Twig was forced to come to terms with his own reality. There was no choice. He would have to work hard to get where he wanted — even if it meant chopping wood and cleaning the floor. He couldn't give up. He would have to grind a lot, level up, and gain strength.
"I'm curious to see what the system will let me do…" Twig thought. "What skills will I be able to get? How strong can I become? And how much will this affect reality… the world of Westeros?"
"Hey, Twig! What are you just standing there doing? Good morning!"
A young voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was Aron, calling him.
"Ah, it's you, Aron. Good morning. I was looking for you. Let's go chop some wood. I know we have to do this," Twig replied.
"Wow, Twig, I've never seen you excited to chop wood. What got into you?" Aron said, surprised.
"Surprised about what? We have to chop the wood. We can't skip it, or your father will be mad at both of us. Let's go."
The two boys walked together to the pile of logs near the inn and began working.
TAC! TAC!
The sound repeated with each precise strike on the wood. Aron watched from the corner of his eye, impressed.
"Wow, Twig, so much energy! I've never seen you chop wood with such eagerness. What's going on? Did someone do something to you?" he asked, laughing. "Or are you trying to kill the wood?"
Twig stopped, looked at Aron, and took a deep breath.
"What are you talking about? It's just work, man. We need to do it."
"Working is fine," Aron replied, frowning, "but you're way too motivated. This isn't normal. Take it easy. You won't survive the whole day if you keep overdoing it like this."
Twig stayed silent for a moment, reflecting.It's true… I have other missions to complete. I can't spend all my energy here. Otherwise, I won't get the rest done. I need to make it count, conserve it. If I want to finish everything today, I have to pace myself. Use my time wisely. Be smarter… Good thing he reminded me.
"Yeah, Aron. You're right. I'll take it slower. I don't need to overdo it. Thanks!"
"Anytime," Aron replied, pleased.
While the two boys chopped wood, in another part of the inn, a peculiar scene was unfolding.
"Jenny? Where are you, Jenny?" called Saul.
"Here, Dad. What do you need?"
"Come here, daughter. Help me organize some things on the inn's tables. Some guests have already left, but they left behind some odds and ends. Check if there's anything valuable; otherwise, throw it away."
Jenny approached a table to look at some objects scattered near the chair legs. When suddenly—
"Hey, girl! Stay away from my bag! That bag is mine. Are you some kind of thief?"
Startled, Jenny froze. She couldn't say anything. She just stood up and stepped back, her eyes trembling.
Saul quickly stepped in, trying to calm the situation.
"Sir, there's no problem. She's my daughter. She's just organizing what I asked her to. Is this item yours? I apologize. She didn't mean to touch what belongs to you."
"I knew something was wrong with this inn!" the man snapped, furious. "The disrespect yesterday wasn't enough, now this. I'll never come back here!"
From his tone and the anger on his face, Saul recognized him: it was the same man who had threatened him the night before.
The scowling man gathered the items — supposedly his — gave one last look at the two, and left without saying another word. But the look he left behind was cold… and full of hatred.
Sometime later, as the other guests were leaving, only one remained, searching around without finding what he wanted. He then approached Saul.
"Hey, innkeeper! Owner!" he called. "Hey, you!"
"Yes, sir," Saul replied. "How can I help?"
"I… I think I left something here. I have some bags with me, and I think one of them stayed last night. I forgot to take it to the rooms. Did you happen to see it? There were some coins and a few items."
Saul knew exactly which bag it was but chose not to tell the truth — to avoid problems.
"No, sir. I didn't see it," Saul said. "I can help you look."
"I don't have time to waste," the man grumbled. "I need to continue my journey. Forget it. It wasn't that valuable."
The man collected his belongings and left. Once he was gone, Saul muttered quietly:
"Hmph… that man is a petty thief. His attitude, the threats yesterday, and now this… I don't want someone like him in my inn. It's dangerous," he continued, irritated. "He'll bring trouble here."
After a lot of work, the boys managed to chop the wood needed for the day, nearly completing the first task.
System, how's my mission progressing? Twig thought.
