The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

"So… Who is it? There normally aren’t any female gamers in a pro-gamer training house, right? Is she a streamer or something?"

Even if there were female gamers, they typically used a separate building—it simply wasn’t feasible to have men and women living in one space while training daily.

"That’s… a secret,” Si-Woo said.

His vague reply made Han Yu-Na chuckle. Meanwhile, Kim Park-Soo on the side was clearly drunk, making a fool of himself.

"Gaaa!! Ji… Ji-Ah! I wasn’t sure if you heard me earlier, so let me say it again! I really, really like you!!"

Han Yu-Na shook her head wondering why he had decided to turn this drunk again. She silenced him with a swift kick.

"This is why I don’t want to sell it, you idiot.”

The fact that it sobered people up right away was good, but one more sip of alcohol would make them completely wasted again. However, Han Yu-Na was already planning to discuss this part with Davey next time they met.

Even though she thought he had some psychotic tendencies, his expertise and knowledge were undeniably remarkable, whether on Earth or Tionis.

"I want somebody to loveee…”

Looking at Park-Soo whining pathetically, Han Yu-Na sighed and pulled out her smartphone.

"Here. These are the girls who’ve been pestering me to introduce them to someone. I’m not letting you near Ji-Ah, but since they’re interested, you can take a look."

"Oh, my dear Yu-Na! You’re the best, Yu-Na Royal Queen!"

"Shut your mouth, Park-Soo Royal Father."

Park-Soo soon began flipping through the photos with exaggerated interest. Si-Woo, curious, glanced over.

"Hm… No matter what, none of them come close to Ji-Ah…”

"Wake up from your delusion before I break a soju bottle over your head.”

Despite her sharp words, Han Yu-Na knew how rare his upbeat and honest personality was and found that it made him surprisingly likable. And for her, she was quite reluctant to show him photos of women she wasn’t particularly close with as she didn’t trust them. With him being all drunk, she figured he wasn’t even seeing the photos properly anyway—it was just enough to make him stop whimpering.

"Whoa… Hold on."

As Park-Soo swiped through the photos, he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh wow… I like her. Look at her smile! Amazing. Wait, isn’t she the girl from before?”

"Who?"

Si-Woo leaned in out of curiosity, only to freeze when he saw the screen.

“Isn’t she…?!"

"Hey! Why are you looking at personal photos, you creep?!"

The photo in question featured a petite girl with teal hair, another girl with radiant blonde hair and a captivating smile hugging her.

"Damn, that smile of hers… So cute… She’s like… Miss… No, she’s like… a cele… Anyways, she’s amazing!”

The girl in the photo was casually dressed in jeans and a tank top. Si-Woo’s hands trembled as he stared at the photo.

"This person…"

Park-Soo was about to swipe to the next photo, seemingly indifferent, but Si-Woo reached out, stopping him and staring intently at the screen.

"Yu-Na!"

Si-Woo shouted with sudden urgency and grabbed her hand, startling her.

"Please! Introduce me to her!"

"What… What are you talking about?"

And so, the chaos began.

* * *

"Just once! Let me meet her just once!" Si-Woo pleaded desperately.

Han Yu-Na rubbed her temples in frustration. Meanwhile, Kim Park-Soo, the instigator, had already passed out drunk.

"Why, though…? What’s the big deal?"

"She’s the one I’ve been looking for! You remember, from the amateur tournament!"

"Ah…

I guess that did happen, didn’t it."

Han Yu-Na remembered how Illyna, the blonde girl from the photo, had played a match against Si-Woo and left quite the impression on him.

"But Si-Woo…"

"Yes?"

"I hate to break it to you, but messing around with a married woman is a bad idea."

“...”

Si-Woo froze as his face turned pale.

"She’s incredibly beautiful, sure, but you should know better."

"I… I didn’t know…"

"Honestly, I get it. She looks young enough that she doesn’t seem like she’s married. In fact, she really is young; no one would think she’s already tied the knot. But she has. It’s been a while, too." 𝐫Ἀ₦ổ𝖇ĚŠ

"Ugh…"

"On top of that, her husband is a scary guy. A real psycho, if you ask me."

If Davey heard what she said, he would’ve caused a big fuss, but since he wasn’t around, she felt free to vent. Her words made Si-Woo imagine the husband as a terrifying gangster.

