The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 863. Game

- Hey, did you see what happened at Alfland? Man, if you haven't, you’re missing out big time.

- Yeah, I saw it from a distance, but it's a shame I couldn't see it from closer. What even was that?

- It seemed like spirits. But can anyone just do something like that because they want to?

- Must’ve been a high-ranking Awakened.

- Stop with the bullshit. A high-ranking Awakened isn't some kind of god. I bet you a thousand dollars they can’t do something like that. Even that famous elementalist in America, Christiana, probably couldn’t pull off something like that.

- Did you see her try it yourself? Why are you so sure?

- Well where are you getting the idea that it's possible?

The online community was buzzing with debate.

- I'm a member of the Awakened Association, and as far as I know, no Awakened individual can do something like that. Sure, there are rare cases where someone with hidden powers or unusual talent pops up, but this... this is beyond that.

- The Saint of Tionis, maybe? But didn’t he leave?

- Who knows. If he really was back, everyone would be talking about it, so it seems unlikely.

- Anyway, I'm going to Alfland with my wife for the festival next week.

- My condolences.

- Press F to pay respects.

This was all because of the Spirit Festival at Alfland. Something like this couldn’t happen naturally—it had to be someone’s doing.

Festivals were fairly commonplace, but the situation stirred a lot of attention nonetheless. Half of it was intentional—though Al Hajat had passed ownership of the park to Davey, he knew he didn’t hand it over without reason.

He believed that by stabilizing Alfland’s wave surge and setting up a protective barrier, he had fulfilled any obligations. And later on, he could come back whenever he wanted to.

Davey had no plans to involve himself with Earth any further. Well, technically speaking, he had no intention of officially showing up on Earth as Davey O’Rowane. If he was found out, it could be a hassle, but since he wouldn’t be making a formal visit, it’d be much less troublesome.

He then received a Durian Talk from Han Yu-Na.

- Hey... I hate to bring this up... But could you calm down just a little bit? If I lose my job, my dad will kill me.

- Why would he kill you? What I’m saying is, I won’t do anything else other than file an official complaint to your agency or whatever it’s called.

That was a lie, of course.

- Please! Those idiots have already been disciplined! At least spare the lives of the NSDIA!

- Who said anything about killing? I’m just making a point here by filing a complaint. Illegal entry without a warrant, assault on staff, business obstruction. And even...

- Please, please, please!!! I’ll do whatever you want! Just this once!

- You’re already my servant, so what nonsense is that? And I stop acting like you’re younger than me. Do you understand that you’re older than me or not?

- Davey!! Please!! Our department already has plenty of enemies! If you make a scene, they’ll definitely shut us down!

- Maybe that’s just your agency’s fate.

It seemed the National Special Disaster Intelligence Agency was sweating bullets. They’d acted out of a desperate desire to rescue people, but the results were devastating. By all rights, they deserved some blame, but Davey had no intention of making it official with his status.

The ‘Saint of Tionis’ would likely not make any official visits in the future unless a major issue arose. In his mind, Earth and Tionis simply knowing of each other’s existence was all that was needed. That was why, aside from a select few, he kept his identity a strict secret.

Vroom!!

Meanwhile, a pair of bikes roared down the racetrack, speeding side by side, each rider trying to outmaneuver the other. One was Perserque with her silver hair flying in the wind, and the other was Tiara. They slid and glided around the track, eventually crossing the finish line.

"Phew... That was incredible!"

Tiara wiped away her sweat, her red hair wild, and beamed with excitement while Perserque tapped the bike with satisfaction. Al Hajat watched them with a smile.

"I'm glad you like the gift," he said.

"Seriously, you must’ve had a need for speed pretty much your entire life to already be going at speeds like that...”

“Ugh... I think I’m going to be sick...” Aeonitia, who’d been snacking and watching from the sidelines, mumbled with a pale face.

“Can I really keep this?” Tiara asked.

"Of course." Al Hajat nodded with a soft smile.

"Yay! Thank you! I love it!" Tiara practically bounced with joy, clutching his hand in gratitude.

"Ahem! Hmm!"

Despite her wild, tomboy personality, Tiara’s beauty was undeniable. In Tionis, she held quite a prestigious reputation for it. Though, in reality she was just a tech enthusiast, utterly captivated by Edison’s gadgets.

"Heh. Hehe, if I modify it this way...” Aeonitia muttered.

“No way! If you do that, the drivetrain will break down before you know it!”

