The Best Actor Goes To...

The horde of beasts gradually entered his line of range. Hans rested his left hand on the blade's hilt and assumed an attacking stance. Thick green veins popped up from his forehead and arms as his muscles bulged in tension.

At this time, the sky was already dark but the golden lightning on the Temple still constantly flickered. The sound of roaring thunder did not weaken but instead became louder and stronger.

However, Hans remained unfazed. In fact, his eyes weren't even on these beasts but rather, towards the entrance of the Temple.

Although it's faint, he could vaguely sense an overwhelming pressure being released from all directions.

No doubt, it's the boss monster.

If he wanted to fight it, he would need to pass these monsters first. For him, who has many skills for large scale attacks, this might just end in a flash.

'Here I go.'

As if a bomb exploding, Hans kicked the ground and appeared to the nearest monster at an unthinkable speed. Caught off guard, the monster tried to escape before its doom arrived.

Slash—

Unluckily, its head fell to the ground without even processing what killed him.

Hans did not lower his momentum and instead quickened his pace even more. He was like a harbinger of death as he massacred these beasts without blinking.

Swish—

Hans leaped into the air and unleashed a devastating dragon kick.

Shu—

An illusion resembling a golden dragon accompanied the kick to the ground.

As soon as it made contact…

Baaaaaam—

The ground exploded. All monsters inside the impact radius immediately turned into minced meat. Large rubbles burst on all sides, hitting some unfortunate monsters who were too late to dodge.

Although they could be considered as reckless and aggressive human-monster hybrids, their instinct continued to send them signals to flee. A monster with a human head and a spider body can even speak albeit it's muffled.

"Gus hunman wis too shwrong!!!" ("This human is too strong!!!")

Every monster on its side, although hesitant, agreed to its words. However, they have no free will and are being controlled like a puppet. But even then, this does not stop them from retreating.

The dust gradually settled, revealing Hans' figure with his foot embedded underneath the ground. His jacket was shredded from the sheer amount of power Hans generated.

He ripped it off his body and brushed the dust off his body. He then swept his eyes around the vicinity.

Smoke-filled layers of the ground were presented to his eyes. Mangled bodies and shattered organs lay dormant on the damp soil.

Crunch—, crunch—

The rubbles crunched as he trudged towards a monster twitching as it struggled to cling onto life. Without remorse, Hans slammed his foot towards its face, completely exploding its skull and brain.

'!!!'

Silence enveloped the area. Everyone's eyes stared at Hans back with a face full of shock.

Now that their vision wasn't obscured by the mist of dust, they realized the face they were standing on was 50 feet below the ground.

The impact caused by Hans' attack created a crater stretching over 2 miles in diameter. This alone already proved that Hans isn't someone they could defeat, let alone touch.

As if sensing their frightened gaze, Hans intimidated them even more. His purpose is to draw out the boss monster hiding inside the Temple.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the enemy had no plans to show up soon. If so, it would be better to clean every enemy first.

Well, in all actuality, he was also surprised by the damage the enhanced [Dragon Kick] done.

Additionally, to think that some S-class monsters still managed to survive further piqued his curiosity.

Hans' playful gaze shifted to each monster. The moment Hans's eyes crawled onto their figures, everyone jumped in cower. However, one of the intelligent monsters bravely stepped forward without regard for his life and declared.

"Swon't panieec! Thhhat atack mwust haavve beeem taxiiiing!" (Don't panic! That attack must have been taxing!")

Every monster eyed each other before nodding in agreement. With an attack of such scale, it is only normal to have a large consumption.

These monster frowning expressions turned into a mischievous grin as if saying, 'We've seen through you'. Now that their opponent is only bluffing, these monsters' confidence returned to its peak.

"Keke~ human dead!!"

"Human… eat keke~"

Their sharp eyes crawled onto his skin as if a predator playing with its prey.

On the other hand, Hans' mouth twitched after hearing the monster's groundless words.

Shouldn't they lower their heads and lead him towards their boss?

What an unexpected plot twist.

Hans shook his head and stared at the eyes of the monsters who already gnawed him in their eyes.

If they couldn't think reasonably at least trust their beast instinct. Anyways, it's pointless to argue anymore.

Hans heaved a heavy sigh before he leaped in the air. His eyes met the strongest monster and a smirk formed on his lips.

If they are not convinced…

'Well, what would you do with another one?'

A dragon roar rumbled throughout their ears.

......…..

Meanwhile, Light dumbfoundedly stared at another golden dragon looming above their heads. If Hans already surprised him earlier, now, his throat had already gone numb.

'Is this what a human can do?'

His hand trembled at the abrupt thought. Both of them are humans, but why is the gap felt like heaven and earth?

As a child, he learned all of the powerful techniques inside the temple while also receiving the blessing of the Heaven King they served.

Unfortunately, no matter how much talent and hard work he put into pursuing strength, he always encountered another higher wall. No matter how many times he tried to break it, the walls still stood unscathed.

In his eyes, Hans is a child chosen by the gods. All of his strength was presented to him on a silver platter.

As Light's thoughts went wilder and wilder, deep jealousy, envy, and frustration appeared in his eyes.

This was clearly unfair treatment!

Why must the one who works hard always be the stepping stone of those with godly talents? He had talent too, but it looked like dust compared to those blessed by the gods.

