Evan D. Sherden, Level Up (5)
As they did a little bit of treasure hunting, the party cleared the second floor of the dungeon a little later than the dungeon's first floor.
Nevertheless, it was fast enough. If other novice explorers heard it, they would say,?'What? To clear it in a day is possible!?'
It wasn't even just a simple breakthrough. It was a complete victory!
[Your level has grown to 3. Then again… Hmm, indeed, with vicious and excellent tricks, the secrets of the dungeon were unravelled and resolved. This is a great achievement that is unprecedented, and no one will ever achieve it in the future either.]
However, after the second floor was cleared, he heard God's message with the level-up and was excited.
[I will strengthen Heaven Press' ability. In the future, if you activate Heaven Press and hold the object, the object will not be able to move easily. This will allow you to use your abilities more effectively.]
"No, it's good to strengthen the skills, but why did you strengthen this again?"
Besides, isn't it natural that if you hold something hard, it breaks and can't move easily!? How was this even called a God-sent ability?!
Evan was now so angry with God that he was about to cry. Ah, he had the bad luck of getting this skill in the dungeon, but was simply too much when the same skill was given twice!
"Master, a surprising new ability… According to Master's standards, I got a passive skill! If I successfully block an enemy's attack with a shield, I can now steal a very small amount of mana from the enemy!"
"That sounds so good… "
"Ah, Master…?"
And, without noticing the sudden despairing expression of Evan, Raihan, who came happily to report the skill he got, made it even worse for him.
Evan popped slimes by violently gripping both hands to relieve his stress. It was a brilliant technique, indeed. In the meantime, Shine and Belois also came out from the aftereffects of levelling up and sighed.
"Ah… Now I need to be calm as my body is changing itself, it is quite difficult to adapt to this feeling."
"Thank you for waiting."
Shine and Belois hadn't gotten any new skills, but this time, the basic combat skills they had learned were strengthened instead… In other words, God raised the levels of Shine's 'double swordsmanship' and Belois' 'Witch's Wa' (a high-level skill that was condensed from the knowledge of witches in dealing with mana, including mana recovery).
As their skill level was already high, it was very surprising that the skill level still rose by 1.
Moreover, they became level 3, and the changes that they received in their body were apparent; even though they did not receive new skills, there was no despair.
"It seems…it certainly seems like a big change has happened directly to my body."
"Yes. I seem a little tall. I think my arms have become a little longer."
"Yes… that's true."
First Evan, then Shine, and then Belois, confirmed that their height had increased. The bones of the face and the body seemed to have changed a little bit. It must be said that their bodies' outlines had become clearer.
"Was it possible to correct one's body by levelling up… No, why did I not know this in advance? If we hadn't come in now, I wouldn't have known it all my life."
"I thought you would know this."
"If I knew, I would have come in earlier even if I was a little weaker… It's not too late, I think it's okay."
Originally, they grew a little later than their peers as they were rookies, but they were regaining their bodies' health which had been damaged by the training of the Sherden family.
However, this time, it was all solved at once, and that was why they grew tall. This fundamental change would not last for several floors, but bodily corrections in this way at a young age will surely help in their future growth.
'Looking at that, in the game, neither the Silent Night nor the Blood Witch were very well developed bodily. I already entered the dungeon after my body was fully grown, so even if I raised my level in the dungeon, it was too late for me.'
But that was not the case now. They not only started training at a young age in the Sherden family but also entered the dungeon and managed to correct their bodies, so they could grow into a completely different person from how they were in Yo-Ma Great War 3.
Also, as Shine and Belois were now proving with their bodies, they were developing correctly.
The healthy body will maximize the efficiency of their status and skills, and when they have completed their physical growth, their appearance and ability will be different from the game!
'What. At this point, we have already laid an excellent foundation on a level that is different from the game, but if they become stronger than before, where on earth will these guys stop…?'
Evan, who suddenly imagined their future, trembled. There were things one should not mess with… Yes, he had started to wonder if he had accidentally opened up Pandora's Box.
"If this happens when levelling up, I'll have to bring Paul and Marie, and other rookie children to the Dungeon as soon as possible."
"Okay. Shine is the vice-commander, so he will do it."
"This kid… "
Evan, seeing his loyal servants casually communicate, got a little disturbed, but in the end, he thought that it was a good thing. That was how he convinced himself.
Instead, he pledged to make their treatment a little better from now on… Just in case! Being human, you could always make mistakes!
"Then, let's go to the third floor! I can't stand still like this because I can feel that I am growing. I want to go to the 5th floor quickly."
"… I agree. I want to be strong too."
"Yes… but no." Evan, who had finally gone up to dungeon level 3, responded coldly to the guys who were burning with vigour.
"It's been over fifteen hours since we entered the dungeon. Are you thinking of moving forward without even sleeping?"
"Oh, I forgot about that… "
This was probably because they were in a state where they didn't realize their vital needs. After all, their feelings were all mixed up with uplifting and excitement imbibed by the special environment of the dungeon: excitement from battles, increased physical abilities due to successive level-ups, and more.
