Chapter 14: who gave you such courage

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"It's okay, it's okay! Just pay for a little mental damage, or let me beat you up to vent your anger! It's reasonable, isn't it?"

Jason stretched out his right hand, rubbed two fingers together, and then turned it into a fist, making a cracking sound.

"How can that be reasonable, Sir Shield Hero? Your logic is completely untenable!"

The adventurers all complained.

"How could it be? You guys are calling me a monster, insulting my character, and pointing weapons at me! That makes me feel fear, and my heart is still pounding. You know, I have a heart condition! I have to take a lot of medicine to recover."

Jason just threw out the heart disease claim without a second thought.

Motoyasu and the other adventurers looked at him, their faces flushed and exuding both shock and alarm. They appeared to be completely taken aback, as if they were witnessing someone having a heart attack.

What kind of mental damage fee? This is obviously blackmail! He just wants to beat me up!

"Jason, don't go too far! It's clear from your appearance that you don't have a heart condition! Besides... we've already been more than modest!"

Motoyasu retorted, displeased, omitting any reference to calling Jason a monster or offering an apology.

"If an apology were useful, what's the point of the law?"

Jason shrugged, grabbing the balloon monsters that were biting him and popping them one by one. He continued, "If an apology helps, what do you want us brave heroes to do? Should we have the king gather everyone to apologize to the waves of disaster? Do you think the disasters will just stop?"

"You..."

Caught off guard by Jason's "false reasoning," Motoyasu found himself at a loss for words.

Remembering how Jason had knocked him down with just one punch yesterday, Motoyasu, feeling a mix of apprehension and anger, took a deep breath to steady himself. "Fine... how much for the damage do you want?"

"Not much, just this number!"

Jason raised three fingers as he spoke.

"30 silver coins? No problem!"

Motoyasu was quite straightforward and was ready to reach for his wallet.

However, Jason shook his head. "No... it's 300 silver coins!"

"What are you talking about! Mr. Motoyasu's support funds are only 600 silver coins in total, and you want half of it in one go. You are blackmailing me! This is robbery!"

Myne, who had been standing quietly behind them, finally couldn't hold back and shouted.

"Oh?"

Jason turned to Myne, noticing that the scars on her face had healed, but the gaps from her missing front teeth were still noticeable. Even with the convenient healing techniques available in this world, it seems restoration takes a bit longer.

"That... Miss Myne, I have a question. I heard you are missing two front teeth—does the air leak when you talk? If you drink soup, does it squirt out? Of course... for your sake, it's probably best if you don't speak, because you look kind of funny without those teeth, haha!"

Jason laughed heartily, without restraint.

"Master Motoyasu..."

Myne didn't say much; she just held Motoyasu's hand and looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

It has to be said, Myne has an incredible ability to capture men's attention.

Almost no man can remain indifferent upon seeing a woman in tears or distress.

Sure enough, Kitamura Motoyasu's anger flared as he pointed his finger at Jason again. "Let's not argue about mental damage fees for now, you bastard! Not only did you knock out someone's teeth, but now you're ridiculing them. If you don't do something, you don't deserve to be called a man."

"Ding! Please choose!"

"1: Ignore Kitamura Motoyasu and donate bad eyes to those in need."

"2: Beat Kitamura Motoyasu and receive a reward of 5 strength points."

"3: Beat Kitamura Motoyasu to gain 300 silver coins, and receive 1% completion of the Garp template."

"Sure enough!" Jason thought. But the rewards seem rather meager. Is it because the strength gap between Motoyasu and me is too large, leading to lower completion difficulty and thus less reward?"

Naturally, Jason wasn't just blackmailing Motoyasu; even if he appeared annoying, his main objective was to seek greater benefits.

At the same time, he wanted to test whether the system's options would activate if he initiated trouble.

Now that it was presented, Jason decisively chose option '3'.

"It seems you want to fight me again. That's perfectly fine, but since this will be a duel, how can the loser not face consequences? So... if I lose, I will not only kneel and apologize to you and Myne, but I'll also compensate you with 300 silver coins. If you lose, though, you don't need to kneel; just pay me the 300 silver coins."

As Jason spoke, he looked at Motoyasu with a challenging smirk. "What is it? Are you scared?"

"How could I possibly be scared? I accept this condition!"

Motoyasu, consumed by anger, jumped at the chance to take the bait without hesitation.

"Master Motoyasu, I believe in you!"

Myne cheered him on, then gradually backed away. She was secretly plotting to use her magic to aid Kitamura Motoyasu against Jason, confident that her wind magic's concealment abilities would prevent anyone from noticing her involvement.

The other adventurers stepped back to make room for Motoyasu and Jason to fight properly.

The two stood more than 10 meters apart, facing each other.

"To be honest, you couldn't even catch a punch from me yesterday. Where do you get the courage to challenge me again?"

A strange smile played at the corner of Jason's mouth as he asked slowly.

"Hmph... I'm not the same as I was yesterday. With this equipment, I can't lose to you again!"

Motoyasu brandished his holy spear, and his armor gleamed in the sun, looking extraordinary at first glance.

It seemed his confidence stemmed not just from anger, but also from the impressive equipment he wore.

Jason guessed this gear was likely provided to him by the king, as the weapon shop was not open yet.

"Does the king think that Motoyasu's strength is too inferior to mine? Is that why he specially equipped him to be a spear against me in the future? What a narrow-minded king!"

With that thought, Jason wiped the smile off his face, a faint coldness taking its place in his eyes.

Seeing Jason's expression, Myne felt a vague premonition stir in her heart.

"I'm coming!"

In that instant, Motoyasu's body sank slightly, preparing to sprint. This time, he was determined to strike first.

However... within the blink of an eye, Motoyasu found Jason, who had been over 10 meters away, suddenly standing right in front of him.

After training all night, Jason's hard work hadn't gone unnoticed.

He had begun to adapt to his current physical condition. Although he couldn't exert power far beyond his layout attribute, he could now utilize at least 80 or 90 percent of his strength.

As the saying goes, today is not what it used to be!

Before, Motoyasu had managed to respond due to instinct, but now Jason's speed was so tremendous that he couldn't even react in time, let alone see Jason's punch coming.

With a sharp crack, Jason delivered an uppercut, sending Motoyasu soaring from the ground like a rocket amid the sound of bones cracking.

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