The manual labor Twig did to organize the inn went faster and easier today. Higher attributes and more robust health really helped, didn't they?
After finishing his tasks and leaving everything organized — at least from the system's perspective, since the quest was complete and everything was "perfect" — Twig went out to look for Aron so they could train with their wooden swords.
To his surprise, when he found Aron outside, Jenny was already there, holding a small twig in her hands. It must be the one we made for her that day, Twig thought.
"Hey, guys, shall we go to the forest near the well and train with our swords? Or better yet, play with them?" he asked.
"Yes, let's!" Aron replied. "I already prepared the sword for Jenny. Jenny, shall we go?"
In the forest clearing near the well, the children pushed themselves while having fun wielding their mighty weapons — or rather, their wooden swords.
Time seemed to pass too quickly. The afternoon slipped away, and soon it began to get dark. But the physical combat training quests had already been completed some time ago. Seeing his friends tired and wanting to go home, Twig accompanied them.
Back at the inn, the children entered through the back to avoid being noticed — and to prevent Saul from realizing they were returning late.
But luck wasn't on their side. Saul noticed their arrival. Irritated by the children disappearing nearly every afternoon, he came to confront them.
"What's going on, kids? What's with this behavior? This is the second time — yesterday and today — that you've disappeared all afternoon. Where were you? Don't you know you can't just wander around? It's dangerous! What if something happened to you? I can't leave here; I have to take care of the inn!"
Twig, more conscious and mature than the others, decided to take responsibility, keeping the promise he made to Aron.
"Mr. Saul, don't scold them. The responsibility is mine. I convinced them to play with me near the well where we get water. It's not far, nor dangerous. And we completed all our tasks; we didn't leave anything undone."
Hearing Twig's response, Saul became irritated, but before he could speak, he remembered his late wife and the secret he was hiding from the boy. Looking at his children and Twig, he just made a stern face and thought: They're just kids. They were playing. When I was their age, I did the same thing. Not much different.
"Fine! Today we didn't have any visitors either. No guests, no reason to stay up so late. Close everything, extinguish the candles and lamps, and go to bed."
Hearing Saul's words, the two siblings could hardly believe they hadn't been scolded. For some reason, Twig had saved them today. This wasn't normal; normally Saul would have spanked the boy and scolded his own children. But this time, he accepted the explanation.
How strange… it seems luck finally smiled on them, doesn't it?
The children didn't think twice and went to their room to rest.
While the children settled into their beds, Saul, in his room, reflected on the past — on his late wife, and on how the children had been lately.
I miss you, Lacy. It's so hard… I don't know how to be kind to our children. I want to protect them, I want what's best for them. Even for that foolish boy… your sister's son.
But… I don't have the heart you had. I don't know how to love the way you did. I hope, someday, my children understand that I don't wish them harm.
I'm harsh, it's true. But I don't want anything bad to happen to them. We have so little, but everything I have, I give to them.
In the silence of his room, while the young friends were already asleep, lying on the straw bed covered with clean scraps, Twig felt the fatigue from the day's work and training in his muscles. Even while resting, he couldn't shut off his mind — he needed to talk to the system.
In his mind, he requested that it release the experience from the completed quests, imagining the numbers and status points appearing before him.
Twig closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and focused."System, release today's experience."
A faint metallic sound echoed in his mind, signaling that the command had been received.
[Ding!] Of course, Host. Releasing experience from completed quests.[Ding!] Activating Completed Quest Rewards!
Quest: Hunting & GatheringProgress: 25 / 25 logsReward: 2 EXP
Quest: General ServicesProgress: 5 / 5 rooms cleaned & organizedReward: 1 EXP
Quest: Physical TrainingProgress:50 / 50 push-ups40 / 40 squats30 / 30 sit-upsReward: 3 EXP
Quest: Combat TrainingProgress: 150 / 150 sword swingsReward: 4 EXP
Congratulations, User! You gained 10 experience points, plus a 50% bonus for completing all the day's quests without missing any.Total Reward: 15 EXP.
Once again, Twig felt that sensation of warmth run through his body. He felt a surge of invigorating energy, back at his peak, ready for another full day of work immediately.
[Ding!] [LEVEL UP] +1[Ding!] [JOB LEVEL UP] +1[Ding!] Congratulations, User! You reached Level 3. Your job also reached Level 3.
Open Status.
[Ding!][— USER STATUS —]Name: Robert Nilig (Twig)Age: 11 (+21)Title: NoneRace: HumanJob: Novice – LVL [3/10] | Exp: 0/30Level: 3 | Exp: 0 / 30HP: 45 | MP: 13
Attributes:STR: 3 | VIT: 4 | AGI: 3 | DEX: 3 | INT: 10 | LUK: 1
Resources:Stat Point: 5 | Skill Point: 0 | Zeny: 0
Equipment:Nothing useful, but at least not naked.
