Tendou Aoi had been playing『Genesis Frontier』VRMMO since the game was released.
She survived the battle of 'first release game shopping'. With full of excitement, she was going home with the game package in her hand. When she arrived home, she immediately started up her VR machine.
She had been playing the game really intense. But until now, no one knew her existence.
The reason was simple.
Up until now, she had been trying to clear a quest in the middle of the forest that far away from the village.
Tendou Aoi… no… player,『Mallow』had found that quest by coincidence.
She was in the Black Forest area when she found it. The northernmost area on the map. The forest with a lot of black Japanese redwood trees.
No monsters spawned in this forest, therefore no drop items or whatsoever. No players wanted to go there because it was just a waste of time.
So, why did Mallow go to such a remote place? Well, no other reason except she just wanted to go into a fun adventure.
In the middle of her adventure, she found an old cabin. Then she walked there and looked inside really carefully. There was an old man NPC sitting in a chair.
「Excuse me, sir. Why are you living in such a remote place like this?」
『...….So I can cut that giant tree』
The old man answered the girl's question.
『You saw it on your way here, right? That giant tree, "The Monster Tree"』
「Um.. yes..」
『That giant tree is sucking the magical energy from the ground around it and getting bigger. Eventually, the root will spread outside the forest』
「I see… That's horrible」
『Yeah… If we ignore it, I afraid "The Monster Tree" will sap all of the magical power in this world. Before that happens, I must cut it….. But…..』
The NPC looked into the axe that leaned on the cabin wall.
『I'm already too old for this. I can't swing the axe like I used to. My battle with "The Monster Tree" ends up with its victory...』
「Are you giving up?」
『….Maybe if I had a successor, the battle shouldn't be over yet』
「Hmm?」Mallow tilted her head.
Somehow, the conversation became unnatural. The NPC didn't answer her question.
Maybe it was the limit of conversation the NPC could do.
Anyhow, Mallow continued the conversation.
「You want me to become your successor?」
『Yes. If an adventurer with strong-arm like you become my successor, I'm sure "The Monster Tree" will be destroyed』
「Uhh… that's not a nice word for a maiden like me tho…」
『You can use that axe over there』
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Quest 『Felling The Giant Tree』activated
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After she heard the announcement, now she knew that she had activated some kind of quest.
Then Mallow took the axe and went outside the cabin.
The destination was the largest tree in the Black Forest, The Monster Tree.
Fortunately, the target was really big, so she knew where to go.
The diameter of the trunk was more than 10 meters. There were axe traces around the trunk. It must be from that old man.
「I see…」
And from here, she already knew what to do.
She held the axe tight and swung it with her full power towards the trunk.
THWACK!!
A sound, that was really satisfying to hear, echoed throughout the whole forest.
Mallow had never swung an axe before, but there was no worry.
In this game, there was a system called "motion assist". It helped the beginners do a lot of things like they were a professional.
But, even with her full power, she only cut the trunk several centimetres.
Just how many swings does she need to take it down?? It would take a very long time.
「Oh, nice. It's really exciting actually. I don't hate steady job like this」
She was the type of person who got excited more and more against difficult challenges.
And then she swung the axe over and over against the trunk.
The 'twhack! twhack!' sound echoes all over the forest.
It continued for hours. Days. Months. And finally, a year had passed.