"I'm back, Aliane. Did you miss me?" said Twig, smiling.
"Welcome back, young master," replied Aliane, keeping a smile on her face. "Are you going back to your home now?"
"I will, but first," Twig replied, "we need to trade the items I got. I have a lot of loot and need to get rid of it; my inventory is way too heavy."
Using the shop menus, Twig sold all the useless items, keeping only the apples, the carrots, and, of course, his sword.The total value obtained from the sale was 553 Zeny.
"Not bad, I've already made a little money," said Twig, satisfied."Aliane, use one of my coupons and teleport me back to the inn, please."
"Certainly, young master," Aliane replied. "I will activate the teleport right away."
Once again, the teleport light effect enveloped little Twig. Lights flickered rapidly over his body, radiating from the center outwards, then back to the center, in a constant, hypnotizing motion. Puff!
Back outside the inn, Twig felt quite tired from the little adventure. Quickly and silently, so as not to wake anyone, he returned to his room. Seeing that his friends were sleeping peacefully, he lay down on his bed.
Twig called the System in his mind and asked,"System, you said my friends can also only do missions up to level 5, right? Does that mean they can come with me to the dungeons?"
[DING!] "Yes," the System replied, "they can accompany you in the dungeons, as long as there are coupons available to teleport for free, or they pay the specific cost for the trip."
"Of course," it continued, "since they don't have access to the Kafra service, you'll have to cover the cost if you want to take them with you."
"Ouch, I can already feel the sting of that expense," said Twig, making a face. "But it's okay, it's an investment. When they are stronger, they'll help me defeat monsters, and the drops will turn into Zeny. Then they can come with me to the dungeons multiple times."
"Good night, System."
[DING!] "Good night, host."
The next day, Aron, Twig, and Jenny finished chopping firewood almost effortlessly. Not a bead of sweat appeared on their foreheads. In fact, Twig didn't even need to chop; he was there just to help his friends.
While swinging the axe, he thought to himself,"I think this afternoon, during training with the wooden swords, I'll tell them about the dungeons. I'll take them with me and show them a faster way to level up."
In the afternoon, with the three gathered in the forest near the well, Twig got his friends' attention."Guys, I have something to tell you. Something the Three-Eyed Raven revealed to me. Actually, I've already checked, and it's true. Now I'll share it with you."
"Huh? What do you mean, Twig? What are you talking about?" asked Aron.Jenny was also curious, but since her brother had already asked, she stayed quiet.
"So, guys," Twig began, "what I discovered from the information the Three-Eyed Raven gave me is that there's a magic that allows us to go to a place where we'll face strong enemies who will make us stronger when defeated.
"Also, they are servants of the Night King. So, by defeating these enemies, we're weakening his army," he added, slightly exaggerating.
This time, Aron stayed silent. The information was too much for him to process.Jenny, on the other hand, spoke up."Magic? A spell? Who's going to cast this spell? You, Twig?"
Hearing this, Aron looked at Twig and commented,"No, if you're the one casting the spell, you might turn us all into frogs."
"No, I'm not casting the spell," Twig replied, "but… it's an item I have that will allow us to go to this place. I want to check with you if you want to come with me. It's dangerous, but you'll get stronger if you do."
The two siblings exchanged glances. They knew they would become stronger. And the teachings—supposedly from the Three-Eyed Raven—were working. Their belief was strong. Or rather, they had been fooled by their friend, very easily.
"Let's go, Twig. Don't waste time," said Aron."Yes, Bob. Let's go," added Jenny.
"Guys, you have those wooden swords, right?" Twig began. "I don't recommend using wooden swords inside the dungeon. I'll get real swords for you. So, be careful not to hurt yourselves."
"Real swords?" asked Aron, surprised."Inside?" questioned Jenny.
"Don't worry, you'll understand. Now, each of you hold my hands."
Jenny held Twig's right hand, and Aron his left. The three of them held hands, all being guided by Twig.He closed his eyes and thought,"Aliane, consume three teleport coupons to the Dungeon: Forgotten Cave."
This time, the teleport light didn't affect only Twig but all three of them. A bright aura quickly enveloped them, growing and flickering at high speed. And then, three puffs happened simultaneously, and they disappeared.
When Aron and Jenny finally realized, they were already at the entrance of a cave. The floor was damp, and mushrooms glowed with a phosphorescent light along the walls. But that wasn't what surprised them the most.
A beautiful young woman, dressed as a maid, stood at the doorway, waiting for them."Oh, miss, sorry!" said Aron. "We don't know how we got here."
Jenny, startled by the woman, almost immediately felt an unexpected calm. There was something welcoming in her presence, something that conveyed safety. And for some reason, the woman's face looked strangely familiar, though Jenny couldn't pinpoint why.
