Published at 20th of November 2020 09:13:32 PM
Chapter 137: 137
[Should we have dialogue separated on its own line?]
Evan D . Sherden, Building the Ground (5)
It was the next morning, while the dungeon city still slept . Evan, who wouldn’t miss the historic moment when the legendary Leo Arpeta and Bernard Garcia entered the dungeon once more, had woken up earlier than usual to see them off .
“Evan, take this . ”
“What is it?” But Bernard had handed some well-organized documents to Evan before heading inside with the group . Evan accepted it with a tilted head, but soon his expression stiffened . It was all of the information Bernard knew about the Elixir, including everything they had ever studied about it .
“You don’t need to give this to me right now . ”
“It’s just for in case, just in case . ” Bernard responded calmly, but emotions were warring on Evan’s face . Of course, Bernard was saying just in case he died in the dungeon .
“You don’t need to raise a death flag like that . ”
“I don’t know if it’s a death flag or whatever, I’m just taking care of all possibilities, so don’t worry too much . I’m just afraid that I might fail to deliver on what we’ve been working on . ”
“You won’t die . ” Evan was growing annoyed and responded strongly as Leo came up from behind to smack Bernard in the back of the head .
“This guy has always been a worrywart even since forty years ago . Don’t worry, disciple . It’s thanks to his preparations that we’ve been able to prevent all those bad situations . ”
“It hurts, damn it!”
“…No matter what, you won’t die on the 60th floor . Not unless the floor itself comes to life to eat you . ” Leo grinned, and Bernard let out a faint laugh at Evan’s words, causing him to become even more anxious .
‘Why are you doing this…’ Should he prepare and hand over something more to help them? Evan considered it seriously, but unfortunately, he didn’t have time for that .
“Mister, don’t worry . I’ll watch Sir Bernard . ”
“The knight commander…” The knight commander raised his sword and declared so reliably . Evan wanted to tell him that he was the most dangerous but decided to bite his tongue .
“Yes . Then, I’ll ask you a favor . ”
“Yes!”
“Who’s going to die? He’d be embarrassed if he died in the dungeon, you know? I’d make fun of him in my autobiography if he did . ”
“Keep them safe and bring them back . ” Bernard did something he hadn’t done before in his life . He approached Evan and lightly hugged him, the scent of medicinal herbs filling Evan’s nose for a brief moment before Bernard pulled away .
“Uh…?”
“I’ll be back . ” Then Bernard turned around and entered the dungeon with the rest of the group without anything further to say .
“…Another death flag . ” Evan stared blankly for a while after they disappeared but eventually had to make his way back to the mansion .
***
Leo Arpeta, who had become Evan and Shine’s mentor, led Evan’s other mentor, Bernard, and the knight commander into the dungeon . Evan wasn’t taking a break just because his mentors were away, however . He intended to devote himself to training, having no intention of letting go of the title of the world’s busiest 12-year-old .
“The master is here!”
“Captain!”
“Don’t talk to everyone, get in formation! Formation!” However, the most important thing at the moment was the group training for the dungeon knights . The knights HQ had just begun to be built, but training wasn’t something that could be delayed . The children there had been trained by the Ironwall Knights, courtesy of Mikhail D . Airok, while Evan and his party had gone into the dungeon . The rookie training they had gone through with Shine was so thorough that they didn’t fall behind despite their young age .
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“Look, Captain! I’ve decided on the weapons I’ll train with!”
“Ah…long sword and dagger?”
“Yep!” Although it was expected, Marie ended up choosing a two-handed technique using both a long sword and a dagger . It was a fairly popular sword technique .
“Marie likes Shine a lot . ”
“I chose it to become really strong . ” Evan just laughed as Marie squared her shoulders . The path she would walk was a difficult one, but if she succeeded, she would become a strong warrior .
“In order to become stronger now, you should start training right away . It will be two, no, three times more difficult . ”
“I’m prepared . Thank you, sir!”
