"Boom!!!"

  Caius was sent flying over a hundred meters, crashing to the ground before tumbling for another hundred meters, finally skidding to a stop on a grassy slope.

  “Damn... That punch packed a punch!” Blood trickled from the corner of Caius’ mouth, yet he still grinned as he looked at the black-clad man slowly approaching.

  This man was at least Mithril rank.

  But that punch had been held back—otherwise, Caius wouldn’t have been able to tank it with his physicality alone. He was only lightly injured.

  That confirmed it for Caius—the man wasn’t trying to kill him.

  But if not that, then what?

  His mind raced, even as he slowly got back to his feet. “Uncle, does that come with medical coverage? If you’re gonna hit that hard, I’m charging extra.”

  “Covered,” the man replied, terse and to the point, raising his fist once again.

  Caius noticed the man’s right pinky was partially missing—whether by birth or some past injury, it was hard to say.

  “Well, that’s good.” Caius nodded and opened his arms again.

  The next instant, the man vanished and reappeared directly in front of him.

  That speed!

  Caius' pupils contracted—he couldn’t even track how the man had gotten in front of him.

  No magic fluctuation. That meant the man had used pure physicality to burst forward—but even then, there hadn’t been a sound, none of the usual impact noise that came with such explosive force.

  Before Caius could process it, a fist smashed into his jaw.

  His vision went dark—he almost lost consciousness.

  He shot straight up into the sky, a hundred meters high, before the black-clad man reappeared above him and brought down a crushing leg.

  Caius reacted purely on instinct, raising both arms to block—but the kick still sent him crashing into the earth.

  He spat out a mouthful of blood, shook his head to stay conscious, and flexed his jaw. His teeth clashed violently, tearing his gums—fortunately, he hadn’t bitten his tongue, or it might’ve snapped off.

  He honestly didn’t know if his regeneration could handle regrowing a severed tongue—and he had no interest in finding out.

  “Wait, no face shots!” Seeing the man lift his fist again, Caius quickly raised a hand to stop him.

  “This face of mine is worth a hundred million, you hear? I’m serious—no face shots!”

  The man in black: “……”

  That face of yours is worth a hundred million?!

  Then my lady must be worth countless billions!

  Looking at Caius' smug mug made him want to hit harder. With another flicker of movement, he was right in front of Caius again.

  A barrage of punches slammed toward Caius' chest. He raised his arms to defend—but he couldn't keep up with the man's speed.

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  Heavy, muffled impacts echoed again and again. Caius was beaten until blood poured from his mouth, yet every time he hit the ground, he got back up, flashing that same cheeky grin: “Add it to the bill!”

  The black-clad man obliged: “Fifty thousand more.”

  And then resumed the beatdown.

  The thunderous sounds of battle echoed through the forest. Caius lost track of how many times he was sent flying. Several times, he nearly blacked out—the man’s punches were just that brutal.

  But in the end, Caius endured.

  As dawn broke, he propped himself up against a boulder, his face bruised, his body stained with crimson. In some places, his skin had even begun to bleed.

  Still, he smiled. “Sun’s up… Mission complete. Cash or gold notes?”

  His voice trembled, and the black-clad man remained silent, but his heart was shaken.

  This guy… is really just a Gold Five-Star?

  How could he take hits better than a Platinum Ten-Star Shield Guardian?

  This kid was something else…

  “Hey, don’t tell me you’re trying to stiff me now?” Caius’ voice cut through the silence. His grin had vanished, replaced by a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

  The man didn’t reply. Instead, he raised a hand—and with a flick of the wrist, dozens of burlap sacks filled with gold coins landed in front of Caius.

  Over the course of the night, thanks to Caius constantly upping the price, the reward had reached 300,000.

  Caius’ eyes lit up as he gazed at the thirty heavy bags, his grin returning in full force.

  “Hehehe… I knew it. A badass like you wouldn’t shortchange me. That was rude of me—slap on the wrist, slap on the wrist.” He lightly patted his cheek in mock apology.

  The black-clad man twitched beneath his hood.

  How thick is this guy’s skin? He changes expressions faster than flipping a page!

  But then, a smirk tugged at his lips—this kid really is something.

  As Caius staggered toward the gold, the man could sense his muscles still tightly coiled. He was still on guard.

  Last night, he’d meant to leave Caius half-dead—bedridden for at least two weeks.

  But the kid had defended at every strike. Even if he couldn’t match the speed, his instinctive guard had been solid.

  Within the same rank, Caius's close-combat defense was absolutely top-tier.

  And if that was the case, then his overall combat aptitude had to be excellent as well.

  With a physique like that, and battle instincts that sharp, the man in black found himself growing increasingly curious.

  Once Caius had stashed away all the money, the man in black raised his hand. Instinctively, Caius prepared to defend—but the expected punch, heavy as artillery, never landed.

  Instead, a vial of bright crimson liquid was tossed to the ground in front of him.

  Caius picked it up and took a look. Damn, a top-grade healing potion.

  Grinning, he pocketed it without hesitation. The man in black raised an eyebrow at the scene. “Not drinking it?”

  “No need. These little injuries? Two days of sleep and I’m good as new. I’m thinking of putting it up for auction, hehe~” Caius replied cheerfully.

  A mid-grade healing potion went for a bit over a hundred gold. A high-grade one could fetch over two thousand.

  But a top-grade potion? That would go for tens of thousands at the very least!

  The price difference was staggering, but then again, top-grade potions were extremely rare. Very few potion makers had the skill to brew them.

  The man in black was silent for a moment, speechless.

  This kid was seriously obsessed with money.

  Still, he didn’t want the young lady to suspect anything, so he spoke up again. “Drink it now. Or give it back.”

  “What? I can’t take it home?” Caius pouted.

  The man didn’t reply—just raised his fist in silent threat.

  “Alright, alright! I’ll drink it!” Caius grumbled.

  With that, he uncorked the potion and downed it.

  A soft red glow enveloped him, and his injuries were fully healed in moments.

  The man in black didn’t stick around any longer. He turned and began to leave.

  “Hey, old man!” Caius called after him. “What should I call you?”

  The man paused. “…Mack.”

  “Got it, Uncle Mack. Next time you’ve got a job, remember to hit me up! Safe travels, Mack~” Caius called out with a grin.

  That cheerful tone made Mack’s fists clench involuntarily.

  “I will,” he muttered, and with a flicker, vanished.

  Caius stood there, his smile slowly fading as he looked ahead.

  So, what exactly was the reason?

  Was it some powerful stranger passing by who heard about his so-called “reputation” and decided to teach him a lesson for being too cocky?

  Or maybe the guy was just having a rough day and needed someone to beat up to blow off steam?

  Or something else entirely?

  Caius had a vague inkling, but nothing concrete.

  Still, he didn’t dwell on it for long. After all—three hundred thousand!

  Wahoo~

  Getting beat up for three hundred grand, and they even paid for the healing afterward—where else could he find a deal like that?

  The best part? Taking a serious beating actually helped him condense his magic power.

  His magic foundation had improved by a whole five percent—now up to fourteen percent total!

  Damn… even the Blood-Tide Incident didn’t boost him this much!

  To that, Caius could only say—bring it on.

  He could take a few more hits.