought out a spear, and unleashed a powerful throw. The stone tip tore through a monkey''s ribcage, exited its back, and impaled the poor bastard to the ground. Aito smiled at his lucky shot and threw two more spears that missed, before grabbing the new iron ax he had picked from the previous leader''s corpse. BAM! He blocked a spear strike, opened his guard, cut the spear in half, and sent the monkey flying with a front kick. It ended its course on a nearby tree, its skull fractured by the powerful shock. From a nearby tree, Jack observed the battle undetected. Since the enemies have turned their back to him, he stealthily jumped to a tree on top of the nearest enemy, then let himself fall onto his prey. BAM! "Kyaak!" A cracking sound came from the monkey''s broken spine as it was forced down by the impact. rmed, the two other monkeys turned around to confront the new threat. Grave mistake. BAM! Aito''s ax lodged into the furthest monkey''s back. In the same motion, he grabbed the remaining enemy''s throat and squeezed. CRACK! He threw the corpse aside as if it was trash and scanned the area in case of a new attack, but nothing came. "Good job, Jack." He said, giving the creature a thumbs up. "Let''s get back to work before something unpredictable happens again." Because an itch tingling his spine told him something really bad would happen at the start of the next month, and he feared his preparations wouldn''t be enough to stop it. *** 2nd week of the second month. Aito finally finished his fortification. Defensive wooden spikes now surrounded his camp to prevent monkeys from climbing the walls. To Jack''s discontent, he also added bamboo spikes directed outwards on top of the walls. He also started to set up pitfalls in the surrounding areas and moved his training ground next to his camp. One night, tired from a whole day of training, he fell fast asleep to have yet another nightmare. He still couldn''t see the creature haunting his dreams, but it felt closer, more vivid. However, something else took away his fear of the supernatural thing. One leader-type monkey had appeared, apanied by five other monkeys. But this time it had been smaller and equipped with an iron dagger. It proved to be a worthy foe due to its agility, but Jack took it by surprise and slit its throat. Turns out, Jack was interested in the weapon and Aito had no choice but to give it to his partner. The small monkey also began tomunicate using hand signs Aito regrly showed him. Pointing, waving, even the thumbs up. 3rd week of the second month. Evol monkey''s appearance frequency per day went up by one. Their numbers grew to eight but were still manageable with Jack and the pitfalls. However, Aito now hesitated to walk out of his camp before taking out the two groups of evol monkeys. Without the fortifications and traps, he wasn''t certain toe out unscathed from an encounter. To top it off, the creature once more haunted his dream, digging up painful memories. Memories he hadn''te to ept yet and couldn''t allow arising before leaving the trial. 4th week of the second month Aito built a wooden tform, behind the walls, from which he could peer into the distance and throw spears. Evol monkey now numbered nine per attack, and a leader-type showed up at least once per day. Under its leadership, the monkeys moved more strategically and even attacked the defenses now if necessary. The stress, training, fighting, and tension from not knowing when the monkeys will attack next left him exhausted at the end of each day. However, the nightmares wouldn''t let him rest. *** Blood covering the floor. "LeT me hAvE ##." Bruises on his face. "YoUr sIn." Bottle of alcohol in hand. "YoUr suf######." Broken skull. "I ### ##### yOu ### ########## ### sEeK." "CoMe tO mE." *** Last day of the month. Jack was resting next to the firece on his small bamboo bed he had learned to craft thanks to the man-thing. In fact, he had learned a lot of things. Cutting trees, setting traps, nting woods into the earth to form tall fences! He could evenmunicate without using sounds now! And most of all, he was proud of his newest find, another shiny pointy thing he had taken from an ugly tall monkey yesterday. Currently, he had two of those and could throw away the trash looking pointy-thing he had kept until now. Now that he thought about it, the man-thing referred to it as "iron dagger." What a glorious sound! Iron dagger! He liked it. Despite the obvious benefits it brought to ally himself with the man-thing, Jack never knew that his exrades could be so fearless and strong. Each day proved to be a challenge, but also an opportunity to sharpen his skills. Apart from that, he didn''t dislike being around the man-thing. If he remembered right, it said its personal sound was "Aito." Aito was what Jack could refer to now as hisrade, yet refused for the simple reasons of their apparent physical difference. It was a fat-moving piece of meat and he was a smart, handsome, perfect sized and powerful creature. Jack deemed hisrade should at the very least share his physical traits. Moreover, there was something weird about Aito. It would scare Jack awake sometimes during bedtime, screaming and in pain, although it had no wounds. Weird. So from time to time, like today, Jack would wake up in the night to avoid being surprised by the screaming man-thing. Jack eyed the man-thing on his big bamboo bed warily, ready for its iing sound attack, and sure enough¡­ "AAAAAAH!" Jack covered his ears until Aito calmed down. The man-thing was wrapped in sweat yet again. Dark circles under his fatigued eyes testified to hisck of sleep during those past few days. "Fuck!" That sound again. The man-thing sure liked it. Jack found it ugly though, he preferred the sound "Filona" Aito voiced from time to time while looking at the ugly-looking thing made of ugly material covering its ugly head. Aito sat down on his bed, out of breath, and stared at the fire. The man-thing then voiced sounds. "This ind is driving me crazy, Jack. During the daytime, I get to fend off monkeys who keep getting stronger every god damn week. And as if it wasn''t enough, now I have to deal with a fucking nightmare creature that will soone to me every night!" It said, eyeing Jack with a crazed re. "I don''t know if I''ll survive the third month. I don''t even know if I''ll survive tomorrow or even the next hour." Jack sent a quizzical gaze to the man-thing. It looked truly pitiful, almost as pitiful as the day he found it on its knees. "And you know what troubles me the most about the nightmare?" Aito asked, his gaze now empty. "It''s not even the creature, it''s what I see in it. The things I''ve done. The people I''ve wronged. I got to see the scenes all over again. Scenes that are as clear as day, barely different from reality if not at all. But¡­" Jack felt ufortable. What was the man-thing saying? Too manyplicated sounds. It had never opened its mouth as much as today. Even if Jack was smart and started to understand some of those words, there were too many unknown to him. However, he understood that Aito was in pain and wondered where the wound was. ording to what he could see, it certainly was not on his body. Maybe inside? "Those images be fainter with the passing days," Aito said, clutching his stomach. "And the creature clearer. The thing haunting me is asking for my sin and I can feel¡­ feel my pain being absorbed by it as if it was feeding on it. The more it takes the better I feel and the blurrier the images." Jack saw Aito was grabbing its stomach. Was it hungry? Why doesn''t it cook divine food then? "But you know what? It doesn''t even bother me. I want it to take my pain away, despite the fact that it feels wrong. Despite the fact that¡­ I may forget about those who sheltered me from Life''s hardships¡­ those who cared for me when I had nightmares¡­ those¡­ I love¡­ those¡­ who hate me now." Stupid man-thing. If it was hungry to the point of having water falling from its eyes, it should eat. Jack reached under his bed, looking for the divine food he was saving for ate-night snack. Then he remembered burying it to keep it fresh. "I''m tired¡­ Jack. So¡­ tired." He dug it out and gathered all the mental strength he could muster before forcing himself to give his divine food to the man-thing. *** Aito stared at the monkey''s trembling hands with his teary eyes, then at what they held; a dirty piece of roasted meat. Jack, eyes closed, looked sideways with gritted teeth. Both living beings paused, an awkward silence filled the night air before Aito burst outughing¡ªthe odd situation chasing away a part of his sorrow. "Puahahaha!" Jack frowned. "Hahaha! Are¡­ you¡­ trying tofor¡ª" BAM! Aito didn''t have the time to finish his sentence that he received the piece of dirty meat right in the face. But even then, he stillughed. Seemingly annoyed, Jack held two middle fingers in Aito''s direction. "Hey! Where did you learn that?" He said, before remembering the time he had snatched an iron dagger from Jack. "Ah¡­ right." Aito then took the piece of meat. It looked horrible and past its edible phase, but¡­ "Ish not that wad. De tirt adds a cruispy tdaste. Ptoue?! But pebbles are a no-go." He said, spitting out a small rock. Jack gave him a thumbs up. Weirdly enough itforted him in a way.. The idea that the monkey could understand him felt refreshing. Chapter 10 - Skippable Bonus Content WARNING: UNUSUALLY LONG CHAPTER (4K Words) ___________________________________________________ AROUND TWO MONTHS AGO. "Fuck!" Ogoro said, rushing down the stairs of a building. "Shut up and run!" She answered. "I''m already running!" Zombies were chasing them, albeit slowly, but they didn''t notice it because of the confusion upon their arrival. They rapidly found the emergency exit leading to the outside, opened it, closed it, and barred it with whatever they could find. "What were those things?" Ogoro asked. She ignored him and scanned the area for a potential threat. The exit had led them to a back alley, in between two buildings, filled with trashes, some of them currently barring the door. She trotted down the end of the alley and found what appeared to be a major street. The problem was¡­ "Are those¡­ zombies?" Ogoro asked, before being blinded by notifications. BING! [ess to status window granted] [Ogoro Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Male Age: 30 Height: 200cm Weight: 95kg Emotional state: Anxious ss: Lv0 (Undecided) Titles: Red Challenger [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch) - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level) - Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level) - Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level) 2. Skills: None [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv2 - Agility: Lv1 - Mana: Lv1 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [She Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Female Age: 26 Height: 170cm Weight: 55kg Emotional state: Overjoyed ss: Lv0 (Undecided) Titles: Red Challenger [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Acute first sense (Enhanced sight) - Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level) - Thrill of the hunt (Slightly increases reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration) 2. Skills: None [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv1 - Body: Lv1 - Stamina: Lv1 - Agility: Lv2 - Mana: Lv1 - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª She rapidly read through the status window. Or at least she tried. Her enhanced sight zoomed in on each letter and gave her a headache. Then she closed her eyes and leaned against a nearby wall, wanting for the pain to disappear. Upon opening her eyes, her vision had returned to normal. Her gaze shifted to the right to see her brother as stiff as a frozen street light. She giggled beautifully, despite the somewhat macabre environment. It was already a miracle that the zombies hadn''t spotted them already. "Just wish it away." She said. Ogoro did as she said, and the difort left. "Urg, thanks. I felt like thousands of ants were crawling on my skin." She didn''t reply and looked aside at the zombies. Ogoro didn''t take offense. He already knew his sister was a silent one which could sometimes be mistaken for being a tsundere. Since his family adopted her, or just as far as he could recall, she never talked much and stuck to one brief sentence every time. Rarely two sentences. However, she would be willing to speak more if it involved work. "Now what?" Ogoro said, and quickly got the answer he was looking for. BING! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Tutorial quest received: Zombind!] Quest: Survive two months in a modern city filled with zombies. Enemies: Zombies (Mindless monsters who move very slowly. They are sensitive to sound but have poor vision. Beware, after one month, special zombies will appear.) Difficulty: Hard Rewards: - ess to the 2nd trial - Glorious points ording to your performance - Tutorial points ording to your performance ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "What the¡ª" BING! [ess to inventory granted] Inventory: Empty "Inventory? Hey She, you got that notification too? This is so¡ª" Ogoro said, before his sister dragged him to the side. She ced her hand on his mouth and signaled for him to stay silent. Then She grabbed a piece of broken concrete on the ground, took aim, and broke the window of a distant car, which obviously triggered an rm. The few zombies roaming the street turned their heads toward the sound of it and doddered towards it. She waited for them to pass by and walked out of the alley to a nearby convenience store, signaling Ogoro to follow her. The bull of a man stood dazed for a minute before quickly catching up to her. Before entering the store, She stayed at the entrance and looked for potential danger. Nothing. Upon entering, she first headed behind the counter, thinking that if that city was originally popted by humans, they must have had human habits. Therefore... Ogoro perused the shelves, looking for something to eat, and came across chips in pristine condition. In fact, everything stored on the shelves was brand new, as if no apocalypse happened prior to today. Now that he thought about it, the cars, roads, and streets were clean. At least as clean as a city could get. He grabbed the chips bag, making slight noises in the process, but before he could open it, She''s head popped out from under the counter. She red at him. He red at her. She stared dagger at him. He stored back the chips and held his hands up as if to say, "Okay, I got it. No sound." She went back under the counter and, a few momentster finally found what she was looking for but didn''t expect. She settled five bolts and a simple-looking wooden crossbow on the counter, thinking, why would a shop owner choose that weapon to repel potential robbers. Meanwhile, Ogoro took a look at the book section to find books of all genres and magazines. He happened upon an adult magazine that he, feeling lucky, swiftly hid in his suit''s inner pocket. Then, before his sister eyed him, he grabbed a random document and pretended to read it. She walked up to him, crossbow in hand, and stood on her toes to look at what the giant was reading. Her eyes sparkled as she patted her brother on the shoulder to congratte him, then swiftly grabbed the item. Ogoro stood incredulous, before realizing She was reading a map. The map he had "found." She rapidly analyzed the map and found out their location. They were at the center of the city, close to the city hall and, luck had it, next to a police station. She showed it to her brother, who immediately understood her intention. Before leaving, still unaware of the uses of the inventory, they grabbed a backpack and stuffed it with canned food. Ogoro noticed the crossbow and another peculiarity. He then sent She a quizzical gaze, pointing out the bolts buried in between her breasts. She responded with a shrug which tranted to, "It''s more practical." *** The siblings stood in front of the police station''s three-meter-tall steel gates surrounded by thick concrete walls with barbed wire on top. The way to the station hadn''t been an easy one. Dozens of zombies had stood in their way, and they had to be patient to safely get past them. Fortunately, those zombies seemed to have poor eyesight. Ogoro took position by the gate, ready to give She a lift. His sister took three steps back and bolted towards him. Ogoro''s eyes almost popped out from their sockets when he saw the unusual speed at which she wasing at him. She instantly noticed the issue but didn''t stop. She stepped on his broad shoulders and jumped; the momentum bringing her higher than intended. She passed the gate and carried out an emergencynding. Upon touching the ground, her knees bent with perfect timing before she rolled, redirecting the brunt of the impact onto the earth. Roadside, Ogoro was silently apuding his sister, who once again ignored him. He then jumped, grabbed the top of the gate, and pulled himself up, surprised at how easy it was. He then let himself fall, his knees easily absorbing the shock. He stood dazed for a moment, surprised at his new strength, before heading to the front door, where She awaited him. Once inside, they stopped at the front desk, eyeing suspiciously the corridor leading to the staircase and offices. She loaded her crossbow, while Ogoro took out a can of red beans from the backpack and awaited her signal. She aimed and nodded. The can flew by her, hit a wall at the center of the corridor, creating a resounding sound amplified by the confined space. Then they waited for a response. 5 seconds. Ogoro rolled his shoulders, warming up his muscles. 10 seconds. She slowly breathed in and out, sharpening her senses. 15 seconds. BAM! Six zombies dressed in policeman uniforms bashed the offices'' doors open, heading towards the can''s point of impact. She pressed the trigger, propelling the bolt which spun, pierced through the air, and¡­ missed, hitting a doorknob. Five zombies headed for the knob, but the one She had targeted previously turned towards them. Ogoro stepped in front of She, who was pondering. The zombie doddered faster and uttered what sounded like a mix of wailing and crying. "Wyaaah!" The other zombies halted, turned around, and reeled their way, progressively speeding up. Ogoro''s high kick struck the nearest zombie, sending it crashing against the corridor''s wall. ''Hum, badly crafted,'' She thought, mentally reviewing her shot. ''Unbnced. A slight deviation to the right.'' Still "alive", the zombie tried to stand, but a ck leathered mocassin pressed its skull to rotten meat paste. She reloaded, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bolt brushed past Ogoro''s arm and ended its flight in the approaching zombie''s head. Unfazed by the bolt, as if it was amon urrence, Ogoro front-kicked the unlucky zombieing at him, shoving it against its peers. He smiled. "Here we are, back again. Killing stuff." "After the fight, Goro." She said, implying that they should clean the building before chatting. "Sure." *** Having cleaned up the three stories building, the siblings finally stood in front of the most interesting ce of a police station during a zombie apocalypse: the arms vault. She unlocked the steel-ted door with the ess card they had found in one of the offices and Ogoro pushed it to reveal a treasure trove of¡­ medieval weapons. "Hey¡­ where are the guns?" To the left, the weapon racks were filled with European and Asian swords. On the opposite side were disyed bows and crossbows as well as ammunitions. In between them, wooden armor stands storingplete sets of armors perfectly separated the room into two sections. Intrigued, She looked at the concrete walls. ''Reinforced concrete. About 30 to 50 cm thick. No doubt. It is a modern arms vault.'' She then thought back to the crossbow she had found in the convenience store. "Goro. I think modern weapons are reced by medieval ones." "No shit?" He said, realizing that she had just made a long sentence. "All of them." "Ah¡­" He paused, troubled by the thought. "But why? We are in a modern city, goddamn it. Or should I say, gods damn it now?" She eyed him, seemingly unamused. Ogoro coughed his way out of it and, aware that they wouldn''t find an answer to that question, headed for the swords. He noticed each rack was separated by country. "French. English. German. Japanese! My favorite, although not necessarily the best. But heck I like the design." She watched Ogoro joyfully draw a katana out of its in ck sheath. Its de reflected the room''s pale light on her brother''s scarred face. She smiled, seeing his cheerful face and recalling their previous life as assassins. The dreaded house of assassins, the Ryu family, had started Ogoro''s training at a tender age. "Leaving no margin for error" was their unwritten rule. Therefore, their members were forced to master as manybat techniques as possible to adapt more quickly to an unforeseen crisis, by using whatever they could find in the surroundings if no actual firearms were at their disposal. In this line of work, firearms sometimes drew too much attention, and assassination required discretion a gun couldn''t offer without a silencer. Even then, it still made sounds. By the age of 12, Ogoro had mastered closedbat. At 18 he could use a vast palet of close quarter weapons and a few ranged ones. By the age of 20, he had memorized the entire human anatomy and could brutally torture a human while keeping him alive for weeks. Now, at 30 years old, he could probably be considered one of the most deadly humans on Earth. Or could have been, since he was technically dead there. "Not bad," he said, examining the katana. "Not as good as my Honjo Masamune, but that will do. What? Why are you shaking your head? Don''t tell me you''re still lingering on that dog bastard of a thief''s death." She shook her head, thinking back to when an angry Ogoro had found the man who had kept the legendary sword hidden instead of giving it back to its rightful country. Ogoro clicked his tongue, "I knew it. Barf! Arm yourself instead of shaking your head. Then let''s get out of here. You know small enclosed spaces make me feel ufortable." *** At night, on the third floor of the police station, in the chief''s office, Ogoro was leaning against an opened window frame, a cigarette in hand. Outside, the deads roamed the streets, voicing out strange noises which, strangely, had lulled She to sleep. Taking a puff, Ogoro turned towards his sister, sleeping soundly on a couch. He had never seen her fall asleep so fast, nor her sleeping face looking so serene despite being surrounded by zombies. However, he understood the reason. He had met She when he had been 7 years old. His father had brought a poor-looking 3 years old girl to their house, telling him she would be his sister. The Ryu family''s tradition dictated for each of their children to partner up with an adopted child. The first reason being the limitation of what a single human could learn. The second reason was to supposedly avoid future traumas caused by their partner''s death. They thought that if they weren''t blood-rted, the bonds between them would be weaker. Although that had been proven to be wrong, they still maintained the tradition. She had learned tactics, politics, seduction, and a bunch of other stuff considered useful for blending in any kind of environment. On top of that, she had also been trained in the arts ofbat. But what she excelled at was marksmanship. She could shoot a moving target located one kilometer away if given the right tools and rarely ever missed. The siblings'' previous life could be summarized by three words: train, obey, and kill. With no other choice but to obey the family they had felt shackled, choked, and miserable. Ogoro''s ck hair had turned grey from the weight of the human lives he had taken. He had tried to mask his misery behind jokes andughs but it sometimes could feel forced. With time he had grown ustomed to the killing. He still did not like it, but wouldn''t bat an eye if he had to do it. The same couldn''t be said for his sister. Although she kept a straight face, She had her fair share of suffering from the victims visiting her every dream. Pleading and imploring to remove her finger from the trigger. Ogoro had had to lend her his shoulder every night so that she could sleep. Even then, her body would sometimes shake uncontrobly to awake a crying She with a face distorted by grief. But now¡­ "Finally¡­" Ogoro whispered, taking a puff while looking at the full moon shining brightly amidst the boundless night sky''s myriad of stars. "Now we are free." *** 1st week of survival. The siblings found out about the inventory and quickly put it to good use by storing all kinds of items they might needter on. They also fixed twenty as the minimum number of zombies they would kill every day. Taking advantage of the stupidity of those creatures, they cleaned up the surrounding buildings, stores, and housings. Slowly, but surely, they started establishing a rtively safe zone. 2nd week of survival. They realized that zombies aimlessly roamed the streets, meaning with no apparent goal. If they encountered an obstacle on their way, they would simply turn back or, if there were a way, bypass it. She quickly came up with the idea to use cars to block the roads leading to the police station. However, there were three problems. First, the rms. They couldn''t simply break a window for fear of attracting zombies. Although they were few in numbers, it was a hassle to deal with a group of them. Second, the engine. The noise it might produce could attract their enemies. Third, the zombies themselves. For the two first problems, She could just lock pick the doors and drive the car as Ogoro pushed it. The final issue was solved by using another car''s rm to attract the zombies away from the sibling''s "construction site." 4th week of survival. The streets, buildings, and housings surrounding the police station were unusually empty. At first, She thought it was because they had killed them all, but felt that something was wrong. Trusting in her gut feeling, She and Ogoro prepared Molotov cocktails. Ogoro had unwillingly given up the bottles he had hidden since they needed as many of those mmable drinks as possible. And, before the end of the week arrived, the siblings added a few other things to their defenses. *** ONE MONTH AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL. Ogoro stood at the center of the parking lot, in between the gates and the front door, fully dressed in a shiny knight''s armor. His opened visor revealing eyes of an abyssal color, inducing fear to whoever would peer into them. Gone was the jovial man who firmed his metal grip on a Zweihander. Instead, a giant emanating a murderous aura stood in his ce. As a Japanese, Ogoro could have chosen a samurai armor but found itckingpared to European medieval ones who offered better protections and were less shy if the fact that the polished steel which reflected sunlight wasn''t taken into ount. He also had preferred to pick a Zweihander instead of the katana because of its longer reach and durability. He was certain to face multiple opponents and a weapon breaking mid-fight was thest thing he needed. Even if he quickly switched to a new one using his inventory it wasn''t practical. She surveyed the area from the rooftop, her blue eyes zooming into the distance. During this past month, she had learned to use her gift [acute first sense] which no longer inflicted her with headaches unless she used it for an extended period of time. Her ck leather armor squeaked as she turned right to inspect the western street. With no enemies in sight, she doubled checked her greypound bow for the tenth time. She then made a clockwise quarter turn and opened her inventory with a thought. BING! A blue window filled with dozens of miniature square boxes showed up in front of her. Each box could contain up to ny identical items, and, currently, half of themprised arrows. She touched the screen, materialized an arrow, turned her head towards the street, and drew her bowstring¡ªthe bow''s pulley system it wasn''t as hard as amon recurve bow. In the same motion, she closed the inventory to clear her field of vision. Aiming west, east, and north sides, she switched in between them when a ck dot appeared on the northern horizon. The dot became a small line, which progressively morphed into moving figures. She stared at them and zoomed in to reveal a group of zombies approaching at a slightly faster pace than usual. Ogoro turned towards her, and she lifted five, "fifty." He nodded and closed his visor. She withdrew her arrow and waited. ''One kilometer.'' ''900 meters.'' ''800.'' ''700.'' She sighed, thinking that they were too slow. Apound bow had a maximum range of 300 meters, therefore shooting now would only result in a waste of arrows. So she decided to pass the time by watching her brother performing sword flourishes to warm up. ''Show off,'' she thought. ''Hum, 500 meters.'' ''400.'' ''350.'' She slowly nocked the arrow on her bowstring. Took a deep breath. ''330.'' Drew the bow. ''320.'' Aimed high. ''310.'' The string rapidly brushed past her cheek, firing an arrow to open hostilities. ''305.'' The arrow spun and traveled upward. Its trajectory then curved under gravity as it plunged towards its target. ''300.'' BAM! The zombie fell, an arrow stuck in the head and its corpse soon to be stepped upon by its peers. She grinned maliciously, a glint of madness reflecting in her eyes as she released arrows after arrows at a moderate cadence. Her inventory regrly closed and opened as she fired arrows in session, only missing a few times. The mental gymnastic between opening the inventory, grabbing an arrow, closing the inventory, aiming, and shooting required extreme concentration and had taken She two weeks of training. Even then, she could only keep this up for a minute. From the parking lot, Ogoro gawked at the zombies falling one after another under his sister''s attacks. He knew She had been practicing every day, but he never thought that the result would be so deadly. Even if she had two levels of agility, this was just too much. She''s attacks died down as the zombies neared the gate. She had already done her job and her brother wanted to test his mettle against a group of zombies. Those data could be crucialter if they were to fight off hundreds of those creatures¡ªthough, they hoped they wouldn''t have to deal with so many of them. Thetter slid the gate open and walked out by using the small gap between two vehicles blocking the entrance. He settled his weapon against a car trunk, pulled out a recurve bow from his inventory, as well as a quiver, and shot at the remaining zombies, who were down to around half of their initial numbers. Ogoro couldn''t be as urate as She since marksmanship wasn''t his area of expertise, but he was far from being bad at it. Fifty meters was close enough for him to be more or less certain of hitting the target. His armor gave off a metallic click with each released arrow. He took down a dozen of them before retreating behind the defensive line¡ªgrabbing his sword on the way. When the first zombie entered the gap in between the cars, he used his Zweihander and decapitated his enemy in a single sh. He inhaled, positioned one hand on the sword''s handle, the other on the de. He exhaled before unleashing his deadly arts, switching between half swording andmon grip. Head, arms, and legs. Even the air wailed under Ogoro''s murderous de, in perfect sync with his body. Corpses piled up to the point of forming a small wall impeding the enemies'' movement. Ogoro''s attacks were so fluid that he appeared to be dancing rather than fighting. His ever-moving sword, piercing, shing, and dicing, left no time for his enemies to surround him. Then¡­ "Ah!" She screamed, her body disappearing from Ogoro''s vision. A ck zombie was forcing her shoulders to the ground with its toned arms. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs and a whip-like tongue. She frown, disgusted by the putrid stench and summoned an arrow that she lodged into the creature''s ribs. It wailed in pain despite being an undead and quickly backed off. The ck zombie then ced both its arms on the ground and circled its prey. She aimed for its head and released. The creature swiftly dodged aside before leaping towards her. But she had been waiting for that window of opportunity. In a fluid motion, she nocked an arrow, pulled and shot the airborne zombie. BAM! It dropped to the ground, shaking from the arrow tip stuck in its cerebral cortex, and died. Just in case, She lodged another arrow in its skull. Certain that it was deader than dead, she turned back her attention to the front gate to see Ogoro dispatching thest of the remaining zombies. She waved at him to show she was okay and walked away to join him downstairs, bringing along the ck zombie''s corpse with the intention to examine it with her brother. In the parking lot, Ogoro took off his helmet, revealing his drenched face, and sat on a car trunk, then lit a cigarette. "Ah¡­.." He sighed, "bloody day." Chapter 11 - Have A Taste Of My Iron (part 1) SECOND MONTH OF SURVIVAL, AROUND ONE HOUR BEFORE THE END OF THE RED TRIAL. Brutalina watched the Ryu siblings with a bored expression. It had been interesting to monitor those prodigies at first, but they adapted to their current predicaments at lightning speed. The goddess thought it was because of their previous life''s training and upations¡ªwhich was in a way¡ªbut realized she had also given them too many advantages. Weapons, cars, fuels, alcohol, etc. Those were there for the picking. Coupled with the siblings'' expertise, it could only be a boring show to watch. No tension, no predicament, no surprises. Brutalina envied Belmand, who seemed to enjoy himself at every turn to the point of staying awake at all times. After all, a ck challenger never tamed an evol monkey in the past. The gods had gifted those creatures with incredible evolving abilities. Even if a divine being descended, those creatures could match it after the second month. The stronger the challenger was, the faster they learned. The weaker the challenger was, the slower they learned and the easier they were to deal with. Easy being rtive. She sighed. Even Filona went to help Zalon prepare for the second trial because she was bored. Then an idea sparked. ''If it''s too easy, I just have to make it harder. Hehehe¡­'' she thought, proud of her brilliant idea. *** SLASH! A zombie''s head flew over the parking lot, rolled, and stopped against a pile of corpses. Ogoro, wearing his medieval armor, opened his visor, lit a cigarette, and took a puff. Sincest week, the zombies attacked twice a day. Today, however, they have attacked every three hours. ''But that wave should have been thest.'' Ogoro thought, the first puff relieving some of his stress as he nced at the huge notification window in the sky. [Remaining time: 54 minutes and 14 seconds] [Remaining time: 54 minutes and 13 seconds] [Remaining time: 54 minutes and 12 seconds] Tsk. He clicked his tongue. That thing has yed with his nerves since it appeared this morning. Ogoro felt uneasy watching it. "Don''t lower your guard," She said, walking out of the police station. "There might be onest wave." Ogoro sighed, the fact that his sister even spoke of that or simply uttered a somewhat long sentence rekindled his stress. She tugged at his armor. He nced at her to find worry depicted on her face. His sister only did such a girly thing when deeply worried. To reassure her, Ogoro activated his gift to check out the surroundings. ¡ªGift: Acute fifth sense¡ª He took off his gauntlet and ced his right hand on the ground. Vibrationsing from every direction entered his hand, muscles, bones, and reached his brain. She''s slight shakings, the worms eating dirt in the nearby park, and fast-approaching tremors from three directions. Ogoro heightened his fifth sense and reached further east to find no end to the tremors. West, still no end. North¡­ "Shit!" He said, pulling out a bow from his inventory. "Fast approach, three or four kilometers away! East, west, north! Numbers unknown. Estimated arrival time three minutes." She''s blue eyes shook with fear. That kind of attack had never happened before. ording to Ogoro, it also appeared that zombies were not walking, nor running, but sprinting in their direction. Ogoro ced his unarmored hand on her shoulder. She gazed at him. He gazed back at her with eyes filled with determination and the will to survive. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded before racing for the police station''s rooftops. Ogoro took a long puff. Cinders rapidly reced tobo. He then let out a small white cloud and pinched away the butt before opening the gates. In the street, he appreciated onest time the peaceful night air before it would inevitably turn chaotic once again. In the sky¡­ [Remaining time: 50 minutes and 00 seconds] Ogoro emptied his Molotov cocktail stock, keeping only one just in case, and ced them on the cars by the entrance. He then lit a fire using trashes and clothes. Settled his arrow-filled quivers, spare weapons next to him. Ready, he waited for his sister to open the hostilities. [Remaining time: 48 minutes and 00 seconds] "WOOAAH!" Screams from horror movies pierced the night, echoing through the empty streets, soon to be filled with flesh-eating monsters. Ogoro closed his visor and prepared mentally to be seriously outnumbered. ''Stop. Let''s be positive for a change. I have a full armor to protect me against bites and the such.'' Arrows flew north and east in a seemingly unending stream, shooting down crazed zombies. ''I have the best marksman I know covering me. And,'' He lit an arrow tip on fire and aimed for the car barricade west side. ''Deadly traps scattered around.'' He released his grip. The arrow flew on top of iing zombies'' heads, entered a car''s opened gas tank, and ignited the fiery liquid. BOOM! Rotten meat paste spread, repainting the surrounding walls. The explosion ignited the surrounding cars, creating a chained reaction. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! ''Oh, gotta thanks She for that one.'' Suddenly, as if they had passed the words to one another, multiple explosions resounded north and eastside, creating firewalls separating the street in two but also the zombies. [Remaining time: 40 minutes and 00 seconds] Ogoro sent multiple arrows west side, taking down as many enemies from a safe distance as possible. On the rooftop, She never stopped firing¡ªone shot, one death. From up there, the sight brought her even more despair. Furious zombies filled the streets as far as the horizon. No special-type as of now, but it must be hiding amongst the crowd. For the moment, faced with a firewall, zombies halted their steps. Those on the other side, however, were running madly towards her brother. ''Concentrate.'' She thought. She redoubled her effort, bringing down as many zombiesing as she could, but still, some of them managed to pass her arrow rain. ''Concentrate.'' Her brother, for now, pushed back thoseing for him with a flurry of des. He had apparently stuck spare weapons in concrete, quickly swapping between them when needed, since he couldn''t handle the inventory swapping properly. [Remaining time: 35 minutes and 00 seconds] ''Concentrate.'' The firewalls dwindled, leaving gaps for zombies to use. Then, something bulky, grey, and fast charge the car barrage westside, obliterating it. Zombies poured in, and so did the special-type. It charged toward her brother, pushing aside its own kin like they were mere flies. Her eyes widened, and two choices came to wrestle with her thoughts. Takedown that beast or keep shooting at iing zombies from all sides to prevent them from overwhelming Ogoro. She inhaled, exhaled. ''I''ll do both.'' ¡ªGift: Thrill of the hunt¡ª Time seemed to slightly slow down as she entered some sort of inferior version of a bullet-time state. Her muscles ached, almost tearing apart at the new influx of power. She greeted her teeth through the pain and rained death upon her enemies. [Remaining time: 33 minutes 00 seconds] The inventory had the drawback of hindering one''s vision, but with training, She could now use it as a quiver while minimizing the w. Her moving fingers blurred under her speed. Blood dripped down the bowstring as she repeatedly opened her inventory to pick up an arrow, closed it, aimed, drew, and shoot. Two arrows reached the special-type but got stuck in its muscles, unable to dig further in. The thing was covering its head, making it impossible to aim there. She shot down three more zombies and aimed for the hulking creature once again. Lower this time. Luckily, the arrows lodged into the creature''s joints, slowing down its charge. On the road, Ogoro struggled to keep the zombies at bay. He felt their growing numbers would soon be unmanageable. He wanted to retreat behind the gates, but the special-type would just obliterate the barricade. The siblings needed to take it down before Ogoro could retreat. Determined on killing it before it was toote, Ogoro pushed the nearest zombie aside, grabbed a spear, hurled it at the monster. BAM! The iron tip dug into its chest, but couldn''t pierce the heart. "Shit!" He said, slicing a zombie who was clinging to him. Threatened to be overwhelmed, Ogoro was forced to retreat behind the barricades, brushing away any zombies. She focused her shots on covering his retreat. Once inside, he closed the gate, rushed behind the first car barricade they had prepared. Panting, almost out of stamina, he took out a bottle of fresh energy drink to ease his thirst. Apparently, the inventory had the neat function to conserve an item in exactly the state as it entered it. "Aaaah¡­" He voiced out a satisfying sound. BOOM! The Molotov cocktails he had ced outside ignited with one of She''s fire arrows and spread to the surrounding cars barricading the gate, blowing up zombies. [Remaining time: 25 minutes 14 seconds] "Pfiou¡­ let me rest for a minute, please," Ogoro said to the raging zombies behind the gate. All he got as a response were roars and air bites. On the rooftop, She''s bloody fingers trembled as she forced herself to draw one more arrow. ''Onest one.'' She thought. BAM! ''Onest¡­ one.'' BAM! ''One¡­st¡­'' Herst arrow flew towards Ogoro and rebounded on his armor. Her brother looked up, sending her a quizzical gaze. She quickly hid her bloody hand and waved to apologize. [Remaining time: 23 minutes 10 seconds] BOOM! The hulking creature sent the front gate flying, sending in hoards of zombies. Ogoro clicked his tongue, took ast puff, and threw his still-lit cigarette at a pool of liquid that ignited upon contact. Fire rapidly spread to the car barrages, creating yet another explosion. Pebbles, pieces of concrete, and metal rebounded on Ogoro''s armor as he retreated back to the police station''s entrance. The thick concrete walls surrounding the station started to crumble because of explosions. If he stayed in the parking lot, he would get overrun. Once inside, he barricaded the ss door with whatever he could find and took out his bow. Then he noticed that his sister had stopped firing for a while now. ''Triple shit! Please be safe.'' He thought, rushing through the corridor, leaving behind his fragile barricade. [Remaining time: 20 minutes 00 seconds] Ogoro reached the rooftop to find She fighting what they both called a "striker," the first special-type they had encountered. However, she seemed to be at a disadvantage because of a wound. He rushed past venttion systems toward the striker. Too captivated by its prey, the special-type only realized at thest second that someone else had joined the fray. Its head detached from its body as it copsed. "Sorry, Goro¡­" she said, showing her fingers. The wound dug deep enough to see her bones. "Did you¡ª" A frightening howl interrupted him, bringing back his mind to a more urgent problem. A deadly one. "Tsk." Ogoro clicked his tongue at their approaching doom. There was no point in barricading the rooftop''s entrance since the hulking monster would just run through it. They could certainly use the surrounding ropes to escape or stall for time, but with She''s hand in that state, it would take a while to cross over another building, leaving them defenseless against whatever that thing was. With its strength, if it somehow pulled on the rope they were climbing on, it could lead to a deadly fall at best. Both of them were aware of that fact. It didn''t take a genius to figure this out. "Use the escape rope leading to the city hall," Ogoro said, pointing eastward. "Don''t wait for me, I''ll hold them back as long as I can." "But¡ª" "Listen to me for once! You stubborn girl!" He said, grabbing her shoulders. She''s eyes shook from the confusion and fear. Her brother has never acted this way, even during theirst job that had proved deadly. Usually, it was the other way around. "Please." That single word crumbled She''s defenses. Tears poured down her cheeks. Ogoro''s eyebrows lifted from surprise when she gave him a hug. "Come back alive, onii-chan." She whispered before escaping. ''That''s new.'' He thought, smiling tenderly, ''such a pity that I won''t be hearing that again.'' He turned to the opened door leading to the rooftop and walked towards it. Step. He cut off the strings tying his shoulder pads to his body, so he could rx his tensed arm muscles. Step. Threw aside the helmet that clogged his vision and made breathing difficult, so he could see better. Step. Freed his hands from the shackles his gauntlets imposed on him, so he could move as he wished. Step. The building trembled under the hulking monster''s steps, but Ogoro did not. He held his ground, katana in hand. Shakings were nowhere to be seen when his right leg reached backward to find bnce. "WOUAAAH!" Ogoro stood calmly in front of the roaring special-type, with one regret; being unable to apany his sister into her new life. Then, thinking back to their first day here, a realization hit him, giving him yet another regret. "Hey, I actually never got to use that adult magazine." Chapter 12 - Have A Taste Of My Iron (part 2) TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE THE START OF THE THIRD MONTH To the blue corner, secluded inside a blue dome, Filona and Zalon were having a serious discussion. "How many white challengers survived?" Filona asked. Zalon''s leaned back in his armchair. "Five thousand. This is unprecedented. It appeared Kai Tsubame did a better job than I judged him capable of." "Kai Tsubame? Who''s that mortal?" "A shrewd human that just might have an important role in future interspecies diplomacy. If he lives through the second trial, that is." Zalon said, lifting his sses. "As for blue challengers, only five hundred survived." "Disappointing. That''s even less than the past years." She said, watching images projected on the dome of blue challengers chased by green tusked monsters. She was soon interrupted. "No matter, the unusual number of white challengers shouldpensate this year''s bluesck of abilities. More importantly, did you do as I asked?" Filona''s eyebrow twitched. She really disliked being treated like a pawn by others. If Zalon wasn''t her "brother," the goddess would have already perforated his body using a thousand arrows. "Yes," she said, barely managing a smile. "The staff has been summoned as per your ''REQUEST''. However¡­" "What?" Zalon said, noticing her emphasis on the word "request." "There was a slight distortion in the Veil during the summoning process. It may have been my imagination but¡­ I think that something got through." The god of wisdom''s eyes shone blue. His re pierced the room and traveled to the outside; to the Void. There, a thin transparent membrane cut off all sorts ofmunications between the material and immaterial nes of Iris. Zalon rapidly scoured the surface but found no traces of a breach, crack, or even a weakened area. Surprised, he retracted his re and wrestled with the problem. ''Filona is not the brightest.'' He thought, an image of Brutalina appearing in his mind. ''Neither is she the¡­ simplest. Chances are, she might be right. ording to what I saw, the problem didn''te from Phobos''s territory. Therefore¡­'' Zalon''s eyes widened. With a twist of his wrist, the blue dome disappeared. He red towards the red side to see a chuckling Belmand, then shifted his attention to the ck side. His eyes squint with suspicion at seeing an entertained Brutalina, her weird giggles betraying a tinge of madness. He used "blink" and appeared next to her. Zalon looked over her shoulder to see a man fighting a huge creature. "You¡­" He said, his calm expression shifting to fury. "You fool! What did you do?" "Just added a little fun. Nothing wrong with that," Brutalina said, pushing him away. "Are you mad?" He eximed. "Why did you temper with the Bnce?" "I''ve hurt nobody, I''m sure he''ll do fine. Just take a loo¡­" She said, her eyes betraying a hint of worry when Ogoro was thrown to the ground like mere trash. Zalon scanned the hulking monster, only to find¡­ "That''s¡­ a level 2 creature. Did you send a level two creature to deal with a level 0 human? Are you trying to kill a promising pawn?" "I¡­ I..." Brutalina said. "This is what happens when you break the Bnce!" "Bnce this, Bnce that! That''s all you ever say!" "YES! Because even Phobos fears the Bnce! Even HE can''t deny its power! So how can YOU¡­" He said, pausing after he realized how futile it was to exin it to this blockhead. "Fuck¡­, just give me the monitoring rights." "I¡­ I''m sorry." She said, sending a blue ball in his direction. Brutalina had never been able to stand an argument against Zalon. Somehow, the mortal turned god impressed her in a way she couldn''t exin. He had always been brilliant and powerful, even as a human. "Hum, it''s rare for you to voice out such crude words, brother," Belmand said, appearing next to Zalon. His sleepy expression shifted to surprise when he understood the issue. "Tchh. Who wouldn''t with such a fool as a sister?" He said, grabbing the monitoring rights. "How are we even supposed to restore the Bnce? We cannot act ourselves, nor send someone powerful enough to save him." "Do you really want to save that human, brother?" Belmand asked, hinting at a personal matter. "I might hate humans and their petty, selfish, disgusting attitudes," Zalon said, gritting his teeth. "But I hate unfairness even more." Belmand smiled. "Then, I have a proposal. Although, I cannot ensure its sess. And in the eventuality it seeds, it will cost us something." Zalon sent him an interested gaze, "I''m listening." *** ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE POLICE STATION. [Remaining time: 10 minutes 15 seconds] A huge fan from a venttion system propelled toward Ogoro. He stepped aside. Sparks lit up as the projectile brushed past his katana de. ''I can''t close in.'' He thought, dodging yet another blow. ''Normal projectiles can''t pierce this thing''s muscles either.'' He brought down his weapon, killing a zombie. BAM! ''To top it off, other zombies keeping.'' He sighed, ''and I want a cigarette.'' Heads dropped in his wake as Ogoro rushed through the crowd of enemies. Almost out of stamina, his strength dwindled and, without enough momentum, the katana got stuck in a zombie''s skull. "Ah¡­ tits¡­." The special-type charged in, sending him flying away like a dirty, water-filled rag. He passed through multiple venttion systems, his breastte absorbing and deflecting metal shards. BOOM! Ogoro ended his course embedded in a concrete wall. Next to him, zombies poured out from the sole door leading to the rooftops. ''Can''t¡­ go¡­ on.'' Blood running down his face blurred his vision. The fast-approaching zombies turned red under his bloody gaze. Biting into his bare shoulder muscles, they seemed to feed on his flesh, but also his fear. "Goro!" ''No¡­'' He thought. [Remaining time: 5 minutes 20 seconds] A blurry feminine figure armed with a saber chased away the man-eating monsters from him, only to be their targets, or rather, diner. Seeing the familiar figure, he forced air into his lungs and, despite his sore throat, voiced a single ragged sentence. "She¡­ you fool." "Let him go!" She yelled, the voice losing itself in between her flurry of desperate blows and zombies'' unnatural noises. "Aaah!" She screamed in pain when two zombies bit through her shredded leather armor. Then¡­ ROAR! The crowd of zombies stood still as if paralyzed by the hulking creature''s roar. It slowly walked to his delicious-looking preys, its kin opening its path out of fear and respect. Tremors of its steps shook the rooftop, crumbling the resolves of its own kin to defy its order. But She stood firm. "Don''t you remember ourst job?" Aromas of blood, human flesh, and sweat rushed through its huge, round, dted nostrils to stimte its gustative nd. Dribbles poured down its deformed chin, mouth widening with each tremor, eager to taste tender meat. But She stood firm. "The promise we''ve made and held to the end." It halted in front of her. Towering the measly, feeble female human. Its food. Its diner. Its prey. In her fierce blue eyes, it only saw defiance instead of fear. Pissed, it roared, nning on copsing her mental defenses to add vor to its already delicious-looking meal. But She stood firm. ROAR! "If we are to die, we die together, onii-chan." Although he couldn''t hear her, he sensed her words through vibrations and stumbled to his feet at the tone of one word. One particr word he thought would be lost to the flow of time and death. Aching, shredding, tearing apart. Even in pain, his muscles dared not defy his order. The hulking creature watched the three humans, puzzled. Why didn''t they fear it? Why, despite his broken body, could the male human stand. Why¡­ were they three humans? [Remaining time: 3 minutes 00 seconds.] "Hey, you dribbling piece of shit," Aito said, standing on top of the wall Ogoro had been embedded in. "Have a taste of my iron." BAM! Chapter 13 - Have A Taste Of My Iron (part 3) Aito hurled his iron ax at the monster''s head. BAM! Its skull cracked under the impact, but held, keeping the brain rtively safe. Blood flowed out of the monster''s wound, obstructing his vision. ROAR! Angry, it charged towards its aggressor, flinging aside zombies as if they were nothing. The wall on which Aito stood cracked, broke, then shattered. He jumped on t ground to avoid crumbling with the pieces of concrete that were now blockading the staircase. Aito drew his spare iron ax, shield-bashed aside zombies, rushed towards the human he had been asked to rescue. The request had appeared impossible to grant. But, he only had to keep them alive for the next three minutes and¡­ there was also the issue with Jack. ''The woman can still stand. The man however looks out of it.'' He thought, beheading a zombie. ''There are at least fifty of those things here if not more. But the staircase is destroyed. Once we deal with those I can focus on that monster.'' Crack. The special-type came out of the staircase''s rubbles, looked for its prey. He was quickly dispatching mindless zombies and so did the female human. It roared and charged once again. ¡ªGift: Intuition¡ª Aito felt a tingling feeling down his neck. Without checking, he shifted his weight to his right leg and bolted to the side, pushing away zombies blocking his escape route. His clothes and long hair fluttered when a strong air current brushed past his back. He turned to see the monster, who just finished one attack, preparing for yet another charge. ''I wish Jack was here. It would have been easier with him.'' "Wah!" the woman eximed, cutting away zombies not far from his position. Behind her, the man was trying to stay up but was obviously not in fighting shape. [Remaining time: 2 minutes 30 seconds] Aito dashed towards them, butchering his path while keeping an eye out for the hulking thing. He finally reached them, pushed aside the zombies to create an escape path, and pointed towards the broken staircase. The woman sent him a weird look, but with no time to talk things out and since he appeared to be helping them, she nodded and brought the armored man there. ROAR! "Shit! Can''t you just leave me alone for a minute!" He said, looking, dislodging his ax from a zombie''s skull, while three others were breaking their teeth on his brand new armor. The monster charged towards him. With zombies trying to chew him from all sides, he barely dodged the attack. The hulking creature decelerated, marking the ground, and almost fell off the rooftop. Seeing this, an idea sparked in Aito''s head. ''Let''s try that. But before¡­'' Pushing aside the zombies clogging his vision, he lifted his ax, took aim, and, with a wide swing, hurled it as strong as he could. The monster blocked the projectile with its arm and, pissed by the puny human challenging its might, charged. Aito rushed towards a border, then something caught his attention. Ropes linking other buildings to this one. Sensing yet another deadly attack, he looked behind him to see a furious "huge ball of muscles rolling" his way. Before it caught him, he sprinted to the end of the roof and jumped. *** [Remaining time: 1 minute 30 seconds] ''What is bastard man doing here?'' She thought, swinging her saber with thest of her remaining stamina to decapitate a zombie. Fortunately, that man appeared out of nowhere to save them. He''s been drawing most of the zombies to him, leaving her and Ogoro to fend off only ten or so. Even then, with theirck of stamina, it had been hard. Her brother was riddled with bite marks, and his face started to turn blue. As for her, she had a few of her own. Having dispatched thest zombie, panting, she took a quick nce at what the "bastard" was doing and widened her eyes. "Is he crazy?" The man jumped off the rooftop, the special-type on his tail noticed toote the trap and fell for it, followed closely by the dozen zombies that appeared to be under his orders. "WOAAAaaaa¡­" BOOM! The stranger hung on a rope they had prepared for an escape, then pulled his way to the rooftop borders. Once there, he dispatched the remaining mindless zombies and walked towards them, covered in blood and bite marks. *** [Remaining time: 30 seconds] "What''s that for?" Aito said, eyeing the saber pointed at his throat. "What are you doing here?" The woman said. [Remaining time: 25 seconds] "Shouldn''t you introduce yourself before asking?" He said, waiting for a response that never came. He then pointed to the man on the ground behind her. "Who''s that?" "Not your concern." He felt pissed at the ingratitude that woman showed and started to regret saving them but foundfort by taking a look at the timer. [Remaining time: 15 seconds] "Fine, do it your way." He said, kicking a corpse aside to clear a spot where he could sit not far from her. "Who said you could sit here?" Aito''s eyebrow twitched. Was that woman for real? Barely containing the urge to p her bloodied doll face, he strode away but was interrupted by a guttural sound. The armored man stumbled, his cracked lips opened to let out a barely audible sound. "Than.. you. Sor¡­ry¡­." [Remaining time: 5 seconds] Aito nodded, gave the rude woman ast look, as well as a middle finger, before walking through a ck portal that suddenly appeared in front of him. [Remaining time: 0 seconds] *** WOOSH! A bloodied She and Ogoro materialized in a familiar grey space, albeit empty this time. And like before, Filona towered over them with a divine demeanor. She flicked her fingers, and their wounds rapidly closed. Ogoro''s blueplexion returned to normal, and She''s bite marks disappeared, leaving no scars. Ogoro examined his body, then She''s. Happy to be alive, the bear of a man trapped his little sister into a hug. Or at least he tried to. "Urg," He groaned, only realizing now his armor had disappeared with She''s blow to his sr plexus. "Where did my cute little sister go?" He said, grunting. "Give her back to me." Filona coughed to catch their attention. "Congrattion on passing the first trial, children. I understand you might be confused and thus, to show our magnanimity, we, the gods, grant you three answers to any question of your choosing as a part of your rewards." "Who was¡ª" She hit Ogoro''s shoulder, interrupting him, clearly implying it was a waste to ask about the man who had just saved their life. "What''s going on with you?" Ogoro asked, unable to understand her. "I couldn''t see nor clearly hear back then, but I know you''ve been more than just rude to him." His sister looked sideways. "She knows him." The goddess said. "She''s met him before, during your past life, and bare a grudge for¡­ hum¡­ a minor incident. It is not my ce to talk about it, so I will leave it at that. You have two answers left." She stared dagger at him, but this time he held her gaze despite the mishap and even smirked. "Now that''s news," He said. "I''ve never heard of another man in your private life than your ''O.N.I.I-CHA¡ª" BAM! Ogoro blocked a powerful roundhouse kick destined to his head, using only one hand. Noticing he shouldn''t push the matter any further, he dropped it. However, he was still curious about the man. After all, her sister had seduced more than one moron, but that had only been during her "professional life." "Who was that guy exactly?" He asked, dodging and blocking multiple blows from his sister, who seemingly didn''t agree with their bonus reward''s usage. "Aito Walker, born the 13th December 2005 in French Polynesia, Papeete at 4 am. He lived there for 15 years before moving out to Montreal in Qu¨¦bec. Although, he''d oftene back to his home country during holidays, he¡ª" Ogoro dodged yet another blow. "Just give us the gist of it." "Very well," Filona said, her eyebrow twitching from being ordered by a mortal. "He is the ck Challenger, the one who went through the ck portal and is currently challenging ''the Ind of Pain.'' We sent him to help you because¡­ ''someone'' had tempered with your trial." Both siblings paused their "little game." It was now She''s turn to be surprised. ''We did not see a ck portal on our arrival.'' She thought. ''That must have been some kind of hidden trial. If yes¡­ why did the gods hide it?'' "Because it is near impossible for humans toplete it," Filona exined after reading She''s mind. "Each trial is hard in its own way. White is for the cowards to acquire something necessary to survive in Iris: Courage. Blue challengers are deemed to already have courage and thus pushed to nurture it. Red is for that courage to find its limit. And ck¡­ is to constantly ovee that limit." "You underestimated us. That red trial of yours was easy enough, to begin with. If that someone had not tempered with it, we would have won even without that bastard''s help." She said. Ogoro gave her an intrigued gaze, wondering what that man did to get his sister to even talk about him. "No, we did not," Filona said, shaking her head. "It is because you are already strong for mere mortals. And the stronger you are, the less likely you are to survive on that ind. However, the same goes for the weak. Those who stand a real chance of sess are mortals that are neither weak nor strong. Those who have much to learn, yet already learned." "But¡ª" She tried to say. "Furthermore," Filona interrupted herplexion darkening. "There is a creature on that ind. Something the hulking monster you saw cannotpare to. Something we did not create. Something that will feed on negative emotions and sins to grow stronger with each passing day. The rare ck Challengers who survived it went crazy. It is already a miracle that Aito Walker kept a sane mind to this point. But soon, he will fall like the others. So you should just forget about him. However, if you are that disappointed and wish to test your mettle against such creatures I am more than pleased to tell you that Iris is filled to the brim withparable nightmarish beings." Ogoro stared at the goddess, not knowing which part toy his gaze upon. He was infatuated yet worried at the same time. He wanted to get an eyeful but what she just revealed continuously crumbled his desires. A war between manhood and anxiousness raged inside his mind. Desire''s army crashed like stormy waves against the Revtion''s shields. With no result to this conflict on the horizon, his gaze constantly switched between the goddess''s eyes and perfect curves. "Therefore, in exchange for servitude under one of our churches, we can grant powers that will allow you to fight them. You have the right to refuse, of course. But your treatment in Iris will palepared to those who signed the oath pact." That sentence brought a sudden end to the war inside Ogoro, and like his sister, he immediately gave his answer. "No." They said, simultaneously. *** Aito walked out of the portal to end up at his camp''s entrance. Jack was sitting there, seemingly waiting for his arrival. "Kyaak!" Angry, Aito grimaced in disgust. "It''s not funny." Jack''s eyes shone red, then it stood on its two legs before it spoke. "Can''t take a joke, hun?" "Don''t you dare imitate my friend." "Fine, I got it. Jeez. You''re lucky I''m the one you''re talking to. My brother and sisters wouldn''t have let that one pass, you know?" "Don''t care. Let Jack go and get the fuck out." "Or what? You''re going to hit me? *yawn* Be reasonable." Belmand said, unimpressed by Aito''s gruff. It pissed him off. That bastard of a god had taken over Jack''s twenty or so minutes ago and asked him to rescue two people. He knew something had been fishy when he received so many rewards at the same time. When Aito refused, Belmand used Jack''s body as a hostage. "Don''t be mad, you already got a brand new shiny armor out of it, you''ll to keep even you pass the trial. And now, you have a lower divine wish. How''s that? Not bad for a reward. It takes quite a lot of glory points for that, you know?" If he could, Aito would punch that god''s face right away. That divine being was just ying around, as if a mortal life, his life, meant nothing. He had basically asked him to risk his precious second chance for strangers. "Fuck your divine ass." "How rude¡­" Belmand said, crossing his arms. "*yawn* Okay, I admit being unfair for taking your pet... sorry, ''friend'' hostage. My bad. Let me make it up to you by giving my little ck challenger a piece of advice." He gritted his teeth. "Who''s your little ck challenger?" "The cave you used to live in lead to the waterfall," Belmand said, ignoring Aito. "You were right to avoid it until now. However, there wille a time you will be forced to face the creature hiding in the cave''s depth. As you''ve already guessed, it feeds on your weaknesses and grows stronger from them. *yawn* The key to defeating it doesn''t lie in raw power. Think about what your father told you that day." Aito frown, for some reason he couldn''t remember those words. Did that creature take it from him on purpose? "Ah, as per our agreement, you will not be attacked tomorrow. Use that day to rest. You''ll need it, my little ck challenger. Hahaha, *yawn*." And, with thatst sentence, Jack''s eyes returned to normal. Confused, it looked around for a potential threat beforeying its eyes on a familiar face. "Good to have you back, Jack," Aito said, smiling but also worried. Chapter 14 - Of Feces And Daggers (part 1) THE NEXT MORNING Aito frowned in disgust. "Why did you shit on the walls again, Jack?" Jack turned around and showed him its butt before running away into the forest. "You little punk! Come back here!" Aito sighed. Jack had that weird habit of repainting the walls with his previous night''s diner. Unfortunately for Aito, the winds usually blew towards the sea, bringing the nasty scent to his nostrils when he rested within the walls'' safety. He did not know why the monkey kept doing that. Although he guessed Jack might be marking its territory to signal other evol monkeys, the area already had an owner. Still, the horrible stench was ravaging his sense of smell. Apart from that, he noticed something else. Jack''s physical appearance seemed to have changed afterst night''s event. It was now shorter. ck fur almost entirely reced the brown fur. It looked faster and more agile. But most of all¡­ "It''s the third time. The third freaking time today! That doesn''t make any sense for such a small animal to produce so much poop." Aitoined, covering brown-green monkey feces with dirt to limit the damages to his nostrils. *** Jack jumped from tree to tree, cursing the stupid man-thing. It didn''t know that Jack was doing a good job! Those wooden walls looked so in¡­ so simple! It needed decorations, more colors! Like the trees from which they stem. They were green and brown. But those walls were just brown and brown. Boring. He had been eating tree leaves just to recolor those tall structures. However, Aito was such an ungrateful fat piece of meat. Jack hoped it would understand after he finished repainting those walls. Normally, it should take a long time but, since this morning he''s been able to produce paint three times! And he feels like he could go for another three more! At this rate, Jack was certain to seed in a time record! Then¡­ then the man-thing will see. Then the man-thing will know. Then his "friend" will understand. "Friend," a weird word he learnedst night when he had felt really dizzy. It had felt like he was floating above his own body. He could see and hear, but not touch or taste anything. Very weird. He thought it had been a dream at first, but when he¡ªliterally¡ªdropped back in his body, it had felt too real. Anyway, that sound "friend" picked his interest. The man-thing had referred to Jack as that sound. But it wasn''t his personal sound. So what was it? Was it somethingparable to "Comrade?" So mysterious. Jack arrived at The Broken Cage. He simply couldn''t let go of this ce. Divine food and leaves in hand, he sat by it to add more vor to his meal. After all, what''s more proper than eating divine food at a divine ce. But today, The Broken Cage felt somewhat colder. Not as warm as he remembered. Weeeeeird. Jack stood on his two legs and scanned the area. A sort of thin mist wasing out of the cave, barely visible. He closed in on the peculiar phenomenon. Standing at the bamboo wall''s entrance, he peered into the darkness. His fur bristled when something''s head appeared out of the cave''s shadows. Two empty eye sockets that seem to prate one''s soul with a single nce. Skinny grey cheeks. Bald head with transparent grey skin under which blue veins pumped a strange liquid to somewhere unknown. Round O-shaped mouth riddled with pointy teeth, and, in it, a long tongue that resembled a sting. Fearing for his life, Jack ran away faster than he ever did before. *** Aito finally finished cleaning up the monkey''s mess. Hungry, he headed for the camp''s entrance when Jack came out of the forest at full speed. "What? Finally, feeling guil¡ª" He stood dazed at the sight of the monkey jumping on his torso. Jack was glued to him like it was clinging to dear life. Trembling, it hid its head in Aito''s clothes and armor. "Hey, buddy. It''s fine, I''m not that angry." He said before noticing the monkey''s shaking body. Aito could think of only one thing that could cause such a reaction. Something he had recently experienced in his own nightmares. FEAR. Slightly embarrassed by the unusual event, he hesitantly patted Jack''s back. "It''s fine buddy." Then, seeing no resistance or a menacing dagger pointed at his face, he let go of his embarrassment and caution. "It''s okay, Jack. I''m here now." *** It took a while for Jack to calm down. Eventually, the monkey let go of Aito but now seemed afraid to leave the walls'' safety. He let it be for now since nothing good wille out of asking the monkey. Although Aito had more or less an idea about what happened, he couldn''t be certain. ''There wille a time where you will be forced to face the creature¡­'' Belmand had said. Aito frowned, remembering those words. He had hoped to avoid that creature until the end. Moreover, ording to the god, raw power couldn''t take care of that thing. Or maybe he meant Aito''s current strength. What''s more, Aito couldn''t recall the sole clue that may be his only means to kill the thing hiding in his previous dwelling''s depth. ''No point to think about it now.'' He thought, looking at the midday sun. ''I should get going with my preparations, then rest.'' He took a round piece of wood out of his inventory, walked to a wooden bunch settled near his camp''s entrance, and sat there to test out his new idea. With the fighting experience he had umted until this point, Aito noticed another interesting use for his shield. The Viking shield he had been granted was thick, durable, and had a metallic part at the center to protect his hand from piercing damages. But with time it started to stack up, cuts and dents which covered the surface. At some point, a monkey''s ax got stuck into it, depriving it of its weapon. Thus the idea of using a shield as a weapon trap of sorts. To do that, he thought about using a thinner shield to enhance the likeliness of a weapon trapping itself into it. After a while, he managed to carve an ugly thin round shield. "A Filona''s work as per usual¡­" He sighed, then stood up to settle the shield at the foot of a nearby tree. Once done, he stepped back a few meters, drew a stone ax, and proceeded to his test. BAM! The edge bit into the wood. He walked to it and tried to dislodge it, but it took a few tries. ''Perfect,'' He thought, nodding. *** Myriads of stars popted the night sky. Comfortably seated by his campfire, Aito ate his dinner, wondering if what he was staring at was real, if the lights up there were artificially created by the gods. Then something else caught his attention. "Jack?" He said, gazing at a monkey who seemed to have lost its voracious appetite. Aito knew too well what Jack was going through. Emptiness of mind, fear, the feeling of hopelessness, and more. But they had no time for this. Tomorrow will be a new day, a dangerous one at that. He needed his partner in top shape as soon as possible. Therefore, he used a secret technique his dad had used on him when he was discouraged during training sessions. p! "Kyaak!" Jack cried in surprise at the unexpected p from Aito''s rough hand, then jolted to its feet, baring his teeth. "Ah, much better now." He said, seeing the obvious change in expression on his partner''s face. "Don''t make that kind of face, it was for your own goo¡ª" p! "Hey!" He said, touching his red cheek. "Ok now stop, it was just to help y¡ª" p! Aito frowned. His pride just took a tremendous hit. Feeling the need to win it back, he entered a pping contest with¡­ a monkey. p! p! p! p! *** Jack woke up fromst night''s contest with red hamster-like cheeks. What had Aito been thinking? That game they had yedst night had been fun at first but soon turned into an all-out war. Because if that man-thing thought he was an easy opponent, it had yet to know Jack. Still, it at least took his mind off of yesterday''s troubling thoughts. That ugly-thing had seemed to suck out every ounce of courage Jack had. He had felt depressed and very fearful. But he would make that ugly-thing regret it. Nobody messes with Jack''s pride. Nobody. Well, apart from the man-thing from time to time. However, he knew it wasn''t with evil interest. On the contrary, he felt like it was positive in a way, although bothersome. Suddenly, his sense of smell picked up a weird scent. A new scent. A scent that has never appeared before. Someone had "repainted" an area close to here. He walked out of his bed, daggers in hand, and rushed towards the beach. Midway, he found a big brown-greenish paint, not as fragrant nor colorful as his, though. The thing appeared tall since it had left deep footprints leading to the beach. Maybe it was the man-thing. Jack knew it liked toe by here just before the big brilliant light shines on the horizon. And sure enough, there, next to the Big Rock, Aito was¡­ fighting a big monkey? *** BAM! Aito dodged aside as an ax head brushed past his arm, then shield bashed his opponent, who back-stepped to rapidly regained its bnce. ''Fuck¡­ that thing knows how to fight.'' He thought, looking at the bulky monkey in front of him. It resembled a gori, only with longer legs and arms. Approximately two-meter-tall, the creature was even bigger than the muscled leader-types Aito had fought before. More importantly, it was smarter. They had been exchanging blows for a short while now and always ended up at a standstill. Aito circled his opponent, who immediately mimicked him. Rapidly, while cautiously eyeing his enemy, he reced his Viking shield with the one he crafted yesterday. The gori saw it as an opening andunched a powerful downward sh. BAM! Its ax lodged deep into the wood. It tried to pull it out, but Aito bent his wrist to control his opponent, then assembled every iota of strength he had and cut its long arm halfway. "Wouaaah!" In pain and with a non-operational arm, the gori stumbled back, dropping his guard. But Aito pulled it towards him and shed its arm off for good this time, then taking advantage of its opponent''s confusion, went for the kill. BAM! The creature fell to its knees, blood gouging out of its wounded neck, and dropped dead. Panting, Aito knelt to examine the monkey''s corpse. "Brown fur. Thicker than usual. More resistant to cut." He said, before looking at its muscles. "Damn¡­ that thing is thick alright. Dense muscle fibers. Could be as strong as I am, maybe a bit less. Looking at its physical appearance¡­ doesn''t that thing look like a bigfoot?" He turned his attention to the bigfoot''s weapon; a two-handed ax. The power behind that weapon had easily pierced through his thin wooden shield. It looked like a Viking two-handed battle-ax. He found it pretty cool, but also very useful to deal with massive opponents. Aito stored it and the corpse in his inventory, nning to take a closer look at themter. For now, something preupied his mind. Bigfoot had appeared out of the wood, but alone. It proved to be a difficult foe to deal with, however; he was used to an increase in quantity rather than quality. Moreover, it had appeared before dawn. "Something''s off." He said, worried, before turning towards a running, no, fleeing Jack. "Wouaah!" Aito sighed and took yet another fighting stance at the sight of another bigfoot chasing after his partner. *** After dealing with the second bigfoot, Aito headed to his camp, a wary Jack on his toes. On the way back, he found deep tracks indicating traffics. Too big a footprint to be his, Aito was certain that it wasn''t his own. He then followed one of them leading to the pond and bamboo forest and quickly found his answer: a bigfoot drinking from the pond. ''Filona''s tits¡­ now I have to deal with smart, wondering bigfoots?'' Chapter 15 - Of Feces And Daggers (part 2) Aito stood by the pond in shallow waters, gazing upon a broken fish trap. Having dealt with the "pond bigfoot," Aito had checked his fish traps, only to find shattered pieces of bamboo. He or Jack would have never done that, leaving only a bigfoot as a usible culprit. That could only mean those things had started to mess with Aito''s tools and constructions to impede his progress or simply make his survival harder. To summarize, with each broken structure, he will have to repair or even rebuild it, thus using more stamina and time; which were essential to his survival on that forsaken ind. Suddenly, a realization struck him. If those things sabotaged one of his food sources, they could do the same for¡­ "Fuck!" he said, rushing towards his home, closely followed by Jack. *** Flowing river sounds progressively entered Aito''s ears as he got closer to his dwelling¡ªso did the noises of axes on wood. ''No, no, no, no! '' He thought, brushing past trees to finally enter an area where half of the original vegetation remained untouched. There, the structures he had worked hard on the past few weeks were being cut down by three bigfoots. Two of them carried two-handed battle axes and the other a war-hammer of sorts that looked especially made for demolition. Until now, he had more or less kept his calm during fights because of the drawbacks pure anger could bring upon one fool enough to be blinded by it and also because of his oath. However, seeing his hard work being ransacked with such disrespect¡­. "You¡­." The walls he and Jack had built; half destroyed. The small bench he liked to rest on; shattered. Some pitfalls that were hidden around; broken and unearthed. "Jack," He said, showing him a thumbs down. "No quarters." "Kyaak!" Jack said, tightening its grip on two iron daggers, seemingly just as pissed. Striding furiously towards his enemies, Aito stored his shield in his inventory, as well as his ax, while Jack blended into the trees'' shadows. "You¡­" He drew his newly acquired weapon, gripping it with two hands, its shaft cracking under Aito''s strength. "Come have a taste of my iron!" Destroying his walls near the entrance, the hammer-bigfoot turned its head toward him and epted his challenge with its other two brethren following behind. Outnumbered one to three, the hammer-bigfoot seemingly pitied him and stayed out of Aito''s confrontation with the other two. A big vein bulged on Aito''s forehead at his opponent''s guts to underestimate him. Suddenly, the ax-evol monkeys attacked him simultaneously. Aito''s battleax reached back to gain momentum, and, with the power to shatter a tree, drew a wide crescent moon arc. ¡ªGift: Mindless Fury¡ª SLASH! Both monkeys gawked at their ax heads falling off the shafts. Aito''s swing being too powerful to halt with his current physique, he took advantage of the energy and, like a tornado, easily sliced through his stunned enemies. Not far from here, Jack jumped down a tree to double stab the hammer monkey, who was too busy watching his now sashimi-looking kin. It choked into its own vital liquid before lying dead in a pool of blood. "Good job, Jack," Aito said, his mind returning to normal, as well as his strength. However, his muscles were a bit sore after using his gift, especially those he had used for the spinning attack. It had been the samest time when he had cut down the iron tree. He guessed that it had something to do with the unusual strength his body endures while under ''Mindless Fury''s influence, but didn''t find a solution to that problem yet. That''s why he was reluctant on using it. Add to it the initial requirement of being furious, and this gift might as well be a curse. If he could somehow find a way to get rid of that requirement or at least control it, he might then gain something useful in times of need. A power-up of sorts. ''But how do I control my fury since, fundamentally, this is theplete opposite of control itself?'' He thought, sighing. *** After helping the man-thing clear up the debris around their camps, Jack ventured into the forest to scout out the surroundings. Those fatty monkeys might still be wandering around after all. Sure enough, he smelled strange, unfamiliar scents in the forest. Some fresh, others dating back to this morning. Which meant more of those fatty monkeys were still roaming the ind. At some point, he stumbled upon a bush of berries that had one of those weird scents belonging to "bigfoots" as Aito called them. Jack had paid little attention to those before, mostly because the man-thing stayed away from those things. But now that he took a closer look at those, they were tasty looking! He approached a berry and marveled at its overall shape; small round fruit approximately 1 cm in diameter with a ck dot in the middle. It looked like an eye, a beautiful eye, just like his perfect ones. Jack plucked one out of the bush and ate it. Chewing on it, his eyes sparkled with curiosity then surprise and finally wonder. It was so good! Unable to contain himself, he rapidly plucked and ate every berry he could find on the bush to only stop when¡­ Burp! His stomach signaling its satisfaction and his patrol done, he headed back home to report his findings to his partner, with a handful of berries in hand as an afternoon snack. *** "Idiot," Aito said, looking at Jack on its bamboo bed, grabbing its stomach while bathing in its own feces. "Didn''t I tell you already to stay away from those berries?" After repelling two more assaults from bigfoots, Jack started to salivate, then had stomach cramps. It didn''t worry Aito much, thinking that he simply ate too much as per usual, but when he found one of those white berries in Jack''s stash, his worry hit the fan. "Idiot," Aito repeated, cing a wet piece of cloth on Jack''s forehead. He knew what those were: White Baneberry ormonly known as Dolls'' Eyes. Found in North America, those berries were extremely poisonous. Those could lead to salivation, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and other symptoms. Everybody living there, nearby a forest, had learned about those nts. After all, it wasmon knowledge. Aito feared that his partner wouldn''tst the night. With no antidotes to his disposal, he could only hope for Jack''s immune system to be stronger than a human''s. "Idiot," he said, worry in his eyes. "Why do you have to be such a glutton?" Luckily, now that it was nighttime, bigfoots'' attacks had stopped for some reasons, but the temperature slightly dropped. It was a very minute change. Aito who got used to this ind''s climate by now, could tell the difference and have a guess as to why it dropped. However, for now, something else worried him. "Don''t die on me, buddy." In the few weeks they had spent together, the small evol monkey grew on Aito. It was an umtion of different factors, the loneliness, the pain, the trial, his own sin, and Jack''s weird but entertaining behavior. ''Please....'' Chapter 16 - Of Feces And Daggers (part 3) Jack awoke the next morning, bathing in dried feces. The stench of it was so strong it numbed his acute sense of smell. He nced to his left to see a tired but awakened man-thing. Dark cycles under its eyes. Did it have yet another awful night? "Ah, look at who''s awake and kicking," Aito said, cracking a small smile before standing to empty the small basket of water in its hand. Jack stared at the basket, then at what it contained; a small piece of cloth and dirty water. He then touched his head, remembering his own painful sleep. Something had gnawed at him from inside. Fever added to aching muscles had constantly prevented him from sleeping properly, barely allowing the monkey to graze the boundaries between reality and dream. However, something had kept the fever''s burning feeling from entirely submerging Jack, providing him with a well-needed support. Was it the man-thing''s doing? He couldn''t recall properly, but as far as he knew, the only other living being willing to help him¡ªapart from his perfect self¡ªwas Aito. Did it mean it has remained by his side until now? Somehow, he was touched. Too prideful to admit it or ept it, he felt the need to pay him back. He didn''t like the idea of owing something. Even if Jack did not understand what a "debt" was, it instinctively felt wrong to leave it at that. Having made up his mind, Jack got out of his bed and, in need of a bath, went to the river. He then dried himself using grasses and leaves before returning to his bed, where Aito was cleaning the feces with a piece of cloth covering his face. Weird. Was the smell that unbearable? "Kyaak!" Jack said, point towards Aito''s bed. The man-thing gave him a quizzical gaze. "Kyaak!" "Are you giving me orders now?" Aito said. "Kyaak!" "Okay, okay. I''ming." Sitting on its bamboo bed, the man-thing stared at Jack. Then as if it had forgotten something, it said, "Oh wait! I got something for you." Jack jumped on the bed while Aito took something out of thin air. By now, the monkey was already used to the strange phenomenon. It had stopped caring about "the hows and whats" of things appearing out of nowhere days ago. "Here," Aito said, presenting a small leather bag. "I noticed your predicament with the daggers you''re carrying around. And since I had some spare timest night, I made this. Try it." The monkey grabbed his present, stored his weapons inside, tossed the bag on his back, and kept it there, using a small rope that traveled from his right shoulder to his left pelvis. "Hum, it looks a bit too big. It needs readjustment, or¡­" the man-thing said, its eyes squinting. "Did you get smaller again? And your fur¡­ it''s entirely ck now. The heck? How d''you do that?" Jack shrugged, not entirely sure what Aito meant. "Whatever, we better get back to¡­" the man-thing said, yawning. "¡­ work, before bigfoots start attacking." "Kyaak!" Jack said, pointing at its bed, implying that it should sleep. "Hum? But¡­. Alright." It said, lying down. "Just a shut-eye, then¡­. Zzz. Zzz." The monkey poked Aito''s arm, but no response came. Certain that it was sleeping, he headed for the front gate in order to take care of anything that would disturb his partner''s sleep. *** An hourter. Jack stood amidst a tree''s leaves, scanning the surrounding when he finally smelled two unfamiliar scents slowly heading his way. Two enemies. How should he handle them? Until now, he had only taken advantage of Aito''s rampage to strike from the shadows. Even then, it was only one opponent. He could certainly take one bigfat down, but the problem was the other bigfat. Jack didn''t feel confident confronting one of them on open ground. If he could find a way to disappear from the bigfat''s vision for just the span of a moment, but how could that be achieved? Suddenly, a brilliant idea sparked in his head. That could certainly work, no, it could ONLY work since he was the one who thought about it. He took out two iron daggers from his bag and blended into the shadows to await the most opportune moment to strike. During his "camping," he thought back to how much easier it was to scale trees with that new thing, the gift from Aito. It was really useful since Jack used to have a bit of trouble climbing daggers in hands. He realized that yet another debt just added to his current one, or maybe there was already more than one, to begin with. Jack recalled the night his consciousness had hovered over his body. It didn''t feel like he was in control. That night, Aito had walked out of some kind of watery, bubbly liquid, ck round circle. Only then did he regain control over what''s rightfully his. Meaning, he had now three debts to repay. But there was something he did not understand. Why did the man-thing go to such length for him? Was this what a "friend" was supposed to do? Before he coulde up with an actual answer, Jack spotted two huge monkeys walking towards him while carefully eyeing their surroundings; probably looking out for traps. Their loud steps on the rocky ground made it even easier to spot them. That''s why being a fatty piece of moving meat was a drawback. A few more steps and they would be in the perfect range for an aerial attack. Jack would first kill the one carrying a hammer, then the ax bigfat. No particr thinking backed this train of thought. He just felt like doing so. Three steps until the opportune moment. Jack tightened his grip on his daggers, ready to kill in one hit. Two steps. He rxed, dting hisrge intestine to prepare his trial weapon. One step. He let himself fall on his target and, like Death itself, brought judgment upon those whose time hade to an end. BAM! His daggers dug deep on both sides of a bigfat''s neck. Certain of his enemy''s death, Jack turned his attention toward his next prey. He then pulled out his weapons coated with blood while, in a fluid motion, grabbing freshly made feces using his tail andunched the dirty projectile on the ax-bigfat''s face. SPLASH! Caught unguarded, the white semi-solid substance sprinkled across its entire face as holy water does during baptism. The bigfat let go of its weapon and grabbed its face as if it was burning. "Wouaaah!" Jack paused at the unexpected result. Did white paint hurt that much? It seemed to be in a lot of pain, after all. The bigfat was rampaging; hitting, punching, and hurling anything within its range. It seemed too dangerous to approach, but for Jack, that was the perfect opportunity. He zigzagged his way to it, avoiding flying branches, rocks, and punches. Once underneath the towering being, he dodged yet another strike, sprung on its back, and reached its throat for the kill before nimbly jumping on a nearby tree to admire his glorious victory from above. Perched on his branch, he felt empowered by such a sight. Even the man-thing had trouble dealing with two of them when it was not enraged, that is. However, he, Jack, did all that in but a moment without going crazy! All of that, thanks to his newfound weapon. And since he could produce such a powerful weapon at least six times a day, he dared not imagine what kind of power he was holding right now. Dozens will fall under his des! Hundreds will die at his feet from his infinite wisdom and wit! And thousands will be repainted! The world wille to dread his new power! The power of the white paint! *** In the gods'' council room, the Four were having a meeting. The topic? War. "Filona, any news from End''s Pass?" Zalon asked, his chin leaning against his two forearms. "Yes, bad ones." She said, her beautiful facial features darkening. "Phobos has sent 10000 more fearmongers to reinforce the 20000 already wreaking havoc on End''s walls." Brutalina, crossed armed, scoffed. "What does it matter? Let''s send 10000 more men, and voil¨¤! Problem no more." Zalon pushed up his sses, his re reflecting disagreement. "We have to fight on three fronts. End is months away from the eastern and western borders. Sending reinforcements will simply weaken our other lines of defense. We simplyck the manpower. At best we could send 1000 soldiers from reserve forces. But we cannot send more than that. If Equilibrium or Tartarus were to need help¡ª" Brutalina gestured for him to stop. "Ok, ok, ok. Understood, oh magnificent and illustrious strategist. What''s your genius brain proposing then?" "Wait, I haven''t finished my report." Filona interrupted, "Leading the enemy reinforcements is one of the five, Golgoth." Click! Belmand''s bed cricked and reclined, revealing a god of sloth fully awakened. "Impossible. While the Veil is still intact, no gods can trespass. Valinar herself used her divinity for that purpose." The Four simultaneously lowered their heads in honor of Valinar''s sacrifice and remembering that once they were Five. After a minute, Zalon reopened the topic. "Filona, send your scouts to Icehel''s frozen nes and find out what''s going on before Golgoth reaches End''s Pass. Meanwhile, we''ll use our reserves and send half of them to reinforce Englen''s troops. Let''s proceed to the vote." Belmand yawned and raised his hand. Brutalina rolled her eyes but still raised her hand. Of course, Zalon voted for his own n, leaving only Filona against. "You are asking me to send them to certain death! If there was a modicum of hope for sess I would agree, but this¡­ this is just a waste of human lives. You are simply asking my children tomit suicide! Considering your past as a human, you should know better." Normally, Filona wouldn''t care so much about human lives. However, if those were her children, she would fight tooth and nail to protect them. Even if her enemy was another god. Of course, she could differentiate military decisions and personal affairs. But what Zalon was asking was simply too unreasonable for her. Zalon released his divine powers, shrinking the other gods'' domain. His eyes shone with an intimidating frozen blue as his robe fluttered vigorously. "Don''t you dare talk about my past. I am human no more!" Belmand vanished from his bed and appeared next to Zalon. "Calm down, brother. Filona didn''t mean any ill. Filona, sister, apologize, would you?" The god of sloth eyed her intently, his message clear. She forced out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, brother. I didn''t think things through before talking." Belmand ced his bony hand on Zalon''s shoulder, who retracted his divinity. The four colors in the room returned to their previous harmonious equilibrium and Belmand to his bed. Zalon sighed before speaking. "Filona, we desperately need that information. Even if the mission is hopeless, we have to try. Countless lives depend on it. If the End''s Pass falls the entire northern region will follow and after that¡­ the world will crumble. Is that what you want, sister?" The council room was plunged into a deafening silence.. When finally Filona closed her eyes and, with tears flowing down her cheeks, raised her hand. Chapter 17 - Breakdown (part 1) V2 WARNING: You might not like the backstory ahead. However, the story gets much better (in my humble opinion) after the Breakdown chapters. You could skip those, but you probably won''t understand a few things that will happen afterward. As to why it gets more interesting, the answer lies in chapter 24. Actually, chap 24 can be said to be the real beginning of the novel in a way. I hope to see you there, guys. I''ll read youter. __________________________________________________________________________ While Jack was proudly defending their camp, Aito had yet another dream. The same dream that has kept him from sleeping peacefully at night. The same dream that forced him to watch times and times again the overconfident fool that he had been. And watching the dream from above, without being able to act, was the worst part of it. (Not that dream again¡­) The present-day Aito thought, tired of seeing this part of his life dating back to one year before he settled in Lac-Saint-Jean, before he became a simple woodcutter. Not because it was a particrly unhappy one, quite the contrary in fact, but because it reminded him of what he had lost. All these years he had fooled himself into believing he wasn''t to me, while still knowing that he was the culprit. He regretted his misdeed but couldn''t acknowledge it. He couldn''te to terms with the fact that he did it, not the act itself. Thinking that if he did, he would be a monster. Every time he watched that dream, he couldn''t help but desperately hope that the oue would change. But bit by bit, it was leading him to deny his past self, as if it was another person since the contrast separating them was equivalent to the difference between night and day. (I wish I had listened to Dad back then. Maybe¡­ everything would have turned out differently if I had.) In a luxurious apartment, on top of a thirty stories tall building at the center of Montreal. "I''m sorry," Tevari said, looking down at the yellowish-brown wooden round table, the bocote''s fragrant scent slightly easing his already tensed nerves. Olivia''s green eyes wandered around, searching for an anchor point she had yet to find. "What¡­ but¡­ how? How did ite to that?" Haley stared at the chandelier fixed on the white ceiling, unable to voice or even make sense of the brainstorm raging inside her mind. "It''s fine, dad," the past Aito said, eating bluefin tuna sushi on his te while staring at his father. "It''s fine." "No, it''s not!" Tevari exploded, his pride and shame too great to bear the loss. "I''ve lost everything, Aito! The reason we''ve moved to this god damn cold country in the first ce was for that business. And now I''ve lost it! A lifetime''s work, gone within the ashes of my ambitions burned by human greed. My ships, my employees, my fishing rights, my facilities. All of that will be gone because of my negligence." "It''s fine, honey, we''ll manage it somehow. We''ll find a solution. Like we always did. Together." Olivia said, her white slender hand reaching for his. Tevari avoided her touch. "No¡­ not this time. I am ruined. Even if I sell all my business rights and personal assets, it won''t be enough to cover the money I borrowed. A partner of mine is willing to buy those for 500 million dors, but my debt goes up to a billion dors. I don''t know where to get the remaining money." (And there goes past foolish me¡­) "I''ll do it," Aito said, confidence shing by his ck irises. "I''ll gather the remaining greens." "And how are you¡ª" Tevari said, his eyes widening upon realizing his son''s intention. "No. Just no. Forget about it." "What is youbro talking about, dad?" Haley asked, sending Tevari a quizzical gaze. (About something stupid, don''t listen to him.) "About something reckless for a change," Tevari said, using a sarcastic tone. "I''m capable of winning it, dad. I''ve already won Montreal qualifiers!" "Boyo, you''ve just fought the best fighters of one single region. Do you think you''ll stand a chance against Canada''s strongests? I will soon lose my business and I do not want to risk losing my son to that bloody tournament." Tevari sighed, massaging his forehead. "They might say that everything is under control with their cutting edge medical bullshit. But there is no denying you''ll face death in that ring." "I know." "No, you don''t. I''ve trained you the best I could and as your master, I can tell your talent is barely above average. And you''re yet to have enough real fighting experience. Don''tpare sport with actual fights to the death where everything is allowed, because this is what this tournament is more or less about. You''re already lucky to have won the regional!" "I know." "Thebat techniques I created and passed down to you, are not all-powerful. Quite the contrary. They have several ws because they were made by an amateur in the first ce. When I created those, I was young and foolish. It was only to pass time, they cannotpare to others that are backed up by centuries or even thousands of years of traditions. Even then¡ª" "Dad, I know," Aito said, interrupting his father. (No, you don''t! Just listen to dad!) The present Aito watching the conversation as a bystander felt desperate thinking about what it would lead to. He knew his past self''s goal in life was to be a renowned martial artist using his father''s teachings, then spread it to the entire world. He had trained for at least two hours a day, five times a week, aside from attending school and his everyday life. Even his university diploma in sport was for that sole purpose. However, that was far from enough to contend against people who had undergone much more rigorous training than he did. They had focused their entire life on it and dedicated every day of their existence to the path of martial art, something he had only partially done. But once his past self made up his mind, he would run straight into a wall like a bull, even if an easier road lied right next to it. He had always been that kind of fool. That was why, after over three years of reflecting on himself, the present Aito developed that weird habit of overthinking things rather than rush towards the option that "seemed" to be the best. He also understood¡ªnow that it was toote¡ªhis past self''s true goal wasn''t to actually be the best fighter, but to help promote Tevari''s martial art that was loathed by those who had seen it. Aito had been that kind of sucker for his family. His overprotectiveness of his family members had pushed him to great lengths before. When Haley had gotten bullied in high school because of her tanned skin, it triggered his uncontroble rage. Furious, the past Aito had followed those responsible for his sister''s sorrow after their sses, and beat them up in a back alley, far away from prying eyes. It had led to a few juristic issues and one of many of Tevari''s lectures. "But this time," Aito said, intently staring at his father, "it isn''t only about proving our martial art''s prowess to the world. It''s about protecting our family. For that purpose, I''m ready to fight anyone the tournament sends my way. Be it a woman, man, animal, or the world''s strongest." (Don''t! You will just be a burden to them!) At those words, the room plunged into an awkward silence. The Human Weapon tournament wasn''t even a sportspetition it was moreparable to the fights of diators of old. Anybody, be it man or woman, could participate in it as long as they were at least 21 years old and after signing a discharge. Fighters only had one single rule to follow: no killing. But, during the regionals, there had been severe cases of injuries, some of them leading to death. The present-day Aito knew, that despite his past self''s foolishness, Tevari couldn''t help but be proud of him in a way. Not the part about running into a wall without thinking, but the one about protecting his family at all costs. That''s why Tevari had not stopped him that day. Tevari sighed, "I wonder where you got that stubbornness." "Look who''s talking," Olivia said, readjusting her blonde hair. "Like father, like son," Haley added, nodding. "Ayo! The woman who chased me, a simple fisherman, to a godforsaken ind in the middle of the Pacific Ocean just to court my tanned ass is the one saying that? You''re even more stubborn than I am!" Olivia batted her long eyshes, winking her way out of it. Seeing how it didn''t work, she diverted her husband''s attention by throwing food at his face. And so began the Third World Food War. A certain warmth spread, chasing away the room''s previously awkward atmosphere. Laughs reced somber faces, as did happiness to anxiousness and smiles to worry. (I¡­ can''t bear to look at their smiles. Please¡­ just make it stop! Please¡­ I''m so sorry¡­) Tevari dodged a sushi that ended its course at the center of the family''s photo hung on the wall. "Ha! A hundred years too early for you to hit your old ma¡ª" (I''m sorry, Dad.) BAM! Haley smirked at her perfect hit. (Sis¡­) BAM! "Hey! That''s unfair, mom!" Hayley said. Olivia giggled at her daughter''s pouting face. "You''re too old to make that kind of face, dear. Take another sushi as punishment." "18 years old is not old!" (Mom¡­) BAM! "You dare hit your own mother!" "You''re too old to make that kind of face, mom," Aito said, smirking. (Fuck you¡­ past me. Fuck you!) *** The dream changed after a while. The present-day Aito found himself in the same ce as before, but with only his past self and Tevari sitting at the round table. It was something Tevari liked to do when he needed to have a serious discussion. The symbolism of equity that round tables embodied brought to the conversation amon ground, or so Aito''s father thought. And that night, Tevari wanted to talk about a very sensitive subject. Aito''s past self was a young man filled with "pride" who couldn''t control his anger. In other words, Aito had been an arrogant prick who had trouble controlling his rage. Luckily, only a few things could enrage him. Unluckily, losing the tournament might just have that effect. He hadn''t been as foolish as to unjustly put the me on someone else, so with no one to bear the me he would turn against himself. And that anger, that rage¡ªAito barely learned to controlter on¡ªcould only lead to either self-hate or depression. In his vast wisdom, Tevari knew it might happen, and had tried to talk to his past self about it. (Please¡­ listen to him this time.) "Son, when you get on that ring, don''t underestimate your opponents as you did before." "I know," Aito said, sighing for the umpteenth time tonight. "That''s all you ever say, but I know that''s not what you believe. So think about the respect I taught you." Aito sighed once more, then looked into his father''s dark eyes. "Dad¡­ respect derives from fear towards one''s strength, but I fear no one as long as it is to protect you guys." (Pretentious idiot, just listen!) Tevari rolled his eyes. "You should. How could you be stronger if you are not guided by one of, if not the most powerful emotions there is? Fear will¡ª" "Yes, dad. You''re rambling on like an old man. I''ve already heard that line at least a hundred times." "Of course I''m rambling on. I''m old! So let me say it to you one more ti¡ª" Aito rearranged his chair and stared at his father, looking bored. "Fear defines your limits, but don''t let it define yourself. Because courage stems from fear, and in itys the potential to ovee your limits." "Indeed," Tevari said, nodding. "You''ve repeated this line so many times that I would even hear it in my dreams. So what''s the point of telling me this?" "Because there is the next part," Tevari said. (Hun? Howe I don''t remember that part?) The present-time Aito thought while the images of his past slowly blurred. "###? Since when?" Aito looked at him, surprised. "##### now," He said, smirking. "So, ording to ###, what are limits?" Aito stared at Tevari, seemingly unamused by the riddle that just came out of nowhere. "Limits ### your weaknesses, boyo. #########, if you want to go ###### your limits, you will have to ovee #### weaknesses." Aito raised his eyebrow as if to say it was elementary and that it also sounded extremely cheap. (Why¡­ is the image so blurry¡­) "But ##### to begin?" Tevari asked, not really expecting a response. "What''s the first step?" Aito maintained his silence. "########################################." (No! Show me more!) Aito thought before the dream entirely blurred. Chapter 18 - Breakdown (part 2) V2 (No! Show it to me!) Aito thought when the previous scene blurred into a stadium full of spectators. (Oh¡­ great. My favorite part and the beginning of the end.) "Ladies and gentlemen, wee to the morning matches of ''Human Weapon'' Canada''s Finals taking ce in Montreal Stadium! I am n Meyer and this is Charles Mitch!" n said, staring at the camera with a charming smile. "Good morning, everyone!" Charles said, giving the viewers a thumbs up. "Together, we will be your humble hosts for this year''s most anticipated event in Canada!" "Taking ce in Montreal Stadium!" Charles said with a satisfied look on his face. n then sent him an eye signal, indicating they had already stated the location, before easily correcting his colleague''s mistake, using his years of experience as a professional sportsmentator, by downright ignoring Charles''smentary. "The opening match will oppose one male and one femalebatant! In the blue corner, Layehs Uyr! A ck belt in Judo and Karate who reigned supreme over the Ontario region! Her devastating kicks and punch ended more than one fighter''s career! She is also known for her peculiar habit to cover up her face. So we don''t actually know what she looks like!" "And in the red corner," Charles said, having regained hisposure. "We have a dark horse, Aito Walker! This young man rose to fame after his victory in Quebec''s regional, using his self-created martial art! It proved to be effective when he took down his every opponent in less than five seconds!" "Talking about the wolf, here we are seeing its tail," n said, his eyes following on a screen the tanned skin man with a tattoo on his right forearm. *** (And herees the bastard and his tail.) Aito entered what the referee called a "ring" but it resembled a desert. A huge square tform topped with tons of white sands stood at the center of the stadium. (Ah¡­ yeah. Even now, I still remember the scorching hot feeling. What kind of madman designed that so-called ring which actually looked more like an arena?) When he had stepped onto the surface back then, Aito had quickly noticed an increase in temperature. Apparently, hot metallic tes underneath the ring heated the sand to make it not only appear like a desert but also feel like one. Moreover, hundreds of spotlights aimed at the stage rose the temperature even higher. Sweat began running down his past self''s broad chest as he removed his winter clothes to stand half-naked in his corner. Instead of eyeing his opponent, he first gazed upon the ck braids circling his entire forearm: a tattoo that had been made in Tahiti for his eighteenth birthday. (Father''s gift¡­. Stop staring at it like that! You are not worthy of it!) Braids, in Polynesian culture, meant the bonds between people. In this case, it was the bonds between Aito and his family. By taking a look at it before each match, he had wanted to remind himself of his goal, THE goal. Butter on, unable to bear the weight of its meaning, Aito had it erased through aser operation. The past Aito closed his fist and whispered an inaudible prayer before finally gazing at the opponent. In the blue corner stood a woman in light ck sports wares. Her long ck hair stuck out from under the in grey mask covering her face. It only left two small holes with enough space for her icy blue eyes to meet her opponent''s re. (Sports bra, and leggings. Developed abdominal muscles. Powerful leg muscles. Beautiful, but dangerous. I''m sure she was hiding a pretty face under that mask. Her body was already lovely enough for men to gawk at her, but why was she hiding that face?) Aito warmed up; lightly punching and kicking empty air. Layehs rolled her wrists while eyeing the countdown on a huge monitor before the start of the match. [00:10] He grabbed a handful of sand to chase off the sweat building up in his palms and hid a fistful in his pocket. [00:05] She tied her long hair in a ponytail, then lifted her guard up. [00:00] "Fight!" the referee said, standing aside. (Kick my past''s ass!) Layehs dashed towards Aito, her feet digging into the sand as if it was natural. Guard up, he advanced with caution, fully aware of the drawbacks an unstable ground provided his footing. (I still don''t understand how she managed to move that fast.) Aito stopped before reaching Layeh''s range and hid behind his guard to analyze her moves. He widened his eyes when a kick fast approached his manhood. He deflected the vicious blow with a swing of the knee and his feet still in midair responded with a middle kick. Layehs effortlessly dodged and aimed for his leg, trying to sweep her opponent out of bnce. Aito slightly jumped to avoid it and counterattacked with yet another kick from a midair stance. BAM! Itnded on her guard but didn''t seem to have dealt any actual damage. (Ha! She''s obviously an experienced fighter! Look at her reading your every move!) He plunged his hand into his pocket, grabbed the sand hidden in there, and faked a troubled expression. Layehs took advantage of that ''opening'' to narrow the distance. From her toes, the momentum producing the iing blow increased in power at a rapid pace to reach its peak when it connected with Aito''s jaw. But he twisted it at thest second, almost nullifying the damage by apanying the punch. (Cheap trick¡­) Then, in a fluid motion, he took advantage of her open guard to cloud her vision with the sand hidden in his pocket. Blinded, groaning, she closed her eyes and retreated backward to remove the sand out of Aito''s range of action. Thinking that Aito would aim for her head, Layehs kept her guard up. But instead, he grabbed her sports bra and removed it. (I can''t believe I did that. Still, now that I have the time to look at it¡­ Layehs was a really beautiful woman.) Aito threw the tattered bra on the sand, stretched his opened palm, and repeatedly closed it in a provocative gesture. (Oh¡­ you so don''t know what you just did. She isn''t like other women.) Instead of covering herself as anybody else would do, Layehs kept her guard up. But a cold killing intent mixed with rage emanated from her entire being, a rage she seemed to be in perfect control of. Even as a bystander, the present-day Aito could feel it. She dashed towards him. Surprised, he paused before strengthening his own guard. Layehs grabbed his left arm with one hand, twisted it, and viciously struck a specific ce next to his armpits with her knuckle. A powerful electrical discharge traveled from the point of impact into Aito''s entire body. Stunned for but a moment, he couldn''t avoid the blow targeting his chin from the side. His brain moved out of its orbit due to the shock of the impact and crashed against his skull. Aito''s vision blurred, progressively fading to ck. Before his body touched the hot sand, he peered onest time into two frozen blue eyes. Two eyes belonging to a predator looking down on her prey. (Ha! That never gets old!) The present-day Aito thought. That scene had be his favorite because he could see his past self being punished for what he would do. But ultimately, it couldn''t change what would appear in the next scenes. The parts of his dream he dreaded the most. The memories he could never endure. The part of his past which had changed his life forever. Chapter 19 - Breakdown (part 3) V2 The scenery blurred once again, morphing the desert arena full of sand into a bar. Present-day Aito sighed and tried to steel his resolve. For the following scenes were¡ªto him¡ªequivalent to a descent into Hell. (It''s just a dream. Yes, just a dream.) The scene took ce one month after his defeat. Aito had just been discharged from his hospital bed. Diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhaging, he had to stay under watchful eyes for a month. Due to it, Aito could never again enter a fighting tournament. It was the kind of injury that ended the career and dream of many young talented professional boxers. He could still open a martial art school but¡­. (Opening a school was pointless if no first prize whatsoever couldn''t be shown. At best my past self could have spread it to the entire region, but not the world.) Without the possibility of showing his martial art to the world, he was now goalless, aimless. Something he had worked his entire life on was now gone, just because of a single injury. Added to his suffering were his defeat and the guilt that stemmed from it. He had lost his dream. He had lost his fight. He had lost the only chance his family had to pay back the humongous debt of 500 million dors. Around half a billion greens was the prize given to the tournament''s winner and he would never be able to get his hand on it. That one month spent in a hospital had only added fuel to the fire. The despair and guilt had gnawed at his sanity. With all the time in the world, he had tormented himself by recalling his defeat, times and times again, trying to figure out where he had messed up. That only led him to me himself for it. To me himself for underestimating his opponent. To hate himself. (But that did not change the fact my past self had lost.) Thus, after multiple weeks of tormenting himself, and despite his family''s frequent visits, his mind sunk. Drowning into despair. A despair he wanted to escape from. A despair he needed to run away from. (Bastard¡­. Stop running away! Wake up!) The present-day Aito thought while he himself had been running away from his own misdeeds for over three years. Seating alone at the bar, a half-emptied bottle of whisky in hand, and a worried barman eyeing him from time to time, the past Aito wasted himself. Le Pendu was a bar in Montreal he had frequently visited to y pool. A bar with piano as background music, authentic wooden chairs, expensive alcohol, and the fragrant smell of satin. He had liked to call it his second home. But he had never ordered a drink until that day. "I lost," Aito said for the umpteenth time, "I''m trash." (Wake up!) Because of his fear of the uncontroble rage hiding inside him. A rage the alcohol''s disinhibition could bring out. Aito had made "no alcohol" a rule for himself. Even at that time¡ªalthough immature¡ªhe had been aware of his anger issues and feared he couldn''t handle his bottle. "Damn it, Jeffrey." He said, drinking from the bottle. "I freaking lost." Jeffrey, the blonde barman, seemed at a loss as to what to do. Normally, Aito woulde around, buy a few drinks for some of his pals, y pool, throw a few jokes, and leave without causing troubles for anyone¡ªat least when no one provoked him first. That kind of ident happened rarely. But when it did, the young man would always take it outside as to make sure not to break anything, or at least he had tried to do so. Jeffrey took a quick nce at the clock on top of the alcohol shelf. It was almost 1 am, and the bar usually closed around that hour. "Mr. Walker, we''ll be closing soon." The barman said, d to find an excuse he could use to force the young man out. Aito eyed him with an empty re, his mind obscured from the excess of alcohol coursing through his veins, and ignored him to just utter some nonsense Jeffrey couldn''t understand. "You¡­ know what my sister said¡­ just before I got into all of this," he said, his words barely audible. "She said, huh¡­ she said ''Youbro, I know you¡­ want to protect us but¡­ who will protect you from those you face¡­.'' PFFF!" (Did she ever say that? I... can''t seem to recall that part.) "And I chose to ignore her! I looked like a fool¡­, when she visited me on¡­ my hospital bed with her eyes full of pity and disappointment. Fuck!" (What kind of nonsense are you spouting! They never looked at you that way!) When they visited him, his family only had sorrow in their eyes. Seeing a broken Aito on a hospital bed, they felt saddened at the sight. But the guilt, despair, and excess of alcohol blurred those saddened eyes into ones of disappointment. BAM! His fist hit the bar. The sound of flesh against wood echoed throughout the room, halting any activities currently taking ce. Bouncers, standing by, eyed Aito suspiciously but stayed put when Jeffrey shook his head. "Damn it! I promised them, Jeffrey! I promised!" Aito said, alcohol dropping from his mouth to his suit. (Yes, and you failed! Get over it!) "Shit¡­ how am I supposed to¡­ protect them now? Hun!? I''ve lost the right to do it! I disappointed them! Every time¡­ I see their gazes, I feel like¡­ those are tearing me apart! Do you understand? To see disappointment¡­ in the eyes of those I love the most¡­ hurts so much¡­ and I hate myself for it. I¡­ hate myself for disappointing them." (You only disappointed yourself!) The disinhibition alcohol brought was no joke to those who couldn''t handle their bottle. Even if those kinds of people tried to forget about it by wasting themselves, it only worsened their issues. And sometimes, like in this particr case, they could go mad, trying to externalize their hatred towards themselves by hurting others. Aito turned towards the bouncers, stealing nces at him. His mind, under the influence of alcohol and despair, interpreted it as a provocation. And provocation pissed him off. He had no intention to cause trouble and only wanted to have a drink after all. So why were they looking at him like that? (Stop! If you do this, you will regret it!) It triggered his instinctual "dynamic diplomacy." Added to it the need to blow off some steam, he couldn''t refrain from starting a brawl. (Idiot!) Aito thought before the scene switched to another one. Following the bar scene, the present-day Aito was forced to watch a few other memories of his past self progressively sinking into alcoholism. In those, Aito was cklisted from almost every bar in the city for violent behavior and destruction of property. With nowhere else to go, he bought from shops or online stores to drink at home¡ªsomething he had wanted to avoid. The disappointment he imagined in his family''s eyes had been so unbearable that, unwilling to see them, he enclosed himself in his room. But with no interactions with other human beings apart from socialworks,bined with his bottle issue, guilt, despair, and self-hate, it only led to depression. (To foolishness) His family knew he was going through depression, that much was clear. They had tried to help him the best they could by showing signs ofpassion, encouragement, and love. But they could not understand him. Who could me them? No one can understand someone who''s depressed apart from the depressed person. Furthermore, in that particr case, they did not know that their mere physical presence was a trigger. A trigger that would send a bullet flying into Aito''s mental health. At least, that''s how he perceived it. He could have tried to leave the familial house, but with no real money to his name, he couldn''t move out. The little pocket money and savings he had were invested into alcohol. Depression didn''t help either. In that state, every step, breath taken, or even the simple act of seeing felt suffocating. Finding the motivation to earn money seemed like an impossible task. Just like winning the tournament. Unwilling to force him out of his alcohol streak for fear of aggravating his depression, his family did not dare forbid him to drink. After all, they could help him but ultimately recovery lied in the hand of the depressed person, and to do that¡ªlike many others¡ªAito had wrongly chosen istion to heal himself. (I¡­. He only made it worse.) His past self''s safe haven was located at his family''s new home, a shabby three-room apartment in Montreal''s borders. In a six meters square poorly lighted room, a depressed Aito had remained locked up inside, using hisputer to pass time with anime, movies, video games, and online novels. Of course, with a bottle of alcohol within hand''s reach. The only times he had left hisfort zone were to pick up the daily alcohol delivery he ordered every day and use the restrooms. If one of his family members spotted him, the shame, the guilt eating at his very bones would prevent Aito from having a normal conversation and force him back into his room. Thankfully, with Olivia staying at home to take care of housework, his family was at least certain that Aito wouldn''t die from starvation. She would drop by his room three times a day to ce a te of food at the foot of his door. It would eventually get eaten within the hour. Olivia would also try from time to time to talk to him. But silence was the only answer she ever had. As for Tevari, after selling all his personal assets andpany shares he made a deal with his debtors, buying him some time to pay back his debt. For the moment, to put food on the table, he was hired as a convenience store manager¡ªusing his previous professional experience¡ªnear their new housing. His daughter, Haley, had traveled abroad to take part in a surfing event located in Tahiti, with the hope of winning the first prize and lighten her father''s debts ever so slightly. *** (No¡­, that was never me.) The present-day Aito thought while watching a scene that dated back to three months after his defeat. At that point in time, depression had impaired his state of mind, pushing him towards negativity. Like a gue, it had spread to his entire being. It was as if he saw the world through cloudy sses blocking happiness and positivity. And alcohol just happened to add a spicy fiery touch to it. A foggy mind. An unquenchable thirst. In a dirty room, his past self rated an online novel poorly and took a sip of alcohol. The liquid traveled down his throat, providing a burning feeling he now needed every morning in order to start his day in "top shape." He switched to a different novel, "Death before the Begging," a weirdly named one. Just when he was about to read the synopsis, a gentle knock on the door warned him that breakfast was served. Bottle in hand, he stood up from his chair, made his way through the piles of empty ss bottles on the wooden floor, and opened the door. (Mom....) Olivia stood outside, a te in hand. Her green eyes shing with worries. A timid smile could be seen on her face as she held out his breakfastposed of two toasts and three eggs, topped by a smiling face drawn with ketchup. Aito stared at the drawing. His hand holding the bottle trembled slightly. He took a quick sip, but when he lowered his drink, he made eye contact with Olivia''s green eyes. The poorly lit environment and his foggy mind blurred his vision and turned his mother''s eyes blue. The same blue eyes he had seen before his defeat. Aito''s hand shook uncontrobly. He took a sip and rapidly closed the door. His continual abuse of the bottle, coupled with his depression, self-hate, guilt, and a few other factors, disrupted his logical thinking. Leading him to develop¡­ (Alcohol-induced psychosis.) The present-day Aito thought, reciting by heart what he had learned. (A mental condition characterized by disruption to thinking and the perception of the world. A nasty little bitch that pushed him towards the unforgivable.) Alcohol-induced psychosis could include symptoms such as poor executing functioning, memory problems, difficulty understanding what is real, inappropriate behavior, incoherent speech, hallucinations, and delusions. Later on, Aito had studied that mental condition using whatever source he could find. Not because of curiosity, but because he needed something to me. Because of denial. Death was supposed to be a one-time event, which could turn it into an eye-opener. So upon his revival, Aito had started to ovee denial due to the deep regret he felt while looking back at his previous life. But the dreams, the nightmares, plunged him back again into it. Deeper this time. To the point, he was even progressively denying his past self. His past life. His past memories. Chapter 20 - Breakdown (part 4) V2 The scenery changed, but the location didn''t. Present-day Aito panicked, for thatst scene was the one he dreaded the most. The one he wanted to forget above all else. (¡­ no¡­) He thought, unable to avert his "eyes." Forced to watch until the end. Four months after the defeat, his past self was going through multiple online stories''ment sections, leaving whatever nonsense he could. With a bottle of cheap whiskey in hand, he took a sip, only to realize that it was thest drop. His savings were running low and Olivia had stopped giving Aito pocket money because she had none herself¡ªnot anymore. But he still had enough for onest bottle, and with the delivery service unavable at this hour of the night, he had no choice but to walk to the store himself. Guided by his thirst, he stood up from his wooden chair, pushing back the numerous bottles on the ground. Completely wasted, he doddered his way to the door, stepping on broken ss. His mind was hazy, affecting his perception. The room seemed to move around, disturbing his sense of bnce. Aito''s foot touched an intact bottle, which rolled and made him fall headfirst. "Fuck!" He said, lying on the wooden floor amidst pieces of ss and umted dust. "Who did this!?" Under the influence of alcohol-induced psychosis, he assumed that someone had attacked him. Aito''s fatigued eyes peered in the room''s dark corners that were poorly lit by a tallmpstand close to his bed. Having searched the entire but one spot, he focused his attention on the source of light. The more he looked at it, the more its tall frame resembled a body. Progressively, thempstand morphed into the shadow of a man. "Was that you!?" His uncontroble rage surged like a volcanic explosion. Incapable of restraining the boiling fury, he attacked the inanimate object. (Put that down!) "Have a taste of this!" He said, throwing a random ss bottle which obviously missed and shattered on the concrete wall. "Got you!" He said, thinking he hit the mark. The human-shaped shadow then moved, appearing in the corner of his vision, to only blur once more. Irritated by the shadow''s "provocation," he turned around to search for his illusionary aggressor. But no matter how many times he tried, he never could properlyy his eyes on it. "Fuck! Show yourself!" (Calm yourself!) "Aaaah!" Aito roared. Furious to be messed with, he repeatedly threw one projectile after another in every direction. Chair, bottles, even pieces of broken ss¡ªthat cut through his palms¡ªbut missed due to the high quantity of alcohol in his bloodstream. Or simply because there was nothing to aim at in the first ce. Drown by the fuss, his father banged on the door. "Son? Are you okay?" (Don''te in!) With no responseing his way, worried for his son, Tevari turned the knob and entered the room. There, amidst a messy, crowded space with an empty bottle in a bloody hand, stood a shadow of what his son had been. A pale-colored beer belly started to show under Aito''s tattered and dirty ck shirt. His hair reached shoulder length, and long ck facial hairs hid a vengeful, deformed rictus. He had put up some weight from the absence of exercise. Theck of exposition to sun rays had rendered his previously beautiful tanned skin almost entirely white. Tevari hadn''t seen his son for four months, not properly at least. He had only been able to catch a glimpse of him during Aito''s rare venture outside his room before the young man could flee to "safety." However, he hadn''t expected such a drastic change. "Boyo, what happened to you¡­." Tevari said, although already aware of the answer. "Honey, wh¡ªAito?" Olivia asked, walking in after hearing the furor of a deranged man. Behind her stood Haley, barely finding bnce with her crutches. She had been injured during herst surfingpetition and now couldn''t move around without them. "Youbro?" Haley said, using the nickname she had used to call her brother since childhood. The young man turned towards his father with a cloudy mind filled with rage, delusion, and hallucination. And there, where stood his father, was the shadow. (Dad! Run! Ruuuuun!) "Son? What are you doing!?" (DON''T YOU DARE!) "Found you! You piece of shit!" (NOOOO!) The Present-day Aito yelled with all his strength. Forced to watch. Unable to act. He wanted to move his body and stop his past self, but couldn''t. That dream, thatst scene in particr. Seeing it times and times again was real torture. A torture from which he couldn''t escape. Sure, he could lighten the mood by throwing a few jokes,mentaries, and simply repeating himself that it wasn''t him. That it never had been him. But in the end, it was just a facade to hide his misery. (Please¡­ I can''t do this anymore.) Suddenly, the dream froze. Every detail of the brutal scene pierced his mind, anchoring themselves deep enough to make them unforgettable through normal means. His father''s blood covering the floor. (Please¡­) And from the room''s darkness came a deformed voice, which goal was to prate his soon to be shattered mental defenses. Thatst part of the dream always sent shivers to Aito''s imaginary spine. (Fuck! Just tell what you want from me!?) "GiVe ThEM tO Me." Olivia''s bruises. "YoUr sIn." Aito''s bloody hands and bottle of alcohol. "YoUr sUfFeRiNg." (I¡­) Haley''s broken legs. "I cAN gIvE yOu ThE ReDemPtIoN YoU sEeK." (I¡­) "JUst¡­ COME TO ME!" At thosest words, the dream blurred into nothingness. *** The midday sun shone ever so brightly in the sky, piercing through sparse clouds riding the winds. Aito jolted awake with sunrays, filtered by branches and leaves, blinding his dted pupil, a phenomenon generated under intense stress. But upon the realization that he had overslept, he briskly stood up. His armor equipped at all times, he only needed to grab his one-handed ax and thin-shield settled at the foot of his bed before heading outside his now partially broken walls. There, not far from the entrance, he found a few bigfoot corpses lying around. Some of them had a white substance sprayed on their faces sharing onemon facial feature: an opened mouth with a painful rictus. Eyes and skin red. It looked like someone had sprayed some sort of acid solutions on them. Although it didn''t dissolve the fur, it seemed to have irritated them enough to make it extremely unpleasant. Curious about what happened, he continued to walk around, looking for clues. Double-handed weapons, corpses with stab wounds, and bits of fur scattered around pointed towards one answer, or rather, one monkey. Aito found the culprit perched on a tree branch, scouring the horizon for a potential threat. ''Just when did this little guy get so strong?'' He thought, before seeing Jack swallowing one of those white baneberries. ''That fool¡­.'' He strode to the tree''s foot and called out to his partner. "Jack! Why the fuck are you still eating those white bane¡ª" Aito cut his sentence short, finally assembling the puzzle together, using thest clue. Realizing that the poison berries became a "weapon" against those things, he couldn''t help but be surprised. Trying to take advantage of the poisonous properties of those berries, he had already tried to coat his weapons by using their juice, to no avail. The issue stemmed from the poison''s concentration being too low. Aito had, of course, tried to condense it by boiling the dangerous liquid. Stupid idea since it apparently removed the poison. And with no previous experience in chemical maniption, he had just dropped the idea, as he did with many others. Crafting a bow out of bamboo or/and wood since it looked easy in the novels he had read. No sess. Cultivate some vegetables in order to avoid looking for those. Even though he had a bit of experience in nting trees and nts. No sess. Building a boat to fish at sea or serve as an escape means. No sess. All those failures stacking up were disappointing. So when he saw Jack''s somewhat sessful "new weapon," Aito couldn''t believe it. By ingesting the white baneberries, the monkey could somewhat "produce" some sort of poison. As for how lethal it was, he had no idea yet. Two precise stabs to the neck neatly killed the bigfoots lying around, which meant that none of them died from poison. Meaning it was impossible to judge how effective it truly was. However, if it could truly kill one of those things¡­. There were tons of ways to apply it in their daily fights. Throwing the "weapon" to their faces was indeed one way, but they could do so much more. Coating the spikes of the pitfalls. Dip their own throwing and close quarter weapons in it. Poison the natural pond some bigfoots apparently drunk from. There might be other practical ways to use it, but¡­ "We first need a test subject." He said, smirking, before thinking about another issue. "Jack, can you still dump one more of those today?" Jack turned its attention towards him and gave Aito a thumbs up. ''Did it really understand what I just said?'' He thought. Chapter 21 - Skippable Bonus Content A FEW DAYS LATER Aito stood in front of his now repaired entrance, patiently awaiting the first attack of the day to finally test out his new pitfall. Those past few days had been quite interesting. He had learned much about the bigfoots. ording to the tracks and the number of corpses, around a dozen evol monkeys were roaming the ind every day. What''s more, they seemed to wander in either group of two to three¡ªwith one of them being the leader¡ªor alone. Dealing with a group was already hard enough, but if all of them attacked at the same time, Aito was uncertain to have the necessary strength to handle it, even with Jack. At best, seven bigfoots would be manageable, or so he thought, but Aito wasn''t dumb enough to try it out for real. Fortunately, there appeared to be discord between each group of evol monkeys. One group would sometimes fight another over food or leadership, preventing a bigger group to form around one leader. At least until a bigfoot strong enough to unite them all appears. Expecting such a situation to happen¡ªbecause by now he understood it was inevitable¡ªhe wanted to properly test out Jack''s poison, but to do that he needed test subjects. Healthy ones. Not that he never tried out the poison. In fact, he used it quite frequently, and it proved very effective. However, he''s never seen the limits of it yet. Could it kill a monkey by itself? If yes, how long did it take? What dosage should he use? Following this train of thought, he had tried to capture test subjects by trapping them, but those monkeys were now smart enough to avoid his ringly obvious traps. Being a total amateur in building those, Aito left a lot of tracks around them, such as footprints, weirdly arranged leaves, and fragile sticks to close the trap. Now, his old pitfalls could only divert his enemies'' attention in a fight, but they never fell for it if not pushed inside. But that new pitfall should work since it had the best bait one could hope for attracting evol monkeys. A bait called Aito Walker, who stood right on the wooden tform that was covered by earth and grass. One horizontal wooden pole, assisted by a vertical one, formed a T-shaped foundation to support the trap''s cover just enough for some people to safely walk on it. Finally, not long after sunrise, two bigfoots armed with two-handed axes showed up near his doorstep. Aito rapidly gazed at a nearby bush where Jack was hidden. It had a ropeing out of the earth in both hands, awaiting Aito''s signal. Bigfoots'' approaching steps grew louder as they cautiously closed in on Aito. Eyeing the human suspiciously, they halted their steps to take a quick nce around them. Signs of traps spread around at random intervals. Some tree trunks amidst the vegetation from woods that had been recently cut down. The smell of sweat originating from the puny human in front of them. Nothing really suspicious to worry about, but they seemed uneasy for some reason. Seeing how they were hesitating, Aito brought out a wooden spear from his inventory, aimed, and hurled it with every iota of strength he had at the nearest monkey. It knocked the spear aside with its weapon and, provoked, ran toward its enemy that dared to enrage it, followed closely by itsrade. ''Too easy'' Aito thought, pleased that those monkeys still had a savage side to them. Just before they entered his range, he lifted his thumb. Having seen the signal from inside its bush, Jack pulled on the rope with all the strength he could muster. The weaved tree barks that made up the rope stretched under the pull, menacing to tear apart. At the other end of the rope, the vertical pole supporting the horizontal one budged slightly, destabilizing the entire structure''s foundation that started to show signs of crumbling. Aito swiftly stepped back, just in time to see the tform he had been standing on tumbling down, sending two bigfoots to the b." Jack came out of the bushes, rushed to its partner''s side, and stood on its two legs to take a look at what was trapped inside the deep hole Aito and it had spent hours digging in between fights and other manualbors. Aito nced at Jack who had some sort of smirk on its face when looking down at two of its kind. With the passing days, Jack adopted more and more humanlike physical expressions it learned from Aito. So when Aito added his own smirk to Jack''s, the two bigfoot below could only dread what wasing next at the sight of such simr evil grins. "Seems like we got ourselves two test subjects. Let''s start experiment n¡ã1 immediately, shall we?" "Kyaak!" Worried but also angry, the two bigfoots wanted to hammer the surrounding earth to search for an escape path but multiple bamboo spikes embedded in the walls discouraged them. "Oh, look at them, doctor Jack. It seems that our patients down there suffer from severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Would you please ''prepare'' the adequate treatment? Let''s start with a fairly hefty dose since they appear to have been drinking for quite a while." Aito said, a devilish smile creeping up its face at the thought of his small revenge. Those bigfoots were a real pain in the ass. He had to leave Jack to guard the camp while he went exploring and hunting for resources if he didn''t want to find it ransacked upon his return. Thus the pleasure he felt from the experiment. Jack gave a weird nod, and its facial expression contracted. Its tail reached in between his legs to bring out a white half solid substance that he threw at one bigfoot, but without the element of surprise Jack usually had the creature dodged the putrid projectile. "Oh! It seems we have quite the rebellious patient, doctor Jack. No matter, prepare a second dose while I keep them busy." Aito said, grabbing some pebbles. He then threw as many as he could at the bigfoots and seeded in attracting their attention. Meanwhile, Jack prepared yet another dose of its groundbreaking medication and positioned itself in one bigfoot''s blind spot to wait for an opening, which came quickly thanks to Aito. BAM! Feces sshed on a bigfoot''s face, the stench invaded its nostrils and some of it got into its eyes. In pain, it grabbed its face and tried to remove the poison. Feeling its current state worsening, the evol monkey hit its own head on the ground for the greatest pleasure of its tormentors. ''Nothing new for now.'' Aito thought, observing the bigfoot. ''Same reaction. Face and eyes burning. Nostrils hum, hard to judge from up here. It also looks like the poison entered its body through the eyes. Not sure.'' ¡ªGift: Intuition¡ª He felt a chilly feeling creeping up its spine and turned towards the forest. A group of three evol monkeys had made their way to his camp''s surroundings, which surprised him since there were usually breaks in between attacks. Then he remembered that today marked the start of a new week. "Shit¡­" He said, bringing out two spears from his inventory. "Jack, could you keep those three over there busy while I kill those two?" Jack gave him a thumbs up and quickly disappeared into the surrounding vegetation. The pitfall could restrain the two bigfoots for a while, but Aito knew they were far from being as stupid as to not try to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, even if it was regrettable, he preferred to kill them now rather than being surprised during a fight. "Experiment N¡ã1, postponed." BAM! Chapter 22 - The First Step (part 1) THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND WEEK, A FEW HOURS A BIT BEFORE DAWN. BAM! Aito brought down his double-handed battle-ax on thest remaining bigfoot, spraying its brain matter on the ground before dislodging his weapon. "Fuck¡­ ah¡­" He said, out of breath. "How¡­ could there¡­ be so many of them?" Exhausted, he sat down amidst dozens of corpses to take a well-deserved rest. Multiple wounds covered his body where the armor set couldn''t defend him. Wounds could heal at night. But his armor, however, couldn''t. And that worried him since his newly acquired equipment already started to turn into useless scraps of metal and leather because of today''s numerous fights. Groups of two or three evol monkeys had attacked at regr brief intervals, leaving him barely any room to breathe. Some bigfoots were now equipped with shields and, to his greatest displeasure, could parry or deflect Aito''s ordinary attacks. Fighting all day had forced him to call off his experiment. It wasn''t an enormous loss since it only stemmed from Aito''s curiosity and hobby¡ªa hobby he gained on this ind¡ªof trying out new things. He wasn''t even certain of obtaining useful knowledge out of it, so he resolved himself to put it away in the back of his mind like the rest of the other failures. Because for now, he had a much more troublesome issue to deal with. ''Just what am I supposed to do now?'' He could deal with strong enemies, weapons, and group tactics by using his head. However, the constant attacks were a whole other challenge in itself that involved stamina. Aito could probably survive as he did today, but he had to think about the following week, which would certainly be worse. ''Traps? Normal ones don''t work anymore. I don''t have time during the day to build an efficient one and at night it would be smarter to "rest." Not cost-friendly at all. More defensive structure? There is no point. Maybe...'' He thought, sighing. ''As I see it¡­, the only way for me to get out of this is to get stronger somehow, or¡­. I''m only thinking nonsense right now and just need rest.'' Jackid next to him, apparently just as tired. Aito smiled, thinking that at least one of his experiments has been an overwhelming sess so far. The small monkey had eased his burden more times than he could count. Today, if it wasn''t for Jack buying some time for him to rest, he would have already fallen prey to the enemy''s incessant stream of assault. Although he couldn''t really call Jack a part of his own strength, it was an undeniable fact that the monkey wouldn''t have been by his side if he hadn''t tried to coexist with it in the first ce. Therefore, in a sense, Jack was part of his achievement on that ind. "Fuck it. I''ll sleep on that issue. Night''s the best advisor after all... if it weren''t for that dream..." THE SECOND DAY. Aito had less trouble sleeping. The dream wasn''t as terrible as it used to be. In fact, he started to see the more enjoyable parts of his memories rather than the painful ones that appeared blurrier than before. A good sign? Maybe yes, maybe no. For now, he had more pressing matters to attend to and didn''t want to ponder on seemingly unnecessary things. He started the day with a hearty breakfastposed of essentially roasted meat and a few bamboo shoots, for fear of not being able to eat before nightfall. Then he stood in front of his gate, patiently awaiting his fateful reunion with evol monkeys, feeling a bit bloated and dumb from eating too much since it might affect his fighting capabilities. Hours passed, bigfoots'' blood covered the earth, and Aito''s stamina reserves emptied. Taking a few breaks in between fights and taking turns with Jack, he managed to pull it through. But today, another variable added to the ever-umting list: some apes threw spears. It wasn''t something particrly new since he''s seen it before but it was still annoying. Aito had barely escaped death by using his Viking shield to protect himself, but after a few blocks, it was showing signs of wear. THE FIFTH DAY. Evol monkeys now tried to use aerial sneak attacks, as Jack did. They weren''t proficient because of their sizes, but it was still a pain in the ass for Aito to have to watch out for those. This week''s theme seemed to be "all-out copycat." First the shields, then the throwing spears, and now the sneak attacks. Concerned about poison being the next addition in the bigfoots'' arsenal, Aito stopped using it in battle, hoping that would impact their evolution. However, how could he know they would not develop something on their own? After all, the double-handed battle ax didn''te from him. With the increased frequency of attacks, Aito did not know if he would be able to hold his camp until the very end of the third month. So, after remembering all those escaped paths from his short but intense venture into the Red trial, he decided to n ahead and build one such emergency escape means by sacrificing a bit of sleep. LAST DAY OF THE WEEK. On top of throwing spears and having shields, some evol monkeys wore leather armors. It made it more difficult for Aito to pierce through their defenses. By night, exhausted and solely driven by pure will, he worked an hour or two on the construction of a raft on which he nned to embark with Jack in case of emergency. By no means was it a boat, but it should suffice to at least quickly escape. Swimming could also be an option, albeit a slower one. And with the dreams getting smoother and more enjoyable every night, he was getting enough sleep to entirely heal his wounds. However, Aito was progressively losing his memories. An issue he remained oblivious to for now because of the constant external threat. And, honestly, it didn''t bother him to lose something that pained him. Even more with a deadly menace roaming the ind. But, unknown to him, another powerful threat that had awakened from its slumber a few weeks ago, hidden deep in the cave during daytime, prowled the ind''s shadows by night in search of preys to feed upon. Preys it would bring back to itsir in order to appreciate their suffering before consuming them. With the passing days, it was growing impatient, wondering when the most delicious treat woulde to it. The creature could kill it whenever it pleased it but where was the fun in it? Whatsmore, the prey tasted better if it willingly gave it his pain. It had already feasted upon bits of it but it wasn''t enough. It needed more. All of it. Everything Aito Walker''s suffering had to offer will be its! THE THIRD WEEK. Each bigfoot was now equipped with leather armors. Greaves, boots, breasttes, gauntlets, harden leather helmets, etc. Their number within a group increased to seven, and each of them had an assigned role. Two spear-throwers had a big leather bag filled with iron-tipped spears strapped to their backs. Two shield-wielders armed with one-handed axes and wooden shields simr to Aito''s, were charged to keep the spear-throwers safe from Aito''s attacks. Two bigfoots armed with two-handed battle axes. And one stealth-attacker tried to take advantage of the confusion during battles to surprise Aito. He barely escaped with his life at the end of each day, but his armor did not. Leather armors from fallen enemies being his only option for recement, he had no choice but to wear them. However, they did not offer the same protection and were, in fact, verycking inparison to his tattered Viking armor that he still kept in his inventory. By the end of the week, Aito finallypleted his raft and even had the time to work on a side project. He also slept better than ever before. Albeit the drop in temperature and cauterized wounds he was now used to, it had been restful nights. *** THE FIRST DAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK. Aito stood outside his camp''s entrance as per usual, ready for the first fight of the day, but bigfoots were unusuallyte. The sun had almost reached its zenith and not a single evol monkey showed its tail. ''I don''t like this,'' he thought, before turning towards Jack, who was perched on a tree branch. "Jac¡ª" Approaching battering ram-like steps interrupted his sentence. His gaze traveled towards the forest to see evol monkeys marching in perfect unison,ing out of the woods. Numbering around a hundred, they looked well organized, as if they had been working together for years. Leading this small army was arge three meters tall red fur bigfoot who distinguished itself by its size but also the full ted armor covering it from head to toe. It lifted its huge doubled edge ax and aimed the pointy tip at its enemy. Aito gawked at the absurd evolution those monkeys went through in a single week, wondering if he was the one who really triggered that before weighing his options that were few in numberspared to the monkeys in front of him. Then a sense of dread traveled throughout his entire body, his every cell screaming one single word in agreement. "Run! Jack, run!" Aito said, attempting to kill a few enemies with spear throws. "To the raft! Now!" "Kyaak!" "KOUAH!" The huge leader roared with such strength that it seemed to epass the entire ind. Following the powerful sound, the army''s previously organized lines broke up, triggering an all-out charge. Aito tried his best to slow them down with his spears, but soon had to take cover behind the walls from the enemy''s projectiles. He then risked a look at the fast-approaching monkeys, grabbed a rope next to him, and waited for the opportune moment. ''Not yet.'' Madly dashing towards him, the monkey looked blinded by rage. ''Not yet.'' Spear-throwers kept raining iron tip spears at the walls, trying to keep Aito from counter-attacking. ''Now!'' Aito pulled the rope, removing his trap''s cover at the entrance. Evol monkeys fell to their doom, impaling themselves on the wooden spikes inside a five meters deep trap¡ªthose who weren''t lucky enough to have their armors protect them in the right ces died immediately. Wanting to get away as soon as possible, Aito didn''t wait to see the results of the trap he had builtst week and fled to the raft now floating on the river with Jack on board. His previous preparation bought enough time for Aito to board the raft where he used a long bamboo pole to quickly move away from the riverbank as he tried to follow the current, which unnaturally flowed¡­ uphill, towards the mountain. ''Just.... what the fuck?'' Chapter 23 - The First Step (part 2) Dodging and blocking asional deadly spears thrown at him, Aito pushed the raft using his bamboo pole towards the mountain. The current being on his side, he progressively increased the distance between him and the bigfoot army chasing Aito through the woods close to the riverbank, with an angry-looking big red evol monkey leading the hunt. Soon enough, he got out of range from spear throws. However, Aito and Jack would reach the foot of the mountain in a short while, leaving only thend as the sole escape path. Taking advantage of the current, he pushed his muscles to the limits, increasing the raft''s speed. He knew it was pointless to flee the monkey army on such a small ind. He could probablyst until nightfall, but then exhaustion would force him to stop; given the fact those evol monkeys wouldn''t catch him before. Still, he hoped that once the night came, those bigfoots would settle down like they''ve been doing the past months. Although he knew nothing was certain on this ind, it was his best bet. That and¡­ the cave. ''Shit¡­ I really don''t wanna go in there.'' The thing haunting his dreams seemed to have grown tired of waiting. Although his dreams were more pleasant now, the creature had be more insistent during thest part. Unless forced to do so, he would never, ever take a single step inside that cave. ''Never say never,'' He thought,ughing at the irony of the situation while recalling a certain quote from a song that didn''t suit his taste. His previous dwelling rapidly came into view. Checking the forest for any sign of evol monkeys, he disembarked on a rocky riverbank, leaving his bark ashore in case he would need itter, but with the current now flowing uphill, he might as well y the lottery. Unwilling to stay here longer than necessary, he hurried towards Jack''s old broken cage, nning on sticking to the mountainside to sneak his way to the ind''s opposite side; an area he visited little since it was poor in resources and was too far to be cost-efficient. However, evol monkeys showed up earlier than expected, surrounding him from all sides. Stuck and with nowhere else to go, Aito¡ªwith Jack on his toe¡ªslowly retreated behind the frail-looking bamboo walls he had built in the past. Feeling familiar with this situation, he recalled, despite his impending doom, the first time evol monkeys had attacked him simultaneously. "Double shit," Aito said, drawing his shield and a one-handed ax. "So this is it then? Just a few days away from the end?" Jack eyed him worriedly while gripping its own weapons to prepare for the inevitable. The fast-approaching evol monkeys then halted their steps when a loud roar echoed throughout the forest. Almost instantly, they reformed their ranks, shield bearers to the front with two-handed ax wielders close by and spear throwers behind the defensive lines. A huge red monkey then showed itself with an impatient facial feature, looking eager to deal with its unfinished business. Aito was unwilling to die here, but the odds were against him. Confronting this army on the open ground would be suicide, so was staying here. However, the only solution he had left was far from being pleasant. ''So in the end, it might turn out just how that shameless god predicted.'' He thought, resolving himself to enter the cave. With no choice but to use the cave''s narrow passage to limit the evol monkey army''s numerical advantage, he slowly back stepped to "safety." ROAR! Once again, the army ranks broke up as the shield infantry run to the cave entrance. Standing next to his old bed, Aito raised his shield. Unwilling to let go of his second chance. Unwilling to let himself die without a fight. And unwilling to ept the seemingly inevitable fate, he drew his ax. ¡ªGift: Mindless fury¡ª "Come have a taste of my iron!" Forced to stand in line by the cramped space, the evol monkeys'' charge slowed down before reaching Aito. BAM! Shield against shield, Aito stopped the first evol monkey''s charge and quickly went for the kill while ignoring the bigfoot trying to outnk him, instinctively counting on his partner to take care of it. Perfectly blended in the obscurity thanks to its ck fur, Jack swiftly sprung to the bigfoot''s throat. Caught by surprise, its vital fluid rained upon the cave''s wall, spraying on a few enemies'' faces. In between two kills and with his gift obscuring his mind, Aito managed to shout an order, "Jack! The poison!" At this point, it was unnecessary to hold on to it. Soon after, some white substance appeared from within the shadows, reaching enemies'' faces with its putrid stench. Chaos ensued as those infected by the poison grabbed their faces, ramming everything around them due to the pain¡ªincluding their own kin. Aito smiled at the weed help and bashed yet another monkey aside. One man wreaked havoc against the bigfoot''s lines inside the cave, mercilessly killing his attackers in a flurry of vicious ax strikes and shield bashing. The small monkey at his side took advantage of the chaos and rtive darkness to either slow down bigfoots by slicing their heels or directly go for their throats. Outside, the red evol monkey looked furious at the humiliating scene of its army being driven back by only two puny things. The current sessful defense sparked a flickering me of hope inside Aito. Filled with the will to survive, he redoubled his efforts. shing, parrying, blocking. His new found resolve showed results when corpses started to pile up on the rocky ground. At some point his weapons broke, leaving him defenseless for a moment, but Jack covered him just long enough for Aito to bring out a new shield and ax. Unable to contain itself any longer, the army leader started to push its way through its own soldiers to deal with the problem itself. Aito eyed the leader from the corner of vision, decapitating yet another bigfoot. The giant monkey soon arrived in front of him, pushing aside the corpses of its fallen soldiers. Its hand slid toward its double-edged ax head to shorten the weapon range; it apparently was aware that the narrowness of the space didn''t allow forrge swings. And with a swift and powerful downward strike, it brought down the ax on its puny target. BAM! Aito blocked the blow using the metallic part of his shield and felt the aftermath vibrating through his entire body. Bones, muscles, and organs seemed to sightly shake under the power of the strike. Aito paused momentarily, shocked to be barely able to match his opponent''s strength, even with his gift''s buff. The red bigfoot ready its weapon for yet another attack when the temperature seemed to drop drastically. Stopping his movement, a dreadful feeling seized it. Outside, the river current stopped flowing uphill, and the water on its surface froze, creating a thinyer of ice. Inside, specks of ice dust progressively formed on the cave''s walls. The breath of evol monkeys and humans alike became visible to the naked eye as they stood still, paralyzed by fear. Then, a deformed voice resounded from within the cave''s depth, switching from a low rock to a piercing sharp tone. "MyyY PrEyyY." The red bigfoot hesitantly took one step forward, seemingly refusing toply. It knew the creature. That thing had attacked themst night, but with their current number, they were able to repel it at a great cost. But within the cave, it feared the creature might just kill them all. Still, the red bigfoot couldn''t afford to look weak in front of its soldiers. But a pale grey tentacle shed by it, pierced through leather armors, impaling three bigfoots in one go before pulling them into the cave''s depths. This time, the army leader halted its steps. Its gazeid upon its target, then the darkness, and, finally convinced of its inferiority, decided to signal the retreat. Paralyzed by fear, Aito''s gift deactivated, leaving him staring at the evol monkeys'' backs growing distant as they left the cave. The army leader gave him onest look filled with hatred before finally walking out. "CoMeE tO mEe." Aito bit his lips. Using the pain from his self-inflicted wound, he freed himself from the fear and took a step towards the entrance, towards the light. But before he lifted his other feet, a tentacle wrapped around Jack''s body. The small monkey tried to free itself by using iron daggers, but the des couldn''t even make a single scratch on the tentacle''s grey skin. Jack gave Aito onest supplicant look before being dragged like the other evol monkeys, into the darkness. "Kyaaaaaaaak!" Jack''s voice echoed, entering Aito''s ears and rebounding on the rocky walls like an endless loop. He turned back towards the disappearing voice of the sole living being who brought himfort on this ind. His thoughts of fleeing instantly disappeared as he brought out a torch and lit it. Then, gathering every ounce of courage he could muster, he entered the darkness, apanied by a deformed voice. "CoMeE tO mEeeeEeE.. AiTooO WallKErrR." Chapter 24 - The First Step (part 3) Aito began his descent into the darkness, with but a torch to chase away the shadows and the cold. His breath sped up, pumping as much oxygen into his veins as his heart would allow, but its density in the air thinned with each step taken. Witnessing his light dwindle the further he went, Aito barely noticed the trails of blood as his pulse increased once again; resonating throughout his entire body. THROB. The cold being hardly bearable, he briefly stopped his advance and wrapped himself with a few pieces of ragged fur to prevent his body heat from dropping too quickly. THROB. An inmmatory feeling spread to his chest as he resumed his march into the deepest part of the cave. His lips turned blue from the cold. THROB. His every breath burnt him from the inside, forcing what little oxygen remained in the air into his lungs. The torch''s me was now almost extinguished, barely lighting one meter ahead¡ªif not less. Then¡­ a familiar voice came out of the darkness. "Not fair!" "¡­ Ha¡­Haley?" He said, in between ragged breaths, trying to locate the origin of the sound. He took yet another step. But this time, a familiar masculine voice resounded in the cave. "I wonder where you got that stubbornness from." "D¡­ Dad?" He said, turning around. "Where are you?" He stood still, peering into the obscurity. "Lunchtime!" "Mo¡­Mom?" Aito bit his lips, using the pain to remind him of his current goal, but to also face reality. ''Stay focused. It''s just a hallucination. Stay focused. It''s just a hallucination.'' He repeatedly thought, trying to persuade himself of the opposite of what he believed. Remembering Jack, he gathered his courage and resumed his advance. The voices of his family members resounded in the cave, rebounding on walls, harassing his sanity with each step taken. "¡­ but who will protect you, youbro?" STEP. "¡­ don''t underestimate your opponent." STEP. "¡­ like father like son." STEP. "¡­ there is the next part." STEP. "¡­ the first step?" Aito''s mind blurred, carefully treading on the treacherous path. Consciousness and unconsciousness intertwined. His leg muscles moved, driven more by instinct than by will. He was exhausted. The voices of his past tormenting him progressively shifted into a flurry of sounds, turning more and more aggressive, questioning, usatory. He couldn''t seem to pick up what they were saying, as if those particr sentences had been purposely erased from his mind. As if¡­ he was unwilling to recall them. "Youbro, is that ###?" "Son? What ### ### #####?" "##### you! ## ##### ## shit!" Aito stumbled and used the cave''s wall to support himself. The voices, the coldness, and theck of oxygen cracked his already fragile mental defenses as well as his physical ones. But somehow, he continued to walk. Without sunlight, it was hard to tell if one, two, or three hours had passed. For him, each second in the darkness felt like an hour when, in reality, barely a few minutes had psed since he started his descent. His back progressively arched the further he went in; the weight of his past bing unbearable to him. Soon, he found himself on his knees, the cold rocky ground shredding his armor and clothes as he crawled towards the abyss. ''Tired. So, tired.'' He thought. ''Why am I even doing this?'' Aito didn''t understand his own body, which, despite his crumbling will, moved forward. Always forward. It was as if something drove him there, to his doom. Was it fear? Was it the monster? Or was it¡­ something else? Almost out of mental and physical strength, his hand finally touched a different texture than hard, cold rock¡ªa furry texture. Close to his hand, just in range of his torch''s waning light,id a bigfoot''s corpse, a gaping hole in its chest. ''Jack¡­.'' He thought, the corpse reminding him of his original goal. The reminder fueled his already empty reservoir of energy by aughable amount, just enough for him to crawl a few more meters until he copsed from exhaustion¡ªusatory voices still harassing his mind. ''I''m sorry, Jack. I can''t¡­.'' He thought, gritting his teeth at the very familiar guilt gnawing at every fiber of his being. FAILURE. Aito rested his face on the freezing ground, its coldness burning his cheeks as his vision blurred for the umpteenth time. Hisst reserve of stamina extinguished, and so did the torch''s me. Darkness surrounded him. Voices tormented him. Coldness burnt him. ''Maybe¡­ I should just let it go.'' He thought, when a small bubble-sized blue ball escaped from the bigfoot''s corpse, quickly followed by others. The cave walls slightly reflected their lights, revealing the surroundings. A great number of evol monkey corpses spread at random intervals in arge circr space essible by using two entrances¡ªapparently from each side of the mountain. An underground river located to the side flowed downhill, leading to the outside. In the middle of piles of corpses stood a tall pale skin nightmarish creature with four long legs and dozens of tentacles as arms. Its bald skeletal head turned toward Aito, revealing empty eye sockets that looked bottomless. In its round mouth, rows of pointy teeth chewed on Jack''s body, as if absorbing the small monkey''s soul. The creature spat out Jack, whose body traveled a few meters, andnded next to Aito. Seeing his partner''s body, he pushed his limits and crawled his way to Jack. It was rigged with bite marks from which blood rapidly flowed out. The creature had seemingly kept the monkey alive or at least didn''t kill it instantly after dragging it into the cave''s depth. Jack turned its gaze full of fear toward Aito, who could only avert his eyes filled with shame. Somehow, he felt responsible for this situation. FAILURE. If he had taken better choices, if he hadn''t been so weak and whiny, all of those would have never happened. It was just like back then if he had been strong enough to control his own urges, mental weaknesses, and rage, he would never have¡ª Suddenly, memories shed through his mind as he recalled what urred that day after his father had opened the door. In his madness, rage and blinded by alcohol, he had attacked his father. Too blinded by his love for his son, Tevari had hesitated to counter act but that cost him dearly. Haley and Olivia had tried to stop Aito, but he violently "shoved" them aside. The neighbors, rmed by Aito''s previous intense fight against ampstand, had called the police who arrived toote. Later on, in his prison cell, Aito had learned of the severe consequences of his drunkard actions. He ced his hands on his chest, gripping his armor tightly, trying to squeeze out the growing ball of pain inside it. The memory of his deeds repeatedly shed by, again and again. Each time increasing his torture twofolds. A torture he knew he deserved but could only refute. ''I¡­ that wasn''t me¡­ it wasn''t me¡­'' His failure, his past deeds, his own sin. All those thoughts mixed with the growing fear of an approaching creature he had felt but never seen in his dreams. "FInALlY, YoU ArE HeRE," the creature said, nearing its prey, reveling in Aito''s fear and pain. Growing stronger with the passing seconds. "IsN''T iT paInFuL?" "Y,y,yes¡­" Aito replied. "ThEn LeT ThEm Go." The voices, the creature, his memories, Jack. His mind was attacked from all sides. Fear, doubt, regret, guilt, remorse, and weakness finally forced their way through his mental barricades, atomizing his defenses. "¡­.take¡­." Aito said, ready to surrender his suffering to that monster. "YeS. YoU''Re neArLy ThEre." It had been much better when he couldn''t recall those painful memories, and only the happy ones. So why should he even bother remembering painful things? "¡­ take my¡­." "YeS. YoU DoN''t neEd thOSe." The physical pain? The cold, his exhaustion? Why should he hold on to those? "GiVe mE EveRytHiNg." Ironically, he started to feelfortable despite the cold. Something was leaving his body as if the creature was draining him of his suffering, of the things he did not wish to keep. "LeT mE gIvE YOu tHE ReDeMptION yOu So DespARATELY SeEk." "¡­. take my pain away, please¡­." The voices started to subside. Soon he would be free from those, from their torture. Soon the pain and the memories will be gone, leaving only two other problems. First, the creature, but that could wait. Yes, it could wait, because there was one more worry, he needed to discard his friend first. The monkey had been a pain in the ass since the beginning. Why did it have to be his friend? Why¡ª SLAP! Aito felt yet another painful feeling. One that was ring up his cheek. But that pain felt familiar. He had felt it before. Multiple times, in fact. During his training with Tevari and one night with a certain small monkey. ''Jack¡­.'' Aito thought, his mind awakening from its previous strange foggy state. As if his past and present, merged together, had called him back with a simple p. He nced to the side, at the source of his pain, to see Jack with an extended hand it had used to p him. Then using the same hand, the monkey formed a very familiar rude gesture, a middle finger. At that moment, thest of the receding voices resounded in his mind. His father''s voice. ''Fear defines your limits, but don''t let it define yourself.'' Fear. He had feared his past. He had feared the monster Aito knew he was, but refused to acknowledge. How could he ever hope to ovee that monster if he himself believed he wasn''t one? Jack''s middle finger switched to a thumbs up before dropping. ''But where to begin?'' Aito reached for his partner, his friend. Gripping tightly Jack''s furry hand, feeling the monkey''s weak pulse. Certain that it was alive, he let go of its hand and turned a furious gaze towards the creature. ''What''s the first step?'' How could he ever find redemption for his misdeeds if he did not take the first step towards it? There, at that moment, he finally realized what he had been missing all these years. What he hadn''t had the strength to do. ''The first step to oveing one''s weakness is ACCEPTANCE, son.'' Something stirred in Aito''s chest. The pain he had let go a few moments ago progressively surged back into him. His memories, his fear, his weaknesses, his denial. ''Dad¡­, thank you and sorry. I''m not worthy of your guidance.'' He thought, a warm stream of tears running down his cheeks. Despite the cold, exhaustion, theck of oxygen, Aito forced air into his lungs while having to hear the creature''s bullshit, before finally voicing out one single ragged sentence. "You will not take them from me." The creature halted its steps, towering over its food that was pointlessly trying to rebel. "JuSt PrEtenD iT nEvEr haPpen¡ª" Aito rose on one knee. "I WILL NOT!" Bubbles of lights, originating from the bigfoots'' corpses, slowly gathered around Aito. "I lost that tournament. In my arrogance and immaturity, I disappointed myself and only myself!" Those painful memories after his father had opened the door surged back, but this time he weed them with open arms despite the oppressive weight it brought upon his shoulders. "I was a burden to my family!" "It wAsN''T yOu." The creature said, trying to persuade him. "In my mindless raging state, I crippled my little sister and hurt my mother." "It wAs tHe AcLohOl." "No it wasn''t! The alcohol influenced me but ultimately it was my decision!" He closed his right fist, tapping into an unknown source of strength to prepare for what woulde next. "And¡­. I¡­" He said, squeezing his fist so hard that blood dripped from his palm. "I killed my own father." The creature peered into its prey''s eyes, finding no hesitation. No fear. Only pain. Only¡­ eptance. "It hurts so much I''d rather die. But it''s my pain! My memories! My suffering! Mine! I did it! I was the one who hurt my family and no one else!" "JuSt GiVe ThEm to ME." "THEY ARE MINE!" "FoOl, OnLy PaIn awAits YoU aT tHe eNd of ThiS PatH." It said, trying to provoke him. To mock his decision and courage. Those words drown the cave in a gloomy silence. Aito greeted his teeth. He knew. He already knew that his quest for redemption was but a pipe dream. He had not the power to resurrect his father. He had lost sight of his sister and mother on Earth. Moreover, he did not know if he could ever see the blue again. Even if he did, what was he supposed to do? Ask for forgiveness? He did not know yet. Still, he had hope, a fool''s hope called Iris where there might be a chance for him to atone. Sure, there would be many trials awaiting him, blocking his path. He could sense it. But if he couldn''te to terms with himself now, if he couldn''t take the first step, then it would truly be hopeless. Aito stumbled to his feet and took a deep breath. "So be it." Blue bubbles surrounded Aito likes rotating around a sun. "If I don''t ept myself, I will never be able to find true redemption, no matter what I do. Therefore¡­" Sensing Aito¡ªthe source of its strength¡ªtaking back what rightfully belonged to him, the creature stumbled backward, weakening with each passing microsecond. "I ept myself even if I am a monster but I will not let it define who I am." He said while bubbles of light merged within him and a notification appeared in the corner of his vision. "I will ovee my limits and never again cower in the face of my own failures!" The creature shrunk back, blinded by the light. "IMpOsSibLe¡­." [Remember those words of yours, Aito Walker.] BING! [Congrattions! You have acquired a ss!] Chapter 25 - An Ounce Of Bravery (part 1) A sh of blue light illuminated the surroundings, chasing away the darkness and blinding the supposedly eyeless creature whose frame seemed to have shrunk tomon human size. The strange bubbles morphed into some sort of energy that coursed through Aito''s entire body as his wounds progressively closed, healing at a rapid pace, visible to the naked eye. His muscles, genes, bones, and organs discarded some of their previous constructs to be reced by strengthened, more evolved ones. Radiant blue steam arose from his pores, promptly purging the impurities from his past self. His fatigue disappeared. So did the coldness. So did the voices. Aito breathed in, enjoying the oxygen that had returned while sucking in some of the blue light. He felt empowered by his newfound strength but didn''t revel in it¡ªthe pain that remained constantly reminded him of his previous arrogance. He took his first step forward as a man reborn from the ashes of his troubling past, but that has yet to atone. Still aware of the threat in front of his eyes, Aito drew two axes from his inventory when a notification window appeared once again in the corner of his vision. A feature that seemed to be designed on purpose for him to avoid obstructing his vision while inbat. [Host''s status window updated] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 180cm Weight: 80kg Emotional state: Curious/Furious ss: Lv1 Axwielder Titles: ck Challenger, Father killer [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Instinct (Potential to sense danger slightly before it happens. Activation is random but more frequent) - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - [Sharpened!] Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious, minus the mindless state) 2. Skills: [New section unlocked] Passive: - [New] Ax Mastery Lv2 - [New] Shield Mastery Lv1 - [New] Weapon Throw Mastery Lv1 [New section unlocked] Active: - [New] Shield Bash Lv1 - [New] Fearless Aura Lv1 (Shields the host from the lesser Fear) - [New] Ax Throw Lv1 - [New] Whirlwind Lv1 [III. Basic stats] - [Level up] Strength: Lv3 - [Level up] Body: Lv2 - [Level up] Stamina: Lv2 - [Level up] Agility: Lv2 - [Level up] Mana: Lv2 - [Level up] Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª A flurry of information entered Aito''s brain as he took his second step, covered in a receding blue light, towards the still bewildered creature. It took him a third step to process the new knowledge he felt somewhat very familiar with. The creature finally regained its footing. Angry and feeling ridiculed, it let out an invisible wave of energy that rapidly transmitted through the entire cave, which enraged his enemy even more. -Gift: Fury- Aito''s muscles contracted as his skin shone red. He sensed the air being deprived of oxygen, as well as the temperature dropping and the voices returning. He smirked at the ridiculous power but did not cower. -Active Skill: Fearless Aura¨C Instantly, formless golden energy covered him from head to toe, lighting the surroundings with a warm radiance while protecting him from the creature''s strange magical attack. As if they were illusions, the Fear negative effects around him dispersed, disintegrated by the light. "ImPosSibLe! WhErE dID yOu GeT ThA¡ª" Leaving no room for his opponent to recover from its confusion, Aito aimed for its tentacles and flung his two axes. -Active Skill: Ax Throw- The two weapons rotated in midair, rapidly closing on their targets. Reflecting Aito''s aura, their moving ax heads shone like two murderous suns in the dark, viciously cutting through the creature''s arms. The two axes continued their flight, heading towards a wall behind the creature. Unable to resist the power behind the throw, the des shattered into multiple pieces. Six tentacles fell on the rocky ground as the creature wailed in pain, its deformed voice rebounding on the cave''s walls. Aito equipped a shield in one hand, and a two-handed war ax in the other¡ªfinding the weapon unusually light for its weight. The creature sent its remaining tentacles his way, their pointy tips ready to puncture Aito''s body. He sidestepped to avoid the first iing attacks and used his new skill to parry a few others. -Active Skill: Shield Bash- His shield broke from the sheer power of his skill,bined with his strength. Three tentacles veered upward, their momentum embedding them into the rocky ceiling. Aito gripped his ax with two hands and dashed towards the creature, slicing through the remaining tentacles that were pointlessly dying the inevitable. "StAY BaCK!" The creature said, feeling fear for the first time in its life. "Have a taste of my iron," Aito replied, his enemy finally in range for the finishing blow. In a tornado-like motion, he twisted his body while swinging the ax with every iota of strength he could muster. -Active skill: Whirlwind- The de sliced through the creature''s body from head to toe. Its motion unimpeded by what had seemed like an iron skin before. Fluid and deadly, the ax cut the creature into multiple pieces. Even then Aito didn''t stop his skill because¡­ ''Damn it, how do I stop this thing!?'' He thought, his every muscle aching from the strain of his skill but also the strength that didn''t match his body''s capabilities. Desperate and with a mind going hazy because of the whirlwind motion, he released his grip on the weapon in an attempt to stop it. The ax flew a few meters away before finishing its course like the two other weapons: shattered against a cave wall. Aito forced himself to a stop. His rotation progressively slowed down, putting an enormous strain on his muscles that threatened to tear apart. He slowly stumbled to his feet and towered over the creature''s remains. Panting, he stared at the thick sushi-like pieces of grey meat soaked in blue blood. A putrid stench arose from the corpse as another notification window appeared, this time in front of him. [Hum¡­ clumsy performance butmendable for a mortal] BING! [Congrattion! You havepleted a hidden quest!] _____________________________________________ [ck Trial''s hidden questpleted: An Ounce of Bravery] Hidden Quest: Kill the Paineater Enemy: The Paineater is a type of Fearmonger who feeds on its target''s psychological and physical pain. Compare to other types, it uses the Fear to torment its prey with what it dreads the most. Upon consuming the prey''s most painful memories, the Paineater grows stronger. Difficulty: Hellish Rewards: - One part of Valinar''s Inheritance - Ancient Shard - Glorious points ording to your performance after the ck Trial ispleted - Tutorial points ording to your performance after the ck Trial ispleted _____________________________________________ "The heck are those?" He said, looking at the items that appeared in his inventory. [Lol.] A notification window "said," popping up in front of Aito''s vision. "Lol?" [I''ve just found my divine self a potential inheritor, and he is a fool on top of being a mortal. Sigh.] "Who are you calling a fool? You blue ass flying win¡ª" Aito replied, but was interrupted by a grim reminder. [Shush. If you want to save your dying monkey over there, you''ll have to listen to what I''m about to tell you. I have little time left so pay attention.] Guided by the notification window, Aito took out a small candle from his inventory and ran towards Jack¡ªhoping his friend was still alive. He settled the item on top of Jack''s dying body. [Now infuse your mana in it.] "I¡­ don''t know what you''re talking about." [Sigh. Useless.] It said. Aito''s jaw tightened upon reading the insult, but he kept his anger in check. [I''ll give you a hand. Be sure to remember this feeling.] Some sort of energy originating from his bosom traveled through his arms and transferred into the candle, instantly lighting the wick. Shortly after, a notification window appeared on top of the candle. BING! [Scanning. Appropriate ss found. Would you like to grant "Jack" the Lv1 Daggerwielder ss? Yes or No?] Aito pressed "yes." Multiple bubbles of lighting from the Paineater''s pieces of body parts flew towards Jack and merged with the monkey. Its body shone blue and its wounds rapidly closed. The monkey that was on the verge of death sprung to his feet and instantly prepared for a battle that was already won. "Good to see you too, Jack," Aito said, smiling warmly when yet another notification window appeared in front of him. "I''m getting tired of those." BING! [Would you like to see Jack''s status window? Yes or No?] Curious, Aito pressed "yes." ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [Jack] [I. General Info] Death: Never died Species: Evol Monkey Sex: Male Age: 2 months Height: 70cm Weight: 25kg Emotional state: Pissed ss: Lv1 Daggerwielder Titles: Little punk [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Digestion (Will be able to digest and secrete some sort of condensed feces out o the food previously consumed. Can lead to the creation of a new skill.) - Adaptability (Learns much faster than normal living beings) - Agility blessed (Boost agility by one level) 2. Skills: Passive: - Dagger mastery Lv1 - Poison resistance Lv1 Active: - Faint aura Lv1 (An aura that partially hides the host''s presence to those it does not wish to be seen from) - Poisonous Feces Lv1 (Secrete a poisonous substance from the host''s rear upon activation) - Shadow concealment Lv1 (The host merges with the shadows, bing harder to detect to the untrained eyes) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv1 - Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv2 - Agility: Lv3 - Mana: Lv2 - Destin¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª SLAP! "Little punk!" Aito said, interrupted in his reading by a surprise attack. "Why did you do that?" Jack showed Aito its tongue before giving him a thumbs-up, then extending its hand to ask for food. He sighed, "Seriously? That''s the first thing you ask for upon escaping death? Whatever, at least now I''m sure you''re back on your feet." Jack was always in a foul mood when it was hungry. Using the candle he had in hand, he lit a fire built with the wood he had in stock. He then cooked their dinner while notifications popped up in front of his face times and times again. [Now that this is done. Let me introduce myself. I am Valinar, goddess of Bravery.. Or at least what remains of her.] Chapter 26 - An Ounce Of Bravery (part 2) [I am Valinar, the goddess of Bravery. Or at least what remains of her.] That particr sentence made Aito lose the little interest he had in the notification window. He stared at it, at a loss as to what to do with it. The gods with their war and forced urgent quest were seriously starting to rub him the wrong way. And now, there was another one that he felt would try to rope him into some sort of perilous situation "for a change." ''The fuck is that divine swindler gonna try to make me do?'' He thought while switching the skewered meat side as not to overcook one side. [I can read your thoughts, you know.] ''Shit¡­'' [Shit indeed. Now, just be quiet and cook your meat while listening to me. We have already lost enough time with your hungry monkey over there, who by the way can''t see me.] Jack, seated by the fire, had drooling out of its mouth, dripping down its chin onto the rocky ground while it stared at its soon-to-be dinner. ''I don''t see the harm in listening to her, since she''ll disappear soon, anyway.'' Aito thought out of habit. Even if he knew now that somebody was listening, he couldn''t restrain himself from thinking. ''And if it can keep that flying thing from making divine shitmentaries, then all the more reason for me not to interrupt her. Although I probably will.'' [Yes, so listen.] Valinar said, purposely neglecting Aito''s other disrespectful thoughts. [Sigh. I am one of Valinar''s residual divine power. Let me make this clear, I am her, but not her at the same time. So treat me as if I was her but keep in mind that I am not.] Aito felt a headacheing from that nonsense. Couldn''t she just say that she wasn''t the goddess to avoid confusion? [Anyway, I have left me and three other me behind before sacrificing my divinity to create the Veil, a powerful barrier surrounding the material in to prevent a foreign god and his demigods dwelling into the Void to set foot on Iris. It also serves as a conduit to manage the system you are currently using.] ''Shit¡­'' Aito thought, thinking that what he was about to hear something that wouldn''t be to his liking. [But I know it won''t be enough to stop him. It would just dy the bastard. I am certain that by now he is on the verge of finding a way to either break through it or subvert the Veil using some unknown means. And since it only blocks gods or demi-gods from entering, his Fearmongers are still wreaking havoc in Iris.] ''So let me guess,'' Aito said, using his thoughts to avoid having Jack know he was talking with an entity visible only to him. ''You hid inheritances in the hope that someone would eventually be ''brave'' enough to gather those. Once that someone inherits those fully, that someone would somewhat find some way to somehow save Iris. What kind of bullshit is that?'' [I never talked about saving my world. We are talking about power. A power I wouldn''t purposely leave in mortal hands if I could help it. I had no choice. One, if not more, of the remaining Iris gods might be a traitor. That iplete candle you have is a part of the most important item I wanted to pass on to a worthy one, but also the reason I had to hide my so-called inheritance. Don''t let its appearance deceive you, it is an object of tremendous power from which the current system managed by the gods derives from. As for its name and origin, hum, I can''t seem to recall them. It can''t be helped, my memories are fragmented. All I can say for sure is that this item is rted to the Bnce and I cannot take the risk of having it fall into a traitor''s hand. Thus, do not ever give it to a god. Ever. Even if you can trust one.] Aito turned his gaze toward the ordinary still lit candle in his other hand, understanding why it could permit him ess to other''s status windows. But more importantly, it appeared to grant sses. [So, before dying, I split the candle into four parts and, with a few other things, hid those far from the prying eyes of the gods. That ind which is located in between the nes was perfect. Those siblings of mine would not think about searching here, just under their noses. And in case someone, be it a mortal or a god, ever stumbles upon one inheritance by chance, he wouldn''t have been able to activate it using normal means without passing my test. Which you did, that''s why you are now considered the candle''s owner. Congrattions.] ''Double shit¡­'' He cursed internally, tired of seeing "congrattions" written on a floating blue window. It also troubled Aito to know he had triggered what was happening to him right now. Even if he didn''t know yet how to return to Earth, he needed the power to do so. That much was clear. But relying on a dead goddess''s inheritance, he knew nothing about, to gain the strength he needed seemed like a terrible idea. He also really didn''t want to meddle in some kind of conflict between divine beings with powers far beyond his understanding¡ªalthough, in a way, he had already set foot in it since his revival. ''I don''t want your inheritance. Just take it back. Find someone else.'' Aito said mentally, before throwing a medium-rare skewered meat to Jack who caught it on the fly and almost instantly started to eat it. [Hum, don''t you want to go back to your world?] ''Don''t you y that game with me!'' He said, thinking that she was trying to take advantage of his current goal¡ªwhich she was apparently already aware of¡ªto bait him into epting her inheritance. [I am not ying any game, but I sure am almost out of time. So let me tell you something that might just help you reach your objective. Once that candle is whole again, it will grant you the power to return to Earth. And believe me when I say transmigration is no easy feat. Don''tpare it to your revival. I do not have the time to go into details, but let''s just say there is a reason gods choose to summon dead humans instead of live ones. Therefore, my inheritance might just be your only way out of Iris.] Aito sighed. Valinar could be trying to swindle him intopleting the candle for some unknown motives. Or she was actually telling the truth. Either way, he had no choice but to believe her since he had no other alternatives¡ªfor now, that is. ''I''ll do it, but if I somehow find another way back, I will throw that thing away.'' [Hum, I suppose it is better than nothing.] Valinar said as her blue window started to fade. [¡­ I feel my power weakening.] ''Wait! Tell me where to look for the next part of your inheritance.'' [I¡­ think one of them was given for safekeeping to the Old Farsighter living in the Icehel frozen ins. Be careful, that old hag is powerful, and she hates visitors. But if you find an offering to her liking, she might let you leave with or without the candle''s piece.] ''Might let me leave¡­ great.'' He said. [Twost things, if you have to put your trust in one god, it would be Belmont. Despite his title as the god of sloth, he works himself to death to keep this world from being destroyed, and... he was my husband.] Aito grunted. Belmont was probably thest god he would like toe into contact with. After all, it was that bastard who had sent him to save that ungrateful girl and the other guy. And what about him being her husband? Didn''t she use the terms ''siblings'' before? Not that he cared, anyway. This world may allow incest for all he cared, but it was not his kink. Still, he won''t judge them for their culture. [Sigh. Gods are siblings only in name to symbolize unity.] Valinar said, her means ofmunication bing blurrier by the passing seconds. Knowing she was almost out of time, she cut her exnation short and got to herst advice. [To pass my tests, remember this. I praise four virtues. eptance toward one''s own weakness. Benevolence towards those in need. Righteousness for those who deserve it. Bravery in the face of an unknown destiny. Also, do not forget that everything isn''t ck or whi¡ª] The notification window disappeared before Valinar could finish what she had to say. ''ck or white, but grey.'' He thought,pleting her sentence that was all too familiar to him since his father liked to say it from time to time. That conversation left him with more questions than answers. Although he had known in advance, it would bring him troubles, at least he had learned of a way home. But right now, even if his mind was in jeopardy, he wanted to rest above all else.. And chances were, the monkey army wouldn''t dare to set foot in the cave, for a while at least, turning his current resting ce into a safe house¡ªsomething he never had before and he wasn''t about to waste that opportunity to rest. Chapter 27 - An Ounce Of Bravery (part 3) Seated cross-legged by the fire, Aito furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at a small grey bead in his hand; a part of Valinar''s inheritance he had been rewarded with after killing the Paineater. Inside it, grey steam moved in a circle, forming a miniature spiral, with each particle¡ªof whatever that steam was made of¡ªvibrating as if it was alive. At the center of the spiral was a small, faint heather shield, barely visible because of the poor light. Aito brought the still-lit candle just under the peculiar item and examined the floating symbol. Suddenly, a notification popped up on top of the candle. [Would you like to appraise the item? Yes or No.] He pressed yes, and another blue window appeared. _________________________________ [Memory bead] Type: Skill Transfer Description: A bead made using a solidified soul fragment as the container for memories. Gives ess to the knowledge and/or power of the bead''s maker. Its perfect purity allows for an instantaneous transfer without after effect. Application: Activation upon consumption Purity: Perfect Restriction: Pass Valinar''s Test of eptance _________________________________ ''Soul fragment? Mana? Activation upon consumption?'' He thought, looking at the bead less suspiciously than before. The candle''s strange power helped to dissipate the doubts, but his habits of overthinking things kept him from the simple choice that was offered to him: Eat the bead to gain power. He knew nothing of Iris and the various supernatural things it housed. But he knew that right now, he couldn''t just spit on power he desperately needed¡ªeven if he didn''t know what it was yet. What''s more, outside, a monkey army roamed the ind. They might not dare descend in this cave, but he wouldn''t bet his life on a possibility, a "what if." Aito maye to regret eating thister. But for now, one thing was clear: he needed power to survive. Come what may after he was done with this trial. One problem at a time. There was less than a week left, at least from his understanding of time, and he couldn''t afford any margin of error if he wanted to survive. Thus, he brought the bead to his mouth, switched off the screaming part of his brain preventing him from eating an item of mostly unknown origin, and, before his resolve could crumble, swallowed the memory bid. BING! [Congrattions! You have gained two new skills!] ''Two?'' He thought, before mentally ordering his status window to open. In the active skill section, two new lines appeared. _________________________________ - [New] Pneuma Lv1 (Allow the host to breathe in the surrounding life force to restore a small amount of stamina.) - [New] Weight Control Lv1 (Allow the host to increase or lower the original weight of an inanimate object by 2.5 times) _________________________________ As per the previous notification window, he had no aftereffect whatsoever after ingesting the bead, which seemed to have vanished instantly after Aito swallowed it. He had felt it travel down his throat, but the feeling rapidly disappeared. ''Hum, interesting.'' He thought, thinking about the myriads of possibilities those skills allowed while a stream of info passed through his brain system then spread to his entire body, creating links between his muscles, new knowledge, and something in his chest he did notprehend fully yet. Excited about his new powers, he took out a one-handed ax from his inventory, dropped the candle, stood up, and took a few swings to get a feel of its current weight. Then, after a few moments of concentration, he activated his new skill. ¡ªActive Skill: Weight Control¡ª A warm feeling traveled from Aito''s bosom to the ax shaft and enveloped the entire weapon with no visual effect visible to the naked eye. The overall weight of the weapon increased as Aito''s wrist lowered slightly, more by surprise than theck of strength required to wield the now heavier ax. He smiled with satisfaction. It certainly required training to get used to it, but once he''d gain a feel for it, his destructive power would increase drastically. However, he felt some sort of energy, unrted to his physical stamina, draining him from the inside. After focusing for a few seconds on his weapon, he deactivated "Weight Control." Then, excited and on the spur of the moment, he activated his other new skill. ¡ªActive Skill: Pneuma¡ª Some sort of cold, butfortable, air entered his trachea and finished its course into his lungs. A rejuvenating feeling spread through his entire body, slightly alleviating his physical fatigue as he pushed white steam out of his mouth. ''Wow¡­ that feeling is better than getting drunk, I could get used to it.'' He thought, trying to activate it a second time when something painful in his chest prevented him from doing so. Soon after, the candle''s me extinguished, and so did his pain. He then remembered Valinar''s quick talk about mana and the weird feeling that ensued. Following this train of thought, he concluded that activating skills required mana, and his current reserve might be empty or almost empty. Thinking back on his fight with the Paineater, he had used practically every skill in his arsenal to deal with the creature. But he did not feel the drain of energy back then, or at least he didn''t pay much attention to it. ''Does every skill use mana, or it''s limited to some?'' He thought, before sighing. ''Whatever, too tired right now to think about it.'' Aito''s umted stress, mental and physical fatigue from those past few weeks couldn''t be fixed by using "Pneuma." He stored his weapon back into the inventory and, in need of a good rest,id by the fire. He had been too curious about the remaining items from Valinar''s inheritance to leave their discovery after his rest. The Ancient Shard he had received was just some piece of rusted metal the size of his shield he couldn''t understand the use of, even after using the candle to try to pry open the secrets it hid. But that only led to question marks appearing all over the blue window. Either the system didn''t know about it or it was hidden for him on purpose or¡­. Aito yawned. ''Let''s stop overthinking this. Too tired.'' The cave''s darkness closed in on a man and an evol monkey as the fire began to fade. Aito fed it some dry woods and stared at the fluttering mes for a while. Their graceful dance, apanied by cracking sounds and warmth, nourished his puzzled but also fatigued mind. His eyes started to hurt because of the light, forcing him to shift his gaze elsewhere. His sleeping furry friend lying on solid rocky ground entered his vision. An affectionate smile appeared on his face as he remembered the numerous life and death situations they faced together during thosest few weeks. There was no denying that he wouldn''t have survived until now without Jack. If the small monkey hadn''t been with him in his fight against the Paineater, Aito would have been as good as dead. A p, a single p, had awakened his mind at the right time. It would seem meaningless to anybody, but to Aito, that p had carried much more than a slight pain on his cheek. It had been an awakening. His past, guilt, pain, torment, sin. The things he hadn''t been able toe to terms with, became clear at that moment. Maybe it was due to the simrity it shared with his father''s p, a "technique" Tevari had often used during their training to bring back his mind to the current matter at hand when it wandered elsewhere. All he knew was that his three and a half years of reflection on himself, after his father''s death,bined with everything that had happened after his revival, opened his eyes at that moment on something he had missed all these years. Something he hadn''t been able toprehend, but already knew about it. Understanding and knowing. Knowledge could be sought after, using various data from different sources, but understanding was a different matter altogether. For him, it had felt like his soul had fused with his mind as if his whole body came to acknowledge the notion of eptance. That simple yetplex notion of eptance. Even after killing his father, when he had spent a few weeks in a cell waiting for the court to decide his fate, with all the time in the world to reflect upon himself and his crime, he couldn''t find eptance, just disdain, and me. me towards himself who had done the unthinkable, the unforgivable. What happened after those few weeks did not help his case, either. He sighed before closing his eyes and the book of his memories, cursing those days filled with corrupted people and that asshole of a captain. And, finally, after weeks of constant nightmares, nursed by the fire''s warmth and the presence of a friend he could count on, his consciousness faded to nothingness. To a dreamless sleep. Chapter 28 - If Youre Not Cheating Youre Not Trying (part 1) The next few days, Aito took advantage of his rtive haven to rest, understand his new powers, and make some preparations for what would probably be hisst fight on this godforsaken ind. He first explored the entire cave. Turns out, it had a very simple form. Two entries linked by a long descending rocky corridor, forming a progressive V-shape, with the central point being the area he currently resided in. The first entry was located at his previous dwelling, and the second one was hidden behind the only waterfall on the ind. From a strategical point of view, it offered a few advantages, the main one being an emergency exit¡ªwhich ironically was also a major drawback. There was a genuine possibility of him getting attacked from behind if evol monkeys learned of the hidden entry, which would¡ªliterally¡ªbe a pain in the ass to deal with. If pushes to shove, he could still try his luck by escaping into the underground river. But theck of a light source underwater, coupled with the distance he would have to travel while restraining his breath, could certainly lead him to his doom instead of an exit. The real problemid in bigfoots'' "ability" to respawn. By now he understood the gods were summoning those creatures to hunt him down. So he couldn''t just kill them all for fear of having to deal with an army again the next day. Waiting for them to strike first would do him no good either, and only leave Aito to build up anxiety about a potential attack that could hit him any time. But if he tried to reduce their numbers by exiting the cave to kill a few, Aito would reveal that he was alive and kicking. With no real other choices but to wait, he built defenses, using the wood and ropes in his inventory, while saving a few for the fire. He allotted some of his time to adapt to his new basic stats and skills. Although a few days weren''t enough to develop perfect control, he now had a better understanding of his current abilities. Aito stuck to this schedule until a certain blue window, he had been expecting, showed up when he woke up in the middle of the night¡ªor at least what he thought was night since the cave''s darkness obscured the passage of time. [Remaining time until the end of the ck trial: 24 hours] The notification instantly roused his still, sleepy mind. It was thest day, and Aito was certain those monkeys would try something. He had no proof to back it up, but he preferred to take the initiative rather than waiting for an eventual assault. His first experience with the monkey army had left a deep impression on him. They were organized, armed to the teeth, and had a strong leader. If he left them to n an attack, it could be deadly. Therefore, he decided to act first. "Finally," he said, poking Jack to wake up his friend. "Let''s have a hearty breakfast and get to work, Jack." "Kyaak!" *** [Remaining time: 18 hours] The sun rose on the horizon in an almost cloudless sky. A strong wind blew in its usual direction towards the sea. ''Perfect,'' Aito thought, standing outside his cave next to a bush with two corpses hidden in it. Those bigfoots had been standing guard at the entrance, probably to alert their kin in case a certain human or creature walked out alive. After quickly dispatching those two under the cover of darkness, he had scoured the surrounding in search of the resources he needed for his n. Apparently, now, evol monkeys roamed the ind at night, or maybe they already had for a while. That made Aito think back to the many evol monkeys'' corpses in the cave before he had in the creature. There was a strong possibility that, at night, the Paineater had been killing and satiating its still unclear needs using evol monkeys. It would exin theck of attack at night, their sudden evolution, increase in number, and also maybe why monkeys never could entirely popte the ind until a certain point in time that allowed them to go through a drastic change. In a way, the Paineater had lessened the trial''s difficulty. On the other hand, it could be said the creature had increased it by arge margin with its sole presence. As for how those monkeys appeared, it could only be the gods'' doing. After all, when Aito had seeded in rescuing the Red Challengers, the gods agreed to give him one day''s break. When searching the surroundings, Aito had found multiple footprints leading to his second camp by the riverside. Meaning, the monkey army probably settled near it. Meanwhile, Jack had kept an eye out for the few wondering monkeys that seemed to patrol the area and dealt with them when possible. Finally, over with his preparations, Aito took two makeshift torches out of his inventory, lit them, and handed one over to Jack, who ran in the opposite direction. They then lit every single bush they could find on fire. Some of them were stuffed with dried sticks of wood and palm tree leaves to speed up the process. Soon, the entire area was set aze. Aito backed up to the cave''s entrance and watched the show unfold. ording to his experience as a woodcutter, a forest fire with today''s meteorological conditions could spread as fast as 7 to 9 kilometers per hour. Furthermore, theck of rain and constant sun rendered the vegetation more or less dry, despite the tropical humid climate. And to top it off, the wind blew strongly in the perfect direction. The Problem was¡­ "Shit¡­" Aito said, coughing because of the smoke. He thought that with the wind, he wouldn''t have to worry about it for a while. But he had underestimated it. Aito retreated to his cave. With the bit of wind blowing from the hidden exit to the other, the smoke couldn''t spread in it. At least inrge quantity. Just to be safe, and unwilling to be asphyxiated, he decided to move to the other side of the ind. He passed through the waterfall, which led him to a small pond. With no other choice but to get wet, he stored his armor, weapons, and tattered clothes in the inventory, before crossing the cool water with unknown depth¡ªprobably linked to the underground river. He thought there were a few drawbacks to a wet leather armor and preferred to keep it dry if he could help it. Aito wouldn''t admit it, but he just didn''t like the feeling of drenched leather on his skin. Plus, having scouted this hidden entry from time to time, Aito was certain that evol monkeys rarely, if not never, came here. They seemed to be mainly living on the other side. Maybe it was because he had stayed there the entire time. ''Damn it''s cold!'' He thought. His body had gotten used to the ind''s tropical temperature averaging 28C¡ã. The river water, being colder than seawater because of where it originated from, could only lead to such a reaction. He soon reached solid ground and exposed his stark naked body to mother nature. After almost three months of survival, he had grown a thick beard, coupled with shoulder-length ck hair. He was now the stereotypical spitting image of a woodcutter. His fat and beer belly had almost entirely disappeared, revealing a powerfully built man. Broad shoulders and chest. Toned abs, back, and leg muscles. His dark eyes peered into the surrounding vegetation, looking out for any kind of unexpected danger. He sent Jack surveilling the area and proceeded to put on his equipment, but was interrupted in the middle of it by a tingling feeling to the back of his neck. "Shit¡­ seriously?" He cursed, feeling stupid now that he was wearing nothing but his old tattered brown trousers topped with badly sewed patches of monkey skin. Aito rolled to the side while making a mental note to never again take off his equipment in such a dangerous environment, even if he had to get it wet. A spear brushed past him, revealing the location of six bigfoots armed to the teeth. Aito quickly took out two one-handed iron axes from his inventory and rushed towards the group. He knocked aside the next projectile with one of his axes and in the same motion hurled the other. The ax head cut through a spear-thrower bigfoot''s head before lodging into a tree¡ªits now cracked-edge half sunk in the wood. ''Damn it. I used too much strength.'' Two bigfoots with two-handed axes ran towards him. Before they could reach him, Aito grabbed a stone and barely had enough time to increase its weight using his new skill. He aimed for a bigfoot''s face and threw the stone, using all his strength. The evol monkey tried to shield itself with its arm but was surprised when it cracked, snapped, and contorted. It didn''t pierce the bigfoot''s arm but threw it off bnce when the arm hit its face because of the projectile''s power. An unbuffed "Lv3 strength," "passive skill Lv1 Weapon Throw Mastery," and "active skill Lv1 Weight Control," added together made for a devastating attack¡ªconsidering that a stone could be used as a weapon. With those three, he could probably just throw stones instead of other weapons and still deal powerful blows to the enemy. Satisfied with the result of his attack, he smirked while dashing at the other iing bigfoot, whose eyes widened when Aito reached it a bit faster than expected. It brought down its ax, trying to cut its enemy, but was surprised yet again when a hand grabbed the weapon''s wooden shaft to interrupt the motion. Aito took advantage of that small window of opportunity to decapitate the creature with a horizontal sh. The iron ax head passed unhindered through flesh and bone. The bigfoot''s ugly head, contorted by pain, detached from its body and fell on the ground. Aito turned his attention towards the two shield-bearers that were protecting thest spear thrower but only found three corpses. Jack silently appeared to his side with bloody iron daggers in hand, cleaned them using a corpse, and stored them in his crude leather backpack. "Good job, Jack." Chapter 29 - If Youre Not Cheating Youre Not Trying (part 2) After putting his equipment back on, Aito dealt with as many evol monkeys as he could find on that side of the ind. Attacking small groups with Jack''s help and their new powers was much easier than before. The small monkey would take them by surprise from its hiding spot, taking advantage of Aito''s rampage to quickly kill two or three bigfoots. Using that stratagem, they spent a few hours erasing the evol monkeys'' presence in half of the ind. Unsurprisingly, they had numbered even more than before. The duo had probably killed forty or fifty of them already. But Aito knew that much more remained near his second dwelling. He estimated their numbers to be around a hundred¡ªat least he hoped so. Forced by the forest fire, they would probably soon flee their camp if they weren''t already fleeing. The ocean to his left, and the lonely mountain to his right. Aito stood by the beach. His bare feet anchored in the scorching white sand, unaffected by their heat. Aito''s basic stat "Lv 2 body" had strengthened his physique, allowing him to tolerate the temperature. It was still unpleasant, just like the waterfall pond''s rtive coldness. But the feeling just amounted to a few insects crawling on his skin. Remembering his past fight against a certain blue-eyed woman, he had taken off his leather boots kindly provided by a bigfoot. With his toes in contact with the sand, he could use them to move around with more ease. It might seem like a disadvantage since he had removed a yer" of his armor, but he preferred to increase his own maneuverability against multiple opponents rather than his defense. At least in his current situation. A few kilometers away, above coconut, palm, and a few other tropical trees, clouds of thick ck smoke danced with the wind. Engulfing a good chunk of the other side, spreading death and destion. With that kind of fire, Aito was certain evol monkeys would seek refuge on the beach because of the seawater. He had picked the nearest and safest location to his previous dwelling for that purpose. Maybe just a few of them would show up, but that was fine. He couldn''t deal with too many at once, after all. Jack''s piercing shout resounded from the top of a nearby coconut tree, signaling iing enemies. Aito took out four one-handed iron axes from his inventory. Three in his left hand. One in the other. Dealing with evol monkeys before had replenished his supply of weapons that had been running low. ''Here theye.'' A dozen bigfoots showed up from different directions. Thoseing from the forest had their leather armors partially burnt. Others walking on the beach were tired but had intact equipment, unlike their moral which seemed to be at the lowest point. No leader in sight. He had been expecting them to be disorganized because of the chaos, but not to that extent. ''Hum. They look rtively unharmed by the fire. Did those guys fled the fastest, leaving theirpanion behind to burn?'' He thought, advancing towards the nearest group. Because of Aito''s previous disappearance, low morale, and fatigue, the bigfoots didn''t realize a human was heading their way until it was toote to reorganize themselves. shes of metallic color flew in rapid session towards their targets as Aito hurled one ax after the other, instantly killing four bigfoots. At the same time, Jack appeared from behind a coconut tree and cut its way through the enemy ranks¡ªdrawing a few bigfoots'' attention. Aito "summoned" a double-handed ax and dashed towards the nearest evol monkeys, shed through them as easily as he would cut butter. ''They''re already reorganizing?'' He thought, seeing ten evol monkeys shielding themselves, shoulder to shoulder, advancing towards him like "one monkey." In almost perfect synchronization. Their leather boots digging in the uneven ground made them slightly lose bnce from time to time. Aito''s gaze shifted to the spear throwers behind the enemy line, only to see Jack fighting with them. Certain that he wouldn''t have to deal with a projectile, he reached back with his two-handed ax, took a few moments to increase its weight by 2.5 times, strengthened his grip, and hurled the weapon horizontally towards the approaching shield wall. ¡ªActive skill: Ax Throw¡ª Like a giant boomerang, the double-handed ax rotated, pierced through the air, and rapidly reached two shield-bearers. They braced for the impact, thinking that their shields would preserve them from the attack. But they were seriously mistaken. The ax head tore apart their protection like it was nothing. Their bodies were sliced in half at chest level as the weapon flew further behind them, finishing its course in the sand. Instantly, eight shield-bearers turned their gaze to look at theirrades'' corpses. They reached amon conclusion and broke their rank, knowing it was useless to keep up the formation. Aito threw another ax at two of them who dodged aside, slowing their advance. He drew yet another double-handed ax and, toote to use it as a projectile, waited for his enemies. Six evol monkeys surrounded him in no time, using their shields to block any possible escape path. They slowly, cautiously closed their trap, while failing to realize they were ying in the palm of his hand. Aito waited a bit longer for them to reach his strike zone and, like a tornado of death, rotated on himself. ¡ªActive skill: Whirlwind¡ª The rotation, speed, strength, and the skill itself sliced through everything. Leather armor, wood, flesh, and bones. Aito stumbled to a stop. He had trained this skill during those past few days in the cave but didn''t manage perfect control yet. Even without the increased strength from his gift "Fury," that active skill was still hard to handle. He stared intently at the remaining two monkeys, who looked at him first with fear, then ridicule when their gaze moved to his broken weapon. ''Fuck. Gotta get a weapon suited for my strength.'' The two bigfoots seized the golden opportunity to attack him. Aito sighed. With no time to draw another weapon, and with the enemies'' axes surrounding him in tatter, he had no choice but to return to his old ways. Something he had avoided doing before killing the Paineater, because it reminded him of his past. His right foot dug deeper into the sand before kicking empty air. Sand flew towards the two evol monkeys and blinded them both for a short amount of time. Aito dashed to the nearest one, grabbed its furry arm one-handed. Pulled to straighten it and hit its elbow with a palm strike. Its arm broke, releasing an ax, as a piercing cry forced its way out of the bigfoot''s throat. He pulled again to shake the enemy''s bnce and swept its foot. As soon as the bigfoot''s body touched the sand, he went for the finishing blow with a heavy kick to the head. With his current strength, the evol monkey''s skull shattered into pieces. He darted towards the remaining enemy. Elbowed its sr plexus and sent it flying with a high kick to the head. ''Filona''s tits!'' He thought, feeling a burning pain from the inner thighs. ''Been too long since I stretched my legs.'' Grabbing his enemy''s ax, he checked up on hisst opponent and lodged his weapon into its head. He then let out a heavy breath and used "Pneuma" to recover a slight amount of stamina. Suddenly, a loud roar resounded. Aito turned his head to see a huge red monkey in full ted armor making its appearance on the beach, with a weakened army behind it. Themotion had attracted the leader''s attention while it had been gathering thest of its still breathing soldiers nearby. Most of them had scorched marks all over their bodies. Others had leather armors partially burned. Some even lost their weapons in the forest fire. "Ho, seems like Big Bad Red finally arrived." He said, using that monicker in reference to a certain bedtime story. "Jack! Come back!" Jack pulled out its daggers from an evol monkey''s corpse and turned back to join Aito. The few evol monkeys still alive from their fight were called back to join Big Bad Red''s ranks. "Time to change tactics," Aito said, aiming for the bigfoot leader. The distance separating them was approximately a hundred meters. He was certain to miss, but his goal wasn''t to kill it. His ax flew high in an arced line. But instead of hitting the leader, it pierced through a soldier''s head. "Oh. Lucky shot." He said, before bravely turning his tail to flee in direction of the waterfall with Jack on his toes. ROAR!!! Chapter 30 - If Youre Not Cheating Youre Not Trying (part 3) Aito dashed through the tropical vegetations as fast as a professional sprinter but with barely half the effort and stamina consumption. His basic stat "Lv2 agility" seemed to have increased his speed. Although it wasn''t clear as to what that stat really did, he felt that it might have a rtionship to his current ability to¡­ flee. But since it wasn''t named "Lv2 speed" he couldn''t be certain. Coupled with his "Lv2 stamina," which name was self-exnatory this time, it made for the perfectbination to barely outrun his rivalspeting in the same Gods'' Forsaken Ind Olympic Games. The first prize being his tanned ass. Unwilling to give it to anyone else but himself, Aito sped up once more, using Pneuma to slightly replenish his lost stamina. Jack,ing in the second position and somewhat faster than its friend, used its active skill to throw a few poisonous feces at the closest evol monkeys to slow them down before catching up to Aito. The small monkey had eaten its fill of food before the fight. With its body now able to secrete the poison without white berries, as long as it had enough raw material, the feces would keeping. Big Bad Red was impressivelyrge and muscr. However, its evolution seemed to have sacrificed speed for power. It could barely cope with its subordinates'' speed. Still running, Aito took out a two-handed battle-ax, ready tomit the "ultimate sin" for an ax wielder: use it as a wood chopping ax. He increased its weight by 2.5 times and brought down a nearby coconut tree that had been already cut halfway through. The tree waved, then fell towards the monkey army. With their enraged state, due to Aito''s provocation, they had focused on him too deeply. The tree crushed two bigfoots, while one escaped in the nick of time. In preparation for the "race," Aito had cut several trees deep enough for them to still stand tall, but shallow enough to go down in one hit. Taking into ount the trees'' girth, direction, and size he had used his experience as a woodcutter to adjust their trajectories to suit his n. His running speed added to the increased weight and strength could probably chop down a tree in one hit. But "probably" wasn''t "certainty."Aito wasn''t willing to take the risk. Not in that kind of deadly situation. A minor mishap and he could kiss goodbye to the race''s first prize. It could be considered "cheating" but like a wise person once said "If you aren''t cheating you aren''t trying." Coconut trees continued to fall on Aito''spetitors. After seeing two of theirrades reduced to mashed monkeys, they became more aware of their surroundings. Only a few unfortunate ones were ttened like French galettes. Seeing its army dwindling bit by bit, the leader roared with fury. After the human''s disappearance, it had managed to unite two hundred kins under itsmand and killed the few who opposed it. Big Bad Red had lost a quarter of its army in the forest fire. Judging by theck of response from the scouting groups on this side of the ind, it was obvious that the puny human had dealt with them. Diminishing their numbers even lower. Less than a hundred of its soldiers remained. Aito smirked at the sound of a huge red bastard roaring behind him and cut down yet another tree. That circussted until the waterfall finally came into view. He discarded his ax. After cutting so many trees in such a barbaric way, his weapon was rendered almost useless. Keeping it could only lead to problems. Jack hopped on Aito''s back before he jumped into the pond, swimming for dear life towards salvation. Toward the cave. The fallen trees having slowed down their advance, the army arrived barely in time to see a human enter the waterfall. Enraged but not foolish enough to enter such an obvious trap, Big Bad Red ordered its remaining twenty-one spear-throwers to surround the pond. Silence. A warm wind brushed past its metallic armor as it intently peered into the waterfall, trying to see what hid behind it. Only blurry images of water filtering the cave''s darkness entered its vision. Behind the water curtain, Aito had equipped a shield, and a one-handed ax, patiently waiting for the bigfoots to daree in. He had hoped to have enraged them enough for their stupidity to reach sky-high. But had been wrong. Feeling that something was amiss, he took a few steps back. His gift "Instinct" promptly confirmed his suspicions. Aito turned around and darted deeper into the cave, his bare feet only tingling at the contact of rocky ground. Soon after, dozens of spears pierced the water and entered the cave. Outside, Big Bad Red watched its spear-throwers showering the waterfall with their deadly pointy iron tips until they were out of ammunition. It then ordered a few of its soldiers to enter the cave. The unfortunate chosen ones approached the water wearily. Evol monkeys instinctively knew more or less how to swim, but were no professional swimmers. Inside, Aito was weighing his options. He could throw projectiles at his enemies, using the many spears scattered around the entrance. The waterfall blurred his vision, but he could make out many silhouettes outside, including those swimming towards him. However, a good chunk of projectiles was certain to return in some spear-throwers leather bag if he did attack them. So there was a chance that game of throwing spears at each other could go on for a while. Which perfectly suited his shameless fighting style. In the pond, six bigfoots were making their way toward uncharted territory when a spear lodged itself into an evol monkey''s chest. It died instantly. Following the attack, one spear after another was thrown their way in rapid session. Sometimes missing. Other times hitting their mark. In the water, there was nothing they could do but die. Their red-furred leader watched as its soldiers floating corpses riddled with spears redecorated the pond red. Out of victims in the water, the spear''s direction switched to targets on solid ground. Big Bad Red called out its shield-bearers and ordered them to form shield walls. Spear-throwers and two-handed ax-wielders took refuge behind the protective barrier. By the time it took for them to organize, a few evol monkeys had already fallen. Its army was down to around sixty bigfoots because of the previous chase and the current situation, the leader couldn''t afford to be too impatient. The human was cunning. At this rate, its soldiers would number zero in no time. It needed to find a way around this cave. There had to be a solution. It heard a whistling sound signaling an iing attack aiming for its red fur. With a swing of its ax, the leader cut down the spear midair, as if it was an annoying fly. Its gaze was still fixed on the point of impact between its weapon and the projectile when it traveled a bit upward. There, it saw clouds of ck smokeing from the other side of the ind¡ªalbeit slightly smaller than before. Big Bad Red recalled its previous fight with the human and thought of a possibility. What if the other''s side cave and the one in front of it were the same? It could be wrong, but also right. It rapidly devised a n. If it seeded, then victory was its. However, the leader needed to wait until the forest fire dwindled enough to allow safe passage. It was already showing signs of weakening. At this rate, it could take a few hours. Having decided, it ordered its soldiers to step back until they were out of range. For its n to work, it needed to let the human see them. If they suddenly retreated, the puny thing could ambush them somewhere and run away again. Staying here would put pressure on the human and could also hide its intention. Or so it thought. ''What are they doing?'' Aito wondered, standing at the cave''s entrance. Having run out of spears to throw, he could still use the weapons he had in store, but with the distance and trees in the way, he was certain to miss 1 out of 10 times. Maybe 2. It would cost him his weapon supplies, and he dearly needed those. The cost exchange would be too great. At best, he could kill ten or so of them. Moreover, he could use some rest. Aito felt he only had enough mana left¡ªor whatever that energy hiding in his bosom was¡ªfor one more activation of "Pneuma." Walking out of the cave''s darkness with a small torch, Jack silently appeared by his side and gave him a thumbs up. Aito smirked, thinking that if those furry bastards had the idea of waiting for the fire to subside in order to attack from both sides of the cave, they were in for a "delightful ride." Chapter 31 - If Youre Not Cheating Youre Not Trying (part 4) [Remaining time: 8 hours] A few hours had already passed since the previous battle, and the forest fire had time to cool off, but not extinguish. Aito had replenished his stamina, equipped a fresh pair of leather boots, and made a few additional preparations for the iingst fight, with Jack as the key to sess. He had sent the small monkey to fill its belly while he had been dealing with the army. He hadn''t had the time to test out Jack''s poison properly because of bigfoots attacks. So Aito just hoped the number of feces would be enough for his n to work. He had done everything he could think of. The rest was a game of patience. That red bastard standing a hundred meters away from the waterfall had been staring at the cave for hours. As if it was provoking or trying to impress him. Thest rays of sunlight pierced through branches and leaves to highlight the army leader''s angry-looking face, partially covered by a metallic helmet. Suddenly, it roared to give its soldiers a new order. Its voice echoed throughout the entire cave. Bouncing against the walls. When it receded, a new sound entered Aito''s ears, a sharper oneing from the other side of the cave with a few seconds oftency. "Kyaaak!" At Jack''s signal, Aito lit a torch before leaving the waterfall entrance, moving deeper into the darkness. Aito passed by an opened spiked barricade and a few campfires¡ªcovering his nose to protect it from their awful stench. He had made those during the few days spent in his new dwelling to light the way. Those bigfoots didn''t seem to have fire and, with the nighting, they wouldn''t be able to see in there. As a host for thest battle, it was his duty to providefort for his guests. That''s why Jack had also added "vor" to the campfire. Once lightened up, they would work like incense, propagating a delightful smell in the entire cave. But not yet, at least not on his side. The key to this "warm wee" was speed and sneakiness by taking advantage of the darkness. If he waited like a trapped rat at the entrance, Aito would give them the initiative. He darted by the still unlit bonfire of the central area and headed towards the other tunnel. Sounds of battleing from further ahead confirmed the presence of evol monkeys. While Jack kept them busy, he lit the campfires on the way starting from the one next to the entrance to the lower part of the cave as to avoid being a victim of his own scheme. At the entrance, taking advantage of its camouge and the confusion, Jack slit the throat of two shield-bearers before stepping back into the shadows. The nearplete darkness offered Jack a perfect environment to hide in. Just when it was about to jump at a bigfoot''s throat, a familiar voice echoed in the cave. "Jack! Retreat!" Evol monkeys were starting to reorganize. They killed those affected by Jack''s poison and shoved their corpses aside. Shield-bearers to the front, others to the back, they began their descent into their host''s dwelling. A putrid stench originating from Jack''s feces entered their nostrils as they went deeper, their way lighted by small fires like emergency exit lights. Soon, the feces ced on the leaves topping the sticks built in a pyramidal shape caught on fire. The poison in it evaporated and started to spread in the tunnel. At first, bigfoots only sensed a repugnant feeling invading their nose. With their acute sense of smell, it was even more ufortable. But they had evolved to the point of being battle-hardened monkeys and could ignore their own difort¡ªwhich was leading them to their doom. Meanwhile, Jack used its active skill to keep an eye on them and stay under the radar. Its passive skill "poison resistance Lv 1" provided Jack with immunity to its own secretion, so it shouldn''t end up being a victim of its own stench. Although, the smoke could be a problem. The group of around forty evol monkeys finally arrived at the central area but found nothing. Only burning wood, rocks, and an underground river. Suddenly, one of them coughed. It was soon followed by another. The phenomenon spread, causing multiple coughs to break out inside the cave. A small monkey perched above the group, observed the situation, patiently waiting for the poison to act. In the other tunnel, Aito had clued himself like a spider to the rocky ceiling, trying to imitate Jack''s fighting style. He had tried to get as close to the waterfall entrance as possible, but only managed to reach midway before hiding from dozens of bigfoots with wet fur. The campfires he had yet to light were masking his own body odor with their stench, keeping him from being detected by those furry bastards'' acute sense of smell. In thisplete darkness, with no light, Aito had to rely on his hearing to identify the enemies that were walking blindly past him. Once they were out of the way, he let himself down, lit another torch, and used it to burn the rest of the poisonous incense. He then took out a piece of fur from his inventory and used it to direct the smoke towards the inside. Seeing that it was useless with the wind direction conveniently bringing the "perfume" in the right direction, Aito escaped the cave. However¡­ ''Why the fuck is this huge monkey fucker here?'' He thought, greeted by Big Bad Red when walking out of the pond. ''Cunning bastard.'' The army leader seemed to have been waiting for him outside, for the opportunity to finally have a "fair fight." No small monkey would interrupt them. Neither would bigfoots that were suffocating from the poison inside the cave. They might rush out like ants leaving their nests, but the fight would be over by then. "Fine," Aito said. He equipped a shield in his left hand, hid a one-handed ax behind it, and armed his right hand with a double-handed ax. "Ready when you are." ROAR! Chapter 32 - A Fair Duel The sun had already set on the horizon. A myriad of stars and a lone moon began to rise in the boundless night sky. Their lights poorly shone on the duel taking ce near the pond, where two silhouettes walked in a circle while keeping their gazes glued to each other. A small white cloud escaped Aito''s mouth as he used Pneuma to regain a slight amount of stamina. At the same time, he gauged his enemy''s movement. He had thought that the monkey would jump at him on the first asion, but it was cautiously eyeing him. He had rarely felt such tension before enteringbat because he knew that the army leader was different from other bigfoots in many ways. Smarter, stronger, and obviously bigger. It could also be hiding something else he wasn''t aware of. ''Cheater.'' He thought, staring at his opponent''s armor. If it was crafted using iron, then he might stand a chance to pierce through it. Steel, however, was another matter altogether. Fortunately for him, the joints had been left unprotected. Elbows, armpits, behind the knees. A small gap in between the throat and its ugly head. Unfortunately, those areas were hard to target while inbat. With no actual n that came to mind, Aito had no choice but to trust his own fighting skills. He chuckled, the current situation reminding him of his fight with Layehs. Who would have thought that he''d one daypare a huge red monkey to a beautiful blue-eyed woman? ''This time,'' He thought, steeling his resolve. ''I will not lose.'' Aito darted towards his enemy, zigzagging along the way to spread the red bigfoot''s attention on multiple ces and also to make his next attack less predictable. Before entering his enemy''s range, he pretended to go left and changed direction at thest moment, escaping a deadly hit from above. The earth cracked under the double-edged ax''s power as its incredibly sharp de dug deep into the ground. Aiming for the monkey''s neck, Aito counterattacked with arge swing of his double-handed ax, backed up with every iota of strength he had in a single arm. BAM! Big Bad Red blocked the blow using its metallic gauntlet. The now fissured iron de left a dent, but no holes. ''Steel. Of course.'' With a twist of the wrist, it caught the weapon and pulled. Aito released his grip, drew his ax hidden behind the shield, and tried to close the distance. But before he could go in, "Instinct" warned him of a deadly threat. From his left, a double-edged ax dangerously headed his way. Aito knew he couldn''t use the shield to block that kind of attack. At best, his arm would be sent flying with the shield''s broken pieces. During their previous fight in the cave, the monkey leader''s attack strength had been lessened because of how he had handled its weapon. Now, with its hand down the shaft, coupled with its strength that rivaled its opponent, that swing could only be fatal. Instead of stepping back, Aito went in to avoid the de and positioned himself next to the weapon''s shaft. His physical strength traveled from his toes to his left arm as he prepared a counter. ¡ªActive skill: Shield Bash¡ª Pushing the shaft upward, his shield changed the huge ax''s trajectory. This sudden transition shifted Big Bad Red''s center of gravity, leaving it unbnced. Most importantly, it created an opening. Aito seized that small window of opportunity by aiming at the exposed armpits, too high to reach effectively with a one-handed ax. Thus, he used his active skill to hurl his weapon at almost point-nk. The short distance made it impossible to miss. His weapon''s de struck true, bitting deep enough to reach the bones, but ultimately froze. ''Is that bastard made of steel too?'' He thought, stepping back to draw a new weapon. A feeling the red bigfoot had never experienced before traveled through its entire nerve system and struck it like a truck. It had always been on top of the food chain. Having never suffered a defeat or a wound, it was the first time it felt true pain. It released its grip on its weapon as an awful cry pushed its way out of its throat. The double-edged ax dropped to the ground, attracting Aito''s attention. But before he could get to it, he noticed an anomaly. Something he had not expected. Big Bad Red''s eyes reddened as steam escaped from its pores. Its muscles increased in size, while a volcanic rage clouded its mind. Its pain disappeared, numbed by its fury. The red monkey turned a hateful gaze at the origin of its pain, roared, and charged with the doubled-handed ax he had previously snatched from its enemy. Aito sprinted towards it, slid down to avoid being cut by his own weapon, stood up, headed for the double-edged ax, and grabbed therge weapon firmly. From top to bottom, the ax measured almost two meters and was entirely made of steel. Holding an ax taller than him felt weird, foreign, and heavier than what he usually had in hand. But getting used to it wasn''t a luxury he could currently afford. Big Bad Red stumbled to a stop, only to turn in his direction while he was using "Weight Control" to increase the ax weight¡ªfurther enhancing its destructive power. He ced the ax on his shoulder, ready to deal with what would probably be the fight''sst attack. The red bigfoot charged madly towards him, unaware that inside its body, the strain from its current form was tearing apart its muscle fibers bit by bit. Aito shed downward, putting all his strength and body weight into the blow. Sparks flew as the sharpened steel des passed through the bigfoot''s iron ax unhindered, then dug deep into the steel chest te. Blood poured out from the gap in an unending stream. However, insensitive to pain, Big Bad Red grabbed the ax and used its enhanced strength to turn it back at Aito. A double-edged weapon had des on both sides, and in the current situation, it could prove deadly. Aito tried to resist the giant. But its body mass, coupled with its current strength, was too much for him to handle. But, if he failed. If he was defeated here, there would be no revival this time. No third chance. And no possibility of redemption. Thatst thought echoed in his entire being, resonating with his very soul. A primal feeling burst out from the deepest part of himself, unleashing the monster¡ªthe killer. ¡ªGift: Fury¡ª Aito''s skin glowed red as the ax''s des stopped midway in between the two opponents, who entered a contest of strength. But he soon realized that Big Bad Red had a slight advantage when the de was slowly but surely heading his way. However, he had an advantage of his own: his clear-headedness. Big Bad Red stared into its enemy''s ck eyes with undisguised hatred. Which ironically gave Aito an idea. Soon after, a radiant golden light surrounded his entire body. ¡ªActive skill: Fearless Aura¡ª The sudden light pierced the night, entering the bigfoot''s vision, which had grown ustomed to the darkness for too long. It wasn''t enough to blind himpletely, but enough to create a small window of opportunity, an opportunity Aito wouldn''t miss. Feeling his opponent''s grip weakening for a moment¡ªin the same motion¡ªhe stepped forward, swiftly shifting side and twisted his body to redirect the red bigfoot''s own strength to suit his purpose. "Have a taste of my steel." ¡ªActive skill: Whirlwind¡ª The ax snapped out from the bigfoot''s hands, whirled around Aito''s body, and sliced through Big Bad Red''s armor from one end to another. Before it could be uncontroble, Aito released his grip. The ax flew high, brought down a small tree before lodging into another. He then turned his attention to his opponent.. Only when its corpse fell on the ground in two pieces did his "Fury" subsided. Chapter 33 - The End Of The Black Trial [Remaining time before the end of the ck trial: 2 minutes] Aito stood by the beach, sitting on the trunk of a coconut tree he had cut down to make an improvised chair. Next to himid the double-edged ax, its murderous de reflecting the fire camp''s mes. His hard-earned reward, he didn''t like it that much after almost dying to that double edge. He did not want that kind of situation to happen again. Still, it was better than the weapons he had in his inventory. A wounded Jack was sitting next to him on a mix of sand and grass. The small monkey had escaped the cave after killing as many bigfoots. Those who didn''t fall to his daggers had either died from the poison or fled. But with no leader, they could not reorganize anymore. Even if they did, the duo could take care of them. But it would be a waste of energy to chase them around the ind when the end was near, anyway. Aito stared at the ind''s night sky for onest time. It was hard for him to believe he and Jack had survived until now. The Paineater, Big Bad Red, the Urgent fucking quest, and those damn evol monkeys. "A lot happened on that small ind, who knew such a small piece ofnd in the middle of a who-knows-where ocean could hide so many¡­." He said, turning toward Jack. "You know what? Fuck it, I don''t even want to talk about that anymore." "Kek." ''Kek?'' Aito wondered. That was a new sound. Jack had always replied with "Kyaak" until now, but ''Kek''¡­ it strangely resembled "Ok." Somehow, he felt like Jack would be able to speak in a not-so-distant future. "Future¡­" He said. Now that he thought about it, what was going to happen to Jack? [1 minute] Jack was an evol monkey. If Aito left that ind, would Jack be able to apany him? ording to Jack''s status window, more precisely its age, it was born on this small ind. Summoned by the gods. But if the trial ended, wouldn''t the summoned creatures disappear? ''Nha, Jack is different¡­.'' He thought, gazing at his friend chewing on skewered meat. [30 seconds] ''Jack¡­.'' Inside him, he already knew the answer. Even if he didn''t want to face it, he had promised himself to never again deny the truth. ''Fuck.'' "Hey, little punk." He said, interrupting the small monkey''s meal. Jack gazed at him, its dark eyes reflecting its intelligence. Upon peering into them, Aito realized the monkey had already known its fate all along. With the bonds they had created during those two months of hardship together, no words were needed for him to understand that fact. [20 seconds] "You''re smarter than I thought." "Kes!" Jack replied. Aito smiled upon hearing another new sound. "Way smarter." [10 seconds] They remained still inplete silence. Appreciating theirst moments on the ind. A cool breeze brushed past Aito''s ck hair and beard. He closed his eyes and made himself a silent promise. [0 seconds] BING! [Congrattions! You havepleted the ck Trial! Please step into the portal to begin the tutorial''s next phase.] A ck portal appeared on the beach. Even in the dark, its weird fluctuation of energy perfectly highlighted it. It was impossible to miss it. Aito stood up, and¡ªdespite knowing it was pointless¡ªinvited Jack to follow him. Habits died hard, some say. In that case, it proved to be true. Jack walked up to him, and together they headed for the portal. No surprise came when an invisible barrier forbade Jack''s entry just a step away from the ck matter. Aito turned to his friend for onest time. No words were needed. No useless goodbyes. No tears. After all, they had their own way tomunicate. Jack watched the human''s back growing distant, even though he wasn''t that far. One rude gesture from Aito, however, made the monkey crack a weird smile. A human smile. And, as per usual, it responded with a middle finger. It then closed its eyes, ready to disappear. To be granted death. Or so Jack thought would happen. *** "Well, well, *yawn* well," Belmand said, weing the ck challenger into a boundless grey space simr to the one Aito had first appeared in. "Wee, my little ck challenger. And, congrat¡ª" "Stop. I had enough of those." Aito said, standing with his old tattered clothes, but without leather armor or monkey fur. He tried to open his inventory, but nothing happened. At his feetid one of his rewards from the hidden quest. A shiny piece of metal asrge as a round shield. But the candle was nowhere to be seen. "Are you looking for this?" The god of sloth asked, holding a small candle in between two fingers. "Interesting. I''ve never thought my wife had hidden it there. Cunning goddess." Belmand had been observing Aito''s every move. But when it hade to the fight with the Paineater, his "monitor" blurred and only clearedter on after Aito exited the cave. It had never happened before. "Catch!" Aito caught his property and stuffed it in a pocket that had miraculously survived the ind while eyeing the god suspiciously. "Oh,e on! If I wanted to steal it, *yawn* you would already be dead. After all, what surrounds you is a part of my soul. This is my world, cky. I am more of a god here than outside." Belmond said, using "cky" to rece "my little ck challenger" since that nickname was a mouthful. "What do you want?" Aito asked with a killer re. "Nothing rted to¡­ that candle. I''m here to give *yawn* you your rewards!" Belmand said, enthusiastically. "Hey, it''s not every day a god stands in front of you. Well¡­ technically, I''m not physically here. If I were, you would be mashed potatoes." ''This god is fucking suspicious!'' Aito thought. Then he remembered Valinar could read his thoughts and turned towards Belmont, who simply nodded. ''Fuck your divine ass.'' "Rude." The god said. "Whatever, I have other matters to attend to. I''ll give you your rewards then you cky can go y with the other mortals in the tower." With but a thought, Belmand ordered a notification window to appear in front of Aito. [Congrattions! You have cleared the ck Trial''s quest "Surpass your limits!"] [Calcting Rewards] BING! ____________________________ Rewards: - 10 Glory Points - 10000 Tutorial Points Hidden Quest Rewards: - 100 Glory Points - 100000 Tutorial Points ____________________________ Aito stared at the notification window, unable toprehend the uses of Glory and Tutorial points. "And¡­ what the hell am I supposed to do with those?" Belmand smirked, "Well¡­ for one, you could get your furry friend out of that ind." Chapter 34 - Announcement: New Story + Small Game (game Already Ended) The following chaps might feel a bit slow at times because there are less actions scenes since I''m building the framework. But please do bear with me, it was a beginner''s mistake. The action will pick up at chap 66. With a few action scenes beforehand. Note that doesn''t mean the plot isn''t advancing. You can skip this if you want. Hello guys! A small announcement in between two volumes. I''m writing another book aside from ROW. Some of you guys might know of it already. I wanted to participate in the Spirity event with it, but the problem is, honestly speaking, I won''t have time to write the 100K words necessary before the deadline. I have ROW aside from that story and Return of The Woodcutter remains my priority. Therefore, I won''t forsake this story for a new one. At least, ROW updates consistency won''t suffer under normal circumstances. However, I''ve been working on that new story for some time now: Ragnar?k: The Fimbulwinter Saga WHATSMORE, yes, because there is more. I think it is time to reveal something about my books. Yes, bookS. Well, here''s the beginning of my new story. _______________________________________________________________________________ Ragnar?k: The Fimbulwinter Saga. Extract from Chapter 1: Fimbulwinter. {Of all the people recorded in this book, he is the fiercest but, ironically, also the kindest. Although, he was at first quite the cold shoulder type.} {Using his heritage, he built himself up from scratch. Some might think it was easy since he had Fimbulwinter. But how could themon folks understand the struggle of someone who decided to go against the tide?} {How could they understand someone who, after losing everything, decided to defy destiny, even though he knew his chances of sess were close to none?} {How could they understand his confusion, internal conflicts, and growth?} {Easy? Pure bullshit. He might have started strong, but strength amounts not only to power. Strength is much more than just bashing, shing, and killing people.} {So that you may understand, let me tell you of a saga that has yet to bepleted. Let me tell you of a saga about the White Frost, the Red ze, love, and sacrifice.} {Let me tell you of a Saga untold.} Extract from "Yggrasil Chronicles, The Silverwolf of Gleymaheim," By Roan The Merchant ______________________________________________________________________________ So, did you find anything? (author smirks) By the way, I''m leaving a link to my new novel in thement section below.. You just gotta copy the link, then paste it on your search bar. Chapter 35 - The Oath Pact (part 1) "How?" Aito asked, seemingly impatient to know the answer. "Hey, hey, calm down, cky, it is actually fairly simple," Belmand replied. Aito found that ironic. After all, what was simple to a divine being could certainly be difficult for a mere mortal. "The Tutorial points you''ve gained can only be used in the Tutorial you''re currently taking part in. You will understand what I''m saying once you get to the Tower, but in short, it is a currency. But to grant freedom to your friend, it requires Glory points and maybe something else." Belmand said, in between two yawns. ''Is that bastard taking his time on purpose?'' Aito thought, starting to lose patience. After everything he had gone through because of the gods, he came to despise them. Between all of their divine asses, he loathed the god of sloth the most because of what happened with Jack. And something told him that this meeting would end exactly the same way as the other, so he wasn''t about to be courteous with someone who''s probably trying to manipte him. "Stop wasting time." Aito said. At those words, Belmand released a bit of his powers. That human has been disrespectful for some time now. He needed to be taught a lesson, which is that divine beings should be feared. An aura Aito never experienced before pressed his body downward. His muscles, joints, and bones sent him pleading signals to yield, to bend. But he did not. Aito gathered every iota of strength he had and fought the god''s power. In doing so, he also tried to hide the obvious pain he was in. "So¡­ what¡­ about the Glory¡­ points?" The god smirked at the human''s petty attempt to resist, but gave him credit for trying. Belmand increased the power of his aura by barely one percent, ttening the mortal against the ground. "Let me teach you something, cky. I don''t mind yourck of finesse, but my siblings will. I hope that this tiny disy of power will be enough to avoid any future unfortunate incident." Belmand said, insisting on the word tiny. "I will keep you like that until I''m done with the exnation just so that we are not interrupted by your¡­ gruffness. Nod if you understand." ''Fuck you.'' Aito said, using his thought tomunicate since he couldn''t talk. "Hum, I forgot about your thoughts. Whatever, just don''t interrupt me too often." Belmand said, slightly withdrawing his aura to avoid injuring the human who was about to hurt himself by resisting. "Now, where was I?" Belmand asked, without hiding his amusement. "Ah, yes, Glory points. Those points are a currency managed by the System usable on Iris. They can be earned in various ways. But basically, it''s when you contribute to this world in one way or another. Killing a Fearmonger is one of them. Annnnd, You can exchange them for favors with us, the gods. Pretty simple, right?" ''Damn you!'' Aito thought, trying to force his way out of the invisible prison in vain. But the god stayed oblivious to hismentary. So he showed him a middle finger in response. Or at least he tried. The pressure was so great that he only managed to move it a bit. However, he soon abandoned the idea because the next sentence caught his attention. "So, how''s that rted to your friend? Again, very simple. Evol monkeys were created by us. As you''ve thoroughly experienced it, they are beings gifted with incredible adaptative capabilities. They aren''t perfect of course, still, they could offer the Fearmongers a run for their money, even a god. If they were to popte Iris, there could be a shift in the power bnce. Fortunately, we''ve devised two¡­ let''s call them safety caps. First, the floating ind you''ve lived on for three months." ''Floating ind?'' Aito thought. By now, he already had guessed they were created by the gods. But the floating ind part sounded like bullshit. He had climbed the ind''s lonely mountain more than once. The horizon had stretched far enough for him to be sure that he was in the middle of an ocean. And he was certain that the water was real since he had experienced it firsthand upon his arrival. Belmand sighed. "The ocean you dropped in was more or less real, at least everything in a radius of 1km within the shore is artificially real. The rest is just an illusion, not really my domain, so I can''t borate. Zalon created it after all. For him, it was just a party trick." ''A party trick!?'' Aito thought. As unbelievable as it seemed, he could only ept the fact that beings with power far beyond his imagination existed. After three months of hard work on that ind, he thought that he had acquired a bit of power. But after Belmand''s previous disy of strength and Zalon''s illusion¡­ he felt bitter about it. To define it as a "Party trick" was, in fact, exaggerated. It had required Zalon a bit of effort to do such a huge scale illusion, but Belmand didn''t feel like telling Aito. The god of sloth got on one knee and patted Aito''s back as if he was calming a puppy. Although he was clearly just messing around with a new interesting toy. "Don''t be like that. Maybe you''ll get to this point someday. Who knows?" The god said, lessening a bit more of his aura that was suppressing Aito. "Well, if it''s of any constion, that floating ind wasn''t our design but the Minerians." Minerians? Yet another new thing or strange power to discover. Or maybe some kind of divine being of crafting. "Nothing that silly," Belmand said. Feeling that Aito was on the verge of going mad because of his patting, he stood up and resumed his exnation. "*yawn*, Minerians are a native species of Iris you''lle to know soon enough. They are¡­ more or less the equivalent of dwarves in your weird Earthling folklores. Now, I''ll let you in on a little secret, for free, of course. Do you remember the river?" Was that god pulling his leg again? Of course, he did, he had almost died there. In fact, he had almost died in half the ces on that damn ind. "Well, it leads to a room at the center of the ind, controlling the floating mechanism stuffed with a giant soul core, or¡­ hum giant energy storage device, and that Paineater could be said to be¡­ have been its guardian, in a way. It''s a bit tooplex for me to exin but, let''s say that the water you saw was mixed with really tiny particles of mana. It''s one of the reasons there weren''t any lifeforms in the river, because there was a lot of mana but no souls. Without souls, there cannot be life." Aito''s mind got dizzy from all those details that made no sense since he was missing pieces of the puzzle. Although, he made extra effort to listen because it seemed important. "The creatures on that ind were artificially created out of fragments of souls. And, turns out, that if they left that ind, those fragments would be automatically absorbed by the System. That''s the second safety cap." Somehow, Aito felt something bading his way. Maybe it was his "Intuition" signaling him of a potential danger, or his past experiences with divine beings. "But it seems like your little friend realized it after killing one of its kind and rebelled against ourmands despite itsck of a genuine soul. Maybe some kind of weird fragment got mixed in that monkey, I don''t know. But what is certain, is that you gave him a soul. Or, to be more precise, the candle did when¡­ ''Jack'' was granted a ss. This leads me to myst point and offer." ''Shit¡­'' Aito cursed internally. That "offer" stunk as much as Jack''s feces. Even more, since it came from the god who forced him into a deadly situation, not too long ago. "Come on, I''m only trying to help," Belmand said with a cheerful smile. ''Fuck you.'' "Just when I thought you had toned down your rudeness. You really need to stop using that dirty word." The god admonished him, repeatedly pointing at Aito with his index finger like he was a naughty kid. "I seriously hope you find yourself a woman to teach good manners. Mine did miracles. I mean, look at me! I should call myself the god of virtue instead of the god of sloth!" ''¡­'' "¡­" An awkward silence followed Belmand''s boasting until he broke it with one of his customary yawns. "Anyway, your furry friend is currently the sole being with an intact, pristine soul on that ind. Since it isn''t a challenger, he couldn''t leave with you. And it turns out that the evol monkeys there were ordered to attack any ''true'' living being on sight. Since you left¡­ well, let''s say that Jack is going to be in one hell of a pickle." ''Can''t you just stop summoning them?'' "No can do. The System was programmed that way. Once a challenger leaves the ind, the evol monkeys disintegrate. Problem is, your fascinating taming of an evol monkey led to a bug in the System. Well, I actually could stop their summoning for two months at best. But you see, I''m known to be slothful, so I would need a little¡­ motivation." Aito greeted his teeth. Even if that divine asshole could only stop evol monkey''s summoning for a while, it could at least buy him some time to figure out another solution to save Jack. Back on that ind, before he left, he had sworn to himself to find any way possible to bring Jack out, and he wasn''t about to break that promise. Even if the god was clearly leading him by the leash. Taking Jack hostage, again, for Aito to fulfill some kind of quest, AGAIN. ''What do you want?'' "I like the sound of that. There is no free meal in this world, after all." ________________________________________________________________________ Unusually Long Author Note: (I''m not using the "author''s thoughts" so that you guys can use the paragraphments.) The Winner of the previous little game is Vorez. Therefore, his username will be used for a character that will appear around the end of volume 2 and the start of volume 3. To give you an idea, we just started volume 2. Anyway, what was theplete answer to that quizz/game? Vorez gave a perfect answer by replying that "Return of the Woodcutter" and my new story "Ragnar?k: The Fimbulwinter Saga" might take ce in the same fantasy universe. CORRECT! However, don''t misunderstand, it wasn''t made on the spur of the moment. That had been nned even before I started to write ROW. In fact, the idea came with my very first novel, "Death Before the Beginning" which is currently on Hiatus. The chapters that have already been posted will also be rewritten at some point. Still, you can check them out if you want to have an idea of what kind of guy the MC is. In that story, the MC explores different worlds, realms. So eventually, all the next three books I''ll be writing will be linked at some point. How? Hehehehehe... you''ll have to wait until then to find out lol. There will be small clues peppered throughout the stories. So to summarize, the three stories are what I came to call "The Yggdrasil Chronicles." So, of course you will find simrities in the System used in them. They won''t exactly be the same tho. Just simr. Honestly, I only have a rough idea of how it''ll end, but how it''s going to turn out is different because this is a freaking huge project and there is bound to be some things I haven''t thought of along the way, due to the sheer size of it. To top it off, I''m thinking right now about adding a fourth book with a FEMALE MC this time, just because I wanna write one. However, it will be hard to insert her in the Chronicles but I''m sure that I''ll find a way somehow. I''ve never really tried my hand at FMC before and it sounds fun. Plus, we do need a feminine presence in the Chronicles, right? Anyway, I n on uploading this book after ROW and SAGA (Ragnar?k: The Fimbulwinter Saga) are finished. In order of publication it''s gonna the following: 1) Return of the Woodcutter 2) Ragnar?k: The Fimbulwinter Saga 3) FMC lead novel (idk about the title yet) 4 Death before the Beginning. I hope you guys got your seat belts fastened because this is a huge project that''s gonna take... what? Two or three years at least, maybe more actually. But I promise you, this is gonna be a wild ride. I''ll read you guyster ;) PS: As for the Roan= Yoan Roturier. Bravo Vorez. I wasn''t expecting someone to spot that now lol. But who is that character, really? *Author smirk* Chapter 36 - The Oath Pact (part 2) A few momentster. "Are you done, cky?" Belmand asked, seemingly getting impatient. "You''ve read through these few lines ten times already. Just take your oath already. I have other matters to attend to." Aito¡ªfreed from the god''s power¡ªstared at a blue ethereal window, reading through an oath pact for the eleventh time. There wasn''t much to read, but he had learned from his father to never sign a contract so suspicious-looking without studying it carefully. Especially when that so-called contract involved his soul. After he''d take the oath, he would have to respect the uses. If he ever dared to go against them, Aito''s soul would shatter. In other words, he''d be as good as dead. Of course, the same applied to the other party involved. "Fine," Aito said, with a slightly more respectful tone than before. Belmand''s previous disy of power made him realize the tremendous gap separating a mortal and a god. Not that he hadn''t known it before, he just couldn''t believe it. His dislike of them, and particrly for Belmand, made it worse. But now that he had felt a divine being''s power, he had a reference to quantify the difference. Which was enormous. Although it had only fueled his hostility towards the gods, that was growing each time he met one. After all, they never gave him a reason to trust them. "What''s next?" He asked, trying to limit the distaste that was visibly showing on his face. "Very simple, you take an oath. Pay attention to what I''ll say next." Belmand said while choosing to ignore Aito''s rigid facial expression. "I, Belmand, the god of sloth, swear to abide by the uses of this oath pact." Immediately after, a notification window appeared. BING! [The oath of Belmond, the god of sloth, has been registered.] Suddenly, a giant blue ball appeared in the seemingly boundless grey space. Curious, Aito''s gaze traveled upward to take a look at the enormous sphere floating high above his head. "The hell is that?" He said. "Basically a bomb that will burst and eradicate my soul if I go against the uses," Belmond said. Seeing cky''s dubious look, he added. "You remember that this space is a part of my soul, right?" "Right¡­." "Now, take your oath and you''ll be ''almost'' good to go." Aito sighed. He wasn''t willing to have a bomb imnted in his soul, but he couldn''t back down now. "I, Aito Walker, swear to abide by the uses of this oath pact." BING! [The oath has been denied.] "What happened?" He said, turning towards Belmond in search of an answer. Belmand pondered on the issue before innocently lifting a finger. "Ah, sorry, I forgot about that part. You have to use a title after your name. The most meaningful title to you, of course. For example, ''god of sloth'' is my title. That''s one of the reasons you were all granted a title upon your revival. It works like an ID of sorts. And even if some mortals share the same title, the System will be able to sort them out." Despite the urge to curse, Aito refrained from making a rudement and thought about which title to use. There were only two of them, but one was particrly meaningful to him. "I, Aito Walker, the Father Killer, swear to abide by the uses of this oath pact." BING! [The oath of Aito Walker, the Father Killer, has been registered.] Immediately after, the blue window vanished, while Aito sensed something akin to a ball entering his bosom. It wasn''t painful by any means but felt odd. Weird. Unusual. He didn''t know how to describe it correctly. "Don''t worry, that feeling will disappear within the hour," Belmand said. "Now, to thest matter at hand. As a ck challenger who cleared his trial, you have the right to take four items that were in your inventory during the trial with you." "Do you mean I won''t have ess to my inventory in the Tower?" "Indeed." The god said, smirking. "The inventory was temporarily granted to the challengers during their first trial for the sake of fairness. You probably wouldn''t have survived without it." As much as Aito wanted to refute the god''s statement, he was forced to acknowledge it. The inventory had been essential for his survival. Having a seemingly endless storage space at his disposal had saved him more than once. A great example of that was his "vacation" in the cave. "If you want one, you will have to earn it with your own hands," Belmand said. "Also, survival shouldn''t be as much of an issue in the Tower now that ''most'' of you were granted a ss. Although, I have to say that your case is¡­ special." Aito frowned. Of course, that god would know about his ss. After all, Belmand already knew about Jack. "Why?" "Because only a god can grant a ss to a mortal, cky. Only a god." Belmand said, his gaze turning serious. "So, for obvious reasons, I''d advise that you hide that candle of yours carefully. Capeesh?" Capeesh? Aito wondered where that god had learned that word since it clearly came from Earth. However, he left that useless question unanswered and simply forced himself to nod. "Now, make your choice," Belmand said, before dozens of items appeared out of thin air around them. "Oh, by the way. That rule about the four items doesn''t apply to the rewards you''ve earned during the trial. These are yours by default." Aito grunted, then took a look around. He didn''t know what kind of dangers awaited him in the Tower but he sure as hell knew that he needed his equipment above all else. And his damaged Viking armor wouldn''t do the trick. He was about to pick up a leather arm guard when Belmand coughed. "Yes?" He said, greeting his teeth because he was trying to sound "polite." "You''ll be able to repair your equipment in the Tower." The god replied, with two hands held up in the air. "Just saying." Aito sighed and started to arm himself. He first put on a leather breastte, arm guards, and boots. Then, equipped his tattered Viking armor set on top of it, as a secondyer of protection. It looked crude, a bit foolish even, but the purpose wasn''t to look cool. He didn''t want to carry his viking armor set in his hands. And since he had lost weight, he could fit twoyers of armors. Aito wished he could take Big Bad Red''s equipment, however, they didn''t fit his size. He then stored the two silex¡ªhe had been rewarded for making a fire¡ªin his boots. No matter how ufortable it was, he couldn''t think of any other ces. Last but not least, he picked up the double-edged ax. Only one item amongst the four Aito was allowed to take remained and he didn''t want to take a shield, for obvious reasons. Furthermore, the Viking shield he had earned beforeid in pieces somewhere on the ind. Seeing that cky was ready, Belmand used the System to open a ck portal leading to the Tower and invited him to walk in it. His ax in one hand, and the "shiny piece of rock" in the other, Aito dly epted the offer, happy to get out of this awful looking grey space with a god as the host, only to be interrupted midway by Belmand, who instantaneously appeared in front of him to grab his right arm. Aito was about to voice out his disagreement when something warm stirred under his arm guard. The god retracted his slender hand, putting an end to the weird feeling. "The fuck was that for?" Aito asked, unable to contain his "gruffness." "To lessen your already heavy burden." Belmand said, before effortlessly pushing him inside the portal. "Go, inheritor of bravery.. Show me what you''re made of." Chapter 37 - The Guide (part 1) Aito walked out of the ck portal with his hard-earned rewards in hands. Floating balls of light lit a square roomrge enough to easily house three thousand people if they were to stand shoulder to shoulder. Tall, colorful walls decorated by enormous gs unting different colors¡ªwhite, blue, red, and ck¡ªdivided the room equally into four sections. At the center of it all stood Aito, who had just appeared, with a "where the fuck am I" face, as he took a quick look around him, wondering why there were so many pairs of eyes locked on him. Around two hundred humans surrounded him in a circle that looked like some sort of urban ring where two street fighters would meet for a fight. Aito had mixed feelings about the situation, since it reminded him of the tournament, though on a much lower scale. Suddenly, his gift "Intuition," as well as his own personal experience, warned him of two attacks rapidlying from both nks. His Ancient shard in the left hand, the double-edged ax in the other. He immediately lifted both items, stopping two sword strikes. The de, covered in yellow light, that hit the shiny piece of rock shattered, quickly followed by a painful shout. Aito then dashed to his left, bashed a bold man with his rock, sending him flying unconscious before hended on the ground. In an almost fluid motion, he turned to face his other opponent, who was¡­ smiling. "It''s you!" Ogoro said joyfully, lowering a dull sword that,pared to the other, looked normal. "Thank go¡­ the gods you''re alive!" Aito furrowed his brows, wondering who heck was that guy. It couldn''t be helped since he had met Ogoro only once for barely five minutes. Furthermore, the assassin had been badly wounded back then, making it even harder to recognize him now that he lookedpletely healthy. "Who are you, people?" He asked, hinting at all those surrounding him who had drawn their weapons soon after his arrival. "And why are you attacking me?" Ogoro sheathed his long sword and lifted his two hands to show he did not mean any harm. "Please, lower your weapon, it''s just a misunderstanding. You''ve appeared out of nowhere during my fight with¡­ I forgot his name. Anyway, we were already at each other''s throats before you came. That kind of situation couldn''t be helped." Aito grunted. "Care to exin why the others drew their weapons then?" The assassin signaled the crowd to calm down. Most of them hesitantly sheathed their weapons, while a few kept them in hand. "Wouldn''t you do the same if someone appeared in front of you without prior notice?" Aito knew there was no arguing that since he would have certainly done the same or even attacked the person on sight. Three months of constant threat had made him hostile to any kind of surprise. "As for who I am, I''m the man you saved, along with my sister, from the zombies," Ogoro said, before bowing. "Thank you for saving my life. If I can do anything to repay you, please do not hesitate to ask." At those words, memories of his urgent quest shed through Aito''s mind. He could indeed recall a man in tattered medieval armor that looked like the tall guy wearing leather armor in front of him. Also, apart from the gods, only three people knew about it. Although still wary, he slightly lowered his weapon. But before he could reply, a loud apud resounded in the entire room. "Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow! Impressive! Bashing Sam unconscious in such a splendid way! Oh. My. Gods! Worthy of the BLACK CHALLENGER himself!" A ginger man wearing a grey cloak said, making his way through the crowd until he finally reached Aito and Ogoro. Upon hearing "ck Challenger," the people started to whisper amongst each other, but hundreds of them whispering turned a supposedly silent discussion into a silent ruckus. Aito ignored it, focusing his attention and weapon on the neer. "Who''s this guy?" He asked Ogoro. "A lunatic. The walking definition of craziness, unpredictability, and a cheap bastard." The assassin said. Ogoro had known the man for a month now, and despite his knack for pinning down people stemming from his assassin''s past life, he had never been able to understand the man. "Vulgar, but undeniable." The stranger said, cing his fedora hat against his chest before bowing to greet Aito. "Apart from those, I am Roan, a merchant, memoryteller, poet, and a few other things. Amongst those, I am also your guide, especiallymissioned by his Slothness, Belmand." Ogoro eyed him suspiciously, "You''ve never guided challengers before." "Indeed! But that is because I''m a five stars guide! I don''t just work for nobodies." Roan said, using the pointy tip of his hat to point at Aito. "But he is not, a nobody. Right, BLACK CHALLENGER?" Aito''s impatience-o-meter shot up like crazy. Why did that bastard shout "ck challenger" two times? He particrly disliked the fact that people seemed to focus on him even more than before because of his damn title. He already knew that Belmand would send someone to help him around the Tower. It was stipted in the Oath Pact after all. However, Aito felt like Roan would bring him more problems than solutions. Although he could be wrong. Still, he preferred to trust a god whose soul would burst if he went against his oath, rather thanplete strangers he knew nothing about. Since that Roan had been sent by Belmand, then he''ll give him an ounce of trust¡ªfor now. Seeing no reaction from Aito, Roan repeated his question. "Right, BLACK CH¡ª" Pissed by his previous interaction with Belmand, the surprise attack upon his arrival and now a lunatic shouting his title around to attract attention, Aito''s ax sliced the air, stopping next to Roan''s neck. "No more of that. Just do your job." The guide gulped, then grabbed the de with two fingers to push it away, but couldn''tpete against Aito''s strength. "Fine, this way, please." the ginger man said, appearing calm despite his previous disy of fear. Aito found it weird and incoherent but paid it no mind. It wasn''t his business, after all. What mattered to him right now was to rapidly get to work. He had two months, potentially more depending on how Jack would fair on its own against evol monkeys after they start appearing again. He couldn''t afford to be courteous and engage in chatters that he found to be a waste of time. Time was of the essence. He had learned to make the most out of it on the ind, so he came to dislike the small things that appeared useless. If that guide could allow him to reach his goal faster, then good. If not, he''d forsake him without batting an eye. He owed it to Jack, who saved his tanned ass in various ways more than he could count. Thepanionship, the help during fights, the emotional support the small monkey had provided. He couldn''t care less about what other people said. They might think it stupid or weird for him to consider such a small creature a friend, someone he could trust. However, would a human have helped him the way Jack did? Would they have done better than what humans would consider a pathetic animal? The answer was blurred, uncertain, at least if the person wasn''t important to them in one way or another. But he had no one who thought about him this way, apart from his best friend back on Earth. His experience on the ind, particrly thest month, had forced him to trust only himself and Jack. Having almost no social interaction with other humans apart from his five minutes into the red trial, it could be said that he had lost his touch. A touch that hadn''t been good after being brought out of prison to serve as a fishing ve for five months. Aito sighed and followed Roan, who was walking toward the g decorating a ck wall. Underneath it, was a table with one burning ck candle. His gaze traveled to the other gs'' tables. The white corner seemed to have thousands of white candles. The blue corner had hundreds of blue ones and the red corner two red ones. Amongst them, Aito estimated that at least a hundred candles were extinguished. "Who are we to judge the value of a life?" Roan said, with a mysterious air while he yed with the ck candle, brushing past its me with his index. "Gods? Minerians? Humans? Fearmongers? They are all the same under the watchful eyes of the Bnce." "What are you talking about?" Aito asked, arching his brows. "Don''t mind me," Roan replied, before pointing at a tall Asian man walking their way. "Oh, seems like the fanboy wasn''t done talking to his hero." "Please wait!" Ogoro said, making his way to Aito. "Take this. It is rightfully yours." The giant of a man grabbed a ne attached to his neck with a red bead as decoration and pulled to detach it, before handing the item to a wary Aito, who soon recalled why that item looked familiar. "Is that a memory bead?" Aito asked. "Precisely so," Roan said, interrupting Ogoro, who was about to reply. "Did you make it yourself? No. Someone helped you. Marcus? Can only be him. Hum, good quality. What did you put in it?" "A lifetime of hard work," Ogoro replied. Chapter 38 - The Guide (part 2) "What do you mean?" Aito said, his tone softer than before because of Ogoro''s kind gesture, but it still contained traces of suspicion. The giant of a man scratched his grey hair, searching for a "soft" exnation. How was he supposed to exin that he had killed people for a living during his first life, without causing concern or difort to the other party? "I¡­ have trained my whole life in the usage of various weapons," Ogoro said, looking sideways, using a half-truth to mask the entire picture. "Anyway, it''s yours. This isn''t enough to repay you for saving my life, but it is a good start. Please, ept it." Aito stared at the bead. Compared to the grey one he had already ingested, this one had no symbols inside, on top of being red. He then turned his gaze toward the giant, who was politely bowing. Ogoro looked sincere, there was no denying that. Nevertheless, Aito couldn''t help but hesitate. Gods, evol monkeys, the ind, and other past events. He had seen too much, leading him to have serious trust issues. "Before you refuse," Roan intervened. "Let me tell you one thing¡­ maybe two. These types of beads are very expensive. Its purity is one also significantly high, not the best, but close enough toe in third ce." Aito was about to object, but the Guide interrupted him. "Furthermore," Roan said, pointing at the Japanese man who was still bowing. "This man standing in front of you, despite being ssless, is known to be undefeated, and for a reason. His knowledge of the art ofbat is indisputably the best in the Tower. Apart from the moderators, I''m certain that nobody can beat him in a fair fight." Aito sighed. If what Roan said was true, then he desperately needed this bead, but his overthinking habits now bordered paranoia. Although it had kept him alive until now, it also prevented him from epting such a precious gift. Since he could check the actual content of an item with his candle, there was no real reason to refuse. But what if the candle deceived him? What i¡ª ''What is that man doing?'' He thought, wondering why Ogoro was on his knees. Aito soon realized that it was the famous Japanese Dogeza position he had seen in animes, where one prostrated to express an apology, to pay respect, or in this case to ask for a favor. "My family has the tradition to repay a life with a life," Ogoro said, face down against the ground. "Which basically means servitude." It was that particr tradition, that had been hammered into him, that forced him to stay in the family. Since he had been born in it, he had to repay his birth, dedicating himself to the family. "But I do not intend to return to a life of servitude." The giant added. "In exchange, please ept my knowledge. Also, I''d be willing to help you one time with anything as long as it doesn''t involve suicide or harming my sister." ''Anything, hun?'' Aito thought. What the man in front of him implied was simple: if he was asked to kill, he would. That kind of mentality couldn''t belong to someone ordinary. At least, Aito was certain the giant had already killed in his past life. As for what he had been or who he was, Aito couldn''t care less. If that guy was as good as Roan said he was, he could probably help him aplish Belmond''s unreasonable request. That''s all that mattered. So, for now, he decided to trust Ogoro''s words. "Thank you," Aito said. "It won''t go to waste. Concerning your help, I need time to think about it. So please stand up, this situation is embarrassing." Ogoro did as he was asked, then searched the pocket of his white linen pants, his pectoral muscles contracted under his leather armor from this simple gesture, and stopped when he finally grabbed something. "Here, take it. It''s a pass that will give you ess to my room, R02." Ogoro said, handing over a red ticket. "Feel free toe by during cooldown hours." "Cooldown hours?" "Your Guide will exin everything to you along the way." The giant replied, "Now if you''ll excuse me, I''ll have to deal with an angry crowd for handing over the prize they were after." Ogoro bowed slightly and walked in direction of a confused crowd that was trying to understand the situation. Aito attached the ne around his neck, picked up his weapon and shiny rock, then turned towards Roan, who was staring at him with inquisitive eyes. "Hum, you really look unkempt." The Guide said, "I think you should at least get a haircut." "No need," Aito replied. "Just lead the way." Roan shrugged, then pointed at the candle. "ce your hand on it. A notification will appear. You ept. You teleport to your room. Ie. I exin. Then I give you a tour of everything else. Voil¨¤, the program in a nutshell." "¡­" "What''s that tired expression for?" Roan asked. "Didn''t you want to speed things up? Then chop, chop, get to work!" "¡­" *** Aito, followed by Roan, walked out of a ck portal to enter his temporary dwelling for the remaining time of the trial. A luxurious apartment of a hundred square meters, almost simr to what could be found on Earth but minus the televisions, phones, and any other modernmunication device. It contained a kitchen, dining room, living room with sofas, his own private room with a kingsize bed, a bathroom equipped with a bathtub that looked more like a jacuzzi. Brick walls framed Aito''s new dwelling, somehow giving out calm vibes. There were no electronics. Instead, the few things that needed energy to operate used mana from a core installed inside. To operate it, Aito would only need to infuse it with a small amount of his own mana. It would then trigger the mechanism that will draw upon its own mana storage to function properly, the same goes if he wanted to stop it. "Interesting," Aito said, standing in the living room while looking at the rectangr stone fixed high up to the wall, from which cold air came after he activated it using a blue knob-shaped object inserted into the wall¡ªhe had practiced mana infusion using his candle only a few times since Valinar''s appearance, so it had been a bit difficult. Roan nodded. "Hehehe. I see you found the room cooling system. It works just like an air conditioner by sucking in heat and spitting out cold air. Deliciouslyfortable during hot weather!" "I suppose it is," Aito said, turning towards Roan. "What''s next?" "In a hurry, hun? Okay, okay. Next is the second floor, which we also call the Mall because of its simrities to a shopping center. You''ll find many shops there, ranging from weapon shops to barbers. Also, I''d rmend leaving your personal effects here. It''s a secure location, after all. Apart from a god, nobody can enter the room without your consent." But that''s exactly what worried Aito. He could leave his ax here. The candle, however, should remain with him at all times. As for that piece of shiny rock, he wasn''t even certain what it was. "Roan, do you know what that rock is?" Aito said, showing the Guide an item that was asrge as his past viking shield and averaging thirty or forty-centimeter heights. "Hum. Hum. Hum. Look at that shiny thingy. Never seen before. Looks like metal. Steel? Meh, steel is an alloy. Hum. I don''t know." Roan said, holding his chin between two fingers. "But Ainar, a good friend of mine, might just be able to help you." Chapter 39 - Shopping (part 1) After leaving the two flints that were scratching the inside of his boots in the room, Aito passed through the illusionary entrance door from which he had firste in. He returned to the ce mostly known as the Square because of its characteristic square shape, but its true name was the First Floor. Upon his arrival, he realized that something was different. Staircases, at the ends of each g, had magically appeared during his brief absence. People with steel, leather, or cloth armors, wereing out of their rooms, walking up those stairs to enter an area he had yet to discover. "Cooldown hours, or CDs for short," Roan said, standing beside Aito. "Basically, it''s when the stairs in between the floors close up. The goal is for everyone to get some rest. Challengers tend to go back to their rooms before CDs. It''s like a curfew, really. But not obligatory. You could stay on the second, third, or whatever floor suits you." Aito simply nodded and followed Roan to an entrance that had opened next to the ck g. Balls of seafoam color glued to the ceiling lit the way as the Guide and challenger headed to the second floor in a spiral staircase. The light at the end of the stairs grew unbearably brighter with each step. Aito covered his eyes upon finally reaching the exit. As his vision adapted to the brightness, a vast za paved with perfectly carved rectangle stone bs came into view. Seated at the fountain, standing up, walking around, oring out of the first floor, challengers of all genders with somber faces chatted amongst themselves about their next courses of action or in, mundane topics. Aito gawked at the enormous circle-shaped zone with walls going up to thirty meters in height. In the air, a huge artificial sun brightened the Mall to reveal an arearge enough to house thousands of people. Roan flicked his fingers in front of Aito''s face to wake him up, then gestured for Aito to follow him. Along the way, while chewing on a weird blue fruit¡ªtaken out of his small backpack strapped to his back¡ªhe exined that the Mall was divided into five districts. The weapon district, or D1, was filled with proper weapon stores or shady-looking stalls made of patch-up materials. D2 was visited by challengers in need of new armors or repairs. D3 was all about spells, magic engineering, or magical items such as memory beads. Food stalls, restaurant, and small food stores were located in D4. Finally, D5 was considered as the Bazar district filled with all kinds of expected or unexpected items and services. And unexpectedly, Roan stopped in D5 at a wooden table, settled in between two stalls selling clothes from Iris. The Guide then walked behind the feeble-looking "counter," adjusted his cloak, cleared his throat, and put his bag on the table as if he meant business. "Wee to my humble stall, ck challenger," Roan said, with a serious tone. "Would you like to take a look at my merchandizes?" Of course, the shameless man would lead Aito to his store first. Did he even have anything to sell? Aito searched the table, ground, and even looked behind Roan, but found nothing that looked like "merchandise" to him. "Here," Roan said, taking out a small ck pouch from his backpack. "This is an Inventory Bag capable of storing up to ten items of moderate sizes. It cannot bepared to a proper inventory, but it''s way, way, way better than carrying all sorts of bling-bling on yourself, don''t you think?" Roan handed over the bag to his client. Aito examined the ordinary-looking pouch on all sides, finding nothing special about it. "Infuse mana in it, and put your hand inside," Roan said, grinning yfully. Aito concentrated. After a few seconds, his mana traveled into the bag, he then slipped his hand inside to only find a bottomless void. Curious, he took a peek at what could possibly hide in the pouch. To his surprise, a small colorless bead was sewed to the bottom and appeared to be the actual source of the magical device. "Interesting," he said, "but what''s that bead at the bottom?" "Ha! You''ve got a good eye for things, my good sir!" Roan said, using one of his usual swindler speeches. He then leaned on the counter whose foundation shook from Roan''s weight, but he somewhat maintained his bnce. "You see, a soul can store anything depending on its size. You''ve already seen the soul of a god, right?" Aito nodded, thinking back to Belmond''s soul, to the grey boundless space. "Right. And that thing in YOUR bag is a crystallized soul or also called mana core, depending on the topic. It''s something, that can be found in any living being able to wield mana, for example, those have sses. And once the soul is removed, the space it inhabited can be used as storage for whatever you want to put inside." Roan said. He then leaned closer to him and whispered. "If it is your kink, you could even use it to relieve your pumped-up stress, if you see what I mean." The guide turned merchant sent his client multiple winks. "Are you mad?" Aito asked. "Who would put his dick inside a bag?" "You''d be surprised at how good it feels!" Roan said, clearly speaking with prior personal experience. "Meh, doesn''t matter. You''ll understand how much relieving stress is important when you''re on the battlefield. The REAL, battlefield." Aito remained oblivious to Roan''sment and said, "How do I pay for this?" "Hum, you''ll recall my adviceter," Roan said, then flicked his finger to summon a notification window. "Here." BING! [Would you like to pay Roan, the Merchant, 1000 Tutorial Points?] Aito stared at the floating blue window suspiciously. If he recalled correctly, he had 110000 Tutorial Points. Compared to it, a thousand was a meager sum. However, was the item worth that price? After all, he knew nothing about the average market price of the Inventory Bag. "Before you say anything." Roan dered, "Let me tell you that crafting an item out of a crystallized soul implicates aplex process of magic engineering. This, inventory bags storing up to ten items of moderate size aren''t cheap. The same applies for those with higher storage capacities." "Hum, do you happen to have some of those?" Roan smirked, closed the notification window, then handed him a simr pouch, albeit slightly bigger. "This one can store up to twenty items for only 5000 TP! It''s the best I currently have on me. Frankly speaking, most challengers'' wallets average 5000 TP, so they aren''t interested in such expensive bags, even more since it''s just made for storage. They prefer weapons and fancy armors. Tututut, ignorants. If they¡ª" "I''ll take it," Aito said, in part to shut the man up. "Goooooood!" Bing! [Would you like to pay Roan, the Merchant, 5000 Tutorial Points?] Aito epted the transaction. He expected something shy to happen, but only a notification window showing his current bnce appeared. [5000 Tutorial Points have been deducted.] [Host''s Current Bnce: 105000 TP] "Thank you for your patronage!" Chapter 40 - Shopping (part 2) "Thank you for your patronage!" Roan repeated. Aito sent him a quizzical gaze, "Why do you have to shout it twice?" "No reason but my own enthusiasm for servicing a good client!" Roan said while checking the reaction of the surrounding stall owners. ''The fuck? Is that guy using me for revenge or¡­ shit, why are they looking at me like that?'' Aito thought, then realized the surrounding people were watching with funny eyes, but others, however, had a different expression. The same expression as those who heard about his title. Somehow, he felt like it would bring him trouble. But that was a matter he would worry aboutter. For now, something else worried him. The gazes of other people looking at him like he was the stupidest person in the entire Tower, awoke him from some kind of pseudo-subconscious state. As if a fog clouding his mind had been lifted. It wasn''t as powerful as the Lesser Fear used by the Fearmonger he had fought but felt more subtle. Trickier. Sneakier. More difficult to detect, just like hypnotism. Understanding something was amiss, Aito sent a killer re to the merchant. "You have three seconds to exin yourself." "What are you talking about?" Roan said innocently. "One." "Please, at least exin." "Two." "Wait, wait, wait." "Three," Aito said. Almost immediately after, he reached for Roan''s throat. "Okay, I''ll tell you!" Roan said, eyeing the hand that had stopped a few centimeters from his adam''s apple. "Talk." "It''s a merchant skill called Haggling. It influences your decision concerning the purchase of a good. Nothing detrimental to your health." He said, crossing his heart. "That''s ''Roan guaranteed''!" But it was detrimental to his wallet. If every merchant were capable of using that particr skill¡ªwhich Aito had no doubt they were¡ªhis current bnce of 105000 TP would likely drop to zero in no time. He had to find a way to counter it. "It''s considered fair y on our part, though," Roan said, with an amicable smile. "Merchants cannot make a client buy what he or she wouldn''t. We only influence people slightly. There are various factors into y, like your knowledge of the market price, life experience, psychological issues, etc. It does indeed, work a bit like the Fear but less potent and with honorable goals in mind." Aito ignored the shameless part about "honorable goals," and concentrated on the skill''s simrities with the Fear. If what the merchant said was correct, then maybe¡­ *** "This is cheating!" Roan dered, pouting like a little boy whose candy was stolen from him. "How the heck did you do that?" Aito, whose body emitted a golden light, smirked, "No, it''s considered fair y." After experiencing the merchant skill Haggling for the first time, Aito had asked Roan "nicely" to guide him around the entire Mall so that he could gain more knowledge about market prices, map out mentally the surroundings, and familiarize himself with the different goods and services at his disposal. The visit had been morefortable with his tattered viking armor set and Ancient Shard stored inside his newly acquired Inventory bag. To avoid being influenced by Haggling, Aito had turned Roan into the client and stood beside him to listen to the conversations, since the skill could only be targeted at one person at a time. Also, merchants had a modicum of resistance to their own skill, and Roan seemed to be quite the high-level swindler. However, some merchants apparently already knew of the ginger man, so Aito couldn''t gather as much data as he wanted, not that he could remember everything, anyway. Or so he had thought. Surprisingly, he noticed that his capabilities to memorize things seemed to have increased. Not to the point, he could be considered a genius, but just enough to make his life easier. He attributed that merit to his basic stat Lv2 Body and decided to gather more info on that matterter. Along the way, he had noticed more than one gaze on him. Some challengers seemed to be impressed by the huge weapon he carried around. Most women looked at Roan beside him, with hateful gazes. Other challengers, however, whispered "ck challenger," thinking they couldn''t be heard. He ignored them. As long as they didn''t stand his way, he wouldn''t act. Aito already had too much on his te to worry about such petty things. Aito''s stroll in the five districts ended back at Roan''s stall, where he asked the merchant to use Haggling on him once again. Roan had tried to make him buy a random trash picked up on the street for 10 TP. Before he could be influenced by the skill, Aito had activated Fearless Aura, leading to their current situation. "How did you get that skill?" Roan asked. "None of your concern," Aito replied. Suddenly, a notification window popped up in front of him. BING! [Personal database updated] ''What the¡­'' He wondered, before opening his status window with a thought. Nothing looked amiss, apart from one thing. _______________________________________________ - [Updated!] Fearless Aura Lv1 (Shields the host from the lesser Fear and any other lesser psychological skills.) _______________________________________________ Judging by how the System updated, Aito deduced that Fear was probably the most potent psychological-rted skill, or attack there was. Following that logic, it was normal for Fearless Aura to stop other, less potent, psychological attacks. "What''s up? Oh, did you get an update?" Roan asked, staring at his client who was seemed to look past his frail shoulder. "I see. Interesting." "What''s that about?" "Well, you see, the System is like an AI whose programmed to adapt to its host''s needs." Roan dered. "It will update when a new data you require is found. Be it for your status window, or other things such asnguages. Basically, the original data inserted in your brain upon revival were adjusted to your needs, personality, culture, knowledge, etc. So it''s no wonder that you could understand your giant fanboy despite him speaking Japanese." Aito had never tackled thenguage barrier before. But now that the merchant talked about it, it''s true that he had understood every passers-by''s conversation despite their different ethnicities. As for why it didn''t happen with Jack, he deduced the monkey simply had no actualnguage to itself, yet. Aito had simply made assumptions, guesses. Using those, he had been able tomunicate with the monkey to a certain extent. "That''s¡­" "Impressive right?" Roan said,pleting his sentence. "There are a lot of things the System does for you. Create the necessary neural links between muscles and the brain for your Skills to work. Strengthen your body upon leveling up. Manages your money, boring administrative work, etc. You''lle to realize that a great many things in Iris are built around the System." It looked great and very practical at first nce. Anybody would think that way. After all, who wouldn''t like to have an AI manage all kinds of boring tasks? One would rather spend its time on more enjoyable things in life. Aito didn''t know how widespread the System was yet. But ording to what the merchant just said, he could imagine the System did much more than giving powers to ordinary beings. It seemed to be a part of the overall society itself. Which meant it impacted an enormous amount of people''s life. Maybe not everyone, but a lot. That realization scared him in a way, since it could only mean one thing. Absolute control over the masses. And who controlled the System? Aito sighed. Of course, the gods would have such a way to keep people on a leash. The real question was, did the inhabitants of Iris know about it? If yes, did they choose to ignore it? What kind of consequences¡­ He sighed once again. Just why did it have to be soplicated? Why couldn''t everything happen as he had seen in animes? Be summoned. Be granted unlimited broken powers. Save the damsel in distress. Marry her. Be the hero the people needed. Fool around blessed with a legendary golden plot armor. Kill the evil bastard. Instead, it looked like a brilliant start for a "happily never after" ending. "Are you thinking about buying something else from me?" Roan asked, his annoying voice somehow broke his thought process. ''Damn it, I need to get stronger. '' Aito thought, returning his attention to the matter at hand. '' And that begins with buying a few things. But my current Inventory bag storage capacity might not be enough.'' "Hello?" Roan said, waving his thin hand in front of Aito''s face. "Sell me one more of those inventory bags," Aito asked. "Wha¡ªI mean, thank you for your patronage!" Roan said, handing over a small pouch capable of storing ten items. Aito examined the item and using theces, strapped it to his pants next to the other pouch. However, it soon proved to be a tad bit ufortable to walk around with when he took a few steps back and forth. The one storing his armor set and shiny rock felt a lot heavier than the empty one. Something he hadn''t paid attention to before. But now that it was in as day, he realized that Inventory bags weren''t weightless. They seem to increase in weight with each item stored inside, but fortunately, the total weight felt less than what it should be. Still, it was a factor he had to take into ount since it could be a disadvantage in a fight if it were to make him slightly lose bnce at some point. Having two pouches weighing dozens of kilograms each could hinder his overall movements. However, if he could just keep on one himself, it would be more manageable. He then remembered their abilities to store literally anything of moderate size¡ªwhatever that meant¡ªand tried to insert the first bag he had bought into the other. However, the intended result didn''te as predicted. Instead of being stored in the crystallized soul, the pouch just stayed inside the other pouch, on top of the bead. "Oooh, clever. But don''t underestimate the manufacturers'' craftiness!" Roan said, waving a finger left and right. "Do you think you''re the first one to have thought about it? Nope, inventors were." "What do you mean?" "Meh, meh, meh. To put it simply, it''s a matter of profit. Remember the first bag I sold you? Its average market price, in the Tower, is exactly 4000 TP. The second bag you bought cost 1000 TP. Why do you think that is?" Aito shrugged, ignoring the question and the fact that Roan had admitted selling him an item 1000 TP above the market price. He was reaching his physical limits and didn''t want to answer Roan''s question, no matter how obvious the answer was. After three months on the ind, he only wanted to have a restful night in a peaceful ce. Something he would have done immediately if it weren''t for his guide. "Hum. No fun." Roan said, disappointed that his client didn''t answer his small riddle. "The answer is profit. Taking into ount the crafting, material cost, shipping, and profit, the real value of the 20 items bag is around 700TP. However, the bigshots of the industry inted the price and controlled the market by purposely leaving a defect in their product that prevents inserting one bag into another. Smart. Simple. Cruel. But understandable. Of course, you could also buy multiple 10 items bags, but it would just be ying in the palm of their hands since it was one of their goals anyway. Plus, as you''ve seen it, it''s not thatfortable to carry around multiple bags, even less inbat when it''s dangling on your waist. Well¡­ military-grade items are a different matter, though." Aito arched his brow, "But you look like someone who has one of those¡­ military-grade, don''t you?" "Don''t know what you''re talking about. Selling those here is illegal." Roan said, smirking. "But I''d advise trying what you did using the 20 items bag this time as the container." Aito couldn''t help but snort at the merchant''s shadiness that he started to like, thinking that at least someone was going against the flow of society¡ªwhich also more or less meant against the gods¡ªin this Tower. He did as he was asked, and this time, it worked perfectly. "Why do you think this one cost 5000 TP, hun? I admit that I''m shady-looking but that''s because this appearance has its perks." Roan said with a wink. "Oh, it''s not exactly military-grade stuff, so I wouldn''t try inserting more than one bag. Spacial magic thingy can be¡­ fiery. Unless you want your storage to explode¡­ don''t insert other bags in it." "I''ll remember that," Aito replied. "Thank you, Roan." "No," Roan replied with a joyous smile. "Thank you for your patronage!" Chapter 41 - Shopping (part 3) Aito bought a few more goods from Roan, ranging from food to a new set of clothes. In his backpack, the merchant had more goods than it appeared at first nce. So much, in fact, Aito thought the merchant''s Inventory bag was bottomless. Although he could have walked around the different districts to buy what he needed, Aito was too tired to make the trip and choose to purchase from Roan. Thetter cheerfully epted the transactions before leading Aito towards today''sst stop, where an answer about his shiny rock''s origin could probably be found. Aito walked by a remote corner of the bazaar district where a few challengers turned beggar roamed the streets. Some of them, appearing semi-conscious,id down on the ground. ss bottles filled with green liquid in their hands. Life in the Tower wasn''t necessarily easy. If one couldn''t provide for oneself, only misery awaited. Most revived humans on Earth had lived a fairlyfortable life because of the abundance of resources. However, once taken out of theirfort zone, they would either rise or fall. With humanity''s potential to adapt, a great majority of the challengers managed to make a living. Day by day they would struggle to collect as many TP as possible. Equipment, food, lodgings, and other services weren''t free in the Tower. Aito learned along the way that he would be deducted 500TP for every "Cooldown period" spent in his room. It was apparently expensive because of the perks it offered. Apart from the amodations, sleeping one "night" in that room would make him entirely recover his stamina, and mana, on top of healing his injuries. Pretty much like the nights spent on the ind, but better. However, white, blue, and red challengers didn''t necessarily benefit from such favorable treatment. Smaller rooms, fewer recovery effects, fewer amenities. Taking into consideration that most of them hadn''t received as high a reward as he did, they sometimes wouldn''t be able to afford to pass their Cooldown periods in a room. Some of them went mad or depressed. Mental instability, hopelessness,ck of motivation, weakness, had turned a few people into a shadow of what they used to be. Seeing his past self in these beggars, Aito nced sideways. Not because he despised them, but because he understood them too well. He knew how hard their current psychological situation was, and what that bottle they all carried did to them. Although he didn''t know what kind of drug it was, he could guess it wasn''t soda. "We call it Fog," Roan said, walking next to him. "A beverage made of Brum leaves. It''s basically alcohol. It relieves stress but renders you incapable of thinking clearly because of some other shadyponents inside. Very nasty. I prefer to smoke the actual leaves. More enjoyable. And it doesn''t leave you in such a decrepit state. But harder to find since all of them are requisitioned by the churches, aka military." "Nobody is willing to help them?" Aito asked, even if he already knew the answer too well. He had been in their shoes, so he couldn''t help but want to help them in a way. Even if¡­ it was hopeless. "Soft-hearted, hun?" Roan replied, "Let me tell you something. Only the strong survive here and in Iris. Only the strong. If they cannot adapt to this ce, they won''t be able to handle the horrors they are destined to fight because of their Oath Pacts with the gods." Meaning, if they wanted to live, they could only count on themselves. No one would help them. Others were already too busy caring for their own asses. "Such is their fate," Roan added, his face turning somber. "There will be no end to their torment. Even after death." Even after death? Aito wondered what he meant. Wouldn''t they be freed from their duty after dying? "Unless a new legend arises from within the ashes of war," Roan added, smirking this time. "A legend, yet to be told." "The fuck are you on about?" Aito sent him quizzical gazes. "Did you smoke too much of those Brum leaves?" "Hahaha! I''m often asked that question." Roan said, before turning his attention elsewhere. "Ah! There is the Atelier, we''ve finally arrived." Settled by a wall, a peculiar stall offered leather armors, funny-looking magical items, and weapons for purchase. The items were neatly stored in racks or shelves. A bulky 1.40 meters humanoid figure stood by the counter. His grey rock-like skin reflecting the fake sun''s light. "Ainar! My old friend!" Roan said with open arms. "How are you doing, my rocky fellow!?" Ainar''s t rocky forehead furrowed slightly, creating fissure-like lines on his face. He left his counter and furiously walked towards Roan. "Oooh, are you that eager to greet me? Haha¡ªurg!" Roan said, interrupted by a punch in the stomach. "That¡­ wasn''t¡­ a greeting." "What did you expect!?" Ainar said, with an unsurprisingly low, rocky tone. "You red pebble owe me 10000 TP!" Surprisingly, Roan quickly recovered from the previous blow and fled behind Aito, using him as a shield. "I have them! I''ll be able to repay you today! That''s a Roan guaranteed!" "Shut your trap! How many times did I endure that freaking line of yours! Your ''guarantees'' are worth nothing more than human shit!" Ainar said, before turning his two big round grey eyes towards Aito. "And who''s that? Another of your idiot customers?" "I''m Aito Wal¡ª" Aito tried to say. Ainar interrupted him. "I wasn''t talking to you, boy." Boy? Aito knew he hadn''t grey hair, but 25 years old could be considered old enough to be addressed as a full-fledged adult. At the very least "young man" but not "boy." "Don''t be so rude to your potential best client. He''s the ck challenger." Roan said, smirking. "And he has something that will pique your interest. That''s a Roan guaranteed!" Ainar''s t nose twitched, tired of hearing that stupid line. Then his gaze switched from Roan to Aito and studied him. His focus passed by Aito''s leather armor, weapon, and Inventory bag. Then it traveled to his long ck hair, full beard, and ck eyes filled with fatigue but also¡­ something else. A spark that might soon turn into a me. He then grunted and walked back behind his counter. "First time seeing a Minerian, hun?" Roan said, patting Aito''s broad shoulder. "Don''t mind his grumpiness. He''s a kind fellow at heart. Go and show him what you''ve got." Roan said, inviting him to take out his Ancient Shard. Aito sighed. He didn''t know what to think about all that. Tired and desiring nothing but rest, he turned a blind eye to the Minerian''s rudeness. Aito walked to the stall and tried to bring out the shiny rock from his pouch. But instead, a viking arm guard appeared in his hand. "What?" He said, turning towards Roan in search of an answer. "Well¡­ you see," Roan said. "Inventory bags can store items, but the one you''ll pick up won''t necessarily be what you''re looking for. Which is kind of logical if you think about it since inside the storage space, it''s a real....hum, mayhem." Ainar snorted mockingly. "So he really is a newbie." Aito granted, ignored thement, and searched for his Ancient Shard. The counter was stuffed with his tattered viking armor set when the desired item finally showed up. The Minerian pushed aside the pieces of armor like they were crap, grabbed Aito''s shiny rock, and gently settled it on the counter. "Do you happen to know what that is?" Aito asked, but no answer came his way. Ainar was too immersed in his reflection to respond. He examined the rock using various methods. Poking it on different sides. Smelling the mineral. Even tasting it using his rough-looking tongue. Aito sent Roan an interrogative re. "That may seem idiotic." Roan said, "However, I assure you that in reality, it''s very professional, but also very rare for him to use those techniques.. Usually, only a single nce is enough." Chapter 42 - Ramen (part 1) A few minutester. "This is¡­" Ainar said, his gaze turning serious. Seeing his friend''s expression, Roan imitated the minerian''s seriousness. "An indestructible metal from which a divine weapon could be created to y any living being that ever existed¡­" He said, purposely leaving a dramatic pause. "Even a god." Ainar looked at him, unamused. "That''s not funny, Roan. Don''t mislead the boy." ''Boy¡­'' Aito repeated in his mind. The nickname slightly hurt his pride. After all, he ceased to be a boy a long time ago. How old was that piece of moving rock to treat him as if he was a child? Was Ainar even past 40? "Aight. Aight. No offense meant." Roan said, regaining his nonchnt attitude. Ainar sighed, then, with a more neutral face, turned towards Aito. The minerian had seen much during the course of his long life. Judging from his personal experience, the boy''s equipment, physical fatigue, andck of knowledge, Ainar deducted he could indeed be the ck Challenger. It was just an assumption. However, there was no need to verify it, since the truth would eventually reach his t ears in two days at thetest. News traveled fast in such a confined environment. Especially in a ''temporarymunity''posed only of thousands of people that, during their spare time, had nothing better to do than talk. Since the kid standing in front of him could be the ck Challenger, then it might be worth it to remember his name. Although, he was also human and could certainly die in the Tower, just like the others. Especially if he was foolish enough to challenge the twost floors. But that was none of his concern. As long as Ainar could do business with the kid, he would be content. After all, who would be stupid enough to spit on money? "Boy," Ainar said, "What''s your name?" Even though Aito disliked the nickname, he had no reason to remain silent or keep his thought to himself. "Aito Walker," he said, "Pleased to me you, Rock." "Trying to y the smart kid, hun?" Ainar snorted. He had dealt with many disrespectful fellows and was past the point to care about insults. Moreover, he didn''t even consider ''Rock'' to be much of one. After all, objectively speaking, it wasn''t wrong nor was it the entire truth. "Well, Aito," Ainar said, emphasizing the boy''s name before pointing at the Ancient Shard on the counter. "You''ve got quite the interesting piece of shiny rock." "I suppose you could say that," Aito replied, his tone more neutral now that the minerian was calling him by his name. "Do you know what it is?" "Of course he does. That''s a Roan guaran¡ª" Roan eximed. "Shut up." Aito and Ainar both said, pissed to be interrupted by the ginger man''s nonsense. The Guide lifted both hands in the air, remained silent, and took a step back to leave his client and friend some breathing room. Ainar sighed and resumed his exnation. "Actually, I do not know what it is. In almost a thousand years of experience as an inventor, I have never seen something like this." "In almost a thousand years?" Aito asked, more intrigued by Ainar''s years of experience than by the item. "Focus, boy. My age has nothing to do with the topic." The Minerian replied. Aito turned towards Roan, who nodded as if to confirm Ainar''s age. The shock chased away his fatigue, hitting him harder than a car at full speed. He had already interacted with gods, fought with monkeys, been revived, killed zombies, slew a Paineater, and even befriended a monkey that had tried to kill him at first. If he were told before that a thousand-year-old being stood in front of him, Aito wouldn''t have believed it. But with all he''s been through until now, he could only ept that surprises after surprises awaited him. He had to keep an open mind if he wanted to adapt to this new world. Of course, doubts were necessary. After all, his father, quoting Rene Descart, used to say: "Doubt is the origin of wisdom." However, doubt could also cloud his mind to the truth that sometimes was just a step away from him. Therefore, a certain bnce was required to even things out. So even if it felt unreal, he decided to trust the part of him saying that it was possible, if not the truth. Realizing that fact, he no longer felt insulted by the nickname Ainar had given him and thus felt a bit guilty about calling the Minerian a rock. "Good," Ainar said, "Most of your fellow kiddos outright denied it. Open-mindedness is necessary to survive out there. Don''t forget that." "I¡­" Aito replied. "Thank you for the advice." "You don''t have to be respectful towards me, boy." Ainar snorted, misunderstanding Aito''s reply for respect. "I''m just old, not one of those so-called gods." "Gods¡­" He said, with a tone bearing hatred. Those divine bastards did not deserve his respect, even if they were supposedly older than Ainar. After having a taste of a god''s power, Aito knew they should be feared, that much was certain. But should they be respected? From amon point of view, probably. No matter the culture or religious belief he had seen and experienced on Earth, there was one single universal point they all shared without exception¡ªwhich didn''t necessarily stem from fear. Respect towards a higher power. Even animes, books, weics, and movies sometimes showed such beings that ought to be respected for their virtues and, or to be feared. After all, power brings fear, and fear naturallymands respect. Every tyrant in humanity''s History knew it and applied it to reign supreme. However, in his mind, true respect doesn''t involve fear, but trust, be it for a god, a human, or a minerian. It should be earned. And did the Iris gods earn his trust, his respect? His answer was no, they didn''t. Yes, they had revived him, and it could be considered being given a second chance. However, did they ever ask him beforehand or give him a choice? No. Have they considered the other challengers'' opinions? No. Did they revive him because they cared for him? No. That much was certain. He had learned in life that nothing was free. There was always a price to pay. Sometimes small, sometimes reasonable, and sometimes high. Be it material cost, emotional cost, physical cost, and others. The three gods he had already met confirmed it. Filona had asked him and other challengers to wage a war that originally wasn''t their own in exchange for their forced revival. Valinar had asked him to find her inheritance in exchange for a dubious means for Aito to travel home. Belmand had asked him to aplish a task, which Aito knew would be difficult, in exchange for preventing the apparition of evol monkeys on the ind for two months. Nothing was free. That applied even more now than it did on Earth. Even Belmand, the so-called god of sloth, said it before they had signed the oath pact. Furthermore, dealing with gods was dangerous because of their powers and unpredictability. His head would hurt just at the thought of it. And after what they had made him go through¡­. The dangers he had to face just to clear a trial, to survive, because he had been asked, no, forced to. Would he really be willing to trust and respect such beings? ''Fuck them. The other challengers can give their loyalty and freedom to them, but.....'' He thought, ''I will do things my way.'' Chapter 43 - Ramen (part 2) ''But for that, I need to get stronger.'' "Boy." ''Although¡­ I don''t know where to begin.'' "Hey, boy!" ''Hum¡­ baby steps, I suppo¡ª'' Suddenly, his gift, Intuition, activated. Sensing a potential danger, Aito jolted awake from his thoughts, just in time to catch an arm guard flying towards his face. Ainar granted. "Hum, not bad." "What the fuck was that for?" Aito asked, before remembering that he had dozed off in the middle of a conversation. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had forgotten about his surroundings. ''Damn it,'' He cursed internally, thinking that he had lost that dangerous habit of his during his trial on the ind. In fact, he was half right but also wrong. The ind had almost never given him a moment to rx. The dangerous environment hadn''t allowed him that luxury. On the other hand, that event had indeed corrected his bad habit. He was just particrly tired today. "Hey, don''t you want to learn more about that rock, boy?" Ainar retorted. "I¡­, sorry." Aito apologized since knew he was to me. Although, the minerian shouldn''t have thrown something to his face, but he choose to ignore that fact. "So¡­ you said you don''t know what it is." "Yeah, but that doesn''t mean I can''t find out." "Meaning?" "Meaning I need time to study your shiny rock," Ainar said, with a visibly interested expression. "I''ve never thought I would stumble upon such an intriguing study material in the Tower." "How long would that take?" Aito asked. "I don''t know, I also have a few other clients to attend to." Ainar replied. "Really?" Aito asked, hinting at the stall devoid of customers. "I don''t see anyone around here." "I said a few, boy, not hundreds. Learn to listen." Aito granted. "And why are there so few?" "Why would you care about that? It''s my business." "Hum, true." Aito said, before changing the topic. "So, how long will your examination take?" "One week. But that''s the wrong question, boy." Ainar replied, his bumpy face drawing a weird smirk. "You should ask how much it''ll cost you." Aito sighed internally, thinking that he started to see simrities between the Minerian and Roan. ''No wonder they are friends.'' *** Floating above the five districts, the giant yellow ball lighting the entire Mall shone brightly on D4, the food district, where a few hundreds of people were enjoying their meals, either in restaurants made of wooden constructs or, like Aito and Roan, at a food cart on the street. "Oh, I love ramen!" Roan said, sucking in noodles like he was a human vacuum cleaner. "Delicious," Aito replied, in a better mood now that he was eating something. After agreeing to the price of 200TP for the identification of the Ancient Shard properties, Aito had wanted to get some rest in his room. However, his stomach had firmly opposed his will when it growled like a furious beast midway in between the first and second floor. Roan had then offered him to eat out at a humble ramen food cart. Once they had reached the desired location, the aroma of the broth had obliterated any idea of leaving. Aito''s salivary nds had produced saliva uncontrobly. Waiting for his ramen bowl had probably been one of the hardest trial he had ever undergone. Three months. For almost three months, he had mostly sustained himself with monkey meat. Anybody, apart from Jack, would have been tired to eat the same thing again and again. In fact, he was just tired of meat overall, not that he disliked it, he just had enough of it for a while. So he had ordered vegetarian ramen and¡­ oh, the bliss, the joy! He had barely eaten any vegetables on that ind and had almost forgotten what they tasted like. His stomach was thanking him with every bite taken. And a happy stomach meant a... moderately happy Aito. Somehow, he felt invigorated, as if his fatigue progressively disappeared, improving his foul mood into a more... neutral one. "I had almost forgotten what proper food tasted like," Aito said, appreciating his every mouthful of noodles. "I suppose anyone would after what you''ve been through," Roan replied in between two gulps. "Oh, chef, do you have sake?" Behind the stove, a woman wearing a ck hairband covering her blonde hair eyed Roan joyfully. "For my best client? Sure!" Surprised at such a sympathetic reaction towards a man who seemed to be hated by most women they hade across, Aito lifted an eyebrow. Seeing his reaction, Roan stopped eating, dragged his chair closer to him, and whispered. "It''s because Ie here almost every day when I''m not strolling around. Also, I''m not into tiny women." Aito turned his gaze towards the chef and indeed she was small, probably around 1.55 meters tall. Then he examined her face. No wrinkles, white skin, big blue eyes, pretty nose. She was cute, alright. He didn''t see the problem until his eyes traveled downward. "Ah¡­," was all he managed to say. He had no problem with small chests but could understand other men''s tastes. "No judgment." He once had a girlfriend who shared simr physical traits with the chef, so he couldn''t really think badly of small chests. It couldn''t be said to be a physical trait he favored in women though. His other ex-girlfriends had all been different physically speaking, apart from one single aspect: firm round butts. Aito was an ass-man through and through. Why? Because butts,pared to breasts, could be shaped if the woman was determined enough to do it. In his mind, however stupid it may sound, a round butt attested to a woman''s effort. Of course, gics could y a part in it, but it was an undeniable fact that firm muscles¡ªtherefore firm butts¡ªwere developed through hard work. He preferred a hard-working woman over someonezying around. Even if she had the most perfect body in the entire universe, Aito would reject her¡ªespecially goddesses of Iris. "Here is one bottle and one cup." The chef said, gently settling the sake next to Aito on the counter. "Hum. Mehmmm. Donna, is my cup hidden somewhere behind Aito''s?" Roan asked, sending Donna an inquisitive re. She simply smiled brightly and said, "I''m a level 5 chef, not deaf." "Ow¡­ you know I was talking about your height, not your¡­ sumptuously not so t looking bosom," Roan said, smiling innocently. "Roan, be a dear and only open your mouth to eat. You''re much cuter this way." She said, emphasizing herst sentence before returning behind her stoves. Next to Roan, Aito was eyeing the alcohol. He had spent three months without drinking, but now that he had a visual stimtion, the thirst reappeared like a beast that had been lurking in the back of his mind, waiting for an opportunity to jump at his throat. Alcoholism had left a deep mental wound on Aito. Even after the ind''s events, his mind still remembered the taste of alcohol. At this point, he knew it would probably remain for his entire life. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. However, it didn''t feel like a need. He didn''t need to ease his thirst. It was more like a small immaterial ball stuck in his throat. It was there, without being there. But he was determined to resist. Never again did he wish to plunge into a nightmare. Aito pushed the bottle of sake and cup towards Roan. "I don''t drink anymore, but thank you¡­ Donna, right?" "Yes, that''s my name, be sure to remember it, handsome," Donna said with a wink. She then reached under the counter, grabbed a ss bottle with a mana core glued to the bottom, and infused her mana in it. Soon, water appeared inside, filling the bottle in less than ten seconds. "Here is some water." She said, cing the ss bottle and a cup next to him. "I''m sorry about the alcohol. I have nothing but water to offer you. Take it, it''s on the house." "Thank you, Donna." Chapter 44 - Ramen (part 3) "You''re wee¡­ hum, what''s your name again, handsome?" Donna said, smiling beautifully, with her white apron highlighting her smile. Again? He didn''t remember ever saying it once. "Aito," He said, "Pleased to me you." She gave him a wink, turned around, and walked back to her stove, her white apron, too big for her, weaving with each step. "The hell was that?" Roan asked, "She never gave me that kind of smile." "That''s called flirting, and it doesn''t necessarily mean anything," Aito replied. "Like most men, some women also like to flirt for the simple act of flirting." "And how do you know that, mister yboy?" Roan asked. Aito didn''t know it, he just thought it was the case. Before falling into alcoholism, like most young adults, he had enjoyed life to its fullest. Meaning hanging out with women, having girlfriends, go to parties, etc. Of course, he had his own take on the matter, but he wasn''t willing to discuss it with a man that seemed to be hated by most women. He ignored Roan''s question, and pointing at the water bottle, changed the topic. "How does that work?" "Swapping topics like you do towels.¡­ tch." Roan said, pouting like a child, seemingly unpleased that Aito had ignored his previous question. Although, as a guide, he couldn''t simply avoid answering Aito''s question. "Anyway¡­ what you''re looking at is amon item used in every restaurant¡­ nevermind, it''s used everywhere by a lot of people. To put it simply, by infusing mana into it, the device will attract particles of water from the nearest source. In this case, it was the humidity in the air, that''s why it took about ten seconds. But if you were near a river, the bottle would probably be filled in less than two seconds." "Interesting. Do you happen to have one of those for selling?" Aito asked, before serving himself a cup. The idea of having a portable source of water with him was too enticing to let it pass. With it, he wouldn''t have to worry about thirst unless he visited an area devoid of particles of water, which would probably mean he had died. Roan smiled, happy to do business, and sold him the exact same bottle for 500 TP. It was a mass-produced item, so it wasn''t that expensive. Aito stored it in his bag and continued to eat. "Since we are currently talking business over dinner, how about I sell you bits of informations?" Roan asked, with greed shining in his eyes. Aito lifted the bowl to his mouth, drank the broth, and settled it down on the counter before answering. "Hum, first, isn''t that supposed to be free since you''re my guide? Second, how can I know they are reliable? Third, Donna, can I have another serving, please?" "Sure, handsome!" She said, immediately preparing another bowl of ramen. "To answer your first question," Roan said. "I am only obliged to give you basic informations, like where to buy your equipment and such. However, if you want information on how to clear this ce, apart from the obvious, you will have to pay an information broker. Which I happen to also be one." Aito eyed him suspiciously. After all, that red-haired man seemed to dabble in all sorts of things. He knew about magic; he was a merchant, a guide, and now also an information broker. How could he not be suspicious of someone with so many jobs? "Hey, hey, hey. This isn''t what you think. I''m just a merchant." Roan said, before puffing his chest. "And a true merchant doesn''t lower himself to sell only one kind of good or service. It also requires to be knowledgeable about what I''m selling." "Hum, is that so?" Aito said, unconvinced. "I''ve never seen a merchant like that." "Well, you''ve clearly never met me before today! Hahaha!" Roan boasted,ughing louder than what was appropriate. "That much is certain," Aito said, snorting. "But are you reliable?" Roan pursed his lips as if he had been offended. "Come on, Aito. Did I ever mislead you?" Aito shook his head at the merchant''s exaggerated reaction. How could he say that since they had only met today? However, apart from his usage of Haggle, Roan hadn''t misled him. And since it was amon practice for merchants to use this skill, it technically couldn''t be considered as misleading. "I suppose you didn''t," Aito said, taking a sip of water before adding, "yet." Roan pushed out a weird grunt out of his throat and drunk his sake. "Oh, Roan''s informations are very reliable. Because if he lies, he dies. As simple as that." Donna said, bringing him another bowl. "So don''t worry, you can trust him as long as it''s a transaction." She then went back to prepare another batch of ramen. "As thedy said," Roan added, serving himself another cup. "Information brokers are bound by the System. It works more or less like an oath pact. So the real question doesn''t lie in trust, but whether if the information I know about is correct. But I assure you that you will be satisfied! That''s a Roan guaranteed!" The thought about Roan''s obligation of telling the truth eased up Aito''s suspicion. Although he wasn''t certain since he had never seen an information broker die from lying, but he would naturallye to know more about it with time. For now, he could only trust his words. "Fine, how much?" Aito asked, letting loose of his curiosity. After all, he dide here with the goal of clearing the top floors. Aito paid 500 TP to start the exnation machine, called Roan, who cheerfully epted the transaction. Then Roan used his authority as an information broker to summon a blue window. He then pledged to the System to only tell the truth. The notification window only visible to both of them confirmed his pledge and would remain by their side until they both agreed that their talk was over. ording to Roan, the Tower wasposed of just ten floors and separated into four zones. The first zone was the living quarters of the challengers, ranging from 1st to 3rd floor. Aito already knew of the Square and Mall. But he had yet to discover what wasmonly called the Training Ground or 3rd floor. "The clear condition is to undergo a week of training," Roan said. "There, you will be taught the most basic skill anybat ss must know of. Very important, don''t neglect it if you want to survive in the Tower or even in Iris." Aito gave him a silent approval as he ate his noodles. From the 4th to the 6th floor was the middle zone or also called Hunting Grounds. As for who was the hunter and who was the hunted, it depended on the challengers'' abilities. These floors were filled with creatures inspired by Earth''s culture and therefore couldn''t be found anywhere else on Iris but during the trials. The 4th floor was inhabited by goblins, 5th floor by hobgoblins, and 6th floor by orcs. "Once you arrive on those floors, you will be given quests to hunt down a certain number of creatures. For additional rewards, you could, of course, hunt more. And since you''ve survived the ck trial, you''ll probably find these floors to be a piece of cake. Now, the real challengees afterward on the high floors." High floors ranged from 7th to 8th and were upied by beings that had sumbed to the Fear. They were devoid of fear and also known to be particrly violent. "They are called Berserkers. Fellow warriors of Iris who transformed into raging monstrosities." Roan said, his face turning gloomy. He took another sip of sake before resuming his exnations. "These floors were built based on the idea of tower defense. Basically, you will have to defend your location against hordes of enemies for a set amount of time. I''d rmend finding partners for these floors." Aito settled down his empty bowl on the counter and turned towards Roan. "We''ll see about partners. I prefer to fight alone rather than being stabbed in the back by people I barely know." Roan tapped the end of his empty bottle of sake, trying to draw out ast drop of alcohol, but nothing came out of it. He sighed, ordered another bottle, and said, "Commendable. Understandable. Yet dangerous. If you want to increase your chances to clear the floors, you will need partners,rades, friends. Whatever you call them. Learning to cooperate with other people is essential in the Tower. Heck, even in Iris." "It''s not that I don''t want to, but I can''t just trust strangers right out of the bat. What should I do if I''m betrayed mid-fight? Should I just hand over my tanned ass cooperatively to them?" Aito replied, staring intently into Roan''s eyes that looked somewhat different from those he had seen today. Roan appeared more serious and mature. Nothing like the clown who kept throwing jokes at everyone''s faces. He seemed like a different person to Aito. Although he could be wrong, since they only had known each other for a day. "You look afraid to fail, Aito," Roan said, staring back into Aito''s ck pupils. "But failure is a necessary step towards sess. Nobody ever aplished anything great without failing first." Aito frowned. That red-haired man wasn''t making any sense. What was the rtionship between being "afraid of failure" and his unwillingness to trustplete strangers? To his mind, there was none. "Nevermind, just be sure to keep this somewhere in the back of your mind." Roan sighed, and as if nothing ever happened, regained his jovial side. "Anyway! What was I saying? Ah yes, thest zone, meaning 9th to 10th is known as the top floors from which nobody ever made it out alive since the creation of the Veil a long time ago, hahaha!" That change of tone, facial expression, and weirdugh confused Aito, but he wasn''t about to spend time thinking about it. He wanted to listen attentively to Roan''s exnation about the top floors. After all, Belmand had ''tasked'' him to clear them. "If nobody ever came back from such a ce for a long time, I suppose informations on those floors are rare, if not inexistent now," Aito said. "Hum, for ordinary people, yes," Roan said, smirking.. "But I am a merchant through and through." Chapter 45 - Invitation Or Threat? (part 1) Aito simply grunted. There was no need to argue here, even if Roan''s answer felt¡­ weird in more ways than one. The merchant had his secrets, he could respect that. And since he was bound by an oath, Roan could at least be given the benefit of doubt. "Hehehe, so! The 9th and 10th floors!" Roan continued, "To put it simply, those are upied by Fearmongers. The clear condition is to y them. But as you''ve probably guessed, it''s not as simple as throwing your weapon around." Right, he had already seen what one Fearmonger was capable of. Its use of the Fear could prove deadly to those who weren''t shielded against it. Fortunately for him, he had Fearless Aura Lv1, but would it be enough? If he remembered correctly, there should be other types of Fearmongers he had yet to encounter. "Do you know more about them?" Aito asked. "Certainly! Who do you think you''re talking to?" Roan replied as if it were normal. "What you can expect are the mostmon types of Fearmongers called Goliath, an evolved version of Berserkers, albeit stronger, bigger, and capable of using lesser Fear. If I use the System ssification, I''d say they could be considered being between Lv2 and Lv3 enemies, in the Tower at least. They are nothing like special types such as Paineaters, Tricksters, or Shifters, but they are still worthy foes." Goliath, Tricksters, and Shifters. Aito memorized these three new types of Fearmongers. He still knew nothing about them, but ording to Roan, only Goliaths could be found in the Tower. So he decided to worry about other typester. Aito had already enough food on his te to deal with and risked indigestion if he ate too much. However, he did wonder why nobody cleared the top floors since the creation of the Veil¡ªwhenever that was¡ªand asked Roan about it. "Well¡­ you see, Fear is a powerful skill only a few people, if nobody, can resist under normal circumstances. It requires a particrly strong will which most peopleck. Me first, since I''m a coward and would certainly fall to the Fear, hahaha!" Roan said,ughing like a madman. Aito didn''t know whether tough or cry. How could someone admit being a coward that openly? Either Roan was mature enough to ept his cowardice as a part of himself or just in stupid and mad. "Anyway, that''s why Fearmongers are dreaded. As for why nobody has cleared the top floors for a while¡­, well, they just couldn''t." Roan exined, stating it like it was a fact acknowledged by most people. "Meaning?" Aito said, sending him an inquisitive gaze. "Simple! Only the braver ss can shield their allies against Fear." Roan said, raising a finger to back up his statement¡ªalthough pointless. "But they''ve grown sparser with the death of the goddess of bravery many, many, many years ago. Now, only pale copies of bravers can be created using memory beads avable outside the Tower. Even then, there is a shortage of them on the frontline, so you can''t expect one to appear amongst challengers. It''s very, very, very improbable." Roan then leaned his elbow on the counter and tilted his upper body as if to make a statement when in reality he looked like one of those "gifs" Aito had liked to use when making fun of people online during his past life. "But not impossible," Roan said, looking at him intently. Before it became too awkward¡ªwhich was already the case¡ªhe leaned back on his chair. That statement made Aito''s suspicion o-meter rise because it implied, or at least he felt it implied, that Roan knew he had a skill that could shield him from the Fear. But how did he know? Only Belmand could be aware of it. "Who are you exactly?" Aito asked. "Now that''s a deep, profound, existential question!" Roan said with a friendly smile, before pointing at Donna behind her stoves. "Who is she?" "Who am I?" He said, this time pointing at him then Aito. "Who are you? Isn''t that an interesting topic?" ''The fuck is he on about?'' Aito thought, thinking the merchant had a screw loose, if not more. "In my mind, living beings such as humans are ever-changing. One day you think you know a person, the next day, he or she or heshe or whatever, seem different." Roan said, "You know why?" Aito shrugged, thinking that if he yed his game, the nonsense wouldst longer than needed. "Because we have the ability to learn." Roan said, "Every second, minute, hour of our life, we learn something new. Not necessarily consciously, though. Ah! Also, that acquired knowledge can manifest itself in our ever-changing way of perceiving our surroundings, which can also influence our way of perceiving someone and thus make the person appear different in our eyes, not really what I wanted to talk about but I just thought about it right now." Aito sighed. "Anyway, following that train of thought, can we ever pretend to know who we are, since we are ever-changing?" Aito shrugged once more. But somehow, he thought that the crazy man ying philosophe in front of him was making sense in his own twisted way, although Aito didn''tpletely agree on the part about learning every second. "Of course that''s arguable since we usually can pinpoint major traits of our personalities and that''s what people usually identify as ''being who they are.''" Roan said, "However, that''s not the point. To my mind, since we are learning every day, it means we don''t have a fixed personality. So ''who are you,'' following my theory, is a question impossible to give an answer to." "All your nonsense was just to arrive at such a weird conclusion?" Aito said, unable to contain hisint. "No, no, no. Let me finish." Roan said, making an unusual gesture of titling his index finger up and down. "Since we change every day, we can''t be someone, but we can be someone. Therefore, the question shouldn''t be ''who are you'' but ''who do you want to be?''" "That¡­" Aito said, interrupting his answer to look down at his empty bowl. Somehow, that stream of gibberish made him think about his past and present because he had indeed changed in the course of three years and three months. Some core aspects of his past personality had remained, but many others were now gone under a pile of empty bottles to be reced by others, like his trust issues. An issue that couldn''t only be attributed to his time on the ind, his foul mood, his years of alcoholism, and his overall way of thinking. Before, he hadn''t been gullible, but he sure had been more willing to trust someone. Now, however, something blocked his trust, especially towards humans. What was it? He didn''t know. Roan''s question resonated with him in a way, but Aito couldn''t identify how exactly. Although it was wed, arguable, and¡­ "It doesn''t make any sense," Aito said. "I know, right?" Roan replied shamelessly. Aito sighed, then shook his head, "Then what was the point of it?" "Was there a point to it? Or two points?" Roan said, smirking. "Who knows?" *** Walking on the almost empty streets of the Mall, Aito headed to his room with a lot more informations about the Tower he had thought he would get in one day. He had spent a few hours extracting informations from Roan until Donna asked them to leave because of the Cooldown period. Roan had bid farewell and disappeared who knows where leaving Aito alone for the return trip. Shops would close during CDs, leaving only beggars roaming the second floor. Aito didn''t know where shopkeepers'' lodgings were, nor did he care, but he found it weird that they left their shops open for the picking. Maybe there was some sort of magical security installed. Who knew? All Aito knew was that ramen at Donna''s food cart was gods damn good but also gods damn expensive. Two bowls had cost 400 TP in total. He had bought some provisions supposed tost a week from Roan for the price of 400 TP. Taking that into ount, Donna''s dishes could indeed be considered costly. However, it appeared that her dishes had invigorating effects capable of restoring one''s stamina, justifying the cost. Still, even if his stamina and mood had recovered, his mind was now tired after talking with Roan for such a long time. But it had been worth it. He didn''t know if he could really trust the informations he had gotten from him. However, something was better than nothing. Aito was satisfied with that for today. It could even be called a fruitful day. The only realint he had was about his ount bnce. He had started the day with 110000 TP, which, considering his overall expenditures, was now down to 100900 TP. So nine thousand and one hundred tutorial points in one day. Aito had money and could be considered pretty loaded for someone who just entered the Tower, but at this rate, he would go broke in less than two weeks. From now on, he decided to buy only the essentials. Judging by the other challenger''s equipment he had seen during his tour, he could say with certainty that he already had a decent weapon and armor. So until he was certain he needed new equipment, he wouldn''t buy any. He had to manage his expenses more wisely, considering he now knew that the Tower would remain open for two more months before finally sending the challengers to Iris. "Iris¡­" He said, entering the za of the second floor where the stairs leading to the Square were located. "I really wonder what it looks li¡ª" Aito halted his steps because three men, with weapons in hand, barred his way to the staircases. Two of them were equipped with leather armors, each armed with a shield and sword. A bald man, with bruises and cuts on his face, stood in between the other two. He wore a full ted metallic armor, and a Zweih?nder rested on his shoulder as he prepared to talk. "Remember me, bl-a-ck cha-llen-ger?" He said, with underlying anger. Aito tightened his grip on the double-edged ax, took a rapid nce around to look out for potential hidden enemies, then stared at the man, before sighing. He had eaten a good meal, had a more or less normal conversation with Roan¡ªwell, as normal a conversation as the peculiar guide could provide. Just when his mood had gotten much better, aplete stranger seemed to be trying to poke at his nerves. Despite his better judgment and the tense atmosphere, which could be usually found before a fight, he tried to stay as polite as possible. "No, sorry." He said, then pointed at the staircase behind the bald man. "Could you let me pass¡­ please?" The bald man snorted. "Sure, if youe with us first." "Why and where?" Aito asked, starting to lose patience. "The sect leader has invited you to his quarters." The bald man said, "He would like to make you an offer." ''And now he''s gonna tell me I have no choice.'' Aito thought, thinking back to the countless simr situation he had read about in books. "It''s your choice." The bald man said, "You can either ept or walk away." ''Oh¡­ nevermind what I just said.'' "In your next life, that is." ''¡­'' ''¡­'' ''¡­'' "You want a taste of my steel?" Aito asked. Chapter 46 - Invitation Or Threat? (part 2) "A taste of your steel? Do you even know who I am!?" the bald man asked, puffing his chest. "I am Sam, the hobgoblin hunter, the sect leader''s right-hand man, and, starting today, the first Lv2 warrior amongst the challengers! Your previous unfair victory over me was just pure luck! If you hadn''t appeared out of anywhere, you would have never defeated me! And now that I''m an Lv2 warrior, you won''t even be able toy a finger on my armor! Because¡­" Aito sighed and left Sam to spout his nonsense that seemed endless and prepared himself for battle. He used Pneuma to invigorate his mind and body, not that he had no stamina, but he liked that feeling, it seemed to rise his awareness. He focused for a few seconds on his ax before he felt its weight increase by 2.5 times. Then, he looked for a target ready for the picking. The bald man in the middle was still talking, the topic changing to how great his sect was while the other two nodded like indoctrinated imbeciles, infatuated by Sam''s speech. They all seemed to underestimate him, and Aito intended to exploit this opening kindly given by these three men. Aito flexed his legs, his every muscle fiber sprung back, ready to unleash their explosive strength. Then¡­ "The sect leader is an exemry person¡ª" Surprised by arge ax head slicing through the man to his right, Sam interrupted his speech and rapidly took two steps backward. "You savage! Have you no manner?" Sam asked, with underlying anger. Aito ignored him, rushed towards Sam''s left, and brought down his ax on the remaining henchman, who lifted his shield to block the iing strike. BAM! The heather shield bent, curved, and barely resisted Aito''s powerful blow, just like its wielder. The henchman crawled under his opponent''s strength, his knees shaking from weakness, surprise, and a growing fear of death. Seeing his enemy''s foundation "shaking," Aito brutally shot a low kick, sweeping his opponent''s legs. Thetter fell to the ground and screamed from terror before a giant ax head decapitated him. Aito''s Intuition red up. He turned towards Sam and lifted his long steel ax handle to block a sword de that glowed yellow. Aito furrowed his brow upon realizing that his steel handle had been cut a quarter of the way through. He then turned his gaze to Sam to see his whole armor and weapon coated with light. "First time seeing Durability, hun?" Sam said, while crossing de with his opponent. "Too bad you haven''t had the time to learn i¡ª" Aito front kicked the man, pushing him back to create distance. Before Sam recovered, Aito grabbed the henchman''s corpse, hurled it with all his strength towards the full ted armored man, and quickly rushed after the projectile, nning to use it to create an opening. Sam sliced the corpse and, his de out of reach to counter Aito, blocked the blow with his glowing arm guard. His knees slightly bent under Aito''s brute strength, but he stood firm. Sam was shocked. He had never thought he would have to use Durability to resist the blows of a challenger who just arrived today. ''This is ridiculous!'' He thought. ''I''ve just reached Lv2 and I can only go toe to toe with that bastard?'' Aito stepped back to avoid Sam''s Zweihander. This time, however, he stopped himself from rushing at the man. That yellow light covering Sam''s weapon and armor seemed to protect them from blows, although he wasn''t certain. He then looked at Sam''s arm guard he had hit previously and noticed a cut. Or was it a dent? ''Hum, that''s all the damage I managed to deal?'' He thought, then looked at his own weapon''s de. His barbaric uses of the ax had left a big dent where the arm guard and his de had connected. He was certain that some of his weapon''s sharpness was now gone. It would have been fine if he had cut through his opponent in one go, but Sam had resisted the blow. ''In short, I can''t aim for the glowing areas.'' He thought, analyzing his enemy. ''Also, there has to be a limit to how much damage he can take, but my weapon probably won''t hold until then.'' Just when Aito and Sam were about to jump at each other''s throat again, a somewhat familiar voice to both of them interrupted the duel. "Sam! What the fuck are you doing?" "Mind your own business, Ogoro." Sam said, turning towards the tall Asian maning from D3. Unbeknownst to Sam, Aito took advantage of his distraction to rush at him. "Don''t meddle, Ogoro. Or the whole sect will¡ª" Sam said before he was violently thrown to the ground. Lying on top of him, Aito controlled Sam''s arms by blocking them in between his legs. "You talk too much," Aito said, before bashing Sam''s unprotected face with his fists. Ogoro walked by the za''s fountain and sat on its frame. A blue fruit akin to a pear in hand, he ate while watching the gruesome spectacle of a man being bitten up. In his opinion, Sam would be a worthy foe he hadn''t had that stupid habit of talking too much. In fact, their whole sect members had that habit. Perhaps it derived from their pride or overconfidence stemming from their numbers. He didn''t know. But seeing Sam being brutally beaten was a satisfying show to watch. "Why did you attack me?" Aito asked, pausing his assault. "Stop! Do you really want the sect to¡ª" BAM! "Why did you attack me?" Aito asked once again. "Do you wish to di¡ª" BAM! Aito beat him to a pulp, trying to punch an answer out of the bald man. By the time Sam decided to talk, the light on his armor had dimmed and disappeared. His disfigured bumpy face had lost a few teeth, turning his pleas even more pitiful. "Purease, ftop. No more." Sam said, unable to talk properly. "Then tell me why you attacked me," Aito said, pausing his punches. "Becauze, ze zect leader, Fai Fzubame, azked me to eizer bring you alive or dead," Sam said. "He wantz to invite you to cooperate wiz uz to clear ze top floors." ''More like a threat than an invitation,'' he thought. ''But what the fuck is that sect and why would he want me? No... more importantly...'' Aito punched him once again, more for the sake of vengeance than anything else, then asked. "Who''s Fai Fzubame?" Ogoro, seated by the fountain, replied. "It''s ''Kai Tsubame,'' he just can''t pronounce it right with his mouth in that state." "It''z the honorable Fai Fzubame for¡ª!" Sam tried to say but was punched once again. Sam''s mind blurred as he fell unconscious. "Do you know more about him?" Aito asked, turning towards Ogoro. "Sure, he''s quite famous in the Tower." Ogoro replied, before throwing his blue fruit in the fountain''s water.. "He was also one of my clients back on Earth." Chapter 47 - Durability (part 1) "I''d advise you to let him live," Ogoro said, pointing at the bald unconscious man underneath Aito. "If the Chosens learn you killed him, you will have hundreds of people hunting you down." "And what guarantees me they won''t do it, anyway?" Aito asked, ready to break the man''s neck. "So far, they don''t seem to be reasonable people." "No one can guarantee they won''t, that''s for certain," Ogoro said. "But what''s certain, however, is their sect leader will chase you to the end of the Tower after you kill his strongest pawn." ''Shit¡­'' Aito cursed internally. Only nasty shit would happen if he dealt with this bald guy right away. If he didn''t, he might still have to deal with nasty shit, but fewer. He could deal with a few people, but hundreds were hardly manageable in such an unfamiliar ce. Aitocked information about them. Acting on anger and, for the sake of vengeance for attacking him without thinking about the consequences he would have to deal with, was in foolish. If he had somewhat of an advantage over them, he would kill Sam without batting an eye, however, that wasn''t the case. Also, he knew from his brief experience in prison, and life in general, that vengeance could drive people to such extremes they wouldn''t care aboutws, even more in what seemed to be awless environment like the Tower. Moderators existed to keep the Tower in order, but they would rarely intervene in the living quarters during CDs. Also, they were in charge of other floors, and their surveince wasn''t absolute. Apart from the first and second floor, they were only one per floor and couldn''t manage anything if dozens of problems urred at the same time¡ªwhich often happened considering their numbers. Roan had been pretty clear on that point. So if Aito let Sam live, he would probably have to deal with fewer problems. He would certainly have issues with the sect, but less. Although he''d prefer to follow his own logic, and kill him right now, Ogoro might be right. ording to him, the sect had hundreds of members, if not more. ''Damn you, Roan, couldn''t you have talked to me about that kind of important information?'' He thought, cursing the merchant. ''Now I''m stuck between a stupid choice and even stupider choice. So whatever I make, it''ll be stupid, anyway.'' "Fuck," he said, standing up. "I hope I won''t regret this." "Hard, but wise decision," Ogoro said, walking towards him. "Wise?" Aito snorted, "Not so sure about that." "In my previous line of work, I''vee to understand that taking a life is easier than to spare one," Ogoro said while taking Sam''s pulse to see if he was truly alive. "I''ve done many bad things. I''ve taken a lot from others. But in this life, instead of taking, I would like to give. Not to everyone, of course, just those I want to, haha. That''s why I think it''s a wise decision." "Hum, giving instead of taking," Aito said, looking at Sam''s armor. Seeing Aito undressing the bald man, Ogoro asked. "What are you doing?" "Nothing, I''m just ''giving'' him what he deserves." *** After grabbing Sam''s armor for himself, and attaching him naked to the fountain, Aito went back to the Square, followed by Ogoro. Thetter offered to go to his room for a drink, but Aito refused. Ogoro then told him toe by anytime during CDs and went back to his room in the red corner. Aito barely knew the giant and didn''t want to risk getting into a possible trap, even more now, since he knew Ogoro had some kind of connection with Kai. Also, at that point, he just wanted to finally rest. He entered his room, dropped his equipment and bags next to his bed, and, too tired to take a bath, he let himself fall on his bedsheets. Aito had slept countless times covered in dirt; he wasn''t about to care about cleanness, although a hot bath would do him good, he left it for tomorrow morning. There was, however, one thing he wanted to do before sleeping. He took out his candle and used it to pry open the red memory bead''s secrets. ____________________________ [Memory bead] Type: Knowledge Transfer Description: A bead made using a solidified soul fragment as the container for memories. Gives ess to the knowledge and/or power of the bead''s maker. As the purity isn''t perfect, the host will need to train in order to entirely grasp the knowledge. A part of the knowledge might be lost during the transfer and/or overtime due to ack of training. The host will also be subject to minor after-effects such as headaches that willst an hour. Application: Activation upon consumption Purity: 80% (The host will have one month''s time to gain as much knowledge as possible.) Restriction: None ____________________________ ''A headache and one-month time¡­ hum.'' He thought, wondering what it was about. Thest memory bead he had consumed hadn''t had that kind of after-effects. It also hadn''t required training to gain the skills. He then remembered his conversation with Roan, who had said that most bravers¡ªwho were made using memory beads¡ªwere pale copies of the originals. This meant that memory beads didn''t necessarily impart all the knowledge or skills to the users, probably depending on their purity. Following that train of thought, it meant that "perfect purity" was extremely rare. ''Makes sense I suppose,'' he thought, storing the candle back into his pocket. He then ate the bead, thinking that it was better to have a headache now in a safe location than tomorrow when he visited the third floor. Nothing happened at first upon consumption, then, progressively, shes of memories invaded his mind like a virus. Ogoro''s knowledge flowed through his brain. Various weapons usage such as daggers, rifles, swords, guns, started to feel more familiar to him, yet distant. Joined with it was knowledge about human anatomy, martial arts, and also how to better torture someone or simply kill him. ''Fuck¡­ my head!'' He thought, enduring the pain. It felt like someone was poking at his brain from the inside. If that were the pain from an 80% purity memory bead, he didn''t want to imagine what a lower purity would do to someone. The headache prevented him to sleep, forcing him to endure it for an entire hour. With time, it progressively died down while a considerable amount of foreign knowledge in his head umted. ''Damn¡­ this guy¡­ did he spend every minute of his life training¡­'' He thought before falling asleep from exhaustion. Chapter 48 - Durability (part 2) Despite his exhaustion, Aito only slept for a few hours. The room''s special effects seemed to be even more incredible than he had thought. Upon waking up, he felt invigorated, full of stamina, mana, and a need to take a bath. Once naked inside his spacious bathtub, soaked in warm water, he found something unexpected on his right arm where Belmand had previously grabbed him: a red mark depicting a cushion with a ck star on top of it. The cushion was the symbol of the god of sloth. Every mortal under his influence carried that red mark. Although Aito hadn''t asked for it, the god granted it to him, anyway. It served as a VIP pass of sorts in Iris and gave privileges to those who directly served the gods, such as buying favors from the gods using glory points, privileged ess to certain areas, being granted more resources, etc. As for the unmarked ones¡ªif the bonus informations he had extracted from Roan were correct¡ªthey formed over 50% of the inhabitants of Iris and wereposed of the nobatant sses. Since they generally did not serve on the frontline, or in other words risked their lives, they were undeserving of privileges. Disgusted, Aito tried to erase it, although he knew it was pointless. Unless his arm was cut off, or Belmand himself removed it, the mark would remain where it was until his death. He sighed, got out of his bath, dried himself using the towels kindly provided by the Tower and ate a few of those blue fruits called indigo. Apparently, they tended to grow easily pretty much in any kind of environment, turning them into a staple food of Iris. On top of being cheap, they were an interesting, perfectly bnced mix of sugary and salty taste. After finishing his breakfast, with plenty of time before the staircases opened, he trained his control over mana for an hour by infusing the peculiar energy into all sorts of magical items scattered in his room. The room''s cooling system, the tap, oven, stove, and even something akin to a refrigerator. Using mana still felt unusual, but he was getting the hang of it even faster now after inheriting Ogoro''s memories. The giant of a man had copied hisbat knowledge from his past life, but also his second one, such as the basic skill taught on the third floor to allbat sses: Durability. Durability allowed the user to enhance the potential of any nonliving matter to resist an external force applied to it. With it, a simple stick could be as hard as iron. It seemed more useful to warriors than mages. However, that was amon misunderstanding for newbies. This skill required to fuse the power of one''s soul as well as one''s mana, creating what was called aura. To put it simply, aura allowed the user to influence its surroundings in infinite ways, which was how magic came to be. Durability was the simplest application of aura¡ªat least that''s what wasmonly acknowledged¡ªthus making it meaningful for all sses to learn it. On top of providing an additionalyer of defense, it made for an excellent introduction to the source of their powers. Eachbat ss used aura differently. The roots of their powers were more or less the same, only the application differed. That''s why Durability was chosen as the most basic skill, but it wasn''t the first that was learned. Upon surviving the first trial, if willing, a challenger would be granted a ss which came with skills. Aito sighed. Soul power, mana, and aura. These presumed energies still had many mysteries to offer, which gave him a headache. But using Ogoro''s memories, it was all he managed to understand. However, he still had many questions regarding these three energies. What exactly was soul power? What was the rtionship between soul power and mana? Did some of his current skills require the use of aura? If yes, how had he been able to use them before knowing about aura? Did it have something to do with the System? Such questions piled up on his already full te, threatening to spill over the carpet of his mind. He sighed once again and decided to focus on what he already had an answer to. On what he could currently do. Dressed in a simple but clean brown linen shirt and pants he had previously bought from Roan, he walked to his bed and grabbed his double-edged ax, lying on the bed like a lover. Since the ind, he had developed the habit of sleeping with a weapon within hand reach, so even in such a secure location, he couldn''t let go of this habit. Weapon in hand, he sat on his bed and drew from Ogoro''s memories the necessary informations to activate Durability. He closed his eyes, focused on his soul core at the center of his bosom, and tried to feel every minute change in it. Thanks to the memory bead, it only took him a bit less than an hour to feel two distinct sources of energy. One that was easier to detect, another that was located deeper into his core. From that feeling, he drew a mental diagram of what was happening inside him. As he understood it, there were twoyers to a soul core¡ªalso called mana core, depending on the circumstances. The firstyer, he identified as the mana tank or whatever it was called, filled around 90% of the core''s space. It surrounded the secondyer where the soul power resided. And at the center of it all, hidden within the depth of the core, nested a tiny ball, the soul. That tiny ball seemed to produce the soul power, and it probably had other properties he wasn''t aware of. ''So small¡­ no wonder I''ve never felt it before,'' he thought, trying to tap into this hidden source of power. An hour and dozens of drops of sweatster, he finally barely managed to reach it. It felt warm, aggressive, yet calm. The soul power seemed to be trying to escape, but was imprisoned by the mana, as if it kept it in ce, preventing it from dissipating. Using Ogoro''s knowledge and his own experience with mana infusion, he ordered his mana to create a way out for his soul power. An hour passed with little to no result. He then remembered that aura was made by fusing mana and soul power. If one of the two were to be missing, it would not manifest. So, instead of opening a way out, he used mana to grab a small portion of his soul power, and very slowly tried to pull it out of the secondyer. After hundreds of tries, something interesting happened once he finally seeded. Out of the secondyer, the soul power fused with some of his mana creating a formless energy that seemed to emit some sort of undting waves, just like wavelength, like¡­ a signal Aito felt he could control. In fact, he felt aura was easier to order aroundpared to mana. Using this opportunity to experiment, he sent this wisp of formless energy to his weapon. The aura jumped out of his core, traveled through his right arm while leaving waves of warmth in its wake, and exited his palm into the weapon. Once there, he felt an unexinable connection with the ax, as if a part of himself was in it. Then, following Ogoro''s memories, he imbued his ax with aura then, like an emitter, Aito ordered the energy to harden¡ªat least that''s the image he built in his head. And, like a receptor, the aura responded to its call, entirely coating the ax, forming a glowing yellow tailor-made armor. However, it didn''t feel like the phenomenon only took ce on the surface but also inside the weapon, as if the aura hadpletely fused with it, keeping the properties of steel intact but reinforced. Simply put, it made the weapon more durable. Aito opened his eyes to gaze upon his achievement with a satisfied smile. After all, he had aplished in a few hours what most people took an entire week to do, if not more. Although, some talented challengers could take three or four days to arrive at this point. Realizing that it might have taken a week for him to learn Durability, he felt grateful towards the person who had provided him with the chance to speed things up. "Thank you, Ogoro." He said, his trust in the man growing ever so slightly just before a familiar blue window popped up in front of him. BING! [Congrattions! You have acquired the active skill Durability!] Chapter 49 - The Third Floor (part 1) Standing watch by the staircase leading to the fourth floor, Gwen, a 2.20 meters tall woman with braided red hair tied in a ponytail, kept a lookout for the unmarked ones trying to ess the hunting grounds. A few of them would try to sneak past her from time to time, blending in the crowd, thinking she wouldn''t spot them. Pointless struggle. At her level, the moderator of the third floor could easily distinguish the unmarked ones from the marked ones. After all, they were all level 0 humans, which inevitably made them stick like sore thumbs amongst level 1 challengers because of theirck of aplete soul core, leading to their soul power being unstable. Although she understood their need to earn more TPs from the middle floors, she couldn''t just let the undeserving pass. They would barely stand a chance against mere goblins. The oath pact didn''t forbid her from letting them pass, only to fight when called upon, but what good would it do her to disobey the gods? Plus, the unmarked ones would certainly end up dying a pointless death. Were a few hundreds TPs worth more than their lives? Certainly not, but it may be the case for the man trying to sneak past her right now. Gwen sighed, stretched her toned arm to grab the cloak of the unmarked one, lifted him with ease, and brought him in front of her square face. "What do you think you''re doing, little man?" She asked, her purple eyes reflecting clear boredom. "I, I, I¡­" He stuttered, losing hisposure in front of the moderator. Gwen sighed, then pointed at an unmarked woman running along the huge track field. "If you want to earn TPs,plete your daily training quest like she does every morning. Understood?" "Y, y, yes!" He said, eyeing the giant war hammer settled on the moderator''s shoulder instead of the unmarked woman. "P, p, please¡­" He barely had the time to talk that Gwen put him down before she said, "I understand you need TPs, but you''ll only lose your life up there." "You understand nothing!" The man protested. Being in direct contact with the ground seemed to have given him the courage toin. "I have to live in the streets every day because I can''t afford a room anymore! I barely have enough TPs to feed myself with indigos and can''t buy any equipment! This marked and unmarked nonsense of yours is bullshit! It''s pure discrimination! There is no fairness in this!" If they were living in a pink peaceful, wonderful world, the man would have been right. However, it was not the case. If the little man thought that was unfair, he had seen nothing, yet. That kind of know-it-all attitude pissed her off. "This is unfair," "this shouldn''t be like this, "this shouldn''t be like that." In a month''s time, she had heard the same worthless lines again and again. Just where did those humans think they were? On vacation, somewhere in one of Central''s luxurious inn? The Tower was a training camp and unfairness was part of the teachings they woulde to learn. If they didn''t, then they would die soon enough. Only the strong survived here and in Iris. Only the strong had the right toin. Those unmarked ones who thought they knew what unfairness was, pissed her off. Even more since, in the first ce, they were responsible for their current circumstances. "You only have yourself to me," she said, losing patience. "If you had epted the gods'' blessings, you wouldn''t be in such a precarious situation." "And be a ve for the rest of my new life? Never!" The unmarked one said. She sighed. Tired of the man''sints, Gwen flicked his temple, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Some challengers in the crowd turned towards the man. Not because of worry, but because it was a good spectacle to watch. Gwen clicked her tongue, gestured for them to move on, grabbed the unmarked one''s leg, dragged him to a nearby bench, andid him on it before returning to the staircase entrance to stop yet another unmarked one. *** Seated on the bench next to the unmarked one that has yet to awaken, Gwen sighed. The rush hour had finally passed and now she was bored to death. During the first week, she had been the busiest moderator in the Tower. With thousands of challengers to monitor and teach, she barely had any time to rest. Fortunately, some moderators from the other floors hade down to help her, otherwise, it would have been more difficult to manage. "This job is fucking boring," Gwenined. Now that almost every challenger had more or less learned Durability, she hadn''t much to do. Her current duty was to watch out for unmarked ones trying to ascend the Tower. Apart from that, she would train from time to time. After a week or two, she had been desperate for any kind of entertainment and started to listen to the gossips of the few challengers that remained on the third floor to clear their optional daily training quest. And today''s news was particrly interesting. Apparently, Sam, one of the most promising challengers of this year, had been found attached to the za''s fountain,pletely naked. She chuckled at the thought of it, but also wondered who the heck could have done it. Not considering his talkativeness, Sam was a decent warrior, even more now since he had reached level 2 yesterday, which wasmendable. After all, leveling up in one month''s time was quite a feat in the Tower. To Gwen''s knowledge, there were twomonly acknowledged methods to level up. The first one was to kill living beings, extract their soul core, and absorb their content¡ªwhich was the only method avable in the Tower. The second and most popr method was to ask for the help of the gods. In exchange for glory points, the gods would grant a level up. It was the most popr method for various reasons. One of them being the time needed to absorb a soul core. During fights, there was no time for this. And once the fight ended, there was no guarantee they could extract the soul cores. Sometimes, someone else would have taken them. Other times, they had to retreat. Such situations urred frequently on the battlefields. Another reason¡ªalso stipted in the oath pact¡ªwould be the soul tax, an iron rule dictated by the gods that said half of the soul cores obtained by one individual would be offered to them. The Tower was the only ce where this rule didn''t apply, though. In her opinion, it was unfair because it slowed down one''s growth by half. But that was how the world worked, and there was nothing she could do about it, at least openly. She was currently trying to find another way to level up by researching the ways of the bearded giants, one of the species that were opposing the gods'' rules but also, technically, her kin. Although thanks to her human father, she hadn''t inherited the characteristic beard feature, Gwen was still a halfling. She had thought that with her bloodline, she would perhaps find the secret to the bearded giants'' strength, but Gwen had no sess to this day. "Humm. Urg." The sound of the unmarked man awakening next to her pulled Gwen out of her thoughts. He turned towards her. She smirked. He ran away towards the second floor. "Pussy," she said, watching his figure growing distant before he entered the staircase leading to a small neutral area between D1 and D2. Then, something, no, someone wearing a full ted armor ascending the stairs, caught her attention. At first, she thought it might be Sam since he was one of the few who could afford that kind of equipment and she hadn''t seen him today yet. However, the giant double-edged ax settled on the man''s shoulder, as well as the presence of long ck hair on his head quickly dissipated such thoughts. ''A new face?'' She thought, wondering how that was possible. Gwen hadmitted to mind every challenger who wore full ted armors, but she had never seen him before today. She then thought back to yesterday''s main gossip: the arrival of the ck challenger. ''Maybe this week won''t be so boring after all..'' She thought, smiling at the idea of finally having something to do for the next seven days, perhaps more if she yed her cards right. Chapter 50 - The Third Floor (part 2) Aito gawked at the Training Ground, more amazed by the sheer size of it than the actual equipment avable. It could be said to be slightlyrger than the Mall. The biggest track field he had ever seen stood in front of his eyes. To his estimation, if put in a straight line, it could probably average four or maybe five kilometers. It was hard to tell. At the center of the track field was a whole lot of nothing. Apart from grass, he couldn''t see anything else. Aito found it weird since he had been expecting training equipment like dummies, weights, and such. Once he walked on the track field paved with what looked like perfectly rectangr brown rocks, someone called out to him. "The ck challenger, I presume?" Gwen said from behind him. "Why is everybody calling me by my title?" Aito automaticallyined, tired of being addressed this way. He then turned around and came face to face with the moderator''s leather bra covering her well-developed chest. He looked at it, wondering if these boobs were as firm as they looked like and also if talking boobs were a native species of Iris, until his gaze traveled upward to see piercing purple eyes staring at him. ''Wow¡­ she''s huge,'' he thought. It couldn''t be helped since it was his first time meeting such a tall woman. "Like what you see, little man?" Gwen asked, seemingly amused. Thinking that she was trying to make fun of him, Aito held her gaze and replied, "That remains to be seen. I require in-depth physical investigation for a better assessment." "Gahaha! Honest and bold, hun? However, I don''t mate with weaklings. If you can best me inbat, that''s another matter," Gwen said, before smirking. "But you''re currently too weak for that to happen." Somehow, Aito felt like her boasting wasn''t exaggerated. The giantess looked prettyid back, which could mean two things. Either she was extremely careless or was so strong that she did not need to fear a challenger. Considering the impressive invisible aura emanating from her toned body¡ªa characteristic of the strong¡ªand the fact that she was just wearing a leather bra and tight leather pants, thetter seemed more likely to him. However, even if he was certain that his current self stood no chance against her, Aito thought it would be a great experience for his growth to fight a stronger person¡ªnot necessarily for having sex with her, though. For some reason, he felt like she would break him in two in the bed. "Scared I would win?" He said, trying to taunt her into sparring with him. Intrigued, Gwen rose an eyebrow. "Little man, haven''t you heard about the Tower''s moderators from your guide?" Of course, he had, and thatst sentence of hers confirmed she was one. Aito was just curious about what kind of gap there was between a challenger''s strength and a moderator. He''s been dying to know the difference since he heard from Roan that moderators were at the very least Lv4bat sses. Not because he was arrogant, but because he wanted to gauge the powers of beings with higher levels than his. After all, this knowledge could prove useful in various situations, and also serve as a danger-o-meter. To know who he could afford to offend and those he couldn''t. But also, to what kind of strength he must aspire to aplish his goal. Since he didn''t know if there was some kind of max level yet, fighting a moderator could be a good chance to gain information on the topic. Seeing the firm resolve in Aito''s ck eyes, the giantess scoffed. "I don''t know if you''re foolish or just in heat. Even if you manage to clear the Tower entirely, you wouldn''t stand a chance against me." "I won''t know until I try." Gwen shook her head and said, "First, learn Durability. Maybe then I''ll consider sparing with you." Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of Aito. BING! ___________________________ [Quest received: A durable foundation] Objective: Learn the active skill Durability from Gwen, the moderator of the third floor. Time limit: 7 days (counted in Cooldown periods) Rewards: - Active skill Durability - 1000 TPs - ess to the fourth floor if the host is a marked one - Unlock daily training quest on the third floor Failure: No consequences ___________________________ "Are you ready to begin?" She asked. Expecting Aito to say "yes" like the countless ones before him, Gwen mechanically started to walk towards therge grassy area that filled the space in between the circr track field. She then used her moderator''s rights to summon an armchair destined for her personal use and was about to sit on it when she noticed that Aito hadn''t followed her. She turned towards him and furrowed her red brows, wondering what he was doing with his eyes shut. Still on the track field, Aito was concentrating. Instead of using what he had learned alone, he followed the knowledge acquired after the System granted him the skill Durability. A few secondster, his ax glowed yellow. Then, as expected, notification windows listing the rewards he had seen a few moments ago popped up in front of him. Anybody would be happy at the thought of being rewarded. However, he felt dissatisfied. Not because of the rewards, but because he could feel that something was amiss in his use of Durability through the knowledge imparted to him by the System. It had been buggering him since he had experimented with Durability in his room. He hadn''t noticed it before since every skill he had used was given to him by the System. But he had learned Durability step by step, using Ogoro''s knowledge and his own. Thanks to that, he could feel a slight difference. As if the skill activated by itself, forgoing the minute details. Not that he had never felt his body reacting to the activation of a skill, but more like he hadn''t felt everything. Unable toe up with an answer, he sighed and looked up to see a poker face Gwen walking towards him. She seemed serious, too serious, in fact, as if it was exaggerated. If Aito had to take a guess, she was holding back her surprise for the sake of her image as a moderator. "Hum, let me guess, you ingested a memory bead?" She asked, towering over him. Gwen had received a notification barely a second after Aito used Durability, so she knew he had cleared the quest and earned the right to ess the next floor. Using her experience as a fearsome warrior, it didn''t take long for her to figure out Aito had used a memory bead prior to hising here. However, she had two issues with it. First, the use of memory beads to learn skills could hinder one''s growth if their purity were too low¡ªwhich was, in most cases. Since the human before her was a ck challenger who cleared his trial, he could only be a promising recruit, and she didn''t want him to waste his potential. Second, now that he had cleared the quest that most people couldn''t before the seventh day, he had ess to the fourth floor, which she had a problem with. But she couldn''t deny him ess to the hunting grounds, so Gwen was currently trying another method to make him stay on the third floor for a longer period of time. "Yes," Aito replied, before adding. "Judging by your expression, it doesn''t seem to be a good thing to do." "It depends," she said. "Care to borate?" Aito asked, wondering why there was a barely perceptible smirk drawing on Gwen''s face. "If your memory bead isn''t at the very least red, you will have trouble coordinating the knowledge acquired with practical usage. The System will still give you the skill, but that will only hinder your growth because of its automatic activation." Gwen said, "So I''d advise you to stay on the third floor to train Durability." "It was red, though," Aito said, poking a little fun at the moderator, who seemed to be at a loss for words. Gwen almost lost herposure at his words. Red memory beads were expensive. Even if they were avable in the Tower, they were just for show. No mere challengers could get their hands on one unless they were loaded with TPs. While the giantess was looking for something to say, Aito thought back to something she had said a few moments ago: "automatic activation." If it meant what he thought it meant, then it would exin the difference in feelings he had while activating his skills using the knowledge provided by the System and the knowledge he had gained by learning a skill step by step. Before the moderator could say anything, Aito asked, "What did you mean by ''automatic activation''?" A glint of hope brightened Gwen''s purple eyes as she said, "Let me show you." ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª DISCLAIMER: NO HAREM IN THIS NOVEL Edit (there used to be a huge paragraph here): I have ns for R18 content and am doing researches on this to make them meaningful. HOWEVER, if I think it won''t add anything to the story, I will just gloss over them and suggest that characters had intercourses in one or two sentences. Meaning I won''t go into details. Also... Yihaa! Halfway through 100 chapters! I''ll read youter guys. Chapter 51 - Automatic Activation Vs Manual Activation Aito faked his surprise at being ''showed'' something by a moderator. He knew why she was actually doing it¡ªalthough he didn''t know that her secondary motivation was entertainment. If Roan''s informations were correct, Gwen was trying to recruit him by first offering to train him. In normal circumstances, he would be infuriated at the idea of someone trying to control him. However, he certainly wasn''t about to spit on free knowledge, since he knew now that it could cost him TPs to acquire informations. Moreover, he failed to see why would a moderator want to mess with a challenger she could easily crush whenever she wanted. Plus, considering their job, moderators were as close to reliable sources as he would get in the Tower. And if he could get her to teach him more useful thingster, then all the better. After all, Aito would use every bit of knowledge he could get his hands on to grow stronger. That applied even more now since his goal was to clear the top floors. Aito stood next to Gwen on the grassy field, facing towards the central area. He wondered what she wanted to show him exactly. After all, apart from a few people running into the distance, there was nothing but grass, dirt, and stones. "What am I supposed to look at?" Aito asked. "Straight forward," Gwen said before using her monitoring rights to summon a wooden dummy as tall as herself. She then ced herrge right palm on the dummy''s chest area. "Watch closely. This is the automatic activation of a warrior skill called Impact." Gwen pressed her palm against the dummy, and a shock wave originating from her opened hand instantly spread to the upper part of the wooden training structure, shattering it in hundreds of pieces. At this sight, Aito gulped, thinking that challenging the moderator might not be such a good idea after all. If she could do this with a single palm strike, he dared not imagine what the giantess could do with her hammer. "I hope this didn''t weaken your little legs, gahaha," Gwenughed, her voice strangely harsh like a warrior born but somewhat softened by her modicum of feminity. Seeing that Aito stayed stoic¡ªthough he faked it¡ªshe stoppedughing and summoned a new dummy. "Anyway, next, I''ll be using what is called manual activation." Without waiting for a reply from Aito, she ced her palm on the dummy and pressed. This time, only around a quarter of the wooden structure shattered under the power of her skill. With such an obvious contrast, Aito understood there was a difference in the power output. That much was easy to figure out alone, but¡­ "How did you change the power output?" He asked, ying her game. Gwen smirked, d to have finally caught the little man''s interest. "Long story short, the System transfers knowledge to you on how to activate a skill to the level at which it''s reasonable for your body, mana, and soul force to handle. In doing so, to preserve your brain during the transfer, it will imprint the skill as an automatic program of sorts. That''s why you don''t feel every bit of the shit going on inside you when activating a skill." Although it was exined a bit clumsily, Aito understood the gist of it since it was more or less what he had expected. But that still didn''t tell him how the "manual activation" worked. "However," Gwen continued, "if your understanding of the skill is profound enough, you will gain a few benefits. Amongst those, you''ll be able to adjust the skill differently from the System''s dictated like¡­" She paused her sentence, summoned yet another dummy, activated Impact, and blew the entire wooden training structure to smithereens. "Something called Overload," she said, lowering her arm. "But that can be dangerous for obvious reasons." ording to Gwen, pushing the output of a skill higher than what the System "rmended" would usually result in damaging the body. It only damaged the soul if the Overload used an excess of soul force. However, in most cases, the body would outright break before that happened. Only those with at the very least Lv5 body could afford to push their bodies over the limits without breaking it. Using an analogy, it could be said that the body of a Lv1 challenger was the crossbow from which a bolt would be shot. But, naturally, if a ballista''s bolt was loaded on it, first it wouldn''t fit, second, the string would certainly break. Aito eyed the moderator weirdly, "That''s an¡­ umon analogy." "Noment," she said, hinting at him to shut up. The requirement for overloading a skill using manual activation was having a strong body, meaning warriors were the first to be able to use it, since mages, archers, and battle surgeons rarely trained their bodies as much as warriors did. Only when they naturally reached a Lv5 bodyter, would these sses use Overload. Aito was confused about a part of her exnation¡ªif not most of it. More specifically, thebat sses, since he hadn''t heard about them from Roan. Mages and archers he could more or less guess what they were using his own geeky knowledge, but the other one was a mystery. "Hum¡­ battle surgeons?" Aito asked. "Aye, a healer ss of sorts under themand of the god of sloth. Although the peculiar god manages all the nobatant sses, his shining gem is the surgeonbat ss." Gwen said. "But enough about that bastard. Did you get what I was trying to show you?" Aito smiled, finding a bit of kinship in the giantess, who also appeared to dislike Belmand for some unknown reasons. "I think I got the gist of it." He said. "You ''think''?" Gwen asked, sending him a quizzical gaze. "Yes, I also ''think'' I need another demonstration to better my understanding." He said, trying to appeal to her, albeit clumsily. Meanwhile¡­ ''Got him!'' Gwen thought. In her excitement at maybe having something interesting to do, she forwent the fact that Aito wasn''t asking politely. But that didn''t matter now that the fish was on the hook. She just needed to pull. "How about a more practical approach?" Gwen asked, appearing calm. "Meaning?" Aito asked, interested in where their conversation was going. "I''m offering to train you, little man¡­" she said, purposely pausing to hint at something. "And in exchange?" Aito said, ready to negotiate. "I want 1000 TPs," she said. Aito was about to agree without batting an eye when Gwen added, "Every day." His eyes widened with surprise, "What!? This is daylight robbery! Even a normal inventory bag doesn''t cost as much!" Gwen frowned. "Little man, knowledge is more valuable than gold in Iris. Sometimes, it can mean the difference between life and death. What''s more, 1000 TPs could be regarded as cheap considering my level and what I can teach you." "Hum, and what level are you exactly?" He asked. "I''ll tell you if you sessfully finish my training regimen." She said, smirking. Gwen could have offered the same to other challengers, but she wasn''t interested in training white and blue ones. And the only two red challengers in the Tower were unmarked ones for reasons that eluded her since humans'' greed was such that the great majority, if not all of them jumped at the asion to gain powers beyond their wildest dreams. Although entertainment was one of her purpose for training challengers to the usage of manual activation, it wasn''t the only one. It was an unwritten rule for every moderator in the Tower to influence the challengers'' choices on which front line they would end up fighting. But since this was a faction quest not given by the gods, they couldn''t just unt it around like a giant g and needed to be discreet about it. Each year, Gwen wouldmit to mind those who seemed to be promising recruits. Since she upied the third floor, and those guys on the second were too busy maintaining order, the giantess had the first pick. After all, her faction didn''t need weaklings¡ªalthough she always ended up bringing some back to End. She would personally train those she deemed worthy enough while encouraging them at the end of the three months to apply for End since they needed more men there. Especially now, since a storm was brewing on the horizon. But she couldn''t simply train challengers for free. Every service in the Tower needed to be paid for, faction quest or not. The prices were usually fair, but the means to earn money wasn''t. One would need to ascend the Tower for that. It was a stratagem designed by the gods'' aiming at forcing the humans to challenge the floors. Unwilling to be punished for bypassing this rule, Gwen would always ask for a price she deemed a challenger capable of paying. And since that little man in front of him was able to afford a red memory bead, he could only be loaded with TPs. ''Not as free as I expected it to be,'' Aito thought, sighing. Chapter 52 - How Far Are You Ready To Go? Aito pondered on the idea of training with Gwen. He saw two issues. First, obviously the economical problem. Second, the time period. He absolutely had to clear the Tower before two months'' time if he wanted to survive the oath pact and have a shot at saving Jack. For now, Belmand had agreed to prevent the summoning of evol monkeys on the ind for two months, as well as researching a means to free Jack from the ind. Since it was an unusual case, it couldn''t be helped. If Aito managed to clear the Tower, to his great displeasure, he would have to meet the god again. The mischievous bastard would probably have another quest for him in exchange for some kind of fix, but Aito couldn''t afford to refuse. He did not want to abandon someone he had sworn to protect again. Killing his father and failing his family had been too great of a mental trauma. Of course, he had already searched for ways to somewhat find peace of mind in his first life, before isting himself in Lac Saint-Jean, but had failed miserably. If it weren''t for his revival, he wouldn''t have tried again. Maybe it was foolish, but in his mind, Jack''s situation reminded him of what happened with his family and, during the months had been a fishing ve. At this point, he thought of saving the monkey as a part of his redemption. A personal quest he would clear at any cost. "Fine, I''ll pay, but on one condition," Aito said, his gaze burning with an unwavering will. "Aye, name it," Gwen said. "If you can assure me that I will have time to clear the top floors." The giantess''s mouth curved, appearing to hold back something that, after a mere second, forced its way out. "Puahaha!" Herugh resounded loudly, clearly ridiculing him, but he remained unfazed, determined. Amidst her roaringugh, Gwen''s purple eyes met his, then seemed to understand he was serious. She stopped to peer into his ck eyes as if looking for a hint of a joke but found none. She bent to look at him from up close. "Do you know what''s up there?" "Yes, death." But he was no stranger to this. Gwen scoffed. She seemed to look down on him, on an ignorant man who knew nothing of death. "And you''re not afraid of death, little man?" "Of course I am." He retorted, holding her gaze. "Who wouldn''t be afraid of dying?" "Aye, who wouldn''t?" She said, her voice taking an intrigued tone. "Then, why risk your life?" Even if he told her, she wouldn''t understand. Most people would downright mock him for trying to save an animal. However, who were they to judge him? To judge the connection he had with a monkey. The shared friendship tempered with the mes of survival. The trust he ced in an animal he considered a loyal friend. Yes, he knew, on the ind, that it might have been the loneliness and his psychological issues ying with his mind, distorting his perception,mon sense. Distorting the truth. But he didn''t care. His truth would be the one he acknowledged, not what others thought it should be. "Through my rebirth, the ck trial, and my first life, I''vee to realize something." Gwen''s face turned more neutral, waiting for an answer. "There are things I fear more than death." He said, clenching his fists. The moderator grunted, bent back, started to tap on her hammer''s metallic handle, and peered into the distance. Next to her, Aito traced her gaze but only saw grass, the track field, and a woman with ck hair sprinting, probably as fast as Jack could. But she was too distant to distinguish her figure clearly. Although, he was pretty sure the woman wasn''t what the moderator was looking at; she caught his attention nheless because of a sense of familiarity. "I''m sorry for mocking you before," Gwen said, looking back at him with slightly more respect. "I thought you were just a foolish human too drunk on his own newly acquired power to see the danger. However, you appear to be well aware of what you''re getting yourself into. Too aware, in fact." Aito frowned. "Ooh, what a gaze," Gwen said. "But nay, I''m not the kind of person to put my nose in the clothes of others. Stink too much. As long as this stench stays off my clothes, I won''t ask to see the source. Instead, I''d like to ask you something else." He rxed a bit and said, "What is it?" "How far are you ready to go to clear the top floors?" She said. "As far as it takes," he said. Gwen nodded, stretched her hand, opened what seemed to be her inventory, took out a sheet of paper and a pen. She then scribbled a few notes and handed the sheet over to Aito. "What''s this?" He asked, going through the paper''s content. "Your shopping list. If you want to train, you will need these items." She said. "I also need you to tell me about your basic stats and skills. Let''s be clear, you don''t have to tell me everything. But keep in mind that the less information I have, the less effective will be the training." Status windows couldn''t be shown to others through the System, nor would anyone be able to ess it forcefully¡ªapart from the gods. So voicing out one''s status window was one of the two ways to show it to somebody else. "Why should I do that?" Aito said, his suspicion rising. She was basically asking him to reveal vital pieces of information about himself. Although the giantess said he wouldn''t have to tell her everything, he was still reluctant. "Were your words mere farts, little man?" she said, looking annoyed. "I get the trust issue, but if you want to be stronger, I''d advise you to stop being a pussy and start taking risks. Yes, I could do whatever you''re thinking I would, or NOT. I thought you''d already understood that. No matter who you will interact with, you''ll always be at risk to be betrayed, scammed, etc. Now, make your choice. A good training or a great one?" Aito frowned, looked down, and yed with his ck hair as he''d usually do when thinking. Somehow, her words sounded awfully simr to what Roan had told him before, just phrased in another way. Failures. Risks. He already knew he had to take risks to get what he wanted and had no problems with that. His true issue was taking risks in trusting people. Aito wanted and needed this training. He knew what was waiting up there would be challenging, to say the least. But now he was conflicted, forced to choose between his own distrust in people and a training he thought he dearly needed. He could attempt to clear the top floors as he was, but that would be taking an even greater risk. Going unprepared was the worst of the worst. It could be said that training would be over-preparing. But Aito preferred being "over-prepared" than "over dead." He then thought back to Jack, the oath pact with his own soul on the line, and forced out a sigh. If this training could really raise his chances of sess, then he would ept it, although it would go against his principles. However, he wasn''t about to tell her his every skill set. "Fine," he said, reluctantly, as if the word tore his throat opened. "How long will itst?" Gwen smiled, appearing satisfied.. "Thirty days, maybe more depending on your basic stats, skills, and your own capabilities to learn." Chapter 53 - Warmup After buying the necessary items from D3 and the bazar, Aito headed for the training ground with arge heavy backpack he had purchased to avoid buying multiple inventory bags since it was cheaper this way considering the size of the items he carried. Reflecting back on hisst interaction with Gwen, he started to regret his choices. First, he had epted to tell her about his basic stats, omitting none of them since he thought they weren''t anything special apart from his strength, but he didn''t see a reason to hide it. Second, when it hade to his skills, he had been pickier about them and only revealed the following. 2. Skills: Passive: - Ax Mastery Lv2 - Shield Mastery Lv1 - Weapon Throw Mastery Lv1 Active: - Durability Lv1 - Shield Bash Lv1 - Ax Throw Lv1 - Whirlwind Lv1 He had kept the most unusual-looking ones hidden. He nned on using the future knowledge he''d acquire from the moderator and train them in secret. Aito wanted to appear as normal as possible¡ªeven with his apparent fame in the Tower¡ªto keep his trump cards to himself. The less other people knew, the better. This was as far as he was willing to go for the sake of training with Gwen. Finally, what bothered him the most was the money issue. Considering it couldst 30 days, it meant 30000 TPs total, added to it the myriads of items he had to buy, without taking into ount other supplies, he roughly estimated that his ount bnce would downscale to 40000 or 50000 TPs at the end of the training session. ''Hopefully not less,'' he thought, reaching the third floor where Gwen was sitting on her bench, smoking a pipe of dried green leaves while watching the few challengers running on the track field and a distant figure who appeared to shoot arrows at targets that hadn''t been there before. "Got everything?" Gwen asked, blowing a cloud of white smoke in his direction. He nodded and put the huge backpack down at her feet. Gwen verified its content. Satisfied, she stored it in her inventory. Aito wanted to ask why but stopped when she used her long pipe to point at the track field. "Let''s start with a warm-up," she said. "Run tenps ande back to me when you''re done." ''Just runningps?'' He thought, disappointed. He had been expecting something less¡­mon. However, he already invested too much into it. Comining wouldn''t help his case. Since he had promised her to follow her regimen by the letter, before going shopping, he wouldn''t object unless Gwen''s coaching really made no sense. "Okay," he said, starting to remove his armor parts for morefort. After all, the others challengers were all wearing light clothes. "Keep it on," she said. "You gotta get used to wearing heavy armor when running. Considering your level 3 strength, thirty kilograms of steel on your body shouldn''t be heavy. Also, keep your weapon in hand." Aito grunted in response. He was already used to wearing an armor and weapon all day long from the ck trial, just maybe not as heavy as the ones he currently had. He turned around and started to run. Gwen followed him with her gaze, checked that no other challengers were around him, then used her moderator''s rights to summon an archery straw target in the air a few meters in front of him, thinking it shouldn''t hurt him. The straw target caught him by surprise and crashed on his head. Knowing this couldn''t have happened naturally¡ªwhatever that meant¡ªAito pieced the puzzle together and turned towards the giantess that simply gestured him to keep going. ''Is she going to keep doing this?'' Heined. A reply to his question quickly came in form of another straw target dropping on his head. ''Damn you!'' He cursed her internally, running to avoid getting hit again, albeit faster this time. The few runners he passed by eyed him oddly. After all, he was running with a full ted armor, and where the man went, straw targets followed. One woman with blue eyes holding a bow, he couldn''t see since he was too focused on dodging falling items, eyed him with aplicated gaze. A mixture of hostility and gratefulness. *** Around one hour and a halfter. Gwen watched Aitoing back to her, or more urately, felt his soul moving at a running speed a hundred meters away. She refilled her white pipe with brum leaves, infused her mana into the pipe to activate the delicate me mechanism to light the leaves, and breathed in. Her body couldn''t be affected by the brum leaf''s calming properties since it had almost reached a levelparable to End''s Pope. Even so, she liked to smoke more by habit than to be high. She took a puff, summoned onest straw target that Aito dodged, and waited for him to reach her. He appeared tired, but not quite as tired as she expected he would be. ''Weird, he should be exhausted by now,'' she thought. ''Whatever, let''s proceed to the next exercise.'' "What was¡­ that for?" Aito asked, panting. "To train your stamina and overall awareness. You weren''t bad, but could use improvement." She said, summoning a ss bottle of water before offering it to him. "You''ll do that every morning as a warmup." Aito took it, drunk like there was no tomorrow, and wiped his mouth using his arm guard. "Can you really call it a warmup?" "Aye, the mean little bastards I train can cover that distance in less than thirty minutes." She said. Although, those "mean little bastards", aka foot soldiers she talked about averaged level 3, Gwen glossed over that detail and preferred to keep it to herself. The little man needed to learn thatining would do him no good. Aito sighed and asked, still panting, "What''s¡­ next?" "While you slowly regain your stamina, go familiarize yourself with the usage of Durability using your weapon, since I assume you only got the skill recently. Also, disable your skill as soon as it''s activated. Once you''ve run out of mana, use these." She said, throwing four colorless beads storing blue clouds of energy; mana cores Aito had previously bought in the magic district. "Drawing mana from these works exactly like mana infusion, but backward. You''ll figure it out, eventually. If you really can''t, just swallow the mana core." He looked skeptical, but nodded and went on to do his business. Gwen''s training regimen was fairly simple¡ªto her, at least. She would rotate between basic stats training and skill training. Training him to use all the skills he had been willing to show her to manual activation would be impossible. Not in a month''s time, at least. He would be more proficient with them, but that was it. So she decided to focus on Durability, for now, if he at least managed to activate this skill manually, then it''ll be an excellent asset for him to reach the top floors. Clearing them was another matter. Fortunately, Aito had high basic stats for a level 1 warrior ss, particrly his strength. She attributed that to either an information he hadn''t been willing to give her and the ck trial on which Aito had probably been forced to surpass his limits times and times again. Usually, a challenger who had a warrior ss would have one basic stat at level 2, but he had almost all of them at Lv2, safe for his Lv3 strength. Thankfully, to her knowledge, he hadn''t a Lv4 strength. With his current body and soul level, he wouldn''t be able to handle it correctly. It could even be dangerous and tear his muscles apart if abused. The moderator was intent on doing her best to keep him alive to recruit himter. Aito seemed too stubborn to be convinced to stay on the third floor for the next two months. Eventually, with or without her ord, he would ascend the Tower. So training him to the best of her abilities was the only option the giantess had if she wanted to increase his chances ofing back alive from the top floors. Feeling dozens of soulsing her way, she turned towards the staircase leading down to the second floor. Sure enough, a bald head showed soon as a furious man with a bruised face and missing teeth entered the third floor. Sam was followed by dozens of people with a clear intent of killing her temporary disciple. ''Foolish,'' she thought, wondering why they would be as stupid as to try killing someone in front of a moderator, despite knowing it was forbidden. From her bench, Gwen sent a wave of invisible force towards them, halting their steps. Aside from Sam, the others seem to suffocate, barely able to breathe. The bald man turned towards her. Wanting to talk things out. Probably. But she shut his mouth by increasing the pressure. Her point made, she retracted her invisible attack and gestured for them to go back from where they came. Sam stamped away, furious and powerless. Gwen knew the baldy wouldn''t leave it at that, but they couldn''t attack while Aito was here. Although, they would certainly attack the little man on his way to his room. His problem, not hers.. If Aito couldn''t deal with it, he wouldn''t deserve the title a few legendary figures of Iris bore¡ªthoughpare to them, he didn''t seem to have lost his mind. Chapter 54 - Advent Of A New Rumor Aitoid on the grass, his gaze fixed on the far ceiling, housing a fake sun much like the one on the second floor. He tried to move his arms, legs, and fingers. No results. He was paralyzed from head to toe. ''Just what is this?'' He thought, only able to look around. A few moments ago, he had been using Durability after drawing thest drop of mana from the second mana core. With Ogoro''s knowledge, it had been easy to figure out how to do it. However, Aito had not predicted what would follow. To his mind, it didn''t make sense. The only possible reason for this paralysis he could think of was a shortage of stamina. But he had recovered a certain amount of his stamina using Pneuma. In fact, he had already been using Pneuma during his "warm-up," which allowed him to finish the course that had felt like a goddamn marathon, albeit with straw targets falling on his head. His gift Intuition had red a few times to warn him, but ultimately he had to keep a lookout for those in order to properly dodge. Fortunately, he had trained his awareness by being on guard every second of his stay on the ind. But running with a heavy armor and his weapon while watching out for items dropping from a blind spot was something else entirely. The falling frequency had varied. Sometimes shorter. Other times longer. So it had been impossible to predict the fall ording to a fixed rhythm. He had tried to look up constantly. Bad idea. He almost hit another runner by doing so. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn''t figure out a way to dodge those damn straw targets every time. Was it even possible? "I see you finally hit the limit of your soul power, ey?" Gwen said, appearing next to him. "Wh¡­" he started, but couldn''t manage more. His jaw feltpletely loose. Much like his entire body. "Don''t force it. You''ll regain control of your body in a wee bit." Gwen said, sitting next to him cross-legged. "In the meantime, how about a little theory ss? Not that you can disagree anyway, gahahaha." ''Not funny,'' he thought, showing his disapproval by breathing slightly harder than before. But she didn''t seem to notice as she said, "The state you are in is called soul power exhaustion, or we also call this feelless because you can''t really feel your body." Gwen blew a white cloud of smoke and continued, "It happens when your soul power reaches its limit. Before you use the veryst drop of it, your body shuts down. Your soul needs soul power surrounding it to function properly, after all. Although it produces the soul power, the amount produced isn''t sufficient to fuel its needs. Even if you reach a higher soul level,monly called ss level, you''ll just remain feeless for a shorter amount of time." ''That''s why there is a soul power reservoir, I guess.'' He thought, feeling he should avoid soul exhaustion at all costs during a fight. ''Yeah, that much is obvious.'' "The point of this exercise is to first, familiarize yourself with the use of Durability." She said, lifting her index finger. "Second, make you realize your limits. To know how far you can go has many benefits. Amongst them, is a deeper understanding of how your skill works. Of how much soul power and mana it costs you to activate it. Since there isn''t really a means to quantify it, at least to my knowledge, it''s the only way I know of to get yourself ustomed to the dosage, quickly. I could use a softer method, but we don''t have the time for that." Aito felt a bit thankful towards her for taking the time period into consideration, even if her method was quite exhausting to say the least. ''But as long as it helps me get stronger, I''ll do it again without batting an eye.'' He thought. Aito had at first his doubt about this so-called training, but Gwen''s exercises started to make sense to him. At least the soul exhaustion exercise. After all, getting a feel of how many times he could use a skill¡ªconsidering the soul power limit¡ªwould influence the way he would fight in the future. Back on the ind, after acquiring skills, he had already thought about pushing his limits, although not the way Gwen was doing and certainly not the target dropping part. But ultimately, he had concluded to be too risky in an environment where he needed to keep enough stamina to be ready for an attack that coulde at any moment. "Anyway, you''ll be doing that every day after your warm-up. As for whates after you''ve recovered enough soul power...." She paused, smirking. "I hope you don''t mind bruises, blood, and broken bones." ''Broken bones?'' He thought, hiding his difort. Bruises and blood were fine by him. He had gotten used to the pain. However, broken bones had never been part of his daily struggle. A few times, yes, but not every day. ''As long as it makes me stronger...'' *** Around one hour after Aito regained his stamina. "Shit!" Aito cursed. Shirtless, with only his linen pants, he had his back against an earth wall Gwen had summoned out of thin air to prevent him from stepping back. An empty wooden human-shaped medieval armor powered by a soul core called duhan was beating the shit out of him. Those could be crafted from different materials like iron, steel, or even beasts parts. It was sometimes used on the front lines to fight against Fearmongers to avert too many casualties. Butcking a living being''s intelligence, it could only execute simple tasks, such as attacking or defending with basic moves. It could also be used for individual training, like in Aito''s case, where no partners could be found or more like he hadn''t any. The moderator couldn''t get involved physically in his training since it would attract attention more than it already was. If someone were to ask questions, she could simply brush it off as Aito asking for training equipment like the others. But if she showed real physical involvement, not just counseling, it was another matter. Gwen had to keep it "discreet" after all. "Shit!" Aito repeated, blocking yet another punch from the duhan with his forearms. ''I look like a masochist!'' Heined internally, guarding against a low kick while thinking back to what Gwen had told him. Coach Gwen had allowed him to only ripost every thirty moves. He wasn''t allowed to dodge¡ªhence his back against the wall¡ªand could only block. His body had endured a lot on the ind, but one hour of "sparing" against a wooden duhan. That was a first. Aito didn''t even know how his body could still stand. Apparently, he had really reached an inhuman physical resistance. Although he was allowed to ripost, his knuckles, knees, feet, whatever body parts he used, would get injured upon striking thick wood a few times. Though he could definitely destroy his opponent with bare hands, it took quite a few hits. Taking one duhan down barehanded could take up to thirty minutes, only then was he allowed to take a breather. Not considering his restriction, the damn thing could still move headless with one leg, and its chest area was more resistant than the other parts because of its thickness. With his ax, it would no doubt have taken him seconds to bring it down, but weaponless was a true challenge. ''Thirty,'' he thought, counting the blows. However, from time to time he could lose count of them because of the pain. The armor went for a body blow, striking the area next to his liver. Aito gritted his teeth, contracted his bruised abdominal muscles to receive the blow, and countered with a devastating side body blow of his own, pulverizing the already badly damaged armor. "Alright, that''s enough," Gwen said, unsummoning the pieces of wooden armor. She then called him back. Aito limped towards her, groaning from the pain of a few broken ribs, bloody knuckles, and bruises all over his body. The few passers-by heading to the second floor for lunch break madeplicated expressions seeing the state of his body, whispering "masochists" amongst themselves. Unbeknownst to Aito, a new rumor overshadowing the naked man attached to the fountain started to take form. Chapter 55 - Diluted Divine Blessing "This¡­ is more¡­ torture than training," Aito said, sitting by Gwen. "Nay, it''s training alright. Don''t be a sissy little man." She said, "True warriors get that kind of training when they are not waging war. Sometimes, without healing means. Even some cowardly beast hunters do. You can''t make tasty omelets without breaking eggs. The same goes for your body. It does give some warriors a weird reputation, but well¡­ things are what they are." Too injured to ask what she meant, he simply grunted. Noticing his predicament, Gwen took out two beads filled with tiny green particles from her inventory and handed it to him. "Take them." She said, "Don''t absorb them, just break the beads. The diluted divine blessing inside will speed up your body''s recovery rate. In two or three hours, your few broken bones would have mended back and bruises disappeared. Mostly. Three would be ideal, but those aren''t cheap for challengers." "No¡­ kidding, urg." He said, breaking the beads. A green glow spread from his fist to his entire body apanied by a wave of warm, soothing feeling. He could sense the pain lessening bit by bit as the divine blessing worked its magic. "Worth 800 TPs each, I suppose." "Aye." She said, smiling. "Deserving of the name recovery bead. Although those don''tpare to healing or miracle beads, they are practical and easier to get your hands on." Intrigued, Aito sent her a quizzical gaze. "Time for another theory ss I guess." She said while refurbishing her pipe. "There are a few ways to heal yourself in Iris, that I know of. Concoctions, herbs, surgery by a battle surgeon. But recovery beads are the mostmon for treating injuries and can also vary in effectiveness ording to their purity. Yours look good though. The greener it is, the better." Aito nodded, d he hadn''t been tricked by the shop owner. "You''re lucky, you usually get lower or intermediate qualities because the process to craft them isplex." She said, lighting her pipe. "Recovery beads are made by a delicate process involving diluting a divine blessing contained inside a healing bead, which is diluted from miracle beads. And miracle beads are gods damn expensive. Only avable by using glory points with the gods. With just one, you can create around a thousand recovery beads of good quality. More if bad ones." The giantess took a puff, blew smoke, forming a circle and another smaller one that passed through the first. Herplicated gaze fixed on the grassy area, she said, "We developed that technique for economic reasons,ck of personal, and also because mortals simply don''t have the power to heal wounds instantly as divine beings do. Battle surgeons can mend broken bones, sew wounds, organs, even reattach limbs. The best can do it in a matter of minutes. But it still takes people and time. Time we don''t necessarily have to save lives." Aito found it weird. He had thought the gods would grant mortals instantaneous healing skills, spells of sorts, to help reduce casualties during their war that has been waged for who knew how long. Even if they only considered mortals as resources, it was the least they could do. Battle surgeons apparently were indeed equipped with skills to heal, but it seemed dumb since it could take time better spent elsewhere. Also, minutes, seconds even, could mean the difference between life and death. A difference recovery bead couldn''t necessarily cover every time. He didn''t know about healing and miracle beads, though. But he sure could guess those weren''t found lying on the streets. Following that train of thought, he wondered¡­ "''Just why are they keeping the secret of instantaneous healing to themselves?'' If that''s what you think, I''d advise you to give up the thought." She said, waving her free hand. "Even if you know the real reason, there is nothing you can do about it." "So there¡­ is a reason." "Of course," she said, her face darkening. "There is a reason for most, if not all, of the gods'' actions. I suspect that most of the time it''s always the same one." "Control¡­" He said, furrowing his ck brows. It was predictable. For him, at least since he considered the gods a pain in the ass and had alreadye to that conclusion before when thinking about the System. "Correct, yet incorrect," she said. "But, if I were you, I''d avoid uttering such profanity in front of themon folks. You can get into trouble for much less. After all, the gods are revered by most, little man." That was also predictable. Aito had already guessed it would do him no good to insult them in front of others. That much he could do. When faced with one of those bastards, that would be harder. However, he had already seen the consequences of his own thoughtlessness and wasn''t about to do it again. Purposely, at least. "Why didn''t you¡­ make ''trouble'' for me then?" He asked, already feeling better to the point of making longer sentences and being suspicious of the moderator. This time, it was the giantess'' turn to frown. "Don''t ask unnecessary questions." At those words, Aito knew he had stepped on a cat''s tail and stopped his questioning. She probably had her own reasons she was unwilling to talk about. Certainly something upsetting. They spent the next few minutes in ufortable silence until Gwen broke it. "Anyway, just grab your lunch. Get some rest. Since you have no partner, you''ll be training against a duhan again this afternoon." "Ag¡ª" Aito started. "With weapons, this time." She interrupted, "I''ll provide wooden ones so that you don''t have to use yours. But you won''t wear armor, for this week at least." Thatst part told him he would be in a world of pain again, but also felt relieved. His full ted armor had been challenging to equip. He had walked out of his roomter than the others because of it. He had had to first wear a special jacket and pants on top of his linen ones, then use theces fixed to these special clothes to attach armor parts to his body. Figuring how and where to attach thoseces had been harder than he initially thought, even more alone. Fortunately, he had Ogoro''s memories, but they were a bit blurry about how to wear medieval armors. It had taken him almost an hour, if not more, to figure it out alone. "If it''s not forbidden to ask, how does all your summoning thing work?