Return of the Woodcutter

"Oh my… she's quite the bold one," Gwen said, chuckling. 

Awestruck, Ogoro watched the scene by her side, his mouth wide opened. His sister has never talked as much as she did now, nor did she ever said that before. Well… not while being herself. During the course of a mission, that was different. 

"Ho…" Aito said, staring at a blushing Sheyla. Her redness would shame any tomato. He felt the urge to tease her a bit. "Sure, I'd be glad to assist you with that, if you don't mind everyone watching us." 

"This, this, this isn't what I—" She started, the shame so unbearable she forgot the pain of her injured hand. 

"You don't need to be ashamed of your own lust. It's fine, really. Though it is indeed… uncommon to get excited after a beating. Just saying." Aito interrupted with a smirk on his face. It was too good of an opportunity to let it pass. 

He knew it wasn't what she meant. That much was obvious. A single glance at her embarrassed face made it clear. Though, the reason for her previous weird outburst remained unknown to him.

"Just know that I'm not interested in a serious relationship. But I don't mind being friends with benefits." He said, adding a wink to his last sentence. 

She sent him a hateful gaze, highlighting the fact that she wanted to beat him up. Friends with benefits? To hell with that. 

That shameless bastard was mocking her. How could she not want to kick his ass? 

However, she understood by now she couldn't. In terms of techniques, she surpassed him. No doubt about it. But their physical differences were too high. 

Compared to Sheyla's injuries, Aito's bruises were nothing. His strength was also beyond hers. Not because he was a man, but because such was the difference between a marked and unmarked one. A difference of power due to levels. 

If they had been on the same physical level, then Sheyla could probably beat him. Even then, she wasn't certain. What's more, she didn't know if she could level up since she hadn't accepted the gods' blessing. Perhaps she could, by absorbing soul cores. 

The crowd of challengers around them was entertained, waiting for what would happen next. They expected something the like of a brutal romance where, after fighting each other, man and woman would finally make up. Kiss and comfort themselves in an embrace… that never came. 

Sheyla simply looked down, closed her eyes, calmed herself. Going berserk and spit out nonsense in a feat of anger and embarrassment would do her no good.

She breathed in, breathed out. The pain coursing through her entire body mattered little. She had endured worse before. 

"Friends with benefits? I have no need for a friend like you. Also, I don't think your tiny sausage could satisfy me." Sheyla said, spitting nonsense even after calming herself. 

"You are right. It'd be difficult for me to satisfy you without a hard-on you simply cannot provide." Aito said, trying to strike at her pride as a beautiful woman. 

"Asshole." 

"Thank you for the nice compliment." He said, releasing her hand. "Are you done with your little game? 'Cause I have other things to do." 

Sheyla stared daggers at him but didn't retort. She had nothing else to say for herself. However, she hadn't abandoned the idea of exposing the fake hero Aito was to her brother. She simply needed time to think about a new approach. 

If strength wouldn't do, then she'd try to persuade her brother with words. Something she hadn't done yet, since it wasn't in her habit to talk much. At least not about unnecessary things.

With a tacit understanding that their duel ended, they both walked their separate ways. Aito, to the bench. Sheyla, to her dwelling. 

"You aren't going to avenge your sister and try to fight me too, I hope?" Aito said. 

"Nah, why would I do that?" Ogoro replied, "It was a fair fight. She's been through worse. Also, that's a matter between you and her. As long as you don't attempt to take her life, I won't interfere. By the way, you still have room for improvement. Sheyla landed more blows than you did." 

"Yeah. If we had the same strength, it might have turned out differently." 

Ogoro shrugged, then stood up from the bench. "I'll be back after I walk my sister to her room. In her state, she cannot defend herself properly. You never know. After what we've pulled last week, the sect has their eyes on us too."

Aito nodded as he sat on the bench next to Gwen and watched Ogoro follow a fuming Sheyla. 

"Interesting gal." Gwen commented, "Bold. Ruthless. Strong. Beautiful. With quite the temper, too. According to what I've seen before, she also seems to handle a bow well." 

"Stop that. I have enough with Ogoro talking to me about her." Aito said, "Don't start doing it too." 

"Come on, little man. You don't get what I'm saying?" 

Aito shook his head while resuming to eat the dried fruits he had been eating before Sheyla interrupted him. 

"I'm saying she'd make a fine partner to climb the Tower." Gwen said, "Too bad she's still level 0."

"Not because she's unmarked?" 

"That too," Gwen replied. "Being blessed by the gods is the most common way to reach level 1. Don't confuse that with leveling up. Even after absorbing enough soul cores, one wouldn't be able to form a soul core without a god's help. There is, however, a second way. Its secret lies with another race, though. No one knows how it works. Such a shame Sheyla hadn't accepted the blessing. She seems like a promising recruit if groomed well." 

Aito grunted. He could potentially help her level up using his candle. But why should he? There weren't any benefits to this. Even if he did, she probably would never accept to help him clear the Tower. 

It made him think back to Roan's advice about finding himself a few partners. Right now, he was considering asking Ogoro. He was still pondering the matter. Ogoro seemed trustworthy for now.

The man could betray him along the way, of course, but he didn't seem like that kind of person. Still, it made him feel uneasy. It was hard to trust a human again. To ascend the Tower, he may not have the luxury to choose, though.

If the grey-haired man accepted to help him, he'd use the candle on Ogoro. 

However, there were a few issues with that. 

First, Gwen wouldn't let unmarked ones pass. Though she did think it was a pity for the siblings to be unmarked. Now that he thought about it, maybe there was a way to bypass her surveillance. 

After all, she never checked with her own eyes if the challengers were marked. If he had to take a guess, it'd be that Gwen could feel the challengers were level 0 and therefore, by default, unmarked. 

If that theory was true, then Ogoro could simply blend into the crowd and ascend like anybody else. 

Second, using the candle in front of someone else was risky. Exposing the existence of a tool capable of granting a class could lead to trouble. Ogoro could speak of it to anyone, even without his notice. Trust wasn't the issue. 

Exposing the candle was. 

However, not using its full potential was a waste. If granting a class to someone else was beneficial to him, then he ought to do it. 

Again, the real problem was exposing the existence of the candle, which meant that, provided he kept it hidden, he could grant a class without people knowing about the item. 

"What are you thinking about?" Gwen asked. Seeing Aito peering into the distance with a thoughtful look made her curious. 

"About how I'd get to fight you at the end of my training," Aito lied, smirking. 

Gwen laughed. She had completely forgotten about that. Though, now that he said it, it didn't sound too bad. Sure, Aito would never be able to injure or even touch her. However, it could be a great experience for his growth. 

"Hum, alright. It'll be your reward for your hard training. And if you ever manage to just brush my skin when we'll spar, then I'll give an additional reward." She said, trying to motivate him. 

"Oho, and what might that be?" Aito replied. 

"Hold your horses, little man. Do you even think you'll be able to touch me? In your dream." 

"Ho, game's on."