"Hahaha~ Are you serious!? Do you really think we people who've given our lives to enter this place are so weak!?" The man said with an irritated frown on his face.
"I mean, all you've been doing till now is a Very Easy mission? How strong do you think you are? I just finished those missions in minute-"
"It doesn't matter! Can you really afford to fight us-"
"First thing, don't interrupt me when I'm speaking it's annoying. Secondly, if you've asked a question have the patience to hear the other person's answer, otherwise it means you don't want to listen to the answer."
"Of course, we don't want to listen to your nonsense! Just because you can finish a Very Easy mission so easily does it mean you can steal our way to earn Survival Points!? If you're so strong why don't you go do the Hard missions that no one seems to want to even touch!?" The man asked, his voice raised since he was visibly angry with me.
I sighed.
'He's not going to get it the 'good' way is he?'
"Fine."
"Oh? So you're giving up now isn't it a little too late for that? Give us your points and we'll let you-"
"Shut it, you idiot. I'm saying I'll fight you. If you can't understand without someone beating the shit outa you, then don't blame me for being the one that puts you in line after giving you a few spanks."
The man's eyes went wide as if he hadn't predicted I'd fight him and the people around him but he quickly recovered. He pulled out his sword in anger as did the people around him.
"Are you serious!?" He asked with a frown.
And in a wordless response, I picked a stance to stand in.
"Fine. Have it your way then." The man said as he rushed towards me.
He was slow, pitifully slow.
I didn't even need to use Key Insight to see exactly how he was moving.
As soon as the guy arrived within my striking distance, which was much less than his since he was holding a sword, which only showed how slow he was and just how much he knew about the weapon he was holding, I slammed my palm into his chest.
The man collapsed on the ground instantly.
He began having difficulty breathing as he started drooling from his mouth due to the lack of oxygen before he collapsed.
The others noticed my quick strike, yet they charged in recklessly hoping to overwhelm me with their numbers.
But with my back covered by the notice board, I only had to wait for the targets to deliver themselves to be slapped by my hot hands.
I didn't use my healing ability to distort their bodies by essentially giving them cancer since I thought it to be excessive to go to such a stage for such a simple fight.
'They're people, not monsters, even if they are as dumb as one.'
I wasn't a blood-feasting human-killing maniac after all.
And I was sure that they'd stop after maybe the tenth person fell down.
But I underestimated their stupidity.
It took all thirty of them collapsing before they gave up.
'At least none of them are standing using the power of friendship to defeat me with their talk no jutsu so that's a plus.'
"Done now?" I asked politely as I looked at the several people who were on the ground and panting as they tried to breathe properly because of the sheer force my hand had hit them with.
"...why can't you just do the Hard missions." the guy who was arguing with me pleaded.
I shook my head before squatting in front of him.
"Are you guys idiots!?" I asked looking not only at him but all of the other people on the floor too.
"Do you think out there, in the real paradise, missions will be labelled from 'Basic' and 'Very Easy' to 'Hard' and 'Very Hard'?"
"Do you not realise what the Neutral Zone is for!?"
I looked around but none of them answered.
"It's to train you for what's out there you fools!"
"You might choose a mission thinking that it's just a 'Very Easy' mission as you've chosen here, but who knows what that parasite-unnie might think of? She might suddenly send a random parasite brood mother to your post and off you!?"
"Or maybe you might encounter a random evil spirit out there and just because you looked at it the wrong way, it might take out its aeons of wrath on you by killing you!?"
"What do you think!? That you're going to Paradise to enjoy your lives? To drink a mojito and kick back as you guard a random checkpoint!?"
"No you fools, you're going to fight a war!!! A war that's not even your own!! That's a literal thing where people die every freaking minute for absolutely no other reason than because someone stronger than them swung their sword the wrong way."
There was silence for a few seconds before with a frustrated look the man who was arguing with me shouted once again, "So what should we do!? Do you think we don't know that!?"
"You bastard!" I said slapping the man's head. "You fool! If you know that then why are you doing the same goddamn mission again and again!?"
"But we don't have any talent!! We're used as meat shields in these wars you're talking about!"
*SLAP*
I slapped his head again.
"You fool! If you know you're going to be used as meat shields then become the best fucking meat shield there is in existence! Become a meat shield that everyone can't help but want!!! Don't become bags of rotten potatoes that are even more useless than meat shields!!!"
"If you're weak go out there and take the Basic running mission. Run like your life depends on it and keep killing yourself until you earn enough points to increase your strength!!!"
"Once you have enough strength! Use your strength to fight and complete the very easy missions! Do them again and again until you see that you can't gain anything else from them!!"
"Once you are done with all the very easy missions go and do the Easy missions then the Slightly Easy, then the Normal, the Slightly Hard, the Hard, the Very Hard and then finally the Impossible!"
"Do you understand!?"
"If you want to be lazy and just earn enough points to sit around in this place, why don't you just die!?"
"And if you are coward enough to not put your all into what you're doing, don't think for a second that if you get in someone else's way they're going to help you out of pity!!!"
"They'll all act just like me and beat the shit outa you until you're scared to even come back in their sights!"
"If you die in pursuit of bettering yourself then so be it! Better die now than ten days later when you step outside! At least there will be more points for the rest of us to steal through our hard work!"
"Did you understand that!?"
I asked but no one said anything they didn't even nod or shake their heads. They just looked at me with anger in their eyes as if they wanted to tear me. The man I just lectured even looked at me with the most furious gaze, but I just stood up and went back to the noticeboard.
I picked another 'Slightly Easy' mission.
This one was to survive the assault of five Molecats, and it gave me fifty survival points.
I tore the paper and vanished from the plaza, not noticing the fire I'd set to it.
Third Person POV
"Did you see that Boss?"
"Yes. Yes. I did. Just as well as you."
There was silence between the two women for a while before Cinzia spoke again.
"After Seol died, everyone was stuck in this precautionary mindset. I got several complaints from the various organisations outside with the way I was handling the camp. Especially about the fake deadline I set."
"But I thought if they couldn't get motivated to work their asses off even after I set the closer deadline, I doubted they'd work if someone told them something."
"...but turns out I was wrong. Sometimes it takes the right words to make someone do something…"
"You are right boss. Perhaps violence isn't the answer to everything." Agnes spoke softly.
"And so I have a few words for you Agnes."
"Huh?"
"Take him."
"...what?"
Cinzia pulled Agnes closer and looked right into her eyes.
"Take that boy as your disciple. You don't need to return Seol's items to the VIP store. I know you have it. So use it on that boy and turn him from the uncut gem he is into a diamond that can shine like the sun in the sky."
Agnes's eyes widened and a few tears filled her eyes but she quickly looked away and spoke softly.
"I will see what I can do Boss."
In the plaza, a member of the Triads who was calmly smoking a cigarette pulled it out of his mouth and snuffed it on the ashtray.
"Is it just me or is everyone's blood boiling after what that man said? He's a real man ain't he?"
Odelette Delphine who was sitting beside Hao Win had a feverish blush on her face as she gripped her staff tighter.
"Why don't we try out a Hard mission for once?"
"Agreed." Hao Win said without a pause. Odelette Delphine looked at the rest of her teammates and they all nodded without backing out too.
"It seems like we all agree. So let's do this!"
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A/N : Is your blood boiling!? Let's goo!!!!!!!