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Evan D. Sherden, Ending a Long Year (1)
Even on the day Bernard and Iloin’s wedding was decided, the sun rose, and the world went on as normal. Since Bernard had tried to kill Evan, who was excited to help prepare their wedding, Evan decided to end his studying of alchemy for the time being. Instead, he decided to focus on other training, specifically with the members of the dungeon knights. He did get a new teacher to take care of them!
“They’re weak by nature, but they’re pretty good guys. Did you collect them in the first place?” That was what Leo had to say after demolishing them with just one finger.
“Do you have a hobby of breaking everything you see? Can you not talk without doing that?”
“Oh, they won’t become stronger if they aren’t broken at least once.”
“Please remember that anything that becomes powder can’t be restored.” Although he had accepted Leo into the HQ to make the kids stronger, Evan couldn’t feel comfortable watching such a dire scene. The pain would be enormous, but so too would be the growth. Or so he hoped.
“I didn’t know how much to adjust, so I went a little too far. Sorry.”
“Yeah…” Evan murmured, looking over at Raihan, who was wandering around, healing the children.
“This environment where they are supported… I think that’s why they’ve grown so fast.”
“Sure, the environment does influence people. Still, since you’ve taught them so well, they’ve grown up so wonderfully.”
“Ah.” Evan didn’t deny his words. Undoubtedly, children’s early education had been impeccable. That was to be expected, given how suited for it Shine was.
“The weapons they use are well suited to their aptitude as well.”
“They are the type to want to try everything. Especially you, Evan, and that guy.” Leo pointed toward a black-eyed boy who was barely standing.
“He’s particularly good, already standing up.”
“Whoo… I’m fully recovered. Please, one more time Leo.” That was, of course, Shine. He had endured Leo’s offensive until the very end before he collapsed, but even then, he had quickly recovered enough to stand once more. He had already cleared the dungeon to the 20th floor, so his stamina was far beyond the others, but Leo had gone easier on the other children in the first place.
“His talent is top-notch.”
“Shine is special among them. Soon he’ll be incomparable to me.”
“No, he won’t.”
“No, I won’t, master.” Leo and Shine had the same answer and the same disbelief plastered on their face. It seemed that Evan’s grandiose plan to have Leo teach Shine was going smoothly.
‘As he concentrates on Shine, he’ll focus on me less. It’ll be enough for my skills if I play with Grandpa Leo from time to time. It’s perfect.’ Shine was more compatible with Leo than Evan was, given that Shine was a swordsman. He also had the best aptitude for dual swords, which was a talent that was well suited for Leo Arpita, the king of swords. Rather, Evan wondered why he hadn’t thought of combining the two before.
“Funny, I feel like I can figure out what you’re thinking right now.”
“Same to you, Leo. You must be mistaken again.” If Leo saw Shine as a talented person who could sprout, Evan was already a fully blossomed monster that continued to grow at an insane rate. He was monstrous enough that it made Leo anxious that he would catch up to him soon. Evan, however, was unaware of how these people looked at him.
“Why am I doing this?”
“Hahaha! Then, we’ll have to work hard in the future. Now, again!”
“Yes!” A master armed with spirit and experience and a disciple who burned with the desire to become stronger, Leo and Shine were well matched to each other. It was the ideal relationship found in cartoons.
“Whoo…”
“Now, that’s the limit.”
“One more…” However, guts couldn’t accommodate for everything. Shine, having gone after Leo several more times, was finally laid out so completely he couldn’t stand. Raihan was quick to heal him back to consciousness but battling further wasn’t possible.
“Hahahaha! It was fun, Shine. I’m looking forward to the future!”
“Yes…!”
“I have to take these guys to the bath right away.” Raihan reported urgently after confirming Shine’s condition. Leo was staring at him, however, like a beast watching its prey.
“Where are you going? Now it’s your turn.”
“…Well, embarrassingly, I’m no good with non-technical skills.”
“I already know that, just like I know you’re good at shielding.”
“…” Raihan, sensing the dangerous atmosphere, looked at Evan.
