Return of the Woodcutter

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 soccer 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. Sheyla 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 glance at the corruption plaguing 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.]

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Reading Valinar's reply, Aito thought about the 7 unallocated skill points. He was planning on saving those for later 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 become 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 recommended 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 accomplishing 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 pale composure 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.

—Active Skill: Aura of Bravery Lv2 (Overload)—

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's labyrinth, looking for his comrades while fighting off roaming corrupted beings, all that while barely taking any rests.

Without his recently acquired skill—Goliath's Gluttony—that 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 accumulated 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, 'so comfortable.'

"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, Sheyla."

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 class."

As he slowly fell asleep in her comforting 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 delicately laid 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. Placing a hand on his cheek, she looked at him with all the tenderness in the world.

"Thank you for coming back to me."

*****

Status recap to summarize what Aito has gained until now without taking into account what he gained during his time alone in the labyrinth.

[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] Class: Lv 2.5 Ax Braver 

Titles: Black Challenger, Father killer, Training addict, Masochist, Goblin Slayer, 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)