The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

The Primordial Spirits.

They were the Spirit World itself, and the atoms that made up the natural energy that sustained the Spirit Kings.

Originally, the Primordial Spirits didn’t have such a large body. They were a very fine particle of light with no will.

However, the runaway spirit had gathered so many fine light particles that it became a colossal earth giant. This was also the reason why the Spirit Kings couldn’t use their power properly.

They couldn’t take the Primordial Spirit down because it was made of the particles that constituted the power of spirits, the source of their power. The extinction of the Primordial Spirits would mean their own death.

So, the Spirit Kings had to subdue the huge Primordial Spirit without completely wiping it out—facing an enemy that was immune to the power of spirits, they essentially had no hope.

Just as the situation was getting more dire, Davy O'Rowane had appeared.

Thud!!

The body of the Primordial Spirit collapsed and slowly dispersed into particles. A human had defeated the gigantic spirit that many Spirit Kings and higher-ranking spirits couldn’t do anything about in less than five minutes.

Davey jumped down from the fallen Primordial Spirit, shaking his hands free of dust as he approached the spirits.

The spirits had thought Davey was simply a lesser human. But the power he gave off as he clashed with the Primordial Spirit was something too noble, heavy, and sacred to be given off by a mere ordinary human. It was like a Saint Miracle or the ascension of the Primordial Spirit.

Only then did some of the Spirit Kings gulp, realizing that they were wrong. They surreptitiously looked at each other.

They had criticized him a while ago, practically ignoring his existence. After the fight, they were worried he harbored a grudge against them. They desperately wanted to believe that it’d be alright as long as they treated him well from now on.

As these thoughts ran through their minds, Davey stepped forward to question them.

“Gnoass, have you taken care of the problem that I asked for your help with?”

[It’ll take some time due to opposition from the other Spirit Kings.]

The Spirit Kings gulped in trepidation.

They remembered Gnoass and Ellaim lamenting that they had met a crazy contractor recently. It would appear their resentment had come from being beaten up by him…

"Is that so? They don’t approve?”

The Spirit Kings felt chills down their backs as they looked at Davey’s bright smile.

They knew something was wrong.

* * *

An enormous Hall of Spirits.

This palace, surrounded by the most beautiful spirit forest, was a space exclusively reserved for Spirit Kings.

Perserque seemed happy to experience the Spirit World for the first time in her life, busying herself taking Illyna and Aeria around to explore.

Of course, on account of its vast territory, it was easy to get lost if one just wandered around. Recognizing as much, Gnoass showed careful consideration by assigning Mulden, a lower spirit, to accompany them. 𝙧ΆＮóBĚs̈

[I’m asking you to cooperate because it’s necessary.]

[Yeah, no, I get that. But apart from possible cooperation, you know how much power we'll lose over the years if we give it up, right?]

[So that’s why I’m asking as a favor. I'm just asking you to dispatch some lower-ranking spirits—that won’t have too much of an impact.]

[Hehe…]

The Earth Spirit King, who had the appearance of an old man, stroked his beard. [1]

[That’s going to be difficult.]

[We’re indebted to him. Is it really that difficult to make up for it a little?]

[That's just a contractual matter. In fact, Indra over there is the one who signed a contract, so she just used his power.]

[Besides, it’s not even our business. It’s your nature spirits’ business.]

[This is of little significance to the derived spirits here or spirits not in charge of this area.]

[Everyone! The Spirit World would have suffered enormous losses without him! Moreover, although he didn’t go into detail, he also said that it wasn’t just an insignificant matter.]

[Then if you distribute your spirit energy to us, we’ll think about it. Anyways, it's hard for me to easily trust a person who spews lies.]

[Besides, the human wants to meet the Time Spirit. Do you think that’s possible?]

[Grrr…]

In response to Ellaim and Gnoass’s anger, Dodo Sylphid played with her hands while Ifrit the pyromaniac simply sighed.