"Hello, Aliane! How are you? Guys, this is Aliane. She guards the cave entrance. She doesn't let the monsters leave. She is also our ally."
"Welcome, young masters. How are you? Ready for a new adventure?" said Aliane.
"Hello," replied Aron, surprised."Hello," said Jenny, with a shy smile.
Jenny pulled her brother aside and whispered,"Aron, doesn't she look familiar to you?""Huh…" he replied, looking closely. "Yeah… somehow she reminds me of someone. I just don't know who."
"Guys, wait here. I'll get two swords for you, just a moment," said Twig.
Using the little money he had earned the night before, he bought two Sword [3] at Aliane's shop. Soon after, he handed one to each of them."Here you go. Be careful, these aren't toys. Now we have real swords in our hands," warned Twig, with a mix of pride and concern.
"Wow! A real sword!" exclaimed Aron, excitedly holding the weapon.
Little Jenny also held her sword, still a bit heavy for her, despite her enhanced stats. But with effort, she managed to handle it."But you're not holding any sword," said Jenny, looking at Twig. "Why did you give us yours if you don't have one?"
Twig crossed his arms and smiled, trying to look clever."Oh, I also have a sword. You just can't see it."
Then, he took a sword out of his inventory, and it magically appeared in his hand. The two widened their eyes in surprise."How did you do that?" asked Aron."Ah, it's another trick I learned from the Three-Eyed Raven," replied Twig. "I don't know if you'll be able to learn it, but it doesn't matter much. Even if you can't see it, I still feel the weight of the sword. It's just an illusion so no one notices I'm holding it, but it's always with me. Got it?""Amazing!" said both of them, astonished.
"Yeah," agreed Twig. "But when we're not inside here, you won't need to hide the swords. Leave that to me."
He continued, with a clever smile,"Every time we return to the dungeon—and we will return many times, believe me—I'll always be able to pull swords from my inventory and give them to you. So, no need to worry about your father, Saul, finding out you have weapons."
"Wow! You thought of everything, Twig. Even the scolding we could get from our dad," said Aron.
"Hehe," Twig smiled, scratching his nose.
Twig and his friends said goodbye to Aliane, the Kafra assistant, and headed into the cave. Soon, they encountered the first Poring.
"What's this pink ball? What strange goo! Is this some giant's nose mucus?" asked Aron, surprised.
Jenny was impressed by how pink and bouncy the little blob was."This is a Poring," explained Twig. "It's a monster, one of the Night King's army servants."
Aron, half in disbelief, approached and poked the creature."This is a servant of the Night King?"
It didn't take long for him to regret it: the Poring lunged at his belly, knocking him backward."This is a monster! This is a monster!" he shouted, scared.
"Come on, Aron, get up!" said Twig. "The Poring is weak. Just give it a sword strike and it's done. No need to be afraid."
Aron got up. The Poring was hopping toward him slowly. When it jumped, Aron drew his sword and attacked, cutting the Poring in half, which exploded into several drops on the ground. A little white crystal fell from it.
"What's this on the ground?" asked Aron."This," replied Twig, "is what I'll give to our friend at the dungeon entrance so she can return resources to us and we can buy better equipment."
The two were surprised."So this means every monster we kill drops a little crystal on the ground?" asked Jenny."Not necessarily," Twig replied. "Some can drop weapons, like my sword, which I got from defeating a monster."
"Wow!" exclaimed Jenny. "So monsters can drop different things?""Yes," confirmed Twig. "Each monster leaves something different. It can be a weapon, a little stone that can be sold, or even food. The stronger the enemy, the more valuable the drop. It's a cycle: we face the enemy, defeat it, and get the treasure. Understand?"
Aron, with his hand on his chin, agreeing with Twig, commented,"I get it. Makes sense. So the more powerful the opponent, the bigger the reward. But… what if we find a monster too strong for us? How will we defeat it?"
Twig smiled and replied,"Well, Aron, that's where the magic comes in. We get stronger the more monsters we defeat. First, we face a weaker monster and get stronger. Then we face one slightly stronger, and get even stronger. And so on. Soon, we'll be as strong as any monster we meet."
Jenny, on the other hand, wondered about something else."Twig, you said they also drop food? Can we get food from these monsters?"
"Yes," Aron replied. "Look, for example, these apples here. I was saving them for you. This monster I defeated also has a small chance of dropping apples."
"And they can drop more than one item?" asked Jenny."Sometimes, yes," Twig added. "Two, three… it depends on our luck. The more we kill, the more things we get."