[Ding!] Mission Log Update
Quest: Hunting & GatheringProgress: 23 / 25 logsReward: 2 EXP
"Damn, just two left…" Twig murmured. "I'll keep going a bit more."
As he returned to chopping, Aron spoke up:
"Hey, Twig, we've got enough wood. You can stop."
"Ah, Aron, let me chop two more here. I think that'll be enough. Better to have extra than to fall short, right?"
"I don't know that saying," Aron shrugged. "But let's go. I'm hungry. We need to finish this and grab something to eat. I haven't eaten anything yet."
"What do you mean you're hungry? I haven't eaten either!" Twig replied, indignant. "I bet you and Jenny already ate something before starting work. You always wake up earlier, right?"
"I wish," sighed Aron. "We did wake up earlier, but we had to help Dad with the guests leaving. We were busy and didn't get a chance to eat anything secretly."
Once they finished chopping the wood, they tied the bundles to make them easier to carry. Each grabbed an end of the rope, and together they dragged the load to the kitchen, where it would be used to start the fire.
Upon reaching the inn, Twig came face to face with Saul's scowling glare.
Before the man could speak, he hurriedly said:
"Sir, I'm going to clean the tables! I'll make everything shine, okay? Please don't be angry!"
And without waiting for a response, he quickly set off to start the next tasks.
"Brat!" thought Saul.
It didn't take long for Twig to start drifting into his own thoughts while working. He cleaned tables, organized chairs, lifted, pushed, pulled… did a little bit of everything.
System… isn't there an easier, faster way to gain experience? he thought, exhausted.
[Ding!] Dear user, there is a possibility to gain experience by killing the chickens in the coop. However, I imagine that if you kill them all and still level up, it would cause a big problem for you.
Twig paused for a moment, still holding the rag, staring into space.Yeah, not worth it, he thought.
After finishing the furniture in the ground floor rooms, Twig went up to the upper rooms and continued tidying, making sure everything was in order to complete the second mission.
After finishing the cleaning and organizing, he managed to sneak away with Jenny to eat something in their hiding spot: some slightly wilted carrots, a few boiled potatoes, and a piece of old, hard bread — enough to satisfy the emptiness in his stomach.
With a "full" stomach, he decided to rest a bit to gather strength for the third mission. After resting, he began doing push-ups, thinking to himself:
Man… here comes the harder part. I'm doomed.
In a more hidden part of the inn's grounds, Twig, the scrawny boy, performed his exercises in a comical way. Aron spotted him and approached:
"Hey, Twig, what are you doing, flopping on the ground like that?"
"A-Aron…" Twig said, almost out of breath and barely able to speak. "I'll tell you later, I'm busy now."
After finishing the push-up session, Twig sat down to catch his breath. Aron just stood there, staring, not understanding.
What's this crazy kid doing? he thought. "Twig's lost it."
Catching his breath, Twig finally spoke, with a mix of pride and sarcasm:
"Dude, I'm doing exercises to get stronger. That way, I can become a knight. And you, not doing anything, hardly will."
"Ah, you must be crazy, Twig!" Aron exclaimed. "Since when does flopping on the ground make someone a knight? Are you insane?"
"No, Aron, you don't understand," Twig replied, still panting. "I'm not flopping on the ground. I'm pushing against it to lift my own body. It makes my arms stronger. That way, when I wield a sword, I'll be stronger than those who don't do this."
Aron paused, thinking."Well, that kind of makes sense…" he murmured. "Using your own body weight to gain strength. But, dude… you're scrawny! You barely eat! How are you going to get stronger? From what I know, people eat a lot to grow big and muscular."
Twig sighed and said mysteriously:
"Ah, well… I'll tell you a secret, Aron. A traveler told me that if you train like I'm doing — and do some other exercises he taught me — you can get stronger. Just watch. I'll show you. And if you don't believe me, just wait… soon I'll be stronger. Then you'll be jealous."
He said this with an even more confident tone, making Aron shake his head, laughing in disbelief.
Aron, still skeptical, simply watched Twig's comical "antics" during his training. Each exaggerated movement, each dramatic effort, looked more like a performance than serious exercise — yet Aron couldn't help but laugh at the scene.