Return of the Woodcutter

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 to complain to Aito but left him alone—not 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, black 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—"

"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 any complaints?"

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. Accept and I might just kill you later."

***

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 from last 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 gate composed of steel bars let the sunlight pass. Through it, Aito could see the large 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 kept coming.

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, planning. According 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 classes, 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 occupying the smallest corner. Apart from their stench due to going three days without showers, they looked safe and full of energy.

"Boss!" George exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Aito, where are we?" Ogoro asked, appearing confused.

"What's going on?" Sheyla asked.

"As per usual, we'll have to fight. Nothing new about that. I'll explain 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 Sheyla 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 the lack 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 black 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've come 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. How come Sam knows you and I don't?" Lucius declared.

Despite his talkativeness and clumsiness, Sam was a famous challenger in the Tower, much like Lucius the only one capable of manipulating 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 particularly 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 to come for the next three days.

An hour later, the gates of the arena opened, announcing the start of the sacred event.