The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

In the Divine Tree’s Land, three women faced each other.

One was Verdandi, who had once been regarded as one of the six beauties but had since faded into obscurity. Not only was she the older sister of Skuld’s, but she was also the sister of Urd, who had fallen into the Abyss.

The second woman was Al, the World Tree. And unlike the former demigod of the Divine Tree's Land, Yggdrasil, Al was theoretically the most powerful being. Even if Davey used all his strength, he could not easily defeat Al in the Divine Tree’s Land without the Power of Taboo. Her power was simply superior and vast.

The third and last woman in the Divine Tree’s Land was Yun Hee-Ryeong, or more precisely, Isildi. She was the Princess of the Abyss, who had separated her instinct from rationality, leaving her as a half-being with only rationality left.

With no other company apart from each other, the three women sat on wooden chairs at a table, staring at one another.

"The Divine Tree’s Land is basically a prison."

"Then letleave this place immediately. I need to return to Ja-Seong and Hee-Ah."

"But if you go back now, you might end up killing those you so desperately want to protect."

Isildi’s brows furrowed at Verdandi’s sarcastic remark.

"Verdandi."

"You’re different from me, Isildi. I hold this book and continue to kill my instincts, while you cannot do such a thing."

"Was it your power that separated my instinct?"

"Not what I expected, but essentially, yes. Unlike the other Princesses of the Abyss, you're in a similar situation to mine," Verdandi murmured bitterly. She then looked at her firmly, saying, "So stay here for the tbeing."

"Until when?"

The real debate was primarily between Verdandi and Isildi. As for the World Tree, Al, her role was mainly to make sure these two disparate remnants of the Abyss did not stir up unnecessary trouble.

"Do you know much about Neltarid?"

"..."

Silence was Isildi’s only response to Verdandi's question. But the lack of answer didn’t faze Verdandi, who went on to say, "Right now, three gods in this world are in a strife as they vye for power and control. And in our homeland of the Abyss, the God Thanatos is just waiting for revenge, his body still dismantled.”

"..."

"Then, there’s Freyja, the goddess of this land. She is the one manipulating Davey, who brought you here. And lastly, the God Neltarid, who has begun to manifest in another dimension.”

“...”

"The combat between these three gods means I need you now."

"Why would you need me?"

"When Thanatos disappears, I need someone who will protect me... and my son..."

Asking this from Isildi just meant she had the power and strength to do it.

"The world has changed. In the past, the world was turned over periodically among the gods, but Goddess Freyja, who won the Three-Gods War, is slowly changing the flow by twisting it. It’s up to Davey, who is nearly no different from her servant, to cut down the variables that are created in the process."

Isildi didn’t say anything at the mention of Davey. After all, she already knew damn well.

Davey O’Rowane was a guardian of Goddess Freyja. He was immensely strong; he was practically an incarnate of a portion of her power. For sreason, he was drawing out all his power under ssort of conditions, but that also meant he was fraught with great variables.

"It's a pity. Even Thanatos has a sad story. He’s clamoring for revenge after being robbed of his rights, but he is directing his revenge on the wrong target.”

"Explain it tosimply. My head isn't good enough to understand what you're saying."

"Long story short, the war of the Three-Gods will intensify. The defeat of Thanatos may be inevitable, but what comes after that is a problem."

"What... What are you plotting?"

"Me?" Verdandi gave a sly smile. But then the expression vanished almost as soon as it appeared on her face.

"Surviving by keeping promises... To do that, I need Davey's power. World Tree Al, you are ultimately in the sposition as I am, aren’t you?"

"I won't deny that. However, you shouldn't think that Davey is unaware of your schemes."

At Al's nonchalant comment, Verdandi just shrugged her shoulders, uncaringly saying, "I'm already tired of that assumption."

"Remember, it’s fine for now. But it would be sensible to consider whether Neltarid really just wants to aid Goddess Freyja, leading to this situation."

Goddess Freyja likely knew about this too. Yet, for sreason, she allowed Neltarid to run amok.

But how could a mere being comprehend the vast transcendent will? After all, the transcendent will was something that did not exist yet also existed. Such was the nature of a god.

Verdandi fell silent, no longer keeping the conversation alive. Isildi might not have been aware, but she was a slightly unusual Princess of the Abyss. For she actually held just a bit more memory of her being the Princess of the Abyss.

She did not know exactly what the war of the Three-Gods was like. However, she could occasionally catch a glimpse of unexpected memories from Thanatos through periodic memories extracted from astrology, which was her speciality.

The first to be attacked and lose divine favor was Neltarid—the being that also signaled the start of the war.