"No, I’m telling you—it’s possible."

"It’ll be way too risky!"

"Well, risks are a necessary part of success!"

Aeonitia and Tiara, though opposites in approach—one driven by their unique imagination and curiosity and the other by experimentation—had an unusual synergy with each other.

As the two continued their spirited debate, Davey turned to Al Hajat.

"Do you not have any other meetings or things to do?”

"Not to worry, I cleared my entire calendar."

"Oh?"

"A precious friend is visiting—what could be more important than that? Besides, there’s something I really wanted to do with you." He gestured toward a high-powered computer he’d set up in advance.

"I’ve gotten really into gaming lately. Esports! It’s really fascinating. I already lost track of time in the middle of it a bunch of times by now."

"Games, huh...”

"Would you fancy joining me?”

The game he suggested was a five versus five format.

"Wait, what’s that? I want to play too!" Illyna nudged Aeria forward.

"Come on, Aeria, let’s play together.”

"Uh... Can I really play too?"

"Of course! The more, the merrier!"

“Rinne evaluates high-end gaming with high processing capability highly.”

With that, everyone took a seat and Al Hajat prepared himself. The sight of the world’s wealthiest man settling down for some gaming was undeniably amusing.

"If word got out about this, it’d be quite the spectacle," Davey murmured.

Al Hajat raised his head proudly.

“Hahaha! I love this game. I’m not too bad at it, either.”

He then pulled up his game rank. From the lowest rank, Iron, to the top, Challenger, his rank was only two steps below Challenger—Master[1].

“By the way, Davey, is it okay to just leave the NSDIA issue alone?”

“Let them struggle for a bit. That way, they’ll be forced to worry and writhe in preparation and anticipation.”

It wasn’t like he had anything to gain from them. Under normal circumstances, he would want to press legal charges, but he thought Maga’s request was worth respecting. Besides, he thought there might be a more satisfying way to handle this whole mess.

With Rinne, Aeria, Illyna, Al Hajat, and himself, they had a full team of five.

"This is a perfect dream team. It’s fine if you’re not good—let’s just enjoy it," Al Hajat said as he started explaining the game.

“With the latest high-spec computer and Korea's lightning-fast internet, we should have no issues enjoying the game.”

"Uh... But I've never used a computer before. Is that okay?" Aeria asked.

“It’s alright. You’ll only need to press a few keys,” he reassured her, suggesting they try a practice game against bots first.

“There are five main roles,” he explained. “The top, which is the upper lane; mid lane, the center; bottom lane, with an attacking and supporting role; and finally, the jungle role, which involves PvE while roaming and assisting other lanes.”

Hearing his detailed explanation, Davey raised an eyebrow. “Al Hajat, how long have you been playing this?”

“It’s been two months.”

‘Two months?’

Davey couldn’t help but wonder if reaching such a high rank was possible in two months. Noticing his skepticism, Al Hajat admitted with a sheepish grin, “I got carried.”

‘This guy...’

“I understand. I got a lot of hate at first, but now I’m actually decent. I paid a lot to get lessons from a professional gamer. I’m now worthy of my rank.”

Davey had played similar games in his past life, and had also enjoyed playing games in general. So he understood the mix of effort and talent needed to succeed in this type of genre. It seemed Al Hajat had some natural ability after all.

“Ugh... Um...” Aeria awkwardly hunted and pecked at the keyboard as she made a teary face. She then clicked the mouse in amazement.

“It... It moves!” she exclaimed.

“If you press this, it sends off a skill... Oh, there’s a range indicator too?” Illyna observed, quickly getting the hang of it, while Aeria continued to struggle.

“Let’s start with a match against a computer. Choose any champion you’d like to try out.”

Everyone quickly drew lots to assign lanes.

“Master Davey, Rinne will take the jungle role.”

“Got it.”

Illyna took the top lane as a tank, Al Hajat chose the middle lane, Aeria was the support, and Davey played as the ADC. Once the roles were assigned, the game began.

Twenty minutes later...

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry,” Aeria whimpered, teary-eyed as she apologized to Davey.

“Why did the computer send two of them to the top lane? How am I supposed to win a two versus one?!” Illyna muttered, unable to hide her frustration.

While Al Hajat laughed, Aeria looked on the verge of tears and Davey glared at the screen, feeling slightly irritated.

“Ugh... This is frustrating,” he sighed.

His reflexes were good, but not knowing much about the game made it hard to defend against and attack the opponent. Al Hajat had tried his best to carry the team, but the rest of them were clearly out of their depth.

