《Return of the Woodcutter 》Chapter 120: The Fifth Floor (4)
Advertisement
"Like goblins, hum?" Aito said. He already knew most of that because of his recently acquired knowledge, but playing the part would only add to his credibility as a newcomer
Also, something had intrigued him during the attack. While the others had heard "BU SU GLAAA!" he heard "BU SU ATTACK!"
He doubted BU SU was a name, more like two other words. If he was correct, it meant that the hobs' language was similar to the goblins', and since he now knew the goblin's language, he could understand parts of hobs' sentences.
'It could come in handy.' Aito thought, 'or not… who knows?'
The team quickly gathered the soul cores, bolts, and arrows, then continued their explorations of the fifth floor.
On the way, they encountered numerous ambushes. Aerial attacks, poison arrows, and even hobgoblins coming out of some buildings' main entrances.
Although the hobs were no match for the team, their ambushes were still annoying to deal with. And the further away they moved from the center of the city, the more hobs there were.
The scenery also changed, becoming grimmer. Black buildings with cracks and broken windows. A few carriages painted in black were decorated with what appeared to be human hands.
It made no sense for carriages to be around these parts. As far as Aito knew, there weren't any horses in this city to pull them.
"Hum? Why are there carriages you ask?" Rey said, "Well, it's true that there are no horses in this city. But sometimes, for the fun of it, hobs use captured humans to pull a carriage before eventually killing them. Or they could also pull it themse—"
At that moment, a carriage driven by a hob entered the main street at full speed. Grabbing ropes to pull the carriage were ten hobgoblins, madly running towards the team.
Advertisement
On the vehicle's rooftop, four hobs archers took aim and fired arrows at Aito and the siblings.
'The fuck?' Aito cursed internally, deploying his shield to protect himself. Gwen's memories were blurry, so they didn't cover every detail of a floor, just like the carriage driven and ridden by hobgoblins. So, he hadn't expected this turn of events.
"GLAAA UL MUMU!!!" (ATTACK ** HUMANS!)
The ten hobs pulling the carriage suddenly let go of the ropes and stepped aside, out of the vehicle's path that was heading directly for Aito and his team. Four archers that were on the roof also abandoned the vehicle.
"Sheyla!" Aito shouted.
"Already on it!" She replied, an arrow nocked on her bowstring. She charged it with aura, revealing bright blue patterns akin to electric circuits on the arrowhead, and released it
Flying straight and true, the arrow hit a front wheel, impeding the mechanism with frost. Ice rapidly spread to the wheel, freezing the material to its very core. The wheel detached from the main structure, passed under a back wheel, hindering it.
Unbalanced and damaged, the carriage titled then fell, deviating from its course, ramming into a nearby decrepit building.
Hobgoblins that appeared to be inside it, exited the vehicle. Battered, bruised, covered in black green blood.
Aito and Sheyla fired bolts with their repeaters, rapidly killing them one by one. In the meantime, Ogoro covered for them, taking care of the ten hobs rushing towards them.
Sword in hand, Ogoro cleaved a bloody path. Using steel wires or his binding string was still new to him, so he simply used them to destabilize his enemies in battle or trap them from time to time.
In a matter of a few minutes, the fight was over. The archers had fled, but it mattered little.
Advertisement
"Pfiou! Splendid fight young lads and old lad," Rey commented.
"Are you doing that on purpose?" Ogoro asked, apparently pissed.
"What do you mean, old lad?"
"Stop calling me old lad, old man. I'm saying that every time we run into something new, you warn us just before it happens. I don't think that's a coincidence."
Standing on the side, Aito approved silently—although he already knew the reason. Next to him, Sheyla whispered, "Something is odd about that tour guide."
Of course, the siblings would notice by now that something wasn't right with Rey. Even a fool would have figured it out at some point, well, hopefully.
"What are you saying? Why would I warn you at the last minute on purpose?" Rey said, innocently, "I fail to see why it is in my interest. If you were to die, I die. I cannot fight all those hobs alone. Nor would I be able to return by myself when we're so far away from the center of the city."
Aito shook his head. The moderator was making less and less sense. If he was playing a veteran challenger, Rey should be able to fight a bit, or at least pretend he could.
Rey hadn't even budged a toe during ambushes and always stood on the side. Moreover, Aito had noticed that no hobs targeted him until now. As if Rey was invisible to them.
'No matter, we've seen enough for one day,' Aito thought.
Aito and the siblings had almost cleared the quest to ascend to the next floor by now. It just required a challenger to kill fifty hobgoblins on his own. The rewards were the same as always. Tower Points and Glory Points plus access to the next floor.
Although the counter of killed hobs would reset tomorrow, he didn't want to be too greedy. Also, his true goal was to get that item.
It was supposed to be an invisibility cloak of sorts.
He knew it wouldn't be easy since the current holder could practically turn invisible and avoid him whenever it felt like it.