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject. "Nah, it''s no secret, considering where we are it could even be consideredmon knowledge," Gwen said. Noticing Aito''s interrogative gaze, she added, "You don''t know where we are, ey?" "Obviously the Tower." He replied. "We''re inside a god''s soul, little man." She said, tapping her pipe to force out the ashes. "The tutorial is held inside a god''s soul. White, blue, red, and ck trials included. To my knowledge, in a god''s soul, anything is possible. I have been temporarily granted rights to summon certain nonliving matter and items, not living beings, but it is possible. However, the third floor isn''t meant for that purpose." Aito stared at his bloody knuckles, having mixed feelings about this news. On one hand, it made sense, since the moderator could summon... training items using whatever power she had been given. On the other hand, this went against Belmand''s words. The god of sloth had talked about the ck trial taking ce on a floating ind, with arge-scale illusion covering the entire area. And if the gods could create literally anything inside their souls, why did an illusion had to be cast on the ind by another god? It didn''t make sense to him since they could have just created it with a mere thought, apparently. Unless Gwen was wrong about the ck trial. If she was right, however, it meant the god of sloth had lied to him. Aito sighed, thinking that reliable information was truly hard toe by these days. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª IMPORTANT Announcement in the Creator''s Thoughts. Chapter 56 - Sect Master In a blue challenger''s room¡ªthe size of arge studio¡ª"borrowed" to one of his followers, Kai, an averaged size overweight man with Asian facial traits, was sitting at his desk, staring at maps of the second, third, fourth and fifth floors. He rubbed his chubby thumb and index together while examining the maps. It was a habit gained after counting money. With time, this habit became a tic when thinking, calcting his next move. Each map was segmented into sections. The second-floor map had particrly a lot of them, majorly illustrating the five districts. Miniature squares with numbers symbolizing every shop could be seen. A rectangle area on the side, the map''s key, contained brief information on each location. Red lines depicted the major streets, upied by more challengers during rush hours, meaning at the start of the day and end of the day. What buggered him the most was theck of a real clock. The gods had provided the challengers with some kind of internal clock, allowing them to feel the end or beginning of a day. Though the feeling was subtle. So subtle that most challengers weren''t even aware of it, thinking it was natural to know the CDs period. Another way to know the time was to either ask a moderator, shop owner or simply pay attention to the overall behavior of the crowd, which most people did. Kai''s dark iris was set on the map of the third floor, where small purple and ck dots were located. The moderator and ck challenger. He cared little about the moderator. To him, they were nothing less than simple workers. They usually were passive as long as rules were respected. Though, he had never tried to break them "openly" until today. Kai had purposely sent Sam to harm the ck challenger in front of Gwen for that reason, but also another. The baldy, blinded by revenge and his fealty to the sect, had epted without batting an eye. As expected, the results were negative, but not fruitless. His report was interesting because of a single fact, Sam had made it back in one piece. Taking that into ount, plus the few other information partaking in a show of force from the moderators, he concluded they would or could never kill a challenger. That could be a hole in the security he could eventually exploit if needed. ''As for the ck challenger,'' he thought, eyeing the ck dot. ''He may just be the real deal. May, but uncertain.'' Like everyone else, Kai had heard of the exploit of past ck challengers who were able to clear the eighth floor from his guide. Even some shop owners talked about them, more because they were supposed to be good customers than anything else. Those greedy workers were probably here for the soul cores found on the other floors that could be sold for TPs at what Kai expected to be an unfair price. Probably why some of them came into the Tower. Apart from soul cores, he couldn''t really see any other motivations. After all, TPs could only be used in the Tower, so it was pointless to keep them outside. To his knowledge, they couldn''t be exchanged for whatever currency was used in Iris. ''Hum, I''ll gather info on thatter.'' He thought, writing on a small notebook made of light brown paper. ''Now, what to do with the ck challenger?'' He had previously sent his most loyal "employee" to test the terrain, knowing fully that Sam wasn''t the most diplomate of men and could certainly provoke a fight. If the ck challenger had died or epted to meet him, Kai would have been severely disappointed, since it meant he was easily influenced, in other words, a pushover. Kai already had hundreds of pushovers under hismand. A bunch of lost sheep who couldn''t walk their own road in times of need. It had been so easy to gather followers. Under the influence of confusion and despair, people were willing to follow someone who "seemed" to be a good leader. He rounded his first followers this way. A magnificent speech, peppered with charisma, an amuse-bouche of what they would get and voil¨¤! Their wills had already been fragmented by their revivals, making it even easier for him to influence them the way he needed. In dark, confusing times, people usually searched for somewhere to belong, especially on foreign soil. Thus, he provided them with a group that soon turned into a realmunity, a sect he had named "Chosen." A particrly meaningful name, considering their situation. Revived by gods. Presented with supernatural abilities uponpletion of their trial or even before for the few with Gifts. And, also chosen by him. He had gained their trust bit by bit after piling sess after sess against other leaders of the white trial. Using his calctive mind, he had brought other leaders to their knees in a matter of less than a month and monopolized the resources avable. Using the monopole, he "persuaded" them to obey him by using various means but not forced, not entirely at least. One of them was a simple brainwashing technique. Each meal would be served under his name, as a true blessing, causing people who had mixed feeling about Kai to slowlye to ept him. It also deepened the loyalty of his other followers. Of course, with only two months, he hadn''t been able to convince them all. More than half of the remaining challengers reimed their freedom upon entering the Tower. No matter, he had several hundred under hismand, anyway. What mattered now was to clear the Tower and obtain the coveted reward awaiting those who did¡ªalthough he didn''t know what was past the eighth floor, yet. Nobody really knew, but Kai intended to get his hand on the reward, since it could only be exceptional. However, he wasn''t a man of action. He could lead people from behind, not the front. Kai knew himself. He was shrewd, smart, could manipte people to do his bidding. But when it came to actual fighting, which he supposed the fourth to tenth floors were filled with, he probably wouldn''t be able toe back alive. He did not want to risk his new life. That''s why he needed a leader, a manager his other employees could follow to victory. Sam was¡­ ''Too dumb. A good loyal employee, but a leader? No. At best, he is a good warrior.'' He thought. ''The others also can''t fit the bill.'' They were all currently stuck on the fifth floor despite the fact that he was pouring a portion of the soul cores provided by other, less important employees into his managers. Hoping they would gain more strength. But when Sam, a level 2 warrior ss¡­ ''What was it again?'' Kai thought, browsing through his employees'' sheets. Managing hundreds of people was hard. Even more, since he hadn''t earthly modern means at his disposal. And Sam had recently leveled up, so there were some changes to his sheet the baldy had made a few hours ago after recovering from his injuries using recovery beads. ''Found it,'' he thought, taking out a sheet from his pile. ____________________________ [Sam Ford] [I. General Info] Death: March 22nd, 2030 Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 35 Height: 175cm Weight: 73kgs Emotional state (at the time it was written): Angry ss: Lv2 Swordsman Titles: White Challenger, Talkative Baldy [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Body Blessed (Permanently increases Body by one level) 2. Skills: Passive: - Sword mastery Lv2 Active: - Durability Lv1 - Power sh Lv1 (A powerful downward sh) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv2 - Agility: Lv1 - Mana: Lv3 - Destiny: Lv1 (cannot level up with Glory Points) Chapter 57 - Visit It hadn''t impressed him much when Ogoro had dealt with the level 1 Sam during their many duels since the assassin was already skilled on Earth. Like others, Kai had sent him and his sister to do his dirty work quite a few times. Although it hadn''t necessarily been for assassination purposes. The shrewd man could have used Ogoro as a manager, but the assassin wasn''t allowed to ascend past the third floor. Kai had expected him to run out of money soon, but the assassin had been smart enough toe up with a way to earn TPs. Duels involving warrior sses¡ªnot mages and archers¡ªwere held every so often early in the morning orter after CDs. If the one who challenged Ogoro won, he/she would be rewarded with the memory bead. But Ogoro has always won and took the soul cores from the losers. He had hoped it would serve as training for Sam and invested quite a bit of soul cores in those duels. Kai had been especially looking for the difference in power when Sam reached level 2. But the talkative baldy made the ck challenger his target before that could happen. No matter, it served his purpose anyway. The ck challenger had picked his interest after defeating Sam, despite being just level 1. He had hope for the ck challenger, but he needed to test him more. One interaction¡ªthe one with the moderator interfering, not counting¡ªwas not enough to judge the man. Not yet, at least. Kai nned to continue his little test, pushing the man to reveal his mettle. If he ever managed toe out alive after a few more times, no matter what means the ck challenger used, he''d be deemed worthy of leading his troops. Or at least worthy of a trial test. Convincing him shouldn''t be too hard. Every human had a weak point. Usually, promising means to satisfy his desires, be it power, money, sex or others, was enough. If that didn''t work, Kai had a few cards up his sleeve the ck challenger shouldn''t be able to resist. Feeling satisfied, and unable to stare at his earthly bank ount, he opened his status window to stare at it instead. It made for a surprisingly suitable temporary recement to contemte his achievement¡ªeven more after he had epted the unique nonbatant ss from the god of wisdom. ___________________ [Kai Tsubame] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 40 Height: 170cm Weight: 90kgs Emotional state: Satisfied ss: Lv2 Diplomate Titles: White Challenger, Sect Leader [II. Attributes] 1. Gift: - Destiny Blessed (Permanently increases Destiny by one level) - Charismatic (The host emanates a charismatic aura, moderately increasing his chances of being trusted.) 2. Skills: Passive: - Diplomacy Mastery Lv3 Active: - Durability Lv1 - Incitement Lv2 (A lesser hypnotism skill allowing the host to influence a target''s opinion on all kinds of topics.) 3. System Right: - Summon Contract Lv1 (Allow the host to call upon the System to summon a contract involving two parties for all kind of purposes.) {Contract signed: 0/3} [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv1 - Body: Lv1 - Stamina: Lv1 - Agility: Lv1 - Mana: Lv3 - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ___________________ Compared to the other challengers, or even most nonbatant sses, Kai had been offered a unique ss as well as a blue mark in the shape of a book, despite not being abatant ss. The content of the oath pact had been the same as the others "answer when called upon." Though, most people tranted it to "fight when called upon," which wasn''t wrong in any way. Truth be told, he disliked being ordered around by someone else. In what he assumed was a world of magic where only the strong survived, there was little to no choice but to sign that ursed oath pact. He had to admit, it was quite a practical way to make mortals do the gods'' bidding. Leaving them no choice whatsoever. His System Right "Summon Contract Lv1" was but a pale copy of an oath pact, but a copy nheless. If people signed it, more urately took an oath, it worked like an oath pact in the way both parties could lose something that had been previously agreed upon, but not the soul. Apparently, it was a system right granted to most nonbatant sses working in the administration ormerce fields, for example, merchants. But, ording to the informations Kai had gathered, it was only used for substantial transactions and only for transactions such as 40000 - 50000 TPs or so, in the Tower¡ªoutside he didn''t know. In that case, if a party failed to uphold its close, the party would be deducted from the sum previously agreed upon or be indebted if the sum wasn''t avable. His system right was special in the way he could apply it to literally anything, in whatever way he wanted. But of course, it had its drawback. He had to uphold his end of the bargain. A contract worked both ways, after all. Even the oath pact worked that way. Kai just had to make sure he didn''t take any risks by promising what he couldn''t give. But he didn''t really worry about it since he had amassed quite the wealth through his employees. TPs, soul cores, women, food, magical items, the fog, etc. He had a lot of ways to satisfy the ck challenger''s needs. In return, using his skill set, he would persuade him to join his sect. Find his weak point and use it to manipte him. Though, it shouldn''t beplicated. Most humans wanted the same thing; to satisfy their desires. With the challengers, it was what they hadcked in their first life. In most cases, it was power. But he couldn''t be 100% certain. To increase his chances of doing so, however, he needed more personal informations on the ck challenger. More exactly who he was during his first life. Fortunately, there was a report of the ck challenger visiting a few shops with his guide. And the shop owners could easily be bribed with TPs or soul cores. Although, they weren''t necessarily reliable since most of them weren''t information brokers. It was his best bet since Ogoro, who had been seen talking to him more than two times, wasn''t willing to say anything. Also, the ck challenger''s guide couldn''t be found anywhere, as if he had disappeared. "Worker Roisin," Kai said, turning towards the room''s entrance where a ginger woman with delicate features stood guard, more to satisfy his needs than for security. "Yes, sect leader," she said, seemingly happy to be of help. "Would you please ''visit'' these locations," he said, handing a piece of paper with notes on it. "Have a few avable employees posing as beggars help you." "What will be the purpose of my ''visit'', sect leader?" Roisin asked, examining the note. "The ck challenger." At those words, Roisin bowed respectfully, revealing her full cleavage, which Kai eyed like there was no tomorrow. Before she could leave, he added, "Thene back to visit me." Roisin blushed, disyed a sweet smile of one who has been indoctrinated, lifted her hand to her chest. A fist closed and thumbs out, she pointed to herself; the sect''s salute. Then she exited the room. Kai smiled, thinking about how effective such a small gesture showing one''s affiliation to the sect could be to influence people''s desire to belong somewhere. That kind of maniption technique has been proved again and again.. A perfect example was a certain tyrant with a weird mustache who invented a salute during World War II to incite patriotism. Chapter 58 - Stubborn Little Man For two hours after recovering from his injuries armed with a wooden shield and one-handed ax provided by Gwen, Aito fought a steel duhan equipped with a wooden greatsword¡ªtaking a break every twenty or so minutes. Also, he wasn''t allowed to use Durability. Nor was he allowed to swap for new weapons until Gwen said so, even if they were broken. Moreover, the empty armor had a seemingly bottomless reserve of stamina, allowing it to strike consecutively without interruption. ''What a pain in the ass,'' Aito thought, blocking what felt like the thousandth strike. The duhan''s moves left little to no openings. At least it seemed that way to him. However, if there were no openings, he could create one, something he had already done many times. Aito dashed towards its target to reduce the distance since its greatsword had a longer reach. The duhan followed with a downward sh, which soon met Aito''s shield bash, redirecting the blow upward with pure brute force. Using that opening, Aito stabbed the armor''s chest using the pointy edge of his ax wooden de¡ªa technique taken from Ogoro''s memories that allowed for a quick attack and could be effective if well ced¡­ on living beings. The tip broke, but managed to put a dent in the steel armor already full of small dents. Interrupted by the impact, the duhan took three steps back to regain its bnce. To prevent it from imposing its momentum again, Aito darted towards it. Toote, he was met with yet another unending flurry of consecutive blows. The armor''s moves were basic, crude, powerful, but also seemed programmed to be precise. It always aimed for the same spots; head, heart, sides, armpits, stomach, inner thighs. Thetter had surprised Aito at first because of how umon¡ªording to his knowledge¡ªthe strike was. Then Ogoro''s memories about how to torture and kill a human kicked in. Blurry at first, but he had been able to understand it after a few minutes. Inner thighs were a sensitive area, not only because of his groins but because of their many blood vessels linking the upper body with the lower body. Bleeding from that area could kill a man in a matter of minutes due to heavy blood loss. It sounded improbable since he had never heard of it, but the more he registered Ogoro''s memory, the more he realized it was true. Although useful to know, Aito doubted it was the true reason the empty armor targeted that area. Maybe to diversify its moves, who knew? Aito gritted his teeth through the blows, using his shield to protect himself. Since he had no armors, taking a hit, even from a wooden weapon, would hurt like hell. He already had several bruises because of mishaps. So he knew the consequences of messing up, or more urately, he could feel it. Under the incessant stream of attack, his already badly damaged shield shattered into pieces, leaving him without protection. Aito stepped back, dodging a blow. The duhan chained its attack like a mindless barbarian. Aito stepped back, again and again, to avoid being hit. After a while, seeing no real openings, he realized he had no choice but to enter his opponent''s effective range without protections; he gritted his teeth, preparing for the pain toe. He avoided a side sh, stepped in, and used his forearm to block an attacking from his left, more by reflex of using a shield for two hours than logical thinking. The greatsword struck true, fracturing bones. The pain traveled from Aito''s arm to his brain, which rapidly spread the information to his entire body. But he started to grow ustomed to pain, after all, he had endured worse on the ind and when getting beaten up by the wooden duhan. Also, his sin was the greatest pain to him. A fractured bone couldn''tpare. Aito quickly regained a mind clear enough to think urately. Although painful, he wrapped his arm around the armor''s hand and blocked it under his armpit. A simple glima technique taken from Ogoro''s memories preventing further attacks with the weapon. The duhan seemed at a loss as to what to do next. It tried to move its greatsword again to no avail. While it struggled, Aito showered it with attacks, frantically striking the center of its chest times and times again. Slightly damaging the thick steel te. Although the goal of the exercise wasn''t to destroy the duhan, he aimed for it nheless. If he wanted to get stronger, he needed to surpass his limits. Soon, his wooden ax broke. Pissed and with no real other choices, he used his avable fist. Punch after punch, the armor dented slightly but held. Frustrated by the pain, the tiresome training and also with a goal in mind, he sped up his strikes. Too close to his enemy. Unable to pivot his pelvis properly to use the rotation force. Poor positioning of his feet and unwillingness to change position for fear of missing the opportunity to strike back. He couldn''t use his strength properly. Dealing less damage than he would in normal circumstances. He continued on, denting the armor until the duhan suddenly disappeared. "That''s enough for now, take a break," Gwen said, appearing beside him. "Why did you interrupt me? I was about to dismantle it." Aito asked, unpleased. "The goals of this exercise weren''t to ''dismantle'' the duhan," Gwen replied, giving him a recovery bead. Aito crushed the bead. The bloody hand he used to frantically attack the duhan progressively stopped bleeding as he said. "What were they then?" "For you to experience fighting against an opponent with endless stamina. Train your mastery of the ax and shield. Feel how it is to fight without armor, which you probably already know, but whatever." She said, before lifting a fourth finger. "And mainly for me to see how you fight so that I can fine-tune the duhan''s attack patterns to your needs next time. Also, you should know your limits." Aito granted, "If I want to get stronger quickly, I need to surpass my limits not stay within its range." "Indeed, but here''s another lesson." She said, pointing at his legs trembling from exhaustion. "Do not confuse surpassing one''s limits with recklessness." Aito had never fought for so long. Yes, he had fought evol monkeys before, but the fights were brief and with many opportunities to take breaks in between them. For example, when he had fought the army, he had used a hit-and-run tactic, but ultimately got a break when Big Bad Red waited for an opportunity to trap him, allowing Aito to recover. It was iparable to today, where the fights were longer with poorer conditions. He had had breaks, but only after exhausting himself to the limit and beyond. Realizing the truth in her words, but stubborn, Aito used Pneuma to stop his legs from trembling and took a step forward. "I can still train." He said, a firm resolve reflected in his eyes. "I never said we were done for today," Gwen grinned, seemingly satisfied with his answer despite her previous lesson. Then she used her war hammer to sweep his legs with ease. Not because of her strength, but because he was that tired.. "But first, take a breather, you stubborn little man." Chapter 59 - Necessary Sleep After Aito recovered enough to move and use his right hand to wield a weapon, Gwen made him use a skill that intrigued her and didn''t know how to nurture. The active skill, Whirlwind. At first, she asked Aito to use his weapon in order to destroy human shape straw targets with it. Then wooden, iron and finally steel ones. Steel targets had been the limit. However, she supposed that with the right weapon and a level 4 or 5 strength, it might be possible for Aito to shred it to pieces. But Gwen rapidly came to realize he had no control over it. Notplete control, at least. Using her experience as a battle-hardened warrior, she deduced he''d have to increase his body basic stats to bear the toll of forcing the centrifugal force to a stop. Or he could improve his overall technique, leading to manual activation and possibly a skill level up. She decided to focus on that possibility since betting on the level up of his body wasn''t aplete fix. Not at Aito''s soul level, at least. If Aito''s strength basic stat increased to level 4 before his body did¡ªwhich was a very likely oue¡ªhe''d have the same issue. That skill was powerful for a level 1 warrior ss, no doubt about it. It was also unusual. The god of pain, Brutalina, always provided "power sh" or a power-something skill to a level 1 warrior. Aito''s skill was¡­ unusual. She assumed it was normal, considering he was a ck challenger. Gwen decided to focus a part of Aito''s training on that skill because of two reasons. First, its sheer power, which woulde in handyter on for Aito. Second, it was a stamina-based skill. Stamina-based skills didn''t use mana and soul power like aura-based ones. They were rare and only relied on the user''s physical prowess to demonstrate their powers. In that sense, they were practical because they could be used to avoid soul power exhaustion. However, they sometimes can have a bad reputation because they are generally less powerful than aura-based skills. For the purpose of increasing his proficiency with the skill, she came up with a peculiar exercise. Instead of using an ax to train the skill, Aito would use an item crafted with a rock attached to a rope. It was like a hammer used for hammer throws in regr track and field events. Aito had to control the rotation force and activate the skill as long as possible without letting go of the rope. If it did, the hammer would crash against the earth walls surrounding him. A security the moderator installed to avoid the hammer killing other challengers. "My head," Aito said, holding his head with one hand. After thirty minutes of almost non-stop spinning around, he felt sick. Aito used a hand to lean against an earth wall and threw up. He felt even worse than when he had drunk an entire bottle of alcohol. Aito had tried to push this feeling away, which had manifested only five minutes after starting the exercise, but he had reached his limits. Heid on the grass, waiting for the sickness to ease. ''So tired¡­'' he thought, only realizing how exhausted he was after today''s training by lying onfortable grass. Immediately after, his mind went blurry as he fell asleep amidst the thick earth walls surrounding him. *** Aito woke up, with aching muscles, on the moderator''s bench. He sat up feeling his muscles screaming with pain due to the fact that they had endured intense training, but it was nothing rming. Muscr soreness happened when someone underwent physical activities one was not used to. Something Aito knew all too well because of his past training with his dad. Intrigued as to what time it was, he looked around him, only to see Gwen on the grass sitting cross-legged with her eyes shut. However, he did not see anybody else apart from her. Also, the staircases had disappeared. ''Did I sleep for that long?'' He thought, realizing it was past the cooldown period time. ''No sleeping in my room tonight, I guess.'' His stomach rumbled loudly as if to confirm to him that he had been sleeping for a long time. To appease his hunger, he took out an indigo, a piece of dried meat from his inventory bag, and ate them while staring at Gwen, wondering what she could be doing. The giantess appeared to be in a meditative state, like the cultivators in eastern novels Aito had read about. Deciding to inspect, he walked up next to her. By taking a closer look at the moderator, he realized her muscles'' fibers from her toned arms were slightly moving under her skin. As if she was¡­ ''Training? Is she training by only using her mind?'' Aito thought, thinking how ridiculous that sounded. On Earth, he had heard about theories of how visualizing yourself training could prove effective to¡­ actually train. "Slept well, little man?" Gwen said, opening her eyes. Flustered because he was found out, Aito stiffened. "Hum, yeah." "It''s rude to stare at people like that, you know?" She said, hinting at Aito who had been staring at her while she was training. "Sorry¡­ I was intrigued." "I see," she said, smiling. "It''s called visualization. It''s not a skill, but a state of mind in which you can picture yourself training." "How does that work exactly?" "Nothing fancy, it''s just like what I said. You imagine yourself training." Gwen replied. "There is no secret to it, no magic words. Only your imagination matter. It''s not easy at first, but with time and practice, your body wille to react to your imagination. Anyone can do it, but only a few bother practicing it enough to make it effective. You can try it if you want. That''s what I do when the staircases are closed." Herst sentence made his mind wandered to how he had abruptly fallen asleep, causing him to be "trapped" on the third floor with the moderator. "Why didn''t you wake me up?" He asked. "Because you needed sleep." She replied as if stating the obvious. "If your body shuts down on its own like that, it could only mean you needed rest." "But¡ª" Aito started. "Sleeping is an important part of training, little man." Gwen interrupted. "It gives time for your body to assimte everything you did during your training. At least at your level. So don''t worry about it." "I¡­ thanks." "You''re wee. Now, if you don''t mind, I''ll go back to my own training. It''s past working hours, so don''t expect me to train you. If you''re bored, you can try visualization, or do whatever. I''m sure you''ll figure something out." She said, before closing her eyes. Aito was about to protest, saying he had paid 1000 TPs, but then thought back to how Gwen took care of him all day long and stopped himself.. To his mind, she had already upheld her part of the agreement. Chapter 60 - One Week Plan With plenty of time ahead of him before the staircases reopened and challengers started to flood the third floor to ascend the Tower, Aito set his mind on continuing training. Time was of the essence, after all. Gwen had fixed three major goals for him to reach before the end of this month. First, be able to activate the skill Durability manually. Second, have his body and stamina reach Lv3. Third, be able to control Whirlwind fully. If he at least reached those goals, Gwen would consider the training to be over. However, he wasn''t satisfied with just that, so he set two other goals for himself. To assimte what he deemed useful to him in Ogoro''s knowledge, and to be able to activate his skill Weight Control manually. His mind set, he first trained Weight Control by increasing the weight of his ax by 2.5 times. However, he did not deactivate it and let the skillst until the end to get a better feel for it. Something he had never really paid attention to before. While waiting until the skill duration was over, he tried to get ustomed to the heavy double-edged ax weighing even more than before by executing chains of attacks. Amidst his training, he remembered a part of Ogoro''s memories about a certain Italian way of using greatswords. He couldn''t make out the name since it was blurry, but the principles were there. The technique allowed the user to endlessly chain attacks while keeping your bnce. It resembled a tornado, much like his skill Whirlwind. Except for the fact that he did not have to rotate with the de, not entirely at least, and he could also move while executing a flurry of tornado-like attacks. The principle was simple. He had to move his weapon in a circle, but not his entire body, which meant that his arms did most of the job. It wasn''t as powerful as Whirlwind because he did not use his entire body to support the attack, but could be deadly nheless. However, applying it to an ax proved to be more difficult than expected because of the single fact that the brunt of an ax weight was concentrated on the head. His temporary inherited memories were about a greatsword that had a center of gravity near the hilt. An ax''s center of gravity was located near the head. Taking that into ount, the technique he "remembered" wasn''t exactly the same since the conditions were different. It meant he had to adapt the knowledge to his own needs. With that in mind, he trained the technique as best as he could, which started to show a few results, but he wasn''t quite there yet. He also thought about applying the principle to Whirlwindter until his weapon suddenly became lighter. ''Around 20 minutes,'' he thought, gauging the time Weight Control stayed active. He had to gauge urately without a timer, so it was the best guess he could take. ''That''s pretty good.'' He trained continuously with his ax, practicing a few other techniques inspired or taken from Ogoro''s knowledge he deemed useful. After a while, he was exhausted, almost out of mana, and unable to replenish it with mana cores. He sat down on the grass to rest. With nothing better to do, he decided to give visualization a go. Once again, he tapped into Ogoro''s memories and tried his hardest to imagine himself using the techniques. Various scenarios came up. One of them was Aito torturing a man to death by applying different torture techniques¡ªnot something he was necessarily fond of, but the anatomy knowledge could prove useful. Another one was him throwing all kinds of ded weapons at targets. Apparently, the grey-haired man could even throw a swiss knife urately dozens of meters in front of him. Aito ced that thought aside and concentrated on the weapon he used the most, an ax. Two hours passed this way without him noticing. Surprisingly, visualization was entertaining in its own way. Although, he wasn''t proficient with it. Sometimes the images in his imagination were blurry. Other times, his mind even wandered to other topics. Such as how Jack was doing. What kind of metal was the Ancient Shard. The gods and their unpredictable behaviors. Sam, the talkative baldy who had tried to kill him for no reason. That talkative baldy was part of his current worries. Hours ago, Aito had seen Sam and his henchmen walking up to the third floor while he was training nearby. Their numbers made the group stuck out like sore thumbs. So, of course, he had seen them. Especially because of the light reflecting on Sam''s crystal ball-like head. Thankfully, the moderator had used some sort of magical invisible skill to dissuade them from causing trouble. But Aito had no doubt Sam would be back for more when the opportunity arises. An opportunity he knew woulde once he''d left the third floor. Then, a thought struck him. Why would he leave the training grounds, anyway? Be it food or water, he had enough of it for a week. Sleeping? He wasn''t bothered with sleeping on grass or dirt. Bathrooms? He''d just do it somewhere on the training ground, however unelegant it seemed. The moderator could make trashes disappear with but a thought, anyway. Shower? Aito didn''t care about that. The unpleasant scent could even help him ward off curious challengers who might want to ask unnecessary questions. Moreover, he could train peacefully at night while Gwen was training on her own. To his mind, he only profited from staying on the third floor. Yes, it could be called cowardice by some. To his mind, however, it was called efficiency. A safe zone where he could live and train at the same time? What more could he ask for? Eventually, he''d have toe down on the second floor to stock up on resources and also check up on his Ancient Shard identification results. ''But until then, I will stay on the third floor. Fuck Sam and his sect. I''ll deal with themter. For now, I have better things to do.'' He thought, before feeling his eyes closed by themselves. And so, with a n in the mind and a clear training regimen, he set out to sleep until the next morning. Chapter 61 - Garbage Collector The second day of training. After his warm-up, Durability training, and body training, while Aito rested on the bench, Ogoro, the giant of a man he had previously interacted with two times already, came to him for chitchat. With nothing better to do while recuperating, Aito weed the distraction¡ªnot that the giant of a man left him with any other choice. Moreover, Aito didn''t want to be too rude to someone who had helped him before by giving him a precious memory bead. By now, after exploring Ogoro''sbat experience memories, Aito knew the man was some kind of killer in his previous life, and a damn good one at that. But it didn''t matter to him. After all, how could he judge Ogoro after he himself had killed someone? Someone dear to him. Turns out, Ogoro had oftene on the training ground while he wasn''t busy doing some errands or organizing duels before taking part in them early in the morning orte at night. He exined now that his coveted prize, aka the memory bead, was no longer in his possession, challengers were less interested in dueling him. So it gave him more time to train, since he had fewer matters that kept him busy. Also, he did not have the necessary amount of money to make another "prize." The empty red memory bead had cost him 30000 TPs, and the service to input his memories 5000 TPs. Hecked the money to buy it by himself and asked his sister for a bit of help. She and Ogoro had both received 5000 TPs as rewards for the red trial and a bonus of 20000 TPs for surviving the unnned horde of zombies. Of course, Filona had omitted the fact that her sister, Brutalina, was the cause of this mishap. However, he could have sold the whole content for more than 100000 TPs¡ªat least that''s what Ogoro thought. A memory bead with actual content could be far more valuable than an empty one. Even more, if it contains uratebat knowledge. But no merchants had been interested in buying it since they couldn''t verify its source and make an urate estimate of its value. Challengers were too poor and would offer a lower price than what he had invested in the first ce. Even the Chosen sect would offer the ridiculous price of 20000 TPs despite Kai knowing about Ogoro''s abilities. Probably because they didn''t have the money to spare or simply because the ex-CEO was a cheap bastard. Kai did invest in his sect members, but 20000 TPs in one go for just one person, Ogoro assumed it would be too much for him since the sect leader had to tend to hundreds of people. Or maybe Kai didn''t care. It was hard to guess what was happening inside that shrewd man''s head. So his sister had suggested organizing duels with the memory bead as its prize. It became surprisingly sessful. No wonder since the challenger could get their hands on a valuable item for a minimum of 500 TPs worth of soul cores per fight. And since Ogoro could chain quite a few fights in a row, he made up for his losses in just one month. But then he had offered the bead to Aito, resulting in an earful from his sister. Still, he had felt satisfied with his deed. After all, if Aito hadn''t intervened back then, Ogoro and She would be zombie food by now. For the kind gesture, Aito felt grateful, but also apologetic. If it hadn''t been for him, the giant would have kept earning from duels. But Ogoro shrugged it off, saying challengers would have gotten tired of losing after a few more weeks if that already weren''t the case. Both men continued to chat for a while until Aito recovered from his wounds and then they went their separate way to train on their own. Ogoro did offer him to act as his training partner, but... he refused politely¡ªas politely as Aito could. However, slowly but surely, Aito started to appreciate his interaction with the man despite his trust issues. In the afternoon, Aito practiced with the steel duhan again under the same condition as yesterday. However, Gwen had reprogrammed the empty armor to aim for Aito''s weak points. For example, Aito had the nasty habit of opening his shield guard too wide while attacking with his one-handed ax, which defied the purpose of having a shield in the first ce. It was only partially his fault. Movies, animes, cartoons, mangas, and others filled people''s heads with the bullshit idea thatpletely opening your shield guard before attacking was the right way to do it. So, instead ofpletely putting aside his shield while attacking like he usually did, Gwen used the duhan''s attacks to force him to only open a small gap in his guard, wide enough for his weapon to pass through but narrow enough to guarantee a modicum of protection while attacking. But bad habits died hard. Fortunately, the duhan would beat the good habits into him by exploiting the opening every time. Willingly or not, Aito would have to correct his bad habits. Unless he wanted bruises and broken bones, he had no choice. His practice session with the duhan over, he rested again with as many bruises as yesterday. But he did notin. Not that Gwen would let him, anyway. Following his recovery, he once again trained Whirlwind, tried to apply what he had learnedst night to no avail. He had yet to train properly with what he came to call the "italian chain attacks," a temporary name until he found a better one, or not. Aito came to a stop after thirty minutes. And likest time, exhausted, he lost consciousness amidst the earth walls with grass as his bed. Night came, Gwen went on with her training session, and so did Aito. After two or three hours practicing his ax techniques and Weight Control, he once again tried his hand at visualization, with little sess. The fourth day of training. Gwen started to see overall improvements in Aito''s techniques and skills. Mostly on the ax-wielding part. It could even be said his technique had improved a lot from just a few days of training. Which, in a sense, was weird. Because it either meant he was a genius, or something else was pushing him to improve faster. Unable to figure out the reason, she simply brushed the matter off her head and focused on something else. Aito''s hygiene. The little man couldn''t bathe since he never went back to his room. Not that she minded hispany 24/7. But Aito''s unpleasant scent started to be noticeable. Of course, she was used to that kind of body odor, since she sometimes had to go for weeks without bathing. Every soldier had. However, whenever possible, even on the frontline, soldiers would take a bath. Moreover, the little man would relieve himself on the grass every night or when nobody was looking. Which pissed her off because she had to deal with his bodily fluids. Even if it took her a mere thought, it was still unpleasant. To remedy that, she summoned public bathrooms and even a public bath challengers could use every day. Surprisingly, it was weed by most people. Normally, she would keep that kind of facility to herself. It wasn''t her job to y share house manager. But if it could prevent her from turning into a garbage collector, the moderator would dly do it. The sixth day of training. Aito''s improvements in ax-wielding techniques were fearsomely quick, taking into ount he had been at it for just a few days. First and foremost, after two days, Aito realized the real purpose behind training against a steel duhan wasn''t to destroy it, but to correct his bad habits. So he no longer tried to "dismantle" the steel armor and focused on improving his technique. The duhan had fewer opportunities tond a hit. It was attacking with the same patterns, so Aito got used to them quickly. That aside, it helped him correct a few mistakes and unnecessary moves like imbnce caused by poor footwork. Or hit a target with too much strength when only a small amount was needed. Moreover, against a steel duhan and with a wooden ax, there was no point hitting the empty armor with mindless brute strength. Also, Aito learned to use his shield less frequently. Instead, he would dodge and try to maximize the efficiency of his parries. Only blocking strikes when necessary. At least that was the theory he struggled to apply. Although he wasn''t proficient with it yet, he was making good progress. Those overall improvements were enough to be seen and acknowledged by Gwen. But to avoid inting Aito''s ego and turn him into a conceited person¡ªwhich he wasn''t¡ªthe moderator kept it to herself. However, if he kept improving at this rate, she did n on rewarding him with something.. All hard work deserved rewards after all¡ªthough she didn''t know what to give him, yet. Chapter 62 - Morphoweapons (part1) The seventh day of training. Upon waking up from a good night of sleep, Aito asked Gwen for an hour of free time this morning. Saying he had to buy supplies and check on an order he had ced with a certain minerian. As long as he would catch up on his training when he came back, she saw no issues in giving him free time. Not that Aito nned on listening to her if she hadn''t agreed. He was his own man and would remain his own man. Settling his double-headed ax on his shoulder, and the backpack he retrieved from Gwen, who had emptied its content inside her inventory, Aito headed for the second floor while keeping an eye out for a poor bastard named Sam. The baldy hasn''t shown his shiny head this morning on the third floor to reach the fourth floor as the other challengers did. In fact, he had stopped ascending the Tower since Aito''s arrival. As for why the reason was clear to him. The talkative baldy was probably lying in ambush somewhere or preparing something in the shadows. Aito was quite surprised by the man''s perseverance. If Sam had to act, it would be today. But doing so would prove difficult for him since the moderators of the second floor were active during daytime. So the chances of an ambush were low but possible. Aito kept his guard up at all times while passing through the near-empty streets of the second floor. At this time of the day, most people were ascending the Tower, and a few were clearing their daily quest on the third floor. The daily quest was nothing fancy. One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run. All that for a measly 100 TPs. Though, Aito wouldn''t spit on a bit of pocket money and did it every day during his warm-up period. Aito''s first stop was a grocery store located in the food district. He bought some dried meat, vegetables, indigos, and other fruits. Just enough tost until the end of his training. His second stop was the magic district where he bought a few inventory bags to benefit from their peculiar, yet practical, feature. The ability to keep food safe from rotting. A normal inventory also had that feature, something he knew all too well since he had used it on the ind to safeguard his supplies from maggots. It was an expensive investment, but a necessary one. He stored all the food he had previously bought inside them, then settled the inventory bags inside his backpack in a particr order aimed at finding his targeted food more easilyter. The bottom of the backpack was for meat, the middle for vegetables, and the top for fruits. However, after rethinking it, he realized the inventory bags would just get jumbled up at some point. So he stopped by a shop in the bazar district selling books, paper, pens, etc. Bought a glue stick, a few sheets, and a poor-looking pen carved in wood for cheap. Surprisingly, it wasn''t a magic item but one that worked normally¡­ like a normal pen found on Earth. Using the glue, he stuck small sheets of paper marked with keywords on each inventory bag. This way, he wouldn''t mix things up and find the content more easily. Aito''s next stop was the one he had been waiting for the most, Ainar''s shop. When Aito arrived, the minerian was working on a mana core with an unknown tool that looked like a stylet. Its most distinctive feature was a long needle that glowed blue. Probably infused with mana or aura. "Morning, Aina¡ª" Aito tried to say, but the minerian stopped him with a severe meaningful re. Aito tranted it to "stay quiet until I''m done, boy." He grunted in response but didn''t oppose Ainar. He stepped to the side, and with nothing else to do, started to peruse the minerian''s merchandises disyed on racks. Spears, shields, swords, hammers, axes. Ainar seemed to have it all. Most weapons were crafted with materials he knew of. Steel, iron, and wood. However, there were a fewposed of bones. Intrigued, he picked up a small crossbow crafted from a mix of wood and bones. What was really unusual about it was some sort of small ammunition magazine made of wood. He removed the magazine, looked inside only to find two beads at the bottom he supposed were used to store ammunition. ''Interesting,'' he thought, thinking about how useful that weapon could be. But he wasn''t equipped to wield it correctly. His ranged skills effectiveness lied in weapon throws, more precisely ax throws. ''Still¡­ it''s tempting. No, no, no. Only buy what you need.'' Seeing the minerian was still working on a mana core, Aito put down the crossbow and walked as far away from it as he could. He ended up looking at the shield section, where shields of various shapes were neatly disyed on wooden racks. Aito grabbed a 1.5-meter long rectangle tower shield that could protect his entire body if he crouched behind it. It was made of ayer of wood supporting ayer of steel. He supposed it was crafted this way to cut the material cost in half. True or false, he didn''t know. Unsuiting his fighting style since he was used to round shields, he put it down. Then something else caught his attention. A round metal shield. On both side¡ªface and back side¡ªit had two thin long lines meeting each other at the center that separated the shield into four equal parts. Intrigued, Aito picked it up, armed himself with it, and noticed a mana core inserted in the metallic grip. Out of pure curiosity, he infused mana into it, activating theplex mechanism hidden inside the shield''s structure. Instantly, the wheelwork inside creaked. The left part of the shield opened, and the other three parts mechanically moved to store themselves inside the left part. The round shield had transformed into a triangr one akin to a piece of pizza. It had gained in thickness by sacrificing its width. Aito rapidly realized there were three advantages to this strange shield. First, obviously, it was retractable, thus could upy less space on his arm in this smaller form, increasing the maneuverability of his left arm. Meaning he could grab a double-handed ax with two hands while having a shield at the ready if necessary. In case he needed protection while wielding his two-meter ax, he could quickly erge the shield and return to a one-handed grip. Second, he could use the pointy pizza tip to stab his enemies. A negligible advantage to most, but it could be useful in various situations. Lastly, it looked cool. Chapter 63 - Morphoweapons (part 2) "Put that down, boy. It''s no use to someone who fights with a double-handed ax." Ainar said, looking at him from his counter on which the Ancient Shard had appeared from who knows where. "Actually, I''m more familiar with a shield and a one-handed ax. I do, however, use two-handed ones when necessary. At least when I have the luxury to swap between these two weapons." Aito replied, putting down the shield. "What it is exactly? Some kind of multi-purpose weapon?" "It''s a morpho-weapon or morpho for short," Ainar exined, grinning at the possibility to sell a merchandise. He then grabbed a one-handed sword and heather shield. By infusing mana into both items, he activated the hidden mechanisms. The heather shield rapidly opened in three equal parts. The middle part turned out to be a sheath where Ainar inserted the de. Once inside, the sword''s de and pommel lengthened. Ainar then drew the weapon as the other two parts of the shield closed, forming a smaller heather shield. In Ainar''s hand, instead of a one-hand sword, was now a two-handed long sword. "And all it took me was 0.5 seconds from the moment my de connected with the shield." He said, seemingly proud of his work. "Very practical in battle. The versatility it offers, allows the user to quickly swap weapons. Of course, you could argue that it''s useless when you can store your weapons inside an inventory bag and use it to quickly swap. But the reality is, sometimes you do not have time to do so when you''re in a tough spot." What the minerian said made sense. Even when Aito had had the inventory on the ind, it still required him a considerable amount of focus to switch and select the weapons. "Focus" he could have used on something else than picking items from a blue ethereal window or, in this case, an inventory bag. Moreover, he could indeed find himself in a situation where he wouldn''t be able to ess the inventory bag. Also, an inventory bag wouldn''t necessarily give him the weapon he needed immediately unless Aito stuffed it with only the chosen weapon. But that would be a waste of space in his opinion. "I genuinely think, it''s truly worth the purchase," Ainar said, clearly inciting Aito to buy a morpho. "At least until you reach the level to create your own inventory." "It is tempting, but let''s first talk about what I came to see you for," Aito said, hinting at the shiny rock on the counter. "Did you find out anything concerning this¡­ rock?" "Right,e closer then," Ainar said, putting aside the morpho while waiting for Aito to stand in front of him. "Hum, where should I begin? You see, this¡­ thing whatever it is, cannot be called a metal, but can also be called one." "That''s an awfully confusing answer, Ainar." "Tsk, just let me finish, boy." The inventor said, before grabbing an iron stick. "This rock has the properties of a metal, no doubt about it. It smells like one and tastes like one." Confused, Aito furrowed his brows and sent the minerian aplicated gaze. "I''m called a minerian for a reason, boy. My race has close ties with metals and minerals in general because our bodies are mostlyposed of them." He said, showing his rocky forearm. "Because of it, you could say we have a gift for sniffing metals. Identify theirposition. As if we''re able to hear it talking to us. Put it simply, and inly, they are our cousins." "Ehm¡­ sure." Aito reply, not knowing what would be appropriate to say. At first, he thought the minerian was joking but only read seriousness on its rocky, bumpy face. Ainar was a real open book. "That''s what makes us good smith, but also endanger our species." He said with a gloomy look. "Anyway, that rock of yours is unusual. It is harder than steel but still can''t measure to harnium, the second-best metal in Iris and durnium, which I only had the pleasure to work with a handful of times in my entire life. Butpared to those, it has one trait I''ve never seen before." Ainar handed over a wooden shield to Aito and asked him to protect himself with it. Although skeptical, Aito did as he was asked. Then, the minerian brandished his iron rod on top of his head. It soon glowed yellow, showing the activation of Durability, then brought it down on the Ancient Shard. Upon making contact, the rod shattered. Multiple pieces or iron propelled in random directions, some of them bounced off Aito''s shield and Ainar''s thick skin. One of the perks of being a minerian was being covered in raw metal, which provided minerians with an incredible body resistant to physical damage. "d you had a shield now, boy? Hehehe." Ainar said, half-mocking Aito''s shocked face. "Just what happened?" Aito replied, unable to process the phenomenon. In response, Ainar grabbed another iron rod and hit the Ancient Shard again, without using Durability this time. Aito lifted his shield up for fear of iron shards piercing his body, but the expected oue didn''t happen. Instead, the iron rod just bounced off the shiny rock. "Do you understand now?" Ainar asked, smirking. "Incredible¡­" Aito said, almost speechless. Ainar''s test showed that the Ancient Shard violently repelled the iron rod when coated with Durability, a skill using aura which was a mix of mana and soul power. But when he had hit the shiny rock with the uncoated iron rod, the violent reaction had been nowhere to be seen. From this experiment, Aito could guess that the Ancient Shard rejected aura. And since aura coated the outside but also the inside of an item, acting on the molecr level, shattering upon touching the Ancient Shard was inevitable. Basically, it was an anti-aura rock. Aito then thought back to his arrival when he had shattered Sam''s sword, that had been coated with Durability, using his Ancient Shard. ''It makes more sense now.'' "However, the rock does ept mana." Ainar said, "Which means aura isn''t what it rejects, but soul power. In fact, this thing absorbs mana like I eat charcoal for sustainment. It feeds itself with mana. At least when it''s whole." The minerian brought out a small piece of shiny rock from under his counter and showed it to Aito, who was starting to wonder if there was an inventory inside this furniture. "I''ve extracted a piece of this shiny rock using harnium tools and guess what happens when it''s not connected with the mother piece," Ainar said, speaking with apparent passion while forgoing the fact he had extracted a piece without asking the owner first. "It receives mana normally, like any other metal, but keeps its anti-aura property. Moreover, just a day after I''ve cut it out, the mother piece regenerated, growing back the exact same amount of rock that had been extracted." "What are you getting at?" Aito asked. Ainar sighed, seemingly drained speaking with an ignorant. "Don''t you get it? I''m saying there is a high possibility that inside this rock, resides a living¡­ thing.. The metal is only its outer shell protecting what''s at the center of it." Chapter 64 - Deal (part1) "But¡­ how?" Aito asked, more in actual astonishment than for the sake of getting an answer. He thought that at first, Valinar, the dead goddess of bravery, had given him some kind of magical metal to help him in his endeavor. The kind of unbreakable, legendary, super-duper-killing-god-kind of metal¡ªat least he had hoped so. Well, in a sense, it was a magical rock since it could repel aura. The minerian said there was a high possibility of a living thing hiding at the center of the stone as if it was an egg of sorts. Furthermore, the metal protecting whatever was inside could regenerate. Meaning it could only be something important, precious. He certainly hoped it wasn''t some kind of industrial toy hiding inside. If that were the case, he''d sign aint to the goddess of bravery. It''d make for a poor reward, after all. How-the-very-ever, in his opinion, it was also extremely suspicious. If it weren''t, then why hadn''t Valinar talked about the potential surprise hiding inside? "I don''t know, boy," Ainar replied, shrugging. "I''ve tried to open it, but the closer I got to the center, the faster the regeneration. To the point of being visible to the naked eye. Regenerating faster than I could carve a piece out. Truly fascinating." "Fascinating?" Aito asked, confused. The minerian was obviously passionate, which was not Aito''s case. He only wanted the result. He''d leave the how, what, when, where, whatever-stuff to the minerian. "Yeah, it''s not every day I see that kind of rock, boy. In fact, I''ve never seen anything like this before. And believe me when I say strange materials are my specialty. Fiery rocks, scales emitting electricity, hide tougher than steel. I''ve studied all sorts of weird materials, but this¡­ this is something else." Ainar said, clearly interested in spending more time studying Aito''s item. "If I leave it with you for a while, do you think you''ll be able to crack it open?" Aito asked, taking notice of the minerian''s growing interest in the rock. If he could take advantage of that to incite the minerian to study it, then why not? "Boy, who do you think you''re talking to?" Ainar said, slightly puffing his chest to manifest his pride in his abilities, but not too much as to avoid over-exaggeration. He was past the age of being conceited. He''d leave that to those boys and girls ascending the Tower. "A thousand-year-old minerian whom, ording to Roan, is one of the best cksmiths in existence," Aito said, before adding. "But I''ve actually never been able to test out your products. And it seems you aren''t capable to identify a simple rock." Ainar scoffed, "Let me rify a few things, human boy. I have mastered cksmithing and magic engineering, which makes me an inventor. A title few can brag about. Also, I dare you to find someone else in this scrog''s ass ce who can identify the content of this rock. And if you''re so intent on testing out my work, how about buying it before opening your toothy mouth?" ''Bingo,'' Aito thought, thinking how prideful the minerian was. Ainar seemed like a reasonable person who wouldn''t get angered bymon insults. However, the minerian appeared to take great pride in his profession. Something Aito intended to use to his advantage. He had two objectives ining here. First, identify the Ancient Shard to know its origin. Two, order new equipment with which he could ascend the Tower. After giving it some thought, he intended to use all his TPs before fighting his way to the tenth floor. Why? Because Tutorial Points could only be used inside the Tower¡ªat least that''s what he thought. What''s more, to his knowledge, TPs couldn''t be used on other floors. He could be wrong, but in the case, he was right, what would be the point of keeping TPs then? Better spend them wisely where he could. Since he didn''t n on returning to the second floor after starting to climb the Tower, there was no point in holding on his TPs. It was a better investment to spend them on equipment. After using Ogoro''s knowledge topare Ainar''s weapons and armors with those found in the other districts, Aito came to the conclusion that Ainar might indeed be the best smit¡ª¡­correction, inventor in the Tower and intended to order tailor-made equipments. Aito already had a somewhat good armor, but it didn''t fit him perfectly and could sometimes hinder his movements. That was one of the reasons he also wanted a new armor. He was stirring Ainar for that purpose. Although it could also be a double-edge knife resulting in Ainar refusing the order he was about to ce, it could also do the exact opposite. Increasing the quality of the equipment the minerian would produce because of his desire to show Aito his skills. "Certainly," Aito said, smirking provocatively. "If you can promise me, it''ll hold until I reach the tenth floor, that is." At those words, Ainar''s angered facial expression immediately changed to one of surprise. "You intend to clear the Tower?" "Yes." "Bahahahaha!" Ainarughed, his deep voice resounding through the whole street, erasing his anger. His shoulders repeatedly moved up and down. As ifughing in ridicule to the joke too. Aito sighed, wondering why everyone he told that to wouldugh like it was the funniest joke ever told. Gwen had the same reaction. Only Roan had taken him seriously, but¡­ the guide was a strange man who couldn''t be judged bymon standards. Aito didn''t know if he could be judged at all. "Hahaha! That was a good one, boy." Ainar said, then progressively stoppedughing as he realized Aito''s poker face showed he was serious. The minerian held his gaze as if gauging his determination and finally said, "I see. You seem to know what you''re getting into." "Yes." "If that''s the case, tell me what you need," Ainar said, regaining aposed demeanor. "That''s it?" Aito asked, confused. "No asking me why I''m doing this? No ridiculing me on how foolish I am?" This development seemed unnatural to him, anti-climatic even. He was expecting waves of questions about his motives and sanity. "Nah, I''m too old for that," Ainar shamelessly said, though he had already mocked him. "I admit I was surprised at first, since only fools would try to reach the tenth floor. But a great perk of living for almost a thousand years is that I can rapidly recognize determination from foolishness. And determination is something I can respect. Although foolishness can drive determination. But that''s your problem. So, I''ll ask again, what do you need?" ''What a weird guy¡­'' Aito thought. Switching from augh outburst to a serious expression in no time. The more he interacted with Ainar, the more he saw his simrities with Roan. Ainar didn''t appear to be as unpredictable or easygoing as Roan was, but¡­ he shared that kind of weird wisdom. Albeit the fact that Aito was more inclined in believing the minerian was wise. Roan seemed more¡­ more¡­ for theck of a better term, he seemed more like Roan. "I need durable equipment." Chapter 65 - Deal (part 2) **** BONUS CHAP**** "Define durable," Ainar said. "The kind that won''t break until I clear the Tower," Aito replied. "Boy, no matter how good the armor or weapon, if you don''t know how to use them, they will break before you might clear the Tower." Aito noticed the minerian''s addition of "might" which meant Ainar didn''t believe in his sess, but he simply brushed this detail aside. "Like you said before, that''s my problem.''" Ainar shrugged, then pointed at the racks of weapons, armors, and a few magical items spread around his stall. "I''ve got everything there. Of course, the more expensive the item, the better the quality." "No need, I want tailor-made ones." Tailor-made equipments were better in general than those crafted for the purpose of selling in a shop. The reason was simple; it suits its user better. An armor, like a shirt or any other cloth sold in a store, would never fit Aito as perfectly one that was tailored to his body and needs. Unless he was extremely lucky, but luck wasn''t Aito''s forte these days. Dumped on a deserted ind to survive three months. Do the bidding of a certain divine asshole. Being hunted by a bald maniac thirsting for revenge. That bastard, Sam, had sent someone to spy on him on the third floor while he was training. Aito had noticed his presence a few days ago. And now, the same guy has been tailing him since he had left the training grounds early this morning. ''Yeah¡­ this situation smells as bad as Jack''s feces.'' He thought, thinking that the sect members might prepare an ambush for him somewhere on his return trip to the third floor. "Tailor-made, hum?" Ainar said, rubbing his bumpy chin. "Sure, but do you have the TPs?" "How much?" "That, I don''t know." Ainar said, shrugging. "You''ve yet to tell me what you need." During the past few days, Aito had the time to think about the new equipment he wanted. With Gwen''s training, the inherited memories from Ogoro, he hade to know more about weapons and armors than he ever had before. Which didn''t necessarily mean he was an expert¡ªfar from that, actually. However, thanks to that, he knew what he wanted and promptly exined it to the minerian. A new set of steel armor because the one Sam had kindly provided to him was ufortable. "Is it possible to make it resistant,fortable, easy to equip, and keep the maneuverability high without sacrificing the defensive aspect of the armor?" Aito asked. It was a question he had tackled quite often during his warm-ups. His current full ted armor barely allowed him to lift his knees past the waist. The armor also hindered movements of his shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Not by much, but such minute details could sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Moreover, climbing the Tower d in a medieval armor would be ufortable. For example, he couldn''t quickly take it off for relieving himself. It was also a pain in the ass to suit up alone. "High maneuverability and defense. Hum, that''s quite demanding considering I do not have as many materials and tools at my disposal as I would in my shop outside of the Tower." Ainar said. Aito sighed, disappointed. "Still, I can craft you afortable, easy to wear bnced armor set using the trash you left in my stall before and a few other materials I have here," Ainar said, showing a tattered armguard. "Furthermore, if I use the materials you provide, it''ll cost you fewer TPs." ''The trash?'' Aito thought, remembering his viking armor set he had forgotten in Ainar''s shop before. Originally, it was due for a repair, but if he could use the material to craft a brand new set and lower the cost, all the better. "Sure, if you promise me it''ll be durable," Aito said. "Of course it will," Ainar said, slightly lifting his chin to show his pride. "If you''re not satisfied, I will refund it." "Deal," Aito said, smiling at the poise shown by the minerian. "Anything else, boy?" "Yes." Aito wanted a round steel shieldrge enough to cover at least half of his body. It also must have a good grip and a strap he could use to wear it on his back when needed. "That much is easy, what''s next?" Ainar said. He also needed a pristine one-handed bearded ax, which was an ax with a beard-like de specially made to hook an opponent''s shield and pull on it to create an opening. It could also be used to hook other types of defensive means, like an armored arm or even a weapon. By searching Ogoro''s knowledge on weapons for one that would suit him the most, he had determined the bearded ax to be his destined partner¡ªat least when he was using a one-handed weapon. As for a two-handed weapon, he already had one. However, it had been damaged by Sam when they fought near the Mall''s fountain. So it might need a little repair. Aito then thought back to the morpho weapons he had seen which gave him an idea. "Is it possible to craft a morpho of a one-handed ax transforming into a two-handed ax?" Aito asked, his eyes glinting with hope. Ainar scoffed, "Of course, but it''ll be more expensive." "How much in total?" Aito said, hoping it wouldn''t exceed his budget of 10000 TPs. His training would cost a total of 83000 TPs. Thirty thousand TPs from Gwen''s coaching. Around forty-eight thousand TPs in sixty recovery beads and seven thousand TPs in mana beads¡ªwhich fortunately were much cheaper, considering Aito''s mana beads were of inferior quality. Then there was the cost of the three thousand TPs'' worth of food and four thousand TPs of inventory bags. Aito counted on the daily training quest that would bring him three thousand TPs by the end of thirty days to buy the necessary supplies he would use to climb the Tower. Which left him with 10000 TPs to spend right on equipment. In a nutshell, he was almost broke and hoped his budget would suffice. "Hum, let''s see," Ainar said, rubbing his chin while speaking cut sentences. "The armor set. You provided some of the materials. Hum. This minus that. Since it''s tailor-made. Hum. Added value. 15000 TPs. The morpho-ax? 10000 TPs. Plus the shield. 2500 TPs. So a grand total of 27500 TPs. Anything else you want to add, boy?" Aito''s mouth was wide open, threatening to fall to the floor. He had guessed that Ainar''s equipment would be expensive, but not that expensive. "What''s wrong, boy? You will notin about the price, right? You thought I would be cheap because I''m located in the bazar district? Know that it''s called a bazar because you can find anything here, be it weapons or prostitutes, not because everything is cheap, well the zone was cheaper to rent. Oh, or was it because I only charged you 200 TPs before? If that''s the case, know I''ve only done so because the rock had picked my interest." Aito found his "" on point, but there were too many "because" to his taste. It was true that he had seen a lot of services and merchandise in this area, bed-warming ones included. "Honestly, I can''t pay for all of it. My budget is only 10000 TPs." Aito said, ready to kiss goodbye to the armor set and shield in favor of the morpho ax. Ainar stared from his 1.40 meter heights behind his counter, which apparently served as a workshop too. "If you''re hoping for a discount, my answer is no." "No, of course not," Aito replied. "Good," Ainar said, with a severe-looking face before his gaze settled on the Ancient Shard. He then rubbed his chin, appearing to be ruminating. "There might be another way for you to pay me." Aito''s eyes widened with surprise as a new hope arose. "I''m all ears." "Here''s what I''m offering," the minerian said, cing his hand on the shiny silvery rock. "I''m very much interested in studying this metal. But to do so, I would need tools crafted from this¡­ thing. Considering it''s a one-of-a-kind material, it could be said to be rare and thus expensive. Do you follow me, boy?" "I see where you''re going," Aito said, nodding. "But I cannot give it to you." The minerian intended to keep the stone for research purposes and also use it to craft new tools. Its unique properties would certainly bring unique tools. However, in Aito''s opinion, it wasn''t worth 25000 TPs. The rock''s peculiar ability to regenerate meant Ainar would possibly have an infinite amount of supply of it. Which, honestly, wasn''t worth twenty-five thousand TPs. "I did not mean handing it to me, boy," Ainar said, shaking his head. "What I want is keeping the rock long enough to study it, and your approval to craft myself some tools with pieces of it." Sensing an opportunity to gain more than what he has ordered, Aito said, "Hum, considering the rock''s extraordinary property to violently repel aura and the possibility of it being the only one in existence, I''d say your demand is worth over 25000 TPs, don''t you think?" Ainar scoffed, then grabbed a piece of charcoal from under his counter and chew on it. Compared to other races, minerians could eat rocks and minerals of all kinds. Ainar had a habit of eating when frustrated or grumpy¡ªwhich happened quite often in Roan''spany. "Did that scrog of a merchant tainted you with his shady ways?" Ainar said, swallowing his food. "Who?" "Never mind, let me make you another offer," Ainar grunted, shaking his hand to brush the matter off. He then walked to a weapon rack, grabbed a small crossbow, and came back behind his counter. "Here, I''ve seen you staring at it with a fanboy-like expression earlier." Ashamed, Aito looked sideways, grunted, but took the item anyway. In his hand, the crossbow feltfortable, perfectly bnced, and heavier than expected. Probably four or five kilograms. Taking into ount the fact it measured barely a little less than forty centimeters long, it was indeed considerable. "It''s called a Repeater, a standard military small crossbow used for short-ranged targets by archer sses," Ainar said, then pointed at the wooden magazine located under the foregrip. "Of course, since I made it, it''s of better quality. It can hold up to forty bolts thanks to the four inventory beads inside it. Compare to the usual ones, it''s capable of firing two bolts per second instead of one bolt per second. At point-nk, it could even damage steel armor. Hit the same spot two or three times and it''ll pierce through steel. Now, try to infuse mana into the grip." Intrigued, Aito did as he was asked. His mana traveled into the grip, it then spread to the magazine, entering an inventory bead to free a bolt that got automatically lifted by springs to the flight groove as the crossbow''s string was pulled and lock on thetch. Just like that, in less than half a second, the crossbow was ready to fire. Aito''s eyes sparkled with interest as he thought about using the weapon to practice marksmanship using Ogoro''s memories. He''d continue to wield axes as his main weapon, but like a certain quote said: "having more than one string to its bow, is always better than one." In other words, being able to use more than one weapon was helpful. Then ensued a bunch of bbering and haggling, with both parties trying to determine the fairer price¡ªmeaning what could be more advantageous to one another. At the end of it, Aito exited the shop with a content expression under the gaze of a grumpy minerian, which he was supposed to meet here at the end of his training in 23 days. His joyful mood, however, was soon sullied by the grim reminder of someone following him around, announcing an iing storm. Chapter 66 - Just Perusing Passing by stalls, shops, beggars, and a few pleasure people (prostitutes). He kept his guard up for an eventual attack while ying with a fragment of the Ancient Shard in his pocket to canalize his anxiousness. Behind him, the sect''s henchman wearing a grey cloak was doing a poor job of keeping a low profile. Aito entered a magic item shop, used his remaining ten thousand TPs to buy ten more recovery beads and a few mana beads, then finally headed for the third floor. On his way, he saw a few challengers remaining on the second floor running towards the fountain. Judging from their snippets of conversation Aito overheard, some people were causing amotion at the Mall''s central ce and possibly elsewhere. Attracting the two moderators'' attention. ''Not my problem,'' he thought. Thinking how stupid it was to run watch amotion for the sake of entertainment as if it were a show. ''But I can take advantage of that.'' Aito hadn''t taken care of his stalker because he feared the consequences it could bring upon him. Not the sect, but the moderators. Those who were caught killing someone would be put into jail, known as the floor zero¡ªalthough that only happened in cases when a moderator was pissed off. Also, the moderators needed to catch them doing the deed. Never did theyunch investigations. Because it was an unwritten rule that killing a fellow challenger was also part of the Tower''s daily life. Meaning part of the training. So, as long as Aito wasn''t busted, he would be fine. At some point, when he felt the moment was right, he grabbed the repeater (his new crossbow) armed it, slowed down his walking cadence to reduce the distance between him and his stalker, then suddenly turned around to shoot a bolt at the henchman, only to miss by a small margin. Now that he knew he was discovered, the henchman fled like a chicken chased by a fox. Too bad for him, the fox was equipped with a repeater. The fox shot multiple times at his prey, the running speed making his aim uncertain, shaky. With determination, perseverance, and a bit of luck, he managed to shoot the running chicken in the leg, who lost a few feathers in the process. An unbearable pain assailed the chicke... henchman as he lost his bnce, crashed against the ground and screamed in pain at the sight of a bolt piercing his leg from one side through the other. "AAAAh¡ª" Aito grabbed his mouth, interrupting the man''s scream. Then he ced his repeater against the man''s groins while keeping his finger on the trigger. He progressively pressed the weapon against the henchman''s "two purses" while peering into the stalker''s eyes with a fearsome re. "I''m going to leave you four choices," Aito said, tightening his grip on the man''s neck. "One, you tell me what I want to know and I let you live. Two, you die. Three, you die. Four, die. Now, pick." The man''s arms trembled. His shoulders trembled. His legs trembled. In fact, his entire body trembled from fear as a bolt pointy tip pressed against the man''s groins. However, his fidelity to the sect pushed him to reveal nothing of the trap awaiting Aito. At least that was what he thought would happen. *** A few broken bones and gaping woundster, the man exined everything Aito had kindly asked him to reveal. Which, by the way, wasn''t enough to be breaking news. To put it in a nutshell, dozens of sect members were awaiting his arrival in disguise next to the staircase. As promised, Aito left the man alive¡ªhe''d soon die of blood loss anyway¡ªwithout forgetting to borrow for an indefinite period of time the stalker''s possessions. Wearing the man''s cloak, he set for the staircases leading to the third floor with an additional inventory bag containing a few recovery beads, mana beads, and even soul cores! A real treasure trove, considering he needed those desperately. Although he did wonder why that man had those items on him. Aito passed by almost empty streets, thinking about his options, which were: 1) Do absolutely nothing about the ambush. Wait it out until themotions died down, and the moderators do their jobs. 2) Run into the trap willingly, like a raging bull. Rampaging their ranks to show them what he was made of. 3) A mix of both previous options. Use his newfound cloak to hide his identity, determine the surroundings. Kick their asses when/if the odds were in his favor. ''Yeap sounds like the best option,'' he thought. The most logical choice would have been the first. But what would it result in? If he didn''t show his teeth, they would only try to take advantage of his passiveness. He needed to send them a clear message: nobody messed with him. Plus, they could serve as good practice partners to see how much he had grown after a week of training and see what he could improve. He soon arrived close to the staircase leading up and stopped at a nearby stall to pretend perusing the merchandise. In fact, dozens of men wearing grey cloaks simr to his were doing the exact same thing. Poor costumes for poor actors. Who the heck had the idea of dressing all of them in grey cloaks? Common challengers all wore their equipment proudly in broad daylight. Those guys stood out like white stains on a ck wall. Or like Jack''s feces next to the French brand, L''Or*al''s perfume. Judging by the shop owners'' unsatisfied faces, those sect fools had probably been doing so for quite a while now. Their acting was terrible. They would have won an Oscar for it, albeit a stic one delivered inedy shows. ''1¡­ 6¡­ 15¡­ 17¡­ 20¡­ and more?'' Aito thought, counting their numbers. ''Wow, I''m ttered. Sam went all out. Bastard.'' There were dozens of them in the street and five actually posing as a group of friends awkwardly talking to each other next to the staircase. "Can I help you, challenger?" A woman wearing a long blue robe asked behind her counter. "No, thank you. I''m just perusing." The woman clicked her tongue, apparently tired of having people perusing her articles this morning. Aito turned back his attention to the sect members surrounding him while checking from time to time the memory beads the woman had to offer, avoiding crossing eyes with the other "actors" in the scene. Then, two cloaked figures turned towards him. One giant person apanied by a small one. Aito prepared his crossbow while having his hand in an inventory bag only stuffed with his double-handed ax. Showing this huge weapon outside would have exposed him at first sight. But as the two cloaked figures neared him, he soon recognized the grey-haired man he had talked to during lunch breaks, whose cloak barely fit his huge frame, making it easier to distinguish his signature grey hair. "What are you doing here, Ogoro?" Aito asked, holding his repeater at the ready. To him, if Ogoro was here, posing as a buyer like the others, it could only mean one thing. He was part of the sect. Instantly, Ogoro''spanion prepared his bow. But Ogoro signaled the person to calm down. "Are you with them?" Aito asked, speaking in a low volume to avoid being overheard by the challengers surrounding them. "We''re just taking a stroll, since it seems to be an entertaining morning," Ogoro said, using his index finger to draw a circle in the air, hinting at the people posing as buyers. "All the challengers training on the third floor suddenly came down to watch those unusual events taking ce here. It''s pretty clear to me what''s this all about though." Aito sighed and rxed his grip on the repeater. Those words were enough for him to guess why the man was here. Ogoro has been bugging him about repaying his debt during every lunch break when he wasn''t talking about his sister or how he would like to help others in this life, or just some other random topics. Problem was, Aito didn''t feel like leaving his back to someone else. Even if he started to appreciate the man, there was no real reason to trust him. However, almost one week of talking with the man during lunch breaks had taught him one thing, Ogoro was a stubborn fellow. "Just leave with whoever is apanying you, Ogoro," Aito said, hinting at the person hiding his face. "I don''t need help." "See? That bastard doesn''t need help." The person next to Ogoro said, with clear discontent. "Let''s go, Goro." "Bastard?" Aito said, perplexed. "Who the fuck are you to call me that?" "None of your concern." The person replied. "That Filona-like voice¡­" Aito said, suddenly remembering a certain woman he had saved around a month ago. That woman had replied exactly the same sentence with underlying disgust when Aito had asked about Ogoro''s state. "You''re that ungrateful woman." "Well, she can be a bit spiky and cold, but I wouldn''t call She ungrateful¡­ hum¡­ right?" Ogoro said, poking at his sister''s side. "I am grateful for your help. Here, I said it. Happy?" She said, eyeing at Ogoro before adding. "But he''s still a shameless bastard." A vein bulged on Aito''s forehead as he heard the spiteful woman''s reply. He hadn''t expected her to prostrate herself like Ogoro had. A simple "thank you" would have sufficed. It was the least she could do after he had risked his life to save her ungrateful ass. But no, the insufferable woman wasn''t even capable to form a sentence even a five-year-old could. She didn''t even look at him when talking. As if she was ignoring his presence. On top of that, she called him a "shameless bastard" without a proper reason. Well, maybe she had a good reason. If she was who Aito thought she was, then yeah. He had yet to take a closer look at her face, so he couldn''t be certain. And his memories of the red trial were blurred with zombies. After a week undergoing hellish training on the third floor, he had seen the woman quite a few times from afar. It hadn''t been difficult to recognize her. After all, the only person Aito saw her speak to was Ogoro. From that point, it had been easy to piece the puzzle. For some reason, she had avoided him until now. As if she had established an invisible security barrier, he wasn''t allowed to pass. "Oh, I''m truly touched by your sincere boundless gratefulness," Aito said with a sarcastic tone¡ªstill in a low volume. "But I wonder, does ''shameless bastard'' trante to ''thank you'' where you''re from? The System doesn''t seem to pick up yournguage correctly. Maybe I''ll get an update soon. Ah¡­ wait. Nope, doesn''t show. Probably because you''re just in ungrateful." "Calm down," Ogoro intervened, putting himself in between the two while inspecting the surrounding sect members, who were starting to take an interest in their conversations. "Although I appreciate that you two seem to get along, I don''t think it''s the right ce for a talk." Realizing what was happening around them, She stopped bickering with Aito and clicked her tongue. At that particr moment, appeared someone Aito hadn''t seen for an entire week and would soone to regret that guy hadn''t disappeared forever. There was Roan with a beaming smile. The only one wearing a cloak of a different color. The only one standing in the middle of the street staring at him suspiciously, until¡­ "If it isn''t the ck challenger!" He eximed, his voice echoing in the almost silent street. He strode towards Aito as if he was excited to hear about his one-week adventure in the Tower¡ªthough not much really happened since thest time they met. At those words, the dozens of cloaked figures in the street turned towards Roan, then Aito, who was already drawing his giant ax. "Really?" Ogoro said, drawing his long sword despite Aito''s refusal for his help. "Dumbass," She cursed, nocking an arrow on her bowstring. "Did you do that on purpose, you bastard?" Aito said, starting to activate Durability to coat his armor and weapon. "Hun? What are you¡­" An arrow aimed at Aito flew by him, missing Roan by a tiny bit, and rebounded on Aito''s full ted armor coated with Durability. "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shi¡ª" Chapter 67 - Elementalists Aito grabbed Roan, pulled him to safety, dashed towards his targets, followed by Ogoro. Toote to oppose, he silently epted his help¡ªnot that the stubborn guy would have given him a choice, anyway. Aito rapidlycerated two warriors who hadn''t had the time to activate Durability, finishing the third one with a shot from his repeater at point-nk. Impossible to miss. Brain matters sshed on the ground. Ogoro moved aside while blocking a sword strike with the t of his de, thus creating an opening for him to grab his opponent''s trachea and crush it. Two arrows from She flew by his shoulders, lodging themselves in two warrior''s heads. Another iing sect member went for Aito, who was already quite busy with four men. Ogoro stood in the sect member''s way, deflected the sword strike, kicked the man in the balls. It didn''t prove effective. Turned out, it was a woman. Never mind, he decapitated her. Then aimed with his crossbow at another to his right, but Ogoro had already cut his throat. Behind the both of them, She shot an arrow at an archer hiding behind enemy lines. The arrow struck true, lodging itself in a woman''s frontal globe. Aito dashed to his next targets, three henchmen wearing leather armors. Armed with swords and shields. An arrow rebounded on his armor, another one met his ax mid-air. Within range of his targets, Aito took a wide swing. Steel met steel. Durability met Durability. Life met Death. This time, since he also had Durability on, the clocks have been reset, thus he could disy his actual strength. Thus, they would suffer. Thus, they would know pain. When facing an opponent''s armor coated in Durability, Aito no longer hesitated. He wouldn''t exactly slice through it, but pretty close. It was enough to create a bloodbath. On his right, Ogoro moved his swords gracefully, aiming for the weak spots unprotected by armors. His long sword was also coated with Durability, but the yellow color seemed to have only one-third of his opponent''s intensity. Nevertheless, he did a good job killing people. Worried about getting shot in the rear, Aito turned to see She grab arrows from an inventory bag attached to her belt. She shot arrows after arrows, only missing a rarely. Rarely being one time. Suddenly, Aito''s Intuition red up. A swordsman was about to go for Aito''s throat when his own throat was pierced by an arrow. ''Don''t look back. Just don''t look back.'' Aito told himself. If he did, he would have to thank that woman for her assistance. Though, he had to admit, having people helping him felt great. Despite having never worked together before, they surprisingly made a good team¡ªforgoing the fact that Ogoro would sometimes kill-steal Aito''s kills and also that he nced back from time to time to check up on She. Not because he was worried for her, but because he was worried she''d aim for him. The five sect members who were posing as party members near the staircase ran in their direction, drawn by themotion. Three of them, warrior sses, entered the fray, while the two others stayed behind. They both stretched their hands, concentrating. Aito wondered what they were doing, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of two fireballs twice the size of a coconut appearing. It was his first encounter with mage sses. Two elementalists, to be exact. Ogoro dismembered his opponent, left him to die from blood loss, and quickly took cover behind the invisible barriers covering a stall that had immediately activated to protect the owner, who was watching the fight while eating something akin to popcorn. Or was it actually popcorn? Those invisible barriers were the reason the shop owners could leave their merchandise in in sight during CDs. While avoiding friendly fire, both elementalistsunched their fireballs at Aito, who was still candid about magic and ignored how deadly it could be or not. Not that he cared. Thus, he simply firmed his grip on the ax which was glowing in yellow light as he used the t side of his ax head to bitch p both fireballs like he would when ying baseball. A heatwave momentarily struck Aito as both spells disappeared, only leaving soon to be extinguished mes and burnt marks on his weapon that could be cleaned after a bit of rubbing. He, however, apart from reddened skin from the heat, was still alive and kicking. The remaining sect members gulped. Who would be mad enough to physically defend against spells without a proper shield? Little did they know they had overestimated their capabilities. Level 1 spells weren''t that powerful after all. It was, however, impressive for humans who had never seen magic before to watch fireballsunched at one''s face. Screams and cries for help echoed in the street, where merchants sipped on tea or ate food while watching a gory show they seemed ustomed to. Dodging arrows. Shooting arrows. shing heads. Bitch pping fireballs. It didn''t take long for Aito, Ogoro, and She to dispatch the rest, only leaving one of the elementalist alive. "Hahaha! You bunch of weaklings shouldn''t have messed with the ck challenger!" Roan said,ing out of his hiding ce. Then he eyed Ogoro and She, before adding, "And them too..." Aito sent him a threatening re tranting to "Shut up. I''ll deal with youter." "Please! Spare my life! I''ll do anything!" The woman elementalist said, trembling and wetting herself. "Where is Sam?" Aito asked, pointing his repeater at the woman''s throat. "Who''s that?" "The talkative baldy." "Ah, the manager? If I tell you where he is, will you let me live?" She said, appearing to realize who Aito was talking about. Aito nodded. He wasn''t one to lie. The elementalist pushed a sigh of relief and said, "He''s been imprisoned by the moderators earlier today when he was caught during the beginning of the operation." "That''s anti-climatic," Ogoro said, cleaning his de on a dead man''s cloak. She stayed silent and pulled an arrow out of a corpse. Though, her facial expression clearly highlighted the same point of view as her brother. "Damn it," Aito cursed. He had wanted to deal with the man himself. And there Sam went, getting his shiny head caught. "Then why did you continue the operation?" "The order came from above. The sect master himself. Not the talkativ¡ª the manager." Aito sighed. Visibly, he wasn''t done with that sect. Couldn''t they just leave him alone? What the heck did they even want? Filona''s panties? He didn''t have them. Then Aito left the woman and proceeded to collect the sweet loot lying around before a moderator came by. That''s when he heard the woman''s scream. As he turned around, he saw Ogoro cleaning his de once again. "I gave her my word I''d let her live," Aito said. "Yeah, but I didn''t," Ogoro replied, a glint of madness and sadness in his eyes. He hadn''t killed humans since his revival. Even though he liked killing, he also despised it. A really weird mentality for a killer. Ogoro could feel their souls weighing upon his shoulders. He could have spared that woman, but she deserved her fate in his eyes.. "She did throw fireballs at us after all." Chapter 68 - Telekinesist Aito, Ogoro, and She rapidly collected their loots, aka inventory bags, armors, and weapons. Roan watched from the side, humming innocently as if none of this carnage was his concern. Once done, Roan followed the trio as they started to head for the third floor, nning on sharing the loot equally in a nearby safe zone. Aito wasn''t interested in equipment, only magical items the like of recovery beads. Even better, soul cores. Those would help him level up. Something he''d need to ascend the Tower. However, an invisible barrier the like of the ones covering every stall in the street prevented them from walking up the staircase. With a bad feeling bubbling inside him, Aito turned around to see one of the second-floor moderators. Maba, a lean man with short curly hair, dark skin, as tall as Aito, was dressed in a blue robe on which a symbol depicting a book had been sewed on the backside. Clearly showing his allegiance to the god of wisdom and ss as a mage. His big lips curved into a satisfied grin. Challengers have been messing around with him and Sara, the other moderator, since this morning for no apparent reason other than satiating their desire for anarchy. Normally, he wouldn''t outright throw them in floor zero. Moderators rarely did so. But he had grown tired of their little game. One incident every once in a while was eptable. But four in almost every district on the same day at almost the exact same time, involving two or three challengers fighting in the street. Now that was called an operation. One aimed at them. So, of course, he was angry at being led around by mere Level 1s. What''s more, those fools weren''t even fighting to the death. They had clearly been faking it. "Now that is a realmotion," Maba said, scanning the bloody area with his brown eyes. "*Cough* *cough*," Roan¡­ coughed, to attract the moderator''s attention. "Before you draw any unnecessary, untimely, and unjustified conclusion, may I narrate to you how all this¡­ bloody mess really, truly, exactly¡ª*muffle sounds* *muffle sounds* *muffle sounds*." Maba cast a silence spell on Roan. One he personally called the Shut-Up spell. The red-haired man''s lips wouldn''t part, no matter how much he tried voicing out hisint. Aito, as well as the siblings, tried to move, but Maba turned towards them. Covered by a barely perceptible, formless energy, his fingers blurred as he immobilized the challenger''s movements. More precisely, he controlled their equipment. Leather and steel armors alike. Aito''s body could still move, but trapped in his armor¡­ well, he was limited. He thought about using his Ancient Shard to free himself since spells also used aura, but it was out of reach. "There is nothing to exin. I have caught you killing and you''ll pay for it." Maba said, his voice, stern. His gaze, cold. "All those lives¡­ died a useless death because of you." Ogoro tried to talk, but was also silenced. Apparently, the mage-moderator wasn''t really incline on knowing the truth. Did it matter, though? Maba was a man of fact who only believed what he saw or experienced himself. It was his scientific side. The challengers could try to talk their way out of it, but the facts were there. Clear as daylight, albeit bloody red. There may have been a reason behind this massacre. But so what? It remained a massacre. "You are all under arrest and will be ced in a cell until your transfer to Iris. Questions?" Maba said, obviously having a bit of fun. Tasting sweet revenge against those fools who had decided to mess with him¡ªalthough he was mistaken. ''Until the end? Screw you!'' Aito thought, trying to liberate himself from his own armor. He couldn''t allow himself to be caught. Not now! He had yet to finish his training. He had yet to even ascend the god damn Tower. If he didn''t escape? Everything would be over. Even if his chances were slim, he owed it to himself to try. Even if his enemy¡­ was a moderator. In a desperate attempt to escape, his gift Fury activated. Steam poured out of his armor as his skin progressively reddened from the heat produced by his body. Maba lifted a brow. "Hum. Futile effort. Give up." Aito''s muscles contracted as his strength increasingly grew to Lv4. At first, as the moderator expected, nothing happened. But as few seconds passed, Aito was able to move his fingers. Then arms and legs. "You¡­ how can you have the strength of an Ascendant?" Maba asked, surprised. "No¡­ not really. More like halfway there. Your body can''t bear it. Nor can your soul. Ah, wait. Is that a skill? How interesting. Show me more." Maba had applied Item Control to the challengers, which was a telekinesis spell with a self-exnatory name. It could be used to trap people with their own items, but at Maba''s current level, he could do so only under the ascendant realm. One would be called an Ascender after reaching level 3 when the soul and body would undergo a drastic change, setting the foundation for the other realms toe. Finally able to move, albeit very slowly, Aito reached for the piece of Ancient Shard at snail''s speed, in his cloak''s pocket that seemed unaffected by the moderator''s spell. Exining why it didn''t react. Fascinated, Maba left Aito to perform his one man show as he stood by as a spectator, wondering why a Lv1 warrior could exert almost the same strength as a Lv3 warrior. One of his hobbies were the study of skills. Such a situation was a great opportunity to see the extend of an unknown skill and satiate his curiosity. Though, it wasn''t skill but a gift. Not that he knew it. The only problem was, the more time passes, the more Aito''s insides boiled. Muscle fibers tearing apart. Organs threatening to fail. Heart beating at a faster pace than it could handle. He had never activated Fury for so long before, only brief outburstssting tens of seconds at best. He only thought of it as a boost, which the only drawback was being fatigued afterwards. Oh, he had been so wrong. Ogoro watched with concern as cracks appeared on Aito''s skin. Blood slowly making its way out through the opening wounds. Even She, with her cold attitude, manifested a hint of worry. Meanwhile, a bastard seemed to be entertained by Aito''s predicament. But soon he''d regret it, for Aito was about to reach his shiny rock! Would his body allow him to do so, though? An incredible pain flooded him when his muscle fibers tore apart, yielding to the extreme pressure. More cracks appeared on his body as seconds passed. "Ah¡­ I think that''s the limit. Stop resisting and cease your struggle unless you desire death." Maba said. That''s when a tall figure walked down the step calmly. Maba''s fascinated expression changed to uncertainty, surprise, then fear when he felt a familiar aura overwhelm him. "Giving up? He''s too stubborn for that," Gwen said, knocking out Aito before he could even object, and settled him gently on the ground. Gwen quickly scanned Aito''s body to determine the seriousness of his injuries. Seeing how serious they were, she frowned, took out two recovery beads, and cracked it to stop the bleeding. "Why did you hide such a skill from me? Foolish little man." She then turned towards the moderator. An invisible wave of power blurred the very air itself. No, it wasn''t an illusion. Just the sheer force of her aura and the wavelength emitted by her very soul. "What is the potential Inheritor of Pain doing on the second floor?" Maba asked, releasing his own aura to prevent himself from being swept away by the torrential power. "Release them." "What? They have disobeyed thew! The proof is all around us!" Maba said, pointing at the dozen of corpses lying around. "You do not have the right to stop me! If you even dare to try, I will file a report!" "Is that so?" Gwen said, a pinch of irony in her voice. "I''ve seen and sensed everything that transpired here from my floor. They were only defending themselves." Maba scoffed, "Even if that were true. The fact remains, they killed them and I''ve busted them." "First, you busted no one. They were only ascending to the third floor when you arrived." "B, b, bu¡ª" "Shut up. Second, as I see it, you were trying to kill a challenger. You know what you incur for that, right?" Gwen said, pointing at the unconscious Aito. "A little sweet holiday in The Forgoth Mine. Oh, I''m sure they''ll wee a telekinesist. Extraction has been hard as ofte with the sudden scrog''s uprising in the mines." Sweat poured out of every inch of Maba''s body. The Forgoth Mine was one of the biggest supplier of ores necessary for the war. Unfortunately, it was also home to savage beasts, turning it into a deadly ce where mostly criminals would be sent. A prison of sorts. "This is nonsense! You have no proof of what you''re using me of!" Maba protested. "Do you think I need proof?" Gwen said, smirking maliciously. Maba clenched his teeth. He knew what she meant. One of the four Rising Star, someone about to ascend to the Legend realm, carried more credibility than a Lv4 Telekinesist. Meaning he was just an insect Gwen could crush anytime she wanted. What confused him, though, was¡­ "Why?" Maba asked. "Why would you¡­" "Because he is my apprentice. Now bugger off before I do something I''d regretter. Oh, and also leave the other two challengers behind. You can take the red-haired man, though. He''s all yours." She said, waving her hand as if she was chasing a bug. Roan''s eyes widened in protest. Forced toply, Maba deactivated his spell on the three challengers and flew away using telekinesis while bringing his constion prize with him. Even merchants, guides or whatever Roan was, had to respect the Towerws. Gwen set her eyes on Aito, whose body state seemed critical but could have been worse if she hadn''t stopped him. "Reckless fool." Chapter 69 - Battle Surgeon "Can you help him, Sleon?" Gwen asked, sending a worried gaze to the moderator of the fourth floor she had called to heal Aito since it was too dangerous to send him to his room. Moreover, the healing effect of a room only activated overnight after CDs. The battle surgeon with disheveled blonde hair wearing a white tunic pushed back his sses and ced both hands on Aito''s shirtless body lying on the third-floor bench. His aura spread from his hand to Aito''s entire body. The red energy then entered Aito''s wounds. Traveled through veins, muscles, bones, and organs. Scanning the internal as well as external injuries. "Hum, nothing I can''t fix. I just require ten, no, eleven minutes and seventeen seconds of absolute silence." Sleon said with a stern face. Gwen simply nodded, summoned a room around the battle surgeon and his patient, then left to give them some space, inviting She and Ogoro to do the same. Sleon was a man of extreme precision. Gwen has seen him save countless lives. Rarely did he ever fail. He could sew back severed arms, legs. He and Gwen were the two representatives End sent this year¡ªalmost every year, in fact. Being a moderator in the Tower was an honor, but was also considered as a vacation. A vacation given to those worthy. Those who have achieved more than any other. Of course, Sleon wasn''t the best battle surgeon. This title went to the potential inheritor of sloth, A the Threadweaver. But Gwen was certain no one else other than Sleon could im second ce. "Fear not, he''s in expert hands," Gwen said. "I don''t care," She replied, then changed the subject. "Can you summon straw targets?" As a response, Gwen did as she was asked, not because she was easily taken advantage of, but because it was her job. Without further ado, She prepared her bow and strode away with the intention to train. "I wasn''t talking to her, though." Gwen said, gazing at the not so little man next to her. "She won''t admit it, but she''s grateful to him." Ogoro said, "He saved our life after all." "Him?" Gwen asked, surprised. Aito didn''t seem like a man who would save others unless it benefited him. "Is that why you are worried?" "Yes, and no," Ogoro said, gazing up at the fake sun lighting the third floor. "I''m just worried a better man than I ever was or will be would die, today." "What?" Gwen said, perplexed. Somehow, she felt they weren''t talking about the same person. She had seen the man talking with Aito during lunch breaks. One thing she noticed was the near adoration the man had for her apprentice. The kind one would give to a role model or a hero. ''Graham''s beard. Is that guy delusional, or I missed something?'' Gwen wondered, as Ogoro walked to the grass field to train on his own. Gwen then smirked. The man''s appearing willingness to help Aito just gave her an idea. Inside the room lighted by white orbs fixed to the ceiling, Sleon activated his skill, Healing Strings. Immediately after, dozens of thin threads created by his red aura formed at the tip of each of his fingers, before slipping through Aito''s wounds. Inside Aito''s body, the read threads started collecting the fractured pieces of bones. Little by little, the threads sewed them back together with astonishing precision. Then came the organs. Perforated lungs, stomach, and liver. Sleon sewed the holes and drew the bad blood out that had spread around where it shouldn''t. At the same time, he repaired the severed veins, plugging,bining where needed. Once done, he went for the tattered muscle fibers, where the worst of the injuries were. ''What kind of foolish action did this young man take?'' He thought while healing Aito''s muscle groups with ease. He then proceeded to close the outside cracks, leaving only one wound near the chest area opened, before running an overall scan to see if he hadn''t forgotten anything. Certain the procedure went smoothly, he sewed thest wound and left the patient to rest alone in the room. "How was it?" Gwen asked with cross-armed as she saw Sleon walk out the door after exactly eleven minutes and seventeen seconds. "He should be back on his feet by tonight." He said, cleaning the blood on his finger with a tissue. "I thought you were joking when you dered a 3rd degree injury. Turns out it bordered the 4th degree." Gwen silently nodded. Battle surgeons referred to patients in need of treatment by degrees: - 1st degree was small wounds such as cuts. - 2nd degree was injuries the like of broken bones. - 3rd degree was worse. Severed arms or legs. Missing eyes. - 4th degree was almost impossible to cure unless treated immediately. - 5th degree¡­ was downright incurable. The patient would already be dead upon receiving such injury, anyway. One perfect example was a severed head. "Thank you." Gwen said. "No, thank you for calling," Sleon replied before returning to his post on the fourth floor. He had left it unattended for too long already. Gwen simply smiled. She knew the man wouldn''t leave someone to die. Ever. Sleon seemed stern, tonic. A real heart of ice, some would say. But he was probably one of the kindest man Gwen knew. Sleon would always push himself to his limits and beyond to save a life. That''s why almost no challengers ever died on the fourth floor under his watch. She giggled beautifully, thinking back to the countless time she hade back with injuries. Sleon would always sermon her. Telling her she was reckless. Reckless, like a certain little man. Perhaps it was one of the reasons she was finding some sort of kinship in that fool who seemed to never know when to stop. She was, after all, as stubborn as he was. *** Aito woke up confused just after the cooldown period. Thest thing he remembered was Maba and his body tearing apart from the inside. Recalling the moderator, he intuitively reached for his ax that was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, he exited the room, shirtless, in search of answers, only to find the moderator meditating on the grass field with another familiar figure. "Oh! Wee back to the living!" Ogoro said, jumping to his feet. "How are you feeling?" "More or less recovered. What happened?" Aito said, trying to understand. "And why aren''t you in your room?" Gwen opened her eyes and smiled upon seeing Aito, who had recovered his endless sense of questioning. She briefly exined what happened until now, then added, "He carried your ass here, little man. At least show a modicum of courtesy to him." "I see¡­, thanks." "Don''t mention it," Ogoro said, waving his hand to show it really wasn''t a big deal. "As for why I''m here¡­" "He''ll be your new training partner," Gwen said, smiling wryly. "It''ll be better than fighting mindless duhans." "What?" Aito said, turning to Ogoro for a confirmation. The giant of a man nodded in acknowledgment, "I at least owe you that." Aito was about to interject, but Gwen interrupted him. "Don''t be so quick to refuse." Gwen said, "Chances are, you''ll learn more from him than you''d do with duhans. From what I''ve seen of his training on the third floor, he is quite skilled for a ssless." Aito pondered. It was true that Ogoro could handle himself in a fight. There were only benefits in epting his help as a training partner. Also, who else would be better as a training partner than the man who gave Aito his memories? Furthermore, nothing bad shoulde out of it. The man had already shown that he wasn''t here to harm him. Even if Ogoro was, he wouldn''t be able to do so under Gwen''s watchful eyes. It was a win-win. Aito sighed, then an iron resolve shed in his ck eyes. "Then let''s get started." "Now?" Ogoro said, startled. At that moment, Aito''s stomach growled so loud that even Gwen, who was a few meters away, could hear. It couldn''t be helped, since his body had used up a lot of energy. Also, he hadn''t eaten lunch nor dinner yet. "Gahahaha! Grab yourself something to eat first, you training addict!" Gwen eximed. Chapter 70 - A Ruthless Partner Second week of training. As per usual, Aito would begin each day with a warm-up in full ted armor. Running under the constant threat of being hit on the head by straw targets. Thanks to which his overall awareness of his surrounding has increased. Now, he could avoid half of them. He could already sense an increase in his stamina. Aito used Pneuma less frequently and still managed to finish the course with a bit of stamina to spare. His next goal for this exercise was to avoid the usage of his skill. Since he had more or less familiarized himself with the usage of Durability, Gwen made some changes to his second exercise. Instead of repeatedly activating and deactivating his skill, he would have to coat a specific area of his ax with Durability. Easy? Even after a week, he still couldn''t manage to do it properly. Coating the entire weapon was one thing, but only the ax head required intense focus. Ogoro, or any other challengers weren''t capable of doing it, yet. However, the assassin wasn''t a level 1. Which meant a harder time controlling mana and aura because of his iplete soul core. If one were to look inside his chest, no soul core would be there for anyone to see. Only his soul surrounded by soul power and a fragile bubble of mana that has yet to create a protective shell. That''s why, upon death, with no real physical form, a level 0''s soul and mana would fly out of the body in form of a bubble of light instead of remaining inside as a soul core. When Gwen told Aito about it, heter made the link with what happened against the Paineater. No creatures on the ind were level 1. Which exined the blue bubbles. As for how he had leveled up, he only had one exnation. Valinar had used the candle on him. That or some kind of unknown divine power. Aito drew such a conclusion while getting his daily dose of beating from the wooden Duhan. More ustomed to pain, and somewhat physically more resilient, Gwen increased the difficulty of Aito''s exercise. Something she had actually been doing all along. Every day, she would add thirty seconds of bonus beating. Free of charge! Too busy ying masochist, Aito hadn''t realized it. Then, like a ritual, he would sit at lunch time on Gwen''s bench. Joined by Ogoro, they would eat and talk while stuffing their stomach. Never about their past identity. Always about small talks, like the food. Cultural differences. Combat techniques. Anime. Turns out, Ogoro liked to watch them. One topic of conversation Ogoro always brought up though, was She. When it came to that, Ogoro would be the only one talking, with Aito grunting, scoffing, or rolling his eyes for replies. He truly was proud of his little sister. One time in particr, when Ogoro said she would make a good wife. Beautiful, strong, smart, but a so-so cook, apparently. Aito almost choked on his food when he heard that bullshit. With her Filona-like character, She wouldn''t get far in a rtionship. He knew his opinion was biased by their conflict. And that she might be a good person. The fact that she had helped him fight the sect testified to that. Little did he care, though. Because since then she had never talked to him again. When she dide to the third floor, She would stay as far away from him as possible. During the afternoon, with wooden weapons in hand, Aito would train with Ogoro. It proved extremely beneficial, but also painful. Not physically, but physiologically. Each time, his pride would take a beating. Having survived the ind, inherited Ogoro''s memories and, as a past martial artist, he thought he had reached a good understanding of how to fight with a weapon. "Wrong." Ogoro''s favorite word to describe Aito''s issues and bad habits. The Asian man was an excellent teacher, albeit ruthless. His apparent kind, respectful personality was nowhere to be found during training. Instead, a demonic partner doubling as an instructor faced Aito. "Wrong! You''ve moved your foot too far from your center of gravity!" "Why are you using so much strength when half of it isn''t even necessary? You think you won''t deal any damage? Yes, it might be true in some situation that require brute force. But in your case, this is wrong! You''re wasting stamina on useless movements!" "A jumping attack? Really? Did you think you were an anime main character or something? Wrong! Being airborne means your legs have no contact with the ground. Thus, no control over your movements. It might work on ignorant fools. But a true expert could easily exploit this opening! Unless you can fly, don''t do it!" At first, Aito thought Ogoro was exaggerating. Ogoro would also point out details he had never paid attention to before. Those were things most people usually thought were effective. However, those were misunderstandings spread by popr culture, mainly thanks to the entertainment industry. Something he came to rapidly realize with Ogoro''s memories and sparring sessions. One event truly opened his eyes to the truth. Aito''s wooden ax de met Ogoro''s wooden sword. The sparring came to a standstill when both men applied pressure on each other''s weapons. Truly a scene worthy of an anime where the protagonist and antagonist crossed swords. "What are you doing? You think crossing des with an opponent is cool? Well¡­ it kinda is. But still wrong!" Ogoro said. Spitballs flying towards Aito''s face. "It sucks ass and only result in a useless staring contest. It''s not a gods damn date! You''re only creating a big opening!" Immediately after, as if to show what he was talking about, Ogoro stopped applying pressure, resulting in Aito''s ax to fall towards him. Taking advantage of that momentum, Ogoro effortlessly changed the ax trajectory with the back of his de, creating an opening in Aito''s guard. A painful grunt escaped Aito''s throat when Ogoro stabbed his chest with the wooden sword. "And you''re dead." Ogoro said, "If you really have to cross de with someone else''s, only apply a slight pressure. And if that idiot is foolish enough to put all his weight and strength behind his de, it''ll be easy for you to deviate his weapon using his own strength." At that moment, Aito realized the rumors about Ogoro being the strongest warrior ss in the Tower weren''t unfounded¡ªmoderators excluded. Despite being ssless, even if Aito was stronger and faster, Ogoro could kick his ass if no skills were involved in the fight. Ogoro was truly a league above his own when it came to weapon mastery. Not that Aito didn''t know before. He just couldn''t ept it. A matter of pride was all it was. Once he understood that and left his pride in a chest double locked. He progressed by leaps and bounds. umting,prehending, absorbing knowledge like a sponge. Knowledge he already knew of thanks to the memory bead but had yet to make it his own. For that purpose, he sparred with Ogoro in the afternoon, only stopping to practice Whirlwind. At night, they would spar again, until both were too tired to move. Thanks to that, Aito was able to figure out how to better use that Italian chain attack of his. By the end of the week, he felt on the verge of breakthrough concerning fusing it with Whirlwind. Then Aito would practice his skill Weight Control while Ogoro slept, before falling asleep himself while using visualization. *** First day of the third week during lunch time. While Aito was talking aboutbat techniques with Ogoro over lunch, someone he hadn''t expected to see again walked towards him with heavy steps. She stopped in front of him. Towering over Aito, who was sitting on the bench eating dried fruits. His gaze traveled up to her face as he continued chewing. He hated to admit it, but she truly had a great figure. Even the in white linen shirt under her light leather armor couldn''t hide this fact. Too bad her personality was rotten to the core. She stared at him, appearing unsatisfied for some reason. Then she said, "You really don''t remember me?" In a good mood, and curious about what would happen if he said "no," Aito shook his head with a poker face. "Fine, then I''ll make you remember." Chapter 71 - Sheyla Ryus Thoughts (part 1) She Ryu was a strong woman with quite the iron will. How couldn''t she be strong after going through the Ryu family training regimen and strict selection? Hard and meticulous were poor words to define them. The Ryu family had picked her out of every child in several orphanages because of her genes. It boiled down to two words: "strong" and "attractive." She shouldn''t have any other body defects such as scars, a weird nose, allergy, chronic sickness, etc. Their criteria were extremely strict. Like every partner, she had to be perfect in all aspects. Her training had started as soon as she entered the Ryu hidden manor. Every day was a torture of its own. Only allowed 6 hours of sleep, the other 18 hours were scheduled for training. Eating, bathing, pissing, and even shitting were turned into training. To eat, she would have to scavenge, steal food in the manor. If she was spotted, she''d be punished. To bath, she''d have to do so in cold saltwater with a temperature averaging -10¡ãC. Not much of a bath, but better than nothing. Up to her to get rid of the salt by either stealing freshwater or just rub it off her body. If her adoptive father realized she wasn''t clean afterward, she would be beaten. With his knowledge of the human anatomy and deadly arts, there was no way her adoptive father would leave a scar on her body. To relieve herself, she''d have to do so in a particr pot, which location would change every day. If she was seen relieving herself, she would also be punished. On top of that, she''d be trained in various skills every day. As a child, she had been educated to the ways of the world in the morning. Afternoons were for physical training. Evenings were for stealth training. During her childhood, her only salvation, the reason she had been able to handle all this, was her older brother, Ogoro. Compared to the dozens of other blood children of the Ryu families, he was kind. Too kind for an assassin. A personality trait unneeded for their line of work. He wouldfort her every night. Telling her that everything would be fine. What a beautiful lie it had been. Yet, that kept her going somehow. Sometimes some children would take their own life because they couldn''t bear the training. Mostly the adopted ones. So it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Ogoro had saved her life countless times. Never did hey his eye on her like a savage beast in search of a sexual partner, a mate. Even when they had grown into adults. The other adopted girls or boys had suffered that fate. But not her. Though, they both were trained in the art of bedding the opposite or same genders¡ªbecause assassination required pleasing targets with sometimes different tastes¡ªmeaning they were quite proficient in pleasing others in bed, they never saw each other this way. Why? Because fucking a person from the same family wasn''t their kink. And to them, they were to each other the only family they had. To She, Ogoro was the only real pir of support in a dark world full of death. The same went for Ogoro. Even more since¡ªlike She used to call him¡ªthe big oaf was a fan of anime and fantasy heroes. More than a fan, actually, he admired them. Saving the damsel in distress. Be the hero people needed in their darkest times. Bing a figure of hope. He had dreamt of being such a person one day. That same dream crumbled when the final test before bing full-fledged Ryu assassins came, where the dozens of duo would have to kill each others, for only two duo to remain. Despite being considered one of the weakest duo, She and Ogoro pulled it off. Surviving until the very end because of the strong bond they shared, not necessarily because they were the best. Other children would sometimes betray each others, forming alliances with other children from different groups. Common tactics for assassins. After that, Ogoro''s childish dream of bing a hero disappeared from his mind, as he resolved himself to be a symbol of despair instead of hope. Under that burden and reality, his hair rapidly turned white as they bothpleted assassinations after assassinations. At some point, the siblings developed a taste for killing. An inevitable side effect due to constant bloodshed. But that conflicted with their very nature. Alienating who they were deep down. Forcing them to hide, cower from their bloodlust behind a mask of indifference. Even if she knew what Ogoro had aspired to be and that killing hurt him deeply, She thought it was better this way. What would being a hero bring, anyway? Troubles? Certainly. Gratefulness? Maybe. But that fades with time. In their previous world, on Earth, heroes were but a symbol used for different purposes. War heroes helped create a sense of belonging, of patriotism and also an example to follow. Fictitious heroes were just for entertainment and wish fulfillment. True heroes, in She''s mind, were hard toe by. She could take the example of a famous ck man who had fought for skin color equality. What happened to him in the end, he had died because of his beliefs. Another example was a certain young woman who had led the French army to victory during the Hundred Years war. How had she been rewarded? Burnt on a stake. They had both brought about great changes but had paid the ultimate price for it. Many famous heroes had suffered the same fate. Because of a single reason: powerful people disliked attention to be drawn elsewhere than towards themselves. In other words, the changes famous heroes brought, were not weed. A good hero was a dead hero or a discreet hero. At least that''s what She came to understand. What were heroes, anyway? The notion was blurred. It could be twisted, reshaped, rescaled. A tyrant could be a national hero through dubious means. A dog could be the neighborhood''s hero for saving a child from Truck-kun. A granny could be a starving little girl''s hero by giving her food. So yeah, what are heroes? Who are heroes? That she didn''t know for sure. One thing she knew, though, was that it could only bring trouble to her brother. Even more, since he had aspired to be some kind of famous hero who''d save everyone. Which would have ended up getting him killed at some point. Their job was already dangerous enough as it was. No need to add another burden on top of it. That''s why she was d he had abandoned that foolish ideal since it could get him and her killed in that unforgiving line of work She dearly wished they hadn''t been born into. Luck has it, they had revived after theirst missionprising assassinating Kai Tsubame¡ªwho apparently was still unaware he had died by their hands¡ªshe had felt liberated. Finally, free to do as they please. When came what she thought would be theirst moment together, against that endless wave of zombies, She had allowed herself to fulfill one of her brother''s wishes. Something she hadn''t been able to do in the past. To call him onii-chan. How shameful it had been. It had sounded so wrong. But Ogoro liked it, apparently. That big oaf had watched too many animes in the little spare time he had. Never again would she do this. Never! Then, just when they had thought everything was lost, HE appeared out of thin air. Like a damn hero Ogoro was so fond of. Rekindling a me of hope in her brother. A me she wished had stayed extinguished. Ogoro might not talk about it openly, but she knew her brother better than anyone else. She knew what stupid thoughts he was currently nursing. And that was all HIS fault! That damn ck challenger. Also, he was someone she had encountered before. Ironically, three years ago, Kai Tsubame had tasked her to beat the shit out of him during a weird fighting tournament. A very peculiar mission since it hadn''t involved killing. However, the bastard had proved to be a tough and shameless motherfucker. At first, she hadn''t been sure it was him, since his get-up was quite different from that time. No more tattoo on his forearm, long hair, a weird beard, and he had even gained weight, at least the time she saw him in the red trial. She thought that he''d die in the ck trial since ording to Filona it was impossible to clear. But he was a real cockroach and surpassed, once again her expectations by surviving the impossible. Like a freaking goddamn hero. Further increasing Ogoro''s misced growing admiration for the man. She didn''t particrly hate him. Even if the shameless bastard had revealed her chest to the entire world. Though it had been a bit shameful, it wasn''t anything she couldn''t handle. She wasn''t as petty as begrudging someone for that. After all, she had learned to control her shame. As an assassin, She had done far more shameful things than standing half-naked in the middle of a stadium full of people. Chapter 72 - Sheyla Ryus Thoughts (part 2) No, what She truly disliked about the man was that her brother mistook him for a real hero. She feared that because of him, Ogoro would try again his foolish, childish, idiotic idea of bing a damn useless hero. And once that big oaf set his mind on doing something, he would see it through to the end. Ogoro was that stubborn of a person. She had thought about resolving the problem by just outright killing the ck challenger. However, she hadn''t done so for two reasons. First, he had saved her life, and even if she hated to admit it, she felt grateful for that. On top of that, there was that teaching about a life for a life the Ryu household had ingrained in their brain. That''s the main reason she had epted to apany Ogoro to help the ck challenger. Second, because She felt she could fail her assassination. Why? Well¡­ the ck challenger was strong. She had followed him during his first day and seen what happened to Sam from afar. She had also observed him training on the third floor. And that man was just growing stronger every day at a ridiculous pace. It could be attributed to her brother''s memories, but not only. She had seen an inextinguishable me burning in the man''s eyes. He had the aura of someone who would do anything to aplish his goal. Anything. With that kind of mindset, it was only a matter of time before he became too strong for her to handle. In fact, maybe he already was. Her n so far has been to expose him as the false hero he was. How? By first waiting for him toe to her and do something unsightly befitting of the man she had seen before. Why not go to him first? She hated to admit it, but it was simply a matter of pride. Nothing more, nothing less. Childish? Yeah, maybe. However, what she thought would happen actually never happened. Tired of waiting, she crushed her pride and decided to take matters into her own hands. She understood by now that taking a roundabout way with the man was out of the question. In that case, there was only one thing to do, reenact what happened during the tournament in front of her brother. By doing so, she hoped to expose the ck challenger for what he truly was. Not a hero, but a shameless bastard. *** On a corner of the grassy field of the third floor, Aito and She fought bare-handed. Exchanging flurries of vicious blows. Punches, kicks, knee, elbow strikes. With the only rule being no killing, and magical healing means at their disposal, they both let loose of their destructive fighting prowess. "I really wonder why she''s doing this," Ogoro said, watching their fight from the bench. Seated next to him, Gwen simply shrugged. "Maybe she''s interested in the little man. That''s what I do when I''m attracted to a man. I fight him. If he is stronger, then he''s a good match. If he''s weaker, then fuck it." "What? That¡­ hum. Does such a man even exist?" Ogoro asked, remembering Maba''s awe-so-apparent fear towards Gwen. "Men who can beat me? Yes, a handful. They just aren''t to my taste, though." Gwen said, grimacing as if she remembered someone that disgusted her. "Just a handful?" Ogoro asked, surprised. He hadn''t expected her to be this strong. "Looks like you will never get a man then." "Aye, maybe not now. That''s certain." She said, eyeing Aito who was throwing a middle kick. The sheer strength behind it forced She to take three steps back to regain her bnce. "But that might be the case in a not so distant future." Ogoro traced her gaze to Aito. Then switched back to Gwen. Understanding what she meant, he pitied Aito and prayed he''de out alive if he ever did fight Gwen in the future. On the track field, looking for entertainment, a few challengers had stopped their training to watch Aito and She''s fight. They seemed evenly matched from their point of view. However¡­ ''What a monstrous strength,'' She thought, eyeing her bruised arms. ''This is so ridiculous.'' She hadn''t even been fighting him for two minutes but felt like thirty minutes had already passed. Realizing Aito had inhuman strength after she had blocked his first strike, she has tried to dodge as many times as possible. However, on top of being strong he was also an agile, fast motherfucker and could almost¡­no, he matched her in terms of speed. She had topensate with pure technique, but She wasn''t as proficient as her brother when it came to close-quarter fighting. And even when shended a hit it felt like hitting hard, thick wood. She hard tried to trap his arm and break it using a leverage technique. However,mon sense didn''t apply to this man anymore. With but one arm, he could overpower her entire body strength. It was too ridiculous. Moreover, he wasn''t as dumb as to let himself fall for obvious taunts. He differedpletely fromst time. As if he had grown somehow. ''Just what happened to him?'' She thought, sidestepping to avoid a front kick. ''He seems so¡­ different. Less arrogant¡­ more mature.'' She rapidly deviated a punch with her palm, reduced the distance between them, and went for his throat, hoping to damage his breathing capabilities for a few seconds. However, at the veryst moment, Aito lowered his forehead. She''s knuckles crashed against it as if they hit a brick. Before it was toote to retreat, she pushed Aito away with one of her legs. Though he didn''t budge, it allowed her to jump to safety. *** "If this fight was just so I could remember you, Layehs Uyr or should I say She Ryu, then let''s stop now. I''ve realized who you were for a few days already." Aito said, staring at her bruised body. How could he not remember her face, no, these eyes? These fearless frozen blue eyes. After seeing it so many times in the nightmares he had had on the ind, it was just impossible not to. He''d have to be extremely dull or stupid for that to happen. Question was, what should he do with her now? How should he treat her? Honestly, he had no clue. Despite his past defeat by her hands, he didn''t hold a grudge against her. Why would he? It was too petty to me her for what had transpired. Even during his past life, he hadn''t done so. No, it had been his fault and no one else''s. She might have defeated him, but if she hadn''t, would things have turned out differently? Probably not. Someone else would have beaten his ass. His past self had feared her, yes. Since he epted himself for what he truly was, the fear disappeared. "If what you''re looking for is an apology for what happened that day, then let me say that I''m sorry." She clicked her tongue, seemingly unsatisfied with his answer. "Stop your hypocrisy." "What the fuck do you mean," or so he would have liked to say if she wasn''t rushing at him like a madwoman. Tired of whatever game she was ying, Aito grabbed her iing right fist, slightly fracturing parts of her hand bones with the sheer strength of his grip, which should have resulted in a painful cry, but She simply greeted her teeth through the pain as she sent a knee to his genitals. He deviated the blow with his own knee, then sent a warning gaze for her to stop. She remained oblivious to it and went for a desperate blow. The same blow that had defeated himst time. However, he simply lowered his elbows to deny ess to his armpits. Her knuckles met his shoulder muscles and biceps. Pissed, Aito couldn''t contain himself anymore. She was unreasonable and needed to be taught a lesson. Holding her injured fist tight so she wouldn''t escape, he opened his free hand, carefully aimed at his target, and sent a vicious bitch p to her face. SLAP! She halted her struggles at once as if paralyzed by the p. Aito had gauged his strength as to avoid fatal injury. So he was fairly certain she was fine¡­ physically speaking. The all-mighty p was a mental attack more than a physical one. Much more powerful than what people thought it to be. An uneasy silence filled the air as she turned back to stare at Aito with a face¡­ full of tears? "Just why aren''t you undressing me, you shameless bastard!?" And an even more awkward silence ensued¡­ Chapter 73 - Games On "Oh my¡­ she''s quite the bold one," Gwen said, chuckling. Awestruck, Ogoro watched the scene by her side, his mouth wide opened. His sister has never talked as much as she did now, nor did she ever said that before. Well¡­ not while being herself. During the course of a mission, that was different. "Ho¡­" Aito said, staring at a blushing She. Her redness would shame any tomato. He felt the urge to tease her a bit. "Sure, I''d be d to assist you with that, if you don''t mind everyone watching us." "This, this, this isn''t what I¡ª" She started, the shame so unbearable she forgot the pain of her injured hand. "You don''t need to be ashamed of your own lust. It''s fine, really. Though it is indeed¡­ umon to get excited after a beating. Just saying." Aito interrupted with a smirk on his face. It was too good of an opportunity to let it pass. He knew it wasn''t what she meant. That much was obvious. A single nce at her embarrassed face made it clear. Though, the reason for her previous weird outburst remained unknown to him. "Just know that I''m not interested in a serious rtionship. But I don''t mind being friends with benefits." He said, adding a wink to hisst sentence. She sent him a hateful gaze, highlighting the fact that she wanted to beat him up. Friends with benefits? To hell with that. That shameless bastard was mocking her. How could she not want to kick his ass? However, she understood by now she couldn''t. In terms of techniques, she surpassed him. No doubt about it. But their physical differences were too high. Compared to She''s injuries, Aito''s bruises were nothing. His strength was also beyond hers. Not because he was a man, but because such was the difference between a marked and unmarked one. A difference of power due to levels. If they had been on the same physical level, then She could probably beat him. Even then, she wasn''t certain. What''s more, she didn''t know if she could level up since she hadn''t epted the gods'' blessing. Perhaps she could, by absorbing soul cores. The crowd of challengers around them was entertained, waiting for what would happen next. They expected something the like of a brutal romance where, after fighting each other, man and woman would finally make up. Kiss andfort themselves in an embrace¡­ that never came. She simply looked down, closed her eyes, calmed herself. Going berserk and spit out nonsense in a feat of anger and embarrassment would do her no good. She breathed in, breathed out. The pain coursing through her entire body mattered little. She had endured worse before. "Friends with benefits? I have no need for a friend like you. Also, I don''t think your tiny sausage could satisfy me." She said, spitting nonsense even after calming herself. "You are right. It''d be difficult for me to satisfy you without a hard-on you simply cannot provide." Aito said, trying to strike at her pride as a beautiful woman. "Asshole." "Thank you for the nicepliment." He said, releasing her hand. "Are you done with your little game? ''Cause I have other things to do." She stared daggers at him but didn''t retort. She had nothing else to say for herself. However, she hadn''t abandoned the idea of exposing the fake hero Aito was to her brother. She simply needed time to think about a new approach. If strength wouldn''t do, then she''d try to persuade her brother with words. Something she hadn''t done yet, since it wasn''t in her habit to talk much. At least not about unnecessary things. With a tacit understanding that their duel ended, they both walked their separate ways. Aito, to the bench. She, to her dwelling. "You aren''t going to avenge your sister and try to fight me too, I hope?" Aito said. "Nah, why would I do that?" Ogoro replied, "It was a fair fight. She''s been through worse. Also, that''s a matter between you and her. As long as you don''t attempt to take her life, I won''t interfere. By the way, you still have room for improvement. Shended more blows than you did." "Yeah. If we had the same strength, it might have turned out differently." Ogoro shrugged, then stood up from the bench. "I''ll be back after I walk my sister to her room. In her state, she cannot defend herself properly. You never know. After what we''ve pulledst week, the sect has their eyes on us too." Aito nodded as he sat on the bench next to Gwen and watched Ogoro follow a fuming She. "Interesting gal." Gwenmented, "Bold. Ruthless. Strong. Beautiful. With quite the temper, too. ording to what I''ve seen before, she also seems to handle a bow well." "Stop that. I have enough with Ogoro talking to me about her." Aito said, "Don''t start doing it too." "Come on, little man. You don''t get what I''m saying?" Aito shook his head while resuming to eat the dried fruits he had been eating before She interrupted him. "I''m saying she''d make a fine partner to climb the Tower." Gwen said, "Too bad she''s still level 0." "Not because she''s unmarked?" "That too," Gwen replied. "Being blessed by the gods is the mostmon way to reach level 1. Don''t confuse that with leveling up. Even after absorbing enough soul cores, one wouldn''t be able to form a soul core without a god''s help. There is, however, a second way. Its secret lies with another race, though. No one knows how it works. Such a shame She hadn''t epted the blessing. She seems like a promising recruit if groomed well." Aito grunted. He could potentially help her level up using his candle. But why should he? There weren''t any benefits to this. Even if he did, she probably would never ept to help him clear the Tower. It made him think back to Roan''s advice about finding himself a few partners. Right now, he was considering asking Ogoro. He was still pondering the matter. Ogoro seemed trustworthy for now. The man could betray him along the way, of course, but he didn''t seem like that kind of person. Still, it made him feel uneasy. It was hard to trust a human again. To ascend the Tower, he may not have the luxury to choose, though. If the grey-haired man epted to help him, he''d use the candle on Ogoro. However, there were a few issues with that. First, Gwen wouldn''t let unmarked ones pass. Though she did think it was a pity for the siblings to be unmarked. Now that he thought about it, maybe there was a way to bypass her surveince. After all, she never checked with her own eyes if the challengers were marked. If he had to take a guess, it''d be that Gwen could feel the challengers were level 0 and therefore, by default, unmarked. If that theory was true, then Ogoro could simply blend into the crowd and ascend like anybody else. Second, using the candle in front of someone else was risky. Exposing the existence of a tool capable of granting a ss could lead to trouble. Ogoro could speak of it to anyone, even without his notice. Trust wasn''t the issue. Exposing the candle was. However, not using its full potential was a waste. If granting a ss to someone else was beneficial to him, then he ought to do it. Again, the real problem was exposing the existence of the candle, which meant that, provided he kept it hidden, he could grant a ss without people knowing about the item. "What are you thinking about?" Gwen asked. Seeing Aito peering into the distance with a thoughtful look made her curious. "About how I''d get to fight you at the end of my training," Aito lied, smirking. Gwenughed. She hadpletely forgotten about that. Though, now that he said it, it didn''t sound too bad. Sure, Aito would never be able to injure or even touch her. However, it could be a great experience for his growth. "Hum, alright. It''ll be your reward for your hard training. And if you ever manage to just brush my skin when we''ll spar, then I''ll give an additional reward." She said, trying to motivate him. "Oho, and what might that be?" Aito replied. "Hold your horses, little man. Do you even think you''ll be able to touch me? In your dream." "Ho, game''s on." Chapter 74 - Results Earned Through Hard Work... And A Cheat (part 1) Third week of training. She stopped talking to Aito again. Not surprising, considering the oue of their fight. Still, she would show up on the third floor every day for her daily quest or simply for training. Not that Aito cared much about it. But somehow, he felt he wasn''t nearly done yet with her. After his duel with She, Aito resumed his training as per usual. Broken bones, bruises, exhaustion. After three weeks, he started to get used to the pain. Added to that, the daily injuries he had suffered on the ind, Aito was progressively developing resistance to physical pain. Not a skill, just a mental state where one would be used to injuries to the point of being capable of keeping a clear head, even with broken bones. Much like She and her broken fist. The pain was still there, but instead of impeding Aito''s thought process, it would be more akin to apanion staying by his side. An annoyingpanion. By the end of the week, he could activate Durability instantaneously, meaning coating his entire weapon. Before, it averaged a bit less than two seconds, just like his other skill, though it still took around a second for him to activate Weight Control. Aito got more proficient with coating his ax head with Durability. It took more time than it would to be efficient in a fight, but it was still good progress. He also tried to apply the same training to Weight Control. However, it proved to be much more difficult. He hadn''t been able to increase or decrease the weight of his ax head. A mediocre result. Instead of discouraging him, it did the exact opposite, though. Whirlwind saw the most drastic improvement. Aito now had nearplete control over this physical-based skill. Safely halting the skill in an instant wasn''t that far off. But was that truly necessary? Once he came to this conclusion, it all became clearer to him. Instead of trying to force Whirlwind to a stop, he would just progressively decelerate it. Also, he could simply stop the skill by lodging his weapon, or whatever he was using, into the ground or opponent''s body by reducing its power beforehand to avoidpletely slicing off the opponent''s body. Though the real improvement wasn''t in that realization. First, he became much more aware of his surroundings after getting used to the feeling of having his head spinning around. Whirlwind was, after all, disorientating. It hadn''t been rare for him to stop his skill while facing the opposite direction from when he had started it. Now, he would also return to his initial position if he wished it. Second, he seeded in applying the Italian sword technique to his skill, well it could use some improvement. Instead of just putting all his weight behind the skill, he would do it partially. Using the strength of his arms and the motion of the weapon most of the time. And when necessary, he''d give a boost of power by using his entire body. It was less taxing stamina-wise and easier to control, more effective and urate. He was starting to be able to move around with it. His current goal with this particr skill was advancing while using Whirlwind instead of being stuck to one ce. As for his training with Ogoro¡­ well, he still got his ass handed to him, but fewer times. Every day, he would learn something new. He even managed tond a few hits. Was it talent? Yes, and no. It was a mix of hard work, a cheat, a.k.a inheriting Ogoro''s memories, and his own¡­ talent if it could be called that. Moreover, now that Whirlwind was almost under hisplete control, he wouldn''t train his chain attacks at night with Ogoro or spar. Instead, he had asked Ogoro for advice on marksmanship. And so, he started training with his new crossbow, the repeater. His uracy against short-ranged targets increased by leaps and bounds every day. Just like Gwen''s satisfaction. She hadn''t expected him to improve that fast and had no doubt he would reach the requirements to end his training earlier than expected. In a way, Gwen was kind of looking forward to their spar. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to touch her. Since she wasn''t nning on using her full power during the spar because it''d be over before Aito could even move. The more she looked at her apprentice''s progress, the more it reminded her of herself, but also someone else. A ck challenger from a few years ago, thest one before Aito appeared. At that time, she had also offered to train him. The crazy-looking man had epted. However, in him, she had seen an unquenchable thirst for bloodshed fueled by vengeance. Turns out, that madman''s increase in strength was unusually fast. Talent. Resolve. He had had it all. Such talent amongst challengers was almost unprecedented. Then, when the previous ck challenger had almost reached her level, he disappeared a few months ago, who-knows-where. People supposed that he had finally be too crazy and killed himself somewhere nobody could see him. He was known by many titles. Bloody Butcher, Bloody Bastard, Bloody Madman, all bloody titles. But he was mostly known as the sole non-bloody title, Durnium Fist, for he would always fight with durnium gauntlets, and no other weapons. Although, Gwen knew him as Alex Rai. *** Fourth week of training. Aito could now finish his warm-up without using Pneuma. However, like the training addict he was, he upped the difficulty by increasing the weight of his armor set by 2 times for this exercise. He came to realize that the threshold of Weight Control was now higher than before. How high, he hadn''t checked his status window yet, so he didn''t know. However, a two-times increased weight of his armor set was his limit for his warm-up. With it, he had to use Pneuma to keep up with the toll. Weirdly enough, he did realize there was a slight increase in stamina provided by Pneuma. It might just be his imagination, though. Each warm-up was now more challenging because of this added difficulty. Something Aito thought Gwen hadn''t noticed, but she actually had. Aito would also carry his crossbow with him and try to shoot the falling straw targets when he could. However, a few straw targets still managed to hit his head from time to time. Mostly because Gwen would progressively summon more each day. A slight difference of one but it slowly stacked up to be twenty-eight by the end of the week. Something Gwen thought Aito hadn''t noticed, but he actually had. Chapter 75 - [BC]Results Earned Through Hard Work... And A Cheat (part 2) The rest of the training went as per usual, with a few noticeable improvements every day. Durability saw the greatest improvement. Earlier this week, he could coat his ax head or a rtivelyrge area of his ax instantaneously. It became close to second nature. Thus, came thest part to gain manual control. To focus as much or less aura as possible in his entire weapon. It couldn''t have been possible before because he needed more precise control over his skill. The two other exercises were just to familiarize himself with the usage of Durability. To feel how his aura reacted to the skill. How much it cost him to use Durability. How it flowed through his body into the weapon. How it could be controlled so that only a certain area was coated. With all this, he now had a better grasp of his skill. So, even though it took him less than two seconds of focus, it was no surprise when he seeded on his first try. Releasing more aura than necessary. The ax glowed of a denser yellow than usual. As if it had been double-coated. Like a chocte biscuit with double the chocte! Tastier, and great for diabetes. Of course, it usually costs more than othermon chocte biscuits of the same brand. Much like the aura cost of overloading Durability. As for the skill Weight Control, he could now activate it instantaneously, without much focus. Just like Durability, it became second nature. However, using it to increase or decrease the weight of a certain area on his weapon was hard to do, but not impossible anymore. Also, Gwen now allowed him and Ogoro to use Durability during their sparring, which they dly epted. Durability brought a whole new factor to consider. Why? Because their clothes could now be as hard as thick wood. Even the dirt and grass Aito would pick up "identally" and infused with his skill, could be as durable as pebbles. With the usage of Durability and the previous weeks of training, Aito could win against Ogoro once every five matches. Then once every four matches. And finally, once every three matches. It was a limit Aito couldn''t pass, no matter how hard he tried... for now. Because when Ogoro realized Aito became more proficient and deadly, he also upped his game. Engaging in spars with more vigor and ferocity. For he now acknowledged Aito as a worthy opponent. To the point he had no time to say "wrong" anymore. If he ever did, Aito would counterattack by using this slight opening. On top of that, Aito became more agile and seemed to have gained in speed. Ogoro had topensate with his technique. His expertise was put to the test times and times again. By the end of the week, Ogoro was stunned by how much progress Aito had made. Normally, it would take years for people to reach that level. That''s when Ogoro realized that, provided the right kind of knowledge, the red memory bead was truly a cheat. Of course, he did not forget about Aito''s hard work. Because without a proper mindset ready for training that could make the most out of a memory bead, this kind of extraordinary result would have been impossible. To that sense, Aito''s efforts were praiseworthy. *** The morning of thest day of training. "How is it?" Gwen asked, eyeing Aito impatiently while making sure no unmarked one was trying to blend into the crowd of challengers ascending to the fourth floor. Aito rolled his eyes. She truly looked like a kid, excited at the idea of opening a Christmas present. Weird, since it was his status, not hers. ''Whatever,'' he thought, doing something he hadn''t had for the past month because he had been too busy getting broken bones and bruises. ____________ [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 180cm Weight: 80kg Emotional state: Calm ss: Lv1 Axwielder Titles: ck Challenger, Father killer, [New] Training addict, [New] Masochist [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Instinct (Potential to sense danger slightly before it happens. Activation is random but more frequent. Slight increase in the frequency.) - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious, minus the mindless state) 2. Skills: Passive: - [Level Up!] Ax Mastery Lv3 - [2 Level Up! + Upgrade] Shield Mastery Lv3 (Now incorporates Shield Bash Lv1) - [New] Marksmanship Lv2 (Improved version of Weapon Throw Mastery Lv1 and Ax Throw Lv1) Active: - [Level Up!] Durability Lv2 (Slightly thicker coating) - Fearless Aura Lv1 (Shields the host from the lesser Fear) - [Level Up!] Whirlwind Lv2 - [Level Up!] Weight Control Lv2 (The host can now increase or decrease the original weight of an inanimate target by 3.5 times) - [Level Up!] Pneuma Lv2 (The amount of stamina gained is slightly increased.) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv3 - [Level Up!] Body: Lv3 - [Level Up!] Stamina: Lv3 - [Level Up!] Agility: Lv3 - Mana: Lv2 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ____________ ''Hum... indeed, my mana didn''t increase.'' He thought. Gwen had warned him already that increasing mana outside of leveling up his ss was difficult. It required exhausting his mana pool and refilling it times and times again. He had done so by just using his aura skills. But it hadn''t been enough. To her knowledge, it would have required him to focus solely on that during his one month of training to increase his mana. "So?" Gwen asked. She has been dying to know the result, although she more or less already could guess it. The moderator had seen Aito''s improvement with her own eyes. To her mind, he had already reached the goalsst week. "To summarize it," Aito said, pausing to tease her and also to think about what to say next without revealing too much. "It was worth it." "Gahaha! See? Now you''re d you epted my training regimen, right? Right?" She said, joyfully. Her beautiful purple eyes sparkling with content and happiness. Gwen liked a few things, flowers not included. She found those useless. However, progress in one''s training, particrly someone she had trained every day, was akin to celebrating a birthday. Aito couldn''t help but chuckle at this. Gwen seemed like such a brutish woman. He didn''t she had such a cute side. Gwen then coughed, realizing she was overdoing it, then regained her previousposure. A demeanor of a mighty moderator. "You did great, little man. Even surpassing my expectations and reach the goals earlier than nned." She said, gazing at him with a more serious expression. Aito forced back augh. Gwen blushing with a serious face was too hrious to him. It was so different from what he was used to. "Thank you," He said, with a genuine smile. "I''m truly grateful for your guidance." "Aye, don''t mention it," she said with a wink that somewhat suited her. "It was satisfying to see you grow day by day. Also, you should have realized why I trained you if you didn''t already know beforehand." "Yes¡­ hum. About that," Aito said, hesitating on how to tell her he wasn''t too keen on joining in the war. No, actually it was more urate to say he hadn''t thought that far yet. "Let''s say, that¡­ I need time to think about it." "Aye, no rush. You still have 31 days after all. Plenty of time toe up with an answer. Just let me tell you something. If you join End, you''ll get the best training a warrior can ever hope to have. Amongst the four factions, we have the best warriors, after all. I can''t force you to join us. Just think about it." Gwen said before smirking. "In the meantime, how about we rece today''s warm-up with your ''reward''?" Aito was about to say "yes" when Ogoro¡ªwho had returned to his roomst night to get some well-deserved rest¡ªcame rushing out of the second floor''s staircase. Loudints were heard all around as he made his way through the crowd, pushing challengers aside. Ogoro quickly shut them up with a furious gaze that couldn''t have been fueled by just their pettyints. He arrived by Aito''s side; his fierce look mixed with something Aito knew too well and dreaded because it had cost too much before: a call for help. "They got She," Ogoro said. Chapter 76 - Caution Or Cowardice? (part 1) "What do you mean?" Aito asked, hoping to get a different answer than what he expected. "The sect¡­ has taken She hostage." Ogoro said, clenching his fists. "We were too careless. I¡­ was too careless." The siblings hadn''t expected Kai to send his men after them. Monitoring them was one thing, but taking action was another. Kai wasn''t the sort of man to act for the sake of vengeance. Well, they had assassinated him in his past life. However, Kai wasn''t aware of it. He had died in his sleep after all. A quick, painless death. No, the ex-CEO''s real reason should lie somewhere else. As for how the sect captured She, it was in fact very simple, yet unthinkable to Ogoro at the time¡ªnot because he was stupid, he just hadn''t expected it. Kai had positioned his men at the entrance of the red challengers'' room, meaning in front of the two candles in the first floor. The siblings usually exited their rooms unhindered and met up outside. This time, however, dozens of well-armed men and women had prepared a weing party. A party to which they were the guests of honor. Ogoro would often go out early, more by habit of organizing his duels than anything else. He fought as hard as he could but surrounded on all sides and taken by surprise, he ultimately got captured. Although, judging by the cuts on Ogoro''s clothes as well as his minor injuries, Aito guessed it cost the Chosen sect a few men to do so. After that, a gagged Ogoro was forced to watch as his sister also suffered an ambush Kai himself was personally overseeing¡ªfrom behind, of course. She did not fare better than her brother. Just like Ogoro, she ended up gagged, tied to a chair. Other challengers in the Square didn''t dare intervene. The sect was powerful. Messing with them would usually end up badly. On the first floor, where no moderator stood guard, it hadn''t been rare to find corpses in the morning during the first month after the Tower opened. Those corpses had belonged to fools who dared insult, plot against, or pick a fight with sect members. Their deaths weren''t necessarily an order of the sect master, though. "Aye, I''ve heard of those incidents," Gwen said, grabbing an unmarked challenger without even looking at her. The sneaky woman was trying to take advantage of Gwen''s attention being elsewhere to ascend to the third floor. Gwen threw her away like she was trash then said, "It''s unfortunate, but it''s part of the Tower. No moderator was ced on the first floor on purpose, to allow such incidents to ur." Aito cared little about those. As far as he knew, those didn''t concern him. Now, what really concerned him was what Ogoro could say next. Because if he had been captured, howe he was standing in front of him? "I¡­ I''ll be honest," Ogoro said, looking Aito straight in the eyes. "I was released so that I could bring you on the first floor in exchange for my sister''s life." Aito frowned, instinctively tightening his grip on the double-edged ax. He had to admit, Ogoro was quite daring. If he thought Aito wouldy down his life for She, he was awfully mistaken. "Do you realize what you''re asking of me?" He said. "This is not what you think," Ogoro replied. "Kai just wants to talk to you. Nothing else." "What? Did you seriously buy that bullshit?" "He promised." Ogoro said, "I''ve worked for him before. Many times. As far as I know, he''s never broken a promise." Ogoro''s gaze full of hope was like a dagger slowly reaching for Aito''s throat. He hated that kind of situation the most because he could rte to it. The man simply wished to save his sister. He wished to save a family member. Which, in turn, blinded him to all logical thinking. To the point of being foolish, making irrational decisions. Aito knew the man standing in front of him would do anything to save his sister. Including taking reckless actions. After all, he himself had done so in the past by trying to win a tournament he had no chances of winning in the first ce. Where had it led him to act before thinking things through? Nowhere else but in jail. Broken. Shattered. Hopeless. ''Don''t say the words. Do not say them.'' Aito thought, praying to all that was holy¡ªnot the damn gods of Iris¡ªOgoro wouldn''t utter those words. Seeing Aito''s unwillingness to apany him, Ogoro knelt in a dogeza position. Facedown against the ground, he pleaded, "Please, help me." ''Shit! Fuck! Filona!'' Aito cursed internally, then erged his repertoire of divine curses because of his frustration, although it made absolutely no sense. ''Belmand! Valinar!'' Normally, he wouldn''t be struggling with that kind of situation. Rejecting it was the way to go. The safest option. Why should he help Ogoro anyway? Because he had helped him train? Because of the memory bead? To his mind, those were nowhere near enough to put his own life on the line for someone else. Yes, he, well, they had dealt with dozens of sect members before. This, however, he felt would be different. Free from the moderators'' influence on the first floor, Kai could use his men to their fullest potential. More precisely, surround him with so many of them he wouldn''t be able to handle it alone. Also, Aito hadpletely abandoned the idea of risking his life for someone else after what happened on the boat during his time as a fishing ve. Not when he had his say in it, at least. Jack had been the sole exception to this rule because he considered the animal trustworthy, a true friend. A rare breed, really. No, risking his life for nothing but a foolish ideal again like he had done back then, was out of the question. Fuck that. Unless the gains outweighed the losses, meaning that he benefited from doing it, Aito would not budge a single toe from where he stood. Out of respect for Ogoro and everything the man had done for him, Aito was holding himself from outright walking away without looking back. Aito sighed, then said, "I''d rather not risk my life for someone I barely know." Ogoro''s body trembled from sorrow at those words. Desperate, and knowing he couldn''t simply force Aito to follow him, he pleaded again, "Please, help me. I''ll do anything to repay you." "I''m sorry, but no." "Please¡­ She is my only little sister," Ogoro said with a trembling voice as tears started to run down his cheeks. "My only family. I cannot lose her¡­ not again." The pitiful appearance of the fearsome warrior in front of him, those words¡­ tugged at Aito''s heartstrings. A distant voice from a dusty corner of Aito''s past whispered to him, encouraging him to help the pitiful man. "Don''t you have a family too?" Ogoro asked, lifting his face full of tears, trying to call upon Aito''s feelings. "I¡­ had," Aito replied with a grim face. Fogged by the urgency, Ogoro''s mind misinterpreted Aito''s answer by a positive one¡ªwhich a sense, was. "Then you must understand what I''m going through!" "I do, but you cannot expect me to risk¡ª" Aito started. "You''re just a coward!" Ogoro interrupted. He stood up, his face full of anger and also disappointment. Watching from the side, Gwen''s brows lifted to express her astonishment. Never would she have thought Ogoro capable of sincerely insulting the man¡ªfor some weird reasons¡ªhe practically saw as his role model. "She was right." Ogoro said, "I have misjudged you, Aito Walker. You''re just like the others. A self-centered, petty, cowardly man. Only thinking of yourself!" "This is called being cautious." Ogoro greeted his teeth before saying, "This is called being pathetic! This is just an excuse! Cower all you want behind it. You can pretend it is caution. But it''ll remain an excuse. Because you know there is something you can do to save my sister! You are just too scared to take the risks! You have no guts!" "Don''t talk to me about fear and guts when you barely know me." Aito retorted, "You don''t know how I''ve lived. You don''t know what I''ve been through. How can you judge me when you know nothing!" Ogoro looked down, appearing to have given up. "Then why did you save us at that time? Why did you pretend to be what you''re not?" Aito clicked his tongue, "Did you watch too many animes that your brain fried? I saved you because a bastard god forced me to do it! I''ve already told you before that you owe me nothing!" Both men stayed silent. Both men looked elsewhere. Both men knew they''ve been in the wrong about each other. Gwen simply pretended to ignore them, since it wasn''t her ce. Instead, she forced the crowd staring at them to advance. Finally, Ogoro broke the silence. "Tch, you are right. I don''t know you. I never did. The man I thought I knew would never say something so gutless. The man I saw bleed and struggle to gain strength each day is nowhere to be seen. The man who saved us back then was just a mirage. An illusion. A product of my own imagination. I was a fool to believe you would help me." Aito looked sideways. Somehow, he felt ashamed. Those words hurt him more than he was willing to admit. "But thanks to you, I''ve finally realized what I should do," Ogoro said, turning around. Before leaving for his own doom, he said, "I hope that you find a heart in this new life of yours." "You''re going to get yourself killed if you go there alone," Aito said, but no one answered him.. The only reply he had was the figure of Ogoro descending towards his own honorable death. Chapter 77 - [BC]Caution Or Cowardice? (part 2) Ogoro stamped down the staircase to the second floor, cursing Aito and his ancestors to the tenth generation. He had believed in him. He felt like a fool, an idiot now. His sister had been right. She had talked about Aito in his room. Saying he was a fraud, a hypocrite and that it would only hurt him to follow the step of such a man. Of course, he had dismissed her. His own delusion had been too strong. Ogoro knew it was just a pipe dream, a dumb idea. However, he wasn''t as stupid as thinking heroes truly existed, at least not entirely. No, he had simply hoped Aito Walker was half of the hero he aspired to be. If others were to know about his aspirations, he was certain they wouldugh, ridicule him. But he was a firm believer in heroism, even more now than before. He had seen so many deaths. A lot of his previous victims had eyes full of fear, well, when they knew what wasing for them. He no longer wished to see those kinds of faces. It hurt him too much. Ogoro feared he''d be mad with bloodlust if that continued. In fact, he had been lost in it before his revival, though he remained kind to his sister. His only sce. Then, Aito had appeared out of nowhere to save them. Reminding him of his previous ideal. Thus, he decided that in this life, instead of being a viin, he''d be someone better. To follow the example of the man who had saved them. Too bad Aito''s thoughts turned out to differ from his. Ogoro hadn''t expected him to refuse so tantly. He had thought of just outright kidnapping him, but with the moderator keeping watch close by, it was simply impossible. What''s more, Aito was stronger than before. ''Whatever, it doesn''t matter anymore.'' He thought, entering a weapon shop with the intent to buy new equipment. He had denied himself this luxury since it had been unnecessary. However, money mattered littlepared to his sister''s life. Ogoro knew he''d have no choice but to fight. He was unable to think up a proper n because of how hopeless it seemed. Without Aito to bargain or help him, he''d be unable to approach the sect master. Furthermore, at the time he had left, there were near sixty of them in the Square. Probably more were now waiting for him toe back. He''d be surrounded from all sides in that vast space. Even if he were to put up a good fight, Kai could simply threaten She to force him to stop. Too many factors yed against him. And his only hope had refused to help him. Also, this kind of nning was She''s domain of expertise, not his. Though he could do his fair share of good nning. So, without much of a n, he resolved himself to face his enemies head-on, thinking that if he were to rush to his doom, might as well be properly equipped, right? *** A few seconds after Ogoro left. Seated on the bench of the third floor. Aito was lost in his thoughts. ''Damn it¡­ who does he take me for? A fucking samaritan?'' Aito wandered, ying with his hair. ''Coward? She was right? I am selfish? He is the one being selfish by asking me to risk my life for a woman that despises me. Just fuck it.'' Standing beside him, Gwen looked at him from the corner of her vision, while looking out for trespassers. It was easy to multitask, considering her absurd powers. She had picked up a lot from the conversation between both challengers. Something, in particr, surprised her. The fact that her apprentice had been forced to rescue She and Ogoro. By a god, no less. Why would a god even do that? As far as she knew there weren''t all-forgiving or willing to help humans unless it benefited their unknown purpose. They were those kinds of beings. Self-centered, hateful pricks who glossed their image using dubious means. Anyway, that wasn''t what worried her at the moment. No, she was worried that Aito would turn out like them. "What are you going to do?" She asked him. "Stay here and train?" "Yeah," He replied, "What? Are you also going to tell me I''m a coward too?" Gwen shook her head, then said, "Nay, you''re not. That much, I''m certain. It takes balls to get your ass beaten every day. Also, the fact you survived the ck trial proves it. Ogoro might have exaggerated. Though, in a sense, he was right." "Tsk," Aito clicked his tongue. "Just shoot it. What do you want to say?" "Just that you were also right in the sense it would be stupid to jump into the wolf''s mouth unprepared. However, did you even bother inspecting the mouth before refusing? Did you even consider the odds of sess? Not really." "I don''t need to. The Square is a vast space capable of housing a thousand humans. The sect has hundreds of people under itsmand. I can just imagine how many are waiting down there for me. It''s just in suicide." "Your objective shouldn''t be to kill them all, but to rescue that bold woman." "Can''t. Too risky." "Not if you can take them by surprise," Gwen said, trying to hint at something. "Whatever you mean, it is impossible. They are probably keeping watch at the entrance near the fountain. Unless there exists another ess point, it is, as I said, pure suicide. I will not ept an impossible request." "Even if there was another ess point?" Gwen said with a yful smile. "Don''t lie to me, Gwen. I''ve checked the area and I''m certain there are none," Aito replied. "Hum, did you ever wonder how the merchants on the second floor moved around? Or where the staff usually disappears after Cooldown periods?" Aito sent her a quizzical gaze, "What do you mean?" "I''m just saying there is another way to reach the first floor." Gwen said, "One I have ess to, but cannot provide because it would defy the purpose of my job." "Great, you''re throwing a bait only to take it back before it even touches the water." "Nay, I never said you couldn''t find it," Gwen said, smirking.. Since Aito didn''t bother replying, or it was more urate to say he was waiting for the next part, she added, "Come on, isn''t it obvious? Just ask any stall owner." Chapter 78 - Overgeared Wearing his grey cloak to hide his identity, Aito walked through the streets of the second floor with a thoughtful expression. For the first time in a while, he wasn''t in the mood to train. His previous interaction with Ogoro had troubled him in more ways than one, preventing him to think straight. Why was he so affected by those, even though he knew he had made the safest decision? The most logical one. He kept wondering if he was truly a coward, although multiple past events proved it to be false. Somehow, his refusal to help Ogoro felt¡­ well, he didn''t feel good about it. To forget about that weird feeling, he decided to visit Ainar and pick up what was promised to him. Certain it''d boost his morale to gain new equipment. But the closer he got to the minerian''s stall, the more another idea sprouted in his head. What if¡­ just what if he could safely use the hidden staircase? No, he shook his head at this stupid idea. Why would a merchant or any staff member want to help him? He had nothing to offer in exchange. At least not something so valuable that it would entice a merchant to break the Tower rules. Moreover, what should he do if he managed to ess the first floor undetected? He had no idea. A long sigh pushed its way out of Aito''s throat as he finally arrived at the minerian''s stall where Ainar was standing by his counter munching on a piece of charcoal. "*Crunch* Fey, foy," Ainar said, swallowing the charcoal reduced to ck powder in his mouth to speak properly. "You look like human shit." "Because I''m in a foul mood," Aito said, before changing the topic. "Anyway, did you finish what I ordered?" "In a hurry to see my work, hun?" Ainar asked. "I''d be lying if I said no." The minerian smirked before he reached under his counter, then neatly ced every single piece of armor set on it. "Here, try these out while I fetch your morpho-ax and shield." Aito rapidly unequipped the full ted armor set he had "borrowed" from Sam and stored it in an inventory bag he had specially kept empty for it. This medieval armor set was truly easier to take off than to put on. Once done, he took a proper nce at his new armor set lying on the table. It wasn''t what he expected. It looked more like a medium-heavy armor than a true heavy one. He simply grunted and decided to put it on beforeining. First was the thick grey vest with long sleeves. It was heavier than it seemed. As he inspected, he realized it was in fact a chain mail, well sort of. The metal was woven with such precision it seemed like a normal cloth. Also, underneath it, there was ayer of hardened leather for additional defensive properties and ayer of fur forfort. He equipped a steel breastte that covered his upper body, pauldrons for his shoulders, vambrace, articted gauntlets, pants also made of chain mail leather. On top of it, he put his steel cuisses. Then he finished by his greaves crafted half with steel, half with leather. There was no unnecessary decoration on his armor set. but it looked cool nheless. It didn''t provide as much protection as the full ted armor set; however, it was far morefortable and easier to move with. Just like everyday clothing. Finally, Aito put on his new helmet, which was akin to those of ancient Greece, only more opened at the level of his jaw. A morpho-ax and shield in hand, Ainar looked from the side with a "so, I told you it was good" expression. "Comfy. Warm. Perfect size." Aito said, nodding, "Not bad." "Not bad?" Ainar said, pointing his bulgy index finger at Aito in an usatory manner. "This design allows for more agile movements. I even added a zipper for your little scrog. Your vest and pants are made of weaved-mail, providing protection against even a steel sword. Only a few smiths can weave steel with that kind of precision. I also added a bit of your shiny rock, which I''m calling ainium now, to increase its resistance to aura attacks. I''ve discovered that if I fuse it with another metal, in this case, steel, the result is a new metal with aura resistance properties." "However, it''s not at the level that it will repel aura skills, but your equipment should dispel it after a few seconds. Why didn''t I use the ainium for your whole armor? The reason is simple, it''s so that you can use aura yourself, for as long as there is no impact like squeezing or hitting, the diluted ainium won''t react negatively to aura. But imagine that you''re wearing armor entirely made of ainium and use Durability on it, your aura would bounce off even without any impact of sorts. You would just get injured in the process. Which defies the purpose of an armor." "I do think it is possible to instantly cancel out an enemy''s aura skill with the proper metal fusion. I didn''t manage to find the perfect bnce, yet. Currently, if we don''t take into ount the other materials, your armor set is made of 95% steel and 5% ainium. There is no other armor set like this one. It is the first of its kind. A unique piece." Ainar said, his torrent of exnationing to an end. "So, do you think it''s still ''not bad,'' hun?" Aito looked at his equipment with a new perspective. His old one couldn''t evenpare. This armor set was much more versatile. Greatly increasing his chances of survival against skills entirely based on aura. However, it wouldn''t be as effective against certain skills. Most of them were used by mage sses. The main difference between mage sses and otherbatant sses was the usage of aura to influence their surrounding environment. For example, elementalists, like those Aito encountered before, would use their aura to capture the ambient air. Small particles of aura acted as links to attract oxygen, then trap it in a form of a ball delimited by aura. Inside it, the particles of aura would create intense friction to birth a fire. As long as the aura membrane cloaking the fire remained intact and the supply of energy was unperturbed, the fireball wouldn''t dissipate. Well, if the caster were to run out of oxygen to feed the me, it would go off. Warrior and archer sses mainly used aura to enhance their body or equipment capabilities. Of course, it was not a strict rule, just a general fact. Some umon warriors were known to be able to cast fireballs, after all. Although Aito''s new armor set could resist telekinesis skills like Mabas'', it''d be hard to defend against the heat of a fireball since it was made of pure fire. It was created using aura, but ultimately, it wasn''t entirely made of aura. The mes would have enough time to burn him because of the sparse quantity of ainium. "Hum, it''s VERY not bad indeed," Aito said, enjoying teasing the minerian. That new equipment boosted his morale and confidence by a considerable amount. Ainar shook his head at the ignorant, then settled a thick metallic round shield on the counter. Its surface was covered with grey metallic scales, which were steel reforged into small oval-shaped tes. "Grab it and infuse your mana into the mana bead next to your index on the grip." Curious, Aito did as he was told. Immediately after, the inside of the shield emitted creaking sounds. From top to bottom of the shield, the small metallic tes shifted sides in the blink of an eye, showing shining scales crafted from ainium. "This¡­" Aito paused, too impressed to talk. "An anti-magic shield," Ainar said, crossing his burly arms and lifting his nose to manifest his pride. "There are twoyers. A steelyer and an ainiumyer. By infusing mana into the grip, you''ll be able to shiftyers. Steel for your aura skills. Ainium for defending against an aura attack. Do take care of not using aura on the ainium side. Your equipment would remain intact but the aura will disperse violently like a shock wave. I guess it can be useful as an attack of sorts. Ah, and if you want to shorten the shield, simply infuse your mana into the second mana bead next to your pinky." Aito tried it as soon as he heard that. The shield rapidly reformed into a smaller version in the shape of a piece of pizza. "This¡­ I feel like I''m cheating." Aito dered. "Because you are!" Ainar eximed, "This is a real cheat. Even more here, since we are in the Tower. I''m confident to say that no challengers will be your equal with it. Add this to your arsenal, and you can officially be called a cheater." Ainar handed him a one-handed bearded ax with multiple features on its ax head. "The ax head isposed of three parts," Ainar exined, pointing at the de. "This one is made of pure steel using the design you asked for. The backside of the ax head is a hammer crafted with Ainium. On top of the head is a small steel pike you could use for piercing. Oh, if you¡ª" Aito didn''t even wait for Ainar to finish his sentence and immediately proceeded to infuse mana into the shaft, which almost immediately lengthened by slightly more than twice its size. Like small trap doors, the top and bottom of the bearded ax de opened to make way for the lengthening process. Instead of a one-handed bearded ax was now a two-handed executioner ax with a long half-moon de specially made for decapitation. "So, satisfied?" Ainar asked, smirking. "Very satisfied," Aito replied, morphing his weapon back to normal. Almost each of the gears showed to him had been modified, improved beyond what he had ordered. Not that he minded this kind of initiative from the inventor, as long as it was good. "In fact, I feel like I''m over-geared." "Ha! Wait until you try it out in an actual fight. The fourth and fifth floors will be a piece of cake for you. The sixth will be a bit more challenging but won''t be an issue. I''m pretty certain you could even take on a small army of challengers with this weapon and your current equipment. Provided you have the skills to wield them, of course." ''A small army of challengers¡­.'' Aito thought, his mind wandering back to his earlier discussion with Ogoro. ''Maybe¡­ with that equipment¡­ yeah, there is a definitely a higher chance I could pull it off. No, wait... I don''t even have ess to the hidden staircase. Without it, it''d still be suicide.'' Aito''s gaze then naturallyid on the minerian who had a weird satisfied grin on his face. ''But he does.'' Chapter 79 - Im No Hero (part 1) Ainar noticed his stare, and said, "What''s with this intense staring, boy? Do you want toin about something? I''m warning you, I offer no refunds." "No, your armor is perfect," Aito replied. "Then what is it? You want my portrait drawn for you?" "No," Aito said, gazing at him intently. "I want your help." He then promptly exined what happened to the siblings in a few sentences. The minerian stayed stoic all along. "So?" Aito asked. Ainar returned his stare. Seeing the intensity and seriousness in it, he pushed out a heavy sigh. He knew these kinds of eyes. These usually spelled trouble. However, he had been prepared for it. Roan had told him it could happen. Now, how did that red-haired bastard know? That remained a mystery, even to Ainar who has known him for quite a long time. "What do you expect of me, then? I fail to see how it concerns me." The minerian asked, although he already had a good guess as to what the boy would say. Since it wasn''t his style, Aito didn''t beat around the bush and said, "Could you grant me ess to the staff''s staircase?" The minerian held his head in one hand as if he had the worst headache of his life, sighed, picked up a piece of charcoal, and took a bite. He still felt doubtful about what Roan had told him. Thus, he needed to verify it. To be certain that it would really happen that way. "And why should I do that?" He asked, "It''d be a vition of the Tower''s rules. If a moderator ever finds out about it, it''ll cost me dearly." Indeed, why should he? Aito had spoken on the spur of the moment. Without thinking about something in exchange. Something worth Ainar''s trouble. At that moment, his gaze naturally wandered around, as if looking for an answer in his surroundings. His eyes finally settled on his ax''s hammer side. Its shiny metallic head was truly a sight to behold as well as a bane to all aura skills. Ironically, he found in it his answer. "How about a partnership?" He said, looking confident. Ainar eyed him stoically, inviting him to develop his offer. "This armor set is valuable, right?" Aito said, pointing at his new equipment, "As you said, it is a unique piece." "Unhun, so what?" Aito shook his head internally. To him, the minerian really had no sense of business whatsoever. "The metal, ainium like you call it, is my property." Aito continued, "You have your skill set and a good understanding of how ainium works. If we partner up, we could sell the equipment crafted out of it. For the right price, of course. Since it''ll be unique, and considering its resistance to Aura attack, there''s bound to be a high demand." "True," Ainar agreed. How could he not? It was truly a profitable offer. Something he could use to his advantage. Minerians were famous for their craftsmanship, but also for being victims of racism. Most of them were enved by humans or killed for profit. Because their hearts were deeply valued, on top of being rare due to their dwindling numbers. The only reason Ainar was a free minerian was that he''d always be on the run. He also had different hideouts and a main atelier where he''d craft the best equipment he could. He was the sole minerian in the Tower for a reason. Normally, to enter the Tower, it required special permission from one of the four Churches. But thanks to Roan who registered him each time, he could ess it every year. Other stall owners did look at him weirdly at first. However, with time, they got used to his presence, until they died from old age¡ªor killed by something else¡ªand were reced by new ones. Moreover, he chose the bazar for his stall because people were less inquisitive here. Being on the main three districts¡ªweapon, armor, and magic engineering¡ªwas asking for troubles. It would expose him to too many res. For a long time, he had searched for a way out of his predicament in the form of a patron of sorts. Someone he could partner up with. Someone he could use to proactively create in peace. Someone he could trust. Well, also someone who could bring him a good amount of profit. Although Aito was nowhere near qualified to fulfill all these requirements, he had potential. Ainar would be dumb if he did not see it. He was a ck challenger. Although crazy, every ck challenger before Aito had at least attained the upper Transcendent realm, some had been Legends, one reached the Demigod realm and even became an actual godter on after getting rid of his craziness somehow. Today, he was known as Zalon, the god of wisdom. ''Damn it¡­ should I really ce my trust in this boy like Roan asked me to?'' Ainar wondered. He took another inquisitive look at Aito wearing the armor he had created. Ainar smiled, remembering a certain boy long ago who had the same potential, yet met a tragic end. ''Same expression. Same demeanor. Same burning gaze. Will it be the same ending though?'' "So?" Aito said, trying to get an answer from the minerian. "What do you say?" Ainar sighed, it truly went as Roan predicted. He internally cursed his friend for being right, but also felt grateful towards him. "Let me ask you something first," Ainar said. "Why would you help them, even when you refused at first?" Aito stared at his ax once again, tightening his grip on the shaft. "Because I have the necessary means to do so now." Ainar lifted one of his brows, appearing unconvinced, then said, "Is that really it? Just because you have new equipment? If that''s the case, then don''t¡ª" "No," Aito interrupted, shaking his head. "Not only. I just¡­ I don''t know. I keep hearing Ogoro''s voice in my head. " You coward! "Somehow, I can''t exactly take my thoughts out of it. I hate to admit it, but a part of me insist... knows that he was right. Ogoro''s usatory facees back to haunt me. Every minute or second, I spend here, doing nothing." Why did you pretend to be what you''re not!? "It felt impossible at first. I mean¡­ should I just blindly charge into certain danger for people I barely know? Every time I ran into impossible situations was because someone I truly cared about was in danger. It''s not that I don''t like the siblings but I''m no hero, Ainar. I don''t have that kind of foolish courage." This is just an excuse! Cower all you want behind it! But it''ll remain an excuse! "I''ve tried that before. Once. Thinking that saving fishing ves would ease the turmoil in my heart." There, memories of what happened after his time in jail on Earth shed through his mind in just an instant. "Only to discover that trustworthy people are exceedingly hard toe by." Chapter 80 - [BC]Im No Hero (part 2) Barely a few weeks after Aito''s imprisonment, a henchman of someone whom his father owed money, came to pick him up, saying that since Tevari was dead, he had to pay for it. Ironically, nobody, nor the guards, nor Justice intervened. Thus, he had been forced into a position even worse than a prisoner. Years of industrial fishing had depleted the ocean''s resources. Paying fishermen became nonprofitable, for they would always bring fewer and fewer fish. Even with the overall price of fish rising to an unreasonable level, fishingpanies couldn''t remunerate their employees properly. Thus the birth of a new "profession": fishing ves. Forbidden? Injust? Who cared? On the open sea, no one was willing to check and chase those ships. A few adventurous fools had tried to denounce such practices but ended up at the end of a fishing line. The governments around the world closed their eyes to this new practice. The reasons? As per usual, money. Always money. As a fishing ve, Aito was never remunerated and basically treated as a ve of old. ves could never leave the ship. When they neared a coast, they would swap ships on the sea, so that the one they had filled with fishes could go to the harbor. With barely enough to eat every day, Aito had to work to exhaustion. If heined, only a beating awaited him. He never did, thinking it was part of his punishment. The captain beat him up sometimes anyway when he was in a foul mood because they hadn''t had a good harvest. Lodgings were crude. Dozens of ves were literally crammed in a small ten-meter square room. If they were to fall sick, the captain would force them to work, nheless using various means. Boiled seawater. A good beating with a club. Sometimes he''d even point a gun at their heads. Many lives were lost that way. Aito endured this situation for a few months. Beatings after beatings. At some point, he came to realize that his sister and mother might have suffered the same fate because of his father''s debts. Although uncertain, he had to check up on them. He had had no news of his family since his imprisonment. No one had evere to visit him while he had been in jail. He couldn''t me them, though. And so, he devised a n to escape. Pitying the other fishing ves, he had shared his n with them, offering a partnership. However, deep down, he knew he only helped them because of his sin. Thinking that, helping someone else could ease the unbearable guilt. That saving them would grant him a modicum of salvation. Trusting they wouldn''t betray him. After all, they were in the same boat. Grave mistake. The night of the operation, after the captain and other official crew members were supposed to be asleep, followed by others, Aito discreetly went for a lifeboat, nning on using it to escape with the others. There, he fell into an ambush. While he was beaten up by the captain, Aito learned as the despicable man ridiculed him, that a fellow ve of his had betrayed him. In fact, all of them had. Why? Because they feared punishment. They feared for their own lives. With almost no other way to escape death, he jumped off-board. His fall was apanied by the captain''sugh. After all, they were hundreds of kilometers away from the shore. It was pure suicide. Lost in the middle of the ocean, Aito almost drowned on multiple asions. But his anger and desire to survive fueled hisughable storage of energy. Pushing him to swim, while cursing the crew, those wretched traitors, and himself for ying hero. Until finally, luck blessed him with an encounter that would save his life, and grant him the best possible friend someone could have. Jack, a jovial man who had been traveling the world on his sailboat, rescued him. *** "Indeed. Some humans are hardly worth a single coin of trust." Ainar said, "Still, that doesn''t answer my question. Actually, I''m even more curious to know your answer now.." "Honestly, I have no idea, myself," Aito said bluntly. "I just do not want to go through that kind of betrayal, again. But¡­ this¡­ all this. Somehow¡­" A part of him could rte to it. He hated this the most because he could actually put himself in Ogoro''s shoes. On one hand, he felt envious, jealous. Because Ogoro actually had a sister to care for. Aito had no one. Not anymore. Maybe that was also why he worried about monkey Jack so much and considered him an important friend. On the other hand, he understood Ogoro perfectly. He would have done the same if Haley were in She''s ce. He''d have rushed into certain death without batting an eye. Preferably with a n of course. "The more I think about it, the more I feel that I was mistaken. Because helping them¡­" He stopped and closed his eyes to fight his better judgment. The side of him telling him it was foolish. Amidst the struggle, he remembered Ogoro''s pitiful pleas. Don''t you have a family too? Then you must understand what I''m going through!? She is my only little sister. My only family. He pushed out a heavy sigh from his throat, opened his eyes, and at the same time, made up his mind. Please, help me. "Because this feels like the right thing to do." Ainar clicked his tongue. The boy was clearly just speaking from his heart. There was no real logical thinking to it. He could see Aito''s lingering hesitation, close to overruling the sparse amount of foolish butmendable bravery he had gathered. However, Ainar did not mind such a fool. ''Hum, not a hero.'' He thought, eyeing Aito with a content expression. ''He sure does have the look of one in the armor I crafted though.'' Silently, without a word or warning, Ainar gestured for Aito to follow him. He led Aito in a back alley located in the bazar district, far from the prying eyes, then took out a medallion to open up a door in a wall. The door led to a spiral staircase that surrounded the entire second floor like a snake. Furthermore, from the stairs, one could see the outside, as if the walls were invisible. "There, go down. Hurry, before anyone sees you." Ainar said, practically pushing him into the opened gap in the wall. "If you survive,e back to see me at my stall. Ah, also take these. Use Durability on these then throw them." The inventor rapidly put two metallic balls the size of an egg in Aito''s palm. "Thank¡ª," Aito''s tried to say but the wall abruptly closed behind him. BAM! "¡­you." Chapter 81 - OniiChan At The Rescue! Kai Tsubame has been very surprised at how things turned out in the end. The ck challenger proved to be tougher to test than originally nned. He even forged an alliance of sorts with the assassin siblings. Together, they had taken down a groupposed of twenty level 1 swordsmen, ten level 1 bowmen, and two level 1 elementalists. That operation cost him dearly. Losing warrior and archer sses was eptable. Those were moremon enough. Mage sses, however, were harder to find. Generally, only around one out of ten humans could be a mage ss. Not because of theirck of mana, but because of theirck of raw talent in manipting aura outside of the boundary of their bodies. Eventually, one would learn to do so with time, provided the person managed to live long enough. However, only a few, those who showed promise early on, could be mage sses. So, had it been worth it losing two elementalists? In a sense, yes. His future manager, the one who would lead his troops in a near-future¡ªor so he thought¡ªproved to be cunning. A trait he quite liked about a subordinate. The ck challenger was staying on the third floor on purpose to avoid his henchmen. Nothing he could do about it. He had sent the sect members to spy on him every day and found a few interesting things. First, his name was Aito Walker. A negligible detail to everyone but not him, for Kai had heard about the name a great many times before. In fact, he knew it too well. One of the most profitable enterprises in his previous life hade from Aito''s father, after all. How could he forget the son of such a gullible, generous man? Second, he realized that Aito was slowly but progressively developing a friendly rtionship with Ogoro. In it, Kai saw the potential to draw Aito out from his hiding ce. He had waited until they developed an eptable bond. Not too long because it would have been difficult to clear the Tower with but two or three weeks left. But not too fast as to let them increase their sense of friendship. The rest had been easy. Kidnap She to trigger Ogoro, pushing him to bring Aito. The bait has been thrown, he only needed to wait. Worst-case scenario, he''d only have lost a morning of ie due to the number of sect members he had deployed. No big deal. He''d take She as a constion prize. Best case scenario and what Kai hoped for, would be that he sessfully draw out the ck challenger and convince him to join his ranks. In the off-chance Aito managed to resist him, which was supposedly improbable, well¡­ to avoid future potential trouble, Kai''d prefer to kill him now. Plucking the roots out of the sap before it became a tree was preferable. Also, Kai had already lost thirty-two employees, killed by Aito and the siblings. Dozens of others were currently in floor zero. A real waste of resources. He needed to make up for his losses. Sam has been freed thanks to a few bribes and convincing. Kai had been pleasantly surprised when he realized his skills could actually even influence moderators. Not by arge amount. What he couldn''t do with his diplomatic skills waspensated mainly in soul cores. Moderators also had mortal desires. So after offering Sara, the other moderator of the second floor, a few men to bed, on top of being influenced by his skills, she epted to release Sam. Kai hoped this investment was worth it though. Thankfully, this morning, they had seeded in their operation. Oh, how refreshing it had been. Although Kai knew the n would seed, seeing it happening in front of his eyes was different. In one word: bliss. A true bliss. He''d be downright lying if he said he didn''t take any pleasure in this. Capturing two elusive assassins that had been quite feared back on Earth was just¡­ satisfying. There were no other words to describe it. As for why he needed this whole show of force? Well, let''s just say that his reputation has been down as ofte because of the ass whopping his henchmen suffered a few weeks ago. In a way, it was to restore the prestige he was due. She stared dagger at Kai, her icy blue eyes emanating cold killing intent. Kai simply smiled in response while gazing at her curves. Oh how he had dreamt of ravaging her countless times before. Not that he had never met attractive women, quite the contrary. But her cold demeanor. Her imprable walls. The aura screaming "independent, strong woman," tempted him more than just a mere beautiful body. He could certainly take her now. On this very table ced at the center of the first floor, where both of them were sitting at. But no. It would be tasteless. Kai wanted to break her. To dominate her. To make her submit. Once he''d gain absolute control, then yes, he''d be able to enjoy her to the fullest! "You''re wasting your time," She dered in a mocking tone. "He will nevere." "Perhaps. But he who never tries will never have." Kai replied, his voice strangely soothing. "Nothing is certain. Be it on Earth or in another world. Nothing is certain, She. I''m smart enough to know I can''t seed every time. That''s one of the reasons I have three hundred and fifty men here. Instead of mocking me, I think you should think about your brother. Compared to the ck challenger, HE will juste back for you." A trace of worry passed by She''s face, for she knew her brother was that kind of reckless idiot. She knew he''d definitelye and cause a ruckus. Now, question was, how were they supposed to get out of this alive? The answer was right in front of her with a slight smile on his ugly, chubby face. She couldn''t help but think that if a genuine butt hole could show a smile, it''d definitely resembled Kai''s. Yes, if they wanted to survive, She would have to capture that smiling asshole and use that despicable bastard''s life to bargain for their own. The ropes binding She to her chair weren''t the biggest obstacle to that. In fact, it''d be quite easy to free herself. It just required time. No, the main issue was the numerous pair of eyes focused on her. *** Ogoro appeared in the Square from the red corner. He was wearing a chain mail underneath his leather armor, as well as a cheap-looking round helmet. A two-handed sword in hand, he pushed a cloaked figure in front of him, forcing the doddering man to advance. He simply introduced him as the ck challenger, when, in fact, the man was simply a beggar he had picked up along the way. Luckily, no one questioned him¡­ yet. Well, they had strict orders of letting him pass, anyway. Ogoro was intent on using that kindly provided privilege. He had used his remaining amount of TP to buy the beggar food and clothes in exchange for the measly service of apanying him on the first floor. Stoned, confused by the fog the beggar had drunk previously, he had epted without batting an eye. But now that he stood amidst hundreds of men armed to the teeth, even with an unclear mind, his body instinctively recognized the danger. The beggar tensed up. His sweat profusely poured out of his every pore. Ogoro knew the beggar''s courage only hung by a thin thread. Luckily, the idiots were letting him pass. Probably because they only heard about the ck challenger and never seen him in person. It was only a matter of time before someone did, though. Either that or the beggar''s courage would fail. No matter, he was already halfway to his target. At that moment, a bold manager he was already acquainted with, interrupted him. "Been a while, Ogoro. Oh wait, never mind, I recall beating your ass this morning! Ahahaha!" Sam said, his head still as shiny as ever. His gaze thennded on the cloaked figure. "Hey, who do we have here? No way! Did you actually manage to bring that asshole here? I can''t believe it!" The beggar under his hood trembled with fear. Noticing he might be found out, Ogoro tried to dy the inevitable. "I wouldn''t do that if I were you. He is already pissed enough as it is." Sam scoffed in response as prepared to lift the beggar''s hood, "All the better!" Suddenly, like a rat pursued by a cat, the beggar ran for dear life under Sam''s confused expression. Ogoro didn''t waste a microsecond and bashed the baldy with his sword''s pommel then rushed to his target. On the way, his gaze met She''s. Thanks to the years spent training, killing together, he immediately understood her intentions¡ªwhich weren''t hard to guess since they both had the same one¡ªand decided to provide her with the distraction she needed. "Don''t worry, She.. Onii-chan has arrived!" Ogoro shouted, spreading more confusion with his sentence than with the beggar. Chapter 82 - The Staffs Staircase A few minutes before "Onii-chan arrived." Aito descended the stairs. The surroundings showed by the transparent walls progressively changed from the second floor to actual stone walls the deeper he went. Sometimes, he''d see the staircases used by challengers. Much like the ones essible to challengers, the staff''s staircase was light by small seafoam color light bulbs glued to the ceiling and the wall to his left. The wall on his right seemed to be solely kept for sighting the floors. Curious, he took a moment to touch the transparent wall while walking. Surprisingly, as if it were an illusion, the wall blurred as his fingertips entered it, creating ripples as it touched stone cold... stones on the other side. ''The heck?'' Aito thought, surprised. He was certain it had been hard, solid, normal before. Though he hadn''t touched it once inside the staircase. Or maybe it was only solid on the outside? ''Interesting. If that is the case, it means it is possible to just exit the corridor by passing through it.'' He then looked at the supposedly transparent wall only showing stones. ''Hum, yeah. Better avoid crossing to the other side right now.'' If his theory was correct, which was certainly the case, it could justify a few things. For instance, how moderators, at least those on the second floor, could seem like they appeared out of nowhere. Just like during themotions a few weeks ago with Maba. Or maybe the man had flown to every location that needed investigation, included the one Aito had been in. Possible, since no challengers really looked up, nobody expected someone to be able to levitate, much less fly. This thought warned Aito of the possibility he could stumble on a moderator in here. Well, luckily it was still morning. Moderators of the second floor would usually patrol around in in sight at this hour. As Aito continued further down to his possible doom, the metallic feeling in his right hand reminded him of something. It couldn''t be his ax since it was stored to his waist in a special sheath that allowed for a quick draw, an additional feature Ainar incorporated in the armor¡ªfew such features were added forfort and practicality. Aito looked into his hand to see two grey round-shaped items. Too focused on his personal mission and the peculiar staircase, he had forgotten to check these out. These were half the size of his palm. They were also heavier than their appearance suggested. ''Just what are these exactly?'' Ainar had only left a sparse amount of instructions that were limited to "use Durability, then throw." ''He could have done a better job exining.'' Well, time had been of the essence, but still, the minerian could have at the very least told him what these balls did. However, judging by what Ainar had told him, Aito could guess he shouldn''t be keeping the balls in hand after applying Durability on them. No need to be a genius to figure that out. Which reminded him of a certain modern weapon on Earth. ''Why do I feel like these awfully resembles grenades?'' He thought, ''Nah¡­ no way. Hum, actually never mind. Let''s keep an open mind. It''s Ainar after all.'' If these were really grenades then, yeah, they''ll certainly be useful. He got the sudden urge to test one out, just in case. But he forced the thought back into the mind-closet, where he stored stupid pointless ideas. With only two of them, it''d be a waste to do so. Soon, he''d know what they do anyway. A few minutes and many stairster, Aito neared his destination. Thankfully, he hase across no one until now. Every staff member was busy with their jobs, anyway. A clear straight line akin to a ceiling separated the first floor from what was possibly the challengers'' staircases appeared on the transparent wall. The stairs in front of Aito finally became t ground, surrounding the entire Square. Aito suspected that at some point if he continued further down the road, he''de across stairs leading to floor zero. Whatever, the see-through wall was finally showing something more interesting than stone for kilometers away. The Square was almost half-full or just appeared to be. Hundreds of people, Aito supposed they belong to the sect, were monitoring each entrance. Unlike before, they seemed more organized, as if a capable leader was overseeing them this time. At the center of it all was a dinner table with long candles, a white tablecloth, and two seats. One would think it was a gastronomic restaurant if it weren''t for therge spaces, theck of real ambiance, and the