The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1136.1
Chapter 1136.1
Spectating from a distance, Davey could see Chris and Kouna clearly guarding Evangeline and the healer Yeon Soo-Ah while still dealing with the monsters.
“Master Davey. Bungeoppang[1], very excellent taste data.”
“Is there anything you
don’t
think tastes good?” Davey asked.
Without hesitation, she answered firmly, “Master Davey’s survival rations. They provide extremely low taste data, according to Lady Illyna’s testimony.
Mmmph...
”
“Quiet.”
Back in the day, he had learned how to distinguish ingredients and cook from that brute Hercules. Maybe that was why he had never really cared about taste, being someone who prioritized just staying fed.
He was more than satisfied with and accustomed to his survival rations, but the others were clearly not. He found that stark difference to be quite funny.
Boom!! Boom!!
Chris flew around violently, cutting down monsters. Going by Davey’s standards, he was definitely below par for someone that could be called a true powerhouse. Even so, when assessed by Earth’s standards, there was no denying he was an exceptional Awakened.
“Master Davey. Presence of a rift detectable by Rinne’s visual sensors, but not distinguishable by the naked eye.”
“That's usually the case, so it’s not your fault. Still, it definitely doesn’t look quite like a rift to me.”
More accurately, it was something closer to a janitor.
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“A cleaner?”
“To put it simply, it’s like a mutation that went wrong, similar to a beneficial insect turning into a pest... Something like that. In any case, with Eva already on the move, it shouldn’t become too big of a problem.”
If things did go south, Davey would have no choice but to step in regardless of other circumstances. Until then, it was better to simply observe.
“That’s your standard. The humans on Earth can’t handle that thing.”
“I told you, you don’t have to worry.”
Even if an unexpected variable showed up, Davey would just take care of everything.
“Let’s give them a shot.”
If she handled this well, Davey would let her stay on Earth for a while. But if she couldn’t, he’d bring her back to Tionis, even if it meant facing opposition.
* * *
“They’re still coming! Hey, Miss, make sure you’re watching the healer!”
The man speaking was Chris Marten. An S-class Awakened from the United States, he was insanely popular thanks to his overwhelming power. Such a level of prowess was nothing short of astonishing.
He tore through the monsters like a main character straight out of a superhero movie, bouncing around the battlefield and striking them down with ease. No matter how many there were, it was unthinkable for someone like Chris to struggle against low-tier D-class monsters. It was practically a one-sided massacre, to the point where no one else even needed to step in.
“Eva, any changes in the silence gate?” Kouna asked.
“It shouldn’t be far now,” Evangeline replied quietly, though she was growing increasingly frustrated inside.
There was definitely something there that felt eerily similar to the strange rift she had seen in the swamp, where she saved those people. Yet unlike before, she felt something pulling her in the closer she got to it.
Even so, she was skeptical about what could possibly go wrong when they were just facing a simple gate.
“We’re here.”
Even as the monsters continuously attacked in hordes, they were still blown to pieces with each punch from Chris. There was no stopping him.
“These bastards... they’ve got intelligence, judging by their strategic movements.”
“You think they’re intelligent? Mutant wolves might have instincts, but I doubt they have the intelligence to make decisions,” Kouna muttered.
“Some of them were pulling my attention, while the others went for that lady over there,” he said as he gestured directly at Evangeline and shook his head while he dusted off his hands.
“They’re weak, sure, but doesn’t that fact itself already seem strange? You said monsters came out from the silence gate, the type that can’t be identified by the naked eye.”
“That’s right.”
“Yet these monsters showed up instead, plain as day. They even seem to be blocking our path, like they’re trying to protect the silence gate.”
In other words, there was a possibility that the monsters from the silence gate were controlling the mutant wolves.
“They’re still just wolves, aren’t they? I doubt I could, but I’m sure they aren’t a challenge for you to take care of,” Yeon Soo-Ah said cautiously, refuting his assessment.
“True. Lady Evangeline, the thing you said earlier—it was the truth, right?”
“Yes. That creature wasn’t especially strong.” Evangeline, who had been deep in thought, responded offhandedly. If it had been strong, they wouldn’t be out there treating it like some relaxing field trip.
Just as she was thinking that, something caught her eye. A faint, translucent shape was up ahead.
While the usual monsters weren’t present, it was nonetheless undeniable that the rift definitely existed.
“Is this the place? I don’t see anything,” Chris Marten asked with a shrug.
“I don’t see anything either,” Kouna said.
“Same here,” added Yeon Soo-Ah.
Evangeline had brought them there to confirm whether silence gates truly appeared in areas with high mana concentration. If a rift truly did appear, there was something she had to do.
“
Ooh.
All I see is a nice-looking forest. What do you think, Princess?”
“D-Don’t call me that!” she shouted, quickly turning her blushing face away.
She was already annoyed getting tagged with weird nicknames on her stream lately. She didn’t need any more of them.
“I can see the rift. I don’t know how to let others see what I’m seeing, though.”
She was simply able to see it, and still couldn’t fully control the power within her. After her second growth, her abilities—specifically the power of the ancient dragon—had become even stronger. With that strength came even more difficulty in managing it.
She had no idea which part of that immense power was enabling her to see the rift. She then began thinking how it would’ve been if her mother or father had been there to explain such things to her.
She shook her head.
She wasn’t a child anymore, and couldn’t rely on others forever. Having grown up, she’d just have to deal with it on her own.
Empowered by that renewed resolve, she stared silently at the rift.
‘Okay, it’s right there. What am I supposed to do about it?’
Annoyed, she approached the rift and gave it a few light kicks. Her foot shockingly passed right through it, as if it were a hologram.
