Chapter 19. Me, Myself, and My System - The Twig Arrived in Westeros

Twig was ready to begin his journey, but he suddenly stopped, remembering something.

"Wait, wait a moment… I don't have a weapon! How am I supposed to kill anything in the dungeon?"

"System, give me a hand," Twig said. "What do I need to do to get a decent tool and start my grind?"

[DING!] "Host, unfortunately, I cannot give anything for free. Why don't you take your wooden sword? At least it serves as a stick. It won't deal much damage, but eventually, you will be able to defeat your opponents. And, if you're lucky, you might accumulate enough loot to sell, earn Zeny, and buy equipment needed for future battles."

"Man, nothing comes easy for me… what bad luck!" Twig muttered. "Maybe I should invest some points in luck. Who knows, maybe I could get something for free from you."

[DING!] "Host, keep dreaming."

Twig slowly got out of bed, careful not to make any noise and wake the others. He went down through the inn and got outside, looking for his stick—I mean, his sword.

Once he found his legendary combat instrument, Twig turned to the system and requested the Kafra assistant to appear again.

"Aliane, teleport me to the dungeon," Twig said. "Use one of my ten coupons."

"Young master," Aliane warned, "wouldn't it be wise to save this location as a Teleportation point? If I send you directly to the dungeon, you won't be able to return."

"Oh, really?" Twig said, thinking quickly. "Then let's do that. Save the inn as a Teleportation point."

"And now, begin the teleportation procedure to the dungeon."

"Yes, sir, young master," Aliane replied. "Initiating procedure. Pay attention."

"Teleport to the dungeon Forgotten Cave. Activate."

At first, Twig's body didn't show any visible changes. But gradually, a faint glow began to appear around his silhouette. The glow concentrated first around the edges, moving toward the center of his chest, then expanded again outward. The movement alternated in and out, gaining speed, until with a puff, Twig disappeared.

When Twig finally realized his surroundings, he noticed he was no longer near the inn. He was standing on a damp floor inside a cave, illuminated by a strange light.

Mushrooms near the walls glowed with a phosphorescent sheen. Visibility wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible either; he could see, though somewhat limited.

"Wow, what is this place?" Twig exclaimed, surprised. "Is this a dungeon?"

"Yes, young master," Aliane, the Kafra assistant, responded instantly, startling the boy.

"Oh! Wow, you scared me!" Twig exclaimed. "Wait… Aliane, you're not in that transparent ghost form anymore? You…"

As he finished speaking, Twig approached and tried to touch Aliane. The touch had an effect: the Kafra assistant was no longer just a projection. Now, she was flesh and blood, fully tangible.

"Yes, young master," Aliane explained. "Here, inside the dungeons, the amount of magic is much stronger, almost solid, due to the density in the air."

"That's why my projection ended, and now I can take a real physical form. It's different from the world of Westeros, where magic is much weaker."

"Ah, so you're going to help me kill the monsters?" Twig asked excitedly. "You'll come with me to fight, right?"

"Young master, you're funny," Aliane replied, with a playful tone. "Obviously not. You don't know: we Kafra assistants stay at the dungeon entrances. We never enter. We just remain at the entrance to provide our services."

"Haha, true, true," Twig said, a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.

"Alright then. I'll start my exploration," Twig said excitedly. "Thanks a lot for the information. See you later!"

Twig turned and moved deeper into the cave.

It didn't take long for him to spot his first opponent: a pink blob made of thick goo. A smile spread across the boy's face. He recognized the monster and could hardly believe it—before him was a Poring, the most classic monster from the world of Ragnarok Online.

"Wow, it's a Poring!" Twig exclaimed, excited. "This monster is a slime! Every fantasy world has its slime, but the Poring is so cute! It's my favorite!"

"This little pink thing is very tricky," Twig frowned. "It likes to steal things from the ground. I wonder if, by defeating it, besides the usual items it drops, I might get something it swallowed somewhere?"

"Ah, I like Porings," Twig said, smiling. "They're so funny. I almost regret having to defeat them."

