1 Location Nowhere (part 1)

Of all the heroes in this book, he is known as the bravest. Unlike a few others, he began his ascension to power without actual cheats.

Could he be considered a good man? Certainly not, during the first part of his life, at least. But a man isn't born good, he becomes good. Why do you think such a man is looking for redemption? People may think that his sin wasn't that great. Others might—like he does—despise him for it.

Ironically, this is also what drove him to become who he is today, to become known by many titles. Some of them are moderately famous such as "The Black Challenger," "Ax Leader," and "Miracle Maker." Others less famous like "Cheater," "Bolt Rider," or even one rarely used nowadays, "Father Killer."

Amongst his many titles, one became a symbol of hope to his allies and a symbol of fear to his enemies. A symbol that has disappeared until now.

No one knows where he is. But I believe he will come back. And when he does, those bastards who think him dead will tremble in fear like the cowards they are. Because if there is one event they dread yet think impossible, it is the Return of the Woodcutter.

In the meantime, let me tell you of his beginning. Let me tell you of how an arrogant martial artist and alcoholic became a thoughtful woodcutter.

Let me tell you of a legend untold.

Extract from "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant.

_____

In an empty grey boundless space, multiple flashes of light materialized thousands of puzzled humans.

Amidst all of them stood a strict-looking man with shoulder-length shriveled dark hair, old brown trousers, and a shabby red lumberjack shirt that had almost turned black. It was barely holding back his burly build and beer belly.

Aito Walker was confused. His last remaining memories were from visiting a local shop to buy his daily dose of alcohol before blacking out. He had been waiting for his death since a doctor declared that he had only a few months to live at best, but didn't expect it to strike when grocery shopping.

He started to play with his long black hair out of habit. Something he did when thinking deeply. So deeply, in fact, that he could remain oblivious to his surroundings if it wasn't the focal point of his thoughts.

'Just where am I?'

From his height, he could see a crowd of unfamiliar faces. Men and women alike wore expressions of worry which were progressively shifting to fear.

Confusion spread as people expressed their concern amongst themselves. The sound of it expanded, resounded, amplified in the wide space, adding discomfort to the already frightened people.

Out of his reverie after processing his current situation, Aito frowned. All those voices annoyed him. Pissed, the muscles under his fat stiffened. Having lived in the woods of Lac Saint-Jean for three years made him particularly sensitive to loud noises.

'Stay calm.' He thought. 'No points in panicking and making a fuss out of this. After all, I'm just dead.'

Aito smiled. Thanks to his best friend Jack, he had developed a sense of humor, albeit a peculiar one. But now it came in handy and eased the tension he felt.

A white light flashed out, illuminating the surroundings so brightly people had to cover their eyes in fear of going blind. A feminine figure walked out of the beam, dressed in a charming white robe, highlighting her perfect curves. Her hair, of sunlight color, reminded Aito of a peaceful summer.

"Shall we brighten this place up?" She said, before flicking her fingers, instantly turning the grey place sparkling white.

"Much better." She declared, smiling. "I am Filona, the Goddess of Love. I—"

"Are you the one who kidnapped us! Explain yourself!" Kai shouted amidst the anxiously silent people.

Aito lazily eyed the man. He recognized him. Kai Tsubame, the CEO of Tsubame Fishing International. The Japanese man was so famous that even a reclusive person like Aito had heard about him. Kai was known for owning sixty percent of Earth's fishing industry. The fish on Earth was becoming a scarcity, turning it into a luxury product.

Kai's previous sentence created a chained reaction from the already panicked crowd, rapidly spreading stress and fear like wildfire. A myriad of complaints rained at goddess bearing a warm smile.

Filona kept her divine countenance, as if deaf to all those rude remarks, then clasped her fingers once again. The mortals' lips glue together, rendering further complaints impossible to make. The cacophony ceased, restoring the silence a proper goddess was due to have upon talking to mere mortals.

"Children, you have all died."

Gloomy expressions could be read on the crowd's faces.

Aito looked down, his mind filled with regret. He smiled at the irony of it, recalling a quote from his father: "It is only when you lose something that you realize how important it was."

Regret gnawed at his consciousness and quickly spread to his entire body. He clenched his fists and his palms shone white, trying to canalize his overflowing emotions of sorrow. However…

"But fear not," Filona declared. "We, the gods of Iris, have given you an opportunity to live once again. However, because of how costly a revival can be, you may still have some physical issues from your previous life. Keep in mind that we only fixed what was necessary for you to live once again. Still, you are breathing, so be grateful. In exchange, we only request that you lend us your strength to fight in a war that has been plaguing our world for far too long."