hundreds of men and women too numerous to be mistaken for waiters. Aito barely recognized the ce. It looked more like a garrison or a defensive position where one would wait for a mortal enemy toe by. ''Are they really thinking that highly of me?'' Aito thought, smirking. ''Frankly, I''m moved. Really, you shouldn''t have! No really, I wished they hadn''t.'' If he had to take a guess, he''d estimate the small army to number around three hundred to four hundred people. ''Hum, here''s that pain in the ass of a woman.'' She and someone whom Aito supposed was the sect master¡ªor someone high in the sect''s hierarchy¡ªwere seated at the table. A true romantic date. A noticeable difference between them was the bindings around She, while the man had none. Was it an SM date then? Aito came to a stop at the blue corner, just next to the hundreds of candles leading to the blue challengers'' lodgings. ''What now?'' He asked himself as he recapped his goals, more to look for an actual n than because he needed it. Aito simply needed one thing. Well, one person. She. Once he got her, he''d have to leave the first floor. Problem was, how? He seriously doubted he''d have ess to the staff''s staircase once crossing to the other side. Which meant Aito must found another escape path. Obviously, the challenger staircases were his only option. Those were spread around the four colorful corners. The issue wasn''t to find them, but to get to them. Around seventy, possibly more, assholes were guarding each corner, with maybe a dozen at the center guarding the chubby Asian man. Luckily, some of them still wore grey clothes. The same asst time. Probably because they had participated in themotions and escaped the moderators somehow. Or was it a fashion trend? Who cared? It allowed Aito for a way to blend into the crowd using the cloak a sect member had kindly given to him before. But reaching She with it might be impossible. Even if he could, how would he be able to bring the ungrateful woman out of here undetected? Simple. It was impossible with his current abilities. Chapter 83 - [BC]Surrounded On All Sides (part 1) He''d have to forcefully ask them to let him pass. Broken bones, shredded throats, missing arms, legs and decapitation should do. At least he saw no other way. Their numbers were overwhelming though. Plus, thanks to the huge open space in which they could freely maneuver, they could surround him in no time. And damn, those guys were well-armed. Warriors standing by the entrances had, at the very least, leather armors. Some of them were equipped with some steel armor parts. Probably slowly umting equipment to have aplete set of full ted armor. Archers standing behind the warriors at the ready were all equipped with either cloth armor or just leather armors. Since they didn''t go into melee that often, they had less protective equipment. Then there were mages. Pain in ass stereotypical hooded guys with powers capable of rendering any equipment perfectly useless. If fireballs hit a full-ted warrior multiple times, the warrior would probably be cooked alive like a roasted chicken in an oven. Even with Durability. Thankfully, he had the perfect counter to those nasty cheaters. Well, they probably weren''t all elementalists. But whatever, most of them were. It was the most popr mage ss. Also, Aito couldn''t know everything. If necessary, he''d improvise on the flight. Aito then noticed something, the henchmen were fewer in numbers on the ck corner. It looked slightly weaker than the other corners. Was it intentional? It looked more like a trap than anything else. As he saw it, they might be thinking he''de down from that side. Hard to tell. How could they be thinking he''d do that? ''Damn it, it''s so confusing.'' To most, it''d just look like a weak point, but to Aito, it sure was a trap, and being weak was its true purpose. If he came down from the stairs, he could pave his way through those henchmen alone. That''s when he''d be trapped inside, though. The goal was probably to draw him in, then encircle him so that he wouldn''t escape using the stairs. That was Aito''s guess and the only reason he could find as to why that particr corner looked weaker. Well, there was also the improbable reason: they hadn''t realized it. Fat chance of that happening, though. ''Anyway, it looks like the forceful way might be my only ticket out of this ce.'' He thought, then realized another problem. ''Damn¡­ how do I even walk out of here the staff''s staircase. I could use a distraction but¡­'' At that moment, Ogoro walked down the stairs with a cloaked figure. Aito couldn''t help but feel guilty at the sight of this man braving the impossible on his own. Well, it looked like he got help. A few momentster, Ogoro went wild as the supposed "helper" apanying him ran away like a chicken. The man was quickly killed. "Don''t worry, She! Onii-chan has arrived!" Ogoro eximed. Like many others, Aito froze, more because of the umon nature of this war cry than anything else. However, itsted for only a second as he realized he got the distraction he needed. ''Ask and you shall receive,'' Aito thought, storing the two weird balls in his pant''s pocket to draw his ax. He waited a bit. Certain the few henchmen next to the wall he nned on crossing were watching the Onii-Chan''s outburst, Aito hid his appearance under the cloak''s hood and proceeded to blend into the confused crowd. The transparent wall flickered as Aito''s body crossed over to the first floor, creating ripples on the wall that soon stopped when he emerged on the blue corner, next to two henchmen who seemed to be betting. "Five goblin soul cores Onii-chan doesn''tst five minutes." "Sure. Although I do think Onii-chan''s power could surprise us! Hahaha." Aito silently passed by the two idiotsughing over an idiotic joke instead of actually helping theirrades fight off a raging older brother. Thanks to his cloak and the great distraction, Aito sessfully made his way half through She''s position. Being on the opposite side of Ogoro''s rampage, he didn''t have to get mixed up in the conflict yet. Aito soon reached an impasse. More than seventy challengers had assembled at the center to protect the sect master. Nobody was allowed through. So Aito pretended he came as reinforcement and blended in the crowd. Like the others, he stared at Ogoro, who appeared to be in a pickle. Surrounded on all sides, he was already doing a good job slicing anyone daring enough to approach him. However, injuries on his body were umting at a rapid pace. Three arrows had found their way through his armor''s weak points. His backside showed burnt marks, probably caused by fireballs. Some of his leather armor parts had deep cuts in them. At this rate, even with his skills, he wouldn''tst more than two minutes. Maybe less. Meaning the distraction would cease soon. ''Damn it¡­ if I wait, I could probably reach She undetected.'' Aito thought, ''But Ogoro could die in the meantime.'' Aito sighed. He had forgotten that another person could also need saving. His left hand reached for the short crossbow strapped to the left side of his waist, thinking of using it, but nah, he wasn''t as proficient with it as to prevent hitting the two people who needed help. You never know, in such a chaotic situation, firing on your own allies was easier than anyone would think. Well, firing in a crowd would also be easier tond a hit. A henchman next to him noticed his heavy sigh and asked, "What''s the matter? Did you lose your bet? Ah, should have bet Ogoro tost three or four minutes. Toote for regrets now." "Nah, I haven''t lost my bet," Aito replied, as the ax morphed into a two-handed executioner ax while producing clicking sounds. "But you''re about to lose yours." The henchman''s gaze shifted from mockery to curiosity, then shock as Aito sliced off his head in less time than it took to say "fuck." Aito''s hood went down because of the sudden rapid move, revealing his new Greek-like helmet. He infused mana into it to activate an additional feature the minerian had added to it. The metal covering his jawline lengthened from both sides to meet at the center, forming a face mask akin to a ninja''s, albeit crafted from steel instead of cloth. There were tiny holes purposely made for breathing more easily. CLICK! Only the area around Aito''s eyes remained uncovered, granting him enough space to see almost unhindered. Although his field of vision was slightly affected, it couldn''t be helped. It was the price to pay for protection. Better that than receiving an arrow in the head. He took a rapid step forward. In an instant, he infused his equipment with Durabilty, increased the weight of his own weapon by 2.5 times, then swiftly activated Whirlwind while advancing. Arms, legs, heads, armor parts. In less than two seconds, a bloody carnage decorated the floor around him as he stopped to reposition himself while his opponents'' armors started to glow yellow. "You should all reconsider your bets," he said, before starting a ughter even more gruesome than Ogoro''s. Chapter 84 - Surrounded On All Sides (part 2) Orders fused on all sides. So did screams of despair. So did Aito''s war cry as he spun to his target. Swordsmen armed with shields surrounded him on all sides. By fear of hitting their allies, archers positioned behind the lines were on hold, as were the elementalists. It was time for pure melee. It was time for blood, steel, and physical strength to do the talking. At some point, Aito''s skill Whirlwind started to slow down. Even with his level 2 Durability, his enemies'' defenses, now glowing yellow, were a pain in the ass to deal with because of their sheer numbers. Those cunning bastards had boosted their defenses by standing next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, ovepping their shields to create a doubleyer of protection. Aito smirked under his helmet, halting his body rotation. The morpho ax still retained its momentum as he swiftly swapped the de side for the hammer side that was uncoated with Durability. With arge powerful swing, Aito''s weapon crashed against his opponent''s shields like a raging tide, smashing, obliterating the sect members'' every defense in its wake like those were fragile sses. BAM! The ainium hammer did a bloody, gruesome job. Acting on the molecr level, it created a violent reaction under its victims'' shocked gazes. All previously coated with Durability, fragments of wood, iron, and steel were propelled on all sides. Either rebounding on steel armor parts, piercing leather, or outright lodging themselves in human flesh through unprotected gaps. More than just a simple hammer, Aito''s new weapon acted as an explosion trigger, creating mayhem, chaos in his enemy''s ranks. Perfectly protected by his new gears coated in a denser yellow light than the others, Aito remained unaffected by the screams, blood, and fragments of diverse materials in which even broken bones were mixed in. Like a real artisan of war, he crushed his surrounding opponents. Not one by one, but at least two by two, sometimes more. Alone, he started to turn the tide of the battle in his favor. Dictating the rhythm. Reigning supreme amongst the challengers. Leaving none alive in his wake. *** On the other side of the battlefield,ing from the red corner, Ogoro''s burden was lightened. Dozens of henchmen left their positions to head towards the blue corner, making it easier for him to forge a path to his sister. Due to the chaos, he couldn''t properly see what was happening, but it mattered little. The painful groans were enough of a sign to show that something or someone was letting all hell loose nearby. From her seat, She watched both sides with aplicated gaze. She recognized the person heading her way through the red corner as her brother. But who the heck was the masked madmaning from the blue corner, bashing challengers, sending them flying like mere pigeons? Taking advantage of the growing chaos caused by the two warriors, she focused on her bindings. Kai''s henchmen had attached her arms to the back of the wooden chair. Her feet were free to move around as she pleased. A simple amateurish binding thatcked real professionalism. Well, she was surrounded by many enemies, so escaping, in the first ce, wouldn''t have been possible even with untied hands. Kai had probably attached her to the chair to prevent She from taking action against him. Too bad it wasn''t enough. Having decided on the method to release herself, she rxed her body by taking a deep breath, then shifted her weight to her legs instead of the chair, used her powerful agile muscles to jump, and back flipped while dislocating her shoulders. Shended on her feet behind the chair, put her shoulder back into their orbits by pulling on them with no painful groan whatsoever, and then rushed, chair in hands, towards Kai who had been too focused on the potential approaching danger to see hering. She bashed the ex-CEO with the chair, breaking it in the process while freeing her hands. She then used the rope to capture Kai in a strangling hold. "Wait! Are you sure you want to do this?" Kai asked, while calmly holding the rope tightening against his throat. His chubby figure somehow emanated an unnatural, charismatic aura. "If you kill me now, they will kill your brother. I''d advise you to reconsider." ¡ªKai''s Active Skill: Incitement Lv2¡ª Weirdly enough, Kai''s words resonated with her intents in a strange, emotional, yet logical way. As if a part of her mind allied itself with him, taking his side. Even more, since she actually hasn''t been nning on killing him in the first ce. Her hold on him suddenly slightly loosened up. "If you release me, I will provide your brother a way out of this." He said, his tone hypnotizing. "You have my word." "Why should I believe a pig like you?" "Should? No, you shouldn''t. You must." Kai said with more poise than before. "Don''t you see what''s happening around us? Take a good look at the situation. There are only three of you, here. I don''t know who that guy is over there, but let me tell you he is bound to reach his limits at some point. Our numbers may dwindle in the process. However, do you think you will oust us? Be realistic. There is no way out of this but to trust me. To believe in me. What do you say?" "That¡­" She hesitated. She knew Kai was right. At least something inside her told She he was right. No matter how skilled his brother, the masked man and she were, they were still humans with limited capabilities. There was no other way out but to negotiate. Which, in a sense, had been her goal from the start. Her interests aligned with Kai''s offer. So, shouldn''t she follow it? Why should she resist? Was there a point to it? No, no, there wasn''t. "Very well," she said, her grip on the rope loosened entirely. Although still wary of him, she attached his chubby hands together to prevent Kai from trying unnecessary things. However, little did she know that the ex-CEO''s most powerful weapon wasn''t his fists, but his treacherous voice, which he has used to distract her from seeing the whole picture. "You''ve made the right choice," Kai said, trying to reassure her. At this point, his henchmen had already caught on to his predicament. Taking advantage of She''s attention being solely focused on Kai, mostly because of his hypnotic voice, the sect members surrounded her. Once he gave them a signal, they rushed to free him. She came back to sense soon enough to escape a pommel strike aimed at her head, used two fingers to pierce her assant''s eyes, disarmed him, grabbed the sword, and prepared to kill the treacherous bastard who had betrayed her. But Kai was already retreating behind his henchmen, out of her reach. Threatened to be swarmed, she fought bravely, her mind set on taking as many of those bastards as possible with her to walk Hell''s road together. However, approaching cries of pain soon reached her. Bodies flew violently all around, as if unable to resist a raging storm. "Let''s go," the man in his grey armor said, the sound of his voice resonating throughout his helmet, changing its original tone. Although the voice seemed familiar to She, she had difficulty putting a face on it. On one hand, because the idea that a man she called "shameless bastard" woulde to her aid was simply the first on her list of impossibilities. On the other hand, he had weapons She has never seen before. Something the homeless guy sleeping on grass every night shouldn''t be able to afford. With no actual n, she followed him as he paved a bloody path towards Ogoro who was heading their way. Kai tried to talk things out with the man in front of her, but groans, pleadings and screams flooded the area, resulting in Kai''s sentences to get lost in them. From behind, the stranger''s back seemed awfully wide, strong, and powerful as he swung his mighty weapon around, crushing sect members like mere flies. He also looked extremely lonely to She. The kind of loneliness that apanied a substantial loss. These were the thoughts she had in the back of her mind as she hacked away at iing enemies, picking up after the stranger. She covered his back and he the front. Slowly, but surely, they cut their way to Ogoro while umting injuries. The three met near the ck corner, just at the boundary between red and ck. She''s worry red up as she rapidly nced at Ogoro''s wounds before parrying another enemy''s blow. Her brother was in an even worse shape than she had thought. Almost all his leather armor parts were shredded to pieces despite the clear use of Durability. Ogoro still stood tall. However, she knew it was just a facade. A show of strength only undermined by the blood pouring down his numerous cuts. If this went on, he would fall. Sooner, rather thanter. In a tacit understanding, both siblings followed the grey armored stranger who was rushing to the nearest exit located next to the huge ck g decorating the ck corner. Speed was the key. If they tarried for too long, they would be swarmed¡ªthey already were, but not to the point of being unmanageable. With the three of them working together, they could cut down enemies quickly enough to avoid being entirely surrounded while moving forward at a reasonable pace. However, She noticed an abnormality. The number of enemies was progressively dwindling. Not that they were shorthanded. ''No, there must be something¡­, what''s this?'' She thought, eyeing dozens of men and women barring the way to their freedom. All of them were holding both hands in front of them, focusing. The air blurred near their palms. A sign of umting intense heat that was increasing by the passing seconds. ''Shit!'' "Fireballs iing!" She shouted. ____ Quick reminder: [Ogoro Ryu] 1. Gifts: - Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch) - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level) - Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level) - Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level) 2. Skills: Active: - Durability Lv1 (unstable) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv2 - Agility: Lv1 - Mana: Lv1 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) *** [She Ryu] [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Acute first sense (Enhanced sight) - Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level) - Thrill of the hunt (Slightly increases reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration) 2. Skills: - Durability Lv1 (Unstable) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv1 - Body: Lv1 - Stamina: Lv1 - Agility: Lv2 - Mana: Lv1 - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points) Chapter 85 - Surrounded On All Sides (part 3) Aito''s eyes opened wide under his helmet as he gazed upon the elementalists when She''s warning came from behind him. He rapidly took a look around. At first, it appeared as if they got rid of every opponent hindering their way. However, sect members had been purposely progressively, slowly retreating to bait them into this trap and avoid friendly fire at the same time. They were now standing either at Aito''s nks or behind at a rtively safe distance. mes started to show up in front of the elementalists'' palms. Knowing it''d be raining fire very soon, and with no time to avoid it, Aito activated his shield, shifted it to the shining ainium side, held it in front of him before shouting, "Get behind me in line!" Both siblings simultaneously thought he was crazy but did as they were asked, after all, he had led them thus far. With no ns of their own and no time toe up with one, he was their best shot at survival. They quickly stood behind him, forming a line closed by Ogoro, with She in between him and Aito. "Are you mad¡ª" She started but stopped as she saw dozens of fireballs rapidly heading towards them, their flickering light coloring that part of the ck corner of an orange-red hue. The ambient air in the area slightly rose because of the sheer number of level 1 fireballs flying in Aito''s direction, clearly aimed at him. Not because he was the most dangerous, but because the others were standing behind him, only leaving this angle of attack avable¡ªfor most of the fireballs at least. As the burning projectiles neared him, he suddenly realized how optimistic he had been. Trying to block them all with his shield was utterly impossible. Toote for regrets or a drastic change of n, he greeted his teeth and braced for the impact. The first fireball hit his shield. Instead of leaving a burn mark, it exploded outward in a wide angle towards the opposite direction, affecting a few of the other fireballs, destroying them in the process. Aito felt the heat of the explosion that took ce barely one meter away from him. His outside body temperature rose as did the armor since fire was an element and not aura made. The fire spread to his cloak, turning it into ashes, revealing his entire grey armor set unaffected by the fireballs. It had a few scratches on it originating from the previous melee. But that was it. Some fireballs that had beenunched from slightly different angles crashed against Aito''s lower body parts uncovered by his shield. Pants. Grieves. The armor held, progressively dissipating the aura fueling the fire. Underneath it, Aito''s skin reddened from the heat but didn''t burn. A result of his body reaching level 3. A seemingly unending stream of zing projectiles ensued, forcing him to stay put. If he were to move even slightly, the siblings could get hit. The idea of charging forward into the fray and brute force his way through those fiery bastards passed through his mind. However, the closer he''d get to them, the more he''d expose the siblings to danger. Alone, he would be fine. But his goal bying here wasn''t to leave alone. Aito''s shield repelled the projectiles, one after the other when possible, the heat on his armor''s surface rose dangerously by the passing seconds, reaching a level he wouldn''t be able to bear for long. Thankfully, it wasn''t hot enough for the armor to glow red from the increase in temperature. Ogoro and She braced themselves behind him. At some point, a lucky shot brushed past Aito''s defenses, crashing against Ogoro''s right arm, burning the leather armor parts and clothes. Worsening his already grave injuries. The giant grey-haired man let out a groan as the pain forced him to release his grip on the two-handed sword he has been holding until now. "We have to move!" She shouted, warning her allies of the fate awaiting them if they to stay in this ce. "Now!" Aito wanted to roll his eyes at the obvious statement, but now was the not time for such petty things. He wanted to look around him for a way out. However, the umted heat on his armor and around him, made it hard to see properly. ''Think! Move your grey matter and find a freaking exit!'' Aito thought, making a schematic of the entire first floor in his head to search for a way out of this predicament. He knew his worst enemies were the elementalists in front of him. Warrior and archers stayed on standby, watching his struggle as if it was a show. It was weird since the archers could at least send arrows their way. Maybe they had some obscure purpose he didn''t know of. What he did know was¡­ ''The nearest entrance to the second floor is barred. Others are too far from us. Gotta find another¡­, entrance?'' An idea suddenly struck him. Why search for an exit when he had an entrance nearby exclusively made for him? It would be a temporary measure, but at the moment, they simply had no choice. Ogoro was heavily injured and exhausted. Shecked real equipment, even if she did okay, she''d be far more deadly and useful as an archer. He slightly turned his head towards his back as to make his voice heard in all this chaos, then shouted, "Run towards the ck candle!" "What? Are you crazy!?" She said, thinking the grey armored stranger had lost his mind due to the heat. "We move. We burn!" "I am the one burning right now!" Aito said, the heat starting to get unbearable. "So, shut up and run!" She clicked her tongue but nodded and grabbed Ogoro who seemed like he had heard nothing of Aito''s orders. Aito waited for them to move first, before starting to run while holding his shield aside to protect himself. By now, the elementalists were targeting him by default, as if they were holding a grudge against him for not dying under their torrential attacks. Normally, they were the stars amidst the night sky. The cream of the crop. The elites having been chosen for their "outstanding" talent for controlling aura¡ªor so they had been told. Privileges and the feeling of being above the masses created a humongous pride. Their pride was such they couldn''t handle the sight of a single person resisting them. Even more when they worked together. Even more when he alone was capable of fighting an entire small army of challengers for so long. Jealousy overruled logic. Two of their targets were running without much protection. They were at their mercy, provided they could hit moving targets. Yet, they chose to concentrate their firepower on the sole man capable of shielding himself against them. Soon, more elementalists joined the dozens already firing at Aito. The battle quickly turned into a game to see who would kill him first. Warrior sses stood aside, fearing they''d just get in the way and needlessly die under friendly fire. Archers, after receiving orders from Kai, were taking this chance to participate in the game. Raining arrows on Aito from all sides. Too bad their uracy sucked most of the time. However, a few arrows hit him almost at the same spot on his helmet. A coincidence? Yes, if it hadn''t been the fourth time. An arrow hit him a fifth time on the head, butpared to the previous ones, it struck him harder. It felt almost akin to a hammer strike. Aito could feel a small dent in his helmet because of it. Thankfully, the steel was mixed with ainium, making it stronger, more resilient¡ªat least that''s what he wanted to believe. Arrow tips rebounding on Aito''s armor. His shield repelling fireballs. ''Almost there!'' He thought, focusing on the ck candle dozens of meters from his reach. He was attacked on all sides. No mercy. No quarter. ''Just a bit more!'' Battered, bruised, and burnt. Aito served as a scapegoat for the siblings. So that they could run. So that they could live. ''Come on!'' Despite the pain. The mental pressure. The unending stream of attacks. He held on. Buying the necessary time for the siblings to reach the altar-like table and gather around the ck candle as they have been ordered to. Heavily injured on the lower part of his body, Aito limped towards them as fast as he could. Blood trickling down his armor. Inside his helmet, he could smell the stench of his own skin that was starting to burn. Ufortable though it may be, he continued and finally reached the siblings. "What now?" She asked him while eyeing the surroundings warily. Archers had stopped firing arrows, allowing elementalists to close in on them. Encircling their positions, barring every escape path. As if they had practiced this before, they lifted both of their palms in front of them with perfect synchronization and readied theirst outbursts. Their reserve of mana was starting to run low, although they could recharge it using mana beads it took time they couldn''t afford to give to their opponents. Aito didn''t even look back, limped to the ck candle, and ced his hand on it. Ogoro''s face appeared full of questions as he saw a ck portal open. "Walk in, now!" Aito dered. Without further ado, both siblings rapidly brushed past Aito, entering the ck ethereal matter. Once they got through, he was about to follow when something wrapped around his biceps, preventing him from moving. ''The fuck?'' He nced at his arm to see a thin yellow string attached to it. His gaze followed it to the source, only to see... no one. The person who had cast this weird spell was blended amidst the crowd of angry elementalists who were about to shoot a deadly volley of fireballs. With no time to think, he relied on his instincts that were screaming to him the string was made of aura, leading him to bash the unknown material with his shield. The string dissolved upon contact, releasing its hold on Aito, who immediately walked through the portal without looking back. Fireballs flew from all sides, but inevitably missed as the ck matter disappeared without a trace. Chapter 86 - A Relaxing Bath Aito stumbled out of the portal into his luxurious apartment. The siblings both eyed him withplicated gazes as he suddenly let go of his morpho ax and shield to speed up through the entrance corridor. Brushing past them without saying a word. He limped as fast as he could towards the bathroom, opened the door, got into the jacuzzi-like bathtub, and rapidly infused mana to activate the water mechanism, picking the lowest temperature avable. The cold transparent liquid rushed out of the showerhead, tap, waterfalls, and jets located at therge bathtub''s four respective corners. His equipment emitted steam as the water running down his entire armor set evaporated. Aito took off his helmet, revealing the burn marks on his face as he threw the armor piece aside to soothe his injuries with the cold liquid. One by one, he removed each steaming armor part. Articted gauntlets, breastte, vambrace, pauldrons, weaved mail vest, cuisse, weaved mail pants, and greaves. Standing under the shower in his every day¡ªnow wet¡ªwhite clothing he examined his blistered, slightly swollen red skin. A sign of second-degree burn injuries, although in his case it was moderate ones. His whole body resembled a pepperoni pizza. Well, a bruised pepperoni pizza because he also had withstood blunt attacks, which could be lessened but not entirely blocked by his armor set, depending on where he was hit. ''Damn¡­ this is ugly as Filona,'' He thought, disgusted. Then, he rethought his curse, thinking it didn''t look THAT bad. ''Never mind, maybe it''s just half a Filona. Or a quarter?'' If he had to take arge guess, the temperature of his gears had been in between 100¡ãC and 180¡ãC before the cooling because of the constant exposition to fireballs. Metal was also a great conductor for heat after all. Thankfully, Durability had done a great job protecting him against the ze. Ainar''s addedyers of leather and fur in most of his armor set had lessened the heat''s negative effect on Aito''s skin. Furthermore, his level 3 body was more resilient now than ever before. All these variables allowed him to lessen the fireballs'' lingering impacts to a certain degree. Exhausted and injured, Aito sat in the bathtub to rest. Floating items on the water surface drew his attention. ''Damn¡­ I forgot about these,'' he thought, grabbing two inventory bags he had kept strapped to the belt that came with his weaved mail pants to put them aside to dry. He then took a look at his legs, which had severe second-degree burn injuries with bruises that came with it. Aito sighed, took out two recovery beads from his stash of ten he had been saving for climbing the Tower. He nned on buying more of theseter¡ªwith the money he had earned through his daily training quests¡ªsince ten weren''t enough. He broke the two green beads, leaned against the tub and rxed while weing the warm healing. At least he tried, but something was poking at his ass. ''What''s this?'' Aito thought, reaching back with a painful groan to grab his repeater that had sunk into the water. ''Right¡­ pity I didn''t get to use it during the fight. Talking about not using something¡­'' Settling away the crossbow to dry, he furrowed one of his pant''s pocket underwater to take out the two balls Ainar had given him. ''That too¡­'' He ced them aside with the other items, and finally allowed himself to rx. His other gears could stay underwater for all he cared. Aito was too exhausted to take them out at the moment. He''d dry themter. His apartment had an incorporated drier and washing machine, anyway. Suddenly, as he tried to close his eyes, he thought about something else. Was it a good idea to put his wet gears in the drier? Wouldn''t it affect his gears negatively, like shrinking the leather and fur? Aito sighed, wanting to facepalm himself. ''Fur and leather shrinking in the drier, *sigh* I must be really tired.'' Having made peace with his mind, he finally allowed himself to close his eyes and enjoy his cold bath. Who knew cold water could be so enjoyable? Well, it was to him at least. Not even five seconds after he closed his eyes, a coughing from the bathroom''s entrance interrupted him. ''What now!?'' "*Cough*, hum, hey," Ogoro said, leaning on the door frame to maintain his bnce. Appearing embarrassed. Probably because of what he had told him before. Not because of¡­ the current bathtub situation. "Hum, I think I ow¡ª" "Let''s have this conversationter, Ogoro. Treat your wounds first." Aito interrupted, pointing at Ogoro''s several bloody cuts, bruises, and burnt arm. He really wondered how that man was even able to stand as if his injuries were nothing. Aito took out four recovery beads from his personal stash and threw them towards Ogoro. "Use these. Give one or two to She if she needs it. I''lle join you after I''m done here." The grey-haired man nodded in a respectful, thankful manner and headed towards the living room. Aito pushed a heavy sigh out of his throat as he sunk into his bath, closing his eyes. ''Finally, alone.'' Or so he thought. At that moment, the sound of someone knocking on the door took him out of his rxing state. It couldn''t be Ogoro since Aito knew the man had enough good sense for noting back after he had explicitly told him he''d exit the bathter. Which only left¡­ "Yes, She?" Aito asked,zily turning his head full of slowly healing burn marks towards the door. He really wanted to rest, but outright telling her to "get the fuck out of here" didn''t seem too appropriate. "So, it was really you," she said, as not-so-shy as ever. "I see you still haven''t learned to say, ''thank you.''" He said, sighing. "Whatever, I want to rest, and bickering with you right now is thest thing I need. So please, let''s bickerter." As if their conversation was over, he red at the ceiling and closed his eyes for the umpteenth time today. Then¡­ nothing. Silence. Only absolute silence. It was so quiet that he wondered if she had left without noise like a certainic bat hero. A few secondster, a familiar feminine voice broke the stillness. "Why?" She asked, still standing by the door. Aito opened his eyes¡­ again. Although, this time, he didn''t feel as pissed, because he had had, and was still asking himself the same question. "Why indeed?" He said, his gaze glued on the showerhead. "Was it because I sympathized with your brother? Was it because I hate the sect? Or¡­ was it because I missed our bickering so much, I simply had to save your plump ass?" She looked at him stoically, unamused. "I was serious." "So was I," Aito said, shifting his head towards her, a slight smirk on his face as he looked at her figure with an exaggerated, vulgar facial expression. "It''s truly a great ass." She stared daggers at him, emitting her usual cold vibe. "Ah, add ''how to take a joke'' to your ''to learn list.''" Aito said, slightly shaking his pepperoni pizza-like head. Well, it was only partially a joke. She seemed even more unamused, but her gaze somehow softened when it traveled to Aito''s injuries. Examining each blister, bruise, swollen spot. "Are¡­ you okay?" She asked her tone unrecognizably, lightly, but certainly softer, warmer. Delicate. Comparable to someone swapping an iron brush for a normal one. Aito felt like a hammer had struck his mind. That sentence was extremely¡­ abnormal, to him at least. He hasn''t known her for long, but she sure left him with a deep impression. One of someone with extreme coldness. Now that she appeared warmer, it disturbed him. Not in a bad way. It was just, well, unusual. "I''m fine, I just need to rest," Aito said, with a barely perceptible smile on his face. "I''ll be in top shape in around two hours after my injuries are healed." She nodded, "Good." Aito softly granted. Not knowing what to say, he simply agreed awkwardly. "Yeah¡­ I suppose it''s good." After that, he expected her to go, but the frozen blue-eyed woman remained by the door frame, leaving Aito confused. "Are you waiting for an answer to your previous question?" He asked. She nodded. Feeling she wouldn''t leave him alone if he did not give her a proper answer, he said, "Fine. *sigh* I''m not sure of the reason myself. All I know is that it just... felt right. I wanted to do it." Looking sideways, She seemed to ponder the answer. After a few moments, she appeared toe to a conclusion. Convinced she would leave him alone now, Aito closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them when he heard something even more unusual. "Thank you," She said, leaving a dumbfounded Aito sinking into his bathtub. A gentle smile crept up his face as he replied, "You''re wee." All of them knew they were still knee-deep in divine feces, but talking things out helped with the anxiety of what would inevitably have to happenter. Thus, finally, Aito closed his eyes to rest. Chapter 87 - Two Conditions (part 1) One hourter. Aito opened his eyes to his body still soaked in his bathtub. Although the two recovery beads'' healing effect was still active, his injuries were more or less healed. Most of his blisters have disappeared. His spots of swollen red skin were now almost back to normal, albeit with one detail. His skin, having been in contact with water for too long, was akin to an old man''s. Amon phenomenon happening if one stayed several minutes in the water. It''d go away in less than an hour for him, anyway. He''d leave weird skin issue anxiousness aside; it was truly a pointless topic to think about. Only those trying to blend in with the masses and try to please others by following themon standards of beauty would do that. Useless to him. He cared little about what others thought of his appearance, at least his current self did. In the past, before his depression, he had used his father''s money to take care of himself. Going to the hairdresser at least once a month, if not twice. Buying multiple skin products he''d apply on himself in his daily skincare routine. Keep track of what he ate to avoid any negative impact on his body. Dress as well as possible by following the fashion trends. Now, all those things seemed so pointless, useless, unproductive. The fashion trends he had known were nowhere to be found, anyway. In the Tower, if you wanted to take care of your skin, a good beating followed by recovery beads was the best skincare routine possible, since one would get a stronger body, thus a stronger skin. Also, why would those things matter now that he had revived, transmigrated elsewhere, which was apparently in a god''s soul? How could caring about his wrinkled skin prevent death? No, his mind was preupied by a much more urging topic at the moment. How were they going to escape? ''We are fucking trapped,'' he thought, analyzing their situation. ''Coming here only dys the confrontation. Thankfully, we had recovery beads to heal our injuries since the room''s instantaneous healing effects only take ce after CDs, during sleep. Since we''re still early in the day, we would have to wait at least eight more hours. No can do. Waiting for too long is out of the question.'' If they were to wait maybe one more hour, the enemy would have fully recovered. Why? First, because of the recovery beads avable to them, of course. It was something he came to realize during his rest. Second, because there could be reinforcementing back from the fourth or fifth floor. Aito imagined they were originally busy killing goblins and hobgoblins. So taking into ount that variable, plus the distance, the time to send a message and then gather the troops, he estimated their arrival to be in two hours. A vague estimation. He could be wrong, but he sure hoped he wasn''t. The longer they spent in this room, the more likely there would be reinforcement. Other challengers probably wouldn''t dare interfere either. They would presumably stand on the side, in search of entertainment with curious looks or making bets. Aito couldn''t me them, though. If he were in their ce, he''d certainly close his eyes on the matter and stick to his own business. ''Hum, they have probably already surrounded the ck corner.'' Aito thought, ''Awaiting for our arrival. My armor set is still wearable. With my current physical level and skills, I should be fine. Probably. The issue is, Ogoro and She.'' There were two problems with them. To begin with, theycked gears. Ogoro had lost his sword during the battle and most of his armor parts were either burnt or turned to rags, or both. She was armed with a long sword, but it didn''t suit her as much as a bow. She had the basic necessity in terms of defenses. Although she had suffered cuts and a few burns, her leather armor remained usable for the most part. ording to what he had seen when she came talking to him, at least. Also, most importantly, those two were ssless. Meaning they had not unlocked their full potential as challengers because they had yet to form a soul core. Aito wondered what sses they would have if they had epted the gods'' offer of eternal very. Judging by their fighting performances and from what he knew of their personality so far, he could guess that She would have be an Archer ss challenger. As for Ogoro, judging by his sword mastery, Aito was ready to bet his entire armor set that the grey-haired man would have be a warrior ss like him. That was certain. As certain as he was called Aito Walker. As certain as Jack''s ability to produce many feces per day. Aito turned towards the inventory bag where he kept the candle with a few mana cores and thought about using this peculiar item on the siblings. At this point, he barely had any other choice but to grant them a level. At least if he wanted to increase their chances of getting out of here alive. He could leave them as they were. Mere level 0 challengers. However, why would he do something so pointless? Aito had already nned on using the candle on Ogoro to climb the Tower with him, anyway. Well, there was also She. He had been reluctant on using it on her at first because of his dislike of the woman. Now¡­ somehow, he had a more neutral opinion of her. His reluctance had lessened quite a bit. Not entirely, though. But seeing how Ogoro had those kinds of weird onii-chan vibes to him, he might not ept to follow Aito if She wasn''t included in the group to climb the Tower. Taking into ount all those reasons, he came to the conclusion that granting She a ss, under the condition she''d climb with him, was the most reasonable course of action to take. Of course, the same condition applied to her onii-chan. ''Alright, let''s get to work.'' He thought, exiting his bath. *** Afterying out his armor set to dry, and putting his wet clothes into the drier, Aito joined the siblings currently resting in the living room on one of the two luxurious ck leather couches. He sat on the couch in front of them, making sure the ck bathrobe he was wearing did not impede his movement,fort or simply revealed too much of his private parts to avoid scaring thedy with his mighty ax shaft. ''Wow¡­ I forgot howfortable it was to sit here.'' He thought, nestling in his sit, supporting himself in a rxed manner with the armrest to his side. Now that he was clean and almost entirely healed, a peculiar aura akin to a leader''s emanated from him. A wolf''s pack alpha. Not the kind described in¡­ certain romance books with a shitload of testosterone that would make gullible teenage girls fall head over the hill for him. No, it was more than a weird excess of testosterones. It was the aura of someone who had earned his powers through hard work... and a cheat. Chapter 88 - [BC]Two Conditions (part 2) "How are your injuries, Ogoro?" Aito asked, hinting at the arm that had yet to fully heal. "The healing process is going well," Ogoro replied, "butplete recovery will still take an hour." "Hum, that won''t do," Aito said. "We will need to escape as soon as possible." "Why?" Ogoro asked, "We could stay here and recover¡ª" "He''s right." She interrupted. "If we stay here, it could spell trouble for uster. They will gather reinforcement. What''s more, we do not have the resources to wait out for too long either. The sooner we try to escape, the higher our chances of sess. However, taking into ount our current situation, Aito is the only one who stands a real chance of getting out of here alive." Aito blinked a few times, thinking he had misheard something, wondering if she had truly used his name just now. He wanted to tease her with it, but it wasn''t time for jokes. Ogoro agreed. It''s been a while since his sister has spoken such a long sentence. Probably because she considered their situation at the same level as one of their past assassination missions. Although¡­ "Before we discuss this topic any further, I would like to thank you for saving us, again," Ogoro said, slightly bowing his head. "And I''m sorry about what I told you before. I was wrong." Aito sighed. He felt ufortable with those kinds of topics. He said, "It''s fine, you weren''tpletely in the wrong, anyway." "No, I was wrong. And now I owe you a debt I cannot expect to repay any time soon." Ogoro said, in a dramatic way, although it seemed realistic and weirdly believable to prevent from mistaking it with sarcasm. "Stop this, please," Aito said, holding his head in his hand. "If you truly want to repay me, make it out of here alive." "You might be able to," She said, "but we won''t. And if you try to protect us as you did, you''ll only get yourself killed. It''s hopeless. Unless your room has a sci-fi machine that would boost our strength, we won''t stand a chance." "Just leave me behind," Ogoro said, his gaze reflecting a firm resolve. "I cannot fight properly by your side, but I might be able to buy you enough time to escap¡ª" Sheunched a straight palm strike his way,nding a clean hit on Ogoro''s jaw, interrupting his sentence. "Shut up!" She said, clearly angry. "Why do you have to y hero and try to sacrifice yourself, again? Two times weren''t enough for you? You''re going to do it a third time? Are you stupid? Why would you take such a risk? Did you lose half your brain cells in the previous fight?" Ogoro looked sideways, then said, "This is the only way I can repay him. He saved us not once, but twice. If you agree to take my sister with you Aito, I''d dlyy down my life for you both to escape." Aito looked at him unamused, wondering if he should punch him, too. For once, he agreed with She, ying hero would benefit no one. Moreover¡­ "I have a way to, perhaps, moderately increase our chances of escaping together," He said, lifting his index and middle finger. "But you''ve got to promise me two things in exchange." Both sister and brother red at each other, seeminglymunicating through an invisible unknown means, their sibling''s bond. Simultaneously, they turned towards him. "You realize that it is hard to believe such a way exists," She said. "However," Ogoro added, "after what I''ve seen you do until now, I am willing to trust you with this." "I''m still unconvinced, but I''ll give you the benefice of the doubt," She said. "Name your conditions." Aito lifted both his brows unconsciously, surprised by the bonds they shared and showed. They hadn''t even needed to talk it out. Not out loud, at least. They were truly siblings. Without further ado, Aito said, "First, promise me that you won''t speak of what''s about to happen with anybody else. Be it a god or even an ant." "Sure, I swear it on my life," Ogoro said, while She settled for a nod. "Second," Aito paused. It was the most difficult topic to discuss, after all. They might just find it outright foolish. But he hoped that their current precarious situation would help smooth the fact that his second condition was dangerous. Probably even more dangerous than facing Kai and his sect. "Second, help me clear the Tower." Ogoro eyed his sister, who seemed to ponder this condition quite thoroughly, then said, "As long as my sister agrees toe, be it in hell or to thest floor of this treacherous Tower, I will follow you. I owe you that, and more." Taking into ount Ogoro''s affection for his sister, his reply had been predictable enough. Aito turned his gaze towards She. Her decision would influence the following events, after all. "Very well," She said. "That easily?" Aito said, surprised. "Not gonna lie, I was expecting you to object." "We don''t really have a choice, anyway." She replied, "If we refuse, we will most probably die soon. And in the eventuality that we survive today somehow, without your help, staying in the first zone of the Tower where we will be within the sect''s reach is a death sentence. I imagine that they won''t let us go unscathed after today. If we ept, we might dieter in one of the other zones. But to my mind,ter is better than sooner." "I see, sounds reasonable enough," Aito said. She appeared to him as the smartest of the two. Although Ogoro was far from being outright stupid, he was more guided by his emotions than logic. His sister seemed like theplete opposite. More logic-driven than emotion-driven. Well, most of the time, at least. Aito still didn''t understand her reason for their previous duel. Had there been a logic to it? Or had it been an emotional one? "Now what?" She asked. "Now you close your eyes and only open them when I say so," Aito said, withplete seriousness. Trusting him, Ogoro immediately shut his eyes. However, She did send Aito a quizzical gaze before reluctantly following through with his order. Then, Aito walked behind the couch the siblings were seated on, took out his candle stored in one of the bathrobe''s fluffy pockets, and ced it just on top of Ogoro''s head before infusing his mana into it. The wick caught on fire, instantly showing two options: 1) ess to Ogoro''s status window. 2) Grant Ogoro a ss. Aito picked the second option, however, something he hadn''t expected showed up. ''The fuck is this?'' Chapter 89 - Unlocking Potential ''This doesn''t make any sense!'' Aito thought, staring at the blue ethereal window. [Would you like to grant the ss Lv1 Surgeon Apprentice to Ogoro Ryu? Yes or No] ''Is that a battle surgeon ss? Not sure but... if it is... just how can this guy be a battle surgeon of allbatant sses?'' Aito wondered, thinking the candle might be broken or malfunctioning. However, even after using the legendary fix-all technique consisting of using brute force and hit the candle the notification still disyed the same bullshit. So, perhaps it wasn''t that absurd. One thing he came to understand after some thoughts and Gwen''s lessons, a ss was given ording to one''s personality and general talents in a certain domain. At least that''s how the gods granted them. But a challenger would be free to choose his/her own ss amongst all of thebatant sses, nheless. If one wanted to be an Elementalists instead of a Surgeon Apprentice, then it was fine. Still, it was amon understanding that the gods always offered the most suitable ss. Aito assumed it was also the case with his candle. Why would it pick a battle surgeon ss for Ogoro, though? The man was clearly made for a warrior ss. His ability to handle a sword to near human perfection, to shoot targets with good uracy, or to wield a great array of weapons made him the perfect candidate for a gods damn warrior ss. ''Is it because of his knowledge of the human anatomy?'' Aito wondered, then thought about something Ogoro had told him before, ''Or is it because he wants to "give instead of taking." In other words, save lives. *sigh* No matter. Not like there is another choice to select.'' Aito pressed yes, and immediately after the lights in the room dimmed, losing half of their brilliance while blue bubbles of light¡ªoriginating from every magical item in their surroundings¡ªwere drawn to Ogoro, orbiting around him before finally entering his bosom. Ogoro wanted to open his eyes due to the foreign feeling invading his body, but Aito reminded him to keep them shut, saying that the process would fail if he ever dared look. Of course, it was an utter lie. Finally, the blue storm calmed down. The room regained its previous silence as Aito gazed at Ogoro''s brand new status window. ______________________ [Ogoro Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Male Age: 30 Height: 200cm Weight: 95kg Emotional state: Curious ss: Lv1 Apprentice Surgeon Titles: Red Challenger, Onii-Chan, Aspiring Hero [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch. Sensitivity is now slightly increasedpared to before.) - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level) - Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level) - Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level) 2. Skills: Passive: - [New!] Weapons Mastery Lv3 - [New!] Strings Mastery Lv1 Active: - [New!] Binding String Lv1 (Can manifest a string made of aura to physically bind a target) - [New!] Recovery String Lv1 (The host is capable of manipting aura in shape of a string to sew and heal someone else''s internal or external injuries) - [Upgraded] Durability Lv1 (Skill is now stable) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv2 - [Level up!] Stamina: Lv3 - [Level up!] Agility: Lv2 - [Level up!] Mana: Lv2 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ______________________ ''String, hun? Interesting.'' Aito thought, quickly perusing Ogoro''s new abilities that birthed a new idea to improve his own fighting prowess, but that was a matter forter. ''Not so bad after all. Even Ogoro''s basic stats improved quite a bit.'' Although he wasn''t certain, Aito could guess why it was the case. Due to Aito''s training with him, Ogoro improved his stamina and agility. As for why these were capped to level 1¡ªbonus stat from the gifts excluded¡ªit was probably because it required to be a challenger to level them up, in other words, a soul core. Unless one had a gift, it was impossible to increase a basic stat at level 0¡ªat least that was what Gwen told Aito. Also, there would be a few other such caps akin to bottlenecks Aito would have to pass in order to further increase his fighting prowess in the future. For now, he knew four of them. Basic stats caps: -Level 3 -Level 6 -Level 9 -Level 12 His basics stats were currently stuck to level 3. For that to change he would have to level up his ss or also called soul realm to level 3 which meant reaching what wasmonly called Ascendant realm, the one above the Challenger realm. From the weakest to the strongest realm, Aito had learned from Gwen during his feeless states when his soul power was exhausted that they were the following. - Normal: Level 0 - Challenger realm: Level 1 to Level 2 - Ascendant realm: Level 3 to Level 4 - Awakening realm: Level 5 to Level 6 - Transcendence realm: Level 7 to Level 8 - Legendary realm: Level 9 - Semi-divine realm: Level 10 - Divine realm: Level 11 Aito''s current goal was to reach the Legendary realm, which apparently was the peak of what humanity has achieved until now¡ªwell, apart from a single mortal, that became a god somehow. He did not wish to be a divine being. To be even half of a godly bastard was out of the question. Non-negotiable. Unthinkable!!! Reaching godhood was a big no-no followed by a never-ever. Even if he had to fight a god, he''d do it as a human, not an asshole. There must be a way to do so despite having no divinity¡ªwhatever that meant. At least he hoped there was. However, that was an issue for the future. Aito closed Ogoro''s status window and side-stepped behind She. Seeing her defenseless back, and her long raven dark hair, he had the sudden urge to y with them. They looked so smooth and pretty! He truly wondered how she kept them that way even with all her training. Probably an Asian trait. A good thing about Asian hair was how thick they were. No matter what happened to them these usually stayed as smooth as a puppy''s fur¡ªwell, not all the times of course. Aito stopped his trembling free hand midway from reaching She''s hair, fearing he would gain the new title of Hair Fetishist, and went back to the serious matter at hair¡­ at hand. ''Just don''t think about it,'' he struggled while cing the candle on top of her head. As per usual, two options appeared in front of him. He, of course, selected the most interesting one. [Would you like to grant the ss Lv1 Apprentice Marksman to She Ryu? Yes or No] ''Alright, this one was predictable, but¡­ doesn''t it seem different from other archer sses?'' Aito thought. As far as he knew, the others were either all bow wielders at level 1 or bowmen at level 2. Also, both siblings had "Apprentice" in their ss name. Did it mean anything in particr? Who cared, as long as they got more powerful. Aito shrugged and pressed yes. The same shy effect asst time took ce once again. Magical items such as the dryer stopped working. All the lights dwindled, dimmed, extinguished. Plunging the entire apartment into darkness, leaving Aito''s candle as the sole remaining light source. ''Ah¡­ I suppose it was inevitable.'' He thought, memories of his training with Gwen shing by his mind in less than a second. Based on his personal experience and what Gwen had told him, when someone leveled up, it required two things. First, one''s soul had to have umted enough energy, in other words, other souls. During the leveling process, one''s own soul would use the souls of other beings it had absorbed to increase in size and power. Second, a source of mana. That''s why, usually, when one leveled up on one''s own¡ªwithout a god''s help¡ªone would gather and suck in as much mana bead as possible. To the point of overloading one''s mana storage capacity. Something peculiar about the candle was that it would take mana¡ªor/and souls, but since the siblings had absorbed enough before it was unnecessary here¡ªfrom anything in the surroundings to help in the level up. Why? Because the leveling process required shit tons of mana, which served as fuel for the body''s metamorphosis imposed by the new soul''s power. Although the difference didn''t necessarily manifest itself in the status window in the form of basic stats. The mana stat would naturally increase with each level thanks to the changes in the soul core. Allowing an increase in mana storage and quality. What wasmonly called quality was nothing fancy, really. In other words, the density or the capacity ofpressing mana into one''s body. The denser it was, the better the "quality" and the longer one could use mana. Of course, the same applied to aura. But the other basic stats weren''t so simple as to level up with the soul, particrly destiny. Aito still didn''t know what it did. When he had asked Gwen, she simply told him to forget about it. That there was no point to know it at his current level. A new notification appeared on top of She''s head. [Would you like to¡ª] ''Yeah, yeah, just show me.'' ______________________ [She Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Female Age: 26 Height: 170cm Weight: 55kg Emotional state: Curious / Embarrassed / Anxious ss: Lv1 Apprentice Marksman Titles: Red Challenger, Ungrateful Woman [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Acute first sense (Enhanced sight. Range is now slightly increasedpared to before.) - Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level) - Thrill of the hunt (Slightly increases reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration) 2. Skills: Passive: -[New] Marksmanship Lv3 -[New] Parkour Lv3 (Improves the host''s ability to maneuver on difficult terrains) Active: -[New] Hawk-Eye Lv1 (Slightly increases uracy upon activation for a short duration) -[New] Piercing Shot Lv1 (The host''s aura is infused into the arrow and gives it piercing properties.) - [Upgraded] Durability Lv1 (Now stable) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv1 - Body: Lv1 - [Level up!] Stamina: Lv2 - [Level up!] Agility: Lv3 - [Level up!] Mana: Lv2 - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ______________________ Aito closed She''s status window with a satisfied look, then returned to his couch and settled the candle on the small table in between them in order to keep a bit of light in the room. Nobody would suspect it to be a powerful item capable of granting sses when it was posing as¡­ well, a normal candle. "You can open your eyes now," Aito said, watching them gazing around with confused looks. "Why is it so dark, inside?" Ogoro asked. "Doesn''t matter, the light will probably be back soon anyway," Aito said. "More importantly, how do you feel?" "Stronger," Ogoro replied, "much stronger. I also have new skills, although I know how to use them, I don''t entirely understand them yet." "True," She said, "I feel stronger, but I''d need time to adjust. It does increase our chances of survival. But I don''t think it''ll be enough to escape. We need equipment." Aito smirked while leaning on his sofa with a viinous, mafia leader''s look¡ªwell, it was actually the poor lighting''s visual effect. He threw an inventory bag on the table as well as his own crossbow. "That should take care of our issue." Chapter 90 - Boom... Or Not? Kai was waiting in the Square sat on his chair by the table at the center of it all. The brunt of his troops surrounded the ck corner. There were simply no escape paths left. Only surrender. Something Kai expected to happen. At that time, he would finally be able to talk things out with the ck challenger. By now he had figured out who was the man dressed in a grey armor set. Who wouldn''t after seeing him open the sole room in the ck corner? During the chaos, amidst cries for help, screams of pain, and sounds of broken bones, it had been hard tomunicate like a proper, civilized human being. But Kai acknowledged that brute force was sometimes necessary. It was a means to an end. A tool he could use to reach his goals. Nothing more, nothing less. His gaze traveled from left to right. Making sure everything was ready and set as per his orders. Elementalists to the front, the few strings wielders he had¡ªa battle surgeon ss¡ªstanding aside to prepare to save the injured. Borat, his level 2 stringman and sole worker who had developed a binding skill, would be blended with the elementalists. Warriors¡­ warriors were here just in case... well, to be cannon fodders. From what he had seen before, he was certain that pure melee would be useless against Aito Walker. It was a saddening truth, but no matter their numbers, it seemed that as long as he had enough stamina the ck challenger would just overpower his workers. ''What a monster,'' Kai thought, ''Makes me want to get my hands on him even more now. With the ck challenger by my side, I''m fairly certain my chances of getting the Tower''s reward would double.'' Even if he hadn''t studied warfare, he considered himself a decent tactician and was certain his n would work¡ªnot that it wasplicated to surround one''s enemy with the overwhelming advantage he had right now. Using Borat''s ability, he would bind one of the two siblings to use as a bargaining chip. Binding Aito was, apparently, as useless as sending warriors against him. Very peculiar. Kai was fairly convinced no challengers should be able to dispel a skill the way he had¡ªmaybe outside, but not here. Was it his equipment? ording to what Kai had seen, it was probable or even certain. That shield Aito had wouldn''t have been able to resist fireballs for so long if it hadn''t that ability. That gave him one more reason to capture them. Well, if they ended up resisting, he''d had no choice but to kill. It would be such a waste, though. He''d have "invested" his own resources in an unprofitable endeavor. He hated losing his investment. It had very rarely happened before. And when it did, he would often, if not always, clean up the mess. "May I speak honestly sect master?" Sam asked, standing beside Kai. "Please do. You know I like to hear your honest thoughts," Kai replied, in a calm demeanor. Although Kai said that, it was simply to butter him up. In reality, he never truly listened to the boldy''s opinion, nor did he dismiss or disliked it. It just brought nothing new to him. "It''s already been more than an hour, sect master." Sam said, "We might be losing our time here. They could cower in the ck challenger''s room for the remaining month." "Are you suggesting we let them go?" "No, of course not. I''m only saying that¡­ maybe asking for reinforcement was overdoing it." Sam said, using a clumsy polite tone. "It''d cut our ies more than necessary." "Hum, thank you for your honest thoughts, Sam. It is much appreciated, as always." Kai said, lying through his teeth. "My pleasure, sect master." Kai continued to focus on the ck corner, more precisely the ck candle. Cut their ies? Idiot, those were his ies, and no one else''s. Furthermore, he saw it as an opportunity to cut down the unnecessary number of workers. Over the past month, Kai came to realize that he didn''t need that many people under hismand. Mostly because a great majority of them would end up leaving him once they''d enter Iris. They weren''t THAT loyal after all. And with a bomb in their soul, they''d prefer to obey those who held the trigger rather than he who had fed them during the trials. No, what Kai truly needed at the moment were a few loyal workers. Maybe a hundred or a bit less. As long as he had around that number, he thought that he''d be fine in Iris. Like he had in the previous world, Kai intended to build a gigantic business. Not necessarily a fishing industry this time. With too little data about the outside world and its intricacies, he had no idea where to start. Kai was confident that after some time spent researching, he''d eventually find a good business opportunity. Well, he couldn''t know that one was within hand''s reach at the moment, the ainium. Sure, dispelling skills were impressive, but he didn''t know it was a one-of-a-kind ability that probably no one in Iris had. Anyway, he was also certain the Ryu siblings and the ck challenger wouldn''t stay put for long. They weren''t that stupid. At least he knew She wasn''t. Too many variables yed against this. Food was first. A challenger''s room didn''te with food. Also, it cost TPs to stay in one and a ck challenger''s room must be pretty expensive. Well, they could certainly bet on the fact that he would withdraw his troops after a few days, but that he wouldn''t do. At best, Kai thought those cockroaches would stay put for a week. More than that, and they''d probably die of hunger. It depended on the fact they had food stored somewhere or not. Kai was fairly convinced they ha¡ª "Sect master, the portal just opened." Sam interrupted. ''No shit Captain Obvious?'' Kai thought, watching the human size, oval-shaped ck matter. ''Here goes nothing.'' Having previously received orders on what to do when the portal opened, every sect member prepared for battle by first activating Durability. Warrior sses readied their shields and elementalists their fireballs. Bow wielders nocked their arrow. Blended into the masses, Borat, amon-size man with fuzzy ck hair and a weird walrus mustache, prepared his binding skill. The army stayed focus on the portal as a heavy silence set in. Thanks to the ck challenger''s previous disy, they''ve learned to fear the man and his deadly ax. No one was willing to bet, fearing a moment of carelessness would cost them their life. Suddenly, something passed the portal, creating ripples in a small area that subsided as quickly as they appeared. From afar, Kai identified it as a shining yellow item. To the front, they simply saw a glowing ball the size of an egg flying towards them. The ball flew a few more meters and, just when it arrived on top of their heads, exploded. Men and women instantly used whatever means they had to cover themselves, thinking they were about to die, but only saw tiny sparkling particles of unknown origins falling like snow. At this sight, henchmen sighed from relief one after the other, chuckling weirdly amongst them. As soon as the shining dust-like particles touched them, screams of pain were heard one after the other, apanied by shattering noises of exploding armors, weapons, or clothes. All previously coated with Durability. Like frag grenades, shattered metal pieces flew in every direction, shredding human flesh. A terrible mess ensued. Panic-stricken, every sect member located in the area covered in white dust ran away, avoiding, fleeing the foreign matter like a gue, creating a sizeable gap in their defenses. Unknown to everyone, covered by his shield, Aito carefully, slowly, and partially stepped out of the portal to see the effect of the minerian''s item, only to be greatly surprised. Then, before anybody saw him, he went back inside. While Sam looked at the scenery with a horrified expression, Kai made aplicated gaze. He''s never seen that kind of weapon sold in the Tower before. "Just what¡­ is this?" Sam asked. Kai gaze changed to an interested one full of greed, "This is an item I absolutely must get my hands on." Now he knew what kind of business he''d like tounch. Iris was a world at war, right? What could be more or as profitable as selling weapons in such a world? The answer was¡­ maybe a few things but certainly not many. ''I absolutely must talk to him,'' Kai thought, more certain now that capturing the ck challenger would be much more profitable to him in the long run than killing him. ''He is more valuable alive than dead.'' "Sam, reform the ranks. Also, tell them to not step into the still opened portal, it''s a trap. They are trying to draw us in." Kai ordered with a firm andmanding tone. "And bring me the ck challenger alive, you hear me?" "Sect master, but¡ª" "It wasn''t a question but an order." "Yes, sect master," Sam said, giving Kai a sect salute before leaving and shouting for the men to reform their ranks. However, another glowing ball¡ªthat seemed somewhat brighter¡ªflew out of the portal over to their right nk and exploded above their heads, spreading particles in an even wider ranger than the previous one. Particles fell. Weapons shattered. Challengers died. The floor was repainted red. The iron smell of blood permeated the air. "This is magnificent," Kai said, watching, from a safe distance, his troops screaming for help.. "Truly beautiful." Chapter 91 - Remember Me? Barely a minute ago. Aito watched the carnage from behind the cover of his shield with astonishment. He never thought that the grenades would spread small diameter particles of ainium the size of specks of dust. If he had to take a guess, these were small chips made from shaving off ainium with some kind of medieval grinding wheel. Probably¡­. No matter how it had been made, it did a marvelous job "shaving off" the sect''s defenses that seemed to have replenished a little. At least that''s what he thought, seeing their current numbers. Aito went back inside his room and left the portal open to see if they would dare toe in. He prayed they''d be foolish enough to do so. He prayed, but no, there was no answer to his prayers as no one passed the portal. "As predicted, we are surrounded. Fireballs and Arrows. Warriors are on standby. We''ll proceed ording to n." Behind him, Ogoro, wearing a full set of medieval armor, nodded. His new armor set¡ªwhich was also Aito''s previous one he had furrowed in an inventory bag to carry his brand new one¡ªwas too small for him. The giant of a man readjusted the pauldrons that felt a bit ufortable. Some parts of his body were exposed to potential strikes, but it was much better than his old set. In hand, he had She''s long sword. Fortunately, the previous owner had been able to afford a steel one¡ªalmost every challenger preferred to purchase a weapon before armor parts. She still had her previous gears. She had a small crossbow instead of a steel sword. It wasn''t much at first sight, but in an expert''s hands, Aito knew his repeater would be deadly. He trusted her with it. Well¡­ kind of. He had told her the weapon''s name before lending it to her. Like his every other property, it was called GIB, short for "Give it back" which, in turn, was short for "Do not dare forget to give my property back to me." Aito took out his second metallic ball, which he decided to call an A-Frag for now, used Durability on it, and tried to push its destructive power even further by overloading the amount of aura infused into it. The a-frag shone brighter than the previous one, trembling, vibrating. Fearing it might explode in his hand, he aimed left towards the staircase and hurled it with as much strength as he could. The a-frag passed through the portal and¡­ nothing. Aito turned towards the siblings, then said, "Ready?" Silence attested to their approval as Aito turned back to face the portal. His visor closed with a *click* as he rushed outside, ainium shield and short mode morpho ax in hands. "Let''s go." Aito exited the room, closely followed by the siblings, then dashed towards the opened gap in his enemy''s defenses, brushing by corpses, shattered armor pieces, shredded clothes, and broken weapons. Their rear was exposed to fireballs, but too far to hit them within a short amount of time and not as numerous as before, since at least one-third of the elementalists had died with the a-frags, they weren''t as effective. She nimbly dodged thoseing for her. With his medieval armor, Ogoro tanked a few of them but mostly picked up corpses to shield his back with. They were halfway through to the entrance when they were met with groups of warriors clumsily standing shoulders to shoulders, showing how inexperienced they still were with these kinds of fights. Aito quickly swapped his shield''s side from ainium to steel, activated Durability on it, increased the weight of his own armor set by 3.5 times, and collided with the row of shields. Using every iota of strength at his disposal, like an unstoppable bull, he bashed two henchmen, hurling them back towards theirrades as he continued breaking the line. Beside him, Ogoro wreaked havoc like a tempest of steel. He didn''t dare experiment with his new skills in this all-out melee. If he messed up even slightly, he could be in for a world of pain. She, with a sword in her right hand she had picked up on the way, kept the breach open, continuously shooting bolts. One henchman fell after the other, a steel tip lodged in the head. Either because they weren''t equipped with helmets or because their killer had been good enough to hit them in an unprotected spot, usually in-between the eyes. As it didn''t look as hindering as testing a so-called binding string probably akin to a certain friendly neighbor''s web, She activated Hawk-Eye, increasing her uracy. Weirdly enough, it felt like someone guided her hand. Every time she aimed, she''d have this vague feeling that an area would be more or less okay to target. Also, her hand stability seemed to improve in this state. "Keep moving forward!" Aito ordered, shouting to make himself heard above the loud battle noises. "Forward!" Enemies were quickly approaching their rear, threatening to close the gap they had created and encircle them. Before they could inevitably do so, Aito wanted to get as close to the staircase as possible. If they could reach it in time, they''d be in a more advantageous position. Having now lost his momentum, Aito deactivated Weight Control on his armor set to increase his movement speed, parried a blow, used Whirlwind to create some breathing space around him then shortened his shield to switch for a two-handed hold. Using his decapitator ax, he further increased his team''s advancing speed and his enemies'' casualties. Like a murderous tornado of death, he continued to pave their way forward. *** From the safety of the crowd, Borat waited for an opportunity to strike. He had run all the way to here just for that opportunity. Although, at first, he had wondered why he had to focus on the ck challenger, thinking it wasn''t worth it. However, his opinion soon changed after he got to see him in action. The ck challenger was deadly. A true enemy, worthy of attention. Not like mere goblins. There was no gap in his defenses, well at least not one he could exploit the bind him at the moment. The ck challenger kept spinning around, barely taking some time to reposition himself sometimes. Borat needed someone to create an opening for him, but the henchmen were too ipetent to do so. Being one of the four managers, he had seen and heard it all. To his mind, most male or female employees were just freeloaders. Yes, they were still willing to give up their lives for the sect. Were their lives worth anything, though? ''Just look at them dying like moths drawn to a fire. If they could at least deal any real injury to the ck challenger and hispanions they''d be worth something.'' It angered him even more since he had to heal those worthless survivors afterward. Well, looking at the brighter side of things, there would be fewer useless idiots after the ck challenger''s rampage. "For the sect master''s sake, what are you thinking about?" Sam asked besides him, dressed in a full ted armor, a Zweihander on resting his shoulder. "About how to kick his ass," Borat replied, eyeing Aito spitefully while spitting on the ground. "He''s a tough motherfucker." "That bastard is mine. In the name of our sect, I swear that I''ll put him down!" "Oh yeah? Who''s the one who got his ass handed to himselfst time?" Borat replied, "Oh yeah¡­ you! Ahahahaa!" "Damn I hate your mouth." "Pffft! Look who''s talking!" Borat said, smirking then changed the topic, pointing at Aito. "He''s fast approaching. You''ll be able to take your revenge soon. However, what do you say about some support to increase your chances of sess of capturing him alive?" "Tsk, don''t try to make it sound like it''s your idea. It was the sect master''s." Sam said, remembering his orders, "Although, I''m sure that with my two skills that leveled up I''d be enough to capture him on my own, but I''ll cooperate. It was the sect master''s orders after all." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, the sect master is great," Borat replied, then eyed a bowman in cloth armor that has been standing by Sam''s side for a while. "Zephyr, you didn''t forget you''re a part of the n too?" "Hum, how could I miss on the fun?" Zephyr replied from under his grey hood, before sending an arrow in Ogoro''s direction, only to miss his left knee joint by a small margin. "ck challenger is the prey, right?" "The fuck? How long have you been standing here?" Sam asked, surprised. "A few moments," Zephyr said. "Fucking ninja¡­," Sam cursed. "Whatever prepare yourselves. He''sing." *** "Ogoro! She!" Aito shouted, seeing the siblings, progressively moving away from him, being slowly swarmed. "Stay together!" They were faring better thanst time, but it looked like the henchmen focused their attention on them for some reason. As if to keep the siblings away from him. ''I have a bad feeling about this.'' Suddenly, his gift Intuition red up. He lifted his shield just in time to block a powerful arrow that rebounded on his shield. Aito felt a slight vibration in his hand due to the attack''s aftermath and had no doubt that it left a dent despite the metalyer being coated with Durability Lv2. While hacking his surrounding opponents, he looked in the direction it hade from, only to see another arrow flying towards his head. BAM! ''Damn! Is it the same guy asst time? Why does the attack feel even more powerful?'' He cursed, feeling the projectile viciously biting into his shield. Such arrows kepting for him in slow but steady session. Apparently, it took time to charge one. Thinking that if that were the case, it could be an aura-based skill. He tried to switch the side of his shield but, suddenly, his Intuition warned him of another potential danger. He turned towards an iing warrior just in time to block a powerful downward sh from a Zweihander that, even with his level 3 strength, forced him to slightly bend his knees. Aito wanted to quickly counterattack, thinking of sliding aside the de on his shield with a turn of the wrist to create an opening. However, something grabbed his arm that was gripping the morpho ax, immobilizing it. Sam put all his weight behind his sword, pushing against Aito''s shield, then said, "Remember me?" Chapter 92 - A Third Feature "You again¡­" Aito replied, his expression somber as every neuron in his brain worked at full speed to find a way out of this situation. For now, he wanted to use Sam''s weakness, the one that gave him the nickname Talkative Baldy. "Yes! Me, ahahaha! You thought we''d be done after our first encounter, ck challenger?" Sam asked, peering into Aito''s eyes barely visible behind the visor. "Thanks to you, the sect master told me something he had never said to me before! He said that he was ''disappointed'' you hear me!? Fucking ''disappointed''! And that was all your fault!" Sam lifted his heavy double-handed sword and prepared another powerful strike. "After that, I swore on sect master''s name and myself to fucking kill you!" Sam said, bringing down his weapon in a downward sh, purposely aiming at Aito''s shield. BAM! "Do you know what I had to endure because of you!? I had to clear the fourth and fifth floor alone in order to train! And even then, it wasn''t enough!" BAM! "I ventured into the sixth floor where no one else had been before me! Just so that I could find stronger opponents! You know what? I found out that orcs were strong but they still couldn''tpare to your brute force and barbaric ways of fighting." BAM! "You who know nothing of honor! You who don''t let your opponent talk before fighting him are even lesser than a human!" BAM! "So there, on the fifth floor, I finally realized what you are. If you''re not a human, you''re just a monster." ''What the fuck is he on about?'' Aito thought, protecting himself behind his shield. Feeling Sam''s every powerful strike shaking his shield, the vibration reaching his bones. Thankfully, his gear was protected by Durability Lv2, but he supposed it wouldn''tst long under such ridiculously powerful blows. It felt akin to him hitting at full strength with his weapon''s weight increased by 2.5 times. ''How the fuck is that even possible? Did that fucker be stronger?'' Indeed, Sam had been through Hell and back. The talkative baldy''s thirst for vengeance was such that he had fought waves of monsters alone, fought to his limits and beyond. Unless he was sleeping, Sam would train every hour of the day. Even when he had been imprisoned, he trained alone, in a dark cell. The results of this training were two skills that had level up, Power sh and Durability. Both reached level 2. Also, after oveing many deadly opponents alone, his body reached level 3. Sam was deadlier than before. It would require some effort but the current Aito felt he could take him on no problem. The issue was the yellow binding around his right arm that even went as far as restraining his hand''s movement. So even if he wanted to swap his grip and use the ainium hammer to break free, it''d be near impossible to do so. Moreover, the one behind this sneaky binding was pulling with all his might, restraining Aito''s movements. He could of course just follow through with the pull. However, what good would it do him to rush into a barrage of enemies without being able to wield his weapon? The surrounding henchmen gathered around him started to gain confidence, their fear of Aito lowering with small dents appearing with each sword strike smashing a shield that had quickly be a symbol of absolute defense amongst the sect member''s ranks. "Don''t you daree any closer!" Sam ordered, shouting to make himself heard. "Do not interfere! He is mine! I will not share the glory of capturing him with anyone else!" Despite his precarious situation, Aito couldn''t help butugh internally at the baldy''s stupidity. He could clearly surround him and thus capture him quicker by using henchmen. Also, Sam always aimed his strikes at the shield for some weird reasons. Maybe because he wanted to prove something? Whatever, it turned out to y in his favor. Just when he was mocking Sam internally, the whistling sound of a fast-approaching arrow resounded to his right. He barely had the time to say shit it rammed into his leg, rebounding but also weakening Aito''s footing. There wasn''t any dent since it hit him where only the weaved mail pants covered him. However, the shock had been able to cause arge bruise to form where it hit just right above the knee. ''Damn it, that fucking hurts!'' Aito cursed internally, ''More of these, and I won''t be able to move my leg.'' Just as he thought that his leg shook when another devastating arrow hit him around the same spot as the previous one. Aito gritted his teeth through the pain and forced himself to remain calm. Having his gift Fury activate in such a dangerous situation might not bring out the best oue. Moreover, Gwen had warned him of how dangerous such a skill was to his current body. It''d pop up his blood vessels one after the other, tear his muscles apart and even boil his insides should it be allowed to be used for too long. If he had to use it again¡ªnot that he could control the activation¡ªit''d be after reaching level 3. Surrounded on all sides, bound by an aura string, struck by arrows that may soon break his leg, and literally mmed by a madman''s sword that thirsted for his blood, Aito''s chances to escape were slim. Despite the pain, he tried to calm himself. Breathing slowly but deeply. Forgoing the physical suffering like he had done many times before. Analyzing all the options avable to him. He was outnumbered, had good allies, but they weren''t used to their new powers yet, so counting on them to break him out of this situation wouldn''t do. Three capable sect members were restraining his movement, trying to break or tire him out in order to capture him for an unknown purpose. Aito had used everything in his arsenal until now. The new armor set, his grenades, improved skills and¡­ ''Weapons¡­, of course, why didn''t I think about it before.'' Aito waited for the right time, just in between two of Sam''s murderous strikes, to switch his shield''s side. The item emitted clicking sounds as he infused his mana into it, turning on the mechanism. However, arge area in the middle of the shield where Sam has continuously hit until now was bent to the point it damaged the wheelwork. Only the edges switched to ainium, leaving at least two-third of steel. ''Oh for fuck sake¡­'' Aito tried to make Sam strike the ainium scales but, somehow, the seemingly stupid man seemed to have smelled the trap. "You think I''ll fall for that?" Sam asked, "After seeing you repel so many attacks, even a dumbass would find this fishy!" "Ah¡­ makes sense¡­ even you figured it out," Aito said, unable to contain the mockery in between an arrow and sword strike. Then one of Sam''s words struck him. "Repel¡­ thanks." That made him think back to one of Ainar''s long and enthusiastic exnations about one of the shield''s perks. He hadn''t been willing to test it because of how dangerous it sounded¡­ until now. "Ha! Finally, willing to have a small talk!" Sam said. Aito''s face drew a bloody smirked under his helm as he activated Durability targeting the ainium on his shield. Weirdly enough, it didn''t go "boom" as he expected. Thinking it''d require maybe more, he overloaded his aura as much as he could. The shield started to vibrate but nothing else happened. ''Weird¡­, is it possible this isn''t pure ain-¡ª'' Sam mmed his sword on Aito''s shield for the umpteenth time interrupting his thoughts, creating a powerful physical shock that made the entire shield tremble. Suddenly a powerful shock wave burst out of the ainium already bloating with aura, sending the baldy with a "what the fuck just happened" face flying at least eight meters away. Awestruck but still aware of his precarious situation, Aito used the ainium edge of his shield to block an arrow, then freed himself from the binding, and rush towards the siblings that needed help while cursing the minerian for not telling him about such a detail. Thinking that it was usible Ainar had used him for some kind of experiment or was it that the inventor himself hadn''t known about it? Didn''t matter for now. Whatever it was, he''d deal with thatter. Activating Durability on his shield Aito rammed into the enemy ranks, sending them flying upon impact like human fireworks, albeit non-exploding ones. Aito used his newfound technique to open a way to She, finding her in a pickle, or was she? The blue-eyed woman was making good use of the short crossbow''s repetitive shots, killing enemies on all sides, shooting bolts with incredible uracy and speed as if¡­ time had slowed down for her. At some point, however, out of ammo, the repeater stopped working, such was the drawback of range weapons. Aito arrived by her side, rapidly made some breathing rooms, took out a new magazine, and threw it towards her. Quickly ncing at each other, they came to a tacit understanding and headed for Ogoro who was just a few meters away, swarmed by henchmen. They rapidly cleared a way through the masses and reached him, only to see the giant man literally using a man as a weapon. The poor bastard was linked to Ogoro''s arm by a yellow string. Ogoro swung his improvised human morning star around, keeping henchmen at bay. Seeing his sister apanied by Aito, he released his Binding String on the man, hurling him far into the distance, then joined them to rush towards the exit that was only dozens of meters away. Chapter 93 - Surrounded No More (part 1) ''Almost there,'' Aito thought, hacking his way towards the exit, asionally using his shield''s shock wave ability for an easy clear. Even if it didn''t kill, it was great for hurling small fries. With Ogoro and She on his toes, he quickly arrived ten meters away from the staircase''s entrance, only to see that elementalists, protected by warriors, were getting ready to fire. ''Not this time, you fuckers.'' "She, shoot them!" Aito eximed, creating breathing around them. "Ogoro, cover the rear. I''ll take both nks and front." At first, he didn''t really expect them to follow through with his orders. He couldn''t me them since he wouldn''t trust in someone else''s judgment, someone he had met recently. However, he had underestimated his influence. Aito had, after all, saved them twice on top of granting them new powers, proving himself to be trustworthy. As the siblings saw it, if they couldn''t trust this man, then no one else could be trusted in the Tower. Both siblings executed the order perfectly, withoutining. Ogoro hacked away at the iing enemies, daring to activate binding string from time to time to either make them trip, rapidly restrain a few moves, or use a henchman as a weapon. While Aito covered both sides using his deadly two-handed executioner ax, She¡ªwho was in her Thrill of The Hunt state¡ªaimed for the elementalists, taking into ount their clothes coated in Durability, the warriors barring the way to her targets, the crossbow''s effective range and Aito rapidly twirling around her to keep the enemies a bay. She activated Hawk-Eye and, as her focus quickly reached its peak, shot multiple bolts in rapid session. Small projectiles flew past warriors and, one at a time, pierced an elementalists head, only missing twice. After only eight seconds, every elementalists had died by her hand. "It''s clear!" She shouted, announcing it was time to go. "Great!" Aito replied, "Let''s go!" The trio quickly paved a path to the entrance. It appeared that the sect didn''t have the numbers to flood the staircase with troops. But before they could walk up the stairs a powerful arrow whistled through the air and lodged itself in Ogoro''s leg, in the backside of the knee where there was no steel armor part protecting him. The giant man stumbled and, surprised by the shot, lost his bnce. "Shit," Aito cursed, cing himself in front of Ogoro to shield him from another projectile, hacking away iing enemies. "Can you walk?" "Yes!" Ogoro replied. "Then go up right now!" Aito said, defending the narrow entrance. "She, cover me! We''ll hold them back here!" "But¡ª" "Just fucking go, Goro!" She said. Ogoro knew he was just a dead weight in his current state and would do nothing but slow them down. Reluctantly, he broke a recovery bead¡ªhe had gotten from Aito in the room¡ªto stop his bleeding turned back, and used his sword like a cane to limp his way up the stair as fast as he could. "Can you find the archer?" Aito asked, blocking yet another arrow. He was almost out of mana and wouldn''t be able to use aura skills soon. Although tired, his stamina would allow him to go on for a while longer. However, if he were to be hit by one of the archer''s arrows without Durability activated, it could definitely spell trouble. "Yes, but I need time," She replied. "Fine," Aito replied in between two strikes, "I''ll buy you¡­ as much time as I can." While Aito blocked the iing wave of warriors, She took cover behind him, activating her Gift, Acute First Sense, to increase the range of her eyesight. She peered into the distance, sometimes crouching to avoid a few normal arrows. She saw the henchmen''s hesitation to face Aito in meleebat, even though he was wounded and tired. He truly had struck fear in their mortal heart. She saw the archers located behind the enemy lines, who apparently had the order to shoot at will now. asional arrows flew in the air when they thought they could hit something. Funny how there was more friendly fire than an actual hit on their real targets. She saw¡­ nothing really suspicious. Whoever that archer was, he was hiding himself quite well into the crowd. Then finally, she identified a weird hooded individual that appeared to be an elementalists at first sight. The man was lifting his index finger in front of him, pointing at Aito. She wondered if it was truly the mystery archer but nheless aimed at him. She had only a dozen bolts left in her magazine. Every shot counted. Suddenly, a yellow string shot out of the man''s finger, passed by a few henchmen, and wrapped itself around Aito''s arm that was wielding the ax, hindering his movements. She focused her attention on the man, and, since Aito was buying her some time, decided to use her new skill. Aura traveled from her bosom to the crossbow, enveloping the bolt with a yellowyer that was particrly thick at the tip, as if it was creating a new sharper bolt of sorts. To further improve the destructive power of the skill, she used Durability on the entire repeater, strengthening the structure and bowstring, increasing its effective range by at least a fourth of what it normally was. Then, pressing the trigger, she released the deadly projectile. It spun through the air, straight and true, passing by warriors who felt a gust of wind near their ears. The hooded man barely had time to realize something was extremely wrong when the bolt flew under his hood and pierced his brain. That was how Borat, one of the four managers, a Lv2 stringman, a man unknown to the trio, and a secondary character, died without being ever given a spotlight. With its caster dead, the yellow string that was wrapped around Aito''s arm faded and disappeared as if it had never been there in the first ce. In front of Aito, the henchmen''s fear grew even more as he once again resumed the massacre. Hacking, shing, piercing, bashing and¡­ halted by another powerful arrow that struck his right leg at the center of the bruised spot. Although it rebounded, the impact created a slight, barely audible cracking sound. "FUCK!" Aito shouted to externalize his anger and frustration over a fissured bone. It probably wasn''t that big of a fissure, but it still hurt like hell. He gritted his teeth through the pain and resumed the carnage, albeit at a slower pace due to his umted injuries. "She got him yet!?" Two replies to his question rapidly brushed past him in a form of bolts, flying through the crowd to hit two cannon fodders but not the mystery archer. Aito''s Intuition red up, imploring him to evade an iing attack. He shifted his shield to the side blocking an arrow that hit like a truck. The seemingly unending wave of challengers, his injuries, a mystery archer, and his almost empty mana storage turned the situation into a real hell for him, even more than before. Soon, he''d be forced to fight without Durability. Possible, but much, much harder to do. Two bolts flew past him again in session, lodging themselves yet again in two warriors. "She!?" He asked, too busy trying to stay alive to actually make a real sentence. "Not yet! He dodges every time!" ''If it continues like this I''m screwed,'' he thought, blocking yet another arrow. ''I don''t know if she''ll get him in time. Running and turning our back to them right now is unthinkable. We''ll just get shot by the mystery archer.'' WOOSH! Two more bolts were sent into the crowd with no apparent sess. That''s when Aito decided it was time for a change of n. "Fall back!" Aito said, thinking of slowly walking backward while fighting. "No! Just two more shots!" She replied. "Shit¡­," Aito said, hesitating. In this situation, two more shots seemed longer to him than two more minutes when in fact it''d be two seconds. Still, he decided to trust her with this. "Fine!" At that moment, the yellow color coating his gears dimmed a little, indicating that Durability was about to be deactivated. Barely a second after, his shield was the first to be uncoated, then his breastte. A strong sense of danger swarmed him as he could feel an ethereal, possible arrow going through his leg as Durability turned off. Aito immediately moved his shield to protect himself from the vicious projectile that punctured his shield but didn''t go through it. Almost as soon as the arrow hit Aito''s protective gear, one of She''s bolts flew straight to the arrow''s source where a masked man hid behind a warrior, using him as a meat shield, then sneakily went behind another warrior as the previous died. Knowing that he''d only swap a meat shield for another, She took her time to charge the bolt with her remaining aura, aimed and fired. ¡ªActive Skill: Piercing Shot¡ª The bolt flew straight to her target, taking a trajectory that prevented it from hitting the cannon fodders in its way. With a perfect aim, it reached an area between the meat shield''s chest and shoulder where there were only muscles. No bones would hinder the bolt that pierced through leather armor like it was butter. It effortlessly went through and hit the mystery archer hiding behind. "Got him!" She said, "Not a kill, though." "No matter!" Aito said, front kicking away two henchmen while thinking of taking this small window of opportunity to run. "Fall back!" Without Durability, Aito couldn''t be as careless as before. Fearing he wouldn''tst long in his normal state he bashed a few henchmen using every iota of strength at his disposal before rapidly turning his tail and run as fast as his injured leg allowed him. She used her threest bolts to cover their retreat, aiming at their pursuers'' legs who fell and created a snowball effect by hindering their fellow sect members'' footings. Since she was now faster than Aito with an injured leg, she remained slightly behind to push back the few warriors that got through with quick sword shes and stabs. Halfway through, they heard a guttural roar that came from within the enemy ranks. "Come back you fucking coward!!!" Sam shouted, pushing away his own subordinates to make a way to his sworn enemy. Chapter 94 - Surrounded No More (part 2) ''What a stubborn guy,'' Aito thought, limping his way to freedom, looking back from time to time to look out for a possible danger which, at the moment, took the form of a fast-approaching shiny head. ''Damn it, I should never have listened to Ogoro and killed Sam the first day!'' Behind him, She was killing the few henchmen that got too close to them, buying Aito some time to nearly reach 3/4th of the way to the second floor. Once they''d reached the Mall, it would only be a matter of time before a moderator came to check themotion. However, Aito was certain that one of them was already waiting up there. How couldn''t they at least send someone with all the fuss down here? He, at the very least, expected one of them to spectate. "Come back to face me!" Sam shouted once again, probably trying to taunt him. "You spineless bastard!!" ''This baldy is shameless¡­'' Aito thought, ''he actually dares say that to me when he is the one backed up by at least two hundred men! Fucking shameless!'' Dozens of meters in front of him, a brilliant light shone at the end of the staircase indicating he would soon reach his destination. Right in the middle of the entrance to the second floor stood a familiar figure, Ogoro who was leaning against his long sword as best as he could. Ogoro seemed to be pointing his index finger at Aito who was wondering what his ally was doing. Then a yellow string shot out of Ogoro''s finger, brushed by Aito''s shoulder and She to wrap around a henchman''s face, who fell headfirst as Ogoro pulled to destabilize him. The henchman hindered his colleagues'' path who tripped, stumbled in their haste to catch up to Aito. But that only slowed them down for a second or two. Ogoro tried to reproduce the attack, seeding one or two times before they understood that covering themselves with the shield was the best means they could employ to keep the treacherous skill at bay. ''Just five more meters!'' Aito thought. Behind him, Sam was getting impatient. The staircase was too crowded with his men but after pushing them aside and reaching the head of the line, he was finally able to run at full speed. She saw this. Knowing it''d be difficult to deal with Sam in her current condition and environment she swapped the grip of her sword, took aim, andunched it like a spear, hoping it would buy them at least a second. The enraged baldy deflected the improvised projectile with his Zweihander that, in his haste, cut the throat of a henchman who was following him close by. "Fuck! Curse you, you damn woman!" Sam shouted. She didn''t even bother looking back and sped towards the exit where three figures were waiting for her. Two masculine figures were familiar to her, but one more feminine wasn''t. With the brilliant light of the Mall and the rtively moderate darkness of the staircase, She couldn''t make up the stranger''s figure. As she finally reached the entrance, a firewall appeared behind her, entirely barring ess to the ck staircase. She turned towards the mystery woman and recognized her awe so shy features. Red-orange hair, skintight clothes with a revealing corset, luscious red lips, big orange eyes. That woman was none other than Sara, a Lv5 pyromancer, an awakened and the second moderator of the Mall. She was also known for her fiery lust. "Aia aia¡­ settle down challenger, nomotions on the second floor," Sara said, speaking to Sam who was eyeing the firewall like a madman despite the hot temperature. The moderator created a small breach in her wall and lowered the mes'' temperature as to let the bald man speak with more ease. "Moderator Sara, I thought you''ve already been paid to¡­, I mean howe you''re here?" Sam asked, appearing confused. "To uphold thew," Sara replied, covering her sweet smile with an orange fan. "What else?" "What???!!!" Sam said, shouting his confusion out loud. "But you''ve epted our bribe! How dare you go back on your word!" The day before capturing She, Kai had made sure to take into ount as many oues as he could think of¡ªnot every oue, but close enough. In one of them, the ck challenger escaped the trap, which Kai thought was almost near impossible at the time. However, just in case, he prepared a bribe for the administrators so that they wouldn''t intervene immediately if the ck challenger got away. Maba, being a man of principle and only interested in experimenting on living beings had refused all kinds of bribes Kai could offer. Also, Maba wasn''t willing on experimenting on challengers in the Tower because it usually meant killing them, which, if he was caught, could cost him dearly. Although, the moderator agreed not to interfere for some reason. It seemed that the telekinesist held a grudge against the ck challenger. Why? Who cared? So long as it served Kai''s purposes, it mattered little to him. As for Sara, it had been much easier. She only demanded to borrow ten robust men to satisfy her fiery needs for the next week. Not a bad deal. The chosen men would onlye back entirely drained of their vital fluid, with happy faces too, and maybe a few burns here and there. That''s why Sam was surprised at the moderator''s presence here. "I do not know what you are talking about, challenger." Sara dered with an imposing demeanor. The air around here blurred from the heat her body emanated. "But you''d do well to change your tone with me if you do not wish to be roasted where you stand. Am I clear?" Sam tightened his grip on his sword. He seemed ready to retort, hesitating only because of the gap in power separating them. "We''ll remember this," Sam said, turning around to leave. "Let''s go guys, nothing wille out of speaking with this whore." A bulging vein appeared on Sara''s beautiful face when she heard the word "whore." Chapter 95 - [BC] Surrounded No More (part 3) She extended her index finger in front of her, aimed for Sam''s butt, materialized a small orange-red fireball with wisps of blue, andunched it. The zing projectile flew straight to its target, burned down Sam''s rear defenses. Even his skill Durability that was still activated was utterly useless as the small fireball roasted his ass. Sara watched her work with a content expression, while Sam ran around the stairs, rubbing his rear on whatever he could find to extinguish the me. Aito and his team looked at Sam''s "pain in the ass" with slight amusement. Aito would be lying if he said he didn''t feel any sort of satisfaction from spectating this. After all, the man had been a pain in their asses all along. Well, mostly his. After a few moments, the moderator canceled her spell and just let the rude baldy run back to his master. It wouldn''t do her good to kill him. Not here. The idea of killing him on the idea crossed her mind, though. She quickly brushed it aside, thinking it wasn''t worth it. "Alright, now that this is done," Sara said, turning towards Aito. "Do tell Gwendolyn my debt from the inn is paid." ''So that''s why she went out of her way to help us,'' Aito thought. ''Gwen..., just why would you do that for me?'' As it wasn''t hard to deduce that Gwen was short for Gwendolyn, Aito quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together, then said, "Certainly. Thank you for your help." Sara sent him a yful smile, "If you''re really that thankful, how about we have a little t¨ºte ¨¤ t¨ºte together where you''ll be able to show me how T.H.A.N.K.F.U.L you are?" Aito gulped. She was attractive, he''d give her that. But, somehow, he felt an inexplicable disgust towards her. No, not disgust. Fear of being eaten? Yeah, he felt like a deer surrounded by a pack of wolves. Something told him that his mighty ax shaft would be kindling for starting a fire if he were to ept. Remembering what just happened to Sam, Aito carefully selected his words before saying, "It would have been my greatest honor, but I''m certain the men you¡­ borrowed from the sect will be plenty enough to satisfy your needs. Also, I''m injured and need to attend to my wounds." "Hum, excuses. At least you don''tck courtesy," Sara replied, "Too bad, I would have liked to y with Gwendolyn''s new toy. If I were to force you, she''d certainly get upset, though. And like they say, an upset Gwendolyn makes the earth spin. Anyway, I''m off, bye bye!" Sara turned around and left for the food district, probably to grab a bite. Suddenly, she halted her step, then said, "Oh, if I were you, I''d flee this ce as soon as possible. I won''t stop them from going up a second time." Aito nodded, took out a recovery bead, broke it, then went off to the only secure location he knew of on the second floor, apanied by the siblings. They wouldn''t be able to go too far with his and Ogoro''s leg injuries. Moreover, they didn''t know when the sect members would realize that the way up was open to them. Well, they wouldn''t outright pursue Aito on the second floor, at least not in bright daylight. But who knew? It was better to be careful about it. So, he decided to go to a nearby ce where he was more or less certain they wouldn''t be disturbed for a while and be allowed to recover. Also, he needed to go there for a few other reasons. *** "So, you made it back alive after all, boy," Ainar said, seeing Aito apanied by two other humans arrive at his stall, limping, battered, and bruised. "You look like human shit on top of another human shit, but at least you''re alive." "d to see you too. You got somewhere we could sit and rest?" Aito asked. "Hum, yeah. Give me a sec." Ainar said, grabbing a wooden box from under his counter that was divided into multiple sections, probably to organize the content. He took out a colorless bead then threw it on the ground in a free space next to him. A wooden bench long enough to fit four people materialized. "Here, get your asses on it." "Thanks, Ainar," Aito said, sitting on the bench while wondering if Ainar had more of those beads that looked like capsules from an anime he liked to watch years ago. Ogoro and She eyed the inventor weirdly as if they''ve seen a ghost. Well, it was their first time seeing a minerian. "What? You aren''t happy with this?" Ainar asked, appearing annoyed. "No, no, it''s just that we rarelye around these parts and it''s our first time meeting¡ª" Ogoro started. "Yeah, whatever. Just sit down and rest." Ainar interrupted, "No need to thank me." "Thank¡ª" Ainar sighed, eyed the giant grey-haired man with an annoyed look, then said, "Are you deaf? I said no need to thank me, kid. And if you really need to thank someone, thank the guy sitting there who risked his life for saving yours." "You''re right," Ogoro said, his gaze traveling towards Aito. "Thank you once again, for saving our lives." The minerian rolled his eyes, "Your friend is such a pushover, boy." Aito shrugged, "Just sit down Ogoro, you need rest." The tall man nodded and did as he was asked while her sister stayed on her feet, her gaze roaming the racks of various items disyed in front of her before she walked towards a rack filled with range weapons. Aito interrupted her midway, held an open palm, and pointed at the short cross in her hand. Appearing reluctant to part with the repeater, She seemed to struggle to give it back to its rightful owner. No matter, Aito helped her by snatching it from her hands. ''No way¡­ is she sulking?'' He thought, looking at She striding to a weapon rack. Amongst the three, she had the fewest injuries and could still move around just fine. ''I''d prefer she rest, though.'' Aito took a deep breath and allowed himself to rx, for they were finally allowed a true breather. "You¡­" Ainar said, staring at Aito''s badly dented shield with trembling hands. "What did you do to my creation, you savage boy!" Chapter 96 - Equipment For Everyone (part 1) Aito gazed at the shield in his left hand. Although the ainium parts were still intact it was badly curved in the middle where the steel tes were; an arrow was still stuck in it and the mechanism was probably too damaged to work properly. "Well¡­ there were hundreds of them down there. Plus a few dangerous opponents." He said. The minerian chewed furiously on charcoal, gulped, then sighed, "Judging by its state, I suppose it served its purpose well. Too well, it appears. Still, do you know how delicate the mechanism is? Hun? It''d take me hours to repair it and that is only if I focus on it." "Ah, talking about repair, could you run a check-up on my armor set and make the necessary repairs?" Aito said, shamelessly. "Tsk, some of your armor parts could indeed use some repair, but how are you gonna pay for this?" Ainar replied, "Last I remember you were broke." "Come on, aren''t we partners now?" Aito said with a bright smile, hiding an internal smirk. "Tsch, I''m already regretting this partnership." Ainar said grumpily, "Fine, just settle your stuff on the counter. Gotta warn you, though. It won''t be ready before tomorrow." "Thanks," Aito said. Taking it off his armor set pieces by pieces before cing each part on therge wooden counter in no particr order. Next to him, Ogoro was inspecting a yellow string much thinner than the one he had used previously to bind his enemies. Slowly but surely, the string approached his wound behind the knee and progressively sewed the injury. It wouldn''t heal the entire wound, not internally, but it would at least help the healing process of the recovery bead. Remembering that he still had four of those, he threw one to She and one to Ogoro who broke it immediately. Aito couldn''t help but notice their currentck of genuine gears. Clearing the Tower without proper equipment would prove to be difficult, thus¡­ "Ainar, would you mind if my partners pick some gears from your stall?" "''Sure, go ahead, help yourselves'' was what you thought I would say!!!??" Ainar said, "If they can pay they are weed to purchase. If they can''t, are you gonna pay for them?" "Aren''t we partners?" "You can''t use that excuse every time, boy. We are partners but I do need to make a living after all." Aito sighed, then said, "We''ll be leaving soon for the fourth floor, Ainar. And I do not intend toe back on the second floor before clearing this Tower. Time is of the essence. I know that I''m asking a lot from you and that my request is unreasonable, but please, we need this. I promise to make it worth your while after we clear thest floor and we''re out of this damned ce." Ainar scoffed, "And if you die up there? How am I supposed to make up for my losses?" "Well, in the eventuality I do die, you''ll get to keep the ainium for yourself." Aito said, "But I will not die. I cannot die. Not now. Not until I''ve aplished what I set myself to do. So don''t worry, I''lle back alive and repay you double what I owe you." The minerian ate a piece of charcoal grumpily, looked at the pieces of equipment settled on his counter, and remembered Roan''sst sentence before they parted ways a few weeks ago. ''If, no, the ck challenger wille to you for help one day in the near future. Although I''d like for you to ept, the choice is still up to you. However, know that this will be an opportunity of a lifetime. Refuse and you''ll be the only one to suffer a loss. Because, from the moment he epted the half giantess''s training, no matter what happens, and mark my words, he will clear this Tower. With or without your help. You know what that means, right?'' Roan always has been, and probably would always be, a mysterious guy. Ainar had known him for two hundred, or was it three hundred years? He couldn''t recall exactly, but it sure has been a long time. Even then, all he managed to figure out about the red-haired man''s origins was that he wasn''t human. Roan would never speak of his past, always dodging the question with stupid jokes or boastings. One thing was certain though, Roan had a vast amount of knowledge at his disposal. As to where and how he''d obtained them, Ainar couldn''t even start to guess. The so-called merchant could very well disappear one day to only reappear in two years or whenever he felt like it. Where did he go? No idea. Pure mystery. What Ainar knew, though, was that Roan was rarely wrong. No matter how stupid Roan seemed, there were only a few asions where he had been wrong. Ainar even suspected it had been on purpose, an orchestrated mistake. Roan''s warning about the ck challenger''s need for help had been disturbing, not because Ainar didn''t trust the merchant, but because it was hard to believe. One couldn''t simply predict the future after all, not so urately. Well, it appeared that Roan had that kind of power¡­ or not. Hard to say. But after Ainar had witnessed Aito''s first request for help, he was more inclined to believe in this prediction. That was why Ainar had first epted to help the ck challenger but not only. A past regret, shame, had resurfaced from a dusty corner of his memory because, in Aito, he saw the same potential to transcend he had seen in many people before him. One, in particr. But all failures. All disappointments. All betrayers. The minerian had abandoned the idea of crafting for someone, entering a true partnership with someone. Not the kind of simple business partnership, no, something much more¡­ more¡­ glorious. Money was good, but there were things money couldn''t buy. And Ainar''s satisfaction was one of them. Just for once. Just for once, he wished for someone to at least transcend above the corruption. To remain untainted by the World. To stay true to his goal no matter the obstacles. Would Aito be the one to bring him the satisfaction he desperately sought after and also wash the shame, the burden he carried with him to this day? There, as he saw the burning desire to gain power, to aplish a goal, glisten in the boy''s eyes who had returned from a fight he originally wasn''t meant to win, Ainar allowed himself to hope. A small, tiny, minuscule hope. He hoped for something more than riches, more than fame, more than what the mere satisfaction of what mortal desires could offer. Even if he were to just stand on the side and bask in the light, he''d be fine, content, satisfied with it. He wanted¡ª ''What am I even thinking?'' Ainar sighed, wondering where he was going with that kind of thinking before he put it back where it belonged, in a dusty corner of his mind. Nevertheless, he was curious about what would happen to the boy. It was true that what Aito asked of him was unreasonable, but it could also be seen as an investment. What''s more, he could keep the ainium as coteral if anything went wrong. No matter how he looked at it, whatever the oue, he''d profit from it. "Hum, fine," Ainar said, a calm face, somewhat masking a sad expression. "Let me check something first. You there the big guy and the woman, got any TPs?" Ogoro shook his head. She seemed to ponder the minerian''s rude behavior, but Aito gesture to not mind about it. She then said, "Not enough to afford your equipment, I think." "Yeah¡­ figured as much." Ainar grunted, "I''m going to say this only once, so listen carefully. Pick whatever items you need from my shop. Swords, bows, crossbows, breasttes, vambraces, arrows, bolts, etc. You''ll only need to pay me 1TP for the transaction since I''m required to at least exchange my work for a sum when selling. Understood?" Ogoro was about to open his mouth, but Ainar sent him a menacing re. "You, the pushover." Ainar spat, "If you dare even start to say, ''Are you sure?'' or ''B, b, but,'' like a dumbass, I''ll call off this deal. Am I clear?" The giant grey-haired man was once again about to say something, however, Aito rapidly closed the short distance between them and covered Ogoro''s mouth before saying, "Crystal clear." Ainar granted and then gazed at Aito''s gears on the counter, seemingly thinking about the repairs. Meanwhile, appearing to be in a good mood, She happily perused through the articles, picking whatever was to her liking as if she were shopping at a Mall. Well¡­ she was in a sense. With the idea to try out new clothes and armor parts, She took off her own clothes as if nobody was around to look at her toned and beautiful curves, only keeping her undergarments. Passersby, men or women¡ªmostly men¡ªcouldn''t help but gaze at her like she was either an indecent person or a top model gone crazy. She cared little about it though, not like she was stark naked. They could stare as much as they wanted. So long as they weren''t a bother, she would remain oblivious to those idiots who had nothing better to do in their lives. Ogoro coughed when he saw Aito staring at his sister''s butt, "What are you doing?" Aito turned towards him, "Hun, me? I''m getting an eyeful while I can. Thought it was obvious enough. Should I make it more obvious by standing right next to her?" "You know no shame¡­," Ogoro shook his head. "Who cares about shame in this damned ce?" Aito replied, "I intend to live my second life without regret. Not appreciating a butt as nice as your sister''s is a crime against the ass-menmunity. No, the whole of humanity. So, if you don''t mind, could you leave me staring in peace and go find your equipment before it''s toote to do so?" Ogoro looked at him, appearing disappointed, then left, limping towards a weapon''s rack. What he didn''t know was that Aito wasn''t staring at his sister''s ass, but an item next to it. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Well¡­ Chapter 97 - Equipment For Everyone (part 2) During the next few hours, Aito and the siblings rested at Ainar''s shop, replenishing their strength, picking free equipment, testing them, and chatting about their next goal. Ascending the Tower. ording to the information they had previously gathered from various sources¡ªguides, info brokers, or just anyone willing to talk about it¡ªthe fourth floor appeared to be a huge forest area filled with goblins, of course. There was also a lonely mountain at the center of the floor, housing a great number of those green nasty monsters in abyrinth of tunnels. Yeah, dark humid caves with moss, dead ends, probably traps, and such. The kind that required preparations beforehand, but nothing too drastic. A good source of light would suffice. Another difficulty of this floor was the massive number of challengers that still remained on it. It could be hard to hunt and kill the required number of goblins to reach the next floor because, just like the resources on Earth, humans would exterminate the easy-to-kill monsters¡ªwell, goblins did respawn at some points. Furthermore, the trio already thought of something to bypass that difficulty. Killing every challenger¡­ was out of the question. A huge loss of time. No, there was a much simpler way. To be there when no one else would, just after the cooldown period. Anyway,pared to the fourth floor, the fifth floor was an old medieval-style ruined city filled to the brim with hobgoblins. Those vicious evolved versions of goblins would hide in buildings, ambush challengers whocked caution. Sometimes, they could gather in masses when a red eclipse took ce and swarm the city to attack the challengers dwelling in it. It has only happened twice until now. Less than half of the challengers still alive in the Tower dared to go there because that event known as the Bloody Eclipse happened randomly. It could well be happening today or tomorrow or the next day. Who knew? As for the sixth floor, it was popted with orcs in a world filled with sand, a real desertic, arid area. Thendscape wasn''t t like a desert. More like a mix of rocky valleys, small or medium sized areas of sands. There were some buildings along the way, but, very much like the previous floor, those were ruined. A rumor amongst challengers even said that a monster more dangerous than an orc lurked in this floor. To give a scale of power, one orc was possibly as strong as two or three sect members. As for the High and Top floors, no one really knew for sure what awaited the challengers that dared climb those floors. Information brokers had infos on those but it was hard to believe until an eyewitness actually came back alive to tell the tale. Well, Aito had more or less a good idea about what was up there but decided to wait a bit before sharing this information with the siblings. He wanted to test them first. Aito knew they were both capable to handle themselves well, but Fearmongers and the¡­ things rted to them were on a different level. Physical or magical prowess wouldn''t help much against them. One had to have a tough mind, an iron will to face those things. Even more without proper protections. What he feared the most, was that the siblings wouldn''t be able to apany him on the ninth and tenth floors. However, that was a problem forter. For now, he wanted to focus on his preparations. "Got everything you need, boy?" Ainar asked, seated on his counter, smoking a charcoal-like cigar. His grumpiness had tuned down after a few hours of work on Aito''s armor set, which now looked brand new¡ªapart from a few small scratches. It had required a few hammer strikes here and there, melting metal, melding metal, weaving thin steel threads, recing leather parts, and other advanced forging techniques mixed with a few magical engineering ones. Simple, really. As per usual¡­ for Ainar. "More or less," Aito replied, wearing his repaired set of armor while checking the items he had neatly settled on the ground. It could seem stupid to do so, but Aito wanted to have a good look at what he had prepared before departing. There was his morpho ax, the repeater charged with a magazine plus five others next to it, a new belt especially made for archers sses to strap their ammunitions on it¡ªbecause of the inventory beads inside the magazine, storing it in another inventory bag would be impossible, so Aito had to keep these on himself at all time. Next to the magazines was a sort of torch with a crystal at the tip which would glow upon infusing mana into it. Very useful in dark caves, since it would light better than a fire torch. Ainar had asked him if he didn''t want the light crystal attached somewhere on his armor or weapon, but Aito refused, thinking it could hinder him at some point during a fight. For example, if he attached it to his helmet, it''d be great since the light would follow his gaze. However, he felt better with the crystal on a torch. First, because he was more familiar with a torch since the ind. Second, he felt more in control of the light this way. Being able toy it somewhere on the ground when needed, or simply keep in hand just behind his shield, positioning the tip in an adequate position to avoid the shield hinders the light''s path. Aito''s gaze turned towards metallic balls half the size of his palm settled under the torch on the ground. Ainar called these boom balls for fun at first, then he stuck to it with time. Boom balls were his creation inspired by a few stories he had heard from humans who had transmigrated to this world. Those were basically grenades. The minerian could have sold this to the churches to make lots of money, but it somewhat felt wrong. Although it would certainly help in the war, he felt those would be misused. Not that the churchescked powerful items crafted from magical engineering. Also, the fact that he was a minerian didn''t help with trading. Ainar was certain someone would make a simr item in a few years, anyway. He always carried some on him everywhere he went for self-defense. Never would he sell any of those. Ainar gave a few to Aito since it might help him clear the Tower. There were ten explosive boom balls and five blinding ones. Ainar hadn''t had the time to make more ainium boom balls. What did they do? The explosive ones would explode and kill. The blinding ones would explode and blind. Simple. Also, those were an apology for what happened with the shield about the fact that it hadn''t repelled Aito''s aura upon infusion, just like it was supposed to. The minerian had thought it would be the case since every time he experimented with aura on ainium it always rejected it. But something he had overlooked was the fact that he always applied pressure. Never had he tried to coat it with aura. To sum it up, ainium would only repel aura when some sort of pressure was applied. A sword strike, punch, or even a telekinesis skill. However, in the case of Durability when the aura would gently coat ainium there would be no violent rejection. Only when some hit the ainium would it reject the coating. A small yet important detail. Still seated on his counter, Ainar watched Aito going through his items, took a puff of his cigar, and said, "What''s the shovel and pickax for?" "These? Well, you never know. Digging tools are always useful." Aito replied, thinking back to his time on the ind, "They can be more useful than weapons sometimes. Question is, why does an arms deal like you have these?" "For digging out materials, mining ores, stuff like that," Ainar said. "Hum, makes sense¡­ I suppose." Aito said, focusing back on his preparation. After double-checking everything, he packed up, taking the opportunity to triple-check everything. He stored most of the items in inventory bags he strapped to his new belt that was already half-filled with five bolts magazines. Fortunately, the belt had special strapping points that prevented the bags from dangling around, reducing their influence on the wearer''s bnce. "You guys ready?" Aito asked, turning towards the siblings who also ended their preparations. She had a new armor setposed of a weaved mail and leather armor parts. To her waist was strapped a belt with magazines and inventory bags filled with arrows. On her back was a morpho bow capable of switching from short to longbow mode. A long dagger for close quarterbats was stored in its sheath on her left leg, a few others were hidden here and there. Since she had also taken a liking to the repeater, She had one of her own in a holster at her side. Unfortunately, it was thest one avable. "Ready," she said. Ogoro morphed back his long sword into a short one then left it in his sheath that also served as a shield. He was dressed in medium-heavy metal armor. Having found no weaved mail suiting his size, he was forced to wear standard chain mail underneath the armor. "Holy shit, this morpho-sword is cool," He said, "ok, ready when you are." "All set, kiddos?" Ainar asked, "Now get out of here. You''ve been scaring away clients for a while now. And you, boy, don''t forget that I''ll be delivering your shield tomorrow morning. So you better be on the third floor when I''m there." Normally, Ainar wouldn''t deliver items. Delivery minerian wasn''t his profession. However, he''d do it this once because Aito might be in trouble if hees back to the second floor after today''s event. Ainar could move around unnoticed using the staff''s staircase, anyway. "Where would I be other than the training ground?" Aito replied. "I don''t know, but you tend to attract trouble like a ma," Ainar replied. "Anyway, still have some preparations to do. See you tomorrow, Ainar, and thanks for everything." Aito said, heading out towards the food district apanied by the siblings. The minerian watched their backs get small the further they went, sighed and got back to work on the shield. Chapter 98 - Sparring Against A Moderator (part 1) Aito and his team walked towards the food district, taking care of checking their surroundings for an eventual ambush or whatever treacherous method the sect would use to retaliate against them. Arriving in the food district, they did not tarry for long, going around the ce to buy the necessary supplies for their journey to the top of the Tower, while leaving enough money for their next shopping stop. In the magic district, they bought all the mana cores and recovery beads they could with the money they all shared, barely leaving a few TPs in their own personal wallets that didn''t amount to even 10 Tower points. Finally done with their shopping, they carefully headed for their third and final stop, where they would remain still until tomorrow. The Training Grounds. There, as per usual, the half giantess moderator was seated on her bench, monitoring the challengers training on the third floor, albeit with a different look. A worried look. Suddenly, her gaze traveled towards the second floor''s staircase where three familiar figures climbed the stairs and stepped on the third floor. Gwen''s eyes seemed to brighten up when her apprentice showed up safe and sound with gears she had never seen before, well in the Tower, at least. A slight smile crept up her lips as relief washed over her. HE, the man she had personally nurtured for an entire month was fine after going into a dangerous, hopeless fight. A fight he had refused to take part in in the first ce but changed his mind for some reason at thest minute. Not that sheined. In fact, she was d he had. A gutless man was more worthless than the lowest of criminals. It hadn''t been hard to know, or more urately sense, Aito had headed for the third floor. She knew he was still alive, but seeing and sensing were two different things. Gwen''s detection capabilities were far greater than any other moderator in the Tower, well may be a certain moderator was on par with her here, but that was it. She was capable of sensing everything happening from Floor 0 to Floor 8. After that, something was clouding her senses. ''As expected of my apprentice,'' Gwen thought, lying to herself as she saw him. She had been worried all morning, thinking that Aito could die even with his current level. The trio, holding a fewmon-looking bags filled with food, progressively walked towards her. Aito noticed Gwen''s umon re as he settled his bag on the ground near the bench. "Hey, what''s those eyes for? Did you miss me that much?" Aito asked yfully. "Or were you looking forward to our spar that much?" "Cheeky little man, you won''t be so cocky after I kick your ass," Gwen said, appearing happy despite her words. "How did it go? Encountered any troubles?" "Let me see, hundreds of men armed to the teeth?" Aito replied, lifting a finger like he was listing the troubles, "A battle surgeon who restrained my movements, a capable archer probably a bowman, two siblings I had to protect and¡­ oh yeah, a fucking pain in the ass baldy whom I had the opportunity to kill in the past but didn''t for some stupid reason." At those words, Ogoro looked sideways, as if he felt guilty about it. "Aye, uprooting a nasty weedy herb before it bes an even more nasty weedy herb is good thinking. However, a true warrior doesn''t necessarily need to uproot the herb. His mere presence is enough for it to cower back into the earth." Gwen said. "The fuck¡­ I just came back and you''re already teaching something weird again using your peculiar analogies." Aito said, chuckling because he didn''t understand the wisdom she was trying to pass. "What does that even mean?" Gwen smiled, lifting a brow, "It means that killing isn''t the only way to victory." Aito wanted to pull out his long, ck hair. He hadn''t even returned for two minutes that she was already trying to teach him something. On top of that, it made little sense, at least with the analogy she had used. Also, he already knew that killing wasn''t the only way to victory. "Anyway, thanks for the lesson, I suppose. Ah, before I forget," Aito said, "Sara asked me to tell you that her debt about an inn or something is now repaid. Whatever that even means." Seeing it was a conversation between master and disciple, the siblings left Aito''s side for a more peaceful area to chat amongst themselves. "Sara?" Gwen said, appearing surprised. "Why would that fiery prostitute say that? Ah yeah, true, I sensed her soul waves mixed with yours. She helped you, didn''t she?" Aito simply nodded in agreement. "So, she took it upon herself to help you? Pfft, if she thinks that''s enough to repay what she owes me, she''s dead wrong! Gahahaha!" "So... you didn''t ask her to?" "Nay, it was your fight, not mine. But it seems like Sara is really trying to get rid of that debt. Gahahaha! Thing is, I had forgotten about it until you actually told me, Gahahahaa! Serves her right!" Aito got suddenly curious at what the second-floor moderator had done in the past to owe Gwent a debt that looked quite huge to Sara, but utterly unimportant to Gwen. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." Aito said, his gaze turning serious, "Would you let the siblings pass the staircase to the fourth floor?" He knew his request was unreasonable and went against a moderator''s job purposes. Aito had first thought about duping Gwen''s perception by having the siblings hide in the crowd. However, the more he thought about it, the more he felt like it''d be a bad idea. First, because Gwen has been good to him until now. It would feel like a betrayal if he were to do something so underhanded. Second, he started to doubt the sess of this n. Gwen was capable of many things Aito wasn''t aware of yet. Somehow, he could feel she wouldn''t be duped by his petty stratagem. That was why asking her directly seemed like the best idea. Gwen stared at him with a poker face, appearing calm, yet impressive. "I did notice the siblings unusual¡­ level up, despite their circumstances as unmarked ones. How did that happen? Even I don''t know. My senses tell me you''ve got something to do with it. You''re more and more mysterious by the passing days, you know that, Aito Walker? I won''t inquire about your involvement in this particr event, simply because I do not wish to know. Whatever happened, do not speak of it to anyone. Ah, also, to answer your question. The siblings may have reached level 1, nheless, I cannot let them pass." Aito sighed. Of course, Gwen had noticed the changes in their powers. The fact Aito had been training with Ogoro every day hadn''t helped in hiding that. Although he hadn''t expected Gwen to refuse his request this way, he felt lucky she wasn''t imprisoning him. "However, something could be arranged," Gwen said. "What do you mean?" Aito replied, a glint of hope in his eyes. "Tonight, during our spar, if you manage to touch me or even make me move from where I stand," Gwen paused, smirking, "I might feel tired tomorrow because of how taxing our spar was. So tired that I might not notice one or two unmarked ones passing by me." Unable to hold it back, augh escaped Aito''s throat as he heard Gwen''s reply. That giantess was truly too good to him. Well, there was that condition of touching or making her move, but¡­ "If you want a shot at clearing the Tower," Gwen said, "you should at least be winning against me under those conditions. So, what do you say?" Aito stared at her with a serious expression, "I say, game''s on." *** A few hourster, just after CDs. Aito stood in the middle of therge training area, his boots digging into the earth, preparing to move at a moment''s notice. In front of him stood Gwen in her usual attire, leather bra, and short leather pants. A casual, rxed vibe surrounded her body. Her huge war hammer was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her hand was holding a wooden rod, or it could also be urate to call it a stick. However, no matter how in-looking it was, that stick appeared mighty impressive to Aito since someone much stronger than him was holding it. Gwen had allowed, no, encouraged him to use every piece of equipment, weapon, or whatever items he had currently gained if it could even boost his fighting prowess by a little. As for her, she simply had said a piece of wood would suffice. On top of that, she would restrain her physical abilities, lowering them to a level 2 challenger. It had sounded arrogant at first, but somehow, Aito who was now facing Gwen holding a stick felt like he was under-geared. ''Calm down, no need to panic,'' he thought, taking deep breaths. ''Let''s first test her abilities from a safe distance.'' He took out the repeater from its holster, aimed, and shot two times. The bolts flew straight to their target. By all means, it should have hit. However, using her stick, Gwen barely brushed, no, stroke them aside, deviating the holds from their original trajectory with a flick of the wrist as if she apanied them, guided them. wlessly. Effortlessly. Easily. Furthermore, she hadn''t even applied Durability to the stick. The movement looked fast, yet slow, but not beyond a challenger''s speed. Aito''s speed. It looked just like flowing water. Aito blinked multiple times, unable to believe what he had seen. He repeatedly shot bolts after bolts, only for the projectiles to be deviated one after the other with surprising ease until he emptied the magazine. "Is that all you got, little man?" Gwen said, taunting, "Because if that is the case, you are nowhere near qualified enough to clear the Tower." Aito''s grip on the repeater tightened as he reloaded it, unsheathed his morpho ax, and closed his visor with a metallic sound. CLING. "I''m just getting started." Chapter 99 - Sparring Against A Moderator (part 2) In his blue challenger''s room, Kai was revising his ns. He had suffered terrible losses "thanks" to the ck challenger''s hands. Not that he cared about human lives, in fact, he was thankful Aito had ridden him of useless cannon fodders that would have betrayed him for gods at some point. In a sense, he stood to benefit from the death of around a third of his sect members. Why? Because of the soul cores, he had harnessed from them. Challengers'' soul cores. Those soul cores were of better quality than the ones found on the fourth and fifth floor. In general, a goblin''s soul core was barely worth a third of a level 1 human and a hobgoblin''s half. The reason was unknown, but Kai had his own hypotheses. Either the Tower''s monsters weren''t as powerful as humans¡ªclearly wrong¡ªor simply because most challengers still alive had already absorbed quite a hefty amount of souls in their bodies. Well, those were only hypotheses. Theories. Nothing that could be verified. To his mind, there was clearly something underhanded, something that stunk to the high heavens about the monsters in the Tower. Kai couldn''t exactly put his hands on what that was, though. The gods were ying their own games. A game a mere mortal wasn''t allowed to join. Never mind that, he had his own business to take care of. Now that he had collected more than two hundred human soul cores, Kai had to decide where to invest those. Selling them would result in an enormous loss. No, with these he could probably make 8 or 10 more level 2 challengers considering that most of his henchmen had already absorbed quite a few soul cores. The purpose would be to form an elite team entirely loyal to him. Kai already had four, no, with the death of a manager he had already forgotten the name of, Kai had three level 2 challengers under him now. Roisin, his personal attendant, but also a powerful level 2 Dual Elementalist that was capable of wielding the ice and fire element. Normally, upon leveling up, an Elementalist would specialize in an element, the mostmon one being fire for some unknown reason¡ªmaybe because humans liked to y with fire, who knows? Anyway, dual elements that were aplete opposite were rare but not unheard of ording to the information Kai had gathered from the shop owners. Apart from Roisin, there was also his Lv2 Bowman Zephyr, a truly mysterious guy who liked to hunt for the thrill of it. Apparently, he had been a professional sniper in his past life on top of hunting games with a hunting bow during his spare time. A useful stealthy guy who could perfectly blend into the environment. He was currently wounded but would be in top shape tomorrow. There was also Sam the Lv2 Swordsman who had recently undergone quite a power-up. Amongst his current three managers, Kai thought the baldy had the most chances of reaching level 3 early on. Not that he knew how many soul cores it required to do so. Investing all the human soul cores he had currently acquired in Sam would be a waste. No, building an elite team would be much better. In front of him, on Kai''s desk, were ten status files from employees he had personally selected for being part of the team. Its purpose? Clear the Tower and bring back the reward. He had wanted for the ck challenger to lead this elite team. However, try as he might, Kai hadn''t been able to talk to him during the event that was starting to be known as the Square''s Carnage amongst challengers. It had been too chaotic, even more than anticipated. Furthermore, he had seen the ck challenger and siblings staring at him from time to time. To avoid being targeted, at the time, he had hidden far from the frontline. The further the better. So it had been more difficult to talk with the ck challenger because of the positioning. Now, Kai seriously doubted Aito would take more risks in the future. In fact, he was certain the ck challenger would avoid sect members like the gue. So would the siblings. What''s more, ording to the reports he had received during the day, the ck challenger, apanied by the two siblings, had been gathering quite a lot of resources. Weapons, armors, food, they had everything. ''Are they preparing to climb the Tower?'' Kai thought, looking at his reports. ''No, impossible. The siblings are unmarked ones. No wait, they manifested new powers earlier today. Did they level up and gained marks? But¡­ that''s ridiculous. Unless Aito has¡­, haha, no, no way. It would have alerted the gods by now if that were the case. No, the only option I see is that the siblings had hidden their powers until now. There can''t be another exnation. Which means that the ck challenger would soon climb the Tower and be out of my reach.'' Nothing had gone ording to n concerning the ck challenger. Ambushes, provocation, or even trapped amidst hundreds of people. Nothing. Sending hundreds of people after him appeared useless, not when he''d be climbing the Tower soon. Kai started to lose patience. If nothing worked against Aito and by nothing, Kai meant capturing, then he had no choice but to send his soon-to-be-formed special squad after the ck challenger. After all, if he couldn''t have what he wanted, Kai would destroy it so that no one else would. Well, this time it was more a matter of pride than anything else. *** On the third floor, an epic one-sided ass whopping sparring session was taking ce. Morpho ax and repeater in hand, Aito dashed towards Gwen as fast as he could, zigzagging along the way to confuse her while shooting bolts after bolts that were simply deviated from their trajectory with ease. No matter, touching her wasn''t what he was aiming for. Destabilizing, analyzing, get a feel of her abilities were the goal. A goal he couldn''t seem to reach. Aito soon neared his opponent''s effective range, activated Durability on both ax and armor set then, without an ounce of hesitation, went for a vicious downward sh powered by the weapon''s increased weight, plus his monstrous strength. Gwen saw such an obvious blowing from a mile away, smirked, then swiftly used the tip of her stick to lightly push Aito''s ax head, using its own power and weight to deviate it. Feeling his ax changing trajectory in the middle of the strike like it was natural, Aito barely reacted in time to stop his ax from shing the air, only for his helmet to warmly wee Gwen''s stick, which sent him flying to the side. He only realized what was happening to him mid-flight when he saw therge ceiling in his field of vision. Aito crashed against the ground, rousing clouds of dust in his wake. He lifted his head to take a look at Gwen, that hadn''t moved one bit from her initial position. There, at that moment, he knew how wide the gap between their abilities was. He knew, yet didn''t want to acknowledge it. Not because he was jealous or something petty like that, but because he simply didn''t understand. Every fiber of his being wanted toprehend, what was happening. Gwen hadn''t used anyplex or shy skill, but it felt so profound, so far from Aito''s grasp. Something he couldn''t reach despite the fact it was right in front of him. He desperately wished to acquire such strength. But to do that, he needed to understand what was happening. With that idea in mind, he rose up, stared at his target straight in the eyes, stored the repeater in his holster, and darted towards Gwen, who was still smirking. This time, he took a straightforward approach. No zigzagging, nothing fancy. He faced the giantess head-on with another downward sh, only to be sent flying once again, only to charge at the moderator after standing up again. After the twentieth time, Gwen said, "Charging mindlessly like that won''t get you anywhere. I''m seriously disappointed if that''s all you got." Meanwhile, Aito rose again, so engrossed in his thought that he chose to ignore Gwen''s taunt, ''That''s not it. Where is that feeling? I can''t feel her blow properly. Unless¡­'' "What are you doing?" Gwen asked, seeing Aito take off his helmet that, despite all previous blows, remained somehow intact with barely any bumps on it. Gauntlets, pauldrons, greaves. Apart from his vest and pants, Aito took off each armor part because it felt useless for him to keep them on. ''I can''t feel shit with these protections on.'' During his one month of training on the third floor, Aito had noticed something interesting when sparring against Ogoro. He learned at a much faster rate after feeling an attack striking his body. In a sense, the more he got hit, the faster he''d be able to adapt to an opponent''s fighting style. It wasn''t a skill per se, more like¡­, it was hard to define, even for him. Every time he was beaten up, he felt like he wanted to resist more than before. He could also feel, remember the areas of his body that had been struck, which helped him figure out at what angle the enemy usually attacked from. Also, he felt like he was growingcent because of the new armor set that allowed him to ignore most physical attacks at his level. Aito stored his armor set into an inventory bag, then threw it to Ogoro, with the instruction to take good care of it. "If you think I''ll go easy on you because you took off your armor, you''re dead wrong little man." "No need, let''s continue," Aito said, charging towards Gwen without losing another second. They weren''t here to talk, after all. Chapter 100 - Sparring Against A Moderator (part 3) This time, he opted for a diagonal sh that, of course, was deflected. Knowing that it would happen, Aito tried to apany the blow, then make aeback, but the stick was somehow faster than him. Without his helmet, he felt the full power of the blow that sent him flying again. As he rose up¡­ again¡­, he touched his cheek, only to find a tiny stingy area where Gwen''s weapon had hit him. ''Hum, so she''s just using the tip to hit me. Focusing her power on a single point to enhance its efficiency.'' Aito thought, ''Something most people do when wielding a weapon but¡­, the area is smaller. Gotta feel it more.'' After five more flights and more bruises. ''I''m now certain she is using the exact same area of the stick to hit me. Also, it feels unnaturally hard for a stick. Meaning the stick is either special or she''s hardening it. But I can''t see a yellow glow on the tip, which could only mean that she''s activating it on this tiny area at the veryst moment. What a monstrous control. Gotta feel it more.'' This time, he tried to strike from different angles every time with no changes in the oue: a free direct flight ticket to the ground. ''She seems to be able to predict where I''ll strike next, as if she could read my every move. ording to my bruises, she is striking me there in precise areas on purpose. Probably because she determined those were more efficient to counter my attacks. I''m a damn open book to her.'' And so, he tried to use a feint but¡­ BAM! ''A feint doesn''t work either.'' Aito thought, standing up with a swelled-up face full of bruises on both sides of his cheeks. It made him look like a hamster. ''Let''s review my options. Feints do not work. She can read my every move and deflect them with ease no matter what angle I choose to attack from.'' He thought, staring at his ax. ''I''m certain now that no matter what I do, I will never be able to touch her at my current level. The gap between our fighting experience is too huge. It''s not even a matter of level or physical prowess since she''s restraining herself right now. It''s just that¡­ experience. The cumtion of everything she has seen, heard, touched, felt, been through until now.'' Aito reached into his pants pocket and grabbed something he had prepared in advance just in case he was out of option. ''Fortunately, no one can experience everything.'' He thought, preparing his next attack. ''I certainly cannot touch her, and she might just counter my next attack through iprehensible means to me. However, forcing her to move is another story.'' Aito tightened his grip on the boom ball in his left hand. Compared to the a-frags, those simply required mana infusion. Ainar had rapidly exined that a-frags'' explosive¡ªthe minerian actually liked that name¡ªworked better with Durability. In short, it used the ability of ainium to reject aura to explode. There was supposed to be a small spring mechanism inside that would move theyers of metal inside, but turned out that the vibration a.k.a small shock it created seemed to be enough to trigger the whole a-frag to explode. Particrly when Aito had overloaded it. Ainar had been quite happy to know about this small detail, motivating him to continue to explore the myriads of possibilities the curious metal that was the ainium offered. Ready to use his trump card, he took one step toward the unsurmountable mountain in front of him. "Oh, I like that gaze," Gwen said, noticing Aito''s determined expression. "Looks like you still have something up your sleeve. Come, show me what you got." Aito stomped the ground as a reply, dashing towards Gwen with all the speed he could muster, overloading his morpho ax with Durability while putting an extra dose of aura in the hammer side that started vibrating. Midway, he used Pneuma to replenish a slight amount of stamina and rx his mind. He almost reached Gwen''s effective range of action, not his own. He nheless attacked with a side hammer blow. The moderator thought he had gone insane from being hit too many times on the head but soon realized that something wasn''t quite right when Aito''s morpho ax lengthened, increasing the weapon''s attack range just enough to reach her. Gwen rapidly used her stick to deflect the blow, infusing her aura at the tip as per usual, but the wood exploded upon contact with the hammer as a powerful shock wave burst out, pushing back Aito''s weapon. The moderator eyed the phenomenon with a "what the fuck is happening" expression, intrigued by what just urred, seemingly not worried about what a mere Lv1 challenger could do to her. Meanwhile, Aito took this opportunity to surf the momentum of the aftermath. Activating Whirlwind, he put every iota of strength behind this one blow while increasing his weapon''s weight by 3.5 times. Gwen saw her apprentice''s fast-approaching blow, then smirked before flicking her fingers, creating some kind of air bullet that immediately interrupted Aito''s movement, violently hurling him backward. He crashed against the ground for what felt like the hundredth time, however, this time, he did so with a smirk on his face. The purple eyes half giantess looked at him amused when she noticed a small metallic ball on the ground next to her. She had seen it in Aito''s hand just before sending him flying, but didn''t know what it was. Gwen thought it was just a throwing weapon of sorts. It was her first time seeing this. Suddenly, the ball cracked then exploded into thousands of pieces, sending shards all over the ce. The ten-meter radius explosion enveloped the moderator whole. From his spot, Aito covered his eyes, feeling the heatwave brushing against his skin with shards rebounding on his weaved mail and pants, some lodging themselves in his unprotected skin. ''What the¡­,'' Aito thought, gawking at the cloud of smoke masking the sted area. ''Ainar could have told me it was that powerful. Wait¡ª'' "Gwen!!!" Aito shouted, quickly getting on his feet, running towards the crater. "Gwen, are you okay!?" From inside the rising grey smoke, a shock wave created a gust of wind that spread the dust particles around, revealing the moderator covered in a ck glow at the center of a crater. The ck glow rapidly disappeared to show her unharmed body. No wounds. No cuts. Not even a bruise. "Guess I was worried for nothing," Aito said, sighting. "Aye, no need for your worries. But, thanks." Gwen said from inside the crater, "Just where did you get that thing, little man? It''s too powerful for an item avable in the Tower." "Ha, that''s a secret," he said, winking, his hamster-like cheeks totally unbefitting his cheekiness. "Never mind that, aren''t you forgetting something?" "What?" The half giantess asked with a poker face. Aito pointed downward towards her feet. She looked at him, traced his finger, then looked at him again before realizing she had moved from her initial position. Moved down, to be more exact. "GAHAHAHA!" Sheughed heartily. Her voice resonating far and wide. Aito covered his ears momentarily, more by surprise than actual need. It took the moderator a few moments to calm down, then she took out something from her inventory and gave it to him. "Mighty well done! Gahaha! Never thought you''d actually ever pull this one out!" Aito looked at the red bead in his hand, and said, "Is that a¡­ memory bead?" "Your reward, little man," Gwen said, smiling from ear to ear. "Created it myself. There are a few data on the 4th to the 8th floor on it such as secrets, maps, monsters, and even some privy info on the moderators. I also left a little additional gift. My favorite warrior skill, Impact. It''s themon version, but it''ll be enough at your level." Staring at his reward, Aito felt that something wascking. He couldn''t exactly say what, but if he had to describe it¡­ "I¡­ I feel like I don''t deserve such a valuable reward." Aito said, "I don''t know, it doesn''t feel right." "Are you disappointed you weren''t able to touch me even though you knew it was impossible?" Gwen said, summoning hundreds of wooden dummies in front of them. "Take a close look at this. Ah, and cover your ears." "What do¡ª" She tightened her right fist that instantly glowed ck, lifted her arms, rotated her pelvis, and made a perfect textbook-like straight punch aimed at the dummies. The air blurred, vibrated, undted, and even seemed to ripple. A powerful shock wave burst out of Gwen''s fist in a wide arc, hurling every particle in the air at the dummies with a torrential force akin to a hurricane. No, stronger. A thunderous p resounded on the third floor as the earth trembled when Gwen''s skill atomized hundreds of dummies at the same time, leaving none standing. Aito, as well as the siblings, covered their ears as they gawked at the ridiculous sight. Feeling small. As small as ants. Thinking back on his desire to previously touch or hit the moderator even once, Aito felt foolish. The unnatural phenomenon ceased as Gwen turned towards him, grinning. "This is MY version of the skill that was copied into the memory bead, Peerless Impact. The skill Impact is the foundation for Peerless Impact, so make sure to master it. I just might teach you the skill I created in the future if you prove worthy." "Was that your full power?" Aito asked. "Nah, that was just a warmup," Gwen said, smirking. "You wouldn''t be able to stand next to me if I were to get serious." Chapter 101 - Last Night On The Third Floor ***WARNING: MATURE CONTENT*** Aito gazed at the destruction in front of him. One would say a natural disaster made it. In that sense, Gwen could be akin to one. A real force of nature that appeared indomitable, untamable, and peerless. "Now that you''ve seen what I''m really capable of, don''t feel ashamed about how or why you won, little man." Gwen said, "No matter what anyone else says, all means are good to win in a fight. Some people might call you shameless or a cheater, but who cares? In a fight for one''s life, winning is what''s important, the means matter little. Although I don''t know what peculiar methods or items you used against me, and I won''t ask what those since you probably will keep it a secret, it remains true that you won." "Well, shit," Aito said, still shocked by the moderator''s power disy. His previous wish to hit or just touch the moderator disappeared. "Are you a god in hiding?" "Me? A god? Gahaha! Don''t be ridiculous, little man." Gwen replied, "I''ve never fought a god, but I''d say that a divine being would probably just have to sneeze to do what I''ve just done." Aito gulped, thinking back on how disrespectful he had been to a certain god. He made a mental note to restrain himself more in Belmond''s presence next time¡ªwell, some things cannot be avoided, though. "Anyway, it''s you three''sst night here, right?" Gwen said, smiling casually. "Let''s make it rxing and restful so that all of you are ready for tomorrow." Gwen summoned a luxurious table out of nowhere. On it appeared various fruits, meat, vegetables. All kinds of dishes that would make one salivate. "I ordered those for tonight and kept them warm in my inventory. I suppose you aren''t injured enough that it''d prevent you from eating, right? Some of those dishes will help you recover, anyway." The moderator said. Suddenly, Aito''s stomach growled loudly as he stared at the table, drooling. Gwen signaled the siblings that have been watching the spar on the sideline to join them. They both joined without saying a word, too eager to start digging. For the first time in probably¡­ actually, for the first time in the History of the Tower, a moderator shared a delicious meal with three challengers. In better moods with full stomachs, moderator and challengers alikeughed, smiled. Speaking about anecdotes. Ogoro told stupid jokes that wouldn''t make anyoneughed, but under the influence of the mood, it somehow appeared funny. Even She, with her cold demeanor, smiled sweetly from time to time, enjoying her moment together with people she dared, tonight, to call friends instead of acquaintances¡ªthe big oath onii-chan not included. Completely drunk, Gwen started to praise how End, the fortress she was usually stationed at, was the best of the best. She talked about its splendor. How this humongous fortress with nineyers of fortified walls located far to the north of Iris, has repelled Fearmongers for more than a thousand years. How it still stood tall despite suffering more attacks than the other three fortresses protecting the borders. And, of course, how great it''d be if all of them were to choose to be stationed there. At those words, a sober Aito looked sideways. He still had yet to make his choice about what to do once he was out of the Tower. His heart aches when he thought back to monkey Jack. While he was having a heartwarming meal, the small monkey was alone on the ind. ''I hope he''s doing fine,'' he thought, gazing at the far distance. ''Please hold on a bit longer, buddy. Even though I still don''t know how I''ll free you, but I''ll find a way, no matter what. I''ll find a way.'' Gwen noticed Aito''s empty re, traced it, only to happen upon the public bath she had made a month ago. "Eyy? Youuu wanna taaake a bath, littttle man? Tututut. Don''t bowther yusing that shitty thing." The moderator said,pletely drunk as she instantly summoned a new structure that appeared to be a hot spring the like one could find in Japan. "Ayee, now that''s better! That''s what I usually use to take a bath once in a whiiiile." Aito looked at the luxurious-looking wooden structure, then at Gwen. He didn''t know the moderator could summon this kind of thing until now. "What? You aren''t satisfied with just this one? You greedy little man¡­," Gwen said, misinterpreting Aito''s confusion about dissatisfaction. She summoned ten other hot springs. "Here! Satisfied now?" Aito turned his gaze towards her, appearing more confused than before, wondering if she was really that drunk. If that were the case, Aito thought that he''d better be careful about what he''d say and just agree. "Hum¡­ yeah. Very satisfied. Thank you, Gwen." He said, standing up from his seat. "I''ll talk to youter after my bath." Appearingpletely drunk, Gwen served herself another ss of Indigo wine as she gestured for him to leave her alone with her drink since the two other siblings had fallen asleep. Ogoro and She appeared to be unable to tolerate alcohol. Probably because of their Asian origins. Japanese people weren''t all like that, but a good number of them couldn''t stand a few sses of wine. Aito couldn''t help but chuckle when he heard Ogoro mumble, "Just call me onii-chan one more time, please," in his sleep, his face on a te that was still half-filled with food. Being the only one sober amongst a bunch of drunkards was a first for him. It felt strangely satisfying for an unknown reason. Perhaps because he had resisted the temptation to try a drink he had never seen before on Earth, the Insomnia, a wine made from fermented indigo fruits, apparently¡ªalthough, for him, they should probably call it Soporific. He shook this thought out of his head, selected a random bathhouse, passed the lobby, stripped down to his birth attire, and opened the door to the hot spring, revealing a pond decorated by pristine rocks. A wooden barrier surrounded the steaming pond, hiding it from the outside. Aito immersed himself in the water with a sigh of rxation. Entering by his pores, the warmth spread to his every muscle, easing his entangled mind. The feeling of a hot spring after eating his fill was even better than drinking an entire bottle of alcohol. Even beyond the level of using Pneuma, unnecessary to say that he has used that skill quite often like a cigarette addict would smoke every thirty minutes¡ªif not less. At peace, and finally alone, his mind wandered towards the trials toe, Jack who was stuck on the ind and climbing the Tower. Then his obsession with bing stronger overwhelmed all the other thoughts as he stared at the red memory bead in his hand. ''Here we go again,'' he thought, readying for the pain as he swallowed the item. Streams of datas-, images, memories about the Tower and its floors flooded his mind in a torrential manner. His eyes rolled backward while his brain registered the new knowledge. It took but a few painful moments. Then something new entered his mind, the knowledge about a new warrior ss active skill, Impact. Information on how to manifest the skill entered his human database, creating shortcuts between his brain, muscles, and soul core. He felt familiar with it, yet was foreign. After the transfer of Impact was done, another data he hadn''t expected entered his mind, knowledge about End and how to get there. Aito put it aside since it won''t be of much use to him until he cleared the Tower. It was still a good thing to know though. He felt his consciousness slightly fade. Aito let himself go with the flow, because why not? He could resist it, but in this heaven soothing hot spring, there was no reason not to rx. It reminded him of his time in a jacuzzi with Viveka, a Russian girl he had met when touring Russia during a holiday. Blue eyes, blonde hair, a body that wouldn''t palepared to a model, and a damn firmed plump ass. One of the finest he had seen. That was probably why he dreamt about that night in the vi he had privatized. Oh hell yeah, he could still feel them. Two balloons in his hands. Ass-tasting was like wine tasting. It was an art for him. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just the right mix. He liked them firm but supple. However, something wasn''t quite right. The two plumps he was touching in his dream felt much harder than in his memories. Their levels of firmness would shame any bodybuilder. Disturbed, Aito slowly opened his eyes to see an ass in front of him, albeit not Viveka''s. "Oho, you''re quite a daring one, little man," Gwen said, standing stark naked. "Jumping right at me when I exposed my back to wash, hun?" "Eh¡­, uh, oh, hum." He didn''t know what to reply. "Nay, don''t feel embarrassed," she said turning around, revealing her perfectly sculpted body. It was toned but not overly bulky. Her previous drunk demeanor was nowhere to be seen. Aito could still remember the hard rock feeling in his hand. Although Gwen''s rear didn''t look that hard, he knew it was god damn firm. The only reason he could think of as to why he couldn''t even do what he called a "let''s dig in" was probably because her Body level was too high or his strength too low to do that. ''What a shame,'' he thought. "Why are you here?" Aito said, trying to appear calm. "I thought you were still drinking." "Nay, I was faking it. No matter how much I drink, I cannot get drunk at my current level." She said, sitting in front of him. The water was deep enough to mask her entire body. Probably because she designed it this way. "Why fake it, though?" She smirked as she slowly drew closer to him, her hand reaching downward. "It was so that I could give you your real reward without the others noticing." Feeling something grab him down there, Aito quickly put the puzzle together, "I thought you didn''ty with men weaker than you." "I never said we wouldy together, little man," Gwen said yfully. Her head then disappeared underwater. "Oh...shit..." He said, as his body rxed even more than before. That night, Aito experienced a new kind of pleasure while discovering that the moderator could hold her breath for quite a long time. Chapter 102 - The Fourth Floor (part 1) Ainar arrived the next morning with a shield in hand, an hour before the staircases opened. He walked past the two siblings, still soundly asleep at the luxurious table filled with cold food all over the ce. Bottles of insomnia were spread on the grass like trashes. Sullying the once dignified third floor solely reserved for training. ''Wise Ancestors¡­ what happened here?'' The minerian wondered, his feet kicking trashes. His gaze traveled to the hot spring bathhouses, only for Ainar to be even more shocked. "Oh, good morning, Ainar," Aito said, exiting a nearby bathhouse. Hisplexion was pale, but rxed. As if he had been drained too hard of his bad energy. "Just¡­ where is the moderator?" Ainar said, looking around. "Hum, uh, she''s still sleeping. Will probably wake up soon enough, I think. How about we get some breakfast in the meantime?" "If you''re talking about human food, then don''t bother, minerians don''t eat those." "Hun? Then what do you eat?" "Minerals, metals, or even rocks sometimes. But I usually like to eat charcoal, boy. It''s cheap after all since almost nobody uses it in this day and age to light a forge." Not knowing what to answer, Aito simply shrugged and went to pick up some breakfast, waking up the siblings along the way. They both looked enthusiastic at the sight of hot springs'' bathhouses. It seemed to rekindle fond memories. Munching on what appeared to be chicken eggs, Aito watched them running towards the hot springs from the table. The minerian pushed away some tes to make space for Aito''s shield that he settled on the table. It looked shiny and brand new. They started a conversation about how he should handle it and take care of it since Ainar wouldn''t be with him during the climb. "I see that your delivery minerian arrived," Gwen interrupted, joining them at the table. "Been a while, Ainar." "Yeah, long time no see, big girl," Ainar replied. "You two know each other?" Aito asked, surprised. "Aye, long story short I used to buy a few things from Ainar. Pretty unusual to see you deliver your work, though. As far as I remember you''d be discreet and avoid people." "This time is an exception. However," Ainar paused, took something out of his pocket and handed it to Aito. "Next time you will have to find me if you want my work." "What''s this?" Aito asked, looking at thepass-like item in his hand. Gwen stared at the item with an intrigued expression, "It''s a curseur, apass linked to another curseur that will always point towards it. Same for the other way around and that no matter where you are. Considering your circumstances¡­ isn''t that dangerous for you?" "Hum, probably," Ainar shrugged then stared at Aito. "But I''ve got business with the boy. If he doesn''t have a curseur, it''ll be troublesome to find him again once he is let loose in Iris." ''Let loose? Why is he talking about me like I am a beast?'' Aito thought before saying, "Why are you giving me this now?" "I don''t think you''ll be able toe back to the second floor before the Tower ends, even if you manage to clear thest floor. This is just in case. Anyway, since I''ve delivered the shield, I''ll get going." The minerian stood from the table and prepared to leave. "Don''t forget that you owe me, boy. Use the curseur to find me as soon as you can on Iris. I''ll probably be roaming the North by then. Where? I don''t know." "Thanks for everything," Aito said, "I''ll find you as soon as I''ve sorted out a few things." "You better," the minerian said with a slight smile on his face. "And boy¡­" "Yeah?" Come back alive, he wanted to say, but said, "Make sure you don''t break the shield this time, hun?" "Can''t make any promises." The minerian shook his head, scoffed, and went on his way with a smile on his bumpy face. "See you outside, boy." *** Standing in front of the soon-to-open staircase, Aito and his team were waiting for the CD to be over. Originally, he had wanted to enter just before CD but changed his mind after receiving the memory bead. He wanted to familiarize himself with the fourth floor and the knowledge in his mind as soon as possible. "You sure you got all you need, little man?" Gwen asked. "Yeah, I''ve double-checked," Aito replied. "Eyh, if you need anything else, you can simply ask other challengers for their resources," she said, winking. "Hum, I''d prefer we do not resort to these kinds of methods," Ogoro said. "We will if we need to," She objected. "Right. Whatever. It''s almost time for you to get going," Gwen said, summoning her signature bench next to the entrance to the fourth floor. Sheid down on it leisurely, closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. "Oh, before I forget." She took out an item from her inventory, then threw it towards Aito. "This is?" He said, staring at a white badge depicting a tall tree and a mountain. "End''s badge. If you want to enlist there, just show it to any church. It''ll also give you ess to some privileges. Normally, at the end of the trial, you''d be teleported in a huge building where you guys would have to choose your assigned front line." Gwen exined, "I know the siblings'' circumstances are special, but you''ll figure something out. Also, I got a feeling it won''t be simple with you. So, take it, just in case." At that moment, the staircase to the fourth floor revealed itself. Aito was about to ask what Gwen was talking about, but the moderator looked sound asleep. He shook his head at her bad acting, "Thanks for everything, Gwen. I''ll see youter." "Let''s go, we have a long road ahead." He said, starting his climb. *** On the fourth floor. Aito and his team walked through the forest area. The fake sun shone brightly up above them. A trail of small green corpses spread in their wake. "Ten goblins iing," She warned from her perch on a tree branch. "No problem," Aito said, deploying his steel shield. Three green creatures the size of children wielding clubs or daggers jumped out from nearby bushes. He bashed one with the edge of his shield and killed the two others in a single ax sh. From her tree branch, She quickly shot down three goblins holding crude bows with her repeater, appearing happy to use it and own one. Ogoro took the opportunity to train his new skill, binding a goblin, then stab it with pure ease. The three remaining creatures knew they weren''t their opponents and fled like cowards. Aito clicked his tongue, retracted his shield, drew his short crossbow, and fired at the goblins, missing one. However, an arrow soon lodged itself in the green creature''s skull, repainting the surrounding bushes dark green. He turned towards She who was smirking with her morpho bow in hand as if she was saying "You''ve still got much to learn, young one." Aito rolled his eyes then said, "She, you stand watch from up there. Ogoro, let''s gather the soul cores, arrows, and bolts." Without waiting for a reply, he walked towards the nearby corpse, sliced open its chest with his ax, and grabbed the yellow core inside it. The item was the size of a memory bead. A small, barely visible white wisp flickered at the center. A goblin''s soul. He stored it inside his backpack because, for some reason, soul cores couldn''t be stored inside inventory bags. Aito recovered a few other cores, and two small wooden sks filled. One was filled with a transparent liquid, the other a green one. He opened it. "What is it?" Ogoro asked. "Poison," he said, sniffing the content. "ording to the memories Gwen gave me, some goblins coat their ded weapons with it. Their poison isn''t life-threatening. It will only paralyze you for a short while." "I see. We better be careful about those, then." "Until we can safely develop a poison resistance, yes." "Hun? And how do you intend to do that?" "Using this," Aito said, drawing another wooden sk. "They are dumb but smart enough to keep an antidote on them. Once we reach our first destination, we''ll take turns drinking the poison and antidote. If Gwen''s memories are correct, it should let us develop a new passive skill after some time." "And if they are wrong?" Ogoro asked. Aito shrugged, "Then they are wrong." "Challengers iing!" She said from above their heads. "Let''s go," Aito said, starting to walk towards the lonely mountain at the center of the forest. "Dealing with other challengers will only slow us down." *** Standing next to the entrance of the fourth floor, Gwen felt unbearable boredom once again for the first time in one month. Watching Aito grow day by day had been entertaining at first. With time, however, it became more than that. It became enjoyable. Especiallyst night. She couldn''t wait until he''d be strong enough to challenge her again but at full strength. Considering his desire to grow stronger, he certainly would. Something took her out of her reverie. She felt ten level 2 challengers heading her way. Three of them were familiar, but the rest were unknown to her until now. To her knowledge, there were currently around ten level 2 challengers in the Tower. Suddenly, getting seven more in one day was unheard of. Gwen took a look at the badly leading them and guessed what might have happened. ''Ho, that''ll be good training for the little man, I suppose. I already envy the moderator who will be able to watch the fight.'' From the fourth floor onwards, the moderator wouldn''t intervene in a conflict between challengers. Well, they could if they wanted to. Why though? The half giantess pushed out a heavy sigh, thinking about the good show she would miss. If Aito died by their hands, then so be it. However, with his training and the knowledge she had passed down to him, Gwen was certain he''d be okay. Probably... Chapter 103 - The Fourth Floor (part 2) A few hourster, Aito and his team finally reached their destination, a small teau on top of the lonely mountain on the fourth floor. The climb could have been rough for normal humans. To them, it had been enjoyable at worst. Thanks to her passive skill Parkour, She had been the first to reach the top ten minutes before the two others. Aito and Ogoro couldn''t be called slow. Climbing a one thousand two hundred meters mountain in less than twenty minutes with all their gears wasn''t slow at all. Once up there, they established a small camp. Well, if settling their backpacks on the ground could be called a small camp. They were nning on waiting until after CD to get to work so that fewer challengers would bother them because some, motivated by greed or the need to feed themselves, might just be brave enough to stay here after CD Aito had chosen this spot for a few reasons. First, because it allowed them to see the whole floor. From the forest, it seemed endless. However, it just spanned over fifteen kilometers'' radius. Probably asrge as the ind he had been on. Second, they could more or less keep an eye out for other challengers, particrly with She''s gift. Her enhanced vision came in handy while scouting from a high ce. They had shared their abilities amongst themselves, so they knew what each other was capable of. Aito had already known about theirs thanks to the candle, though. He had also kept a few things hidden from them. The third reason for theiring here was the secret entrance to thebyrinth of tunnels inside the mountain housing many goblins, which directly led to the heart of the mountain. It wasn''t a particrly obvious one to find. Bushes, trees, and a huge rock hid it from in sight. No one had found it until now, probably also because no one bothereding up here. Even if they did, noticing something that blended into the vegetation quite well wasn''t so easy. Unless one already knew about it, it could be tricky to find the entrance. Aito nned on using itter after CD to enter the tunnels and hunt the special goblin hiding inside. Few challengers dared venture in there because of how messy the tunnels were, even fewer dared going deep enough, thus the special creature''s existence had been kept a secret until now. As for what kind of reward it''d bring him, he didn''t know yet. All he knew was the rewards for clearing the fourth floor. __ [Fourth floor''s quest: Hunting small but green] Quest: Kill 40 goblins yourself in one day. The number of goblins killed will reset after 24 hours have passed. Enemies: Goblins are small green creatures. They aren''t smart, nor stupid. Underestimating them could lead to death. Goblinsck bravery and find courage in their numbers. It isn''t an umon sight to see some of them running away when the situation seems hopeless. Be wary of their ambushes. Difficulty: Easy or Normal (Based on the average ability of a Challenger) Rewards: - ess to the Fifth floor - 100 glory points - 1000 Tutorial Points __ Apart from clearing the quest, killing one goblin or apparently any other creatures brought no TPs. For that, one would have to collect the soul cores and sell them on the second floor. Aito theorized it was to force the challengers to go back to the Mall at some point during the day or increase the Tower''s difficulty. Why? Maybe for training? He didn''t care, it was the gods'' scheme so that didn''t matter to him. Aito stood in front of the rock blocking the entrance to the underground tunnels, examining it. Meanwhile, She was busy scanning the entire floor with her enhanced vision, familiarizing herself with the area. With her level up, her gift allowed her to see 1km away as if it was just in front of her. With time, she learned to adjust it. Zoom in and zoom out. Pretty useful to avoid headaches. Down there, in the forest, she could see challengers fighting the groups of goblins that started to dwindle. After two months, the survivors had adapted and could kill the green creatures rtively fast. Soon, the forest would be deprived of them. It would force the humans to venture underground to find more. With nothing better to do, Ogoro trained his new ss skills, switching between making shallow cuts on one of his arms to sew it back together and grabbing random stone he sent flying with his binding string. Binding string was quite tricky. It felt like a "foreign" part of his body was projected outward. However, he quickly found a way to control it, thanks to his enhanced sense of touch. Like She, he had learned to regte the output to avoid ufortable situations. Currently, he was just trying to familiarize himself with the skill so that he didn''t have to use his gift with it. While his allies were training and also keeping an eye out for potential trouble, Aito ced a hand on the rock blocking the secret entrance. It felt rough to the touch, but also weirdly smooth. There were a few ways he could get rid of it. One of them was to destroy it using the pickax Ainar had given him. However, he wanted to take this opportunity to train and acquire the skill that had been passed down to him through the memory bead. ording to the memory, the warrior ss active skill Impact used aura to channel one''s striking force into arger area of impact. For example, when a warrior used this skill when punching a wooden dummy, instead of simply destroying the area where their punch hit, it would destroy the whole dummy. Much like what Gwen had shown during their first encounter. Its power relied on the fact that it would spread the power of one strike to an entire area. Simply put, if Aito were to concentrate all his strength on a single point of a wooden dummy, it would replicate the same strength in every inch of the wooden dummy''s body targeted area. With a weapon, this skill could be devastating. Even more, if the weapon was a pike, the strength of the wielder would be focused at the tip, increasing the prative power. Aito focused on his soul core at the center of his bosom. More ustomed to aura than before, he rapidly made it travel to his hand and applied a little pressure on the rock while discharging his aura with the image of a shock wave in mind, trying to shape the aura ordingly. Nothing happened. ''Yeah, figured it wouldn''t be so easy.'' Second try. Nothing. Third try. Still nothing. An hour, some rest, and a few mana beadster. As Aito applied pressure to the rock, a shock wave spread in a round arc epassing a surface area of fifty centimeters. [Congrattions! You have acquired the new active skill Impact Lv1!] ''Thank you, memory bead!'' Although it took some time, he finally acquired the skill. Like when he had first acquired Durability, he couldn''t use it instantly. However, thanks to his training, he was more familiar with the use of aura than before. He estimated that it shouldn''t take him too long to get to that point. In the meantime, something else bothered him. The rock hadn''t cracked nor budged one bit. He used Impact again, but instead of a simple palm pressure, he struck the rock with a punch. Nothing happened. Confused, Aito tried the skill on a nearby young tree only to st off the targeted area to pieces. Hanging by a thread, the tree fell with a moderately loud boom, alerting the two siblings who turned towards him. He gestured that everything was okay, as if a tree falling with a punch was normal, then pondered what was wrong with the rock. Taking into ount what he knew of the special monster hiding at the heart of the mountain, a ridiculous but usible possibility popped up. Aito waited for the siblings to return to their training then activated Fearless Aura. His body glowed in yellow light, much denser and brighter than when he used Durability. When his hand came into contact with the rock, its surface rippled, then the entire rock disappeared to reveal an entrance to the tunnels. "Open sesame," Aito said, with a satisfied smile on his face. "Guys, the way down is opened." "Did you break that rock with your pickax?" Ogoro asked, walking close to him. "No, it was an illusion ced on the entrance." "An illusion? Suppose I shouldn''t be surprised with all the magical nonsense in this world. Did Gwen tell you about it?" "I didn''t know at first," Aito replied. "Gwen gave me info on the floors, but I suppose she left out a few things on purpose. It was a simple deduction considering the creature hiding in the underground tunnels." "You broke the illusion?" She asked. "Yeah, sort of," Aito replied. Realizing he was too vague about his answer, he added, "Nothing brute force can''t handle." She stared at him suspiciously, appearing to doubt his answer, but didn''t say anything to inquire further details. "Brute force can be useful sometimes, I guess," Ogoro said, seemingly overly trusting. "We''re going in now?" "No, I need to rest first to replenish my supply of mana and soul power. I also would like to try to absorb my share of the soul cores we''ve collected until now." Aito replied, "We''ll be heading in once it gets dark." Compared to the first floors, the fourth floor and above had real night times. It got darker after CD, making it harder to fight the goblins that were small enough to camouge themselves in the dark. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Sleon, the moderator of the fourth floor was eyeing the group from above with a curious face¡ªas curious as his usual unexpressive face would allow him to make. Floating in the air thanks to strings invisible to the naked eyes, he flew away to rescue wounded challengers who had been fighting amongst themselves. Weirdly enough, more challengers died by fighting other humans than fighting goblins on this floor. When they didn''t venture into the tunnels, that is. Chapter 104 - The Fourth Floor (part 3) Seated on a bench he had quickly crafted using the fallen tree, Aito absorbed one soul core after the other. The absorption process was the same as absorbing mana beads. Either eat it or drain it. The empty core would then disappear because what maintained its physical state wasn''t there anymore. Each time he sucked in the mana and soul, he felt that something was added to his own core. After emptying the fifteen cores that were his share, he could feel that he was almost at his limits. It was akin to a filled stomach, if he were to abuse it, his soul core would burst into pieces. He needed to give his soul enough time to digest the goblins'' souls. Inside his bosom, the goblins'' souls were trying to fight a pointless battle, running away from the human soul sucking their life. Well, there were already weakened because of the death of their body, so there was nothing they could do about it. Aito''s soul only needed time to steal their life force. The process of leveling up this way was gruesome through and through. One would first need to first kill the physical body of a living being then "kill" its soul and absorb its life force to make it one''s own until nothing remained of it. Many closed their eyes on what this truly was: eating souls to get stronger. Those who didn''t close their eyes on this topic were either forced to shut their mouth to avoid sullying themon point of view or simply didn''t live in the society led by the gods. An hourter, after eating a meal, Aito felt himself bursting with energy like never before. It was like he had grown stronger somehow. Not by much, though. A level up would require much more goblin souls to absorb. If it were that easy to level up, every challenger would have done it by now. Using some of the bottles of antidotes and poison they had acquired until now, Aito started his poison resistance training. Being reluctant to try it out first, both siblings kept watch while their partner was painfully grabbing his stomach before being paralyzed. Having ingested the antidote beforehand, the paralysis stopped quickly. Noticing no difference in his status window, Aito repeated the process again and again to finally see the blue window he had been waiting for. [Congrattions! You have acquired the passive skill Poison Resistance Lv1!] "How is it?" Ogoro asked. "Painful, but worth the trouble," Aito said. With his body at level 3, it didn''t take long to develop poison resistance, a few hours at most. "Who''s next?" Seeing as he was alright, She took the next turn while her brother and Aito stood guard. Since her body wasn''t on the same level as Aito, it took much longer, something that wasn''t originally nned. Understanding this, Aito pushed back their cave expedition for the next night. He indeed wanted to explore that cave as fast as possible to grab the hidden item inside that surely woulde in handyter, but rushing things wouldn''t do them go. Aito and Ogoro had to take turns keeping watch through the night until the next day. She''sposure didn''t look great in the morning. She was pale, appearing frail. Ogoro helped her to rest before starting his own poison resistance training while Aito kept an eye out for potential troubles. Some wondering goblins hade out of the cave from time to time only to find a gruesome ax-wee awaiting them. By the early afternoon, Ogoro got Poison Resistance Lv1. It was faster than his sister thanks to his level 2 body. Once done, the siblings who were still tired from ingesting poisons, then antidotes rested while Aito trained his new skill moderately, keeping at least half of his stamina in reserve in case any unforeseen events happened. Aito brought down some trees in their surroundings with Impact. By now, he had told the siblings he had acquired a new skill, so they weren''t as shocked as before. Still, punching the shit out of a tree was an umon sight for them. The light of their second day on the fourth floor progressively deemed, announcing theing of the night and the cooldown period. Aito and his team used that moment to stop whatever they were doing and replenish their strength for an hour while observing the movements of "nearby" challengers from above using She''s enhanced vision from time to time. The sun finally "set" on the fourth floor as the staircases closed. Aito took out his magic torch from an inventory bag and gripped it firmly in his left hand before deploying his shield entirely. The light crystal barely stuck its head out of the shield''s protective boundaries to shine on the surroundings as he entered the secret entrance of the underground tunnels. Behind him, the siblings who had both chosen to have their light crystal fixed to their headgears followed him close by, on the lookout for potential danger. They ventured deeper and deeper into the heart of the mountain, going through myriads of tunnels, drawing arrows on the earth walls to find their way back if needed, dealing with a few groups of goblins. Their encounters with the green pests were growing more frequent the further down they went. Aito used the blurry knowledge from Gwen of the surroundings to lead the way. Thanks to that, they avoided quite a few dead ends, but not all of them. Advancing more cautiously than usual, they moved slower than they would in a more open environment. ''I thought the hidden entrance directly led to the center without any detours. *sigh* Should have known it wouldn''t be that easy.'' Aito thought, turning back because of a cul-de-sac. In the darkness, around a seemingly ck empty corner, dozens of yellow eyes were focused on their preys that dared ventured here. Feeling something was amiss, Aito halted the march and scanned the surroundings using his magic torch. ''Did Intuition give me a false warni¡ª'' "Behind us!" The three of them made a swift turn. Ten goblins they had probably missed because of the darkness abandoned stealth to run towards them, weapon in hands. She promptly shot three bolts to neutralize those to the back. Ogoro used his short mode sword to deal with those closest to him. Aito arrived by his side on time to block a dagger strike and slice off a goblin''s head. The fight was over in less than fifteen seconds. No goblins were allowed to escape. "Fuck, the little buggers surprised me!" Ogoro said. She didn''t reply and simply red at their surroundings, trying to pry open the darkness''s secret. "Weird, I''m certain we should have seen them on our way here. How did they get past us?" Aito said. "We thoroughly scanned the tunnels and saw no traces of them before." "It''s too dark, or it could also be illusions like the one you ''broke'' at the entrance," She replied. The possibility of illusions masking the presence of goblins was high. ording to Gwen''s memory, Aito knew there was a goblin shaman awaiting them down there. What made this goblin special was its ability to cast illusions. The rock blocking the hidden entrance had certainly been its doing. But it had been too real. Even if it had the power to cast realistic illusions, it should have taken the goblin shaman a considerable amount of effort. Well, it had two months to do so. This thought triggered one of Gwen''s blurry, making it clearer, which Aito linked to his current goal. The goblin could indeed cast that kind of illusion by using its ring, a special item that was the reward for this floor and also his reason foring here. However, the item could cast two realistic illusions, more than that was impossible. So, the goblin probably had another such illusion somewhere. Maybe another one now since Aito got rid of the rock earlier. That wasn''t certain though. Furthermore, the illusion couldn''t be a living being, only unliving and unmoving things such as rocks could be cast. Meaning that the chance of a fake dead end to hide the goblin shaman''s hideout was high. The shaman''s other illusions were much less realistic. A simple touch could disturb their flow and reveal them. Although, in this darkness, it could be hard to distinguish them. So, he thought about something simple, but that would slow down their advance even more. ''I can''t just use Fearless Aura until we reach our target. It would cost me too much aura. I also don''t wish to reveal it to the siblings, not now at least.'' Aito quickly pondered on the question and came up with a simple answer. "Shit¡­, how are we even supposed to deal with those?" Ogoro asked. "Do we have to punch every wall like Aito did?" "Stupid idea," She said. "It would take too long," Aito replied. He shared the knowledge from Gwen''s memory about the illusions then added, "Since a simple touch can disturb the illusions, we just have to touch the walls every meter or so. It will take some time, but better be safe than dead, hun?" It was a simple n indeed. With no better proposition, both siblings nodded. They resumed their advance, touching the walls with their weapons every so often. A few minutes passed. They discovered a few other illusions that hid groups of goblins that were promptly dealt with. Those little creatures were easy to deal with, provided one didn''t fall for their ambush. Aito had heard rumors about unpredictable ambushes in the tunnels that, no matter how prepared was a team of challengers, they would ultimately be surprised by goblins. The next illusion they discovered was quite shocking. She heard weird sounds from a nearby earth wall and poked it with her repeater. Her eyes light up murderously when she saw five paralyzed women being r*ped by ten goblins behind a disappearing illusionary wall that had probably been ced there recently so that they could take advantage of their captives in peace. Chapter 105 - The Fourth Floor (part 4) Ogoro kicked aside one of the goblin corpses they had just killed, crouched to examine a paralyzed woman, and frowned. He then took a quick look at the others. All the five female challengers had deep cut marks, bruises, and huge swellings indicating broken bones. Some cuts were caused by daggers, others by goblins'' fingernails. Apparently, goblins tortured their victims while taking advantage of their bodies. There had been rumors of female challengers disappearing on the fourth floor from time to time. Ogoro had never thought that kind of situation would be their fate. One thing was certain, those green pests weren''t doing this out of necessity to reproduce as Ogoro had seen in some animes. No, it seemed to be purely for pleasure since all the deads would respawn eventually every twenty-four hours after death anyway. "This is bad. Their wills are broken. With their injuries and in their current state, they''ll be dead in twenty minutes tops. That''s only because they are challengers. Normal humans would have died already," He said, his face turning grim. "I don''t think there is anything we can do with our current means but relieve them of their suffering." If Sleon, the moderator of the fourth floor had been here, he could have probably saved them. He was known for healing wounded challengers after all. But going inside abyrinth of tunnels wasn''t pleasant, even to a moderator. Also, he usually stayed outside since most challengers wouldn''t venture into the mountain''s depths. Aito looked at the victim next to him that was coughing blood. Her empty eyes seemed to be pleading him to grant her peace. He kneeled next to her, gripped his ax''s handle tight, and gave her what she wanted. A quick, painless death. The siblings and he did the same with the others, then continued their journey silently with a renewed motivation. Unfortunately, they did not have time to bury them and only ced a piece of cloth on their faces, without taking their soul cores. It wasn''t that they felt a kinship for these tortured humans, nor was it pity. It was in disgust towards the way goblins'' handled their trespassers. And that was only the beginning. The further in they went, the more horrors were shown to them. Old and new blood painted the surrounding walls. A few human bones were scattered around the ce. Weapons, armors, rotting body members, goblin feces. Aito had to close his visor to bear the stench, even then he breathed through his mouth to avoid vomiting. ''Fucking disgusting.'' They continued through the tunnels, cautiously checking the surrounding walls for illusions when suddenly, cries of distress resounded. "AH!!!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" Aito halted his steps, looking warily in the voice''s direction. "What are you doing? Someone needs help!" Ogoro said, pressing Aito. "Wait a moment," Aito replied. "Let''s not throw caution to the wind. Also, the voice seems to being our way. Prepare yourself. Ogoro, don''t forget to watch our backs just in case." "Understood," Ogoro said, forcing himself to stay put. "She, light the path," Aito ordered. She took out a handful of tiny light crystals she had taken from Ainar''s shop, then threw them on both sides to increase their overall vision of the surroundings. There, dozens of meters in front of Aito, a woman dressed in a tattered mage robe was running towards them, followed by goblins. A lot of goblins. With no time to curse, Aito rapidly gauged his options while multiple bolts flew past him, their pointy metallic tips digging deep inside small green heads. Throwing a boom ball in a covered space, especially underground, was a terrifyingly bad idea. In the worst-case scenario, they would be buried with the goblins. Fleeing was out of the question too. And so, he started running, rushing as fast as he could towards his targets, increasing the weight of his armor set, swapping to his ainium shield that shone with a bright yellow glow. "Humans!?" The stranger said, sprinting desperately towards them. "Please! Help me!" "Get out of the way!" Aito eximed. Confused, in a state of shock, and blinded by fear, the woman remained oblivious to his order. ''No other choice,'' he thought, arriving in front of the stranger. Aito pushed her aside, obviously not in a gentlemanly way, then collided shield first with the nearest goblin. BOOM! A powerful shock wave sted five goblins at the same time, hurling them towards their peers, briefly stopping their advance. Aito took advantage of this small window of opportunity to ask the woman to retreat. Seeing as she was out of cold because he had pushed her away with too much strength, he grabbed her with one hand then threw the woman like she was some dirty socket. In this situation, he had no time to be delicate. To the back, Ogoro caught her, settled the stranger on the ground before rushing to Aito''s help. She continued to support him from the back, shooting as fast as the repeater could keep up. From her position, she could estimate their numbers to be between fifty and sixty, maybe more, considering a goblin could hide another. Aito hacked, shed. Green blood sprayed on the earth walls. Too numerous to handle with his one-handed ax mode, he switched to his executioner ax, half gripped it to prevent the de from banging on a wall, then spun his way to victory. A few goblins tried to attack him while he whirled around, only for their des, clubs or arrows to be repealed by Aito''s armor that didn''t even need Durability to protect him from the goblins'' weapons. Ogoro arrived by his side. Using his tall frame, he scanned the group of goblins then shot a binding string to the furthest he could reach at his level, around 10 meters away. The yellow string wrapped around a goblin archer''s throat. Ogoro pulled with all his strength, sending it crashing against his peers,pressing their group. He did the same with a few others, then dealt with Aito''s leftovers. Despite their overwhelming advantage in numbers that dwindled drastically, the goblins started to lose their will to fight. A few ran away, initiating the retreat. Aito and She shot as many bolts as they could. Still, less than ten of them managed to get away. Ogoro was ready to chase them but Aito stopped him, "Don''t, it''s too risky. It could be a trap." "But... *sigh* yeah, I suppose you''re right." Ogoro replied, "I''ll tend to the woman''s wounds, then. I suspect you''ve worsened her injuries with how ''delicate'' you were." Aito granted, "Whatever, after you''ve done checking she''s alive, try to get some informations from her." Ogoro strode away to check on the woman. Meanwhile, helped by She, Aito gathered the useful items lying around, discarding the few bolts with broken tips. "We shouldn''t stay put for too long," She said, "those who fled will spread the news of our presence in the tunnels." "Agreed," Aito replied, absorbing a soul core. Something interesting about those cores was that they also contained mana, so absorbing one was akin to replenishing one''s mana reserve. However, they didn''t contain as much mana as the mana cores sold on the second floor, they weren''t as effective. "Let''s take a five minutes break then move on. We''ve almost killed enough goblins toplete the quest. Once we get the shaman''s ring, we''ll head for the next floor." "Why do you even need that ring?" She asked, absorbing a soul core of her own. "To increase our chances of sess. There might be enemies on the next floors that we won''t be able to deal with using normal means." Aito replied, before leaving in Ogoro''s direction. The giant man was kneeling next to the stranger that seemed to have regained consciousness, sewing back her wounds. As soon as the woman saw Aito, fear appeared in her ck eyes, as if she saw a demon. Well, considering how violent their meeting had been, it was normal that she''d be scared of him. "Please, don''t hurt me. I''ll do¡ª" "I won''t hurt you." Aito said, bluntly, "But goblins will if we stay here for too long. Can you walk?" "Come on man," Ogoro said, "give Meilin some time. She''s had it rough." ''Meilin?'' Aito thought, his gaze scanning the woman. She had short dark hair, white pearly skin, a pretty average build and face. An Asian woman. "Hum, we gotta keep going, Ogoro," he said, "the sooner we find the shaman, the sooner we''ll be out of this damn maze." "No, no, no. We need to escape!" Meilin said, fear-struck. She pointed toward''s the darkness, "Down there. There is an entire army led by a golden goblin. We¡ª" "A golden goblin, hun?" Aito said, crouching next to her, "Tell me more about it." "If I tell you everything, will, will, will you let me follow you?" "Yes, but you''ll have to look after yourself. Also, we will fight this golden goblin." "I¡­" Meilin hesitated for a moment. Was it better to stay on her own in those dark tunnels or follow a group of three challengers capable of dealing with more than fifty goblins on their own? The answer was obvious. "O, O, Okay. I''ll tell you everything." Chapter 106 - The Fourth Floor (part 5) Before long, Aito''s team arrived at a dead end. Fresh red, as well as green blood, covered the ground. Broken arrows, daggers, swords, and a few body parts were scattered around. Those were Meilin''s teammate''s remains. In dire need of TP, they had thought of braving the tunnels. However, they only got lost in them for hours. It appeared that the tunnels actually spanned over kilometers, maybe over the whole floor. The normal entrance wasn''t located near the mountain. In fact, there were many entrances throughout the forest that seem to be caves or small holes. Aito and the siblings had passed by a few of them on their way to the mountain. The possibility of goblins using those to navigate safely underground then exit to ambush challengers on the surface was high. If they hadn''t taken the hidden entrance, Aito''s team would have probably been lost in the myriads of tunnels like Meilin''s team. Well, they also had Gwen''s blurry memories. "This¡­," Meilin said, "Lucas¡­ Juliette¡­ Xu Chi¡­ Urs¡­ I''m so sorry." "Where is the passage you talked about?" Aito asked, despite Meilin losing herposure. He knew it wasn''t sensible of him to do that. However, time was of the essence. "Meilin?" Ogoro didn''t seem to agree with how Aito handled things, but didn''t intervene. He seemed to understand Aito''s thought process. "I, I¡­," she hesitated, then took a deep breath to calm down. Having endured a trial beforeing here, plus spending two months in this Tower, she was bound to be mentally stronger than when she had been living on Earth. And so, she forced herself to reply, "I, I, I don''t know. It was supposed to be right here." At those words, Aito and the siblings immediately started to poke at the surrounding walls, searching for illusions, only to find nothing. "It looks like bodies were dragged towards this wall," She said, pointing at trails of blood leading to the dead end. "It''s probably an illusion, like the rock that blocked the hidden entrance." Aito examined the blood trail, followed it to the wall. Touching it, he realized the consistency matched the previous realistic illusion he had encountered. It felt smooth, yet rough. Unwilling to reveal his Fearless Aura, for now, he pondered on how to break the illusion. ''This illusionary wall is magic, right? Supposedly, all magic uses aura to operate. Taking that into ount¡­'' Just in case, Aito warned the two siblings to get ready for a fight, switched to his hammer, and "gently knocked" like a polite guest. The illusionary wall disappeared, revealing the road ahead. A totem built of human bones standing on the side appeared to indicate it was the right way. Aito signaled for the others to advance. The siblings followed. Meilin¡­ had no choice but to do the same. A trail of blood continued down the tunnel. They found a tattered human ear on their way, however, there were strangely no goblins. "Stay on your guard." As they threaded carefully towards the unknown, the stench of goblin feces got stronger. The smell reached its peak when they entered arge underground area, light by the fake moonlight that entered through holesrge enough for a goblin to pass through, but not humans. It was popted by at least six hundred goblins. ''There are so many of them. Is that their nest?'' And that was just at night. If they hade during the morning, there might have been thousands of goblins in here. Well, before they would all ambush challengers on the surface. There, on the other side, on a rock, stood a 1,80 meters golden goblin with a staff it appeared to be using as a cane. It shouted something in a dialect unknown to the challengers and also the system. "Arg, rak, grush aaaasf, bub u aa!." Aito halted the march, signaling for his team to retreat silently while the goblins were busy. Hidden in the tunnel, they started nning their attacks ording to what they had seen. "There are hundreds of them in there. Rushing in headfirst would be risky." Ogoro said, staring at Aito. "Can''t we use those boom balls Ainar gave you?" She asked. "I''d prefer saving the boom balls forter." Aito said, "Unless necessary, I won''t use them." "Isn''t that a situation that requires an explosion?" She said, as if stating the obvious. "W, w, wait¡­ do you really intend to face this goblin army? This is suicide." Meilin asked. However, she was ignored. Aito looked to the side at a random goblin''s poop, then got an idea, "She, Ogoro, do you think you''ll be able to buy me some time?" Both siblings understood what Aito meant. It could be risky, but in those narrow tunnels it would certainly be less risky than taking on a huge army in a wide space like they had in the Square. Before they could give Aito an answer, goblin roars echoed throughout the tunnels. Multiple angry strides resounded, announcing theing of the horde. ''Fuck, how did they know we were here?'' Aito thought, before remembering the goblins that had escaped previously. There was a high chance that they had reported the presence of humans. If that were the case, then those green pests were preparing to hunt them down, drown them under their overwhelming numbers. Aito grabbed some goblin poop next to him, then rapidly covered himself with it. "Distract them as long as you can. Before you''re overwhelmed, flee using the marks we left on our way here. If necessary, use this." She grabbed the boom ball full of shit, then cleaned it, "What about you?" "I''ll join you at the entrance of the fifth floor by tomorrow evening." With the goblins they would kill in a bit, clearing the fourth floor''s quest was but a matter of time. Aito''s n seemed like suicide, but both siblings trusted him. Ogoro and She knew they could get out more or less safely. With their current agility stat, outrunning goblins was easy enough. The road back had been cleared of illusionary walls and ambushes so it should be safe. They nodded, exited the hiding ce, then waited for the goblins toe. "A, a, and me?" Meilin asked. "Do whatever you want," Aito said, extinguishing his magic torch to enter a dark corner. The Asian girl seemed to curse internally before following the siblings. Staying with him in the nest appeared to be the worst option of all. Pure suicide. From his hiding ce, watching the siblings fight the goblin army while slowly retreating, Aito endured the goblin feces'' stench that helped him mask his own human smell. ording to the informations he had gathered, goblins had keen senses, their sense of smell was better than humans. To prevent him from being spotted, he had covered himself in shit. Ufortable, yes, but necessary. His nostrils had been toughened thanks to Jack''s feces, anyway. As he was hiding in a corner, attracted by the loud fighting, numerous goblins passed by him while he restrained his breathing, just in case. