Evan D. Sherden, Hearing About the Legend (4)

That afternoon in alchemy class, Evan was lamenting over a sentence he had found in one of Bernard’s collection of books.

“To actually travel through the northern part of the country, we’ll have to go through the ‘Eternal Glacier.’” And there is no way we can get around it.”

“You won’t get anywhere if you start thinking like that. Moreover, you’ll only ruin our efforts.”

“They are already ruined.”

Alchemy classes of these days were gradually decreasing in theory and practice due to Evan’s alchemy skills, which had grown rapidly. Instead, they had been transformed into a search for the Elixir, particularly its materials, together with the priest.

Even now, they were immersed in its research and were developing routes throughout the country to search for it… But of course, it wasn’t going that smooth.

“Why is it so difficult to even start somewhere?”

“The Elixir’s existence has always been an enigma for humans. Even the materials are bound to be lying in some unknown parts of the world.”

“But I’m too weak to venture so far away.”

After thinking about it for a moment, Evan shook his head. It didn’t matter if Bernard was with him or not. He would never be able to endure such a long journey with this fragile body.

It was enough for him to clear the dungeon’s 50th floor and then break through to the next dungeon floor.

“What do you mean by fragile, boy? Tell me again, or am I misunderstanding the meaning of the word ‘fragile?’”

“When I’ll reach adulthood, I shall become the head of a Dungeon Knights, and then it will be even more difficult for me to leave this city.”

Evan, who brushed off Bernard’s words neatly, muttered and updated his notebook with the key ingredients for the Elixir, but Bernard tackled him again.

“And why can’t the Commander of the Dungeon Knights…? Oh yeah, it might be impossible for you to leave the city, and you’ll also be leaving the city for months. I guess you’re right.”

“Well, it’s like that. To put it plainly, the position of the Commander of the Dungeon Knights itself is like an honorary position.”

It was like that of an unconditional noble, and only those belonging to the Sherden family could be appointed. In fact, there was a strong tendency to match the assortment of the aristocrats who had ruled the dungeon city rather than the person who was absolutely needed.

The Commander of the Dungeon Knights had total command, but the commanding power on the battlefield was the Vice Commander, or it could also be transferred to other executives.

“I can try to achieve my goal before that and then proceed to find the Elixir…”

“Well, certainly you can. And you won’t have a lot of responsibility after that.”

“Haha, right.”

After becoming an adult, Evan would be made the head of the Dungeon Knights two years later and then… The protagonist of Yo-Ma Great War 3 would come to the dungeon city!

‘And from that point, the main story of Yo-Ma Great War 3 will begin in earnest, and darkness will loom over the dungeon. The protagonist won’t know that the dungeon achievements he’s been looking for had already been achieved by an extra too, almost as if by magic…’

The demons would start to appear in hordes, as the monsters would get stronger.

The seal of the Demon King would crack.

In summary, it could be said that a global reversal would take place, and this world would suddenly become an utter challenge.

‘There were many things that ended without being explained during Yo-Ma Great War 3. Later on, it was said that it was a double track for Yo-Ma Great War 4.’

When Evan played Yo-Ma Great War 3 as a game, he thought, ‘Oh, the DLC isn’t that scary at all. It’s like child’s play.’ But unfortunately, it was impossible in reality.

Before the aftermath of Yo-Ma Great War 3 could be resolved, the disaster of Yo-Ma Great War 4 would strike. And, of course, Evan Sherden would also be directly affected by it.

How could Evan leave the city at such a critical point? He couldn’t.

‘Of course, staying here will not solve anything. But that doesn’t mean that I will run away while declaring “I’ll make the Elixir.” in the meantime… I would never do that.’

Evan was an extra who died every time, but the rest of the Sherden family were regulars of Yo-Ma Great War 3 and Yo-Ma Great War 4, and as the main story proceeded, they faced a severe crisis. In such a situation, there was absolutely no way he could leave his family to such dangers and escape alone. The family was as precious to Evan as his own life.

‘I will have to protect the protagonist while staying away from all other dangers myself. I will have to secretly take care of everything so that the protagonist can grow well. No matter how much I think about it, that’s the best way to do it.’

And the Commander of the Dungeon Knights was the perfect position to perform such tasks. Of course, in such a position, he might have to face the protagonist several times, but he would have to take that risk.

At the end of the day, the main character’s colleagues helped him throughout and only needed him to face the last dungeon boss.

When Evan entered it in the game, he died every time without a doubt. The terrifying and bloody-looking Demon King didn’t aim for the main character but strangely tried to kill Evan first.

‘Anyway, in order to take control of the situation and to make it advantageous for myself, I can never leave the dungeon city at that time. At most, only one Elixir study will be conducted until the start of the main story, so I’ll leave the rest to Grandpa.’

“Evan.”

As Evan continued to think, Bernard suddenly called out and looked at him with a very serious expression.

