The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 793

“How many got taken out?”

“Four.”

Four people had been taken out.

There were quite a number of heroes in the hall. Of course, they had a variety of characteristics, but there were many with similar powers, like Dokgo Jun and Sword God Aeres.

“That sure is a monstrous trait.”

“Probably means it wasn’t a coincidence.”

As Apollo, the Bow Lord, muttered while Daphne, the First Saintess nursed his serious arm injury by bandaging it and lightly casting a recovery spell, she clicked her tongue.

“Ouch. Daphne, my love. I feel like it hurts a lot here. I need your…”

“Stop whining like a little bitch and go get some sleep.”

Daphne, having just kicked Apollo in the back, sighed and turned to the blond-haired wizard sitting nearby. The wizard was one tough cookie from the continent of Atrellia, known as the God of Wizards. She was the second oldest wizard in the hall, second only to Hercules.

“You know you can’t make use of that trait here, right?”

“After checking it for myself, I think I understand now why Goddess Freyja sent him here.”

Even though Davey wasn't aware of them, the conditions for entering the hall were something most heroes knew.

The basic characteristics of the soul, if it existed or not, played a significant role. A good example was Odin, the Wizard of Atrellia, who had the characteristic of Infinite Mana. She was a being who was extraordinarily rich in mana from birth.

“Consuming everything he lays eyes on—quite amazing if you ask me.”

His rampage was stopped when Hercules intervened. The little boy’s characteristics had been enough to give anyone chills.

Information, concepts, recognition, authority, and power. He consumed everything he could find and made it his own.

Although it was similar to the power Hercules had, its scope was different. Even so, the power itself was not to be taken lightly.

“Hey, didn’t you say there was something similar in Tionis before?”

“Yeah. The demonic beast Fenrir. A beast I took down on a whim before. It ate the branches of the World Tree and made them its own.”

“That doesn’t seem too threatening.”

There were monsters that simply consumed power and made it their own, but Davey’s characteristics were different.

“To be exact, I’m not just using the power I consume.”

He consumed the power and remembered it, only to make it into his.

For example, if Fenrir was the case where it ate a branch of the World Tree and used its power as its own, Davey wouldn’t just use its power. He would analyze the source of that power and recreate it using his own strength.

There were only two authorities that Davey couldn’t consume: Rho Aias’s power of death and Hercules’ evolution.

In fact, Davey’s earlier rampage had been the result of consuming and copying the characteristics of two of the four extinct heroes. Although his control over the power was still unstable, and much of it had been buried deep within him, there was a possibility that he might someday bring it out and use it again.

“I guess we’ll have to seal away that unique characteristic of his.”

“He probably won’t be able to get as strong as the standard, and he’ll be consumed by his own characteristics. What a fool.”

The trait of constantly consuming made him insatiably crave more, eventually driving him into madness.

“Still, by existing human standards, he’s probably quite strong.”

“It’d be nice if that was enough, but there’s no way Goddess Freyja gathered us all here for no reason.”

Daphne watched as Odin got up from her seat and walked away. She then turned her head and glanced at Davey—who was lying down—and at Rho Aias, who was channeling devil mana with her hand placed firmly on his chest.

“Stupid bastard. Rho Aias! Erase his memory too. He has perfect memory, so if he finds out he destroyed the souls of heroes, he’ll be haunted by it for the rest of his life.”

“Yes,” Rho Aias replied, then sighed while shaking her head.

“He’ll be able to control the power someday, once he gets a body and grows on his own.”

***

Whoosh!

In an instant, an intangible shock wave exploded, and Ilina's blade energy froze in midair.

Crack!

At the same time, with the sound that something was being chewed and swallowed coming from somewhere, the energy of the Continuum-Severing Blade that had been coursing through her body disappeared as if it had been consumed by something.

It was truly an anomaly that defied common sense.

“Kyaaa!!”

Realizing her strength had vanished in an instant, she collapsed to the floor, coughing and looking confused.

“What did you just…?”

[I guess an old eagle is indeed better than a young crow; you’re still a monster.]