"Well, I think I'll distribute my status points as before, evenly: 1 point in Strength, 2 in Vitality, 1 in Agility, and 1 in Dexterity. For now, I'll leave Luck and Intelligence aside. When the right moment comes, it'll be their turn too."
[Distribute points]
Open Status.
[Ding!][— USER STATUS —]Name: Robert Nilig (Twig)Age: 11 (+21)Title: NoneRace: HumanJob: Novice – LVL [3/10] | Exp: 0/30Level: 3 | Exp: 0 / 30HP: 41 | MP: 12
Attributes:STR: 4 | VIT: 6 | AGI: 4 | DEX: 4 | INT: 10 | LUK: 1
Resources:Stat Point: 0 | Skill Point: 0 | Zeny: 0
Equipment:Nothing useful, but at least not naked.
"Oh, I'm evolving. Nothing too amazing, but it's a big improvement. I'm even stronger than Aron now."
"Ah, time to check my new skill… now that my Job Level reached 3, something new should have appeared. System, Skills!"
[Ding!] User, accessing Skills menu…
[— USER SKILLS —]Job: Novice – LVL 3 / 10
[Novice Basic Skill] [Level: 1]Name / Function: AppraisalDetailed Description: Allows examination of items, objects, and living beings, revealing their basic information and properties.
[Novice Basic Skill] [Level: 2]Name / Function: Enhanced RestDetailed Description: Sitting restores double HP and SP. Sleeping fully restores HP and SP.
"Oh my God…" Twig widened his eyes, almost falling off the straw bed. "This skill is way too overpowered! What is this?"
"Wow… am I going to be invincible like this?" he muttered, laughing uncontrollably. "Even the quests will seem like a joke… and when I get tired, I just sit on the ground and I'm fine!"
[Ding!] Host, the Level 2 Novice skill is really good, but it's not 'overpowered.' How can you, with a total of 10 Intelligence points, interpret it this way?
"What do you mean, System? This skill is so powerful! It's practically an absurd advantage. If I sit, I recover my energy faster; if I sleep, I regain all my energy. Man… I'm going to be immortal!"
[Ding!] Host, this passive skill does not work the way you're imagining. If you sit, it only doubles the amount your body naturally recovers. If your recovery is small, double zero is still zero. Even double one is two, so if your natural recovery is low, the result remains small. And regarding sleeping and becoming immortal, this skill only works if you sleep in a safe place. If you sleep in the middle of a battlefield, your enemies will kill you.
"Yeah… that makes sense. Ah, but still, it's a very good skill!"
"Ah, that's enough for today. I'm tired. Thanks, System. I'll sleep now."
[Ding!] Good night, Host.
The next day began in the same way, following the same routine: wake up early, rush to eat in the hideout, chop wood. However, the day would not end the same way.
While returning to the inn with the chopped wood, Aron and Twig noticed little Jenny acting restless, waiting outside.
"Hi, Jenny! Did something happen? What are you doing here? Already want to play with the wooden swords?" Twig asked.
Aron, more perceptive about his sister's expression, noticed she didn't seem well and asked, "Did something happen, Jenny? Why do you look like this?"
"Aron, nothing happened to me. It's just that today I don't think we'll be able to train with the wooden swords. And that's why I'm sad."
"What do you mean?" Twig asked, surprised. "How come we can't train with the wooden swords? What happened?"
"Aron, our father sent me to help in the kitchen. Prepare up to two chickens… actually, I was going to ask you to kill the two chickens now, Aron."
"Why?" asked Aron.
"According to Father, a caravan is approaching."
"Ah, so that's what's going on, kid," said Saul, appearing behind Jenny and calling Twig. "Go fetch water from the well. We need a lot of water. A caravan is coming."
"A caravan, Father?" asked Aron.
"Yes, a whole caravan. A scout came earlier to warn us that a large group is coming here. They'll probably stay the night. We need to prepare plenty of food; we'll make some coins. I don't think we'll have much space. I spoke with the scout, and he knows we won't have room for everyone. So priority will go to the wealthiest. The guards accompanying them will camp outside, but they'll arrive later. We need to prepare everything in advance to avoid being caught off guard. Go do your tasks!"
Reluctantly, but accepting his reality, Twig headed to the well. As he walked, he thought, Well, since I'm going to the well, I'll practice alone with the sword and do the physical exercises needed to complete today's quests. At night, when I return, I'll do the inn organization quest and also tidy the rooms.
His plans, in a way, came to fruition. Nothing much different from what he had planned happened. He trained with the sword, did the physical exercises, and the attribute gains from the previous night helped him do everything without much fatigue. Then he returned to the inn to start organizing the rooms.