Return of the Woodcutter

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 to compete 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 for later, 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 plan failed. 

Well… if you could call what he was thinking about a "plan," 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 bead later on. 

Fifteen meters away from the Khül, 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 Khül is beyond your current capabilities, mortal.] Valinar said, apparently oblivious to his comment. [However, it cannot stay on the material plain for long. All you have to do is survive until then.]

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Ten meters away from the Khül.

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 Khül 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 Khül said. "How marvelous! Never thought I'd be fighting an Ascender in this forsaken place! 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—]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 Khül lifted his grey furry brow. "I see you can indeed understand our language! 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 Khül 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—" The Khül tried to say, but a large 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 blade with every skill at his disposal, he hacked down with all his strength, slashing 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 Khül 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, flabbergasted. "That's impossible." 

"Nice little realistic illusion you got there, human," The Khül said, tightening its hold on the ax.

Despite Durability coating it, Aito's blade 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 Khül 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, alarmed, threw his now useless ax shaft and deployed his shield ainium side to block the incoming strike. 

The Khül'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 Khül 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 Khül'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 overcome. To his mind, complaining 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 Khül 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 Khül 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 Khül 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 a large executioner blade 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 Khül 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 black and dented. 

Barely able to move, he retracted his morpho shield that prevented him from seeing the Khül. There, where he had been a moment ago, was a large 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.] Valinar commented.

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 Khül'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's coming. Why isn't my unique skill activated yet?'