Return of the Woodcutter

Chapter 187 - Tricked

The 7th floor was framed by a great dome that projected a vast illusion deceiving the eye into believing there was more out there. Only an invisible blockade would await a challenger trying to cross that illusionary dome, though.

That floor was mostly composed of trees, grass, bushes, and dirt. It was surprisingly small compared to the 6th floor's desert area, averaging a diameter of 3km wide. At its center laid a glade where the moderator, Segolene, had installed a basic fortification for the challengers who would dare come here. 

An easy feat for her who could summon many things thanks to her moderator's rights. Although limited to a certain extent, she could create defensive structures, accommodations, and more. 

Challengers had the right to ask her to build one defensive structure, whatever it may be, to help them in their quest. Something Aito wasn't about to waste. 

He had learned to fight against a greater number of opponents on the island and other floors so he had experience in being outnumbered. 

Thankfully, he had even fought one berserker before. Those things had tough skin. No, it was more correct to say they had a tough hide. 

Aito had dissected multiple berserker bodies at his disposal to see if his weapons worked against them. Unsurprisingly, Soulcleaver cut through a berserker's hide almost effortlessly. That weapon was truly exceptional. Every time Aito used it he became more fascinated with how marvelous this ax was. 

How precious it was. 

He felt he could take on the berserkers head-on, kill them all with ease and have the stamina to spare at the end. 

However, he had learned that counting on a single weapon to fight wasn't wise. Preparing for a fight when possible was the wisest choice. 

Following that train of thought, he asked the moderator about the different defensive structures at her disposal. 

"The different defensive structures you can make are as limitless as my cuteness," she said, wiggling her small but plump butt, her only redeeming quality. 

Although Aito knew she wasn't completely serious when taking those weird poses—at least he hoped she wasn't—he couldn't help but be annoyed. He sighed, "I suppose the broken defensive wall already installed will disappear when I make my choice." 

Her hip to the side, leaning slightly forward with her index finger on her chin, Segolene pondered the question with an exaggerated pose, thinking it would show her cute side. 

Aito remained calm, swallowing his urge to slap her cheek or butt to make her conscious of his seriousness. That kind of action would only either excite the moderator, tickle her or enrage her. 

"Well, you did come alone in this place. Your situation is… special. Never seen nor heard about someone challenging the 7th floor alone. Hum, since you are cute and quite like you we can come to an agreement," she closed the distance between them in less than a microsecond and grabbed his thick arm, then pressed it against her small chest. "I can leave the damaged stone wall for you to use but in exchange. I want you to… Kya! Don't know if I can say it, it's so embarrassing to say." 

He gave her a dark stair full of meaning, unamused. 

"I want you to," she jumped, her arms gripping his shoulder tightly supporting her body in the air as she whispered to his ear, "slap my butt while telling me how bad of a girl I am." 

'Don't tell me…,' Aito thought, his eyes shifted to the side to see Segolene's ragged breathing warm creating condensation on his metallic shoulder pads. 'This woman…' 

"Just one slap is all I ask," she said, her eyes filled with a crazed look betraying her lust. "Yes, just one." 

Her voice was delirious. To him it sounded like the evil as the voice in his new ax but also like a great opportunity to let out some pumped-up frustration… and keep a useful additional defensive structure for free.

"Fine," he said, staring down at her with disgust. It wasn't that minded doing it. In fact, he would love to in normal circumstances but there was something awfully unsettling with this exchange and his current situation. He also felt manipulated in some weird way. 

Segolene winked then turned around to lean forward in an obscene way while shaking her ass, inviting him to slap it. Weirdly enough, Aito's desire flared up in a powerful urge to destroy that ass. 

He opened his armored hand wide, charged up Durability, overlapped it with Impact and Weight Control. Taking three steps backward for a mighty good swing, he focused on his plumped target. 

The wait excited Segolene more and more as her breathing accelerated, going beyond anything a human was capable of. Saliva dripped from her mouth. Drooling, she looked like an obscene person, the complete opposite of a dignified moderator like Behir. 

Ready, Aito used Impact on his foot for a better propulsion speed. His arm was sped up forward like a rocket ready to disintegrate its target. 

Meanwhile, the moderator saw all that in slow motion, greatly increasing the stimulation of such an immoral act when finally… it reached its climax. 

SLAP! 

"HUN!" 

***

It was around noon on the 7th floor. In the middle of the forest, a shirtless Aito was repairing the damaged stone wall under the light of a fake sun shining high in the illusionary sky. 

