Evan D. Sherden Knows the Weight of Promise (1)
After having married Iloin, Bernard went on a long vacation. Of course, he tried to return right back to pharmacy work, but Iloin stopped him. Everyone who remembered the bride's overwhelming abilities at the wedding hall would never dare to interfere with the newlyweds.
[Bernard Garcia is mine; why is he kicking me out to be with an elf? This is something that doesn't fit. Evan D. Sherden, don't you think so too?]
"It's because you aren't his master, he is yours."
[Ugh…!]
As a result, Rose had to stay with Evan for a while because she had been kicked out of the house. Even though she often viewed him as less than a bug, it was clear she gave him special treatment as he was Bernard's disciple.
[Special treatment? It's not like that. Of the countless insect-like humans, only Bernard Garcia and his disciple are really special. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have ordered you to be killed.]
"Oh, those dungeon bats? Thank you for sending us some weak foes."
[Weak…?]
Realizing that Evan was speaking so sincerely, Rose began to sweat. Obviously, they weren't the strongest, but quite a few knights had fallen to them. In particular, the one that had led them had been one of the strongest of those loyal to her. Currently, Evan was only thirteen; how strong would he become if he fully grew up? Perhaps, at this point, he was already stronger than her.
"I guess the Mahwa have a high experience level. Anyway, thanks to that, no one was hurt, and our levels were raised, so I won't resent you for it."
[Were humans originally such a vicious race? No, it's definitely just this kid…]
"What?" Evan wanted to torment the little Rose Queen for her comments by exercising the rights Bernard had given him, but after checking the time, he stopped. He didn't have time to play with her.
"It's time for my alchemy class. If you can stay still, you can follow along."
[Look at this, aren't you training without any breaks? No human being I know lives this way. No, can you really call this a life?]
"…You sound a little like my mother." Although there were some minor changes, such as his alchemy class being delayed, Evan's life hadn't fundamentally changed. The only real difference was that he capitalized on any chance to learn from another, rather than agonizing over studying alone. He had also taken the position of teaching instead of just learning.
"Ah, the master is here… Ack, that strange fairy too."
[The lowly humans dare weep at the sight of this form.]
"Then, shall we start class? Let's practice today." Evan was now teaching alchemy to Hannah on behalf of Bernard while he was off on his honeymoon.
"Practice? Well, it's better than theory…"
"Let's start right away. Today, let's make a bomb according to the recipe you thought of. If you do well, I will teach you the bullet recipe I developed."
"Young master's recipe…! I'll do my best!" In teaching martial arts to the children, his own had developed, so Evan had been able to learn a lot while teaching alchemy to Hannah.
"Alchemy is quite difficult."
"It's okay. Even if the progress is slow, if you work consistently, you will one day become a great alchemist."
"When the hell will that happen?"
"Well. assuming you live to the age of 100, probably before you die?"
"…You don't need to be so ruthless." However, as she said herself, Evan agreed that her progress wasn't fast.
Bernard's constant, "This is nothing," kept him from being proud of his progress, and naturally made him think that more effort was required to learn alchemy. Once he applied that strict Standard to Hannah, this was the result. However, in reality, her talent was actually very good, and in at least five years, she could work under the name of an alchemist with confidence.
"To become a great alchemist, I must first extend my lifespan. Work hard in the dungeon to raise my level…but I don't like going into the dungeon." Hannah mumbled and draped herself over the table after completing the difficult process. It was fortunate that she had a passion for alchemy. Of course, Evan thought she had more talent for shooting skills than alchemy. Suddenly curious, he decided to ask her something
"What floor did you go down to this time?"
"The 10th floor. I somehow reached level 11, but after fighting a guy called the floor master, we had to back off since I lost my gun."
"You went down to level 11 all in one go? Really?"
"Yeah."
"Amazing, that's the talent of a top explorer." Evan was honestly surprised. The floor master on the 10th floor was an overwhelming foe for beginners and defeating it meant you could proudly introduce yourself as a dungeon explorer. Serpina, a notable figure in Yo-ma Great War 4, was with her, but she had clearly demonstrated her own talent.
"What are you so surprised about when you've gone down to the 20th floor? After fighting that floor master, we were no longer confident. Those traps are too scary…"
"It's more of a mental problem than physical fatigue…well, you can train that in the future. If you head into the dungeon a few more times, it'll be okay."
"The only person who can put such an idea into action is the young master. Ugh…" Hannah trembled at Evan's words. She was full of spirit before entering the dungeon, but now that she had survived there, she was filled with thoughts of never returning.
"But if you don't, you won't be able to progress."
"Progress…ugh, should I go back to the dungeon…?"
"No one is forcing you. But if you want to become stronger, you should go in." Those who challenged the dungeon often experienced the emotional burden of exploring it. Traps and monsters were everywhere, constantly threatening one's life…it was obvious that it would place a burden on anyone's mental state. Rather, Evan's party was abnormal for being able to attack it so efficiently.
'Because I approach the dungeon like it's a game, though.' Evan's iron-like mentality spread to his followers so that they could attack the dungeon without fear. That is why he was able to reach a new record with children.
"I have respect for you…"
"You can do it too. If you can accurately grasp your own abilities, you will have the confidence to move efficiently through the dungeon."
"I see…" He wasn't wrong, but Evan himself evaluated his own abilities as lower than everyone else's. Hannah scoffed at his words, whose credibility had just hit zero, and decided to twist the topic a bit.
"I heard from Raihan that he is taking other dungeon knights down into the dungeon."
"Right. I will be going in the next day after my birthday, just like last year." Exactly one year from now, after his twelfth birthday, he had entered the dungeon for the first time in his life. A lot had happened in the year since. He had met Leo, destroyed the Mahwa tribe, taught the children, reached the 20th floor, expanded his business with Maybell, created an artefact with Horta, met the Rose Queen…
"They're younger than you."
"But they're ready. Shine and Belois will lead together with me."
"No matter how prepared they are, a bunch of ten and nine-year-old children entering the dungeon…" This time, there was a total of five children he would bring into the dungeon. Paul, Marie, Ena, Melson, and Ditto. Certainly, if that fact was well known, it might cause an upset. But, that just meant they just had to avoid being caught.
"Maybe I should do it too…"
"Yeah." As a result of entering the dungeon at a young age, Shine and Belois had grown incredibly over the past year. Now he wanted to strengthen the newcomers as soon as possible.
"But master, do the children think the same? How scary the dungeon is…I don't think they can stand it…" Hannah was still worried after her own experiences. However, Evan just smiled.
"If they were ordinary children, sure. But if they were ordinary, I couldn't have trained them to this point. They have been prepared mentally, even before they started physical training."
".." Evan's stubborn attitude quieted Hannah, but she couldn't agree with him. If he was right, didn't that mean those children were mentally stronger than her? She couldn't easily understand or admit to it.
"He judges all the people in this world by his own standards, but he'll find out that this time may not necessarily be that case.' Belois, Shine, and Arisha were too special; there couldn't be other kids who could break through the 20th floor so easily.
"…I think everything is revealed in your expression."
"…Whoo, soon we'll find out who was right. I hope you don't push the children too much."
"Usually, people who say stuff like that regret it." Wind rattled the window of the room they worked it, heralding a storm.
Soon, they would know which of them was right all along.