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nEvan D. Sherden. Enters the Dungeon (4)

nEvan went through several trial battles to judge Shine’s ability and stamina. Afterward, he could calmly conclude that this guy was breaking the team’s balance.

n“Shine, were you that strong from the beginning!?”

n“If you say that, you will only make me feel embarrassed.”

n“Don’t lie to me dude, you pretended to be much weaker when you were fighting with me. Now that I think about it, were you considering that I might get hurt? After all, Top Tanker Silent Night of Yo-Ma Great War must be different from the beginning…!”

nShine was on the verge of tears when watching Evan, who was impressed with whatever he did. What, could you pretend to be weak when fighting with Evan? You had to squeeze out all your power and fight. And, even with that, could you avoid those scary fists?

nThis made no sense, but if you created the illusion that Evan was weak, then all problems would be solved. However, no matter how much he tried, Shine just could not create that illusion!

n“Apart from everything else, who is this Silent Night that you’re so worried about? Does he even exist?”

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n“There is indeed such a guy. Besides, your stamina is much better than I thought. Until now, you haven’t been out of breath.”

n“But… with how the battle is going, it should not be so easy for me to be out of breath. If I just approach the slower ones and use my daggers, they will fall too quick. It was only when I practiced moving fiercely at every moment, did I reach my limits.”

n“And it turns out he is, too… ”

nEvan agonized over this seriously. Wasn’t it okay if he didn’t bring this guy into the dungeon? It seemed that the training they had done so far was a little too much… they weren’t the group of rookies he had thought them to be!

nIt wouldn’t be a problem for Raihan because he played his role by attracting the goblin’s aggro from the beginning, but there was a possibility that Evan would not be able to fulfill his quota for a clear contribution before he could even find the stairs to the lower level.

nAnd that was only Evan! Even Belois hadn’t used magic properly yet. When she entered the dungeon, the only magic she used was the active skill, “Fox,” which she had learned from Jade Yum-gu in the past.

n“… We haven’t been able to check the defensive ability of the Fox Fire yet.”

n“I am sorry,” Evan apologized to Belois, who spoke with frustration in her tone.

nThe Fox Fire was an ability that created a small flame that wandered around the caster. Normally, it moved with an autonomous will and protected the caster. A fire that attacked nearby enemies according to the caster’s will… It could be said that it was an autonomous battle unit summoning magic.

n‘A skill that any solo wizard player desperately desired. It was a secondary skill that could be really useful even in the latter half if you learned it early and grew it.’

nHe thought it was really suitable for Belois, who had no means of self-defense, and had a high affinity for it…

nThere was no time to test the effectiveness of this magic. What monster could be a threat to her? Raihan pulled the monster in, Shine would cut it off, and the monster wouldn’t even have a chance to look towards Belois!

n“Lua, you have kept on the Fox Fire until now. Is your mana enough?”

n“As you know, Fox Fire consumes very little mana while not actively moving. Thanks to the magical training with the madam, magical power of that stature can be restored naturally.”

n“…Yes, yes,” Evan listened attentively to Belois’ answer.

nHe again got a little nervous. Of course, he knew that Fox Fire’s normal mana consumption was low. The reason for this was because the Fox Fire was considered suitable for Belois. However, after seeing Shine’s case, this was inevitable. Maybe Belois’ abilities were ridiculously good too.

nIn addition, Belois and his mother did some witch practice, so if one were to put that into consideration…

n‘No, no way that doesn’t make sense.’

nEvan shook his head and denied his own thoughts.

nThe shackles of the human race were not easy to break before breaking through the 5th floor of the dungeon. Didn’t he already experience it in his previous life as he broke through the dungeon as the protagonist of Yo-Ma Great War 4?

nThe countless moments when he wanted to smash the monitor with the keyboard because he was always lacking in stamina and magic power. The countless times he died because he didn’t have enough stamina and couldn’t use skills because he didn’t have enough magic power were still fresh!

nNo matter how much auxiliary skills you had learned, there was still an absolute gap that could not be filled!