"That can’t be…"

"Wait. You’re not saying you’ve fallen for… Illyna, are you?"

"Well…"

"Ugh, okay, I don’t blame you. But look, now that you know, just let it go. Her husband is the jealous type, and it doesn’t matter if your intentions are good or bad—if you try something and get caught, you won’t be able to walk away. Not alive, at least.”

She knew Davey wouldn’t care in the slightest about Si-Woo’s status of being a world-class pro gamer if he tried to pull anything. However, he clutched her hand again in desperation.

"Then… Then just once!"

"What? I literally just said—"

"I just want to play one match with her! That’s all! Please, help me set that up!"

"What…?"

Han Yu-Na blinked, caught off guard by his oddly specific request.

"Just one match. That’s all I want. I swear I’m not asking for anything else!"

His determination was almost frightening, leaving Han Yu-Na to wonder if some switch in his brain had flipped.

"Why are you acting like this?!"

"I haven’t been able to sleep since I lost that match! Every time I dream, I see her champion smashing me, and I wake up in a cold sweat!"

"Ugh… Why are you being so persistent?!"

"Please!!"

Si-Woo clung to Han Yu-Na with such desperation that it no longer felt like a romantic pursuit, rather the cry of someone who was obsessed with their profession. She could tell how passionate he was about what he did.

Han Yu-Na let out a long sigh.

"Alright… What’s the harm of one match, anyway. I’ll try to contact her, but don’t get your hopes up!"

"Thank you!"

It wasn’t like Illyna would actually answer; she wasn’t even on Earth, after all. Han Yu-Na casually sent her a Durian Talk.

[Princess Illyna, could you respond if you see this?]

She didn’t expect a reply. Illyna and her group rarely had reasons to visit Earth.

But—

[Yu-Na? Yes, what’s going on?]

To her surprise, Illyna was on Earth.

Which could only mean one thing.

"He’s here, too…"

Her body instinctively broke out in a cold sweat. Just earlier, she had been badmouthing Davey like crazy, and now she was terrified that he had possibly overheard her talk. The fear of being dragged back into his hellish crafting dungeon gnawed at her.

Sadly enough, it didn’t take long for her fears to materialize.

[It’s me. Slaves One and Two, assemble. There’s work to do.]

[Davey?! I’m on a date!]

[Alright, that’s fine. I’ll let you go for today—but we start tomorrow. Let’s bring up your ranks, since this task might be beyond your current capabilities.]

Terrible memories resurfaced.

Her unease had become reality.

* * *

After restoring Princess Latiana’s sight, her radiant smile seemed to never fade. She was so overjoyed, often looking as if she couldn’t believe her eyes were truly working again.

[I wonder how my brother will react?]

[Thank you so much, Prince Davey! I’ll honor you as my savior forever! I can’t give you my love, but if there’s anything else you ever want…]

Seeing her genuinely happy reaffirmed the success of the surgery. And this got Davey thinking.

"Hmm… This could make a fortune."

He didn’t see anything wrong with liking money. It drove the stability of society, after all.

The luxurious welfare system he provided for the people of his territory was only possible thanks to money and technology. He knew this fact would never change.

For now, he was making good profit from the moon grass and portable watches Aeonitia created. But he couldn’t rely on just those forever.

He soon envisioned a medical city. He knew that if he was going to start something, he might as well take it all the way.

And to do that—

"I need to go to Earth."

"Why Earth?"

Perserque, who had taken a liking to the plush cat paws, asked curiously while teasing him. After the bunny girl incident with Illyna, Perserque had worn a playful costume along with a cat tail and paws.

Holding the upper hand, she didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed by her outfit. The sight of her mimicking a cat was nothing short of a stimulating shock to him. Even Aeria had surprised him with her choices.

He couldn’t help but wonder who gave them all this information. She had put on a pink nurse outfit and wagged her tail that she shyly kept discreetly from others. Davey had been positively shocked by her appearance, a memory that was now etched in his mind.

"The medical equipment on Earth is far more advanced than what we have in Tionis. I’m going to try to replicate it with magic.”

"Earth’s medical technology is certainly impressive. In that case, take me along."

"Why? Do you have something to do?"

"Shopping."

Her newfound interest in Earth’s costumes had her eager to explore more options. And of course, Davey didn’t mind.

