It was already night when the children were together again at the inn. Sitting in their small room, on the straw beds, they chatted cheerfully, pleased with the outcome of the day and their adventure.
Aron was excited. Jenny, still amazed. Neither of them could quite believe the incredible journey they had experienced that day — magical creatures, a mysterious cave, and a special destiny ahead.
Twig, however, felt a pang of guilt as he watched his friends' eyes shining with excitement, knowing that much of what they believed was a big lie he had made up himself.
Jenny gave Aron, her brother, a knowing look — a silent signal between them.
Aron caught the hint, looked at Twig, and asked,"Twig, tomorrow, what time of day are we going on a new adventure?"
Twig brought his hand to his chin, looking up as if deep in thought."Well... I think after we finish a few chores, we can go. Although..." he hesitated, "we don't really need to chop wood or do all those exercises anymore."
"What do you mean we don't need to do the exercises?" asked Jenny, intrigued.
Aron, arms crossed, also wore a doubtful expression.
"Well, guys, it doesn't make sense for us to keep training and doing physical exercises when we can just fight — and get stronger that way. Don't you think?" explained Twig, trying to sound convincing without going into details.
Aron, still skeptical, pressed on."What do you mean, just fight? So we don't need to train anymore? Now it's just about killing monsters? I can't believe a knight would stop practicing his swordsmanship and expect to fight better just because he went into battle."
"Well, you're not wrong, Aron. But a normal person — I mean, a knight, right? — trained and experienced, does practice swordsmanship and his skills to stay strong and keep improving. We, on the other hand, were chosen by the forces of good to fight against the servants of the Night King. Our strength comes from somewhere else — it comes from defeating our enemies. The more enemies we defeat, the more powerful we become. It's as if our abilities improve specifically through overcoming evil."
Still unconvinced, Aron insisted,"Man, that makes no sense to me. How am I supposed to handle a sword better just by defeating monsters? That's not logical at all."
"Well, in a way, you're right," Twig replied, trying to explain. "I think I understand what you mean. Defeating monsters will only make us physically stronger — our bodies will handle more weight, we'll be faster, maybe even smarter. But it's true, we won't get the same skill improvement as with real training."
"However," he continued, "if you think about it, every time you fight stronger monsters, you'll have to use new movements or better techniques. In the battles themselves, you'll feel the need to try new things — and that's how you'll learn. If you use an attack and it fails, you'll know it's wrong. If you use another and it works, you'll know that's the right one. Over time, I believe you'll naturally improve your sword skills. Trust me — after all, we're talking about magic here."
"Ah, I don't know, Twig. I'm still not convinced. But since all these crazy things you've said have somehow turned out to be true so far, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. What do you think, Jenny?" asked Aron.
"Well, it's fine by me," replied Jenny. "I just did what Twig said, and I got stronger. So... who am I to say he's wrong?"
With a sheepish grin — like a politician caught in a lie — Twig scratched the back of his neck and thought to himself:
This audience is tough... Geez, it's getting harder and harder to keep up this lie. And the more amazing and unexplainable things happen, the more I have to lie. This snowball just keeps getting bigger and bigger...
Returning to the previous topic, Twig asked Aron,"Aron, why do you need to know what time we're going to start the adventure? Do you have any chores tomorrow? Did Saul ask you? You need any help?"
Aron looked at his sister.
This time, Jenny was the one who answered."Oh, actually, I was the one who told him to ask you, Twig."
"Hmm? You, Jenny? Why do you need to know that? Got something else planned?"
"No, it's not that. I just wanted to know the time so I can prepare a good meal before we go. And, while I'm at it, I wanted to ask you something. Tomorrow morning, before you head out to chop wood with Aron, could you leave me some carrots and potatoes? I'm planning to make a big, tasty soup. That way, when we leave, we'll be well fed. I want to make something really delicious."
Surprised by her answer, Twig chuckled to himself.
Ah, Jenny... always thinking about food. But she's not wrong. It's good to prepare properly before we go. I want to eat as well. Tomorrow, I hope to reach level 10 — and finally choose my class. I'm tired of being a novice! I want to shoot fireballs! Or maybe ice arrows... pew, pew, pew!
Aron and Jenny, waiting for a response, watched Twig, who now stood with his fingers pointed toward the ceiling, gesturing dramatically.
"Twig, did you hear what I said?" asked Jenny, laughing. "Can you leave me some potatoes and carrots?"
Snapping back to reality, Twig replied,"Ah! Sorry, Jenny, my bad... I did hear you! Don't worry, you'll have as many carrots and potatoes as you want. Tomorrow morning, before we leave, I'll bring them to you."
The children kept talking for a while longer, until Aron and Twig noticed that Jenny had already laid down and fallen asleep quietly. Not wanting to disturb her, they decided to go sleep as well.
As he tried to fall asleep, Twig thought:Let's see how my stats are... I want to check how much I've improved. Status.
[— USER STATUS —]
Name: Robert Nilig (Twig
Age: 11 (+21)
Title: None
Race: Human
Job: Novice – LVL [8/10] | Exp: 10/260
Level: 8 | Exp: 65/190
HP: 94 | MP: 22
Attributes:STR: 11 | VIT: 11 | AGI: 10 | DEX: 10 | INT: 10 | LUK: 2
Resources: Stat Point: 0 | Skill Point: 0 | Zeny: 253
Equipment: Sword [4]
What a wonderful feeling! It's so good to see my stats going up. That sense of gratification! thought Twig.