And Evan knew that this was the most dangerous thing. In particular, it was easy to make mistakes, now that they were overly excited by leveling up… And dungeons were where minor mistakes lead to death.
"You must remember the most important thing for explorers who enter the dungeon. It's not a battle or an achievement that matters, it's the break. If you don't take a break in time, you can't get up when you need to get up. Rather than running with all your utmost power, it is to reserve your strength so that you can always be ready. This is the basis of dungeon exploration. Okay?"
"Now, this is definitely what you said before entering the dungeon. Sorry."
"I offended you. Sorry."
Shine and Belois loosened their shoulders at Evan's words. They reminded Evan of chastised dogs lowering their heads in shame.
Evan smiled and patted the children's hair.
"Okay. This is your first time in the dungeon, so you should learn from now on. Then, let's go to the shelter that I decided on earlier. We have to eat, rest, and sleep."
"Okay."
"Yes, sir."
Evan set the route to the shelter and ordered them to move forward.
Raihan was curious about how Evan could command the party like a veteran, but he thought that it was natural for Evan to be like this and eventually followed the lead in silence.
"No one is there? Okay, let's close the entrance first."
When Evan's group arrived at the shelter, a safe room, they first checked the shelter's inside and closed the entrance. A stone door was conveniently installed there, so it closed easily if you just pushed it a little.
"Can I close it like this? What if others need shelter…?"
"Then are you confident to spend the night with other unknown parties in this small room? I am not."
"Well, that is something too. I still have a lot to learn."
Therefore, the safe room was on a first-come-first-serve basis. Those who came first and occupied the room had absolute priority. But those who arrived later, if they were desperately in need of the shelter's help, may be able to get inside through negotiations.
"Okay, then, in case we don't remain alert, put an alarm and a little trap… "
"No, didn't you say that trap installation was mainly done by thieves?"
Just after entering the shelter, Shine was stunned by Evan's appearance, who was diligently preparing traps.
Even then gave a good explanation.
"So the thieves who do things this way also learn alchemy."
"Alchemy is amazing, I… "
"Ah, Lua. Can you make a fire?"
"Of course."
Belois sent a flame to Evan. Even though it was small in size, it had considerable firepower, so it could be used enough for cooking purposes.
Of course, they did not intend to cook full-scale here. It was to just get water from a spring installed in the corner of the safe room where clean, drinkable water flowed out, pour it into a pot and put a stock cube (a broth made by chicken and pigs) in there. There was also the possibility of boiling rice, other vegetables, and meat.
"Hey, it smells good. I'm hungry. Why didn't I know so far?"
"… I'm ashamed. I would be grateful if you forgave me for this distraction."
"It is beneficial for yourself not to be disturbed in the dungeon."
"Ugh, my arm is tingling violently. Even though my level has risen, it's still inconvenient."
After taking a break from fighting a fierce battle, the fatigue that they had been neglecting to acknowledge so far came upon them.
Shine grabbed his stomach at the fragrant smell of the stew as it was being boiled, and Belois sat down while spreading and rubbing her legs. At the same time, Raihan soothed his arms, which had prevented the attacks of hundreds of monsters throughout the day.
"Don't use healing magic. Please ask Shine and Belois."
"That… Master? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I have to do something."
As soon as they entered the shelter and perceived their physical condition, it was the moment they started making sounds of pain, yet Evan was full of energy as if he was totally fine. He was also in charge of cooking and was in good condition.
It seemed he was perfect.
"No matter how much I think about it, Master seems to be moving the most energetically out of us all, but… "
"What nonsense is this? We know that my role is the smallest in battle, so I will do what I can."
Raihan gave up while trying to come up with a list of all the stupid things Evan had done, including clearing up the second floor of the dungeon. It was also strange to say them one by one while pointing to Evan. It was also hard for him to be convinced.
'Why are you always valuing others so highly?'
At that time, Evan said to Raihan, who was shaking his head, as if he had just remembered something.
"Oh, there is a toilet inside the shelter, so go before eating. You can all take turns."
In fact, for the only woman, Belois, a simple partition was installed. However, that wasn't a new concept because a day or two didn't pass since Evan had been inconsiderate of Belois.
It was all done with just a little bit of emotion and good intentions.
"Huh, uh, uh, uh!"
Meanwhile, Shine, who took his turn and headed to the bathroom, screamed at some point. They all wanted to see what the hell was going on.
All of them stood up preparing for battle, and soon a different voice from Shine's was heard.
[Kid, you got scared by me?]
"I'm in the bathroom, of course, I will be scared!"
[You don't trust me!]
"Ah, it's a ghost."
It was the ghost in Shine's bracelet that had suddenly revealed itself. This had occasionally been happening, and because of this, the party didn't pay much attention, but the words heard the next moment made them stop in their movements.
[I have risen to the next level. God gave it to me too. My level has grown to 3. I was level 2, but I am now level 3]
"…Level up?"
"…What, the ghost has levelled up?"