Chapter 325

Evan D. Sherden, Encountering Anomaly (4)

"Nothing, right?"

"None."

"There's also nothing here, Master."

The Merdin Dungeon had a very distinct characteristic. The biggest evidence that it's an undead dungeon: the presence of skeletons.

Overall, Merdin, with a dim cemetery design, was famous for its unnecessary internal design even though it never appeared as a dungeon in the games' main scenario. One of them had skulls embedded in the dungeon walls and gave a dreary glow.

The skulls reduced the energy of the dead and, at the same time, amplified the power of the undead. In such a subject, humans treat it as inaccessible objects that cannot be touched.

Entering the boss room, the skeletons were thickly laid, and the player was weakened to the maximum while the boss monster became stronger beyond the limit. There was a user analysis that... the victory will depend on how the player overcame the debuff effect.

'The only way for the user to experience the Merdin dungeon directly is through in-depth exploration after the Great Change.'

The previous nobles weren't so interested in Merdin, so they didn't know anything more. However, one sure thing is that the Merdin Dungeon's skeleton must appear in-depth in the Sherden Dungeon after the three dungeons' fusion.

"As expected, I don't see any skeletons. Perhaps, the Merdin Dungeon isn't included in the convergence."

"The undead aren't showing up, either. Sir, it seems that the barrier that blocked Merdin has excluded not only the city but also the dungeon from the convergence."

Only after running around the 52nd floor and analyzing the 51st floor thoroughly did the senior group reach such a conclusion.

The conclusion was that the depth, which was supposed to be a fusion of the three dungeons, was now made up of only two.

"Mirole, did you know that?"

"I don't know everything. I didn't know it would be like this, but it's fascinating. Three years ago, the Demons divided their powers into three and invaded Sherden, Pellati, and Merdin, right? That's what caused the Dungeons to change."

"That's right, so, of course, I was convinced that the Demons had a hidden agenda in the containment of Merdin."

But when results came out, who knew that only Merdin would be missing from the dungeon fusion?

The purpose of the dungeon attack was the fusion of dungeons, but by blocking Merdin, their goal wasn't achieved. They were either foolish or hiding a hidden agenda.

"Let me guess...maybe the Merdin blockade wasn't what the Demons wanted. Which means that someone other than the Demons has sealed off Merdin."

"That's the only thing I can think of. Someone who had noticed the fusion of dungeons in advance and wanted to prevent it sacrificed all of Merdin's men to stop the Demon King's appearance... that's a very natural conclusion."

Then who the hell was that someone? The only person Evan knew who could do it was Leo's wife, Aria, who is a priestess and a legendary hero, and was probably already in hell with Leo at that time.

"But who in the world was able to use such a great spell to block the entirety of Merdin in a situation where there were so many Demons? I have no idea......"

"The world is wide, and there are many talents, so you never know. But if it's like this, it's troublesome."

Evan's mind grew complicated by the unexpected turn of events. As Merdin was excluded from the convergence process, everything in the upcoming dungeon had changed from the game's scenario.

Since one dungeon was missing, it shouldn't have been more difficult, but as there was a possibility that a pattern that Evan didn't know could appear, he had to pay more attention to attacking the dungeon.

'And the bigger problem is the Demon King.'

Of course, it's a matter of concern, but in order to slay the Demon King, he must be revived first! However, if the Merdin Dungeon was sealed off, that resurrection couldn't happen, and only human casualties would increase as the Demons ran wild to revive him.

Above all, the current situation wasn't so pleasant for Evan, given that reviving and killing him was much more effective in weakening the Demons' power than delaying the resurrection indefinitely.

"Yeah, so it concludes that we have to lift Merdin's blockade before the scenario reaches its final stage. I need to insert that process in the middle and construct the detailed scenario again."

Evan's planned scenario changed significantly. Of course, all of these scenarios were led by Louise's party!

If Louise had heard this story, she would've been thrilled. She hasn't proven anything yet, but everything's going the way she wanted it to be!

"How are the twin sisters Lin and Lan doing?"

The role of Lin and Lan would be vital in the changed scenario. Those two were the only candidates who could break Merdin's barrier! Shine immediately approached and answered Evan's question.

"They must be very disappointed since Jhin won't play with them because he got busy with his mission. It may not seem like it, but I think they actually like Jhin..."

