"So, what's it going to be? Osborn's clan trash, Robert?
Reo Jas' voice rang out through the quiet valley, thick with hate and dripping with sarcasm.
The early morning fog curled near them, the rising sun throwing long shadows that danced between the trees.
Robert stood still, face unreadable, eyes locked on the three figures blocking his path.
Leo Jas flashed a grin, arms crossed, emitting an air of arrogance.
"He probably hasn't seen the sun in weeks, crawling around like a rat in that Osborn Clan." Always has been.
Tim Jas chuckled behind them. "Look at him. He's not even speaking. Maybe the fall hit him harder than we thought."
Robert's eyes flicked between them, silently asuring each one with a calm, calculating gaze.
Three jackals acting to be lions, Robert thought to himself.
He asked the "System", his voice low and steady, "Can you scan them?"
The reply ca instantly.
[Scanning Target Entities…]
[Reo Jas – Body Tempering Realm: Level 3][Leo Jas – Body Tempering Realm: Level 3][Tim Jas – Body Tempering Realm: Level 2][Threat Level: Low. Estimated Victory: High Probability.]
After seeing the System's reply, Robert's shoulders eased, the tension in his posture fading slightly.
Nothing he couldn't handle.
He turned his eye away from them as if they weren't even worth the dirt underneath his boots.
Without a word, he stepped to the side, planning to walk past them.
He thought, Let them bark. He had better things to do than engage with overconfident fools.
But then [System Notification: New Quest Activated]Objective: Eliminate Hostile Targets (3)Reward: 500 System Points
Robert froze mid-step.
His eyes narrowed. That… was his first quest after coming to this world.
The system never triggered random combat quests unless the hostility reached a certain threshold.
He turned slowly, and now all three Jas Clan mbers were glaring at him, faces twisted with anger.
Tim Jas was the first to break the silence.
"A coward, a rat, and a disgrace. Trash like you doesn't deserve to breathe the sa air as us!"
With a furious snarl, Tim charged, spirit energy flaring weakly around his fists.
Robert watched calmly as Tim Jas shot forward, his movents wide and emotionally ssy.
Pathetic.
Robert didn't retreat. He didn't even flinch.
Instead, he planted his feet, drew his right fist back, and t Tim's strike with his own.
A soft crack echoed through the quiet valley, sharp and sudden against the stillness of dawn.
It wasn't even close.
Robert's fist smashed directly through Tim's punch, crashing into Tim's fist like a boulder falling from a cliff.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones.
Tim's eyes went wide, all the air escaping from his lungs in a single gasp before his body was thrown backward, crashing into the grass with a choked scream.
He didn't get back up.
Robert stood still, lowering his fist slowly.
"I had no intention of wasting my ti," he said, his voice cold and edged with disdain.
Reo and Leo stared at him, montarily dumbstruck.
That… that wasn't the weakling they rembered.
"What the hell—?" Reo growled, his face darkening. "You've been hiding your strength?!"
Robert didn't reply.
But the slight tightening of his fists, the calm glow under his skin, and the look in his eyes said everything.
He wasn't the sa Robert Osborn they once ridiculed.
He was sothing else now.
Sothing dangerous.
Reo didn't waste another breath.
With a roar, he lunged forward, Leo following a heartbeat later, both of them spreading their level 3 Body Tempering aura like thin veils of energy crackling around their limbs like heat rising off sunbaked stone.
Their synchronized assault ca fast and brutal.
Robert barely raised his arms in ti as Reo's punch slamd into his guard, sending a crude tremor through his bones. Leo followed up instantly, dipping low and sweeping at Robert's legs with a twisting kick.
Thud!
Robert stumbled back a step, his foot grinding against the grass and dirt.
His chest rose and fell faster. These were two trained martial arts fighters, and he thought their technique was flawed; they were faster than he expected. Stronger, too.
His heart beat in his chest, each beat loudly in his ears.
So this… this is what a real fight feels like.
Pain blood across his forearm where Reo's punch had landed.
His breathing tightened, instincts raw and unshaped.
He heard Leo roar:
"Stone Shatter Fist!"
A sharp spike of force was emitted from Leo's clenched fist.
Dust exploded under his feet as he pounced, twisting his body with a skillful attack.
It was a known martial technique from the Jas clan, which was crude but powerful and aid to break through defenses with brute strength.
Robert's eyes narrowed, but fearless, he used Heaven Mountain Fist – First Layer.
He stepped forward calmly, lowering his center of gravity, energy rippling faintly across his fists like mist drawn from the depths of the earth.
His fist t Leo's midair with a booming crash!
For a mont, the trees around the valley shuddered under the impact of the blow.
A visible shockwave exploded from the point of collision, scattering leaves and kicking up dirt around them.
Robert skidded backward; he took five steps, his boots digging trenches into the ground, before he ca to a stop.
Leo stumbled back; he took ten full steps, his arms trembling violently, face frozen in disbelief.
"What…?" he gasped. "How the hell… I'm at Level 3 Body Tempering!"
You… you're supposed to be trash, a waste!"
Robert exhaled slowly, lowering his fist.
A thin line of blood ran from his fist, but his expression remained cold.
"That was only forty percent of my strength," he said softly.
Leo's eyes widened.
Before the tremor in his arms could disappear, he scread and gathered all the power he had. "Fine, then. You want to die; I will fulfill your wish!"
Energy flared from his body, a pale orange aura blazing as he forced everything into his next move. "Let's see how you stop this!"
He charged forward, his eyes blazing with lethal intent. Dust kicked behind him like a rushing beast.
But Robert didn't move. Not until the last second.
Then
BOOM!
Their fists clashed again.
This ti, Robert used seventy percent of his strength.
The result was instant.
Leo's aura flickered and then shattered.
Crack!
A gut-wrenching roar sounded as Leo's wrist turned the wrong way. The pain surged through him like a wave, lifting him off the ground and smashing him against a boulder.
He didn't get back up.
Leo was dead.
Reo froze, then rage consud him. "You bastard! You'll die for this!"
His aura surged, bloodlust swelling within him like an unstoppable tide.
"Stone Shatter Fist—Maximum Drive!" he roared, charging with everything he had.
Robert's eyes narrowed. This was more powerful than Leo's strike.
Then he used "Heaven Mountain Fist". Full Strength."
The mont their fists collided, the air blasted.
BOOM!
Shockwaves blasted out. Trees bent. The ground cracked.
When the dust cleared, Reo's broken body lay motionless, crumpled into the earth.
Robert dropped to one knee, blood dripping from his lip, chest heaving.But he was alive.
He looked to the sky, whispering, "If this is strength… then let earn it with pain."
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