[I guess that leaves us no choice.]

[Ifrit?]

[If you guys aren’t going to cooperate, we’ll have to go with Plan B.]

Everyone made puzzled expressions at his words. However, it wasn’t long until they understood what he meant.

* * *

Thud, thud!!

The high-ranking spirits and Spirit Kings were driven to a corner, trembling at death’s door.

Davey quietly held the fire sword Lavatein in one hand and slowly approached them with an arrogant and antagonistic attitude, pointing the tip of the sword at them. He saw the spirits looking at him with eyes full of fear.

Tap…

[HAhaHahA. What’s the matter? Come on, now. Hold on. Hey, it’s us.]

“What do you mean?”

Tap, tap.

[How about you put that fire sword down first so that we can talk it through? Lavatein is a weapon so dangerous that it could destroy even beings like us!]

“I know. That’s why I borrowed it for this.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Ifrit, the flame man who was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, looked the other way.

It might seem absurd to see the spirits trembling while trying to calm Davey down with their hands above their head, but the fire sword Lavatein that he was holding was literally a symbol of power and fear to the spirits. It didn't matter to them how he had dispersed the Primordial Spirit, or whether he was a demigod-level being in the other worlds, or even if he was someone who had divinity.

The sword Davey was wielding had the same huge impact as bringing a gun loaded with hollow-point rounds to a knife fight.

In order for him to use the land of the Spirit World like Gnoass had suggested, Davey would have to mobilize enough spirits. The number of low-level spirits of Gnoass he had made contracts with wasn’t even close to how many he needed.

“You damn spirits, would you each like to charitably contribute five thousand spirits, or die right here by my hands?

They started looking at each other fearfully as they saw his malicious grin.

[Someone stop that guy!]

[We should’ve known this would happen when those crazy ones contracted with this human! How is a human threatening Spirit Kings?!]

[I don’t want to get killed by that knife, so you guys better come up with—]

Tap. Tap. Tap.

[W-Wait…!! Let's negotiate! Human!]

"Negotiate? That’s what this is. If you give up your spirits obediently, we’ll finish the negotiation and there will be no bloodshed.”

[How… How dare a human try to harm spirits, let alone high-level ones like us?]

“Hmph. You bastards must think I’m bluffing. Let me tell you something—this is going to happen whether you like it or not, even if I have to destroy this entire Spirit World to get it.”

[If… If the Spirit World breaks… you won’t be safe either!]

“Well, I don’t know about that. Maybe I should just tear it down and make a new one?”

Davey actually was bluffing, but the divinity he let out from his body had the spirits making hesitant faces.

They soon came to a decision.

[Ahahaha. What’s the matter, big guy? Hey, it’s us.]

[We’ll lend you spirits. We’ll lend you spirits, so get rid of that horrendous thing already…]

[How on earth is a human using the Spirit King’s sword?!]

“I just changed my mind. Ten thousand.”

[T-Ten thousand?! Do you think you’re making any sense?!]

“Fifteen thousand.”

[Grrr… Ugh.]

[Hey. How are we supposed to make a living with such a loss?!]

“I know for a fact that by lending me low-level spirits for a while, you won’t starve to death. Twenty thousand now.”

[S-Shit!! Give them to him before he asks for more! Ten thousand! Up to ten thousand is okay, but you can’t get more out of me no matter what! We carefully raised all of those spirits ourselves!]

Finally, they raised the white flag.

“Alright then.”

Honestly, Davey hadn’t thought they’d be so prideful and stubborn—certainly not to the extent of attempting a negotiation despite his threats.

* * *

In the end, after charitably contributing a large amount of spirits entirely of their own will, Davey and company headed to the Valley of Time where the Time Spirit—the grandest among the spirits—resided.

The surroundings were in a strange, twisted yet interesting form, almost as if the axis of space-time had been distorted.

There was only one Time Spirit.

