Novel The Max Level Hero has Returned! - Chapter 249

Chapter 249

Looking at them from a distance, the bear growled as if it would no longer approach them any further. It would only take action against them if they chose to attack it first.

Princess Maria looked at the bear, who appeared to have some sort of will and ego, that was lying in wait for them. Thinking that the situation was now slightly better, she slowly tore the sleeves that covered her arms.

Rip!

Tanya, who was temporarily blind, turned towards the sound of cloth being ripped apart.

“Don’t worry. I’m just trying to cover my eyes.”

“B… But Princess Maria…”

“I know. I already know that this will have no effect.”

Maria had originally been blind, but she could still sense her surroundings through some of her other senses. That was why no one found it strange that a blind girl like her could easily identify the things around her and find the things that she needed. The problem was that this special ability disappeared the moment she had regained her vision.

This situation was similar to a person used to using their hands suddenly having tentacles instead. If that happened so suddenly, would it still be possible for the person to use those limbs as well? Of course, that would simply be impossible.

Davey could very simply summarize Maria’s special characteristic. It was a simple constitution where one could still feel their surroundings even if they were visually impaired. It was said that people with such a constitution often had special abilities.

After seeing Princess Maria, that was exactly what Davey had told Tanya, his younger sister. It was a case where one would use force to see because they could not see through their eyes. Tanya did not know the exact details of the ability, but she was certain that ordinary blind people with blindfolds covering their eyes couldn’t walk around without a cane in hand.

“What are you doing?! Raise your bow!”

Although Tanya had told Princess Maria that she would try, she had no idea where to start and what to do. Upon hearing Maria’s shout, she finally came out of her daze.

Baaaaaang!

Then, the sound of a thick branch breaking and crashing on the ground rang out. It was quickly followed by the huge bear’s loud roar, which came from rather close to Tanya.

“Kyaaaack!” Tanya screamed as she trembled in fear.

Maria, who was left in a poor condition, collapsed on the ground next to Tanya. Even if she covered her eyes or closed them entirely, she could not feel the waves that she had been reliant on before. It was not that hard for her to control her vision, but no matter what she did, she just could not adjust and adapt to the distance that she could actually see in front of her.

Maria was in a similar situation to someone who had lost their sense of depth and balance from suddenly losing an eye.

“Maybe if I dig out my eyes…!”

Thump!!!

Eventually, Maria came to a rash and extreme choice. She quickly pulled out an arrow and aimed its glinting tip toward her eyes.

However, the bear’s attack was faster than her movements. The bear’s large front paws slammed down and grazed against Maria, who rolled back several times from the heavy impact.

“Urk… Ugh…!” Maria coughed up blood.

She was in so much pain. It was as if her lungs had been pierced through. All she could do was look down at her now bloody chest. This was her first time seeing just how red blood was.

‘This is the color of human blood.’

With that one thought repeatedly flashing across her mind, Maria instinctively moved around and avoided the attacks that came her way. Her sense of balance and her perspective were thrown into a complete mess, and she struggled to concentrate now that she could finally see the world through her own eyes.

—

Roaaaaaaar!!!

Princess Maria looked like she was playing around, rolling all over the ground to evade the huge bear’s attacks. However, not long after, Maria vomited a mouthful of blood.

She pressed her injured chest and shouted, “Princess Tanya! Get a grip of yourself! I’m not dead yet! Don’t worry about me and just raise your bow and shoot!!!”

Tanya flinched at Maria’s loud cry.

“I will buy you some time. This guy’s head is not as hard as we thought it to be… However, our normal attacks won’t work on his head,” Maria said.

Maria’s breath was ragged, but she kept on distracting the huge bear to take its attention away from Tanya. She yelled once again, “That’s why…you have to do it! Pierce its head with your arrow while I catch its attention!”

Listening to Maria’s shout, Tanya tightened her grip on her shortbow. Her hands trembled as she reached for one of the arrows that hung on her waist.

“Feel the wind, listen to the sounds, and sense the vibrations in the air. You can do it, right?!”

That should be an impossible task, but both Tanya and Maria had outstanding archery skills which could allow them to push this very boundary. Yes, eyesight was the most important thing when it came to archery, but…

“…I have to focus,” Tanya said, then exhaled a breath to release some tension.

She kept her eyes closed as she raised her shortbow. The huge bear’s roars and the sound of things constantly breaking and collapsing rang loudly in her ears.

“Kyaaaaaaaaack!”

In the end, Maria failed to avoid one of the bear’s attacks. Her scream rang all across the forest.

Hearing Maria’s scream, Tanya was overwhelmed by a sense of dire urgency.

‘Wind… The wind!’

Tanya moved on reflex, her hands nocking an arrow and pulling the bowstrings tightly. She said desperately, “Please!”

Ping!!! Clang!!!

The arrow cut through the air and flew straight toward the huge bear. However, Tanya’s sense of direction was a bit wonky. In the end, the arrow missed the bear’s head and only managed to graze its shoulder.

“The arrow missed its head!”

