Return of the Woodcutter

***WARNING: MATURE CONTENT***

Aito gazed at the destruction in front of him. One would say a natural disaster made it. In that sense, Gwen could be akin to one. A real force of nature that appeared indomitable, untamable, and peerless.

"Now that you've seen what I'm really capable of, don't feel ashamed about how or why you won, little man." Gwen said, "No matter what anyone else says, all means are good to win in a fight. Some people might call you shameless or a cheater, but who cares? In a fight for one's life, winning is what's important, the means matter little. Although I don't know what peculiar methods or items you used against me, and I won't ask what those since you probably will keep it a secret, it remains true that you won." 

"Well, shit," Aito said, still shocked by the moderator's power display. His previous wish to hit or just touch the moderator disappeared. "Are you a god in hiding?"

"Me? A god? Gahaha! Don't be ridiculous, little man." Gwen replied, "I've never fought a god, but I'd say that a divine being would probably just have to sneeze to do what I've just done." 

Aito gulped, thinking back on how disrespectful he had been to a certain god. He made a mental note to restrain himself more in Belmond's presence next time—well, some things cannot be avoided, though. 

"Anyway, it's you three's last night here, right?" Gwen said, smiling casually. "Let's make it relaxing and restful so that all of you are ready for tomorrow." 

Gwen summoned a luxurious table out of nowhere. On it appeared various fruits, meat, vegetables. All kinds of dishes that would make one salivate. 

"I ordered those for tonight and kept them warm in my inventory. I suppose you aren't injured enough that it'd prevent you from eating, right? Some of those dishes will help you recover, anyway." The moderator said. 

Suddenly, Aito's stomach growled loudly as he stared at the table, drooling. 

Gwen signaled the siblings that have been watching the spar on the sideline to join them. They both joined without saying a word, too eager to start digging. 

For the first time in probably… actually, for the first time in the History of the Tower, a moderator shared a delicious meal with three challengers. 

In better moods with full stomachs, moderator and challengers alike laughed, smiled. Speaking about anecdotes. Ogoro told stupid jokes that wouldn't make anyone laughed, but under the influence of the mood, it somehow appeared funny. 

Even Sheyla, with her cold demeanor, smiled sweetly from time to time, enjoying her moment together with people she dared, tonight, to call friends instead of acquaintances—the big oath onii-chan not included. 

Completely drunk, Gwen started to praise how Englad, the fortress she was usually stationed at, was the best of the best. 

She talked about its splendor. How this humongous fortress with nine layers of fortified walls located far to the north of Iris, has repelled Fearmongers for more than a thousand years. How it still stood tall despite suffering more attacks than the other three fortresses protecting the borders. 

And, of course, how great it'd be if all of them were to choose to be stationed there. 

At those words, a sober Aito looked sideways. He still had yet to make his choice about what to do once he was out of the Tower. 

His heart aches when he thought back to monkey Jack. While he was having a heartwarming meal, the small monkey was alone on the island. 

'I hope he's doing fine,' he thought, gazing at the far distance. 'Please hold on a bit longer, buddy. Even though I still don't know how I'll free you, but I'll find a way, no matter what. I'll find a way.' 

Gwen noticed Aito's empty glare, traced it, only to happen upon the public bath she had made a month ago. 

"Eyy? Youuu wanna taaake a bath, littttle man? Tututut. Don't bowther yusing that shitty thing." The moderator said, completely drunk as she instantly summoned a new structure that appeared to be a hot spring the like one could find in Japan. "Ayee, nowwww that's better! That's what I usually use to take a bath once in a whiiiile."

Aito looked at the luxurious-looking wooden structure, then at Gwen. He didn't know the moderator could summon this kind of thing until now. 

"What? You aren't satisfied with just this one? You greedy little man…," Gwen said, misinterpreting Aito's confusion about dissatisfaction. She summoned ten other hot springs. "Here! Satisfied now?" 

Aito turned his gaze towards her, appearing more confused than before, wondering if she was really that drunk. If that were the case, Aito thought that he'd better be careful about what he'd say and just agree. 

"Hum… yeah. Very satisfied. Thank you, Gwen." He said, standing up from his seat. "I'll talk to you later after my bath." 

Appearing completely drunk, Gwen served herself another glass of Indigo wine as she gestured for him to leave her alone with her drink since the two other siblings had fallen asleep. 

