Chapter 408

Zero. The great mage finds a human (2)

The dwarves, who had filled their stomachs, set out to help Eihamo study the magic armament in earnest.

In fact, the other dwarves had been treating Eihamo like a fool so far for using resources and time. Still, it had been solved simply by Evan...moreover, when they learned that Evan was interested in it, they quickly changed their attitude.

"Wouldn't there be incentive pay if it yields good results?"

"You fool, he has already done us enough of a favor! If you want to get more from him, first prove your worth!"

"Oh, that's right! I should've given it more thought...!"

Some of the dwarves were overly fascinated by Evan. They were commanding the other dwarves, so there was no need for Evan to say anything. Anyway, in the original game, the research was conducted by one dwarf who possessed an incomplete awareness of the unique armament's knowledge. Now it was conducted by all the dwarves who survived, so the speed would be incomparable. If there was one thing that concerned him...

"How long can I keep them in this vacant lot?"

"Well, that is..."

Mirole made an uncertain face and wriggled her fingers in front of her chest.

"There is no owner of this spot, so staying in itself is no problem. However, if the number of people increases in the future, then they will have to find a new residential area, um..."

Well, it would be like that. Evan nodded at Mirole's hesitant look. Even in the original game, the ancient Archmage gathered the different surviving races and a small number of humans in one place as the story progressed. Even if he weren't a king, he would have a plausible title as the head of the tribal alliance. So, until about halfway through, this vacant lot continued to be used as a base camp. At the end of the second half, when all the people gathered after hearing rumors of the ancient Archmage forming an army, they made a big decision.

"I think you have something in mind."

"Ah, um, that's..."

Evan knew why Mirole was hesitant. Because the place she was trying to talk about was the place that she didn't want to go back to even if she died. He grinned and turned his head.

"If it's difficult to say, you can tell me later. I'm not in a hurry now, anyway."

That was the big decision that Mirole made in the game. It was about bringing allied forces into the heart of the Mother Forest, where the elves, the forest fairies, lived. Of course, from before that point, he had experienced several exchanges and battles with the fairies. Still, it was another problem to accept those led by the ancient Archmage into the center of the forest, which led to quite a conflict. Here, the useless quarrel with the elves (in fact, for the elves, the quarrel must have been the process of confirming whether the ancient Archmage was a man suitable for Mirole, the eternal elf princess), was the main event in the second half. It was also the part where the elements of a love comedy appeared in Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

"I'm sorry. But now it's a little hard to tell..."

"It's okay."

Evan laughed at Mirole's troubled face. Until a while ago, she was just excited to escape from the narrow grounds that locked her for the first time in her life, but...she also seemed to be starting to worry about reality. If the elves found her, she would be scolded to death. They may come out with some force at Evan, who was by her side. In fact, something similar happened in the game. It would be a separate matter whether Evan accepted it, but it meant that this was a serious thing.

'Because she is the one who has the fate of the forest fairies on her shoulders. If it weren't for the spirits, the whole forest would have been turned upside down by now.'

Mirole exerted overwhelming dominance over most of the spirits. Even now, she was firmly telling her spirits, "Don't tell other forest fairies my location." But would she know that since Mirole was a valuable being to the spirits, her life was prioritized over her orders? Therefore, the spirits accepted her request, but the forest fairies were informed of Mirole anyways. If Mirole hadn't met Evan, she would have been in a dangerous situation relatively quickly, and she would have been called by the forest fairies through the spirits immediately. In the end, she was playing on the palm of the spirits...no, the Mother Forest from the beginning.

"Then, what should we do from now on? Even if you're helping people, it's not a good idea to go around the forest blindly."

"I have two thoughts. The first is to use the power of my spirits to find people in need. They can synchronize with the Mother Forest in real-time and see what's happening in the forest. It was because of them that I first found you."

"I see."

Almost every quest of Yo-Ma Great War Zero began with her. Evan felt like he knew why now.

"The second is...this is also using the power of the spirits, but the target we are looking for is different. Moving a little more nationally...I'm thinking of finding a dungeon."

"Dungeon?"

"Yes. Do you have any memories of dungeons?"

No one in this world knew more about dungeons than Evan. He nodded, trying not to show off too much.

"A little. A kind of subspace that is separated from the real space...mainly a place full of monsters. Right?"

"Yes. I guess you have some experience entering dungeons."

"Is this a rare experience?"

"Because it is dangerous. Inside it is an unknown space. It suddenly appears at some point, and I can't step into a dangerous object nestled in the middle of the forest without thinking...I couldn't."

But why was she saying that they had to find a dungeon now? The reason may be answered even by someone who didn't know about Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

"As a result of ignoring dungeons over and over again, there was a backflow."

A dungeon was like a fruit hanging from a branch. If you left it be for a long time, the contents swelled up and someday fell off...and burst brilliantly on the floor. When there was a backflow, the monsters became much stronger and more evil than when trapped in a dungeon. In Yo-Ma Great War Zero and Yo-Ma Great War 1, the main goal was to prevent this backflow and flooding (a sudden increase of monsters in a certain area). Compared to Yo-Ma Great War 3's 100-floor dungeon attack, it was a boring factor, but the difficulty wasn't low.