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. He exhaled silently, then inhaled. Being inplete darkness, he could only rely on his hearing to locate potential threats. Sounds of small child-like steps getting further and further from him indicated the main tunnel would soon be cleared. Once certain he was safe, Aito light his torch then headed inside the nest unhindered, only to find that six hundred goblins were still in there. ''The fuck?'' Aito cursed internally, thinking that something was definitely fishy. Toote to back out now, he grabbed a sh ball, then threw it at the center of the nest. Just as he lifted his shield to protect his eyes, a bright light shed with such intensity that it could blind those who saw it for a few seconds. Goblins'' eyes who were used to this dark environment couldn''t handle the brightness. The goblins covered their eyes like they were on fire. The sh ball was more effective and powerful than Aito had thought. As he lowered his shield, he immediately noticed the scam. Less than a sixth of the goblins in the nest were real ones. The others that were merely standing still appeared to be illusions. "That''ll make things easier." Swapping for his ainium shield, he charged into the crowd, dissipating every illusionary goblin that collided with ainium, creating small shock waves that were strong enough to shove the real goblins aside. He didn''t even need to kill them to pave a way to his target. The golden goblin stared at him with an angry face, shouting what seemed to be orders or just a bunch of nonsense. ", , glurg, aaaaa!" Almost two-third of the way to his target, Aito started to get attacked by goblins that have been stimted by their leader''s gibberish. He swapped to his two-handed ax, covered it with Durability before obliterating the green pest with ease, purposely leaving his armor uncoated to save as much aura as possible. His enemies'' attacks could barely put a scratch on Ainar''s work, anyway. The golden goblin saw his subordinates die one after the other as his illusions disappeared. It roared, calling for more goblins to attack the trespasser. Appearing to know it wouldn''t be enough, itunched fireballs in session at its enemy, only for Aito to swat them away with hammer strikes. When Aito got close enough, it seemed to resign itself that it couldn''t defeat the human and surrounded itself with realistic illusionary walls. Aito activated Fearless Aura, blinding the goblins around him, creating an opening and disintegrating the goblin shaman''s illusion. The golden creature barely had time to shout "aaa!" that an ax severed its head. Chapter 107 - Blaaa! Every goblin in the nest halted at the sight of their leader''s death by the hands of another golden one. The new golden one was standing on top of the previous leader''s corpse in front of them. Mighty and tall. Just like the previous leader. However, he shone brighter! Being ustomed to the darkness, the light felt unfamiliar to their eyes. Even though he looked ugly like a human, he smelled like goblins! So, he could only be a new golden one. The new golden one appeared strong. Much stronger than the previous leader. That''s when the new golden one kicked the previous leader''s head that flew into the air only tond amidst the goblins who gazed at it with looks of fear. No one has been able to contend against the previous leader. No one¡­, until now. Then, the new golden one took the ring of power to wear it on its powerful metallic bright hands. He was wearing the symbol of leadership. The mighty golden ring! All the goblins stared at he who was victorious with gazes of admiration. ''What the fuck are those disgusting things doing?'' Aito wondered, ready to kill everyst one of them. ''Could it be¡­'' Remembering the golden goblin''s words, he decided to take a gamble. He inhaled deeply, taking in as much putrid air as possible, then shouted. "BLAAA!!!" To Aito''s astonishment, most goblins in the nest trembled, and knelt, for some reason. ''Interesting.'' The goblins didn''t move an inch. Aito walked amongst them, unhindered. Only a few remained standing. He headed their way. Without prior notice, he brought down his ax, shing a goblin in two. "BLAAA!!!" Immediately after, the few standing got to their knees. ''So¡­ what now?'' He thought, eyeing less than a hundred goblins. With the illusions gone after the shaman''s death, he could now more urately assess their real numbers. Aito waited a minute, but the goblins remained on their knees. He killed another, just to see their reaction. Nothing happened. Just gazes full of fear. He had officially be the leader of this group of goblins. That''s when something unexpected showed up in front of him. BING! ___ [Congratulions! You have achieved a feat never before seen!] Achievement: Bing a goblin leader Rewards: -System Update: Goblin''s Language -Title: Goblin Leader -Active Skill: Lifeless Illusions Lv1 -1000 Glory Points -10000 Tutorial Points ___ Suddenly, a lot of information were transferred into Aito''s brain in but a second. He felt lightheaded, as if drunk or high, but recovered fast enough because of his fear of goblins taking advantage of this opportunity to attack him. He checked his surroundings. Certain that it wouldn''t happen, he opened his status window to check the updates. The new title and skill showed in there. ''That was unexpected.'' This unexpected find triggered Gwen''s knowledge. ording to her, achievements were rewards only given to challengers climbing the Tower. During the first trials or in Iris, such notifications would never appear. It was also what made the Tower special. By doing what had never been done before, in other words, incredible feats, challengers could gain rewards that would put them above the masses. However, achievements became rarer as time passed. Like gaining a new skill. Acquiring new skills was hard, which made them valuable. The mostmon way to get one was to be given skills by the system during a level-up. Another would be memory beads or creating them yourself¡ªwhich wasn''t an easy endeavor. After hundreds of years, many feats have already been aplished, leaving fewer for the following batch of challengers. Nowadays, it was extremely rare for any achievement to be made, but not impossible. To add to the difficulty, no one knew what should be done to get an achievement. One could only specte. Still having difficulty believing what just happened, Aito tried out his new skill, Lifeless Illusion. Taking a nearby goblin as a model, he conjured a lifeless image of a kneeling goblin next to him that took only less than two seconds to manifest. ''Not bad for the first time,'' he thought, contemting his first illusion, a perfect copy of a random goblin. A few curious goblins nearby saw this, which triggered a smallmotion that, surprisingly, didn''t seem like gibberish. "Ze New golden one stole ze previous golden one''z power!" "Powerful! Powerful!" "Praise ze new golden one!" Aito turned towards one of the talking goblins. It appeared he could understand them now. Since that was the case, maybe he could actuallymunicate with them. "You! Do you understand what I say?" "''Ez brightnez," it replied. He tranted that to brightness which instantly made him realize he had yet to deactivate Fearless Aura. "Why do you call me brightness or golden one?" The goblin lifted his small ugly head, "Becauze golden one iz leader. All previous leaderz, golden onez." "I see¡­," Aito said, thinking about leaving his skill activated for now. "Is that why you are all kneeling?" "Ez, ez. Brightnez proved worthy. Brightness slew old golden one. Brightnez lookz like ugly human but zmellz nice and iz powerful, zo we follow you." Aito cursed internally. If what the goblin said was true, which probably was, there were a few issues. First, the possibility that the goblins find out he was a fake could ur after he deactivated Fearless Aura. It was spection. Testing it could prove dangerous, so he quickly brushed the thought aside. Second issue, Fearless Aura consumed quite a lot of energy, Aito could still hang on for a bit, but he would have to rest soon. Third issue, his human smell could reveal the scam. Well, that was easily avoidable as long as he covered himself in fresh goblin shit once in a while. "What iz Brithnez allegiance rite?" The goblin asked, interrupting Aito''s pondering. He promptly asked what that was. Apparently, every new leader would make their subordinates go through an allegiance rite, which seemed to happen quite often with new subordinates arriving every morning from nowhere and the old ones dying by challengers'' hands. Since the leader never really changed, it had always been the same rite. Goblins would make offerings. However, it didn''t mean the rite couldn''t be changed. Aito was surprised at how the gods had created the goblins. They even thought about adding some kind of simple hierarchy system and customs. Why though? Was it for immersion purposes? Aito had thought they were only mindless creatures present in the Tower to train challengers. So why would there be such a pointless thing as a goblin culture? Was there something more to this Tower tha¡ª ''Why am I even thinking about such useless questions?'' He wondered, pushing all those questions aside. Whatever was the reason for creating those settings for the goblins, it was convenient for him. Very convenient. Chapter 108 - [BC] Level 2 Soul Core After talking a bit more with the goblin he had named Zeut, Aito was led to the nest''s treasury that actually looked like a junkyard. In a moderatelyrge dark room, items of all kinds lied all around the ce, forming piles, reflecting the light of Aito''s magic torch. A putrid stench emanated from a certain corner where human captives who had wet themselves were tied and gagged. Not far from them was a corner filled with human bones as well as leftovers from the previous leader''s dinner. It also appeared to double as toilets. This horrendous sight reminded Aito of how disgusting those green creatures were. However, he was also surprised that they understood the concept of preserving their food. Zeut added that they were the leader''s private livestock. In fact, the treasury was the leader''s personal space, where only those authorized by him could enter. Most of the time, goblins would just bring offerings here before swiftly leaving. Aito gave the goblin a few orders before it promptly left to execute them. Certain nobody but tied humans were around, he deactivated Fearless Aura, then cast an illusionary wall to block the entrance. No goblins would enter the treasure room without his consent and would announce themselves first. But they could still see him from the entrance, so the illusion was just to block their sight. Once done, he sat on a pile of garbage, removed his helmet despite the stench, and took a well-deserved break. His gaze traveled towards the tied humans. ''Just what am I supposed to do with them?'' He had especially tried to avoid other challengers because he didn''t want to deal with humans. Thankfully, they couldn''t see him since their eyes were covered with a crude piece of cloth. The idea of leaving them to rot here brushed past his mind. However, it would be too cruel to do so. Aito made his mind to free themter. They have lived like that until now, so they could certainly wait a few more hours. He didn''t want to deal with whining and useless . Having made up his mind, he took out a soul core with a yellow color denser than the ones he had seen before. It was the golden goblin''s soul core. Curious, he brought out his candle to pry open the core''s secrets. [Lv2 Soul Core] Soul type: Goblin Description: A soul core containing the life force of a goblin shaman. Absorbing its life force will make one stronger. Application: Absorb it to use. However, be mindful of your own soul level. Well, he didn''t really learn anything new apart from the fact it was a Lv2 soul core, which he found weird since they were just on the fourth floor. He then thought about the pile of soul cores in a corner, thinking there was a possibility that the golden goblin had absorbed or, more precisely, eaten enough human soul cores to level up. It was the only exnation he could find. That and the fact it had been a special creature. Aito then stared at a particr sentence that warned him of his own soul level, wondering what the notification meant. Was there a possibility that absorbing a level 2 soul core was dangerous for a level 1 challenger? He had never heard about this before. Well, he didn''t know much about souls in the first ce. But as far as he knew, souls were weakened after their physical vessels were destroyed. ''So, it should be safe,'' he thought, sucking in the goblin shaman''s soul. Hesitating wouldn''t lead him anywhere. He needed to get stronger as fast as possible and this soul core might be his ticket to level up faster. Also, this ce was rtively safe, for now. After a few moments¡­ nothing happened. Aito left the other soul cores he had collected untouched and patiently waited for the goblin shaman''s soul to be digested by his own. Suddenly, a powerful heart-throbbing feeling gripped his bosom. In immense pain, he grabbed his chest and fell from the pile he has been sitting on,nding on the cold dirty ground. ''What''s¡­ happening!?'' He wed the earth and rocks, trying to dig out his suffering, to no avail. Something was puncturing his chest like a nail slowly nearing on his heart. Coughing blood, he finally felt what was really happening in his own core. Inside his body, his soul was fighting the previous goblin leader''s soul. Although weakened, the goblin soul proved to be a worthy opponent. Their souls shed in a storm of aura inside the core, sending mana hurling throughout Aito''s body that escaped through his pores in forms of transparent blue light. The worst was that he could do nothing but wait it out. He didn''t know if there was something he could do to help his soul. ''Submit to me!'' He thought, trying to keep himself to pass out from the pain. Even though he was exhausted after going through the tunnels, he held on. A chaotic hour passed without anyone interrupting him. Aitoid on the ground in his own blood, weakened, frail, pale, but victorious. The goblin shaman''s soul had finally shattered a few moments ago, allowing him to take a breather while his own soul was regenerating, consuming the other''s life force. Color progressively returned to his face as a surge of strength seized him, easing some of his inner injuries. His soul rose from within the ashes of the previous battle, growing stronger,rger, until it stopped, reaching something akin to a limit. With the pain gone, he immediately fetched two recovery beads, cracking them to heal his wounds. He could feel that the absorption process had damaged his insides, he didn''t even know how he was still alive after this. Aito waited around thirty minutes before slowly standing up, swearing to himself that never again would he do something so stupid¡ªat least not without prior preparations, if there were any. Feeling lucky to be alive, and the need to heal his wounds faster, he cracked two other recovery beads, speeding up his healing process. Once he felt better, he recharged his mana reserve with mana cores. Using soul cores, for now, might be risky. His soul needed rest, after all. ''Doesn''t that deserve an achievement?'' s, no notification windows popped out of nowhere. Maybe a challenger had already imed that feat before. Very probable considering he wasn''t the first nor would he be thest to climb the Tower. Thirsty, he took out his magic water bottle, infused his mana into it, only to see that it filled within less than two seconds. ''Weird, Roan told me it would only fill this quickly if I was near a source of water like a ri¡­ver¡­, hun.'' He brought his magic torch next to a wall, temporarily removed his articted gauntlet, then touched it. His hand was wet, too wet to be a coincidence. He wanted to try digging, but ultimately told himself it would be a bad idea. However, a very good idea struck him. He didn''t have to do the digging himself. At first, he had nned to ask the goblins to drink their own paralysis poison as a subordinate rite, then kill them all one by one once they wouldn''t be able to move. Well, now that felt foolish. It might have worked, but once morning came, there was a high probability the nest would be flooded with goblins, and killing thousands of them before the paralysis effect wore off could be... challenging. ''Now, the question is, will they be stupid enough to dig their own grave?'' Chapter 109 - Goblin Leader Having made his preparation and rested, there were twost things Aito wanted to do before leaving this stinky ce. cing his candle under the new golden ring he was wearing, a notification appeared. ___ [Goblin Shaman''s ring] Description: A ring belonging to the goblin shaman of the fourth floor. Allows its user to cast illusions that will seem realistic to the sense of touch. Even if someone touches it, it will feel like there is a physical presence. The ring also serves as a symbol of leadership amongst the goblins. Upon acquiring it, a normal goblin would have the chance to transform into a goblin shaman. Application: Apply aura to the ring to instantly activate or deactivate the skill embed inside it and picture the illusion you want to conjure. The more difficult the illusion is to cast, the more aura it will require. The user cannot cast an illusion of a living being. Only two uses are avable per day. ___ ''Ah¡­, guess the ring is one of the reasons they were inclined to follow me.'' Eager to test the skill, he infused his aura into the ring while picturing amon woodcutting ax in his head. Instantly, an ax appeared in his hand. He examined it. The touch was in smooth yet rough, much like the rock that had blocked the hidden entrance. It appeared that all the realistic illusions felt the same. Aito pushed the test further by striking an earth wall. Although it felt like he had hit something, there was no mark on the wall. ''Interesting. Let''s try something else.'' He stuck the ax to the wall with a hand, then used the other to punch it. Once again, he felt nothing. However, when he retracted the illusionary ax, he could see a fist mark on the wall. ''Even more interesting.'' What did that mean? It meant that even if he were to block a sword strike with an illusionary shield, Aito would be hit while his opponent would "think" that he had struck a shield. But then it could also mean that the illusion would be "prated" with brute strength depending on what it was. For example, there was a high probably that if Aito had actually rushed with all his might through the rock that used to block the hidden entrance, he might have actually passed through it. Well, further examination would be required to verify that theory. Done with his tests, he deactivated the skill, saving thest use of the day for something else, and walked up to the captive humans. He untied the pieces of clothes covering their eyes so that they could see him, but left them gagged. There were some men, but most of them were women, of course. They numbered around a few dozen. All undressed. Some of them looked pale from malnourishment. Others seem fine, probably because they''ve been caught recently. They looked at him with hopes in their eyes, using the modicum of energy they had to plead for him to free them. Aito sighed, then said, "I will free you, but first, you must promise me you''ll do exactly as I say. Understood?" Some nodded, however, the majority of them still pleaded for their life. "If you don''t shut up now, I will leave you to rot in this goblin''s nest." At those words, all of them stopped yapping. Those who didn''t do so immediately were given a dark stare by the others, shutting them up. Now that this was done, he promptly exined the n, which was quite simple really. He would bring them out with him. All they had to do was follow his orders and shut up. "I''m warning you, if you do anything foolish, I''ll have to punish or kill you. Your fate is in your hand. Nod if you understood." Of course, they all nodded. Since he was the new leader, goblins wouldn''t question him too much. However, if he were to show any kind of favor towards what those green creatures considered mere food, it might rouse their suspicion. So, if those challengers were to create a smallmotion of sorts he would have to at least punish them to avoid looking weak and suspicious¡ªat least that was what he thought. Once this was done, he used a rope he had found in a pile to tie them all together, just like ves, then united their feet so they could move. As he didn''t want to deal with any sort of yapping, Aito left them gagged. "Grab those bags over there, then follow me," he said, pointing a few bags filled with items he deemed useful to take with him. He had stuffed recovery beads, mana beads, soul cores, and other items in those bags found in this junkyard, thinking it could of useter. There were too many things for him to carry alone, nor did he know what to do with those items yet. Fortunately, he had some challengers to carry the bags. Well, he didn''t ask those who looked too weak to carry anything, otherwise, they might not be able to keep it up. Together with the captives, Aito broke down the illusionary wall and exited the room. Covered by Fearless Aura, he arrived at the nest''s central ce where the previous leader''s corpse had been. It appeared that the goblins had taken care of the corpses lying around or they disappeared after a while, which was probably the most likely scenario since unattended bodies tended to disappear overnight in the Tower. Standing on a rock serving as a pedestal, he peered at the thousands of goblins. The morning''s fake sun entered through small gaps, indicating the night had passed and it was almost time for challengers to enter the fourth floor. "KNEEEEEL!" He roared, his voice echoing through the covered space. Most goblins were aware by now that there was a change of leadership, then knelt upon being given the order. However, some remained on their feet. A sign of challenge. With no time to lose, Aito quickly brought down his ax on a few goblins challenging his leadership, showing his might. When they saw his power, the other defiant ones were brought to their knees, putting an end to the foolish challenges. Zeut, whom Aito had named his second inmand, stood next to him, eyeing the humans weirdly, "Brightnez, why humanz follow you?" Aito turned towards the green creature, behind his visor. His imposing rended on it, "You dare question me, Zeut? Those are my ves, I do as wish with them." "Zis lowly one no dare. Brigthnez is powerful," Zeut replied. Aito nodded with a satisfied expression, "Zeut, have you passed down my orders for the rite?" "Ez, Brigthnez. It''z unusual but, ur treasury will erge. Goblinz awaitz Brightnez''z warcry to start." ''Warcry?'' He thought, wondering what this disgusting little creature meant. ''Ah¡­ I see.'' Aito returned to his pedestal, puffed up his chest then shouted, "BLAAA!!" "BLAAA!" "BLAAA!" "BLAAA!" The goblins responded in kind, then proceeded to work on the ergement of "his" treasury. Near Aito, some humans trembled in fear at this sight. A few appeared more reluctant to follow him and dropped their bags. ''Shit, are they really going to force me to punish them?'' Aito thought. Zeut sent them a vicious re, barring his teeth. There was a reason Aito had asked them to remain obedient. It was to avoid suspicion or inciting the goblins to doubt Aito''s still frail leadership. He had only asked them to remain obedient for now. How hard was that? ''Idiots, they''ve forced my hand,'' he thought, walking up to a human male who gazed at him with fear instead of hope this time. "I''ve already warned you. You reap what you sow," He said, punching the man in the guts. "Kneel." Out of breath, the human male bent but stayed on his feet until another fist struck his lower ribcage, bringing him to his knees. "Know your ce," Aito said for all the nearby goblins to hear. Besides Aito, Zeut approached the human. To add insult to injury, the little green creature pissed on the rebellious ve with satisfaction. Aito looked at the spectacle with clear disgust. Although he wanted to kill his second inmand, he forced himself to stop. He might be wrong about the fact that goblins would doubt him, however, like always, better be careful than dead. Well, he had confidence in escaping this ce alone, but he''d have to leave the dozens of captives behind. Unwilling to be tortured, the other rebellious humans calmed down. Done relieving itself, Zeut was about to follow the other goblins but Aito interrupted it, "Not you, Zeut, I have a special rite for you. I wish to explore my new territory. Since I''m still unfamiliar with it, I need a guide." Even if goblins died and respawned every day, they seemed to all know the tunnels like the bottom of their pockets. It probably came with their inherited memories. "Ur wizh iz memand," Zeut replied, then eyed the humans. "Brightnez, foodse too?" "Yes, I might get hungry on the way. And if they rebel, I alone am enough to deal with them." "''Courze, Brithnez iz powerful. But many food makez belly bloat." ''Gosh, this goblin is more talkative than I''ve thought. Maybe a bit smarter than the others too.'' Aito cursed internally. "Zeut, are you questioning my appetite?" Aito reply, purposely towering over the goblin to look more fearsome. "I, I, I no dare!" The goblin said, kneeling. ''Though it still is stupid.'' "Good," Aito said with a satisfied tone, "Now that is this over, lead me to visit the outside first for I need to examine our hunting grounds." "Ez, ez, Brightnez," Zeut replied, enthusiastically leading the way. Before leaving, Aito blocked the main entrance of the nest with a realistic illusionary wall, which triggered a "powerful!" from Zeut. Although, the goblins could leave using the small holes here and there, they would at least be unable to follow him for a while. Chapter 110 - Exit Or Trouble? Aito followed Zeut through the tunnels, looking back from time to time at the naked captives. The goblin clearly knew where it was going, as if it had a mental map in its tiny brain. On their way, they saw fresh traces of a fight. Aito recognized the bolts spread around here and there. Goblins or humans, no corpses were seen. With Ogoro and She''s capabilities, there were bound to be green bodies on the ground. This only confirmed Aito''s suspicion of the bodies disappearing overnight. Where did those go? He had no idea. ''I hope they are fine,'' he thought, thinking about his teammates. He cared little about Meilin, but having developed some sort of rtionship with the siblings, it was normal for him to worry about them. "Zmellz ztinky human blood and piss," Zeutmented. "Careful, Brigthnez, zome goblinz zaid humanz fought hard in tunnelzzt moon. They were chazed to ztinky zurface zo we won''t zee ''em in Brightnez''z territory. But zince we going to zurface¡ª" "Just lead the way Zeut," Aito interrupted, annoyed by the goblin''s lengthy gibberish. Well, at least now he knew the siblings were alive. "Ez, ez, Brithnez! We almozt there." They made a right turn and reached a dead end. Aito looked around, searching for an exit, and frowned when he saw none. "What''s the meaning of this?" Aito said with an impatient tone. "Don''t angry, Brigthnez. Itz nearest way out. We need dig exit. Goblinz dig every ztinky morning." The goblin exined that basically before morning came, every entrance they had made were plugged magically by what they called a devious spirit that Aito tranted as the Tower itself. Apart from the few natural entrances, goblins would ambush the challengers by digging holes early in the morning. That way, it was less predictable to know where the exits were, resulting in a higher chance of sess with their ambushes. Aito didn''t know whether those things were smart, or the gods purposely left this knowledge in their tiny green heads. Zeut started to smell the earth, touched it. Digging underground was a tricky endeavor, one wrong move and everything could copse. That''s why proper knowledge was required. In that sense, it was impressive to see the goblin looking for where to dig by pure instinct and with such poise. At some point, it found a good spot and started to dig with its little hands, using its dirty nails and dagger to stab the earth, digging at a pace faster than Aito thought goblins were capable of. This sight worried him. Why? Because if one goblin was capable of digging that fast, then what about hundreds or thousands of them together? He suddenly felt an urge to get out of the tunnels for fear of getting stuck in his own trap. To help it, he wanted to put some of the challengers to work. They refused to help one of the things that had captured them. The man Aito had punished even stared back at him with a hateful gaze. He tried to reassure them with a few whispers that everything would be alright, but he was bad at it. Also, after his previous disy of violence and the way he could order goblins around, their trust in him had dwindled. Some were even thinking that he wanted to bury them alive. They had probably followed him until now because they figured it was safer the further they were from the nest. He thought about threatening to kill them, but then doubted that it would work without a prior disy first¡ªmeaning killing one of them. However, although he found them annoying, he had no desire to kill challengers unnecessarily, even more when he was actually trying to save them. On the other hand, he could certainly kill the goblin to show he was on their side, but ultimately decided it was a bad idea. As long as he didn''t know for sure digging here was the exit, he won''t dispose of Zeut and he could also use the extra manpower, correction, goblinpower. Moreover, taking the same path as before would take too long and the marks Aito''s team had left behind were now untraceable, so there was a risk he could get lost. Even though the hidden entrance was located atop a mountain, they could also be flooded in no time. The goblins that were normally digging entrances at this hour to fetch food and offerings for their leader upon the challengers'' arrival on the surface were erging his treasury. Of course, a few natural entrances existed, so the water wouldn''t necessarily flood the tunnel going up the mountain. That was an unknown variable though. He didn''t know the size of the water source he had spotted thanks to the magic water bottle, nor did he know how it''d react when it would be let loose. What''s more, now that he took a closer look at them with his magic torch, the challengers looked tired. They were also wounded. Walking here while carrying bags might have taken every ounce of energy they got. Having made his decision, Aito sighed, quickly absorbed a mana core to replenish the mana Fearless Aura was eating up. He still had some time before running out of soul force, so it should be fine to just draw energy from mana cores for now. He then took out his pickax and started erging Zeut''s hole, quickly pushing the earth aside to make space. A bright light shone on Zeut''s front head as it reached the surface. Apparently, they weren''t that deep underground. The hole it had dug was angled upward, crawling in it was more akin to climbing. Zeut moved back a few meters, nimbly grabbing rocks to avoid slipping, and looked horrified to see its shiny leader digging. For it, the leader shouldn''t do such lowly manualbor. Aito ordered the goblin to shut up and help him move the residual earth aside. A pile of earth was built this way. After a few minutes, Aito and the goblin were done with the ergement of the hole. Aito tested the entrance, crawling in to see if it would fit a human. It wasn''t perfect, but at least it wasrge enough to fit his size. As for his backpack, he had just hidden it near the entrance on the surface. He crawled back from his spot to deal with the challengers, only to find a dead Zeut and freed challengers armed with the weapons he had stored inside a few inventory bags they had carried. It appeared they had rummaged through all the bags and used the weapons to free themselves. Well, it didn''t matter much to him since all the items that were truly useful to him were in his backpack. Most of them even had the time to put on some clothes Aito had been kind enough to prepare for them once they were outside. ''Shit¡­ I was too focused on digging I almost forgot about them.'' A blonde man with a long sword covered in dark green blood seemed to be leading them. The same man Aito had punished. Standing by his side were three other challengers. A blonde woman, an Asian man, and a brte teenage girl. All armed. ''How annoying,'' Aito thought. "You will pay for what you did to me," the blonde man pointed his swords towards Aito. "I only did what I had to do to keep you all alive." Aito replied, "If you had followed my instructions, nothing of that would have happened." The blonde man seemed to hesitate. After all, Aito had kept his promise. He could see the way out from where he stood and no goblins around to ambush them. "Calm down, Lucas," the blonde woman said. "Although he looks untrustworthy, it''s true that he had helped us escape." ''Lucas? Where did I hear that name before?'' Aito thought, remembering Meilin''s sorrows. ''Ah¡­ don''t tell me these three are Meilin''s teammates. I thought the goblins killed them.'' "No matter how I look at him, this man looks suspicious, Juliette." Lucas said, "Didn''t you see how the goblins were following his orders? How do we know he''s not the golden goblin d in armor?" Aito rolled his eyes under his visor. At least the challenger didn''t attack him right away. "I killed the golden goblin." "Ahahaha! You? Alone?" Lucas said,ughing. "Lier! A challenger can''t do this alone! Even if that were true, howe the goblins listened to you!?" Aito sighed, losing patience. Nheless, he tried to stay calm and showed the golden ring, "It allows me to control the goblins. Without it, it would be impossible." While it wasn''t entirely true, it made for a quick exnation. Since they might not have much time before the tunnels would be flooded, exining the whole story would take too long¡ªnor did he want to do it. The blonde man''s eyes light up with greed as he stared at the ring. If what Aito said was true, it could sell for a lot of TPs on the second floor. Also, it could be used to order goblins around, which was advantageous in numerous ways to make money. "This is¡­ I saw the same ring around the golden goblin''s finger!" The teenager girl said. "He, he, he might just be the golden goblin in disguise. Just look at him shining!" "Urs might be right," the Asian man said, "we all know the goblin leader is capable of summoning illusions." Aito cursed himself internally, he might have just made the situation worse for him. Well... their thinking was unfounded too. Sensing trouble, he prepared himself mentally to fight. "So, you were this disgusting creature all along!" Lucas eximed, his eyes clearly shining with apparent greed as he found a stupid reason to attack his savior. Chapter 111 - Goblin Slayer "I''m warning you, don''t do anything stupid," Aito said. The other challengers who were observing the conversation from the side all gritted their teeth, appearing ready to fight despite their awful state. "Juliette, Xu Chi, Urs, everyone! Let''s show this creature what we challengers are made of! Once we obtain its ring, we will be able to use it to control the goblins and reign on the fourth floo¡ª" In a rush and tired of this nonsense, Aito dashed towards the blonde man, coated his gauntlets with Durability, grabbed the sword with one hand, and punched him in the sr plexus with the other, putting half of his strength behind the blow. Lucas lost consciousness instantly and dropped to the ground. "Lucas!!!" Juliette said, running to her teammate. After a quick examination, she realized he was still alive. Meanwhile, Aito drew his ax and threatened Xu Chi with it. Too fast to follow, the Asian man had no choice but to endure. Seeing this, Juliette turned towards him and used her aura to manifest a floating stone in her hand. "I''m not your enemy. Think carefully, I could have killed you all in the nest if that was my goal." Aito said, facing a dazed crowd. He opened his visor to reveal his face and deactivated Fearless Aura, "I am the ck challenger. Do you know what that means? It means that if I really wanted to, I could kill you all right now." He hated to use that title. However, he felt that in his current situation, he had no choice. Well, he could butcher them all and call it a day, but then all his efforts to bring them here alive would be wasted. It wasn''t heroism that motivated him, it was just the feeling to have worked for nothing. When the challengers heard about his title, they appeared to calm down a bit. After all, if what he said was true, killing the golden goblin didn''t seem like a lie anymore. "The ck challenger? You mean THE ck challenger? I heard he alone killed hundreds of sect members and caused a bloodbath in the Square a few days ago!" "Hundreds? I thought it was a thousand!" "Wait¡­ I recognize his face. He is indeed the ck challenger. Isn''t he also the one people call masochist because he likes to be beaten by wooden duhans every day?" Aito''s brow twitched when he heard "masochist," wondering who the fuck started that rumor¡ªnot that it was a baseless one. "Now that you know who I am, choose. Follow my orders until we reach a safe ce or¡­," he said with a serious tone, "die here by my hands." The challengers gulped. They knew rumors were usually exaggerated, however, it was an undeniable fact that the ck challenger had faced numerous enemies in the Square. They had seen the sect members prepare their traps and some of them that had been captured recently also saw the many corpses. Apart from Lucas''s teammates, the rest nodded in agreement. However, he soon resolved that issue with a single sentence. "Meilin is alive." Well, at least thest time he had seen her, she was alive. Their faces brightened at those words. They truly cared for each other, despite having such an idiot as Lucas as a teammate. Having resolved their misunderstandings, the challengers started to crawl their way up the exit with the bags¡ªas per Aito''s orders. The first that exited threw a rope to help the others crawl up. Lucas who was still unconscious wouldn''t budge even when his teammates tried to p him awake. Aito told them to go ahead, that he would take care of the man. Of course, they didn''t trust him entirely. Juliette stayed behind to "monitor" him. Just after Xu Chi and Urs were through, Aito attached Lucas to the rope, then pulled to signal the package was ready. Once Lucas was sent to the surface, it was Juliette''s turn to ascend. A worrisome sound that resembled flushing toilets resounded in the tunnels. Aito''s eyes widened. All this useless talking had made him forget about his own apparent sessful trap. "Crawl in there if you don''t want to drown," Aito eximed. As Juliette stood still, wondering what was happening, he pushed her inside the hole. "Now!" Understanding that something was wrong, Juliette crawled up as fast as she could, followed by Aito. Inside the tunnel, the water flushed everything in its path. The goblins had dug with much enthusiasm, bringing down the whole underground water source in the tunnels. The water pressure was such that it poured like it would with a broken dam. Fortunately, the hole Aito and Zeut had dug was angled towards the surface. A quarter way through the hole, Aito could see the water filling the dead-end he had been standing in a few seconds ago. And so did Juliette. The blonde woman was particrly respected in her team for one thing. She was one of the rare challengers with an affinity towards earth. Elementalists could wield different elements ording to their elemental affinity, the mostmon one being fire. Although fire was a great element suited for destruction it usually fared poorly for defense. On the other hand, earth elementalists were great for defense thanks to their Earth Wall skill they learned at level 1. Juliette had already mastered it a few days ago and was able to use it at will, contrary to the skill Rock Bullet she was still learning thanks to a memory bead she had acquired recently. Turns out, it was the perfect moment for her to show off her skills and satisfy her needs for TP. At that very moment, a notification window appeared in front of Aito. __ [Congrattions! You have achieved a feat never before seen!] Achievement: No matter the method, kill more than a thousand living beings in less than one day. Rewards: -Unique Passive skill: One Against Many (Upon entering a conflict alone and when outnumbered by at least a hundred enemies, your inner yer emerges, slightly boosting your overall stats¡ªDestiny stat not included. Your stats are moderately boosted if outnumbered by at least five hundred opponents and increase by one whole level if outnumbered by at least a thousand opponents. There are no negative impacts to the boost. The boost would wear off either when you escape your opponents, or the conflict is considered resolved.) -2000 Glory Points -20000 Tutorial Points Bonus Reward: -Title: Goblin yer (Your title Goblin Leader has been removed and reced by Goblin yer due to drowning your own subordinates) -System Update: Goblin''s Knowledge __ ''Guess that confirms I was sessful.'' Aito''s attention was diverted by the stream of info in front of him. The rewards then triggered momentary nausea as soon as they transferred into his mind. When he came back to himself, Aito barely had enough time to see a stone heading his way. ¡ªActive Skill: Stone Bullet¡ª Since he hadn''t previously closed his visor, the projectile hit him in between the eyes. Still feeling lightheaded, the impact was enough to make him lose his grip. "Too bad we couldn''t get the ring," Juliette said, gathering her aura. As Aito fell towards the flooded tunnel, an earth wall closed the hole, leaving him inplete darkness, denying him any chance to escape. Or so Juliette thought. *** Cold water washed away Aito''s nausea. The surging current had subsided, and the magic torch that had fallen with him was extinguished and nowhere to be seen, leaving him inplete darkness. Aito was enraged. ''WHY!!?? JUST WHY!?'' Since he hadn''t been able to take a deep breath before plunging to his doom, he barely had air in his lungs. In a span of merely a few seconds, many thoughts crossed his mind. Hadn''t he saved them despite the difficulty? Yes, he had been rough. He could have handled things better, but the results were there. The challengers were free. So why did she do it? Was it because of how he had treated Lucas? Despite hurting him, he had spared his life even though he could have taken it easily. Plus, if he hadn''t done it, Lucas would have incited them to attack him and he''d have had no choice but to defend himself, probably killing all of them in the process. Also, hadn''t he brought them the good news about their teammate? It wasn''t certain if Meilin was still alive, but at least there was a high probability she was. ''BITCH!'' he thought as his skin started to glow red because of anger. Then one sentence Juliette had uttered echoed in his mind, "Too bad we couldn''t get the ring." At that moment, he understood his downfall had been caused not by vengeance nor jealously or anything of the sort, but by pure greed. ''YOU FUCKING BITCH!'' Once he was dead, the despicable woman was probably nning on taking or sharing all HIS loot with the others. ¡ªGift: Fury¡ª Suddenly, a surge of torrential power burst out, invading his entire body. Tapping into this source of strength, he forced himself to chase the growing panic, and also, ironically, calm himself. After all, acting out of pure anger in his current situation wouldn''t do him any good and only waste theughable amount of oxygen he had left. ''I''ll kill you.'' Chapter 112 - Deal Death In Judgment (part 1) Entranced in a state akin to a calm before a storm, he looked for a way out in the water. The blurry vision didn''t help, nor did the darkness. Unable to find his torch, he activated Fearless Aura to light the surroundings and search for the hole he had dug previously. His lung started to burn, urging him to find a way out. Panic rose once again, stronger with the passing seconds. He examined the surroundings, using the goblin knowledge he had just acquired. With what the system had given him, he just realized how amazing goblins were when it came to digging holes. Through simple touch, they could sense minute details like sturdy areas that would require a lot of effort to dig through and weaker areas that were easier to dig. It didn''t mean they knew what they could unearth, though. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have fallen for Aito''s trap so easily. Aito removed his gauntlet, touching the earth, searching for something unusual while forcing back the urge to destroy everything around him for the stupid chance of actually hitting the magically created wall. His hand touched rough rocks until it finally touched a smoother surface that didn''t match with the rest. It appeared quite sturdy and thick, though. With his target acquired, he turned off Fearless Aura because it was now useless and only ate up his energy. Again inplete darkness, he felt his lungs burning, begging for air as panic grew, threatening to overwhelm his will. Inside his body, because of Fury, muscle fibers were being strained to their limits. Soon they would start to tear apart if he didn''t ease his anger. Nheless, he kept his cool despite the odds ying against him and his boiling rage. Trusting in his sense of touch, he finally found what he has been looking for, a weak point in the structure. He memorized the location, put back his gauntlet, overloaded Durability into his metallic fist, and ovepped it with Impact. ''With Fury, it should be possible.'' Lacking enough air to give him time to absorb mana from a mana core in a pouch strapped to his belt, and having used Fearless Aura for too long, Aito only had enough mana for one strike. *** A few moments ago. Juliette looked at her surroundings, breathing in the outside air, enjoying her freedom to the fullest and her soon-to-be deep pockets. Life was hard and expensive in the Tower. Prices were unfair, forcing them to risk their lives. After a while, they finally managed to fight off goblins on the fourth floor without much trouble. However, a goblin''s soul core wasn''t worth much. They were five in their teams, sharing those soul cores every day couldn''t possibly satisfy their every need or desire. Juliette had thought about climbing to the next floor, but killing forty goblins on her own in one day was impossible for her alone. Even with her teammates taking care of fifty goblins had been their record until now. There were too many challengers on the fourth floor, increasing the difficulty of hunting goblins every day. By the end of the day, there were no more goblins on the surface, mostly because challengers had taken care of them. That''s why they had to try to brave the tunnels. Goblins proved to be quite the stealthy creatures. Ambushing them out of nowhere, appearing from corners they had already visited. ''Finally, finally we''ll be rich,'' she thought looking at the backpacks that for fear of the ck challenger''s retaliation, no one had yet to open. As per what she had seen when rummaging through their contents, those were filled with inventory backs from the goblin''s treasury with various gears that could sell for a lot. Some bags were also filled with soul cores. She suspected there were humans and goblins'' soul cores. And since human ones could fetch for a hefty price¡­. She knew it wasn''t all there was to those bags. Juliette had yet to check them all, particrly the dead ck challenger''s own backpack that would certainly be filled with the most precious items. However, Juliette didn''t know where it was. Although she knew he had hidden it on the surface but where exactly? Juliette looked around her. Trees, bushes, challengers happy to be alive. Taking into the time the ck challenger had spent outside¡ªwhich she assumed wasn''t much¡ªit couldn''t be too far. "Where is the ck challenger?" Xu Chi approached her followed by Urs, the teenage girl. "Dead," Juliette replied, searching through bushes. "Wait¡­ what? Just¡­ what happened? Could it be¡­," Urs covered her mouth. "Did you bury him in there?" Xu Chi sent her a quizzical re. "For some reason, the tunnels were flooded by water. So, I did what I thought was best for us. Do you think he would have shared all the loot from the treasury with us? Killing him was the only option to get us a share of this. Now stop with your questioning guys and help me find his backpack." Urs stared back at the nearby entrance like she didn''t know what to do or think about Juliette''s wrongdoing. "Although I agree with you on the loot share, but didn''t you hear the rumors about ck challengers? They are said to be unkible!" Xu Chi said. "Don''t be stupid. No human is unkible in the first ce. What makes the ck challengers different, anyway? They only cleared the ck trial. That''s it. Are they known to have any cheat powers we don''t? No, they are famous for aplishing feats, that''s it. What''s a ck challenger but a title, anyway? And yeah, there is no denying the current ck challenger was strong but unkible? I don''t think so." Juliette said before pulling out a backpack from a bush with a satisfied face. Xu Chi paused and sighed. "I hope you''re right. Because if you''re not, we might all¡ª" Suddenly, a loud shattering sound resounded from the tunnel entrance, interrupting his sentence. BOOM! "¡­die." Chapter 113 - Deal Out Death In Judgment (part 2) Juliette red at the direction of the sound with concern. ''That''s impossible¡­ no challengers should be able to break my earth wall.'' An instinctual fear seized her. She ran towards the entrance, preparing to use Stone Bullet and Earth Wall just in case. She peered into the darkness, looking for her target, only to find Aito aiming a short crossbow at her. A bolt flew in her direction, lodging in her frail shoulder. "Ah, bastard!" She stumbled backward from the pain and greeted her teeth, trying to focus on her skill. Due to her experience as a challenger, Juliette was ustomed to pain but not enough to concentrate properly, dying the formation of her spell. Moreover, she was still tired from being held captive. Before she could close the entrance, Aito climbed out of it, soaked, steaming due to his gift, a furious re in his dark eyes and his ax in hand. Juliette started to tremble, "P, p, please, I''m sorry, it, it, it was just a misunderstand¡ª" Aito didn''t hesitate, dashed towards her, severing her left leg in one hit. "AAHHH!" "You reap what you sow," he said in a vengeful tone. "You bitch." Juliette lifted her hand to plead for mercy. However, Aito crushed it under his foot, thinking she would shoot one of those hateful stone projectiles again. "Once but not twice," he said with a clear disgust for the woman. At first, the other challengers watched from the side with iprehension. However, they quickly figured out what was happening. Just looking at the situation made it quite obvious. Despite knowing everything, Xu Chi rushed to hispanion''s aid, daggers in hand then¡­ halted midway, immobilized by barely visible threads. Aito tried to cut off Juliette''s right leg, but was also stopped midway. Unable to move his arms or legs, he looked aside to see the face of a man who had saved him before. Sleon, the moderator of the fourth floor, flew down from the air,nding next to him, "Hold your de ck challenger and calm yourself." A thread so thin it was invisible to the naked eyes, entered Aito''s brain, tingling up his mind. After it retracted, still vengeful, he felt somewhat calmer as his Gift Fury deactivated. "What did you do to me, Sleon? And why are you interrupting me?" He said. Although he said that, he knew why. ording to Gwen''s knowledge, the battle surgeon would save as many lives as possible and that, no matter what. It was impossible to save every challenger during rush hours, yet he has managed to save a lot of them until now. Without him, the Tower would probably have close to half the number of challengers it currently had. "I simply tempered with your brain a bit so that you wouldn''t find yourself in a shattered state like before." Sleon replied, "As for why I''m saving this girl despite what she''s done, it''s because every life has its purpose and worth. Mine is to save people. Also, at this rate, there won''t even be two thousand graduates from this batch." Aito scoffed. Thanks to his armor, he could feel the threads binding him progressively loosen, "Like I care. That''s not my problem." On the ground, Juliette pleaded for mercy. Seeing that it pissed off Aito, Sleon forced her mouth shut. "You know that this is mostly your fault if we have fewer challengers this year? From the moment you''ve arrived until now, you''ve killed nearly three hundred challengers on your own. Death is a part of the Tower, but we cannot afford to lose too many challengers this year, particrly with a storm brewing on the horizon," Sleon said with a in face and a calm voice. ''That bastard¡­,'' Aito knew the man was expressionless but to shamelessly stop him from getting his revenge without even showing an ounce of emotion. That was a first. Moreover¡­. "Despite knowing what she did, you still want to save such a despicable bitch? I saved her, Sleon! And what did I get in return? I was stabbed in the back out of pure greed! She wouldn''t even be alive if it weren''t for me! Yet she betrayed me for TPs? Had I known this I would have killed her and fed her to goblins." Sleon sighed, showing his first sign of emotion in a while, "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. To take a life is to deny a possible future. Killing isn''t just the end of a person, it is the end of a road that might just lead to the oue we are all fighting for. So, who are you to deal out death in judgment?" Also, had you not seemed capable of escaping on your own, I would have helped you. However, I expected Gwen''s apprentice to be able to do this much. Even more so since he is the ck challenger." That moderator started to annoy Aito. What Sleon had just said couldn''t possibly apply to the case of this challenger, right? Such a greedy woman ready to kill her own savior would never lead Iris to a brighter future, right? Sleon''s argument didn''t make much sense to him in the first ce. Also, why should he care about what happens to Iris if he took the life of someone that threatened his own? Where was the fairness in that? There was none. Aito noticed the bindings surrounding him loosened. Probably enough for him to deal a killing blow to his target that was supposed to be bleeding right now. However, Sleon was apparently healing her wounds while speaking to him at the same time. "I don''t care about what happens to Iris, Sleon. All I care for is the people that matter to me and my own goals. Not the gods''. Not yours. Not anyone else''s. I am truly grateful you saved my life back then. But you cannot ask me to back out from this just because of your principles. I will not leave this ce empty-handed, Sleon. I am taking her head with me." The moderator shook his head, "I''m not asking you to leave here empty-handed, Aito Walker. Tell me, what do you intend to do with all the items you have taken from the goblin''s treasury? You can''t be possibly thinking of bringing all of this with you. So, this is what I''m offering.. If you let this woman live, I will buy everything you have looted from goblins for a million TP." Chapter 114 - A Million Or Vengeance? ''A million?'' Aito was baffled, ''Is everything in these bags even worth that much? Is he ready to pay so much for that pathetic woman''s life?" That sentence stopped his killing impulse. Forcing him to ponder the pros and cons. True that he wouldn''t be able to carry all of this on his own, even with his strength. He just didn''t have enough space on his back or hands. Selling everything in the Mall would take some time. Finding the proper buyers, negotiate the prices, and carrying all items around. A lot of problems could have been avoided if he had an inventory which unfortunately wasn''t the case. In that sense, Sleon''s offer was quite appealing. He didn''t even need most of the items he had taken from the goblins. Plus, he had barely been able to take a tenth of their treasure. The main reason why he had taken those was he found that it would be a waste if it were to be flooded or remain in goblin hands. There were a few interesting items he had kept for him and the siblings, like special arrows, an interesting gauntlet capable of shooting steel wires, soul cores, etc. Aito intended to bring those with him. The rest he didn''t need. In terms of gears, his team probably had some of the best possible ones avable in the Tower. However, apart from his grudge against Juliette, there was one other issue¡­ "What use would I have for a million TP if I cannot spend them? I don''t n on going back to the second floor anytime soon. And as far as I know, TPs aren''t even worth shit outside the Tower," Aito said. A tiny smile drew on Sleon''s face as a thin red thread prated Aito''s head through a pore, without even causing a single damage. Aito''s eyes widened from surprise when he heard Sleon''s voice inside his head. ''Don''t worry, I''m only using this mental link so that the others do not hear the information I''m about to give you. Consider it a bonuspensation.'' Aito rxed a bit. ''It is true that TP aren''t useful outside for challengers. But there is another use for TPs apart from buying overpriced products from the shop on the second floor. Clearing the Tower''sst floor grants you ess to a special shop where you''ll be able to buy interesting articles difficult toe by even in Iris.'' That information awakened Gwen''s knowledge in Aito''s brain, which aligned with what Sleon just said¡­ or transmitted. Increasing the possibility of its authenticity. Gwen would probably not lie to him about this. Even though Gwen didn''t know much about the ninth or tenth floor, it was a given she knew about the reward that awaited challengers. Every moderator did. Also, it would make sense that a special shop would only be made avable at the end of Tower, serving as a reward for challengers. Although, Aito found the divine bastards quite stingy for putting such a reward at the end of the Tower. Because it meant that in the end, if Aito didn''t gain enough TP from clearing the floors he wouldn''t be able to buy anything from it. Hopefully, the gods had other rewards in "store" worth his team''s trouble. "So, what do you say? A million or pointless vengeance?" Sleon asked, retracting the mental link. Although Sleon said that, he probably had no intention of letting Aito kill Juliette. In reality, Aito had no choice but to follow through with the moderator''s offer. Or so Sleon thought. Aito stared daggers at the woman on the floor, who wasn''t looking at him with pleading eyes any longer. The moderator''s intervention had probably reassured Juliette, who gained confidence, feeling safe from Aito''s grasp while she was being healed. And that didn''t suit quite well with him. Gripping his ax tighter, he took aim. At this distance, there was no way he would miss. The threads binding him having loosened enough to allow him to force his way out by sheer strength, Aito hurled his morpho ax with all his strength. Juliette''s eyes widened with horror when she saw the murderous de heading for her head at incredible speed and passed out from fear when it dug deep into the earth next to her right ear. Confused, Sleon''s usual poker face frowned slightly as if he hadn''t foreseen such an oue. "Two million TP," Aito said, staring back at Sleon, "and I get to keep the items in my backpack." ''How did he free himself from my biddings just at level 1?'' Sleon wondered. He had indeed felt that the cost in aura to maintain the skill was unusually taxing, but he didn''t know Aito could move. ''ck challenger indeed. All monsters.'' Sleon was even more certain of that fact after he had seen the flood. To his knowledge, no one had ever flooded the tunnel. ''He certainly got an achievement for that.'' The main reason being the river had been ced on top of the goblin treasury on purpose, to avoid challengers from reaching it by just digging. The river itself was also hidden underground so no one but moderators knew of its existence. At least that remained true until now. "Fine, two million it is." Aito smirked, convinced he had made a good deal. However, he didn''t know that moderators were the richest people in the Tower, for they could control the Tower system to a certain extent and thus had an infinite amount of TP at their disposal. To moderators, two million TP was just pocket money. To challengers, however, it was invaluable. And to merchants, it was just a means to an end. Most merchants were here to acquire soul cores for lower prices since soul cores were a mainponent for a lot of magical items. Even though goblin soul cores were of poor quality, those were weed, nheless. Moreover, merchants had the right to exchange TP for Coins that were Iris''s currency. However, another reason merchants liked toe here was to take a break from the outside world. Inside the Tower, things were particrly peaceful. Outside¡­ well, depending on where you were located or traveled, it could get ugly real fast. Having struck a deal, Sleon transferred two million TP to Aito''s system ount and stored all the items inside his inventory. "Why did you even buy these?" Aito asked, "These items are useless to you." "A life has no price, no matter how disgusting the life is, as long as its path can help us achieve our purpose, it has worth." Sleon said, smiling slightly as he saw Aito frowning, "Don''t misunderstand me. Challengers are not ves who are just supposed to do the gods'' bidding. Just remember that where there is life, there is hope. That''s all there is to it." ''Where there is life¡­ there is hope, hum?'' Aito thought, recovering his morpho ax next to the unconscious Juliette. Seeing her face from up close, he had the urge to p her. He restrained himself and walked away with his backpack, followed by the gazes of other challengers that hadn''t even uttered a single "thank you." ''Tch.. Next time, unless it truly benefits me in any way, I''ll leave all the captives or whoever needs saving to their own fate.'' Chapter 115 - Sharing The Loot Aito arrived at the fifth floor''s staircase that was located nearby the third floor''s staircase. No challengers could ess it unless they finished the quest. If one tried to ascend those stairs without the system''s authorization, they would be blocked by an invisible barrier. He found hispanions waiting for him next to the entrance. Ogoro''s face brightened when he saw him. More reserved, She simply nodded in his direction, with a slight smile on her face. There at that moment, he wouldn''t admit it openly, but Aito was d to see them. To see two challengers he could actually trust. He smiled back, eager to tell them about the loot and what happened in those ursed tunnels. Then his smile faded when he saw Meilin sitting timidly next to them. The young woman stood up in surprise like she hadn''t expected him toe back alive. "See? I told you he would be fine. He even came sooner than nned," Ogoro said, looking at Meilin. "That''s¡­ how did you¡­ this¡­." "Don''t bother, he is as resilient as a cockroach," Shemented. Aito quickly debriefed them on what happened. Meilin''s face went from stunned, to aw, then joy and finally confusion when she learned what Juliette had done. "I¡­ I don''t understand. We were desperate for TP but not that desperate." Meilin bowed, "If what you say is true¡­, then I''m truly sorry." "Whatever," Aito sighed, "Just wait for your teammates at the third floor''s entrance. Also, when you''ll see them, could you pass them a message from me?" Meilin nodded, "A, anything." "Tell them, no, tell Juliette and Lucas that there''ll be no second time." Aito said, staring at her coldly, "If they dare show their faces again in front of me... well, you understand." "I¡­," Meilin looked down, unsure of what to reply. However, Aito didn''t wait for her answer and turned towards his teammates, "Let''s go somewhere else, I have something to show you." Though Aito didn''t, both siblings bid farewell to Meilin in their manner and followed after Aito who halted his steps after hearing one sentence. "Thank you for saving my friends," Meilin said without stuttering, "I''ll be sure to pay back this debt one day." Aito nodded, "Sure." *** "So, what''s that all about? Weren''t we supposed to continue to the next floor?" Ogoro said, leaning on a tree. After leaving Meilin, Aito had brought them further into the forest, far from the prying eyes. Most goblins were dead, risks of being attacked by them here were close to none today. He didn''t reply. Instead, he unstrapped his backpack and settled it on the ground, then took out one inventory bag after another. "Merry Christmas," he said, throwing inventory bags to the siblings after checking their contents. "Christmas? Has it been that long already since our revival?" Ogoro said, holding a gauntlet. "What is this?" "Thanks?" She examined amon-looking arrow. Aito scoffed at their ignorance to tease them. Not that he had known better before using the candle to identify those items. Rummaging through all that mess had been a real ordeal. There were piles and piles of rubbishes. Identifying all of them with the candle would have taken him at least a whole day if not more. So, he had had to rely on his instinct, luck, and perseverance to find the sweet loot most suited for him and his teammates. In short, here''s what they had. She''s share was mostly magic arrows. In magic engineering, this process was mostmonly known as enchantment. It could be expensive depending on its rarity and uses. Basically, it boiled down to imitate a skill thanks to carved magic circuits. However,pared to other magic engineering methods, it required the use of aura to work, much like Aito''s ring. Aito had given She ten of each of the followings: -Fire Arrows -Frost Arrows -Poison Arrows -Paralysis Arrows "I see, thanks. I''ll put those to good use," she said, smiling, orderly storing them in inventory bags she intended to use as quivers. "I know you will," Aito replied. As for Ogoro, Aito had given him a gauntlet that would allow him tounch steel wires to trap enemies. ording to the description, the wires could also be used as weapons. Those were so thin and durable they could cut through enemies with the necessary technique and strength. They lengthened to a maximum range of seven meters. To activate it, he had to infuse his mana into it. "A weapon I''ve never seen before," Ogoro tried the gauntlet. As soon as he used his mana, thin wires shot out from each of his fingers. "Interesting. Thank you." Apart from the fifty human soul cores he had given to each sibling and a few other beads, Aito kept the rest of the loot in his backpack. To sum it up, there were mana beads, recovery beads, his equal share of the human soul cores, and even one healing bead. There were other interesting items that he had kept for himself, spell beads and a peculiar horn. Spell beads were beads with mage skills trapped inside, exactly like the recovery beads. Aito had five Earth Wall spell beads and five Frost spell beads. As for the ne, it had a peculiar name and use. [Suicidal Horn] Description: A horn that can only be used inside the Tower. Its magical properties allow the user to attract monsters within a range of 1 kilometer around him. This horn will break once it is brought outside the Tower. Application: Blow the horn to use. Normally, no one in their right mind would take this item, however, Aito found it quite useful. By using it correctly, he would be able to control the monster''s moves and targets. More importantly, he wouldn''t have to search a whole floor to kill the necessary amount of monsters to clear a quest. ''Too bad I didn''t find any memory beads. Well, at least I got human soul cores out of it.'' There was an issue with human soul cores, though. From an ethical standpoint, absorbing a human soul could weigh on their consciousness. However, Aito and the siblings cared little about that now. If it allowed them to get stronger, then there was no problem. They couldn''t revive the deads, anyway. And thus, after absorbing their fill, they headed for the fifth floor. Chapter 116 - Interlude: Sam Two days ago. Sam''s POV The fifth floor was a huge medieval city the size of Paris. From one end to another, it could take a challenger three hours to reach the edge. From up above, one could see the main streets forming a shape akin to a star. Right at the heart of the city, at the center of it all, was an enormous cathedral with a belltower from which the whole city could be seen. Buildings built out of grey stones made up the cobblestone streets. Some were narrows, others were main ones stretching for kilometers and a few were simple dead ends. In the dark corner of such a dead end, Sam blocked a dagger throw of a hobgoblin, dashed and shed both the creature''s legs in half. "You filthy monstrosity." The creature the size of an average human teenager fell on the cold stone floor. Green dark blood poured out its wounds. "You there, you were missing one, right?" Sam said, pointing at an elementalist that had newly joined them. He couldn''t bother knowing his name, not until he proved himself useful. "Kill it and let''s get moving to the sixth floor." "Yes, manager," said the mage before burning the hobgoblin''s head with a fireball. "Zephyr, how are the others doing?" Sam asked. Zephyr shrugged, "So so, I guess. At least they''ve cleared their quests." It was the first time they''ve worked together to clear floors. Managers would generally take charge of a team of employees, most of the times on the fourth floor. High-ranked managers like Sam though usually came on the fifth floor with a team. So, they knew it quite well. Amongst the sect members Sam, Zephyr, and Roisin had dared going to the sixth floor individually to check things out. Though, only Sam stayed on it long enough to be familiar with it. There was around a month left to clear the Tower and they couldn''t just be dragged behind by the employees who would probably reach level 2 toote. Sam grunted. Amongst the ten level 2posing the squad, one had died on the first floor because she had been toocent due to her power up and another one recently died because of a hobgoblin''s sneaky air assassination. Well, that couldn''t be helped. The green creature had jumped off a rooftop and fell on the man dagger first, instantly killing its prey. Dying under such an attack wasn''t that rare in hobgoblin''s territory. There were at most three hundred challengers attempting this floor every day, and at least one of them died in such a way every day, if not more. The fifth floor''s monsters were tricky, to begin with. If goblins on the fourth floor could be considered adept in ambushes, hobgoblins were close to the master level. Grey skin, lean builds, and a good knowledge of their territory allowed for nimble moves and swift attacks. Their natural camouge helped them stay hidden, even in the daytime. Encroached in buildings, they would either use range weapons or jump out of nowhere to ambush their prey. Oftentimes in groups, a few times alone, hobgoblins were fearsome sneaky bastards. Because of them, Sam''s team was now down to eight members. ''The sect leader shouldn''t have wasted resources on those two trashes.'' However, it wasn''t such a bad thing. It sorted out the weak from the strong and taught the other new level 2 to be more careful of their surroundings. The sect leader had ordered him to train the newbies first before facing the ck challenger and his team. Why? Well, Sam didn''t know exactly why. Kai had said it was to improve their teamwork, something Sam tranted to "newbies had to gain experience first before facing the ck challenger." Aito Walker was strong after all. Once they''d reach the sixth floor, he''d train the newbies some more and then prepare an ambush. He didn''t know exactly where yet, but he''d figure it out on the way as he had always done. Compared to Kai, Sam wasn''t a nner and liked to improvise on the fly. Not necessarily the best possible approach but it worked for him until now¡ªapart from certain cases involving a certain person. The ck challenger wouldn''t be able to reach the sixth floor before he did anyway. All the members of his new squad apart from one who had died had already reached the fifth floor before their power-up. Now that they had cleared it, they could finally climb to the sixth floor. In his mind, he would have searched for the ck challenger on the fourth floor. But the sect leader''s orders were absolute, and Kai was often right. Without him, Sam would still be a lostmb. The sect leader had given him hope. He felt like he needed to repay him for it, that he owed it to him¡ªnot that he would know what to do without the sect leader. Before his revival, Sam had been a beggar, a homeless guy who had lost everything. His parents, daughter, and wife had died during the worldwide Colona incident. Due to the confinements and its economic impact, thepany he had been working in had gone bankrupt. Debts after debts plus the sadness forced him out into the cold streets where he finally died during a particrly cold winter. No one had shown him kindness nor cared about him during his time as a homeless man. But Kai Tsubame had done that in Sam''s second life. Arriving like a messiah when he had needed guidance the most. If it weren''t for that man, Sam would have preferred to stay dead. That fateful day when he had encountered the man who showed him kindness by sharing the few resources he had. Sam swore to himself to defend him at all costs in this new dog-eat-dog world at least until he deemed the debt repaid. Since then, he has wanted to live with honor. To spread the glory of the sect. Though he did it quite clumsily by talking a lot, Sam was trying his best. Kai''s awe-inspiring speech had marveled him, and Sam wanted to copy the man. He had felt that his destiny lied with the sect leader. For the first time in his life, now second life, Sam had been given a purpose and also a small hope. Because if he had revived after death in this new world, then maybe, just maybe¡ªording to Kai¡ªthere was a chance for his parents, wife, but also his precious daughter to be alive out there, in Iris. A fool''s hope, yes. But hope, nheless. And Sam firmly believed in it. If he didn''t, this new world would be too much of a grim ce. ''Dad ising, sweetheart, and not even the ck challenger will stop me.'' Sam didn''t particrly hate the man. He was envious and a bit jealous, but what really drove him wasn''t hatred. It was the will to surpass him and also to restore the sect''s honor. For him, killing the ck challenger was just another way to get stronger and repay his debt. Well, he would be lying if he said he didn''t have a small personal grudge to settle with Aito due to his past two defeats. "Let''s move out!" Sam said, heading straight for the sixth floor. Chapter 117 - The Fifth Floor (part 1) Present time. Aito and the siblings arrived from the fourth floor. Surprisingly, this time, the staircase led them inside a majestic cathedral. Delicately carved and smooth white marble paved the floor. Six main imposing pirs located at each corner supported the structure, preventing the building from crumbling. Engravings depicting people fighting against monstrous beings were carved into them. Aito recognized one of those monstrosities with tentacles, a Paineater. The others were unknown to him, though he could guess that the numerous hulking creatures were Goliaths. Challengers were seated on benches lined up specifically so that those who sat on it could admire four tall statues highlighted by the fake sunlight passing through a beautiful multicolor rose window, under which a magnificent painting of a woman d in armor was fixed on the wall. The siblings looked around, astounded by the sheer beauty of the ce. Large chandeliers hung on the ceiling, housing light crystal emitting orange hues that gave the ce a warm feeling. Aito approached the statues and struggled with an immediate urge to spit on Belmand''s feet. His gaze followed each statue from left to right, memorizing the face of every god, until itid upon the painting. ''Valinar, I suppose.'' She had a sword in hand. From where he stood, Aito could feel her tremendous power, or it could be said that the painting was able to imitate the ridiculous strength that she once had. On it, she was fighting a being shrouded in darkness. Multiple pieces ofnd floated around them like gravity mattered not. Or was it the power of one of those two beings? "Beautiful, isn''t it?" Said a voice next to him. "Yeah." Even though he despised the gods, Aito had to admit the architecture was worthy of a second nce. "Hahaha, this really tells us how small we are in the grand schemes of this world." Aito turned towards the person speaking to him. An old man d in leather armor, nearing the end of his sixties, stood next to him. Despite his apparent age, and the fact he was leaning on a staff, he looked quite healthy. "I''m Rey, Rey Clover." "Aito Walker." "Well, youngd, it''s a pleasure to meet a fellow admirer of beautiful things." He said, staring at a goddess''s statue. Aito traced Rey''s gaze only to realize the old man was looking intently at Filona''s bosom. He couldn''t help but crack a smile. Even though he himself felt a profound disgust towards these two bulging bricks, he could understand that some men would fantasize about these. "You''re him, aren''t you?" Rey asked, his eyes now fixed on him. "Him?" "The ck challenger," Rey said with a slight smile. "Now, now, don''t look at me like this, I''m not a stalker. Your fame has already spread to all challengers, you know? The fact that someone trained in in sight like a madman every day on the third floor didn''t go unnoticed. What really brought you fame, though, isn''t your masochism but your fight against the Chosen sect." "*Sigh* You people don''t have anything better to do than talk about rumors?" "Hahaha. Of course not. Rumors are exciting to hear, young man. It is appealing because it speaks to us humans in various ways. Our sense of wonder, our curiosity, our self-esteem. Also, what do you think people do when they are not hunting monsters? We need subjects to talk about amongst ourselves. Turns out that you giving a taste of their own medicine to the sect is a popr subject these days." They talk about a man in grey armor armed with an ax. Rampaging like a god of war. I''ve been on this floor for quite a while, you know? And it''s the first time I''ve seen you around here. I wasn''t sure at first, but your answer and facial expression confirmed my hypothesis." "I see." Aito replied, "This chat isn''t just a coincidence, isn''t it?" "Haha, you catch on quick, youngd." Rey said, "You see, I recently lost my team. For a poor old man like myself, venturing out there alone would be too dangerous." "Cut to the chase old man," Aito said. "What do you want?" "Direct I see. Very well. I''m offering you my services as a guide." Aito pondered the offer. It was true that he had Gwen''s knowledge, but those were blurry and couldn''tpare to someone who has stayed on this floor for a while. Not because Gwen''s knowledge was insufficient, but because... well, they were blurry. "The fifth floor can be quite tricky on your first day, you see. And this old man knows the fifth floor like the back of my hand. With me, you increase your chances ofing back alive by at least fifty percent." Rey said, winking. "In exchange for?" "Free food. That''s all I ask," Rey said, with a smile. Anyone sane would find this old man suspicious. First, Rey had lost his teammates and was the lone survivor. An okay suspicious. Second, he had asked for nothing more than meals in exchange for his services that might cost him his life. Very suspicious. Third, Aito didn''t like the old man''s smile. Very very suspicious. However, thanks to Gwen, Aito knew something the others didn''t. At first, he wasn''t certain, but Rey''s offer confirmed his suspicions. This old man was, in fact, the moderator of the fifth floor. Apparently, when he was bored, he''d look for entertainment by teaming up with challengers. Moderators weren''t exactly allowed to clear the floors for challengers, however, serving as a guide bypassed this rule. Well, as long as Rey didn''t help them too much. Also, to seek more entertainment, the moderator would apparently lead challengers to the most dangerous ces on the fifth floor, which suited Aito perfectly. He didn''t aim at only clearing this floor. Just like with the fourth floor, there was an item he wished to pick up here. But the hobgoblin''s he was supposed to kill to obtain it would always move around. In that sense, there might be a higher chance of encountering it if he was to follow this old man. "Sure, we can spend some food," Aito replied. "Great!" Rey said, "We''ll depart tomorrow then. It will be nighttime soon. Going out when it''s dark is too risky. You can take this time to rest and also visit the belltower. You can ess it through those stairs over there. The view from up there is quite exquisite! I promise you it''ll be worth it. Ah, and don''t worry about hobsing to this ce. The cathedral is a safe house. Under normal circumstances, they nevere here. I''ll see you tomorrow in the morning. Same ce. Have a good evening, youngd." With those words, the man went off to discuss with other challengers present in the cathedral. Aito stared at him for a while longer. Rey truly looked sociable with other challengers. If Aito had to take a guess, there were around a hundred challengers in the cathedral at the moment. More kepting through the tall entrance double doors, though. So there were probably more than a hundred. Some were settling for the night while others seem to be going back to the Square. They all appeared battle-hardened. He assumed it was normal. If they have reached this floor, they were supposedly more experienced than those still stuck on the fourth floor. After a few moments, Aito rejoined with the siblings and, curious about the belltower, proceeded to ascend the stairs leading to the top. "Wow," Ogoro muttered, looking at the city from the belltower. Even She let out a "beautiful," while seeing the streets stretching for kilometers. Aito, however, remained with a straight face in front of this spectacle. Not that he wasn''t impressed, it was just that something else upied his mind. Something Rey had said. ''Under normal circumstances, they nevere here.'' Chapter 118 - The Fifth Floor (part 2) After absorbing some of their soul cores, like the other challengers, Aito and his team rested in a corner of the cathedral. Aito took the first guard shift while the siblings slept near him. It wasn''t hobgoblins he was worried about in here, but challengers. His experience on the fourth floor had taught him they could be untrustworthy¡ªnot that he had ever trusted any of them, anyway... apart from the siblings. He decided to take this time to train visualization. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember his fight against the strongest opponent he had ever faced, Gwen. No matter how hard he tried to find a way to victory, he''d always lose, despite the fight happening in his own mind. Suddenly, light stepping sounds nearby alerted him. He immediately opened his eyes to see a challenger extending his hand towards the siblings'' bags. His presence seemed to be hidden like some veil covered him. However, that didn''t seem to render him soundless. ''Scum.'' He stood up as fast as lightning, drew his ax, and cut off the man''s hand. A just punishment for a thief. The thief yelled out in pain. Grabbing his handless arm that let out blood like a fountain. Aito sliced off his knees tendons in one fell swoop. The thief lost his bnce and dropped on the marble floor. Because of the loud noises, challengers jolted awake, weapons in hand. Their gazes fell on Aito beating the shit out of a thief. They appeared to rx slightly at this sight. A giant man with bulging muscles approached Aito, "What''s happening here?" Aito had to look up to see the man''s face. That particr challenger was bare-chested, held a giant metal club, and had an impressive build that would shame bodybuilders. His frame was sorge he seemed inhuman. He was barely smaller than Gwen. "He was trying to steal from us," Aito replied, stepping on the thief. "Ah, I see," the muscr man said like it was normal, "amon urrence in this ce." Aito''s brow arched up. He had thought the bulky man would cause him trouble, but instead, he seemed quiteposed and wasn''t just using him without proof. "Hum, you look like you''re new here," the bulky man said, appearing to notice Aito''s suspicious gaze. "Don''t worry, other challengers on this floor won''t interfere with your business. Only nosy people like me woulde to see what''s going on, ahaha." Just after the bulky man said that, most of the challengers went back to sleep. On the fifth floor, it was somon for some people to steal from others during the night that seeing such fights happening wasn''t news anymore. Challengers considered it pointless to get involved in those, they already had enough on their own te to deal with. Even if someone were to die. After months of ordeals, they were used to death, anyway. "Please, please don''t kill me!" The thief pleaded, "I''ll give you everything I have in exchange for my life!" Aito didn''t reply. He had learned from his past mistake that letting such a person go could lead to trouble. He was about to dispose of the thief when three challengers came running towards him. One had a sword and shield, another a crossbow, and thest was weaponless, probably a mage ss. "Let go of him you fucker!" Aito dealt with the thief nheless while the bulky man with the club stood to the side, calmly looking at the scene. "You''ll pay for this!" "You bastard!" "I''ll kill you!" By now, both siblings were wide awake, not that they hadn''t sensed the thief before. If Aito hadn''t dealt with him, they would have pounced on him as spiders did to their entrapped preys. They stayed on standby ready to stop the iing challengers, but Aito told them it was unnecessary. He dodged a fireball thatnded next to a sleeping challenger, who got up with an unhappy face. She let out a "mother fucker." The challenger with a shield got close enough to Aito for him to hook the shield with his bearded ax. Aito pulled and took advantage of this opening to pierce the man''s throat with the pike on his weapon. He then lifted the corpse and used it to shield himself from the archer, firing arrows at him. Aito sped up, and rammed into the archer, using the corpse against him, propelling the archer against one of the cathedral''s pirs. With a loud crack, the archer''s spine broke. A fireball was heading Aito''s way. His Gift Instinct activated as he used the corpse to shield himself, then hurled it towards the mage. The mage dodged the corpse giving enough time for Aito to draw his repeater. The short distance made it hard to miss. One bolt pierced the mage''s brain in an instant, putting an end to the fight. On the side, the bulky man was pping quietly, "Not bad, neer. You look like you know how to fight." Aito didn''t reply and gathered his loot, without forgetting to extract the soul cores from the corpses, then disposed of the body by throwing them outside the cathedral. They might disappear by morning, but leaving them here to rot until then was unsightly. The bulky man approached him and extended his hand, "I''m George Melbourn." Seeing no harm in introducing himself, Aito cleaned the blood on his gauntlets using one of the dead men''s pieces of cloth he had torn for that purpose and shook George''s hand, "Aito Walker." "Aito¡­ what an unusual name," George said, tightening his grip. However, he made a surprise expression when Aito didn''t even budge nor wince. "You''ve got quite the grip, neer." "Nice to meet you too," Aito replied, applying more strength into the handshake. A drop of sweat ran down George''s wide forehead as he seemed to realize he was no match for Aito''s strength. Both men had their strength stat at level 3, though. However, even amongst those of the same level, there could be slight differences. The system could register a basic stat as being level 3 when, in fact, it was more akin to level 3,1 or just like in Aito''s case, 3,99. However, once the strength stat or any other basic stat went up an entire level, there was a drastic increase, even more so when it was between bottlenecks such as level 4. Knowing he had made his point, Aito released his grip, "Nice grip." George smiled, also releasing his grip. "I''ve never crossed anyone in the Tower capable of contending with me when ites to strength. Until now, that is. Who are you exactly?" "Just a neer," Aito replied. He wanted to keep his identity as the ck challenger hidden for a while longer. Attracting attention was a bother. He patted George on the shoulder. "I''ll be going now.. Good night, George." Chapter 119 - The Fifth Floor (part 3) The next morning, George invited Aito and the siblings to eat breakfast with his own teamposed of three other challengers. Jean-Paul, who was a brte woman despite her name which was usually destined for men. She was apparently a warrior and a good one, ording to George. Fritz, a young man barely out of his teen years with blonde hair, was an archer. Abdul, a man in his forties with Arabic facial traits who was a battle surgeon. Surprisingly, George was this team''s mage. Appearances can be deceiving, some say. That quote applied even more in George''s case. He was a rare mage ss that apparently could manipte the water attribute spells. Spells were technically skills, but people used this terminology to qualify mage skills. George was special in the sense that he was a level 2 challenger but would also, unlike many mages, fight close quarters. With his absurd strength, club, and water magic, he made for quite a tough opponent to deal with. Aito eyed weirdly their breakfast, a roasted hobgoblin leg. George invited them to try. Disgusted by its humanoid shape, Aito stuck to his own rations. Ogoro did the same. However, She was surprisingly willing to try a piece before spitting it out and change her breakfast to indigos. Challengers on the fifth floor sometimes stayed there for a few days in a row to stock up on soul cores and absorb those that weren''t destined for selling. To save up TP, challengers just like George and his team ate hobgoblins to satiate their hunger. Hobgoblins weren''t very tasty, but at least they filled stomachs. Challengers on the fifth floor would only return to the second floor after a while to sell their hard-earned gains¡ªif they survived their stay, that is. Although there was a lower death rate than before, at least one or two challengers still died every day. Most of the time, those were neers. Battle-hardened veterans like George who had at least fought on this floor for a month, rarely ever died. Knowing the ins and outs of the ce had benefits. Apparently, George had even survived a Bloody Eclipse, not in the most glorious way, though. He had covered himself in hobgoblin blood and guts, then hid in a small room. With the stench masking his smell and a hell of a lot of luck, he had managed to make it out alive somehow. "A grim experience I''m telling you," George said, munching on a piece of hobgoblin meat, "A red dark eclipse shone on the city. Hobs everywhere. Thousands of them with blood-red eyes. A real sea of monstrosities craving for human flesh. My teammates and I were unfortunate that day. We were too far from the cathedral to retreat to the fourth floor." "Unfortunate? Them yes. You, though, were fortunate since you survived," Fritzmented dryly, with a pragmatic tone. "Hahaha, indeed. I wouldn''t have met you guys if I hadn''t," George said with a toothy smile. "Anyway, Bloody Eclipses only happened and will happen a few times. Also, it can only ur during the daytime. So, we just have to stay close enough to the cathedral in case a Bloody Eclipse appears out of nowhere. With that method, only daring challengers who go too far, or neers, died during the recent Bloody Eclipse. But don''t worry, there was one recently, less than a week ago, so there won''t be another one for a while since they don''t appear that often." After finishing their breakfast, Aito and his teammates thanked George for the invitation, then headed to their rendez-vous point. Rey, who had been nowhere to be seen during the night, stood in front of the statues. Aito had previously briefed the siblings about the old man so they weren''t surprised. "Good morning, neers. You all set up and ready to go?" Rey said with a beaming smile. Aito shook his head internally at the moderator''s acting and replied, "''Morning Rey." "So you are our guide for today?" Ogoro said, examining the old man from head to toe, appearing to doubt his physical abilities, "You sure you''ll be able to keep up with us?" She stayed silent but seemed to approve of her brother''s words. "Haha, don''t worry about me. I''ll be fine," Rey replied, "I may not look like much, but I''m quite the veteran, haha." "Sure, you are," Aito said. "Anyway, enough chitchat. Lead the way." "With pleasure." Like Aito''s team, challengers that had slept in the cathedral left the building to start yet another hunt. Rey led Aito''s team eastward, following the main street leading to the edge of the city. Tall medieval-style buildings, averaging four stories, were perfectly aligned and glued to each other most of the time. Sometimes, there were small streets on the sides. Less than five minutes after leaving the cathedral, there were still no hobgoblins in sight. "It''s too calm," Aito said. "Quite normal, hobs avoid approaching the cathedral," Rey replied. "Well, we are now far enough to see a few of them, though. Prepare yourselves. They usually hide in houses, apartments, rooftops, rooms. Pretty much anywhere they can. Oh, I''d advise you to keep a lookout for aerial att¡ª" Thanks to the habit of looking up from time to time, developed by training with Gwen, Aito spotted something jumping from a rooftop with what looked like two daggers in hands. Blinded by the fake sun, Aito could barely make out its shape. However, its intention was definitely obvious. "Ambush!" With no time to lose, he lengthened his ax and pointed its pike side upward. Unable to change its trajectory in midair, the creature impaled itself on the pike, spitting dark green blood. At that moment, two windows opened on each side of the street. Arrows passed by those openings, flying towards Aito''s team. The siblings swiftly dodged the first volley. She took out her morpho bow in short mode and returned the enemy shots. Two painful growls followed by two others resounded, confirming her hits. "BU SU GLAAA!" Meanwhile, four grey creatures jumped out from balconies, intending to make aerial attacks. Ogoro grabbed two of them midair, using his binding string and steel wires, then smashed both creatures onto the ground headfirst. Aito took care of the other two, with his repeater and a vicious ax sh. Rey, standing on the side unharmed, pped his hands. "Oho! Nicely done!" "You could have warned us beforehand that could happen, old man!" Ogoro eximed, seemingly unpleased. "Don''t be angry oldd, I did try to warn you guys just before it happened," Rey said, misunderstanding Ogoro''s grey hair for an old man''s. Ogoro''s brows twitched. He was the oldest of the team, but he wasn''t THAT old. Thirty years old wasn''t old, right? "Poison arrows," She said, examining an arrowhead coated with transparent liquid. "And poison daggers too," Aito said, a dagger in hand. "Yeah, be wary of those," Rey said. "Compared to the goblins of the fourth floor, all their weapons are coated with paralysis poison. It''s just as strong as goblins'' and will leave you unable to move for a while. You see hobgoblins, or hobs for short, like to keep their female preys alive to toy with them.. Males, however, would be disposed of as soon as possible so that they can be ready for supper or they might just keep them alive somewhere to prevent their meat from rotting." Chapter 120 - The Fifth Floor (part 4) "Like goblins, hum?" Aito said. He already knew most of that because of his recently acquired knowledge, but ying the part would only add to his credibility as a neer Also, something had intrigued him during the attack. While the others had heard "BU GLAAA!" he heard "BU SU ATTACK!" He doubted BU SU was a name, more like two other words. If he was correct, it meant that the hobs''nguage was simr to the goblins'', and since he now knew the goblin''snguage, he could understand parts of hobs'' sentences. ''It coulde in handy.'' Aito though, ''or not¡­ who knows?'' The team quickly gathered the soul cores, bolts, and arrows, then continued their explorations of the fifth floor. On the way, they encountered numerous ambushes. Aerial attacks, poison arrows, and even hobgoblinsing out of some buildings'' main entrances. Although the hobs were no match for the team, their ambushes were still annoying to deal with. And the further away they moved from the center of the city, the more hobs there were. The scenery also changed, bing grimmer. ck buildings with cracks and broken windows. A few carriages painted in ck were decorated with what appeared to be human hands. It made no sense for carriages to be around these parts. As far as Aito knew, there weren''t any horses in this city to pull them. "Hum? Why are there carriages you ask?" Rey said, "Well, it''s true that there are no horses in this city. But sometimes, for the fun of it, hobs use captured humans to pull a carriage before eventually killing them. Or they could also pull it themse¡ª" At that moment, a carriage driven by a hob entered the main street at full speed. Grabbing ropes to pull the carriage were ten hobgoblins, madly running towards the team. On the vehicle''s rooftop, four hobs archers took aim and fired arrows at Aito and the siblings. ''The fuck?'' Aito cursed internally, deploying his shield to protect himself. Gwen''s memories were blurry, so they didn''t cover every detail of a floor, just like the carriage driven and ridden by hobgoblins. So, he hadn''t expected this turn of events. "GLAAA UL MUMU!!!" (ATTACK ** HUMANS!) The ten hobs pulling the carriage suddenly let go of the ropes and stepped aside, out of the vehicle''s path that was heading directly for Aito and his team. Four archers that were on the roof also abandoned the vehicle. "She!" Aito shouted. "Already on it!" She replied, an arrow nocked on her bowstring. She charged it with aura, revealing bright blue patterns akin to electric circuits on the arrowhead, and released it Flying straight and true, the arrow hit a front wheel, impeding the mechanism with frost. Ice rapidly spread to the wheel, freezing the material to its very core. The wheel detached from the main structure, passed under a back wheel, hindering it. Unbnced and damaged, the carriage titled then fell, deviating from its course, ramming into a nearby decrepit building. Hobgoblins that appeared to be inside it, exited the vehicle. Battered, bruised, covered in ck green blood. Aito and She fired bolts with their repeaters, rapidly killing them one by one. In the meantime, Ogoro covered for them, taking care of the ten hobs rushing towards them. Sword in hand, Ogoro cleaved a bloody path. Using steel wires or his binding string was still new to him, so he simply used them to destabilize his enemies in battle or trap them from time to time. In a matter of a few minutes, the fight was over. The archers had fled, but it mattered little. "Pfiou! Splendid fight youngds and oldd," Reymented. "Are you doing that on purpose?" Ogoro asked, apparently pissed. "What do you mean, oldd?" "Stop calling me oldd, old man. I''m saying that every time we run into something new, you warn us just before it happens. I don''t think that''s a coincidence." Standing on the side, Aito approved silently¡ªalthough he already knew the reason. Next to him, She whispered, "Something is odd about that tour guide." Of course, the siblings would notice by now that something wasn''t right with Rey. Even a fool would have figured it out at some point, well, hopefully. "What are you saying? Why would I warn you at thest minute on purpose?" Rey said, innocently, "I fail to see why it is in my interest. If you were to die, I die. I cannot fight all those hobs alone. Nor would I be able to return by myself when we''re so far away from the center of the city." Aito shook his head. The moderator was making less and less sense. If he was ying a veteran challenger, Rey should be able to fight a bit, or at least pretend he could. Rey hadn''t even budged a toe during ambushes and always stood on the side. Moreover, Aito had noticed that no hobs targeted him until now. As if Rey was invisible to them. ''No matter, we''ve seen enough for one day,'' Aito thought. Aito and the siblings had almost cleared the quest to ascend to the next floor by now. It just required a challenger to kill fifty hobgoblins on his own. The rewards were the same as always. Tower Points and Glory Points plus ess to the next floor. Although the counter of killed hobs would reset tomorrow, he didn''t want to be too greedy. Also, his true goal was to get that item. It was supposed to be an invisibility cloak of sorts. He knew it wouldn''t be easy since the current holder could practically turn invisible and avoid him whenever it felt like it. Well, if Aito really couldn''t find the hobgoblin in possession of the cloak, then so be it. Losing time over an item was stupid. Tomorrow, they would speed things up. He hadn''t used the Suicidal Horn today because he wanted to familiarize himself with the enemy first. Thanks to today''s exploration, he had figured out where to blow to the horn to have a satisfying result. Attracting numerous hobs was good, but too many of them and his team would be swarmed. "Just leave him be, Ogoro," Aito said, patting hispanion''s shoulder. "The sun will set in a few hours; we better return now before it gets dark." "Indeed, wise words. Listen to your friend, oldd," Rey said. "I''ll lead the wa¡ª" "No, I''ll do it," Aito interrupted. "But¡­" "Don''t worry, we''ll still give you food once we get back safely to the cathedral," Aito said, smirking He had memorized the way already. It wasn''t that difficult with his blurry knowledge and the experience he had acquired during this exploration. Moreover, the road back wasn''t soplex it''d require a guide.. Aito had just hoped the moderator would bring him enough bad luck and eventually lead him to the special monster in possession of the invisibility cloak while hoping to see an entertaining fight¡ªwell, he realized now that good luck was maybe what he needed for the encounter to happen. Chapter 121 - The Fifth Floor (part 5) The team traced back their steps. With their previous carnage, the streets were free of hobgoblins turning the road back into an enjoyable walk if it weren''t for Rey driving Ogoro mad. Arriving in front of the cathedral a bit before sunset, Aito asked the siblings to go ahead, saying he had a few things to discuss with Rey. Ogoro epted dly. She looked back at Aito with curious eyes, then followed her brother silently. "What is it you wanted to talk about, youngd?" Rey asked. Aito took out a few indigos and a piece of dried meat. "You tell me, An Meyer." Being called by his true name made Rey smirk. His appearance changed. Instead of an old man, there was now a brown-haired man, probably in his thirties. "I see, ck challenger indeed," An said, with a calmer voice. ''Why the fuck does everyone attribute everything I do to my damn title?'' Aito wondered, then said, "Had fun today?" "Hoho, very much so. It''s been a while since a team of challengers epted my ''guidance.'' Well, even though I change character from time to time, challengers aren''t dumb enough to ept any stranger''s help. But posing as a friendly, suspicious guy is also part of the fun," An said. His eyes thenid upon the food, "Haha, no need for those. Watching you guys fight was payment enough." Aito stored the food. "You led us to dangerous areas on purpose, didn''t you?" "I''d rather call them entertaining areas, if you don''t mind," An said. "You handled yourselves quite well, though. Good teammates, you have there. You''re only missing a mage ss to bnce out your team." "Thanks for the advice, but I''ll choose my teammates ording to their trustworthiness first and then by their abilities," Aito said. He then shifted the subject to something more beneficial for him, "Anyway, don''t you think ourbor deserves a reward?" An''s brow lifted, then he burst outughing. "Ahaha! How bold of you! Well, you have a point though. I''ve been entertained greatly today. I can''t exactly give you anything, but answering a question of yours is within my means." ''Hum? That easy? Alright, I''ll take it,'' Aito thought before saying, "Where is the hobgoblin with the invisibility cloak?" "Aaah, you''re looking for the Ninja," An crossed his arms, pondering. "The Ninja, who the heck named it Ninja¡­, right the gods." "Haha, yeah. A term from our home they thoroughly enjoyed, I suppose," An said, his face appearing slightly grimmer. "How I miss watching animes, *sigh*" ''So, the moderator is also a revived human from Earth,'' Aito thought. What did that mean? Well, everything and nothing. But it surely meant that An had been a challenger before bing a moderator and a mage. ording to Gwen''s knowledge, An Meyer was a powerful level 6 Airbender. With his abilities to control the wind, he could create dreadful win des, walls, etc, or just simple illusions. Airbenders could twist the air to their will and modify what could be seen with the naked eyes. Their illusions weren''t as realistic as Illusionists, but it was enough to trick challengers. The moderator of the fifth floor wasn''t a bad person, just someone who liked to y tricks on challengers. If the group he had chosen to entertain himself with got into trouble, he would take responsibility and help them without breaking the rules. After all, killing challengers wasn''t the goal. He could even get reprimanded for that. Challengers dying on their own was one thing, but challengers dying because of him was another. That''s why Aito hadn''t been that worried about ying along with An''s scheme. "*Sigh* Anyway, I don''t know where that sneaky hob ninja is," An said. "I mean I know where it is right now, but it always wonders around. Telling you about its current location wouldn''t be of any help at all. But I can tell you when you''ll find him, though." Aito frowned, "When? I didn''t know moderators could predict the future." "Haha, no one but the old Farsighter can do that¡­ and maybe the gods, I don''t know," An said before smirking. "You''ll find it for certain during a Bloody Eclipse. The hob ninja is leading the other hobgoblins, so you''re bound to encounter it during one. Well, it is dangerous but searching for it in this entire city is like searching for a needle in a haystack." With those words, An gave him a thumbs up and then flew away, only toe back as if he had forgotten something, "Ah yeah, here''s a little bonus piece of advice. Rest well this evening. See you next time, youngd." Aito watched the moderator fly away with envy as he looped in the air before ascending far above the city. An appeared to enjoy himself. Aito muttered, "I want that skill." *** After joining the siblings inside the cathedral, the team went to eat dinner with George''s team, because why not? The bulky man looked like a decent guy. He also talked a lot. With such a rock-like voice, it could be intimidating, but the content was sometimes interesting. On top of spending an enjoyable time with George''s team, Aito gathered infos on the fifth floor or on challengers. It was a win-win. For example, thetest rumoring from the challengers who hade back recently from the Square was about the fourth floor. There were two versions of the rumor, both involving the ck challenger. One rumor talked about the ck challenger shamelessly taking advantage of his strength to steal treasures other challengers had discovered on the fourth floor. Which made him a walking treasury right now that could attract the greed of others daring enough to provoke him. Aito clenched his fist when he heard that, for he knew who might have started it. However, the second rumor opposed the first one. In that version, the ck challenger bravely saved challengers that had been held captive by filthy goblins. There were also more people attesting to the authenticity of this version. The simple fact that some challengers that had disappeared a few days ago reappeared after some time proved it to be right. That''s why more people were leaning towards this version. It eased Aito''s anger. Chapter 122 - [BC]Her Smile Under The Moonlight Following the dinner came the time most challengers used to absorb the soul cores they had collected today. Aito finally absorbed all the human soul cores in his possession, however, he had yet to level up. He could feel his soul eating the others, but it didn''t growrger any longer. It was like his soul was saving up energy for something. The most annoying was, Aito could feel level 2 was within his reach. He just needed a little extra push. He had his fill for today, though. More and it could be risky. It would take some time before his soul digested the others. So now was not the moment. Tomorrow, however, he would definitely level up. At least he hoped so.. Gwen had told him during his training that the main evolution one undergoes when leveling up was the expansion of one''s soul. With more power, the soul would be able to create more soul force. One''s soul core would also erge slightly, allowing the storage of a greater quantity of mana while condensing it. That''s why mana always increased during a level up. All in all, it meant one would be able to use more aura. There would also be slight changes to one''s body. Apart from growing more powerful, the body''s transformation was the second reason a soul core needed to umte energy before leveling up. Depending on the transformation, a soul would need more energy. That was always the case when one would level up from level 2 to level 3 and be an Ascender which would also force all skills to at least level up once if they hadn''t reached their limit yet. Limits of a skill were always defined by the user. Anyway, a soul and a body were a pair. The body could grow stronger as long as the soul could sustain it properly. Like in Aito''s case, if the body grew too powerful for the soul to sustain, it would shatter. Although, that never happens under normal circumstances. Like all rules, there were exceptions to this one. For instance, Aito''s new passive skill "One Against Many," allowed for a power-up without any negative effect on one''s body, but that''s also why it was qualified as a Unique Skill. Unique skills were frighteningly powerful and extremely hard to acquire outside of a god granting it to a mortal in exchange for glory points¡ªnot that this method was easy either. Apart from that, one would need to create it or train a normal skill to a certain level to gain a Unique Skill or be extremely lucky to find a memory bead with one¡ªthose were practically priceless, though. Aito already knew he had lucked out with the Unique Skill acquired thanks to his achievement. He hoped to reproduce another such feat to gain another one, but he''d either have to do something crazy or simply downright impossible. ''*Sigh*, well maybe I shouldn''t be too greedy, and just settle for what I already have. Although that skill kinda seems useless unless I''m alone.'' With the siblings apanying him most of the time, he would rarely benefit from One Against Many. Even if he were alone, why would he choose to face hundreds or a thousand opponents on his own? THAT would be pure suicide. Aito sighed once again, thinking that his Unique Skill was more unique by its uselessness almost reaching level 0. ''Whatever, I shouldn''tin. Who knows, I might need it one day. Theter, the better though.'' In need of some fresh air, Aito got up from the dusty corner he sat in. Next to him, Ogoro was training his use of wires by grabbing small items such as mana beads or soul cores. Aito chuckled when he heard a "god damn it, those things are so slippery." Ogoro had yet to attainplete mastery over his new weapon, but Aito believed it''d toe soon enough. He then left and entrusted his backpack to hispanion and went for a walk up the belltower. There, he found a familiar blue-eyed woman admiring the view. Gentle breezes ran down her long ck hair as her blue gazeid upon a fake moon. Basking under the moonlight, she looked estranged and out of this world. With a slight smile on her face, she was a far contrast to her usual indifferent attitude. Down there, the streets looked empty and calm. A pale light shone on the city, giving it a weird gloomy yet majestic appearance. "Want me to leave you alone?" Aito said, walking next to her. "Why?" She replied. He lifted both hands, showing he meant no harm, "Just checking." She remained silent and returned to her contemtion. Aito leaned on the belltower''s frame, quietly admiring the view, and chuckled. "What?" She asked. Aito snorted lightly, "I just find it funny how a few days ago you would have either avoided me or bickered with me." She adjusted her head slightly towards him, a smirk on her face. "Do you miss our bickering? We can start again if you want." "Haha, please don''t. I like the current She way better than the other one." "Is that so?" She said, appearing to think back on something, "Me too." "Can I ask you a quick question?" "You already did." Aito''s eyes widened slightly, thinking she was spot on. He chuckled, "Haha, smartass." She giggled, then said, "Sorry, what was your question?" "I was just wondering, why did you hold a grudge against me before?" "That¡­," She sighed, "Are you sure you want to know? It''s quite a long and stupid story." "Stupid? Ho, now that got me even more curious." "Fine, do as you wish," She lightly shook her head. She rapidly exined everything to him. Her and Ogoro''s childhood. How Ogoro came to admire heroes but couldn''t aspire to be one because of his profession. And how Aito had influenced him by saving them during the red trial. ''No wonder he told me all these senseless things when I first refused to help them before.'' Aito felt a headacheing up. "I think you were right, though," He said. "I''m not the kind of person who would sacrifice himself for saving innocents. I value my life too much for that." "I know I was right and still am," She said. "But the fact is, you came back for m¡­ us. No matter the reason, it remains true that¡­ you saved us when we needed help the most. You might not have had such honorable motives as the heroes my brother admires. However¡­" She stared at him, delicately cing back her ck hair that was fluttering with the wind, "As I looked upon the unknown man d in grey armor battling against hundreds of opponents, I couldn''t deny that it required bravery for him to do such a thing. You are a brave man, Aito Walker. You might not be one of the most honorable men there is, but you are certainly one of the bravest I know. That''s one of the reasons I''m willing to trust mine and my brother''s back to you." "That¡­ I don''t know if it was bravery, it looked more like foolishness to me." She giggled, "I believe bravery and foolishness walk alongside each other on the same road, for only a fool would be brave enough to rush at an army on his own. Much like my brother and you." "Haha, so I''m a fool now? Eh, I suppose you''re right," Aito said, then changed the subject. "What are the other reasons?" She smirked, "Because you''re trustworthy and strong, of course." "Ah¡­ that''s it?" He replied, with an exaggerated disappointed face. "What did you think it wa¡ª" "Wait, what''s that?" Aito interrupted, seeing the pale moonlight shining on She''s face turning crimson. Both looked up at the fifth floor''s moon glowing of a bloody red. "Shit..." Chapter 123 - Lunar Eclipse (part 1) "I thought bloody eclipses only happened during daytime," Aito said, confused. There was no indication in Gwen knowledge of a bloody eclipse urring at night. Now that he thought about it, there was none saying it only urred during daytime either. It just said it would happen once in a while. "There are two types of eclipses. Sr is the most well-known," She exined. "People tend to forget about Lunar eclipses that only take ce at night. Probably why challengers didn''t worry about nighttime. As for why it never urred until now, I don''t know. Probably rted to luck or¡­" "Or the moderator decided to unleash hell on us," Aito added. At that moment, shadows started to assemble in the city''s streets and rooftops.. Aito and She looked at all sides of the belltower. Hobgoblins were exiting their hiding ce. Their rendez-vous point was quite obvious. Hundreds of hobgoblins were gathering en masse. Soon, there''ll be thousands of them. From up above the city, An watched the spectacle with a slight smile, looking forward to this entertaining event. He was allowed to activate the blood eclipse once in a while but had always done it during daytime to avoid too many casualties. Nighttime was a no go since he was pretty much certain every challenger would die. A lunar eclipse was even more bloody after all. Challengers didn''t know it but a sr eclipse summoned half of the hobs in the city, but a lunar eclipse summoned all of them. Also, hobgoblins wouldn''t hesitate to attack the cathedral during a lunar eclipse. Veterans or not, a great number of people would die tonight depending on how they all fare. With the staircases closed because of the Cooldown period, there was no escaping it. Only the strong would survive this event, or no one will. An activated the bloody eclipse tonight in hope of a good show. Only a few fifth-floor moderators have ever activated the Lunar Eclipse. Supposedly, it was too dangerous. But he had a special guest on this floor that would probably leave in a day or two. So, he might as well take advantage of this situation to test him. ''No matter how strong a challenger, he cannot ovee this obstacle alone,'' An thought, eager to see what this particr night had in store for him. ''So what will you do, ck challenger? Will you choose cooperation, or¡­ well I don''t know what else he could choose hahaha.'' *** Red moonlight passed through the cathedral''s windows. Intrigued, challengers who were preparing to go to sleep lifted their heads to look at the unknown phenomenon. Anxiety struck at their very heart because they all knew what that meant. Silence loomed over them. Petrified by the idea of a bloody eclipse, most of them stayed still, staring at the windows filtering the crimson light. Hobgoblins might reach them in a few minutes, yet they were paralyzed, unprepared. Every prey facing a predator stronger than them would be, even if that certain prey had faced many trials until now. Finally, panic struck them. "A, a, a bloody eclipse!" "We are all doomed!" "Did the gods abandoned us?" Challengers all around trembled in fear. From his dusty corner, Ogoro watched the chaos with serious eyes. All those supposedly battle-hardened people were now acting like children. Well, faced with such a desperate situation, it couldn''t be helped. Having killed many people and faced more than his fair share of deadly encounters, Ogoro wasn''t scared of death. But reaching such a mental state was impossible without staring at death in the eyes multiple times or living through events so traumatic it''d leave a scar in one''s mind for an entire life. There would also be rare people who feared something else more than they''d fear death. Many challengers alive today had faced death multiple times. Enough time to be ustomed to it, but not enough to ept their own mortality. Even more so after going through a revival. Having lived through a Bloody Eclipse already, George was calmer than the others but couldn''t deny the situation was close to hopeless. "No, the gods have not abandoned us yet," said a bald woman with wrinkles standing amidst the gods statues. "Gather around me, fervent followers of the divine!" ''Fuck, not her¡­,'' George thought. He knew her as Olmera, an old woman who praised the gods too much for his taste. ''That old hag is too delusional. She will probably do more harm than good. We''re all doomed¡­.'' "Gather! Gather lostmbs! Don''t you see what this is all about?" Olmera said, pointing at the rose window behind her filtering the red light. "This is a trial sent by the gods!" Lost and full of anxiety, challengers turned towards one of the few people that kept their calm. At that moment, to them, Olmera exuded an aura of confidence and serenity. That somehow, appeased their minds ever so slightly. "What do you mean?" "A trial? This looks more like a punishment!" Olmera shook her head, "No, this isn''t a punishment. Don''t you see? A Bloody Eclipse never urred during nighttime before! It''s a new trial to test our minds and resolve! No hobs will attack us tonight!" "What nonsense are you spouting!? Hobgoblins always attack us during Bloody Eclipses!" "That''s right!" "There is nowhere to run. Even the staircases are blocked! This is punishment, not a trial!" Try as she may, but Olmera''s convincing wasn''t working. However, the wise-looking¡ªbut in fact delirious¡ªwoman hasn''t said herst words yet. "Where do you think we are right now?" She said, pointing at the statues with the staff in her hand, "This is a sacred ce! Have you ever seen a filthy creature enter this ce before? Never!" Challengers began to discuss amongst themselves. It was true that never had a hob walked in the cathedral to attack challengers. Be it during daytime, nighttime or Bloody Eclipses. Even George who doubted the woman''s words couldn''t disagree with her statement, well, part of it. The cathedral was a safe house after all. "What, what do you think we should do then?" Said a challenger in the crowd. Olmera smiled warmly and lifted both hands. "Let us offer the gods our prayers. Kneel with me fervent followers. While we stay and pray within these sacred walls, no evil creatures of the night will dare attack us. The gods are good and all mighty. This trial, tonight, is just to test our faith! Pray with me, fervent followers! Kneel and pray with me!" Aito arrived from the stairs with She on his toes. Uncertain challengers were still standing while an old woman was kneeling in front of the gods'' statues. One by one, a few challengers started to kneel, creating a conformist chain reaction. "Pray with me! Fervent followers! Pray with me for our salvation lie in divine hands!" Olmera said. ''What the actual fuck?'' Aito thought. ''Are they that desperate?'' Hobgoblins were heading their way. Since there were usually none of them one kilometer around the cathedral, it''d take a few minutes for the creatures to reach this ce, however, they needed this time to make preparations. "Why are they praying?" She said, just as stunned as him. "I don''t know, but we don''t have time for this," Aito said. He had ns of making them move their asses by warning them of the iing enemies. But seeing as they were all on their knees, it might take some convincing before they''d ept to help him prepare the cathedral for the battle toe. "What should we do?" She asked. There was no time to convince the challengers in this room, plus he thought himself as bad at convincing people. They''d be forced to fight when the hobse, anyway. In the meantime, if he wanted some preparations to be done by then, he''d do it himself. It''d be faster and more efficient this way. He looked at a big chandelier hanging on the ceiling. Those were sorge it could probably fit two or three people on it. "She, can you get up there?" She traced his gaze to the chandelier nearest to the entrance, and understood his intention, "Yeah, no problem." "When the battle starts, use the vantage point to keep me informed on our enemy''s movements." "Will do," she said, "what about you?" "I''ll make some preparations," he said, heading for Belmand''s four-meter-tall statue. Meanwhile, She ran towards the entrance, jumped on a wall and started to climb her way up, putting her passive skill Parkour to good use. Once she was high enough, she jumped to the chandelier and hoisted herself. From up there, she had an overall vision of what was happening in the whole cathedral but also outside. There were no hobs in sight, for now. Aito arrived next to Olmera who was face against the ground. She lifted her head only to see him lengthen his morpho ax. He then touched the statue, reduced its weight by 3.5 times, coated his weapon with Durability, and took arge powerful swing. Halfway through reaching his target, he tripled his weapon''s weight, giving it more momentum and destructive power. BAM! Olmera''s face drew a horrified expression when the morpho ax chopped down Belmand''s statue from its feet. The statue fell towards the challengers but Aito caught it before it could crush someone and dropped it to the ground. Grabbing Belmand by its now footless legs, he dragged the statue to the cathedral entrance under awry gazes. Some challengers had intrigued expressions while others were in awe of his strength and some, much like Olmera, were horrified. After seeing at least one god and having been resurrected, all challengers now knew divine beings were real. With material proof that gods existed, more and more challengers praised their "glory" every day. Little by little they were bing real followers. Having faced death multiple times, they looked for help or salvation from divine beings. Aito didn''t care, though. They could pray all they wanted; he knew the gods would never help them for this particr crisis. He lifted the statue and used its legs first to bar the double doors that made up the main entrance, then returned it to its original weight, only to increase it again by 3.5 times. Problem was, Belmand''s head didn''t offer a stable foundation to support the doors. With a crooked smile, he cut down the statue''s head, imagining it was the real one. "Perfect," he said, kicking the head to a corner. Of course, Aito didn''t have any other motive whatsoever behind cutting Belmand''s head than efficiency. Chapter 124 - Lunar Eclipse (part 2) Thinking of reinforcing the door even further, Aito''s gazeid upon Filona''s statue. An evil smirk drew on his face. Challengers stepped aside, letting him pass. Aito emanated the kind of regal aura thatmanded respect. The kind that was invisible, but everyone could feel. It wasn''t something as peculiar as a skill or secret hidden technique. It was just in simple confidence. He walked with such poise he looked special, like a stone wall that, despite going through a thousand wars, still stood tall and mighty.. "What did you do, you heretic!?" Olmera eximed with a horrified expression. With no time to speak to that deranged old woman, he pped her aside. Olmera was pushed against the ground violently. She was a challenger so a single Aito-p didn''t hurt her as much as it would a normal elderly person. Plus, he didn''t like her attitude one bit and earthly society rules no longer applied here. Aito sliced off Filona''s feet, caught it, and appeared unpleased by the goddess''s ugly face. Since he''d have to behead her anyway, might as well do it right now, right? SLASH! He kicked her head aside, sending it close to George who eyed the tumbling head with an amused gaze. George wasn''t a firm believer in the divine. Though he knew gods existed, he also knew counting on them to protect challengers was too much to ask for. And he had to admit that Aito''s interruption of Olmera''s attempt to take advantage of the situation was quite a sight to behold. "Are you mad!?" Olmera said, "You heretic have no idea of what you''ve just done! You''ve provoked the gods and doomed us all!" Aito ignored the woman and dragged the statue to the main entrance. Midway, George and Ogoro joined him, helping him bar the double door. Aito stared at the two stone boobs with an urge to cut them, but decided otherwise. Those two things probably weighed twenty kilograms each, and now that he had more than tripled the statue''s weight, each weighed around seventy kilograms. Removing such a useful mass would lessen the support provided to the door. Aito took out a frost spell bead, threw it on the floor''s entrance, freezing the marble ground. In case the hobs breached the main entrance, they would just slip and fall, rendering killing them easier. Of course, hobgoblins could climb the exterior walls, break the windows, and enter through the breaches. But there was nothing to do about it. Even if he were to use the horn, he could not know from where the goblins would attack, only that they would concentrate their attention on him. He headed for yet another statue, but Olmera wasn''t about to let him have his way this time, "What are you doing, fervent followers? Stop him before he desecrates the gods'' statue any further!" Having witnessed his strength, most challengers seemed to hesitate. They weren''t that infatuated with the gods. Also, Aito was apanied by a renowned veteran of the fifth floor, George Melbourn. Having no real cohesion, only the real "fervent followers" moved. "Halt! Do you not fear the gods'' wrath?" "You heretic!" "Gather, brothers and sisters! Let''s stop this heretic here¡ª!" The challenger uttering nonsense didn''t have time to finish his sentence that a straight punch sent him flying backward. Aito deployed his shield, using its edge to stun another challenger and front kicked the other. All of that was too fast for even veteran challengers to react. He made sure as to not kill them, as they might be useful in a bit. More challengers gathered in defiance, barring his road. George smirked and prepared a high-pressured water bullet while Ogoro started to infuse mana into his gauntlet. "Stop him before the gods'' wrath fall upon us all!" Olmera shouted. Pissed and tired of those nonsense, Aito punched one of the cathedral pirs using his active skill Impact. A loud cracking sound reverberated in the hall. BOOM! Everyone turned towards the small crater formed by Aito''s punch, gulping at the sheer power it had required. Aito roared, his voice echoing powerfully throughout the entire cathedral. "ENOUGH!!!" Stunned by the demonstration of strength and the dominant voice, the few challengers daring to block his path halted. Now that he had their attention and there wasn''t much time left, he thought that he might as well try out his luck with a speech¡ªeven though he was bad at them. "A hobgoblin horde is heading our way as we speak!" He said, advancing unimpeded amongst the challengers that used to oppose him a few seconds ago. "I''ve seen them with my own eyes from the belltower! Hundreds of hobgoblins assembling in the city''s streets, eager for human flesh! Soon, there''ll be not five hundred, nor six hundred, but more than a thousand banging on our doors!" Aito stopped amidst the remaining gods'' statues and jumped on what used to be Belmand''s statue''s feet to elevate himself. Staring intently at the silent crowd, he said, "And what are we doing? Praying to the ones responsible for our current misery? Search within your hearts and use the good sense you''ve acquired through your struggles and tell me. Do you sincerely believe they wille to help us?" Thinking back, every challenger knew the gods had never helped them during their trials. Be it before or during the Tower, there has been no divine intervention whatsoever apart from the revival and the oath pact. Olmera wanted to protest, to tell him that it was his fault if something bad were to happen to them tonight, but was unable to do so when Ogoro wrapped her mouth with wires. He told her to shut up, or he''d tear her apart. Sensing in the depth of the man''s abyss-like dark eyes that he''d kill her without batting an eye, she nodded. Challengers all around seemed to be pondering. One of them rose his head and said, "But hobs never attacked us in the cathedral. So why would they attack it now?" Some challengers nodded at the logical argument, appearing to agree with the one that had just spoken. "You''re right, they might not attack the cathedral tonight," Aito replied. "However, do you think a Bloody Eclipse at night is a normal urrence? I for one, do not think so. Believe it or not, they areing. The staircase to the fourth floor is blocked so there is no escaping it. You might refute it now, but if theye, will you take responsibility for the lives we could have saved then if we had prepared?" At that moment, hobgoblins running like crazed monsters started to cover the empty streets and rooftops surrounding the cathedral. She saw theming from the chandelier and shouted, "Hobs iing!" ''Fuck, already?'' Aito thought. He had expected them toe soon, but they were faster than anticipated. Challengers all around the hall froze from where they stood, a cial feeling tingling their spine. "Now choose," Aito said, "do nothing and die like cowards, knowing you were in the wrong. Or fight for the chance of seeing another sunrise. What will it be?" Silence loomed over the hall. Approaching horrifying screams of hobs in the distance reached the inside of the cathedral, confirming Aito''s deration. "What will it be!?" Aito repeated while cursing internally, hoping for a reply. Speeches in movies looked so easy to make. Unfortunately, the reality was different. Unless thoroughly prepared in advance, or being gifted, giving speeches was harder than most people thought. ''Shit¡­ look at them. They''re all scared,'' Ogoro thought. ''We''ll bepletely defenseless at this rate.'' No one had yet to answer his question. ''Someone, has to start, the rest might just follow if only someone start it,'' Ogoro thought. He wanted to intervene but it might attract too much unnecessary attention on him. Also, he didn''t want people to find out he was a red challenger since it was a well-known fact that two red challengers were unmarked and thus not allowed here. Sensing the situation became more and more hopeless, Aito took off his helmet and prepared to use the hidden card he despised the most. Remembering the time he took the oath pact, and with nothing else that came to mind, he said, "Despite the odds ying against us, the slim chances of victory, and the fear seizing me, I, Aito Walker, the ck challenger, chooses to fight! Will you fight by my side!?" That created a chain reaction amongst the challengers. Some were confused, others in awe, but most didn''t trust his words. A lot of people wielding axes bragged about being the ck challengers these days because it brought benefits and fame. Aito had certainly demonstrated great strength, but this only showed he was a capable person, not the ck challenger. However, some did recognize his face. The doubts subsided, reced by awes. "It''s true! It is him! The masochist!" "Yeah, I''ve seen his face on the training grounds!" "The ck challenger... maybe with him, we''d stand a chance!" George smiled from ear to ear. He had had his suspicions, but now it confirmed it. The giant man took a deep breath and said, "I, George Melbourn, the blue challenger, choose to fight by your side!" George looked to the side and encouraged his teammates to do the same. Abdul shook his head and sighed. "I, Abdul Melkuz, the white challenger, chooses to fight by your side!" "This is crazy, but, whatever, we don''t have any other choice," Jean-Paulined before saying. "I, Jean-Paul Bourgeois, the hobgoblin hunter, choose to fight by your side!" Fritz snorted, but pushed by hisrades he entered the fray, "I, Fritz Geraltz, the goblin hunter, choose to fight by your side!" The deration of three people in a row created a chain reaction. "I, Elza Murdock,¡­" "..., white challenger,¡­" "¡­ chooses to fight by your side!" Suddenly, following the others, around three hundred challengers swore to fight, their voices piercing the night veil, eclipsing the outside hobs'' roars. Aito watched the spectacle from where he stood, thinking they might just stand a chance now with their increased morale. ''Even though I hate that title, I must admit it is useful at times.'' Chapter 125 - Lunar Eclipse (part 3) The hobgoblin ninja zipped from rooftop to rooftop. Its leg power and agility were such that it could cover five meters in a single jump with ease, more if it wanted to. It had heard the call of the red moon, the announcement of the Crimson Hunt. As per their tradition, every hob woulde out of their hiding ce to face the enemies head-on. The ninja didn''t know where it originated from, but it knew it was important. Or at least it felt like it. Such tradition was meant to prove their bravery to the¡­ it didn''t remember to what, probably to themselves, it supposed. No matter, what was important was in front of its eyes. Crouching on all four, on a rooftop near the despicable cathedral, the ninja heard its preys inside the disgusting building shouting weird sounds. It did not understand them, but it could sense their resolve.. That wouldn''t do. The preys needed to fear it and the horde. Not that the tradition said so, but more because the ninja wished it to be so. Under its dark cloak''s hood, golden patterns shone slightly in the darkness, highlighting blood-red eyes that looked right and left. The ninja contemted its army. All fearless, thirsting for blood, with simr crimson eyes attesting to the blessing of the red moon upon them. Yes, it was time to respond to the humans. It got on its two legs. The ninja was taller than a goblin but smaller than the average hobgoblin, however; it was also the mightiest of its species. Unsheathing two long daggers akin to two short swords, the hobgoblin ninja roared. "GLUU GLAAA!!!!" Despite its size, a mighty voice came out of its vocal cords, reaching its entire army that responded in kind, just like one man¡­ correction, one hobgoblin. "GLUU GLAAA!!!" "GLUU GLAAA!!!" "GLUU GLAAA!!!" The ninja''s face drew a devilish smirk when the voices of humans hiding in that despicable building fell silent. Normally, an invisible wall denied hobgoblins entry to the area around the cathedral, but tonight, it wasn''t there. Tonight, the ninja would finally be able to satisfy its desire to destroy that filthy ce! Tonight, they would feast and enjoy themselves with human women. A roar pushed its way out of its throat, announcing the beginning of the ughter. "GLAAA!!!" *** "Everyone, prepare yourselves!" Aito shouted, still standing amidst the gods'' statutes. Behind and in front of him, challengers made grim faces. Having never worked together before, they weren''t organized. Aito knew that well. However, every challenger had a team with which they had trained and killed hobs for some time. Most challengers present in this room were veterans of the fifth floor. He counted on that experience. They had the time to quickly make a few barrages using the rows of benches, orientating them towards the windows, liberating some space at the center of the hall to fight unimpeded by the decor, and also create a small safe zone for the wounded. With around three hundred challengers, it had taken but dozens of seconds to do so. Meanwhile, the nimblest of archers had taken positions on the top of the chandeliers while the others stayed on the ground, preparing to shoot at the windows. Simple and quick preparations, but essential. Aito thought they could have done better with more time, but having barely a minute before the attack didn''t help. It was already a blessing they had been able to do all this. "They areing!" She shouted, seeing a grey swarm of hobs with red eyes madly rushing towards the cathedral from all sides. At that moment, taken aback by panic, some archers started to pull their bowstrings. One of them even released an arrow that broke a window and lodged into a random hob in the swarm. ''Shit, that''s not good,'' Aito thought. Sure, archers would probably hit something while randomly shooting at the swarm. But they would be wasting their ammunition. To his mind, it was better to wait until they reached the windows. Closer to them, archers were more likely to kill their targets with one arrow. Moreover, it would regte the flow at which hobs entered the cathedral. "Mages and archers, hold your fires!" Challengers didn''tpletely agree with him takingmands of the battle, panic didn''t help either. They were all veterans of the fifth floor, but facing groups of hobs and an army of them was different in many aspects. Some listened while others started to shoot, nheless. It was the downside of having people teaming at thest minute, but also showed that they weren''t a real army. A genuine army would be more disciplined. Not considering the fighting prowess, discipline was what made an army fearsome. "HOLD!" Fortunately, Ogoro, She, and George''s team spread the order, stopping most of the archers from firing their arrows. The rest stopped naturally when they saw no one else was shooting. Hobs started banging violently at the main entrance doors, the sound resonating in the entire hall. BANG! BANG! BANG! Fear spread, as each banging felt like a thumping heartbeat in the challengers'' chests. "HOLD!" Outside, many hobs started to climb the cathedral walls, heading for the windows. Alone, a hob made no noise, but with dozens of them furiously climbing and more toe, the sound was akin to myriads of spiders. Windows broke as hobs finally reached their destinations. Challengers on all sides protected themselves from the iing pieces of broken ss falling towards them. Behind Aito, therge beautiful rose windows on top of Valinar''s portrait exploded, hobs prepared to enter. Broken ss rebounded on Aito''s armor as he assessed the overall situation. "FIRE!" He shouted. Arrows and fireballs flew in disorganized manners towards every window. It was messy, but it did the job. Hobs that had been about to enter were rigged with metallic tips and burned to a crisp as they tumbled down, dead. However, they were rapidly reced by others. Where one hob fell, another would take its ce. Soon the fireballs and arrows volley weren''t enough anymore to contain the swarm as hobs jumped down in the hall. Uponnding, they were met with warriors camped behind crude barricades hastily made from wooden benches. In a frenzy, hobs dashed towards the nearest challengers avable to them, only to be met by pointy sword tips, masses, spears, etc. From where he stood like a real armymander, Aito could see that they were managing alright, considering they were pretty disorganized. The main entrance was still holding strong thanks to the gods'' statues. ''Praise be their names,'' Aito joked mentally. However, more and more hobs poured down the rose window. If he did nothing, soon their numbers alone might be enough to drown the challengers protecting it. Aito infused aura into his golden ring, revealing bright shining circuit patterns, and used the trump card he had been saving for such a moment. There, instead of a rose window, stood a wall that plugged the entire hole. It was as if the cathedral never had a window in that ce. Chapter 126 - Lunar Eclipse (part 4) Quizzical gazes fixed on the illusion. Challengers rxed a bit, but it was too soon to do so. Despite being realistic, some lucky hobgoblins fell through the illusion while trying to find another entrance point, because¡­ well, gravity. But there were undeniably less than before. Aito could have used his other realistic illusion to plug another window but saved it for a more precarious situation. If the worst were to happen, he thought about using it to escape or keep hispanions safe. Humans'' lives were precious, but his and hisrades'' lives meant more to him than strangers''. Thirty minutester, the flow of the battle stabilized and seemed to slightly lean in challengers'' favor. Dozens of humans had died by now, most of them being neers. Veterans were tough to deal with.. Grey corpses covered the floors, starting to pile up. Driven more by need than anything else, challengers took turns throwing them to the side to clear the area, while others covered for them. As for Aito, he spent those thirty minutes switching from one side of the battle to another, plugging holes in defenses that he saw. His mere presence stabilized every area that showed weaknesses. Where he went, a trail of hobs corpses followed. On the chandelier near the main entrance, She shot arrow after arrow. Having collected a lot of them from the fourth and fifth floor, she had ammunitions to spare, plus, she never wasted them¡ªalmost never. "Filthy creatures," she cursed, seeing a hobgoblin looking at her with obvious lewd interest, only to die with an arrow in between the eyes. Hearing loud unusual sounds, she turned her attention to the main street facing the cathedral''s double doors. At first, She thought it was the hobs that have been constantly attacking the entrance with their crude weapons¡ªdespite being damaged, it thankfully still held firm. However, activating her enhanced vision, she saw five vehicles pulled by ten hobs each driving straight for the cathedral. Outside, the hobs had stopped banging at the doors, clearing a path for the carriages. Zooming in, she saw that those were reinforced with metal armors that seemed to have been stolen from dead challengers. Clicking sounds originating from them was noisy enough to be heard in the cathedral. However, too busy to notice, nobody apart from her paid attention to those. Some corpses even decorated them, giving the carriages a savage look. With the doors currently damaged, those armored carriages might just get through them. If that were to happen, the consequences would be disastrous. Warning Aito would do no good, he was already busy dealing with hobs and, amidst all this mess, he might not hear her. Other challengers were already dealing with their fair share of bloody trouble. No mages were agile enough to get on chandeliers and other archers... well she didn''t know about their capabilities. The heaviness of the task weighed down her stiff shoulders. She had assassinated many people but never had she taken part in such a battle. Moreover, she fought for a different reason this time. Not to take human lives, but to save them. She smiled at the irony of it. Previously, if someone had told her she would be fighting for such a cause, she''d haveughed at the person''s face. Now¡­ though, it didn''t seem so bad. ''Double shit,'' she cursed internally, feeling the pressure of over two hundred lives. She then realized she imitated one of Aito''s curses. That thought somehow calmed her mind ever so slightly as a small smile drew on her face, ''So he is starting to grow on me, hum?'' She breathed in, took out three frost arrows, breathed out, and infused mana into her morpho bow, which instantly switched from short mode to long mode, gaining power. Her arm, back and shoulder muscles contracted under the heavy requirements it took to pull the bowstring, yet she did not tremble. ¡ªActive Skill: Hawk Eye¡ª ''Targets are two hundred meters away. One-shot for each wheel. The distance doesn''t allow for enough prative power.'' ¡ªActive Skill: Piercing Shot¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Durability¡ª All three arrows nocked to her bowstring shone yellow, their tips were enveloped with a dense shining coat. Having calcted the trajectory, while taking all variables into ount, steady and firm, she released her bowstring. Three arrows flew straight out a window, piercing the air before lodging right into their respective targets, freezing three front wheels of three carriages. The vehicles deviated from their path, crashing against the hob army surrounding the cathedral. A terrifying roar echoed from a building. On a rooftop, the hob ninja appeared unpleased. It roared once against in anguage unknown to men. At that moment, some hobs started to run alongside the two remaining carriages. Two vehicles were still iing. She nocked herst frost arrow and released it. It traveled through the air and flew straight for its target. Bright and shiny, it was particrly visible during nighttime, thus revealing its trajectory clearly. Two hobs jumped, intercepting the arrow, transforming into an ice cube upon impact. However, the carriage remained intact. ''Cunning creatures¡­,'' she thought. There were still less than one hundred meters before the armored carriages reached the cathedral. Knowing she''d possibly waste magic arrows, though there were fewer chances of stopping the carriages, she used normal ones to shoot at her targets. But each time, a hob or two intercepted the arrow. ''Fuck.'' She tried her best. Shooting one arrow after another. ''Fuck!'' But ultimately¡­ ''FUCK!'' Failed to stop them. Hobgoblins released their ropes at thest moment, jumping out of the first carriage trajectory to avoid being crushed. The armored vehicle crashed against the door, its momentum was such it cracked the entrance. Thanks to the gods'' statues holding the double doors¡ªall hail the gods¡ªit stood firm. The carriage was reduced to mere rubbles. However, the second one followed suit, rushing through the previous vehicle''s debris, ramming into the cracked entrance, obliterating it. BOOM! A loud noise eclipsed for a moment that of the battle happening inside. Alerted by it, Aito beheaded a filthy goblin and turned towards the main entrance, retreating behind the defensive line to safely examine what was happening. There, arge hole dug by an armored carriage breached the double doors. The statues still held firm, but part of the door''s frame was broken. Horrified, he dashed towards the main entrance, shouting orders on his way. "DEFEND THE MAIN ENTRANCE!!" Challengers who weren''t busy dealing with hobs turned towards the voice, then their gazes traced Aito''s trajectory, only to realize one of the worst possible scenarios just happened. Despair seized their heart. Morale plummeted. Hobs started to flood the cathedral, or so they thought it''d happen. One man hadn''t given up hope yet. Aito took out the suicidal horn, breathed in, and blew as strong as he could. Seemingly attracted by the sounds, all hobs stared at him with murderous gazes. Halting their movements to look at a more enticing prey, the invaders halted. Silence loomed over the cathedral for a second, until hobs furiously roared, madly running for Aito''s throat. Standing tall against the tideing through the breach, the ck challenger lengthened his morpho ax. His murderous executioner de, in a half-crescent moon shape, killed hobs two by two. "WAAAAH!" He alone seemed to defy the horde. His powerful swings shing hobs after hobs. There at that moment, challengers all around the hall that still doubted him couldn''t help but admit that he truly was who he said he was. The ck Challenger. Chapter 127 - Lunar Eclipse (part 5) Having prepared for a breach in advance by freezing the ground, Aito had an easier time dealing with hobsing from the gap in the double door. Hobs slipped upon touching the ground, turning them into easy targets ready for the picking. But more and more died. Their corpses progressively covered the frozen marble floor, serving as a bridge of sorts for new hobs to cross. The frozen floor was no longer a viable defense. Moreover, he had attracted the attention of the whole hob army, turning him into the #1 public enemy. Hacking left, right, front, and behind, Aito was attacked on all sides. The activation of the Suicidal Horn had brought relief to the other challengers but ced a heavy burden on his shoulders. Hobgoblins pouring out windows went for Aito, rushing at him like he was the most delicious treat in the Tower. Challengers realized something had changed when hobs stopped attacking them.. They took this opportunity to kill some hobs and were met with fewer resistances. The hobs that were attacked would turn towards them and defend themselves. However, the others would continue to rush towards Aito. Understanding it was their chance to counterattack, challengers redouble their efforts in ying hobs that, too busy running after a more enticing meal, fell by the dozens. Exhausted, some also took this opportunity to rest, falling behind the defensive lines where the woundedid on the floor. Certain challengers had yet to develop the Poison Resistance passive skill and were entirely paralyzed. From the chandelier, She watched Aito struggling against the swarm. Challengers indeed made a difference, lessening his burden. Aito was fighting well, however, for one hob that fell, two others took its ce. If he continued like that, even if it was him, it could get more dangerous than it already was for him. Ogoro was too far from Aito to provide support and too busy with hobgoblin ying. Other archers had just run out of arrows and proceeded to the ground floor to fight with melee weapons. Despite replenishing their mana with mana cores, mages were tired. The paralyzed challengers were in the process of taking antidotes. Others had pushed themselves too much and had entered a feeless state due to using their reserve of soul power to the limit. Aito appeared to understand that he risked death by staying in front of the main entrance and started to retreat to a more secure location. At least he tried. Hobs wouldn''t let him move an inch. Uncaring for their own lives, they jumped at him with crazed gazes. Enemies who epted death were already hard to deal with, but those who did not care for their own life were even more fearsome. Fear could be a decisive factor in a fight. It could make one''s opponent hesitate, doubt, show weakness, etc. But hobs appeared to be devoid of it. Having made her decision, She shifted her attention to the hobsing for Aito. She drew her repeater and, aiming at those to his left side, unleashed bolts after bolts, lessening Aito''s burden slightly. By now, piles of corpses were built up. Agile and nimble, it didn''t bother hobs one bit as they climbed or jumped past them. Nearby, wearing a full ted armor, riddled with a few wounds and bruises, George mmed two hobs with his giant club against a cathedral wall. His gazeid upon Aito and it took but a moment to see that he was in trouble. ''What''s got into those hobs?'' George thought, crushing two hobs'' skulls under his heavy club. More wereing by the window he was guarding with his team, all heading for the same target. ''We can''t let too much of them pass, or Aito would be swarmed. I don''t know what he did, but it seems to be working for now.'' With those thoughts, he ordered his teammates to redouble their efforts in killing more of the grey pests. He instantly cast two high pressured water bullets that pierced two enemy heads. Almost out of mana, he switched to melee and bashed his enemies. Aito looked left and right. Hobs on all sides with no end in sight. He didn''t know how many they had killed or how many were left to kill. But what he did know was that if he wanted to live, plugging that damn hole was his top priority. His head started spinning. Having used Whirlwind for too long, he needed a break. Amidst two strikes, his eyesid upon Filona''s ugly stone tits, giving him an idea. He deployed his shield, infused aura in it. Upon impact, a powerful shock wave cleared the way to Filona''s statue as he took advantage of this small window of opportunity to dash to his target. Aito rapidly reduced the statue''s weight by 3.5 times and lifted it. Bulging veins appeared on his face because of the sheer effort. Using Filona as a club, he sent at least eight hobs flying with a single swing. The double door was already breached, so keeping the statue as a support frame was a waste. He had another idea in mind, anyway. Once he had cleared enough space, giving him some breathing room, he quickly took out a spell bead and threw it near the breach. Suddenly, an earth wall rose from the marble ground to plug the hole and provide support to the double doors. ''That should lessen my burden for a while,'' he thought, gripping his Filona-club tightly before swinging it. It was heavy and slow, yet extremely effective. The two massive stone boobs even added to its lethality by acting like two hammers. Filona-club''s only downside was that it required a lot of effort to wield. Aito activated Pneuma, weing the small boost of stamina, and continued the killing. *** Outside the cathedral, the hobgoblin ninja heaved an unsatisfied groan as it realized that a bit more than half of its troops had been decimated. It never knew humans could put up such a fight. Normally, they''d all run and avoid confrontation. Just what was happening inside, exactly? The hole they had painstakingly made had been plugged by some magical earth wall. Where did ite from? What''s more, its troops were madder than usual. Even it felt a sudden urge to speed up towards the cathedral, like something was calling for it. However, since the ninja was special, it resisted the call somehow until now. But there was definitely something suspicious happening inside that required investigating. Growling, it activated its innate ability, Partial Invisibility. Its grey body with strays of gold immediately turned transparent. It was still visible, but harder to see to the untrained eyes. During the daytime, it was easier to spot it when the ninja used Partial Invisibility, but nighttime gave it an edge over its preys. Moreover, it could activate the cloak''s special effect that would allow it to turn entirely invisible for some time. That, though, was only reserved for tough opponents or escaping. The ninja nimbly scaled down the rooftop, jumped, andnded with ease on cobblestones before running at incredible speed towards the cathedral. Its subordinates wouldn''t listen to it, so it dodged them, jumped on their heads. Its agility was such that it moved practically unimpeded despite the ridiculous number of hobs in its way. Once it arrived at the foot of the cathedral. It pushed aside two hobs, drew two daggers, and started climbing. Arriving near a window, it stealthily examined the hall filled with disgusting yet tasty humans. It believed that there were two hundred of them left alive. No, there were fewer. With so many piles of corpses around the ce, it was hard to judge urately at first nce. The ninja''s gaze shifted from left to right, examining the different fronts the battle was fought at. It quickly found the problem. A sudden urge to run at a man wielding a¡­ statue as a club filled him. For some reason, it wanted, no, needed the human''s blood to cover the floor. It desperately wanted to bathe in its guts. Why? It didn''t know. But what it knew was that if it took down that man, the other humans would follow. Humans inside the hall appeared extremely tired already. What a good opportunity it was. Moreover, its kin seemed inexplicably attracted to that man wielding the statue. Yes, the ninja was more than certain that if it killed him, victory was its! Hobgoblins would no longer be mindless and swarm the others. With a target in mind, it jumped down the window, its powerful legs propelled him on a pir. It stabbed its two daggers into the pir to prevent it from falling, then jumped on a nearby chandelier. On it, the ninja shed the rope by which the chandelier hung to the ceiling just before jumping on another chandelier. Down below, several challengers turned into scrambled eggs as a chandelier smashed against the ground. The ninja spread chaos this way, dropping one chandelier after another, killing dozens of challengers this way. It finally reached the chandelier next to the main entrance. However, someone else was on it already, a human female with blue eyes that was shooting projectiles after projectiles. She looked deliciously pleasing to its eyes. The ninja licked its lips, thinking about all the pleasure it''d take from ravaging her. But now was not the time. It stealthily approached the woman, prepared its daggers coated with poisons, and proceeded to sh a shallow wound on her neck. It intended to keep her alive. Also, a shallow wound in this area would make its poison reach her nervous system faster. Too focused on her task, the female human didn''t react in time to avoid the blow. However, instead of being paralyzed, she turned towards it and searched for a potential enemy. The ninja stayed still, but somehow the woman saw it! Chapter 128 - Hob Ninja (part 1) She was confused. There was a weird transparent creature on the chandelier with her. No matter, she drew her long dagger and prepared to counterattack. However, the creature was faster than her. It shed the chandelier''s rope before escaping. She quickly did the same, jumping to the side. A pile of hob corpses cushioned her fall. Aito''s Gift, Instinct, warned him of a fast-approaching danger from above. He looked up, only to see the chandelier rapidly falling towards him. With no time to think, he oriented the Filona-club upward. The chandelier crashed against the headless statue, shattering into multiple pieces, breaking and decelerating its fall for a moment.. Pieces of stone dropped on the hobs attacking Aito, crushing them. He cursed internally, deployed his shield, and lifted it atop his head, overloading Durability. The chandelier tumbled down, continuing its original course, impacting Aito and everything in his surroundings. Aito greeted his teeth, as he felt the pressure of gravity coupled with the chandelier''s weight crushing him. "Aito!" She shouted, rushing towards him, wall-running to avoid the hobs and slicing any enemy that she encountered. "Are you okay? Aito!" However, his shield held firm and strong, resisting the impact. His legs, back, and arm muscles contracted as he pushed the heavy chandelier aside, crushing hobs'' corpses into bloody paste. "I''m as resilient as a cockroach, remember? Anyway, what happened up there?" he said, summoning still illusions of him to distract hobgoblins. "Also, take this. You''ll need it more than I do." He threw his repeater, as well as his remaining magazines, before hacking some more hobgoblins¡ªdefenseless illusions didn''tst long against a horde. She grabbed the items, pushed a sigh of relief as she recharged her repeater, "An almost invisible creature cut the rope. Be careful, it looks dangerous and might still be lurking around." "Ho, so the ninja finally showed itself." Holding both short crossbows in hands, She seemed more¡­ more like a hunter. At that moment, Aito could swear he saw a slight smirk on her face, apanied by a mad re. As per usual, hobs didn''t care much about what happened and continued to rush madly towards him. Two bolts flew past Aito, two more followed. In barely a second, four hobgoblins joined the piles of corpses. Silently, with cold eyes, she dealt out death to her enemies. With two repeaters in hand, She was doing a splendid job. It became easier to deal with the horde. Moreover, it allowed Aito to keep an eye out from time to time for the sneaky bastard hiding in the crowd. ''Where is it?'' It was certainly somewhere around here. He knew he had attracted it thanks to the horn. But dealing with hobs while searching for it at the same time proved to be difficult. Behind him, Sheunched bolts after bolts. The close distance was such that she never missed a shot. Killing hobs four by four, she lifted a heavyweight off Aito''s shoulders. Aito had to cover her around every thirty seconds so she could change magazines and, a few times, recover her mana. Using the repeater had its own downside, after all. It required mana to use. It was a negligible amount, of course, but in such a lengthy battle, it was normal to run out of mana somewhere along the line. At some point during the fight, Aito saw a blurry, transparent figure nimbly jumping from one shoulder to another to hide again amidst the crowd of hobs. ''Is this thing observing me?'' He thought, hacking away two hobs. If that thing was supposed to be stealthy, it wouldn''t jump on other hobs'' shoulders for no reason. Either it was hindered by them or needed height to assess something. Suddenly, a dagger seemed to materialize out of thin air and flew in Aito''s direction. Busy with all themotions already happening around him, Aito didn''t see iting. No matter, the dagger rebounded on his breastte despite the fact the armor piece was uncoated by Durability. Aito had chosen to use Durability only on his ax de to lessen the aura toll and to conserve energy. Hobgoblins'' weapons couldn''t get through his armor anyway¡ªthough it would certainly leave marks and weaken it to a certain extent. Such stealthy attacks happened again and again, as if the sneaky bastard was testing his defenses, searching for a small crack to exploit. It appeared that it supplied itself with daggers of its fallenrades. Easy since there were many of them lying around. Aito had practically built up a small line of defense out of their corpses. At some point, the hob ninja hurled a dagger precisely at the gap between Aito''s throat and his weaved mail vest, the area where protection was thin. As Aito moved around a lot, it missed by a few centimeters, putting a dent in his helmet. ''This is getting dangerous.'' As if the hob ninja heard him, the sneaky flying daggers stoppeding, giving Aito a small respite. However, something else took its ce. The ninja finally lived up to its name. Still transparent, it zipped towards Aito, used a quick acrobatic to avoid an ax swing, and plunged its dagger into Aito''s throat. Too fast and with poor visibility on his enemy, Aito felt a pointy tip trying to pierce his mail covering that sensitive area. Fortunately, the armor held. He tried to grab his enemy but failed, only touching air. ''This little shit is just as nimble as Jack, if not more!'' Such events urred again and again, with him being unable to do anything. He was already quite busy with hobs, but also wasn''t fast enough to intercept his assant. He knew the ninja was hiding somewhere nearby in the crowd and thought about using a boom ball. Sure, it wouldn''t be able to escape the explosion, but Aito might get caught up in it. Also, he didn''t want to damage the cloak the ninja held too badly, since he nned on using itter. A boom ball would turn it into rags... probably. Chapter 129 - Hob Ninja (part 2) "She! Can you do it?" Even if Aito''s question was vague and without context because it was said in a hurry, she understood what he meant. "Maybe! Buy me some time!" She needed concentration for that particr shot. As a response, he deployed his shield ainium side and switched his ax back to short mode. True, this setup wasn''t as effective with that many enemies however, it provided more overall protections. Also, Aito had something in mind that was more adapted to this setup, just in case She failed to kill the ninja. Moreover, he couldn''t see nor read the ninja''s movement correctly, and having a shield might just help him avoid death. By now, his mail covering his throat had weakened. Soon the ninja would be able to pierce it. Aito used the shock waves produced by his shield coated with Durability to fend off attackers and create more space.. However, the ninja didn''t attack as he expected. In fact, it didn''t attack at all. The change in setup seemed to have made it rethink its approach. ''Fuck¡­, then I''ll give it a more enticing bait.'' Although risky, Aito went against his good sense and rapidly removed his helmet, then threw it aside. It was a huge bet, but taking risks was part of the job. As expected, his Intuition red up when he felt a tingling sensation in between his eyes. The hob ninja charged at him. Having been warned by his gift, and already in position, Aito shielded himself while shing hobs and empty air, hoping for a lucky strike. She saw the blurry figureing and shot two bolts. However, the ninja agilely dodged, jumped on Aito''s shield, grabbing the edge to maintain bnce, nning on plunging a dagger in between Aito''s eyes. But the moment it touched the shield, its concealment wore off as it was propelled backward, making a dumb expression. Before it could get too far, two bolts flew straight at it, aiming for the head and heart. However, the hob managed to twirl in midair, avoiding one bolt. The other was surprisingly stopped by the cloak that appeared to be more resistant than it looked. But Aito wasn''t done with it yet. In a split second, bright patterns shone on his ring as he activated the illusion spell. Originally, he had saved thest spell for escaping, but he couldn''t let go of this opportunity. A coffin the exact same size as the ninja materialized around the creature, trapping it inside an illusionary prison. The coffin fell amidst the hobs, a few meters away from Aito. Such a small item had the benefit of being simple to imagine but also less costly to cast. By now, Aito had realized that the bigger the illusion, the more aura was required. For example, casting a huge defensive structure to cover the challengers would have probably sapped three fourth of his mana or even his entire mana reserve. Thinking it was trapped, the ninja thought of itself unable to move freely, and roared madly, banging on the coffin from the inside to try to free itself by force. Unwilling to miss this chance, Aito lessened the Belmand statue''s weight, lifted it, and created a path for himself by swinging his improvised club. His target in reach, he used thest of his aura to coat the upper part of the Belmand-club with Durability and smashed it against the coffin. BOOM! The marble floor shattered on impact. Inside, the hob ninja assisted to its own funeral with dozens of its peers as witnesses. Although the coffin appeared intact from the outside, Aito knew the hob was dead. However, to ascertain his kill, he kept smashing the ground in-between two swings that fended off hobs. Since he knew now that the cloak was quite resilient, he did not hesitate to put his back into it. At some point, the hobs around him shook their heads, as if they awakened from a dream and no longer appeared to be interested in only killing Aito. The Suicidal Horn''s effect had worn off. Once again, the hobs started to attack challengers with a renewed aggressivity. Thankfully, challengers had been able to rest a bit because the hobs had targeted only one person. However, after more than an hour of fighting, most of them neared their limits. Those who were too tired to fight were already resting in a small safe zone inside the challengers'' defensive formation. Now that the hobs'' attention wasn''t only on him, Aito could finally examine more his surroundings. Realizing the challengers were nearing their limits, he cursed internally. If challengers were to fall, there was no guarantee he''d survive the horde now that he had used hisst spell. Checking his options, he thought about something. If hobs were simr to the goblins, then maybe showing their supposed leader''s corpse would influence their will to fight. Aito deactivated his spell with a thought. The coffin disappeared, revealing a bloody mashed hob ninja. Fortunately, the soul core and the cloak were intact, dusty and bloody, but intact. ''Shit,'' Aito thought. There was nothing to show the hobgoblins but ck, grey paste with a few golden strays. Challengers died every minute. Hobgoblins kept pouring out the windows. And with the Ninja''s apparent rampage, multiple chandeliers had crushed more than twenty, possibly thirty challengers. On top of that, it had dug breaches in some barricades; challengers were trying as best as they could to plug them. ''Double shit, I need time to think.'' He gestured for She to follow him, picked up the ninja''s soul core and cloak, then paved a way to the safe zone using the Belmand-club. "Let me through!" He ordered to the challengers guarding the barricade now made more of hobs'' corpses than benches. In the safe zone, he found multiple people with gaping wounds, missing arms, and legs. Some were paralyzed, in the process of getting antidote. Others had died where they rested. Amidst the wounded, he found Ogoro in his full ted armor, using his skill Healing String to ease peoples'' pain. With his knowledge of the human anatomy, Ogoro had no problem doing so. It appeared that he had switched from soldier to doctor during the fight. However, he looked pale and tired. Aito walked next to him and patted his shoulder. "Take a break and rest. You can''t help them properly in your current state." "I''m fine," Ogoro said, barely able to remain standing. "Those people are in a worst shape than I am. What kind of battle surgeon would I be if I rested now when I can still help them. Anyway, let me see your wounds." Aito shook his head and smiled when he saw a hint of worry in Ogoro''s eyes. "I see you''ve embraced your new ss, but don''t worry about me. Two recovery beads and a bit of rest will do. Then I''ll go back out." Dissuading him from continuing what he was doing was useless. That guy was truly stubborn. Both siblings actually were. Ogoro nodded and limped to another patient. Aito sat next to a dead woman, who still had her eyes wide open, fear-stricken. With a delicate movement, he removed his gauntlet, ced his hand on top of her eyes, and, sighing, closed them forever. Chapter 130 - Death Sentence (part 1) "We can''t continue like this," She said, sitting next to him. "We''ll be overwhelmed soon. Challengers are barely holding the barricades. Our numbers are dwindling by the passing minutes. Hobs areing from every corner of the cathedral. The earth wall you''ve ced at the main entrance will be broken soon enough. Even the belltower''s stairs are flooded. If we don''t do anything in the next ten minutes, we''ll¡ªhey, are you listening?" Cries of help. Screams of pain. Pleadings for salvation. Aito heard them all.. He had never seen such scenery before. While fighting, he remained oblivious to this grim scene. In fact, he had always done so. Drunk on the battle, Aito had never truly paid attention to the bloody consequences of a fight. During his time fighting the sect members. In the tunnels with the ves. He had grown ustomed to death, but still tried to avoid thinking about such misery. Why? Because it wasn''t pleasant. Because of the negativity. Now that he was sitting amongst all of them, corpses, wounded and dying, there was no escaping the despair that emanated from everyone present here. ''Damn it¡­'' Amidst the casualties were adults, elderly, teenagers, and even one kid. Gods only knew how the kid had made it to the fifth floor or even how she had survived the first trial. ''So much¡­ death,'' said the man who had already killed hundreds of challengers. He didn''t have a particr attachment to those dead people, but just being here, imagining that one of those corpses could be him or Haley or Olivia or¡­ his dad, it made him reconsider the value of a human life. ''Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. To take a life is to deny a possible future¡­,'' Aito thought, thinking back on Sleon''s words. He still couldn''t agree with the moderator''s beliefs. However, he did feel a connection to it when he stared at the kid''s corpse, a little girl with a red cloak, deadpan eyes, lying in the crowd for what would be her eternal rest. What could that little girl have beter on? Nobody knew. Nobody knows. Nobody will ever know. ''Is there truly no way out of this mess?'' The hobs probably wouldn''t stop until CD was over and that would only happen in a few hours. All of them would be dead by then. There could be a thousand outside just waiting toe in. Tired challengers did not have the strength to stop them all. Even Aito was starting to run on fumes. Considering his stamina was at level 3, and he could use Pneuma to somewhatst longer, he dared not imagine how the others were faring¡ªwell he had also undeniably fought for a longer period of time than most challengers here that rested from time to time behind defensive lines. His mana was at its lowest point, and his soul force could use some more time to refill itself. All in all, he was deep in shit. He had counted on the ring to cast a realistic illusion to save his and his teammates lives from the hobs, but it was now impossible. Moreover, Ogoro would have probably refused to let all the others die. Now that Aito thought about it, he could have also cast a realistic illusion at the beginning, using all his aura to shield every challenger from the hobs, but hadn''t considered it. On one hand, it also was because he wanted to take this opportunity to kill the ninja and he didn''t know if he had enough aura to cast a huge spell covering three hundred people. On the other hand, it was because he usually cared little about what happened to others, to people he didn''t know. But knowing he could have prevented a carnage, this destion, and the death of a kid, it somewhat felt wrong. ''I am stillcking¡­.'' Not that he cared about them, but he wasn''t insensitive to lives in general. He had previously sworn to himself on the fourth floor to never save challengers again. It had been in a feat of anger, thinking all of them were betrayers. Now that felt childish and narrow-minded, though. How about those who weren''t betrayers? Didn''t they deserve to be saved? Not all of them were the same. Human nature made it so that humans were all different from one another. Like him, all humans weren''t born good, nor bad. In the first ce, the ssification of what is good or what is bad is subjective in itself. This meant that depending on one''s point of view, some random guy could be seen as evil while someone else would in fact see that random guy as good. And in Aito''s mind, right now, all those who had died weren''t betrayers but brave people who fought for a slimmer of hope, for the chance to see a new dawn. To him, all those who had died deserved saving but, unfortunately, couldn''t be saved anymore. ''However¡­'' He clenched his fist, sighed, then opened it. In his palm was the ninja soul core. It shone of a denser yellow than normal, reflecting the bloody event taking ce all around him. ''There are people still breathing that can be saved,'' he thought. There was one thing he could do. There was one course of action he could take to save them all. But¡­ why should he do it? Even if they deserved to be saved, did it necessarily had toe from him? Unless he truly had something to gain from it, there was no point in doing so. Was there any reward he would receive from saving all their lives? He could have maybe prevented all this. However, Aito wasn''t responsible for killing all those innocent lives. Protecting them wasn''t his job. Even if he somehow decided to do so, it''d require him to do something incredibly stupid. ''Why should I take the risk to save them? How would I benefit from such a foolish action?'' Aito thought, pondering. ''They might be deserving of saving, but I have no attachment to those people that justify such a drastic, and downright stupid act. Nor do I want to.'' There was a higher chance of him escaping with his teammates, holing up somewhere, using his spell beads to keep hobs at bay by forming earth walls all around them. Challengers in the cathedral would turn into a distraction, leaving Aito and his teammates enough time to escape. ''Nah... that probably wouldn''t work. Considering Ogoro''s exhaustion, he''d never be able to keep up with me and She would prefer to stay behind with her brother.'' Now that he thought about it, he could also leave all of them behind¡ªhis teammates included¡ªand make a run for it on his own. Aito was certain he''d be able to survive this way. Well, it at least increased his chances of survival by arge margin. "Hey! Aito!" She shouted, cing a hand on his broad armored shoulder. "Can you hear me?" Jolted awake from his pondering, Aito lifted his head to see two frozen-blue eyes. He had an inexplicable urge to spout nonsense. Making a clumsy salute, he said, "Yes, ma''am, Private Walker reporting for duty!" She frowned, "This is not funny! I thought you were in a state of shock! And how could you be spouting such a bad joke amidst all this mess!?" Somehow, her serious, usatory, beautiful face made him smile. That smile turned into an uncontrobleugh. "What are youughing at? Did you receive too many hits on your head?" She said, thinking Aito had gone mad. Her stone-cold face had changed much since he had first known her. There was even a hint of worry in those blue eyes. The same worry he had read in Ogoro''s eyes. ''We might not have known each other for long but¡­ those guys sure care about me,'' Aito thought, a warm feeling spreading in his chest. ''Since when did they be such goodpanions... friends?'' Guilt crept up his chest as he thought about how he had nned to abandon the siblings. "She¡­, thanks," he said. She looked at him, appearing flustered by those wordsing out of nowhere. "Hum, eh, what for?" "For being here," he said, pausing before adding, "and for making such a damn cute face. Didn''t know you could make one of those, ahahaha." "Bastard¡­," She said through her clenched teeth, yet she couldn''t help but smile after that. The Aito in front of her right now looked quite different from before. More open to her. Less¡­ gruffness, as if he hadid down a thickyer of wall, "*Sigh*, whatever. You wee." Pondering, he stared at her intently, then his gaze traveled towards Ogoro, who was using thest of his aura to heal an injured challenger. Ogoro stumbled and finally fell, paralyzed, in a feeless state. Aito shook his head, thinking how restless that guy was. Certainly now, Ogoro would never be able to keep up with him. ''I might not have an attachment to the others, but these two¡­, I can''t let them die here. No, I don''t want them to die here.'' He reflected, then thought about something else, ''Also¡­ isn''t that an opportunity for me to achieve a new feat?'' "That face¡­," She said, staring at him. She hadn''t known him for that long, but by now she had seen that simr face on a few asions. And it usually meant that he had something in mind. "What are you nning?" "Something foolish," Aito replied, closing his fist on the ninja''s soul core. With the other hand, he took out four mana beads and started absorbing them one by one. She seemed to think, then said, "Anything I can do to help?" "Make sure the defenses hold until I''m done with my preparations." "Hum, I''ll try my best. But I don''t think we''ll be able tost ten minutes before everything crumbles." "Just do what you can. I''ll take care of the rest," he said, wanting to add a "hopefully." She nodded and was about to go, but turned around at thest moment and threw something at him. "I picked it up on our way back. You''ll need this if you want to survive." Aito caught his helmet and adorned it, opening the visor to breathe morefortably, "Hmm¡­ I forgot about it. Thanks." "Also, whatever you''re nning¡­," she said with a serious face, "don''t get yourself killed." He smiled gently, "You too, She." She stared at him for a while longer, as if she wanted to say something, but then strode away to help prevent a breach in their defenses. ''*Sigh* What was that quote again? High risk, high rewards, right? I truly hope this quote lives up to its name.'' Chapter 131 - Death Sentence (part 2) By the time she was gone, Aito had already absorbed all four mana cores. He could feel his mana reserve filled to the brim. Before, it had only required two mana cores to fill his reserve. But now, after absorbing the level 2 soul core, fifty human cores, and some others, it was able to hold double that quantity. However, for the purpose of leveling up, he absorbed one more mana core. The amount of energy circting inside him pushed his soul core past its limit, forcing it to expand temporarily. For what he had nned, Aito had no choice but to level up. It would erge his soul core, allowing him to use mana and his soul power for a longer duration. Moreover, it would instantly heal all his injuries and restore his stamina. Just like the siblings during the fight against the sect members and him when he had acquired a ss. Feeling that his soul core was about to burst with mana, he stopped and covered himself with a in bloody grey cloak, then stealthily took out his candle.. Although he roughly knew this item''s effect, he wanted to be certain of it. There might be things Gwen omitted. To avoid any eventual prying gazes, he hid the candle behind the cloak''s cloth, and light it to reveal the special item''s secrets. __ [Ninja''s Cloak] Description: A cloak worn by the hobgoblin ninja of the Tower''s fifth floor. Upon activation, it allows the user to turn entirely invisible for a total duration of two minutes. Attacking under the influence of the cloak''s invisibility will automatically deactivate the spell. Extremely resistant against sharp edges, but the momentum of the impact will still get through. Application: Infuse aura into the cloak to activate the spell. Usable once per day. Note that the spell will not expire before the two minutes are not used in their entirety. __ ''Interesting. Extremely resistant to sharp edges, guess it means blunt attacks will still get through, though.'' If Aito interpreted thest part correctly, it meant that he could deactivate the cloak''s spell after one minute of usage, then activate it again for one more minute. As long as he didn''t use up the entire cloak''s effect duration, he would be able to activate and deactivate it at will. Done with his examination of the cloak, he ced the ninja''s soul core on top of the candle''s me. Just as he had expected, it was a level 2 soul core. He stared at it for a moment, stored his candle in a safe ce, then took out threemon hobgoblin soul cores. ''What a stupid idea¡­,'' he thought before absorbing what he was now certain was a level 2 soul. Aito intended to level up thanks to the ninja''s soul core. He could, of course, try to absorb other level 1 soul cores and hope for the best. But even if he felt on the verge of a breakthrough, he didn''t know if level 1 soul cores would be enough. His situation was simr to a bottleneck, though, not really. Thest time he had digested a stronger soul, it was incredibly painful for him. Even if he had seeded, it took more than an hour. His soul had been weaker at the time, though. Having absorbed plenty of human souls and apparently on the verge of breaking through to level 2, his soul was now much stronger than two days ago. Although highly risky, he needed it if he wanted a higher chance of sess with his idiotic n. Aito bet on that to elerate the level-up process, but not only. After absorbing soul cores for the first time, he had tried to study what was happening inside, and even tried to control his own soul, only to fail. But it hadn''t beenpletely in vain. Thanks to that, he had realized that the souls he absorbed each time weren''t solely fighting his own soul for survival. In fact, it was more akin to a battle royal. Every absorbed soul would fight and try to eat each other. Aito''s soul being more powerful than the others, some souls would team up against it topensate for theirck of power. However, Aito''s soul always came out as the victor. Not only because it was stronger, but because it wasn''t weakened by the process of losing a physical body. Since Aito couldn''t control his soul at the moment, he intended to use that to his advantage and help it digest the ninja''s soul. It was risky. He had never tried to do this before, but¡­ ''In theory, it should work¡­ in theory.'' The ninja''s soul core disintegrated in his hand, transforming into specks of dust. Aito barely had enough time to absorb another soul that he spat out blood. Inside him, two souls were fighting with their lives on the line, with a clear advantage for the ninja''s. Another participant joined the fray but only seemed to spectate. After all, two powerful souls were battling in front of it. If it intervened, it might be crushed. ''One more,'' he encouraged himself, grabbing another hob soul core. His abdominal muscles contracted; the growing pain barely bearable, thrice as painful as a broken bone. Amidst corpses, wounded, screams of terror, and hobgoblins'' battle cries, Aito took his ax handle, bit it to avoid injuring himself, and tightened his hold to channel the pain. ''Come on!'' While absorbing a new soul core, blood poured out of his mouth, coating the ax handle red. To force him into such a state after barely a minute, the ninja''s soul was indeed more powerful than the goblin shaman''s. Inside, another hob soul joined the fray, immediately attacking the one that was spectating. That, however, wasn''t enough to push them to attack one of the two stronger souls together. Aito''s vision blurred. His face reddened by the suffering and pressurepressing his bosom. ''One more.'' wing the marble floor with one hand, he used the other to force a new contestant to join the internal sh happening inside him. Suddenly, just as a fifth soul joined the fight, the ninja''s soul viciously rammed into his own. Aito''s soul slightly fissured but held its ground. If it had been weaker, it would have certainly shattered right now. However, because it was deeply linked to the soul, Aito''s core weakened, threatening to crack, pulsing madly because of the internal battle''s aftershock. Aito''s body spasmed uncontrobly for a moment, the pain so great his brain was about to shut down. With sheer willpower alone, Aito forced it to stay awake, while absorbing another soul. ''One more.'' Sixth soul. ''One¡­ more.'' Seventh soul. ''One¡­ more¡­.'' Eighth soul. Each new one that joined the battle royal did not dare involve themselves between the two strongest. A total of ten souls were now fighting for dear life inside Aito''s body that was in a pitiful state. No real winner was decided, yet. Such a battle cracked Aito''s core, sending ripples of soul force throughout his entire body. Nine foreign soul forces invaded Aito''s body. Unable to contain it, his mana circuits fried, on the verge of breaking beyond repair. To evacuate this excess of energy, his every pore was forced open. Fissures appeared atop Aito''s skin. A transparent mist with a slight blue hue smoked out of the fissures, while forcefully pushing out blood. ''No¡­ not yet.'' He tried to absorb a new soul core, however, his mana circuits didn''t respond. ''F¡­uck¡­ truly a... foolish n.'' *** Not far from Aito, a paralyzed Ogoro watched him bathing in his own blood that kept pouring out. If that continued, Aito would bleed to death. A normal human''s body needed at the very least a bit more than half its total amount of blood to function¡ªand that was the bare minimum. ''Just how did he end up in such a bad state?'' A challenger, however, appeared to be more resilient. But even a challenger couldn''t escape a mortal body''s inconveniences. Remembering the two times he had been saved by that man, Ogoro''s eyes trembled uncontrobly. ''It''s time to repay my debt. So please¡­ move!'' His brain ordered the release of adrenaline. His heart beat furiously, rapidly pumping blood, spreading the adrenaline. His hand¡­ did not move. Despite Ogoro''s fierce willpower and desire to help, he couldn''t ovee his state of paralysis. ''MOVE! WHY WON''T YOU FUCKING MOVE!'' Heroes in the countless anime and manga he had seen always came out on top in such a desperate situation. ''MOOOVE! EVERYONE IS DYING. SO MOVE!'' They were courageous and brave. Capable of oveing any difficulties. Always looking forward. Always moving forward. Always striving to do what was right. Even plunged into despair, they never gave up and seeded no matter the obstacles, no matter the difficulties, rising up from their ashes like majestic phoenixes. ''Why¡­,'' Ogoro thought, tears running down his paralyzed cheeks. ''Why can''t I be like them? Why can''t I move when a friend needs me the most?'' There, he was forced to realize again that the heroes'' power of friendship meant nothing and was nothing but the product of his own belief. And so, as his dream crumbled, the guilt crept up, strangling his shattering will. Even though it wasn''t his fault. Even though it was pointless, and he felt guilty. Even though he couldn''t possibly save Aito with any means in his possession. But that, he couldn''t possibly know. ''If only I had listened to him before and taken a break¡­,'' More tears poured out his eyes and snorts from his nose like a river stream. His dreaded Ryu family on Earth would haveughed at his face had they seen him in such amentable state. At that moment, he, a man who had been feared by a great number of people, lookedpletely powerless, crying like a child. ''I''m so useless¡­. I couldn''t save She on my own during the red trial. I couldn''t save her on my own when she was imprisoned with the sect and nor was I able to save her after ourst mission¡­ And now... I have to watch my sister and savior die while I''m unable to do anything! Why... why am I always so useless¡­.'' There, in between two corpses, cries for help, the rapidly dwindling number of challengers, Ogoro in his feeless state was forced to watch the massacre while ming himself and his own stupidity for depleting all his soul force. Around him, the challengers'' defenses were crumbling. Seeing this, Ogoro wondered how all this was supposed to be a trial. ''Were we... all sentenced to death?'' Impatient to taste their due rewards, hobs drove paralyzed women into corners, next to piles of grey corpses. Shredding their clothes and armors, they forced themselves on the defenseless female challengers. Unable to do anything to save his friend and sister or anyone else from such a perilous situation, Ogoro lost his iron-likeposure. Ogoro Ryu, the deadly assassin, wept like a newborn child. Powerless and helpless. ''Please..., someone...'' As his heart bloated with despair... ''...anyone...'' ...he prayed to whoever was listening for any external help... ''...save us.'' ...but wails of misery were all the answers he got. Chapter 132 - Watch Me Save Myself Aito''s vision blurred. Inside him, his fractured soul was about to be eaten by the ninja''s. His soul had proven to be a worthy opponent. The ninja''s soul was wounded, but not as badly as Aito''s soul. However, despite its injuries, the ninja''s soul appeared to be the victor. ''Fuck¡­.'' Blood rapidly escaped Aito''s body, flowing out of his armor onto the already red floor. There, everything seemed to stop. Images of his previous life brushed past his mind. His childhood, teenagerhood, some part of his adulthood. . His decisive choices. Good and bad. Failures and sesses. His regret. ''No¡­ I cannot die here,'' he thought. Pieces of memories from the tournament and the turning point in his life shed by. His time in prison, on the fishing ve ship, and his encounter with his trusted best friend. ''Jack¡­'' A lean man with grey hair. Tanned body due to the constant exposition to sunlight. Jack had saved his life by taking him on board his sailing boat. He had fed him and nursed his wounds. Aito had never seen such kindness in his lifeing from a stranger. Turns out, Jack was just that kind of person. Helping others without waiting for something in return. With nowhere else to go and wishing to repay his debt, Aito had epted Jack''s offer to follow him on his journey. Sailing where the wind would bring them. During the journey, Aito had talked about his past misdeeds, how he was a criminal, a father killer. Turns out, Jack was no better himself. He was a thief known throughout the world as the Untraceable. A stupid nickname the media had given him because they''ve never been able to find traces of him. Even Aito had heard of him. Jack hadid down his mantle after a while for the person he loved the most. Surrendering himself to the police and giving back most of what he had stolen in exchange for a lower prison sentence. Unfortunately, his ex-wife hadn''t had the patience to wait for him during his time in prison and left him for someone else. Since then, he had found salvation in God and became a fervent follower of the Catholic religion. Spreading whatever good he could, using the small stash of stolen goods he had hidden before entering prison. Even though that wasn''t ethical from a certain standpoint¡ªthat could be argued¡ªJack hadn''t cared. To his mind, that money would do more good in his hand than in a bank''s safe. Jack had encouraged Aito to serve his sentence. Although it might result in going back onto a fishing ship, Aito had epted but wished to ascertain his family''s safety first. Leaving the sailing ship behind, they had then traveled to a small town called Lac St-Jean where his mother originated from. If Olivia had gone somewhere after her husband''s death, there was a high chance of being in her birthce. With Jack''s thievery skill, he had been able to hide Aito''s identity long enough to reach the town. However, Olivia was nowhere to be found. Jack had called upon his oldwork through the dar, but no traces of her or Haley were found. It was like they had vanished and be ghosts. Desperate, Aito fell again into alcoholism, deeper this time. Unwilling to borrow money from Jack, he had worked as a woodcutter to pay for his alcohol, always taking his sry in cash to avoid unnecessary traces. At some point, Aito had learned from a local doctor he had cancer in the terminal stage, not that he cared. Pitying him, Jack had helped Aito stay hidden until that faithful day where he died, alone on his way to a local shop to buy his daily dose of alcohol. ''I miss that old man and his jokes,'' he thought as he progressively closed his eyes. A single regret had kept him awake until now, but sheer will could only lead him so far as his body would allow him. ''I''m sorry dad¡­ after all my talk about failures, this is all I amount to.'' Around him, challengers fought for their lives. ''So noisy¡­'' His eardrums stopped functioning due to his fractured soul, preventing the fighting sounds from disturbing his soon-to-best sleep. The stench of human corpses, wet by piss and feces, started to bother him. ''So gross¡­'' His sense of smell soon disappeared. Unaffected by the putrid stench surrounding him, the idea of weing death seemed more and more enticing. Aito''s body temperature lowered with each passing microsecond. The chill biting him to his bones. ''So cold¡­'' His sense of touch waned to the point he couldn''t even feel the cold anymore. Soon the blood in his mouth became tasteless, leaving him with nothing but a blurry vision that¡­ was disturbed by a notification window that wasn''t blurry for some reason. [Do you wish to live, mortal?] It asked, [It is not toote for me to help you.] Aito''s mind jolted awake¡­ as awake as it could, temporarily restoring his ability to think, recognizing that personality. ''What the fuck are you doing here, Valinar?'' [I''ve always been by your side, watching you and your struggles. You couldn''t read nor see me since I''m not powerful enough for that. However, in your current state, the barrier between the material and immaterial world thinned, thus allowing you to see me. Can''t you feel it? The souls surrounding you?] Indeed, now that she said that, Aito noticed he could somehow feel the people that were still alive around him. It was messy, but he could sense them. The hobs enjoying themselves. The humans fighting for dear life. The many grey monstrosities still awaiting outside the cathedral for their turn to feast. He could even feel his own soul with more rity than before. It was like it stood in front of him. Like he could touch it. As if a connection had been established between body and soul. Between the material and immaterial. [What say you? Life or Death?] ''You already know my answer, goddess. So why do you ask?'' [Indeed, since it is perfectly obvious. But I need to hear it from you. Do you ept my help or not? If it hadn''t been for your level 3 body, you''d already be dead. Now, hurry! Say the words!] Aito remained silent. Instead of answering, he took this opportunity to rapidly feel the surroundings in search of his partners. He didn''t know what he was looking for, though. However, strangely, he could feel some kind of link guiding him towards another soul he somewhat felt familiar with. A weeping one, full of distress. ''Ogoro¡­, why is a man like you filled with so much despair?'' [Mortal? Your answer!?] His mind then wandered elsewhere, following the link to another soul. A soul filled with hope in... he couldn''t tell in what exactly. But despite the number of souls around her, he supposed she was still fighting. ''She¡­, so much hope....'' [AITO WALKER, DO YOU WISH TO DIE!?] Aito turned back his attention to himself, his blurry vision and the annoying blue window only visible to him. ''No, I don''t want to die, goddess.'' [Then quickly say it! Tell me that you ept! With my help, those filthy creatures will be nothing to you!] Inside him, his soul that was about to be devoured hadn''t given up just yet. He could feel it. He could sense it. Body and soul were linked, forming one single entity. ''Hahaha¡­'' [Why are youughing!?] In Aito''s core, the ninja''s soul approached his, its attention solely focused on its meal. Sensing this, the eight other injured minor souls took this opportunity to gang up on, contrary to Aito''s expectation, the easy meal¡ªhim. However, the ninja''s soul furiously defended what was its by right. Unprepared, it worsened its injuries even more. Angry, it focused its attention on the others, thinking that the dying soul could wait. ''HAHAHA!'' [Did you go mad, mortal!?] ''No, goddess. If anyone went mad here, it is you! If you''ve observed me for this long, you should already know my answer.'' Aito seized control of his soul, no, he seized control of himself. ''I am tired of your divine games and schemes. You hear me!? Never again will I ept the help of a god! Twice was plenty enough. The other challengers might have not realized it yet, but I know, I know what you all think of us!'' His soul trembled, starting to move again despite its crumbling state. ''We are not puppets you can order around under the pretense you revived us only to be butchered somece else like cattle! You don''t own us!'' Gathering its remaining strength, Aito''s soul dashed at its target in a final attempt to shift the power bnce, aiming at the ninja''s soul''s most wounded spot. ''If I must be saved or save others, I will do so on my own! I will strive to pave my own path, as a mortal! No matter the odds, I will achieve my goal with these very hands! Not yours nor any other gods!'' His soul rammed into the ninja''s soul, shattering it, liberating particles of soul essence. Fleeing and unprepared, the eight others barely had time to notice Aito absorbing everything. ''I don''t need your help, goddess of bravery. Just stay silent and watch from the side like a pervert getting wet from our misery. Watch me save myself and those mortals you gods consider mere puppets!'' Aito''s soul shone brighter, expanding, recovering strength and vigor, but it wanted more. Taking advantage of the others'' injured state, it bolted faster and faster. Shattering, swallowing, sucking in every ounce of soul essence it could. ''And if I must fail, if I am to die, despite my regrets, I will do so as a man! Unfulfilled or not!'' [¡­] ''This is my answer, goddess!'' [You..., *Sigh*. It appears that I am not needed indeed.] Surprisingly, that was all Valinar said, despite Aito''s particrly apparentck of respect. Her notification window dimmed, progressively reced by a blue light emanating from Aito''s body, glowing denser and brighter. ''Time for round 2.'' Chapter 133 - Rise And Fall Of The Black Challenger (part 1) ''Time for round 2,'' or so he thought would happen immediately after absorbing the souls. But as his ability to think properly came back to him, and with his newly acquired ability to sense souls, he knew it wouldn''t be enough. Not if he wanted to do what he had previously nned. Hobgoblins were everywhere, and their numbers reached well above a thousand. He couldn''t tell exactly how many, since his range of detection couldn''t go that far. However, he could sense that as soon as there was some free space, hobs would step inside his range, which could only mean that there were much more of them than he had originally expected. With nothing else that came to mind, he turned back his attention to his soul, in search of an answer it could perhaps provide. Power originating from all the umted energies surged inside Aito''s body. His soul vibrated with excitement, like every fiber of his being.. United and forming a single entity, he perceived every minute detail that had been kept from him before. Surplus of mana and soul power fueled his damaged organs, muscles, and bones. Progressively recovering his five senses, the battle sounds around him that had been but tiny background noises a few moments ago rammed into him like a truck, plunging him back into the gory material world. As his body healed itself, he could see hobs breaching the allied defenses. Challengers had been forced to spread around in groups. Some unfortunate ones were furiously fighting alone, soon to die. He could feel again the iron taste of blood akin to defeat pressing against his dried tongue. Bathing in crimson liquid, his armored head moved to the side, scratching the once sparkling marble floor, the coldness biting into cheeks through his opened helmet''s visor. The putrid stench resulting from the evacuation of human fear invaded his nostrils as he took a better look at his surroundings, searching for a soul he was linked to, the one desperately calling for help. There, amidst the corpses, Aito''s gazeid upon a paralyzed Ogoro. Next to him, another familiar soul was fiercely fighting to keep her dearest one safe from harm. Wearing shredded and damaged armor parts. Out of ammunition. Riddled with wounds. She wielded two long daggers, hacking and shing hobs in a flurry of des despite her apparent exhaustion. "You will not have him!" She shouted, her blue eyes radiating with fury. Unlike most other female challengers, she has been able to escape raping thanks to her poison resistance. Next to her were George and his remaining teammates, defending the same area. Seeing the ones¡ªAito had sworn to save in front of Valinar¡ªin a precarious situation, he slowly clenched his fist, thinking about the goddess watching from the side and how difficult the task would be even with a level up. ''I need¡­ more¡­,'' he thought, his statement resonating with his very soul. Hearing his call, his soul vibrated and startedpressing the unusual excess of energy, slowing down the normally near-instantaneous recovery provided by a level up. The blue light emanating from his body faded, retracting into himself through his pores. Mana, soul force, and the excess of soul essence that have been escaping were sucked back inside. Traveling through still-recovering mana circuits into Aito''s bosom inhabited by a core. One that was already undergoing a drastic change, expanding beyond its very limits. "You little pieces of grey shit!" George said, casting five twirling water bullets that instantly pierced five hobgoblins'' heads. Then, using his remaining mana, he summoned a high-pressured water wall to rece the disappearing one, preventing hobs from nking them. "We have to run!" Jean-Paul said, activating her skill Power sh, ying two hobs in one strike. "No!" She replied, "He will definitelye back!" "The ck challenger is dead!" Fritz replied, stabbing an enemy with his rapier. Out of arrows, he couldn''t use his bow any longer. "Abdul is dead! Hundreds of challengers are dead! And everyone will soon die if we don''t¡ª" Taking advantage of the teenager''s talkativeness that distracted him, one hob plunged a dagger through an unprotected area, stabbing Fritz''s stomach. The young man spat out blood, spraying it all over the hob''s face. "NOOO!" Jean-Paul eximed, rushing madly to Fritz''s side, hurling hobs left and right with her heater shield and longsword. The teenager fell, mouth agape, eyed widened with fear of death. All of this seemed to happen in but an instant, though, to him, the fall was gradual and painful. Watching from the floor, feeling his strength slowly returning to him, Aito started moving. wing the marble covered with blood in search of something to support his rise. But his core was already saturated, filled to the brim with condensed energies, and could no longer expand, denying him his wish. At that moment, his gaze met Ogoro''s eyes, full of despair. Behind the blurry curtain of tears, the grey-haired man saw something move. Someone. Even though his eyes showed him the impossible, his heart refused to admit it. It refused all hope despite its yearning for it. ''¡­ power,'' Aito said to himself. His soul pulsed violently in response, the signal spreading to his entire body, ordering again for more energies to gather in one ce. Next to Ogoro, George tried to close the breach caused by Jean-Paul breaking the formation. He couldn''t condemn her for it, though. His heart ached as much as hers at the sight of Fritz''s fall. However, George alone wasn''t able topensate for theck of manpower. Try as he may, hobs got through, overwhelming all of them. Powerless, he had no choice but to watch the horrors urring near him. Eager to satiate their desires after such a long battle, some hobs rushed past him to the struggling Jean-Paul, surrounding her on all sides. Having developed a poison resistance, they weren''t able to paralyze her. And so they swarmed the female warrior, forcing her down to the floor. Undressing her of everything they considered unnecessary and acted upon their impulses. Aito gritted his teeth at such a horrible sight. Struggling with the iprehensible phenomenon inside him, he could barely move. ''More!'' He thought, his soul pulsating a signal of denial. Even though it wanted to help, there was nothing it could do when already filled to the brim with energies. ''I know! But this is not enough! Just look at George struggling despite his level 2! I, WE need more! We can do this!'' His soul stopped responding as if it was focusing on something. The flux that prevented soul essence, soul force, and mana from escaping decreased drastically. ''No, no, no! What are you doing!?'' Three different energies slowly but surely started to make their way out of his body. ''We cannot give up now!'' Chapter 134 - [BC] Rise And Fall Of The Black Challenger (part 2) Aito was too greedy. If any moderators knew what was going on in his mind, they wouldugh at his greediness to grow more powerful despite being in the process of already leveling up. Thus, Aito started to resolve himself to the inevitable. To ept his own powerlessness in front of the adversity, and relied again on his most trusted weapon, his wit that was telling him he couldn''t make it out alive without any real substantial power. Something amon level up will never be able to provide. Despite that, he searched for a possible way out of this mess and again came across Ogoro''s blurry eyes. In those, he could see himself, even with the distance. Contemting his failure to keep his word, and feeling Ogoro''s current strongest emotion, the ck challenger himself started to be swept by despair. *** A few moments ago. While challengers died every minute, An watched the gory scene from above. Blood, guts, death, and despair were something he was already highly ustomed to. In Blitz, the fortress he fought in, men died at every turn. Each time Fearmongers attacked the great fortress, death