2022-11-21 23:34:02“Are you ready?”
“Yes, Master.”
Freya didn’t break her eye contact with Jason as she answered her master.
She carefully studied the young man in front of her.
The reason for all this to start was Jason’s fault. She was annoyed by him to the point where she had to vent her frustration.
Jason was the first man she met that had no regard for her words. He simply said whatever he wanted and did whatever he felt like doing.
Of course, she admitted that he was capable, at least in The Endless. What he delivered to them so far was obviously valuable, but she had to teach him a lesson.
On top of everything, she hated his arrogance. He refused to put on any protective gear and simply used the gloves saying he didn’t want to hurt her. Not only that, but now he was standing there with one arm behind his back like an idiot.
The more Freya thought, the more she became angry. Jason had no respect for her. Still, she refused to forget all the practice she had over the years. It was never good to underestimate the enemy.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
Jason simply gave an answer, thinking about the time he once had.
‘I am… Just tired.’
He fought for twenty years without rest until his death.
‘Maybe I wanted to rest after my death.’
This was the first time he was fighting seriously. Honestly, even though it felt like child’s play, it brought him many emotions. The emotions that kid who once wanted to have a home had.
“Start!”
Jason barely heard the voice, but he saw Freya cautiously moving toward him.
‘She isn’t bad.’
He half expected her to make a quick move, but she seemed to be wary of him.
‘Is she… Targeting my left side? She must be thinking that I am keeping it behind on purpose.’
He actually had a purpose for keeping his left hand behind his back. That was because he wasn’t familiar with using it properly in a battle. Apparently, Freya was thinking of it as an opening.
‘Sigh. I don’t want to hurt her.’
He was a person who never learned any self-defence arts. Everything he knew was used in battle to neutralise the enemy. Rather, it was about killing or being killed. He also took his right arm back.
For a moment, Freya looked surprised, but her attack pattern didn’t change. She was still coming for his left flank.
Jason watched Freya pressing her left foot to the ground.
He simply moved at the moment and used his feet to press her left foot to the ground. This was to prevent her from gaining momentum. He used the force coming from his feet to hit his shoulder against Freya’s shoulder, throwing her off the balance.
She was completely caught off guard and fell onto the mat.
He admired how easily she balanced herself and pushed back to her feet.
“Wow….”
“Is that cheating? How did he do that?”
“That is cheating.”
Jason didn’t care about the furious voices of the group. It was obvious that they were waiting for the victory of Freya. However, these people were playing The Endless. They should learn that there was only one rule in battle.
“You… You are cheating?”
Freya looked hurt and baffled. Mostly, her pride had taken a blow.
Jason looked at the man who called himself Freya’s master before looking back at the devastated girl.
“Did you expect me to wait until you punch and defend it systematically? Come on, Ms Freya. I already gave you enough time to get up. If it was a real battle, I would have already killed you.”
He took a step back, giving her a chance to take her stance.
However, this time he didn’t wait for her to initiate. Instead, he simply moved forward and used the same tactics as before.
He again pressed her foot against the ground, but this time he used his other foot to deliver a kick to her calf.
For a moment, he saw the disbelief and pain in her eyes, but he was far from done. He simply used his elbow to push against her chest, tripping her already unstable body. In the next second, he caught Freya by her throat and pinned her to the ground.
Jason placed her right knee on Freya’s arm to prevent her from attacking him.
“If you fight now, I will crush your throat.”
He realised Freya was terrified, but this was how it would be in a real battle. In fact, she would be already dead.
“Stop!”
Jason heard the yell from behind as he came back to reality.
‘Sigh. I have to adjust my mind.’
He was a person who rarely received any kindness in his twenty years of life. After entering Yuriel, life became even more brutal.
He had allies and enemies, but no friends or family. Even till the last days, he was wary of even people around him. He realised how it was affecting him. He was ready to go for the kill at any moment.
He got up, leaving terrified Freya on the ground.
“Miss Freya, are you alright?”
“Are you hurt?”
“Young man, you are too aggressive.”
“Am I?”
He looked back and saw several girls helping Freya who looked stunned by everything.
“Maybe I am.”
He admitted it.
“But your best student is expecting me to use martial arts to respond to her. Isn’t that too naive?”
He took his shoes and silently walked toward the door.
“Hey!”
“Huh?”
He looked at the blond who rushed to stop him on his way. He remembered that this woman asked him questions earlier.
“My name is Lydia.”
“Jason.”
He had no interest in wasting his time on chatter. He really needed a rest to get back into the game. Also, he realised the need to collect his thoughts. These people were members of the Black Steel Guild, but their attitude didn’t fit his taste. The Endless was the key to their future, and being afraid of something like the pain was terrible.
