Evan D. Sherden, A Disparate Trace (4)

“What happened?”

―There was no confrontation of any kind with them. Save showed an intense reaction, but he didn’t jump on them.

“No confrontation…alright, that’s good.”

―But after that.

When Evan nodded while recalling the Sacred Guild’s nature, Louise continued her briefing.

―They were attacked by the others.

Alas, so they did play that card. Evan’s eyes narrowed while listening to her words. The Sacred Guild was trying to act innocent no matter what.

“Then how did it turn out?”

―They were incredibly strong, but Save was able to fend them off. And the so-called leader and Save fought to a fierce draw.

“And the name of the leader? Is it Name?”

―Wow, as expected from you, Master…!

Louise’s surprise could be felt through the transmitter. Well, she might be lost in admiration, but to Evan, who already knew about Name and the Sacred Guild, this information wasn’t a surprise.

“How many members were there in total?”

―A total of seven. Everyone had black hair…and according to Lin and Lan, the opponents looked like them. Save also nodded his head in agreement.

So, seven members from the god race. Evan thought that they did their best to gather so much, but it was for that reason that Evan wasn’t able to find a single person of that race. They had already been gathered. Evan clicked his tongue and continued.

“Were they killed?”

―No. As the situation looked bad for them, they retreated right away.

“So that’s how they want to play out…”

Evan closed his eyes and started thinking about the group of the god race led by the protagonist of the Yo-Ma Great War 4, Name. He knew that God had a sense of responsibility for them, and he was requested by God to ‘save’ Name’s party. But how?

‘Seven children of the god race that are under the charm of the Incubus King…no, if the King accepted them at such a young age, there wouldn’t have been a need for the charm spell in the first place. Those children aren’t that difficult to deal with.’

The god race belonged to the lowest rank in the society with no abilities before they were trained in the dungeon. They tended to follow those who take care of them a bit and give their lives direction.

Well, it wasn’t appropriate to say this, but Evan also did nothing special to the children as he adopted them. But still, they were following him like a father. If they were told of such, they might oppose it, but…the truth remained as it was, after all.

“Aside from that, is there any more information about them? Like the focus of their eyes are a bit loose, their cheeks are blushed, or their eyes periodically sparkle?”

―No, I’m not sure…

The characteristics that Evan just mentioned were the signs of someone being charmed. But it couldn’t be differentiated by someone that was not a veteran, so the question was in vain.

―But they did mention something weird. Like,uhm, they looked like Save when he talks about you.

“Be specific.”

―’ In the name of the Devil.’ Name surely said that.

Evan finished his communication with Louise and stood up. Shine observed him from behind and approached to ask a question.

“Which floor are they at?”

“It looks like they are close to the 70th floor. They are competing with the record of the Sacred Guild…”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“No, they will be fine for a while. Moreover, they will be the fastest in clearing the dungeon.”

Wasn’t that common in the games? An event where the villain suddenly challenged the protagonist with a timing that didn’t make any sense, then exited like a jerk after sneering like ‘Ha, is this all you got?’ after being defeated. And every time such a situation occurred, Evan couldn’t help but think, ‘Why on earth is that bastard pretending to be all high and mighty after being beaten into pulp?’

He tried to find meaning in such patterns, but it probably came from a desire of wanting his own existence to be known. It’s like stating that “I’m your enemy, so imprint me into your brain!” It would be better to try an ambush without anyone knowing if the villain really had the intent to kill, but why couldn’t he stop bragging about his own presence? It was something beyond comprehension.

“Anyways, the only way to find an answer is to meet the Incubus King.”

“Like right now?”

“Nope, after clearing this dungeon.”

Even sorted his thoughts out and stood up. Everyone was staring blankly at him, but they realized the seriousness in his words. As they proceeded from one floor to another, they were getting stronger than the monsters they met, and now there are only 10 floors left in this dungeon.

“All right, then let’s head straight for the 91st floor.”

“We are already prepared.”

All the members, including Shine, nodded as they watched him. Evan also nodded in reply and headed for the stairs to the 91st floor. The 91st floor was the beginning of the true Chimera zone, a living hell where members could encounter the worst evil Chimeras that only existed in the dungeon.

* * *

The party cleared the 91st to 95th floor in just four days.

―Kyuu, Kyuuu!

Gnar swung its tail in delight as it was happily chomping on the flesh of the Chimera Emperor, the hidden boss of the 95th floor. It was a horrifying sight that made Shine step back, although it was him who chopped up the parts of the Emperor so that Gnar would have an easier time eating.

“It’s a dragon after all, although it’s really cute.”

“Shall we take a bite?”

“Master, please, not that…”

“No, it’s a joke. Just a joke.”

