The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1046

“What... in the world are those?”

“Are those members of the 268th batch?”

“You idiot, of course they're not!”

The apprentice knights of the 270th class, staring at the monstrous figures that were casually lounging in chairs, struggled to process what they were seeing. A creeping sense of fear wrapped around them, sending shivers down their spines.

“Can we even take on things like those in a fight?”

“Aren’t those literally just evil beasts sitting there where our seniors belong? What the hell are evil beasts doing here?”

“Sometimes they slip through, but... judging by the atmosphere, they’re not just any typical evil beasts.”

No ordinary evil beast would be sitting down so confidently with their legs crossed, as if they owned the place. At the very least, the monsters before them clearly weren’t mindless beasts.

“Is Urkan still shaking?”

The one who was supposed to be the most reliable among them was still trembling in his boots, shaking like a leaf. It was beyond frustrating.

“What the hell did he see to end up like this?”

“Damn it... Damn it. Damn it!” Urkan was curled up, chewing on his nails, muttering the same words over and over. Expecting any kind of teamwork from him seemed pointless.

“Don’t lose your nerve! The seniors can’t come here to interfere, and there are only three of those things. We have five people! That means if four of us distract them while one of us sneaks in to touch the core, we will win.”

“Well, who’s going in?”

Everyone spent a moment looking at each other in silence.

“I’ll do it. I’m the fastest when it comes to speed,” a girl specializing in wind spirits said as she stretched lightly, preparing for the hundred meter dash of her life. “The moment you guys lure them away, I’ll run in and finish this. Be ready.”

Even though the evil beasts[1] had a dangerous appearance, they weren’t making any moves despite having already spotted the trainees. A strange sense of unease had pervaded the area, but the apprentices weren’t shaken just yet.

“Alright, then. The first move is ours!”

A young mage conjured a massive fireball. Then, without hesitation, he hurled it straight at the three creatures.

A thunderous explosion rocked the area. For a mere 4th Circle mage, his firepower was frankly impressive. Smoke instantly engulfed the three beasts, and the four apprentice knights shouted in unison.

“Move!!”

The wind spirit mage wrapped herself in a whirlwind before taking off at full speed, and the others braced themselves for the beasts to react.

But as the smoke slowly cleared, despite taking a direct hit from a massive fireball, the three creatures remained unharmed. The apprentice knights froze in a mix of disbelief and relief. Then one of the three monsters—the pristine white rabbit—stood up.

With that, everything changed.

Crack!!

Rumble!!

The ground shattered. From the depths of the earth, smaller muscular rabbits erupted forth, violently burrowing their way out like a flood.

“Kyuu.”

“Kyuu.”

They let out a heavy, ominous cry.

Then, in unison, they locked onto the apprentice knights with their piercing gazes. The next moment, they flexed their grotesquely bulging muscles, and charged forward like the mad beasts they were.

“R—!”

The apprentices' confidence, their knowledge—faced with such an assault, everything was thrown aside. Only a single, primal instinct screamed in their minds.

“Run!!!”

Thud, thud, thudthudthud!!

Like a monstrous tidal wave, the horde of white rabbits surged forward, shaking the very ground as they bore down on the terrified trainees.

* * *

A tremendous noise could be heard erupting from the direction of the core. Among those who hadn’t yet reached that far, the only one still in control of his senses was their team leader, Barus.

He was currently facing off with Illyna.

“Well then, I said I wouldn’t interfere directly, so I guess I’ll be on my way. Be careful, junior.”

“Wait a minute, senior!”

When she turned to leave, Barus gathered a swirling black energy in his palm and shouted, “I can’t just let you walk away like this.”

“Excuse me?”

“We refuse to be handicapped because you seniors decided to underestimate us.”

She was honestly speechless.

“My team will retrieve the core, no matter what. Regardless of how confident you seniors are, it’d be best not to underestimate us. So, fight us properly.”

He was making decisions rooted in complete ignorance of whatever was happening inside.

Illyna sighed. “So? You really want me to fight you?”

“Yes.”

Her strength had always been the subject of much debate. Some claimed she was a Swordmaster, while others argued she had surely surpassed that level. Personally, Barus believed that she was just a particularly skilled Swordmaster.

Though he had struggled against the golem earlier due to a bad matchup, if she were just a typical Master-level warrior like expected, he figured he wouldn’t have a problem.

“I’ve beaten a Swordmaster before.”

Illyna let out a tired sigh. “If you want to brag like that, maybe try beating some of your other seniors first.”

Illyna turned away without hesitation. Unfortunately, her complete disregard ignited a surge of anger in him.

He forcefully stomped his foot into the ground, causing the entire area to tremble violently as an earthquake erupted around them.

“My team will win this mock battle either way. So, I want to see your strength for myself, senior,” he said firmly.

Just when Illyna was about to give a frustrated scowl, she suddenly lifted a hand to her ear.