Twig gripped the handle of his wooden sword and charged at the Poring to face his first enemy.

Whack! A precise hit in the middle of the Poring made it explode in all directions. Everything that fell to the ground was green, viscous goo and a few tiny crystals.

[DING!] You gained 2 BASE EXP and 1 JOB EXP.

"Wow, I got experience for defeating the Poring!" Twig said, excited. "It's not much, but… if I defeat many like this, I'll definitely level up easily."

"System, do I need to pick up the items from the ground, or can I use a skill to collect them automatically?"

[DING!] "Host, you have already been warned. Nothing is given for free. You must manually collect all items that fall to the ground. Do you think this is a private server, with commands and shortcuts?"

"Alright, alright," Twig said, picking up the items. "I won't ask that again, geez."

It didn't take long for Twig to find more Porings. And so it continued: each Poring that appeared received a hit here, a hit there. One could say the wooden sword was singing, and the melody was the end of many Porings.

Twig collected some drops—both the small crystals and the goo—since they had value. After accumulating some, he decided to appraise them to identify what they were.

"[Appraisal]"

[DING!]Jellopy – Description: A small crystallization created by some monsters. Sell price: 3 Zeny.Empty Bottle – Description: An empty bottle used for carrying liquids. Sell price: 3 Zeny.Sticky Mucus – Description: Mysteriously sticky liquid. Sell price: 35 Zeny.Apple – Description: A round, edible fruit that, when eaten once a day, keeps the doctor away. Recovers a small amount of HP. Sell price: 7 Zeny.

"Look at all these items!" Twig said, excited. "I'm going to make a small fortune at the Kafra by selling them."

"Except this apple," he added, holding the fruit. "I won't sell this. It's food. For me, food is worth much more than Zeny. I'll try to get some more apples—that way, tomorrow I'll also have some for Aron and Jenny."

"I've been here for half an hour or more," Twig thought. "I think I should retreat. System, should I leave now? I've spent enough time here, and if I stay too long, someone might notice I'm gone."

[DING!] "Host, initially, I apologize for not informing you earlier. While you are inside a dungeon, time passes differently than outside. Here, time passes ten times faster. That is, one hour outside equals ten hours here. You can stay almost a whole day in the dungeon, and not much time will pass outside."

"Wow!" Twig exclaimed, impressed. "That's really interesting… and very important. So I can spend a lot of time here fighting and leveling up, while not much time passes outside."

[DING!] "Host, that's true. However, it's not good to stay too long inside the dungeon. Remember: you could spend so much time here that you'll get exhausted. Act with balance, don't overdo it. Stay the necessary time in the dungeon and then return to the normal world. That way, you also won't age prematurely."

"If I stay too long here, one year outside will equal ten years here. That is, ten years outside will mean a hundred years here."

Twig's eyes widened, scared by the possibility of simply aging just by spending too much time here. Of course, he wasn't going to spend a hundred years in the dungeon without noticing.

Scratching the back of his head and smiling, Twig thought to himself:

"Haha, that's true… I can stay a little longer here. But before I get too tired, I'll leave. I'll still have to walk back to the dungeon entrance to find the Kafra and use teleportation, not to mention the time to organize my inventory."

Moving further into the dungeon, Twig came across a new figure—a different enemy. It looked like a mix between a rabbit and a small white rat with fluffy fur, scurrying back and forth.

His eyes widened, surprised, and he exclaimed:

"A Lunatic! A Lunatic! I can't believe it!"

With eyes shining, Twig took a deep breath, feeling his ideas come alive.

"It's a dream come true," he thought. "A dream for every nerd! What amazing monsters will I find from now on?"

Full of anticipation and excitement, his eyes sparkled intensely.

Twig approached the Lunatic and swung his wooden sword. Unlike the Porings, it wasn't defeated easily. The Lunatic, though thrown back, quickly regained its stance and leapt toward Twig, pushing him backward.

Twig fell on his rear and muttered:

"Ouch… that hurt!"

[DING!] "Host, be careful! A Lunatic is stronger than a Poring, and you don't have enough equipment to defeat it in a single strike."