Let's check out my new ability too."Skills."
[DING!] [Novice Basic Skill]
Lv. 1 — Appraisal: Allows examination of items and living beings, revealing their basic information and properties.
Lv. 2 — Enhanced Rest: Sitting restores double HP and SP. Sleeping fully restores both.
Lv. 3 — Novice Instructor: Can teach others to become Apprentices, granting them a semi-status similar to the System User. ⚠️ Risky to use — may create powerful enemies.
Lv. 4 — Kafra Access: Grants access to Kafra services, including storage, teleportation, and item retrieval.
Lv. 5 — Party Formation: Allows creating or joining parties (only the System User can create them). For others, it becomes a passive ability, granting +1 to all basic attributes per additional party member (max. +4).
Lv. 6 — Universal Linguist: Enables communication in all known languages.
Lv. 7 — Omnibook: Unlocks the Omnibook, a database containing detailed information about defeated monsters.
"Wow, what an interesting skill!" said Twig, excited. "System, can you give me more details about this Omnibook ability? How do I use it?"
[DING!] "Host, the Omnibook ability — a level 7 Novice skill — allows you to identify detailed information about the monsters you've defeated. It can also record data on creatures you have encountered but failed to defeat, as long as you survived to tell the story."
[DING!] "Host, the Omnibook is a highly useful tool that displays information such as obtainable items, strengths and weaknesses, and general details about each monster added to its records. The ability can be used through normal activation, just like any other skill previously used by the host."
"Perfect!" said Twig, smiling. "Let's give it a try. Omnibook!"
[DING!]Bestiary Available:・ Poring・ Lunatic・ Willow
"How interesting... it already shows Poring, Lunatic, and Willow. Exactly the monsters we've already defeated in the dungeon. Let's check the Poring."
[Omnibook Record]
Species: Poring
Level: 1
Type: Plant / Water Element (Level 1)
Size: Medium
HP: 20
Attack: 3–7
Defense: 0
Magic Defense: 5
Movement Speed: Very Slow
Main Attributes: STR: 1 AGI: 1 VIT: 1 INT: 0 DEX: 6 LUK: 30
Weaknesses and Resistances:
Fire — receives 50% damage
Wind — receives 175% damage
Water — 25% resistance
All other elements — normal
Drops:Apple (10%)Unripe Apple (0.2%)Empty Bottle (15%)Jellopy (70%)Sticky Mucus (4%)Knife [4] (1%)Poring Card (0.01%)
"This tool is so broken... It shows every detail about the monster — strengths, stats, weaknesses... even the items you can get from them."
The information shifted before his eyes, and he focused on one particular line."The Poring Card... wow, the chance is so low. There's no way I'll ever get a card drop like that."
"Knife... oh, right, it drops a knife too. One percent chance..."
A tired thought drifted through his mind, soft as a sigh."Damn... what bad luck. We killed so many, and still got nothing."
The light from the Omnibook slowly faded until it vanished, and Twig lay there, motionless, his eyes growing heavy."Maybe tomorrow I'll have better luck..." he thought, before sleep finally claimed him.
The next morning, keeping his promise, Twig left a generous amount of carrots and potatoes for Jenny so she could prepare her long-awaited mystery soup.
After that, he joined Aron in the yard to chop wood — they wanted to finish quickly and have the rest of the day free.
They took care of the other chores around the inn in the morning, making sure they'd have the afternoon to themselves.
Now that they no longer needed to train physically and could grow stronger by fighting monsters in dungeons, the group's routine had changed a little. Even so, the goal remained the same: to become stronger.
By early afternoon, Jenny had already finished her soup. She wrapped the clay pot in a few cloths and tied everything up with an old rope.
When Twig found her in the kitchen, ready to taste the promised soup, he asked,"Aren't we going to eat the soup now?"
Jenny, with an explanatory tone — almost as if giving a lesson — replied,"I'd love to, and I'd even like to share some with Dad, but he'll ask where the vegetables came from. So... we'll eat in secret. Put it in your magic bag so no one sees it. When we get to the forest, we'll eat there."
She showed him a small bundle."I managed to grab some bread from the hiding spot. That way, we can have soup and bread together."
Twig smiled."Deal."
Storing the items in his inventory, Twig quickly urged Jenny to follow him and meet up with Aron. He couldn't wait to try the soup — he was starving.
They found Aron along the way, and the two became three as they headed toward the forest.
In a more secluded part of the woods, surrounded by tall, shadowy trees, they unwrapped the cloths from around the clay pot and set it on a few stones to keep it slightly elevated.
The bread rested on their laps, and small bowls filled with broth and vegetables floated gently in their hands. The aroma was wonderful, and the three of them were glowing with joy at their improvised feast.
One of their stomachs growled — but whoever it was said nothing, pretending nothing had happened.
The three children savored every spoonful. They ate with delight.
It seemed to be, up to that moment, the most delicious meal of their lives.
As the saying goes, "Hunger is the best seasoning."