Chapter 430

Great Ancient Mage, Acknowledge (5)

The development of the unique weaponry had already entered its final stage. It was thanks to over twenty dwarves participating in it. Still, moreover, Evan's preparation of great quality ingredients helped the most. Anyways, the other dwarves, aside from Eihamo and his little sister, who had the highest understanding of the unique weaponry, weren't that much help. The loot from the dragon (in the form of a whole-body) drove them insane.

"As expected, he is a god that came down to protect us, the earth fairies!"

"Such a precious ingredient is given to us."

"He is a god...Oh, god!"

"Not a king but a god! King... but of gods!"

Evan didn't want to be called by such annoying names, but he had no way to stop the excited dwarves, so he decided to let them be.

"How long would it be?"

"It will take quite some time. Although we are descendants of the master craftsmen, we never had dealt with the dragon so far..."

"I might be of some help in such a case."

Evan spoke confidently since he clearly remembered how his direct blacksmiths, Horta and Ella, dealt with the dragon ingredients. The dwarves were in uproar as Evan handed them his memories written swiftly on a piece of paper.

"Genius...!"

"How can a human think of these? No, it's possible since he is a god!"

"I'm impressed. With this, it won't take more than four days!"

"Good, I'll leave it to your hands."

Dwarves, with their superior craftsmanship, might have the possibility of researching the dragon materials from scratch while ignoring the method introduced by Evan. Still, they didn't since Evan was worshipped as a god among them. At this point, Evan realized that letting them think freely instead of denying himself as a god benefited everyone.

"It's quite a complicated feeling. I somewhat understand why the kings of the past claimed themselves to be gods..."

"It seems like you are in deep thought, Master."

It was early morning. One representative from the dwarves was busy handling the dragon's ingredients. One from the humans and several from the elves came out. They seemed to be doing something that could be regarded as a religious ritual. Evan couldn't stop them, although he knew he was the target of their offerings and just watched them.

He once gathered them around and told them that he would leave this place for a moment, and he clearly remembered their sudden looks of despair. So, if he didn't provide them with something they could rely on, such as dragon's ingredients, the humans might lose hope and become despondent once again. How horrible would that be?

"Zero, I'm ready to leave. I've already spoken with Mother."

At that time, Mirole approached and spoke to him. Evan lifted his head to look at the World Tree that stood high at the center of the elven village. The Mother Tree shook its leaves slowly, as usual.

"Good, then let's go."

"Yes."

[Have a safe trip, Zero. I will look after them.]

"It won't take that long. Please do thoroughly check on the dungeon completion and training for the meantime."

[Of course.]

Fayna insisted strongly on following them, yet she had no choice but to stay behind since someone needed to protect the World Tree. In fact, it was better for her to stay there to increase the faith of the humans towards the Great Mother Earth.

"Let's go, Master."

"Ayyyy."

Maybell clung onto Evan's left arm while Mirole clung onto his right arm. He told them several times that just holding onto his clothes will do as he sighed. Evan took one step forward. The next moment, they were already out of the Mother Forest.

"Hiick."

Mirole gasped for a breath. A forest filled with trees certainly existed behind them. Still, only a reddish-brown ground that was completely dried up continued from the forest boundary. Actually, the Mother Forest being filled with lively energies was because of the power of the Mother Tree, AKA the World Tree. Living creatures could thrive in the place where Her power reached. Still, the shallow environment where the presence of Death was strong began outside that boundary.

"The air is heavy. It's completely different from the forest..."

"Do you want to return?"

"No way would I do that."

Mirole stared at Evan and replied to his provocation.

"I will be by your side. I've firmly told the Mother, too."

"Something that the Master didn't even ask for, yet so confidently...the mother and the daughter are both problematic."

"Maybell!?"

They had definitely arrived at an agreement yesterday, yet their attitudes didn't change. Evan smiled at their behavior and took another step forward. And they had traveled far enough that they no longer could feel the presence of the forest.

"We've traveled a distance of a kingdom in just two steps."

"Maybell, can you measure the distance? Amazing."

"Sometimes I feel like I'm being teased by you when I hear such words."

They were already at the top of a curvy hill; it was a great spot to look around their surrounding. They looked at where they traveled, but due to the large distance, not even a single trace of the Mother Forest could be seen.

"We've really come outside."

Due to the awareness towards the mana in the atmosphere that wasn't gentle with her, Mirole clung to Evan.

"You will get used to it. Most of the combat from now on will be done outside the forest."

An enormous number of enemies that could cause tremendous damage within the forest appeared too many times in Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

"I'll start scanning the surroundings."

"I'll ask the same from you, too, Mirole."

"Ah, yes. Spirits!"

