novelEvan D. Sherden, Hearing About the Legend (1)
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Evan D. Sherden, Hearing About the Legend (1)
Fall arrived in September. Evan loved autumn the most compared to the other seasons.
It was when the heat lessened down, and a fresh wind blew in the morning and evenings. All sorts of pedestrians roamed the streets as fast as the vegetation turned red. Hot food was being sold in bulks in carriages and stalls.
"Summer stalls are pretty good, but you can't beat the fried skewers in the cool breeze after entering the Brotherhood Bathhouse on an autumn night."
"I agree with the rest, but Master, I think the baked fruit bread is a lot better. Imagine the hot and sweet bread with its scrumptious taste! Wouldn't it be suitable on a dessert menu? And when you drink milk with it, it's like the most golden meal out there."
"Haha. Then you'll never know how to be an adult unless you eat or taste it with chocolate milk."
"That doesn't even make sense, Master. Although, I'll say coffee milk is the best drink to eat it with."
As Evan and Shine debated fiercely over the topic like two fools, Belois and Arisha were quietly drinking only white milk. This was because late-night snacks, whether oily or sweet, were the enemies of beauty.
"Aren't the streets a little more noisy than usual? What do you think?"
Shine had been living in the dungeon city since he was young, but today he noticed that the fervor had been particularly strong. There were a lot of people, and the streets were bustling.
"Silly Shine."
"And why am I suddenly being called silly?"
"... You really don't know?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?! It's not like I asked a forbidden question!"
At this, Evan and Belois stared at him menacingly while Arisha quietly drank her white milk.
"What happened? I've been totally focused on teaching these days."
"The Dungeon Festival is going to be held this fall."
"Ah... Huh? What is that?" at Evan's words, Shine exclaimed questioningly.
It wasn't strange that Shine didn't know about it. Evan nodded for a moment before replying, "Originally, the dungeon city held a festival every three years. It was a ceremony in which every person who entered the dungeon prayed for safe care, thanking the gods for not being destroyed by the threats of the vicious monsters.
"Is that so? But even if there was a festival three years ago, I should have known about it so... Ah." Shine, who tilted his head at Evan's words, started nodding slowly.
Certainly, if the festival had been held three years ago, he would have remembered it, but that was when the most terrible dungeon backflow occurred in decades. His face hardened in an instant.
"The festival... I didn't remember it because..."
"That's right. That's because no such festival was held back then. The dungeon backflow was one of the most devastating ones, three years ago. Now the festival is being held again."
As a result, the festival was finally being held after six years. In the dungeon city, everyone was waiting and preparing for the festival with one heart. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and restlessness.
"It's definitely a good thing. The festival will be helpful in forgetting the tragic memories about the big wave from 3 years ago."
"But there were also some good things forgotten before moving forward."
"Forgetting good things..." Shine muttered dumbly as if he had heard unbelievable words. Evan shook his head and spoke firmly.
"I'm not saying you should forget the past, Shine. I'm just saying, there are people who do that to gain the strength to move on."
"Of course I understand, Master. No matter what anyone says, I can never forget that day."
Shine was still loudly chewing and stuffing all the fruit bread in his mouth. It was hot, so he drank milk quickly while making a whistling sound. Belois muttered, "Stupid Shine." but he didn't hear her.
Arisha was still also drinking her white milk. Evan spoke to Shine with a bitter smile at the appearance of Arisha, who seemed indifferent towards them.
"Let's put aside the purpose of the festival and personal feelings aside for now, and just think of this festival as a great opportunity to release stress."
"Stress?"
"Like you said, you're doing very hard training with kids these days. Let's play together during the festival period. I have waited for a very long time to be able to enjoy myself without an escort."
"Great! It'll be fun, won't it? Everyone has been working hard for almost half a year, so the kids will need a break too."
The reason they were now able to travel without escorts was simple. This was because Shine and Belois, who had cleared the dungeon's 5th floor, were already stronger than the escort knights. They both were enough to take care of Evan's safety. Dain, who was originally Evan's escort knight, was very disappointed that his role had been taken away.
Of course, Shine and Belois, who are still far less powerful than Evan, were trying to become strong somehow for nearly half a year, and Evan quickly realized that. Even though they had improved a lot in the dungeon, they were still trying desperately, and Evan was surely impressed by the effort.
"So how long is the festival period, Master?"
"From the first Tuesday of October to Saturday. That makes it a total of five days."
"Five days!? That's very long."
"It was originally three days, but then two days were added. The last festival was canceled, remember?"
"Ah, ah, ah. So that's why."
There was a reason for this festival to get even busier; progress was being made in the dungeon attacks, which had been stagnating for several years.
Were they motivated after seeing Evan going into the dungeon, or was it that the Brotherhood Pharmacy and the Brotherhood Bathhouse had increased their capabilities?
The leaders of the influential battle guilds selected the strongest fighters and formed a dream team of eight, and achieved the feat of reaching level 46 after having defeated the boss Thunder Lycan on the 45th floor of the dungeon.
Thanks to that, everyone was excited.
"Since the members are preparing to attack the 45th floor again this time, I think the 45th floor will not be completely conquered before the festival begins."
The members of the dream team included the guilds: Paradise Wandering, Thunderbird, Phoenix, Heatshield, Evergreen, Gracan, Megamine... In addition, other large-scale guilds that were stimulated by them were also getting ready to conquer the 45th floor.
The battle guilds of the dungeon city had finally begun to break through years of sluggishness and dormancy. It couldn't be definitely said that this was all an Evan-led change, but no one could deny that he at least had an effect.
