Another long, satisfying day of work was waiting for me.
When I reach the edge of the forest, I turn and take a deep breath of the freezing morning air.
My daily mantra comes out as a whisper.
"Today you'll be strong like a tree. Today you'll be useful like a tree."
Down in the valley, the world sits quiet under the cold light of dawn.
I like it here.
For a moment, it feels like I'm the only one awake.
I turn back, tighten my grip on the axe, and step into the pines.
The first swing of the day never just hits wood.
It hits everything else too.
My car getting towed last weekend.
My parents slowly dying.
The mortgage.
One clean strike washes it all away.
Fast. Precise. Controlled.
I walk over the carpet of pine needles, breathing in resin and cold air.
Pick a tree.
Set my stance.
Raise the axe.
And swing.
Thud.
The blade stops mid-air.
Not in wood.
In something I can't see.
"What the hell—"
I step back.
Something faintly translucent hangs in front of me. Rectangular. Floating.
I stare at it, trying to understand its edges, its size.
Then words appear inside the shimmer.
Class selected: Lumberjack
Passive skill learned: Axe Expert Lv.1
Passive skill learned: Wood Sense Lv.1
…Right.
Okay brain. Very funny.
I dream about this kind of stuff all the time. Nerd dreams. Dragons, warriors, magic menus. I play games, read fantasy before bed.
This isn't even a particularly original dream.
Still… it feels real.
Too real.
A brief pulse of energy runs through my arms, leaving a strange numbness behind.
Then the window disappears.
I shrug and raise the axe again.
This swing is different.
Very different.
The moment I focus on the tree, I can feel it. Not with my hands — somewhere deeper. I sense the grain, the tension in the fibers, the exact weak point where the trunk wants to split.
When the axe comes down, it bites deep.
Much deeper than it should.
The trunk nearly splits in half from a single strike.
Adrenaline floods my chest.
"Okay… that's new."
I ready another swing, eager now, almost excited — but something flickers at the edge of my vision. A smaller window appears in the lower left.
Objective completed: First strike
Reward obtained: Local chat unlocked
…Local chat?
A translucent panel bursts open along the side of my vision.
And everything becomes immediately, deeply unsettling.
Messages pour in so fast I can barely read them. A scrolling wall of text, like a livestream chat with fifty thousand viewers.
I manage to catch a few before they vanish into the flood.
WHO IS WRITING THIS?!
my cat is trying to kill me
DO NOT GO OUTSIDE THE CARS ARE ALIVE
why am i Butcher lvl 1??
Most of the messages look like someone smashed their face on a keyboard.
Amateurs.
Then something colder sinks in.
The chat name.
It's the name of my town.
I start recognizing usernames. People I actually know.
This is getting way too specific to be a dream.
My head spins. A chill crawls up my spine.
I lean against a trunk, trying to steady myself.
Behind me, a branch snaps.
I turn.
A small, twisted tree stands a few meters away. Dark bark. Knotted limbs. Sunken red eyes. A crooked, hungry grin carved into its trunk.
It's moving toward me.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Above its head, a thin green bar appears.
And a line of red text.
[Dark Sapling – Lv.1]
I let out a short breath.
"Alright," I mutter. "Come on, then."
I step forward, raise the axe, and charge.
The blade cuts clean through the creature with a crack of splintering wood. It shrieks — a high, splintered sound like a child screaming through a throat full of bark — as it splits in two. The green bar empties and vanishes.
Both halves hit the ground, leaking thick resin.
A small white message appears in front of me, then fades.
+1 XP
Another follows, glowing yellow.
Objective completed: First kill
Title acquired: Adventurer
I stare at the floating text.
Then at the forest around me.
"…I just wanted to cut some wood today."