A long-forgotten feeling sparked in Aito's chest, eclipsing all the others: Hope. The hope for a second chance he had thought would never come. The hope to... make amend to those who once considered him family.

But he found it fishy. That "request" seemed more like an order to him. He didn't need superhuman senses to recognize a scam when it was so apparent.

To begin with, why should he care about a war that wasn't his own? Also, who were the gods of Iris? What kind of war were they waging? How could a mere mortal help them? Questions he had no answers to piled up one after the other.

"Of course. We will first have to put you through trials. And those of you who prove worthy will be granted powers beyond your imagination." Filona said, and flicked her fingers.

Three portals appeared out of thin air.

"You are free to choose your own trial. White for easy. Blue for normal. Red for hard. In those, you will have to survive for a certain length of time. You may also meet some monsters created from your world's culture. That is all the briefing you will have. Further details can be discussed after the trials." She said with an angelic smile. "As of now, you have five minutes to decide."

Fear and incomprehension paralyzed the crowd. An uncomfortable silence loomed over them for a minute. As for Aito, he once again wrestled with his thoughts.

"By the way, if you stay here after the countdown is over, you will face certain death." Filona declared.

Then a clock appeared, counting down the remaining time.

Aito had been so focused on his decision-making that, unknown to him, he missed Filona's last sentence.

'Three portals. Three difficulties.' He thought. 'The goddess seems benevolent, but her words show quite the contrary. Apparently, the gods could care little about our opinions. Even if it wasn't formulated this way, we are forced to do as they wish. Or… am I overthinking this?'

Deep in his thoughts, Aito didn't notice the crowd sprinting towards the portals. Most of them entered the white portal. Some of them choose the blue portal. By the time the clock displayed "1 minute" everyone was gone apart from three people.

A black-haired woman was standing in front of the red portal, wearing a black secretary attire, her skirt clearly highlighting her curves.

Sheyla's slender fingers touched the weird ectoplasm substance the portal was composed of, curious about how that worked.

Behind her, a two-meter-tall, grey-haired man wearing a brown suit was glaring at her.

"Little sis, you aren't thinking about picking this one, right?" Ogoro asked.

"Yes, I am. You know why." Sheyla said before entering.

Ogoro sighed. He turned around to take one last look at the white space, then saw a man standing there alone, touching his hair. Only thirty seconds remained.

"Hey! Don't stay here!" Ogoro shouted towards Aito.

No response came. Ogoro shook his head before following his sister.

20 seconds.

'There are difficulties for a reason. Filona also said that gods would grant us powers if we prove worthy. In other words, if we pass their trials. Supposedly, the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. And since I might need power later on…' Aito thought, 'why is there a clock ticking in the air?'

15 seconds.

Filona stared at the human standing still in the middle of what used to be a populated area. His facial expression had no fear or anxiety. She found him amusing. "Is it bravery, madness or ignorance that drives you to stay?" Filona asked.

Aito gazed at her. "What are you talking about?"

10 seconds.

Filona shook her head and lost interest in the foolish mortal that was doomed to fall prey to that island's creature if he didn't die to those monkeys beforehand. She was yet again witnessing mortals' stupidity and also a waste of resources.

Previously too busy pondering about the best possible choice he could make, his habit of thoroughly thinking things through backfired. "Fuck!" he said, sprinting towards the red portal.

5 seconds.

He stretched his hand and tried to reach the portal, but within an inch from it, a black light appeared out of nowhere, engulfing his body, devouring his existence.

0 seconds.

"Ignorance it is then," Filona said.

***

Aito dropped into seawater. The turquoise blue water underneath him reminded him of Bora Bora. A clear sky with barely any clouds on the horizon and a tropical island made it seem like a veritable paradise where one would enjoy one's holiday—albeit that the island was one kilometer away from Aito.

'Where the fuck am I?' He thought.

A blue ethereal window appeared before him.

[Welcome to the tutorial's Black trial]

____

[Quest received: A wet warm up]

Objective: Swim to the island

Time limit: 15 minutes

Reward: Access to status window

Failure: Death

____

[Remaining time: 14 minutes and 59 seconds]

With no time to think and his life on the line, Aito swam like a madman towards the island. Each breath taken brought a small amount of seawater in his mouth, leaving a salty aftertaste.

