The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

As if to convey Water Spirit King Ellaim’s anger, the small swirl of water continued to grow into a huge whirlpool. Davey, however, remained silent under the storm of water. He stayed that way until he was entirely drenched.

“Kyaack! Brother! What is going on?!”

“Be-Benefactor! I, I believe the Spirit King is very furious!”

The small number of elves who had come to support and help with the construction were stunned silly by the situation they found themselves in. For these elves, the Spirit King was a very spiritual and sacred being who they could hardly see in their lifetimes.

The elves had already seen Davey summon the Earth Spirit King Gnoass before. So, it was safe to say that seeing him summon another Spirit King was enough to have them foam at the mouths. Their hearts nearly dropped in horror and shock.

Was it easy to summon one Spirit King after the other? Of course not. Even for elves who were known to have high affinities with spirit, the higher the spirit they tried to summon, the more spirit mana and affinity they would need. On top of that, the spirit that Davey was summoning with Gnoass’ help was not just any ordinary water spirit but a Spirit King.

Not long after, another powerful jet of water shot at Davey once again.

However, a giant made of earth popped out from behind Davey. As if he had been waiting for a long time, Gnoass reached his hand out to stop the jet of water from hitting Davey.

The jet of water was like a blade, sharp enough to cut down anything that stood in its path. Unfortunately, there was still a limit to how much power a Spirit King could exert in middle earth without having a contract.

A Spirit King was a being who presided over nature, the source of nature itself. And for them to move nature to their will and use large-scale spirit magic, they had to move and follow a set rule. Needless to say, they could only move according to the providence of the world.

And of course, it was against the providence of the world for them to harm an individual’s life.

[Gnoass!]

With the woman’s clear and astonished shout, the whirlpool of water slowly died down.

Everyone present felt tense and nervous after witnessing a Spirit King’s tremendous power. This was a power strong enough to put pressure on everyone present in the entire area.

After the whirlpool of water disappeared, a woman finally revealed herself. Just like any water spirit, the woman did not sink under the lake as she calmly walked on its surface. She created a ripple with every step she took.

The woman was slim and around 170 centimeters in height, but no one could possibly mistake her for a human. After all, she was made out of water.

[Was it you? The bastard who dared to summon me and call me by that vulgar name Slaimmy?]

When Gnoass lifted his protective hand, Davey gave Ellaim a calm reply. “That’s right.”

Water Spirit King Ellaim quietly looked at Davey for a long time before looking up to meet Gnoass’ gaze.

[You…]

The Spirit King was not entirely a single complete entity. Even if they were in their Spirit King form, Ellaim existed all over the world. After all, Spirit Kings were beings who encompassed and existed in nature. They could be found in all places with a few exceptions.

However, it could be said that there was only one Ellaim, the Ellaim in front of Davey. This was because the Spirit Empress Yuriana, Davey’s teacher in spirit magic and Demon Lord Ylgr’s wife, had signed a contract with Spirit King Ellaim.

[There are a lot of conditions to summon a Spirit King… A pure will, a genuine and longing heart, as well as large amounts of spirit mana. However, you only fulfill one of these conditions.]

“I am fully aware.”

To be honest, Davey would struggle to summon a Spirit King with those conditions. That was why he had used Yuriana to deceive Gnoass during Gnoass’ summoning before cornering him into signing a contract with him. It had been quite difficult to get the Earth Spirit King.

Then, why would it be easy to obtain the Water Spirit King, right? And of course, the answer to that was complete ‘denial’.

After looking at Davey in silence for quite some time, Ellaim suddenly manifested a whip made of water and swung it toward him. She hadn’t shown up here to sign a contract with Davey.

There were already many conditions and complications when summoning a Spirit King. And with the preparations that Davey had done, it should have been very difficult for him to summon the correct spirit. However, Davey was not one to give up. There was no chance that he would give up.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Gnoass stretched his arm out again and blocked Ellaim’s water whip. Then, he broke his silence and spoke bitterly.

[Calm down, Ellaim.]

[Have you lost your mind?! Do you know who you’re protecting right now?! That is a human! A human who dared to ridicule and make a fool of spirits like us!]

The calm surface of the lake began to surge once again as Ellaim stomped her feet angrily.

