Warning: I will use - for thoughts as it is more comfortable to write that way.
The '' will still be used for verbal speech.
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A strong thud echoed through the forest, followed by a large amount of wood splinters breaking apart and then a celebratory whistle.
''Another log knocked down~!'' Vesper said, looking at the experience notification that appeared and disappeared quickly.
He crouched down and grabbed the log as a faint aura of light engulfed his arms and then lifted the log while grinding his teeth.
With some effort, he moved while carrying the Log and, after some time walking, dropped the Log next to the several others.
''Around four.'' Vesper slid his feet and sat down on the ground next to the logs.
''And now? What do I do with all this?'' He asked while looking at the air, and moments later, he was answered with a Flash of Light.
A hole in the center of the smallest log and a sharp stone inserted in there, and when the image changed, a small question mark appeared.
''So you are not as smart as I was expecting, since you do not know what comes next? Or is there some requirement for this information?'' He murmured while staring at the Light that disappeared. ''Well...Time to work.'' And so, he stood up.
He approached the smallest log and clenched his fist, surrounding it with the aura of Light, and then delivered a punch to the log.
A strong thud echoed again, but this time no crack appeared.
''...'' A glimmer of recognition appeared in Vesper's eyes as he saw the lack of cracks before making the aura of light disappear and starting to look around.
-So far, all my strikes created damage in the right places without a single exception. If I did not damage the log, this Light must allow control over when my strikes will or will not cause damage to something.-
Thus, he went after the next most logical solution: using an external object to cause damage. He was not crazy enough to punch a wooden log without the reinforcement of light, after all, he remembered very well that he had zero attributes.
Fortunately, it was not necessary to search for too long for a piece of stone, no matter how small it was. Near one of the trees, there was a round stone a bit larger than the palm of his hand.
-Perfect.- With a slight smile on his face, he approached and picked up the stone, feeling a considerable weight in it, and then moved back toward the logs.
Upon reaching them, Vesper crouched down and held the stone with both hands this time to secure the grip on the Rock so it would not slip, and then raised his arms before bringing the stone down hard toward the log.
A small thud came from the collision of the objects before the log splinter was slightly damaged.
-Fuck... this is going to take a long time.- With a resigned sigh and pity for the future state of his hand, Vesper raised the stone again and then struck it against the same spot.
And again. And again. And again... (x50)
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''Finally!!'' An almost shout of joy came out as he threw himself on his back on the ground, completely sweaty.
Unlike before, when he was using the Aura of Light, this time Vesper became extremely tired doing the same movement repeatedly while holding a Stone that weighed enough to make a difference.
''Somehow I did not get tired while using the Aura of Light...I was thinking that I had some abnormal stamina or something like that.'' Murmuring to himself, he sat down on the ground with some effort and stared at the result of the 'assault'.
Now the wooden log was split in half with a much more acceptable thickness, as well as having a hole in the middle that allowed seeing the other side with some ease.
-Maybe I can fit my wrist inside...- Following his spontaneous thoughts, he put his hand inside the hole of the log before pulling it back, feeling a slight sting in his hand.
''Ouch! Putting your hand inside a poorly broken log is not the smartest idea, noted.'' He pulled out the small splinter stuck in his hand and threw it on the ground before grabbing the base of the log.
''This thing is big...Can I lift it?'' He questioned himself while trying to answer by forcing himself to lift the wooden log.
The part he was holding was lifted, but the other part in the opposite direction remained fixed to the ground, regardless of how much effort he made.
-There is no chance. Even if there were three of me, I would not lift this with pure brute force.- Vesper closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and putting more force into his arm. An Aura of Light outlined his hand and then the log, allowing him to lift it with some effort.
He stared at the lifted log for a while before trying to move his arm in a striking motion with the log, which...was not very smart.
The weight of the log was too much to be held in the same way as a conventional tool, and this ended up forcing Vesper to drop the log, or he would have twisted both hands.
''This shit almost fell on my foot!'' He complained to himself, annoyed with his own stupidity, before freezing and staring at the log in silence.