To everyone else, it just looked like Evangeline was kicking the air.
“
Haaah.
This is frustrating! So, Princess, is there any way the rest of us can see or detect that thing?”
“I’m not sure. I thought I’d figure something out once I saw it, but...”
It was disappointing that things never seemed to go smoothly. Perhaps she could see it simply because she wasn’t human, owing to her status as an ancient dragon. Just as Aunt Hyun-Ah had said, if Earth’s humans could see it, they wouldn’t have had to shed so much innocent blood.
Suddenly, she noticed something strange about the rift.
“It’s... absorbing the impurities in the mana?”
Boom!!
At that moment, a strange sound rang out, and the rift vanished.
Evangeline stood there, stunned and speechless.
Seeing her tense up, Chris tilted his head. “Hey. Why the sour face, Princess?”
“It disappeared.”
Hearing that, his expression immediately darkened. “Disappeared?”
“It consumed all of the impurities in the mana that’s floating around... and then vanished.”
“What the hell...”
It had calmed down like a kid who passed out after becoming full.
* * *
They had been dispatched to conduct an investigation using their unique strengths. While it was fortunate that Evangeline could clearly see the rift, they weren’t able to gain much information in the end.
Still, when putting all the circumstances together, it had cleared up a few things. It was true that Eva could see the silence gate, yet they couldn’t determine why she was able to do so. They had confirmed that it was impossible to rely on her ability to detect or identify silence gates in advance.
For the time being, at least.
However, that didn’t mean there weren’t other discoveries. The rifts seemed to appear in places where the mana concentration reached a certain level, and the mana was polluted and thick with impurities.
The last thing they discovered was a bit unexpected. When approached, monsters appeared and acted like worker bees protecting their queen, blocking access to the silence gate and ensuring no one could get close.
Outside of accidents or special rifts, monsters typically remained within the rifts. Nonetheless, the wolves they’d encountered in the forest had undoubtedly been monsters.
There’d been no signs of a rift in the area, so the presence of monsters made no sense. No one had a clue where they had come from.
It was hard to believe they’d emerged from the rift, especially since none of the previous rifts had ever exhibited such behavior. The inconsistency was deeply unsettling.
“So anyway, I tried bungeoppang for the first time today.” As always, Evangeline fixed her cam in place on the canvas and picked up her brush.
“Chri— I mean, this guy I know said it was super good. I thought it was just some fish-shaped bread at first...” She let out a sheepish laugh. “But it was so good!”
Even as she said that, she already had a bungeoppang in her mouth.
It had started on the way back from the rift incident, when Chris asked if she’d ever had one before and handed her one. Evangeline, completely captivated by the taste, ended up buying four bags to bring home.
With a paintbrush in one hand and bungeoppang in the other, she held up a perfectly shaped one in front of the camera and wiggled it slightly.
“Look. Doesn’t it look good? I’m gonna eat one of these every day from now on.”
[Ah,
no one can say no to living next to a bungeoppang zone! LOL]
[Who even looks for bungeoppang zones anymore? Hotteok zones are the way to go, you taste-blind idiots.]
[Bungeoppang zone? Hotteok zone? What even is that, you damn weebs.]
[Bungeoppang stands, hotteok stands nearby, you dumbass.]
[LOL I thought it was hot chocolate stands.]
[Makes sense tho.]
Watching the chat scroll rapidly, Evangeline happily whipped her brush across the canvas. Each stroke brought a new layer to the image. It wasn't long before a startlingly intricate and beautiful artwork gradually took form.
[Okay but what’s she painting tho?]
[Looks like she’s just going with the flow. Not complaining though, boss looks like she’s having a great time.]
“
Hmm?
You’re right. What am I painting?”
Her mood, previously dampened by the rift incident, had completely turned around thanks to the bungeoppang. In fact, it wasn’t just a mere mood boost. It had left her feeling downright giddy!
Without realizing it, she’d started painting the scenery of Tionis.
[
Ah.
That’s Heins Territory.]
[That’s Heins Territory? I always thought the place was a fantasy, and goddamn does it really look like a fantasy.]
[Wait, that looks way different from the Tionis I remember.]
The beautiful architecture, lord’s manor, and massive transparent aqueducts hanging in the sky gave the impression of a true magical city.
Ding!
[GotchaRedhanded has donated 5,000 won.]
- Wow. Pretended to hide it, but you just outed yourself, huh?
“
Ah.
No, this is just—
uhhh,
right! There’s tons of stuff online! Pictures of Heins Territory!”
[Yeah, whatever.]
[General Tionis and Heins Territory don’t even look remotely similar.]
[She pretended not to, but she totally gave herself away.]
“
Ugh.
”
Crack.
She had slipped up, overcome with excitement from the sweet bungeoppang. Frustrated, she’d yanked the canvas off its mount and flung it aside.
[Oof... If you were gonna toss it, at least give it to me...]
[You gotta respect the way that artists never hesitate when they’re done with something.]
[Stop bullying artists, please...]
Watching the barrage of teasing comments roll in, Evangeline clenched her teeth. “I’m not painting anymore!”
[Sure, Princess.]
“I’m not a princess!! I’m not Evangeline O’Rowane! Eva! It’s just Eva! Got it?!”
[Sure, Princess Eva.]
[So when are you going to turn on your camera?]
[Is there even a point to hiding your face now?}
[You’re already doing a handcam!]
[Whyyy not a facecam tooo?]
It'd reached a point where everyone was saying that she was Evangeline. She’d tried to hide it, yet clearly, it had been meaningless from the start.
“I’m not turning it on. Don’t even think about it.”
1. It’s a carp-shaped bread often sold in Korea. ☜
Chapter 1136.1
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