“What? Are you kidding me? Why are you dumping your job on me?” She seemed to be communicating with someone, followed by a deep sigh.

“I’m willing to show my full strength to a senior known to be stronger than the average Swordmaster,” Barus said.

Illyna simply plucked a twig from a nearby tree with resignation and pointed it at him. “Alright, come on then. I’ll entertain you.”

That small gesture sent Barus over the edge.

“I want to see Caldeiras! Draw your divine sword, senior!! Just how much do you think you can belittle me?!”

The surroundings surged even more violently, as if resonating with his agitated will.

“When someone grows too strong, arrogance is inevitable.” She twirled the twig lazily through the air.

Slice.

Yet the result was anything but lazy and casual.

A faint shimmer of light rippled from the twig, and in an instant, the earthquake was stopped completely.

“W-What in the world...?” Barus collapsed onto his knees, staring in shock.

‘She just cut through the source of the earthquake with a tiny twig?’

His ability as a Special One allowed him to implant power cores that generated massive vibrations.

Precisely speaking, he didn’t command the earth to quake—he embedded a power core that disrupted its balance, causing a ripple effect. Having mastered that power, he could implant the cores into anything he wanted.

The earth. The air. Even the human body. There was nothing he couldn’t shake. He had even defeated a Swordmaster in such a fashion before.

Yet, no one—not a single person, aside from him—had ever been able to see those cores, let alone interfere with them.

“Good talent, lots of effort,” Ilyna said while walking up to him.

Having his origin of power forcibly neutralized left him dazed, his consciousness fading. Such a thing had simply never happened to him before.

“If you were just a little more humble, you’d be pretty amazing.”

With those final words, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

“Hey, this guy just passed out.”

- Leave him. We’re planning to keep this strategic battle going for a few days anyway.

Regardless of whether or not he was conscious, the scheming of the 268th class seniors was far from over.

* * *

“Damn it! We lost all our rations.”

“Shit! There's not even a decent water source here! Where the hell are the emergency supplies we were given?!”

“We didn’t bring any, because we thought this would be over by now!!”

“This is insane!!”

Having barely escaped after sacrificing three of their own—including Urkan, their stealth specialist—to the monstrous evil beasts, the remaining three apprentice knights had regrouped with their then-unconscious comrades outside.

It was almost as if their seniors had predicted the exact scenario; they had conveniently left all the unconscious ones piled in one spot before disappearing.

As long as the training wasn’t over, they couldn’t leave this forest. Admitting defeat was far too bitter a pill to swallow—they had to endure and win. Clearly driven by sheer frustration, they stubbornly clung to their initial goal of a swift victory.

“Dammit, we don’t have enough information to handle this.”

“Listen, if we keep burning energy at this rate without any supplies, we’re all gonna collapse sooner or later!”

“This is driving me crazy!”

The awoken apprentice knights clutched their heads in despair. Then, turning to their teammates who had come out from inside the core area, they demanded answers.

“Hey! What the hell happened in there?! What did you see?!”

A girl with deep, dark circles under her eyes flinched violently at their yells. She was the wind spirit mage; someone who prided herself on maintaining her composure. Seeing her in such a wrecked state was practically unheard of.

“That place is hell on earth. I’m never going back there.”

“What the hell happened?”

Only one of those three had moved. Even so, just one had traumatized them damn near the point of experiencing a psychotic break. They had no clue what they could possibly do facing the other two as well.

For three days straight, the seniors had waged relentless guerrilla warfare, striking and vanishing before the 270th batch’s apprentice knights could even react. It was as if they were punishing them for not anticipating what was going to happen to them.

The most infuriating part was that no matter how hard they tried, there wasn’t a single attack they could properly defend against. Their individual skills weren’t even that different—indeed, some apprentice knights even surpassed their seniors in certain aspects.

Yet, they hadn’t been able to properly take down even a single opponent, instead being mercilessly knocked unconscious over and over again.

They were shaken to the point of wondering if maybe the 266th batch seniors had gone easy on them during previous training. They must have, if the mock strategy battle with the 268th was a complete one-sided slaughter.

They were forced to confront just how arrogant they had been, how utterly incompetent their teamwork was, and how thoroughly their strategies were riddled with holes.

Even then, the demonic 268th class seniors weren’t done with them. They pushed them even further. No matter whether they were resting or sleeping, they never let up. They repeatedly played mind games and landed devastating surprise attacks when they least expected it.

Then, just when the apprentices thought things couldn’t get any worse, Davey appeared before them with a shit-eating grin.

“You must be starving,” he said before pulling out a bag full of moon pies, bottled water, and milk. “You’ve all been through a lot. Your seniors seem to be enjoying themselves a bit too much, so consider this a consolation gift.”

“S-Senior Davey?”

At first, the apprentices eyed the food with suspicion. But once the scent hit their noses, their reasoning crumbled. Like starving animals, they lunged at the offerings, devouring them desperately. Tears fell like rain, streaming down their faces as they shoveled the food into their mouths.

