Already?
The harmonic chirping of cacophonous birds filled the air as a violet butterfly fluttered gently onto the hate reader's nose, causing him to stir awake.
Jason opened his eyes to the sight of a vibrant marketplace, full of fruit vendors and jewelry shops. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, he placed his hands on his chest, attempting to quiet the rapid thump of his pounding heartbeat.
'Holy crap,' he thought to himself. 'I'm actually still alive?'
He sat down next to the apple vendor and cleared his mind. Rationalizing his thoughts, rage quickly filled the black-haired teenager's chest as he recalled the searing sensation of the lightning against his skin.
"Really? For some honest comments?!?" he shouted into the air. "How petty can you be?"
He stood with conviction and looked toward the sky, swearing to one day inflict his revenge against the narrow-minded goddess. Even if it took years, decades, or centuries, he knew that he would never back down to her again. Lowering his head, he noticed a gleaming number in the corner of his eye.
"Hate Counter: 900," he read aloud and furrowed his eyebrows. "These are the additional lives I have, right? With this, I should be in no danger of dying anytime soon."
He pat himself on the back for writing so many lines of hate and stood to his feet. Taking a deep breath, Jason pushed his traumatic experience to the back of his mind and scanned the fantasy world around him. He knew that he was simply too weak in his current condition to take revenge and decided to instead explore the town with an adventurer's mindset.
The black-haired teenager gazed admiringly at the gleaming lakes, the towering mountains, and luxurious royal buildings. Though he hated to admit it, the world was breathtakingly beautiful, and even the men and women were blessed with good-looking features.
Jason cursed under his breath and blamed the author's poor writing ability for not having done the world justice as a loud clamor, followed by a few shouts in his vicinity, disrupted his thoughts.
Jason's eyes followed the crowd until he found the source of the noise and began to follow the growing populace. Eager to see what the Isles had in store for him, the hate reader quickly rounded the corner and saw two teenagers engaged in battle with wide grins plastered on both of their faces.
The screech of clashing swords filled the air with music as the two young men exchanged a flurry of strikes.
The red head slowly pushed the brunette backwards in a battle of attrition and yelled, "Fight me Edward, show me everything you got!"
He swung his sword in a beautiful crescent ark, tearing a sharp cut into Edward's armor.
"Wow," Jason murmured to himself in awe. "T-This is swordsmanship? It's so different in real life! Can I learn that one day?"
He turned to ask the locals beside him a few clarifying questions, but when they saw his face, they only felt pity and simply ignored him.
"Fine, I'm not going to hold back anymore!" the brunette responded with an equally loud yell.
A blast of energy spread through the air as Edward released the initial stages of Sword Aura. He stumbled forward and caught himself with the tip of his sword before standing confidently with a grin.
"Take that!" he cheered joyously toward the red head. "You better not disappoint me now."
Several seniors nodded their heads with respect, and everyone clapped loudly in admiration. Well, everyone but Jason.
Jason stumbled backwards immediately as the impact of a truck struck him, knocking him to the floor. He crawled to his feet and clutched his chest, but the pain subsided almost instantaneously.
A soft notification rang in Jason's ear as he looked toward the corner of his eye.
Ding!
Hate Counter: 899
"Huhhh?" he blurted. "What do you mea—?"
A shout from the red head quickly interrupted his thoughts.
"You're not the only one who knows Sword Aura, my good friend," the teenager shouted ecstatically toward the brunette as Jason fell to his knees in despair.
Ding!
Hate Counter: 898
Edward tilted his sword, taking his most explosive stance, and the red head quickly followed suit. With bated breath, the crowd watched intently as the two teenagers prepared to deliver their final strike.
Within an instant, the red head dashed left and right, evading Edward's strike before taking him to the ground.
A cheer erupted throughout the town, causing a massive commotion. Gleeful watchers tossed gold coins into the air, and merchants threw free fruits and vegetables to their friends.
For Jason, however, this occasion was not a merry one.
Ding!
Hate Counter: 897
"Am I really this weak?" he sobbed as a second cabbage smacked him on the head.
Ding!
Hate Counter: 896
"Shit. This is ridiculous," he cursed to himself and quickly jumped to his feet.
It had only been a few hours since he had arrived on the Isles, and he had already lost several of his precious lives. Doing what any normal person would do in this situation, Jason cast a final glance toward the town and sprinted as far from the locals as possible. After a few minutes of running, the hate reader felt his legs buckle beneath him and hid himself in the nearest alleyway.
But unfortunately, the alleyway that he had run into was already occupied…