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Evan D. Sherden, Anyway, Let’s Devote Together (2)
The day after he received the information that Miraseul’s Necklace was a growth-type artifact, the butler and the chief made visited Evan. Behind them were Shine and Belois, who were dressed neatly in servant and maid uniforms.
“They are still very short of my standards…”
“But still, I think they have reached the level of fitness that children of their same age have.”
“Really?!”
Evan was surprised to hear the report. It had only been three months since he sent the children away! It was even more surprising because he knew how weak rookies are before they clear a dungeon.
“How on earth?! How hard did you drive these kids?”
“This must be excellent news for you, Master. You look so surprised.”
The chief maid worried that the young master would be disappointed.
“Was it really hard? Are you guys really okay?”
Evan looked at Shine and Belois with anxious eyes. Unlike three months ago, they look healthier and stronger.
In fact, they looked like they possess the health and mana of normal, healthy 12-year old children.
In three months, not three years!
He was already thinking of going to the next step of training their abilities.
“It was because of the deal we have with you, Master. I don’t know if we’re able to reach your expectations, but I thought there shouldn’t be any case where my efforts could not produce results,” Shine answered.
“I will try hard…” Belois managed to mutter, somewhat faintly.
Evan told her that she could speak comfortably, but the chief maid cut off his words.
“As a servant, you can’t dare to speak comfortably to your master. That is the most basic mindset required of servants. What’s more important is honing your housekeeping skills and serving your master.”
“Yes?”
“Serving starts from the heart, Master. We will teach this child with that in mind.”
Anyway, the chief maid is an authority in these matters, so Evan had to follow her. It’s difficult if he strays away from her teachings and gives him problems later during Belois’ skill acquisition.
Belois nodded to the chief maid’s words and spoke clearly.
“I will try hard in the future… to protect you, Master.”
Of course, she could not yet speak as clear as Shine, but she has the same determination.
How dare the Bloody Witch worry about Evan, who was just an extra in the game? Evan smiled at the thought.
“But you shouldn’t be mistaken, Master. Although these children’s growths are fast, they are still children who grow at a slow pace compared to their peers. If we don’t continue to devote ourselves in the future, they will soon fall behind once more.”
“Even so, the reason we brought the children to you is that the skills of servility cannot be taught to them by ourselves alone,” the butler added.
Evan quickly understood. It was in accordance with the line the chief made mentioned earlier.
“Service starts with the heart?”
“Yes, Master. These children also need time to grow next to you, whom they really need to serve. Moving forward, we will train them separately for half of the day; then, we’ll send them to serve you for the other half. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure. I need these children by my side,” Evan replied, trying not to smile.
Since the beginning, he had no intention of leaving the children to the chief maid and the butler. Housekeeping is definitely a great skill, but it is not enough to get these children through the dungeon.
“I also wanted to train these children,” Evan explained. “It’s easier now that they have achieved this level of fitness.”
“The strange training that Master is doing… the gymnastics? Certainly, the pressure of that exercise is not suitable for children of their age. In a few months, however, they will be okay.”
“Huh? Well… we’ll do something similar. Butler, can you prepare some items I will ask for? It’s not that difficult.”
“Anything you want,” the butler replied.
After Evan whispered to him what he needed, the butler looked at Shine and Belois with a slightly surprised expression. Then, as if convinced of Evan’s explanation, he raised his head and said,
“Then, I will refer to that for their future education.”
Afterward, the butler and the chief maid bowed respectfully to Evan.
“Then, Master, we will return to work first. Send them back in the afternoon.”
“Chief Maid, Butler, thank you very much for listening to me.”
“Oh, my goodness!” The chief maid was surprised by Evan’s sincere greetings, and she smiled gently and stroked the master’s head.
“No, Master. I was confused three months ago, but now I think I can understand Master’s words. I feared that these guys would be failures, but I saved my words. Now, I can dare say, Master’s eyes were right.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” the chief maid continued stroking Evan’s proud head gently before stepping outside the room.
Evan looked around. Hiding behind the door is a brown-haired maid in a bob cut.
“Maybell, you can go, too.”
“How did you catch me?! I was completely hidden!”
“Go, please.”
“Well, wow. I hate it! I won’t.”
Suddenly, the chief maid went back and grabbed Maybell’s hand and dragged her away.
Maybell whimpered as she was being dragged, but Evan had no intention to save her.
After a few minutes, the butler returned and gave Evan the items he requested.
Two solid wooden daggers.
A lamp-shaped magic tool.
Shine’s eyes twinkled immediately.
“You reacted, Shine. The reaction you have is called ‘aptitude response.’ Be aware.”
“Aptitude response?”
“Of course, it’s the first time you have heard it.”
Aptitude response is a game term that applies only to the Yo-ma Great War series, so it is natural that people in this world do not know about it.
Evan started to kindly explain what it meant to a smiling Shine.
“If you have a talent for a certain skill, your body will react when you see a weapon that fits that condition. From a slight sense of discomfort to a strong heartbeat, the more talented you are, the more intense the reaction would be.”
“A strong heartbeat…”
“Do you feel it? Is it very strong?”
“Yeah.”
In the game, it is expressed in logarithms. Each time you create a main character, the character gains random talents.
These talents have branches, and while playing the game, it was fun to find weapons suited to the aptitude that your character has been provided, develop skills and find occupations that match it.
Of course, there are many players who don’t find the aptitude that works best for a long time. Some even stubbornly ignore aptitudes, even players who stream gaming videos such as ‘Clearing Dungeons – No Deaths!’
“I am talented with daggers?” Shine looked excited.
“It’s a tremendous talent. Dealing with two daggers at the same time – it’s the highest possible talent.”
It’s actually funny how dealing with a weapon can decide the outcome.
Dungeon level, existence level, skill, occupation, physical fitness – all these are considered in determining the battle’s result.
However, given that all conditions are the same, can someone’s aptitude for a weapon change the outcome?
Any Yo-ma Great War player would say ‘Yes.’
It is the conclusion that superiority in weapon aptitude can decide the results. There are even jobs or high-level skills that can only be obtained by having a special weapon aptitude.
And Silent K/Night’s Twin Sword aptitude is one of them.
Everyone agreed that it was the only sword aptitude that was almost a cheat key.
“Talent… The Master says a lot about our talent. A lot of words I’ve never heard of in my life.”
Evan gave the two wooden swords to Shine, who hesitated somewhat. He soon held a wooden sword on each hand.
At that moment, his eyes closed. Evan smiled. Shine’s hands were trembling; his arms were trembling… his flesh was reacting.
“Does that feel good?”
“Yes…”
“Try it for a while, swing it a little, get a feel for it. For the time being, you have to practice with those wooden swords.”
“Okay.”
Shine had a lot of questions in his mind, but he stepped back and followed the master’s orders.
Next, Belois.
She had a strange expression.
“I can’t feel anything…”
“Oh, you misunderstood. Belois, your aptitude is not a lamp like this. Your aptitude… it’s a little harder to explain. In this lifetime, there’s no one else who can match yours… it is such a great talent.”
“My aptitude… talent?”
Belois’s red eyes shook.
Evan touched her head gently.
“Your aptitude is flame magic, Belois.”
In the game, a character has reached a level that no one else can—the Bloody Witch.
Indeed, she’s even considered as a boss.
Her strong magical power, which was famous for being scary, can oxidize all hostile people to ashes even when her eyes are closed.
“Your aptitude is dealing with the best flame in the world. That’s your talent, Belois.”
The moment she heard that Belois’ eyes widened.
What kind of emotion that was contained in those eyes, Evan could not dare guess at this point.
“Teach me… please. How to deal with flame.”