“Okay, then let’s start right away . ” To master the long sword and dagger, she would go through the same training Shine had in the past . Evan gave her sufficient knowledge of fast weapon skills .
“If those martial art skills rise above a certain level, then you can use them together . ”
“Okay . ”
“It’ll be difficult, so prepare yourself . ”
“Yes!” Shine’s swordsmanship was recognized as having the highest level of aptitude . It wasn’t something that could be transmitted simply through teaching .
“But one thing is certain . Marie, if you can master them and use them together, you’ll be much stronger than those trained in only one martial art . ”
“Yes! I will try my best!” Evan was cautiously optimistic about what Marie could do . In the Yo-ma Great War series, all of those who used different weapons in both hands were blessed by God in the dungeon to learn a specific and unique martial art . If Marie could perform well under Evan’s early teachings, she would be capable of that as well .
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‘…Of course, it’s not always possible to acquire a unique martial art just because your skill is excellent . ’ When it came down to it, luck was more of a factor in unique martial arts than skill, so the number who had actually acquired one from the dungeon could be easily counted . But, rather than giving Marie futile expectations, Evan decided to focus on congratulating her out loud when she actually got it . She was already so full of enthusiasm, so Evan had no need to interfere .
“Okay, then you’re done with this…the next one? Everyone decided to learn how to fight together . If you want to stop, you can even now . ” Evan was teaching martial arts to the children because Ena, one of the girls, had pestered him to teach them, saying she wanted to learn how to use a spear . He couldn’t refuse the request, as he already had plans to teach them the foundations . The other children had also heard, of course, and wanted to learn as well . He was thinking of giving the twin sisters, Lin and Ran, as well as Jin, a different option…
“I hate that you’re only trying to get rid of us . ”
“I want to learn with Lin . ”
“If I can become strong, I’ll learn anything . ”
“It looks fun . ”
“…”
“Please, Master . ” But, as expected, all of them wanted to learn martial arts . Evan was a bit embarrassed to see Arisha, Belois, and Shine standing there next to each other as well, wanting to be trained .
“Focus on what you are doing, you’re already doing well . ”
“I should learn martial arts too, Master . ”
“I would like to learn self-defense techniques . It won’t reduce my efforts in learning magic . ”
“I will learn . ”
“You…” They already had excuses prepared in advance .
“Can you really do it? What you’re already doing now is best suited for your aptitude . You shouldn’t neglect it just for training your fighting skills . ”
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“Of course, I can . Didn’t you say that to Ena too, Master? In fact, I thought a lot after seeing Ena’s determination . And, right now, you are doing not also martial arts but also alchemy and many other things . I can’t be seen as pathetic in comparison . ”
“I would like options for situations that cannot be overcome by magic alone . ”
“I want to understand the reasons behind your strength a little more . Evan, you also promised to actively help me . ” Each of them had their own reasons, but they were all serious . There was no way to stop them now . Evan was forced to nod along gently .
“Then it can’t be helped…I won’t let you quit, so be prepared . ”
“Yes!”
“I won’t disappoint you . ” Shine was excited, and Belois quietly clenched their fist and pledged so . In this way, Evan’s rigorous fighting classes began for all of the dungeon knights except for Raihan, who had no talent for all the combat skills in the first place .
“But Evan, is my rapier still not done?” No, before that, Arisha approached him .
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it to you somehow by your birthday . ”
“I’m excited…really excited . ”
“Okay, okay, I can see it on your face . ” When Evan pushed away Arisha, he noticed the rest of the knights staring at him . Somehow, it felt like a bunch of baby birds waiting for food . It was almost cute .
“Okay, I’ll make you weapons too . Alright, so don’t act like Arisha . ”
“Hooray!”
“I love master!”
Evan glared at Arisha, who had caused this situation, but she was quietly humming in excitement for the rapier Evan would make for her .