Return of the Woodcutter

Aito arrived at the fifth floor's staircase that was located nearby the third floor's staircase. No challengers could access it unless they finished the quest. 

If one tried to ascend those stairs without the system's authorization, they would be blocked by an invisible barrier. 

He found his companions waiting for him next to the entrance. 

Ogoro's face brightened when he saw him. More reserved, Sheyla simply nodded in his direction, with a slight smile on her face. 

There at that moment, he wouldn't admit it openly, but Aito was glad to see them. To see two challengers he could actually trust. 

He smiled back, eager to tell them about the loot and what happened in those accursed tunnels. Then his smile faded when he saw Meilin sitting timidly next to them. 

The young woman stood up in surprise like she hadn't expected him to come back alive. 

"See? I told you he would be fine. He even came sooner than planned," Ogoro said, looking at Meilin. 

"That's… how did you… this…." 

"Don't bother, he is as resilient as a cockroach," Sheyla commented. 

Aito quickly debriefed them on what happened. Meilin's face went from stunned, to aw, then joy and finally confusion when she learned what Juliette had done. 

"I… I don't understand. We were desperate for TP but not that desperate." Meilin bowed, "If what you say is true…, then I'm truly sorry." 

"Whatever," Aito sighed, "Just wait for your teammates at the third floor's entrance. Also, when you'll see them, could you pass them a message from me?" 

Meilin nodded, "A, anything." 

"Tell them, no, tell Juliette and Lucas that there'll be no second time." Aito said, staring at her coldly, "If they dare show their faces again in front of me... well, you understand."

"I…," Meilin looked down, unsure of what to reply.

However, Aito didn't wait for her answer and turned towards his teammates, "Let's go somewhere else, I have something to show you." 

Though Aito didn't, both siblings bid farewell to Meilin in their manner and followed after Aito who halted his steps after hearing one sentence. 

"Thank you for saving my friends," Meilin said without stuttering, "I'll be sure to pay back this debt one day." 

Aito nodded, "Sure." 

***

"So, what's that all about? Weren't we supposed to continue to the next floor?" Ogoro said, leaning on a tree. 

After leaving Meilin, Aito had brought them further into the forest, far from the prying eyes. Most goblins were dead, risks of being attacked by them here were close to none today.

He didn't reply. Instead, he unstrapped his backpack and settled it on the ground, then took out one inventory bag after another. 

"Merry Christmas," he said, throwing inventory bags to the siblings after checking their contents. 

"Christmas? Has it been that long already since our revival?" Ogoro said, holding a gauntlet. "What is this?"

"Thanks?" Sheyla examined a common-looking arrow.

Aito scoffed at their ignorance to tease them. Not that he had known better before using the candle to identify those items. 

Rummaging through all that mess had been a real ordeal. There were piles and piles of rubbishes. Identifying all of them with the candle would have taken him at least a whole day if not more. 

So, he had had to rely on his instinct, luck, and perseverance to find the sweet loot most suited for him and his teammates. 

In short, here's what they had. 

Sheyla's share was mostly magic arrows. In magic engineering, this process was most commonly known as enchantment. It could be expensive depending on its rarity and uses.

Basically, it boiled down to imitate a skill thanks to carved magic circuits. However, compared to other magic engineering methods, it required the use of aura to work, much like Aito's ring. 

Aito had given Sheyla ten of each of the followings: 

-Fire Arrows

-Frost Arrows

-Poison Arrows

-Paralysis Arrows

"I see, thanks. I'll put those to good use," she said, smiling, orderly storing them in inventory bags she intended to use as quivers. 

"I know you will," Aito replied. 

As for Ogoro, Aito had given him a gauntlet that would allow him to launch steel wires to trap enemies. According to the description, the wires could also be used as weapons.

Those were so thin and durable they could cut through enemies with the necessary technique and strength. They lengthened to a maximum range of seven meters. 

To activate it, he had to infuse his mana into it.

"A weapon I've never seen before," Ogoro tried the gauntlet. As soon as he used his mana, thin wires shot out from each of his fingers. "Interesting. Thank you." 

Apart from the fifty human soul cores he had given to each sibling and a few other beads, Aito kept the rest of the loot in his backpack. 

To sum it up, there were mana beads, recovery beads, his equal share of the human soul cores, and even one healing bead. 

There were other interesting items that he had kept for himself, spell beads and a peculiar horn. 

Spell beads were beads with mage skills trapped inside, exactly like the recovery beads. Aito had five Earth Wall spell beads and five Frost spell beads. 

As for the necklace, it had a peculiar name and use. 

[Suicidal Horn] 

Description: A horn that can only be used inside the Tower. Its magical properties allow the user to attract monsters within a range of 1 kilometer around him. This horn will break once it is brought outside the Tower. 

Application: Blow the horn to use. 

Normally, no one in their right mind would take this item, however, Aito found it quite useful. By using it correctly, he would be able to control the monster's moves and targets. 

More importantly, he wouldn't have to search a whole floor to kill the necessary amount of monsters to clear a quest. 

'Too bad I didn't find any memory beads. Well, at least I got human soul cores out of it.' 

There was an issue with human soul cores, though. From an ethical standpoint, absorbing a human soul could weigh on their consciousness. 

However, Aito and the siblings cared little about that now. If it allowed them to get stronger, then there was no problem. 

They couldn't revive the deads, anyway. 

And thus, after absorbing their fill, they headed for the fifth floor.