n‘No matter how much double-sword training or lamp training is done, it is not possible to greatly increase the absolute value of physical strength and magic. These are the limits for humans.’

nThe same could be said for Shine. It was just that he seemed fine because he was hunting goblins, and his stamina decreased the more he increased his attack power to the extreme while practicing double swordsmanship.

nOnce you started participating in the actual game, the limits were always clearly revealed.

n“Everyone should contribute. Raihan gathers aggro as he always does, but instead of Shine, Lua does the attacking. However, Shine will still help Lua with that.”

n“But the degree of my contribution…” Shine nodded and cut his complaint short. The formation remained the same, but Evan’s party changed their way of combat. They soon proved to be ready.

nThey then started to advance through the dungeon.

n“Uh…”

nThirty minutes had passed since then.

nEvan looked down at the trail of frozen or burnt bodies of goblins, and turned to ask Belois, who was looking like an iceberg at the moment.

n“Lua, are you okay? Doesn’t it seem like your MP is falling? Either I’m just getting being paranoid, or it really should be.”

n“Not at all. It’s okay, really. I’m just using the basic flame and ice. Thanks to the magical training with the madam, this magical power is restored naturally.”

n“Is that also natural recovery!? You’re pouring out magic like that and you’re not suffering any repercussions?! No, wait, don’t tell me this is just the foundation of your power?!”

n“Yes. Witch practice focuses on how efficiently you use magic, and how stable and fast you can recover the mana you used.”

nIt seemed to be the answer, but it was not helpful at all! Now one thing was for certain. These guys were newcomers that had surpassed the limits of all newcomers who preceded them.

nThey were already strong enough! They identified their weaknesses and succeeded in making up for them…!

n“Master, I’m sorry if this is a problem.”

n“No, it doesn’t matter. It’s not even a problem at all. I am shocked because you are way stronger than I thought… I was just a little surprised to find out that you were better and worked harder than I thought.”

n“Young master… “

n“Okay, I am willing to accept this miscalculation. I will change the plan in the future.”

nEvan, who was able to clearly grasp of Shine and Belois’ power now, decided not to hesitate anymore.

nRaihan’s skills? There was no need to check further. So far, goblins hadn’t even given a look to the other members other than Raihan! He already had been the perfect tank from the start!

n“A better plan…?”

n“Huh. Everyone must have heard of it. If you do a great job in the dungeon, great results will follow.”

n“I heard it from the side when the Master spoke to the Knight Commander.”

n“I heard from Shine.”

nHe forgot that these guys stuck to him every day. Evan sighed, and quite suddenly, a barely plausible voice came from the side. It was Raihan.

n“I have heard people in battle guilds say that kind of thing. If you think about it, isn’t the ‘clear contribution degree’ that you refer to, a similar concept to this? Those who do not make a proper achievement in the dungeon will not go up to the next level even if they go down to the stairs… “

n“That’s right, that logic is correct.”

nSo, they had to focus on that too?

nThis place did not hand out great power for free. What you did and how you did it was important as well.

nIt was clear that the dynamics of clearing dungeons were more complex than they initially thought.

n“If you don’t just clear the dungeon but achieve more than that. Obviously, great results will follow. Let’s aim for that too.”

n“Does the dungeon level rise further!?”

n“It can be. Actually, for example… you can advance to a new level with the power of God. Or you could get a new skill or magic. Or get a new job.”

n“You mean like the scary technique that you are learning?”

n“This is not very scary. Oh, yes, like that. You have a higher chance of getting that.”

nHowever, this example felt like nothing to Evan. Cheonjung was not so great in Evan’s eyes, but these were still high-rank fighting skills. Such skills couldn’t just be found anywhere.

nIn other words, the exciting elements such as skill growth or new jobs could only be obtained when considerable luck and timing were met in addition to the explorer’s efforts.

n“But there are also almost unconditional rewards for accomplishing special achievements. For example… you get lucky.”

n“No, is that possible?”

n“It really is. You’re obviously lucky already.”