It's not even worth mentioning!

His strongest skill might not even cause harm to Hans. At worst, it could only be considered as a flashy but trashy skill.

Light looked at his experiments being killed one by one. Hans' second dragon attack completely decimated all of his hard work. His masterpieces were created by his blood, sweat and tears crumbled into mere dust.

All of this was caused by only one man.

Seeing Hans instantly appear beside him, Light shivered in fear. He skillfully manipulated his emotion and showed Hans a face of awe and shock.

As long as Hans did not cross the line and went inside the Temple, he would not move. All of his years of planning and schemes would be crushed once Hans discovered everything.

Unless it's the last straw, his trump card would be kept for now.

Light sighed in his heart, displayed a cheerful smile, and praised the man in front of him.

"Woo!!! H-how did you do that!?"

As a master deceiver, his false words became the truth.

......

Hans scratched his chin and probed Light's emotions. Aside from the usual shock and awe, he didn't notice anything strange.

'Could it be that my guess is wrong?'

Many things are pointing out that Light is good. The first reason is the requirements to ascend to the 6th floor, which was accepting to help him. The second is the rapier in his arms.

As an Awakened with an 'Evil' mana property, he could vaguely sense the exact opposite mana property emitted by the rapier.

It was gentle, sacred, and holy.

An evil mana user such as him would be instantly rejected by the sword. He wanted to try the 'The Balance' skill. However, once Light turned out to be a good one, although he's safe from Light, Hans might receive a backlash from the skill itself.

Plundy already explained that all things have a price. The skill seemed to have no limits but such skills sometimes have horrible consequences if used wrong. Unless the enemy is pure evil, Hans wouldn't even use this unscrupulously.

"It's nothing." Hans replied as he stared at the aftermath of his attacks.

Light frowned before turning into a delightful expression before Hans could even notice.

"Nothing? Don't you know that you just blew up half of the Kingdom?"

"Well, it doesn't matter how strong I am right?" With a flick of his hand, a red jacket immediately appeared in the air and Hans equipped it.

"That's true. Anyways, thank you for killing those monsters!" Light bowed 90 degrees, and continued, "You don't know how much it means to me. As a hero, I felt like I failed to fulfill my duties!"

As the words traveled to his ears, Hans swiped his nose in embarrassment. He had no idea if this guy was being true or not. Even then, Hans waved his hand and signaled Light to get up.

"As long as you're still alive, there's always hope." Hans gave a half-assed motivational speech with a little glimpse of a reassuring smile. Hans patted the young man's shoulders and nodded.

"The fact that you're here means you still care. So don't bow your head and thank me." After a brief pause, Hans' eyes turned grim, "The battle is not over yet."

Light raised his head and wiped the tears off his cheeks. Of course, it's fake.

"You're right. The battle is not over yet." With a seriousness on his Face, Light continued, "There's only one evil creature we haven't killed yet."

Hans bit his teeth, trying to suppress the laughter breaking out from his mouth.

'We? WE?'

Maybe even the blind could sense that he's the only one fighting.

This young man… is useless. Aside from being a guide, he had no contribution at all.

"Huh?"

Light noticed his strangeness.

"No, it's nothing. I just remember my wife scolding me after I went back." Hans added a reminiscing expression to further strengthen his claim.

Of course, that's a lie. He's been single for 23 years now… and still counting.

[Do you want me to teach you the ways?]

'...'

He'll pass for now. Maybe he would need that soon.

"Is that so?"

After clearing the suspicion, Light immediately discussed the whereabouts of the final monster. Its strength, type, and skills were explained in a detailed way.

Shortly afterwards, the two eventually reached an agreement and shook their hands.

Light smiled respectfully but in his head, he's already thinking of various ways to capture Hans alive.

Hans, on the other hand, kept his calm and friendly demeanor but in his head, he's already creating a powerful counterattack in case Light turned to be an enemy.

For them, this is a battle of intelligence and cunningness.

But for others, the best actor wins.

"Let's do our best, Hans!"

"Don't die on me, Light."

Soon, two figures marched towards the Temple.

........

"What's your dream, Light?"

Two boys sat comfortably on the balcony of a wooden bungalow. Flowers danced and the small trees swayed as the two boys stared at the ground paved with cobblestone.

"Dream? What's that?"

"Eh? You don't know?" The boy next to Light sighed, "Dream is what you want to become when you grow up. If you want to be a mage in the future, that would be considered a dream."

"Oh!" The boy named Light clapped his hand and stared at the boy beside him with glittering eyes.

"So what's your dream?"

"I've decided. I want to be the strongest man and…"

"And?"

"...and protect you from… Nevermind."

The boy beside Light gently smiled and raised his head towards the blue skies. Light noticed the boy's tender gaze and couldn't help but ask.

"How about you? What's your dream?"

Leaves rustled and the scent of flowers tickled his nose. Light remained unchanged and waited for the boy's answer.

"Me?" The boy lowered his head and smiled warmly, "I… want to be the second strongest man."

Light gasped in surprise and hurriedly reasoned.

"But won't you be under me then?"

However, an unexpected response came from the boy.

"It doesn't matter."

"Why?"

"Hmm because…" The boy ruffled Light's hair, and smiled gently, "...because I'm your older brother. Even if you become the strongest, in my eyes, you're just Light."

The two stared at each other and chuckled.