*****
Atmosphere Garden,
At this moment, all the inhabitants of the village could be found in the eastern part of the Bewitching Food World, known as the Atmosphere Garden.
It was a fertile land that fostered the growth of countless plants, nourished by its nutrient-rich fertilizer rain and localized sunlight.
However, none of them were paying attention to the plants around them.
Instead, they were all looking toward a particular direction of the continent.
They couldn't see what was happening from where they stood, but they could feel it.
Something was happening.
The entire continent seemed to be trembling under an invisible pressure, and everyone instinctively understood that something enormous had begun.
There was only one being they knew of that was capable of causing such unrest.
The Horse King, Heracles, was on the move.
"It has begun."
Alpha narrowed her eyes as she sensed the disturbance in the distance.
The battle had already started.
"Prepare yourselves."
Ghislaine immediately warned everyone, knowing that the longer Lev and Heracles continued fighting, the greater the possibility that the resulting chaos would eventually reach their location.
Meanwhile, the locals were filled with curiosity and concern.
They began talking among themselves, their expressions growing increasingly worried as they tried to figure out what was happening.
Seeing this, Daruma Hermit immediately stepped forward to calm them down.
He eventually explained the situation to everyone, telling them that Lev was currently fighting against the Horse King, Heracles.
The revelation greatly shocked the villagers.
They never expected that the source of the disturbance was a battle between their guest and one of the Eight Kings.
"Everyone, take your positions and be ready in case something happens."
Alpha, acting as the leader in Lev's absence, immediately gave her orders.
They had no idea how large the chaos from the battle would become.
For all they knew, the aftermath could eventually reach the village.
Hearing Alpha's command, Shion, Shizuku, Tomoe, and Ghislaine immediately left the area to take their respective positions.
Lev had already entrusted them with the responsibility of protecting the village.
After all, they were the ones who had provoked Heracles.
Therefore, if the consequences of their actions reached the village, they would also be the ones responsible for protecting it.
*****
Horse King Hill,
It hadn't even been that long since the fight had begun, yet the situation in Horse King Hill had already seemingly come to an end.
Heracles stood before Lev's motionless body, which lay sprawled across the ground.
Seeing that her opponent was no longer moving, Heracles simply turned around, seemingly ready to return to her rest once again.
However, Lev was not dead.
His body lay on the ground, his lower half completely severed from the rest of his body. To anyone watching, he would have looked like a corpse.
Yet, despite his condition, Lev's mind was still perfectly active.
I never thought I'd be knocked down by a single serious attack.
Lev had seen the attack coming through his Observation Haki.
But even though he had anticipated it, the attack had been simply too fast.
His body couldn't react in time.
That was what had led him to his current situation.
"I still have a long way to go."
Lev muttered as he reflected on the battle.
His techniques had certainly become powerful, but against beings on the level of the Eight Kings, he realized that they were still far from being sufficient.
"But I won't go down that easily."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Lev suddenly stood up.
His severed lower body had already regenerated completely, restoring itself as though it had never been injured in the first place.
Heracles, who had already begun walking away, suddenly stopped.
She slowly turned around.
Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Lev standing once again.
There wasn't even a trace of fear or anger on Heracle's face.
Instead, there was only annoyance.
"Let's start round two, shall we?"
Lev smiled.
This time, he opened his Third Eye.
He wanted to see exactly how he would fare against Heracles.
In almost an instant—
Lev disappeared.
Using his ability to manipulate his velocity, he appeared directly in front of Heracles' face.
His fist was already coated in Armament Haki and infused with Supreme King Haki.
This time, Lev intended to hit her with everything he had.
BOOM!
Heracles was caught off guard by his sudden burst of speed and couldn't dodge in time.
Lev's fist struck her directly in the face.
However—
Heracles barely moved.
The attack had connected, but it wasn't nearly powerful enough to make her budge.
Heracles slowly turned her eyes toward Lev.
There was anger in her gaze.
And annoyance.
Lev's expression twitched.
"So, my physical ability isn't up to par either?"
He couldn't help but smile wryly.
He had already realized that his speed was insufficient to completely overwhelm Heracles.
Now he had learned that his physical strength was also lacking.
But before he could think any further—
Heracles suddenly opened her mouth.
Lev's expression immediately changed.
"Uh-oh."
He retreated without hesitation.
