MIGHT AS WELL BE OP-Chapter 1041: Von Bryan-2

Von Bryan nearly fainted when he found out that the moment they were done with school, Anthony had first played as an adventurer for a month, went into seclusion for a year, then left the planet for a galaxy-wide competition. Then, from there, he joined the military, climbed the ranks within a single year since joining, wiped out the Forsaken Cult, and became the strongest within the Military Base at that same time, a sequence of achievements so absurd it bordered on incomprehensible.

Although the Starborn Tournament was hidden information due to the presence of the Demon, the Emperor still informed Bryan about it since he was the Crowned Prince; he was entitled to some hidden information, especially information that could potentially shape his understanding of the wider universe and his place within it.

Von Bryan had felt his imagination collapse after all this information. His so-called golden generation talent amounted to absolutely nothing. He was a frog in a well, no, calling him a frog was a compliment to begin with, as even that analogy felt too generous for the gap that existed between him and Anthony.

Yes, he knew that other planets existed right from his Omni Peak Academy days, he could imagine that much, but hearing about the entire Galaxy was too... much, far beyond anything he had ever truly conceptualized within his mind.

He wasn’t alone in this; Storm Bringer, Storm Rider, and Terpes Tiara had all also gained the same information from their respective parents, each of them facing the same crushing realization of their own insignificance in the grander scale of existence.

Since then, Von Bryan simply trained harder than ever, Anthony filled his mind every day, that power, that might, that finesse, the glory, the respect, all of it looping endlessly within his thoughts like an unbreakable cycle that refused to fade.

At this moment, within the Blue Planet, Anthony was revered as a literal God. Many people prayed to him every day, many statues of him existed. Even within the Dragons, who were known as the most prideful race on the Blue Planet, sang his praise, their pride momentarily cast aside in the face of overwhelming, undeniable power.

After all, how many could resurrect billions of people with utter ease, defying the natural order without consequence?

There was even a rumor going around within the Human Domain that if you prayed to Anthony, the chances of your child awakening a good and powerful class would increase, a belief that spread like wildfire among the masses despite lacking any confirmed foundation.

Bryan stepped into his room with a sigh, he had wanted to hit the shower, enjoy the feeling of water running down his body, then cultivate right after, but he didn’t do that anymore. He cleaned himself with Mana manipulation, then collapsed into his bed with a sigh, his golden slit eyes fixed on the ceiling as he wondered when he would get to that level of power, a question that lingered heavily within his mind.

His Father, the Emperor, had told him that he possessed enough talent to get to the Planetary level, which was why he was crowned the Crown Prince, and the First Prince wasn’t, words that had once filled him with pride but now felt hollow in comparison.

So, he knew he could get there, but it was simply a matter of when. But sadly, that ’when’ could and would never arrive as fast as Anthony’s, as him getting to the Planetary rank would take at least a thousand years, a timespan that now felt unbearably long.

But to Von Bryan, this felt way too long, he didn’t even know Planetary-level powerhouses existed before, making the entire concept even more daunting and distant.

’It took Father almost two thousand years to ascend to that level of power,’ he thought to himself, the weight of that realization pressing down on him.

At this moment, he was merely at the King Mana Rank, not even at the peak of it, but merely at Level 7, a position that once seemed impressive but now felt insignificant.

Out of the eighteen Mana Ranks he found out about, he was merely at the Fifth Mana Rank, a placement that further emphasized the distance he still had to cover.

But Von Bryan seemed to forget that he was merely a twenty-year-old child. How many twenty-year-olds could even get to his level of power? Certainly not a normal or even a talented one. Bryan simply forgot that he was a monster in his own right simply because he was comparing himself to a cheater, an anomaly, a reincarnator, someone who defied all conventional standards.

He was destined to forever be behind..

As his thoughts swirled, his phone suddenly beeped as the phone screen lit up with a notification. His head turned towards the phone in mild surprise and confusion as he wondered who was texting him, as he basically didn’t have anyone to exchange texts with in recent times.

Although he had the contacts of his former classmates, they basically didn’t exchange words as everyone was too busy training themselves to the death, and they had practically never talked since Academy graduation, their connections fading into silence.

Lifting his phone, which automatically unlocked through facial recognition, the moment he went to the messaging app, his face changed to one of absolute shock.

{Null Anthony: Hey!}

It was just a single word, a single normal greeting, but Von Bryan’s Mana Heart trembled in absolute shock. He had just been thinking about Anthony, and now, the person he had been thinking about had texted him, making the situation feel almost surreal.

Bryan couldn’t help but doubt reality for the first time in a while. Since knowing and understanding Anthony’s ridiculous feats, he had tried texting Anthony. He had opened their particular messaging app more than a thousand times to text this abnormal Human boy, but each time, he ended up closing the messaging app as he couldn’t bring himself to send a message.

He, who hadn’t messaged Anthony in five years, was now suddenly messaging him after seeing his power and might; doing that would look as though he wanted to meet Anthony for power and take advantage of their old relationship, something that did not sit well with his pride.

Although the world and Galaxy worked by taking advantage of people, scheming, cheating, killing, and betrayal, Von Bryan was a Prince, he had no reason to do any of that. Besides, would Anthony even reply him? With Anthony’s busy military schedule, would Anthony even have the time to check his phone? Anthony might be stuck in a battle with various world-ending demons and calamities at any given moment.

But now, all these thoughts were useless, as Anthony, whom he wanted to text but couldn’t, had now texted him first, flipping the entire situation on its head.

But now came another problem, he didn’t know how to reply. If this was during their school days, he would reply with an emoji, or something casual, or even with an insult that was a joke shared between them, but now, none of that felt... okay, none of it felt appropriate anymore.

The difference in power was too great for such a casual reply, creating an invisible barrier between them that Bryan couldn’t ignore.

What if Anthony didn’t like his reply and decided to destroy the Dragon Domain?

Of course, he might be overthinking it, but five years was a long time, anyone could change within that time frame. What if Anthony was now drunk on the power he now possessed? During their school days, Anthony was never arrogant nor condescending, he seemed easygoing and very lazy, but that was five years ago, and this was now, where everything had changed.

Could a lazy, easygoing person climb to this level of power in five years? Certainly not, at least not under normal circumstances.

But still, he had to reply, he couldn’t leave Anthony hanging for too long, not after receiving a message like that.