The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 406

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Chapter 406

Spear Saint Bellion’s obsession with enhancement was truly something to behold.

Fortunately, he also happened to be quite a lucky man.

“Good grief… I mean, I’m glad to get the protection materials, but still.”

Thanks to the weapons he deliberately broke during enhancement attempts, the number of protection agents and polishing compounds he recovered was surprisingly large.

In the end, only after successfully creating an 11-enhanced Gellard’s Star did he finally leave, wearing a deeply satisfied expression.

“Heh heh heh. This should be enough to knock that old geezer down a peg.”

The muttered words he spoke on his way out somehow lingered in my ears.

For someone hailed as one of the strongest on the continent, he really did have the sensibilities of a child.

Bellion was known for living unusually youthfully for his age, but sometimes I couldn’t help thinking—doesn’t he ever act his age?

…Though, to be fair, I wasn’t really in a position to say that.

In any case, thanks to Bellion’s greed, I ended up with far more enhancement protection agents and polishing compounds than expected.

Strictly speaking, these so-called protection agents and polishing compounds were nothing more than condensed masses of special materials, so fusing them with ordinary metal wasn’t particularly meaningful.

“Strange material. Unique power clinging to it. Still not enough?”

“I think I’ll need a bit more for stability.”

That was only natural, considering that the Book of Fate retrieved from the Progenitor Dragon’s ruins was an item that could not afford even a single failure.

Throughout all this, Lucifer hadn’t said a word, nor had he shown himself.

Honestly, I preferred this over him scheming something behind the scenes, so I didn’t see it as a bad thing.

All in all, a lot had happened over the past few days.

The biggest change involved the Stars.

Those who received enhancements from me were the Sword Star, the Spear Star, and the Radiant Star.

However, having somehow heard the news, the Earth Star and the Bow Star also came to me requesting enhancements.

What truly surprised me was the Bow Star Yuhav’s luck—it was beyond imagination.

“Hehe. Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”

“Ah… um. You’re not going to push it further?”

“My intuition’s screaming at me. This is where I should stop.”

Bringing with her a mountain of extremely valuable materials as payment, she enhanced her great bow to +11 in a single attempt and left just like that.

Meanwhile, the Earth Star who had come along with her attempted a +7 enhancement, only for his weapon to be destroyed in the process.

Unlike the others, it seemed his weapon wasn’t of particularly high quality—it couldn’t even undergo transformation.

Staring blankly at his shattered weapon, he said he’d bring a better one next time before leaving.

In the end, thanks to the Stars’ pride-fueled competition, I unintentionally amassed quite a lot of protection agents and polishing compounds.

Still… I hadn’t met the other Stars.

At this point, I thought at least one or two more might show up.

Stars like the Sage Star or the Authority Star—I didn’t even know what they looked like, so I found myself mildly curious.

Of course, it wasn’t like it mattered if they never came.

“Father!”

When I stepped out of the workshop, I was greeted by Grivy, with Sur perched on her shoulder and Serqet sitting atop her head.

She must have just come back from playing in the dirt—her clothes were smeared with soil.

“You should brush the dirt off your clothes.”

As I lightly dusted her off, Grivy burst into giggles, ticklish.

“Father! Grivy wants enhancement too!”

“Enhancement? Of what?”

“Enhance Grivy! Make me super strong! I’ll get this big!”

Perhaps because she was a spirit, her sense of logic was fundamentally different.

Grivy bounced up and down, wishing to enhance her very existence.

A thought crossed my mind.

Enhancement couldn’t be applied to living beings.

But did spirits count?

I’d never dealt with spirits in the Hall of Enhancement.

I’d never even tested whether contracted spirits fell under that category.

I’d simply assumed that since they possessed life, it was impossible.

Of course, I had no intention of enhancing Grivy.

There were other ways to make her stronger, and even if she wasn’t an ordinary spirit, the idea of attempting a risky enhancement on her didn’t sit well with me at all.

Where would I even swing a hammer on that tiny body?