Using his telekinetic ability, Lev propelled himself high into the sky just as Heracles inhaled deeply.
A moment later—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Multiple compressed-air bullets were fired toward him.
"The same attack."
Lev muttered.
This time, however, he didn't try to overpower them.
Instead, he manipulated gravity, altering the space around himself and forcing the incoming compressed-air bullets to change their trajectory.
The attacks were deflected away from him.
Lev then looked down at Heracles.
"Let's see how you'll handle this."
He raised one hand.
Energy began gathering in his palm.
A massive sphere of nuclear energy slowly formed.
It continued growing larger and larger until it was nearly equal in size to Heracles herself.
The tremendous energy radiating from it caused the surrounding atmosphere to distort.
This time, Lev wanted to test something different.
Strong Force.
He wanted to see how Heracles would respond to it.
But Heracles had already sensed the danger.
Her body tensed.
She immediately assumed a fighting stance, her eyes fixed seriously on the enormous sphere of energy above her.
Lev noticed her reaction.
He looked down at Heracles.
Then he sighed.
He glanced toward the sky and surveyed the surrounding area.
No.
He didn't want to cause any more chaos than necessary.
If he released an attack of this magnitude, the consequences wouldn't be limited to Heracles. The surrounding environment could be devastated as well.
Lev wasn't interested in destroying the entire area just to test himself.
He lowered his hand.
The massive sphere of energy disappeared.
With that, Lev slowly descended back toward the ground.
For a while, neither of them moved.
Lev and Heracles simply stared at each other.
"Let's stop."
Lev finally spoke loudly enough for Heracles to hear.
"I'm sorry for disturbing your slumber and causing chaos in your nest!"
As much as Lev wanted to continue testing his limits, he knew that fighting an enormous creature like Heracles wouldn't provide much improvement to his skills unless he resorted to large-scale area-of-effect attacks.
But doing that would severely damage the surrounding environment.
And Lev didn't want that.
Heracles continued staring at him warily.
Lev simply shrugged.
Seeing that she wasn't attacking, he sat down on the ground.
He had no intention of provoking her any further.
Even if Heracles decided to attack him, he wasn't particularly concerned.
But knowing what he had learned about her personality, Lev believed that she wouldn't attack him without a reason.
Instead, Lev casually opened the System Store.
He had already decided to purchase something from it long before he came here to fight Heracles.
And now was the perfect time to finally get it.
[Item: All-Purpose Farming Tool]
[Description: A miraculous farming tool bestowed upon Hikaru Machio by the God of Life. Though it appears to be an ordinary farming implement, it possesses extraordinary durability and versatility, allowing it to function as virtually any agricultural tool required by its wielder.]
[Skills:]
[Transformation (Active)]
[Description: Can transform into any kind of farming tool. In addition, it possesses a special transformation bestowed upon it by the God of Life, allowing it to replicate the Holy Lance Gryme.]
[Cultivation (Passive)]
[Description: When the land is cultivated with it, the land itself becomes suitable for agriculture, while the plants envisioned by the cultivator can be cultivated on the land. The growth rate of plants cultivated through this method is 3 to 4 times faster than normal.]
[Cost: 5,000,000,000 True God Coins]
"It's expensive, but it'll be worth it."
Lev muttered as he stared at the price.
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he still chose to purchase it.
[Item: All-Purpose Farming Tool has been purchased.]
With that, Lev's accumulated wealth drastically dwindled.
Not long after, Lev took out the All-Purpose Farming Tool and examined it carefully.
Judging solely by its appearance, it looked like an ordinary farming tool.
But appearances could be deceiving.
Its true value lay in what it could do.
"I'll wait until I get my hands on an Item Enhancement Card."
Lev looked at the tool thoughtfully.
"I wonder how it'll change by then."
He briefly considered having Infinity devour the item, but immediately dismissed the idea.
He had already learned his lesson back on Earth.
Once Infinity devoured an item, he could no longer retrieve it.
With that thought aside, Lev turned his attention back toward Heracles.
"I promised I wouldn't cause any more chaos."
Lev smiled.
"In fact, I'll leave behind a parting gift in exchange for this wonderful encounter."
His gaze shifted toward a particular tree beside him.
It was an Air Tree.
Lev approached the tree and reached out to it.
With the help of his newly acquired sub-skill, Ingredient Connection, he established a connection with the Air Tree.
