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Passing through the towering stone city gate, the view before Jason suddenly opened up.
During this time, the city gate guards looked at Jason as he passed by, their expressions cold. They neither did anything nor said a word.
Jason vaguely remembered that the city gate guards had warmly greeted Iwatani Naofumi, but when it came to him, their attitudes were the same.
He suspected that this might have something to do with Myne, but he didn't bother to think about it any further.
Continuing to walk out of the city for about 100 meters, the endless grassland expanded completely into his field of vision, with the setting sun adding a touch of magnificence.
Although a narrow gravel road stretched into the distance across the grassland, the blades of grass grew at least to an adult's knee. If one stepped into the grassland carelessly, it would be easy to lose sight of the main road.
After determining his direction for a moment, Jason stepped directly into the grassland.
The grass blades rustled against his trouser legs.
Jason was not disturbed by the sound, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. He soon spotted a few arrows darting quickly through the seemingly endless grass.
"Does each arrow represent a monster approaching me? How considerate," Jason thought with a slight smile, slowly extending his fist from the folds of his black windbreaker.
The arrows drew closer, and when they were about two meters away, three balloon-like creatures leaped out of the grass.
They opened their mouths wide, displaying sharp teeth, and lunged directly at Jason.
"In my recollection, this is a type of monster known as a Balloon Monster. Though weak, they are extremely aggressive."
Thinking this, Jason threw a punch forward as if nothing had happened.
The first balloon monster exploded on contact with his fist, leaving no chance for struggle.
Jason's fist didn't stop there; it continued on to blast the second balloon monster before landing on the third. Unsurprisingly, they too became nothing more than fragments scattered in the air.
In the original book, Iwatani Naofumi had taken several minutes and spent a lot of stamina just to kill a single balloon monster.
Yet Jason had effortlessly dispatched three of them with just a casual punch. The difference between the two Shield Heroes was undeniably vast.
However, Jason didn't feel any pride. After all, he had completed 8% of the Garp template, and faced with just a few low-level monsters, he could easily dominate.
At that moment, he noticed a dinging sound in his ears and saw the number EXP3 flash before his eyes.
"This should be experience points. A mere 3 experience points for three balloon monsters is just not enough. With this kind of return, using a double or triple experience card would be pointless. It would be better to save them for later."
Jason shook his head, contemplating whether to venture deeper.
But after a moment of consideration, he dismissed the idea.
This grassland was clearly the so-called novice leveling area. Even if he went deeper and encountered slightly stronger monsters, the experience gained would likely not be significantly higher—and the numbers would certainly be fewer than those from the balloon monsters.
When considering the overall return, the potential rewards did not justify the energy expended.
Furthermore, the sky was growing dark, and he needed to return to the city for rest. It would be too troublesome to run back later.
"Let's explore farther tomorrow and take today to get accustomed to my current body," Jason decided.
While he could clearly feel power surging in his body after obtaining the Garp template, he still felt a bit off-balance, as if he had all this strength yet couldn't utilize it properly.
He guessed it was due to his body having suddenly become too powerful, while his mind hadn't fully adjusted. It needed a bit of activity and combat to synchronize.
"Let's check the attributes, hmm? Can I see my stats?"
Before fully acclimatizing to his body and leveling up, Jason resolved to examine his current attributes to get a rough estimate of his capabilities.
As he thought this, a status bar floated into view, displaying a multitude of data.
Jason wasn't sure if Iwatani Naofumi had this function in the original book or if it was unique to him, but being able to see his own attribute values was undoubtedly a benefit.
[Jason]: Human.
[LV]: Level 1
[HP]: 1350
[SP]: 300
[Strength]: 65 (ordinary person 5)
[Agility]: 53 (+3)
[Defense]: 103 (+5)
[Spirit]: 30 (+1)
[Lucky]: XX
Note: (+x) indicates equipment bonus.
"In other words, my current physical strength is at least ten times that of an ordinary person. My defensive capability is twenty times that!"
To be honest, Jason was taken aback by some of his extraordinarily high attributes.
Especially his health and defense; considering he was only level 1, he suspected the attributes of the other three heroes were likely still in single digits.
If his guess was correct, it must be a result of the Garp template, granting him attributes that surpassed those of the others.
"The attributes are impressive, but I must not be careless. The numbers on the page are merely a reference. Since my brain hasn't fully adapted to my body yet, I'm far from tapping into the power those stats indicate. In other words, if I don't continue to hone my skills, I might unleash a strength that exceeds what the data suggests."
With a clear goal in mind, Jason rushed towards the balloon monsters in the grassland without hesitation.
One by one, the balloon monsters burst under Jason's fists.
Gradually, he discovered a strange thrill in the act, reminiscent of the satisfaction that came from popping bubble wrap.
In the end, he became completely immersed in the relentless onslaught against the balloon monsters, losing track of time, even forgetting his intention to return to the city for the night.
At the city gate, the chief guard checked the time and scanned the surroundings as if searching for someone. When he saw no one, he shouted to the other guards, "Close the gate!"
"Captain, it's not time to close the city gates yet! I just saw the Shield Hero go out, and he hasn't come back!" a guard replied suspiciously.
"Are you an idiot? If the Shield Hero is coming back, why should we keep the gates open? Don't you know the king is angry with him right now?" the chief guard scolded angrily.
Understanding what that meant, the guard hurriedly closed the city gate.
"Very good!"
The chief guard nodded in satisfaction. His intention was clearly to lock Jason out of the city, leaving him to spend the night with the monsters.
He could already imagine Jason panicking as he was chased by those creatures, running to the city gate, desperately knocking and shouting for help.
Then, when he appeared and asked Jason to kneel in supplication, he would coldly reply, "I have my position, so I'm sorry!"
The thought of Jason's desperate expression made the chief guard chuckle, letting out a standard villainous laugh of 'haha.'
However, an hour passed... then two hours... then three hours...
The sky had turned pitch black, illuminated only by the moonlight.
Still, Jason's figure did not emerge.
The chief guard, who had stood up all night, was now standing on the city wall, his eyes red from fatigue. The cold wind blew around him, causing him to shake his legs to warm himself.
"Damn! That Shield Hero, why hasn't he come back yet?"
Gradually, the sun began to rise.
The chief guard's eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks had lost all color.
He began to wonder why he had stood on the city wall enduring the wind all night.
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