The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Flash! Flash!

A bright light shot through the dense forest. By the time the sound reached Davey, it was already too late. He quickly dived into the thick jungle, dodging the arrows aiming for his life. Escaping Apollo's relentless barrage was nearly impossible. He lived up to his reputation as a master of guerrilla warfare, far more threatening than his close combat.

Every arrow was potentially fatal. Even though his arrows were made of just wood and metal, Davey could feel how powerful each shot was.

‘Where are you? Where the hell are you, you damned pointy-ears?’ Davey thought, suppressing his rising fury as he maneuvered through the forest.

Suddenly, a flash of light—two arrows—came at him again. Time seemed to slow as Davey's reflexes kicked in. He twisted his body to dodge the incoming arrows, transforming Divine Bow Brunaak into a longbow at the same time. He then swiftly pulled on the string.

Zzzt!!!

An arrow infused with massive amounts of mana materialized, and Davey shot it in the direction of the attack that was obliterating everything in its path. The hot wind of the jungle swirled around him, but Davey didn't care.

‘As Bowmaster Robin Hood once said, you don’t calculate the wind, you make it work to your advantage!’

[Wind Circle]

Boom!!

The explosion felt like a bomb going off, shaking the ground. Davey briefly sensed Apollo’s mana and crouched without a second thought, pointing in that direction.

‘You’re there.’

Boom!!

Space tore apart as if it became an arrow itself.

Apollo’s levels of prowess in archery and guerrilla tactics were unmatchable. However, Davey had encountered Apollo before. He had already consumed part of his skills, though he still kept a fraction. The talent he possessed was far beyond Davey's natural abilities.

Davey pursued him in his own way.

Flash!

Another flash of light zoomed toward him, a shrill whistle trailing behind. It was absurd that a mere arrow could break the sound barrier.

Three arrows came from the front, while two more followed from the sides, fifty meters apart.

An ordinary person would’ve been overwhelmed, unable to tell where their opponent was, let alone determine if there were multiple opponents or not.

But Davey knew there was only one opponent to face. He knew this tactic all too well.

His tactic was none other than a time lag attack.

He fired his arrows like curveballs, shooting them in different directions and making them reach his target at different times. It was shocking how Apollo fired so accurately without hesitation. The deadly precision of each shot was terrifying, clearly meant to kill Davey.

‘I wouldn’t expect any less from him,’ Davey thought.

Without hesitation, Davey pulled Brunaak and fired directly toward the arrows imbued with divinity. Using Brunaak’s characteristic of solidifying pockets of air, he stepped off a floating foothold and soared upward. He drew more mana into his bow and pulled again. This time, he held onto three arrows.

Twang!! Twang!! Thwip!!

Davey figured he could do the same as Apollo. He fired multiple arrows in quick succession. It was nearly impossible to locate Apollo’s position, but Davey wasn't only relying on a single skill.

‘There you are.’

Boom!

Davey destroyed the floating platforms in midair, using Brunaak in one hand while forming the divine spear Longinus in the other. He hurled the spear toward where Apollo was.

"Hmph?!"

Apollo’s exclamation echoed with confusion as Davey seized control of the battlefield. In no time, Davey had aimed another arrow toward him.

"I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

"What?! That's bullshit!" Apollo shouted, panic seeping into his voice.

He attempted to escape, but with Brunaak transformed into a short bow, Davey pulled it faster than Apollo could react. Their distance was too close for Apollo to dodge.

Yet, despite his… unique personality, Apollo was a being that had the abilities worthy of a hero.

“Whew… I almost got into real trouble there,” Apollo muttered, his breath ragged.

“Tsk.”

“Did you just try to kill me?”

“I guess so,” Davey replied, unfazed.

“Hahaha, well, too bad for you. You’ve still got a long way to go before you can take me down,” he said while laughing. One of his main skills was to provoke opponents even in the face of death to shake them up. However, his face had become pale.

A moment ago, Apollo had dodged an arrow that should have been impossible to avoid. It was a move only possible with perfect mastery of one’s abilities. Davey knew it was time to switch tactics when Apollo could avoid attacks like that.

Davey tossed Brunaak back into the Pocket Plane and transformed Longinus into a bamboo spear.

“You’re the second person I’m itching to stab with this,” Davey taunted.