was inevitable. Having survived until now was already a blessing. That''s one of the reasons the Tower moderators were "supposed" to be harsh on challengers. Humans from Earth were weak by nature. However, in them hid the potential to quickly adapt and ovee their limits. That was the potential moderators were in charge of drawing out of them. If challengers couldn''t survive the Tower, then there was no need to exit it in the first ce. Their wills would only crumble, for Iris was a ce nomon mortals could step in without wetting their pants. Certainly, there were some peaceful areas in Iris, Central the Silver City was one of them. But that was only because people were sacrificing their lives to keep them safe from harm! Fearmongers were the main threat the churches had to deal with, but not the only ones. Danger existed all over Iris. Bandits roamed the roads in search of people to ambush and rob. Sky Pirates loomed over the most frequented airways, taking unprepared flying vessels by surprise. Beasts lurked in the woods, beneath the earth, on the surface, and even in the air. A few of them were capable of rivaling even Legends. And there were some rumors of those being at the demigod level! Races revolting against the gods'' rules piged temples and churches alike, depriving them of their riches. Sometimes nning small skirmishes to undermine the gods. However, for some reason, they never killed innocent people. Those were essentially what soldiers, beast hunters, and a few so-called "adventurers" had to deal with. But most of the soldiers were busy fighting an unwinnable war that''s been waged for such a long time only a rare few recalled how, why, and when it started. So, it usually came down to beast hunters and "adventurers" to keep the order inside the safe zone. Also, the gods might have turned all the physical money immaterial through the system''s help, but there were still plenty of other treasures to steal! Metal, soul cores, artifacts, magical items, food, knowledge, etc. All in all, most of the Tower''s floors were child''s ypared to the real despair awaiting outside. Iris was for the strong and powerful¡­ at least when you were a pitiful mortal with a bomb in your soul threatening to explode at any given sign of disobeying the gods'' orders. However, even if An wanted to prepare challengers for Iris¡ªand watching a good show¡ªhe started to regret his decision to activate the Lunar Eclipse. Flying atop the cathedral, An could feel the souls waning, agonizing, and eventually turning almost silent as they lost their physical bodies, remaining in the material ne in the forms of small round cores. The moderator had spread his soul wave to the entire cathedral, focusing all his attention on it as to not miss out on one single moment of the show. At such a "short" distance and with his capabilities, despite the fact that he could not see everything that was happening, he could interpret the signals to the point he could picture it as if it was in front of him! It was an ability that one would gain most of the time after bing an Ascender. Not taking into ount the other one, it was THE requirement to be an Ascender. That''s the main reason behind the bottleneck. Apart from level 0 living beings, everyone was capable of acquiring a Domain. That was possible, but only a selected few had done so. Even amongst ck challengers, around half of them had been able to do so. Usually, once they reached level 2, challengers would ask the gods for help to reach level 3 because it was too difficult to do it on their own. In exchange for glory points, the gods were more than happy to provide that said help. Those that tried to do it alone, died almost always miserably. Because to develop a Domain, one had to first be able to sense the immaterial world. Which, at first, always required to be in a rare state in between life and death where the barrier between the body and the soul was at its weakest. A trance of sorts. Only after that would a challenger be able tomunicate with their own souls. Even then, sess wasn''t guaranteed. One must have an unbendable will and also a means to heal oneself, if not¡­ well, like An liked to say, "it is game over." An sighed, "Shit¡­, I think I overdid it this time. Even the ck challenger is bleeding to death. Why did he even try to digest that level 2 soul in the first ce? That''s reckless!" He could feel from where he stood up in the air that the ninja''s soul had been on the verge of breaking through to level 3. A near level 3 soul against a level 1 would always win. Always, or so it wasmonly acknowledged. Attempting to absorb a weak level 2 soul as a level 1 challenger was painful but possible, though. With enough time, and human souls, the Tower system would have naturally helped the ninja level up. "Well¡­ at least the ck challenger reset the power bnce on this floor, I suppose. No level 3 ninja will hunt other challengers in theing weeks. Still¡­ it feels wrong seeing all of them dying. And surely I''m gonna get an earful from Tonton because of that huge loss of potential elite soldiers." For a very long time, the Lunar Eclipse event had remained where it belonged, meaning nowhere. Moderators of the fifth floor knew about it in theory, but none alive¡ªhim¡ªhas ever experienced it firsthand. Previous ones had never dared activate it either. Past fifth floor moderators now dead today, had warned the next generation that such an event would never benefit them, even if the gods needed capable people. An had never really taken this warning seriously, moreover, it was his first time here. His predecessor had recently died, leaving an empty spot. Considered an extremely gifted human because of reaching the Awakened realm much sooner than most, now on the verge to Transcend, and having distinguished himself on the battlefield, he had been rewarded with the job. Gazing upon slightly less than two hundred human corpses, the hobgoblins enjoying their kills, savoring some women being raped in some bloody corners, and at the very least two thousand more of those things waiting outside the cathedral¡­ now An understood why. It was a death sentence that even a properly trained level 3 Ascender would find hard to escape from. The worst thing was, he couldn''t stop the event despite wanting to. In the possibility he was able to, the hobs would never return empty-handed from their hunt. "What have I done?" He said, hesitating to save those that were still alive. It would go against the rules, but¡­ he couldn''t just stand here, and watch possible elite soldiers die because of his own iprehension. Even more in this batch than any others. The front lines would be in dire need of more elites soon. Turns out, most challengers that survived until the end made for quite the fighters with potential for growth. Of course, the higher the floor they had reached, the stronger they were. At that moment, An frowned, sensing an anomaly in one of the dying souls that was pulsing stronger and stronger at an incredibly fast rate. It was just like a dying phoenix on the verge of reviving. "A level up? In this time and ce? What kind of madman would try to do this in the midst of a fight?" Absorbing souls took time, after all. One needed to digest the umted energy properly, absorbing it too fast and too much would result in bloating and shattering. Moreover, fighting while still digesting could cause interferences in the soul force and thus impede the use of aura¡ªfor challengers. That''s why challengers either avoided doing it during fights or just absorbed a tiny quantity of soul cores to render the negative effect almost inexistent. However, it didn''t mean there was no exception to this rule. If the circumstances were met, that is. An focused his attention on the source of this anomaly until he felt a foreign soul wave crossing his, akin to a pair of ethereal eyes observing him. "What the fuck!?" rmed, the moderator quickly masked his Domain more by instinct than by need, something gained after fighting countless battles. Then he rapidly scanned the whole floor, with no threat detected, his gaze returned on the peculiar soul, and only then did he understand what just happened, though he hardly believed it. "No way¡­.," An said, his jaw stretched to its very limits, threatening to fall. "That Domain¡­. but he was only level 1. Wait, wait, wait¡­ even a Domain doesn''t justify that ridiculous power¡­" Although he said that, a possibility shed through his mind. He had heard of it very rarely happening before, even fewer times than level 1 challengers acquiring Domains on their own. "He¡­ but that''s¡­." However, to his knowledge, it wasn''t theoretically impossible, just undoable by most. Amongst famous past challengers¡ªck, red, blue, or white¡ªonly a handful had done such a ridiculous thing. "That''s¡­ that''s¡­" An''s body trembled uncontrobly. Shivers of excitement ran down his spine as the otaku in him rose from a dusty corner of his personality. He took out some dried indigos, his favorite treat, and started rapidly stuffing them in his mouth one after the other. "CHWAT''S MARWELEWS!" (That''s marvelous) He eximed, saliva and pieces of dried indigo escaping his mouth. Chapter 135 - Rise And Fall Of The Black Challenger (part 3) She swung her daggers left and right, ying as many hobs as her abilities allowed her, defending Ogoro''s paralyzed body with all her might. Despite the fact that her Gift Thrill of the Hunt was activated, boosting her agility past her limits while increasing her awareness, the same fate as the other women awaited her. Surrounded and exhausted, She could not keep up with her enemies'' number. Aito was forced to watch as hisrade fell on her brother''s full armored body. Four hobs were necessary to hold her down. Like a floundering fish caught up in a, She attempted to free herself as a fifth hob started unstrapping her already tattered leather armor. . "No! Get off me!" Aito could feel her hope waver. Each pieces of protection taken off brought despair, eclipsing the hope she had in something, in someone. Under her, Ogoro seemed to know what was happening. His body started trembling, but he did not move. He could not move. Cheek against the ground, empty eyes fixed on the distant corpses, Ogoro couldn''t see his sister but could feel her struggle. Forced to hear the voice of She being undressed by horny hobs, further increased Ogoro''s sorrow and misery. His own powerlessness disgusted him, affecting Aito who could feel his distress. At the sight of She''s struggle, influenced by Ogoro''s feelings and his own, something boiled inside Aito. His conflicted emotions progressively turned into a primal one, rage. Yet he refrained from letting it loose, for it would do him no good in their current situation if he were to activate his Gift Fury. She''s hope dimmed as her breastte was thrown aside and a hob slowly ran its dirty fingers down her weavedmail, only to rapidly lift it, revealing her white shirt, tearing it apart to show her undergarment. It grabbed her still covered chest furiously, enjoying the perfect mix of softness and firmness, reveling itself in her distress. However, it was seriously disappointed when only empty cold eyes looked at it, denying it the pleasure it sought, something she had done before when pleasuring assassination targets she hated on Earth to avoid being affected mentally¡ªthough some targets had disliked it. Pissed, the hob''s sharp nails dug into her chest as it started to slowly get rid of the annoying bra. Another hob proceeded to look below She''s belt. A sore in its eyes, it cut the belt with a dagger, throwing it aside to unbutton her pants crafted from weaved steel and leather, salivating at the idea of the paradise lying beneath it. Aito felt her hope drastically waning as she realized how pointless it was to hold onto it, huddling herself back inside a corner of her mind to protect her mental health. Abandoning almost all hope, her head dropped on Ogoro''s back, shifting to the side as she took onest look at a body d in grey armor. Their gaze met. But in this now poorly lit hall where almost no artificial light source could be found because of the battle, She could not see Aito stare back at her, however, he saw her, her and the hob struggling to lower a pants crafted by Ainar. Aito clenched his teeth hard. With the ax shaft that had been preventing injuries in his mouth gone, he bit his tongue. Yet this pain was nothingpared to the emotions bubbling inside him. As if this nightmare was not enough, now that he could somehow perceive a part of the immaterial world, a certain goddess who apparently hadn''t fall silent could throw her thoughts at his face. [I am still watching, mortal.] He swore the goddess was doing it on purpose, implying his previous decision was foolish. Anybody else would have epted it after all. Aito did not give her the pleasure of a reply. [Look at all of them falling. Look at that woman on the verge of being raped. You should have epted my offer. You thought it would be easy because you absorbed a level 2 soul? Even your soul doesn''t respond anymore. Be reasonable. It is not toote. You can still save them with my help.] Bulging veins took shape under Aito''s visor, his skin glowing redder by the passing seconds. Thatst drop of misery overflowed his already cracking patience, letting loose the Furious Beast lying dormant inside. Anger exploded as a sudden surge of strength flowed through his body. Mana circuits constricted, slowing down the energies'' course towards the exits. As they were one and the same, his soul vibrated with fury, synchronizing entirely with the body, pulsing madly in ast desperate attempt to follow Aito''s wish, defying the goddess and kill every single one of those filthy creatures. A suction force, stronger than before, forced open his mana circuits, expanding them, pulling back vtile energies, not only in his body but outside of it. Surrounding Aito, human and hob corpses alike trembled uncontrobly as their dead mana circuits reopened. Mana, soul force, and essence poured out through the openings, propelled towards Aito''s body in form of blue lights with lines of vibrating transparent energy. His every pore weren''t enough to let them all pass at the same time. Thus, numerous tiny particles of blue light enveloped his body in a raging storm, circting madly as if they were impatient to get through, damaging his skin and muscles. Corpses around him were pushed aside by a blue dome that was getting bigger and bigger. Such power pushed Aito''s body off the ground, defying gravity. He felt himself levitate, glowing brighter and brighter as more soul cores emptied their content around him. In the cathedral, no sounds of fighting could be heard anymore as hobs and humans alike halted toy their eyes on a floating armored man and the raging storm. Life returned to She''s eyes, as the intrigued hobs on her stopped their mischiefs. She dared break out of her mental confinement, drawn by a new source of light. Ogoro''s fingers slowly moved, his soul force returning to him. His eyes lifted upward towards the dome where a body floated at a height matching a building''s second floor. He couldn''t help but shiver. Wondering if it was real. Even Olmera who had somehow survived and escaped the raping¡ªbecause hobs weren''t interested in old hags¡ªlooked up in amazement, thinking it was a miracle delivered by the gods. Hobgoblins with narrowed eyes stared at the dome as a sense of dread crept its way up their spines. They knew instinctively they had to stop whatever was going on right here, right now. Unwilling to let anything impede their Crimson Hunt, dozens of them nimbly climbed pirs only to jump daggers first at the dome. The torrent of energies repelled them like they were mere ants, hurling hobs by the dozens at the surrounding walls and pirs. The energies rapidly orbiting and damaging Aito''s body shone so brightly it basked half of the cathedral''s hall in its light. Somehow, in what could be considered a microsecond, Aito thought a pair of ethereal eyes observed him. He stared back, but they disappeared. He couldn''t say if it was an illusion caused by the immense pain from a storm raging inside and outside his body, or something real. [HOW!?] Even Valinar lost her divineposure at such an unexpected turn of events. The goddess had previously given up because she had no more bait. However, when she had sensed despair invading Aito''s heart, she saw an opportunity, a weakness in that man''s iron will she could exploit to draw him to her side. Yet, the goddess could never have predicted that her new attempt to win him over would lead to this situation. Inside Aito, his core expanded and cracked, on the verge of shattering. Even with that much energy, a challenger couldn''t simply skip a step to reach level 3 and be an Ascender. That much was impossible with Aito''s current means. If it were that easy, every challenger would have be Ascenders by now. However, despite its apparent exhaustion, Aito''s soul continued to furiously absorb and umte energy, driven by stubbornness, the desire to win, its pride, and its contempt of the divine. But sheer will wasn''t enough to digest all that storm. And thus, in dire need of more storage space, however greedy or unreasonable his order was, Aitomanded his soul to create a new¡­ thing, something that would allow him to contain those overflowing energies. More than willing to obey, his soul started transferring the excess of power elsewhere, outside the core. It used its own soul force and mana to build a new storage space. Soon a small auxiliary core orbiting around the main one was created. Taking orders directly from the soul, it rapidly traveled around the main core, storing any iing mana, foreign soul force, and essence. Processing all of it, allowing the main core to take a break. It orbited around so fast that even the energies trying to escape from the main core would either be consumed by it or be redirected towards the center. With such a speed, the circting auxiliary core looked just like¡­ [The First Circle!? How did you do that on your own!?] Ironically, it was what she had wanted to help him achieve, but didn''t expect him to do it alone. Moreover, Aito hadn''t needed to reach level 3 to do that. To her knowledge, no one had ever done that without proper preparations before. The ck challenger didn''t even know what the First Circle was. In and out, Aito''s body, muscle fibers, bone, skin, organs cracked and pierced by the raging storm, reassembled faster than they''ve been destroyed. Focusing andpressing the fuel provided by the cores to grow exponentially stronger. Lifting the bottleneck, going past the previous limits. [That''s absurd!] Feeling a surge of strength flowing through his body again, Aito smirked, moving his hand up, deploying his signature rude gesture as the light around him dwindled and gravity slowly pushed him back towards the ground. ''Fuck you,'' he said mentally, unting a middle finger. Silence was the goddess''s only response as, this time, a pleasant notification popped up and a flurry of data entered Aito''s mind. BING! [Congrattions! You have Ascended!] Chapter 136 - The Black Challenger Rises Six meters in the air, Aito was slowly heading towards the ground, the blue light receding. His status window automatically opened. ___ [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 [Evolved!] Species: High Human Sex: Male Age: 25 [Evolved!] Height: 183cm (Slightly taller due to a change in the bone structure) [Evolved!] Weight: 140kg (Denser muscles due to the evolution to amodate the body for current and future growth. Muscle size doesn''t change.). Emotional state: Furious / Satisfied / Excited ss: #ERROR 101 [No matching data. Recalction in process] Titles: ck Challenger, Father killer, Training addict, Masochist, Goblin yer. [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Instinct (Potential to sense danger slightly before it happens. The main ability''s activation is still random. However, even when hidden, the host would now always be able to sense the danger level of living beings as long as they are within range of his Domain and the Domain is activated.) - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious) 2. Skills: Passive: - Ax Mastery Lv3 - Shield Mastery Lv3 - Marksmanship Lv2 - Poison Resistance Lv1 - **One Against Many Lv1** (Unique Skill) Active: - [New!] Domain Lv3 (Send soul waves to sense the surrounding souls'' wavelengths. Range: 100 meters.) - [Lv Up!] Impact Lv2 (Produces a shockwave that erges the area of impact of a strike upon contact.) - [2 Lv Up!] Durability Lv4 (Denser Coating) - [Lv Up!] Fearless Aura Lv2 (Shields the host from the lesser Fear.) - Whirlwind Lv2 - [Lv Up!] Illusion Lv2 (Now can project moving illusions. A maximum of three illusions at the same time.) - [Lv Up!] Weight Control Lv3 (The host can now increase or decrease the original weight of any nonliving target by 8 times.) - [Lv Up! Updated!] Pneuma Lv3 (Due to ??? influencing this skill, the host can now draw from the surrounding life force to very slightly heal himself as well as recover slightly more stamina than before.) - [New!] ??? Lv? (No Data Found. Calcting.) [III. Basic stats] - [Lv Up!] Strength: Lv5 (4+1. Temporarily boosted by Fury) - [Lv Up!] Body: Lv4 - Stamina: Lv3 - Agility: Lv3 - [2 Lv Up!] Mana: Lv4 - [2 Lv Up!] Destiny: Lv4 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ___ Still five meters in the air, Aito closed his status window. He already knew instinctively what it contained. Also, it wasn''t time to read, but time to kill. Feeling he already had more than his fill, Aito ordered his soul to stop absorbing and release the surplus of energies. Suddenly, most of the blue light around him rapidly dispersed in a powerful shockwave, repelling jumping hobs attempting to kill him midair. As he hastily fell, his previous position in the air forced him to drop knee and fist first. Now devoid of corpses because of the previous dome, the bloody marble cracked under the pressure of his heronding, fissuring the ground in an earth-shattering sound. BOOM! Crimson eyes previously filled with viciousness were now reced by fear, cursing his fall. Radiating of a still receding blue light, Aito lifted his head, his piercing gaze sending murderous signals to the hobs on top of She and Ogoro. His feet pressured the already damaged marble, supporting him as he stood up. Unustomed to his new strength, he damaged the floor further. The remaining challengers'' eyes stared at him, gleaming with iprehensible hope, weing his rise. Aito clenched his fists, realizing something important was missing, he rapidly looked around to find a trembling hob, seven meters away from him, holding his morpho ax like it was carrying a toy. He took out the Suicidal Horn with one hand, coated the other with Durability, instantly ovepping it with Impact, and took one small step toward the hob to anchor himself properly. Including his target, hobs all around him took a step back, their instinct screaming danger, ordering them to flee. There was one thing that was a generally misunderstood concept between challengers. Agility stat allowed to move limbs faster, thus increasing the general movement speed. But when it came to pure propelling speed, it wasn''t agility that counted, but brute strength. Aito dashed, covering seven meters in a single step. The hob did not have time to react when his fist struck its chest. BAM! An undting shockwave instantly spread to the hob''s entire upper body with such power it reduced it to bloody mush and shattered bones. With no more support, the ax it had held tumbled down. Hobs all around knew fear, however, they rapidly regained confidence due to their overwhelming numbers. After all, no matter how strong a challenger, he''d never be able to handle them all by himself. The initial shock passed as some hobs judged they had better things to do than staring stupidly at a human, like raping or eating humans. Aito caught his morpho ax midair, pulled on an inventory bag to unstrap it from his belt, then threw it towards She and Ogoro. Noticing a change in the hobs'' behavior, he blew his horn to prevent any of them from harming the remaining challengers. One kilometer around the cathedral, all hobs heard the call, shifting their attention towards a single target. The ck Challenger closed his visor, coated his armor with Durability, his morpho ax lengthened, its de glowing a dense "golden" yellow vibrating strongly, as if eager to taste hobgoblin blood. CLING! "Come!" He voiced out his fury resonating throughout the entire silent hall, "Come and have a taste of death." Inexplicably attracted to him, hobs responded with ferocious roars. "GLU GLAAA!" "GLU GLAAA!" "GLU GLAAA!" Pouring out windows, the belltower stairs, and main entrance, grey monstrosities once again flooded the cathedral. To prevent any harm froming to challengers, Aito darted towards the double doors at incredible speed, swinging his murderous de, killing dozens of hobs in but a few strikes. A sea of hobs awaited him in the spacious za surrounding the cathedral, staring at him with crimson eyes, flooding towards Aito. Being able to perceive the immaterial world brought many benefits, one of them was a betterprehension of how aura worked, pushing aura-skills to level up at least once. Aito smirked under his helmet, deployed his shield ainium side, overloaded it with Durability and Impact to maximize the power, then jumped high above the grey crowd. Reaching around six meters up in the air, he overloaded Weight Control, increasing the weight of his entire equipment by ten times, forcing the momentum to a stop, inviting gravity to pull him down as he applied Impact to his feet. Dropping like a falling meteor, he smashed against the ground feet and shield first, creating ripples of shockwaves in the surroundings. A bigger shockwave propelled out his shield swatting every hob in front of him like mere flies. ''That fucking hurts!'' He thought, feeling his level 4 body absorb the mighty fall, ''Damn movies and their overly dramatic herodings!'' Shield in short mode, his feet dug deep into the cobblestone, thrusting him forward as he whirled like a brushcutter. ¡ªActive Skill: Whirlwind¡ª Hobs fell by the dozens like trimmed grass, unable to cope with his strength as he sped up towards a main street, drawing them all towards him, far away from the cathedral. Freed from hobs, She rose and dressed herself up with a slight cheerful smile on her face as she gazed upon the ck challenger outside with a rekindled hope but also worry. No matter how strong he was now, facing so many enemies alone couldn''t be easy. The hall was already empty of filthy creatures, allowing challengers gawking at the main entrance to take a breather and nurse their wounds. Ogoro stumbled to his feet, drawing his sword, ready to rush outside. His sister ced a bloody hand on his shoulder. "Why are you stopping me?" Ogoro said, brushing her hand aside. "We''ve gotta help him!" George who limped towards them wanted to agree but stayed silent as he took a rapid look at the remaining exhausted and wounded challengers, numbering less than ny. More than two-third of their original numbers had fallen. She shook her head, "No, we cannot help him as we are now. Just look at us, Goro. We''ll only be slowing him down." "But we can''t just stand here doing nothing as he fights thousands of them on his own! I won''t stand to the side again, She. He needs us. How can you be so calm as to watch our friend rush to his doom alone!" Ogoro said, his emotions in turmoil as he was unwilling to relive his powerlessness. "He had a n before everything went to shit. Also," She stared at him with fiery eyes, then showed the inventory bag filled with recovery and mana beads Aito had previously thrown at them. "We might not be able to help him now. But that doesn''t mean we won''t be able toter." "That is true. We need to rest and recover," George said, already breaking four recovery beads from his personal stash. Logically speaking, they were right, however¡­ "How can you say that when it is practically certain he''ll die on his own!" Ogoro said. "Because I¡­" She pause, looking for a reply. By all means, Ogoro was right. No normal challengers could contend against such an army on his own. Looking towards the receding swarm of hobs, she said, "Because he is as resilient as a cockroach." Outside, sounds of explosions, copsing buildings mixed with the painful death of hobs were heard. "Haha, that guy sure sounds like he can handle himself for a while," George chuckled, then pped his hands, turning towards the remaining challengers. "Challengers! The ck challenger has given us the opportunity to recover while he is out there, fighting a losing battle alone!" Challengers all around the hall turned towards him. All veterans and survivors. They were the strongest the fifth floor had to offer. "Do not take victory for granted! There are at least a thousand of those filthy little grey shit! Sooner orter, they wille back!" Challengers'' gazes were serious. With the hope one man had rekindled in them, they rose from where they stood. "While the ck challenger upies their nasty grey asses, rest! Recover! Most of us had their equipment broken, shattered! It matters not! Weapons are all around the ce! Arm yourselves! Replenish your mana well, heal your wounds, and when we are ready¡­" George said, his furious gazeying on Fritz and Jean Paul''s corpses, "let''s show them hell." Chapter 137 - Dawn At Last (part 1) "Ahahaha! That''s freaking awesome!" An said, floating from above the city, following after Aito''s trail who just entered a main street next to the cathedral, apparently heading towards the city border at full speed. Suddenly, Aito smashed into a wall, forcefully entering a four stories building. Hobs followed him inside. Soon he exited the ground floor by smashing another wall, entering the neighboring building. "What a brute!" Anmented, when a resounding explosion obliterated the previous building''s foundation, crumbling the whole ce. The hobs that were following Aito from the rooftop fell with the building, crushing the surrounding hobgoblins. "OOOOH! Is that a skill!?" He said, widened eyes, unaware that Aito had used a boom ball. "Ahaha! Nice, nice, nice! Show me more!" It wasn''t that An had never seen anything of the sort; it was just thating from a challenger. It was impressive. . "No¡­ not a challenger," An said, watching yet another building crumbling. "An Ascender." Apart from opening oneself to the immaterial world and start to feel like with one''s Domain, there was one other requirement to be an Ascender. The second requirement was umting enough souls and mana necessary for the body transformation, but also the creation of what was called the First Circle. The First Circle was the result of the overflowing energy that had been forced to umte to the brim. To avoid wasting most of it, Ascenders would have to synchronize with their soul, ordering it to create a small auxiliary core that would orbit around the main one so fast it appeared to be a circle. Much like an electron does around an atom core¡ªording to earthly ssical physics. But that required a lot of umted and digested energies, something a level 1 soul core shouldn''t be able to produce. Well, there were ways to cheat the system. Although An didn''t know exactly how Aito had made it happen, he could guess it was rted to the process of leveling up. Supposedly, a soul couldn''t digest energies too rapidly. It required time to do so and transform the foreign energies into one''s own. Why? Because foreign souls did not want to be eaten and always resisted the suction force. An found it weird how fast Aito had digested souls. "Whatever, it makes for a good show and a powerful Ascender. With a First Circle at¡­ actually I don''t know how to grade his level right now¡­ but it''ll surely be tough for ordinary level 3 Ascenders to contend against him. Also¡­ how did he synchronize so fast?" An asked Synchronizing with one soul wasn''t necessarily easy. Establishing a perfect link first required amon ground, amon ideal that resonated with soul and body so strongly it would increase the link to perfection. Thus, linking the material and immaterial world. That kind of link could give surprising results. For example, depending on one''s desire, need, state of mind, and capabilities, it could give birth to a new skill. It was an umon way to make one, though. Anyway, it was the First Circle that allowed a drastic physical change in a mortal''s body and also provided more energy for skills. "Still¡­ that ridiculous strength isn''t normal," An said, watching Aito brute force his way through a fourth building with thicker walls than the others. And like the others, it crumbled with an explosion. When challengers became Ascenders, they couldn''t be considered real mortals in the sense that they had taken a small step towards bing something much more. Ascenders were even referred to by the System as High Humans or High whatever race the living being was. Being able to start to feel the immaterial world brought some benefits, opening numerous possibilities and myriads of paths to power. Ascenders would be able to feel the other souls surrounding them by spreading their Domains. Each soul emitted a particr wavelength like a beating heart. The stronger the wavelength the stronger the person¡ªit was possible to hide it, though. Although the system defined it as a skill, An saw it as an innate ability. To use his words, it coulde with more "neat stuff" than just detecting people in the surroundings when reaching higher levels. A Domain could growrger as one''s soul gained more power. Eventually, if the person survived long enough, and was capable, it became something more. Also, after the Ascension, one''s understanding of mana and soul force would naturally deepen, almost always leading to a skill level up. To his knowledge, and ording to the historical records, only a handful of people had been able to control their souls to manifest their First Circle before level 3. "Which means that guy has the potential to at least reach the Transcendent Realm," An said, then frowned when he saw yet again something intriguing. "Ahahaha! Maybe Legend isn''t out of his reach! Truly a night full of surprise." Down there, Aito smashed a wall shoulder first, exiting a building, and went back into the main street. He could still use five boom balls, but wanted to save those forter floors. Those explosives coulde handy in a lot of precarious situations. He looked behind him. Hobs were still pursuing him. Lots of them. Aito continued down the road, heading for the city''s border, when suddenly, a surge of power coursed through him. ¡ªUnique Passive Skill: One Against Many (>1000)¡ª Around four to five hundred meters away from his allies, his passive skill finally activated. Transparent undting waves covered his body distorting the very air around him, as some kind of unknown surrounding energy entered him. While previously running from the horde with Fury boosting his strength, he had managed to control his speed, slowing down so that he wouldn''t lose them. But this time, when his foot touched the ground, it propelled him so fast that, despite having expected it, he inelegantly tripped, destroying the cobblestone road. ''So much power¡­,'' he thought. With more than a thousand opponents following him, his stats had skyrocketed past their limits, increasing by one entire level. There was a high probability that¡ªnow with a level 6 strength¡ªhis grip alone would have bent his steel weapon were it not coated with Durability. Lagging behind, hobs rushed at him at full speed. To the current him, they appeared a bit slow. Too slow. Unwilling to waste this opportunity, he wanted to try experimenting with his temporary increased stats and the new possibilities it opened to him. ''Since that''s the case¡­'' Aito''s hand dug the ground, forcefully picking some stones that paved the road, crushed them, reducing most of the content to pebbles, and, applying Durability, hurled them towards the iing enemies while increasing their weights. At least that''s what he tried to do, but his control over Weight Control was stillcking and only a quarter of the pebbles weighed eight times their original weight. Durability also coated three-quarter of them. However, it remained deadly. Dozens of pebbles pierced the air almost as fast as bullets, showering the horde with destruction and death. Bringing down more than twenty hobs with that single improvised attack, an evil grin crept its way up Aito''s face as he decided to call that move a pebble-shotgun. ''Haha! What about an entire rock?'' Chapter 138 - [BC]Dawn At Last (part 2) Before the horde reached Aito, he created some more space between them, dug the road for ammunition, seizing a rock that could barely fit in one hand. Since there was a single targeted item, he was certain to be able to apply all his skills with precision. ¡ªActive Skill: Lv4 Durability¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Lv3 Weight Control x8¡ª Aito flung the rock. Like a cannonball, it butchered hobs in a straight line, finishing its course by embedding itself into a wall. ''Amazing¡­,'' he thought, running dozens of meters away before easily jumping on a nearby rooftop. If that was the kind of strength Ascenders had, he did not imagine what Awakeneds could do. Or maybe not all of them had that kind of strength? Who knew? With his stamina temporarily at level 4 and mana at level 5, he barely felt fatigued from what appeared to be a warm-up exercise to him¡ªnot the Gwen kind of warm-up, though. Sensing his taste for experiments gained on the inding back to him, he shattered a part of the roof to make himself some ammunitions and continued to throw projectiles after projectiles at the horde.. Imbuing them with different skillbinations to see what worked best. They weren''t a threat anymore to him, but mereb rats. He quickly came to realize that to maximize the efficiency of the effect of his skill, he had to do it in a particr order. First came Durability that increased the overall tolerance of an item to all sorts of pressure applied to it. Simply put, physical damage¡ªmostly. Then he would increase the weight of the item. If the targeted item wasn''t resistant enough to pressure, its own increased weight could crush or weaken it. That''s why using Durability beforehand was important. Finally, Aito would use Impact that could enhance its destructive range. If he used it first, he discovered that somehow, Durability drastically weakened its effect as if it created ayer of defense that Impact must get through to reach the target. He had also realized by now that Impact only worked on, well, the first impact. If the projectile passed through a hob, Impact wouldn''t activate if another one was touched by it. Hisprehension of the skill wasn''t deep enough to overload it yet. However, with a deeper understanding of how aura worked, he was certain to be able to overload Impact if he were given just a day of training and master it after two or three days. Aito jumped from his previous rooftop to another one, turned around, but realized that some hobs were running towards the cathedral. ''Has it been that long already?'' He thought, finishing absorbing a mana core. Having no clock to time it, he judged the taunting tost between thirty minutes and an hour. Hard to judge when busy fighting. Also, he had been too deep in his experiment to realize how much time has passed. Before they could get too far, he took out the horn and recalled hisb rats back into his experimenting range. Hobs running for the cathedral rapidly turned towards him and unwillingly got back into the chase. After all, by now they had understood they were no match for their supposed "prey." Having abused skills for too long, even with a level 5 mana, only a quarter of his mana well remained. Understandable since he had kept using them. Moreover, he could feel his soul force unable to keep up with all the abuse. His stats were too unbncedpared to his real abilities. His soul force could only tolerate his current power, not embrace it entirely. If he continued his experiments with such eagerness, he might enter a feeless state. ''That could be troublesome,'' he pondered. Something challengers often misunderstood was that soul force also fueled their physical abilities¡ªalthough only a meager amount was necessary at their levels. Food alone could not possibly sustain a challenger''s body that went beyond earthly human limits. Thus, the paralysis during a feeless state. One Against Many was a great skill without negative consequences, but it could not prevent the use of soul force to fuel physical needs. On the contrary, that Unique Skill required more soul force to be used. Now, with a strong link to his soul established, Aito could properly feel the consequences of his actions. ''Hum, I''ll have to tune down on the experiments,'' he thought, thinking about switching to the next phase of his new n he had adapted to his current temporary abilities. ''But before that, let''s try onest thing.'' He prepared hisst experiment, grabbing a rock twice the size of his hand, applying every skill he could to their limits. ¡ªActive Skill: Lv4 Durability (overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Lv3 Weight Control x10 (overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Lv2 Impact¡ª Putting his every iota of strength into it, Aitounched his projectile. The rock obliterated more than thirty hobs, creating arge crater, slightly shaking the surroundings. "Oh¡­ impressive," he said, touching his ck beard. "I can probably use it to destroy buildings. Though, thisbination requires a lot of aura. It''d be a waste to continue using it on them. However, the pebble-shotgun was less costly and more efficient for mass clearing. Well, that again depends on what, how, and when it is used. But it is unarguably enough to deal with thoseb rats. No need to use costlybinations." Sensing hobs approaching thanks to his Domain, he prepared for the next step of his n. "Alright, let''s see how long they''llst," he said, running towards the city border, stopped, waited for them, and ran again. He repeated those steps time and time again. Absorbing a few mana cores along the way. Sometimes using Pneuma while resting when he waited for hisb rats that were visibly getting more tired. No matter, he invigorated their fighting spirits with the horn. And thus, after a few hours and detourster, Aito reached a za at the border of the city delimited by a wall that surrounded the entire fifth floor like a dome. The horde was slowly trotting after him, their saliva gushing out of their mouths. Some hobs fell due to exhaustion. Full of vigor, Aito didn''t allow them to rest and used the horn to probe their limits. Seeing as some hobs were unable to move, he smirked devilishly. "Time to reap what you sow," he said, before hacking away at the exhausted hobs. He encountered almost no resistance as he butchered them. Calling back those who were fleeing with the horn. It wasn''t a battle, but a massacre. Chapter 139 - Dawn At Last (part 3) After spending some time recovering, the remaining survivors awaited the ck challenger''s return in the cathedral. Logically speaking, taking on an entire army outside the safety of their walls was absurd. Thus they deduced that waiting here, rather than rushing blindly outside, would be safer and prepared the cathedral ordingly, for a prolonged battle. Even if they didn''t know the ck challenger''s n, they were certain he woulde back. At least the hobgoblins should have. Moreover, it was impossible for one challenger to kill them all by himself. Thus, they waited in their fortified base for the hobs to show themselves. Thirty minutes passed. One hour.. Two hours. With no signs of grey creatures and the ck challenger, veterans started to wonder what kind of battle was happening outside, if battle there was. Worried for theirpanion, Ogoro and She insisted that challengers ventured outside. However, many voices opposed that idea. But with George''s help, a few logical arguments¡ªone of them being they would not survive without the ck challenger''s help¡ªand some motivation, a bit less than ny challengers braved the night in search of the missing horde and a certain armored man. They soon found traces of the ck challenger''s struggle in form of blood, shattered buildings, and fissured ground. Following the trail of corpses, they carefully navigated through the night for hours on end. Evidence of fighting lessened at some point as if the ck challenger had stopped attacking the horde, though, with such numbers, there were bound to be tracks. She led the way. Thanks to her enhanced sight, the trail was quite obvious. Although sometimes, it seemed to abruptly shift to the rooftops, she still managed to pick up the trail. Having reached the edge of the city, they carefully threaded through a main street which led to a left turn towards a za. Decrepit dark buildings decorated the ce. She stopped abruptly when she saw blood flowing down the left turn, then rushed weapons in hand towards the za, closely followed by Ogoro and the other challengers. They abruptly came to a stop when they saw hundreds of corpses spread around the street. The further towards the za they went, the more dead hobs they found. It was like they had been trying to run from something but couldn''t. "Gods almighty¡­," Olmera said to the side, though everyone ignored her. Green dark blood everywhere coated the street and repainted the surrounding decrepit buildings where some hob corpses were embedded in. "Did he¡­" Ogoro said, observing the creatures'' wounds, fissures, and craters of all kinds, "do all this on his own?" Challengers gawked at the gory scene. Most of them had satisfaction in their eyes at the sight of dead hobs. However, there was also a slight trace of fear birthed by the probability of something, someone more dangerous than an entire horde of hobs lurking in the surroundings. "No mere challenger did this," George said. He already thought of himself as powerful. With three spells, one aura active skill, a few passive skills, and even one melee physical active skill, plus his two gifts, he prided himself on being amongst the top 20 strongest challengers in the Tower. He knew the few humans currently challenging the sixth floor were powerful, but this scene made him reconsider the definition of power. Maybe with a proper n and preparations, the twenty strongest challengers could have taken care of the hob army, but that wasn''t certain. A fake sun started to rise on the illusionary horizon reflected by the huge dome delimiting the fifth floor. It eclipsed the darkness, chased away the red moon, ended the Crimson Hunt. Suddenly, every challenger alive saw a notification window appearing in front of them. [Congrattions! You have all survived the Lunar Eclipse, thus aplishing a feat never before seen!] Rewards were immediately distributed ording to the contributions. The lowest reward one had was a skill level up of their choosing, three thousand glory points, and thirty thousand tutorial points. Having contributed a bit more than normal, though not by much, Ogoro received the exact same reward with five thousand GP, fifty thousand TP. If it weren''t for his paralyzed state, he''d have received more. She and George received, however, more than normal. One skill level up, one basic stat level up of their choosing, six thousand GP, and sixty thousand TP. On top of that, since she contributed more than the others, anding in second ce when it came to killing hobs, She received a new active skill, Frost Arrow Lv1. Different from the previous magic arrow, this skill allowed She to imbue any arrow tip with frost properties that could potentially freeze the targeted area upon impact. With time, maybe it could be something more. Although, she couldn''t care less at the moment. Rapidly closing her notification window, she searched for the man who had battled all those hobs alone. She hadn''t had to look far to find him. Entering the center of the za at the same time as dawn lengthened the damaged buildings'' shadows, she saw him with myriads of dead hobs. Challengers with joyous expressions caused by their rewards arrived behind her with sunlight that progressively made its way to the center, revealing a pile of corpses and rubbles previously obscured by the night. Warm, orange-yellow rays shone on an armored man wearing a grey cloak sitting on top of the pile, his ax next to him embedded in a hobgoblin''s skull. Covered in green, dark blood, he would have looked like a demon were it not for the light. "Is he¡­ dead?" A veteran said, observing the gory yet somehow heroic scenery. Immobile, as still as a rock, the ck challenger didn''t react to theiring. Worry seized the siblings'' hearts as they ran towards theirrade, climbing the pile of corpses made of at least two hundred hobgoblins, if not more. With her passive skill Parkour, She reached the top first. Examining Aito''s armored body, she hesitated to touch him for fear of aggravating possible serious wounds. "Aito, can you hear me?" She asked, slightly disturbed by theck of response. "Say something." No reply came. "Anything...," she said, her voice trembling. Despite her better judgment, she touched his broad shoulder, approached him, then kneeled in front of him. Even she surprised herself with that umon reaction, "Dumbass¡­ didn''t I tell you not to di¡ª" She interrupted her sentence when she heard slight snoring soundsing from inside the helmet. She froze in embarrassment. An inexplicable urge to p Aito''s head emerged. Having some decency, she refrained from doing such an immature thing. Instead, she rapidly calmed herself and ced a hand on his armored cheek. Relief washed over her as she smiled warmly, then stood up to pick up his ax. ''It''s heavier than I expected,'' she thought, examining the handle and de covered in blood. The ax itself probably weighed 20 kgs on its own. To Aito, it was as light as a feather, but to her, who had a level 1 strength, it was still a bit heavy. She could carry it for hours no problem, but using it as a weapon all the time was overstretching it. Thankfully, she was a challenger and not a normal human anymore. "Is he okay?" Ogoro said, arriving on top of the pile. "Yes, he is just sleeping. Can you carry him to the cathedral? Hobs might respawn soon, and he''s probably too exhausted to move. Don''t forget to run a quick check before moving him though." With almost ny veteran challengers together, small groups of hobs were no threat to them. Not when they weren''t a horde. Ogoro nodded, quickly scanned Aito''s injuries through the armor using his enhanced sense of touch, used two recovery beads, and started to lift him. "Urg, how much does this guy weigh? I think I''ll have to ask George to swap with me at some point on the way back." Considering Aito''s current body mass being 140kgs plus his entire equipment and inventory bags, he could be said to weigh around 185kg (about 408 lb). When the siblings reached the foot of the pile, they saw challengers all-around gathering hobs'' soul cores. Well, they couldn''t exactly me them. However, the corpses soon disappeared in myriads of light, so did the blood and any other aftermaths of the fight. Leaving the ce exactly as it was before all this started. Before the Lunar Eclipse. Before the death of more than two hundred challengers. Before the ck challenger''s fall and rise. Dawn shone atst on the fifth floor, lifting the veil of this apocalyptic night and the despair that had seized the challengers'' hearts. *** Hourster. Light shed through the cathedral''srge rose window on Aito''s body, nestled in a corner, leaning against a wall. He opened his eyes to see a transparent blue window and a tired She dressed in in white clothes resting her head on his shoulder. Aito ignored the notification and delicately removed her head as to not wake her up, but She instantly opened her eyes when she felt his touch. "''Morning sleeping beauty," he said, retracting his hand. "Didn''t know my shoulder was thisfortable." "Oh it is, too bad you can''t try it." She straightened up, stared at him with her frozen-blue eyes that shone with a warm gleam. "I''d rather rece it with a real cushion, though. Your armored shoulder is a bit too bulky and hard. Soft and fluffy is the best." Aito chuckled at her answer, thinking that she really had warmed up to him. She then turned around and before she went back to sleep, said, "I''m d you''re alive." Not knowing what to answer, Aito smiled kindly, stood up, took off his cloak, and ced it on She before grabbing his ax leaning on a nearby wall, then walked towards the cathedral''s exit. On his way, he saw the pristine hall and the remaining challengers either sleeping or examining their equipment. The sound of his heavy footsteps echoed in the silent room. Having keen instinct, the veterans woke up one by one at this noise. Standing up, walking towards the center of the cathedral, they naturally formed two lines to gaze at him and avoid obstructing his path. George, Olmera, some of those who had been opposing him. Apart from Ogoro, who was not inside the cathedral at the moment, all were there. Paying their respect in their own ways. As he walked past them, they remained silent. Some gathered both hands in prayer. Others nodded in his direction. But none had looks of envy or jealousy, for they knew his title was earned, not conned. Aito nodded back at them as he made his way to the outside. Pulling the double doors wide open. Basking in the sunlight, he took off his helmet to breathe in the outside air, to feel the gentle touch of the wind on his face. Taking his time to appreciate the artificial climate of this ce. ''What a peaceful day,'' he thought. Relief washed over him as he realized the nightmare has ended. Only then did he allow himself to look at the notification window still ponding. As the challengers''id their gazes upon his broad back, upon the one they called a hero, they couldn''t help but feel respect towards him. Even while standing still, he seemed to emanate a regal aura thatmanded respect, that inspired hope and also¡­ fear. BING! [Your ss has been recalcted taking into ount your behavior, capabilities, destiny stat, and influence on others.] [Congrattion! You have acquired a new ss: Level 2.5 Ax Braver!] END OF VOLUME 2 Chapter 140 - Three Days Before Departure (part 1) After waking up at the cathedral, Aito intended to take three days off from fighting. He needed rest. His body had undergone a drastic change and required a period of adaptation, implying training. Moreover, One Against Many had taken a physical toll on him. Right after it deactivated, he hadn''t been able to move due to exhausting his soul force, entering a feeless state, then fell asleep. He could really use a break. There were 26 days remaining before the Tower closed. He was in a rush, but running blindly without considering his body and capabilities was in stupid. He wanted to understand his newly acquired powers better, in order to prevent any unwee surprises from arising. Realbat is the best training, some say. Well, he only partially agreed with that. Rushing intobat with capabilities you know you have but don''tprehend could result in disastrous oues. Preparation was the key! With a deeper trust in his partners, he also wanted to talk with the siblings, to tell them everything¡ªalbeit his past mistakes. Since the siblings were busy with their own activities during the day, he postponed that talk for the evening and trained a bit without going overboard. Taking off his armor to get a better feel of his current abilities, he first tried to punch nearby buildings'' walls while using a moderate amount of strength and preventing fissuring them to better control his new abilities. Turned out to be more difficult than expected even if his strength wasn''t buffed and remained at level 4. He then swapped to aura training, more precisely, training his skill Impact. Even though he hasn''t entirely recovered from hisst fight, he could still use aura moderately. Already able to activate Impact instantaneously, and with a better understanding of aura, he managed to overload itter in the afternoon, though it required focus. Thankfully, since he was in the safe zone, no hobs bothered him. Only asional passersby would stop to say "hi" or "thank you" or whatever else they wanted to say. Some challengers even offered to pleasure him. Almost all veterans had needed to evacuate their stress fromst night. One of the best¡ªnot the only one¡ªand pleasurable ways to release stress were through intercourses. Thus they took advantage of new luxurious bathrooms that appeared out of nowhere to relieve themselves in all manners of speaking. Some offers to pleasure Aito were crude, others more subtle, and one or two were from men. He declined all offers, more particrly thetter since he didn''t swing that way. He''d responded ordingly. Without tarrying for too long, training was currently more important than the satisfaction of the flesh and actually made for quite the stress reliever. Maybe if it were She, he''d have epted it. The thought of her gorgeous, firm, and well-proportioned bu¡ª. Anyway, at the end of his training, he received a peculiar visit, that of An the moderator, disguised as Rey Clover, the old man. An sighed, seeing the destruction of many walls in front of him. "Are you doing this on purpose? It''s burdensome to repair structures every time they are destroyed." Aito stared daggers at him as he punched a wall with all his strengthbined with Impact. The already badly damaged building copsed entirely. "That was on purpose." "Hahah, okay, okay, I deserved that one," An said. "I have two questions for you, An," Aito said, shing a murderous re and ignoring the moderator''sment or whether he agreed to answer. "First, if I receive free skill level ups, what we could call skill points, as rewards. Do I have to use them now?" "Hum, no. You use it whenever you want. They''ll never disappear. A reward is permanent," An replied, then frowned. "What''s with that re?" "Second question, you were the one who sent the hordest night, right?" Aito replied, spreading his Domain. His Gift Instinct activated in consequence, as a dreadful feeling stretched to his entire spine, telling him An wasn''t to be messed with. That the moderator was beyond his current capabilities. An noticed the Domain, but didn''t intervene. He looked sideways, for he knew he had been in the wrong. "Sorry about that. I didn''t know it would turn out this way. I expected at most fifty or so challengers to die. If it weren''t for you, they''d all be dead by now. As an apology, I improved the cathedral by equipping it with modern Iris toilets and luxurious bathrooms. The kind you find in a ck challenger''s room." Aito clenched his fists, preventing his boiling anger from surfacing. "I also returned all challengers'' bags that were lost during the fight, with some hob soul cores inside them." An said, "You''ve got a special bonus since you''ve contributed more than the others. Two weak level 2 soul cores on the same level as the goblin shaman and two weak level 3 soul cores, all from my personal stash. I can''t figure out what level you are at right now, so that''s the best I can do. It''ll help you and your teammates a bit, hopefully. With the rewards you''ve obtained from aplishing a feat, it should be enoughpensation. Unfortunately, I can''t repair equipment. Ah, I would also like to formally invite you to Blitz ou¡ª" "Stop," Aito interrupted, before towering him despite knowing he had no chance at victory if a fight urred. "I don''t care about your apologies. I despise you, but what''s done is done. You have a job to do, I can understand that, even if it means killing challengers. I''m no better than you since I''ve killed and will probably have to kill a lot of people. However, you measuring the lives of two hundred humans in facilities and soul cores is in disgusting and disrespectful." Although he said that, he didn''t n on returning the soul cores. Aito considered the soul cores earned, not taken. What''s more, he hadn''t been able to collect the soul cores from the many hobs'' he had killedst night, so it was, in a sense, his constion prize. However, the moderator''s justification still left a bad aftertaste in epting those. "Despite the fear," Aito continued, "they fought bravely for dear life, for the chance to see another dawn. I don''t know who they were before their revival, nor do I care. But that act alone deserves respect. If you truly want to make amend, start by paying your respect to those people. Don''t think tangible or intangible rewards will buy back all the brave souls that were lost. I understand the Tower is a training ce that sorts out the weak from the strong. But even you have to admit, the Lunar Eclipse wasn''t training. It was a death sentence. The fact alone that we all received a feat from surviving confirms it. You and I are murderers, so I can''t allow myself to judge you too harshly. I might hate the ones I kill. I might be wrong about killing some individuals. But I never undervalue a life, even if the one I kill is the lowest of what the human race has to offer." With those words, he left a silent An gazing at a destroyed building and strode in direction of the cathedral. An sighed. He knew he was in the wrong by almost only thinking about challengers as resources now. He was so used to death the moderator didn''t consider the value of challengers'' lives. At least the value attributed to them by people who had yet to see what a real nightmare was. To him, dying in the Tower felt like a blessing. After all,pared to a Fearmonger''s attack, a Lunar Eclipse was an enjoyable stroll in a park during a beautiful sunny day apanied by warm weather. *** During the evening, Aito met up with the siblings at the bell tower, privatizing the spot by casting an illusionary wall, blocking the stairs. There, he told them almost everything. His time on the ind, his new capabilities and skills, his two interactions with Belmand and Valinar, what really awaited them on the Top Floors, his goal to save monkey Jack. Only leaving out the details about his past life, summarizing it by "I was a criminal and alcoholic." They silently ate a proper dinner in a heavy atmosphere. Although they were happy to be alive, those revtions weighed on the siblings'' shoulders. Last night''s even made things worst, it had taught them they were stillcking power, the strength to clear the Tower. With his current strength, Aito might manage just fine since he couldn''t be considered a challenger anymore, but even that wasn''t a certainty. As rewards forst night''s feat, while taking into ount his contribution, the system had given him two skills level up and two basic stats level up of his choosing. As mary rewards, he received 15000 GP and 150000 TP. Finally, instead of giving him a skill, the system had evolved his skill Whirlwind into one called Cyclone Lv2. ____ [Cyclone Lv2] Description: Upon activation, the host will rotate, dealing damage all around him. Air element properties will be added to the attack, creating wind des, further increasing the range. Current Range: 2 meters (6.6ft) ____ That didn''t mean he couldn''t physically recreate what he had done with Whirlwind. In fact, physical skills could always be reproduced one way or another since they didn''t require aura. The system just helped the hosts by giving them physical skills that suited their abilities, experiences, and way of fighting. But any physical skill was, in fact, just a way to move the body. Concerning his other rewards, since he could choose and the system has never said when he was supposed to level up his skills and basic stats. An had also confirmed it, they could be used whenever he wanted. So for now, he abstained from leveling up using that method. To his mind, keeping free level-ups forter, when he encounters a bottleneck or a dangerous situation, was the wisest choice. He was plenty strong for now and would just keep leveling up normally as long as he could. Also, having too strong a skill or basic stat could cause his current soul to be unable to sustain his capabilities, something he had felt when buffed. Also, Aito''s skill, Fearless Aura, had undergone a change¡ªfor some obscure reason¡ªafter he gained the Ax Braver ss. ____ [Aura of Bravery Lv2] Description: Upon activation, the host will emit a majestic golden aura, inspiring those he considers allies, restoring their morals to a certain extent. Also, it shields two people of the host''s choosing against the lesser Fear and other simr skills. ____ After the tremendous benefits and rewards ofst night''s event, it could be said with almost 100% certainty that he was the strongest "challenger" in the Tower. Hearing all this, Ogoro and She''s faces darkened, for they knew Aito was strong enough to ascend the Tower. Probably even alone. "Why so gloomy?" Aito asked. "I," Ogoro said, "I fear that we won''t be able to keep up with you." She nodded in a silent agreement. Aito pondered about how he could help them. He had the necessary materials for them to try their hands on what he didst night, but he just didn''t understand what had happened. It''d be too risky. It''d require a state between life and death. There was an enormous probability of failure. However, he had another method he was certain could power them up¡­ probably. "I might have a way for you to reach level 2 before we get to the sixth floor. Although I can''t guarantee its sess, I can guarantee it''ll be painful." Ogoro''s eyes shone brighter. "I don''t fear physical pain, Aito. But going through powerlessness again¡­, never. No matter how painful, I''ll take the chance." "Just tell us already," She replied. Chapter 141 - Three Days Before Departure (part 2) Aito took advantage of the night''s rtively calm atmosphere to help the siblings raise their level. He had two methods in mind. First, he assembled all the soul cores they had, and used the candle on them, hoping for some sort of miracle. However, he was severely disappointed when nothing happened. The candle was a powerful item even gods wanted to get their hands on, but its applications remained a mystery. Aito theorized that maybe after recovering another part, it would unlock some new features. Who knew? Abandoning the first method, Aito took out the weak level 2 soul cores he had acquired thanks to the moderator. "When I was in the goblin''s nest, I absorbed a weak level 2 soul core," Aito exined to the siblings. "It expended my soul by arge margin. Though I''m not certain it''ll help you level up right away, I''m sure that with all the goblins, hobs, and human souls you''ve absorbed until now, it''ll bring you close enough to level 2 for both of you to attempt a level up before we leave.. However, the process of absorbing this will be extremely painful." "No matter, give it here," She said, practically snatching the soul core from Aito''s hand. Ogoro simply nodded and took it. Aito watched both siblings absorb the content of their respective soul cores as he prepared recovery beads next to him, just in case anything bad happens. It was a simple, yet a painful method for the siblings to grow stronger. With nothing else in mind, little time, and a meager understanding of therge topic that was leveling, Aito had no other way. Ten minutes passed since the siblings absorbed the soul cores. Crouching, grabbing their bosom, Ogoro and She had pale faces as they gritted their teeth through the pain. To help their bodies, Aito used one recovery bead on each of them. It seemed to slightly ease their burden, not by much though. Thirty minutester, their internal organs were in shambles. The siblings spat out blood all over the floor. Keeping watch over their struggles, Aito used two recovery beads to ease their inside turmoil. Though, he did not waste his time simply watching over them. All his aura skills had leveled up, including his spell, Illusion Lv2. Now he could create up to three illusions that could move. Since it was easier to picture himself, he spent some of his aura to create his clones. Although their movements were crude, robotic even, and required to maintain a certain focus, he was satisfied with this skill, for it would surelye in handy when he''d be able to make it a second nature. An hour passed, the siblings still weren''t done digesting the soul essences. In soul absorbing, there were generally three steps. The first step was Suction, which was sucking in a core''s content. The second step was Digestion, which meant fighting the foreign soul to extract its essence. The third and final step was Appropriation, progressively turning soul essence into one''s own power, which could take some time that varied from one person to another. Those three steps made absorbing a soul a lengthy process. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to instantly appropriate essence. Because even when Digested, a soul essence wouldn''t be able to injure a challenger''s soul, but it could deliberately choose to lengthen the Appropriation process, which always happened. That''s why An had found it weird for Aito to instantly digest, and also appropriate all those soulsst night. Well, leveling up could help. When a soul sensed it was ready to expand, it exerted so much strength, aka soul force, that itpressed every ounce of energy around it, making instantaneous appropriation possible. However, that didn''t exin Aito''s abnormal digestion of all the human and hobs souls around himst night. It could be rted to his new skill ??? but even the system couldn''t identify it at the moment. One hourter, Ogoro rose from his crunched position, blood sttered all over his clothes. A soothing feeling washed over him as Aito used two more recovery beads on his body. As the grey-haired man, rose, his re was fiercer than before. However¡­ "I¡­ did not level up," Ogoro said, but his gaze showed no disappointment, "but I feel myself growing stronger by the passing second. I do feel on the verge of a breakthrough." Aito nodded, but his eyes were glued on She, still struggling with her digestion. He used another recovery bead on her. Cracks started appearing on her body. "What''s happening?" Ogoro said, his voice filled with worry. He instantly helped her recovery with a healing string, sewing back what he could. "Aito? What''s happening?" "I don''t know," Aito said, searching for an exnation, but ultimately gave up. "There is nothing we can do but wait. It''s her fight. She needs time. Just continue to heal her." One hour and a half passed, She''s body that was covered in cracks glowed blue. Her injuries rapidly closed as she lifted her gaze. Ogoro weed her with a warm smile. "You didn''t lie, it really does hurt," she said to Aito. "But I reached level 2, so I guess it was worth it." "Hum, it wasn''t supposed to hurt that much, I think. There might have been something wrong with the core you digested. Maybe it was stronger than I previously thought. Hum, that bastard An¡­," Aito said. If he was correct, the level 2 soul core hadn''t been weak, nor strong since She would be dead by now, but something in the middle. ''I''m fucking stupid. Why didn''t I check the content beforehand? Thankfully, she''s fine,'' Aito thought, then said, "Whatever, what did you gain from that?" She took a look at her status window. Apart from the skill and basic points she had used, there weren''t that many changes. ___ [She Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Female Age: 26 Height: 170cm Weight: 55kg Emotional state: Curious / Relived [Lv Up!] ss: Lv2 Apprentice Marksman Titles: Red Challenger, Ungrateful Woman [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Acute first sense (Enhanced sight. Max Range: 1km.) - Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level) - [Sharpened!] Thrill of the hunt (+15% in reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration) 2. Skills: Passive: - Marksmanship Lv3 - Parkour Lv3 (Improves the host''s ability to maneuver on difficult terrains.) - Poison Resistance Lv1 Active: - Hawk-Eye Lv1 (Slightly increases uracy upon activation for a short duration.) - Piercing Shot Lv1 (The host''s aura is infused into the arrow and gives it piercing properties.) - [Lv Up!] Durability Lv2 - [New+Lv Up!] Frost Arrow Lv2 (Coat an arrow tip with ice element properties. Slightly stronger coating.) [III. Basic stats] - [Lv Up!] Strength: Lv2 - [Lv Up!] Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv2 - Agility: Lv3 - [Lv Up!] Mana: Lv3 - Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ___ After careful thinking, She had used her skill point to level up Frost Arrow, since it seemed more practical due to its elemental properties. And her basic stat point went into strength for her to have an easier time drawing her bowstring in long mode. Her body stat had probably leveled up due tost night''s beating, and the injuries caused by absorbing the level 2 soul core. Durability and Mana had leveled up with her soul expansion. "Not bad, I also feel weirdly stronger right now, as if my soul aligns more with my body''s capabilities," She said. "Yeah, ording to Gwen, it usually happens when our stats and soul level are more or less bnced," Aito replied. "Bnce will increase your efficiency and produce better results than under unbnced circumstances. Anyway, now that this is done, let''s get some rest. And if you ept I have a special training for you guys tomorrow. I''m sure you''ll like it." She had ns of her own, but her curiosity drove her to ept Aito''s offer. "Hum," Ogoro pondered the offer, "I''m working on something at the moment. But so long as your training doesn''t take half a day, why not?" "Don''t worry, it won''t be long. In fact, you''ll be able to return to your own training after two seconds, promise." Aito replied with an evil grin. *** The next morning, in front of the cathedral, Aito''s team equipped for battle, upied a small spot in the za right next to a main street. "This is messed up," Sheined, trying to lift her arm, shaking with the effort. "Such a peculiar phenomenon," Ogoro said, trying to take a step, but it required much more effort than usual to just move around. "What did you do?" "I''ve increased the weight of your overall equipment by four times while privileging your feet and arms," Aito said. "Well, since She''s new armor is lighter than yours, and she''s stronger now, I''ve increased it by five times." Ogoro usually carried around thirty kilograms of equipment, multiplied by four, it turned into one hundred and twenty kilograms now (around 250 lbs). She had a new leather armor she had taken from a corpsest night. It wasn''t pristine, but better than her previously shredded set. Her weavedmail and pants weighed quite a bit too. Added to that, the other essories and weapon, she carried around 20 kilograms, times five, it made for 100 kilograms. Her strength wasn''tparable to Ogoro even after reaching Lv2, so Aito didn''t want to overburden She, for now. "You''re already used to carrying a lot of weight," Aito said. "This much won''t impede your movements after you''re used to it." "How long will itst?" She asked. "Around two hours. Come back to me if you want more ''special training''. I''ll be nearby doing my own stuff," he said, then left with heavy steps. The sound of his creaking armor with ten times increased weight, echoing in the surroundings. Chapter 142 - Three Days Before Departure (part 3) During his second day of training, Aito first trotted around with about 450kgs (992lbs) worth of equipment. Exercising his body. Working on his stamina and agility that had yet to reach level 4, while using the excessive weight to feel the limit of his strength. He did so for two hours, until his skill wore off, then went on to try out his newly evolved skill, Cyclone Lv2. ''Amazing,'' he thought as he felt the wind around him while rotating. Wind des took shape as he whirled, ax in hand, shing everything two meters around him. Actually, he didn''t even need his ax to activate the skill, although that reduced his attack range by the length of his weapon, two meters. Although, by trying Cyclone on a brick wall, he realized that wind de could only scratch it, with time they could eventually scratch off a good chunk. Given around ten seconds, wind des would certainly be able to shred through leather armor, though. No need to say that a normal challenger''s flesh wasn''t a problem.. It wasn''t almighty but Aito was content with it. Once it leveled up, he could already imagine how devastating such a skill would be. And if the range increased even further... ''Yeah, that ought to be cool¡­ huh, and powerful.'' He trained Cyclone for two more hours while trying to overload it, sessfully doing so during hisst attempt. The skill''s range lengthened to 2.5 meters and wind des whirled more furiously, capable of shredding leather armor in less than 8 seconds. Taking an hour of rest to restore his mana, stamina, and soul force, he took this time to chat with George. Turned out, the bear-like man wanted to try his hands on the sixth floor soon. And also join his team. In fact, a lot of survivors from the Lunar Eclipse wanted to be part of Aito''s team. Aito didn''t outright reject them. After all, he could use more people by his side, especially for the seventh and eighth floors that, ording to Roan, were based on tower defense principles. Although, he didn''t just want anybody apanying him. He knew most veterans were capable, but that wasn''t the issue. Trust was. George, however, was an exception. Apart from the siblings, that bulky man had supported Aito the most during the previous fearsome event in many ways. Proving he was more or less trustworthy, but not exactly. Trustworthy being at the siblings'' level of trust. Also, they weren''tplete strangers. He wanted to outright ept, but to be fair about it, he told him the same thing he did the others. "If you spar with me and prove yourself capable, I''ll ept," Aito said. He already knew veterans weren''t pushovers, and had just said that to tten their wills. Most who had heard this fell silent, only to withdraw their interests in joining Aito''s team. "Ahaha! Sure!" George replied, "Actually, I wanted to spar with you since the night we met. That''ll be a great opportunity to learn. I''m looking forward to it." Like the others, Aito told him to wait up until tomorrow night where he''d hold all the duels at the same time. George then left with a hearty smile, on his way to hunt his daily quota of hobs with a temporary team. Going back to his training, Aito improved his control over Impact, overloading it each time. To make it more enjoyable, and, of course, for practice purposes, he created pictures of Belmand on walls with Illusion Lv2. Punching them turned out to be very, very, very satisfying. Time passed. He ended his fruitful training on an enjoyable note by beheading an illusion of Filona, then increased the weight of his armor by six times, nning on wearing the additional weight all the time. Only drastically increasing it when training. With this much weight on him, he could move more or less at the same pace as the others. In a sense, it made it easier to control his strength. It acted like a shackle, a restriction. A level 4 strength truly was different from a level 3 by arge margin. It wasparable to the difference between a level 1 strength and a level 3 strength. Actually, it was a well-known fact outside that most Ascenders had trouble controlling their new body''s capabilities upon Ascending. Until he managed to exert perfect control over his new strength, his skill would do as a temporary fix. ''More importantly, with it, whatever I do, I''m always training my body.'' *** Aito spent his evening with the siblings, nning their next step, gathering whatever informations they could get on the sixth floor from other challengers. Apart from the creatures inhabiting the sixth floor and overallndscape, challengers actually knew little about it. Those already challenging that floor were stingy when it came to sharing data. It has also been a while since one of them showed up on the fifth floor. Aito found that weird for some reason. Unless they purposely stayed there, it either meant they had died, or something prevented them froming back down. There was also a rumor of some kind of monster lurking there. Nobody actually knew what it looked like. Nobody alive Aito had met, at least. Roan had warned him about something though. Orcs weren''t as uncivilized as challengers thought they were. An intelligent species by nature, Roan said that orcs were "close" to the pinnacle of a goblin''s evolution. Aito found that troublesome. If those creatures were as intelligent as humans¡­, then sheer strength alone might not be enough to get through that floor. Also, ording to Gwen''s knowledge, there existed a special area on the sixth floor, although the memory was too blurry to make heads or tails of what it was exactly. Once their meeting was over, Aito took a short bath, dodging challengers trying to seduce him. After that, instead of going to sleep, Aito exited the cathedral to train once again. Earning him a few quizzical gazes. To his surprise, he also found Ogoro and She training outside. He frowned upon seeing five swords floating above Ogoro''s head. It looked like his teammate was trying to do something quite cool. Although... judging by how messy it looked, Ogoro wasn''t quite there yet. After inspecting those, he noticed they were all linked by wiresing out of a gauntlet. As for She, she was getting used to her new strength and skill. Ayer of frost covered the wall in front of her, riddled with arrows. She was also wearing the ninja''s grey cloak Aito had given her. He had hesitated to do it at first because it was a great item that gave such a massive advantage over one''s opponent. However, for him, invisibility was subtle and didn''t exactly suit his fighting style. He was more... on the barbaric side of things. The invisibility cloak suited She better in many more ways than one. She''d be able to hide faster when spotted by an enemy from afar. Use invisibility to scout out the surroundings if needed. Use it in closebat for a short period of time to disappear from her enemy''s vision, etc. Of course, Aito could do all these but with She''s capabilities and way of fighting, she''d probably do it better than him. Having lost her leather armor¡ªthe new one she had acquired wasn''t that good¡ªthe cloak would be perfect as an additional defensive gear since it could fend off sharp edges. Boosting his allies'' strength was important in Aito''s eyes. Unless he was a god, there was only so much one man could do on his own. And for some reason, he was happy to give it to her. She had simply replied with a "thank you," and implied that she''d pay him back somehow. That, to him, had been enough. Fired up at the sight of the siblings'' training, Aito went back to his own training, doubling his efforts. *** The next day, Aito and the siblings trained all day long..., for a change. When night came, Aito gathered all those that had been brave or foolish enough to ept a sparing session with him. Outside the cathedral, in front of the main entrance, She spread a few light crystals in a circr shape, forming arge ring in which the sparring would take ce. Aito stepped into the ring, pondered about what to say, looked at Ogoro and She, then smirked while calling them to the center of the ring. At first, he had wanted to use this sparring session to train his new abilities, but now that he spread his Domain and sensed the danger level of each applicant, apart from George, probably none would be able to satisfy the requirements. Thinking it''d be a great opportunity for the siblings to improve, he said, "The rules are simple. Challenge me or my teammates to a spar." Puzzled, Ogoro and She looked at him inquisitively. However, they didn''t object, because they too wanted to test their metal against veteran challengers. "The spar ends when one of you yield," Aito continued. "Keep in mind that we have battle surgeons and recovery beads at our disposal, so don''t hold back. If you do, you WILL regret it. If you die¡­ well, I''ll stop the match before that happens, hopefully. The ring is just for lighting purposes. If you step outside, you won''t be disqualified. But I''d rather you stay inside it. If I''m satisfied with your performance, I''ll let you in my team." Immediately after, there wereints amongst the spectators. Those were the veterans who had manifested an interest in joining Aito''s team. They had been told they would face the ck challenger in a spar, not his teammates. In a sense, it was normal for them to be angry. Tired of their yapping, Aito applied Durability to his right greave, which already weighed six times its original weight, and overloaded Impact. BOOM! The ground shattered under his foot in a thunderous noise, creating a small crater. The crowd immediately shut up, lowering their gazes in respect, remembering that a hero, but also a monster, stood in front of their eyes. "Now, who''s first?" He asked, his gaze traveling from left to right. There were ten applicants, George and Olmera included. Aito had been surprised to find the bald old hag was somewhat interested in being hispanion¡ªnot that he had any n of letting her into the team. Apart from the applicants, every challenger on the fifth floor came to watch the spars. With neers and those that came back from the second floor, the spectators easily numbered over one hundred and twenty people. "I''d like a spar with you, ck challenger," said a young man wearing a bow. Chapter 143 - "Friendly" Sparring Session (part 1) ''I think his name was¡­ Bai Xu, hum,'' Aito thought, seeing the applicant advancing into the center of the ring. Both siblings stepped to the side, watching with keen interest the spar that was about to take ce. ''Archer ss,'' Aito pondered, examining Bai Xu from head to toe. The young man had leather armor, a ck cloak for some unknown reason, a belt with inventory bags probably containing arrows, and a war bow that probably required a level 2 strength to use properly. Bai Xu had been one of the few archers to get on top of a chandelier during the Lunar Eclipse, which attested to his agility. ''Also¡­ it seems like he has recently reached level 2. That ought to be somehow interesting.'' However, he still left his "shackles" on. Bai Xu would probably be a worthy opponent for the siblings, but to him, it required a handicap to make it worth his while. This wasn''t arrogance, just a fact.. That did not mean he would underestimate his opponent, either. Aito''s armor immediately shone of a golden yellow. By now, he had realized the color of Durability was somewhat different. He didn''t know if it was due to the skill level up or something else, though. He deployed his shield steel side and unsheathed his ax. "Ready when you are, Bai Xu." "Thank you for the opportunity, ck challenger," Bai Xu said, grabbing a handful of arrows with one hand, using that same hand to grip his bow and the other to nock an arrow. He was quite intrigued by the ck challenger. It wasn''t that he had trouble epting the fact Aito killed hundreds, if not thousands of hobs alone. No, he wanted to know what kind of capabilities the man who''d done such a ridiculous thing had. Bai Xu opened fire, his arrow flew straight for the ck challenger''s chest, only to meet an ax de midair, severing the tip in two. ''Am I not worthy enough for him to use his shield?'' Bai Xu thought, sending a flurry of arrows. Contrary to his expectations, Aito did not dodge any, hacking most of them. The few that went through rebounded on his armor, barely leaving a scratch. ''What? My arrows didn''t manage to pierce through?'' What pissed him off the most was that Aito probably used this opportunity to improve on how to strike arrows mid flight with his ax. The ck challenger stepped forward, Bai Xu stepped back, thinking if he got into close quarter, he was done for. His only chance at winning was keeping his distances. ''In that case¡­.'' Bai Xu''s hand blurred as he rapidly drew more arrows from his inventory bag, unleashing a rain of steel tips, every one of them coated with Durability, albeit for one. ¡ªActive Skill: Piercing Shot Lv2¡ª Likest time, the ck challenger hacked most arrows with his ax while walking. However, he was underestimating him too much. Bai Xu had already seen through his defenses, the ck challenger couldn''t manage to deflect two arrows that came at the same time at different angles. Counting on that, he simultaneously sent two projectiles that perfectly mixed with the others, both coated with his active skill. However, Aito somehow managed to sense the danger behind these arrows and used his shield to block them. ''Tsk, if that doesn''t work, then¡­,'' Bai Xu thought, rapidly running in a circle around Aito who remained standing at the center of the ring. The young man sent arrows after arrows, mixing them with Piercing Shots. Finally, one Piercing Shot managed to get through Aito''s defenses, hitting him right at the center of his helmet. But it simply left arger scratch than normal arrows. ''How can this be!?'' Bai Xu thought. At that moment, while he was running and entirely focused on his immobile target at the center of the ring, Aito suddenly appeared in front of him out of nowhere. Panicked, Bai Xu stumbled a bit before dodging aside, drawing his dagger, coating it with Durability and aimed for the neck. Arge grin appeared on Bai Xu''s face as his weapon dug deep into the ck challenger''s neck that¡­ blurred and progressively disappeared like a mirage. Two bolts flew past the still dissipating illusion, their tips shining yellow lodging in both Bai Xu''s unprotected knee joints, preventing him from running any longer. "Arg! Shit!" He lost his bnce and dropped to the ground while heavy steps slowly approached him. When he finally managed to brace through his pain, he realized that a short crossbow was aiming directly for his forehead. "I¡­, I forfeit," Bai Xu said, clenching his teeth, not because of the pain, but because he knew the ck challenger had gone easy on him. Aito lowered his repeater, holstered it, and stretched his hand. "Not bad, Bai Xu. But I can''t take you into my team. You''re stillcking when ites to awareness of your surroundings. I''m not saying your awareness is bad. If that were the case, you''d have probably fallen to a hob''s aerial assassination long ago. But why did you solely focus on my illusion when it appeared? If you had kept your cool, you would have certainly been able to realize I was standing behind it. Always remain calm during a fight, even when destabilized. Also, I''d get a chain mail under your leather armor if I were you. Leather is great because it is rather light. But there are gaps in your defenses one could exploit as I did." "*Sigh*, thank you for the pointers, ck challenger. I''ll remember those," Bai Xu said, grabbing his hand. Aito helped him up, then brought him to the side for a battle surgeon to examine his wounds. Although, included Ogoro, there were currently only three battle surgeons on this floor, they ought to be enough to heal Bai Xu''s injuries. The crowd looked at the ck challenger withplicated gazes. By no means it had been a shitty spar, but they were expecting something¡­, more. To them, it hadn''t looked like Aito was struggling, nor had the upper hand. Weirdly enough, they wanted to see him eitherpletely destroy his opponents or be beaten by another challenger. Why? Because it''d make for a damn good show. "Who''s next?" Aito asked, walking back to the center of the ring. Apart from George, he expected none of the nine remaining applicants to challenge him. Next, either George would manifest his interest in sparring with him, or, like Aito was expecting, someone would challenge She or Ogoro. George was about to say something, but another applicant beat him to it. "Spar with me, ck challenger!" An exaggerated cute voice said. It belonged to a woman with a lean body, green eyes, pearl white skin, a beauty capable of toppling mountains, provoking wars, and --. She was fully dressed in ted armor, armed with a shield and a morning star¡ªa metal-spiked ball-shaped end of a il. That reminded Aito of the weapon a certain Sorcerer King had in one of his favorite movies, LOTR. ''Lucie¡­ damn it I forgot about her¡­'' Aito thought, remembering who she was. That woman has been harassing him for sex every single day when she wasn''t out hunting. She literally dered herself as his girlfriend in front of everyone. Ogoro has been poking fun at him because of this, and She simply¡­ said nothing, really. Apart from that, Lucie had been one of the few women who had managed to remain "unraped" during the Lunar Eclipse, not because of luck, but sheer strength. ''She also leveled up recently¡­ Actually, now that I take a better look at the applicants, they are all level 2. What the fuck did An put in their backpacks? Or maybe it''s because they''ve been farming for so long.'' "You''ll go easy on me, right, cky?" Lucie said, winking and smiling cutely. Her twin tails waving in the air. "You wouldn''t want to hurt your girlfriend, right?" Some people in the crowd snickered. Eager for drama, they started talking amongst each other about how the ck challenger was lucky at having such a strong and beautiful girlfriend. Ogoro chuckled. Next to him, She gave him a quick elbow strike. Unfortunately for her, her brother was wearing a full ted armor and barely felt anything, though he got the message. Aito didn''t like her one bit. Her ass was okay, a pass. But that overly exaggerated cute side pissed him off. He knew she was acting this way to appeal to the opposite sex. Someone else might be hiding underneath that mask, though. "cky¡­." Aito frowned. Amongst the nicknames or titles people called him, he hated this one the most, even more than "masochist." Why? Because of Belmand, the m*ther fucking god of sloth. ''Alright, I''ve had enough,'' he thought. If he didn''t remind other challengers what he was truly capable of, he felt like more would challenge him. Also, he wanted to give this woman a piece of his mind. He had kept his cool until now, only rejecting her with words, but enough was enough. Aito was no gentleman, not with that kind of woman, at least. Lucie stepped in front of Aito, keeping a distance of three meters in between them, and immediately coated her equipment with Durability, let loose of her morning star spiky end, lifting her shield. She might act cute, but underestimating her because of that was a grave mistake. Aito knew it. He closed his shield and sheathed his ax, seemingly getting rid of his weapon to "go easy" on her. "Ready when you are, Lucie," Aito said. Seeing this, she smiled sweetly and sent him a flying kiss. "Oh, that''s so cute of you, darling. How about a s***ky-s***ky afterward? Just you and me? Ah, right, I''m ready. Come get me, cky." Aito couldn''t help but frown again. Keeping his calm, he immediately deactivated Weight Control on his equipment, returning them to their original weight, then decreased their weight by eight times while applying Durability to his right hand, Impact to his right foot for a better footing and more propulsion. Suddenly, the ground shattered under his feet as he dashed forward at incredible speed, covering the three meters separating them in less than a second. At thest moment, he increased the weight of his entire equipment and gauntlet by three times and ovepped thetter with Impact. His fist rammed into her shield, bending the metal despite its coating,unching Lucie into the air, five-meter backward. BAM! The crowd did not have time to dodge the human projectile that struck poor spectators. Air Luciended amidst them with a shocked face. Still conscious because Aito went "easy" on her, she stumbled to her feet. "You mother fucking brute! Don''t you fucking know how to treat a wom¡ª" she tried to say, but Aito''s punch struck her temple like a truck, sending Lucie back onto the ground, unconscious this time. ''That idiot didn''t even wear her helmet, foolish,'' Aito thought as he picked her up to drop Lucie next to the medical team. He regained his ce at the center of the ring. "Who''s next?" Chapter 144 - "Friendly" Sparring Session (part 2) A silent crowd gazed at Aito standing tall at the center of the ring. His demeanor was calm and imposing. No more applicants dared challenge him. Even George, despite his strength and desire to spar with Aito, was hesitant. Aito''s previous disy of power had washed over him like a basket of cold water. He had known from the start he was no match for the ck challenger. ''But still¡­, I want to feel it. The limit between our levels,'' George thought, clenching his fist to give himself courage. Aito''s gaze was fixed on George that grabbed his giant club, advancing to the center of the ring, dressed in his full ted armor with some dents. It appeared to have suffered quite a bit during the Lunar Eclipse. "Mind having a spar with this good ol'' George?" He said, settling his huge weapon on his broad shoulder. "I was thinking you wouldn''t ask," Aito replied, unsheathing his ax, deploying his shield steel side, and returning his equipment to their original weight. Against George, he did not dare have shackles impeding his movement. Although, he forbade himself from using his ainium shield and hammer. They were useful tools, but relying on them too much would dull his senses. So unless he had no choice, he''d prefer sticking to a moremon approach. Aito might be overestimating the bear-like man''s capabilities, but ording to what he had seen that night, Aito seriously doubted he was wrong. In his opinion, George was probably a match for Aito before his level up. Coating his entire armor set and weapon with Durability, Aito said, "Ready when you are, good ol'' George." George simply smiled in response and manifested three water bullets that unted atop his right shoulder. ¡ªActive skill: Water Bullets Lv3¡ª The three wet projectiles darted towards Aito at high velocity. He sidestepped, dodging one that created a hole in the ground. Two others rammed onto his shield. Although they didn''t manage to pierce through his Durability coating, Aito could feel the power hiding behind those water balls. Plus, it dusted off the dirt that had umted with the two other fights. "Thanks for the cleaning," Aito said as he dashed towards George, whose brain couldn''t exactly process the speed. However, having observed that absurd eleration before, George already knew Aito couldn''t control it perfectly yet, that much was evident. Moreover, the linear path made it predictable, when you were expecting it, at least. When Aito entered George''s range, water gushed out from beneath him like a fountain, forming a water wall with such pressure it lifted him a few centimeters off the cobblestone and impeded his movements. ¡ªActive skill: Aqua Wall Lv2¡ª Without solid ground underneath his feet, Aito couldn''t properly exert his strength, creating a small opening. George immediately cast five water bullets this time, that looked different from before. Smaller, denser, as if they''ve been pressurized. ¡ªActive skill: Aqua Pressurization Lv3¡ª It was a skill George had leveled up, thanks to the previous rewards from the Lunar Eclipse. It affected all his water element skills, adding extra power to them. ''This isn''t good,'' Aito thought, immediately increasing the weight of his equipment by eight times. His feet touched the ground once again, barely leaving enough time for Aito to shield himself from the five high pressured water bullets. Unbnced due to his previous levitation, Aito was pushed back, his shield slightly dented by four water projectiles, digging tiny round craters, barely visible. Thest water bullet struck his helmet, adding another dent to its growing collection. Seeing an opening, George sped up forward while summoning a water wall behind him, pressurizing it further with Aqua Pressurization. Water gushed out from the ground, aligning its angle with George, pushing him towards Aito. A neatbo he had picked up while running away from hobs. Aito slightly widened his eyes when he saw the bulky man rushing at him at full speed, then smiled while rapidly lengthening his ax. His feet dug deep into the ground, cracking the cobblestone as he regained his bnce and closed his shield. One single thought passed through his mind while activating Impact on his ax de, ''Not bad at all.'' "WAAAH!" George shouted, bringing down his massive club on his sparring partner, gathering every iota of strength he had, using a physical skill. ¡ªActive Skill: Smash¡ª However, it wasn''t enough. Aito deviated the downward smash with a side sh. His morph ax bit into the club''s nk, activating Impact that pushed George''s weapon away using its own momentum. BAM! George''s club shattered the ground in a thundering noise, sending broken pieces of stones flying in multiple directions. The bear-like man hadn''t said hisst word yet; highly pressurized water bullets materialized above his shoulder. Before he could cast it, Aito rapidly closed the distance between them. Applying Impact to his left hand, struck George''s sr plexus through his armor. Stopping his casting, violently pushing him backward, a fist dent on his breastte a bit beneath his chest. To try to destabilize George, Aito sent an illusion running towards him, as he himself took another path. However¡­ "I¡­ forfeit," George dered, lifting both hands in the air, short on breath because of Aito''s previous blow. By now, he was satisfied with his performance. Even though he knew the ck challenger was still holding back, George knew he''d never be able to draw out his full strength. He had shown all his cards and lengthening the spar was useless at this point. The ck challenger wasn''t stupid to the point of falling for the same tricks again. Aito suddenly halted his steps, dispelled his illusion, grabbed the club, and walked towards George with clear satisfaction on his face. "Impressive," Aito said, handing over George''s weapon. "You even managed to destabilize me by taking into ount my predictable trajectory. Not only did you use your head, but your mastery of your skills is very potent. And now that I think about it, my teamcks a mage." George grinned, "You have a weird way¡­ of saying I passed... ck challenger." Aito shrugged, "Haha, let me rephrase it then. George Melbourn, will you join my team?" Chapter 145 - [BC]"Friendly" Sparring Session (part 3) "Well¡­ since you''recking a mage¡­ I can''t simply refuse, can I?" George grabbed his club. "It''ll be my honor, ck challenger." "Oh, please stop calling me by my title, Aito would do just fine." "Alright¡­ you''re the boss, Aito," George said before walking towards the medical team. ''Interesting guy,'' Aito thought as he watched George exiting the ring. ''I still don''t know if he''s entirely trustworthy. I''ll have to keep an eye out for any sign of betrayal. But I''ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. His skills mighte in handyter on.'' "Who''s next?" He asked, looking at applicants. None replied immediately. A few breathster, Olmera took a step forward and entered the ring. "I''d like to challenger one of your teammates, hero," she said, bowing once to pay her respect. ''Damn fanatic¡­,'' Aito thought before asking, "Who?" Olmera turned towards Ogoro, a small grin on her face. "The big guy over there." Aito smelled there was bad blood in the air between the two, but simply nodded and said nothing. If pushes to shove, he''d stop the fight. Walking outside the ring, he patted Ogoro''s shoulder, telling him to be careful, warning him Olmera had reached level 2. Ogoro simply smiled, "Doesn''t matter." Aito sent him a quizzical gaze as Ogoro walked away, heading for the center of the ring. "It is the gods'' will that we face each other again," Olmera said, coating her staff and robe in Durability. "All sins must be purged. Ready when you are, sinner." She was truly thankful to the ck challenger for giving her this opportunity. Ogoro had previously threatened her in the cathedral, something Olmera wasn''t ready to forgive. Well, Aito had indeed pped her away, but he was a hero sent by the gods¡ªor so she assumed¡ªso that did not matter. She''d happily offer him her body if he wished it so. "I fail to see why you didn''t purge yourself then," Ogoro replied, drawing out four daggers from an inventory bag strapped to his belt, coating them with Durability. He then rapidly hurled them at the bald woman, before grabbing his sword sheathed in his morpho shield that instantly deployed once he injected it with mana. Olmera used her robe to deflect the daggers and rapidly cast a fireball glowing orange-red, hurling it at Ogoro. He sidestepped, dodging the fiery projectile. Surprisingly, another was alreadying his way, her casting time was faster than the norm. She had survived the Lunar Eclipse, after all. Not only because of sheer luck, but because she could fight. Ogoro blocked it with his shield, feeling the heat of the impact. "Do you feel the divine''s wrath now, sinner!?" He clicked his tongue, dodging another fireball that smashed onto the ground, burning for a few moments before eventually dissipating. ''Those fireballs volleys aren''t about to end soon if she''s got Mana at level 3. So annoying,'' Ogoro breathed in, breathed out, then activated his gift, enhancing his sense of touch. He could feel the changes of temperature in the air, the breath of the crowd surrounding him. That ability has gued him until now because he hated how gross it felt. However, it was undeniably an asset during fights. With some training, he had managed to increase his control and tolerance to it. He charged straight for the old hag. Feeling the change of temperature, he could assess the trajectory of her projectiles with more ease, helping him dodge any iing fireballs. However, when he was almost in striking range, he sensed a drastic shift in the heat beneath his feet and instantly backstepped. ¡ªActive skill: Fire Pir Lv1¡ª A two meter (6.5ft) fire pir rose from the ground, blocking Ogoro''s path. Its scorching heat forced him to take a few steps back. He had never really faced a mage before, one on one. If it were a warrior or archer, he could have managed, but magic was something beyond his domain of expertise. Suddenly, another pir of fire appeared. Ogoro barely dodged it, but a fireball bit into his chest. ''Hot! Hot! Hot!.'' Keeping him at a distance was crucial for Olmera. She knew close-quarter wasn''t her forte. In what looked like a desperate attempt to reach her, Ogoro threw his sword, aiming for her chest. Olmera simply grinned as she bashed it away with her staff. "Haha! See! The gods are with me!" At that point, Aito thought about intervening, but something about his teammate''s poise told him it wasn''t necessary. Ogoro dashed again towards his opponent, dodging the fiery projectiles. When he estimated that this circus hadsted long enough for Olmera to stop paying attention to her surroundings, he injected mana into his gauntlet. The thin wires attached to the daggers and sword he had previously thrown came alive, lifting the weapons in the air. After the Lunar Eclipse, Ogoro had used his rewards to level up his passive skill String Mastery, increasing his control over wires or string-type weapons and skills. Practicing day and night, he barely got a hang of it. To be sure it worked, he wanted Olmera''s attention elsewhere at first. He moved his fingers, sending his weapon flying towards Olmera. Too busy, the pyromaniac only saw, at thest minute, the floating weapons heading her way. Some daggers rebounded on her robe, one managed to get through but was repelled by her clothes coated in Durability. Without much momentum and power, the sword didn''t fare any better. "Ahahaha! Is that all you got, sinner! Commendable but still a petty attemp¡ªUrg," she tried to say. However, Ogoro wasn''t exactly done. Closing his fist, using the weapons as counterweights, the wires wrapped around Olmera''s body, imprisoning her. Ogoro pulled, tightening his hold. Where they touched skin, his wires slowly but surely sliced through Olmera''s flesh. Steel wires wrapped around her neck threatened to strangle, or worse, behead her. He walked slowly towards Olmera in the scorching heat, making sure to maintain a good hold between them, then stopped before the distance would be too short for the wires to be efficient. "Forfeit, or I''ll purge you of your sins," he said, tightening his hold on her entire body. In response, she tried to cast another fire pir. In response, Ogoro pulled so hard on his wires it strangled her, impeding her ability to think. No more response came as she fell unconscious. Ogoro approached her, ced a hand on her t chest, using his enhanced touch to feel her pulse. "*Sigh* What a stubborn old hag. I almost killed her," he said, retracting his wires, dragging her body to the medical team. No piggyback or princess carry for the old hag. With burn injuries all over his body, he refused any other sparring offers and sat on the side to heal his wounds. Since he was out, six other applicants'' gazes focused on She. Chapter 146 - "Friendly" Sparring Session (part 4) She took position at the center of the ring. A man with long blonde hair wearing a chainmail underneath a leather armor was standing on the opposite side of her. With his spear in hand, the steel tip oriented towards her, he said, winking, "Nice to see you again, beautiful." If Aito had attracted the attention of female challengers¡ªand a few men¡ªShe had done the same with males. After refusing numerous propositions, she was tired of seeing faces filled with lust. Using the invisibility cloak, she''d avoid certain persistent bastards. Noah, the challenger facing her, was one of them. Noah wanted to join Aito''s team to follow She around. Infatuated with her, he truly desired to get "a shot at the goal." Now that he was level 2, he felt more confident about his capabilities at challenging the sixth floor, so why not? She was not particrly inclined to let him have his way with her. Now that, in this life, She could decide when, how, where, and who she''d like to bed, there was no way in hell a man such as Noah would touch her. Moreover, he did not exactly suit her taste, not that She knew what she liked about men. Having been educated to follow orders, there had been little room for feelings. If it weren''t for Ogoro''s kindness, she certainly would have be akin to a robot in terms of personality. Although, now that she was part of a team with apanion she could trust, She was progressively opening herself up. Letting loose of all those feelings that had been confined far into her subconscious, rarely surfacing in her past life. More and more, she started to ask herself questions she had never considered before. What kind of food do I like? What should I do with my newly gained freedom? What kind of men suit my taste? Do I have any taste in men? What is even love? Am I¡­ allowed to love? All those weird questions she had denied herself before surfaced during the Lunar Eclipse. Something throbbed inside her chest for some reason she remained oblivious to. Being a rational person, she rarely showed her emotions in public. In front of Ogoro alone, she didn''t mind. Yet, after her revival, one event after another followed, where she somehow allowed herself to let out her frustration, anger, joy, sadness, satisfaction. And most of them were linked to one person in particr. One man. She felt weird about that iprehensible feeling. There were no rational exnations for it. That frustrated her to the utmost. Before she could find a certain logic to this¡­ unknown, She didn''t n on letting it out¡ªnot intentionally, at least. She stared at her opponent, analyzing every single detail that crossed her vision. Noah''s stance, center of gravity, his gaze full of lust behind his helmet''s visor. Her morpho bow in short mode, she nocked an arrow that glowed yellow, then the temperature around the steel tip progressively lowered as she activated her new ability. ¡ªActive skill: Frozen Arrow¡ª "Ready," she said, calmly eyeing her sparring partner. "Here Ie, beautiful," Noah said, coating his armor in Durability before rushing straight for She. She aimed directly at his chest. Noah prepared to receive the shot. That didn''te. In a swift motion, She shifted her target and let loose of her bowstring. The cobblestone in front of Noah immediately froze, bing icy. Toote to dodge, with the momentum and weight, his foot slipped, forcing his entire body to fall, losing sight of his opponent. Once he stood up and stepped out of the frozen area, Noah realized She was nowhere to be seen. "Forfeit or die," a feminine voice said from behind him. Noah was about to object, but he felt a cold feeling near his neck. Lowering his gaze, he saw an arrow coated with ice element properties, its tip oriented towards an unprotected area of his neck. "Wow, easy there, beautiful," Noah said, lifting both hands in a sign of submission. "It''s just a spar." "Forfeit or die," She repeated, cing her arrow tip against his throat. In consequence, Noah''s skin progressively lost heat. "Arg, it''s cold! Alright, alright, but before I do, mind answering one of my questions?" Noah asked. No reply came. Interpreting that as a positive answer, he continued. "Would you please marry me?" Aito and Ogoro''s jaws almost dropped to the ground at that absurd proposal. A possible new rumor arose with the crowd speaking amongst themselves. She''s brow twitched. ''Why is that man spouting such bullshit?'' "I''ve been infatuated with you since the first time I saw you, She. My love suddenly appeared out of nowhere like a lightning strike. I can''t stop thinking about you. Dying once without knowing love was my greatest regret. But now that I found it in this second life, I''m ready to do anything to keep it, to keep you safe from harm." ''Love¡­,'' She pondered while keeping a firm hold on him. She did not reciprocate such feelings, not the way Noah meant it, at least. To her mind, her affection for Ogoro could also be called love, but was a fraternal one. She understood it wasn''t the same love Noah talked about. Of course, She theoretically knew what it was supposed to be. But knowing and understanding were different. Then a thought stroke her, maybe she could use him to gather information on the subject. To find a rational meaning to it. "Why do you love me?" She asked indifferently. "That¡­, uh," Noah hesitated to answer at first. "I don''t know¡­, it''s not a rational feeling after all. I just do. There is nothing more to it." Thinking her question may have been badly formted and unsatisfied with his answer, she said, "WHAT do you love about me?" Noah smiled as he seemed to find that question easier to give an answer to. "I love the way you move your beautiful body. I love your long raven ck hair. Your lc smell. Your sumptuous curves. I love your blue eyes and the way you stare at everyone like they are mere lowly dogs." Even the crowd was shocked at thest part of his answer. From his resting ce, Ogoro covered his mouth to prevent hisugh from reaching his sister. Aito observed the situation calmly, with a mocking grin on his face, ready to intervene if things turned sour¡ªalthough he felt a bit pissed. Everyone knew at that moment Noah was a real masochist in search of a sadist to satisfy his deepest desires. To She, every single of Noah''s reasons felt wed and, most of all, filled with lust. Certain she wouldn''t gain anything more from this man, she answered his previous question, "I decline your proposal. Now, forfeit or die." Noah''s heart shattered in a thousand pieces, but his lust for rose, reaching sky high. Her response was cold, straightforward, and rough. Exactly how he liked them! However, the fact he could not have her saddened him. As weird as it sounded, Noah felt like he wouldn''t be able to go on living without her. If they parted ways now, she''d eventually find someone. Sure, she looked close to the ck challenger, but Noah was certain nothing was going on between the two. That wasn''t the problem. The problem was just the thought of another manying his hand on her disgusted him. He wanted her all for himself! Apanying her to make sure none of that happened was his duty! But with an arrow threatening to freeze and pierce his throat, Noah forfeited the spar and all his chances of getting into the ck challenger''s team. She withdrew her arrow, turned back, started to exit the ring, and stopped when she heard an rming sound behind her. Noah hadn''t given up just yet. Lifting his spear on top of his shoulder, he looked ready for a second round. "She! If I can''t have you, then no one else will!" He said, activating his strongest skill, hurling his weapon with all his strength. ¡ªActive skill: Power Throw¡ª She coated her cloak with durability just in time to defend herself against the spear aimed at her chest. Its steel tip couldn''t pierce the cloth, but the momentum of the attack went through. Her weavedmail and leather armor absorbed a part of the shock. The rest was transferred to her rib cage. Bending, cracking, it still managed to stop the powerful throw. "What? How did you survive this?" Furious, Aito wanted to step in right away, but seeing She''s angry face, he decided to restrain himself. Vengeance was not his, but hers. Gritting her teeth, She dealt with the pain silently. Discarding the spear, she drew a handful of arrows from her inventory bag, coated them with Frozen Arrow, firing them one after the other. Always aiming for his chest. Hands in front of him, Noah protected his head while advancing, trying to reach his spear. Each shot, however, impacted the same area every time. Scratching, denting, piercing, weakening, and freezing his breastte and chainmail beneath it. Thanks to his aura coating his equipment, he managed to lessen the freezing effect. She lengthened her morpho bow for more power, took out an arrow, and went invisible. She stepped out of Noah''s way, taking this time to infuse andbine skills on her arrow. ¡ªActive skill: Durability¡ª ¡ªActive skill: Piercing shot¡ª ¡ªActive skill: Frozen arrow¡ª Activating Hawk Eye for more precision, she nocked her arrow and pulled on her bowstring when Noah finally reached his spear, dissipating her invisibility. She released her bowstring, propelling the arrow so fast that with such a short distance, Noah had no time to react when it pierced his chest, breaching his rib cage, freezing his lungs and heart. Noah dropped dead, with a painful expression on his face and, true to his sadism, a bulge under his pants. ''Lustful bastard,'' She thought as she left the ring for the medical team. A silent crowd traced her steps. Aito strode to the center of the ring, picked up Noah''s corpse, walked away, stealthily extracted his soul core, then hurled the corpse onto a main road. Nobody opposed his decision. When he came back, since his teammates were recuperating and no one dared challenge him, he announced the end of the sparring session. Chapter 147 - The Sixth Floor (part 1) The sparring session ended on a grim note with the death of one level 2 challenger, but nobodyined. By now, they knew death was part of the Tower. It could be said they started bing ustomed to it. After the siblings and George''s injuries were treated by the medical team, Aito brought them all inside for a meeting. There, in a corner of the cathedral, he weed George into the team with a meal and informed him of their intention to clear the Tower. Surprisingly, George''s own goal aligned with Aito''s. Most challengers did not even think about clearing the Tower. They were already aware the higher one went, the more dangerous it got. That was the reason most of them tried to acquire a certain amount of power before going to the next floor. To be certain to survive it. A prudent move. It slowed down their climb but guaranteed a higher survival ratio. That''s why after a bit more than two months now, only a few challengers reached the sixth floor. Aito theorized by the end of the Tower, at least all the veterans that survived the Lunar Eclipse would have reached the sixth floor and a few dozen would have tried their hands on the seventh floor. Also, the higher one went, the longer it took to get down. There was no magical portal or elevator. That was even more true from the fifth floor onwards. For instance, from the cathedral, Aito and his team would have to head to the northern border of the city to ess the stairs leading upward. Just that alone would take a few hours at a normal pace. During their meeting, George also shared his status window with the team, so that they would know his abilities better. Knowledge about your teammates'' capabilities was crucial for proper cooperation. ¡ª¡ª [George Melbourn] [I. General Info] Death: March 17th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Male Age: 35 Height: 195cm Weight: 110kg Emotional state: Content ss: Lv2 Apprentice Warrior Mage Titles: Blue Challenger, Nosy Guy [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Mana blessed (Boost mana by 1 level) - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level) 2. Skills: Passive: - Water Attribute Mastery Lv3 - Club Mastery Lv2 - Poison Resistance Lv1 Active: - Water Bullets Lv3 (Hurls up to five water bullets.) - Aqua Wall Lv2 (Conjure a water wall.) - [Lv Up!] Aqua Pressurization Lv2 (Pressurize the host''s water element skills.) - Durability Lv2 - Smash Lv2 (A powerful downward smash that uses every iota of the host''s strength. Capable of crushing rocks.) [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv3 - Body: Lv3 - Stamina: Lv2 - [Lv Up!] Agility: Lv2 - Mana: Lv3 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ____ Apparently, he had used his reward to level up Aqua Pressurization and his Agility stat that had remained at level 1. Of course, the siblings and Aito revealed their status window to him¡ªthough Aito kept a few pieces of information hidden, just in case. One interesting information George brought up was that he would gain a new skill each time he leveled up, thanks to the god he had sworn an oath pact with. Something Aito and the siblings had heard about before but never experienced for a very obvious reason. Their powers came from the piece of a candle, an info they did not reveal. Everyone had their secrets, after all. George looked like an open book. However, Aito was certain he hid something from them. Keeping a few cards up one''s sleeve was normal, so he didn''t intend to push George to reveal his. An hour after dinner was over, Aito gave Noah''s core to Ogoro and monitored him while the grey-haired man absorbed it. On top of being weakened, Noah''s soul had just reached level 2, decreasing any risk factor stemming from digesting it. Also, Ogoro had a stronger soul than before, thanks to his previous absorption of a level 2 soul. Thankfully, one hourter, a blue light enveloped Ogoro''s body due to the excess of energy exiting his body. An indicator of a level up. ¡ª¡ª [Ogoro Ryu] [I. General Info] Death: March 15th, 2030 Specie: Human Sex: Male Age: 30 Height: 200cm Weight: 95kg Emotional state: Satisfied ss: Lv2 Apprentice Surgeon Titles: Red Challenger, Onii-Chan, Aspiring Hero [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - [Sharpened!] Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch. Slight increase in sensitivity) - Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level) - Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level) - Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level) 2. Skills: Passive: - Weapons Mastery Lv3 - [Lv Up!] String Mastery Lv2 - Poison Resistance Lv1 Active: - Binding String Lv1 (Can manifest a string made of aura to physically bind a target) - Recovery String Lv1 (The host is capable of manipting aura in the shape of a string to sew and heal someone else''s internal or external injuries) - [Lv Up!] Durability Lv2 [III. Basic stats] - Strength: Lv2 - Body: Lv2 - Stamina: Lv3 - Agility: Lv2 - [Lv Up!] Mana: Lv3 - Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points) ¡ª¡ª Level up from level 1 to 2 might not seem like much on the outside, but it created a real difference. First, the mana level increased, allowing challengers to activate more skills for a longer time. Second, not only mana but the soul level goes up a notch, increasing the quantity of soul force, reducing the risks of a feeless state. Moreover, it prepared challengers for their ascension by erging the soul core. Aito''s case was special, a product of luck, coincidences, stubbornness, but also sheer willpower. For instance, if he hadn''t been in presence of so many corpses, Aito would have never seeded in his ascension. That, in itself, could be called luck. While Ogoro and Aito chatted, She observed them from the side. Her blue eyes were glued to one person in particr, reflecting a particr interest as she took the time to ponder about her emotional state. A luxury She rarely had in the Tower, for death loomed in every corner. *** The next day. News about the Lunar Eclipse event had time to spread to the lower floors in three days. Gwen hadughed with satisfaction at her pupil''s performance. Ainar was happy his investment hadn''t died somewhere under a pile of hobs. And Kai seriously started to regret his decisions of forceful recruitment. Neers arriving on the fifth floor in the morning all looked for the ck challenger in the cathedral but found none fitting his description. Veterans further confirmed their suspicions that the ck challenger had departed for the sixth floor. Amongst the neers, Meilin who had finally managed to clear the fourth floor with her team, was the most disappointed. She had never thought Aito would clear his quest so soon. Northward, kilometers away from the cathedral, Aito''s team easily forced their way through groups of hobs. With George''s addition to the team, they adopted a new formation. Aito would lead the way since he mainly had melee skills, was physically more resilient and was also the leader. Ogoro stayed in the middle, using his wires to impede hobs movements and attack. She would remain behind the front lines with George, killing enemies from a distance. George would step in with his club if he found any gaps in the formation that needed filling. It wasn''t exactly perfect, but it did the job. At first, George had difficulty fitting in the formation. Cooperating with people who had personalities and fighting styles he was not familiar with had a lot to do with it. But he was a talented challenger¡ªat least he thought so. With each battle, he progressively limated himself with the team, understanding more and more how they worked together. What he didn''t know was Aito''s team was pretty new, though. A few hourster, when the fake sun reached its zenith, Aito''s team almost made it to the sixth floor''s staircase. Decrepit grey buildings on each side. Fissured cobblestone underneath their feet. Hobs on the rooftops, behind some broken windows, balcony, and in a carriage rapidly heading their way. "GLU GLAAAA!" She and George took one side each. Launching volleys of water bullets and arrows, covered by a water wall that prevented enemy projectiles from reaching them. Ogoro used his wires to bring hobs in hiding onto streets, crashing them against the ground. At some point, he rapidly climbed a building with his wires. Arriving on the second floor, he unsheathed his sword, mercilessly killing every hob in the room. Unaffected by the many projectiles thrown at him, Aito coated his ax with abination of skill, lengthened it, then hurled it at the iing carriage pulled by ten hobs. His ax trimmed everything in its way, cutting down two hobs after the others, impacting the vehicle with such power it halted its course, shattering it, cleaving the carriage in two. Aito deactivated Weight Control on himself¡ªa shackle he used for training¡ªreturning his equipment to their original weight and dashed towards the hobs at incredible speed. Using his fists, shield, and feet to crush them to a pulp like a real barbarian. The fight ended fairly quickly, with no chance whatsoever for the hobs toe out on top. Aito''s team gathered the soul cores and arrows. Then, with the way cleared, they finally left for the sixth floor. On the staircase, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As per usual, light bulbs of seafoam color were all around the ce on each side of the wall. "What do you think is waiting for us up there?" George asked, his club settled on his shoulder, a big backpack strapped to his back. "Hum, certainly a lot of creatures¡­, again," Ogoroined. Staring at Aito''s back, She did not reply as she prepared for any eventuality. "Stay on your guard. We have too little information on the sixth floor onwards to chat leisurely," Aito warned. "Aye sir," Ogoro said. "Yes boss," George said. Aito rolled his eyes. He had a feeling those two would be really good friends. Once the team exited the staircase, it led them to a vast, arid area. Gusts of wind brought a few grains of sands to their eyes, pping She''s cloak. Surprisingly, the stair led to¡­ the middle of nowhere. Two suns shone brightly on the horizon. Weing them with scorching heat. Suddenly, as he stepped further away from the staircase, a tingling feeling ran down Aito''s spine. "Ambush!" He shouted. Chapter 148 - The Sixth Floor (part 2) Around one hundred ck-skinned creatures previously lying in ambush emerged from the sand, surrounding Aito''s team, barring their way to the staircase. As tall as Ogoro, with bulging muscles, they looked extremely intimidating. Every one of them was wearing metallic protections with cloaks to protect them against the two suns'' heat. Some held war hammers that seemed to be crafted with intriguing yellow rocks. Others had long crossbows charged with bolts and bs resilient enough to trap a challenger with a level 2 strength, maybe level 3. Never would have Aito imagined that orcs would wait for challengers right next to the staircase. Aito immediately spread his domain, automatically activating his gift''s other ability, enabling him to sense those orcs'' danger level. His five senses went on high alert when he felt their power. At least half of the orcs were at level 2. He would be fine, but his teammates were in serious danger. Before he could warn them and get into formation, the orcs started their attack. "Kru Kul Ka!" A particrlyrge orc who appeared to be the leader said. Surprisingly, Aito understood a part of its sentence. If he guessed it right, it meant "Capture them!" Immediately after, the orcs'' armors and weapons glowed yellow, attesting to their use of a skill challengers knew too well. Theyunched a volley of bolts to probe the team''s defense. Next to She and Ogoro, George shielded one side with a water wall. However, the orcs'' bolts managed to get through but were deviated from their original trajectory due to the water pressure. With no time to reorganize, Aito released his shackles, lengthened his morpho ax, and dashed towards orcs charging at him with their huge ass hammers. Trying to cut down as many of them as possible to reduce the risk of danger for his team. The imposing orc leader saw its soldiers'' predicament, but, somehow, a glint of interest shed by its eyes as he literally contemted the strength of the man wielding an ax. shing and hacking, Aito obliterated their first line of offense in a matter of seconds, despite their armor being coated in durability. However, Orcs proved to be worthy foes. Expert in close-quarterbat and smarter than hobs, they immediately reviewed their battle tactics. They encircled Aito, trying to trap him with their numbers. Perfectly synchronized, the orcs attacked him at the same time, narrowing Aito''s possibilities. But they widened their eyes with shock when they were met with a real tornado of de and wind. ¡ªActive skill: Cyclone Lv2¡ª Rotating at unbelievable speed, Aito cut through their armor with more difficulty than he would with hobs. A flurry of wind des progressively wounded nearby orcs, cutting shallow wounds on their tough ck skin. "KLA!" The orc leader ordered, its rough voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield. Too busy dealing with orcs, Aito couldn''t understand what it just said. Immediately after, thirty orc archers positioned on dunes charged their bs, aimed, and concentrated their fire on the team, without targeting Aito on purpose. With their high ground, they would be able to avoid trapping most of their allies with bs. Amidst this mess, She and the others barely had time to see bs arrive from behind enemy lines. Some bs wrapped around warrior orcs'' bodies, who fell with an angry expression on their faces, pissed to have been shot by their own allies. George summoned another water wall to block the iing projectiles, adding Aqua Pressurization for more power, repelling five or six bs. Ogoro and She managed to dodge the volley, more by luck than skill. Orcs all around them were able to use durability. They couldn''t get through their tough glowing armor with ease as they had done with hobs and goblins. One orc was already hard to overpower, but a hundred of them? It was hell. Fortunately, Aito probably upied half of their numbers. If it weren''t for him, the team would have already fallen. However, having difficulty pushing them back, She, Ogoro and George''s formation was starting to waver. A few orcs could even contend with George''s brute force. When it came to technique, the siblings had the upper hands on them, but theypensated that with their numbers and thick armors. "KLA!" Another volley of bsing from all around flew over the enemy lines, trapping a few orcs. George managed to block some. Fighting orcs with his wires and sword, Ogoro barely had enough time to say shit when he felt something wrapped around his upper body. Thanks to her agility, She remained out of reach. Surprisingly, orcs didn''t outright kill Ogoro. Instead, they dragged him out of the battle. "Give him back!" She shouted, losing her cool, sending one frozen arrow after another. Unfortunately for her, with the scorching heat, the orcs'' durability, and their numbers, it did little to get her brother back. On his side, Aito heard She''s voice, deployed his shield ainium side, loaded it with durability, and bashed the shit out of orcs, creating some breathing space to take a quick look at the situation. "KLA!" A new volley of bs flew straight for George and She. Without Ogoro, their formation was messy, filled with openings. Swarmed, there was nothing they could do when bs trapped their upper body and orcs dragged them towards their leader. Seeing this, Aito hastily ran at his teammates'' rescue, furiously sending orcs flying on his way. Standing on a small dune with its mighty war ax and huge tower shield, the orc leader nodded with content at Aito''s disy of power. Orcs revered power, brute strength, and martial prowess above all. Although it knew it had almost chances of winning against the human, following their tradition, it truly wanted to have a proper duel with it. However, now was not the time. It needed to capture humans for the Sacred Event happening soon. Hopefully, the Khan would be content with its find. Humans have rarely ventured on their territory. Luckily, they had captured eight of them a few days ago, plus these four and those already in their cells, it should be enough to hold their Sacred Event. Ogoro was brought next to the leader, who immediately seized him, removed his helmet, and ced its ax de on Ogoro''s throat. "No!" Aito said, rushing towards the orc leader. The sand under his feet did not provide enough support for him to fully take advantage of his stats. The orc leader shouted something, and the orcs around Aito halted their step, backing away from him. Seeing the huge orc tightening its hold on Ogoro, the ck challenger himself stopped in his tracks. It then opened its wide, toothy mouth with two husks pointing upward. Aito managed to pick up a few words. "I¡­ Krugan. You¡­ Stop¡­ kill him," Krugan dered. The orc then pointed towards She and George, who had been made hostages by orcs holding daggers to their throats. ''Shit, this is bad,'' Aito thought. It didn''t take a genius to figure out those orcs were threatening to kill his teammates if he continued rampaging. ''What should I do? A sh ball? No¡­ their eyes are already ustomed to the light. A boom ball? Idiot¡­ it won''t be of any use here. The Suicidal Horn? No, if I move that thing might just cut Ogoro''s throat and I don''t even know if it works correctly on level 2 monsters." Aito''s brain was working at full capacity, rapidly analyzing how they could get out of this mess. However, no matter how he looked at things, there was no way THEY could escape. But HE could. On his own, that is. If he were to surrender now, what guaranteed the orcs would keep them alive? Maybe they had captured his teammates to stop him. Once he was unarmed, perhaps they''d try to kill him. Even on the off chance they kept them alive, Aito didn''t know what they intended to do with them. It was too risky a choice to listen to Krugan or whatever that orc was called. Aito''s best bet would be to leave his teammates behind, clear the sixth floor''s mission that consisted of killing 30 orcs and make a run for the seventh floor. That would be the most logical solution he could think of. However, was it the best choice? Was it what he wanted to do? [If it is power you seek, go with them. Lay down your weapon and surrender.] Valinar said through the system. ''You again!? Don''t you have anything else to do but try to use me?'' Aito said mentally. ''I don''t need your help, goddess. Just get out of my head.'' After his Ascension, Valinar had kept silent, watching from the side and maybe digesting her failure at gaining Aito''s trust. [Indeed, you don''t need it. But I need yours. I''m sorry if I previously offended you mortal. However, I simply wanted to lend a helping hand in order to gain your trust. That is my most sincere thoughts.] ''Are you just¡­ apologizing? In this time and ce? Really!?'' "Human!" Kugran eximed, "Surrender¡­ or¡­ kill him!" Aito tightened his grip on his ax. His gaze traveled from Ogoro to George and finally She, who kept shaking her head. Telling him not to obey Krugan. ''Although I''m surprised by your apology, know that I will never trust you, goddess,'' Aito said mentally, gripping his ax with so much strength his palm shone white and bones cracked. ''I don''t know what your goal is or what you want. But I know what I want right now.'' He loosened his grip on his ax.. It heavily dropped onto the sand in a loud thud that seemed to reverberate on the entire battlefield. Chapter 149 - The Sixth Floor (part 3) After his surrender, Aito''s team was deprived of their weapons, backpacks, and inventory bags. Orcs even took Ogoro thread weaver''s gauntlet. They had to be blind not to see wires hade out of it after seeing many of theirrades fall or be trapped by them. Chained, the team was forced to follow the orcs. Their leader, Krugan, kept Ogoro hostage next to it, probably in case Aito would do something it deemed unnecessary. Sweat rapidly exited Aito''s pores. With the two suns and the sand''s umted heat, the sixth floor''s temperature reached 80¡ãC (176¡ãF), maybe more. Aito''s metallic armor did not help cover him from this excruciating heat. Be it cold or hot, steel had the particrity to rapidly transmit temperature. Thankfully, the fur and leather underneath it slightly alleviated his plight. With his body at level 4, Aito managed to get by somehow. George also seemed okay, pouring his head from time to time with water using his skill Water Bullet. She had trouble keeping up, but did notin. Her cloak offered a better protection against the suns than the others. Seeing her predicament, George sent drops of water her way, easing her condition. On guard, orcs had looked at him suspiciously at first but left him alone once they understood he would not do anything. Taken hostage, the team kept silent. If they even tried to talk, orcs would force them to shut up. Sands, cactuses, and the blurry heat reflection were all the scenery they saw for hours on end. The chains trapping their wrists were boiling hot. Albeit for Aito, the other''s skin reddened. The temperature reached an unprecedented height when they passed by the ruins of what looked like signs of human civilization on the surface. Dead exotic trees, an empty crater that appeared to have been filled with water, decrepit empty white buildings. Krugan ordered its army to stop their march. Orcs entered the abandoned buildings'' shadows, seeking refuge from the suns. Those were currently at their zenith, bringing the temperature up to 120¡ãC (248¡ãF). Even for them who were used to this environment, this particr time of the day was a bit demanding but not deadly. The orc leader only stopped here for the humans. Aito found it weird that two suns would bring so much heat just by reaching their peak. Also, when they had left the fifth floor, it was around noon already. Either that meant time flowed differently on the sixth floor, or thews of nature weren''t exactly the same. Surely, with two suns, daylight would stay longer before nightfall. Maybe there was no night on the sixth floor. ''Damn¡­ I would kill for a drop of water,'' Aito thought inside a building, looking at Krugan still holding Ogoro while drinking a greenish transparent liquid from a crude leather gourd. Aito has been observing them for a while, searching for any opening he could exploit. Ironically, there was only one orc guarding him, the others were mostly surrounding his teammates. Apparently, they knew that all of them together might not be his match and used Aito''s team to prevent him from taking action. That alone was proof enough orcs were iparable to hobs and goblins in a matter of intelligence. Smarter, stronger, and organized, they were formidable foes. Aito theorized that unbuffed, he could take on one hundred of them, maybe two hundred, but three hundred were overstretched. Leaning against a wall, Krugan eyed him from his position, wiped the liquid off his wide mouth and approached him, stretching hisrge hand with the gourd in it. "Drink," the orc leader said. Such a simple word got tranted by the system, entering Aito''s brain. Thirsty, seeing as the orc leader had previously drunk that content, and since he also had poison resistance, Aito did not refuse. ording to Gwen''s knowledge, orcs were not the type to poison their opponents. They preferred a more direct approach and considered cowardly to kill their enemies with what they deemed lowly methods. In that sense, it was truly surprising orcs had taken hispanion hostage. Eyeing the orc suspiciously, he grabbed the gourd with his chained hands, smelled then drank the content, and was surprised at how disgusting it was. He swallowed the content nheless. "It¡­ cactus¡­ liquid," Krugan said. With no water in the desert, orcs cut down cactuses to press their meat, extracting the water stored inside. It didn''t taste good, far from it, but it made for a great substitute for hydration. "Hum,¡­ not picky," Krugan said. "Good." Aito gave the gourd back to Krugan, who passed it to Aito''s teammates. One by one, they drank the cactus juice, alleviating their thirst. The orc leader then returned to his corner, sat, and rest while keeping an eye out for Aito. Going out in this heat was out of the question. There was still an hour or two before reaching the city. They already had traveled for long enough under this scorching heat. Any longer and it could affect its captives. The goal wasn''t to kill nor weaken them, but bring them back in one piece for the Sacred Event taking ce in four days. They needed to be in top shape if any honorable fight were to be had. Of course, orcs would also participate in the sacred event. In fact, Krugan nned on fighting in it. Orcs called it the Grand Duels. Kugran couldn''t recall exactly how it came to be, but it knew that it was to celebrate a past glorious battle against humans. In the city''s arena, humans that had been captured would fight the orcs'' during three challenges. The first one was simple enough. Orcs would send their young warriors to fight against humans. If the humans survived, they would be allowed to ess the second challenge; a fight against the orc''s best warriors. As for the third andst challenge, well, all human survivors would be allowed to fight the Kh¨¹l, which was basicaly a death sentence. Even Krugan and his Khan, the orc chief, feared the kh¨¹l''s power. Although, Krugan was curious about that human who showed strengthparable to his khan. It truly hoped to encounter Aito during the Grand Duels. A few hourster, the two suns set on the horizon, but a third sun rose in the illusionary sky of the sixth floor. Sensing the temperature lower to a bearable degree, Krugan ordered his army to resume the march, bringing their prisoners with them, of course, leaving the ruined vige. The sand progressively changed into firm, hot, dry rocks as Aito followed the orcs. Soon, a grand canyon showed up on the horizon, stretching for kilometers. Standing on its edge, Aito''s eyes widened in wonder as he saw a city carved in the stone. Myriads of bridges, pathways linked the higher habitations together. He had trouble seeing what was on the ground floor, but from the looks of it, there were orcs walking along a river, abundant with vegetation. A real paradise in this arid area. ''I have to admit, I didn''t expect that,'' Aito thought, watching the scenery from above. ''Why is there a whole civilization on this floor?'' Goblins had their habitats but calling them a civilization was a bit overstretched. Hobs had only been lodging in buildings, waiting for their preys toe. But orcs, orcs were the real deal. Which rose one question. Did the gods really create an entire civilization to test challengers? To Aito''s mind, it looked a bit too absurd. The gods could have just created monsters that attacked challengers on sight in order to train them. Why go to the length of creating a poption that seemed to have its own culture and way of life? He couldn''t exactly understand their intention. He smelled something fishy going on with the floors. The more he climbed, the more surprising floors became. Well, maybe it was just the case with the Hunting Grounds.. He didn''t know. Chapter 150 - [BC] The Sixth Floor (part 4) As Aito followed the army down a staircase carved directly from the canyon and got closer to the bottom, he realized there were more to orcs than met the eyes. They had ntations next to the river, using an irrigation method to water their nts. There were market ces where one could find all sorts of food, ranging from vegetables to meat. White clothes with hoodies,rge hats in an oval shape were traded. Even tools like pickaxes or weapons like hammers could be found in this marketce. And it appeared merchants didn''t exchange their goods for money, but traded them against something else they considered had an equal value. Moreover, there wasn''t exactly an abundance of goods, but just the necessary amount. Life was hard in the desert. With so few resources for thousands of them, orcs had to optimize their trades and avoid waste. Reaching ground level, Aito walked towards the northern part of the canyon, passing by intrigued gazes of dark-skinned children with tusks. Curious, some even dared approach him, looking at him with their yellow pupils. Adults looked at him and his teammates unimpressed though, whispering words in orcish that sounded clearer and clearer to Aito. It seemed that the system was rapidly adapting his goblinnguage''s knowledge, transforming it into orcish. "Behold, human, the¡­. of Krukhanon," Krugan said, next to him. Ogoro did not understand one bit of the orc leader''s words. Although they were enemies, and he hated Krugan''s guts, Aito couldn''t help but nod. "So you do understand me after all," Krugan said. "I''ve been suspecting it for a while ago already. You grabbing the gourd confirmed it once. And your physical response to my question confirmed it twice. You can talk if you want. My soldiers won''t stop you." ''Shit,'' Aito thought, knowing his ability had been discovered. He intended to hide it so that he could spy on their conversations. Gathering information to escape this ce. However, the orc leader didn''t seem like a muscle for brain type. Quite the contrary in fact. "You can keep quiet and pretend you don''t understand us if you want. Doesn''t matter, where you''re going, your ability won''t harm my people. None of my kind wille to talk to you in prison." Aito stayed silent for a while, avoiding Krugan''s gaze, observing the crowd gathering around them. Orc females ran into the embrace of some warriors in the army, cing their foreheads tenderly against one another. Others had somber faces when they couldn''t find their loved ones. Some children cried, sending furious gazes at Aito and his team. Even insulting them. He avoided crossing their eyes, thinking the guilt would creep up if he did. By all means, he had just defended himself, so there was nothing to feel guilty about. But a crying child''s face, even an orc, had that kind of power capable of making you feel guilty. Aito wanted none of that. He didn''te here to empathize with intelligent creatures supposedly created by the gods. Passing by the crowd, the orcs and their captives reached a peculiar ce in the canyon. It wasrge, round, devoid of habitation. The canyon walls were filled with rows of seats carved into the stone. "This is our most sacred ce," Krugan said, "and also where you''ll be fighting for your life in four days during the sacred event." "You''ve just captured us to fight in this arena like diators?" Aito asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "All this for organizing a little game?" "Finally speaking, but be careful of what you''re saying, human. The sacred event isn''t just a game, it is glory itself," Krugan said, grunting. "I don''t know what diators are, but yes, you and your kind will be fighting us during the Grand Duel. I hope to meet you there. It''ll be such a glorious battle. If you manage toe out alive of the Grand Duel, we will grant you your freedom." Standing by the side, Ogoro frown as he tried to understand what Aito was saying. To him, he was speaking an unknownnguage. "There is no glory in death," Aito said. "It is not death we worship, but the courage to face it. As we face death, we are offered a choice. Die because of your weakness, or be stronger to live. Each fight is an opportunity to grow. Hum, I don''t expect a human to understand. We orcs face death with honor and willingly. Though we are sad at the death of our loved ones, we do not try to seek vengeance, because only their weakness is to me. Only children who''ve yet to understand that will try to seek vengeance," Krugan said, ending their short conversation. Unlike the other orcs, Krugan was curious about humans and intended to take advantage of one that could understand orcish. But now was not the time. It was time to let its soldiers go to their families. Krugan put Aito''s teammates in different underground cells of the arena. Before leaving Aito in his cell, Krugan cautiously wrapped him in steel chains so thick they appeared to be made to restrain an elephant or some kind of monster. Krugan''s soldier held a dagger at She''s throat in front of him, dissuading Aito from escaping. Once done, they exited the poorly light cell. Leaving Aito alone, or so he thought. Chained to a wall, he tried to force his way out of his bindings to no avail. Even with his level 4 strength, those were way too thick for him to break them with pure brute force. Moreover, wrapped from his throat to his waist like a caterpir in its cocoon¡ªmore or less¡ªhe couldn''t exactly apply his strength properly. His feet were free to move but stuck to the wall, Aito could not go really far. "Well, look at who the orcs brought to me," said a voice to his right. "If it isn''t the ck challenger." The dark space only had two candles glued to the walls on each side of the cell as light sources. Two rock beds decorated the space. On one of them was seated a very familiar face with a bald head reflecting candlelight. "What the fuck are you doing here, Sam?" Chapter 151 - Captive "Haha, how ironic," Sam said, standing up from his rock bed. "I had ns to ambush you on the sixth floor, but then I got ambushed by orcs as soon as I stepped foot on that damn desert. However, it appears that luck is on my side as per usual." Aito sighed. That guy was as shameless as always. Straight out spitting to his face that he had nned to kill Aito. "Those orcs are truly tough. I mean, even you couldn''t do shit against them, apparently. Hum, maybe it is fate at y here, ck challenger," Sam said, slowly advancing towards him. "Just look at yourself. Chained like the monster you are. Defenseless. Powerless. Where is your fearsome strength now? Hum? Hahaha! I''m so thankful for those beasts that brought you here." Sam approached him so close he could feel the stench of the baldy''s breath even through his visor. Orcs had deprived him of everything but his armor. Even the inventory bag containing the candle was gone. Although Krugan had told him those would be returned in three days during the event held in the arena, Aito didn''t know if he could trust the orc''s words. Hopefully, they were as honorable as they were in Gwen''s memory fragment. "What should I do with you now? I wanted to face you one on one. But¡­ well, the sect master ordered it so¡­ I guess you''re out of luck. Haha, don''t worry, I''ll make it quick. At least I''ll try. With my bare hands, it might be a tad bit difficult to kill you in one¡ªURG!" A sudden kick in the nuts interrupted Sam. Despite also having his armor, Aito had managed to bend that area. He was chained, but his feet were free to move. Aito quickly followed his attack with a powerful front kick that sent Sam flying against the steel door with a loud metallic thud. "Urg¡­ what the fuck¡­ oh my balls¡­oh my back¡­," Sam dramaticallyined, grabbing his little monster in between his legs. "Don''t think you can just kill me because I''m chained, baldy. I decide when I die, not you or your sect master," Aito said. "You¡­, motherfucker!" Sam cursed, looking at the footprint in his breastte. It wasn''t particrly deep. Considering Aito''s situation where he could not exert proper force, that much was already impressive. Beyond normal even. "Did you be stronger again!?" "Come and see for yourself, baldy." Sam activated durability then rushed at Aito with renewed motivation fueled by rage. However, the result remained the same, no matter how many times he tried. "Oh¡­ my stomach¡­" "Shit¡­ my ribs¡­" "Oh... why my balls again!?" Although they were enemies, Aito couldn''t help but praise Sam''s persistence. He had already sent the man flying twenty times, yet Sam rose to his feet twenty-one times¡­ just to fall again. This time, however, he did not get up. "Why¡­," Sam said, head against the ground, trembling. "Why even when you''re chained, can''t I beat you? I even trained my ass off in this cell. Before departing, I and the sect invested a fortune in memory beads just so that I could grow stronger! Yet every time I meet you you''re always one step ahead of me!" Aito frowned from disgust when he saw Sam lifting his face, full of snort, dirt, and tears. Seeing a grown man crying like that in front of his enemy while shamelessly asking why he can''t kill him was¡­ just unsightly. "Why¡­ how are we so different!? What do Ickpare to you? I have more money, followers, talent, a strong will, and backing. So tell me why I can''t beat you when you who have nothing of those!?" "You''re fucking shameless, you know that, baldy?" "I don''t care. I''d do anything to gain strength and see my little girl again. Be it kneeling in front of my enemy or giving my soul to a god, I will not back down. So please, tell me." Under the wavering candle lights, Aito and Sam stared at each other for what felt like hours¡ªthough only a few seconds passed. ''Gain strength? His little girl? That baldy¡­,'' Aito thought, understanding a bit more what was driving Sam. ''So, he isn''t just a sect fanatic. Not that it matters to me.'' If it weren''t for those chains on him, Aito would have already killed Sam. In that sense, the baldy was truly lucky. "Do you seriously expect me, the man you''ve tried to kill four times, to tell you how to get stronger?" Aito said, spitting the following words to his face. "Are you stupid, or are you doing this on purpose?" "I, I¡­," Sam stuttered, unable to find a proper answer. Everything Aito said was true, after all. "Still¡­ I want to know." Aito sighed heavily. He saw a fire in the baldy''s eyes¡ªor it might have been just the candles'' reflection¡ªand sensed Sam would never leave him alone if he did not give him an answer, not that he had any. Unable to move, Aito would probably have to endure that guy''s talkativeness for the next three days until the scary event or whatever it was called. And, honestly, he didn''t want to answer Sam''s question. "Alright, I''ll tell you under two conditions," Aito said, smirking. Sam nodded, "What are they?" "First, you shut up. Say nothing, no matter what. Second, tell me why you so desperately seek power." The baldy seemed to ponder deeply about the conditions, searching for a catch, which he eventually found. "But¡­ if I can''t say anything, how will I tell you about my reason?" "That''s the whole point. You can''t," Aito replied. "Just get a hint, baldy. I owe you nothing. And you''ve got nothing that interests me. So unless you have something of value in exchange for my wisdom, stop annoying me, or next time I''ll kick your ass too hard, it''ll destroy that steel door and your spine." Of course, he was bluffing. He had already kicked Sam as hard as he could in his current position, trying to kill the man. However, Sam proved to be more resilient than he had previously thought. There is a real possibility Sam had gained a level 3 body. Instead of losing hope or continuing spewing bullshit as Aito expected, Sam sat cross-legged, and seemed to ponder on something. Aito could swear he saw steam emanating from his shiny head, or it could just be his imagination. At that moment, two guards alerted by their previous fight came to check out on their prisoners. Apart from the steel door that seemed to have suffered some damage, nothing looked out of the ordinary. They eyed both humans suspiciously. When they saw one was bleeding and bruised, theyughed at the human faces. Thinking it was just a brawl between prisoners, they returned to their previous position. Once they were gone, Sam eyed intently his sworn enemy, then said, "I can free you from those chains." "Hum? I don''t need your help to free myself," Aito replied. "I already have a method. However, doing it now is pointless and will only attract unnecessary attention. What''s more, what guarantees I won''t kill you once I''m freed?" "Because I know the way out of here. Why do you think they''ve put me in this highly secured cell? I''ve already escaped once." Aito granted. "Doesn''t look like it was sessful." "Yeah¡­ well, they caught me at some point and brought me back to this cell. However, I had enough time to memorize the way. Also, I have an ingenious n!" Aito felt like this guy wasn''t the type to n ahead somehow or just make any good ns at all. "Once we escape, we can head to the throne room, take their king hostage, and bargain for our freedom. If we fail, they''ll just bring us back into our cells unharmed, anyway. What do you think? Not bad, hum?" Sam said, with a proud expression. "That''s the most ridiculous n I''ve ever heard," Aito replied, rolling his eyes. He might as wait three days for the event Krugan talked about to take ce and win it to gain his freedom. However, counting on orcs to keep their words was just a no-go. Also, Aito didn''t know if he actually could manage to win the event. And what about his teammates? If he were to escape with them, they would not be able to run far in orc territory. The staircase to the fifth floor was too far. Their only choice would be to make it to the seventh floor staircase located at the end of this canyon to the north. Even then they would be denied entry because they had yet to clear their quest. All in all, they would have to kill 40 orcs each, then run for the seventh floor. Turns out, orcs will be present during the event, a lot of them. ''I guess the best n is to wait for now.'' There were many issues and holes in waiting. Like his weapons and inventory bags. Without them, getting to the seventh floor would be impossible. He could only trust Krugan would truly give them back to him. He could probably get them back on his own, but then what, hide them in his cell? ''That would be as foolish as Sam''s n.'' Chapter 152 - Kh眉l And Khan Standing on the canyon''s edge, a man dressed in parts of leather and metallic armor observed the challengers'' situation from his hiding ce. His cloak fluttered with the wind, covering his head from the sun. There was no real nighttime on the sixth floor. Either two suns hang in the fake sky or one. Though, that didn''t bother Behir Lamat, the moderator of the sixth floor. At his level, there were no need for sleeping. Sleep was for the weak. He considered himself the dutiful type and did his best to prepare challengers for the outside. And since those who reached the sixth floor were considered "okay" in his dictionary, he intended to teach them the meaning of helplessness, temporarily. He had feared the ck challenger would actually break that delicate bnce. Fortunately, the orcs managed to restrain him using his weakness. What stupidity that was. Bonds betweenpanions were unnecessary and led to irrational oues. Behir would not have hesitated to abandon his team in a desperate situation, not that it mattered now. The Grand Duels would start in less than three days. It was dangerous but also an opportunity for challengers to grow stronger. Why? Because orcs willingly fought and died when their time came, even their soul submitted to their killers due to their abnormal practice of an honorable death. That resulted in an easy soul to digest and an almost instantaneous appropriation, since the soul did not resist its fate. Moreover, it could lead to a rare urrence where the killer had a chance to acquire the dead opponent''s soul. It was actually the secret behind the orcs'' strength. They had grown powerful so quicklypared to hobs and goblins for that very reason. Dueling each other to death, the winner took it all. A warring species by nature, it was considered normal to kill one another in their culture, as long as the fight was honorable. Not that it mattered, since more orcs would respawn. The others already alive would not take notice of it since they were formatted this way. Maybe the Khan and Kh¨¹l noticed it, but they had a foggy mind, so that did not matter. Thinking about these two creatures, Bahir wondered how the challengers would fare against them during the Grand Duels. Normally, those two were out of reach due to their ridiculous power, particrly the Kh¨¹l. The Khan was still barely manageable by level 2 challengers, but the Kh¨¹l was on a whole other level. ording to what Bahir had seen, the ck challenger has attained quite a bit of strength. ''Hum, the sacred event might just be another opportunity to allow him to grow more, or not. Should I teach him, or let the events unfold as they are supposed to happen?'' Behir pondered. Reaching a conclusion, he smiled with satisfaction, using the Tower system to update the settings. Changing the original course of the event. *** Aito spent his first day in captivity with Sam as his solepany. The baldie kept talking to him, harassing his patience. Though he didn''t reply. There were many asions where Fury almost activated under the baldie''s endless questioning and yapping. It was a real training of tolerance and patience. However, that gave him a sudden idea, something he hadn''t thought about before. Control over his emotion, most specifically, over his anger. Until now, he had just tried to keep it in check, chain it, never to let it run loose. Sam was testing his patience to the very limits. Aito tried to transform the baldy''s talkativeness into another training. Liberating his anger, activating Fury when his patience was about to burst. Then, calming himself, his gift progressively disappeared. He repeated this process multiple times for who knew how long. Time passed slowly in his cell. With no references, he couldn''t tell if one, two, or ten hours has passed. Apart from training his anger, he used this time to n ahead, reviewing the past ns, discarding them for new ones, then recovering them again. A little mental training to keep his mind sharp. When the baldie fell quiet or asleep, hard to tell, Aito had enough peace to train himself with visualization, something he has done almost every time before sleeping. The more he trained, the better his phantom images got. He was far from Gwen''s level, but slow and steady learning was the way to go. As per usual, he pictured his teacher as his opponent. The moderator of the third floor always kicked his ass in his mind''s world, no matter how much he tried. After his hundredth defeat, he fell asleep. Hisst thoughts went to hispanions currently held up who knows where. The next day, he continued his anger training as soon as he woke up with Sam''s yapping. ''Don''t kill him for now. Be patient. Don''t kill him for now. Be patient.'' Those thoughts kept crossing his mind a thousand times per hour. He was d when someone unexpected entered his cell, shutting the baldie up. With its imposing figure, Krugan imposed respect even Sam dared not oppose. At the looks of it, the baldie had suffered a crushing defeat under the huge orc''s hands, probably. Apparently, the orc leader hade to actually feed Aito and discuss a few things with him. Having eaten nothing the previous day, chained up, Aito couldn''t exactly say no. After all, it had always been his dream of being spoon-fed by his enemy. Who wouldn''t like to have a big ck creature with biceps almost twice George''s size feed you in a dark dump cell beneath the earth with your other bald enemy as apanion? ''Truly a fucking nightmare.'' Krugan was apparently a curious orc and wanted to talk with Aito of the human world. Since that would shut up Sam and his unbearable mouth for some time, he did not refuse. Turned out, the orc was a more pleasantpanion when it came to talking. Trading multiple and seemingly banal information with Krugan, Aito discovered something quite interesting about them. Orcs grew stronger thanks to their deceased, willingly giving them their souls. He had heard it happening from Gwen when one loved one gave his soul to another, allowing for almost instantaneous digestion and appropriation, but that was rare. For an entire species to do that just because of their culture was amazing in and of itself. What''s more, they didn''t keep it a secret, which meant it was truly part of who they were. In exchange, Aito shared info about humans on Earth, not that it could harm challengers. Sam kept to the side, gawking at their conversation with eyes full of confusion. After all, he could not understand what the orc and humans were saying. Once Krugan left with a satisfied face, Sam immediately shot up from his bed, asking, "Are you an orc? Is that the secret of your strength?" "Idiot," was all Aito answered. The rest of the day passed as usual. Sam yapping. Aito enduring, going crazy, learning to control his anger. Ironically enough, he soon learned that letting it loose was the best way to control it. That didn''t mean he got angry all the time, but he had undeniably taken a step towards activating Fury at will. That made him think about a certainic series where a character transformed into a giant green monstrosity with absurd strength. Apparently, his constant anger state allowed him to transform at will. ''Seriously though, what kind of bullshit was that? Who the fuck is always angry and leads a normal life this way?'' On what Aito assumed was the third day, contrary to his expectations, Sam stopped yapping. Krugan came once more, offering his prisoners food, opening a discussion with Aito. "Tomorrow is the day of the Grand Duels," Krugan said with a somber face, appearing weirdly sad. "What''s with that face? I thought you wanted a fight with me," Aito said, mockingly, though Krugan took it unexpectedly seriously. The orc nodded. "I did and still do, but cannot. The Khan has spoken and the rules have changed. I will have to suffer the shame of standing on the side, watching you and other warriors fight to glory. It pains me. However, it is also my duty as the second inmand to assure the throne has someone to sit on were the Khan to die in glorious battle. I''m truly sorry, human warrior." "Well, to my mind, that doesn''t change anything. I''ll just have to kill your Khan, that simple." "Hum, confidence is good. But the Khan is strong, human warrior. Probably as strong as you are. Her power is only second to the Kh¨¹l." "Her? I thought only males fought." "Ahaha! You have no eyes, human warrior. Female and male alike fight, that is ourw. Maybe your human females are delicate and fragile. However, ours are fierce, strong, capable to contend with males here. If you let your guard down, you will die an inglorious death. After all, only the strongest of orc can be called the Khan." "Hum, if the strongest orc is the Khan, then who or what is the Kh¨¹l?" "Kh¨¹l and Khan are one and the same.. Like the two suns in the sky, they stand next to each other, yet never touch." Chapter 153 - A Punishment Worse Than Death... For An Orc. ''Hum, so in other words, it''s the person. Two suns. Two personalities? Is the Khan a schizophrenic?'' Aito thought, ''That wouldn''t make much sense since the Kh¨¹l is supposed to be stronger.'' "Do not try to look too deep into it. As I doubt you''ll fall easily, you''ll certainly see for yourself who the Kh¨¹l is. However, it might as well be thest moment of your life," Krugan said, his gaze turning serious. "In the eventuality that you win, I will order your kind''s release. You have my word, human warrior." Aito peered into the orc''s eyes'' dark irises. Pure, simple, honest. He saw no traces of a lie. Even Aito, at that moment, was tempted to fully believe it. Having discussed with Krugan a few times, he came to understand that orcs were just a in honest race. Or maybe it was just Krugan. Who knew? Were the orcs "nice?" No, far from it. They did what they wanted. Imposing their cultures on others. Forcing humans to take part in a ritual they don''t even adhere to. Nice? No, they weren''t. Honest? Maybe. "Today will be myst visit," the orc said. "If you have any questions concerning the sacred event, now is the moment to ask." "Why would you even answer them?" Aito asked. "Aren''t we enemies? If I were to hold you captive, I certainly would not answer your questions." "You humans have your ways. We have ours. Although fascinating, your ways are dishonorable to us. Capturing you as I did could also be considered dishonorable. I had to alienate myself. To repent during the Grand Duel was my goal. But I have a duty to uphold. Anyway, to answer your first question, it is to make it fair. Our kind already knows what''s going to happen. In our tradition, we do not like duels to be unfair, it brings inglorious death. Humans cannotmunicate with us, so it is not in our capabilities to tell them about the sacred event in normal circumstances. You are an exception, human warrior." Aito pondered. Certainly, the orc could be lying. On the other hand, it wouldn''t hurt to extract information from it, or at least listen to what Krugan had to say. "Since you''re offering it so nicely, it''ll be rude to refuse," Aito replied before taking a deep breath. "What awaits us tomorrow, exactly? Trials? If yes, how many exactly? Will I be able to see myrades first before the event? How many orcs will we fight? Will you give us back our weapons and items? What are the Khan''s weaknesses? How strong exactly is the Kh¨¹l¡­" The orc lifted his bushy dark brows in surprise as an influx of questions shot out of Aito''s mouth. "That''s¡­ a lot of questions, human warrior." "You asked for it," Aito smirked. "Now, will you go back on your words?" The orc slightly shook his head, then proceeded to answer Aito''s every question, at least those he could or judged honorable. There was a change in rules. Normally, the sacred event would take ce for two weeks straight, but it''s been shortened to three days. Instead of three challenges, there would be two. On the first day, Aito and the other captive humans would be given back what had been taken from them, weapons and items. They would also have an hour to organize amongst themselves before fighting young orc warriors en masse. There were currently neen captive humans, all challengers, who were at level 2¡ªalbeit Aito who was at 2.5, whatever that meant. Since they were judged to be strong warriors by the orcs, they would have to fight four hundred young orcs who couldn''t yet use durability. ording to Krugan, it was a fair fight since young orcs were a bit weakpared to adult orcs. It was also to sort out the weak humans from the strong. On the second day, challengers would have to face two hundred adult orc warriors at the level of those who ambushed Aito, maybe slightly stronger. The third day would be the final fight confronting the strongest humans who had survived until now and the strongest warriors of the orc race. The Khan would personally lead the soldiers. As for how strong the Khan was or her weaknesses, Krugan simply said she was probably slightly weaker, or maybe as strong as Aito. It was hard to tell. The Kh¨¹l, however, was definitely stronger than him. Aito supposed it was probably a level 3 creature, hopefully not a level 4. If the Kh¨¹l was level 4, Aito was in deep shit. "How the heck are neen challengers facing hundreds of orcs honorable?" Aito asked, "You only have yourself to me. You''re too strong. I suspect that you alone can take on two hundred adult orcs on your own and still have stamina to spare," Krugan replied as if it was obvious. "We wouldn''t normally overwhelm humans, but those are the orders of my Khan. However, I seriously doubt hundreds of orcs will be able to stop you, human warrior." "I will certainly survive the first two days, but other humans might not." "Then it is their fault for being too weak. Don''t me us for their weakness, human warrior." ''Weakness¡­.'' Aito could understand the orcs'' ways, but adhering to them, no. Even with all that previous talk about finding strength before death, it did not justify the act of disposing of the supposed "weak people." Each and everyone had their strong points. Orcs only valued strength as the ability to take lives and dy their own death. They couldn''t see beyond that picture. And that pissed him off. All in all, they were just battle maniacs with a somewhat bnced civilization. Aito''s face turned darker, emanating strong killing vibes. Staring intently at Krugan, he said, "So you''re saying if I kill you right here, right now, the orcs will not me me but your own weakness for it? Not me nor mypanion." "Although it is impossible, in the eventually it happens then, yes, orcs will me my own weakness. Even if you spare me, it would bring me greater shame. The only choice is winning." "Is that so? Do not regret those words, Krugan." Peering into Aito''s abyss dark eyes, Krugan felt a slight shiver running along his long thick spine. Somehow, the orc felt like he''de to regret soon what he just said. Suddenly, Aito closed his eyes. After two days of listening to Sam''s bullshits almost nonstop, he had unwillingly registered the sound of the man''s voice and was capable of ying it in his head at will. Not the most extraordinary ability, but it worked perfectly for Aito. His skin glowed red, emitting steam. His strength increased tremendously. Pulling on the chains linked to the wall behind him, cracking sounds were heard. Aito then used his two feet to push the wall, adding power to his pull. Krugan watched in horror as the chains progressively detached from the earth. Those were too thick for Aito to break with pure strength alone. However, the same couldn''t be said for in rock. Aito pulled harder, shattering the supports, unwrapping the chains around him. Sam gawked at this ridiculous disy beyond hisprehension. Krugan immediately regained its focus, and actually smiled, d to have a fight against a worthy opponent. The orc quickly rushed at the human. However, Aito quickly caught the orc''s fist and stopped Krugan''s advance with a single arm. Aito tightened his grip, fracturing Krugan''s thick bones. Battle-hardened, used to pain, the orc didn''t even grunt from that, but what came next made it reconsider the meaning of pain. Aito rapidly broke its elbow with a swift strike, then fractured its kneecap, followed by a straight punch to the face destroying its tusks. Krugan tried to resist, but its every attack was countered, or just simply ignored because they couldn''t affect Aito. He struck the orc with a flurry of blows designed more for pain than actual killing. Broken tusk, teeth, and bones. Aito finished the orc with a front kick, sending the huge muscr ck figure flying towards the steel door, that bent open, jumping out of its support. Krugannded on the rocky ground, covered in injuries and blood, but alive. Aito walked out of the cell into the underground tunnels light by torches, followed by Sam''s astonished gaze. He then grabbed Krugan''s cor, brought the orc to his face, searching for any trace of fear in the creature''s eyes. Unexpectedly, there was none. Not even a spark. The orc was ready to ept its fate, its "glorious" death. However, if that was truly something important to it, then the choice of killing it or not was already made. Two orc guards came running down the tunnels, only to see a human holding one of their fiercest warriors with one hand. "Kill... me," Krugan said, its mouth bloody. Instead of giving the finishing blow, Aito hurled the orc towards the guards, picked up the broken steel door, and ced it back where it used to be, closing his cell once more. Leaving two astonished orcs stupidly standing outside. In the cell, the shocked Sam regained hisposure and said, "Shit¡­ just how strong did you be!? And why didn''t you kill the orc and escape?" "There is nothing to gain from escaping now. Also, living is a worse punishment to orcs than death. Now, if you don''t want to find yourself in the same state, shut up. I got some thinking to do." Aito had nned on killing Sam, but after hearing Krugan''s info, he thought the baldie would certainly be of use tomorrow. The more challengers he had with him in the arena, the greater the chances of sess would be. Moreover, if the informations from Krugan were correct, the event might just be an opportunity for him and his teammate to grow stronger. Chapter 154 - Sacred Event: Day 1 (part 1) After the wounded Krugan left with its dishonorable life, Sam tried to escape since the steel doors were broken. However, he was soon brought back by orcs. He was about toin to Aito but left him alone¡ªnot that he had any other choices. One word and the baldie would be in for a world of pain. Sam had seen the orc he had struggled against being beaten to a pulp by Aito bare-handed. Lying on his rock bed, Aito pondered for a while about tomorrow''s fight. It would be a simple one, but also an opportunity for him and his teammates to gather enough kills to clear the sixth floor''s quest. Their main issue would be the other challengers. As long as they stayed out of their ways, they wouldn''t be a bother to him and his team. "Hey, baldie. How many people did you bring with you on the sixth floor to kill me?" He asked. "Not enough, apparently," Sam replied, with an underlying disgust for Aito''s power. "How many, baldie?" Aito repeated with a threatening tone. "Alright, alright. Seven. I have seven other challengers with me, all level 2. Eight counting me. Not that it matters now, since we''re both locked up in here and you don''t even want to escape." "Hum, eight. So there are still seven other captives I don''t know about," Aito said, pondering, ignoring the baldies yapping next to him. "I don''t understand you, ck challenger. You can speak to orcs, have incredible powers, and you still stay in this gods damn cell. What are you waiting for to escap¡ª" "Shut up and listen," Aito interrupted. "Tomorrow, every captive challenger will have to fight orcs." Sam wanted to yell "What!?" but a dark stare from Aito dissuaded him from speaking. "Don''t ask unnecessary questions. If you want to live through that event, just kill orcs tomorrow with your team and don''t get in my way. Do that and I''ll think about sparring your life. Otherwise, you know what''ll happen." Right now, keeping Sam alive to control his men was more beneficial to him than killing the baldie. So why not take advantage of it? "So you just want to use me and my men to kill orcs tomorrow." "Yeah, got anyints?" Sam sighed. "A lot." "Great, I don''t care. So, your reply?" "I don''t have any choice, do I?" "Of course you do. Refuse and I kill you right now, then kill all your men. ept and I might just kill youter." *** The next morning, Aito and Sam were given back their weapons and items. Strapping his shield, sheathing his ax, Aito checked if everything was in order. His candle, healing beads, mana beads, etc, were still there. Apparently, no items had been taken. The two orc guards fromst night warily led them to a waiting room filled with the other captive challengers. It was badly lit, with torches hung to the four walls illuminating the space. Stone benches were settled in each corner. A gateposed of steel bars let the sunlight pass. Through it, Aito could see therge arena, probably twice the size of Roma''s coliseum. Outside, thousands of orcs were gathering, taking seats to prepare to watch their sacred event. Young orcs as tall as Aito were crowding on the other side of the arena. Soon their numbers would reach one hundred. More kepting. Apart from Sam and Aito, seventeen other challengers were in the room. All level 2. From where he stood, Aito could see three distinctive groups had formed. Sam''s group was standing in a corner. He recognized them when they saluted the baldie like one man. Seven challengers were sitting on two benches with confused looks, talking to each other, nning. ording to the equipment they wore, Aito could guess they were a well-trained team. Probably amongst the strongest challengers in the Tower. ''Two warriors, two archers, two mages, and maybe one battle surgeon,'' he thoughts, taking a quick look at their weapons. He might be wrong about their sses, though. Like George, mages could fight in close quarters. It can be hard to differentiate them from warriors unless you''ve seen their spells firsthand. Aito headed for his team, who were upying the smallest corner. Apart from their stench due to going three days without showers, they looked safe and full of energy. "Boss!" George eximed, happy to see him. "Aito, where are we?" Ogoro asked, appearing confused. "What''s going on?" She asked. "As per usual, we''ll have to fight. Nothing new about that. I''ll exin everything once I settle a few details," Aito replied, his gaze glued to Sam''s team who were all eyeing warily, a faint trace of killing intent in their eyes. Suddenly, Zephyr, a man wearing a dark cloak with a covered face, drew his bow, and shot an arrow fully coated with durability towards him. Expecting such a reaction, Aito deployed his shield ainium side, easily repelling the projectile. He sent an illusion of himself, disturbing the archer, and used that opportunity to close the distance. Aito rammed Zephyr into a wall, grabbed his neck. Tightening his hold, he turned towards Sam asking, "What''s the meaning of this?" "I told him it was useless, but he wouldn''t listen. Zephyr is more stubborn than I am," Sam replied, lifting both hands to show innocence. Sam looked at his teammates ready to fight and said, "Stand down, he is not our enemy, for the next three days at least." Ogoro, George, and She prepared their weapons, ready to jump in at a moment''s notice. Trapped in Aito''s powerful grip, Zephyr''s face was turning blue because of theck of oxygen. Trashing, hitting, kicking, he was desperate for air. "Are you perhaps the archer who shot me in the Square?" Aito asked, staring at the man he was lifting with one arm. "I should kill you for the problem you''ve caused me. However, we currently have more urgent matters at hand." He threw Zephyr aside like he was trash and turned towards the other challengers whose attention had been attracted by the violent scene. They all showed wary faces. "Everyone, I know this is confusing for all of you, so I''ll make this short and simple," Aito said. "For the next three days, we will be forced to fight orcs in this arena, period. If we are victorious, we will be allowed to leave, or so they said. Now, I know we''ve never fought alongside one another, nor should we. We don''t have to fight together. I do think it is better in the long run if we each fight separately with our respective teams. What do you think?" All 19 challengers present in this room were probably the strongest in the Tower. Aito knew most of them were capable of holding their ground. Assuming leadership would not be possible, since they were probably full of pride due to their strength. Heck, he didn''t want to lead Sam''s team who would stab him in the back on the first opportunity. All he wanted was for the other teams to remain out of his way. Today, he could deal with hundreds of young orcs with his team or on his own, so there was no need to take leadership over other teams. That might change the next two days, though. A man with short pepper salt hair, armed with a spear, wearing a mix of leather and steel armor walked towards him. "I''m Lucius, a dual elementalists and the team leader of those guys over there," he said pointing behind him. "I agree with you. We shouldn''t stand in each other''s way. But, if I may ask, who are you? I don''t remember seeing your face around these parts before. Also, how do you know we''ll be forced to fight orcs for three days?" Lucius and his team had been staying on the sixth floor for a while, so it was normal for them not to have heard about the ck challenger''s recent feats, much less what he looked like. That man exuded confidence in his abilities. The fact he stated he was a dual elementalist just shows how much he trusted in his skills. "I''m Aito Walker. I''d like to keep private how I''vee about this information. You can choose to trust my words or not. That doesn''t matter. In the end, you''ll have to fight orcs for three days, anyway." "Aito Walker¡­, I''ve never heard that name before. Howe Sam knows you and I don''t?" Lucius dered. Despite his talkativeness and clumsiness, Sam was a famous challenger in the Tower, much like Lucius the only one capable of manipting the rare lightning element no other challenger could. "Pfff, that''s not surprising since only a few calls him by his name," Sam said. "Just look at that shield and ax, doesn''t that remind you of someone?" There were many challengers using axes and shields in the Tower, but amongst them, one was particrly famous, not to Lucius though. Seeing Lucius''s confused face waiting for an answer, Sam added, "You''ve seriously gone senile since you''ve defected the sect." "And you seem less talkative now, baldie. I don''t understand how you''re still keeping up with Kai''s bullshits." "It''s sect master for you, traitor." Both men started bickering. Since he couldn''t care less, Aito returned to his team and briefed them on what was toe for the next three days. An hourter, the gates of the arena opened, announcing the start of the sacred event. Chapter 155 - Sacred Event: Day 1 (part 2) Two suns basked on the arena''s sandy ground. One part of it was covered in daylight, white sand reflecting sunlight. The other half was protected from the heat thanks to the canyon''s shade. Nevertheless, thousands of orcs were sitting on rows of seats all around the natural coliseum that was sorge it probably housed ten thousand of them. In the arena, around eight hundred young orcs in full ted armors were armed with crossbows, clubs, or axes. Lightly sparing against each other, they were warming up, eager to taste glory. Shade side, neen challengers entered the arena. Their retina, too ustomed to the darkness due to three days of confinement, ached due to the light, forcing them to close their eyelids for a minute. The first to recover his sight, Aito saw the numerous young orcs with bulging muscles allparable to George''s. ''I thought there were supposed to be four hundred of them¡­, don''t tell me,'' he thought, thinking back on his disy of strength yesterday. ''Did that orc bastard reassess my strength? Shit.'' When the other teams recovered, as previously agreed, they spread, nning on fighting their battle separately. Sam''s team went left, Lucius team went right and Aito''s team remained behind, their back against the closing steel gate to the waiting room. Despite the overwhelming numbers of enemies in front of them, most felt no fear. Only those from Sam''s team, on the left side of the arena covered by the shade, still unustomed to death, slightly trembled, but even so they held their grounds. "What the¡­ this is ridiculous¡­," Sam mumbled. Roisin, the redhead woman next to him, said, "It''ll be fine as long as we don''t allow them to surround us. You still got the spell beads master gave us, right?" "Yeah," Sam replied, taking out ten little beads containing the spell Earth Wall. "More preys than anticipated matters little," Zephyr said. He looked more determined to get stronger now, after getting his ass kicked by Aito. On the right side, Lucius eyed the orcs wearily, pondering about an effective n. "Interesting, a great opportunity to gain more cores. Elizabeth, surround us with wooden walls. Leave an entrance wide enough for two orcs to pass through but small enough to contain their numbers. Add a secondyer just in case." "Understood," said a woman with short brown hair next to him. She lifted her staff, summoning rows of wooden walls in a square shape, leaving a small entrance, then repeated the same process to create a secondyer of protective walls. It took her only ten seconds to create fortifications for her team. ''Oh, they have a wood elementalist. Not bad,'' Aito thought. On top of her VIP seat crafted from bones, a tall female orc waved her hand. Standing on a tform nearby, an orc blew into a horn bigger than a car, creating a resounding noise that echoed through the entire arena, announcing the start of the event. "Wohoho, that''s a lot of orcs heading our way boss," George said, watching the enemies running in unorganized mess, going left, right and straight. "Any n?" Ogoro asked, injecting mana into his gauntlet. "You haven''t been listening to the briefing, Goro¡­ again," She said, preparing her repeater. "I was just kidding, little sis," Ogoro replied, half-serious. "We''ll proceed as nned," Aito said, using his ring to summon a realistic illusion, creating fortification walls akin to the shape of a halved wine ss seemingly crafted from metal. Acting like a funnel, it would break down the orc''s numbers. Using the gate to protect their backs, he lessened the aura toll of the illusion. However, he could feel that alone zapped a tenth of his aura. It spoke volumes of how costly such illusions were. Aito then walked in front of his allies, drew his repeater, and handed it to She. "Remember, get yourselves as many kills as possible. Once you''ve got a notification from the system your quest has cleared, try to avoid killing more orcs until all use has reached our quota." His teammates nodded. Fifty meters away from them, orcs had already reached the other challengers'' teams who had all adopted a fortification tactic. Shields on the front, Aito and Ogoro took ce at the entrance of the small illusionary corridor. A hundred orcs were running their way. She sent two bolts. Thirty meters away, two young orcs fell head first, two others followed. Soon, over one hundred orcs trampled on their corpses. "KRAAA!" They shouted their war cry in a messy way. George sent five high pressured water bullets, killing four orcs, wounding one. It did little to slow down their ruthless charge. Orcs rammed into Aito and Ogoro''s shields with the support of dozens of theirrades behind. Both men had no choice but to wait until all the orcs behind stopped charging. Aito had no problem keeping up with them, but Ogoro looked troubled. Aito matched hisrade''s struggle to prevent a breach from appearing in their formation. Pushed back, their feet dug into the sand, creating four lines that progressively lengthened in the illusionary corridor measuring around five meters. Meanwhile, their team''s archer and mage killed orcs by the dozens, reaching half of their quest quota at a rapid pace. Finally, Aito and Ogoro managed to stop the charge one meter before they arrived at the semi-circle shape fortification behind them. There, they unleashed hell on their enemies. Aito shifted his shield ainium side, coated it with durability, and sent a powerful shockwave, creating some breathing space. Ogoro morphed his short sword into a long one, striking ferociously at his opponents. George temporarily closed the corridor''s entrance with a high pressured water wall, sending orcs flying in the air, preventing any orc archers to target them from the outside. Around fifty orcs packed as they would be in a can, were trapped inside the corridor. George then cast another water wall, controlling the pressure, elevating She three meters in the air, giving her a vantage point. The illusionary walls were five meters tall, so they still hid her presence from orc archers. From up there, she had a clear vision of her targets. A tinge of madness gleaming in her eyes. She activated Hawk Eye, increasing her uracy. Pulling the two repeaters'' triggers, aiming for the gaps in orcs'' armors, she granted death to her enemies. 