“Ah… Aaaaaaah…”

“It’s fine! I’ll draw its attention again!” Maria shouted loudly.

With her eyes still tightly closed, she jumped on one of the nearby trees. It was incredible to see how flexible and agile she could be in that situation.

Ping…

A light green energy wrapped around Tanya’s fingertips. Then, with a light green flash, her arrow flew exactly to where the bear’s head was.

“It… It succeeded?!” Maria shouted with her eyes wide open in shock.

However, the huge bear was now completely focused on Tanya, the one who had shot the dangerous arrow.

“Princess! Dodge!!!”

—

Roaaaaaaaar!

It was already too late for Maria to chase after the huge bear, which was charging at Tanya.

Hearing Maria’s urgent scream, Tanya snapped open her eyes. She gritted her teeth and rolled on the ground, trying to get away from the direction where she felt the bear was coming from. She had instinctively felt the impending crisis from the wind and vibration in the air.

Meanwhile, the boy who was watching the two struggle fiercely against their opponent smiled quietly.

[What do you think is the most important thing when it comes to shooting arrows?]

[Your vision?]

[That’s only half correct. True, your vision is important. However, using your eyesight to look at your target and shoot is something that even a fool can do.]

[Then, what is it? Is it the wind?]

[It’s reading the mana in your surroundings. The wind and the vibration in the air are also important. However, if you want to be a true master-class hunter and a master archer, you have to understand and see the flow and movement of mana.]

[Hmm…]

[A swordsman would condense their own mana to find their opponent’s flow. This is the difference. Keep in mind that if a swordsman would arbitrarily create their own mana flow, the archers have to find this flow. From now on, I will shoot arrows at you. Close your eyes and avoid them by feeling the flow of mana.]

[What if I can’t avoid it?]

[You won’t really die, but you will feel pain that’s worse than death.]

The boy frowned slightly when the voice of the dog shit elf, God of Archery Apollo, who had taught him archery rang faintly in his head. Just like what his teacher had said, the first requirement to becoming a master-class hunter was being able to detect the flow of mana.

Seeing Tanya holding her bow calmly while she tried to even out her breathing made the boy smile. He raised his hand and said, “Tanya. Don’t forget. The first thing that you have to do is to remain calm.”

At the same time, the huge bear that was lunging toward Tanya slapped the green-lit arrow away. It suddenly started to charge toward Princess Maria instead.

Maria was as much of a genius as Tanya when it came to the art of archery. Just by taking away one of the senses that she heavily relied on, she was able to realize her shortcomings and began to reflect on them. Simply put, Maria was already beginning to adapt.

The boy watched Maria, who was struggling with the huge bear, and Tanya, who was aiming her arrow at the bear. It did not matter if his voice would not reach Tanya or not. He was sure that Tanya already knew the words that he had previously said.

“Do you remember what this older brother of yours told you? Tanya, take a deep breath.”

As if she had heard the boy’s words, Tanya slowly fixed her posture and pulled her bow tightly while taking a deep breath.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

Then, a strong gust of wind began to condense at the tip of Tanya’s arrow.

—Goodness… She’s a child loved by the spirits!

The priest of Hyeon Kingdom was certainly a powerful human being. From what they heard, none of his divinations had ever gone wrong. And it seemed like even his last divination was no mistake.

If Princess Maria became a genius in archery because of her special attribute, Tanya became one as she was a human child loved by the wind spirits. If she chose to be a Wind Elementalist, Tanya would surely become successful.

Ignoring Perserque’s surprised cry, the boy continued to speak, “Control the mana that’s slowly rotating in your body and let it flow. Think of the bow as an extension of your body and follow the flow that your older brother had shown you before.”

The mana flowing in Tanya’s body gradually accelerated and increased. The amount was now completely different from the basic amount of mana that was stored within Tanya. However, it seemed like Tanya did not notice it since she was so focused on what she was doing.

Princess Maria forgot what she was doing. With wide eyes, she looked right at Tanya. Feeling the unexpectedly large amount of mana that began mixing with the wind, she said, “Princess…Tanya?”

“Count to three in your head.”

Tanya, who unknowingly followed the boy’s murmurs, suddenly released her hold on the strings of the bow with her eyes still closed. She immediately retrieved two more arrows, nocking three in one go as she pulled the strings of the bow tightly once again.

Twang!!!

Then, she released the bowstring without any hesitation.

[Strong Shot]

Tanya heard that her older brother Davey did not name the technique. She knew that it had been given by the creator of the archery skill itself.

The sudden gust of wind and the strong recoil forced Tanya’s posture and form to falter. A flash of pale green light gathered the three arrows together and made them spin fiercely. Their target? The bear’s head.

Of course, the attack came in straight. This meant that the huge bear could also counterattack with its front paws.

Baaaaaaang!

The bear’s arm, which could not be pierced through by any kind of metal earlier, was torn and twisted in an instant. It was as if it had been targeted by a drill. And of course, a bear with such a huge injury in its arms would not be able to react properly.

Princess Maria was frustrated after seeing the bear be completely aggressive and hostile toward Tanya. However, she could only stare at the following sequence of events with wide eyes.

