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After dinner, Jason went to the weapon shop, took some equipment from the boss, bought a few relatively cheap novice weapons, and then went to the village chief to purchase a carriage, some food, and the feed Filo needed.
By this time, there was only an hour left, with just a few minutes to spare.
Standing with Raphtalia and Filo on either side of him, they quietly waited at the entrance of Root Village.
The ten people arrived on time, carrying their bags large and small, without exceeding the time limit.
"Put your luggage in the carriage and come stand in front of me," Jason instructed.
He was quite satisfied with their punctuality; he had no use for people without a sense of time.
"Yes, Lord Shield Hero!"
They quickly put away their luggage and stood haphazardly in front of Jason. They were smiling excitedly, as if they were about to go on a trip.
"I said stand still. Don't you understand? You have five seconds to get into formation."
Jason understood that these young boys and girls lacked combat experience, but he still spoke harshly to train them into proper fighters.
Under Jason's cold gaze, they all stiffened, quickly straightened their backs, and tried to form a neat line.
"Since you've chosen to follow me, you must follow my rules. They are simple. You obey my orders. When I say one, you don't say two. When I tell you to go west, you don't go east—even if there's a sea of fire ahead. And if I tell you to jump into it, you won't hesitate. If I order you to kill a god, you'll charge in with your blade ready."
With his hands behind his back, Jason glanced over the group. "If anyone thinks they can't handle that, you're free to leave now. I won't stop you. But if you stay and then fail to follow my rules, I'll show you what hell really is. Do you hear me?"
"Yes!"
"Louder!" Jason barked.
"YES!" they shouted in unison, their voices echoing into the sky.
"Good. Now introduce yourselves. You, start." Jason pointed at Irene.
"My name is Irene Griffin. My father was a great adventurer and is currently the captain of the Root Village soldiers, so I have some experience with swords. I hope to become a fine woman like Lady Raphtalia," Irene said enthusiastically. Raphtalia, surprised, smiled warmly at her.
"My name is Jack Walker. My parents are ordinary farmers with no special skills. My dream is to become a strong, just man like Lord Shield Hero—to punish evil and protect the weak."
Jack seemed to have an idealized view of Jason, but Jason didn't bother to correct him.
"My name is Lilith Walker Melt. My parents are also just villagers, but I know how to cook a little. Honestly, I just want to explore the world because staying in the village is boring."
"My name is Wadsworth Wadsworth Evelyn..."
One by one, the ten introduced themselves.
Jason couldn't help but inwardly grumble about why the names from these other worlds were always so long, as if they were trying to make sure no one would forget them.
"From today, I'm giving you new names," Jason said. "Irene, you're Number 1. Lilith, you're Number 4. Wadsworth, you're Number 5. Jack, you're Number 9."
"These numbers aren't set in stone. They're rankings. I'll re-rank you based on your performance. The smaller the number, the stronger you are. Don't fall behind others—aim to get stronger!"
Jason wasn't just trying to avoid remembering their long names. He wanted to instill a sense of competition between them. Only through healthy rivalry would they grow.
Sure enough, after his words, everyone turned their eyes to Irene, the current Number 1, all wanting that top spot.
At that moment, more and more villagers gathered nearby, men and women, young and old alike.
It seemed they had come to see the group off. Many of these villagers had been kneeling in front of the village chief's house earlier, but hadn't been chosen.
"Be careful on the road!"
"You can tell none of the truly skilled adventurers wanted Jack and the others."
"If I'd known, I would've kept kneeling there longer. Why did I leave so early? Damn it."
"What the hell, I'm the worst. If I had known, I never would have said those cruel words. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have to spin around 360 degrees and drink my own urine."
"I'm really going to... Do it. I even said before that when Lord Shield Hero came back, I'd take his head off and kick it. What am I supposed to do now?"
"Brother, don't worry. I'll help you buy a coffin first!"
Some of them regretted not working hard when they had the chance, but that's how the world works—there's no medicine for regret. Now, all they could do was look on with remorse at the group standing next to Jason in District 10.
"You should've said goodbye to your loved ones earlier, because... we're going to push forward to 540 now!"
After Jason finished speaking, he got into the carriage with Filo and Raphtalia.
"Yes!"
"Hey~~~ Master Shield Hero, where's the Filo bird?"
The group of ten quickly realized the front of the carriage was empty—there was no Filo bird pulling it. Well... to be precise, there was one, but it was underage, perched on Jason's shoulder.
"What do you need a Filo bird for? From the moment you didn't leave, the training had already begun."
Jason said, tossing eight ropes from the carriage. "At first, I thought some of you would quit, so I didn't prepare enough ropes. In that case, Irene, Lilith, you two can ride on the carriage and learn some magic while you're at it—see if you have any talent in that area."
At this moment, all of them realized they were the "Filo birds" responsible for pulling the carriage.
Though they wore unwilling expressions, they understood this was meant to build their strength and endurance. Determined to get stronger, they grabbed hold of the ropes.
In this world, there's no fixed template for leveling up or assigning skill points. In other words, just because your level increases doesn't automatically mean you become stronger. Real strength requires continuous training and fighting.
And so, under the watchful eyes of the villagers, Jason and his group set off, driving away in a mighty procession.
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