The air fell eerily silent.
Unlucky? Yeah, that was one way to put it.
Mike had barely stepped into the Void Maelstrom, and now he was surrounded by a horde of powerful enemies.
Fight them head-on?
Not a chance. That option wasn’t even on Mike’s list.
The reason was simple: Mike hated direct confrontations.
If he could take someone out with a sneaky one-shot, he’d do it without hesitation. If he couldn’t? Then he’d wait until he could.
And honestly, if it came down to a real fight, neither he nor Maxen stood a chance.
There were three enemies here who were over level 1000. Three!
Sure, Maxen was strong-unstoppable against anyone below level 999. But against level 1000 enemies? Not so much.
And if Maxen got too carried away in the fight, broke his chains, and ascended? Well, that’d be a whole other problem.
Mike scanned the area and noticed something interesting.
The enemies surrounding them came from all sorts of races: dragons, werewolves, elves… even Chaos beings.
But there were no signs of the blood clan or the angels.
Based on the intel Mike had gathered earlier, could the Void Maelstrom actually be the ruins of a previous world?
Were these beings survivors of a past Apocalypse?
After all, this was the place where the Tower of Truth had emerged. The theory wasn’t entirely far-fetched.
[Congratulations, you got it right!]
The Eye of Truth always seemed to shine in the most useless situations.
After its fourth awakening, the Eye of Truth had gained a new ability: [Immunity Mode].
The effect of Immunity Mode was simple: during combat, Mike could designate one enemy skill to be “immune.” He could then use that skill himself, without any cost, until the combat ended.
Mike liked to call it the “Freebie Mode.”
Steal it! Everything could be stolen!
And the best part? Immunity Mode’s stolen skills didn’t conflict with Replication Mode.
Plus, the skills stolen through Immunity Mode had zero cost to use.
It was perfect for someone like Mike.
Finally, after its fourth awakening, the Eye of Truth was starting to show its true potential.
As the enemies surrounded them, the situation fell into a strange stalemate.
A gray wolf stepped forward. A terrifying scar ran across its face, and its voice was hoarse. “Are you the new Wolf Alpha?”
Clearly, this wolf had once been a Wolf Alpha himself and could sense the aura emanating from Maxen.
“Yes,” Maxen admitted without hesitation. Then, testing the waters, he asked, “Wolf Alpha doesn’t fight Wolf Alpha, right?”
One less enemy would definitely be a good thing.
“Heh heh heh-”
The gray wolf chuckled, its green eyes gleaming. It raised its right paw and pointed to the scar on its face.
“This scar? Ares gave it to me.”
The wolf’s laughter was low and menacing. The scar on its skull had nearly killed it.
Maxen, with a proud tone, replied, “He’s my Second Godfather.”
“Second Godfather?”
The gray wolf froze, caught off guard. After a long pause, it finally asked, “Did they… adopt you?”
Something about that question felt off. But at the same time, it kind of made sense.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Mike couldn’t help but interrupt the wolf’s wild imagination.
This conversation was getting way too ridiculous. No more unnecessary tangents!
Mike explained on Maxen’s behalf, “Ares is just one of his many godfathers.”
Many godfathers?
The more Mike explained, the more absurd it sounded.
The powerful beings who had lived through two eras were truly witnessing something extraordinary today.
A massive dragon exhaled a plume of dragonfire and asked curiously, “You, human. I can sense the aura of a dragon on you. What’s your connection to the new potential Supreme Being of the dragon race?”
“None whatsoever,” Mike replied earnestly. “I do have a good relationship with a golden snake, though. It’s also a potential Supreme Being. Is that who you’re talking about?”
“A snake?”
The dragon let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
“My noble and sacred dragon race has nothing to do with snakes.”
Clearly, the dragon thought it must have been mistaken.
“Our prince is here…”
A Chaos being spoke up, its gaze fixed on Mike.
“Hand over our prince, and I won’t participate in this hunt.”
It seemed the Chaos race was a tight-knit, loyal group. Judging by the tone, though, they were
probably planning to kill their prince.
Mike admitted honestly, “Sorry, I have no idea where he is.”
“Then I’ll just have to kill you…”
The Chaos being also let out a low, sinister laugh.
Enough! What was with all these “heh heh heh” laughs? Did they all take villain lessons or
something?
The powerful beings stepped forward, tightening the circle around Mike and Maxen.
They were clearly just stalling for time with all this talking.
Ever since Ares had left the Void Maelstrom over a century ago, these beings had been lying in
wait.
For them, a hundred years of ambush had dulled their vigilance.
So when Thor appeared, their first instinct was to patch up any gaps in their defenses.
In other words, Thor had wasted his one chance to escape by stopping to chat.
“Relax,” Mike said confidently, completely unfazed by the situation. “I’ve planned for this.”
Maxen’s eyes lit up.
“Are we about to counterattack?”
Right now, it was just the two of them.
If Thor had some secret trump card that could get them out of this mess, Maxen was eager to
see it.
If they could escape unscathed, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
And when it came to creating miracles, Thor had always been a natural.
Even their enemies were holding their breath, not daring to let their guard down.
