001

Author: Nodoguro

Everything else: Kirishima Ririka

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　　Chapter 001: How I became a Lumberjack

　It was on the day of release that Aoi Tendou started playing a VR MMO called “Genesis Frontier”.

　She was lucky enough to survive the raging wars when she’s buying ig and came home with the package she has won, and she still remembers booting up her VR gaming hardware right away.

　She was extremely enthusiastic about playing Genesis Frontier.

But until now, her name has never been known to anyone.

　The reason for this is quite simple.

In a remote place, she was conquering a certain quest by herself.

　It was only by chance that Aoi, or rather Mallow, found the quest.

　It was in an area called the Black Forest, which was the northernmost part of the map that was open to the public at that time.

　A forest where jet-black cedar trees were growing wildly.

　There were no monsters to be seen, no items to be gathered, and therefore no players here.

　Mallow’s visit to such a remote place was simply for sightseeing.

　She went there as a tourist and found a shabby hut.

　When she stepped into it, she found an NPC in the form of an old man.

“Why are you here?”

The old man replied to her question, […to take down that gigantic tree.]

[You saw it on your way here, that huge tree, the monster tree.]

“Well, yes.”

[That tree grew by swallowing all the magical power in this forest.  And its roots will eventually grow beyond this land.]

“That’s, um… It’s no good.”

[Yes, that’s right. If left unchecked, all the magic in this world will eventually be used to feed the monster tree. I thought I’d be able to beat it down before it did so.]

　The NPC looks at the axe on the wall of his hut.

[I’m getting old. I’m too old to wield an axe like I used to. I’m too old to wield an axe like I used to, ad the match between me and the monster tree was its victory …  Well, the battle was already decided from the beginning, I suppose.]

“You’re giving up?”

[If I had successor, the game might still be undecided.]

“Um?” Mallow tilts his head.

The flow of the conversation was a bit unnatural.

　Or is this is the limit of the NPC’s conversation?

　Anyway, to continue the conversation, Mallow asks the NPC.

“Do you want me to be your successor?”

[Yes. A strong adventurer such as yourself can accomplish what I could never do: to slay the monster tree.]

“That’s not something you should tell to a young lady, you know?”

[This is my axe. You can take it if you like.]

[The quest [Taking Down the Monster Tree] has begun.]

After she heard the announcement, finally she knew that she has been given a quest.

　So Mallow does as she’s told, picked up the axe and headed out of the hut.

　She went to the root of the biggest tree in the Black Forest, the Monster Tree.

　Fortunately, it’s a still target, so she didn’t have to worry that she might got lost to find it.

　It’s a huge tree with a trunk circumference of over 10 metres.

　On the trunk of the tree there was chop marks, probably made by the NPC.

“I see.”

　And that’s how Mallow knew exactly what she had to do.

　She took up the axe, swung it as hard as she could and slammed it into the trunk.

　Clank!

　A pleasant sound echoed through the forest.

　Mallow might wonder if it’s ok to wield an axe, but she didn’t need to worry.

　Apparently there’s a new feature in the game called Motion Assist that allows even beginners to wield the axe like a pro.

　Still, the mark left on the trunk is less than a few centimetres.

‘How many times do I have to swing my axe before this tree can fall down?’

It’s good, I’m motivated. I don’t mind this kind of routine work.

　The more adversity she faced, the more fired up she will become.

She became more motivated, and slammed her axe into the trunk of the tree, and the sounds of clanking was heard

　It seemed as if it would go on forever.

　–And then a year passed.

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Author: I would be grateful if you could rate it by pressing the star down below.

Ririka: No, I read the tags properly now so no more notyuri tag bs where if you search at syosetsu for the tag yuri the notyuri will be included. Yes, I was mad, but whatever, its last year anyway.

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