Never Die Extra

Evan D. Sherden. Turns Twelve (2)

The three countries, including the Silk Line, had recognized the autonomy of the dungeon city of Sherden by now. Therefore, they did not try to interfere with the dungeon city more than necessary. That was the promise between the Royal family and the Sherden family that governed the dungeon city.

The King who never came to Eric’s birthday before had announced that this time he would attend the Second Master’s 12th birthday party, which seemed rather odd!

“What the hell is this about?!”

“Your Majesty is coming? He’s coming directly to the dungeon city?!”

“Oh my god! He’s also bringing the Queen, Prince, and Princess along with him! They’re all coming together!”

The news that flew from the Royal City baffled the Marquis when he heard it. Surely the Royal family had no intention of gaining personal control over the dungeon city, but they were coming purely to express goodwill.

“Of course that doesn’t make sense.”

The Marquis Soline D. Sherden had been thinking about this whole affair while grinding his teeth.

After all, the Marquis, who governed the dungeon city and devoted allegiance to the Silk Line, knew the real reason that the King was coming for rather than interfering in his dealings.

“I mean why can’t he give up even though I told him so firmly? A princess of a country is not enough for our perfect son!”

“No matter how much you think about it, you really seem to underestimate the Princess, honey. Honestly, there aren’t many bride candidates like her, right? Even if you searched the whole world, there will be four more people like her at most.”

“If you want to take my Evan, you would have to bring an empire to separate him om me! What is a princess of a country worth?”

“There is no country on this continent that dares to claim the title of an empire now, but are you going to let Evan get old and die without a companion…?” Redine, the first wife, laughed at the excessive love the Marquis was showing for his son. However, recalling the conversation she had with Evan half a year ago, she also agreed to some extent.

Then she spoke again.

“Hmm, my second son is a little… special.”

“That’s right. He’s a lot different from a little princess, who only lives in a Royal Palace and only has sort-of peculiar colored eyes and hair as her best features.”

“Please, you should refrain from saying such things in front of the Majesty.”

“Hah! Your Majesty will not be able to achieve his will anyway. Kekh! Because Evan will declare the calling of the Dungeon Knight Commander on this birthday himself!”

To perform the Dungeon Knight Commander’s missions required the determination to give your life inside the dungeon. No matter how important that position was, it was not a responsibility that everyone wanted to take on.

There weren’t many threats when the Dungeon Knights were founded in the past, so most of them consisted of unimportant characters. Therefore, Evan was planning on recruiting a thousand people who would be special in many ways, whether by their age or status.

“It is impossible to become the wife of a Dungeon Knight who would not leave the dungeon for a long time. I’m already looking forward to hearing Evan’s words and how embarrassed His Majesty will look!”

“You weren’t like this before honey…” The Marquis’ wife said anxiously when the Marquis had an evil smile that didn’t suit him.

The Dungeon Knight Commander was someone who had to practically live in the dungeon. Would it be possible to marry such a man to the Princess of a country? If the King was sane, he would never let it happen.

“By the way, can Evan really handle being the Dungeon Knights Commander? He’s a pretty tough child, but I’m not sure if he can fight with monsters…”

“Wouldn’t that be his parents’ job to help him with that? If there’s anything Evan asks for, you have to encourage and assist him as well.”

If there was anyone who would even dare to attack their family, the Marquis seemed like he would pull out the roots of their whole family. The First Wife shook her head when she saw that the Marquis wasn’t budging.

“I don’t know what to say, because I don’t know how these simple children like Eric and Evan who always grew up under a guardian would survive in such places,” Miriam said.  The Marquis glared at her with a sulky expression.

“But isn’t it all Redine’s fault that the children are too weak? She treated them too softly. Fortunately, the children still grew up to be strong.”

“Okay, I’ll agree with you. Just… please don’t wear that pathetic expression in front of other people.”

“Sure. But why can’t I show the same face to others that I show to my family? Huh? In the end, even if you were to look at it, Eric and Evan are very similar to me. I haven’t taught them separately, but they turned out to be really wonderful sons.”