Well, if Aito really couldn't find the hobgoblin in possession of the cloak, then so be it. Losing time over an item was stupid.
Tomorrow, they would speed things up. He hadn't used the Suicidal Horn today because he wanted to familiarize himself with the enemy first.
Thanks to today's exploration, he had figured out where to blow to the horn to have a satisfying result. Attracting numerous hobs was good, but too many of them and his team would be swarmed.
"Just leave him be, Ogoro," Aito said, patting his companion's shoulder. "The sun will set in a few hours; we better return now before it gets dark."
"Indeed, wise words. Listen to your friend, old lad," Rey said. "I'll lead the wa—"
"No, I'll do it," Aito interrupted.
"But…"
"Don't worry, we'll still give you food once we get back safely to the cathedral," Aito said, smirking
He had memorized the way already. It wasn't that difficult with his blurry knowledge and the experience he had acquired during this exploration.
Moreover, the road back wasn't so complex it'd require a guide. Aito had just hoped the moderator would bring him enough bad luck and eventually lead him to the special monster in possession of the invisibility cloak while hoping to see an entertaining fight—well, he realized now that good luck was maybe what he needed for the encounter to happen.
Advertisement
- In Serial13 Chapters
Dopamine
The meaning of life is to protect the ego, because it makes the dopamine. Horm is worried that the future is happening too slow. He's afraid he might miss it. So he makes a plan to speed things up using dopamine - the brain chemical that drives motivation. It could work. Disclaimer - This book is weird.
8 562 - In Serial54 Chapters
Wanted: Dead or Alive
John 'J.J. Cool' Jennings is a reformed criminal aiming to isolate himself within the state of Sloan in the rugged Western Halfland. Growing up within the notorious street gang known as The Sharks, he innately possesses the skill set for becoming a fearful ice Agist, or magic user. His dismissive attitude often runs him into trouble in this Wild West inspired fantasy web-series. With his talking horse named Poni as company, Jennings will need to overcome a dark past to create a bright future for himself, now made more difficult, with the added stress of maturation. [[ Season 2 returning soon ]] Visit Koijoi Ent. website for further information or to contact directly.
8 124 - In Serial26 Chapters
World Integration
Earth's inhabitants have long since grown accustomed to peace. With the rapid advancement in technology and modern-day medicine over the years, the average human lifespan has been increased. Some individuals manage to exceed a hundred years, which is more than double the average lifespan expectancy of those who had lived 100 years ago. And some of the Old Gods from the previous eras having forsaken their old ways of living a primitive lifestyle for a more modern way of living. They have decided to live peacefully hidden amongst the humans, under the disguise of an ordinary person. One of the Old Gods, [Loki, the God of Mischief and Chaos] has grown bored watching over the peaceful world. So he and the other Old Gods then transpired together to wreak havoc upon the modern world, and thereby started a second Ragnarok event to reset the world, starting from the bottom up... This story was based upon Yue Hajime's story [The Broken World] which was discontinued, with some added elements and plots from the novel [The Legendary Mechanic].
8 68 - In Serial8 Chapters
Husk
Thrown into the midst of conflict, Jaxon Ward will have to come to terms with what it means to be human in this new world. Brought out of what this world calls the tempering cycle, he finds that everything he knew about reality was a lie. He is now a citizen of Human Empire, a small but consolidated power on the fringes of a much larger intergalactic playing field. As a member of the fifth and final wave of The Guards of Gaia, Jaxon and his peers are saddled with the hopes of the masses, who seek to find shelter in the coming storm. However, finding safety in this new world won't be easy, when even Gods and Demons are terrified of what lurks just beyond the veil.
8 121 - In Serial55 Chapters
[BTS: Love Yourself Series] MinYoongi x Save Me
Struggling through the difficulties in life since trainee, Yoongi suffered from depression. Even when finally debuted, Yoongi did not seems to feel happier until he received this fan letter from Jihye, an aspiring webtoon artist. From fan to the best friend. From a nobody to the global superstar. This fanfic shall diverge to the journey of Jihye and Yoongi's journey of loving yourself.FF cover by @thrtsygrl (Twitter)#𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗒𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗅𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟢𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗐#2020wattyaward
8 233 - In Serial42 Chapters
Akatsuki (Magi Ja'far X Fem Reader)
The dark waves lapped gently against the sides of the ships bobbing gently in the waters of the Sindria harbor. The lights of the lively parties that the kingdom so often held had finally died. The peaceful darkness of the night had finally settled over the island. Finally, for just a few hours before sunrise, Sindria was asleep. The perfect time for an assassination.If you're reading this fanfiction just for romance, you're probably going to be disappointed. It's going to follow a storyline and the romance is rather subtle. But if you like those kinds of relationships (like me), then feel free to read my fanfiction. DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN MAGI OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS EXCEPT FOR (Y/N)-CHAN! NONE OF THE PICTURES/FANART I USE ARE MINE, INCLUDING THE COVER
8 98

