Return of the Woodcutter

Aito gazed at the shield in his left hand. Although the ainium parts were still intact it was badly curved in the middle where the steel plates were; an arrow was still stuck in it and the mechanism was probably too damaged to work properly. 

"Well… there were hundreds of them down there. Plus a few dangerous opponents." He said. 

The minerian chewed furiously on charcoal, gulped, then sighed, "Judging by its state, I suppose it served its purpose well. Too well, it appears. Still, do you know how delicate the mechanism is? Huh? It'd take me hours to repair it and that is only if I focus on it." 

"Ah, talking about repair, could you run a check-up on my armor set and make the necessary repairs?" Aito said, shamelessly. 

"Tsk, some of your armor parts could indeed use some repair, but how are you gonna pay for this?" Ainar replied, "Last I remember you were broke." 

"Come on, aren't we partner now?" Aito said with a bright smile, hiding an internal smirk.

"Tsch, I'm already regretting this partnership." Ainar said grumpily, "Fine, just settle your stuff on the counter. Gotta warn you, though. Your shield won't be ready before tomorrow." 

"Thanks," Aito said. Taking it off his armor set pieces by pieces before placing each part on the large wooden counter in no particular order. 

Next to him, Ogoro was inspecting a yellow string much thinner than the one he had used previously to bind his enemies. Slowly but surely, the string approached his wound behind the knee and progressively sewed the injury. 

It wouldn't heal the entire wound, not internally, but it would at least help the healing process of the recovery bead. 

Remembering that he still had four of those, he threw one to Sheyla and one to Ogoro who broke it immediately. 

Aito couldn't help but notice their current lack of genuine gears. Clearing the Tower without proper equipment would prove to be difficult, thus… 

"Ainar, would you mind if my companions pick some gears from your stall?" 

"'Sure, go ahead, help yourselves' was what you thought I would say!!!??" Ainar said, "If they can pay, they are welcomed to purchase. If they can't, are you gonna pay for them?" 

"Aren't we partners?" 

"You can't use that excuse every time, boy. We are partners but I do need to make a living after all." 

Aito sighed, then said, "We'll be leaving soon for the fourth floor, Ainar. And I do not intend to come back on the second floor before clearing this Tower. Time is of the essence. I know that I'm asking a lot from you and that my request is unreasonable, but please, we need this. I promise to make it worth your while after we clear the last floor and we're out of this damned place." 

Ainar scoffed, "And if you die up there? How am I supposed to make up for my losses?" 

"Well, in the eventuality I do die, you'll get to keep the ainium for yourself." Aito said, "But I will not die. I cannot die. Not now. Not until I've accomplished what I set myself to do. So don't worry, I'll come back alive and repay you double what I owe you." 

The minerian ate a piece of charcoal grumpily, looked at the pieces of equipment settled on his counter, and remembered Roan's last sentence before they parted ways a few weeks ago. 

'If, no, the black challenger will come to you for help one day in the near future. Although I'd like for you to accept, the choice is still up to you. However, know that this will be an opportunity of a lifetime. Refuse and you'll be the only one to suffer a loss. Because, from the moment he accepted the half giantess's training, no matter what happens, and mark my words, he will clear this Tower. With or without your help. You know what that means, right?' 

Roan always has been, and probably would always be, a mysterious guy. Ainar had known him for two hundred, or was it three hundred years? He couldn't recall exactly, but it sure has been a long time. 

Even then, all he managed to figure out about the red-haired man's origins was that he wasn't human. Roan would never speak of his past, always dodging the question with stupid jokes or boastings. 

One thing was certain though, Roan had a vast amount of knowledge at his disposal. As to where and how he'd obtained them, Ainar couldn't even start to guess. 

The so-called merchant could very well disappear one day to only reappear in two years or whenever he felt like it.

Where would he go?

No idea.

Pure mystery. 

What Ainar knew, though, was that Roan was rarely wrong. No matter how stupid Roan seemed, there were only a few occasions where he had been wrong. Ainar even suspected it had been on purpose, orchestrated mistakes. 

Roan's warning about the black challenger's need for help had been disturbing, not because Ainar didn't trust the merchant, but because it was hard to believe. One couldn't simply predict the future after all, not so accurately. 

