CH 26

Evan D. Sherden, Learning (1)

Evan’s face features didn’t change even at the age of ten.

He was still cute and loveable. He still did some strange activities, still enjoyed drinking the tea with the unpleasant scent, and still couldn’t get rid of opening and closing his fists.

“Second, Master, where are you going?”

“Hi Alisha, I have to take a history class.”

“You look very handsome today too, Master.”

“You should get rest sometimes too, Master!”

However, there were some minor improvements compared to the past. Evan’s speed of clenching and unclenching his fists was so fast that people appeared to be confused as to when they were open or closed.

Ten years had passed since he was born to the Marquis. He had received an artifact which he desired from the warehouse, gifted by the Marquis for the great success of the Brotherhood Pharmacy.

He was also praised by the instructors who said he studied for more than five hours every day and performed well in academics.

“Oh, Master Evan is really quick at understanding different concepts.”

“It’s amazing. The speed at which you learn math is like a sponge absorbing all the water.”

Everyone who taught Evan admired his learning abilities. However, Evan, who had invoked such reactions from the instructors, was always sweating inside.

It was exhausting, in Evan’s self-evaluation.

‘I shouldn’t have difficulties learning these things as I already have the memories of Yeo Banmin!’

It was strange. In his previous life, he had read a fantasy novel in which the protagonist also wakes up in another world with all his past memories. He also uses his abilities in the field of learning and collects everyone’s praise.

‘Still, how am I supposed to be doing fractions as I can’t even remember the equation at all!? It would’ve taken a genius to remember all the knowledge in his previous life, which I took for granted! I’m already overwhelmed with remembering the information about the Yo-Ma Great War series!’

After all, not everyone was like the main character of that fantasy novel.

“I still have a lot of new things to learn here.’ This was really surprising even to himself. He was one of the biggest fans of the Yo-Ma Great War series, and he was confident that he had already grasped the entire history of the series. But when he started learning about his own country’s history, it was very different from what he knew.

Sometimes what he learned in the game came close to what he already knew, but since everyone taught differently, he had to remember the different versions—this confused Evan.

‘Moreover, as a part of the noble etiquette, I have to learn other things separately.’ The structure of all noble families was similar, and he had to memorize all the connections they had with nobles of other countries.

It was said that Evan could only enter the social world after having memorized all the royal families and the aristocratic genealogy of the three major countries; Magic Country Mado, Commerce Country Baypeka, and Agriculture Country Houmi. They had a close relationship with the country he lived in. Evan was also a noble.

‘I want to get rid of everyone I don’t need, but I really can’t. I don’t want to be a noble, because every time I go out, my chances of death increase….’

In Yo-Ma Great War 3, Evan’s deaths spanned various fields. Of course, there were also many cases where he was entangled with the royal families and aristocracy of his own country and the others. For reference, half of his deaths were due to governmental issues.

“Wow, I really have to cut this useless face off.”

“Why are you saying such terrible things, Master! Your face is the greatest treasure in the world!”

When Evan muttered powerlessly while looking at his face in the mirror, which was getting attractive day by day, Maybell, who was attending to him, heard his words and screamed.

“Don’t do it, Master! You will get wounded!”

“Maybell, are you good to me just because of my face? This hurts my heart.”

“I like all the elements that make up your existence, Master, but I like your face the most.”

“You are really honest.”

There was no way he could do something about it. He didn’t want to get stabbed by Maybell after having damaged his face for no reason, so he decided to give up.

In the meantime, the slime training was going on with full effect, and Evan had adapted to the ‘finishing blow’ technique by now. He was able to kill the slimes without any noise or signs of their existence.

He occasionally failed, due to which the squealing sound would be heard.

“By the way, Master, are you really going to wear those earrings?”

“Ah, this? Yes.”

At Shine’s words, Evan glanced at the mirror once again.

He was wearing blue cross earrings in both his ears. They made him look like a girl. His beautiful little face thin enough like a line could be easily mistaken for a pretty girl’s.

“Actually, I tricked my father to get me these. I asked for it, but I wasn’t really sure that he would give them to me.”

“The Marquis would have given you any artifact that you wanted, even if it had to be robbed from the treasure trove.”

‘But this is the best for me. I’m just thankful for being born in the Sherden family.”

The artifact that Evan had received from the Marquis as a 10-year-old birthday present were these blue jeweled cross earrings, [also known as Snow Mountain Spirit Earrings].

In fact, he had no other option. Among the artifacts in the warehouse of the Sherden family, these earrings were easily the best at increasing mana recovery.

The number of slimes he could crush had also increased.

His training time was shortened sharply by acquiring this artifact. He could train for longer than before too, so it was worth getting them.

‘Once you get them, you have them equipped until you die. Such artifacts are called ‘final equipment’,

‘end plate equipment,’ etc. Their ability to increase the mana recovery speed was so excellent that this property was enough to make them worthy of being a part of ‘final equipment.’

Both wizards and warriors consume mana to use their skills.

The Snow Mountain Earrings that dramatically speeded up mana recovery were an artifact coveted by any profession.

If it weren’t for the Brotherhood Pharmacy’s success, even the Marquis who cherished Evan would not have given them to him. As such, these earrings were an important artifact that stood incomparable to Miraseul’s necklace.

“It’s okay because you’re doing well. I’m already looking forward to seeing what kind of accessories you’ll receive as a gift for your 11th birthday, Master.”

“No, that’s it. I have enough jewelry for now.” Evan could wear a total of five artifacts, and he was already wearing two of them. If you could add one more, you belonged to the proud group of extreme players who cleared the whole Yo-Ma Great War series with only artifacts. Evan refused to walk that path.