By that point, they had lost every ounce of composure.

“Training still isn’t over yet—you know that, right?”

The 270th class apprentices froze, their faces turning pale.

“Your seniors are still perfectly fine,” Davey continued, still smiling. “And from what I can see, you guys are the ones starting to wear out.”

His grin widened. “So... how about we change the conditions a little? What do you think?”

They could tell that it was the devil’s temptation, knowing better than to take his bait. But at that point, they were willing to do anything if it meant ending the nightmare even a second sooner.

“W-What do we have to do?” someone finally asked.

“The remaining duration will be reduced to one day.”

Their eyes widened.

“Just one more day? If we last just one more day, we can finally leave this hellhole,” someone muttered to themselves.

“One day.”

Those words resonated with them more than anything else.

Davey spoke again, his next words shattering their spirits, “Hey, guys who’ve been to the core area, you saw those three evil beasts, right?”

“Ah.”

“Well, I just removed their restrictions.”

They had no words.

“They will be hunting you now—for the next twenty-four hours.”

The faces of those who had seen the evil beasts firsthand turned deathly pale.

“From this point on, it’s up to you whether you fight, run, or hide. All you have to do is focus on surviving. Oh, and I’ll be sending in some new friends, too.”

The apprentices wanted to scream, demanding to know what he meant by new friends. Unfortunately, before they could say a word, Davey had already vanished.

* * *

After checking on the state of the apprentice knights, Davey returned to find the seniors of the 268th batch having a full-blown barbecue party.

“You guys are so merciless. Don’t you feel bad for them?”

“What are you talking about? You're the one who made this happen.”

“Yeah. We’re just doing what we always do.”

He wondered if the juniors even realized that they’d all been dancing in the palm of his hand the entire time.

One of the twin sisters, Fildyr, trembled as she cautiously questioned, “But... the ‘new friends’ you speak of. You don’t mean those things, right?”

“Hm?” Davey turned to follow their gaze.

In the distance, there was a rocking chair brought from who knows where, set up to face away from them. Adding to the eeriness, someone was gently swaying back and forth in it.

He saw an elf with skin as pale as white jade and soft, pink hair that gave it a delicate and innocent air. Its blue eyes, which shimmered with a pinkish hue, held a beauty that felt more holy than seductive.

But anyone who had witnessed it in action could hardly describe how scary and terrifying it was. It had Davey’s devil mana imbued within it, which had warped its personality into something deeply unsettling. Unlike the Decepticon squad, which specialized in direct combat, it was a part of the Avenger squadron—a unit designed for manipulation and assassination.

It was none other than the biological golem Anabelle, who liked rocking chairs and playing hide-and-seek.

“Anabelle, go ahead and mess with them, but keep it reasonable. They’re already traumatized from the muscle-heads.”

He knew well enough that anyone would be traumatized after being chased down by hundreds of freakishly muscular rabbits.

After he spoke, the chair stopped rocking.

Slowly—painfully slowly—Anabelle twisted her neck, the movements jerky and unnatural. She stared at him with beady blue eyes that glowed pink.

She had a beautiful face, but her unnerving actions made it downright terrifying. Of course, if she were on a stealth mission, she would blend in seamlessly with regular elves. Still, knowing that such eerie behavior was her true nature always left Davey with an odd feeling.

Whoosh!

A small piece of paper fluttered toward Davey. He caught it and read the message scrawled across it.

[Command acknowledged. Anabelle evaluates Master Davey’s orders highly.]

She responded in a style similar to Rinne’s.

Some sort of slime-like creature was nestled in her lap—Dirro, another shape-shifting biological golem from the Avenger squadron.

“Dirro, that goes for you too. Don’t go overboard.”

Having received his command, Dirro oozed off Anabelle’s lap and began to morph, having dozens of tentacles by the end of its transformation.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s fine since they won’t die,” Davey muttered to himself.

Illyna approached him, holding a bowl of stew. “Did you really have to go this far?”

“In the Zone of Evil, anything can happen. What better training is there than throwing them into a real extreme situation?”

Correction and discipline were important, sure, but they were there to be trained, not babied.

“You know, if you’d just gone in there alone and done it yourself, it would’ve been a lot easier on them.”

“They’ll thank me when this is over.”

One way or another, they’d see the results soon enough.

Shayir Renda and her twin sister Fildyr shuddered violently.

Meanwhile, Lucia Shelman clasped her hands together, murmuring prayers to Saintess Daphne.

Then Heg, who had been casually drinking in the middle of training, turned to look at Davey.

“You psycho demonic bastard. I swear, I’ve never been more grateful that you’re my ally and not my enemy.”

1. Still, Taurus, our bunny boi, and Shiverwock aren't technically the same evil beasts these trainees see them as. The description is figurative. ☜

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