The Spirit Queen Yuriana had also made a contract with the Time Spirit, which was why Davey knew of its existence. If his thinking was correct—

Tick… Tick…

He knew things would be like this.

"Huh?"

Along with the sudden sound of ticking, the surroundings began to fluctuate. At the same time, Perserque’s face slightly trembled.

“Davey?”

Her body then began to undergo rapid growth. She looked down at her body in wonder as she transformed from a neat and beautiful young girl into a surprisingly attractive mature woman.

“What in the…”

“In this space of the Time Spirit, time flows according to its own will.”

And the ill-tempered spirit didn’t kindly tolerate it when beings invaded its territory.

Indra, the Thunder Spirit King who had guided him there, hesitated and shouted out.

[Time… Time Spirit! It’s… Indra! Please open the way!]

The ticking stopped for an instant, and Perserque returned to her original state.

“What a shame.”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go in.”

“But… Why did you only bring me? The other two will be disappointed.”

“I have my reasons,” Davey answered calmly.

He then took Perserque’s hand and followed Indra toward the gap that appeared amid the twisted space and time. She guided the two into a forest full of massive vines and plants.

Indra sighed as she looked at this refreshing forest.

[It’s here… The rest is…]

“Where do you think you’re going? Since you’re the contractor, you need to stick by my side until the end.”

[So unreasonable!]

“Hey over there, if you’re looking at us, just come out already.”

[T-Time Spirit is someone who has existed much longer than other spirits. I’ll refrain from interrupting your discussion…]

“I told you to come out already. Time Spirit. Or should I at least call you by name? Altair.”

Thud!

The second the words left his mouth, it felt as if time around them stopped. The strong wind stopped blowing, and the fluttering leaves stopped midair. Perserque looked around curiously at the frozen surroundings.

Ssss…

Soon, a mysterious force began to gather in front of Davey.

[Oh… Oh my goddess… How can a human recognize the name of the Time Spirit?]

The power of the Time Spirit, surprisingly enough, existed at a higher level. As such, recognizing the name of the Time Spirit was also inherently impossible.

But Davey’s mentor was none other than Spirit Queen Yuriana. She was an absolute elementalist who had made contracts with thirteen different Spirit Kings—something that would never happen again in history. She also had made a contract with the Time Spirit Altair in front of him.

[...]

Soon after, brilliant light gathered and took on the shape of a human.

A human made of light. Although it looked similar to the Light Spirit, its composition was somehow different.

Altair looked at Davey with his mouth open, not saying a word, so Davey started the conversation himself.

“Let’s get to the point. Make a contract with me.”

Thud!!

At the same time, the time around them distorted.

All the time his body was reliant on was jumbled. A normal human would’ve vomited blood and died on the spot, but Davey endured and accepted Altair's power without any hesitation.

[…]

“Make a contract.”

Davey then strongly conveyed his intention once again.

Of course, he knew there was no way Altair was a spirit easy to make a contract with.

In fact, when he contracted with Gnoass, he only succeeded after he used the hope of Yuria Helishana, the head of the Moon Forest, as bait, along with other similar methods as well—him and spirits did not have high affinities.

Therefore, Time Spirit Altair was only interested in why he came here in the first place; he had no intentions of contracting with Davey.

“Make a contract with me, Altair.”

[Don’t be cocky. Human.]

Altair had finally spoken up.

Davey already had low-level spirits from each high-level spirit, and the Spirit Kings, collecting enormous amounts of soil and rocks that already existed in the Spirit World. He knew it’d be possible to create a moon right away, but he wouldn't have enough mana for that. And so, he was going to have a big problem if he didn't get Altair's power to compensate.

“Make a contract with me, Altair.”

Crack… Crack!!

Altair unleashed power from his body like he was spewing out anger.

‘Right, this reminds me of what Spirit Queen Yuriana had said.’

[I wonder if you’ll ever be in a contract with him. But if the situation arises where you have to… then do as I tell you.]