Still feeling the impact, Twig gripped his wooden sword firmly. He stood up, and as the Lunatic charged again, he landed a precise hit on its head. This time, the Lunatic didn't fall but was stunned. Twig didn't waste time and delivered a third strike.

This time, the Lunatic didn't get up. It fell on its back, paws in the air.

[DING!] You gained 6 BASE EXP and 2 JOB EXP.

On the ground, some objects dropped, but one immediately caught Twig's attention: it looked like a sword.

"I can't believe it… I can't believe it!" he exclaimed, eyes shining. "I got a sword! Incredible!"

Quickly, Twig identified the items he obtained.

"[Appraisal]"

[DING!]Clover – Description: A plant with three heart-shaped leaves found in meadows. Sell price: 5 Zeny.Apple – Description: A round, edible fruit that recovers a small amount of HP. Sell price: 7 Zeny.Sword [4] – Description: A basic one-handed sword. Sell price: 50 Zeny.

"Ahaha!" Twig exclaimed, radiant. "My first sword! I got my first real sword!"

"Oh! And I got another apple!" he continued, laughing. "Looks like these Lunatics drop apples much more easily than Porings."

Twig pushed the sword forward, holding it with both hands, pointing toward the cave ceiling.

"Haha, finally I have a sword!" he exclaimed. "Now I'll be invincible!"

Playing with his newly obtained sword, he held it with both hands, slowly lifting it in front of his chest.

"By the power of Grayskull… I have the power!" he said, laughing with excitement.

Turning his attention to the dungeon, Twig continued forward and soon spotted another Lunatic. This time, with the sword in hand, he didn't need much effort to defeat it. A single precise strike to the creature's center was enough, and it fell dead, paws up again.

This time, he wasn't lucky: no equipment dropped. Only an apple, a clover, and a carrot.

"Wow, I guess getting this sword earlier was really lucky!" Twig said, still admiring the weapon.

"And look at this carrot… wow! Its color is so vivid, completely different from the carrots at the inn, which even have a sickly tone."

Pausing to think, Twig realized:

"Defeating enemies here in dungeons can let me get a lot of food," he said to himself. "I can't wait to find one that drops meat. That will be an achievement!"

Maintaining his pace and advancing constantly through the dungeon, defeating enemies and collecting loot, Twig finally reached the goal for his journey.

[DING!] [LEVEL UP] +1[DING!] [JOB LEVEL UP] +1[DING!] Congratulations, user! You have reached Level 6. Your job has also reached Level 6.

"System, distribute points as usual."

[DING!]

A tingling sensation ran through Twig's body. Reaching ten points of strength and vitality, his body was breaking a limit, shattering a barrier.

He gritted his teeth—the sensation wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't unbearable either. In a few moments, it passed, and Twig soon felt completely fine.

"Phew!" Twig said, wiping his forehead as he recovered. "I think that's enough for today… I'm really tired."

Even though he leveled up, the mental effort had been great.

"I need to go back and rest. But first, I'll sell these items." He looked at his inventory. "I'm already feeling weighed down carrying all this… Why do I feel this weight, system? The items are in the inventory!"

[DING!] "Host, the explanation for your question lies in the Ragnarok Online-based system. Even though the items are in your inventory, they have weight, and that weight is transferred to you. Your strength determines how much weight you can carry. When you reach more than 50% of the maximum load, you're no longer completely rested, and your energy recovery is interrupted. If you exceed 90% of the maximum load, you can't move. In that case, you'll have to discard some items to continue moving."

"Wow, it's true… had forgotten about this mechanic," Twig reflected. "Time to call it a day."

He started returning to the dungeon entrance. He walked for about fifteen minutes, but it didn't take long to reach the entrance, as the monsters weren't aggressive: Porings and Lunatics didn't deliberately attack him.

Without facing any enemies on the way back, the journey was smooth. Upon reaching the entrance, there was Aliane, the Kafra assistant, smiling and waiting for his return.

Chapter 19 - Chapter 19. Me, Myself, and My System