MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 685: First Test

Anthony and Klaus continued their steady walk forward, the hallway stretching endlessly ahead of them, its silence thick and unbroken, encompassing the both of them like a heavy shroud. Each step echoed faintly, the sound swallowed almost immediately by the vast emptiness of the hallway. Neither spoke, yet their thoughts weighed heavily in the air.

Anthony was still in shock, struggling to process the revelation he had just heard about Klaus’ true awakened class abilities. The words kept replaying in his mind like an echo refusing to die down.

’Is such a thing even possible?’ Anthony wondered, his sky-blue eyes flickering with disbelief as he walked. His thoughts spiraled without pause, his mind attempting to make sense of something that felt beyond human comprehension.

Although Klaus had not revealed in detail what his class could achieve, nor the baseline abilities that the mysterious Weapon Master class granted, Anthony had already arrived at several conclusions on his own. He could not help but imagine the terrifying potential of such a class, and what destruction it might cause if it fell into the wrong hands.

As his mind drifted further, Anthony found himself recalling another anomaly of existence: StreamGhost.

That enigmatic figure, with his awakened Cameraman class, had abilities that transcended comprehension. Omniscience, omnipotence, immortality, abilities that defied logic and made him untouchable. StreamGhost was no longer bound by conventional restrictions like mana rank; his awakened class had outright shattered those shackles and elevated him beyond the natural order.

’I wonder who is stronger between StreamGhost and Klaus,’ Anthony thought. ’Two such broken classes... How can the universe even allow such things to exist?’

The memory stirred something deeper within him, dragging him back nearly nine years to the day he had awakened his own class. He had only been ten years old, a wide-eyed adult in a child’s body trembling with anticipation, when the Magic Swordsman class appeared before him. The joy he felt at that moment was immeasurable, his heart had been filled with pride, his spirit soaring with a sense of divine blessing.

But now, when he compared himself to the likes of Klaus and StreamGhost, he felt no different than a frog staring up from the depths of a well, unaware of the vastness of the heavens above. His class, once a source of pride, seemed pitifully insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, his path had not ended there. Later, his class had evolved, or rather, changed into something else, something entirely different. He no longer bore the title of Magic Swordsman. Instead, he carried the mantle of Anomaly.

’I wish I could witness a battle between them...’ Anthony mused, his lips curling faintly with longing before he quickly shook his head. Dwelling on fantasies served no purpose.

’The author really has a knack for coming up with overpowered abilities,’ Anthony thought, exhaling a mental sigh.

Klaus, walking beside him in silence, remained unreadable. Though he had told Anthony the secret of his class, he offered no further elaboration. He merely allowed Anthony’s imagination to wander, knowing the weight of the revelation was already enough.

”Isn’t your class a bit too... overpowered?” Anthony finally broke the silence, his voice calm yet edged with genuine curiosity.

Klaus smirked faintly at the question, his pride unmistakable. His class was one of the few things he held in absolute esteem. He never flaunted it openly, there was no need. Had he wished, he could have corrected the world’s misconceptions about him long ago. But he hadn’t, for their guess were not entirely wrong. They simply weren’t the whole truth.

”Indeed, it is,” Klaus admitted with a subtle nod. His smirk softened, and his tone shifted. ”But I am still nowhere near as talented as you... at least, not when it comes to raw, innate talent.” He paused, letting the words linger between them before continuing. ”Although I don’t know exactly how your Magic Swordsman class worked, you weren’t the only one in the human race to awaken it, after all. Still... yours seemed different. Unique.” His tone carried a glint of curiosity, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Anthony caught the unspoken question hidden in the statement, but he chose silence. He simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

Indeed, the Magic Swordsman class was rare, but not unheard of. Others had awakened it before him, though none had ever displayed the abilities he had once shown. But that was in the past, he no longer possessed the class at all. And besides, Klaus’ curiosity stemmed from the simple fact that other Magic Swordsmen could not do what Anthony had done.

They had not even come close.

Sensing Anthony’s reluctance to answer, Klaus pressed further. ”You do realize that if you keep dodging my questions, I might have to pry by force... using one of my abilities.”

Anthony smirked. Since Klaus had chosen not to share every detail about his own class, he saw no reason to bare his secrets either.

”You’re welcome to try,” Anthony said simply, his voice laced with confidence.

Though Klaus was undeniably overpowered, Anthony had faith in one thing: his Perfect One skill. That skill did not care about rank or overwhelming power, it was absolute. If Anthony willed it, Klaus would find nothing, no matter how deeply he pried.

’If information is also a weapon in his hands, perhaps I can feed him false truths whenever he tries to dig into me,’ Anthony mused quietly.

”You sound confident,” Klaus chuckled, though his tone shifted suddenly, carrying a sharp edge. ”But tell me, where was that confidence when the Demon King forced my daughter to kneel and bow her head?”

Anthony stopped in his tracks, his foot halting mid-step as he sensed the sudden shift in Klaus’ demeanor. His voice had become heavier, sharper, laden with something dangerous.

”What do you mean?” Anthony asked cautiously.

Klaus’ expression hardened. ”When the Demon King’s clone descended, his mere presence made everyone kneel. His aura crushed even the proudest among the army and racial Domains. Vega bowed her head that day. Now tell me, Anthony, do you plan to overlook someone who made your lover kneel before him?”

Anthony frowned. Klaus’ words cut deeply, for there was truth in them. He could argue that he had defeated the Demon King, but deep down, he knew it had only been a clone. The real Demon King remained untouched.

”You spoke boldly about the Demon King falling to you if he arrived this very moment,” Klaus continued, his voice echoing coldly. ”But it seems you have been overconfident.”

Before Anthony could respond, his world twisted. His connection to reality shattered abruptly, as though invisible hands had seized him. The hallway vanished. In the blink of an eye, Anthony was forcefully pulled elsewhere, transported against his will.

His eyes snapped open to a new environment. The sight that met him was breathtaking. The sky stretched wide and blue, dotted with clouds drifting lazily, yet there was a weight here that made everything feel different. Gravity pressed down more heavily, space itself felt denser, and mana was harder to grasp and manipulate. His senses sharpened instinctively, his body and senses adjusting to the alien conditions.

To his side stood colossal trees, their trunks thick and ancient, stretching so tall they seemed to pierce the heavens. Information flowed into Anthony’s mind as his All Seeing Eyes analyzed them: these trees could survive the blast of a dying sun without faltering. Even the simplest elements of this place possessed impossible resilience.

”Welcome to one of my realms,” Klaus’ voice rang out. His tone was calm, ”I created this place myself, for beings like you. Beings capable of fighting on a planetary scale. Here, everything is forged with planetary might. Even a grain of sand, even the smallest rock, could withstand what would annihilate an ordinary world.”

Anthony’s gaze lifted skyward, his sharp eyes narrowing as he absorbed the truth of Klaus’ words. The realm was beautiful, yet it carried with it an overwhelming, crushing sense of weight. He already knew why he had been brought here, but still, he asked.

”What are we here for?” Anthony’s voice was calm, though a flicker of anticipation burned within it.

Klaus faced him directly, his eyes calm. ”Although Amara has approved of you, for the time being, I have not. Not yet. I need to witness it myself: the power you claim to wield. The power you say can protect my daughter. The same power that gives you the audacity to proclaim you could kill the Demon King if he appeared before you now.” His words carried the weight of judgment. Then, after a pause, he added cooly, ”You can consider this your first test.”