[I was the one who cooperated with him to call for you.]

After a brief explanation, Gnoass slowly rose up to his feet. He rose to his full height, reaching tens of meters tall, before wrapping earth around Davey in protection. Then, he spoke up again.

[My contractor is the only trace left of that woman.]

[…]

Gnoass’ expression turned somber before a brief silence blanketed the entire area.

To be honest, it was not that hard for Davey to notice Gnoass’ shallow trick.

Looking at the Spirit King’s serious expression, Davey was sure that Gnoass’ mind was ringing with this singular thought. That was how nasty this piece of dirt was. However, Davey did not call him out. And with the Spirit King’s help, the results were very satisfactory. Things worked out really well.

“This should be our first time seeing each other in person, I believe?”

Davey could say that he and Ellaim had been very close in the Hall. However, he was fully aware that the Ellaim who he had met back then was not the true Ellaim but an illusion that Yuriana had created.

Since the real Ellaim had never met him, Davey was approaching her as if he had never seen her before. Still, he was very familiar with her personality and quirks.

[Besides, you’re already done for upon getting summoned here.]

Davey took a while to set things up, but thanks to Gnoass’ help in tricking Ellaim, he could finish the task quickly.

[What are you talking about?]

[You haven’t noticed it yet? How about looking at your feet?]

Only then did Ellaim look down at her feet. Spotting something in the depths of the lake, she widened her eyes in shock. She could see a magic circle, a trap, that the evil Spirit Empress Yuriana had created to sign a contract with difficult and hostile spirits of other attributes.

It was a magic circle not originally related to the spirits of the four attributes, but Davey’s specialty was illegal remodeling and renovation.

[This…]

Flustered, Ellaim took a step back away from Davey.

[Im-Impossible. This magic circle! There’s no way!]

“It’s good that you came out. I was a bit worried that another Spirit King would emerge, but thank you for taking the bait and showing up.”

Davey had tricked Ellaim into coming out, since he did not want some other Spirit King. He was pleased that she had bitten the bait.

When Davey took a step toward Ellaim, everyone present looked over worriedly. They could see him stepping on the lake without any hesitation. However, their worried expressions slowly turned to wonder when a foothold made of soil appeared beneath his feet. The ground appeared to be alive and was following his will.

As for Ellaim, she was flustered by Davey’s approach. She could only step back whenever Davey stepped forward. She even made a huge sword out of water. Wielding the weapon, she shouted.

[As, as the king who stood at the summit of the cold and detached providence, this is unacceptable!!! This is a scam, a deception! This is a magic circle that subdues a spirit!!!]

“You must have forgotten how you came forward and deceived one of your own kind when the Spirit Empress signed a contract with the Spirit of Chaos, huh?”

[Y-You… How did you…? Ugh!!!]

There was always a chance that a being at the level of the Spirit King would not agree to sign a contract with the other party.

That was why Ellaim had wanted to choke Davey with water after having been called that degrading name ‘Slaimmy’. Then, she had planned to go back. However… since she had made her appearance in front of Davey, then Ellaim would not be able to go back until the contract was signed.

“Coming here was definitely up to you. However, going back is not.”

Davey thought to himself after directly speaking to Ellaim.

Listening to Davey’s sarcastic remarks, Ellaim shook in anger. She began to move recklessly, as if her reason had been swept away by her emotions.

“I am demanding a contract. You have been summoned by my shallow and meaningless wishes anyway. Besides, I have the power to offer this contract. Did I get that wrong?”

After Ellaim fell silent, Davey called out, “Rinne, the savior of mankind.”

Davey continued to step on the lake’s calm surface. It wouldn’t be strange for him to sink into the lake right here, but he walked on firmly. It was as if he were walking on solid ground.

When Davey pulled out a shiny crowbar, Ellaim widened her eyes in shock.

Davey could not use Red Ribbon or Blue Ribbon in this situation, because he was too strong. Even if they were having a disagreement right now, Davey did not want to give Ellaim any physical or non-physical injuries. Appropriate appeasement and threats were good tools to force such a spirit into submission.