"I don't think that they 'just like him."

"......Pardon?"

"Don't you know?"

Shine turned away from Evan's gaze, saying, "How do you not know that?" however, others looked at him with the same expression. Even the newest member of the party, Mirole!

"It's not liking. It's love."

"No, I never guessed that...and maybe Jhin does, but they're only twelve years old."

"If they are twelve years old, they are mature enough to know love, Shine."

"No way."

Shine, who was like the babysitter of the junior group's children, seemed to have been greatly shocked by the fact that the children had grown up to understand love. Evan felt sorry for Marie, who liked Shine.

"Anyway, I can give them something new to do."

"Are you thinking of putting the kids in that scenario that you mentioned, Master?"

"That's it."

Miriam, the step-mother who shows suspicious behavior day by day, and the Astray leader, Evan D. Sherden, who's finally starting to think she's suspicious!

Confident that forces were cooperating with her, she dug deeper into what was happening in Sherden and eventually found out the existence of black magic.

Evan realizes that his disciple, Louise, is struggling with those who deal with black magic and sends the priest sisters Lin and Lan to help his disciple.

Beautiful girls who are still young but full of talent! With their overwhelming ability, they surprise their enemies, and with the help of the two, the Louise Party grows even faster.

"But one night, they face a man who blocks them while they were confronted by the evil organization and fought a fierce battle. Lin, who was supporting the group with divine power from behind, noticed that the identity of the shadow was Jhin, a boy she loves and a member of Astray...!"

"Damn, I hate myself for listening to this story...!"

Shine couldn't break away from the charm of Evan's crazy story.

If Evan spoke about the love triangle between the Jhin and the twin sisters, Shine wouldn't be able to come to his senses. Of course, Evan would be scolded for not writing novels for the children.

"Whoa, I'm glad we got to know the truth about the Merdin blockade earlier anyway. We were able to modify the scenario quickly."

"Then, we can go after the dungeons without any pressure. I'm a little relieved that the undead aren't coming out."

The situation wasn't bad. It was a good enough harvest to find out that the Demons never intended the blockade of Merdin.

"Okay, well, let's keep exploring the dungeon. Just in case, don't let your guard down against the undead."

"Understood!"

"Then I'll find my way right away."

If Sea Augers appeared on the 51st floor as a taste of the deep floor, on the 52nd floor, there were chimeras with a terrible fusion of bodies.

Yes, the boss on this floor was a chimera. Since then, chimera has appeared frequently.

However, they were initially supposed to be combined with Merdin, and after it didn't happen, the group was comfortable dealing with the less hideous chimeras.

"But I feel quite weird dealing with monsters I don't know."

Evan repeatedly flicked the beads and murmured, lightly blowing away a chimera's head.

The chimera, who had the scales of the Sea serpent and the Chavel Tiger's torso, wasn't a monster who could be killed so lightly, but it wasn't new for Evan.

"Let's focus on data collection for the time being. We need to replenish some materials to pass to the people who will come in the deep-stage dungeon."

"Understood."

Originally, it took less than five hours for the Astray Senior Group to break through a single dungeon floor, and the depth beyond the 51st floor took nearly three times that amount.

Evan finally felt limited to mapping the dungeon by himself, so he worked with Mirole, who handled the wind's spirit, to create a map that established the guide.

"Stairway down to the 53rd floor."

"Oh, well, let's get some rest today. I told you before we entered the dungeon, we don't have to rush down."

While Mirole, who found the stairs, approached there and was blessed by God, Evan declared thus to the group.

In fact, their party's stamina could last 30 hours with constant movement, but Evan thought that humans should be guaranteed the right to be human even in the dungeon.

"Now look, if you just put this crystal in this barrel imprinted with the formula..."

"Huh, don't you think this hazy bath... isn't this the water from the Brotherhood Bathhouse?"

"That's it. I've developed a convenient portable bathhouse."

"When explorers find out about this, there's going to be a real riot..."

At that very time, it is evident that Save and Renail were also worshipping Louise, who had been receiving crystals from Evan to make a convenient bath, as if they were serving a goddess.

Ten days later, Evan and his party reached the 60th floor of the Sherden Dungeon. The timing coincided with the Louise party reaching the 10th floor.