Never Die Extra (Edited)

Evan D. Sherden, Complete the Dungeon (3)

The reward rooms for completing the normal boss of the 100th floor and the hidden boss were quite different. After defeating a normal boss, a standard reward room appeared with a background message that made people feel like they left something unfinished, but the entire dungeon started to shake. It was filled with pure, holy power along with a grand message when the hidden boss was defeated. God had to use his powers to seal the hidden boss Keiha constantly, and if a player broke the seal and defeated Keiha, there was no need for God to waste his holy power. Therefore, God’s influence became stronger, and stronger blessings were bestowed upon the player and his party members. This surely was a win-win situation! It was a pleasant feeling of conquering exclusive for those who hunted the hidden boss!

“It’s a shame that there isn’t any background message.”

[Shall we sing a song for you?]

Recalling the moment when he first completed the dungeon while playing Yo-Ma Great War 3, Evan smacked his lips when he heard the message from God. He shook his head with a smile.

“I’m fine. It looks like you can’t sing well.”

[What a shame. You’ve granted us one of our long-cherished wishes, so we are ready to give you whatever you want.]

“Then, tell us what awaits us in the future.”

[We do not know.]

This was expected from God, who wasn’t helpful from the start. Evan, who expected such a reply, sighed and took a look around the surrounding. The place was already filled with holy power; it didn’t feel like the realm of humans anymore. Moreover, there were clusters of light that glimmered all over the place, the other-selves of God. Evan was called into the space of God before as he received rewards multiple times, and it looked similar to the current surrounding. But the only difference would be that if only Evan’s consciousness heeded the calling, the current situation would be as if the consciousness of God had personally come down to this place filled with holy power.

[Then now, it’s time for us to grant you and your members, who conquered the golden path which no humans could’ve ever made, with our blessings.]

“Whew, please make it a maximum level of blessing if possible.”

The light that filled the space shone brightly. Even Evan wasn’t able to get a clear view. He couldn’t see Shine and Belois, who was right beside him.

[First will be your level. Originally, humans haven’t been granted ‘completeness.’ However, you have made an achievement that will forever be remembered in history, so from now on, you will be complete beings, with ‘Max Level.’]

That was a kind lie. Only the dungeon level would be changed into Max, and it was the existence level involved with the completeness of a human being. The existence level was what all beings were born with even without the blessings of God, and the dungeon level was a blessing specifically bestowed upon the humans and other species for a certain purpose, so explaining that a fragment of God was obtained after receiving the final stage of blessing would be more appropriate in understanding the current situation.

‘The end justifies the means; I was able to gain a portion of divine power, so it’s good, I guess.’

Evan felt his body changing fundamentally through the divine power that flowed into him, and he let out a deep sigh. With this, he gained a chance to eradicate the Demon King, or perhaps even the beings beyond him. Like it was just now that he completed his tutorial.

[And also, we’ll upgrade your Heavenly Skills as mentioned earlier. That power which disturbs the order of the world with pure physical strength will bring destruction to heaven, so it will no longer be a simple skill but rather a technique that lies in the area of the authorities.]

“Hmm?”

[Just possessing an authority allows you to overwhelm other existences, and using that power will defy all logic; the power that reaches God, that can destroy the world, that can destroy hell, and it shall be called Annihilation.]

Something that looked like an endgame skill came out, but as he was about to argue with the skill name being too flashy, a shock that enveloped his body silenced him. A horrible pain incomparable to becoming Max level wracked him. It felt like the divine revelation got stuck in Evan’s memory, and it was blazing a new trail into a direction for the enormous power that was asleep within him. But such pain was something Evan hadn’t known, and it was like creating a new path that never existed, so the road very harsh and unbearable.

‘I can feel my completely healed body being worn out as I become Max level…!’

It was an unprecedented situation; out of all people, it was Evan who went beyond the limits of a human due to his high existence level, and he felt his high-endurance body being tattered. Perhaps it was enduring this pain that was the real ordeal to obtain the endgame skill? Wouldn’t it be that without reaching the Max level, new skills couldn’t be learned!? Evan was lost in useless thoughts while enduring the never-ending pain, and then he came to his senses. He felt a gradual change in his strength, which he had honed since he was young.

‘From Heaven’s Press, Heaven’s Throw, Heaven’s Step, to Heaven’s Blade…’

The Heavenly Skills and all relevant skills that were acquired and learned over time merged into one and disappeared. They didn’t vanish, but rather, a new level was reached as they were merged. The cluster of strength within Evan exploded fiercely, and it completely destroyed and reconstructed his body. In the process, transcending energy that went beyond the limit filled him up. At that moment, his mana was converted into a form adequate for him to use the Heavenly…no, the Annihilation skill. It could be regarded as one of the attributes. Evan became somewhat similar to the spirit that has half its body in both the physical and magical domains.

“No-no-no-no.”

The moment after the pain stopped and serenity descended, Evan shook his head left to right as he failed to accept the new reality. Such absurd changes weren’t supposed to happen suddenly. Even though he cleared the 100th floor, this was just too sudden!

[It was possible because you defeated Keiha. If we must add one more thing, it was also thanks to your ridiculously high existence level.]