29 orcs. 35 orcs. 40 orcs! "I''m done, George!" She shouted loud enough for her teammate to hear it. "Watch out for the fall!" George said, dispelling Water Wall. Water disappeared from underneath She''s feet.. She fell nimbly, rolling to break her fall¡ªmore by habits than necessity. Chapter 156 - Sacred Event Day 1 (part 3) Outside the illusionary fortification Aito had built, more than two hundred orcs were waiting for their turns toe in, banging on the fake metallic walls, thinking those were real. What they didn''t know was that some of their strikes actually hit other orcs trapped inside the fake corridor, whose numbers were dwindling at a rapid pace. Young orcs weren''t as experienced as adults. Although they measure between 1.80m and 2m, those creatures had little experience when it came to actual fighting. Their control over durability was poor. However, their enthusiasm to attain glory pushed them to be near berserk-like foes. They would not go down until death. ''19, 20, 21,'' Ogoro counted mentally, hacking away at his enemies. He dealt precise deadly strikes. With someone reliable covering his left nk, he feared nothing. Aito simply bashed away the orcs, barely using his ax, incapacitating orcs before sending them towards Ogoro to be butchered. The goal today was to have his teammate clear the quest. He could do that anytime. Aito saw the corridor was almost empty for orcs and gestured for George to dispel his water wall. Water stopped gushing out the ground, allowing more orcs to pour inside the team''s fortification, only to be soon trapped inside and massacred in a matter of minutes. On the right side, protected by twoyers of wooden walls, Lucius and his team had no trouble taking care of the orcs banging at their doorstep. He unleashed powerful lightning bolts, conjuring a lightning whip to attack from a distance. Thunder appeared to roar in his surroundings. Being a dual elementalist, he had mastery over lightning but also wind. With his wind element, he cut down several orc heads, impeded their path with wind walls while the warriors of his teamid waste to the orcs. Elizabeth, the wood elementalist, repaired the wooden structures or created deadly spears that pierced through the young orcs'' thick armors. On the left side of the arena, surrounded by earth walls, Sam''s team was struggling more than the others. His teammates were rtively new and only leveled up recently. They had formed this team in a hurry,cking the cohesion other teams had. One of them had already died, bringing their number down to seven. Roisin, the dual elementalist of the team, cast fire pirs and frozen spears, wreaking havoc and lessening her team''s burden. Zephyr barely coped with the number of enemies. Almost out of arrow, he''d soon have to switch to close-quarterbat. With no means to repair their earth walls, orcs dug them to their heart''s content. Halfway through destroying Sam''s team fortifications. Back to Aito''s side, all his teammates were done with their quotas and cleared the sixth floor''s quest. Less than one hundred young orcs remained, enough for him to go on a rampage. The corridor was currently closed by a water wall. Corpses of dead orcs obstructed the way out. "Stay inside, gather the cores and arrows, then rest," Aito said to his teammate. "I''ll take care of the orcs outside." Ogoro and She nodded, immediately butchering dead orcs'' bosom to pull out their cores. "Alright, have fun boss," George replied, opening the water wall. Angry orcs flooded in but were slowed down by the many corpses spread at the entrance. Aito nodded, closed his visor. Drawing his ax, he dashed atop the many corpses and sent the orcs back outside with a shockwave from his ainium shield. George closed the corridor behind him, chuckling when he heard the orcs'' painful cries. Aito bashed, hacked, shed. Murdering every enemy in his path. Alone, with space to spare, he closed his shield. His morpho ax in long mode, he brought the orcs the glorious death they sought. Killing them three by three. His de coated with durability viciously bit into the orcs'' thick armors, barely glowing yellow. It was like cutting a fluffy yummy cake. Easy, bloody, gory. He was a real killing machine. They were no match for him. Spectators all around watched with widened eyes as one warrior decimated dozens of young orcs in less than a minute. On the canyon''s edge, Behir, the moderator of the sixth floor, sighed. "It appears Day 1 is too easy for him. How did he grow so strong in such a short amount of time?" Amongst the VIP seats, the Khan grunted, observing the situation with kin interest. She felt a desire rekindle in the deepest corner of her mind, the desire to battle a strong opponent. No one had been her match, orcs or humans. But that one just might make her heart pulse to the rhythm of battle again. To seek glory once more. The huge ax with a bone shaft in her hand vibrated slightly, responding to her blood lust. She calmed herself. There was no point in attacking him on the first day. Krugan was sitting next to her, wounded, bruised. His gaze filled with shame due to his previous loss. In the arena, ten young orcs remained around Aito. Despite their beliefs, they trembled, fearing his de more than the shame of escaping with their lives. He barely took a step that their will crumbled. They fled in multiple directions as if the devil himself, armed with an ax, was pursuing them. Aito rapidly ran after his preys, decapitating one after the other, giving them a shameful death. Orc spectators frowned at this unsightly moment. That had never happened before, to their knowledge. Was the human that scary? Striking down thest orc from the group that had attacked his team, Aito''s gaze traveled to the two other fortifications in the arena. Lucius''s wooden walls held strong. Orcs were dying at a rapid pace. Soon there would be none left. As for Sam''s team¡­. ''Oh, they are in a bad spot alright,'' Aito thought, seeing orcs breaching earth walls. There were a bit less than a hundred. ''I guess he''ll be able to manage it. If not, it won''t be a big loss, anyway.'' That said, he started gathering all the soul cores from the enemy he had killed. If his theory was correct, those would be easy to digest and very beneficial for his team. A few minutester, the horn resounded once again in the arena, announcing the challengers'' victory. Chapter 157 - Sacred Event Day 2 (part 1) Challengers returned to the waiting room, all bloody. Most of the vital fluid on them wasn''t theirs though. Sam''s team had lost two members, bringing his team down to six challengers. Lucius and Aito''s team had lost none. ''No wonder he made it this far,'' Aito thought, looking at Lucius. ''He and his team probably already cleared the sixth floor''s quest but were waiting for the right moment to go up. I wonder how the orcs captured them.'' At that moment, dozens of heavily armed adult orcs entered the room, followed by a limping Krugan. The huge orc looked at the challengers, then said. "Congrattions on your victory humans." None apart Aito understood the content. That didn''t seem to bother the orc one bit. Like all challengers in the room, Lucius eyed the orc wearily. Suddenly, Zephyr shot an arrow in direction of the orc leader. Orc soldiers instantly reacted, activating durability, blocking the projectile with their tower shields. "Strong warrior, could you tell that human I mean no harms?" Krugan asked Aito who simply ignored it. Kurgan sighed and flicked its bulgy fingers. Orc servants entered the room. Challenger, at the ready for any potential threats, drew their weapons but rxed a bit when they saw tables filled with food. The servants left promptly, followed by the guards. Krugan looked back at Aito before leaving. Its eyes had aplex mix of feelings. Left alone, the challengers started nursing their wounds, each team upying a corner in silence. Sam''s teammates proposed an escape n, but the baldie refused for some reason they could notprehend. After all, if they continued like this, they might all die. On his side, Aito divided the number of soul cores collected in the arena equally, then started absorbing his share. Surprisingly, his theory about the orc souls willingly epting their fate proved to be right when his own soul easily sucked them in. Almost as soon as he emptied one soul core, it would get digested, appropriated, transforming into his own energy. With now two cores to feed, Aito had a more voracious appetite, sucking one orc soul after another without restraint. Since none of the orc''s souls opposed his will, he didn''t even have to stop. However, he stumbled upon two rebelling orc souls, probably some of the ones that had fled from him in the arena. They had their wills broken, privileging living over glory. But that did little to stop him from consuming them. After digesting around fifty soul cores, all level 1, he felt his power had grown slightly, not by much though. The siblings saw a considerable improvement in their mana capacity, consolidating their feeble level 2 foundations. Having been a level 2 for a longer period of time, George saw a lesser increase in his capabilities but it was still much better than normal. Aito and his teammates spent the rest of their time training. No challengers touched the food on the tables, tapping into their own stashes to feed themselves. After his training, since he knew what might happen tomorrow, Aito tried to negotiate a temporary alliance with Lucius''s team¡ªhe couldn''t care less about what happened to the baldie. However, thetter refused, saying they would not need his help. Aito shook his head, leaving him with thosest words. "Alright, don''te crying when you''ll be left with no soul cores or dead teammates. I warn you, if you dare steal my team''s cores, be ready to face the consequences." *** The Next Morning. Challengers set foot yet again in the sandy arena. mors of orc spectators weed their entrance. Last night had been a silent one. Seeing no reason to cooperate since they had repelled the orcs on their the previous day, the challengers adopted the same tactic. Surrounding themselves with fortifications, they waited for their enemies to advance. "They sure look different from the orcs we faced yesterday," Ogoro said. She zoomed in on the orcs located hundreds of meters away to have a better look at them. "Heavily armored. Tower shields. One handed axes or hammers. Crossbows. Forming groups estimated at fifty orcs each. Measuring 2.3 meters tall on average. They look organized and a real threatpared to those we''ve seen yesterday." She said. George frowned. "This isn''t good. How many do you see exactly, prettydy?" "I''d say around 900, no, 1000," She said. "Hey boss, didn''t you say they would be 300? What happened?" George asked, confused. Aito grunted, his mind processing the options avable to him at high speed. Those were undoubtedly an organized army, certainly more than the evol monkeys during his time on that forsaken ind. If they were that organized, there was a high chance they wouldn''t act like those young orcs yesterday and privilege one tar¡ª Suddenly, the horn announcing the start of the sacred event rang, reverberating loudly. A thousand orcs immediately banged their shields in unison, activating durability. Perfectly synchronized, they advanced as one towards Sam''s team, forgoing the two other groups of challengers. ''I knew it. They''ve been observing our tactics yesterday and nned an attack ordingly. Axes are probably to cut through wooden walls and hammers earth walls. They might think we won''t dare go out of our fortifications to attack them for fear of being surrounded. Logical but naive.'' The sand seemed to tremble with each of their harmonized steps. Sounds of metal against metal closing on the challengers, hammering at their courage. "Aren''t they in trouble?" George said, observing the orcs surrounding the earth fortifications, destroying them little by little with their hammers. They weren''t even trying to attack through the entrance. Purposely aiming at crumbling Sam''s defenses first to take full advantage of their numbers. "Should we help them?" "Who cares what happens to those despicable bastards?" She said. "I sense bad blood in the air," George replied. "Still, I think this is an opportunity for us, right boss?" Aito silently nodded, watching Sam''s team struggling to keep their walls safe from harm. They had exited their improvised fortress to defend their walls. Unfortunately for them, they had not built elevations inside to allow their archers to shoot at the orcs from a safe spot. One earth wall crumbled under the orcs'' hammers, challengers immediately filled the gap. A few minutester, another wall was brought down, pushing the humans into a tight spot. Certain most orcs'' attention was fixated on Sam''s team, Aito drew his ax.. "Alright, guys, time to move out." Chapter 158 - Sacred Event Day 2 (part 2) Under the two suns'' heat, mors of the spectators, Aito trotted towards the enemy, his step leaving deep tracks in the sand due to his increased weight. Gripping his ax, he imbued the pike with Durability and Impact, preparing for a carnage. Suddenly, fifty meters away from his targets who had already formed up ranks to stop him, he decreased his equipment''s weight, bolting forward. Three hundred orcs had turned in his direction, forming six perfect rectangles with fifty orcs each, shoulder to shoulder. Their tough and thick tower shields glowed yellow. Slightly bent forwards, they awaited the confrontation with confidence, fully knowing what that man was capable of. At least they thought they knew. Instead of ramming into them shoulder first, Aito increased his equipment''s weight at thest moment and stabbed an unlucky orc''s shield with his spike. The momentum, added weight, level 4 strength, Durability, Impact. All those were focused on a small surface barely the size of his thumb, increasing the prative power further. Despite all that, it didn''t manage to pierce the shield coated in durability, however, it bent, propelling the orc backward. The ten orcs behind it all pushed together as one, breaking the momentum in barely 1 second. Arrows and water bullets impacted the orcs'' towers shields, leaving tiny dents. Their formation was so tight it allowed for little to no openings. Three hundred orcs immediately encircled Aito while one hundred of them went straight for his other teammates. ''Damn it, just what are those shields made of?'' He thought, hacking at an orc''s protection, leaving a mark on it. It required four more full-power hits to finally pierce through the shield. Those were made of pure steel, were at least twenty centimeters thick, and particrly heavy. Orcs couldn''t move fast with those, but in exchange gained an impressive defense. Added to that was Durability. All in all, the orcs had a defense tougher than a forty-centimeter thick concrete wall, something often found to surround modern arms vaults on Earth. Aito stopped attacking. Orcs in heavy armor progressively surrounded him, step by step. He activated Cyclone Lv2. Whirling like a small tempest, wind des barely left any scratches on the creatures'' shields. Grains of sand moved about with swirling wind, slightly clouding the orcs'' visions. A flurry of des impacted their shields, yet it only did enough to repel them for a few meters, creating sparks. Aito managed to kill a few, but they soon were reced by others. He clicked his tongue. At this rate, he could kill a hundred of them in ten or fifteen minutes, but there were a thousand. Also, attacking those creatures ate up energy like crazy. ''Even with Fury it might take a long time to get rid of those bastards,'' he thought, gripping his weapon hammer side. ''I suppose I have no choice but to use this.'' Aito refrained from using his ainium equipment too much since it might dull his senses. In his current situation, he could not hesitate, though. Dashing towards the nearest enemy, he brutally brought down his hammer. The orc''s shield coated with Durability shattered into hundreds of pieces. It widened its eyes from shock when the hammer hit its head, breaking the helmet, shattering its skull into oblivion. Aito roared, furiously bashing one orc after another. Orcs died by the dozen, incapable of stopping his rampage, unable to understand how the situation changed so drastically. He had the time to kill around fifty of them when a counterattack came in. Dozens of orc archers jumped on top of theirrades'' t shields¡ªpositioned horizontally atop their heads¡ªto elevate themselves. Their long crossbows loaded with bs, they aimed for Aito''s feet and legs. Projectiles flew, twirling in the air. Aito''s Instinct alerted him of the danger buting from multiple directions, he barely had time to deploy his shield, blocking three of them. Some missed their target. Ten bs wrapped around his arms and legs, impeding his movement as Aito fell to the ground. ''You gotta be kidding me!'' He tried to free himself with sheer strength, however, ten bs crafted from steel chains and infused with durability¡­ a level 4 strength couldn''t simply escape that with brute force alone. Aito was trapped from head to toe. Orcs took this opportunity to bash him from all sides. Hammers and axes. He overloaded Durability to give his armor more resilience. Around a hundred meters away, Lucius watched the battle ur from atop a wooden wall, pondering about taking advantage of this situation to kill orcs with a hit-and-run tactic. But that would be admitting Aito had been right about cooperating today. Those orcs were stronger, more resilient, smarter, numbered a thousand, and more organized than those they fought yesterday. Lucius''s pride, despite the clear rational facts exposed in front of his face, forbid him from acting ording to Aito''s wishes. From where he stood, he could see Aito''s teammates fighting against hundreds of orcs. Water surged from the ground, creating a hole in the orc''s formation that was soon closed. Arrows flew in between the small openings, striking joints or entering visors to hit orcs in between their eyes, freezing flesh or equipment, but most of the time those couldn''t kill their targets. Aito was being swarmed by orcs who bashed him to death. Sam''s fortification had all been reduced to rubbles. It appeared the earth mage had either run out of aura or the spell beads he used were exhausted. ''That guy should be dead by now, anyway. No point in helping him. Thankfully, he lessened our burden by killing some of¡­ wait, what!? How is he still alive?'' Lucius thought. Aito''s heart beat faster, elerating his bloodstream. He closed his eyes, thinking about Sam''s yapping. Anger rapidly grew, spreading as fast as lightning. He wanted to avoid using this Yapping Method to activate Fury too often since the more he got used to it, the less it''d have an effect. Aito''s muscles contracted, bulging. The surrounding chains started cracking under the pressure of his increased strength. Orcs rained blows after blows on his armor that progressively dented. One strike was nothing, but numerous ones trying to hit the same spots would weaken his defenses for certain. Bs that were wrapped around him finally shattered, liberating a furious monster. Aito flipped his shield ainium side. A flurry of bash followed, sending orcs flying. He roared as he spun with his hammer, creating chaos and destruction. Orcs retreated slightly, leaving enough space for archers to do their jobs. Bs flew in his direction once again, but this time, Aito dashed into the mass. Dodging projectiles, using orcs as shields. The orcs'' tactic turned against them as some of their kins were trapped by bs. Realizing bs wouldn''t work a second time, they abandoned the idea and tried to exhaust Aito. However, now furious and aware of their tactics, he was unstoppable. Chapter 159 - [BC]Sacred Event Day 2 (part 3) Attracted by the sound of shield breaking, screams of pain, more and more orcs gathered around Aito on a rampage. Lessening his team''s burden, but also Sam''s. Hacking, shing, hammering, bashing. He did it all. Bones shattered, head dropped. His heart pumped blood at a rapid pace. Engrossed within the moment, little did Aito know three hundred corpses alreadyid on the ground around him. Since he was mostly using his hammer, his mana reserve was still half full. Pursued by more than a hundred orcs, his teammates had retreated behind the illusionary fortifications where they stood their ground. However, he wasn''t aware of it. The feeling of power stemming from killing was exhrating, clouding his mind over what was happening. He killed, killed, and killed. Until five hundred armored corpses around him remained. His blurred vision finally cleared. ''Shit¡­ not again,'' he thought. It was something that had happened when massacring the hobs army days ago. It was like being in an obscure tunnel with a tiny light at the end. Once he finally exited it, only then would he be able to see what happened around him. His attention immediately directed one hundred meters away from him, towards his team''s fortification. At first, he had thought they would be able to apply a hit-and-run tactic, with him at the head, to deplete their numbers. But the orc proved to be more tenacious. He took one step towards his team''s location and realized how badly his armor was dented. Steel tes barely hung on his body, some hammered tight enough to impede his joint''s movements. Fortunately, it appeared the weavedmail had held firm. Other pieces like his breastte, helmet, pauldrons, vambraces were in tatter. ''These are useless now¡­,'' he thought, rapidly getting rid of almost everything, only keeping his articted gauntlets and greaves that were still functional. Lighter, decreasing his added weight, he darted rapidly, crossing the distance separating them in barely four seconds. As per before, his team had conjured a water wall to block the entrance. However, by helping each other, orcs managed to slowly get inside. Sounds of battle, swords against shield, orc war cry, resonated in the fortifications. Dozens of orcs saw himing. Aito bashed them away, paving his path to the entrance with orc blood. Stepping on an orc''s shoulder, he jumped past the water wall. Up there, he could see the orcs swarming his allies. Multiple corpses were spread around the corridor. Frozen arrows were lodged in some of them. With the two suns'' heat, the ice started melting, creating small ponds of dirty, sandy water mixed with blood. George had summoned numerous water walls in the corridor to slow down the enemy''s advance, creating small pockets of enemies stepping on theirrades'' corpses. Aito increased his weight, bringing him downward at full speed, ramming into orcs waiting for their turn to advance. He massacred them, then jumped past the next wall, and killed again. Repeating this process, he finally arrived at thest pocket, surprising the orcs from above. BAM! Aito dropped hammer first. Ripples of shockwaves spread on the sand while orcs dropped dead. He rapidly finished them off and used his hammer to disperse the water wall, revealing his teammates covered in wounds. The semi-circle room was littered with arms, heads, legs. Sand had absorbed the greenish dark blood, almost turning entirely ck. Dozens of orcs surrounded She, George, and Ogoro who looked exhausted. Aito dashed and powerful hammer swings to send the orcs to their glorious death. Tired, the siblings fell on their butt. George leaned against his huge club, regained his breath. "Thanks for¡­ the help, boss," George said, drawing a mana bead out of his inventory bag. Aito nodded, d to see they were alive, then frowned when he got a closer look at their injuries. Blood profusely gushed out Ogoro''s armor. She wascerated on all sides. Her foot was bent at a weird angle. George''s armor was dented in most ces, holes everywhere. The three immediately took recovery beads, stopping the bleeding. She clenched her teeth when she adjusted her foot at the right angle. Ogoro then proceeded to administrate emergency "sewing" to his wounds. Aito''s face, covered in ck blood, turned grim. He realized he had underestimated the orcs too much. Thinking his powers would be enough to keep his team safe. How wrong that was. They were cunning and capable of taking advantage of his weaknesses. That has cost him a good armor and almost his teammates'' lives. Thanks to his little adventure in the caves on the fourth floor, they had plenty of mana beads and recovery beads. But divided by four and at the rate they were using them, Aito feared they would exhaust their supply before reaching the ninth floor. For the first time since he entered the Tower, he felt afraid. Afraid of causing the death of the siblings who followed him and George, who joined recently. His shoulders felt somewhat heavier, the gazes of his teammates were glued on him as if waiting for their next order. ''Am I that trustworthy?'' Aito thought, sighing heavily. He had long questioned others'' trustworthiness, but his? Never. Aito grabbed a nearby orc''s armor pieces and equipped himself with them. These were toorge for him but better than nothing. He put the wide square-shaped helmet on his head and pressed it like an orange to adjust it to his size. Then finally, he said to his teammates, "Rest for now and gather the cores once you''re able to move. I''ll take care of the remaining orcs." Aito didn''t even wait for their replies as he set for the outside. She watched his lonely back grow smaller in the distance, sparking a small bead of worry in her heart. She steeled herself, and, despite her many injuries, extracted the orcs'' soul cores. *** Two hours passed since the start of the second day. The orcs were all dead, and challengers went back to the waiting room. Aito had collected what he thought was his team''s share of the kills. A little over seven hundred soul cores. He could even feel a third of them were more powerful than others, probably level 2. Sam''s team had suffered a heavy blow. Now down to three members, heavily injured, they felt hopeless about the next day. Lucius kept stealing nces at Aito for a while until he finally couldn''t hold it in anymore. Seated on a bench wearing almost an entire set of orc armor, Aito lifted his head when he sensed someone approaching him. "Who are you exactly?" Lucius asked. Chapter 160 - Sacred Event Day 3 "Who are you exactly?" Lucius asked. "Someone you''ll want to cooperate with tomorrow if survival is your goal," Aito said, absorbing one soul core after another. "That''s who I am." He had kept two hundred soul cores for himself and given the rest to his teammates. Orcs hadn''t bothered him when picking all of those up. Apparently, those were his prizes to take. His spoils of war. "Maybe¡­," Lucius said, eyeing Aito''s cores stashes in a backpack. "If you''re willing to spare some of your cores, we might reach a deal." A soul core disintegrated in Aito''s palm as he absorbed all its contents, then frowned deeply. "Are you a mercenary or a challenger?" "Let''s say I''m an opportunist," Lucius replied. "I take what I can get from any situation." "Unfortunately, there is only one opportunity here for you, Lucius," Aito said, taking another soul core. "And that is your life. Tomorrow will be something certainly worse than what we''ve been through today. If you stick to your pride, you might just die, Lucius." Aito could see on Lucius''s face that the pepper and salt-haired man had taken offense. However, Lucius also certainly realized that Aito wasn''t lying. Lucius hadn''t fought the adult orcs today, but he saw what they could do. And supposedly, ording to Aito, tomorrow the enemies would be stronger. "But if I do not cooperate with you, you might also die," Lucius said, trying to reverse the situation. Sam who has listened to the conversation, interjected, "Him? Dying? Don''t fool yourself, Lucius. No matter what you throw at him, that fucker never dies! I''ve tried to skill him three times already and¡ª" "Four times counting our time in the cell," Aito interrupted, lifting four fingers. "Four times, exactly!" Sam eximed. "That''s hardly convincing. No one is unkible, Sam," Lucius said. "Haha! Sure go ahead, give it a try then. Let''s see if you fare better than me against that monster," Sam said. Aito sent him a dark re, ordering Sam to shut up and return to his corner. The baldie quietly followed his instructions. "Whatever, Lucius. Do as you wish. Just know that no matter what, you will not have a single one of my team''s soul cores. Didn''t I tell you yesterday you would regret it for not cooperating?" Aito said. "If you even try to steal one, it''ll be yourst theft. That I can guarantee you." A drop of sweat ran down Lucius''s face. Aito emanated a threatening aura. Lucius had seen what kind of man he was today, certainly not the type to be messed with. Aito wanted to scare him off a bit, but didn''t want things to get ugly. Lucius''s team seemed to be getting ready for a fight and Aito had no doubt they were capable. One or more of his teammates might actually die if he were to engage. A long silence filled the room where two team leaders stared at each other, trying to gauge one another. "Think about it, Lucius. You could save your teammates'' lives tomorrow if you cooperate with me," Aito said. As much as he wanted to refute, Lucius knew Aito was right. But pride could be a poison that could even cloud strong men''s judgments. Tore between his good sense and pride, Lucius left without a word. Aito sighed, watching him return to his corner and sleep. If he could get Lucius on his side tomorrow, there''d be a greater chance of victory. However, it wasn''t a necessity either. Two hours passed, Aito and his teammates were finally done with absorbing all the soul cores. Since he had been at level 2 longer than the others, George managed to reach the bottleneck between the challenger realm and ascender realm. Although he had no clue whatsoever on how to advance, he was happy. Aito knew George would require the help of a god, or maybe he''d be able to do it on his own. That remained to be seen. Aito wasn''t willing to teach George how to ascend just yet. Why? As per usual, trust issue and because Aito himself didn''tprehend fully how he had ascended in the first ce. She and Ogoro could be said to have arrived at almost two-third of the way to the bottleneck. Their mana capacity increased quite a bit. *** Sacred Event, Last Day. Challengers entered the arena and immediately noticed a change in the sunlight. One sun shone white and the other ck. Creating a weird mix of light. One light the surrounding of an almost blinding white while another ate up the colors. "What is¡­ this?" Ogoro asked, looking upward. Sam snorted mockingly, "Never seen eclipses, Ogoro?" "These are not eclipses. The suns are just shining of two different colors for some reason." She said. "Boss? What''s going on?" George asked. "I have no freaking idea. Haven''t heard of that before," Aito replied. Neither Gwen''s memories nor Krugan had spoken of this peculiar phenomenon. But that wasn''t what worried Aito the most. It was the orcs on the other side of the arena. Numbering fourteen, the exact same number as the challengers. There were male or female orcs. All tall, strong, and well equipped. Their armors were thick, their weapons sharp. Amongst them, was a female orc as tall as Gwen armed with a particrlyrge ax, its shaft crafted from human bones. The Khan, even from more than two hundred meters away, was imposing. ''Damn it, she''s too far for me to sense her danger level,'' Aito thought. Lucius''s team broke up with the other challengers and started building their own fortification. He had decided that cooperation was unnecessary again. To Aito''s surprise and annoyance, Sam''s team stuck next to him. He let them be, keeping them in his sight. He had a bigger problem to deal with. A loud noise announced the beginning of today''s event. The orcs moved, reaching towards the center of the arena in a matter of seconds. Then, to all challengers'' surprise, stopped. Chapter 161 - Game Of Throw "What are they doing?" She asked, confused at the orcs'' moves. They''ve been staying at the center of the arena for almost an entire hour. "Is it possible that they are waiting for us?" George said. "This is a certainty more than a possibility," Aito replied. Now that he thought about it, there was never a fixed time limit to the fights. This meant that orcs if they so desired, could simply wait it out until the humansunched an attack. "The question is, why?" Ogoro took off his new helmet he had taken from an orc since his old one had been reduced to a pulp. Wiping off the sweat on his face, he said, "Damn, it''s getting hotter by the passing minutes." "Here," George said, conjuring a lower pressured water bullet on top of Ogoro''s head, sshing the grey-haired man. "How refreshing. I''m truly d you joined our team for the sixth floor. Don''t know how we would have managed in that heat without you." George chuckled, "No problem." Aito watched the two men converse. He frowned, watching the beads of sweat mixed with water on Ogoro''s face. In just about an hour, it seemed that the... ''Temperature rose, oh for fuck''s sake. Those cunning bastards,'' he thought. "Prepare to fight," Aito said. Sam turned towards him, confused. "Uh? Have you lost your mind?" "No, but we''ve lost precious time," Aito replied. "They are doing it on purpose. Can''t you feel like it? The temperature rising drastically? If we wait for too long, the temperature will reach higher than 100C¡ã. Fighting under such conditions will be detrimental to us who aren''t used to the heat." "He''s got a point," Roisin said, her freckles moving with her frown. She used her spell Frost, freezing the sandy ground. The ice immediately started melting, albeit very slowly. "The heat will be unbearable. That might be what they''re aiming for." "We can''t simply attack them with the seven of us," Ogoro said, eyeing Sam''s team, "I don''t even trust my back to you bastards." "Don''t worry, we won''t be seven," Aito said. "What do you mean? That bastard Lucius clearly chose to y it solo this round too," Sam shamelessly said, wiping his bald head with his gloved hand, he who did not even ask Aito''s permission to stick with him during this final round. "Sure, but who said I was asking for his permission?" Aito replied, smirking. "Let''s pay him a little visit, shall we?" ''I hate that smirk,'' Sam thought, drawing his zweihander. Seven challengers advanced together towards Lucius''s wooden fortifications, then stopped in front of the entrance. "What are you doing here!?" Lucius asked from atop a wooden structure. "Didn''t I say I won''t cooperate today?" "Yes, yes, you did say you''d risk the lives of your men over your pathetic pride!" Aito replied, making sure his voice was heard in Lucius''s entire wooden fortress. "Anyway, we just came here for a stroll, don''t mind us. I don''t need a cowardly bastard ready to sacrifice the life of his entire team to satisfy his own cupidity." At those words, Lucius turned towards his men, who had doubts in their eyes. In such a dangerous situation, it was easier for people to doubt their chances of survival. They also all knew Lucius was a prideful man, so Aito''s statement made sense to them. Although that wouldn''t be enough for them to jump ship, it certainly sowed seeds of discords. "She, can you start shooting at our dear orcs waiting like sitting ducks? Try to aim for their archers if possible," Aito said. "They have no archers," She replied, her improved vision allowing her to see the opponents as if they were nearby. "Ow, all the better, then. Just shoot at will," Aito replied. Sam turned towards the only archer alive of his team, then said. "Zephyr, show them how it''s done." Zephyr wanted to object, but Sam''s menacing gaze told him it wouldn''t be a good idea. Both archers got into position. Nocked an arrow on their bowstrings, aimed, infused it with their skills, and shot. The two projectiles flew straight to their respective targets, two bulky orcs with numerous scars and two war hammers. The orcs suddenly activated durability, their armors shone yellow, repelling both arrows. "That was predictable enough, ck challenger," Roisin said to Aito. "Indeed," he said. "Still, do it again." Zephyr hesitated, but She immediately nocked another. This time, Aito came close to her, infused the arrow with an overloaded Durability and Impact. She nodded as thanks, then ovepped Aito''s skills with her own. ¡ªActive Skill: Piercing Shot¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Frozen Arrow¡ª The arrow vibrated with golden, yellow, blue, and transparent energies. It started trembling with that excess of power. Aito worried it''d affect the shot''s uracy, but She looked confident. Stable and focused, she released her bowstring. The projectile propelled at high speed towards its target, traveling 100 meters. Like before, the orc simply activated its durability skill. However, to its surprise, the arrow tip pierced through its armor, creating an icy shockwave that obliterated metal, creating arge hole in its abdomen, freezing its organs from within. The orc copsed immediately, attracting the Khan''s attention. She immediately took a new shot, killing yet another orc. The Khan frowned, ordered its soldiers to bring her a spear. Grabbing the weapon, it infused it with Durability. Her arm seemed to bulk as veins bulged in multiple ces. ''This isn''t good¡­,'' Aito thought, deploying his shield. The spear practically disappeared from her hand as the Khan hurled it at full power. It reappeared soon after in Zephyr''s chest who dropped dead. "Zephyr! Fuck! What is that monstrous strength? And why is it always one of my teammates that dies!? Can''t it be one of yours for once!?" Sam said, eyeing Aito who walked to the challenger''s corpse to grab the spear. It was made entirely of metal and was quite heavy. The perfect throwing weapon for him. "Hey, what are you doing? You aren''t thinking of provoking that monster further, right?" Sam asked. "Yeah, just keep talking," Aito said, infusing the spear with Durability, increasing its weight and adding Impact for more¡­ impact. "Keep talking? What do you mean by keep talking? Are you throwing off my opinion? That''s quite rude even for you!" Thanks to Sam''s yapping, his anger went past its limits, activating Fury¡ªthe original Sam was better than the memories Aito had in mind to trigger his anger. He took one powerful step, bringing him seven meters forward, then two rapid steps to give his throw more energy. At the fourth step, he stopped, focusing the momentum in his spear, hurling it with all his strength. Aito''s projectile flew straight, impacting an orc standing in front of the Khan who burst apart, passing through it. Sensing danger, the Khan brought down her ax on the deadly spear targeting her, severing it in two pieces, deviating its trajectory. The Khan roared, her blood boiled with the desire to fight. Continuing that game of throw would lead her nowhere but reduce the number of her soldiers. The Khan already knew Aito was capable of dragging this for a long time and could probably turn the table in his favor by just using projectiles. Three orcs had already died. To hell with strategy. "They areing," Aito said, gazing at the orcs charging at full speed towards them. "Prepare yourselves." "No shit?" Sam replied sarcastically. Chapter 162 - Forced Cooperation Leading her eleven soldiers, the Khan sped towards Aito''s team, spear and giant ax in hand, keeping up with her orcs'' capabilities, traveling almost five meters per second. Running unimpeded by their heavy-looking equipment, craving for glory and the reenactment of a forgotten distant past, even the Khan could not recall. And yet, they believed their act was right. They could only believe. "Fall back behind the fortifications!" Aito ordered, but once he arrived in front of the wooden structures, only a wall awaited him. Lucius stared at him from above, smirking. "What do you think you''re doing? I thought you were just here for a stroll." "Oh I am, you just happened to be in the way," Aito replied, immediately infusing his ax de with three different skills. Still under the influence of Fury, the wooden wall trembled from a single one of his blows, obliterating a quarter of it. Cutting wood used to be his profession, after all. "Are you mad!?" Lucius asked, "Elizabeth, cast anotheryer, now!" The wall crumbled from its roots, falling like dead trees, creating a gap wide enough for challengers to use. Behind it, three warriors guarded the entrance, watching their fortification fall mouth agape. Two archers stood on brown structures, a miniature version of a wooden wall cast by Elizabeth who also stood on one, focusing on her spell. Aito saw wood rapidly sprouting from underneath the sand, ready to plug the entrance, something normally almost impossible, without magic that is. However, one hit of his ainium hammer halted the process. The emerging wooden pirs stopped growing. Confused, Elizabeth stopped conjuring. Five challengers immediately entered the wooden fortress through the gap. Aito covered their retreat, keeping an eye on the orcs who were just five steps away from them. Aito barely had enough time to cross the gap he had dug that two other wooden walls plugged the structure''s weakness. Closing all ess to the outside. "You madman! Was that your n all alon¡ª" Lucius started, but a loud cracking sound interrupted his sentence. Barely twenty meters away, the Khan took two wide steps and hurled the spear in her hand, mustering every inch of muscle fibers employed for the task. The projectile glowing yellow flew straight towards the wall at high speed, digging a hole, going through. Fortunately, the obstacle deviated it from its original course, missing Aito by a hair''s length. Caught unprepared, one of Lucius men died, oblivious to the end as to what hit him. "Bartholomeo! Fuck! This is all your fault! You shouldn''t have brought them here!" Lucius shouted,ying his usatory gaze on Aito. "Come on, you seriously think it would have changed anything if we went elsewhere?" Aito replied. "Just look at what''s happening outside!" Aito could have indeed opted for a more frontal approach. But yesterday''s failure to anticipate the orcs'' retaliation taught him they weren''t to be underestimated. He wasn''t willing to risk his people into the unknown. Not before getting a proper feel of what those fourteen¡ªnow eleven¡ªorcs were capable of. Could he have prevented the death of Zephyr and that guy called Bartholomeo? Possibly, but not certain. Outside, the Khan''s ax viciously bit into the wood. The wall trembled as if it was fearing her power. Soon, more noises followed when other orcs joined in the demolition. Attracted by the sound, Lucius looked outside, only to see his fortification falling to pieces at a rapid pace. It was only a matter of seconds before everything went to shit. He cursed internally for he knew there weren''t any other option left but to fight. Aito''s judgment for his scheme would have to wait. "Archers fire at will, use piercing arrows! Warriors, don''t let any of those things get past the entrance! Elizabeth, add another protectiveyer around the walls exposed to attacks but do not cover the entrance. Let theme in!" Lucius ordered, lightning sparks forming in his right hand. He looked at Aito, "And you! We''ll talkter. You better make yourself useful by then!" Forced by the situation, the prideful man had no choice but to cooperate. A ball of electricity manifested atop his palm as he called upon his spell. ¡ªActive Skill: Electric Bolt¡ª Beforeunching his projectile, he instantly cast a wind wall, shielding the fortification from two bulky orcs pushed back because of the wind pressure. ¡ªActive Skill: Wind Wall¡ª Aiming at the nearest orc, Lucius oriented his palm ordingly. Electricity flew out, emptying the bright orb in his palm, passing through the air particles. Jumping from one atom to another at the speed of light. Striking the orc head on. The creature covered in Durability trembled uncontrobly, in a seizure. It was about to fall, but took a step to support itself. "How tenacious," Luciusmented sending another discharge, weakening the orc. However, it did not kill it. "What are those things made of!?" He aimed for the other, without much result, then activated his second lightning skill, Hyper Conductivity. Lucius sent another Electric bolt, but this time, it reacted differently. When hitting its target, the electricity spread to its surrounding, sending sparks all around. It connected with the second orc, creating an electric link between the two and Lucius''s palm. The lightning elementalist poured aura into his hand, creating more electricity, increasing the voltage. His targets entered an uncontroble seizure, unable to move, hauling in pain. Attracted by the sound of her dying soldiers, the Khan stopped her demolition and shouted an order. Shortly after, two spears flew towards Lucius''s position. Sensing the danger behind these two deadly projectiles, Lucius forced his spell to a stop, sidestepped to dodge one spear, and used his own spear to deflect the other projectile. He then looked down at the two orcs who were supposed to be carbonized. Their faces bore red marks akin to sparks, attesting to their previous contact with the lightning element. However, they were still able to move. "How is this possible?" Lucius said. During the first day, orcs had fallen by the dozens under his attacks. ording to what he had seen, those two should have died by now. "What kind of physique do they have?" He had thought that since there were only a few of thempared to the two previous days, it would be somewhat manageable. Meanwhile, his archers rained piercing arrows at the orcs demolishing the wooden fortification, only leaving dents in their armors. Tired of waiting for her glory, the Khan''s coated her ax with Durability and¡­ something else. The de seemed to vibrate violently as a halo covered it. On the other side, Aito''s gift, Instinct, immediately red up. Alerting him of a deadly danger. Deploying his shield ainium side, he barely had the time to ce himself in front of his team that an ethereal de cut through the entire wooden entrance and continued flying towards him. BAM! The aerial de hit his shield head on and dematerialized instantly. However, the brunt of the impact forced Aito to take two steps back. Aito took a quick look at his shield, fortunately, it hadn''t bent, those scales were made of ainium after all. But the orc''s power sent shivers down his spine. The entrance crumbled, revealing the imposing female orc outside previously hidden. The Khan stepped inside, cracking the pieces of broken woods under herrge metal boots. "We finally meet, human warrior," it said in orcish. Chapter 163 - You Have No Honor ck and white suns shone in the sky, bringing about an abnormal light. Grains of sand in certain locations appeared white, in others a deep grey, almost ck, as if it had lost its luster. Behir Lamat, the moderator of the sixth floor, stood on ck sand, watching from atop the canyon edge the sacred event unfold. Unaffected by the rise in temperature. Finally, the fight between the two opponents he wanted to see was about to begin. He had been and still was curious about the ck challenger''s strength. Well, he theorized it could be due to that particr skill that made his skin glow red. Behir had noticed it before it disappeared a few moments ago, after the ck challenger entered the fortress. Thanks to his domain, the moderator could feel that this Aito Walker was an ascender, yet not entirely. There was that huge mana reservoir no challengers could possibly have, almost equal to that of an ascender, but fell a bit short. No need to state that monstrous power and those weird skills. He truly wondered who amongst the divine beings was his patreon. At first, he thought it was the goddess of pain, Brutalina. However, upon noticing that peculiar skill employing wind magic, he came back on his guess. Warrior mages were few and far in between. Even fewer could pretend to have as many spells as skills and be proficient in both. Those were called Battlemages. Behir suspected Aito was one of thetter. A battlemage was so rare. Compared to warrior mages, they were as proficient in close-quarterbat as with magic skills. Certainly, the ck challenger had other spells than the wind elemental one. Illusions for instance, or that hard to notice shift in weight. Weight Control was no simple spell. If the ck challenger managed to level it up to Unique Skill tier, then it would certainly be fearsome, dreadful even. It looked like a simple spell at first, but it offered myriads of possibilities. Increasing the weight of one''s weapon for more damage was just the tip of the iceberg. Behir could certainly see how that simple spell could counter all kinds of skills. Ranging from ethereal, elemental, physical, boosts, and so on. ''I can''t even fathom how powerful it''d get when he''ll be able to influence living matter. Increasing the heart''s weight by 50 times, for example, would be more than enough to crush it. Well, depending on whom it is used against.'' ording to the records, no one had gotten that spell before. Well, Behir could be wrong and hadn''t read through all the archives. Some of them were off-limits, even to him, a level 7 a Transcendent archer ss. He currently served at Brulm?r, a fortress located to the East of Iris, where ashes and burning rocks weremon. With three active volcanoes in the surroundings, temperatures easily surpassed 100¡ãC. In Brulm?r, only a few people equaled his rank or exceeded it. ''Oh, it''s off to a bad start for the challengers,'' he thought, seeing two of Lucius soldiers running headfirst with their shields towards the Khan, thinking it''d be enough to protect them from an eventual attack. ''Fools drunk on their own powers. They don''t know what they''re up against.'' The Khan swung her mighty ax, cleaving their protections in one fell swoop. The challengers'' upper bodies detached from their lower half. Terror filled their eyes as they touched the ground, literally in two pieces, tipping the scale of the battle in orcs'' favor in terms of a numerical advantage. Orcs who were demolishing the walls on the outside stopped and joined their leader. All challengers in the wooden fortress focused their attention on the entrance, firing whatever projectiles they could on the Khan. Understanding, they absolutely had to bring that monster down. Wooden pikes, arrows, electric bolts, ice spears, water bullets, fireballs. The Khan covered herself using her armored arms coated with Durability. Leaving dents or scratches, those projectiles barely left a mark on her. Soon, her soldiers joined her. Four orcs carrying shields formed a protective wall around their leader. Their defense was so tight, and thick that projectiles only managed to damage the shields, but not what was hiding behind them. ''Commendable effort. Nheless futile,'' Behirmented. It reminded him of his first fight against a level 4 Goliath. Back then, he had been only a level 3 marksman. That fearmonger was the mostmon type encountered, yet it was extremely powerful. Its bulgy muscles alone provided enough defense against physical attacks to ignore most physical skills. Behir had emptied his quiver, and even then only managed to turn it into a moving porcupine. It had been at that moment he truly knew fear, the same fear he could read in the challengers'' eyes. Facing an army was one thing, but a strong opponent against whom no attacks worked was beyond frustrating. ''However, it appears that one of them isn''t that impressed at all,'' Behir thought, his piercing eyes glued Aito that was shouting an order. Immediately after, the ck challenger''s teammates started focusing their attacks on the orc soldiers rather than the Khan. Ogoro bound an orc who was part of the shield wall using both wires and binding string. With the help of George, he pulled the creature out of the formation, creating an opening. George then cast a water wall with a weird angle behind the orc, pushing its back, propelling the already unbnced creature towards the challengers. She riddle the orc with frozen arrows weakening its defenses. Ogoro finished it with a swing of his sword through the visor. ''Now this is interesting,'' Behir thought, his gaze shifting from Aito''s team to the others. ''While the other challengers were frozen by fear, the ck challenger''s teammates acted like one. As if they already knew a bit of fear. As if they trusted in him blindly. As if he is¡­ a braver. Hum. Logically speaking, he cannot be. And yet¡­'' The Khan spoke in anguage even Behir could understand, only thanks to his status as moderator. She was apparently addressing the ck challenger. The moderator already knew Aito couldprehend orcish, but how he had acquired the knowledge remained a mystery to him. "Come face me, human warrior, stop hiding behind your soldiers. I''ve had enough of waiting," the Khan said, gesturing for the orcs to pause their assault. All attacks from the orcs stopped. Aito ordered the same for his teammates and other challengers that seemed unwilling to listen. But too confused and scared, they stopped nheless. The ck challenger seemed to ponder his options and quickly gave instructions to his teammates before replying to the Khan. "Fine, let''s take it outside," he said. With the Khan''s consent, he advanced towards the orcs unimpeded. The creatures looked at him passing with quizzical gazes, probably due to the fact he could understand orcish and the interest the Khan had in him. However, being a challenger and fervent user of dirty tactics himself, Aito wasn''t exactly inclined to follow the orcs'' sense of honor. Amidst the orc soldiers, Aito rapidly brandished his ax, lengthening it, taking full advantage of this opportunity. In a sudden powerful movement, he rotated, decapitating three orc heads in one fell swoop. Surprised by the dishonorable act, the orcs barely had time to realize their heads dropping to the ground. ''Now that''s dirty, haha,'' Behir thought, chuckling, ''but smart. There is no honor in war, after all. It''s win or lose. Everything is allowed, nothing is forbidden. And that''s one of the orcs'' weaknesses challengers often forget to exploit.'' The ck challenger then charged at the shocked Khan, ramming into her, sending the tall female orc outside the wooden fortress''s boundaries. Furious, the orcs tried to pursue him, but Aito''s teammates, followed by the other challengers, resumed their attacks, preventing the creatures from giving him chase. A few meters from the wooden fortifications, the orc chief spit sand, grabbing her ax tightly. "You have no honor," the Khan proimed, rising to her feet, an angry expression on her face. "Yes, yes, I already heard that line from someone before. A certain baldie. Can you guess how he ended up?" Aito said, coating his armor and weapon in Durability. "Beaten to a pulp." "You talk big for a human." "Hum, yeah, butpared to others, I have the brawl to back it up," Aito replied, charging ax in hand. Chapter 164 - Luciuss Fall Inside the square-shaped wooden fortress, nine challengers fought against six elite orcs. Four from Lucius''s team, two from Sam''s, and three from Aito''s. With their numerical advantage, it was logically only a matter of time before they won. But victory was earned, not calcted. Anything could happen during a fight to the death. Four elite orcs formed a small turtle-like shield wall, protecting two others that were preparing a counterattack. Carrying a spear each, the two orcs coated them with Durability. Meanwhile, Lucius ordered his two archers to fire at will. Together, they could shoot two arrows per second. Each of them targeted one of the orcs'' thick tower shields. Unable to pierce through their defenses. They hadn''t experienced yesterday''s fight, so they couldn''t know how ridiculously tough those shields were. The tiny breaches there were in the orcs'' formation were so small it''d require perfect uracy to get through them. Even then, it would hit nonvital areas or their armors. Because of theck of cohesion,munication between the teams, Ogoro and George couldn''t go into the melee. Projectiles, magical or physical, emerged from every corner of the wooden fortress, forcing the two men to stick to range attacks¡ªwell, Ogoro just stayed behind, much like Sam who could only attack melee. It was chaos. She shot one frozen arrow after another, aiming at the same spot, trying to freeze the tower shield to its very core. It''d be easier to shatter it afterward. Roisin, the dual elementalist from Sam''s team, noticed what she was doing and helped her. Elizabeth, the wood elementalist from Lucius''s team, threw everything she had at them. Lucius himself spared no effort. Orcs gritted their tusks through the pain as streams of electricity hit them. Activating his skill, Hyper Conductivity added to Electrict Bolt, Lucius could target up to four opponents at the same time. The putrid smell of charred flesh rapidly arose from the orcs'' skin, bathed in electricity. And yet they held their grounds firm. Having been trained to endure unbearable pain, ustomed to high temperatures, with physiques that had reached the uppermost of level 3, their bodies did not waver. Unfortunately for the orcs, Durability couldn''t shield them from Lucius''s attack. Nor could they move. Lucius''s attack seemed to have a temporary paralysis effect. Unable to advance or fall back, they could only count on their kinsmen who prepared a counterattack. The two orcs who were on the back of the formation knew of theirrades'' predicament and yet they waited patiently for the right opportunity. Under thebined attacks of the challengers, orcs, elites or not, were weakening by the passing seconds. But so were the humans. Most precisely, the mages. Keeping up a constant stream of electricity required a lot of mana from Lucius. Lightening element was great. It provided paralysis effects, a more than decent amount of damage, multiple target options, etc. On the other hand, it pumped mana as an old model race car did to gas. On top of that, releasing a constant stream of electricity only depleted Lucius''s mana reserve faster. That''s why he liked to use a melee weapon topensate for that ridiculous mana consumption, his weakness. He has been preventing the orcs from moving continuously for five minutes now and they had not died yet. ''No wonder these creatures were saved forst. They are just ridiculously overpowered,'' Lucius thought, feeling his mana drained to a fifth of his reserve. ''Gotta recharge soon.'' Taking a mana core out of his inventory bag, Lucius focused on it for but an instant to suck in the energy, weakening his hold on the orcs. That single opportunity was what the two orcs on the back were waiting for. Seeing Lucius lose a part of his focus, they rapidly stood up from their crouch position, and, both aiming at the same target that prevented theirrades from moving, hurled their spears. Lucius appeared to be the most annoying of the humans present here. Both deadly projectiles rapidly traveled through the air. Their target wasn''t that far, allowing for an uracy high enough to be certain the shot would not miss. Orcs had practiced their marksmanship for that purpose, after all. ''Damn it!'' Lucius thought, dropping his mana core, halting his skill. He barely had time to sidestep and dodge one spear. However, the other spear glowing yellow hit him head-on. His skill Durability at level 2 was no match for the orcs''. The spear tip got through that first magicalyer of defense, biting into his armor. Its momentum granted the weapon enough pration power to pierce through and collide against Lucius''s chain mail, protecting his stomach. And finally, it stabbed through his abdomen. Blood gushed out from his wound. In a state of shock, he grabbed the spear shaft, incapable of realizing he had been wounded badly. That had never happened before, after all. He had always been able to prepare correctly, face adversity. Lucius had been injured before. Deep cuts, bruises, broken bones. But a spear in the guts was something new. He couldn''t tell how deep was the wound as he lost his bnce and fell from the wooden wall. "Honey!" Elizabeth shouted, losing herposure when her leader dropped onto the sand and stopped moving. Freed from his electric prison, orcs advanced into the fortress, but she couldn''t care less. The two archers that were firing arrows from atop the walls were out of ammunition. Three days of fighting against hordes of orcs had depleted their supply¡ªwell, two days considering they hadn''t really participated in yesterday''s battle. Of course, they had gathered their arrows on the field afterward but arrows broke at times. Also, one could only carry so many arrows on themselves, plus the fact they had fought hobs to get on the sixth floor. They were now forced to switch to melee. She had tried to limit her shots, to make them count. However, even she was out of ammunition. Drawing her repeater and long dagger, she prepared for the orcs'' charge. The orcs advanced slowly in formation, their shield riddled with arrows and dents. Stepping on shattered wooden spears that had been cast by Elizabeth and broken arrows, they walked inside the fortress. George just finished recharging his mana with a mana core and hurled highly pressurized water bullets, aiming at the shield She had almost entirely frozen despite the high temperature. Upon contact, it shattered a quarter of it, exposing the orc. Focusing on another enemy, Ogoro used his wires and binding string to catch it. However, having used that trick once, the orc saw iting and shield bashed some of the wires. Ogoro still managed to grab its thick arm. He pulled. At that moment, a second orc joined in, helping its fellow elite soldier. One orc was already hard to drag, but two was impossible. Too busy dealing with enemies on his side, George couldn''t help him. Ogoro was forced to dispel his binding to avoid being pulled towards the orcs. Swords in hand, the three archers from Lucius''s team charged at them. George stopped firing water bullets for fear of hitting one of them and prepared to enter the melee. Casting a water wall, he isted his target from the others and smashed the orc''s frozen shield into pieces. "KRA!" The orc grabbed its war ax with two hands and counterattacked. George backed up and used another water wall to propel his adversary towards him. Unexpectedly, the orc weed the propulsion as an opportunity, charging madly at him. However, George took a batter position, hurled water bullets to distract the orc, and, like in a baseball game, smashed the orc''s armored head with his metal club, aiming for the home run. The orc flew backward, never to move again, or so George thought. ''I can''t believe that worked,'' George thought. Thanks to the challengers'' continuous bombardment, the orcs were already injured, weakened, mainly because of Lucius. But to his surprise, the orc moved despite an ugly injury featuring its face bashing inward. Sam immediately seized this opportunity to stab it in the throat. Due to the situation, both mage and warrior worked together. Ogoro shed open an orc''s throat with his sword and backed up, letting She take his ce, Roisin on her toes. The battle looked more like an all-out brawl now than an organized fight. A long cut marked Ogoro''s breastte from the top left-hand corner to his waist, a parting gift from his opponent. He rapidly took three recovery beads to stop the bleeding. From where he stood, Ogoro could see the two archers confronting three other orcs weren''t exactly amateurs. shing, hacking, parrying. By all means, they were better than most challengers he had seen. Their techniques were unrefined and would certainly need more training. Still, they truly were strong. But they surely were better bowmen than swordsmen. They managed to kill an orc, but one of them died in the process. Thest archer, a woman armed with two short swords faced two elite orcs on her own. George and She already had their hands full dealing with one orc each, both helped by Sam''s team. Elizabeth was crying on top of Lucius, probably helping him recover if he wasn''t dead already. Ogoro cursed internally. That archer from Lucius''s team would notst long if he didn''t do something. Practically two challengers were required to bring down one elite orc. Infusing mana into his gauntlet, he entrapped one of the elite orcs in his wires, using all his remaining strength to hold it still. "Honey, please, don''t die on me!" Elizabeth wailed, breaking four recovery beads to heal Lucius who had a spear lodged in his guts. His head had hit the ground first, during which he had lost consciousness. Elizabeth didn''t know if it was due to the fall or the weapon protruding from her husband''s body. Fortunately, Lucius was still breathing.... for now, at least. Chapter 165 - Elizabeth While challengers fought, Elizabeth wept. She cared little about everything happening in the Tower. Power? Riches? Her second life? Survival? All those were meaningless to her if she couldn''t share them with the one she loved. Lucius. He had been a simple employee in a bank. Wake up, go to work, go back home, have dinner with his wife. Lucius had quite a simple but happy life. Elizabeth and he hadn''t been rich or poor. They had had enough money to make a living and enjoy some of life''s joy. What more could one ask for? They had liked to go bowling once a week. It was a ritual of sorts. Every Friday night they would eat out somewhere cheap, then go bowling. Why? Maybe because that''s how they had spent their first date. After twenty years of marriage, Elizabeth could recall it perfectly. How he had picked her up on a Friday night during a cold winter in a rental car. Back then Lucius had been a clumsy man and took her to a bowling center, thinking it was romantic. It wouldn''t have worked were it any other woman than Elizabeth. Instead of condemning him for such a foolish idea, she gave him a chance. Having never tried bowling before, she had thought it was only a dumb game where people hit skittles with a metallic ball or whatever the ball was crafted from. Still, she had spent a wonderful evening with Lucius. Throwing a ball,peting against each other, talk about their lives. She had somehow found that rxing, appealing. Lucius''s straightforwardness, clumsiness, had been attractive to her. Elizabeth didn''t exactly like the usual romance game of dating for a certain set amount of time before finally officially going out. If she liked someone enough, then that was it. It could be said she lucked out with Lucius or maybe it had been her woman''s intuition. Before the end of her date, she had "sealed the deal." After that, they spent most of their Friday night together, then finally their entire life together. Elizabeth has never regretted her decision. He had always been here for him, and she for him. There had been asional hardships, of course, but that was life. Yearster, on a particr Friday night, they got into a car ident while leaving for their usual bowling session. Elizabeth survived it, but Lucius hadn''t. She had gotten depressed afterward, seeing his ghost countless times roaming in their house that looked so empty without him. Lucius had been sterile, so even after more than twenty years together, they had no children. Tormented, lovesick, exhausted. Unable to go on living, she took her own life by jumping in front of a truck willingly. It had been quick and painless when her skull shattered. An unknown amount of timeter, some gods revived her in a weird boundless space with thousands of other humans. Like a few others revived humans, Elizabeth had wondered why despite herck of desire for life, godly beings resurrected her until she found someone in that crowd. Her deceased husband. Luck or fate. At first, she had thought it was a dream, only a dream. However, when their gaze met, and he walked toward her, when she felt his warm touch on her skin once more, when he took her in his arms, she had felt so relieved. Deciding to make a ce for themselves in that new world called Iris, they had gone through the white trial since it looked like the easiest. At the time, they just wanted to stay together and live a normal, cozy life like before. There, they had fought not orcs, hobs, or goblins but worse, humans. The white trial had limited resources. Humans fought each other over territories forming groups, gathering around leaders. That only made them realize that the new world they were heading to might not be a ce for the weak. That''s where Lucius had found his talent in leadership, creating his own group of people. Elizabeth had noticed a change in his personality. In that short time, Lucius had be a ruthless opportunist. "I''ll do anything to create a ce of our own," Lucius had told her once, "even if that means killing a thousand people. We have no choice, Elizabeth. This is how this new world works." They rapidly came to know that the life they had on Earth and would have on Iris was bound to be different. Unfortunately, Lucius had lost against Kai Tsubame, that cunning fox, and was forced to serve under him or die. Not much of a choice there. The Tower had been a great opportunity to part with the Chosen Sect Kai had established. Gaining freedom, Lucius and Elizabeth had gathered loyalrades to climb the Tower. From twenty people, their numbers dwindled to seven the further up the Tower they went, acquiring more power but losing morerades in the process. Such was the Tower. And now it looked like it was Lucius''s time to die. Elizabeth couldn''t bear the sight of losing him a second time. They had been lucky to be revived in the same ce and find each other again, despite not dying the same day. Next to him, her knees on the scorching sand, she caressed his cheek. He was still breathing. With a spear in the gut, even four recovery beads could not stop the bleeding. Elizabeth would have to take it out if she wanted the beads'' to heal him properly. But pulling it out might aggravate Lucius''s injury. He could die from blood loss before recovery beads worked out their magic. Lucius would need a battle surgeon if he were to survive. The only battle surgeon of their team, Bartholomeo, had died from a spear in the gut thrown by that giant female orc Aito was fighting outside. She didn''t exactly resent him for what he had done. Elizabeth knew her husband had been in the wrong to refuse a temporary alliance, not that she could make him see reason. They would have had no choice but to fight the orcs at some point, anyway. Over the years, Lucius had be a prideful man. But there were a few things he was proud of, held dear. His wife and now his newly acquired powers. Elizabeth knew Lucius had refused to cooperate with Aito because he had witnessed the man''s strength. Fearing he''d steal his group like that bastard Kai Tsubame had. ''Aito¡­ doesn''t he have a battle surgeon on his team?'' Elizabeth thought, wiping off her tears. None of Aito''s teammates has died yet. A team that reached the sixth floor would have a battle surgeon with them. At least she hoped so. She turned around, looking at the remaining challengers fighting the orcs in a battle to the death. Martha, the only archer alive, was fighting two orcs. All Elizabeth''s otherrades had sumbed under the elite orcs'' blows. Lucius team had beenposed of two mages, two archers, one battle surgeon, and two warriors. Seven in total. And now, only three of them remained, soon two if Elizabeth did not find a battle surgeon. That''s when she saw a man restraining an orc with thin wires and a yellow string. Realizing what that meant, hope arose from the bottom of her heart. But he appeared to be badly wounded himself. She inhaled and exhaled to calm her sorrow, encouraging herself mentally, ''Be strong, Elizabeth. All hope isn''t lost yet. You can still save Lucius.'' Given a new reason to fight, she stood up and went to the rescue of someone she supposed was a battle surgeon. *** Dozens of meters away from the wooden defenses erected by Lucius''s team, two powerful figures wielding axes exchanged mighty blows. Grains of sand sshed when the Khan''s giant ax hit the ground. Aito, who had dodged sideway countered with a vicious liver blow, charging his gauntlet with Durability and Impact. His fist hit true, leaving a small fist size dent in the Khan''s armor. The female orc grunted and riposted with a head butt. A heavy thud resounded. Aito stepped back, slightly stunned by the blow. ''That thing hits like a truck!'' He thought. It was the first time since his level up he fought an opponent rivaling him in strength. The Khan grinned contentedly as if it was having fun. It tightened her hold on her weapon that vibrated strongly, a formless energy coating it. Aito charged, bringing down his lengthened morpho ax. The Khan''s de responded to his blow. Her de radiating with yellow and formless energies met his. BAM! Every fiber of Aito''s being vibrated upon impact, he could feel the brunt of the attack through his bones. The Khan was strong. He frowned when he saw that her de had managed to shatter a small part of his ax. Fissures marked his weapon''s edge. ''Was that skill?'' He wondered, kicking the Khan in the guts. Forced by his strength, the female orc took two steps back, then smiled, her teeth and two tusks covered in dark blood. Chapter 166 - Grey Light The dark and white suns in the sky shone brightly, abnormally closer to each other than before as if merging. Their edges touched, shining a pale grey light on the arena that progressively expanded with the passing seconds. Yellow grains of sand, brown rocks, ck and red blood. All colors deemed losing contrast. And yet no one paid attention to it. Speechless, the orc crowd had their eyes glued on the two figures fighting at the center of the arena, unwilling to miss a drop of the action. They had never seen the Khan fight seriously before, not to that extent at least. Both man and orc''s weapons spew sparks with each collision. The wind itself seemed to flee for dear life with sudden shock waves produced by Aito''s skill, creating clouds of sand and dust. Even if they looked carefully, the crowd missed 2 out of 3 blows. Aito and the Khan were so fast, their vision barely kept up. Only a few elite orcs like Krugan, who were spectators, managed to pick up the entire scene. To most, the human and the orc chief were at the same level. Exchanging blow for blow. But Krugan knew better. It could see the slight difference in rhythm and speed. The Khan had the upper hand. Noticing the grey light, Krugan calmly lifted his head upward. The Khul and Khan, the ck and white sun, were merging, ovepping. Every orc, adult or child, knew what it meant. ''It''s almost time,'' Krugan thought, sighing. ''The strong warrior has lost any chance of winning.'' No one paid attention to the other challengers who managed to defeat thest elite orcs in the wooden fortifications, regrouping, healing their wounded, honoring their deadpanions. The crowd''s heavy gazes alone attested to the immense pressure Aito felt on his shoulder. He could feel an invisible aura pushing him downward, ready to bury him underneath the scorching sand, never to resurface. Was it the crowd or the imposing being, that despite the injuries, currently facing him with a content toothy smile on her face? Probably a mix of both. Such was the pressure of this fight. He himself was riddled with wounds. Fist-sized dents on his breastte and helmet. Cuts on the arms and jaw. Bruises on his abdomen, legs, and back. Fortunately, his weavedmail protected him most of the time. Once again, he could taste his own blood mixed with dried saliva. They''ve been fighting for almost ten minutes and neither of them had fallen. Yet, it seemed like an hour or two had passed. Although it hasn''t been that long since he faced a deadly situation, it felt like an eternity since he fought an opponent capable of injuring him that badly. It made him realize he was growing ustomed to being at the top of the food chain, or maybe bored with easy enemies, much like the Khan. Even though he kept his guard up against such leisurely thoughts, he couldn''t help but grow conceited due to the previousck of danger. And so he weed and also dreaded the Khan''s strength. In that sense, Aito felt he could understand her, an orc who had reached the apex of her race, at least within the Tower''s limits. Who knew what kind of monster the Khan could have be outside? Without the gods purposely barring her evolution. The slight smile on Aito''s face betrayed his pleasure of meeting a worthy foe once more. The Khan was clearly enjoying their fight, appearing to give her all, putting her life on the line. It no longer seemed to seek glory but pure enjoyment. Aito''s ax de was already dented, still usable though. Most sparks hade from his own weapon, due to small pieces of it flying. A good sharpening tool would certainly help his case, but if he kept hitting her de with his de, he feared it would break it. Weirdly enough, her weapon looked fine, as pristine as when it came out of the smithy. The Khan dashed towards him, covering the short distance in an instant. Such speed, at Aito''s level, was considered normal. However, he had yet to ustom himself to it entirely. With no time to dodge, he defended himself. His steel shield met the Khan''s ax with a loud thud, adding yet another mark to Aito''s protection. He countered the attack with a quick thrust to her throat. The Khan escaped the strike by a hair''s length, leaving a scratch on her helmet, before kicking in between his legs. Dangerous for all kinds of painful reasons, Aito promptly swept that blow away with his knee, taking advantage of his positioning to kick her stomach. BAM! The Khan weed his powerful blow, taking three-step backward to absorb the impact. Aito dashed with the intent to chain his attack, coating his ax de with everything he had. ¡ªActive Skill: Durability (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Weight Control x10 (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Impact (Overload)¡ª His weapon vibrated with power as he hacked down, aiming for the kill. The Khan riposted with a powerful strike of her own. de vibrating yellow, her ax once more met his, colliding in a brutal shockwave. Thanks to the added weight and momentum, Aito pushed her back but dealt no ring injury. As the Khan regained her bnce, Aito noticed the pale grey light shining upon them. In fact, it was now shining in the entire arena. Everything turned grey. It almost reminded him of those old ck and white movies if it wasn''t for the fact he was actually ying in that movie. He charged at her, unwilling to leave the Khan any opportunity to rest. More small cracks progressively appeared on Aito''s ax as they were exchanging a flurry of blows. A situation where he was at a disadvantage. Aito tried to avoid that kind of situation from urring. Fighting in short bursts before retreating to create space and prevent her from continuously attacking. Not that it worked wonders for him. The Khan had probably reached Agility level 4 and was faster than Aito. He was struggling to keep up with her speed. It was only thanks to his training and asional Intuition that red up from time to time Aito could somehow exchange blows and was not entirely overwhelmed. Or it could also be that the Khan let him strike back. That realization worried him. ____ Read Author Thoughts for An Announcement. Chapter 167 - [BC]Run Aito and the Khan''s difference in speed weren''t ring but still present. A few more injuries and shing marks progressively appeared on his body and armor. He had no time to think. Every four or five strikes, the Khan wouldnd a hit on him. At first, he thought it was by pure luck. But it happened time and time again. ''Was it ying with me since the beginning?'' Aito thought, slightly pissed. Thanks to the gods ying their own games in the shadow, he has developed an aversion to being controlled or anything rted to control over him. He felt like the Khan was a cat toying with a mouse. A big tasty mouse in his case. But it was time for the mouse to use his anti-cat weapon. Suddenly, amidst the flurry of blows, Aito switched to his ainium hammer. Looking at it in slow motion, his blunt weapon impacted the Khan''s ax edge that was coated with two different energies. Upon impact, it should have destroyed the orc''s mighty ax, and yet, contrary to Aito''s expectations, his hammer simply repelled the enemy''s weapon so violently it flew high above the arena,nding twenty meters away. Edge stuck in the scorching sand. Therge ax remained intact, pristine even. Seizing this opportunity, Aito spun rapidly, putting his back into it, instantly coating his weapon with his three skills. Like a woodcutter cutting down a tree, his ax viciously bit into the Khan''s armored nk,cerating her defenses, but was forced to stop at her ribcage. Blood poured out the deathly wound, spraying Aito''s ax with a ck that looked grey no matter how he looked at it. He tried to pull his weapon out. The Khan''s abdominal muscles contracted so tightly it blocked her blood vessels, stopping the loss of her vital liquid, trapping Aito''s ax de inside her. The Khan stretched her long powerful arm. Her bulging muscles contracted to the limits as she gripped Aito''s hand and shaft to prevent him from moving. Try as he may, he was stuck. Not that he nned on backing down right now. With her avable hand, the orc grabbed a dagger then thrust, aiming for the puny human''s throat with all her strength. Aito caught the dagger with his armored hand, preventing a deadly blow. He clenched his fist, trying to crush her steel de. Blood ran down the Khan''s mouth. Forced to exert all his strength, Aito''s entire body hurt badly. Multiple wounds werepelled to open. "I''m pleased with your fighting prowess, human warrior, but I sense you''re weakening," The Khan said, her dagger slowly moving towards Aito''s throat. "Pity. Such a pity." The dagger reached halfway to Aito''s throat. "Worry not. Since you''ve fought so honorably¡­" A quarter way. "I will give yourpanions a quick, painless death." The weapon''s tip reached Aito''s throat, progressively digging into his weavedmail. It was only a matter of time before it pierced through. Killing his teammates? Fought honorably? Pleased with his fighting prowess? What kind of bullshit was that? "Yeah¡­ fuck that," he replied, slowly pushing her dagger back. ¡ªGift: Fury¡ª Angry, his strength increased by an entire level, allowing him to push her back. Confused, the Khan watched her dagger progressively moving away from Aito''s throat. At the same time, he forced his ax deeper into her abdomen. "Fuck you, your sacred event, and the gods." Despite her best effort, the Khan couldn''t prevent Aito''s ax from moving deeper inside her abdomen. Slowly, but surely, it was heading for her guts. The female orc''s muscles bulged because of the excess effort. The possibility of losing seemed to take form inside her mind as her face turned ck-greyish because of the blood pumping rapidly into her brain. As Aito''s victory approached, the two suns ovepped perfectly over the arena in the fake sky. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. His ax and the Khan''s dagger halted their course. The crowd stopped breathing. Inside the wooden fortification, She and George lifted their heads up while a dreadful feeling overwhelmed them, then turned towards Aito''s location. Ogoro, who was tending to Lucius''s injury, stopped sewing. Elizabeth''s gaze went from her husband''s body to a location close to the square-shaped fortification''s entrance. Sam frowned when the sounds of struggleing from outside the wooden walls turned deathly silent. No grunts, shouts, or weapons colliding. Not even the wind could be heard. Every challenger present in the arena, and still alive, felt it. Their gazes were glued to the same location. They couldn''t see exactly what was happening outside because of the wooden walls obstructing their vision, but they could sense it. Something wasing. Something dreadful. Suddenly, a loud bang broke the silence, reverberating throughout the entire arena. The sound of a fast-approaching projectile was heard by challengers. From the location everyone was staring at, Aito''s body flew through the wooden wall on one side, crashed on the sandy ground, rolling, and rammed into the wooden wall on the other side. He finished his course embedded in wood. Worried, She rushed to his side. Ogoro abandoned Lucius''s treatment, prioritizing the safety of hisrade. Arriving by his side, they helped him out of the wood. Ogoro didn''t even have to use his enhanced sense of touch to see that Aito was in a bloody state. Multiple minor injuries. shes all over the body. Worst of all, his breastte was badly curved inward, blocking his breathing. She immediately removed Aito''s armor, cutting the leather straps with her dagger, revealing his weavedmail. Underneath it, Ogoro saw bruises of all kinds, but one stood out from the rest. An abnormallyrge fist mark, twice that of George''s fist girth. "How''s the boss?" George asked. "I don''t know for sure yet. My best guess is that he may have broken ribs, maybe one of them is perforating his lungs. His forearm is crushed beyond repair, at least with my capabilities. I seriously doubt recovery beads will do the trick, but we can still use some to stop any possible internal bleeding," Ogoro replied, breaking four recovery beads on Aito''s body. "I''ll be able to tell you more in a bit with my gift." "Then what are you waiting for? Do it now!" She said, panicked. Ogoro wondered what was happening to her. He had never seen her lose her cool like that before. Of course, he was also worried, but notpletely panicked. To him, She looked just like¡­ Aito jolted awake, then groaned when the pain of his broken ribs reminded him of his injured state. "What are you¡­ doing?" Aito said, wheezing. He was hardly able to breathe. "It''s¡­ing." Standing on the side, Sam watched him, horrified. Because he knew the ck challenger was a monster and it''d take hundreds, possibly a thousand, challengers to kill him. "We have¡­ no time¡­ to prepare." Sam''s gaze shifted to the hole Aito had flown through a moment ago. The clouds of sand and dust had dispersed. Further, in the distance, he could see a tall figure slowly approaching, Aito''s weapon lodged in its nk. It grabbed empty air to the side. Its ax that had been embedded in the ground a few minutes ago vibrated, levitated, then flew into the grey figure''s hand. "Ogoro¡­ She¡­ George," Aito said, stumbling to his feet.. "Run." Chapter 168 - The Kh眉l From its seat, Krugan sighed, for it knew the fight was over. The Kh¨¹l has already descended from the sky, gracing the orcs of its presence. Who was Kh¨¹l? ording to their legends, it was the incarnation of one of their dead ancestors, the strongest orc that has ever lived. Once in a while, when the two suns ovepped, it would once more walk amongst them for a short period of time, sharing its wisdom and strength with the orc kin. The Grand Duels had two purposes. Firstly, itmemorated the glorious war between humans and orcs that, apparently, happened long ago. Secondly, it prepared the Kh¨¹l''s arrival. Orcs must show themselves worthy and honorable of the Kh¨¹l''s wisdom by challenging humans to a death battle. The Kh¨¹l itself would join in if they failed to kill the humans. By doing so, it would teach the orcs how to fight better, at least that''s what they all believed. But Krugan knew it thirsted for blood and a good fight, something itcked as a spirit wherever it came from. The Kh¨¹l would always take possession of the current Khan''s body, because other orcs were deemed too weak to hold its power. And that for a reason. Krugan doubted it could exert half the strength it originally had had alive when borrowing the Khan''s body. Even then, the body would temporarily mutate, just like now. In the middle of the arena, the Kh¨¹l suddenly stopped walking, its body bulged progressively, bing bulkier. It tensed up, lengthening, reaching three meters tall. The Khan''s armor barely fit the Kh¨¹l. Too ufortable, the imposing orc gripped the breastte, crushed it, then hurled it aside and did the same with other pieces impeding his movements. It looked upward, took a deep breath, tasting freedom once more. The Kh¨¹l enjoyed the taste of blood in its mouth, the pain from its injuries. "Free, atst," The Kh¨¹l said. "Even if it''s just an illusory world, it''s good to walk amongst the living once more." While the Kh¨¹l enjoyed its freedom and finished its metamorphosis, in the wooden fortifications, Aito leaned on a wall, hissing, catching his breath. Repeatedly using his active skill Pneuma to restore his stamina and health. Thanks to the recovery beads Ogoro had given him and his skill, Aito could feel his insides healing. Any internal bleeding stopped, but the lungs were still perforated. Each breath taken was excruciating, akin to twisting a dagger already lodged in him. "Got a n, Aito?" Ogoro asked. "Not really¡­ just help me¡­ my lungs¡­," Aito said, pointing at his ribs. Ogoro nodded, understanding what he meant. How could he not? It was so ring. Grabbing She''s dagger, he coated it with Durability and pierced Aito''s rib cage, creating a small ess point. Ogoro''s healing string entered the wound. Thanks to his enhanced sense of touch, he rapidly found the bone fragment piercing the lungs, and pulled to put it back to where it belonged. He made sure to sew the broken piece on the rib cage correctly, then closed the wound. It was quick and took barely a minute. An emergency surgical operation. Not optimal, but it''d do for now. "Thanks, doc" Aito said, breathing morefortably now. "Now run." "What do you mean by ''run''!?" She asked, before anyone else could say anything. "Why!?" "That thing is beyond any of you," Aito replied, pointing at the Kh¨¹l. "You can''t fight it." "So you want us to run while you fight it on your own, again?" She asked, clenching her fists. "Like you did in the goblin den and during the Lunar Eclipse? You want to fight alone, AGAIN!? Aren''t we a team!? Shouldn''t a team help each other out!?" ''What''s gotten into her?'' He thought, watching She going all hysterical on him. Aito said, "You don''t understand. It''s faster and stronger than before. I can stand a chance against it IF you run. Remember that Unique Skill I talked about? It''s our only chance. But as long as you three are around me, I won''t be able to use it. So please, for all of our sake, run." "I¡­," She said, searching for an objection, something to make him change his mind. "But where do you want us to run!? Every exit is barred! We won''t leave you alone again!" He felt her body touching his. Her delicate curves and warm skin. That woman, who had kicked his ass before, now appeared so frail and weak. It didn''t suit her usual demeanor. "Not again¡­ please. Let me stay¡­," she begged him. "Don''t y the hero again...." ''Why?'' He thought, cing his hand on her shoulders. Somehow, her touch was heartwarming. He could feel her heart beating strongly, her heat transferring to his body like a medicine, curing his ailments. His anxiety, pain, and anger at his own powerlessness vanished, only to be reced by bliss. Time seemed to stop for some reason as a slight smile grew on his face. He did not understand her reaction, nor why he felt this way. Did it matter? Who cared? Aito felt blessed at that moment. Blessed to have someone care about him so much. Although he didn''t expect She to care for him this way, it''s been a while since he felt the warmth of another human being''s hug. For that, he was grateful. When was thest time a human hugged him so tightly? Not counting human or monkey Jack, thest time had been with his father. Warm tears run down his eyes, blurring his vision as he remembered a foregone notion. Ogoro and George looked sideways, slightly embarrassed to see such a strong man crying. It sure was an unusual sight, yet Aito weed it nheless. He didn''t mind people seeing him this way. At that moment, Aito was d he had met the siblings. "I''lle back," he whispered in She''s ear, only for her to hear. "I promise." She looked at his abyssal dark eyes, "You lie¡ª" Aito punched her in the sr plexus, then hit She on the back of her head, hard enough for her to lose consciousness, but soft enough to prevent anysting damage. "Thank you," he whispered to She, catching her body. "Ogoro, take your sister and flee." Ogoro grabbed She hesitantly, thinking Aito had gone a bit overboard by knocking her out. "Did you really have to do that?" "Do you really have to ask why?" "Right¡­," Ogoro said. "Even if you''re asking us to run, boss," George said, "There is nowhere to go. All paths are blocked." "If there is no path, make one." Aito took out a boom ball and gave it to him. "I... alright. Anything I can do for you before we leave, boss?" George asked. "Give me your breastte and make sure those two get to the sixth floor safely," Aito replied, drawing a double-headed ax from an inventory bag. The weapon he had stolen from Big Bad Red''s corpse a while ago. *** Apart from Aito''s teammates, challengers all around stared at the ridiculously strong being outside the wooden fortress. The Kh¨¹l stood still, arms stretched. It looked like it was appreciating the scorching heat and grey light. "W, w, what''s that thing?" Sam asked. His hands trembled, the grip on his sword loosened, threatening to let go of his weapon. "I don''t know, but it sure looks big," Roisin said, "and¡­ incredibly dangerous." Elizabeth immediately closed off the broken wall and entrance with her wood magic. "That won''t stop it," Aito dered, wearing George''s armor, a mighty ax on his shoulder. "Run if you want to live." He stepped out of the fortress while his teammates fled. Sam and Elizabeth gawked at their fellow challengers running away, at a loss as to what to do next. Sam was the first to move, promptly following Aito''s team, Roisin on his toes. Marta, the only survivor from Lucius''s team, pped Elizabeth awake, inciting her to follow her. She grabbed Lucius, then followed the rest in a moment of conformism. The Kh¨¹l saw the puny humans running away from him, but it mattered not. It had been observing the fights through the Khan''s eyes and knew who the worthiest foe was. The others could wait. It wouldn''t be toote to catch them after it was done dealing with the maning at him. Chapter 169 - Overwhelming Power Dusts, sand, heat, and silence. Each of his steps brought Aito closer to that invincible creature, barely twenty meters away from him. His right forearm was broken. Inside, Aito could feel the bones that were shattered slowly healing. Pneuma and the recovery beads did a good job of alleviating the pain. However, he could feel it would not be enough for him topete against that monstrosity. Bone fragments had difficulty repairing. There were so many pieces it''d take an entire day or two for his arm to fully heal. He could still move his hand, but lifting a single finger was excruciating, beyond any description. And yet, he gripped something tightly. A small green bead with strays of gold. A Healing Bead. Aito has been keeping it forter, in case of an emergency. After all, it equaled at least a hundred recovery beads and could probably save the life of one of his teammates in times of need. In his current situation, he might have no choice but to use it on himself. But he still hesitated. There was something he wanted to try before using it. He only kept it within hand''s reach, just in case his n failed. Well¡­ if you could call what he was thinking about a "n," it was more akin to improvisation. Odds were stacked against him. Normally, using the healing bead right away would be a smart choice. But there were still four floors left to clear. If they were as difficult as the sixth floor, he might need the healing beadter on. Fifteen meters away from the Kh¨¹l, a notification window popped up. [It appears you are in need of help, mortal.] Valinar said, showing up in his peripheral vision. ''You again? You have a knack for bad timings,'' Aito asked mentally. He hadn''t heard from her since the time orcs had captured his team. ''Just get lost already and let me focus on the fight.'' [The Kh¨¹l is beyond your current capabilities, mortal.] Valinar said, apparently oblivious to hisment. [However, it cannot stay on the material in for long. All you have to do is survive until then.] Ten meters away from the Kh¨¹l. If she was right, then he might stand a chance. He didn''t exactly like receiving her help, but that information picked his interest and it also sounded quite logical. For instance, if the Kh¨¹l could appear whenever it wanted, it would have done so long ago¡­ probably. Aito did not reply to the goddess. Instead, he focused on the herculean being, that was now barely seven meters away from him. He knew he was already within its striking range. "So you''re the sacrifice this time?" The Kh¨¹l said. "How marvelous! Never thought I''d be fighting an Ascender in this forsaken ce! Ahaha! What a good day to be alive. I see the gods aren''t that petty after all! Although I would have preferred a level 4 Ascender or a moderator¡­ but ah well, can''t be picky when imprisoned in this shit hole, right?" "You¡­, how can you know about the gods?" Aito asked, shocked. Well, he was also trying to buy some time. "I thought every creature in the Tower didn''t know about their existence." [Don''t listen to him, mortal. He''ll only poison your min¡ª]Valinar started. ''Shut up,'' Aito interrupted. ''Don''t disturb my focus!'' [I''m only saying this for your own good. That thing is vile and only wants to lead you astray. It doesn''t even know what it is saying!] He ignored her and discretely eyed the other challengers who were making their way to the waiting room, hoping they''d make it in time. The Kh¨¹l lifted his grey furry brow. "I see you can indeed understand ournguage! Marvelous! Ahaha! There are many things the gods kept hidden from your race humans. Although... I can''t exactly remember what. Ahaha!" ''That thing''s gone crazy?'' Aito thought, then asked, "What do you mean?" Meanwhile, George reached the waiting room''s gate in his peripheral vision. "Don''t take me for a fool, human. I know you''re just trying to buy your kinsmen sometime," The Kh¨¹l smirked. "Not that it matters. My kin won''t allow their escape." Aito cursed internally. He has always been bad at acting. "Hum, don''t be too disappointed. If you manage to survive me, I''ll tell you everything you want to know and let you go... if I can remember¡ª" The Kh¨¹l tried to say, but arge coffin appeared out of nowhere and trapped it. Aito lowered his hand. The golden ring on it was shining brightly, the glow receded progressively. His prey trapped, he dashed, brandishing his giant ax with his intact left hand. Coating the de with every skill at his disposal, he hacked down with all his strength, shing the illusionary coffin in half. At the same time, an explosion rang out when George activated the boom ball. The gate to the waiting room shattered, opening their way out of the arena. With their capabilities, the challengers should be able to breach the other doors in the tunnels. They hadn''t done so until now for fear of attracting too much attention to themselves. Aito continued to madly attack the coffin, hoping for a miracle. However, a big hand covered in grey aura suddenly reached out from the illusion, catching his ax, forcing its momentum to a stop. The Kh¨¹l stepped out of the coffin as if it was nothing. A long shallow mark traced its chest and abdomen, with other small wounds. "How¡­," Aito asked, bbergasted. "That''s impossible." "Nice little realistic illusion you got there, human," The Kh¨¹l said, tightening its hold on the ax. Despite Durability coating it, Aito''s de cracked. Fissures spread until the steel couldn''t handle the pressure any longer and shattered. "But it''s pointless when you''ve trained your mind to the utmost. Realistic or not, it is still an illusion." A tingling feeling pulsed from Aito''s right side, at neck level. He barely had the time to defend himself with his ax that a powerful blow struck his weapon''s steel shaft. ''Shit! How strong is that thing?'' He cursed internally, jumping aside to absorb the blow. The Kh¨¹l eyed his broken arm then said, "Ah, handicapped I see. That''s no fun, let me make this fair." It retracted one hand behind its back before moving so fast it looked like teleportation. It reappeared in front of Aito who, rmed, threw his now useless ax shaft and deployed his shield ainium side to block the iing strike. The Kh¨¹l''s ax coated with grey energy rebounded on his shield. The repelling force sent the ax flying. With a mouth arced in an O-shape, the Kh¨¹l called back its ax. The weapon stopped mid-flight, then rushed back into its hand. "Ohohoho, interesting! This is gonna be fun to demolish!" it said, hammering Aito''s shield with a devilish grin. Each time, the ainium would repel the Kh¨¹l''s aura coating its weapon, and remove it from its hand, only to return immediately. Behind his shield, Aito clenched his teeth. His entire body ached. With every strike, he could feel his muscles, organs, and bones vibrating. The healing bead was still in his broken hand. The more time passed, the more he felt the urge to use it. It would certainly heal him, but then what? Aito wanted the pain to stop, and the healing bead could help. However, healing himself was pointless. At best, it would allow him to feel less pain. But would it result in victory? Certainly not. He would not be able to prevail with just that. Healed or not, his arm wouldn''t make much difference against that thing. Moreover, if he let himself be stopped by just a broken arm on the sixth floor, how could he hope to clear the Tower? If the sixth floor was that difficult, the seventh floor will certainly be harder to ovee. To his mind,ining about a broken arm was not the right mindset to have. ''Don''t be a pussy. Now isn''t the right time to use it,'' he thought, stuffing the healing bead in an inventory bag to take out a small metallic ball. However, thanks to the randomness of an inventory bag drawing, he could feel by touch alone it wasn''t the ball he was looking for. While he searched for the right item, the Kh¨¹l rampaged. It appeared to enjoy banging Aito''s shield for the simple reason of wanting to destroy it. A long period as a spirit might have rendered it mad, or maybe it had been mad before. Aito was like a nail the Kh¨¹l hammered down. His feet dug deeper into the sand with each consecutive strike. "AHAHA! Quite the interesting shield you got there, human! But time is up, I''ve had my share of fun," the Kh¨¹l said, lifting its ax high with one hand. It was a magnificent weapon. The shaft was crafted from an unknown bone, forming a single pole. At the end of the pommel was incrusted a shining polished gem. It had arge executioner de that, even with the grey sun, shimmered in blue greyish light. Aito''s face grew a bloody smirk when he threw a boom ball at the creature''s face, then braced himself for the impact with both hands, using his shield. Before the Kh¨¹l could say, "What is this?" the metallic item exploded to its face. BOOM! The explosion was so powerful it hurled Aito backward. He crashed on the sand, rolling to break the momentum. He stopped twenty meters away. His ears rang with a deafening sound. His shield was charred ck and dented. Barely able to move, he retracted his morpho shield that prevented him from seeing the Kh¨¹l. There, where he had been a moment ago, was arge ten-meter radius crater. [Those boom balls the minerian crafted sure are powerful. Commendable effort, human. Not bad at all. But, this isn''t enough against overwhelming power.] Valinarmented. There was nothing Aito could do to make her shut up, not that he was in a state to talk, nor was it the moment. Aito could see a tall figure standing still at the center of the crater, covered in greyish energy that progressively receded, revealing the Kh¨¹l''s state. It had burnt marks all over, with shrapnels lodged in its face and torso, but it was alive. ''Haha, figured as much. I think I know how Sam''s feel now when he calls me a monster,'' Aito chuckled uneasily. ''Shit.... it''sing. Why isn''t my unique skill activated yet?'' Chapter 170 - Fragmented Memories The Kh¨¹l''s POV. At the center of the crater, amidst the charred area and grains of sand that had turned into ss because of the previous explosion''s heat, the Kh¨¹l moved. It took one step out of the crater, more focused on its wounds than the human struggling to his feet tens of meters away from him. There was something familiar about this situation. The explosion, the taste of the blood in his mouth. A face disfigured, half-burnt to a crisp. He finally took notice of the ax lodged in his ribs and the pain it caused him. ''Why does this situation feel so familiar?'' It thought, his mind half awake and half asleep, stunned. Or was it half asleep and half awake? The sand, the arena, the many people watching him. The blood and gore. Glory and Death. ''Why are those things so familiar?'' The Kh¨¹l wondered again, its mind dizzy and ears ringing to an annoying sound akin to nothingness. It took step after step, more by habit and the desire to do something rather than a real need. For a few seconds, it questioned itself about his whereabouts, how it hade here or how it had been wounded. The Kh¨¹l would not die from such injuries, it only handicapped his mobility. But somehow, despite the confusion, it felt more clear-minded than it ever had before. It could recall bits of images from his past, fragments of ancient memories lost to time. Images of destruction, death, and chaos. Powerful enemies. Deadnds. Sadness washed over him the more it thought about it. It could see orcs die by the thousands, forced to flee, chased by¡­ by¡­. ''Who was it?'' The Kh¨¹l thought, clenching his fists. It could remember some of the enemies were powerful but couldn''t make out a shape. Damn blurry. ''Was it him?'' It wondered, gazing at the puny human facing him in the distance. ''No, that''s impossible. Such a weak being could not be the reason for our¡­ our what?'' It was confused. One time it thought it knew what was happening, then a secondter the Kh¨¹l forgot about it. Clear and foggy memories intertwined, forming a ball of confusion, rendering him crazier and crazier. Turmoil raged in his mind as it halted his steps midway to the human. The Kh¨¹l grabbed its head as a tremendous pain seized him. His legs weakened under the mental pressure. It didn''t even notice when his knees touched the ground floor heavily. ''Who am I? I''m the Kh¨¹l! Who is that human? He is my opponent! Why am I here? To fight for glory and entertainment!'' It thought, on one side, on the other¡­ ''No! That weakling cannot be my opponent. He does not even deserve to be my enemy! To fight for glory!? Where is the glory in killing such a weakling! His name doesn''t even deserve to be called in the same breath as mi¡­ what''s my name?'' The Kh¨¹l trembled uncontrobly. It wed the sand, as if in search of his lost memories, and hit his head against the ground, trying to hammer the memory fragments together. ''Who am I? Why am I here?'' New images brushed past his mind. ''I am¡­ the Kh¨¹l¡­ but¡­ what is my name?'' The orcs living on the sixth floor. ''Fake¡­ orcs. They aren''t my people. What is¡­ even the sixth floor?'' The moderator. ''A piece of shit. I can sense him observing me from afar.'' And¡­ "The gods¡­," it said, clenching his fists. A loud bang was heard when it hit the ground. The Kh¨¹l didn''t exactly know what the gods did, but it could feel an incredible hatred ring when it thought about them. It knew instinctively, somehow; they were the culprit behind his current misery. Hiding in the immaterial ne of this world, they were observing him. ying with him as they saw fit. It was like a pawn they could use wherever and whenever they wanted. Unable to tolerate the pain and confusion any longer, a blinding fury submerged him. "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU COWARDS!? STOP HIDING AND FACE ME!" Blinded by a storming fury, the Kh¨¹l trashed his surroundings. Though there was only empty air and sand, they fled from his anger. The pressure from his punches pierced the air. His ax dug into the sand, shing the small grains in half, cleaving the wind itself. Not far from the Kh¨¹l, the human stared at him motionless, grabbing a small horn. The Kh¨¹l stared back, seeing more than his eyes actually transmitted. The human''s figure ovepped with a blurry memory of destruction, chaos, and sadness. At that moment, the Kh¨¹l knew it was living a lie. The people that revered him were a lie. Everything here was a lie! It knew it, yet it didn''t. Every time the Kh¨¹l tried to recall his lost memory, something would block his path, like an imprable d¨¹rnium wall or like¡­ as if it had disappeared somehow. The giant orc was over centuries of years old and yet it couldn''t recall his most important memories. There was certainly something fishy, disturbing even. Either something was blocking his mind or it had simply gone mad. But instinctively, it knew it wasn''t the case. It roared like a mad orc, swinging his giant ax, mindlessly destroying what it could until his gazeid upon the human. If it recalled correctly, the weakling was the only living being, apart from him, in this damn ce that was actually real. ''Then he must know something,'' it thought, stopping his rampage. His furious re glued to what was supposed to be his sacrifice, his toy to y with. Desperate for an answer, the Kh¨¹l rushed at the human. Forgoing his previous deration of a fairer match, it used both hands to brandish his ax. Crossing the dozens of meters separating them in but a second, it brought down his mighty weapon on the weak human who took a defensive position. Like before, the human''s shield repelled the weapon that whirled away from his grip. But that mattered little to him. The Kh¨¹l pulled on the human''s shield, bringing the weakling closer to him before grabbing his neck. Lifting the puny human with one hand, it said, "Tell me where your gods are hiding!" Chapter 171 - Fakes A few moments ago. [Get up! It''s still alive!] Valinar ordered. Aito didn''t even bother reading her notification window and stumbled to his feet at the impossible happening in front of him. The Kh¨¹l, despite its injuries, was walking towards him. His unique skill, One Against Many, hadn''t activated yet. Logically, he was facing only one opponent right now. However, where was he? In a natural coliseum filled to the brim with orcs. There were thousands of them here. And since he considered all of them enemies and they were within range, his unique skill should have kicked in by now. It could only mean one thing, the challengers hadn''t been able to flee far enough. Last time, he had been around half a kilometer (0.31 miles) away from his allies when One Against Many boosted his physical stats. ''Shit, the orcs must be hindering their retreat,'' he pondered, thinking about a solution to this problem. Touching the suicidal horn strapped to his belt, Aito knew there was one thing he could do to make their escape easier. While he was unstrapping his horn, the Kh¨¹l was acting like a cornered beast. Swinging its ax, it created a tempest of steel and sand. [This... could it be...] His weapon was spewing barely visible air des that shed the winds, creating whistling sounds. One of those crashed against the wooden fortress built by Elizabeth, shing the entire structure in half. [Avoid that at all costs or you''ll die, mortal!] Aito widened his eyes when one murderous wind de dangerously propelled towards him. It impacted his ainium shield, thanks to which it disintegrated. He took a few painful steps backward to absorb the shock, testifying of the sheer power hiding behind the Kh¨¹l''s skill. He took a quick look at his shield. There were dents everywhere. A particrly recent big one marked it from one edge to the other. It seemed that ainium wasn''t all mighty and unbreakable after all, quite the contrary. Then the Kh¨¹l suddenly stopped its rampage and stared at him with fierce eyes reflecting the ovepped suns'' murderous grey light. Sensing danger, holding the horn in his broken hand, Aito enacted his n. Bringing the horn closer to his mouth, hoping it would attract the orcs that were potentially blocking his teammates'' escape path. At least he tried. The pain from his broken hand stopped his movement for merely an instant before he finally moved it. However, by then, the giant orc was already in front of him. A dreadful feeling alerted Aito of an iing, ridiculously dangerous attack. He blocked it, using both of his hands to support his shield. Unable to bear the incredible pressure, his feet dug deep into the sand. His knees pled for mercy, and mercy they were given¡ªin a way. As soon as the orc''s weapon coated in Durability was repelled, he felt a powerful pull lifting him from the ground, unearthing his feet. Aito instinctively increased his own weight, thinking it would help, a futile effort. Instead of helping it put more pressure on his neck, the Kh¨¹l''s hand was grabbing firmly, because of the added weight pulling him downward. He immediately deactivated Weight Control, alleviating his predicament, but that did nothing to stop the giant orc from strangling him. It peered furiously into Aito''s ck eyes and he stared back in defiance, despite the meager odds of survival. He was trapped, unable to move. Breathed with difficulty because of the Kh¨¹l''s hold on him. His body was in tatters, his broken hand didn''t help his case either. And yet he did not lose hope. The Kh¨¹l ordered, his voice attuning anger, "Tell me where your gods are hiding!" [What is the moderator doing!? Why did he unleash such a monster on promising challengers!?] Aito wanted to tell that thing one god was nearby, just so it could shut up Valinar. Also, he wondered what that creature was saying, though. They weren''t his gods! If he had known where they were, he would have made it one of his priorities to go there and kick their asses¡ªwhen capable of doing so, of course. Instead of replying, Aito brought the horn to his mouth and used the remaining air in his lungs to blow it. A loud sound reverberated sharply in the entire arena, forcing all other noises to a stop. Silence was the only response as more than half of the orcs in the gallery stared at Aito with sudden murderous res. Suddenly, female, child, elderly, male orcs stood up from their seats and ran madly towards the same location. "What was that? Calling for reinforcement? No one, even your gods, can save you, human," The Kh¨¹l said, snatched Aito''s horn and shattered it into hundreds of pieces. "Now, tell me everything you know about this ce before I snap your thin neck!" It asked. However, sudden noises in the gallery seemed to have attracted his attention. There, all around the rows of seats, divided into two massive groups, orcs fought each other. One group was trying to get in the arena while others were preventing them from desecrating the sacred event. It appeared that not all the orcs had sumbed to the horn''s mystical power. Most of those with a level 2 were able to resist it, albeit not all. But a great majority of orcs present were level 1. Krugan¡ªwho resisted the horn''s call¡ªgathered a few elite and adult orcs, ordering them to stop as many of their kin as possible. It was forbidden for any third party to intervene during the Sacred Duels. What the orcs were currently doing was basically breaking their ownws. However, the numbers of sane orcs were too few. Unable to hold them all, small groups of orcs managed to jump down on the sandy ground and rushed like crazed zombies attracted to premium human meat¡ªbio of course. Despite gasping for air, Aito smirked, weing the distraction. More and more mad orcs arrived in the arena with the same idea in mind. The Kh¨¹l grunted when dozens of his kin that surrounded him jumped at his throat¡ªat least it appeared like so to him. Mistaking it for an attack on himself, it called back his mighty weapon and hacked them all in one fell swoop. "You¡­ killed your own¡­ people?" Aito asked, surprised. "They are not my people, human," the Kh¨¹l dered, tightening his hold to shut him up. "They are fakes created by the gods to keep me here!" Feeling his airflow blocked,pressed to the limit, Aito gripped his enemy''s thick fingers with his avable hand and used all his strength to free himself. Nothing. Not even a finger budged. Adrenaline sped through his blood vessels, delivering a weed rush of energy as his unwillingness to die transformed into anger. [That''s it! Hold on mortal and you shall be victorious! The Kh¨¹l will not remain in the mortal ne for much longer!] His muscles bulged, gaining power as his gift Fury kicked in. Aito focused his grip on the giant orc''s index finger. It¡­ budged slightly. Meanwhile, distracted, the Kh¨¹l fought an orc horde. Using air des, it shed twenty orcs in one blow. But more kepting as the gallery emptied itself. Despite all that, the Kh¨¹l still held Aito firmly with one arm, unwilling to let go. At that moment, orcs poured out the challengers'' waiting room, weapons in hand, fully equipped. Soon enough, the arena was filled to the brim with orcs, appearing all grey under the suns'' light. Busy with defending himself, the Kh¨¹l barely paid attention to Aito anymore, after all, thousands of orcs were heading his way. Pissed, it roared, unleashing a tempest of wind des, killing hundreds of orcs in a time record. While more orc corpses nketed the ground, translucent energy coated Aito''s body, waving on the surface of his skin, confirming that his teammates had fled the area sessfully. Chapter 172 - Krugans Dilemma Frustrated, in search of who it was, attacked by his fake kin. The Kh¨¹l roared, swinging his mighty weapon left and right. What looked like air des spewed out of his ax, decapitating, cleaving the life out of the orc horde from a distance. "Fakes! Stay your hands or die by mine!" The Kh¨¹l ordered, stopping his attacks for but a moment to give them pause for choice. At least a thousand bodies and more liters of blood covered the sand. It looked like the beginning of a genocide. Blinded by the now destroyed suicidal horn''s power, thousands of orcs heeded none of his warnings and flooded the arena. Since most of them were spectators, they wore casual clothes. Deprived of weapons, they could only attack with their fists. But they never reached their target in time to even have the chance tond a hit. Female, child, young, and old orcs fell by the dozen under Krugan''s horrified gaze. The orc leader, standing on the edge of the gallery, was trying to stop his people from entering the arena. His people weremitting a grave crime. However, what saddened him most was the loss of so many lives. The number of his soldiers was too few and couldn''t stop the inexplicable blood lust of his people. The Kh¨¹l will certainly kill them all at this rate. After all, their ancestor was so strong they hailed him as a god. Krugancked the power to prevent his people from jumping in the arena to their doom. But why should he do it? They were at fault for breaking thew and were paying for their actions by death. They were weak, and death was the result of their weakness. However, Krugan couldn''t help but disagree with his own thoughts. Thinking back on Aito''s behavior in the cell, Krugan started to understand why the human had attacked him. Why he had been so angry. The human warrior had talked about his civilization during their previous exchange, where the weak people were allowed to live. Although it hadn''t sounded perfect to him, it had intrigued the orc. Why would weak people be allowed to live? To which the human warrior had replied, "What the fuck? Why would you condemn your own people for being weak physically and or mentally when they could be strong in other fields? Does it matter if they fail where you seed? Does failing mean you''re weak? No, it means you''re learning." At the time, Krugan had dismissed the human''s im, but now¡­. Was it because his people were weak that Krugan should allow a genocide to happen? All Krukhanon citizens were gathered here. Seeing the rate at which the Kh¨¹l decimated them, there would barely be a few hundred souls left in the city by the end of the Grey Sun. No matter how much it thought about it, his citizens dying because of an unknown cause felt¡­ wrong. Krugan did not know how the current situation came to be. But what Krugan knew was... saving his people was more important than punishing their weakness. For the first time in his life, Krugan was torn between duty and his own feelings, pleading him to do what was "right." "Ek?," said an elite orc next to him, addressing Krugan by his rank. "What should we do?" The Ek? was the second in the line ofmand in orc society. Apart from the Khan and Kh¨¹l, Krugan was the best orc warrior there was in the city of Krukhanon. Krugan grunted, pondering the question himself. His gaze traveled from the crazed orc horde to Aito and the Kh¨¹l, then back and forth. A thought struck him. ''I can''t prevent all of my people from getting in the arena¡­ but I can prevent them from attacking the source. It''s dangerous, and stepping in the arena during the Sacred Duels is against thew. However¡­.'' "Call back our forces pursuing the fleeing humans and pass my orders," the orc leader said, "secure the perimeter around the human warrior and Kh¨¹l. Prevent any of our people from intervening in the Sacred Duels." "But¡­ Ek? that''s¡ª" "I know, but for now, saving our people is what matters the most. Can you imagine Krukhanon with barely a few hundred inhabitants? I cannot. Children are dying as we speak. Our future is dying as we speak. So run and pass mymands, soldier of Krukhanon. Run to save our city," Krugan dered, staring his soldier intently. "I will take full responsibility for this order. Now go before it is toote." "Yes, Ek?!" The orc said, standing straight, hitting his shield, then ran to spread the word. Krugan sighed, grabbed his weapon and tower shield, then jumped down in the crowded arena, followed by dozens of his elite soldiers. Krugan stunned, bashed, and pushed aside the orc citizens around him. Female or children, it mattered not. Right now, they had to be stopped at all costs. The orc felt his injuries from his fight with Aito re. By now, most of them were healed. Orcs healed fast, after all. It was a racial trait. That''s what, in part, made them fearsome warriors. Ironically, today, his injuries were no longer marks of shame but reminders of what the human warrior had told him. A reminder of what could happen if Krugan did nothing. "Pierce through!" Krugan ordered. "To Glory and Death!" His soldiers banged their shields in response. Meanwhile, the man at the center of it all was struggling to keep himself from passing out. The giant orc was keeping a tight hold on Aito, enough to prevent him from moving. However, the Kh¨¹l''s anger appeared to cloud his mind as it put more strength in its forearm. Aito''s face turned redder but just looked more grey because of the daylight. He felt the thick orc''s fingers stronglypressing his throat. Unable to breathe, he redoubled his effort to free himself. At that moment, he felt an incredible power coursed through his body, elerating his bloodstream and devouring his soul power as fuel to increase his stats by one entire level ¡ªUnique Skill: One Against Many¡ª Plus his gift Fury, his strength skyrocketed to level 6, the limit of what an Ascender could reach. But even then, all he managed to do was loosen the Kh¨¹l''s hold enough for him to breathe again. ''Just how strong is that thing!?'' He thought, lifting his broken hand to assist the other. His body had temporarily reached level 5 and thanks to the recovery beads, he felt slightly less pain from his injury. But it was still ridiculously excruciating. The Kh¨¹l held him like a ragged doll as it wielded his mighty ax. Aito''s feet swung because of the momentum as if he was hanged to a moving tree. Unbnced, it took him a few seconds to finally get a hold of the orc''s fingers with both hands. Suddenly, the Kh¨¹l movements abruptly stopped. "What do you want, fake?" The Kh¨¹l asked, pausing the massacre. Orc soldiers were forming a shield wall all around, preventing more crazed orcs from intervening in the conflict. A familiar voice responded, that of Krugan. "Please hold your de, mighty ancestor. We did not intend to interrupt the sacred event. Something incited our people to act this way." "The sacred event? Who cares about this sham!?" The Kh¨¹l said. "I''llmend your effort from getting through this mess, fake boy, and will let you live. But do not give me orders like you do your soldiers." "I would never dare give you orders, ancestor. However, our people¡ª" "''Our people?" The Kh¨¹l asked. "Hahaha!" Chapter 173 - Die! Die! Die! Curious, Aito turned his gaze to see Krugan riddled with wounds. His armor was dented and his shield had deep markings. It took the orc all it had to get here. Braving the Kh¨¹l''s air de was no easy feat. All around, soldiers were forming a circle-shaped barricade to block any crazed orcs from entering the "death zone." Aito took advantage of this small respite to grab a ball from an inventory bag. He kept all his boom and sh balls in this one with a few spell beads. He didn''t exactly have the time to see if it would be the right one and just hoped his luck was decent enough¡ªnot that it brought him anything good recently. "''Our people?''" The Kh¨¹l chuckled, his voice low and filled with madness. "YOUR people. I''ve lost my people long ago, fake boy. You all are just copies of a glorious past! Do not pretend to be otherwise!" Krugan shielded himself in time to block a powerful strike. The orc leader was sent high up the air and traveled far before crashing on the horde. Was it alive or dead? No one knew. "Abominations. Fakes. Copies," The Kh¨¹l said, appearing to lose his mind the more time passed. "Fakes, fakes, fakes, fakes! Copies created by those despicable beings¡­. I should have killed you all a long time ago!" "EK?!" These were thest words of soldiers who apanied Krugan as they fell prey to the Kh¨¹l''s strikes. "Die! Die! Die! " The Kh¨¹l repeatedly shouted, killing orcs by the dozens in one swing, "Die! Die! Die!" Aito frowned. That raging monster''s capabilities were beyond anything he had seen. Certainly beyond a challenger''s level, even that of an ascender. It could notpare to Gwen who would have been capable of obliterating every orc in one blow. Aito did not have a clear reference to gauge the Kh¨¹l power, but if he had to take a guess, it was probably at the level of an Awakened. The realm above Ascender. Aito''s gaze was glued to the creature''s mouth, kept wide open to yell "DIE!" at all times. It reminded him of something his father told him when he had been a child. "Close your mouth when you eat, boyo. You don''t want a fly venturing in there, do you?" He wanted to chuckle, but the Kh¨¹l hold on him was too strong. Thinking about a new n, instead of trying his luck with one item, he grabbed everything he could get with his broken hand. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" Despite being dragged around like a dirty sheet, Aito tried to keep his cool and prepared to infuse his aura into the four items he held, then waited for the right opportunity to strike. The gallery was practically empty now. Thousands of orcsy dead on the sand while barely a thousand still stood with crazed looks on their faces. A hundred soldiers were gathered in one area, with a few more joining them. They were forming a shield wall, protecting something, someone. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" Suddenly, they advanced like one orc, braving the air des that crashed against their defenses. The first line of shields was sliced in half and immediately reced by a new one. Three air dester, the second line crumbled, and a third took its ce. When they finally got close enough, they barely numbered a dozen. The orcs opened their defenses and a wounded Krugan rushed in, ax in hand. Aito''s lifted his brows in surprise. He would have never thought the orc leader would be alive, less so that it would actually attack his own ancestor. "Foolish fake! DIE!" A grayish energy coated the Kh¨¹l''s hand as it caught Krugan''s ax. The Kh¨¹l exerted a strong pressure on it while crazily shouting "DIE!" before shattering Krugan''s de, halting his attacks for but an instant. An instant just enough for a certain someone to take advantage of this opportunity. ''Perfect angle,'' Aito thought. He immediately infused aura within the four items in hand and hurled the balls at almost point-nk. With his current level 6 strength, they traveled almost at a speedparable to a modern weapon''s bullet. "DIE¡ªUrg." The four balls entered a giant mouth wide open and traveled down the Kh¨¹l''s throat. Even at such a speed, they weren''t able to pierce the orc''s mouth, however¡­ that wasn''t the goal. "Bonne¡­ app¨¦tit," Aito said mockingly, dropping his hold on the Kh¨¹l''s fingers to ce his shield in front of him. The giant orc barely had time to say "What¡­," that his throat burnt from the inside and bulged weirdly, as bubbles bloated on the surface of his skin. BOOM! Stones thrust out of the giant orc''s mouth, followed by pieces of frozen blood. Aito dropped down on the ground, strangle marks on his neck, heaving, struggling for breath but alive. The Kh¨¹l wavered, grabbing his own neck, eyes filled with blood. His ax fell heavily on the sandy ground with a thud as it stared madly at the cause of his current pain. It could shield its body from the outside, but his insides were vulnerable. Nheless, with his physique, the giant orc surprisingly didn''t explode to bits. ''A ridiculous monster to the end. His body was strong enough to contain the boom and the spell balls. Just ridiculous,'' Aito thought, panting, using Pneuma repeatedly to recover faster. [That¡­ was unexpected. Well done, mortal.] Valinar said, [The Grey Sun is disappearing. It is finally over.] In the fake sky, the two suns progressively separated, regaining their original colors. The sand slowly turned yellow again. Grey corpses and blood colored ck. Everything seemed to regain life, albeit¡­ death covered the arena. ''No, it''s not over, yet,'' Aito replied, walking over to the Kh¨¹l''s ax with the intent of finishing the monster off. [No! Don''t!] Valinar warned. "Human warrior! Do not touch the sacred weapon!" Krugan shouted. He seized the giant ax, gripping the bone shaft tightly with both hands, wondering what those two were talking about. Nothing ominous happened as he infused it with his skills. Measuring 2.5 meters, the weapon was too tall andrge for him, but it mattered not. The Kh¨¹l fell to his knees, then vomited blood mixed with stones and ice. It then turned towards Aito, who could read different emotions in his eyes. Rage, pain, frustration, anxiety, envy, and one that overwhelmed the others, sadness. He felt a slight sense of kinship. He knew at this instant that the orc desired one thing. Not vengeance. But peace. Eternal rest. And he granted him this wish. Aito hacked down, easily decapitating the monstrous orc. It did not smile, nor resist his fate, and epted his execution. As the mighty Kh¨¹l dropped dead, a ball of light shot out from his body, entering the sacred weapon''s jewel encrusted in the pommel Aito was gripping. [Foolish mortal¡­ Truly foolish. Why didn''t you heed my warnings?] Valinar said. [Why do you have to be so stubborn?] ''Shut u¡ª'' Aito tried to reply. But a horrible headache seized him as he fell headfirst on the sand, next to the Kh¨¹l''s corpse that was transforming back into a more feminine figure, that of the Khan. Feeling the rough touch of the sand on his cheeks, his eyes progressively closed on the image of crazed orcs running towards him. Thest thing he heard was Krugan''s order, "Shield Wall!" Chapter 174 - Soul Realm Aito felt his consciousness spinning, whirling in the vacuum of an unknown space. He did not know for how long itsted. A minute, an hour, or a day? The notion of time felt different, inexistent yet ever-present. As if thews of the world he knew were twisted, broken into pieces, then reassembled to form new ones. An unknown amount of time passed when finally he woke up in a colorless boundless room, all ck and white. ''Where¡­ is this?'' Blurry structures surrounded him. He couldn''t make out their exact shapes, or it was more urate to say they had none. Only his body was clearly visible and colorful, sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the grayness. All he could see were pixel-like frames over grey ground spreading beyond the horizon that was¡­ fissured, cracked. Like an unfinished puzzle, the sky was missing a lot of pieces. Through the nks, Aito could only see the void, absolute ckness, nothingness. ''I''ve seen a lot of shit since my resurrection, but this¡­, this is weird,'' he thought, confused. As he remembered hisst memories before¡­ing to this ce, Aito searched for his weapon, grabbing empty air. "There are no weapons in this ce, human warrior," said a low-toned voice. Alerted, Aito cocked his head to the origin of the sound. There, amidst blurry rubbles, a giant grey figure looked up, staring at the sunless broken sky. A dark smoke covered three fourth of its body. Its face, one big hand, and half of its torso were visible, nk cracks covered them, glowing white. Aito tensed up, intuitively preparing for an attack. Constant fighting had turned him into a veteran warrior in just a few months. His mind screamed danger even more so when he recognized the creature''s face. Tusks, square jaw, and long weaved hair with piercing eyes reflecting¡­ mncholy, sadness, exhaustion. "You said you had questions, human warrior," the Kh¨¹l dered, gesturing for him to take a sit on rubbles next to him. Aito remained still, flexing his knees to better prepare for an escape or attack. He did not know where he was, or how he came here, but one thing was certain, trusting in the unknown was unwise. The Kh¨¹l sighed and vanished into a ck mist, reappearing in front of Aito. The creature flicked his forehead with its index finger. Too fast for Aito to react, he was propelled backward and crashed into blurry rubbles. He grunted. That flick had packed quite a punch. Mind in shambles, his forehead hurt like crazy. Aito jolted awake from his cloudy state when the Kh¨¹l emerged next to him from nothingness, casually sitting on debris. "If I wanted to kill you, you''d already be dead, human warrior," the Kh¨¹l said, grabbing the confused Aito by his cor, helping him up. "And I''m supposed to believe you? A few moments ago, we were at each other''s throat. You were literally grabbing mine," Aito replied, eyeing him warily. "True. The choice is yours," The Kh¨¹l said in a monotonous voice. "We can continue our fight or talk. I''d much prefer thetter. You''ve earned the right by surviving my crazed self, anyway." The current Kh¨¹l looked different, estranged from the one Aito had seen. Hunched back, it seemed older, and wiser maybe? Certainly more tired. He couldn''t read craziness in the creature''s eyes anymore but knew what that was. When Aito had been depressed, he had lost the motivation to do anything. Even talking was a pain. He could feel a sense of kinship in the way the orc reacted. He could rte to it, to its sadness. "Have you made your choice?" The Kh¨¹l asked. Fighting him again would lead nowhere but bruises, death. And so Aito sat morefortably, but in a way he could react to any possible attack from the Kh¨¹l. Still wary and worried, he replied, "Where are we?" "My soul realm," The Kh¨¹l said. "It was bound to happen the moment you grabbed my ax. Or what''s left of it. This ce is where I spend my time, alone. I am more powerful here than I am outside, yet I''m still trapped. Forever doomed to live in this broken ce. To live in my fragmented soul. The result of your gods'' work." "They are not my gods," he replied, gripping a blurry brick that felt solid yetcked firmness. "True, so I saw in your memories," the Kh¨¹l scoffed when he saw Aito''s shocked face. "You''re in my realm, human warrior. Nothing escapes me. Even your sins. Your past and present. I can see them all." Aito was baffled. That was the power of a... "A god, yes. Just like those despicable bastards keeping an eye on you. I can feel two divine energies apanying you. One is strong, the other distant. They are closer to you than you care to admit, human warrior. But here, they should not enter. Not without forcing their way in. And finally giving what I desire the most." Aito already knew he was being monitored. After all, Valinar has been an ever-present parasite. And he had no doubt Belmand kept an eye on him. Staring a faraway void between fissures, The Kh¨¹l chuckled. "Can you see the fissures on the horizon? The nk spots of my soul? They were the ones who tore me apart long ago. In its normal state, the soul mirrors one''s state of mind. Like this ce, I am broken. "Much like your fellow humans, I am forever a ve to the gods'' whim. Trapped inside a piece of my own weapon, used by fakes. Copies of my own people. I cannot die, yet I cannot live. Every time they call me back to the physical realm I''m crazed, thirsty for blood, for a fight." The orc went on with a monologue of his own. Aito figured out fairly quickly the Kh¨¹l just wanted to talk to someone, anyone. Loneliness had gnawed his sanity thin. It wanted to interact, to tell of his misery. Not that Aito couldn''t rte. He had spent three months on a shitty ind, far away from any civilization, isted. Thankfully, a monkey had been there to save his mind, otherwise¡­. In a way, the Kh¨¹l had selfishly invited him as a listener because he wanted to talk. But the more the creature told of its misery, the more Aito realized there were simrities between him, the orc, and the other challengers. They were all being used. The question was, to what purpose? He was still confused on that topic. He knew humans were only here to fight a war, but... why? Was the Kh¨¹l''s imprisonment rted to this war? Who was the Kh¨¹l? "Every time I try to remember how it happened, how all this happened," The Kh¨¹l gestured to his surroundings. "When I''m about to recall it all, I am denied ess. But you see, nothing is blocking me. Like nks, there is just¡­ nothing. No memories. Utter ignorance." The Kh¨¹l could feel it, like phantom pain. There was something missing and yet there was only a void. How frustrating must that be? Aito could rte since he had known a simr experience with the Paineater. But unlike him, the orc had not found a way out of his misery. Even death was denied to him. When it''d die in the material ne, its soul would only be sucked back into the weapon, into this grim world. It¡­ no, at this point, treating the Kh¨¹l like a creature felt wrong to Aito. HE, the Kh¨¹l, has lost everything. He was the perfect example of someone deprived of freedom. "That''s why," the Kh¨¹l''s gaze turned serious.. "I want you to kill me." Chapter 175 - Craving For Death "To kill you?" Aito was confused. Normally, he would not hesitate, but killing the Kh¨¹l was in the first ce impossible. Even if he could, it''d bring him more troubles, divine troubles. If the gods had imprisoned the giant orc without killing it, it meant they had a purpose in doing so. And ying the Kh¨¹l would be spitting on their divine faces. Not that Aito minded it. On the contrary. But he''d better not attract the gods'' attention too much. Aito already knew how costly their attention was. Was he willing to take the risk? If the gains outweighed the losses, yes. The Kh¨¹l was truly desperate if he asked someone to kill him. Could it be beneficial to him? Of course, it could. Now, the question was, how to exploit this opportunity to its fullest, but most of all¡­ "How am I supposed to do that exactly?" He asked. "How do you kill a soul, human warrior?" The Kh¨¹l replied. "Think about it. Surely you already figured it out." Pondering the question, Aito realized that until now, there has been only one way he had killed souls and that was¡­ "By absorbing your soul." "Indeed," the Kh¨¹l nodded. Aito froze upon this statement. What kind of power would he gain by absorbing the Kh¨¹l''s soul? Even if it was just a fragment, his soul was so strong Aito''s level would surely skyrocket, reaching the peak of the Ascender realm thanks to all the orc souls he had absorbed until now. He could be someone in the Tower with such powers, even some moderators would have to be wary of him. But there was just one problem, and that was the Kh¨¹l''s strength. A soul, if it wanted to, could counterattack, which was almost always the case. If he willed it so, the Kh¨¹l could crush Aito''s soul to smithereens and take possession of his body. If Aito failed to absorb the Kh¨¹l''s soul, the orc would kill him and rece his soul. Such events urred from time to time when one failed the soul digestion process. And Aito had no doubt he would not be able to overpower the Kh¨¹l''s soul. There was no denying that fact. "Why me?" Aito asked, curious. The Kh¨¹l could have picked an orc from the sixth floor to do the job or any other human for all he cared. There was no real reason for him to be chosen as the executioner, at least that Aito understood. The Kh¨¹l grunted. He stared at the nothingness, through the cracks of his soul, through the void. "My fake kinsmen are unworthy. I am desperate, but I still maintain my pride. Although you used cheap tricks to beat me, it remains that you bested me in a duel. You could not have done so otherwise at your current level, anyway. "All is fair in war. So I ept my defeat. I do not want to be killed by undeserving fakes. And to cross the path of another human like you is unlikely." He calmly shifted his gaze to Aito, piercing him with his fatigued eyes that were still somehow, even after hundreds of years in this ce, filled with power. Aito felt his soul prating by him as if something looked into his very being. "I searched your soul, your memories. I''ve seen your past," the Kh¨¹l dered. "What you''ve been through. What you''ve done. Your sin. I know it. And I can tell, only a few humans would be mentally strong enough to keep on going as you do. To question yourself on how to make things right. To face the harsh reality. It is not easy to live as a sinner amongst your own people when condemned on all sides for what you did." Aito clenched his fists, remembering the dark stares his inmates in prison had given him or even on the fishing ship. Everyone had judged him for what he did. He hadn''t refuted nor defended himself. There was no denying his misdeeds. "Humans were and are still right to condemn your wrongdoings. Even you are condemning yourself for your sin. But despite it all, you go on. Treading a broken path where no des can help you. For it is a war of the mind. Is it right or wrong? Should you just be put into one of your¡­ human jails and atone for your sin by staying in such a ce? I find that pointless." The Kh¨¹l certain could notprehend the reason humans put criminals behind bars. For him, criminals should either be executed or banished. Not imprisoned. "Although I find it repulsive that you killed your own father. Because even me would not have done such a dishonorable deed," the orc said. "What you did was wrong, but what you''re doing is right and honorable to me. It requires more courage than waging a war. Of that, I''m certain. And that is what''s fueling you. That undying me of despair. You don''t primarily fight for power, but for atonement. I can respect that. "I might not recall all my memories, but I can tell you. I fought many a war, human warrior. And all for the same reason. To acquire power. Everyone I knew in Iris fought for that reason, even the gods. They fought and still fight for power. "People can pretend they fight for their home, to defend their families and whatnot. But the truth is, they also search for power. Because power, in our world, decides everything. So people will always seek it. Even you desperately need it." That¡­ somewhat made sense to Aito. Although there were points worthy of debate, he mostly agreed with the orcs. "Your quest for atonement requires power. A lot of it. Maybe more than what I had in my previous life and I was a warrior capable of rivaling a god inbat." Aito froze. He knew the Kh¨¹l wasn''t kidding, but it was still hard to believe. He had seen, felt first hand what a god was capable of. That kind of power was just¡­ beyond ridiculous. If he needed to transcend that¡­, well. It felt unreachable. "You have my respect and thus worthy of my help. Also, you''re taking a path that will be a thorn in the gods'' foot. If I can spit to their faces somehow by using you, then so be it. I alone can do nothing against them," the Kh¨¹l said, stretching his hand for Aito to grab. "So take my strength. Make it yours and make them pay for what they did." "Tempting offer, but I cannot," Aito spurted dryly. "What guarantees me you won''t eat my soul? Nothing." "Kaha, the careful type. I see. That''s¡­ too bad. But I understand. I''d do the same in your ce," the Kh¨¹l scoffed, then gazed at the darkness covering three fourth of his body. Since the start of their conversation, it had spread and continued to do so. Soon it will eat up his torso and reach his head. "Our time is almost up. Once this reaches my brain, I''ll turn into a blood-thirsty beast again." Aito also noticed the darkness eating up at the Kh¨¹l''s body. It was creeping its way up to his torso, almost at neck level. "Let me make you another offer then," the Kh¨¹l said.. "One more reasonable that would benefit both parties." Chapter 176 - Soul Weapon "You''re that desperate to die, huh?" Aito asked. "Wouldn''t you do the same if you''ve spent hundreds, or possibly a thousand years imprisoned in this ce? Waiting for the Tower System to call you outside, and use you to y the part of a monstrous beast? An ancestor to fake orcs. "Do you know how much it pains me to appear in that ursed desert, seeing the faces of copies. Of my dead kins. Every time. Every time Ie back into my soul realm after that little outing, this deste ce reminds me of one thing. The truth. "My people are no more. Dead, all of them. And I can''t remember why or how. All I know is that the gods yed a part in it. I have this uncontroble urge to kill them, but I am confined in this ce where I cannot even control how I die. I''m only a puppet who has power over nothing. "So tell me, human warrior. Wouldn''t you be desperate to finally put an end to your torment were you in my ce?" Aito silently agreed, nodding. He would have gone crazy a long time ago if he were trapped in this soul realm. Neither dead nor alive. The Kh¨¹l might be powerful inside his own soul realm or outside, but he was still a ve to the gods. "And so, to you, the first true living being I''ve talked to in a long time. While I understand your reluctance, I want to make another offer," the orc said. "The weapon you used to kill my previous avatar contains a fragment of my original ax, Soulcleaver. Take it. "In doing so, my soul will apany you wherever you go. Be it outside or inside the Tower. Once you''ve acquired the necessary strength to safely kill me. Do it. I''ve already waited hundreds of years. I can wait a couple more for my suffering to end." Aito pondered the offer. It certainly was more enticing than the previous one. The Kh¨¹l''s ax only held a fragment of its original power, but was still dreadful. Aito had nned on taking it for himself, anyway. "I know what you''re thinking, but I''d advise otherwise. Without my consent, you cannot take the ax," the Kh¨¹l said. "Don''t you wonder why this fake Krugan and that goddess warned you before you mindlessly grabbed my weapon? It is partly because I can take control of your body right now if I wanted to. It is a soul weapon after all." Aito had only briefly heard of those from Gwen. Soul weapons were items literally housing a soul. In doing so, the weapon gained a will of its own and powers nomon weapons could have. For instance, the weapon could repair itself with time. Stay sharp longer or simply never dull under normal circumstances. But the soul within it had to acknowledge the owner and form a pact with him or her. "I¡­ see," Aito replied, pondering. He should have known the Kh¨¹l''s ax was a soul weapon and yet did not notice the obvious signs pointing at it. "That certainly changes my ns." "And make my new proposition more entic¡ª," the Kh¨¹l paused, suddenly cocking his head to his left. He peered into nothingness, staring at what looked like a random area to Aito. He looked ready to fight. After a few long seconds, he returned his attention to Aito. "Sorry for interrupting. I thought someone was watching us. *Sigh*, hundreds of years in this ce certainly messed up my mind." "No shit¡­," Aito said, eyeing the demolished blurry space. "So, human warrior. Your answer?" The Kh¨¹l asked, showing the darkness reaching his neck. "We have little time left." There was not enough time for Aito to think things through. At least not for hisputing capabilities. He could already see a few issues that needed careful thinking. If he were to take the ax, the orc''s soul would follow him. What guaranteed him that, once outside the Tower, the Kh¨¹l wouldn''t try to steal his body to regain freedom? It was risky. But Aito hadn''te this far without taking risks. No pain no gain. No bet no reward. No power no atonement. "Moreover," the Kh¨¹l added. "If you find the missing pieces of my ax, they will be of great help to you. Whatever your goal is, you will need its strength." "Ha, and in the process, I''ll find your soul fragments," Aito replied. "Perhaps yes. Perhaps not. If we near a soul fragment, I''ll be able to tell. But I doubt all of them are being kept in soul weapons," the Kh¨¹l said. "It is more likely that they''ve already been absorbed. In that case, they are unretrievable." "But if, and I say if, we retrieve them. You''ll recover your previous powers and memories," Aito said. "Assuming that is the case. Your personality will change, so will your desires. And what guarantees me then that you will not try to overtake me then?" "Nothing," the Kh¨¹l replied inly but honestly. "Although I''m currently a weapon, if I retrieve my old strength, I will be able to break out of my imprisonment. Then, nothing but your own powers will guarantee your safety. But believe that, as I am right now, I have no desire to harm you. Only the gods are my enemies." "Then why¡ª" "Too many questions for too little time, human warrior," the Kh¨¹l interrupted. The darkness had already reached his chin. "I would dly debate on this topic for hours with you, but my sanity runs thin." There was little time left. Soon the orc would go crazy again. Aito had to make a decision and fast or¡­ well, he didn''t know. But he didn''t want to stay in this ce to know what could happen. "Let it be now the moment you make your choice," the Kh¨¹l said, stretching his open palm. "Grab my hand to make a soul pact. Or stay put. Either way, I will send you back amongst the livings." Aito reached for the orc''s hand and stopped midway, hesitating. There were too many unknown variables. However, the orc had been honest. Aito could see it, feel it in his guts. And so he asked out of nowhere. "Can I trust you?" The giant orc grinned from ear to ear, the darkness spreading to his pulpy lips as he replied, "No." Aito smirked as he grabbed the Kh¨¹l''s huge dark hand, at least twice his own size. A surge of electricity pulsed within his entire soul. Neither painful nor pleasant. A momentter, the Kh¨¹l let got of his hand. Aito stared at his palm where a tattoo depicting an ax had appeared. "This is the symbol of our pact," the orc said. "As a soul pact requires a use, there is, of course, one to ours." "Shit¡­ and you only talk about it now?" "Kaha, fear not. It is but one. A simple yet sometimes difficult one," the orc leaned on his oversized knee. "Do not show weakness. If I deem you weak, the pact will be broken and I''ll fight your soul to the death." Aito wanted to say, "you tricked me," but he actually hadn''t asked for the details of the pact so in a way, it was his fault. Moreover, there could have been more uses. He sighed. "What do you mean by do not show weakness?" The orc smirked, "That will be for me to decide. It can be anything. From refusing to fight an opponent or simply being picky about food." "Double shit¡­," Aito cursed. His life basically would be decided by a crazed orc''s whim until he acquired enough strength to defend his soul against an opponent at least at the Awakened level! "Ahaha!" The Kh¨¹lughed madly for the first time. His sonorous voice echoing into the void. "Fear not. Although I will be crazed most of the time, I''m not unreasonable. As long as you prove worthy¡ªas I''m sure you will¡ªthere''ll be no trouble. Hum it is almost time. If you have onest question, ask now." The darkness suddenly recovered the orc''s mouth entirely, almost reaching his nose. Aito chuckled. He''s been had, but somehow, he didn''t feel so bad about it. There were uses to every soul pact. He could have ended up with a worse one. Also, he started to like the Kh¨¹l''s honest behavior. It was refreshing. A thought struck him. He had been talking to him for a while, but Aito realized now he did not know the orc''s real name, only his title. "Do you remember your name?" Aito asked. "Or you''re too messed up to even recall that?" The orc chuckled. "Humans and orcs gave me many names, titles. The Destroyer. The Kh¨¹l. The Storm. But I''d appreciate you call me, Ur¨¹k. As my esteemed father and mother named me." Aito nodded. "Sure, Ur¨¹k. I''ll remember it." A halo of light engulfed him as a sincere smile curved up the Kh¨¹l''s lips. "Onest piece of advice, human. Be mindful of when you wield me. It can impact your bloodlust in a negative way. Increasing it beyond normal," Ur¨¹k dered. "But I''m sure you''ll be able to resist it with your willpower. As long as you don''t invite it, all will be fine." "Wait¡­ What do you mean¡ª" Aito was sucked in by the light that called him back to the world of the living. "Let''s meet again, human warrior," Ur¨¹k said, the darkness recovering him entirely. A few moments passed as he stayed still.. Then suddenly, he started thrashing around, destroying everything in his path. Chapter 177 - Understanding The Orcs ''Kill.'' Aito kept hearing this word as he felt himself floating in an unknown space, time¡­ the notion of time was blurry. One hour, two hours? He did not know how long he remained in that state until a stinging feeling gradually brought him out of this darkness back to the world of the livings. ''Kill.'' His right hand moved slightly, touching a smooth polished hard surface. From there, Aito progressively regained awareness of his body as the pain of his previous injuries red up, calling him back to reality. He picked up the call, awakening from what felt like an eternal slumber. His mind dizzy and his eyes blurry, he could barely distinguish at first what surrounded him, tricking his brain into thinking he was still in Ur¨¹k''s soul realm. [Congrattions! You have achieved three feats never before seen!] A familiar notification window ponded in front of him. Too confused to read it, he set it aside forter. That vicious whisper rang slightly louder in his head, urging him to... ''Kill.'' Next to him, someone or something moved away in hurried steps, the sound reverberating in the space. Alerted by it, Aito focused on his vision and shifted to the side. He could see the blurry figure of an orc running past an open door into a corridor, but also his left hand tightly gripping a shaft. Ur¨¹k''s ax, the soul weapon. It was that impressive-looking ax talking to him. A certain urge to thrash his surroundings seized him as he took notice of the ax. He released his hold, putting an end to the voices. The ax fell on the stony ground with a loud thud. Aito pushed himself up to get a better view of where he was, a room built with stones, or it was more urate to say it was carved into the stone. All he knew was how neat-looking it was. The walls were smoothed, well polished. The furnitures crafted from stones were in, mostly simple square designs but seemed to serve their purpose well. He peered through arge window in a half-circle shape only to see dirt, stone, and a mirror reflecting sunlight, inviting it to pass through the window, lighting the room with afortable warmth. Surprisingly, it wasn''t hot despite the desert climate. The temperature was perfect, probably because it was underground. Half naked, loose brown pants covering his lower parts, bandages on his torso and around his right arm, Aito was currently sitting on a rectangr stone bed without sheets or pillows, just stone. He leaned on the wall behind him, trying to make heads or tails of where he was. Thest thing he remembered of the real world was being in the arena fighting Ur¨¹k. To his left was a stone chair facing towards him. Someone had clearly kept watch on him all this time. Alerted by the unknown environment, he rapidly looked for a weapon to defend himself, one that wouldn''t constantly whisper wicked words to his ears. Nothing but furniture, and a gourd on a bedside table, made him aware of how desert-dry his throat was. He grabbed the gourd, opened the lid, and eagerly drank its content, frowning when he tasted alcohol, probably made with fermented cactus juice. Remembering his oath to never drink again, he spat it out, but the liquid still wet his lips. There was a strong lingering aftertaste in his pte constantly reminding him of the alcohol. Heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor as he abruptly cocked aside, rapidly putting down the gourd before instinctively reaching to the side to draw his ax, grabbing empty air. At that moment, his soul weapon lifted from the ground as if it heard his call and flew into his hand bearing the ax mark, attesting to the contract he had made with Ur¨¹k. Once again, the murdering, cold voice of an insane Ur¨¹k invaded his mind. ''Kill.'' He felt empowered by his new weapon as the pain disappeared and the adrenaline went up. His call appeared to have awakened the ax''s bloodlust, ready to bite flesh and crush bones, eager to taste blood. Aito fought off the unpleasant voice but did not let go of his soul weapon. Krugan in heavy armor passed the room''s entrance door, his yellow eyes shifted from Aito to the ax shimmering with astonishment, iprehension, confusion. The huge orc stood still for a moment exchanging gazes with Aito and finally spoke, "You are alive¡­." "Yeah¡­ I''m the kind of human¡­ that is hard to kill," Aito replied with difficulty, his throat too dry to talk properly. Krugan seemed to notice and threw him a gourd filled with cactus juice. "That''s hard to believe the Ancestor choose you as the next Kh¨¹l. But who am I to argue with his decision?" The orc knelt, his head low and one fist on the ground. Eagerly drinking, Aito released the hold on his weapon and almost spit out the gourd''s content when he heard Krugan''s words and saw the awkward pose the orc was adopting. "What are you doing?" "I am paying respect to my new leader, the Khan," Krugan said. "You have been chosen by the Kh¨¹l to lead our people. Although human, you indeed have the power necessary to proudly wear the Khan''s mantle." "That''s¡­," Aito was beyond confused. His thoughts had already been in shambles and now this. "I, Krugan Stoneshield, swear to serve you to the best of my abilities until the day I or you find glory in death," Krugan dered solemnly, showing his weapon. "Please ept my weapon as a sign of my undying loyalty." That orc was a fake. Aito knew it. But despite this knowledge, he couldn''t help himself see Krugan as a true living being with his own thoughts and will. Krugan had always been honest with him, even helped him. If it weren''t for that orc, he would have probably died in the arena. Krugan and the other orcs might have been created by the gods, but they remained living beings. To the Kh¨¹l they were fakes. That remained true no matter how much Aito thought about it. However, he also knew they had not chosen their fate. Like him, they were mere puppets to the gods'' whim. At that moment, a new notification window he had never seen before popped up. [Would you like to make Krugan Stoneshield your subordinate? Yes or No.] ''Filona''s tits¡­,'' he cursed internally. So many unforeseen events happened one after the other upon his resurgence. Why did he have the option to make an orc his subordinate now? He hadn''t been able to do so with goblins. ''Something isn''t right.'' Aito rapidly checked the notifications he had ignored until now. His eyes widened with disbelief at the ridiculous rewards. ___ [Congrattions! You have achieved Three feats never before seen!] Achievements: 1) Survive the Sacred Event. 2) Kill the Kh¨¹l''s Avatar. 3) Be the Khan. Rewards: - Active Skill: Cleave Lv 4 (A skill developed by Ur¨¹k the Destroyer. Used in short range attacks, the host''s de is coated with wind element increasing his attacks'' pration power. Use in long range, the host''s weapon can manifest wind des. Max Range: 50 meters) - Passive Skill: Heat Resistance Lv 2 - New Title: Khan - System Update: Complete Orc Knowledge - System Right: Orc Subordinate (The host is given the right to take in an orc subordinate he will be able to summon at any given time. After one hour, the orc will be unsummoned and the system right will be on cooldown for the next 24 hours. This system right can be upgraded using glory points at any divine ces.) - 3 Skill Points to allocate freely - 3 Stat Points to allocate freely (Cannot be used on the Destiny stat) - 50000 Glory Points - 500000 Tutorial Points ___ ''This is messed up¡­ in a good way,'' Aito thought as streams of data flowed through his mind. The new skill he had earned was passed down to him as well as the orc knowledge that turned out to be quite bountiful. Stone carving, weapon smithing, battle tactics, training courses, way of life. Everything there was to know as an orc flowed through his mind. The knowledge of an entire civilization was downloaded to his brain. He knew what they were. How they survived in this ce. Why they fought and how they lived. WHO they were. Aito now knew everything there was to know about the orcs living on the sixth floor. He understood now that, like him, they were people, not creatures, despite being created by gods. His gaze trailed to the notification window that was still ponding. Through it, he could see Krugan kneeling, patiently waiting for his answer. A sense of guilt crept up his chest as he thought back on what he had done, on what he had denied to Krugan. Aito knew now what kind of shame the huge orc repressed inside him. The shame of being unable to die a glorious death. To Krugan it was the equivalent of the guilt Aito felt for killing his own father. It was like a painful ball stuck in his chest, about to burst but never exploded, ever-expanding. He understood it. ''Damn it¡­ I feel like an ass,'' he thought, getting off his stone bed. His ribs hurt as he moved, and his right arm had yet to entirely heal. However, it was nowhere nearparable to the pain he had felt in the arena. His body probably had time to heal thanks to the recovery beads he had taken before falling unconscious. Aito towered over Krugan, looking down on the kneeling orc as a monarch would his subordinate. He grabbed Krugan''s one-handed ax, its yellow de shimmered with a murderous light. Crafted from luzli, a mineral orcs had ess to on the sixth floor. Only the strongest orcs were deemed worthy of wielding weapons crafted from this precious mineral. It was tough, resilient to shock, and extremely sharp. Aito could see himself in the yellow reflection. His face looked pale and his eyes tired but filled with power. "I''m sorry for dishonoring you. I had no right to deny you an honorable death. Even though it is not enough to make amends, I will ept you as my subordinate, Krugan Stoneshield," he said, clicking Yes on the notification window. "Rise.. We''ve got much to talk about." Chapter 178 - Learning The Truth Aito talked with Krugan, seeking news of hisrades and what happened after the sacred event. In the arena, the orc leader and his troops had defended the unconsciousness Aito against the crazed crowd. He couldn''t let the winner of the Sacred Event get killed by his people while Aito was unconscious. After the orcs regained their sanity, Krugan had brought Aito to the infirmary. Try as he may, Krugan hadn''t been able to separate the sacred weapon from Aito. Aito had remained unconscious for three days in a row. Without earthly modern means, his body had relied on his own nutrients to keep itself going, resulting in a dehydrated state. Hungry, he asked Krugan to order food. While he devoured the content of an entire day''s worth of food for one man, Krugan reported to him hispanions'' where about. Apparently, they had safely gotten away. Aito tranted it by they had sessfully made it to the 7th Floor. Orcs hadn''t been able to follow them because of the Kh¨¹l''s rampage. Aito kept to himself his involvement in¡ªording to Krugan¡ªthe death of more than seven thousand orcs, which fortunately was about "one-sixth" of the orc''s poption. When he heard that, Aito found it weird. He had thought there were a bit more than ten thousand orcs on the 6th floor. Either orcs didn''t learn math properly or¡­ someone had intervened by formatting their brains, changing their realities. ''About that reality¡­,'' he pondered, thinking about telling Krugan the truth. Having the orc''s strength could be useful to him in the future, to a certain extent. But if he wanted the orc''s unconditional support, then it was something that needed to be done. Aito told Krugan about the Tower. About how he was a fake, how everyone the orc knew were fakes. Krugan would have certainlyughed it off if Aito were a random human, but he was currently the Khan, their race''s new chief, Krugan''s chief. Moreover, the orc had heard the Kh¨¹l say it as he decimated his people. "This... this is impossible," Krugan said, baffled. But when Aito talked about the areas orcs could not ess¡ªnamely, the staircases leading to the lower and upper floor¡ªKrugan had to admit there was something weird going on. Their people dictated those areas as forbidden, sacred, that no one should trespass. He knew instinctively that Aito was right. How could he not see the ring truth? Thousands of people had died three days ago and Krukhanon''s streets were filled to the brim with orcs. It did not make any sense. The orc''s dignity crumbled as his face turned grim and tears of despair for his people trickled down hisrge cheeks. Huddled in the room''s darkest corner, Krugan wept, uncaring of his image as a strong orc warrior. His conception of the world fell apart. Everything he had known was fake. He knew it but did not ept it. He could not ept that everything had been fake. The feelings he had. The smiles andughs of the people he had met. The sense of horror he had felt when seeing the Kh¨¹l decimating his people. Those had happened and could not possibly be faked. He drew strength in that idea. Aito waited an hour for the orc to recover, but also examined his behavior, searching for brainwashing traces. He had expected the gods to have implemented a lock that forbade every creature living in the Tower ess to information involving reality. However, the orc didn''t thrash around or do anything suspicious and only looked¡­ sad, lost. A realistic reaction taking into ount the harshness of realizing everything you have ever known was fake. He theorized that the bond of master and subordinate he shared with Krugan had affected the orc in a way he could not be brainwashed anymore. Possible but uncertain. Aito had to see how other orcs reacted under "normal" circumstances. "So, from the very beginning, we were only creatures whose purpose was dying under humans'' des," were the first words Krugan uttered after regaining his calm. "I understand now why your fellow humans only saw us as things¡­." Lacking an answer, Aito simply nodded in response. "What now? Should I continue living in this fake world? Should I continue upholding our fake traditions? I don''t know anymore," Krugan dered, clenching his fists. "If what you said is true, telling my people about our destiny is useless, as they''ll be brainwashed by that moderator you talked about. I''m¡­ lost. What should I do now?" To those words, however, Aito knew what to reply. "The question isn''t what you should do," he said, "but what you want to do? What are your guts telling you?" "I¡­," the orc pondered the question for a short while before replying, "I want a genuine world where my people can thrive. Where we can be free from the gods'' control. Where we can build and create our own destiny. I want freedom." "See? Not so difficult," Aito said. "But I can''t do it. How am I supposed to contend against beings so powerful they can create¡­ us?" There was no hope of sess to his current self, Krugan knew it. It was beyond obvious. "You do not and you cannot. There is nothing you can do against them. Even your ancestor was powerless," Aito said. "But maybe I can. I have the power to temporarily bring you out of this ce. "I cannot guarantee that I''ll be sessful, but given enough time, I might be able to exploit this power to bring more of your people to the real world, permanently. The choice is yours. Now that you know everything, help me willingly and I''ll try to help you in return." It looked like Krugan would benefit more from this offer than him. However, Aito was thinking about the bigger picture. His experience in the Tower had taught him many things, one of them being that hecked strength on his own. His goal of redemption looked far beyond his reach. The more he looked at it, the more he could see how it''d involve the gods and their ridiculous powers. If he could somehow get the support of an entire race, fake though they may be, it''d be a great help. He did not know if there truly was a way to bring Krugan''s kin outside, but would it hurt him to try? "Do I really have a choice? I''ve been deprived of this right since my birth that, ording to you, was made up," Krugan said. "If you want freedom, unfortunately, you don''t have a choice," Aito said. "I''m not a fortune teller, but I can tell you this. I''m your best bet." Krugan scoffed. "Straightforward. Spoken like an orc." "So what will it be? Genuine freedom or fake freedom?" Aito stretched his arm, offering a handshake to seal the deal. "Do you even have to ask?" Krugan said, grabbing his hand. "Where should we begin, my Khan?" Aito smiled and gave him a few instructions. Krugan strode off the room. Some timeter, two orcs brought back Aito''s items, but not his armor. Most of his armor pieces had been broken, shredded into more pieces, and were disposed off. However, as the new Khan, Aito ordered a new armor set to be made and repair the old armor pieces that could still be used. It''d take two days. In the meantime, he nned on recovering and exploring the city. He was worried for hisrades, but they were strong and should be fine for now. As soon as he touched an inventory bag to grab recovery beads, Valinar''s notification window popped up in front of him. [How can that be? How did survive the soul realm? You are¡­ full of surprises,] she said. [I thought the Kh¨¹l would tear you to shreds.] ''And you''re still here, to my greatest displeasure,'' Aito replied mentally. [I see a journey into the Destroyer''s soul realm did not change your hatred towards me,] Valinar sighed. [I cannot understand your thought process. I am an invaluable source of knowledge to you and yet you seem so eager to discard such advantage. Why?] ''You already know why, but you''re right on one thing. Not using your knowledge out of spite is stupid.'' [You finally see reason, mortal.] ''But aren''t your memories fragmented like the candle pieces. So technically, your knowledge is fragmented, too. Aren''t you just a useless piece of blue notification window?'' [How dare you¡­. A goddess''s knowledge, even fragmented, outweighs that of a simple mortal at the very least by a hundred times!] ''Is that so? Then do you happen to know how I can transport the orcs outside the Tower?'' [Of course, I do. Who do you take me for? Just use the candle as you did on the two siblings mortal and the monkey! And once you''ve found the third fragment, then¡ª] She paused abruptly. [Do you promise to listen to my future requests if I tell you the rest?] ''No.'' [Then you won''t know how to take them out of the Tower.] ''Doesn''t matter, I already know enough to guess the rest,'' Aito replied mentally. ''Thank you for your help, Valinar.'' [Wait! You cannot dismiss me like I am a simple mor¡ª] Valinar started. Aito threw the candle piece on the opposite side of the room, interrupting the stream of notification windows. "Hum, as I thought. The candle and Valinar are deeply linked. As long as I keep it a few meters away from me, it''ll shut her up," he said, appreciating his vision cleared of the annoying blue notifications. Back during his time in the orc prison, Valinar had not addressed him a single word but suddenly started talking to him again after he got his items back. At first, he thought it was a coincidence, but Valinar''ste reaction on his return from the soul realm and the fact she actually stopped talking when the candle''s been thrown off, had confirmed his hypothesis. Chapter 179 - More Rewards Aito spent the rest of the day secluded in his room to heal his wounds. Counting Pneuma, the recovery beads, and the fact he had already rested for a while, it took him six hours for his wounds to fully heal. Followed by three other orcs, Krugan arrived withrge bags filled with a third of the soul cores of those who had fallen during thest day of the sacred event. It was Aito''s prize for winning the sacred event. In a rtively smaller bag were the soul cores of the elite orcs who had died and in a wooden box was the previous Khan''s soul core. A level 4 soul core. The three orcs following Krugan withdrew politely. Aito asked the huge orc to remain in the room with him to talk about a few things, one of them being what''s toe. Aito couldn''t simply stay on the 6th Floor eternally. He nned on leaving as soon as possible, meaning when his new equipment the orc smiths were working on would be finished. In the meantime, he wanted to absorb the soul cores but also give the orc his "blessing." Krugan understood what he meant after experiencing it himself. Using the candle, Aito pried Krugan''s secrets open. Interestingly, the orc had no ss whatsoever, despite being a peak level 2 being. Even more interesting, Aito had the option to grant him a warrior ss, Axman. A weird ss name for an orc because¡­ well he wasn''t human. No mana was required for the process since Krugan already had a soul core. "Feeling any different?" Aito asked from his bed. "Hard to say," Krugan replied, standing up. "There is no visible change. But I can feel something in me was unlocked. I feel a veil has been lifted. I feel¡­ that I finally have the potential to reach a higher power. Maybe, with more training and soul cores, I can now seed in bing stronger." The orc closed his fist with determination and satisfaction. "Thank you, my Khan. I will not forget this kindness." Aito nodded. "Don''t mind it. I intend to give this blessing to all your people before leaving. I''m sorry, but that''s all I can offer for now." "It is already more than I expected. For that, I thank you once more," the orc hit his chest, then stretched his hand and opened his palm. A gesture of extreme gratitude. "However, before that¡ª" "I know," Aito interrupted. "I have to prove myself to the people. Call them all tomorrow morning in the arena. Tell those who will challenge me for the position of Khan to be prepared to die." The orcs had the right to challenge him before he was officially recognized by all as the Khan. Unofficially, he already was. Normally, the elite orcs would fight amongst themselves to determine the next chief, the victor would have proven to all his superiority. But Aito had jumped this step, thus giving the right to the orcs to challenge his authority in public before it became official. "Of course, you are forbidden from participating," Aito said. "I already know I am no match for you," Krugan said. "And I doubt you''ll have many challengers. Apart from those who¡­ came back, the others won''t interfere." "Hum, good. I''ll be sure to deter their morale right at the start." "What about your equipment, Khan? The cksmiths haven''t repaired the previous weapon and what''s left of your armor yet. These are¡­ tooplex. Especially the shield. We''ve yet to reach such mastery in our craft." Krugan said. It wasn''t surprising the orcs had trouble with the repairs, considering Ainar''s work was top-notch. Having acquired the orcs'' knowledge, Aito knew the orc smiths were no match for the minerian''s expertise. "Don''t try to mess with the mechanisms. Leave them be and only repair what you can. Also take this and use it to improve my morpho ax. I know luzli is hard toe by," he said, handing over the ax Krugan had given him to swear fealty. "Don''t worry about tomorrow. I already have what I need for the challenges." Krugan wanted to say something but abstained and started leaving. Who was he to question his Khan? "Wait up. Before you go, bring half the content of a bag," Aito said. "I know this isn''t the way for you orcs to be stronger, however, this is an order. Take this opportunity to grow. No refusal. Just ept it. Repay me by keeping yourself alive at all costs. I might need you sooner than you may think." The orc didn''t know what to say. He bowed respectfully and stayed put. "Although it does not hold the same meaning as it used to; I swear on our ancestors that I, Krugan Stoneshield, will not fail you." Aito nodded, "I know you won''t. Now, take your leave and forbid ess to my room. I need silence for what I''m about to do next. Only you are allowed to enter." "Yes, Khan." Krugan left as swift as the wind with his soul cores, passing the order that the Khan must not be disturbed until next morning. Finally, alone, Aito opened the stone box containing the previous Khan''s soul core. Nestled in a smooth carved rock especially made for it, the core was bigger than those he had seen before. Light grey and round, the size of arge marble, it had a peculiar protuberance on the side. The auxiliary core. It appeared that once the body died, the auxiliary core would stop rotating and fuse with the main core, bing one item. ''How interesting. Why is the color grey? Until now, every core I collected was yellow.'' That was the first time he saw a level 3 core. Gwen had taught him many things, but he still had much to learn. A notification window popped up. [It''s because the Khan was ssless, ignorant mortal.] ''Hum, thanks for the free info,'' Aito replied, surprised. ''You really are desperate for my help to give me freebies like that, aren''t you?'' [Of course, I am! From the moment I gave you the candle piece, I''ve bet everything on you! I''ve never wronged youpared to the others! And instead of feeling grateful towards me, you are disrespectful beyond ungratefulness. You just look like a teenage brat who has yet to mature!] Chapter 180 - Trying Something Reckless For Power Aito was shocked. Valinar had really lost her divine calm. Even though he couldn''t hear her voice and only read her. He could feel she was quite pissed at him. ''True that you''ve never harmed me. In fact, you''ve always helped me. But that''s what I find suspicious about you. I can''t help but be bothered by your divine presence. I can''t trust you because I don''t know what''s going on in your mind. What you''re plotting,'' he said mentally. ''Maybe with time I''lle to trust you. Fat chance of that happening, however, nothing is impossible. In the meantime, you have two choices. Stay by my side and try to gain my trust by helping me with your knowledge. Or remain by my side and be quiet for all eternity.'' Valinar stopped replying for some time. An ufortable silence settled in the room as Aito waited for a reply. At some point, he wondered if she actually choose to remain silent forever until¡­ [I cannot tell you my goals,] she said. ''I knew it. Hide your shady goals as long as you want. But don''t count on my help,'' he said leaning his stone bed. [It''s not that I don''t want to. I simply cannot. Like my soul, my memory is iplete and only a will drive me towards still blurry goals. Once you''ve found the other candle pieces, I will be able to tell you more because I will know more by then. For now, all I can know for sure is that it''s linked to Phobos in some way who''s breaching the veil and we''re running out of time. Please, Aito Walker, gather the candle pieces as fast as possible.] Aito sighed heavily. Maybe Valinar was being honest, maybe not. However, her tone had changed drastically¡­ the writings at least. She was lowering her divine self to talk on equal ground with a mortal. ''It''s not my top priority, but I already nned on gathering the pieces. Although, as I told you, if I find another way home, I will leave, no matter what. If we can agree on that, I will try to be more¡­ grateful from now on.'' [You don''t understand. Iris itself is at stake!] ''Your world can burn for all I care,'' Aito shrugged. ''My goal before yours. Unless gathering the candle pieces is the only way for me to return home, I won''t make it my priority.'' [The candle will bring you home! You have my word!] ''I know and that''s what worries me,'' he replied. ''This is getting tiresome. Decide now. ept my offer and I will treat you better or refuse and we''re back to square one.'' [¡­ Fine.] Valinar knew she had not much of a choice. She had bet everything on Aito. ''Great! Now that we''ve reached an agreement, mind telling me something?'' [Already taking advantage of my divine self. Shameless mortal. What''s your question?] ''Is it possible to manifest a second auxiliary core at my current level?'' He asked in all seriousness, gazing at the bags containing thousands of soul cores. [Are you crazy!? That''s beyond ridiculous! Why would you even want a second auxiliary core at your level? It''s already a miracle you''ve had yours at level 1.] ''It''s to prepare for the enemies toe. I know I''ve reached sufficient strength to not worry about my own safety on most of the Tower floors. But, I''m looking ahead. There will be enemies. Much stronger enemies. I have to grow as fast as possible. I can''t simply be satisfied with what I already have. I cannot be conceited. Not again.'' His fight with the previous Khan had made him realize that he had be a bitcent due to his own strength. A dangerous train of thought for a warrior seeking to reach the apex. He was thankful to the previous orc chief for opening his eyes to the truth. He was still weak. [*Sigh*mendable but reckless¡­ as usual, I guess.] Valinar said, [I''ve never heard of anyone forming a second auxiliary core before level 4, that I can recall at least.] [The method to manifest a second auxiliary core isn''t so different from the first one. You mustmand your soul to do it. The problem lies in your soul level and power. Creating an auxiliary core requires you to split a tiny part of your own soul that will act as the central piece of the auxiliary core.] [Usually, it is rmended to wait until level 4 before creating your next auxiliary core to give time for your soul to grow in power and split safely. Chances are, you are more likely to injure yourself than create a second auxiliary core, particrly at your level.] [Moreover, your soul core must be perfectly synchronized with you. You must have a solid foundation, arge supply of soul cores willing to be absorbed, which isn''t supposed to exist unless...] ''Unless I have many orc soul cores,'' Aito grinned, looking at all the soul cores around him. ''Well, aren''t I the lucky one?'' [Tsk, don''t be cocky. This isn''t enough to reach the Awakened realm. You would need thousands of those low-level cores.] ''The Awakened realm? I think you misunderstand something, goddess. I''m not trying to reach the Awakened realm this early, I''m just trying to create another auxiliary core.'' [Ignorant. Creating an auxiliary core is the same as reaching the next real¡ª¡­ hold on. Could it be.... Are you trying to create¡ª] ''An auxiliary core small enough that it won''t be considered by the system as reaching the next realm. Yes, that''s what I''m thinking about, you ignorant.'' [That''s madness. Pure and utter madness! Do you think you''re the only one who thought about this? Many have tried before you and only failed miserably for a very good reason. They either could not keep the supply of energy running while creating their new cores or they did not have the energy.] [Even with enough soul cores around you, there is no point in trying when you can''t maintain a constant supply coursing through your mana circuit. Unless...] ''It''s fine. I''m only going to try something. If it fails, at worst, the energy will be expelled.'' [*Sigh* you''re unbelievable. Even if you''re not trying to reach the Awakened realm, you might die. You know that, right?] ''I know, but I have insurances,'' he said mentally, bringing out the healing bead he had kept. ''If worstes to pass, I have this.'' [That¡­, might help you avoid death, but not the negative consequences such reckless action can bring upon you.] ''Can''t you use some of your divine powers to help?'' He said, fully knowing he was greedy. But he who does not ask never receives, so he might as well try his luck. [No. If I do that, my consciousness might fade. Helping you would drain too much of my powers. Unlike before, I have no means to regenerate my power. So once used, it''ll be gone forever.] ''Huh, why did you previously want to help me during the Crimson Eclipse on the fifth floor then?'' [That was different. I was ready to use most of my remaining powers in exchange for your life. A desperate move.] ''Really? How kind of you.'' [You sounded sarcastic right now.] ''I swear I was being genuine,'' he replied in an overly dramatic tone. ''Anyway, I''m about to start. Unless you want to distract me, don''t send your notifications until I''m done.'' [You are too reckless, Aito Walker. But maybe at times, it isn''t such a bad thing,] Valinar said before leaving him alone. Aito grabbed the sole level 3 soul core in the room and started absorbing it. Chapter 181 - Beyond Recklessness Powerful energies fluctuated through Aito''s body, saturating his mana circuits with power. The previous Khan''s strength progressively flowed into his body, entering his soul core. The grey core in his hand broke apart. Like grains of sand, it escaped his grip, disintegrating into nothingness. Inside Aito, the Khan''s soul met his. He could feel no resistance, only eptance as he turned her power into his. Aito''s core brimmed with energies. He immediately ordered his soul to absorb it all. His soul pulsed in ordance with his will, assimting the previous Khan''s soul that posed no resistance or threat, willingly bing part of Aito''s power. Using these energies, the core, already brimming with power, underwent a change. It shone brightly, expending slightly, using the energies it was given to grow stronger. Aito''s soul pulsed to joy as it evolved, going past its previous limits. His auxiliary core was caught up in the momentum, cracking and expending. Dense mana shot up from inside him, flooding his mana circuits. So much power came from such a little grey bead. He could have never imagined a level 3 soul core would hold this amount of energy. One was enough for him to reach the next level. His core already had enough energy to level up. However, this wasn''t what Aito and his soul wanted. ''No! Digest andpress!'' His soul obeyed. The influx of power was redirected inside. Forced to a stop, it stagnated around the soul core, which sent waves of soul power topress it and absorb it. ''Now, slowly relocate everything and create a new auxiliary core.'' Aito''s soul pulsed in agreement, then started relocating the digested and assimted energy. Aito felt extreme pain when a piece of his actual soul was torn apart to create a new auxiliary core. Compared to the first time, he could feel it with more ease, his soul''s piece serving as the central part of his new auxiliary core. However, something felt wrong. It was feeble, weak, and wobbling. Aito''s main core sent him a warning, but he did not listen. As always, he thought that taking risks when it came to gaining strength was his best bet. He chose to continue the operation. ''Compress and store everything!'' All the energy he had umted until now was redirected and used as fuel for the creation of the new auxiliary core. However, midway, his soul sent another warning, pulsing that it would not be enough toplete the new auxiliary core. The higher the soul level Aito had, the more energy he would need to form auxiliary cores. That was a given. Although the current energy contained in the level 3 soul core he had absorbed was easilyparable to thebined energy he had absorbed on the 5th floor during the Crimson Eclipse, it wasn''t enough. The 2nd auxiliary core started taking shape. Cracks rapidly appeared on its still feeble surface as Aito coughed up blood. At that moment, his main core pulsed a warning. It needed more energy toplete the 2nd auxiliary core. Aito had been able to absorb soul cores remotely on the 5th floor during the Lunar Eclipse. Although he didn''t know how he knew it was linked to his soul''s capabilities. Hoping it would work again, Aito ordered his soul to absorb the other soul cores stored in the bags surrounding him in the room. At first, nothing happened. The room was filled withplete silence when suddenly, a loud pulse reverberated, calling out to the soul cores. The marble-sized items stuffed in bags shook strongly while the energies they contained rose into the air, forming a colorful spectacle. Energies rushed in Aito''s body, passing by his mana circuits into his soul core. Unlike the first time, he only sucked a limited amount of energy instead of absorbing everything around him. His body overflowed with the power of a raging storm that was sucked into Aito''s cores that processed the energies, transforming them into his own. After that, they transferred mana and soul power to the newborn cracked auxiliary core that grew immediately. The auxiliary cored trembled when cracks progressively closed to stop mana and soul power from leaking out. At that moment, Aito asked his soul to stop the growth of his 2nd auxiliary core. However, this wasn''t how things worked. His soul pulsed in denial. It could not stop the process now. [Hum, I expected as much,] Valinar dered. [There must be bnce in your soul. Creating a smaller auxiliary core breaks this bnce and, therefore, is impossible. Even you who create miracles cannot escape this bnce.] ''Shit¡­,'' Aito cursed internally. He knew he wouldn''t have listened to her even if Valinar had warned him. ''Then what am I supposed to do now?'' [You must find bnce anew.] ''Can''t you be clearer?'' Aito asked. [It means your new auxiliary core must be at the same level as the first one. You clueless mortal,] Valinar replied. Something throbbed in Aito''s chest. New cracks formed on his 2nd auxiliary core. A sudden urge to vomit seized him. Incapable of controlling it, Aito threw up all over his bed that was repainted red. Blood. ''What''s... happening to me?'' [You were too reckless. The piece of your soul you used to create your 2nd auxiliary core wasn''t strong enough to retain this level of energy. So it is breaking apart.] [This phenomenon is creating an imbnce that prevents the link between your new auxiliary core and the main one to form properly. Which is leading to foreign mana and soul power running wild inside you. You were too greedy, mortal. If you don''t stop now, you will cripple your cores.] ''Shit¡­,'' Aito cursed, vomiting blood again. The shock was such he almost let go of the healing bead in his hand, his sole insurance against an unforeseen incident, ''There must be another way.'' [There is none that I can remember. You have to stop now,] Valinar replied. At that moment, his soul weakly pulsed a question which he had trouble understanding. It pulsed once again, the vibration clearer and stronger this time. Aito''s lips arched up in a bloody smile while he replied, ''Yes.'' [Yes? What do you mean? Be clearer, mortal.] Aito did not reply to Valinar. Instead, he retracted his attention inside him. His internal injuries were bing more severe by the passing seconds because of the raging energies ravaging his insides. ''Do it,'' he said to his soul. His main core and 1st auxiliary core vibrated strongly in reply. The soul piece housed inside the 1st auxiliary core cracked, separating into two parts. The smaller part, around a quarter piece, flew out of the 1st auxiliary core to bring assistance to the new one. Aito grabbed his chest as if he was trying to dig out the pain, but ultimately forced his hand back to avoid injuring himself. However, a second wave of pain struck him when his main core, that was housing most of his main soul, cracked. One-tenth of the soul inside flew out while unbearable pain seized Aito again. [You¡­ are you mad?] Valinar asked. [Do you want to die!?] After seeing Aito''s unconventional thinking times and times again, the goddess started to get used to his recklessness, but when she saw what he was doing, Valinar couldn''t help but think this couldn''t be called recklessness anymore but stupidity. [Using your soul this way will get you killed! Do you hear me? Stop this instant if you cherish your life even a little!] Aito did not reply. He could not reply. He had known incredible physical pain to the point it would overload his brain and shut it down. However, pain from the soul was different. It attacked you from your very core like thousands of needles piercing your chest from the inside. Aito couldn''t even faint because the pain would immediately awaken him. All he could do was brace himself. He screamed his lungs out, his powerful voice resonated inside the room and beyond it. The two guards positioned outside his door jumped in surprise at this abnormal sound. Thinking someone was attacking the new Khan, they wanted to barge in. However, Krugan''s previous order was clear. No matter what they heard, they must not enter. Torn between duty andmon sense, one of them went looking for Krugan, while the other remained posted outside. Unaware of the trouble he was causing the guards, Aito clenched his teeth through the unbearable pain. His body was shaking uncontrobly. Unable to contain the shaking, his rattling hand let go of the healing bead that rebounded on his bed, then rolled on the ground far from his reach. He tried to stretch his arm, but fell in the process. Back on his stone bed, the pain prevented him from getting up. He barely managed to roll on the side to vomit blood, preventing him from choking on his own vital fluids. Inside him, his main core weakly pulsed, trying to control the raging energies with the help of the 1st auxiliary core. The 2nd auxiliary core, however, was pale and silent. Streams of soul power and mana leaked out of it. The main core pulsed again, sending signals to the 2nd auxiliary core, trying to establish a new link. No response came. Chapter 182 - The Result Of Reckless Stupidity Aito''s main core continued to pulse time and time again while preventing the umted foreign energies from going berserk. Sucking them in, digesting, and using the 1st auxiliary core to contain the vtile foreign energies. Although those came from orcs, it was up to Aito''s soul core to control them, otherwise, they would just run wild. Feeling the pressure from more than a hundred souls, Aito ordered the release of half of them. [What a waste,] Valinarmented. That much power would have brought any level 1 challenger to the brink of level 2 or maybe even allowed him to level up. Aito''s core pulsed to approval and freed half of the energy he had absorbed. Blue stream with whirling transparent energy rushed out of his pores. A powerful shockwave spread to the surroundings, sending the furniture crashing. The loud noise alerted the orc standing guard outside who jumped from surprise when the door cracked. Although it was still closed, the orc guard could see fissures in its frames. He once again held himself from entering and check on the new Khan. Aito vomited blood, coloring his clothes red. He could feel some of his organs were damaged. But there was nothing he could do in his situation. With his soul core busy mending the result of his recklessness, Aito could not even use his skills. Nor could he move properly. The storm inside him was still raging but was less potent because of the decrease inpressed energy. It receded. His main core took advantage of this situation to start digesting furiously, using the assimted power to fuel its needs. It fed soul power and mana to the silent auxiliary core in hope of a response while repairing its own cracks. Meanwhile, the 1st auxiliary core rotated with vigor, storing soul power and mana. The energies sent to the silent auxiliary core simply rebounded on it. Its injuries were severe. Cracks covered it. It looked on the verge of shattering into pieces. Inside it, two weak soul fragments that had been sent for help were fusing with the feeble one currently trying to spark life into this new auxiliary core. Once the fusion waspleted, the 2nd auxiliary core pulsed very weakly. Soul force and mana shyly entered through the cracks, mending them little by little. The cracks closed as more energies were sucked in. Like a hungry newborn child, the new core frantically absorbed every ounce of power provided by the main core. It started rotating. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. Taking every speck of mana, soul force, and essence. The auxiliary core grew in size. However¡­ COUGH! Aito''s body shook uncontrobly once again as he tumbled down his bed to the ground. Blood flowed down his every opening. His bloodshot eyes, crying red, fogged his vision. [Stop!] Valinar asked, worried. [Stop it now and heal yourself! Look at your injuries!] He did not want to stop. How could he stop when his goal was so close? Aito knew the toll on his body was great. That his stomach, lungs, intestines, and other organs were damaged. One of his ears had gone deaf, perforated by the raging storm. But if he wanted the formation of his second auxiliary core to seed, he needed more fuel, more souls. Paralyzed, his only shot at survival was to continue. He could probably stop now, but unable to move... how was he to heal himself? Hoping for a level up to heal his wounds, despite his state, Aito ordered his soul to absorb new soul cores around him. WOOSH! Foreign soul essence, force, and mana flowed inside his damaged mana circuits. Aito''s body convulsed and cracked under the toll of this umon gathering of energy. Meanwhile, the new core absorbed the fuel offered to it, trying to increase its size to the same level as the other auxiliary core. It bloated, fissured, expended, rebuilt itself times and times again. But the soul fragment it was made of was still febrile. It needed more time to absorb, digest everything. The problem didn''te from the souls the energy originated from, for they were willing to be absorbed. The issue came from the weak soul fragment the new auxiliary core was made of. One soul should be strong enough before attempting to create a new auxiliary core. Firstly, it was to avoid injuries that could lead to death or grave after effect. Secondly, and mainly, it was to allow the new auxiliary core to increase in size and strength. That process was meant to maintain bnce in one''s soul core. If that bnce could not be attained... there would be no level up. Unfortunately for Aito, his soul was still too fragile to manifest a perfect new auxiliary core. After all, he had created his First Circle barely two weeks ago. There was a reason the Second Circle should only be created before reaching the Awakened realm. Suddenly, Aito''s 2nd auxiliary core that was barely half the size of his 1st auxiliary core stopped absorbing energies. Saturated and too weak to handle more power, it could not evolve further. ''Shit¡­,'' Aito cursed internally. Since keeping all the remaining foreign soul power, mana and essence could only lead to dangerous circumstances, his main core automatically stopped providing fuel to his new auxiliary core and released every ounce of energy in his body. A shockwave, less powerful than the previous one, shook the entire room. [Quickly! Heal yourself!] Valinar warned. Blinded on one side, he could only see from one eye. Perforated lungs, half-filled with blood, allowed for poor breathing. Nevertheless, he gathered his unflinching will as well as the remaining physical strength he still had, then crawled to his salvation. There, next to the room''s sole door, was the healing bead shimmering of a green color he saw red due to his poor vision. Aito''s eye was glued to it as he weakly moved one limb after another, leaving bloody traces on the warm stony ground. Although he could not clearly see them, Valinar''s notifications pressed him to hurry. It took Aito everything he had to reach his doorstep. He stretched his feeble arm, pale from theck of blood coursing through it. Gathering every iota of strength he had left, he reached forward¡­ only for his hand to drop an inch from the healing bead. Blinded by blood. Tired and injured beyond what any earthly modern means could repair, Aito''s hand could not move. His heartbeat slowed down, threatening to stop. Abruptly, the door to his room mmed open, revealing the imposing figure of a familiar orc who rushed to his side as Aito closed his eyes. Thest thing he remembered before losing consciousness was a warm feeling spreading to his entire body. *** Aito awoke the next morning in his room. The blood he had spilled everywhere yesterday was gone as if no traces of his reckless attempt at gaining more power remained. His body looked physically in shape without any visiblesting deficiencies. Although he felt a weirdpressed feeling in his chest, he could see everything was fine. "How do you feel, my Khan?" Krugan asked, sitting on a chair neat his bed. "Good¡­ I think," Aito dered. The orc quickly exined he had used the healing bead to heal him. Krugan had already been aware of some of the challengers'' items thanks to his previous exchanges with Aito. Seeing how his Khan had been so desperate to reach that itemst night, Krugan had quickly connected the dots that it was one of those magical items that healed challengers. Only a fool wouldn''t figure out how important such an item was when seeing something crawling desperately towards it. "I see¡­, thank you for saving my life, Krugan." "It is my duty to do so, my Khan," the orc replied. In truth, Krugan had contemted the idea of letting him bleed to deathst night since it would be due to Aito''s own weakness. This would have allowed him to seize power and be the new Khan. However, Aito''s previous revtions had quickly changed his mind. Now he served him because of the oath, but also willingly. Some of his previous cultural beliefs were already shaken. "I hoped you recovered enough to fight," the orc leader said. "Our people are waiting in the arena for your appearance, my Khan. Postponing this event would only weaken their already fragile trusts in you." Aito sighed. He had almost forgotten about that. Last night''s event was upying all his thoughts. "Indeed," Aito replied. "Give me five minutes. I need to check on something first." Krugan nodded and exited the room. As soon as the door was closed, Aito opened his status window to see if there were any changes to himself. ¡ª [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 Species: High Human Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 183cm Weight: 120kg Emotional state: Curious [Lv Down!] ss: Lv 2 Ax Braver (Level Decreased due to damaged soul. This never before seen circumstance resulted in a default level attribution.) Titles: ck Challenger, Father killer, Training addict, Masochist, Goblin yer, Khan. [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Instinct - Strength blessed - Fury 2. Skills (5 unallocated skill points): Passive: - Ax Mastery Lv3 - Shield Mastery Lv3 - Marksmanship Lv2 - Poison Resistance Lv1 - Heat Resistance Lv2 - **One Against Many Lv1** (Unique Skill) Active: - [Lv Down!] Domain Lv3 - Impact Lv3 - Illusion Lv2 - [Lv Down!] Durability Lv3 - Aura of Bravery Lv2 - Cyclone Lv2 - Weight Control Lv3 - Pneuma Lv3 - ??? Lv? (No Data Found. Calcting.) - [Lv Down!] Cleave Lv3 [IV. System Rights] - Orc Subordinate (The host is given the right to take in an orc subordinate he will be able to summon at any given time. After one hour, the orc will be unsummoned and the system right will be on cooldown for the next 24 hours. This system right can be upgraded using glory points at any divine ces.) [III. Basic stats (5 unallocated basic stat points)] - [Lv Down!] Strength: Lv3 - [Lv Down!] Body: Lv3 - [Lv Down!] Stamina: Lv3 - [Lv Down!] Agility: Lv3 - [Lv Down!] Mana: Lv3 - [Lv Up!] Destiny: Lv5 (cannot level up with Glory Points) __ ''What the hell?'' Aito thought, wondering what all those Lv Down meant. Chapter 183 - 13 Days Left [Are you finally realizing what you did? It''s the result of your recklessness, mortal,] Valinar said. [You''re already lucky to be alive.] ''You know, us mortals usually say something like "hey how you feeling" after someone recovers from near-death experience,'' Aito replied. ''You should give it a try. It''s called being polite.'' [Ha, clearly something you''recking seeing how you treated me thus far. What a joke.] The goddess retorted. Touch¨¦. Aito coughed. He knew he had beencking in manners when talking to the goddess and could only look away. Remembering he had recently agreed to be more polite with her, he sighed. ''Right¡­,'' Aito replied. He took a sarcastic tone. ''Mind exining what''s happening to me, oh great dead goddess of Bravery,'' he paused, then added, ''P.L.E.A.S.E?'' That was the best he could do for now. He hated the gods, but he also ought to acknowledge that Valinar had only helped him thus far. For instance, if it wasn''t for her inheritance, he probably wouldn''t have reached his current power level. [Hum!] ''Come on, don''t go all divine tsundere on me,'' Aito said mentally. [I don''t know what this word means, but I find it beneath my divineself for some reason,] Valinar replied. [Fine, what''s happening isn''t much of a secret anyway.] [Your soul is wounded because of your previous reckless action. The healing bead might have repaired your physical vessel, but your ethereal vessel needs time to recover. Not even a miracle bead can help you with that.] ''Shit. Not something I needed before fighting the orc contenders. How long will it take?'' [You''re already lucky your stupidity didn''t kill you, so don''tin,] the goddessmented. [Your soul is damaged, thus reducing your overall capabilities. The recovery time depends on how much you injured your soul and the resources at your disposal.] Aito took a look at the bags containing soul cores nestled in the corner of the room. With a quick approximation, he could see he had used up a quarter of them. ''Resources aren''t the problem, I think,'' he said. [Indeed, time is. From what I sense, it can take a week or two with a constant supply of soul cores to nourish your soul and a good rest. Hard to tell precisely. Fighting could dy your recovery. However, you''re¡­] ''I can''t afford to wait this long. I''ve only got 13 days left to clear the Tower,'' Aito replied. He had spent a total of ten days already on the 6th floor and couldn''t tarry for long. Waiting another 7 days or 14 days to recover to full strength was out of the question. [Right, if you don''t clear it, you die. I forgot my husband put a great burden on your shoulders. Well, with your current strength, if you y it smart and with your team''s help you can clear the Tower. Your power will progressively return to you as time passes. Chances are, you''ll be even stronger than before.] [Your recklessness almost got you killed but in exchange, you''ve achieved something no one has done before. Even the System did not acknowledge it because this is considered impossible, to what I can remember at least. You manifested your Second Circle without reaching the Awakened realm, while still being level¡­ 2 now. That''s barely believable. I can''t figure out how you did this¡­ [Almost no one will be able to contend with you in the same realm once you recover. Even an Awakened might find it hard to deal with you.] ''Is that so?'' [Don''t get cocky now. There will be a clear drawback. From what I know, your future level-ups will demand much more soul cores than it normally does. However¡­ the power you will acquire from them will be tremendous. The path you''ve created is¡­ interesting. But tread lightly, for it is filled with unknown. It might hinder your ascension to the next realm.] ''I''ve been plunged into the unknown from my revival until now. No news there. But for once, I agree with you,'' Aito replied. He had almost died trying an idea out of the box, making him less inclined to try such reckless action before more careful thinking. If Krugan hadn''t entered at that time¡­ [Did you just¡­ agree with me?] Valinar asked, seemingly baffled. Aito ignored her question, stood up from his bed, then headed out to face the orc contenders. Time was of the essence, after all. *** The Coliseum was filled to the brim with orcs, old or young, female or male. Every single orc on the 6th floor was present for this glorious event. Standing weaponless in the middle of the arena, a shirtless Aito basked in the sunlight under the gazes of curious orcs. His bare feet dug into the hot sand that surprisingly felt warm, weing his toes. ¡ªPassive Skill: Heat Resistance Lv2¡ª Compared to before, Aito no longer felt the suns'' rays harm his skin, on the contrary. It was pleasant, enjoyable. If he had it his way, he would be lying on a deckchair with a fruit juice in hand and live it up. A loud sound announced the beginning of the contest. All the Elite Orcs who wanted to have a shot at the crown were invited to participate. Lined up at the other end of the arena, they waited for their turn. The first one to step in was a huge orc, almost as imposing as Krugan, covered in thick armor with a giant club in hand. It looked at Aito with its yellow eyes. A big frown drew on the orc''s face when he saw Aito''sck of equipment. His pride hurt, the orc unstrapped his armor set, leaving it on the burning sand. "I do not know how a human came to be Khan, nor why the Ek? epted you," the orc said. "However, I will prove to my people you are unworthy of the glorious title of Khan." "Sure," Aito simply said. He had no time to lose and did not care about what a soon-to-be-dead orc would say. He looked aside, searching for Krugan in the gallery. It was easy to find him. The VIP seats of the Khan and the Ek? were quite visible, even from the arena. Aito calmly walked left, roughly putting the orc contender between him and the VIP seats before making a provoking gesture. His opponent did not take the bait and just cautiously stepped towards him. When the orc was almost within attack range, Aito reached forward with his right hand, which made a grabbing motion. The elite orc suddenly stopped, warily eyeing him, trying to figure out what kind of attack wasing for him. Most of the orc believed Aito was chosen to be the next Khan because he killed the Kh¨¹l. However, there was one thing no orc other than Krugan was currently aware of. A dangerous sound came from being the elite orc who, too focused on Aito, only realized toote his impending doom. Soulcleaver, Uruk''s ax, or at least a fragment of it, rapidly whirled through the air with a deadly whistle. Aito seized the ax''s handle with one hand and struck the ground using its pommel. At that moment, the decapitated orc''s head fell with an incredulous expression on the hot sand, followed by the body. ''I can''t believe how sharp this thing is,'' Aito thought, looking at his new ax. If it weren''t for the murderous voice harassing his mind, it would be the perfect weapon. Summoning Soulcleaver out of the blue he had left with Krugan was part of his n. A surprise attack that aimed to shock his opponents, but also every orc, to create a sense of wonder. Why? To announce that their sacred weapon had already epted him and to possibly prevent more fighting. The orcs'' gazes were glued to what they called the sacred weapon, the embodiment of leadership. The proof of being chosen by their ancestor. Apart from its size, which had shrunk down to around 1.60 meters, it looked exactly the same. The sacred weapon always adapted its size to the new bearer, so no surprise there. And since the new bearer was a human that was smaller than the average orc, it was only logical that the sacred weapon was so small¡­ small from an orc''s point of view, that is. Aito''s gaze traveled from one end of the coliseum to the other. Shocked, no one said anything. Taking advantage of this silence, he shouted: "IS THERE NO ONE ELSE!?" His voice echoed powerfully in the entire silent arena, daring anyone who wanted his rank to step forward. However, they all knew the sacred weapon granted immense power. That knowledge deterred more than one contender. Normally, a future Khan would not be allowed to touch the weapon before winning against every elite orc aspiring to be Khan. No reply to Aito''s question came. [Ha, really? Couldn''t you havee up with another phrasing?] Valinar asked. ''Shut up,'' Aito replied mentally. ''You won''t understand how meaningful this sentence is, even if I exined it to you.'' Despite showing Soulcleaver, a few elite orcs were brave enough to challenge him, only to fail miserably. Aito had previously gained the orc knowledge as a reward for an achievement. So he knew all about theirbat tactics and fighting prowesses. Their secrets wereid bare in front of him. Although he did not possess the same strength as before due to his Level Down, it did little to impede his victory. Capable of detecting their weaknesses because of his knowledge, he disposed of his contenders with ease. Giving them a quick painless and honorable death. Fifteen minutester, no one dared defy his rule. Chapter 184 - Leaving For The 7th Floor After Aito was officially acknowledged as the Khan, his first order of business was to gather every citizen of Krukhanon to give them his "blessing." It took hours because of the sheer number of orcs. By the end of it, only one sun shone in the bright sky, indicating it was already "night time." However, no citizens went off to sleep. A huge party was thrown to celebrate the crowning of a new Khan. Krukhanon was bound to be noisy tonight. People danced on the streets. Orcs drunk alcohol brewed with cactus juice in a festive atmosphere. Somepeted against each other in friendly bouts. Wrestling matches, armwrestling, weapon throwing, etc. Musicians yed joyous tunes all around with their weird wind instruments crafted from stone. Those were like long didgeridoo and made for a low tone music but were extremely pleasing to the ears. Bards told bads to those who wanted to hear them. The Legend of the Kh¨¹l, the Birth of Krukhanon, the Epics of the Destroyer, etc. Amongst those stories, they incorporated a new one, that of the new Khan, a human wielding great power. Of course, they improvised it on the flight, since no songs or tales had yet to be exactly recorded. Apanied by Krugan, Aito walked in the city streets, squares, and small alleys, his eyes shimmering with wonder. For a short moment, he forgot about his current predicament. Orc children were ying around the river. Sshing, swimming, diving,peting against each other. A smile appeared on Aito''s face as he recalled fond memories of his childhood from watching them. An orc suddenly came running towards Krugan and whispered a few information to his ears before Krugan dismissed him. Apparently, dozens of humans were spotted in the desert. Since three days ago, they starteding out the 5th floor en masse. The vastness of the 6th floor and the harsh environment prevented them from reaching the city, for now. Even so, what could they do against thousands of orcs? "I''ll let you deal with them, Krugan," Aito said. He couldn''t bother taking care of his fellow humans. There were more pressing matters at hand. "All I ask is that you show mercy to those who deserve it. Remember that they are also puppets of the gods and that,pared to you, they don''te back to life." "Yes, my Khan." Aito''s current situation felt weird to him. He was the Khan, leader of orcs, but he was also a human. How was he supposed to deal with this situation where challengers had no choice but to kill orcs to reach higher floors? And so he left it up to his second inmand to decide the humans'' fate. He had no time for this. "Enjoy the celebration, for now, Krugan. You deserve a little rest," Aito dered. He tapped Krugan''srge shoulder then went back to his room. Although he liked strolling the streets and the vibes of festivities, it didn''t sit right with him to be enjoying himself while his teammates were probably fighting for their lives on the 7th floor. Moreover, he wanted nothing more than to rest. *** The next morning, Krugan guided Aito to the best cksmith in the city where his repaired equipment awaited him. There, he took back his weaved mail and donned his new armor that was based on the old one. Heavy type. It was mostly crafted from steel reinforced with luzli, giving it a yellow-golden luster. The armor set had a simple rough design, a little rectangr on the edges like most orc armors, but did its job to perfection. Its sole drawback was its mass. Although it offered near-perfect defense, he could feel it weighted more than double his previous armor''s weight. Apparently, the orc smith had managed to repair his morpho-shield despite theirck of knowledge. However, Aito was warned by the cksmith that the mechanism might mess up at times. Nothing the orc could do about it. Thest item he picked up from the smithy before leaving was his ainium hammer. His morpho-ax was broken, but the hammer was still useable. The orc smith had changed it into a one-handed hammer Aito could strap to his belt. It could alwayse in handy if need be. Fully equipped, carrying inventory bags stuffed with food for the rest of his journey kindly provided by his subordinates and two backpacks filled to the brim with soul cores, Aito left Krukhanon in direction of the 7th floor''s staircase. No one but Krugan and a few guards were allowed to apany him there. Along the way, he discussed future ns with the ek?. While he was gone, Krugan would take Aito''s ce as the orc chief. As the ek?, no one should question Krugan acting as the temporary Khan. Krugan was supposed to train his people as well as progressively tell them the truth about this world in a way it wouldn''t cause panic. While the Khan had obligations to his people, Aito had obligations to his friends and to himself. To avoid pointless questions, no orcs other than Krugan and a few chosen would know of his whereabouts. Along the way, Aito talked to Krugan about what really happened in the coliseum, that he had been the one who rendered the orcs mad for his tanned ass. He figured he owed the orc the truth. Surprisingly, Krugan didn''t berate or use him of treason or mass murder. How could he when he now knew that every orc was in fact immortal and that the real culprits behind their misery were the gods. Thanks to that, Aito could journey to the next floor with a little less burden. After a few hours, they finally arrived at the edge of the canyon where a staircase carved in the stone was located. There, he ordered the orcs to return to Krukhanon, leaving his second inmand with a few parting words. "We shall meet again soon. Prepare yourself." To which the orc replied by striking his broad chest, "I''ll be waiting, my Khan." Aito watched the orcs'' backs disappear into the distance until he could no longer see them, then turned towards the staircase, ready to join his allies he hoped were doing okay. In a hurry, he strode with a determined expression. However, before he could enter, a man wearing a dark cloak appeared out of thin air, blocking his path. Behir Lamat, the moderator of the 6th floor. Aito had heard of him. An archer who reached the Transcendence realm. A person he could not afford to offend. And yet¡­ "What do you want? I''m in a hurry, so if you gotta say something, I''d rather you say it quick," Aito said. He was tired of moderators appearing in front of him on every floor. "Hum, I see your temper resembles Gwen''s. How fitting for her to be your teacher," Behir said calmly with his arms crossed. Aito strode past him. "If that''s all you''re going to say, I''ll take my leave." The moderator reappeared in front of him inside the staircase. Behir stretched his hand. Inside his palm was a token of a carving depicting a volcano. "If it''s strength you seek, assign yourself to Brulm?r in 12 days. You won''t be disappointed." Aito clicked his tongue. Wishing to continue to the 7th floor, he quickly reached for the token but before he grabbed it, Behir''s hand seized his. "I thought moderators could not impede or act against challengers unless they disobeyed thew. This is a clear vition of thew on your part," Aito said, staring back into the Behir''s eyes. The moderator ignored his statement, "In the coliseum. You did something. What was it?" "My business. Not yours, moderator." "It is when I think it interferes with my floor. You''ve changed something. I can sense it." Behir peered through Aito''s dark eyes, then smirked while he released his Domain. A familiar feeling pressed Aito against the ground, the same feeling he had sensed from a certain god. However, it was far less potent. He managed to resist. Clenching his fist, he prevented himself from punching the moderator''s face because it would give him an excuse to push things further. "You cocky bastard can resist this?" Behir spat, "Interesting. Truly interesting. Gwen picked her disciple well this time, it seems." "Go Itchkack¡­ yourself," Aito replied, using an orcish word. "How rude of you, ck challenger. You thought I wouldn''t understand orcish? Really?" Behir looked at him, seemingly amused. "Let me correct something, ck challenger. On the 6th floor, I am the Law. If I ask you to bark, you bark. If I ask you to kneel, you kneel." An invisible pressure stronger than before showered Aito, forcing him to his knees. "If I ask you to tell me what you did in that coliseum, you answer." Behir expected him to break, plead for mercy. However, all he heard was a chuckle that soon turned into augh that echoed in the staircase. "What''s so funny?" "You are, Behir Lamat," said a woman''s voiceing from behind. "''I am the Law'' bahaha! How incredibly ballsy of you to say that! Even more when you know that this staircase is under my jurisdiction." A petite, dark skin woman wearing a mage cloak descended the stairs. "Segolene, you¡­" "Yes, Behir? You want a face off? Come on, we already know that besides Gwen, no one canpete against me in this Tower," the petite woman with said. "Now, release the kid so he can continue his ascension. Otherwise¡­," she paused, staring at him with a serious face, "I''ll have to kick your ass." Behir clicked his tongue, then released Aito before vanishing without leaving a single trace behind. "Pfff, show off," the petite woman said. She turned towards Aito, "So you are the one getting one achievement after another, hum?" Chapter 185 - Segolene Chuarzkov Aito got back on his feet, cautiously eyeing the neer. The stairs'' blue lights lit her delicate face. Her big eyes seemed to glimmer with questions and interests toward him. ording to Gwen''s knowledge, from the 7th floor onward, there was only one moderator monitoring challengers, Segolene Chuarzkov. Why? Because there were usually a little less than a dozen challengers who managed to reach the 7th floor each batch. Even fewer, if none at all, reached the 8th floor. However, no one who ever dared challenge the 9th floor came back. With so few people to manage and usually no one going past the 8th floor, it has been decided that only one moderator would be monitoring everything from the 7th floor onward. The requirement for the job was, of course, to be strong. Segolene served at the fourth deadliest front of Iris, Vai, the sea fortress. She was one of its most praised fighters. By umting achievements, she usually was amongst the moderators when a new batch of challengers entered the Tower. Aito didn''t know much about her personality, albeit the fact she was kind of an easy going woman¡ªwhile being authoritative at times¡ªwho liked challenges and a good fight. Like most moderators, she woulde to the Tower to recruit promising challengers and take a break from the never ending war. "Thanks for the help, moderator Segolene," Aito said. Even though he knew she wasn''t hostile, it was preferable to remain calm despite his hurry to get on the 7th floor. He cared little about getting on Behir''s bad side because the probability of seeing him again was close to none and also because he was an asshole for unleashing the Sacred Event on challengers. However, Aito didn''t want to get on Segolene''s bad side. She was, after all, the moderator of not one floor but of the remaining four floors. Moreover, she hadn''t wronged him in any way¡­ yet. So for now, he would stay polite. Well, as polite as he could be. "Ow, look at you! Polite, promising and most importantly¡­," she reappeared in front of him instantaneously, giving him no time to react, "exactly my type of men. Crispy and firm, hehe." Aito gulped. Why were the women who took an interest in him nowadays were either crazy or way too strong? Most men would find her voice cute and enchanting. He¡­ found it annoying. His gaze shifted behind her where she had left an afterimage that finally vanished. Either that was a skill or it meant she moved so fast that light couldn''t follow her. If that was the case, it meant that it was at a level of speed far superior to what he was used to. It was beyond anything he had ever seen. Beyond ridiculous. "Don''t worry, with me around, bad boy Behir won''t touch a hair on you, pinky promise!" She grabbed his gauntlet, seizing his pinky with hers, then shook it to seal a deal he hadn''t agreed to. Segolene leaned on his torso. He could feel her warm breath through his armor. Done on purpose? Maybe. Comfortable? Yes, but that wasn''t the point. ttered but also flustered by her behavior and apparent superior capabilities, he remained oblivious to her sentences on purpose. There were more urgent matters at hand. "How are the challengers on the 7th floor doing?" Aito asked. If someone knew how hisrades were doing, it would be her. "No way¡­," she said, taking two rapid back steps, "are you trying¡­ to ignore my previous attempts at seducing you because¡­ y, y, you want me to give you more attention! You little attention seeker!" Segolene shook her butt in a weird way, appearing to draw pleasure from such a childish act. Well, maybe not so childish considering no child Aito had seen has ever done such¡­ lewd gestures. Weighting heavily on his patience, he pushed out a heavy sigh. "Please. I need to know if they are still alive." At those words, the moderator stopped fooling around and stared at him with a calm, easygoing look, both arms grabbing the back of her head. "Worried for them, I see. Yes, they are still alive. Although there was¡­ a little situation. Nothing major." Worry washed over Aito like a cold bucket of water. "What do you mean?" "Follow me," Segolene started walking up the stairs. At least it looked like walking, but Aito barely kept up with her speed by sprinting behind her. "They came to the 7th floor five days ago. All battered, wounded and bruised," the moderator said. "They took the first day to rest, recover from the ordeal they''ve been through on the 6th floor. I know Behir is proud and dutiful, a dutiful asshole, one could say. Never would I have thought he would unleash the Sacred Duels on such a small amount of challengers. "Things have been happening around you, ck challenger. Things that had not happened for a very long time. The challenges you faced until now have long stayed dormant, since the fall of the Valinar, bless be her divine rest." "What are you trying to say?" Aito asked in between two breaths as he ran behind her. "The ordeals I went through were the moderators'' fault. Not mine." Segolene''s lips arced up into a small grin, "Have you heard about Destiny, ck challenger? Do you know what your destiny stat is? What it does?" Aito had asked himself that question since the very beginning. Other stats spoke for themselves, but the "destiny" stat was difficult to give a definition to. Gwen hadn''t been willing to disclose what it did. For what reason? That remained a mystery. "No, I don''t." Segolene turned towards him with a bright smile, "Well, neither do I! Hehe!" Aito felt his patience run thin, thinking that moderator was pulling his leg. Howe such a powerful figure as her didn''t know what the Destiny stat was? "Don''t make this face ck challenger. I was just kidding. No one but the gods can really give a proper definition to Destiny," Segolene said. "However, it is a well-known fact that it gives you the ability to influence the events happening around you. While it isn''t entirely true, you could say the Destiny stat is akin to a luck stat." "No entirely true?" "Yes, it is¡­ much moreplicated than that. But for your current self, it should suffice," Segolene dered. "Hum, we''ve arrived." The dark scenery of the stair light by seafoam color lights changed into a forest area. There was a central space devoid of trees where defensive stone walls shaping a square stood tall. However, the walls were broken. The soil burned to a crisp, as if thunder had struck the earth not long ago. Traces of battle were everywhere. "What happened here?" Chapter 186 - 7th Floor Aito gripped the air. Soulcleaver, attached to his back, flew into his hand, ready for any unforeseen event. He stepped cautiously amidst the broken pieces of wood, the charred flesh and corpses missing body parts. Albeit for their abnormal grey skin tone, bulgy muscles, averaged 2m tall size, red crazed-looking dead eyes, and those purple protruding veins, those corpses looked human¡­ kinda. There were at least a hundred of them spread around the ce. An image of a fairly recent past surged because these monsters felt familiar. Back in the Red Trial, he had seen one of them and even fought it. It had been a Pyrrhic victory. Unable to contend against that monster''s strength at the time, he had baited the berserk thing to its doom. That brainless thing had followed him blindly, which resulted in a direct falling ticket for the ground floor. Something attracted Aito''s attention. Crouched next to one, he examined a corpse using his own experience acquired on the forsaken ind but also through the orc knowledge. ording to the moderator, hispanions were fine. With that out of the picture, he took his time to learn more about his surroundings. Aito''s eyes scanned the corpse for any clues about what had happened. ''Charred wounds. Lucius''s work. So he survived. Holes. Too small to be a spear or a sword. Probably arrows or bolts. She¡­,'' Aito thought, remembering her pleading face before they had separated. He had never seen her so desperate. Even during the time against the hobs horde, she had maintained a strong will. "Berserkers," Segolene said next to him. Her easygoing attitude was gone. "Warriors of Iris who sumbed to the Fear. Such is one of the fates of most who serve the gods. We are all doomed to either die on the battlefield or be a Fearmonger." "What are those disgusting things doing here?" "You know, you are not so cute when youck respect, ck challenger. They once believed and served a greater purpose than killing mindlessly," Segolene said. Aito remained silent. The fact that those creatures were once humans felt¡­ weird, as well as being rebutted by a woman the size of a 12 years old girl. "From the 4th to the 6th floors, you were asked to hunt creatures in order to clear your quests. Thus the name hunting grounds. But you already know that. On the High Floors, however, things are different," the moderator exined. From the 7th to the 8th floor, challengers had to fight against waves of Berserkers. No real news to him. One detail he didn''t know, however, was that both floors were part of the same quest. The quest was repelling and surviving the waves of Berserkers until no more was sent your way. "To maintain the continuity, you will be teleported to the 8th floor once you''ve cleared all the waves of the 7th floor. So no need for stairs! Pretty neat, if you ask me!" "That can''t possibly be the real reason behind the teleportation." "You know smart men are even cuter than dumb ones?" Segolene purred, making Aito cringe internally. "Yes indeed, it''s to trap you. There are no stairs or down from the 7th floor onward, meaning no physical ways of going back. From here on out, the only way is up." Aito looked back at where he hade from. A tree had reced the location where the stairs were supposed to be. The way down had disappeared. "Three of the challengers who were on the 7th floor wanted to go back for you after you didn''t show your sexy armored ass on this floor. Made me almost sad when I saw the ugly blue-eyed girl wing the ground over there to try to reach the 6th floor." ''Ugly blue-eyed girl? Is she talking about She?'' Aito thought as he turned to look at the direction the moderator was pointing at. There was a two meters deep hole between two Berserker corpses. The marks indeed suggested it was dug out by human hands without any tool whatsoever. "Unfortunately, I''m a hard and honest worker. Although I pitied her distress, I couldn''t simply let her pass. The old man had to stun the ugly woman for her own safety," the moderator shook her head. "I think she likes you quite a bit, you know? It''s rare to see a woman in such a state because of someone." "That''s not possible," he replied. "Tsch, you truly are ugly right now, ck challenger," Segolene said. "Men are ugliest when they are lying. Judging by how she reacted, her feelings should have been fairly obvious. You are also way too sharp to not have noticed those. Yet you choose to ignore them. Truly ugly." Aito lowered his eyes, ashamed. Thinking back on things, it was true her behavior had turned for the better after he had saved her from the Cheese sect or whatever its name was. However, at the time, it was just gratitude. After the 4th floor, she had brightened up. The cold woman he had known was reced by¡­ a still cold woman, but instead of an absolute zero temperature, it had been barely under 0¡ãC. He remembered them, those times with her. Her fearlessness, courage, and determination as she defended her brother. ''You will not have him!'' Her beautiful smile under the moonlight on the 5th floor. ''You are a brave man, Aito Walker. You might not be one of the most honorable men there is, but you are certainly one of the bravest I know.'' Her warm voice as she stared at him in the cathedral when everything had been over. "I''m d you''re alive." Her pleading eyes in the coliseum as she tried to stop him from doing something foolish again. ''Not again¡­ please. Let me stay¡­. Don''t y the hero again.'' He could still feel her warm embrace as they hugged in the arena under the watchful eyes of thousands of orc spectators and the threat of a giant crazed orc capable of rivaling an army. At that moment, he knew what Segolene just said was true, but didn''t know what to think of it. He was only¡­ thankful. People fell in love for no particr reason, at least for a reason they couldn''t voice out. Confusing as it was, She liked him, maybe even loved him. Aito had felt it in the coliseum, but chose to ignore it because he thought he didn''t deserve such feelings. Not after what he had done. And yet, he yearned for that warmth again. The same warmth that chased his loneliness away. "It seems you finally acknowledged it," Segolene said. "You''re quite lucky, you know. She seems to care for you very much. Such a beautifu¡­ ugly woman. Makes me almost jealous. She and two other challengers wanted to wait for you. However, the sparky man didn''t leave them a choice and asked me tounch the berserker waves." "Couldn''t you have refused?" "It''s a matter of fairness, ck challenger. Apart from the three challengers willing to go back on the 6th floor to pick you up, all the others thought you dead. They all agreed to clear the 7th floor. When we proceeded to a vote, they all voted in favor. And when the quest isunched, there is no going back, only forward, for everyone on this floor. No exception. Correction, no exception but me! Haha!" Aito sighed. He could hold a grudge against the moderator for that joke, but not because she was doing her job. It is true that if the majority agreed tounch the quest, it was only fair for her to grant it. "When did they leave the 7th floor?" Aito asked. "Yesterday. You missed them by hair length!" Segolene showed her shoulder-length brown hair. "Now, what will you do? Wait for help or try your¡ª" "Isn''t it obvious? I''ll make a few preparations and challenge this floor." "On your own? Kya! How bold and cute!" "...." Chapter 187 - Tricked The 7th floor was framed by a great dome that projected a vast illusion deceiving the eye into believing there was more out there. Only an invisible blockade would await a challenger trying to cross that illusionary dome, though. That floor was mostlyposed of trees, grass, bushes, and dirt. It was surprisingly smallpared to the 6th floor''s desert area, averaging a diameter of 3km wide. At its centerid a de where the moderator, Segolene, had installed a basic fortification for the challengers who would daree here. An easy feat for her who could summon many things thanks to her moderator''s rights. Although limited to a certain extent, she could create defensive structures, amodations, and more. Challengers had the right to ask her to build one defensive structure, whatever it may be, to help them in their quest. Something Aito wasn''t about to waste. He had learned to fight against a greater number of opponents on the ind and other floors so he had experience in being outnumbered. Thankfully, he had even fought one berserker before. Those things had tough skin. No, it was more correct to say they had a tough hide. Aito had dissected multiple berserker bodies at his disposal to see if his weapons worked against them. Unsurprisingly, Soulcleaver cut through a berserker''s hide almost effortlessly. That weapon was truly exceptional. Every time Aito used it he became more fascinated with how marvelous this ax was. How precious it was. He felt he could take on the berserkers head-on, kill them all with ease and have the stamina to spare at the end. However, he had learned that counting on a single weapon to fight wasn''t wise. Preparing for a fight when possible was the wisest choice. Following that train of thought, he asked the moderator about the different defensive structures at her disposal. "The different defensive structures you can make are as limitless as my cuteness," she said, wiggling her small but plump butt, her only redeeming quality. Although Aito knew she wasn''tpletely serious when taking those weird poses¡ªat least he hoped she wasn''t¡ªhe couldn''t help but be annoyed. He sighed, "I suppose the broken defensive wall already installed will disappear when I make my choice." Her hip to the side, leaning slightly forward with her index finger on her chin, Segolene pondered the question with an exaggerated pose, thinking it would show her cute side. Aito remained calm, swallowing his urge to p her cheek or butt to make her conscious of his seriousness. That kind of action would only either excite the moderator, tickle her or enrage her. "Well, you dide alone in this ce. Your situation is¡­ special. Never seen nor heard about someone challenging the 7th floor alone. Hum, since you are cute and quite like you we cane to an agreement," she closed the distance between them in less than a microsecond and grabbed his thick arm, then pressed it against her small chest. "I can leave the damaged stone wall for you to use but in exchange. I want you to¡­ Kya! Don''t know if I can say it, it''s so embarrassing to say." He gave her a dark stair full of meaning, unamused. "I want you to," she jumped, her arms gripping his shoulder tightly supporting her body in the air as she whispered to his ear, "p my butt while telling me how bad of a girl I am." ''Don''t tell me¡­,'' Aito thought, his eyes shifted to the side to see Segolene''s ragged breathing warm creating condensation on his metallic shoulder pads. ''This woman¡­'' "Just one p is all I ask," she said, her eyes filled with a crazed look betraying her lust. "Yes, just one." Her voice was delirious. To him it sounded like the evil as the voice in his new ax but also like a great opportunity to let out some pumped-up frustration¡­ and keep a useful additional defensive structure for free. "Fine," he said, staring down at her with disgust. It wasn''t that minded doing it. In fact, he would love to in normal circumstances but there was something awfully unsettling with this exchange and his current situation. He also felt manipted in some weird way. Segolene winked then turned around to lean forward in an obscene way while shaking her ass, inviting him to p it. Weirdly enough, Aito''s desire red up in a powerful urge to destroy that ass. He opened his armored hand wide, charged up Durability, ovepped it with Impact and Weight Control. Taking three steps backward for a mighty good swing, he focused on his plumped target. The wait excited Segolene more and more as her breathing elerated, going beyond anything a human was capable of. Saliva dripped from her mouth. Drooling, she looked like an obscene person, theplete opposite of a dignified moderator like Behir. Ready, Aito used Impact on his foot for a better propulsion speed. His arm was sped up forward like a rocket ready to disintegrate its target. Meanwhile, the moderator saw all that in slow motion, greatly increasing the stimtion of such an immoral act when finally¡­ it reached its climax. SLAP! "HUN!" *** It was around noon on the 7th floor. In the middle of the forest, a shirtless Aito was repairing the damaged stone wall under the light of a fake sun shining high in the illusionary sky. He wasn''t hot or cold. No sweat trickled down his body. When he plugged the holes and reinforced weakened areas of the wall with wood, he had recently cut down, he did so without heating up. It appeared his passive skill Heat Resistance did more than just provide resistance against heat but also influence his daily life. ''Shit, my hand still hurt,'' he thought as he finished mending back the damages inflicted to the stone wall. ''Even with Durability activated on my gauntlet, that little pervert''s ass felt harder than diamond! What the fuck is her butt made of!?'' After their "transaction," a satisfied Segolene disappeared who knows where to do who knows what. Aito could help but notice at that moment she had had liquid trickling down her legs. ''Damn pervert. Apart from Gwen, all the moderators I''ve seen had incredibly weird personalities. Is the war that bad it messed up with their head?'' Heined internally, as he reached his fire camp at the center of his small size empty stone fortress. Surrounded by a stone wall, Aito gazed at his surroundings while drinking from his magic water bottle. There was nothing inside but grass. Signs of the previous battle had disappeared along with the moderator, resulting in an area cleansed of corpses. With that weather and the vegetation, he almost felt like he was back on the ind. His thoughts erred to Jack for a moment as he remembered the monkey, the friend he had left behind. He missed his small friend and mischiefs. Truth be told, with the presence of the siblings, he had, a few times, forgotten about monkey Jack. But now that he was alone again, he remembered his goal. ''Am I a piece of shit for forgetting you a few times, Jack?'' He thought, feeding wood to the fire. ''Hopefully you''re doing fine on your own. I know you don''tck the resources to survive this. But if Belmand couldn''t have possibly lied or trick me this time, you should¡­ "time"¡­ "lie."'' He thought back to the Oath Pact they had made. Having memorized by heart and with little to almost no content, he could recall the terms to perfection. ___ 1) Party 1 (Aito Walker), agrees to reach the Tower''s final floor before it closes and clear thest quest. 