“Haha... This joke is a bit... huh?!”

Before Apollo could react, Davey had charged, driving the bamboo spear toward him. Apollo barely managed to unsheathe his dagger, parrying the thrust and counter attacking. Multiple clashes happened in an instant.

The two were determined to kill their opponent. However, unlike before, the fight was no longer one-sided. Talking seemed useless in their clash; both figured it’d be better to hurl another attack if they had the time to talk.

As Apollo began to falter under the pressure, Davey lowered his stance and drove in deep. Apollo's skills in close combat were formidable, but nowhere near his mastery in archery or guerrilla warfare—Davey had a clear advantage in the current scenario.

Clang!!

In the end, Davey knocked away his dagger with the sheer force of his spear. He then subdued him and aimed his spear at Apollo’s throat.

“Let’s try that,” Davey said.

“T-That…?”

“Yes, that.”

Sensing his determination, Apollo made a strange smile.

“Ah… Ahahaha. Too bad—you still have a long way to go before you can kill me.”

“Ahahahahahahaha!!”

Apollo sighed as Davey laughed out loud. “Your personality is truly... something else.”

“Let’s wrap things up then.”

Davey knew he just had to drive the spear in. Once he did, it’d be pretty much the first time he truly beat a hero. Just as Davey was about to finish it, his eyes flashed.

Whoosh!!

As Apollo twitched his fingers, the traps he had laid activated. Mithril restraints imbued with spirit mana shot out and enveloped Davey, lifting him off the ground. Davey instantly tried to consume the spirit mana trapped within the mithril with Predatory Assimilation, but Apollo was faster. He raised the crossbow attached to his wrist and aimed it directly at Davey’s throat.

“You still have a long way to go, Davey,” Apollo sneered, a smug grin spreading across his face. “You should never let your guard down when killing an enemy.”

His advice was sound, but Davey didn’t flinch. He maintained a calm face.

“I know very well, you damn pointy-ears.”

Whoosh… Squelsh!!

"Gaaa?!”

His eyes widened in shock as an arrow pierced through his back.

“Cough…!! D-Damn... you...”

Davey had used Apollo’s specialty, time lag attacks, on him. They were essentially delayed arrows that were shot ahead of time so that opponents wouldn’t be able to track them, while making them reach their target whenever the shooter wanted them to. It was theoretically impossible to achieve, since one would have to calculate the air flow and the forces that would affect the arrow throughout its entire trajectory.

One of the arrows during their earlier exchange had now just arrived. As Apollo collapsed, the mithril restraints holding Davey dissolved. He then stepped forward, spear still in hand, and pressed the tip to Apollo’s neck. He was panting from the fight.

“Phew... That was tough,”

“Davey!”

He had achieved a flawless victory. He didn’t know if Apollo was really trying to kill him, but he had conducted training as if he was in real combat. And he was sure of his victory.

After wrapping up the fight, Davey glanced toward the source of the voice, where he saw Daphne and Divine Physician Hypocria approaching.

“Hypocria,” Davey greeted.

“I told you to be careful…”

Hypocria sighed, ignoring Apollo who lay wounded and groaning on the ground. Instead, she focused on Davey, her eyes narrowing at the bruises and torn flesh covering his body—the mithril restraints had clearly taken a serious toll on him. Even though they were just injuries from mithrils, Davey now realized that they could’ve turned to fatal wounds.

“Congratulations. You've reached a new level,” Hypocria said with a satisfied smile as she applied medicine to his wounds.

“Thank you, but it does feel a bit bittersweet. By the way, where’s Per?”

“Rho Aias is looking after her. It seems Perserque has quite the talent for dark magic.”

Aeria was still training in elemental magic with Yuriana the Spirit Queen, and Illyna was continuing her practical training with the help of somebody else. Perserque and Illyna said they were training to defend themselves, but Davey had a feeling they weren’t going to be leaving anytime soon.

“Surtr's been looking for you. Seems he’s ready now,” Hypocria added.

Surtr, the legendary blacksmith—creator of the divine sword Caldeiras as well as Red and Blue Ribbon.

Davey knew exactly why he had been called.

* * *

Clank! Clank!

His forge was always on a rocky mountain. He was known for procuring his own materials, which was most likely why he put his forge in the mountains.