nThe reason why Evan could affirm this was, of course, because he had checked that fact in the log of the game. This was why there was no doubt about it.

nClearing the dungeon in a short time, killing a lot of monsters, not drinking potions all the time while clearing one floor, or not using healing magic. There were many cases where ‘little blessings’ were given together, thus becoming big when collectively gathered together.

n“Even though there was a time limit to it all, the experience that could be obtained from monsters increased, the mana recovery speed or health recovery speed increased, the movement speed or attack speed increased, the skill cooldown delay decreased, or either; the item drop rate increased, the money luck improved, the NPC favorability could be easily raised… Um, there was also love luck.”

n“…Love luck,” Belois murmured quietly. It seemed that she was interested in this particular topic. Evan then responded with a smile.

n“We originally aimed to proceed to the fifth-floor as safely as possible, but now that we have checked our abilities, it actually ends up being stupid. I think going down while taking whatever we can take from the first-floor is the way to make the most out of the situation. We’re going to go through the dungeon a little faster now, more boldly, and we’re even searching every nook and cranny.”

n“So, what do you think?”

n“I will follow you.”

n“Master’s judgment has never been wrong. This time won’t be different.”

nLooking at it, these guys weren’t convinced of anything. They were determined to act as long as it was Evan’s will. Of course, he was grateful for that, but then, wouldn’t his efforts into explaining been for naught?

n“So, in the future, you don’t need to explain, just tell us what to do. We will do it.”

n“…Yes, I will definitely do that.”

nIt was something very loyal to proclaim, but could also prove to be something very dangerous. Evan grinded his teeth and lifted a piece of paper.

nIt was like a mini-map of a game, and some of the paths were outlined.

n“…Is that a map?”

n“Right. I made it because I couldn’t waste time. I only drew the road we came from.”

n“I haven’t even noticed… ”

nWhen one practiced alchemy, they would inevitably develop their ability to observe, and they often had to do sketches by themselves. Combining these two skills could give one a fairly plausible mapping ability.

nEvan had been making an approximate dungeon map from the moment he entered the dungeon using these abilities.

nThe sketched map neatly summarized only the necessary information, such as the dungeon passage, the crossroads, and the location of encounters with monsters. In short, it was very admirable work.

n“I don’t know much about maps, but it’s not something that can be made right on the spot. That’s great! With this, at least we won’t be lost.”

n“That’s it?”

nActually, it was not just that.

nThanks to playing Yo-Ma Great War 3 until he died, Evan not only grasped the entire map of the dungeon but also drew most of it into his set of diaries. Of course, he knew the entire map of the first floor of the dungeon.

nAlongside this, he knew in advance that the current Sherden dungeon and the Sherden dungeon of Yo-Ma Great War 3 had the same internal structure. That meant the dungeon did not undergo major changes in the meantime.

n‘So, if there is a map that accurately sketches out a part of the dungeon, we will be able to determine our exact location by contrasting it with the entire map on the first floor.’

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nAnd once it was made, they would be able to locate all the hidden elements on the Sherden Dungeon’s first-floor, their exact location.

nThere was a rock where gold coins were hidden, a stone wall where monsters popped out in large quantities when pressed, and a small hidden room in a dead end, a restroom.

n‘When I was the protagonist of Yo-Ma Great War 3, even if I was ready to come, it was impossible to clear all the elements due to problems like lack of basic resources, time, and manpower.’

nSo, ironically, the lower you go in the dungeon, the higher the difficulty gets in acquiring achievements. In levels 1 or 2, these things could be achieved only if you were lucky and were transported in the location that had these things.

nBut with the dream team that they had now, maybe it was possible!

n“Then let’s start right away. Oh, and…” Evan decided to remind Shine and Belois to stay confident so that they would not forget.

n“In the next battle, I’ll kill monsters by myself, so you’ll have to protect me.”

n“Yes sir.”

nShine just shut his mouth and looked at him pitifully, and Belois responded loyally.

nRaihan simply raised his shield in response. He was the most comfortable one among them because his role didn’t change at all.

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