ROTLE- Chapter 33- Humor Me (Patreon)

I am so sorry for the mix up. This is the chapter we are supposed to have, for those who've already seen the previous one. Deepest apologies for the inconvenience...

It took a better part of five minutes even after his bold lie before Elaswit calmed down. While she promised him that she was good and ready to continue moving, Aiden opted for a rest of ten minutes.

Ten minutes stretched to fifteen as he gauged her. What he needed was a companion that was ready to continue on their path not a companion that was ready to pretend to be ready until they were ready.

The time Aiden had spent leading his own group in the past had taught him a lot about people and how they reacted in certain situations and how they came out of it. He had enough confidence to know when someone was faking it.

Thirty minutes later, as they readied themselves to leave, he knew Elaswit was still faking it. She had gotten her panicking and trembling under control, which was a good thing, but there were other things that stood beneath it all.

Regardless, Aiden allowed their movement because it seemed like the only thing left to do. Waiting any longer wasn’t going to help her in anyway.

As they wandered down the path, meandering through the cave once more, he wondered how she would take it when he eventually told her the truth that there was only one entry and exit.

Lying was rarely ever a good thing, but time had taught Aiden that sometimes it was necessary.

From a boy who’d hated lies more than the devil once upon a time.

As truthful as his thoughts were, Aiden knew that the ideology had existed in a time too long ago. In a world where the greatest worry he’d had to think about was if he’d read enough to pass his next course or if he really wanted to buy one video game or the other on its release or not.

The ideology had been from a simpler time when his life had never hung on any balance and his worries had been of the greatest insignificance.

Back then he had never believed in a necessary lie.

Can’t tell if I’m growing, he thought, peering around a corner before taking the turn, or if I’m just jaded.

“Another corpse,” Elaswit pointed out as they made the turn, her voice a little too active.

Aiden had already noticed it.

Their interaction with the corpse was brief, quicker than was necessary in Aiden’s opinion. From what they got, the lady had not been an adventurer. She had no tag on her and nothing that identified her as such.

She had most likely been a mercenary.

“Or from the Mage Radiants,” Elaswit suggested when Aiden speculated on the mercenary idea.

Aiden shook his head.

The Mage Radiants weren’t known for putting themselves in combat situations. Although, there was a possibility that she was right. The Mage Radiants were often known to do things in secrecy despite their agreements with whatever kingdoms they operated in.

“Who are those?” he asked simply because he could.

Elaswit was quick with her frown. “A bunch of pompous assholes with sticks up their arses.”

Aiden paused, held back a snort. “I take it you’re not a fan.”

Elaswit made a point to spit on the ground very loudly. “Hate is not a strong enough word to describe it.”

That’s interesting. The nobles don’t usually hate them. They find them annoying but they don’t usually hate them.

Aiden gave the corpse another quick glance before coming to a conclusion. The corpse was most likely not a Mage Radiant.

“They like to think they are better than everyone,” Elaswit continued. “If you aren’t a magic class, they look at you like you’re a piece of gum at the bottom of their feet—an insignificant annoyance.”

Aiden wasn’t sure there was anything to be surprised by about that. When a society or a group was created based on the admittance of one specific demography, they either tended to develop some kind of superiority complex or some kind of inferiority complex. And when they were created by a demography already known to possess a superiority complex as individuals, there was only one likely outcome.

And the demography of the Mage Radiants was in the name.

“So is it a you thing or an everybody thing or a noble thing?” he asked as he made way for her to inspect the body.

Elaswit barely went down on one knee before getting back up.

“I will admit and say that some of them are actually good,” she said begrudgingly. “But most of them are pieces of shit that think they’re the excrement that came out of the asses of the collective gods and goddesses. Also, this one wasn’t a Mage Radiant.”

Aiden figured. If she had been she would’ve had one of their insignias.

“How do you know?” he asked.

Elaswit stepped around the corpse. “For starters, the quality of her clothes is too poor. You’d never catch a mage radiant outside their halls without high-end garments. Second, they have an insignia that they go everywhere with. She doesn’t have one.”

They continued on their path after that, getting lost and found in intertwining pathways. As they moved, Aiden wondered why he’d gotten an optional quest to find the dead adventurers when he’d stumbled on one and not the corpse he still felt was a mercenary.

Because it would be easier to identify an adventurer? He thought.

There was also the fact that unless the system intended on rewarding him itself, there was no one that would reward him for finding the corpse of a mercenary. There was nowhere he could go to make the official report.

Aiden and Elaswit came up on a one way turn that led to the left. With Aiden in front, he was in charge of leading the path, a role he had been playing ever since being the one to discover the natural enchantment.

Actually, it’s been since leaving the estate.