The hidden boss of the 95th floor had abilities different from what Evan knew. The boss that appeared after being affected with the characteristics of the Merdin Dungeon usually had the nature of being half undead, but this boss wasn’t. But such unexpected changes worked out well this time, so the situation was simpler than the game. To be honest, defeating it was easier than dealing with Fatal Death, the hidden boss of the 90th floor. It was weaker than the Demon King.

“Well, stop using the Demon King as the basis of your difficulty scale.”

“But thank goodness. An undead would have been repulsive to eat. Isn’t that right, Gnar?”

―Kyuuu!

Serena patted Gnar, who was delightfully feasting on the chimera. A dragon that fed on a chimera and a human that patted such a dragon. Adding Serena’s extraordinary beauty to the scene made them look like something from a myth.

“Well, do you think it grew?”

“I feel like there’s a little that’s lacking. It seems like Gnar just needs a bit more to eat.”

“It will be solved once we reach the 100th floor.”

As a reward of the 95th floor, an artifact with a tremendous regeneration ability was found, which was equipped by Raihan with everyone’s consent. And after that, they boldly crushed the statue of the Devil and headed for the 96th floor after finishing up-leveling. And a report from Louise came in at this point; it was about how they were able to reach the 75th floor without any more encounters.

“How did they possibly go through the area guarded by the lunatic sirens? Of course, they would have passed through the area through the means that you prepared, Master, but…”

“Hmm, do you want to know more?”

“…I’m fine.”

The best from the Demon tribe, who were recognized by the Demon King, appeared from the 96th floor. They were willing to sacrifice themselves for the revival of the Demon King, so they fought with all their might without considering the risks to their lives. Every Demon’s abilities differed, and they were the elites that had health and mana equivalent to the hidden bosses from the middle floors.

“Everyone is supposed to advance with the feeling of battling with the middle bosses after the 96th floor. It’s understandable when you look at the structure of the dungeon for having a straight path or a path shorter and narrower than the one of the beginning floors.”

“Middle boss, I see…”

Shine started to think his party entered the wrong path. That was something relatable since as soon as they entered the 96th floor, Raihan cast an AoE aggravation to gather up all monsters, and Belois attacked and cast debuffs along with Anastasia, which already halved the monsters’ abilities. They could’ve killed them all on the spot, but they conceded for others to level up. One might want to ask who the real dungeon boss was.

―And yet, even Shine was thrilled with how the monsters are good to slaughter.

“It’s my fault, so stop it.”

The fact that the dungeon was short, although every monster was strong, might be a nightmare to other parties, but for Evan’s party, it was pure bliss. The party cleared the 96th floor in just one hour, and after researching how to share the contribution among eight people proportionally, they were able to clear the 97th floor at an even faster speed.

The 98th floor was a zone where a heavy air unique to the dungeon called the ‘dungeon plague’ suddenly increased, and it was the best trap pit that recasts the dungeon debuffs and caused so much trouble to those who were caught off-guard. But if there were one thing that even the Devil who designed the dungeon didn’t expect, it would be the existence of the god race, who thrived the most in zones where the dungeons’ unique characteristics became stronger.

“I suddenly feel more energy in my body.”

“Restrain yourself, stupid Shine. You’re taking Master’s contribution!”

The people from the god race become stronger in dungeons. They received the dungeons’ debuffs as buffs, growing stronger as a result. They were the dagger that would stop the conspiracy of the Devil and stab the heart of the Demon King as they grew stronger while entering the dungeon’s depths. Thanks to Shine and Belois, the members were able to clear the 98th floor faster than the 97th.

“This…isn’t a joke.”

The party members who leveled up to 99 after reaching the stairs felt a significant difference in the strength of the monsters. But that was expected to happen. Wasn’t it a gamer’s logic to know that one level difference meant a lot once you reached higher levels?

“Moreover, Shine and Belois are the children of the god race, so their growth parallel to the dungeon level doubles. After clearing the 99th and the 100th floor, you guys will be at least 20% stronger.”

“Are you saying the growth gap of the abilities increases as the level goes up higher?”

“If you calculate them into absolute values, they might be the same, but you will feel them differently.”

“Then, you mean…”

Shine stared at Evan as he felt the omnipotence boiling within his body. What Evan said might apply to the existence level. Then, how strong was Evan, whose existence level was far too high that even the party members couldn’t dare speculate…?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I just realized that my protection for you, Master, is just vain.”

“Shine, shut up.”

“Huh, you thought the same thing, right? Hello, Belois, don’t ignore me. Hey.”

Two hours had passed since then. The members took a brief rest and completed the 99th floor in no time, so they finally arrived at the 100th floor. The ultimate area where no monsters existed and only the boss room could be found. The party reached the deepest floor of the dungeon.