With her eyes closed once again, Tanya spun herself around and moved to the other side. She then took out two more arrows that seemed to be twice the size of her quiver. When she swiftly struck a stone nearby, sparks flew up and flames began to burn on the tip of her arrow.

Crackle!!!

Surprisingly enough, the metal on the tip of Tanya’s arrow began to burn brightly. Despite the scene that broke common sense and the laws of nature, Tanya remained calm. She nocked both flaming arrows and pulled the strings of her bow. And without taking a step back, she released her arrows toward the charging bear.

[Flashy Shot]

It was a flamboyant and flashy arrow strike.

The huge bear ignored the arrow that flew in a strange manner, choosing to charge and attack Tanya head-on. However, it was a very fatal mistake. The arrow that the bear had chosen to ignore circled around and pierced its forehead from behind.

Thud!!!

Not long after, a huge explosion bloomed as the other shot pierced through the bear’s flanks.

“Haa… Haaaa!” Tanya breathed roughly as she collapsed to the ground in a heap. It seemed like she had been holding her breath all this time.

At this moment, one of the two limits that an archer must break through to reach the level of a master archer had collapsed.

***

Davey watched the two girls, who looked at the cold body in fear, with a happy smile. The girls had overcome a huge ordeal.

Only when Maria and Tanya left the scene did Davey appear right next to the body. He glanced at the unmoving body below him and called out quietly, “Fire Chicken.”

The call was nonchalant and monotonous, but the response was shocking.

—Kihyeeeeeeck!

As if it had been waiting for Davey’s call, a gigantic bird suddenly appeared in front of Davey with blazing flames that burned all around him. Fire Chicken, who was covered with blazing flames, slowly extinguished its flames after showing off its mighty presence. It approached Davey and rubbed its beak on his hands.

“Would you like to have a successor?”

Fire Chicken tilted its head in confusion after hearing Davey’s question.

Instead of giving the bird a clear answer, Davey just chose to throw the talismans that he had retrieved from his Pocket Plane in the air.

This forest was a place where the wind element was the strongest. That was why Davey thought that this was the best and easiest place to summon that guy.

Without any shred of hesitation, Davey manipulated the talismans. At the same time, the fallen bear slowly turned into liquid, its form changing into that of a bizarre and twisted monster.

This creature was none other than Gellus, the vampire whose heart had been taken away by Davey. The problem was that he no longer had his original appearance. He now looked utterly horrendous. Half of Gellus’ body had melted while the other half got twisted and distorted.

“Ah. So, it has such a side effect.”

Great power always came with a price. It seemed like this was the price that these bastards had to pay for recklessly dragging out their source of immortality and using it as they pleased.

—

Grrrrrrr…

You bastard… You fucking bastard!!!

Davey smiled at how the bastard wanted to try to attack him, since the bastard could not even stand up properly with his distorted body. Davey then said cheekily, “You look like you have a lot to say.”

—You… You wicked bastard!!!

“Wicked? Did you just say wicked?”

Poof!!!

Before Davey could even finish speaking, a dark red flame burst free to engulf Gellus’ entire body.

—Keuhaaaaaaaack!!!

“What you wanted to do is far worse than what I’m doing to you.”

Gellus’ face turned ugly when he heard the sarcasm dripping from Davey’s voice.

“But don’t worry. Your work here is done.”

The Bow Test had been completed safely, and the other three participants had naturally failed the test. However, considering that the test was only done once every few years, the fact that both Tanya and Maria had passed the test was already a feat in itself. It could be said that this year’s passing rate was high.

—Kghkk…

Davey ignored the man who was gritting his teeth from the pain that wracked his body. He chose to activate the talismans that he had thrown into the air. Then, he quietly declared, “Born under my name, I command you to show thyself, the one bestowed with the authority to command wind and lightning.”

At Davey’s calm voice, the talismans that fell to the ground once again rose into the air. They began to rotate fiercely as if they had a will of their own. At the same time, a huge thunderstorm started to brew in the skies above Davey.

“Let’s call you Rumble.”

Rumble!!!

As if it was protesting against Davey’s naming sense, millions of lightning bolts fell from the thunderclouds above Davey’s head. The birth of the Lightning Divine Beast Azure Dragon must always be accompanied by heavy thunderstorms and huge lightning bolts.

And the newly born azure dragon immediately complained to Davey, because it was offended at the strange name that he had bestowed upon itself.

How dare this blue lugworm complain?!

There was no way that Davey did not know what would happen next. Davey quickly took out a metal needle that he had prepared beforehand and stabbed it into Gellus’ body.

Crackle, crackle!!!

The result was unsurprising. The tremendous amount of lightning that fell from the skies was quickly attracted to the lightning rod that Davey had stuck into Gellus’ body. And that sudden surge of lightning completely cut off the final breath that Gellus still had within him.

“We always encourage those who do good things and punish those who do bad things. Good. That’s only natural. Fire Chicken, it’s time to hunt for some lugworms! Go, bite!”