Well, it appeared that Roan had that kind of power… or not. Hard to say.

But after Ainar had witnessed Aito's first request for help, he was more inclined to believe in this prediction. 

That was why Ainar had first accepted to help the black challenger, but not only.

A past regret, shame, had resurfaced from a dusty corner of his memory because, in Aito, he saw the same potential to transcend he had seen in many people before him. One, in particular. 

But all failures.

All disappointments.

All betrayers.

The minerian had abandoned the idea of crafting for someone, entering a true partnership with someone. Not the kind of simple business partnership, no, something much more… more… glorious. 

Money was good, but there were things money couldn't buy. 

And Ainar's satisfaction was one of them. 

Just for once.

Just for once, he wished for someone to at least transcend above the corruption. To remain untainted by the World. To stay true to his goal no matter the obstacles. 

Would Aito be the one to bring him the satisfaction he desperately sought after and also wash away the shame, the burden he carried with him to this day?

There, as he saw the burning desire to gain power, to accomplish a goal, glisten in the boy's eyes who had returned from a fight he originally wasn't meant to win, Ainar allowed himself to hope.

A small, tiny, minuscule hope.

He hoped for something more than riches, more than fame, more than what the mere satisfaction of what mortal desires could offer. 

Even if he were to just stand on the side and bask in the light, he'd be fine, content, satisfied with it.

He wanted—

'What am I even thinking?' Ainar sighed, wondering where he was going with that kind of thinking before he put it back where it belonged, in a dusty corner of his mind. 

Nevertheless, he was curious about what would happen to the boy. It was true that what Aito asked of him was unreasonable, but it could also be seen as an investment. What's more, he could keep the ainium as collateral if anything went wrong. 

No matter how he looked at it, whatever the outcome, he'd profit from it. 

"Hum, fine," Ainar said, a calm face, somewhat masking a sad expression. "Let me check something first. You there the big guy and the woman, got any TPs?" 

Ogoro shook his head.

Sheyla seemed to ponder the minerian's rude behavior, but Aito gestured to not mind it. She then said, "Not enough to afford your equipment, I think." 

"Yeah… figured as much." Ainar grunted, "I'm going to say this only once, so listen carefully. Pick whatever items you need from my shop. Swords, bows, crossbows, breastplates, vambraces, arrows, bolts, etc. You'll only need to pay me 1TP for the transaction since I'm required to at least exchange my work for a sum or something when selling. Understood?" 

Ogoro was about to open his mouth, but Ainar sent him a menacing glare. 

"You, the pushover." Ainar spat, "If you dare even start to say, 'Are you sure?' or 'B, b, but,' like a dumbass, I'll call off this deal. Am I clear?" 

The giant grey-haired man was once again about to say something, however, Aito rapidly closed the short distance between them and covered Ogoro's mouth before saying, "Crystal clear." 

Ainar granted and then gazed at Aito's gears on the counter, seemingly thinking about the repairs. 

Meanwhile, appearing to be in a good mood, Sheyla happily perused through the articles, picking whatever was to her liking as if she were shopping at a Mall. Well… she was in a sense. 

With the idea to try out new clothes and armor parts, Sheyla took off her own clothes as if nobody was around to look at her toned and beautiful curves, only keeping her undergarments. 

Passersby, men or women—mostly men—couldn't help but gaze at her like she was either an indecent person or a top model gone crazy. 

She cared little about it though, not like she was stark naked. They could stare as much as they wanted. So long as they weren't a bother, she would remain oblivious to those idiots who had nothing better to do in their lives. 

Ogoro coughed when he saw Aito staring at his sister's butt. "What are you doing?" 

Aito turned towards him, "Hum, me? I'm getting an eyeful while I can. Thought it was obvious enough. Should I make it more obvious by standing right next to her?" 

"You know no shame…," Ogoro shook his head. 

"Who cares about shame in this damned place?" Aito replied, "I intend to live my second life without regret. Not appreciating a butt as nice as your sister's is a crime against the ass-men community. No, the whole of humanity. So, if you don't mind, could you leave me staring in peace and go find your equipment before it's too late to do so?" 

Ogoro looked at him, appearing disappointed, then left, limping towards a weapon's rack. What he didn't know was that Aito wasn't staring at his sister's ass, but an item next to it. 

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Well…