Rather than take the left turn, he walked up to the wall on the right and began shimmying his way through a small path that existed between it. He turned sideways and was already entering when Elaswit stopped him.

“Are you trying to abandon me?” she asked with the sleeve of his shirt pinched between her thumb and forefinger, halting him.

Aiden paused to look at her. He stepped out of the crack, confused, before the thought clicked. He did his best not to look at her hips and what the curves implied and he couldn’t believe he’d so clearly forgotten.

Elaswit didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest.

“First of all,” she said casually, “I won’t fit.” She gestured at her torso. “Upper body? Maybe. And that’s a tough maybe.” She gestured at her lower body. “The rest of me as you can clearly tell would be a heavy no. Secondly, you’re turning a bright red.”

The last part she added with an impish grin.

Aiden ignored the fact that he may or may not be blushing. Elaswit wasn’t large, but she was larger than him in size.

He looked at the crack once more, then at the natural path in front of them. Turning from side to side, he scratched at his head in frustration. Going through the path already established by the cave was leading them in circles and it was beginning to get to him.

“How about you give it a try?” he said, unsure. It was most likely his frustration speaking. “You go first. See if you can fit.”

Elaswit gave him a questioning look, yet her grin never left her lips.

“Are you just saying that because you want to watch me struggle through a tight space?” she asked.

Aiden wasn’t sure why she was teasing him right now, but he figured that it was a good thing. If she could still crack jokes, then her fears were having less of a hold on her.

“Humor me, El,” he said.

Elaswit gave it a moment’s thought before shrugging. “Alright.”

Aiden stood by as she made her way to the crack, turned sideways, and began the taxing endeavor of shimmying. He kept his gaze fixed on the back of her head as she struggled through. Now that she had quite clearly pointed out the fact that she was a woman with a woman’s body, staring at the back of her head just felt more comfortable.

The entry was a tight fit but she succeeded in getting through it. A few seconds later she was popping out of the other side with a very surprised ‘oh’.

Aiden focused on how glad he was that she’d fit. Then he went through.

“It was tight going in,” Elaswit commented when he came out the other side. “Tight coming out, too.”

She was looking around, surveying the new area.

Aiden was busy wondering why his mind couldn’t abandon the sexual innuendo that may or may not have been intended by her words.

Is it a teenager thing? He wondered. It had been more difficult for such things to faze him when he had been a thirty-year-old man.

“So what now?” Elaswit asked.

“Now,” Aiden replied, leading the way on their new path, “we keep walking.”

…

This new part of the cave was as much of a bust as the path on the other side of the crack. Nothing looked new and all they could do was wander.

They stumbled across two more corpses. Both were adventurers, an elderly man probably in his fifties with enough items on him to safely deduce that he had either a very high magical class or the actual [Mage] class.

The second was a physical power class, some kind of brute strength class if the massive hammer lying not far from him and his armor was anything to go by.

Elaswit asked for their names on each occasion and prayed for them to rest well.

“What do you think the time is?” she asked after a while.

Considering how long they’d been stuck in the cave, Aiden estimated that if it wasn’t already afternoon, then afternoon was definitely very close.

“Probably a few hours into the morning,” he said, then thought better of it. “Probably afternoon.”

As he’d learned over the years, always tell the truth on information that could be verified. Always. That way, it was harder to be doubted when you lied about information that was hard to verify.

Look at you, lying like the devil himself.

There was a small part of Aiden that felt bad about the fact that he now accepted the necessity of lies but it was too small to bother him. In his past life he’d gone from innocent to jaded. He wondered if in this life he would go from being jaded to being more optimistic, more… good?

He wasn’t sure that was the word he was looking for.

“I’d say its afternoon,” Elaswit said, then her face fell in thought. “Nelly must be worried sick.”

At first Aiden wasn’t bothered by the concept of his own missing status. Valdan was smart enough to have an idea of where he would be, so he doubted the knight would be too worried.

Shit.

A different thought came to him almost immediately. Valdan would not be too worried about him but the knight would be losing his mind at the fact that the princess was missing.

Could this get any worse?

Life being a great fan of humor in whatever dark forms it could find, a grating sound filled the air like stone scraping violently against stone.

Aiden groaned in annoyance.

I just had to jinx it.

He turned to Elaswit, unsheathing his sword. “Get read—”

She had her cleaver already in hand, eyes focused on the direction the sound was coming from. Her shoulders rose and fell, the result of calming breaths, and her face was fixed in seriousness.

Aiden didn’t like it. She was too serious, forcing herself to calmness. It meant one thing. He looked to what would confirm his suspicions and confirmed it.

I hope this isn't going to be a problem.

The end of her cleaver wavered slightly. Her hold was not steady.

