The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 647. An Aspect of Divinity

Another being that was called Malicious Spirit met death, just like Goumda. And this being’s name was Leora.

In Alf Online, there existed twelve Malicious Spirits. Since one of them had already been killed by Davey’s hands and converted into a weapon, only eleven were left. And then, there was another one right before his eyes—the blue-skinned bald creature he just killed.

The head of Leora was gradually cooling down in Davey’s grip without any resistance. Though blood no longer flowed from its neck, the way its eyes were glaring wide open at Davey was eerily unsettling.

“Aaaargh!!!” A creepy scream suddenly erupted from the creature’s mouth.

Shhh!!!

At the same time, black smoke began seeping out from its fallen body, slowly obscuring the surrounding view. It was a haze of lethal poison.

“Ugh!”

Then the poisonous smoke swiftly killed off some unexpected individuals, one of them being the guild master of the Black Wind Guild. Surprisingly, despite the deadly smoke eating away at Davey's body, it was unable to get beyond his holy power's defenses. Naturally, if it pushed further, his body's basic physical resistance to poison would probably be enough to repel it.

“Even the poison... doesn’t work...”

“You didn’t prepare enough, don’t you think?”

“Damn legendary item...”

Leora went silent, as if he mistakenly thought that a legendary item was some sort of artifact without knowing what it exactly was. Eventually, the poison smoke slowly began to dissipate. Being an artificial poison created by him, it could not sustain itself once its creator was dead.

[Ding!! The Lotus Guild has won the guild war against the Black Wind Guild!]

[According to the conditions, all rare skills and items of the defeated Black Wind Guild have been stored in the additional guild warehouse of the Lotus Guild!]

[According to the conditions, all characters of the defeated Black Wind Guild have been adjusted to level one and beginner jobs.]

Character deletion. There may seem to be some kindness in not erasing their IDs, but suddenly being demoted to level one would make it difficult for high-level players to continue playing the game. This was especially true for the Black Wind Guild, which had many enemies.

At first glance, it might seem like a merciful act in a game where rejoining was impossible. Critically speaking though, this act could be considered even more merciless than simple deletion. Of course, this would not be the case for genuinely low-leveled beginners.

With the death of the Black Wind Guild’s last member, the guild war officially ended.

Although the battle was not considered as a boss raid, which meant that Leora’s materials did not drop in bulk, there was still something salvageable—his head.

Davey tossed the two hardened pieces of Leora’s head into the Pocket Plane and watched as the surrounding space lit up. Two figures then approached from a distance, and Davey quietly observed them, as if scrutinizing if they were hurt in any way.

Illyna, despite some dust and scrapes on her clothes, looked fairly well, and Perserque maintained the same appearance as before.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Davey asked as soon as they were within earshot.

“What’s with that face?” Perserque asked teasingly. “Why do you look as if you hoped my clothes were ripped here and there for you to see something?”

“Stop teasing me, Perserque. If I wanted to see it, I would see it myself alone. I wouldn’t want anyone else to see it,” he replied with the same teasing lilt as she had.

“Huh?” As pink bloomed on Perserque’s cheeks, she didn’t say anything more to his playful retort.

Rumble!!!

Just then, they noticed a swiftly flying courier bird in the distance. It probably carried an urgent message due to the recently ended guild war. Essentially, the bird was no different from an online game’s whisper feature; it just had a different appearance.

But then Rainmaker suddenly bit the courier bird in one swift motion.

“Hey. Spit it out.” Davey rushed forward, grabbed the creature's neck with both hands, and threatened it by choking.

“Spit it out!” Davey commanded more firmly this time. And as he shook the beast wildly, it let out loud cries of pain. But it still stubbornly kept its mouth shut.

When did it come here to commit such a blunder while it was supposed to fight the enemy?

Just when Davey’s treatment of the Divine Beast became rougher...

Spit!!!