He wasn't hot or cold. No sweat trickled down his body. When he plugged the holes and reinforced weakened areas of the wall with wood, he had recently cut down, he did so without heating up.

It appeared his passive skill Heat Resistance did more than just provide resistance against heat but also influence his daily life. 

'Shit, my hand still hurt,' he thought as he finished mending back the damages inflicted to the stone wall. 'Even with Durability activated on my gauntlet, that little pervert's ass felt harder than diamond! What the fuck is her butt made of!?' 

After their "transaction," a satisfied Segolene disappeared who knows where to do who knows what. Aito could help but notice at that moment she had had liquid trickling down her legs. 

'Damn pervert. Apart from Gwen, all the moderators I've seen had incredibly weird personalities. Is the war that bad it messed up with their head?' He complained internally, as he reached his fire camp at the center of his small size empty stone fortress. 

Surrounded by a stone wall, Aito gazed at his surroundings while drinking from his magic water bottle. There was nothing inside but grass. 

Signs of the previous battle had disappeared along with the moderator, resulting in an area cleansed of corpses. With that weather and the vegetation, he almost felt like he was back on the island. 

His thoughts erred to Jack for a moment as he remembered the monkey, the friend he had left behind. He missed his small friend and mischiefs. 

Truth be told, with the presence of the siblings, he had, a few times, forgotten about monkey Jack. But now that he was alone again, he remembered his goal. 

'Am I a piece of shit for forgetting you a few times, Jack?' He thought, feeding wood to the fire. 'Hopefully you're doing fine on your own. I know you don't lack the resources to survive this. But if Belmand couldn't have possibly lied or trick me this time, you should… "time"… "lie."' 

He thought back to the Oath Pact they had made. Having memorized by heart and with little to almost no content, he could recall the terms to perfection. 

___

1) Party 1 (Aito Walker), agrees to reach the Tower's final floor before it closes and clear the last quest. 

2) Party 2 (Belmand the god of sloth), agrees to Party 1's request to prevent the summoning of more Evol Monkey on the island area used for the black trial for two months. 

3) If either Parties fail to keep their word, death awaits them. 

___

A very simple contract. However, only almost two months later did Aito realize that…

"MOTHERFUCKER!" 

…he had been tricked. 

"I SWEAR I'LL HAVE YOUR ASS ONE DAY!" His voice echoed in the surroundings powerfully. Aito paused. That sentence kinda felt weird after he had slapped Segolene's ass. 

[What's the matter? Lost your mind already, mortal?] Valinar commented. 

'Your husband tricked me, goddess,' he replied, clenching his teeth. There was one detail Aito hadn't paid attention to before because he had been too preoccupied at the time by his hatred of the divine when signing the Oath Pact. 

Clause 2 said that Belmand would prevent the summoning of more Evol Monkey on the island for two months, but it never said WHEN. 

It never said if it was the next two months from the time he entered the Tower or a hundred years later. Which meant…

'Jack may have been in trouble for the past 2 months and…,' he said mentally, clenching his fist, 'it is all my fault.' 

[Hum, I don't recall exactly why but… if I'm correct; he was called the god of mischief before he changed his title to god of sloth.] Valinar said, [So it's not surprising he tricked you considering old habits die hard.]

'I'll kill him.' 

[Hold on, black challenger. He does nothing without reason. The god I remember is cunning and even smarter than the god of wisdom himself. There must be a reason he tricked you.]

'Don't care. Not my problem. He broke an already broken trust,' he stood up from his spot, grabbed the shovel he had taken from Ainar weeks ago, and walked outside the safety of his walls. 

There, in between the trees and the glade, he saw the defensive structure Segolene had built for him. A ten meters deep trench surrounded his fortified camp, encompassing the entire glade. 

Inside it was wooden spikes that hopefully would pierce berserkers as they fall in it. That ditch certainly won't stop or kill all berserkers. However, it ought to at least regulate the speed at which they reach him better than a stone wall.

According to the cracks and holes in the stone wall, it was too efficient at keeping them at bay. 

At the foot of his square-shaped stonewall, he started digging at inhuman speed with the intent to add another smaller trench to his fortifications. His rage fueled his strength. He had to use Durability on his shovel, for it would break otherwise. 

The idea of playing in the hands of this god's sparked uncontrollable anger only manual labor or killing that asshole would alleviate it. 

'If Jack dies because evol monkeys kept being summoned on the island, I swear to you Valinar,' the earth cracked beneath his feet as he unearthed a rock, 'I will make my second priority to take his head.. Hopefully, you won't interfere, but if you do, mark my words, I'll destroy what remains of your soul.'