Chapter 559: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: The Result of Wilding Power

"So, Maxwell..."

Kent took out a pair of study glasses and carefully placed them over his eyes.

He then crossed one leg over the other and reached into his clothes, taking out a notebook and a pen.

The change in his appearance was so sudden that Maxwell couldn’t help but stare.

Only a moment ago, Kent had been sitting casually in his bedroom, eating grapes from his cold storage as though he owned the place.

Now, he looked like a serious professor preparing to give a lecture.

Kent adjusted the glasses on his face.

His expression became serious.

"Speak to me... Let me counsel you."

The words were delivered with such seriousness that Maxwell was caught off guard.

He straightened slightly.

For the first time since Kent had entered his room, the frustration on his face seemed to ease.

"You came to give advice... Professor Kent."

There was a faint trace of surprise in Maxwell’s voice.

He had expected Kent to tease him.

He had expected another lecture.

But seeing the Professor actually preparing a notebook and pen to listen to him made Maxwell feel a little touched.

Perhaps Professor Kent really had come because he was worried about him.

Perhaps he had actually come here to help him understand what had happened.

Maxwell’s shoulders loosened slightly.

But...

Kent’s eyes slowly moved toward another side of the room.

The serious expression remained on his face.

Yet the moment his gaze shifted away from Maxwell, his mind returned to something that had happened shortly after Maxwell’s loss.

Something he really didn’t want to remember.

Both the Vice Headmaster, Godwin Fraser, and Alister Morgan, his superior in the Solar Royal Alchemist Branch, had spoken to him.

And neither of them had been particularly gentle.

***

"You are the idiot who told him to keep his Alchemy Path hidden unless he truly needs it."

Alister Morgan pointed directly at Kent.

His expression was stern.

Kent stood straight like a soldier.

His hands were placed behind his back as he stood at ease, although the position did little to hide the pressure he was feeling.

"But you can agree with me that what I told him to do was for the best for him, Sir."

Kent spoke calmly.

He tried to keep his voice steady.

There was no reason to make the situation worse.

Alister narrowed his eyes.

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

Kent’s body stiffened.

"Ugh."

He looked away.

The pressure coming from Alister’s gaze alone was enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

Then Kent shifted his eyes toward Godwin.

"But, Elder..."

He looked at Godwin as though asking him to help.

Godwin folded his arms.

He gave a slow nod before speaking.

"You should be the one to talk to the child. So, this loss and mistake wouldn’t cost him his mental strength."

His expression became more serious.

"You know how important the growth of Sir Andraver’s disciple is to Britannia."

Kent’s eyes twitched.

I couldn’t care less, to be honest.

He thought the words but knew better than to say them aloud.

His body immediately shivered.

A cold sensation ran down his back.

Alister and Godwin were staring directly at him.

Kent’s expression froze.

"Ah... I forgot you could hear my thoughts."

He slowly stepped backward.

The pressure coming from the two powerful Alchemists became even more uncomfortable.

Kent raised his hands slightly.

"But isn’t there an unspoken rule for Alchemists to not..."

He stopped.

The moment his eyes met the gazes of the Elder and the Head of the Solar Branch, the rest of his complaint died in his throat.

He knew exactly what those looks meant.

Kent swallowed.

"You know what, I will go do it."

He pointed both index fingers toward Vice Headmaster Godwin and Alister Morgan.

Then he turned sharply.

And ran.

"Hahahaha."

A young-looking lady standing near the side of the door Kent had just run through covered her mouth as she laughed.

She looked amused by the entire scene.

"Kent is really a funny person, Boss."

She smiled.

Alister calmly looked toward the door.

"Forget that idiot."

***

Kent returned to reality.

His expression twitched faintly.

Just remembering what had happened made him feel annoyed all over again.

All of this had happened because Maxwell had taken his words too seriously and then proceeded to get himself humbled.

Kent glanced toward Maxwell.

The young man was now sitting in a kneeling posture.

Both hands rested on his thighs as he waited for the wisdom of an Alchemist like Professor Kent.

Maxwell looked more serious now.

The frustration that had filled the room earlier had not completely disappeared, but he was at least willing to listen.

Kent adjusted his glasses again.

He opened his notebook.

His pen rested between his fingers.

"I’m listening, Maxwell."

His voice was calm.

Maxwell slowly exhaled.

"Ahhh."

The breath left his lungs as some of the tension in his shoulders finally loosened.

"There was a question Master asked me the first time we met and the last time I got to see him."

Maxwell lowered his eyes slightly.

The words had barely left his mouth before his thoughts began moving backward.

His mind returned to the time when he had finally departed on his journey to the Royal Academy.

The memory was not simply of a conversation.

It was of a time when he had still been a bit much younger.

A time when he had been learning what his own strength meant.

***

Two years back...

Deep within the tall Ancient Forest area in Stonefall, far from the cities and ordinary roads, a massive forest stretched across the land.

The region had been isolated behind the borderline defense drawn by the Duke House of Drakes and the Royal Guard of Britannia.

The Giant’s Eden.

It was a place where ordinary people had no reason to enter.

The trees were enormous.

Their trunks rose high into the sky, with some reaching heights that made the humans moving beneath them look like insects.

Their branches spread across the upper forest and blocked much of the sunlight.

Large leaves covered the canopy, and the deeper parts of the forest remained darker even during the day.

The air smelled of bark, wet earth, and crushed vegetation.

And there were a large number of powerful and dangerous Monsters living inside the forest.

Somewhere far within the forest, something moved.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Loud smashing sounds echoed through the Ancient Forest.

