The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

A week had passed since this torture had started.

In that time, Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seok endured what could only be described as torment.

At first, the two of them ground their teeth, seething in anger, but they had now reached a point where they no longer even had the energy to be angry.

And Davey O'Rowane, the despicable man they toiled under, kept assigning them increasingly impossible tasks while threatening to bring down the NSDIA if they failed. Not wanting to destroy the NSDIA with their mistakes, the two of them desperately completed each task.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

The malicious man would twist their bodies every night, claiming it was to loosen their tightened muscles and mana, and each night they collapsed powerlessly, screaming in agony. What was even weirder was that their bodies felt perfectly fine the next day.

With grueling manual labor combined with the extreme twisting sessions at night, their mentality was gradually worn down by the repetition.

But they were truly reaching their limits now.

"Damn it!! Run!!"

A gigantic monster resembling a haitai was furiously chasing them.

It had been terrified by Megalodria’s overwhelming presence, and when Megalodria told it to attack the two of them, it obeyed, attacking like its life was on the line.

A Special A-class monster—Taowu.

The appearance of a Special A-class monster was so dangerous that it required multiple high-ranking Awakened to face it together. Dealing with one was beyond what the two of them were capable of.

Boom!! Boom!!

Kwoong!!

Crack!!

A massive tree was uprooted as they were thrown aside.

"Damn it! This is insane! That psychopath!!"

"Pant… huff!!”

Even with bodies superior to ordinary humans, they had their limits. It didn't take long before Seo-Yoon, exhausted to the bone, tripped and fell.

"Seo-Yoon!!"

"Aaaah!"

She yelled, grabbing her leg as she landed on the ground.

"Run, Yoon-Seok!! Go get reinforcements!"

"Don't be ridiculous!!"

Yoon-Seok, shouting with all his might, dashed forward and scooped her up.

Bang!!

At the same time, a massive explosion rang out, and the ground beneath them slightly collapsed.

"Damn it!"

The sheer, overwhelming power created an incredible shockwave.

Even the highest-ranking Awakened individuals had their limits.

A Special A-Class monster, especially one like this, required defensive-type Awakened to block attacks while offensive Awakened continuously exhausted the monster’s energy to defeat it, all while taking turns. This was the only real option when the monsters couldn’t be harmed with standard firepower.

But right now, there were just the two of them.

The monster Taowu, which Davey presumably brought, was toying with the two of them, circling around as if they were prey. Eventually, as if he made up his mind, Yoon-Seok pulled out a small vial and poured it on her leg.

"Yoon-Seok? Yoon-Seok!!"

"Just go!! This is a recovery potion made by the Sacred Group. Tell them exactly what that bastard did!! And about summoning that monster too!! Go get reinforcements! I'll hold it off until then!"

"No, Yoon-Seok, that's a suicide mission!"

"If we stay here like this, we'll both die! Go! Now!!" he screamed.

He then gathered water from the surrounding area, creating a water blade.

"This way, you bastard!!"

- Kwooong!!

The creature, deranged with fear of Megalodria, didn't find Yoon-seok threatening in the least. If anything, it almost seemed to treat him like nothing as it approached them slowly.

"Just go!!!"

As he shouted at the top of his lungs, Seo-Yoon slowly got up, tears filling her eyes.

Bang!!

Taowu, intending to keep her from leaving, charged at her.

Yoon-Seok tried to stop it, but the monster ignored him, already targeting the relatively weaker Seo-Yoon.

"No!!!"

It happened in an instant.

Seo-Yoon knew she stood no chance against a monster that required dozens of people to tackle at once. She tightly closed her eyes, knowing that she was facing death. She figured that despite everything, that man really had been playing with them only to kill them in the end.

‘What a monstrous man.’

She gritted her teeth, bracing herself for the Taowu’s piercing strike.

Swoosh!!

Suddenly, an unexpected slicing sound echoed.

- Kwooooong!!

And with a terrible scream, the Taowu was knocked back.

"Yoon-Seok…?”

"..."

Seo-Yoon, startled, opened her eyes.

The Taowu had taken multiple steps back, now missing an arm. In front of Seo-Yoon stood Yoon-Seok, holding a massive water sword with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"What… What just happened…?"

A Special A-Class monster, which would normally require dozens of blows from attacking Awakened to sustain any real damage, had just lost its arm in a single blow.

"How… did this happen?"

Yoon-Seok stared blankly at the spinning, saw-like blade he was holding. He hadn’t noticed any change with his blade before that point.

- Kwooooong!!

"Yoon-Seok! Watch out!!"

