Chapter 36

“Ugh”

Looking at the rows of weapons embedded in the testing ground, Ajuka involuntarily swallowed hard.

“Measurement result Blessing Divine Armaments. Basic attack power: High-class devil, low-tier.”

......................

Accompanied by Ajuka's increasingly doubtful expression, Shoyo’s test proceeded smoothly.

“Then, the final item, practical combat test!” Ajuka, who had already questioned life multiple times today, finally showed a somewhat relaxed expression. The stronger Shoyo proved to be, the more urgently he needed to revise his course plans.

“Practical combat test?” Shoyo raised an eyebrow. Practical combat? There were only the two of them here. Did he expect him to use his trump card, kill him outright, and leave himself half-paralyzed in the process?

“Your opponent is him!”

Ajuka pointed in a certain direction. There, a massive transfer magic circle appeared, pulsing with a mighty dragon aura! The overwhelming demonic energy radiating from it made Shoyo immediately recognize who it was.

Blaze Meteor Dragon Tannin, one of the original Six Dragon Kings. A being with power exceeding that of a Maou. For the sake of the dragon race’s survival, he had voluntarily become a devil, earning a vast territory in the Underworld in return.

A good dragon.

And, a good dragon that gave out sign-ins.
So much so, that Shoyo’s eyes sparkled with excitement the moment he saw him.

[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a story sign-in! Sign-in level: Gold!]
[Sign-in Story – The Dragon King’s Fear]
[Story: Make the Demon Dragon Tannin feel fear towards oneself.]
[Time limit: 1 hour.]

“Yo! Ajuka sama, is this the guy you wanted me to help test?”

As the magic circle vanished, Tannin’s mountain-sized form loomed over Shoyo. A Dragon King-level opponent! Ajuka had really gone all out finding such a test subject. Besides the two Super Devil-class Maou, Tannin was essentially the Underworld’s strongest fighter.

“That’s right. Tannin, I’ll be counting on you today,”

Ajuka said with a smile. He had practically exhausted himself trying to prepare for this kid. Only a Super Devil-class Maou could get Tannin to show up on such short notice.

“Haha! Kid, I’ll show you the might of a Dragon King today!”

Tannin roared toward the heavens, his dragon roar creating shockwaves that blasted boulders away from the ground.

The Dragon King’s Roar!

“Lord Tannin hello, I’m Shoyo. I’ll be sparring with you shortly, but please remember to hold back a bit. My small body can’t take the full force of a Dragon King’s wrath,” Shoyo said with a polite smile.

“Oh! A respectful little guy, huh? Haha! Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Tannin laughed heartily.

“Tannin, be careful,” Ajuka added with a touch of unease. Shoyo’s smile… there was something off about it. He had a bad feeling.

“Sigh… Ajuka sama, don’t worry. I’ll be gentle,”
Tannin chuckled as he opened his maw and casually breathed out dragon fire.

“Alright..” Ajuka sighed deeply.

What he meant was: Tannin, be careful not to get injured by Shoyo, not the other way around. Though Shoyo hadn’t shown any malicious tendencies, Ajuka’s instincts were flaring.


“Please avoid using moves that could cause irreversible injury or permanent damage to either side. If anything unexpected happens during the battle, I will step in to stop it. Understood?”

Yes, this warning applied to both of them, not just Tannin.

“Ajuka sama really thinks of everything! Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Tannin said casually. He had no intention of seriously harming a junior; it wouldn’t do his reputation any good. He was just here to gauge Shoyo’s true potential. In a dangerous situation, perhaps Shoyo would reveal some hidden strength.

“.........................”

Shoyo didn’t respond, only nodding slightly.
He had no intention of holding back.
In fact, he planned to go beyond his usual limits.

“Alright.... please, both of you, take your positions!”
Ajuka stood between them, suppressing his unease. He wasn’t joking, if anything truly dangerous occurred, he would intervene.


“Kid! Hit me with everything you’ve got! Show me your strength! I heard you’re Ajuka sama’s disciple. You can’t embarrass him!”

Tannin’s voice boomed with authority even from across the field.

“Hmph. Tannin, I’ll go all out,” Shoyo replied calmly. Since he only planned to reveal his [Rama] avatar to Ajuka for now, he needed to carefully adjust his actions.

“I declare !”

Ajuka raised his voice.

“The battle begins!”


With Ajuka’s announcement, Shoyo opened his eyes. A mysterious light radiated from the pentagram within them.

Eyes that could pierce all illusions. Eyes that could see through all truths.

[Krishna!]
[Vamana the Dwarf!]
[Rama!]

Shoyo activated the powers of three avatars simultaneously!

Though his primary combat strength came from [Rama], the others weren’t just for show. [Krishna] enhanced all his senses and allowed him to identify Tannin’s weak points, while [Vamana] ensured he could escape if things got out of hand.

“No magic at all… relying purely on that insane dragon physique, huh?”

Tannin, under Shoyo’s focused gaze, felt unusually tense. Still, it was tradition for juniors to make the first move.

“To increase the output of that, I guess I’ll have to push a little harder...”

Shoyo narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly, a terrifying spiritual aura erupted from his body, far surpassing what his physique should’ve been able to handle!

[Rama Avatar – Normal!]

Status Change!

Rama-Incarnation-overload...

[Rama Avatar – Overlimit!]

“Hey hey hey! Ajuka sama, just what is this kid’s background?! The power he's giving off is already at the Maou level!”

Indeed, his physical body was still only at the level of a Middle-class devil, but the force he unleashed had already climbed to Maou class!

“Time limit… one minute!”

This was the maximum duration Shoyo could maintain this state. Any further increase would bring terrifying consequences, massive physical backlash and even damage to his very origin. Even the eternal healing from [Kurma the World Turtle] couldn’t fix that in time.

This was the Overlimit Mode, a dangerous middle-state Shoyo created for himself.
Normally, using his [Rama] avatar could enhance all attributes significantly, consuming only stamina and spirit. But going beyond that into Overlimit meant sacrificing his body: from minor overdraft to deep origin damage, even death wasn’t off the table.

Theoretically, he could release the full might of his avatar in an instant.

But the cost?

Direct paralysis.

Catastrophic origin damage.

Or… outright death.

This Overlimit Mode was designed to operate in the gray zone, granting overwhelming strength in a crisis without instantly destroying himself.
It was a risky but calculated fail-safe, part of his automatic survival system.
If someone plotted to assassinate him and he was killed instantly, the system would trigger a post-mortem revenge strike using this very power.

With one minute on the clock…

It was time to show the Dragon King what fear looked like.


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