"In this cave, there's this pink monster called Poring. Further in, there's another, a little rabbit-like creature, a mix between a rabbit and a rat, called Lunatic. It's stronger. So, first, we'll defeat the Porings to get stronger. Or rather, you'll train a bit here because I can already defeat a Lunatic. When you're strong enough, we'll go after the Lunatics."
Aron, very excited and eager to defeat more enemies, went ahead almost without waiting for his friends. He began attacking all the Porings that appeared in front of him. Twig, seeing all the items falling to the ground, stayed busy collecting them. But soon he noticed a problem and called Aron's attention:
"Aron, wait a bit. You're moving too fast.""Am I?" Aron replied, continuing to advance."Why?" Aron insisted.
"Dude, don't you realize? Jenny isn't killing any Poring. Only you are getting stronger. She's not gaining any experience."
"Huh? Experience? What do you mean?" Aron stopped and looked back, seeing Jenny still with her sword sheathed, not having fought a single monster.
"Let me explain better," said Twig. "When you fight a monster, you gain something called experience. It makes you more skilled, stronger. Whoever doesn't fight, doesn't gain experience. Understand?"
Aron looked at Jenny and saw that, indeed, she wasn't fighting at all."So… only I'm getting stronger?" he asked, surprised."Exactly. She's not gaining anything. That's why Jenny also needs to fight to level up."
At that moment, Aron stepped back, giving space to Jenny. She grabbed the sword hilt, still in its sheath, and approached. The closer she got to the Poring, the more her body trembled.
Twig noticed her fear and said,"Don't be afraid, it's just a Poring."
She looked at him, hesitant."I know… Aron can defeat them easily, but will I be able to too? He won't hurt me, right?"
Aron and Twig exchanged looks. It was fear, not disobedience. Twig then said,"It's okay to be afraid, Jenny. But you also need courage. Being afraid doesn't mean you lack courage, and having courage doesn't mean you feel no fear. You need both: courage to move forward and fear to avoid unnecessary danger."
He smiled."Trust us. Draw your sword, do as we practiced, and hit the Poring. Want to see how easy it will be?"
Jenny took a deep breath, held the sword hilt again, and carefully drew it. The Poring, passive, hopped from side to side. She approached, raised the sword, closed her eyes almost instinctively, and struck.
Plop!
The Poring exploded instantly. Amazed by her success, Jenny felt her confidence grow. She moved on to the next Poring, now more secure. Aron watched attentively while Twig collected the items from the ground. In no time, Jenny was comfortable with the sword and, on her own initiative, attacked the Porings with determination.
It didn't take long for Aron and Jenny to level up. Twig then guided them deeper into the cave, confident they could handle the Lunatics.
Upon encountering the Lunatic, this time Jenny spoke up."Twig, are you sure these cute little rabbits are servants of the Night King? They don't seem like a big threat."
Twig looked at her and then at Aron, telling both,"Don't be fooled by the appearance of this monster. Yes, they're cute, but see if they don't bite you and take a finger. If you don't finish them quickly, you'll be the ones finished quickly."
Jenny stepped back, startled by what she heard. Twig said,"Don't lose your courage now, Jenny. You've come so far."
Aron said,"I'll go first to test this creature's strength."
He drew his sword and charged at the Lunatic. He struck once, but the monster didn't fall immediately. Before it could react, Aron, apparently agile, struck again, defeating the Lunatic.
"Wow," said Aron, "the other monsters died with one hit. This one needed two. Damn! This monster really is stronger."
Jenny, on the other hand, looked at the carrot the rabbit had dropped. Her eyes sparkled."Look, a carrot!" she exclaimed, running to pick it up. "Wow, such a bright orange! This must be delicious! Can I eat it?"
The two boys looked at each other and laughed."Of course, Jenny, eat the carrot, it's fine."
The group moved forward. This time, Twig also participated, taking down some Lunatics. They took turns: sometimes Aron, sometimes Jenny, and then Twig faced another Lunatic. Many carrots, apples, and clovers fell, and Twig collected everything, storing it in his inventory.
It didn't take long for them to reach the deepest part of the cave. There were no more Lunatics or Porings, but another type of monster, uglier and scarier. Aron and Jenny realized the danger."These are servants of the Night King," they said seriously.
Twig introduced the monster to his two friends."These are Willows. Cursed trees, so to speak, tree-monsters. They're practically living wood. They're even stronger than the Lunatics. Be careful."
Aaron looked at the walking trees."They don't seem like they want to attack us."
"True," said Twig, "but don't be careless. If you provoke them, it will be your end. Fight carefully."
"And when they are defeated, what do they drop?" asked Jenny, curious."Well… wood," replied Twig.
Aaron looked seriously at the Willows and said,"I should have brought my axe. Chopping wood is something I do every morning."