It reminded him of French Polynesia, where he had enjoyed spearfishing and surfing with his family and friends. Minus the enjoyable part, it matched his memories.

Aito felt a strong current pulling him backward, signaling an incoming wave. He swam even faster, arms and legs frenetically moved to propel him forward. Soon enough, the wave reached him. Aito gathered his strength and sped up once more.

'It's been a while but I should still be able to do it.'

He body-surfed down the wave, using it as if it was a taxicab, and shortened the distance to his goal. After a short while, the current died down and so did the wave. Underwater, the countdown window was putting mental pressure on him.

[Remaining time: 5 minutes]

He clicked his tongue, wondering why that window wouldn't leave him alone. As if the stress of dying wasn't enough, Aito felt a painful stitch in the right side, going from the front of the chest to his back.

'Damn it, I should have quit alcohol sooner and do some cardio.'

Then he spotted another wave to his left, quickly swam towards it, and once again body-surfed. It actually started to become enjoyable for him. The wave led Aito to approximately one hundred meters from the coast.

[Remaining time: 3 minutes]

"Come on!" He said, encouraging himself.

His muscles ached from the efforts, but also from the lack of oxygen. Sensing corals brush past his clothes, he felt lucky that any of those had yet to scratch or shred his skin.

[Remaining time: 2 minutes]

He finally entered shallow waters, stood up, and ran for the beach. There, he gasped for breath. Having previously lost his shoes somewhere along the way, he quickly sensed the burning feeling from the sand's accumulated sun's heat under his bare feet.

"HOT!"

Aito ran under a palm tree and leaned against it when an ethereal window popped up.

[Congratulation! You have completed your warm-up!]

"Congratulate my ass!" He shouted at the system. How dared that thing say "congratulation" like it was some kind of surprise party when he had just risked his life? Even if it wasn't that dangerous, it had been stressful. What if he hadn't known how to swim? It would have led to his death.

[Access to status window granted]

___

[Aito Walker]

[I. General Info]

Death: March 20th, 2030

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Age: 25

Height: 180cm

Weight: 110kg

Emotional state: Angry

Class: Lv0 (Undecided)

Titles: Black Challenger

[II. Attributes]

1. Gifts:

- Instinct (Potential to sense danger slightly before it happens. Activation is random.)

- Strength blessed (Boost strength by 1 level)

- Mindless Fury (Boost strength by 1 level when furious)

2. Skills: None

[III. Basic stats]

- Strength: Lv2

- Body: Lv1

- Stamina: Lv1

- Agility: Lv1

- Mana: Lv1

- Destiny: Lv1 (cannot level up with Glory Points)

___

"What is this?"

Before he could read the status window, another notification appeared.

BING!

[Due to your performance, a bonus reward is granted]

[Access to inventory granted]

Inventory:

- Bonus reward

[Would you like to open it? Yes or No]

Curious, Aito pressed "yes".

[Scanning. Appropriate reward found. Materializing]

An iron ax materialized in his right hand. Aito glared at the familiar weapon. He had been a woodcutter for three years and favored the ax over other modern means. 

It had prevented him from entirely going out of shape, but he had had such an unhealthy lifestyle that he couldn't get rid of the excessive fat and beer belly. But the reason had been to take his mind off of a past he'd rather forget with the physical effort—until now.

He took a few swings and smiled as if he was meeting an old friend. But that smile didn't last.

BING!

___

[Black trial's quest: Surpass your limits!]

Quest: Survive three months on a deserted island while repelling evol monkeys.

Enemies: Evol monkeys are a species of monkeys created by the gods of Iris. They will adapt and/or evolve and/or increase in number with each passing week according to the strength the challenger displays. The stronger the challenger is, the stronger the evol monkeys are.

Difficulties:

- First month: Easy to Normal

- Second month: Normal to Hard

- Third month: Hard to Hellish

Rewards:

- Access to the 2nd trial

- Glory points according to your performance

- Tutorial points according to your performance

___

Suddenly, four monkeys appeared in a beam of light behind him. They had brown furs and were small, around fifty centimeters tall or the length of a forearm. 

Even if he was outnumbered, Aito felt like he could manage it against those small creatures. But stamina was the issue. He had not entirely recovered from the previous quest.

Grabbing his newfound weapon with two hands, panting, he took a fighting stance and intently stared at his enemies.