No matter how much the wives tried to convince the Marquis, he would eventually declare to be a proud father of his sons. Mrs. Miriam was well aware that there were no means to calm down the Marquis, so she just shrugged, called the maid, and asked for more tea.

It was evident that he would stay in the ‘nobody deserves my son’ mood and all frustrated until the King came.

Until then, they had to keep getting along with him!

“You’re still a child.” The Marquis’s wife sighed and smiled. Seeing the Marquis like this, she thought he looked cute. She now realized the essence of Evan’s words, “Love is a sickness, mother.”

On the other hand, another patient suffering from the disease of love, Maybell, was wondering how to perfectly decorate Evan’s 12-year birthday party, whom she loved.

There was only one person that could ruin the plan, which would have been perfect in nature.

“I have to completely reorganize the stage for His Majesty before he arrives. If he arrives and I turn the light off immediately…”

“Wouldn’t it then be taken for disrespect?”

Evan, who had entered the hall where the party was being prepared, spoke in a quiet voice behind Maybell.

“But it’s the most important day in the world for Master Evan! The people shouldn’t be interested in other high-ranking people!”

However, Maybell, who was so focused on doing the preparations, instinctively refuted not knowing that the person who had spoken to her was Evan.

“Even if your Majesty would say a word or move lightly, all of the attention would be drawn towards him! It’s the only day where our Master should get the attention, so why are those people coming?!”

Maybell was already disrespecting the Royalty. Evan was concerned whether any problems would arise if he showed her in front of others on the day of the party.

No matter how much he wished she could be cut off from this whole thing, she would have to be there!

“Can you give me the schedule Maybell… Oh wow! everyone is dead serious about this.”

Evan was visibly excited. He went through the schedule after grabbing it from Maybell’s hands.

The schedule, which had been thoroughly planned from start to finish, was certainly bigger than any other party he had experienced in his previous life. On second thought, it probably even included this life, too!

Maybell said that he could certainly invest as much as he pleased, but the money going into this party would be lost forever, as it wasn’t actually an investment!

“Certainly, if His Majesty the King appeared in the middle of the sequence, it will be a mess! But wait! Master invited a unit called ‘Lute Girls’ which is made up of five women who are the best female bards in the Royal City these days? Although they’re being paid, they might still be very busy!”

A bard was a profession that existed in the game. They were neither wizards nor priests, and they weakened their enemies and empowered their allies with songs. They were regarded as assistants.

As was often the case with assistants possessing various abilities, they had the disadvantage of being extremely difficult to deal with, and it was difficult to obtain excellent weapons for them.

There were many NPCs who were famous, such as these bards.

Lute Girls was also one of the most popular bard NPC groups in Yo-Ma Great War 3 and 4.

‘… They were mainly called as event host NPCs! There was no way I would miss the opportunity to meet them!’

In the world of the Yo-Ma Great War series, it could be assumed that these bard NPCs were in charge of all the roles as played by modern singers, performers, and comedians!

“But those lute girls are no different than others who only yearn to meet with the nobles. They told me they wanted to see Young Master’s face in person and said they would love to take his autograph too…”

“I don’t know why people would want an autograph from me.”

“Young Master?!”

Maybell suddenly realized Evan was the one talking to him and was astonished. Evan pinched her cheek, who was four years older than himself.

Even then, he was a little scared by Maybell, who he liked a lot whenever she laughed.

“It is my birthday party, so why are you the one being so loud?”

“But the Marquis really praised me for my endeavors, Master. I was only saying that with His Majesty arriving, it was only right to raise the money spent on the party accordingly! I would also like you to praise me for my thorough preparation too!”

“I was just lucky enough to have the resources to be this generous.”

Evan sighed and looked at the schedule again. Although he knew Maybell’s abilities very well, the Marquis had personally increased the scale of this internal family event due to the Royal Family’s participation, so it was necessary to take a closer look at everything twice or three times.