“My mana just changed…my mana.”

[You will have to train in order to get used to it. Surely, its quality is way higher than the regular mana. Now, are you willing to recognize me as God?]

“I’ve recognized you since before…ah, for real.”

‘This would make me look like the protagonist.’

Evan held his aching head and let out a sigh. He was surprised with the transformation, but it wasn’t bad. Additionally, in the process of the mana getting converted, he was now able to repel quite a lot of curses. God’s message saying it was a strength that could devastate the world wasn’t a bluff, after all.

[You can clear out the rest once you find the person that placed the curse on you.]

“Do you think it’s easy to find a person capable of casting a curse of this kind?”

Evan examined his body on the spot as he grumbled. As his body was being reconstructed, he worried if changes would happen to his appearance, but thank goodness no anomalies appeared. His eyes just grew a bit bigger and shinier, his hair a bit darker and sparkly, and he now had a subtly brighter skin tone. It meant his handsome features were enhanced, but since he was already the most handsome person, having the absolute value increase wouldn’t do much for him.

[Then there’s no need to enter this dungeon anymore.]

“Not yet. We have to defeat Merdin in order to break the Demon King’s seal.”

[We weren’t able to get close to Merdin ever since the severance. We are entrusting you with too much of a burden.]

Evan wanted to tell them to expand further if they knew anything, but he couldn’t since something tremendous just happened. He could only sigh heavily and bid them farewell.

“Thank you for everything.”

[O Human, who persecuted all prisoners and understood the will of God very well, lastly here is one prophecy on your destiny and one blessing.]

What else was left? As Evan concentrated on his hearing, the voices of God, who watched over him until the moment he cleared the 100th floor, all echoed into his ear.

[Even until this moment that you’ve become transcendent, mysteries lie in your destiny; may you break free from all the shackles at the end of the path that follows the curses and find your freedom.]

“So, if such a prophecy is possible, tell me more in detail on how precisely…”

[At that moment, you will receive your third job. That is the last blessing we can bestow upon you.]

‘…Third? Third job? Was there such a feature in the game? No, even the current situation wasn’t included in the story, so what’s the point in talking about the flow of the game.’

The problem was that the prophecy that came before the blessing was incomprehensible, but if he could interpret what he could understand, everything would go smoothly when he acted on what he decided to do. Such nonsense was a useless prophecy!

[The beloved child of God, foresee your path from now on. Whatever chaos might come, you will break through them valiantly.]

And as the phrase ended, God disappeared, and so did his voices. Right, he was always like this. Evan was so blazed by this fact. When he regained his consciousness, the light that filled up space would disappear, and his party members would be surrounding him.

“I expected this a bit, but once again, for this time, yours was the longest.”

“This time…we thought ours would be the longest, being the children of the god race.”

It was Shine and Belois who experienced the most changes. The two of them experienced dramatic changes due to their dungeon levels as they couldn’t increase their existence levels more, and as far as God was involved in their births, their growth when they reached the Max level was also intense. In terms of skills and physical forms, too. Despite the natural growth period ending long ago, Shine grew remarkably taller, and Belois…her satisfied expression as she lay a hand on her chest wouldn’t need further explanation.

“My level is also Max, but why won’t I grow, Oppa?”

“It’s because you are already fully grown.”

“Hmph…okay, I’ll take that since I’m still ahead of them.”

Probably she wanted to say that from the start. It was a form of checking to win back Evan’s attention from Belois. Belois, who was enjoying her growth, gave a sidelong scowl at Serena.

“You seem to sound cheekier, Your Majesty.”

“The world of competition is ice cold.”

“I’m sorry, but can you both be quiet? I want to be alone, so please make some space for me.”

“…I’m sorry, Lady Arisha.”

“Don’t take pity on me! Give me some of that useless cow breast instead of your sympathy!”

It would be considered rather small when compared to those two, but the other party members had significantly grown too. They experienced a change towards perfection; their weaknesses were mostly gone or alleviated, and their resistances in each category greatly increased. That would be a great help when battling against enemies with diverse attack patterns.

“Would God be all right after throwing us this much power?”

“It’s all right; I did worry before, but it seems like nobody could have reached the 100th floor of the dungeon.”

“And Master thought that anyone who will do his best could reach the 100th floor quite recently…”

But his statement was completely denied when Grand Master Mikhail D. Aerock proclaimed not to enter the dungeon.

‘It would be possible if Grandpa and Illoin help.’

But those two didn’t want to enter the dungeon, so that it couldn’t be helped. They were no longer active. Of course, they would offer their help if Sherden fell into a crisis, but retirees like them couldn’t be bullied too much. Instead, Evan was making a promise as he pleased that he would educate his daughter to make her an awesome warrior that will defend the future of Sherden.

“So, let’s break the last statue of the Devil.”

“We should tease the Junior group once we get out. They didn’t have the opportunity to defeat Keiha.”

“No, hold your horses for a while. It must remain a secret that we completed the dungeon…”

Evan’s party contacted the people on the ground beforehand in order for their achievements to be concealed, then they safely returned to the surface. And a massive back-flow happened in the dungeon.

It was the first extreme back-flow that has happened since the dungeon was created.