* * *

Cat Tower regarded his contract with Davey as something akin to an NPC fate, which existed in Alf Online according to Hydro and Oxygen. NPC fate allowed players to clear special quests of higher NPCs and earn significant rewards. Of course, this had caused no serious problems in the game. In fact, it was even properly rewarding players for their efforts, making it an additional benefit to them.

However, that was only the case with soulless NPCs created by Neltarid.

Still, Cat Tower appreciatively accepted the massive expandable pouch Davey handed to him and went straight to the workshop, maybe because he had made the decision to see the contract he had signed in a more positive light.

Of course, Hydro, watching such behavior, went up to Davey and said, "Big brother."

Was Davey older than him? Hydro wasn’t entirely sure, but it was irrelevant anyway.

"You're trusting that guy too much. I suggest you don't trust outsiders too easily."

"Don't worry. It doesn't matter even if he runs off,” he said as he waved the contract in the air. "See? We have a contract like this."

The contract was not just mere words; it was a documented agreement. But Hydro and Oxygen did not seem to fully grasp how scary of a thing it could be.

"Um, Sir. Does that document... Does it really mean anything?" She gave Davey a doubtful look. "You know we're not people of this world."

Hydro and Oxygen felt as though Tionis was more than just a special field of a game; rather, they felt as if it was another dimension. They also felt like Davey was a human being rather than just binary data. And while it was difficult to prove theoretically, they had genuinely felt it themselves.

"To be honest, I could just run away to our world if things get tough here."

Davey nodded his head in response to Oxygen’s remark. "That's true."

"But does the document have any meaning? It seems to be only effective when communication is possible and under the jurisdiction of the slaws."

That would certainly be the case with a typical document. However, Davey’s contract with Cat Tower was not just any other document.

"Don't worry. Whether it's by him or me, promises must be kept."

Promises were meant to be honored by both parties, not just one. That was why the document had its effect.

Had he refused, Davey would have found someone else, but Cat Tower did not decline his offer and signed the contract. Did it look like a mere document? The transcendental binding magic [Lord of Geas] was also used once on Belial, a demon and loyal servant of Perserque. And this case with Cat Tower was no different to that.

Think he could run away? There was no chance of that. Not when Cat Tower could neither quit the gnor abandon his blacksmithing profession without Davey’s permission.

"And he could ask for support from you that's beyond his control."

Davey pointed to one of the items on the contract.

"Capability... That's harsh."

It stipulated support within the range of Davey’s ability. Which meant if the capability fell short, support could be withdrawn, and the agreement between them would be adjusted.

Hydro gave Davey a pale look at the explanation he gave him.

"So one guy is already set. When is the other coming?"

At Davey’s question, Oxygen looked flustered. "Well... It seems there was a dispute in a nearby village..."

"Ugh. I knew that crazy woman would do that," Hydro grumbled, openly expressing his dislike for the woman.

But Oxygen’s only response was a pinch to his cheek and nothing else.

"Ouch!"

"Don't say mean things, Ji-Hwan!"

"To be honest, I haven't said much because she's in the sguild, but she's a habitual troublemaker!"

At the distaste Hydro expressed, Oxygen could only smile awkwardly at Davey. She then said, "Will you wait here? It seems like an unauthorized PK has occurred, so… I'll go and bring them."

Oxygen hurriedly summoned a metallic ostrich from her inventory and hopped onto it. She then left the scene, speeding away with the ostrich as her fast ride.

"It's not nearby?"

"Seems like it's the next village over."

"Then I'll have a look around this village. Joinonce you've sorted it out."

Davey turned his attention to Perserque and Illyna and nodded at them. "Shall we go, ladies?"

"Of course."

"I want to ctoo."

* * *

"Miss!! There isn't much tleft before the appointment arranged by the Chairman, and here you are logging into the system! Please hurry up! You need to get your hair done and put on your makeup!"

Maga nonchalantly ended the call, uncaring about the secretary’s loud outcry.

"In my early twenties, and they're arranging a marriage for me? Have they lost their minds? I'm never stepping out for such a thing. What era are we in to even consider political marriages?"

Though packaged with various explanations, in the end, it was nothing less than a political marriage. Maga, or Han Yu-Na, felt disgusted. So with irritation, she looked at the men in front of her and the young man they were guarding.

"...”

"What? If you have something to say, just say it, brat."

The men's faces crinkled in displeasure at her unfiltered words.

The well-groomed young man frowned. He then eventually said after a couple of seconds of silence, "You still can't act with grace, Han Yu-"

"It's a virtual reality, you bastard. Don't callby my nas you please," she answered irritably, not trying to hide her anger one bit. "Move! Looking at you is enough to makesick. I'm busy right now, got it? So leave while I'm still asking nicely, yeah?"

The young man tilted his head as if considering the proposition.

When a few more men began to surround Maga, the people around them started looking on with intrigue, as though they found the situation rather entertaining.