“Spirit Empress Yuriana previously asked me to look after you guys. And since I can’t go to the Spirit World, I have called for you here. You don’t know how I feel and what I have done, but you’re getting upset and are on the verge of wreaking havoc. If that is the case, then…”

Davey had no choice but to pick up the rod of love. Of course, this would cause a lot of pain. Somehow, the shiny crowbar in his hands had an extraordinary effect of calming Ellaim down.

[Lies… She has died for thousands of years. There’s no way that a young man like you has met her.]

[Ellaim. He is speaking the truth.]

Annoyed by Gnoass’ repetitive answer, Ellaim ended up shouting in rage.

[Whose side are you on, huh?!]

Gnoass did not read the atmosphere and tension in the air before intervening. As for Ellaim, she was unnecessarily stubborn. Davey was not aware of these facts. He also did not expect that he would suffer this much upon signing a contract with spirits like them.

“If you don’t like it, then just keep on rejecting it.”

Instead of words, the savior of mankind was going to come forward.

Ellaim looked at the grinning Davey incredulously. She could tell that he was threatening her nonchalantly.

[Evil human!]

“Ellaim. I really need your power right now. It’s to the point that I have to resort to something like this.”

[You…]

“Just like you said before, I still cannot fulfill the other conditions. Perhaps it would take me years before I can formally summon you. And I am fully aware of that. However, I am in desperate need of your powers right now,” Davey said as he carefully wiped the earlier expression off of his face.

He continued on seriously. “That’s why I’m asking you, noble Spirit King. Help me out. Lend me a bit of your powers.”

As Ellaim fell into a long silence, Gnoass spoke up.

[Ellaim, the purpose of that longing and desire is to distinguish us, the Spirit Kings. He succeeded in summoning you, albeit not officially, and has enough to fulfill the conditions of a contract. Do not forget that you have no justification to reject this contract.]

Most importantly, Davey was the last and only vestige of the Spirit Empress. Those words seemed to have put a wedge on Ellaim’s stubbornness.

In the end, the silent Ellaim approached Davey with a sigh. She placed her index and middle finger together before placing it on Davey’s forehead. She went on to say…

[The source of water.]

[The water vein from the beginning of the world.]

[In the name of the water that encompasses nature, we acknowledge your summons.]

Ellaim’s voice turned solemn, her tone commanding respect and reverence.

At the same time, a large amount of spirit mana turned into a huge stream of water that poured into Ellaim’s body. With the arrival of their Spirit King, the water spirits began to flourish and thrive.

[I, Water Spirit King Ellaim, ask you. Are you willing to become my contractor?]

“I am willing.”

[From the moment this contract is engraved upon our souls, I will become your spirit. I will not allow you to sign a contract with another water spirit.]

The short conversation continued until a blast of cold air flowed out from Ellaim’s hand to enter Davey’s forehead. The moment the cold air made contact with his skin, a blue pattern appeared on Davey’s forehead. Then, it completely disappeared from sight.

“Welcome, my new contract spirit, Ellaim.”

[…Well, alright. Tell me what needs to be done that is so urgent and important. I am a very busy spirit, I have to solve that quickly and go back.]

Davey nodded at Ellaim’s grumpy tone. Pointing behind her, he said, “That.”

Ellaim looked at Davey in confusion.

[What do you mean…?]

“Can you take out all of the water from the lake and hold onto it for a while? We’re going to do some construction for a bit. Gnoass! Are you ready?”

[…Yes, contractor.]

An urgent matter. That was right. It was a very urgent matter. However, Davey never mentioned anything about what kind of work Ellaim had to do nor did he confirm what Ellaim had thought she would do.

Ellaim’s blue face turned ugly upon that realization. However, she was no match for Davey, who had already learned enough in the Hall to know how to handle and master a Spirit King.

Davey could easily force the Spirit Kings into doing this construction whether they liked it or not.

Ignoring Ellaim, who was now shaking in anger, Davey clapped his hands and said, “Well then, come on. Let’s all work properly. You are a Spirit King. If you don’t do this properly, then I will make sure to spread all of the gossip about you to all spirits in the spirit world.”

Lower level spirits might be timid and shy, but they were very talkative. By telling one of them a rumor, that particular rumor would immediately spread all throughout the spirit world.