Return of the Woodcutter

"Can you help him, Sleon?" Gwen asked, sending a worried gaze to the moderator of the fourth floor she had called to heal Aito since it was too dangerous to send him to his room.

Moreover, the healing effect of a room only activated overnight after CDs.

The battle surgeon with disheveled blonde hair wearing a white tunic pushed back his glasses and placed both hands on Aito's shirtless body lying on the third-floor bench.

His aura spread from his hand to Aito's entire body. The red energy then entered Aito's wounds. Traveled through veins, muscles, bones, and organs. Scanning the internal as well as external injuries.

"Hum, nothing I can't fix. I just require ten, no, eleven minutes and seventeen seconds of absolute silence." Sleon said with a stern face.

Gwen simply nodded, summoned a room around the battle surgeon and his patient, then left to give them some space, inviting Sheyla and Ogoro to do the same.

Sleon was a man of extreme precision. Gwen has seen him save countless lives. Rarely did he ever fail. He could sew back severed arms, legs.

He and Gwen were the two representatives Englad sent this year—almost every year, in fact.

Being a moderator in the Tower was an honor, but was also considered as a vacation. A vacation given to those worthy. Those who have achieved more than any other.

Of course, Sleon wasn't the best battle surgeon. This title went to the potential inheritor of sloth, Aila the Threadweaver. But Gwen was certain no one else other than Sleon could claim second place.

"Fear not, he's in expert hands," Gwen said.

"I don't care," Sheyla replied, then changed the subject. "Can you summon straw targets?"

As a response, Gwen did as she was asked, not because she was easily taken advantage of, but because it was her job.

Without further ado, Sheyla prepared her bow and strode away with the intention to train.

"I wasn't talking to her, though." Gwen said, gazing at the not so little man next to her.

"She won't admit it, but she's grateful to him." Ogoro said, "He saved our life after all."

"Him?" Gwen asked, surprised. Aito didn't seem like a man who would save others unless it benefited him. "Is that why you are worried?"

"Yes, and no," Ogoro said, gazing up at the fake sun lighting the third floor. "I'm just worried a better man than I ever was or will be would die, today."

"What?" Gwen said, perplexed. Somehow, she felt they weren't talking about the same person. She had seen the man talking with Aito during lunch breaks. One thing she noticed was the near adoration the man had for her apprentice. The kind one would give to a role model or a hero.

'Graham's beard. Is that guy delusional, or I missed something?' Gwen wondered, as Ogoro walked to the grass field to train on his own.

Gwen then smirked. The man's appearing willingness to help Aito just gave her an idea.

Inside the room lighted by white orbs fixed to the ceiling, Sleon activated his skill, Healing Strings.

Immediately after, dozens of thin threads created by his red aura formed at the tip of each of his fingers, before slipping through Aito's wounds.

Inside Aito's body, the read threads started collecting the fractured pieces of bones. Little by little, the threads sewed them back together with astonishing precision.

Then came the organs. Perforated lungs, stomach, and liver. Sleon sewed the holes and drew the bad blood out that had spread around where it shouldn't.

At the same time, he repaired the severed veins, plugging, combining where needed. Once done, he went for the tattered muscle fibers, where the worst of the injuries were.

'What kind of foolish action did this young man take?' He thought while healing Aito's muscle groups with ease.

He then proceeded to close the outside cracks, leaving only one wound near the chest area opened, before running an overall scan to see if he hadn't forgotten anything. Certain the procedure went smoothly, he sewed the last wound and left the patient to rest alone in the room.

"How was it?" Gwen asked with cross-armed as she saw Sleon walk out the door after exactly eleven minutes and seventeen seconds.

"He should be back on his feet by tonight." He said, cleaning the blood on his finger with a tissue. "I thought you were joking when you declared a 3rd degree injury. Turns out it bordered the 4th degree."

Gwen silently nodded.

Battle surgeons referred to patients in need of treatment by degrees:

- 1st degree was small wounds such as cuts.

- 2nd degree was injuries the like of broken bones.

- 3rd degree was worse. Severed arms or legs. Missing eyes.

- 4th degree was almost impossible to cure unless treated immediately.

- 5th degree… was downright incurable. The patient would already be dead upon receiving such injury, anyway. One perfect example was a severed head.

"Thank you." Gwen said.

"No, thank you for calling," Sleon replied before returning to his post on the fourth floor. He had left it unattended for too long already.

Gwen simply smiled. She knew the man wouldn't leave someone to die. Ever. Sleon seemed stern, platonic. A real heart of ice, some would say. But he was probably one of the kindest man Gwen knew.

Sleon would always push himself to his limits and beyond to save a life. That's why almost no challengers ever died on the fourth floor under his watch.

She giggled beautifully, thinking back to the countless time she had come back with injuries. Sleon would always sermon her. Telling her she was reckless.

Reckless, like a certain little man. Perhaps it was one of the reasons she was finding some sort of kinship in that fool who seemed to never know when to stop.

She was, after all, as stubborn as he was.

***

Aito woke up confused just after the cooldown period. The last thing he remembered was Maba and his body tearing apart from the inside.

Recalling the moderator, he intuitively reached for his ax that was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, he exited the room, shirtless, in search of answers, only to find the moderator meditating on the grass field with another familiar figure.

"Oh! Welcome back to the living!" Ogoro said, jumping to his feet. "How are you feeling?"

"More or less recovered. What happened?" Aito said, trying to understand. "And why aren't you in your room?"

Gwen opened her eyes and smiled upon seeing Aito, who had recovered his endless sense of questioning. She briefly explained what happened until now, then added, "He carried your ass here, little man. At least show a modicum of courtesy to him."

"I see…, thanks."

"Don't mention it," Ogoro said, waving his hand to show it really wasn't a big deal. "As for why I'm here…"

"He'll be your new training partner," Gwen said, smiling wryly. "It'll be better than fighting mindless dullahans."

"What?" Aito said, turning to Ogoro for a confirmation.

The giant of a man nodded in acknowledgment, "I at least owe you that."

Aito was about to interject, but Gwen interrupted him.

"Don't be so quick to refuse." Gwen said, "Chances are, you'll learn more from him than you'd do with dullahans. From what I've seen of his training on the third floor, he is quite skilled for a classless."

Aito pondered. It was true that Ogoro could handle himself in a fight. There were only benefits in accepting his help as a training partner. Also, who else would be better as a training partner than the man who gave Aito his memories? Furthermore, nothing bad should come out of it.

The man had already shown that he wasn't here to harm him. Even if Ogoro was, he wouldn't be able to do so under Gwen's watchful eyes. It was a win-win.

Aito sighed, then an iron resolve flashed in his black eyes. "Then let's get started."

"Now?" Ogoro said, startled.

At that moment, Aito's stomach growled so loud that even Gwen, who was a few meters away, could hear. It couldn't be helped, since his body had used up a lot of energy. Also, he hadn't eaten lunch nor dinner yet.

"Gahahaha! Grab yourself something to eat first, you training addict!" Gwen exclaimed.