Return of the Woodcutter

Sounds of heavy footsteps got louder as berserkers neared the entrance of the cave where Aito stood tall, patiently awaiting his opponents in this accursed 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—something he discovered by experimenting a bit—he'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, Aito launched 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 for later.

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°C in the beginning, Aito sensed it decreased to -35°C (-31°F).

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 he launched 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 not last 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 blade vibrating with power slashed the freezing air, launching a deadly airstrike that lacerated 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 and launched a second airstrike that finished the jobs.

'So two air blades 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.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

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.

—Active Skill: Reaper of Souls Lv2—

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.] Valinar commented. [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 blades. 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,' Aito complained, shaking with cold from the drop of temperature to around -45°C (-49°F) 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 black 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 are coming!] 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 flawed rectangular formation, the creatures used their brethren at the front as meat shields. Obstructed by the many corpses on the bridge Aito had kindly laid down on their path as a welcome gift, they had difficulty reaching their target, giving him enough time to deal with thirty berserkers before they almost got close enough for close-quarter combat.

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.'

—Active skill: Cleave—

Aito launched one vicious air blade 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 the large corpse for stability, he activated Cyclone.. Rotating like there was tomorrow, he showered his opponents with gore, blood, and death.