Chapter 17: Realization

After entering his room, Nor didn't even change his clothes or wash up. Instead, he immediately started going through all of his belongings, searching for money.

— There has to be something left… — he muttered, checking the same things again and again.

After a couple of minutes, Nor gave up, sat down on the bed, and started scratching his head, trying to come up with some kind of solution.

But even after nearly pulling out a few strands of hair, he still couldn't think of where to get money.

Boom!

Out of anger, Nor slammed his fist against the table, and it instantly shattered into pieces.

However, Nor didn't even notice it, because his gaze suddenly fell on two already stale pieces of bread that he hadn't finished eating.

— God… I'm such an idiot.

He slowly raised his hand to his forehead.

— Status.

— Shop.

After opening the shop, Nor began searching for the thing he needed most right now.

Money.

— I really am an idiot…

He slapped his palm against his forehead when he saw that one gold coin cost only one system point.

Nor immediately bought ten gold coins.

— This should last me for a while, — he said, putting all the gold into his inventory.

Exhale.

— Finally, I can wash—

Knock, knock, knock.

Before he could finish speaking, someone knocked on the door.

— I heard a loud noise upstairs. Is everything alright? — the nervous voice of the inn owner came from the other side of the door.

Nor opened the door and quickly answered,

— Yes, everything is fine.

But almost immediately, he noticed that the man's gaze was directed somewhere deeper inside the room.

At first, Nor thought he had forgotten to put some of the gold into his inventory. However, when he turned around, he understood what the owner was actually looking at.

On the floor lay the remains of a beautiful handmade table, split in half by Nor's strike.

Realizing what he had done, and remembering how kindly the inn owner had treated him, Nor was overwhelmed by a wave of shame.

He quickly lowered his head.

— I'm really sorry! — Nor blurted out. — You were so kind to me, and I caused you so much trouble…

Before the man could say anything, Nor grabbed his hand and placed a gold coin in his palm.

— Here. This is payment for the room. And please include breakfast every morning. Your food is really good! — Nor said, looking at the man with a bright smile.

At first, the owner didn't understand what had happened.

But when he looked down at his palm, his eyes widened more than ever before.

Seeing that, Nor smiled even wider.

However, the answer he received was not what he expected at all.

— Boy, I only need ten copper coins per day. Or twelve if breakfast is included, — the owner said, extending the coin back to Nor without the slightest hesitation.

This might be everything he has left. I can't take it from him.

But in response, Nor simply took the man's hand and forcefully closed his fingers around the coin, still smiling at him sincerely.

The owner tried to open his hand, but quickly realized that he didn't have enough strength.

And then it hit him.

An Awakened… And at such a young age…

He was not a stupid man.

Realizing that arguing was pointless, the man let out a defeated sigh.

— Alright. You win, — he said, finally accepting the coin.

Then he looked at Nor with a warm smile.

— But in that case, I'll make you the best breakfast you've ever dreamed of!

After that, the owner wished him good night and went downstairs.

— You too, — Nor replied, closing the door behind him.

But the moment the door closed, the smile on Nor's face disappeared.

He looked again at the table split in half.

— I didn't even notice when I did that…

Nor clenched his fist, remembering Chuck's words.

If I can't hold myself back… one day, I really might hurt someone.

That thought felt far more serious than before.

Nor gritted his teeth, feeling disgusted with himself.

After changing clothes, he left the inn and headed toward the forest, to the place where he had trained with Chuck.

Not noticing that, once again, he was being watched the entire time…

The next morning.

In front of the guild.

— Where is he? — Chuck muttered, realizing that Nor was late.

A second later, he disappeared from the spot.

Appearing in the forest clearing, Chuck saw Nor sleeping under a tree.

— What the…

Chuck frowned and was about to wake him up, but suddenly stopped.

Behind Nor lay several stones.

And on each of them were marks from almost perfect strikes.

But not only from fists.

There were also marks from kicks.

Chuck looked at Nor again and noticed that his clothes were torn once more. Not as badly as yesterday, but still enough to be noticeable.

However, something else had changed even more.

Nor had no shoes on his feet.

Chuck silently stared at all of it for several seconds.

Then the corners of his lips slowly rose.

— Hah…