Rainmaker was unable to bear it any longer, so it spat out the courier bird. Or to be more precise, what was left of it—a piece of its leg..

“Is disrupting the communication system even possible?”

“This is a first for me too.”

Feeling utterly dumbfounded, Davey decided there was nothing he could do since the bird was already eaten. So he settled with smacking Rainmaker on the head.

– Grrr!!!

Despite the pain, the beast blissfully howled, making Davey kick its shell in disgust.

“Do anything reckless again, and you’re dead. Just dead.”

At Davey’s words, Rainmaker’s eyes narrowed, and its breathing became rough.

Davey then leaned in and whispered into its ear, “I will take care of you very well for a year.”

The moment these words were spoken, the beast's body stiffened up as if it was truly terrified.

“I won’t give you another chance. Got it?”

Rainmaker nodded frantically and vanished quickly as if it was fleeing from Davey.

In the eyes of the Black Wind Guild, it was like war. However, the synergy of the heavenly Beasts' abilities, the former Demon Lord's magic, and the divine sword's presence was undoubtedly a catastrophic calamity to the relatively low-spec users.

* * *

Davey woke up from his delightful sleep.

Meanwhile, there were Maga and Cat Tower, who felt proud of themselves for barely enduring the nightmare of an enormous workload. Global astonishment was ever present at their success in achieving the level of 60 for their crafting skills. And since they were the only ones holding such high ranks, many players were trying to find them. Rumors had even circulated that craftsman guilds were pouring in considerable funds to find out their secret. Obviously, the two of them were not interested. All they wanted was to take a long, well-deserved rest from crafting after putting up with that horrifying workload.

But they didn’t know what was about to happen to them.

"Ah... No, right?"

"Say it's not! Quick! The fuck? Does this even make sense?!"

Horror was common in both Cat Tower's terrified expression and Maga's curse-laden outburst.

That was because they were confronted by Davey presenting them with strange materials immediately upon connecting to the game.

"Please say it isn't so. Brother... Please."

It did not matter whether Davey was an NPC or not. Why they continued to be dragged along like this by Davey, they did not know. But one thing was certain. They had already stepped on a landmine, and it was too late to run.

Already aware of what it meant to be utterly grinded away, the two of them staggered back one step, then another.

"Don't worry. This time there's only one."

While it was true that Davey was presenting them just one item, it was still clearly from a Malicious Spirit.

"I think it was called Leora. This one's a bit better. So let's make something good," Davey said with a bright, enthusiastic smile.

But then why did Maga and Cat Tower feel like seeing a ghoul crawling out of hell?

Cat Tower picked up the material with trembling hands. "Please... Please..."

"Sister. Matter Transmutation... Level 64..."

"No!!!"

Following Maga's scream, Cat Tower's face turned pale.

"Blacksmith... Level 65..."

Hearing this, Cat Tower trembled as if he was about to vomit. He then grabbed the hem of Davey's trouser and begged, "Please... I want to stop now!"

"It's okay. Humans don't die that easily."

At Davey's words, the two of them realized they were in deep trouble.

* * *

Davey had nothing else to do in Alf Online.

So for a couple of days, Davey substituted the hardworking Amy and took care of the duties in the Heins Territory. Eventually, he decided to check the situation with Maga and Cat Tower and went to the underground workshop, the only small space in Tionis where Maga and Cat Tower could come over. And even though they could not leave the workshop, their presence here meant that it was indeed possible to interact with characters from Tionis.

But when Davey arrived, the sight that welcomed him was the two of them lying around as if waiting for the end of the world. On one table, there was a familiar set of earrings—the Chirvat Earrings.

Unlike the Corona Destroyer or the armor, its name was all that was known about this item. Because even with the power of the Abyss of Perseus, it was difficult to discern the earring that changed its hue periodically. Not because the earring was remarkable, but because its properties were sealed.

What could it be? Davey was curious, especially because the earrings were made from a high-quality material, yet apparently had no effect.

