Return of the Woodcutter

Aito, Ogoro, and Sheyla rapidly collected their loots, aka inventory bags, armors, and weapons. Roan watched from the side, humming innocently as if none of this carnage was his concern.

Once done, Roan followed the trio as they started to head for the third floor, planning on sharing the loot equally in a nearby safe zone.

Aito wasn't interested in equipment, only magical items the like of recovery beads. Even better, soul cores. Those would help him level up. Something he'd need to ascend the Tower.

However, an invisible barrier the like of the ones covering every stall in the street prevented them from walking up the staircase.

With a bad feeling bubbling inside him, Aito turned around to see one of the second-floor moderators.

Maba, a lean man with short curly hair, dark skin, as tall as Aito, was dressed in a blue robe on which a symbol depicting a book had been sewed on the backside. Clearly showing his allegiance to the god of wisdom and class as a mage.

His big lips curved into a satisfied grin.

Challengers have been messing around with him and Sara, the other moderator, since this morning for no apparent reason other than satiating their desire for anarchy.

Normally, he wouldn't outright throw them in floor zero. Moderators rarely did so. But he had grown tired of their little game. One incident every once in a while was acceptable.

But four in almost every district on the same day at almost the exact same time, involving two or three challengers fighting in the street. Now that was called an operation. One aimed at them.

So, of course, he was angry at being led around by mere Level 1s. What's more, those fools weren't even fighting to the death. They had clearly been faking it.

"Now that is a real commotion," Maba said, scanning the bloody area with his brown eyes.

"*Cough* *cough*," Roan… coughed, to attract the moderator's attention. "Before you draw any unnecessary, untimely, and unjustified conclusion, may I narrate to you how all this… bloody mess really, truly, exactly—*muffle sounds* *muffle sounds* *muffle sounds*."

Maba cast a silence spell on Roan. One he personally called the Shut-Up spell. The red-haired man's lips wouldn't part, no matter how much he tried voicing out his complaint.

Aito, as well as the siblings, tried to move, but Maba turned towards them. Covered by a barely perceptible, formless energy, his fingers blurred as he immobilized the challenger's movements.

More precisely, he controlled their equipment. Leather and steel armors alike.

Aito's body could still move, but trapped in his armor… well, he was limited. He thought about using his Ancient Shard to free himself since spells also used aura, but it was out of reach.

"There is nothing to explain. I have caught you killing and you'll pay for it." Maba said, his voice, stern. His gaze, cold. "All those lives… died a useless death because of you."

Ogoro tried to talk, but was also silenced. Apparently, the mage-moderator wasn't really incline on knowing the truth. Did it matter, though?

Maba was a man of fact who only believed what he saw or experienced himself. It was his scientific side. The challengers could try to talk their way out of it, but the facts were there. Clear as daylight, albeit bloody red.

There may have been a reason behind this massacre. But so what? It remained a massacre.

"You are all under arrest and will be placed in a cell until your transfer to Iris. Questions?" Maba said, obviously having a bit of fun. Tasting sweet revenge against those fools who had decided to mess with him—although he was mistaken.

'Until the end? Screw you!' Aito thought, trying to liberate himself from his own armor. He couldn't allow himself to be caught. Not now! He had yet to finish his training. He had yet to even ascend the god damn Tower.

If he didn't escape?

Everything would be over.

Even if his chances were slim, he owed it to himself to try. Even if his enemy… was a moderator.

In a desperate attempt to escape, his gift Fury activated. Steam poured out of his armor as his skin progressively reddened from the heat produced by his body.

Maba lifted a brow. "Hum. Futile effort. Give up."

Aito's muscles contracted as his strength increasingly grew to Lv4. At first, as the moderator expected, nothing happened. But as few seconds passed, Aito was able to move his fingers. Then arms and legs.

"You… how can you have the strength of an Ascendant?" Maba asked, surprised. "No… not really. More like halfway there. Your body can't bear it. Nor can your soul. Ah, wait. Is that a skill? How interesting. Show me more."

Maba had applied Item Control to the challengers, which was a telekinesis spell with a self-explanatory name.

It could be used to trap people with their own items, but at Maba's current level, he could do so only under the ascendant realm.

One would be called an Ascender after reaching level 3 when the soul and body would undergo a drastic change, setting the foundation for the other realms to come.