“It’s a great chance. Now even you can train against an enemy like him.”
“Are you really saying I could stand up against Leo?! With just a shield?!”
“It might help you grow faster than training by blocking wind arrows.”
“No, if you say that, there’s no way I can refuse…” Raihan looked at the members of the dungeon knights scattered around the training center and grimaced, but finally hefted his shield with a deep breath. For Raihan, Evan’s words were absolute.
“Can I really grow that fast?”
“Yes, it’s necessary training for you now.”
“…If you say so.”
“Hoh.” Despite the situation, Raihan was holding an Echo Shield, which received damage twice. Leo let out a laugh. All of these dungeon knights that Evan had collected were interesting.
“I like it!”
“Take good care of me…hm!” For the first time that day, Evan was able to see the unbreakable shield Raihan Drukas forced to his knees. His heart was filled with sorrow to see him pushed back so helplessly despite his years of training.
“Huk…”
“No, huh.” However, it was Leo who was surprised. Raihan didn’t back down for fifteen minutes. What’s more, Raihan was able to block his attacks even while kneeling. His shield technique was great by itself, but his abilities to preempt attacks were even more astonishing.
“That last blow…”
“It seems like my grandpa has also recognized Raihan.”
“Have you ever seen such a good punching bag?!”
“No, not that.” What sort of pervert was he saying Raihan was? Leo pushed on happily, however, as he still had one more target.
“My body is loose enough now, so let’s fight properly. Show me what you learned since I was gone.”
“What, you’re not tired? You monster.”
“Let’s go!”
“You’re always like this!” Evan was forced to defend himself from Leo, who was quickly swinging his sword. For three months, Leo had been recovering his fighting senses in the dungeon, but Evan had also been growing through training the children in martial arts.
“Hahahahaha! It’s increased again, again!”
“Oh shit!” The underground training center shook as if it might collapse each time Leo and Evan collided. The children lying on the ground began to tremble as they realized what was happening.
“Captain’s fighting a legendary hero.”
“Our captain is very strong…”
“He’s stopping his attacks. No, he evaded that one.” They were moving fast enough that it was hard to get a sense of what was happening.
“Stop this one too! If you don’t properly avoid it, it’ll tingle a bit! Hahahahah!”
“It’s coming! That’s the aura skill used to catch the Rose Queen!”
“Huh, you avoided that! No, you broke it with your fist!” Leo was incredibly strong, but Evan, who was facing him head-on, was as well. The roaring sound caused by them seemed to fill the whole world. It was a battle of monsters beyond the realm of cognition.
“Strong…”
“Too strong.” Jin, who yearned for strength, fixed his gaze on the majesty of Evan. Shine murmured in response to him, biting his lip. Their envy and jealousy burned fiercer than ever.
“I want to be that strong, too.”
“Then we have no choice but to try harder.”
“…!” Jin, despite the terrible pain wracking his body, reached out with a clenched fist to pick up his practice bow from the ground. Shine suddenly shouted as he grabbed it, surprising him.
“Take both of them! Just shoot!”
“Shine?!”
“Let’s do it! We have no choice but to win!” Shine shouted as the two monstrous combatants clashed. He wanted to win against them, somehow.
“Let’s surprise them!”
“How exciting!” In an instant, the will of all the members gathered was reignited.
“Belois, help me. With your magic, we can make an opening.”
“…If something goes wrong, I will use Shine as a sandbag.”
“Ah, then I’ll ask Raihan.”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t. No, I won’t!” Raihan tried to withdraw after hearing Arisha and Belois, but the members unified to offer him no escape.
“What, a surprise attack? That’ll be more realistic!”
“But you can swing your sword like you would in a fight!”
“Ahhh!”
“The arrows are flying in!”
“Ahhhhh!” Eventually, there was a triple match between Leo, Evan, and the team composed of everyone else. Evan sighed as Leo swung his greatsword around. In any case, the training turned out to be very effective. The massive brawl would become the dungeon knights’ first tradition.
Evan was truly sorry for the members who would join later on.