“Grivy. Enhancements are for weapons.”

“But Grivy’s tough! My whole body is a weapon!”

Yes.

That much, I knew.

“Still no.”

“Hiiing…”

She drooped her head, her face crumpling into a pout.

After a brief moment of thought, I picked her up.

“I’ll give you something else instead.”

“Something else?”

“Yeah.”

I took Grivy back into the workshop and crafted a safety helmet using a light yet sturdy ore.

It looked exactly like the kind of helmet you’d see at a construction site in my previous life.

After striking it several times with a hammer, a faint glow seeped into it.

It did cost me one protection agent in the process, but…

All things considered, it was a decent trade.

When I placed the helmet on Grivy’s head, her eyes sparkled.

She fiddled with it, clearly pleased, then broke into a radiant smile.

—Piiik!

Perhaps jealous of Grivy’s new hat, Sur smacked his lips and stared at me.

That brave little face clearly said, What about me?

“Hm… alright. Sur gets one too. And Serqet?”

Serqet merely slumped limply over Grivy’s shoulder, showing no interest.

That one preferred snacks over items, after all.

I made Sur a horned helmet suitable for him.

Tiny as it was, I mixed in orichalcum, so durability wasn’t an issue.

Sur’s eyes shone as he stared at it, then shoved his head into the helmet.

After flapping his small wings to adjust its position, he puffed out his chest like a proud general.

“Wow! Sur looks amazing!”

Piiik!

The brave chick had become even braver.

“By the way… don’t you want a weapon?”

“A weapon! Grivy wants a weapon too!”

After some thought, I made her a small gardening trowel.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary one.

I enchanted it with various spells and even enhanced it, so its true value was hard for even me to estimate.

Grivy hung the trowel upside down at her waist like a sword and ran off to show it off, taking the two spirits with her.

She might have infinite stamina, but thankfully, she rarely caused serious trouble.

And with how cute and affectionate she was, it was impossible not to want to give her more.

No wonder Grivy’s popularity among the Cascadia estate staff and the knights of the Demon Realm was explosive.

Whenever she wandered the halls, maids and servants would slip her snacks, and she’d often be found stuffing her cheeks full, munching happily.

“When did you get here?”

Just as I was stretching out to enjoy some sunlight after sending Grivy off, Isna appeared with Rebecca in tow.

“I heard the news. About your enhancement ability.”

“Here to ask for it?”

She held out the orichalcum sword I’d gifted her before.

“It’s not hard to do. How are things going?”

“We’ve almost pinpointed Garlan’s location. Once the weapons are ready, we’re going to eliminate him.”

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“Need my help?”

“Even if I do, it’s something I need to handle myself.”

“Still, let me know if you need support. If this is really connected to them, don’t do anything reckless.”

Isna was strong.

But honestly, she wasn’t in a great position to face an Outer God.

The reason I’d entrusted her with authority in the Closed World was precisely because I believed that merely possessing that authority wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Outer God Yog.

I’d debated many times whether to tell her this.

But in the end, I kept silent.

It simply wasn’t time yet.

“So. Once things are sorted, tell me. I’ll help.”

“Thank you.”

She thanked me, her expression complicated.

“So, how far can you enhance it?”

“As far as possible.”

Alright.

Might as well try.

I took her sword and struck it with my hammer.

And then—

“What? Is this a bug?”

[Orichalcum Longsword +15]

An indomitable masterpiece radiating overwhelming momentum was born in a single attempt.

I could confidently say this was practically unprecedented across all of Labyrinthos.

“Hey. Are you using hacks or something?”

“What’s a hack?”

“Never mind… why did this succeed?”

“There’s a method.”

It seemed she knew something about enhancement that even I didn’t.

Come to think of it, that made sense.

In the Closed World, I must have used multiple abilities in tandem.

And Isna had witnessed that firsthand.

So it wasn’t strange that she knew of a power I didn’t consciously recognize.