-If I cannot lift this...- A feeling of sadness filled Vesper's mind -I spent many and many minutes, maybe even hours, hitting this damn piece of wood only for it to be useless in the end?!- He grabbed his head in despair.
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48 Minutes later
-To think it would be this simple...- Vesper thought with disgust while staring at the branch of considerable size that he was holding with a single hand.
It took him a while to realize that the Light was not telling him to create a supposed axe with an entire log of wood, but rather with one of the thick branches that the trees had.
Thus, Vesper picked up a branch and hammered it with the stone for several minutes until he created the hole he needed.
''And here goes the stone.'' He tried to fit the stone in his hand inside the hole he created, and as expected, he failed.
''?'' Vesper stared at the hole, confused before trying again and then failing again. The stone was considerably larger than the hole.
-The Branch is not wide enough to increase the hole without breaking, so I will have to go after another stone...excellent.- With a lazy sigh, he stood up and returned to walking, leaving behind the knocked-down logs and carrying with him only the altered branch.
Unlike the first time, the search for a stone of ideal size was a bit longer. What before took at most five minutes this time took at least an hour.
The delay was so long that when Vesper found the Stone, he lifted it toward the leaf-covered sky as if he had found gold.
''The Chosen One!'' He celebrated like a very happy primate before sitting down with his legs crossed and placing the branch on top of his thighs.
With some 'delicacy,' Vesper shoved the stone into the branch and struck the branch together with the stone on the ground a few times to make sure it was properly secured.
When he saw that the stone would not jump out of the axe with even the smallest strike, he held the axe with both hands and trembled a little before turning to the nearest tree and striking it with the tip of the axe.
*BAAM*
A loud sound came from the collision before Vesper dropped the axe while shaking his hands in pain.
''Shit, shit, shit!'' The palms of both hands were red due to the unprofessional handling of the axe. The rustic handle slipped through his hand during the collision, and as a consequence, some extra splinters entered his hand.
-This is going to take an eternity to take out!- With slightly teary eyes, he sat down beside the axe while trying to ignore the pain and then began removing the splinters.
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Vesper was in front of the tree holding the Axe again, but this time he had a more focused look.
He moved the axe toward the tree and then struck it against the trunk. The thud echoed again, but this time he did not let go of the axe, causing a splinter of the tree to fall.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face before he noticed something.
-If the stone were sharp at the tip instead of round, it would have caused much more damage...how would I sharpen a stone? I have no idea. But it is on the task list.-
Vesper pulled the axe back from the tree before taking a deep breath and this time, trying something different.
-If on my hand it was already effective on the axe, it should be even more so. At least I hope so.- And so, he gathered the aura of light around his fists before trying to spread it to the axe.
It took a few moments, but slowly the aura climbed the shaft of the axe until it covered it entirely.
When the aura of light finished covering the axe, a strong yellow glow emerged from the tip of the axe and, in a few moments, disappeared, giving the round tip of the stone a stronger red coloration.
-Let us see how it will be. Please do not be just an aura effect.- Curious to see the effects of the new axe, Vesper moved his arms back, planted his foot on the ground, and then moved the axe toward the trunk.
BOOM
A loud sound echoed before the struck part was sunk in by more than half, causing the tree to wobble and Vesper to be sent flying away, rolling on the ground and hitting his back against a tree.
The last thing he saw was the tree falling, fortunately to the opposite side from where he was, and then, darkness.
END
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Firstly, I was kind of sleepy while doing the correction of the last chapter, so I let several things pass. One of the things I noticed today was that the word 'First World' for some reason turned into 'First World War'. It was quite the experience, the feeling I had when I saw that :X
Secondly, supposedly boring chapters(without fights) will be quite common, especially at the beginning. Things will become more exciting as the Work progresses, so I already apologize in advance if you are addicted to pure action :V
I want to make it very clear that if in the Future the Protagonist makes the mistake XYZ, it was because in chapter ZYX he really learned about it :D