LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 106: Cabin in the Woods
"H-Help us, sir!"
"Don't kill us. We're truly sorry, sir."
Arthur saw the number of Night Liberators dying increase. Aerith was satisfied with defeating them; they were no match for her.
Jack, Rasputin, and Khan appeared before Arthur. Among the three, only Khan arrived with his hands holding the severed heads of the Night Liberators. Arthur smiled, occasionally looking at the head Khan was holding.
"Do you want to keep it? We used to pile these disgusting things into a big mountain," Khan said.
"That's a good idea, Khan. Chop off their heads and make a mountain out of it."
"I want to show no power in the Dark Pillar can threaten me!" said Arthur.
"If that's your wish, I'll do it, Master."
Khan went to each of the dead and dying Night Liberators. With a single swing of his sharp, curved sword, the blade cut off their heads with great precision. The death toll rose again and made Arthur's red title sentence even longer.
Aerith flew over to Aaron, seeing that his clothes were covered in blood stains from the fight —or instead of the massacre. She offered to clean the blood stains, but Arthur refused.
"There's no need. The fight isn't over yet. I'm afraid if I clean my clothes, they'll be stained again like now," Arthur said.
"What's not over? Don't you see it? All your enemies are dying!" said Aerith, as Arron realized that no other attacks were directed at him anymore.
[EXP +1450000]
[DING! Congratulations on leveling up]
[Level 75 -> Level 80]
[TP +725000]
[Choose Talent for TP allocation:]
[1. Dark Dimension Reality]
[2. Gravity Manipulation]
[500000 RL]
[Item Obtained:]
[45 HP Potion]
[70 MP Elixir]
[26 Red Ruby Gem]
[30 Blue Amethyst Gem]
[10 Slip talent rank A]
[3 Slip talent rank S]
[3 Fire Elemental Beast Full Fragment]
[1 Water Elemental Beast Full Fragment]
[2 Wind Elemental Beast Full Fragment]
[1 Status Attribute Full Booster Lv. 5]
From what appeared before him, Arthur saw that those items were very valuable to him and probably the members of the 13th squad.
They would be very happy if they got items like complete beast fragments from various elements —their first beast servant.
Also, the remaining panel before him was the confirmation panel for TP allocation. In the panel, Arthur pressed the TP allocation to his main talent, given the large amount of TP that would allow him to perform Ascension quickly.
[TP +725000]
[Talent Name: Dark Dimension Reality]
[TP: 1892321/1999999] [+725000]
Arthur smiled. It only took about 200000tp for him to get the chance to ascend to the final stage in his Rank SSS-R talent.
The young man wondered what he would get if he had ascended all the stages at the highest rank?
Genghis Khan stepped closer to Arthur and Aerith. He proudly displayed the mountain of chopped-off heads created by his abilities, which were tall and full of blood. Arthur could guess that the number reached 100 from the number of heads.
"This will be your next war with the Night Liberators. They won't let you go easily, Aaron," Aerith explained, glancing to the side.
"I know. They're a great group, but my strength is just as strong as their leader's."
"I have nothing to fear. I am."
Aerith smiled proudly. The woman never thought Aaron could reach such a high point of strength in less than a year of being trapped in the Dark Pillar Tower.
If his strength wasn't limited, he could probably reach the highest floor of this place in less than 10 years.
Before Arthur, the woman was seen moving her lithe hand aside, revealing a dimensional rift that connected the Dark Dimension to this place. Jack, Rasputin, and Khan returned to Arthur's body after they had completed their duties.
"You can come out. It's safe here," Arthur explained.
Slowly, Sara and the others stepped out, and to their surprise, they saw Arthur covered in blood stains. Not only him but the surrounding area was strewn with the bodies of the Night Liberators who died horribly.
Hana covered her mouth, trying to close her eyes and calm her heart and mind. The gruesome sight of the place was enough to make her nauseous.
Mona tried to calm Hana by taking her away from the place. Sara and Karen were still there, asking Arthur for a clear explanation.
"You explain everything to them, Aaron. I'll go where I belong," Aerith replied.
"Thank you for your help today, Aerith."
"Anything for you, my love."