“You are ten years old, Master. You have to start training with weapons.”

“I haven’t found a weapon that suits my aptitude yet, and it won’t be of much help if I wielded a weapon which would be useless with these gloves.”

“So was that why you refused to have a swordsman teacher?”

It was obvious that a sword didn’t suit his aptitude. He already knew about it, then what was the point in learning swordsmanship?

Evan had firmly refused Marquis’s instructions, saying that he would not learn to handle the sword even though he would learn everything else. The Marquis, who knew that his second son was no longer a spoiled brat, refrained from compelling him anymore.

Even so, after he was taught by Mado, everyone came to knew that he wasn’t talented!

“So what’s left in the end….”

“Oh, it’s time. I have to go. You should also get back to your work.”

“But, Master, come back.”

Evan’s class for the nobility was divided into morning and afternoon shifts. In the morning, students mainly received indoor classes related to mathematics, history, and politics. In the afternoon, they trained to prepare to enter the dungeon in the future.

He refused to learn swordsmanship, and Mado also refused to teach him because of his lack of talent. After a lot of consideration, the Marquis asked Evan directly what he wanted to do. No matter how much Evan hated to enter the dungeon, it was impossible for him to escape from it as it was his duty as a nobleman. So the Marquis said that he wanted Evan to improve his abilities to survive in the dungeon.

To which Evan replied:

“Then, I want to learn fighting skills first. My body will be able to move more lightly. Whatever you tell me to learn later, I will not interfere.”

Fighting was the so called name of bare-handed wrestling capable of inflicting maximum attack power without a weapon. It did not conflict with other martial arts as it was not a skill.

However, as it belonged to basic combat skills, so it took quite a long time to master it. Even if you trained to fully reach the ultimate level, the power was still significantly less compared to using weapons. It was a skill that wasn’t very efficient due to the amount of time it consumed, so it wasn’t welcomed by the players.

“Of course, there are also cases of other players clearing the Yo-Ma Great War series only barehanded.”

Nevertheless, it was a skill, so just learning it increased your bare-handed combat power and physical ability.

Evan had to find the best weapon for himself. He would surely find the right weapon which suited his aptitude, but in the meantime learning, bare-handed fighting was not a bad option. It was better than wasting time.

“But what is my aptitude? I can’t find it…. Does it mean I don’t actually have one?”

Countless Yo-Ma Great War players have repeatedly created and deleted characters, dozens, and millions of times because none of the many main characters had any aptitude for a weapon.

The only thing that made Evan anxious was that he was not the main character. He shook his head at the thought of him not having an aptitude for any weapon.

‘I must have an aptitude for a bizarre weapon. If that’s the case, then I’m touching every weapon I see from now on, haha! Jen will find out about it in the next two years!” Evan laughed and headed towards his destination. It was a training ground for the Templars built on the site of the mansion.

“You’re her Master Evan.”

“Hello. You must be the Knights Commander.” His responsibility was the safety of the Marquis.

The head of the Ironwall Knights, a giant who was the toughest man in the Marquis army, stood before him. He was the knights’ commander, Mikhail D. Airok.

“I’m glad you look, healthy Master.”

“You too. Wow, your muscles are huge.”

“These are nothing. I’m just training constantly to be helpful anytime.” He was wearing a thick armor plate as usual.

Evan, who was wearing a light training suit, not an armor, admired him. His thick muscles were really overwhelming.

Originally in the game, Mikhail D. Airok was a slightly higher supporter than Evan. While playing the game, there is an event where four thousand knights of the Demon King invade.

This is a compulsory event, and he is the only knight who stops them at Four Heavens. It’s impossible to save him as he is sent out in the middle of the battle, and his life ends there.

‘He was fierce and cool. Everybody commented that he was a real man…’

For reference, if there is no luck, Evan also dies at this time. The random elements are so confusing that there is no way of escaping. It was such a terrible event that the probability of going to the dungeon and hiding there in a safe place was much lower than this.

‘Looking back at that, what if the event happened again? The Marquis is robbed at that time, so I have to prepare for it somehow.’

It’s not just about the Marquis. If the commander of the knights was to die in front of him, he would be heartbroken. And because everything was real in this living and breathing world, no matter how wonderfully you died, you would never return back from the dead.

“By the way, knight commander, what did you come here for? I came for fight training.”

“I came for that too.”

“….Is that so?” Evan couldn’t believe his ears. The knights commander’s muscles wriggled.

“From today onwards, I will teach you about fighting skill, Master. These days there are fewer young people in the world who want to train and improve their fighting skills. I would have never guessed that you would be one of them.”

“No, wait a minute. It seems that I encountered some kind of misunderstanding….”

“Don’t worry. No matter how much martial arts are being criticized these days, I have trained my fighting skills for almost 20 years to gain true strength. I can teach you the best skill in the city, or dare I say, the whole country.” The knights commander’s muscles wriggled again. Evans’s legs trembled. They never shook when he did slime training.

“But aren’t you busy with the training of the knights…?”

“Thank you for your worries, but right now, training you is most important. Then let’s start with the basics!”

“But I already know the basic posture, so maybe I could do it alone….”

“No way! How did you know that? Then let’s start with a light practice!”

“No, wait a minute. Wait a minute! Stop it! Don’t advance with your muscles, all exposed like that! Wait! Stop! Stop!”

‘At this rate, I would add a new death to Evans list!’ Evan screamed and stepped back, but the knights commander did not stop. He wouldn’t stop in the future too.

Thus, Evan’s new training began.