"Is that phenomenon called 'backflow'? No, you knew about it!"

"I have been through it. I have such memories."

"Ah..."

Evan's voice was very serious. In fact, he wasn't really acting right now. Just...when he thought of Shine and Belois, who lost their families due to the dungeon uprising in Sherden, and many other victims, his voice got serious by itself.

"I see...I...see."

"Are you leaving the dungeon unattended even though you found out about it?"

"I don't know what you will think if I say this, but us, elves, are very passive and closed. We have learned that it is dangerous to leave a dungeon alone, but we aren't actively trying to deal with it. If the increased number of monsters don't try to enter the forest center, they are left alone. We hope they fight each other and die."

Hmm, this part was something he already heard while playing Yo-Ma Great War Zero but listening to it again annoyed him. There was a limit of safety as well. In this way, they would only notice when they held onto only the most important things, and nothing else was left around them.

"That's why I parted from the elves. Because I thought I had to do something about the situation now."

"You are the representative of the elves. Can't you give them orders?"

"Hmm...me?"

It was a face that said she had never even imagined that possibility. No matter how much she was called the Eternal Elf Princess, it was only a psychological center point. She wasn't actually pretending to be the queen of the forest.

"I can't give them orders. I tried to say that it would be dangerous as it is, but I was told to wait calmly, saying that it would calm down sooner or later..."

Rather than being calm, the shaking of the dimension would grow and increase, leading to a war where all demons, new worlds, spirit worlds, and other alien worlds would become involved. The dungeons that were now appearing in the dark were just a precursor to that.

"That's a dangerous idea."

"Since we have lived in this deep forest without any change for hundreds of years or more. We are weak to change."

"But you are different. You felt that this change was dangerous, and you acted right."

"I am just a child. It would have meant nothing, in my opinion, if I hadn't met you."

Fortunately, however, she was able to meet Evan. Believing in Evan or not was purely at her discretion. Still, she was already making up her mind to bet her and all the forest fairies' fate on Evan. From the moment she saw him saving the Merne's clan, she knew this.

"Zero, can you help me?"

"I said earlier that I would help you as much as I can if it matches my purpose."

"Ah...!"

Mirole's face brightened. Evan felt pleased that the situation was going according to Yo-Ma Great War Zero's scenario. He asked her once again...when he was about to do it, there was an explosion somewhere in the woods.

"Is this forest not satisfied unless something explodes regularly?"

"Oh, my God!"

Mirole had no time to accept Evan's grunts. She screamed for a moment as she received reports from the spirits who were inaudible to Evan.

"There are a lot of monsters coming into the forest...those who are running away from them are definitely humans. Humans are entering the forest with monsters!"

"Whoa."

No way there were people in the new generation who trolled through kiting. It was just a little while ago that he liked that it was going according to Yo-Ma Great War Zero's flow. Still, a different situation from the scenario broke out. If Evan's memory was correct, after saving the dwarves, he would go through a tutorial on the weapon system for some time and then enter the first dungeon to obtain the staff's materials...

"Zero, what should we do? The number of monsters is over three-hundred!"

Evan asked in a relatively calm tone to Mirole, who was screaming.

"What kind of monsters are they?"

"A pig with horns on its head that is walking upright! The spirits say that they can feel terrifying and savage energy..."

"Orcs."

It wasn't just an orc, but a monster that was the ancestor of orcs that existed only in the new generation. From the point of Yo-Ma Great War 1, they were called 'Ancient Orcs', but they were ancient, only looking from the future, and in fact, it was correct to call them just orcs now. For reference, it was the same for the dwarves. They were like the present dwarves only when they have a solid identity as a race for generations.

"What if other elves find out about this?"

"They will just let them be. And they will hope that the humans will all die."

"Because they brought monsters into the woods, is that so?"

Probably humans didn't have that intention. They just ran away from the orcs and came into the forest. Probably, they believed that a place with a tall, thick forest would be safe from the orcs. Still, unfortunately, humans, who were infinitely weak, had less mobility in this environment. For the Ancient Orcs, it was like not having a forest at all. If it were like this, everyone would be caught and slaughtered. For reference, humans at this point in time were low in magic power and no stamina, placing them at the bottom of the food chain. In the end, more than half of the reason that this weak race could survive and prosper...no, it was all thanks to the ancient Archmage.

"Then, let's go kill them."

"What!? Even though it's you, the number of enemies..."

"Did you forget what I caught before? Wait here. I'll finish it soon and bring it back."

"Master, let me go with you."

"Yes, yes."

Were the humans who were being chased by the orcs right now those who appeared in the Yo-Ma Great War Zero, or were they not? If could their existence be in this era...no? It didn't mean much because they were human, though. Evan started to walk with such stupid thoughts.

It only took one step forward to reach the destination.