“You’re here.”

As Davey peeked into the hot forge, he heard Surtr welcome him. He saw him shirtless and dripping with sweat, swinging his hammer relentlessly at the metal before him. Davey then took off his top and went through the tools nearby as he asked a question.

“Where’s Red and Blue Ribbon?” Davey asked.

“I have them ready to work on.”

“I thought you’d already started.”

‘I thought he was more professional than this?’ Davey thought.

“You thought I was going to personally touch something you completed? Stop saying nonsense and pass me that hammer over there.”

Surtr then stopped what he was doing and guided Davey to the blazing furnace.

“You were trying to amplify the firepower with Shane’s mythical beast, weren’t you?”

Groundburst Dragon Shandra Minea.

Davey believed he could use his flame on Blue and Red Ribbon.

“Well, yes, since I’d need to work with natural fire. Despite that constraint, the temperature needed to be hot enough as well.”

Davey didn’t think the two would even get slightly warmed in mediocre temperatures.

“That’s a shame... I was hoping to see its full power.”

“I didn’t expect the mythical beast summoning to fail.”

It was the same thing with the spirits. With the Spirit Queen Yuriana currently in the hall, Davey couldn't summon his contracts. It seemed like the two couldn’t be in the same place at once. When he did try to summon his, he could only summon her spirits.

Surtr muttered about how unexpected it was and opened the furnace door. An unimaginable wave of heat burst forth.

“This...”

"Well, this isn’t a bad idea either. But if there's something better, it makes sense to go for that instead.”

At his words, Davey instinctively reached out toward the flame. But Surtr grabbed his arm and shook his head.

"Planning to roast your hand, Davey?”

"I can't work if I don’t check the heat myself," Davey replied.

The temperature of the fire was crucial. Davey knew better than anyone that he wouldn’t be able to recraft Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon without the right heat.

Surtr just shook his head. He then grabbed a pair of tongs, the metal infused with the devil mana of the Death Lord, and plunged them into the blazing furnace. A moment later, he pulled out two glowing red-hot phantom swords—Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon.

Normally, putting a completed sword back into the fire was usually for fixing completely broken ones. But that wasn’t the case for the two.

“Why’d you just leave them inside?” Davey asked.

"I could tell that you made these masterpieces. They’re built to withstand heat that would break most blades. Unfortunately, that meant I ended up wasting all my time preparing.”

He chuckled and gave Davey a hearty slap on the back.

"Been a while since we worked together like this, hasn’t it?"

"Yes," Davey agreed.

Even though it had been a while since the two met, neither of them shared any small talk. Both of them just worked on what had to be done.

"Shall I assist you?"

"Now where’s that bullshit idea coming from?"

"Pardon?"

“Do it yourself.”

Davey just looked at him, stunned by his answer.

"They’re your creations. If you call yourself a craftsman, then you should do your work with your own hands. Don’t pass it off onto others.”

"I don’t usually don’t get on my high horse with my masters.”

“Davey.”

He then tapped his shoulders.

“It’s time for me to step down. There’s nothing more that the others and I can teach you.”

“What do you mean there isn’t any more? There’s still…”

“Oh please, Davey! Stop leeching off of me! How much more are you going to mooch off of me?”

“W-What?!”

“I’m going to step down. Well, the thing is… we can’t match your growth!”

Though Surtr spoke with a touch of humor, Davey knew that his growth truly had accelerated due to his Predatory Assimilation characteristic of consuming talents. He had taken in what would normally take others decades—or even centuries—to achieve, and done it in only a month.

The heroes' training methods were intense, of course, but they paid off. Davey thought about what Surtr told him again and looked back at what he had done since his time here.

He had learned Rho Aias’s unique Death Lord transcendental magic, honed his holy power under Daphne’s guidance, and sharpened his combat instincts through training with Apollo and the King of Assassinations Hermesia. They had all willingly shared their talents and abilities with him, as if they were trying to pass on everything they had.

Davey pulled himself together, fully aware of why the heroes had given him everything they had, and of how little time he had left.

“...”

Davey stood silently for a moment. Then, he gripped the hammer tightly in his hand.

"From this moment on, I no longer see you as my disciple. From now on, you are my equal as a craftsman—do you understand?"

That last sentence struck Davey deeply.