"The atmosphere is crackling with excitement."
"There's also the birthday of the older brother, the Marquis' successor, in October. It's well known that my brother entered and left the dungeon last time, so there is a high possibility that an event will also be held with respect to him during this festival."
Evan's elder brother, Eric D. Sherden, the First Master, who turned fifteen this year, had safely cleared the dungeon to the 10th floor and returned safely.
Of course, the 5th dungeon floor where Evan's party had gone to was very different from the 6th floor as the risk of traps and monsters doubled.
'No matter how great my brother is, I didn't expect him to go so far, but I'm sure he will have defeated the boss on the 10th floor. '
In addition, many boss monsters appeared in the Floor Master Battle Room on the 10th floor, so there were many cases where the battles could have gotten very difficult. In fact, one-third of all the explorers never ventured beyond the 10th floor.
This meant that clearing the 10th floor and then returning formally proved him as one of the better adventurers.
'No matter how much you've been training the knights, you can't break through the dungeon and level up if you don't contribute properly. But it's strange that no one is surprised as he really broke through to the 10th floor at the age of 15. '
With his performance, Eric had proved that the Sherden family did not only have Evan D. Sherden as their strongest child. The subtle shock that Evan faced was because Eric had exceeded all expectations.
'I want my father to allow me to move on to the next dungeon, but he hates the thought. Somehow, I am jealous of my brother. I will pretend to be normal, but I'm jealous of him, and I'm struggling too...'
Evan wondered how to get permission from the Marquis. Should he consult Grandpa Bernard and the Knight Commander for help? That seemed to be the best idea.
'This is because it will be a sin to not do it even though I have the ability to achieve it without a doubt. '
Evan's minimum goal now was to become an adult. He wanted to lead his own dream team and break through the dungeon floor that the current top battle guilds had reached. Only then would the Dungeon Knights gain an overwhelming advantage over other guilds in this city, and it would be easier to manage the rogue guilds as well.
If others could hear his thoughts, they would have been amazed, when in fact, these were quite natural for him.
'The 45th floor. '
Honestly, the 45th floor wasn't difficult. Evan dreamt of going to the 50th floor. He was still the person that had cleared the Yo-Ma Great War series hundreds of times.
He could clear the 50th floor even with his eyes closed in his previous life. He even once attempted to choose Evan, who had the wizard class and had no aptitude, then proceeded with No Save to venture up to the 60th floor.
'But now it's not a game anymore. This is my reality. The scope of application of alchemy is wider than I imagined. '
In this situation, he was planning on breaking through the 50th floor by leading the members of his dream team, which included Shine, Belois, and Raihan, and himself as an alchemist, all the while saving himself from dying from countless other death signs. But for now, the death signs didn't matter.
"By the way, Shine, how much more training do the other kids need to enter the dungeon?"
Evan hadn't officially launched the Dungeon Knights Squad, but he was already being considered by many as a veteran knights' commander. Shine replied right away as if he was waiting for Evan to ask this,
"If they evolve to the point where I am not worried about their deaths at all, then I may say that it would take another half a year."
"I think Paul will be ready soon too, Master."
"Half a year... They had all been mastering the skills of a servant so far, but it's amazing that it only takes a year for them to completely train to enter the dungeon."
Shine was even more talented at teaching the others than Evan thought, and the Rookie children attended his training class differently than others. Entering the dungeon without worrying about death was a condition almost impossible to meet even for adults, let alone a year for a bunch of kids!
"The only kid with magic talent was Paul, right?"
"Yes, Master. He's been doing quite well, too."
Paul, who had no aptitude for martial arts, was gifted with magical talents, and as he was constantly taught by Belois, he was evolving at a rapid rate.
Shine's Rookie Training Act had made it possible to correct the children's twisted bodies, and even the ability to manage mana to some extent.
"I'm also teaching him. He has little magical abilities as of right now, but fortunately, he learns fast."
After having completely finished all of the white milk, Arisha finally added to Belois's words. As Belois was walking the path of a witch, Arisha was the one who had followed the most standard path of magic in the dungeon city of Mana Road, which was the birthplace of magic.
She was the same age as Evan.
Magic was never easy. So anyone who even had a little knowledge of it meant that they could teach others.
"I know. Thanks to you, Paul is growing evenly without being biased in one direction."
"I'm doing it because I'm also a member of the Dungeon Knights."
"You mean a reserve member, right?"
When Belois saw Evan feel burdened by those words, she spoke quickly, "Next time, we will all be going in because we all are part of the Dungeon Knights Squad."
"With the permission of Count Fellati..."
"We already got it. I will always follow Master Evan's will."
"What, really!?"
"The will of the Knight Commander is the most important, " it seemed that Arisha had a very strong determination to formally join the Dungeon Knights.
Evan sighed.
Her personal growth and development were satisfactory, and Raihan was also growing. The training of Rookies, including Shine and Belois, was going perfect, but it was Arisha who was the only one who had been deviating from his plan so far.
'She eventually got to stay in our city smoothly... Just like it was in the main story!'
Of course, she was a great wizard too. She also later became the main heroine.
'And that is exactly the problem!'
Evan wanted to say something to reduce Arisha's interest when he suddenly spotted Bernard Garcia, standing alone on a secluded road.
"Uh, Grandpa?"
"Wow..."
Bernard made a strange voice and hid one hand behind him. However, Evan quickly realized what he was trying to hide.
It was a letter.
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