"What's this?"

"Is this an unauthorized Player Killing? Is it really a PK?"

Ignoring the murmuring from the bystanders as if they were just bees buzzing in the background, the young man firmly grabbed Maga’s hand.

"Cwith me. Do we not have things left to say to each other?"

"Things to say? When did you start spouting such nonsense? I have nothing left to say to a bastard like you! Letgo, or I'll make you regret it!"

Despite futile struggling and yelling, she did not have the strength to overpower the young man. Seemingly dissatisfied at being dragged along, she quickly pulled out a large potion bottle from her belongings and hurled it at the man.

The bottle she threw was one of the alchemists' offensive skills called 'Pain Drinker,' a poison damage spell. Of course, no sooner had the bottle hit the young man, a muscular man nearby quickly cast a spell to remove any status ailments.

"Be careful, young master. Logging out forcibly could lead to significant losses."

The young man nodded silently at the warning given.

"You fucking piece of trash, let go of me!" she cursed and cursed as she continued to struggle.

This only seemed to irritate the man further. Unable to control his ire, he slapped her hard in the face so suddenly that she didn’t even have tto even blink when it happened.

At the strong impact, her head spun. Although there was hardly any actual pain because they were in a virtual reality, the dour and surly look on her face still hardened.

"Must I spell it out for you to understand?"

"See? It's your rotten behavior. This is why you got dumped, you son of a bitch."

"Who said so?"

She was notorious for her irascible demeanor, but this young man, she had the misfortune to date before, was filthy beyond reason.

He disgusted her. And it was not just because of one reason. For one thing, he was an excessively entitled man with a vile penchant for violence and with a severe lack of empathy and compassion. On top of that, he also had a history of womanizing, which she loathed above all. Oh, Maga could probably go on forever listing the things that made the man repulsive.

"I'm utterly disgusted that you went through more than twenty women while we were together. There's nothing left to say between us, and it's all been dealt with by my family, so just get lost,” she snapped back coldly and slapped the young man's hand away.

"I could only meet you here, so I had to cto this filthy place. Just cwithquietly."

"Eat shit, bastard."

At her icy response, the young man tilted his head, seemingly unruffled. And then, his high-level-equipped bodyguards overtly activated their PK status to pressure her.

Now was not the tfor this. Someone more important was waiting nearby. She internally fretted over what to do. She had already sent a message the moment the quarrel began, so she needed to wrap this up before Oxygen arrived to keep her real identity hidden.

"Want to fight? Catthen, you bastards. I may be a producer class, but I can still handle a PK."

At her provocation, the men lunged at her, with subduing seemingly being their goal.

It was clear they were targeting her online since they could not meet her offline.

With high-level users surrounding her, there was obviously not much she could do, apart from dodging and running.

The commotion gained more traction to the point that the guards from the village started to gather on the location. But it seemed like the young man's bodyguards had bribed them beforehand as though they had anticipated this to happen. And so they still showed sly readiness even in the unexpected turn of events.

It was undoubtedly the use of a 'Bribery' special skill indeed.

So when the guards didn’t bother to intervene, it relieved her immensely that she directed Oxygen to a different location. She was scheduled to meet Oxygen soon after all. So if Maga hadn’t done so, Oxygen could’ve gotten entangled with the mess too.

And she knew the guy in front of her was a vile one. Anyone not to his liking was likely going to be relentlessly hounded and harassed.

But what they had not anticipated was becoming clearer by the minute.

A mage, who was pressing on her, released a wide-reaching spell that barely missed her but inadvertently hit a bystander. While bribe money might make the guards turn a blind eye, it could also activate a penalty where unrestricted PK gets enabled. And so anyone could be targeted, and the presence of enemies could increase.

It was a sort of gbalancing, discouraging the reckless use of money to enable PK. But that had little effect on the intentions of these aggressors, and as expected, they were not concerned in the slightest. It was just other players who might take offense.

A great explosion blasted and someone had been hit.

Maga cursed internally, narrowly dodging a vicious blade's trajectory. But the attacker anticipated her movements and stepped forward, continuing the assault.

Her eyes widened as the attack nearly caught her. But the striking blade never reached her. A young man stepped from behind her and effortlessly pulled her backward, causing her to tumble to the ground.

Then, with a smooth flick of the wrist, the young man deflected the attacker's sword.

"What?"

Surprised, she caught sight of the newcomer. Black hair, crimson eyes—almost foreign in appearance, but undoubtedly striking.

The composed young man then spoke, his voice loud and clear, "Fighting is one thing, but you should at least know who you're attacking before you proceed?"

He was smiling broadly, but she felt a chilling viciousness behind the smile of this black-haired, red-eyed young man.