The three youngsters were about to face, for the first time, a real opponent: a Willow, a living tree.
Twig looked at his friends."Guys, let me test the Willow's strength first. Stay back and help me if I need it."
He gripped his sword and approached cautiously. His first strike landed squarely on the Willow, forcing it to recoil. He struck again, the sound of impact echoing through the cave. The Willow swung its branches, aiming at Twig, but he stepped back just in time.
Spotting an opening, Twig advanced and delivered a third blow. The trunk split in half, and the creature collapsed, scattering pieces of wood across the ground.
[DING!] You gained 8 BASE EXP and 4 JOB EXP.
"[Appraisal]," requested Twig.
[DING!]Tree Root – Some roots can be used as medicine, though most are fibrous enough to make rope.Barren Trunk – Low-quality tree trunk wood.Potato – Can be fried, baked, boiled, or mashed. Restores a small amount of HP.
Jenny's eyes lit up when she saw the potato in Twig's hands."Wow, a potato! And it's so fresh!" she exclaimed.
Twig couldn't help but smile at her reaction. It made him happy to see his friends content — Aron, excited by the chance to grow stronger and maybe become a great knight, and Jenny, simply happy to satisfy her hunger, even if it was with a humble potato.
Taking the opportunity, Twig appraised his friends to see how much they had grown, ensuring they could fight the Willow together.
"[Appraisal]," requested Twig, focusing on his friends.
[DING!]Name: Jenny
Age: 10
Title: None
Race: Human
Job: Apprentice – LVL [5/10] | EXP: 15/90
Level: 5 | EXP: 27/66
HP: 64 | MP: 16
Attributes: STR: 6 | VIT: 6 | AGI: 9 | DEX: 6 | INT: 7 | LUK: 2
Equipment: Sword [3]
[DING!]Name: Aron
Age: 11
Title: None
Race: Human
Job: Apprentice – LVL [5/10] | EXP: 62/90
Level: 5 | EXP: 51/66
HP: 65 | MP: 16
Attributes: STR: 8 | VIT: 8 | AGI: 6 | DEX: 6 | INT: 6 | LUK: 2
Equipment: Sword [3]
"Wow, they really are leveling up… impressive! And me? Let's see my stats."
[— USER STATUS —]
Name: Robert Nilig (Twig)
Age: 11 (+21)
Title: None
Race: Human
Job: Apprentice – LVL [6/10] | EXP: 88/205
Level: 7 | EXP: 47/134
HP: 94 | MP: 22
Attributes: STR: 10 | VIT: 11 | AGI: 7 | DEX: 7 | INT: 10 | LUK: 1
Resources: Stat Points: 5 | Skill Points: 0 | Zeny: 253
Equipment: Sword [4]
"Very good! Five points to distribute… oh, right, my skills increase automatically. Let's see what's new."
"Open Skills."
[DING!] — Novice Basic Skill Tree —
Lv. 1 — Appraisal: Reveals basic info and properties of items and monsters.
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 semi-System User status. Risky — may create strong enemies.
Lv. 4 — Kafra Access: Grants access to Kafra services: storage, teleportation, and item retrieval.
Lv. 5 — Party Formation: Allows creation of parties (only the System User can create). For others, it becomes passive, granting +1 to all basic attributes per additional member (max +4).
Lv. 6 — Universal Linguist: Understand and communicate in all known languages.
"System? Why is the level 5 party skill different for me and my friends?"
[DING!] "Host, the level 5 Novice skill allows party creation. For allies without system access, these abilities become passive."
"So my friends have the same class skills but can't activate them?"
[DING!] "Correct. They have the skills, but they can't use active abilities. Some, like Party Formation, work passively."
"How passive?"
"Each party member adds +1 to all attributes. Since you have two friends who are also Novices, forming a party of three gives +2 to everyone."
"There's a limit, right?"
"Yes, max +4. So even in a party of six with the skill, only four points are added overall."
"Wow, a limit of four… without it, I could give this skill to more people, form an army… we'd be unstoppable!"
[DING!] "Host, be careful. Giving the skill to many could create complex problems. Recipients also have limitations. Experience must be gained in dungeons; killing outside creatures does not count."
"Got it. So the only way we level up is through dungeons. Makes sense."
"System, distribute my points: +1 STR, +2 AGI, +2 DEX."
Turning to his friends, Twig spoke,"Guys, pay attention. I discovered a new skill."
He thought about creating a party mentally, without effect."System, why couldn't I create a party?"
[DING!] "Host, you must set a name."
"Ah, got it. Like in the game. Okay, let's try again: Create party. Name: Forbidden Cave Adventurers."
[DING!] "Party created successfully. Leader Member: Robert Nilig."
"Perfect. Now invite Jenny, Dean."
[DING!] "Invitation accepted."
"Huh? She didn't even respond?"
[DING!] "Host, those with evolution powers but no system accept automatically since they cannot access the system."
"Got it. Invite Aron."
[DING!] "Accepted."
Immediately, all members felt stronger thanks to +1 in all stats, applied twice because of Aron and Jenny.
Jenny and Aron widened their eyes."What did you do? I feel so strong!"
"Calm down," Twig replied. "I realized that by forming a party, we share power. When we fight together, we're stronger."
"So if we separate?" asked Aron."Your strength decreases. Together, strong. Apart, weaker. Got it?""Of course," Jenny said. "But we're not weaker than normal when apart, right?""Exactly. Just together we're much stronger."
Nodding, the two siblings understood. Twig called their attention."Alright, let's get back to the battle. Many Willows await. With this strength, we can handle them easier. But don't rush — stay cautious. Notice anything wrong, retreat and call for help. Let's go."
The newly created team advanced, facing the Willows in their path. Starting cautiously, they quickly realized the boost in power. Two points in every attribute made a real difference.
After about three hours of fighting, defeating monsters, and leveling up a bit, mental exhaustion hit, and they exchanged glances."What now?" someone asked. "We've spent a long time here… it must be dark outside."
Twig realized he hadn't explained the time difference between inside and outside the cave. Patiently, he clarified. Though strange at first, the siblings eventually understood.
With everything clear, they moved toward the cave entrance.
Back outside, carrying some heavy loot, they negotiated with Aliane from Kafra to sell the useless items.
Of course, they kept the food. Jenny was already imagining the fresh soups she could make with the carrots and potatoes.
Teamwork paid off. The loot sale brought in over 2,000 Zeny, worth the day's effort.
Teleporting out, they appeared near the forest well. It was still mid-afternoon.
The two children finally understood Twig's explanation: time inside the cave passed differently from outside.
They headed to the inn — Jenny to tend to her chores, and Aron and Twig to organize the place.