5

    When I... Spoke Hastily

    "I'm just level 1, why are you so surprised?"

    I finished my sentence with a superior gaze directed at Kingdom.

    They were stunned for a long time because the online time, when calculated in the game world of Hero Land—which ran six times faster than the real time.

    It meant I had spent no less than 20 years in the game.

    My age remained the same, don't be shocked.

    I had lived with Grandma Maria for about only 10 years. Initially, I sneaked into her herbal garden to sleep, but eventually, she discovered me. Due to her kindness, she adopted me with love and care.

    This made me deeply love this NPC.

    A faint murmur came from Kingdom, "Is that even true…?"

    The way to sneak into the herbal garden involved doing delivery missions. While waiting to collect rewards, I quickly sneaked into the garden and made it my home base. If hungry, I had to stealthily steal bread from Grandma's kitchen.

    And stealing bread was how I got caught.

    Grandma Maria wondered why her bread kept disappearing, so she secretly waited in the kitchen. Initially, I thought NPCs in the game wouldn't fuss about such minor things, but Grandma didn't kick me out of the house...

    Back to the present.

    "Do you still think I'm a new player?" I asked.

    The hot-headed blonde trembled with irritation.

    "You!" Kingdom stared at me fiercely.

    I stared back, "What’s up, new player," then I echoed his earlier taunt, "Interested in defeating a boss with an old player like Beer? But I’m afraid a new player like you who just started might find it too challenging to handle a boss that even a new player can defeat..."

    Thump!

    -810 Critical!

    Health: 0 / 100

    Suddenly, I was struck by a heavy fist in the stomach, "You're a lot weaker than a boss, damn it!" Kingdom roared.

    It felt like the world went dark in a blink. I found myself lying sideways on the ground, blood pouring from my mouth. Players around looked on in shock at the murder that had just occurred in the middle of the city.

    This was my first death in the game,

    And also my first lesson: ‘Speak kindly, for it is a blessing for your mouth. Speak too much, and your mouth will be...’

    ‘Red…’

    Because of blood.

‘The taste is anything but pleasant.’

    I looked at the screen that popped up in front of me.

    If 10 minutes passed, the system would send me to respawn in the nearest city, which in this case, would be Cenworld.

    Lying dead like this was so embarrassing.

    "Why did you kill him!" Pat quickly pulled out a revival potion from her inventory.

    It was a bottle designed like clear crystal, holding a light blue potion sealed with a crystal cork shaped like a cross.

    "It was an accident. An accident!" Tee shouted to the onlookers.

    Pat bent down and poured the revival potion into my mouth quickly. As soon as the tip of my tongue tasted the sweet and fragrant potion, I started feeling lighter. A golden light flashed all over my body, then I could move again and forgot the pain, leaving only the blood smeared across my face.

    "That potion was expensive, Pat!" the golden-haired killer complains.

    The woman raises her voice, "And who told you to kill him, huh!"

    "We could have just let him respawn on his own!" Kingdom argues. "He would respawn in this city anyway."

    Listening to the words of irresponsibility, I felt like punching him back, especially if I wasn't worried about being knocked out again.

    Tee wiped off his sweat, understanding both sides.

    That potion costed no less than ten thousand coins, and if a player died here, they could just press the respawn button to be reborn in Cenworld anyway.

    "Damn it!" Kingdom scratched his head in frustration. "What a waste! Such a valuable potion for the worthless life of this guy!"

    The red-eyed man alternated his gaze between me and the crystal bottle in his friend's hand.

    "You should watch your words," I managed to stand up shakily. Although the potion revived me, I only regained 10% of my health, leaving me feeling completely drained.

    Pat stood up and offered me another potion to restore health.

    "Kingdom, you're in the same group as him. You should speak nicely," she looked troubled. "Look at Frost, even though you hit him, he still speaks politely."

    But I had already cursed him in my mind.

    "You're close enough to him to use nicknames now?"

    Pat shook her head. "What's so strange about using a nickname?"

    As she finished speaking, she took a handkerchief and wiped the blood off my cheek.

    I gave Kingdom a provoking smile.

    "But I don’t want you being friends with a loser like him!"

    "You're insulting me again," I said quietly.

    ‘One word is 'loser,' two words are 'loser.'’

    Tee massaged my shoulders to calm me down.

    "You never know, he might actually be a top player, Kingdom,"

    Pat brushed off the dust that clung to her when she knelt down and continued from her previous sentence, "Haven't you heard of the saying 'a tiger hides its claws'?"

    Kingdom raised his voice.

    "And since when does a tiger get so weak it dies from one punch!" His demeaning tone was accompanied by a contemptuous face.

    Some might tolerate this, but I wouldn’t.

    "It's a tiger like me, actually."

    After saying that, I locked eyes with him, creating a tense atmosphere that left Pat and Tee not knowing what to do, just watching us wearily.

    Kingdom smirked, "Come on, tell me what's so good about a weak tiger like you."

    "A Pathetic tiger like me..." I emphasized heavily, "can still clamp down on people who don't know manners like you."

    Kingdom burst into laughter, unaffected by my threat, "Better not play with words," he shrugged annoyingly, "Someone who dies from one punch... what can they do to me?"

    When being insulted too much, I got furious and blur out a retort without thinking,

    "I will never lose to someone like you, no matter the disadvantage."

    "Even though I play as a Blade Master, and you're a Priest?"

    "Absolutely."

    Kingdom clapped sharply, "You said it yourself!" He pointed at me, "I'll give you a month from today in the real world to switch to a priest, and then we'll duel!"

    Realizing what I had said from his mischievous look, I regretted it…

    ‘I was screwed…’

    Pat's eyes widened, protesting loudly,

    "Are you crazy? A priest doesn't have the same combat skills as a swordsman like you!" She tried to help me, "At least pick a class that matches!"

    "You yourself confirmed you'd fight as a priest!" He bared his teeth at me.

    "Uh..." Tee interrupted, "Maybe cool it down a bit?"

    Of course, the narrow-eyed boy was ignored by everyone.

    "That's..." Pat pursed her lips tightly, she really could not find a way to help me.

    "Shut up, loser," Kingdom looked triumphantly at me, "So the hidden tiger is scared now, or maybe its claws are too blunt to use, standing there silent like a kitten."

    Fine then.

    Let it be known that even as a priest, I could defeat him!

"In one month, prepare to be buried by a priest like me. And I'm sorry, but I'm not kind enough to spare money for your coffin."