“It’s a birthday party for you, so if you want any help, Master… “

“It isn’t just my birthday party now. It has become an occasion for the King to meet the Marquis’s family. Get help from the butler and maid… I also need to relocate some escorts here.”

“Ah, yes. I hadn’t thought that far. After all, a nobleman such as you has to have different ideas as always.”

Several variations had to be made to the schedule. Particularly the Lute Girls, who were popular among young merchants, adventurers, and some nobles of the Royal City, might not be suitable for the Royal Family members.

“When the King will arrive, tell the band to play one or two quiet songs and then head back. We will divide the composition of the party into two halves.”

“Ah! This way we can do all the exciting and fun activities in the second half, Master.”

“Right. In the first half, we will pretend to care for His Majesty the King, so we can build our pride and reputation in front of him, and after he has left, we can have fun in the second half. It would be nice to have a dance party.”

In this way, the atmosphere would be according to the superiors’ consideration in the first half, in which it was impossible for young people to get along.

 “You are a genius, Master! Dividing the party into two halves will solve everything and make everyone happy!”

“We can’t make it too obvious or known to everybody. It is important to create a natural atmosphere where the Majesty may leave in a proper manner. So whatever you do, leave the elders to themselves, got it?”

“Yes, Master!”

The two of them laughed with satisfaction over something which could cause them trouble if the King or the Marquis knew. It was sad, but it had always been like this. Generations change…!

“By the way, Master…”

As Evan was holding a pen and drastically changing the party’s arrangements, Maybell was carefully thinking about something. Then she decided to ask.

“When you turn 12 Master, a lot will change. The Marquis only recognizes it as a declaration, but this time, Master Evan will actually…”

“Yes. I’ll be going into the dungeon. I only plan to venture up to the fifth floor and then come out.”

“There are still many floors to clear in order to reach the 5^th floor Master. You’re going to have to intimidate the Marquis to let you fight the floor master.”

“I originally planned on going to the 10^th floor, but …”

Evan laughed bitterly at Maybell’s words.

There was a floor master on every 5^th floor in the dungeon, and the difficulty level for each one of them varied greatly. The Floor Master was literally a gatekeeper, who tested the limitations of explorers who wanted to go further down the floors.

It could be said that once you defeated the floor master, you could proceed to the next floor smoothly, but that was not the case. This was because the dungeon environment altered rapidly, and the types of monsters that appeared also changed with them.

“It’s unparalleled in itself to defeat the Floor Master at the age of 12 Master, going to the 10^th floor… If the Marquis knew you were trying to make such a reckless attempt, he might not even let you outside the mansion.”

“I know Maybell. That’s why I’ll be only going up to the 5^th floor.”

If you defeated the Floor Master, a staircase appeared that went down to the next floor, and at that moment, the Explorer was blessed by God and acquired level 6.

That was what Evan was aiming for. Level 6 was like a starting point for everyone entering the dungeon.

‘From the perspective of explorers entering the dungeon, this was the level that was used by only such adventurers who wanted to go deeper into the dungeon instead of wandering around the entrance, all the while digging for small gemstones and herbs to sell them later.’

God blessed those who didn’t have a special skill after breaking through. When you hear God’s voice for the first time, that was when you’d realize the path you had to take.

The 6^th level was crucial for Rookies, who were able to throw off the shackles of their weak bodies after reaching it.

‘It looks like Shine and Belois have already grown to be strong, but still.’

If he could at least break through the 5^th floor and level up, he would finally be able to say to Shine and Belois with confidence that “I have fulfilled your promise.” Only then would they realize what it meant to be a Rookie, and how they should proceed in the future.

“Also Master, at the age of 12, you’ll finally be able to appoint your exclusive maid…”

“As I already told you, Belois is going to be my exclusive maid.”

“But why Master? I can bleed for you! I yearn for you, Master! So why does it have to be like this?!”

After thinking about the dungeon and what lay ahead of him, he quietly responded to Maybell, sighed, and then escaped the venue.

There weren’t just one or two things that Evan had to prepare for his upcoming birthday party.