* * *

Running through the estate to show off Leon’s gifts, Grivy tightened the chin strap of her helmet as it wobbled on her head.

“Huh? Grivy, what’s that?”

“This! Father made it for me!”

Grivy beamed proudly.

“Wow… that’s amazing.”

As Arsha responded with sparkling eyes, Grivy puffed out her chest even more.

“And—and! I got this too!”

She showed off the trowel at her waist, smiling brightly.

To anyone else, she’d look like a child heading out to play in the dirt.

But Arsha could only smile awkwardly.

That tiny, unimpressive tool became something entirely different in Grivy’s hands.

—Piiik!!

At that moment, Sur, sitting atop Grivy’s helmet, chirped bravely to assert his presence.

“Uh… Sur? What’s that?”

A horned helmet sat snugly on Sur’s head.

On a tiny chick, it looked impossibly small—and unbearably cute.

“It’s adorable!”

As Arsha exclaimed, Sur proudly puffed out his chest.

“Grivy’s going to play in the dirt! Wanna come, Arsha?”

“Um… sorry. I still have homework. Let’s play after I’m done.”

“Promise!!”

With that, Grivy scampered off.

Two years ago, playing with Grivy had been fun.

But lately, Arsha felt she needed to grow up.

‘Brother and Sister were already managing the territory at my age…’

Though still young, her family had shouldered heavy responsibilities even earlier.

Even if she couldn’t take responsibility yet, Arsha believed she should at least be useful.

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

Melissa and Leon kept telling her to play instead, offering only basic education and never pushing her too hard.

She knew it was overprotection—but from their perspective, Arsha was still someone who needed to be sheltered.

‘I can do something too…’

She thought that, but didn’t want to cause trouble by acting rashly.

“Let’s go. History and economics class next—”

That was when it happened.

As Arsha watched Grivy’s back with regret, a faint whisper echoed near her ear.

“Huh?”

Drawn by the strange resonance, different from ordinary sound, she wandered toward the back of the estate.

And there, she saw it.

A tiny, unidentified lifeform.

“Did you… call me?”

At her voice, the curled-up creature stirred.

Was it an animal her brother had brought back?

Before she could think further, Radon—the golden monster mistaken for a cat—appeared from nowhere, standing protectively in front of her and hissing at the unknown being.

At the same time, the Beast Tamer’s crest on Arsha’s hand began to hum violently, releasing the aura of Nessi—the King of the Deep, the Forbidden Sea, now practically the King of the Ocean.

Kainia, the small black dragon who usually slept on Arsha’s lap during lessons, appeared as well, wrapping protectively around her and glaring at the creature.

Then—

It moved.

At first, she’d thought it was just a fluffy, cute animal.

She was wrong.

As it slowly stood, it revealed a body about the height of a human waist.

Yet it was absolutely not a normal lifeform.

Its grotesque appearance alone inflicted severe mental shock.

Arsha froze in place.

The creature stared directly at her and muttered something.

“Tekili…? What does that mean…?”

Trembling, Arsha staggered backward.

Why was something like this here?

How did it get in?

She had no time to wonder.

Instinct screamed that it was dangerous.

Then—

Shrrrk!

As if waiting for that moment, its entire body rippled, and it lunged at Arsha with the speed of a striking serpent.

She couldn’t even react.

But a cat’s reflexes were nothing like a human’s.

Radon leapt instantly, his light-infused nyan-nyan punch smashing straight into the creature’s tentacle.

Crunch!!

At the same time, a massive magic circle formed behind Arsha, and from it emerged a colossal fist that crushed the monster completely in a single blow.

It was Nessi’s fist.

“H-haah… h-haah…”

Only then did Arsha come to her senses, collapsing to the ground.

Her face pale, she couldn’t even scream, and soon lost consciousness entirely.

What she had seen was never meant to exist in this world.

Something darker.

More terrifying.

A predator from the unknown.

And in that brief moment—

Arsha had instinctively resonated with it.

And understood.

That it had slipped into this place, silently and secretly.

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