Jayhan took slow, deliberate steps forward, his gaze following Eric like prey.
At first, it seemed as if he was afraid of Jayhan, but then, all of a sudden, he stood his ground, eyes carrying a faint glow.
It would seem he had noticed his backup was busy handling the girls; he had no choice but to rely on his own abilities.
[The character Eric has activated his divine blessing.]
Jayhan did not seem bothered by it. In fact, it was only after the notifications played that he charged forward.
In an instant, Jayhan closed the gap, appearing beside Eric with blinding speed.
Crack!
His fist connected with Eric's face, the impact unleashing a thunderous boom that reverberated through the air, a strike powerful enough to shatter bone.
But in the same moment, a sickening tear followed.
As Jayhan's punch landed, razor-sharp spikes erupted from Eric's body in a defensive reflex, piercing Jayhan's fist and shredding muscle and bone in a gruesome spray.
Taking a step back, Jayhan grunted a bit, a calm look on his face as he stared at his damaged hand.
'So that's how the blessing works. A damn porcupine.'
It didn't take long for Eric to speak up, as expected.
"Yeah, that's right! Did you see that?! I freaking warned you. If you think that's all, then you must be in la-la land."
From the tip of his palm, green, razor-like spikes grew out; they were long, at least five inches in length, and seeing as they were pulsing, Jayhan was certain a single stab from them would kill him.
"Go on, where's that big boy act you were putting on just now, huh? Are you scared? You realize how stupid you were a few moments ago because you wanted to play hero for some dumb bitch, and now you want me to spare you? Hahhah! Maybe if you beg me, I might consider it. Go on your knees and beg!"
'This guy sure loves the sound of his own voice.'
Jayhan didn't once look away from his ripped-apart hand.
While it looked excruciatingly painful, Jayhan didn't exactly feel the pain; it felt more like a sting than anything.
'Endurance really does go a long way. Good to know.'
In that exact moment, Jayhan decided to use one of his divine blessings, [Child of Flames].
Blue flames covered his mangled arm, dancing like raging fire that licked his skin all the way down to his elbow.
Eric was at first taken aback by it, but his shock only grew wider when he noticed the flames were not burning Jayhan; rather, they were healing him.
Gradually, Jayhan's arm was returning to normal; his bones, tissues, muscles, and flesh had all grown back.
Clenching his fist to see how firm his new arm was, he threw a hard gaze at Eric.
"Now, where were we?"
Eric frowned, carrying a disgusted look on his face.
"Don't bullshit me!!!"
Eric sprinted forward, his spikes glittering.
"So you can heal yourself? Who gives a shit? I'll still—"
Before Eric could get any further, Jayhan acted, wrapping his hand over his face and then slamming him to the ground.
Eric was shocked.
Not only did Jayhan move so fast that he could barely see him, but somehow, the spikes that pierced his hand didn't bother him one bit.
Jayhan's blood dripped on Eric's face, some making its way into his mouth.
"H-how…?"
"You're not the only one blessed with powers."
Just when Eric wanted to retort, Jayhan punched him in the face.
Blood spewed, staining the ground.
At this point, it would seem almost everyone had their attention on the scene, different eyes from different people with different intentions.
Somehow, even the girls were watching, as they had already beaten Eric's backup to a pulp.
Not long after, another punch landed on Eric's face, and another, and another, one punch following the other.
Jayhan didn't add enough force to knock him out, just enough to make Eric feel threatened and injured, unable to fight back.
His eyes, once filled with rage, were slowly slipping away, giving way to fear.
Every single helpless punch he received from Jayhan was taking him closer to the edge; he couldn't fall unconscious, and he couldn't fight back.
All he could do was sit there, taking all of the damage to the face, getting drenched in his own blood.
At some point, a worried look began to play on the faces of everyone who watched. It didn't look like Jayhan planned on stopping anytime soon.
Until he finally did.
As blood dripped from his fist, he locked eyes with Eric, whose face had gotten so swollen it was hard to recognize him.
"You should be lucky I'm keeping you alive. I don't intend to get flagged by the taskmaster in a safe zone."
True, in the game, if a character was killed in the green zone, the killer, before the next quest, was executed in front of everyone.
The only way to avoid execution was by paying a fine of 90,000 coins, and Jayhan was nowhere close to making that amount.
With that, Jayhan took a few steps back. Kara's eyes were the first thing that caught his attention.
While the others were looking at him with shock and horror, she was staring at him like a predator finding its prey.
Her eyes flashed with hunger, her mouth slightly opened right after she licked her lips.
Jayhan had seen that look on her face before, so he knew why she was like that.
'... this can't be good.'
….
Later that very night, everyone in the plaza had gone to sleep for the next day.
Before then, they were all actively avoiding Jayhan's tent, just like he wanted.
He intentionally put up a show like that in order to get this exact result.
But one can't be too safe; as such, Jayhan and Kara decided to keep watch in the second tent and then switch when the others had woken up.
Or at least that was the plan.
Seated on Jayhan's lap, Kara had pulled up her clothes, leaving only her underwear on, her cheeks red and eyes beaming with hunger.
"Let's do it, babe… I-I have been waiting for this all week~ I'm hungry~ I told you beforehand."