The Taowu charged again with rage, and Seo-Yoon screamed while extending her hand.

Then an invisible force pushed the Taowu away into the air.

Thud!!

"Huh?"

Seo-Yoon stared at her own hand with a bewildered expression. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Even so, the two of them continued fighting without understanding what was happening to them.

The Special A-Class monster Taowu was already a well-known monster in China. One hundred and twenty high-ranking Awakened were involved in defeating it, which resulted in more than eighty casualties.

That was how dangerous a monster the Taowu was. It was comparable to the Headless Giant.

Yet they had somehow managed to deal critical hits to it, albeit with sneak attacks.

‘Unless the Taowu has weakened… did we grow inexplicably stronger in the past few days…?’

At the same time, Seo-Yoon noticed something emanating from Yoon-Seok’s body.

"Yoon-Seok, your body… that light."

"Huh? Oh? What's this?"

A faint glow enveloped both of their bodies.

"No wonder I’ve been feeling so full of energy…"

Filled with renewed strength, the two prepared to fight the Taowu, distancing themselves from it.

"Ha… haha…"

The tables had finally turned.

It was supposed to be an impossible fight. But after seeing what had happened, there was no reason for them to cower anymore.

"Bring it on, bastard. I don’t know what's going on, but let's see if I can solo a Special A-Class monster this time!"

The two were no longer fearful and lacking confidence. Davey, who had been watching them from afar, then snapped his fingers.

"Bingo."

He grinned wickedly.

"A new rift brings new possibilities. Whatever comes from it will be something entirely different from what's come before."

He formed a circle with his hands, looking at them through it like a telescope.

"Get used to it, loot goblins. So I can scoop up everything."

He wasn’t surprised in the slightest that they were growing stronger.

He had done this many times before; at Shakuntala Magic Academy, at Heins Academy with the professors, and more.

"But isn’t there a risk of side effects from making them this strong?" Illyna asked while resting her head on his shoulder and munching on a brownie.

She had finally rejoined at Davey’s side after spending days riding her bike through the city streets.

Unlike Aeria and Perserque, who had returned to Tionis since they couldn’t leave for long, Illyna seemed to have taken a liking to the many cultural aspects of Earth.

Especially computers.

Davey was worried she was getting addicted to games. He also noticed that she seemed to be neglecting her sword training lately.

"Side effects?"

"Yeah, I remember you saying that there was a way to make people stronger, but you didn’t do it for a reason. It’s not just…"

"I directly helped Maga and Grape grow.”

"Yeah? Yeah, I guess you did."

"But those two just didn’t know how to use their own strength. I simply provided them with the path to strength.”

Awakened individuals could grow over time, but there were also rare cases like those two who were complete from the beginning. And massaging them so that their mana flow would be better was always part of the process.

"So, you're planning on throwing them into that rift or whatever it is? Then you’ll take everything that comes out?"

"I need to get returns on my investment, after all.”

Illyna pulled his cheek in response.

"It’s soon going to be the season for the martial arts tournament in Tionis. Remember the fencing tournament that was held in the Duchy of Felicity? This time it's a martial arts competition. I heard from Perserque that you also got an invitation. There’s a lot of talk surrounding it, but technically you’d meet the requirements for participation."

Becoming a master in your teens was extraordinary enough as it is, even though one’s strength and physical body weren’t entirely connected as a typical Awakened.

"Me?"

"Yeah, and guess what? The prize for first place is…"

"Is…?"

Davey asked as Illyna smiled mischievously and gave him another kiss.

"This."

She showed him a box containing an outfit, with the front showing a model wearing it.

"If you get first place, Perserque, Aeria and I will all wear this. Oh, don't worry; each one’s different. We can't have Aeria wearing an animal costume, right?"

A personal reward. But for Davey, it was the ultimate reward.

"Oh my god… Goddess Freyja, have mercy."

Davey jumped to his feet.

"When is the martial arts competition?"

"About a month from now?"

Fire began blazing in his eyes.

"Get ready to put that one. I'll grind those guys down, get it all done, and start training."

"Take it easy… You're already overpowered."

"I always have to plan for the worst-case scenario."

Davey was someone who would use any excuse to push himself to extremes, even if he was already monstrously powerful. For someone so strong to train even further made Illyna feel sorry for the young contestants who were trying to nurture and pursue their dreams.

"This isn't the time to be sitting around—I need to get this done. I'll put those guys to work myself.”

The effect of the competition was starting to impact the two as well.

"Oops, sorry about that, you two."

Illyna smiled mischievously.

And they thought Davey was the devil…

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thought

The dragons all getting to look fresh as hell and have a spa day 😎

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