Soon, Ares's spirit approached.

[How is it? Is it bearable?]

“What… What is this?”

It was different from the usual psychopathic madness. Davey felt something deeper and more primal than before. To be exact, it was an endless hunger that caused some kind of madness.

He already knew about the madness. He had heard that in exchange for gaining a lot of power, the madness lay dormant. But now, he understood that the madness was due to this unidentified power that was manifesting in his hands.

[The restraints on your body have been lifted.]

“Did you do it?”

[Not me, no. But listen carefully. From now on, you’re going to repeat what you just did until you have full control of it.]

‘Repetitively…’ he thought.

Davey was confident in his ability of doing continuous and monotonous labor. But now he wondered if there was any need to be tied down by this unidentified force.

[It’ll be hard to believe, of course. I understand. But I’m not too sure if this is worth doing for such a result.]

After he muttered the question that was on Davey’s mind, he fell silent for a moment. He then told Davey something he had never heard before.

[You know about the Hall of Heroes, right? What do you think are the conditions for reaching such a space?]

“You folks always said it had to be a hero who saved the world.”

But now he was doubting that knowledge.

[That’s also right. However, there’s one more condition—one we’ve even told you about before.]

“...”

[Characteristic. The unique characteristics of the soul.]

‘Characteristic?’

“Are you referring to someone with special abilities?”

[Special abilities are the same as the characteristics of the soul. Let me ask you something, Davey. You’re now able to make a contract with a mythical beast using the genes of Shane Scrift, the Mythical Beast Summoner, right?]

“Yes.”

[That’s not supposed to be possible in the first place.]

Ares was telling him that each and every one of his factors and abilities were related to his characteristics.

[Everyone has unique characteristics of their soul, but only a few reach the level where they impact the world. It’s rare—so rare that it might not even happen once among tens of billions.]

‘So basically it’s like winning a lottery?’ he thought.

[It’s no coincidence that you came to the passage. You too, have a characteristic. So, in the past, when you were practicing magic, Odin forcibly made you unlock your characteristic.]

And as a result...

[In the hall, four heroes disappeared while trying to stop you from running wild. In the end, the crazy Hercules had to step in and stop you…]

So, Davey had a talent apart from the power of taboo and other things that could make himself stronger.

[You alone have this ability. You can hone it to its limits. And as I said before, this is the only way for you to become a true hero.]

‘And that’s Predatory Assimilation…?’

Davey knew some parts of his memories were missing, but only now did he realize what it was that he had forgotten.

“Then, do I just eat things?”

[Don’t be crazy. It’s not just about eating. Concept, power, principle, common sense—your Predatory Assimilation isn’t limited to just one thing. Still, your characteristic also allows you to consume physical constitutions and talents when necessary.]

“...”

Davey was shocked at what he was hearing. He figured he was practically born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

“So, then will this help me with my fight against Thanatos?”

[It’s the only way you can actually become complete, regardless of whatever your levels may be.]

Creatures couldn’t kill gods. But even if he couldn’t kill a god, he could tear them apart and seal them like Hercules had done. Davey wanted to ask if that made any sense, but he realized there had already been someone who beat him to the punch.

“But why am I only awakening this characteristic now?”

[Because at the time when you were a soul without a body, you couldn’t have controlled it. We judged that it was possible for you now that your body is completing the levels of a demigod.]

So, what he was implying was that it had been impossible for him back then, but now that things had settled, they were quietly bringing it up.

Davey had indeed succeeded in suppressing his madness for just a moment without using any mana.

[From now on, I’ll use the power of Aias to strengthen your characteristic to its limit. You’ll suffer to the point that you’ll prefer death, so be prepared.]

“There’s not enough time. It would be insane to use this power I’ve only just gained a sense of as my primary method of attack.”

[Don’t you worry, I’ll deal with that. So, how about it? Are you up for the challenge?]

“I’d be an idiot if I said no.”

If he could get the chance to beat Thanatos, that was all he needed to hear.

“So? What are we going to do? Tell me in detail.”