Ogoro and Sheyla appeared to be unable to tolerate alcohol. Probably because of their Asian origins. Japanese people weren't all like that, but a good number of them couldn't stand a few glasses of wine. 

Aito couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Ogoro mumble, "Just call me onii-chan one more time, please," in his sleep, his face on a plate that was still half-filled with food. 

Being the only one sober amongst a bunch of drunkards was a first for him. It felt strangely satisfying for an unknown reason.

Perhaps because he had resisted the temptation to try a drink he had never seen before on Earth, the Insomnia, a wine made from fermented indigo fruits, apparently—although, for him, they should probably call it Soporific.

He shook this thought out of his head, selected a random bathhouse, passed the lobby, stripped down to his birth attire, and opened the door to the hot spring, revealing a pond decorated by pristine rocks. 

A wooden barrier surrounded the steaming pond, hiding it from the outside. Aito immersed himself in the water with a sigh of relaxation. 

Entering by his pores, the warmth spread to his every muscle, easing his entangled mind. The feeling of a hot spring after eating his fill was even better than drinking an entire bottle of alcohol. Even beyond the level of using Pneuma, unnecessary to say that he has used that skill quite often like a cigarette addict would smoke every thirty minutes—if not less. 

At peace, and finally alone, his mind wandered towards the trials to come, Jack who was stuck on the island and climbing the Tower. 

Then his obsession with becoming stronger overwhelmed all the other thoughts as he stared at the red memory bead in his hand. 

'Here we go again,' he thought, readying for the pain as he swallowed the item. 

  Streams of datas-, images, memories about the Tower and its floors flooded his mind in a torrential manner. 

His eyes rolled backward while his brain registered the new knowledge. It took but a few painful moments. Then something new entered his mind, the knowledge about a new warrior class active skill, Impact. 

Information on how to manifest the skill entered his human database, creating shortcuts between his brain, muscles, and soul core. He felt familiar with it, yet was foreign. 

After the transfer of Impact was done, another data he hadn't expected entered his mind, knowledge about Englad and how to get there. Aito put it aside since it won't be of much use to him until he cleared the Tower. It was still a good thing to know though. 

He felt his consciousness slightly fade. Aito let himself go with the flow, because why not? He could resist it, but in this heaven soothing hot spring, there was no reason not to relax. 

It reminded him of his time in a jacuzzi with Viveka, a Russian girl he had met when touring Russia during a holiday. 

Blue eyes, blonde hair, a body that wouldn't pale compared to a model, and a damn firmed plump ass. One of the finest he had seen. 

That was probably why he dreamt about that night in the villa he had privatized. Oh hell yeah, he could still feel them. 

Two balloons in his hands. Ass-tasting was like wine tasting. It was an art for him. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just the right mix. He liked them firm but supple. 

However, something wasn't quite right. The two plumps he was touching in his dream felt much harder than in his memories. Their levels of firmness would shame any bodybuilder. 

Disturbed, Aito slowly opened his eyes to see an ass in front of him, albeit not Viveka's. 

"Oho, you're quite a daring one, little man," Gwen said, standing stark naked. "Jumping right at me when I exposed my back to wash, hun?" 

"Eh…, uh, oh, hum." 

He didn't know what to reply. 

"Nay, don't feel embarrassed," she said turning around, revealing her perfectly sculpted body. It was toned but not overly bulky. Her previous drunk demeanor was nowhere to be seen. 

Aito could still remember the hard rock feeling in his hand. Although Gwen's rear didn't look that hard, he knew it was god damn firm. 

The only reason he could think of as to why he couldn't even do what he called a "let's dig in" was probably because her Body level was too high or his strength too low to do that. 

'What a shame,' he thought. 

"Why are you here?" Aito said, trying to appear calm. "I thought you were still drinking." 

"Nay, I was faking it. No matter how much I drink, I cannot get drunk at my current level." She said, sitting in front of him. The water was deep enough to mask her entire body. Probably because she designed it this way. 

"Why fake it, though?" 

She smirked as she slowly drew closer to him, her hand reaching downward. "It was so that I could give you your real reward without the others noticing." 

Feeling something grab him down there, Aito quickly put the puzzle together, "I thought you didn't lay with men weaker than you." 

"I never said we would lay together, little man," Gwen said playfully. Her head then disappeared underwater.

"Oh...shit..." He said, as his body relaxed even more than before.

That night, Aito experienced a new kind of pleasure while discovering that the moderator could hold her breath for quite a long time.