Despite their overwhelming advantage in strength, numbers, and positioning, they chose to
defend rather than attack.
They had seen firsthand how terrifying a human potential Supreme Being could be.
Morpheus, Ares—these names had already cemented the reputation of human potential Supreme Beings as “invincible.”
That stereotype had now been projected onto Thor.
It was precisely because of this that so many powerful beings had set aside their pride to
gather here and ambush him.
Anything worthy of being called a trump card by a potential Supreme Being had to be
terrifying.
Even if Thor killed them all today, they wouldn’t be surprised.
Of course, the one person who knew Thor best was Maxen.
And Maxen knew one thing for sure:
Thor was planning to run.
Mike’s lips curled into a confident smirk.
No one will ever guess my escape route.
No one.
Under the watchful eyes of countless enemies, Mike turned to Maxen and asked, with utmost
seriousness:
“Is there any chance… you’re actually a horse?”
Maxen never thought he’d see a day like this.
His expression shifted subtly as memories of his first encounter with Apollo surfaced in his
mind.
And then-
Every single being present widened their eyes, staring ahead in utter disbelief, their faces
frozen in shock.
In their entire lives, they had never witnessed something so absurd.
They couldn’t comprehend it.
What kind of sorcery was this?!
To put it simply:
Maxen had just performed a magic trick where he evolved from a human into a horse.
Mike, who had clearly been prepared for this, immediately dove into Maxen’s shadow and
shouted, “Run!”
Now, to understand how things got to this point, we need to rewind a bit-to a conversation between Maxen and Mike back in the Wolf’s Den.
It all started when Mike discovered that Vladimir could transform into a pig. Curious, he had
asked Maxen about Apollo’s abilities.
At the time, Maxen had complained about his first encounter with Apollo, where he’d been turned into a wild horse and forced to gallop through the Abyss for an entire night.
Mike, with his excellent memory, had filed that little tidbit away for future use. Later, during a lecture, their instructor had mentioned a legendary horse in the Abyss-a
horse so fast it could outrun even a demon god.
The answer was obvious, wasn’t it?
That horse could only be Maxen.
With this information, Mike had crafted a flawless escape plan.
And it was brilliant.
Who would’ve thought Maxen could transform into a majestic steed?
Once Maxen turned into a horse, his speed increased tenfold.
In the blink of an eye-
He broke through the encirclement.
The enemies didn’t even have time to react.
Maxen felt a surge of pride.
Four legs really were faster than two.
For a brief moment, he thought about how carefree life could be as a wild horse, free of all
burdens.
But there was one tiny flaw in this perfect escape plan:
Maxen had run off.
His shadow, however, had stayed behind.
Mike, still hiding in the shadow: …
The powerful beings surrounding them: …
What the hell just happened?
Clearly, Mike hadn’t been paying attention during class. He’d been too busy reading novels.
This was a terrible habit, and he deserved a stern reprimand.
If only he’d listened to the lecture, he wouldn’t have made such a rookie mistake today!
The instructor had explained it very clearly:
“There was once a horse in the Ninth Abyss, a horse so fast…”
“How fast?”
“It was so fast that even its shadow couldn’t keep up!”
“And so, it became known as the Shadowless Horse.”
In other words, when Maxen transformed into a horse, he was *really* fast.
So fast that his shadow couldn’t keep up.
And Mike… had hidden himself in the shadow.
Left behind, Mike stood there, utterly bewildered, a string of question marks practically
floating above his head:
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Even the enemies surrounding him were momentarily stunned.
The leader of the group, a level 1000 powerhouse, gasped in realization and exclaimed, “I
understand now!”
Everyone perked up, eager to hear his insight.
“The human potential Supreme Being deliberately sent his burden away so he could go all out
and take us down with him!”
It made sense!
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. How terrifying!
It sounded exactly like something a human potential Supreme Being would do.
The beings present were all seasoned warriors, veterans of countless battles.
Faced with the possibility of a suicidal plan from a potential Supreme Being, they quickly
adjusted their strategy:
“Don’t panic! Slowly back away. Don’t give him a chance to go berserk!”
“Right! Stay calm. We have the numbers advantage!”
“He’s not Ares, and he’s definitely not Morpheus. There’s nothing to fear!”
|| ||
The more scared they were, the more they tried to convince themselves otherwise.
Mike could see it clearly now.
Morpheus and Ares had left these guys with some serious psychological scars.
In other words, they were terrified of human potential Supreme Beings.
And that fear was precisely why they had all gathered here to ambush Mike.
A human potential Supreme Being… had to die.
The encirclement loosened slightly.
And that tiny gap was all Maxen needed.
Whoosh-
He came galloping back.
The majestic horse returned to the scene, reared up on its hind legs, grabbed its shadow, and
bolted away again.
The powerful beings: ???
He’s still running?
As a horse, Maxen was faster than anyone present. They couldn’t catch him even if they tried.
All they could do was watch as Maxen carried his shadow and disappeared into the distance.
Wait a minute-
He’s back again?!
What now?!
Taking full advantage of his speed, Maxen returned once more, grabbed the golden tree lying
on the ground, and fled the scene again.
For a few seconds, the powerful beings stood there in stunned silence.