Footsteps followed a moment after. Aiden listened for them and knew they were in greater trouble as he counted them.

Out of the corner, where the sound had been coming from, three gargoyles stepped out, all on four legs with currently flightless wings protruding from their backs.

Grotesque faces that were one of the trade marks of gargoyles stared at them with dull yellow eyes.

Aiden held up his sword in one hand while Elaswit mumbled something like a mantra beside him.

“Underbelly,” she muttered. “Where limb meets body.”

The end of her cleaver still wavered, but the wavering was growing into a decline.

“Underbelly,” she repeated. “Where limb meets body.”

Aiden was a little worried for her but not for himself. Knowing how to kill a gargoyle was more than half the battle, and now that he didn’t have to pretend that he didn’t know how to kill them, this battle was going to be easier for him than it would’ve been earlier.

All five of them stood, waiting. It would’ve seemed like an action of superior intelligence to anyone looking from without, but it wasn’t. It was merely a base instinct all creatures are born with, a need to understand your opponent.

Aiden didn’t need it. Their levels stared him in the eye from above their heads.

Elaswit inched forward and Aiden inched ahead to block her path. Sudden movements would send them into a frenzy.

She paused to look at him, keeping the creatures in her periphery.

“What?” she whispered.

Aiden turned his sword into a reverse grip, slowly. It made it easier to do what he wanted to do next. He brought his hands together and started weaving signs. Each sign was slow and systematic.

You have activated Class Skill [Enchanted Weave]

With each sign he made, he felt the mana within him move. This was how he weaved enchantments, by weaving the mana within him with each hand sign until it took what he was beginning to define as the living form of the enchantment.

He brought his fingers together in an awkward position, the weaving for the strength enchantment looking more complicated with a sword in his hand.

You have activated [Weave of Lesser Strength]

Effect: +21% increase in strength

Duration: 00:04:52.

“I’ll take the one on the left,” he told her as he felt the weaving take effect. “You take the right, and we’ll work our way to the last one.”

“You seem so confident,” Elaswit pointed out.

Aiden’s lips twitched in a smile. “I am.”

Then he spun his sword back into a normal grip and darted forward.

The single move heralded the battle and everything burst in a cacophony of motions.

Aiden heard the sound of Elaswit’s cleaver sing through the air as she rushed her opponent. His was already on him, closing the distance faster than his movement speed without assistance from [Dash].

He ducked under a swinging clawed hand and allowed his momentum tumble him away along the ground. The moment he got to his feet, his body was already in motion, his arms turning, placing his sword next to him in a defensive position.

The second of the three gargoyles appeared next to him almost immediately and he grit his teeth. He’d been hoping that it would focus on Elaswit since she had a higher level than him, but that hope was dead.

It swung at him and he was in no position to dodge. Still, he turned his body even with his sword held beside him in defense so that he was smacked by the paw of the gargoyle and not the claws.

The paw was almost as large as his entire torso and the blow sent Aiden flying through the air.

Aiden turned in the air, moved himself as best he could, then braced himself for impact. He slammed into the cave wall and bounced off it. When he landed, he was glad to say it was on his feet.

[Health: 81%]

Strength enchantments affected the muscles in a way that it made them not necessarily sturdier but harder to tear. In that way, while it made a person stronger, it didn’t necessarily make them invincible.

So the pain of the impact racked through Aiden and he struggled to catch his breath.

Four minutes, he reminded himself. You’ve got four minutes.

He squeezed out a greater effect of the enchantment at the cost of its duration. And he kept his attention on whatever fight he was having as much as he kept his attention on the time he had for the fight.

Even in his past life he had fought with enchantments, even if they were of a different form. Time was the greatest foe and ally of every enchanter and they kept it as close to their minds as possible.

Aiden caught movement in his periphery and rolled out of the way quickly. A gargoyle slammed into where he had been, raising dust and scattering bioluminescent moss and algae.

Dust, Aiden noted as he got to his feet, his legs already dancing beneath him, pushing him into a spin that avoided a swinging arm.

He swung his sword, his hands ever working, switching through Order sword techniques to turn aside a blow from the gargoyle. The sound of metal against stone rang through the air as blade made a gargoyle’s clawed hand, turning it aside.

The paw hit the ground beside Aiden, raising more dust, and Aiden’s feet carried him away from the creature.

Turning the single claw aside had taken much from him. At this point he was already considering another weaving. Everything had an enchantment limit, both humans and items. So far, Aiden knew he could take three weavings.

Right now he was already considering a second. Endurance would be the right weaving to support strength. It would make him sturdier in addition to his power.

He slipped beneath another random swing, turned to the side and stepped forward. Another swing missed him right after.