“Whenever you talk or think about your post-adult work, you always have that eerie look.”

“Didn’t you notice it, Grandpa? I’m scared of becoming an adult.”

Bernard laughed at Evan, who was pretending to be naive. “Don’t lie to me, kid. What the hell are you looking at? What is that shine in your eyes?”

It was impossible to hide everything from Bernard. He guessed that Evan had the ability to look into the future, as it was the only conclusion he had arrived at for his unusual behavior at times.

Evan thought first of not telling him anything, but that would make them despise each other. He scratched his head and carefully selected his words as much as possible. He wanted to make it as vague and as inaccurate.

“Alright Grandpa, I’ll tell you just a little… I had a premonition about some of the dangerous and sinister things that will happen in this city later.”

“Dangerous things… ”

“Yes.”

“So that’s also the case with you…”

‘Wait a minute. What did he mean by “also”? What does “with you” mean?’ Evan felt a sense of incongruity at Bernard’s words and narrowed his eyes.

Recognizing that his mood had changed, Bernard also nodded slightly, then arranged and stored the materials lying here and there with one hand. The study period had ended.

“Does Grandpa know something?”

“Well, I could definitely say that I had expected this to happen…”

Evan instinctively felt that Bernard was going to tell him something he had never told him before. As he sat down, he quickly changed his posture, and Bernard sat down, facing him, clicking his tongue lightly.

“You might have already guessed it to some extent. But unless you have the ability to read the whole history of the world, you won’t know exactly who I am and what I’ve been doing in the past. Drive out the demons and open the human age. It’s just as impossible as finding out the name of the great mage.”

Evan knew who Bernard was and what he was doing, but he pretended to be blissfully unaware.

‘Is my poker face look working?’ Bernard didn’t seem to be suspicious.

“Until now, I haven’t been telling you, that it was something you didn’t need to know. I was going to spend the rest of my life in seclusion. Whatever the case, I was thinking about leaving the next turn of events to the next generation.”

“Yes… I see.”

In fact, Bernard had not appeared since Yo-Ma Great War 3. There were several characters from Yo-Ma Great War 2, but Leo Arfeta, the protagonist of the series, also did not appear.

Perhaps after a difficult and great flight, the two now chose to fold their wings and relax in an unknown place on earth. Everyone said this—everyone. This was because they felt like they had suffered too much, nobody deserved to bother them anymore.

“But why are you suddenly trying to talk to me? Is it because I told you that the future is unstable?”

“There is also… Even if I don’t speak now, I will soon be caught.”

“…Grandfather…”

Evan caught Bernard with a far-off expression. He coughed heavily.

“I thought it would be good to just disappear after the job without anyone knowing. But meeting you has changed my line of thinking, as well as this letter.”

“So, you mean the letter is…”

“I should honestly be the one contacting my friends first, but… Ahem, anyway, you’ve always surprised me first, so this time it’s my turn to surprise you.”

“…”

At this point, Evan felt like he knew who the letter came from, but he knew that if he said it, Bernard would suffer a heart attack right then and there.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Don’t expect a lot. There are some good things in the world which should remain a secret, and those who pass by without knowing about such things tend to live a long and happy life. Even when I sometimes sleep, I get sick of the huge regret of throwing away my whole youth while searching for the truth.”

Evan then asked him, skillfully avoiding Bernard’s hand, which was aimed towards him, “Then, when is that friend of yours coming?”

“Probably not in the next few weeks. He may arrive in the festival season.”

“Oh, that’s great. They will be able to enjoy the festival with the whole Sherden family.”

“Well. It’s a good thing if he doesn’t riot and actually behaves…” Bernard shook his head while looking back on all the travels he had done with his friend when he was young.

“Then it’s settled. You shall also meet him. What’s important now is the dangerous future which we talked about and shall prepare for because…It was already a treacherous past that we have left behind.”

“What past, Grandpa?”

Evan felt anxious again. Was there another DLC in Yo-Ma Great War 2 that he didn’t know about? Maybe it was remade to the PC version later in which the scenario was added.

“… Evan. Do you know about the Mahwa?”

“Mahwa?” Evan’s voice trembled slightly. Bernard sighed without noticing it.

“Alright listen. Decades ago, a terrible curse covered the entire continent like a fatal plague. There were creatures with a clear objective, terrifying demons who inherited the blood of the Demon King… Some of them are still living somewhere on the continent.”

“They haven’t been annihilated yet!? The Mahwa!?”

“Do you know about them!? Huh, I thought all the books were burnt, but there are still related books left!?”

When Evan shouted in surprise, Bernard opened his eyes and felt astonished, but the child didn’t even notice that.

He would have if he hadn’t just heard that the main enemy, the Mahwa, in Yo-Ma Great War 2 that should have been wiped out by the hands of Bernard Garcia and Leo Arpeta, decades ago, were still around.

It certainly was the case in the game.