Ascending the Five Towers
Vol. 2 - Ch. 23 - The Green Tower

An arrow with a white haze passed right by Ash's temple.

The creeping chill and running tension were immediately transformed into a sense of elation, and his body was propelled forward.

Ash leaped forward as if crawling on the ground.

He sliced two Goblin Fighters in front of him from top to bottom. Then, he closed in on the Archer in the back of the room and stabbed him between the eyes with the stiletto.

"Listen, never stand directly behind me! Keep track of all enemy attacks from a slight distance!"

While pulling his stiletto from the enemy, Ash advised Clara, who was waiting behind him.

They were currently climbing the hill connecting the 9th and 10th Floors of the Green Tower.

To the right, the sky was colored bright blue

On the left, a deep green wall, reminiscent of moss, stretched to the back.

"Also turn your back against the wall and face slightly towards the front! That's it! This way you'll have a better view of your backside!"

"G-Got it! I've got our backs covered!"

They had reached the 10th Floor in the Red and Blue towers and were currently climbing at a steady pace.

However, it was not an easy journey

Suddenly, One goblin with a whip and five Corm-like monsters appeared before them.

The Corm monsters were about the size of a human head, with twin leaves growing from the top.

It was a monster unique to the Green Tower that appeared from the 6th Floor onwards.

The Goblin swung its whip at the Corms with a high-pitched cry.

The two Corms that were struck by the whip charged at Ash, their jagged mouth open.

"You damn Corm bastards!" Ash yelled, using his whip to strike one of the Corms, however, instead of stopping it, he only managed to push it back a little bit.

This was the tricky part about the Corms.

They did nothing but charge forward after being whipped by the Goblins' whips.

Ash immediately put away his whip with a click of his tongue and readied his daggers in both hands.

Almost simultaneously, one Corm, and belatedly another, leaped at him with drooling mouths wide open.

Ash thrust his daggers into both the Corms' mouths, feeling a solid resistance.

However, the Corms didn't stop there. They pushed forward, completely ignoring the blades piercing deeper into their flesh.

If this continued, Ash's whole hands could be eaten.

He slammed the Corms to the ground immediately, and then pulled his daggers by pressing the Corms' jaws with his leg.

Immediately after, the Corms emitted a strange, deafening sound and disappeared.

"Ash! Two more!"

When Ash lifted his gaze in response to Clara's warning, he saw that two Corms were already in close proximity.

(My balance is disrupted. I need to retreat and steady myself...)

Just when Ash thought that, an arrow of frost pierced one of the Corms.

It was Clara's Frost Arrow.

The arrow wasn't able to finish the monster off, but did at least separate it from the other Corm.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ash circled behind the Corm that came first and stabbed it with the stiletto.

He then dealt with the Corms that arrived later by stopping them with his swordbreaker and stabbing the stiletto in their side.

"Thanks, Clara!"

"I finally helped today!"

Hearing Clara's joyous response, Ash closed the distance with the Goblin.

The Goblin tried using the last Corm, but a single Corm was no match for Ash.

As Ash passed by the Corm, he tore it apart with his swordbreaker, and then continued towards the Goblin. After throwing himself diagonally forward to evade the Goblin's whip, he pushed the stiletto into the enemy's brain.

Ash huffed and puffed as he stood up, trying to calm his breath, when he heard Clara's worried voice.

"Ash! Reinforcements from the back! Two Goblins and 5 Corms! They're disgusting!"

"Got it! Turn your back to them and run! We're making a run for it!"

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After seeing the 10th Floor's Mark of Passage being engraved on their hands, both Ash and Clara slumped down.

"I just can't deal with those disgusting Corms... I swear, I'll have nightmares about them." Clara said.

"We'll probably see ones with human faces the further we go up." Ash remarked.

"Ew... That's the worst."

With tears in her eyes and a weak voice, Clara turned her attention to the entrance on the 10th floor.

As on the other floors of the tower, a vast space awaited them at the end of the staircase landing.

Geometric patterns were carved here and there on the walls, and tree roots crawled over them, adding to the atmosphere.

Combined with the quiet air, it looked like an archaeological site.

"Well, we reached the 10th Floor, so what now?"

"What now? You aren't thinking of challenging it, right?" Clara exclaimed.

"Well, we did get there sooner than expected. Nothing wrong with giving it a shot, no?"

Ash stood up quickly and smiled.

Clara, in turn, stared back at him in dismay.

"You look like you're having a blast, Ash."

"What's with you all of a sudden?"

"I just thought that you're amazing. And here I am, giving my best, only barely keeping up." Clara said with a slightly saddened expression, before standing up too.

As soon as she adjusted the mess of her clothes, she turned to Ash with a mischievous smile.

"But I think you're slowly inspiring me, Ash. After all, I too feel a bit curious about the 10th Floor's Lord."

"I'm glad I have such an understanding partner."

"P-Partner...!"

Clara's eyes twinkled, and she ran toward the teleportation circle.

She began swinging her staff around, jumping up and down.

"What are you doing, Ash? The Lord is waiting for us!"

"Good grief. You sure are lively."

(Maybe that's why I enjoy being with her so much.) 

After sighing, Ash went to Clara.

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"I just can't get used to this darkness..."

As soon as she was teleported into the Room of Trial, Clara let out a frightened sound.

It was indeed scary being in the dark and not being able to see one's surroundings.

However, they weren't going to fight under these conditions.

Soon after, the cup in the back was lit, and a faint light reached the area.

"Gishishishishi!"

Suddenly, laughter echoed from somewhere.

The voice was both eerie and cute at the same time.

In the distance, a ball of light the size of a human head shimmered and flew through the air.

If one stared at it, they would notice that the ball of light had a humanoid form.

It wore a pointy hat and slouchy clothes.

(Seeing as how it's glowing and resembles a human, it can only be a fairy) Ash pondered.

"Ah! I know what that is! It's a Chelf! A Naughty Fairy! I read about them in a fairy tale a long time ago!"

"What are its abilities?"

"Let me think..."

Clara began to fish for memories.

At the same time, the Chelf swung the short wooden stick in its right hand upward.

Ash prepared himself for Wind Magic to come flying their way, but nothing happened.

(Just what on earth did it do?)

As Ash was frantically looking around to grasp the situation, light suddenly flooded out from under his feet.

Before he knew it, there was a magic circle painted on the floor that encompassed a single person.

"It's able to make trees grow!"

Ash had a bad feeling and threw himself down faster than he could hear Clara's voice.

A tree grew out of the magic circle at a furious pace, making crackling sounds.

In an instant, the tree had grown to the point where one could look up and see many branches, and finally stopped when it had sprouted many leaves. The sound of leaves rustling echoed through the hall as if blown by the wind.

"I can see that." Ash chuckled.