Ares’ spirit then possessed Illyna once again. After closing his eyes for a moment, he pulled out Caldeiras.

“Get out of the way,” he said with determination. As soon as Davey reflexively moved away, Ares—now in Illyna’s body—slashed at the air.

Swoosh!

His swordsmanship was amazing, as always. Despite him only performing a simple vertical cut, the effectiveness of it was anything but minor. In an instant, the inside of the torn space felt familiar yet different.

“We can widen the time gap if we’re in there. One second here can be a lot of time there.”

‘So he’s basically saying it’s a room of distorted time and space?’

As Davey looked at the space with interest, Ares grinned.

“Davey.”

“What?”

“Don’t die.”

“You just worry about yourself. I won’t tolerate any more sacrifices.”

“Stop fussing.”

Wham!

Ares suddenly kicked Davey and pushed him into the space. His vision then became blurry and he began to feel dizzy. Soon, an endless sky and field appeared before him.

“Holy shit, how high up am I? Davey muttered, frowning as he landed softly using a combination of gravity and flight magic.

Although the field seemed empty, the space felt eerily familiar. It was similar to the Hall of Heroes—though not quite the same, it definitely carried a similar vibe.

As Davey looked around in a daze, massive vibrations began to pulse through the ground beneath his feet.

“So we’re going for practical training, I see.”

Davey realized Ares wanted him to draw out his power and fight. It was the most common training method he’d experienced—and the most brutal and annoying one, as well.

Soon, the ground cracked open, lava spewed forth, and the once grassy field began to twist into a hellish landscape. And within that hellish scene…

“That crazy idiot…”

A very familiar being appeared: it was an ancient dragon. It was the one that boasted overwhelming power amongst their kind.

- KAAA!!!

It was Eclipse.

[At first, she’ll be at ten percent of her true power. If she goes all out, your current self won’t stand a chance. So, gradually get used to your power and become stronger. If you can’t beat Eclipse, Thanatos is out of the question.]

The giant dragon then opened her mouth wide and unleashed a breath attack, shooting straight toward Davey like a beam of light.

He reflexively tried to suppress his mana and draw out his unknown power. But, of course, if it were that easy, there would be no need to train in the first place.

“Damn it…” he muttered. At that moment, the breath attack that seemed like it could melt the world completely engulfed him.

“Ugh!!”

Along with the terrible pain, all of his defensive magic shattered, and his body went flying a great distance, barely managing to withstand the attack. He knew that if his defensive magic hadn’t held up just now, he would be dead.

Chills ran down his spine.

Eclipse, now manifested, was incomprehensibly stronger than any versions of her he had faced before. Davey went blank as he lost the will to even fight back.

“Davey!”

“What… Who is this, where am I…?”

“Ah shit… Here we go again!”

Then another breath attack came flying over from the hellscape that ejected him, splitting the ground and setting it ablaze.

In response, Davey instinctively grabbed Illyna and desperately dodged to the side. He knew that if he had hesitated even for a split second, both he and Illyna would have been caught in the blast.

Failure was equivalent to death under the current circumstances, so his first priority was to find a way to survive and escape.

If his estimates were correct, even a rampaging Eclipse would enter a dormant state after about thirty minutes as long as they didn’t directly engage her in combat. And if they re-entered her territory, the enemies would respawn as if they had regenerated.

For the first time in a long while, Davey felt a surge of competitive spirit.

“Alright, fuck it. Let’s give it a shot.”

[Descendant, you need to join as well. Just so you know, that ancient dragon called Eclipse… There's no way out of here unless you manage to suppress her.]

"M-Me too?!" Illyna exclaimed, startled by Ares' spirit who had approached her unnoticed with a smile on his face.

[No ifs, buts, or maybe’s. Do as I say—don’t even think about leaving. Back in my day, we didn’t even consider fleeing an option. Got that?]

“I get discouraged every time I see this kind of behavior from my ancestor, who I consider to be a mythical figure.”

“Come on,” Davey said, pulling her arm. She looked at him in surprise, but quickly started running alongside him.

“First things first—let’s figure out how to stay alive.”