Evan D. Sherden, Ending a Long Year (3)

“Young master, this is the finished product.”

“No, it’s not. I wasn’t planning on this..”

“You asked for failure training, but..”

“I left it to you, and it ended up like this. Maybe if I left for longer, you would have made the Elixir too.” Evan was carefully examining the greatsword Horta had created with those words. No matter how much he looked at it, it was still an artifact. Its performance was lower than the sword made for Arisha, but it was undeniably an artifact. It even had the potential for growth.

“Growth-type artifacts aren’t born from nothing.”

“A growth type.. Perhaps this was the result because I made it like when I was first learning how to blacksmith.” Horta had an expression of half disbelief. His skill must’ve grown significantly through creating an artifact entirely by himself.

“For the time being, I would like to remain faithful to my original intention. If the road is blocked again, then I will practice your way.”

“Yes, I think it would be better to do what you want. I like that the best.” Perhaps the third and fourth artifact would come out soon. Evan promised to equip him with all he could and left with the greatsword. He was only worried about one thing.

‘So who the hell gets this?’ Leo first came to mind when he thought of a greatsword. However, despite being a growth artifact, it was too low of a level for Leo right now. Moreover, Leo was a competent person who could be seen as being complete, whereas the artifact wasn’t finished yet until it grew.

‘If there is no one for it..well?’ Evan felt someone secretly approaching him. The moment he turned around, Ran was in his arms. Lin had a green left eye and a purple right eye, but Ran was the opposite, so it was easy to recognize them.

“I was going to surprise you, but I was caught!”

“You’re still a long way away, Ran.” Evan held up Ran in his arms and tickled her. Ran and Lin hadn’t started their martial arts training yet, so they hadn’t had to experience a battle with Leo, which was a good thing, as that big brawl was way too dangerous for a couple of six-year-olds. Those two were still in the stage of building their bodies through training.

“Ah!”

“You were caught too, Lin.”

“Kah!” Evan held Lin in one arm. The idea of using Ran as a distraction was good, but these guys were always together in the first place. If there was one, it was natural that the other would be nearby.

“The captain has a good eye.”

“We practiced this operation for a long time!”

“Yes, yes, your try was great.” It was a covert and fast plan, enough to make him wonder if they were only six. But, no matter how fast they grew, it would take them a few more years to defeat Evan. He smiled as he looked forward to seeing how they, who would play a great role in Yo-ma Great War 4, would grow up.

“But, I’m trembling.”

“..? What’s up?” Was her body shaking? Was she cursed?! Evan was second to none when it came to negative thoughts as he placed Ran on the ground but Ran just tilted her head.

“I’m not shaking anymore.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. When I was in your arms, I was trembling, but I don’t know why.”

“..Wait.” Evan quietly placed a hand on Ran’s shoulder, but nothing happened. That meant there was only one answer left. Evan pulled out what he had previously placed in his inventory. Ran let out an ‘ah!’ as soon as she saw it.

“That’s it!”

“I see.” Lin and Ran had yet to hold a weapon, so they didn’t know their own aptitudes. However, this was the first time that he had seen someone react when they came close to a weapon that suited them. With that sort of response, the level of aptitude had to be very high.

‘But she didn’t use a greatsword in the game.’ Evan frowned as he looked down at the growth artifact in his hand. The twin priests that appeared in Yo-ma Great War 4 used divine magic. Wasn’t it ridiculous that they had been unaware of their own aptitude?’

“Hey, can I have that?”

“Well, would you like to hold it?”

“Yes!” Evan handed Ran the greatsword, and she was immediately joyous. Of course, it was hard for her to hold it up.

“Hmm..”

“I don’t think it’s possible now. I will hold onto it and give it to you later, so keep training hard until you can swing it easily, got it?”

“Yes!” It was a success if Evan could instill a sense of determination in Ran. It was fortunate he had found an owner for the greatsword; now, he should ask Leo to deal with the basics before leaving the dungeon city.

“Would you like to try too, Lin?”

“Yes! Ugh..I don’t know anything.” They were special twins that could exchange each other’s divine power, but Lin had no aptitude for the sword. She seemed disappointed, but Evan comforted her.

“You will find your own great aptitude. If not, I’ll teach you martial arts.”

“Is Lin going to become your disciple?”

“It’s possible.”

“I want to as well!”

Evan was stuck with the two of them for a while.

***

When Leo heard of Ran’s aptitude, he couldn’t believe it at first, but he affirmed it after taking a look at Ran himself. Evan was more surprised with Leo, who could assess it so quickly.

“You definitely have talent. It’s possible if you focus on your foundation.”

“Please teach her. She’s still six, so be careful.” However, Lin pulled on Evan’s sleeve right after.

“We’ll be seven soon!”

“Yes, seven years old.”

“Seven is old enough. Just because you can’t lift a greatsword doesn’t mean you can’t practice great swordsmanship. Haha, I’m glad so many fun things are showing up these days!” Evan was worried that Leo wouldn’t want to teach kids, but he was happy to see that wasn’t the case.

“Can I swing a big sword too?”

“Of course! One day, you’ll wield a sword the size of a house!” Leo laughed as Lin climbed onto his back. They practically looked like father and daughter.historical

“Thank you for entertaining Leo, Evan.”

“Aria.” While Leo grabbed Ran to start in training, Aria, the priest of Gongsin, approached Evan with a bright smile. Bernard wasn’t the only one who had become youthful in the dungeon. Leo had also gotten a lot younger, but so had Aria in particular. Iloin was an elf in the first place, so it was hard to tell with her.

“After coming to the dungeon city, there have been only fun things. There was the issue with the Rose Queen..but it was resolved for Bernard and Iloin. If you look at it, isn’t it thanks to you?”

“I just gave the instructions. There are many others who helped.” Aria laughed happily at his modesty.

“By the way.. oh my.”

“What?”

“That child.” Aria pointed to Lin, who was standing next to Evan.

“You have the qualities of a priest.”

“You can tell just by seeing her once?”

“It’s funny to hear it from you, Evan.” Aria laughed again, but Evan was serious. Knowing the aptitude for a weapon wasn’t an easy task. But he supposed that those with a lot of magical power that lacked the talent of a wizard would be chosen as a priest. He kept that to himself, however, fearing for Aria’s retribution.

“There are several requirements to becoming a priest. First, you must have a lot of mana. If you offer enough to God, you can receive a lot of grace. Second, you must be pure. In order to communicate with God, it is best to avoid wrongdoing.”

“Is that why most priests enter the monastery at a young age?”

“Of course, but being young doesn’t necessarily mean purity. And the third..they must be attractive to God.”

“In terms of appearance?”

“That doesn’t matter. If priests were chosen based solely on appearance, you would be one already.” Yet Evan knew well that he lacked the quality of a priest.

“The gods have their own standards. However, the Gongsin says that any god would covet this child.”

“..Gongsin wants to make this child a priest?”

“Yes.”

“Now?”

Only

“Yes.” Evan was thrilled to hear that.

“What is a priest? Can I meet God?”

“Of course, Lin. Are you interested in hearing about it?”

“Yeah!” Lin intervened in their conversation with bright eyes. Aria patted her head and glanced back at Evan.

“Would that be alright, Evan?”

“Everyone would be welcomed as a priest of the gods, but maybe I should talk to Ran first.”

On that day, a new priest and paladin trainee was found by the Gongsin church. There was only ever one priest prior.