While pondering what to do, Davey received some special news from Maga.

"A dormant item, isn't it?" asked Maga.

"Dormant item?"

"Don't you know a dormant item? Items with outstanding performance reveal their effects randomly through the appraisal process. Of course, if it's made from a Malicious Spirit material, ordinary NPC appraisal might not work."

Could a player do it then? But that could not be the case, since the levels of appraiser players were currently too low, and appraising an item of this level was obviously difficult.

"Appraisal, huh..."

Since Davey did not have any in-game skills, he also could not appraise the item. That meant he needed to find someone who could do the appraisal for him.

"Maybe it's time to train someone else."

His murmuring startled Cat Tower and Maga, who were listening.

But Davey just ignored their reaction and continued to ponder further by asking, "But what's the principle behind appraisal?"

Even for a skill, there must surely be some basic conditions.

However, as doubtful as he was about many things, he wondered if it was possible to learn this appraisal here.

"Hmm? You have something interesting,” a surprising voice commented.

This made Davey turn his head instantly. And there, Davey saw someone who should not have been there at all, and she was staring at him just as he was staring at her.

"Huh!!" Cat Tower, startled, frozen on his spot with his eyes wide open. Given the prominent blush on his cheeks, it seemed like he might have fallen in love at first sight.

"How did you get here?"

"Since you did not come, I had to send a clone." She sighed coldly. "What will you do about Isildi's judgment?"

"Never mind that. What did you say earlier? Something interesting?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes. It feels like its power is still sealed. It can't be unlocked with just simple dispelling magic."

"Wait... Magic is your specialty, right?"

Reality distortion. Deception. If her power was beyond simple deception and reality distortion...

"Can you unseal this then?"

"To what extent do you want it?"

"The best."

"Hmm... That’s not difficult. But I can't do it with a clone. Come to the Divine Tree, and I'll do it."

It was Princess of the Abyss—Verdandi.

Hearing those words from her, Davey stood up abruptly. "Log off. I grant your early leave today."

Maga bolted as if she had been waiting for this moment, and Cat Tower, while unable to take her eyes off Verdandi, also vanished from his spot.

"And those two are?"

"Foreigners."

"Ah... Neltarid's breed, huh." Verdandi, looking directly at Davey, then said plainly, "Don't trust Neltarid too much, okay?"

"Who? Me? Are you out of your mind? Trust what needs to be trusted," he spoke chillingly.

* * *

Exhausted, Maga threw the connection device away as soon as she logged out.

"Haah... Haah..."

It had been a long time since she felt like she was suffocating from fear. The promise was a promise. But that person could not be anything but wicked! The problem was that she was fulfilling it without any hesitation. But, of course, he had not broken his promise either. He was providing more support than necessary and considering everything else. Still! There should have been a limit!

"Haah... Going to the game feels like going to work..."

Why would she, a lady from a high-class family, ever lack money to begin with? She had never needed to work. Even then, she knew well about the pleasure of labor. Not that it should be to this extent. So even if Davey was a man introduced by her trustworthy friend, Oxygen, she still found it to be a bit too much. Yet she found herself reluctantly relieved by his honest desire and his adherence to promises.

She had become unable to trust people, whether men or women, due to the drastic differences in how they treated her, almost to the point of being called insane. But with Davey, she felt irresistibly sucked in.

Standing up, she slowly turned her head and stretched her stiff body, muttering, "I wonder how Go Jin-Seok is doing..."

From that point on, things seemed to have quieted down, which meant some measures must have been taken. And it was something that she needed to further observe.

"Maybe I'll go shopping."

With a cold expression, she ran her hands roughly through her hair and unbuttoned one of her pajama buttons.

Suddenly, her smartphone, which was placed far on the table, lit up and let out a buzzing sound. But in her utter exhaustion, she failed to notice it.

Buzz... Buzz...

The caller's name displayed on her phone was:

[Our Holy Princess]

That was the name on her contact.