Aerith stepped into the dimensional rift and disappeared from the scene. The dimensional rift faded away, leaving Arthur with the remaining members of the 13th squad. To explain everything, it was better for them to go to another place and hide.
"We should find a place to hide."
Sara agreed. With the recent incident, there was a chance that the other members of the Night Liberators would get suspicious and check out this place. If they stayed here, the danger would return beyond what they could imagine.
Far leaving the Sky Sword base that left abandoned ruins. Arthur and Sara found a worn-out house in the middle of the forest, with dust and outdated furniture inside. They can breathe a sigh of relief; the house's location is in the middle of the green zone.
Arthur activated Jack to stand guard on the house's roof. He would notify Arthur if a suspicious person came within his surveillance range. It was enough to make Arthur feel safe.
The young man told him about Aerith and why she was so powerful. He also explained about his talent and his relationship with the black-dressed woman. Sara and the others listened intently. Not a few of them suspected that Arthur was Aaron.
"He called you Aaron once. For some reason, your face looks similar to the fugitive," Morgan replied, squinting.
Arthur turned to look at Sara. Among them, only Sara knew Arthur's true identity. Due to the earlier fight and Aerith's appearance, it seemed that Arthur could no longer hide his identity.
Sara nodded, allowing Arthur to reveal himself as she was sure he had thought of all the consequences.
Arthur removed the earring attached to his ear. The golden light faded from Arthur's body and made the persona barrier vanish.
Morgan, who doubted at first if Arthur was Aaron, began to realize and was shocked after being confirmed that Arthur was really Aaron.
"Aaron? You are Aaron!" said Morgan, acting vigilant.
Not only him but Nolan as well. Hana and Mona stepped back and walked far from him while Karen remained silent, staring at Arthur with a look of disappointment.
"Is he the Aaron we're looking for?" asked Hana, confirming.
"Yes. He's obviously the fugitive of the three major groups. He killed Sky Sword's raid team on the fifth floor!" insisted Morgan.
"Why are you doing this, Aaron? Why are you hiding your identity from us?" asked Karen, curious with sharp eyes.
Sara got up from her seat and asked them to settle down. Morgan asked Sara about Aaron's identity, the woman confessed that she had known it since the inn.
"This is insane! I don't want to go on this adventure with a murderer like him!" snapped Morgan, waltzing away in disgust out of the log cabin.
Nolan and Hana stepped outside to chase after Morgan, hoping he wouldn't be foolish enough to walk far away. Aaron was still sitting on the couch, arms crossed over his chest.
"I had expected it; none of you can accept me here," Aaron said.
Aaron put the earring back on his ear, the golden light and persona barrier reactivated on Aaron's body. But, as they already knew, what they saw wasn't Arthur; it was Aaron.
"That's why you can talk closely with Andrew. Did something happen between you and him?" Karen asked.
"There was an agreement between us. One of the terms was that I had to bring the weakest squad on the tenth floor Sky Sword to Lilith City in less than a year."
"What? But it's impossible. At least to arrive at the 15th floor takes about six months," Karen replied, guessing as the power level of the monsters on that floor was already different.
"I can get you to the 20th floor in six months, then arrive at Lilith City in five months."
Sara said it was possible if they continued to rely on Arthur's power. Still, Sara was refusing to do so. This could be a good opportunity for her and the other members besides Arthur to improve their abilities.
She wanted them all to fight together until they were truly worthy of staying in Lilith City. Arthur might be worthy with his current CP, but not Sara and the others.
"True! But we also want to get stronger. Not just you, but we also want to arrive at Lilith City by our own abilities," Sara explained.
"Then use this," said Arthur.
He took out all the complete beast fragments of the various elements, perfectly spherical in shape with different colors —according to the element's base color. Sara and Karen gasped, as did Mona, still in the cabin.
"It would be a hassle if you were weak in a floor boss battle. At least, you should have a beast servant."
"Is this a full fragment?" asked Sara, Arthur nodded.
"If you're willing to do me a favor and get rid of your group's perception of hatred towards me, I'll help you summon a beast servant!"
"If you choose to betray me, I will kill you and only bring Sara upstairs!"