It was a strange sensation.
It was almost as though the tree itself was communicating with him.
Through their connection, Lev could sense what the tree wanted him to do.
More surprisingly, he could even understand how the ingredient should be prepared, as though the tree itself was guiding him through the process.
"Transform: Knife."
The All-Purpose Farming Tool immediately transformed into an ordinary knife.
Following the guidance he received through Ingredient Connection, Lev began carefully preparing the ingredient.
Heracles watched from a distance.
Seeing Lev approaching the Air Tree and beginning to work on it, she initially thought that he intended to destroy the precious tree.
Her body tensed.
She was about to attack Lev and kill him once and for all.
But then—
She stopped.
Something had changed.
The air surrounding the Air Tree had begun to increase.
Not only that, but a fragrant scent soon spread throughout the area.
The aroma was incredibly enticing.
Even Heracles' appetite was stirred by it.
She didn't know what Lev had done.
But whatever he had done to the Air Tree...
It had clearly changed something.
"Heracles, this is my parting gift to you."
Lev reached up and plucked one of the Air Fruits from the tree.
He looked at it.
For a moment, he was tempted to taste it immediately.
But he held himself back.
Instead, Lev looked toward Heracles.
He then tossed the Air Fruit in her direction.
Heracles caught it and, without a second thought, ate it.
Lev smiled.
"Delicious, right?"
He then looked toward the surrounding Air Trees.
"I can make all the Air Trees here produce more air, and I can improve its quality as well."
Lev paused.
"In fact, I could even grow more Air Trees throughout your nest."
His expression became serious.
"In exchange, I want you to protect the locals in the Bewitching Food World and stop making them offer sacrifices to you."
This was also one of the reasons Lev had purchased the All-Purpose Farming Tool.
With it, he would be able to cultivate Air Trees at a much faster rate than they normally grew.
Heracles remained silent.
But after tasting the Air Fruit, something in her demeanor changed.
The tension that had surrounded her gradually disappeared.
She lowered her guard and continued staring at Lev.
A moment later, she simply lay down.
Instead of attacking him, she watched what he was doing.
Seeing this, Lev smiled.
She hadn't said anything.
But Lev chose to interpret her actions as approval.
"Then let's get started."
Lev turned his attention toward the surrounding Air Trees.
He knew that preparing and cultivating all of them by himself would take too long.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu—x1,000."
Poof! Poof! Poof!
A thousand clones suddenly appeared throughout the area.
They immediately began working on the Air Trees while Lev remained on the ground, casually watching them.
At the same time, Heracles simply continued observing him.
And just like that, Lev's first battle against one of the Eight Kings had come to an end.
It was short.
It had hardly been a serious battle.
Both Lev and Heracles understood that if they truly fought without restraint, the consequences would be catastrophic.
This place—
No.
The entire continent could potentially be reduced to a wasteland.
Neither of them would allow that to happen unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Nakime. How are the others?"
Lev suddenly asked, curious about the situation back in the village.
"Master, everything is under control. Alpha and the others are protecting the village from the beasts that became lost within its surrounding area."
Nakime's voice came through the connection.
"Good."
Lev nodded.
"Don't worry. My fight with Heracles is already over. The continent will return to normal soon."
He paused.
"Tell the others not to worry about me."
"As you command, Master."
Lev then reached toward one of the Air Trees and plucked another Air Fruit.
He looked at it with a smile before taking a bite.
Crunch.
The moment he tasted it, his expression brightened.
"Not bad."
Nearby, Heracles looked toward him.
She suddenly snorted.
Huff!
The powerful breath caused the surrounding air to tremble.
Lev looked at her.
"I just ate one. Don't worry."
He smiled wryly.
"Your nest will be filled with Air Trees in no time."
Apparently understanding what Heracles was trying to convey, Lev shook his head with a helpless smile.
He then transformed the All-Purpose Farming Tool into another agricultural implement and began working alongside his clones.
Meanwhile, Heracles simply remained nearby and watched.
With Lev and Heracles no longer fighting, the atmosphere throughout the continent gradually returned to normal.
The immense pressure that had spread across the land disappeared.
The beasts that had fled the area cautiously began returning to their homes.
For those creatures, the battle had been the most terrifying few minutes of their lives.
But thankfully—
It was finally over.