214: Cheater

Cheater

After Roan's sudden disappearance, caused by a call of nature, Aito briefed the others on the three options they had.2

Their faces turned grim at the news. How couldn't they when the options left them with so many choices but the struggle they had endured until now compelled them to choose only one amongst the three?

It would be such a waste to stop now, so close to their goals. However, the idea of what was possibly an inevitable death troubled them, slowly making its way through their minds, weakening their resolve.

They had come thus far, knowing death just laid around the corner, but never were they told straight to their faces by someone more powerful than them the chances of survival were slim.

Learning this beforehand by someone they trusted—or you had no choice but to trust—was bound to make an impact.

What really bothered them, though, was the sacrifice necessary to exit the floor if they ever were to fail.

"While I will attempt to clear this quest," Aito said, cutting the silence. "I cannot ask you all to possibly lay down your lives with mine. You are free to leave now if you so desire. I have no right to stop you."

Aito wasn't willing to force their hands, even Sam, the one hated to his very bones.

With those words, he left them to their pondering while he went to do some pondering of his own, planning as best as he could his fight with the Lv4 Goliath.

Since they were given time to think, the other challengers spread around the hall. Elizabeth took care of her paralyzed husband. Sheyla and Ogoro, who had previously been in a heated argument, were now silently absorbing one soul core after another, ruminating. Like George's, their bags still stored more than 3/4 of their content. After all, they couldn't absorb souls as fast as Aito could.

Sam, who had previously been released for "good conduct," stayed at the center, lying his entire body on the floor, staring up at Iris's map, wondering if his daughter was truly out there, somewhere.

George kept hitting the entrance double doors with his club to channel his anxiousness rather than trying to destroy it.

No voices were heard in the Cathedral drowned in the water mage's consecutive thuds, nursing the thoughts of those who would choose between possible death and certain survival.

Sitting on Valinar's broken statue, Aito stared at a giant marble pillar on which multiple candles supported by metallic circles decorated it every five meters or so. Eyeing one of those candles, he pondered Roan's words deeply, searching for their meanings.

Amongst these words, one particular sentence confused him more than the others.

'If this is not enough, if your bravery fails you, look for an answer in the one you hate most.'

Since his revival, he had come to hate quite a few people. The mysterious gods whose plans remained unclear until now. The Chosen Sect members, particularly their leader. Sam, who was no longer a sect asshole, just a plain asshole in his eyes.

Amongst those, five were physically present, in a way. There were statues of the gods, manifesting a certain… aura he couldn't explain but feel. And there was also Sam. Now, if he went by Roan's words, an answer to his possible doom potentially laid in one of them.

His words often gave Aito food for thoughts and at least deserved to be taken into consideration. While he had never been given any reason to trust the merchant, he somehow felt some sort of link towards him.

Maybe it was Destiny or just his overflowing imagination.

One thing was certain, it was messing with his mind. Figuring out who hated most between those statues and Sam was difficult, even more, if the baldie choose to leave.

'Do you know what he meant, Valinar?' He asked mentally.

[No idea. That man is strange. His statements were also filled with too many loopholes. The main being... something way too ridiculous to be believable.]

'What do you mean?'

[It is as if he knows what would happen. A logical explanation would be that he is a moderator—which is already hardly believable—and know exactly how dangerous the Goliath is. But something about this merchant tells me he knows much more than an actual moderator should. It is as if, as absurd as it sounds, he knows the future.]

[If that is the case, he is a very dangerous man, Aito. Be wary of him. Only a handful of people can tear the fabric of Reality and tap into Time itself, even then they can barely catch a glimpse of what would eventually happen. The one who masters the art of precognition more than the gods themselves is the Old Farsighter.

[Instead of a glimpse, she stares right through the countless future possibilities, calculating, estimating what could happen. However, she never knows for sure what will happen, which is something your ginger friend seems to know. How disturbing.]

'Is that so?'

[You don't seem so surprised.]

'I've been through a lot of shit since my revival, remember? Although it is dreadful news, it's not that surprising. I might be wary of those things, but surprised? Nah. Been through so much shit that temporal dabbling or whatever it's called isn't surprising, just scary.'

[Hum, I don't know if this is a sign of growth or the opposite. But I guess it'll do for now. You have other concerns to attend to, so do I.]

'Oh, what can a status window attend to?' Aito asked, messing with her.

[Not sure, yet. I'm currently spreading my soul to the whole building. I need a bit more time to be certain. I'll tell you afterward.]

Aito shrugged. He had already plenty of things to do himself. Looking through his rewards and planning for his next fight, for example. He finally opened the notifications he had left unattended until now.

____

[Congratulations! You've cleared the 9th floor's quest!]

[Congratulations! You've accomplished a feat never before seen!]

Achievement: Destroy more than half of 9th floor's labyrinth on your own.

Rewards (Achievement + Quest):

- New title: Cheater (Ahahaha! Isn't that a well-deserved title, blackie? *Nodding* Anyway, while I can't tell you too much or it'll mess up with your Destiny, already pretty messed up by your own deeds, I'd advise you to get ready as soon as possible. See you soon, blackie! If you don't die before then, that is.)

- New Active Skill: Eyes of Demolition Lv3 (Upon activation, you will be able to locate weak points in lifeless structures.)

- 2 skill points to allocate freely

- 2 stat points to allocate freely

- 60000 Glory points

- 600000 Tutorial points

____

Aito cringed, seeing another message from that god again sparked hatred but also curiosity. What was that ominous warning for?

'Does he mean someone is keeping an eye on me or some kind of danger I have not been told about is hidden somewhere on this floor? Weird.' He thought, before eyeing his surroundings suspiciously and spreading his Domain. As far as he could tell, there was no one around other than his team. Also, Roan had left for the 2nd floor, so it couldn't be him Belmand was talking about. 'I have a bad feeling about this. *Sigh* Calm down, now is not the time to go paranoid. First things first, I'll allocate a few points I'm been saving until now in the stats and skills in which I'm still lacking or I can improve.'

Before that, he needed to think about the state of his soul and how much it could handle.

*****

"The Woodcutter couldn't know he was at fault and his past deeds would have terrible consequences. For every action has a consequence and every reward a price." 

Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant.

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