The most baffling player, though, was Rinne. Despite quickly learning the basics, she insisted on an odd strategy, preferring to hunt alone. By the time she finally came out from the jungle, the game had already spiraled out of control.

“Davey, you have a knack for this. You’re picking things up very quickly.”

He shrugged. He knew it was only natural, since he was already familiar with computers.

“Ugh... O-One more round!” Illyna said, fired up, while Aeria sighed, shaking her head in defeat.

“Should I take over?” a voice chimed in.

“Perserque?”

“It looks like fun,” she said, volunteering to swap in for Aeria.

“Alright. Let’s give this another go,” she said.

“Pfft. Think you can handle it?” Davey teased.

She smiled brightly. “I was once a Demon Lord, and I’m now a mage of at least the 8th Circle, Davey. Nothing is impossible for me.”

After that confident declaration, they dove into another match.

Twenty minutes later...

“...”

“We lost... again,” Illyna muttered, staring coldly at the screen with the same intensity she’d shown the first time they’d lost.

Perserque had her eyes narrowed, and an ominous aura emanated from her. Then there was Rinne, still seemingly content to stay in the jungle, showing no intention of joining the teamfights.

“Let’s try one more time,” Davey insisted.

Al Hajat chuckled nervously. “Ahaha! There’s no need to rush. We can take it slow...”

“One more round! I feel like we’re just about to get it,” Davey said, determination in his eyes.

“Oh...”

While the NSDIA was sweating bullets elsewhere, everyone in Al Hajat’s private villa was caught up in a heated gaming frenzy.

* * *

- Hey... Davey? Are you not coming?

Han Yu-Na, apparently having accepted her fate, had sent a message through Durian Talk. He had already told them his presence wouldn’t be known to the public, but the agency was scared that he could come at any time and turn the tables once again out of the blue.

Sometimes, facing the music early was better than dreading it indefinitely.

- I’m busy right now. Maybe later.

- Oh, please... If you’re going to crack down on us, just get it over with... My director’s about to go bald from stress! Seriously!

- Later.

Davey replied shortly before turning to his team with a serious expression.

“What’s our goal?”

“To crush our opponents!”

“And anyone who gets in our way?”

“Take them down!” Illyna shouted energetically.

“Queue up. Let’s go. Now that we know the basics, it’s time.”

Al Hajat had given his seat to Aeria. He, Tiara, and Aeonitia sat back while munching on snacks, watching the five with amused smiles.

“Once he’s fired up, there’s no stopping him,” Aeonitia noted.

“He was the same way when he was working,” Tiara agreed.

“That’s probably why he became someone so extraordinary,” Al Hajat added.

Davey didn’t even pay attention to their conversation. Perserque was now playing in the middle lane while Aeria was back in the support role. After several attempts, Davey finally managed to pull Rinne out of the jungle.

- Rinne will go for the rock golem and then...

“If you don’t come out this time, I’ll switch your position by force.”

- Tsk.

Finally, the five secured a victory against the computer. They were gaining confidence with each passing moment.

“We’ve got this! Let’s take them all down! Now even a two versus one feels like nothing!” Illyna shouted, her voice brimming with confidence. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. Now we’re ready for a real match against humans.”

The queue was set. With excitement, they entered a PvP match.

Fifteen minutes later...

Everyone was silent, staring as their nexus was blown up.

- LOL. Their top player sucks. Delete your account and go make your boyfriend a sandwich.

“What?! A sandwich?!” Illyna fumed.

- What was the middle lane person doing? Paving a highway for us?

- Even if I’m not good, at least I can talk shit...

- Their support can’t be a human LOL

“Another burden on the team...” Aeria muttered with a sigh.

- ADC is trash.

- Where the heck is their jungle?

“Rinne is here.”

Clenching their teeth in frustration, Illyna and Perserque were on the verge of exploding, while Aeria, stung by the taunts, clenched her small fists tightly, eyes glistening with tears.

“L-Let’s go again!” Aeria shouted.

Watching them, Al Hajat couldn’t help but wonder if he’d unleashed something best left alone.

1. For South Korea especially, this is a VERY exceptional rank in “League” 😉. I’ve only ever reached Diamond after ten years of casual play, but I’m also not clever enough to become a billionaire, so maybe it’s just my fault. Average is Silver, a full five tiers aka 16 subtiers below Master. The oil baron is smurfing his ass off here ☜