Then chaos erupted.
“Chase them!”
“Kill them and restore our honor!”
“That tree-there’s something special about that tree! It might contain a source!”
To the powerful beings, the golden tree looked completely ordinary.
But Maxen and Thor’s actions suggested otherwise.
If they were willing to risk their lives for it, the tree had to be extraordinary. Clearly, it held some kind of secret that their limited understanding couldn’t grasp. And so, their determination to hunt down Thor and Maxen reached new heights.
In a remote corner of the Void Maelstrom, a golden light flashed, and a majestic horse landed
on the ground.
After running at full speed for ten minutes, Maxen finally couldn’t keep going.
He dropped the shadow and the golden tree, transformed back into his human form, and
gasped for air.
Mike, who had narrowly escaped death, let out a long sigh of relief.
That was close, but they made it.
With a 105% survival rate, Mike had never doubted his ability to stay alive.
But surviving didn’t mean he was immune to suffering.
If he’d fallen into the hands of those enemies, he would’ve been in for a world of pain.
As soon as they had a moment to breathe, Mike asked, “How often can you transform?”
Maxen: ???
That’s too much! You’re planning to make this a regular thing?!
Transform? My ass!
Maxen, using his brilliant mind, threw out a random number:
“About thirty years, give or take.” That number was obviously nonsense.
Mike knew full well that Maxen wouldn’t transform unless it was absolutely necessary.
But when push came to shove, Maxen would do it without hesitation-even if Mike didn’t
ask.
The only reason he hadn’t done it earlier was that he’d forgotten he could.
“We have to make it back alive,” Mike said, his tone serious. “I’ve got 15.67 million Lord
merits stashed with Apollo…”
Thor’s words nearly gave Maxen a heart attack.
How much?!
15.67 million?!
Maxen could practically see the money waving at him.
“Uh… just out of curiosity…” Maxen rubbed his hands together awkwardly. “If you never go
back… what happens to that money?” Mike glanced at Maxen, let out a cold chuckle, and didn’t answer. According to Mike’s plan, about 80% of that money would go to Maxen.
Not because Mike was particularly fond of him, but because it was the most practical option.
For one, Maxen wouldn’t have to pay inheritance taxes.
As a human Supreme Son, Maxen had certain privileges. It was only fair.
For another, Maxen would distribute the money to Morpheus, Ares, Apollo, Guardian
Shadow…
By the time Mike finished dividing it up, Maxen would probably only get 0.1%.
Maxen estimated he’d get at least 2%.
Shaking off the thought, Maxen asked, “What’s the plan now?” Coming to the Void Maelstrom had been Thor’s idea. But as for what they were supposed to do here, Maxen was completely in the dark.
“Let me check the map,” Mike said, pulling out a blank sheet of paper. Maxen: ???
You call that a map?
Mike began scribbling on the paper.
During Maxen’s ten-minute sprint, Mike hadn’t been idle. Using the Eye of Truth, he’d
recorded all the landmarks along the way.
Looking at the densely packed markings and symbols on the paper, Maxen asked, “Is this map accurate?”
Mike replied confidently, “Absolutely.”
Half an hour later, as he stared at the finished map, Maxen fell into deep thought.
Even Mike couldn’t help but marvel.
“In ten minutes, you ran across three Abyss zones. You’re incredible…”
The map now had several key points marked:
– A. Ace and the Chaos Prince’s location
– B. A hidden fragment of an ancient source
– C. The ruins of a certain race
– D….
Mike had come to the Void Maelstrom to grow stronger.
And there were only so many ways to do that: resources, sources, void fragments, Heavenly
Realm materials…
His primary goal was to collect source fragments to feed the Greed Source.
When it came to source laws, quality always trumped quantity.
And the Greed Source was practically tailor-made for Mike.
Aside from that, he had two smaller goals:
1. Collect Heavenly Realm materials to prepare for building Thor’s Tower.
2. Repair *Nightmare’s Breeze*.
The battle-damaged version of *Nightmare’s Breeze* was practically useless to Mike at this
point.
Even Cerberus wasn’t as strong as Vladimir.
If Mike wanted to restore the glory of this SSS-tier equipment, he’d have to put in some
effort.
He’d already exhausted all the materials available in the Abyss, and the repair progress had
stalled.
The Void Maelstrom was his last hope.
If he could accomplish all three tasks, it would be perfect.
“Within two months, I need to reach the level of a quasi-Supreme Being…”
Mike set himself a modest goal.
“At the very least, I need to be 1.1 Maxens strong.”
Maxen: ???
I’m planning to make you my godfather, and you’re using me as a unit of measurement?
“Fine.”
Having accepted his fate, Maxen didn’t bother resisting. Pointing at the map, he asked, “Are
we rescuing Little Calderon (Ace) first?” “Why would we do that?” Mike asked, genuinely confused.
Ace had come to the Void Maelstrom to grow stronger.
For him, life-and-death situations were the fastest way to break through.
Why interfere?
Mike pointed to a relatively safe resource point guarded by a mere level 992 being. “Let’s go warm up first.”
With that, the two of them set off, their figures disappearing into the void.