Countless spirits were summoned by Mirole's vast mana. Even when they were outside the forest where the World Tree's mana couldn't reach, her abilities were over the charts. In fact, she could be called the best Spiritualist in the world at this point.

'Well, Mirole's spirit art shined at the imminent moments in Yo-Ma Great War Zero.'

Her archery and existence levels were considered low, but her spirit art was already strong from the start. To survive the hardcore difficulty of Yo-Ma Great War Zero, it was necessary to adjust Mirole's mana to overcome the crisis and then seize victory through the unique spells from the Great Ancient Mage when she created an opening.

"Zero?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

Mirole looked at Evan as she felt that he was staring at her. Evan shook his head and participated in the search as he gathered up his power.

"I couldn't find any survivors outside...but there are quite a few dungeons, Master."

"Same thing with me. Well, the environment is different..."

"That's right. Most of the survivors stay hidden inside the dungeon."

"Huh? Is that so?"

It was something common. There was nothing to eat outside, but if lucky, they could find something inside the dungeon that had its own ecosystem. Well, there was a downside to that, like they had to confront ferocious monsters, but the fact that there were monsters outside the dungeon remained the same, so it was fairly common for the survivors to enter the dungeons in a do-or-die fashion.

"Wait, Master does that mean we need to enter every single dungeon...?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time. If the allied force in the forest reaches a certain point of strength, we'll have to search the surrounding dungeons."

"I see..."

Most rescue operations happened inside the dungeons in the game. It was a structure where people would increase their skills and existence levels while clearing the surrounding dungeons; then, if they were lucky, they could find and recruit the survivors into the allied force. But the problem arose in the part where the rescue events were strictly random aside from a few important NPCs. The number of people that could be rescued and the location and time weren't certain.

"Let's just clear some of them. Just some."

"What's the basis of selecting the dungeons if we have the information about the dungeons?"

Maybell's words sounded too light, although a matter of life and death was about to be decided by Evan. At such a time, Evan realized that she was a demon. Still, he couldn't frankly tell her that he would be focusing on places where the main events occurred in the game, so he replied with his ultimate weapon: the poker face.

"By instinct."

"I'm not sure if it really is instinct."

"It is."

Evan smiled lightly and took one step forward. The middle phase of the Yo-Ma Great War Zero, conquering the exterior dungeon, began.

* * *

The air was too pleasant. She unconsciously smiled brightly as she inhaled the air from the outside after a long time of breathing in the stale air underground.

"Oh."

Then, she barely noticed something strange. It was the view of the street she clearly knew, but it seemed to be narrower when compared to the time before she entered the dungeon...

"I see."

She understood something in the midst of questioning herself. It was probably because she grew up. She couldn't recognize within the dungeon where the environment changed every time. Still, she finally realized the difference when she returned to the street she used to live.

"Hehe, am I the same height as Oppa's now?"

She mumbled as she looked at her reflection on the shiny marble at the dungeon entrance of the temple. It was true that she experienced an unbelievable speed of growth due to her leveling and honing skills in the dungeon when compared to other people of her age (her physical growth was fast from the start). However, she still deserved to be called a girl. A girl of eight years old grew up enough to look like a fourteen-year-old, so this was already something considered to be huge.

"I have to take a bath."

She was stuck in a dungeon for more than 2 months, so she looked dirty and smelled foul. That must be the reason why the merchants stood still as they looked at her. She was a daughter of a noble that received a high-class education. Her mother would never allow her to roam around in such a dirty appearance. Moreover, she couldn't have herself seen by her loving Oppa in such a state.

"I should get straight back to my room."

'Which one between the two?'

After thinking for a while, she had decided. To go to the Astray Knight HQ instead of the Marquis's Residence.

"Hmm."

She activated a skill: a leap art she learned from God and honed until she reached the 100th floor of the dungeon. It was an ability that supported her to leap a bit faster, higher, and farther than normal. Still, it evolved through the blessings of God and her endless efforts. Into a skill that ignored restrictions and unnecessary procedures while leaping through space.

"Whew."

After activating the skill, she was already in her room within the Astray HQ. She took off all her gear and thoroughly cleaned herself in the bathroom of her room, then she wore the dress which her loving Oppa made for her. Her body developed quite a lot, but there was no problem in wearing it since the dress adjusted itself to the body size of the wearer.

"Good, it's pretty. Next."

She cleaned all the gear she took off and stored them inside the inventory pocket, then she left the room with just a morning star that has the Thurisaz rune for an emergency.

"Huh!"

And there stood Shine.

"Hi, Shine. You are still tall!"

"Who, Wait...perhaps...Lady Elizabeth!? You've come out from the dungeon; moreover, what made you grow that much in just two months?!"

Elizabeth D. Sherden, smiled at her Oppa's attendant, whom she saw after a long while before speaking.

"So, where is my Oppa?"