Wizard Of Cosmos

18 - Are You Even That Strong?

“Sigh.”

Freya gritted her teeth. Since they already invested in The Endless, there was no way to pull back at the moment. She was testing the waters with Jason. Besides, she was too surprised to hear that Jason had that much in-game currency with him.

‘Is he a Beta tester? But there was no Beta testing.’

Compared to Jason, their pro-gamers looked like immature children. If not for the fact that she trained them for a month, things would have been much worse today. 

“Fifty!”

She knew there was no currency available for sale. Honestly, she already checked the available channels. 

‘Huh?’

Jason looked at Freya with a puzzled mind.

“One hundred, each.”

Freya clenched her fists, thinking Jason was trying to refuse. She wondered if he was lying.

“D… Done.”

Jason took a moment to process the information. 

‘Did she say one hundred, each? Should I scrap more silvers? I should rather decide after receiving the reward for the message.’

He thought for a moment before deciding. Even though the price was way higher, the edge they could gain at the early stages of the game would be better. Honestly, this would be a great opportunity for the Black Steel Guild.

“Do you want me to send it to him?”

He pointed his thumb at Ben.

“Yes… Do you have a way?”

“Go to the nearest Chamber of commerce and open an account there. Then send me the details.”

He directly turned to Ben.

“Is there… Such a way? But… The town I am in is pretty small….”

“There may be one. If not… We have to use the Adventurers Guild. But the transaction fee will be high. Let me know what you can find by tomorrow.”

“Ah… Yes… How do you know… So much…?”

Not only Ben but everyone else was also surprised. No one even heard of such methods until now. Everyone was wondering what Jason did on his first day.

“I talk to people.”

“People?”

“NPCs… Talk to them properly and you will get many things done.”

This was the last advice he had for them.

Jason turned toward Freya.

“And… Ms Freya… Don’t call me for every Guild meeting. I am not going to come.”

He thought that he made his point clear enough. He was their temporary employee. Although he was grateful to Ashley, there was a limit. 

“Wait!”

He was about to move when he saw the girl who had asked him a question earlier standing up.

“Is there really no way to avoid getting hurt?”

‘Is she for real?’

He thought this woman was joking with him.

“Kill yourself if things got out of hand. It is an easy death.”

“Are you kidding me? That is painful too. We can’t log out during a battle. And even if we die we have to go through an eighteen-hour penalty before respawning.”

The woman looked triggered, but this was actually valuable information to Jason. He thought the respawn would be instant. 

“Become strong. Then nothing can hurt you.”

It was the best advice he could give to her. If she thought about living everyday life in Yuriel, there was no reason for her to worry, but she was a gamer who was playing The Endless. These people were looking for action and opportunities to grow. Besides, living a normal life wouldn’t be possible in ten more years. 

“Huh?”

The woman looked confused. 

“Wait!”

‘What now?’

He turned toward Freya.

“Spar with me.”

“Huh?”

Jason was confused by her proposal.

“Fight me.”

“No.”

He had no reason to entertain this girl. 

“What?”

“I have no reason.”

Jason walked toward the entrance. 

“Ten thousand.”

“Hm?”

“I will pay ten thousand to you if you win.”

“Oh… Will it be deducted from my contract?”

“No. It is not possible.”

“Alright.”

To a person like Freya, that amount was nothing. 

Even though he would prefer to take that amount out of his contract, he was happy to earn easy cash. If he could save up some money, he could focus more on paying the hundred thousand to the Steel Corporations. 

“So….”

“Just get ready. I want to go back.”

“Now?”

Freya looked surprised.

“Put something on, Ms Freya. Unless you prefer to fight in a business suit.”

“What about you?”

“I am good with this. Besides, it is nothing impressive.”

His worn-out T-shirt and pants were nothing, and he had a doubt if Freya could do anything to him at all. 

…

“Young man, Freya is my best student. She must be really unhappy with you to challenge you.”

“Oh.”

Jason simply responded before finding a place on the mat to sit. He didn’t care about how unhappy Freya was or if she was the best student. He just wanted ten thousand. It would make things much easier for him. 

“You sure are confident, kid. Well, best of luck.”

“Thanks!”

Jason gave a smile to the man who seemed to be mocking him. He knew martial arts were good. It would work on anyone who hasn't learned to react or respond. However, for a martial art to work against a person with skills, it should be used and honed in battle. If not, all the lessons and practice would be useless. 

A real battle had only one rule. The survivor could walk out alive and the dead would be left behind. 

His memories rushed to the past where he fought countless times on the battlefield. When the Cervians invaded, all hell broke loose in Yuriel. Dark factions that always wanted to take advantage came to light. 

‘I killed countless humans just as I destroyed those drones.’

Honestly, he never fought against a Cervian. All they met on the battlefield were drones and machines. The level of technology that the Cervians had made the latest technology on Earth look like toys. 

The only time he saw a real Cervian was when the Angel of Death killed one and brought its corpse. It was a humanoid creature with a bold head and yellowish skin. The creature was around eight feet tall and had four arms with six fingers on each hand. It had a pair of legs with two fingers on each foot. 

The very next day they lost four human cities due to continuous bombardments from the Cervians. He remembered the horror of seeing those millions of broken bodies of humans. 

‘Sigh.’

He was always a nameless warrior because he never managed to surpass the Master level. However, he never lost a battle when he fought against someone at the same level since he reached that stage; until the last day when they lost everything. 

Even though he couldn’t use the aura or the physical strength of a Master. He and Freya both were just normal humans. To him who experienced so many life-and-death battles, Freya was a mere child who wanted to play. 

…

“Are you ready?”

“Huh? Ah… Yeah.”

Jason got up from the mat, looking at Freya who was now in a tight purple suit. Her figure was honestly exceptional. Coupled with her natural good look, Freya looked like a heroic spirit. 

“Here, protective gears.”

“Hm….”

Jason simply took the two gloves since he didn’t want to hurt the girl who was about to pay him. 

“You need the helmet.”

“Put them on, Ms Freya. I will try my best not to hurt you.”

Jason wasn’t sure about how his body and his instinct would react, so he decided to use the gloves. He removed his shoes and placed them aside. These were not his comfortable enchanted boots. 

“You… Hurt me?”

Freya shook her head in amusement. 

“Are you even that strong?”

“No.”

Jason didn’t try to remind Freya that he didn’t have to be that strong to hurt someone like her.