CHAPTER 02: Grinding in the Wild
The next few days were a blur of training and survival. Adam had woken up the next morning feeling refreshed, his Haki reserves full again. The system interface was back, its glowing blue text a reassuring constant. The first thing he did was check his status. He had used one use of each Haki type, and the daily limit was reset. He had a full ten shots a day to play with.
"Okay, so the grind begins. This is just like a fantasy MMO, except the stakes are real and I can't just respawn. I need to get my Haki level up, and fast. One hundred uses per type to get to beginner level. That's ten days of non-stop training. Ten days of punching trees and intimidating squirrels. I've got this. I am the king of the grind."
He spent his days in the Kingswood, a vast, dense, and dangerous forest. He was a ghost, a shadow in the trees. He used his Armament Haki on every tree, rock, and log he could find. He punched them, kicked them, and headbutted them (just for fun). The hardening was getting better, more consistent. He was still in the pre-beginner stage, but he could feel the power, the potential, within him.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[ARMAMENT: PRE-BEGINNER (11/100)]
[ARMAMENT USES TODAY: 10/10]
He used his Observation Haki on every living thing he could find. He sensed the auras of birds, squirrels, deer, and even a few bears. The range of his perception was still limited, just a few feet around him, but it was growing. He could feel the emotions of the animals, their fear, their hunger, their curiosity. It was like a sixth sense, a subtle hum of life that he could tune into at will.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[OBSERVATION: PRE-BEGINNER (11/100)]
[OBSERVATION USES TODAY: 10/10]
He used his Conqueror's Haki on every animal that dared to cross his path. He wasn't knocking them out, not yet, but he was making them submit. He was a force of nature, a will of pure dominance. The animals, from the smallest rabbit to the largest stag, would stop dead in their tracks, their bodies trembling, their eyes wide with fear. They would then run away, their instinct telling them to flee from the unnatural presence.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[CONQUEROR'S: PRE-BEGINNER (11/100)]
[CONQUEROR'S USES TODAY: 10/10]
He was a man on a mission. A man on a grind. He had to level up. He had to get stronger. He had to be ready for the inevitable. He had to be ready for Westeros. He spent his nights sleeping in the trees, a cold, uncomfortable existence. He had no food, no water, no shelter. He was a survivor, and he was getting better at it with every passing day.
One day, while he was in the middle of his daily grind, he heard a sound that wasn't from the forest. It was the sound of a human. The clinking of armor, the murmur of voices. He used his Observation Haki, a single use, to feel the auras of the men. He felt a group of them, about five or six, all moving with a purpose. They were hunters. He could feel the aura of their prey, a large, angry, and very drunk boar.
"Okay, so the hunt is on. Robert's about to go on his last bender. This is it. This is where I can change things. I need to be there. I need to see it. I need to make sure things go according to the canon, for now, so I can save Ned later. It's a paradox. I have to let the bad thing happen so I can stop the worse thing from happening."
He followed the hunters from a distance, using his Observation Haki to stay hidden. He was a ghost in the trees, a silent observer. He saw them, a small group of men, all in leather and chainmail, with hunting spears and bows. They were laughing, drinking, and talking loudly. He recognized a few of them, their faces a blur from the show. He saw Robert Baratheon, a massive, bearded man with a booming laugh, a wineskin at his lips. He was clearly drunk, his words slurring, his movements clumsy. This was the moment. The boar was out there, and Robert was a dead man walking.
He spent his nights dreaming of Ned Stark. He saw him in his dreams, a man of honor and duty, a man who would do anything for his family. He saw him in the yard, teaching his sons how to fight. He saw him in the godswood, kneeling before the weirwood tree, his head bowed in prayer. Ned was the good guy. Ned was the hero of this story, the one that got betrayed and killed. Adam couldn't let that happen. He was going to be the hero of this story, but he was going to be the kind of hero that saved the good guy. He was going to be the kind of hero that had a plan.
The days passed, and Adam's Haki levels slowly climbed. He was getting closer to his goal. He was getting closer to King's Landing. He was getting closer to the start of the plot. He was a man with a purpose, a man with a plan, a man with a cheat code. He was ready for the game. He was ready for Westeros.
He was training one day, trying to intimidate a squirrel into dropping its acorn, when he felt a new presence. It was a human. A single, solitary human. He used his Observation Haki, a single use, to get a read on him. The man's aura was a cold, distant gray, a professional, a hunter. A bandit scout. Adam knew what this meant. He wasn't alone in the Kingswood. He was being hunted. He was a target.
"Okay, so a bandit scout. This is new. I'm an isekai protagonist, not a commoner. I should be able to handle this. I have Haki. I have the ultimate cheat code. But I am still a pre-beginner. I have to be careful. I have to be smart. I have to be Stiles."
He slipped away, a silent ghost in the trees. He used his Observation Haki to track the scout, to feel his movements, his intent. The scout was good, a professional, but he was predictable. Adam was a god in this forest. He was a master of the environment. He was a hunter, and the scout was his prey.
He evaded the scout easily, a game of cat and mouse that Adam was winning. He was a ghost in the Kingswood, a shadow in the trees. He was a man with a purpose, a man with a mission. He had to get stronger. He had to level up. He had to be ready for the inevitable confrontation. He had to be ready for the bandits. He had to be ready for Westeros.