Even I can grow stronger…

Jason gasped for breath and instinctively put his hand on the chest. His heart was still beating. He panted and clutched his stomach until the phantom pain had fully subsided.

"Shit, it had no effect" the Doom Monkey cursed. He had jumped for joy as he watched Jason squirm on the floor like a worm without dignity only seconds before, but after what seemed like a minute, he had seen the man miraculously "come back to life."

Tilting his head quizzically, Karl screamed, "That stupid mushroom vendor…He promised me that the poison would be strong enough to kill any human. I swear to God…when I find that shitface again, I'm going to beat his skull in for scamming me."

Given that Karl's attempt to poison Jason didn't go against the "direct harm" condition of the Master-Slave contract, Karl was confident that he would be able to kill his new master without being burned by the Eternal Flame. Though he had no idea why his plan had failed, he was sure that today would be his last day.

The Doom Monkey closed his eyes and, as his life flashed before him, prepared to take his last breath.

Seconds passed, then minutes. The wind continued to whistle, and the trees continued to sway but…nothing happened. Karl opened his eyes slowly, astounded by the fact that he was still alive. And as his vision cleared and his senses reoriented, his eyes grew wide with shock. He watched as Jason tossed another mushroom into his mouth!

Jason squirmed on the ground, and his mouth began to foam again. Two minutes passed, and as he gasped for breath, pupils dilated, he died a second time.

Hate Counter: 821

Though he had felt an excruciating burning sensation throughout his entire body, pain far beyond any of his previous deaths, Jason had come up with his own idea.

'Even I can grow stronger.' he smiled dazzlingly. His grin began to grow wider, frightening the little monkey who was staring at him.

Jason knew that unlike the main characters he had previously read about, he was not blessed with a cheat-like skill. He couldn't see the ranks of any creature or human, and he didn't have a 500% experience boost or an OP hack like time travel, memory retention, or powerful spells. Above all, he couldn't even "level up" in the traditional sense as he couldn't see or feel "experience points," forcing him to train his body through calisthenics and martial arts alone.

As a result, Jason was willing to take a gamble. He had felt powerless in his skirmish with the Curious Grove residents before, seeing as he had lost several lives without having even been able to lift a finger, and recognized that no hidden power or lucky blessing would come falling from the sky to help him. Left to his own devices, Jason was determined to get stronger, even if it cost him a few of his lives.

Fortunately, the experiment seemed to be a success. He had experienced a similar sensation back in Butterpond when he had accidentally overtrained and died while running a 10km. Though it had initially pained him to lose a life during training, Jason soon realized that the muscle gains he had earned from his "previous" lives through pushing his body to its extreme limits remained when he revived. This meant that when Jason ran a 10km the following day, he not only had an easier run but also didn't die the second time. Applying this concept to the strength of his internal system, Jason believed that if he ate enough purple mushrooms, similar to how assassins ate poisonous herbs in small doses from birth to numb their body to lethal poison, the effectiveness of the toxins would slowly diminish as his body fought against it valiantly, life after life. And his hypothesis was correct!

His second mushroom had taken a full minute longer to bring him to death, and he knew that he had gained a bit of resistance.

Jason composed himself again before trying the yellow and black mushrooms in quick succession.

Immediately, the yellow mushrooms sent electric shocks through his body, causing him to spasm and disrupting his nerves. A minute passed, and Jason was left completely paralyzed, unable to breathe as his hate counter dropped.

Ding! Ding!

Hate Counter: 820

Hate Counter: 819

The black mushrooms, on the other hand, were hallucinogens that preyed on the nightmares of their target. These illusory images multiplied the target's scariest encounter tenfold, forcing the target to engage in an insurmountable battle in the target's Spiritual Realm. Though death in the Spiritual Realm did not necessitate death in the real world as it was a place constructed by the mind of the target, the pain inflicted on a person remained the same and with enough pain, the body itself would also cease to function.

Jason, who was immediately suppressed by the chilling and murderous aura of a Nemesis, now ten-times stronger, peed his pants and foamed at the mouth before he heard his notifications ring.

Hate Counter: 818

Hate Counter: 817

In both instances, similar to his experience with the purple mushroom, Jason was able to endure a minute longer the second time around. As Jason finished his last mushroom, he looked around puzzled, knowing that he had forgotten something rather important.

His eyes narrowed on a frightened monkey, and with a quick kick to the balls, sent the Doom Monkey straight to his knees. Karl screeched in pain as he clutched his mini Karl, rolling on the ground.

Though Jason knew that his contract barred the creature from harming him or Eve through direct conflict, he was still furious at his attempt to poison the two. Furthermore, if not for his many hate comments, he would have already been sent to Heaven (or so he assumed) singing with the angels!

"You damned turncoat," Jason screamed as he continued to beat the monkey. "I will beat you until your momma can't even recognize you anymore."

"Nothing...not even the gods can save you now," he decreed.

Tightening his grip, Jason snatched the battle axe and hit the monkey with the blunt end until he no longer had the strength. Karl, still injured from Eve's previous beating, was unable to resist and was beaten until he couldn't even curse properly anymore.

"Wait M-M-Master…but you...you liked the mushrooms, right?" Karl said sweetly, feigning innocence and trying to cheat death once more. "You ate so many, and…wait, wait, stop hitting me! I know where to get more!"

Sadly, what the trickster had said was the truth.

"Fine," Jason replied with a sigh.

He had wanted to kill the traitor for his wordplay and trickery, but since the little monkey was the only one who knew where to find the mushrooms, Jason knew he had to spare his life. After all, he didn't want to give up his chance to grow stronger just for a little revenge.

"I can maybeee forgive you if you bring me - let's say - three more of each mushroom daily?" he said out loud, thinking of his terms and conditions.

"For now though, let's redo the contract so you can't ever betray me again."

With the axe's blade resting at the Doom Monkey's throat, Karl had no choice but to agree. He redid the contract, properly this time, forbidding any intentional harm (direct or indirect) and set out to buy his master another nine mushrooms. Additionally, to ensure that the Doom Monkey didn't just escape without fulfilling his promise, Jason added the condition that the Doom Monkey must return to his side at least once a day with the promised mushrooms or forever be burned in the Eternal Flame.

As the Doom Monkey scampered away to find the mushroom vendor, Jason sat down and began preparing dinner again. As the sun set once more, Jason felt a wave of drowsiness rush over him. He had been on high alert with Karl, and with the adrenaline finally seeping out of him, he closed his eyes. For the first time in days, he felt at peace and soon, his body fell like a sack of potatoes to the ground, deep in sleep.