The sound travelled between the enormous trees.

Birds suddenly flew from the branches in large groups.

Their wings beat rapidly as they escaped the area where the commotion was coming from.

The forest floor shook beneath the repeated impacts.

Leaves fell from the canopy.

Branches trembled.

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly lunged out from the very top of the towering forest trees.

The figure moved from an area around one hundred meters above the ground toward another section that rose close to three hundred and fifty meters.

It was Maxwell.

Two years younger.

He was already in the air, his body cutting through the space between the enormous trees.

The wind pushed against his clothes as he moved.

His golden eyes remained focused.

Then the forest answered him.

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

Numerous roars echoed through the forest.

The sounds overlapped.

One roar became mixed with another until the combined noise created a deep tremor that travelled through the trees.

A huge Ancient Tree shook.

It wasn’t even one of the highest or heaviest trees surrounding the Giant’s Eden, yet its branches trembled violently from the sound.

Maxwell looked toward the source.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

He turned his head.

An enormous tree was coming toward him.

It had been torn from the ground.

Its massive body moved through the air, crushing branches as it travelled.

Maxwell’s eyes widened slightly.

Cognis immediately flowed through his veins.

The Cognis rushed rapidly toward his right palm.

He reached out.

His hand struck the body of the tree.

His palm gripped the rough bark tightly.

The impact forced his body downward for a moment, but Maxwell used the grip to redirect his movement.

He pulled himself upward.

His arm strength allowed him to climb along the tree at speed.

His feet found the rough surface of the trunk.

He pushed himself upward.

Maxwell began running along the tree.

At first, his speed was slower than normal.

Then...

BOOM!

His body suddenly faded.

He pushed himself away from the tree and moved downward through the air.

The ground below rapidly approached.

The trees around him became a blur as he descended.

Then something enormous moved through the forest.

A Colossal Ground Ape jumped out.

Its massive fist was already moving toward Maxwell.

The fist was so large that it covered his entire body.

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

The Colossal Ground Ape roared.

Its fist travelled through the air with enough force to send a violent pressure wave through the surrounding branches.

Leaves were blown away.

Small branches snapped.

Maxwell looked directly at the approaching fist.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

He shouted.

More Cognis flowed into his right hand.

His fingers curled.

His hand tightened into a fist.

He didn’t think about evading.

He didn’t think about blocking.

Instead, Maxwell chose to meet the fist of the massive monster directly.

He brought his own fist forward.

The human fist was tiny compared to the Colossal Ground Ape’s.

The difference between them was almost ridiculous.

One belonged to a human boy around thirteen years old.

The other belonged to a massive monster that could crush trees with its hands.

Yet Maxwell didn’t retreat.

He met it head-on.

BOOM!

The two fists collided.

The fist of the massive monster and the fist of the thirteen-year-old human struck each other in midair.

The impact created a violent burst of wind.

The surrounding Ancient Trees swayed.

Leaves scattered from the branches.

The air itself seemed to shake from the collision.

The Colossal Ground Ape’s arm was redirected backward.

The force of Maxwell’s punch had changed the direction of the monster’s attack.

Several of the Ape’s fingers cracked under the impact.

The monster’s enormous hand twisted away.

Maxwell’s right hand moved slightly from the pain.

He flexed his fingers.

His expression tightened.

The pain was real.

Even with Cognis enhancement, striking a Colossal Ground Ape directly was not something his body could simply ignore.

"Damn, this is going to be hard."

A smirk appeared on Maxwell’s face.

He looked toward the upper section of the tree.

"But let’s get this hunt done and quickly head back home."

His expression became serious.

He turned his body toward the top of the tree.

Maxwell moved upward again.

He reached out and grabbed one of the tree’s enormous leaves.

His hand caught it.

But the surface shifted beneath his grip.

His hand slipped.

His body dropped farther down.

Yet Maxwell didn’t panic.

Instead, he used the downward motion.

He twisted his body.

His legs moved beneath him.

Then he pushed himself away from the tree.

His body flew toward another Ancient Tree.

BOOM!

A Colossal Ground Ape slammed both hands against the Ancient Tree Maxwell had fallen from.

The enormous impact shook the trunk.

Bark broke apart.

Branches trembled violently.

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

"HROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!"

The roars continued.

Maxwell’s golden eyes moved.

His expression changed.

There were more of them.

Five Colossal Ground Apes stood in front of him.

Their massive bodies occupied the spaces between the enormous Ancient Trees.

Some stood on the forest floor.

Others had climbed onto the lower sections of the trees.

Their blood coated eyes remained fixed on Maxwell.

He balanced himself against the body of an Ancient Tree.

The rough bark pressed against his feet.

Cognis began flowing more rapidly through his entire body.

The Cognis spread through his limbs.

His muscles tightened.

His body became lighter and stronger.

His senses sharpened.

His breathing steadied.

All the forms of Cognis Enhancement he could perform began igniting across his body.

Maxwell lowered his center of gravity.

His golden eyes moved across the five Colossal Ground Apes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

He measured them with a glance.

Then he smiled.

"Here I come, filthy Ground Apes."

He pushed against the Ancient Tree.

BOOM!

Maxwell jumped.

His body shot through the air like a missile.

He accelerated toward the first Colossal Ground Ape.

The wind tore past his face.

His clothes snapped behind him.

The enormous creature raised its arm.

Maxwell continued forward without slowing down.

His Cognis surged through his body as he closed the remaining distance between himself and the first Colossal Ground Ape.