2) Party 2 (Belmand the god of sloth), agrees to Party 1''s request to prevent the summoning of more Evol Monkey on the ind area used for the ck trial for two months. 3) If either Parties fail to keep their word, death awaits them. ___ A very simple contract. However, only almost two monthster did Aito realize that¡­ "MOTHERFUCKER!" ¡­he had been tricked. "I SWEAR I''LL HAVE YOUR ASS ONE DAY!" His voice echoed in the surroundings powerfully. Aito paused. That sentence kinda felt weird after he had pped Segolene''s ass. [What''s the matter? Lost your mind already, mortal?] Valinarmented. ''Your husband tricked me, goddess,'' he replied, clenching his teeth. There was one detail Aito hadn''t paid attention to before because he had been too preupied at the time by his hatred of the divine when signing the Oath Pact. use 2 said that Belmand would prevent the summoning of more Evol Monkey on the ind for two months, but it never said WHEN. It never said if it was the next two months from the time he entered the Tower or a hundred yearster. Which meant¡­ ''Jack may have been in trouble for the past 2 months and¡­,'' he said mentally, clenching his fist, ''it is all my fault.'' [Hum, I don''t recall exactly why but¡­ if I''m correct; he was called the god of mischief before he changed his title to god of sloth.] Valinar said, [So it''s not surprising he tricked you considering old habits die hard.] ''I''ll kill him.'' [Hold on, ck challenger. He does nothing without reason. The god I remember is cunning and even smarter than the god of wisdom himself. There must be a reason he tricked you.] ''Don''t care. Not my problem. He broke an already broken trust,'' he stood up from his spot, grabbed the shovel he had taken from Ainar weeks ago, and walked outside the safety of his walls. There, in between the trees and the de, he saw the defensive structure Segolene had built for him. A ten meters deep trench surrounded his fortified camp, epassing the entire de. Inside it was wooden spikes that hopefully would pierce berserkers as they fall in it. That ditch certainly won''t stop or kill all berserkers. However, it ought to at least regte the speed at which they reach him better than a stone wall. ording to the cracks and holes in the stone wall, it was too efficient at keeping them at bay. At the foot of his square-shaped stonewall, he started digging at inhuman speed with the intent to add another smaller trench to his fortifications. His rage fueled his strength. He had to use Durability on his shovel, for it would break otherwise. The idea of ying in the hands of this god''s sparked uncontroble anger only manualbor or killing that asshole would alleviate it. ''If Jack dies because evol monkeys kept being summoned on the ind, I swear to you Valinar,'' the earth cracked beneath his feet as he unearthed a rock, ''I will make my second priority to take his head.. Hopefully, you won''t interfere, but if you do, mark my words, I''ll destroy what remains of your soul.'' Chapter 188 - Maba Lamat On the 2nd Floor, floating far above the center of the Mall, Maba studied challengers from his vantage point, taking behavioral notes on their actions. As a mage, he was proud to have been chosen for the moderator''s job. As a person, he was beyond grateful for being able to study challengers up close during their upbringing period before they all had to enter Iris. Life was easy in the Tower. There was no war, no famine, no Fearmonger. He could eat food from level 4 chefs for TPS he generated himself thanks to moderator rights, meaning it cost nothing. He had ess to luxurious quarters he used to rest. Maba truly found it weird how moderators such as Gwen never really went to their quarters that were as luxurious as the ck challenger''s room. Whatever their reasons were, he found them foolish. He felt truly blessed nowadays. Especially when there were so many specimens to study at his feet. Aside from being a decent telekinesist, Maba was well known for his hobby that turned out to be the reason he was acknowledged. The study of skills. There were many unknowns concerning skills, even for powerful figures such as the 4 Shields. Maba made his life''s goal to discover everything there was to know on the topic. Using this knowledge, he wanted to recreate a braver ss''s skills. To his knowledge, all bravers were fake ones. They only boasted the skills of a braver thanks to memory beads passed down from generation to generation. Each generation would register their braver skills in memory beads for the next one. It worked great until now. However, Maba knew there was a problem with this system. Everybody knew but chose to remain oblivious to it because it was simpler to do so. Braver skills have changed from the originals depicted in the records. They had weakened. And there was nothing no one could do about it. Although it worked great until now, Maba knew this method would eventually lead to humanity''s doom someday when copies of braver skills would no longer work on the Fear. Problem was, the god of bravery has been dead for ages. No more braver could be created by using divine intervention. He understood it well. That''s why he wanted to recreate not the ss but the authentic skills by studying the many skills there were in Iris. Of course, a lot of people previously had his idea, but none had seeded until now. His researches had already bared fruit, leading to the creation of a new skill he named Calming Aura. It had no real destructive effect, however, it resembled the Aura of Bravery, the real one. Calming Aura, like its name suggested, could calm someone, inspire trust, and courage to a certain extent. Two features the copy of Aura of Bravery currentlycked. Maba''s fame increased thanks to that. More and more people had taken notice of him. Problem was, nobody really knew how he actually studied skills. If they all knew, he wasn''t so sure he would be praised for it. He would probably be stripped of his ss and condemned to work in the mines like all criminals. But no cost was great enough to save Iris. The moderator was convinced of that to the point he was ready to bend his own rules and alienate himself. Maba gazed upon challengers, looming the streets, eating their lunch, or drinking themselves to death. He had noticed a decrease in junkies getting drunk on the fog. A normal consequence taking into ount they were nearing the end of their time in the Tower. Almost every drug addict has died from hunger by now. Unmarked ones numbered a few, all almost dead. As nned, only the strongest people remained. ording to what Maba has heard, more than half of the surviving challengers had reached the 5th floor and about a hundred had entered the 6th floor. Not a bad oue, but it could be better. The previous batches had reached the 6th floor weeks earlier. While those guys only reached the 6th floor recently. There was also the case of the ck challenger, Gwen''s favorite. Maba had developed a dislike for that man who had not been punished for his crime thanks to one of the Rising Stars covering his ass. His ego was hurt. His pride was hurt. Maba had hoped those idiots from the sect would have dealt with him back then, but that asshole somehow got away with ease. What''s worse was that he had heard stories of his aplishments on the 4th and particrly on the 5th floor. There were so few witnesses to what had transpired on the 4th floor that it was hard to distinguish between truth and lies. However, a bit less than a hundred people had witnessed the ck challenger''s deeds on the 5th floor. The stories seemed exaggerated to Maba. Challengers said he alone had fought against more than a thousand hobs on his own. Even he, as a level 4 Telekinesist, would find that hard to do. He believed those were just stories, even more when someone mentioned the Lunar Eclipse. No one has ever survived that. No one. Unless a moderator told him the opposite, he would never believe mere challengers'' gossip. It was impossible, just impossible, for the ck challenger to have survived such an event if it had urred. ''He should be dead,'' he thought. ''I should have seen him by now if he was alive. Unless¡ª'' "You look in deep thoughts, Maba," a voice said next to the moderator. Maba straightened like a frozen pole in ska during winter and cocked his head to the side. Nothing. No one. "Your detection abilities have grown weak. That much was expected. But I''m disappointed you can''t even recognize my voice," the stranger said. "Behir? Is that you?" Maba asked, a drop of sweat forming on his forehead. "How can you be here?" Behir, the moderator of the 6th floor, was Maba''s cousin. Like him, and pretty much every member of the Lamat family, he was a very strict man who abide by the rules. So it was extremely shocking for Maba to see his cousin on the 2nd floor when duty called him elsewhere. Moreover, Maba knew something wasn''t quite right. His cousin was a powerful archer. If Behir was camouging to the point he couldn''t see him, then it meant he wasn''t on the 2nd floor on official business. Most importantly, it also meant no one apart from him knew he was here. If he so desire, Behir could remain undetected even from the likes of Gwen. "I''m in need of your expertise," Behir said, "there has been an unusual case on the 6th floor. Someone, a challenger, tempered with the Tower System." "Who was it?" Maba was curious but also slightly excited, maybe a bit scared. No one should be able to temper with the Tower System. Behir gave him a quick recap about what had happened. Maba''s eyes progressively grew wider as his cousin narrated the story. "That criminal is alive?" Maba asked. "And he survived the Sacred Duels! How''s that possible!?" His voice resonated in the surroundings. Down below, challengers looked up to identify the source of the noise. "Shut up, you fool. Don''t attract attention. I can''t be seen on this floor by other moderators. Particrly that half giantess," Behir said. "I may be able to escape her detection abilities, but that''s only because she''s not paying attention." "Sorry¡­, it''s just hard to believe he is still alive after challenges even I would have difficulty surviving," Maba said. "He is capable and promising. I''ll give him that. However, he tempered with the system. Although it is not mentioned anywhere in the rules as to what to do in this situation, this is a clear infraction for obvious reasons," Behir said. "As I said, I need your expertise on the topic." "You think he used a skill? Don''t you think it might be a System Right?" "Impossible. No god would grant a challenger such System Right. Not when us moderators are here to do their bidding," Behir paused, then resumed. "I''m no good when ites to scientific research. So I need your expertise on this and quickly, before it''s toote and he exits the Tower. We might never see him again since he would probably choose to side with Gwendolyn''s faction." Maba smirked, "A skill capable of tempering with the Tower System..., interesting. Very interesting.. It could potentially advance my research by leaps and bounds. What do you need from me?" Chapter 189 - "The Return Of Bravery" 7th Floor, nighttime. Segolene appeared out of nowhere on top of the stone wall. She whistled in amazement, "Ooooh, you sure worked hard, cutie!" The damaged stone wall had been repaired. A trench deep enough to impede berserkers surrounded Aito''s camp at the foot of the wall, creating another line of defense. Inside the trench were spikes meant to impale whatever living being that would fall in it. Sitting by the fire camp, absorbing orc soul cores the normal way in rapid session, Aito remained oblivious to the moderator. The me''s light danced about his face, reflecting his anxiousness, anger, determination but also his fears and doubts. Segolene''s figure shed, only to appear next to him. Seeing his expression, her behavior returned to normal. She sat calmly and silently gazed into the fire. Aito didn''t know what she was doing, nor did he care. His mind was focused on a problem called Belmand, hoping the god had honored his oath. Then there was She, Ogoro and George waiting for him to join them. Since he had been the one to suggest ascending the Tower together, he felt he had the heavy responsibility to keep them alive until the end. They had followed him of their own free will. They had believed in him. As he braved trials after trials with hispanions, particrly the siblings, he came to acknowledge them as friends, as his people. Would it have been different if he hadn''t met them? Would they have been safe on the 2nd floor if it weren''t for him? Hisrades'' lives weighed heavily on his shoulders. Aito didn''t want someone to die because of him. Not someone he cared about. Despite his poor social skills and his previous trust issues, he came to care a great deal about hisrades'' lives. Because they were there for him. Because they had shown kindness and trust. Because they had proved worthy of trust. Even George who had only joined recently, was trustworthy. A past belief, a long-forgotten behavioral trait surged back from a dusty corner of his mind, blowing the dust Time had left untouched for so long it felt foreign yet strangely familiar. The desire to protect those he cared about. For that, he would not hesitate to kill. Killing humans or any living being that blocked his path was¡­ surprisingly easy on his consciousness. There was no guilt, no remorse because he deemed they had all deserved to die. He had never provoked anyone or started a fight without being attacked first. That''s the only reason he has allowed himself to remain unfeeling about the death of people he had killed. People might say he was a murderer, to which he would agree. However, he would never disrespect the corpses of people he had killed nor kill an innocent. Not because of any virtuous or honorable reason. It was because, to him, innocents were the ones who never wronged him in the first ce. There was simply no reason to punish or kill innocents. That was the logic that had kept himself sane all this time and probably will still be the case in the future. And now, another logic, a new goal started to appear in front of him. A new desire. A desire he¡­ rejected. But it kepting back no matter what he did. It kepting back! He feared that once again, it would lead him to a catastrophe. His desire to protect people important to him had only caused trouble for others on Earth. If he ever tried to wee this desire again¡­ he feared something bad would happen... again. He feared harming those he loved instead of protecting them. Aito feared¡ª A beautiful voice interrupted his thoughts. He gazed to the side. There, close to the fire''s warmth, a serene Segolene was singing a song unknown to him. The melody was so beautiful it eased his tense nerves and started nursing his tormented thoughts. "Why do we fall if it isn''t to rise again? Yes, just as It will rise once more. In the darkest days, and the darkest nights, Like fire scares shadows, It will light the path." Aito rxed. For some reason, her voice was hypnotic. Pleasant to his ears. "Distant or close, you can feel it, you can sense it. Strong at first, then soothing, warm, sincere, and loving. Embrace it, ignite your inner me, ignite the ambers of courage, And strike fear into Fear itself." Aito stared into the fire, entering a trance of sort. "Rise! Oh, Bravery, maker of miracle, maker of hero. What was once fragmented shall be whole again. What was once lost shall be retrieved. What was once forgotten shall be remembered." Segolene''s song finished in a long note that resounded in the camp, soon to be reced by silence. Aito opened his eyes. Although calmer, there were still doubts and fear in his eyes. But that did not matter because the path was straightforward. "What was... that?" Aito asked. "It was beautiful." "''The Return of Bravery,'' a song about the return of bravers. Real, genuine bravers. My take on it, though, is this song tells us that bravery isn''t found in someone other than yourself. That the braver is not a ss, but a state of mind." "I see. Thank you, for the song, Segolene," he said. "I don''t know if you used a skill or not but¡­ it helped me straighten my thoughts." "It''s all about talent cutie. All about talent, not skills, hehe," Segolene replied. "I''ve got good news, by the way. Your friends are doing great and they know you''re on the 7th floor. Soon they''ll reach the 9th floor." "I''m d," he paused. His eyes then widened awake, "wait, the 9th floor? Don''t tell me they are not allowed to stay on the 8th floor after clearing the quest." "That¡­, hum, it''s not that staying on the 8th floor is impossible," Segolene said. "It''s just that¡­ it''s difficult. Usually, challengers would prefer to go to the next floor. To put it simply, it''s really cold up therepared to here. So cold you could freeze to death if you''re not careful. It''s not an appropriate environment for living beings. Moreover, you wouldn''t be able to reach the 8th if they are still there." "Filona''s tits!" Aito stood up, seemingly angry and in a hurry. "Why didn''t you tell me sooner?" Gwen''s memories were blurrier than usual. A detail he noticed as he went up the Tower. He could vaguely recall a few things about the 7th and 8th floor, but nothing helpful. Only when the moderator talked about the 8th floor did Gwen''s memories be clear. The 8th floor was a frozen field where the average temperature was -60 ¡ãC on warm days. Moreover, the temperature dropped every hour. Turning it into a living hell. At some point, challengers would have to move out if they wanted to survive. It was a system originally designed to force challengers to ascend. Because when a team upied the 8th floor, no other team could join them. Once the upying team left, the floor would reset to wee a new team of challengers. The same went for the 7th floor. Segolene looked at him weirdly, partly because of his choice of curse words. "Hum, what difference would it have made?" "I wouldn''t have taken my time," he started donning his armor, "there are things worse than berserkers in the Tower. If they choose to ascend, they will die. You, of all people, should know this." "Maybe¡­ nothing is certain. Death isn''t certain on the 9th floor, only on the 10th floor," the moderator said. "I''d advise you to take your time to prepare. Even if you start now, there is no way you''ll reach them in time. It takes two days to clear the 7th floor stage and two more days for the 8th floor. Well... maybe could¡­" Segolene paused, seemingly hesitating to voice out her next sentence. "I could what?" Aito asked, "If there is another way for me to speed things up, please tell me now, Segolene. I need to know." "But¡­ you might die from it. You''re not ready for this," she said. "Please." "Your Destiny sure is yful...," Segolene sighed, then smiled. "How can I say ''no'' when you look so desperate and cute? Fine. There is one way you could reach the 9th floor faster. In the era before the goddess of bravery''s fall, there was one event moderators would trigger that would shorten the time challengers took to clear the 7th and 8th floor''s quest.. We call it the Flood." Chapter 190 - Can We Talk? A fake full moon shone brightly on the 7th floor, basking the entire forest in its pale and mncholic light. On top of the stone wall, Aito stared into the distance, his gaze hunting for any abnormalities that would signal the start of his umon quest. Segolene had left his camp earlier, leaving the stage of his fight, observing everything from a distance where he could not see or sense her. Aito kept dropping Soulcleaver down the trench at the foot of the wall, then called it back. A small game he found to canalize his anxiousness but also get more familiar with his new weapon. The moderator had said his quest would start when the moon reached its highest point. With that as a reference, he had taken the time to craft bonfires all around his camp for lighting purposes. Then he had rested a little while, absorbing as many soul cores as he could. He had carried two backpacks filled to the brim when leaving Krukhanon, now only one remained. Aito had wanted to keep as many cores as possible for hisrades, but with his injured soul, he had made concessions and absorbed more than originally nned to heal himself faster. After a little less than two days of almost no fighting¡ªthe orcs had been simple to deal with¡ªa few of his previous capabilities has been restored. His strength had gone back up to level 4, probably because it was the stat he was the most proficient in. Durability, originally at level 5 and previously leveled down to level 3, had also risen back to level 4. It wasn''t much, but it sure was a weing help and also a sign his soul was healing the right way. However, he felt that his limits were higher than that, higher than they had been before he injured his soul. If Aito could, he would rest. But Life, sometimes, was a bitch and wouldn''t let you do what''s more beneficial for you. Suddenly, while he tried to focus on the next ordeal, a familiar notification window popped up in front of him. [Can we talk, Aito?] He clicked his tongues, ''Now is not the time, goddess. I''m about to face opponents that are possibly as dangerous, if not more dangerous than orcs. I need to concentrate. Talking with YOU will probably do the opposite.'' [Please.] Aito''s jaw almost dropped as he read that word over and over again. It was just a simple word but there was more meaning behind it than an entire chapter of the online novels he used to read. Truth be told, he was shocked. [It will only take a minute. Moreover, I can feel that no enemy is nearby.] Even in his dreams, he had never thought the goddess would actually "lower herself" to talk to a mortal as her equal. Because that''s what this single word meant to Aito. To him, it meant she was ready to consider him her equal, her ally, and NOT a pawn. Well, his doubts about her would not disappear that easily. However, it felt good in a way he could not exin, to be acknowledged by someone he loathed and hated. Now that Aito thought about it, he had had a few "decent" conversations with her. Not great. Just decent. Driven by curiosity and a possible sense of guilt from refusing her since she was lowering herself, Aito sighed deeply and said mentally, ''It''s about Belmand, isn''t it?'' [Yes. I think you misunderstand him.] ''No, quite the contrary. I think I understand him perfectly. My understanding of him can be summarized by one word " asshole." Period.'' [And that''s why I think you misunderstood him. I''ve been married to this god for thousands of years. I know him more than anyone else. My memories might be iplete but¡­ I know. I just know he isn''t the kind of god who would talk to mortals for just the pleasure of it. I¡ª] ''What do you mean? That he isn''t an asshole but only ys one?'' [That''s¡­ *sigh* a way to put it, I suppose. He thinks differently from the norms and helps others in¡­ umon ways. What I''m saying is, his mischievous, loathsome, easy-going character is in fact a facade. Maybe it is to keep his dignity, his pride as a god. Or maybe it is his way of helping you. I don''t know for sure. I just¡­] ''Believe in him,'' Aitopleted her sentence. He felt weird about it. Valinar wasn''t herself, not the goddess he had talked to. She was different. More approachable, sociable,prehensive, but also¡­ more human, more mortal. ''Still¡­ what he did to me¡ª'' [Was to help you in his own way. I don''t know what he is doing, but I''m sure it''ll be beneficial for you. It''s just that¡­ he can be frustrating.] Thatst sentence made Aito crack a smile. He could feel Valinar had experienced Belmand''s "assholeness" before maybe even yed into his hands. ''He can be very frustrating. So frustrating I want to kill him,'' Aito sighed, dropping his ax that kept whispering to him to kill something. ''I¡ª'' he started. [You''ve been hurt, I understand,] Valinar interrupted, [I also know it''s been hard on you. The revival. Your previous life. The constant death threats looming over you. It''s not easy to deal with those things. Furthermore, I know that¡­ I can be¡­ unnerving.] ''Hum, that''s an understatement. Although,'' he paused, looking for the correct wording, ''I can''t say my vision wasn''t biased. I hate your kind. That''s undeniable and will probably remain so. However, I do not entirely hate you.'' [Aito I¡­] ''I just don''t like you.'' [I guess that''s better than hatred, haha.] For the second time tonight, Aito was shocked. Did he read it right? Did Valinar actuallyugh? He bit his lips to provoke pain and make sure it was real. [We¡­ started on the wrong foot, Aito. You do not trust me or any other god. That I understand now. I want to change that. I want you to trust me. As the goddess of bravery, trust is one of the values I praise most. Trust is earned, notmanded or bought. Therefore¡­, I will do my best from now on to support you. What you do with my support is up to you. After all, you''ve made it this far without my help.] It wasn''t entirely true. He had not made it this far alone, but he yed along. ''And in exchange? I suppose you want me to help you.'' [No, I know you will not ept such terms. So all I ask is that you consider helping me. Just consider it. I''m not forcing your hand.] ''Nor can you force my hand, anyway,'' Aito pondered the offer. It was different but honest. It felt weird but genuine. He could feel that, for the first time, she wasing clean for some reason. [Aito?] ''You''ve changed, Valinar,'' he said with aplicated face. One indicator of her change was the fact... ''You''ve been calling me by my name until now. That only happened once or maybe twice, and you were furious those times.'' [I figured it would be disrespectful to call you mortal from now on. I understand it can be¡­ belittling. So¡­ to establish a rtionship of trust¡­ if you don''t mind¡­] ''It''s not so bad,'' he replied mentally. ''Personally, I think it''s better this way. I will stick to your name from now on too, Valinar.'' [*Nod*] Weirdly enough, Aito felt a small weight lifted off his chest. It wasn''t that he did not hate the gods any longer. It was more like¡­ he came to terms with it and also that¡­ he might have judged too quickly. Concerning Valinar at least. Aito was willing to give her a small, tiny, microscopic chance. He didn''t have much hope in it and would be ready for any betrayal. Aito knew she could be faking it, he knew she could be trying other means to use him. But he also understood it would not hurt to try, to give her a chance for once. His tensed muscles rxed. The tension he felt eased up. Strangely, he felt calmer than before thanks to Valinar. ''Well, it wasn''t such a bad talk after all.'' [Indeed, mort..., Aito,] she said, leaving an awkward nk she filled soon after. [There is something more I''d like to talk about. It''s the reason why you should not fight too much. Obviously, you will be forced to fight. But that''s not the point.] [I didn''t want to talk to you about it before because it might cause you harm but¡­ it might be inevitable. If the need arises, if your current strength isn''t enough, you can ask your core for more power. Powers you have but you cannot yet control fully because your soul is injured.] ''Yeah, I already figured that might be possible,'' Aito replied. He had previously felt that his own soul had put some kind of lock on his powers. It was impossible not to feel it. There was only one reason his core would do that to him, to protect him. However, what would happen if he released that lock? [In doing so, you would gain powersparable to the weakest moderator in the Tower. Nothing would be able to stop you should you choose to unlock your potential. However¡­ please be careful. In the best-case scenario, it will lengthen the time of your recovery. In the worst-case scenario¡­ you could lose your powers or die. So please be careful and only use this if it''s truly necessary.] ''I¡­,'' Aito paused, looking for what felt right to say, ''Thanks. About what you asked before¡­ I''ll give it some thought. No promise.'' [That''s all I''m aski¡ªheads up. Something ising.] A single monstrous deformed howl resounded in the forest, giving birth to anxiety and responses. Soon, more dreadful howls pierced the night''s veil in an unorganized manner. As Aito stared into the forest''s darkness, he felt it staring back at him like a beast circling his prey. He felt chills running down his spine, not because he was scared, but because he was thrilled. "Come,e and have a taste of my¡­," he said, pausing to call back Soulcleaver he had dropped. He looked at it, trying to figure out what material it was made of. [It''s steel strengthened by a soul,] Valinar added. Embarrassed, he ignored her, then resumed, "Come and have a taste of my ax." Chapter 191 - The Flood Stage 1 (part 1) Aito jumped down from his camp''s wall onto the ground, taking care to avoid falling into the trench he had built, then rapidly made for the first line of defense, the Deep Ditch he called it. Meanwhile, horrific howls grew louder as they approached his position. Stationed at the passageway between the forest and his camp, a small bridge that granted ess to the de, Aito waited for the first sign of berserkers. His n was simple, keep them from surrounding him for a while using the Deep Ditch. There was no way they could jump the Deep Ditch to reach him. It was too wide and¡­ well, too deep. The only way to him was the bridge. From what he had heard, berserkers were almost brainless monstrosities whose thoughts were reduced to their basic instincts. However, he figured that even idiots would understand it was pointless to waste their lives getting impaled at the bottom of a chasm-like defensive trench. The trees in front of him moved, pushed around byrge figures with muscles that would shame bodybuilders. They had bald heads, tall frames, and bulging purple veins that, visible to the naked eye, pumped whatever foul liquid into their bloodstream. Apart from their disfigured faces that betrayed their previous look as human male or female, there were no traces of humanity left in them. They were just monsters. Aito watched as three berserkers walked out of the forest. He looked around his small camp. Nothing. Only these three appeared, but Aito had no doubt more were waiting in the dark. He could feel some of them thanks to his Domain. ROAR! The three berserkers charged madly towards him, stomping the ground beneath their awfullyrge feet. Staring deep into the crazed red eyes of a berserker, Aito showed no mercy. Seizing his ax with two hands, his muscles contracted and rxed with practiced timing as he hurled it with all his strength. Soulcleaver''s de, coated yellow by Durability, pierced the air to cleave the monster in half from its right shoulder to its left nk. The soul weapon went through like a knife cutting butter, then flew into the dark forest, waiting for its master to call it back. One berserker tried to jump the Deep Ditch, however, it soon realized its stupidity when itnded on wooden spikes. With its weight and the long fall, the spike went through its hide, impaling it dead. Thest one ran on the bridge at inhuman speed. Aito, who stood at the edge of it, waited patiently for the monster toe to him. It roared ferociously, lifting its mighty fist high, ready to pummel the puny human so deep into the earth no one would find him. However¡­ BAM! The berserker''s internal rage froze for a moment when Aito grabbed his mighty arm with one hand. One hand! It could barely stand this disgrace. Aito gripped tightly, pulled, closed his avable fist while applying Durability and Impact on his gauntlet, then aimed for the berserker''s chest. Red eyes opened wide, the monster''s broad chest carved in under Aito''s blow. Propelled backward like trash, it spat out purple blood. Meanwhile, Aito called back his ax. Passing the berserker''s body, it separated it in half before nestling itself into its master''s hand. ''More blood!'' Soulcleaver whispered to Aito. ''Shut up!'' Aito replied, although he knew the ax wouldn''t listen. The 1st wave ended with little to no effort. Silence loomed over the de as Aito kept his guard up. Segolene had told him the Flood was different than the normal quest. To put it simply, instead of taking four days to clear the quest it would take one day. However, it also meant the difficulty increased drastically. After a short two minutes break, the 2nd wave wasunched. Instead of three, four berserkers ran out of the forest, madness in their bloodied eyes. Some fell into the Deep Ditch, the rest fell to his de. Another silent two minutes break took ce after that second assault, only increasing the stress factor it these horrific monsters put on him. Soon the 3rd wave came, so did five berserkers. Aito dealt with them as fast as possible, minimizing his moves, maximizing efficiency as to not waste his stamina. Fourth wave. Fifth wave. Sixth wave. They kepting at him. He kept killing them all without mercy, keeping one goal in mind: getting to the 8th floor as fast as possible. There was a certain set amount of waves on the 7th floor during the Flood that would generally take half a day for challengers to clear. But he did not aim for a slow clearing. Seventh wave. Eighth wave. Ninth wave. With each consecutive wave, their numbers grew. Numbering eleven on the ninth wave, three fourth of their numbers fell into the Deep Ditch, never to return. The tenth wave came, and he was ready, massacring them all. Drunk on death, he barely took notice of the influence his own weapon had on his bloodlust. Eleventh wave. ''Kill.'' Fifteenth wave. ''Kill.'' Twentieth wave. The twenty-one berserkers tried to take advantage of their numbers to surround him. However, the trench prevented them from doing so. Forced to y in the palm of his hand, they were all butchered without exception. Thirtieth wave. ''Kill.'' Fortieth wave. ''Kill.'' Fiftieth wave. Forty-eight berserkers surged from the darkness. Their numbers were still manageable thanks to the Deep Ditch. But Aito noticed something he hadn''t taken into ount. The trench was being filled with corpses. A few even survived the fall, a few he had to kill if he wanted to activate the next wave. ''I''m starting to run low on stamina,'' he thought, catching his breath during the break that changed from 2 minutes to 1 minute. ''Moreover, the trench isn''t deep enough to kill them now. Soon there''ll be a bridge of corpses they could use to pass the Deep Ditch.'' The next wave, he changed his tactic and attacked them first as soon as they exited the forest instead of waiting for them. By the Sixtieth wave, berserker corpses filled the part of the Deep Ditch he was defending, forcing him to deal with more than one enemy at a time. As strong as a level 2 challenger, each berserker was strong in their own right. Aito might have higher stats but they had the numerical advantage. Dawn shone on the horizon. He had been almost fighting for 6 hours straight, maybe longer. Hard to tell with no clock. Using Pneuma and the breaks between waves to rest, he had been able to hold on until now, but... he was reaching his limits. He could feel it. At first, one additional berserker per wave felt like a trivial amount. Now, with fifty-seven of them during thest wave, he no longer held that thought. ''I need more time to rest. Summoning Krugan is an option. No, better keep him for the next floor which certainly will be more difficult. The 24 hours cooldown will only allow me to call him once during the Floor. Better make this count.'' Around ten seconds remained before the next wave. Aito looked around him, searching for a solution to his problem. He knew he hadn''t prepared well enough for this. But time yed against him. Roars suddenly burst out of the forests as he stared at the piles of corpses inside the Deep Ditch. Considering it was a trench surrounding his whole camp, and he''s been fighting on the same side all along, only 1/4th of the trench was filled with corpses. An idea struck him, an idea he did not have time to think through, with a bit less than sixty berserkersing for his tanned ass. ''Here goes nothing,'' he thought as he jumped down the Deep Ditch,nding on a pile of corpses to avoid the wooden spikes. Chapter 192 - The Flood Stage 1 (part 2) Aitonded at the bottom of the Deep Ditch, missing a wooden spike by a hair. He heard the ground tremble slightly under the weights of berserkers stomping their way to him, inexplicably attracted to his tanned ass. ''Alright, let''s see if they are as stupid as Segolene told me.'' He rushed past the spikes, agilely avoiding them. The tremors got louder when berserkers exited the forest, barely hesitating, they started jumping down on Aito. Sensing them thanks to his Domain, Aito looked up, then hurled his ax coated with Durability and Impact. The two headed weapon murderously made its way through three berserkers. Their bodies brought down by gravity were hacked in half. Ayer of purple blood was added to the already bloody trench. Aito dashed, between the spikes, avoiding a rain of berserkers who tried to jump on him. He choose a specific area without corpses, and stopped there to make a stand. Berserkers poured down on him like a rain of horror. He stepped to the side, back and forth, trying to minimize his movement while using Pneuma to recover from his wound and a part of his stamina. By the time the area was covered with corpses, the 65th wave was over. ''Thankfully, I don''t have to use my Unique Skill, or it would mean they numbered a lot more than I could handle. This is already hard enough,'' he thought, trying to be optimistic despite his shitty situation. ROAR! Berserkers'' roars resounded like a gong, announcing the start of a new wave. Sixty nine berserkers poured down on him, sixty nine berserkers lost their lives to the ck challenger''s ax and the Deep Ditch''s spikes. His improvised tactic worked better than expected and was good enough for him to keep his stamina. If berserkers didn''t die impaled, they would either be crippled, injured by the fall, thus bing easy targets. Some unlucky berserkers even had their brethren squash them from above. Despiteing from above, berserkers never managed to corner Aito who kept moving around and killing them. By the 85th wave, Aito was running on fumes, corpses filled the Deep Ditch from one end to the other. The sun was high in the fake sky, shining on the de and Aito''s face, revealing the gory scene that had yet to end. On a break before the 86th wave, Aito effortlessly climbed his way up the trench, and headed towards his camp before eighty nine berserkers came for him. With no Deep Ditch to keep them at bay, he would be surrounded in no time. His only hope for survival was to get to his camp. ''Seriously¡­, just how many more waves are they?'' Heined mentally. Aito had tried to ask Segolene but she told him he was better of not knowing. No normal challenger alone would have survived the Flood for so long. And that was just the 7th floor! There was still one more floor to clear before the quest was over. ''Don''t think about it, it''ll only deter your moral,'' he said to himself, entering his small size fort, blocking the entrance with his remaining spell bead Earth Wall. He reinforced it with logs prepared in advance, nting them in the ground, creating support for the Earth Wall that would canalize impacts into the earth. The berserker "gong," as he came to call it now, rang from the forest for the 86th time. Aito cursed, climbed his way up the thick stone wall, groaning through the pain of his bruises. Berserkers had rarely touched him, but when they did, they struck with enough force to destroy amon size car. He knew those walls of his wouldn''tst long against them. Patiently waiting for the raging bullsing at him from the forest, Aito broke a healing bead and sucked in a mana bead, refilling his almost depleted mana well. He had barely used any skills apart from Durability and Pneuma, aiming for minimum effort. Now, however, he stopped coating his armor with Durability. Instead, a golden light appeared on his ax as he took aim at his targets. Aito had used his stamina to almost his limits, preventing his mana and soul power reserves from going dry, keeping them forter uses, meaning now. ¡ªActive skill: Cleave Lv3¡ª The air whistled under the wind pressure applied by Soulcleaver''s de. A yellow golden arc propelled outward towards five berserkers twenty or so meters away. Body parts crashed on the ground as five berserkers were hacked in half. Aito grinned with a satisfied expression but also a bit of wonder. He expected Cleave wouldn''t normally pierce through a berserker''s thick hide and muscle with normal weapon. However, a soul weapon was different, of that he was certain now. ''What absurd power¡­,'' he thought. Meanwhile, ''Kill more!'' Soulcleaver eximed in his head. Aito agreed with the ax, how couldn''t he when eighty four more berserkers were rushing at him? Thankfully, these things cared little for strategy. They outnumbered him, but did not know how to use their numbers properly and kepting at him without encircling his camp entirely. The ck challenger kept swinging his ax, cleaving the air, halving berserker corpses, crushing one enemy waves after the other. Cleave was a useful skill, usable in short and long ranges. At long range it created air des that hacked everything in its wake. Aito wondered why wind des appeared golden yellow, though. He had trained Cleave before out of curiosity and to familiarize himself with the skill. Air des have always been golden yellow color. In the Kh¨¹l''s hand, they seemed grey. Well, maybe it had been because of the Grey Sun or maybe it was for another reason? ''Gotta ask Valinar about thatter if she knows something,'' he thought. [I can think of an exnation,] the goddess replied. [For now, just focus and stay alive.] Aito grinned, ''Ha, forgot how you keep stalking my thoughts.'' 94th wave. ''Kill.'' 95th wave. ''Kill.'' 96th wave. Aito''s vision blurred as heunched an air de that decapitated the remaining berserkers of the 95th wave. Panting, he let go of his ax. Fighting his exhausted limbs pleading him to rest, he remained on his feet on top of the walls. Some areas of the defensive wall were breached. Some corpses that had been lying on the ground disappeared, probably Segolene doing some cleaning. Trenches at the foot of the wall were already filled with monsters. The entrance to Aito''s camp was destroyed. His mana was almost depleted. Cleave was a great versatile skill, its only drawback was the aura cost. He had a bit of soul power left, maybe enough for one more Cleave. ROAR! ''Haha¡­,e.... I''ll kill you all!'' One hundred berserkers came out of the forest, bringing with them terror, tremors, pain and death¡­ for them. As they neared Aito, he sensed his exhaustion progressively dissipate. His stamina increased by a slight amount, invigorating his muscles, enough for him to keep on going. Energy flowed through his body. Jumping down the wall, he called back his ax and stood near the entrance, ''Finally¡­ a little something to tip off the bnce.'' ¡ªUnique Skill: One Against Many (100)¡ª Although a small boostpared to facing a thousand opponents, a hundred enemies were enough to rise his capabilities by a small but not negligeable amount. "RAAA!" He roared to give himself courage as heunched Soulcleaver. The ax hacked its way through three monstrous bodies before lodging itself into a berserker that kept on running. Aito dashed past the wall entrance. Charged at his enemies fist first. Stronger than them, he punched his way through the small army. He called back his ax. The soul weapon hacked down everything in its to return to its master. ''Kill! Kill! Kill!'' Soulcleaver shouted in his head as he seized it. He was tired, mentally pushed to his limits. The ax has been harassing his mind since the beginning of the fight. Little by little he started to agree with it. The longer he used Soulcleaver, the more he wanted to kill. ''KILL!'' Pissed. Angry. Tired. His mind entered a weird state simr to when he had been in the arena. Everything went nk. Lost in his own bloodlust, Aito was blinded by the battle. The ax took advantage of that. An inexplicable hunger surged with such power it was impossible to control. His gift Fury activated on its own, bringing out his inner beast as well as destruction. Broken rocks. Fissured earth. Bloodied flesh and pain. Aito wanted more blood, more death, more¡­ souls! ''Kill! Kill the weak! Take everything from them! Bring destruction and pain!'' Something happened at that moment. Engrossed in his own rage, Aito sucked in the air, activating a skill he knew he had yet did not know what name it bear. Soul essence, power, and mana from dead berserkers'' soul cores flocked to him. Aito sucked them in. Unwilling to be absorbed, they tried to fight back. However, they were given little to no choice. Something forced the souls to their knees, pressured them, andpressed them. They could not resist the digestion process and were immediately assimted into Aito. ''Kill! KIIIIILLL!'' Soulcleaver went mad. [Stop it, Aito! Don''t lose yourself in the bloodlust or you''ll go past your limits and hurt yourself!] Valinar warned him. Aito was blinded. No matter how many times Valinar''s notification window appeared, he could not see it. He could not see the many corpses around him, nor the waves he had killed. He could not see that only one berserker remained, nor that its legs were trembling. Eyes empty, Aito sliced its legs and arms off so effortlessly he made it look easy. Peering into the berserker''s red eyes, Aito was about to deliver the final blow when he saw and heard something unusual. "H¡­help," the berserker said, tears running down its grey cheeks. "Help¡­ me. I¡­" Aito''s bloodlust disappeared as he stared back into those bloody red eyes that seemed to belong to¡­ a human. Chapter 193 - [Calculation Complete] The berserker trembled. Purple blood gouged out its mouth and severed limbs. "H¡­ help¡­ me." ''Kill!'' Soulcleaver shouted in Aito''s head. His mind that had just awakened from his bloodlust ached at the vicious voice''s order. Taking advantage of his sanity, he immediately hurled the ax away. Soulcleaver''s thoughts progressively fell silent as the ax disappeared far from Aito''s vision. ''That weapon... is more dangerous than I originally thought it was,'' Aito considered. Feeling the exhaustion getting to him again, he fought to stay up. ''More importantly, what did that thing just say?'' Heid his gaze on the berserker, choking on its own blood. The monster kept calling for help that would nevere. Aito could read fear, anxiousness, torment in its red eyes. "What are you?" He asked, leaning forward. "If you can answer my question, I promise you a quick, painless death." "I¡­ am¡­ hum..an." the berserker managed to say a few words despite the blood. "I¡­ don''t¡­ want¡­ to die." Its voice was grotesque, deformed. It did not resemble a human''s voice. And yet, Aito knew, whatever the creature was, it had emotions. There was nothing he would gain from keeping it alive. That kept repeating the same sentences. No new information woulde out of its bloody mouth. Moreover¡­ looking at it suffering like that, it would be too cruel to not end its life, even for him. Aito crushed the berserker''s head with one strike, using his skills and strength, sttering purple liquid on an already bloody ground. ''Valinar, what was that thing? It looked so human for a few moments that it is disturbing.'' [Hum, your savior? The one who helped you ovee your bloodlust?] ''Why are you trying to change the subject? I''m not exactly in the mood for this. Do you know something or not?'' [I¡­ do not know. Berserkers cannot speak unless they be Goliaths. If they do speak, then it would mean either they can be transformed back into humans or¡­ they are not real berserkers. Which could mean¡­ no, that''s impossible. They would never¡­] Aito frowned, ''What''s impossible? Valinar? Valinar!'' No matter how many times he called for her, the goddess fell silent. It appeared Valinar had realized something she wasn''t willing or ready to share. Something that shocked her breathless¡­ even though she could not breathe. Suddenly, Aito heard stepping sounds that reminded him he was undergoing a trial at the moment. He turned around as fast as his tired limbs allowed him. However, all he saw was Segolene stepping on berserker corpses, walking towards him. "Oh my... you¡­ sure know how to fight," she said, apparently shocked. Goddess or mortal, every woman around him today was bound to be shocked by something it seemed. "I had difficulty believing what you''ve aplished until now, but¡­ this. You''re so incredible you''re making me wet¡­. Congrattion onpleting the 1st stage of the Flood. Let me give you a warm hug as a reward!" The perverted moderator breathed heavily, panting from desire. Too exhausted to care for her bullshit, Aito dodged her warm, wet hug. "Not in the mood for that. Tell me what''s next," he said, unamused. Segolene sighed. She wanted to y with him but seeing his face, the moderator knew it would be excessive to do so, even for her. "Well¡­, you''ve finished three hours earlier than expected and since your friends have not cleared the 8th floor yet¡­ you''ll have to wait. Take this time to rest. No need to worry about the soul cores. I''ll extract them for you." As soon as she said those words, Segolene''s face went still as if she became a doll or a statue. Aito stared at her for a second until he realized it was just an afterimage. The real moderator was probably already picking up the soul cores. ''Well, I''m not gonnain.'' He limped to his camp, passing by the many corpses, cracked earth, and destroyed bonfires, to finally sit near his extinguished campfire. There, he nursed his wounds. *** "W¡­" "Wak..." "Wake up!" Aito jolted awake when he felt a hand touching his face. He grabbed it reflexively, then tightened his hold, which resulted in a moan. "Hun! Please stop stroking me like that unless¡­" Segolene whispered a few words to his ears. Those few words made him jump to his feet. He was no pussy, but that tiny woman scared the shit out of him, especially her unusual lust. Aito wondered if she was rted in any way to Sara, the moderator Pyromancer he had met on the 2nd floor who had an aggressive lust for men. Although Segolene was far from aggressive, she probably shared an equal amount of lust as Sara. Aito looked up. The sun was at its zenith, giving him an indication of how long he had been asleep. There was no time to satisfy that little woman''s lust¡ªnot that he wanted to, anyway. "How long have I been asleep?" "Tsch¡­ avoiding me again," Segolene puffed up her cheeks like a hammer. Seeing how inefficient it was on the stoic man, she finally replied, "A little less than 2 and a half hours. Your friends cleared the 8th floor a few minutes ago. They choose to rest before going to the 9th floor. I''ve ryed your situation to them, and they look really worried. Especially when I told them you challenged the Flood. "The ugly girl told me to tell you that she told me she would like to tell you that she doesn''t want you to put yourself in danger for their sake. Yep, that''s what she told me." Aito''s ears winced at the nonsensical phrasing, but he understood the message behind it. "Thanks again, Segolene. I wish most moderators would help challengers as you do." "Oh stop it, you''ll make me blush!" She was actually blushing. "Well, I think you''re wrong when you say that, though. Most moderators actually try to help challengers. It''s just that¡­ some of them have twisted ways of doing so. Just like bad boy Behir." Aito grunted, then looked to the side. There were ten bags filled to the brim with what he guessed were the berserkers'' soul cores. "How many are they?" He asked, nodding towards the bags. "Oh¡­ I don''t know. Didn''t count. Probably two thousand or three thousand? Let''s just say a few thousand. I''m toozy to count," Segolene replied. "I think the question is: how are you going to bring all these to the 8th floor?" Recalling vague images of his bloodlust-berserk state, Aito smirked, "Shouldn''t be a problem if I narrow it down to seven or six bags, right?" Segolene barely had time to say "what do you mean" that Aito took one bag, opened it, and stared at its content. Until now, he had barely understood what his ??? Skill was about. However, after creating a 2nd auxiliary core and his fight against berserkers, Aito felt like he started getting the hang of it. He sent an order to his main core that replied with a loud pulse. The moderator''s eyes opened wide, threatening to fall from their sockets when 1/10th of the bag''s content flocked to Aito''s body, temporarily glowing blue. In the span of a moment, Segolene thought she was seeing something impossible. Something that had been lost long, long ago. Aito''s glowing body returned to normal after a while as the tempest of energy receded and his soul core digested everything. "That''s impossible," Segolene said, gawking. "How¡­ how can you have this skill?" "What do you mean?" Suddenly, a notification window popped up in front of Aito. [Calctionplete. Congrattions! You have acquired a new skill!] "Your skill¡­ do you know what that is? Do you know what it means?" She took his hand and kneeled. "What are you doing? Stop it, this is embarrassing." "ck challenger¡­ are you¡­ could you possibly be¡­are you¡­ please tell me¡­" A notification window popped up in between his eyes and Segolene. ____ [Reaper of Souls Lv2] Description: The host can absorb the souls of the surrounding deceased beings from a distance and instantly digest them as long as they are inferior or equal to level 2. Maximum range: 10 meters. Permanently increases affinity with mana, soul power, and souls by 25%. ____ Everything in the description looked as he imagined, apart from the increase in affinity with mana, soul power, and more particrly with souls. What did an affinity with soul even mean, anyway? No, that didn''t matter for now. A problem that was currently grabbing his hand required his attention. "Is it possible that you are¡­ a braver?" In Segolene''s eyes, he could see a great many things but the one thing that shone the brightest was Hope. Aito didn''t know what to reply. Should he say "yes?" That was probably a bad idea. Considering how hopeful she looked, he sensed it could lead to trouble. Saying no would be lying since he was, in fact, a braver. An ax braver, but a braver nheless. He wondered at that moment why was the "ax" in his ss name, anyway? What poor sense of naming was that? That kinda pissed him off. "Please¡­ tell me, ck challenger. Are you the one we''ve been waiting for? The one who''s supposed to end this ursed war?" ''What the fuck is she talking about?'' Yeap, hearing that Aito concluded it could only lead to trouble to tell Segolene the truth. She had been kind to him until now. However, there was no way in Hell or Earth or Iris he would step on such a big humongousrge shit when it was so ringly obvious. "No, I''m just an ax warrior who happened to stumble on such a skill thanks to an achievement," he said. Seeing Segolene''s saddened face, he added, "I''m sorry." The moderator sighed, then got up, "No, it''s my fault if I misunderstood. I''ll¡­ leave you to your¡­ soul absorption ande backter when your friends reach the 9th floor." She disappeared, leaving but an afterimage behind her that eventually faded into nothingness. ''Damn it¡­ why do I feel so bad even though I just dodged a bullet?'' Aito thought as he absorbed more soul cores. Chapter 194 - The 8th Floor Contrary to his expectations, Aito had absorbed five bags of soul cores out of the ten bags at his disposal using his new skill. Amongst them were mostly level 1 souls and a few level 2 souls. Logical considering some berserkers had been harder to deal with than others. Now he felt stuffed. Aito knew he could absorb more, but storing that energy was another matter altogether. There was something blocking him, like an invisible wall barring entry to his mana well. He had previously thought there would be a limit to how much he could take in, but he hadn''t expected it to be such a deep pit. Two full bags were already a lot, even if most of them were level 1. But 5 bags? Holly shit. Apparently, something kept using the digested souls as fuel. Of course, it was his injured soul core. Soul power, mana, and soul essence kept being used to repair the injuries his soul core had endured because of his forced creation of a 2nd auxiliary core. Currently, it could be said his soul core wasposed of three pieces. There were two auxiliary cores that rotated around the main core. Those two auxiliary cores served as additional containers or reservoirs of mana and soul power. The main core was the central unit thatmanded both auxiliary cores. All in all, these three cores formed one single entity, the soul core. Under normal circumstances, the auxiliary cores equaled 1/5th of the main core''s size. However, in Aito''s case, only one auxiliary core was normal, the other was imperfect, it still needed growth. Equaling 1/8th of the main core''s size¡ªthat number used to be 1/10th¡ªAito needed time for it to grow. That imperfect core was like a sprinter, having started the race tootepared to its peers. This peculiar situation created an imbnce that temporarily decreased his capabilities. On top of that, his soul was injured. Despite his skill Reaper of Souls, this issue couldn''t be easily resolved. When Aito absorbed foreign souls, they wouldn''t all go to his imperfect auxiliary core, but also be distributed to his other cores for their own growth. Although his soul core focused on healing, it couldn''t simply forsake the other cores for vital reasons. Moreover, the energy required to repair, maintain, and evolve was simply tremendous. Even thousands of Level 1 soul cores wouldn''t suffice. Inurate as it may be, Aito truly felt he had a small nuclear power nt in his bosom right now. Thankfully, this small nuclear power nt came with benefits. After digesting many level 1 souls and a bit less than a hundred or so level 2 souls, Aito has recovered a bit, but not enough to be called aplete recovery. Only his Mana stats went back up to level 4. As for his skill set, Durability was now back to level 5. ''Why is my status window still showing I''m level 2, though?'' Aito pondered. [It''s because the System doesn''t understand what''s happening to you. Your soul core is recovering faster than I predicted, though, but it still needs time. That''s why you can''t digest more souls right now. Once you''ve recoveredpletely, the System will be able to calcte your level properly. For now, your soul still needs time to recover,] Valinar replied out of nowhere. [Also check out the mark on your hands linking you to this ursed weapon. It stores up souls you absorb and transfers them to your weapon. Every soul weapon has a fuel of sorts. This one happens to be the life of others.] He had already realized that before. It took a certain amount of soul essence from him each time he absorbed a soul, probably to fuel its power. Aito could guess if he didn''t feed it, Soulcleaver could very well feed on his soul. That was a problem for ater date, ''Alright. Wee back, by the way, Valinar. Anything you wanna say to me after you rudely took off?'' Aito replied. [No, not until I''m certain it is true. For now, I''m still doubtful about the veracity of my thoughts. Sorry, I promise to share once I''ve verified it.] ''I see. Can''t say I''m not curious but whatever. Just don''t try to hide anything from me.'' [I won''t,] Valinar said, then changed the topic. [That skill of yours¡­] ''Reaper of Souls?'' [Yes. What a peculiar name. Very useful. It will help you a great deal now that you can use it. Your increased affinity with soulses with many benefits. For instance, your soul is healing faster because of it. By the end of the Tower, you''ll have recovered. Perhaps even before. Or not, it depends on how reckless you are.] Aito could see she was trying to dodge a topic about this skill. ''What''s this skill all about, anyway? The moderator turned suddenly hopeful at the sight of it. That''s too weird to be a coincidence.'' [I... sorry. I don''t know. All I know is that your skill is¡­ different. It looks like a braver''s skill but it isn''t one. There are clear differences, but one thing is certain, it is your own skill. You created it. If you want to know more about it, you''ll have to find another candle piece. Maybe then I''ll recover enough memory to tell you more.] ''Ha, fat chance of that happening, considering I don''t know where to look next. You''ve talked about the old Farsighter, but I know nothing about his or her location.'' [Her, it''s a woman. You''ll discover where she is eventually. But for now, I can feel you''re getting closer to a fragment. It''s somewhere in the Tower. Before dying, I hid them in ces only someone worthy could find them. Just don''t forget about the tests. You''ve already epted your own weakness. Three tests remain. Which one will it be next? Only time will tell.] Aito looked sideways. He couldn''t remember what those tests were. Not his fault. Valinar had told him only once... on the ind a two months ago. [Remember, finding the candle does not equal passing the test. If by any chance you can find it and pass the test, the candle''s power will repair your soul for you. With the second piece, you''ll finally be able to use some of its real powers to a certain extent.] ''Huh? What do you mean? Will I be able to fly?'' Aito joked. [Flying? Is that something you mortals consider powerful? Haha, how narrow-minded. No, you''ll be able to do better than that. Just be patient.] ''Hum, whatever. I guess it''s on the 10th floor. Knowing you, it must be there.'' [I''d rather you do not assume knowing me. Maybe it is on the 10th floor, maybe not. I don''t know. I''ve felt its exact location before, but it somehow changed. Perhaps it''s moving on its own. Perhaps not. *Sigh* I''m tired of having memory issues.] ''It sounds useful, so I''ll look into it. Can''t promise anything, though. My priority is clearing this Tower and making sure my peoplee out alive. The candlees next.'' [...I... will respect your decision.] At that moment, Segolene appeared out of nowhere. She seemed to have regained her previous joyful demeanor. "Are you ready to leave, cutie?" *** FLASH! Aito walked out of a portal with an oval ethereal framerge enough to fit two people. Popping sounds came out from under his boots as he stepped on snow, crushing the tiny hardened molecule of water on the ground. He reflexively looked around to mark his location. Apparently, he was standing on a teau on top of a tall snowy mountain. A two or three kilometers long bridge linked this teau to the neighboring mountain. Snowkes endlessly fell from the sky. Vegetation shied away from the snow that was coating the ground of a sparkling white under the sunlight. By all means, it was a beautiful scenery but¡­ "Damn, it''s cold!" Aito eximed. Next to him, Segolene, who was wearing a white gown highlighting her small curves and ck skin, appeared unaffected by the temperature. Aito felt a bit jealous. "Give your body some time to get used to it, cutie. Unlike me, youck a passive skill that grants you resistance to the cold. However, I can guess your Body stat isn''t low for a challenger. Moreover, with only -30 degrees, it''s warmer than usual. It''s a small weing gift from me." ''Warmer¡­ my frozen ass,'' heined internally. However, a few momentster, like Segolene said, his body adapted to the cold. It was still ufortable, but bearable for him. It wasparable to walking on the street with nothing but a shirt and nylon pants during a windy day with a temperature of 4 or 5¡ãC. Your body got used to it at some point. His temperature issue resolved, Aito finally noticed the many berserker corpses on the icy ground devoid of soul cores. "My bad, I forgot to clean this up before you arrive," Segolene said, flicking her fingers. The corpses immediately disappeared. That made him remember there were still people needing him somewhere. "I suppose the goal is the same. Killing everything." "Surviving would be more correct," the moderator replied. "Berserkers will keeping at you from the other side of this bridge, linking both mountains. There are fewer waves than on the 7th floor but¡­ the difficulty lies elsewhere. Since you''ve chosen to brave the Flood, the temperature will slightly drop with each wave. What''s more, berserkers will be stronger and smarter. All level 2. Like before, you have the right to ask me for anything I can provide that I do not consider cheating, mostly fortifications. Any question, cutie?" Aito readied his weapon, "When do I start?" *** Both mountains formed a natural channel the wind would naturally take like a car would a highway, resulting in gusts of freezing wind sweeping the bridge clean of snow. Tiny ice spikes had formed on the bridge''s frame, shaped by the wind blowing from east to west. Aito stood at the far end of the bridge, not on his side, but on the side where his enemies woulde from. There was a small teau with a dark cave from which berserkers would flood the bridge. He stepped in front of the cave, then waited, ax in his hand, for his enemies toe. Dozens of minutes passed in silence. Snowkes had time to color half of Aito''s ck beard white. He wanted to move. He wanted to warm himself up. However, he also wanted to preserve his stamina for a long battle awaited ahead of him. Sensing something entering his Domain, Atio frowned, lifting his ax. ''Kill,'' it whispered. At that moment, multiple monstrous roars echoed in the snowy mountains. Chapter 195 - Flood Stage 2 (part 1) Sounds of heavy footsteps got louder as berserkers neared the entrance of the cave where Aito stood tall, patiently awaiting his opponents in this ursed freezing weather. The leather part of his armors kept him moderately warm, however, the metallic pieces absorbed cold and transferred it to his body. Metal was a natural conductor of temperatures. It would conduct any kind of temperature, high or low. Moreover, even if he could use Durability to shield his armor from the cold¡ªsomething he discovered by experimenting a bit¡ªhe''d prefer to avoid using it to preserve energy. Not that it mattered to him. Right now, he had big grey bastards to kill. As soon as rays of sunlight shone on the first berserker to exit the cave, Aitounched his ax with all the strength he could muster. Soulcleaver lodged itself in the berserker''s bosom, cutting its ribs, flesh, and organs, killing the creature that tumbled down, dead, immobile. Aito frowned. Compared to before, the ax didn''t get through. It did kill the berserker on the spot. However, that result meant they had a tougher hide than those on the 7th floor. Gripping air, he called back his weapon while more berserkers exited the cave. ROAR! Stepping back to get more distance between them, he rapidly chained his throw, aiming to keep a minimum distance between them. One throw. One kill. He repeated this process, making sure to only use his stamina and strength to save his mana and soul power forter. A few minutes passed. The 1st wave was over and the snow was already covered by the purple blood of 20 level 2 berserkers that had not been able to retaliate. ''Hum. Let''s stick to this tactic for now,'' he thought. Then came a two minutes break that felt more exhausting than fighting. Standing still in the cold ate up his stamina. To him, it felt worse than actually fighting berserkers. Knowing that the temperature would drop after each wave unnerved him. Soulcleaver added to the difficulty of this quest by whispering evil thoughts. Aito could resist it under normal circumstances, however, it became harder when plunged into the battle. There were risks he could get drunk on bloodlust, something that had happened on the 5th floor while killing all the hobs, on the 6th floor in the coliseum, and recently on the 7th floor. ''Gotta keep my mind straight.'' The 2nd wave came with one more berserker than the 1st wave. The 2nd wave perished like the 1st. 5th wave. 8th wave. 9th wave. It was getting colder. If the temperature had been at -30¡ãC in the beginning, Aito sensed it decreased to -35¡ãC (-31¡ãF). Snow trembled when the steps of the berserkers'' 10th wave echoed in the mountains. Heavy, fast, resilient, and brutal, they forced Aito to take more steps back than the previous wave. As heunched his ax to kill the eleventh berserker of this wave, he realized something had changed. The creature caught his weapon, grinning devilishly as if he had done the evilest deed. However, the berserker soon regretted its action when an evil more terrifying than itself invaded its mind and devoured its soul. The poor bastard''s fluttered as it dropped unconscious, rattling the bridge''s stones until it abruptly stopped, never to wake up again. ''What the¡­,'' Aito thought before the roars called him back to more urgent matters. Too close for him to have time to call his ax, Aito dodged the berserker''s fist, armed his gauntlet with Durability, Weight Control and Impact then struck hard with a devastating, aiming for the monster''s head. BAM! Grey brain matters and skull fragments sprayed the icy ground when the berserker''s head exploded in pieces. Stepping to the side, dodging an enemy charge, he dashed to his next opponent and countered a vicious punch with a devastating hook. The berserker dropped to the floor. But to Aito''s surprise, it was still alive. Those things were more resilient than ordinary level 2 creatures. He needed to use skills or his ax to one-shot them. Aito grabbed the injured berserker by its foot. Using it as a weapon, he whirled around, thrashing berserkers with their own kin. Once his weapon was only mashed meat and bones, he threw it aside like trash and called back his weapon. Eager to kill, Soulcleaver came back in a heartbeat and dealt death. ''Shit, continuing like this will drain my stamina before I could even reach the 30th wave.'' Aito pondered his option. The cold bit into his bones, forcing his body to generate more heat than usual, eating up his reserve of stamina twice as fast as normal. He had no doubt that the temperature would drop even lower. Fighting kept him warm but with his current stamina stat at level 3, he would not have enough to keep going until the end. That, he was sure of it. He had one means to warm himself up kept in store for when he truly needed it, but using it now would be a waste since it would notst long. Staring at a berserker corpse while pondering his options and waiting for the next wave, Aito caught a glimpse of a shining object. A soul core. Suddenly, his lips rendered blue by the cold arched up in a small grin, ''Hm, that could work.'' The 11th wave came rather quickly as he was torn out from his pondering by the usual roars and heavy he was getting used to. As soon as the berserkers were in range, Aito canalized Cleave into Soulcleaver shone of a golden yellow. His de vibrating with power shed the freezing air,unching a deadly airstrike thatcerated a berserker''s chest. However, even though fatally wounded, the durable monstrosity could still move. Uncaring of its own injuries, it ran madly towards Aito like a cornered beast. He clicked his tongue andunched a second airstrike that finished the jobs. ''So two air des for one kill.'' With thirty-one berserkers rushing at him, there was no time to properly aim for their heads, not with his current skills. Aito was still unfamiliar with his new skill. sh! sh! sh! He hacked, cut, and killed. Repeatedly using Cleave, he reduced the berserkers'' numbers faster than before. With each shot he got a little more familiar with his skill, each time slightly gaining in proficiency. When only grotesque corpses covered the bridge''s stone floor, Aito stopped his killing spree, approached a corpse, and drew power from it. ¡ªActive Skill: Reaper of Souls Lv2¡ª Blue and transparent energies flocked to him, entering his body to feed his soul, immediately restoring a part of his mana and soul power. ''This could work for a while,'' he thought, absorbing other soul cores. [Hum, using more mana and soul power through Cleave to preserve your stamina and drawing from the corpses'' soul cores for a near-infinite supply of energy. Clever.] Valinarmented. [But this is not as limitless as you think.] ''I know, but it will suffice for now,'' Aito replied. Drawing from soul cores also provided soul essence after all. On the 7th floor, he had already absorbed a lot of essence to the point of bloating. By now, his soul had time to use a part of this soul essence but at this rate, Aito would inevitably reach a threshold. That''s why he would only digest the souls he needed. No more, no less. 15th Wave. 18th Wave. 19th Wave. By the 20th wave, 40 berserkers madly rushed for his throat. Although they looked the same, he realized there were a few changes to their behavior with this wave. When one of their kinsmen fell, they would take its corpse and use it as meat shield to protect themselves against his air des. Sometimes, they would downright take those at the front to cover their nasty grey asses. 25th wave. 28th wave. 29th wave. ''Those bastards¡­ a, a, are getting b, b, better at defending th, th, themselves against C, C, Cleave,'' Aitoined, shaking with cold from the drop of temperature to around -45¡ãC (-49¡ãF) while waiting for the 30th wave. Berserkers were learning. He didn''t know how, but they slowly were learning his attack patterns and adapting to them. That probably came with the trial because those things were supposed to be brainless idiots. Or was it because they were all level 2? He still had too little information on them. All he knew for sure was they could bleed and thus die like any other living being. That was enough for now. His ck brows, beard, and long dark hair outgrowing from his orc-style square helmet were covered in frost. ''So c, c, cold¡­'' even in his thoughts were shaking at that point. The idea of closing his eyes and embracing the cold felt more and more tempting by the passing seconds. [They areing!] Valinar warned. [Prepare yourself, Aito!] Thankfully, Valinar''s notifications awakened his mind. Fifty berserkers roared in his direction. He roared back, trying to give himself courage and momentum. Running in what looked like a wed rectangr formation, the creatures used their brethren at the front as meat shields. Obstructed by the many corpses on the bridge Aito had kindlyid down on their path as a wee gift, they had difficulty reaching their target, giving him enough time to deal with thirty berserkers before they almost got close enough for close-quarterbat. With ice forming on the stone floor endangering his steps, Aito had difficulty kitting them. For some reason, berserkers seem to be at ease walking on ice. ''Let''s see h, h, how you fare w, w, without your l, l, legs.'' ¡ªActive skill: Cleave¡ª Aitounched one vicious air de after another, roughly aiming downward. With the cold messing with his aim, he missed a few shots but most had the desired impact. Berserkers at the front row fell, those close behind tripped on their kinsmen. Aito took this opportunity to jump and crush a berserker''s skull under his feet in the middle of the formation. Using therge corpse for stability, he activated Cyclone.. Rotating like there was tomorrow, he showered his opponents with gore, blood, and death. Chapter 196 - Flood Stage 2 (part 2) Berserkers pushed Aito to his very limits and beyond. With each wave, he was forced back further down the bridge, when finally, by the 45th wave, he reached his side. ''T, t, this¡­ I can''t take this anymore. I, I, it''s too damn cold!'' He thought, taking out two pieces of flint from his dimensional bag. The temperature drop decreased faster after the 40th wave, reaching -58¡ãC. Even with his current Body stat at level 3, that kind of temperature without the right equipment to warm you up was bound to kill you at some point. Aito''s lips arced up slightly at the sight of those two flints. It brought him back to his time on the ind that seemed somehow distant despite only being a bit less than three months ago. He turned around, taking advantage of this break in between waves to finally use the fortifications Segolene had built for him. Right at the edge of the bridge linking both mountains, on his side, was a wooden wall almost barring entrance to his teau. Shielded from most of the cold wind by a natural barrier provided by the mountain, it felt slightly warmer on this side. Some sort of ck matter coated the wood, a crucial addition Aito had asked for. Segolene had seen no problem with that since, to her, it was part of the fortification as a whole. She hadn''t known what he wanted to do with it. Aito brought his two flints close to each other. Thankfully, his dimensional bag kept it safe from the cold, so it wasn''t frozen like the oil that coated the wooden wall. ck! ck! ck! Upon contact, his flints spewed out tiny sparks that, at first, did nothing more than vanish in the snow. ''C, c,e on!'' He thought, digging a small hole in the frozen oil to reach deeper. ck! ck! ck! Suddenly, the frozen oil caught on fire. The mes progressively spread to the edges of the structure, lighting up the teau of an orange light, warming up Aito''s body. "Ha¡­," he pushed out a heavy sigh offort, ruined by the distant roars of berserkersing for his frozen ass. "Give me a break!" As soon as he said that, Aito thought about a certain someone the cold had made him forget until now. "Right, there is that guy, too." With an amused smirk, he stretched his hand and used something he would have done sooner. ¡ªSystem Right: Orc Subordinate¡ª An ethereal portal opened, fragmenting reality. A tall orc in full ted orcish armor stepped out of it into the barren frozennd. "My Khan," Krugan said, hitting his chest to show respect. Aito almost couldn''t hold back his grin when he saw the orc slightly trembling, forcing himself to remain unfeeling towards the cold, more by pride than anything else. Orcs from the 6th floor were used to high temperatures, so Aito could only imagine how much of a shock it was for Krugan to step into the snow. "I hope you''re in good shape because I''m in need of your fighting prowess," Aito dered, pointing towards the other end of the bridge where monstrosities made their way through the many corpses obstructing their way. "I need to rest for a few minutes. Do you think you can handle those level 2 creatures?" Krugan nodded without even an ounce of doubt. "It will be done ording to your will, my Khan." "If you need help, I''ll be standing right behind you. Also," Aito injected mana into his ring, summoning an illusionary barricade of two walls with an entrance in between that would force berserkers to step in one by one. "That should make things easier for you." "Thank you, my Khan." Krugan stepped forward, cing himself in front of the entrance. Aito stood aside, took out his water bottle, hastily drunk from it, and waited for the show to start. He felt a bit regretful for not being able to do more than that. He had no remaining spell balls. Hisst boom ball had been used on the Kh¨¹l. All the support items he had were a sh ball and the repeater, not that bolts would do him any good against those bulky things. ROAR! Krugan nted his boots into the stone, held his tower shield coated in Durability firmly in front of him, and held strongly his huge one-handed ax that matched his frame rivaling a berserker''s. ''Hum, if there was a picture book of orc fighting tactics or martial arts, this guy would be the incarnation of it. Even in the cold, he is like an imprable stonewall.'' The first berserker to reach Krugan charged for his tower shield. However, to its surprise, Krugan stood unmoving despite the powerful attack. Behind the berserker, other corrupted humans pushed those on the front, trying to force the orc out of the way. Even for him, holding against their numbers was impossible and so he let the first one through, using their own momentum against them. With the sudden loss of resistance, the berserker lost bnce, falling, followed by those behind him. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Krugan stepped forward and hacked the berserker''s head. BAM! BAM! With his precision, practiced moves, and because of the berserker neck''s thickness, it took him two hits to decapitate him entirely. He stepped on the corpse, shieldbashed the oneing through the entrance with enough strength and uracy to stun it, hacked its legs to destabilize it, and expertly sliced its throat at the right timing. ''Holy shit,'' Aito had never realized how strong Krugan actually was. The orc may have no other real skill than Durability¡ªprobably because of the restrictions the gods had imposed on the race¡ªbut he was downright deadly. Like a true war veteran, the orc used every advantage at his disposal. He used the barricades, corpses, and his own enemy momentums and numbers against them. Krugan''s surgical precision was a step above Aito''s. If it hadn''t been for his superior stats in prison, Aito didn''t know if he would have won that fight. Slowly, but surely, Krugan was holding his ground, piling up berserker corpses that were progressively removed by his raging opponents. Calm andposed, he had the upper hand on them. ''Didn''t think he would be able tost this long with sheer technique alone. I wonder how strong he''ll be once he gets to actually use¡ªwhat the fuck!?'' Krugan stomped the stone bridge, creating a long 10-meter trail that shook the ground, destabilizing his opponents'' footing. ¡ªActive skill: Tremor¡ª ''How¡­ now way¡­ don''t tell me¡­'' [The candle''s blessing,] Valinar said. [Did you think it only applied to humans? No, it applies to any intelligent life form. Be it human or not.] ''Does that mean¡­'' [Yes, every orc you''ve given a blessing to may be able to wield other skills than Durability. Though not necessarily every one of them will manifest the skills right away. You''ve certainly increased the 6th floor difficulty by arge margin for other challengers. The moderator might be biting his nails right now because of you.] ''Ha¡­'' he didn''t know whether tough or cry. On one hand, he was d the orc got stronger since they might be of use to himter. On the other, he felt a bit guilty for the other challengers, particrly those he had fought with on the 5th floor. ''Well, whatever¡­ I''m not their granny anyway.'' ROAR! Aito heard an unusual roar. Staring at the origin of that loud noise, he realized that all the berserkers in a 5 meters radius around Krugan were temporarily stunned. ¡ªActive skill: Warlord''s Roar¡ª Taking advantage of this opportunity, the orc massacred them one after the other. Corpses on the pile slowly increased in number. A few momentster, Krugan came back to him, bloodied, panting but alive. "It is done," the orc said with solemn air to him. Aito was impressed. He had expected the orc would need him at some point. Krugan looked like he could handle two or three more waves on his own before eventually getting¡­ killed. Aito thought about it, but he had enough rest next to the fire''s warmth. He wanted to speed things up and get out of this ursed barren frozen ce. "Filona''s frozen nipples¡­ how many more skills do you have that I don''t know about?" Aito asked, patting Krugan''s broad shoulders with a satisfied smile. "I¡­ don''t know. I discovered those while fighting against other humans. Those are the only two¡­ skills I can use other than Luzliatark," the orc said. "I see," Aito pondered. "Can you see a floating ethereal window from time to time?" The orc appeared to consider his question, "I¡­am sorry, my Khan. I do not know what that means." "Hum, I figured as much." [They do not possess the same System as you if that was your question. The System and the candle are two different entities, yet are very simr. Unless you¡ª] Berserkers charged the bridge, heading straight for Aito and Krugan, ''Hang on Valinar. Let''s have this talkter.'' ***** Lore: "Tranted to themon tongue, Luzliatark was the name for Durability in orcish. Orcs of the 6th floor believed the yellow light that coated their armors and weapons was the temporary manifestation of their prized mineral, Luzli, the same mineral thatposed some parts of the current Woodcutter''s armor. Thus the name Luzliatark." Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 197 - Flood Stage 2 (part 3) 47th wave. Aito and Krugan unleashed hell on their enemies. Patiently waiting at the barricade near the fire, they both adopted a simple formation; Aito to the front, Krugan to the back. It took but a mere two minutes for the berserkers to cross over the 2 or 3 km bridge, showing just how fast those bulgy creatures'' charges were. If Aito had to guess, they were running at around 40 or 50kmph. However, they were soon confronted to an unbreakable gate called the ck challenger by some or the Khan by orcs. Moving in tight organized formation, they looked like a past era Roman army on Earth. That formation proved great strength in their numbers and would overwhelm normal challengers. However, Aito broke their momentum with Cleave, reducing their numbers from a safe distance, disturbing their formation. Although not enough to kill them all, around twenty of them died under his air strikes. Before they could collide with Aito, Krugan stomped the bridge, shaking the ground, destabilizing the berserkers that tripped and fell. Aitounched himself into the air while Krugan took this opportunity to push out a deafening war cry, Warlord''s Roar, stunning every berserker in a radius of five meters. Using Weight Control, Aito dropped like a falling meteor, crushing a berserker under his feet and used Cyclone to kill every stunned corrupted humans. Together, they rammed through this wave faster than Aito would have alone. Hacking, shing, stunning and killing. No berserkers were spared. The 47th to the 54rd wave came with more berserkers than before and a drop in the temperature. Before the start of the 55th wave, it became crucial to stay near the firece that was burning quite brightly. Aito examined the wooden wall, only to see strong mes consuming the wood in a time record. He did not know if that were true but¡­ it seemed oil burned faster when frozen. He was no scientist, however, he knew that was a bad sign. In this weather, Aito needed the fire''s warmth to survive. With only snow and no trees around, he could only rely on this wooden wall for warmth. "You''re okay?" Aito asked, looking a Krugan panting heavily. "Yes," the orc replied, "I''m just hyperventting on purpose. I can recover my stamina faster this way." "Is that so?" There was a higher chance the orc had obtained some kind of passive skill rather than his statement being true. Well, it made sense in a way, but Aito doubted hyperventting on purpose was the real trick to recover stamina faster. Aito looked at the timer on top of Krugan''s head that was only visible to him. [5 minutes.] He estimated that he spent around 7-10 minutes per wave, alone. Considering Krugan had cleared a wave alone, that they fought together afterward and cleared waved much faster, it looked about right. ''Five minutes left before he is unsummoned,'' Aito thought. ''Let''s hope this''ll end soon.'' [Be careful of what you wish for. I can sense an unusual shift in the air. There is something different about this wave, Aito. Thread carefully. Just¡­] Valinar warned. Shivers ran down his spine as multiple roars echoed in the mountains. It could be the cold or the roars progressively growing louder, more numerous, more intimating, more¡­ dreadful. A feeling long forgotten started growing in him again. Fear. His thoughts were in shamble. "Shit, shit, shit! Krugan, to the bridge, now!" Aito eximed, leaving the dwindling fire''s warmth followed by his loyal subordinate. Standing at the barricade, he watched numerous berserkers rushing at him, discarding the corpses of their brethren down the bridge. They looked like an endless grey tide, ready to devour Aito''s tiny frame. Their roars were so loud it provoked an avnche. Behind Aito, the mountain trembled. Snow tumbled down the mountain en masse, ravaging the nothingness of this barren ce. Soon the avnche reached the teau, engulfing Aito''s zing wooden wall like a white wave extinguishing all warmth. Most of the avnche ended up dropping down the bridge. However, without a ce to warm themselves up, Aito and Krugan were now at the mercy of the temperature that¡­ kept dropping. He didn''t know if it was the cold messing with his head, or the fear he felt towards the fearmongers approaching at great speed but he had this sudden urge¡­ to run. Fear! [Aito! Calm yourself and¡­] Next to him, Krugan, the mighty orc warrior, trembled and dropped to his knees, "W, w, what are they? My Khan, what should we do? Khan?" Aito remained paralyzed as if something was keeping him in ce. It felt familiar, somehow. When was thest time he felt this way? No¡­ now was not the time to think, it was the time to fight! Yes! Fight to survive! Just fight and fight! Fight to flee! No fight, then flee! No, just fight! Confused, struck by the urge to fight and or flee, Aito grabbed his ax and rushed towards the grey tide, abandoning his subordinate who was seeking his advice. [Rem¡­] Snow brought by violent gusts of wind brushed past Aito''s face turning pale blue as the temperature dropped below -60¡ãC. Reaching a blockade made of monsters, he hacked at the berserker formation. "Out of my way! Die!" Growing weak by the passing second, unaware that something was blinding his thoughts, Aito rampaged like a scared or cornered beast, torn between the urge to flee and fight. The pitiful sight of his Khan losing hisposure further increased Krugan''s despair. [Rem¡­] Fear! In his mind, Soulcleaver whispered vicious thoughts, trying to corrupt him and at the same time berate him, break him. ''Kill them!'' ''So Weak!'' "Shut up!" Aito roared. The voices got more intense, so did the fear, the bloodlust, the need to flee, and the cold. The cold¡­ it was so cold. In need of warmth, he used his ring to set himself on fire. Although realistic, it was just an illusion. Yes, just an illusion that brought him warmth and¡­ pain. He felt his skin bubbling, heating up, even though, in reality, nothing really happened. The pain temporarily erased his fear, but increased his madness. ''KILL!'' Berserkers encircled him. Out of his mind, Aito whirled around, swinging his ax in every direction, wasting his stamina. At some point, they ganged upon him. Like bullies in a dark street ganging up on a little kid, the berserkers thrashed him as hard as they could. Covered in Durability, his armor held on, providing a durable defense against the overwhelming numbers. ''Weak! Too weak!'' "Shut up!" Activating Cyclone, he turned the berserkers into minced meat. Air de propelled on all sides, slicing nearby and distant berserkers. That''s when a deafening roar resounded. The grey creatures stepped back, leaving Aito to his lonely madness. Heavy footsteps burdened the bridge. Cracking frozen purple blood under its feet, a huge creature with a frame rivaling the Kh¨¹l made its way through the berserker ranks. It was bulgy, entirely ck, and tall. The creature had no eyes, two deformed holes for nostrils, and a mouth filled with square teeth made for mashing fleshing into blood mush. On its torso was a second mouth so wide it could swallow a human whole. Two of its four powerful arms pushed aside the berserkers that looked tinypared to this monstrosity. Bloodshot eyes, Aito looked up, grabbing his ax with all his strength that weighed so heavily in his hand. Why was it so heavy? That he didn''t know. However,ying his eyes upon the monstrosity in front of him¡­ he knew, he knew what that thing was. [Remem¡­] Something he should kill! "Ha, how kind of the gods to send me a snack after so long," the creature said. Compared to the Paineater, its voice had just one tone, low and coarse. "I''m d you made it this far. It only adds vor to the meal that''s apparently cooking on his own." mes still covered Aito''s body. Due to the pain, the wind, Soulcleaver''s voice, Aito couldn''t really hear the creature''s mockery. He knew, however, he was being ridiculed. "WAAAAH!" Arming himself with his ax that felt heavier the more time passed, Aito rushed at his enemy, unknowingly taking its bait. A grey light covered the creature''s arms as it parried Aito''s ax with such strength it sent it flying out of the bridge, down into the chasm. [Remember¡­] Fear struck Aito like a deadly avnche as the creature lifted its fists high, preparing for an attack. As it brought down its powerful arms, someone passed by Aito, but he could not see nor feel him. Having mustered every ounce of courage he had, Krugan rushed to his Khan''s aid with the orcs'' war cry, "Glory and Death!" BAM! The creature''s fist impacted Krugan''s tower shield so violently it sent ripples of shockwaves in the surroundings. Krugan''s feet were hammered into the stone bridge, cracking the floor. "You daree between my prey and me!" The creature said, grabbing the orc''s shield to hurl it down the chasm and join Soulcleaver. "You tiny little ck bug!" [Remember what¡­] Aito''s gaze shifted to Krugan. The timer atop his head showed one minute. One minute¡­ seemed so long. One minute¡­ the orc would never be able to hold on for so long. ''So long¡­ how long has it been since I''ve felt this confused and¡­ afraid?'' Aito wondered, his body burning with an illusionary fire. "Kneel!" The creature ordered, applying an invisible pressure on the orc. Krugan''s knees weakened and so did his courage. Exhausted and afraid, they trembled and finally gave up their support. However, despite it all, the orc smiled. He grabbed Aito''s shoulder, gripping it as hard as he could, "My Khan¡­." Feeling the despair, the creature sniffed the air, appreciating every moment of its victory. Aito''s vision blurred as he felt the warmth of a hand grabbing his shoulder, despite the cold. In this brief moment, he turned towards Krugan, whose eyes were filled with familiar emotions he knew too well. He had seen them on the 6th floor during his fight with the Kh¨¹l. He had seen them on the 5th floor within She and Ogoro''s eyes. He had seen them in the cave where a fearmonger had yed tricks on him. Yes, he has seen those. He had felt those emotions in moments where he was invaded by Fear. When he had been influenced by Fear. It has been just a few months since thest time he had felt those and yet¡­ why couldn''t he remember sooner? Why couldn''t he¡­ The creature grabbed Krugan''s by his throat and lifted him, "What a peculiar thing. I''ve never seen the likes of you before." Aito looked up, as his vision finally cleared. There he saw the notification window that had kept harassing him for his own good. [Remember what you are! Do not let the Fear control you!] "What are you?" The creature asked, seemingly intrigued. Unable to breathe, Krugan couldn''t possibly give it a proper answer. A blinding golden light covered Aito''s body, erasing the mes of his madness, eclipsing the Fear. "Arg! This ursed light!" The creature shielded itself, dropping Krugan. He remembered now. That thing was a fearmonger, a Goliath. Aito reached to the side. Soulcleaver flew from the bottom of the chasm, passing by the bridge, killing berserkers on its way, nestling itself in Aito''s hand. "That person you called a thing is my subordinate, you bastard." ***** Lore: "While reaching level 3, Berserkers evolved into a most fearsome creature, a Goliath. This particr type of fearmonger is strength-oriented and can deal devastating blows. Bigger, stronger, and smarter than berserkers, they are adversaries one should not take lightly." Extract from "Yggdrasil Chronicles, the Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 198 - Goliath Fearmongers, the bane of civilization and progress. The gue that has threatened Iris''s poption since their appearance, bringing them near the brink of destruction. Exhausted by a never-ending war, Segolene has longed for an end to this conflict ever since she became part of the military one hundred years ago. For one hundred years, she has waged war against a species that seemingly had endless resources at its disposal. One day you thought you killed them all, the other they came back with the same numbers than they previously had. And that, for a very specific reason. The Fear. On the front lines, apart from "fake" bravers, no one could provide protection against that powerful skill. Only Transcendents and Legends could resist the low-level Fear without any trouble. However, even they had no choice but to ask for the protection of a "fake" braver''s aura when battling against a Fearmonger of their level. But the number of braver was dwindling. Fearmongers especially aimed for their brave-asses during battles to reduce their numbers. Finding people withpatibility to braver skills contained in memory beads was also harder than one would think. Bravers were protected at all costs during battles because when their numbers could not keep up with the need for protection using Aura of Bravery¡ªwhich started to be the case¡ªa lot of humans became corrupted by the Fear. Corrupted low-level soldiers started as Berserkers. Those that survived long enough would eventually be real fearmongers. Basically, inhabitants of Iris were fighting their own people. A thought that saddened Segolene. Only prayers soothed her worries. Being a fervent believer, she knew all the prophecies and past holy deeds of the Four Churches¡ªpreviously Five a long time ago. One of them talked about the reappearance of a genuine braver preceding the return of the Goddess of Bravery that would lead Iris into a New Age. After witnessing countless blood baths, Segolene had hoped for that day toe. Thus, far from the battlefield, watching from the mountaintop, her eyes sparkled with delight. "That''s¡­ aura of bravery, isn''t it? But it seems so different from the others I''ve seen. It''s so bright and so warm, like a mother''s embrace. Is that¡­ the real skill? Ha, haha. Although you are ugly for lying, ck challenger..., right now, your cuteness overshadows the lie." On the bridge, confused, the Goliath took four rapid steps back while shielding itself from the golden light. Behind it, the flood of berserkers vanished as if it were but a bad dream, leaving only around fifty corrupted humans that looked¡­ unwell. Berserkers were kneeling on the stone bridge, holding their heads as if they were keeping them from falling apart. "No¡­, no, no! That''s a lie! A lie!" The Goliath lost its previous fearlessposure, feeling an emotion he previously thought was impossible. "My Khan, let me send this disgusting thing itchkack itself," Krugan said, getting to his feet as a gentle light coated his body. Aito gently shook his head and looked up. The timer atop Krugan''s head was 40 seconds. "Don''t. That ugly-ass thing isn''t an opponent you can handle. I''ll deal with it." "Lier! An utter lie!" Grey energy akin to formless metal covered the fearmonger''s four muscr arms, "For this lie, I will not allow you to join our ranks like the others. Death will be your penance." ''The others? Were challengers turned into berserkers?'' Aito thought, coating his ax with durability. [Stop rising questions with obvious answers and focus! This isn''t an opponent you can underestimate!] Valinar berated him. The Goliath''s stomped the ground and charged in his direction. Aito sent three consecutive air strikes with Cleave. Surprisingly, the fearmonger''s arms deflected the air des one by one. ''So that grey matter is acting like Durability, huh? Good to know,'' Aito thought, dashing to meet his opponent head-on. He dodged a powerful fist strike at thest moment and counterattacked with an ax sh. The fearmonger immediately blocked it with one of its arms and soon regretted its choice when it realized how powerful the blow was. It immediately used a second arm that finally stopped Aito''s attack. ''This thing is level 3, though, nowhere near the Khan''s level. Its strength and speed are almostparable to mine. But it''s clouded by rage. Without its Fear, this thing is nothing but a big lump of flesh,'' Aito thought, taking notice of the small wound that appeared where his strike hadnded. It had not really fought anyone and used the Fear to bring challengers to their knees, resulting in a poor fighting experience. Realizing it was hurt, the fearmonger who was no longer used to pain after so many years got furious, "You puny thing dare hurt me? Die! Die!" It brought down its four huge fists like a hammer, shattering the stone floor, sending shards of frozen blood, pebbles, and snow flying all around, creating a cloud of white mist. With the gusts of wind, the cloud quickly receded, revealing Aito unscathed, not far from the small crater created by the humongous beast. Staring straight at it, he waved for the Goliath toe at him using a provocative gesture. Crazed, the creature took the bait and charged madly at its target, only to be severely disappointed. The Goliath''s fists passed through Aito who vanished like the mist upon contact. Realizing something was wrong, it turned around, looking for its prey. Toote. An ax vibrating with yellow and transparent energy was already heading his way. ¡ªActive skill: Durability¡ª ¡ªActive skill: Cleave¡ª BAM! A powerful ax strike sliced off two arms, spraying purple-blue liquid on the bridge that had already turned all purple because of berserker blood. "ARG! Fearlord''s curse upon you, challenger!" Krugan who was patiently waiting, paid close attention to the fight of his Khan, nodding in admiration despite the cold. His Khan had taken advantage of the timely "smoke bomb" to pass by his enemy undetected, leaving some sort of illusion behind to trick it into thinking he was still standing there. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Aito had struck a powerful blow to amputate his enemy of one of its weapons, at least, that''s what he thought. He couldn''t wait to see how the fight would end. Unfortunately for him, the time was up. WOOSH! Too absorbed by their fight, both human and fearmonger did not notice when the orc vanished in a portal. "What are you doing? Attack him, you useless pieces of corrupted meat!" The Goliath ordered the berserkers. However, they were tumbling around. "This doesn''t make sense. Unless it is¡­ the Inheritor of Bravery, berserkers shouldn''t react this way. You¡­no, this isn''t real. You cannot be real. No¡­, bravers are dead! All dead!" The creature charged at him with its remaining two fists. Aito dodged, sidestepped, aimed for the spot at shoulder lever uncoated with the fearmonger''s strange grey energy, and hacked with all his might. SLASH! A roar of pain echoed in the mountains when the Goliath lost yet another arm. Furious, its second mouth on its torso opened wide, tripling in size, creating a powerful suction force that moved everything in a five-meter radius towards it. "I cannot let you leave this ce! Die and be forgotten like the rest of them!" Snow and peddles entered its mouth to disappear into the void, recing its stomach. Aito clutched the ground, forcing his fingers into the stone to create a handle. Looking all around him, he searched for a way out of this ridiculous situation. No matter how he looked at it, the suction force was too great. If Aito let go, he would risk getting absorbed in that seemingly bottomless stomach. At that moment, his ax vibrated strongly in his hand, ''Launch me.'' ''Uruk? You awake?'' [Go back to sleep, Destroyer.] ''Shut up, dead goddess. Human warrior,unch me, now! We''ll talkter!'' ''I see,'' Aito said, understanding what the Kh¨¹l meant as he aimed for the fearmonger''s mouth, more by habit than by actual need, "have a taste of Uruk!" ''Why would you¡ª'' Uruk''s voice was cut out when Aito hurled Soulcleaver. Drawn by the suction force, the ax rapidly flew into the Goliath''s mouth and to wherever it led. Soon after, the fearmonger suddenly closed its second mouth. "What did you¡ª" it stumbled to its feet and trembled uncontrobly. Its head dropped to the ground and its second mouth opened wide to let go of everything it had sucked in before. ''Hum, it really seems like I''m the only one who can touch Soulcleaver.'' He had already realized that with a few berserkers that had tried to catch his ax before. They had all ended up dead after only a second or two. His guess was, apart from the owner, Soulcleaver would eat the soul or anyone that dared touch it. As for why that had not happened to him the first time, it was probably because the Kh¨¹l was outside the weapon at that moment. Aito grabbed to the side. Soulcleaver burst out from the fearmonger''s stomach, whirled in the air, and finished its course in his hand. ''Urg,'' heined mentally, seeing bits of guts and blood on the handle. ''You should have a look at what was inside¡­,'' Uruk said. [You should stop intruding on other''s matters, parasite.] Aito sighed as he killed the remaining berserkers. It seemed that, thanks to Aura of Bravery, they opposed almost no resistance when he hacked them one by one. That was something new. Suddenly, notifications of achievements popped up in front of him. It should have been a moment of joy, albeit for the fact that... ''I should kill you for what your kind has done to me!?'' [Ha? Like you can remember what we''ve done to you!] ''Look at who''s talking!? I bet you can''t even remember what happened yourself!?'' [Bastard¡­] ''That''s what I thought.'' "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Aito roared, unable to contain his rage anymore. He pointed at Valinar''s notification window, "You floating window, stop popping up so that I can actually read through the achievement I just got! You, the voice in my head. If the next thing thates out of your mental mouth isn''t an exnation for why you''re not your usual evil self, I will dump you in the chasm to shut you up! Am I clear?" [¡­] ''Sorry for this unsightly behavior,'' Uruk said.. ''As for how I woke up¡­, I think it''s rted to your skill.'' Chapter 199 - More Than A Skill, A Weapon. ''When you used this golden aura,'' Uruk exined, ''I sensed the darkness covering my soul recede. Your aura chased away the madness that corrupts my soul.'' ''How can this be possible?'' Aito mentally, ''Aura of Bravery isn''t supposed to work like that.'' [Yes it is,] Valinar joined the conversation, [Aura of Bravery is more than just a mere skill, Aito. It''s the exact opposite of the Fear. It''s a weapon that''s been wielded by bravers to kill fearmongers. Those filthy creatures fear it. Didn''t you see how they reacted? Each time you fought a fearmonger, they lost theirposure. Partly because they think themselves invincible by using the Fear.] Now that Valinar said that, Aito thought back on his two asional encounters with fearmongers. Both of them had feared him greatly. However, that did not exin why the berserkers had reacted this way and why Uruk was awake. [That''s because there are various uses to it the System has probably forgotten. For instance, no illusion skills can deceive the aura as long as it is at the adequate level to counter it. Well, that one you know of.] [Aura of Bravery can also soothe the mind of those you consider allies or inspire them or clear them of any kind of corruption. That''s why berserkers, who are corrupted humans, suffer from your light, because only under the influence of your aura is their human side capable to fight the corruption rooted in them.] [That''s also why the Destroyer''s madness was cleared. But it is temporary. Your aura isn''t strong enough to heal his madness entirely. Only when your skill reaches a certain level will you be able to eliminate such strong corruption and maybe even turn back berserkers into humans.] ''Hum, I hate to agree with her, but yes, that indeed makes sense,'' Uruk said. ''In any case, I''m d I can be myself for even a moment and enjoy the thrill of battle at your side, human warrior.'' [*shake heads* As expected of the Destroyer¡­ a battle addict.] Aito ignored Valinar''sment and yed with his ck beard while staring at the distant nothingness. Fearmongers, he had barely thought about them before since he had other priorities, but today, he was reminded of what truly awaited him out there. A never-ending war against a species whose true motives were unknown to him. All he knew was that they might stand in his way. ''Another problem added to my list already full of issues I do not have the necessary power to currently deal with,'' he thought, forgetting about Valinar and Uruk''s presence. ''Does it usually take so much effort to find redemption or am I that unlucky?'' He sighed heavily and deactivated Aura of Bravery that was veraciously eating away at his mana and soul power reserves. ''It''s been a short but fun ride, human warrior,'' Uruk said, his voice progressively fading. ''Let''s do this again sometime soon. I''m always eager for more action.'' ''Sure,'' Aito replied, thinking back on the fearmongers that awaited him on the 9th and 10th floor, ''might be sooner than you think.'' ''Ha, interesting,'' Uruk''s voice suddenly fell silent, only to be reced by Soulcleaver''s usual whispers. ''Kill.'' Aito rolled his eyes and threw away the weapon that lodged itself in a berserker''s corpse. Tired, he sat on the frozen floor, leaning on a pile of dead bodies, using them as cushions. It was surprising howfy berserkers were, or was it the cold? Segolene appeared out of nowhere with a beaming smile. Currently, Aito was too exhausted to even care about her weird tendencies and just wanted to be left alone to rest. "Congrattions, cutie! I can''t believe you made it!" She eximed, obviously unaffected by the environment. "That aside, you know that lying is very, very, very bad!" A vein bulged on Aito''s face. He knew what she wanted to say, but hated herck of manners. Exhausted andpletely out of stamina, his patience had reached its limits. "Listen here, Segolene," Aito said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "I''ve fought waves after waves of berserkers and barely got any sleep in between. I''m injured and exhausted. All I need and want right now is some rest. So whatever it is you want to talk about, can we do it afterward, please?" Segolene wanted to oppose but after taking a look at Aito''s current state, she refrained from being too pushy. He was bruised everywhere. His skin was pale blue, probably frostbite. His armor set was dented in a lot of ces. Moreover, his eyes looked extremely fatigued, as if burdened by the weight of a mountain. How could she be pushy to someone who looked so tired and had just done the impossible? "Sorry. Yes, of course. I''ll leave you to rest," she said, waving her hand to summon a small shack that shielded Aito from the freezing wind. Aito sighed heavily and smiled at the kind attention. Certainly, Segolene wasn''t a bad person, just a little too over-enthusiastic. ''Anyway, let''s take a look at the achievements while I rest a bit. I can''t tarry here for too long,'' he thought. After what he had seen on this floor, Aito knew a single Goliath could spell the doom of hisrades that were on the 9th floor. However, he couldn''t simply rush straight into the devil''s den when he barely had the strength to walk. Notification windows that have been waiting for his approval finally opened to reveal his hard-earned rewards. _____ [Congrattions! You have achieved two new feats never before seen!] Achievements: 1) Surviving the Flood on your own. 2) Killing the 8th floor''s Goliath on your own. Rewards: - Frost Resistance Lv 2 (Increases resistance against the frost element as well as low-level temperatures.) - Goliath''s Appetite Lv 3 (The host can eat and store more food than humanly possible. All food stored will be converted into energy that will automatically be used to restore stamina and/or stop thirst and hunger.) - System Update: Knowledge about Goliaths and their weaknesses. - System Right: Summon fire camp. (Summon a fire camp that willst for twelve hours. PS: Your monkey friend is alive. I hope you like the gift. Let''s meet up soon, ckie ;) ) - 2 Skill Points to allocate freely - 2 Stat Points to allocate freely (Cannot be used on the Destiny stat) - 40000 Glory Points - 400000 Tutorial Points _____ Aito''s eyes were glued to the System message attached to his new System Right. He frowned as he contained his boiling anger. Only one person capable of using the system this way would call him ckie. Only one. ''Belmand.... bastard. So he heard and saw everything I did until now,'' Aitoined internally. ''Well, at least he doesn''t bring bad news. Still¡­ why does it seem like he is pulling a prank on me with this System right?'' Despite hisint, he used it right away to summon a fire camp and warm himself up. He dug a quick hole to let the smoke out of the shack and sat back on the cold floor that didn''t seem so cold any longer. His new skill, Frost Resistance, was very useful at the moment. However, despite this, he still had frostbite and, since his body had lost a lot of heat recently, it was normal if his new passive skill didn''t work as intended. The fire camp kindly provided by Belmand did the trick, though. During the next few minutes, he used hisst recovery beads to heal himself faster and absorbed a few soul cores to replenish a quarter of his soul and mana reserves, then repeatedly used Pneuma to further increase his recovery. Segolene came in with her usual beaming smile but did not bother him this time. She silently dropped fifteen bags filled to the brim with soul cores. Five of those were the ones Aito had left back on his teau. But when the avnche had struck, they were lost under the snow and in the chasm. She stretched her hand, putting a soul core in his palm, the Goliath''s soul core. "Thank you... Segolene." "You wee, cutie." There was a short silence as both stared into the fire. Despite noticing the obvious warmth that had not been inside the shack before, the moderator did notment on it. "About what you said earlier. I''m sorry to tell you this, but I''m not a liar," Aito broke the silence. "You previously talked about the one who will end this war. I''m not that person, Segolene. I might share simrities with whatever idea you have of that person. I won''t deny that, however, don''t get your hopes up." He already had enough burdens on my shoulders right now. The truth was, he did not want to take responsibility for others'' burdens. "I see," Segolene said with a saddened tone. "I see now you''re not that person. That person is depicted as courageous, and the incarnation of bravery. Although you are a brave person, you are far from being bravery itself. It''s my fault if I got my hopes up. But I''m certain of one thing, you are a genuine braver. Aren''t you, ck challenger?" Aito sighed heavily, "No." "Hum, you truly are a tough nut to crack, aren''t you? Very well, if you want to keep it hidden for now, I won''t tell anyone. This will be our little secret," Segolene said, winking before she got on her feet. "Say my name when you''re ready to leave. I''ll be waiting around since I suppose you won''t take long to prepare." With those words, she vanished. During the next hour, Aito took his time to digest as many cores as possible, then ate one week''s worth of food kindly prepared by the orcs. His stomach was full, mana and soul power replenished and staminapletely recovered. Moreover, with the soul cores he had digested and, after having pushed himself to the limits, his stamina stat went up to level 4. The most surprising result was Pneuma, which leveled up. It now helped recover a moderate amount of stamina and health. Aito readied himself, carrying eleven bags filled with soul cores in his hand, and headed for the 9th floor. Chapter 200 - The 9th Floor Aito stepped out of an ethereal portal to enter a long corridor. The walls were built with stones, medieval style. The surroundings were light by torches with blue mes emanating a cold glow. ''So... this is thebyrinth.'' Segolene had briefly talked to him about the 9th floor. Like in everybyrinth, the goal was to reach the exit, which was a portal to the next floor, apparently located at the center. ''Now the question is, where is the center?'' Gwen''s knowledge was nk. It could not help him on the Top Floors. So he had toe up with a way to find the correct path to the center. ''Well, first things first. Let''s take a look at the surrounding corridors.'' Aito dropped his ax, thinking he could call it whenever he wanted, lifted the bags he had brought with him, and headed for the closest turn. With so many bags on his back and his bushy beard, he couldn''t help himself but think he looked like Santa us, which in a sense was true since those soul cores were for his teammates. ''Please be well.'' He turned left. The corridor looked exactly the same. Light with blue torches, long and gloomy. His steps echoed in the surroundings as he walked the hazardous path. There was no trap, no enemy, only a tensed silence. ''Shit, a dead-end.'' Aito turned around and was ready to take the same road back. However, he noticed something wasn''t quite right. He had previously taken a left turn, so on his way back to his original location, he should have taken right. ''So why is it a left turn now? Something smells fishy here. Don''t tell me the paths are constantly changing.'' Taking out a few soul cores, he used them to mark his way forward by dropping them on the floor¡ªhe had more than a few to spare, anyway. After taking two turns, he tried to walk back. Not only did the path change, but his soul cores had disappeared. ''Damn it. *Sigh* how am I supposed to find them when I can''t even find my own way?'' he frowned, his anxiety and impatience rising. ''I already don''t like this ce.'' Looking up, Aito only saw darkness. Darkness was the ceiling. The tall walls went on and on. He could see no end to them. There was no way above thebyrinth. He had to follow the normal paths. Pondering his options, he decided to try something that would never work, but better than nothing. He called for his friends. "She!" "Ogoro!" "George!" His voice rebounded on the walls, going far into the corridors until they were drowned by the silence. No response came. ''Damn it¡­, this feels like it''s gonna take me an eternity to find my way out. Finding someone who also moves around in this ce is close to hopeless. Any idea, Valinar?'' [Oh.] ''Oh?'' [Sorry, I was surprised. It''s the first time youe to me for counsel without prior talk between us.] ''Hum, yeah I guess. True. Is that a bad thing?'' [No, on the contrary. I like it.] ''Ha, look at you falling for me. Sorry, I''m not into goddesses. Also, did you think about Belmand? Even though the poor bastard deserves infidelity, you can''t just outright divorce him for a man you''ve met three months ago!'' [Stop spouting nonsense or I won''t tell you how to get out of here!] Aito smirked, his anxiety and anger decreasing thanks to teasing the goddess. ''Fine, fine. Sorry. So how do I find my way out of this mess?'' There was a short pause before the goddess answered, [I don''t remember.] ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ''Useless goddess.'' [How dare you talk to me like¡ª] she started stepping sounds interrupted her, [there is something nearby.] ''I know.'' Aito cocked his head behind him. There a berserker was looking down on him like it would a prey. It roared, trying to intimidate its opponent, then charged like a raging bull. Aito calmly dropped the bags on his back to free one of his hands, coated his gauntlet with Durability, and waited. The berserker brought its fist down on the puny human. However, Aito stepped sideways at thest moment, dodging the blow, and counterattacked with a vicious uppercut. The power was such that the poor creature''s feet lifted off the ground. Aito grabbed its foot on the fly and smashed the berserker on the nearbybyrinth''s wall. Still holding the creature''s foot, he noticed that the wall was still intact. He had always managed to fissure or just create small cracks in stone. So howe this time was different? ''Hum, something''s not right about this stone.'' With his goblin knowledge, he knew a real stone would have cracked with the strength he had put behind this particr blow. ''Let''s check it out just in case I''m wrong.'' The berserker lifted its head with difficulty, just in time to see its surroundings change in a sh. An immense pain seize it when Aito smashed it once more against the wall. Thinking it was not enough, he repeatedly used the berserker''s body as a scientific tool to verify his hypothesis. BAM! BAM! BAM! A puddle of purple blood with mashed berserker meat covered the stone wall that remained unaffected by the previous impacts. Aito got on his knees, removed his gauntlet, and touched the bloody floor to get a better feel. ''Hum, I see.'' [What do you see?] ''An annoying notification window.'' [Not funny!] ''Haha. Fine, fine. There is something about the floor that doesn''t feel right.'' He charged up his skills on his other gauntlet, stood up, and punched a nearby wall with half his strength. BOOM! Fissures immediately appeared, forming a spider web crack around the point of impact. Intrigued, he deployed his shield ainium side. The mechanism clicked a few times, refusing to deploy correctly. ''Tsk, the orcs did warn that could happen. Still, it''s frustrating.'' He used the good old-fashioned almighty repair-all technique and smacked the shield a few times. Finally, it obeyed hismand and deployed ainium side. Aito walked alongside the wall, brushing the structure with his shield as if looking for something. At some point, the shield reacted violently, projecting a shockwave frontward. Simultaneously, the wall vanished from thin air, revealing another corridor. ''Illusionary walls. Correction, realistic illusionary walls.'' [So, you got an answer on how to leave this ce?] ''Not really, but that''s a start. I first need to confirm something about those illusions before drawing any conclusion.'' Aito started walking around with his shield and bags, banging walls to remove the illusions. A few minutester, he tried to walk back from where he came from, taking the exact same path where he had left a few soul cores like a trail of bread crumbs, a technique he had taken from a certain fairytale. As expected, an illusionary wall blocked his path. After removing it, he reached the exact same spot where he had started, then turned back, repeating the same process. On his way back, no illusionary walls blocked his path this time. It seemed that once they were removed, the walls wouldn''t reappear. Another important detail was that real walls were mixed in the lot. [What are you doing?] Valinar asked, seeing him reaching to the side. ''You know, I really hatebyrinths or anything that mess with my mind. Although my memory got somehow better thanks to the level-ups or the Body stat, it isn''t perfect yet. So remembering every single path is a no, no. ''I could, of course, mark the paths by carving walls or leaving soul cores behind, but that would be a waste of time and cores. I would have to walk back once I meet a dead end. Therefore, it won''t guarantee me I''m in the right direction since the paths could lead elsewhere, except at the center. It''s also worth noting that I don''t know where I am precisely in thebyrinth and therefore know where the center is. Even if I stick to one direction, with no point of reference orpass, I could end up northward or southward.'' [I don''t follow.] Loud noises of walls crumbling echoed in the surroundings as Aito exined his thoughts. ''What I mean is, taking theplex option and testing all the paths could take days even if I remove the illusions one by one. It was probably meant to take days to clear, anyway. Once you know there are illusions, it''s not thatplicated to find the path. It only takes time. The walls are more resilient than normal, probably hard if not impossible to destroy for normal challengers. So, unless desperate, no one would try to destroy them since it''d take too much effort. After all, berserkers roam thebyrinth.'' [And? Still don''t get it.] ''Well, it''s quite simple, really. I''m no normal challenger. I''m in a hurry, and thisbyrinth pisses me off.'' BOOM! Soulcleaver pierced through a nearby wall and settled itself in Aito''s open palm. ''So instead of losing myself back and forth, I''ll destroy everything until I find the people I''m looking for.'' [That''s... brainless logic.] ''If you have a better idea, then spell it out. I''m all ears.'' [...] ''That''s what I thought.'' ***** Lore: "Many lost themselves on the 9th floor in the past. It isn''t a particrly difficult trial when one took the time to explore and understand it. In the past, it had been even easier with bravers who could remove illusions. Now, although more difficult, the only real challenge is not the berserkers, nor the patience required to find the way out, but the thing roaming thebyrinth." Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, the Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 201 - Labyrinth Of Madness (part 1) She leaned on a sturdybyrinth wall to support herself. Weakened by hunger, constant berserker assault, the anxiety of being trapped, and other emotional factors, she could barely stand on her own. Even so, she forced herself to remain on her feet. "We need to take a break," Ogoro said, grabbing Lucius''s shoulder. "We can''t go on like this." Lucius pushed his hand away. "No, we must continue. Our only hope to survive is to find the exit." As the strongest challenger amongst them, Lucius has been named the de facto leader. They had all seen what he was capable of on the 7th and 8th floor. Without his tactics and powers, it could be said they would have had a harder time clearing the quest. "Just look at us," Ogoro motioned towards the other challengers. They all looked famished and battered. Their wills, once strong, were now feeble. "We''ve been walking around for six days. SIX days and we barely took breaks. Our food reserve is empty because most of our supplies were left on the 6th floor. We might be stronger than normal humans, but we still have the same needs. Let''s take a break, save our energy and think things through by using the map George drew." Lucius clicked his tongue, gazed at She having difficulty moving, then shifted back his attention to Ogoro. "Of course you want us to take a break. Your sister can''t take it anymore. If that is so, just carry her on your back." With the frustration of being trapped in thisbyrinth, everyone had tensed nerves. They''ve been at it for days without finding a clue as to where the exit was. They still had their magic water bottles that refilled themselves, but without food and berserkers to fight, they were bound to reach their limits at some point. "What do you even want to use that map for?" Lucius continued, "It''spletely inurate! The paths continuously shift. There is no point mapping the paths if there is no path!" Sensing her husband wasn''t right in his mind, Elizabeth delicately ced her hand on his shoulder. "Honey, we''re all exhausted, even you can''t continue for much longer. Let''s take a break. You''ll feel better afterward." "Damn woman!" Lucius shoved her hand away. "You''re supposed to be my wife! So why are you taking that bastard''s side!? If you can''t do something as simple as being my ally, then you''re useless like the rest of them!" Lucius''s appearance greatly differed from his previous dignified self. His pepper and salt hair were all over the ce. His eyes were filled with emptiness, madness. Elizabeth''s face turned grim. Since their revival, she noticed that her husband had changed. She had tried to support him the best she could, believing he woulde back to how he once was, but that time never came. "You two!" He pointed at Sam and Roisin, "You''ve been following us until now, but all I heard isints and bullshit about your despicable little sect! You baldie are the worst. Yapping about your stupid daughter and other nonsense at all times. She is dead! There is no way she''s in Iris! Face it!" Sam straightened up, gripping his sword, "Insult my sweetheart once more and I''ll cut your tongue then shove it down your throat!" Roisin quickly seized the baldie, who was about to jump at Lucius''s throat, preventing him from doing something stupid. Meanwhile, Lucius continued to sow the seeds of discord. "Only the truth hurts! You know she is dead. So why bother looking for her? Even if she had been resurrected, do you think your daughter would be able to survive the trials? Seeing as her dad is a useless piece of shit, there is no way the daughter is better!" "I''ll kill you!" Unable to restrain him, Roisin was forced to let go of Sam. The baldieunched himself at Lucius''s throat but before he could reach him, a firewall rose between the two. "What are you doing!?" Roisin asked, "Do you want to do the berserker''s work for them!? You fucking morons. That''s why men are no good! Only talking with their muscles and when they say something, only bullshites out of their mouths. Albeit the sect master, other men are just idiots." Sam turned angrily towards his fellow sect member, "Unfold that thing now! Let me kill the bastard!" "Shut up baldie. There is no reason to be that mad at him. He did not insult the sect master anyway. So it''s fine," Roisin replied. "He insulted someone dearer to me than even the sect master. I cannot let this go." While both sect managers were talking things out, Elizabeth was trying to reason with Lucius, "Honey, please stop. It''s unlike you to¡ª" However, he followed through with his madness. "You three," he pointed at George, She, and Ogoro, "If there is a reason why weck the food to survive here, it''s your fault! If you hadn''t pushed us to wait for that prick, we would have had enough food to survive thebyrinth and reach the 10th floor days ago! But no, you insisted we keep on waiting for someone who''s probably died already!" She clenched her teeth, "How dare you say such nonsense after my brother saved your pathetic life?" "Ha, using that excuse again. I would have survived! With or without the help of a battle surgeon! And don''t talk to me about that dead bastard and his sacrifice in the coliseum. That was just pointless bravado." "He is not dead!" She eximed. "You''ve heard the moderator. He survived, and he ising!" "Coming my ass! He certainly died trying to clear the Flood on his own! You cannot deny it. It''s been six days. If he were alive, he would have reached us by now. Barf, even if I tell you that, you''ll just try to w the ground again. Pathetic. Hahaha!" Luciusughed like a madman full of himself. Elizabeth, who was just next to him, couldn''t hold herself anymore. Before She, George or anyone else pounced on him, she pped her husband with all her strength. The noise resounded in the corridor and was progressively reced by a deathly silence. "Why are you acting like this?" Elizabeth said, on the verge of tears. "It''s not like you. The man I married was kind, affectionate, passionate. The man I married would never push the me for his own powerlessness onto others." "That man was powerless!" Lucius retorted. "No, he was the strongest person I knew." Elizabeth shook her head, "Just look at you now, a man capable of bending lightning and wind to his will. A man capable of wielding a spear like no other challengers. And yet, you are lesser now than you have ever been." At those words, Lucius looked down. Silence fell on the challengers for a moment until a terrible sound interrupted it. SLAP! Furious, Lucius''s struck her wife violently, throwing her towards a wall. Marta, the only surviving archer of Lucius''s team, caught Elizabeth before she could hurt herself, then eyed her leader with a gaze full of disappointment. "The man you married died," Lucius retorted, "he was powerless! He was pathetic! He was weak, just like you! You who were too weak to live without him! You who chose suicide over life! If you can''t even take my side, then you''re of no use to me. Amongst all those trash, you are the most useless!" While hesitating between giving the man a good beating and giving the man a good beating, Ogoro felt slight tremors. Intrigued, he removed his gauntlet and activated his gift to touch the ground. Meanwhile, George frowned deeply, staring down at Lucius with obvious disgust. He has been forcing himself to stay calm until now because infighting would do no good to anyone but the monsters roaming thebyrinth. "I''ve had enough," he said, gripping his club tight. "I''m gonna kick your ass so hard it''ll hammer the notion of respect from your rear to your tiny brain!" Sparks of electricity appeared on top of Lucius''s hands. "Oh, are you that tired of your second life? Thene, let me guide you towards the next!" "Raaa!" "Wuaah!" Before they could fight, Ogoro wrapped George in steel wires and pulled. Weakened and taken by surprise, George could barely resist as he fell to the floor, feeling electricity brush past him. "Save it forter! Something''sing!" Ogoro said, releasing his wires. "Prepare for battle!" "Who gave you the right to lead!?" Lucius objected. At that moment, the air suddenly turned cold as the tremors grew louder with each passing second. The air was suffocating. They could barely breathe. The challengers'' bodies felt heavy, pressuring them to their knees. ***** Lore: "Some call the 9th Floor the Labyrinth of Madness for if you could not find the exit you would inevitably turn mad. Although, unbeknownst to the challengers, it wasn''t entirely their fault. Something gnawed at their sanity little by little, which in the end¡­" Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 202 - Labyrinth Of Madness (part 2) Something came out of thebyrinth''s darkness. Something most of them had only recently heard about from the moderator. Something... dreadful. A Goliath emerged from one of the nearby corridors. The floor trembled under its feat. Lucius lifted his eyes to look at the monstrosity measuring a bit more than 3 meters tall, particrly staring at the mouth riddled with square teeth on its broad torso. The monster sniffed the emotions that came out of the challenges like a hellhound, reveling in their fear. Its toothy first mouth on its head smiled with delight. "Six days and you''ve finally gone mad. How marvelous. It''s been such a long time since I had this much fun following a group of challengers until they turn against themselves." It took another deep breath, sighing with joy, "Ah¡­ yes." Every challengers'' body was slightly shaking as the Fear invaded their mind and soul like a virus. "Yes¡­ this it. This feeling is the best." Unable to deactivate his gift under the Fear, Ogoro could feel much more than the others, the vibrations pressed against his palms like ocean waves, bing increasingly more aggressive as the Goliath approached them. He had barely been able to believe what Aito had told them back on the 5th floor. After all, monsters who feed on the fear of people had never existed on Earth. Even here, in this world of sword and magic, he had had difficulty believing such monsters truly existed, although he had already seen berserkers. And yet, here it was, walking like it reigned supreme on every living being. And here he was, kneeling as if the fearmonger was his lord. Ogoro felt the tremors stop, and the Goliath halted its steps in front of the nearest human. A woman with short hair, part of Lucius''s team, Marta. "Let''s start with you. Yes, you''re cooked just as I like it. Medium rare," It grabbed her, more for show than necessity. Marta could barely move. She stood still, trembling in its huge four hands gripping each of her limbs. Urine trickled down her leather armor to the Goliath''s greatest pleasure. To it, this was akin to the cherry on top of the cake. At first, nothing seemed to happen when the eyeless monster stared intently at Marta. Soon after, every challenger felt the pressure keeping them down slightly lighten as Marta''s body, who has already been trembling, shook uncontrobly. Her eyes turned entirely grey. Her body bubbled from the inside while it underwent horrifying changes. The pain was such that she screamed her lungs out until she tore her vocal cords. Her voice still resonated in the surroundings when her skin turned grey, her arms bulked up and hair fell onto the cold floor. A new berserker was born. It roared, announcing its birth and presence in this world. "Fearlord blesses you, youngling," the Goliath said, releasing the newborn berserker. "Remain still as I continue feeding." Ogoro cursed his own weakness internally as the pressure returned and he sensed the floor trembling, indicating the Goliath moved again to pick another target. It stopped in front of Elizabeth, and this time did not pick her up. It had already shown its strength before, so it wasn''t necessary to be shy this time. They all understood struggling was pointless. Feeling the pressure on him lighten once again, Ogoro knew Elizabeth was about to be changed¡­ to be corrupted. Angry and also scared, Ogoro tried to move. He had to move if he did not want his sister to end up changing into a bald and raging monster. But despite his best effort, only his fingers moved slightly while Elizabeth screamed from fear and pain. That''s when he noticed something, vibrations. The same vibrations he had felt earlier, which made little sense since the Goliath was still corrupting Lucius''s wife, thus remaining still. Now that he thought about it, the Goliath might be heavy but not as heavy as to cause such powerful vibrations that came from another direction. Thanks to the Fear''s pressure being lighter on him, he could feel the difference now. It felt as if someone was destroying... something. The Goliath enjoyed himself to his fullest and Fear consumed other challengers too much for them to notice. Only Ogoro perceived the approaching vibrations thanks to his gift. Despite the Fear, a slight smile grew on his face. "Leave¡­ her¡­ alone," Lucius said in a low voice akin to a whisper as he somehow managed to gather the strength to get on his feet. "Ah, how amusing," the Goliath replied, temporarily stopping the corruption to shift his attention towards Lucius. "You who ridiculed and pped a woman who supported you despite your stupidity during your whole time in thisbyrinth, certainly even outside, have no right to demand this from me. And yet, you are. And yet¡­ you are." "I¡­, I was not myself. You¡­ did this... to me," Lucius replied. "Oooh, human. All I did was give you all a little push by adding a slight amount of Fear to the equation. The rest was anxiety, exhaustion, failure, and mostly what you already had inside. You did this to yourself, to your wife. It was always there, waiting to emerge. "You were always and still despicable, beyond saving. Pushing your weakness onto others while all you had to do was to ept it and move forward. But no, of course, no. You were too stubborn and full of yourself. "Even I, who had observed for only a few days, can tell that much. Just look at the others. Despite having endured the same treatment, they did not crack, at least not before you did. Don''t you understand? "YOU are the weakest amongst them." Lucius looked down, staring at his feet as shame washed over him like an avnche of truth. He was indeed pitiful. Unwilling to relive the powerlessness and boredom he had felt in his previous life, Lucius had let his thirst for power consume him. His wife''s previous sentence resonated inside him, ''Just look at you now, a man capable of bending lightning and wind to his will. A man capable of wielding a spear like no other challengers. And yet, you are lesser now than you have ever been.'' ''I¡­.'' At that moment, something broke inside him. It''s been so long since the Goliath had this much fun! So it needed to prolong it, savor it. Amused by Lucius, the Goliath released its hold on him and the puny man did exactly as it expected. "I AM NOT WEAK!" Lucius dashed towards the fearmonger, spear in hand, without even coating himself in Durability. Both of the creature''s mouths smirked, "No, you''re weak and foolish." "WAAAH!" It effortlessly grabbed Lucius''s spear using one hand, with two others it swat the puny man like the miserable fly he was. BAM! Lucius impacted a real wall that cracked upon hisnding. He coughed up a mouthful of blood due to internal injuries. The lower part of his back was broken. He had no feeling beneath the waist. His toes, knees, even genitals did not respond to his brain''s signals. A few broken ribs pushing inwards threatened to perforate his lungs if he were to but breathe too hastily. "What are you if not weak? Look at what just one of my blows did to you. Broken. Battered. On the verge of death. But don''t worry, you''ll survive long enough to see all the others fall until it is your turn." He clenched his teeth so hard that, like the wall, they cracked. Lucius knew it. He knew it all along. He just never took the time to understand it, ept it, for it required strength he used to have but currentlycked. ''I...'' Reborn into a new world. Granted powers beyond Lucius''s imagination. Bing one of the strongest challengers in the Tower. Having a talent for the lighting and wind element even moderators were jealous of. But in the process, he had lost sight of what truly mattered. "Ah¡­, so you''ve finally realized. How lowly and pitiful you are," the Goliath said. ''I¡­'' Lucius admonished himself silently, his back against the wall, seeking support from an inanimate object since no living being was willing to support him anymore. But he deserved this treatment. He knew it. "I like that face you''re making, human. It suits you and your weakness. Fear your weakness. Fear your pitifulness. Fear yourself because all you ever had will forever be lost. A question for you. Whose fault do you think it is I suddenly appeared, now of all time?" Indeed, why would the creature appear now? "Mine¡­, it''s because of me," Lucius replied. The fearmonger took immense pleasure to twist a knife already deep in the wound. "Yes, yes indeed. Your weakness drew me in. I couldn''t resist it any longer. But¡­ I''ll savor the others slowly and save you forst so that you can see the result of your powerlessness." It shivered in excitement at its own n. Clouded by his guilt, Lucius''s mind blurred into a spiral of self-usation. It was his fault, his guilt, his mistakes. He knew it, felt it deep within his bones. ''I am¡­ weak.'' The Goliath left Lucius in a broken state and didn''t even bother applying Fear on the man. After all, he was already broken beyond repair. What could he do when barely alive? And thus, it shifted its focus back to Elizabeth. Too busy ying with its toy, it did not notice the tiny sparks manifesting above Lucius''s skin. ***** "What pushes a person to fall so low as to forsake everything he had before for power? Most would think it is greed. But I think sticking to this exnation is too simplistic. Is it truly just greed? Would you call greed the desire of a man to create a ce for him and his wife in a new world? In the end, what truly blinded Lucius wasn''t greed but his love that pushed him to seek power beyond anything else to the point forsook everything even¡­ his wife." Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 203 - Luciuss Pride Prompt to take any opportunity given to him to be stronger under the guise of making a ce for him and someone he had forgotten, Lucius was bound to be pitiful. ''Who was it?'' He knew who she was, but his injuries, foggy mind, and pride denied him entry to this knowledge. Pride. After entering the Tower, had first fought for a noble goal, then progressively fought for himself and only himself. Comrades, friends, kept dying around him as he climbed this ursed Tower, source of power and wealth. But as long as he survived, then all was fine. His pride told him that all would be fine because of one of the two things he treasured and prided himself on having. Power. Or so he had thought until now. ''I¡­ hate myself¡­,'' Lucius shuddered, disgusted by his own selfishness and powerlessness he could now see, hear, touch, and even taste in the form of his own blood in his mouth. This illusion of power was now shattered in a thousand pieces that, even with his great pride, were beyond salvage or repair. But from this significant loss came a reminder echoing stronger and stronger in the hazardous halls of his subconsciousness, hinting at something. The small hints became whispers, which in turn, became a voice. A voice he knew was calling and yearning for him despite everything he had done. "AAAHHH!" Elizabeth''s scream echoed in the corridor as the Goliath resumed her corruption. Grey veins appeared on her body, slowly, awe so very slowly changing her into a monstrosity. The fearmonger wanted to take its time, build up the fear and make its next meal even tastier. It prided itself on being an excellent cook after all and knew how to cook them all Medium Rare. Also, it wasn''t every day the Goliath had visitors on the 9th floor. Lucius felt a great familiarity with the voice. It had apanied him all this time in life, death, and even after death. ''Who¡­ is it?'' It had been there for him when it needed it the most. It had made him smile in a world so boring he wished he had never been born into it. It had supported him when he was crawling on the ground when all the other voices kicked him in the guts. That same voice was now crying out of pain, calling for help. Calling for him. And yet, he could not move to see who it was. He was too tired, too broken, too injured, but¡­ that voice was pushing him to move. Throb... Lucius could not see where it came from because his vision was clouded by blood, pain, and fear. However, somehow, he could hear it¡­ he could sense her aura, her soul. Soon he realized he could sense more than just one soul. In a semi-conscious state, on the verge of death, Lucius was able to perceive a new colorless world that was opened to him, in which he could sense the strongest emotions of those surrounding him. The baldie, who, despite the Fear, had one firm hope, probably seeing his daughter again. George had hope. She had hope. Ogoro shared the same, albeit a stronger one, as if he knew something would happen. Unlike him, they had yet to surrender. There was also one person he felt extremely familiar with but couldn''t put a face or name on her. ''Who¡­ is it?'' Unlike the others, she had no hope, but something else, Love. Love for something, or was it someone? Even in that ursed ce, on the verge of being turned into a monstrosity, she clung to her love for... who? Somehow, feeling her strongest emotion was... infectious, like a virus. Lucius''s heart throbbed strongly. One tear trickled down his cheek as the virus of love infected his very being. But all it did was rekindle what was once his. More tears poured out of Lucius''s eyes as the voice grew more familiar, progressively turning into a blurry image until it finally became all clear. ''Eli...,'' was the first name that came to mind. Short for Elizabeth, it had been how Lucius called her before everything went sideways. ''My pride, my joy,'' Lucius''s tightened his fists despite his injuries. His breathing elerated. The broken pieces of ribs inside his chest threatened to pierce his lungs. ''I remember now who all this was for...,'' His broken spine, ribs, and exhaustion would not let him move, but¡­ ''... so even if I must die again¡­'' ¡­ his Pride would not tolerate this. Something throbbed inside Lucius''s chest. It was like a heartbeat, albeit stronger, fiercer,manding powers he had previously sought but was not aware existed within him. His soul pulsed strongly, aligning with his once forgotten desire, love, and pride. ''¡­ I will make this right.'' THROB! Pride temporarily stepped over the Pain as he remembered the first most precious treasure he already had but, in his foolishness, had mistakenly discarded. Unable to move, Lucius instinctively tapped into histent potential. His soul pulsed, forcefully overruling the Pain by manipting the electricity inside him, sending signals to his muscles. ''MOVE!'' Lucius''s soul core pulsed so strongly Ogoro picked up a slight vibration emanating from the warrior mage. Mana and soul power ran down his spine, linking the broken bones with electricity, reestablishing the link between his brain and lower muscles. His arms and legs budged slightly. Unfamiliar with this way of moving his body, Lucius resembled a broken robot, a furious one. "Release her¡­," he said with a voice so weak no one heard him. Electricity floated into his hands, shining yellow, sending sparks charring the nearby walls, causing enough ruckus to attract the Goliath''s attention. "What do you think you''re doing, weak man?" It said with a smirk, applying Fear to Lucius before he could do anything pointless. A heavy pressure fell on Lucius, weakening his already feeble body, but a warm golden aura enveloped him from head to toe. He smiled at the irony of it, sensing through his newly acquired Domain there was another familiar soul nearby, a soul he thought had perished. And yet here it was, helping him. The smirk on the Goliath''s face disappeared when it looked at Lucius first with confusion, then horror. "It cannot be. You are no braver. You''re a failure! A failure! So why¡­ why is this ursed aura here!?" Lucius cared little about this monster''s nonsense. All he wanted was for him to cease his wife''s corruption. "Release my¡­ wife." "Answer me, you filthy human!" Lucius activated the new skill he had received for surviving the Sacred Duel. He had never used it, thinking it was earned through the aplishment of another. However, he knew now it had been just pride. He channeled all his remaining aura into this one attack, pushing his powers beyond their limits, unconsciously doing what Aito had to train for weeks to acquire under Gwen''s guidance. ¡ªActive Skill: Lightning Spear Lv3 (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Hyper Conductivity Lv2 (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Wind de Lv3 (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Compressed Air Lv2 (Overload)¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Wind Wall Lv3 (Overload)¡ª Driven by sorrow, anger, and the fear he might lose the person dearest to him, Lucius stood his ground despite his tattered state and unfamiliar feeling of electricity coursing through his spine. In his hand was a spear of pure electricity emitting sounds akin to a thousand birds'' cries. Its sparks hit random areas, some evennding on his own body, charring the already damaged flesh. At the tip of the spear was an almost invisible de entirely made of wind. On the butt, gusts of winds¡ªthat were originally a wind wall¡ªwere beingpressed, getting ready to propel the ridiculously powerful projectile. The Goliath took a step back, interrupting his corruption. Knowing that skill would be too fast to dodge, it braced itself, cing its four arms on the front. "RELEASE MY ELI YOU BASTARD!" A deafening thunderp broke out as Lucius hurled his Enhanced Lightning Spear, releasing the trapped wind that fueled his weapon''s flight, propelling it at a speed so fast even a Lv 4 Awakened would find it difficult to dodge. BOOM! It struck the Goliath''s defenses head-on, propelling the monster backward who clenched both mouths'' teeth upon impact. Lightning charred its bulging muscles, face, torso, and legs. The windshed out on its skin, pealing the creature, infiltrating its wounds to cut deeper. The Fear that had seized the challengers receded, freeing them of their invisible prison. Lucius might have praised his strength a little too much before, but those weren''t empty boasts. He was the challenger with the most innate talent when it came to wielding skills, partially due to his gifts. Compared to some who had one, two, or rarely three gifts, he had six of them. ______ Gifts: Wind Runner (Increases affinity to the Wind Element.) Stormblessed (Increases affinity to the Lightning Element.) Specialist (Increases control over mana and soul power and facilitates skill fusions.) Agility Blessed (Permanently Increases Agility by 1.) Mana Blessed (Permanently Increases Mana by 1.) Stamina Blessed (Permanently Increases Stamina by 1.) ______ Lucius rushed to his wife, only to cough up blood. He fell next to her because of his injuries and ack of soul power and mana. Surviving in thebyrinth had taken a toll on everyone. Like the others, he was also running on fumes. Unable to speak, he looked at her with eyes full of tears. The corruption might not have beenplete, but her skin had already turned grey and had weird, bulging purple veins. And yet, she was smiling. "Wee back, honey," Elizabeth whispered. She could read worry in his eyes. The worry she had once seen and felt before everything had changed. "It''s okay. Don''t be afraid. Everything will be fine. Don''t be afraid." Although he couldn''t talk, Lucius knew his wife was right. The Goliath certainly wasn''t dead from that blow, but another monster would soon be here. After all, it takes a monster to kill a monster. ***** "Lucius''s pride and confidence in his powers did note out of nowhere. Reborn with six gifts, as a dual elemental mage and with innate talent, he was akin to those overpowered main characters in Earth''s online novels. Now that Aito has transcended the Challenger Realm, Lucius is, without a doubt, the strongest challenger in the Tower." Extract from "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 204 - Teamwork Lucius''s skill was still active, frying the fearmonger, keeping it so busy it couldn''t properly move thanks to the paralysis property of the lightning element. Not far from the couple, She rapidly got to her feet using her adrenaline. She knew the Goliath wasn''t dead yet. Before it recovered enough to use its abilities, she nocked a projectile, imbued it with her skill Frozen Arrow, then fired. Roisin invoked her fire and ice magic, backing the Goliath into a corner with a wall of fire while sending ice spikes towards the creature. George used his new skill, Water Canon Lv2, and conjured a big round water canon ball. Using his skill Aqua Pressurization, he changed its shape into that of a shell to further enhance its destructive power beforeunching the deadly liquid projectile at his enemy''s throat. Immobilized by the lightning spear and its electric properties, the Goliath braced itself for impact. Hitting it in right in its ugly face, the Water Canon left a nasty injury while covering the monster with water, further enhancing the lightning spear''s power. Ogoro rushed to Lucius and Elizabeth''s side to rapidly examine their injuries. There was nothing he could do for Elizabeth''s corruption so he focused on her husband. He internally cursed when feeling the warrior mage''s internal injuries. ''Damaged organs. Fractured spines and ribs. Charred flesh. This is beyond bad. I must provide surgery as soon as possible, even then I can''t guarantee he''ll live. But with that creature still alive, I won''t have time to do the surgery.'' Ogoro thought, applying his remaining three recovery beads to Lucius. ''This ought to keep him alive long enough until we kill this thing.'' "George! Give me a boast!" Ogoro shouted, dashing at the fearmonger sword in hand. Sam clicked his tongue at the sight of everyone working together while he was doing nothing. He couldn''t let them all take the spotlight, "George! Me too!" The water mage''s ears almost cringed at the balls of this baldie but he nheless used his remaining mana and soul power to conjure two water walls under Ogoro and Sam''s feet, adjusting the angle ordingly. Both men were suddenly propelled at incredible speed towards the fearmonger. Standing on the side, Marta, changed into a mindless berserker, charged at Sam. The baldie met the berserker blow for blow. Meanwhile, having shortened the distance enough for his gauntlet to be effective, Ogorounched five thin wires, wrapping two of the Goliath''s arms, then pulled to decrease its defense. ''Just how strong is that thing?'' Despite pulling with all his strength, he only managed to budge the arm. ''Is the difference so great I can only do this much?'' Sam, who just finished dealing with the berserker, came to his aid. The baldie grabbed Ogoro''s arm and pulled. Finally, the monster''s guard was forced open. It screamed in pain when the lightning spear hit its torso. Despite being from different respective teams and having a few misunderstandings about each other, the group had already fought waves and waves of berserkers together. Although they disliked working together, they knew how to fight as a real team. If a team of level 2 challengers cooperated well enough, even a level 3 creature could fall, otherwise, there wouldn''t be level 3 creatures in the Tower. One should never underestimate teamwork. However, in some cases, teamwork was not enough. Particrly when the entire team was on the brink of exhaustion. George and Roisin fell into a feelless state after using theirst drop of energy. She soon joined them after releasing herst frozen arrow. Moreover, the lightning spear''s power had been mostly used up to prate the fearmonger''s defense. Suddenly, the Goliath''s torso mouth opened wide and gulped Lucius''s skill whole. "You puny little things." The Goliath stood slowly, as it closed its mouth, sparks of electricity buzzing out in between its mrs-like teeth. Its muscles bulged, expanded. Ogoro and Sam clenched their teeth but try as they may, they barely had any power left in them. Ogoro deactivated Durability to save his soul power. Since it was pointless to keep at it, he released the wires that, weakened, threatened to break. "Monster¡­," Sam said as he realized that Lucius''s spear had been gulped by the fearmonger''s torso mouth. "Ha, haha. That thing ate the skill¡­ it ate it! Haha haha¡­ we''re doomed." While Sam was losing his shit, the fearmonger approached slowly. "You should have never opposed me," the Goliath said, its fists coated in grey matter. The creature violently thrashed the shocked Sam against the wall. Despite blocking the blow at thest moment, Sam coughed a mouthful of blood. "I''ll crush every bone in your feeble bodies before corrupting every single of you," the Goliath spat, trying to bring back fear into its preys. Facing the monster alone, Ogoro smirked, for he could sense another monster approaching. "Is that so?" "Madness," the fearmonger said. "Why do you have so much confidence in your eyes?" BANG! A loud noiseing from the wall to its left attracted its attention. BANG! The tremors got louder as the cracks appeared on the stone structure. BANG! "I knew it," Ogoro''s smirk shifted into a genuine smile. "What is this?" The creature asked, confused, spreading its Domain to feel what lied beyond that wall. It was horrified when it discovered a soulparable to its. Although it appeared injured, the soul was definitely strong. It had been too busy having fun to even notice it before. BOOM! Stones flew outwards as a hole in the wall appeared and a shower of dust clouded the creature''s vision shielding itself from the flying debris. A man stepped out of the hole, ax in hand and a gaze filled with extreme fury caused by five days of destroying abyrinth that seemed endless. He had searched for them using his Domain for days now. "Shit¡­ it''s really you, my friend," Ogoro said as relief washed over him. "Been a while," Aito nodded, then his gaze rapidly shifted from one exhausted challenger to another, quickly analyzing the situation while keeping a watchful eye on the thing standing nearby. Every challenger apart from Ogoro was paralyzed. Sam and the others, he cared little about them, but seeing the state of his teammates made him furious. "Ogoro, take care of Lucius''s wounds. I will¡ª" Aito felt a sudden pressure on him, the same one he had felt on the 8th floor. "How dare you ignore me?" The Fearmonger said, applying Fear to the puny human who came uninvited. However¡­ ¡ªActive Skill: Aura of Bravery Lv 2¡ª The area burst alight when a sudden golden aura covered Aito''s body, kicking the Fear''s ass back to where it came from. "How dare you be so rude as to interrupt me?" He replied, steam escaping from his armor set''s gaps. His skin glowed a vibrant red while his strength shot up to level 5. The already injured Goliath unconsciously took a step back. "You¡­ you were the one who helped that failure!" "Yeah, so what?" Aito had previously sensed them with his Domain and more or less figured out what was happening when he sensed the Goliath''s soul. What surprised him the most was Lucius''s newly created Domain and surge of power. Since he hadn''t been able to join immediately due to berserkers attacking him along the way and a few walls to destroy, he had bet on Lucius''s power up to buy time and provided him with a shield against the Fear when he was in range. "You ruined everything! They were almost done cooking, and you came with this ursed¡­ skill. Wait¡­ no, there''s no way another braver¡­ no, no, that''s impossible!" "I''ve already heard that line too many times from your peers," Aito replied, his ax and armor shining yellow, "don''t you ugly bastards have anything else to say?" ¡ªActive Skill: Durability Lv5¡ª ¡ªActive Skill: Cleave Lv2 (coating)¡ª "My peers? You killed others like me?" It coated its arms with grey matter, "Step back! Stay away from me!" ''Bahaha! What a sissy!'' Uruk who was just awakened because of Aito''s skillughed his ass off. ''Coward! He isn''t worthy to even lick my pommel!'' [If you don''t have anything better to say, just shut up. You''re just distracting him.] Valinar said. Aito ignored the orc''sment and focused on the fight. His leg muscles contracted. He applied Impact to his armored shoes, adding more propulsion, then decreased his weight. BOOM! He traveled five meters in but an instant while the solid ground cracked under the pressure of his feet. At thest moment, he added weight to his armor and soul weapon, further enhancing his destructive power. His ax shed the open air, bringing destruction and death with it. The Goliath wanted to dodge but with such a speed it was forced to defend itself. It tried to grab Aito''s weapon with its hands coated in that weird grey matter, thinking it would protect it. Grave mistake. SLASH! The fearmonger screamed in pain when Soulcleaver hacked through its fingers already badly injured by Lucius''s skill. Aito''s skill Cleave added more prative power when used for short-distance fighting. He followed his attack with a side strike, slicing one of the Goliath''s arms. "Stay away from me!" The previously arrogant monster ran away like a wimp wetting itself. Aito clicked his tongue at the cowardice of that thing, then used his ring to create a real illusion. A stone wall appeared in front of the fleeing Goliath, blocking its path. "W, w, wait!" The fearmonger said, trying to strike a bargain. "Is it power you seek? Spare me and I''ll grant you more power than you ever had! I''m certain the Fearlord will even take a liking to you!" Soulcleaver vibrated under the condensed wind beingpressed around its de. Aito hacked the air. The Goliath groaned when one of its wrists was cut deep. "Wait up!" The creature trembled in fear. "How could a creature¡­" SLASH! "¡­ weaker than me¡­" SLASH! "¡­ offer power? You know no shame." SLASH! "AAAHHH!" Today, the fearless Goliath screamed in pain at the face of his worst possible enemy and died a miserable death. Chapter 205 - Too Tired For Class Staring down on the Goliath''s corpse, Aito decapitated its ugly head, checking for a pulse. You never know with those unpredictable things. That one had been a real coward, so it might have feigned death. ''Pulse checked,'' he thought, kicking the disgusting head away like a ser ball. A blue light left the fearmonger''s body as he activated Reaper of Souls, absorbing the level 3 soul core. Since it wasn''t a level 2 soul, it would still need a normal digestion process that would take some time. Aito turned towards the exhausted challengers still lying on the floor, unable to move. She and George physically looked fine, in need of rest more than treatment. He couldn''t care less about Sam and Roisin, but their injuries didn''t seem life-threatening either. As far as he could tell, only two challengers were mortally wounded. Ogoro was sitting next to Lucius, providing surgery after recovering a bit of his mana. Time was of the essence if he wanted to save him. Since he needed extreme focus, Aito didn''t bother him. Elizabeth''s state attracted his attention. Half corrupted, she looked like a weird crossbreed between human and berserker. One nce at the corruption guing her body was enough to know there was nothing modern earthly science or a battle surgeon could do. ''Is there a way we can help her?'' Aito asked Valinar. [Normally, once the corruption starts, there is no way to reverse it. Even the most skilled battle surgeon is no match for a low-level corruption. And the only thing you could do is shorten her suffering by killing her. But maybe, as a genuine braver, you''ll have a chance to remove the corruption. I can''t guarantee it''ll work for certain since your skill is still at level 2, though.] Elizabeth was breathing rapidly, thrice as fast as a normal human. She was groaning from the pain, suffocating under the corruption while grabbing her husband''s hand firmly in hers. Grey bubbles had formed on top of her skin, bulging veins spread from her heads to her feet could be seen pulsing. ''I have to try. Lucius might be a bastard, but his wife doesn''t deserve to die here. Moreover, I owe the bastard for keeping the Goliath''s busy. Because of him, I was able to save the others.'' [Hum, you look a bit more like a true braver with the passing days.] ''I''m only doing this because they''ve helped my team survive. So stop your nonsense and tell me what to do.'' As per Valinar''s instruction, Aito activated Aura of Bravery, basking Elizabeth in soothing golden light. He grabbed her hand, channeling his aura through her body, trying to wash away the corruption. Despite the golden light covering her entire body, nothing happened. At that moment, Uruk woke up from his slumber again. Taking a peek at what was happening outside, he simply stayed silent since there was no action to be done, no people to be killed. ''Why isn''t this working?'' Aito asked. [Either because your skill is too low level or because you''re impatient. Give it time.] Reading Valinar''s reply, Aito thought about the 7 unallocated skill points. He was nning on saving those forter when he would truly need them. For now, he could level up his skills fairly easily, so there was no point in using those skill points at his current level. Aito was thinking of using them much further in the future when leveling up skills would certainly be much harder. Furthermore, his soul might not be able to handle the power of a higher-level skill. So it was better to wait for the right moment. But if using one or two skill points now could save Elizabeth, then¡­ ''Can''t I speed things up if I level up my skill?'' [If it was that simple, I would have rmended it to you. But, Aura of Bravery cannot be leveled up using the current system. It''s a special skill you can level up by only aplishing deeds of bravery. When I was alive, I could help with this issue. Now¡­, only this method remains. Just be patient or kill her now.] Aito frowned. He couldn''t believe there was really nothing he could do but wait. It''s been around two minutes and Elizabeth''s paleposure indicated she was no better than when he had started. ''There is something I want to try.'' [Suit yourself. I can''t stop you.] Aito focused on his soul core, ordering it to provide more power to his skill. The light around his body glowed brighter, slowly heading for Elizabeth''s body. Her rapid breathing appeared to calm down, the grey veins started to recede and the bubbles protruding from her skin slowly decreased in size. ¡ªActive Skill: Aura of Bravery Lv2 (Overload)¡ª After thirty minutes of continuously fighting the corruption while absorbing level 2 soul cores to replenish his energy, Elizabeth''s state stabilized. Her breathing was back to normal, and the bubbles had disappeared. Aito was drenched with sweat. Having used up almost all his energy, he canceled his skill. Although she still had grey skin and veins, Elizabeth was out of Death''s grip for now. [I see. By overloading the skill, you increased the output and hastened the process. I''ve never seen you overload it before. How did you know it would work?] ''I didn''t, I could only hope.'' Aito rose to his feet and felt slightly nauseous. For more than five consecutive days, he had fought waves of berserkers, braved freezing temperatures, destroyed a good chunk of the 9th floor''sbyrinth, looking for hisrades while fighting off roaming corrupted beings, all that while barely taking any rests. Without his recently acquired skill¡ªGoliath''s Gluttony¡ªthat fueled his stamina by using the food stocked up in his stomach in form of energy, and Reaper of Souls that allowed for instantaneous digestion, replenishing his mana and soul power reserve, Aito might have not made it this far. After using Aura of Bravery for so long on someone and seeing his friends were safe and sound, relief washed over him. The umted exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed his stubborn mind that wasn''t willing to rest yet. His body wobbled as he took strenuous steps, only to fall forward. Fortunately, someone grabbed him before he could hit the ground. ''So soft,'' he thought, feeling the warmth of the person holding him, ''sofortable.'' "You''ve scared the shit out of me, you reckless moron," the person said. Aito smiled slightly, recognizing the once cold voice turned pleasant, filled with worries, "I see you still have yet to learn how to say ''thank you'' for saving your ass, She." She trembled slightly at those words, tightening her hold. "It''s because my teacher went missing for some time." "I see. Better start giving you lessons soon then, before you catch any bad habits again," he chuckled. The urge to sleep became more enticing by the passing seconds. "Yes, I''d very much like that." She felt the weight of his body increase as he progressively leaned more on her. "But, before that," Aito said, struggling to keep himself awake, "would you mind watching over the other students for me? I''d like to rest for a short while. Too¡­ tired for a ss." As he slowly fell asleep in herforting embrace, Aito could hear her voice nursing him towards peaceful dreams. "I''ll keep the others safe while you rest," tears trickled down her cheeks as she delicatelyid him on the ground. "Thank you for saving us, again." She removed his helmet, stuffed her cloak into a ball, and settled it under his head to make a cushion. cing a hand on his cheek, she looked at him with all the tenderness in the world. "Thank you foring back to me." ***** Status recap to summarize what Aito has gained until now without taking into ount what he gained during his time alone in thebyrinth. [Aito Walker] [I. General Info] Death: March 20th, 2030 Species: High Human Sex: Male Age: 25 Height: 183cm Weight: 120kg Emotional state: Sleepy [Still Injured Soul] ss: Lv 2.5 Ax Braver Titles: ck Challenger, Father killer, Training addict, Masochist, Goblin yer, Khan. [II. Attributes] 1. Gifts: - Instinct - Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level) - Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious) 2. Skills (7 unallocated skill points): Passive: - Ax Mastery Lv3 - Shield Mastery Lv3 - Marksmanship Lv2 - Poison Resistance Lv1 - Heat Resistance Lv2 - [New!] Frost Resistance Lv2 - [New!] Goliath''s Appetite Lv2 - **One Against Many Lv1** (Unique Skill) Active: - Domain Lv3 - Impact Lv3 - Illusion Lv2 - [Lv Up!] Durability Lv5 - Aura of Bravery Lv2 - Cyclone Lv 2 - Weight Control Lv3 - [Lv Up!] Pneuma Lv4 - [New!] Reaper of Souls Lv2 - [Lv Restored!] Cleave Lv4 [III. Basic stats (7 unallocated basic stat points)] - [Lv Restored!] Strength: Lv4 - [Lv Restored!] Body: Lv4 - [Lv Up!] Stamina: Lv4 - Agility: Lv3 - [Lv Restored!] Mana: Lv4 - Destiny: Lv4 (cannot level up with Glory Points) Chapter 206 - Another Kind Of Bravery Aito woke up after a few hours had passed. He reflexively took a rapid look to evaluate the situation. Ogoro was sound asleep, probably exhausted after giving surgery to Lucius. She stood guard at the end of the corridor, looking out for any potential threat that might disturb the challengers'' rests. Although they did not seem to have recovered entirely, Elizabeth and Lucius''s state appeared to have stabilized properly. Another woman, the baldie''spanion, like She, was watching the other end of the corridor while Sam was resting. The baldie looked like shit. He had a dark eye as if someone had stunned him to shut him up. Understandable. "Hey, boss. Good to see you made it here alive," George said, standing guard next to him. "You guys were a pain in the ass to find in thisbyrinth. Took me five fucking days," Aito replied with a smirk, getting to his feet. "But seeing as you''re alive and kicking, it was worth it." Taking a closer look at hisrade, he realized the water mage might have gotten stronger. He could feel it somehow. "I''ve reached gained a new skill thanks to the 6th floor achievement, and reached the utmost limit of level 2. Gotta need a little help from the gods to proceed forward," George exined when saw Aito sending him quizzical gazes. "We aren''t all capable of going past the challenger level on our own like you, boss." "You''re already doing fine as it is, George," Aito tapped him on the shoulder. "I''d like to know more about what happened to you all but, we have to move soon." "Hum, agreed. But where to? We''ve yet to find a way out. On top of that, we''re hungry and battered. Elizabeth and Lucius are still unconscious. Ogoro barely saved Lucius''s life. However, he didn''t have enough energy to proceed with the rest of the surgery, so that bastard cannot move. Ogoro n on providing surgery again after he wakes up. Moreover, we have two morons whose aim until recently was to take your life. So before moving, we''ve got a few issues to settle. That''s not considering the five or four days left before the Tower closes." "I see. We indeed need to settle a few things before departing," Aito said, heading towards the hole he had previously dug in the wall toe here. "Where are you going, boss? If you go there alone, you''ll lose yourself." George tried to stop him. Aito tapped his shoulder. "Just wait here. I won''t be long this time." He disappeared into the hole, only toe back a few minutester with three bags filled to the brim with soul cores, and gave one of them to George. Curious about the content, George took a look inside. His eyes widened at the sheer amount of soul cores. "Can''t ept this, boss. This is the fruit of yourbor," the water mage pushed the bag into Aito''s arm. "No, take it. They''re all level 2 cores from the 8th floor''s berserkers. I''ve been carrying those around for you all. I used to have eleven of those, but I had to absorb eight of them along the way. Sorry," Aito said. "I wanted to save two for each of you." "If you went to this extent just for us, then¡­. Wait, you said eleven?" George''s notion of big numbers took a real shock. If he saw right, there were about seven hundred soul cores in just one bag, probably more. Which would mean he had killed more than seven thousand of those monstrosities on his own? When they had been on the 7th and 8th floor, they barely took down half of that number than shared benefits between them. It had been profitable and all of them had gotten stronger from it. However, this couldn''tpare to what he was holding. Seven hundred soul cores¡­ and all level 2 at that! "Boss¡­ are you even human?" "Hum, my status window says I''m a High Human so I guess I''m still human. Why the question?" George shook his head. Of course, Aito wasn''t really human anymore. "No, no, nothing. Now I just regret I can''t use this gift," George sighed. "It''s fine. Keep it forter." Aito took out some food from one of his inventory bags. "In the meantime, eat up. I don''t have much left, but this ought to be enough for all of you." George greedily eyed the bread and dried cactus meat, drooling. At the scent of food, Ogoro''s nostrils moved on their own, waking the ex-assassin from his sleep. "Who the fuck has been hiding food all this time?" He suddenly said, jumping to his feet. Aito threw a loaf of bread. Ogoro''s arm sprung like a viper attacking its prey, catching the food mid-flight. "Fank Fo fe food," he said, his mouth stuffed with bread. George devoured the bread. Even though it was a bit hard, it tasted like heaven. Aito left both men to their lunch and walked to She''s location to share the food. When he arrived, her gaze was so glued on the bread she didn''t even take a single nce at him. Apparently, she was also starving. A lot of thoughts fused past his mind as he watched her eating. He had previously taken notice of her feelings for him, but¡­ he could not reciprocate them. Not now, when his mental wounds were barely healing. He cherished therades he made in the Tower and was ready to fight for them if need be. But at the same time, this situation made him ufortable since he knew he would barely be able to handle the guilt if one of them died. After all, they had followed him here. So he considered them his responsibility. And that¡­ could destroy him, eat him from the inside out. Aito instinctively knew this. That''s why he had tried his best to get to them as fast as possible. Although that sounded a bit selfish it was the truth. So how could he let himself love someone when he had difficulty dealing with friendship alone? He had barelye to ept again that other people could be part of his life. If he were to love someone like he loved his family, Aito could very well plunge back into the abyss he hade from if he failed to protect such a person again. In such a dangerous world, something like that was bound to happen. After all, he was even more powerless than when he had been on Earth¡ªat least he considered himself that way. Dealing with his failure to protect someone he cared about was already difficult, but the failure to protect someone he deeply loved again? The consequences would be disastrous. Even though he had previously sworn to face his failures... that particr failure was the only one he could not face. Maybeter, after finding salvation, he would allow himself to love again. So now¡­, now was not the time. ''I have to tell her,'' he thought, ready to interrupt her meal. But when he was about to talk, She red at him with those blue eyes filled with tenderness. "Is something wrong?" Aito cursed internally when a sense of guilt ravaged his mind, preventing his mouth from forming the words he had wanted to say. "Nothing, I¡­ just thought you looked tired. How about you go rest? I''ll take this guard shift." She scanned his eyes as if she was looking for a lie. Under pressure, Aito added, "I also brought back a few level 2 soul cores for you. It ought to help you reach the limit of the challenger realm." She sent him a quizzical gaze, then looked towards George, zooming in on the bags near him. "How many are there inside one bag?" "Around seven hundred, I think." "That''s not funny," she said with an unamused look. Her expression changed when she saw his face, "You''re serious, aren''t you?" "Of course I am. Hey, have I ever given you a reason to doubt me before? Did I ever do something so dishonorable I''m deserving of doubt?" Her gaze turned dark. "On the 2nd and 3rd floor you stared at my butt whenever I was changing. On the 4th floor, you told me goblin shit would mask my scent from them and covered me from top to bottom in it. On the 5th floor, while I was taking a shower, you were taking a peek. On the 6th floor, you stunned me with a punch in the gut. Need me to name more reasons?" "I¡­ uhm," he didn''t know what to reply. The goblin shit part was true but for his defense, she had washed herself soon after. Him spying on her while she was taking a shower only happened once since after that she had taken the necessary precautions. The punch in the gut¡­ also true. Staring at her butt¡­ even now, it was still true. A victorious smile appeared on She''s face. "Sorry for everything," Aito said apologetically. "I''m just messing with you," She giggled, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Although I''d appreciate it if you could stop staring at me like I was an object of high value. That''s a bit annoying. I don''t resent you for that, though. However, I do resent you for that punch. Well, assuming the seven hundred soul cores are true, then it ought to suffice for an apology." "I can''t promise anything about the staring¡­ too tempting," Aito replied. "But I can promise the soul cores are real." "We''ll see if that''s the case soon enough." She turned around and headed for the others with graceful strides. At some point, she said, "Stop staring!" ''She''s got eyes on her back?'' Aito wondered and looked away. At that moment, Valinar''s notification window suddenly popped up in front of him. [You can''t even tell a woman to her face she has no chance with you because of your mental issues. *Sigh* I am terribly disappointed in you.] Aito sighed. That goddess was sticking her nose in something other than her own business. ''It''s not that simple. Fearmongers, humans, goblins, or others I can kill. Telling someone I can''t be with her because I''m messed up in the head... that feels like a hundred times worse than any fight I''ve been in.'' [Of course, it is. That''s why it requires bravery. *Sigh* You are stillcking.] ***** Lore: "Most of the time, we tend to identify bravery as the act of facing overwhelming odds with little to no weapons of our own, while, in fact, it is much more than that. Bravery can be found in the little things as well as the big things! For instance, telling someone the truth." Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. Chapter 207 - Sheylas Internal Conflict (part 1) His stomach now filled with food, Ogoro immediately went to see Lucius. Taking position next to the still seemingly unconscious man lying on his side to prevent him from swallowing his tongue, he ced a hand on his broken spine to once again evaluate the damages caused by the Goliath. Using his detailed knowledge of the human anatomy and enhanced sense of touch, he knew immediately felt the problems. He hoped that, before taking a nap, it had been just his imagination. "How is the bastard, Goro?" She asked next to him. "It''s even worse than I originally thought," Ogoro frowned, swallowing his saliva. "The bastard is actually conscious, just unable to move. Haven''t noticed it before since I was too exhausted." She took a bite of dried cactus meat. "The bastard''s spine is fractured all over the ce?" Ogoro shook his head. "The bastard''s spine is indeed fractured in a few ces. Five of the thirty-three vertebrae are broken. Two at the lumbar''s level and three at the sacrum, clearly highlighting the point of impact around this area. The nerves connecting the top with the lower part of the body in these five vertebrae are a mess." *Munch* "However, that does not justify the bastard''splete paralysis," She said in between two bites. "It should only be a partial one." "I see you didn''t forget the anatomy lessons I gave you," He said, smiling. Soon his smile turned into a serious face, though. "Indeed, that fact alone is rming. It would be understandable if the bastard was in a feelless state. The issue is he should have recovered if it were just that." "Could it be there are other fractured vertebrae than those five?" She leaned to inspect Lucius''s shirtless body. "There seems to be no apparent issue with the bastard''s cervical and thoracic spine segments." Compared to the bottom part of the warrior mage''s spine, which was dark blue around the damaged area, the upper part looked perfectly normal. Lucius, who was still conscious, heard the content of their conversation without missing a word. He appreciated the fact they were trying to help him, but¡­ ''Stop calling me bastard when diagnosing me, you bastards!'' Were his thoughts when he kept hearing them adding bastards to their sentences. Well, he knew he deserved it after how poorly he had treated them in thebyrinth and on the high floors. On the 7th and 8th floors, he had given them orders with an iron grip. Lucius''s hard practically treated them as additional puppets. That had been mostly because they were part of Aito''s team. They did not dare retaliate since it would only sow discord and diminish their chances of survival. In doing so, they had been more mature and smarter than him. He realized that now. He regretted his decision and could only me himself for his previous inadequate behavior. For instance, if he had waited for Aito just one or two more days, he would have been able to join them and this situation they were currently in would have never happened. "On the outside, yes, the bastard looks fine," Ogoro replied to She, unaware of Lucius''smentary. "The problem is inside. It''s difficult even with my gift to truly sense what''s going on, so I''ll need a bit of help with this." "How can I help?" She asked. Ogoro smirked, "I meant him." "Oh, you meant the bastard," She imitated his smirk. "Yes, the bastard." Clearly, they had been doing this on purpose, knowing he was still conscious. How could they not see it when he was blinking? Lucius wanted to yell out this unjust treatment. How dare they treat a paralyzed man this way!? Well, he couldn''t know, but the siblings had been ruthless assassins before. The death or poor state of a bastard unfazed them. And a little teasing was deserved after how much of a bastard he had been. "If you understand, blink once." Lucius did as Ogoro told him. "Good. I normally wouldn''t have helped, considering what you''ve done. But, you actually saved us before, so consider saving your life payment for this debt. Now, I can''t guarantee I''ll be able to help with your spine, since I''m only level 2 and my abilities are limited. I''ll try nheless. So do exactly as I tell you." *Blink* "Alright. I want you to try moving your lower muscles. Continue to do so until I tell you to stop." Ogoro activated his gift, spreading his sense of touch to Lucius''s entire spine, looking for a signal of sorts, a vibration or wave. When the brain sends orders to the lower body, it was bound to make tiny vibrations when the orders passed through the spine. Normally, Ogoro wouldn''t be able to sense them if he wasn''t at least touching someone''s body. It required him to only focus on an area. Doing so would increase his sensitivity, a trick he had picked up along the way. He could sense a faint signal going down the cervical but stopped after two vertebrae. It never went further than the 3rd vertebrae. "What the fuck did you do with your spine for it to end up this way, huh? Your brain''s signal only goes down two or three vertebrae, then cuts off at C3. It''s as if the nerves are fried while the bone structure is fine¡­ hum. But that¡­ wait, did you do something to your spine earlier? Blink once for ''yes'' and twice for ''no.''" *Blink* "So the bastard fried his own nerves or something," She dered, finishing her loaf of bread. "That will be hard to repair, if not impossible. " Ogoro cursed internally. Broken spines, severed nerves, fracture bones he could reconnect by sewing them back together. But fried nerves? Now that was on a whole other level of healing capabilities he simply did not possess. Once would have to be able to recreate the nerves rather than simply sew them back together. That''s why it was beyond his current set of skills. "Fuck. I''m not good enough for this surgery, even with my Healing String at level 3 now." They had all acquired 1 stat and 1 skill point afterpleting the High Floor''s quest, something he had chosen to invest in Healing String. No achievement was necessary to obtain them, just the questpletion was enough. "I''ve already sewed back everything else, but this, this is beyond my current means. Sorry, Lucius," Ogoro said. "Your only chances atplete recovery are to find a Healing bead, level up since it heals your body automatically, or have a better battle surgeon look at your injuries. Perhaps the 4th floor''s moderator would be able to help you. We can''t go back there now, though. Only forward." Lucius closed his eyes, grateful the ex-assassin at least tried to help with his case. He was unwilling to remain this way, not with his wife out of cold and in such an ursed ce. And so, he tried to tap into the source of power he previously felt. His soul core pulsed once. Ogoro, who had deactivated his gift, couldn''t feel it. Tiny sparks of electricity manifested inside the warrior mage as he tried his best to control the input this time. Apparently, he had used too much voltage for his spine''s nerves to endure the first time. Even though they were now fried, he could theoretically move again if he managed to connect them with a voltage low enough it wouldn''t injure the already badly-damaged nerves. Despite his gifts and genius, it wasn''t something he could do right out of the bat, not without worsening his nerves'' state again. All his hope had been ced on the battle surgeon, but if there was nothing Ogoro could do for him, then he decided to rely on himself. Lucius knew he could do it. He just needed time and effort. "What about her?" She asked, nodding towards Elizabeth. "Nothing I can do. Your boyfriend is the one supposed to take care of the remaining of her grey sickness or whatever the name is." Ogoro slightly leaned to the side, barely avoiding a punch from his sister. "Come on, sis. After that wing the earth thing on the 7th floor, even the bastard knows," he said with a teasing smirk. "Even you who are gifted in camouging can''t hide that anymore." She looked aside, blushing. Despite the blue mes lighting thebyrinth, it was visible. "It''s not like that." "Really? Who are you trying to fool, but yourself?" Ogoro asked, poking at her yfully. There was no one around. George was keeping watch over the hole dug in the wall. Aito had taken She''s shift, and Roisin was also on guard duty. The other challengers were either unconscious or paralyzed. And frankly, they both cared little about Lucius''s opinion. "Don''t you dare lie to your onii-chan straight to his face. We''ve looked after each other since we were children. Helped each other when we needed it most. We have always been there for each other. So of course I know you as well as if not better than you know yourself. I''m your big brother, after all.. No point in lying to me." Chapter 208 - Sheylas Internal Conflict (part 2) "It''s really not like that, Goro," She replied, sighing. "I just¡­ I don''t know what it is. My heart throbs faster every time I''m near or thinks about him. I''ve never felt this way before. It''s¡­ beautiful, yet disgusting at the same time. You know I despise fragility and would only fake it to approach assassination targets. "I hate women who go all cute to please others only because it''s the current trend in society. Be cute, polite, all smile, slim, delicate, attentive. Fuck all that. I''m not a fucking object to be put on a pedestal, only to serve as decoration to further highlight a man''s status or glory." Ogoro was surprised at her talkativeness. ''She must be very conflicted.'' He knew too well she has always hated being the target of the patriarchy implemented in society, and her behavior towards Aito probably reminded She of that, leading to an internal conflict between epting those feelings or rejecting them. There were many gender inequalities on Earth. Most closed their eyes on it, despite seeing it every day. How girls were more criticized for their weight than boys. How products such as deodorants for women were actually more expensive than men''s for marketing purposes. How they had to remove leg hairs or such other nonsense just to look like the ideal woman depicted by society. Etc. The inequality was so widespread and normalized that She had felt overwhelmed, especially when she knew she was picked by the Ryu family for her appearance. So the only way she had found to fight against this patriarchy was being the total opposite of it when she could. On Earth, that had been hardly possible because society dictated inequality. That''s why, in this new magical world where only power dictated her status, She truly felt like she would be herself. Free from her previous shackles, as long as she could acquire more power, no one would tell her what''s right or wrong anymore. She would be the one dictating the rules. "And yet, now you feel like one of those women depicted in a romance book you hate so much. You want to coddle him, smile every time you see him. You can''t help yourself but be more gentle in his presence," Ogoro dered, crossing his arms. "Which is conflicting." She nodded, "Can''t help myself. It makes things even worse when I don''t even know why. It''s annoying beyond annoyance itself." "Because you''ve never felt that way before. You didn''t know what love is, and it''s messing with your convictions." She shook her head, "Wrong, I know what it is since I''ve always loved you." "As I love you too, little sis. But fraternal love is different from romantic love. Gods damn it, don''t you know that at your age? Yeah right¡­, we''ve never been able to enjoy life like normal people, so it''s normal you know almost nothing about it," Ogoro sighed. "*Sigh* I just don''t want to be the spitting image of a clueless woman madly in love with her hero, clinging to his arm like it was the safest ce in the universe or something," She dered. "That''s maddening, just thinking about it. I hate this." "Idiot, you truly understand nothing," Ogoro flicked her head as he had always done when she did something bad as a little girl. "Hey! I''m not a child anymore!" "You just look like one right now," Onii-chan admonished her. "Seriously, you''re more of an idiot now than you''ve ever been. This feeling of desiring to cling to him, hug him, or other stuff I''d prefer not to think about. It is all dictated by no one but yourself. "Patriarchy? It''s outdated. We''re not on Earth, so middle finger that. Your stubbornness? It''s way too stupid to even think about it, so middle finger that too. Aito? If he doesn''t reciprocate your feelings, then middle finger him! "Seriously, if it makes you enjoy life a little more when you''re near him, then I don''t see the issue. Do you?" She did not reply. She knew her brother was right, in a way. "Moreover, it''s not like you act like a woman from Earth, far from it. Who the fuck would try to dig their way from the 7th floor to the 6th floor?" Ogoro chuckled, "You gotta be mad to do this. Haha! Wait, wait, wait. I was just kidding!" Sweat trickled down his forehead at the sight of her weapon. "Next time you talk about this, I''ll put an arrow in your kneecap," She warned, a frozen arrow tip in her hand. "Alright, alright," Ogoro lifted both hands in submission. "Point is, just let it be. In this particr case, there is no harm in following what your emotions tell you. You''ll only hurt yourself if you don''t. If you want to hug him, then fucking go for it. If you just want to punch him because that''s how you feel, then go for it too. He is as tough as a samurai armor, so he''ll be able to endure it. "Anyway, sis. Just remember, it''s all about following your strongest emotion. Do that and you''ll certainly find the answer you seek." She smiled warmly and took a step to hug her brother in a tight embrace. "Thanks, Goro, for everything. I think I''ll follow your advice." "Don''t mention it," he said, hugging her back. "And if he doesn''t ept your feelings, then, like I said, middle finger him. There are plenty of other fishes in the ocean." "Who said I was going to tell him?" She asked, breaking the embrace. Onii-chan sent her a confused look. Was she doing this to tease him, or she was being serious? If that was the case, she totally missed the point of what he had just told her! "Wait, hum, She, what did you mean by¡ª" "Ogoro," Aito who had just left his position came at that moment to check on them, "are you done with Lucius? I''d like to hold a meeting to decide our¡ª" "You left the corridor unguarded?" She asked in a monotonous tone. "It''s fine, I can sense every life form in a radius of¡ª" "Fool," She strode by him, brushing past his shoulder like the wind. Aito stood confused with an incredulous expression. A few moments ago, they had had a friendly chat and now she was suddenly cold! He looked towards her brother for an answer. "What was that about?" "The mistake of a person who has seen too much as well as too little," the grey-haired man said, shaking his head, exhaling. As per his advice, She was following her strongest emotion. *** Dozens of minutester, berserkers started attacking the challengers'' location. Unfortunately, they were reduced to mere corpses. After removing the remaining corruption from Elizabeth''s body, upon her awakening, Aito gathered everyone for a short meeting, wishing to discuss their next step. Everyone looked at him in silence, even the paralyzed Lucius, all thinking the same question that only one dared ask. "ck challenger. Hum, how should I say this? *Cough* I''m¡­ grateful for you saving my life, despite our little¡­ past misunderstandings. But that''s water under the bridge, right?" Sam said, his gaze shifting focal points every second. Too intimidated, he couldn''t exactly look straight into Aito''s eyes. "A, a, anyway, we just have three days left before the Tower ends. Can''t we¡­ wait it out on the 9th floor until then, rather than trying to locate the 10th floor''s entrance? I, I, I mean, your idea is not a bad one but¡­ well, you know." "First and foremost, I wasn''t nning on rescuing you specifically, baldie," Aito replied. "Second, there is no ''we,'' only me and my team. As for Lucius and his wife, they might be useful to me at ater date. More importantly, despite Lucius''s stupidity, they did little harm to me and my team in the past, not deadly at least. You and that bitch mage apanying you are another story, though." Roisin''sposure shifted from poker face to unpleasant at his words. However, she remained silent, knowing he could tear the life out of her in barely a few seconds. "Don''t think for a second I forgot what your foolish sect made me go through. The only reason I''m not killing both of you right now is that you helped my team survive instead of trying to kill them this time. So consider us even. However, do anything suspicious and I''ll cut you down without a second thought. Now, if you don''t have anything else to s¡ª" "I, I, I''ll leave the Chosen sect, so..." the baldy interrupted him, his voice shaky. He suddenly got on all four, face towards the ground. "Please let me join your team." It took some time for Aito to process what Sam had just said. That fanatic, blinded by faith in his own sect master wanted to leave the Chosen sect? Why? How? When? What? Where? Wtf? ***** Lore: "I''ve always found patriarchy interesting. What is it but another system? Societies based on it can only function optimally when this is applied. Changes, although possible, take time and willingness. Is patriarchy right, fundamentally? Yes, when everyone in that society epts it. No, if everyone doesn''t agree with it. But the genuine majority cannot be reached with a group of individuals thinking about themselves first, an inevitable consequence of individualism that could be, unfortunately, mistaken for egoism. In that case, patriarchy can be described, not as wrong, but as promoting inequality within the group. Everything boils down to the notion of bnce. But can true bnce be reached? Now that is the real question." Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!