Return of the Woodcutter

[Remaining time before the end of the black trial: 2 minutes]

Aito stood by the beach, sitting on the trunk of a coconut tree he had cut down to make an improvised chair. Next to him laid the double-edged ax, its murderous blade reflecting the fire camp's flames. His hard-earned reward, he didn't like it that much after almost dying to that double edge.

He did not want that kind of situation to happen again. Still, it was better than the weapons he had in his inventory.

A wounded Jack was sitting next to him on a mix of sand and grass. The small monkey had escaped the cave after killing as many bigfoots. Those who didn't fall to his daggers had either died from the poison or fled. But with no leader, they could not reorganize anymore.

Even if they did, the duo could take care of them. But it would be a waste of energy to chase them around the island when the end was near, anyway.

Aito stared at the island's night sky for one last time. It was hard for him to believe he and Jack had survived until now. The Paineater, Big Bad Red, the Urgent fucking quest, and those damn evol monkeys.

"A lot happened on that small island, who knew such a small piece of land in the middle of a who-knows-where ocean could hide so many…." He said, turning toward Jack. "You know what? Fuck it, I don't even want to talk about that anymore."

"Kek."

'Kek?' Aito wondered. That was a new sound. Jack had always replied with "Kyaak" until now, but 'Kek'… it strangely resembled "Ok." Somehow, he felt like Jack would be able to speak in a not-so-distant future.

"Future…" He said. Now that he thought about it, what was going to happen to Jack?

[1 minute]

Jack was an evol monkey. If Aito left that island, would Jack be able to accompany him? According to Jack's status window, more precisely its age, it was born on this small island. Summoned by the gods. But if the trial ended, wouldn't the summoned creatures disappear?

'Nha, Jack is different….' He thought, gazing at his friend chewing on skewered meat.

[30 seconds]

'Jack….' Inside him, he already knew the answer. Even if he didn't want to face it, he had promised himself to never again deny the truth. 'Fuck.'

"Hey, little punk." He said, interrupting the small monkey's meal. Jack gazed at him, its dark eyes reflecting its intelligence. Upon peering into them, Aito realized the monkey had already known its fate all along. With the bonds they had created during those two months of hardship together, no words were needed for him to understand that fact.

[20 seconds]

"You're smarter than I thought."

"Kes!" Jack replied.

Aito smiled upon hearing another new sound. "Way smarter."

[10 seconds]

They remained still in complete silence. Appreciating their last moments on the island. A cool breeze brushed past Aito's black hair and beard. He closed his eyes and made himself a silent promise.

[0 seconds]

BING!

[Congratulations! You have completed the Black Trial! Please step into the portal to begin the tutorial's next phase.]

A black portal appeared on the beach. Even in the dark, its weird fluctuation of energy perfectly highlighted it. It was impossible to miss it.

Aito stood up, and—despite knowing it was pointless—invited Jack to follow him. Habits died hard, some say. In that case, it proved to be true. Jack walked up to him, and together they headed for the portal.

No surprise came when an invisible barrier forbade Jack's entry just a step away from the black matter. Aito turned to his friend for one last time.

No words were needed.

No useless goodbyes.

No tears.

After all, they had their own way to communicate.

Jack watched the human's back growing distant, even though he wasn't that far. One rude gesture from Aito, however, made the monkey crack a weird smile. A human smile. And, as per usual, it responded with a middle finger.

It then closed its eyes, ready to disappear. To be granted death.

Or so Jack thought would happen.

***

"Well, well, *yawn* well," Belmand said, welcoming the black challenger into a boundless grey space similar to the one Aito had first appeared in. "Welcome, my little black challenger. And, congratula—"

"Stop. I had enough of those." Aito said, standing with his old tattered clothes, but without leather armor or monkey fur. He tried to open his inventory, but nothing happened. At his feet laid one of his rewards from the hidden quest. A shiny piece of metal as large as a round shield. But the candle was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you looking for this?" The god of sloth asked, holding a small candle in between two fingers. "Interesting. I've never thought my wife had hidden it there. Cunning goddess."

Belmand had been observing Aito's every move. But when it had come to the fight with the Paineater, his "monitor" blurred and only cleared later on after Aito exited the cave. It had never happened before.

"Catch!"

Aito caught his property and stuffed it in a pocket that had miraculously survived the island while eyeing the god suspiciously.

"Oh, come on! If I wanted to steal it, *yawn* you would already be dead. After all, what surrounds you is a part of my soul. This is my world, blacky. I am more of a god here than outside." Belmond said, using "blacky" to replace "my little black challenger" since that nickname was a mouthful.

"What do you want?" Aito asked with a killer glare.

"Nothing related to… that candle. I'm here to give *yawn* you your rewards!" Belmand said, enthusiastically. "Hey, it's not every day a god stands in front of you. Well… technically, I'm not physically here. If I were, you would be mashed potatoes."

'This god is fucking suspicious!' Aito thought. Then he remembered Valinar could read his thoughts and turned towards Belmont, who simply nodded. 'Fuck your divine ass.'

"Rude." The god said. "Whatever, I have other matters to attend to. I'll give you your rewards then you blacky can go play with the other mortals in the tower."

With but a thought, Belmand ordered a notification window to appear in front of Aito.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the Black Trial's quest "Surpass your limits!"]

[Calculating Rewards]

BING!

____________________________

Rewards:

- 10 Glory Points

- 10000 Tutorial Points

Hidden Quest Rewards:

- 100 Glory Points

- 100000 Tutorial Points

____________________________

Aito stared at the notification window, unable to comprehend the uses of Glory and Tutorial points. "And… what the hell am I supposed to do with those?"

Belmand smirked, "Well… for one, you could get your furry friend out of that island."