Snowflakes fell gently from the treetops, dancing silently in the cold.
At the edge of the Frozen Forest, Rikuto stood with the only axe found in Emilia's home, adjusting his grip and stance with care.
"So… what exactly are you doing?" Puck asked from midair, watching Rikuto raise the axe and swing it toward a tree with surprising earnestness.
A large question mark might as well have hovered over the spirit's head.
Just because he couldn't use magic didn't mean he had to give up and become a lumberjack, did it?
"Chopping trees," Rikuto replied casually.
"Perfect chance to test out my ability."
"You can just float there and be the commentator."
And with that, he hoisted the heavy axe and began his clumsy swings.
"You must've lived a pretty pampered life before this," Puck commented dryly, watching Rikuto struggle with the unfamiliar motion.
"That's right," Rikuto admitted between grunts.
"Hard labor wasn't exactly on my schedule."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The sound of the axe striking the tree echoed through the forest, shaking loose more snow and dry leaves with every hit.
After some time…
Unsurprisingly, Rikuto collapsed onto the snow, panting heavily, muscles trembling from fatigue.
He'd never done anything like this before—certainly not trying to fell a century-old tree as thick as two people wrapped arm-in-arm.
But after resting for a few minutes and regaining some feeling in his arms, he forced himself back to his feet.
Gripping the axe once more, he resumed his labor.
"Rikuto, do you want help?" a soft voice called out.
Emilia had arrived unnoticed, concern in her eyes as she looked at him.
She had just learned from Puck that Rikuto couldn't use magic or form spirit contracts.
That revelation must've hit hard—especially for someone so eager to become strong.
Maybe… maybe I'll be the one protecting him from now on, Emilia thought, clenching her hands at her sides.
"No need," Rikuto replied with a smile.
"I'm just testing my ability right now."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Despite the burning ache in his arms, he kept swinging.
Between rest and repetition, the tree-cutting effort continued for roughly two hours.
Eventually, with the axe buried four-fifths into the trunk, the tree could no longer support its weight.
It creaked and groaned.
Creeeak… creeeak…
The sound of splintering wood echoed as the tree began to fall.
Rustle—rustle—
The leaves shivered in the wind, as if giving one final sigh.
Boom—!
The trunk crashed to the forest floor, sending a spray of snow into the air.
Rikuto stood before the fallen tree, chest heaving, arms limp at his sides.
The intense soreness made him want to chop his own arms off just to make it stop.
Emilia stepped forward, instinctively shielding him from the flurry of snow.
She rushed to check on him, but Rikuto raised a hand to stop her.
"Wait, Emilia… let me do one last thing."
He smiled faintly, then, with her help, staggered toward another towering tree.
Still gripping the axe with his trembling right hand, he muttered:
"Now then… time to demonstrate my ability."
He grinned through clenched teeth, trying to sound like he still had energy left.
He focused his thoughts.
Then—
Creeeak… creeeak…
Before Emilia and Puck's surprised eyes, the same sound of wood splitting filled the air.
Rustle—rustle—
Leaves trembled and rustled in the wind.
Boom—!
Another tree toppled, crashing into the snow with a thunderous roar.
Everything happened just as it had the first time—except for one key difference.
This time, Rikuto hadn't even swung the axe once.
He merely walked toward the tree—and it fell.
"…So this is how it works," he murmured, staring at the fallen trunk.
"This cheat ability is weirder than I thought."
The ability: [Process Simplification].
What did it mean?
To skip the process and leap straight to the result.
In this case: if Rikuto could chop down a tree with an axe, then Process Simplification allowed him to skip the action and jump directly to the after.
It wasn't like a Minecraft system where a tree simply vanished on contact.
No, this ability was more like Rikuto creating a phantom version of himself—one that moved in a timeless realm, replicating everything he had done previously.
As long as he could do it, and had done it once, the ability allowed him to bypass the repetition.
But there was a catch.
Trees aren't all the same.
Each one has its own shape, density, angle of fall.
His previous actions couldn't be reused perfectly on a different tree.
To compensate for those variables, the ability consumed his stamina to bridge the gap.
The greater the difference between tasks, the more energy it cost.
Only when repeating something identical, with no variables, would it cost him nothing.
"Tch. So what I'm hearing is—my next job is going to be farming, huh?"
Rikuto muttered, staring at the fallen trees with a mixture of amusement and exhaustion.