“I’m going to ask you for the last time.”

[S-Stop it! This degree of disrespect to the Time Spirit…]

“Can you please be quiet?”

[Hrmph?!]

Indra staggered back at the cold words.

She was also a Spirit King, but right now Davey wasn’t a human that a Spirit King could do anything about. No matter how old and prideful a spirit was, he knew none of them could even be compared to Thanatos.

“I speak for the last time. I demand a contract.”

[The smell of Yuriana…]

A formation of light approached Davey along with a boy’s voice. Then, he reached out for him and stopped.

[Prove yourself. Prove that you are qualified to be in a contract with me.]

“I knew it.”

The Time Spirit that even Spirit Kings couldn’t mess with. It was the only spirit above the label of classes, and its power was at a level where it could even be considered a god within its own domain.

“Tell me what you want.”

[Defeat me.]

As soon as he finished speaking, Davey grabbed his arm.

“I was waiting for you to say that.”

[...]

He seemed a little taken aback as Davey forcibly ignored his time and grabbed his arm, but he soon radiated his strength and tried to push him away. Then, instead of backing down, Davey just closed in and poured all his strength into him.

His awakened divine power poured through Altair’s body.

Davey instilled in him not only divine power, but one more thing.

Some of his memories.

Davey knew it’d be better to just show Altair directly instead of wasting their time talking.

Altair shook greatly. To put it simply, the two were doing a tug of war, and their tensions continued for a long time.

While they were glaring at each other, Altair moved slowly.

[Is what you showed me true?]

"Yes."

Davey had shown him the reality of the three years the world had remaining, along with the absolute futility that any resistance would have if no action was taken. He didn’t hide the truth from Altair.

[I won’t bother to ask whether this is true. However, you contain energy that is too impure to accept my power.]

‘Is it the power of taboo? Or is he talking about the other manas besides my spirit mana?’

Either way, Yuriana and Davey had different attributes.

Davey figured that since the Time Spirit was pure, he was asking for someone with similarly pure mana.

“Then I’ll just destroy you—right here, right now.”

Davey knew that a new spirit would be born to take its place when the Time Spirit dies. The period may be around a year or so, but he didn’t have the time to get into the circumstances of a spirit that didn’t listen to him.

“Sorry, I’m not here to meet your every demand.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he merged Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, transforming them into Super Ribbon.

“Choose. Make a contract with me or disappear into space right here.”

Perserque sighed at his remark, and Indra looked shocked, as if she would die from suffocation at any moment.

[My first human contract… So reckless…]

Her voice rang out as she finally caved in. Davey was the first human she had made a contract with since becoming a Spirit King. No, to be exact, it was a reverse contract. It seemed to be difficult for her to accept that the person who she made a reverse contract with was so reckless and rough.

Of course, no matter what she had in mind, Davey only had his eyes focused on Altair’s utility.

Not long after, Altair waved his hand. The time axis distorted, and Indra and Perserque also froze.

He transformed into light particles and approached Davey.

“Contract with me. Alright, let’s do it this way. If you abide by this contract, I will hand you around ten video stones containing images of Yuriana. There are quite a lot of her videos.”

Altair looked at Davey in shock.

[Video stone… A video stone… Is it a human invention that stores the living moments of humans?]

"Yes. That's it. I will also give you the robe that Yuriana used when she was alive. Of course, the resolution of the video stone will be high definition, so it’ll be a pleasure to see.”

Altair stayed silent at his offer, then his figure made of light approached.

[Let’s shake hands, contractor. Payment is made in advance.]

“Don’t worry. I’ll prepare high-quality, recently taken videos.”

‘This simple minded idiot. The other spirits should know that you’re this much of a simp.’

1. Not Earth like the planet—it’s earth like the ground. We figured naming it Ground/Dirt Spirit King would be too unfair. ☜

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thought

Davey and Altair bonding over simping