‘If they are afraid of pain, they should simply stop living on Earth as well.’
…
“He is too arrogant.”
Lydia walked back to Freya feeling down. This was the first time a man avoided her like that.
“Ly… Lydia.”
“Ms Freya…?”
“Stay away from him… He is… Dangerous.”
“He is…?”
Lydia saw the terrified look on Freya’s face.
‘Aren’t you the one who invited him? Didn’t you know about it before?’
“He is very Dangerous.”
Freya saw her master agreeing to her words. Honestly, she didn’t see any anger or rage in Jason’s eyes. It was what truly made her terrified. His eyes were like emotionless pits when he whispered that he would kill her.
‘Is he a killer?’
She never felt such terror before, but she knew the meaning behind those emotionless eyes. Someone who was used to killing so many people that he didn’t feel anything about the killing. It was something common to him as eating or drinking water.
Jason was someone who had killed before and wasn’t afraid of doing it again.
She still felt weak on her knees, but she knew she lost miserably. The way he attacked was like a street fight. The problem was that those actions were extremely fast and calculative.
…
‘Great!’
Jason felt elated when he saw the notification of receiving the money in his account.
‘Should I apologise? But this will be the real condition of Yuriel. No one will care if you cry or fall. It is to live or die.’
He stopped worrying about Freya and started looking for a taxi to go home. He had to get back in the afternoon.
…
“Ah….”
Jason looked around after opening his eyes. He logged in at the moment the penalty ended.
‘Just like how I logged out. And… I feel totally fine.’
He was in the same sitting position as when he logged out with his back against the wall.
‘Huh?’
He realised there were several patches of blood on the ground, and his clothes were ripped as they were yesterday.
‘I should find new clothing.’
“So, that is how you people come and go, ah?”
“You….”
Jason didn’t expect someone to be watching him at this moment.
Amelia stood a couple of feet away from him, her gaze fixed on him.
“You are pretty early.”
‘Aren’t you early as well?’
He didn’t know how to answer her. She was watching him even before he entered the game. Besides, it was around 7.00 am from Yuriel’s time.
“What about your wounds?”
“Ah… I think I am perfectly fine.”
He slowly got up and stretched his body.
“Why did you call me when you wanted to deal with that Swine?”
‘So… It is about that….’
He realised he overstepped when he asked for her help yesterday.
‘Ah… I should have asked for the village leader or someone like that.’
He was hurt and out of options, and he knew the only person who could pierce through that thick hide easily was this woman. However, he totally forgot that she was hiding her abilities in this village.
‘Shit… I might not be able to return here if I give a wrong answer. But… What is the right answer?’
He failed to find anything that he could tell her. If she killed him right now, he would lose a day worth of time, and he would be back at Forestedge. Also, it would be suicidal to return to Light Shone.
“You… Are strong.”
“Huh?”
“You are way stronger than me. I know how to fight, but this is the first time I saw someone as strong as you.”
“Hm… Really? How strong do you think I am?”
“No idea. But you are definitely strong as Master Merlin.”
“So… You realised I am also a sword user!”
“Yes!”
He gave a stiff answer. Honestly, until now he had no idea she was a sword user. The only thing he knew was that this woman was a Grandmaster. Actually, one of the youngest Grandmasters he had ever seen.
“Oh… Don’t go around telling it to people, got it?”
“Yes.”
He had no strength to argue with her. Besides, it wasn’t his plan in the first place.
“Alright. Breakfast is ready. Come and eat.”
‘Huh? It is over, just like that?’
He stared into her face for a moment.
“What?”
“I….”
Jason thought of any reasoning he could find.
“About… Meat.”
“Meat? Hm… From your portion, I kept half and sent some to that fisherman and the Blacksmith. As for the rest, I traded with the villagers. One portion was traded for food and the other for valuable materials like gems and money. Also, that Blacksmith returned your money. He was happy with some extra meat. ”
“Huh?”
He had to take a moment to process her answer.
‘Isn’t she too good at it?’
He wondered how she managed to do this so accurately. It was almost as if she knew exactly what he wanted.
“Isn’t that good enough?”
“No, no… I mean… I forgot about my master.”
“I am the one providing meals for Master Merin. So you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Thank you.”
Jason was honestly impressed with this woman’s decision-making skills.
“It is nothing. After all, didn’t you pay me already?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“Let’s go and eat.”
“I’ll come right away. I have find the other two….”
He promised to contact Logan and Dawn when he entered the game.
“They are already waiting for you.”
‘Huh? Didn’t you say I am early?’
He watched the disappearing back of the woman with silver hair in a daze.
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