Return of the Woodcutter

Having made his preparation and rested, there were two last things Aito wanted to do before leaving this stinky place.

Placing his candle under the new golden ring he was wearing, a notification appeared. 

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[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 available per day. 

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'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 a common woodcutting ax in his head. 

Instantly, an ax appeared in his hand. He examined it. The touch was plain 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 "penetrated" 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 the last 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 explained the plan, 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 small commotion of sorts he would have to at least punish them to avoid looking weak and suspicious—at 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 slaves, 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 use later. 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 place 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 in command, stood next to him, eyeing the humans weirdly, "Brightnez, why humanz follow you?" 

Aito turned towards the green creature, behind his visor. His imposing glare landed on it, "You dare question me, Zeut? Those are my slaves, 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 enlarge. 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 enlargement 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 glare, 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 place," 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 slave with satisfaction. 

Aito looked at the spectacle with clear disgust. Although he wanted to kill his second in command, 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 place 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 me command," Zeut replied, then eyed the humans. "Brightnez, foods come 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.