This was becoming a problem. He’d probably been a bit cocky. His plan had been to kill the first gargoyle quickly so he could take on the second.

I didn’t plan on them working together.

He dived, avoiding another downward strike.

Why’s there so much dust? He thought as it filled the air and his vision suffered for it. He could see nothing clearly.

Was the place too dry or were the gargoyle attacks just that strong?

Aiden doubted it was the latter as he plunged into the dust. He spun his sword, deflected a blow as the second gargoyle charged into the cloud of dust.

His sword turned the blow aside a little too easily and Aiden realized it had simply been a random swing, a searching swing.

Once upon a time Zen had fought a nocturnal animal in the dark of night and had failed to take advantage of every environmental option he had. People thought of creatures that saw in the dark and made one simple mistake.

They thought they could see regardless of any situation.

They were wrong.

Aiden raised his leg high. Obstruction is still obstruction.

He channeled all his strength into his foot and stomped down on the ground as hard as he could. The ground shook from the impact and raised more dust.

It confirmed one thing. The gargoyles weren’t that powerful, this part of the cave was merely that dry. Dusty.

Aiden swung his sword and tossed it upwards, out of the cloud of dust. In seconds, his fingers were already working as a plan came to life in his head.

You have used Class skill [Walking Canvas]

He felt his mana spread out of him, reaching around him. It was almost imperceptible in the presence of the ambient mana around him, but he could feel it clearly, deeply.

He finished his weaving almost at the same time.

You have activated [Weave of Lesser Breeze]

Effect: A gust of air.

It was a simple enchantment, some people even incorporated it into their temperature enchantments every now and again.

It was a simple enchantment in a diverse situation. And Aiden was already weaving his next enchantment.

The cloud of dust exploded around him. It plunged Aiden and his opponents deeper into it. He heard an annoyed growl from one of the gargoyles as he shifted his position, darted a little to the side where he was arguably sure none of them were.

He finished his next weaving almost immediately.

You have activated [Weaving of Lesser Detection]

Effect: Awareness of everything within a limited surrounding.

It was his first time using it with [Enchanted Weave] so he wasn’t entirely sure how it would work, but he was certain he would at least get the information of six feet around him with [Walking Canvas] active.

A burst of awareness filled his mind almost immediately, reaching farther than six feet as his sword hit the ground, fallen from its toss. When he’d tossed it, his initial plan had been to catch it as it landed, but like everything in his life, he’d improvised his plan and the sword had lacked a place in the new plan.

Still, Aiden knew where everything was now.

He’d pooled his abilities together and created an advantage. Most people would call what he had done tricks. It didn’t matter to him.

Aiden darted back into the heart of the cloud where the gargoyles continued to swing in annoyance, and snatched his sword from the ground.

Tricks or not…

He came to a halt right in front of one of the gargoyles. It swung a stray claw, clearly suspecting his presence. With its field of view disrupted by the cloud of dust, there was very little certainty in the strike.

Aiden deflected the blow, parried it with a swing of his sword so that the gargoyle’s arm swung up and away. Then his attention locked on his target. He spun his sword, twirled it, then stabbed upwards.

His sword slipped into the point where the gargoyle’s limb met underbelly. It pierced a perfect injury, and he thrust deeper. The gargoyle let out a pained howl that drew the attention of the second gargoyle.

Aiden felt the second one move more than he saw it, but kept his force. If he let go too early, the blade wouldn’t pierce the gargoyle’s heart. It wouldn’t kill it.

[You have dealt a critical blow!]

He pushed deeper. The weight of the gargoyle bore down on him, aiding his strike as he waited for the next notification and hoped.

It came a moment after.

[You have dealt a fatal blow!]

Congratulations! You have slain [Gargoyle Level 27].

[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]

[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]

[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]

[Level 18 --> 21]

[You are now Level 21]

…

Congratulations [Prisoner #234502385739]!

[You have reached level 20]

…

[You have gained stat points]

[You have—

Aiden discarded the notification, cleared his interface as he pulled his sword free and dived out from under the gargoyle as it fell where he had been. He had no delusion that he would’ve been able to bear its weight.

He cleared the place, bursting out of the cloud of dust and landing on his feet. The loud thud of the fallen gargoyle heralded his victory.

People might have called everything he’d done to win the fight tricks. But tricks or not, this was how he’d learned to fight.

This was how those who knew what it meant to be weak fought.

This is how I fight.

Aiden swung his sword in an arc, ridding it of gargoyle blood as the dust settled and a single gargoyle turned to face him.

Congratulations [Prisoner # 234502385739]

[You have reached level 20.]

[You have gained a class skill]

You have gained Class skill [Unarmed Engrave(U)]