Finally able to move, albeit very slowly, Aito reached for the piece of Ancient Shard at snail's speed, in his cloak's pocket that seemed unaffected by the moderator's spell. Explaining why it didn't react.

Fascinated, Maba left Aito to perform his one man show as he stood by as a spectator, wondering why a Lv1 warrior could exert almost the same strength as a Lv3 warrior.

One of his hobbies were the study of skills. Such a situation was a great opportunity to see the extend of an unknown skill and satiate his curiosity. Though, it wasn't skill but a gift. Not that he knew it.

The only problem was, the more time passes, the more Aito's insides boiled. Muscle fibers tearing apart. Organs threatening to fail. Heart beating at a faster pace than it could handle.

He had never activated Fury for so long before, only brief outbursts lasting tens of seconds at best. He only thought of it as a boost, which the only drawback was being fatigued afterwards. Oh, he had been so wrong.

Ogoro watched with concern as cracks appeared on Aito's skin. Blood slowly making its way out through the opening wounds. Even Sheyla, with her cold attitude, manifested a hint of worry.

Meanwhile, a bastard seemed to be entertained by Aito's predicament. But soon he'd regret it, for Aito was about to reach his shiny rock! Would his body allow him to do so, though?

An incredible pain flooded him when his muscle fibers tore apart, yielding to the extreme pressure. More cracks appeared on his body as seconds passed.

"Ah… I think that's the limit. Stop resisting and cease your struggle unless you desire death." Maba said.

That's when a tall figure walked down the step calmly. Maba's fascinated expression changed to uncertainty, surprise, then fear when he felt a familiar aura overwhelm him.

"Giving up? He's too stubborn for that," Gwen said, knocking out Aito before he could even object, and settled him gently on the ground. Gwen quickly scanned Aito's body to determine the seriousness of his injuries.

Seeing how serious they were, she frowned, took out two recovery beads, and cracked it to stop the bleeding.

"Why did you hide such a skill from me? Foolish little man."

She then turned towards the moderator. An invisible wave of power blurred the very air itself. No, it wasn't an illusion. Just the sheer force of her aura and the wavelength emitted by her very soul.

"What is the potential Inheritor of Pain doing on the second floor?" Maba asked, releasing his own aura to prevent himself from being swept away by the torrential power.

"Release them."

"What? They have disobeyed the law! The proof is all around us!" Maba said, pointing at the dozen of corpses lying around. "You do not have the right to stop me! If you even dare to try, I will file a report!"

"Is that so?" Gwen said, a pinch of irony in her voice. "I've seen and sensed everything that transpired here from my floor. They were only defending themselves."

Maba scoffed, "Even if that were true. The fact remains, they killed them and I've busted them."

"First, you busted no one. They were only ascending to the third floor when you arrived."

"B, b, bu—"

"Shut up. Second, as I see it, you were trying to kill a challenger. You know what you incur for that, right?" Gwen said, pointing at the unconscious Aito. "A little sweet holiday in The Forgoth Mine. Oh, I'm sure they'll welcome a telekinesist. Extraction has been hard as of late with the sudden scrog's uprising in the mines."

Sweat poured out of every inch of Maba's body. The Forgoth Mine was one of the biggest supplier of ores necessary for the war.

Unfortunately, it was also home to savage beasts, turning it into a deadly place where mostly criminals would be sent. A prison of sorts.

"This is nonsense! You have no proof of what you're accusing me of!" Maba protested.

"Do you think I need proof?" Gwen said, smirking maliciously.

Maba clenched his teeth. He knew what she meant. One of the four Rising Star, someone about to ascend to the Legend realm, carried more credibility than a Lv4 Telekinesist. Meaning he was just an insect Gwen could crush anytime she wanted. What confused him, though, was…

"Why?" Maba asked. "Why would you…"

"Because he is my apprentice. Now bugger off before I do something I'd regret later. Oh, and also leave the other two challengers behind. You can take the red-haired man, though. He's all yours." She said, waving her hand as if she was chasing a bug.

Roan's eyes widened in protest.

Forced to comply, Maba deactivated his spell on the three challengers and flew away using telekinesis while bringing his consolation prize with him. Even merchants, guides or whatever Roan was, had to respect the Tower laws.

Gwen set her eyes on Aito, whose body state seemed critical but could have been worse if she hadn't stopped him. 

"Reckless fool."