"While we’re there, you should also check on what you entrusted to Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seok, shouldn’t you?"

Davey nodded in agreement. Before leaving Earth for Tionis, he had given the two a particular task and sent them off across space.

He thought it was about time for them to come back.

‘It’s only right to collect things from those farmers.’

As soon as Davey opened the dimensional gate to Earth, he turned on his smartphone and messaged Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seok. They replied almost instantly, as if they’d been waiting.

[What took you so long?! Where are you?! We’ll go to you right now!]

Despite them being all wary in their first interactions, he figured whatever they’d seen left had a strong impression on them.

He met the two separately and received several items: unfamiliar minerals, rare herbs, catalysts, and glowing stones. They also shared reports about the monsters evolving, but he already had a general idea of what was happening after seeing the glowing stones.

"They’re trying to manipulate their surroundings," he muttered.

"What?" Seo-Yoon asked, confused.

"Nothing."

The pristine white gem seemed to forcibly alter its surroundings in real time. Even so, it appeared to be nothing more than a regular mana stone that had transformed under special conditions.

"But you said there were traces of people there?"

"Yes. We’ve been investigating on our own, but we haven’t found out much.”

"Wherever there’s greed, there’s trouble.”

"Whoever they are, we’ll make sure they face justice," she declared.

Davey then turned his attention to Yoon-Seok, noticing the splint on his arm.

"Is your arm cursed?"

"…"

Yoon-Seok remained silent. Although it appeared to be a simple fracture, Dacey could tell that his arm had lost its vitality—it was effectively dead.

"Something happened.”

"He saved me… But they couldn’t fix it, even with healing magic and medical treatment…”

"Tsk. It’s not your fault. The enemy was just too strong.”

"At least you made it back alive," Davey said.

“...”

Despite his words of reassurance, his expression remained dark. Losing an arm wasn’t something anyone could take lightly.

Davey slowly reached out toward his arm.

‘Can’t be healed with magic, huh? Let’s see about that.’

“What do you mean healing magic doesn’t work? This one’s on the house."

Even though it seemed like nerve necrosis, it was actually more akin to a curse. He knew that once the curse was lifted, the problem would resolve itself.

He wasn’t sure what kind of enemy they had faced, but it was clear they had been lucky to survive.

[Let me use your grace.]

Unlike in the past, when grace was only granted through prayer, Davey could now call upon it directly through his will.

[8th Level Holy Magic]

[High Recovery]

The advanced regenerative magic activated instantly, and light spread across Yoon-Seok’s arm. The two stared in amazement, glancing around nervously. However, no one else noticed the radiance—Davey had already put up a barrier ahead of time.

"How is this even…" Yoon-Seok trailed off with a dazed face.

"Healing magic has different levels. Trying to fix this with low-level magic was never going to work."

The two were left astonished, as he seemed to cure the impossible like it was no problem. The blackened, lifeless arm began returning to its normal state.

"It’s… moving! It’s moving!!" Yoon-Seok exclaimed, clearly baffled at what was happening.

Davey cut through his excitement with a sharp warning.

"I only lifted the curse and healed the damage, so don’t overdo it for a while. If you wreck that arm another time, I’ll personally make sure you can never use it again."

Whether Yoon-Seok heard him or not, he was too busy celebrating the return of his arm to reply.

"So? Are you going to keep chasing them?"

"Yes," Seo-Yoon replied firmly.

"You know people like that usually die first in movies, right?"

"Why do you, someone from another world, know so much about Earth?"

"People are the same everywhere.”

Seoyun chuckled at his remark, then bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you."

"If you’re feeling thankful, bring me more stuff like this whenever you find it. There are plenty of similar rifts out there."

To Davey, new materials meant new possibilities. He could already see the potential in the items they had given him, even though it didn’t seem like they fully understood their value.

"Why are you helping us so much?" she asked.

Davey couldn’t help but grin.

‘I wonder what kind of face they’d make if I called them Slaves Four and Five right now?’

Pocketing the glowing stone and mystery minerals, Davey turned back to his smartphone. He decided that he’d take his time to look into the new materials.

For now—

[Slaves One and Two, assemble. We’ve got work to do.]

The two responded instantly, both complaining and groaning.

‘These two have gotten too comfortable, haven’t they?’

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

This is how I like to imagine they looked when giving him their loot